1 they would have made all the town to ring of their doleful condition; but because they are seared and ignorant, and so depart quietly, therefore the world takes heart at grass, as we use to say, and make no great matter of living and dying they cannot tell how; therefore pride compasseth them as a chain.' Ps. lxxv. 6. But let them look to themselves, for if they have not an interest in the Lord Jesus now, while they live in the world, they will, whether they die raging or still, go unto the same place; and lifted up their eyes in hell.' O, my friends, did you but know what a miserable condition they are in that go out of this world without an interest in the Son of God, it would make you smite upon your thigh, and in the bitterness of your souls cry out, Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved?' Ac. xvi. 29-31. And not only so, but thou wouldst not be comforted until thou didst find a rest for thy soul in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 23. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.' · Something, in brief, I have observed from the first part of this verse, namely, from these words, And in hell he lifted up his eyes.' And, indeed, I have observed but something, for they are very full of matter, and many things might be taken notice of in them. There is one thing more that I might touch upon, as touched in this saying, and that is this:-Methinks the Lord Jesus Christ doth hereby signify that men are naturally unwilling to see or take notice of their sad state, I say by nature; but though now they are willingly ignorant, yet in hell they shall lift up their eyes. That is, in hell they shall see and understand their miserable condition; and, therefore, to these words: In hell he lifted up his eyes,' he adds, being in torments.' As if he had said, though once they shut their eyes, though once they were willingly ignorant (2 Pe. iii. 5), yet, when they depart into hell, they shall be so miserably handled and tormented, that they shall be forced to lift up their eyes. While men live in this world, and are in a natural state, they will have a good conceit of themselves, and of their condition-they will conclude that they are Christians, that Abraham is their father, and their state to be as good as the best. Mat. iii. 7-9. They will conclude they have faith, the Spirit, a good hope, and an interest in the Lord Jesus Christ; but then, when they drop into hell, and lift up their eyes there, and behold first their soul to be in extreme torments; their dwelling to be the bottomless pit; their company thousands of damned souls; also the innumerable This proverb was very probably founded upon Je. 1. 11: 'Ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls.' -(ED.) company of devils; and the hot scalding vengeance of God, not only to drop, but to fall very violently upon them; then they will begin to be awakened, who all their lifetime were in a dead sleep. I say, when this comes to pass, lo it will; then in hell they shall lift up their eyes, in the midst of torments they shall lift up their eyes. Again, you may observe in these words, And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments,' that the time of the ungodly men's smarting for their sins will be in the torments of hell. Now here I am put to a stand, when I consider the torments of hell into which the damned do fall. O unspeakable torments! O endless torments! Now that thy soul might be made to flee from those intolerable torments into which the damned do go, I shall show you briefly what are the torments of hell. First. By the names of it. Second. By the sad state thou wilt be in, if thou comest there. First. The names. It is called a never-dying worm, Mar. ix. It is called an oven fire, hot, Mal. iv. 1. It is called a furnace, a fiery-furnace, Mat. xiii. It is called the bottomless pit, the unquenchable fire, fire and brimstone, hell fire, the lake of fire, devouring fire, everlasting fire, eternal fire, a stream of fire, Re. xxi. [Second. By the sad state thou wilt be in, if thou comest there.] 1. One part of thy torments will be this, thou shalt have a full sight of all thy ill spent life, from first to last; though here thou canst sin today and forget it by to-morrow, yet there thou shalt be made to remember how thou didst sin against God at such a time, and in such a place, for such a thing, and with such a one, which will be a hell unto thee. God will set them in order before thine eyes.' Ps. li. 21. 2. Thou shalt have the guilt of them all lie heavy on thy soul, not only the guilt of one or two, but the guilt of them all together, and there they shall lie in thy soul, as if thy belly were full of pitch, and set on a light fire. Here men can sometimes think on their sins with delight, but there with unspeakable torment; for that I understand to be the fire that Christ speaketh of, which shall never be quenched. Mar. ix. 48–49. While men live here, O how doth the guilt of one sin sometimes crush the soul! It makes a man in such plight that he is weary of his life, so that he can neither rest at home nor abroad, neither up nor in bed.2 Nay, I do know that they have been so tormented with the guilt of one sinful thought, that they have been even at their wits' end, and have 2 Bunyan is here expressing what he had most acutely felt. 'I blessed the condition of the dog and toad, because they had no soul to perish under the everlasting weight of hell. I was broken to pieces,' until he found refuge in Jesus. See Grace Abounding, No. 104.-(ED.) A FEW SIGHS FROM HELL, OR hanged themselves. But now when thou comest | and thou, for thy sins and disobedience, shall be into hell, and hast not only one or two, or an hun- shut, nay, thrust out. dred sins, with the guilt of them all on thy soul O wonderful torment! and body, but all the sins that ever thou didst of damned souls, 5. Again, thou shalt have none but a company commit since thou camest into the world, altogether devils, to keep company with thee. with an innumerable clapped on thy conscience at one time, as one should art in this world, the very thoughts of the devils company of While thou clap a red hot iron to thy breasts, and there to appearing to thee makes thy flesh to tremble, and continue to all eternity: this is miserable. But 0! what wilt thou do, when not only the thine hair ready to stand upright on thy head. supposition of the devils appearing, but the real society of all the devils in hell will be with thee howling and roaring, screeching and roaring in such a hideous manner, that thou wilt be even at thy wits' end, and be ready to run stark mad again for anguish and torment? ་ 3. Again, then thou shalt have brought into thy remembrance the slighting of the gospel of Christ; here thou shalt consider how willing Christ was to come into the world to save sinners, and for what a trifle thou didst reject him. This is plainly held forth in Is. xxviii., where, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the foundation of salvation, ver. 16, he saith of them that reject the gospel, that, when the overflowing scourge doth pass through the earth, purpose, the mighty God of heaven will lay as 6. Again, that thou mightest be tormented to which I understand to be at the end of the world, great wrath and vengeance upon thee as ever he then, saith he, it shall take you morning by morning, can, by the might of his glorious power. by day and by night shall it pass over you; that said before, thou shalt have his wrath, not by is, continually, without any intermission. And drops, but by whole showers shall it come, thunder, As I it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.' thunder, upon thy body and soul so fast, and so A vexation,' that is, a torment, or a great part thick, that thou shalt be tormented out of measure. of hell only to understand the report, to under- And so saith the Scripture, 2 Th. i. 9, speaking of stand the good tidings that came into the world the wicked, Who shall be punished with everlastby Christ's death for poor sinners. find this verily to be the mind of the Spirit, if from the glory of his power,' when the saints shall And you will ing destruction from the presence of the Lord, and you compare it with Is. iii. 1, where he speaks of be admiring his goodness and glory. Again, this men's turning their backs upon the tenders of thou shalt have, as I said before, without any inGod's grace in the gospel, he saith, Who hath termission; thou shalt not have any ease so long believed our report?' or the gospel declared by as while a man may turn himself round; thou shalt us? Now this will be a mighty torment to the have it always every hour, day and night; for their ungodly, when they shall understand the goodness worm never dies, but always gnaws, and their fire of God was so great that he even sent his Son out is never quenched; as it is written in Mar. ix. of his bosom to die for sinners, and yet that they should be so foolish as to put him off from one time to another; that they should be so foolish as to lose heaven and Christ, and eternal life in glory, for the society of a company of drunkards; that they should lose their souls for a little sport, for this world, for a strumpet, for that which is lighter than vanity and nothing; I say this will be a very great torment unto thee, 4. Another part of thy torment will be this: Thou shalt see thy friends, thy acquaintance, thy neighbours; nay, it may thy wife, thy husband, thy children, thy brother, be thy father, thy mother, thy sister, with others, in the kingdom of heaven, and thyself thrust out. Lu. xiii. 28. weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see There shall be Abraham (your father), and Isaac, and Jacob, (together with your brethren), and all the prophets in the kingdom of heaven, and you yourselves thrust out.' Nay, saith he, They shall come from the east, and from the west'-that is, those that thou didst never see in all thy life before, and they shall sit down with thy friends, and thy neighbours, thy wife and thy children, in the kingdom of heaven, ever, and that is as sad as all the rest. For if a of the torments of hell. O! I am set, I am set, science which I cannot express with my tongue, and say, I am sorely tormented in this flame. easily proved to be true here in this world, by him that looks upon it with an understanding heart, ' And seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in and will clear itself to be true in the world to lis bosom.' When the damned are in this pitiful state, surrounded with fears, with terrors, with torment and vengeance, one thing they shall have, which is this, they shall see the happy and blessed state of God's children. He seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom; which, as I said before, is the happy state of the saints when this life is ended. This now shall be so far from being an ease unto them, that it shall most wonderfully aggravate or heighten their torment, as I said before. There shall be weeping, or cause of lamentation, when they shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, and themselves thrust out. 1. Observe, Those that die in their sins are far from going to heaven; he seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And, indeed, it is just with God to deal with them that die in their sins according to what they have done; and to make them who are far from righteousness now, to stand far from heaven to all eternity. Hearken to this, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness, and that are resolved to go on in your sins, when you die you will be far from heaven; you will see Lazarus, but it will be afar off. come, by such as shall go either to heaven or to hell. 2. The second observation from these words, And seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom,' is this; they that are the persecutors of the saints of the Lord now in this world, shall see the Lord's persecuted ones to be they that are so highly esteemed by the Lord, as to sit or to be in Abraham's bosom, in everlasting glory, though they, the enemies to the children of God,1 did so lightly esteem them, that they scorned to let them gather up the dog's meat that falls under their table. This is also verified, and held forth plainly by this parable. And therefore be not grieved, 0 O you that are the tempted, persecuted, afflicted, sighing, praying saints of the Lord, though your adversaries look upon you now with a disdainful, surly, rugged, proud, and haughty countenance, yet the time shall come when they shall spy you in Abraham's bosom ! I might enlarge upon these things, but shall leave them to the Spirit of the Lord, which can better by ten thousand degrees enlarge them on thy heart and conscience, than I can upon a piece of paper. Therefore, leaving these to the blessing of the Lord, I shall come to the next verse, and Again, he 'seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus shall be brief in speaking to that also, and so pass in his bosom.' These are some of the things the damned do behold, so soon as they come into torment. Mark, and he 'seeth Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.' Lazarus, who was he? Why even he that was so slighted, so disregarded, so undervalued by this ungodly one while he was in the world, he seeth Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. From whence observe, That those who live and die the enemies of the saints of God, let them be never so great, or stout, let them bear never so much sway while they are in the world, let them brag and boast never so much while they are here, they shall, in spite of their teeth, see the saints, yea, the poor saints, even the Lazaruses or the ragged ones that belong to Jesus, to be in a better condition than themselves. O! who do you think was in the best condition? who do you think saw themselves in the best condition? He that was in hell, or he that was in heaven? He that was in darkness, or he that was in light? He that was in everlasting joy, or he that was in everlasting torments? The one with God, Christ, saints, angels, the other in tormenting flames, under the curse of God's eternal hatred, with the devils and their angels, together with an innumerable company of howling, roaring, cursing, ever-burning reprobates? Certainly, this observation will be to the rest. Verse 24. And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' You know I told you that ver. 22 is a discovery of the departure of the godly and the ungodly out of this life; where he saith the beggar died, and the rich man also died. The 23d verse is a discovery of the proper places, both of the godly and the ungodly after death; one being in Abraham's bosom, or in glory, the other in hell. Now this 24th verse is a discovery of part of the too late repentance of the ungodly, when they are dropped down into hell; And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me.' From these words, And he cried,' we may observe, First. What a change the ungodly will have when they come into hell. 'He cried.' It is like he was laughing, jesting, jeering, drinking, mocking, swearing, cursing, prating, persecuting of the godly in his prosperity, among his filthy companions. But now the case is otherwise, now he is in another frame, now his proud, stout, cur 1 The first edition has, and the practice of the saints.' This was left out in all the subsequent editions.-(Ed.) A FEW SIGHS FROM HELL, OR rish carriage, is come down; And he cried.' The laughter of the ungodly will not last always, but will be sure to end in a cry; The triumphing of the wicked is short.' Job xx. 5. Consider, you must have a change either here or in hell. If you be not new creatures, regenerate persons, new-born babes, in this world, before you go hence, your note will be changed, your conditions will be changed; for if you come into hell, you must cry. O did but the singing drunkards, when they are making merry on the ale bench,' think on this, it would make them change their note, and cry, What shall I do? Whither shall I go when I die? But, as I said before, the devil, as he labours to get poor souls to follow their sins, so he labours also to keep the thoughts of eternal damnation out of their minds; and, indeed, these two things are so nearly linked together, that the devil cannot well get the soul to go on in sin with delight unless he can keep the thoughts of that terrible after clap out of their minds. 2 dost depart this world; if thou depart unconverted, O what a condition wilt thou fall into, when thou and not born again, thou hadst better have been smothered the first hour thou wast born; thon hadst better have been plucked one limb from another; thou hadst better have been made a dog, a toad, a serpent, nay, any other creature in the visible world, than to die unconverted; and this thou wilt find to be true, when in hell thou dost lift up thine eyes, and dost cry. 3 see that it is not without good ground that these Here then, before we go any further, you may words are here spoken by our Lord, that when any of the ungodly do depart into hell, they will cry. Cry, why so? 1. They will cry to think that they should be cut off from the land of the living, never more to have any footing therein. 2. They will cry to think that the gospel of Christ should be so often proffered them, and yet they are not profited by it. 3. They will cry to think that now, though yet they are past all recovery. 4. They will cry they would never so willingly repent and be saved, to think that they should be so foolish as to follow their pleasures, when others were following of Christ. La. xiii. 28. they must be separated from God, Christ, and the 5. They will cry to think that kingdom of heaven, and that for ever. 6. To think that their crying will now do them no good. 7. To think that, at the day of judgment, they must stand at the left hand of Christ, among an innumerable company of the damned ones. to think that Lazarus, whom once they slighted, 8. They will cry must be of them that must sit down with Christ to judge; or together with Christ, to pass a sentence A of condemnation on their souls for ever and ever. 1 Co. vi. 2, 8. 9. Cry to think that when the judgment is over, and others are taken into the everlasting kingdom of glory, then they must depart back again into that dungeon of darkness from ble tribunal. There they shall be tormented so whence they came out, to appear before the terrilong as eternity lasts, without the least intermission or ease. But let them know that it shall not always be thus with them; for if, when they depart, they drop down into eternal destruction, they shall have such a sense of their sins, and the punishment due to the same, that it shall make them to cry; And he cried.' O what an alteration will there be among the ungodly when they go out of this world? It may be a fortnight, or a month before their departure, they were light, stout, surly, drinking themselves drunk, slighting God's people, mocking at goodness, and delighting in sin, following the world, seeking after riches, faring deliciously, keeping company with the bravest ; but now, they are dropped down into hell, they cry. little while ago they were painting their faces, feeding their lusts, following their whores, robbing their neighbours, telling of lies, following of plays and sports, to pass away the time; but now they are in hell, they do cry. It may be last they heard some good sermons, were invited to receive heaven, were told their sins should be pardoned if they closed in with Jesus; but, refusing his proffers, and slighting the grace that was once tendered, they are now in hell, and do Before, they had so much time, they thought cry. that they could not tell how to spend it, unless it were in hunting, and whoring, in dancing, and playing, and spending whole hours, yea, days, nay, weeks, in the lusts of the flesh; but when they depart into another place, and begin to lift up their eyes in hell, and consider their miserable and irrecoverable condition, they will cry. year 1 Ale bench, in Bunyan's time, was very similar to a taproom; more generally the place of resort for the idle tipplers, but sometimes of refreshment to the weary traveller.-(Ed.) 2 Formerly designated not only a courageous man, but his counterpart, a braggart, a bully, or a dandy. In these latter senses it is obsolete.-(ED.) How sayest thou, O thou wanton, proud, swearbe slighted and made a mock at. And again tell ing, lying, ungodly wretch, whether this be to me now, if it be not better to leave sin, and to close in with Christ Jesus, notwithstanding that reproach thou shalt meet with for so doing, than to live a little while in this world in pleasures and feeding thy lusts, in neglecting the welfare of thy soul, and refusing to be justified by Jesus; and in a moment to drop down to hell and to cry? consider, I say, consider betimes, and put not off the tenders of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 0! 3 These feelings appear in awful reality in Grace Abounding, Nos. 87 and 104.—(ED.) lest you lift up your eyes in hell, and cry for anguish of spirit. nature of the mercy of God, and the knowledge in what way God is satisfied for sinners. Now I And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have say, through ignorance they think, that if they do mercy on me, and send Lazarus,' &c. [Second.] These words do not only hold forth the lamentable condition of the damned, and their lamentable howling and crying out under their anguish of spirit, but also they do signify to us, as I said before, their too late repentance; and also that they would very willingly, if they might, be set at liberty from that everlasting misery that by their sins they have plunged themselves into. I say, these words do hold forth a desire that the damned have, to be delivered from those torments that they now are in: 0 Father Abraham,' saith he, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.' These words, 'Father Abraham,' may have some difficulty in them. It is possible that some may think them to be meant of Abraham; and those, or him that crieth out here, to be the Jews. Or it may be some may understand it to be God, or Jesus Christ his Son, which I rather suppose it may be, that is here cried out unto; because you find the same cry to him as it were uttered by the ungodly in other places of the Scripture; as in Lu. xiii. 25, 26. Then shall they say, Lord, Lord, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.' Nay more, In thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works.' Mat. vii. 22. This was just at their rejection. And again, in Mat. xxv. 11, they cry again to him, even to Jesus, Lord, Lord, open to us.' And he there again gives them a repulse, as also in this parable. But however or whosoever Abraham is, yet these truths may be observed from the words. 1. That the damned, when in an irrecoverable estate, will seek for, or desire deliverance from the wrath that they are and shall be in for eternity. Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.' Ps. xxxii. 6. 2. That they will pray, if I may so call it, earnestly for deliverance from their miserable estate. These two things are clear from the words. For mark, he not only said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me;' but he CRIED,' and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me.' 3. From whence take a third observation; and that is, there is a time coming wherein, though men shall both cry and pray, yet they are like to have no mercy at the hands of God; for so was this man served, as I shall further show by and by when I come to it. Some people are so deluded by the devil as to think that God is so merciful as to own or regard anything for prayer; they think anything will go for current and good satisfaction, while they are here in this world, through ignorance of the true but mutter over some form of prayers,1 though they know not what they say, nor what they request, yet God is satisfied, yea, very well satisfied with their doings; when, alas! there is nothing less. O friends, I beseech you to look about you, and seek in good earnest for the Spirit of Christ so to help you now, to strive and pray, and to enable you to lay hold of Christ, that your souls may be saved, lest the time come that though you cry and pray, and wish also that you had laid hold on the Lord Jesus, yet you must and shall be damned. Then again, you may see that though God be willing to save sinners at some time, yet this time doth not always last. No, he that can find in his heart to turn his back upon Jesus Christ now, shall have the back turned upon him hereafter, when he may cry and pray for mercy, and yet go without it. God will have a time to meet with them that now do not seek after him. They shall have a time, yea time enough hereafter to repent their folly, and to befool themselves, for turning their backs upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I will laugh at your calamity,' saith he, and 'mock when your fear cometh.' Pr. i. 26. Again, this should admonish us to take time while it is proffered, lest we repent us of our unbelief and rebellion when we are deprived of it. Ah friends! Time is precious, an hour's time to hear a sermon is precious. I have sometimes thought thus with myself, Set the case, the Lord should send two or three of his servants, the ministers of the gospel, to hell among the damned, with this comission; Go ye to hell, and preach my grace to those that are there. Let your sermon be an hour long, and hold forth the merits of my Son's birth, righteousness, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession, with all my love in him, and proffer it to them, telling them that now once more, and but once, do I proffer the means of reconciliation to them. They who are now roaring, being past hope, would then leap at the least proffer of mercy. O they that could spend whole days, weeks, nay, years, in rejecting the Son of God, would now be glad of one tender of that mercy. Father,' saith he, have mercy on me.' Again, from these words you may observe, that mercy would be welcome when souls are under judgment. Now his soul is in the fire, now he is under the wrath of God, now he is in hell, there tering of monkeys or parrots is more acceptable than to mock 1 How awfully general is this wretched delusion. The chatGod with a solemn sound upon a thoughtless tongue. Jews gabble Hebrew, and Papists Latin, and, alas! others who NEVER reading a form of words, called, with devilish subtlety, saying prayed, have been from childhood in the habit of repeating or prayers.'—(ED.) |