4. Again, as the understandings and consciences of sinners will be strengthened, so will their affections be more lively and enlarged: as judgment will be no longer blinded, nor conscience stifled, so the affections will be no longer stupefied. A hard heart now makes heaven and hell seem but trifles: and when we have showed them everlasting glory and misery, they are as men half asleep, they scarce take notice what we say, our words are cast as stones against a hard wall, which fly back in the face of him that casteth them. We talk of terrible astonishing things, but it is to dead men that cannot apprehend it: we speak to rocks rather than to men; the earth will as soon tremble as they. But when these dead wretches are revived, what passionate sensibility! what working affections! what pangs of horror! what depth of sorrow will there then be! How violently will they fly in their own faces! How will they rage against their former madness! The lamentations of the most passionate wife for the loss of her husband, or of the tenderest mother for the loss of her children, will be nothing to theirs for the loss of heaven. Oh, the self-accusing, and self-tormenting fury of those forlorn wretches! How they will even tear their own hearts, and be GOD'S executioners upon themselves! I am persuaded, as it was none but themselves that committed the sin, and themselves that were the meritorious cause of their sufferings, so themselves will be the chief executioners of those sufferings; GOD will have it so for the clearing of his justice: even Satan himself, as he was not so great a cause of their sinning as themselves, so will he not be so great an instrument of their torment. How happy would you think yourselves then, if you were turned into rocks, or any ⟨p. 96⟩thing that had neither passion or sense! How happy were you, if you could now feel, as lightly as you were wont to hear! And if you could sleep out the time of execution, as you did the time of the sermons that warned you of it! But your stupidity is gone, it will not be.
4. Again, as the understandings and consciences of sinners will be strengthened, so will their affections be more lively and enlarged: as judgment will be no longer blinded, nor conscience stifled, so the affections will be no longer stupified. A hard heart now makes heaven and hell seem but trifles: and when we have shewed them everlasting glory and misery, they are as men half asleep, they scarce take notice what we say, our words are cast as stones against a hard wall, which fly back in the face of him that casteth them. We talk of terrible astonishing things, but it is to dead men that cannot apprehend it: we speak to rocks rather than to men; the earth will as soon tremble as they. But when these dead wretches are revived, what passionate sensibility! what working affections! what pangs of horror! what depth of sorrow will there then be! How violently will they fly in their own faces! How will they rage against their former madness! The lamentations of the most passionate wife for the loss of her husband, or of the tenderest mother for the loss of her children, will be nothing to theirs for the loss of heaven. Oh, the selfaccusing, and self-tormenting fury of those forlorn wretches! How they will even tear their own hearts, and be GOD'S executioners upon themselves! I am persuaded, as it was none but themselves that committed the sin, and themselves that were the meritorious cause of their sufferings, so themselves will be the chief executioners of those sufferings; GOD will have it so for the clearing of his justice: even Satan himself, as he was not so great a cause of their sinning as themselves, so will he not be so great an instrument of their torment. How happy would you think yourselves then, if you were turned into rocks, or any ⟨p. 96⟩thing that had neither passion or sense! How happy were you, if you could now feel, as lightly as you were wont to hear! And if you could sleep out the time of execution, as you did the time of the sermons that warned you of it! But your stupidity is gone, it will not be.
