And how it is agreeable to that expression so often annexed to the threatenings of God's wrath against wicked men, And ye shall know that I am the Lord?

5. The scripture teaches, that the wicked will suffer different degrees of torment, according to the different aggravations of their sins, Matth. v. 22. "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire." Here Christ teaches us, that the torments of wicked men will be different in different persons, according to the different degrees of their guilt, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, for Tyre and Sidon, than for the cities where most of Christ's mighty works were wrought. Again, our Lord assures us, That he that knoweth his Lord's will, and prepareth not himself, nor doth according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knoweth not, and committeth things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. These several passages of scripture prove, that there will be different degrees of pun. ishment in hell; which is utterly inconsistent with the supposition, that that punishment consists in annihilation, in which there can be no degrees, but is the same thing to every one who is a subject of it.

4. The scriptures are very express and abundant in this matter, That the eternal punishment of the wicked will consist in sensible misery and torment, and not in annihilation. What is said of Judas is worthy to be observed here, "It had been good for that man if he had not been born;" Matth. xxvi. 24. This seems plainly to teach us, that the punishment of the wicked is such that their existence, upon the whole, is worse than nonexistence. But if their punishment consists merely in annihilation, this is not true. The wicked, in their punishment, are said to weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth ; which implies not only real existence, but life, knowledge, and activity, and that they are in a very sensible and exquisite manner affected with their punishment. In Isaiah xxxiii

14, Sinners in the state of their punishment are represented to dwell with everlasting burnings. But if they are only turned into nothing, where is the foundation for this representation? It is absurd to say, that sinners will dwell with annihilation; for there is no dwelling in the case. It is also absurd to call annihilation a burning, which implies a state of existence, sensibility, and extreme pain; whereas in annihilation, there is neither one nor another of these..... The state of the future punishment of the wicked is evidently represented to be a state of existence and sensibility, when it is said, that they shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone. How can this expression with any propriety be understood to mean a state of annihilation ?.... Yea, they are expressly said to have no rest day nor night, but to be tormented with fire and brimstone for ever and ever. Rev. xx. 10. But annihilation is a state of rest, a state in which not the least torment can possibly be suffered.....The rich man in hell lifted up his eyes being in torment, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, and entered into a particular conversation with Abraham ;' all which proves that he was not annihilated.

The spirits of ungodly men before the resurrection are not in a state of annihilation, but in a state of misery; they are spirits in prison, as the Apostle saith of them that were drowned in the flood, 1 Pet. iii. 19.....And this appears very plainly from the instance of the rich man before mentioned, if we consider him as representing the wicked in their separate state between death and the resurrection. But if the wicked even then, are in a state of torment, much more will they be, when they shall come to suffer that which is the proper punishment of their sins.

Annihilation is not so great a calamity but that some men have undoubtedly chosen it, rather than such a state of suffer ing as they have been in even in this life. This was the case of Job, a good man. But if a good man in this world may suffer that which is worse than annihilation, doubtless the proper punishment of the wicked, in which God means to manifest his peculiar abhorrence of their wickedness, will be a ca

lamity vastly greater still; and therefore cannot be annihila tion. That must be a very mean and contemptible testimony of God's wrath towards those who have rebelled against his crown and dignity, have broken his laws, and despised both his vengeance and his grace, which is not so great a calamity as some of his true children have suffered in life.

The eternal punishment of the wicked is said to be the second death, once and again, as Rev. xx. 14. and xxi. 8.....It is doubtless called the second death in reference to the death of the body; and as the death of the body is ordinarily attended with great pain and distress, so the like, or something vastly greater, is implied in calling the eternal punishment of the wicked the second death; and there would be no propriety in calling it so, if it consisted merely in annihilation. And this second death wicked men will suffer; for it cannot be called the second death with respect to any other than men ; it cannot be called so with respect to devils, as they die no temporal death, which is the first death. In Rev. ii. 11. it is said, "He that overcometh, shall not be hurt of the second death;" implying, that all who do not overcome their lusts, but live in sin, shall suffer the second death.

Again, wicked men will suffer the same kind of death with the devils; as in verse 25th of the context, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Now the punishment of the devil is not annihilation, but torment; he therefore trembles for fear of it; not for fear of being annihilated, he would be glad of that. What he is afraid of is torment, as appears by Luke viii. 28. Where he cries out, and beseeches Christ, that he would not torment him before the time: And it is said, Rev. xx. 10. The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night, for ever and ever.

It is strange how men will go directly against so plain and full revelations of scripture, as to suppose, notwithstanding all these things, that the eternal punishment threatened against the wicked signifies no more than annihilation.

III. As the future punishment of the wicked consists in sensible misery; so it shall not only continue for a very long time, but shall be absolutely without end.

Of those who have held that the torments of hell are not absolutely eternal, there have been two sorts. (1.) Some suppose, that in the threatenings of everlasting punishment, the terms used do not necessarily import a proper eternity, but only a very long duration. (2.) Others suppose, that if they do import a proper eternity, yet we cannot necessarily conclude thence, that God will fulfil his threatenings.

Therefore I shall,

FIRST, Show that the threatenings of eternal punishment do very plainly and fully import a proper, absolute eternity, and not merely a long duration.

This appears,

1. Because when the scripture speaks of the wicked's being sentenced to their punishment at the time when all temporal things are come to an end, it then speaks of it as everlasting, as in the text, and elsewhere.....It is true that the term for ever is not always in scripture used to signify eternity. Sometimes it means, as long as a man liveth. In this sense it is said, that the Hebrew servant, who chose to abide with his master, should have his ear bored, and should serve his master for ever.....Sometimes it means, during the continuance of the state and church of the Jews. In this sense, several laws, which were peculiar to that church, and were to continue in force no longer than that church should last, are called statutes for ever. See Exod. xxvii. 21. chap. xxviii. 43, &c.....Sometimes it means as long as the world stands. So in Eccles. i. 4. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh ; but the earth abideth for ever.

And this last is the longest temporal duration that such a term is ever used to signify. There is no instance of using such a term, for a longer duration, when it signifies a temporal duration: For the duration of the world is doubtless the longest of any of those things that are temporal, as its beginning was the earliest of any of those things that are temporal,

Therefore when the scripture speaks of things as being be fore the foundation of the world, it means that they existed from eternity, and before the beginning of time. So those things which continue after the end of the world, are eternal things, and are after the end of time.....Doubtless when the temporal world is at an end, there will be an end to temporal things. When the time comes that heaven and earth are shaken and removed, those things that remain will be things that cannot be shaken, but will remain for ever. Heb. xii. 26, 27.....This visible world contains all things that are seen and are temporal; and therefore when that is at an end, there will be an end of all things that are temporal, and therefore the things that remain after that will be eternal.

But the punishment of the wicked will not only remain after the end of the world, but is called everlasting after that, as in the text, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment." So in 2 Thess, i. 9, 10. "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints," &c.....Now, what can be meant by a thing's being everlasting, after all temporal things are come to an end, but that it is absolutely without end?

2. Such expressions are used to set forth the duration of the punishment of the wicked, as are never used in the scriptures of the New Testament to signify any thing but a proper eternity. It is said, not only that that punishment `shall be for ever, but for ever and ever. Rev, xiv. 11.; "The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.".... Rev. xx. 10.; "Shall be tormented day and night, for ever and ever."....Doubtless the New Testament has some expression to signify a proper eternity, of which it has so often occasion to speak. But it is ignorant of any higher expression than this: If this do not signify an absolute eternity, there is none that does.

3. The scripture uses the same way of speaking to set forth the eternity of the punishment of the wicked, that it uses to set forth the eternity of the happiness of the righteous,