THE REWARD of the Wicked.  
Preached in a Sermon at Linfield in Sussex, and publis●●● at the request of some well di●●●sed Christians.  
By HUMPHREY EVERENDEN.  
The second Edition.  ECCLE. 11.19. 
Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thine heart cheer thee in the days of th● youth and walk in the sight of thine eyes, but 〈…〉 all these things, God will bring thee to judgement.  
LONDON, Printed by WILLIAM JONES for ROBERT BIRD, and are to be sold at the sign of the Bible in Cheapside. 1625.   

To the Christian Reader.  
THe means of edification in the holy Scripture (gentle Reader) may all be referred to three heads. Instructions for all. Consolations for the oppressed. Threats, for those that err and are obstinate. These make a threefold cord, whereby God laboured to draw mankind to this end. Hear hast thou one strain twisted, viz. the judgement or death of the damned. If therefore God's mercies cannot allure thee to love him, here hast thou his judgement to scourge thee, that thou mayst fear him, that beginning thy wisdom in fear, thou mayst so learn to love him, that his judgements being bitter to thy taste, may cause thee to seek to try how good he is in his mercies. God give his blessing to his own ordinance, for thy good.  
Thine in Christ. Humphrey Euerend●●.   

THE REWARD of the Wicked.  
A SERMON PREACHED at Linfield in Sussex.  MATH. 25.46. 
And these shall go into everlasting pain.  
THe recompense of the righteous and the reward of the wicked described, in this verse are both declared to be everlasting, the one embracing, the other despising an eternal Majesty; these that shall go into everlasting pain, are the merciless, the cruel and hard hearted and with them all that go not into life eternal, all those that shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 2. Cor. 6.9.10.  
Our Saviour Christ describing the punishment of the damned, 
●●th. 13. ●●.  in the parable of the Tares, showeth that by his Angels they shall be bound up into bundles to be burned, teaching that they that participate in sin, shall be partakers in punishment, and further, that their judgement shall be irrevocable, their misery remediless their estate helpless, for whom God bindeth, who can be able to lose.  
Curious division of the words I purposely omit, observing the general instruction which ariseth out of the words, without wresting of them, or digressing from the true meaning of them.  
The  shall assuredly receive the punishment of eternal damnation at the day of judgement. Doct.  
This Doctrine it further confirmed by sundry places of Scripture.  
In the 13. of Matthew is taught that the Angels shall gather together the tares that is, 
●ath. ●3. ●0. 42. ●  the children of the wicked and bind them into bundles to burn them.  
In the 20 of the Revelation is showed that death and hell (that is, the heirs of death and hell) were cast into the lake of fire: which is the second death.  
In the 21 of the Revelation is threatened that the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.  
Tribulation and anguish (saith Saint Paul) shall be upon the soul of every one that doth evil, of the jew first, and also of the Grecian.  
And in his Epistle to the Thesolonians, that jesus Christ shall show himself from heaven, with his mighty Angels, In flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that do not know God, and which obey not the Gospel of our Lord jesus Christ.  
Because the justice of God doth exact and infer, that as every man doth sow, 
1 Res.  so he shall reap, and therefore he that soweth to the flesh, of the flesh shall reap corruption, as one the other side, he that soweth to the spirit, doth of the spirit reap eternal life.  
How doth it stand with God's justice to punish a temporal offence with an eternal punishment. Quest.  
Answ. The wicked are justly punished for these causes.  
Because their sins are the offence of an eternal majesty  
Because they neglect an eternal good, propounded and set before them, which by obedience they may obtain, and so choose eternal mesery through walking in disobedience.  
Because if they did live eternal, they would also sin eternally.  
Because the damned doth sin eternally their transgression is coeternal with their punishment, as therefore they shall ever remain in torment, so shall they for ever remain in unbelief, impenitency, blasphemy; so that their punishment is not larger than their sin deserving it.  
For the opening of this doctrine. 2 things are to been considered. 

1 Wherein the damnation of the wicked consisteth.  
2 How fare their punishment extendeth.    
For the first, The damnation of the wicked standeth in a twofold punishment called paena damni, et paena sensa, the punishment of loss, and the punishment of sense.  
The punishment of loss is a separation from the presence of God, and from all joys and pleasures attending the same. This is that which the Apostle teacheth, that they shall been punished with everlasting perdition, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power: And how great a mystery this is may appear in that they that are separated from God's presence are separated from all joy and pleasure, between which and extreme sorrow and misery there is no mean, for in God's presence (and not else where) is fullness of joy, and at his right hand (and no where else to be found) are pleasures for evermore: and for this cause our Saviour Christ accounteth it the greatest happiness of the pure in heart that they shall see God, and Cain accounteth it not, the least judgement that should befall him here on earth, that he should be hid from the face of God. It 〈◊〉 were so grievous to Cain to be separated from the place of God's worship here on earth, which is but a type of the separation in the life to come, oh how grievous then must it needs been to the damned in the life to come, to be indeed excluded from the glory of God, and happiness of the glorified.  
The punishment of scense is the inflicting of torments and miseries, both one soul and body, for this shall be the misery of the damned, that they shall not rest without joy and sorrow, but as they shall be deprived of all happiness, so shall they be oppressed with all unhappiness, as they shall been debarred of all delight and pleasure, so they shall be filled withal unspeakable torments. By many things are their torments expressed in the holy Scriptures most terrible and most painful our Saviour Christ saith, their worm never dyeth, and their fire never goeth out, and again, cast that unprofitable servant into utter darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, Math: 25.30. with many the like paraphrases and denominations expressing the like. Now if nothing can be more terrible than utter darkness, being that plague of Egypt which next to the death of the first borne most of all moved Pharoahs' hard hart, if nothing more painful inwardly than the gnawing of the heart, with the teeth of the serpent, if nothing outwardly, than the heat and burning of fire, yea, if nothing more intolerable than the continuance of these torments without ceasing or intermission, then suredly by these descriptions the Lord would have us know, that the punishment of the damned is most intolerable, and so great as the fury of God's wrath against sin can kindle, and the rage of Satan can inflict.  
Now the reasons that the damned do suffer, not only the punishment of loss, but of sense, that is, that they do not only lose the benefit of comfort, but are also tormented, are these.  
First, of the punishment of loss. 
1 Reas.  Because they neglect and despise the true good grace and glory offered unto them, yea, and God himself, the fountain of all good, and therefore it is equal and just that their punishment extend to this, that they be separated from God and his glory, from all good and happiness. For God will forsake them that forsake him,  
Secondly, of the punishment of sense. Because they have chosen to follow that which is evil and forbidden unto them, 
2 Reas.  therefore it is just, that the reward of their own hands be given unto them, yea, it is equal, that his own iniquities take the wicked himself, and that he be holden with the cords of his own sin.  
As for the second consideration, how ●●e the punishment of the wicked doth extend, it is evident that it extendeth.  
First, to every one, with out respect or differences of persons or properties, to old, young, rich, poor, weak and mighty, noble and ignoble, wise and foolish, Tribulation and anguish shall be upon the soul of every one that doth evil, Rom. 2 9 And Tophet is prepared of old: it is even prepared for the King; he hath made it deep and large. Esay 30.33.  
Secondly, to every part of the damned both to soul and body, yea to every part of either of them, so that not so much as Dives tongue can be free from the heat of this torment. Luk. 16.24.  
Thirdly, to the uttermost extremity, for it shall be the extremest torment that may been, the breath of God's fury kindling it, Esa. 30 33. and being without any pitying or commiseration: For there shall be judgement merciless to him that showeth no mercy. james. 2.13.  
fourthly, to be without ceasing or intermission, so that it shall be restless, without so much as the refreshing of a drop of water (which were a small thing in such a fire) to cool any part of the tormented, & therefore our Saviour Christ saith in th● place before named, that there worm● ne●er dieth, and their fire never goeth out: the worm biteth so long as he liveth, and the fire tormenteth so long as he burneth. ●ifthlie, to eternity, for it shall be everlasting without end, and therefore it is not only called fire to express the greatness of it, but everlasting fire to express the continuancie of it, Math: 25.41. Which causeth me to remember what one sayeth in his meditations, if the damned were to continue in their torments but a thousand ●housand years, yet had they some hope, ●f but so many years as there are stars ●n the sky, sands on the sea, grass on the ●round, and dust on the face of the earth ●n the greatest drought, yet there should be ●n end, nay if but so many thousand thou●and years as are stars in the sky, ●ands on the sea, grass on the ground and ●ust on the face of the earth, yet should ●here be one day an end of their torments, ●ut their misery is fare otherwise, for so many thousand years being ended, so many thousands of thousands are again to begin, which also ever shall begin, and ne●er shall have end.  
Now if it been demanded by the way ●hither there shall been in hell material fi●… to the torment of the damned; Quest.  
I answer, it is no point of faith, or matter necessary to salvation to know, Answ. yet freely to deliver my opinion, without ●●spargement to the opinion of the con●●●…y minded, I see no reason to the contrary. For insomuch as the body sinneth with the soul, it is just that it be punished with the soul, now insomuch as the Scripture have expressed this torment of fire, I think it curiosity to expound that by a figure, and to be fain to search out another figurative speech to find a matter to torment the body, fire being apt to torment, and being the greatest of all torments, neither is it natural that may be said, that then there must by that reason be a material worm to gnaw, as well as fire to burn, for fire can torment the body, but a worm cannot torment the soul, and therefore that which cannot literally be understood to be done, must be figuratiuly expounded, which exposition that may be done, so understood, need not but literally to be expounded.  

1 Use.  This doctrine may be a powerful motive to all wand'ring sinners, that go astray after, the corruptions of their own hearts, in the desert paths of disobedience, to return unto their God by true repentance, lest they die the death for their disobedience, if the poor sheep in the wilder●●●● did but know, that if they continue … ng from their fold, they should assuredly been devoured of the Wolf, they ●ould surely (although wanting reason) ●y the very conduct of sense make haste to ●he custody of their Shepherd, this then ●eing most certain, that all that go a●tray from the ways of God, and so continued wand'ring, either till their day of their visitation be past, or till death take away ●●e time and place of repentance, shall been devoured of hell and destruction, oh how ●hould this move us, speedily to return to ●he fouled of Christ, to wash away our sins ●ith the tears of repentance, to redeem ●●e time, and to be warned, that they ●ome not into this damnation.  
Hence may all obstinate and impenitent sinners, to their terror, see the assu●ed end of all their wicked courses by the eternal damnation both of body and ●●ule. 
4 Use.  What then shall become of all Idolaters, Adulterers, Drunkards, Swear●●s, breakers of Gods Saboths', covetous earthworms, Usurers, Oppressors, and ●●ch like, that live and dye in their sins. ●urely they shall be bound up in bundles to be burned, they shall go into everlasting pain, malefactors one earth hau● some hope after sentence to escape 〈◊〉 temporal punishment for men are drain by many means to revoke their sentences, and to grant their gracious pardons, but in this judgement the damned have to go with God, who is feared by no man's dreatnesse, altered by no reward, with whom is no changing or shadow of turning, and therefore his sentence is unrevocable neither after this life is there any time, place, or liberty of repentance: but as the tree falls so it lies, either to life or destruction. Amen.  
FINIS.