M Serm. 5. SERMON V. Preach'd before King WILLIAM at The Eternity of Hell-Torments. Matthew 25. 41. Then shall be fay unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye curfed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. I Now come to the last thing, which I propos'd to treat of from these Words, Viz. the Eternity of HellTorments, which I fhall confider in this following method, First, I will prove, from several i plain Texts of Scripture, that the Serm. 5. Torments of Hell will be truly and properly eternal, or have a duration without end. Secondly, I will lay before you the Arguments; which are drawn from Reafon, in proof of this Point. Thirdly, I will more particularly explain to you, what we are to underftand by the Eternity of Hell-torments: in order to obviate thofe falfe meanings, which the Socinians and others give of feveral of thofe Texts of Scripture, upon which we build our belief of it. Laftly, I will answer the most material objections, against the Eternity of Hell-torments, and fo conclude. The two first of thefe will, I doubt, take up all that time, which your patience will allow me at prefent. And indeed they are both very material and important Subjects, by no means flightly to be pass'd over; especially at this time, when the Eternity of K Hell M Hell-torments is fo much call'd in Serm. question, and that too by those Men, who value themselves upon their being critical interpreters of Scripture, and exact Masters of Reafon. But, in order to fhew either that their skill, or fomething else, is not always fo good as it should be, I fhall haften First, To prove, from several plain Texts of Scripture, that the Torments of Hell will be truly and properly Eternal, or have a duration without end. And, for this purpofe, I defire you feriously to confider thefe following Texts. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? that is, faith the Jewish Targum upon the place, with the eternal fire of Hell. İfaiah. 33. 14. And many of them that fleep in the duft of the Earth fhall awake, fome to everbafting life, and fome to fhame and everMenaleh lafting contempt: a Text which many Ifrael, de of the beft of the Jewish Expofitors Relurrect. understand, of the general Refurrecti c. 3. fect. on, and the eternal rewards and pu v. Ben. Mortuor. nishments, nishments, which shall then be be- Revel. Serm. And 14.11. The fmoke of the torment of the wicked afcendeth up for ever and ever, and again, 20. 10. They Thall be tormented for ever and ever. Concerning which Texts, there are, thefe three Things well worthy our Obfervation. First, That the very fame words are us'd in them, to exprefs the Eternity of Hell-torments, which are us'd in Scripture to exprefs the Eternity of the foys of Heaven, nay and even of God himself. For fo the fame word, which is us'd to exprefs the K 2 ever 33. Rom. 16. 26. 41,46. 2 Theff. 1. everlastingness of the burnings of Hell, Serm. 5; and of the contempt of the wicked, in the above cited Texts of the Prophets Gen. 21. Ifaiah and Daniel, is us'd to express ila 40.28. the Eternity of God himself, in many Rom.6.22. places of the Old Teftament. And, throughout the whole New TeftaMat. 25. ment, the fame word is constantly us'd to exprefs everlasting Life, the everlasting God, and everlasting Fire, Mar. 3.29. everlasting Punishment, everlasting Destruction, Eternal Damnation, &c. Since then it is univerfally allow'd that these words, when apply'd to God and the Joys of Heaven, denote a true and proper Eternity: why must they not have the fame fenfe, when apply'd to the Torments of Hell? 9. I know it will be anfwer'd that, tho' these words are frequently us'd in Scripture to fignify a true and proper Eternity, yet they are not always us'd fo: but fometimes fignify only a diuturnity, or very long duration of time, which shall have an end, tho' perhaps not till many ages are past; and that therefore there can be no neceffity of understanding them here of a strict and proper Eternity. And why |