7. Consider with thy self, how unable thou art to bear any extreme pain, 1though it be but for a night or day: what tossings and tumblings, when it's night wishing for day, and when it's day wishing for night: Now if a moments pain be so grievous, what is eternal? If thou art not able to endure the sudden scorch ⟨p. 70⟩of fire, what then to be in everlasting fire, Isa. 33.14. Who amongst us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings. Oh how should this meditation even swallow us up; If we are not able to endure the rod, how shall we the scorpion? If the gout, the stone be thus grievous, what is everlasting torment? Should not we judge him a mad man, that to have one night of quiet rest and sweet sleep, would all his life after be tormented with restless nights and terrifying dreams? such folly is in all wicked men, They to have this short life of pleasures and jollity, which is but a dream, will undo themselves for ever in this endless and easeless woe: Oh remember this eternity is so incomprehensible by thee, that when thou hast thought and thought ten thousand millions of imaginary years, yet it is to hold as long as at the first beginning. Some have represented it thus, Imagine, say they, that all that vast space which is between heaven and earth were full of sand, and once in every thousand year, no oftener, a bird carry away one crumb of it in her bill, what a long while would it be ere this vast huge heap would be carried quite away; yet if the damned in hell might have ease at the period of such a time, though so infinitely long, yet there would be some hope; but now it's everlasting fire, it's a fire that cannot be quenched, but as long as God is God, so long shall they be in their chains of darkness. God you heard was properly eternal, because he had neither beginning or end; therefore he was said by the Heathens to be a circle, whose centre was every where, his circumference no where. Hence the Heathens represented his eternity by a snake, or a ring, that hath no beginning or end. The Romans built their Temples round, and Pythagoras rule was when to worship, turn thy self round: Here they had confused notions about eternity; but the Scripture doth most clearly affirm his eternity: Now our life is eternal only because it shall have no end, and so for the future it will abide for ever, and never change: What a great word is this, never to change;
7. Consider with thy self, how unable thou art to bear any extream pain, 1though it be but for a night or day: what tossings and tumblings, when it's night wishing for day, and when it's day wishing for night: Now if a moments pain be so grievous, what is eternall? If thou art not able to endure the sudden scorch ⟨p. 70⟩of fire, what then to be in everlasting fire, Isa. 33.14. Who amongst us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings. Oh how should this meditation even swallow us up; If we are not able to endure the rod, how shall we the scorpion? If the gout, the stone be thus grievous, what is everlasting torment? Should not we judge him a mad man, that to have one night of quiet rest and sweet sleep, would all his life after be tormented with restlesse nights and terrifying dreams? such folly is in all wicked men, They to have this short life of pleasures and jollity, which is but a dream, will undo themselves for ever in this endlesse and easelesse wo: Oh remember this eternity is so incomprehensible by thee, that when thou hast thought and thought ten thousand millions of imaginary years, yet it is to hold as long as at the first beginning. Some have represented it thus, Imagine, say they, that all that vast space which is between heaven and earth were full of sand, and once in every thousand year, no oftner, a bird carry away one crum of it in her bill, what a long while would it be ere this vast huge heap would be carried quite away; yet if the damned in hell might have ease at the period of such a time, though so infinitely long, yet there would be some hope; but now it's everlasting fire, it's a fire that cannot be quenched, but as long as God is God, so long shall they be in their chains of darknesse. God you heard was properly eternall, because he had neither beginning or end; therefore he was said by the Heathens to be a circle, whose center was every where, his circumference no where. Hence the Heathens represented his eternity by a snake, or a ring, that hath no beginning or end. The Romans built their Temples round, and Pythagoras rule was when to worship, turn thy self round: Here they had confused notions about eternity; but the Scripture doth most clearly affirm his eternity: Now our life is eternall only because it shall have no end, and so for the future it will abide for ever, and never change: What a great word is this, never to change;
- 17. Consider how unwilling thou art to bear any extreme pains.7. Consider how unwilling thou art to bear any extream pains.
