An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

First, it burns internally. The visible fire burns but visible things, outward things, but this fire burns within, scorches the conscience, burns the soul, burns that which all the fires in the world cannot reach, cannot touch. God is a Spirit, and the wrath of God is a fire that burns the spirits, and will for ever afflict and torment the consciences of wicked men. The hottest fires which the most enraged malicious Persecutors kindle, cannot touch the spirit; the conscience is quiet, the soul triumphs while the flesh fries in the fire. 'Tis the fire of divine wrath alone which hath power upon the soul; and a burning there is ten thousand times more painful than the burning of our flesh.

First, it burns internally. The visible fire burns but visible things, outward things, but this fire burns within, scorches the conscience, burns the soul, burns that which all the fires in the world cannot reach, cannot touch. God is a Spirit, and the wrath of God is a fire that burnes the spirits, and will for ever afflict and torment the consciences of wicked men. The hottest fires which the most enraged malitious Persecuters kindle, cannot touch the spirit; the conscience is quiet, the soul triumphs while the flesh fries in the fire. 'Tis the fire of divine wrath alone which hath power upon the soul; and a burning there is ten thousand times more painful than the burning of our flesh.

Secondly, the wrath of God burns eternally. Your fires here though they are dreadful, yet they go out, they consume themselves by consuming the matter or fuel cast into them; they cannot continue always, because they eat up and devour that which maintains them: But the wrath of God burns continually. God is called a consuming fire, not because the fire of his wrath consumes, but because he consumeth sinners in the fire of wrath; ⟨p. 300⟩and when we say, he consumeth sinners in his wrath, or his wrath consumeth sinners, we are not to understand it of a consumption as to being, but only as to a well or comfortable being; for not only the soul•, but the very bodies of sinners shall remain in this fire of the wrath of God for ever unconsumed. The bodies of the damned shall be raised again at the great day, and being re-united to their souls, both shall abide unconsumed in the fire of this consuming wrath eternally. The great dread of ordinary fire is, that it consumes what it burns, but the greatest dread of this fire is, that it consumes not that which it burns. O therefore take heed of the wrath of God, the wrath of God is terrible as to corporal and temporal judgements, much more as to spiritual and eternal judgments; that is, as the fire of his wrath burns both internally and eternally. Because there is wrath, beware, Lest he take thee away with his stroke.