Also, the sting of hell to some will be, that the damnation of others stands upon their score; for that by imitating them, by being deluded by them, persuaded by them, drawn in by them, others perish in hell for ever.

Ah, this will be the sting of those that are principal, chief, and as I may call them, the captain and ringleading sinners.  Vipers will come out of other men’s fire and flames, and settle upon, seize upon, and for ever abide upon their consciences; and this will be the sting of hell, the great sting of hell to them.

I will yet add to this, how will the fairness of some for heaven, even the thoughts of that, sting them when they come to hell.  It will not be so much their fall into the pit, as from whence they fell into it, that will be to them the buzzing noise and sharpened sting of the great and terrible hornet.  “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer!”—­there is the sting.  Thou that art exalted up to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell; though thou hast made thy nest among the stars, from thence will I fetch thee down:  there is a sting.  To be pulled, for and through love to some vain lust, from the everlasting gates of glory, and caused to be swallowed up for it in the belly of hell, and made to lodge for ever in the darksome chambers of death:  there is the piercing sting.

But again, as there is the sting of hell, so there is the strength of that sting; for a sting, though never so sharp or venomous, yet if it wanteth strength to force it to the designed execution, it doth but little hurt.  But this sting hath strength to cause it to pierce into the soul:  “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.”  I Cor. 15:56; Rom. 7:8; 4:15.

Here then is the strength of the sting of hell:  it is the law in the perfect penalty of it; for without the law, sin is dead; yea, where no law is, there is no transgression.  The law then followeth, in the executive part of it, the soul into hell; and there strengthened sin, that sting in hell, to pierce the soul for ever and ever by its unutterable charging of sin on the conscience.  Nor can the soul justly murmur or repine at God or his law; for that then the sharply apprehensive soul will well discern the justness, righteousness, reasonableness, and goodness of the law, and that nothing is done by the law unto it, but that which is just and equal.

This, therefore, will put great strength and force into sin to sting the soul, and to strike it with the lashes of a scorpion.

And besides these, the abiding life of God, the Judge and God of this law, will never die.  When princes die, the law may be altered by which at present transgressors are bound in chains; but Oh, here is also that which will make this sting so sharp and keen:  the God that executes it will never die.  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  Heb. 10:  30, 31.

“This shall they have of my hand, they shall lie down in sorrow;” they shall lie down in it, they shall make their bed there, there they shall lie.  And this is the bitter pill that they must swallow down at last; for after all their tears, their sorrows, their repentings, their wishings and wouldings, and all their inventings and desires to change their state for a better, they must lie down in sorrow.