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though not nearly as explicit. These include bottomless perdition, Adamantine chains, penal fire,
massive space, torment by the thought of lost happiness and lasting pain, a huge fiery furnace
that produces only darkness, complete absence of rest and hope, endless torture in burning
sulphur that is never consumed, uninterrupted misery.

2. Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

Baxter, an English Puritan pastor, pictured the wicked in Hell as aware of the full extent

of their loss, especially their fellowship with and delight in God. He stressed their recognition of
the enormity of their sin and consequent guilt.

Using fire imagery depicting Gods wrath, he portrayed the just suffering of the

impenitent in Hell:

The everlasting flames of hell will not be thought too hot for the rebellious; and when
they have there burned through millions of ages, he will not repent him of the evil which
is befallen them. Woe to the soul that is thus set up as a butt, for the wrath of the
Almighty to shoot at, and as a bush that must burn in the flames of his jealousy, and never
be consumed.

With vivid imagery Baxter pictured the everlasting torment that portrays Gods wrath as

inconceivable and intolerable. He described Satan as the executor of Gods wrath.

Baxters emphasis upon eternal punishment in Hell in his preaching reflected his zeal in

striving to persuade people to turn to Jesus Christ for salvation and thereby to avoid the
everlasting torment that they would otherwise have to face. He wrote:

Preaching heaven and mercy to thee, is entreating thee to seek them and not reject them;
and preaching hell is but to persuade thee to avoid it. If thou wert quite past hope of
escaping it then were it in vain to tell thee of hell; but as long as thou are alive, there is
hope of thy recovery, and therefore all means must be used to awake thee from thy
lethargy.

B. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

1. Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
An English pastor and educator, Watts achieved fame as a prolific writer of Christian

hymns, including "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "Jesus Shall Reign," "Joy to the
World," and "At the Cross."

In his hymn, "Day of Judgment," he wrote:

Hopeless mortals! How they scream and shiver while
devils push them into the pit wide yawning
Hideous and gloomy to receive them headlong
Down to the center.