4. And knowest thou not, that _the wages of sin is death_? Death not only temporal, but eternal. _The soul that sinneth it shall die_: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. It shall die the second death. This is the sentence, to _be punished_ with never-ending death, _with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power_. Knowest thou not that every sinner, ἔνοχος ἐστι τῆ γεέννῃ τοῦ πυρός; not properly _is in danger of hell-fire_, that expression is far too weak: but rather, _is under the sentence of hell-fire_, doom’d already, just dragging to execution. Thou art guilty of everlasting death. It is the just reward of thy inward and outward wickedness. It is just, that the sentence should now take place. Dost thou see, dost thou feel this? Art thou throughly convinced, that thou deservest God’s wrath and everlasting damnation? Would God do thee no wrong, if he now commanded the earth to open and swallow thee up? If thou wert now to go down quick into the pit, into the fire that never shall be quenched? If God hath given thee truly to repent, thou hast a deep sense that these things are so; and that it is of his mere mercy thou art not consumed, swept away from the face of the earth. 5. And what wilt thou do to appease the wrath of God, to atone for all thy sins, and to escape the punishment thou hast so justly deserved? Alas, thou canst do nothing: nothing that will in any wise make amends to God, for one evil work, or word, or thought. If thou couldst now do all things well, if from this very hour, till thy soul should return to God, thou couldst perform perfect uninterrupted obedience, even this would not atone for what is past. The not increasing thy debt would not discharge it. It would still remain as great as ever. Yea, the present and future obedience of all the men upon earth, and all the angels in heaven, would never make satisfaction to the justice of God for one single sin. How vain then was the thought, of atoning for thy own sins by any thing thou couldst do? It costeth far more to redeem one soul, than all mankind is able to pay. So that were there no other help for a guilty sinner, without doubt he must have perished everlastingly.