Page images
PDF
EPUB

fay, God hath in the other world appointed for finners.

ETERNAL MISERY is, in particular, by far the greater part of chriftians believed to be not only the portion of fuch who are guilty of wilful and capital crimes, but of those whose faults or frailties are, all circumftances confidered, morally impossible to be avoided by them. And thus alfo, according to opinions commonly received, are perfons to be punished for the omiffion of certain ceremonies, which cannot purify the heart or confcience even tho' the omiffion happened in no degree by their own fault, but merely from that of others: this is supposed to be the cafe of children who die unbaptized, and perfons to whom the priest fhall refuse or neglect to adminifter the facrament'.

DAMNATION is likewife faid to be allotted to all who do not believe and worship, or have not believed and worshipped aright. Thus as it appears that the belief and worship of One God was for many ages almoft totally confined to an obscure, vile, wicked people, as their own hiftorians and prophets describe them, inhabiting a small country, and having

very

As Romish priests have very induftriously propagated this notion, what barbarous wretches are they to refuse the facrament, on frivolous pretences, to the poor people, who are taught, and do really believe, that their falvation depends upon receiving it !

very little intercourfe or commerce with other nations; all the rest of mankind, who knew not God, and therefore could not believe in or worship him aright, muft, according to this opinion, be eternally miferable: and, among the reft, this we are to fuppofe is the fate of Ariftides, Phocion, Timoleon, Epaminondas, Socrates, Cato, and all the moft excellent gentiles. And fince the time of Christ, this, it seems, is to be the doom likewife of all the world who have not believed or do not believe in him, tho' multitudes have never heard of his name, nor very probably ever will hear of it; and not of those only who are without faith in the true God and in Jefus Christ, but of all who, tho' they have this faith, yet do not worship after the manner of one particular church or fect, or receive the doctrines profeffed and taught by it: this Roman Catholicks affert, and too many Protestants incline to the fame opinion. And thus, if you will give credit to Mohammedans, God deals with all men who do not own their prophet, and acknowledge his doctrine and Koran to come from heaven.

"VERILY," faith this pretended holy book, "thofe who difbelieve our figns, we "will furely caft to be broiled in hell-fire: "fo often as their fkins fhall be well burned, "we will give them other skins in exchange, "that

H

"that they may tafte the fharper torment; "for God is mighty and wise "." Again,

"THEY Who believe not, fhall have gar "ments of fire fitted unto them: boiling "water shall be poured on their heads; their "bowels fhall be diffolved thereby, and also "their skins; and they fhall be beaten with "maces of iron. So often as they fhall en"deavour to get out of hell, because of the anguish of their torments, they shall be dragged back into the fame, and their tor" mentors fhall fay unto them, Tafte ye the "pain of burning "."

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

ce

f

In a word, many chriftians, particularly, IN have believed and taught, that God hath doomed much the greater part of mankind, even millions of millions of his own creatures, "to a place where every part and fa"culty, both of body and foul, shall be con"tinually and alike tormented, without in"termiflion or difmiffion of pain, or eafe "from it. There thou (the finner) fhalt

ce

lye in a perpetual prifon of utter darkness, "where fhall be no order but horror; no "voice but howling and blafpheming; no "noife but fcreeching and gnashing of teeth;

[merged small][ocr errors]

no fociety but the devil and his angels; who, being tormented themselves, fhall

• The Koran tranflated by Mr. Sale, p. 68. P. 275.

"have

f Ibid.

"have no other cafe but to wreak their fury " in tormenting thee, Matt.xiii. 42. and xxv.

36, &c. Where shall be punishment with"out any pity, mifery without any mercy, "forrow without fuccour, crying without "comfort, malice without measure, torment "without cafe, Rev. xiv. 10, 11. Where "the wrath of God fhall feize upon thy foul "and body, as the flame of fire does on the

lump of pitch or brimftone, Dan. vii. 10. "In which flame thou fhalt ever be burn❝ing, and never confumed; ever dying, and "never dead; ever roaring in the pangs of "death, and never rid of thofe pangs, nor "expecting ends of thy pains. So that, af "ter thou haft endured them fo many thou"fand years as there are blades of grafs on "the earth, or fands in the fea, hairs on the "heads of all the fons of Adam, from the "first to the last born, as there have been "creatures in heaven or earth, thou shalt be

no nearer an end of thy torments, than "thou waft the very first day that thou waft "caft into them; yea, fo far are they from "ending, that they are ever beginning: for

if, after fo many thoufand times fo many "thousand years, thy damned foul could but "conceive fome hope, that thefe torments "should have an end; this would be fome "comfort, to think that at length an end " will

H 2

"will come: but as often as thy mind shall "think on this word never, (and thou shalt "ever be thinking of it) it will rend thy "heart in pieces with rage and hideous la❝mentation; as giving ftill new life to thy "unfufferable forrows, which exceed all ex

preffion or imagination. It will be an"other hell in the midft of hell "."

WHAT an astonishing, what a shocking, terrible, and diabolical account is here given of our Creator's dealings with his creatures!

I CANNOT dismiss this fubject of God's thus condemning men to EVERLASTING TORMENTS, without expoftulating with those who may be fo unhappy as to believe, and with fuch who, tho' they do not believe, are nevertheless fo weak or fo wicked as to teach and propagate this blasphemous doctrine, this DOCTRINE OF DEVILS indeed.

PRAY, what are the falutary and justifiable ends of all punishments? Are they not, first, to reclaim offenders, which is certainly the most defirable end; fecondly, to deter men from committing the like crimes they

fee

A ferious and pathetical description of heaven and hell, according to the pencil of the Holy Ghoft, and the beft expofitors, &c. taken out of a book intitled The whole duty of a chriftian. London, printed at the charge of Chriff's Hofpital, 1723, p. 12, 13. ——— N. B. All the references to Scripture are my author's, who is therefore anfwerable for their being to his purpose.

« PreviousContinue »