Grace Gems

[nChrist]

I bequeath my pastor's soul to the devil

(Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

"Covetousness, which is idolatry." Colossians 3:5

Covetousness is explicit idolatry.

Covetousness is the darling sin of our nation.

This leprosy has infected all sorts and ranks of men.

Covetousness being idolatry, and the root of all evil,
is highly provoking to God.

Whatever a man loves most and best--that is his god.
The covetous man looks upon the riches of the world
as his heaven--his happiness--his great all.
  His heart is most upon the world,
  his thoughts are most upon the world,
  his affections are most upon the world,
  his discourse is most about the world.

He who has his mind taken up with the world, and
chiefly delighted with the world's music--he has also
his tongue tuned to the same key, and takes his joy
and comfort in speaking of nothing else but the world
and worldly things. If the world is in the heart--it will
break out at the lips. A worldly-minded man speaks
of nothing but worldly things. "They are of the world,
therefore they speak of the world," John 4:5. The love
of this world oils the tongue for worldly discourses,
and makes men . . .
  forget God,
  neglect Christ,
  despise holiness,
  forfeit heaven.

Ah! the time, the thoughts, the strength, the efforts,
which are spent upon the world, and the things of the
world; while sinners' souls lie a-bleeding, and eternity
is hastening upon them!

I have read of a greedy banker, who was always best
when he was most in talking of money and the world.
Being near his death, he was much pressed to make
his will. Finally he dictates:

First, I bequeath my own soul to the devil
--for being so greedy for the muck of this world!

Secondly, I bequeath my wife's soul to the devil
--for persuading me to this worldly course of life.

Thirdly, I bequeath my pastor's soul to the devil
--because he did not show me the danger I lived in,
nor reprove me for it.

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and
 a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
 plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6:9

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[nChrist]

The presence of a loving God!

(Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

"You were precious in My sight, and
 I have loved you." Isaiah 43:4

God loves His people with a first love! 1 John 4:19
"We love Him because He first loved us." By nature
we were without God, and afar off from God; we were
strangers to God, and enemies to God, yes, haters
of God! Therefore if God had not loved us first—
we would have been everlastingly undone!

God loves His people with a free love! Hosea 14:4,
"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely."
I know they are backslidden—but I will heal their
backslidings. I know there is nothing at all in them,
which is excellent or eminent, which is honorable or
acceptable, which is laudable or lovely—yet "I will
love them freely"—of My own, free, rich, absolute,
and sovereign grace!

God loves His people with an everlasting love!
Jer. 31:3, "I have loved you with an everlasting
love; therefore, with loving-kindness have I drawn
you." That is, "I love you with the love of perpetuity,
or with the love of eternity. My love and My affections
to you shall continue forever!"

God loves His people with an unchangeable love!
Mal. 3:6, "I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore
you sons of Jacob are not consumed." Men change,
and counsels change, and occurrences change, and
friends change, and relations change, and kingdoms
change; but God never changes! "He who is the Glory
of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not
a man, that He should change His mind," 1 Sam. 15:29.
God is immutable in His nature, in His essence, in His
counsels, in His attributes, in His decrees, in His
promises, etc. He is Omnina immutabilis, "Altogether
immutable!"

God loves His people . . .
  with a special love,
  with a peculiar love,
  with a distinguishing love,
  with a superlative love!

God loves His people with the greatest love, with
a matchless love! John 3:16, "God so loved."
This signifies . . .
  the greatness of God's love,
  the vehemence of His love, and
  the admirableness of His love.

What an unspeakable comfort must this be to God's
people—to have the presence of a loving God, to have
the presence of such a loving God with them in all their
troubles and deep distresses! If the presence of a loving
friend, a loving relation in our troubles and distresses,
is such a mercy—oh, what then is the presence of a
loving God!

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[nChrist]

I cried

(Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

The child has got many a kiss, and many a hug
—by crying.

"In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my
 God for help. From His temple He heard my voice;
 my cry came before Him, into His ears." Psalm 18:6

Prayer is the only means to supply all defects;
prayer gets all, and makes up for the loss of all.

It is not the length—but the strength of prayer;
it is not the labor of the lip—but the travail of the
heart—which prevails with God. It is not . . .
the arithmetic of our prayers—how many they are; nor
the rhetoric of our prayers—how eloquent they are; nor
the geometry of our prayers—how long they are; nor
the music of our prayers—how sweet they are; nor
the logic of our prayers—how methodical they are
—which will prevail with God. It is only fervency in
prayer, which will make a man prevalent with God.
Fervent prayer hits the mark, and pierces the walls
of heaven!

"In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and He
 answered by setting me free." Psalm 118:5

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[nChrist]

The great master-scar of the soul

(Brooks, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints")

"I hate pride and arrogance!" Proverbs 8:13

Take heed of pride and haughtiness of spirit. Pride
is the great master-scar of the soul; it will bud
and blossom--it cannot be hidden. Pride is the
leprosy of the soul, which breaks forth in the
very forehead! Pride is . . .
  the sum of all vileness,
  a sea of sin,
  a mother sin, a breeding sin--
  a sin which has all sorts of sin in its womb!
In pride, all vices are wrapped up together in a bundle!

"The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of
 this: They will not go unpunished!" Proverbs 16:5

God will have nothing to do with proud people.

He won't come near such loathsome lepers!

Therefore as ever you would enjoy God's presence,
  arm yourself against pride,
  watch against pride, and
  pray hard against pride!

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[nChrist]

Who sees us? Who will know?

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

Atheism reigns in the hearts and lives of sinners.

The covetous make their gold their god.

The drunkard and glutton make their bellies their god.

The ambitious make honors their god.

The voluptuous make pleasures their god.

The religionists make pious duties their god.

The moral make virtue their god.

"The fool says in his heart--There is no God!"
    Psalm 14:1

Atheism denies God either:
  in opinion--saying there is no God; or
  in affection--wishing there were no God; or
  in practice--living as if there were no God.

What abundance of atheists there are in the land!

"He says to himself--God has forgotten; He covers
 His face and never sees." Psalm 10:11

"They say--How can God know? Does the Most
 High have knowledge?" Psalm 73:11

"They say--The Lord does not see; the God
 of Jacob pays no heed." Psalm 94:7

What horrid blasphemy, what gross atheism is here!
How do these atheists ungod the great God! How do
they deny His omnipotence and omniscience! What
an idol-god do they make the great God to be!

There are many who sin freely in secret, who can
be drunk and filthy in the dark, when the eye of man
is not upon them. Certainly those men's hearts are
very atheistic, who dare do that in the sight of God
--which they tremble to do before the eyes of men!
How many are there who flatter themselves in their
sins, and conclude that surely the bitterness of hell
and wrath is past, and that they are in a fair way for
heaven--when every step they take is towards the
bottomless pit, and divine vengeance hangs over
their heads, ready every moment to fall upon them!

"On earth are atheists many,
 In hell there are not any."

"Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their
 plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness
 and think--Who sees us? Who will know?"
    Isaiah 29:15

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[nChrist]

Unfreeze the frozen graces

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

God loves to see the graces of His children in continual
exercise. All the glory which God has from us in this life,
is from the actings of our graces. Sleepy graces bring
God no glory--nor do us any good. There is little difference
--as to the comfort and sweet of grace--between sleepy
grace, and no grace at all.

The strongest creature, the lion; and the subtlest creature,
the serpent--if they are asleep, are as easily surprised and
destroyed as the weakest worm!

Just so, the strongest saints, if grace is not in exercise,
are as easily surprised and captivated by sin, Satan,
and the world--as the weakest saints are! O sirs! God,
by some severe providence or other, by some fiery
dispensation or other--will stir up your sleepy graces!

There are several cases wherein the graces in a Christian's
heart may seem to be hidden, cold, dead and covered over;
as sparks of fire are hidden in the ashes; or as bits of gold
are hidden in a dust heap, or as pearls may be hidden in
the mire. The sparks of divine grace, by the prevalency of
some strong corruption, or by the violence of some dreadful
temptation--may burn low, as to their lively operations. But
God by one severe providence or another, by one fiery trial
or another--will blow that heavenly grace, that divine fire,
into a flame--and cause their hidden graces to revive!

By severe providences and fiery trials, God designs
the reviving, quickening, and recovering of our
decayed graces. By fiery trials, He will . . .
  inflame that love which was ice-cold,
  raise that faith which had fallen asleep,
  quicken up those hopes which were languishing,
  put life and spirit into those spiritual joys and
comforts which were withering and dying!

God by fiery trials, will unfreeze the frozen graces
of His people, and put new life and spirit into them!

God may have burnt up your outward comforts,
so that He might lead you forth to live in a daily
exercise of grace . . .
  upon Himself,
  upon His power,
  upon His all-sufficiency,
  upon His goodness,
  upon His faithfulness,
  upon His fullness,
  upon His graciousness,
  upon His unchangeableness,
  upon His promises.

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[nChrist]

The bent of the needle

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

"No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one
 who continues to sin has either seen Him or known
 Him." 1 John 3:6

A trade, a course of sin--is inconsistent with a state
of grace. The best saints have sadly miscarried as to
particular actions; but he who shall judge of a man's
spiritual state by particular acts, though notorious bad,
will certainly condemn, where God acquits. We must
always distinguish between some single evil actions,
and a serious course of evil actions. It is not this or
that particular evil action--but a continued course of
evil actions--which denominates a man wicked. Just
so, it is not this or that particular holy act--but a
continued course of holy actions--which denominates
a man holy.

Every man is--as his course is. If his course is holy--the
man is holy. If his course is wicked--the man is wicked.

No man ought to conclude, because of some particular
good actions--that his spiritual state is good.

No man ought to conclude, because of some particular
sinful actions--that his spiritual state is bad.

A course of sinning is not consistent with a course of
godliness. Though the needle of the seaman's compass
may jog this way and that way--yet the bent of the
needle will still be northward. Just so, though a Christian
may have his particular sinful joggings this way or that
way--yet the bent of his heart will still be . . .
  God-wards,
  Christ-wards,
  heaven-wards,
  holiness-wards.

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[nChrist]

Worshipers of the golden calf!

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

There is a great deal of worldliness, and earthly-mindedness,
and covetousness among the professing Christians of our day.
They are worshipers of the golden calf! O sirs! the world is
all shadow and vanity. The world is like Jonah's gourd--a man
may sit under its shadow for a time, but it soon decays and dies.

The main reason why many professors dote upon the world,
is because they are not acquainted with a greater glory. If
the heart of man is not filled with God--it will be filled with
the world, the flesh and the devil.

The world may well be resembled to the fruit which undid us
all--which was fair to the sight, smooth in handling, sweet in
taste--but deadly in effect and operation!

O sirs! if you can gather grapes off thorns, and figs off
thistles, then go on, and dote upon the world still. All the
things of this world are vain things—they are vanity of
vanities, Eccles. 1:2. All in heaven count them vain, and
all in hell count them vain; pearls are but as pebbles
in their eyes. Lazarus in heaven is now rich enough,
and happy enough; and Dives in hell is now poor enough,
and miserable enough. He who makes the world his god
while he is in the world--what will he do for a god when
he goes out of this world?

Well, sirs, remember this--an inordinate love of the world
will eat out all a man's communion with God. A man cannot
look up to heaven and look down upon the earth--at the
same time.

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[nChrist]

God's tools and instruments

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

"I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity
 and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things."
    Isaiah 45:7

Let us see the hand of the Lord in this recent dreadful fire
which has turned our once renowned London into a ruinous
heap! London's sins were now so great, and God's wrath
was now so hot--that there was no quenching of the furious
flames. The decree for the burning of London was now gone
forth, and nothing could reverse it. The time of London's fall
was now come. The fire had now received its commission
from God--to burn down the city and to turn it into a
ruinous heap!

Certainly God is the great agent in all those dreadful
judgments which befall people, cities, and kingdoms.
Whoever or whatever be the rod--it is God's hand
which gives the stroke! The power of bringing
judgments upon cities, God takes to Himself, "When
disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused
it?" Amos 3:6. Whatever that judgment is, which falls
upon a city--God is the author of it; He acts in it and
orders it according to His own good pleasure. There
is no judgment which accidentally falls upon any
person, city, or country. Every judgment is inflicted
by a divine power and providence. God had given a
commission to the fire--to burn with that force and
violence as it did--until London was laid in ashes!
Whoever kindled this fire--God blew the coal!
And therefore no arts, counsels, or endeavors of
men were able to quench it.

All judgments are at the beck of God, and under the
command of God. Whatever judgment God commands
to destroy a person, a city, or country--that judgment
shall certainly and effectually accomplish the command
of God--in spite of all that creatures can do. If God
commissions the sword of war to walk abroad, and to
glut itself with blood--who can command it into the
scabbard again? No art, power, or policy can cause
that sword to lie still!

God, as He is our Creator, Preserver, and sovereign
Lord--has an absolute power both over our persons,
lives, estates, and habitations: and when we have
transgressed His righteous laws, He may do with
us, and all we have--as He pleases. He may turn
us out of house and home, and burn up all our
comforts round about us--and yet do us no wrong.
"Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases
Him." Psalm 115:3. "The Lord does whatever
pleases Him--in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths." Psalm 135:6

Those things which seem accidental and chance to
us--are ordered by the wise counsel, power, and
providence of God. Instruments can no more stir
until God gives them a commission--than the axe
or the knife can cut by itself, without a hand. God
makes use of whatever second causes He pleases,
for the execution of His pleasure. And many times
He makes the worst of men the rod of His indignation
to chastise His people with! All inferior or subordinate
causes--are but God's tools and instruments,
which He rules and guides according to His own will,
power, and providence.

Job eyed God in the fire which fell from heaven, and
in all the fiery trials which befell him. And therefore,
he does not say, "The Lord gave--and the devil took
away!" Nor, "The Lord gave--and the Chaldeans and
Sabeans took away!" But "The Lord gave--and the
Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord
be praised!" Job 1:20-21

Certainly without the cognizance and concurrence of
a wise, omniscient, and omnipotent God--no creatures
can move. Without His foresight and permission--no
event can befall any person, city or country. Whatever
the means or instruments of our misery are--the hand
is God's! It behooves us, in every judgment, to see the
hand of the Lord, and to look through visible means to
an invisible God! "The Lord has afflicted me; the
Almighty has brought misfortune upon me!" Ruth 1:21

"The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings
down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends
poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts!"
1 Samuel 2:6-7

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[nChrist]

Their dregs and dross

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

 "Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says—
 See, I will refine and test them, for what else can
 I do because of the sin of My people?" Jerem. 9:7

By severe providences and fiery trials—God designs
the mortifying and purging away of His people's sins.

"This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them
 like silver and test them like gold." Zechariah 13:9

The best of men are but men at the best; they have
much corruption and dross in them, and they need
refining; and therefore God by fiery trials will refine
them—as silver and gold which are purified in the fire.
He will so refine them, as that they shall leave their
dregs and dross behind them. Look!
  What the fire is to the gold,
  what the file is to the iron,
  what the winnowing fan is to the wheat,
  what the soap is to the clothes—
that shall fiery trials be to the saints.

All the fiery trials which befall the saints, shall be as a
medicinal potion to purge away our soul diseases! May
our trials be so sanctified, as to issue in the burning
up of our lusts, and in the purging away of our filth!

O sirs! If God, by fiery trials, shall make you more
victorious over your strong lusts, and help you to live
more virtuous lives—you will have cause to bless Him all
your days, though He has turned you out of house and
home, and burnt up all your comforts round about you!

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will
purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver."
Malachi 3:3

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[nChrist]

The unerring hand of infinite wisdom

(Thomas Reade, "The Sovereignty of God")

"My purpose will stand, and I will do all that
 I please." Isaiah 46:10

Nothing is so calming and comforting to the
Christian pilgrim, as the assurance of Divine
Guidance in every, even the most minute
circumstances which befall him.

Without this perception of his heavenly Father's
care, a thousand intricacies must beset his path.
He must be staggered at almost every step. But
when he beholds, by faith--the unerring hand of
infinite wisdom, wielding the stupendous machine
of human events--causing everything to promote
the spiritual good of His people--then he quiets
himself as a little child, and can say with cheerful
resignation, "Father, not my will, but yours be done."

In such a world of change and trial, how inestimable
is a calm reliance on the wisdom, power, and love of
God. It fully compensates for the lack of temporal
ease and wealth. If, without our heavenly Father,
not even a sparrow can fall to the ground; if the
very hairs of our head are all numbered--how
composed should we be.

The reins of universal nature are in the hands of
Infinite Love! This vast complex machine is guided
by Infinite Wisdom and Power! The Almighty Ruler
of the sky cannot be taken by surprise. Nothing
unforeseen can happen to cross His purposes or
thwart His designs. All worlds are open to His view.

If this Great and Glorious Being is our Father and
our Friend--then our privilege is to rejoice at all
times, and in everything to give thanks. How
consoling and encouraging is the assurance that
the blessed Redeemer of my soul, is the Great
Sovereign of the Universe! Without His permission
nothing can happen in the vast dominion over which
He sways His scepter! To His will every creature
must bow--either in willing obedience, or in just
and endless punishment!

"Lord, be pleased to impart unto me, your unworthy
 servant, this spirit of confidence in You. May I see
 Your hand in all the events of life--ordering the
 the minor, as well as in the greater movements of
 Your Providence. This watching and waiting for the
 manifestations of Your guardian care--will fill me
 with thankfulness for all my mercies, and make
 me patient under all my trials."

"My times are in Your hands." Psalm 31:15

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[nChrist]

Fuel to your lusts, and quenchers of your graces

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

By severe providences and fiery trials--God designs
the preventing of sin. Prudent physicians sometimes
give harsh medicines to prevent diseases; and so
does the Physician of souls. Sharp trials preserve
the saints from spiritual putrefying, and from
spiritual rotting.

Wealth lays men most open to . . .
  the greatest sins,
  the worst of snares, and
  the deadliest temptations.
The best of men have fallen the foulest--under their
highest worldly enjoyments. Witness David, Solomon,
Hezekiah, etc. Under your outward fullness . . .
  how low was your communion with God!
  how languishing were your graces!
  how lean were your souls!
  how little God had of . . .
    your thoughts,
    your hearts,
    your time,
    your strength!

O sirs! how bad would you have been by this time,
if God had not removed those things, which were
but fuel to your lusts, and quenchers of your
graces! Well, often think of this: it is a greater
mercy to be preserved from sin, yes, from the
least sin--than it is to enjoy the whole world!

"Lord, let this fiery trial be so sanctified to
me, as that it may eminently issue in . . .
  the mortifying of my sins,
  the increase of my graces,
  the mending of my affections,
  the reforming of my life,
  the weaning of my soul from everything below You,
  and the fixing of my heart upon eternal realities!"

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[nChrist]

A misery beyond all expression!

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

"Then He will say to those on His left--Depart from Me,
 you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for
 the devil and his angels!" Matthew 25:41

This solemn sentence breathes out nothing but fire and
brimstone, terror and horror, dread and woe! The last
words that Christ will ever speak to the ungodly, will be:
  the most tormenting and dreadful,
  the most stinging and wounding,
  the most killing and damning!

Here is utter rejection: "Depart from Me--Pack! Begone!
Get out of My sight! Let Me never more see your faces!"

"Depart from Me!" is the first and worst of that dreadful
sentence which Christ shall pass upon the ungodly at last.
Every syllable sounds horror and terror, grief and sorrow,
dread and astonishment--to all whom it concerns.
Certainly, the tears of hell are not sufficient to
bewail the loss of heaven!

Here is imprecation: "You who are cursed!"
"But Lord, if we must depart, let us depart blessed!"
"No! Depart--you who are cursed!" You shall be . . .
  cursed in your bodies,
  and cursed in your souls,
  and cursed by God,
  and cursed by Christ,
  and cursed by angels,
  and cursed by saints,
  and cursed by devils,
  and cursed by your wicked companions!
Yes, you shall now curse your very selves,
your very souls--that ever you have . . .
  despised the gospel,
  refused the offers of grace,
  scorned Christ, and
  neglected the means of your salvation!

O sinners, sinners--all your curses, all your maledictions
shall at last recoil upon your own souls! Now you curse
every person and thing which stand in the way of your
lusts, and which cross your designs. But at last, all the
curses of heaven and hell shall meet in their full power
and force upon you! Surely that man is eternally
cursed--who is cursed by Christ Himself!

"But, Lord, if we must depart, and depart cursed, oh let us
go into some good place!" "No! Depart into the eternal fire!"
Here is vengeance and continuance of it. You shall go into
fire, into eternal fire! The eternity of hell--is the hell of hell.
If all the fires that ever were in the world, were contracted
into one fire--how terrible would it be! Yet such a fire would
be but as 'painted fire' upon the wall--compared to the fire of
hell. It is a very sad spectacle to behold a malefactor's body
consumed little by little in a lingering fire. But ah, how sad,
how dreadful, would it be to experience what it is to lie in
unquenchable fire--not for a day, a month, or a year, or a
hundred or a thousand years--but forever and ever!

"If it were," says Cyril, "but for a thousand years, I could
bear it; but seeing it is for eternity--this frightens and
horrifies me!" "I am afraid of hell," says Isidore, "because
the worm there never dies, and the fire never goes out!"

To be tormented without end--this is that which goes
beyond all the bounds of desperation.

Grievous is the torment of the damned . . .
  for the bitterness of the punishments;
  but more grievous for the diversity of the punishments;
  but most grievous for the eternity of the punishments!

To lie in everlasting torments,
to roar forever in anguish of heart,
to rage forever for madness of soul,
to weep, and grieve, and gnash the teeth forever
--is a misery beyond all expression!

Mark, everything that is conducible to the
torments of the damned, is eternal:

God who damns them is eternal!

The fire which torments them is eternal!

The prison and chains which hold them are eternal!

The worm which gnaws them is eternal!

The sentence which is upon them, shall be eternal!

Fire is the most furious of all elements, and therefore
the bodies of men cannot be more exquisitely tormented
than with fire. The bodies which sinned on earth, shall
be punished and tormented in hell. What can be more
grievous and vexatious, more afflicting and tormenting
to the bodies of men--than eternal fire? Oh, then, how
will the bodies of men endure to dwell in unquenchable
fire, to dwell in everlasting burnings! The brick-kilns of
Egypt, the fiery furnace of Babylon, are but as a spark,
compared to this tormenting hell, which has been
prepared of old to punish the bodies of sinners with.

"The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the
godless! Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" Is. 33:14

Wicked men, who are now the jolly fellows of the times,
shall one day go from burning--to burning; from burning
in sin--to burning in hell; from burning in flames of lusts
--to burning in flames of torment; except there be found
repentance on their side, and pardoning grace on God's side.

Surely, the serious thoughts of the agonies of hell
while people live--is one blessed way to keep them
from going into those torments after they die! Look!
as there is nothing more grievous than hell--so there
is nothing more profitable than the fear of hell.

"Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath!"
    1 Thessalonians 1:10

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to
 receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."
    1 Thessalonians 5:9

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[nChrist]

A house without light!

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

"Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Mt. 25:30

Our earthly fire, when it burns it shines, it casts a light.
It has light as well as heat in it. But the fire of hell burns
--but it does not shine, it gives no light at all. It retains
the property of burning--but it has lost the property of
shining. Christ calls it "outer darkness," or utter darkness
--that is, darkness beyond a darkness.

Light is a blessing that shall never shine into that infernal
prison. In Jude verse 6, you read of "chains of darkness."
It would be a little ease, a little comfort, to the damned
in hell--if they might have but light and liberty to walk up
and down the infernal coasts; but this is too high a favor
for them to enjoy; and therefore they shall be shackled
and fettered down in chains of darkness, and in
blackness of darkness--so that they may fully undergo
the scorchings and burnings of divine wrath and fury
forever and ever.

In Jude verse 13 you thus read, "To whom is reserved
the blackness of darkness forever." The words signify
exceeding great darkness. Hell is a very dark and dismal
region, and extreme are the miseries, horrors, and
torments which are there. Sinners, when they are in
hell, when they are in chains of darkness, when they
are in blackness of darkness--they shall never more
see light! Hell is a house without light!

Though our earthly fires have light as well as heat--yet
the infernal fire has only heat to burn sinners; it has no
light to refresh sinners; and this will be no small addition
to their torment.

"He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
 brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves!"
Colossians 1:13

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[nChrist]

Perpetual fuel to the flames of hell!

(Thomas Brooks, "London's Lamentations" 1670)

Our earthly fire destroys and consumes whatever is cast
into it. It turns all combustibles into ashes. But the fire of
hell is not of that nature. The fire of hell consumes nothing
which is cast into it. It rages--but it does not consume or
destroy either bodies or souls.

"Men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long
 to die, but death will elude them." Revelation 9:6

They shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
They shall cry to the mountains to fall upon them and
to crush them to nothing! They shall desire that . . .
  the fire which burns them--would consume them to nothing,
  the worm which feeds on them--would gnaw them to nothing,
  the devils which torment them--would tear them to nothing!
They shall cry to God, who first made them out of nothing,
to reduce them to that first nothing from whence they
came! But "their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator shows them no favor." Isaiah 27:11

They shall always be burned--but never consumed.

Ah, how well would it be with the damned, if in the fire
of hell, they might be consumed to ashes! But this is their
misery--they shall be ever dying, and yet never die; their
bodies shall be always a-burning--but never a-consuming!
It is dreadful to be perpetual fuel to the flames of hell!
What misery can compare to this--for infernal fire to be still
a-preying upon damned sinners, and yet never making an
end of them! The fierce and furious flames of hell shall burn
--but never annihilate, the bodies of the damned. In hell
there is no cessation of fire burning, nor of matter burned.
Neither flames nor smoke shall consume or choke the
impenitent. Both the infernal fire, and the burning of the
bodies of reprobates in that fire--shall be preserved by
the miraculous power of God!

"Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath!"
1 Thessalonians 1:10

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to
receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Thessalonians 5:9

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