by Thomas Boston (1676 –1732)
Then He shall say unto those on the left hand, "Depart from me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Matthew 25:41
INTRODUCTION
Were there no other place of eternal lodging but heaven, I should here have closed my discourse of man's eternal state; but as in the other world there is a prison for the wicked, as well as a palace for saints, we must also inquire into that state of everlasting misery; which the worst of men may well bear with, without crying– 'Are you come to torment us before the time?' since there is yet access to flee from the wrath to come; and all that can be said of it comes short of what the dammed will feel; for 'who knows the power of God's anger?'
The last thing which our Lord did, before He left the earth, was, 'He lifted up his hands, and blessed his disciples' (Luke, 24:50,51). But the last thing He will do, before He leaves the throne, is to curse and condemn His enemies; as we learn from the text which contains the dreadful sentence wherein the everlasting misery of the wicked is declared. In which, three things may be taken notice of–
1. The 'quality' of the condemned– 'you cursed.' The Judge finds the 'curse of the law' upon them as transgressors, and sends them away with it, from His presence, into hell, there to be fully executed upon them.
2. The 'punishment' which they are sentenced to, and to which they were always bound over by virtue of the curse. And it is twofold– the punishment of 'loss', in separation from God and Christ– 'Depart from Me;' And the punishment of 'sense'– in most poignant and extreme torments– Depart from Me 'into fire.'
3. The 'aggravations' of their torments–
a. They are ready for them, they are not to expect a moment's respite. The fire is prepared and ready to catch hold of those who are thrown into it.
b. They will have the society of devils in their torments, being shut up with them in hell. They must depart into the same fire, prepared for Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and his angels; namely, other reprobate angels who fell with him, and became devils. It is said to be prepared for them; because the demons sinned and were condemned to hell before man sinned.
This speaks further terror to the damned, that they must go into the same torments, and place of torment, with the devil and his angels. They hearkened to his temptations, and they must partake in his torments– his works they would do, and they must receive the wages, which is death.
In this life they joined with devils, in malice against God and Christ, and the way of holiness. And in eternity, they must lodge with them.
Thus all the goats shall be shut up together– for that name is common to devils and wicked men, in Scripture (Lev 17:7), where the word rendered devils properly signifies hairy ones, or goats, in the shape of which creatures, devils delighted much to appear to their worshipers.
c. The last aggravation of their torment is the eternal duration thereof; they must depart into 'everlasting' fire. This is what puts the top-stone upon their misery, namely, that it shall never have an end.
DOCTRINE– THE WICKED SHALL BE SHUT UP UNDER THE CURSE OF GOD, IN EVERLASTING MISERY, WITH THE DEVILS IN HELL!
After having proved that there shall be a resurrection of the body and a general judgment, I think it is not needful to insist on proving the truth of future punishment. The same conscience there is in men of a future judgment, bears witness also of the truth of future punishment. (And that the punishment of the damned shall not be annihilation, or a reducing them to nothing, will be clear in the progress of our discourse.) In treating of this awful subject I shall inquire into these four things–
I. The curse under which the damned shall be shut up.
II. Their misery under that curse.
III. Their society with devils in this miserable state.
IV. The eternity of the whole.
I. THE "CURSE" UNDER WHICH THE DAMMED SHALL BE SHUT UP IN HELL–
It is the terrible sentence of the law by which they are bound over to the wrath of God, as transgressors. This curse does not first come upon them when standing before the tribunal to receive their sentence; but they were born under it, they led their lives under it in this world, they died under it, and rose with it out of their graves. And the Judge finding the curse upon them, sends them away with it into the pit, where it shall lie on them through all the ages of eternity.
By nature all men are under the curse. But it is removed from the elect by virtue of their union with Christ. It abides on the rest of sinful mankind, and by it they are devoted to destruction, and separated to evil.
Thus shall the damned forever be persons devoted to destruction! separate and set apart from the rest of mankind, unto evil, as vessels of wrath! set up as marks for the arrows of divine wrath! and made the common receptacle and shore of eternal vengeance!
This curse has its first-fruits on earth, which are a pledge of the whole lump that is to follow. Hence it is, that temporal and eternal miseries on the enemies of God, are sometimes included under one and the same expression in the threatening. What is that judicial blindness to which many are given up, 'whom the god of this world has blinded' (2 Cor 4:4), but the first fruits of hell and of the curse? Their sun is going down at noon-day, their darkness increasing, as if it would not stop until it issue in utter darkness.
Many a lash in the dark, does conscience give the wicked, which the world does not hear of– and what is that but the never-dying worm already begun to gnaw them? And there is not one of these but they may call it Joseph, for 'the Lord shall add another'; or rather Gad, for 'a troop comes.'
These drops of wrath are terrible forebodings of the full shower which is to follow. Sometimes they are given up to their vile affections, that they have no more command over them (Rom 1:26). So their lusts grow up more and more towards perfection, if I may so speak.
As in heaven grace comes to its perfection, so in hell sin arrives at its highest pitch; and as sin is thus advancing upon the man, he is the nearer and likelier to hell.
There are three things that have a fearful aspect here–
1. When everything that might do good to men's souls, is blasted to them; so that their blessings are cursed– sermons, prayers, admonitions, and reproofs, which are powerful towards others, are quite ineffectual to them.
2. When men go on in sinning still, in the face of plain rebukes from the Lord, in ordinances and providences. God meets them with rods in the way of their sin, as it were striking them back; yet they rush forward. What can be more like hell, where the Lord is always smiting and the damned always sinning against Him?
3. When everything in one's lot is turned into fuel for one's lusts. Thus, adversity and prosperity, poverty and wealth, the lack of ordinances and the enjoyment of them, do all but nourish the corruptions of many. Their vicious stomachs corrupt whatever they receive, and all does but increase noxious humors.
But the full harvest follows, in that misery which they shall forever lie under in hell; that wrath which, by virtue of the curse, shall come upon them to the uttermost– which is the curse fully executed. This black cloud opens upon them, and the terrible thunderbolt strikes them, by that dreadful voice from the throne, 'Depart from me, you cursed', which will give the whole wicked world a dismal view of what is in the bosom of the curse.
1. It is a voice of extreme indignation and wrath, a furious rebuke from the Lion of the tribe of Judah! His looks will be most terrible to them; His eyes will cast flames of fire on them; and His words will pierce their hearts, like envenomed arrows! When He will thus speak them out of His presence for ever, and by His word chase them away from before the throne, they will see how keenly wrath burns in His heart, against them for their sins!
2. It is a voice of extreme disdain and contempt from the Lord. Time was when they were pitied, admonished to pity themselves, and to be the Lord's; yet they despised Him, they would have none of Him– but now they shall be buried out of His sight, under everlasting contempt!
3. It is a voice of extreme hatred. Hereby the Lord shuts them out of His affections of love and mercy. 'Depart, you cursed.' I cannot endure to look at you; there is not one purpose of good to you in My heart; nor shall you ever hear one word more of hope from Me.
4. It is a voice of eternal rejection from the Lord. He commands them to be gone and so casts them off forever. Thus the doors of heaven are shut against them; the gulf is fixed between them and it, and they are driven to the pit.
Now, were they to cry with all possible earnestness– 'Lord, Lord, open to us;' they will hear nothing but– 'Depart, depart you cursed ones.' Thus shall the dammed be shut up under the curse.
Application– Let all those who being yet in their natural state, are under the curse, consider this, and flee to Jesus Christ in time, that they may be delivered from it. How can you sleep in that state, being under the curse!
Jesus Christ is 'now' saying unto you– 'Come you cursed, I will take the curse from off you, and give you the blessing.' The waters of the sanctuary are now running, to heal the cursed ground; take heed to improve them for that end to your own souls, and fear it as hell to get no spiritual advantage thereby.
Remember that 'the miry places,' which are neither sea nor dry land, are a fit emblem of hypocrites; 'and the marshes,' that neither breed fish, nor bear trees, but the waters of the sanctuary leave them, as they find them, in their barrenness, 'shall not be healed,' seeing they spurn the only remedy. 'They shall be given to salt,' –left under eternal barrenness, set up for the monuments of the wrath of God, and concluded forever under the curse! (Ezek 47:11).
Let all CURSERS consider this, whose mouths are filled with cursing themselves and others. He who 'clothes himself with cursing,' shall find the curse 'come into his affections like water, and oil into his bones' (Ps.109:18), if repentance prevent it not. He shall get all his imprecations against himself fully answered, in the day wherein he stands before the tribunal of God– and shall find the killing weight of the curse of God, which he now makes light of.
II. THE MISERY OF THE DAMNED, under that curse–
It is a misery which the tongues of men and angels cannot sufficiently express. God always acts like Himself– as no favors can be compared to His, so also His wrath and terrors are without a parallel.
As the saints in heaven are advanced to the highest pitch of happiness, so the damned in hell arrive at the height of misery.
Two things here I shall soberly inquire into– the punishment of 'loss', and the punishment of 'sense', in hell. But since these also are such things as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, we must, as geographers do, leave a large void for the unknown land, which that day will discover.
