ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR.

Our curiosity is naturally excited to discover what a poor, unlettered mechanic,whose book-learning had been limited to the contents of one volume, could by possibilityknow upon a subject so abstruse, so profound, and so highly metaphysical, as thatof the Soul, it's greatness and the inconceivableness of it's loss. Heathen philosophers,at the head of whose formidable array stand Plato and Aristotle, had exhausted theirwit, and had not made the world a whit the wiser by all their lucubrations. The fathersplunged into the subject, and increased the confusion; we are confounded with theirsubtle distinctions, definitions, and inquiries; such as that attributed to St. Aquinas,How many disembodied spirits could dance upon the point of a fine needle withoutjostling each other? Learned divines had puzzled themselves and their hearers withsuppositions and abstract principles. What, then, could a travelling brasier, ortinker, have discovered to excite the attention of the Christian world, and to becomea teacher to philosophers, fathers, and learned divines? Bunyan found no access tothe polluted streams of a vain philosophy; he went at once to the fountain-head;and, in the pure light of Revelation, displays the human soul infinitely great invalue, although in a fallen state. He portrays it as drawn by the unerring hand ofit's Maker. He sets forth, by the glass of God's Word, the inconceivableness of it'svalue, while progressing through time; and, aided by the same wondrous glass, hepenetrates the eternal world, unveils the joys of heaven and the torments of hellso far as they are revealed by the Holy Ghost, and are conceivable to human powers.While he thus leads us to some kind of estimate of it's worth, he, from the samesource the only source from whence such knowledge can be derived, makes known thecauses of the loss of the soul, and leads his trembling readers to the only nameunder heaven given among men, whereby they can be saved. In attempting to conceivethe greatness and value of the soul, the importance of the body is too often overlooked.The body, it is true, is of the earth; the soul is the breath of God. The body isthe habitation; the soul is the inhabitant.

The body returns to the dust; while the soul enters into the intermediate state,waiting to be reunited to the body after it's new creation, when death shall be swallowedup of life. In these views, the soul appears to be vastly superior to the body. Butlet it never be forgotten, that, as in this life, so it will be in the everlastingstate; the body and soul are so intimately connected as to become one being, capableof exquisite happiness, or existing in the pangs of everlasting death. He who feltand wrote as Bunyan does in this solemn treatise, and whose tongue was as the penof a ready writer, must have been wise and successful in winning souls to Christ.He felt their infinite value, he knew their strong and their weak points, their richesand poverty. He was intimate with every street and lane in the town of Man-soul,and how and where the subtle Diabolians shifted about to hide themselves in the walls,and holes, and corners. He sounds the alarm, and plants his engines against the eyeas the window, and the ear as the door, for the soul to look out at, and to receivein by. He detects the wicked in speaking with his feet, and teaching with his fingers.His illustration of the punishment of a sinner, as set forth by the sufferings ofthe Saviour, is peculiarly striking. The attempt to describe the torments of thosewho suffer under the awful curse, Go ye wicked, is awfully and intensely vivid.

Bunyan most earnestly exhorts the distressed sinner to go direct to the great Shepherdand Bishop of souls, and not to place confidence in those who pretend to be his ministers;but who are false shepherds, in so many ugly guises, and under so many false andscandalous dresses; take heed of that shepherd that careth not for his own soul,that walketh in ways, and doth such things, as have a direct tendency to damn hisown soul; come not near him. He that feeds his own soul with ashes, will scarce feedthee with the bread of life. Choose Christ to be thy chief Shepherd, sit at his feet,and learn of him and he will direct thee to such as shall feed thy soul with knowledgeand understanding.

Reader, let me no longer keep thee upon the threshold but enter upon this importanttreatise with earnest prayer; and may the blessed Spirit enable us to live undera sense of the greatness of the soul, the unspeakableness of the loss thereof, thecauses of losing it, and the only way in which it's salvation can he found.

GEORGE OFFOR.
Hackney, April 1850



THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUL,

AND UNSPEAKABLENESS OF
THE LOSS THEREOF

OR WHAT SHALL A MAN GIVE IN
EXCHANGE FOR HIS SOUL? MARK 8:37.

I HAVE chosen at this time to handle these words among you, and that for severalreasons:

l. Because the soul, and the salvation of it, are such great, such wonderful greatthings; nothing is a matter of that concern as is, and should be, the soul of eachone of you. House and land, trades and honours, places and preferments, what arethey to salvation? to the salvation of the soul?

2. Because I perceive that this so great a thing, and about which persons shouldbe so much concerned, is neglected to amazement, and that by the most of men; yea,who is there of the many thousands that sit daily under the sound of the gospel thatare concerned, heartily concerned, about the salvation of their souls?that is, concerned,I say, as the nature of the thing requireth. If ever a lamentation was fit to betaken up in this age about, for, or concerning anything, it is about, for, and concerningthe horrid neglect that everywhere puts forth itself with reference to salvation.Where is one man in a thousand, yea, where is there two of ten thousand that do showby their conversation, public and private, that the soul, their own souls, are consideredby them, and that they are taking that care for the salvation of them as becomesthem, to wit, as the weight of the work, and the nature of salvation requireth?

3. I have therefore pitched upon this text at this time; to see, if peradventurethe discourse which God shall help me to make upon it, will awaken you, rouse youoff your beds of ease, security, and pleasure, and fetch you down upon your kneesbefore Him, to beg of Him grace to be concerned about the salvation of your souls.And then, in the last place, I have taken upon me to do this, that I may deliver,if not you, yet myself, and that I may be clear of your blood, and stand quit, asto you, before God, when you shall, for neglect, be damned, and wail to considerthat you have lost your souls. When I say, saith God, unto the wicked, Thou shaltsurely die; and thou, the prophet or preacher, givest him not warning, nor speakestto warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shalldie in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warnthe wicked, and he turn not front his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shalldie in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (Eze 3:18, 19).

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

In my handling of these words, I shall first speak to the occasion of them, and thento the words themselves.

The occasion of the words was, for that the people that now were auditors to theLord Jesus, and that followed him, did it without that consideration as becomes sogreat a work that is, the generality of them that followed Him were not for consideringfirst with themselves, what it was to profess Christ, and what that profession mightcost them.

And when he had called the people unto him , the great multitude that went with him(Luke14:25) with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come afterme, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8:34). Let himfirst sit down and count up the cost, and the charge he is like to be at, if he followsme. For following of me is not like following of some other masters. The wind sitsalways on my face, and the foaming rage of the sea of this world, and the proud andlofty waves thereof, do continually beat upon the sides of the bark of the ship thatmyself, my cause, and my followers are in; he therefore that will not run hazards,and that is afraid to venture a drowning, let him not set foot into this vessel.So whosever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, he cannot be my disciple.For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteththe cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it (Luke 14:27-29).

True, to reason, this kind of language tends to cast water upon weak and beginningdesires, but to faith, it makes the things set before us, and the greatness, andthe glory of them, more apparently excellent and desirable. Reason will say, Thenwho will profess Christ that hath such coarse entertainment at the beginning? butfaith will say, Then surely the things that are at the end of a Christians race inthis world must needs be unspeakably glorious; since whoever hath had but the knowledgeand due consideration of them, have not stuck to run hazards, hazards of every kind,that they might embrace and enjoy them. Yea, saith faith, it must needs be so, sincethe Son himself, that best knew what they were, even, for the joy that was set beforeHim endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand ofthe throne of God (Heb 12:2).

But, I say, there is not in every man this knowledge of things and so by consequencenot such consideration as can make the cross and self-denial acceptable to them forthe sake of Christ, and of the things that are where He now sitteth at the righthand of God (Col 3:2-4). Therefore our Lord Jesus doth even at the beginning giveto His followers this instruction. And lest any of them should take distaste at Hissaying, He presenteth them with the consideration of three things together, namely,the cross, the loss of life, and the soul; and then reasoneth with them from thesame, saying, Here is the cross, the life, and the soul.

1. The cross, and that you must take up, if you will follow Me.

2. The life, and that you may save for a time, if you cast Me off.

3. And the soul, which will everlastingly perish if you come not to Me, and abidenot with Me.

Now consider what is best to be done. Will you take up the cross, come after Me,and so preserve your souls from perishing? or will you shun the cross to save yourlives, and so run the danger of eternal damnation? Or, as you have it in John, willyou love your life till you lose it? or will you hate your life, and save it? Hethat loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shallkeep it unto life eternal (John 12:25). As who should say, He that loveth a temporallife, he that so loveth it, as to shun the profession of Christ to save it, shalllose it upon a worse account, than if he had lost it for Christ and the gospel; buthe that will set light by it, for the love that he hath to Christ, shall keep itunto life eternal.

Christ having thus discoursed with His followers about their denying of themselves,their taking up their cross and following of Him, doth, in the next place, put thequestion to them, and so leaveth it upon them for ever, saying, For what shall itprofit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36).As who should say, I have bid you take heed that you do not lightly, and withoutdue consideration, enter into a profession of Me and of My gospel; for he that withoutdue consideration shall begin to profess Christ, will also without it forsake Him,turn from Him, and cast Him behind his back; and since I have even at the beginning,laid the consideration of the cross before you, it is because you should not be surprisedand overtaken by it unawares, and because you should know that to draw back fromMe after you have laid your hand to My plough, will make you unfit for the kingdomof heaven (Luke 9:62).

Now, since this is so, there is no less lies at stake than salvation, and salvationis worth all the world, yea, worth ten thousand worlds, if there should be so many.And since this is so also, it will be your wisdom to begin to profess the gospelwith expectation of the cross and tribulation, for to that are my gospellers[1] inthis world appointed (James 1:12; 1 Thess 3:3). And if you begin thus, and hold it,the kingdom and crown shall be yours; for as God counteth it a righteous thing torecompense tribulation to them that trouble you, so to you who are troubled and endureit (for we count them happy, says James, that endure, (James 5:11), rest with saints,when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flamingfire, to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel,etc. (2 Thess 1:7, 8). And if no less lies at stake than salvation, then is a manssoul and his all at the stake; and if it be so, what will it profit a man if, byforsaking of Me, he should get the whole world? For what shall it profit a man, ifhe shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Having thus laid the soul in one balance, and the world in the other, and affirmedthat the soul out-bids the whole world, and is incomparably for value and worth beyondit; in the next place, he descends to a second question, which is that I have chosenat this time for my text, saying, Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

In these words, we have first a supposition, and such an one as standeth upon a doublebottom. The supposition is this. That the soul is capable of being lost; or thus'tis possible for a man to lose his soul. The double bottom that this suppositionis grounded upon is, first, a mans ignorance of the worth of his soul, and of thedanger that it is in; and the second is, for that men commonly do set a higher priceupon present ease and enjoyments than they do upon eternal salvation. The last ofthese doth naturally follow upon the first; for if men be ignorant of the value andworth of their souls, as by Christ in the verse before is implied, what should hinderbut that men should set a higher esteem upon that with which their carnal desiresare taken, than upon that about which they are not concerned, and of which they knownot the worth.

But again, as this by the text is clearly supposed, so to here is also somethingimplied; namely, that it is impossible to possess some men with the worth of theirsouls until they are utterly and everlastingly lost. What shall a man give in exchangefor his soul? That is, men when their souls are lost, and shut down under the hatchesin the pits and hells in endless perdition and destruction, then they will see theworth of their souls, then they will consider what they have lost, and truly nottill then. This is plain, not only to sense, but by the natural scope of the words,What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Or what would not those that arenow for sin, made to see themselves lost, by the light of hell fire for some willnever be convinced that they are lost till, with rich Dives, they see it in the lightof hell flames (Luke 16:22, 23). I say, what would not such, if they had it, givein exchange for their immortal souls, or to recover them again from that place andtorment?[2]

I shall observe two truths in the words.

The first is, That the loss of the soul is the highest, the greatest loss, a lossthat can never be repaired or made up. What shall a man give in exchange for hissoul?that is, to recover or redeem his lost soul to liberty?

The second truth is this, That how unconcerned and careless so ever some now be,about the loss or salvation of their souls, yet the day is coming; but it will thenbe too late, when men will be willing, had they never so much, to give it all inexchange for their souls. For so the question implies what will a man give in exchangefor his soul? What would he not give? What would he not part with at that day, theday in which he will see himself damned, if he had it, in exchange for his soul?

The first observation, or truth, drawn from the words is cleared by the text, Whatshall a man give in exchange for his soul?that is, there is not anything, nor allthe things under heaven, were they all in one mans hand, and all at his disposal,that would go in exchange for the soul, that would be of value to fetch back onelost soul, or that would certainly recover it from the confines of hell. The redemptionof their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever (Psa 49:8). And what saith thewords before the text but the same. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gainthe whole world, and lose his own soul? What shall profit a man that has lost hissoul? Nothing at all, though he hath by that loss gained the whole world; for allthe world is not worth a soul, not worth a soul in the eye of God and judgment ofthe law. And it is from this consideration that good Elihu cautioneth Job to takeheed, Because there is wrath, saith he, beware lest He take thee away with His stroke:then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. Will He esteem thy riches? no, not gold,nor all the forces of strength (Job 36:18,19). Riches and power, what is there morein the world? for money answereth all things that is, all but soul concerns. It canneither be a price for souls while here, nor can that, with all the forces of strength,recover one out of hell fire.


DOCTRINE FIRST.

So then, the first truth drawn from the words stands firm namely,

That the loss of the soul is the highest, the greatest loss; a loss that can neverbe repaired or made up.

In my discourse upon this subject, I shall observe this method:

FIRST, I shall show you what the soul is.

SECOND, I shall show you the greatness of it.

THIRD, I shall show you what it is to lose the soul.

FOURTH, I shall show you the cause for which men lose their souls; and by this timethe greatness of the loss will be manifest.

[WHAT THE SOUL IS.]

FIRST, I shall show you what the soul is, both as to the various names it goes under,as also, by describing of it by it's powers and properties, though in all I shallbe but brief, for I intend no long discourse.[3]

[Names of the Soul .]

1. The soul is often called the heart of man, or that, in and by which things toeither good or evil, have their rise; thus desires are of the heart or soul; yea,before desires, the first conception of good or evil is in the soul, the heart. Theheart understands, wills, affects, reasons, judges, but these are the faculties ofthe soul; wherefore, heart and soul are often taken for one and the same. My son,give me thine heart (Prov 23:26). Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, etc. (Matt15:19; 1 Peter 3:15; Psa 26:2).

2. The soul of man is often called the spirit of a man; because it not only givethbeing, but life to all things and actions in and done by him. Hence soul and spiritare put together, as to the same notion. With my soul have I desired thee in thenight; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early (Isa 26:9). When he saith,Yea, with my spirit - will I seek thee, he explaineth not only with what kind ofdesires he desired God, but with what principal matter his desires were brought forth.It was with my soul, saith he; to wit, with my spirit within me. So that of Mary,My soul, saith she, doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God mySaviour (Luke 1:46,47). Not that soul and spirit are, in this place, to be takenfor two superior powers in man; but the same great soul is here put under two names,or terms, to show that it was the principal part in Mary; to wit, her soul, thatmagnified God, even that part that could spirit and put life into her
whole self to do it. Indeed, sometimes spirit is not taken so largely, but is confinedto some one power or faculty of the soul, as the spirit of my understanding, (Job20:3) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And sometime by spirit we are tounderstand other things; but many times by spirit we must understand the soul, andalso by soul the spirit.

3. Therefore, by soul we understand the spiritual, the best, and most noble partof man, as distinct from the body, even that by which we understand, imagine, reason,and discourse. And, indeed, as I shall further show you presently, the body is buta poor, empty vessel, without this great thing called the soul. The body withoutthe spirit, or soul, is dead (James 2:26). Or nothing but (her soul departed fromher, for she died). It is, therefore, the chief and most noble part of man.

4. The soul is often called the life of man, not a life of the same stamp and natureof the brute; for the life of man that is, of the rational creature is, that, ashe is such, wherein consisteth and abideth the understanding and conscience etc.Wherefore, then, a man dieth, or the body ceaseth to act, or live in the exerciseof the thoughts, which formerly used to be in him, when the soul departeth, as Ihinted even now, her soul departed from her, for she died; and, as another good mansaith, in that very day his thoughts perish, etc. (Psa 146:4). The first text ismore emphatical; Her soul was in departing (for she died). There is the soul of abeast, a bird, etc., but the soul of a man is another thing; it is his understanding,and reason, and conscience, etc. And this soul, when it departs, he dies. Nor isthis life, when gone out of the body, annihilate, as is the life of a beast; no,this, in itself, is immortal, and has yet a place and being when gone out of thebody it dwelt in; yea, as quick, as lively is it in it's senses, if not far moreabundant, than when it was in the body; but I call it the life, because so long asthat remains in the body, the body is not dead. And in this sense it is to be takenwhere he saith He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it unto life eternal;and this is the soul that is intended in the text, and not the breath, as in someother places is meant. And this is evident, because the man has a being, a sensiblebeing, after he has lost the soul. I mean not by the man a man in this world, noryet in the body, or in the grave; but by man we must understand, either the soulin hell, or body and soul there, after the judgment is over. And for this the text,also, is plain, for therein we are presented with a man sensible of the damage thathe has sustained by losing of his soul. What shall a man give in exchange for hissoul? But,

5. The whole man goeth under this denomination; man, consisting of body and soul,is yet called by that part of himself that is most chief and principal. Let everysoul, that is, let every man, be subject unto the higher powers (Rom 13:1). Thensent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him , and all his kindred, three-scoreand fifteen souls (Acts 7:14). By both these, and several other places, the wholeman is meant, and is also so to be taken in the text; for whereas here he saith,What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?It is said elsewhere, For what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world, andlose himself? (Luke 9:25) and so, consequently, or, What shall a man give in exchange(for himself) for his soul? His soul when he dies, and body and soul in and afterjudgment.

6. The soul is called the good mans darling. Deliver, Lord, saith David, my soulfrom the sword; my darling from the power of the dog (Psa 22:20). So, again, in anotherplace, he saith, Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions,my darling from the [power of the] lions (Psa 35:17). My darling, this sentence mustnot be applied universally, but only to those in whose eyes their souls, and theredemption thereof, is precious. My darling, most men do, by their actions, say oftheir soul, my drudge, my slave; nay, thou slave to the devil and sin; for what sin,what lust, what sensual and beastly lust is there in the world that some do not causetheir souls to bow before and yield unto? But David, here, as you see, calls it hisdarling, or his choice and most excellent thing; for, indeed, the soul is a choicething in itself, and should, were all wise, be every mans darling, or chief treasure.And that it might be so with us, therefore, our Lord Jesus hath thus expressed theworth of the soul, saying, What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? But ifthis is true, one may see already what misery he is like to sustain that has, orshall lose his soul; he has lost his heart, his spirit, his best part, his life,his darling, himself, his whole self, and so, in every sense, his all. And now, whatshall a man, what would a man, but what can a man that has lost his soul, himself,and his all, give in exchange for his soul? Yea, what shall the man that has sustainedthis loss do to recover all again, since this man, or the man put under this question,must needs be a man that is gone from hence, a man that is cast in the judgment,and one that is gone down the throat of hell?

But to pass this, and to proceed.

[Powers and Properties of the Soul .]


I come next to describe the soul unto you by such things as it is set out by in theHoly Scriptures, and they are, in general, three. First , The powers of the soul.Second , The senses, the spiritual senses of the soul. Third , The passions of thesoul.

Of the powers of the soul.

First , We will discourse of the powers, I may call them the members of the soul;for, as the members of the body, being many, do all go to the making up of the body,so these do go to the completing of the soul.

1. There is the understanding, which may be termed the head; because in that is placedthe eye of the soul; and this is that which, or by which the soul, discerning thingsthat are presented to it, and that either by God or Satan; this is that by whicha man conceiveth and apprehendeth things so deep and great that cannot, by mouth,or tongue, or pen, be expressed.

2. There is, also, belonging to the soul, the conscience, in which I may say, isplaced the Seat of Judgment; for, as by the understanding things are let into thesoul, so by the conscience the evil or good of such things are tried; especiallywhen in the

3. Third place, there is the judgment, which is another part of this noble creature,has passed, by the light of the understanding, his verdict upon what is let intothe soul.[4]

4. There is, also, the fancy or imagination, another part of this great thing, thesoul: and a most curious thing this fancy is; it is that which presenteth to theman the idea, form, or figure of that, or any of those things, wherewith a man iseither frighted or taken, pleased or displeased. And,

5. The mind, another part of the soul, is that unto which this fancy presenteth it'sthings to be considered of; because without the mind nothing is entertained in thesoul.

6. There is the memory too, another part of the soul; and that may be called theregister of the soul; for it is the memory that receiveth and keepeth in remembrancewhat has passed, or has been done by the man, or attempted to be done unto him; andin this part of the soul, or from it, will be fed the worm that dieth not, when menare cast into hell; also, from this memory will flow that peace at the day of judgmentthat saints shall have in their service for Christ in the world.

7. There are the affections too, which are, as I may call them, the hands and armsof the soul; for they are they that take hold of, receive, and embrace what is likedby the soul, and it is a hard thing to make the soul of a man cast from it what it'saffections cleave to and have embraced. Hence the affections are called for, whenthe apostle bids men seek the things above; set your affections upon them, saithhe (Col 3), or, as you have it in another place, Lay hold of them; for the affectionsare as hands to the soul, and they by which it fasteneth upon things.

8. There is the will, which may be called the foot of the soul, because by that thesoul, yea, the whole man, is carried hither and thither, or else held back and keptfrom moving.[5]

These are the golden things of the soul, though, in carnal men, they are every oneof them made use of in the service of sin and Satan. For the unbelieving are throughoutimpure, as is manifest, because their mind and conscience (two of the masterpiecesof the soul) is defiled (Titus 1:15). For if the most potent parts of the soul areengaged in their service, what, think you, do the more inferior do? But, I say, soit is the more is the pity; nor can any help it. This work ceaseth for ever, unlessthe great God, who is over all, and that can save souls, shall himself take uponhim to sanctify the soul, and to recover it, and persuade it to fall in love withanother master.

But, I say, what is man without this soul, or wherein lieth this preeminence overa beast? (Eccl 3:19-21). Nowhere that I know of; for both, as to mans body, go toone place, only the spirit or soul of a man goes upward to wit, to God that gaveit, to be by Him disposed of with respect to things to come, as they have been, andhave done in this life, But,

Of the senses of the soul.

Second , I come, in the next place, to describe the soul by it's senses, it's spiritualsenses , for so I call them; for as the body hath senses pertaining to it, and asit can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste, so can the soul; I call, therefore, thesethe senses of the soul, in opposition to the senses of the body, and because thesoul is the seat of all spiritual sense, where supernatural things are known andenjoyed; not that the soul of a natural man is spiritual in the apostles sense, forso none are, but those that are born from above (1 Cor 3:1-3) nor they so alwaysneither. But to go forward.

Of sight.

1. Can the body see? hath it eyes? so hath the soul. The eyes of your understandingbeing enlightened (Eph 1:18). As, then, the body can see beasts, trees, men, andall visible things, so the soul can see God, Christ, angels, heaven, devils, hell,and other things that are invisible; nor is this property only peculiar to the soulsthat are illuminate by the Holy Ghost, for the most carnal soul in the world shallhave a time to see these things, but not to it's comfort, but not to it's joy , butto it's endless woe and misery, it dying in that condition. Wherefore, sinner, saynot thou, I shall not see Him; for judgment is before Him, and He will make theesee Him (Job 35:14).

Of hearing.

2. Can the body hear? hath it ears? so hath the soul (Job 4:12,13). It is the soul,not the body, that hears the language of things invisible. It is the soul that hearsGod when He speaks in and by His Word and Spirit; and it is the soul that hears thedevil when he speaks by his illusions and temptations. True, there is such an unionbetween the soul and the body, that oft times, if not always, that which is heardby the ears of the body doth influence the soul, and that which is heard by the souldoth also influence the body; but yet as to the organ of hearing, the body hath oneof it's own, distinct from that of the soul, and the soul can hear and regard eventhen, when the body doth not nor cannot; as in time of sleep, deep sleep and trances,when the body lieth by as a thing that is useless. For God speaketh once, yea twice,yet man , (as to his body) perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night,when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; then he openeth theears of men, and sealeth their instruction, etc. (Job 33:14-16). This must be meantof the ears of the soul, not of the body; for that at this time is said to be indeep sleep; moreover this hearing, it is a hearing of dreams, and the visions ofthe night. Jeremiah also tells us that he had the rare and blessed visions of Godin his sleep (Jer 21:26). And so doth Daniel too, by the which they were greatlycomforted and refreshed; but that could not be, was not the soul also capable ofhearing. I heard the voice of His words, said Daniel, and when I heard the voiceof His words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground(Dan 10:8,9).

Of tasting.

3. As the soul can see and hear, so it can taste and relish, even as really as doththe palate belonging to the body.[6] But then the things so tasted must be that whichis suited to the temper and palate of the soul. The souls taste lieth not in, noris exercised about meats, the meats that are for the belly. Yet the soul of a saintcan taste and relish God's Word (Heb 6:5), and doth oft times find it sweeter thanhoney (Psa 19:10) nourishing as milk (1 Peter 2:2), and strengthening like to strongmeat (Heb 5:12-14). The soul also of sinners, and of those that are unsanctified,can taste and relish, though not the things now mentioned, yet things that agreewith their fleshly minds, and with their polluted, and defiled, and vile affections.They can relish and taste that which delighteth them; yea, they can find soul-delightin an alehouse, a whorehouse, a playhouse. Ay, they find pleasure in the vilest things,in the things most offensive to God, and that are most destructive to themselves.This is evident to sense, and is proved by the daily practice of sinners. Nor isthe Word barren as to this: They feed on ashes (Isa 44:20). They spend their moneyfor that which is not bread (Isa 55:2). Yea, they eat and suck sweetness out of sin.They eat up the sin of My people as they eat bread (Hosea 4:8).

Of smelling.

4. As the soul can see, hear, and taste, so it can smell, and brings refreshmentto itself that way. Hence the church saith, My fingers dropped with sweet-smellingmyrrh; and again, she saith of her beloved, that his lips dropped sweet-smelling-myrrh(Song 5:5,13). But how came the church to understand this, but because her soul didsmell that in it that was to be smelled in it, even in his word and gracious visits?The poor world, indeed, cannot smell, or savour anything of the good and fragrantscent and sweet that is in Christ; but to them that believe, Thy name is as ointmentpoured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee (Song 1:3).

Of feeling.

5. As the soul can see, taste, hear, and smell, so it hath the sense of feeling,as quick and as sensible as the body. He knows nothing that knows not this; he whosesoul is past feeling, has his conscience seared with a hot iron (Eph 4:18, 19; 1Tim 4:2). Nothing so sensible as the soul, nor feeleth so quickly the love and mercy,or the anger and wrath of God. Ask the awakened man, or the man that is under theconvictions of the law, if he doth not feel? and he will quickly tell you that hefaints and dies away by reason of God's hand, and His wrath that lieth upon him.Read the first eight verses of the 38th Psalm; if thou knowest nothing of what Ihave told thee by experience; and there thou shalt hear the complaints of one whosesoul lay at present under the burden of guilt, and that cried out that without helpfrom heaven he could by no means bear the same. They also that know what the peaceof God means, and what an eternal weight there is in glory know well that the soulhas the sense of feeling, as well as the senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, andsmelling. But thus much for the senses of the soul.

Of the passions of the soul.

Third , I come, in the next place, to describe the soul by the passions of the soul.The passions of the soul, I reckon, are these, and such like, to wit, love, hatred,joy, fear, grief, anger, etc. And these passions of the soul are not therefore good,nor therefore evil, because they are the passions of the soul, but are made so bytwo things, to wit, principle and object. The principle I count that from whencethey flow, and the object that upon which they are pitched. To explain myself.

Of love.

1. For that of love. This is a strong passion; the Holy Ghost saith it is strongas death, and cruel as the grave (Song 8:6,7). And it is then good, when it flowsfrom faith, and pitcheth itself upon God in Christ as the object, and when it extendethitself to all that is good, whether it be the good Word, the good work of grace,or the good men that have it, and also to their good lives. But all soul-love flowethnot from this principle, neither hath these for it's object. How many are there thatmake the object of their love the most vile of men, the most base of things, becauseit flows from vile affections, and from the lusts of the flesh? God and Christ, goodlaws and good men, and their holy lives, they cannot abide, because their love wantetha principle that should sanctify it in it's first motion, and that should steer itto a goodly object. But that is the first.

Of hatred.

2. There is hatred, which I count another passion of the soul; and this, as the other,is good or evil, as the principle from whence it flows and the object of it are.Ye that love the Lord, hate evil (Psa 97:10). Then, therefore, is this passion good,when it singleth out from the many thousand of things that are in the world thatone filthy thing called sin ; and when it setteth itself, the soul, and the wholeman, against it, and engageth all the powers of the soul to seek and invent it'sruin.[7] But, alas, where shall this hatred be found? What man is there whose soulis filled with this passion, thus sanctified by the love of God, and that makes sin,which is God's enemy, the only object of it's indignation? How many be there, I say,whose hatred is turned another way, because of the malignity of their minds.

They hate knowledge (Prov 1:22). They hate God (Deu 7:10; Job 21:14). They hate therighteous (2 Chron 29:2; Psa 34:21; Prov 29:10). They hate God's ways (Mal 3:14;Prov 8:12). And all is, because the grace of filial fear is not the root and principlefrom whence their hatred flows. For the fear of the Lord is to hate evil: wherefore,where this grace is wanting for a root in the soul, there it must of necessity swervein the letting out of this passion; because the soul, where grace in wanting, isnot at liberty to act simply, but is biased by the power of sin; that, while graceis absent, is present in the soul. And hence it is that this passion, which, whenacted well, is a virtue, is so abused, and made to exercise it's force against thatfor which God never ordained it, nor gave it license to act.

Of joy.

3. Another passion of the soul is joy; and when the soul rejoiceth virtuously, itrejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth (1 Cor 13:6). This joy is avery strong passion, and will carry a man through a world of difficulties; it isa passion that beareth up, that supporteth and strengtheneth a man, let the objectof his joy be what it will. It is this that maketh the soul fat in goodness, if ithave it's object accordingly; and that which makes the soul bold in wickedness, ifit indeed doth rejoice in iniquity.


Of fear.

4. Another passion of the soul is fear, natural fear; for so you must understandme of all the passions of the soul, as they are considered simply and in their ownnature. And, as it is with the other passions, so it is with this; it is made goodor evil in it's acts, as it's principle and objects are; when this passion of thesoul is good, then it springs from sense of the greatness, and goodness and majestyof God; also God himself is the object of this fear. I will forewarn you, says Christ,whom ye shall fear. Fear him that can destroy both body and soul in hell; yea, Isay unto you, Fear him (Matt 5:28; Luke 7:5). But in all men this passion is notregulated and governed by these principles and objects, but is abused and turned,through the policy of Satan, quite into another channel. It is made to fear men (Num14:9), to fear idols (2 Kings 17:7,38), to fear devils and witches, yea, it is madeto fear all the foolish, ridiculous, and apish fables that every old woman or atheisticalfortune teller has the face to drop before the soul. But fear is another passionof the soul.

Of grief.

5. Another passion of the soul is grief, and it, as those afore-named, acteth evenaccording as it is governed. When holiness is lovely and beautiful to the soul, andwhen the name of Christ is more precious than life, then will the soul sit down andbe afflicted, because men keep not God's law. I beheld the transgressors, and wasgrieved; because they kept not Thy word (Psa 119:158). So Christ; He looked roundabout with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts (Mark 3:5). Butit is rarely seen that this passion of the soul is thus exercised. Almost everybodyhas other things for the spending of the heat of this passion upon. Men are grievedthat they thrive no more in the world; grieved that they have no more carnal, sensual,and worldly honour; grieved that they are suffered no more to range in the lustsand vanities of this life; but all this is because the soul is unaquainted with God,sees no beauty in holiness, but is sensual, and wrapt up in clouds and thick darkness.

Of anger.

6. And lastly, There is anger, which is another passion of the soul; and that, asthe rest, is extended by the soul, according to the nature of the principle by whichit is acted, and from whence it flows. And, in a word, to speak nothing of the fiercenessand power of this passion, it is then cursed when it breaketh out beyond the boundsthat God hath set it, the which to be sure it doth, when it shall by it's fiercenessor irregular motion, run the soul into sin. Be ye angry, and sin not (Eph 4:26),is the limitation wherewith God hath bounded this passion; and whatever is more thanthis, is a giving place to the devil. And one reason, among others, why the Lorddoth so strictly set this bound, and these limits to anger, is, for that it is sofurious a passion, and for that it will so quickly swell up the soul with sin, asthey say a toad swells with it's poison. Yea, it will in a moment so transport thespirit of a man, that he shall quickly forget himself, his God, his friend, and allgood rule. But my business is not now to make a comment upon the passions of thesoul, only to show you that there are such, and also which they are.

And now, from this description of the soul, what follows but to put you in mind whata noble, powerful, lively, sensible thing the soul is, that by the text is supposedmay be lost, through the heedlessness, or carelessness, or slavish fear of him whosesoul it is; and also to stir you up to that care of, and labour after, the salvationof your soul, as becomes the weight of the matter. If the soul were a trivial thing,or if a man, though he lost it, might yet himself be happy, it were another matter;but the loss of the soul is no small loss, nor can that man that has lost his soul,had he all the world, yea, the whole kingdom of heaven, in his own power be but ina most fearful and miserable condition. But of these things more in their place.

[THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUL.]

SECOND, Having thus given you a description of the soul, what it is, I shall, inthe next place, show you the greatness of it.

[Of the greatness of the soul, when compared with the body. ]

First , And the first thing that I shall take occasion to make this manifest by,will be by showing you the disproportion that is betwixt that and the body; and Ishall do it in these following particulars:

The body a house for the soul.

1. The body is called the house of the soul, a house for the soul to dwell in. Noweverybody knows that the house is much inferior to him that, by God's ordinance,is appointed to dwell therein; that it is called the house of the soul, you findin Paul to the Corinthians: For we know, saith he, that if our earthly house of thistabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands,eternal in the heavens (2 Cor 5:1). We have then, a house for our soul in this world,and this house is the body, for the apostle can mean nothing else; therefore he callsit an earthly house. If our earthly house, our house. But who doth he personate ifhe says, This is a house for the soul; for the body is part of him that says, Ourhouse?

In this manner of language, he personates his soul with the souls of the rest thatare saved; and thus to do, is common with the apostles, as will be easily discernedby them that give attendance to reading. Our earthly houses; or, as Job saith, housesof clay, for our bodies are bodies of clay:

Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay (Job 4:19; 13:12).Indeed, he after maketh mention of a house in heaven, but that is not it about whichhe now speaks; now he speaks of this earthly house which we have (we, our souls)to dwell in, while on this side glory, where the other house stands, as ready preparedfor us when we shall flit from this to that; or in case this should sooner or laterbe dissolved. But that is the first; the body is compared to the house, but the soulto him that inhabiteth the house; therefore, as the man is more noble than the househe dwells in, so is the soul more noble than the body. And yet, alas! with griefbe it spoken, how common is it for men to spend all their care, all their time, alltheir strength, all their wit and parts for the body and it's honour and preferment,even as if the soul were some poor, pitiful, sorry,
inconsiderable, and under thing, not worth the thinking of, or not worth the caringfor. But,

The body clothing for the soul.

2. The body is called the clothing and the soul that which is clothed therewith.Now, everybody knows that the body is more than raiment, even carnal sense will teachus this. But read that pregnant place: For we that are in this tabernacle do groan,being burdened (that is, with mortal flesh); not for that we should be unclothed,but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life (2 Cor 5:4). Thusthe greatness of the soul appears in the preference that it hath to the body thebody is it's raiment. We see that, above all creatures, man, because he is the mostnoble among all visible ones, has, for the adorning of his body, that more abundantcomeliness. Tis the body of man, not of beast, that is clothed with the richest ornaments.But now what a thing is the soul, that the body itself must be it's clothing! Nosuit of apparel is by God thought good enough for the soul, but that which is madeby God himself, and that is that curious thing, the body. But oh! how little is thisconsidered, namely, the greatness of the soul. Tis the body, the clothes, the suitof apparel, that our foolish fancies are taken with, not at all considering the richnessand excellency of that great and more noble part, the soul, for which the body ismade a mantle to wrap it up in, a garment to clothe it withal. If a man gets a rentin his clothes, it is little in comparison of a rent in his flesh; yea, he comfortshimself when he looks on that rent, saying, Thanks be to God, it is not a rent inmy flesh. But ah! on the contrary, how many are there in the world that are moretroubled for that they have a rent, a wound, or a disease in the body, than for thatthey have for the souls that will be lost and cast away. A little rent in the bodydejecteth and casteth such down, but they are not at all concerned, though theirsoul is now, and will yet further be, torn in pieces, Now consider this, ye thatforget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver (Psa 50:22).But this is the second thing whereby, or by which, the greatness of the soul appears,to wit, in that the body, that excellent piece of God's workmanship, is but a garment,or clothing for the soul.

The body a vessel for the soul.

3. The body is called a vessel, or a case, for the soul to be put and kept in. Thatevery one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour(1 Thess 4:4). The apostle here doth exhort the people to abstain from fornication,which, in another place, he saith, ...is a sin against the body (1 Cor 6:18). Andhere again he saith, This is the will of God, that ye should abstain from fornication:that the body be not defiled, that every one of you should know how to possess hisvessel in sanctification and honour. His vessel, his earthen vessel, as he callsit in another place for we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Thus, then, thebody is called a vessel; yea, every mans body is his vessel. But what has God preparedthis vessel for, and what has He put into it? Why, many things this body is to bea vessel for, but at present God has put into it that curious thing, the soul. Cabinets,that are very rich and costly things of themselves, are not made nor designed tobe vessels to be stuffed or filled with trumpery, and things of no value; no, theseare prepared for rings and jewels, for pearls, for rubies, and things that are choice.And if so, what shall we then think of the soul for which is prepared, and that ofGod, the most rich and excellent vessel in the world? Surely it must be a thing ofworth, yea, of more worth than is the whole world besides. But alas! who believesthis talk? Do not even the most of men so set their minds upon, and so admire, theglory of this case or vessel, that they forget once with seriousness to think, and,therefore, must of necessity be a great way off, of those suitable esteems that becomesthem to have of their souls. But oh, since this vessel, this cabinet, this body,is so curiously made, and that to receive and contain, what thing is that for whichGod has made this vessel, and what is that soul that He hath put into it? Whereforethus, in the third place, is the greatness of the soul made manifest, even by theexcellency of the vessel, the body, that God has made to put it in.

The body a tabernacle of the soul.

4. The body is called a tabernacle for the soul. Knowing that shortly I must putoff this my tabernacle (2 Pet 1:14), that is, my body, by death (John 21:18,19).For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we havea building of God, etc. (2 Cor 5:1). In both these places, by tabernacle, can bemeant nothing but the body; wherefore both the apostles, in these sentences do personatetheir souls, and speak as if the soul was THE ALL of a man; yea, they plainly tellus, that the body is but the house, clothes, vessel, and tabernacle for the soul.But what a famous thing therefore is the soul!

The tabernacle of old was a place erected for worship, but the worshippers were moreexcellent than the place; so our body is a tabernacle for the soul to worship Godin, but must needs be accounted much inferior to the soul, forasmuch as the worshippersare always of more honour than the place they worship in; as he that dwelleth inthe tabernacle hath more honour than the tabernacle.[8] I serve, says Paul, God andChrist Jesus with my spirit (or soul) in the gospel (Rom 1:9), but not with his spiritout of, but in, this tabernacle. The tabernacle had instruments of worship for theworshippers; so has the body for the soul, and we are bid to yield our members asinstruments of righteousness to God (Rom 6:13). The hands, feet, ears, eyes, andtongue, which last is our glory when used right, are all of them instruments of thistabernacle, and to be made use of by the soul, the inhabiter of this tabernacle,for the souls performance of the service of God. I thus discourse, to show you thegreatness of the soul. And, in mine opinion, there is something, if not very much,in what I say. For all men admire the body, both for it's manner of building, andthe curious way of it's being compacted together. Yes, the further men, wise men,do pry into the wonderful work of God that is put forth in framing the body, themore still they are made to admire; and yet, as I said, this body is but a house,a mantle, a vessel, a tabernacle for the soul. What, then, is the soul itself?[9]But thus much for the first particular.


[Other things that show the greatness of the soul.]


Second, We will now come to other things that show us the greatness of the soul.And,

The soul is called God's breath.

1. It is called God's breath of life. And the Lord God formed man, that is, the body,of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, andman became a living soul (Gen 2:7). Do but compare these two together, the body andthe soul; the body is made of dust, the soul is the breath of God. Now, if God hathmade this body so famous, as indeed He has, and yet it is made but of the dust ofthe ground, and we all do know what inferior matter it is, what is the soul, sincethe body is not only it's house and garment, but since itself is made of the breathof God? But, further, it is not only said that the soul is of the breath of the Lord,but that the Lord breathed into him the breath of life, to wit, a living spirit,for so the next words infer, and man became a living soul. Man, that is, the moreexcellent part of him, which, for that which is principal, is called man, that bearingthe denomination of the whole; or man, the spirit and natural power, by which, asa reasonable creature, the whole of him is acted, became a living soul. But I standnot here upon definition, but upon demonstration. The body, that noble part of man,had it's original from the dust; for so says the Word, Dust thou art (as to thy body),and unto dust shalt thou return (Gen 3:19). But as to thy more noble part, thou artfrom the breath of God, God putting forth in that a mighty work of creating power,and man was made a living soul (1 Cor 15:45). Mark my reason. There is as great adisparity betwixt the body and the soul, as is between the dust of the ground andthat, here called, the breath of life of the Lord. And note further, that, as thedust of the ground did not lose, but gained glory by being formed into the body ofa man, so this breath of the Lord lost nothing neither by being made a living soul.O man! dost thou know what thou art?

The soul God's image.

2. As the soul is said to be of the breath of God, so it is said to be made afterGod's own image, even after the similitude of God. And God said, Let Us make manin Our image, after Our likeness.So God created man in His own image, in the imageof God created He him (Gen 1:26,27). Mark, in His own image, in the image of Godcreated He him; or, as James hath it, it is made after the similitude of God, (James3:9); like Him, having in it that which beareth semblance with Him. I do not readof anything in heaven, or earth, or under the earth, that is said to be made afterthis manner, or that is at all so termed, save only the Son of God Himself. The angelsare noble creatures, and for present employ are made a little higher than man himself,(Heb 2); but that any of them are said to be made after God's image, after His ownimage, even after the similitude of God, that I find not. This character the HolyGhost, in the Scriptures of truth, giveth only of man, of the soul of man; for itmust not be thought that the body is here intended in whole or in part. For thoughit be said that Christ was made after the similitude of sinful flesh (Phil 2), yetit is not said that sinful flesh is made after the similitude of God; but I willnot dispute; I only bring these things to show how great a thing, how noble a thingthe soul is; in that, at it's creation, God thought it worthy to be made, not likethe earth, or the heavens, or the angels, seraphims, or archangels, but like Himself,His own self, saying, Let Us make man in Our own likeness. So He made man in Hisown image. This, I say, is a character above all angels; for, as the apostle said,To which of the angels said He at anytime, Thou art my Son? So, of which of themhath He at any time said, This is, or shall be, made in or after Mine image, Mineown image? O what a thing is the soul of man, that above all the creatures in heavenor earth, being made in the image and similitude of God.[10]

The soul God's desire.

3. Another thing by which the greatness of the soul is made manifest is this, itis that, and that only, and to say this is more than to say, it is that above allthe creatures that the great God desires communion with. He hath set apart him thatis godly for himself, (Psa 4:3); that is, for communion with his soul; thereforethe spouse saith concerning him, His desire is toward me, (Song 7:10); and, therefore,he saith again, I will dwell in them, and walk in them (2 Cor 6:16). To dwell in,and walk in, are terms that intimate communion and fellowship; as John saith, Ourfellowship, truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ(1 John 1:3). That is, our soul-fellowship; for it must not be understood of thebody, though I believe that the body is much influenced when the soul has communionwith God; but it is the soul, and that only, that at present is capable of havingand maintaining of this blessed communion. But, I say, what a thing is this, thatGod, the great God, should choose to have fellowship and communion with the soulabove all. We read, indeed, of the greatness of the angels, and how near also theyare unto God; but yet there are not such terms that bespeak such familiar acts betweenGod and angels, as to demonstrate that they have such communion with God as has,or as the souls of His people may have. Where has He called them His love, His dove,His fair one? and where, when He speaketh of them, doth He express a communion thatthey have with Him by the similitude of conjugal love? I speak of what is revealed;the secret things belong to the Lord our God. Now by all this is manifest the greatnessof the soul. Men of greatness and honour, if they have respect to their own glory,will not choose for their familiars the base and rascally crew of this world; butwill single out for their fellows, fellowship, and communion, those that are mostlike themselves. True, the King has not an equal, yet He is for being familiar onlywith the nobles of the land: so God, with Him none can compare; yet since the soulis by Him singled out for His walking mate and companion, it is a sign it is thehighest born, and that upon which the blessed Majesty looks, as upon that which ismost meet to be singled out for communion with Himself.

Should we see a man familiar with the King, we would, even of ourselves, concludehe is one of the nobles of the land ; but this is not the lot of every soul somehave fellowship with devils, yet not because they have a more base original thanthose that lie in God's bosom, but they, through sin, are degenerate, and have chosento be great with His enemy, but all these things show the greatness of the soul.

The soul a vessel for grace.

4. The soul of men are such as God counts worthy to be the vessels to hold His grace,the graces of the Spirit, in. The graces of the Spirit- what like them, or wherehere are they to be found, save in the souls of men only? Of His fulness have allwe received, and grace for grace (John 1:16). Received, into what? into the hiddenpart , as David calls it (Psa 51:6). Hence the kings daughter is said to be all gloriouswithin, (Psa 45:15); because adorned and beautified with the graces of the Spirit.For that which David calls the hidden part is the inmost part of the soul; and itis, therefore, called the hidden part, because the soul is invisible, nor can anyone living infallibly know what is in the soul but God Himself. But, I say, the soulis the vessel into which this golden oil is poured, and that which holds, and isaccounted worthy to exercise and improve the same. Therefore the soul is it whichis said to love God Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? (Song 3:3); and, therefore, thesoul is that which exerciseth the spirit of prayer. With my soul have I desired theein the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early (Isa 26:9). Withthe soul also men are said to believe and into the soul God is said to put His fear.This is the vessel into which the virgins got oil, and out of which their lamps weresupplied by the same. But what a thing, what a great thing therefore is the soul,that that above all things that God hath created should be the chosen vessel to putHis grace in. The body is the vessel for the soul, and the soul is the vessel forthe grace of God. But,

5. The greatness of the soul is manifest by the greatness of the price that Christpaid for it, to make it an heir of glory; and that was His precious blood (1 Cor6:20; 1 Peter 1:18,19). We do use to esteem of things according to the price thatis given for them, especially when we are convinced that the purchase has not beenmade by the estimation of a fool. Now the soul is purchased by a price that the Son,the wisdom of God, thought fit to pay for the redemption thereof what a thing, then,is the soul? Judge of the soul by the price that is paid for it, and you must needsconfess, unless you count the blood that hath bought it an unholy thing, that itcannot but be of great worth and value. Suppose a prince, or some great man, should,on a sudden, descend from his throne, or chair of state, to take up, that he mightput in his bosom, something that he had espied lying trampled under the feet of thosethat stand by; would you think that he would do this for an old horse shoe,[11] orfor so trivial a thing as a pin or a point? [12] Nay, would you not even of yourselvesconclude that that thing for which the prince, so great a man, should make such astoop, must needs be a thing of very great worth? Why, this is the case of Christand the soul. Christ is the prince, His throne was in heaven, and, as He sat there,He espied the souls of sinners trampled under the foot of the law and death for sin.Now, what doth He, but comes down from His throne, stoops down to the earth, andthere, since He could not have the trodden-down souls without price, He lays downHis life and blood for them (2 Cor 8:9). But would He have done this for inconsiderablethings? No, nor for the souls of sinners neither, had He not valued them higher thanhe valued heaven and earth besides. [13] This, therefore, is another thing by whichthe greatness of the soul is known.

The soul immortal.

6. The soul is immortal, it will have a sensible being for ever, none can kill thesoul (Luke 12:4; Matt 10:28). If all the angels in heaven, and all the men on earth,should lay all their strength together, they cannot kill or annihilate one soul.No, I will speak without fear, if it may be said, God cannot do what He will notdo; then He cannot annihilate the soul: but, notwithstanding all His wrath, and thevengeance that He will inflict on sinful souls, they yet shall abide with sensiblebeings, yet to endure, yet to bear punishment. If anything could kill the soul, itwould be death; but death cannot do it, neither first nor second; the first cannot,for when Dives was slain, as to his body by death, his soul was found alive in hell.He lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment (Luke 16:23). The second death cannotdo it, because it is said their worm never dies, but is always torturing them withhis gnawing (Mark 9:44). But that could not be, if time, or lying in hell fire forever, could annihilate the soul. Now, this also shows the greatness of the soul,that it is that which has an endless life, and that will, therefore, have a beingendlessly. O what a thing is the soul!

The soul, then, is immortal, though not eternal. That is eternal that has neitherbeginning nor end, and, therefore, eternal is properly applicable to none but God;hence He is called the eternal God (Deu 33:27). Immortal is that which, though ithath a beginning, yet hath no end, it cannot die, nor cease to be; and this is thestate of the soul. It cannot cease to have a being when it is once created; I mean,a living, sensible being. For I mean by living, only such a being as distinguishesit from annihilation or incapableness of sense and feeling. Hence, as the rich manis after death said to lift up his eyes in hell, so the beggar is said, when he died,to be carried by the angels, into Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22,23). And both thesesayings must have respect to the souls of these men; for, as for their bodies, weknow at present it is otherwise with them. The grave is their house, and so mustbe till the trumpet shall sound, and the heavens pass away like a scroll. Now, Isay, the immortality of the soul shows the greatness of it, as the eternity of Godshows the greatness of God. It cannot be said of any angel but that he is immortal,and so it is, and ought to be said of the soul. This, therefore, shows the greatnessof the soul, in that it is as to abiding so like unto him.

Tis the soul that acts the body.

7. But a word or two more, and so to conclude this head. The soul!why, it is thesoul that acteth the body in all these things, good or bad, that seem good and reasonable,or amazingly wicked. True, the acts and motions of the soul are only seen and heardin, and by the members and motions of the body, but the body is but a poor instrument,soul is the great agitator and actor. The body without the spirit is dead (James2:26). All those famous arts, and works, and inventions of works, that are done bymen under heaven, they are all the intentions of the soul, and the body, as actingand labouring therein, doth it but as a tool that the soul maketh use of to bringhis invention into maturity (Eccl 7:29). How many things have men found out to theamazing of one another, to the wonderment of one another, to the begetting of endlesscommendations of one another in the world, while, in the meantime, the soul, whichindeed is the true inventor of all, is overlooked, not regarded, but dragged up anddown by every lust, and prostrate, and made a slave to every silly and beastly thing.O the amazing darkness that hath covered the face of the hearts of the children ofmen, that they cannot deliver their soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my righthand? (Isa 44:20), though they are so cunning in all other matters. Take man in mattersthat are abroad, and far from home, and he is the mirror of all the world; but takehim at home, and put him upon things that are near him, I mean, that have respectto the things that concern his soul, and then you will find him the greatest foolthat ever God made. But this must not be applied to the soul simply as it is God'screature, but to the soul sinful, as it has willingly apostatized from God, and sosuffered itself to be darkened, and that with such thick and stupifying darkness,that it is bound up and cannot, it hath a napkin of sin bound so close before it'seyes that it is not able of itself to look to, and after those things which shouldbe it's chiefest concern, and without which it will be most miserable for ever.

The soul capable of having to do with invisibles.

8. Further, as the soul is thus curious about arts and sciences, and about everyexcellent thing of this life, so it is capable of having to do with invisibles, withangels, good or bad, yea, with the highest and Supreme Being, even with the holyGod of heaven. I told you before that God sought the soul of man to have it for Hiscompanion; and now I tell you that the soul is capable of communion with Him, whenthe darkness that sin hath spread over it's face is removed. The soul is an intelligentpower, it can be made to know and understand depths, and heights, and lengths, andbreadths, in those high, sublime, and spiritual mysteries that only God can revealand teach; yea, it is capable of diving unutterably into them. And herein is God,the God of glory, much delighted and pleased, to wit, that He hath made Himself acreature that is capable of hearing, of knowing, and of understanding of His mind,when opened and revealed to it. I think I may say, without offence to God or man,that one reason why God made the world was, that He might manifest Himself, not onlyby, but to the works which He made; but, I speak with reverence, how could that be,if He did not also make some of His creatures capable of apprehending of Him in thosemost high mysteries and methods in which He purposed to reveal Himself? But then,what are those creatures which He hath made (unto whom when these things are shown)that are able to take them in and understand them, and so to improve them to God'sglory, as He hath ordained and purposed they should, but souls? for none else inthe visible world are capable of doing this but they. And hence it is that to them,and them only, He beginneth to reveal Himself in this world. And hence it is thatthey, and they only, are gathered up to Him where He is, for they are they that arecalled the spirits of just men made perfect, (Heb 12:23); the spirit of a beast goethdownward to the earth, it is the spirit of a man that goes upwards to God that gaveit (Eccl 3:21;12:7). For that, and that only, is capable of beholding and understandingthe glorious visions of heaven; as Christ said, Father, I will that they also, whomthou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which thouhast given Me; for thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world (John 17:24).And thus the greatness of the soul is manifest. True, the body is also gathered upinto glory, but not simply for it's own sake, or because that is capable of itselfto know and understand the glories of it's Maker; but that has been a companion withthe soul in this world, has also been it's house, it's mantle, it's cabinet and tabernaclehere; it has also been it by which the soul hath acted, in which it hath wrought,and by which it's excellent appearances have been manifested; and it shall also therebe it's co-partner and sharer in it's glory. Wherefore, as the body here did partakeof soul excellencies, and was also conformed to it's spiritual and regenerate principles;so it shall be hereafter a partaker of that glory with which the soul shall be filled,and also be made suitable by that glory to become a partaker and co-partner withit of the eternal excellencies which heaven will put upon it. In this world it isa gracious soul (I speak now of the regenerate), and in that world it shall be aglorious one. In this world the body was conformable to the soul as it was gracious,and in that world it shall be conformable to it as it is glorious; conformable, Isay, by partaking of that glory that then the soul shall partake of; yea, it shallalso have an additional glory to adorn, and make it yet the more capable of beingserviceable to it, and with it in it's great acts before God in eternal glory. Oh,what great things are the souls of the sons of men!

The soul capable of diving into the depths and mysteries of hell.

9. But again, as the soul is thus capable of enjoying God in glory, and of pryinginto these mysteries that are in him, so it is capable, with great profundity, todive into the mysterious depths of hell. Hell is a place and state utterly unknownto any in this visible world, excepting the souls of men; nor shall any for everbe capable of understanding the miseries thereof, save souls and fallen angels. Now,I think, as the joys of heaven stand not only in speculation, or in beholding ofglory, but in a sensible enjoyment and unspeakable pleasure which those glories willyield to the soul (Psa 16:11), so the torments of hell will not stand in the presentlashes and strokes which by the flames of eternal fire God will scourge the ungodlywith; but the torments of hell stand much, if not in the greatest part of them, inthose deep thoughts and apprehensions, which souls in the next world will have ofthe nature and occasions of sin; of God, and of separation from Him; of the eternityof those miseries, and of the utter impossibility of their help, ease, or deliverancefor ever. O! damned souls will have thoughts that will clash with glory, clash withjustice, clash with law, clash with itself, clash with hell, and with the everlastingnessof misery; but the point, the edge, and the poison of all these thoughts will stillbe galling, and dropping, and spewing out their stings into the sore, grieved, wounded,and fretted place, which is the conscience, though not the conscience only; for Imay say of the souls in hell, that they all over are but one wound, one sore! Miseriesas well as mercies sharpen and make quick the apprehensions of the soul. Behold Spirain his book, [14] Cain in his guilt, and Saul with the witch of Endor, and you shallsee men ripened, men enlarged and greatened in their fancies, imaginations, and apprehensionsthough not about God, and heaven, and glory, yet about their loss, their misery,and their woe, and their hells (Isa 33:14; Psa 1:4; Rev 14:10; Mark 9:44,46).

The ability of the soul to bear.

10. Nor doth their ability to bear, if it be proper to say they bear those dolorswhich there for ever they shall endure, a little demonstrate their greatness. Everlastingburning, devouring fire, perpetual pains, gnawing worms, utter darkness, and theireful souls, face, and strokes of Divine and infinite justice will not, cannot,make this soul extinct, as I said before. I think it is not so proper to say thesoul that is damned for sin doth bear these things, as to say it doth ever sink underthem: and, therefore, their place of torment is called the bottomless pit, becausethey are ever sinking, and shall never come there where they will find any stay.Yet they live under wrath, but yet only so as to be sensible of it, as to smart andbe in perpetual anguish, by reason of the intolerableness of their burden. But dothnot their thus living, abiding, and retaining a being(or what you will call it),demonstrate the greatness and might of the soul? Alas! heaven and earth are shortof this greatness, for these, though under less judgment by far, do fade and waxold like a moth-eaten garment, and, in their time, will vanish away to nothing (Heb1).

Also, we see how quickly the body, when the soul is under a fear of the rebukes ofjustice, how soon, I say, it wastes, moulders away, and crumbleth into the grave;but the soul is yet strong, and abides sensible to be dealt withal for sin by everlastingburnings.

The might of the soul further shown.

11. The soul, by God's ordinance, while this world lasts, has a time appointed itto forsake and leave the body to be turned again to the dust as it was, and thisseparation is made by death, (Heb 9:27); therefore the body must cease for a timeto have sense, or life, or motion; and a little thing brings it now into this state;but in the next world, the wicked shall partake of none of this; for the body andthe soul being at the resurrection rejoined, this death, that once did rend themasunder, is for ever overcome and extinct; so that these two which lived in sin mustfor ever be yoked together in hell. Now, there the soul being joined to the body,and death, which before did separate them, being utterly taken away, the soul retainsnot only it's own being, but also continueth the body to be, and to suffer sensiblythe pains of hell, without those decays that it used to sustain.

And the reason why this death shall then be taken away is, because justice in it'sbestowing it's rewards for transgressions may not be interrupted, but that body andsoul, as they lived and acted in sin together, might be destroyed for sin in helltogether (Matt 10:28 Luke 12:5). Destroyed, I say, but with such a destruction, which,though it is everlasting, will not put a period to their sensible suffering the vengeanceof eternal fire (2 Thess 1:8,9).

This death, therefore, though that also be the wages of sin, would now, were it sufferedto continue, be a hinderance to the making known of the wrath of God, and also ofthe created power and might of the soul. (1.) It would hinder the making known ofthe wrath of God, for it would take the body out of the way, and make it incapableof sensible suffering for sin, and so removing one of the objects of vengeance thepower of God's wrath would be so far undiscovered. (2.) It would also hinder themanifestation of the power and might of the soul, which is discovered much by it'sabiding to retain it's own being while the wrath of God is grappling with it, andmore by it's continuing to the body a sensible being with itself.

Death, therefore, must now be removed, that the soul may be made the object of wrathwithout molestation or interruption. That the soul, did I say? yea, that soul andbody both might be so. Death would now be a favour, though once the fruit of sin,and also the wages thereof, might it now be suffered to continue, because it wouldease the soul of some of it's burden: for a tormented body cannot but be a burdento a spirit, and so the wise man insinuates when he says, The spirit of a man willsustain his infirmity; that is, bear up under it, but yet so as that it feels ita burden. We see that, because of the sympathy that is between body and soul, howone is burdened if the other be grieved. A sick body is a burden to the soul, anda wounded spirit is a burden to the body; a wounded spirit who can bear? (Prov 18:14).But death must not remove this burden, but the soul must have the body for a burden,and the body must have the soul for a burden, and both must have the wrath of Godfor a burden. Oh, therefore, here will be burden upon burden, and all upon the soul,for the soul will be the chief seat of this burden! But thus much to show you thegreatness of the soul.

[OF THE LOSS OF THE SOUL.]

THIRD, I shall now come to the third thing which was propounded to be spoken to;and that is, to show you what we are to understand by losing of the soul, or whatthe loss of the soul is What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

[He that loseth his soul loseth himself .]

First , The loss of the soul is a loss, in the nature of it, peculiar to itself.There is no such loss, as to the nature of loss, as is the loss of the soul; forthat he that hath lost his soul has lost himself. In all other losses, it is possiblefor a man to save himself, but he that loseth his soul, loseth himself. For whatis a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself? (Luke 9:25). Wherefore,the loss of the soul is a loss that cannot be paralleled. He that loseth himself,loseth his all, his lasting all; for himself is his all, his all in the most comprehensivesense. What mattereth it what a man gets, if by the getting thereof he loseth himself?Suppose a man goeth to the Indies for gold, and he loadeth his ship therewith; butat his return, that sea that carried him thither swallows him up now, what has hegot? But this is but a lean similitude with reference to the matter in hand, to wit,to set forth the loss of the soul. Suppose a man that has been at the Indies forgold should, at his return, himself be taken by them of Algiers, and there made aslave of, and there be hunger-bit, and beaten till his bones are broken, [15] whathas he got? what is he advantaged by his rich adventure? Perhaps, you will say, hehas got gold enough to obtain his ransom. Indeed this may be; and therefore no similitudecan be found that can fully amplify the matter, for what shall a man give in exchangefor his soul? Tis a loss that standeth by itself, there is not another like it, orunto which it may be compared. Tis only like itself, tis singular, tis the chiefof all losses the highest, the greatest loss. For what shall a man give in exchangefor his soul? A man may lose his wife, his children, his estate, his liberty, andhis life, and have all made up again, and have all restored with advantage, and may,therefore, notwithstanding all these losses, be far enough off from losing of himself.(Luke 14:26; Mark 8:35). For he may lose his life, and save it; yea, sometimes theonly way to save that, is to lose it; but when a man has lost himself, his soul,then all is gone to all intents and purposes. There is no word says, he that loseshis soul shall save it; but contrariwise, the text supposeth that a man has losthis soul, and then demands if any can answer it. What shall a man give in exchangefor his soul? All, then, that he gains that loseth his soul is only this, he hasgained a loss, he has purchased the loss of losses, he has nothing left him now buthis loss, but the loss of himself, of his whole self. He that loseth his life forChrist, shall save it; but he that loseth himself for sin, and for the world, shalllose himself to perfection of loss; he has lost himself, and there is the full point.

There are several things fall under this first head, upon which I would touch a little.

He that has lost himself will never be more at his own dispose.

(1.) He that has lost his soul has lost himself. Now, he that lost himself is nomore at his own dispose. While a man enjoys himself, he is at his own dispose. Asingle man, a free man, a rich man, a poor man, any man that enjoys himself, is athis own dispose. I speak after the manner of men. But he that has lost himself isnot at his own dispose. He is, as I may say, now out of his own hands: he has losthimself, his soul-self , his own self, his whole self, by sin, and wrath and hellhath found him; he is, therefore, now no more at his own dispose, but at the disposeof justice, of wrath, and hell; he is committed to prison, to hell prison, thereto abide, not at pleasure, not as long and as little time as he will, but the termappointed by his judge: nor may he there choose his own affliction, neither for manner,measure, or continuance. It is God that will spread the fire and brimstone underhim, it is God that will pile up wrath upon him, and it is God himself that willblow the fire. And the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindleit (Isa 30:33). And thus it is manifest that he that has lost himself, his soul,is no more at his own dispose, but at the dispose of them that find him.

He that hath lost himself, is not at liberty to dispose of what he hath.

(2.) Again, as he that has lost himself is not at his own dispose, so neither ishe at liberty to dispose of what he has; for the man that has lost himself has somethingyet of his own. The text implies that his soul is his when lost, yea, when that andhis all, himself is lost; but as he cannot dispose of himself, so he cannot disposeof what he hath. Let me take leave to make out my meaning. If he that is lost, thathas lost himself, has not, notwithstanding, something that in some sense may be calledhis own, then he that is lost is nothing. The man that is in hell has yet the powers,the senses, and passions of his soul; for not he nor his soul must be thought tobe stripped of these; for then he would be lower than the brute; but yet all these,since he is there, are by God improved against himself; or, if you will, the pointof this mans sword is turned against his own heart, and made to pierce his own liver.

The soul by being in hell loseth nothing of it's aptness to think, it's quicknessto pierce, to pry, and to understand; nay, hell has ripened it in all these things;but, I say, the soul with it's improvements as to these, or anything else, is notin the hand of him that hath lost himself to manage for his own advantage, but inthe hand, and in the power, and to be disposed as is thought meet by him into whoserevenging hand by sin he has delivered himself, to wit, in the hand of God. So, then,God now has the victory, and disposeth of all the powers, senses, and passions ofthe soul for the chastising of him that has lost himself. Now the understanding isonly employed and improved in and about the apprehending of such things as will belike daggers at the heart, to wit, about justice, sin, hell, and eternity, to grieveand break the spirit of the damned; yea, to break, to wound, and to tear the soulin pieces. The depths of sin which the man has loved, the good nature of God whomthe man has hated, the blessings of eternity which the soul has despised, shall nowbe understood by him more than ever, but yet so only, as to increase grief and sorrow,by improving of the good and of the evil of the things understood, to the greaterwounding of the spirit; wherefore now, every touch that the understanding shall giveto the memory will be as a touch of a red-hot iron, or like a draught of scaldinglead poured down the throat. The memory also letteth those things down upon the consciencewith no less terror and perplexity. And now the fancy or imagination doth start andstare like a man by fears bereft of wits, and doth exercise itself, or rather isexercised by the hand of revenging justice, so about the breadth and depth of presentand future punishments, as to lay the soul as on a burning rack. Now also the judgment,as with a mighty maul, driveth down the soul in the sense and pangs of everlastingmisery into that pit that has no bottom; yea, it turneth again, and, as with a hammer,it riveteth every fearful thought and apprehension of the soul so fast that it cannever be loosed again for ever and ever. Alas! now the conscience can sleep, be dull,be misled, or batter, no longer; no, it must now cry out; understanding will makeit, memory will make it, fancy or imagination will make it. Now, I say, it will cryout of sin, of justice, and of the terribleness of the punishment that hath swallowedhim up that has lost himself. Here will be no forgetfulness; yet nothing shall bethought on but that which will wound and kill; here will be no time, cause, or meansfor diversion; all will stick and gnaw like a viper. Now the memory will go out towhere sin was heretofore committed, it will also go out to the word that did forbidit. The understanding also, and the judgment too, will now consider of the pretendednecessity that the man had to break the commandments of God, and of the seasonablenessof the cautions and of the convictions which were given him to forbear, by all whichmore load will be laid upon him that has lost himself; for here all the powers, senses,and passions of the soul must be made self-burners, self-tormentors, self-executioners,by the just judgment of God; also all that the will shall do in this place shallbe but to wish for ease, but the wish shall only be such as shall only seem to liftup, for the cable rope of despair shall with violence pull him down again. The willindeed will wish for ease, and so will the mind, etc., but all these wishers willby wishing arrive to no more advantage but to make despair which is the most twingingstripe of hell, to cut yet deeper into the whole soul of him that has lost himself;wherefore, after all that can be wished for, they return again to their burning chair,where they sit and bewail their misery. Thus will all the powers, senses, and passionsof the soul of him that has lost himself be out of his own power to dispose for hisadvantage, and will be only in the hand and under the management of the revengingjustice of God. And herein will that state of the damned be worse than it is nowwith the fallen angels; for though the fallen angels are now cast down to hell, inchains, and sure in themselves at last to partake of eternal judgment, yet at presentthey are not so bound up as the damned sinner shall be; for notwithstanding theirchains, and their being the prisoners of the horrible hells, yet they have a kindof liberty granted them, and that liberty will last till the time appointed, to tempt,to plot, to contrive, and invent their mischiefs, against the Son of God and His(Job 1:7; 2:2). And though Satan knows that this at last will work for his futurecondemnation, yet at present he finds it some diversion to his trembling mind, andobtains, through his so busily employing of himself against the gospel and it's professors,something to sport and refresh himself withal ; yea, and doth procure to himselfsome small crumbs of minutes of forgetfulness of his own present misery and of thejudgment that is yet to pass upon him; but this privilege will then be denied tohim that has lost himself; there will be no cause nor matter for diversion; thereit will; as in the old world, rain day and night fire and brimstone from the Lordout of heaven upon them (Rev 14:10,11). Misery is fixed; the worm will be alwayssucking at and gnawing of, their soul; also, as I have said afore, all the powers,senses, and passions of the soul will throw their darts inwards, yea, of God willbe made to do it, to the utter, unspeakable, and endless torment of him that haslost himself. Again,

They cannot sit down by the loss.

(3.) All therefore that he that has lost himself can do is, to sit down by the loss.Do I say, he can do this?oh! if that could be, it would be to such, a mercy; I musttherefore here correct myself. That they cannot do; for to sit down by the loss impliesa patient enduring; but there will be no such grace as patience in hell with himthat has lost himself; here, will also want a bottom for patience, to wit, the providenceof God; for a providence of God, though never so dismal, is a bottom for patienceto the afflicted; but men go not to hell by providence, but by sin. Now sin beingthe cause, other effects are wrought; for they that go to hell, and that there miserablyperish, shall never say it was God by His providence that brought them hither, andso shall not have that on which to lean and stay themselves.

They shall justify God, and lay the fault upon themselves concluding that it wassin with which their souls did voluntarily work, yea, which their souls did suckin as sweet milk that is the cause of this their torment. Now this will work afteranother manner, and will produce quite another thing than patience, or a patientenduring of their torment; for their seeing that they are not only lost, but havelost themselves, and that against the ordinary means that of God was provided toprevent that loss; yea, when they shall see what a base thing sin is, how that itis the very worst of things, and that which also makes all things bad, and that forthe sake of that they have lost themselves, this will make them fret, and, gnash,and gnaw with anger themselves; this will set all the passions of the soul, savelove, for that I think will be stark dead, all in a rage, all in a self-tormentingfire. You know there is nothing that will sooner put a man into and manage his rageagainst himself than will a full conviction in his conscience that by his own onlyfolly, and that against caution, and counsel, and reason to the contrary, he hathbrought himself into extreme distress and misery. But how much more will it makethis fire burn when he shall see all this is come upon him for a toy, for a bauble,for a thing that is worse than nothing!

Why, this is the case with him that has lost himself; and therefore he cannot sitdown by the loss, cannot be at quiet under the sense of his loss. For sharply andwonderful piercingly, considering the loss of himself, and the cause thereof, whichis sin, he falls to a tearing of himself in pieces with thoughts as hot as the coalsof juniper, and to a gnashing upon himself for this; also the Divine wisdom and justiceof God helpeth on this self-tormentor in his self-tormenting work, by holding thejustice of the law against which he has offended, and the unreasonableness of suchoffence, continually before his face. For if, to an enlightened man who is in thedoor of hope, the sight of all past evil practices will work in him vexation of spirit,to see what fools we were, (Eccl 1:14); how can it but be to them that go to hella vexation only to understand the report, the report that God did give them of sin,of His grace, of hell, and of everlasting damnation, and yet that they should besuch fools to go thither? (Isa 28:19). But to pursue this head no further, I willcome now to the next thing.

[The loss of the soul a double loss .]

Secondly , As the loss of the soul is, in the nature of the loss, a loss peculiarto itself, so the loss of the soul is a double loss; it is, I say, a loss that isdouble, lost both by man and God; man has lost it, and by that loss has lost himself;God has lost it, and by that loss it is cast away. And to make this a little plainerunto you, I suppose it will be readily granted that men do lose their souls. Butnow how doth God lose it? The soul is God's as well as man's; man's because it isof themselves; God's because it is His creature; God has made us this soul, and henceit is that all souls are His (Jer 38:16; Eze 18:4).

Now the loss of the soul doth not only stand in the sin of man, but in the justiceof God. Hence He says, What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, andlose himself, or be cast away (Luke 9:25). Now this last clause, or be cast away,is not spoken to show what he that has lost his soul has done, though a man may alsobe said to cast away himself; but to show what God will do to those that have lostthemselves, what God will add to that loss. God will not cast away a righteous man,but God will cast away the wicked, such a wicked one as by the text is under ourconsideration (Job 8:20; Matt 13:50). This, then, is that which God will add, andso make the sad state of them that lose themselves double. The man for sin has losthimself, and God by justice will cast him away; according to that of Abigail to David,The soul of my lord, said she, shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lordthy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out, as out of the middleof a sling (1 Sam 25:29). So that here is God's hand as well as mans; mans by sin,and God's by justice. God shall cast them away; wherefore in the text above mentionedhe doth not say, or cast away himself, as meaning the act of the man whose soul islost; but, or be cast away (Luke 9:25). Supposing a second person joining with theman himself in the making up of the greatness of the loss of the soul, to wit, Godhimself, who will verily cast away that man who has lost himself. God shall castthem away, that is, exclude them His favour or protection, and deliver them up tothe due reward of their deed! He shall shut them out of His heaven, and deliver themup to their hell; He shall deny them a share in his glory, and shall leave them totheir own shame; He shall deny them a portion in His peace, and shall deliver themup to the torments of the devil, and of their own guilty consciences; He shall castthem out of His affection, pity, and compassion, and shall leave them to the flamesthat they by sin have kindled, and to the worm, or biting cockatrice, that they themselveshave hatched, nursed, and nourished in their bosoms. And this will make their lossdouble, and so a loss that is loss to the uttermost, a loss above every loss. A manmay cast away himself and not be cast away of God; a man may be cast away by others,and not be cast away of God; yea, what way so ever a man be cast away, if he be notcast away for sin, he is safe, he is yet found, and in a sure hand. But for a manso to lose himself as by that loss to provoke God to cast him away too, this is fearful.

The casting away, then, mentioned in Luke, is a casting away by the hand of God,by the revenging hand of God; and it supposeth two things. 1. God's abhorrence ofsuch a soul. 2. God's just repaying of it for it's wickedness by way of retaliation.

1. It supposeth God's abhorrence of the soul. That which we abhor, that we cast fromus, and put out of our favour and respect with disdain, and a loathing thereof. Sowhen God teacheth Israel to loathe and abhor their idols, He bids them to cast awaytheir very covering as a stinking and menstruous cloth, and to say unto it, Get youhence (Isa 30:22), He shall gather the good into vessels, and cast the bad away (Matt13:48; 25:41). Cast them out of My presence. Well, but whither must they go? Theanswer is, Into hell, into utter darkness, into the fire that is prepared for thedevil and his angels. Wherefore, to be cast away, to be cast away of God, it showethunto us God's abhorrence of such souls, and how vile and loathsome such are in Hisdivine eyes. And the similitude of Abigail's sling, mentioned before, doth yet furthershow us the greatness of this abhorrence The souls of thine enemies, said she, Godshall sling out as out of the middle of a sling. When a man casts a stone away witha sling, then he casteth it furthest from him, for with a sling he can cast a stonefurther than by his hand. And he, saith the text, shall cast them away as with asling. But that is not all, neither: for it is not only said that He shall slingaway their souls, but that He shall sling them away as out of the middle of a sling.When a stone is placed, to be cast away, in the middle of a sling, then doth theslinger cast it furthest of all. Now God is the slinger, abhorrence is His sling,the lost soul is the stone, and it is placed in the very middle of the sling, andis from thence cast away. And, therefore, it is said again, that such shall go intoutter, outer darkness that is, furthest off of all. This therefore shows us how Godabhors that man that for sin has lost himself. And well he may; for such an one hasnot only polluted and defiled himself with sin; and that is the most offensive thingto God under heaven; but he has abused the handiwork of God. The soul, as I saidbefore, is the workmanship of God, yea, the top-piece that He hath made in all thevisible world; also He made it for to be delighted with it, and to admit it intocommunion with Himself. Now for man thus to abuse God; for a man to take his soul,which is God's, and prostrate it to sin, to the world, to the devil, and every beastlylust, flat against the command of God, and notwithstanding the soul was also His;this is horrible, and calls aloud upon that God whose soul this is to abhor, andto show, by all means possible, His abhorrence of such an one.

2. As this casting of them away supposeth God's abhorrence of them, so it supposethGod's just repaying of them for their wickedness by way of retaliation.

God all the time of the exercise of His long-suffering and forbearance towards them,did call upon them, wait upon them, send after them by His messengers, to turn themfrom their evil ways; but they despised at, they mocked, the messengers of the Lord.Also they shut their eyes, and would not see; they stopped their ears, and wouldnot understand; and did harden themselves against the beseeching of their God. Yea,all that day long He did stretch out His hand towards them, but they chose to bea rebellious and gainsaying people; yea, they said unto God, Depart from us; andwhat is the Almighty that we should pray unto him? (Hosea 6:2; Rev 16:21; Job 21:14,15;Mal 3:14).

And of all these things God takes notice, writes them down, and seals them up forthe time to come, and will bring them out and spread them before them, saying, Ihave called, and you have refused; I have stretched out Mine hand, and no man regarded;I have exercised patience, and gentleness, and long-suffering towards you, and inall that time you despised Me, and cast Me behind your back; and now the time, andthe exercise of My patience, when I waited upon you, and suffered your manners, anddid bear your contempts and scorns, is at an end; wherefore I will now arise, andcome forth to the judgment that I have appointed.

But, Lord, saith the sinner, we turn now.

But now; saith God, turning is out of season; the day of My patience is ended.

But, Lord, says the sinner, behold our cries.

But you did not, says God, behold nor regard My cries.

But, Lord, saith the sinner, let our beseeching find place in Thy compassions.

But, saith God, I also beseeched, and I was not heard.

But Lord, says the sinner, our sins lie hard upon us.

But I offered you pardon when time was, says God, and then you did utterly rejectit.

But, Lord, says the sinner, let us therefore have it now.

But now the door is shut, saith God.

And what then? Why, then, by way of retaliation, God will serve them as they haveserved Him; and so the wind-up of the whole will be this, they shall have like forlike. Time was when they would have none of Him, and now will God have none of them.Time was when they cast God behind their back, and now He will cast away their soul.Time was when they would not heed His calls, and now He will not heed their cries.Time was when they abhorred Him, and now His soul also abhorreth them (Zech 11:8).This is now by way of retaliation, like for like, scorn for scorn, repulse for repulse,contempt for contempt; according to that which is written, Therefore it is come topass, that as He cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear,saith the Lord (Zech 7:13). And thus I have also showed you that the loss of thesoul is doublelost by man, lost by God.

But oh! who thinks of this? who, I say, that now makes light of God, of His Word,His servants, and ways, once dreams of such retaliation, though God to warn themhath even, in the day of His patience, threatened to do it in the day of His wrath,saying, Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, andno man regarded; but ye have set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof:I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when yourfear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distressand anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer;they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me (Prov 1:24-28). I will do untothem as they have done unto Me; and what unrighteousness is in all this? But,

[The loss of the soul most fearful .]

Thirdly , As the loss of the soul is a loss peculiar to itself, and a loss double,so, in the third place, it is a loss most fearful, because it is a loss attendedwith the most heavy curse of God. This is manifest both in the giving of the ruleof life, and also in, and at the time of execution for, the breach of that rule.It is manifest at the giving of the rule Cursed be he that confirmeth not all thewords of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen (Deu 27:26; Gal3:10). It is also manifest that it shall be so at the time of execution Depart fromMe, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt25:41). What this curse is, none do know so well as God that giveth it, and as thefallen angels, and the spirits of damned men that are now shut up in the prison ofhell, and bear it. But certainly it is the chief and highest of all kind of curses.To be cursed in the basket and in the store, in the womb and in the barn, in my cattleand in my body, are but flea-bitings to this, though they are also insupportablein themselves; only in general it may be described thus. But to touch upon this curse,it lieth in deprivation of all good, and in a being swallowed up of all the mostfearful miseries that a holy, and just, and eternal God can righteously inflict,or lay upon the soul of a sinful man. Now let Reason here come in and exercise itselfin the most exquisite manner; yea, let him now count up all, and all manner of cursesand torments that a reasonable and an immortal soul is, or can be made capable of,and able to suffer under, and when he has done, he shall come infinitely short ofthis great anathema, this master curse which God has reserved amongst His treasuries,and intends to bring out in that day of battle and war, which He purposeth to makeupon damned souls in that day.[16] And this God will do, partly as a retaliation,as the former, and partly by way of revenge. 1. By way of retaliation: As he lovedcursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be farfrom him. Again, As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, solet it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones; let it be untohim as a garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually(Psa 109:17-19). Let this, saith Christ, [17] be the reward of mine adversaries fromthe Lord (vs. 20 etc). 2. As this curse comes by way of retaliation, so it comethby way of revenge. God will right the wrongs that sinners have done Him, will repayvengeance for the despite and reproach wherewith they have affronted Him, and willrevenge the quarrel of His covenant. And the beginning of revenges are terrible,(Deu 31:41,42); what, then, will the whole execution be, when He shall come in flamingfire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel ofJesus Christ? And, therefore, this curse is executed in wrath, in jealousy, in anger,in fury; yea, the heavens and the earth shall be burned up with the fire of thatjealousy in which the great God will come, when He cometh to curse the souls of sinners,and when He cometh to defy the ungodly, (2 Thess 1: 7-9).

It is little thought of, but the manner of the coming of God to judge the world declareswhat the souls of impenitent sinners must look for then. It is common among men,when we see the form of a mans countenance changed, when we see fire sparkle outof his eyes, when we read rage and fury in every cast of his face, even before hesays aught, or doth aught either, to conclude that some fearful thing is now to bedone (Dan 3:19,23). Why, it is said of Christ when He cometh to judgment, that theheavens and the earth fly away, as not being able to endure His looks, (Rev 20:11,12);that His angels are clad in flaming fire, and that the elements melt with ferventheat; and all this is, that the perdition of ungodly men might be completed, fromthe presence of the Lord, in the heat of His anger, from the glory of His power (2Pet 3:7; 2 Thess 1:8,9). Therefore, God will now be revenged, and so ease Himselfof His enemies, when He shall cause curses like millstones to fall as thick as hailon the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses (Psa 68:2l).But,

[The loss of the soul a loss everlasting .]

Fourthly , As the loss of the soul is a loss peculiar to itself, a loss double, anda loss most fearful, so it is a loss everlasting. The soul that is lost is neverto be found again, never to be recovered again, never to be redeemed again, it'sbanishment from God is everlasting; the fire in which it burns, and by which it mustbe tormented, is a fire that is ever, everlasting fire, everlasting burnings; theadder, the snake, the stinging worm, dieth not, nor is the fire quenched; and thisis a fearful thing. A man may endure to touch the fire with a short touch, and away;but to dwell with everlasting burnings, that is fearful. Oh, then, what is dwellingwith them, and in them, for ever and ever! We use to say, light burdens far carriedare heavy; what, then, will it be to bear that burden, that guilt, that the law andthe justice and wrath of God will lay upon the lost soul for ever? Now tell the stars,now tell the drops of the sea, and now tell the blades of grass that are spread uponthe face of all the earth, if thou canst: and yet sooner mayest thou do this thancount the thousands of millions of thousands of years that a damned soul shall liein hell. Suppose every star that is now in the firmament was to burn, by himself,one by one, a thousand years apiece, would it not be a long while before the lastof them was burned out? and yet sooner might that be done than the damned soul beat the end of punishment.

There are three things couched under this last head that will fill up the punishmentof a sinner. 1. The first is, that it is everlasting. 2. The second is, that, therefore,it will be impossible for the souls in hell ever to say, Now we are got half waythrough our sorrows. 3. The third is, and yet every moment they shall endure eternalpunishment.

1. The first I have touched upon already, and, therefore, shall not enlarge; onlyI would ask the wanton or unthinking sinner, whether twenty, or thirty, or fortyyears of the deceitful pleasures of sin is so rich a prize, as that a man may wellventure the ruin, that everlasting burnings will make upon his soul for the obtainingof them, and living a few moments in them. Sinner, consider this before I go anyfurther, or before thou readest one line more. If thou hast a soul, it concerns thee;if there be a hell, it concerns thee; and if
there be a God that can and will punish the soul for sin everlastingly in hell, itconcerns thee; because,

2. In the second place, it will be impossible for the damned soul ever to say, Iam now got half way through my sorrows. That which has no end, has no middle. Sinner,make a round circle, or ring, upon the ground, of what bigness thou wilt; this done,go thy way upon that circle, or ring, until thou comest to the end thereof; but that,sayest thou, I can never do; because it has no end. I answer, but thou mayest assoon do that as wade half way through the lake of fire that is prepared for impenitentsouls. Sinner, what wilt thou take to make a mountain of sand that will reach ashigh as the sun is at noon? I know that thou wilt not be engaged in such a work;because it is impossible thou shouldst ever perform it. But I dare say the task isgreater when the sinner has let out himself to sin for a servant; because the wagesis everlasting burnings. I know thou mayest perform thy service; but the wages, thejudgment, the punishment is so endless, that thou, when thou hast been in it moremillions of years than can be numbered, art not, nor never yet shalt be, able tosay, I am half way through it. And yet,

3. That soul shall partake every moment of that punishment that is eternal. Evenas Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselvesover to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example,suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7).

(1.) They shall endure eternal punishment in the nature of punishment. There is nopunishment here wherewith one man can chastise another that can deserve a greatertitle than that of transient, or temporary punishment; but the punishment there iseternal, even in every stripe that is given, and in every moment that it grapplethwith the soul; even every twinge, every gripe, and every stroke that justice inflicteth,leaveth anguish that, of their condition according as will best stand with in thenature of punishment, is eternal behind it. It is eternal, because it is from God,and lasts for ever and ever. The justice that inflicts it has not a beginning, andit is this justice in the operations of it that is always dealing with the soul.

(2.) All the workings of the soul under this punishment are such as cause it, init's sufferings, to endure that which is eternal. It can have no thought of the endof punishment, but it is presently recalled by the decreed gulf that bindeth themunder perpetual punishment. The great fixed gulf, they know, will keep them in theirpresent place, and not suffer them to go to heaven (Luke 16:26). And now there isno other place but heaven or hell to be in; for then the earth, and the works thatare therein, will be burned up. Read the text, But the day of the Lord will comeas a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and all the works thatare therein, shall be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). If, then, there will be no thirdplace, it standeth in their minds, as well as in God's decree, that their punishmentsshall be eternal; so, then, sorrows, anguish, tribulation, grief, woe, and pain,will, in every moment of it's abiding upon the soul, not only flow from thoughtsof what has been, and what is, but also from what will be, and that for ever andever. Thus every thought that is truly grounded in the cause and nature of theirstate will roll, toss, and tumble them up and down in the cogitations and fearfulapprehensions of the lastingness of their damnation. For, I say, their minds, theirmemories, their understandings, and consciences, will all, and always, be swallowedup with for ever; yea, they themselves will, by the means of these things, be theirown tormentors for ever.

(3.) There will not be spaces, as days, months, years, and the like, as now; thoughwe make bold so to speak, the better to present our thoughts to each others capacities;for then there shall be time no longer; also, day and night shall then be come toan end. He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come toan end (Job 26:10). Until the end of light with darkness. Now when time, and day,and night, are come to an end, then there comes in eternity, as there was beforethe day, and night, or time, was created; and when this is come, punishment nor glorymust none of them be measured by days, or months, or years, but by eternity itself.Nor shall those concerned either in misery or glory reckon of their now new state,as they need to reckon of things in this world; but they shall be suited in theircapacities, in their understandings and apprehensions, to judge and count of theircondition according as will best stand with their state in eternity.[18]

Could we but come to an understanding of things done in heaven and hell, as we understandhow things are done in this world, we should be strangely amazed to see how the changeof places and of conditions has made a change in the understandings of men, and inthe manner of their enjoyment of things. But this we must let alone till the nextworld, and until our launching into it; and then, whether we be of the right or lefthand ones, we shall well know the state and condition of both kingdoms. In the meantime,let us addict ourselves to the belief of the Scriptures of truth, for therein isrevealed the way to that of eternal life, and how to escape the damnation of thesoul (Matt 25:33). But thus much for the loss of the soul, unto which let me add,for a conclusion, these verses following:

These cry alas! But all in vain;
They stick fast in the mire;
They would be rid of present pain,
Yet set themselves on fire.

Darkness is their perplexity ,
Yet do they hate the light;
They always see their misery,
Yet are themselves, all night.

They are all dead, yet live they do,
Yet neither live nor die;
They die to weal, [19] and live to woe
This is their misery.

Now will confusion so possess,
These monuments of ire,
And so confound them with distress,
And trouble their desire,
That what to think, or what to do,
Or where to lay their head,
They know not: tis the damneds' woe,
To live, and yet be dead.

These castaways would fain have life,
But know they never shall;
They would forget their dreadful plight.
But that sticks fastst of all.

God, Christ, and heav'n, they know are best,
Yet dare not on them think;
They know the saints enjoy their rest,
While they their tears do drink.


[OF THE CAUSE OF THE LOSS OF THE SOUL.]

FOURTH, And now I am come to the fourth thing, that is, to show you the cause ofthe loss of the soul. That men have souls, that souls are great things, that soulsmay be lost, this I have showed you already; wherefore I now proceed to show youthe cause of this loss. The cause is laid down in the 18th chapter of Ezekiel, inthese words Behold, all souls, says God, are Mine; as the soul of the father, soalso the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die (5:4).

[Sin the cause of the loss of his soul .]

First, It is sin, then, or sinning against God, that is the cause of dying, or damningin hell fire, for that must be meant by dying; otherwise, to die, according to ourordinary acceptation of the notion, the soul is not capable of, it being indeed immortal,as hath been afore asserted. So, then, the soul that sinneth, that is, and perseveringin the same that soul shall die, be cast away, or damned; yea, to ascertain us ofthe undoubted truth of this, the Holy Ghost doth repeat it again, and that in thisvery chapter, saying, The soul that sinneth, it shall die (5:20). Now, the soul maydivers ways be said to sin against God; as,

1. In it's receiving of sin into it's bosom, and in it's retaining and entertainingof it there. Sin must first be received before it can act in, or be acted by, thesoul. Our first parents first received it in the suggestion or motion, and then actedit. Now it is not here to be disputed when sin was received by the soul, so muchas whether ever the soul received sin; for if the soul has indeed received sin intoitself, then it has sinned, and by doing so, has made itself an object of the wrathof God, and a fire brand of hell. I say, I will not here dispute when sin was receivedby the soul, but it is apparent enough that it received it betimes, because in oldtime every child that was brought unto the Lord was to be redeemed, and that at amonth old, (Exo 13:13; 34:20; Num 18:15, 16); which, to be sure, was very early,and implied that then, even then, the soul in God's judgment stood before Him asdefiled and polluted with sin. But although I said I will not dispute at what timethe soul may be said to receive sin, yet it is evident that it was precedent to theredemption made mention of just before, and so before the person redeemed had attainedthe age of a month. And that God might, in the language of Moses, give us to seecause of the necessity of this redemption, he first distinguisheth, and saith, Thefirstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, didnot need this redemption, for they were clean, or holy. But the firstborn of men,who was taken in lieu of the rest of the children, and the firstling of unclean beasts,thou shalt surely redeem, saith He. But why was the firstborn of men coupled withunclean beasts, but because they are both unclean? The beast was unclean by God'sordination, but the other was unclean by sin. Now, then, it will be demanded, howa soul, before it was a month old, could receive sin to the making of itself unclean?I answer, There are two ways of receiving, one active, the other passive; this lastis the way by which the soul at first receiveth sin, and by so receiving, becomethculpable, because polluted and defiled by it. And this passive way of receiving isoften mentioned in Scripture. Thus the pans received the ashes, (Exo 27:3); thusthe molten sea received three thousand baths, (2 Chron 4:5); thus the ground receiveththe seed, (Matt 13:20-23);
and this receiving is like that of the wool which receiveth the dye, either black,white, or red; and as the fire that receiveth the water till it be all quenched therewith:or as the water receiveth such stinking and poisonous matter into it, as for thesake of it, it is poured out and spilt upon the ground. But whence should the soulthus receive sin? I answer, from the body, while it is in the mothers belly; thebody comes from polluted man, and therefore is polluted (Psa 51: 5). Who can bringa clean thing out of an unclean? (Job 14:4). The soul comes from God's hand, andtherefore as so is pure and clean: but being put into this body, it is tainted, polluted,and defiled with the taint, stench, and filth of sin; nor can this stench and filthbe by man purged out, when once from the body got into the soul; sooner may the blackamoor change his skin, or the leopard his spots, than the soul, were it willing,might purge itself of this pollution. Though thou wash thee with nitre, and takethee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God (Jer 2:22).

2. But as I said, the soul has not only received sin, but retains it, holds it, andshows no kind of resistance. It is enough that the soul is polluted and defiled,for that is sufficient to provoke God to cast it away; for which of you would takea cloth annoyed with stinking, ulcerous sores, to wipe your mouth withal, or to thrustit into your bosoms? and the soul is polluted with far worse pollution than any suchcan be. But this is not all; it retains sin as the wool retains the dye, or as theinfected water receives the stench or poisonous scent; I say, it retains it willingly;for all the power of the soul is not only captivated by a seizure of sin upon thesoul, but it willingly, heartily, unanimously, universally falleth in with the naturalfilth and pollution that is in sin, to the estranging of itself from God, and anobtaining of an intimacy and compliance with the devil.

Now this being the state and condition of the soul from the belly,[20] yea, frombefore it sees the light of this world, what can be concluded but that God is offendedwith it? For how can it otherwise be, since there is holiness and justice in God?Hence those that are born of a woman, whose original is by carnal conception withman, are said to be as serpents so soon as born. The wicked (and all at first areso) go astray as soon as they be born, speakings lies. Their poison is like the poisonof a serpent: they are like the deaf adder, that stoppeth her ear (Psa 58:3,4). Theygo astray from the belly; but that they would not do, if aught of the powers of theirsoul were unpolluted. But their poison is like the poison of a serpent. Their poison,what is that? Their pollution, their original pollution, that is as the poison ofa serpent, to wit, not only deadly, for so poison is, but also hereditary. It comesfrom the old one, from the sire and dam; yea, it is also now become connatural toand with them, and is of the same date with the child as born into the world. Theserpent has not her poison, in the original of it, either from imitation or fromother infective things abroad, though it may by such things be helped forward andincreased; but she brings it with her in her bowels, in her nature, and it is toher as suitable to her present condition as it is that which is most sweet and wholesometo other of the creatures. So, then, every soul comes into the world as poisonedwith sin; nay, as such which have poison connatural to them; for it has not onlyreceived sin as the wool has received the dye, but it retaineth it. The infectionis got so deep, it has taken the black so effectually, that the tint, the very fireof hell, can never purge the soul therefrom.

And that the soul has received this infection thus early, and that it retains itso surely, is not only signified by children coming into the world besmeared in theirmothers blood, and by the firstborns being redeemed at a month old, but also by thefirst inclinations and actions of children when they are so come into the world (Exo26). Who sees not that lying, pride, disobedience to parents, and hypocrisy, do putforth themselves in children before they know that they do either well or ill inso doing, or before they are capable to learn either of these arts by imitation,or seeing understandingly the same things done first by others? He that sees notthat they do it naturally from a principle, from an inherent principle, is eitherblinded, and has retained his darkness by the same sin as they, or has suffered himselfto be swayed by a delusion from him who at first infused this spawn of sin into mansnature.

Nor doth the averseness of children to morality a little demonstrate what has beensaid; for as it would make a serpent sick, should one give it a strong antidote againsthis poison, so then are children, and never more than then, disturbed in their minds,when a strict hand and a stiff rein by moral discipline is maintained over and uponthem. True, sometimes restraining grace corrects them, but that is not of themselves;but more oft hypocrisy is the great and first moving wheel to all their seeming complianceswith admonitions, which indulgent parents are apt to overlook, yea, and sometimes,through unadvisedness, to count for the principles of grace. I speak now of thatwhich comes before conversion. But as I said before, I
would not now dispute, only I have thought good thus to urge these things to makemy assertion manifest, and to show what is the cause of the damnation of the soul.

3. Again; as the soul receives sin, and retains it, so it also doth entertain it,that is, countenance, smile upon, and like it's complexion and nature well. A manmay detain, that is, hold fast a thing which yet he doth not regard; but when heentertains, then he countenances, likes, and delights in the company. Sin, then,is first received by the soul, as has been afore explained, and by that receptionis polluted and defiled. This makes it hateful in the eyes of justice: it is nowpolluted. Then, secondly, this sin is not only received, but retained, that is, itsticks so fast, abides so fixedly in the soul, that it cannot be gotten out; thisis the cause of the continuation of abhorrence; for if God abhors because there isa being of sin there, it must needs be that he should continue to abhor, since sincontinues to have a being there. But then, in the third place, sin is not only received,detained, but entertained by the now defiled and polluted soul; wherefore this mustneeds be a cause of the continuance of anger, and that with aggravation. When I say,entertained, I do not mean as men entertain their enemies, with small and great shot,[21] but as they entertain those whom they like, and those that are got into theiraffections. [22] And therefore the wrath of God must certainly be let out upon thesoul, to the everlasting damnation of it.

Now that the soul doth thus entertain sin, is manifest by these several particulars

(1.) It hath admitted it with complacence and delight into every chamber of the soul;I mean, it has been delightfully admitted to an entertainment by all the powers orfaculties of the soul. The soul hath chosen it rather than God: it also, at God'scommand, refuseth to let it go; yea, it chooseth that doctrine, and loveth it best,since it must have a doctrine, that has most of sin and baseness in it (Isa 65:12;66:3). They say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto usright things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits (Isa 30:10). These aresigns that the soul with liking hath entertained sin; and if there be at any time,as indeed there is, a warrant issued out from the mouth of God to apprehend, to condemn,and mortify sin, why then,


(2.) These shifts the souls of sinners do presently make for the saving of sin fromthose things that by the Word men are commanded to do unto it

(a) They will, if possible, hide it, and not suffer it to be discovered. He thathideth his sins[23] shall not prosper (Prov 28:13). And again, they hide it, andrefuse to let it go (Job 20:12,13). This is an evident sign that the soul has a favourfor sin, and that with liking it, entertains it.

(b) As it will hide it, so it will excuse it, and plead that this and that pieceof wickedness is no such evil thing; men need not be so nice, and make such a pother[24]about it, calling those that cry out so hotly against it, men more nice than wise.Hence the prophets of old used to be called madmen, and the world would reply againsttheir doctrine, Wherein have we been so wearisome to God, and what have we spokenso much against Him? (Mal 1:6,7; 3:8,13).

c) As the soul will do this, so to save sin, it will cover it with names of virtue,either moral or civil; and of this God greatly complains, yea, breaks into angerfor this, saying, Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darknessfor light, and light for darkness; and put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter(Isa 5:20)!

(d) If convictions and discovery of sin be so strong and so plain, that the soulcannot deny but that it is sin, and that God is offended therewith; then it willgive flattering promises to God that it will indeed put it away; but yet it willprefix a time that shall be long first, if it also then at all performs it, saying,Yet a little sleep, yet a little slumber, yet a little folding of sin in mine arms,till I am older, till I am richer, till I have had more of the sweetness and thedelights of sin. Thus, their soul delighteth in their abominations (Isa 66:3).

(e) If God yet pursues, and will see whether this promise of putting sin out of doorsshall be fulfilled by the soul, why then, it will be partial in God's law; it willput away some, and keep some; put away the grossest, and keep the fine