The works of George Swinnock, M.A

5. To affrighten thee from sin, Consider, the misery of sinners at that day. Its called the day of perdition of ungodly men. Sin will be sin indeed at that day. When sin shall be stripped naked of the favour and countenance of great men, of the preferments, and advantages, and riches, and honours, and offices, with which it is clothed here below, and instead thereof be invested with fire, and flames, and brimstone, and blackness of darkness, and whips, and serpents, and unconceivable and eternal torments, what an ugly loathsome strumpet will she be, even in the eyes of them ⟨p. 777⟩that now dote on her, commit whoredom with her, and sacrifice their strength, and time, and estates, and souls, and God, and Christ, and Heaven, and all to her? Then the Drunkard will find his liquor more bitter then wormwood, when he shall have a cup of pure wrath without the least mixture of mercy brought to him, and he forced to take it down, though there be eternity to the bottom. Then the Persecutor of Gods people shall find that it had been better to have been rotting in a ditch, or boiling in a furnace of lead, then to have spent his time in wronging the poorest meanest member of Christ; when God shall recompense tribulation to them that persecute his people, and to them that are persecuted rest and peace; Then every sinner will believe and feel what now, though God himself tell him, he will be an infidel in, that it is an evil and bitter thing to depart away from the living God. The wicked is reserved (as the Beast for the slaughter-day) to the day of destruction, he shall be brought forth (as the condemned Malefactor on execution-day) at the day of slaughter; Ah how dreadful will the sinners doom be then! The tribunal of the Judge, will be a tribunal of fire; He shall come in flaming fire, to render vengeance, &c. The Law by which he will try them, shall be a Law of fire, or a fire of Law, Deut. 33.2. The Judge himself to them will be a consuming fire, Heb. 12. 28. And the judgement which he will denounce against them, will be, Go ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels for ever; Ah who can dwell in everlasting burnings! who can abide devouring flames! Who can imagine the shame ⟨p. 778⟩