positions of the vvord hades that it is the generall place of soules: and holdeth as vvell the godly vvhich are in paradise, as the vvicked that are in tartarus. with a catalogue of our heresies, from which one word handled by a right grecian would haue saued vs. to the bb. of england. by hugh broughton 1605. broughton, hugh, 1549-1612. 1605 approx. 11 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-02 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a16998 stc 3879 estc s119114 99854321 99854321 19735 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a16998) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 19735) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1475-1640 ; 1340:26) positions of the vvord hades that it is the generall place of soules: and holdeth as vvell the godly vvhich are in paradise, as the vvicked that are in tartarus. with a catalogue of our heresies, from which one word handled by a right grecian would haue saued vs. to the bb. of england. by hugh broughton 1605. broughton, hugh, 1549-1612. [2], 14 p. s.n.], [amsterdam? : 1605. place of publication suggested by stc. ends on a? in both copies a8v has the catchword "done so:", but this is possibly an error in the position of the words. one copy has added at the foot in contemporary manuscript "finis" --stc. reproduction of the original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng future life -early works to 1800. hell -early works to 1800. 2005-08 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-10 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2005-10 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion positions of the vvord hades : that it is the generall place of soules : and holdeth as vvell the godly vvhich are in paradise , as the vvicked that are in tartarus . with a catalogve of our heresies , from which one word handled by a right grecian would haue saued vs. to the bb. of england . by hvgh brovghton 1605. of hades , the place of soules : diuerse speches vvher it is . 1. the greeks vniuersally since their tongue hath bene in record , holding truly in speach , that mans soule is immortall , place the soules of the dead in hades . but vvher they should place it , that could not be knovvē of thē vvhich had not faith to perceaue that by the vvord of god tvvo vvorldes vvere made . 2. saturne and iapetus , sent of iuppiter into hades , held the other haemisphere . and plato in phaedone proueth that seing the earth is in the middes , hades ūder the earth , to our situation , must be as far as the heauens . 3. eustathius vpō homer calting haden for iapetꝰ the half globe vnseen , shevveth that some place haden beyond the ocean . and homer , in vlysses iourney to hades , placeth it beyond the gates of the sunne . 4. the greek fathers follovv the heathen in phrase : vvho term the place of all dead , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnder the ground . yet they knovv that abraham and such vvere in the heauenly city . by eb. xi . and that doth basilius confess vpon ps . 15 , & 115 , & 116. & many fathers in fragments vpon the psalmes ioyned to athanasius . and athanasius in mo places then tvventie shevveth that hades to our l. vvas holy adams , & holy abrahams lodging . and vvhē the porters of hades trēbled : in that father , it vvas not for feare least the vvicked should be rid from gehenna : but least all the faithfull should arise . and euen gehēna in chrysologus is by abuse of term abrahams lodg : vvhom & the rich man eadem regio continebat . vvhat vicinity is to soules in their vvorld vve cannot tell . and as vve see the sun so far off better thē a man distant forty pases : so the speach passeth of abraham vvith eleazar that made god his strength , to the tormented : as though there vvere but a dingle , valley , or great ditch betvvixt them : yet theyr listance may be far : though vve must be spoken too : as mans capacity holdeth . and , by our lords vvarrant , hades hath abraham no lesse then the rich man. in that vvord luc. 16. the lord allovveth the general notiō of heathē greek : that hades is the place of all kynde of soules : faithfull & faithles . 5. by iosephus in photius librarj the bosom of abraham is in hades : and by the true philo the greek ievv of alexandria , abrahā leaving mortality is ioyned to the people of god , enioying vncorruptiō , made equall vnto angels . and this sentence a late ievv r. azarias hath translated into ebrevv : as being the ievves comon opinion . 6. the learned theodoret cōmendeth platoes iudgment for double iudgments in hades : ioy for the iust : & prison for the vniust . and he accepteth platoes terms , though plato knevv not vvher hades vvas . 7. the ievves in zoar made from symeon ben iochaj , of s. pauls time , haue gehenna for the vvicked : & paradise for the godly . and no third place . and in aboth rabbj nathan moses & all faithful are presently caryed to gods throne . and rest vnder the throne . as the martyrs vnder the altar . ap. 6. 8. our l. confirming the ievves terme of paradise , telleth the thief this day shalt thou be vvith me in paradise . the ievves vvere taught by prophets termes for the vvorld to come : and those vvould the holy ghost confirm in the nevv testament . 9. some greek fathers , not knovving paradise for soules lodge vsed from the prophets scholers , thought it opened first to the thief : and so , hades for the fathers to be a degree lovver : as doth basil on pf . 49. yet he checketh himself . 10. s. paul disputing vvith ebrevves in their plain maner , to greeks vvas hard in this eb. xi . god providing better for vs , that they vvithout vs should not be perfected . he denyed not to abel , enoch , noe , melchizedek abrahā , isaak , iacob , moses , barac , gedeon , iepthe , samson , samuel , david his 37 vvorthies strong in battel , the sareptane , the sunamite , elias & vexed prophets , ananias , azarias , misael & daniel & the machabees , vvho dyed for hope of the better resurrection , he denied not to these all ioy , that tbe martyrs had : but disputed hovv the lavv made nothing perfect in doctrine : vvithout the gospel manifested vnto vs , seen to the old fathers far off . 11. s. paul vvas not a lord of faith , but a teacher . and so he vvas to speak vpon grounds vvhich his enemies could not deny . and he protesteth he bringeth no nevv principles . that christ vvas to suffer , & being the first from the dead should shevv light ūto the vvorld : this vvas all his difference from the scribes . and his epistle to the ebrevves in euery membre combateth vvith the talmudiqnes : vvhos speaches yf the greek fathers had knovven , abrahams hades had not bene thought , one thought in ioy differing from his iudaique paradise : vvherin he vvas equall to angels . 12. iosephus book for abrahās bosom in hades , fathered vpon irenęus , iustine martyr , & one caius elected bishop of the gentils , in photius , sheevveth the greeks comon opinion : that they took hades the general to paradise dise & gehenna . but vvhen they feared speaches to rabbins for the thiefes paradise , & hovv the patriarks had not perfection vvithout vs. yet theophilact vvrestleth vvell vp on s. luc. 23. vvith both poincts . but novv 1400. yeares the greeks haue staggered : saying vvell and tottering vpon their ovvn sayings . 13. vvithout knovvledge of rabbins & heathen greeks , none can be a fit bishop to expoūd soūdly the ebrevv and the greek testament : & to shevv constantly that hades is the generall for heauen & hell. 14. the scribes hold vniuersally that sheol neuer distinguisheth lots , but vvhen it is taken for a spedy death , vpon vvickednes : and yet then no sure vvarrant , for to be hell. 15. yf any vvill be heaping christians for sheol to be hell , against the most learned scribes , rambam , the greatest thalmudique that ever vvas : vvho to . 1. 49. in a treatise of repentance svveateth to find the metaphores for hell , and all notes of it but neuer durst touch sheol : yf any vvill make our barbarous to teach such rabbins ebrevv , that mā making us ask off to turks & ievves , laboureth for machmad more then many thousands that take his pay . and such should be bridled not honoured . of the manyfold haeresies vvhich hades , holden the vvorld of soules , generall to paradise & gehenna , doth plainly , strongly , & most profitably confute . 1 the pope thanketh god , vvho sent his s. to hades , to bring the fathers to paradise : this thāk is foolish . they vvere & are still in paradise : the ioyfull part of hades . and they changed not their place , by our lords passage . 2. some of ours say : the church ever held that out l. vvēt to hell. the iesuites of mentz being demaūded of their faith : vvhich is in a greeke epistle vvritten by their chief pater nicol serarius vtterly deny that our l. vvēt to vvorse lodge then the fathers had . and no old church vvent further that vvay then the popish . so our doctrine fayleth , and falleth . and of reformed churches breame alone or vvith small company , holdeth hell , to be named in the creed . 3. geneua made them selves rediculous to all graecia : teaching imposibilities : that our l. vvent to paradise : and not to hades . as if they vvere men & not animalia . 4. the same in vvord deny the soules immortality . all platoniques vvill tell thē that yf the soul be immortall , it must needs go hēce to hades . not onely theodoret named about : but also s. luc. 16. allovveth platoes speach . so geneva tongue denyeth the soules immortality : though it have a mind vndenying of it : and a good hope of the vvorld of soules : better thē the ievves : vvhich say gholā haneshamoth gholam hanechamoth the vvorld of soules is the vvorld of solace . but alas they hausmal hop , vvho deny christ our only hope . 5. geneva , saying : to descēd to hell is to haue the torments of hell : vvould be rediculous to three thousand yeares greek : none euer tooke it so . therin they do them selves exceeding great iniury : shevving that they misse in vveighty matter : against the perpetuall vse of the speach . 6. the same teaching in this order that our l. suffred : vvas crucified dead and buryed , and suffred : make the penner of the creed to be no logician : that knevv not in vvhat order things vvere to be spoken . 7. the soules immortality should specially be opened in the creed : that the body being declared , hovv it vvas crucified dead , & buryed : this article vvas needfull : that our lord his soule vvent vnto the father . that doth the greek in speach of the faithfull , signify . this goodly article the geneveans exclude . 8. the assertion that our l. suffred hell torments , appeareth not true by any scripture . true modesty vvould looke to scripture phrases in handling our redemtion . the word telleth our l. his danger , shame and reproch , vvere vnspeakable : and that god left him ps . 22. vnto paynes and contumelies there set dovvn . but that god forsooke him : that is our ovvne term . the vvord is leaue . and the psalme expoundeth the vvord . and shabak in the gospell , syriaque and in dan. 4. is plainly to leaue . as to leave the stumpes of the tree in the ground . 9. calvins vncircūspect vvordes herein gaue papists much advātage : and troubled all churches . greek skill for one vvord vvould haue holpen all . 10. purgatory falleth vvhē . hades lodgeth all soules departed : & can haue but paradise & gehenna for them . 11. archb. vvhitgift , vvas vvise vvhen he obteyned by syr iulius caesar q. elizabeths hand for m. ieffrey k. felovv of the kinges colledge to passe ouer sea to cōfesse his haeresy : vvhile he denyed descēding to hel in the creed to mean in a barbarous & shamefull translation a going vp to paradise . and he vvas thankfull in promise of 400 lib. ꝑ annū : to his catechizer . so that he vvould stir no more in the matter . archb. vvhitg . vvas vvell learned in the comon kind : and could see . when he the arch. yeelded , the inferior bb. should haue done so : a sermon preached at st. dunstans in the west at the funeral of mrs. anne seile, the 18th of july, 1678 by gilbert burnet. burnet, gilbert, 1643-1715. 1678 approx. 35 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 16 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a30416 wing b5871 estc r13574 12389558 ocm 12389558 60962 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a30416) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 60962) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 272:3) a sermon preached at st. dunstans in the west at the funeral of mrs. anne seile, the 18th of july, 1678 by gilbert burnet. burnet, gilbert, 1643-1715. [2], 29 p. printed by mary clark, london : 1678. reproduction of original in bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng seile, anne, d. 1678. future life -sermons. funeral sermons. 2003-10 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-10 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-12 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2003-12 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion memento mori a sermon preached at st. dunstans in the west at the funeral of mrs. anne seile , the 18th of iuly 1678. by gilbert burnet . london , printed by mary clark , 1678. a sermon on ephes. v. 15 , 16. see then that you walk circumspectly , not as fools , but as wise , redeeming the time , because the days are evil . this text seems very proper on this occasion ; since what is here recommended , agrees very near to the character , which i have had given me , of the person to whom we are now paying the last duties ; but having been a stranger to her my self , and she being much better known to you all , among whom she led her life , i shall say no more of her : but apply my self to the text. this is an exhortation following very naturally upon the preceding discourse ; in which st. paul had been comparing the state of christians under the gospel to light , opposing it to the darkness of the former superstition under heathenism : which was made up of many mysterious riddles , and unaccountable rites and performances , the chief design whereof was rather to darken than enlighten its blind votaries . but the gospel , being a plain and clear direction , how to attain eternal life in the practice of the most excellent rules that ever were delivered ; is therefore fitly as well as frequently in the new testament , compared to light , in which there are no dark secrets ; which must be known only to a few priests : but all is laid open , and made plain to every discreet and diligent reader . and though it contains several things which are dark and mysterious , as in the clearest light places at a great distance seem black , yet the darkness is not in the manner of revelation , which is explicite and plain , but rises from the remoteness of the object , which being at such distance from us , and so far above us , cannot be made so visible to us , as those things that are before us , and lie in our way : about which not only the precepts are plain and express , but the reason of them is so apparent , that like publick high ways , the rule is so plain , that without some art a man cannot be mistaken ; so that if the history of past ages , and the sad prospect of the present did not give us an unanswerable objection to the contrary , one that considers the thing in it self , would hardly think it possible , that a man could be mistaken about it . this being then laid down : the exhortation in the text i have read , does naturally follow . he that walks in the dark , though he stumble often , it is forgiven him , and if he makes but any tolerable progress in his way it is wondered at : but if we should see a man stumbling who walks in full day light , and if he made no considerable progress , we must needs conclude him under some distemper of body or mind : so how justly soever we admire the vertues of the heathens , whose religion tended rather to corrupt than purifie them ; yet it will be an eternal reproach on us , if we who are enlightned by so heavenly a doctrine , do not far outstrip them , both in the exactness of our deportment , and our constant progress in vertue . i shall without any accurate division follow the thread of my text ; and offer from it such considerations , as may be most profitable and suitable to the present o●casion ; and shall consider , first , what is imported in this walking circumspectly , or exactly and accurately . secondly , the character given of such a walk : that it is the consequence of true wisdom , and that the contrary is the greatest folly in the world , not as fools , but as wise . thirdly , that we ought to be making a daily progress in vertue : either making up what we have lost by our former idleness and folly , or cutting off those superfluities of naughtiness which consume so much of our time . redeeming the time . and lastly , the reason given for all this , because the days are evil . to walk circumspectly , according to the true notion of the word , is to live with all possible strictness and accurateness : not affecting a pharisaical sowrness , nor a nicity about some lesser matters . this exactness consists not in a coarse habit , sullen looks , an affectation of odd gestures , or a peevish scrupulosity about little things . these are the arts of hypocrisie , which though a discerning mind see through and despise them , yet have in all ages wrought much on the feeble , and easily deceived multitudes ▪ it is true , a man cannot be religious in good earnest , but let him use what secresie and care soever he can to conceal it , it will shine in his deportment ; and even in the external parts of it , there will appear so much of a composed gravity , tempered with a just mixture of sweetness and good nature , that he will shine as a light in the world . yet there is such a variety of mens humours and dispositions , some being naturally melancholy , others more gay and jovial , that we ought never on the one hand to be taken too much with an outward appearance , how fair soever , nor be on the other hand too apt to censure people for such things in their external behaviour , which do perhaps rise from their natural tempers and dispositions . but to walk circumspectly is a thing of far greater importance . it is in a word , to govern our hearts and inward affections , and our lives and outward actions , by the rule of the gospel . it is not only to be so far good as to live without scandal in the world , nor to quiet the clamours of conscience which may rise upon us after some more notorious sins ; but it imports somewhat beyond all these : that a man should dedicate himself to religion , making it his business ▪ and as the bloud circulates over the whole body , in greater vessels thorough the nobler parts , and in smaller ones even thorough the remotest members ; so the true spirit of christianity runs through a mans whole life , with a due proportion of care and application : not putting his whole strength to lesser matters , and doing the greatest slightly and carelesly , but applying his greatest industry to things of chief concernment , yet so as not to be too remiss in the smallest matters . he therefore that would walk circumspectly must first , lay down to himself a complete scheme of his whole life , that he may form distinct rules to himself , in all the parts of his business , by which he shall govern his life and actions . he that has not thus digested into his thoughts a clear model of what he resolves to be , lives at random , and cannot walk circumspectly : for he knows not what it is . an architect that builds by rule , has a plane or model according to which the house must rise ; and without which all must be irregular , and out of order : if therefore we set about the raising of this spiritual building , we must both lay down a regular frame of it , and cast up the expence of what it rises to . therefore he that will be an accurate christian , must consider himself in all the circumstances of his life : what his station calls him to : how he is obliged to his relations , how he ought to imploy his time , both in his retirement , business , and diversions ; that upon all these he may agree within himself to such rules as shall be the measures of his actions . this scheme being once laid down , we must by frequent thinking so infix it in our memories , that we need not run to any books for our rules , but have them always before our eyes , and by firm and positive resolutions we must engage our selves as deep as we can to the observance of them . secondly , we must frequently compare our lives and actions by the rules thus laid down : and this not only in some transient thoughts , but in deep and serious reflexions . no business can go well on , unless the accounts and progress of it are often ballanced and much considered . if men therefore do so carefully manage their fortunes , that they set off large portions of their time either daily , weekly , or yearly , to examine their accounts : how can it be imagined that a thing of that importance , upon which all the hopes of our eternal state depends , should be so easily transacted ? therefore we ought often to search our hearts , and try our actions , that we may discover if there be any evil way in them . the tradesman does often and anxiously apply his square to the work , left little irregularities which the eye cannot discover , should by an undiscerned progress amount to so notable an errour , as might spoil the whole design . we slip into many habits without reflection ; which as an unsensible motion of dust upon our cloaths , does not stain them so visibly in any one minute , but after a little time do cover and discolour them : so many little things that pass neglected will at length run on to a greater matter in the total sum of them ▪ thirdly , he that walks circumspectly does by an even and steady course avoid extremes on all hands ; he must not allow himself any one fault : for willingly to consent to a small sin makes it a great one . he must therefore keep himself at a distance from sin , by avoiding it in its first beginnings , in which it is easily resisted . nor must he only avoid things in themselves sinful , but every thing that leads out of the way . there are many things which in their own nature are innocent , and therefore fall within our liberty : but if those things by an unlucky hit with our tempers and other circumstances , prove snares to us , then a man who walks accurately must avoid them ; as he who is exactly regular in his diet , does not only consider food as it is wholsom in it self , and pleasant to his taste , but if upon frequent experiments he feels it does not agree with him , he therefore restrains his appetite and rejects it . this rule is so much the more necessary in moral matters , as our souls are of greater importance than our bodies . these are the measures and rules by which he that walks accurately and circumspectly governs himself ; and upon a sober application of these to our selves , we may be able easily to judge , whether we have complied with st. paul's exhortation in my text. do we satisfie our selves in some forms and ceremonies of our religion , and imagine that if we perform these with some care and solemnity , we may live at large all the rest of our time ? are we such strangers to our selves , that we have never so much as considered what our callings and relations oblige us to ? vainly conceiting , that if we pray a little , all is well ? do we often and narrowly review our life that we may discover past errors , and correct them for the future ? count we nothing small that offends god , and blemishes our own integrity ? and do we readily and willingly throw up every thing which proves really a scandal or stumbling to us , even where it is dear as a right eye or a right hand is to us ? if we put those queries to our consciences , and hear what answers they make to them , we may be soon satisfied whether we walk circumspectly or not . i shall not use any other argument to commend this course of life but what is taken from the following words , not as fools , but as wise . the second thing i proposed to speak to . wisdom consists in two things : the first , is to balance things aright , and to judge well of them . the second , is to direct our practice by judgments so well framed . the one is speculative , the other is practical wisdom . now in both these a man that walks circumspectly carries himself as a wise man. no man can judge aright till he has considered all things well . to pronounce rashly is an evident sign of folly . the loose libertines run on headlong , and never stay to think or examine what they do : then resolutions are not the effect of judgment , but rise either from the hurry of passions , the violence of appetite , or the force of some popular customs and habits . men therefore that view things so slightly cannot judge maturely ; but he that walks circumspectly brings all his actions into the light , and tries them by a test that cannot deceive him . i speak now to persons who believe the gospel , and may be supposed upon the present occasion to have something more than ordinary tenderness upon their hearts : and therefore i shall not pursue this further , but certainly as much as things eternal are preferrable to things temporal ▪ as much as the soul is better than the body , and as much as the enjoyment of god is above the possession of a small parcel of this earth ; by so much he makes the better choice who dedicates himself to religion , and supposing those principles are to be acknowledged , certainly it is much the better choice to resolve to walk circumspectly , than to live at the rate of our ordinary christians ▪ for if we believe that god sees , and takes notice of our actions , that he will call us to an account for them , and reward and punish us eternally according to them : then we cannot be too accurate and careful in the ordering of our lives . nor is there any folly in the world equal to this , of thinking that some slight or low form of religion will serve the turn , and that it is needless to strain for high degrees of holiness ; but that god almighty will take any thing off our hands . if a mans life or whole estate be put upon the issue of a trial , the exactest diligence and carefulness is necessary : and remissness then is a crime not to be excused : but of how much greater consequence is eternity , eternity ! rewards are proportioned to the services that are expected : no man is raised to the greatest honours for going on an errand . to expect then eternal life upon some trifling performances , is to conclude that god keeps no proportion between the rewards he offers , and the services he enjoyns . upon all which it may be very reasonably concluded , that he who walks circumspectly gives us this first evidence of his wisdom that he makes the best judgment of things . but wisdom is an empty notion , if it rest in a speculation ; then it is wisdom indeed when it is reduced to practice , and certainly what a man judges fit , ought either to be done by him ; or else he has that within him , which will make his life very uneasie to him . no man has a more uncomfortable life , than he who has good notions of religion , but does not answer them in his actions : for he neither feels the pleasures of sin without controul , nor the joys of a good conscience : but is perpetually rackt between his good principles , and his ill life , so that it is the greatest folly in the world to be religious only by halves . besides , a man who would compound in the matter of religion , and content himself with as low a measure as is possible , evidently discovers that he hath neither true love to god , nor holiness , but is only acted by a base principle of servile fear : which as it perplexes a man inwardly , so it gives him no assurances of gods favour to him ▪ since no man can expect great returns for what is done upon fear . he then that serves god thus , is in danger of losing all his labour ; and if he does not come quite short of his reward , yet he cannot promise himself a full one . it is likewise the easiest , and by consequence the wisest course , to be accurate and circumspect in our religion ; for there is no admitting of sin by measure into our hearts , which is like the breaking in of waters ; give but a passage to a few drops , and they will make way for a whole stream ; and as fire and water cannot be limited by rules in their progress , so it is not possible to restrain our lusts and passions , if we but give way to their first beginnings : but on the other hand , he whose life is of a piece , and does not consent to the commission of any sin , finds the whole work by so much the easier ; for vertue and religion are of a complicated nature ; so that one part strengthens another , and what weakens it in a part pulls down the whole frame . upon the whole matter then it is apparent , that nothing tends so much to quiet a mans mind , to secure his happiness hereafter , and to make his work easie in this life , as to be exactly severe and strict in his whole deportment . and now why do we court the reputation of wisdom so much , and are so heavily offended when we are accounted foolish and unwise ; and yet are guilty of a madness that is far beyond all that can be seen at a bedlam ? to believe eternity , and yet not labour for it ; to acknowledge a god , and yet not serve him with our utmost care ; to profess that we are christians , and yet to live so unlike christ and his gospel , are extravagancies beyond any common madness , and if those fits did return only after long intervals , as they do in lunaticks , it were not so desperate ; but that the fits should be so lasting and constant , and our sober moods only return after long intervals of folly , are sad symptomes that our distempers are past cure . mad men shew their art and skill in some little things about them , and yet are mad men still . so what are all the arts of policy and craft in the world , but like the cunning tricks of madness ? they , they are only truly wise , that consider the author and end of their being aright ; and make that the chief work of their life here , which can secure to them the hopes of an eternal one hereafter . is the art of governing kingdoms , cities , or families , or improving or managing of fortunes to be compared to this , by which a man so governs himself that he has quiet in his own conscience , joyned with assurance of gods favour and protection here , and being with him eternally hereafter ? and yet after all this , how do men glory in their follies , in which they appear as ridiculous to those who discern aright , as those in bedlam , a great part of whose madness does consist in their extravagant gestures and postures , laughing at others , though themselves be a more proper object of it , if tenderness and compassion for them did not over-rule the mirth which their folly is apt to raise ? those who are fools in the severest sense laugh at , and despise the truly religious , who with a far better reason might turn back their contempt upon themselves , if another principle which their religion inspires them with , did not turn it to compassion and pity ; for who can look on such objects without all the meltings of tenderness and good nature . the third thing i proposed to speak to , is the great care and caution with which those who walk circumspectly do measure out and employ their time . redeeming the time ▪ which is capable of a double sense : either first , by redoubling our diligence to make up the time we have lost in our former vanity and folly . when one begins to live exactly , and reflects on his former course of life , he finds so much of his time has been spent to so little purpose , that from the sincere compunction he has of so great a loss , he sets himself forward with all possible industry , to do such services to god in the remaining parts of his life , as may in some sort balance his former irregularities . he that has a long journey to make , and a limited time for it , if he has trifled away a great deal of it , is the more vigilant and busie , and puts on with the greater activity and force : that if it be possible he may repair the faults he formerly committed . when we reflect on the great portions of our time that are already gone , and have been ill applied , if we have any ingenuity in us , we will from a generous sense of our former errours study some way to compensate for what is past , and this will hold more forcibly in those who begin late to be religious ▪ whose youth , strength , and vigour have been employed in the service of their lusts and passions . how will they reckon that the time past ought more than suffice them to have wrought the will of the flesh ? and since they cannot recover what is lost , and redeem it in the strictest sense ; yet they will more vigorously improve the little remainder of time that is before them . to such persons an ordinary measure of holiness is not sufficient ; as one who has long neglected his duty to any superiour , when he returns to himself , expiates what is past with a more punctual obedience and profounder submission . and this is to redeem the time in its first sense . a second sense of it is to rescue and buy it out ( as the word imports ) of their ill hands who have engrost too much of it . many masters have dominion over it ; every one claims his property , and stretches it as far as may be . our bodies claim their share : both in the necessary supplies of decaying nature ; and in providing for those supplies : but beyond these the irregularities of diet , and the vanities of dressing , swallow up a great deal more . the weakness of our minds makes that some diversions are necessary , but modest recreations discreetly used , will not serve turn . many hours must be spent in looking on a defiled stage , where the scenes that are represented are not worse than the impressions they leave on the greatest part of the spectators : and the rest of the day is given up to gaming , which perhaps is continued to the next morning . our friends likewise may claim their share of it , but certainly this ought not to be stretcht so far , as the perpetual receiving and giving of those idle visits , which consume so much time , amounts to . to redeem or buy out our time is to take as much as may be out of the hands of those unjust invaders of it , and to apply it to better and nobler purposes : and to give every one what is their own share , reserving still the best part of it to our selves , and to the noblest part of our selves , our souls . it is a generous piece of kindness and friendship to assist others in their concerns , upon great occasions , when they need our help : but if a man minds only his neighbours affairs , and neglects his own , he is justly censured as a busie body . and what do most of those things amount to , in which we are employed ? one great impertinency runs through our whole life : and if about the greatest part of those affairs in which we toil and labour we put our saviours question to st. peter to our selves , what is that to thee ? we will be to seek for an answer . he then that will turn a manager of this great treasure , time , must reduce his expence , and cut off all the needless waste , he must give his body such refreshments as may both preserve life , and exhilarate his spirits ; and not oppress them with a surcharge of that which will both disorder his body , and clog his mind . and though all the labour of a man is for the belly , yet he must so provide for it , as not to starve his soul ; much less give it into the bargain ; for then he buyes his provisions dear . he must likewise use those diversions which are necessary to keep his body in health , and his mind in temper , but not throw away his time so profusely on them , as if he knew not how to dispose of it otherwise . besides the evaporating the spirits into too much mirth and folly makes us unfit for more sober employments ; as a truant scholar after some days of play , knows not how to turn himself again to his book . it is likewise a very ill evidence of our kindness to our friends to rob them of so much of their time , as the excessive humour of visiting wastes : which whatever people may pretend , about the obligations of civility and kindness , does really flow from this , that they know not how to bestow their time another way . and though many looking on it as a decent way of speaking , complain of these excesses ; yet by their extreme officiousness in them it is visible they are not much troubled at them ; as then he who has out-run himself , and begins to grow more frugal considers the several branches of his expence , and sees what he can cut off from every one of them ; so if we go about to redeem our time , and think to apply it to better purposes , we must see what portions of it we can recover out of the hands of those several consumers of it ; and apply what we can thus gain to nobler exercises , to the serious meditations of vertue and religion : that we may consider how we shall improve our faculties , lay out our talents , and employ our time in such services as may tend to the honour of god , and the good of our neighbours ; and attaining such an inward noble temper of mind , as religion requires , we may walk not only blameless and harmless , but as the sons of god we may shine as lights in the world . and now if we do consider how short our time , and how lasting eternity is ; if we consider how much we have to do , and how small a portion of our time is perhaps before us , which if it be quite wasted , can never be recovered , no not in all eternity ; if we also put to the account the many accidents of sicknesses , and other disorders which waste our time ; we must needs be convinced that it concerns us nearly to husband it as closely and carefully as we can . the reason here given by st. paul , because the days are evil , is next to be considered . evil days in scripture-stile stand either for great afflictions , or publick calamities , or for the declining of a mans age , or the approach of death , but in this place the apostles meaning must either relate to the ill conversation of those among whom they live ; for an evil day , and an evil time by an hebraism stand often for the same thing : or this phrase relates to the afflictions , the scorn , and other miseries the christians lay under , and the more severe persecutions which they had reason speedily to look for . and in all these senses the inference is very just , that because the days are evil we ought to redeem our time . the first sence relates to the corruption of the age , and the great immoralities of which both jews for gentiles were guilty , were a very convincing argument , to perswade christians to consider their ways with more than ordinary carefulness : that they might be upon their guard against the snares of so evil an example ▪ and resist the temptations of vice and sin when it was grown so common , that men were neither ashamed nor afraid of it . it was also the more necessary for christians to look more carefully to themselves , that they might shine as lights in the midst of a wicked generation , and set off the glory of their profession , with a greater advantage , having so black a foil placed near it . and certainly this argument has all possible strength in it , if we apply it to this dissolute age , in which men seem to have lost the shame as well as the sense of sin : and to have delivered themselves up to work wickedness with equal degrees of impudence and greediness . and we ought the rather to look narrowly to our selves , because the vices that have been discovered in some pretenders to piety , seem one of the greatest grounds of those mens confidence , that there is no truth in the things so much talked of . this prejudice is not to be beaten down by any arguments drawn from discourse , but by those undeniable and convincing experiments of a holy life , and vertuous conversation . and when a plague rages so universally that few escape the contagion , we should with the greater strictness look to our selves , that we be not infected . evil communications corrupt good manners . an ordinary diligence will not serve the turn , where the hazard is great , and the danger near . if therefore we either take care of our selves , or be concerned in the honour of our holy profession , we will employ our utmost care both to preserve our selves pure and undefiled , and to free our religion from the blemishes , which the ill-willers of it are apt to cast upon it , for they wait for our halting , and are both industrious to draw us into snares , and censorious enough to cast an imputation on religion , if we do any thing unworthy of it . the second sence of this phrase relates to calamities , and adversities , under which the christians did then groan , and had reason rather to look for an increase than a diminution of them . they who were exposed to the malice of the world had the greater reason to walk with that strictness that might maintain peace and quiet in their consciences ; which alone could balance all the other troubles they lay under ; and the interrupting of which made their lives indeed most miserable and uncomfortable of all other men . they had also the more reason to walk with all possible strictness , since they did not know but the malice of their enemies might very speedily put an end to their days : for to be a christian then was to die daily in its most literal sence . these then who believed eternity , and were every day almost in sight of it , had the greatest reason possible to look to themselves with the strictest caution . it is true we are not under those circumstances ; the profession of our religion is not matter of hazard to us ; we may be securely as religious and vertuous as we will , yet we are still exposed to all those miseries and calamities which naturally follow man in this mortal life . and what is the just support of a man under those trials ? he that can say , with the prophet , unto god , thou art my hope in the evil time , may well with great assurance subsume with david , wherefore should i fear in the days of evil ? when a man is overwhelmed with calamities and troubles , what miserable comforters prove all those other things in which he formerly rejoyced ? they rather increase his trouble , and add to his pain ; those perhaps who are of heavy hearts , may drink till they forget poverty , and remember their misery no more ; but when the fumes of wine are gone , and that fit of frolick mirth is over , their sorrows will return on them with the greater violence . they dare not ask comfort from their own hearts , which are black and defiled ; there being no such terrible companion in misery , as an evil conscience , which will be importunately putting in its accusations at every turn . but on the other hand , that inward peace and joy which a good conscience affords , entertains a man with a continual feast , even in the midst of troubles , and is musick to him over a dinner of herbs . he can look up to god , and look within himself , with much inward joy ; and though all things about him are black and dark , yet those set his thoughts inward more frequently , and with the greater pleasure , to that most agreeable prospect which a good conscience opens to him . this is a sufficient counterpoise to all other weights , that hang about us , and will steadily balance a man though walking on the the most slippery ground , and therefore because the days are evil , we must walk circumspectly , redeeming the time . the last sence of this phrase , is , that by the evil days are meant the approaches of death , so we are commanded to remember our creator in the days of our youth , before the evil days come , after which follows a most poetical description of the decays of old age. when persecutions seem'd near , there was a more visible cause to look on death as approaching : but if we consider how frail we are , and how short a time we have all to live upon the earth , we must acknowledge it most reasonable for us so to number our days as to apply our hearts unto wisdom . this , that is now before our eyes , with the many other spectacles of mortality , which daily occur , together with the decays we feel within our selves , do sufficiently assure us that we must remain here but a very little while : so that there is nothing in this life , in which our days are both few and evil , that is of any great consequence to us , unless it be according to the relation it hath to another state . how can he that is daily thinking of dislodging , be much concerned about the house he is so soon to leave : but if we believe that there is another state , a just judge , and a severe account , then the consideration of the shortness of our life , should engage us with our utmost industry to prepare for that other state , which will soon come on , and never have an end ; since upon the improving of so short a time depend all our hopes of eternity , and if we do now walk circumspectly , and redeem our time , we may assuredly hope that within a very little we shall be delivered from all the frailties and miseries which sin and infirmity keep us under , and shall be admitted into the presence and enjoyment of god , where , ( as we hope this our sister now doth , who after a long vertuous life led according to these rules , having attained almost to the age that in the psalm is called the full age of a man , of threescore years and ten , has now entred into the rest prepared for the people of god , ) we shall for ever rejoyce with all the companies of angels and saints : with whom , that we may eternally rejoyce , let us now , and all the days of our life , offer up to god the father , son , and holy ghost all honour , praise , and glory , amen . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a30416-e130 mat. 4.16.5.14 . joh 1.4 , 5 , 8 , 9.3.19 , 20. 2 cor. 4.4 , 6. eph. 5.8 . 1 pet. 2.9 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . mat. 5.16 . phil. 2.15 . psal. 119.6 , 9 , 30 , 106. luk. 14 . 2● . psal. 119.11 . 15.24 . psal. 139.23 , 24. james 1.10 . psal. 119 . 1●3 . psal. 26.45 . mat. 5.26 ▪ 2 cor. 5.10 . 1 joh. 4.18 . 2 joh. 8. ver . jer. 8.9 . psal. 111.10 . prov. 16.32 . 1 pet. 4.3 . john 21.23 . phil. 2.15 . gal. 1.4 . phil. 2.15 . 1 pet. 2.12 , 15. 1 cor. 15.33 . jer. 20.10 . psal. 37.19 . amos 6.3 . eph. 6.13 . jer. 1● . 17 . psal. 49.5 . prov. 31.6 . prov. 15.15 ▪ eccles. 12.1 . psal. 90.12 . gen. 47.9 . the difference between the present and future state of our bodies considered in a sermon / by jeremy collier. collier, jeremy, 1650-1726. 1686 approx. 40 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 19 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a33907 wing c5251 estc r23724 07884330 ocm 07884330 40272 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a33907) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 40272) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1202:28) the difference between the present and future state of our bodies considered in a sermon / by jeremy collier. collier, jeremy, 1650-1726. [1], 34 p. printed for sam. smith, london : 1686. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -n.t. -corinthians, 1st, xv, 29 -sermons. future life. sermons, english -17th century. 2003-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-06 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-07 marika ismail sampled and proofread 2003-07 marika ismail text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-08 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the difference between the present and future state of our bodies , considered in a sermon , by ieremy collier , m. a. london , printed for sam. smith at the prince's arms in st. paul's church-yard . 1686. imprimatur , april 23. 1686. hen. maurice , r mo . p. & d. wilhelmo archiep. cant. à sacris . 1 cor. 15. 29. and as we have born the image of the earthy , so we shall also bear the image of the heavenly . whether the soul in the state of separation acts independently of matter , purely by the strength of her own powers , or whether in order to the better understanding her self and other beings , she makes use of a body of air shaped out into such limbs and sences as she hath occasional employment for ; whether or no the want of her old companion is supplied this way , is uncertain . but whatever abatements of happiness the pious soul may suffer for want of a suitable body between the time of death , and the general judgment , then we are sure this inconvenience will be removed , and it will be repossessed of its antient seat out of which violence or nature had forced it . now this certainty of the resurrection is a doctrine , which helps the meanest understanding to conceive the nature of the happiness of the other world , and consequently must needs prove a great and universal encouragement to the practice of our duty . for in regard we have always been used to dwell in these houses of clay , the generality would not have been so well able to apprehend the happiness of pure and uncompounded spirits ; but would have been apt to have thought that the loss of their bodies would have deprived them of no small part of themselves ; and consequently would not have been so willing to resign them or expose them to hardship and inconvenience upon the account of religion : but now since we are assured that this visible part of us , which we are so well acquainted with , shall be quitted only for a time , and then restored us with all desirable advantages ; yet mortality shall be swallowed up of life , and we shall exchange the image of the earthy for that of the heavenly ; what can we more rationally infer than the last verse of this chapter ? wherefore be ye stedfast , immovable , always abounding in the work of the lord in as much as no part of our being is lost , and consequently no part of our labour is in vain in the lord. that by the image of the earthy is meant that mortal corruptible body which we have derived to us from adam , is plain from the verse before the text ; the first man was of the earth earthy , the second man is the lord from heaven , and then it follows , as we have born the image of the earthy we shall also bear image of the heavenly . now because the nature of opposite qualities is best discovered by their being compared , therefore that it may the more plainly appear wherein the advantage of changing the earthy for the heavenly consists ; i shall in the first place mention those inconveniencies and defects to which our bodies are subject now . 2. i shall endeavour to prove that the qualities of glorified bodies will be opposed to those defects , and free from those inconveniences we are now sensible of . 3. i shall draw some practical conclusions from the consideration of this difference . 1. those bodies we now have are inconvenient upon these following accounts . 1. because of the weakness and uselessness of them when we have them first . 2. because their best condition is but of a short continuance . 3. because our being liable to the disorders of passion proceeds in a great measure from them . 4. because they make us subject to pain . 5. because they hinder the operations of the mind in its pursuit after truth and knowledge . 1. they are inconvenient upon the account of the weakness and usefulness of them when we have them first . though our deriving our beings from those of our own nature , and coming infants into the world , is a great promoter of kindness and good correspondence , and tends very much to support of government and society ; yet it must be granted , that we lose something ( tho not so much ) by it another way . for the soul at her first entrance , by reason of the indisposition of the body , is uncapable of acting rationally , and is forced to wait till she hath fit instruments to work with ; and when we do begin to judge of objects , we measure the good and evil of them by the pleasure of inconvenience which the body receives from thence : now because we are accustomed at first for several years together to make our sences umpires of the value of things , this forestalls our judgment , with a good opinion of them , which makes us more inclinable to please them afterwards , and gives our reason a greater trouble in the managing of them than otherwise it would have had . besides in our infancy unpleasant and frightful things make a deep impression upon us both because of the fluid and pliable nature of the brain , and because we have not judgment to discover the worst of things nor strength to resist them , and therefore through our own weakness , and the indiscretion of those we sometimes happen to converse with ; we are apt to take up odd prejudices , and to be possess'd with unaccountable fears , which the reason of our whole life often finds impossible to conquer : it must be granted therefore that adam had a great advantage above his posterity , by being created a perfect man , without running through the weakness and folly of infancy and childhood : for in regard his body was prepared for the soul to act in at their first meeting ; he was not so liable to be imposed upon by ill customs , and senseless imaginations , because he was always capable of judging of them : and therefore his desires and fears must be better proportioned to the nature of things ; than they would have been if his reason had come to him byassed and tinctured with those impressions , which the long weakness & unserviceableness of his body had made upon it . a 2d inconvenience of our bodies is , that the highest condition they are capable of arriving at , is but of a short continuance : they are a considerable part of our lives a working up into any tolerable degree of usefulness , before which time they signifie little more to us than the bodies of brutes do ; and when they are once fitted for the service of the soul , and we begin to understand what they are good for , it is not long before they decline into age and indisposition , and that which seem'd to be a palace before , turns to a prison , and hath little either of pleasure or convenience in it . for though our youth is not placed upon such a precipice as immediately to tumble from its highest station into a decrepit condition ; yet when life is going down the hill , its motion is not so slow , but that it may be perceived in a little time , especially if it be pushed forward by any accidental distemper . 1. the sences grow flat , and do not enjoy and relish their respective objects with that quickness and eager satisfaction which they formerly did . but if this was all the alteration we were liable to , we ought possibly rather to account it an advantage than a loss , because the lessening of sensual delights would rebate the edge of our desires , and make them submit to the laws of religion with less reluctancy . but the flower of youth does not only go off quickly , but which is more to be regretted , the fruit of it too ; and the abatement of the sences vigour , is usually followed with an apparent decay of strength . thus life , when it is once fermented to the height , hath its spirits continually flying off , till it is drawn to the less , and that part of it only remains which oftentimes makes us uneasie both to our selves and others : so that when the mind is embarked in any design of considerable length and advantage ; it is usually set a shore upon the other world before it hath reached its intended port ; or else forced to spend that stock of time and abilities which remains , in stopping the leakage and piecing up the ruins of the vessel ; which is not only a hindrance of the main business , but is likewise a very troublesome employment . a 3. inconvenience of our bodies consists in their making us subject to passion ; that our passions , at least the violence of them , are immediately caused by the motion of the spirits , that is the finer parts of the blood , will appear , if we consider , that those who have a greater stock of spirits supplied them from youth or intemperance , are soonest overborn which disorders of this nature . 't is true , god made our minds subject to the impressions of passion upon a very good account ; that by such unusual commotions within us , we might be awakened , and as it were roused up to pursue those things which are useful , and avoid the contrary , with the greater vigour and industry : for if we had nothing but dry reason and cool blood to contrive and execute for us , our apprehensions in many cases would be too flow , and our endeavours faint : but notwithstanding the advantage the passions were design'd to give us , as they are commonly managed , they do more harm than good : for we are apt either to place them upon wrong objects , to fly them to too high a pitch , or to continue them upon us when they ought to be discharged , which makes us hasty in our resolutions ; injurious and careless in our words and actions ; they make us dote almost to frensy upon trifles , and by being too kindly entertained by us , improve a sudden disgust against our neighbour into a setled and habitual malice ; infinite almost are the indecencies and sins which the ill government of our passions betrays us to ; they discompose the whole frame of mind and body , disquieting the one , and disordering the other ; the effects of them are different according to their nature , and the power they have gotten over our reason ; sometimes they make men languish and pine away with envy or desire ; sometimes through an excess of fear they betray them into worse inconveniencies than those they were afraid of : some are said to have absolutely lost their wits in their anger , and raved themselves into bedlam ; and others we may observe are over-joyed to perfect folly and ridiculousness . now , though a great part of our present vertue and future reward depends upon the due management of our passions ; neither can they come up to this height which i have mentioned , without our own fault ; yet in regard our bodies are the immediate instruments of their violence , we must grant they are inconvenient upon this account : for if our reason was quick enough to apprehend and pursue our interest of it self , without being spurred upon duty by passion ; if the mind had sufficient power to command the body upon its utmost , without being concerned with its motions any farther than it thought fit ; our condition would be much more perfect and secure : for if we knew we are naturally invincible , we need not give our selves the trouble of standing upon our guard , then we should be free from all inward tumults and the ill consequences of them ; and then , as the power of passion declined , that of reason would grow up and flourish ; and the pleasures of the mind would more than counter-ballance those which we lost by shaking off some of our correspondence with the body ; and we might have delight equal to those of a corporeal transport without the violence and danger of them . 4. our bodies are inconvenient , because they make us liable to suffer pain . it must be confessed that the state of separation does not exempt us from having ungrateful perceptions , but in some respects makes us more obnoxious to them if we lye under any moral indisposition : for when the soul is disengaged from the oppression and soil of the body , it will act upon it self with greater vigour , and make the springs of thought go much smarter than they do now ; so that ill men will be made much more powerful to torment themselves ; insomuch that it may be a question whether all the fire , and feinds in hell , are a greater punishment to the wicked than the guilt of their own consciences ; besides , the passions which i have mentioned , when they are violent , bring an easiness along with them . but then the reason why i distinguish pain from the trouble which proceeds either from passion , or the more abstracted and immediate operations of the mind , is , because the soul is not only liable to this disturbance purely upon the account of its union with the body , but because it is perfectly out of our power to prevent it . for , let a man be never so innocent and compos'd , let prudence and religion secure him never so well against vice and passion ; yet there is no fence against bodily pain : this proceeds from those motions over which the will hath little or no command ; and when we consider what a vast number of parts the body consists of , many of which are very fine and slenderly tyed together ( otherwise they would be unserviceable ) and upon this account are easily put into disorder , when we consider how ignorant the generality are of the frame and constitution of their bodies ; of the due proportion , and quality of their nourishment ; how careless and immoderate they are often in their labours , recreations and passions , to which if we add the sometimes sudden alterations of seasons , & many other unavoidable accidents , when we consider all these things , i say , we have great cause to admire and bless the providence of god that our bodies are not oftener put out of order than they are . now , though some decays of the body are unobserved by us , yet generally when there is any considerable jarr made in the wheels of this curious machine ; when the harmony of the humours is disturb'd ; when the strings are wound up too hard , or too slack ; when any thing of this nature happens , the soul usually hath notice of it , which unacceptable news is that which we call pain , which is sometimes so pungent and afflicting , that it makes all worldly blessings insignificant to us , insomuch that there are not many who have experienced any accute distemper , who would not , if it were put to their choice , prefer health and poverty , to violent pains and diseases , though supported and gilded over with never so much wealth and honour . now if it be asked why god hath made the soul so deeply sensible of the injuries which the body receives , i suppose these following reasons ( without adding any more ) may be a sufficient satisfaction to such an enquiry . 1. therefore we may rationally conclude that god hath made the soul liable to impressions of this nature , that we might be more careful to preserve the body from falling into decay . pain i observed before was an unwelcome and grating sense of some injury which the body suffered , now if the soul was not intimately affected with alterations of this nature , and concerned upon its own account to procure the welfare of its companion ; we have reason to believe a great many bodies would be very indifferently provided for . for the mind would be so much taken up with its own business , that were it not admonished of the necessities of the body by partaking of the inconveniencies of them , they would be often neglected ; men of covetous , ambitious or contemplative minds , rather than have their designs , and pleasures interrupted , would be apt to deny the body its due maintenance in eating and sleeping ; if they were not importuned , and as it were forced upon justice ; by the trouble and uneasiness of watching and abstinence , were it not for the pain of a wound or distemper , we should often let them run till they were incureable : in this case many would serve their bodies as they do their houses , which because they do not feel them smart when they decay , they let them drop for want of timely repairing . a second reason why god made the soul sensible of bodily pain , may be , that its virtue might have the fairer tryal . to be above the threatnings of ill men , and to submit to any pain and hardship , rather than depart from those opinions and practices which we believe to be right and necessary , is an argument of true greatness of mind , and the highest testimony of a good man. now the body , by laying us open to almost all sorts of injuries we are capable of receiving , gives us an opportunity of exercising our patience and fortitude in suffering in obedience to god's commands . to these virtues the imperfection and defenceless state of our bodies advances us ; for , were we proof against all misfortune , we should be uncapable of this honour ; for patience supposes us to lye under the sense of a present evil ; take away the affliction , and there will be no appearance of the virtue left behind ; neither can fortitude have any place , except we believe our selves within the reach of danger ; for what courage can it be to encounter any thing , when we know it 's impossible for us to be hurt ? a third reason why god hath subjected the soul to bodily pain , is , for the correction of our vices . many sins do naturally bring indisposition and diseases upon the body , the dread and experience of which does not seldom restrain and bring us off from them : besides , pain and sickness , by convincing men how insignificant , or rather troublesom their life is to them , & what a slender hold they have of it , are oftentimes a good expedient , not only for the reclaiming those vices which depend upon the ill use of the body , but of a general reformation : for , did mens bodies fret out like their cloaths , without any considerable trouble to those that wore them , we have reason to believe the soul would fare much the worse for it , and be oftener sent into the other world in an unprovided and forlorn condition . so that without question , we are as much bound to thank god for the infirmities , and pains which flow from our constitution , as for the health and pleasure of it . besides , we have reason to account it a great mercy that god hath bound the soul so gently to the body , that a short struggle , if it happens to prove boisterous , will let it loose ; so that according to epicurus his maxim , it 's impossible for that pain which is violent to continue long , whereas , had the union of the soul and body been so strong , that a man might have continued under the sharpest torments for some months or years together , how difficult would patience have been then ? what an advantage would the worst men have had over the best , and have been able by their cruelty to have almost tyred out the bravest and most resolute virtue . 5. the present constitution of our bodies is inconvenient , because it hinders the mind in her pursuit after knowledge . knowledge next to goodness is the highest exaltation of humane nature , and sets us at the greatest distance from the brutes beneath us : now that the present condition of our bodies does hinder our proficiency in this so excellent an accomplishment , appears from what has been said already . as 1. because we are born infants , and the body is unfit for the soul to exercise its functions in ; in which state of our infancy we pass a great many wrong judgments upon things , so that when we come to the use of our reason , we are not only void of true knowledge , but have a great many things to unlearn ; which mistakes it's very difficult to shake off . now though these prejudices relate chiefly to our proficiency in the knowledge of natural causes , yet it must be aknowledged in the second place ; that the passions which the body subjects us to , are sometimes an occasion that we do not examine things with that deliberation and indifferency which is necessary to the finding ▪ out moral truth ; and consequently make us inclinable to some practical opinions rather than others : for according as the particular byasse of our bodies disposes us to any excess of hope or fear , of anger or pleasure ; if we are not careful , our apprehensions of religion will bend into a compliance with the genius and tendency of these passions . for when reason is either bribed , or discomposed by the affections , it is than more likely to pronounce amiss upon things , than when the mind is even and impartial : for example , a man of a melancholick and gloomy temper , if he gives way to it , will be in some danger of perplexing his imagination with infinite and unreasonable fears concerning god almighty , as if he was a humoursom or implacable being ; and consequently such a person may be more easily proselyted to the doctrines of superstition , or despair : whereas another of a bolder and more sanguine constitution , will be rather tempted to presume too much upon gods goodness , magnifying his mercy to the prejudice of his wisdom and justice : and if he happens to fall upon ill books or company , he will be dispos'd to dilute his creed with principles of libertinism , that so he may make it more agreeable to the complexion of his body , and reconcile it with the use of unlawful pleasures : but here we must observe that these motives do but incline ; they by no means force us upon mistakes ; so that then when we are swayed by them , it is our own fault : the reason why i mentioned them , is , that we might take the greater care to enquire into the particular defects , and propensities of our temper ; and form our judgment with a suitable caution and suspition of our selves . 3. bodily pain is likewise no small impediment to the enlarging our understandings , because while it continues upon us , it takes off our thoughts from other things , and fixes them only upon that which troubles us : and oftentimes when it is over , it leaves such ill effects behind it by altering the texture of the brain or blood ; that the mind hath not fit instruments to assist it in the work of close and constant meditation . 4. the generality are forced to spend a great part of their time in providing for the necessities of life , so that they have little leisure to attend to the improvement of their minds : but let them not be discouraged upon this account if they take care to live well in this world ; their utmost curiosity and thirst after knowledge shall be satisfied in the next ; without being encumbered with that labour and difficulty which attends very inconsiderable attainments here . then as the apostle informs us , we shall know even as we are known , and see god as he is , in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid . 1 cor. 13. joh. 1. 3. to what hath been said upon this argument if we add that considerable number of hours which those who are most covetous of their time are obliged to spend in eating , sleeping and recreation ; we shall see that he had great reason for his opinion , who hath told us , that art is long , and life but short . but notwithstanding these inconveniencies with which our bodys are attended in this state of imperfection , we are not to complain as if god had dealt hardly with us ; because they are not just such as we could desire them ; let us rather consider that if the conveniencies of them were much less than they are , it was more than god owes us ; besides , how impatient soever men may sometimes be under extremity of pain , yet their general behaviour is a plain argument that they have no contemptible opinion of their bodies , for they are commonly loath to leave them when they are at their worst condition : let us therefore be thankful that god hath made them so commodious for us now , and hath promised to improve them to the utmost of our wishes afterwards ; which brings me to the second thing at first propounded , viz. to shew . that the qualities of glorified bodies are opposed to those defects , and free from those inconveniencies we are now sensible of . 1. they will be very much refined , and consequently fitter for the soul to act with . it shall be raised a spiritual body , 1 cor. 15. 44. which implies that it shall be changed into an exalted and vigorous condition : all grossness and feculency which adheres to it now , shall be purged off ; all unevenness and roughness of parts will then be filed into an exact serviceableness , and the soul will no longer labour under the disorders of an unweildy and incompliant constitution : the body will then be exactly at its beck , and execute all its commands with pleasure , and dispatch . that quality which we call heaviness , which hinders our motion , and confines us to the lower part of the world , will then no more molest us ; for the refined body by its nearer resemblance to the air about it , the improved activity of its spirits , and the greater force the soul will in all probability have to set them a work . by these advantages we shall be enabled to meet the lord in the air , and fly up into the regions of light and happiness ; and that the soul may be the better accommodated , the sences will be improved in two respects beyond what they are now . 1. they will be larger , that is , able to take in more objects at a time , and reach them at a father distance than they can now . 2. they will be quicker , that is , whatever notices they convey to the mind , will be more intimately and vigorously communicated to it : upon which two accounts they must afford the soul a much greater pleasure than they do now . and that the sences will be thus improved , follows from a principle , which every one that owns the resurrection must grant , namely , that glorified bodies will be endued with far greater activity than they are at their highest condition here ; now we know men have a more full and delightful use of their sences in their youth than at any other time . now of all the sences , those of seeing and hearing are not only the most instructive to the mind , but likewise the most refined , and as i may say , the most creditable sences : therefore we need not question but they will accompany the bodies of the saints to heaven and possibly that of smelling too ; but as for the two other grosser sences , they belong to a state of imperfection , and are too coarse and insignificant to have much employment there ; for ought we know they may be changed into two new ones of a more spiritualized and refined nature ; which it is not possible for us to understand or conceive till we are possessed of them ; which we shall cease to wonder at if we consider that were a man born deaf or blind it would be impossible for him to have the vulgar notion of sound or colour : nay , i may add , he could have no imaginable idea of these qualities except he received some description of them from others . 2. and as the bodies of the saints will be defective or superfluous in nothing , but be exactly fitted for the service of the soul , so likewise they will be much more splendid & grateful than now they are ; which is another property of the image of the heavenly : instead of those obscure and unamiable qualities they appeared in here , they will be decked with light as with a garment , and be cloathed with majesty and honour ; they will then be all beauty and brightness without any disfiguring blemish , any scars remaining , except of those wounds they have received in their masters cause , which then probably will shine out with a more orient and distinguishable lustre . this is indeed to bear the image of the heavenly , of which we are assured from more places than the text. as philip. 3. 21. the apostle affirms , our saviour shall change our vile bodies , that they may be like his glorious body , a representation of which we have at his transfiguration , though i believe but a faint one , and yet the evangelists tell us , his face shone like the sun , and his raiment with the reflection was white and glistering . mat. 17. luk. 9. 3. the bodies of the saints will be impassible : they will then be fortified against all accidents and diseases , and be no longer subject to any painful or dishonourable alterations ; time and death will have no power over them . st. iohn after he hath described the general resurrection , rev. 20. in the 21 chap. v. 4. proceeds to mention the unchangeable happiness of the heavenly inhabitants , where enlarging upon their privative advantages , he informs us , that there shall be no more death , neither sorrow , nor crying , neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away ; that is , the states of imperfection and mortality is over , whereas , did not all things stand at a stay ; were not the perfections of the body permanent and unalterable , secured against all injury and decay ; if there was not pain , we may be sure there would be sorrow to lose the least part of so glorious a condition . now which way our bodies shall be made immortal , signifies not much to know ; possibly they may have such an advantageous change from the laws of motion , from the figure of their parts , or the temperature of the climate , as may preserve them from suffering any alteration , or loss of parts ; or if the parts do fly off as they do now , it 's easie with god to supply them with new ones immediately made fit , without the trouble of eating , or concoction : but whether by any of these ways , or which of them they will continue immortal , whether by the settled course of providence , or by miracle , is neither material to dispute , nor possible to determine ; that they will continue so , we are sure , for as with him that hath made this promise , nothing is impossible , so likewise he is faithful and cannot deny himself . it is more proper for us to prepare our selves by a vertuous life for so blessed an immortality , than vainly to enquire into the mystery of it : the best way of satisfying our curiosity is to endeavour to be accounted worthy to obtain that world , and the resurrection from the dead ; for we need not doubt but that those who are possessed of this priviledge will understand the causes which make it such ; and that the goodness of god will enable the saints to explain the philosophy of their happiness . now from what we experience here , we may in some measure conceive how considerable an addition it will be to our happiness to have our earthy part refined into such a state of perfection as i have been describing : to have the wisdom and experience of age without the sickness and uneasiness attending it ; and the sprightlyness and vigour of youth separated from its usual rashness and indiscretion . what a glorious change must it be to have these inobsequious , and cadaverous bodies possessed of the three only desirable qualities ; being made to the height of our wishes suitable , illustrious , and immortal ? i shall now in the third place proceed to draw some inferences from the consideration of the different state of our bodies here , and hereafter . therefore the consideration of the frail condition of our bodies here , and the improvements they will be advanced to hereafter , ought to make us entertain a low opinion of the pleasures of sence ; both because we are permitted but a short enjoyment of them , and because they are only fit for us while we are in a state of imperfection : we should consider that the body is not able to provide for it self ; it's pleasures are not of it's own growth , but must be supplied from forreign parts , and consequently are infallible marks of our want and dependance ; and therefore to have a strong desire for , or high opinion of these things , does but discover our own weakness to be the greater ; and that we preposterously value our selves upon the poverty of our condition : what are these satisfactions but only short respits from bodily pain and trouble ? for after the uneasiness of hunger and thirst is over , the pleasure of eating and drinking immediately ceases ; and to continue the action any longer is more a burthen , than a refreshment : those therefore who are capable of the greatest bodily pleasure , must have the strongest sence of want and uneasiness upon them ; for unless they are thus prepared , it will be flat and unaffecting to them . now who would desire a fever only for the satisfacton of drinking in it ; or be in love with extreme poverty because of the unusual pleasure which is then taken in receiving the charity of others ? the body therefore is only so far to be indulged as is necessary to put it into the best condition to be employed by the soul ; for as it should not be tyrannized over , that being the way to make it both troublesom and unserviceable ; so on the other side , we should be careful to maintain the soveraignty of the mind ; that whenever reason and religion requires it , we may have power to controul our sences , and be pleased with the victory : but on the contrary , to make the soul a slave to the body ; to employ the powers of reason ( the image of the glorious god ) in providing for the gratification of the animal life ; is a most degenerous and dangerous abuse of so great a priviledge : and when god hath made us little lower than the angels , ought we not to blush to make our selves less than the beasts that perish ? now that sensuality does degrade us in this manner is apparent , it being unquestionably more scandalous and uncreditable to abuse the use of reason , than to want it ; for the one only argues natural incapacity ; which because it could not be prevented , is no just reproach to any being ; but the other besides ingratitude to the doner implies most egregious folly ; for what can be more senceless than to be inapprehensive of the prerogative of our nature , and to misapply and squander away the fairest opportunities of being happy ? a man that makes himself a beggar by ill menage , and luxury , is in the true estimation of things a much more despicable person than he that is born to that low condition , and fixed in it by those impotencies and defects of body or mind which were irresistably forced upon him . the rational brute therefore is most certainly the meanest , because he stupidly undervalues the dignity of his being , and employs the highest qualities in the most sordid drudgery . whereas other creatures act according to the instincts and appetities which providence hath put into them , it being as impossible for them to rise above their natures , as it is dishonourable for us to sink below ours . but this practice is not only dishonourable but dangerous , for if we give our selves up to the disorders of appetite , and make our bodies instrumental in sinning ; besides the diseases which intemperance often exposes them to here , we shall find the sad consequence of it in the other world ; where they will be joined to the soul only to encrease its misery by putting it into a new capacity of suffering . for the apostle assures us , if we live after the flesh , and make provision to fulfil the lusts thereof , we shall die , for to be carnally or sensually minded is death , and that we cannot expect to live hereafter except we mortify the deeds of the body , rom. 8. 6 , 13. secondly , we ought to be contented with the trouble , the present infirmities of our bodies may put us to . god hath made our bodies of a frail constitution , and liable to many inconveniencies ; that we might aspire after a higher and more confirmed happiness ; and not place it in the satisfaction of our sences , which are so easily made unacceptable to us by diseases , or quickly stupified and worn out with age. besides , upon the account that our bodies make us liable to pain and diseases , we have thereby an occasion of exercising many virtues , which otherwise we could not have : if we were not liable to pain and uneasiness , there could be no such thing as a contented poverty ; and an humble resignation to providence in affliction and distress ; the essence of these virtues would be lost in such impregnable circumstances : for to be contented when a man neither feels , nor fears any evil , is not so much a commendation , as a necessary action ; it being as impossible to be troubled when we have what we have a mind to , as to be perfectly pleased when we have not : i confess to be thus fortified against injury and want , argues a great happiness of nature , but a moral perfection it is not ; and consequently deserves admiration , but not reward . the honour of our christian warfare consists in the laboriousness and hazard of it , and the strength of our virtue lies in the weakness of our condition ; and though we are made a little lower than the angels , yet ( with all respect be it spoken to those superiour beings ) upon this account we seem to have some advantage of them ; for their station being above the reach of misfortune , makes them incapable of suffering upon the score of virtue and religion . we ought not therefore to complain because god hath made our bodies liable to many inconveniencies here ; but to resist the temptations they expose us to , with resolution to bear the pains and infirmities of them , with submission and contentedness , considering that in a discreet and christian management of these things , a great part of our obedience , and future reward consists : it is not long before we shall be dismist from this service , and when death shall be swallowed up in victory , and this mortal shall put on immortality , then it will be a pleasure to survey the difficulties of our past life , and the very thoughts of our former troubles will be an addition to our happiness . haec olim meminisse juvabit . and therefore thirdly , we ought not to be over-timerous , lest we should impair the strength of our constitution , but lay it out freely upon religious and worthy actions . health is not chiefly to be desired for the sensual pleasure it affords , but because we are then in the best condition to serve god , and to be useful to the society we live in : let it not therefore be our great aim to keep our bodies in reparation , and ingloriously slumber out our time for fear of wearing them out too fast ; but according to our several stations and callings , let us diligently employ them for our own real interest , and that of others ; making them contribute to the improvement of reason , and the exercise of virtue : if they decay in such service , they will fall with honour , and rise with advantage . the best way of consulting their future advancement is , not to dote upon them now : if we would have them flourish in immortal youth , and beauty hereafter , we must neither be too fond in indulging , nor too curious in adorning of them : we must not out of an effeminate niceness to preserve their agreeableness , decline any proper austerities , or opportunity of doing good . in short , if we expect these earthy bodies should bear the image of the heavenly , we must employ them generously and religiously ; suffer the inconveniencies of them with patience and christian courage , and please them with temperance and reservedness . finis . a sermon preached before the queen at white-hall, october 12. 1690 by william beveridge ... beveridge, william, 1637-1708. 1690 approx. 45 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 19 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a27575 wing b2114 estc r2113 12076099 ocm 12076099 53625 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a27575) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 53625) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 858:13) a sermon preached before the queen at white-hall, october 12. 1690 by william beveridge ... beveridge, william, 1637-1708. 36 p. printed for richard northcott ..., london : 1690. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng church of england -sermons. bible. -n.t. -colossians i, 12 -sermons. sermons, english -17th century. future life -sermons. christian life -sermons. 2005-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2005-07 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a sermon preached before the queen at white-hall , october 12. 1690. by william beveridge , d. d. chaplain in ordinary to their majesties . published by her majesties special command . london , printed for richard northcott , at the mariner and anchor adioyning to st. peter's-alley , in cornhill , 1690. more among us ; yet we must not therefore think that they are ceased to be , or to live : for still their souls are all as really alive in the other world , as we are now in this . and as it is with us here , that some live ill , and others well : so it is with them too ; only in an higher degree . for some , and as we have just cause to fear , the greatest part of them live with the fiends of hell in the infernal pit , where they have no light , nothing but darkness and horrour to the utmost extremity round about them : where they are always weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth , fretting and tormenting themselves at the remembrance of their former sins and follies : where , as christ himself hath told us , the worm dyeth not , and the fire is not quenched : that is , their consciences like greedy and insatiable worms are always gnawing , and the fire of god's wrath is continually burning in their breasts , never to be quenched or abated . they cannot forbear thinking of what they have done , though every thought cuts them to their very hearts , and seems ready to split them in sunder . they cannot forbear looking upon god , although they can see nothing in him but the wrath and anger which they themselves have kindled ; which so incenses and enrageth their minds , that they are all in a flame with fury and indignation at themselves for it . by which means they are continually , as it were , upon a wrack , distorted , afflicted , distracted , confounded ; hurried about from place to place , but can find no rest , no quiet ; every thing is uneasie and troublesome to them : yea they are a burden to themselves , they cannot endure themselves , but wish ten thousand times they had been better , or had never been at all , or could cease to be , or could be any thing but what they are . but all in vain . and which is worst of all , they do not only suffer the extremity of pain and anguish at present , but they can see no end of it : yea they see there will be no end at all , being fully assured that this must be their portion for ever . whereas on the other side , there are others , who are not only free from all the miseries and torments which those poor creatures undergo , but always live in heaven , in light , and love , and joy , and peace , and glory , the highest that they are able to imagine or desire ; being brisk and lively , chearfull and pleasant , holy and happy all over . and that too ( as we shall see more presently ) not only now and then , but continually ; nor for some time only , but to all eternity . now we who are still upon earth , are as yet in neither of these states , neither so extremely miserable as the first are , nor so perfectly happy as those are we spake of last : but , as it were , in the middle between both . but so soon as ever we depart out of this life , we shall be immediately in one of them , as certainly as we are now here . and i do not question but that you all hope for and desire the latter , even to live with those blessed souls which enjoy perpetual rest and felicity in the other world : and that one great end of your coming hither at this time , is to learn what you must do in order to it . and verily ye do well to take all opportunities you can get , of being assisted and directed in it . for it is a great thing that you propose to your selves , which can never be attained without much care and pains about it and you are not certain how long time you have to doe it in , but most certain it is not very long . but blessed be god , you are all as yet in a capacity of obtaining it , and it is your own fault if any of you shall happen to miss of it . for almighty god plainly shews how desirous he is to have you live with him , and so be happy in the other world , in that he is still pleased to afford you all the means that he hath appointed for that purpose : witness your meeting together here at this time , to joyn together in prayer to his divine goodness for his assistance in the pursuit of it ; and to be put in mind of the course and method which you are to take for the accomplishment of so great and good an end . concerning which therefore i shall give you the best and plainest directions i can from the words which i have now read . in which we may observe , i. what kind of persons they are , who are or shall be happy in the other world ; they are saints . ii. the happiness they enjoy there , here call'd the inheritance of the saints in light . iii. they who desire to enjoy that happiness must be duly qualified for it , or as it is here expressed , made meet to be partakers of it . iv. all who are so qualified , must ascribe it wholly unto god , and give him thanks for it , as we see here s. paul doth , giving thanks to the father , who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light . first therefore as to the persons who live so happily in the other world , they are here called saints . it is the inheritance of the saints , of all the saints and of them only . it is proper and peculiar to them , so that none else have any right or title to it , nor can ever have any part or portion in it . and that there is such a company and society of men in the world , which are truly called saints , cannot be denied by any christian ; it being one of the articles of our creed , wherein we profess to believe , there is a communion of saints . and unless we be of that communion , we can never partake of the inheritance of the saints . but the great question is , what it is to be a saint ? or who may be truly and properly called saints , men of holiness , or holy men , as the word signifies ? but this we can never fully understand , unless we first state the true notion of sanctity or holiness , from whence they are so called . now holiness or sanctity in its highest perfection , is one of the perfections of god himself , who often calls himself the holy one of israel , and sometimes absolutely , the holy one . and as he sometimes swears by himself , at other times he swears by his holiness : whereby he gives us to understand , that he himself is holiness , or , which is all one , holiness is himself , his own divine nature or essence . and that 's the reason why they who partake of his holiness , are said to partake of his divine nature . and hence it is , that when the holy angels would celebrate the praises of the most high god in the highest manner they can , they cry , holy , holy , holy is the lord of hosts , the whole earth is full of his glory . and hence also it is , that when god designed to make man after his own image , as like him as a creature could be , he made him perfectly holy . and now that this image is defaced in us , if it be restored again to any man , so that he becomes a new man , he is said to be created after god , that is , after the likeness of god , in righteousness and true holiness . so that this is the great perfection , wherein we were at first made , and ought again to become like to god our maker , who therefore commands us to be holy as he is holy . as he who hath called you is holy , so be ye holy in all manner of conversation . from whence it appears , that though we cannot be holy in the same measure as god is , who is so without and beyond all measure ; yet we should be so after the same manner as he is , or rather our holiness should be of the same kind or nature with his , and as like it , as it is possible for it to be . hence therefore as holiness , when attributed to god , denotes the purity and excellency of his divine nature , whereby he is exalted above all things else : so when attributed to men , it signifies the purity and excellency of their nature , whereby they are refined and raised up above the rest of mankind . this the apostle teacheth us , where he opposeth holiness to uncleanness , saying , god hath not called us unto uncleanness , but unto holiness . and david , where he calls the saints that are upon earth , the excellent ; implying , that saints as such , excell all other persons , by reason of their holiness , that is the highest excellency which their nature is capable of . which therefore doth not consist in any particular acts or habits either of the soul or body , or both together , but in the rectitude or due temperament of our nature in general . and indeed holiness , properly so called , is nothing else , but that pure and excellent frame or disposition of the whole man , whereby all the faculties of the soul and members of the body , are reduced to their primitive constitution , and become such as god at first made , and would still have them to be ; exerting themselves in their respective places and offices , according to those rules which he hath set them . so that to our perfecting holiness , as the apostle speaks , in the fear of god , there is required a right and clear understanding , a sound judgment , a pure heart , an obedient will , a good conscience , and regular affections , placed every one upon its proper objects in a due manner . and wheresoever the soul ( if i may so speak ) is thus all of a-piece , all over such as god would have it to be , and so agreeable to his divine will , there is true holiness , and such a one may be truly said to be holy , yea to be holy as god is holy , as being pure and excellent according to his finite capacity , as god himself is in his infinite perfections . now the true notion of holiness or sanctity being thus briefly stated , we may easily understand what kind of persons those be , which are here called saints . for in order to a man's being a true saint , he must first have so much knowledge of god and christ , as is necessary to the possessing of his mind with a due sense of his divine majesty , and with right apprehensions of the great mystery of our salvation by jesus christ . he must have a sound judgment in all things , especially in the fundamental articles of the christian faith , and in all the necessary duties required in the gospel . he must have a pure and sincere heart , in believing all those articles as revealed , and in performing all such duties as required by god. he must have a good conscience , a conscience void of all offence both towards god and towards men . he must have a pliable and obedient will , ready upon all occasions to chuse whatsoever his understanding , rightly informed , dictates to be good , and to refuse whatsoever he apprehends to be evil . he must keep his affections all in their proper order , fixed constantly upon such objects which they were at first fitted and designed for . he must hate , abhor , and shun all manner of sin , upon that account only because it is sin , or the transgression of god's law , and be heartily troubled that he was ever guilty of it . he must love god with all his heart and soul , and so above all things in the world besides . he must bear no grudg , hatred , malice , or ill-will against any person upon earth , but love his neighbour as himself . he must hunger and thirst after righteousness , and desire nothing so much as to serve and please god , and so to have his love and favour , whatsoever it costs him . he must not fear them which can kill the body , but him only who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. he must trust in the lord with all his heart , and support himself under all the circumstances and occurrences of this life , with an humble confidence of his goodness and mercy in jesus christ . he must rejoyce in the lord always , both when he hath and when he hath not any thing else to rejoyce in . he must be sober and temperate , meek and humble , gentle and peaceable , faithfull to his word , true to his friend , loving to his enemy , charitable to the poor , kind and mercifull , and just to all . in brief , he must be stedfast , unmoveable , always abounding in the work of the lord , as knowing that his labour is not in vain in the lord. and that he may be sure of . for he who hath attained to such an excellent temper as this is , is certainly a real and true saint , and therefore shall as certainly partake of that transcendent happiness , which is here called the inheritance of the saints in light . it is called an inheritance , or , as the word signifies also , a lot , in allusion to that type of heaven , the land of canaan , which was divided among all the children of israel by lot , and is all along in the old testament called their inheritance . and so certainly is heaven in a proper and literal sense , the inheritance of the saints . for they being all regenerate and born again of god , are properly his children , and as the apostle rightly argues , if children , then heirs ; heirs of god , and joynt-heirs with christ . so that all the saints or sons of god , in whatsoever age or place they were born again from the beginning to the end of the world , they are all co-heirs , and so have an equal right and title to this inheritance ; not only to some part of it , but to the whole , and all and every one of them equally possess it all . it is not like an earthly inheritance , that is divided among the co-heirs , some taking one part of it and some another : but every one that hath any share in this heavenly inheritance , enjoys it all himself , as much as if he was the sole heir , and there were none else to partake of it but himself . neither are the saints joynt-heirs only with one another , but , as the apostle there speaks , with christ himself . and if so , their inheritance must needs be very large , for christ is appointed heir of all things . and if they be joynt-heirs with him , as be sure they are , every one of them must inherit all things too as he doth . and so be sure they do . for god himself asserts it , saying , he that overcometh , shall inherit all things : and i will be his god , and he shall be my son. where we may observe both the vast extent of this inheritance of the saints , and likewise the reason of it . as to its extent , it is not confined to a parish , or county , or kingdom upon earth , no , not to the whole earth , nor to the moon nor sun , nor to any star , nor to all the stars of heaven , nor to the whole heavens where they are , nor yet to the greatest part of the creation , but extends it self to the whole . for they inherit all things ; all things that are good or amiable , all things that are pleasing or delightsome , all things that are necessary or convenient for them . all things they can desire or hope for , all things they can love or take comfort in , all things that can any way contribute to their happiness : as all things in the whole world shall do one way or other . for even while they are upon earth , all things work together for their good , how much more when they come to heaven ? where they shall clearly see , how all things that ever happened to them through the whole course of their lives , concurred to bring them thither : and so will be matter of joy and comfort to them , when they are there . by which means , they will then take pleasure , not only in all the devotions , alms , and good works , they ever performed , but likewise in all the losses , crosses , disappointments , pains , sicknesses , and troubles of all sorts that ever befell them . yea and in all things , that god ever made , or did , or suffered to be done in the world . for all things are theirs , even while they are here below , as st. paul assures the saints at corinth , saying , all things are yours : whether paul , or apollos , or cephas , or the world , or life , or death , or things present , or things to come , all are yours . all things are settled upon them at their new-birth , and when they come to full age , that is , as soon as they get to heaven , they will have the actual possession of all things , and then must needs enjoy whatsoever any thing in the world can afford them . and what is there in the world , but what affords the saints in heaven something to delight and please them ? the heaven of heavens affords them most commodious and pleasant mansions . all the holy angels there afford them their most ag eeable company and conversation . all the devils and damned in hell afford them matter of praise and thankfulness to god , that they are not there . all the glorious lights in the firmament , afford them a most delicious prospect . in short , all the animals , and plants , and earths , and stones , and metals , and minerals , and whatsoever else god ever made , either in heaven or earth , afford them a clear and perfect view of his divine perfections , which cannot but affect their hearts with the highest transports of joy and wonder . thus doth every saint in heaven inherit all things . all things are his . and it is no marvail , for god himself is his . as it follows in the place before quoted , he shall inherit all things ; and i will be his god , and he shall be my son. he shall be my son , that is the reason he is an heir ; i will be his god , that 's the reason that he inherits all things for he who hath him that hath all things , cannot but have all things in him . yea infinitely more than all things else ; all things that god hath made being in a manner nothing in comparison of him that made them . who therefore to complete the happiness of his saints , doth not only give them all he hath , but even himself too , saying , i will be their god , or rather , as the words signifie , i will be god to them . by virtue of which promise they enjoy not only whatsoever god hath made or done , but likewise whatsoever he is , even all those infinite , eternal , incomprehensible perfections which are concentred in him . but here i must confess my self at a loss , not knowing how to conceive , much less to express either how the saints in heaven enjoy god , or how great an happiness that is to them ? only in general we know they see god face to face , as not only st. paul , but likewise st. john aquaints us , saying , beloved , now we are the sons of god : and it doth not yet appear what we shall be . but we know that when he shall appear , we shall be like him , for we shall see him as he is . from whence it is evident , that they see god , not only as manifesting himself in his creatures , but as he is in himself . which blessed sight , must needs fill them with the highest joys their finite nature is able to bear . to see wisedom , and power , and greatness , and goodness , and justice , and mercy , and immensity , and eternity ; to see the lord of hosts , the chiefest , the only good ; to see god himself , unvailing himself , and shining forth in all his glory before them , yea to see him smiling , as it were , upon them , rejoycing over them , meaning himself as well-pleased with them ! who is able to conceive how much their blessed souls are affected , delighted , transported with this blessed sight ? none certainly but only they that have it . they know , yea they feel it to be the greatest , the only perfect happiness they can possibly enjoy . and that all things else could never satisfie their desires and so make them happy , without this : whereas this would do it without all things else . it being impossible for them to desire any thing , but what they have in god , infinite goodness it self . in whom , by consequence , all their inclinations meet as in their proper center ; and so their minds are always at rest and quiet , and their souls full as they can hold of solid and substantial joy , which makes them break forth continually into praises and hallelujahs to almighty god , and to the lamb that sitteth upon the throne , who purchased such a glorious inheritance as this is for them , and settled it upon them for evermore . but how can these things be ? how is it possible for the saints in heaven to see god ? to that the apostle answers in my text , by calling it , the inheritance of the saints in light . it is true , all men are born at first spiritually blind , and so generally live in the dark , seeing no more of god or any spiritual object , than as if there was no such thing in being . but when a man is born again , his eyes are opened , and he is turned from darkness to light , as well as from the power of satan unto god. and therefore all such are called , the children of light ; and the children of the day ; because they have a marvellous light ( as st. peter calls it ) constantly shining in them , whereby they discover many glorious things , which lye perfectly hid to all other mortals . by this elisha's servant , when his eyes were opened , saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire , even a whole legion of the heavenly host , round about his master . by this st. stephen saw the heavens opened , and christ standing at the right hand of god ; yea by this moses saw him that is invisible , god himself . and thus all that are real saints , being the children of light , see more or less of god ; at least so much as to make them love , and desire , and fear , and trust on him above all things in the world . indeed they cannot see his face and live , as he himself told moses : but they see him as moses did , in his back-parts , in his works , the effects and products of his divine perfections . and the reason why they cannot see his face and live in this world , is because they are still in their imperfect state , and therefore cannot possibly have a perfect sight of so glorious a being ; or if they had , it would strike them dead , for they could not possibly bear it ; or as job expresseth it , by reason of his highness they could not endure , so as to live under it . but seeing god himself saith , that no man shall see his face , and live ; he thereby gives us to understand , that some shall see his face when they are dead , and departed out of this life . and so questionless do all the saints that are in heaven . for they live in a city which hath no need of the sun , nor of the moon to shine in it : for the glory of god doth lighten it , and the lamb is the light thereof . or as the prophet isaiah words it , the lord is to them an everlasting light . so that as the sun is to us upon earth , the fountain of all that light whereby we see any object here below ; so to the saints that are above in heaven , god himself is pleased to issue forth light immediately from himself , which exceeds the light of the sun , infinitely more than that exceeds the glimmering of a glo-worm . neither doth it only shine , as the sun doth , upon them , but into them , and so enlightens themselves too , as well as all things that are about them . and what is there in the world which they cannot see by such a glorious , such an infinite light as this is ? by this light they see not only the superficies , but the very substance and contexture of every creature they have a mind to look upon , as exactly as if it was perfectly anatomized and laid open before them . by this , they see the several vertues , qualities , and operations of things here below , and the great ends and purposes for which they are designed . by this , they see the causes of the ebbing and flowing of the sea , and other great phoenomena of nature , which so much puzzle philosophy , and make it but a meer conjecture . by this , they see the secret and wonderfull powers that god hath put into all animals and vegetables , of propagating their respective species , so that none of them ever did , or can ever fail to be in the world . by this , they see both the composition and the several motions of the sun and all the other planets , as well as fixed stars , and what influences they have upon terrestrial bodies . by this , they see the wise establishment of second causes , how they depend upon one another , and all upon the first . the sight of which , and such-like things , must needs be an extraordinary pleasure to them ; by reason of the most admirable art and contrivance they observe in them ; and also because their faculties are by this means employed to the proper uses , for which they were made , and to which they therefore tend . for as god made all things for the manifestation of his own glory , he endued men with reason on purpose , that they might behold and admire the glory of those perfections , which he manifested in them . and hence it is , that ( all things naturally tending to their end ) all men naturally desire to know , and many apply their minds wholly to find out such things as those are . and if they can but guess at any of them with the least shew of reason , or so much as probability , they are mightily pleased with it . but what a pleasure then must it be , to have a full view and prospect of them , and of that infinite wisedom , power , and goodness which appeareth in them , as the saints in heaven have , by that light which shines upon their inheritance ? moreover , by this light they look back upon their former lives , and see the steady hand of providence ordering and over-ruling , not only the greater occurrences , but even the least circumstances in them ; and the holy spirit of god making some use or other of every one of them , to work them over to himself . by this , they see god's infinite love and goodness to his church militant here on earth , in all the straits and difficulties he brings it into , and how good and necessary it is for it , that every thing should be just as it is . by this , they see the holy angels and all their fellow citizens in the new hierusalem , and converse familiarly with them , as we do with one another . by this , they see their ever blessed saviour , the eternal son of god in their nature exalted at the right hand of the father , far above all principality , and power , and might , and dominion , and every name that is named in heaven or earth . by this , they see all the glory which the father hath given him , as he himself once prayed they might . yea by this they see the most high god face to face , even as we see the sun , by his own light : and that too , as clearly , as fully , as perfectly as it is possible for creatures to doe it . which so refreshes , enlivens , elevates , and cheers their spirits , that they are always rejoycing and singing , and praising god ; admiring , adoring , magnifying and giving thanks to his almighty , all-glorious , and all-gracious majesty , father , son and holy ghost , for his creating , redeeming , and sanctifying them so as to bring them through the various changes and chances of this mortal life , to such an inheritance , incorruptible , undefiled , and that fadeth not away , eternal in the heavens , in glory , in bliss , in light it self . and now we are got upon the mount , how well may we say with the apostles , it is good for us to be here : let us set up our tents , and dwell continually upon the contemplation of this glorious inheritance of the saints in light ! but alas ! how far as yet are we distant from it ? how unworthy of it ? how unmeet for it ? what a deal of work have we to do , before we can get thither ? but , blessed be god , we are in the ready way , living in such a church wherein we have all things that can be desired in order to it . let us not then despair , but use the utmost of our care and study to qualifie our selves aright for it , and we cannot miss of it . for which purpose therefore let us consider in the next place , how we may be rightly qualified , or , as the apostle here speaks , made meet to be partakers of this inheritance of the saints in light ? where we may observe by the way , that the apostle here supposeth , or rather takes it for granted , that all men are not meet for it . than which nothing can be more certain . none being meet to partake of the inheritance of the saints , but only they who are saints themselves . god himself hath excluded all others from it , by his eternal and irrevocable decree , that without holiness no man shall see the lord. and indeed , none but saints are subjects capable of it . for all others being still in their natural and sinfull estate , their minds are so stuffed with vitious and gross humours , that they cannot see the light ; and so wholly inclined and bent upon sensual objects , that they can take no pleasure in the joys of heaven . but rather being altogether unclean and carnal , they have an utter aversion , if not an antipathy , against such pure and spiritual delights , as being directly contrary to their corrupt nature . insomuch that heaven it self would seem more like hell than heaven to them . the place would seem melancholly , the company irksome , the work tedious , the light troublesome , every thing uneasie and disagreeable . as suppose it should please almighty god to take us all up immediately from this place into the highest heavens , and there set us all just at our saviour's elbow . all such who are real saints among us , who love god above all things , how glad would they be to see him they love ? to see their saviour shining in all his glory ? how suddenly would they strike up with the choir of heaven in singing forth the praises of him that brought them thither ? what infinite pleasure would they take in the place , the work , the company , and every thing they see there ? but as for others , who are still in their sins , and mind only earthly things , how sad and disconsolate would they be ? they would wonder to see the saints so pleasant and joyfull ; for as for their parts , they can see nothing there , which they care for . in the midst of light , they would be still in darkness : in sorrow , in the midst of joys . they cannot hear that heavenly musick ; or if they did , it would sound harsh , all discords to them . they cannot tast of those spiritual dainties ; or if they did , they could not relish , nor find any sweetness in them . they cannot see the face of god ; or if they did , they would not be pleased , but terrified and confounded at it ; and wish with all their souls to be out of that sad place again , that they might mind the business , and enjoy the pleasures they like better . if that be heaven , they never desire to come there any more . and all because they want that principle of true grace and holiness , which should make them saints , and so capacitate them for the enjoyment of those holy pleasures , without which a blind man may as well delight in pictures , the deaf in musick , yea a brute beast in metaphysicks , as they in heaven or in god himself . by this therefore we may see how necessary it is to be holy before we can be happy ; pure in heart , before we can see god ; real and true saints , before we can partake of their inheritance in light . and by consequence , as ever we desire to go to heaven when we dye , we must take care while we live , to get our hearts purged from all corrupt affections , our minds enlightened , and our souls sanctified throughout , and inclined wholly unto god , so as to prefer him at least in some degree before all things else ; that so we may go out of this world , rightly disposed and fitted to behold the light of his countenance , and to solace our selves in it , as the highest object of our souls desires . and then we may be sure that our desires shall be fully satisfied : for our souls will be no sooner loosned from our bodies , but they will be immediately carried up to heaven , and there partake of the inheritance of the saints in light . and at the last day , our bodies shall be united to our souls again , and then both in soul and body , we shall enjoy all we can desire for evermore . but who is sufficient for these things ? how can we who were born , and have lived so long in sin , ever be made so pure and holy , as to be meet to live with saints and angels , with christ and god himself in the world to come ? it is , i confess , no easie matter : but howsoever it is possible for every one here present to be so . nay more than that , none of us can fail of it , unless we be failing to our selves in our endeavours after it . as we may easily perceive , if we do but consider how others have been ; and so how we our selves may be sanctified or made saints , if we do but set our selves in good earnest about it . for which end , we may observe , that this being too great a work for us to do by our own strength , the eternal son of god himself was pleased to undertake it for us . and for that purpose , having taken our nature upon him , he gave himself for us , as to redeem us from all iniquity , so to purifie to himself a peculiar people , zealous of good works . and so he is made unto us , wisedom as well as righteousness ; sanctification as well as redemption ; that as we are justified and redeemed from our sins , so we may be made wise and holy through him ; who is the fountain as of all the good things we do or can enjoy , so likewise of all the goodness and vertue we are or can be endued with . it all flows from him ; who therefore tells us , that without him we can do nothing . but by him , there is nothing but we can do . as st. paul found by experience , saying , i can do all things through christ which strengtheneth me . hence therefore if we desire to be made holy , we must apply our selves to christ , who although he be now in heaven as to his humane nature , yet he is always present with us here below , both in his divine person , and also by his holy spirit , and so is ready upon all occasions to assist us in our endeavours after piety , and to crown them with that success , as to make us sincerely pious . for which purpose , as he sanctified our humane nature in general by assuming it into his divine person ; so he sanctifieth our humane persons in particular , by making us partakers of his divine nature : which he doth , by sending his holy spirit , of the same divine nature with himself , into our hearts , which by degrees makes us also holy and spiritual , and so in our capacities , like unto himself , and partakers of his own nature . now the great thing which he requires of us , in order to his doing this great work for us , is , that we believe in him . for he himself saith , that we are sanctified by faith that is in him . not by believing only his gospel in general to be true , but by believing particularly in himself , so as to have a sure trust and confidence on him , to give us such illuminations and assistances of his holy spirit , whereby we may be turned from darkness to light , and from the power of satan unto god , and so be made sincerely , as he is infinitely pure and holy . and indeed this is the first and great thing that we ought to believe and trust in our saviour for : and that which is the foundation of all our other expectations from him . for we have no ground to expect either pardon or any other blessing at his hands , untill we repent and be converted but if we firmly believe and depend upon him in the first place for grace to repent and turn to god , and so to become holy and new creatures , according to the promises that he hath made us to that purpose ; as he will then most certainly perform such promises to us , so all the other blessings that he hath purchased for us , will then follow in course . for if we be truly sanctified and made holy , then our sins will be all pardoned , our persons justified , our duties accepted , god reconciled to us , and at length our souls eternally saved . but all these things depend upon our being first sanctified by him , as that doth upon our believing in him . but faith , as the apostle saith , is the gift of god ; and therefore if we desire to believe so as to be sanctified , we must ask and expect it from him , in the use of those means which he hath appointed both for the begetting and increasing of it . we must reade , and hear , and meditate upon his holy word . we must fast and pray , and receive the sacrament of our lord's supper . for these are the ordinary means which god hath established in his church , whereby to make known himself unto us , to convince us of the truth and certainty of his promises , and so work and confirm in us a true belief of them , by the power of the holy ghost , which for that purpose doth continually assist and influence the administration and performance of such duties ; which therefore are not onely holy duties in themselves , but the means too whereby we may become holy . but for that purpose , we must perform , not onely one or more , but all of them , so as to go through the whole course that god hath prescribed for the healing of our spiritual distempers , and for the restoring us to a sound frame and constitution of mind , wherein , as i have shewn , the nature of true holiness properly consists . and that we must doe too , not onely now and then , but through the whole course of our lives , so as to be constantly , as much as possibly we can , employed in some or other of these holy exercises ; not in a careless and superficial manner , but heartily , sincerely , earnestly , as for our lives ; for our lives , our eternal lives in a great measure depend upon it . for it is by our continual exercise of those holy duties and the grace of god always accompanying of them , that our hearts are insensibly taken off from sin and the world , and raised up higher and higher towards god and heaven , till at length our whole souls being sanctified by a quick and lively faith in christ , we are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light . and what cause have they who are so , to give thanks , as st. paul here doth , to god the father for it ? for the whole of our salvation from first to last , must be ascribed unto him . it is begun , continued , and ended all in him . for it was he , who so loved the world , that he gave his onely begotten son , that whosoever believeth in him , should not perish , but have everlasting life . it was he , who spared not this his son , but delivered him up to be tempted , to be scourged , to be spit upon , to be arraigned , condemned , crucified , and all for us and for our salvation . it was he , who having raised up this his son jesus , sent him to bless us , by turning every one of us from his iniquities . and made him who knew no sin , to be sin for us , that we might be made the righteousness of god in him . it was he , who hath exalted him with his own right hand , to be both a prince and a saviour , for to give repentance and remission of sins . it is he , who hath passed by the greatest part of mankind , and hath revealed himself and his son to us , the unworthiest of all his creatures . it was he , who caused us to be born and bred within the pale of his holy catholick church , and in one of the soundest and purest parts of it upon the face of the whole earth . it is he , who still continues the means of grace to us , and us to them , and his blessing both to them and us . it is he , who gives us his holy spirit , to mortifie the deeds of the flesh , and to quicken us with newness of life ; to raise up our minds from the world , and fix them upon himself ; to keep us from evil , and to enable us to doe , or suffer any thing we can for his sake . it is he , who calls upon us continually by the ministery of his word , to repent and believe the gospel , and gives us grace to doe it . in a word , it is he , who hath sent me , the unworthiest of all his ministers , at this time to acquaint you in his name , how ye may be meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light ; and it is he alone can make you so . and therefore all who are so made , may well join with the choire of heaven , in those seraphick anthems we find them singing in the revelations , salvation to our god which sitteth upon the throne , and to the lamb. amen ; blessing , and glory , and wisedom , and thanksgiving , and honour , and power , and might , be unto our god for ever and ever . amen . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a27575-e150 mar. 9. 44. psal . 89. 35. amos 4. 2. heb. 12. 10. 2 pet. 1. 4. isa . 6. 3. rev. 4. 8. ephes . 4. 24. 1 pet. 1. 15. 1 thess . 4. 7. psal . 16. 3. 1 cor. 15. 58. rom. 8. 17. heb. 1. 2. rev. 21. 7. 1 cor. 3. 21 , 22. 1 cor. 13. 12. 1 joh. 3 2. act. 26. 18. 1 thess . 5. 5. 1 pet. 2. 9. 2 reg. 6. 17. act. 7. 55 , 56. heb. 11. 27. exod. 33. 20. job 31. 23. rev. 21. 23. isa . 60. 19. joh. 17. 24. matt. 17. 4. heb. 12. 14. tit. 2. 14. 1 cor. 1. 30. joh. 15. 5. phil. 4. 13. act. 26. 18. ephes . 2. 8. joh. 3. 16. rom. 8. 32. act. 3. 26. 2 cor. 5. 21. act. 5. 31. revel . 7. 10 , 12. the state of the future life, and the present's order to it consider'd by tho. white, gent. white, thomas, 1593-1676. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a65802 of text r15645 in the english short title catalog (wing w1842). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 59 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 64 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a65802 wing w1842 estc r15645 13031249 ocm 13031249 96742 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a65802) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 96742) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 403:1) the state of the future life, and the present's order to it consider'd by tho. white, gent. white, thomas, 1593-1676. [10], 117 p. printed by t.w. for john ridley ..., london : 1654. pages 2-5 and 66-71 are tightly bound in filmed copy. pages from beginning-15 and 60-79 photographed from british library copy and inserted at the end. reproduction of original in cambridge university library. eng future life -early works to 1800. a65802 r15645 (wing w1842). civilwar no the state of the future life, and the present's order to it: consider'd by tho. white gent. white, thomas 1654 10578 31 0 0 0 1 0 39 d the rate of 39 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the d category of texts with between 35 and 100 defects per 10,000 words. 2004-10 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-11 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-01 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2005-01 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the state of the future life , and the present's order to it : consider'd by tho. white gent. psal. 15. 11. notas mihi fecisti vias vitae : adimplebis me laetitiâ cum vultu tuo : delectationes in dexterâ tuâ , usque in finem . london , printed by t. w. for john ridley , and are to be sold at the castle in fleetstreet by ram alley . 1654 to the reader . least this petty countriman of ours may seem to impose on the world , or that emminent name which adorns the front : 't is judg'd a duty , to make it's first breath proclame this but a translation , out of that latin original , which a powerful sollicitour prevayl'd upon the well-furnisht charity of this authour , suddainly , to digest into a perfect course of meditations , for the spiritual exercise of the english clergy . and now , this free confession obliges it , wisely , to prevent a severer censure , by detecting as ingenuously it 's farther imperfections : presenting but the just half of that body ; nor this , rigorously or verbatim , but with a fair proportion of liberty ; wherein , as the different genius of so distinct languages vindicates it's providence , thus , to secure the same clearness and emphasis to the same very sense ; so , in the other , the entire fitness of this part , by it self , for the general use , may excuse it's separation from the rest , which is but singular & concerns only the clergy : who may civilly be referr'd to the fountain , if they have any appetite ; whence a prudent compassion has drawn this , only for such weak or nice stomacks , soon clog'd with the sight of variety , or more than is just necessary for their own present refection . the contents . being these considerations following . true felicity , or the perfect happiness of a rational soul , is the future life's portion . 2. the delight , which proceeds from the knowledge and vision of almighty god , infinitely excells all other . 3. the happy state of the just's bodys , after their resurrection . 4. the intollerable pains of the damned , for the loss of this happy knowledge and sight of god . 5. the unspeakable pains which the damned souls shall suffer ▪ through their own disordinate affections . 6. though the bodies of the damned , by reason of their state , be incorruptible after the resurrection ; yet shall not their souls be exempt from corporal pains . 7. the beatifical vision is the erd , whereat we ought principally to aim in all our actions . 8. piety is conformable to man's nature : whence such as live , according to vertue , are most happy , even , in this world . 9. god highly esteems our felicity ; then , how ought we to value it. 10. the great benefits mankind has receiv'd by christ's comming into the world . 11. meekness and humility is the readiest way to happiness , not only hereafter , but ev'n in this life . 12. fraternal charity is the true mark of a good christian , and the only sure way to eternal happiness . the state of the future life , and the present's order to it . the first consideration . true felicity , or , the perfect happiness of a rational soul , is the future life's portion . the first point . consider . since almighty god has ordain'd , for man , two sorts of life ; one , in this world , short and full of misery ; the other ▪ in the next , everlasting ▪ and , for those that live well here , subject to no evill , and abounding with all good : 't is evident , this latter is , infinitely and without all comparison , to be preferr'd . the second point . again . considering that knowledge is the good of a rational soul ; and that no one object has the least repugnance to any other , as to being known , but all ( however opposite among themselves ) are perfectly consistent in the understanding ; the soul , of its own nature , if not checkt , by union with the body , is capable of knowing all things . since therefore , through the obstruction of the body in the whole course of this life , she attains to the knowledge of but very few things , and those one by one ; whereas , in the next world , she shall be freed from all impediment , being either alone , without the body or absolute mistriss of it 't is evidently consequent that , knowledg● ( the souls good , ) in respect of the object , mus● hereafter , where 't is no● hindred , infinitely surpass it self , here , whil'st 't is subject to the body . the third point . but , farther . considering that all objects and things , both in their nature and number , are limited and finite ; except almighty god , who alone , in his sole essence , as in one single reality ●nd formality ) contains ●hem all and infinite other possibilities , in a more united and infinitely higher kind ; whence , he 's the sole object that can render our knowledge perfect , and that only soul's good whose vision and fruition can make us happy : hence , again , it follows that , since this object is reserv'd for the next life , its felicity is incomparably to be preferr'd , before all the goods and happiness this life can promise , much less afford , us . conclusion . conclude , therefore , and convince thy self that this one , only necessary , and soul-satisfying good ought to be prosecuted and sought for , even with the neglect of all other interests ; that the greatest part of thy life , perhaps , hitherto , has perish'd and been spent in vain : and resolve seriously to provide for the future , that , of that little time which , peradventure , is left thee , no day , no hour , no moment pass by , without some progress towards thy obtaining this sole good . the second consideration . the delight , which proceeds from the knowledge & vision of almighty god , infinitely excells all other . the first point . consider . since all delight either consists in knowledge , or , at least , absolutely depends on it ; for , we find , by experience , all the knowledge we have , ( ev'n sensible , ) is perfected in the brain , by help of the understanding : it follows that , all delight , whether intellectual or sensual , proceeds from the soul , as it is intellectual ; and consequently , that delectation , which comprehends all intellectual , comprehends , indeed , all manner of delight : wherefore , the vision of god must needs contain , in it self , all kind of sweet contentments , and infinitely exceed all other delights . the second point . again . all temporal and worldly pleasures consist in a certain motion and transient succession , which quickly slip away ; and can have no greater stability than the time , by which they are measur'd : nor indeed can that be long ; for , neither are we able alwaies to eat or drink , &c. nor yet alwaies attend or reflect ( without which 't is impossible to take delight ) what we do , whilst wee are in these actions . but , on the contrary , that delight which flows from the vision of god is everlasting , steddy and unchangeable as any fixt and permanent substance , not enjoyed by piece-meal , never interrupted , as , of necessity , all corporal pleasures are , in this life ; but full and all together and needing no attention , it self essentially reflecting upon it self : so that , it alone exceeds all worldly pleasures , as far as all time exceeds one instant , the vast machin of the world the least moat we discover in the sun beams , or the highest angel a contemptible worm , and infinitely more , beyond all comparison . the third point . lastly . all other objects of delight may be cōprehended by our understanding , may be contemn'd by our will , as less than our soul and not able to satisfie it : only almighty god so fills and oversatisfies , that , entirely possessing our affections , he , as it were , forces the soul to love and delight , more than , of its own nature , it possibly could ; nor can it ever be weary of the good it enjoys , but still , with its whole and more eager desire , will hug and cling to its beloved object ; so that , a soul which sees god seeks nothing else , but rests fully satisfied & , as it were , lull'd into a dear contentment , wherein it remains so absorpt and wholy ravisht , that it sweetly languishes and dissolves into spirits and flames of love , the better to inessence and incorporate it self into god ▪ thus , then , thou feest clearly demonstrated this great-concerning truth , that no delight can be comparable to thy beatitude ; and that , 't is no wonder to hear our blessed lord and master , in a manner , labour to express it , when he said , mensuram plenam , & confertam , & coagitatam , & supereffluentem dabunt in sinus vestros , you shall be paid with good measure , heap'd up , and press'd down , and thrust together , and yet running over into your bosoms . conclusion . conclude , therefore , with a full resolution , by all thy works and best endeavours , and even , if need be , with the hazard and loss of all other goods , to purchase this hidden treasure , this precious pearl , which at length , though late , thou hast hit on ; and , to think nothing considerable nor to be car'd for , in comparison of this ; to pitty the unhappiness of those poor souls that spend their whole affections in toys and trifles , of this life , neglecting this only necessary good ; and , to rejoyce in the secret of thy bosom , that , being vouchsaf'd grace , now , to see that the wisdom of this world is , in very truth , but folly , it has pleas'd thy kind lord to number thee , amongst those few that are truly wise . the third consideration . the happy state of the just's bodys , after their resurrection . the first point . consider . when the last day shall restore thee thy body again , it shall be endow'd with such a degree of health , as will be most convenient for all thy operations , both spiritual and corporal , accompany'd with an incapacity of deficience or corruption , and wth such an agility as the most perfect disposition of the nerves can cause ; with access of all possible swiftness , and a power of raising or depressing thy self , at pleasure , as also of consisting with or penetrating any other body : to all which , thou shalt have such a graceful comeliness , with so rare a beauty of light and colour , ( whose like shall not be found in any other body but thine , ) that , thereby , thou shalt become an ornament to the universs ; adding so peculiar a grace to all the rest , that , without thee , that whole mass of glorious bodies would seem , in a manner , lame and defective . the second point . moreover . all the laudable actions of thy whole life shall be known , to all the men and angels , that are or ever were ; who , admiring all and every perfection in them , ( even , to the least circumstances and thoughts that accompany'd them ) shall , from their very hearts and by the force of truth , love and praise thee for them : nay , the very devils and damned souls shall honour thee , but with envy , grief , and repentance ; and , what may seem more strange , thy very sins shall be , then , a glory to thee , both because thou o'recam'st and forsook'st them , and that , even , in their commission , there was possibly some laudable circumstance , and which avayl'd to thy salvation . so that , then , thou shalt have so many friends , so many admirers of thy vertue , as there are saints and angels ; so many vvitnesses of thine excellency , as there are damned souls and devils , who , obstinate in their own malice , by their torments shall confess and encrease thy glory . the third point . adde to this . neither the devils nor damned souls shall be able , in any thy least motion or will , to resist thee ; all the saints and angels shall observe and comply with thy desires , more punctually then any obsequious servant ever watch'd their masters eye ; and , no corporeal nature shal be able to contest with thee , but all bodies shall obey thee in what ever thou hast a mind to ▪ so that , there , thou shalt neither want power , where none shall contradict thee , nor riches , where nothing shall be denyed thee . conclusion . conclude then . whatever good thou shalt , here forsake , for god and vertu 's love , will not be lost ; but , there , restor'd with interest , whether friends , wealth , honour , or dominion . wherefore , doubt not , like a prudent merchant , to venture thy goods to the sea of fortune , and storms of persecution , whence , thou shalt find an indefectible treasure layd up , in heaven , for thee ; or , like the good husbandman , to sow , in the winter of adversities ( though with some reluctance & sorrow ) thy seed in vertu 's ground , expecting the precious fruit it shall infallibly yield thee , in the summer of eternity : having so firm an assurance as the express vvord of god , they that sow in tears , shall reap in j●y . the fourth consideration . the intollerable pains of the damned , for the loss of this happy knowledge and sight of god . the first point . consider . man's soul being created for the vision of almighty god , ( as properly , and more , than a knife is made to cut , any vessel to be fill'd , and all heavy things for their center ; ) and a knowing substance , when it wants the good for which it was made , being very unquiet and full of pain , and that so much the more as it's nature is more excellent , it's force greater and inclination more violent ▪ it must needs follow that , such a soul , ( when it shall know what an infinite good the almighty is , who alone is able to satisfie its appetite , ) will be fill'd with a sorrow for so great a joss , equal to the excellency of its nature and the force of its inclination . reflect , then , with what violence a huge stone falls to it's center , or a mighty bow of steel , let loose , unbends its self , or powder , set on fire , breaks all to make it's way ; and , be assured the sorrow of an unhappy soul ( who , now , sees of what good it remains depriv'd ) will be as far more violent than all these , as its nature and forces surpass the activivity of the strongest bodies . the second point . again . when this poor soul shall be convinc'd , how slender , base , sordid , fading and almost momentany all those things were , for which it contemn'd and lost this infinite and only good ; that might so ▪ easily have been obtain'd , even , with far less pains than were , often ▪ employ'd ▪ on those transitory toys ; and with far more security , ( since , none could hinder it but it self ; no , not it self deprive it self of this , when once possest : but for those , there was not the least certainty by never so great endeavours , to compass them , nor the least hope long to hold them : ) vvhen the unhappy soul shall be clearly convinc'd of all this , will it not incomparably encrease its grief and infinitely augment its torments , its pains . the third point . but , above all . those wretched souls , who , whilst they liv'd in their bodies , had receiv'd greater knowledge of this beatitude , and ( by the honour of being christians ) had heard and believ'd , both that there was an eternal happiness provided for them , ( if themselves would ) and that it incomparably exceeded all temporal goods and worldly felicity ; yet see , on the other side , how they spent their whole lives in running after vanities and trash , as if they had been pagans and ignorant of heav'n : such must needs , out of this knowledge , fall into an incredible , yet unprofitable , repentance ; and , according to our saviours sentence , be beaten with many stripes , as the vvise-man explicates , like great persons , be greatly tormented . conclusion . conclude , with fear and trembling ; lest , what happens to many , and , perhaps , to most christians , may also be thy lot : and resolve , with a constant courage , to shake off quickly the burthen of all worldly fears or affections that hinder thy march to heav'n ; lest , when death shall surprize thee , thou mayst not , peradventure , find time for repentance , nor be able to alter , in a moment , what thy whole life has been us'd to . the fifth consideration . the unspeakable pains which the damned souls shall suffer , through their own disordinate affections . the first point . consider . since a soul cannot be without desires , but something it must love ; wherefore , if it loves not true beatitude , it must needs desire false goods : whence , it will clearly follow that , the souls of the wicked , who dye without loving god , must , after death , desire those same goods on which they placed their affections , whilst they liv'd in this world ; and , the acts of a separated soul being , incomparably , more strong and violent than any it could possibly exercise in the body , those souls must be all on fire and , incredibly , burn with perpetual longings after the goods of this life ; which , notwithstanding , cannot be had in that state , and yet , the desire of such is now grown natural to them ; and consequently as unchangeable and immortal as their nature . they must , therefore , be eternally tormented with a furious , yet fruitless , desire of those things they can never obtain ; whence follows a continual desperation , insufferable grief , and a version from the causes of so great evil , viz. hatred against god and ▪ themselves , and a raging madness , altogether inexplicable . the second point . but , further . it being almost impossible that he , who directs not his life to god , should so lettle his affections on any one temporal thing , as not to be distracted with successive desires of , now , this , now , that , independent of one another ; and all those acts , which , in this life , are successive and at severall times , being , in the next world , altogether and at once in the soul : it must needs follow that , such a soul , in the next life , desires , at the same time , contrary and incompossible things ; and so , for ever , remains divided in and against it self , alwaies at debate and strife with it self and , as if , compounded of so many furious beasts , as it has contrary passions , perpetually biting and tearing one another , without the least minute of rest ; becomming , thus , to it self a most bitter , spiteful and tedious enemy and , which way soever it turns , still meeting new goads and spears that gore it to the very heart . the third point . and , which is yet more grievous than all the rest , when these unhappy souls shall clearly see that these evils , into which they have plung'd themselves , shall never have an end , can never be lessen'd with any success of time , nor admit of any the least comfort , no , not so much as a little oblivion or not thinking on them , for a moment ; but shall alwaies and all at once in a heap o're-whelm & oppress them , continually gnawing and eating , yet without consuming , their very bowels : what mountains of calamities , what etnas of despair must this needs draw upon them ? do but reflect on your self , what a terrour 't is wont to strike , when you have some time thought of this eternity , by multiplying hundreds , thousands , and millions of years ; which , notwithstanding , when you have gone as far as you are able , is infinitely short of what eternity is : and , then , tell me what effect you think this sad consideration must needs produce in the damned ; who , by the excellency of their nature and the state wherein they now are , cannot but behold the horrid countenance of this their accursed eternity , truly , and such as , in it self , it is for ever . conclusion . conclude , then . since our eternal misery flows from the habits and affections our souls acquire in this life , which if misplac't upon objects unenjoyable in the next , engage us , above all possibility of relief , into everlasting sorrows and distractions . resolve , from this hour , from this very moment , to bid adieu to the vanities of this world : and , as you cannot but know that , nothing ought to be belov'd but for our last end , which is , god ; so couragiously strive to regulate your affections , and force them to be subject to this only rule of true reason . the sixth consideration . though the bodies of the damned , by reason of their state , be incorruptible after the resurrection ; yet shall not their souls be exempt from corporal pains . the first point . consider ▪ as all pleasure , in man , proceeds from the soul , so , of necessity , must all grief , too ; wherefore , as , in the highest delight , all kind of pleasure is contain'd , so , in the extreamest sorrow , all kind of grief is included : since , therefore , all the corporal pains we suffer are but several griefs in the soul ; it evidently follows that , in damned souls , where extream sorrow reigns , no kind of pain can be wanting . whence , though their bodies be in a state of immutability , and no material instruments of torment can work on them , after the resurrection ; yet shall not they be free , even , from corporal pains : but feel , incomparably more grievously than they ever could in this life , the torments of burning by fire , the gnawing of worms and serpents , the affliction of weeping and wayling , the causes of gnashing the teeth , and all pains whatever have been shew'd to holy persons in their approved visions . the second point . again . when all their wickednesses and most infamous actions , when every word and thought shall , not only , be written in their own consciences , but layd open to the sight of all the world ; those wretched creatures , of necessity , must then appear , both to themselves and all others , most effeminate , foolish and wicked , and , by consequence , most base and infamous ; and thereby , most hateful , even , to themselves , contemptible to god and his angels , with all the blessed souls , nay even , to the very devils and all the damned crew ; but especially , to those once honour'd and belov'd companions of their wickedness , in this world , whom either , whilst they liv'd , they had courted into their sins , or been by them allur'd and draw'n into their's ; and , so , in an instant and to all eternity , become depriv'd of all , even , false friendship , vain honour , and whatever seeming goods they so passionatly affected and ambitiously sought for , in this life . the third point . lastly , though their bodies , then , remain perfectly subject to their souls , yet , ev'n this subjection , through the in●disposition of their souls , can only serve to render them more miserable and hateful ; their eyes and countenances , fram'd according to the horror of their guilty consciences and tormented thoughts , how can they but be most ugly and abominable ? the rest of their members , in what strange postures , expressing the distraction of their minds , beyond all bedlams for their mad and extravagant deformities ? and , if any occasion of action should be offer'd them , without any prudence or consideration , at the very first motion , how prone to all wickedness and unable to resist any evill ? only , secure , by their state of immutabiliry : unhappy immutabiliry ▪ which only serves them , never to be chang'd from , but eternally to endure , torments , that would quickly dissolve any thing less than an immortal body . conclusion . conclude , then . whoever loves his soul , in this life ( that is , inordinatly and according to flesh and blood ) truly loses it in the next world ( as our lord foretold , ) and falls into the evills which , here , he labours so much to shun : but , with a very disadvantageous advantage ; for , by fearing little ills , he falls into infinite great ones and , by declining momentany sufferings , he runs into eternal . take up , therefore , ( as the apostle exhorts thee ) this buckler of faith , and , by the serious consideration of the next life's future evills , defend thy self against the fyery darts of thine enemies : fight courage ▪ things , put together , are any ways cōparable ev'n to the least degree of it : 't is evident that , then , our whole life is best , when 't is best fitted and order'd for obtaining this end ; and , if in any part it be ill or less well dispos'd for it , so far 't is vicious or , at least , imperfect . wherefore , 't is the sole business of all prudent persons , so to order their whole life , ( to the utmost of their power , ) as may most directly and certainly lead them to attaining this happiness : proportionating every part thereof to the scope of the whole , and having , still , the end so considerately before their eyes , that all their actions may be squar'd and levell'd to it . the second point . secondly . since the chief and proper action of a man , towards his end , is the love of it ; and the highest good is , above all , to be loved : 't is evident , those actions and endeavours , to this end , are best , which beget and breed in our selves a strong and solid love to it. now , there are two ways or mediums to engender and encrease love : one , by purging our hearts from all other loves and affections , that so we may more freely and entirely attend to this we are in pursute of ; the other , by considering and meditating on , as well the great goods contain'd in the end or thing we desire to love , as the extream evils that follow or accompany their loss or privation . wherefore , 't is cleer , our chief labour and study ought to be , so to order our life , that we may , both often and seriously , think on this our end and the infinite happiness it contains ; and that , in all we undertake , our affections be not corrupted and adulterated with the least love of the things themselves , but our works be done purely for the love of this blessed end , and all our intentions aym at the encrease of this love . the third point . thirdly . since , by every deliberate action , we aym at some end or pretend the attaining some good ; which we seek , either , purely for it self , without any farther reference , or else , intend this as a means to some other : 't is evident that , in every such action , we love something , as the last end for which we do it . if then , it be not done for the love of true beatitude ( which is , the enjoyment of god ; ) it must needs follow , we do it only for the love of some false good , as pleasure , riches , or the like ; and that , in every such action , we love some false good , as our last end . wherefore , it imports us to walk very cautiously with our god , and purify ( all we can ) our intentions : seeing no consider●t action can be surely indifferent , but either advances towards or swerves from our true and only felicity , his beatifying sight . conclusion . conclude , with thāksgiving to the almighty , for this special favour of bringing thee , thus seriously , to reflect on thy ways : and , if thou findest that , hitherto , thou hast been too negligent , in a business of such consequence , strive henceforward to renew in thy self the fervour of charity , with so much more care and diligence as thou hast already lost time . do what good thou canst in the day of this life : for , our great master tells us , when the night of death shal come , it will be too late to help our selves , but , such , as we are then found , must be our lot for all eternity . the eighth consideration . piety is conformable to man's nature : whence , such as live , according to vertue , are most happy , even , in this world . the first point . consider . since every one's particular end is that of humane nature ; and , it cannot stand with the wisdom and goodness of our creatour , to have made our nature other , than such as was fit and conformable to obtain the end , for which it was created : it must needs follow that the actions , by which we are to procure this end , are also conformable to our nature : and since , what is agreeable to nature is pleasant and delightful , it must follow again , that , those actions are very grateful and sweet ; and therefore a pious life , which consists of such actions , is not a crabbed and unpleasant , but , on the contrary , a life full of sweetness and most apt to yield content : and , if some passages in it seem a little harsh , that they are but medicinal and whereby we are preserv'd from falling into others , far more hurtfull and worse to be digested ; wherefore , that these also are sweet in their effect , not only in respect of the future life , but even of the present , and , like a bitter potion , to be swallow'd , with a joyful hope of the health they induce . the second point . again . since a pious life orders the whole course of our actions to one end , so rendring them all conformable to one another ; it clearly exempts our lives from all inward opposition and contradiction , and keeps us in perfect peace with our selves : whereas , on the contrary , a vicious life ( wich precipitates us , according to our passions , to follow , now ▪ this , now , that concupiscence ) must needs fill our souls with repugnant affections , make us lead a life full of contradiction , and cast us into those very evils we seek most to fly . and , as all vices are contrary to our nature , and cannot be kept subject to reason's rule ; so are they , of necessity , bitter and painful in their effects , pressing their followers still downward , from evill to worse , till , in death , they tumble them at length , into hell : where they shall justly complain that , they have walked thither by difficult and rough ways , and even been weary'd in their iniquities . the third point . thirdly . since our bodies are made for our souls , and the dispositions of the one for the operations of the other ; it follows that , then , our souls best operate , when our bodies are best dispos'd , and that disposition of the body is , truly , best , which is best fitted to the operations of the soul ; whence , 't is an errour to think it well with our bodies , when they are not fit to serve our soul . and , hence again , it follows that , ev'n those delights and comforts of the body , which god has created for it 's necessary recreation are not to be deny'd to a pious life , in their due proportion ; that , a pious and orderly life , truly and really , more abounds with corporal delights than the life of the wicked , ( as appears to any that considers the inconveniences unavoydably flowing from disorder : ) and that , ev'n they who abstain from those corporal delights , which are enjoy'd in marriage & the possession of riches ; such find , here , other far greater temporal pleasures , incompatible with these , as , honour , friendship , knowledge , excellent conversation and the like , which abundantly supply the defect of those material enjoyments , and rende● their life more sweet and happy , ev'n in this world . conclusion . conclude , then , without fear to commit thy self to god and a pious life : and know that the almighty has no need of thee , nor made thee for his own sake but for thine , that thou might'st partaker that happiness whereof he was , essentially , full ; and , therefore , he were not wise , but would miss of his end , had he not prepar'd all things convenient to render thee happy . be thou , then , but confident , and discreetly proceed , and thou shalt quickly find , by experience , what a difference there is between a wicked or negligent , and a truly vertuous and devout life ; how much more pleasant , how much more full of comfort and delight , this is than that ; and , how , sweetly yet strongly , our wise creatour has fram'd all the parts of our felicity , conformable to each other and to the end , for which he has ordain'd us . the ninth consideration . god highly esteems our felicity ; then , how ought we to value it. the first point . consider . since almighty god is essentially happy , and in possession of all good ; and therefore incapable of the least new addition , by his creatures : 't is evident that , whatever he has created , he made , not for his own , but for thine and thy brethrens sake ; not to render himself , but thee and them happy ; and , by consequence , has valew'd your felicity , above all the rest of his works . behold , therefore , heaven , earth , and sea , and all the creatures wherewith he has stor'd & adorn'd them , created for thee and to bring thee to happiness , nor cared for but as means to that end : and ( which is yet infinitely more , ev'n beyond all amazement ) see the divinity it self humbled and impoverish't to raise and enrich thee ; him , whom , but now , wee concluded through his own fulness incapable of encrease , devested for thy sake , of all his royal privileges , and cloth'd with all our miseries and infirmities : for , what know we , amongst the whole mass of creatures , so distressed and helpless as a poor infant newly born ? what , so subject to all kind of contingencies , and inconveniencies ? what , requiring so much care and industry , to nurse and breed up to its perfection ? thank on every particular , and see , at how high a rate , the unerrable judgement of the almighty has valew'd thy happiness . the second point . but again . consider the whole life and death of this poor god , pillag'd of his own , to purchase thy glory . see a life of three and thirty long years endur'd , in cōtinual necessities , labours , molestations , and contradictions . how often was it necessary that this most meek and innocent lamb , who never brake a brused reed , nor quench'd the smoaking flax , should ( to give thee an example of patience ) undergoe the anger and indignation of his enemies ? how often , to teach thee meekness and humility , was he to be chidden , threatned , reproach'd and blasphem'd , without once op'ning his mouth to reply ? what shall i say of his travayls , sweats , weariness , lying without dores , watching whole nights in prayer , fasting , poverty , not having a house wherein to shrow'd his head , living on alms , continual dangers and flying from one place to another ; especially in the last three years of his life ? o , but his end ! consider his anguish in the garden , the manner of his apprehension , his leading , or rather , dragging from one tribunal to another ; all sorts of contempt , all manner of insolent and abusive revilements : weigh the pains he suffer'd in the most tender and sensible parts of his body ; his being betray'd by one , and forsaken by the rest of his disciples ; the doleful presence of his dearest mother , and other afflicted friends : in fine , his ignominious death , and the effusion of the last drop of his blood , for thy redemption and eternal happiness . the third point . lastly . consider how , not content with all this , he spar'd not his glorious body , but ordain'd even that , too , to serve as a means for thy felicity : leaving himself to thee in the blessed sacrament , under the forms of bread and wine ; not only to be seen and adored , but ev'n to be handled , broken , chew'd , swallow'd and incorporated by thee : for all this , is as truly , and really verify'd of him , invested with the accidents or forms of bread and wine , as it would be of the bread it self , were it taken before consecration ; and it 's connatural accidents are , now , as truly , those of his body , as they were of the bread , whilst it continu'd such . add , now , to this , all the injuries and indignities that are offer'd his sacred person ( as it lyes veyl'd under those accidents , for thy love ) whether by negligence , of inconsiderate servants , or malice of wicked sinners : and see to what a pitch his charity to thee is heightned , which has made him , in a manner , prefer thee before himself . conclusion . conclude , therefore . since thou neither mayst nor canst doubt , but that the judgement of thy god is most certain , impartial and unerrable ; what care and esteem oughtst thou to have of thine own salvation ? what sollicitude , to seek the means of attaining it ? what diligence to omit nothing in order to assure it ? whereof thou see'st him so industriously careful , who is no wayes concern'd ( more than out of pure goodness ) whether thou bee'st a sav'd soul or no ; and yet , whom even goodness it self could not so transport , as to make him think any price too high to procure thee felicity . the tenth consideration . the great benefits mankind has receiv'd by christ's comming into the world . the first point . consider , first . by this most wise oeconomy and gracious dispensation of christ , ( great steward of god's house , the church , ) mankind is made capable of admirable secrets and high mysterys ; and has attain'd a most certain knowledge of them : for , who so simple , that cannot beleeve what is told him , when nothing else is requir'd ? and what can be so firm and certain , either to our senses or understandings , as the word of god ? for , since , by it , all other things were made , and , from it , had their natures ; it , doubtless , in it self , is far more securely constant and fixt , than the very subsistence of all created beings , and those causes , à priore , that give a cert●inty to our demonstrations . and , hence 't is that , now , whole nations of people , learned and ignorant , wise and simple , every silly old woman clearly conceives and most firmly believs the immortality of the soul , the condition of the good and wicked after death , the eternity of pains or pleasures that attend us , with other most important verities ; concerning which , we find very little amongst the philosophers , as , whereat , the greatest wits of them but groap'd , like blind men . the second point . again . by christ's example wee are strongly encourag'd to all vertue . can there be any so faint-hearted , as not to dare venture himself the same way he sees his captain pass before him ; who , he 's sure , both knows the best and securest path to salvation , and is so perfectly good that , even in his voice , he cannot deceive , much less counterfeit in his actions ? when , we see him , then , choose for himself the same things he proposes to us , and tread out the way which he would have us walk ; nay , when we see him , not only , live and dye in this way , but , rise again and enter the possession of those glories he woos us to hope for : can we any lōger doubt ▪ whether we should follow his foot-steps , and beat the same path ? or shall we not confidently aspire to the happiness ? he so faithfully has promis'd and so dearly purchas'd ? the third point . but , above all . by this grace of christ , our charity to god is extreamly heightned & by degrees excessively strange and remarkable ; for , first , whereas god was invisible and inaccessible , ev'n to our very thoughts , before ; he 's , now , become a man like us , expos'd to the apprehension even of our senses , that most easy and obvious way of our knowing . next , by this gracious condescendence , he has espous'd all the titles that may endear our affections ; having made himself our master , our friend , our companion , our brother , his father to become ours , and himself a member of the same body with us . and knowing that , as it is the greatest possible testimony of love , to suffer for a friend , so 't is the most effective means to beget a mutual love ; our heavenly father ( desirous to settle a perfect correspondence , in that , betwixt his only begotten , and us , his adopted sons ) sent him into this world to suffer , for our sakes , all kind of evils , all manner of contempts , all sorts of injuries , miseries , torments , and a most shameful death , sic deus dilexit mundum , ut filium suum unigenitum daret pro mundi vitâ . to such a point did god love us , as to give up , even to death , for our life , his only , his equal , his coessential , and consubstantial son . nor was this son less forward and willing to accept , than his father to enjoyn him all this , for us ; but as his apostle says , dilexit me , & tradidit seipsum pro me . he lov'd me , and so lov'd me , as to live in miseries , and dye with torments , for me . nor , did his love end with his life : since , though it was necessary to withdraw his corporal presence from our senses , yet love would not let him entirely be absent ; but wittily found ▪ out this stupendious invention , to remain with us in the blessed sacrament , not only , to be seen and ador'd by our faith , but really , to incorporate and mingle his flesh with ours , making himself the nourishment both of our souls and bodies . in fine , by this his oeconomy and the powring out of his holy spirit , and changing , in a manner , the whole world ( at least , so far as concern'd mens souls ) through the innumerable miracles wrought by himself and his followers , to the conversion of nations ; he has rendred those things easy to us , by the custom of hearing and seeing them done by others , which , before , seem'd almost impossible and not to be imitated ; and so , taken away the greatest hinderances of our love to him . conclusion . conclude , therefore . now ther 's no excuse left , but an absolute necessity impos'd on thee to live holily ; the means thereof being rendred both so easy & familiar to thee , and so laudable , too , amongst men , that 't is almost a shame and counted worthy of reproach to live otherwise . what canst thou , then , pretend , what allege , to exempt thy self ? no ; almighty god has so ensnar'd and hedg'd thee in , on every side , with obligations to be vertuous ; that thou canst not , now , without great inconveniences , ev'n in this world , be vicious . all things invite thee , all things allure thee , all things , in a manner , compel thee to be good : o follow ! and follow willingly . the eleventh consideration . meekness and humility is the readiest way to happiness , not only hereafter , but ev'n in this life . the first point . consider ▪ though our saviour was vouchsaf'd us , both as a master and model of all vertures , and a perfect pattern for all the actions of our whole life ; yet two vertues we find , especially , particularly and , in a manner , only recommended to us , meekness and mutual charity ; the first he enforces on us , in these sweet words , learn of me , because i am meek and humble of heart , and you shall find rest for your souls . behold , therefore , if thou wilt be a christian , thou must very carefully practise this vertue ▪ nor , indeed , canst thou chalenge that name unless thou , at least , endeavour to become meek and humble ; and , so far only , thou mayst judge thy self to have profited in the school of christ , as thou find'st thy self advanc'd in the progress of this vertue . now , what is this humble meekness , so highly commended to us by our great master ? but a sweetness of disposition , which makes us not seek revenge or render evill for evill , no , not , even , in desire . that , then , thou art here commanded , is , when thou sufferest an injury , not to render nor wish any harm to the person that did it ; unless , by way of correction , to such as are under thy charge , and even then , to be sure the punishment be inflicted for love of them , not thy self , for their amendment , not thy satisfaction . the second point . consider . 't is irrational and not becomming a person of understanding to wish evill to another , because he has offended thee . for as , if thou shouldst fall into a ditch or a stone fall upon thee , it were unreasonable to be colerick at the ditch or stone , and seek revenge like a dog : so , no less folly is it to be angry with a person , for doing thee a displeasure . since , either 't is done justly or unjustly : if justly , thou oughtst to turn thine anger on thy self , for deserving it , and not on the doer ; if unjustly , then certainly he was unjust before he did it ; and if thou then , wert not angry with him for being unjust , neither oughtst thou be , now , for his doing unjustly : it being but natural and what , in reason , thou shouldst expect , that an unjust person should do unjust things . again : since no humane action or desire is reasonable , which aims not at some good to him that wills or does it ; and revenge ayms only at the evill of the offender , which is , no ways , thy good , but meerly as a satisfaction of thy vindicative appetite : in reason , thou oughtst not to wish anothers ill , but rather repress thine own unreasonable humour . the third point . consider the reward promis'd thee by our kind master , for meekness . you shall find rest , says he , to your souls ; and , in another place , blessed are the meek , for they shall possess the land ; and again , in your patience ( that is , meekness ) you shall possess ( that is , enjoy ) your souls : of all which , the sense is , that , besides the reward in heaven , the greatest sweetness this present life affords , viz. a quiet and contented mind , is properly and peculiarly reserv'd for the meek as a recompence of their vertue . whereas , those that seek revenge , are alwaies in contention and at debate with one another ; which , for the most part , costs their purses well in sutes and law-wranglings , and many times their skins , even their lives , too , in desperate quarrels : besides , within , what tumults of passion are rais'd in their souls ? what cares , what fears continually disquiet and torment them ? that , they neither enjoy themselves , nor even the temporal blessings god has given them . 't is meekness alone , then , you see , affords contentment and sweetens our whole life . conclusion . conclude , then . what a good god wee serve ! who is so sollicitous , as for our future , so even for our present happiness , that hee 's pleas'd , not only , most tenderly to recommend and , with sweet words , allure us to it , but even , to introduce them by exhibiting himself to us , as a master and pattern of those means , by which true temporal comforts and contentments ( as much as this present life admits ) are to be obtain'd . what evasion can there be from such kindness ? what excuse from so important , so pleasant an interest ? no : either renounce the name of christian , or resolve to addict thy self seriously to the exercise of this vertue . the twelfth consideration . fraternal charity is the true mark of a good christian , and the only sure way to eternal happiness . the first point . consider , first . our lord and dear master , to fix on us a greater necessity and , as it were , a double tye of mutual love and charity to one another , was pleas'd , not only , to strengthen the old cōmandement of loving our neighbour as our self , by commanding it anew as from himself , when he said , i give you a new command , and this is my command , that you love one another ; but also , in most particular manner , to recommend and appropriate it to the law of grace , as a special mark and sign of christianity , whereby true christians are distinguisht from false . by this , men shall know that you are my disciples , if you love one another . since , therefore , true love is never idle ; nor consists in words only , but is active , according to its power ; 't is evident , that which christ commands us is that we be alwaies ready , as much as in us lys , to do good to all men , but especially to those that are truly brethren , that is , good christians . the second point . again consider . since , as the apostle says , he that loves his neighbour , has fulfill'd the law ; 't is evident this mutual charity ought to be embrac'd , not only , as a particular vertue , but , as the common mother and producer of all the rest ▪ for , if he that loves his neighbour has fulfill'd the law , the whole law , then , is nothing but of love and doing good to our neighbour . wherein admire the tender goodness of god , whose care and providence tends wholy to this , that it may be well with all and every one of us : see how , by that law which commands thee to do good to all thou canst , by that very same law , all and every other person is commanded to do thee what good they can . o! how holy is this law of christ , which so carefully provides for the welfare and advantage of all ? but , withall , how profitable , how gainfull to thee ? since , for that little good thou canst do to others , it obliges all others , readily , to do thee all the good they can ; which must needs be infinitely more than what thou art able to do for them . the third point . lastly . consider the beloved disciple st. john's words , he that loves not his brother , whom he sees , how can he love god whom he sees not ? and observe that the love of thy neighbour must be the touchstone , where ▪ on to try thy love to god , whether indeed , it be true or a counterfeit and , as they say , but a lip-love , having god in thy mouth , but in thy heart the world . for , if thou lov'st not thy neighbour , 't is evident thou lov'st something else , that hinders thee from loving him ; which ( because it cannot be god ) must needs be some created good , as honour , riches , pleasure , &c. which thou lovest inordinately , that is , for it self , and not in order to god ; and so , clearly , as long as thou lov'st not thy neighbour , thou hast not god for thy last end , nor lov'st him above all things , as is thy duty ; for , as much as thou lovest god , so much more , doubtless , thou lovest those things he loves ; amongst which , the chiefest ( if not the only thing , we know ) is our neighbour : whose love , even by nature , is so recommended to us , that , without friendship and conversation with one another , our very lives would be tedious and miserable . conclusion . conclude , therefore , with a serious and effectual resolution , in truth and actions , to love thy neighbour ; to contemn none , to refuse none in what thou art able to help them ; but , whatever good thou canst do to any person ( without prejudicing thy self ( even with a little prejudice to thy self , when 't is much for his advantage ) to do it chearfully and willingly : be glad when thou hast oblig'd any , esteeming that day lost wherein thou hast done good to none : and , be certain , this practice will be so far from injuring thee , that nothing will more advantage , nothing render thee more grateful and acceptable both to god and man . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a65802e-460 1. the future life preferrable . 2. because knowledge , there , more perfect . 3. god being it's sole object . therefore , only , to be minded . notes for div a65802e-660 1. all delight from the intellect . 2. whence , god transcends all corporal pleasures . 3. he only filling the soul . therefore , fully resolve for him . notes for div a65802e-920 1. gloriously qualify'd . 2. vniversally honour'd . 3. entirely , complyd with . therefore , here to be sacrifiz'd up , in hope . notes for div a65802e-1140 1. equal to the inclination of a soul's nature . 2. aggravated , by the folly of her choice . 3. especially , a christian . therefore , in time , prevent it. notes for div a65802e-1380 1. missing their unalterable desires . 2. incompossible , in themselves . 3. which they see eternal . therefore , regulate the affections . notes for div a65802e-1610 1. extream sorrow including all . 2. with , contempt on all sides . 3. all hightned , through the subjection of the body . therefore love not thy self here . notes for div a65802e-1870 2. that best , which begets a love to it. 3. every deliberate action , important . therefore , be careful and diligent . notes for div a65802e-2170 1. the mean's to natur 's end truly pleasant . 2. whence vertue brings peace and vice disquiet ▪ 3. piety not debarring , ev'n , temporal contentments . therefore , confidently proceed in it. notes for div a65802e-2490 1. creating the world , nay himself , for man . 2. passing through so painful a life and death . 3. feeding us with himself . therefore , value thy salvatition . notes for div a65802e-2710 1. rendred , easily capable of high mysteries . 2. encourag'd by his example . 3. endear'd by his sufferings . therefore , inexcusably , be good . notes for div a65802e-2990 1. no christian revengeful . 2. all anger unreasonable . 3. meekness , alone , sweetens life . therefore , strongly embrace it. notes for div a65802e-3280 1. appropriated to the law of grace . wherein , every one has an advantage . 3. the touchstone of our love to god . therefore , improve it's occasions . god's eternal preparations for his dying saints discovered in a sermon at paul's, may the 7th 1648 / by thomas hill ... hill, thomas, d. 1653. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a43816 of text r25713 in the english short title catalog (wing h2022). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 91 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 23 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a43816 wing h2022 estc r25713 12443012 ocm 12443012 62139 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a43816) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 62139) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 942:11) god's eternal preparations for his dying saints discovered in a sermon at paul's, may the 7th 1648 / by thomas hill ... hill, thomas, d. 1653. [20], 23, [1] p. printed by william du-gard for nathaniel brooks ..., london : 1648. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. eng future life. death -sermons. sermons, english -17th century. a43816 r25713 (wing h2022). civilwar no six sermons of thomas hill d.d. master of trinity colledge in cambridge; viz. i. the beauty and sweetness of an olive-branch of peace and br hill, thomas 1649 16651 23 70 0 0 0 0 56 d the rate of 56 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the d category of texts with between 35 and 100 defects per 10,000 words. 2005-03 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-03 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-05 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2005-05 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion god's eternal preparations for his dying saints . discovered in a sermon at paul's , may the 7th 1648 by thomas hill , d. d. master of trinitie-colledg in cambridg . isai. 9. 6. unto us a childe is born , unto us a son is given , and the government shall bee upon his shoulder : and his name shall bee called wonderful , counseller , the mighty god , the father of eternities , the prince of peace . isai. 45. 17. israël shall bee saved with an everlasting salvation . incomparabiliter clara est civitas aeterna , ubi victoria , ubi veritas , ubi dignitas , ubi sanctitas , ubi vita , ubi eternitas . august . de vita aeterna . repente quidem alta seculi corruunt , pulcra transeunt ▪ nam cùm stare in his floribus suis mundus cernitur , repentinâ fortunâ turbatur ; aut festinâ & omnia deturbante morte concluditur ; vana ergò sunt gaudia seculi quae quasi manentia blandiuntur , sed amatores suos citò transeundo decipiunt . greg. in 1 reg. cap. 11. london , printed by william du-gard for nathanaël brooks at the sign of the angel in corn-hil . 1648. via · vna · cor · vnvm · honoratissimo d. d. joanni warner praetori , & spectatissimis senatoribus , unà cum gravissimis communis concilii membris , celeberrimae civitatis londinensis gubernatoribus , auditoribúsque mei candidissimis , thomas hill s. theolog. d. concionem hanc , habitam in templo b. pauli , maii 7o anno dom. 1648 tenue admodum , sinceri tamen amoris in christo pignus erga animas vestras devotè d. d. d. aa to the worshipful his worthy friend richard foxton esquire , one of his majestie's justice of peace for the town of cambridg , and others my ingenuous and candid hearers therein . sir ! iow you much respect as an ancient imanuël-colledg man , where ( by the good hand of god upon mee ) i had both my first universitie beeing , and wel-beeing ; and like-wise , as an old disciple , a great friend to the most reverend and learned mr perkins ; yea , and as an instrument of advancing justice in the common-wealth , of encouraging religion in the church , and learning in the universitie ( according to your sphere ) as also my attentive and candid hearer for som years formerly in cambridg : and i know not how better ( for the present ) to make any reciprocal return , then by tendering this sermon ( such as it is ) to your acceptance ; and hopeing that by you it may with the more advantage bee transmitted to others in cambridg , who are prepared to receive the love of the truth , though delivered by mee ; as also for your soul-improvement , by raising your thoughts in your declining years to minde eternitie . it was the greatest part of it preached by mee at trinitie-church in cambridg , febr. 13. 1647. and i can truly say , it was both framed at first upon a sick bed , ( when such thoughts are very seasonable ) and preached when i was under sad symptoms of wel-nigh six months quartane ague . so desirous was i to promote the intended combination for morning sermons there , which depended upon mee for the begining of it , that with apparent hazzard to my own health , ( being not onely weakened by my desease , but having , upon an occasion of a communion , preached three times within a few dayes before in trinitie-colledg chappel ) i adventured upon the work out of an honest intention , though i had neither consent of friends or physicians . admit i were not able to carrie on or finish my discourse , as i desired , should i not rather have been pitied then bespattered , then grosly disparaged by son , and the present prevailing of my disease most shamefully mis-interpreted by others , as if this were a judgment of god upon mee , for defending the universitie against the town ; wherein they shew as little christianitie as wisedom . as for them , i earnestly desire they would seriously consider what our savior saith , every idle word that men shall speak , they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment . and if of every idle word , then undoubtedly of every uncharitable , censorious , lying , and blasphemous word . and likewise often remember that of the prophet zacharie , i am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease : for i was but a little displeased , and they helped forward the affliction . when god whippe's his children , it is most unbecoming brethren to add to their stripes . hee is no ingenuous servant that triumph's over his fellow ( unless hee bee guilty of som offence ) when hee is brought low before his master . and as for mee , i am not ashamed to bee made comformable to my head jesus christ , who was accounted beelzebub , the prince of devils ; and to bee reproached as one that was mad , which was the portion of the most wise and holy apostle paul . neither shall i deny that this was an humbling providence , that such an indisposition should surprize mee then , ( though it might well bee so after a longer and stronger intention of spirits in prayer then my condition would bear ) to let splenatick fumes more prevailingly surprize mee in preaching at that time , then in any other imployment since my ague began ; wherein i desire to sanctifie god's name , by abasing my self , and exalting him without whom wee can do nothing . i wish all may make a right interpretation of his actions which are infinitely wise , and consider that ministers , being publick persons , as they have consolations that they may comfort others , so have they many times afflictions for the edification and salvation of others : paul is an instance of both . and they must make account they may possibly inherit the same apostle's portion ; one while possibly to bee adored , and almost sacrificed unto , act. 14 , 11 , 12 , 13. and yet soon after to bee stoned , vers. 19. i were very stupid , did i not observe the various aspect of divers in cambridg-town towards mee in som by-past years , wherein i have , and i hope still shall unchangeably endeavor to approve my self a true friend to their best good ( in defiance to all unkindeness ) and a faithful servant to their souls . yet , by the good hand of god upon mee , there have been withal a generation of seekers which have cleaved unto , and with som fruitful acceptance , attended upon my ministerie . i would not value personal respects , in comparison of that acceptance which hath reference unto the glory of christ in gospel-success . i remember , not without thankfulness to my good god , with what welcom entertainment many entertained my weak and plain preaching here in former years , when i was your preacher at andrew's . i hope i shall never forget how much of god's goodness i found amongst you both in his assistance and your acceptance in the great plague ; ( hee can make by his presence a wilderness prove a paradise ) neither must i pass by with what readiness of minde you attended upon my occasional ministerie in 1643 , when providence cast mee for som time amongst you , the sons of violence having forced mee from the place i then had in north-hampton-shire . but whence is this eclipse ? whence this black cloud ? ( god and som mens conscience know ) which i doubt not but it will soon vanish , as athanasius said of arrius . shall i trust god for my soul , and not for my reputation , for a crown , and not for a crust ? it was indeed my portion to bee involved in those unhappy differences between the universitie and town of cambridg , about their priviledges , when i had the honor to serve them as vice-chancellor . is that a sufficient ground of such an unkinde alteration , that they calumniate and traduce the innocent thereupon ? alas ! poor universitie , how hast thou offended the town of cambridg which live's so much upon thee ? ( as by woful complaints appear's when a great plague scatter's the scholars ) that as of old it was in tertullian's time , a crime to bee a christian : so it 's now little less ( amongst som for want of christian charity ) to bee an engaged universitie-man , and to stand for that , though hee bee obliged thereunto by the rules of ingenuitie and conscience . i do heartily wish , where our priviledges are not subservient to the publick good , they were regulated and bounded by those who have power as our competent judges ; but neither universitie nor town must bee judges in their own case . wee cannot give them away , they must not take them away , till the parliament ( to whom wee have appealed ) do determine the controversie . in the mean while , till they can have leisure to minde it , why should it bee offensive for us to act soberly , according to that which the universitie hath been so long invested with , by the donation of princes , confirmation of parliaments , or by a voluntary composition betwixt both corporations . certainly , this is no sufficient ground for such passionate unchristian invectives , whereby they fret themselves to do evil , gratifie him who is the accuser of the brethren , and the father of lyes . were it my portion onely to bee thus injured , i should suspect my self ; but my reverend brethren , who deserve much better then i can , fare as ill from som , when one of them lately was forced by a violet fit of an ague , being preaching at the universitie-church , to break off not long after hee began ; it would make one tremble to hear what language was spoken thereupon aaginst him , for the holy hand of god upon him , which might have befallen an apostle ; and against others of us engaged as masters of colledges with him . o that i knew what language to speak , to win them to terms of amitie with the universitie : surely the devil get's much advantage by these differences ; they are most unhappy instruments who ever do enflame them , whether universitie or townsmen . is not this sad , that men , whose ministerie they have valued , that they can scarce bring off your spirits to hear them preach . this is the devil's plot , in fomenting those prejudices to hinder the good of their souls , and the spreading of the gospel . herein mistake mee not , i do not complain for want of auditors . yet it grieve's mee to see som of more eminent abilities , whose gifts were formerly highly valued , now to bee sleighted , because engaged in universitie-employment , as masters of colledges . yet , what ever som think of mee , and how unkindely soever they have dealt with mee , i will apply my self to you ( whose christian candor , and gospel-ingenuitie , i have had som years experience of ) not without respect to their good , who wish mee none . i doubt not but you will bear my wonted plainness i can give you no more real testimonie of my cordial love unto you , then by suggesting som few things , which , by god's blessing , may advance the good of your souls . i will begin with your dutie towards god , who is our alpha , and omega ; our first cause , and last end : as all the good wee receive is derived from him , so all the good wee receive must bee resolved unto him . trust in the lord with all your hearts , and lean not to your understanding : in all your waies acknowledg him , and hee will direct your paths . acquaint your selvs more and more with worshipping him purely , according to his will . i doubt cambridg hath been too patient ( i mean the saints there ) of sinful mixtures , not mindeing sufficiently the simplicitie that is in christ . if you would have much of the presence of christ , love purity , hee walketh in the middest of the golden candlesticks ; expect much of the presence of his spirit , where there are pure golden ordinances . let the ministerie of the gospel bee more precious unto you , receive the love of the truth , and attend upon preaching without respect of persons . do not yee blush to remember , that when the truly noble earle of manchester had picked a choice combination of most able ministers out of the country , that they should ride a dozen or twentie miles to preach a sermon to you , and somtimes so few hearers that they were discouraged to preach ? what ever you say or think of scholars , did not they help to fill up assemblies , there would bee thin auditories at week dayes lectures . remember ( i pray ) our savior's words , hee that heareth you , heareth mee , and hee that despiseth you , despiseth mee , and hee that despiseth mee , despiseth him that sent mee . maintain christian communion , whereby you may joyn your gifts , experiences and prayers . o the amiable beauty of the spirits of primitive saints , who did so sweetly close , as , they continued stedfastly in the apostles doctrine , and fellowship , and in breaking of bread , and prayers . i can remember , when , in the most corrupt and dangerous times , som of you would adventure even your all , ( so destructive was then the high commission court ) to enjoy a praying-day together ; what hath now deaded your spirits , that now these things are so much neglected ? is there not as much need as ever ? doth not the churches exigents bespeak your wrestling importunities at the throne of grace . chide your selves , and one another out of this dulness , or disjointing , and labor to remove the obstructions what ever they are . often remember their practice , when one apostle was in prison ( wee have many in persecution ) instant prayer was made for him by the church , they prayed earnestly , and sped succesfully . yet , in your christian communion , act soberly , and with a godly prudence . there are that admit young scholars into fellowship with them in private duties , or rather into publick : i dislike it not , that any saints joyn to provoke one another to love and good works . but do not encourage them to do any thing beyond the proportion of their gifts , and without a call from god . far bee it from mee to snib the movings of god's spirit in the weakest and meanest of his saints . i desire to live no longer then i cherish the least good in any , if indeed it bee good duly circumstantiated . i know the direction peter give's , use hospitalitie one to another without grudging . as every man hath received the gift , even so minister the same one to another , as good stewards of the manifold grace of god , ( which is a place they alledg for that purpose . ) but , 1. it may bee this grace here mentioned , is chiefly the grace of bountie . 2. if it bee meant of spiritual gifts and graces , and their exercise in prophesying , i grant , in ecclesiâ constituendâ , in a church to bee constituted , occasionally , especially when upon triall by competent judges of their abilities for the ministerie , ( with learned dr ames ) somthing may bee don that way , sine singulari vocatione , without a singular call . but that the admiration of som few ignorant ( though honest ) women , who judg much by quick expressions ; ( which are often beyond the experience and judgment of the speaker himself , being borrowed rather from others ) or that one young scholar applauding of another , should bee the call of christ , i am not yet satisfied ; but shall welcom any light that shall clear up any truth of christ , though never so much against my present opinion . i do not lay the strength of a minister's call upon a prelate's blessing of him ; nor upon a concurrence of all external circumstances and formalitie ; ( though i heartily love and desire order in the churches ) neither must any judg of their call by their assistance . many dear saints call that a spiritual desertion of god in prayer , which is rather som darkness by the clouding of melancholie . other novices account that assistance from god in preaching oftentimes , which is rather heat of phansie , som warmth by applause , mixed indeed with som stirring affections . bee whetstones to sharpen one another to raise som monument of your thanksgiving and thanksdoing , for god's distinguishing goodness to cambridg . when other parts of the kingdom were steeped in blood , you were drie ; when destroying angels swept away many in other places , you were but scratched . o never let it bee forgotten how god snatched cambridge out of the fire , in staying the plague these two last years ; should not you now provoke your magistrates more to minde the sanctifying the lord's day , to restrain by their power those profane pollutions which cry for another more sweeping plague ? because they may not do all , but the universitie must share in power , therefore will they do nothing ? this , i doubt will bee no satisfying answer , when the lord shall say to a magistrate , give an account of thy stewardship . i could likewise wish there were a greater harmonie of judgments amongst you ; however let not difference of opinions breed difference of affections . love the meanest saints more for that of god you see in them , then you neglect them for what they differ from you that is not sinful . convers meekly together , ( distance encreaseth difference ) you may possibly satisfie one another . as long as wee nourish prejudices , and take it for granted , there is no possibilitie of reconciliation , the devil blow's the coal more , and exasperate's the flame , till ( it may bee ) men bite and devour one anothers names and reputations ; at least , do not suddenly excommunicate all you account carnal ; for reprobates , though you cannot embrace them with a love of complacencie , yet must you with a love of pitie ; there is not onely brotherly kindness , but charitie : so will you commend religion to them who judg more of it by what they see , then by what they heare . finally , as for my self , when they speak evil of mee , i will satisfie my self with that of the ancient writer , if the things thou producest bee true , thou hast not hurt but advantaged mee , whilest thou by reproving faults , may'st procure reformation : if they bee fals , thou do'st more advantage mee ; for thou makest mee more watchful to abstain , not onely from such actions , but even from such thoughts ; onely , the more vigilant others are over mee , pray the more for mee , because of my observers . i must say with the father , i thank as wel god for the crueltie of my adversaries , as the love of friends . it hath been my portion to suffer much by tongues amongst you , since my being vice-chancellor , and to receive more unkinde and unjust censures from som of cambridg , then ever in all my life before ; ( my comfort is they are but few , and men whose interest was crossed , and therefore self will bee angry , and revenge often , though never so injuriously ) yet nothing shall it discourage mee from serving your and their souls . let them mis-interpret the hand of god upon mee in my sickness , and the effects thereof ; yet when ever god please's to restore my bodily health , by preaching to promote the health of their souls : i will beg by prayer the best good from god for them , who cannot speak a good word of mee before men . i had enemies enough because i appeared for reformation , which i would not decline ( if i know my heart ) out of love to my god , though i had not been ( as i am ) under the bond of a solemn covenant obliging mee thereunto . when the competition comes between god's will and man's , peter hath taught how to resolve , act. 4. 19. yea , that heroical heathen socrates , ( which may make us blush ) being accused , said , if upon such conditions ( they being dishonorable ) you athenians will absolve mee , i embrance you , i love you well , yet i will rather obey god then you . none need ( especially not such as i think fear god ) express more passion , because i would not , contrary to my oath betray ( which it may bee they expected from mee , having been their preacher , with more acceptance formerly then it is fit for mee to mention ) priviledges with which i was betrusted as vice-chancellor , lifting up my hand to the most high , that i would maintain the statutes ( which include's them ) so far as they were agreeable to the statutes and ordinances of the kingdom which are or shall bee extant . if the parliament had altered them , or when they shall please to bound them any way , the matter of my oath being taken away , i am at libertie . in the mean while , why may not the vice-chancellor act for the universitie , as well as mr major for the town of cambridg , in pursuance of his oath ? the mighty god of peace , dry up the spring of these most unhappy and unseasonable differences , when there are so many dissensions abroad ; which shall bee my prayer and endeavor till the lord please to accomplish it . if i must still suffer under the uncharitableness of any , i shall desire to kiss the rod of my heavenly father , who hath appointed it in this place where hee hath been good unto mee ; and earnestly labor , that overcoming my self , i may overcom evil with good , and not suffer my self to bee overcom of evil , that in so doing , i may heap coals of fire upon their head , not to destroy them by burning , but coals of charitie to melt them , and so mould them into an unfeigned love of all the brethren who love the lord jesus christ sincerely . if this prevail not , i will make use of paul's soveraign cordial , rejoycing in the testimonie of my conscience , that in simplicitie and godly sinceritie , and not in fleshly wisedom , but by the grace of god i have had my conversation in the world , and more abundantly to you-wards . trin. col. camb. june the 7th 1648. yours in the gospel of christ jesus , thomas hill . god's eternal preparations for his dying saints . 2 corinth. 5. 1. for wee know , that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved , wee have a building of god , a house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens . too many men in the world are like unwise merchants that have two ships at sea ; one little old rotten one , full of things of an inferior value ; another , a goodly ship , and full fraught , and richly loaden ; yet possibly , out of som particular and fond respect , hee may more minde that rotten bark , then that stately ship , which call's for more serious thoughts , and more fervent prayers . our immortal souls are goodly ships , indeed , sparks of divinitie , our bodies are poor brittle houses of clay , ( for the best of the sons of men dwel in no better . ) now , to have the strength of our thoughts , the vigor of our affections , the greatest stream of our endeavors , to run out to minde our bodies , it is a preposterous care ; yet most men in the world are sick of this distemper ; and therefore i shall desire you to set before you a better copie , that doth bespeak , yea , challenge , yea , command your imitation of it : paul , hee well knew the worth of his immortal soul , and therefore laye's out his most serious thoughts about it , and the eternal welfare thereof . the words contain paul's account of the sweet support that hee had under bitter troubles . bee pleased to cast your eye upon the 4th chapter , there you shall finde him toss'd upon a most troublesom sea of affliction ; yet hee count's them all but light in the 17th verse : a strange paradox at least to the carnal heart and ears . 1. you see how triumphantly hee here speake's , wee know , not not onely in the singular , but in the plural number , not onely for himself , but wrapp's in the saints with him , wee . 2. not onely conjecturally , that is popish language , a dull , groundless hope of salvation onely ; but wee know , where is an evidence and a certaintie . 3. what did hee know ? why those lessons well worth the learning for all those that will bee good scholars in the school of christ , and would bee able to hold out , if their master bee provok'd to whip them . wee know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved , wee have a building of god , a house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens : that if , {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , etsi , although ( saith grotius upon the place ) although our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved . here you have a description of the brittleness of our bodie ; a poor venice-glass , goodly , beautiful , useful , but easily broken : every word ( almost ) hath an emphatical intimation ; it is but an house : houses , you know , will bee out of repair , houses will fall in time ; it is but an earthly house , and therefore may bee resolved into its first principle ; it is our earthly house of this tabernacle ; the tabernacle was a moveable house . when the children of israël were to travel through the wilderness , they had tents , they had tabernacles , moveable houses , fasten'd with a few cords and pins , easily removed . if our earthy house of this tabernacle were dissolved , soul and body though knit together , though the soul bee the darling , as the psalmist speak's , psal. 35. 17. yet that knot must bee untied , when they have been married forty , fifty , threescore years together ; it needs no cutting asunder of the knot , it will break of it self , the lamp will burn out : all this shewe's the mortalitie of our bodie , but then that which hee doth intend , is principally and more explicitely to shew you that wee have indeed an eternal provision made for us in heaven . lay two things that have an opposition together , one will illustrate another , and make it appear more clearly , as logicians speak : so saith paul , wee know that wee have a building with god , an house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens . when hee had before spoken of an house that was made of man ; carpenters build houses : but there is somthing reserved for the saints , which is god's own making , and that in a more immediate way ; man indeed is made {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , but here it is {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , hee being the more special immediate maker of this piece of work-manship , god's own preparing , none can do it but god himself , and hee doth not use any instrument therein . wee have a building of god . great honor , that whilest poor saints live here upon earth , angels shall bee their servants , and all creatures to attend them ; and god himself in heaven hath been preparing a house for them , even from eternitie what house ? a house not made with hands . so in hebr. 11. 10. a citie whose builder and founder is god ; wee look for such an one . eternal in the heavens : that was earthly , that was a tabernacle , that was subject to dissolution ; that was earthly , this is heavenly ; that was but a tabernacle , a very temporary house , this is eternal . and here was paul's certaintie , this hee was sure of , which is a great matter , a glorious priviledg . but there is one word which link's all together , and that must not bee forgotten , and that is the first in the text , for ; what did support paul ? what was his cordial in those great extremities , that hee did not sink when wave upon wave came flowing in upon him ? saith hee , for wee know : hee had beheld those things that were eternal , wee look not upon those things that are temporal , but those that are eternal : and here hee , look'd upon them with an eye of certaintie , for wee know ; and from these premisses deduce's this sweet conclusion . o that you and i had such faith to do the same , if god should cast us into as great a sea of troubles , as ever paul was plunged into , that wee might say , these are nothing ! why so ? for wee know , that though the very sentence of death should not onely bee pass'd , but executed upon us , by these troubles , by the furious malice of unreasonable men , yet they cannot make us miserables as hee is truly happy indeed that cannot bee made miserable : hee is a rich citizen indeed , that cannot bee undon by the devil and all his agents ; wee know god hath prepared a house for us , where hee will entertain us with everlasting happiness . out of the words ( had i time ) i might handle these three propositions . first , that god hath been pleased to make eternal provision for all his saints in heaven . secondly , that it is possible for his saints to have a certaintie of this , that god hath built such a house for them in heaven , where hee mean's to entertain them eternally . thirdly , the certain evidence of this to their own hearts , would bee a most sweet and soveraign cordial under the bitterest troubles that can befall them . let us begin with the first , and that i shall onely handle at this time ; but before i make any further entrance upon it , give mee leave onely to premise this one thing : the best of saints dwell here in poor tabernacles : the best of saints , all adam's sons have no better a portion , then to dwell in poor earthly tabernacles . som men are very great , so great , that they are called gods , psal. 82. yet even they must die like men . it is appointed for all men once to die , hebr. 9. 27. and in the same dialect doth the psalmist speak in another place , verily man in his best estate is altogether vanitie ; not onely man when hee lie's sick under a great long ague , or a feaver , or the stone , or the gout ; not onely under infirmities of old age , which is a kinde of sickness , but verily man in his best , take him in flore ; take any young man , when hee hath strength , and vigor , and marrow , and all heat , all advantages nature can afford him , yet in his best hee is altogether vanitie . old men must die , and young men may die : i beleeve you have many instances of both ; it may bee it hath cost som of you many bitter and brinish tears : wee are all poor tenents at will ; it is true , wee are tenents for life , but yet that life is but for a moment ; and so indeed our lease is but from moment to moment . o that wee were so wise as to consider it , and therefore to carry our selvs like pilgrims and strangers here , and abstain from fleshly lusts , which war against our immortal souls , as the apostl●peter beseecheth his beloved , 1 pet. 2. 11. do not reckon your selvs at home , make account you are but in a journey , you are but {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , in an inn ; it is to no purpose to go build there , to go plant there a garden , to go furnish your chamber , you are but for a nights lodging ; the very stoïcks ( epictetus , and others ) could speak that language : o that wee could bee the more active , while our candles are burning , because wee know not how soon they may bee extinguished ; god let 's not alwaies the candle burn out , somtimes it is put out : o that wee could bee active as our savior christ was , i will do my father's work while it is day , while it is light , the night cometh when no man work 's , joh. 9. 4. o that wee would so consider , that wee dwell in these brittle houses of clay , that wee would redeem time , redeem precious opportunities ; eternitie dependeth upon every moment ; there are many that sell away their time to the first temptation in the morning : many young gentlemen , citizens , and others , for whom their fathers have had many wearisom journeys and thoughts , night and day , to get good estates ; now they think themselves gentlemen , the first thing they do in a morning , after they have spruced , and powdered , and combed , and tricked up themselves , then they sell themselves and their talent of time to the next temptation , at the next tavern , at the next gaming-house : the lord put it into the hearts of the honorable governors of this citie , to look to those snares , those pit-falls , that have undon many thousand young men ; and where many of your estates , after you have gotten them with a great deal of care and industrie , are thrown away with the shaking of the elbow ( as they say ) ; they sell away their time , so far are they from redeeming time : little do they minde eternitie , and and consider , that at the best they also dwell in houses of clay , and that in their best estate they are altogether vanitie ; this i premise . there are three things will conduce ( if god please to help mee in the middest of many weaknesses ) to open this point , that hee hath made eternal provision to entertain all his saints in heaven . 1. i 'le give you the {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} of it , by way of demonstration , that it is so . 2. the {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , or grounds of it , how it come's to pass that it should bee so . 3. what the nature of this eternitie is . * for the first , there are these hints which i hope will help to clear it : if the lord did not intend eternal provision for his saints in heaven , why hath hee given them immortal souls , capable of etertie ? god and nature ( saith the philosopher ) never do any thing in vain : let us say , god , and his wisedom and grace never doth any thing in vain . there are many desperate disputes ( never did wee expect to hear such in england , especially in these times of reformation ) against the immortalitie of the soul , in defiance to that cleer light of god's word even here . there is a house eternal in the heavens , for what ? for a mortal bodie ? for a mortal soul ? what need 's an eternal house for a mortal soul ? paul desired to bee dissolved and to bee with christ : it seem's paul , who was guided by the spirit of god , philip . 1. 21. hee thought hee had an immortal soul , else why did hee desire to die , that hee might bee with christ ? hee had better have stayed here ; hee did enjoy much of christ here ; why would christ himself have given such an answer to the thief , luke 23. 42 , 43. lord , remember mee when thou comest into thy kingdom ; why , saith hee , this day shalt thou bee with mee in paradise : it is a poor evasion they have , that christ should say to him , verily , i say unto thee to day , there they would have the comma , thou shalt bee with mee in paradise ; then the answer is not full to the thief's question ; for then they overthrow the scriptures , and make it nothing , and withall , manifestly pervert the original , as the spirit of god speak's it unto us ; but this is the first thing , god hath given you immortal souls , and therefore reserv's it for you . 2ly . the lord hath proclaimed , that hee hath appointed a day ( though it bee concealed ) that there shall bee a resurrection of all his saints , their souls and bodies shall bee re-united . it is most desperate doctrine the socinians have up and down in their books , they have a delentur , they tell you your souls shall bee blotted out . who would have thought wee should ever have so far complied with socinians and arminians , as many people do ? i hope it is ignorantly ; but , to speak the very socinians language , they reckon the soul shall bee blotted out , no eternitie afterwards : but why soul and bodie re-united ? surely , for som further end ; hath not jesus christ said , joh. 6. 39 , 44. hee hath it twice , i came down to do my father's will , and the will of my father is this , that all that hee hath given mee shall com to mee , and i will loose none of them : so again , ver. 44. and i will loose none of them ; not the least member , not the least finger , not a joint in the mystical bodie of christ shall bee lost ; for this is certain , ( and it is a most sweet truth ) as by the death of christ the hypostatical vnion was not dissolved , not the humane nature separated from the divinitie ; so by the death of a saint , the mystical vnion is not dissolved ; neither bodie or soul are dis-jointed or separated from christ , the very dust of a saint is still in christ's keeping , and ( though in a most mysterious way , yet ) both soul and bodie are united to him ; though many of your friends may bee lost in the sea , and eaten by fishes , though many of them shot to pieces with bullets , and torn with cannon , &c. yet still the mystical union is undissolved ; and though it is true jesus christ will send for wicked men at the day of judgment , as a judg send's for a prisoner , the sheriff , or who ever the officer bee , when hee intend's to execute him , commanding that such a prisoner bee brought to the place of execution ; yet hee raise's his saints , not as a judg , but as an head : hee raise's them by vertue of vnion with himself , as a father send 's for his son home from the vniversitie , that hee may more refresh him , and satisfie him , and cloth him , &c. it may bee hee think's hee hath had short commons there , that now hee may com and bee entertained with the fatling , even as the father did entertain his prodigal son , and much more then wee are capable here upon earth ; but then 3ly . there is a day of judgment , when they shall have possession of this eternitie ; com yee blessed of my father enter into the kingdom . heretofore the kingdom of christ hath been in them , entered into them , but now they must enter into the kingdom ; heretofore som●joy entered into them , but now they must enter into their master's joy , bee possessed of joy , of a kingdom ; and then fourthly , and lastly , jesus christ himself hath prepared mansions : joh. 14. 2. mansions are not tabernacles , but durable houses : i go to my father to prepare a place for you , and thither you shall com , and there are many mansions ; if it were not so i would have told you ; ( a most ingenuous melting speech ) room enough in heaven for all the saints ; though god hath never so many children , yet every one shall bee his heir ; and though jesus christ have never so many subjects , yet every one shall bee a king ; why ? because hee himself is their reward , hee himself is their crown , hee himself ( as austine saith ) is their inheritance ; every one an house , every one a mansion in heaven ? yes , god himself is their habitation , who is eternal . now the grounds , why it come's to pass : 1. god and the father hath resolved it from eternitie ; it is resolved from eternitie that it should bee so ; their names are written in the book of life ; thou john , and thou elisabeth , and thou mary , and thou zacharie , you are book'd down ; there is the particularitie , there is the certaintie ; your names are written in heaven , rejoyce in it , luke 10. 20. 2. jesus christ hee likewise hath taken care to doe his part , hee hath purchased this place for you ; it is a purchased possession , ephes. 1. 14. as hee did purchase it , so hee possessed it , hee kept it ; hee reserveth heaven for you , as well as preserveth you for heaven ; the crown is reserved for you in heaven , 1 pet. 1 , 4. 3. the spirit , which is an eternal spirit , a in concurrence with god the father , and god the son , hee hath been preparing , and polishing , b and fashioning his saints , that they may bee meet for heaven , col. 1. 12. and so you see a joynt concurrence , that all their operations may bee of equal extent ; not as the arminians would say , and their followers , that make the death of christ larger then either the decrees of god , or the application of the spirit ; here the three glorious persons in the trinitie joyntly concur that all the decrees may bee made good , that all the promises may bee accomplished , and that all your prayers may bee answered : and so in this eternal house reserved for you , you shall then see all these three effected . now for the nature of eternitie ▪ and there i shall onely hint that which is the description of the learned boëtius , eternitie is such an unbounded possession of life , as is perfect and altogether . 1. there is a possession : a possession , that is , a tenure , both firm and quiet . in heaven you are not subject to any uncertainties , to any intercisions , to any interruptions , you shall never bee turned out of that house ; it is above thievs or robbers , mat. 6. 20. 2. it is a possession of life , nothing is properly eternal , but that that is living ; eternitie being a duration according to immanent acts , ( as the school-men speak ) and those immanent acts do presuppose life ; now life for life , or life upon life , skin upon skin , so som render that place in job , ( indeed the anatomist's will tell you ▪ you have many skins , three or four at least ) life upon life , one after another . you 'l venture all to save your life which you most esteem . life is most precious : it is an high pitch of love , when you com to venture it for god , it being most dear to you ; and therefore the fitter to set forth eternitie : it is a possession of life . 3. interminabilis , without bounds , no end of this happiness : god is absolutely eternal , both without begining , and without end , but this shall have no end , as much as creatures , as much as angels are capable off ; it is an unbounded , an infinite possession ( as it were ) of life ; and that 4. perfect ; whereas now the best of creatures , angels , have but onely an imperfect eternitie , onely an eternitie à parte pòst , for time to com . 5. altogether ; you are fully , entirely , and wholely possessed of it , and all at once ; you have whole heaven , the first moment you com to heaven : time is nunc fluens , but eternitie is nunc stans ; a standing moment , that hath a co-existencie to time past , time present , time to com ; that is the nature of it ; and that house you shall have in heaven , shall have this eternitie added to it , to the happiness of having the fruition of god himself . by way of instruction ; let poor carnal men that wallow in lust , and take so much pains to gratifie the devil , in making provision for their flesh , consider how dear they pay for them , and what they lose : alas poor souls ! you pamper your bodie , you paint your hous , you adorn it , but all this while you take a great deal of pains to very little purpose , for you lose eternitie . cyprian bring's in in the devil triumphing over poor carnal people at the last day of judgment : here are the souls that i never died for ; and , ( in a way of upbraiding jesus christ ) here are the souls that thou laid'st down thy life for , and under-went'st so much trouble and contradiction of sinners for , and now they are mine and not thine : o what a sad triumph to you , though the devil will rejoice in it ! as all the saints in heaven , and angels rejoyce at the conversion of a sinner , at the return of a prodigal , luke 15. so when any one is recovered into the snares of the devil , all the devils in hell keep holy-day ( as it were ) , triumph in it , when they can get a man , such a man especially that hath lived not in a sodom and gomorrah , but in capernaum , in a london , lifted up to heaven by the meanes of the gospel , and lived in godly familie , brought up under a godly parent , it may bee in a universitie under a good tutor ; and if hee can get such an one , how will the devil triumph ? but , poor soul ! little do'st thou imagine what a looser thou art , no less then the eternal happiness of an immortal soul ; and to make it more dreadful to thee , that so thou may'st ( if the lord please ) endeavor to rescue thy self out of those snares in which thou hast been entangled all this while : do but think a little what hell is , and what things are eternal in hell . 1. there is an eternitie of that , which divines call pana damni everlastingly destroyed , from the power and presence of god everlastingly separated : o that is a sad word , depart , depart yee ursed . how do many good women grieve and mourn when their husbands are to go to sea , or go a far journey , or in the publick service in a military way , though they think ( it may bee ) it is but for som months , or for a year , and have very probable hopes , if not certain , that by the blessing of god they shall return in ordinary course ; but what will you bee , when soul and bodie shall com to part , not onely themselvs by death , but thou partest with thy savior eternally , though thou may'st own him as an husband , and challenge him as thine and com and speak good words in a complemental way to him , as they in the gospel . luke 13. 26. 27. wee have eaten and drunk in thy presence , wee have been baptized ; wee have been thus often at thy table , wee have been kinde to our minister , and wee have don these and these things for the publick : o but christ will not own you , you have not endeavored to finde a spiritual building in your souls , and therefore you cannot expect an eternal building in heaven , that is a certain argument : but this will bee your doom , depart , everlastingly to turn the back upon jesus christ , and to bee out of all hopes , all the least possibilitie of mercie , and to bee sent packing into hell , and there chained up : o then when that thou comest with that unprofitable servant , to bee cast into utter darkness , where is nothing but weeping , wailing , and gnashing of teeth , then thou wilt weep over thy self , bemoan thy remedile's condition , and gnash thy teeth with envie , when thou ( like dives ) shalt see lazarus in abraham's bosom ; thy self being possibly an alderman , common-council man , knight , ( i speak not to any particularly , but promiscuously to all ) ; or , it may bee , a servant of christ , whom thou hast scoffed , shall bee in abraham's bosom , having judged thee to lie in hell eternally ; he●e is poena damni ; the loss of eternitie it self : and is not this much ? but yet here is more . 2. here is the punishment of sense . besides the loss of god , ( a saint would count it a hell but to loose the sight of god ) to bee under eternal torments , to frie in hell , to bee everlastingly destroyed , to bee everlastingly lashed , to have stripes , and it may bee many stripes everlastingly , this is to bee truly miserable . they that are ignorant shall have som stripes , and one lash in hell will bee lamentable , because it will bee eternal : but to bee eternally lashed , and that with many stripes , o what a loss is here : i cannot but pity you who scoff us poor souls for your sakes , and bee charitable even to those that are without , and desire heartily your deliverance from this miserie . 3. but here is an eternitie likewise , as of fire without thee to torment thee , so an eternal flaming conscience within , a worm that never die's , a fire that will never bee extinct . what was that that made caligula , as great a man as hee was , an emperor , run under a bed , when it thundered ; there was a terrified conscience within : and you hear much talk of furies that the heathens had that haunted them ; it was hell in their consciences , and this will gnaw thee to eternitie ; o how wilt thou check and chide thy self , and bee upon a perpetual rack within , ( i doubt som of us know what it means already , by horrors and terrors of conscience ) to think i out-lived so many ministers , i persecuted so many saints , i trifled away so many gospel-seasons , i neglected the day of my visitation ; conscience tell's thee this was thy fault , god will bee justified in thy confusion , and though thou hast an eternal loss , yet thou hast right from god , and it is charged upon thy self , that it is thy will not , that did undo thee ; why will you die , o house of israel ? ezek. 18. 31. but you 'l say next by way of question , how can it bee just with god , if wee dwell in houses of clay , in brittle houses , and fining but temporally , to punish us eternally ? take gregorie's answer , ( if my memorie fail mee not ) wee sin in our eternitie , and therefore god will punish men in his eternifie ; yea , let mee add this further . wee would sin eternally if god did leave us to our selvs ; there is not a wicked man in this congregation , but hath that within him that would betray him to sin against god eternally , if god should leave him ; yea , when thou comest to hell , if thou shouldest lie there millions of years , thou can'st never satisfie god ; and therefore thou having offended an infinite god , must undergo an infinitie of torments . it would bee som comfort to a wicked man , if after hee were there millions of millions of years , there som hopes of recoverie out of it . origen had an opinion , that all wicked men should bee saved at such a time , som think the devils at last ; but the scripture is contrary , therefore satisfie your selvs with this , there will bee no interruption , nor redemption ; what shall a man give for the change of his soul ? if a man win the whole world , and loose his own soul , what will it profit him ? what shall a man give for the change thereof ? if you could conceive that one of the numerous stars in heaven should fall at the end of a 1000 , 1000. years , when all the stars are fallen that you should bee released , there would bee som comfort . divines use these comparisons : if at the end of 10. millions of millions of years you should but fetch one sand out of the sea-shore , or a bird pick out but one drop of water out of the sea , when all this were spent , all this were exhausted , if then there would bee but a little abatement of torments , there would bee som refreshment ; but ( brethren ) such shall bee locked up in hellish chains , there is no abatement , no remitting . o consider what you do , and what losers you are , and how dearly , how exceeding dearly you pay for som transitorie , momentanie pleasures here below : there is the first use . an use of expostulation : is it thus that god hath made eternal provision for his saints in heaven ? then ( brethren ) i beseech you give mee leave a little to expostulate the case with you : how come's it to pass that you do not more minde eternitie ? do you beleeve this doctrine to bee true , that god hath provided such an eternal house in heaven ? why do you not then more contemplate it ? the contemplation of that glorious house that god hath reserved for you in heaven for all his saints , would have an admirable influence upon us ; if any thing in the world should melt us , that would de it . do not bound your thoughts , and circumscribe them , in the consideration of that which hath no bounds : minde that much here upon earth , upon which you must live for ever in heaven ; and , to encourage you , there will bee these advantages : 1. if you look backwards so the eternitie of god's election : good nature , ( i mean new nature , for that onely is good nature ) there is no good nature , but so far as there is ( at least ) som common work of the spirit of god ; so far as men get ground of self-love by som work of the spirit , so much good nature they have , and no more ) if there bee the least spark of it , as there is in all the saints of god , it will fill them with ingenuitie , and it will engage them to serve god in their eternitie ; that is to bee constant , to bee faithful even to the death ; not to bee a back-slider , nor revolter , nor like the false spies that brought up an ill report of the land of canaan ; then 2. when you look forward , it would have a most happy influence upon you , nothing would make you such active and such passive christians , as to consider eternitie , and that jesus christ hath purchased eternitie for you . paul would bee content to bee a fool , to bee any thing , to bee nothing ; why ? hee did judg it most reasonable , 2 corinth . 5. 14 , 15. that if christ did die for him , that hee might live , then it was that hee might live to jesus christ ▪ why ? because you shall live with him hereafter . there is nothing in the world will keep you more above troubles , brethren , when shakeing and sinking times shall com , then such considerations ; who are the generation of people now in the world , that are most unshaken in england , in any of the protestant churches , where there are streams of blood , where there are such confusions and distractions , as wee have had sad experience of ; why they whose eternal condition is safe , being in a good hand ; i have an immortal soul , which god hath taken possession of , and that shall bee everlastingly happy ; and as it will keep you above troubles , so indeed it will keep you above trifles , above vanities ; what is the reason that the vanities of this world do so much carry men away ? because they do not know , or minde eternitie . it is an admirable expression that damas●en hath , hee saith , that those that will live according to god , they must exercise pleasures , whether necessarie , or natural , onely in transitu , as they pass by : it were a rare thing now to have such a disposition of soul : you enjoy pleasures and comforts in the world , and many of you swim in them , and you have the world at will , but you should onely take it in transitu , as you are going home to your father's house just as a scholar coming from the vniversitie , is going to his father's house , but hee is content to bait in an inn. nothing in the world will sublimate your souls more , then to minde eternitie ; the lord make you more apprehensive of it . again , would you have all the sad differences , that are now amongst many people of god , in london and in england , ( for these indeed are the sad provoking ones ) would you have them swallowed up , then let your thoughts bee more possessed of eternitie : here is so many heats of disputes , and so many contestatious , a great deal of religion is turned into arguing and disputing , ( the lord grant wee do not loose much of the life and vigor of practical christianitie by these fierie disputes ) which should bee buried , being most unbecoming brethren . o how many bitter provocations , how much opposition , how much censuring , yea , how much persecuting of one another do these differences cost ? i dare say , the want of the consideration of eternitie , is a great occasion ; and if your souls were more full of that , if you thought you should live in heaven together , you would shake hearts and hands more lovingly here upon earth . it is a notable storie of ovidius pollio , that invited augustus to supper , and while his man was preparing for , and setting forth . supper , hee broke a glass , and the man of the house , ( the great emperor augustus being to com ) hee was so troubled at it , that hee condemned his servant to bee cast into the sea , that hee might bee devored of fishes : when the emperor heard of this , hee took all the glasses , and broke them in pieces , and said , better never a glass in the world , then one man should bee lost for them . wee had heretofore many disputes about cerimonies , and wee have as many now about meer externals , i dare say , that are no waies essential to christianitie . a man may bee of this opinion , and that opinion , i speak of external forms ; i would have every fundamental truth precious , and what hath an influence , and what concern's our religion and the substance of it : but for som externals , and for som circumstances that wee have so much heat about , about this form , and that form and circumstance , better a great many such glasses as som of them are , ( to say no more ) were laid aside , if not broken all to pieces , at least put up in a cup-board a while , ( give the common adversarie so much present advantage ) then it should cost so much blood , as it possibly may doe , so much heat amongst saints , amongst brethren , ( i am very confident of both sides are many such dear saints of god , that will spend eternitie together ) and if heaven were capable of any sorrow , this would bee a great part of it , that they did so much quarrel upon earth together : o consider it , consider it ! the lord fill your thoughts and mine too more and more with eternitie , that so your hearts may cling and cleave more together , that you betrary not all to the common enemie . brethren , i must say as chrysostom , ( god know's , if my heart deceive mee not , i desire to speak it with deep respect to this honorable renowned citie , and with sense of the condition of all the saints of god in england , and scotland too ) to his hearers , hee would never leave preaching against swearing , till they left swearing ; and as often as you are pleased to employ mee to serve your souls in this way , i shall never leave pressing peace and love , till there bee more love amongst saints , and amongst brethren , that while you dwel in these houses of clay together , you may not fall out , because you shall all one day dwel in the same eternal house together . will you give mee leave to tell you a plain storie , out of livie , concerning menenius agrippa , there was a great difference , betwixt the inferiors and superiors , several opinions , and they complained that those men of place got away all from them , and therefore they would have them circumscribed , and confined , and kept short ; hee come's like a witty subtile orator to them , and use's this parable ; saith hee , the stomack in the bodie , that swallow's all , what shall wee have don with the stomack ? a great deal of meat it eat's , the head must contrive , and the mouth take in , and the hands reach it to the mouth : o ( say they ) the stomack must bee kept short ; the stomack was kept short a while , but then the hands were enfeebled , and the head starved , and the mouth closed up , and all the bodie is in a confusion , when the stomack was not fed . i intend not any particular , as to your citie , i beseech you ▪ mistake mee not ; i 'le suggest the application , and leave you further to enlarge it ; i 'le say it seriously , that the people of god are like the stomack to the bodie , they help to maintain the whole ; and i say it most confidently , there is never a wicked man in this congregation , nor in any other part of the christian world , but bee may bless god for the presence of saints amongst them ; for it is the children that god take's care for : when the hous is built , the scaffold shall com down , and go to the fire ; it may bee , when the corn is ripe , and carried in , the hedg is designed to bee burned : god care's not for wicked men , but in reference to the corn , no more then a carpenter care's for his scaffold , but in reference to his hous . make much of the people of god , crie them not down , because they are of this opinion , and that opinion , differing in som lesser matters , if they bee saints ; the innocent shall deliver the land : sodom could not bee undon , as long as lot was there ; and i am confident there is not a saint in london , nor in england , though hee may bee perhaps uneven in his practise , ( the lord reduce him ) hee may have som unsound opinions , ( the lord recover him ) and i wish wee might all set to do it , with a spirit of meekness , and wisedom , and evidence of god's truth ; but yet i say , the meanest of god's saints , as hee hath preparations for in heaven , so is hee a pawn and pledg of mercie here upon earth : therefore they that persecute them , drive away god's blessing from themselvs . and let mee say this to the saints , ( i would i could speak as in the name , and bee in the power of god , in such language as may stick with you ) ; little do you consider that the third partie make 's account to rais themselvs in your ruines . for the quarrel ( we must speak out , the quarrel ) is not independencie , nor presbyterie ; quarrel at bottom is the power of godliness ; and i am verily perswaded , as i am speaking in this honorable assemblie at this time , if the difference between them were compounded , ( as i doubt not but in god's good time it may bee ) you 'l have another controversie rise ( unless you can reconcile the seed of the woman , and the seed of the serpent ) for that is but their stalking-horse , and their pretence , because they see there is a difference between those you call presbyterians and independents , which they endeavor to improve to carry on their own designs : just like men that see two school-boys fighting , set them on , and cry , well don , good boys , & c ! here they cry out against this presbyterian , and that presbyterian , and com into another shop , and there they will cry out on the other side , to exasperate their spirits , that so at last when you have gotten bloody noses , and can fight no longer , then they may get the better of you both : this is their project . i beseech you , suffer not your selvs in any convention , or publick meeting whatsoever , to bee seduced by a fine cunning speech that will talk of presbytery and the covenant , &c. things very good , but then there com's in a clause in the conclusion of his speech , that drive's on his own design , and you shal in the mean time , if his rhetorick overcom you , do his and the malignants work ; and god forbid , the citie of london should do it . give me leave to be earnest , wherin the good of so many thousand souls , the kingdom , both kingdoms , yea , the cause of the protestant churches abroad is so much concerned ; ( i speak it , as if i were to die and answer it immediately after sermon ) shake your hands and hearts , and though there bee som difference in opinion , it is a thousand times less evill then to suffer men that are enemies to christ , and his kingdom , covenant , and presbytery , and scripture-reformation in their hearts , to prevail ; o let there bee such thoughts of eternitie , where you shal dwel together , let that possess your souls so that you may sweetly and seasonably close , and not betray your selvs to a third partie : for your encouragment consider what is eternal in heaven : why brethren , there is an eternal freedom from all evil ; and an eternal enjoyment of all good which wil make you infinitely happy . by way of thankfulness ; bless god therefore , bless him all yee poor saints , that have any hopes , any spiritual building , any foundation of that , any thing of jesus christ in your souls , bless the lord for it ; adore , admire free grace , and say eternity wil bee little enough for your thoughts , how to advance that god , that hath prepared an eternitie of blessedness for you ; first , you are a people of acquisition , : you are purchased : 1 pet. 2. 9. christ jesus was at great cost and charges to recover you , you have a purchased possession ; ephesians 1● 1● . you have a purchased spirit , that fit's and prepare's you for it ; o let god have the glory of it ; and now i beseech you , let this bee your great care that you do live according to your hopes ; that is one thing , i shal bespeak ( i le have don presently ) live according to your hopes ; if you hope to live eternally in heaven , do not prostitute those rich hopes , do not bee praevaricatores spei , as the father elegantly speak's ; o do not delude , do not prevaricate those eternal hopes of yours : let christ bee the scope of your life , follow him in the way , that you may attain him at your journeys end ; let this bee your care ; saints should burn heer like a lamp , which is fed with aromatical oyle , when it is extinguished , it will leave a very sweet smell : o thus should saints live ; you 'l say , q. how should wee do this ? how ? a. a few directions : first , take heed of carnall company ; flie and shun them ; there are no drunkards in heaven ; i mean such as live and dye drunkards impenitently , no such persons in heaven , that live impenitently in their sins ; away from mee all such , god hath heard the voice of my weepings : what shall i do to convers with such men heer , that i must bee everlastingly separated from at the day of judgment ! what shall i live with such men , that i shal judg at the last day ! i le rather judg my self for any carnall compliance , or conversation with them . secondly , let this bee your care , vse creatures onely as your servants , not as your friends , if god have provided an eternitie , do not all things heer , as if you were at home ; but do things heer , as it were in your way to the kingdom ; as the painter said , who being ask't why hee was so exact in his painting , why ( said hee ) these pieces are for eternity . i pray for eternitie , and i desire to act in my place , as a governor of a city , alderman , parliament-man , whatsoever condition i live in , as a minister , i do it for eternity , and so labor to keep your hearts above all comforts : it is a great mistake , austin hath it , that men do use things they should enjoy , and enjoy things they should onely use : wee make use of god onely and seek not to enjoy him , but wee enjoy those things , wee should but onely use ; that is , creatures , wee make them our friends , that wee should make onely our servants . thirdly , have your conversation in heaven , o speak heavenly language , walk by a heavenly rule , begin heavenly imployment , let every sabbath day bee to you an epitome of heaven : when ever you com to an ordinance think , now i am in a corner of the kingdom of heaven : and carry your selvs so to sing praises to god , and admire and adore his mercies , and to powr out hallelujahs to him , as if you were in heaven . and then in the fourth and last place : bee much in communion with god ; for what is heaven , but the ful pitch of communion with god , bee glad of address to god , com not to prayer , as to a task , but as to a sweet priviledg , com not to it onely to enjoy such blessings from god in prayer , but also to enjoy thy god in prayer , and to have a sweet communion and fellowship with thy savior there , and that there may bee som illapses of his spirit into thy spirit , and som irradiations of the sun of righteousness , some beams to fall upon thy soul , this is heaven . and therefore i beseech you in the last place , ( and so i shall dispatch , i 'le not meddle with the other two points , but by way of motive ) if it bee so , take a friendly caution , beware as you love eternal happiness of an immortal soul , do not let things lie at six and sevens , ( as they say ) at meer uncertainties any longer , but give diligence as to make your calling and election , so likewise to make your eternal mansions reserved for you in heaven , as sure to you , give diligence : 2 peter 1. 10. now i should have added the two next points , one is to shew you , that it is possible to attain such a certainty , and the other is to shew you , that it is a soveraign cordiall , in the greatest troubles ; but i 'le wrap them up , i see the time is gone ; onely two motives : first , though to attain such a certainty bee difficult , yet it is possible ; there is not onely a faith of adherence , by which you rest upon christ for salvation , but a faith of evidence , by which you know christ to bee your savior ; that all saints have , and this later they may have ; the one is required to the esse of a christian , to the beeing , but this to the wel-beeing of a christian ; therefore som of gods saints want it , and the best of gods saints have it not at all times , but somtimes to prepare them for a cross , somtimes to chear them under a cross , as paul and silas , when they were in the prison , somtimes to reward and crown them after a cross , after great troubles : let mee add this further : there is that divines call certainty of the thing , and of the person , the certaintie of the thing , it depend's upon gods decree , upon the mightie and invincible power of the spirit of god , upon the efficacie of the death and intercession of jesus christ ; of the thing it shall bee made good ; the saints shall com to heaven ; but then certaintie of the person , that is more or less , as god is pleased to dispens himself ; somtimes the saints pay a little fine , have a little legal humiliation , then they pay a great deal of rent , it may bee more trouble about their sanctification afterwards : somtimes they pay a great fine , when they are converted , lye long under a spirit of bondage , then after six or seven or more years , the spirit of adoption take's possession of them , ( it may bee ) they never meet with a cloudy day many years afterwards , heer is certitudo subjecti , as god please's to dispens himself , and this may bee the portion of many saints , not onely as an extraordinary priviledg to abraham and paul , ( as the papists would make us beleeve ) but as a priviledg common to the saints ; that is , they are all capable of it , and they may attain it , if god pleas , according to the ordinary rules of his word ▪ wee know saith paul , rom. 8. 35. who shall separate us from the love of christ ? &c. hee saith not onely of himself , but of others ; but how com you to this certaintie ? there is a threefold seal thereof . there are are the promises of god , which are yea , and amen in christ , and they are seal'd in his blood ; though thy name bee not written there , yet it is included , and faith will spie and pick it out ; as when you have the commandement , ( the papists use this as a great argument ; ) is no man sure that hee is in the promise , because john or zachary is not in the promise ? so you may as well say no man is obliged in the commandement , because his name is not there ; now as you must apply the commandements , so the promises , and faith will fetch out thy name that is wrapped up in the general : and secondly , as there is the blood of jesus christ , to seal the promises , in whom they are all yea and amen , 2 corinthians 1. so there is the seal of the sacraments , a publick standing visible seal , whereby things are made more credible to us , though they are as true in themselvs as things can bee ; yet by a present visible representation , to help your sens , you shall have the material elements , as it is austins comparison ; when a man is upon the ground , that bee may bee raised towards heaven , hee must make use of his hands , leaning upon the earth : so that wee may bee lifted up to heaven , jesus christ hath appointed these things sensible to help our faith ; and then thirdly , there is the privie seal of the holy spirit , which by a secree work doth reallize and particularize the two former ; grieve not the holy spirit , whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption : ephes. 4. 30. so that it is possible , god enabling them fiducially to apply such promises to themselvs , and to see the work of grace clearly in their hearts ; and that the certainty of their salvation shall bee sealed to them ; 1 joh. 5. 7. there are three that bear witness in heaven , the father , the word , and the holy ghost , and these three are one ; all the the three glorious persons concur as to work so to confirm our salvation . the testimonie , the record is , v. 11. that god hath given to us eternal life , and this life it in his son . v. 8. there are three that bear witness on earth , the spirit , and the water , and the blood , and these three agree in one , which seem's to bee the spirits testimonie in the work of vocation , the testimonie of water in sanctification , and of blood in justification , rather then the sacraments , &c. it is a most sweet and excellent thing , if you could attain this : brethren , it is the very next door to heaven , to bee sure of heaven : the very next thing to the being in heaven , is to have a certainty of heaven ; you are in the suburbs , you are in the porch , you have entered paradise , that glorious palace , when you com once to this assurance ; o sweet ! it is a very heaven here upon earth ; peace of conscience that passe's understanding , and joy in the holy ghost , which is unspeakable and glorious , these are the words the scripture here use's of it , as of the first fruits of heaven : now what is this ? why it is indeed the beleeving and the eying of those things that are eternal , and a certain knowledg , as paul speak's there in that place , 2 corinthians 4. 17. for our light affliction , which is but for a moment , worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; paul a man of great crosses , yet you see in the midst of all had the greatest comforts , a light affliction ; hee had told you a sad story before of his troubles , that would ( it may bee ) sink your hearts and mine , yet here light afflictions , which were but for a moment , they were great and long , yet hee call's them light and momentanie ; what is the reason ? why , they work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; worketh out , as the spirit of god carrie's you through , not by way of merit ; a far more exceeding weight of glory , as the spirit of god prepare's them for heaven , so heaven is prepared for them ; and you shall finde , it is prepared in this method , by affliction ; as in the 1 peter 5. 10. the god of grace that hath called you to his eternal glory , make you perfect after you have suffered a while ; this hyperbolical weight of glory , which paul tryed in his afflictions did uphold him . it is not moral philosophers apprehensions , that could support them ; there was aristides , and socrates , and others , that might bee called the puritans among the heathens , who went very far and suffered much , socrates to death ; yet doubtless if they had nothing but meer morality , it would not have comforted them . as moral philosophy wil not carry a man thorow when he com's to suffer , so it is not jesuitical fancies which som papists have that can yield solid comfort ; it is a thing worth knowing , i would every one knew it ; it is indeed in hospinian , & you wil finde it in the excellent book of that man of god , that now is triumphing in heaven , hee wil tel you how the jesuits use to raise a man to kil a king , som of them the new romanists com to venter themselvs very far , and wil expose themselvs to suffer much , to that which they think martyrdom , as the old roman heathens , and others did , who threw themselvs somtimes into the greatest troubles , even to death it self ; ( popularitie and vain-glory , and self-respect , and such considerations may do much : ) how do they raise a man to kil a king ? first , they bring him to such a place , and there they shew him a consecrated knife , and so many consecrated beads hanging upon it , and then they deliver it into his hand , o heer is the sword of gideon , jephtah , &c. and pray to god to bless him , and prosper him , then they carry him to an altar , there they shew him the picture of jacobus clemens that kill'd henry the third to animate him , and then they fain ( as they can act a part most diabolically ) and seem to envy him , o to what a height of happiness art thou advanced , that canst kil a king . ( it is a dangerous religion , whose principles lead to that , to eat their maker , and kill their king ; ) yet this you see they do , and this wil heighten a poor man for a while , and som of them are so desperate and proud , and vainglorious , they wil do it , but this wil not last , this will not bee a sufficient cordial , the soveraign cordial of all , is to behold eternitie , to see him that is invisible , as moses did , and to see the things that were eternal , as paul heer did . one asked the great duke of saxonie , how came you to bee upheld in so many troubles , you have met withall ? saith hee , i felt the divine consolations of the martyrs : if god should let wicked men prevail , and the disaffected partie of both kingdoms ( who now it is clear are joyned , and ireland i doubt in too ) i am afraid they have all one design , if god should suffer them so far , and leave the saints of god so far to themselvs , to give advantage to them , to suffer wicked men to prevail , yet god wil carry on his cause . the revelation wil prove true , they cannot undo us , they can but send us to heaven : i could tel you a sad storie ( which i had from the fountain ) of a gentleman , that had don very good service to his country in the parliament , who was one of the eleven , came to take his leave of one of the greatest subjects in the kingdom , by his place , said to him this , when hee came for a pass to go over sea , hee thank'd him for his kindness , saying , had the plot prevail'd on the other side , you had not been so kindely dealt withal ; therefore let us labor to acquaint our selvs with the true , yet the divine consolations of the martyrs , at least som taste of them , then let the devil , and all the malignants in hell , and on earth do their worst , yet they cannot everlastingly undo us ; god may suffer them to bring us into a suffering condition , but when wee suffer with christ , wee shal raign with christ , and bee crowned with christ , there is a mansion in heaven reserved for us after wee shal have judged those that live and dye enemies to us , & to jesus christ . now the lord in his rich mercie , give you to finde such a sure foundation of this spiritual building , even jesus christ , layed up in your hearts , that you may have a certain evidence of this eternal building : amen . finis . a post-script to the reader . candid reader , if in any of these six plain sermons , there bee any defects or redundancies , bee pleased to consider they were transcribed by him who took them in characters , in som things possibly hee might mistake , in other things bee mistaken , the printers not knowing his hand ; and probably diverse errata pass uncorrected , both in the sermons and epistles , i being sick or at a distance ( for the most part ) from the press . excuse what is amiss , accept and improve what is good : the lord who hath abundance of spirit , bless that unto thy spiritual and everlasting good , through christ jesus : thine in and for him , t. h. notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a43816e-340 2 thes. 2. 1● . mat. 12. 36. note . zach. 1. 15. mat. 12. 24. act. 26. 24. 2 cor. 1. 3 , 4. 2 tim. 2. 10. psal. 24. 6. an. dem. 1628. 1629. 1630. tychmersh . nubecula cit● transitura . psal. 37. 8. rev. 12. 10. john 8. 44. is god's word the worse because delivered by men they now dislike ? directions . rev. 1. 8. prov. 3. 5 , 6. 2 cor. 11. 3. revel. 2. 2. luke 10 , 16. act. 2 ▪ 4● ▪ act. 12. 5. rom. 12. 3. 1 pet. 4. 9 , 11. cas. consc. lib. 4. cap 25. de voc. ad minister . note ▪ luke 16. 2. gal. 5. 1● . 2 pet. 1. 7. photii epist. 10. isid. hispal . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} vide plat. apol. socrat. mic. 6. 9. rom , 12. 20 , ●● igniculi charitatis . notes for div a43816e-4330 preface . 1. the bodies mortalitie . contraria juxta se posita clariùs elucescunt . heb. 1. ult. 2 cor. 4. 18. is verè felix qui miser esse nequit . doct. 1. doct. 2. doct. 3. psal. 39. 5. note . ephes. 5. 16. a quolibet momento pendet aeternitas . note . * i. {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , that god hath made eternal provision for his saints , appear's by 4. demonstrations ▪ 1. demonst. god hath given his saints immortal souls capable of eternal happiness . note . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , 2. demonst. god hath appointed a day of the resurrection . act. 17. 30. note . colos. 3. 3 , 4. luk. 15. 3. domonstrat ; god hath appointed a day to give them possession of eternitie . mat. 25. 23 , 34. 4. demonstrat . christ hath prepared mansions . ii. {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , the grounds of the doctrine . 1. god hath decreed it . 2. christ hath purchased it . 3. the holy ghost applie's it . a heb. 914. b 2 cor. 5. 5. {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} , rem rudem expoliens , camer. iii nature of this eternitie . eternitas est interminabilis vitae possessio , perfecta & tota simul boëtius . job 2. 4. application . use 1. rom 13 〈◊〉 note . what things are eternal in hell . 2 thes. 1. 9. mat. 25. 41. luk. 13. 26 , 27. 1 cor. 6. 2. note . si addas eternitatem alicui malo , erit infinitè inalum . less . de perfect . divin. note . quest . reason 1. deus punit nos in aeterno suo , quia nos peccamus in aeterno nostro . 2 3 mat. 16. 24. psal. 49. 7. drexellius his book of eternitie . use 2. of expostulation . 1. advantage , by contemplating your eternal mansions in heaven . 2. consideration . your eternal mansions will have a sweet influence upon your spirits . 1. it will keep us above troubles . 2. above trifles . {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} damasc 1. 2. de orthod. fide. cap. 13. 3. compose differences . plutarch . dion . liv. lib. 2. note . job 22. 30. gen. 19. 16. note . use iii. {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . 1 {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} {non-roman} . 2 2 cor. 5. 5. 3 col. 3. 1 , 2 , 3. non prodest resurrectio nisi christus in te resurgat . sit scopus vitae ch●istus quem s●quaris in viâ ut assequaris in patrià . directions . 1 beware of carnal company . psal. 6. 8. 2 be carefull in the use of earthly delight . uti fruendis , & frui utendis . jam. 4. 4. 3. have your conversation in heaven . phil. 3. 20. 4. bee much in communion with god . use iv. d. e. d. 3. motive 1. faith of adherence . evidence . acts 16. 25. certitudo objecti . subjecti . note . three seals to assure the saints certainty of heaven . 1. the blood of christ sealing the gospel-promises . 2 cor. 1. 20. 2. seal of the sacraments which are seals of the covenant . 3. third seal , the holy spirit . 1 cor. 2. 12. 2 motive . difficulty , possibility , excellency , three whetstones of diligence . phil. 4. 7. 1 pet. 1. 8. v. 8 , 9 , 10. mr. burroughes gracious spirit , c. 3. heb. 11. 27. a short description of the blessed place and state of the saints above in a discourse upon the words of our blessed saviour, john xiv, 2, in my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, i would have told you, i go to prepare a place for you / by william bates. bates, william, 1625-1699. 1687 approx. 99 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 60 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a26807 wing b1125 estc r25866 09268938 ocm 09268938 42567 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a26807) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 42567) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1300:12) a short description of the blessed place and state of the saints above in a discourse upon the words of our blessed saviour, john xiv, 2, in my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, i would have told you, i go to prepare a place for you / by william bates. bates, william, 1625-1699. [12], 102 p. printed by j.d. for j. robinson, london : 1687. reproduction of original in the union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -n.t. -john xiv, 2 -commentaries. future life. heaven. 2004-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-10 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-11 andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2004-11 andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a short description of the blessed place and state of the saints above . in a discourse upon the words of our blessed saviour ; john xiv . 2. in my father's house are many mansions ; if it were not so , i would have told you : i go to prepare a place for you . by william bates , d. d. london ; printed by j. d. for i. robinson , at the golden lion in st. paul's churh-yard . m.dc.lxxxvii . the preface . it is the privilege of christianity , that life and immortality are brought to light in the gospel . the heathen world sat in darkness , was secure in misery : as one that sleeps is pleas'd with the scenes of fancy ; he dreams of treasures of gold , of gardens , of feasts , and thinks the painted appearances , the superficial colours of good to be realities : thus whilst reason was darkned by sense , the world was content with pleasant delusions . who amongst the many pretenders to wisdom , had a convincing knowledg of the blessed eternity to come ? who had a glimpse of that happiness that results from the sight of god in glory ? this instruction so refreshing our spirits , darkned with sorrows here , comes from the school of heaven : as the sun revives us by its chearful appearance , and affords that light , without which it were impossible to behold it . during the legal dispensation , there was a mist upon the future state. the notice of eternal things was a twilight mixt with shadows . the revelation of the heavenly glory was reserv'd till our saviour's appearing in the world , who purchas'd it with the dearest price , and offers it upon such gracious terms , that whosoever sincerely desires and seeks , shall obtain it ; and none shall be depriv'd of it , but for their wilful and guilty neglect . it might be expected that such a proposal were sufficient to engage men with all their active powers to secure such a precious interest , when indeed their best endeavours and most zealous affections are too slight and faint , with respect to that excellent happiness . are not the first notions of things that are written in our brests , sufficient to convince us , that what is for ever , is to be preferr'd before what suddenly passes away ? or is it necessary in matters of temporal concernment , to use strong arguments to perswade us rather to chuse a treasure that will enrich us for our lives , than what will purchase food only for a day ? yet 't is strange to amazement , that in things of infinite weight & consequence that respect the soul , and trivial things that respect the body , men make as preposterous a judgment and choice , as if they were irreconcilable enemies to themselves , and obstinately averse from their own happiness . the life to come extends beyond all possible number of ages ; the felicity is so compleat and sure , that the least shadow of evil shall never eclipse it : the soul shall be in a state of highest perfection and joy ; the vnderstanding illuminated with perfect knowledg , with no more study , than opening the eye and fixing it on the glorious objects , the will satisfied with the perfect love and enjoyment of the blessed god : the body shall be clothed with light as with a garment , and shine with a beauty that never disflourishes and decays ; the innumerable assembly of angels and saints always affords new and inestimable delights ; and what is set in comparison against this transcendent felicity in heaven ? the poor despicable vanishing life on earth : whose pleasures are so shallow and empty , that they can't satisfy the senses , much less our noble and comprehensive faculties : whose griefs are sometimes so heavy and oppressing , that all the comforts of the world are no more effectual to relieve the soul labouring under them , than the sounding of brass , and the tinckling of cymbals , usually done by the heathens , were to free the moon from its dark eclipse , which they fancied to labour in extremity . yet the petty preferments , the deceitful riches , the vain pleasures here are chosen , and ambitiously and eagerly persued , and the infinite everlasting happiness hereafter undervalued and rejected . but as the wonder ceases , that a man doth not see in the clearest day , by saying , he is blind : so carnal men are without faith , that is , the internal light of the mind , they do not stedfastly believe the reality of the divine world , tho so clearly open'd in the gospel . they are under so strong a delusion and error of sensuality , that they vilify a spiritual happiness , a glorious futurity , and present sensible things , of no price in comparison , have the highest place in their esteem and affections . the proper means to recover man from his woful folly , are unceasing fervent prayers , that the god of our lord jesus christ , the father of glory , may give unto them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledg of him : the eyes of their understandings being inlightned , that they may know what is the hope of his calling , and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints : and to represent this world , and the next , as they are to their considerate minds , that their interest and duty , with united efficacy , may over-rule their hearts , and turn the stream of their indeavours into the right channel ; that the judicious comparison between objects so vastly differing , may be the governing principle of their lives . all things are vain and transient , within the confines of time ; all things stable and solid in the territories of eternity . john xiv . i. in my father's house are many mansions ; if it were not so , i would have told you : i go to prepare a place for you . our blessed saviour in the words , applies heavenly comfort to his disciples , to support their drooping spirits in his absence from them : he foretold his departure ; little children , yet a little while i am with you . ye shall seek me : and as i said to the jews , whither i go , ye cannot come : so now i say unto you . this tenderly affected their hearts : but that their sorrow might not flow into despair , he assures them , that their separation should not be final , and that it was not the singular privilege of st. peter , that he should follow him hereafter ; but that there were rooms reserved in heaven for them all , and he would return and receive them to himself . this consolation he addresses to them in a very affectionate manner , let not your hearts be troubled : no work is more divine , none more proper and delightful to our saviour , than to comfort the afflicted spirits of his people . he directs them , ye believe in god , believe also in me . god is the supreme object of faith , his unchangeable love and faithfulness , with his infinite power in the accomplishing his promises , is the security of believers . christ , as mediator between god and guilty creatures , is the immediate object of our faith ; for he restores us to the favour of god , therefore 't is said , we believe in god by him . after this preface to calm the unquiet agitations of their minds , and make them more receptive of comfort , he proposeth to them ; 1. a blessed doctrine ; in my father's house are many mansions , capable to receive all his disciples . 2. gives them an infallible assurance of it . 1. from his inviolate love and truth , if it were not so , i would have told you . 2. that his going away , was not to reign alone in the kingdom of glory , but to prepare a place for them . the point that i shall discourse of from these words , is this ; there is a blessed place above prepared for all the faithful disciples of christ , wherein they shall be glorified with him for ever . in the managing this argument , i will endeavour ; 1. to represent the excellencies of this place specified by his father's house , and the state of felicity that is inseparable from all that dwell in it . 2. consider the infallible assurance we have of obtaining it . 1. the excellencies of this place may be argued from the maker of it , and its attributes specified in scripture . first , god is said to be the artificial builder of this city , to signify a correspondent excellency in the work to the divine maker . all the works of god have a divine impression of his power and providence , but in some are more conspicuous characters of his perfections : for the wise author of all things , hath ordered their several degrees of excellence , both in the matter , and various art of adorning them , suitable to the end for which they were design'd . now the supreme heaven was made to be the temple of the divine majesty , wherein he would diffuse the richest beams of his goodness and glory to his chosen servants for ever , and accordingly is a most noble work of his omnipotent hand ; and there are two remarks to be made in its creation , from whence we may infer its peculiar excellency . 1. 't is the beginning of the creation . amongst intellectual beings , the angels are the first-born of god's power ; and in natural and divine prerogatives excel men. from hence it is that the excellency of any praise-worthy quality in men , is set forth by a resemblance of the angels . excellent wisdom in david , my lord , the king , is like an angel of god. excellent eloquence by st. paul , is stiled the tongues of angels . heroick vertue , and excellent holiness in the christian church , the house of david shall be as the angel of the lord ; for that which is highest in any kind of perfection , is the rule and measure of the degrees of that perfection . and thus in forming the material world , the supreme heaven hath the precedence in order and dignity , before all the other parts of it ▪ indeed moses only recites particularly the creation of the visible world ; and by what gradations this great fabrick with all its furniture was compleated : and the history of that is instructive of the creation of invisible things , which is expresly specified in the gospel . but , as paradise was first made , and then man created to be the inhabitant of it ; so we may infer , that the highest heaven , the seat of the angels , was made before they were created . now the angels ( we are inform'd by divine revelation ) were present when the foundations of the earth were laid , and god stretched his line upon it : then the morning stars sang together , and all the sons of god shouted for joy . they saw the rising world , the variety and beauty of its frame , the admirable order that distinguishes and unites its parts , that all things were divinely done , and transported with wonder and joy celebrated the praises of the creator . 2. the supreme heaven is the effect of god's immediat creation . the earth with all its ornaments was form'd of preexistent matter : the chaos , a confused mass , was the embrio of the sublunary world : but the supreme heaven is his more immediate and exquisit workmanship , and receiv'd its being and perfection at once . you may illustrate this by the account is given by moses of the creation of man ; god made man of the dust of the ground . his body derives its birth from the low element ; and the wisdom of the creator is wonderful in the artificial structure of it : 't is added , god breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul. the earth enters into the composition of his body , but his soul was inspired by the breath of god ; that is , by his divine power immediately created ; and in nobility of nature , and its spiritual endowments , incomparably excels the body . and the third heaven , though not a spiritual substance , yet in the purity of its nature , far transcends whatever was form'd of gross matter . this being premis'd , i will now consider what the scripture reveals to us of that place that is eminently the house of god. 1. the amplitude of it . our saviour tells us , the way is narrow , and the gate strait that leads to it , to excite our diligence ; but there are many mansions in the celestial pallace to encourage our hopes . 't is therefore call'd a city , a kingdom . if we look up to the shining sky , wherein are the sun , that by the computation of late * astronomers , some thousands of times exceeds the earth in its magnitude ; and innumerable stars , and some of that greatness , that they eighty times exceed this globe of earth ; tho to the ignorant , and therefore incredulous , they are judged to be as they appear , ( upon the account of that unmeasurable distance between the firmament and us ) but glistering points of light : our minds will be tir'd and lost in taking measures of that that seemeth boundless : and this vast expansion , with all the glorious luminaries , is but the portal of the house of god. therefore solomon , setting forth the boundless greatness of god , saith , behold the heaven , and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him ; that is , neither the airy nor ethereal heaven , nor the supreme heaven that encompasses and exceeds it . 't is a spacious pallace , becoming the divine maker's greatness , the image of his immensity : and the state of felicity there is answerable . the blessed god , in whom there is an eternal union of all perfections , perfections , is all in all to his people . the sun in its brightness may be as truly included in a spark , as the divine excellencies be measur'd by created contemplation . there is an infinite variety in the supreme good , that makes it always rare and new in the fruition . the universal love , and universal fulness of the deity , exceedingly satisfies all the desires , and perpetuates the delights of the saints . he stiles himself , in the gracious covenant with his people , i am god alsufficient ; walk before me , and be perfect . he is sufficient in all things that are requisite , to the compleat felicity of the most comprehensive spirits ; and is sufficient to make all that innumerable company of angels and saints , as happy as one person . god is light , and the emanations of his goodness are sensibly represented by it . heaven is call'd , the inheritance of the saints in light. as the sun ( his almoner ) diffuses its light and heat so generally , that every one indifferently enjoys it without prejudice to others . as the sun streams forth in rays every moment , yet ( which is a perpetual miracle in nature ) without the least diminution of his lustre and efficacy : thus the son of righteousness dispences his influences of knowledg , and love , and joy , to all the blessed assembly above , and is the universal happiness of all , and the entire happiness of every saint . god is an inexhaustible fountain of felicity : as he that drinks of a living spring , ( tho inflam'd with thirst ) yet leaves it flowing and full as before , sufficient to refresh a thousand men without being dry : thus god is able to make many worlds happy . an earthly inheritance is either entirely and peculiarly the first born's , or is lessen'd by division : but all the sons of god have the dignity of the first born , and are heirs of god , and enjoy an undivided inheritance . our heavenly father verifies to every saint , what the father in the parable said to his son , all that i have is thine . 2. the stability and firmness of it . the apostle saith , 't is a city that hath foundations , whose builder and maker is god. cities that are raised by the greatest kings , who are corruptible , and mortal , are so slitely built , that they may be consum'd by fire , batter'd by storms , and without external violence , yet from an inward principle of decay , sink into ruins : but heaven is the city of the living god , the seat of his eternal empire . this present world is like a tent pitcht for a time , whilst the church is sojourning in the wilderness : the most solid parts of it , the visible heaven , and earth , shall perish , either by an entire consumption , or their ruin shall terminate in a renovation to a better state. but the third heaven is above the dominion of the elements , exempted from all changes , and for ever remains . 't is an inheritance incorruptible , undefiled , and fades not away : the integrity , purity , and glory of it are always the same . 't is the habitation of god's throne , he sits in heaven secure from all the tumultuous conspiracies of his enemies , and derides their impious attempts , against his son , and church . his throne is unshaken there , notwithstanding things below are turn'd about in a vertiginous circle . and as the house , so the inhabitants , and their felicity , are eternal . glory , honour , and immortality , are the reward of all that patiently continue in well-doing . our saviour assures his disciples , because i live , ye shall live also . he tasted death for them , and swallowed it up in victory . he declar'd in vision to st. john , behold , i am alive for evermore . the lord of life will uphold the saints in that blessed state for ever : they shall never fall out of the arms and bosom of a gracious god. he will never withdraw his love , and they shall never forfeit it : for sin is from the perverseness of the will , and disorder of the affections , join'd with some error of the mind . but in the light of glory , and full enjoyment of god , the understanding is so perfectly illuminated , the will and the affections so exceedingly satisfied , that 't is impossible they should apprehend erroneously , or desire irregularly . this glorious advantage the redeemed saints have ( by jesus christ who obtain'd eternal redemption for them ) above the grace given to angels and man in the first creation . the angels were upon trial of their obedience , not in a determin'd state of felicity . their first declination of love and subjection , was a downfal from their blessed habitation . woful change ! how unlike themselves in their original purity , and glory ? an unparallel'd example of the frailty of the creature that forsakes god , and of the divine severity . man did but stand in paradise for a little while , and had a ruinous fall with all his progeny . but the glorified saints actually sit with christ in heavenly places , and enjoy an unchangeable happy state. the felicity above is permanent , as the everlasting object that produces and preserves it , and the everlasting soul wherein it dwells . blessed security ! how triumphantly do the glorified in heaven sing , this god is our god for ever and ever . earthly relations , how near soever , determine in death ; and the sorrow of losing them , is in proportion to the delightful enjoying them . but the heavenly relation between god and the saints , is as everlasting , as the object on which 't is fixt : this god in whom are all amiable excellencies , all sweetness and beauty to feed desires and delights , is our god in strict propriety , in the dearest and most reviving fruition for ever . their happiness is crown'd with eternity . this is so real an accession to their felicity , that without the entire assurance of it , the state of blessedness were incompleat ; the least jealousie of losing it , would disturb their peaceful fruition , and joyful tranquillity in heaven : for as hope in misery allays sorrow , so fear in happiness lessens joy. the apprehension of losing such a kingdom , would cause torment . but , as in the contrary state , reprobate sinners that are in hell , under an utter impossibility of deliverance , are rack'd and tortur'd by absolute despair : so the blessed above , that enjoy the beatifick vision , by the infallible assurance of its perpetuity , are fill'd with a joy unspeakable and glorious . 3. the sanctity of this blessed house . 't is separate from the rest of the world in its sublime situation , and its unparallel'd excellencies . sanctity of place is relative , and is founded , either upon the manifestation of god's special presence , or consecration of it to his service . 't is consistent with the divine immensity , to be differently present in several places : as the soul is in another manner present in the head , where it performs its noblest operations , than in other parts of the body ; and upon any special appearance of god , a place is sacred . thus when moses approach'd to see the flaming bush , he was enjoin'd , do not come near hither ; pluck off thy shoes from off thy feet , the place where thou standest is holy ground . the visible testimony of the divine presence sanctified the place , and the most humble outward reverence was due , a sign and effect of the internal respect that is owing to his most adorable majesty . the sanctity of that place , was an extraordinary relation , and ceas'd upon the vanishing of the flame , the sign of god's presence . there is also a relative sanctity , by the consecration of time or place for holy uses . thus the seventh day , upon the finishing the creation , was hallowed by god himself , set apart as the first fruits of days for his service , and applied to divine worship , that man might more entirely exercise his mind in admiring and praising the creator , whose glory was visible in his works . and in both these respects , the temple of of hierusalem was holy , as being appropriated to god's service by his own election and appointment ; and being the place wherein he exhibited his presence in a special manner . solomon expresseth this as the end of building the temple , in his letter to the king of tyre , desiring his assistance ; behold , i build an house to the name of the lord my god , to dedicate it to him , and to burn before him sweet incense , and for the continual shewbread , and for the burnt-offerings morning and evening , on the sabbaths , and on the new moons , and on the solemn feasts of the lord our god. and we read , at the dedication of solomon's temple , that a suddain thick cloud obscur'd the air , a sign of god's descending and acceptance , whose invisible majesty was veiled under it : and whether from that sacred darkness , or fear at the unexpected miracle , the priests could not minister because of the cloud . the sacrifices , musick , and all the temple-service was interrupted . but the temple built with hands , and all its pompous service , was but an imperfect mutable shadow of the holy temple above , where god exhibits his sacred presence , not in a dark vapour , but in the richest beams of glory , and wherein that most pure spirit is worship'd in spirit and truth for ever . the saints are a royal priesthood to god , in a state of eminency , and separation from the rest of the world : they now offer up the sacrifice of praise , and the sacred incense of prayer , infinitely more pleasing to god than all the sacrifice of beasts , and the most precious gums , and aromatick spices , that with their sweet smoak perfum'd the temple . but in the holy of holies above , ( where no defiled thing can enter ) they perform divine service in a divine manner . the perfect rest in heaven , is a sabbath's rest , wherein our fervent affections , the springs of activity , are in their powerful exercise upon god. here our faint earth clogs our ascending affections ; and such is the tender indulgence of our heavenly father , that when the spirit is willing , tho the flesh be weak , he pardons and accepts us . but there our bodies become spiritual , qualified for the exercises of heaven , and all our powers are in a holy heat and rapture , admiring and praising the blessed god. here the saints often retire from the world , to worship the divine majesty in their closets ; and the secrecy of the duty , is an argument of the sincerity . they with more freedom pour forth their souls into his bosom , and he insinuates the gracious acceptance of their requests : but the noblest elevation of the affections , is in communion with all the saints and angels above . the ardent seraphims were inflamed , crying one to another , holy , holy , holy is the lord of hosts , the whole earth is full of his glory . here there must be some interval between the solemn acts of worship , the circumstances of the present state require it ; but in the heavenly sanctuary , 't is their continual work and delight to celebrate the high praises of god : they are before his throne , and serve him day and night in his temple . the inhabitants of arabia the happy , burn , for their common uses , those aromatick trees , that produce myrrh and precious balm , of which the sacred incense was compounded : and 't is no wonder , because those trees grow common in their country , that is open to the most favourable aspects of the heavens , and the strongest heat of the sun : but to our countries , how little of those rich perfumes are brought . and such is the comparison between the praises of the angels and the glorified saints , and ours here below . they are always in the noblest work , excited by the highest motives . they are always under the direct beams of god's favour , which are vigorously reflected in their praises . all their felicity is , to contemplate his excellent perfections , all their pleasure to love him , all their glory to obey him . their affectionate praises are renewed without intermission , because the divine favours are renewed every moment . there is a perpetual circulation of graces from the blessed creator , and thanksgivings from the happy creature . all their joyful affections , all their solemn thoughts and reflections are terminated in that great and glorious object . the prophet declares their holy employment ; they continually speak of the glorious honour of his majesty , and of his wondrous works : they speak of the might of his terrible acts ; and they declare his goodness , and sing of his righteousness . the lord is gracious , and full of compassion ; slow to anger , and of great mercy . the lord is good to all , and his tender mercies are over all his works . all thy works praise thee , o lord , and thy saints bless thee . they speak of the glory of thy kingdom , and talk of thy power . thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom ; and thy dominion endures through all generations . they never cease to love , and admire , and therefore never cease to praise him . their hearts are eternally inflam'd , and their mouths eternally open'd to glorify him . but with the highest veneration they adore his mercy ; that perfection that is the special glory & the dearest delight of god ; that which is the supreme of all the glorious attributes in our redemption , that will be the principal argument of their praises . they sing of the mercies of the lord for ever ; that mercy that chose them from everlasting ; that mercy that in such an admirable manner conducted them through the world , that never left them , but most wisely order'd all things below in relation to their future happiness ; that mercy that crowns them with life and immortality , when the reprobate world feel the most terrible effects of revenging justice . we read of the jews after their captivity , upon their finishing the temple , that with a transport of joy , they cried , grace ! grace ! when god , who is the author of our salvation , shall have finish'd it , with what a sweet consent shall we celebrate his sacred praises ! mercy upon mercy , all is mercy . happy exercise ! heaven is a state of joy and thankfulness . blessed are those that are in thy house they always praise thee . 4. the delightfulness of this place . 't is call'd paradise by our saviour . he promises the penitent thief , the companion of his cross , to day shalt thou be with me in paradise . paradise was a garden planted by immortal hands , to be the habitation of adam in his state of original righteousness , when the favourite of heaven : it was the beauty and delight , the flower of the world , and with abundance , and variety , exceedingly satisfied all the desires of life : 't was water'd with four rivers , to make it always pleasant , and fruitful . but the celestial paradise as much excels it in beauty and pleasantness , as in its sublime situation : and the joyful satisfaction of the soul in communion with god , and the blessed society there , infinitely excels all the innocent delights of the natural life . heaven is a state of pure , full , and unfading joy. the joy of the blessed is not mixt with things that may corrupt its excellence . there is an absolute exemption from all evils . god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes : and there shall be no more death , neither sorrow , nor crying ; neither shall there be any more pain . the joy is full ; 't is call'd our master's joy. great god , how ineffable is that joy ! 't is the richest reward infinite bounty can give to faithful servants . as being made like to christ in glory , implies a divine and full perfection : so the entering into his joy , implies the most accomplisht and incomprehensible felicity . 't is a permanent joy that none shall take from the blessed , as our saviour promises his disciples . here below , suppose a person encompast with all the good things of the world , yet this felicity is neither without defects , nor without dependance upon casual things , that he is never compleatly happy , but only less miserable : and tho he lives long in prosperity , and hath a tenor of health to enjoy it ; yet , as the clearest evening is presently follow'd by night , so the most vigorous old age is certainly attended with death , that extinguishes all sensual pleasures . but in the presence of god is fulness of joy ; at his right hand are pleasures for ever . to explain this more particularly , let us consider , that knowledg , love , and joy , are the perfections and felicity of immortal spirits , and are correspondent to the excellency of the objects upon which they are fixt , and the capacity of the faculties that are exercis'd , and the degrees of satisfaction communicated to them . now in heaven , our noblest faculties , the understanding and will , are rais'd and enlarg'd , and entirely united to the best objects . what conception can we frame of joy for an intellectual creature , so full and satisfying , as the clear vision of god invested with all his attractive attributes , his glorious perfections , and in perfect loving the most lovely object , and being perfectly lov'd by him ? when the soul freed from this mortal muddy flesh , and the mind clear'd from all terrene images , convey'd by the channels of the senses , sees god face to face ; how is it ravish'd with wonder and love in the sight of his most amiable excellencies ? how pure a joy is infus'd to the center of the soul , and fills all its desires ? how permanent , like the everlasting spring from whence it flows ? the psalmist inspir'd with the love of god , breaks forth in an holy extasy ; how blessed is that man whom thou chusest , and causest to approach unto thee , that he may dwell in thy courts ? we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house , even of thy holy temple . admirable blessedness ! dear felicity ! the same heavenly saint expresses his esteem and affection ; how excellent is thy loving kindness , o lord ! they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house : and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasure . here we do but taste and see how good the lord is ; and that is so powerful a cordial , as gloriously supports the saints under the heaviest sufferings . but heaven is the element of joy. here a glancing sight of his goodness , how reviving is it ? a living vein of light , from his favourable countenance , pierc'd into the miserable dungeon where paul and silas were chain'd , and rais'd their spirits to that heavenly pitch , that they sang praises to god : the illustrious reflection of paradise , lightned them at midnight , and put a gloss of joy upon them . but in heaven , those most divine and amiable titles , that god is light , and that god is love , are most fully exhibited , and experimentally understood by the saints . they see him as he is , in his essential glory ; and all the secret treasures of his wisdom , in his works of wonder are unfolded , and the sweetest manifestations of his love are given to them . that which the prophet declares of god's tender affections to his church , is verified in the most excellent manner in heaven ; the lord thy god in the midst of thee is mighty : he will save , he will rejoice over thee with joy : he will rest in his love , he will joy over thee with singing . that the blessed god is well pleased in the glorified saints , is the supreme degree of their felicity . how joyful a complacency arises from the communion with the blessed redeemer , and the saints in heaven ? love is the first fountain of joy ; and the more intense , the more ravishing is the fruition . the love of christ to them was so great , that from eternity he was infinitely pleas'd in the thoughts of their salvation ; his delights were with the sons of men , before they delighted in him . if the design of that blessed work was so pleasing , what is the accomplishment ? the evangelical prophet declares , he shall see of the travel of his soul , and be satisfied . and the love of the saints to christ , is a correspondent affection , according to their utmost capacity . all the affections that were scatter'd here below , are concenter'd in him , for he infinitely deserves their love , having ransom'd them with the dearest price , and purchas'd for them an everlasting inheritance . he lov'd them in their foul deformity , that he might superinduce a divine beauty upon them , and prepare them for the enjoyment of himself . he is now their desire , and in heaven where he appears in all his brightness and beauty , their everlasting delight . we may conceive a little of their ravishing communion , by the language of divine love , between christ and the church , in the song of solomon , and their harmonious affections exprest in the most endearing manner ; open to me my love , my dove , my vndefiled : and the inflam'd spouse , in a high and delightful rapture , breaks forth ; i am my beloved's , and he is mine . if a propriety and interest in him , be productive of such a pure joy , what will the everlasting fruition be ? the scripture represents it by a marriage-feast , as the most compleat resemblance of that spiritual joy. thus the inhabitants of heaven are introduc'd , speaking ; give honour to him ; for the marriage of the lamb is come , and his wife hath made her self ready . what union ! what joy ! how will the saints rejoice in god their saviour , in the view of the surprising wonders of his love ? the scripture speaks of another accession to the joys of heaven , the innumerable company of angels and saints that live in perfect concord , inviolable love , the sweetest content , and joyful complacency . society is a principal ingredient of joy. what exultation of joy will there be , when the whole family of heaven shall meet together in their father's house ? we may conjecture how the angels are affected to us , by what is recorded concerning their appearance at the birth of our saviour ; there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising god ; saying , glory be to god on high , on earth peace , good will towards men. 't is the first time since the fall of man , that we hear of the angels song : they were commission'd to punish rebellious sinners , and appear'd with flaming swords , the instruments of revenging wrath. but when the lord of hosts became the god of peace , they appear'd with harps in their hands , with praise and joy , celebrating his mercy . they foresaw that peace on earth would end in the glory of heaven ; and the ruins of their celestial country , would be repair'd by our salvation . and the glorified saints are all companions in the same joy , and the same blessedness . for never was there such a transforming of one lover into another here , as there is of the saints in heaven : they are all animated by the same divine spirit ; their thoughts and inclinations are the same , and have the highest satisfaction in the felicity of one another . behold , how good , and how pleasant is it for brethren to dwell for ever in unity ! briefly , we find that sensible joy is in its elevation in the times of the harvest and vintage , and after victory ; when the blessings of god , the precious fruits of the earth , the hopes of our labours , and the support and comfort of the present life are received , an universal joy fills the country . now light is sown for the righteous , and joy for the upright in heart . 't is sown in tears , but reapt with exultation . we gather the fruits of blessedness from thorns , poverty , and mourning , hunger , and thirst , and persecution : and this gives the more lively tincture to our joy. the joy of victory is transporting , and that always in proportion to the danger and power of the enemies subdu'd , and the rich spoils taken from them . now when our spiritual enemies , so numerous , so powerful and irreconcileable to our souls , sin , satan , death , are utterly broken , how triumphant a joy follows ? the historian relating that most glorious triumph at rome , when pyrrhus , their proud and potent enemy was expell'd from italy , observes , that of all the show , no part was more joyful , than to see the elephants that had been so terrible , and carried towers on their backs , to be subdued and led in triumph . thus how joyful is it to see the prince of darkness , with all his infernal legions , not without the tormenting sense of their captivity , bruised under our feet ! to see the humane nature of christ rais'd to the highest honour to which that rebellious spirit did proudly aspire . o how delightful a spectacle ! all the saints will cast their crowns before the throne , and sing the praises of their victorious deliverer . 5. the glory of this place is discovered in the scripture . the father of christ is the god of glory , and the father of glory ; and heaven is his lofty and glorious throne , becoming his excellent majesty and universal dominion . the lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens , and his kingdom ruleth over all . glory in its first notion signifies the brightness and lustre of light , and from thence metaphorically imports excellency in any kind . thus the divine perfections are exprest , god is glorious in holiness , glorious in power : and the joy of believers is call'd unspeakable and glorious . heaven is set forth as glorious in a transcendent manner ; 't is call'd , the excellent glory ; from whence a voice came to the apostles in that holy mount , declaring christ to be the son of god : so 't is call'd , the richly glorious inheritance ; the inheritance of the saints in light. when the sun rises in its brightness , a deluge of gold overflows the world , and adorns the universe : but this is but a shadow of the inherent glory of the highest heaven . 't was prepar'd by god for the house of his kingdom , and the glory of his majesty . we reade of the vast preparations made by two great kings for the building the temple at hierusalem : such sums of gold and silver , that would empty all the treasuries of the princes of the world ; that were it not recorded in sacred scripture , it would exceed belief . the number of the workmen were seventy thousand , employ'd seven years without intermission ; the materials were very rich and splendid , gold , and cedar , and precious stones : and the excellency of the architecture was such , that no humane art can equal : for it was model'd by the divine mind ; and the delineation of its parts was sent to david by an angel. but what are the preparations of earthly kings , to the preparation of god ? and what is the glory of the temple made with hands , to that admirable fabrick that receiv'd its being and perfection immediately from god ? we reade of the new hierusalem , the type of heaven , that the foundations were precious stones , the gates were intire pearls , the streets pure gold , as it were transparent glass . the expressions are in condescendance to our capacities , and but a faint resemblance of the glory of hierusalem above . in the vision of the prophet esay , the seraphims cried to one another , holy , holy , holy , lord god of hosts , the whole earth is full of thy glory . 't is a theatre of innumerable wonders divinely deck'd , and the wise discerning observer , admires and praises god's power and providence so clearly manifested in it : for the excellency of the work is answerable to the art of the maker ; and the glory of the maker results from the excellence of the work. but what the apostle saith , in comparing the legal and evangelical dispensation , that if that which was done away , was glorious , much more that which remains is glorious ; and in that degree of eminence as to obscure the other , may justly be applied to the glory of god appearing in the earth , and the third heaven : for if the earth , the lowest stage of the world , the habitation of brute creatures , and to be continued only for a time , hath so much glory in it , what an excellent glory is in the supreme heavens , the native habitation of the angels , and that is to continue for ever ? the earth since man's rebellion , doth not remain in its primitive state , but hath lost much of its beauty and usefulness . at first it was intirely suitable to the rich goodness of the creator ; now terrible mixtures of his justice appear in all the parts of it : barrenness in the earth , thorns and thistles , the fruits of the curse for sin ; malignant influences , and storms in the air , tempests in the sea , inundations of water ; and how many diseases are fatally natural to our bodies ? but the highest heaven remains in its original beauty , and pure integrity . the earth is now the habitation of his enemies , where they oppress his faithful servants by their bold injuries : but heaven is the habitation of his saints . in short , 't is a place becoming the majesty and magnificence of god , and his love to his chosen friends . 't is said of the patriarchs , whose desires and hopes were not centred in that earthly canaan , tho flowing with milk and hony ; but they desir'd a better country , that is , a heavenly ; wherefore god is not ashamed to be called their god , for he hath prepared for them a city . to be stiled our god , is a title of the richest value , and implies , that all the perfections of the deity are to make us happy . it had been a reflection upon his greatness and goodness , if he had only given to the patriarchs a portion in this world. but heaven is a place and state of felicity becoming his infinite majesty , his special love , and eternal duration . 't is an observation of tertullian , that god who made other things by command , by the omnipotent umpire of his will , appli'd himself with counsel to form the body of adam , which was the original model of all perfections that a humane body is capable of , for the beauty of aspect without , and the artificial order of the parts within ; and the reason was , love drew the lineaments . thus love , the queen of the divine attributes , employ'd infinite wisdom , and almighty power , to build this celestial city for the reception of his chosen favourites . the king of glory dwells there in a special manner . the heaven , even the heavens are the lord's ; but the earth hath he given to the children of men. by right and dominion , the earth is the lord's , and the fulness thereof , and the possession of it is from his bounty to men ; but heaven is reserv'd for himself , the place of his glorious residence . as a prince that hath many houses , gives some for to be inhabited by his servants , but the imperial palace is kept for his own dwelling ; god manifests himself there in the most refulgent manner . all the perfections of the glorious deity are reveal'd to the saints in their purity and radiancy . the divine presence is the supreme glory of heaven . the lord jesus christ is there crown'd with the majesty of the divine empire . this glory is the reward of his meritorious obedience and sufferings . he was made a subject and a servant , and endur'd the most ignominious cruel death to satisfy god's injur'd justice . what hath not the son done for the glory of his father ? he lost his life rather than his obedience : and what will not the father do for the honour of his son ? what recompence is correspondent to such astonishing humiliation ? our saviour in his last solemn prayer with his disciples , addresses himself to god : i have glorified thee on earth ; i have finish'd the work thou gavest me to do . and now , o father , glorify me with thy self , with the glory i had with thee before the world was . the father was so highly honour'd by christ , that to satisfy his infinite love towards him , he hath dignified him with a name and state , that transcends all created glory . he is the lord of angels , the head of the church , and sits at the right hand of majesty on high . in heaven he appears in his triumphant glory , of which in the transfiguration there was a transient glimpse , when his face did shine as the sun , but allayed and moderated , that his disciples might sustain his presence . there the angels , the princes of the celestical court , in all their bright orders encompass the throne of god , and pay their humblest homage to him . the saints appear there in their robes of glory , for they are transform'd into the glorious likeness of the son of god : their souls radiant with pure unspotted holiness , shine through their bodies , as sun-beams transmitted through chrystal . they all reign in soveraign state for ever . it becomes the divine majesty , that all god's subjects should be kings ; and the highest principality on earth , is but servitude compar'd with the royalty enjoy'd by the saints above : for how often are the mightiest monarchs on earth in perfect bondage to their lawless passions , and the soul in dull captivity to the sensual appetites ? how often are the strongest empires dissolv'd and ruin'd ? but the saints in heaven , by obeying god , reign triumphantly : no passions , no fears , no desires resist their will ; nothing is able to trouble the sincere delight , the perfect tranquillity of their state. they in their several degrees of glory , shine like the stars for ever and ever . to sum up all ; what is promised to the church , is fulfill'd in heaven ; the sun shall be no more thy light by day , nor the moon by night ; but the lord shall be thy everlasting light , and thy god thy glory . thus i have endeavour'd to represent that luminous palace , and the bright inhabitants : but how short is the description of the glorious realities , all humane words are too weak and narrow to express it as it is . the glory and joy of that blessed state are unspeakable , as the apostle , a spectator thereof , certifies . and 't is observable that our saviour himself expresses the greatest things , by low familiar terms and resemblances ; as he tells his faithful disciples , they shall eat and drink at his table in his kingdom . in his promises of rewards , it was not his intention meerly to make a show of his power , but to declare his love : like a god , he doth not magnify the favours he will bestow , but leaves it to their spirits to conceive what becomes almighty goodness to bestow on his servants . in the plainest manner of promising the reward , there is a clear character of the excellent greatness of the giver and his gifts . i will now consider the infallible assurance we have of this blessed place and state. this is built on our saviour's love to them , and his truth ; and his going to prepare that blessedness for them . he saith to his disciples , otherwise i would have told you ; implying , that his affection and sincerity , make it impossible that he should deceive them with an empty promise of future happiness . ( 1. ) his love secures them . he would never have chosen them to be the companions of his cross , never have expos'd them as sheep among wolves , to suffer for his sake , and to leave them for ever , and reign alone in heaven . love is a benevolent affection rising in the breast , and expressing it self in real benefits , according to the power of the lover , and the wants or the capacity of the person beloved : and the more intense the affection is , the more evident and noble effects of kindness will proceed from it . all the most liberal expressions , without real performance , are but a vain pageant of friendship . now , the love of our saviour to his disciples , was not only sincere , but in such a degree of eminence , that they might safely rely upon his promises . his pure love , was the motive of selecting them from the world , and dignifying them with the endearing title of his friends . his conversation with them was infinitely sweet , a miracle of benignity : and that glorious performance of his love for them , and all believers , in leaving heaven for their sakes , is the strongest assurance that he will bring them to his father's house above . 't is represented as the peculiar glory of theodosius , that he seated majesty and love in the same throne : for love unites and conforms persons , and makes them , as it were , peers : and it seems too low a submission for a soveraign to descend from his throne to a kind of equality with a subject , or too high an exaltation to assume a private person into such a degree of affection , as to make him as himself ; yet such was the condescension of that great and amiable emperor . but how distant is the greatest monarch in the world from the eternal son of god , the prince of the kings of the earth ? love brought him down from his throne in heaven , where he was ador'd by the angels , and united him to our nature in our lowly state , in order to the raising us to his kingdom , and uniting us to himself in glory . love unvaluable and incomparable ! if solomon , upon god's descending in a cloud to take possession of the temple , was surpriz'd with heavenly astonishment ; but will god indeed dwell on earth ? with infinite more cause have we , considering the incarnation of the son of god , to say , will god indeed dwell on earth ? for what was the appearance of a vapour that might be easily dispell'd , to the coming of jesus christ into the world , in whom the fulness of the godhead dwelt substantially ? what is so worthy of reverence and admiration ? new things suspend the actings of the mind , glorious things overwhelm the faculty ; and never was there so rare and excelling an object . this so signal and amazing effect of our saviour's love , gives assurance to christians , that he will take them to an everlasting communion with himself in glory . as 't is more for a prince to live with a private person in a cottage with complacency , than to receive that person into his court , and invest him with honour . the love of our saviour never abated to his disciples ; when he was in view of death , with its troops of terrors , 't is said , having lov'd his own , he lov'd them to the end . and after his resurrection to a heavenly life , he exprest the same dear affection , go to my brethren ! a stile as high as love can rise . 't is further considerable what was touch'd on before , that the disciples of christ , besides the common calamities of mankind wherein they are involv'd , are for his truth and cause expos'd to indignities and injuries of all kinds and degrees , which the malice of satan and his instruments , the perverted world , can fasten upon them . the complaint of the church of old is often renew'd , for thy sake we are killed all the day long ; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter . and can the love of christ , so tender , so compassionate , that the love of a mother to a sucking infant is not an adequate representation of it ; can such love let the saints be separated from him for ever ? then , according to the apostle's expression , if in this life only we have hope in christ , we are of all men most miserable . ( 2. ) his truth gives an infallible assurance that we shall be receiv'd with him in glory . he declares his own titles , i am the way , the truth , and the life . if truth it self be true , and deserves our intire trust , we may rest upon his promises , who values his word more than the world. the pillars of heaven shall fall , and the foundations of the earth be overthrown , before one tittle of his words shall be without a full accomplishment . if any man serves me , let him follow me ; and where i am , there shall my servant be . 't is his most gracious promise to encourage obedience : and he assures his disciples , if i go away , and prepare a place for you , i will come again , and receive you unto my self ; that where i am , there ye may be also . to shew the validity of christ's promise , let us consider , the unchangeable perfections of god's nature are the foundation of his unchangeable councils ; and from thence the unchangeableness of his promises is justly inferr'd . the decrees of god are engraven with the point of a diamond , and are unretractible . the counsel of the lord shall stand : for such is the perfection of his knowledg , that he can never be surpriz'd by any sudden unforeseen event that should induce a change of his will ; and such is his omnipotence , that he gives an infallible accomplishment to his decrees : and his word endures for ever . the immutability of his nature , gives firmness to his counsels ; and the fidelity of his nature to his promises . in him there is no variableness , nor shadow of change : and he is god that cannot ly : he reveals himself by his name jehova to his people , to signify , that he is the same in performing , as in promising . now jesus christ his son is equal to the father in all essential perfections . he stiles himself the amen , the true and faithful witness : if he deceive his servants with a false expectation of a joyful glorious state hereafter , it would be a blemish to his unspotted holiness , an eternal reflection upon his inviolate truth . 't is therefore a faithful saying , and worthy of all acceptation , that where christ is in glory , there shall his servants be with him , otherwise he would have told them . 2. we are to consider the other firm ground of assurance in our saviour's next words : i go to prepare a place for you . this specially respects his ascension into heaven , but it supposes his death . he purchas'd heaven by his death : he prepares it by his ascension . his blood shed on the cross , and pleaded in heaven , gives to believers a right to it here , and actual possession hereafter . 1. his obedient sufferings are the price of this glorious inheritance . in our guilty state , heaven is as inaccessible to us , as paradise was to adam after his expulsion , when guarded by a cherubim with a flaming sword. for neither the divine wisdom , nor the law of god would permit that an unpardon'd sinner should be receiv'd into his kingdom . the justice of god doth not infringe his rich goodness , but that he may bestow upon an innocent creature the most excellent blessings , the testimonies of his bounty . if adam had persever'd in his duty , god might have translated him to heaven , and that happy change had been a free favour : for his obedince had not been comparable to the glory that shall be revealed in the saints . but justice sets up a legal barr against the guilty ; they are excluded from the heavenly glory . the creature must be intirely innocent , or graciously pardon'd , to be capable of enjoying that supreme happiness . when the guilt of sin is abolish'd , it hath no malignant power , either to subject us to evil , or deprive us of good. now our saviour by satisfying the injur'd justice of god , hath wash'd away our sins in his blood ; and hath infinitely pleas'd god , that we obtain by him , not only redemption from hell , but the possession of heaven . this was the design of god's love , in giving his only begotten son , that whoever believes should not perish , but have everlasting life . accordingly the apostle saith , that being justified by his grace through jesus christ , we should be made heirs of eternal life . and by the gracious unalterable tenour of the gospel , these great benefits are inseparable ; it being equally impossible that an unpardon'd sinner should enter into heaven , or that a pardon'd sinner should be excluded . the connexion is indissolvable ; whom he justifies , them he glorifies . nay , 't is more easily credible , that a pardon'd sinner should be admitted into the glorious presence of god , than that a guilty sinner should be reconciled to him . as supposing the revival of a phoenix from its ashes , 't is more easily conceivable that it should take its flight upwards , which is the natural motion of a living bird , than that it should be restor'd to life in such a miraculous manner . in short , heaven is a free gift to us , but dearly bought by our saviour ; 't is the gift of god , through jesus christ our lord. he had a double title to heaven , as the son of god , he was heir of his kingdom ; this title is incommunicably his own : and he acquir'd it by his meritorious sufferings : this he imparts to believers , who enter into heaven by the new and living way , which he consecrated for them through his flesh. 2. he ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us . the actions of our saviour may be considered two ways ; either as terminated in himself , or with a relative respect to believers , as the head of the church . his resurrection was not meerly personal , but hath an operative force in raising all the members of his mystical body : as david's subduing goliah , was not his own personal victory simply , but was extended in its happy consequences to all his nation : for in him , as their champion , the army of israel overcame the philistims . jesus christ , as head of the church , hath broken the dominion of death ; and by virtue of his conquest , the grave shall restore the saints at the general resurrection . and his ascension was not a personal act purely to obtain his own right ; but as our forerunner he is enter'd for us into heaven . as the high priest in his majestick mysterious habit , with the names of the children of israel upon his breast , enter'd into the holy of holies ; so jesus christ enter'd into the eternal sanctuary as our representer , to take possession of it for us . the language of despair is silenc'd for ever . who shall ascend up to heaven to raise us thither ? christ is lifted up to the highest glory , and will draw all his people after him . the first adam was from the earth , earthly ; but christ is the lord from heaven , and is return'd to heaven : and shall earth destroy what heaven cannot restore ? the apostle tells us , that believers sit with christ in heavenly places ; that is , as he is the head of that sacred society , his church ; and his promise is exprest , to him that overcomes , will i grant personally to sit with me in my throne , even as i also am set down with my father in his throne . after victorious obedience , the saints shall be taken into soveraign alliance with christ , and reign for ever . in short , his excellent merit is the foundation of our glorious hope : and his prevailing intercession introduces us into actual possession . he that purchas'd heaven , disposes of it by his last will ; thus he addrest to his father immediately before his death ; father , i will that those whom thou hast given me , be with me where i am , that they may see my glory : and he has power to accomplish his own testament . what he hath done already for believers is an uncontroulable evidence , and invincible assurance of what he hath promised . there is a vaster distance between the deity and misery , than between man and the heavenly glory . for the sun to go backwards ten degrees , was miraculous and astonishing ; but to ascend the horizon , is according to natural order . the abasement of the son of god was stupendious , but his advancement to the highest glory is most becoming his divine relation , and infinitely due to his exuberant merits , and a firm foundation of hope , that all his redeemed saints shall be where he is , and be conform'd to him in all supernatural divine excellencies of soul and body for ever . the application . 1. let us adore the unconceivable love of god , who hath prepar'd such a place of joy , and glory for his children when they leave the world. the father prepar'd it in his decree from eternity , and by his creating power from the foundation of the world : and we are assur'd 't is such a place and state , as fully answers the design of god's love , that is , to make a reasonable creature as happy as 't is capable to be . when man was turn'd rebel against his creator , when so chang'd from the divine resemblance imprest at first upon him , into the disgraceful likeness of the beasts that perish , as the psalmist justly reproaches him ; then to pardon us , and prefer us ; to restore us to his favour , and image , and the nearest communion with himself in his palace above , is such an astonishing mercy as is only proper to god who is love. and the love of our redeemer is equally admirable ; when we were expell'd paradise , he makes a reentry for us , and intercepts the stroke of the flaming sword that had destroy'd us . we neither know the depth of our misery from whence we are freed , nor the heighth of glory to which we are rais'd by our redeemer . in what heart but that of the son of god , could ever such compassion and charity be conceiv'd ? he took our flesh to heaven to prepare it for us , and interchangeably left his spirit on earth to prepare us for heaven . how just is the solemn and terrible denunciation of the apostle , he that loves not the lord jesus christ , let him be anathema , maranatha . and how are we obliged to god for the blessed and glorious gospel , that infinitely excels all humane books in the matter it contains , the everlasting happiness of man , and the certain way to obtain it , and in the manner of conveying those great and sacred truths by divine revelation ? and what an argument of thankfulness is it to consider the distinguishing grace of god ; that when the most are so blind in the clear light of the gospel , as not to discover the lustre of the pearl of price , and so immers'd in vanities as to disrelish heavenly joys , that he is pleased to inlighten the eyes of our mind , that we may know what is the hope of his calling , and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints . the number of fools that understand not the price that is put into their hands , in comparison of the truly wise , is greater than of common stones that lie in the mire of the streets , to precious stones of the highest value , diamonds and rubies : how affectionately should we give thanks to the father who has made us meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. but we have such allays by the relicks of carnality , that without the heavenly spirit 's inspiring our cold earth , we shall never be ardent and lively in the praises of our blessed benefactor . even david himself was fain to call upon his soul with repeated fervency , and excite every faculty within him , to bless the lord , who had forgiven his iniquities , and redeem'd his life from destraction , and crown'd him with loving kindness , and tender mercies . 2. from hence we may infer the great guilt of unbelievers in the christian church ; and such are all those who implicitly despise and reject heaven for the present world. this will aggravate the sin and sentence of the carnal and worldly , that they despise such glorious realities for empty vanities . desperate gamesters , that venture a kingdom at every throw ! what blindness of mind , or rather perversness of heart is it , that men pursue with their best strength and desires , the fading and false world , and slight heaven an inestimable and everlasting treasure . certainly when death shall open their eyes , they will have chang'd thoughts of things . 't is related by a wise historian , that a citizen pleaded his own cause of great moment before philip king of macedon , who slept during the plea ; and a little after pass'd an unrighteous judgment against him ; the injur'd person reply'd , i appeal from your sentence . a word that seem'd so presumptuous to an independent soveraign , that with indignation the king asked him , to whom he appeal'd ? he answered , from the king sleeping , to the king waking . thus men who are led by sense , are asleep , whilst the cause of infinite concernment , eternal salvation , is faithfully pleaded by the advocates of their souls ; and they determine for the interest of the flesh against the spirit : but their waking thoughts will discover the unrighteousness of their carnal judgment . in the next state how will they with restless anguish remember their foolish bargain , to exchange an everlasting treasure for fading toys ? we may a little conjecture the torments of the damn'd , by the terrors of the dying ; then the enlightned guilty conscience makes them cry out , o that we had been wise , so to use the world that we might enjoy god! o that we had been so careful to have obtain'd an interest in heaven , as we have been to gain the earth ! then the stinging remorse begins that shall never end . 3. let us make it our fixed aim , our zealous constant endeavour to secure our title to this heavenly inheritance . let eternity be our counseller , and guide our choice . let us not build our felicity on the sand , but on the rock that cannot be shaken . such is the excellent goodness of god reveal'd in the gospel , that every person that sincerely and regularly seeks heaven , shall obtain it , and no person shall be depriv'd of it , but for his wilful neglect . now our blessed saviour , who open'd the eternal kingdom , has declar'd to us upon what terms it may be obtain'd , in his conference with nicodemus ; verily , verily i say unto thee , except a man be born again , he cannot see the kingdom of god. natural birth , and accomplishments , tho never so high and noble , are of no advantage there . the degeneracy of man from his primitive holiness , makes him both unworthy and uncapable of having a right or possession of heaven , without a divine change , a spiritual regeneration . the supernatural inheritance is annext to the being born of god : that is , the receiving a principle of life , and actions suitable to the life of god , in universal holiness and righteousness . 't is not a ground of title to heaven , that we have a natural alliance to god , as the father of spirits in the first creation , but we must be his off-spring by a new and more excellent creation , according to our saviour's words , that which is born of the spirit , is spirit . we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds , spiritualiz'd in our affections , before we can obtain an interest in his love , which was forfeited by our rebellion , and consequently in his kingdom . adoption into god's family , and the line of heaven , is always in conjunction with the renovation of the divine nature and image in us . the holy spirit witnesses with our spirits , that we are the children of god : but his witnessing is always consequent to his working in us those graces that constitute us to be the children of god : an humble fear to offend him , a care to please him , a zeal for his glory , delight in communion with him , resignation to his will and wisdom , trust on his fatherly love , and a desire to be in his blessed presence . by the discovery of these filial affections , our divine relation is made sure . the apostle infers , if sons , then heirs . holiness is the infallible evidence of election ; for the vessels of mercy are prepar'd by holiness for glory ; the seal of adoption , whereby god's children are distinguish'd from the world ; and the earnest of their inheritance for heaven , is a blissful state of purity ; and the graces with the comforts of the spirit , are the beginnings of it here . 't is further to be observ'd , that our right in the heavenly inheritance , depends upon our union with christ. he instates his members in the same relation with himself to god. thus he declares to his disciples , i ascend to my father , and your father , to my god , and your god. christ's relation hath precedency in point of dignity and causality ; and he derives a right to us in his father's house : we are coheirs with christ. now 't is universally and necessarily true what the apostle saith , whoever is in christ , is a new creature . for our vital union with him , is by the sanctifying spirit on christ's part ; and by faith and love on our part . briefly , without holiness no man shall see god. the exclusion is absolute and universal of all unsanctified persons . 't is impossible god should admit them into heaven ; for the rights of justice are inviolable : we must come to christ's tribunal before we come to his throne : we must come to god the judg of all , before we are admitted into the number of just men made perfect . according to our works the reward will be : and men are uncapable of enjoying heaven without holiness . the wisdom of god appears , in that the various sorts of creatures live in the elements from which they were produc'd , and have natures suitable to the places of their residence . the beasts that were form'd from the earth , walk and rest there : the birds and fishes that were produc'd out of the waters , the one sort flies in the air , that is , rarefied water ; the other swim in water , that is , the thickest air ; and that wisdom more evidently appears in suiting the everlasting states of men to their moral dispositions . thus we must be born from above , if we would joyfully live above . the apostle tells us , that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven . the natural body must be spiritualiz'd and invested with celestial qualities , before it can enter into that glorious place : and the reason is more strong , that earthly sensual souls can never enter into heaven , there being an absolute contrariety , and opposition between the habitual constitution of such , and that place and state : they must be holy and heavenly , to be prepar'd for the divine presence , and to converse with the purified assembly above ; 'till they are wrought for that blessed end , cleansed , and purified , and endued with holy qualities , till they are made meet , they cannot possess the inheritance of the saints in light. how vain and impossible are the hopes of unrenewed sinners ? the presence and conversation of the saints is now an offence to them , damps their carnal jollity and wild mirth , for it upbraids their neglect of serious religion . how fearful will the sight of god be to them ? if the unpurg'd eye cannot bear the light of a candle , how will it sustain the glorious light of the sun ? the lord's day , in its sacred employment , is their burden ; how can they expect to enjoy an everlasting sabbath above ? how can there be a lively hope of heaven , that implies perfection of holiness , when they neither seriously desire , nor endeavour to be holy ? they may have a cobweb hope that will be swept away , but hope that is as an anchor to secure the soul , hath always a purifying influence on the heart and life . whoever hath this hope of being like to christ in glory , purifies himself even as he is pure . in short , as the jews had a carnal conceit of the messias , and transform'd him into a temporal prince coming with pomp and splendor , to free their nation from bondage , and exalt it to the highest dominion in the world : and this conceit so strongly possest them , that when the son of god , who was holy , harmless , and undefiled , and separate from sinners , appear'd in an humble state to reform and save mankind , they rejected him : thus the unregenerate have a carnal conceit of heaven : they can only fancy it as a place of visible glory , and a sanctuary and refuge from the torments of hell , and in that notion desire it ; but as the place wherein that holy god is enjoyed and glorified by the saints , they cannot desire nor delight in it . 4. from hence we should be induc'd to regulate our minds , affections , and conversation , becoming our present state and future hopes . our father's house , our everlasting home is above , and here we are strangers in condition , and should be so in disposition to present things . this should lessen our esteem , our desires and delights , and moderate our endeavours with respect to the present world. 't is the wise and earnest counsel of st. peter , dearly beloved brethren , i beseech you , as pilgrims and strangers , abstain from fleshly lusts , that war against the soul. sensual lusts darken the mind , that it doth not rightly value things , nor make judicious comparisons between superficial fleeting things of time , and the sure and solid good things of eternity . the lower appetites are not capable nor careful to obtain a spiritual and future happiness , but intensely applied to what is present and sensible . but the serious thoughts of our present tenure , how frail , how uncertain , and of the next state how unchangeable and fixt , would be effectual to frame our hearts that we may manage the world with indifferent affections ; to rejoice in it , as if we rejoiced not ; to buy as if we possessed not ; to use it so as not to abuse it . how doth the faith of the saints under the law upbraid our infidelity . they had not so clear a revelation of the heavenly state , yet they confest they were pilgrims and strangers on earth , and desir'd a better country . and david not only when he was as a patridg chas'd upon the mountains , but when seated on the royal throne , acknowledges , we are strangers , as all our fathers were ; and his affections were accordingly weaned from the world. was ever passenger so foolish , that being to pass over a narrow strait of the sea of a days sayling , makes provisions for a voyage of a year ? or that will be at great cost to paint an inn , and adorn it with rich furniture , where he is to lodge but a night ? 't is incomparably more reproachful folly , to spend the best of our time , and strength , and spirits for the gaining the present world , as if we were to continue here for ever . how many are sensual , and secure in their earthly enjoyments , 'till as the rich voluptuary , that was cloth'd in purple , and far'd deliciously every day , they unexpectedly die , and irrecoverably drop into hell. just like a traveller , that lays himself under the shadow of some trees in his way home , and sleeps till the night with its darkness and dangers surprizes him , and he is destroyed by robbers or wild beasts . how plain and necessary a lesson is the vanity and shortness of the present life ? but how few effectually learn it ? the psalmist addresses himself to god for instruction ; so teach us to number our days , that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom . let men fancy what they please of their tenure here , they are but strangers , and have no continuing city here ; and the consequent duty is most clearly and strongly urged by the apostle , let them seek one to come . 5. let our conversation be in heaven , whilst we are upon the earth . every thing in nature , hath a tendency to its original and perfection . rivers that come from the sea , are in a living motion returning thither ; if you stop their course , and confine them , though in receptacles of marble , they corrupt and die . the divine nature in the saints hath a strong tendency to heaven from whence it came , and raiseth the soul by solemn thoughts , and ardent desires , to that blessed place . a philosopher that was ask'd of what country he was ; replied , he was a citizen of the world. the scripture corrects the language , and teaches us that we are citizens of heaven ; we are passing to the jerusalem above , the land of promise , the true land of the living : and all our aims and endeavours should have a final respect thither . our hearts should be where our treasure is . how joyful , how advantagious is a heavenly conversation ? the serious and believing contemplation of heaven , is a temperate extasy , and brings the soul into the divine presence : anticipates the joy of it by a sweet foretast , by a supernatural elevation of mind : by frequent lively thoughts of our glorious inheritance , we gradually enter into it : the prospect of that causes in the saints , a holy contempt of the world , as not worthy our ambition and diligence : it causes such a self-denial from the inviting temptatations of sense , that men , whose portion is in this life , are forc'd to admire their restraint from those objects that ravish carnal hearts . a heavenly christian will improve sensible things for spiritual ends ; as feathers that have a natural weight inclining to the center , yet planted in the wings of a bird , by a living motion , carry it aloft in the free air. our rising in the morning , is an emblem of the resurrection from the grave , to behold the bright day of eternity . all the refreshments and comforts of the present life , should be an advantage to raise our minds to god , who is the supreme good , whose fulness eminently contains all good , and infinitely exceeds all our expectations . heavenly love will dry up the vanity of our thoughts and affections , and rescue the mind from the prostitution to sensible things , and most pleasantly exercise it upon things above . love between friends is maintain'd by immediate converse , or by letters , when absent : thus is love between god and the soul : and if god , that is to himself his own blessedness , his own kingdom and glory , yet is pleas'd in his gracious communications to his children on earth ; how much more should they by frequent and affectionate duties , address to him who is their eternal lnfinite good. thus they are acquainted with him , and enjoy a sweet peace , and obtain an humble confidence of appearing before him in his holy and glorious habitation : whereas those who live without god in the world , are justly fearful of death ; for then the spirit returns to god that gave it . briefly , let us with zealous affections , and persevering diligence prepare our selves for the presence of god , and the society of blessed spirits in our father's house : let us always abound in the work of the lord , knowing our labour is not in vain : let us join works of charity with works of piety ; employ the fading riches of the world for the relief of the saints ; that as our saviour promises when we shall fail , when in the hour of death our flesh and hearts shall fail us , and our souls be dislodged from our earthly tabernacles , we may be received into eternal habitations . the everlasting judg , that dispenses rewards and punishments , has acquainted us with the rule of judgment at the last day : those who mercifully relieve him in his members , shall inherit the kingdom of glory ; and those who neglect that duty , shall be cast into the lake of fire . though many who are wretchedly careless of doing good according to their ability , now satisfy themselves that they are not injurious to others : yet it will be a small mitigation of their sentence at last , that they are condemn'd , not for the defect of justice , but of charity . 6. let the belief that there are mansions of rest and joy prepar'd for the saints in their father's house , gloriously support them under their heaviest troubles here . this world is the devil's circuit , wherein he is alwayes ranging about seeking to devour : the pleasant things of the world are his temptations to ensnare the carnal ; the men of the world are his instruments to oppress the saints ; and were it not for the restraints of the divine power , what desolations would be made in god's heritage ? 't was a strange and barbarous custom among the persians , that upon the death of the emperor , for five days the empire was left without government . and as upon removing the stone from the fabulous cave of aeolus , the winds broke out in their fury : so by taking away the authority of the laws , licence was given to all licentiousness , and the whole kingdom was in mortal paroxisms . all were in arms , some to do injuries , others to revenge them : the chastity of none was secure , but conceal'd , nor the estates of any but defended : the bridle of fear was taken off , no wickedness but was boldly committed , or attempted , and the kingdom became a field of bloody war. but when the new king was proclaim'd , all things were immediately reduc'd to order , that the advantage of government might be set off by the experimental confusions and mischiefs of anarchy . but if god left the perverted world , and satan the prince of it , one day to their rage against his people , did he not shut it in with doors , and bars , as he doth the impetuous ocean ; so swelling and diffusive is their malignity , that it would , like the deluge , drown all , and not a remnant of the saints would be left . yet god wisely permits many temporal evils to be inflicted on his servants by their enemies , for the tryal of their fidelity , and their noble resolution to glorify him whatever they suffer for his sake . and it becomes them , with an undisturb'd serenity of mind , and harmony of affections , with an invincible patience , to bear all the scorn and contempt , all the malice , and fury to which they are expos'd upon a christian account . let them remember they are strangers and sojourners here , and live by other laws than the world doth , which causes their hatred : but in their father's house there will be perfect rest. st. paul , who had experience of both in a singular manner , declares , i reckon that the sufferings of the present state , are not worthy to be compar'd , to the glory that shall be reveal'd in us . in that state of pure felicity , there are no remains of afflicting evils ; all is peace , and joy , and glory . seneca the philosopher , when an exile , and confin'd to the mountains of corsica , entertain'd himself with the contemplation of the heavens , and the bright luminaries , in their various but regular motions : thus when banish'd from the court and city , he dwelt amongst the stars , and casting his eyes down upon the earth , despis'd all humane greatness and possessions , ( that are so vainly magnified by figurative flatteries ) as we do a grain of sand. did philosophy inspire him with such principles of patience and fortitude ? yet it ascended no higher than the visible heavens . how much more should faith that raises a christian , by high and steady thoughts , to the supreme heaven where the divine glory shines , comfort him in all the troubles of this world. add further , that 't is an excellent preservative from envy and fretfulness at the prosperity of the wicked , to consider that their felicity is as transient and vanishing as the trouble of the saints : i have seen the wicked in great power , and spreading himself like a green bay tree : yet he pass'd away , and lo , he was not : yea , i sought him , and he could not be found . all the riches , and greatness , and pleasures of the world are weighed , number'd , and measur'd by the psalmist , and found to be as light and fading as vanity . naked they came into the world , and naked they must go out ; and how much more tormenting will it be to be stript of all their enjoyments ; how much more sorrowful will they be to go from their great possessions , than for one that leaves the world , and never had them ? their hopes are like the giving up of the ghost , and expire with their breath for ever . i went into the sanctuary , saith the troubled saint , then understood i their end : the end of their felicity , and the miseries of the righteous . besides the evils suffer'd for righteousness-sake , there are innumerable sorrows that befal the saints here . how many afflicting diseases , sad occurrences , vexing passions harras them ? some afflictions are so wounding to their spirits , that no balm that growns on earth can heal . but the lively hope of heaven is an universal cure for all their troubles . let the mourning christian consider the wise providence of god , that orders all events , and believe his love in sending , and his end in all their afflictions . such is the divine power that god could immediately free us from all troubles , as easily , as turn the wind from a blasting quarter of the heavens , to the most benign and refreshing . are we pain'd with diseases ? he can more easily change the tone of nature in a sickly body , and make it healthy ; than one can change the stop in an organ that presently alters the sound : but his love dispenses bitter things to us , that are necessary for our spiritual and everlasting good. his end is to prepare us for heaven , that is prepared for us . the apostle declares , he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing , is god : that is , made us fit for the heavenly glory . the divine disposal of things here to the saints , has a certain order to their eternal state. he purgeth out our vicious guilty affections to the world by sharp physick , that our hopes of heaven may be more pure and vigorous , more actuated by serious thoughts and intense desires , that we may feel the sense of the psalmist's expression , o when shall we come and appear before god! in short , art thou in the vale of tears , languishing in sorrow , and dying every day ? by faith ascend to the mountains of spices , the blessed place above , and thou wilt find the comforts of god to revive and delight thy soul. 7. let this reconcile death to us . the pale horse is sent to bring us to our father's house . the apostle expresses the true christian temper : in this we groan earnestly , desiring to be clothed with our house that is from heaven : and we are willing rather to be absent from the body , and present with the lord. every saint in the present world is both a prison and a captive : his soul is detain'd from the glorious liberty of the sons of god , by confinement to his body . therefore methinks he should not merely be content to die out of the necessity of nature , when he can live no longer , but desire the happy removal , and say with the psalmist , i rejoic'd when they said to me , let us go into the house of the lord. 't is true , nature will recoile , and the extinguishing the present life , with all its sensible pleasant operations , is uneasy to us : but as when the candles are put out , the sun rises in its brightness , so when the natural life ceases , the spiritual life springs forth in its oriency and glory : when the earthly tabernacle is dissolv'd , the naked separate soul shall be received into a building not made with hands , eternal in the heavens . our joyful affections , in leaving the world , and ascending to heaven , should be in some manner suitable to our reception there . what a joyful welcome will entertain us from god himself ? our saviour comforted his disciples with a heavenly valediction , i go to my father , and your father ; to my god , and your god. the gracious relation sweetens the glorious . he that joyfully receives the rebellious , but penitent son to grace , will joyfully receive his obedient sons to glory . he that now receives their prayers with the affection of a father , will receive their persons with the dearest expressions of love. his fatherly providence watch'd over them in the way , and will triumphantly bring them home . here many blessed testimonies of god's love are given to the saints , that produce such a spiritual sweetness in their hearts , that they esteem his loving kindness as better than life , more worth than all the world ; but the full revealing of his love is only in heaven . and as a child knows by experience the love of his father , but the degrees and strength of his affection he does not understand till arrived at mature age , and sees the inheritance his father enstates upon him . thus in heaven only the saints shall know the excellent and perfect love of god to them , when they are possess'd of that glorious kingdom , his most free and rich gift , which transcends all their present thoughts . and our blessed redeemer , that by so many titles has an interest in us , that is not contented in his own personal glory , without our partaking of it , that by his resurrection open'd the grave , and by his ascension open'd heaven for us ; how dearly will he receive us ? he esteems believers to be his joy and crown , and with an extasy of affection will present them to his father ; behold i , and the children that god has given me . the angels and saints above overflow with joy ; when the soul , as a pure spark freed from its ashes , ascends to the element of spirits , how joyfully is it entertain'd by that glorious assembly ? the angels that rejoice at the conversion of a sinner , will much more at the glorification of a saint ; and the saints have a new accession to their joy , upon the reception of any of their brethren to that state of felicity . the saints of all ages may be resembled to a fleet of merchant-men that are bound for the same port , some arrive sooner , others later , according to the time of their setting out : but those who arrive first , how do they welcome their friends that come safely afterwards ? an imperfect resemblance how dearly and joyfully the saints that are gone before us welcome those who arrive in heaven every day , knowing the dangerous seas they have past through , where so many have been cast away and lost for ever . all heaven is in musick , celebrating the praises of god , and expressing their joyful sense , when a victorious saint is come to receive his reward . how does this consideration upbraid us , that we are so unwilling to be dissolv'd , and to be with our best friends in the best place ? that our tears and sorrows for leaving the earthly tabernacle , and the low comforts of this life , should continue till we come to the gate of heaven ? how can we be content with the imperfections of the present state ? here we are as distant from compleat happiness , as the highest heaven is from the earth . where is our faith in the promises of god ? where is our love to our redeemer and our souls ? the lothness of a sincere christian to die , and be with christ , is a deflection from his christianity . lastly , this should refresh our sorrows for the loss of our dearest friends that die in the lord. here is a mournful parting , when they are laid in the cold , dark and silent mansions of the earth : when those whom we lov'd as our own souls , are finally separated from us , and we shall see their faces no more . and as one that is directed by the light of a torch in the night , when 't is taken away , is more sensible of the darkness , than if he had not been inlightned by it : so when those dear friends are taken away , whose conversation was the light and joy of our lives , we are more darkned with sorrow , than if we had never injoy'd them . but if we duly consider things , there is more reason of joy , than sorrow , at the departure of the saints . our saviour tells his disciples , that were mourning for his signifying that he must go away , if ye loved me , ye would rejoyce , because i say i must go to my father to reign with him in soveraign glory . sincere love will make us more to rejoice in their gain , than to grieve for our loss . especially considering within a little while we shall be inseparably united in the kingdom of glory , where love reigns for ever . finis . some books lately printed for jonathan robinson , at the golden lion in st. paul's church-yard . a second volume of sermons , on mat. 25. john 17. rom. 6 , and 8 th chapters , &c. preached by the late reverend and learned tho. manton , d. d. in two parts . the vanity of the world , with other sermons . by ezekiel hopkins , now lord bishop of london-derry in ireland . a paraphrase , with notes and a preface , on the 6 th of st. john , shewing that there is neither good reason , nor sufficient authority , to suppose that the eucharist is discoursed of in that chapter , much less to infer the doctrine of transubstantiation from it . grotius his arguments for the truth of the christian religion , rendred into plain english verse . a sermon on 1 john 5.4 . [ this is the victory over the world , even our faith. ] preached before the lord mayor and court of aldermen , &c. july 18. 1686. by james fen , m. a. and vicar of goudhurst in kent . a discourse of bosom sins . a sermon ( on psal. 18.23 . ) preach'd before the lord mayor and court of aldermen , &c. octob. 10. 1686. by peter newcome , m.a. and vicar of alderham in hertfordshire . the present state of the ottoman empire ; containing the maxims of the turkish polity ; the most material points of the mahometan religion ; their military discipline : with an exact computation of their forces both by sea and land. by sir paul rycaut knight . a compleat journey through italy ; containing the character of the people ; description of the chief towns , churches , monasteries , &c. by r. lassell gent. the great evil of health-drinking ; or a discourse wherein the original , evil , and mischief of drinking of healths are discovered and detected : with remedies and antidotes against it , in order to prevent the sad consequents thereof . the best fence against popery ; or a vindication of the power of the king in ecclesiastical affairs , being an answer to the papists objections against the oath of supremacy , by a learned divine . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a26807-e220 ch. 13.33 . ver. 36. ch. 19.1 . 1 peter 1.21 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . heb. 11.10 job 38.4 , 5 , 7. gen. 2.7 . * mr. boyle , of the high veneration man's intellect ows to god , &c. p. 11. quantumlibet capacem ventrem afferat fons vincit sitientem . aug. heb. 12. rom. 8. psal. 102. 2 peter chap. 3. psal. 2. rom. 2. revel . 1. heb. 9.12 . exod. 3.5 . 2 chr. 2.4 . 2 chr. 5.13 , 14. psal. 11.4 . heb. 4. isa. 6.3 . 3 joh. 3.2 . psal. 65.4 . psal. 36.8 . acts 16.24 , 25. zeph. 3.17 prov. 8.31 isa. 53.11 . omnia suspiria in christo anhelent . ille unus pulcherrimus qui foedos dilexit , ut pulchros faceret , desideretur . rev. 19.7 . sed nihil libentius populus romanus aspexit , quam illas quas timuerat cum turribus suis bestias , quae non sine sensu captivitatis submissis cervicibus victores equos sequebantur . flor. lib. 1. c. 18. obstupescit obruiturque miraculis . aug. totum deum occupatum , & deditum manu , opere , consilio , sapientiâ . amor dictabat lineamenta . john 17.4 , 5. isa. 60.19 . amicitiae nomen privatum non solum intra aulam vocasti , sed indutam auro , gemmisque redimitam solio recepisti . lat. pacat . paneg . ad theod. mat. 5. john 12.26 . 1 pet. 1.25 . heb. 9.12 . titus 3.7 . rom. 8.30 . plut. john 3. 2 cor. 5.5 . heb. 12.23 . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 2 cor. 5. 1 john 3.3 . luke 16.9 . sext empirie cont . mathem . dum oculi mei ab illo spectaculo cujus insatiabiles sunt , non abducantur , dum mihi lunam , solemque intueri liceat , dum caeteris inhaerere syderibus , & dum cum his sim , & coelestibus qua homini fas est miscear , dum animam ad cognitarum rerum conspectum tendentem in sublimi semper habeam , quantum refert mea quid calcem ? consol. ad hier. c. 9. psalm 37.35 , 36. psalm . 73. 2 cor. 5. a discourse upon the nature of eternitie, and the condition of a separated soule, according to the grounds of reason, and principles of christian religion by william brent, of grayes inne, esquire ... brent, william, d. 1691. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a29306 of text r16167 in the english short title catalog (wing b4363). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 107 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 54 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a29306 wing b4363 estc r16167 11732132 ocm 11732132 48400 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a29306) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 48400) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 16:8) a discourse upon the nature of eternitie, and the condition of a separated soule, according to the grounds of reason, and principles of christian religion by william brent, of grayes inne, esquire ... brent, william, d. 1691. [8], 96 p. printed for richard moon ..., london : 1655. reproduction of original in bodleian library. eng eternity -early works to 1800. future life. a29306 r16167 (wing b4363). civilwar no a discourse upon the nature of eternitie, and the condition of a separated soule, according to the grounds of reason, and principles of chri brent, william 1655 18888 8 0 0 0 0 0 4 b the rate of 4 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2006-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-12 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-02 robyn anspach sampled and proofread 2007-02 robyn anspach text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a discourse upon the nature of eternitie , and the condition of a separated soule , according to the grounds of reason , and principles of christian religion . by william brent of grayes inne , esquire , now prisoner in the gate-house . london , printed for richard moon , at the seven stars in pauls church-yard , 1655. the preface to the reader . empedocles of agrigentum being demanded why t was so hard to finde out a wise man , gave this reason ; because ( said he ) none can finde one out , who is not so himselfe ; therby inferring , that unlesse there bee a proportion betweene the object and the power , it will never bee able to produce the effects flowing from it . vpon this ground it may be well concluded , that t' is impossible for any to give a true description of eternity , who hath no subsistance but in time ; and certainely , although some spirits sublimated by the dayly contemplation of eternall things ; may perhaps bee able to shew us some imperfect ideas , of those perfect beauties whereon they are enamoured , yet t' is a meere extravagance in mee who have imployed the best part of my time in quest of transitory and fading things , to undertake the handling of a subject which cannot bee worthily expressed by lesse then an angell , nor be conceived in this life by human kind . whilest hannibal was with the king antiochus in ephesus , where they were busied in making preparation for a war against the romans , he was invited by some of the great kings favourites to heare one phormio a philosopher read a lecture of military discipline , and the duty of a generall , and having performed it with the applause of all the auditory , hanniball being demanded his opinion of the man , answered that he had indeed formerly seen divers mad men , but never any one so mad as phormio , who having , never viewed troopes on their march , never spent one night in the trenches , or performed the least duty of a souldier , would notwithstanding take upon himselfe to order an army & prescribe rules unto a general . it is certainly much easier to comprehend all millitary knowledge which is contained in the finite number of some precepts drawne from reason and experience ; then fathom the bottemless abyss of eternity , which holds no proportion at all with the narrow limits and shallownesse of humane reason , and consequently to undertake the handling of this subject is a much greater madnesse then that of phormio . this being so , i doubt not but there will be some , who unsatisfied with what i shall set down , will question upon what grounds i have adventured to publish my conceptions upon eternity , so many excellent pennes having already imploied themselves in the deciphering of it ) and will conclude , that as his errour is to bee pittied , who contrary to his expectation , ( failes ) by the weakenesse of his forces to performe what hee hath undertaken ; so his madnesse is unexcusable , who undertakes what himselfe knowes , is not to bee performed . i will not goe about to justifie my selfe against their reprehensions , which perhaps have truth for their foundation ; all i shall say is , i have written this onely for my owne private use , that i might at times of leisure view the discoveries i have made of that countrey to which i tend ; and on which time at the shutting in of my lives course will land me , and i have published it not as conceiving i could better what hath formerly been written , but out of an opinion , that my conceits ( though short of what others have delivered ) might hit the humor of some one or other , and waken him from that lethargie wherein the world holds the most part of men during their lives , that he might look about in time and provide himselfe for that eternall habitation ; those who are stung with the tarantula , cannot be cured but by musick , and i have heard that t' is not alwayes the best tunes help the diseased patients , but such as ( how extravagant soever ) simpathize most with their inclinations . reader ! having given thee this account of my selfe , i proceed briefly to set down the substance of this short treatise : in the first place , i shall endeavour to let thee know what eternity is ; in the second , to describe what our condition will bee in it : & in the last place , to set down such rules as may ( being observed ) render us perfectly happy in that fixed condition , wherein eternity will place us : all i require from thee is , that if thou approve not what i write , thou wilt ( at least ) approve the good will wherwith t is written . farewell . a discourse upon the nature of eternity &c. one of the maximes wherein philosophers ( notwithstanding the many different opinions among them ) doe accord is this ; nihil est in intellectu , quod non prius fuit in sensu ; that is , nothing is in our understanding which hath not first gained it's admittance through the senses ; our soules during the time of their imprisonment in our bodies , seeme to bee so narrowly coopt up by our senses who guard all the avenues , by which any intelligence of the great workmanships of nature may be convaied to them , that they get notice of nothing , save what is brought them by their mediation . well may the exterior objects assisted by the sunns light fill the aire with the representation of their seveverall species , but the understanding will not bee able to know any thing either of the shape or colour , unlesse they pass through the eye into the common sense , and bee transmitted to the fancy . the warbling choristers of the aire , may wel cause both the woods & vallies , eccho , with their melodious soundes ; and all the famous orators display the utmost charmes of winning rhetoricke : but if our eares deny them entrance to the braine , they will at last die in the aire where they were formed , without giving us the last information , either of their harmony , or meaning . all the rare spices of the east may well evaporate themselves to nothing before our eyes , without leaving any other sense of their rich perfumes , but what our smelling shall convey unto us . and if another monarck farr surpassing assuerus in the richesse , and extent of his dominions , should unpeople the three elements , to furnish out a sumptuous feast that might shew forth the greatnesse of his magnificence , wee were not able to distinguish any of those exquisite dainties , and delicious wines , farther then what our tasts should dictate unto us . infine our soules , notwithstanding their immateriall substance , and the faculties of will and understanding , whereby they thinke themselves equall to the celestiall spirits ( were but those gates dammed up whereof our senses are the porters ) would ( like the aegyptians during the three daies darkenesse wherewith god plagued them ) bee forced to sit stil , nor could the heavenly gifts of reasoning and resolving availe them ought towards the discovery of truth or goodnesse , which are the onely object of their functions . the spotts wee now discover in the sunn , the vallies in the moon , and starrs that moove in an epicycle about the planet jupiter ; had been eternally concealed from all man-kinde , had not the invention of galileus perspectives by aiding the weaknesse of our sight , discovered them unto our eyes and i am verily perswaded that all those rare effects of nature which wee now attribute to simpathy , to antipathy , or other occult causes , are indeed onely materiall quallities , but too subtile to bee perceived by our senses , which is the cause that all our rarest wits are at a fault in quest of them , and pay us onely with obscure termes instead of truth . eternity alone is that can never fall to bee the object of our senses ; the infinity of it's duration cannot be comprehended by their finite powers , and time doth hurrie us away so fast over the race of our mortallity , that we have not the leasure to contemplate its stable firmnesse , not subject to those lawes of ruine by which heaven and earth shall one day perish . this truth is excellently confirmed unto us by the apostle , when hee saith that neither eye hath seene , eare heard , nor hath it entred into the heart of man , to conceive the excellencies of what god hath prepared in store for those that feare him . eternity is surely one of the most precious of all those blessings , and the trisagion or thrice holy , so much renowned in the greeke church , as a hymne delivered to them by the mouthes of angells , sanctus deus , sanctus fortis , sanctis immortalis , puts immortallity in the last place , as complement of the divine perfections . when moses mooved with a holy curiosity , desired hee might behold the face of god , he was answered it was impossible to see that and live ; all this beloved patriarch could obtaine , was licence to view the glory of his hinder parts in passing by ; and what is thereby meant save onely this ; that wee may be permitted here on earth , to contemplate the divine perfections in the creatures , which are the least , and meanest effects of his power , being produced during the continuance of fleeting time , but that all sollid joyes , together with his beatificall vision , are reserved onely for such as fix their habitations in the blest dwelling of eternity . saint paul being through speciall favour wrapt into the third heaven that hee might take a tast of those celestiall pleasures , thinkes it not lawfull to utter the arcana , that is , the sublime , and hidden things which hee learned there ; the greatest height we can attaine unto whilest wee are heere , is to contemplate the mysteries which shall be there revealed , per speculum in aenigmate , through a glass , in a darke riddle : what is this glasse , but faith , by whose assistance our faint eyes are able without dazeling , to looke upon the sunn of truth , even god himselfe , and expound those riddles that passe the reach of humane understanding ? relying therefore upon this guide , i shall begin to search into the nature of eternity , because her maxims , are like a clew of thread let downe from heaven to lead us with security , and humblenesse into the understanding of divine mysteries ; that so wee may not stray in the wild maze of selfe opinion , wherein the greatest part of humane kinde do wander endlesly , and lose themselves , at last being intrapped in the pernicious snares , of overweaning pride , or stupid ignorance . when the divines endeavour to describe the deity unto us , they make us of three sorts of attributes : the first , as they call them negative , the second relative , and the third positive : the first , shew what hee is not , and the second what hee is in relation to us , or to some other being , but the third which should declare unto us , what hee is in himselfe , faile to performe it , because all tearmes explicate onely our conceptions , and wee can conceive nothing but what is infinitely short of his perfections : they call him increated and immortall , that wee may know his essence is incompatible , with whatsoever hath either ending or beginning ; they terme him creator and redeemer , thereby informing us that all the blessings we enjoy here or expect heereafter are but dependancies upon his power . but when they tell us of his vertues , and of his wisdome , they intend not that we should thereby understand such vertues or such wisdome as are in us ; not an affection , or habit of his will inclining him to pursue alwayes the dictates of a right reason , nor a perspicacity of judgement enabling him to distinguish upon all occasions the reall truths , from those that seeme so ; which notwithstanding is the proper meaning of those tearmes , whereas the divine vertues , and wisdome are neither qualities , nor habits , but the very essence and being of god himselfe , which cannot bee knowne or comprehended by any other nature inferiour to him . it being therefore admitted that wee can never write or conceive any thing worthily of the divine nature , how is it possible , i should bee able to explicate the nature of eternity , which is the measure of his duration , and one of the most excellent of all his attributes ? god himselfe seemes to glory in it when being asked his name by the great patriarch moses he gives him only this description of himselfe , ego sum qui sum . i am he that am , without mentioning either his power , his justice , or any of his other attributes , giving us thereby to understand that all his other attributes depend upon his being ( according to the order of our conceptions ) as their foundation ; that other things have an existēce whose beginning flowes from his power , and whose continuance is an effect only of his wil ; that nothing hath a stable independant being save onely he , and that in fine , no happinesse or perfection is to bee prised , if the enjoyment of it be not secured unto us by eternity . this measure of gods being , cannot ( by any positive terms which wee can use ) bee comprehended , or defined , nor can it bee illustrated to humane understandings , by other meanes then by considering the nature of it negatively , and comparatively , unto those things which have a being during the continuance of time , the first of which considerations shall be of the infinity thereof ; which ( as i said before ) is a terme purely negative , and represents nothing at all unto our imaginations , the only conception we can frame upon it ; being of something , not circumscribed by ends , or bounds , as are all the objects which present themselves unto our senses . we are astonished when we consider the vast extent of this habitable earth which hath sufficed to the production and nourishment of the innumerable number of men now living , or that have had a being since the creation of the world , and we are notwithstanding satisfied both by the demonstrations of cosmographers , and relations of navitors , that a ful third part of it is yet undiscovered . the immence quantity of waters in the ocean , seemes to pose arithmeticke , to number all the severall drops of water contained in it : but above all the heavens incircling round this ball made up of earth , water , and the other elements , and exceeding it so far in bignesse , that all of it together beares in comparison to them but such proportion ( according to the astronomers computation ) as a point in midle of a circle , to the circumference , doth with its unmeasurable greatnesse out vie the force of humane understanding , to conceave any idea of its dimensions ; and yet when wee consider , but with the least attention these great workemanships of god , and search into the nature of them , wee must needs be satisfied they are not infinite ; for that consisting ( as our senses can informe us ) of finite parts ; themselves must likewise bee of the same nature with the parts whereof they are composed : who is it that perceives not when hee takes up a shovell full of earth from the ground , or but a dish of water out of the sea , that those portions of the two elements are finite , and that our not being able to find out their certaine quantity , proceeds not from any contradiction in their natures , to bee surveyd or measured , but onely from the weaknesse of our forces ? who is it that can doubt when hee perceives the sunne draw neerer to us but that the distance betweene us and him is finite ? since were it otherwise , it were not capable of increase or diminution . and who in fine can make a question but that the heavens are circumscribed by certaine bounds , and limits , when hee beholds them to bee perpetually measured by the sunn , moone , and the other planets in their severall motions , according to whose different races , wee give beginning and ending , unto our houres , dayes , months , years , and to our ages . archimedes was of opinion hee could have mooved the world , had there been any other place out of it , upon which he might have fixed his instrument ; and i am certainly perswaded that when wee shall bee freed out of this cage of earth wherein our soules are inclosed during this life ; wee shall with ease bee able to surveigh and comprehend , the heavens , the earth , and all the other workmanships of nature that now appeare to bee so far beyond the reach of humane understanding . and yet when our inlarged soules shall have the power to circle earth , sound hell , and measure all the vast extent of heaven , how little or rather nothing at all will that appeare , being compared unto infinity ? if wee were able to number all the droppes of water in the sea , and count the sands upon the shore , and if for every one of them wee were to live an age before wee died , yet were this terme as nothing being compared unto eternity , since time would at last consume all that large stocke of our subsistance , and eternity when that were past would still continue constant in the full possession of all its being . aristotle was of opinion the world wherein wee live had no beginning , and should never have an ending , perswaded thereunto by the incessant vicissitude of generation , and corruption , and the setled course of nature which perpetuates all the severall species , or kinds of things , notwithstanding the continuall decay of the individualls , whereof they are composed ; if this imagination of his were true , it would then follow , that the duration of the world , should bee indeed perpetuall , but not infinite , and that it would have nothing in it approaching to the pure simplicity of an eternall being . for if time be divided ( as reason , experience , and the opinion of all philosophers , assure us t is ) into past , present , and to come , how can that ( though nere so farr extended ) bee without end ? whose very being consists in a perpetuall fluxe of ending and beginning ; or how can that bee without bounds ? whose two parts , that is , the first and last , are not at all ; and whose third part ( wherein onely it subsists ) is circumscribed within such narrow limits , that we can hardly think a thought , during the terme of its duration : and what resemblance can there bee in it of eternity ; the one being in a continuall motion , and the other in a constant quiet ; the one perpetually changing , and the other never subject to alteration , and the one in fine subsisting onely in the short instants of the present time , whereas the other comprehends all times past , present , and to come , in the pure simplicity of a present being . from this ground , there ariseth another consideration of the nature of eternity , that is of the indivisibility thereof , which i make the subject of my next reflection . indivisibility is a terme also negative , which represents unto us onely something that cannot bee parcelled out by portions as the things of this inferiour world way bee . divide , et impera , that is divide and governe , is a maxime succesfully practised by the politicians , when making use of the private dissentions either of a city , or common-wealth , they obtaine and preserve thereby their dominion over all the differing parties : and we may also , with the same truth affirme this other , divide & destru● , divide and destroy ; god who is creator of whatsoever hath an existence , being himselfe one by the simplicity of his nature , hath placed the subsistence of all things in unity , and hath therefore by a working peculiar onely to himselfe , united the contraries of heat and cold , of draught and moisture , unto the making up of all the severall bodies , either sensible or insensible , which are contained in the rich treasury of nature ; whilest they continue united by this bond , so long they are said to bee ; but if the union bee once broken , either by externall violence , or the inward working of the different qualities whereof the body is composed ; then doth it forthwith lose the former being , and becomes some other thing , according to the nature of the new form which it acquires . as long as our bodies remaine fit to entertaine our soules , by the due temperature of the humors , and disposition of the organs to receive her operations , wee continue to bee men ; but when that ceaseth either by inward distemper or outward force , wee then leave to be so , our soules becomming seperated formes , and our bodies returning to the common masse of matter , from whence they are extracted ; the same wee see happens in beasts , plants , and in all other inanimate bodies , of what nature or quality soever : so as there can bee no conclusion truer then this , that whatsoever is allready divided , hath left to bee what it was formerly , whatsoever may bee divided is subject to decay and ruine ; and whatsoever is indivisible , must also of necessity by reason of the simplicity of its nature bee eternall . eternity is therefore indivisible , and all those happy persons who have gained that blessed part , are allwaies in possession of their whole being , they lose nothing of what is past , they want nothing of what is future , but the present in that celestiall countrey doth comprehend after an unexpressible manner , all those three different , and incompatible parts , into which time is divided . and hence it is , that all the happinesse found there , is true , and solid ; because those different goods are united in that fixed mansion , which being heere divided , mislead the greatest part of humane kinde in the search they make after the chiefest good , and feed us onely with appearances instead of truth . good is the simplest of all other beings , and is therefore not to bee looked for heere , where nothing doth subsist but is compounded ; and all those things which are so eagerly pursued by men , for the resemblance they have to good , are but like glowormes , which cheat us as wee wander in the night , and casting forth a lustre equall to that of the most precious gemmes , are in themselves naught else but rottenness & putrefacti●●… ●…ee are divided almost into as many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ns , as persons , and every one seeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sse ( which is the chiefest good ) a severall way , in the variety of their owne appetites , neglecting eternity , which is the onely place where it resides . some hunt after power and soveraign command , expecting to find true contentment in authority ; but alas ! how infinitely are they misguided by ambition ? the cares of governing , and dangers that accompany a scepter , so farr outwaigh the happinesse found in it , that augustus caesar , who enjoyed the empire of the world , in the most setled times it ever saw , made it his dayly suite unto the senate , that he might bee restored unto the quiet of a private life : and diocletian having generously cast off the yoake of ruling others , refused to returne againe unto the glorious servitude , professing that hee found more pleasure among the cabages growing in his solitary garden , then twenty yeares command over the roman empire had yielded to him . others there are , whose thoughts are wholly taken up in gathering wealth , as if that were the onely thing to bee desired , never considering ( so grosly are they blinded by their covetousnesse ) that the content of riches consists not in the hoording up of treasures , but in the liberall distribution of them ; that the sordid wayes of gathering money , renders them odious to others , and the restlesse care of keeping it , destroyes the quiet they would establish in themselves ; that their continuall negotiation about gaine , hinders them from enjoying the happinesse of life ; and that in fine , when they have reaped the plentiful harvest of al their labours , they must resigne it unto others , who longing to enjoy the pretious spoile , thinke their lives tedious , and their deaths welcome . i forbeare to mention the infinite number of mischiefes which the possession of riches hath brought upon the owners : how many are there who ( like seneca ) have in hoording up treasures beene carefull to get together the instruments of their owne ruine ? finding at last by experience , that to be the occasion of their deaths , wherein they had established the contentment of their lives : this is a truth so evidently certaine , that not philosophers onely and votaries , have beene able to discover the imposture of them , but even whole nations have agreed upon it . the inhabitants of the balearicke islands ( now called majorca , & minorca ) drowned al their gold and silver in the ocean ; and the spartans ( one of the most flourishing common-wealths that ever were ) banished those mettalls out of the confines of their territories , forbidding the enjoyment of them to all their citizens ; as being incompatible with true contentment . some place their happinesse in pleasure , and shunning whatsoever hath the shew of trouble , give themselves wholly up to sensuall delights ; fond fooles , who blinded by their bestiall appetites , thinke themselves happy men in practising those actions , which deprive them of the dignity of being reasonable creatures , and cast them down into the rank of beasts ; unworthy of enjoying soules made after the divine likenesse , since they imploy their whole time in giving satisfaction to their bodies . and yet how short are those few minutes of contentment which they enjoy , whilest they abandon themselves to their debauches , being compared to those of trouble , which necessarily accompany the pleasures they hunt after ? the drunkard will assure us that the paine hee suffers in his head , and stomacke , is of much longer continuance , then was the tast of that delicious wine wherein hee made a shipwrack of his reason ; the passion whether fained , or reall , which a libidinous man acts , or suffers for a desired beauty , and the solicitous endeavours , used by him for obtaining of his prey , farr outwaigh the momentary pleasure hee enjoyes , which notwithstanding is attended with remorse of conscience from within , and the apprehensions of danger , and dishonour from abroad . diseases ( the effect of their disorders ) take up a setled quarter in their bodies , and render that the constant mansion of griefe , and paine , where they intended to have given admittance unto nought but joy , and pleasure ; and for a complement of their misfortunes , their vices like a raging fire , consuming all those excellencies which god and nature have bestowed upon them ; brand them with a perpetuall blot of infamy to all posterity , and fixe an everlasting guilt upon their soules . sampson had a prodigious strength infinitely surpassing that of other men , seconded by an excesse of courage , which rendred him victorious over lyons , and triumphant in the discomfiture of an hoast of men ; his single person was of more value then an army , but when hee suffered himselfe to bee conducted by his passion , the love of dalila having first blindfolded his reasons eyes , deprived him after of his corporeall sight , betrayd him to his enemies , and reduced him to so great a height of misery , that to be freed from the contempt to which he was exposed , hee was constrained to employ his matchlesse force , in working his revenge by his owne ruine . sardanapalus ( last of the assyrian monarches ) saw himselfe peaceably setled in the chiefe empire of the world , but having once given himselfe over to his effeminate pleasures , the fire of lust first kindled in his owne heart , quickly destroyed the respect of him in the mindes of neighbour princes , and his owne subjects , and after taking hold on the magnificent pile hee had caused to bee erected , reduced to ashes both his person and his empire . alexander ( justly surnamed the great , for his unparalleld courage , conduct , and fortun ) was mounted to so great a height of glory , that he despised the world , as a place too narrow to bound the limits of his conquests , and yet the murther of his friend clitus , which hee committed in his drunkennesse , rendred all these prosperities so unsavory to him , that he attempted the killing of himselfe , and begate such an aversion against him in the mindes of divers of his subjects , that they prepared a poyson for him , which cutting short the course of all his victories , buried his triumphs , together with his carcasse in the grave . salomon received from god the gift of an incomparable wisedome , above all the men that ever were , and with it a confluence of all those blessings , which might raise humane nature unto the greatest height of happinesse , whereof t' is capable during this mortall life ; but the inordinate love of women , to which he was addicted in his latter time , deprived his issue of the greater part of his terrestiall kingdome , and himselfe ( as some doe probably conjecture ) of the eternall ioyes of heaven . why should i farther instance the single punishments of particular voluptuous persons ? t is so prodigious a madnesse for man to place his chiefest good in sensuall lust , that it hath drawn down fire from heaven for the consuming of whole cities , and water from the earth , and firmaments , which was upon the point to have extirpated mankind , all the different elements conspiring to revenge that insufferable wrong is done to their creator , when wee neglect his image ingraven in our soules , to satisfie the fleshly part of us , which is nothing else but dust and ashes . and to conclude , even epicurus the philosopher , who placed the chiefest good of man in pleasure , did notwithstanding ( if we believe seneca , rather then some others who have slandered him ) esteeme , that pleasure to consist i' th golden meane of temperance , and not in the exorbitant use of wine , of play , of gluttony , and women . i have exceeded in handling this perticular the brevity i had proposed unto my selfe , because these are the meteors , which by the glittering brightnesse of their deceitfull light , dazle the eyes of our unweary youth , and like so many wandring fires mislead us in our search for happinesse , through the blind paths of ignorance , and folly , untill at last they traine us into the dangerous precipies of wickednesse , and infamy , from whence wee are not able ( without particular assistance of the divine grace ) to free our selves , for all eternity . all other things so greedily grasped at by worldly men , may be reduced unto the before mentioned heads , of power , of riches , and of pleasure , nobility , fame , and respect , are the attendants upon power , sufficiency , and plenty , waite upon riches , health , strength , and beauty , are necessarily required to the compleating of our pleasures , and therefore what false appearance soever of happinesse , they may hold forth to our deluded mindes , they cannot possibly give us that true content , which is not to be found in these principall things , whereunto they are but accessories . power , riches , pleasure , and the rest , have indeed some resemblance of good , but are not that which they resemble for good ; or happinesse ( being the same ) consists not in possessing many different things , but in the union of all together , whereas they are so farr from being one , that they are inconsistent with each other . the waight of businesse , and distance kept by soveraigne princes , for maintaining the reverence due to their calling , permits them not the sweet delights of pleasure , to which the freedome of equality is requisite , and the vastnesse of their expence , in warrs , in treaties , for intelligence , and other things incident to their authority makes them the neediest almost of all other men . the wary closenesse of the rich miser , inconsistent with popularity , hinders him from being powerfull , and his daily imployment about the encreasing of his store , debarrs him from the use of pleasure , which cannot be had without the expence of time , and money . the seriousnesse of great affaires disturbes the quietnesse of pleasures , and the prodigality of luxury , wasts the estates of those that are addicted to it . in fine , which way soever wee turne our selves , to seeke contentment in satisfaction of our lustfull appetites , these divided goods which cannot dwell together in one subject frustrate our expectations , and enforce us to confesse with the wiseman , that whatsoever hath a subsistence during the continuance of time , is vanity , of vanities , and naught but vanity . for if by a particular indulgence , of god , and nature , these divided ( and as i have already shewed ) incompatible blessings , of power , riches , pleasure , respect , nobility , fame , plenty , beauty , health , and strength , should fall to bee the portion of one man ; what were all these advantages without security in the injoyment of them , but vanity , and meere vexation of our spirits ? and what security can this life possibly afford , amid the dayly apprehensions of being deprived of them before wee die , and certainty to lose them , when wee descend into the grave ? our blessed saviour therefore adviseth martha not to divide her thoughts , in the sollicitous quest of many things , since what was necessary was onely one , and that we might not be to seeke , what that one , single , necessary thing should bee , himselfe informes us in another place what t' is , when he commands us , to seek first the kingdome of heaven by just and righteous actions , which being once obtained , we shall enjoy all other blessings as coessentiall with it . is power the object of thy wishes ? thou shalt bee there ( as the apostle assures ) coheire with him , to whom all power in heaven and earth is given . is honour or command thy chiefest good ? it is so liberally dispensed to all the inhabitants of eternity , that the prophet david seemes to charge god with prodigallity in that perticular , when he cries out , nimis honorati sunt amici tui deus ; nimis confortatus est principatus eorum ! my god! thy friends are too much honoured , their principallity is too much strengthened , or established . doest thou desire fame or riches ? behold the same prophet telleth thee , gloria , et divitiae , in domo domini , glory , and riches , are in the house of the lord . art thou delighted with the magnificence of royall feasts ? the king of kings hath by his onely sonne sent downe from heaven , invited all mankind to a delicious banquet in his eternall pallace , where having seated all the guests that come upon his invitation , according to their severall degrees , himselfe will minister unto them . is thy heart ravished at the sight of some accomplished beauty ? those who reside in that eternall mansion , out shine the sunn in greatest height of all his glory . in fine , whatever else it is that doth delight thee shall there bee present ; because all thy soules faculties which can find nothing in this inferiour world but is too meane & narrow for them , shal there bee fully satisfied , according to the large extent of all their powers , being absorpt in contemplation of the first truth , and the injoyment of the chiefest good ; and yet all this shall bee , not by the various diversity of severall objects , but by their blessed admission to the presence of god himselfe , who being the first cause , containes emminently the perfection of all other beings , in the simplicity of his owne nature , communicating freely all his excellencies to those happy persons , who are made pertakers with him in the infinite , and indivisible eternity . having cōsidered the vast diversity there is between eternity & time , by reason of the infinity of the one , & the strait limits wherein the other is shut up ▪ and circumscribed ; the entire firmnesse of the one , and the minute parts whereinto the other is divided , it followes that wee should raise our thoughts unto the contemplation of those excellencies , which an eternall being hath , by the comparing of it unto that which wee enjoy , during the succession of time . those who imploy themselves in quest of that , which wee vulgarly call the philosophers stone , have not as yet found out the way of fixing mercury , which is the caus they fail in their attempts of making gold , notwithstanding the many laborious , and chargeable experiments , have beene used for the effecting of it ; and all that have endeavoured to establish their contentment , in the perishable goods of this inferiour world , have found themselves deluded by their hopes , because they were not able , to fixe the fleeting instants of the present time ; whose continuall motion , is of all other things , most destructive unto the happinesse of life . what an uncomfortable voyage would that man have , who were bound out in quest of some particular wave , i' th middest of the atlanticke ocean , how improbable that hee should make discovery of what hee sought for ? and how impossible to settle there , considering the perpetuall agitation of the waters , in that restlesse element ? and yet such is the fatall blindnesse which possesseth the greatest part of humane kind , that wee consume our lives in seeking to find out a permanent blisse , amid the various diversity of worldly things ; though all our predecessors for above fifty ages past , who have preceded us in that designe , have perished in it , without being able to informe us any thing , save onely this , that they have met with nothing in their severall wandrings but vanity , nor reaped ought but the vexation of their spirits ; and that times course ( as certain , though not so rapid as that of the ocean ) faileth not to ravish from us all those pleasing objects , in the pursuit of which , wee entertaine our lives ; and fancy in the obtaining of them , a contentment , which is no where to bee found , but in the happy region of eternity . that harmelesse innocence which is the precious treasure of our childhood , is violently snatched from us by the heat of youth , that inconsiderately ingageth us , to seeke contentment in satisfaction of our lustfull appetites ; and when the accesse of yeares and judgement at mans estate , hath made us see the vanity of that employment , ambition , pride , and covetousnesse , present us with the specious baits of honour , power , and riches , and traine us by those sweet allurements from contemplation of eternity , to employ the strength , and vigour of our age in purchase of them , as if they could bestow true happinesse on their possessors ; untill at last ( if death prevent us not before ) wee finde our selves arrived at the utmost period of life , ( old age ) where though experience discover to us the true nature of those transitory things wee first admired , yet we can reape no other fruit of all her counsels , but only sorrow , and dispaire , when we consider the grosnesse of our errours , and miscarriages for the time past , and the impossibility of amending them in that to come . and hence it is the royall prophet david takes occasion to reproach mankind of dulnesse , and heavinesse of heart , that forsaking the onely necessary thought and study of eternity , give themselves over unto the love of vanity and the pursuit of lies ; filii hominum usque quo gravi corde ; ut quid diligitis vanitatem et quaeritis mendacium ? as who should say , you sons of men , how long will you permit your hearts and your affections to bee waighed downe by the inordinate sollitude for earthly things ? behold , the pleasures which you love and court for satisfaction of your youth , are onely vanity , and those more sollid imployments you search after for the entertainment of your elder yeares , are but a lie ; promising contentment , and giving nought but care , vexation , and repentance . if julius caesar could have foreseene that all his victories , and triumphs whereby hee subjected unto himselfe the roman state . ( that proud mistresse of the knowne world ) would but have served to make him fall a glorious victime in the senate house ; hee had not prosecuted certainly with so much ardour as hee did , the cutting off all those , who opposed themselves to the accomplishment of his ambitious designes . king pirrhus had sure followed the councell of his friend , and betaken himselfe unto the quiet pleasures of a peacefull life , had he beene well informed that all his thoughts of conquests and the inlargment of his empire , should perish together with himselfe , by the hands of a weake woman , in the attempt hee made to surprise the citty argos . saladine ( that great victorious sultan of the east ) would not have spent his life amid the toile , and dangers that attend a martiall employment , had he but thought at first , as hee did afterwards , at the houre of death , that hee should carry nothing of all the spoiles and riches hee had gotten away with him , but onely a poore shirt to shroud his carkasse . the rich man in the gospell would not have joyed in his full barnes , and store houses sufficient for the expence of many yeares , had hee but knowne that hee should never live to see the birth of the succeeding morne . in fine , the businesse of the world would cease , and we should looke with horror , and aversion , upon those gilded follies , and pleasing vanities , in quest whereof wee spend our lives , disturbe the elements , and alter the whole frame of nature , were but their maske pulled off , and wee made sensible of that which is confirmed unto us by the experience of all our predecessors ; to wit , that there is nothing in this inferiour world can give a satisfaction to our soule , whose frame is equall unto that of the celestiall spirits ; and that allthough by an excesse of bestiallity , wee could so plunge our soules into the masse of our terrestiall bodies , as to set up our rests upon the enjoyment of those things which are the object of our senses , yet age and sicknesse , would like unbidden guests , trouble the mirth of all our entertainments ; and time ( the absolute commander of all sublunary things ) consuming by degrees the matter of them , would violently snatch us from their embraces , and put in execution that irrevocable decree pronounced by god against materiall things , to wit that whatsoever is composed of dust and ashes shall againe returne unto it . so that if wee examine the true cause of things , wee must conclude , that the ill conduct of our lives , and all the miseries , vices , and disorders , that flow from thence ; are an effect of the continuall motion of time , which representing unto us these exteriour objects , under severall disguises , keeps us from penetrating into the true nature of them , and suggesting to our deluded mindes vaine hopes , and feares , doth by those false alarmes disturbe our reason , and brings upon us a forgetfullnesse of what is past , a mistake of what is present , and a grosse negligence , in not providing of our selves for what 's to come . for remedy heereof , antiquity was used to set up trophies and monuments of all great , and vertuous actions , as also to expose the bodies of malefactors who were executed , unto the publicke view on poles , or gibbets , that so posterity being put in minde of what had past , might be invited to imitate the one , and avoid the other . king phillip ( father of the great alexander ) gave command unto a page of his to wake him dayly with this admonition , that hee should call to minde hee was a man , fearing lest hee might otherwise bee transported by the false lustre of his greatnesse , and prosperities , as to mistake ( which his sonn after did ) what himselfe was , and forget the condition of humanity , wherein hee had beene placed by god , and nature . and ( the great doctor of the church ) saint jerome thinkes it a matter of that consequence for us to imploy our selves in the consideration of what is future , that hee assures us confidently ( by warrant of the sacred scripture ) wee should never sin , did wee but carefully ruminate on the last things that doe attend us . memorare novissima tua et in aeternum non peccabis . see here the true condition of our being during the succession of time . let us now alter the scene and from this theater of confusion , and disorder , raise up our thoughts unto the contemplation of eternity . it is an instant alwayes present , never decaying , whose infinity comprehends all times past , present , and to come , and whose simplicity presenting us at once with whatsoever can be good or perfect , united in their first cause , whereof ( unlesse our sinns debar us from his sight ) the divine nature wee shall be then made glad beholders ; cleares up the foggy mists of ignorance , of forgetfullnesse , and of mistake , which hang betweene our understandings and the truth of things ; fills all the powers and faculties of our soules with the enjoyment of their desired objects , and doth establish us in the secure possession of our blisse beyond the reach of fortune , or of time which shall not there have power to traverse our contentments with the desire of ought that 's past , or the apprehension of ought to come . when we have once maturely waighed these sollid truths , wee shall begin to loath this prison of our bodies subject to the perpetuall injuries of time , and death , and shall cry out with the apostle , infaelix ego homo : quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus ? unhappy man that i am , who shall deliver mee from this body which belongs to death ? and with the same apostle , fixing all our affections and thoughts upon eternity , wee shall continually desire to bee dissolved that we may live with christ in his eternall habitation : and when wee shall receive the summons to dislodge hence , brought us by age , diseases , war , famine , pestilence , or any other officer , of time , clad in the hideousest dresse that death can weare ; wee shall with joy prepare our selves unto the journey ; and with the prophet david say , laetatus sum in his quae dicta sunt mihi , in domum domini ibimus . i am rejoyced in that which hath beene said unto me , we will goe into the house of the lord . it seemes ( being a man according unto gods owne heart ) hee had well studied the nature of that celestiall mansion , whose quallities , hee doth so excellenty describe in the 2 following verses . stantes erant pedes nostri , in atriis tuis jerusalem , jerusalem quae aedificatur ut civitas , cujus participatio ejus in idipsum . our feete were standing in thy courts jerusalem . here they are running , forced to accompany the motion of time , but they shall there be fixed in an eternal rest , never to bee disturbed by time , or fortune , jerusalem that is builded as a city , whose portion consisteth in the thing it selfe . all other places are but innes , where we are entertained as passengers during our pilgrimage , and therfore have their buildings subject ( as are those they harbour ) unto decay , and ruine , but this city being the permanent place of our aboade , hath its foundations laid upon the never fading basis of eternity . and if you aske , what is the stocke or treasure of the inhabitants in that blessed country ? he forth with tells us that their portion consisteth in the thing it selfe ; what is the thing it selfe ? but that which is without dependance upon any other ; and what is that ? but hee who being to declare himselfe unto the patriarch moses , saith hee is , hee that is , even god himselfe , in whom is comprehended the fulnesse of all things , and without whom is nothing , but the privation of good and happinesse let us endeavour then so to comport our selves that wee bee not engaged amid these fading transitory things , but may bee able to say with the apostle ; our life is laid up with christ in god ; and let our onely trafficke , and negotiation , be to hoord up treasures ( according to the counsell of our blessed lord and saviour ) where neither rust , nor mothes , can come to wast them , nor thieves , breake in to steale them from us . wee neede not be to seeke where that should bee , since hee informeth us that t is in heaven , the onely proper seat and mansion of eternity . in the precedent discourse i have endeavoured to describe ( although imperfectly ) the nature and condition of eternity , which is the true and proper habitation of our soules , who have no commerce with time , but onely by their union with our bodies . a blessed country , but such a one as doth not equally agree with all constitutions , to some it is an ocean of pleasure , rest , and happiness ; to others , an abisse of everlasting horrour , trouble , and confusion ; the reason of which difference , proceedes from the diversity of those severall dispositions and affections wee carry with us at our parting hence . for the cleare understanding whereof , it is necessary that wee consider the nature of our soules , and examine what are those things which subsist in , and together with them , after the dissolution of our bodies . the heathen philosophers guided only by the light of nature , did ( some of them ) believe the soule of man , to bee immortall , they perceived well that shee was capable of many operations , even in this life , without the mediation of the bodie ; that shee gave a being within her selfe , unto an infinite number of thinges , abstracted from the severall notions of time , place , figure , or any other property incident unto materiall things ; which kinde of being because it sorted not unto the things themselves in their owne nature , they must necessarily receive from her , and they did thence inferr , that shee could not communicate such a being unto them , unlesse shee had an immateriall being in her selfe . they saw the act of judging , was an action purely her own , whereby she produced severall conclusions ( which are new beings ) out of those premises that present themselves to our imaginations ; and knowing the infallibility of this argument , ex nihilo nihil fit , that of nothing there comes nothing , they were fully satisfied the soule had a being , independant from the body , since it was able to communicate a being unto other things , without the helpe of any organes which depend upon her . from the assurance of her being , they collected also her immortallity ; for having by the strict observation of all naturall causes , found out that nothing whatsoever could lose its former being , and acquire a new one ( which wee terme death in living creatures ) but by division , and that , that same could happen but two wayes , viz. either by dividing the matter from the forme , or by dividing the matter within it selfe , they inferred thence ; that since both these wayes were incompatible with the soule , shee was not capable of a reall change , and consequently not of death ( which of all others is the greatest ) not the first , because that shee is immateriall , nor the second , because she is a pure forme , and that all formes are by their being so incapable of division , of increase , or diminution , according unto these two maxims among them , forma non suscipit majus & minus , and this other in indivisibili non fit mutatio . upon the same grounds also they inferred , that all the resolutions , or judgments , and all those sciences , and arts , whether speculative , or practicke , which are in the soule during this life , shall remaine also in her after her seperation from the body ; these being things which depend onely on her , and which are ( in a kind ) part of her selfe , so as without them she would lose something of the perfection of her being . and to conclude , because they saw nothing among all the workes of nature , which did not at some time or other , unlesse ( t' were hindred by exteriour causes ) attaine unto a fulnesse , and maturity wherby it was enabled to reach that end for which it was ordained , and found the reasonable soule alone , which hath for the object of her understanding the truth of all naturall causes , and their effects , was not able at any time during this life , wherein shee is united with the body to comprehend the utmost truth may bee discovered in any art , or science whatsoever ; they thence inferred , that shee was to enjoy a being after the dissolution of the body , wherein she might at freedom exercise the power of reasoning , wherwith shee is endued , and not onely retaine those sciences shee hath acquired heere , but also bee able to conceive all other truth , and knowledge whatsoever , which may bee deduced out of them , by that concatenation and dependance , which the verity of one proposition , hath upon that of another . i have delivered these speculations of the philosophers with this brevity , without setting downe the many arguments used by them for proofe of their assertions , and answer of the objections have beene framed in opposition to them ( wherewith whole volumes might bee filled ) because they have beene since the most part of them confirmed unto us by the tenets of christian religion ; the truth whereof ( being revealed by god himselfe ) is not to bee disputed by mankind , and i have taken this short view of the condition of our soules , onely to this intent , that in the sequell of the ensuing discourse wee may upon these grounds bee able the better to discover , how farr the ordinary working of naturall causes , doth cooperate with the divine justice in the reward of vertuous , and the punishment of vitious persons . for the clear understanding whereof wee must know that all living creatures whatsoever ( except man ) being destitute of reason , suffer themselves without repugnance to bee directed by the rules of nature . ( that is , the ordinary power used by god in governing the world ) which doth sweetly guide them to the performance of those actions , and the obtaining of that end , whereunto they are ordained . but man ( whose portion is a reasonable soule ) assumes the conduct of himselfe , and blinded by selfe love , or overweaning pride , forsakes the generall end of other things ( which is the honour and glory of their maker ) to pursue his owne particular good and follow the inordinate affections of his owne corrupted nature ; the true cause of which mistake is this that followes . those who have curiously searched into the composition of man , observe , that he may be considered in a triple capacity , according unto every one of which hee hath a severall good , that hee proposeth unto himselfe , and endeavoureth to attaine unto during this life . the first is , that of a living creature composed of a materiall body , and a forme that doth communicate unto it life and motion . the second as he is indued with a reasonable soule , capable of discourse , and knowledge , participating thereby of the nature of intellectuall spirits , which plaseth him in a ranke above all the materiall creatures of this inferior world . and the third , as hee is the workemanship of god created by him out of nothing , after his owne likenesse , that hee might serve him with obedience and perseverance , during his temporall being , and be the witnesse , and pertaker of his glory in eternity . the chiefest good of man according to the first , are riches , and corporeall pleasures , called by the apostle , concupiscentia carnis , & oculorum ; concupiscence of the flesh and eyes . according to the second the vanity of humane knowledge accompanied with the forgetfulnesse of god ; or the ambitious desire of obtaining power , honour , and command , called by the same apostle , superbia vitae , pride of life ; those who consider him according to the third capacity , esteeme their chiefest good to consist in the uniting of their wills with god , and in procuring the advancement of his glorious name . now the vast distance there is betweene these ends which men propos●… unto themselves , causeth the great diversity wee see dayly betweene them in the direction and conduct of their lives , each one desiring to obtaine the object of his wishes , by actions suitable unto it . those of the first rank , abandoning themselves to sensuall lusts forget the dignity of humane nature : and abase themselves into the ranke of beasts . those of the second , denying to acknowledge him from whom they have received all those advantages wherein they glory , imitate the divels in their pride , ungratitude , and rebellion against their maker . those onely of the third ranke , entring into the true knowledge of themselves , and of the end for which they were created , submit their wills unto almighty god , and endeavoring to imitate the angells in their prompt obedience , make themselves during this life , fit to enjoy their society after the dissolution of their bodies . from the great contrariety of mens judgments , resolutions , and of the actions and habits , that flow from , and are acquired by them , ariseth the different condition of our soules when they are seperated from our bodies . the corall we see daily , growes in the sea , and i have read , that being under water it may ( by reason of its softnesse ) bee moulded into any shape , or figure whatsoever ; but being once exposed unto the open aire , it forthwith hardens , and is no more capable of change , and alteration : the like happeneth unto our soules , who while they do continue in this sea , o' th' world , are susceptible of the different affections of good , and bad ; according to the severall appearances of things , which working on our fancies , incline our wills unto the following , or forsaking of them ; but having once finished their voyage heere , must alwayes weare the dresse of those affections they have at parting hence , and reape their harvest in eternity suitable unto the seeds they have sowed heere ; according to that saying of the apostle ; quaecunque seminaverit homo , eadem & metet , whatsoever a man hath sowed , the same also he shall reap . let us examine the condition of one who hath abandoned himselfe unto his sensuall lusts , and placing his chiefe good in them , hath imploied all the affections and faculties of his soule , in compassing those objects of his wishes , his stock of time is now exhausted whilest hee endeavoured onely to beguile it with the variety of choise delights ; and death finding him busie in the caressing of his body , hath violently snatched it from him . the stately pallaces , vast treasures , and ravishing beauties , whereof he thought himselfe the owner , are now in the possession of another , and the poore soule is exposed naked upon the confines of eternity . let us with the eyes of contemplation accompany her thither , and see what are her thoughts , what are her entertainments in that countrey wherein as yet she is a stranger . this rude alarme hath rous'd her now out of that pleasing slumber , wherein she retchlessely consumed the time allotted her to labour , and shee is come unto the land of rest , wherein shee must for all eternity , subsist upon the stocke shee hath brought with her : she now begins to take a view thereof , and summing her accounts , she findes that all her large possessions , sumptuous buildings , friends , and riches , have parted with her at the houre of death , that all her pleasures are vanished like a dreame , that her body for whose solace and delight all these were coveted , is mouldring into dust , and ashes ; and that in fine of all that shee hath done ; of all that shee hath seene , suffered , or enjoyed , there remaines nothing with her but her owne inordinate judgements , and affections , which like a raging fire burne her without consuming , whilest all her powers and faculties are racked incessantly , when shee considers the excellencie of what shee hath forgone , the unworthinesse of what she hath pursued , and the impossibility to retract her choice . all that which a most violent passion is able to produce in the most capable subject , is nothing in comparison of her afflictions . wee read that pompeys wife ( shee who was daughter unto julius caesar ) died suddenly with the excesse of griefe caused by the love she bare unto her husband , upon the sight but of a bloudy garment ; which shee knew had beene that day worne by him ; and if we may believe the poets , that same passion drew orpheus to hell among the ghosts , and fiends in search of his euridice , as being company much more supportable unto him , then were his cares , and sorrowes occasioned by her absence : but alas ! what comparison is there betweene the cause of their afflictions ? they sorrowed for their seperation from those they loved but for a time , as being well assured , that although time would not restore life to those had lost it : yet hee would certainly unite them to their loves by giving death to those that sought it : whereas eternity ( though infinite and boundlesse ) cannot in all the vastnesse , of extension , furnish this soule with the least ray of hope , that she shal meet again with those deceitfull pleasures , wherin she had established her contentment . the miseries wee suffer during our union with our bodies , have ever with them this double comfort : viz. that either they themselves wil change their nature , or wee change our opinions touching the nature of them . the course of things wee see is variable , and wee may probably imagine that as our joyes have passed , so also will those things that do afflict us ; or else ; that the acquaintance wee shall make with misery ; will in time so farre alter the nature thereof , that wee shall bee no longer troubled at it . the strongest poysons , do in tract of time , become naturall food to those that are accustomed to them ; as heeretofore , wee read , it happened unto that king , from whom we have the name and use of mithridate ; whereas the miseries of an eternall condition , can never receive ease by any alteration , either in the things themselves , or in the mindes of those that suffer them : because eternity is nothing else but a fixed instant allwayes permanent ; and time is so essentially necessary unto change , that it cannot bee wrought but by his meanes , according to the before recited maxime . in instanti non fit mutatio . the torment which mazentius mentioned ( by virgil in his aeniods ) used to his captives , hath some imperfect weake resemblance of this poore soules condition ; that tyrant used to fasten them unto dead bodies ioyning their hands , their feet , their mouths , their eyes , and all their other parts with those of putrid carcasses . let us consider what were the thoughts of those poor miserable wretches , who though living in themselves were by this union hindred from exercising any the actions of life ; and notwithstanding their natural aversion from stench , from rottenness and from corruption , were yet forced to converse onely with them , exchanging all the happinesse of life , to entertaine those dismall objects , which presented them with nought but ghastlienesse , and terrour . that unto which those wretches were compelled by outward violence is an imperfect representation of what happens to this soule by her depraved habits , and affections , shee hath made choice of bodily delights , and pleasures , as her chiefest good ; she hath imployed during her life the faculty of her understanding in the contemplating , and that of her will in the enjoyment of them ; the often reiteration of these acts , and judgements , have powerfully imprinted them within her , and being thus disposed her temporall union with the bodie hath beene dissolved ; and shee s becom a dweller in eternity ; where ( as i have already shewed ) shee is not capable of alteration , shee very well perceives the base unworthinesse , and vanity of those delights ; and the impossibility of ever comming to enjoy them , but cannot quit her inclinations to them , which not permitting her to exercise her faculties on objects worthy her selfe , fill her with notions of earthly , fading , and corruptible things : whereon ( beginning to bee now sensible of her owne naturall perfections ) shee cannot cast a thought , but doth replenish her with horrour , with confusion and afrightment . the condition of a soule puffed up with pride of humane knowledge , or the ambitious desire of power , and command , after her seperation from the bodie , is yet much more deplorable , then that of the other . the failings of the one have proceeded from a grosse ignorance of the true good was to be followed , and from a soft compliance with the bodie ; whereas this other hath offended out of malice , and contempt of the first cause , from whom shee hath received her being ; the one is to bee looked on as a simple malefactor , whereas this other cannot be considered but as a traytor , and a rebell , who hath attempted to invade the rights of her creator ; and indeavoured to find out a wisdome , and establish a power which should bee independant of him . their passions are proportionable unto the causes from whence they spring , so as if the one give her selfe over to the weake passions of griefe , and lamentation , this other falling from the height of her ambitious pretences , must needs abandon her selfe unto despairer to rage , and fury ; shee hath beene so far blinded during this life by the opinion of her owne wisdome , and sufficiency , or dazeled with the false lustre of her dignities , and power , that she refused to stoop to the divinity , and acknowledge him the onely giver of them : she hath therefore proposed her selfe unto her selfe as the maine end of all her actions , and having thus established a chiefe good opposite unto that of all the other creatures , and setled in her selfe the notions , and affections thereof , shee hath beene seperated from the bodie . when comming to discover the true nature and cause of things , shee findes that whatsoever hath a being , depends on god , as the first cause , and are willingly subordinate unto him as the end , for which they were created ; that her selfe is like a prodigie in nature , whom all the other creatures exprobrate with this her vile ungratitude , treason , and rebellion against their maker ; what can shee doe having thus proudly contemned her god ? & being her selfe forsaken and detested by all other things , but seeke out a retirement in her selfe , where her proud thoughts despoyled of that false greatnesse they had fancied ; feed her continually with envy , rancour , and dispite , against her fellow creatures , and the deity . her case ( in my opinion ) hath some resemblance with that of baiazet king of the turkes , hee who was overcome and taken prisoner by the great tamerlane : this proud prince saw himselfe master of the better part of asia , and having swallowed in his ambitious thoughts the monarchy of the whole world , had besieged the grecian emperour in his emperiall city which hee was upon the point of taking : but in the midst of all his flattering prosperities he was invaded by this tamerlane , who having defeated him in a great battle , caused him to bee shut up within an iron cage , in which being inclosed , he exposed him unto the mockery of all his army , and used him as a footstoole to tread upon , whensoever he had occasion to get on horsebacke ; what were the thoughts of this proud tyrant who haveing lately had the disposall of a world of men , and being regarded by them as a deity ; was suddenly become the scorne of boies , and lackies ? and having formerly fancied to himselfe the empire of the world , was forced to serve another as his footstoole ? all his past greatnesse , power , and prosperities , had now no other subsistance , but in his memory , where they were alwayes present , not to give ease to his afflictions , but to encrease the anguish and the trouble of them , by inspiring him with thoughts of rage , and fury against god and men , by whom his expectations had beene so foulely disappointed . such we may fancy to our selves are the ravings of this poore soule ; though with this difference , that bajazet was able to avoid the trouble of them , by dashing out his braines against the iorn barres of that his prison , whereas this soule can never quit her selfe from being persecuted by those stings of conscience she carries with her as her torturers for all eternity . alas ! how imperfect is that apprehension wee have of the acts which a soule exerciseth after her seperation from the bodie ; by comparing them unto those wee are capable of during this life ? hee that should estimate the motion of the primum mobile ; according unto what hee sees performed heere by a snaile ; would not fall shorter in his conception of the rapid swiftness , wherewith that sphear is whirled about this globe of earth , then wee shall doe in ours , if wee resemble the affections of joy , and griefe , which wee have heere during the union with our materiall bodies , to those a soule hath when shee is severed from it ; whether we shall consider her huge activity , when she is purely an immateriall substance , in comparison of what shee hath when shee is clogged with flesh and bloud ; or the perfection of her operations , when she beholds clearly the things themselves in their owne natures , without helpe of those ideas , or imperfect represent aions of them in our fancies , which wee are forced to use during this life : or lastly , the exemption from time , and place , by which our actions heere are all restrained , but can have no commerce at all with her , who is above the reach of time because of her eternall being ; nor can bee circumscribed in place , as having neither quantity nor matter , the affections of joy , and griefe , as they-reside in the intellectuall appetite of man , are but impulses of our wills upon our other faculties , which carry us on to the enjoying of the one , or shunning the other , with more , or lesse violence , according to the measure of the impression wee receive touching the good , or evill of them ; the force whereof depends upon the active motion of the soule , and therein that of one seperated , hugely surpasseth what shee hath heere , while shee is mingled with the masse of our terrestriall bodies ; powder whereof wee have the dayly use , when it remaines united in the masse whereof it is composed , is easily restrained by the weake closure of a tunne , or barrell ; but if it once take fire will cause an earthquake , and shake the frame of nature if it bee hindred in its course towards the region of fire , which is the proper center , whereunto it tends . the soul hath some resemblance unto this her passions , or impulses ; during her union with the bodie , are weake , and feeble ; but being once devided from it , shee then hath an activity surpassing that of fire , which makes her passions or impulses , become so strong and violent , that they bear no proportion at all with those which we have heere , and enjoy nothing common with them , but their appellation . their force is also very much encreased , by the cleare sight she hath of things in their own natures , without the helpe of any species , drawne from the things , or the conversion of her selfe unto the phantasmes , from whence ariseth the certainty of knowledge , incompatible with doubt , or with opinion ( which are the greatest enemies to action ) since no man ever vehemently covets , or feares a thing , of whose nature hee is uncertain . and , lastly they are beyond measure heightened , by the exemption from time , and place , which shee enjoyes during her state of seperation ; whereby shee comprehends ( after a sort ) all time and place , within her selfe . a little time , and a small place , are capable onely of little alterations , wee are not sensible of the falling of one drop of water , whereas in time it hath the force to pierce the hardest marble ; and the sunes beames , which being divided into sundry places , have scarce the power to warme us , doe ( when they are united , by a glasse ) become a fire that burnes and scorceth . what shall wee say then of a passion , which hath eternity , and an infinity of place for bounds of its continuance , and situation ? all degrees of comparison are heere exceeded , and wee must needs acknowledge that all the miseries whereof a man is capable during this life , are a meere nothing , in respect of what these wretched , wretched , soules , are forced to suffer towardes the expiation of their crimes , for all eternity . what i have heere set downe hath beene to explicate the miserable state of those unhappy soules during eternity ( according to the ordinary course of naturall causes ) who deviating from the true good for the enjoyment whereof they were created , have pursued their owne vitious inclinations , and affections , in stead thereof . but who is hee that can bee able to discover the immense greatness of those punishmēts , which the strict justice of an offended deity , will inflict upon them , for their ungratitude against him ? heere all expression is dumb ; and wee must needs acknowledge our hearts are too too narrow to comprehend the vast abisses of his judgements , as well as the ouerflowing torrents of his mercies . yet since himselfe hath by his onely sonne beene pleased to communicate something concerning them unto mankind ; i shall with reverence draw neere ; and without prying curiously into the hidden secrets of them , attempt to take a short imperfect view of the proceedings , which the divine iustice will order to bee made against these malefactors for the condigne punishment of their offences . how deplorable is the condition of these soules according unto what i have described already ? and yet how happy were it in respect of what it is , were they but left alone to bee tormented onely by themselves ? for they have scarce begun to make a sad acquaintance with their miseries , when they are suddenly invironed with a multitude of divells ; whose ugly shapes cause an affrightment in them equall to that of the imployment upon which they come , and that is to convey them unto the dreadfull judgement seat of god . these fiends do now begin to glory in the successe of their temptations , and whilest they drag them to the place where they are to receive the sentence of their condemnation , practise upon them all those barbarous cruelties , which an insulting mercilesse enemy , can use against a captived wretch delivered over to his rage , and fury . they now have executed their commission , and these poore guilty soules tremble with horrour to see themselves presented before the dreaded ▪ majesty of him , whom having formerly rejected for their advocate and their redeemer , they must now submit unto , as judge of all their actions , and deportments ; those rayes of glory which streaming from his sacred person , replenish all the saints and angells with unspeakeable content , and rleasure , fill them with an excesse of horour , and despaire , by making them reflect upon the innocence wherein they were created , the happinesse for which they were ordained , the base unworthynesse of that for love whereof they have cast off the first , and forfeited the latter ; the prodigious uglinesse of those affections wherewith they now are filled instead of them ; and lastly , that all this must bee proclaimed and justified against them before the dreadfull majesty of god , in presence of the saints and angells , by their owne consciences , produced as witnesses against them to their eternall shame and infamy ; so that incompassed with a legion of these torturing thoughts , as well as divells ; they know not whether of the two hath greater torment , either the expectation of the sentence , or the execution of it . and yet that same is wonderfully terrible , for they are thereby banished from the presence of almighty god , and doomed to live in everlasting fire provided for the divell and his angells , from all eternity . a dismall mansion , whether wee shall consider the place it selfe , which is a region belching out perpetuall flames , and yet covered with an impenetrable darkenesse , or the society of the inhabitants thereof ( who are the divels , implacable enemies of humane kinde ) whose malice keepes them perpetually busied in the invention of new torments , whereby to ad unto the greatness of their afflictions ; or lastly , their entertainments whilest they abide there , which ( as the sonne of god himselfe informes us ) are weeping , & gnashing of their teeth for all eternity . i shall not goe about to reckon up the sundry kindes of punishments inflicted there , on severall persons according to the nature of their severall crimes ; the sulphurous potions which the drunkard shall there bee forced to swallow downe instead of the delicious wines , wherein hee placed his greatest happinesse ; the loathsome food wherewith the glutton shall there bee crammed , in lieu of his choice feasts , and sumptuous banquets , the scornes , indignities , and contempts , to which the proud ambitious man shall bee exposed , in exchange of of that respect , and honour hee sought for heere , and all those different kindes of tortures which the divine justice , dispenseth with an admirable order , amid that horrour , and confusion , according to the different crimes whereof those soules have heere beene guilty ; these have already beene copiously deciphered by other excellent pennes , and cannot bee comprisde by mee within the compasse of this short discourse , nor doe i comprehend , how these materiall things may ( by the ordinary course of nature ) worke any alteration in the immateriall soule , when she is seperated from the body ( for i speake nothing of her condition after the resurrection , when she shall bee againe united to it ) but i must needs conclude her torments farr exceed the force of humane and understanding to conceive ; when i consider , the infinite majesty of that god , for satisfaction of whose justice they are appointed ; the absolute unlimited power of him by whose order they are inflicted ; the huge activity of a seperated soule by whom they are suffered ; and the endlesse continuance of eternity , during all which they are to be endured . we have accompanied these miserable soules unto the brinke of that infernall lake , wherein who ever falles is irrecoverably lost for all eternity ; unhappy persons , to have at all received a being , since they must there exchang the momētary pleasures they have enjoyd in giving satisfaction to their own unbrideled appetites , to live in everlasting flames , tormented by the divells , and the sting of their owne consciences , more cruell to them then those hellish monsters , amongst whom they are confined by the divine justice , for their punishment , and our example . let us now alter the scene , and quitting these sad spectacles of horrour , and affrightment , turne all our thoughts upon the contemplation of a soule , who during life hath proposed god unto her selfe as her chiefe good , and entring into a serious consideration of the unspekable benefits shee hath received from him , in her creation , in her redemption , and continuall preservation , hath by an act of generous gratitude cast off all thoughts of lust , of vanity , or pride , whereunto she was inclined by her concupiscences , and affections , to sacrifice her selfe intirely unto the performance of his will , and pleasure ; the divine grace seconding these good dispositions , hath so illuminated her with the resplendent beames of heavenly light , that shee hath beene enabled to discover some little glimps of those admirable perfections of her creator , the sight whereof hath ravished all her powers , so that enamored on his celestiall beauty she hath conversed during her union with the body onely in heaven , all her thoughts , wishes and affections being continually present there where she had placed her onely treasure . death , whose grim visage affrights the most couragious spirits , is welcome to her , and shee doth quit with joy the base attire of flesh , and of corruption , that she may put on immortallity . let us a little consider the blessednesse of her condition in this state of seperation . knowledge , whose object is the true nature , and cause of things , is so hard to be attained unto during this life , that the philosophers ( who have imployed themselves in search of it ) have a great part of them despaired of being able to find it out . the academicks ( a sect of them much renowned in antient time ) pronounced boldly that there was nothing whatsoever , could be knowne ; the scepticks ( proceeding something more warily ) held that no demonstration could bee made , and did therefore continue doubtfull , denying their assent unto the truth of any proposition . and those philosophers ( who following aristotle ) have established in our schooles a forme of learning , doe ( by a tyranny they exercise over our reason ) command us to admit without proofe so many grounds , or principles ; upon which they establish the doctrine they deliver , that divers of our choicest modern wits , have thence taken occasion to dispute against them , and to endeavour the overthrowing of all that structure they have built upon them . this inextricable laberinth wherein truth is shut up , being impervious by mortall men , caused socrates after all his study in search of her , conclude , that hee was ignorant of all things else save onely this , that hee knew nothing , and the despaire of being able to find her out , made aristotle throw himselfe headlong into the ocean , after hee had long sought in vaine to find the reason of its ebbs and flowings . but she who doth so carefully conceale her selfe from those that live , exposeth freely all her beauties to bee viewed over by this seperated soule , and fills her with the fulnesse of that knowledge in one instant , whose smallest portion wee scarcely gaine by the continuall study of many ages ; the contemplation whereof is a contentment infinitely surpassing all those pleasures which wee are capable of during this life . the queene of sheba , upon the fame onely of salomons great wisedome , thought it well worth her labour to quit the pleasures of her court , and exposing her selfe unto the trouble , toile , and dangers incident to a long voyage , came from the farthest part of all the east to finde him out , that she might have the satisfaction to become a hearer of it . alexander the great , prised at so high a rate those notions of philosophy he had received from aristotle during the time he was his pupill , that he was used to say , hee had a greater obligation to his tutor then to his father phillip , and yet he had from him received his being , & power , sufficient to make himselfe the wonder of succeeding ages , by reason of his glorious victories , and conquests : and archimedes ( the great artist ) had all his powers , and faculties , so wholly taken up , by the contentment hee found in speculating of those demonstrations he had invented touching the symetry and proportion of bodies , that all the rage , and fury , was practised , at the taking in of siracusa , & the destruction of these innocent inhabitants , which peopled that unlucky city ( whereof himselfe was one ) could not divert him from the pleasure of it , or once afford him leasure to make answer unto a souldier , who asked his name , with an intention to have presreved him . if this small dawne of knowledge hath appeared unto the eyes of the beholders with so glorious a luster , as made it preferrable before the sumptuous magnificences of a splendid court , the glittering brightnesse of a crowne , and scepter , or life it selfe , what shall we say of that excesse of pleasure wherewith this soule is filled , when shee enjoyes the fullnesse of all knowledge , and clearely sees the causes , nature , properties , and qualities , of all the workmanships of god ? when she beholds his admirable wisdome , power , and providence , exercised in the continuall upholding of this huge fabrick ? and how from the great contrariety and strife there is betweene the parts whereof it is composed , he drawes the preservation of the whole , by a perpetuall series of generation , and corruption : how death which seemes to bee ordained for destroying the society of humane kinde , is the maine basis whereupon it restes ; because the feare thereof witholds vitious persons from falling headlong into the depth of wickednesse , and the hope of it animates vertuous men to persist constantly , in the rough craggy wayes of good , and vertue . those rare effects of nature that puzzle all our choicest wits in searching out their hidden causes , are then made easie to her , and shee doth plainly understand , whether the fluxes and refluxes of the ocean , are guided by the motion of the moone , or the impulse of that continuall winde , raised under the equator by the sunne , whether that constant inclination of the loadstone towards the north , whereby wee are enabled to make discoveries of the remotest creekes and corners of the sea , is caused by an attractive quallity residing in the poles of the earth , which being somwhat different from those wee fancy in the heavens , produceth that small variation we observe dayly in the compasse , or by those streames of atomes , drawne by the sunnes great heate betweene the tropickes , which flowing ever more from north to south , and penetrating all the subtile pores , whereof the stone is full while it remaines within the earth in that position , doth in continuance of time beget this property , which wee can imitate by often heating of an iron , and placing it to coole ( while yet the por●… thereof are opened by the fire ) d●●… north , and south . or lastly , whether that quallity , together with the power whereby the same is by a touch communicated to the needle , and that whereby it attracts iron to it selfe , depend on causes whereof as yet mankinde is ignorant , whose knowledge is by providence reserved to the discovery of posterity in that age which shall succeede us , as the experience was to those in that which went before us . whether the cherefull light , which wee see darted by the sunne from east , to west , is but a quallity communicated by him in an instant to all the aire , throughout the vast extent of our horison , or is the body of the fire it selfe , which being the most active element , and flowing from the sunne , as from its fountaine , into the liquid element of aire , prevents by its vast distance from us , huge expansion , and active swiftnesse , our feeling , and our sight , from being sensible of any thing which might informe our understanding , touching the measure of its heat and motion . whether the never ceasing turnes we have of day , and night , proceed from the perpetuall motion of all the heavens , carried about by the great violence of the primum mobile , or from the motion of the earth on its owne axis , exposing all the severall partes of it successively , to be inlightened by the sunne ; whether the planets are fixed ; each of them in a severall spheare , whose motion doth direct their courses ; or ( which some think they can demonstrate of the sunne ) moove all of them ( except the moone ) upon their severall axes like the earth . how far their different influences , and aspects , governe all sublunary bodies , causing the birthes and periods , of states , and monarchies , and the perticular happinesse and miseries of private men . but above all shee is intirely satisfied with seeing , how the infalibillity of gods prescience , infringeth not the liberty of mans free will . how nothing heere below , happens by chance , but that his providence disposing sweetly all those things which he hath wrought , permits the miseries of good , and prosperities of wicked men for the advantage of his service ; by exercising and instructing of the one , and by reclaiming of the other , and how in fine by the inscrutable meanders of his judgements hee ordereth so , that all the villany , and wickednesse is practised heere , cooperates unto the good of his elect , and the increase of his owne glory . in these imployments she might with joy spend an infinity of time , were shee not taken off by others of much more delight , and consequence . for shee no sooner leaves times region and comes uppon the confines of eternity , but shee s attended by a troope of angels , appointed to convoy her unto the glorious court of her creator , and shee receives by them an invitation is sent unto her by god himselfe , like unto that wee read of in the canticles . i am hiems transiit imber abiit , & recessit sunge amica mea & veni . my friend the winter of thy chilling cares , and feares , is past , the showers of all thy teares are now blowne over , arise therefore and mount up unto the ever blessed dwelling of eternity . who can expresse those extasies of joy this summons causeth ? or fancy to himselfe the least idea of those pleasing raptures wherewith she is possessed , when she beholds the beauties of the imperiall heaven , which now stands open to receive her ? those holy saints and pious men , who have endeavoured to inflame us with the love of vertue by hope of the reward to come ; accommodating their expressions to our conceits , describe it to us like a spacious citty , built all of gold and precious stones , whose gates are each of them composed of one entire pearle , whose walles are made not for defence but ornament , because her enemies are all destroyed , and shee established in security , above the reach of time or fortune whose houses are of jasper , and of porphyrie , inlaid with rubies , diamonds , and carbuncles , where gold and pollished marble , are not imployed but for the meanest uses . every of whose inhabitants is a great king , and hath dominion over all the workes of nature , a beauty that out shines the sun in greatest height of all his glory , an activity surpassing that of lightning , accompanied with youth , and health , which never shall decay for all eternity . within the circuit of those walles , they represent unto us a large field , beautified with all the choise variety of flowers that can bee thought on , whose fragrant smell sends forth a most delicious perfume to the senses ; in middest whereof passeth a purling streame of living waters , which who so tasts , shall never thirst for all eternity : where a continuall spring preserves all plants , in the full freshnesse of their prime and verdure , where an eternall day suffers not the least eclips of night , or darkenesse , there all the blessed dwellers in this heavenly country doe entertaine each other in perfect love , and concord , with fulness of all joyes , and pleasures , whose compleate happinesse can never be disturbed , by the unwelcome presence of an enemy , or the sad parting of a friend . what a meere nothing , are all the flattering shadowes of content we graspe at during life , being compared to those of this celestiall mansion , which i have heere described ? yet these are the outside onely of their joyes , not to bee prised at all , if once compared to that wherin consists the essence , of their perfect bliss , and happinesse . gold , marble , precious stones , faire fields , coole springs the company of saints and angells , soveraigne power , beauty , activity , youth , health , impassibility , and immortallity it selfe can never satisfie the immateriall soule , without the vision of her lord and maker , this is the center whereunto shee sendes , the object of her powers , and faculties ; this being once obtained , brings with it full repose , and quietnesse , which all created things can never doe . and this is heere communicated freely to her , whereby her understanding is fully satisfied , with the cleare knowledge of all thinges , by sight of him who is both the first cause , and truth it selfe . her will finds also heere what ever object it desireth , in the secure possession of all good thinges , which are united in his nature who is good it selfe . who can describe the infinite advantages , prerogatives , and dignities , that doe accompany this blessed vision ? words are too feeble to expresse , and humane hearts ( though nere so large ) are too too narrow to conceive them . let us conclude ; that as that man who doth pertake of wisedome is truly wise , and who hath courage becommeth valiant , even so this blessed soule , being ingulf'd in contemplation of the diety , by the strict union which that causeth of all her faculties to him , is in some sort a god , enjoying all perfections by participation , which god himselfe hath by propriety . the conclusion . reader having finished these two first heads of this discourse , to wit , a description of what eternity is , and what our condition will be when we shall come to be pertakers of it ; there remained in the last place , that i should according to my promise , have set downe such rules for the conduct of our lives , whilest wee are heere , as might ( being observed ) render us perfectly happy when we should come to be inhabitants in that our country . these rules i meaned should have comprised within them all the vertues , which may bee well reduced into two heads ; that is to say , those which have for their object the divinity it selfe , and those that serve for the well ordering , and disposing of our actions . the principall ones of the first kinde , are those wee call the theologicall vertues , faith , hope , and charity , whereof , the first breeds in us a perfect resignation of our understandings unto god , by assenting with humillity and constancy , without doubt , or hesitation , unto those truths which hee hath pleased to reveale to us for the salvation of our soules : the second makes us with patience and perseverance , continue in the way of vertue ; expecting to bee made pertakers of all those blessings hee hath promised to his servants ; and the third causeth , an entire union of our will with his , which is the greatest heigth of christian perfection , and the assured meanes to attaine unto an everlasting blisse . among those of the second kinde ( being the morall vertues ) the chiefest are , prudence , justice , fortitude , and temperance , ( commonly called the cardinall vertues ) which serve for the well ordering and disposing of all the faculties , passions , and affections , of our soules . prudence , which ought to preside in all the consultations of our understanding ; justice , to governe all the resolutions of our will ; fortitude , to keepe in due subjection the passions comprised under the generall notion of the irascible part of man ; and temperance , to bridle the exorbitancie of our concupiscences , and affections . i had intended to have described at large the nature , and the quallities , of all these vertues , and to have shewed , how all the other may be deduced out of these seven , by reason of the connexion , and relation they have unto each other ; and i had meant , in the contexture of that discourse , to have set downe the way , and meanes , to purge our soules from all the depraved inclinations , and habits , which are opposite unto them , that being thereby cleansed , from all the rust and filth of sin , they might become capable subjects of being illuminated by the divine grace , and bee enabled to discover his admirable goodnesse , and perfections , whereon being enamoured , they might by fervent acts of charity unite their wills entirely unto his , and thereby mount unto the top of christian perfection , which is the assured meanes of being happy in eternity . i say i had intended , for ( although i had spent some time in the digesting , and ordring of this matter ) yet i was put unto a stand in that designe , by a reflexion which i chanced to make upon a saying of that glorious saint , and doctor in the church of god , saint cyprian , who writing unto some of the ethnicks , touching the lives and studies of the christians speakes thus , philosophi factis no verbis sumus , nec magna loquimur , sed vivimus , that is , wee are philosophers in our actions , not in our wordes , nor do we speake great things but practise them . it seemes this holy man thought it much fitter for a christian , to exercise himselfe in vertuous actions then in describing the nature of the vertues . now this opinion of so grave and reverend a father of the church , having at first caused mee to doubt , whether i should proceed to perfecting the worke i had in hand ; i tooke a resolution sometime after to give it over , upon the reading of a passage , reported by some writers in the life of origen , ( that prodigy of wit and learning ) they set downe that being in his old age sensible of divers errours he had runne into ( which made his followers be condemned as hereticks ) he came into the church with an intention to expound some passage out of the scripture , for the instruction of the people ; and to that purpose opening the booke , hee chanced to light upon a passage in the psalmes of david ; wherein the holy prophet speaking of god , saith thus , peccatori dixit , quare tu enarras gloriam meam , & assumis testamentum meum , in os tuum . in english thus , he ( meaning god ) said unto the sinner , wherefore dost thou shew forth my glory and doest assume my testament into thy mouth . the pennitent old man , taking this reproofe as spoken to himselfe , burst forth into a floud of teares , which tooke from him the use of speech , and retiring out of the church , abandoned all the thoughts of teaching others , that he might spend the short remainder of his life in the reforming of himselfe . the reasons which prevailed with this great doctor , have wrought the same effect with mee , and i resolved to quit the farther busying of myselfe in an imployment , wherein i was forbidden to meddle by reason of my sinnes ; and which i was unable to performe , because i am a stranger to the practise of those vertues i should write of , and so might justly feare that inconvenience would thereby happen , whereof wee are forewarned by our blessed saviour in the gospell , to wit , that if the blind shall lead the blind , they both will fall together in the pit . heere therefore i give end to this discourse , with this advertisment onely unto the pious reader , that if he shall desire to have his heart enflamed with the divine love , he must first necessarily cleanse it from all affections unto fading , and transitory things . suetonius in the lives of the twelve first caesars , relates , that when the body of the emperour titus was placed in the funerall pile , to be consumed with fire ( according to the custome of those times ) his heart ( after his body was reduced into ashes ) did many times spring out of the flames , and being at last opened by those who wondred at the strangnesse of the accident , it was found to bee full of poyson ; which hindred the operation of the fire upon it . even so our soules , while they continue fraught with the inordinate love of earthly things ( which are the mortall poison of the soule ) resist the inspiration of the holy spirit , and suffer not themselves to be inflamed by the celestiall fire of charity , which he doth never faile to kindle in those hearts are fitted to receive it . the readiest way for the devout reader to effect this , is wholly to imploy his thoughts , and studies , in the continuall meditation upon eternity , wherin if he be farthered by any thing which i have heere set downe , i then desire , that as i have made him partaker of my meditations , so hee would also make mee pertaker with him in his prayers . finis . two compendious discourses the one concerning the power of god, the other about the certainty and evidence of a future state : published in opposition to the growing atheism and deism of the age. smith, thomas, 1638-1710. 1699 approx. 114 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 33 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a60590 wing s4254 estc r4066 12085062 ocm 12085062 53700 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a60590) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 53700) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 580:14) two compendious discourses the one concerning the power of god, the other about the certainty and evidence of a future state : published in opposition to the growing atheism and deism of the age. smith, thomas, 1638-1710. [4], 60 p. printed for s. smith and b. walford ..., london : 1699. dedicatory signed: tho. smith. includes bibliographical references. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng god -omnipotence. future life -early works to 1800. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-04 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-05 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2005-05 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion two compendious discourses : the one concerning the power of god : the other about the certainty and evidence of a future state. published in opposition to the growing atheism and deism of the age. london : printed for s. smith and b. walford , at the prince's arms in st. paul's church-yard . mdcxcix . to the honourable , samuel pepys esquire . sir , presuming upon your leave and favour , i take the liberty of inscribing your name before two short discourses , written several years since , which i now publish with very little alteration . in the time of a great fire no one is to be an idle stander by or looker on : but he is to contribute , as much as in him lyes , to the extinguishing of the raging and devouring flames : tho' it be onely by handing a bucket of water toward the next engine , which others are laboriously managing with art and skill . this seems to be our present case . dissoluteness of manners , like a pestilential vapour , having diffused its venimous influence farre and wide , and atheisme and deisme growing rampant , and all religion , whether natural or revealed and instituted , being run down and ridiculed by several , who set up for wits and virtuosos , and pretend to greater measures of reason and understanding , than their dull forefathers ever had , who , it seems , prepossessed and prejudiced by a simple education , could not attain to those new discoveries , which they have made : a due concerne for the honour of god and of religion , which is founded upon eternal and essential rules of righteousness and wisdom , will justifie any mans discreet and sober zeal , in opposing the growth of such outragious and impudent blasphemy and infidelity . this i alledge in defense of my little attempt : tho' it may be , it will be lookt upon to be almost as vaine , as if i should go about to stop the violent current of water at london-bridge , when it comes swelling and flowing in with full wind and tide , with my naked hand : all other methods and remedies at present in this wicked and licentious age being ineffectual , i must not say , without a temporary inquisition , but i will say , without a strict and rigorous execution of the laws , made by our wise and godly ancestors : which would make these bold men , if not more sober , honest , and virtuous , at least more modest , reserved , and decent in their behaviour and conduct . having thus made out the sincerity of my intention and design in publishing these papers , i am the less sollicitous , whether i have with equal care and judgment performed the part of a scholar , as well as of a church-man : of which such excellently learned and thoroughly accomplished gentlemen , as your self , are the most able and proper judges . but however , whilst i am endeavouring in my mean way to serve and promote the common cause and interest of religion and virtue , i readily take advantage of this address ; which i present , as a memorial of the great respect , esteem , and honour , i have for you , upon the accompt of your public services and merit , and also of the many great obligations , flowing from an entire friendship , which you have been pleased for several years to lay upon sir , your most faithfull and most humble servant tho smith . a discourse concerning the power of god. all error proceeds from an undue apprehension of things ; which is caused , either by weakness and shallowness of judgment , when there is a defect and inability in the understanding to search to the bottom of things , to examine with a just and wise severity whatever is proposed , before it be admitted , and to weigh all circumstances in an even ballance ; that is , according to sober , fix'd , and sure principles , bottomed upon reason , good sense , and unquestionable experience , and agreeable to the faculties of the mind , and the notions imprinted upon it : or else , which makes the error more dangerous and faulty , by an inconsiderate assent , and an over-hasty partiality , when the affections hinder the calm and deliberate debates of sober reason , and casting a mist before the understanding , altogether blind it : so that it shall not be able to discern truth from falshood , right from wrong , opinion , and plausibility , and conjecture , from certainty , and knowledge , and demonstration . but where the idea's of things , capable of being fully known and proved , are distinct and proper , where the understanding is sound and clear , and where the operations of the mind are free , and undisturbed , either by irregular passion , or by foolish or irrational prejudice , truth is readily discerned and entertained , and makes its way into the mind , with the same easiness and quickness , as the streams of light flow upon the eye , which is open , and not otherwise indisposed to receive them : by the help of which it may see all those glorious and astonishing objects , that from every part of the visible creation present themselves . for want of this rightful method and just principle in examining the truth of things , many are very apt and very willing to cheat themselves , and out of a lazy kind of ignorance , and a foolish belief , that all things are , and must be , as they phansie , take up idle and false opinions , and that not only concerning things of nature , ( of which be our perceptions true or false , it matters not much in things purely speculative , if they have no influence upon life , manners , or government ; and a latitude of opinion is justly allowable in such things also , as are not capable of a clear and satisfactory decision , either by sense , experiment , or demonstration ) but also concerning religion : opinions , which contradict its holy designs , and directions , and commands : such too , as are derogatory to the nature and attributes of god ; such , as are altogether dishonourable and unworthy of him , and inconsistent with his divine perfections . that god is a being absolutely perfect , and consequently of infinite power , nature and right reason , even abstracted from revelation , suggest to every considering man to admit and assent unto : and no one , who hath any just or true notion of god , can possibly deny it , without great violence done to his faculties : and yet when any difficulty presents it self , which we cannot master , and when we are puzled and dissatisfied in our search of things , we presently fly off , and whatever is above the reach of our nature , or above the comprehension of our knowledge , or above our contrivance , or above our power , must be denied to be possible even to god himself , because we cannot conceive it , or rather will not conceive it a right : thus bringing all things down to our narrow and scanty model , and levelling , not onely the highest mysteries of revealed religion , but the essential perfections of the godhead , knowable by the light of nature , and the principles of natural religion , that there are such , and necessarily must be so , with our low , dull , and earthy phansies . to obviate these mistakes therefore , which may arise from a misapprehension of this divine attribute , i shall endeavour to settle the true notion of it : upon the clearing up of which , all those doubts and scruples , and objections , which some bold and presumptuous men , as void for the most part of all honest and sober morals , as they are of sound learning and philosophy , being equally debauched and corrupted in their understanding , and in their behaviour and practise , are wont as it were triumphantly to propose even in places of publick resort , as well as in their ordinary conversation , in this sceptical and atheistical age , against a creation , against the miracles recorded in the holy scriptures , against the doctrine of the ever blessed and adorable trinity , and of the incarnation of the son of god , and lastly against the belief of a resurrection , and the like , will vanish and disappear ; and all those truths , whether natural or revealed , which they with equal rashness and impiety have pronounced impossible , will be found just objects , as to the former , of our knowledge and understanding , and as to the latter , of faith and of a wise and rational assent . in order hereento i will shew these three things : i. what is the true and proper notion of the divine power ; and in what respect it is said , that nothing is impossible to god : that ii. the attribute of infinite power is necessarily included in the notion and idea of god : and that iii. it is altogether unreasonable to limit the power of god in things possible , or deny any doctrine of religion , whether revealed in scripture , or flowing from the principles of natural reason , because it transcends either our power or our understanding . i. what concerns the first particular , viz. what is the true and proper notion of the divine power , and in what respect it is affirmed both by the voice of nature and scripture , that nothing is impossible to god , may be comprized in these two following propositions . 1. the first proposition is , that god can readily and easily effect and do whatever is absolutely possible to be done . the world , it is certain , from the beginning has been subject to the laws of providence , and all things run the course , which was at first set them , and are directed and carried on to the several ends of their creation by an unerring hand : and notwithstanding their several tendencies , all concur to accomplish the great design of god , and that without prejudice to their respective natures . thus the celestial orbs and vortices have their fixt periods and revolutions : the sun , and moon , and stars are regular in their motion , and take their rounds day and night about the earth : and the great ocean in its ebbs and flows follows the laws of motion and statick principles . and so for all other natural agents : they have their limits set them , which they cannot pass : they only do what is agreeable to their nature ; and they can do no more : the powers , whereby they act , being necessary , but withal confined . yet though this order and course of things be fixt and settled , and seldom interrupted by god , unless to alarm the world , and for some great end , and to shew , that nature depends upon him , and that all things subsist by his power , which is onely able to preserve what it first made : yet there is no repugnance , that things might have been made otherwise , than they are , if it had pleased him . we cannot but acknowledge several possibilities of things , lying in their causes , which we , by reason of our weakness , cannot draw forth into effect : for want of such and such combinations , and by reason of several impediments and accidents , which it is not in our power to remove , or through some indisposition in the matter to be wrought upon , it happens , that those possibilities are not clothed with actual existence : there being no repugnancy in the nature of the thing it self , and the defect wholly arising from some other cause . whatsoever effects there are then of the divine power now existing , more may be produced : new species of things may be added , and new worlds made , whatever becomes of the hypothesis of the habitableness of the planets , and of the opinion , that every fixed star is a sun , at an almost immense distance from the earth , and from one another : and those things , which are , might have been endowed with different powers , activities , qualities , impressions , motions , and operations ; and matter made capable of other far different modifications , and determinations of particular motions , from which might have been derived inconceivably great variety of other natural productions . and here it may be necessary to interpose , that god does no more , than what he first wills : his power is directed by his wisdom and divine pleasure , which is the rule and measure of it : which consideration should justly satisfie us about the late creation of this visible world , in which we breath . to call in question therefore the accompts given of it by moses , who fixes its beginning not many thousand years ago , as our modern atheists and deists do , and to object idle , foolish , unlearned , and groundless phansies against those authentick registers , acknowledged in all ages since his time , and which the more grave and judicious sort of heathen writers have revered , and from whence they have borrowed several of their tenents both of philosophy and religion , though oftentimes artificially disguised , or corrupted with their fabulous additions , is altogether irrational . for let these men of high-flown wit and phansie deny , if they can or dare , and at the same time pretend to reason like philosophers and scholars , whether this is not to prescribe to the almighty and alwise god , what he should have done , and with equal impudence and impiety limit his will. for suppose , for arguments sake , that the world had been created forty or fifty thousand years before , or if they will , so many myriads and millions of years , and that the chronology of the chineses , chaldeans , and egyptians , which latter is preserved out of the writings of manetho , a priest of that country , who lived in the time of prolemaeus philadelphus , by julius africanus , and out of him by eusebius and georgius syncellus , were not fabulous , and proceeded not from a vain affectation of antiquity , but had some ground in nature and history : yet considering the eternal power of the godhead , the same question might as well be put , ( and it may be put thousands of years hence , if the present constitution of the world should continue so long undissolved ) why was it not produced sooner : this mighty space , as it seems to us , poor , frail , and mortal creatures , who are permitted by the great god , who made us , to live here upon earth three or fourscore years at furthest , being comparatively inconsiderable , and holding no proportion to a duration , which had no beginning . thus , at last , these conceitedly inquisitive men lose themselves in the rambling and unbounded flights of their phansie , or else run themselves upon this gross absurdity , that dull and unactive matter is eternal , and take upon them to direct an alwise and infinite being , when , and what worlds he should make : not considering , that the mind of god is unsearchable , and past the comprehension of finite understanding , and that no reason ought to be demanded of his divine will and pleasure , and of his actions ad extra , as the school-phrase is . for want of this consideration also , others there are , and the platonists especially , who under a pretense of advancing the divine goodness , do really , and in effect , destroy it ; whilst they make the emanations of it physical and necessary , which are most arbitrary and free , and the pure results of his will. the powers of moral agents are at their own disposal , to use when and how they please : and by this they are discriminated from natural ; who act according to their utmost strength and vigour , unless their activity be hindred by a miracle , and from brutes , birds , and other animals , who are devoy'd of reason , and follow their innate instincts , motions , and appetites . where there is a principle of knowledge and liberty in the mind to guide and direct it , as in men , who have thereby a power over themselves and their actions , it is far otherwise : and it is not necessary , that they do all which they can do . nor is this power therefore to be accounted idle , and to no purpose : because they can make use of it , whensoever it shall make for their interest and advantage , or whensoever their reason , or even their phansie , shall judge it fit and proper to reduce it into act . much more is this to be allowed to god , whose other attributes are as infinite , as his power : psalm cxv . 3. our god is in the heavens ; he hath done whatsoever he pleased . psalm cxxxv . 6. a whatsoever the lord pleased , that did he in heaven and in earth , in the seas , and in all deep places . and if his wisdom had thought fit , and if he had once willed the same , instead of creating one world , he might have created a thousand . however , the object of the divine power in its fullest latitude and comprehension , abstractedly considered , is , whatsoever is absolutely and simply possible . by which terms we are to exclude ( b ) 1. whatever is contrary to the nature and essential perfections of the godhead . thus it is impossible for god to lye : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ebr. vi . 18 : to which passage , as to many others in that epistle , * s. clement alludes : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : because he is a god of infinite veracity . god cannot deny himself : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 tim. ii . 13. god cannot but make good his word , whether we will believe , or no : if we are resolved to be infidels and scepticks in the midst of so much conviction , which christianity affords concerning the truth of its mysteries and doctrine , and the truth of its promises : if we throw in our scruples and doubts , and distrust his word , we shall one day be convinced and ashamed of such irrational infidelity : his word shall infallibly be effected ; veracity being as essential to god , as necessary existence : and if god cannot but be , he cannot be otherwise , than just and true . if we believe not , yet he abideth faithful ; he cannot deny himself . and for the same reason we remove from god whatsoever savours of imperfection , as being repugnant to the idea , which we have of him , who is a being infinitely and absolutely perfect . and in strictness of speech , if such things could be done , he would not be omnipotent ; because they are arguments and demonstrations of weakness . for what is a lye , but a plain confession of guilt , and of fear , that we dare not tell and own the truth , when we are demanded it ? unfaithfulness is a breach of that moral honesty and integrity , which humane nature and the civil laws and rules of government require between man and man. god is alsufficient , and therefore cannot stand in need of the assistence of his creatures : whereas we want , because we have not an absolute and full power and command over things , and cannot dispose of them , as and when we will , to supply our selves . our being deceived proceeds from our ignorance : but god cannot be deceived , because he is omniscient , and knows the secret thoughts and intentions of the heart , and all things are naked and open before him : there being an utter impossibility of error in the divine understanding . our sickness flows from ilness of temper , natural decays of animal and vital spirits , and tainted and vitiated bloud and other humors ; and death is the punishment of sin , and the effect and consequence of a frail and brittle constitution : the curious machine of the body , being quite worn out by age , at last falling into pieces , tho' otherwise never so carefully preserved from the disorders of intemperance , or the mischiefs of chance , or the assaults of violence . all which imperfections the very notion of a god does wholly exclude and remove . 2. by this we are to exclude whatever implies a contradiction or a repugnancy in its nature ; as that the same thing should be and not be at the same time , and in the same manner and respect : and that things , which have been , should now be made not to have been . things might not have been , before they were : but when once they have been , they cannot but be : which onely is a necessity by way of supposition . whatever then is repugnant to the nature and essence of a thing is therefore impossible , because otherwise the thing would be the same , and not the same : the essence would remain entire , and yet be destroyed at the same time : which is a clear and manifest contradiction . power therefore , in the essential notion of it , is no way extensible either to the doing or reconciling real and perfect contradictions : because the opposite terms destroy each other , and consequently there is an utter impossibility of their subsisting together : and if we examine the contradiction thoroughly , we shall find , that there is always in one of the terms a plain and manifest denial of being . thus to imagine , that the humane nature of our b. saviour , by reason of its union with the word , should become in a manner immense , and fill all places , because the godhead does ; what is it , but to confound essential properties of things , which are altogether irreconcileable ? or to assert , that a body , continuing one and the same , should yet be multiplied into several entire wholes : that the entire body of christ should be in the least crum of a wafer , and the several parts of it be distinct , and retain the same figure and order , and be extended at their full length , as they lye unconfused as it were in an indivisible point : be in heaven and upon earth at the same time : be upon a thousand altars together in the most distant parts of the world , without any discontinuity , and be brought thither by the pronunciation of five words , not to urge the ugly and horrid consequences , which flow from the admittance of such a grosly absurd opinion ; what is it , but to impose , under the pretense of an infallible authority , upon the faith , understanding , and reason of all mankind , and peremptorily lay down contradictory and self-destroying notions , as necessary terms and conditions of catholick communion ? if in things , which are plainly and confessedly possible in themselves , we are not to engage the infinite power of god without a just cause , nor to think god almighty obliged to make good our groundless and extravagant phansies : much less are we to destroy the nature of things , and swallow down and maintain real and manifest contradictions , and make that , which would be one of the greatest wonders of the world , supposing , that it were possible , to be done ordinarily , and every where , and every day , a thousand times , without any other proof , than our bare phansying so : as they do , who maintain the doctrine of transsubstantiation in all the school-niceties of it , against scripture and reason , against the principles of nature and philosophy , against the attestation of sense , and the judgment of antiquity , and against the experience of all mankind : and do all this , rather than admit of a figurative expression in the words of the institution . in favour of this monstrous tenent , the romanists object to us the incomprehensibility of the mysteries of faith ; and hence think , that they may elude all those unanswerable difficulties , which this new doctrine is charged with , and that there is argument enough to satisfie their doubts in that misapplyed saying , the effect , it may be , of rapture and indiscreet devotion , ideo credo , quia est impossibile . but the great disparity , which is between them , is easily obvious to any one , who will give himself leave to consider things calmly and fairly , and not suffer himself to be imposed upon by a pretense of an authority , absolutely to be obeyed and submitted to , as well in doctrine , as in matters and decrees of discipline , without the least scruple and hesitation . as , 1. that there is the highest reason in the world to believe the mysteries of faith , tho' they transcend our utmost capacity ; because they are expresly and clearly revealed in the writings of the new testament . it is the greatest security of our faith imaginable , that god has said it ; and therefore let the thing revealed seem never so unlikely and harsh to my understanding , i have as much reason to believe it , as any thing , which happens ordinarily every day , and presents it self to my senses ; nay more : for there is a possibility , that a particular person may be deceived sometimes , not to say all mankind , even in a matter of sense : but there is an utter impossibility , that god should be deceived in any proposition he has thought fit to reveal . but this they will not pretend to say for their transsubstantiation , that there is the same evidence of scripture for it , or indeed , that they have any evidence at all , as many of their own party have confessed ; and for want of which they have recourse to the authority of the church . besides , their greatest stress for the proof of it wholly lyes upon a gross and unnatural sense of words , which are capable of a far easier and more agreeable interpretation , especially when the other words , used by our b. saviour in the blessing and consecration of the wine , are most certainly and undeniably figurative . 2. these articles are essential to the christian faith : the doctrine of it cannot be entire without them : and besides , they were explicitely believed and assented to , as to the matter of them , from the first ages of christanity , tho' there were some disputes raised about the terms , by which they were expressed , and a latitude used in the explication of them : and the disbelief or denial of them was justly branded with the odious name of heresie in general councils : and the dissenters anathematized and thrust out of the communion of the church , and the true doctrine of the christian religion , as delivered by christ and his apostles , secured and established against the corruptions and innovations in after-times by publick creeds universally received . whereas this is a meer novel doctrine , first brought into the church the better to establish the gross errors and superstitions relating both to the opinions and practises of image-worship , and advancing by degrees in times of horrible ignorance and corruption of manners , till it came first to be decreed and established an article of faith by the assessors of the lateran council : besides , it does no way serve or promote the interests of christianity , but does very much prejudice it , and expose it , i am sure , to the contempt of the enemies of it , both turks and jews , who choose rather to continue in their infidelity , than submit to it upon their first disbelieving their very senses . 3. there is a vast difference between them in respect of their subject-manner . things relating to god are above the level of our understanding ; most of our little knowledge being derived from sense , which cannot reach those objects , that are altogether abstracted from it : whereas this falls under the examination of our senses and reason : they are things we every day converse with : things we may safely pretend to judge of , as being every way proportionable to our faculties . 4. these articles of faith involve in them no true and real contradiction , as the doctrine of transsubstantiation does . the christian religion proposes nothing to our belief , but what is possible , and therefore credible ; as has been proved by several learned men of our church against the heterodoxies and blasphemies of the socinians : nothing , which contradicts or thwarts the common and established notions of nature : i say , the doctrine of it , as it is contained in the scripture , and according to the ancient tradition of the catholick church , and the explications of the first oecumenical councils : to both which , tradition and authority , next to the sacred scripture , which is the rule of faith , we ought to have regard even in controversies of faith ; and not as it is perplext and entangled by the bold niceties of the school-men , who have corrupted the truth and simplicity of the christian religion by the mixtures of the philosophy of plato and aristotle . so that we do not limit the divine power , or deny it to be infinite , as the bigotted romanists pretend , because we reject this figment of transsubstantiation , as a false , absurd , and contradictory doctrine , ( besides the other above-mentioned exceptions , which no sophistry or cavil can honestly and truly put by , or justly satisfie ) which they ought to prove to be in the number of things possible . all which we believe from the nature of this attribute , as we are obliged , that god can do . 2. the second proposition is this , that nothing can hinder the effects of god's power , if once he has willed and determined the same * . and of this truth , both of nature and religion , the very heathen had a fixt belief and apprehension , viz. that all opposition made against god was vain and ineffectual : and that though some , according to the fictions of their poets , were so foolish , as well as impious , to make a war upon the gods , and attempted to pluck jupiter out of his throne ; yet they always came by the worst , and were cast down from their hopes , and from those mountains , which they had laid one upon another to scale heaven with , to feel the revenging effects of that power , which before they had so much slighted . here below power may be either balanced and resisted with success , or else it may be undermined or baffled by wit , and policy , and stratagems of war : and great armies have sometimes been routed and vanquished by inconsiderable numbers , and have met with shameful defeats and overthrows . but the divine power is irresistible : there is no withstanding it : the whole creation must needs tremble and sink at the presence of god : and this the proud assyrian king was forced to confess , when he was recovered from his phrensie : dan. iv . 35. that the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing , and that god doth according to his will in the army of heaven , and among the inhabitants of the earth , and none can stay his hand , and say unto him , what dost thou ? so that we see , that the credibility of this article is founded not onely upon scripture and revelation , but upon nature and right reason : which i shall more fully prove , by making good . ii. the second general head , that the attribute of infinite power is essentially involved in the notion and idea of god. power in it self is an excellence and perfection : and things are more or less valued according to the greater or lesser degrees , which they have of it . i do not mean that force and energy onely , such as is found in inanimate beings , arising from the several dispositions of matter , whereby they are apt to make those great alterations , that are in the world : because their operations are necessary , but withal limited to a few particular effects : nor such a power , as is in brute creatures , arising from the strength and quantity of animal spirits , from the temper of bloud , and from the make and constitution of their bodies : but such a power , as is directed by reason , and is arbitrary and free , and may be used or not used , according as upon debate and deliberation shall be judged most convenient : such a power , as extends it self to various objects , and effectually brings to pass , what is designed in the mind , and contrived in the brain : a power , whereby a man has a full command over things , and can subject them to his will and disposal , and make use of , so as to advance himself , and get the mastery over others , and make himself be dreaded every where . yet however such a one , who has attained a despotick power , whether rightfully by succession , or by force of arms and cruelty , or by the arts , whether of lawful or wicked , policy , may please himself with the success of his councils and stratagems and dextrous management of affairs , both in peace and war , and phansie great matters of himself , and swell with the thoughts of his acquired greatness : he is not able to withstand the least sickness : this can soon mortifie him , and bring him upon his knees , and make him sensible of his weakness , and the folly of his pride . when god does but arm the most despicable creatures against him , and gives them a commission to assault and invade him , the least infliction baffles and routs his hopes and confidences , gives him a fair prospect of himself and of his defects , and shews him , what a miserable creature man is at the best , who cannot secure himself of health , of happiness , of life for one moment . by this he is made to see and acknowledge , that there is something above him , to whom he is accountable , that orders and disposes of all things at his pleasure : that all that power , which is distributed among so many creatures , in such a strange variety and subordination , is derived from some supreme being , in whom it is united , and infinitely much more : and if that he withdraw his influence , or blows upon any counsel , it comes to nothing , and the designs of these mighty men , who have got the empire of the world into their hands , are soon at an end together with their lives , and they faint away , and drop into their graves , and all their thoughts perish ; because all the power they have is but the communication of his will , an emanation of his providence , and an imperfect shadow of that power , by which he governs the world : all second causes being influenced by him , and acting onely by virtue of what they have received . for it is the plain and unconstrained collection of reason , that nothing has of it self a power to act , whereby it contributes to make up the harmony of the world : that their essences and the operations , flowing from them , are both limited , and are easily dissolvible by that power , which first made them ; and that they have a dependence upon a being , which is infinite , and almighty , and independent . what a blot and stain would it be to that fair idea of a god , to imagine , that any thing possible could be above his power , or too hard for his omnipotence ? what were this but to cloath him with the infirmities of a man , to level him with his creatures , and to take off that essential and necessary distinction between them ? this power then must be infinite : for what can limit or restrain it ? who can put a force upon him , or stop his procedures , when there is nothing equal and co-ordinate ? can man , whose breath is in his nostrils , who a few years since had no being , and that which he has , he owes wholly to another , born an infant into the world , made to his hands : he , as soon as he comes to years , and can use his reason , and discern things , quickly perceives his weaknesses and wants , and cannot help himself . can the united strength of other creatures ? they act onely , as they are directed : all that they have is plainly borrowed , and at the disposal of him , who made them . they may be traced to their originals , and are perishable in their natures : it is the power of god , which , as at first gave , still continues to them their being . now to demand , why is there then no infinite effect of an infinite power ? is to forget , that this implies a contradiction : infinity being an incommunicable attribute , and onely peculiar to god ; and therefore the distance will ever remain infinite between the opposite terms of such a relation , as that of the creator to the creature . but god has given sufficient displays of his power , and the effects of it are so various and innumerable , that they are convincing and demonstrative arguments of its being infinite , and that no power less than such could ever have produced them . the invisible things of god from the creation of the world are clearly seen , being understood by the things , that are made , even his eternal power and godhead . i rom. 20. we judge of worldly productive power by vast piles of building : but what is a pyramid , or an aquaeduct , or a colossus , or an amphitheater , to the orderly and glorious frame of things ? how pitiful and mean in comparison of the heavens ? let us cast up our eyes thither , and there behold * the several orbs moving on in an uninterrupted order , the swiftness of their motion , and withall the greatness of their bodies , that the earth , about which poor mortals contend so much , and to get a little part and share of , which they cannot possess long , venture their quiet and their lives , and oftentimes their very souls , is but a point in respect of them : the vast distance between us and the heavens : the glorious and inexhaustible brightness of the sun and the stars , and the kind influences of them upon all things here below , and the like : and we cannot but be filled with the admiration of god , who made them . the heavens declare the glory of god , and the firmament sheweth his handy work . let us reflect upon the situation of the earth , how it is hung upon nothing in the middle of the heavens , having no foundation to rest upon , but a magnetical vigour , imprinted by the hand of god , whereby the parts of it are so firmly united , all of them tending toward the center by an innate principle of gravity , that , if it were possible for it , according to the phansy of archimedes , to be moved out of its place by any engine , it would return speedily to it again : the virtue and fruitfulness of it in producing those various sorts of plants , flowers , and trees , with those several minerals and metals , and other fossils , which lye hid in the bowels of it : the great variety of living creatures , which serve for the ornament and beauty of the creation : and above all , let us contemplate man : the curious make and frame of his body , and the uses of each part : but chiefly the faculties of his mind , whereby he is able to govern himself and the other creatures subject to him , and even make use of those things , which he cannot alter and change , and derive a benefit from them to himself . now the conclusions , naturally arising hence , are 1. that the builder and maker of all is god : because this frame and constitution of the world is above all created strength and power , and things could not make themselves , but owe their being and original to his divine will , and to his infinite power and wisdom : and 2. that he , who made the heavens , and the earth , and all things therein , who has hung up those lights in the sky , which flame so brightly : who has imprinted such a swift and unwearied motion in the stars : who has filled that vast distance of space between us and them with so subtil and perspicuous a body : who has cast the earth into such a figure , that every part of it might enjoy the influences of the heavens with the greater advantage , and as it were interchangeably and by turns : who has caused those deep channels for the waters , upon which ships may pass from one extreme part of the world to the other , and keep up and maintain a commerce with all mankind ; and the like : he can do much more : his power is not confined to any one effect : if he does but once will the same , presently a new world shall start up out of nothing . for what shall hinder ? it being equally easie to an infinite and inexhaustible power to make more , as one . who questions an artists power , who has brought some curious piece to perfection , whether a statue , or a picture , or a watch , or a medal ; but that supposing the same conveniences , he can make more according to the first model , and vary and alter it according to the several workings and movings of his phansie ? and if this be so easily conceivable , and withal so agreeable to reason , who can doubt of those lesser things , which have been brought to pass in the several ages of the world : such , as are the alterations of the course of nature for a time , as the standing still of the sun and moon , ( that disorder in the heavens , which this interruption might cause , being soon after removed , and the former regular motion restored ) the dividing of the red sea into two parts : the waters of it rising up and standing on an heap , the wonders of aegypt , and all those stupendious miracles , wrought by our blessed saviour and his apostles ? for if we consider things thoroughly , as great things are done every day : but the commonness of them takes away the wonder , and makes us slight and neglect them . let us embrace either of the two hypotheses , it matters not . one would judge it more incredible , that so great a body , as the sun , or earth , should move at all , than that the motion of the one or other should be interrupted and stopt for some hours , but that our senses and the interchanges and vicissitudes of day and night , and the several seasons of the year , assure us of it : and it is as great , if not a greater , wonder , that the tides should be so regular and periodical according to the course of the moon , and that this flux and reflux should be made twice almost in five and twenty hours , than that the waters in a small gulph , as is the arabian , should rise and swell as it were into a mountain , and leave part of the channel dry and bare , and to be passed over on foot . they will say , that these admirable effects are according to nature : a word used by these men , who are afraid to own a deity , to very ill purposes . but what do they mean by nature ? do they mean a principle of things , void of life and understanding ? but can the stately , and curious , and regular frame of things flow from such a principle ? can that , which has no sense , or understanding , or life , or skill , be the author of such beings , which are endowed with all ? how comes it to confer that upon others , which it has not in it self ? if they say , that they mean by nature that order of things , which was fixt and established by god , the supreme cause , in the beginning , by which the world is ordinarily governed : why then will they deny the god of nature to be able to alter it , when it shall make for his glory ? a serious reflexion upon the ordinary works of nature will quickly silence all those doubts and scruples , which have been raised by a company of ignorant , illiterate , and debauched atheists and deists against the belief of the miracles recorded in the scriptures , and confirmed by unquestionable evidence of thousands , who have seen them done , and were actually present at the doing of them , upon this foolish pretence , because they seem to contradict the present state of things , as if that could not be altered , changed , and exceeded : which is nothing less , than to limit and tye up as it were the hands of an almighty agent . thus nature and reason fully and unconstrainedly give in their suffrages to the truth of this article : and certainly , tho' some shallow wits may acquiesce in second causes , and think , that they have attained their end , if they can find out some of the nighest and most immediate , and relying very vainly and presumptuously upon the supposed strength of the atomical or mechanical philosophy , go about with great impiety to exclude god from having any thing to do either in the making or governing the world : yet whosoever , like a wise and true philosopher , and sober rational man , will search further into the originals of those immediate and fundamental causes of things , and carefully observe , how they are linked and tyed together ; in what excellent order ; and to what wise ends and purposes ; he will find himself under a necessity of having speedy recourse to the infinite wisdom and power of god : and therefore , as that excellent person , the lord verulam , observes in his essays ; god never wrought a miracle to convince atheism : because his ordinary works sufficiently convince it . now as it is altogether absurd to proceed upon slight and narrow principles , taken up from the observation of the present and usual state of nature , to the prejudice of the truth of miracles , which suppose it alterable , and actually at that time altered : so it argues the same presumption and folly to doubt of the possibility of a thing , and deny the great truths and principles of religion , whether natural or revealed , meerly because they are above our faculties , and are not proportionable to those ideas and conceptions , which we derive from sense and the impressions of outward objects . which is the third general head of this discourse , which i undertook to make good : namely that iii. it is altogether unreasonable to deny the verity of the divine attributes , and limit the power of god in things possible , or refuse to submit to the belief and acknowledgment of the mysteries of faith , because they transcend either our power , or our understanding and comprehension . which proposition i shall consider in its particular branches . 1. it is most unreasonable to lay a restraint upon god almighty , and limit his power , and deny any thing to be possible , which is no way repugnant to the essential perfections of the godhead , and does not involve in it self a real and manifest contradiction , upon this pretense , because it transcends our power , or the whole power of created nature . in this indeed , as i have intimated above , we have the advantage of all other creatures here below , that they act either necessarily , or else spontaneously onely * , that is , according to natural instincts , and are hurried on to their several objects by the force and sway of their appetites , and consequently do nothing by deliberation and choice . thus the birds build their nests spherically , and the bees are very artificial and curious in making the hony-comb , and the silk-worm and the spider spin a very fine and subtil thread : they perform the task , which the wisdom of the great creator has set them , and are directed to those ends by his omniscience , and to those onely : for they cannot vary these actions , peculiar to each , according to their different powers . it is man onely in this visible world , tho' sent into it weak , and helpless , and unarmed , who , when grown up to maturity of years and judgment , by the help of his wit and reason , can conquer the other creatures , and make them serviceable to his uses , and easily master them , notwithstanding their wildness and fierceness , and hereby exercise an entire dominion over them , as being constituted lord of the creation : who can first design and contrive , and then perform and execute , what lyes within his reach and within his view . it is by this , that he has invented that great number of instruments and engines , whereby he reaches heaven , and takes an accompt of the order and motion of the stars , and of their several periods and revolutions , tho' at that vast distance from them , and makes them serviceable to the measuring of his time , and directing him in his travels and voyages . it is by this , that he dares commit himself to that inconstant element , and by the directive virtue of a contemptible stone , as it appears to be , tho' more valuable for this admirable use , than all the diamonds of india , can find his way in the great ocean , where there is no track , and encompass the world from one pole to the other , and keep pace as it were with the sun in its eastern and western course . it is by this , that he raises stately mansions and fortifications , for his pleasure and defense , cuts through rocks , and joyns distant rivers and seas by artificial channels , and invents those curious manufactures , together with that great variety of other artificial productions , which serve both for ornament and convenience . and all this is done by a dextrous and skilful application of actives to passives : by framing and shaping the materials , which are made to his hands : by putting different things together , by enquiring into their nature and use : by study , and experience , and observation : by often repeated and adventurous tryals : by casting about in his thoughts , how to secure himself of success : by proceeding slowly and by degrees , according to method and order : and the success has been glorious and admirable , and a new world of things has been added ; and every where , except in sandy deserts and uncultivated plaines and forrests , and in such countries , where the wild people are not reduced to gentleness and civility of manners , are erected monuments of mans wit and power . but how great soever this may seem , yet it is very little , and pitiful , and inconsiderable in comparison of what he does not know , and what he cannot do : thousands of things there are above his power , which neither his wit nor his arm can reach : it is not in his power to create one atome of matter : he does but disguise things all this while , and put them into new shapes . all that he can pretend to , is but to know nature ; and that very imperfectly , and to imitate it , as well as he can , and draw rough copies of that perfect original . for how rude , and homely , and inartificial are the best pieces of the ablest artists , if compared with the curiousness , with the neatness , with the beauty of natural compositions ! these are so curious and admirable , wrought with such excellent and extraordinary skill , that the most sagacious and inquisitive cannot fully comprehend them . all things are so exactly and geometrically fitted to their proper uses , even the least fibre , and the minutest particle , tho' imperceptible to the naked eye : there being nothing idle and useless in nature . there is so much accuracy and perfection in the meanest and most contemptible pieces of the creation , that the more a wise man , a philosopher , considers , the more he is at a loss : and the result of his serious thoughts , after they have been long busied and tired out in the search , is this , that they are all the works of a divine hand , guided by an infinite wisdome . thus every considering man , even by a slight , much more serious and deliberate , contemplation of nature , cannot but be fully satisfied and convinced , that there is an all-powerful being , which has wrought all these glorious effects : or else such a one , if yet such a silly creature , which has the shape , and pretends to the reason of a man , can be found , must fall into this prodigious and irrational error , which no one can be guilty of without the just imputation of phrensie , that all that he sees , is not the production of contrivance and design , but meerly of accidental hits , strugglings , and conjunctions of little particles of matter , floating up and down in an infinite empty space : that things fell into this admirable order and frame , which has distracted and confounded the wits of all ages fully to understand and make out satisfactorily , at first as it were of their own accord , as if they had had life , and sense , and power to determine their own motions , and mutually agreed to do this , having first made themselves : or which is as gross and foolish a phantasie , ( though herein the aristotelean atheist thinks himself a fine wit and a subtil arguer in comparison of the atheists of the epicurean sect ) that they are improduced and eternal : that the sun moves in the ecliptic to the great advantage and benefit of the world , and not in the aequator , or in any of the parallel circles , meerly because it happened so after long shiftings and infinite irregularities of motion : and that it still keeps the same course as it were out of choise , and sympathy , and good nature . but now how difficult , how false , how ridiculous , to say nothing of the impiety of it , must such a way of arguing and proceedure be , to judge of god by our narrow scantlings of wit and strength , to measure his power by our weakness , and the good or ill success of our endeavours and undertakings : when we are ignorant of the utmost strength of nature ; what may be done by the conjunction and combination of several beings ; how and in what manner they may operate one upon another ; and what effects they may produce : and especially , if we reflect , that many things have been pronounced impossible , and given over as such , that is , in respect of us , and not in the nature of the things themselves , and for the wit and art of man to effect , which have been discovered by the industry of after-times . why then should any man pronounce a thing impossible , which involves in it no repugnancy to actual existence , and hereby pretend to overthrow the doctrine and faith of miracles , because they are above the strength of nature ? when the power of god , as has been proved , is immense and infinite : and by the same argument he may as madly conclude , notwithstanding his high-flown pretensions of arguing according to the principles of strict reason , several things in the world , nay the world it self , not to be made , and maintain dull and stupid matter to have been eternal : which is a manifest gross absurdity : meerly upon this supposal , because if they were made , they must be made by a power above natural and humane . 2. it is most unreasonable to reject the articles of revealed religion and the mysteries of faith , because we cannot fully comprehend them . before these men , whether deists , or socinians , renounce the belief of such articles and mysteries , let them try their reason in explaining the difficulties of nature : let them resolve all those problemes , if they can , which have exercised the philosophers of all ages : and if upon trial they cannot satisfie themselves or others in those ordinary phaenomena , where they have their senses to assist them : if they cannot tell , how things are done , which are done daily : if many of the ordinary operations of nature be abstruse and unintelligible : if they cannot trace her in all her labyrinths and windings , and are quite tired , and forced at last to give over the pursuit : if plain matters of sense cannot be fully accompted for : why should they presume upon the strength of their little knowledge , and make their reason the measure and standard of divine truth , allowing that onely to be true and certain which suits with it ? he is very unfit to judge of any piece of art , suppose a picture or a watch , who knows nothing of design or clock-work ; and especially at first view , without taking notice of the several shokes and lines , and the proportion of the parts of the one , or the hidden springs and wheels of the other , which give it that orderly and regular motion . and if an artist reject their judgment , as foolish and incompetent , because grounded on no principles of knowledge and skill : shall we not much more reject these mens either bold determination or peremptory denial of things , which they neither understand , nor have throughly considered ? such , as pretend , that they cannot believe either a creation , because they cannot tell how to admit of a vast empty space , before the world was made , or how it should be made , no matter praeexisting ; or a resurrection , because they cannot see how the scattered atomes of dust shall rally and reunite , and constitute the same man again : such , as disbelieve the articles of the christian faith , because they cannot form clear ideas , and full and comprehensive notions of them : and upon the same pretense these very men , who will believe nothing , but what they can make out and demonstrate by reason , will , if they follow their own principle , quickly commence down-right atheists , and deny god to be infinite , omniscient , and eternal : of which necessary and essential attributes of the divine nature we cannot have complete and adequate conceptions , our narrow faculties being no way capable of it . but if there be such a vast difference between man and man , upon the accompt of education , industry , experience , learning , and the several ways of advancing and improving reason and the natural faculties of the mind : if the conceptions of things be clear , easie , and distinct in some , without wracking or straining the phansie , which are clouded , perplext , and confused in others , by reason of some natural or accidental hinderances and disadvantages , through dulness and stupidity , or settled prejudice : if we are ignorant of the possibilities of nature , and cannot tell , how far and in what manner natural causes may act : what can be more unreasonable and unjust , than for a man , whose knowledge is scanty , and power confined within a narrow circle , and who is so apt to mistake in his judgment of things , to oppose his reason to god's infinite wisdom , as if it were equally clear and comprehensive ; to pretend , that his conceptions are the adequate measures of truth ; and that god can do no more , than what he , poor finite shallow creature , is able to think ; and to reject clear and express revelations of god concerning himself , upon the accompt of a phansied incongruity and a seeming repugnancy to his reason ? if the creatures , which are of a different order of being from us , cannot at all , much less fully , understand and comprehend what we do according to the dictates of reason and wisdom , and the results of deliberate counsel and study : because life , and sense , and animal motion are not able to reach so far , without the assistence of an higher and nobler faculty : what an unpardonable piece of arrogance is it for a man to think his reason able to comprehend the things of god , when there is such an infinite disproportion between them ; and call in question the truth of the divine revelations ; and measure all by this crooked and deceitful rule , whether it be agreeable to his phansie or not ? it is a most rational and infallible ground of faith , that god , who has revealed these mysteries , cannot utter a falshood . it is more certain than demonstration , if god has once said it . there are some monsters in the world , whose lusts and debaucheries have suggested to them doubts about the being of god , and the truth of his attributes : and a consciousness of their guilt has made them wish , that there were none . no one was ever found , who acknowledged a god , and did not at the same time acknowledge , that he was just and true . pythagoras found no opposition , when he taught , that there were two things , by which men became like to god ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by speaking truth and doing good : both perfections naturally streaming from the divine nature . so that upon the whole matter it will appear , that it is nothing but pride and a presumptuous conceit of mastering all the difficulties of religion by the strength of reason , which put them upon the denial of these revealed truths , and that this pride and presumption are altogether unjust and unreasonable . which was the thing to be proved . from this necessary , essential , and fundamental notion of the divine power , these following inferences , relating to practise , may most certainly be drawn : 1. that we are to repose our whole trust and confidence in god , whose power is infinite . we naturally fly in case of distress and danger to a power , which is able to protect and relieve us . there is no man , but needs a support some time or other . men are not always able of themselves to resist successfully the assaults of envy and malice : but this way envy may be at last conquered , and enemies brought over and reconciled , or else defeated . let this therefore be the great comfort of our minds , that god is both able and ready to assist us in our utmost and greatest dangers , and in all the particular difficulties and distresses of our lives , which may befall us . it was a reflexion upon this , which made david break out into those triumphant expressions : psalm xlvi . 1 , 2 , 3. god is our refuge and strength , a very present help in trouble : therefore will we not fear , tho' the earth be moved : and tho' the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea : tho' the waters roar and be troubled : tho' the mountains shake with the swelling thereof . and v. 7. the lord of hosts is with us : the god of jacob is our refuge . 2. that we are to stand in fear and awe of god , and do nothing , which may displease him . fear is a passion , which usually results from a reflexion upon power : and according to the nature and degrees of it , the fear will rise and encrease proportionably ; and therefore the power of god , who is able to punish us eternally , is a most rational ground of fear . s. luke xii . 4 , 5. says our b. saviour to his disciples ; be not afraid of them , who kill the body , and after that have no more , that they can do : but i will forewarn you , whom you shall fear ; fear him , who , after he hath killed , hath power to cast into hell : yea , i say unto you , fear him . and with this argument the heroic woman encouraged her young son to endure the torments and cruelties of antiochus , as his six brothers had done before him , rather than save his life by violation of the divine law : i beseech thee , my son , look upon the heaven , and upon the earth , and all that is therein : and consider , that god has made them of things , that were not ; and so was mankind made likewise . fear not this tormentor , but being worthy of thy brethren , take thy death , that i may receive thee again in mercy with thy brethren : as you may read the tragical history in the second book of maccabees , chap. vii . whosoever reflects seriously * on god's infinite power , will never presumptuously do such things , as may draw on him his displeasure : and upon a true sense of his guilt , will be restless , till by repentance and a good life he is reinstated in the love and favour of god. 3. that the sense of our weakness and defects should teach us humility and modesty in our enquiries into the great mysteries of religion : there being as great reason for us to submit our understanding to the revealed truths of scripture , as our will to its commands . he , who religiously adores and believes a god , and acknowledges him to be a being infinitely perfect , will not dare to question the truth of his revelations : and as firmly will he believe , that all those promises and threats , which are contained in the holy scriptures , which have a reference to a future state , shall one day be fulfilled . for with what pretense can any one doubt or disbelieve their fulfilling , who reflects upon god's truth and power ? all doubt or distrust ariseth from a double cause , either because men are not real in what they say , and so intend it not : or else want power to make their words good : neither of which can possibly have any place here . for god is a god of infinite veracity , and all his promises are infallibly real and firm : and he is able to perform them . we value not indeed those menaces , which are the effects of an impotent passion ; when we are out of their power , and when they cannot reach us : but there will be no flying from god : his eye and hand will find and lay hold on us , wherever we are . he , who made me at first , and placed the several parts of my body in that comely order , in which they stand , and which from time to time in continuance and in the succession of a few months were fashioned , when as yet there was none of them , he can raise up this very body at the last day , and will raise it up : and of this i cannot pretend to have the least rational doubt , were it ten thousand times more difficult to conceive , than it is : because he has absolutely promised it , and his veracity is obliged for it , and his infinite power can easily make it good . does god threaten impenitent and incorrigible sinners with everlasting torment in hell ; i with trembling submit to the truth of this threatning : because he can easily continue a creature in a miserable being , unconsumed , and that for ever : and i know he will do it , because he has said it . and upon this belief and assurance we are to provide accordingly , that so we may avoid the strokes , the fierceness , the terribleness of his revenging hand , and may partake of those most glorious promises , which his goodness and mercy in christ our saviour has made over to us in this life , and which his infinite power will make good to us for ever in the next . a discourse about the certainty and evidence of a future state. how much it is below a man to busie himself wholly in the pursuit of earthly things , whether honour , wealth , or pleasure ; and how contemptible a creature he is , notwithstanding all his acquists of outward greatness , unless he does raise his mind to the contemplation of better and nobler objects , whosoever will reflect seriously upon the nature and faculties of the mind , by which he is enabled to discourse , and reason , and judge of things and of their consequences , unless he is utterly forsaken by his reason , and governed by brutal appetite , will be forced to acknowledge . besides , there are such continual changes and vicissitudes of things here below , so much uncertainty in them , and withal , so little satisfaction to the rational desires of the soul , such intermixtures of good and evil , ebbs and flows of prosperity , sickness , and discontent , and disappointments , and various anxieties , arising from irregular passion and distemper of bloud and humours , and a thousand evil accidents , which no wisdom or care can prevent , notwithstanding the flattering intervals of health , and ease , and pleasurable self-enjoyment , taking up the greatest part of our lives , and death at last , after three or fourscore years at most , seizing upon us , that , even according to the judgment of natural reason , and the more refined heathen have acknowledged it , the condition of humane life would be very miserable , and all things considered , inferior to that of other creatures , if there were no life hereafter in another world . nay , amidst those corrupt principles , which barbarousness and sensuality had super-induced among the wilder sort of heathen , immersed in blind and stupid ignorance , and destitute of all helps and methods of knowledge and learning , they yet retained a belief and exspectation of another state after this life : this could not be wholly effaced out of their minds and memories : these thoughts pursued them , wherever they went : and when they met with violence and hardship , and were oppressed by the irresistible strength of invaders , and suffered unjustly , in all these straits and difficulties , they comforted themselves with faint hopes of it : and tho' they could not by reason of fatal prejudices and prepossessions , taken up from sense , and of the want of the true knowledge of god , and his attributes , have any just apprehension or notion of the resurrection of the body , yet they all concluded unanimously for the life , and being , and subsistence of the soul. so that the wild and savage people of afric and america , as well as the more civilized , and cultivated by philosophy and the discipline of laws , give in full evidence against the atheistical wits of the age , who with an unparallel'd boldness maintain , that when a man has acted his part in this life , he goes off the stage , and disappears for ever , that the soul like a flame , when the matter , which fed it , is spent , is wholly extinguished , and vanishes into soft air ; that we came into the world by meer chance , and shall be hereafter , as tho' we had never been : as the author of the book of wisdom elegantly brings in the gallants of his time triumphing and entertaining themselves with such idle , phantastick , and irrational hopes ; chap. ii . 2. and that when a man dyes , there is an utter end of him , a dissolution of soul as well as body , every element taking its own , and the whole swallowed up in the universal mass of matter , out of which it was at first made : singing out with the chorus in seneca's troas : quaeris quo jaceas post obitum loco ? quo non nata jacent . and , post mortem nihil est , ipsaque mors nihil . but it ought not to be exspected , as to the heathen , that they , whose eyes were dim and weak , and who were involved in thick clouds and mists of ignorance , should have a clear view and prospect of another world , and that those heavenly objects should appear to them , whose understandings were darkned with false notions and principles , in their full brightness . however , it is most certain , that they did believe a life after this : and made it the great incentive and encouragement of virtue and courage in dying for their country : and when they did ill , and that in the dark , with all possible secrecy and undisturbance , and with all security , under no restraint of law , or fear of punishment ; yet their hearts misgave them , and in private and alone they dreaded the evil effects and consequences of their guilt . i am not backward to acknowledge , that this opinion , belief , and exspectation of another life , might be oftentimes clogg'd in the best of them with mixtures of doubts : the prepossessions of sense stifling the dictates of right reason and the suggestions of natural conscience . even that excellent person , socrates , who was one of the first among the greeks , who freed his reason from the entanglement of vulgar opinions in matters of religion and moral philosophy , which the corrupt theology of their poets had introduced , and who died as it were a martyr for the unity of the godhead , spake somewhat doubtfully of it in the discourse he had with his friends , the very day of his death : the sum of which is preserved by plato in his dialogue , entitled phoedo , or of the soul. he said , he would not be positive and dogmatical : but however he profest his hope , that he should pass immediately to the company of those good men , who died before him , whose souls survived in some happy place he knew not where . this was far from the heroick and steady assurance of s. paul , who after his second appearance before nero , when he saw , that there was nothing but death to be exspected from the tyrant and his bloudy officers , triumphs in his neer approaches to it , as the entrance to a blessed immortality . 2 tim. ii . 6 , 7 , 8. i am now ready to be offered , and the time of my departure is at hand . i have fought a good fight : i have finished my course : i have kept the faith : henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness , which the lord , the righteous judge , shall give me at that day . he seemed as sure of it , as if he had had the crown upon his head , and had been actually in heaven . what philosophy can scarce reach , being at that vast distance from it , that christianity easily discovers . reason is the same in all mankind ; but reason , assisted by revelation , is like the eye armed with a telescope : it not only sees things clearer and better , but discovers new objects ; such as before lay hid , and were indiscernible to the naked sight . a christian man , that is , if he be more so , than in profession , and if his immoralities have not altogether corrupted his mind , and plunged him into the very dregs of infidelity , cannot at all doubt of a future state . he looks upon himself as a pilgrime , and is travelling toward a better country , that is , a heavenly : here he has no continuing city , but looks for one to come . his hopes are fixed elsewhere : and the doctrine of faith assures him of the certainty and reality of his hopes , and plentifully affords him good and well settled and unmoveable grounds , upon which his expectation is founded . but setting aside the proofs from the clear , and full , and uncontrollable revelations of scripture concerning the different states and conditions of happiness and misery in the other world : as having now to do with men , who throw off all belief of the sacred writings of the prophets and apostles , and reject their authority ; in order to their conviction i will only make use of arguments drawn from the principles of reason and of natural religion , which they pretend to admit and embrace , in proving , that there are things to be hoped for and feared in another world ; that is , that there are rewards and punishments to be distributed hereafter according to our good or ill behaviour in this life : and that a full , and positive , and satisfactory proof of this is derivable from the nature of things , and that such evidence is sufficient , and cannot with any shew or pretense of reason be rejected . i shall only by way of preliminary lay down this following proposition , of the truth of which these men cannot but be fully sensible ; viz. that the belief of this natural truth , so universally received , that is , in all ages and among all nations , is very conducive to , and has a mighty influence upon , the well-being of the world . it is indeed one of the grand bases and principles of all religion , whether natural , or prescribed by positive institution . if all things were to end here , and no exspectation of any thing future , men would little care to be virtuous or religious for virtues or religions sake . for tho' to live virtuously and religiously , that is , according to the law of nature and the law of god , be agreeable to our rational faculties , and creates a greater joy and serenity in the mind , than what all earthly , sensual , and brutal pleasures , enjoyed to their full height , can afford , and consequently does carry along with it its own reward : yet it is justly to be feared , that the satisfaction of having done ones duty would be judged meager and empty in respect of those gross delights of the senses , and be lookt upon as the effect of melancholy and chagrin , and it may be , of mistake and folly ; and that religion would have but few votaries upon this noble and generous principle . the only business then of life would be how to be rich and great : strength would be the law of justice , and right and title measured out by the longest sword . innocence would be no security against oppression and violence ; but rather their sport and prey . luxury would go hand in hand with ambition : pleasures , tho' never so unmanly and impure , should be wanting to no sense : the appetite should be sated with wine and lust , and then raised again with charming incentives and provocatives . men would play the beasts more solemnly , make the whole creation administer to their wantonness and riot , and spend their whole time in the excesses of extravagant mirth and jollity . conscience , alas , and honesty would be accompted meer empty names : corrupt interest and policy would raise themselves upon the ruines of religion and morality . deceit and evil arts should soon take place , where there was no hope of prevailing by open force . a mans own will , were it never so unreasonable , should be the onely rule of his life : and the gratification of an irregular appetite should be the onely law of his mind . next , the belief of this fundamental truth is the great and necessary support of government . it is like the middle stone of an arch , which sustains the whole building : it keeps the world from falling into confusion , and relapsing into its original chaos . all government would quickly be at an end : laws would not have sufficient strength to hold men in to their duty ; at least , they would be like spiders webbs , onely proper to entangle petty offenders , who could not break through them . they would no longer obey , than they were forced : they would be impatient of living under such restraints , which , as some of our modern virtuosi pretend , abridge them of their natural liberty : and if so , they were to be treated like wild beasts , and pent up in dens and caves from doing mischief . every man would pretend to have a right to every thing : and mr. hobbs's absurd and phantastic hypothesis about the state of nature would be really introduced into the world by innumerable instances and examples of cruelty and injustice , to the shame of humane nature , and utter overthrow of humane race . such continued clashings and fightings would be more fatal and pernicious , than plagues , hurricanes , earthquakes , and inundations , and would quickly dispeople the earth of all its inhabitants . it is the belief of another world , which secures government , preserves authority , and gives strength to laws . fear and hope have a great influence upon our lives : they are very imperious passions , and shew their power sufficiently in all the great transactions of mankind , which are done with reason and design . they are natural to us , and will never forsake us : and their strength increaseth proportionably , according to the nature , and quality , and degrees of those rewards and punishments , on which they are fixt . now if these rewards and punishments were only , temporary , if after death there were nothing further to be feared or hoped for , men would not value the utmost severity of law , to gratifie a passion , suppose lust or revenge : they would willingly run the hazard of dying , so as that they might either enjoy their extravagant phansies , or ruine and dispatch their enemy : death in it self being not so terrible , ( the fear of which several passions can easily overcome ) but as it is a passage to eternity . he , who is grown so desperate , as not to value his own life , is easily master of another mans : and nothing could deter such an one from acting the greatest villany imaginable . but now , if there be rewards and punishments after this life ended , if these rewards and punishments be everlasting , if these everlasting rewards and punishments be dispensed and proportioned according to the actions and behaviours of men here in this world , if this be certain , and if it be believed and exspected as certain , the just and well grounded hope of future happiness will powerfully perswade and incite us to the practises of a virtuous and holy life ; and the fear and dreadful exspectation of future endless misery will as powerfully deter us from the commission of those wickednesses , which render us justly obnoxious to such punishments . for who would not be happy for ever , if he either might or could ? who in his right wits and calm thoughts would be content to be miserable to eternal ages ? who would make it his choice to be damned , if he might avoid it ? now as to the proof of a future state from the principles of natural religion , the certainty and evidence of it are founded on the justice of god and his governing power : which render it undeniably necessary . nothing perplext the minds of the ancient philosophers more , than to see righteous and virtuous men oftentimes afflicted and opprest , and the wicked and dissolute prosperous and triumphant . no phaenomenon whatever , which they pretended might be solved and accompted for by their several hypotheses , without interesting a deity at all in their solutions , troubled them so much , as this : these difficulties were great and perplext , and disagreeable , as they thought , to the common notions of reason , equity , and justice , imprinted upon their minds : so that in the tumultuous workings of their thoughts , they began to question , whether god ( for such a supreme being they could not , they durst not deny ) had any thing to do in the government of the world , who permitted such disorders , and seemed so unconcerned . but upon wise thoughts and sedate deliberation they quickly recovered , and generally condemned the doctrine of epicurus , and readily acknowledged , that all the great revolutions , that were in the world , all the odd and strange events of things , and the different conditions of life , as to good and evil , so seemingly repugnant to the rules of right and wrong , were for wise ends and purposes permitted to come to pass : that there was a soveraign infinite being , who governs the world according to his will and pleasure ; and that all things are subject to the rules and laws of his wisdom and providence . this , after all their researches into the causes and reasons of things , notwithstanding the great difficulties , wherewith they had been entangled , was generally acknowledged by them , as the voice and dictate of universal nature and clear and right reason . the schools of all the sober masters and professors of philosophy , both at athens and rome , sounded with this doctrine : and all , who pretended to virtue , and honour , and understanding , very few excepted , embraced it . it was to the belief of this prime truth , and the practises of religion grounded upon it , that the wise and judicious * cicero ascribed the astonishing success of the roman arms in the several distant parts of the then known world , where their victorious eagles percht ; that it was not , because they were more numerous , or excelled either in the arts of policy , or in the art of war , ( as if the galls or the carthaginians had been inferiour to them in valour and discipline , for they had had frequent experience of the contrary , and had been sadly distrest by both ; and brennus and hannibal were names , which had made rome to tremble , or as if the other nations , as the greeks , or the spaniards , or even their own neighbours and countrymen , the italians and latines themselves , whom they conquered , and brought under the jurisdiction of their imperial city , were not so numerous , or not so cunning and ingenious , and excellent in discipline and civil arts and accomplishments of life ) sed pietate atque religione , atque hac una sapientia , quod deorum immortalium numine omnia regi gubernarique perspeximus : but in piety and religion , and in this peculiar wisdom , that they acknowledged , that the great affairs of the world , and all things in it , were governed and over-ruled by a deity . this truth they retained , notwithstanding the grievous errors , which they had taken up concerning the multiplicity of inferior gods , and the horrible and shameful scandals of their idolatrous worship . but our improved reason , enlightned with the knowledge of the true god , does more fully and clearly , upon just and easie reflexions , prove and make manifest to us , that god , who created the universe , is an alwise god , holy , just , and true ; that righteousness is essential to his nature ; that nothing comes to pass , or can come to pass without his appointment , at least without his permission ; that what now seems disorder and chance , is wise contrivance and design ; and that all the confusions brought upon the world , tend to illustrate god's wisdom and power , who can and will bring beauty and order out of them . if all things then in the world are under a law , the law of their respective natures , and act according to the established laws of their creation ; and if there be an over-ruling providence seen every where : man certainly , who is capable of a law , by reason of his intellectual faculties and liberty of will , cannot be supposed left to himself , to act , as he wantonly pleaseth , without being accomptable to a superior power . he , who made him , and continues his being to him , has a right to govern him , that is , may , if he will , lay down laws and rules for the right ordering of his life : and he has actually done so : and every man is conscious to himself , that he is obliged by virtue of his creation and dependence upon god to obey that law . now it is not so much the equity , the agreeableness , the advantage , or necessity of a law , as the sanction , which makes it to be obeyed , and preserves it inviolable . if god then be the governour of the world , and particularly of mankind , and if he governs man according to the laws and rules of justice , the necessary and fundamental maximes of government will oblige us to believe , that he will accordingly reward and punish . there is one law-giver , who is able to save , and to destroy . but we see daily , how the laws of god are violated , and that the violators of them oftentimes escape unpunished in this life : and we know , what ill use impatient and inconsiderate men have made of this forbearance and long-suffering of god. is not bloud-thirsty cruelty , for instance , a manifest breach of the law natural and divine ? that multitudes of innocent persons should be sacrificed to the revengeful and wanton humour of a tyrant ; which was the case of the primitive christians during the reigns of the heathen roman emperours : who does not detest as impious and inhumane ? yet how many of them , who have been guilty of this barbarity , have left the world without any mark of the divine vengeance upon them ? they having had whole armies to defend them , and assist them in their outragious and bloudy massacres . who is not concerned for the sufferings of good men in all ages ? when they are dead , they are pitied perchance , and men weep over their graves , and celebrate their memories with anniversary orations , and speak great things in praise of their courage and virtue , which no opposition , no trouble whatever , no not death it self , could tire out and overcome . this is all the reward , which they have in this world : and certainly in it self a very poor one , tho' justly due to their name and memory . but while they lived , oftentimes they were destitute , afflicted , tormented , wanting the conveniencies of life , exposed to extreme poverty , and to cruel mockings and scourgings , wandring about in deserts and mountains , and retiring to dens and caves for shelter ; and outlawed by sanguinary edicts from the society of mankind : and at other times condemned to the flames , or to wild beasts in their amphitheatres , or to gibbets and crosses , or to wracks and wheels , and such like cruel deaths , with all possible ignominy , as well as torment . does not the justice of god make it necessary , that there be a distribution of rewards and punishments hereafter , according as every one deserves ? can the government of a most holy and alwise god be supposed imperfect and defective in so necessary a part of it , as is distributive justice ? can god be thought to give laws on purpose , that they might be broken , and to reward the breakers of them , and to have no regard to those , who conscientiously obey them ? this most certainly evinceth , that there must be another life after this , wherein god will vindicate the honour of his justice and providence , which now seemingly suffer , and do himself right in the sight of all mankind . if there be a god , there will be a future state , because god cannot be otherwise than just . for tho' he hath an absolute power over his creatures , yet he governs them according to rules of eternal rectitude and justice , and has declared from heaven his wrath and indignation against all unrighteousness of men , which is the transgression of those rules , and his veracity , as well as his justice , will oblige him to make it good . if it be said , that this evidence of reason is not so clear and convincing , as that , which ariseth from mathematical demonstration , or the attestation of sense , tho' it should be granted , nothing can be gained by it to the prejudice of the truth and certainty of this doctrine : which i shall shew in these two particulars : i. that this evidence of reason is fully satisfactory of it self . ii. that in a matter of this nature no other evidence can or ought to be exspected . i. that this evidence of reason is fully satisfactory of it self , will appear hence , because it is highly irrational to doubt or deny such proofs , as are grounded upon the evidence of reason , meerly upon this pretense , that the evidence of mathematical demonstration and of sense is clearer . for tho' all the maximes and postulata of geometry , with the several theoremes and problemes built upon them , be in themselves so clear and evident , as that upon a right perception either of the terms , or of the manner of construction , we readily and easily yield our assent to them without the least demur : and tho' the judgment of sense be certain , that is , when nothing , requisite to make the sensation perfect , is wanting : yet the sceptick has called in question the truth of both , upon this foolish pretense , that for ought he knows , and can be throughly convinced of , all this mathematical evidence may be a fatal and settled delusion : that it is possible , that a man may be most deceived , when he thinks himself most assured : that the collections and inferences of what we call reason may be false and deceitful : that the impressions , which material objects make upon the phansie , may be onely chimerical : that when we see and hear , and discourse , we may but onely think so : that we have as little certainty of things , when we are awake , and are very attentive and serious , as when we are asleep and dream : and that our whole life may be but one continued scene of phansie and imagination . so that the most common , and universal , and establisht truths of nature may be , and have been called in question by subtil sophisters , who have a mind to cavil . but who does not deride and condemn such scepticism as very silly and irrational ? men are not to be perswaded or disputed out of their senses , and their belief of first notions , by such idle and phantastick suppositions : the possibility of the truth of which is overthrown several ways , as , by the reflexions , which the understanding makes upon it self , whereby we clearly know what we know : by our acting according to deliberation and fixt principles : by our being conscious to our selves of the continued and repeated actions of our lives : by confirmed and undoubted experience , that , tho' we are deceived , when our outward senses are suspended by sleep , and the phansie takes a liberty to amuse us with a thousand various shapes and figures , and sometimes with strange conjunctions of things , which neither exist , nor can possibly exist , we make certain conclusions from our awakened senses , when we have the full and entire use and exercise of them : and because it is inconceivable , either how such a delusion should arise of it self , and be essential to the nature of man ; or how that god should suffer it ; that is , that he , who is of infinite truth , and wisdom , and justice , should force us by the very constitution of our nature to believe a lye , and embrace error under the semblance of truth : and that too without any help or means of discovering our being convinced of our mistake , or at least should leave us to such great incertainties , that we should have no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or rule to distinguish between , and discern truth from falsehood , and that he should give us reason and sense for no other end or use , but to deceive us , at least to perplex and distract us with doubts and scruples , whether we understand and see , when we both understand and see . the certainty and clearness of mathematical demonstration ( as also of such propositions , as are said to be aeternae veritatis ) ariseth hence , because it is conversant about things abstracted from matter , or , rather to speak more clearly and distinctly , it is founded in the essential notions and properties of things , which have an inseparable dependence upon and connexion one with another , without any regard to their actual existence ; as that all the lines drawn from the center of a circle to the circumference are equal ; and that the whole is greater than any of its parts : which is infallibly and universally certain ; it being essential to the nature of a thing , considered as entire and whole , to be made up of many parts united and connected together , and therefore necessarily greater than any one of those parts actually divided or conceived divided from it . and the like is to be said of all the essential attributes and properties of a sphere , cylinder , ellipsis , or any other geometrical figure whatever : tho' there were no exactly spherical , cylindrical , or elliptical body in nature , or could be framed such by the power of art . such speculative truths carry in themselves their own evidence : and the understanding very readily assents to them : and let me add , the more readily , not only , because it would be the effect either of a natural or shamefully absurd stupidity to deny such evidence , which would be the same thing , as to maintain gross and palpable contradictions ; but also because it is no mans interest to do so . for nothing is more certain , than that interest oftentimes rejects the clear results of reason ; than that the judgment is oftentimes enclined to pass a wrong sentence , even against knowledge and just proof of the contrary , in favour of a false opinion , if it be advantagious ; that what we do not like , and is disagreeable to our designs , does not easily get admittance within us : we demur upon it , and raise difficulties and doubts , and pretend , that we cannot understand it ; when the true reason is , it makes against us , and therefore we will not . and this is one great reason , why the atheists and deists set themselves against the fundamental truths of religion , and labour so much to confirm themselves in their infidelity , by making use of their wit and the little reason , that is left them , to find out new difficulties , and raise objections , to justifie and defend themselves in their unbelief , in opposition to the rational , wise , and just sentiments of good men , whom they most absurdly represent under the nickname of believers , that is , credulous . for these men are fully convinced , that their practises are altogether inconsistent with such professions : that if they admit these truths , they must quit their present course of life , unless they could have the patience to live under the anguish of self-condemnation , which would turn all their luscious enjoyments into gall and wormwood : that if there be a god , and that his power and justice are equally infinite , he is to be feared and adored : ( for who would dare to live in open defiance of his laws , and blaspheme him daily , who believes , that he can punish him eternally for such defiance and blasphemy ? ) and that if there be a future state , they must not then live like the beasts , which perish , and which are altogether unconcerned in it . but the pleasures of the animal life have corrupted their minds : they are immersed in sensuality : they have given up themselves to be governed by their appetite : to gratifie that is their only study and business : it is death to them to think of a sober , restrained , and mortified kind of life : it is not their interest , they know , as the case stands with them , to believe , that there is a heaven or an hell : and therefore we need not wonder , if they cry out , that they see no force in this or that argument , in which the whole world has hitherto acquiesced , as just and satisfactory , to convince their judgment . nothing will content them , but mathematical evidence and demonstration : tho' it may very justly be feared , that if the evidence , they so foolishly call for , were prejudicial to the end and purposes of life , which they pursue , they would deny even that too . ii. no other kind of evidence in the case of a future state can or ought to be exspected or demanded . and the reason is , because the subject-matter is not capable of it . there are different ways of proving things agreeable to their respective natures , both in metaphysics , natural philosophy , ethics , and the like ; of the conclusions of which , fairly deduced according to the laws of method , there can be no just doubt : every science being built upon certain general principles and rules , taken up , either from experience and observation , or else drawn from the common notices and consent of mankind . often repeated trials and experiments , which have succeeded well , sufficiently convince us of the truth of several things , which we will not pretend to demonstrate . if a matter of fact , in it self not unlikely , much less impossible , be confirmed by credible witnesses , or by authentic records , it would be a very strange piece of niceness in us , to deny the truth of it , and call for demonstration : because we have all the assurance , which relation and history can give us , that it is so . to perswade a man , that it is his duty to be just , and honest , and sober , and chast , i am onely to make use of moral arguments . to prove to him , that he has a command over himself , as to his actions , i shew him the absurdities of the doctrine of fatal necessity : and if he should persist and demand further satisfaction , i can do no more , than make an appeal to himself , whether he does not find a power within him of acting or not acting , as he pleaseth : whether he does not deliberate with himself , whether he had best do it or no : and when after some demurs and debates he hath determined his will , of his own accord , which before was indifferent either to this or that , whether he doth not consult about the means to bring about his design : and upon a survey of several , make choice of such , as he judgeth most proper and effectual . in these and the like cases , we can have no mathematical evidence and demonstration : yet we cannot rationally doubt of the verity of their proofs : tho' the evidence and assurance be onely moral , yet it is such , as will perswade any man , who is free from unjust and irrational prejudice . besides , upon this kind of assurance a depends all the actions of our lives . no man can demonstrate to another , who has not been there , that there are such countries , as india , persia , and turkey , or such great cities , as delhi , agra , ispahân , and constantinople ; and yet men send their estates thither , tho' they have onely the reports of others for their assurance , and the ability and integrity of the persons , whom they employ and trust in the management of their rich trade . that they are the sons of such and such persons , they are onely assured by the testimony of others , and chiefly of their parents , who have taken care of their education . it would be idle , monstrous , and unnatural to deny to pay them the respect and reverence , due to them , both by the laws of god and nature , upon a pretense , that they have some scruples upon their minds , whether they be their parents or no : and that it cannot be made out demonstratively to them , that they are so . what other assurance have they , that the deeds and conveyances , whereby they hold their estates , derived down to them from their ancestors , at the sealing and delivering of which they were not present , are not counterfeit ; and would they be contented to have them called in question upon such a phantastick supposition ? no one can demonstrate to himself out of euclide and archimedes , that the house , wherein he lyes , will not fall upon his head : and yet for all this bare possibility he sleeps securely and without any disturbance , and will not lye in the open air . not to heap up more instances in a thing so common , and every where to be met with . all satisfaction concerning the certainty of a future state is offered , that can be justly demanded . we have the evidence of reason , and the evidence of religion , which is founded upon the belief of it : the justice of god makes it necessary : and the doctrine of providence and of the government of the world by the alwise and omnipotent creator suppose it . things future are not triable by b sense : they are the objects of our hopes , and of our fears , and of our belief , and of our exspectation ; and therefore cannot be proved to exist the same way , as things , which every day present themselves to our sight . but how are these men assured , that there is no future state ? what demonstration can these great masters of reason , as they think themselves , whom nothing less will content and satisfie , bring to the contrary ? it is but just and reasonable , that they who deny , or so much as call in question , the truth of any opinion , tho' built upon probable arguments , should produce arguments , if not of greater , yet at least of equal probability . to deny a thing boldly at first , without giving any reason for the denial , and then to be very peremptory in the affirmation of a contrary proposition , is against all the laws and rules of wise discoursing and arguing , and is not the effect of judgment , but of meer trifling and foolish conceitedness : much more when they pluck up the very foundations of a science ; when they destroy the principles of nature ; when they condemn a truth , as is this of a future state , which all mankind in all ages has received and embraced , except an inconsiderable number of wretches like themselves , they should be throughly convinced before hand , that their proofs are just and good , and little less than infallible . but all which they alledge in behalf of their infidelity , is either , that they cannot frame a just and clear idea of such a state : or else they make some little and unphilosophical exceptions and cavils at terms , as spirit , incorporeal substance , and the like : which is the way of mr. hobbes ; ( tho' the notion of an incorporeal substance and of thought is as easie to conceive , and as little liable to just exceptions , as of substance in general , or of substance in extended matter ) pleasing themselves onely with the gross images of sensible beings . they cannot pretend to any direct and positive proofs : they neither can nor dare say , that what they imagine is certain and infallible . they only think so , and wish so : and indeed for their wishes they have some reason , tho' none for their opinion . for what malefactor can think of his trial and the consequences of it with any kind of patience , and not wish at the same time , that there were no such things , as a law and a judge to execute that law in their deserved punishment ? and besides this , they very foolishly and idly alledge , that they have not spoken with any , who have arisen from the dead to give them an accompt of it : as if before they would be convinced , whether there be such places , as a heaven or an hell , they would have an exact survey taken of them ; and several chorographical schemes and maps made to describe them the better to them . but is not this a most irrational and senseless ground of their infidelity ? have we not in the sacred writings undoubted testimonies of several raised from the dead , beyond all possibility of denial , of which faithful and authentic registers have been made to inform posterity ? but may it not also be justly supposed , that these very men , if the most real and certain apparition possible were made to them , after they had recovered themselves from the surprize and affrightment , into which such a gastly sight might cast them , would look upon it onely , as a meer phantome ? as cassius , one of the sect of epicurus , told his friend brutus , as plutarch writes in his life , that the evil genius , which appeared to him , was the effect of his melancholy ; no other than a dream and the roving of his disturbed imagination , when he was between sleeping and waking : or if a dead person , raised again to life , should appear to them , they would cavil , and say , that he had not been really dead : they would find out some such foolish and idle pretense and excuse , and still hold fast their beloved conclusion . the rich man in the parable , when he was in hell , was very sollicitous for his surviving brethren , that they might not come into that place of torment : and therefore made it his request , that a messenger might be sent thence express to forewarn them ; but the proposal was rejected , as unjust and unnecessary . they were sufficiently instructed out of the divine writings , that there was such a place : the law and the prophets were continually read , and sounded in their ears , that they could not pretend ignorance . besides , if they hear not moses and the prophets : neither will they be perswaded , tho' one arose from the dead . but let us suppose , in order to the conviction of these men , if any of them should chance to cast their eyes upon these papers , that there were an equal probability on both sides : that as much might be said against the certainty of a future state , as for it : that god had not so clearly and expresly revealed his will in the holy scriptures about it : and that the case had not been so fully determined , but yet hung as it were in aequilibrio : yet because it is of an eternal consequence c , right reason and common prudence should teach a man to make choice of the surer side : nay , if there were less degrees of probability for it , we should make provision however , for fear , that it should prove so . if in matters of ordinary speculation , which signifie nothing to our interest and advantage , whether they be true or no , ( for what am i the better , whether the ptolemaic or copernican hypothesis best solves the various appearances of the heavens ) we relinquish the vulgar opinions , which have the prescription of antiquity , and which seem confirmed by sense , as being swayed by more rational proofs and evidences : certainly in a business of such moment , as is the living hereafter for ever in happiness or misery , when there are so many arguments to sway and encline our belief ; when we have all the assurance , which things , that are future , and not yet seen , can possibly have : when the danger is so great , and the loss infinite and irrepairable , it is a folly beyond all expression for any person to suffer himself to be cheated , by the corrupt judgment of sense , which in this case cannot pretend to arbitrate , and by the little cavillings and oppositions of a gross phansie , into the belief of the contrary . if onely the probable hope of gain makes men despise certain danger , and carries them round about the world to the utmost points of east and west : if they undergo , not onely with patience , but with great readiness and chearfulness , all those uneasinesses and hazards , which such long voyages in tempestuous seas , and through various climates of excessive heat and cold , necessarily subject them to : if they venture their health , and oftentimes their lives : and that too with the good liking and applause of the world , especially if the advantage be any way proportionable to the danger : certainly the interest of our immortal souls should make us adventure as much for heaven , a place of infinite blessedness , where we shall live for ever , without feeling the decays of age , and without being weary of those unmixt pleasures , which it affords ; and where are heaped up treasures of glory , which no time shall exhaust , if we had not the infallible word of god for it , but onely the dictates of natural religion , and the evidence of right and unprejudiced reason . columbus had no demonstration , that there were such vast tracts of land on the other side of the great atlantic ocean , running out almost from one pole to the other , which he afterwards discovered : he was onley lead by probable arguments to undertake that voyage : as thinking it very unlikely , that so great a part of the terraqueous globe , over which the sun passes in his diurnal revolution , should be covered with water . it was lookt upon at first as a project , which had nothing to support it , but the strong phansie of the man , who proposed it : and it was a long time , before he could be furnished with ships , in order to make a discovery . but how were they alarmed at his return with the news , which he brought of another world , which had layn hid for so many ages ! how were the opinions of the old philosophers confuted , that there could be no living between the tropics , and especially under the line , by reason of the intolerable heat , which the perpendicular projection of the sun-beams they phansied must necessarily produce : when they were assured from eye-witnesses , that no country in the world could be more populous ! now our b. saviour , who came down from heaven , has made full and clear discoveries of a glorious kingdom , and has laid down rules and directions for our journeying thither : rules and directions so plain , that we cannot fail of arriving at that blessed place , if we observe and follow them . what can any one alledge to justifie or excuse his solly ? how can he answer it to god , or to himself , at the last great day , if after all this he should doubt , whether there be such a place , as heaven or no , and so doubt , as wretchedly to neglect the happy opportunities of getting thither at the end of his life ? if , as socrates argued a little before his death , nothing remains to a man after he is dead , then he would be the less troubled at what he was then about to suffer : for then he should cease to be mistaken , if he were mistaken . but if there be another state in the next life , as there is the highest reason to believe , and no reason to believe the contrary , what a foolish bargain will it appear , the epicure has made in buying the vain and perishing pleasures of the world at the price of his soul ! it will then be an infallible demonstration , that he has acted against the common rules of prudence , in preferring a trifle , a shadow , a humour , before the favour of god ; before the fulness of joy , which is to be had in his presence ; before immortal blessedness , with which he shall see the righteous crowned ; which will heighten his anguish , and make it intolerable : and the thought of this will as much torment him , as the very flames , that he might have been happy as they , but for his own wretched carelessness and obstinate infidelity . to conclude this short discourse , which i most heartily and passionately recommend to the serious and impartial consideration of all such , as vouchsafe to read it . seeing that there will be and must be a day of judgment , in which we shall give a strict accompt of our lives : that there is a future state , whose duration shall be beyond the limits of time ; that , when we depart out of this life , we launch forth into an ocean , which knows neither bounds nor shore : that there are eternal rewards and punishments in the other world : and that according to the tenor and habit of our lives , and the condition we are found in at our death , we shall receive our everlasting doom : how much does it concern every one of us so to live here in this world , that is , in the fear of god and in a conscientious discharge and practise of all christian and moral virtues , as to live for ever happy in the next ! finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a60590-e210 a theodoretus in loc . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . the things , which now exist , are not fully proportionable to the divine power , so as to exhaust it , but onely agreable to his divine will and pleasure . for god could have created more and greater things than these : out he would only make so many , and of such sorts , species , and denominations , as it pleased him . ( a ) the greeke and latine fathers are very copious and careful , even to a philosophical niceness , in their explications and illustrations of these common notions about the just and proper object of the divine power : a collection of which the reader may find in bishop pearson's elaborate and learned commentary on the apostles creed , where he treats of this particular argument , as of the rest of the articles , with great accuracy and judgment . more authorities might easily be added by one of ordinary reading : but i forbear at present ; it being a common place : and shall content my self onely to adjoyn the concurrent testimonies of the master of the sentences , and thomas aquinas . petrus lombardus lib. 1. sententiarum xlii . distinct . sunt alia quaedam , quae deus nullatenus facere potest , ut peccata : non enim potest mentiri , non potest peccare . sed non ideo omnipotentiae det detrahitur vel derogatur , si peccare non posse dicitur : quia non esset hoc potentiae , sed infirmitatis . si enim hoc posset , omnipotens non esset . non ergo impotentiae sed poteatiae imputandum est , quod ista non potest . again , manifestum est , deum omnino nihil posse pati , & omnia facere posse , praeter ca sola , quibus ejus dignitas laederetur , ejusque excellentiae derogaretur : in quo tamen non est minus omnipotens . hoc enim posse non esset posse , sed non posse herein following the doctrine of his master s. augustine , in his book de symbolo , which he there cites : deus omnipotens non potest mori , non potest falli , non potest miser fieri , nec potest vinci . haec utique & hujusmodi absit , ut posset omnipotens . si enim bujusmodi passionibus atque defectibus subjici posset , omnipotens minimè foret : and in his book de spiritu & literâ : non potest deus facere injusta , quia ipse est summa justitia & bonitas . thomas aquinas in summa theologica part 1. quaest . xxv . artic. 3. ea quae contradictionem implicant , sub divinâ omnipotentiâ non continentur : quia non possunt habere possibilium rationem . unde convenientius dicitur , quod ea non possunt fieri , quam quod deus ea non possit facere . post. peccare est deficere à perfecta ratione : unde posse peccare est posse deficere in agendo ; quod repugnat imnipotentiae . et propter hoc deus peccare non potest , quia est omnipotens . the whole of what has been said both by fathers and schoolmen upon this subject , is summed up by the learned dr. overall , ( then dean of st. pauls , and afterwards bishop of norwich ) in a letter to his friend , h. grotius , written 16 may 1613. in this brief definition and sentence : potentia [ dei ] activa , qua omnia possibilia , quae non implicant contradictionem , impotentiam , iniquitatem , aliudque quid deo indignum facere possit . * in epistola ad romanos : edit . oxon. 1633. 48. pag. 36. * vid. s. clementem romanum pag. 36 , 37. * vide hac de re s. clementem romanum eleganter differentem , pag. 27 , 28. * arnob. adv . gentes , lib. 2. lugd. batav . 4 o. p. 55 , 56. * vide s. clementem , p. 37. notes for div a60590-e1200 plato in phoedone . edit . cantabr . 88. 1673. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . pag. 82. * cicero in his oration , de haruspicum responsis , which he pronounced in the senate . quam volumus licet , p. c. ipsi nos amenius : tamen nec numero hispanos , nec calliditate poenos , nec robore gallos , nec artibus graecos , nec denique hoc ipso hujus gentis ac terrae domestico nativoque sensu , italos ipsos ac latinos : sed pietate & religione , atque hac una sapientia , quod deorum immortalium numine omnia regi gubernarique perspeximus , omnes gentes nationesque super ●●imus . a estne opus in vitâ negotiosum aliquod atque actuosum genus , quod non side praeeunte suscipiant , sumant , atque aggrediantur actores ? as arnobius adv . gentes lib. 2. pag. 47. lugd. bat. 48. 1651. there shews at large with great sharpness of wit and judgment against the heathen of his time , who objected credulity to the christians . b nulla futurorum potest existere comprobatio . cum ergo haec sit conditio futurorum , ut teneri & comprehendi nullius possint anticipationis attactu &c. arnob. lib. 2. pag. 44. c nonne purior ratio est ex duobus incertis & in ambiguà exspectatione pendentibus , id potius credere , quod aliquas spes ferat , quam omnino quod nullas ? arnob. p. 44. a treatise concerning mans future eternity wherein the great doctrine of the eternity of all mankind in the world to come, either in happiness or misery is proved, explained, and applyed / by john jackson. jackson, john. 1661 approx. 120 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 75 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2004-11 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a46952 wing j83 estc r24082 07949328 ocm 07949328 40654 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a46952) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 40654) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1208:17) a treatise concerning mans future eternity wherein the great doctrine of the eternity of all mankind in the world to come, either in happiness or misery is proved, explained, and applyed / by john jackson. jackson, john. 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the way to blessed eternity 2 cor. 5. 1. mat. 7. 14 a treatise concerning mans future eternity . by iohn iackson . mr of arts of st. iohns colledge in cambridge and minister of gods word at leaden-roding in essex . the way to miserable eternity . mat. 7. 13 mat. 25. 41 mark 9. 44 w faithorne fec : a treatise concerning mans future eternity ; wherein , the great doctrine of the eternity of all mankind in the world to come , either in happiness or misery , is proved , explained , and applyed . by john jackson m. a. of st. johns colledge in cambridge , and minister of gods word at leaden-roding in essex . and these shall go away into everlasting punishment , but the righteous into life eternal . matth 25. 46. london , printed by m. inman , and are to be sold by nath. ranew at the angel in s. pauls church-yard , and by tho. forde , at his shop in chelmesford in essex ; and by iohn greenwood , at his shop in lancaster . 1661. to the onely honovr and glory of god : and to the use and benefit of the people of england ; and especially of his beloved parishoners , and worthy friends in essex ; and of his dear kindred , and respected countrey-men in lancashire ; john jackson humbly dedicates this treatise concerning mans future eternity . the contents . chap. i. contains six received principles , about the estate of all mankind untill the end of this world , by way of preface to the proof of the doctrine , concerning mans eternity in the world to come . page 1. chap. ii. shews by manifold infallible proofs , that all mankind in the end of this world shall go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition , either of happiness , or misery . p. 17. chap. iii. describes the misery of that everlasting condition of woe and punishment , that the wicked shall go into at the end of the world . p. 30. chap. iv. explains the happiness of that eternal state of glory , and rest , that the righteous shall go into at the last day . p. 52. chap. v. renders the principal reasons , why all mankind after the day of judgment , shall go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition , either of felicity or misery . p 83. chap. vi. directs you , how to apply the great doctrine of mans future eternity , whereby you may escape everlasting punishment , and obtain life eternal after this life is ended . p. 92. errata . page 23. line 15. read 2 thes. 1. 8 , 9. p. 56. in marg . ult . r. eph. 5. 27. p. 10● . in marg . l. ● ▪ r. principle . p. 124. l. 24. r. sincerely . a treatise concerning mans future eternity . chap. i. contains six received principles , about the estate of all mankind until the end of this world , by way of preface , to the proof of the doctrine , concerning mans eternity in the world to come . the most of us are so exceeding slow of heart to believe the great doctrine of the eternity of all mankind in the world to come , either in happiness or misery , and so extream backward , to provide for our own eternal condition , as that thereby , it doth abundantly appear how necessary it is , that this fundamental point of divinity should be plainly proved , clearly explained , and powerfully applied unto us . but before i handle the particulars of it , i shall make an entrance to it by laying down six received principles , concerning the estate of all mankind until the end of the world ; for this purpose that we may all know our selves , and that we may clearly see how this infallible truth shall be fulfilled , wherein we are all so nearly concerned . first , that every one of mankind doth consist of a body and a soul joyned together . the exhortation of jesus christ , fear not them which kill the body , but are not able to kill the soul , doth plainly prove , that every one of us have both a body and a soul. mat. 10. 28. and these words of the apostle paul , * we have had fathers of our flesh , which corrected us , and we gave them reverence : shall we not much rather be in subjection to the father of spirits ? do clearly imply , that we had our bodies originally from our parents , the * fruit of whose bodies , our bodies are : and that we had our souls originally from our god , who is said in holy scripture to be the giver of them , and the god of the spirits of all flesh . numb . 16. 22. eccles. 12. 7. it is probable , that the lord doth create every particular soul , and that he infuseth it into the body of an infant , when in all essential parts it is a perfect body , as adams was , when god gave him his soul. this is the common opinion of modern writers about the original of the soul , and it is grounded upon those scriptures , where god is said to be the creator of the soul , and where the lord is stiled the god , which formeth the spirit of man within him ; isai. 57. 16 zach. 12. 1. 1 pet. 4. 19. secondly , that the body of every one of mankind , is mortal , subject to die dayly , and that many waies ; some are no sooner * born , but they die , and they who have lived the longest lives , have died : as sure as we live in the body , so sure we must die in the body , and god knows how soon and how suddenly ! what man is he that liveth ( saith the prophet david ) and shall not see death ? for what is our life ? it is even a vapour ( saith the apostle james ) that appeareth for a little time , and then vanisheth away . jam. 4. 14. as the * finer the me●tal of any glass , or earthen vessel is , the more subject it is to breaking : so the daintiest bodies are soonest gone ; and first or last , we must all die , because the lord of life and death hath appointed it . hebrews 9. 27. thirdly , that the soul of every one of mankinde , is immortal , and no way lyable to be killed ; it neither dieth with the bodle , nor sleepeth in it : but immediately after the death of the body , the soul goeth to god that gave it , to give its particular account , and to be adjudged either to go to heaven to be comforted , or else to go to hell to be tormented ; so as that presently after death and particular judgement , the soul doth enter into its endless eternity , either of comfort or torment . solomon saith when the body dies , then shall the dust return to the earth , as it was : and the spirit unto god who gave it . eccles. 12. 7. our saviour saith , fear not them that kill the body , but are not able to kill the soul. matt. 10. 28. and saint paul saith , it is appointed unto men once to die , and after this the judgement ; after death judgement presenly follows , as the † greek words do signifie , and therefore by judgement here , is meant ( at lest inclusively ) that particular judgement which the lord doth pass upon every soul immediately after death , for at that instant * god pronounceth , and the conscience apprehendeth a sentence of blessing or cursing , and accordingly the soul is estated in its eternal condition , either of felicity or misery . the souls of all those who die in the * lord , in a believing and regenerate estate , are by the mercy of god absolved and made perfect in holiness , and are carried by good angels into heaven , there to live in a happy estate of joy and rest , with their ever blessed god and saviour , and with all the holy angels , and with all those perfect and blessed souls who went to heaven before them : waiting for the full redemption of their bodies , which even in death , and after they are returned to dust , continue still united to christ , and rest in their graves , as in their beds , till at the last day , they be again united to their souls . rom. 8. 23. ps. 16. 9. isai 57. 2. job 19. 25 , 26. but the souls of all people who die out of christ , in an unbelieving and unregenerate condition , are by the justice of god * condemned to infernal misery , and are haled away by evil angels into hell , there to remain in torments and utter darkness with the devil and his angels , and with all those sad and miserabie souls , who were before doomed to that place of torment : and their bodies which return to dust and see corruption , are kept in their graves , as in their prisons , till the resurrection , and judgement of the great day . gen. 3. 19. 2 pet. 2. 9. a philosopher being asked by alexander the great , * whether there were more men alive then dead ? answered , that there were more alive , because ( said he ) there are none dead in respect of their souls : we are taught more plainly by divinity , then ever any where by philosophy , that the souls of all people are immortal , and consequently that they who are dead in their bodies , are alive in their souls , either in heaven or hell ; besides these * two places , for souls separated from their bodies , the scripture acknowledgeth none . fourthly , that the bodies of all mankind who have dyed from the beginning to the end of the world , shall all be raised again at the last day , and reunited to their ownsouls ; all the dead shall be raised again with the self-same bodies , and none other , yet so altered in quality , as that then they shall be able to abide for ever . the words of * our . saviour are express and full ; the hour is comming , in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice , and shall come forth , they that have done good , unto the resurrection of life , and they that have done evil , unto the resurrection of damnation . and the words of the apostle are clear and plain , there shall be a resurrection of the dead , both of the just and unjust , acts 24. 15. and again , the dead shall be raised incorruptible , and we shall be changed , for this corruptible must put on incorruption , and this mortal , must put on immortality . 1 cor. 15 52 , 53. let not incredulous nature shrink at the possibility of resurrection , when the god of nature undertakes it 〈◊〉 why should it be thought a thing incredible that god should raise the dead ? is it not as possible for god almighty ( with whom nothing is * impossible ) to raise the dead out of their dust , which is something , as to make the world of nothing ? is it not as easie with the lord ( for whom nothing is too * hard ) to raise man out of his dust in the earth , as to form man of the dust of the ground ? it is sufficient to me that the lord jesus christ hath promised me , that if i believe in him , he will raise me up at the last day . john 6. 40. fifthly , that all those of mankind who shall be raised from the dead , together with the rest of mankind , who shall be found alive at the second coming of christ , being changed in a moment , they shall all personally appear before the judgement seat of christ to give a publick account of their thoughts , words , and deeds , whether they were good or evil : and they shall all be judged by jesus christ to go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition , either of happiness or misery . enoch the seventh from adam * prophesied of the day of judgement ; our saviour in his sermons often made mention of it : and the apostle paul solemnly warnes us of it , for ( saith he ) * we must all appear before the judgement seat of christ , that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done , whether it be good or bad ; so then every one shall give an account of himself to god , who will judge the secrets of men by jesus christ according to the gospel , and will reward them according to their works , as their works or deeds were fruits and effects , either of their faith , or of their unbeliefe . mat. 16. 27. rom. 2. 6 , 16. again , saint matthew tells us , that jesus christ the judge * of quick and dead , shall give this comfortable sentence of everlasting life and salvation to all the elect among mankind , who were righteous , and such as had a part in him ; come ye blessed of my father , inherit the kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world . math. 25. 34. and again , that christ himself shall give this dreadfull sentence of eternall death and damnation to all the reprobate of mankind , who were wicked , and such as had no interest in him , depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire , prepared for the devil and his angels . mat. 25. 41. it seems that the proceedings of the general and last judgement , shall be so ordered by the peculiar favour of god , as that the saints who were in christ , shall first be judged and acquitted , and then with christ , they shall judge reprobate men and angels , not in an equal authority with christ , but as approvers of his righteous judgement . sixtly , that all mankind shall certainly go into that everlasting condition , that the lord jesus christ shall doom them unto ; those whom christ shall absolve , and sentence to inherit the kingdom of heaven , shall assuredly go into it , to live eternally happy in it : and those whom christ shall condemn to go into everlasting fire , shall certainly go into it to be everlastingly punished in it ; after the act of eternal judgement is past , the execution of it will immediately follow ; this is proved and insisted upon in the next chapter . chap. ii. shews by many infallible proofs , that all mankind in the end of this world , shall go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition , either of happiness or misery . i have now brought you within the sight of mans future eternity , unto that great doctrine of eternity chiefly aimed at , which is this , that all mankind at the end of this world , shall go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition , either of happiness or misery ; the wicked of all mankind , who had no part in christ , shall go into hell , to endure everlasting punishment ; and the righteous among all mankind , who were interessed in christ , shall go into heaven , to inherit life eternal ; and so all the world shall go into one of these two places or states of eternity , after that time shall be no more . the truth of this weighty point of divinity may appear these two waies . 1. by divine testimonie . 2. by humane testimonie . first , this appeares to be so by the divine testimonie of the spirit of god in the holy scriptures , who saith concerning the wicked , that they shall go into everlasting punishment , but the righteous into life eternal . mat. 25. 46. when jesus christ shall sit upon the throne of his glory , the people of all nations shall be gathered before him , and he will distinguish them into two sorts , namely into sheep and goates . mat. 25. 31. 32. by goats are meant the reprobate of all mankind , who dyed in their * sins , and out of christ : though many of them did profess saith , yet none of them had that faith unfained , which worketh by love ; for when christ in his poor members was an hungred , they gave him no meat , and when he was naked , they clothed him not ; and these are the unbelieving and the ungodly of the world , who shal go away into everlasting * punishment , that is , they shall go into hell to suffer everlasting punishment . by sheep are to be understood the elect of god , taken out of all * sorts of mankind , who were redeemed , justified , and sanctified by jesus christ : many whereof had opportunity to shew forth their faith in christ , and their love unto christ , by their charity to the poor people of christ ; for , when christ in his poor members was sick and in prison , they visited him , and when he was hungry and naked , they fed him , and clothed him : and these are the righteous in christ jesus , who shall go into * life eternal , that is , they shall go into heaven to enjoy life eternal . mat. 25. 35 , 36 , 37 , 46. again , this is proved by the parable of the tares of the field , in the thirteenth chapter of saint matthews gospel . if you well observe our saviours exposition of this ●arable , you will find , that all people in the world are compared unto good seed , and tares . by tares are meant the children of the wicked one , who were of their * father the divel , for his lusts they would do ; though many of them were christians by name , and believers by profession , yet they were but formal christians , and feigned believers , being such as did offend , and such as were workers of iniquity : and these in the end of this world , shall be cast into a furnace of fire ; that is , into hell-fi●e , where there is for ever wailing and gnashing of teeth . mat. 13 40 , 41 , 42. rev. 16. 10 , 11. by good seed is to be understood the children of the kingdom , who were joint-heirs with christ of the kingdome of glory ; and these at the last day shall be received up into the third heaven , and shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father , and that for evermore ; for of his kingdom there shall be no end . mat. 13. 38 , 43. this divine doctrine may be further illustrated , and yet more strongly confirmed by these two scripture-arguments . first , at the great assizes of the whole world , when all mankind shall so † appear before the tribunal of christ , as that the secrets of their hearts shall be laid open , they will be found either such as were ignorant and disobedient , and out of christ , or such as were knowing , obedient , and interessed in christ. they who shal be found at that notable day of discovery , such as had no part in christ , such as knew not god , and as obeyed not the gospel of our lord jesus christ , shal be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord , and from the glory of his power . 2 thes. 1. 7. but they who shall be found at that great day of trial , such as were in christ , such as did * know the onely true god , and jesus christ whom he hath sent : and such as did truly believe in christ , and sincerely obey him , shall be saved with eternal salvation . heb. 5. 9. therefore all mankind at the end of the world , shal go into an everlasting condition , either of wo or weal. secondly , either all mankind after the day of judgment , shall go into an everlasting condition , either of happiness , or misery ; or else some of mankind shall be turned into nothing : or else some of mankind shall go into some third place or state . but not any of mankind shall be turned into * nothing ; for the wicked of all mankind shall go into everlasting punishment , therefore they shall have an everlasting being , otherwise there would be a punishment inflicted , & none indured , which is a contradiction ; and the righteous among mankind shall go into life eternal , and therefore they shal subsist & live for ever , and so none of mankind shall be annihilated , or consumed and turned into nothing . nor shall any of mankind go into any third place , or state , because there is no place nor state to be found in the word of god for any of mankind to go into , after this world is ended , besides * hell and heaven , besides the cursed condition of everlasting punishment , and the blessed state of life eternal ; and how can any of mankind go into that which is not ? therefore , we may certainly conclude , that all mankind at the end of this world shall go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition either of glory or misery ; the wicked shall go into an everlasting condition of pain and calamity : and the righteous shal go into an everlasting condition of rest and glory , and so all shall go into an eternal state , either of felicity or misery , after that time shall be no longer . here it might be shewed , that the doctrine of mans everlasting condition in the world to come , hath been received for a truth ever since this world began . the holy * partriarchs , prophets and apostles , and the old and new testament saints believed it , and acknowledged it : so did the ancient fathers after them , & the greatest part of christians in all ages and parts of the world . and all the reformed churches now in christendom do confess it , and do earnestly contend for this fundamental article of the catholick faith . but i labour to be brief , and therefore instead of insisting upon the antiquity of this point , i shall refer you to the scriptures and * authors in the margin , and to the last article of athanasius's creed , of the nicene creed , and of that ancient creed , commonly called , the apostles creed , whereby you may see with your own eyes , that this is no new , but an ancient truth , which hath been received in the church of god , in all ages of the world . secondly , this infallible doctrine may be proved , if further proof be needful , by humane testimony , and as i may say with the apostle , ( acts 17. 28. ) by certain of our own poets ; for , the wiser sort both of poets and * philosophers were of this opinion , that wicked people shal go after they depart hence , into a horrible place , called tartarus , where they shal be eternally tormented : & that good men , shal go after their departure out of this life , into a pleasant place , called elizium , where they shal live happily for ever . which opinion of theirs clearly shews , that they had some imperfect notions of mans future eternity , either in torment or happiness . again , they who * write of the world tel us , that the people of every nation in the world , are of some religion , and they who are of any religion , do hold , that there is a life after this life , where it shall go well with the good , and ill with the bad of mankinde for ever ; why else are they religious ? doubtless , that must needs be a manifest truth that appears to be so , not onely by the light of the holy scriptures , but also by the light of nature , and the common opinion ( almost ) of all people in the world ; nay , by the common practise of the divel himself , who as a * roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour : endeavouring by his temptations , apparitions , possessions , and wiles with de●uded sinners , to deprive as many of mankind of eternal salvation as possibly he can , and to bring them at last unto everlasting damnation , from which , good lord deliver us . chap. iii. describes the misery of that everlasting condition of woe and punishment , that the wicked shall go into , at the the end of the world . having hitherto proved the doctrine of mans future eternity , i shall in the next place explain it ; and first of all i shall mournfully look downward , towards — the miserable eternity of such as shall be damned , and shew you ( so far as i know it by scripture-revelation ) wherein the misery of their everlasting punishment , which is the punishment of punishments , doth chiefly consist , namely in these three particulars . 1. in their punishment of loss . 2. in their pain of sense . 3 in the everlastingness of both these kinds of punishment . first , the misery of that everlasting cursed , and damned condition that the wicked shal go into at the end of this world , doth consist in their punishment of loss , and that in these four respects . 1. they shal be punished with the loss of the comfortable , and beatisical presence of god the father , son , and holy ghost , they shall depart and go away from the lord , in such a sort as that they shal never have any savour , nor any refreshing from the presence of the ever-blessed and glorious trinity . god being the chief * good , and the greatest felicity , and his loving kindness being better then life , therefore to be punished with the loss of his favour will be as it were the everlasting death of the damned , and their greatest loss , and saddest misery . 2. they shal be punished with the loss of heaven , that place of celestial rest and blessedness , where god is said to dwell , whither christ is ascended , and where the lord will manifest himself unto his people to their everlasting comfort and happinesse . there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth ( saith our saviour ) when ye shall see abraham , and isaac , and jacob , & all the prophets in the kingdom of god , and you your selves thrust out . luke 13. 28. 3. they shall be punished with the loss of the blessed communion of all the holy angels in heaven ; for seeing they shal be punished with the loss of the favourable presence of god , & with the loss of heaven , it follows that they shal be punished with the loss of the joyful fellowship of all the holy angels , who do alwaies behold the face of god in heaven . mat. 18. 10. 4. they shal be punished with the loss of the comfortable company of all the saines in heaven , and of all their glorious perfections , & heavenly priviledges ; for sith they shal * depart from the lord , and shal be shut out of heaven , and cast into hell , where they shal for ever remain unpardoned and unsanctified , retaining their vile hearts and sinful natures : therefore it necessarily follows , that they shal be deprived of the happy society of all the saints , and of all those celestial perfections and blessed priviledges , that they shal enjoy , when they shall be ever with the lord in the kingdome of heaven . luko 16. 22 , to 27. we think their loss to be very great , who are punished with the loss of the temporal good things of this life ; but alas ! what is that , to the loss of the eternal good things of the life to come ? a godly * gentleman observing the gallant accommodations of a pious noble man , took occasion to speak to him after this christian manner : my lord , ( said he ) you had need make sure of heaven , or else when you die , you will be a great looser ; it infinitely concerns both great and small , to make sure work about their salvation , otherwise when they die they will be great losers , for they will lose not onely their comforts on earth , but also the joyes of heaven , and that without all hope of recovery . luke 16. 23 , 24. secondly the misery of that wofull and cursed condition , called the * damnation of hell , that the wicked shal go into , after the day of judgement , doth consist in their pain of sense , or in that sensible pain that they shall bee punished withall , in hell , that terrible place of torment , and that in sundry particulars , worthy of our most serious consideration . 1. they sh●l be punished universally with a sensible pain , all over ; as , in their bodies , and in all the parts thereof , and in their souls , and in all the faculties thereof . these shal go away into everlasting punishment ; it is spoken of the wicked , after they were condemned to go in their bodies and souls into everlasting fire , prepared for the divel and his angels . mat. 25. 41 46. 2. they shall be punished extreamly , with a grievous sensible torment in their whole man ; for , they shall go into * hell into the fire that never shall be quenched , and into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone . mark 9. 46. rev. 21. 8. though fire and brimstone be terrible , yet the thing thereby signified is more terrible ; indeed , indeed , the largest and most capacious heart alive cannot conceive how extream their pain and misery will be , upon whom the total wrath of god shall abide for ever john 3. 36. rev. 14 10. i● ●a●n , if judas , if spira , and others , were so grievously t●rmented with despair and horrour of conscience , when the terrours of god were upon them : and if the wrath of god upon christ for a while , caused his soul to be exceeding heavy , and made his bodie sweat as it were great drops of blood ; how extreamly , will the infinite fierce wrath of god , torment the damned in hell , when it shall abide on them for all eternity ? 3. they shall be punished continually , without having any ease , intermission or freedom from pain , throughout the infinite space of eternity ; how can it be otherwise , sith they shall be cast into the bottomless * pit of hell , where their worm dyeth not , and the fire is not quenched : where they have no rest day nor night , but are tormented continually , continually . rev. 14. 10 11. i have somtimes thought in my sickness , what if the lord should alwaies afflict me with such a pain as this is , and should continue me to endure it to all eternity , how miserable then wou●d my life be ? and yet ( saith a learned * author , after a long sickness ) what is a sick-bed to hell ? what is a fever to those everlasting burnings ? where the fit never goeth off , the fire never goeth out , the worm never dieth . mark 9. 44. 4. they shal be punished remedil●sly , without ever having any remedy , or any help , or hope of remedie . the author to the hebrews tels us , that if we sin wilfully , after we have received the knowledge of the truth , there remaine●h no more sacrifice for sins , but a certain fearfull looking for of judgement , and ●iery indignation , which shall devour the adversaries . hebrews 10. 26 , 27. the sacrifice of christ , is the onely * true sacrifice , if that be quite rejected , it can be no more reiterated , neither can there be any other found elsewhere , and so nothing but remediless misery is to be expected ; they who shal finally refuse jesus christ our ever dear redeemer , shal be condemned to hell without all possibility of being redeemed out of it , and without all hope of having any * comfort in it ; and so , they will be left to utter desperation , without either help or hope of remedy ; but here is not all , for , — thirdly , the misery of that d●plorable punishment , and fulness of all cursedness , called the * second death , which impenitent unbelievers and ill-livers must endure in hell , at the end of the world , consists , in the everlastingness of it ; their punishment of loss , and pain of sence , will last throughout all-eternity . hearken what the scripture saith , about the miserable eternity of such as shal be damned ; they shall go away into everlasting punishment ; they shal suffer the vengeance of eternal fire ; the blackness of darkness is reserved for them for ever ; they shall be tormented for ever and ever . mat. 25. 46. jude v. 7. 13. rev. 20. 10. oh these † words , everlasting , eternal , ever , ever & ever ! how plainly and fully do they prove the everlastingness , and the perpetuity of the punishment of the damned in hell ? after they have been punished with the loss of the happiness of heaven , and with the sense of the horrour of hell , as many years as there are grass piles upon the earth , as there are drops of water in the sea , as there are sands by the sea shoar , as there are motes in the sun , as there have been leaves on all the trees that ever grew , & as there have been hairs upon the heads of all mankind from the first till the last born ; i say , after they have been punished so many years , ●ay more , after they have been punished so many millions of years as it is possible for the mind of man to conceive , their most fearful punishment will be no nearer an end , for it will ever last , and never end , never , never . their souls are * immortal already , and their bodies shal be raised everlasting : the judgement that shal be passed upon them is eternal , hell that place of torment they shal be turned into , continues for ever : their worm of conscience is ever-living , and the wrath of god which shal abide on them is everlasting ; therefore their punishment shal be everlasting , everlasting . though we may look forward , and forward towards — their miserable eternity , yet we shal never see the end of it , and they will never find an end of it ; for , after it is once begun , it is like a circle that hath no end at all , or like that * prison , that whosoever were cast into it , could never get out again . in all the miseries mankind meet withall in this world , they have this poor comfort , they hope their misery will have an end ; but the wicked in hell can have no such hope , and therefore no such comfort ; for , they wil know after christ hath condemned them to go into everlasting fire , that their punishment wil be everlasting and endless . if any say unto me , what is the eternity of the damned in hell ? my reply is this , it is the everlastingness of their hellish pain and misery , whereby it will ever last , and never end , never , never . o all ye careless sinners ! see here in this miserable eternity , eternity , eternity , the great and abominable evil of sin , and the sad fruit of it : see here , what that wrath to come is , you ought to flee from , and how much it concerns you * to fear god , who can cast both soul and body into hell : see here , where the broad way of affected ignorance , unbelief , and wickedness will end , even within the wide gate of the dreadful prison of hell , from whence there is no return : behold here , what your sins will bring you unto at last , unless you truly repent of them , and apply christ by faith for pardon of them , and power against them . and flatter not your selvs in hope of a tolerable hell , as thinking that if you be damned , that you may endure the torments of hell as well as others ; for verely , verely , no finite heart can conceive how great the pain and misery of the damned will be , who shal be punished by an infinite god , for an infinite guilt , throughout the infinite space of eternity : * one says wel , we can go no further in comprehending that which is incomprehensible , then to know it to be incomprehensible . it is not for nothing that god hath ordained * tophet of old , and that christ hath so often threatned hell and everlasting punishment against impenitent and unbelieving sinners : for , for , as sure as the promises of heaven and life eternal are true ; so sure the threatnings of hell and everlasting punishment are true , and they shall be fulfilled in god's appointed time and way . mat. 5. 18. ch . 25 , 46. though reprobate sinners are but finite creatures , and did sin but for a time , yet because they sinned against an infinite good god , and against the everlasting gospel of jesus christ the eternal son of god , and did never repent of their sins , but would have sinned * eternally if they had lived eternally , therefore these offence is infinite , and it will be just with god to punish them wi●h an everlasting punishment , and so with an infinite punishment in respect of duration , rom. 3. 8 rom. 6. 23. although all the damned shal be everlastingly punished with the loss of the felicity of heaven , and with the sence of the misery of hell , yet by how much any of them have been greater sinners then others of them , by so much their * degrees of punishment will be the greater , according to the opinion of most expositors upon these texts of scripture , mat. 11. 22 , 23. mat. 23. 14. luke 13. 47 , 48. if the worm in hell that dyeth not , and the fire that is not quenched , be material , as some learned * writers do suppose they are , then the damned in hell will be grievously and everlastingly tormented with them ; and if they be metaphorical , as it is most likely they are , according to the judgement of several modern * divines , then the conscience of damned sinners will be like a worm that dieth not , and the ●rath of god abiding on them , will be like the fire that is not quenched , tormenting them universally , extreamly , continually , eternally . but what need is there curiously to enquire , or boldly to determin about such niceties as these ? it is enough to know , that the pains and torments of hell to the wicked , will be both eternal and incomprehensible . deuteron . 29. 29. o reader ! if we , who know but in part , the doctrine of the everlasting punishment of such as shall be damned , do apprehend their misery to be so exceedingly grievous : how extreamly miserable wil they find their punishment to be , when they shal fully know it , by woful experience ? as that * youth , who was chosen by a certain king who had no issue , to be heir to the crown , in case he proved fit for government , otherwise to be a gally-slave , came to know by sad experience how great his punishment was for his negligence and misdemeanor , when ( being found upon tryal unfit for a kingly throne ) instead of being crowned king , he was made a gally-slave : even so , the wicked will come to know by woful experience , how great their punishment shal be , for their wilful ignorance and final disobedience , when instead of being preferred to heaven , to be ever with the lord , and with his holy angels and saints , they shal be condemned to go into hell fire , prepared for the divel and his angels : their infernal tormenting , and tormented companions . matthew 25. 34 , 41. o what cause have we ( who have deserved to be everlastingly damned ) to magn fi● the lord , who ( we hope ) hath delivered us from this wrath to come , through * jesus christ , and to wish out of our zeal to his glory , that all our thoughts , words , and works , may either honour christ , or dishonour our selves . chap. iv. explains the happiness of that eternal state of glory and rest , that the righteous shall go into at the last day . i have already cast mine eyes downward , towards — the miserable eternity of such as shall be damned , and described the horrour thereof unto you , therefore i shall next of all joyfully look upward towards — the blessed eternity of such as shall be saved , and shew you ( so farre as i have attained to see it by scripture-light ) wherein the happiness of their life eternal , which is the life of lives , doth principally consist , to wit , in these three things . 1. in their being like unto christ. 2. in their enjoyment of god in christ. 3. in the eternity of both these heavenly priviledges . first , the happiness of that eternal blessed and glorious state , that the righteous shall go into at the last day , doth consist , in their being made like unto christ ; for the apostle john saith , that when christ shall appear , we shall be like him ; as christ is holy and glorious in soul and body , so his people at his appearing shal be holy and glorious in their souls and bodies , and so they shal be like their saviour in holiness and glory : yet not in equality , but in * resemblance , and so with a difference of degrees betwixt head and members . 1 john 3. 2. the souls of all those , who dyed in christ before his second coming , were immediately after the death of their bodies , and at particular judgement acquitted and made * perfect in holiness and glory , like to the glorified soul of their saviour , and when their bodies shal be raised again at the last day , they shall be fashioned like to his glorious body , and so they shall awake in his likenesse . psalm . 17. 15. phil●p . 3. 21. the people of christ also , who shall be found alive at his appearing , they shall be like him ; indeed all gods saints shall be * conformable to their blessed saviour in perfect purity and glory , and so they shal be , not onely fully freed in their whole man , from all sin , both original and actual , and from all sorts of sorrows , miseries , and sufferings external , internal , and eternal : but also , they shall be compleatly endowed in their bodies and souls with such like pure and heavenly qualities , as the blessed manhood of christ is now glorified withall . as , in their bodies , with * immortallity , spirituallity , power , and glory : and in their * souls , with perfect light of understanding , whereby they shal know even as they are known , and with perfect freedom of will , whereby they shal be exactly conformable to the heavenly will of god ; and again , with perfect order and elevation of affection , whereby they shall perfectly love , and laud the lord their god , and perpetually delight themselves in him ; and so being glorified in their bodies and souls , they will be fitted for that state of glory and life eternal that they shal inherit from thenceforth , and for ever . matthew 25. 46. 1 pet. 5. 4. thus , when christ who is their life shall * appear , then shall they also appear with him in glory , cloathed with the white robes of his everlasting righteousness and splendour : not having spot or wrinkle , or any such thing ; and so christ will present them holy and glorious in the kingdom of heaven , where he will uphold them in perfect purity and glory world without end , in so much ▪ as that he will be everlastingly glorified and admired in them . 2 thes. 1. 10. heb. 13. 8. rev. 21. 23. though we , poor we , know not as yet how glorious our saviour now is in heaven , no● consequently how glorious his people shall be , when they shall be like him , yet we may guess at the glory of christ in heaven by the glory of his * transfiguration on earth , and we may safely conclude , that the saints will be satisfied when they shal perfectly bear their saviours celestial image in the kingdome of heaven , and that then , they will have cause to say , as peter did upon the mountain , it is good for us to be here . mat. 17 4. if the man who had been long sick , joyed to think that in the grave he should be free from pain and sickness , how may the children of god who have been long sick of sinning , and subject to suffering all their life long , rejoyce , to think , that in heaven , when they shall be l●ke christ , they wil be beyond all possibility of sinning and suffering . 1 cor. 15. 54 , 55 , 56 , 57. rev. 21 4. secondly , the felicity of that joyful and blessed life , called everlasting life , that the saints shal inherit both in their bodies and souls after the day of judgement , doth consist , in their enjoyment of god in christ , in the everlasting habitations of heaven ; which is the principal part of the happiness of their life eternal , and as it were , the highest pitch of their heavenly felicity . all the elect people of god , by whatsoever names and religions they were called , and distinguished here on earth , they shal all have in heaven , communion one with another , fellowship with the holy angels , and a full fruition of the ever-blessed godhead in trinity of persons ; and that in these three respects , which i shal the rather express in scripture-language for the help of our weak understanding herein . 1. they shall enjoy god in christ , in being present with him in the same , empyrean heaven , and ever-blessed eternity , where he enjoys himself , and where his glorious angels and the blessed souls of his people enjoy him . christ hath promised his * people , that he will receive them to himself ; that where he is , there they may be also ; and therefore , there they shall be in his appointed time . again , the * apostle paul plainly tells us , that we shall be ever with the lord , & so we shall partake of that fulness of joy that is in his presence , and of those pleasures which are at his right hand for evermore . psal. 16. 11. this , this , is that , which the saints here on earth , do so * earnestly and ardently desire , as that their souls are restless and unsatisfied until they come to the full fruition of god in the highest heaven , which he hath prepared for their everlasting home and entertainment in the world to come . 2. they shall enjoy god in seeing of him as he is ; for , then saith saint paul , we shall see face to face , and know even as we are known . 1 cor. 13. 12. again , the apostle john saith , that then we shall see the lord as he is ; and so we shal enjoy him by our immediate and blessed vision of him . 1 joh. 3. 2. all the saints shall behold the glory of their blessed saviour in his heavenly kingdom with the * eies of their glorified bodies ; and they shall see the blessed de●ty in three glorious persons , with the * eies of their understanding fully enlightened with the light of glory : they shal all know the lord apprehensively in all his admirable excellencies and perfections , and they shall see him whom their soul loveth as it were face to face , clearly and perfectly , and so they shal have a full satisfactory knowledge of god , who is the first truth , and of all truths else which may conduce to their complete happiness . zuingerus was so fully perswaded of this , as that he * said at the point of death , i am glad that the time is now come , when the lord will shew himself unto me face to face . 3. they shall enjoy god in christ , in being perfectly one with the father and him , as they are one , after such a real manner , as that they shal never be parted from him , but shal be indissolubly joined unto him , to their unspeakable comfort and happiness . jesus christ who cannot but be heard , hath prayed both for the beginning and the accomplishment of this blessed union : his prayer is , that all his people may be * one with the father and him , as they are one : they cannot therefore but be partakers of this blisful one-ness with the blessed trinity ; and being partakers of it , they will enjoy god , by their happy conjunction , and immediate communion with him . all believers through the holy ghost , are now inseperably united to the glorious person of the son of god , as members to their * head , and by christ they are united to god the father , the fountain of grace and glory , whereby they are now made partakers of the divine light and life of grace . 2 pet. 1. 4. and this spiritual and mystical union begun here , shall be perfected for ever hereafter , whereby they shall partake of the everlasting light and life of glory immediately from the * lord of glory , in such a heavenly , all-satisfying sort , as that they shall be as fully happy , as possibly they can wish or desire to be . as all the elect shall be beatifically united to god in christ ; so they shall be perfectly * united one to another in judgement , wil and affection ; how much soever they differed on earth , they shall all accord in heaven , in one scope and act of giving glory and praise to god , and in one perpetual adoration , and fruition of one infinite deity in trinity of persons ; and so they wil be mutually happy in god , in themselves , and in each other . although it is the soul which doth enjoy god , or that doth partake * of the good which is in god ; yet the body also shall have a share in the happiness of the souls enjoyment of god in the kingdom of glory . 1 thes. 4. 16 , 17. sith god is an infinite * self-existing spirit , from eternity , in eternity , to eternity , and is his own happiness , and the author and object of all happiness , therefore the full enjoyment of god blessed for ever , who is self-sufficient in his being , and all-sufficient in his communications , will be a satisfying felicity , and as high an happiness , as either saints or angels can desire to enjoy . ps. 73. 25 , 26. i could not but be affectionately taken with the judgement of a pious * writer about this particular ; enquire ( saith he ) of such as are yet militant upon earth , wherein their happiness consists , the answer will be , in their having fellowship with the father , and with his son jesus christ ; let those who are triumphant be asked , what it is that renders their heaven so glorious ; their glory so incomprehensible , ye shal have no other account but this , it is because they have now attained a compleat fruition of that all-sufficient , all-satissying , ever-blessed , and ever-blessing object — god in christ. it is the doctrinal observation of a worthy * preacher , that god alone is more desirable then any thing , then all things in heaven and earth ; and no wonder if we consider , that the lord is such a depth of divine perfections , as that he possesseth in one onely perfection , the excellencie of all perfections , in so excellent sort , as that none is able to comprehend it but himself , therefore the everlasting enjoyment of him , can be no other then perfect blessedness . we may piously think according to the scriptures , that when the saints shal partake of this heavenly fruition of god in christ , they wil have such a full sence , and real experience of the everlasting love of god unto them , as that they will be for ever * affected with it , and constrained by it , perfectly to love the lord their god , perpetually to rejoyce in him , and everlastingly to land him and praise him for their blessed enjoyment of him ; and so their * love to god , joy in him , & thankfulness to him shal never cease , because it is a part of that heavenly happiness which wil redound from their beatifical fruition of god in christ. a day in thy courts ( saith sacred king david unto god ) is better then a thousand ; i had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my god , then to dwell in the tents of wickedness : if the enjoyment of god in his ordinances be so unspeakably sweet and delightful , how incomprehensibly comfortable and complacent wil the saints perfect fruition of god in heaven be ! i know not how to express it , let your souls think of it ; but there is more yet : for , thirdly , the perfect blessedness of that happy condition of heavenly rest and glory , called an eternal weight of glory , that pen●tent and pious believers shall go into at the last day ; consists in the eternity of it , their glorious conformity unto christ , and their blessed enjoyment of god in christ , will never end , nor ever alter , but will continue to be the same for ever ever . hear what sacred writ saith concerning the saints future eternity ; they shall go into * life eternal , they shall have everlasting life , they shall ever live , and never dye ; they shall be ever with the lord , and shall reign with him for ever and ever in the kingdom of glory , where they shall wear an incorruptible crown of life and glory , and where they shal possess an eternal inheritance incorruptible , and undefiled , and that fadeth not away . 1 pet. 1. 4. how clearly and fully do these † words — eternal , everlasting , ever , ever and ever — prove , that the blessed life or happy condition that the righteous shall go into at the last day , will never end , but ever continue , ever , ever and ever . after the saints in heaven have been happy in their glorious conformity unto christ , and in their blessed enjoyment of god in christ , as many years as there are stars in the heavens , as there have been drops of water rained down from heaven since the begining of the world , as there have been things thought upon , words spoken , and actions done by all mankind since the day that god created man ; and as there have been letters written and printed , since letters , writing , and printing were found out in the world ; when they have lived with the lord in heavenly glory and happiness so many * years , nay so many thousands of years , their blessed life wil be no nearer an end , for it will ever last , and never end ; because i live ( saith * christ to his disciples ) ye shall live also ; as christ , who is the head of his church , liveth for evermore , so his people who are his members shal live for evermore ; and in this respect he wil satisfie them with long life , even with everlasting life , which had indeed a beginning , but shal never have an end . psalm . 91. 16. john 10. 28. their souls are * immortal by creation , and their bodies shall be immortal at their resurrection ; the heaven of heavens which they shall inhabit , is eternal : their god whom they shal enjoy , is everlasting , their blessed head and saviour in whom they shall enjoy the lord , is ever-living : therefore their blessed life shall be everlasting , everlasting . what can i say more ? after the inheritors of the kingdom of heaven have lived in celestial glory and felicity , as many millions of years as all mankind could ever number , they will be as far off from the end of their everlasting blessedness , as they were at the beginning of it ; for their blessed and eternal eternity ( after they are once entred into it ) is like a ring , that hath no end at all , and it shall be as an immortal ring , which they shall eternally wear , in remembrance of the lords everlasting love unto them . all our earthly enjoyments are damped , and made less comfortable to us , because they are but * temporal , for a while , we may leave them , or they may leave us , to day before tomorrow : but the heavenly enjoyments of the saints in glory , are heightned and made more happy and joyful , because they are eternal , and wil be altogether the same , for ever and ever . 1 thes. 4. 17. heb. 13. 8. if any now ask me ; what is the saints eternity in heaven ? my answer is this ; it is the infinite length of their blessed life , and heavenly happiness , whereby it will never end , but ever continue , ever , ever , and ever . o all ye blessed and thrice happy saints , see here in this blessed eternity , eternity , eternity , what the lord hath prepared for them that wait upon him : see here , where the narrow way of humility , faith and piety , will end , even within the strait gate of the great city of heaven , where are joyes unconceivable , and pleasures for evermore : behold here , how they that sow in tears , shall reap in joy , and how the lord wil in mercy reward those with the enjoyment of himself , who diligently seek him . heb. 11. 6. and rejoice ( ye hapyy heirs of heaven ) rejoine , in the * hope and expectation of this heavenly glory and happiness to ●ome , and comfort one another with these things , and let the joy and recompence of reward which hath been set before you , move you to go on unweariedly in the wayes of god , alwayes abounding in the work of the lord , forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the lord. 1 cor. 15. 58. heb. 12. 2. though all the saints shall be members and fellow-citizens of the heavenly ●●rusalem , and shall be fully and everlastingly happy in their holy and glorious conformity unto christ , and in their blessed enjoyment of god in christ : yet it is probable , by how much any of them ( through the grace of christ ) have glorified god on earth , more then others of them , by so much their degrees of glory in heaven will be the greater , according to the judgement of most * divines , upon these places of scripture . dan. 12. ● . matth. 10. 41 , 42. ch. 19. 28. 1 cor. 3. 8. 2 cor. 4. 17. 2 cor. 9. 6. it is the general opinion of godly learned men , that the saints in heaven will perfectly and personally know one another , to the mutual comfort one of another ; this is usually proved by arguments taken from these texts of scripture . matt. 17. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. matth. 8. 11. luke 16. 23. 1 cor. 13. 12. after the resurrection the saints will neither marry , nor be given in marriage , but shall be as the angels of god in heaven . and their bodies being spiritual in quality , they shall be freed from the necessities and imperfections of the animal life , and upheld immediately by the almighty power of god , without the use of food and raiment , and all other means that are requisite to the preservation of the life that now is . 1 cor. 15. 28. when all the saints shall be like christ , and shall be brought to the blisful fruition of god in christ , in those eternal mansions of heaven assigned for them , then prophesying , hearing , and praying , and all duties , graces and actions , that were used as meanes to that blessed end , shall * cease , and then they shall have that everlasting rest that now remaineth for them , which is the endlesse rest of rests ; and so they shall keep that everlasting sabbath , which is the sabbath of sabbaths ; and the eternal god himselfe ( who is goodnesse and perfection wholly incomprehensible ) shall be with them , and will be their god , their exceeding great reward , their portion , their heaven , their life eternall , their happinesse , and * their all in all : with whom they will be fully satisfied , and in whom they will comfortably acquiesce , and contentedly rest to all eternity ; yea , the lord their god will rejoyce over them with joy , and will rest in his love unto them . zeph 3. 17. o sirs ! if the blessedness of the life to come , be but revealed in part , and if we who know but part of that part of it , which is revealed , and that thorow a glasse darkly , do conceive the glory and bliss of it , to be unspeakably great : how unconceivably glorious and blessed , will the saints in heaven find it to be , when they shall fully know it by comfortable experience ? in summe , the happiness of heaven , and of the blessed life to come called by divines , the state of glorification , is such , as that it will please and satisfy all , who shall have a part in it , & it is infinitely greater and better then can be * uttered or conceived , therefore let us humbly leave the rest of the felicity of it , to the future experience of such as shall enjoy it , as we may hope , we shall within a short time , if our hearts be right in the sight of god. it is reported of the duke of bovillon and his army , that when they went to jerusalem , as soon as they saw the high turrers , they shouted for joy , ●rying out jerusalem , jerusalem ; what cause have we poor pilgrims & strangers on the earth , who are travelling towards the ●elestial jerusalem our heavenly country , to rejoyce with joy unspeakable , as soon as we see by faith any glimpse of the exceeding glory and happinesse of it , saying with a joyful noyse to god , hallelujah , hallelujah , blessed , and for ever blessed be the lord , that we * know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved , we have a building of god , an house not made with hands , eternal in the heavens ; * an house ? yea , a pallace of heavenly state and magnificence ; neither is it lesse then a kingdome that abides there for us : a kingdome so much above these worldly monarchies , as heaven is above this ●lod of earth ; chap. v. renders the principall reasons why all mankinde after the day of judgement shall go in their bodies and soules into an everlasting condition , either of felicity or misery . the great and important truth of mans eternal state to come , having been both proved and explained , i shall now give you the reasons of it , which are principally these two . first the elect of god amongst all mankind , who were interessed in christ , shall go in their bodies and soules , after they have received their joyful sentence of absolution , into an everlasting condition of happinesse , for the everlasting glorifying of the mercy of god ; rom. 9. 23. when jesus christ shall say to his elect people in the sight and hearing of all the world , come ye blessed of my father , inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ; and when afterward , he shall bring them triumphantly into the possession of the everlasting kingdome of glory : then , and from thenceforth , and for ever , it will be fully knowne , that god is essentially mercifull , and that his mercy towards them whom he hath chosen in christ to life eternal , is * infinite , everlasting , and immutable , to the everlasting glory and honour of the mercy of the lord , and to the perpetuall praise of the glory of his grace . rom. 9. 23. ephes. 1. 5 , 6. as now the best of saints do but see the saving mercy of god towards them thorow a glasse darkly , and do but weakly believe it : so they do very imperfectly praise him for it , but when they shall perfectly know at the day of 〈◊〉 compleat redemption , that it was the mercy of god , and nothing , but his ●ender mercy , and free grace in christ towards them , that * elected them , that created them , that redeemed them , that called them , that justified them , that sanctified them , and that hath compleatly saved them , and all for this * great end , that they might for ever magnify him for it ; then , they will perfecty praise the lord , and give him the glory due to his name , for this gracious and golden chain of mercy , that reacheth from their everlasting predestination , to their everlasting glorification . ephes. 1. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. rev. 4. 8 9 , 10 , 11 , 12. as the saved in heaven will know by joyful experience , the ●●●at things the lord hath done for them , and that it is eternal love unto them in christ , that hath delivered them from the nether-most hell , and that hath brought them to the highest heaven : so they will affectionately praise him for it , and will delight to give glory to the lord their god , who hath brought them unto his incomprehensible bliss and glory , through the communication of his grace and glory unto them . and as they will perfectly apprehend that the favour that god beareth unto them in christ , shall endure for ever and ever : so they will glorify him for it , for ever and ever : and will sing without ceasing the high praises of god , not as the acaemets at constantinople , who sung day and night divine praises to god , onely one company after another : but all the elect angels and saints in heaven , will unanimously and perpetually praise the everliving god , father , son , and holy ghost , for the infinite felicity they shall enjoy together in his beatifical presence . psal. 84. 4. rev. 7. 10 , 11 , 12. secondly , all the reprobate of mankinde , who had no part in christ , shall go in their bodies and souls immediately after the dolefull sentence of condemnation hath been pronounced against them , into an everlasting condition of misery , for the everlasting glorifying of the justice of god. rom. 9. 22. when jesus christ shall say to the reprobate , in the presence of his elect angels and saints , depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire , prepared for the devill and his angels , and when he shall at that instant , cast them into hell , to be everlastingly punished ; then , and ever after , it will be absolutely known , that god is essentially just , and that his justice is infinite , eternal , and unchangeable , to the everlasting glory and honour of the justice of god , and to the eternal praise of his unalterable purpose to punish final imp●nitent and unbelieving sinners , according to the desert of their sins . rom. 9. 22. 2 thes. 1. 7 , 8 the wicked in the world will not now believe the justice , anger , and displeasure of god , against sin and impenitent sinners , nor will they * glorify it , when it is executed upon secure sinners , either in temporal or spiritual judgements : but when the * great day of the lords wrath is come , then they shall feel : it by woful experience , and shall be forced to know , and acknowledge the lord to be just , and their damnation to be just , to the eternal praise and glory of the soveraign justice and wrath of god , against final unconverted sinners . rom. 3. 8. revelat. 6. 17. it is the opinion of sundry of our * english divines , that god intends the glorifying of the 2 great attributes of his mercy and justice , most eminently at the day of judgement , and in the world to come ; and surely the vessels of mercy , and the vessels of wrath will find it so at the last day , and from thenceforth to all eternity . job 21. 29 , 30 , 31. 1 pet. 1. 4. 2 pet. 2. 9. 17. ah christians ! christians ! i who write , and ye who read and hear these things , must not onely be spectators of the praise of gods mercy , and justice , but parties also , upon whom either the infinite mercy , or the infinite justice of god shall be everlastingly glorified , but whether of these , i cannot tell , god knoweth ; in the name of christ , * let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling , for our god is a consuming fire ; presumptuous sinners , who go on impenitently in their sins , shall at length find to their costs , that they have * treasured up wrath to themselves against the day of wrath , and that the justice of god , as well as his mercy , endures for ever ; none more terrible then god provoked , wo , and again wo to them all , against whom mercy it self , shall rise up in judgement . now consider this , ye that forget god , lest he tear you in pieces , and there be none to deliver . psal. 50. 22. chap. vi. directs you how to apply the great doctrine of mans future eternity , whereby you may escape everlasting punishment , and obtain life eternal , after this life is ended . having done with the explication of the doctrine , concerning the great state of mans future eternity . i shall in this last chapter apply it unto you , and that by way of exhortation unto these two duties . 1. believe it in the generall , that mans future condition shall be eternal , either in happiness or misery . 2. provide in particular for your own future condition , that it may not be miserable , but happy to all eternity . first believe it in the general , that the condition of all mankind in the world to come shal be everlasting and endless , either in felicity , or misery . though you cannot see any thing beyond the grave with the eyes of your body , yet with the eyes of your understanding , thorow the perspective glass of the word , & by the grace of faith , you may see beyond this world — the great prospect of man's eternity i● the world to come , both that of glory , and that other of torment ; and how blessed the one , and how miserable the other : hence * one faith , that man is a future creature , the eye of his soul looks beyond this life towards eternity ; and hence it is that faith is described to be * the evidence of things not seen ; the nature and use of faith , is to be as it were , in stead of sight , or to make the unseen and eternal things of hell and heaven , which god hath revealed , to be in existence , as if our bodily eyes beheld them ; therefore that you may believe this universal received truth , as verily , as if you saw it fulfilled , meditate , pray , and confer about it . 1. meditate of the certainty of this doctrine — that all mankind at the end of this world shall go in their bodies and souls into an everlasting condition , either of happiness , or misery : and consider , you have as plain places of scripture , and as strong scripture — arguments to prove it , as you have to prove any doctrine contained in the bible , as appears by what hath been already said in our second chapter . again , consider how that this doctrine hath been received for a truth in all ages of the world , not only by jews & christians , but also by gentiles and heathens ; and therefore if you do not believe it , you are worse then infidels and pagans , because they have onely the twilight of nature , and you have the clear light of the sacred scriptures to convince you of the verity of it . mat 25. 46. although none can have good hope to go to heaven to enjoy that happiness there , which they would not believe here : yet it is to be feared , that many go to hell to feel that misery there , which they would not believe here . 2. pray to god to give you grace to believe it , and by faith to foresee what the scripture hath so plainly foreshewn● who knows but that the lord may perswade you of the truth of it , whilest you are praying to him to incline your hearts to believe it ? dan. 9. 21 , 22 , mat. 7. 7. 3. confer about it ( if need be ) with some able minister of the gospel , to the end that you may be strengthened and confirmed in your belief of it . mal. 2. 7. acts 10. 5. 6. one told * bishop hooper , after he was in queen mary's days condemned to be burned , that life was sweet , and that death was bitter , thinking thereby to have disswaded him from suffering for righteousness sake : but the good b●shop replyed , the life to come is more sweet , and death to come is more bitter ; surely , such as mens belief is of heaven and life eternal to come , and of hell and everlasting punishment to come , such will be their desires and endeavours to escape the one , and to obtain the other ; and this let al men know for certain , that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment and the righteous into life eternal , at the last day , whether the generality of the world do now believe it , yea , or no ▪ mat. 25. 46. secondly , provide in particular for your own condition in the world to come , that it may not be miserable , but happy to all eternity . that you ought first , and above all , to provide for your own eternal salvation , and that it is rare christian policy so to do , these places of scripture do fully prove it . seek yee first the kingdom of god , and his righteousness , and all these things shall be added unto you . mat. 6. 33. strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many , i say unto you , will seek to enter in , and shall not be able . luke 13 , 24. give diligence to make your calling and election sure ; for so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly , into the everlasting kingdom of our lord and saviour jesus christ. 2 pet. 1. 10 , 11. da●nescene makes mention of a certain * countrey where they choose their king of the meanest of the people , and ( such was their detestable disloyalty ) as that upon any dislike taken , they would depose him and banish him into an island , where he should be starved to death ; one of their kings more wise then the rest , considering hereof , sent money before hand into the island into which he feared he should be banished , which coming to pass , the islanders received him with joy , and he lived in plenty amongst them till his dying day . if men be so wise and careful to provide for this life , which is but temporal : how prudent and provident should they be , for the life to come , which is eternal ? if any say unto me , what shall we do that we may escape everlasting punishment , and inherit * life eternal at the end of this life ? which is one of the best questions that ever was asked , and my answer unto it is this ; that you may be delivered from everlasting misery , and that you may be provided for life eternal , against the time your temporal life shall end , and be no more , take these three general directions . 1. learn necessary principles . 2. practise necessary duties . 3. use necessary means . first , if you would be saved from eternal damnation , and with everlasting salvation , after this life is ended , then learn the fundamentall principles of the christian religion , that are most needfull to be known unto salvation , as suppose , those articles of faith , contained in that famous creed commonly called the apostles creed . but more particularly labour rightly to understand these four principles , which are the first things in the christian religion , that every one ought to learn , and believe . first , that there is * one onely living and true god , who is a spirit infinite in being and all perfection , distinguished into three persons , the father , the son , and the holy ghost , the maker and governour of all things , who made man after his own image in knowledge , righteousnesse , and holinesse , and so in a happy condition . gen. 1. 27. with col. 3. 10. and eph. 4. 24. secondly , that our * first parents adam and eve , sinned in eating the forbidden fruit , and thereby fell from their original righteousnesse , and became dead in sin , and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body : and they being the root of all mankinde , the guilt of their sin , was imputed , and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation ; so as that our first parents by their fall brought themselves and all mankind into a sinfull , and damnable condition . rom. 5. 12. to 20. 1 cor. 15. 21 , 22. thirdly , that mankind thus fallen , being * unable to deliver themselves out of the estate of sin and misery , god so loved the world , that he sent forth his onely begotten son jesus christ , who was conceived by the holy ghost in the womb of the virgin mary of her substance , and borne of her , yet without sin , and so became man , and was , and continueth to be god and man in two distinct natures , and one person for ever : who was made under the law , and was obedient to it , and endured the misery which was due to man for breaking of it : who died for our sins , and suffered for our salvation , and was buried , and rose again the third day , who ascended up into heaven , and sitteth at the right hand of god , from whence he will come to judge both quick and dead , acts 10. 42. fourthly , that the lord requires all people who would be saved through his mercy in christ * to repent of their sins , to believe in his sonne jesus christ , to live a holy life , and to wait upon him in his own ordinances , * as the word , prayer , and sacraments ; and they who by the grace of god sincerely obey these precepts , shall be saved , and they who wilfully and finally disobey them , shall be damned , in their souls after death and particular judgement , and in their bodies also , after their resurrection , and at the general and last judgement . mark 16. 16. rom. 8. 13. matth. 25. 46. though these are the main principles that are most needful to be known unto salvation , yet i shall mind you , not to rest here , but to read and search the holy scriptures , which are able to make you wise unto salvation , and perfect unto all good works . jo. 5. 39. 2 tim. 3. 15 , 16 , 17. secondly , if you would escape everlasting punishment , and inherit life eternal at the end of this life , then practise the fundamental duties of the christian religion , that are most necessary to be done unto salvation , which are chiefly these four , in respect of the acts and exercise of saving grace . 1. repent of all your sins . 2. believe in the lord jesus christ with all your hearts . 3. live a holy life according to the rule of all gods commandements . 4. renew your repentance and faith , all the dayes of your life , as your sins are renewed . first , repent of all your sins , both original and actual ; repent ( saith our saviour ) for the kingdome of god is at hand ; and again , i came not to call the righteous , but sinners to repentance , and except ye repent , ye shall perish . matth. 4. 17. matth. 9. 13. luke 13. 3. now then , that you may truly repent of all your sins , observe these three rules . 1. search * and try your wayes , whereby you may find out your sinnes of all all sorts ; be not too hasty in this duty , but ransack every corner of your heart , and think of your sinnes , till you find them out so farre , as that you can remember no more : and consider how you have deserved the wrath of god , and the damnation of hell for your sins , that so you may be truly affected , and humbled with the sense of your sinfull and miserable condition . acts 2. 37. 2. having found out your sins , and considered the wrath and curse of god due to you for them , * fall down upon your knees , and humbly confesse your sinnes to the lord , and be sorry for them , chiefly as they are contrary to the holy nature , and the righteous law of god , and the gracious gospel of jesus christ : judging your selves for them , and praying to god in the name of christ for pardon of them , and power against them . luke 11. 4. 3. forsake your wicked waies , and turn from all your sins unto god , purposing and endeavouring for time to come to walk with him in all the waies of his commandments . ezek. 18. 21 , 22 , 30 , 31. 1 thess. 1. 9. next to impenitency , take heed of late repentance ; if i had ten thousand souls ( saith an able * divine ) i would not adventure one of them upon a death-bed-repentance ; therefore repent betimes , and lest your repentance should be too late , let this be the day of your sincere conversion . deut. 29. 18 , 19 , 20. hebr. 3. 7 , 8. secondly , believe in the lord jesus christ with all your heart , and you shall be saved ; for god so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten son , that whosoever believeth in him , should not perish but have everlasting life . bucholcerus did so descant upon this text in his last sermon before his death , that he ravished the hearts of his hearers with the greatness of gods love to believers ; surely , it cannot but be a taking thing with all people , that christ ever was , and ever will be , the common salvation of all believers . jude v. 3. therefore that you may believe to life everlasting , endeavour these two things . 1. endeavour to understand how christ is offered in the gospel unto sinners , namely to be * wisedom and righteousness , and sanctification , and redemption , and all in all , unto all sorts of sinners , who see a need of him , and who are willing to have him joyntly together , for these holy and heavenly ends . mat. 11. 28. john 7. 37. 2. endeavour to receive christ , ( and god in christ ) and to rest upon him alone for salvation , as he is offered unto you in the gospel . john 1. 12. isai 26. 3 , 4. chapter 50. 10. say not , i must not presume to accept of christ , because my sins are many and great , and i am not humbled enough for them ; for verily , verily , christ had not come into the world , but to save sinners , yea , and the * chief of sinners who come to him to be saved : and christ who is rich in grace , exspects not to receive any thing from poor sinners , but to be received by them . rev. 22. 17. therefore * defer not your believing , or accepting of christ , but endeavour to come to him , as god shall draw you , and be willing to close with christ , and to believe on him , as god shall make you willing : and humbly put your selves upon christ , and wholly give up your selves unto christ , to be taught , pardoned , sanctified , and saved by him , in his own appointed time and way , and then know for a certain , that christ will in no wise refuse you , but will undertake to be the author of eternal salvation unto you , and that god in christ , will be your god and portion for ever . psalm . 73. 25 , 26. thirdly ; live a holy life , according to the rule of all gods commandments ; for the scripture saith , that without holiness none shall see the lord ; and that godliness hath the promise of the life that now is , and of that which is to come . 1 tim. 4. 8. and again , that the grace of god which bringeth salvation , doth teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts , and to live soberly , righteously , and godly in this present world . titus 2. 11 , 12. 2 pet. 3. 11. 1 john 3. 3. for this end , that you may live a holy life , make use of these three helps . 1. apply by saith the * death and resurrection of christ , and the particular promises of sanctification made to believers in christ , whereby you may be renewed in your whole man after the image of god , and enabled more and more to dye to sin , and to live to newness and holiness of life . rom. 6. 4 , 6 , 14. galatians 5. 24. 2. observe the summe of the ten commandements , which is , to * love the lord your god with all your heart , and with all your soul , and with all your mindo : and your neighbour as your selves : love thus exercised in sincerity of heart , is the fulfilling of the law , and the epitomy of a pious life . 3. get the ten commandements by * heart , which are the rule of a holy life : that so , your heart being the keeper of them , you may ever remember to live according to them : endeavouring by degrees in the use of reading , hearing , meditation and the like means , to understand what sins are forbidden , and what duties are required in every one of the the ten commandements , for that purpose , that you may * eschew the sins therein forbidden , and perform the duties therein required : having a special care to studie , and to practise the duties of your relations , and to strive most against your greatest sins , and to watch over your * thoughts words and wayes , out of a holy fear of sinning , & the rather , because your thoughts words and actions must be rewarded or punished for all eternity . rom. 2 6 , 7 , 8 , 9. 2 cor. 5. 10. whatsoever you do in the practise of godliness , do all by the * rule of gods word , in the strength of christ , through the help of his spirit , to the glory of god , the adorning of the gospel , the strengthning of your own assurance , and the good example of others : and all this out of singular love and thankfulness to god , for his unspeakable love unto you in jesus christ. luke 1. 74 , 75. john 14. 15. 2. cor. 5. 14. one symelces captain of the guard to emperour adrian , caused this * inscription to be set over his tomb , here lyeth similis , who saw many years and lived but seven . let all christians take special notice of it , that they live no longer , then while they live so , as becometh the gospel of christ. philip. 1. 27. ephes. 2. 1 , 2 , 5 , 1 tim. 5. 6. in short let our conversation be in heaven , le● our discourse be on things above , let our thoughts be on our future eternity , and so let us live to god on earth for eternity , as that we may live with god in heaven to eternity . 2 cor. 5. 14 , 15. phil. 3. 20. coloss. 3. 2. fourthly , renew your repentance and faith , all the dayes of your life , as your sins are renewed ; which that you may , practise these three particulars . 1. commune with your own heart every morning and evening , and consider how , and in what respect you have sinned the day , or night past , either by commission , or omission . psalm . 4. 4. haggai 1. 5. 2. having thought of your sins , and manifold failings , * repent , and abhor your selves for them , & beseech god for christ's sake to forgive them , and to cleanse you from them ; and withall , remember that you have an advocate with the father , jesus christ the righteous ; who is the propitiation for our sins : and be not faithless , but believing . 1 john 2. 1 , 2. 3. resolve with full purpose of heart through the grace of jesus christ , to sin no more , lest a worse thing befall you . job 34. 31 , 3● . jo. 5. 14. justine * martyr would say , it is best of all not to sin , and next to that , after sinning , to repent and amend . thirdly , if you would avoid everlasting misery , & enjoy eternal felicity , after your temporal life is ended , then make use of the outward means and ordinances of god that are necessary to be used unto salvation , and especially of these four sorts following . 1. hear the word of god publickly preached . 2. pray daily to god everlastingly to save you . 3. make use of the two ●ew testament sacraments , baptisme , and the lords supper . 4. obey the ministers of gods word , who are set over you in the lord. first , hear the word of god publickly preached , as generally at all times , when you have opportunity for it ; so especially upon the sa●bath day ; hear ( saith the prophet isaiah ) and your soul shall live : who hath eares to hear ( saith our saviour ) let him hear . isai 55. 3. matth. 13. 9. again , christ informes us , that * hearing is the one thing needfull : because not onely faith , but also every other grace usually cometh by hearing ; yea , and is confirmed and increased by hearing . acts 14. 21 , 22. 1 pet : 2. 2 , 3. secondly , pray daily to god in the name of christ , to deliver you from everlasting punishment , and to bring you to life eternal after this life is ended . math. 6. 10. 13. luke 21. 36. pray in your * hearts , with ejaculations to god , pray in secret , pray in your families , pray in publick , pray without ceasing . 1 thes. 5. 17. our saviour saith , ask , and it shall be given you ; seek , and ye shall find ; knock , and it shall be opened unto you . mat. 7. 7. and saint paul tells us , that whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord , shall be saved . rom. 10 , 13. thirdly , make use of the two new testament sacraments , baptisme , and the lords supper ; which are to continue to the end of the world . mat. 28. 19 , 20. 1 cor. 11. 26. make use of your baptisme by way of meditation ; as sure as you were baptized , so sure you shall be pardoned and saved , if you truly believe in christ ; for baptisme is not only a signe , but also a seal thereof to all true believers . mark●6 ●6 . 16. rom. 4. 11. again , make use of the lords supper , by your receiving of it , as often as you may be called to it , and prepared for it ; and as often as you receive , do it * in remembrance of the lords death , and of the great ends of his death , which was to deliver all those who rightly believe in him from wrath to come , and to purchase an heavenly inheritance for them . as sure as you shall receive christ by faith in this sacrament , so sure the blessed benefits of his death and passion , shall be confirmed unto you in it . matth. 26. 28. rom. 4. 11. fourthly , obey the ministers of gods word , who are set over you in the lord , and submit your selves unto them , for they watch for your soules , as they that must give account , that they may do it with joy , and not with grief . hebr. 13. 17. remember what jesus christ hath said in this case , he that heareth you , heareth me , and he that despiseth you , despiseth me : and he that despiseth me , despiseth him that sent me . luke 10. 16. if ye know these things , happy are ye , if ye do them ; and that you may be blessed in the practice of them , consider these four motives . first consider , that if you think of these things so , as to do thereafter , then you may assuredly conclude , that you shall escape everlasting punishment , & inherit life eternall at the end of this life : and you may draw your conclusion of assurance , into such a like christian syllogisme , as this ; which may serve instead of an use of examination . they who * know those things that make them wise to salvation , who repent of their sins , and believe in christ , & who sincerely live a holy life , shall not perish , but have everlasting life , saith the lord in his holy word . but those who follow the afore mentioned directions , may say , we through grace have learned those things that make us wise to salvation , we repent of our sinnes , we believe in christ , and we sincerely desire and endeavour to live a holy life : therefore we shall escape everlasting punishment , & enjoy life eternal after our temporall life is ended . and if so , how happy will you be , that ever you were borne ; consider of it , as it is briefly expressed in these * scriptures , when christ shall appeare , you shall be like him : where he is , there you shall be , that you may behold his glory , and see him as he is , face to face : you shall * be ever with the lord , in whose presence is fulnesse of joy , and at whose right hand , there are pleasures for evermore ; and so as perfectly happy , as possibly you can be . secondly consider , that if through carelesnesse , you forget the duties you have been exhorted unto , so , as finally to neglect them , then you may sadly fear , that when the lord shall weigh you in his ballance , that you wil befound wanting , and in the number of those who shall bee doomed at the last day , to go away into everlasting punishment ; and then wo , wo to you , it had been good for you , if you had never been born . in the fear of god consider the miseries that will come upon you at the last day , if you dye without repentance toward god , and without faith toward our lord jesus christ ; and seriously think with your selves , how sad your condition will be , if you be condemned with the wicked of the world , to * depart from the lord , and from heaven his dwelling place , and to go into hell , into the fire that never shall be quenched , and into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone . and how can ye escape the damnation of hell , if you walk in the broad way that leadeth to it , and if you live and dye such ignorant and disobedient sinners , as the lord expresly threatens to punish with everlasting destruction from his presence , and from the glory of his power ? 2 thes. 1. 7 , 8 , 9. hebr. 2. 3. some have been moved with * fear of hell fire , to cause these words of the prophet isaiah , ( who amongst us shall dwel with everlasting burnings ? isa. 33. 14. ) to be written in letters of gold over their chimney-pieces . o that you who read and hear these things , would be so moved with fear of hell , and fire eternal , as to begin forthwith to prepare to escape it ! thirdly consider , what it is for which , you neglect to provide for your own eternal well-fare ; is it not either for sin it self , which is altogether evil ? or else is it not for the love you bear to this present world , either to the pleasures , ●riches , or honours of it ? all which , are but casks of happiness , and gilded emptiness : yea , they are not onely vain , but vanity it self ; vanity of vanities , ( saith the * preacher ) vanity of vanities , all is vanity : and therefore they are no provisions for a blessed eternity . and will you venture to neglect the great duties which concerns your eternal salvation , either for so vile a thing as sin , or for such vain things as cannot satisfie your immortal souls ? god forbid you should do so ! god forbid you should do so ! king * lysimachus being constrained through thirst to yield his kingdom to the scythians for a cup of cold water , when he had drunk it , said , o for what a small pleasure have i parted with my great kingdom ? whosoever shall loose the eternal good things of the world to come , to gain the temporal good things of this world , will have cause to say , when it is too late ; o for how small a matter have i lost the everlasting kingdome of heaven ! for , what is a man profited ( saith our saviour ) if he shall gain the whole world , and lose his own soul ? or what shal a man give in exchange for his soul ? mans eternal salvation is more worth , yea , infinitely more worth then the whole world . fourthly , consider that the time of your life is the onely time , that you have to provide for your eternal condition : if it be not done here , there is no help afterward ; for after death con●es judgement , and after judgement , eternity , either of comfort or torment . eccles. 11. 3. heb. 9. 27. aquinas was wont to * say , make much of time in the matter of salvation : and truly you had need to do so , for the work of salvation is great , and the time of your life is short and uncertain , and yet your life-time ( such as it is ) is your faire , or market-day for heaven , and your * seed-time for your harvest in the other world , yea , and the onely time that god hath lent you to provide for a blessed eternity ; if you do not make sure of heaven , while you live , it will be out of your reach when you are dead , and then you cannot possibly avoid hell , & everlasting misery . luke 16. 26. say not , it will be time enough hereafter , * because , you are not sure of that ; sudden deaths are common , and for ought you know , you may dye as sudden a death as ever any did , and it may be to day before to morrow ; but suppose you should be delivered from sudden death , yet remember that you are going a pace toward the common death of all men , and consequently , towards eternity , either of comfort , or torment ; therefore what you have to do about your eternal salvation , do it speedily , and with all your might , least death come , before you are ready for it . ecclesiastes 9. 10. john 9. 4. sad is the story of * caesar borgias , who said on his sick bed , while i was in health i provided for every thing but death , and now death is come , and i am not provided for it . you may justly fear that this will be one day your complaint , if you presume to put off the great concernments of your everlasting salvation , till sickness or death . often * consider of your latter end , and how you must hereafter live for ever , either in hell or heaven : and seriously think with your self , if you were to dye this day , into whether of these two places of eternity your soul would go , into hell eternal , or into heaven eternal ; and sith you know not the day of your death , therefore dayly pray , lord jesus , if i should die this day , then grant that this day my soul may be with thee in paradise , and that my body may be raised at the last day , fashioned like to thy glorious body , and reunited to my soul ; and that then , i may be ever with thee , both in body and soul. luke 23. 42 , 43. phil. 3. 21. 1 thessal . 4. 17. one of the * germane princes took for his devise a candle burning in a candlestick , with this motto ( a. s. m. c. hoc est , a●●is servio , meipsum consumo : ) i serve others , and spend my self ; in this undertaking i have spent my self like a burning candle , to give you light , and to do you the best service i can for my life , for the furthering of your eternal salvation : hoping , that the lord will cause this small treatise to preach effectually when i cannot , and which is more , after i am dead , and entered in my soul , into my endless eternity . and now for a conclusion , i shall be bold to tell you , whoever you be , that read and hear the things contained in this book , that though you know the infallible doctrine of mans future eternity , yet if you do not live answerable to it , you may be for all that , damned to all eternity , with a lord have mercy upon us in your mouth , for our blessed saviour hath said , not every one that saith unto me , lord , lord , shall enter into the kingdom of heaven , but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven . mat. 7. 21. the italian form of begging is , ( as my * author tells me ) do good to your selves ; as i have been on my knees to beg gods blessing upon my poor labours for you : so i could be content , to come on my knees from god unto you , to beseech you , to do good unto your selves ; for , if you hear and learn , and repent and believe , and walk uprightly , and so be eternally saved , who will have the best of it but your selves ? and if you live and dye in ignorance & disobedience , & so be everlastingly damned , who is like to have the worst of it but your selves ? o that every reader of this book would think on these things ! o that my beloved parishoners , and worthy friends in essex , would think on these things ! o that my ever dear kindred , and respected countrey men in lancashire , would think on these things ! o that all england would think on these things ! o that all the world would think of these things ! o that all of you , both small and great would * remember these things , that you must all dye , and go into one of these two eternities , either into everlasting punishment , or into life eternal , in your souls after death , and in your bodies also , after the general resurrection , & the day of judgement ; and that the great business you came into this world for , is , to provide for a blessed eternity in the world to come . o that these words were written upon some place in your closets or houses , where you might daily see them : or rather , that they were written upon your hearts , that having them in your minds , you might be moved to prepare for your future eternity , by your frequent remembrance of it . i say once more , o that all of you would seriously think on these things , and of the infinite importance of them ! not so , as to trouble your heads or hearts with them , but so , as to be moved thereby , in time , and in this your day , to prepare for your eternal salvation , that as many of you as it is possible , may be kept from perishing everlastingly . beloved , my last words unto you , are to tell you , that i can call god and man to record , that i have set * before you , the eternall recompences of hell and heaven , ●f everlasting punishment , and life eternall , and have shewn you the condition of both states : behold , i have told you before , what is like to become of you , for ever hereafter ; and now in the ●lose of all , let me be importunate with you , to make sure work about your everlasting salvation ; get it ●leared up unto you , that christ is your lord and saviour , and you are made for ever . jo. 20. ver . 28 , 29. phil. 1. 21. what shall i say more ? ●horowly learn the necessary princilpes , sincerely practise the necessary ●luties , and diligently use the necessary meanes , that i have exhorted you unto , and rather * suffers then refuse to do what the lord hath commanded and further others in your calling and place , to do likewise ; and then my soul for yours , by the grace of god in christ , that you shall not perish but shall have everlasting life , after this life is ended . now the most infinitel mercifull god , for the infinite merits of christ give 〈◊〉 grace to do whatsoever he hath commanded , whereby we may be delivered from the infinite misery of hell , and whereby we may be brought at last to the infinite felicity of heaven , 〈◊〉 the glory and honour of his infinite mercy , world without end amen , and amen . concentric circles with the heading in the outer ring and a flower at the centre. eternity is like a circle or ring , that hath no end . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a46952-e750 six principles premised . 1. principle . * hebr. 12. 9. * psal. 132. 11. see bishop reynolds of the passions , c. 32. 2. principle . * job 14. 2. gen 5. 5 , 20. 27. psal. 89. 48 * mr. s●yode his anat. of mortallity . 3. principle . † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , heb. 9. 27. comp . jo. 5. 4. & c. 19. v. 28. * bishop usher his body of divinity , p. 446. * rev. 14. 13. hebr. 12. 23. luke 16. 22 , 25. ch . 23. 43. acts 7. 59. phil. 1. 23. * eccles. 12. 7. luk. 12. 20. ch . 16. 23 , 24. acts 1. 25. 1 pet 3. 19 judev. 6 , 7 * p. mor. de ver . cb . rel. c. 15. * luke 16 23 , 24. 4. principle . * iohn 5. 28 , 29. * math. 19 26. * ier. 32. 17. 5. principle . * i●de v. 14 , 15. math. 11. 22. 24. * 2 cor. 5. 10 , rom. 14. 12. eccles . 12. 14 1 cor. 4 5 , * ioh. 5. 22. acts 10. 4● . 6. principle . notes for div a46952-e2030 confirmation by divine testimony . * iohn 8. 24. luke 8. 13. heb. 10. 39. mat. 25. 42 , 43. * metonyn● . adjuncti piseator ad . locum . * rev. 5. 9 1 cor. 1. 30. 1 cor. 6. 11. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * joh. 8. 44. titus 1. 16 further proof by two arguments . 1. argument . † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . 2 cor. 5 10. * ioh. 17. 3. ioh. 6. 40. 2 argument . * mat. 25. 46. * mat. 7. 1● , 14. luke 16. mat. 25 46. the antiquity of this poin● . * gen. 2. 17. ch 3. v 15. 24. hebr. 11. v. 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 1● , 16. iude v. 14 , 15. dan. 12. 2. mat. 25 46 2 thes. ● , 8 , 9 , 10 * daille of the use of the fathers , his preface . and p. 184 & corpus conses . confirmation by humane testimony * see p. mornay of the truenes of the chr. religion , ch . 15 , 19. v. grot. l. x c. 21 , 22 , ●3 . l. q. c. 12 * munster , ortcli●s , heyl●n . see p. mornay , c 1. p. 9. alcoran moham . c. 14. p. 160. c. 20. p. 198 * 1 pet. 5. 8. notes for div a46952-e3360 1 their punishment of loss . * psal. 113. 68. math. 19. 17. psal. 36. 9. psal. 63. 3. * luke 13. 25 , 27 , 28. ioh. 8. 24. * this is related by m. calamy in his sermon on heb. 11. 13. 2. their pain of sense . * mat. 23 33. * psal. 9. 17. luke 22 44. * rev. 20. ● , 3. mark 9. 43. * dr. arrowsmith a●milla cha●●ch●t . * dcodat . annot. * psal. 49. 7 , 8. luke 16. 24 , 25 , 26. * rev. 21 8. 3. the eternity of their misery . † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , mat. 25. 46 refereth orig●n . * eccles. 12. 7. dan. 12. 2. heb. 6. 2. 2 pet. 2. 17. ma●k 9 46. joh. 3. 35 * the persians prison called ●●the . d●ex●l : the eternity of the damned a posteriori , described . obvious application . * mat. 10 28. luke 12. 5 * m dents plain-man's path way to heaven . * isa. 30 : 33 : matth. 5 : 22 : ch . 25 : 41 : 46 : maik ● . 42 , 44 , 46 , 4● : objections and queries prevented * aquinas primae 2dae q 87. art. 5. & suppl . par. 3. q. 99 art . 1. * v. gerrard de inserno . * aug. de civ . d●i l. 21 c 9 , 10. lombard l. 4 dist. 44 ●q . suppl . ● . par . qu : 97 art , 5 * calvi● , in isa. c. 30 v●ul● . tilen●s syntag p. 2 d. 47. gerrard de insern● . * bellarm. in concione de crucia tibus gehennae . * 1 thes. 1. 1● . 1 cor. 15. 57. notes for div a46952-e5240 1. their conformity unto christ in holiness and glory . * similes non pares , beza ep. 1 john 3. 2 * hebr. 12 23. * 1 cor. 15. 49. * 1 cor. 15. 42 , 43 , 44 , 53. * psal. 36 9. 1 cor. 13. 12. mat. 6. 10. rev. 19. 1. * col. ● . 4 r● 19 8. 9. ephes. 5. 〈◊〉 . isai 60. 21 ephes. 5. 27. col. 1. 22. * mat. 17. 2. 2 their enjoyment of god in christ in the highest heaven . isa. 57. 15. * j● . 14. 5. * ● thes. 4. 1● . * 2. cor. 5. 2. 8. phil. 1. 23. f●cisti nos , &c. inquic●um est cor &c. aug. conf. lib 1. c. 1. sicut ang●livident , ita & nos visuri sumus . aug. de civ . dei , lib. 22. c. 29. * iob 19. 25 , 26. io. 17. 24. * isa. 60. 19 , 20 matt. 5. 8. rev. 22. 4 , 5. * melch. ad. in vit . g●rm . m●d. p 416. * ioh. 17 21 , 22 , 23. * eph. 1. 2 22. ch 5. 30 , 32. * isa 60 19. rev. 2● , 23. * ●● . 17. 21 , 22. heb. 18. 22 , 23. rev. 7. 9. 10 , 11 , 12. * manchester contempl . mort . & immort . * exod. 3. 14. psal. 90 2. rom. 1. 2● . eph. 1 3. * dr arrowsmith armilla c●atech●t . * dr annesley his sermon upon psal. 73 25. * cant. 5. 8 2 cor. 5. 14 * 1 cor. 13 8 , 13. psal. 16. 11 rev. 5. 11 12. psal. 84. 20 3. the eternity of their happiness * matth. 25. 45. io. 3. 16. ch . 6. 51. ch . 11. 26. 1 thes. 4. 17. rev. 22. 5 1 cor. 9. 25 james 1. 12 1 pet. 5. 4 hebr. 5. 15 † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * psal. 90. 4 * john 14 19. rev : 1 18. * matth. 10. 28. 1 cor. 15. 53. 2 cor. 5. 1. gen. 21. 33. heb. 7. 25 * 2 cor. 4. 18. pro. 23. 5. luk. 12. 20. the saints eternity a parte post described . general application . * rom. 5. 3. 1 thes. 4. 18. obvious questions prevented * aug. de civ lib. 22 c. 30. aq. suppl . 3 par. qu. 96. art. 11 calv. inst. lib. 3. c. 25. s. 10. bucan . inst. loc . 39. p. 4 , 6. matth. 22. 30. * 1 cor. 13. 8. heb. 4. 9. * 1 cor , 15. 28. rev. 21. 3. * 1 cor. 2. 9. 2 cor. 12. 4. * 2 cor. 5. 1. * bishop mall pa●het . medit . p. 165 notes for div a46952-e7960 1. reason . * exod , 34. 6 , 7. psal. 103. 17. * ephes. 1. 4. rom. 8. 29. * finis vitae eternae principalis est dei glorificatio . gerrard . de vita aeterna . 2 , reason . * isai 26. 10 , 11. * ira dei est in●ernus diaboli , & omnium damnatorum . luther . * bishop reynolds of the passions . doctor pearson on the creed , master baxters saints rest. 3. part. * phil. 2. 12. hebr. 1● . 28. * rom 2. 5 jam. 5. 3. notes for div a46952-e8660 1. exhortation . * manchester contempl . * hebr , 11. 1. * m. clark on the life of b. hooper . 2 exhortation . * this story is thus cited by m. strode in his anatomy of mortality , p. 118. * mark 10 17. three generall directions . the first generall direction . foure principles necessary to be known . * 1 tim. 2. 5. 1 cor. 8 4. 6. jo. 4. 24. matth. 28 19. gen. 1. 1. psal. 103. 190 1. princidle . * gen. 3. 6 , 7. gen. 2. 17. tit. 1. 15. rom. 3. 10 to 19. act. 17. 26 : psal. 51. 5. rom. 5. 12 18. eph. 2. 1 , 2 2. principle . 3. principle . * rom. 5. 6 10. 3. 16. matth. ● . 18 20 , 21 , 25. gal 4. 4. hebr 4. 15. jo. 1. 14. luke 1. 31. rom. 9. 5. gal. 4. 4. phil. 2 8. 1 cor. 15. 3 , 4. acts 1. 9 , 10. col. 3. 1. 4. principle . * matth. 4. 17. 1 10 , 3. 23 titus 2. 11 , 12. * prov. 8 32 , 33 , 34 mat. 7. 7. ch . 28. 13 , 20. the second generall direction . four duties necessary to be practised . 1 repentance towards god. * lam. 3. 4. h●ggai 1. 5. 7. psal. ●8 . 3 , 4 , 5. rom. 5. 23. gal. 3. 10. * psal. 95. 6. luke 15. 18. 1 lo. 1. 9. ezek. 36. 31. 2 cor. 7. 10 , 11. 1. cor. 11. 31. * m. cal. in his sermon upon hebr. 11. 13. 2 faith towards jesus christ. iohn . 3. 16. * 1 cor. 1. 30. colos. 3. 11. * 1 tim. 1. 15. heb. 7. 25. * acts 16. 30. 31. psal. 103. 10. isa. 64 7. 2 cor. 8. 5. iohn 6. 37 , 38 , 39. hebr. 5. ● . 3 newness or holiness of life matth. 19. 17. hebr. 1● . 14. 1 pet. 10. 1● . * rom. 6. 4 , 5 , 6 , 8. ezek. 36. 27. mich. 7. 19 : 2 cor. 7. 1. ephes. 4. 23 , 2● . * math. 22 37 , 38 , 39 , 40. rom. 13. 9 , 10. * deut. 11. 18. ier. 31. 33 * ezek. 36. 2● . iohn 1● . 15 , 23. * mark 13 35 , 37. 1 pet. 1. 17 caution . * gal. 6. 16 phil. 4. 13. rom. 8. 13 1 cor. 10. 13. titus 2. 10. 2 pet. 1. 5 , to 11. 1 iohn 2. 3 math. 5. 16 * hic jacet simil●s , cujus aetas multo●um quidem annorum suit , vixit an●os duntaxat septem . 4 renewed repentance and faith . * rev. 2. 5. iob 42. 6. luke 11. 4 * mr. clark on the life of iust. mrt. the third generall direction . foure sorts of meanes necessary to be used . 1. hearing of the word of god preached . * luke ●● . 40. rom. 10. 14. jo. 20. 31. 2. daily prayer to god. * 1 som. 1. 13. mat. 6. 6. acts 10. 2. 1 cor. 14. 15 , 16. 3. frequent use of the sacraments . * 1 cor. 11. 26. 4. submission to the ministers of gods word . 10. 13. 17. 1. motive . * 10. 17. 3. mat. 4. 17. 10. 3. 16. rom. 8. 13 ● 10. 2. 3. 17. * ● 10. 3. 2. 10. 14. 3. 1 cor. 13. 12. * 1 thes. 4. 17. psal. 16. 11. 2. motive . dan. 5. 27. * matth. 25 , 41. mark 9. 43 , 44. rev. 21. 8. * jo. p●t . camois b. of betty in france in his ●lraught of ●terni●y . num. 75. 3. motive . * eccles. 1. 2. * plutarch● apoth . matth. 16. 26. 4. motive . * m. clark on the life of aquin. * gal. 6. 7 , 8. * 2 co● . 6. 2 heb. 3. 7 , 8 * filius p. alexander . 6. 1490. wolfius . * de●● . 32. 29. * ernestus dux lunebergensis ex philippi locis manlionis the conclusion of all . * gio torriano . p. 51. * memento te esse mortalem , & annos aeternos in men●e habe luke 19. 42. * deut. 30. 19. * acts 5. 2● . 41. 2 tim. 3. 3. 1● . the resurrection founded on justice, or, a vindication of this great standing reason assigned by the ancients and modern wherein the objections of the learned dr. hody against it, are answered : some opinions of tertullian about it, examined : the learned doctor's three reasons of the resurrection, inquired into : and some considerations from reason and scriptures, laid down for the establishment of it / by n.b. ... beare, nicholas. 1700 approx. 195 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 81 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a27162 wing b1564 estc r38679 17890841 ocm 17890841 106721 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a27162) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 106721) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1116:4) the resurrection founded on justice, or, a vindication of this great standing reason assigned by the ancients and modern wherein the objections of the learned dr. hody against it, are answered : some opinions of tertullian about it, examined : the learned doctor's three reasons of the resurrection, inquired into : and some considerations from reason and scriptures, laid down for the establishment of it / by n.b. ... beare, nicholas. [16], 144 p. printed for thomas helder ..., london : 1700. half title: the resurrection founded on justice. attributed to nicholas beare by wing and nuc pre-1956 imprints. page 5 misnumbered as 1. errata: p. [15]. reproduction of original in the bodleian library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng resurrection -early works to 1800. future life -history of doctrines -early works to 1800. 2006-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-04 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-05 ali jakobson sampled and proofread 2007-05 ali jakobson text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the resurrection founded on justice . the resurrection founded on justice : or , a vindication of this great standing reason assigned by the ancients and modern : wherein the objections of the learned dr. hody against it , are answered : some opinions of tertullian about it , examined : the learned doctor 's three reasons of the resurrection , inquired into : and some considerations from reason and scriptures , laid down for the establishment of it . by n. b. m. a. si resurrectio non est , neque deus , neque providentia . damasc . lib. 4. non sit particeps in sententiâ caro , si non fuerit & in causâ . tertul. de resur . carn . cap. 15. london , printed for thomas helder , at the angel in little-britain . mdcc . to the reader . this small tract is sent into the world without the shelter and protection of any patronage ; if it be truth , it needs none ; if otherwise , it deserves none ; such as it is , 't is well meant , and humbly submitted to the judgment of the learned . being sensible of my manifest insufficiency , no ways furnished with abilities or advantages to manage the dispute with the learned author ; i laid all thoughts of it aside , presuming that some worthy hand would undertake it : but after a long expectation , finding nothing but a deep silence , the great opinion that i have of the argument grew so mightily upon me , as that it has by a strong impulse compelled me to say somewhat for it ; not out of any fond conceit of my own performance , but to provoke others to appear in vindication of that doctrine , which has been taught , approved , applauded by all without exception , in all ages ; and always represented as the basis and pillar of this great article of our faith. for my apology i have the practise of the long robe , which allows the puisney lawyer to open the great cause which afterwards is taken and maintained by the most able counsel : and in martial discipline , nothing more usual than for a private sentinel , seeing the enemies approach , to give the allarm to the more generous commanders to come in to the relief of that post , which himself was no ways able to maintain . this in truth is the design of this small essay , to cry out for help , and call in the assistance of men of conduct and learning . it matters not though he who gave the first charge , fail in the engagement , as too impotent to withstand the more powerful arms of his mighty adversary ; ●ut he has this satisfaction , that he has appear'd in a good cause , has according to the proportion of his talent , contributed his utmost aid , has withal the honour to fall by a great hand , and like scaeva in the poet , overpowered by an unequal force , he sinks with his assurance , — veniet qui vindicet arces dum morimur — that some noble caesar with his puissant auxiliaries is at hand , some accomplish'd pen will take up the argument and do it right , which here ( tho' i can truly say , is heartily , yet must confess ) is very weakly attempted . farewel . the contents . chap. i. sheweth the import of the resurrection . chap. ii. what oppositions it hath met withal . chap. iii. on what grounds it stands , and how the objections against it are answered , with a brief analysis of this discourse . chap. iv. sets out the state of the argument , and shews how it has been the great reason assigned by all jews , fathers , schoolmen , and moderns . chap. v. containeth the three objections of the learned author against it , with an answer to the first . chap. vi. gives a further answer . chap. vii . offers satisfaction to the second objection . chap. viii . from several topicks proves our bodies to be more than instruments only . chap. ix . contains an answer to the third objection . chap. x. examineth three opinions of tertullian about it . chap. xi . inquireth into the three reasons of the doctrine assigned by the learned author . chap. xii . sheweth the third reason to be the same with that which is here contended for . chap. xiii , alias xiv . laies down several arguments from reason for the esablishment of it . chap. xiv , alias xv. vrges several authorities from scripture to the same purpose . with the conclusion . advertisement . this one error the reader is desir'd more especially to correct , pag. 69. line 12. after not , add fully . errata . page 19. line 10. read lirinensis ; p. 21. l. 10. r. concession ; l. ultr r. detected ; p. 71. l. 10. for peter r. paul ; p. 79. l. 13. r. dispossess'd ; p. 99. ( notes ) l. 4. after deos dele and the , ib. l. 7 before old add and the ; p. 111. l. 18. r. graces ; p. 126. l. 5. r. implied . these and what other errors may have pass'd the press , the candid reader is desir'd to correct and excuse . chap. i. the resurrection of the dead , is the grand and most important article of our religion ; the ground-work and foundation of our faith , hope , and expectation : to fix men in the belief of which , was the main business , design , and province of the apostles , as st luke once and again has noted this is assigned as the chief reason of st matthias's admission into the apostleship , in the vacancy of judas iscariot ; that he might be a witness of the resurrection , acts 1. 22. and the whole colledge is frequently described by this character , witnesses of the resurrection , acts 2. 32. 4. 33. 10. 41. and acts 4. 2. they preached through jesus the resurrection of the dead : this was the first , and great argument of st. peter's sermon upon his inspiration , on the day of penticost , which was attended with the blessed success of the conversion of more than three thousand souls , acts 2. 41. it filled a great part of the rest of his , and their discourses . this was the principal topick of st. paul upon all occasions : in his sermon to the people , acts 13. 't is interwoven through every part : in his disputation with the most learned philosophers , the epicureans and stoicks , in the most learned university of the whole world , he preached unto them jesus and the resurrection , acts 17. 18. in his conferences with the scribes and the pharisees , he discourses of the hope and resurrection of the dead , acts 23. 6. in short , he keeps this text and theme still before the rulers and governors , felix , festus , and agrippa ; and drift , design , and nerves of his discourses meet and concenter in this great article : nay it seems plain and undeniable that this was in a more peculiar and especial manner given them in charge , by their great master , who ordain'd them , as it is clearly intimated by st. peter , acts 10. 42. he commanded us to preach unto the people , and to testifie that it was he that was ordained of god to be judge both of the quick and of the dead ; the reason of this is visible at the first glance , from the repeated description which st. paul gives of the resurrection : in one place he calls it the hope and resurrection , acts 23. 6. in another , acts 26. 6. the hope of the promise made of god unto our fathers , unto which promise our twelve tribes , instantly serving god day and night , hope to come ; for which hope's sake , king agrippa , i am accused of the jews : the apostle in the words next , and immediately following , explains himself beyond all doubt . why should it be thought a thing incredible with you , that god should raise the dead ? the resurrection then is , the hope of the promise , or rather the reward hoped for at the resurrection , which in truth is the life and soul of religion , the most effectual and powerful motive to piety , which makes every good man ( notwithstanding the multitude of difficulties and discouragements , with which he is at present surrounded ) in love with it , and ingages him chearfully and immovably in god's service . the encouragements of all our actions and labours here is the expectation of some what lovely which attends them in the end : wherefore doth the ploughman sweat and toil , dig and delve , engage early and late in the painful labours of husbandry through the whole circuit of it , is it not because he has a prospect of a joyful harvest ; when the vallies shall st and so thick with corn , that they shall laugh and sing , psal . 65. ult . wherefore doth the soldier run through so many hardships , engage in so many difficulties , expose himself to so many imminent dangers ? what think you ? are not the considerations of the rich spoils , the glorious victory and triumph , on the other side of this scene of blood slaughter and death , the strong magneticks to draw him on ? can it be imagined that the combatant at the olympicks would put himself at the expence of that oyl , exercise and pains , which are indispensibly necessary to his character , were it not for the allurement of that crown at the end of the goal , which appears in his eye most beautiful and charming . take away the resurrection , and you cut asunder the nerves and ligatures of religion , secure it and you have set it up ; the denial of this shocks , and overturns the other articles of our faith. the establishment of it fixes them : this i take to be the import of the hope of the promise , and i am confirmed in it from the use of the hebrews , who were wont to call the resurrection the seculum mercedis , the great time of recompense . this argument is professedly and largly handled by the apostle , in 1 cor. 15. on both sides ; where from the negative , he acknowledges the folly , the vanity , the madness of preaching , setting up for , or pretending to religion ; then i. e. if this great truth labour , all that is built on it must of course fall to the ground ; then is our preaching vain , our faith vain : the great heralds of the gospel are false witnesses , we are in our sins : then those that are fallen asleep in christ are perished . the apostle goes on , ver . 19. if in this life only we have hope in christ , we are of all men most miserable . whereas christians , with a supposition of a resurrection and the immediate attendants of it , must be confess'd to take the best , and the wisest course , to have the start and advantage of all mankind besides : the contrary does most justly charge them with weakness , folly , and distraction ; and in the prosecution of the argument , he plainly lays open the reasons of the same , ver . 29. else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead , if the dead rise not at all ; why are they then baptized for the dead , and why stand ye in jepordy every hour ? the true intent and meaning of which place ( without engaging in the intricacies and difficulties of it , which is a thing excentrick to my present purpose ) i take to be this . to what end do men tye themselves up to the strict observations of this way of worship , and willingly expose themselves to all manner of butcheries , to most cruel tortures , racks , and deaths ? if there be no resurrection , this way is the most sensless and ridiculous : if so , the saints were fools , the martyrs were fools , those that crucified their bodies by the severities of mortification and self-denial , must be confessed weak in their intellectuals ; and those that expos'd themselves to fire and faggot , to the torments of the amphitheatre , the most cruel and barbarous usages which men or devils could invent to treat them with , were egregiously deceived and deluded . the apostle brings home the argument to himself , ver . 31 , 32. i protest by your rejoycing which i have in christ jesus our lord , i die daily ; if after the manner of men i have fought with beasts at ephesus , what advantageth it me if the dead rise not ? let us eat and drink , for to morrow we die ; where the apostle counting his practise , his perils , his sufferings , readily grants all these to be mistakes and miscarriages , without the resurrection ; and prefers the doctrine and practise of the epicure before it . to what end should men fast , watch , and pray , and deny themselves the injoyments of this world , keep under their bodies , and bring them into subjection ? to what end should men indure the contradictions of sinners ? to what end should men expose themselves to all the hardships , and misusages of men of a wicked and barbarous world if there be no resurrection ? but on the contrary , to our everlasting comfort and encouragement , he assures us of a resurrection ; and that a most glorious one too , which is the grand subject of the remaining part of the chapter ; on which , as on a foundation impossible to be shaken , he endeavours to fix the faith and practice of the corinthians , and with them , of all that embrace this holy profession : wherefore , my beloved brethren , be steadfast , immovable , always abounding in the work of the lord , for asmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the lord : go on with courage , resolution , and perseverance , in the conscientious discharge of your profession , assuring your selves that there are golden remains of goodness , and incomparable rewards that await holiness in the other world. chap. ii. however this great article of our faith , hath met with ill treatment in the world ; it has in a great measure been made the scoff , derision , and laughter of mankind , the subject of the pastime of the scorner's chair . when st. paul at athens preach'd it up , he was , by the learned professors and philosophers , there called babbler , and a setter up of strange gods for his pains , acts 17. 18 , nor did it find a kinder reception among the people ; for so we are expresly told , ver . 32. when they heard of the resurrection of the dead , some mocked , others said we will hear thee again of this matter . neither had it a more civil fate among the governors , for upon this account festus declares him beside himself , and pronounces him mad , acts 26. 24. the great naturalist has given his opinion much after the same rate , and has confidently averr'd it to be beyond the power of god himself to bring it to pass . nat. hist . lib. 7. cap. 7. the great emperor and apostate julian , though he generally ridicul'd all the doctrines of our religion ; yet this more especially . the ingenious , though atheistical dialogist makes himself merry more than once upon this subject . it would be too tedious to recount the like behaviour of porphiry and celsus , and other the professed adversaries of christianity , in this matter : i shall therefore give it you in a lump and whole-sale from the known testimonies of tertullian and st. austin ; the first tells us , there was not one sect of philosophers whatsoever but oppos'd it : the last assures us , there was no one point of our religion so vehemently , so pertinaciousty , so stifly , so contentiously rejected ▪ they entertain'd some other doctrines with respect and favour ; but for this of the resurrection , they are not meal-mouth'd , they no sooner hear it but it raises their indignation , they instantly reject , censure , condemn it , and with open mouth boldly proclaim it impossible , in psal . 88. chap. iii. notwithstanding all those sarchasms and contradictions of sinners , this heavenly doctrine is fixt on immovable foundations , and will , and must stand impregnable amidst all the shocks and assaults made against it : 't is built on a rock , against which the gates of hell shall not prevail . we are as strongly secur'd here as of any one article of our faith , and that without being beholden to the ludicrous stories of the jews , or the idle and fabulous reports of pinto and the heathens , which do the doctrine no kindness , but disservice rather . 't is supported on the unanimous testimonies of the fathers , of the councils , of the creeds : the plain and undeniable authorities of the old , and more especially the new testament . the word and promise of an alknowing , infallible , omnipotent god. so that all , or at least the most considerable objections that have been brought against it , are dash'd in pieces and laid even with the dust ; from the consideration of the veracity and alsufficiency of that god , who has bound himself and his attributes for the performance . i am not ignorant how many learned and ingenious men have taken much pains to solve , from the principle of philosophy , the arguments brought against it . i honour and admire them for their preformances ; but i must freely say , i much question whether the attempts of this kind come up to the point , whether they are not too low and inferiour to give it satisfaction . my reason is this , the resurrection is confessed by all to be a work above nature , and how it can be made out by natural philosophy , i cannot understand . our reason must be beholding to revelation in this matter , and call in the assistance of faith , without which there can be no assurance . in short , if we believe the creation , i cannot see any stumbling block here , that power who made the world and man at first , out of nothing , must be readily acknowledged able to raise him from the grave , and to joyn together the scattered particles of his dissolved body . the one seems more easie than the other : this is the great , the common argument of the ancients , and has without doubt been more effectual to the purpose than a cart-load of chimical experiments , than all the notions of the most subtile philosophers . but this i have said to make way to my design , which is to enquire into the strength of the argument for the resurrection from a principle of justice ; in which i shall take this method , 1. i shall briefly lay down the state of the argument 2. i shall shew how it has been the great , the principal , the most topping , and chiefest argument of all ages . 3. i shall offer to answer the objections which are levied against it . 4. i shall examine his reasons of the resurrection . vlt. i shall endeavour to establish the doctrine by such considerations as i hope will secure it . chap. iv. the state of the argument in short is , the body and the soul are here joyned together as sharers in all the concerns and actions of this life which is a state of probation , and therefore they are to stand or fall together in the next , which is a state of remuneration . the body of the saint and good man concurs with his soul in the exercise of vertue and piety in this world ; and can there be any thing more equitable than that they should be joyned together in that which is to come ? on the the other hand , the body of the sinner must be allowed a partner with the soul in evil ; and is there not all the reason in the world that it should stand forth at the bar , and be joyned with it in the punishment ? the contrary must be pronounced downright injustice . can we have such hard thoughts of the most righteous judge , that he should admit the soul of the martyr upon his dissolution , to that glorious crown which he has promised in the highest heavens ; and mean while have no regard to the crucified tortured , body that has born the heat and burthen of the day ; been the saddest patient in all the tragedy ; but suffer it to lie neglected in the grave ? vlt. how can we imagine that the soul of the reprobate should be condemned to the torments of tophet , for those sins it committed in conjunction with the body ; and that the body it self should escape scot-free , sleep undisturbed in the grave , and neither know nor feel any thing of those flames . in this case have we not reason to cry out with the prophet malachy , 2. 17. where is the god of judgment ? for justice carries in the very nature of it a due and impartial distribution of rewards and punishments . if two work together , both have a right to the wages ; 't is downright injustice to give all to one , and nothing to the other . this is the substance of the argument , of which i must take leave further to acquaint the reader , that it has been the great , the standing argument of all perswasions of men in all ages : in the first place i affirm this was the great reason which the jews still used and applyed to the same purpose . i would not boast of what i have not , i cannot pretend to rabbinical learning ; yet i am sure of what i assert , because many learned men have told me so , and i have seen maimonides their second solomon , their renowned epitomizer in latin ; and many times met with the famous fable of the rabbins , which because it comes home and pat to the purpose , i here insert : there was a great lord who planted a delicious garden , wherein he placed two keepers , a blind man and a lame man , that he might be secure of his fruit on all hands ; but so it was that after some time he found himself robb'd : he charges the keepers with the theft ; they both offer very plausible excuses ; the blind man pleads he could not see the fruit , and therefore could not steal it : the lame man alledges the infirmity of his feet , he could not reach it , and so could not take it away : at last the fallacy was found out , viz. 't was done by the mutual combination of both : the blind man takes the lame man on his back , by whose direction and assistance he is guided to the trees , lifted up to the fruit , and so enabled to take it away ; whereupon the master after all their excuses , to no purpose , gives them their doom ; both were joyned in the sin , and both must share in the punishment . this is the case of the body and the soul , saith the jewish masters : the one acts in conjunction with the other ; one could not sin without the other , and therefore both must stand and fall together ; and i cannot forbear to add , nec lex est justior ulla . 2. i do affirm this to be the constant , profest , most solemn reason , most often and upon all occasions made use of by most , if not all the fathers without exception . the learned and vastly read author in his elaborate treatise , has given us a considerable number of them , p. 209. athenagor as , tertullian , gregory nazianzen , st. chrysostom , epiphanius , ambrose , theodoret , aenaeas gazaeus , damascenus , nilus , photius ; and has cited the places . and though i cannot pretend to any degree of the doctor 's knowledge in the fathers , yet i can easily give him a much larger list , and produce the places too ; but this i industriously avoid , because every common-place-book will afford it ; and because it would be justly liable to censure , and because in the present case 't is altogether needless , forasmuch as the learned author has liberally granted , that all the ancient greeks and latins agree in this , that god is obliged in justice to reward or punish the body together with the soul : nay , origin himself who has set up a different hypothesis makes use of the same . 't is beside my intention to stuff this small essay with a multitude of great names and quotations . in the next place i take leave to say that this is the great and main reason , made use of in the present argument , by the master of the sentences . the angelical doctor , and the whole tribe of the schoolmen , as any one that has but look'd into them must acknowledge , and the doctor himself has owned . in the last place , i affirm this to be the main , chief , and constant reason urg'd by all modern writers , commentators , and others , not only of our own , but other nations : for my part i speak it uprightly , i can cast mine eyes on no book on the subject , but i meet with it ; and that not among the scriblers of the lower rank , but amongst the masters of the assemblies , the most celebrated authors , men of renown in their generations . i could easily fill a great deal of paper here , but i shall dismiss this consideration with one authority only , and that is of the learned grotius , on mat. 2. 32. inter omnia argumenta quae ad probandam resurrectionem adhiberi solent , &c. — amongst all the arguments which are brought to prove the resurrection , i know none more effectual and proper , than that which clement the bishop of rome was wont to urge , having received it from st. peter , that if god be just there must be a resurrection ; and this doctrine this great man approves of , and in that place establishes with no mean authorities . whither ( not to transcribe ) i refer the reader ; and because he tells us , 't was the doctrine which st. clement received from st. peter , i could heartily wish that i could find out this passage in st. clement , in order whereunto i must confess i have sought after it , and have found it , but not to my satisfaction , among the dialogues of st. peter and simon magus ; the 2d . dialogue which bears the name of st. clement , but no doubt is spurious , and therefore not to be insisted on , nor recommended , however it may bear some consideration , that so great a man as grotius gives this reason the right-hand , the priority , and precedency to all others ; beside we have his word and reputation for it , that it was the express doctrine which the first bishop of rome taught his disciple and successor ; and if we were assured that it was thus delivered down and derived ; we are bound to believe it , notwithstanding all the quircks and niceties of philosophy to the contrary : for the great apostle's tongue was guided by an infallible spirit . upon the whole i take , leave to say ( upon a much better account than bellarmine did of the annals of baronius ) here 's turris fortium solomonis , a mighty tower of strong men which in reason may be thought able to maintain the argument and secure it ; defendit numerus juctaeque umbone phalanges , was thought a strong allegation in a much lesser cause . methinks , the authorities of so many learned men in all ages , should uphold it , and not suffer it to be lost at this time a-day : methinks here , the standing rule of vincentius liricensis , if any , where , ought to sway ; quod semper , quod ubique , quod ab omnibus , what all men , in all ages , at all times , have asserted , must stand . chap. v. but the learned author , in his treatise of the resurrection , has been pleased to lay it aside ; and having paid his respect and deference to the ancient fathers , the avowed patriots of it ; he immediately censures and condemns it in the words following , pag. 210. if we seriously and impartially consider this assertion , we shall find ▪ it not to be true , and he gives us those reasons for it ; 1st , to speak properly the body is not capable either of sinning or doing well , it is only the instrument of the soul , and the arm that stabs , sins no more than the sword ; 't is the soul only that is the murderer : neither 2dly , is the body capable of rewards or punishments , 't is the soul that is sensible : nothing but what is sensible only , can be capable of rewards and punishments . 3dly , if it be injustice in god , to punish the soul alone without the body , in conjunction with which she committed the sin ; then all the matter which constituted the body when the several sins were committed , must be raised again and reunited to the soul ; for if some , why not all ? but what monsters of men should we be in the resurrection , if all the substance , of which our bodies consisted from our childhood to our death , should be gathered together and formed into a body . this is the sum of the charge , which the learned doctor has to lay against the doctrine which has been allow'd of by all , and is the attempt of this paper to cover and fecure : there are other passages in the following part of his discourse , which shall be accounted for in their proper place . and here i take it for granted , that there are no other difficulties that lie in the way ; no other objections , at least of any moment , against it , because they come from so accomplished an author , who must be supposed to have said the most that can be against it . without making any apology , i shall endeavour to give satisfaction to all , according to the method in which they lye . and first , i answer by way of confession , that the body , properly speaking , is not capable of sinning , or of doing well , considered in its own nature , abstractively in its self ; 't is a passive principle , and can pretend to no life , energy , sense , or motion in a single state : 't is likewise granted that the body without the soul , is a dull , stupid , senseless clod of earth , a stinking carcass , a sink of rottenness and corruption , uncapable of acting , doing , suffering , injoying all whatsoever , or more than the doctor can suggest ; but in a state of conjunction with the soul , 't is far otherwise , so that it injoys life , sense , and motion ; shares and ingages with it in all its concerns : so that in the two first reasons there is a manifest fallacy of division , which runs through every part , visible to every common eye ; and is no sooner de●●rted , but the whole fabrick of his subtile argumentation sinks , and falls even with the dust : though the body alone cannot , yet in conjunction with the soul , it may . when a noble lord takes to wife one of the meanest extraction who has no pretensions of her own , to any thing that is great ; yet upon her marriage she is dignified and indowed , with all the privileges of her right honourable spouse : this , as near as i can represent it , is the case of the soul and body : the heaven-born bridegroom stoops to the earth for a partner ; advances , exalts the beggar , confers life , sense , motion on her ; admits her to bed and board , allows her a share in all his dignities and injoyments . the body without the soul can neither sin nor do well : but the happy wedlock has ennobled this piece of clay , and empowered it in conjunction to act with it . so that i fancy the doctor to be under a mistake , when he calls the body only the instrument of the soul : certainly 't is more , 't is an essential part , and the man can as well be without the soul as without the body ; to call the body therefore an instrument , is too low a term , when 't is manifestly the collegue and companion of the soul , and together with it , constitutes the great prince and lord of the creation i shall challenge the most acute of philosophers to give me the definition of a man without a body : nec caro sine anima homo , quae post exilium cadaver est , saith tertullian , the soul without the body is no more the man , than the body without the soul. if then it must be acknowledged a physical , indispensible principle of his constitution , the one half of the man ; what a disparagement is it to call it an instrument only ? now that it is so , the learned doctor himself expresly tells us , pag. 218. 't is a great mistake to imagine , that the identity or sameness of man consists wholy in the sameness of the soul ; if euphorbus , homer , and ennius had had one and the same soul , yet they would not have been one and the same , but three distinct men. it seems then it is the constituting , the essential , and most distinguishing principle , it can make three men of one soul ; and so by consequence threescore : and how worthily 't is called an instrument only , let the world judge . i confess 't is often by philosophers and divines set out by this expression , the instrument of the soul , to denote , as i suppose , the transcendent excellency of the soul above it , and all that life , sense , and activity it can pretend to , as derived from the soul , and dependent on it ; yet , that it is more than an instrument , is acknowledged by the learned author , who calls it pag. 198. the collegue and companion of the soul ; and pag 204. her old acquaintance ; and is undeniably proved from 1 cor. 6. 18. he that comitteth fornication sinneth against his own body : here it is manifestly a party , and so interpreted and understood by commentators on the place . the like might be observed of other sins , as of gluttony , drunkenness , &c. which are properly called the lusts or sins of the flesh . but 't is farther objected , that the arm that stabs , sins no more than the sword. here then is a good plea for criminals at the bar , and 't is much it has never been made use of : but i believe the homicide suspects that it would do him no kindness ; it would be received by the court with laughter , and rejected with scorn and indignation ; and reason good , for the sword is a tool in its self innocent and harmless , 't is the arm that weilds it , that impresses it , that ' gives it force and vigour to destroy ; so that if to gratifie the objection , we allow the arm to be an instrument , yet that it is no more concerned in the matter than the sword , is notoriously false , because the one is a dead , the other a living instrument ; and there must be a vast difference between these . the arm considered a-part , is no more able to kill , than the sword ; nay , less able , because that has not so fit a disposition to pierce thro' the bowels as the other , being made acute for that purpose : but the arm united to the body has strength , vigour , motion in every part , and must be allowed the true efficient cause of the murther ; whereas the other is the means , the weapon to effect it : and here also the fallacy of division is very plain and visible . chap. vi. but the objector adds , 't is the soul only that is the murtherer . if it be so , i wonder then what the judge , jury , and executioner , the gaol , or gallows have to say or do to the body ; if it be so , there is an horrible scene of injustice all the world over ; if so , delirant reges , plectuntur achivi , was not the single case of the poor grecians , who went to pot for the miscarriages of their generals , but the common and deplorable fate of all mankind . certainly if the soul only be the murtherer , the body is free , ought not to be touch'd , is by all laws whatsoever , discharg'd both from the guilt and punishment of that crime in which it had no hand . for as 't is injustice on one side , not to punish the guilty ; so 't is no less on the other to punish the innocent . if this quaint notion of the philosopher could be made good before the bench , it would bring him in more gain than all the preferments beside : but alas , this nail will never drive . he will never be able to perswade the world of the truth of it . and indeed it does exceedingly labour : for , 't is not the soul , but 't is the man that is the murderer . and here also is a manifest tang of the old sophism . true indeed , the soul is the first , chief , and principal actor in the tragedy , but we can by no means excuse the outward part. 't is the soul that bestows on the body life , and sense , without which it could not possibly lay claim to either ; and even here 't is ridiculous to imagine , that the more spiritual and noble part , uses the terrestrial and earthy , as a tool and machine , an instrument only , i. e. barely agitates and moves it , as the snail does his shell ; the waterman his boat ; the rider his horse ; the fencing-master his weapon ; the man his cloaths . no , this has been sufficiently exploded by the philosophers and schoolmen , in the colebrated question on the present subject , being by both , constantly maintained in the negative . the soul , during its residence with its beloved bride , is liberal in his endowments towards her , ( as in the foregoing comparison ) furnishes and sets her up with great accomplishments , bestows sense , vigour , activity , perception , on on her , so that derivatively she has the benefit , use , and enjoyment of all these . this is a doctrine disputable ; and i believe will not go down with all ; but for the truth of it , i appeal to the sense of mankind , and for its support i briefly offer these considerations . 1. the soul diffuses it self through every part of the body , according to the known maxim of the great peripatetick , and certainly to no other purpose , but to bestow its largesses . the vegetable soul gives life to every particle of the plant or tree , and the rational soul cannot be supposed to be less liberal . 2. 't is undeniable , that there is a mutual and reciprocal influence of each toward other . the soul impresses the body ; on t'other hand , that impresses the soul. the loving pair mutually give and receive from each other ; the noble spouse makes his bride the generous presents so often mentioned ; she , on the other hand , guides and directs the soul in his behaviour ; according to the known axiome , mores animae sequuntur temper amentum corporis , which i confess i do not understand , unless it come home to the purpose . the different constitutions and complexions of our bodies have a powerful influence on our souls , and do , in a great measure , over-rule and command them . this is allowed by all , and manifestly appears in the behaviour of children suitable to their progenitors : they do , for the most part , follow their way , and tread in their steps . the body is the perpetual dictator , and prescribes to the soul the manner and method of its government . thus , according to the peculiar composure of the outward , we find the dispositions of the inward man. he in whom the sanguine complexion is predominant , proclaims his constitution by his port and actions , is bold , couragious , magnanimous and heroick ; whereas the cholerick man tells the world what he is made of , by his peevishness and petulancy : and so in all other cases as all here agree . and least the suspicion of traduction which prevails with some , should enervate the force of the argument , to put it altogether without dispute , i lay down this as an undeniable position , that the manners of children are not only influenced by their parents , but nurses too . the concessions of philosophers , physicians , and confirmed experience of all , do give me a supersedeas here , and pronounce the proof of it altogether needless . there is a curious dissertation in aulus gellius , lib. 12. cap. 1. of favorinus the philosopher on this subject , to a noble woman , perswading her to give suck to her own child , and not endanger the corrupting of his manners by a strange milk. the discourse is so full , excellent , and nervous , that i can hardly forbear to transcribe it ; and whereunto , for full satisfaction i refer the reader . 3. that the body is endowed with life and sensation , is undeniable from the common and daily experience of it in every part : even the extream parts are endued with a ready and most exquisite sensation . and , 4. the truth of it is abundantly confirmed from this usual experiment , that if at any time there happens a sphacelus , a mortification in any extreme part , instantly there is recourse to the surgeon and his saw , to take off the dead part , for the preservation of the whole ; which to me is little less than a demonstration , that the other parts are truly and actually alive . the body even of adam ( if the supposition may be allow'd ) before its union with its heavenly partner , was a senseless clod of earth ; but when god breathed into him the breath of life , then man became a living soul ; a living man , though we allow it a carkass , upon its separation . chap. vii . the objector goes on : neither is the body capable of any rewards or punishments , 't is the soul only that is sensible ; and nothing but what is sensible can be capable of rewards and punishments . here again we are assaulted with the old paralogism , and therefore must dismiss it with the same answer . the body without the soul is capable of neither rewards nor punishments ; but in conjunction with it is exquisitely sensible , and enjoys either . what have we to do to consider the body in a separate state ? this is foreign , impertinent , and beside the argument in all respects . our dispute lies about the good or evil that men do in this life , and that remunaration which according to their deserts , shall attend them at the resurrection : in both which the whole man is concerned , and not one part ; neither the body without the soul , nor the soul without the body , but both in conjunction . and though i will not deny ; that the soul while in the body , may , and does sometimes act abstractively , without the concurrence of the body , in a spiritual and intellectual manner , in good or bad desires , cogitations , and contrivances , which are by the philosophers call'd immanent acts ; and so by consequence has a separate , distinct enjoyment of pleasure or pain , according to the result and nature of them , wholly peculiar to its self , and altogether independent from the body ; yet all other rewards and punishments here , are conferred on the soul by the mediation of the body ; so far is the objection from being true , as that the contrary is undeniable . as the body is beholden to the soul for the capacity of rewards and punishments , so all the rewards or punishments that are or can be placed on the soul in this life , are owing to the body , without which 't is altogether impossible it should be invested with either . how is the soul of the most deserving courtier preferr'd , but by the body ? how is the soul of the valiant soldier advanc'd to higher dignity of command , but by the body ? how is the soul of the learned doctor bless'd with plurality of preferments in the church and vniversity , but by the body ? and so in all other cases whatsoever . on the other hand , the same is no less visible in the distribution of punishments : how is the soul of the malefactor brought to suffer , but by the body ? ask the prisoner in the dungeon , with his heavy load of fetters on , how the place and irons come to affect his soul ; he will readily tell thee , 't is by the body . ask the petty thief at the the cart's tayl , how his spiritual part does rue for his transgression , and he 'll tell thee , 't is by the painful stripes inflicted on his back . ask the man that has undergone the shame and torment of the hot iron , how the principal actor in the crime comes to have a share , he will immediately by his woful experience resolve the question , viz. by the scandalous stigma in his hand or cheek ; which to his anguish he has felt , and to his disgrace must retain . in short , ask the man in the cart , tyed with the fatal halter , and just ready to be turn'd over , how the first and chief contriver of the offence for which he is condemned , is brought to suffer , and he can give thee no other answer . the soul is a spiritual , intellectual , invisible being , no way subject to the pleasure , or jurisdiction of any power on earth ; 't is no way capable of the preferment of a palace , nor of the confinement of a prison , but above , and out of the reach of both , and can have no colour of pretence to any rewards or punishments whatsoever , at present , ( excepting those before mentioned ) but in conjunction with , and by the mediation of the body . in conclusion , our answer here is , 't is neither the one nor the other , in a divided or separate sense , that has a claim or title to rewards or punishments here ; 't is the compositum , the soul and body in vnion and conjunction together ; i.e. 't is the man that can challenge this : and as for an answer to the objection , with reference to the body after the resurrection , ( which is the main subject of the present discourse ) if the body be not capable of rewards or punishments , i would fain have the learned dr. to tell me , what doth the body of the saint in heaven , or what makes the body of the reprobate in hell ? sure i am , because so taught by christ himself , as two evangelists have recorded it ( matt. 10. 28. luc. 12. 4. ) that men are able to kill the body , and god is able to destroy both body and soul. now you cannot be said , with any congruity of speech , to kill that which has no sense , no life ; and what is liable to be destroy'd in hell-fire must be allow'd capable of punishment , and by unavoidable consequence , of sin , whereof this is the wages . in short , this sacred authority lays the axe to the root of the two first objections , and fells them to the ground . if the body can be kill'd , can be destroy'd in hell-fire ; it cannot be deny'd to be sensible , capable of sinning , of doing well , of rewards and punishments . all these are manifestly imply'd here . chap. viii . that our bodies are more than instruments only , is a truth that clearly shines forth from the make and creation of them . man was brought into the world last of all , and therefore must be acknowledg'd the most perfect and compleat of all the creatures ; he is upon this account , called by the philosophers , the microcosm , the little world , the epitome of the greater : and tho' the fabrick of all others , ( tho' never so mean ) must be own'd to be stupendous ; yet there is certainly somewhat in humane bodies , surpassing and transcendent ; if not in the matter , yet in the manner and figure of ' em . the consultation of the eternal trinity about this affair , imports somewhat singular ; a product more than ordinary . — come , let us make man , ( gen. 1. 26. ) the prince , the emperor of all the rest . this is taught us in that passage of elihu in job 33. 4. the spirit of god hath made me , and the breath of the almighty hath given me life . the expression elegantly notes the exactness of his frame : man is the master-piece of the creation , ( as his immortal commentator ( caryl ) has observ'd . our bodies are temples built , and temples sanctify'd : a living man , genes . 2. 7. man became a living soul : and upon this account the royal psalmist breaks forth into this sublime rapture , psal . 139. 14. i will praise thee , for i am fearfully and wonderfully made : marvellous are thy works , and that my soul knoweth right well . my substance was not hid from thee though i were made in secret ; and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth ; thine eyes did see my substance yet being imperfect , and in thy book were all my members written , which day by day were fashioned , when as yet there were none of them . — the fabrick of man is of all other the most exquisite : this the great mrster of physick has professedly asserted , in a most admirable treatise of 17 books ; which gassendus thinks was penn'd with a spirit of enthusiasm , for the refutation of the atheistical doctrines of epicurus : and the mirrour of of learning , ( orig. sacr. lib. 3. cap. 1. ) calls it the hundred and nineteenth psalm in philosophy ; or , a perpetual hymn in praise of the great creator ; a just commentary on the former passage of the psalmist . the whole work is a full and pregnant demonstration of a deity , to which end 't is apply'd by that incomparable prelate , who thereupon thinks it strange that physicians of all men should be atheists ; who from the subject of their science have powerful arguments to the contrary . when we shall consider the admirable contrivance of man's body , the curious formation of all its parts , in order to the various designs , services , and uses of 'em ; its astonishing , and innumerable excellencies , methinks we should account them more than barely instruments . the philosophers and divines have entertain'd nobler sentiments of it : they have proclaim'd it aloud to be the one half of that finishing piece , which came last out of the almighty's hands ; the one half of him , for whose sake and service all others were made ; the one half of him , who had the dignity to be lord over all ; who by his frame , endowments , and advantages , is directed to devote , and conseerate his whole self , all that he has , or is , to the honour and glory of his bountiful master . 2. but if this consideration will not do , let us for a while contemplate the assumption , the incarnation of our blessed saviour . he took such a nature as ours , such a body as ours , with all its organical parts . to this purpose he stoop'd to bethlehem ; to the womb of a poor virgin , to the stable and the manger ; to this purpose , he that was in the form of god , and thought it not robbery to be equal with god , made himself of no reputation , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) emptied himself , disrob'd himself of his divine dignity , and took upon him the form of a servant , and was made in the likeness of man. st. john tells us , john 1. 14. that the eternal word that was in the beginning , and created all things , was made flesh , and dwelt among us : and the author to the hebrews , chap. 2. 16. gives us a confirmation of it , with an asseveration , verily he took not on him the nature of angels , but the seed of abraham ; i.e. he was an entire man like any of us ( sin only excepted ) . nay , what is more , that very body which he assum'd , in which he lived , and in which he was crucified , is ascended up into heaven , where he sitteth at the right hand of god , and by the powerful rhetorick of his wounds , the impression of which he now retains , is our eternal expiatory sacrifice , incessantly transacting the great work of advocation with his father , still making intercession for us . by this there is conferr'd on humane nature , the highest honour and dignity imaginable ; and this must teach us to put a value on our bodies , and to look upon them as more than machines and tools only . this ( if i mistake not ) is an inference most genuine , and naturally flowing from the premisses ; and 't is most certainly the express use which the ancients would have us to make of it . thus st. austine , on the present subject , ( de verit. relig. cap. 6. ) demonstravit nobis deus quàm excelsum locum inter creatur as habet humana natura , in hoc quod in hominibus , in vero homine apparuit : god ( saith the holy father ) hath given us a demonstration of the dignity and transcendent excellency of humane nature , in that christ , a very man , lived among men. and to the same purpose another great author , ( leo , serm. 1. de nat. dom. ) agnosce , o christiane , dignitatem tuam & divine consors factus naturae , noli in veterem vilitatem degeneri consuetudine redire : i. e. christ , by taking such a body , has shewn thee the dignity and excellency of thine ; taught thee not to disparage , dis-esteem it , or use it unworthily . 3. but if neither of these be sufficient , come we in the third place , to cast our eyes a little on the redemption ; and in that great work the whole man is concern'd . the prince of our salvation submitted himself to the cross , and all its shameful , miserable , painful appendages , to become a propitiation for both. our bodies as well as souls are the price of his blood : and can any one then account 'em no more but instruments only ? the thing is so evident , as that i think it needless to say any more for it ; nor can i imagine what can in the least colour be said against it . 4. wherefore i pass to the next argument under this head , for confirmation of the doctrine in hand ; and that is bodily worship . have not all the orthodox pulpits echo'd and sounded this aloud . how often have we been told , that we are to serve god in our bodies as well as souls ; the one is but maimed and imperfect without the other ; the great creator has an undeniable and manifold right to both. how much , the true sons of the church have labour'd in this argument , cannot be unknown to any who know any thing of the controversies about the modification of worshipping god , which has been the grand subject of the dispute of this last age. — how zealous , good men have been to relieve that abused and misapply'd place , john 4. 24. from captivity , and to discharge it from that hard and unworthy service which the dissenters would have imposed upon it , and compelled it to bear ; still asserting , that to serve god , as ( in truth ) we ought , we must serve him more than in spirit only ? how often has that of the apostle been made the text , 1 cor. 14. ult . that in god's service regard must be had to decency and order ? how often have we been told , that we must not make our approaches to the most high in a slovenly manner , but in the most humble and becoming postures : to give testimony of our inward , by the uniform port of our outward man , and to make the worship acceptable and compleat , to be careful to join both these together ? the truth is , the body by its self is altogether incapable of the least performance ; for as the psalmist has observ'd , the dead praise not god , neither they that go down to silence . but yet we have the same infallible assurance , that the living can and do praise him : do not our lips , tongue , and mouth shew forth his praise ? do not our hands serve god when we lift them up toward the mercy-seat of his holy temple ? do not our feet bear a part also here , when they make chearful and direct paths to the place where his honour dwelleth ? do not our eyes and ears go sharers here , when they behold and hear the wondrous things of god's law , when they are attentively exercised in his statutes ? in a word , do not our whole bodies engage in this divine work , in their submissions , adorations , and prostrations before his altar ? what nonsense is it for any man to imagine the contrary ; when we are so often and pathetically commanded and called upon by god , in his holy word to do it ? not to multiply authorities here , the winning and endearing entreaty of the great apostle alone is sufficient , rom. 12. 1. wherefore i beseech you , brethren , by the mercies of god , that you present your bodies a living sacrifice , holy , and acceptable unto god , which is your reasonable service : and if it be here said , that the apostle by bodies means the whole man , i have no mind to deny the allegation ; but i reply , that the body is also concerned , and ( as must be acknowledged from the allusion to the legal sacrifices ) in an especial manner pointed at : and if this be not proof enough , there are other places which cannot be understood in any other sense , which refer peculiarly to the body . thus the same apostle , speaking of the abominable sin of the gentiles , says , rom. 1. 24. that they did dishonour their own bodies between themselves ; and to the same purpose he calls upon his corinthians to glorifie god with their bodies which are his ; and 1 thess . 5. 23. he prays , that their spirit , soul , and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our lord jesus christ : where both the objections of the learned author are put to silence , and quashed by one word , blameless ; which clearly supposes our bodies capable of doing well , or evil , of rewards and punishments ; otherwise there can be no congruity in the discourse of the great doctor of the gentiles ( who was brought up at the feet of gamaliel , was so accomplish'd an orator , as that 't was one of the three celebrated wishes of the great st. austin , that he might have seen him in the pulpit ; nay , what is more , was inspir'd from above ) : and he must be allow'd by all , to speak at a very impertinent rate . i cannot see any doubt or difficulty here : the wicked sin and dishonour god with their bodies , and that , properly speaking , by the lusts of the flesh , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by the lusts of the lower belly , as the father calls them : the sins of gluttony , drunkenness , vncleanness , and a multitude of others . nay , st. john seems to fix sin more especially on the body , in his first epistle , chap. 2. 16. where he reckons them up under three heads , all that is in the world , the lust of the flesh , the lust of the eye , and the pride of life . on the other hand , the case is altogether as undeniable : the good man serves , honours , worships , and glorifies god with his body , in adorning it with sobriety , temperance , chastity , and other exercises of vertue ; in keeping it clean , swept , and garnished ; a fit receptacle and mansion for the holy spirit , in a ready compliance and conjunction with the soul in all the offices of religion . this most evidently appears to be the doctrine of our church , when we are admitted to the highest and nearest communion with god in the eucharist , by that clause which is inserted and repeated in both forms of administration ; when the priest delivers the bread , he prays , that it may preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life ; and again he uses the same form when he gives the cup , the blood of our lord jesus christ , which was shed for thee , preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life . now to reason fairly ; unless our bodies are capable of everlasting life , i know not what sense we can make of the prayer : and if our bodies are capable of everlasting life , as must be allow'd , they are necessarily imply'd subject to everlasting death , and by unavoidable consequence , must be allow'd capable of doing good or evil . to conclude this , st. paul was so throughly convinced of both , as that he rallies together a multitude of arguments , to prevent the one , and engage us in the other . first , in 1 cor. 6. 13. the body is for the lord , i.e. 't was made by him , and therefore ordain'd and devoted to his service . secondly , the lord for the body , i.e. he redeemed and sanctified it , and so has a farther and improved right to it . thirdly , god will raise our bodies , v. 14. i.e. the resurrection lays a farther obligation upon us . fourthly , our bodies are the members of christ , and therefore they ought not to be the members of an harlot : we ought to keep them clean and pure for his sake , as parts of that society whereof he is the head. fifthly , he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body ; i.e. though there are some sins without the body , yet the sins of vncleanness are properly sins of the body . sixthly , our bodies are the temples of the holy ghost , ver . 19. the sins of our bodies turn this holy gu●st out of doors , and admit another master , making them the devil's brothel-houses , and styes . lastly , our bodies are bought with a price , ver . 20. therefore not to glorifie god in own bodies as well as souls , since by a manifold right they are both his , is not simply sin , but sin of an high degree , and deep dye ; no less than the sin of sacrilege . after all this , to corroborate the argument , i might here expatiate upon the great cost and expence which the primitive christians bestowed in embalming their dead bodies ; of which tertullian , st. augustine , and others , give us a large account , which comes home fully to the point in hand , and can be apply'd to no other purpose . by this practice of theirs 'tis plain , they look'd upon their bodies as perfumed with their graces here , smelling sweet in their dormitories , deposited as in a bed of spices , and resting in full hope of a glorious retribution . but i conceive i have no need of it ; and therefore it may suffice only to have noted it . chap. ix . i pass to the examination of the third and last objection , which as a bar lies in our way , and ought to be removed . if it be injustice in god to punish the soul alone without the body , in conjunction with which she committed the sin ; then all the matter which constitued the body when the several sins were committed , must be raised again , and reunited to the soul ; for if some , why not all ? but what monsters of men should we be in the resurrection , if all the substance of which our bodies consisted from our childhood to our deaths , should be gathered together , and formed into a body ? without taking notice of the severity of the objection , i shall endeavour to give satisfaction to it : and , first , i answer ; that the resurrection depends upon an all-sufficient and omnipotent power ; and though i cannot tell with what matter the bodies shall arise , yet every good man ought to rest satisfy'd in this , that a god of infinite abilities will take care to make good his word ; for there are an hundred things ( as the learned author has asserted , p. 221. ) both in nature and divinity , the existence of which we cannot doubt , and yet the reason of them we cannot comprehend . of which he there gives us a multitude of instances , ( whereunto i refer the reader ) and at last resolves the resurrection into god's good pleasure , as the highest reason . 't is altogether surprizing , how he came to be so positive here , and in this difficult point impossible to be understood or resolved by the wisest of men , to be so magisterial ; especially considering that unlucky passage which drops from his pen , in the words immediately following , p. 222. i fansie my self ( philalethes ) talking to a bold refiner on the promises and decrees of almighty god , and one of those little nothings that call themselves philosophers , that form to themselves notions and idaea's , then deal with revelation as the tyrant did with the poor innocents on his bed , either violently stretch it beyond its natural reach , or chop off a part to make it commensurate to their intentions . i will make no animadversions here , though i have a fair opportunity ; but i cannot forbear to say , that the learned author has made monsters of all men at the resurrection , if it be founded on justice contrary to his own reasoning , in the places foregoing , where he professes his ignorance , and challenges the world to give an account of ; as supposing it impossible : and yet boldly asserts here , that all the matter which was of the body of the man from his childhood to his grave , must be rallied together at the resurrection , or else there can be nothing of justice in the case . but , secondly , i answer ; this assertion runs counter to the doctrine of the schoolmen and ancients , who have with one mouth determin'd , that the child shall not arise a child , nor the corpulent man with his great bulk ; nor he who sunk under a marasmus , peep out of his grave a skeleton . nor the old man appear at the resurrection with his grey hairs , or any symptomes of age ; but all shall arise ( inter incrementum & decrementum humanae naturae ) about the age of 33 , in a perfect state ; staturā quam habuit vel habiturus est , as lombard , sent. 4. dis . 44. aug. civ . dei , lib. 22. cap. 14. thirdly , i answer ; that this is altogether beside the question ; we are to consider the body fallen , and to prove the resurrection of that same body , to be joined to the same soul , in order to a judgment ; and this is all that in reason can be expected : we are no ways concerned to look back to its various and different states , from his childhood to his death ; if we can produce the same prisoners before the supreme tribunal , there can be no injustice in the thing ; for the learned author has granted , and proved that our bodies , from our childhood to our graves , notwithstanding their constant , innumerable , great , and wonderful changes , are still the same . pag. 132. moreover he has granted , that ( according to the supposition of philosophers ) tho' the body be changed once in seven years ; ( which , obiter , i can never believe , and am sure is impossible to be proved ) yet he grants it is still the same . that a man that has kept his bed for above seven years , upon his recovery rises the same man , tho' he have not now one particle the same that he had when he took his bed ; and he gives us the reason of it , because the particles of the body are gradually changed in a continual vnion with the soul. the body ( he says ) in such a case is the same , and may properly be said to raise again . and yet the learned author in his argument here , exacts all the matter which constituted the body , when the several sins were committed , to be raised again , to be re-united to the soul ; which how congruous to himself , and how reasonable in its self , i leave others to judge . fourthly , i answer ; this objection is too strict and subtile ; it impeaches , destroys , and overturns all justice upon earth , and renders it altogether impossible : the reason is irresistible ; for there are fleeting particles of matter , which constantly come and go , ebb and flow in our bodies , through the whole course of our lives , so that the man is not to day what he was yesterday , nor will be to morrow what he is to day . this is more manifest in long imprisonments ; the malefactor frequently comes into gaol , plump and hail , full of flesh and blood ; but by his long confinement is emaciated , and appears at the bar quite another thing : yea often times it so happens , that he is so much impair'd in his health , strength , constitution , and complexion , that he is unavoidably dropping into the grave without the help of the gallows ; and yet no man ever questions the justice of his execution . sir walter rawleigh was beheaded for a crime committed above 20 years before , and though ( according to the imagination of the philosophers above-mentioned ) this body must be thrice changed in this interval ; yet the equity of his sentence was never doubted . the like might be observed of mary queen of scotland . — the annals of all nations overflow with examples of criminals whose punishments have been a long time protracted without the least suspicion of injustice . fifthly , therefore i answer plainly , by denying the consequence , viz. that it does no way follow from the principles of justice , that all the matter which constituted the body when the several sins were committed , should be raised up again ; my reason is , because much if not most of this matter is accidental to the body ; forasmuch as 't is plain , the body can be , and oftentimes is without it . what frequent and considerable alterations all men undergo in this respect , is abundantly confirmed by the experience of all . most men generally are well fleshed in summer , but in the time of winter fall away . and this is more visible in the cattle of the field , being for the most part fat and full in the hot season of the year , which affords plenty of grass and food : but when the frost and snow comes in upon them , and diminishes their pasture , then they pine away , and are often starved . men owe the dimensions of their bodies in a great measure to their ease , health , prosperity , and affluence : whereas hunger , cold , want , poverty , diseases , will make them dwindle and bring them down to nothing but skin and bones . to this purpose i am sure , i have long since met with the determination of the royal society in their philosophical transactions , namely , that the fat and corpulency of a creature is nothing but the repletion of the parenchyma : and that they would undertake to make a dog or an horse , fat , fleshy , and full in a very few days . there is no necessity then for all the matter to be rallied together at the resurrection ; because much of it is accidental , not essential to the body : it has been , is , and may be without it . our doctrine then must stand in spight of this shock and assault . the justice of god is secured , and the saint in no manner of danger of mounting from his grave a monster ; nor the sinner neither in this , though he must be acknowledg'd such in the worst of senses . lastly , if all that has been hitherto said cannot put the objection to silence , i will presume to borrow the mighty sword of our opponent , which alone can do the work , and as effectually as that of goliah , cut off this monstrous head. pag. 187. his words are these ; it is farther to be considered , that though the same body that died is to rise again , yet it is not necessary that all the particles of it should be raised up ; 't is enough that such particles are raised , as made up the integrant and necessary parts of the body . by necessary parts , i mean those which remain after the utmost degree of maceration , without which the body would not be integrant , but imperfect ; and these are chiefly the bones , the skin , the nerves , the tendons , the ligaments , and substance of the several vessels ; as long as these , and all that are necessary to life remain , the body is truly whole , though never so much macerated ; all the flesh that is added makes nothing to the wholeness or integrality of the body , though it conduce to strength and ornament . — and by and by he adds , if the body be extremely maciated , i do not doubt but in the resurrection it will be restored by foreign adventitious matter , to its due and just proportion : so in bodies that are full and flesby , there is a great deal of substance that is not necessary , which if it become the flesh of another man , the body may be raised up without it , and yet be physically whole , and truly the same . in bodies that are fat and gross there is doubtless a great deal superfluous , which will never be raised up ; though it were never made the ingredient of another man's body . chap. x. having consider'd the objections , i 'm to wait on the learned author in what remains , who is labouring to find out a reason of the resurrection of the body , as indeed he is obliged ; since he has taken away the main pillar , and laid that aside : in order whereunto he tells us , pag. 211. that the soul does not die with the body , as some ancient hereticks and arabians held . — this is an opinion too ridiculous to be confuted . then pag. 212. he tells us , that the soul does not sleep until the day of the resurrection , as the psychopannychists imagined . all that is to be said here is , that this is a notion so manifestly false , so contradictious to scripture , and has been so fully confuted by many learned pens , particularly by the incomparable divine of geneva , in a treatise professedly written against it , as that there is no more to be said here . he comes thence to consider the opinions of tertullian , and they are divided into three ranks . first , he asserts the sensibility of the separate * soul , that it is of its self capable of rewards and punishments ; is actually in some measure comforted , or tormented before the resurrection . there are a multitude of other passages of the same father which testifie the same † . and no doubt but that this great father is orthodox here . secondly , notwithstanding in other places he seems to set up a quite opposite doctrine , viz. that the soul is not capable of suffering without the body ; and this he makes the reason of the resurrection a . and elsewhere he asserts the necessity of the resurrection , because the soul without the body is not capable of feeling either pleasure or pain b . i shall reserve what i have to say to this , to the last place , and take leave to invert the order , and consider the other opinion before it , conceiving it more suitable and methodical to the argument in hand : and that is , thirdly , he owns , that separate souls are actually c rewarded or punished before the resurrection ; and he says 't is for those good or bad things it did without the concurrence of the body . he farther says , that tho' the soul be in its own nature capable of rewards or punishments ; yet it is not so fully capable as when united to the body . it is capable of greater pleasure or torment when united to the body , than in a state of separation ; and therefore for those things which the soul did in concurrence with the body , must be punished and rewarded in the body , that the pleasure or torment may be perfect . the learned author's animadversion on this is , p. 217. but this is very precarious ; and if once it be granted , that the soul is in its own nature , without an organized body , capable of rewards and punishments , it cannot be denied , but that it is of it self capable of being fully rewarded and punished . i answer : not to take any notice of the tertullianicum ( as his learned commentators call it ) of the gross naevus here , etsi habet corpus , etsi habet membra , which the father applies to the soul in a separate state , and is by no means justifiable : nor to undertake a defence of him here or elsewhere , in an exact , strict and rigid sense ; for 't is well known , that this african father is the most dark , abstruse , and intricate of the latin fathers , makes use of uncouth , obsolete words , which will no way bear a full and exact , but require a moderate and sober interpretation . premising this , i cannot see how he is in the main here precarious ; to my understanding there is no begging at all in the case : the doctrine seems found and approvable , supported and maintained by the ancients , who accordingly have placed the departed souls in abraham's bosom , in paradise , in outer porches , in receptacles , under the altar , the promptuary of saints , the earnest of the kingdom ; with a multitude of other such expressions to the same purpose . 't were easie here to fill up a great deal of paper with the names and authorities of the most considerable pillars of the church , who have espoused this opinion ; but i industriously avoid the vanity of it , and think it altogether needless in the present dispute , because the learned author , speaking of the opinion of pope john xxii . tells us , that he only held that the soul does not at all enjoy the beatisick vision before the resurrection ; and for confirmation of it , adds , pag. 212. this indeed was the opinion of the primitive fathers . and albeit this doctrine was censur'd and condemn'd in the council of florence , yet this can have no influence on us , who know too well what this council was , and the age of it . and though it prevail with those of the church of rome , yet 't is observable , how that even the learned men that are bigotted to that way , do not stick to give us their approbation of it . meminerint hunc errorem non efficere pietati , & eruditioni tam illustrium scriptorum , saith pamelius , i.e. this opinion is no prejudice to the piety and learning of those great men : and another eminent writer of that church calls it , pia & beata opinio veritati facile reconciliabilis per duplicem beatitudinem perfectam & imperfectam ; an holy and blessed opinion , easily reconcileable to the truth , by the distinction of a perfect and imperfect happiness : so that the difference between the opinion and council seems to be only about the place , in the condition both agree . about the capacity of separate souls , i am not willing to dispute , 't is too sublime a subject , and above our mortal reach . nor will i eagerly contend for the place , where ( upon their dislodging here ) they are dispos'd of : but this opinion i readily embrace , that before our saviour's ascension they were not admitted into heaven , whatsoever they are since : nor will i presume to determine for what things the happy soul is rewarded ; nor on the other hand , for what the soul of the reprobate is punished ; but so far i conceive it to be plain , and allowed by the concurrence of all , that both at present have their different enjoyments , though imperfect . so that in my apprehension the consequence of the learned author does claudicare , stand in need of a crutch ; it is and always will be a cripple . the soul of the saint is at present admitted to happiness , i see nothing in reason from hence to infer ; — therefore 't is capable of being fully rewarded : on the other side , the soul of the sinner is in its separate state capable of punishment , ergo , 't is capable of being fully punished . i must freely say , i cannot see the least colour for the inference ; where-ever the soul of lazarus now is , it must be ( without doubt ) allowed by all to be happy ; but that it is as happy as it will be after the resurrection , i utterly deny . on the other side , that the soul of the rich glutton is now in a state of punishment , must be readily assented to ; but that it is in a full , compleat state , will , can , must never be granted . this assertion runs against the stream and current of reason , scripture , and antiquity ; as will most manifestly appear in the examination of the other opinion of tertullian ; which i now come to consider . thirdly , he seems to affirm in the passage above-cited , that the soul is not capable without the body of pleasure or pain , of punishments or rewards , and therefore concludes for a resurrection : 't is beside my intent to attempt the defence of this doctrine , tho' the centuriators have undertaken it : and if the fire of hell be real , ( as i believe no one will deny , because constantly so represented in the scriptures ) it would gravel the most accomplish'd of philosophers , from the principles of natural philosophy only , to resolve how this fire can affect , and reach the soul ; how a material can act upon an immaterial . beside there are no mean authorities , and not a few neither , to be produc'd , who have asserted much the same thing : thus maldonate , as learned a man as most , and incomparably well read , assures us , in matt. 8. 29. mirum quanto consensu plerique veteres authores docuerint , daemones ante diem judicii non torqueri — it was , it seems , the general doctrine , that the damned were not punished before the day of judgment ; which how it is to be understood he there tells you . notwithstanding all this , i think the foresaid passage , in a strict , literal , gross sense , by no means defensible ; we must give some grains of allowance to the writings of this father , or else we shall make mad work. we must consider the drift and carriage of the discourse , expound one passage by another , and judge charitably of all ; and then the meaning will be plain . one while he allows the departed souls , according to their different deserts , a present portion of pain or weal : other while he says , that the separate souls are rewarded or punished at present for the good or bad things they did without the concurrence of the body ; and that tho' they are capable without the body of pleasure or pain , yet they are not so fully capable as when united to it . in other places he seems to affirm the quite contrary , viz. that the soul is not capable of suffering at all without the body ; that in a divided state it can feel neither pleasure nor pain , and upon this account concludes the necessity of a resurrection . now to a favourable reader , who shall govern himself ( as in reason he is obliged ) suitable to the method but now laid down ; here will upon mature deliberation appear no contradiction , no inconsistency in all this ; the one leads us to the understanding of the other . the separate souls tho' in some measure they do now partake of rewards and punishments , yet they are in a manner nothing , in comparison to what they shall be ; the height and accomplishment of both awaits the resurrection ; when body and soul shall be again united , then and then only the condition of all shall be compleat . and that this is the meaning of this ancient writer , is abundantly evident , not only from the whole thread of the discourse , but also from some plain passages in it : as , ad perfectionem judicii , the body is required to make the judgment compleat . — and again , quae proinde illi non sufficiunt ad sentiendum plaenè quemadmodum neque ad agendum perfecté : i. e. the members of the soul ( as he expresses it ) are not of themselves sufficient to enjoy or suffer fully . nay , there are many other passages frequently occurring , which as a key open the door to the sense here ; as the places above noted , where he again and again allows the separate souls capable of pleasure or grief without the body : that they can feel , or suffer any thing , licèt exules carnis , without the body . i shall neither trouble my self nor the reader but with two places more , and they are both in one chapter , ( resur . carn . cap. 17. ) non quâ sentire quid sine carne non possit , sed quâ necesse est illum cum carne sentire : and again , ad perficiendam autem operam carnis expectat , sic itaque ad patiendam societatem carnis postulat , ut tam plaene per eam pati possit , quàm sine eâ plaene agere non potuit : the blessed soul to make up its happiness full , requires the society of the body ; and on the other hand , the condemned soul in its torments , calls for the fellowship of the body , that the punishment might be compleated in both parts , in conjunction of which their sins were committed . this then being allowed to be the sense of the father ( as i do not see how it can well be denied ) viz. that the soul is not capable of rewards and punishments without the body : but by no means ( as the learned dr reports it p. 214 ; ) that the soul is not capable in its own nature without an organized body of any perception ; how , that it is not capable without ar humane body of either . rewards or punishments . this seems to be a too rigid , extream , and unreasonable construction of those passages , and woud unavoidably involve the father in the other errors of the death of the soul , or the slumber of it . but though the learned author does represent the opinion of tertullian in this matter thus severely , yet he confesses this notion very consistent with the doctrine of the resurrection , and the general judgment that is to follow after it ; but he has this to object against it pag. 24. i know not how to make it consistent with some other places of scripture ; here lies the difficulty , the scripture is plainly against it . i confess it does not well accord with it , as it is here represented ; and i cannot for my heart imagine how he came to interpret the father so grosly erroneous here who has produced so many places wherein he loudly proclaims the contrary , and plainly and fully expresses himself : in which if we take him , as by all means we are obliged to do , viz. of the imperfect state of the soul in its separation , that it is not capable of being fully rewarded or punished without the body . i see nothing amiss here , this opinion must be allowed consistent with the doctrine of the resurrection and the general judgment which is to follow after it , harmoniously correspondent with the analogie of faith , and the holy scriptures ; even those very places which are alledged by the learned author pag. 215. thus , in that of our saviour to the penitent thief , this day shalt thou be with me in paradise ; in which words there is a promise of an happy injoyment to his dislodging soul , but an imperfect one , for we can understand paradise in no other sence but what imports either the place or condition of the happy separate souls , a place , undeniably different from heaven ; a condition of happiness in hand , but far short and inferiour to that hereafter . the soul of the celebrated penitent was immediately upon its departure , invested with a state of bliss , but the full measure of it cannot be expected before the resurrection , thus also in the second scripture , phil , 1. 23. where st. peter wishes to depart and to be with christ , which is far better . the expression clearly intimates an happiness which would accrue to his soul by his dissolution , far above any thing that this world could afford , as is emphatically expressed in the original by the double comparative 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the soul of the great apostle where-ever he be , is without dispute gloriously happy ; yet ( this is certain ) that it cannot arrive to the fulness of it , before it be united to that body which was his faithful companion and partner , in all his perils , dangers , hardships , sufferings , conflicts , labours here . and so in the third place , rev. 6. 10. in which the souls of the martyrs are represented from under the altar , loudly crying for judgment . this text to me is one of the most undeniable and adaequate proofs of both the doctrines under present consideration ; for as on the one hand it strongly establishes the blessed injoyment of the separate souls , so on the other it will not suffer us to doubt of their imperfect state : the completion and height of happiness is put off to the great day of recompense . the text is full , and deserves to be considered : i saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of god , and for the testimony which they held ; and they cryed with a loud voice , saying , how long , o lord , holy and true , dost thou not judge and avengé our blood on them that dwell on the earth : and white robes were given to every one of them , and it was said unto them , that they should rest yet for a little season , until their fellow servants also and their brethren , that should be killed , as they were should be fulfilled . where every word and clause makes for our purpose . whether we understand it ( as some ) of their bodies , by a prosopopeia , speaking from their graves , or of their souls which are said to be under the altar , i.e. vnder the protection of christ , as a learned critick does comment it : and they cryed with a loud voice , which in my apprehension imports not so much the multitude of them ( an interpretation much esteemed by some ) as the vehemency and intention of their desire which is for justice ; and that chiefly in reference to themselves ; namely , that god would translate and advance them to that happiness which he has promised , and they desiringly do desire . this exactly suits with all that follows after . they had at present the character , the livery , the priviledge of saintship , the earnest of it : but the full of their reward , they were not to receive until the time of harvest , the last day , when both parts were to meet again , and when the noble army of martyrs ( all conflicts and fighting being for ever done away ) should in one body assembled , be crown'd and triumph together . excellent is the animadversion of gregory the great on this place ( praef. in job . ) singulae stolae quia adhuc solâ mentis beatitudine perfruuntur , binas vero accepturi sunt quando cum gaudio perfecto animarum , etiam incorruptione corporum restituuntur , i. e. the souls under the altar have single robes now , their souls are admitted to an incohate imperfect happiness ; but double robes hereafter , at what time , their bodies made incorruptible shall be restor'd to their souls ; the glory and joy of both shall be complete . in short , that the injoyment of those blessed souls here at present is imperfect ; is plainly intimated by their cries , ( both the matter and manner of them , they are represented crying with a loud voice , and that for vengeance ; ) and is formally expressed in the answer made them — they were to rest yet for a little season , until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed , as they were , should be fulfilled . for farther confirmation of this doctrine , which is of no small moment in our present argument ; i cannot but recommend that most full and excellent passage of the learned * grotius , in that place above cited . the natural love which we all by experience find our souls to have toward the body , is an undeniable evidence that the soul is in it self an imperfect substance , which by perfecting the body , is it self also perfected by obtaining its end . besides justice will not allow , that the body , which by the conduct and command of the soul has endured much , born the greatest part of all difficulties and conflicts here ; should have no share in the reward . — add to this , that it is not to be imagined but that the supream creator should propound some great end in erecting humane nature ; and that can be conceived to be no less than the happiness of the whole man : now the happiness of a part cannot be the happiness of the whole ; but god made the whole man. thus this most excellent man reasons on our side . to the same purpose we may not omit the * notion of the philosophers and schoolmen , ( which the learned author knows much better than i can tell him ) viz. that the soul hath as natural an inclination to be united to the body , as a light thing to mount upward ; beside , if the philosopher had been silent , this truth is undeniably established from the sacred authority but now alledg'd , viz. the earnest cries , and longing desires of the souls under the altar , to be again united to their bodies . nay this doctrine has not only been constantly maintained , but also carry'd on and advanced by the schoolmen ; who in this point are express and full , that the happiness of the saints shall be greater at the day of judgment than now it is or can be ; and they are so liberal withal as to give us the manner and reasons of it , why it is so , and how it is brought about ; † i. e. it is extensively augmented in the body which before lay in the grave under the enjoyment only of a negative happiness ; in an exemption from pain and a rest from all its labours : but is in reunion admitted to a positive one ; is after a long separation placed in copartnership with the soul , 2ly , 't is extensively augmented in the soul which rejoices at the new nuptials ; has no small satisfaction , complacency , pleasure , in the advancement and injoyment of his bride , after so long a separation and divorce . when two intimate friends that have not for many years seen one another , happily meet again , how great , how ravishing , how superlative is their joy ? if there be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth , as we are sure there is , luk. 15 , if it be one part of the happiness of the inhabitants of that jerusalem that is above , that they shall know their ancient acquaintance and relations with whom they have lived on earth , and sit down with them there , praising , exalting , congratulating each others condition , as is by many asserted , and is not at all improbable . this offers fairly for the proof of what the shools have here determined ; who in the procedure of the argument further tells , viz. that the happiness is intensively also advanced : forasmuch as the soul makes the body perfect ; for the support of which they produce the known axiom which is allowed of in all other cases , and therefore ought to pass muster here ; that every part is by its self imperfect , 't is perfected in the whole . 't is true , if we consider the body as it is represented by the school of plato , a sepulchre , a prison ; or really as it now is , a sink of infirmities , diseases , and indispositions ; an heavy load and weight , pressing down the soul. i do confess i see nothing beautiful or charming to make the soul in love with it . but when we shall draw the curtain , and change the scene , when we shall contemplate the glorious qualities wherewith it shall be enobled after the resurrection , when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption , and this mortal have put on immortality ; when it shall have obtained a most perfect victory not only over death , but all its troublesome antecedents and consequences also : the known miseries of this life , and the calamities of the grave ; when , i say , the body has surmounted all these , and sits above 'em ; this must induce us strongly to conclude for the argument in hand . if this be the case , ( as in truth it is ) the happiness of the saint must be advanced to such a degree , as surpasseth our understanding : all that we have to do is for ever to admire and adore . to conclude this part , 't is a truth too plain to be disputed , that the separate soulson all hands are not under the full injoyment of either rewards or punishments : that this is the case of the damned spirits , needs no laboriousness of proof , the single interrogation of those disposed in the gospel , mat. 8. 29. art thou come to torment us before the time ? alone is sufficient ; nor have we less evidence on the other hand . where-ever the souls of the departed saints under the law were , 't is certain they were not in heaven ; for the captain of our salvation was the first that opened those everlasting doors , and made his entrance there ; that went before to provide mansion places for his faithful ones . wherever the souls of the gospel-believers , since departed , have their residence , though ( as i believe , notwithstanding the determination of the council of florence , and others ) we can conclude nothing of certainty here ; nevertheless we have so much evidence that their state is imperfect ; as that i do not see how any man can have the forehead to deny . the nail of this doctrine is immovably fastned by the author to the heb. 11. and last , where after he had given a large catalogue of the most renowned saints departed , together with the records of their most noble atchievements ; says expresly , that all these having obtained a good report , through faith , received not the promise ; god having provided some better things for us , that they without us should not be perfect . in the meaning of which place there can be no doubt , because the stream of interpreters here run in one channel , altogether undivided ; all agreed that this is the sence . — the consummation of the happiness of those under the law shall not prevent those under the gospel ; the day of judgment is the stated time of both , whenthere shall be a general resurrection : the accomplishment of the great patriarchs under the old dispensation , must await ours under the new ; the labourors that entred the vineyard the first hour of the day , shall not be paid off before those that came in the last hour ; the wages of all is not to be expected before the end of all ; the promise refers to the resurrection , ( as was noted in the preamble ) and is put for the thing promised ; which can be no other than the glorification of our bodies in conjunction with our souls , and this makes the happiness compleat ; which shall not be conferr'd on some , before others , but shall be bestowed on all assembled together in a grand consistory at the last audit. this also is the professed doctrine of our church , as she has taught and injoyned us in her liturgy to pray , — beseeching god of his gracious goodness , shortly to accomplish the number of his elect ; and to hasten his kingdom ; that we , with all those departed in the true faith of his holy name , may have our perfect consummation and bliss both in body and soul in thy eternal and everlasting kingdom . a most heavenly prayer ; this being incomparably the best shield , buckler , the best antidote and preservative against the loss of friends , or the consideration of our own approaching mortality , ( with respect both to our selves and others ) to bouy up our spirits amidst the melancholy apprehensions of the rottentenness and miseries of the grave , and exalts us above the worms , and corruption of it ; directing us assuredly to know and believe that there is a time coming , when there will be an happy meeting of both ( though they are now with grief and rluctancy divided ) when the happiness of both shall be complete : and this is an authority undeniably authentick , and must ( for any thing i can see to the contrary ) strongly and irrefragably establish the doctrine contended for , viz. that our bodies are capable of cewards and punishments hereafter of doing well or evil here . chap. xi . the learned author having laid aside the opinions of tertullian , as not serviceable to his purpose ; not affording him a satisfactory reason of this decree of almighty god concerning the resurrection : to give a true accounr of it , thinks it necessary to mount a little higher , and to look a little farther and passing by many conjectures , which he finds in the schools , and in some of our ancient writers , and among the jewish masters ; p. 217. lays before you his own thoughts ; and here he assigns three reasons why god has been pleased to decree , that the soul in the day of judgment shall be again united to a humane body in discussing of which , i shall beg leave to invert the order of them , as more suitable to the method of my discourse , and for the advantage of my present argument ; which ( if i mistake not ) will gain one of those reasons over to our side and party , as falling over to it , and therefore ought to go together . the last reason , which i here place first , why god will restore us to our humane nature , and why he will raise up the very same body is , p. 219. he will because he will , a very bad reason for the actions of man , but a very good one for god's ; he will because he hath promised : which the learned author irrefragably confirms from what follows , p. 222. which i conceive my self obliged to transcribe ; and is as follows , — i am the lord , i have said it , and who can say , what dost thou ? there is nothing that god does , but he does for a very good reason : and who are we , that we should call him to an account for what he does ? his ways and his counsels are many of them unsearchable to us ; and as job tells us , chap. 33 , 13. he gives not account of any of his matter● 't is his part to act , ours to admire and submit ; and as long as our reason and our senses are not plainly contradicted , we are only to enquire what , not how , or why . i would fain know of those who deny the resurrection of the same humane body , because they do not know what use we can make of the particular parts in the life to come , whether they deny or doubt the existence of all other things ; the reason of which they cannot comprehend : i would undertake to quiet the scruples of these men , and to satisfie all their queries , if they would be pleased to answer a few questions of mine : i could ask them the reason of an hundred things in nature and divinity . — which he there supposes unaccconntable ; and particularly in the case about the resurrection , p. 221. he acknowledges a multitude of difficulties altogether inextricable , i. e. for which there is no reason to be given , and therefore must of necessity be resolved into this , viz. the will and pleasure of god. i willingly concur with the learned author here , and presume there is no one that will oppose him . for this without paradventure is the highest and most supream reason which must put to silence all objections ; remove all difficulties whatsoever , and make things which seem to us impossible , easie . though with mary we do not know how this can be , luke 1. 34 , though our reason cannot fathom , cannot comprehend it , yet our faith must give us an assurance that it will be ; and teach us , with the mother of the holy jesus , with submission to conclude , — behold the handmaid of the lord , be it unto me according to thy word . this is a reason above all reasons , allowed and approved of by all , and to which all others ( however philosophical and plausible ) must submit . this i gladly and readily note , because i expect to receive some advantage from it in the subsequent part of this discourse , for i am in hopes to prove the doctrine i have attempted to defend , to be the express determination of god's revealed will and word , and then all the most powerful arguments of the profoundest philosophers , must truckle under , and fall to the ground : but ( if i mistake not ) this reason of gods word or decree of the resurrection of the body , was not in the least the subject of the dispute : the question only arose from the reason of this decree . there can be no doubt but that the resurrection will be , because god hath said and ordained it : the subject of the enquiry can be no other than the reason of god's will and pleasure here ; namely why god has decreed the resurrection of the same body ; and this obliges the learned author to look farther ; and therefore , secondly , in the the next place he tells us , ( p. 219. ) that another reason why god has been pleased to ordain that the same humane body that died , shall rise again and be reconjoined to the soul ; i take to be this ( and that indeed i take to be the first and chief reason of that decree ) we had all been immortal men if adam had not sinned ; 't was god's design that we should never die , but that our souls should remain for ever united to their bodies ; this gracious design being frustrated by adam's transgression ; he was graciously pleased to ordain , that as in adam all die ; so in christ the second adam , we should all at last triumph over death , and be restored to those bodies ; and that humane nature , which he first designed should be immortal ; by the death and resurrection of christ our losses are to be repaired which adam's sin occasioned , but our losses cannot be repaired , unless we are restored to those bodies which by his sinning we lost . to this second reason i say , first , i have no mind to implunge my self , or reader in the decrees of almighty god , which is an abyss or ocean never to be fathomed : nor am i disposed to concern my self about the examination of that question , whether adam and his posterity had died if they had not sinned ? only i shall briefly and freely deliver my opinion in this matter . that it seems to me very probable that ( allowing the supposition of his and their continuance in their spotless purity ) he and his race after some time , like enoch or elias , or some other way , ( with analogy and resemblance to these , ) should have been translated ; for 't is no way conceivable , how that paradise , ( which was but a garden , as the word imports , and by the boundaries and description of it must be acknowledged a very small and inconsiderable part of the earth ) should have held , and contained him and his numberless issue in the state of innocency , which state must unavoidably by all be allowed , perfectly and intirely prolifick , absolutely free and dischargeb from all false conceptions or abortions , all impediments or indispositions whatsoever , on either side ; passing by all this , i say , that that which the learned author takes to be the first and chief reason of this decree of the resurrection , i take to be no reason at all , or at least to be no adequate reason of the general resurrection ; the utmost that it can pretend to , ( as it is here stated ) is only the resurrection of the just ; the reason is undeniable , for the learned author here sets it forth , and expresses it , by a gracious design , and the gracious pleasure of god. now how this can agree with , and include the resurrection on of the reprobate , let the world judge . the subject of our discourse is the resurrection of all men , of which the wicked are allowed by all to be by far the greater number . and this is a doctrine that can meet with no opposition ; that these are to be called out of their graves to an everlasting death , to be taken out of the common prison ; to be delivered over to tormentors ; to be cast into that dungeon whence there is no redemption ; where the worm dieth not , and the fire never shall be quenched ; where there is utter darkness and uninterrupted , weeping and gnashing of teeth . in a word , the resurrection of the wicked is only in order to a judgment that is altogether insupportable . he is like the worst of criminals taken from the gaol to undergo a much severer doom . his resurrection ushers in the tremendous sentence , depart , ye cursed , into everlasting fire , prepared for the devil and his angels . here the designs carry in them the advancement of divine vengeance , justice , and glory , without the least mite or crumb of grace or favour . the undone reprobate placed on the other side of the great gulf , is for ever excluded from all hopes of these ; not all his cries , in his greatest extremity , can prevail for one drop of water . there is no place for favour or mercy in hell , so that it seems to me somewhat strange , how the learned author came to take up this for a reason , and to alledge for confirmation of it , that passage of the apostle , ( 1 cor. 15. 22. ) as in adam all die , so in christ shall all be made alive . i am verily perswaded , that this place was never before understood of , or applied to the resurrection of the wicked , but of the righteous only . neque vivificantur omnes in christo , sed tantum qui christo adhaeserunt , saith the excellent cameron , ( eccl. tom . 10. ) and all commentatators go the same way : and indeed no one without offering manifest violence to the sacred text , can put any other interpretation on it , it being the chief design of the apostle in that chapter , ( as is evident from the whole carriage of it ) to set forth the glorious qualities attending the bodies of the righteous at the resurrection , without touching in the least on the other side : beside , we have most plentiful assurance , that christ's coming , his merits , death , and resurrection , are so far from being advantageous to all , that the quite contrary is undeniable . these ( greatest of favours ) shall sink those that have despised them into the lowest , deepest , darkest , and most dismal place of hell. to this purpose the prophet isaiah delivers himself expresly , chap. 8. ver . 24. he ( christ ) shall be for a stone of stumbling , and rock of offence to both the houses of israel ; for a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of jerusalem . which great truth two evangelists have left on record , matth. 21. 44. luke 20. 18. whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken ; but on whomsoever it shall fall , it shall grind him to powder . the very self-same doctrine is taught us by st. paul , rom. 9. ult . and prosecuted and amplified at large by st. peter , 1 epist. 2. 6 , seq . … beside , 't were an easie province to discharge this also from being a reason of the resurrection of the righteous , for 't is a truth that shineth as clear as the sun at noon-day , that this blessed change advances the saint to a state of happiness and glory , beyond what man could ever pretend to , had the still continued in his primitive purity . but this is not my business . wherefore i come to consider the third and remaining reason , assigned by the learned author , why the soul at the day of judgment is again to be united to the body ; which is as follows : p. 218. — that as we are men when we sin , or do well , so we may be men , when by a judicial sentence we are punished or rewarded for it : but we cannot be men , unless we have humane bodies . st. paul tells us , that we must all appear before the judgment-seat of christ , that every man may receive the things done in his body , according to that he hath done , whether it be good or bad . and as we are to give an account for what we did in the body ; so in the body we shall give an account , if it be reasonable that we should be men when we are punished or rewarded for what we did when men ; it seems much more reasonable , that we should be then the same men : but we cannot be the same men , unless we have the same bodies . chap. xii . i cannot here forbear with the philosopher , to cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and with an extasie of joy most willingly and gladly receive it . this certainly is a reason which must be allowed , approved of and applauded by all : a reason , which deserves the inscription of capital golden letters ; and , as job speaks , to be graven with an iron pen and lead in a rock for ever , job 19. 2. or , as the prophet jeremy expresses it , tho' in a different sense , to be written with a pen of iron , and the point a diamond , jer. 11. 1. this is that reason which , being in love with , i do earnestly contend for , and am very unwilling to lose , the great and standing reason of the resurrection , in all ages embraced , and commended by ael : which tho' the learned anthor has been pleased to censure , condemn , and throw aside as false and untrue , and to give us no less than three reasons for his justification ; yet here he ●akes it up again ; and notwithstanding his former reflections on it , give it a new reputation , and in his most studied , refined , and last reasons of this most important doctrine of the resurrection recommends it to the world in the first place ( as no doubt the flower and prime of all ) . nay , what is more , he sets it on the foundation of an infallible authority , ( 2 cor. 5. 10. ) which at present i shall wave , because i design to consider 〈◊〉 it at large in the latter part of this discourse , industriously reserving it , as the finishing and concluding nail wherewith to fix the doctrine , and render it immoveable . there is ( i confess ) some variation in the words , and manner of expression ; but in the sense there is very little , or none at all ; if it be otherwise , i must openly confess my ignorance : i appeal ( in this as in other cases ) to the impartial reader . i always have , and ever will pay the learned authora just deference and regard . i honour and admire him for his great worth , his vast reading , and his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , his manifold learning , and i look upon it almost an offence to differ from him . but i hope he will pardon my presumption , for i cannot help it : and 't is no small comfort to me , tho' we formerly differed , yet we are now perfectly agreed , ( the variation of a few words only excepted ) : what he calls reasonable , i call equitable and just ; what he calls man , that i can understand no other than his soul and body united , ( which are allowed by all to be the two essential parts of his constitution ) for my part , i see no other difference . the ancients and modern , and in a manner all divines , ( as has been above acknowledged , and proved at large ) say , that the resurrection is founded upon justice ; i. e. that the same body is to be united to the same soul hereafter , that both may receive either rewards or punishments , according to their merits or demerits here . the learned author says expresly , that 't is reasonable we should be men when , we are punished or rewarded for what we did when men. and further adds , that it seems much more reasonable that we should be the same men : which to my understanding is all one . chap. xiv . having hitherto attempted the vindication of this great catholick doctrin , to give some satisfaction to the objections brought against it , and to rescue it from captivity . having also considered at large the opinions of tertullian to this purpose , and the three reasons assigned by the learned doctor . that which remains now is to lay down some considerations for the safeguard and protection of it for the time to come , and i shall divide them into two ranks , viz. considerations drawn from , first , reason . secondly , scripture . i begin with the first , in order whereunto i beg this as a modest postulatum which i conceive cannot be denied me , verily there is a reward for the righteous doubtless he is a god that judgeth the earth , the judge of the whole earth must do right , gen. 18. 25. justice is one of the most signal attributes of the divine nature , more frequently and eminently ascribed unto him above the rest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , justice ( says the heathen ) is the eye of god , he will and must sooner or later render unto every man ( without respect of person ) according to his doings . first , now it is undeniable both from the frequent assertions of solomon and other holy penmen , together with the universal experience of all ages ; that the course of it is interrupted , suspended , darkened , nay inverted in the present administration of affairs here . all things come alike to all , there is one event to the righteous , and to the wicked , to the good and to the clean and to the unclean , to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not , as is the good so is the sinner , and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath , eccl. 9. 3. here just men perish in their righteousness and wicked men prolong their lives in their wickedness , eccl. 7. 15. with a multitude of other places to the same purpose . the matter of fact has always appeared so plain and visible as that there has no attempt at any time been made against it ; but constantly allowed as an undoubted aphorism . upon all occasions taken up and made the out-cry , the stumbling block , the grand objection against providence . it were an easy matter to enlarge here ; and to report the loud and heavy charges of the * heathens in this arguments as also the frequent complaints of holy men † it may suffice to my purpose only to note how that the wicked are so far from being treated according to their deserts in this life , as that the contrary for the most part is bestowed on them , they go away with the riches , pleasures , honours , are accomodated with the prosperity , pomp , and grandure of the world. secondly , t is also certain that the wickedness of some is so superlatively great , as that it cannot be sufficiently punished in this life , by all that can be inflicted on them , the repetition and accumulation of a multitude of crimes , each of which is in its own nature and by the law , capital , must be acknowledged too great to be compensated by one single death . he that has ran through the whole circle of sin ( as the case may be stated ) tho he be handled according to the severest method , both of shame and punishments can make no equivalent or tolerable satisfaction for the same . the firebrand of the world , who with the furys of war has destroyed countrys , depopulated nations , sent thousands of souls to the other world in their blood and sins , can make no sufficient attonement , by all that he can do or suffer here . thirdly , nor is it less evident on the other side , that the good man does not ( i may safely say ) oftentimes cannot receive a just recompence for all his doings and sufferings here ; he is encompassed with so thick a cloud of miseries , that his whole life is but one continued conflict , with hardships and difficulties , from the first to the last scene , the most doleful of tragedies . like the poor begger in the gospel , he has a full measure of evil things , is pinched with cold , hunger , nakedness , boyls and sinks under his complicated calamities : or like the great apostle ( 2 cor. 11. 25 , &c. ) can give us a black role of miseries that have on every side attended him thro the whole race of his life , and have been his inseparable companions to the grave : this was more especially the case of these devout christians that lived in the fiery days of persecution , and has been and will always be , more or less , of pious souls to the world's end . now if we reflect on these passages with a thorough , and serious consideration , what conclusion can we possible draw from hence ? shall we take an occasion upon this account as the heathens have done , to arreign the justice of heaven , with open mouth to charge god foolishly , or as we find holy men sometimes muttering . tush ! god hideth away his face , and he doth not see , there is no knowledge in the almighty , then have i cleansed my heart in vain , and washed my hands in innocency , it is vain to serve god , what profit is there in it . no , verily these are illogical and false inferences , from these irregularities and failures here , we must firmly conclude there is a time approaching , when the supreme judge will set all things at rights , i. e. there is a resurrection , which is attended with impartial justice to all , this i am sure is the great use which the royal psalmist points at and directs us to , psal . 94. 14 , 15. the lord will not cast off his people , neither will he forsake his inheritance , but judgment shall return unto righteousness . tho now they are at a distance , yet they shall shake hands and meet again , and then the wicked shall be punished , and the godly rewarded . this i am sure is the improvement st. paul makes of it , 2 thes . 1. 5. where speaking of the persecutions and tribulations which the saints endured , calls them a manifest token of the righteous judgment of god. not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not an example but demonstration ; tho' now the order of justice be inverted , tho' the wicked which deserve punishment are far from it , tho they prosper and triumph , are florishing and spreading like the cedars in lebanus , and you that are well deserving , are rudely and barbarously treated , you are to look on this as an undeniable evidence , that there is a day of review approaching , when justice shall be done to all ; this is undeniably the meaning of our apostle here , as appears not only from the expression but also from what follows , where he expatiates on the argument . that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of god , for which ye also suffer ; seeing it is a righteous thing with god to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you , and to you who are troubled rest , when the lord jesus shall be revealed from heaven , with his mighty angels in flaming fire , taking vengeance on them that know not god , and obey not the gospel of our lord jesus christ , who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord , and from the glory of his power , when he shall come to be glorified in his saints , and to be admired in all them that believe in that day . the natural and genuine interpretation of which place can be no other than if the apostle had said , have but a little patience and the scene will be inverted , those who afflict and persecute you shall pay dearly for it , and you that now suffer shall be gloriously rewarded at the resurrection of all , which is designed for justice to all men , and to every part of man. lastly , from the foregoing experiences ( which must be allowed ) there can no inference be thought on more reasonable than that which the same apostle has elsewhere repeated , acts 17. 30. that god hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness . for the farther improvement of the argument , i think fit to recommend in the next place those various parables in the gospel so often mentioned ; of the labourers , of the talents , of the husbandmen : for 't is undeniable that all these have a manifest tendency to the business in hand . all these are to be considered , and according to their behaviour treated , upon the return of the great lord at the end of the day , and of their work , in all which we have a special and exact account of every man's recompence according to his works ; justice in all the proceedings being made the standing rule and measure , and the resurrection , the unalterable time , and so by consequence appositely answers our present design . in all these cases we have the repeated declaration of that great judge , that he will give to all what he promised , what is right , what properly belongs unto him . he that hid his talent meets with a hard but equitable doom : he that improved it is advanced : in a word , the loiterer ( eo nomine ) is punished as such , and the faithful labourer is promoted . the treatment of all here is proportioned to their former doings and deservings . so we find it expresly noted by st. luke 19. 17. he who had received five pounds , and by his industry had gained five more , is kindly received with the character of a good and faithful servant , and because of his ten pounds , has authority given him over ten cities ; and so with proportion in the next example , he whose pound had gained five , has a suitable command over five cities . nor have we less evidence of the point in hand , from the rewards , the wages , the recompense of reward ; which are phrases that ever and anonoccur in holy writ . all these are well known to be metaphorical and relative terms ; and therefore for a right understanding , necessarily direct us to the correlative ; and that can be no other than the whole man : all his actions , all his deeds , all his merits , shall be taken into consideration ; the traffick of his whole life is brought upon examination , and accordingly he shall receive the returns of them ; at the setled time of the resurrection . nor may we omit the diversities and degrees of rewards and punishments , which attend the bodies of men in the other world , and can result from nothing but justice ; for as it is the essence of it to take care to punish the evil doer , and to reward the man of merit : so is it no less to dispence both with respect to the deservings of either . this is the method of all tribunals here below , and is industriously observed ( as himself has assured us ) by the judge above . to this purpose all governments have provided great varieties of all kinds , to answer the infinite cases that come before them , and how plentifully in this the supream governour is accommodated , the magna charta of heaven will not suffer us to be ignorant . forasmuch then as there are in that everlasting dungeon below different stations , or at least punishments provided for such as shall by a dreadful sentence be fixed there ; of which ( to pass by all others ) the tremendous woes pronounced against corazin and capernaum , tire and sidon , the outer darkness and greater damnation are undeniable evidences ; it roundly follows that the hand of justice is conspicuous in all this : on the other side , forasmuch as there are many mansions , higher and lower places of honour and glory prepared for the bodies of the saints in the empyraean heaven , of the truth of which we are so abundantly secured , as that it would be a weak ●upererogation to attempt the proof . we are by all the rules of reason and logick to make the same conclusion as heretofore ; it being scarcely possible to derive it from any other cause . if the bodies of the twelve apostles ( for the promise cannot be applied to their souls only , because it is to be made good after the resurrection , and at the day of judgment ) are hereafter to be seated upon twelve thrones , as judges and assessors of the twelve tribes of israel , i. e. of all mankind . if the sons of zebedee ; the martyr'd saints , some of those of the highest form shall fill those immediate places of the right hand , and of the left hand of christ of his kingdom . if the eminent christians in the gentile world shall come from the east and from the west , and take their places next to abraham , isaac , and jacob , the great patriarchs of the promise . if those that have beaten down their bodies , and brought them into subjeicton ( by their unwaried wrestling with the flesh have obtained a victory over it here ) shall receive the advantage thereof in their exaltation above : if ( as the apostle speaks ) every man shall receive his own reward according to his labour , 1 cor. 3. 8. if those that have done and suffered more in this life ; are carried on and encouraged thereto , from an infallible assurance of a suitable retaliation : that is to say , of an emminent and proportionable recompence at the resurrection of the just ; it is i think to any man who will not shut his eyes against the light , a plain case , viz. in all this the justice of god is signal and conspicuous . hither tend the advancements of glory appropriated and applied by the ancients and schoolmen to three sorts of men ; more especially , first , to the famous preachers of the gospel , who with the great apostle did very gladly spend and were spent , laboured more abundantly in the vineyard . of the truth of this there can be no doubt , since truth it self has assured us , that they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament , and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever , dan. ult . 3. and that the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the father , mat. 13. 43. and this is farther and more fully confirmed in the above mentioned promise of twelve thrones to the first heralds of the gospel . secondly , to such as have kept themselves unspotted from the flesh , have adorned their conversation with purity and chastity , and have fought valiantly and victoriously in this warfare . this is asserted by the prophet isaiah , in a lofty and rhetorical strain , ( as his custom is ) chap. 54. 4 , 5. thus saith the lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths , and chuse the things that please me , and take hold of my covenant , even to them will i give in mine house , and within my walls , a place and a name , better than of sons and of daughters : i will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off . this is alluded to by our blessed saviour , mat. 19. 12. and emphatically noted by st. john , rev. 14. 4. where those pure virgins that were not desiled with women are represented , dignified with extraordinary marks of glory above others , v. 5. they sung a new song which no man could learn , they were admitted to follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth , and are called expresly the first fruits unto god and unto the lamb. thirdly , the noble army of martyrs , who have chearfully for the testimony of the faith and a good conscience , suffered the most cruel torments that men or devils could inflict given their bodies to the● wild beasts and to the flames . there can be no dispute of the truth of this point neither , forasmuch as that it is 〈◊〉 confirmed by the testimony of the infallible spirit which assigns an eminency of happiness to those that were slain for the word of god , and for the testimony which they held , white robes were given unto them , rev. 6. 9 , 10. and positively pronounces the right hand , and left hand , the principal places in the kingdom of heaven to belong to those that have drank of christ's cup , and been baptised with his baptism , mat. 20. 22. to this purpose excellent is the animadversion of st. augustine , videbimus in illo regno in corporibus martyrum vulnerum cicatrices , quae pro christi nomine pertulerunt non enim deformitas in eis , sed dignitas erit & quaedam quamvis in corpore non corporis sed virtutis pulchritudo fulgebit . civ . dei l. 19. c. 3. we shall see in heaven in the bodies of the martyrs , the marks of those wounds which they received for christ's sake ; and these will be no deformity , but an honour to them ; the beauty of their grace● will gloriously shine forth through these impressions . and again this great father to the same purpose has noted , in cicatricibus martyrum , sole fulgidioribus extabit martyrii gloriosissimum monumentum , non autem ullum corporis glorificati dehonestamentum . civ . dei , l. 6. 22. cap. 19. in the scars of the bodies of the martyrs , brighter than the sun , shall shine forth the most glorious trophy of martyrdom . we all allow it for the honour and reputation of a souldier to shew the foot steps of those wounds which he received in fighting valiantly for his king and countrey . and indeed this consideration makes this opinion very probable ; 't is generally admitted by the schools and others , and in the main , cannot be denied ; and in my apprehension does not a little contribute to the support of that doctrine which is our business to establish ; if the bodies of some of the saints in heaven shall be signalized with characters of advancement of glory , they are certainly capable of rewards . for the farther improvement of the argument , i desire that it may be observed , how that the resurrection and judgment are so interwoven and twisted together , as that the one cannot be separated from the other ; 't is a truth which neither can nor will be denied ; that the one is in order to the other ; and as at the assizes here below , when the court is set , the persons concerned are brought from preson to the bar , in order to their trials : so it is in this last and general assize , the supream judge sends out his officers to remand all out of their graves , from all quarters of the world , to make their personal appearance , to answer to their charge , and abide the final determination of this last audit. and though there may and will be to the end of the world , prevarications , failures , and deviations , in the proceedings of all earthly tribunals , yet this highest court of justice must be acknowledged by all to be altogether exempt from these : 't is placed beyond the possibility of the least miscarriage . well then , the reason of the resurrection is the judgment which is immediately to follow after it ; and if our bodies are not concerned in the business transacted , what do they make here ? if they are no other than instruments only , their appearance is altogether needless , of which we have a full assurance by all the methods of judicature upon earth . to what purpose should almighty god put himself to the expence of a miracle , which must be allowed by all equivalent with the creation ? to what purpose , i say , does the omnipotent power in a more extraordinary and eminent manner exert it self , in rallying together ther the confused and scattered atoms of all mankind , in bringing them back to their ranks and files , to the same station and order in which they formerly stood ; would he ( think you ) do all this were our bodies no more than tools ? credat judaeus apell● ..... is this suitable to the solemnity of this great day when all the world shall be present , and all the concerns of all mankind from first to last adjusted ; what must the archangel be sent before to prepare the way , with his mighty voice and trump of god to rouze all out of their graves , to make their personal appearance ? what must the son of god leave the bosom and right hand of his father , and now a second time come down in the clouds of heaven , attended and environed with miriads of his holy angels , exalted on his throne to sit in judgment on things altogether insensible , altogether incapable of doing good or evil , altogether incapable of rewards and punishments ? i cannot conceive how such an imagination should find any the least entertainment with a man of reason ; was there ever such a thing heard of as a most magnificent tribunal erected , with all the most solemn preparations and attendants , to examine , arraign , try , and condemn meer stocks and stones , senseless clods of earth ; which never were capacitated either to commit sin , or feel pain ? now the no●ion of phylosophy with which we are at present engaged , seems to charge the supreme tribunal with all this , for it , says expresly and totidem verbis , viz. the body is not capable either of sinning , or doing well , the arm which stabbs sins no more than the sword , the body is not sensible , is not capable of any reward or punishment , page 210. if then it can be made appear , that our bodies are in an especial manner concerned in the business and determination of this great and terrible day , there needs no farther proof , to bring the former absurdities home , and fix them here . now , that they are so , seems abundantly evident , and undeniable . 1. because the souls of all men departed had passed their judgment before ; immediately upon their respective dissolutions , the eternities of them all were stated , and they accordingly invested ( tho their bodies slept in their dormitories ) . secondly , all the apparatus , the concomitants , and attendance of this day proclaim this aloud . this the effectual call of the heavenly pr●●o that commands them out of their ●eds of dust , this that irresistable power which brings them to the bar , this their place and posture of standing there , this the examination and inspection into their former lives , this their remuneration accordingly , in a word , this the whole process of the day doth abundantly testifie . when a person is remanded from the goal , and brought directly before the bench , when his indictment is read , when he is impleaded , when the witnesses are examined , when an exact scrutiny is made , when he is found guilty , and sentence is pronounced against him : no one in his right senses can doubt who was the party concerned at the tryal . nor is it less than a contradiction in terms to imagine that this party thus handled , thus proceeded against , properly speaking , was not capable of doing good or evil , was not sensible , was not capable of rewards or punishments . thirdly and lastly , to strengthen what we have here asserted , and to secure it from the attack of the philosopher , i desire it may be observed : how that the holy , scriptures are on our side , and seem to countenance this truth . st. john does frequently tell us that the dead were judged — and our blessed saviour in no less than three places , is described by this periphrasis , a judge both of the quick and the dead , act. 10. 42. 1 tim. 4. 1. 1 pet. 4. 5. there is no need of a comment here . the word dead puts all out of doubt , it being properly applicable to our bodies only . our souls are ( by the allowance of all ) pronounced immortal ; and in the sense of the scripture here , neither are or can be subject to death . so that here , if any where , the caveat of the apostle ought duly to be regarded . col. 2. 8. beware least any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit . from this passage we are plainly taught that there is a sort of philosophy , both vain and deceitful , and how prejudicial it has been to divinity , no one ( any way conversant with the learned ) can possibly be ignorant . hence valentinus owes his heresie , hence marcion his , the jews ( in our saviour's time ) has suckt in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of pythagoras to the corrupting of their religion . and without doubt the aereal notions derived from the school of plato led the most learned origen aside in his doctrine about the resurrection , upon this account it was that the jews in the days of the maccabees enacted a prohibition against philosophy , and the known character that tertullian gives them ( petriarchas haereticorum ) can be derived from no other cause . of this stamp ( if i mistake not ) is the philosophy before us , fallacious and deceitful ( as i have above represented it , ) and therefore we ought to be careful , and fearful of it ; the surest way not to be entangled with it , is to lay it aside : what , tho the subtile philosopher , urge me with a syllogism which i am not able to answer , nor , ( as is by him ingeniously confessed ) himself neither ? what , tho he by his logick entangles me in a difficulty which is not easily effoyled ? i am notwithstanding all his quirks to be tenaceous of that truth , which i have all the reason in the world ( except his fallacy ) to believe . when the philosopher urged a strong and as was supposed an irresistable argument against motion , the respondent gave him a sufficient answer and confutation by his walking . the case comes home , the body is expresly summoned to appear and must be concluded a party , notwithstanding all that the philosopher has to say against it . the sophister then here labours in the fire , all his deceitful logick will never be able to perswade men of understanding that the body is barely the instrument of the soul , t is ( as he has been often told ) a part , an essential part , the one half of the man , which as such is properly and directly concerned in the negotiations traffick and actions of this state of probation , and so unavoidably interested in the account and as a party together with the soul to answer for all ; and to stand or fall accordingly . t is not to be denyed that our senses are the great inletts of sin , and therefore ought to be allowed the proper subjects of punishment , in order whereunto t is observable how that the greatest part of the torments of hell which we find mentioned in its black catalogue seem in a peculiar and proper manner to be marked out , and intended to this very purpose , as most offensive and displeasing to them : for example here is darkness , than which nothing can be more offensive to the sight , and to make it full here is utter darkness . is fire injurious to the touch ? here t is with a witness most frequently assigned as the greatest severest part of hell. and that the smell should not escape scotfree , here is an addition of brimstone . and farther to affect the organs of seeing and hearing ; there are two other punishments expresly assigned to the damned , viz. weeping and wailing , which ( unless we will interpret all these metaphorically , contrary to the judgment of all ) must be applyed to the body . in a word , the argument is clearly on our side , it being the doctrine of all ( without exception ) that there are in that dungeon below , punishments provided for and appropriated to both parts . lastly , the elaborate treatise of the learned author seems to me a full answer and confutation of the objections . he has proved the resurrection of the same body , from the antidiluvian patriarchs , the jews , the abissines , peruvians , prussians , brasilians , &c. — from all the heathens — he has proved it to have been the doctrine of the primitive fathers ; of the councils ; of the creeds ; of the scriptures : answered all the objections against it , and can it be supposed that he should take so much pains to no purpose , does he in all this learned undertaking contend de lana caprina ? it must be confessed and allowed nothing less if the body be barely an instrument , a machine ; if it be not sensible ; materiam superabat opus , certainly he has stooped his noble pen to too ignoble a subject , he might very well have spared his labour : to what end should the same body arise if it never were capable of doing good or evil , neither can be of rewards or punishments ? no verily , by this accomplished work , he has obliged the world , and done the church good service , effectually proclaimed aloud the truth , which is here contended for . the resurrection of the same body carries in the very bowel of it a judgment , together with the consequences of it . and if it be necessary that the same body should appear , the actions of the former life , are unavoidably fastned to it , together with the sutable rewards of that which is to come . chap. xv. if these sentiments were not ( as we conceive them to be the suggestions of reason ) to mount in the argument a little higher , come we to divine revelation , and to enquire what authorities we can find here for the support of it . for if our reason of the resurrection receive any countenance from the sacred oracles ; it s above the shock of the philosopher , and can no more be impressed by all his notions , than the creation of the world could be overturned by the known axiom of the great stagyrite , ex nihilo nihil fit , out of nothing nothing can be made . i begin with two noted authorities of our saviour , which because of a near affinity to each other , i shall join here in one : that of our saviour in his sermon on the mount , mat. 5. 30. together with that of the twelve apostles when he gave them their commission , and instructed them in their duty , mat. 10. 28. for if thy right eye offend thee , pluck it out and cast it from thee ; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish , and not thy whole body should be cast into hell : and if thy right hand offend thee cut it off , and cast it from thee , for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. and in the second , fear not them which kill the body , but are not able to kill the soul , but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell — in both which places we are again and again assured that the bodies of men , as well as souls are liable to the punishments of hell , unless we can imagine that christ here intended to alarm the world with a brutum fulmen , an ineffectual threat ( which is most impious to conceive . ) to what purpose should he give such frequent advertisements as those , if hell were not to be the portion of evil bodies ? the casting into hell and destroying in hell are applied to bodies ; it can be understood in no other sense but as a commination or affirmation , that they shall be doomed upon their miscarriages here to the severest torments in that region below . if men do not pluck out their right eyes , cut off their right hand — they are in danger of implunging the whole in the lake that burns with fire . if men do not fear god above men , their bodies as well as souls are in danger of hell fire . so that from these two places , all those conclusions follow , and appear as clear as chrystal diametrically contrary to what the learned author would have us to believe , viz. first , that our bodies are capable of punishments because liable to be cast into hell. secondly , that they are capable of doing evil at present , because that portion of misery is here denounced against them , hell being provided for none but the wicked . and the two opposites to these are altogether as apparent . first , our bodies are capable of doing well here , we can cut of our right hand — we can fear god , or else it had never been here intimated as our duty . and lastly , if we live in the discharge of our duty , our bodies shall be admitted to glorious enjoyments in the other world. for this in the antithesis is manifestly applied . the first authority that i produce , shall be that of the apostle , rom : 2. where after he had pronounced the sinner inexcusable who committed the same sins which he condemned in others ; and charged him with the sure judgment of god , which is according to truth from his impenitency and perseverance in it , tells him , verse 5. that he thereby treasureth up to himself wrath against the day of wrath , and revelation of the righteous judgment of god , who will render to every man according to his deeds ; to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory , and honour , and immortality , eternal life ; but to them that are contentius , and do not obey the truth , indignation and wrath , tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil , of the jew first , and also of the gentile : but glory , honour , and peace to every man that worketh good , , to the jew first and also to the gentile , for there is no respect of persons with god. if this text be well considered , it will afford a good argument ; in order whereunto it is worthy our observation . first , how that the man is through the whole course of it charged both with the sin and consequences of it ; as in the 1 , 3 , 6 , and 11. verses . o man. … secondly , that he is said to treasure up wrath , by which elegant metaphor , nothing less can be signified , than that his sins are kept in a safe reconditory to be brought forth against the man in the great day of reckoning . thirdly , he is also here infallibly certified of the justice of all the proceedings then , and that 1st , from the nature of the judgment it self , 't is righteous . 2dly , from the character of the judge set forth by this paraphrase , who will render to every man according to his deeds ; which most certainly carries an accent and emphasis with it , being so often in scripture repeated , as psal . 62. 12. mat. 16. 27. rev. 22. 12. 3dly , by another property which makes his justice altogether as conspicuous . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he is no respecter of persons . fourthly , we have here withal a large amplification of the different states which attend all according to their deserts . lastly , so universal is this last scrutiny as that no man whatsoever is exempt from it , neither jew nor gentile ; that is , no person at all , the argument from this authority runs thus . there is a time coming when all men ( which unavoidably supposes the conjunction of both parts ) shall make their personal appearance before a most righteous judge , when all their deeds , of what kind soever , shall be brought upon the stage , and they impartially treated without any other respects but their deservings . when , as st. athanasius's creed expresseth it , all men shall rise with their bodies , and give an account of their works ; and they that have done good , shall go into life everlasting , and they they that have done evil , into everlasting fire . and what is this but justice both with respect to body as well as soul ? for both are here joined together , and one is the inseparable concomitant of the other . the second authority which i offer for the confirmation of the doctrine which i endeavour to vindicate , is john 5. 28. marvel not at this , for the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice , and shall come forth ; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life , and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation . to bring my text home to the argument , we are necessitated to look back into the context ; where we find the occasion to be the cure of a paralitical man , who had laboured under this chronical disease for no less a space than 38 years , at which the spectators deservedly wonder ; whereupon our blessed saviour gives them an account of a much stranger thing than this — namely , of the resurrection of the bodies of all men from the first to the last , at the end of the world ; marvel not at this , for the hour cometh when all that are in their graves , &c. my observation from this place for the advantage of my argument , is , first , we have here a resurrection ( how strange soever and impossible it may seem to be ) confirmed and established from the mouth of christ himself ; and secondly , we have here the consequence of the resurrection , and the main reason of it ( which is the matter of our dispute ) and i most willingly appeal to the reason of all mankind , whether it be not manifestly held forth in the latter clause ; for tho the illative be suppressed , yet t is manifestly implyed , and the latter part is exegetical , i. e. gives us the reason of the former . the bodies of good men are to rise again , and to enjoy everlasting happiness , and the bodies of the wicked are to be united to their souls , to suffer those punishments , in conjunction now , which their sins , committed in their former union , have deserved . the most natural sense of the place is , as if christ had said , all men shall rise , that they that have done good , may go into life everlasting , and that they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation . the third and next text is rev. 20. 12 , 13. i saw the dead , small and great stand before god , and the books were opened ; and another book was opened , which is the book of life , and the dead were judged out of these things which were written in the books , and the sea gave up the dead which were in it , and death and hell deliver'd up the dead which were in them , and they were judged every man according to their works . in this vision st. john represents the general resurrection , under the popular scheme of a grand assize ( with allusion in all probability to the like passages of the prophets daniel and malachy , dan. 7. 10. mal. 3. 16. ) at which time the books of records , containing the indictments and charges of those summoned to appear , are produced , faithfully read and examined : and as these are found , so do the persons at the bar , either stand or fall : even so is it to all intents and purposes at the resurrection , tho there will be no real written books of registers , but the metaphorical ones of god's omniscience , and every man's conscience ( which carries in it the whole work of the court , all the officers of it ) we are hereby infallibly secured of the accuracy of justice in all the proceedings . every line and clause of this text affords us ample evidence of the doctrine we contend for : as the bodies of all men shall arise to be brought to judgment , so shall all their actions be laid open , carefully scanned , weighed and exaamined , to make the sentence righteous . of which the books ( that is , the accounts , charges , and works contained in them ) are the unvariable measure and rule inviolably to be observed by the supreme judge in the final determinations of all men. now that the force of the argument of this text may not be eluded , i desire the reader to consider these three remarks . first , the dead are raised in order to their tryal , and therefore must by all be allowed in a special manner concerned . secondly , 't is said expresly that the dead were judged , which cannot be referred to the souls of men ( which are immortal , no ways subject to death in the sense here ) it must therefore by an unavoidable necessity be understood of the bodies , and so by consequence all the business of this judgment , from first to the last , both the works and remuneration fastned here . and for the full assurance of which , it ought to be , thirdly , farther noted , how that 't is twice repeated in the close of both the verses — the dead were judged out of these things which were written in the books — and they were judged every man according to their works . fourthly , after these i cannot pass by that of heb. 6. 10. god is not vnrighteous , to forget your work and labour of love in ministring to the saints . for our encouragment in well doing , the apostle directs us , to cast our eyes on the recompence of reward which shall attend good and charitable men at last , and secures us in this , that righteousness ( which is the same with justice ) shall be the standard of it , and clearly implies that if god should forget , should not recompense the saint according to his works , he would be unrighteous . fifthly , nor may we omit that infallible assurance which we have received from the mouth of our blessed saviour in that full place mat. 25. 31. &c. where we have a large account of the resurrection and judgment , together with the method , rule , and reasons of both . the cursed sentence which shall be passed on the bodies as well as souls of the wicked ( for they are now both joyned together ) has respect to the sins which in their former conjunction they committed , the one is assigned the express reason of the other . so it runs , depart ye cursed into everlasting fire , &c. for i was an hungred and ye gave me no meat , &c. here the illative , for , is allowed by all perswasions , protestants as well as papists , to be causal . and the whole man was concerned in the sin and must be joyned in the punishment , and tho' in the adverse part , when the welcome invitation is given , come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom , &c. for i was an hungred and ye gave me meat . … some divines of the reformation , will not have it here to signifie the cause but the consequence , to avoid the force of the argument for meritoriousness of good works , which seems to me a very strange distinction ( and as i conceive in the present case altogether needless ) for god may , ought , and will reward us for our good works ; not for any real merit of condignity in them , but because he hath been pleased out of his goodness and bounty , to give us his gracious promises so to do , and upon this account is obliged to make good his word ; but be this how it will , so much is certain , and must be acknowledged by all , it is the main drift and design of our blessed saviour in the whole discourse , to represent our actions here done in the body , to be the square and measure of that judgment which suitably shall attend both body and soul hereafter . sixthly , after all this i might here call in to our assistance , the profess●d argument of the apostle , 1 cor. 15. on the present subject ; but i have considered this in the beginning of this discourse : i shall therefore now dismiss it with a remark , or two . as , first , how he represents the resurrection , as the basis of christian religion : he secures us of the certainty of it , displays for our comfort the glorious qualities of bodies then : encourages us to persevere in doing good here , from an assurance that our labour will not be in vain hereafter ; intimating in the expression by an elegant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a most transcendent incomparable reward : which must of necessity be applyed to the body , whereunto the design of the whole chapter tends . for it must be acknowledged by all , the main end of it : now the reason of all , can result from no other principle , or at least none so considerable as this , viz. that we have to do with a god who will reward every man according to his work ; which fully comes up to what i am to prove . can any one imagine that there would be so much ado about our bodies , if they were not capable of an exalted injoyment in heaven ? no verily , we may depend upon the truth of the contrary ( let the philosopher say what he pleases ) for the same apostle has elsewhere assigned this as the reason of it , phil. 3. last , god shall change our vile body , that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body ; because our conversation is in heaven . our citizenship lies there ; we are free of that jerusalem above , and this angelical alteration is in order to our investiture into all the unspeakable privileges of it . in short , the tendency of the whole chapter resolves it self into this . that christians , notwithstanding all the discouragments in the way , ought to go on with resolution and chearfulness in the discharge of their duty , upon the assurance of a resurrection ; when their bodies as well as their souls shall receive a recompence for all ; and if this be the case of the saint ( as it is here plainly and fully represented ) what the state and condition of the sinner will be upon his resurrection we may easily conclude , not only from the topick of contraries , but also because he is to bring his works along with him to the judgment-seat , and according to these shall receive his sentence of him , who will , must , and can do no other , than judge the world in righteousness . seventhly , i shall mention but one text more , 2 cor. 5. 10. for we must all appear before the judgment-seat of christ , that every man may receive the things done in his body according to what he hath done , whether it be good or bad . this is the very scripture which the learned author alledges for the confirmation of his reason for the resurrection , viz. that as we are men when we do well , or sin , so 't is reasonable that we should be men , when we are rewarded or punished for it . which , as was intimated before , is the same doctrin with ours . and this is that invictus cunaeus , that invincible fort which can never be taken , which will and must maintain the great standing reason of the resurrection against the assaults of the philosopher , being above them all . this is that place which we have industriously reserved as the last and surest nail , to fix the doctrine , and render it immoveable : this is that place which expresses and proclaims it as loudly and plainly as letters , words , and syllables can do it . i do not see how 't is possible for any one ( that is not irresistibly perverse ) to avoid the force of it . for here our bodies are cited before this tribunal , and all the actions of our lives are brought with them , to be reviewed , scanned over , sentenced and judged ; all the actions of all sorts of men , without exception — whether good or bad. and the proper wages of either is to be given accordingly , and that in statu composito , the whole man , his body as well as soul. there are a multitude of elegancies observable in the words , the chief of which i cannot forbear to note . as , first , the necessity of the resurrection in order to a judgment , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , we must appear , which gives us sure grounds to conclude that our bodies are more than instruments , that they are in an especial manner concerned in the business of the bench. no upright , full judgment can be passed without them . secondly , we have here the manner of it , significantly set out in the idium of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , appear clearly as in the light , manifestly to be laid open in every part , all that ever was done in the body must appear with it . thirdly , the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as some copies read it ; the body is brought to answer for the proper things it did here , and ea quae corpori debentur , as another of the learned has paraphrased it : the body shall receive the things which are due , which of right belong unto it ; sicut justitia dicitur , suum cuique dare , as another of the criticks comments it ; and this is the very nature of justice , that every body shall have the proper reward which is exactly suitable to his work . and congruenter ad id quod gessit , as another of no small repuration has given us the sense of it : the judgment of every body shall be tongruous and correspondent to his actions . we see the main indictment is against the body , and all the deeds done in the former life are applied to it , and according to these it is we are either to stand or fall . fourthly , 't is farther to be noted how that st. paul expresses himself by a trope a metonymie of the cause for the effect , the works for the wages , the things done in the body , for what is due unto them and if this be not plainly enough exprest to remove all scruples , cavils , doubts and gain-sayings , we have here , lastly , the reason of all this assigned by the infallible spirit , — that every man may receive the things done in his body , according to what he has done , whether it be good or bad . … which sounds to me , as if the apostle had said , to this very end , to this very intent , for this very purpose , for this very reason , the process of the day of judgment requires the appearance of our bodies , as well as souls , that justice may be done to both . i can make no other construction of it . that every man may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done , whether it be good or bad. upon the whole i declare , that ever since i met with the objections of the learned author against it , i have been scarcely able to put the thoughts of it out of my head ; and the more i considered it , the more i am in love with , the more i am established in it : and whereas the learned author would enervate , throw it aside , and make it no reason at all ; i on the contrary must confess ( beside the will and pleasure of god ) that i look on it , as the first and great reason of the resurrection : i do give it the supremacy and precedency to all others . i must freely acknowledge , that i cannot , after my utmost search and inquisition , possibly find out any reason that can pretend to equal or rival it , that can stand in competition with it . the resurrection is in order to judgment , and judgment and justice here are all one . i cannot for my heart divine upon what other account but this , the resurrection of the same body , should be so constantly by all the ancients contended for , and expresly asserted , resurrectionis vocabulum non aliam rem vindicat quam quae recidit . tertullian lib. 5. cap. 9. ad mart. and the greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( as the learned doctor has also noted ) clearly implies the rising again of that which fell , according to the vulgar saying , resurrectio est ejus qui recidit : suitable to this the creed of aquileia has expressed this article by the resurrection of this flesh ; and accordingly their bodies were particularly pointed at by those of that communion as ( ruffinus tells us ) when they made publick confession of their faith. i will not dwell upon this , nor light a candle to the sun ; but refer you to the elaborate treatise of dr. beaumont on the present subject , who has proved it to have been the constant doctrine of the fathers , beyond a possibility of denial . now i desire the philosopher to give me a reason of this doctrine of which the ancients have been so tena●e●us ; why this body , why this flesh must arise ? ( for 't is but equal that i should give him a question to answer who in his objections has made a precedent , and done the like ) if the body be no other ways concerned than an instrument only , if it be not sensible , if it be not capable of doing good or evil , rewards or punishments , as he has in down right words affirmed . if this be so , i earnestly request him to tell me , why it must be the same body that must arise ? why not another body ? why not an aereal body ? why any body at all ? dic sodes , dic aliquem , dic quintiliane colorem . i do verily believe he will have an hard task of it , and however he may be himself persuaded , it will ( i presume ) be a a difficult matter for him to persuade or convince others . for my part , i look on the doctrine as a most divine truth , and am immoveably fixt in the belief of it , notwithstanding all the arguments the learned author has brought against it ; and i presume the greatest part of mankind are and will be of my opinion . 't is most certain that this doctrine has a most natural tendency to the advancement of piety and suppression of vice. there can be no antidote or cordial , no shield or buckler more sovereign than this to defend and support the devout christian , amidst all the difficulties and hardships with which he is engaged in his present pilgrimage ; they are all silenced , mastered , disappointed and overcome by one word , resurgam . there can be no more powerful motive to engage us in the pursuit of holiness than this , viz. the consideration of that plenteous recompense which shall be conferred on the whole man hereafter , with respect to his labours here , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , saith st. cyrill : the hope of the resurrection is the root of well-doing . this must carry us on with courage and resolution thro all the difficult , rugged , and uneven passages we meet withal in our present race ; this must reconcile , soften , and sweeten all the assurance that we serve so good a master , who will not fail fully to reward all his faithful labourers in the next world , with respect to their deservings in this . lastly , there can be no more effectual dissuasive against sin , than the argument before us : if men have any sense of their state , any love for themselves , any kindness or regard for their bodies as well as souls , they are carefully to avoid those ways which will inevitably implunge both , in everlasting torments , in the great and terrible day , when they shall be again united , to the intent that they may be sharers in the wages , who have been confederates in the work. finis notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a27162-e10480 * omnes ergo animae penes inferos ? inquis . velis ac nolis , & supplicia jam illic , & refrigeria . — cur enim non putes animam & puniri & foveri in inferis , interim sub expectatione utriusque judicii . — novit anima apud inferos & dolere & fovere sine carne . de anim. cap. 58. again . simplicior quisquis fautor sententiae nostrae , putabit carnem etiam idcirco repraesentandam esse in judicio , quia aliter anima non capiat passionem tormenti seu refrigerii , utpote incorporalis : hoc enim vulgus existimat . nos autem animam corporalem & hic profitemur , & in suo volumine probamus , habentem proprium genus substantiae , soliditatis , per quam quid & sontire & pati possit . nam & nunc animas torqueri , foverique penes inferos licet nudas , licet adhuc exules carnis , probavit lazari exemplum . de resurr . c. 17. † de anima , cap. 7. & 9. 55 , 56 , 58. & alibi . a apol. cap. 48. certè quia ratio restitutionis destinatio judicii est , necessario idem ipse qui fuerit exhibebitur ; ut boni seu contrarii meriti judicium a deo referat . ideoque repraesentabuntur & corpora . quia neqne pati quicquam potest anima sola fine materiâ stabili , id est , carne , c. 48. b testim . anim. c.ult. affirmamus te manere post vitae dispunctionem , & expectare diem judicii , próque meritis aut cruciatui destinari , aut refrigerio , utroque sempiterno . quibus sustinendis necessario tibi substantiam pristinam , ejudsdémque hominis materiam & memoriam reversuram , quod & nihil mali ac boni sentire possis fine carnis passionalis facultate . c de resurr . carn . cap. 17. porrò si haec ( cogitatus , concupiscentia , voluntas ) satis essent ad plenitudinem meritorum , ut non requirentur & facta , sufficeret in totum anima ad perfectionem judicii , de his judicanda , in quae agenda sola suffecerat . quum verò etiam facta devincta sint meritis ; facta autem per carnem administrantur ; jam non sufficit animam sine carne foveri ; sive cruciari , pro operibus etiam carnis , etsi habet corpus , etsi habet membra ; quae proinde illi non sufficiant ad sentiendum plenè , quemadmodum nec ad agendum perfecte . denique , haec erit ratio in ultimum finem destinati judicii , ut exhibitione carnis omnis divina censura perfici possit . * in mat. 22. 32. naturalis amor corporis quem in animo omnes deprehendimus , oftendit animam humanam esse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quae corpus perficiendo ipsa simul perficitur finis sui adeptione : — aequitas non patitur ut corpus , quod animi imperio multa molesta sustinet non etiam partem ferat premii . adde quod humanae naturae a deo condita necesse sit finem aliquem propositum , qui ne fingi quidem potest alius quam beata vita totius hominis , nam finis partis alterius non est finis totius , at totum hominem deus condidit . * anima aptitudinem & inclinationem habet , ad corporis unionem sicut leve sursum . aquinas 1ae . q. 76. 1 & 6m . † extensive augetur in corpore extensive in animâ quia anima gaudebit de bono corporis : intensive quia est corporis perfectibile omnis pars imperfecta est & completur in toto . aquin. suppl . q. 93. notes for div a27162-e15530 * marmoreo licinus tumulo jacet at cato parvo pompeius nullo credimus esse deos — statius . and ovid upon this account , sollicitor nullos esse putare deos. and the and propertius , et queritur nullos esse relicta deos. old tragedian , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . and claudian , saepe mihi dubiam traxit sententia mentem curarent superi terras an ullus in esset rector , & incerto fluerent mortalia casu . but the most nervous and gravest of all is that of cotta in cicero 3d. de nat. deorum . † job 12. 6. chap. 21 , 24 , 27. psal . 37. psal . 39. psal . 73. jer. 12. 1 , &c. habak . 1. mal. 3. 14. the doctrine & directions but more especially the practice and behavior of a man in the act of the nevv birth a treatise by way of appendix to the former. by isaac ambrose, minister of christ at preston in amounderness in lancashire. ambrose, isaac, 1604-1664. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a69449 of text r37037 in the english short title catalog (wing a2955). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 186 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 37 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a69449 wing a2955 estc r37037 99835189 99835189 39862 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a69449) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 39862) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1787:5b, 1084:37) the doctrine & directions but more especially the practice and behavior of a man in the act of the nevv birth a treatise by way of appendix to the former. by isaac ambrose, minister of christ at preston in amounderness in lancashire. ambrose, isaac, 1604-1664. [4], 70 p. printed by j.f. for nathanael webb and william grantham, at the greyhound in pauls church-yard, london : mdcl. [1650] an appendix to "prima" by isaac ambrose. possibly intended to be issued with 1650 editions of "prima" (wing a2964) or "prima, media, & ultima" (a2961). identified as part of wing a2961 (reel 1787) and as wing a2955 (reel 1084). reproductions of the originals in: henry e. huntington library and art gallery (reel 1084) and in st. john's college, cambridge university (reel 1787). eng christian life -early works to 1800. regeneration (theology) -early works to 1800. future life -early works to 1800. a69449 r37037 (wing a2955). civilwar no the doctrine & directions but more especially the practice and behavior of a man in the act of the nevv birth. a treatise by way of appendix ambrose, isaac 1650 36189 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 b the rate of 1 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the b category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2006-02 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-03 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-03 ali jakobson sampled and proofread 2007-03 ali jakobson text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the doctrine & directions but more especially the practice and behavior of a man in the act of the nevv birth . a treatise by way of appendix to the former . by isaac ambrose , minister of christ at preston in amounderness in lancashire . london : printed by j. f. for nathanael webb and william grantham , at the greyhound in pauls church-yard . mdcl . an appendix , containing both the doctrine and directions , but more especially the practice and behavior of a man in the act of the second birth . the occasion of this treatise . hitherto i have given the doctrine and application of the soul-saving second birth ; but some there are whose hearts are so steely , that all this cannot work upon them : if any such desire yet any more ( and desire they must , or there is no remedy for them ) i have , for their help in the practice , brought a practitioner afore them . it was cesars great praise , that he bade his soldiers still , come ; and if men had but many cesars or leaders in these practical points , i suppose there would be more followers . a plain doctrine may win some , and a particular direction may win more , but a good example wins most . howsoever then , concerning the new birth , i have delivered the doctrine in the sermons , and directions in the appendix ; yet one thing is wanting , which may help more then either , to wit , the practice of some saint in this one necessary thing : and what saint ? what man that hath writ more on this subject , then t. h ? it was said of blessed mr. bolton , that for himself , he could profess to his comfort on his deaths-bed , that he never taught any godly point , but he first wrought it on his own heart ; the same , do i more then probably think , was the practice of this man . now therefore i thought fit , not onely to contract his books in this appendix ( which some without his privity have unskilfully put out ) but also , and that more especially , to set afore you ( whosoever you are ) those prime , powerful , pathetical expressions of his soul-pangs in the new birth , as matter for your imitation : these expressions indeed are they i most especially aym at , which if you observe , are always delivered in the first person [ i ] and i verily believe they were not fained , but feeling from his own heart and soul . what needs more ? if either doctrine in the first part , or direction in the second part , or practice in the third part of the book ( which consists most of practice ) can work on your souls , i hope some of these , or all of these , will help you on in the way from corruption to christianity , and from the state of nature into the kingdom of grace . chap. i. the souls preparation . before the soul can share in christs merits ( to speak in the authors stile or language , without any alteration ) two things are required : 1. a preparation to receive and entertain christ . 2. an implantation of the soul into christ . that there must be a preparation , is the first ground we lay ; and herein observe we the matter maner means of this preparation . 1. for matter : the soul of a sinner must be prepared for christ , before he can entertain him . when kings go to any place , they send ( to make readiness ) their harbengers afore them ; if christ ( the king of saints ) come into a soul , there must be a preparation before he enter ; and good reason , he is not a meer man , an ordinary person , but a king , a king of glory . david in this case could call upon his soul ( so we may expound his gates and doors ) lift up your heads , o ye gates , and be ye lift up , ye everlasting doors , and the king of glory shall come in ; as who should say , be enlarged love , joy , hope ; set open , give way , for the lord is coming : but who is the lord ? it is the lord of hosts , the lord strong and mighty , the lord mighty in battel : and with that he knocks again , lift up your heads , o ye gates , and be ye lift up , ye everlasting doors , and the king of glory shall come in ; as if he should say , what , shall the lord knock ? shall the king of glory stand ? open suddenly , and make all preparation . 2. the maner of this preparation consists in these three passages : first , the soul breaks that league which formerly it hath had with corruptions , and reserves it self for christ : and secondly , the soul is most willing to give way to christ jesus , and to let him overthrow whatsoever shall oppose him : thirdly , the soul is content that god should rule all , not onely the eye , or hand , or tongue , or heart , but the whole man ; it opens all the gates , and desires christ to come , and take all the keys of the house upon him . 3. the means of this preparation is the powerful ministery , which god hath appointed for this work ; and it is discovered in three particulars : first , in a particular application of the truth to the souls of men with courage : secondly , in a confirmation of the truth by soundness of argument , and plain evidence of scriptures : thirdly , in a kinde of spiritual heat in the heart and affections of the minister , answerable to that which he communicates to the people . and this powerful ministery works on the soul , 1. by discovering what is in a mans heart , so that the soul seeth that it never saw before , and so is driven to a stand . 2. by driving the soul into an awe of sin , so that it dares not now meddle with sin , as formerly it hath done . if any soul that hath enjoyed these means any while , is not yet fitted and prepared , it is a fearful suspition , that god will never confer any good to that soul : go home then ( if there be any such ) and reason with your own souls , and plead with your own hearts , saying , lord , why not yet am i humbled and prepared ? will exhortations never prevail with me ? will terrors and reproofs never break my heart into pieces ? i have heard sermons that would have shaken the very stones i trod on , that would have moved the very seat i sate on ; the very fire of hell hath flashed in my face ; i have seen even the plagues of hell , and if any thing can do me any good , why not then those . exhortations , instructions , admonitions and reproofs that i have often had ? i have had as powerful means as may be , which never yet did me good . the lord be merciful to such a poor soul ; the lord turn the heart of such a poor sinner , that he may lay hold of mercy in due time . chap. ii. sect. 1. the general circumstances of preparation on gods part . but for a further distribution , which shall be our method : in this preparation two things are considerable ; the general circumstances . substantial parts . the general circumstances are twofold , some on gods part . mans part . on gods part they are these , 1. the offer of christ and grace . 2. the condition of this offer . 3. the easiness of this condition . on mans part , two things are considerable : 1. that corruption doth oppose this grace . 2. that god will remove this corruption . the first general circumstance of the souls preparation , is on gods part ; wherein is the offer of christ jesus , the condition of this offer , and the easiness of this condition ; we may have all in this one comparison : as with a malefactor convicted of high treason , for plotting some wicked practice against his prince , if ( after the discovery of all passages ) the king make a proclamation , that upon the surceasing of his enterprises , he shall be pardoned ; nay , if the king shall continue to send message after message , secretly to tell him , that would he yet lay down his arms and take a pardon , he shall freely be remitted , and graciously accepted into favor again : if this traytor now should rather fling away his pardon then his weapons , then should the king raise an army and overcome him , and take him , and execute him without any pity or mercy , i appeal to your own consciences , is he not justly rewarded ? what will the world say ? he had a fair offer of pardon , and the king sent messenger after messenger unto him ; seeing therefore he refused and neglected such offers , it is pity but condemnation should befal him : thus would all say . why , this is the condition of every poor soul under heaven , we are all rebels and traytors ; by our oathes and blasphemies , we set our mouth against heaven ; and yet after all our pride and stubbornness , and loosness and prophaneness , and contempt of gods word and ordinances , the lord is pleased to proclaim mercy still to every one that will receive it : all you that have dishonored my name , all you that have prophaned my sabbaths , and contemned my ordinances , all you cursed wretches , come ; come who will , and take pardon ; therein is the offer : onely let them lay aside all their weapons ; therein is the condition : and then have christ for the taking ; therein is the easiness of the condition . blessed god ( may every soul say ) if i will not do this for christ , i will do nothing ; had the lord required a great matter of me to have attained salvation ; had he required thousands of rams , and ten thousand rivers of oyl ; had he required the first-born of my body for the sins of my soul ; had he required me to have kneeled and prayed until mine eyes had failed , until my hands had been wearied , until my tongue had been hoarse , and until my heart had fainted , one drop of mercy at the last gasp would have quit all this cost : but what goodness is this that the lord should require nothing of me , but to lay down my weapons , and to receive christ offered ? lo the lord this day hath sent from heaven , and offered salvation unto you sons of men ; the lord jesus is become a suitor to you , and i am christs spokesman , to speak a good word for him : o that we may have our errand from you ! o that there were such an heart in my people ( saith god ) to fear me , and keep my commandments always ! shall the lord and his messengers thus woo and intreat ? and will any yet stand out against god , and say , i will none of christ , i will try it out to the last ? o then , if the great god of heaven and earth shall come with ten thousand thousand of judgements , and execute them upon that man ; if he shall bring a whole legion of devils , and say , take him , devils , and torment him , devils , in hell for ever ; because he would not have mercy when it was offered , he shall not have mercy ; because he would not have salvation when it was tendred , let him be condemned : if god should thus deal with that man , the lord should be just in so doing , and he justly miserable . sect. 2. the general circumstances of preparation on mans part . the second general circumstance of the souls preparation , is on mans part ; and herein is observable , 1. that corruption opposeth grace . 2. that god will remove this corruption . first , the first is clear , 1 cor. 2. 14. the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god , neither can he know them ; and acts 7. 51. ye stiff-necked , and uncircumcised in heart and ears , ye do always resist the holy ghost , as your fathers did , so do ye : give us a man in the state of nature , and though all the mininisters under heaven should preach mercy unto him ; though all the angels in heaven should exhort and intreat him ; though all glory and happiness were laid before him , and he were wished onely to believe and take it , and it should be his for ever ; yet in his natural condition he could have no power to receive so blessed an offer : howsoever , this hinders not but he is to wait upon god in the means . and then — secondly , god may remove this corruption , which he himself cannot do : herein observe we the author time of this grace . first , the author is god : i will take away their stony hearts ( saith god ) and give them an heart of flesh ; i will remove that sturdy heart which is in them , and will give them a frameable , teachable heart , which shall ply , and yield to whatsoever i shall teach them : the taking away of the indisposition of the soul to any duty , and the fitting , framing and disposing of a soul to perform any spiritual service , is the alone work of god . quiet then thy soul , and content thy heart ; thou mayst say , i have an hard heart within , and it will receive no good from without , the word prevails not , the sacraments have no power over me , all the means , and cost , and charges that god hath bestowed upon me is lost , and my heart is not yet humbled , my corruptions are not yet weakned : but in this be thou comforted , though means cannot do it , which god useth at his pleasure , yet the lord can do it , there is nothing difficult to him that hath hardness it self at command . be then exhorted , you that have stony hearts , to have recourse unto this great god of heaven : should a physician set up a bill , that he would cure all that were troubled with the stone in the reins , and that we should hear of many healed by him , this would stir up all to repair to him , that labored of this disease : why , the lord this day hath set up a bill , that he will cure all stony hearts that will but come to him , and all the children of god have found to the proof hereof , to the comfort of their souls : you wives therefore , that have husbands with stony hearts , and you parents , that have children with stony hearts , tell them , you have heard this day of a physician that will cure them , and exhort them to repair unto him . secondly , the time of this grace is either in regard of the means . men . 1. in regard of the means ; and that is , when the sons of men have the gospel shining in their faces ; if ever good work upon their hearts , it will be then . this should teach us how thankful we ought to be unto the lord , that enjoy these liberties in the land of the living ; that a man was born in such a time , in the last age of the world , in such a place , in this kingdom , wherein the way of life and salvation is so fully , so plainly , and so powerfully made known , that the sun of the gospel shines full in his face , and is not yet set : o how thankful should he be ! and for those that neglect the means of their salvation , how should we pity them ? me thinks i see a poor creature , that slighted mercy and salvation when it was offered him ; me thinks i see that soul lying upon his deaths-bed , light is departing from his eyes , and his soul is departing from his body ; o the name of a minister , of a church , they are as bills of indictments against coming the soul of this man ; me thinks i hear such a man say at his last gasp , the day is gone , the gate is shut , and now it is too late to enter : and thus the soul departs from his body , the body to the grave , and the soul to hell ; o what bitter lamentations will that soul make in hell , o the golden time that i have seen , and not regarded ! o the gracious opportunities of salvation that my eyes have beheld , and yet i neglected ! o the mercy , and grace , and goodness of god , that have been offered unto me ! all these i have contemned , and trampled under my feet , and therefore now must i be tormented with the devil and his angels , from everlasting to everlasting . now the lord give us hearts to take notice of these things . if i were now breathing out my last breath , i would breathe out this legacy to all surviving christians , this is the accepted time , this is the day of salvation . do you hear ? this day is grace offered , and if any here would entertain it , o what comfort might he have : i was never humbled afore ( might he say ) but this day i was humbled ; i could never before receive mercy , but this day have i received it ; o this was a good day to me , now blessed am i for ever . 2. in regard of men on whom god works ; that is to say , on some in their tender age , on some in their ripe age , on some in their old age : but however the lord doth at several times convert several of his servants , yet most , and most usually before their old age ; and that some interpreters wittily observe out of the parable of the vineyard , mat. 20. 3 , 4 , 5. the master of the vineyard ( saith the text ) went out at the third , sixth and ninth hour , and saw some standing idle , and he sent them into his vineyard : he went then ( say interpreters ) on purpose to see and hire , and to send in laborers to work in his vineyard , but he went out at the eleventh hour , not to hire any , he expected not then to have seen any idle ; he went out upon some other occasion , and therefore seeing them standing , he wondred at it , saying , why stand ye here all the day idle ? as if he should say , no man will hire you now , it is but an hour to night , and therefore rather a time to leave working , then to begin to work . o let this provoke us , that while the flower is in prime , we would use all means for our good ; let us now in the heat and summer of our days , improve our selves in good works , that so when the harvest comes , we may be gathered into gods barn : o would we be exhorted to take the best time and opportunity of salvation , then might we receive the fruits of our labors , the salvation of our souls . chap. iii. the substantial parts of preparation on gods part ; or his dispensations of his work on the soul . hitherto of the general circumstances of the souls preparing for christ . now the substantial parts of this preparation are generally two : the dispensation of gods work on the soul . disposition of the soul by gods work . the dispensation of gods work discovers it self in drawing the soul from sin . to himself . but because these two are made up by one action and motion , we shall therefore handle them together ; and the sum is this , that god by an holy kinde of violence ( which is called drawing , joh. 6. 44. ) doth pluck the soul from those sins that harbor in it unto himself : wherein we may consider two things ; 1. what the nature of this drawing is . 2. the means whereby god draws . first , for the nature of this drawing , it is of a double kinde : 1. there is a moral drawing , when by reasons propounded , and good things offered to the understanding and will , a man comes thereby to have his minde illightened , and his will moved to embrace things offered : thus was it with paul , when he was constrained by lydia to abide in her house , acts 16. 15. 2. there is a physical drawing , when the lord is pleased to put a new power into the soul of a sinner , and withal to carry the will to the object propounded , that it may embrace it ; when the lord not onely offers good things to the soul , but enables the soul to lay hold upon the things offered : and thus the lord draws a sinner from sin unto himself . secondly , for the means whereby he draws , they are these four : first , the lord lets in a light into the soul of a poor sinner , and discovers unto him that he is in a wrong way : this the soul marvels at , because usually it comes on a sudden , the sinner perceiving nothing less , isa. 66. 1. secondly , though a man would defeat the power of this light , yet god still follows it with forcible arguments , and draws with the cord of his mercy ; i taught ephraim to go ( saith god ) taking them by the arms ; i drew them by the cords of love , and with the bonds of a man . this mercy consists in these bonds , or this love is made up of four cords : 1. the lord reveals himself to be ready to receive , and willing and easie to entertain poor sinners when they come unto him : let the wicked ( saith the prophet ) forsake his way , and the unrighteous man his thoughts , and let him return unto the lord , and be will have mercy upon him , and to our god , for he will abundantly pardon ; the word in the original is , he will multiply pardons : hast thou multiplied rebellions ? the lord will also multiply pardons : the bowels of compassion are still open , and the arms of mercy are still spread abroad ; he pardoned manasses , and paul , and peter , and so will he thee , his pardons are multiplied , there is yet mercy for thee also , and for a thousand thousand more . 2. the lord is not onely ready to forgive when men come to to him , but that they may come , he also calls and commands them : o but may i ( saith a poor sinner ) shall i , dare i go unto the lord god for mercy ? may i be so bold to press in for favor at the hands of the lord ? i have been a grievous sinner , and have heaped abomination upon abomination , i am afraid therefore to approach near unto the lords presence . is it so ? hear what the lord saith , come unto me , ye rebellious people , and i will heal your rebellions . you that never prayed , never came to hear , all rebels , come unto me : and then the people answer , behold , we come unto thee , for thou art our god . this is great encouragement to a poor sinner , he begins now to wonder , and say , lord , shall all my sins be pardoned ? shall all my oathes and abominations be forgiven ? i that slighted so many mercies , and committed so many follies , shall i be entertained ? yes ( saith the lord ) come unto me , and thou shalt be forgiven ; come , i command you come . 3. the lord doth not onely command a poor sinner to come in , but when he is nice in this case , saying , there is mercy with god , but not for me ; the lord then followeth him still , and sends another cord after him , that if it be possible he may win him , and woo him to receive mercy of him : if command therefore prevail not , he intreats and beseeches him to come and receive mercy , and this ( me thinks ) should move the hardest heart under heaven . we ( saith the apostle ) are embassadors for christ , as though god did beseech you by us , we pray you in christs stead , be reconciled unto god : rather then you should go away from christ , even mercy it self will come and kneel down before you , and beseech you , and intreat you , for the lord jesus sake to pity your poor souls , and to receive pardon for your sins : a sinner is not able to comprehend this , but he begins to be at a stand , and at amazement , what , that the lord should beseech him ! o that thou wouldst receive pardon for thy sins , and be blessed for ever ! good lord ( saith the soul ) is this possible , that the great king of heaven should come and beseech such a traytor , such a rebel as i am , to take pardon ? that a king on earth should proclaim a pardon to some notorious traytor , this were much ; but that the king of heaven should lay down his crown , and come creeping to me , and beseech me ( on his knee as it were ) to take mercy ; this is a thing beyond all expectation : what , shall heaven stoop to earth ? shall majesty stoop to misery ? shall the great god of heaven and earth , that might have condemned my soul , and if i had perished and been damned , might have took glory by my destruction — is it possible , is it credible , that this god should not onely entertain me when i come , and command me for to come , but intreat and beseech me to come and receive mercy from him ? o the depth of the incomprehensible love of god! imagine you saw god the father intreating you , and god the son beseeching you , as he doth this day , come now , and forsake your sins , and take mercy , which is prepared for you , and shall be bestowed upon you : would not this make a soul think thus with it self , what , for a rebel ? not onely to have mercy offered , but to be intreated to receive mercy , it were pity ( if i will not take it ) but i should go to hell and be damned for ever . the lord he complains , why will ye dye ? as i live , saith the lord , i desire not the death of a sinner : turn ye , turn ye , why will ye dye , ye sinful sons of men ? mercy is offered you , the lord jesus reacheth out his hand to you : fain would he pluck the drunkard out of the alehouse , and the adulterer from his whore : o if you break this cord , i know not what to say to you , this is able to break a mountain in pieces ; shake , o mountains ( saith the prophet ) why ? because god hath redeemed jacob : the redemption of jacob was enough to break a mountain , let his mercy break our hearts ; it is god that begs , the blessing is our own . 4. if yet all this prevail nothing at all , the lord will then wait , and stay in long patience and suffering , to see if any time a sinner will turn unto him . our savior follows poor sinners from alehouse to alehouse , and says , i beseech you , drunkards , take mercy , and have your sins pardoned : the lord ( as we may say ) tires himself , and wearieth himself with waiting one day after another , and one week after another : it may be ( saith christ ) this week , this sabbath , this sermon a sinner will turn unto me ; what , will it never be ? are you not ashamed ( my friends ) that the lord jesus should thus wait your leisure , and follow you from house to house , and from place to place ; nay , that christ should every morning appear to your understanding , and every night come to your bed-side , saying , let this be the last night of sinning , and the next day the first day of your repentance : o when will you be humbled ? when will you receive mercy , that it may go well with you , and with yours for ever ! if none of the other will move you , yet for shame let this cord draw you to the lord : hear , hear his doleful pangs , o jerusalem , jerusalem , wilt thou not be made clean ? o when will it once be ? a woman that is in travel , o how she expects and longs for her delivery i now a throb comes , and then she cryes ; anon comes a second throb , and then she cryes again , o when comes deliverance ? thus god the father takes on him the person of a travelling woman ; he travels and travels until he bring forth a son , until some soul be converted , and brought home unto him , o jerusalem , wilt thou not be made clean ? when will it once be ? i have waited one , ten , twenty , thirty , forty years long have i waited on this generation ; when will it once be ? the lord thus travels in patience , looking when we will receive mercy , will never our proud hearts be humbled ? will never our stubborn hearts be softned ? will never our prophane hearts be sanctified ? when will it once be ? christ hath waited this day , this week , this moneth , this quarter , this year , these ten , twenty , thirty , forty years on us : you old sinners , that are gray-headed in your wickedness , how long hath the lord waited on you ? o for shame let him wait no longer , but turn , turn ye unto him , that ye may receive mercy from him . thirdly , if bonds of love move not , the lord hath iron cords , that will pluck in pieces ; to wit , the cords of conscience : which thus disputes , he that being often reproved , doth still harden his heart , shall perish everlastingly : but thou being often reproved , dost still harden thy heart , therefore thou shalt perish everlastingly . in this syllogism are contained the monition accusation condemnation of conscience . in the first proposition , conscience gives the sinner a monition , to come from sin , upon pain of the heaviest judgement that can be inflicted . it is the lord that sends the conscience on this errand , go to such a man , and tell him , you have blasphemed gods name , and you have spoken against gods saints , and you have broken gods sabbaths , and you have contemned gods ordinances ; be it known then unto thee ( saith conscience when it delivers the message ) that i have a command from heaven , and from god , i charge you , as you will answer it at the dreadful day of judgement , take heed of those evils and sinful practises that heretofore you have committed , lest you damn your souls for ever . will you question his commission ? see prov. 29. 1. he that being often reproved , hardeneth his neck , shall suddenly be destroyed ; if you be often reproved , and will not be bettered , then the lord says , and conscience from the lord tells you , be it at your own peril , ye shall suddenly be destroyed . no sooner conscience thus perks upon the crown , but the sinner hangs the wing , and withdraws himself from his former lewd courses . but now when wicked persons see their companion is gone , they make after him amain , and then conscience plucks one way , and they pluck another way ; at last , by carnal company , and cursed perswasions , the soul is drawn back again to his former wicked courses , and so perhaps this twist is broken , and the sinner is gone . 2. if so , then conscience , that was a monitor , now turns accuser in the minor proposition ; before it was onely gods herald to forewarn him , but now it is become a pursevant and sergeant to arrest him : it follows him to the alehouse , and pursues him home , then takes him in his bed , and arrests him in his sleep ; there ( by a meditation ) it hales the soul before the tribunal seat of god , saying , lo , lord , this is the man , this is the drunkard , adulterer , blasphemer , this is he , lord ; an enemy to thy servants , an hater of thy truth , a despiser of thy ordinances ; at such a time , in such a place , with such a company this man despised thy truth , this is he , lord , this is the man . and when conscience hath thus dragged him before god , and accused him , then take him , jaylor , take him , devil ( saith the lord ) and imprison him ; let vexation , and horror , and trouble , and anguish lie upon his soul , until he confess his sins , and resolve to forsake them . in this case was david , when he was forced to say , my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long ; for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me , my moisture is turned into the drought of summer : what then ? o then ( saith david ) i acknowledged my sin unto thee , — i confessed my transgressions unto thee , o lord , and so thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin . david he folded up his sins at the first , and therefore his bones were consumed , and he roared continually ; when the lord had him on the rack , he made him roar again , and would never leave tormenting , till david came to confessing ; but when he confessed this sin , and the other sin , then the lord forgave him the iniquity of his sin . thus conscience brings the soul of a sinner on the rack ( as traytors are used , that will not confess otherwise ) and makes him to confess his sins , and then he cryes , o the abominations i have committed which the sun never saw ; in such a place , at such a time , o then i railed on gods servants , & blasphemed gods name , i prophaned gods sabbaths , and contemned his ordinances : what then ? conscience will make him confess more yet , to the rack again with him ; and then he cryes and roars for anguish of spirit , then he confesses all , and resolves to amend , then he will pray , and hear , and sanctifie gods sabbaths , and lead a new life . thus conscience receives some satisfaction , and begins to be quiet ; and now having got some quiet , his cursed companions set upon him again , refresh ( say they ) your soul with some of your ancient dalliance , &c. to this and the like temptations of satan , he listens again , and then he begins to follow his old sins , perhaps with more violence and eagerness then ever he did before ; and now is another twist broken likewise . 3. if so , then conscience that was a monitor and accuser , now turns executioner . the first proposition admonished , the second accused , if neither of these prevail , then conscience concludes , thou must to execution , thou shalt perish everlastingly . and now conscience cryes , monitions or accusations could not prevail with this man ; come , come ye damned ghosts , and take away this drunkard , this blasphemer , this adulterer , and throw him headlong into the pit of hell ; he would not be amended , let him be condemned , he would not be humbled , therefore let him be damned . the man hearing this , then he is amazed , and thinks himself past hope , past help , past cure : did you ever see or hear a tormented conscience in these pangs ? now he calls , then he cryes , lo where devils stand , the heavens frown , god is incensed , hell-mouth is open : and now a minister is sent for , who displays to this despairing soul , the mercy and grace of god in christ jesus ; o ( replies he ) this is my bane , my damnation , if i had never heard of mercy , if i had never lived under the gospel , and the means of salvation , then had i been an happy man : alas ! it is mercy i have neglected , it is salvation i have contemned , how then should i be saved ? o the perswasions of the lord that i have had ! the lord hath even wept over me , as he did over jerusalem , o that thou hadst known the things belonging to thy peace ! yet all these perswasions have i contemned , and therefore certainly to hell i must go . the minister replyes , truth it is , you have done thus , but would you do so still ? is it good now to be drunk , or to blaspheme , or to rail on gods saints , or contemn gods ordinances ? o no , no ( saith he ) i now finde what the end of those wicked courses will be : gods word could not prevail with me , the minister could not perswade me ; o the good sermons that i have heard , the very flames of hell have even flashed in my face , the minister hath spent his pains , and would have spent his blood for the good of my poor soul ! but alas , i despised the word , and mocked the minister : wo , wo unto me for ever ; now my conscience gnaws , and tears , and terrifies my soul here , and i shall to hell hereafter , and perish for ever and ever . the minister replyes again , the truth is , you have done thus , but would you do so now ? would you still blaspheme , and curse , and be drunk , and riotous ? or rather would you not now part with all these , and take mercy in stead of them ? then the poor soul cryes out , now the lord for his mercies sake remove these sins from me : o i had never so much delight in my sins heretofore , as now i have wo , misery and vexation for them ; but ( alas ) it is not in my power to help my soul ; if the lord would do this , let him do what he will with it . what ( saith the minister ) you are then willing and content to part with your sins : o yes , ( saith the soul ) i would rather offend all the world then god ; i had rather go to hell , then to the committing of a sin ; if it would please god to help me , i would forsake my sins with all my heart . why , now the poor soul is coming again , and god is drawing him again from his corruptions and sinful distempers . fourthly , when the soul is thus loosened , the lord then fully plucks it by the cord of his spirit : with an almighty hand he cuts the soul off from sin , and takes it into his own hand , that he may govern him , and dispose of him according to his own good will and pleasure . thus much of preparation for the substance of it on gods part . chap. iv. sect. 1. the substantial parts of preparation on mans part , or the disposition of the soul by gods work . now are we to observe the disposition of the soul on mans part , which god works on the hearts of whom he draws . it is known in two works : contrition , whereby the soul is cut off from sin . humiliation , whereby the soul is cut off from it self . for so it is , that either the soul seeth no need to depart from sin , or else it thinks it can help it self out of sin ; the first is called security , when the soul being blinde , takes rest , and seeing no need to be better , desires it not therefore : against this the lord sends contrition , causing men thereby to know the misery of sin , and to see need of a change : the second is carnal confidence , when a sinner begins to seek succor , and to scramble for his own comfort in his self-sufficiency ; against this the lord works humiliation , causing the soul hereby to see the weakness and emptiness of its duties , and that there is enough in its best services to condemn him for ever . before we speak of the works , it is not amiss to begin with the lets . the first is security : when the soul is taken up with a secure course , and rests it self well apaid in his own practises , and therefore it never seeth any need of a change , nor ever goes out for a change : now while a man lives thus , and blesseth himself in his sin , it is impossible that ever he should receive faith , or by the power of faith repair unto christ : where faith comes , it ever works a change , old things are done away , and then all things are become new ; the lord therefore to remove this let , he burthens the soul extremely , and says , you will live in drunkenness , in covetousness ; you will have your sins , then take your sins , and get you down to hell with them . at this voyce the sinner begins to see where he is : is this true ? ( saith he ) then i am the most miserable creature under heaven ; therefore as they said , men and brethren , what shall we do ? we have been thus and thus , but if we rest here , it will be our ruine for ever , o what shall we do ? so the soul comes to a restless dislike of it self , and saith , i must either be otherwise , or else i am but a damned man for ever . 2. when the soul is thus resolved that it must of necessity change , when it seeth his wound and his sin ready before him to condemn him , and it hath ( as it were ) a little peep-hole into hell ; the soul in this distress sends over to prayer , and hearing , and holy services , and thinks by his wits and duties , or some such like matters , to succor it self ; and it begins to say , my hearing and my prayer , will not these save me ? thus the soul in conclusion rests on duties : i will not say but these duties are all good , honorable and comfortable , yet they are not gods , but the ordinances of god . it is the nature of a sinful heart , to make the means , as meritorious to salvation : a man that seeth his drunkenness and his base contempt of god , o then he voweth and promiseth to take up a new course , and he begins to approve himself in reformation of his ways , then he cryes , now i will have no more drunkenness , now no more scoffing and scorning at those that go to hear the word : and then he thinks , what can i do more ? to heaven i must go . all this is but a mans self : why so ? christ ( who is the substance of all ) and the pith of a promise is forgotten ; a christ in hearing , a christ in praying is not regarded , and therefore the poor soul famisheth with hunger . mistake not , i pray you , these duties must be had and used , but still a man must not stay here : prayer saith , there is no salvation in me ; and the sacraments and fasting say , there is no salvation in us : all these are subservient helps , no absolute causes of salvation . a man will use his bucket , but he expects water from the well ; these means are the buckets , but all our comfort , and all our life and grace is onely in christ : if you say , your bucket shall help you , you may starve for christ , if you let it not down into the well for water : so though you boast of praying , and hearing , and fasting , and of your alms , and building of hospitals , and of your good deeds , if none of these bring you to a christ , or settle you on a christ , you shall dye for christ , though your works were as the works of an angel . as it is with a graft therefore , first it must be cut off from the old stock ; secondly , it must be pared , and made fit for implantation into another : so the soul by contrition being cut off from sin , then humiliation pares it ( pares away all a mans priviledges ) and makes it fit for the ingraffing into christ jesus . thus much of the lets , and of the works of contrition and humiliation in general . sect. 2. a sight of sin . but for a further discovery of these two necessary things , we shall now enter into particulars , and begin first with contrition ; which contains these steps : a sight of sin . sense of divine wrath . sorrow for sin . the first step is a sight of sin ; and sin must be seen clearly . convictingly . first , clearly : it is not a general sight , and confused sight of sin that will serve the turn ; it is not enough to say , it is my infirmity , and i cannot amend it , we are all sinners : no , this is the ground why we mistake our evils , and reform not our ways ; a man must search narrowly , and prove his ways , as the goldsmith doth his gold in the fire : i considered my ways , ( saith david ) and turned my feet unto thy testimonies ; in the original , i turned my sins upside down , he looked all over his ways . and this clear sight of sin appears in two particulars : 1. a man must see his sin nakedly in its own proper colours , we must not look on sin through the mediums of profits , and pleasures , and contentments of this world , for so we mistake sin : but the soul of a true christian that would see sin clearly , he must strip it of all content and quiet that ever the heart received in it ; as the adulterer must not look upon sin in regard of the sweetness of it , nor the covetous man on his sin in regard of the profit of it : you that are such , the time will come when you must dye , and then consider what good these sinful courses will do you : how will you judge of sin then , when it shall leave a blot on your souls , and a guilt on your consciences ? 2. a man must look on sin in the venom of it ; and that you may do partly , if you compare it with other things , and partly , if you look at it in regard of it self . 1. compare sin with those things that are most fearful and horrible ; as suppose any soul here present were to behold the damned in hell , if the lord should give any one of you a little peep-hole into hell , that you saw the horror of the damned , then propound this to your heart , what are those pains which the damned endure , and your heart will shake and quake at it ; yet the least sin that ever you did commit , is a greater evil ( in its own nature ) then the greatest pains of the damned in hell . 2. look at sin simply as it is in it self , what is it , but a profest opposing of god himself ? a sinful creature joyns side with the devil , and comes in battel array against the lord , and flies in the face of the lord god of hosts . i pray you in cold blood consider this , and say , good lord , what a sinful wretch am i ? that a poor damned wretch of the earth , should stand in defiance against god! that i should submit my self to the devil , and oppose the lord god of hosts ! secondly , convictingly , that sin may be so to us , as it is in it self ; and that discovers it self in these two particulars : 1. when we have a particular apprehension in our own person , that whatsoever sin is in general , we confess it the same in our own souls : it is the cursed distemper of our hearts , howsoever we hold the truth in general , yet when we come to our own sins , to deny the particulars . the adulterer confesseth the danger and filthiness of that sin in gross , but he will not apply it to himself : the rule therefore is , arrest thy soul ( whosoever thou art ) of those sins particularly whereof thou standest guilty ; to this purpose , say , is murther , and pride , and drunkenness , and vncleanness such horrible sins ? o lord , it was my heart that was proud , and vain ; it was my tongue that did speak filthily , and blasphemously ; my hand that wrought wickedness ; my eye that was wanton , and my heart that was unclean and filthy ; lord , here they are : thus bring thy heart before god . 2. when the soul sits down with the audience of truth , and seeks no shift to oppose truth revealed : when the lord comes to make racks in the hearts of such as he means to do good to , the text saith , he will reprove the world of sin ; that is , he will convince the world of wickedness : he will set the soul in such a stand , that it shall have nothing to say for it self , he cannot shift it off . the minister saith , god hates such and such a sinner ; and the lord hates me too ( saith the soul ) for i am guilty of that sin . thus many time , when a sinner comes into the congregation ( if the lord please to work on him ) the minde is illightned , and the minister meets with his corruptions , as if he were in his bosom , and he answers all his cavils , and takes away all his objections : with that the soul begins to be in a maze , and saith , if this be so ( as it is for ought i know ) and if all be true that the minister saith , then the lord be merciful unto my soul , i am the most miserable sinner that ever was born . you that know not your sins , that you may see them convictingly , get you home to the law , and look into the glass thereof , and then bundle up all your sins thus : so many sins against god himself in the first commandment , against his worship in the second , against his name in the third , against his sabbath in the fourth : nay , all our thoughts , words and actions , all of them have been sins , able to sink our souls to the bottom of hell . and secondly , that you may see them clearly , consider of their effect , both in their doom , and in the execution : onely to instance in their doom ; me thinks i see the lord of heaven and earth , and the attributes of god appearing before him , the mercy of god , the goodness of god , and the wisdom of god , the power of god , the patience and long-suffering of god , and they come all to a sinner , an hypocrite , or to a carnal professor , and say , mercy hath relieved you , goodness hath succored you , wisdom hath instructed you , power hath defended you , patience hath born with you , long-suffering hath indured you ; now all these comfortable attributes will bid you adieu , and say , farewel damned souls , you must go hence to hell , to have your fellowship with damned ghosts : mercy shall never more relieve you , goodness shall never more succor you , wisdom shall no more instruct you , power shall never more defend you , patience shall never more bear with you , long-suffering shall never more indure you : and then shall you to endless , easeless and remediless torments , where you will ever remember your sins , and say , my covetousness and pride was the cause of this , i may thank my sins for this . think of these things ( i beseech you ) seriously , and see your sins here , to prevent this sight hereafter . sect. 3. sense of divine wrath. the sinner by this time having his eyes so far opened , that he beholds his sins ; he begins then to consider , that god hath him in chase : and this sense of divine wrath discovers it self in these two particulars : 1. it works a fear of some evil to come . 2. it possesseth the soul with a feeling of this evil . first , the soul considers , that the punishment which god hath threatned shall be executed on him sooner or later : he cryes therefore , what if god should damn me ? god may do it : and what if god should execute his vengeance upon me ? thus the soul fears , that the evil discovered will fall upon him : this is the reason of those phrases of scripture , we have not received the spirit of bondage to fear again ; the spirit shews our bondage , and thence comes this fear : again , god hath not given us the spirit of fear ; that is , the spirit of bondage that works fear . it is with a soul in this fear , as it was with belshazzar , when he commanded the cups to be brought out of the house of the lord ; an hand-writing came against him on the wall , and when he saw it , his thoughts troubled him , and his face began to gather paleness , and his knees knocked against one another ; as if he should say , surely there is some strange evil appointed for me ; and with that his heart began to tremble and shake : just so it is with this fear , he that runs ryot in the way of wickedness , and thinks to despise gods spirit , and to hate the lord almighty , and to resist the work of his grace : now it may be there comes this fear and hand-writing against him , and then he cryes , these are my sins , and these are the plagues and judgements threatned against them , and therefore why may not i be damned ? why may not i be plagued ? secondly , the lord pursues the soul , and discharges that evil upon him which was formerly feared ; and now his conscience is all on a flame , and he saith to himself , o i have sinned , and offended a just god , and therefore i must be damned , and to hell i must go : now the soul shakes , and is driven beyond it self , and would utterly faint , but that the lord upholds it with one hand , as he beats it down with the other ; he thinks every thing is against him , he thinks the fire burns to consume him , and that the ayr will poyson him , and that hell-mouth gapes under him , and that gods wrath hangs over him , and if now the lord should but take away his life , that he should tumble down headlong into the bottomless hell : should any man , or minister , perswade the soul in this case to go to heaven for mercy , it replies in this maner , shall i repair to god ? o that 's my trouble ! is not he that great god , whose justice , and mercy , and patience i have abused ? and is not he the great god of heaven and earth , that hath been incensed against me ? oh , with what a face can i appear before him , and with what heart can i look for any mercy from him ? i have wronged his justice , and can his justice pardon me ? i have abused his mercy , and can his mercy pity me ? what , such a wretch as i am ? if i had never enjoyed the means of mercy , i might have had some plea for my self , but oh , i have refused that mercy , and have trampled the blood of christ under my feet , and can i look for any mercy ? no , no , i see the wrath of the lord incensed against me , and that 's all i look for . sect. 4. sorrow for sin . the next step is sorrow for sin ; concerning which , are two questions : 1. whether it be a work of saving grace ? 2. whether god work it in all alike ? to the first , i answer , there is a double sorrow , one in preparation , the other in sanctification : they differ thus ; sorrow in preparation , is when the word of god leaves an impression upon the heart of a man , so that the heart of it self is as it were a patient , and onely bears the blow of the spirit ; and hence come all those phrases of scripture , as wounded , pierced , pricked , in the passive voyce : so that this sorrow is rather a sorrow wrought on me , then any work coming from any spiritual ability in me : but sorrow in sanctification flows from a spiritual principle of grace , and from that power which the heart hath formerly received from gods spirit ; so that in this a man is a free worker : now both these are saving sorrows , but they differ marvellously ; many think , that every saving work , is a sanctifying work , which is false , those whom he calleth ( saith the apostle ) them he also justifies , and whom he justifies , he glorifies : you may observe , that glorification in this place implyes sanctification here , and glory hereafter ; now before glorification , you see there is justification and vocation , and both these are saving . to the second , i answer , howsoever this work is the same in all for substance , yet in a different maner it is wrought in most : two men are pricked , the one with a pin , the other with a spear ; two men are cut , the one with a pen-knife , the other with a sword : so the lord deals kindely and gently with one soul , and roughly with another : there is the melting of a thing , and the breaking of it with hammers ; so there is a difference in persons : for instance , if the person be a scandalous liver , and an opposer of god and his grace : secondly , if a man have harbored a filthy heart , and continues long in sin . thirdly , if a man have been confident in a formal civil course . fourthly , if god purpose by some man to do some extraordinary great work : in all these four cases he lays an heavy blow on the heart , the lord will bruise them , and rend the kall of their hearts , and make them seek to a faithful minister for direction , and to a poor christian for counsel , whom before they despised . but if the soul be trained up among godly parents , and live under a soul-saving ministery , the lord may reform this man , and cut him off from his corruptions kindely , and break his heart secretly , in the apprehension of his sins , and yet the world never see it . in both these we have an example in lydia and the jaylor : lydia was a sinful woman , and god opened her eyes , and melted her heart kindely , and brought her to a taste of his goodness here , and glory hereafter : but the jaylor was an outragious , rebellious wretch , for when the apostles were committed to prison , he laid them up in stocks , and whipped them sore ; now there was much work to bring this man home : when the apostles were singing psalms , there came an earthquake , which made the prison doors flie open , and the prisoners fetters to fall off , but yet the jaylors heart would not shake : at last the lord did shake his heart too , and he came trembling , and was ready to lay violent hands upon himself , because he thought the prisoners had been fled ; but the apostles cryed to him , do thy self no harm , for we are all here : with that he fell down before them , and said , men and brethren , what shall i do to be saved ? for conclusion , give me a christian that god doth please to work upon in this extraordinary maner , and to break his heart soundly , and to throw him down to purpose , though it cost him full dear , this man walks ordinarily with more care and conscience , and hath more comfort coming to himself , and gives more glory unto god . is it so , that the soul of a man is thus pierced to the quick , and run through by the wrath of the almighty ? then let this teach all how to carry themselves towards such as god hath thus dealt withal : are they pierced men ? o pity them ! let our souls , o let the bowels of commiseration and compassion be let out towards them ! let us never cease to do good to them , to the very uttermost of our powers ! and to the performance of this , reason and religion , and pity ( me-thinks ) should move us : hear the cry , oh ( saith the poor soul ) will these and these sins never be pardoned ? will this proud heart never be humbled ? thus the soul sighs and mourns , and says , o lord , i see this sin , and feel the burthen of it , and yet i have not an heart to be humbled for it , nor to be freed from it : o when will it once be ? did you but know this , it would make your hearts bleed to hear him : oh! the sword of the almighty hath pierced through his heart , and he is breathing out his sorrow , as though he were going down to hell , and he saith , if there be any mercy , any love , any fellowship of the spirit , have mercy upon me a poor creature , that am under the burthen of the almighty ! o pray , and pity these wounds and vexations of spirit , which no man findes nor feels , but he that hath been thus wounded . it is a sign of a soul wholly devoted to destruction , that hath a desperate disdain against poor wounded creatures : is it possible there should harbor such a spirit in any man ? if the devil himself were incarnate , i cannot conceive what he could do worse . 2. if ever thou wouldst be comforted , and receive mercy from god , labor never to be quiet , till thou dost bring thy heart to a right pitch of sorrow ; thou hast a little slight sorrow , but oh! labor to have thy heart truly touched , that at last it may break in regard of thy many distempers ; remember , the longer seed-time , the greater harvest : blessed are they that mourn , for they shall be comforted ; but wo to you that are at ease in zion : thou hadst better now be wounded , then everlastingly tormented ; and therefore if thou desirest to see gods face with comfort , if thou wouldst hear christ say , come , thou poor heavy-hearted sinner , i will ease thee , labor to lay load on thy heart , with sorrow for thy sin ; o what a comfort shall a poor broken heart finde in that day ! sect. 5. the extent of this sorrow . hitherto of contrition ; the next work is humiliation , which differs from the other , not in substance , but circumstance : for humiliation ( as i take it ) is onely the extent of sorrow for sin , of which we have spoken ; and it contains these two duties : 1. submission , 2. contentedness , to be at the lords disposal . the first part of humiliation , is submission , which is wrought thus : the sinner having now had a sight of his sins , and a sorrow in some measure for sin , he seeks far and wide , improves all means , and takes up all duties , that ( if it were possible ) he might heal his wounded soul : thus seeking , and seeking , but finding no succor in what he hath or doth , he is forced at last ( in his despairing condition ) to make tryal of the lord : it is true , for the present he apprehends god to be just , and to be incensed against him , he hath no experience of gods favor for the while no certainty how he shall speed , if he go to the lord ; yet because he sees he cannot be worse then he is , and that none can help him but god , if it would please him : therefore he falls at the footstool of mercy , and he lies grovelling at the gate of grace , and submits himself to the lord , to do with him as pleaseth himself , or as it seemeth good in his eyes . this was the ninevites case , when jonah had denounced that heavy judgement , and ( as it were ) thrown wilde fire about the streets , saying , within forty days niniveh shall be destroyed : see what they resolved upon , they fasted , and prayed , and put on sackcloth and ashes ; who can tell ( said they ) but god may turn , and repent him of his fierce wrath , that we perish not ? as if they had said , we know not what god will do , but this we know , that we cannot oppose his judgements , nor succor our selves : thus it is with a sinner , when he seeth hell fire to flash in his face , and that he cannot succor himself , then he saith , this i know , that all the means in the world cannot save me , yet who can tell , but the lord may have mercy on me , and cure his tdistressed conscience , and heal all these wounds that sin hath made in my soul ? this is the lively picture of the soul in this case . or for a further light , this subjection discovers it self in four particulars : first , he seeth and confesseth that the lord ( for ought he knows ) will proceed in justice against him , and execute upon him those plagues that god hath threatned , and his sins have deserved ; he seeth that justice is not yet satisfied , and those reckonings between god and him are not yet made up , and therefore he cannot apprehend , but that god will take vengeance on him : what else ? when he hath done all he can , he is unprofitable still ; justice remains unsatisfied , and saith , thou hast sinned , and i am wronged , and therefore thou shalt dye . secondly , he conceives , that what god will do , that he will do , and he cannot avoid it ; if the lord will come , and require the glory of his justice against him , there is no way to avoid it , nor to bear it : and this crusheth the heart , and makes the soul to be beyond all shifts and evasions , whereby it may seem to avoid the dint of the lords blow . thirdly , he casts away his weapons , and falls down before the lord , and resigns himself into the soveraign power and command of god . thus david , when the lord cast him out of his kingdom , he said to zadock , carry back the ark of god into the city , if i shall finde favor in the eyes of the lord , he will bring me back again , and shew me both it and his habitation : but if he thus say to me , i have no delight in thee ; behold , here i am , let him do with me as seemeth good in his eyes . this is the frame of a poor soul ; when a poor sinner will stand upon his priviledges , the lord saith , bear my justice , and defend thy self by all thou hast or canst do : and the soul answereth , i am thy servant , lord , do what is good in thine eyes , i cannot succor my self . fourthly , the soul freely acknowledgeth , that it is in gods power to do with him , and dispose of him as he will ; and therefore he lies and licks the dust , and cryes , mercy , mercy , lord : he thinks not to purchase mercy at the lords hands , but onely saith , it is in gods good pleasure to do with him as he will , onely he looks for favor , and cryes , mercy , lord , mercy to this poor distressed soul of mine : o ( replies the lord ) dost thou need mercy ? cannot thy hearing , and praying , and fasting , carry thee to heaven without hazard ? gird up now thy loyns , and make thy ferventest prayers , and let them meet my justice , and see if they can bear my wrath , or purchase any mercy : no , no ( saith the sinner ) i know it by lamentable experience , that all my prayers and performances will never procure peace to my soul . nor give my satisfaction to thy justice , i onely pray for mercy , and i desire onely to hear some news of mercy , to relieve this miserable wretched soul of mine ; it is onely mercy that must help me , o mercy ( if it be possible ) to this poor distressed soul of mine ▪ me thinks the picture of those poor famished lepers , may ●itly resemble this poor sinner , when the famine was great in samaria ; there were four leprous men sate in the gate of the city , and they said , why sit we here until we dye ? if we enter into the city , the famine is there , and if we sit here , we dye also ; now therefore let us fall into the hands of our enemies , and if they save us alive , we shall live , and if they kill us , we shall but dye : they had but one means to succor themselves withal , and that was to go into the camp of the enemies , and there , as it hapned , they were relieved . thus is the lively picture of a poor sinner in this despairing condition , when he seeth the wrath of god pursuing him , and that the lord hath beset him on every side ; at last he resolves thus with himself , if i go and rest on my priviledges , there is nothing but emptiness ; and if i rest in my natural condition , i perish there also : let me therefore fall into the hands of the lord of hosts . i confess he hath been provoked by me , and for ought i see he is mine enemy ; i am now a damned man , and if the lord cast me out of his presence , i can be but damned . and then he comes to the lord , and he falls down before the footstool of a consuming god , and saith , as job did , what shall i say unto thee , o thou preserver of men ? i have no reason to plead for my self , and i have no power to succor my self , my accusations are my best excuse , all the priviledges in the world cannot justific me , and all my duties cannot save me ; if there be any mercy left , o succor a poor distressed sinner in the very gall of bitterness . this is the behavior of the soul in this work of subjection . the second part of humiliation , is , contentedness to be at the lords disposal ; and this point is of an higher pitch then the former : for example , take a debtor who hath used all means to avoid the creditor , in the end he seeth he cannot avoid the suit , and to bear it he is not able , therefore the onely way is to come in , and to yield himself into his creditors hands ; but suppose the creditor should exact the utmost , and throw him into prison , to be content now to undergo the hardest dealing , it is an hard matter , and a further degree . so when the soul hath offered himself , and he seeth that gods writs are out against him , and he is not able ( whensoever the judgement comes ) to avoid it , nor to bear it , therefore he submits himself , and saith , lord , whether shall i go ? thy anger is heavy and unavoidable ; nay , whatsoever god requires , the soul lays his hand on his mouth , and goes away contented , and well satisfied , and hath nothing at all to say against the lord . this is the nature of contentedness . or for a further light , this contentedness discovers it self in these three following particulars : first , the soul reflects on gods mercy , which though he begg'd when he submitted , yet now he seeth so much corruption and unworthiness in himself , that he acknowledgeth himself unfit for mercy : o mercy , mercy lord ! what ( saith the lord ) i had thought your own duties would have purchased mercy : o no ( saith the soul ) it is onely mercy that must relieve , and succor me ; but such is my vileness , that i am not fit for the least mercy and favor ; and such is the wickedness of this wretched heart of mine , that whatsoever are the greatest plagues , i am worthy of them all , though never so insupportable : all the judgements that god hath threatned , and prepared for the devil and his angels , they are all due to my wretched soul . o ( saith the soul ) had the devils the like hopes , and means , and patience that i have enjoyed , for ought i know they would have been better then i am : it is that which shames the soul in all his sorrows , and makes him say , had they the like mercy ? o those sweet comforts , and those precious promises that i have had ! how many heavy journeys hath the lord jesus made to me ? how often hath he knock'd at my heart , and said , come to me , ye rebellious children ; turn ye , turn ye , why will ye dye ? o that mercy that hath followed me from my house to my walk , and from thence to my closet ; here mercy hath conferred with me , and there mercy hath wooed me ; yea , in my night-thoughts when i awaked , mercy kneeled down before me , and besought me to renounce my bad courses , yet i refused mercy , and would needs have mine own will ; had the devil but such hopes , and such offers of mercy , they that tremble now for want of mercy , they would ( for ought i know ) have given entertainment to it ; and what , do i seek for mercy ? shall i talk of mercy ? what , i mercy ? the least of gods mercies are too good for me , and the heaviest of gods plagues are too little for me ; i suppose ( for so is my opinion ) that god cannot do more against me then i have justly deserved , but be sure , god will not lay more upon me then i am justly worthy of : nay , sure it is , the soul cannot bear nor suffer so much as he hath deserved , if god should proceed in rigor with him ; therefore it reasons thus : i onely for one sin deserve eternal condemnation , for the wages of all sin is death , being committed against divine justice , and against an infinite majesty ; and then what do all these my sins deserve , committed and continued in , against all checks of conscience , and corrections , and the light of gods word ? hell is too good , and ten thousand hells too little to torment such a wretch as i am : what , i mercy ? i am ashamed to expect it ; with what heart ( i pray you ) can i beg this mercy , which i have trodden under my feet ? the lord hath often wooed me , and when his wounds were bleeding , and his side gored , and his hideous cryes coming into mine ears , my god , my god , why hast thou forsaken me ? then , even then this christ have i slighted , and made nothing of his blood ; and can this blood of christ do me now any service ? indeed i crave grace , but how do i think to receive any ? all the pillars of the church can testifie , how often grace and mercy have been offered and offered , but i have ever refused ; how then can i beg any grace ? o this stubbornness and villany , and this wretchedness of mine ! what , i mercy ? it is more then i can expect , i am not worthy of any ; oh no , i am onely worthy to be cast out for ever . secondly , the soul reflects on justice , and now it acknowledgeth the equity of gods dealings , be they never so harsh ; he confesseth that he is as clay in the hands of the potter , and the lord may deal with him as he will : yea , the soul is driven to an amazement at the lords patience , and that he hath been pleased to reprieve him so long , that god hath not cast him out of his presence , and sent him down to hell long ago : it is the frame of the spirit which the poor lamenting church had , it is the lords mercy that we are not confounded , because his compassions fail not . when the lord hath humbled the heart of a drunkard or adulterer , he begins thus to think with himself , the lord saw all the evils i committed ; and what then ? o then the soul admires that ever gods justice was able to bear with such a monster , and that god did not confound him in his drunkenness or burning lusts , and cast him down into hell . oh ( saith he ) it is because his mercies fail not , that my life and all have not failed long ago . hence it is that the soul will not maintain any kinde of murmuring , or heart-rising against the lords dealings ; or if nature and corruption will be striving sometimes , and say , why are not my prayers answered ? i know such a soul humbled , and i see such a foul comforted , and why not i as well as he ? then the soul stifles , and crusheth , and choaks these wretched distempers , and doth also abase it self before the lord , saying , what if god will not hear my prayers ? what if god will not pacifie my conscience , doth the lord do me any wrong ? vile hell-hound that i am , i have my sin and my shame ; wrath is my portion , and hell is my place , thither may i go when i will , it is mercy that god thus deals with me . and now the soul clears god in his justice , and saith , it is just with god that all the prayers which comes from this filthy heart of mine , should be abhorred , and that all my labors in holy duties should never be blessed ; it is i that have sinned against checks of conscience , against knowledge , against heaven , and therefore it is just that i should carry this horror of heart with me to the grave ; it is i that have abused mercy , and therefore it is just that i should go with a tormenting conscience down into hell : and o that ( if i be in hell ) i might have a spirit to glorifie and justifie thy name there ; and say , now i am come down to hell amongst you damned creatures , but the lord is righteous and blessed for ever in all his doings and dealings , and i am justly condemned . thirdly , hence the soul comes to be quiet and frameable under the heavy hand of god in that helpless condition wherein he is , it takes the blow , and lies under the burthen , and goes away quietly and patiently : o this is an heart worth gold ! o ( saith he ) it is fit that god should glorifie himself , though i be damned for ever , for i deserve the worst : whatsoever i have , it is the reward of my own works , and the end of my own ways : if i be damned , i may thank my pride , and my stubbornness , and my peevishness of spirit : what , shall i repine against the lord , because his wrath and his displeasure lies heavy upon me ? oh no! let me repine against my sin , the cause of all ; let me grudge against my base heart that hath nourished these adders in my bosom , but let me bless the lord , and not speak one word against him . thus david , i held my tongue ( saith he ) and spake nothing , because thou lord hast done it : so the soul , when the sentence of condemnation is even seizing upon him , and god seems to cast him out of his favor , then he cryes , i confess god is just , and therefore i bless his name , and yield unto him ; but sin , sin is the worker of all this misery on me . jeremiah pleading the case of the church , now going to captivity , wo is me for my hurt ( saith he ) my wound is grievous ; but i said , truly this is my grief , and i must bear it . such is the frame of an heart truly humbled , it is content to take all to it self , and so to be quiet , saying , this is my wound , and i must bear it ; this is my sorrow , and i will suffer it . thus you see what is the behavior of the soul in this contentedness to be at the lords disposal . object . but some may object , must the soul , or ought the soul to be thus content to be left in this damnable condition ? ans. for answer , this contentedness implyes two things : first , a carnal security , and a regardlesness of a mans estate , and and this is a most cursed sin . secondly , a calmness of soul , not murmuring against the lords dispensation towards him ; and this contentedness is ever accompanyed with the sight of a mans sin , and suing for mercy : it ever improves all means and helps that may bring him nearer to god ; but if mercy shall deny it , the soul is satisfied , and rests well apaid . and this , contentedness ( opposed against quarrelling with the almighty ) every humbled soul doth attain to , although in every one it is not so plainly seen . to give it in a comparison : a thief taken for robbery , on whom the sentence of death hath passed , he should not neglect the means to get a pardon ; and yet if he cannot procure it , he must not murmure against the judge for condemning him to death , because he hath done nothing but law : so we should not be careless in using all means for our good , but still seek to god for mercy : yet thus we must be , and thus we ought to be contented with whatsoever mercy shall deny , because we are not worthy of any favor . the soul in a depth of humiliation , it first stoops to the condition that the lord will appoint , he dares not fly away from god , nor repine against the lord , but he lies down meekly . 2. as he is content with the hardest measure , so he is content with the longest time , he will stay for mercy be it never so long : i will wait upon the lord ( saith isaiah ) that hath hid his face from jacob ; and i will look for him : so the humbled sinner , although the lord hide his face , and turn away his loving countenance from me , yet i will look towards heaven , so long as i have an eye to see , and a hand to lift up ; the lord may take his own time , it is maners for me to wait : nay , the poor broken heart resolves thus , if i lie and lick , the dust all my days , and cry for mercy all my life long , if my last words might be mercy , mercy , it were well i might get mercy at my last gasp . thirdly , as he is content to stay the longest time , so is he content with the least pittance of mercy ; let my condition be never so hard ( saith the soul ) do lord what thou wilt for me , let the fire of thy wrath consume me here , onely recover me hereafter ; if i finde mercy at the last i am content , and whatsoever thou givest i bless thy name for it ; he quarrels not , saying , why are not my graces increased , and why am i not thus and thus comforted ? no , he looks for mercy , and if he have but a crum of mercy he is comforted and quieted for ever : and now ( you may suppose ) the heart is brought very low . hence we collect , 1. that they which have the greatest parts , and gifts , and ability , and honor , are ( for the most part ) hardly brought home to the lord jesus christ ; they that are most hardly humbled , are most hardly converted : what is humiliation , but the emptying of the soul from whatsoever makes it swell ? the heart must not joy in any thing , nor rest upon any thing , but onely yield to the lord , to be at his disposing and carving : now these parts , and gifts , and abilities , and means , are great props and pillars for the heart of a carnal man to rest upon , and to quiet it self withal ; whence the apostle , not many wise men after the flesh , not many mighty men , not many noble men are called : indeed ( blessed be god ) some are , but not many , few ( that have so much of themselves ) are brought to renounce themselves ; and no wonder for a rich man to become poor , and a noble man to be abased , and a wife man to be nothing in himself , this will cost hot water ; and yet this must be in all that belong to the lord : not that god will take away all these outward things and parts , but that they must loosen their affection from these , if they will have christ . 2. that an humble heart makes all a mans life quiet , and marvellously sweetneth whatsoever estate he is in ; indeed sometimes he may be tossed and troubled , yet he is not distracted , because he is contented ; as it is with a ship on the sea , when the billows begin to roar , and the waves are violent , if the anchor be fastened deep , it stays the ship : so this work of humiliation is the anchor of the soul , and the deeper it is fastened , the more quiet is the heart : when job in time of his extremity gave way to his proud heart , he quarrell'd with the almighty , his friends , and all ; but when the lord had humbled him , then , behold , i am vile , and base ; once have i spoken , yea twice , but now no more . and this humiliation quiets a man both in fiercest temptations . heaviest oppositions . 1. in fiercest temptations ; when satan begins to besiege the heart of a poor sinner , and lays battery against him , see how the humbled heart runs him out of breath at his own weapons : dost thou think ( says satan ) to get mercy from the lord , when thy own conscience dogs thee ? nay , go to the place where thou livest , & to the chamber where thou liest , and consider thy fearful abominations , sure god will not respect the prayers of any such vile sinners . true ( saith the poor soul ) i have often denyed the lord when he called upon me , and therefore he may justly deny me all the prayers i make ; yet thus he hath commanded , that seek to him for mercy i must , and if the lord will cast me away , and reject my prayers , i am contented therewith ; what then satan ? what then , saith the devil ? i thought this would have made thee to dispair ; but this is not all , for god will give thee over , and leave thee to thy self , to thy lusts and corruptions , and thy latter end shall be worse then thy beginning ; thou mayest call and cry , and when thou hast done be overthrown ; god will leave thee to thy self , and suffer thy corruptions to prevail against thee , and thou shalt fall fearfully , to the wounding of thy conscience , to the grieving of gods people , to the scandal of the gospel , to the reproach of thy own person . to this answers the humbled soul , if the lord will give me up to my base lusts , which i have given my self so much liberty in , and if the lord will leave me to my sins , because i have left his gracious commands ; and if i shall fall one day , and be disgraced and dishonored , yet let the lord be honored , and let not god lose the praise of his power and justice , and i am contented therewith ; what then satan ? what then , saith the devil ? i sure thought now thou wouldst have despaired ; but this is not all , for when god hath left thee to thy sins , then will he break out in vengeance against thee , and make thee an example of his heavy vengeance to all ages to come ; and therefore it is best for thee to prevent this untimely judgement by some untimely death . to this replies the soul , whatsoever god can do or will do , i know not , yet so great are my sins , that he cannot , or ( at least ) will not do so much against me as i have justly deserved : come what will come , i am contented still to be at the lords disposal ; what then satan ? and thus he runs satan out of breath . the want of this humiliation many times brings a man to desperate stands , and sometimes to untimely deaths : alas , why will you not bear the wrath of the lord ? it is true indeed , your sins are great , and the wrath of god is heavy , yet god will do you good by it , and therefore be quiet . in time of war , when the great canons fly off , the onely way to avoid them , is to lie down in a furrow , and so the bullets fly over : so in all temptations of satan , lie low , and be contented to be at gods disposing , and all these fiery temptations shall not be able to hurt you . 2. in heaviest oppositions : when satan is gone , then come troubles and oppositions of the world , in all which humiliation will quiet the soul . a man is sometimes sea-sick , not because of the tempest , but because of his full stomack , and therefore when he hath emptied his stomack he is well again : so it is with his humiliation of heart , if the heart were emptied truly , though a man were in a sea of oppositions , if he have no more trouble in his stomack , and in his proud heart , then in the oppositions of the world , he might be very well quieted . cast disgrace upon the humble heart causlesly , and he cures it thus , he thinks worse of himself then any man else can do , and if they would make him vile and loathsom , he is more vile in his own eyes then they can make him : o that i could bring your hearts to be in love with this blessed grace of god! is there any soul here that hath been vexed with the temptations of satan , oppositions of men , or with his own distempers ? and would he now arm and fence himself , that nothing should disquiet him , or trouble him , but in all , to be above all , and to rejoyce in all ? o then be humbled , and then be above all the devils in hell : certainly they shall not so disquiet you , as to cause you to be misled , or uncomforted , if you would but be humbled . what remains then ? be exhorted ( as you desire mercy and favor at gods hands ) to this humiliation . and for motives , consider the good things that god hath promised , and which he will bestow upon all that are truly humbled : i shall reduce all to these three following benefits : first , by humiliation we are made capable of all those treasures of wisdom , grace and mercy that are in christ . secondly , humiliation gives a man the comfort of all that good in christ : many have a right to christ , and are dear to god , yet they want much sweet refreshing , because they want this humiliation in some measure . to be truly humbled , is the next way to be truly comforted : the lord will look to him that hath an humble contrite heart , and trembles at his word : the lord will not onely know him ( he knows the wicked too in a general maner ) but he will give him such a gracious look , as shall make his heart dance in his breast . thou poor humbled soul , the lord will give thee a glimpse of his favor , when thou art tired in thy trouble ; when thou lookest up to heaven , the lord will look down upon thee , and will refresh thee with mercy ; god hath prepared a sweet morfel for his childe , he will revive the humble : o be humbled then , every one of you , and the lord jesus , who comes with healing under his wings , will comfort you , and you shall see the salvation of our god . thirdly , humiliation ushers glory . whosoever humbles himself as a little childe ; shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven ; he shall be in the highest degree of grace here , and of glory hereafter : for as thy humiliation , so shall be thy faith , and sanctification , and obedience , and glory . and now ( me-thinks ) your hearts begin to stir , and say , hath the lord engaged himself to this ? o then ( lord ) make me humble . now the lord make me , and thee , and all of us humble , that we may have this mercy . see how everlasting happiness and blessedness looks and waits for every humbled soul ; come ( saith happiness ) thou that hast been vile , and base , and mean in thy own eyes ; come , and be greatest in the kingdom of heaven . brethren , though i cannot prevail with your hearts , yet let happiness , that kneels down , and prays you to take mercy ; let that ( i say ) prevail with you : if any man be so regardless of his own good , i have something to say to him , that may make his heart shake within him . but oh! — who would not have the lord jesus to dwell with him ? who would not have the lord christ , by the glory of his grace , to honor and refresh him ? me thinks your hearts should yearn for it , and say , o lord break my heart , and humble me , that mercy may be my portion for ever ; nay , me thinks every man should say as st. paul did , i would to god that not onely i , but all my children and servants were not onely thus as i am , but also ( if it were gods will ) much more humbled , that they might be much more comforted and refreshed . then might you say with comfort on your deaths-bed , though i go away , and leave wife and children behinde me , poor and mean in the world , yet i leave christ with them : when you are gone , this will be better for them , then all the beaten gold or honors in the world . what can i say ? but since the lord offers so kindely , now kiss the son , be humble , yield to all gods commands , take home all truths , and be at gods disposing : let all the evil that is threatned , and all the good that is offered prevail with your hearts , or if means cannot , yet the lord prevail with you ; the lord empty you , that christ may fill you ; the lord humble you , that you may enjoy happiness and peace , and be lifted up to the highest pinacle of glory , there to raign for ever and ever . chap. v. the call on gods part , for the soul to close with , and to relye on christ . hitherto of our first general , to wit , the preparation of the soul for christ : the next is , the implantation of the soul into christ ; and that hath two parts : 1. the putting of the soul into christ . 2. the growing of the soul with christ . as a graft is first put into the stock , and then it grows together with the stock : these two things are answerable in the soul , and when it is brought into this , then a sinner comes to be partaker of all spiritual benefits . the first part is , the putting in of the soul : when the soul is brought out of the world of sin , to lie upon , and to close with the lord jesus christ ; and this hath two particular passages : the call on gods part . the answer on mans part . the call on gods part is this , when the lord by the call of his gospel , and work of his spirit , doth so clearly reveal the fulness of mercy , that the soul humbled returns answer . in which observe the means cause whereby god doth call . 1. the means is onely the ministery of the gospel ; the sum whereof is this , that there is fulness of mercy , and grace , and salvation brought unto us through the lord jesus christ . hence the phrase of scripture calls this gospel , or this mercy , a treasury ; all the treasures of wisdom and holiness are in christ : not one treasure , but all treasures ; not some treasures , but all treasures : where the gospel comes , there is joy for the sorrowful , peace for the troubled , strength for the weak , relief seasonable and suitable to all wants , miseries and necessities , both present and future . if then sorrow assail thee ( when thou art come thus far ) look not on thy sins , to pore upon them ; neither look into thy own sufficiency , to procure any good there . it is true , thou must see thy sins , and sorrow for them , but this is for the lower form , and thou must get this lesson before-hand ; and when thou hast gotten this lesson of contrition and humiliation , look then onely to gods mercy , and the riches of his grace in christ . 2. for the cause : the lord doth not onely appoint the means , but by the work of the spirit , he doth bring all the riches of his grace into the soul truly humbled : if you ask , how ? first , with strength of evidence ; the spirit presents to the broken-hearted sinner , the right of the freeness of gods grace to the soul : and secondly , the spirit doth forcibly soak in the rellish of that grace , and by an over-piercing work , doth leave some dint of supernatural and spiritual vertue on the heart . now the word of the gospel , and the work of the spirit always go together , not that god is tyed to any means , but that he tyeth himself to the means : hence the gospel is called , the power of god to salvation , because the power of god ordinarily , and in common course appears therein : the waters of life and salvation run onely in the channel of the gospel ; there are golden mines of grace , but they are onely to be found in the climates of the gospel : nay , observe this , when all arguments prevail not with corruption , to perswade the heart to go to god , one text of scripture will stand a man in stead above all humane learning and inventions , because the spirit goes forth in this and none else . this may teach us the worth of the gospel above all other things in the world , for it is accompanied with the spirit , and brings salvation with it . what if a man had all the wealth and policy in the world , and wanted this ? he were a fool : what if one were able to dive deep into the secrets of nature , to know the motions of the stars , to speak with the tongues of men and angels , and yet know nothing belonging to his peace , what avails it ? why do we value a mine , but because of the gold in it ? or a cabinet , but because of the pearl in it ? o this is that pearl we sell all for . wouldst thou know whether thou art carnal or spiritual ? observe then , if thou hast the spirit , it ever came with the gospel : see then how the soul stands affected with the gospel , and so it stands affected to the spirit . is it so ( may every soul reason with it self ) that i will not suffer the word to prevail with me ? then shall i miss of the spirit , then will christ none of me . o remember , the time will come when you must dye as well as your neighbors , and then you will say , lord jesus forgive my sins ; lord jesus receive my soul : but christ will answer , away , be gone , you are none of mine , i know you not . any man , whether noble or ignoble , let him be what he will be , if he hath not the spirit he is none of christs : his you are to whom you obey ; but pride and covetousness you obey : pride therefore will say , this heart is mine , lord , i have domineered over it , and i will torment it : corruptions will say , we have owned this soul , and we will damn it . you therefore that have made a tush at the word , this wind shakes no corn , and these words break no bones , little do you think that you have opposed the spirit : what , resist the spirit ? me-thinks it is enough to sink any soul under heaven : hereafter therefore think this with thy self , were he but a man that speaks , yet would i not despise him ; but that is not all , there goeth gods spirit with the word , and shall i despise it ? there is but one step between this and that unpardonable sin against the holy ghost , onely adding malice to my rage : i oppose the father , perhaps the son mediates for me ; i despise the son , perhaps the holy ghost pleads for me ; but if i oppose the spirit , none can succor me . chap. vi . sect. 1. the answer on mans part for the soul to close with , and to relye on christ . hitherto of the call on gods part ; now we are come to the answer on mans part . no sooner hath the gospel and gods spirit clearly revealed the fulness of gods mercy in christ , but then the whole soul ( both the minde that discovers mercy , and hope that expects it , and desire that pursues it , and love that entertains it , and the will that rests on it ) gives answer to the call of god therein . mercy is a proper object of all these , of the minde to be illightned , of hope to be sustained , of desire to be supported , of love to be cheared : nay , there is a full satisfactory sufficiency of all good in christ , that so the will of man may take full repose and rest in him ; therefore the lord saith , come unto me , all that are weary and heavy laden ; come minde , and hope , and desire , and love , and will , and heart : they all answer , we come : the minde saith , let me know this mercy above all , and desire to know nothing but christ and him crucified : let me expect this mercy ( saith hope ) that belongs to me , and will befal me : desire saith , let me long after it : o — saith love , let me embrace and welcome it : o , saith the heart , let me lay hold on the handle of salvation ; here we will live , and here we will dye at the footstool of gods mercy . thus all go , minde , hope , desire , love , joy , the will , and all lay hold upon the promise , and say , let us make the promise a prey , let us prey upon mercy , as the wilde beasts do upon their provision . thus the faculties of the soul hunt and pursue this mercy , and lay hold thereupon , and satisfie themselves herein . sect. 2. a sight of christ , or of mercy in christ . but for a further discovery of these works of the soul , we shall now enter into particulars : and for their order , first , the lord lets a light into the minde , for what the eye never seeth , the heart never desireth , hope never expecteth , the soul never imbraceth : if the soul then seems to hang afar off , and dares not believe that christ will have mercy on him , in this case the spirit lets in a light into his heart , and discovers unto him , that god will deal graciously with him . it is with a sinner , as with a man that sits in darkness , haply he seeth a light in the street out of a window , but he sits still in darkness , and is in the dungeon all the while , and he thinks , how good were it , if a man might enjoy that light ? so , many a poor humble-hearted broken sinner seeth , and hath an inckling of gods mercies , he heareth the saints speak of gods love , and his goodness , and compassion ; ah ( thinks he ) how happy are they , blessed are they , what an excellent condition are they in ? but i am in darkness still , and never had a drop of mercy vouchsafed unto me : at last , the lord sets a light in his house , and puts the candle into his own hand , and makes him see by particular evidence , thou shalt be pardoned , and thou shalt be saved . the maner how the spirit works this , is discovered in three passages : first , the spirit of the lord meeting with an humble , broken , lowly , self-denying sinner ( he that is a proud stout-hearted wretch knows nothing of this matter ) it opens the eye , and now the humbled sinner begins to see ( like the man in the gospel ) some light and glimmering about his understanding , that he can look into , and discern the spiritual things of god . 2. then the lord says before him all the riches of the treasure of his grace ; no sooner hath he given him an eye , but then he lays colours before him ( the unsearchable riches of christ ) that he may see and look , and fall in love with those sweet treasures ; and then saith the soul , o that mercy , and grace , and pardon were mine ! o that my sins were done away ! the lord saith , i will refresh them that are heavy laden ; then saith the soul , o that i had that refreshing ! you shall have rest , saith god ; o that i had rest too , saith the soul ! and now the soul begins to look after the mercy and compassion which is laid afore it . 3. the spirit of the lord doth witness or certifie throughly and effectually to the soul , that this mercy in christ belongs unto him ; and without this , the soul of an humble broken-hearted sinner hath no ground to go unto christ : what good doth it an hungry stomack to hear that there is a great deal of cheer and dainties provided for such and such men , and he have no part therein ? take a beggar that hath a thousand pounds told before him ( he may apprehend the sum of so much gold and so much silver ) but what is all that to me ( saith he ) if in the mean time i dye and starve ? it falls out in this case with a broken-hearted sinner , as with a prodigal childe : the prodigal he hath spent his means , and abused his father , and now is there a famine in the land , and poverty is befallen him ; he knows indeed there is meat and cloaths enough in his fathers house , but ( alas ) what can he expect thence but his fathers heavy displeasure ? if a man should say , go to your father , he will give you a portion again ; would he ( think you ) believe this ? no ( would he say ) it is my father i have offended , and will he now receive me ? yet should a man come and tell him , that he heard his father say so , and then shew him a certificate under his fathers hand that it was so , this would sure draw him into some hope that his father meant well towards him : so it is with a sinner when he is apprehensive of all his rebellions ; if a man should tell such a soul , go to god , and he will give you abundance of mercy and compassion ; the soul cannot believe it , but thinks , what , i mercy ? no , no : blessed are they that walk humbly before god , and conform their lives to his word , let them take it ; but for me , it is mercy i have opposed , it is grace i have rejected ; no mercy , no grace for me : but now if god send a messenger from heaven , or if it come under the hand of his spirit , that he will accept of him , and pass by all his sins , this makes the soul grow into some hopes , and upon this ground it goes unto the lord : but here observe me , that none either in heaven or in earth , but onely gods spirit can make this certificate ; when it is night , all the candles in the world cannot take away the darkness ; so all the means of grace and salvation , all the candle-light of the ministry , they are all good helps , but the darkness of the night will not be gone , before the sun of righteousness arise in our hearts . hence it is that it proves so difficult a matter to comfort a distressed soul ; i shall one day perish , saith david , i shall one day go down to hell : saith the soul , let all the ministers under heaven cry , comfort ye , comfort ye : still he replyes , i mercy ? and i comfort ? will the lord pardon me ? it is mercy i have despised and trampled under my feet , and i mercy ? no , no : thus we ministers observe by experience , some that in their own apprehensions are gone to the bottom of hell , we make known to them reasons , and arguments , and promises , but nothing takes place ; what 's the reason ? o none but gods spirit can do it , he must either come from heaven , and say , comfort ye , comfort ye my people , or it will never prevail : let me speak therefore to you that are ministers , you do well to labor to give comfort to a poor fainting soul , but always say , comfort lord , o lord , say unto this poor soul , that thou art his salvation . sect. 3. hope in christ . the minde being thus illightned , the lord calls on the affections ; come desire , come love : but the first voice is to hope , now hope is a faculty of the soul that looks out for mercy , and waits for the same ; so the apostle , phil. 1. 20. according to my earnest expectation : it is a similitude taken from a man that looks after another , and lifts up himself as high as he may to see if any be coming after him ; so here the soul stands as it were a tip toe , expecting when the lord comes ; he hath heard the lord say , mercy is coming towards thee , mercy is provided for thee : now this affection is set out to meet mercy afar off , it is the looking out of the soul : o when will it be lord ? thou sayest mercy is prepared , thou sayest mercy is approaching ; the soul standeth a tip-toe , o when will it come lord ! here is the voyce of hope ; this sinful soul of mine , it may through gods mercy be sanctified ; this troubled perplexed soul of mine , it may through gods mercy be pacified ; this evil and corruption which harbors in me , and hath taken possession of me , it may through gods mercy be removed ; and when will it be , lord ? the maner how gods spirit works this , is discerned in three particulars : 1. the lord doth sweetly stay the heart , and fully perswade the soul , that a mans sins are pardonable , and that all his sins may be pardoned , and that all the good things he wanteth , they may be bestowed ; this is a great sustainer of the soul : when a poor sinner seeth his sins in their number , nature ; when he seeth no rest in the creature , nor in himself , though all means , all help , all men , all angels , should joyn together , yet they cannot pardon one sin of his ; then the lord lifteth up his voyce , and saith from heaven , thy sins are pardonable in the lord jesus christ . 2. the lord doth sweetly perswade the soul that all his sins shall be pardoned ; the lord makes this appear , and perswades his heart that he intendeth mercy , that christ hath procured pardon for the soul of a broken-hearted sinner in special , and that he cannot but come unto it ; by this means hope comes to be assured , and certainly perswaded to look out , knowing the promise shall be at the last accomplished : the former onely sustained the heart , and provoked it to look for mercy , but this comforts the soul , that undoubtedly it shall have mercy : the lord jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost : now saith the broken and humble sinner , i am lost ; did christ come to save sinners ? christ must fail of his end , or i of my comfort : god saith , come unto me , all you that are weary and heavy laden : i am weary , and unless the lord intend good unto me , why should he invite me and bid me come ? surely he means to shew me mercy , nay he promiseth to relieve me , when i come therefore he will do good unto me . 3. the lord lets in some relish and taste of the sweetness of his love , some scent and savor of it , so that the soul is deeply affected with it , and carryed mightily unto it , that it cannot be severed ; it is the letting in the riches of his love , that turneth the expectation of the soul another way , yea it turneth the whole stream of the soul thitherward . this reproves , 1. those that cast off all hope . 2. those that without ground will do nothing but hope . 1. if the lord stir up the heart of his to hope for his mercy , then take heed of that fearful sin of despair . despair we must in our selves , and that is good ; but this despair we speak of , is hainous in the eyes of god , and hurtful to thee . 1. injurious to god , thou goest to the deep dungeon of thy corruption , and there thou sayest , these sins can never be pardoned , i am still proud , and more stubborn , this distress god seeth not , god succors not , his hand cannot reach , his mercy cannot save . now mark what the prophet saith to such a perplexed soul , why sayest thou thy way is hid from the lord ? the lord saith , why sayest thou ? is any thing too hard for the lord ? o you wrong god exceedingly , you think it a matter of humility , when you account so vilely of your selves : can god pardon sin to such unworthy creatures ? it is true ( saith the soul ) manasses was pardoned , paul was converted , gods saints have been received to mercy , but can my sins be pardoned ? can my soul be quickned ? no , no , my sins are greater then can be forgiven . why then , poor soul , satan is stronger to overthrow thee , then god to save thee ; and thus you make god to be no god , nay you make him to be weaker then sin , then hell , then the devil . 2. this sin is dangerous to thy own soul , it is that which taketh up the bridge , and cutteth off all passages , nay it plucks up a mans endeavors ( as it were ) quite by the roots : alas ( saith he ) what skilleth for a man to pray ? what profits it a man to read ? what benefit in all the means of grace ? the stone is rolled upon me , and my condemnation sealed for ever : i will never look after christ , grace , salvation any more ; the time of grace is past , the day is gone . and thus the soul sinketh in it self , will the lord cast me off for ever , and will he shew no favor ? i said ( saith david ) this is my infirmity : the word in the original is , this is my sickness ; as who should say , what , is mercy gone for ever ? this will be my death , then is life gone . 2. this reproves and condemns that great sin of presumption , a sin more frequent , and ( if possibly may be ) more dangerous ; as they said , saul had slain his thousands , and david his ten thousands : so hath despair slain his thousands , but presumption his ten thousands . it is the counsel of peter , that every man should be ready to give an account of his faith and hope that is in him . let us see the reasons that perswade you to these groundless foolish hopes ? you say , you hope to be saved , and you hope to go to heaven , and you hope to see gods face with comfort ; and have you no grounds ? it is a foolish hope , an unreasonable hope . but comfort ye , comfort ye , poor drooping spirits ; they that wait upon the lord shall renew their strength : you say , you cannot do this , and you cannot do that ; i say , if you can but hope , and wait for the mercy of the lord , you are rich christians . if a man have many reversions , they that judge of his estate , will not judge him for his present estate , but for the reversions he shall have : haply thou hast not for the present the sense and feeling of gods love and assurance ; away with that feeling , do not dote upon it , thou hast reversions of old leases , ancient mercies , old compassions , such as have been reserved from the beginning of the world , and know thou hast a fair inheritance . you will say , were my hopes of the right stamp , then might i comfort my self ; but there are many false , flashy hopes , and how should i know that my hope is sound and good ? i answer , you may know it by these particulars : 1. a grounded hope hath a peculiar certainty in it , it doth bring home unto the soul in special maner , the goodness of god , and the riches of his love in christ jesus . it stands not on is's and and's , but saith , it must undoubtedly , it must certainly be mine ; and good reason , for this hope hath a word to hang and hold upon : what is that ? i will wait upon the lord , and i hope in his word ; it is a scripture-hope , a word hope : the word saith , the lord came to save those that were lost ; why , i finde my self to be lost , saith the soul , and therefore i hope : the lord will seek me , though i cannot seek him ; i hope the lord will finde me , though i cannot finde my self ; i hope the lord will save me , though i cannot save my self . so the word saith , he appointeth them that mourn in sion , to give unto them beauty for ashes : will you have a legacy of joy , mercy and pity ? here it is , the lord christ left it you , i bequeath and leave this to all broken-hearted sinners , to all you humble mourning sinners , this is your legacy , sue for it in the court , and you shall have it for ever . 2. a grounded hope is ever of great power and strength to hold the soul to the truth of the promise ; hence take a poor sinner when he is at the weakest , under water , when all temptations , oppositions , corruptions grow strong against him , and he saith , i shall one day perish by the hand of saul , this proud , foolish , filthy heart of mine will be my bane , i shall never get power , strength and grace against these sins . here is the lowest under of a poor soul . if a man should now reply , then cast off all hope and confidence , reject the means , and turn to your sins : mark how hope steppeth in , and saith , nay , whatsoever i am and do , whatsoever my condition is , i will use the means ; i am sure all my help is in christ , all my hope is in the lord jesus , and if i must perish , i will perish seeking him , and waiting upon him . why , this is hope , and i warrant , that soul shall never go to hell ; i will wait for the lord , yea though he hath hid himself from the house of jacob . the last use is of exhortation : i desire you , i intreat you ( i will not say , i command you , though this may be enjoyned ) if you have any hope of heaven , if you have any treasure in christ , labor to quicken this affection above all : the means are these — 1. labor to be much acquainted with the precious promises of god , to have them at hand , and upon all occasions : these are thy comforts , and will support thy soul , as the body without comfort is unfit for any thing ; so it is here , unless a man hath that provision of gods promises , and have them at hand daily , and have them dished out , and fitted for him , his heart will fail . 2. maintain in thy heart a deep and serious acknowledgement of that supreme authority of the lord , to do what he will , and how he will , according to his pleasure . alas , we think too often to bring god to our bow , we have hoped thus long , and god hath not answered , and shall we wait still ? wait ! ah wait , and bless god that you may wait : if you may lie at gods feet , and put your mouthes in the dust , and at the end of your days have one crum of mercy , it is enough ; therefore check those distempers , shall i wait still ? it is a most admirable strange thing , that a poor worm , worthy of hell , should take up state , and stand upon terms with god : he will not wait upon god ; who must wait then ? must god wait , or man wait ? it was the apostles question , wilt thou now restore the kingdom of israel ? to whom our savior answered , it is not for you to know the times and seasons ; as who should say , hands off , it is for you to wait , and to expect mercy , it is not for you to know : if you begin to wrangle , and say , how long , lord ? when , lord ? and why not now , lord ? why not i , lord ? now check thy own heart , and say , it is not for me to know , it is for me to be humble , abased , and to wait for mercy . sect. 4. a desire after christ . vvhen the soul is humbled , and the eye opened , then he begins thus to reason , o happy i that see mercy , but miserable i , if i come to see this , and never have a share in it ! o why not i ( lord ? ) why not my sins pardoned ? and why not my eorruptions subdued ? my soul now thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land , my affections now hunger after righteousness both infused and imputed ; now this desire is begotten thus : when the soul is come so far , that after a through conviction of sin , and sound humiliation under gods mighty hand , it hath a timely and seasonable revelation of the glorious mysteries of christ , of his excellencies , invitations , truth , tender-heartedness , &c. of the heavenly splendor , and riches , of the pearl of great price ; then doth the soul conceive by the help of the holy ghost , this desire and vehement longing : and ( least any couzen themselves by any misconceits about it , as the notorious sinner , the meer civil man , and the formal professor ) it is then known to be saving : 1. when it is joyned with an hearty willingness and unfeigned resolution , to sell all , to part with all sin , to bid adieu for ever to our darling-delight ; it is not an effect of self-love , not an ordinary wish of natural appetite ( like balaams , numb. 23. 10. ) of those who desire to be happy , but are unwilling to be holy ; who would gladly be saved , but are loth to be sanctified ; no , if thou desirest earnestly , thou wilt work accordingly ; for as the desire is , so will the endeavor be . 2. when it is earnest , eager , vehement , extreamly thirsting after christ , as the parched earth for refreshing showers , or the hunted hart for the water-brooks . we read of a scotish penitent , who a little before his confession , freely confessed his fault , to the shame ( as he said ) of himself , and to the shame of the devil , but to the glory of god ; he acknowledged it to be so heynous , and horrible , that had he a thousand lives , and could he dye ten thousand deaths , he could not make satisfaction : notwithstanding ( said he ) lord , thou hast left me this comfort in thy word , that thou hast said , come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden , and i will refresh you : lord , i am weary , lord , i am heavy laden with my sins , which are innumerable , i am ready to sink , lord , even into hell , unless thou in thy mercy put to thine hand and deliver me : lord , thou hast promised by thine own word out of thy own mouth , that thou wilt refresh the weary soul : and with that he thrust out one of his hands , and reaching as high as he could towards heaven , with a louder voyce and a streined , he cryed , i challenge thee , lord , by that word , and by that promise which thou hast made , that thou perform and make it good to me , that call for ease and mercy at thy hands , &c. proportionably , when heavy-heartedness for sin hath so dryed up the bones , and the angry countenance of god so parched the heart , that the poor soul begins now to gasp for grace , as the thirsty land for drops of rain ; then the poor sinner ( though dust and ashes ) with an holy humility thus speaks unto christ , o merciful lord god , thou art alpha and omega , the beginning and the end ; thou sayest it is done , of things that are yet to come , so faithful and true are thy decrees and promises ; that thou hast promised by thine own word out of thy own mouth , that unto him that is a thirst , thou wilt give him of the fountain of the water of life freely . o lord , i thirst , i faint , i languish , i long for one drop of mercy : as the hart panteth for the water-brooks , so panteth my soul after thee , o god , and after the yearning bowels of thy wonted compassions : had i now in possession the glory , the wealth , and pleasures of the whole world ; nay , had i ten thousand lives , joyfully would i lay them all down and part with them , to have this poor trembling soul of mine received into the bleeding arms of my blessed redeemer . o lord , my spirit within me is melted into tears of blood , my heart is shivered into pieces ; out of the very place of dragons and shadow of death , do i lift up my thoughts heavy and sad before thee , the remembrance of my former vanities and pollutions , is a very vomit to my soul , and it is sorely wounded with the grievous representation thereof : the very flames of hell , lord , the fury of thy just wrath , the scorchings of my own conscience , have so wasted and parched mine heart , that my thirst is insatiable , my bowels are hot within me , my desire after jesus christ , pardon and grace , is greedy as the grave ; the coals thereof are coals of fire , which hath a most vehement flame : and , lord , in thy blessed book thou callest and cryest , ho , every one that thirsteth , come ye to the waters . in that great day of the feast , thou stoodest and cryed'st with thine own mouth , if any man thirst , let him come unto me and drink ; and these are thine own words , those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled . i challenge thee , lord , in this my extreamest thirst after thine own blessed self , and spiritual life in thee , by that word , and by that promise which thou hast made , that thou perform , and make it good to me , that lie grovelling in the dust , and trembling at thy feet : oh! open now that promised well of life , for i must drink , or else i dye . the means to obtain this desire , are these three : 1. be acquainted throughly with thine own necessities and wants , with that nothingness and emptiness that is in thy self ; a groundless presumption makes a man careless ; see into thine own necessities , confess the want of this desire after the lord jesus christ . 2. labor to spread forth the excellency of all the beauty and surpassing glory , that is in the promises of god : couldst thou but view them in their proper colours , they would even ravish thee , and quicken thy desires . 3. after all this , know it is not in thy power to bring thy heart to desire christ , thou canst not hammer out a desire upon thine own anvil , dig thy own pit , and hew thy own rock as long as thou wilt ; nay , let all the angels in heaven , and all the ministers on earth provoke thee , yet if the hand of the lord be wanting , thou shalt not lift up thine heart , nor step one step towards heaven ; then go to him who is able to work this desire in thy soul . it is the complaint of a christian , o they are troubled , because they cannot fetch a good desire from their own souls , and one falls , another sinks , a third shakes , and they are overwhelmed with discouragement : what a wretched heart have i ? ( faith one ) i grace ? no , no , the world i can desire , the life of my childe i long for , and i say with ( rachel ) let me have honor or else i dye : but i cannot long for the unconceivable riches of the lord jesus christ ; and will the lord shew any mercy upon me ? is it thus ? remember now , desires grow not in thy garden , they spring not from the root of thy abilities : o seek unto god , and confess , in truth lord , it is thou from whom come all our desires , it is thou must work them in us as thou hast promised them to us ; and therefore , lord , quicken thou this soul , and inlarge this heart of mine , for thou onely art the god of this desire . thus hale down a desire from the lord , and from the promise , for there onely must thou have it : the smoaking flax god will not quench : flax will not smoak , but a spark must come into it , and that will make it catch fire and smoak ; thus lay your hearts before the lord , and say , good lord , here is onely flax , here is onely a stubborn heart , but strike thou by thy promise one spark from heaven , that i may have a smoaking desire after christ , and after grace . sect. 5. a love of christ . vve have run through two affections , hope & desire , and the next is love : a possible good stirs up hope , a necessary excellency in that good , setleth desire , and a rellish in that good setled , kindles love . thus is the order of gods work : if the good be absent , the understanding saith , it is to be desired , o that i had it ! then it sends out hope , and that waits for that good , and stays till it can see it ; and yet if that good cannot come , then desire hath another proper work , and it goes up and down wandring , and seeketh and sueth for christ jesus . after this , if the lord jesus be pleased to come himself into the view of the heart , which longeth thus after him , then love leads him into the soul , and tells the will of him , saying , lo here is jesus christ the messiah , that hath ordered these great things for his saints and people . the motive or ground of this love , is gods spirit in the promise , letting in some intimation of gods love into the soul ; thus psal. 42. 8. the lord will command his loving kindeness in the day time : this is a phrase taken from kings and princes , and great commanders in the field , whose words of command stand for laws ; so the lord sends out his loving kindeness , and saith , go out , my everlasting love and kindeness , take a commission from me , and to go that humble , thirsty and hunger-bitten sinner , and go and prosper , and prevail , and settle my love effectually upon him , and fasten my mercy upon him ; i command my loving kindeness to do it . thus the lord doth put a commission into the hands of his loving kindeness , that it shall do good to the poor soul , yea though it withdraw it self , saying , what , i mercy ? will christ jesus accept of me ? no , no ; there is no hope of mercy for me : indeed if i could pray thus , hear thus , and perform duties with that enlargement , and had those parts and abilities , then there were some comfort , but now there is no hope of mercy for me . we demand , is this your case ? is it thus and thus ? are you thus humbled ? and have you thus longed for the riches of his mercy in christ ? lo then , the lord hath put a commission into the hands of his loving kindeness , saying , go to that poor soul , and break open the doors upon that weary weltering heart , and break off all those bolts , and rend off that veil of ignorance and carnal reason , and all those arguments : go ( i say ) to that soul , and chear it , and warm it , and tell it from me , that his sins are pardoned , and his soul shall be saved , and his sighs and prayers are heard in heaven ; and i charge you do the work before you come again . here is the ground of love , gods love affecting the heart and setled upon it , it breeds a love to god again ; we love him , because he loved us first : the burning-glass must receive heat of the beams of the sun , before it burn any thing ; so there must be a beam of gods love to fall upon the soul , before it can love god again : i drew them with the cords of a man , even with the bands of love ; god lets in the cords of love into the soul , and that draws love again to god : he brought me into the banqueting-house , and his banner over me was love ; stay me with flaggons , comfort me with apples , for i am sick of love . when the banner of christs love is spread over the soul , the soul comes to be sick in love with christ . now this love of god doth beget our love in three particulars : first , there is a sweetness and a rellish which gods love lets into the soul , and warms the heart with ; you shall see how the fire is kindled by and by : as when a man is fainting , we give him aqua-vitae ; so a fainting sinner is cold at the heart , and therefore the lord lets in a drop of his loving kindeness , and this warms the heart , and the soul is even filled with the happiness of the mercy of god ; let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth ( saith the spouse in the canticles ) for his love is better then wine : the kisses of his mouth , are the comforts of his word and spirit ; the soul saith , o let the lord refresh me with the kisses of his mouth , let the lord speak comfort to my heart , and this is better then wine . secondly , as that sweetness warms the heart , so the freeness of the love of god let in and intimated , begins even to kindle this love in the soul , that it sparkles again : god setteth out his love towards us , seeing that while we were yet sinners , christ dyed for us . this commends the love of god , the lord sends to poor and miserable , sinful broken-hearted sinners , and saith , commend my mercy to such a one , and tell him , that though he hath been an enemy to me , yet i am a friend to him , and though he hath been rebellious against me , yet i am a god and father to him : when the poor sinner considers this with himself , he saith , is the lord so merciful to me ? i that loved my sins , and continued in them , had it not been just that i should have perished in them ? but will the lord not onely spare his enemy , but give his son for him ? o let my soul for ever rejoyce in this unconceiveable goodness of god! be thy heart never so hard , if it have but the sense of this , it cannot but stir thee to humiliation . thirdly , the greatness of the freeness of this mercy of god , being setled upon the heart , enflames it , the sweetness warms the heart , this freeness kindles the fire , and when the greatness of the sweetness comes to be valued , this sets the heart all on a flame ; the apostle desires , that the ephesians being rooted and grounded in love , might be able to comprehend with all saints , what is the breadth and height of the love of god in christ ; as if he had said , the unmeasureablenes of gods mercy will blow up the soul , and enflame the heart with admirable love of god again , and will make the soul say , what , i that have done all that i could against this good god ? o it breaks my heart to think of it ! there was no name under heaven that i did blaspheme and tear in pieces , more then this name ; no command under heaven i so much despised , as the command of god and of christ ; no spirit that i grieved , so much as the good spirit of god ; and therefore had the lord onely given me a look , or spoken a word to me , it had been an infinite mercy , but to send a son to save me , it is incomparable : i could not conceive to do so much evil against him , as he hath done good to me : o the breadth of that mercy beyond all limits ! o the length of that mercy beyond all time ! o the depth of that mercy below a mans misery ! o the height of that mercy above the height of my understanding ! if my hands were all love , that i could work nothing but love , & if mine eyes were able to see nothing but love , and my minde to think of nothing but love , and if i had a thousand bodies , they were all too little to love that god that hath thus unmeasureably loved me a poor sinful hell-hound : i will love the lord dearly ( saith david ) o lord my strength . have i gotten the lord jesus to be my comfort , my buckler and my shield ? if i have any good , he begins it ; if i have any comfort , he blesseth it : therefore i will love thee dearly , o lord my strength , o how should i but love thee ! me thinks there is a poor sincere soul that saith , my understanding are not so deep as others , my tongue runs not so glib as such and such ; i cannot talk so freely of the things of grace and salvation , i have meaner parts , and cannot inlarge my self in holy duties and holy services ; i cannot dispute for a savior , or perform such duties as others can do : yet , sweet soul , canst thou love christ jesus , and rejoyce in him ? o yes ! i bless the name of the lord , that all i have , all my friends , and parts , and means , and abilities , are but as dung and dross in comparison of christ jesus ; it were the comfort of my soul , if i might be ever with him . say you so ? go thy way , and the god of heaven go with thee : this is a work of god that will never leave thee , it is a badge and proper livery that the lord jesus gives onely to his saints ; never a meer professor under heaven ever wore it , never any hypocrite under heaven to whom god did intend it , but onely to those whom he hath effectually called , and whom he will save ; therefore though thou wantst all , thou hast this to comfort thee in the want of all ; and thou mayest say , i can say little for christ , my tongue faulters , and my memory is weak , yet the lord knows i love the lord jesus . this is enough , david desired no more , but what god was wont to do to his children that loved his name , do to me ( saith the text ) as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name ; i know thou lovest them that love thee , and wilt save and glorifie them in the end , i desire no more but this , do as thou usest to do to those that love thy name . and doth david , a king , desire no more ? sure then if thou ( poor soul ) hast so much as he had , it is enough , be quiet with thy childes part , thy lot is faln into a marvellous fair ground . some may say , this is all the difficult , how may i know whether my love be a true love , or a false love ? how may i know , that my love is of the right stamp . let every man put his love upon the trial , and examine thus , whether doest thou welcome christ and grace , according to the worth of them ? if thou doest , it will appear in these particulars : 1. observe the root and rise from whence thy love came , canst thou say , i love the lord , because he hath loved me ? then thy love is of the right mettle , and know it for ever , that that god which cannot but love himself , he cannot but like that love which came from himself : is thy soul affected and enlarged in love to the lord , because thou hast felt and retained the relish and sweetness of his grace ? canst thou say , the lord hath let in a glimpse of his favor ? and the lord hath said in his truth , he looks to him that trembles at his word , the minister said it , and the spirit saith it , that my mercy is registred in heaven : oh how should i love the lord ! my sins are many , which i have bewailed , my sighs and sobs i have put up to heaven , and at the last the lord hath given me a gracious answer : oh how should i love the lord my strength dearly ? if it be thus with thee , thy love is sound , and will never fail . 2. if thou entertain thy savior , as it beseems him , thou must entertain him as a king , and that is thus ; give up all to him , and entertain none with him upon terms of honor , but such as retain to him , or be attendants upon him ; love all in christ , and for christ , but express thy love and joy to christ above all : he is as a king , and all the rest are but as retainers ; he that loves any thing equal with a christ , it is certain he did never love christ ; to set up any thing cheek by jole with christ , it is all one as if a man did put a slave into the same chamber with the king , which is upon the point to drive him away . 3. the soul that rightly entertains christ , and studies wholly to give him contentment , he is marvellous wary and watchful , that he may not sad that good spirit of god to grieve him , and cause him to go away as displeased : see this cant. 3. 4 , 5. the spouse sought long for her beloved , and at last brought him home , and when she had welcomed him , she gives a charge to all the house , not to stir nor awaken her love , till he please . when a prince comes unto the house of a great man , what charge is there given to make no noise in the night , lest such and such a man be awakened before his time ? the soul when it hath received the spirit of the lord jesus christ , doth thus ; he gives a peremptory charge to keep watch and ward , and gives a charge to hope , and desire , and love , and joy , and the minde , and all , not to grieve and molest the good spirit of god , let there be no motion but to entertain it , no advise but to receive it , and do nothing that may work the least kinde of dislike unto it . 4. he that truly entertains christ , rejoyceth in the good and glory of christ : when mephibosheth had been wrongfully accused to david , and when david who had taken away all the inheritance from him , was returned in safety ; then said david to comfort him , thou and ziba divide the land : nay , said mephibosheth , let him take all , forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace , it matters not for inheritance , and for my self and my life , i pass not , sith the king is returned in peace ; it is enough that i enjoy thy presence , which is better to me then goods , life or liberty : so it is with a kinde loving heart , which cannot endure to see christs honor and glory layed in the dust , but if his praise be advanced , then is he glad , lord , i have enough ( saith the soul ) that christ is mine , and that his honor and glory is magnified , whatsoever becomes of me it matters not ; let the world take all , if i may have christ , and see him praised and magnified : let this try any mans spirit under heaven , and labor to bring the soul to this pitch : a minister in his place , and a master in his place , and every christian in his place ; let it be our care to honor god , not our selves ; and let it be our comfort , if god may be better honored by others , then by our selves : this is our baseness of spirit , we can be content to lift up christ upon our shoulders , that we may lift up our selves by it ; but we should be content to lie in the dust , that the lord may be praised ; and if any of gods people thrive and prosper more then thou , let that be thy joy . 5. he that welcomes christ truly , covets a neerer union with christ : love is of a linking and gluing nature , and will carry the soul with some kinde of strength and earnestness , to enjoy full possession and fellowship of the thing that is loved ; it cannot have enough of it : nothing ( saith the soul ) but christ , still i desire more of that mercy , and holiness , and grace , and love in christ jesus : as it is with parties that have lived long together in one house , and their affections are linkt together in way of marriage , they will ever desire to be talking together , and to be drawing on the marriage ; so the soul that loves christ jesus , and hath his holy affection kindled , and his spirit enlarged therein ; when the lord hath let in some glimpse of his love , he thinks the hour sweet when he prayed to the lord christ , he thinks the lords-day sweet , wherein god revealed , by the power of his holy ordinances , any of that rich grace and mercy of his : it is admirable to see how the heart will be delighted to recover the time and place , and means , when and where the lord did reveal it ; oh this is good ( saith the soul ) oh that i might ever be thus cleared and refreshed ! or as the spouse contracted , thinks every day a year , till she enjoy her beloved , and take satisfaction to her soul in him : so the soul that hath been truly humbled , and enlightened , and is now contracted to christ jesus , oh when will that day be ( saith it ) that i shall ever be with my jesus ! he takes hold of every word he hears , every promise that reveals any thing of christ , but oh ! when will that day be , that i shall ever be with christ , and be full of his fulness for ever ? and now let me prevail with your hearts , and work your souls to this duty , love the lord , all ye his saints ; whom will you love , if you love not him ? oh you poor ones , love you the lord , for you have need ; and all you rich ones , love you the lord , for you have cause ; and you little ones too ( if there be any such in the congregation ) he knocks at every mans heart , and perswades every mans soul , love ye the lord . the means are these , 1. labor to give attendance daily to the promise of grace , and christ ; drive away all other suitors from the soul , and let nothing come between the promise and it ; forbid all other bands , that is , let the promise confer daily with thy heart , and be expressing and telling of that good that is in christ , to thy own soul . if all things be agreed between parties to be married , and there wants nothing but mutual affection ; the only way to fix their affections upon one another , is to keep company together , so as they meet wisely and holily : so let the soul daily keep company with the promise , and this is the first way . 2. labor to be throughly acquainted with the beauty and sweetness of christ in the promise : now there are three things in the promise we must eye and apprehend , that our hearts may be kindled with love in the lord : 1. the worth of the party in himself , christ is worthy of it . 2. the desert of the party , in regard christ deserves it . 3. the readiness of the party in himself to seek our good , christ seeks it . 1. christ is worthy in himself : if we had a thousand hearts to bestow upon him , we were never able to love him sufficiently ; as nehemiah said , the name of the lord is above all praise ; will you let out your love and affections ? you may lay them out here with good advantage : what would you love ? wouldst thou have beauty ? then thy savior is beautiful , thou art fairer then the children of men , psal. 45. 2. wouldst thou have strength ? then is thy savior strong , gird thy sword upon thy thigh , o most mighty , psal. 45. 3. wouldst thou have riches ? thy savior is more rich ( if it be possible ) then he is strong , he is heir of all things , heb. 1. 2. wouldst thou have wisdom ? then thy savior is wise , yea wisdom it self , in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge , col. 2. 3. wouldst thou have life eternal ? christ is the author of life and happiness to all that have him ; and he hath not onely these in himself , but he will infeoff thee in them , if thou wilt but match with him . 2. christ deserves our love , in regard of benefits to us ; be man never so worthy in himself , yet if he have wronged , or exprest the part of an enemy , a woman saith , i will not have him though he had all the world , this takes off the affections ; it is not so with the lord jesus : as he is worthy of all love in himself , so he hath dealt mercifully and graciously with you : in your sickness , who helped you ? in wants , who supplied you ? in anguish of heart , who relieved you ? it was jesus christ : oh therefore love him , deal equally with him , and as he deserves , so enlarge your hearts to him for ever . 3. christ seeks our love : here is the admiration of mercy , that our savior , who hath been rejected by a company of sinful creatures , should seek their love : for shame refuse him not , but let him have love ere he go : had the lord received us , when we had come to him , and humbled our hearts before him ; had he heard , when we had spent our days , and all our strength in begging and craving , it had been an infinite mercy : but when the lord jesus christ shall seek to us by his messengers ( it is all the work we have to do , to woo you , and speak a good word for the lord jesus christ ; yea , and if we speak for our selves , it is pity but our tongue should cleave to the roof of our mouth ) when the lord jesus shall come and wait upon us , and seek our love , o this is the wonder of mercies ! think of this , o ye saints ! the lord now by us offers love to all you that are weary and have need , what answer shall i return to him in the evening ? shall i say , lord , i have tendred thy mercy , and it was refused : brethren , it would grieve my heart to return this answer : o rather let every soul of you say , can the lord jesus love me ? in truth , lord , i am out of love with my self , i have abused thy majesty , i have loved the world , i have followed base lusts , and can the lord jesus love such a wretch as i am ? yet saith the lord , i will heal their back-slidings , i will love them freely . he looks for no portion , he will take thee and all thy wants ; get you home then , and every one in secret , labor to deal truly with your own hearts ; make up a match in this maner , and say , is it possible that the lord should look so low ? that a great prince should send to a poor peasant , that majesty should stoop to means ? heaven to earth , god to man ? hath the lord offered mercy to me ? and doth he require nothing of me but to love him again ? call upon your hearts , i charge you , and say thus , lord , if all the light of mine eyes were love , and all the speeches of my tongue were love , it were all too little to love thee : o let me love thee dearly ! if you will not say thus , then say hereafter , you had a fair offer , and that a poor minister of god did wish you well . alas , be not coy and squemish , the lord may have better then you ; lie down therefore , and admire at the mercy of the lord , that should take a company of dead dogs , and now at the last , say as the prophet did , lift up your heads , o ye gates ! and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors , and the king of glory shall come in . sect. 6. a relying on christ . vve are now come to the work of the will , which is the great wheel and commander of the soul . the former affections were but as hand-maids to usher in christ and the promises ; the minde saith , i have seen christ : hope saith , i have waited : desire saith , i have longed : love saith , i am kindled : then saith the will , i will have christ , it shall be so : and this makes up the match , the spawn and seeds of faith went before , now faith is come to some perfection , now the soul reposeth it self upon the lord jesus . and this reposing or resting it self , discovers a fivefold act : first , it implyes a going out of the soul to christ : when the soul seeth this , that the lord jesus is his ayd , and must ease him and pardon his sins , then let us go to that christ , saith he , it is the lords call , come to me all ye that are weary : now this voyce coming home to the heart , and the prevailing sweetness of the call over-powering the heart , the soul goes out , and falls , and flings it self upon the riches of gods grace . secondly , it lays fast hold upon christ : when the lord saith , come my love , my dove , o come away ! behold , i come ( saith she ) and when she is come , she fasteneth upon christ , saying , my beloved is mine , and i am his : faith lays hold on the lord , and will not let mercy go , but cleaves unto it , though it conflict with the lord ; should he slay me ( saith job ) yet will i trust in him : the case is like benhadads , who being overcome by ahab , his servants thus advise him : we have heard that the kings of israel are merciful kings , we pray thee let us put ropes about our necks , and sackcloth on our loyns , and go out to the king , peradventure he will save thy life : thus the servants go , and coming to ahab , they deliver the message ; thy servant benhadad saith , i pray thee let me live : and he said , is he yet alive ? he is my brother : now the men diligently observed whether any thing would come from him , and did hastily catch at it , and they said , thy brother benhadad , and they went away rejoycing : this is the lively picture of a broken-hearted sinner , after he hath taken up arms against the almighty , and that the lord hath let in justice , and he seeth ( or hath seen ) the anger of god bent against him ; then the soul reasons thus , i have heard , though i am a rebellious sinner , that none but sinners are pardoned , and god is a gracious god , and therefore unto him let me go : with this he falls down at the footstool of the lord , and cryes , o what shall i do ! what shall i say unto thee ? o thou preserver of men ! o let me live , i pray thee , in the sight of my lord ! the soul thus humbled , the lord then lets in his sweet voyce of mercy , and saith , thou art my son , my love , and thy sins are pardoned : these words no sooner uttered , but he catcheth thereat , saying , mercy lord ? and a son lord ? and love lord ? and a pardon lord ? the heart holds it self here , and will never away . thirdly , it flings the weight of all its occasions and troubles ( guilt and corruptions ) upon the lord jesus christ : he that walks in darkness , and hath no light , let him trust in the name of the lord , and stay upon his god ; that is , if a man be in extremity , hopeless in misery , and walks in desperate discouragements , yea and hath no light of comfort , let him trust in the name of the lord , and stay upon his god : as when a man cannot go of himself , he lays all the weight of his body upon another , so the soul goes to a christ , and lays all the weight of it self upon christ , and saith , i have no comfort , o lord , all my discomforts i lay upon christ , and i relye upon the lord for comfort and consolation : who is this , saith solomon , that cometh up from the wilderness , leaning upon her beloved , cant. 8. 5. the party coming is the church , the wilderness is the troubles and vexations the church meets withal , and the beloved is the lord jesus christ ; now the church leans her self all upon her husband , she walked along with him , but he bare all the burthen : cast all your care upon him ( saith peter ) for he careth for you , 1 pet. 5. 7. the original is , hurl your care upon the lord : the lord will not thank you for carrying your cares and troubles about you , he requires that you hurl them upon him , for he careth for you . fourthly , it draws vertue , and derives power from the lord jesus christ for succor and supplies , and here is the especial life of faith , it goes for mercy , and grace , and comfort in christ , he knows 't is to be had from him , and therefore he fetcheth all from him ; with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation , isa. 12. 3. the fountain of salvation is christ , and all the waters of life , of grace and mercy , are in christ jesus : now it is not enough to let down the bucket into the well , but it must be drawn out also ; it is not enough to come to christ , but we must draw the water of grace from christ to our selves ; they shall suck and be satisfied ( saith isaiah ) with the breasts of her consolations , that they may milk out , and be delighted with the abundance of her glory : the church is compared to a childe , and the breasts are the promises of the gospel ; now the elect must suck out , and be satisfied with it ; the word in the original is , exact upon the promise , and oppress the promise : as the oppressor grindes the face of a poor man , so with an holy kinde of oppression , you should exact from the promise , and get what good you may from it . fifthly , faith leaves the soul with the promise ; yea , notwithstanding all delays , denyals , discouragements from god , faith brings on the heart still , it will be sure to lie at the gate , and keep the soul with the promise , whatever befalls it . excellent is that passage , gen. 32. 26. when the lord and jacob were wrestling , let me go , saith the lord , i will leave thee to thy self , i care not what becomes of thee ; no , i will not let thee go , until thou hast blessed me , saith jacob : so the faithful soul lays hold upon the lord for mercy , pardon , power and grace , and though the lord seem to give him up to the torment of sin and corruption , yet the soul saith , though my soul go down to hell , i will hold here for mercy , till the lord comfort and pardon , and subdue graciously these cursed corruptions , which i am not able to master my self . as it is with a sun-dyal , the needle is ever moving , and a man may jog it this way and that way , yet it will never stand still , till it come to the north-point : so when the lord leaves off a believing heart with frowns , and with the expression of displeasure , and the soul turns to the lord christ , and will never leave till it go god-ward , and christ-ward , and graceward , and saith , let the lord do what he please , i will go no further , till he be pleased to shew mercy . thus the soul once come to christ , it will never away , but ever cleaves to the promise , and is towards god and christ , whatsoever befalls it . but ( poor soul ) art thou yet shut up in unbelief ? do then as the prisoners in new-gate , what lamentable cryes do they utter to every passenger by ? so do thou , look out from the gates of hell , and from under the bars of infidelity , and cry , that god would look on thee in mercy , and say , spare , lord , a poor unbelieving wretch , lockt up under the bars of vnbelief , good lord succor , and deliver in thy due time . david could say , let the sighing of prisoners come up before thee ; that indeed was meant of bodily imprisonment , yet the argument prevails much in regard of the spiritual : good lord , let the sighing of prisoners come up before thee ; let the sighing of poor distrustful souls come up before thy majesty : o send help from heaven , and deliver the soul of thy servant from these wretched distempers of heart . is there no cause thus to pray ? he that believeth not ( saith our savior ) is condemned already : he is cast in heaven and earth , by the law and gospel , there is no relief for him abiding in this condition ; lay this under thy pillow , and say , how can i sleep , and be a condemned man ? what if god should take away my life this night ? alas ! i never knew what it was to be illightned , or wounded for sin ; i can commit sin , and play with sin , but i never knew what it was to be wounded for sin ; i never knew what it was to be zealous in a good cause ; o i confess i have no faith at all ! beloved ! would you yield this , then were there some hopes that you might get out of this condition and state , to have a sense of its want , to go to the lord by prayer , and to ask hearty counsel of some faithful minister , are the first steps to obtain it . and to help a poor wretch in this case , o you that are gracious , go your ways home , and pray for him : brethren , let us leave preaching and hearing , and all of us fall to praying and mourning : in truth , i condemn my own soul , because i have not an heart to mourn for him ; we reprove his sin , and condemn him of his sin ; and we must do so : but where are the heart-blood petitions that we put up for such a one ? where are the tears that we make for the slain of our people ? you tender-hearted mothers and you tender-hearted wives , if your children or husbands be in this woful case . o mourn for them , let your hearts break over them , and say , o wo is me for my children , o wo is me for that poor husband of mine ! or secondly , hast thou gotten faith ? then labor to husband this grace well , and to improve it for thy best good . it is a marvellous shame , to see those that are born to fair means ( i mean the poor saints of god ) that have a right and title to grace and christ , and yet to live at such an under-rate : i would have you to live above the world , for the lord doth not grudge his people of comfort , but would have them live chearfully , and have strong consolations , and mighty assurance of gods love : is there not cause ? why , faith ( if it be right ) will make the life of a christian most easie , most comfortable . unfaithful souls sink in their sorrows upon every occasion ; but faith gives ease to a man in all his conversation : 1. because faith hath a skill , and a kinde of flight to put over all cares to another : we take up the cross , but faith hurls all the care on christ ; an easie matter it is to lie under the burthen , when another bears all the weight of it . look how it is with two ferry-men , the one hales his boat about the shore , and cannot get off , but tugs and pulls , and never puts her forth to the tide ; the other puts his boat upon the stream , and sets up his sail , and then he may sit still in his boat , and the wind will carry him whither he is to go : just thus it is with a faithful soul , and an unbeliever ; all the care of the faithful soul , is to put himself upon the stream of gods provividence , and to set up the sail of faith , and to take the gale of gods mercy and providence , and so he goes on chearfully , because it is not he that carries him , but the lord jesus christ : whereas every unfaithful soul tugs and pulls at the business , and can finde neither ease nor success ; alas ! he thinks by his own wits and power to do what he would . 2. because faith sweetens all other afflictions , even those that are most hard and full of tediousness ; and howsoever it apprehends all troubles and afflictions , yet withal it apprehends the faithfulness of god , ordering all for our good : and that 's the reason why all our troubles are digested comfortably , without any harshness at all : when the patient takes better pills , if they be well sugered they go down the easier , and the bitterness never troubles him : so it is with faith , it takes away the harshness of all inconveniencies , which are bitter pills in themselves , but they are sweetned and sugered over by the faithfulness of god , for the good of the soul ; and therefore it goes on cheerfully . you will say , if faith bring such ease , how may a man that hath faith , improve it to have such comfort by it ? i answer , the rules are four : 1. labor to gain some evidence to thy own soul , that thou hast a title to the promise : the reason why poor christians go drooping , and are overwhelmed with their sins and miseries , is because they see not their title to mercy , nor their evidence of gods love , to the word , and to the testimonies : take one evidence from the word , 't is as good as a thousand , if thou hast but one promise for thee , thou hast all in truth , though all be not so fully and cleerly perceived . 2. labor to set an high price on the promises of god : one promise , and the sweetness of gods mercy in christ , is better then all the honors or riches in the world ; prize these at this rate , and thou canst not choose but finde ease , and be contented therewith . 3. labor to keep thy promises ever at hand : what is it to me if i have a thing in the house , if i have it not at my need ? if a man ready to sound and dye , say , i have as good cordial water as any in the world , but i know not where it is ; he may sound and dye before he can finde it : so when misery comes , and thy heart is surcharged , o then some promise , some comfort to bear up a poor fainting , drooping soul , my troubles are many , and i cannot bear them : why , now christ and a promise would have done it ; but thou hast thrown them in a corner , and they are not to be found : now for the lords sake let me intreat thee be wise , for thy poor soul ; there is many a fainting and aguish fit and qualm comes over the heart of many a poor christian ; persecutions without , and sorrows and corruptions within , therefore keep thy cordials about thee , and be sure that thou hast them within reach , take one , and bring another , and be refreshed by another , and go singing to thy grave , and to heaven for ever . 4. labor to drink in hearty draught of the promise ; bestow thy self upon the promise every hour , whensoever thou dost finde the fit : coming ; and this is the way to finde comfort , eat o friends , and drink ye abundantly o welbeloved : the original is , in drinking drink ; ye cannot be drunken with the spirit , as you may with wine , drink abundantly , were dainties prepared : if an hunger-starved man comes in , and takes onely a bit and away , he must needs go away an hungred : think of it sadly , you faithful saints of god ; you may come now and then , and take a snatch of the promise , and then comes fear , and temptation , and persecution , and all quiet is gone again , it is your own fault brethren , you come thirsty , and go away thirsty , you come discomforted , and so you go away . many times it thus befals us ministers ; when we preach of consolation , and when we pray , and confer ▪ we think we are beyond all trouble ; but by and by we are full of fears , and troubles , and sorrows , because we take not full contentment in the promise , we drink not a deep draught of it : of this take heed too ; 1. of cavilling and quarelling with carnal reason . 2. of attending to the parlies of satans temptations ; if we listen to this chat , he will make us forget all our comfort . chap. vii . the growing of the soul with christ . hitherto of the first part of the souls implantation ; to wit , of the putting of the soul into christ : we are now come to the second , which is , the growing of the soul with christ . these two take up the nature of ingrafting a sinner into the stock christ jesus . now this growing together is accomplished by two means : 1. by an union of the soul with christ . 2. by a conveyance of sap or sweetness ( all the treasures of grace and happiness ) that is in christ to the soul . first , every believer is joyned unto christ , and so joyned or knit , that he becomes one spirit . 1. he is joyned ; as a friend to a friend ; as a father to a childe ; as an husband to a wife ; as a graft to a tree ; as the soul to a body : so is christ to a believer , i live , not i , but the lord jesus liveth in me : hence the body of the faithful is called christ , 1 cor. 12. 12. 2. so joyned , that the believer comes to be one spirit with christ ; this mystery is great , and beyond the reach of that little light i injoy : onely i shall communicate what i conceive , in these three following conclusions : 1. that the spirit of god ( the third person in the trinity ) doth really accompany the whole word , but more especially the precious promises of the gospel : 2. the spirit ( accompanying the promise of grace and salvation ) it doth therein , and thereby leave a supernatural dint and power , a spiritual , and over-powering vertue upon the soul , and thereby carries it , and brings it unto christ : it is not so much any thing in the soul , as a spiritual assisting , and moving , and working upon the soul , by vertue whereof it is moved and carried to the lord jesus christ . 3. the spirit of grace in the promise working thus upon the heart , it causeth the heart to close with the promise , and with it self in the promise ; and this is to be one spirit . as it is with the moon ( the philosopher observes , that the ebbing and flowing of the sea , is by vertue of the moon ) she flings her beams into the sea , and not being able to exhale as the sun doth , she leaves them there , and goes away , and that draws them , and when they grow wet , they return back again ; now the sea ebbs and flows , not from any principle in it self , but by vertue of the moon : so the heart of a poor creature is like the water , unable to move towards heaven , but the spirit of the lord doth bring in its beams , and leaves a supernatural vertue by them upon the soul , and thereby draws it to it self . hence an use of instruction : this may shew us that the sins of the faithful , are grievous to the blessed spirit ; not onely because of mercies , bonds and engagements which the believer hath received ; but because a man is come so neer to christ and the spirit , to be one spirit with christ : should a wife not onely entertain a whoremonger into the house , but also lodge him in the same bed with her husband , this were not to be endured ; and wilt thou receive a company of base lusts , and that in the very face and sight of the lord jesus christ ? what ? lodge an unclean spirit , with the clean spirit of the lord ! the holy ghost cannot endure this : let no filthy communication come out of your mouth , ephes. 4. 29. what if there do ? ( you may say ) what ? a christian and a lyar ? a christian and a swearer ? o grieve not the holy spirit of god , because by it you are sealed unto the day of redemption : the good spirit of the lord hath sealed you unto redemption , and knit you unto himself , and will you rend your selves from him and grieve him ? o grieve not the holy spirit ! 2. for examination ; if thy heart be therefore estranged from such as walk exactly before god , because they are humble and faithful ; it is an ill sign ; when they are made one spirit with christ , wilt thou be of two spirits with them ? i confess a godly heart wil have his fits and excursions now and then , but all this while this is poyson , and the soul of a godly man sees this and is weary of it , and is marvellously burthened with it , and saith , o vile wretch that i am , what would i have ! and what is he , that i cannot love him ? is it because the good spirit of the lord is there ? shall i resist the good spirit of the lord ? and so commit the sin against the holy ghost ? away thou vile wretched heart , i will love him : thus the soul labors and strives for that exactness , and would fain have that goodness which he sees in another . secondly , as there is an vnion with christ , so there is a conveyance of all spiritual grace from christ , to all those that believe in him : if you would know the tenure of this covenant , and how christ conveyeth these spiritual graces unto us , it discovers it self in these particulars : 1. there is fully enough in the lord jesus christ for every faithful soul . 2. as there is enough in christ , so christ doth supply or communicate whatsoever is most fit . 3. as the lord doth communicate what is fit , so he doth preserve what he doth bestow and communicate . 4. as the lord doth preserve what he communicates , so he quickens the grace that he now doth preserve . 5. as the lord quickens what he preserves , so he never leaves till he perfects what he quickens . 6. as the lord perfects what he quickens , so in the end he crowns all the grrace he hath perfected : and now may i read your feoffment to you , you poor saints of god , you live beggarly and basely here : oh! if you have a savior you are made for ever ; it is that which will maintain you , not onely christianly , but triumphantly ; what you want , christ hath , and what is fit , christ will bestow ; if you cannot keep it , he will preserve it for you ; if you be sluggish , he will quicken it in you ; what would you have more ? he will perfect what he quickens ; and lastly , he will crown that he perfects , he will give you an immortal crown of glory for ever and ever . hence we see whether the saints of god should go to fetch succor and supply of whatsoever grace they want , yea increase and perfection of what they have already ; christ is made all in all to his servants ; why then , away to the lord jesus ; he calls and invites , i counsel thee to buy of me eye-salve ; if thou be an accursed man , buy of christ justification ; if thou be a polluted creature , buy of christ sanctification : with thee is the well-spring of life ( saith david ) and in thy light we shall onely see light : it is not with us , but with thee ; it is not in our heads , or hearts , or performances , 't is onely in christ to be found , onely from christ to be fetched : i deny not but we should improve all means , and use all helps , but in the use of all , seek onely to a christ , with him is the well of life ; away to christ , wisdom , righteousness , &c. all is in him , and there we must have them . you will say , what are the means to obtain these graces from christ ? i answer : first , eye the promise daily , and keep it within view . secondly , yield thy self , and give way to the stroak of the promise , and to the power of the spirit ; for instance , imagine thy heart begins to be pestered with vain thoughts , or with a proud haughty spirit , or some base lusts and privy haunts of heart , how would you be rid of these ? you must not quarrel , and contend , and be discouraged ; no , but eye the promise , and hold fast thereupon , and say , lord , thou hast promised all grace unto thy servants , take therefore this heart , and this minde , and these affections , and let thy spirit frame them aright according to thine own good will ; by that spirit of wisdom ( lord ) inform me , by that spirit of sanctification ( lord ) cleanse me from all my corruptions ; by that spirit of grace ( lord ) quicken and inable me to the discharge of every holy service : thus carry thy self , and convey thy soul by the power of the spirit of the lord , and thou shalt finde thy heart strengthned and succoured by the vertue thereof upon all occasions . for conclusion ( to dart this use deeper into your hearts ) if every believer be joyned with christ , and from christ there be a conveyance of all spiritual graces unto every believer ; then above all labor for a christ in all things : never let thy heart be quieted , never let thy soul be contented until thou hast obtained christ . take a malefactor on whom sentence is passed , and execution to be administred , suggest to him how to be rich , or how to be pardoned , how to be honored , or how to be pardoned , he will tell you , riches are good , and honors are good , but o a pardon or nothing : ah , but then should you say , he must leave all for a pardon ; he will answer again , take all , and give me a pardon , that i may live , though in poverty , that i may live , though in misery : so it is with a poor believing soul , every man that hath committed sin , must suffer for sin , saith justice ; the sentence is passed , every man that believes not , is condemned already , saith our savior , what would you have now ? thou sayest , thou wouldst have a pardon , but wouldst thou not have riches ? alas ! what is that to me ( saith the soul ) to be rich and a reprobate ? honored and damned ? let me be pardoned , though impoverished ; let me be justified , though debased , yea though i never see good day : why then labor for a christ , for there is no other way under heaven ; get a broken-heart , get a believing heart ; but o above all , get a christ to justifie thee , get a christ to save thee : if i could pray like an angel , could i hear and remember all the sermon , could i confer as yet never man spake , what is that to me , if i have not a christ ? i may go down to hell for all that i have or do ; yet take this along , and understand me aright , christ is not onely a savior of all his , but he is the god of all grace ; as he is the god of all pardoning , so he is the god of all purging and purifying unto the soul of each believer : grace therefore is good , and duties are good , seek for all , we should do so , perform all , we ought to do so ; but oh , a christ , a christ , a christ , in all , above all , more then all . thus i have shewed the way to the lord jesus , i have shewed you also how you may come to be implanted into the lord jesus ; and now i leave you in the hands of a savior , in the bowels of a redeemer , and i think i cannot leave you better . finis . soli deo gloria . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a69449e-210 mr. boltons funeral sermon by mr. estwick . psal. 24. 7. vse . deut. 5. 29. 1 cor. 2. 14. acts 7. 51. ezek. 11. 19. 1 vse of comfort . 2 vse of exhortation . 1 vse of instruction . 2 vse of reproof . mat. 20. 3 , 4 , 5 vse of exhortation . iohn 6. 44. acts 16. 15. 1 means . isa. 66. 1. 2 means . hosea 11. 4. isa. 55. 7. ier. 3. 22. 2 cor. 5. 20. ezek. 18. 31. ezek. 33. 11. isa. 44. 23. ier. 13. 27. 3 means . prov. 29. 1. psa. 32. 3 , 4 , 5. 4 means . acts 2. 37. psa. 119. 50. iohn 16. 8. vse of advice . rom. 8. 15. 1 tim. 1. 17. dan 5. 6. rom 8. 30. acts 16. 30. vse 1. of instruction vse 2. of exhortation . mat. 5. 4. amos 6. 1. ionah 3. 9. 2 sam. 15. 25 , 26. 2 king. 7. 3 , 4 lam. 3. 22. psal 39. 9. ier. 10. 19. vse 1. of instruction . 1 cor. 1. 26. iob 40. 4. vse 2. of exhortation . 1 motive . 2 motive . isa 62. 8. 3 motive . matth. 18 4. psal. 2. 12. col. 2. 3. isa. 61. vse . rom. 1. 16. vse 1. of information . vse 2. of examination . rom 6. 16. mat. 11. 28. eph. 3. 9. phil. 1. 20. 1 vse . of reproof . isa. 40. 27. psal 77. 7● 1 pet. 3. 15. vse 2. of comfort . isa. 40. 31. vse 3. of examination . psa. 130. 5. matth. 18. 11. isa. 8. 17. vse 4. of exhortation . 1 means . 2 means . num. 23. 10. see the preface written by g. abbot , d d. before the examination of george sprot , p. 23. matth. 11. 28. rev. 21. 6. isa. 55. 1. iohn 7. 37. matt. 5. 6. 1 means . 2 means . 3 means . mat. 12. 20. psal. 42. 8. iohn 4. 19. hosea 11. 4. cant. 2. 4. cant. 1. 1. rom. 5. 8. eph. 3. 17 , 18. psal. 18. 1. vse 1. of comfort . psal. 119. 132. object . answ . cant 3. 4 , 5. 2 king. 19. 30. phil. 1. 23. 2 vse . of exhortation . psal 31. ●● . 1 means . 2 means . psal. 45. 2. psal. 45. 3. heb. 1. 2. col. 2. 3. hosea . 14. 5. psal. 24. 7 , 9. cant. 2. 16. iob 13. 15. 1 king. 20. 31 , 32 , 33. isaiah 50. 10. cant. 8. 5. 1 pet. 5. 7. isa. 12. 3. isa. 66. 11. gen. 32. 26. vse 1. of instruction . psal. 79. 11. iohn 3. 18. vse 2. of instruction . 1 rule . esay 8. 20. 2 rule . 3 rule . cant. 5. 1. gal. 3. 10. 1 cor. 12. 12. vse 1. of instruction . ephes. 4. 29. eph. 4. 30. vse 2. of examination . vse of information . rev. 3. psal. 31. conclusion . ioh. 3. 18. note . free thoughts in defence of a future state, as discoverable by natural reason, and stript of all superstitious appendages ... with occasional remarks on a book intituled, an inquiry concerning virtue, and a refutation of the reviv'd hylozoicism of democritus and leucippus. day, robert. 1700 approx. 208 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 58 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a37289 wing d471 estc r3160 12131468 ocm 12131468 54733 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a37289) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 54733) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 24:21) free thoughts in defence of a future state, as discoverable by natural reason, and stript of all superstitious appendages ... with occasional remarks on a book intituled, an inquiry concerning virtue, and a refutation of the reviv'd hylozoicism of democritus and leucippus. day, robert. [4], 111 p. printed for dan. brown ... and andr. bell ..., london : 1700. attributed to robert day. cf. halkett & laing (2nd ed.). errata: p. [4]. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng future life. virtue. hylozoism. 2006-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-07 taryn hakala sampled and proofread 2008-07 taryn hakala text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion free thoughts in defence of a future state , as discoverable by natural reason , and stript of all superstitious appendages . demonstrating against the nominal deists , that the consideration of future advantages is a just motive to virtue ; of future loss and misery , a powerful and becoming restraint of vice. with occasional remarks on a book intituled , an inquiry concerning virtue . and a refutation of the reviv'd hylozoicism of democritus and leucippus . london , printed for dan. brown at the black swan and bible without temple-bar , and andr. bell at the cross-keys and bible in cornhil . m. dcc . advertisement from the publisher . the author of the following sheets , being engag'd to no sect nor party of men , nor biass'd by any particular system of philosophy , has had no other aim , than to serve the interests of virtue and truth : but because there are so very few that labour the same thing with so unprejudic'd a mind , he forgoes all the pleasing hopes of having his essay generally well accepted , and requests me to publish a short word to save him from the calumnies of some angry brethren of his , who engage their faith to any thing rather than plain dry reason ; and being blinded by a jealous zeal , know not what is said for or against them . let the reader take notice then , that our author has not disputed from scripture , whence it is obvious to prove more than he has here asserted , not out of any contempt of that authority which he reverences as he ought , but only because the persons with whom he disputes , dare to call that authority in question ; the vindication of which the world now expects from the ablest hands . errata . pag. 9. line 5. put a comma after purpose . p. 16. l. 27. put a full stop after immoralities . l. 28. dele the semicolon . p. 71. l. 29. r. galaxy . p. 76. l. 21. dele not . p. 79. l. 22. r. roscius . p. 91. l. 14. after they insert to . p. 96. l. 15. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . l. 23. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . free thoughts in defence of a future state. honoured friend ; i remember some parts of the discourse which we had last tuesday night at mr. n's , and the next night at your house . i am now minded to reconsider the same . i will speak to passages , as they occur to my memory , without regard to order or method ; for i always suspect my abilities , and fear that what i can offer , will not be thought by any other person worth the while for me to labour to digest it regularly : besides , i have not time to digest my thoughts so as to please my self . among other things which the ingenious and learned mr. j. a. was pleas'd to assert , the import of one was this : that no action could be properly call'd virtuous , which was done in prospect of advantage to be had in a future state. in answer to this strange assertion , i aim'd to speak to this sense : he that takes an honest care of the interests of his own person , family , friends and country in this life , according to his best judgment of the course in which things are likely to run , must be acknowledg'd to act rationally and wisely : so he that takes a diligent care of his own interests , and the interests of others in a future state ( according to his sense of that matter after serious deliberation ) must be acknowledg'd to act rationally and wisely ; and to act rationally and wisely , is to act virtuously . the prospect of worldly advantage to be gain'd by this or that honest action , is so far from taking from that action the praise of wisdom , that it rather is the chief reason for which the action may be denominated wise : wherefore why should the prospect of advantage in a future state , acquirable by wise , i. e. virtuous actions , take from those actions the praise of wisdom and virtue ? some that are much in mr. j. a's sentiments , are wont with railery , and ( as they think ) argument mix'd together , to plead , that to do those actions which are accounted virtues , in prospect of advantage to be gain'd by them , is mercenary and base . let us examine this objection , which has an air of wit , and see whether there is any solid reason underneath . mercenary is an english word made from a latin , signifying wages , or hire , payable for labour or work to be done . militari mercede , is to fight for pay : and whosoever fights for pay in a good cause , works or labours for hire , wages , in an honest way , deserves his wages , hire , pay ; nay farther , ought rather to be commended than reproach'd for doing his duty . mr. j. a. and some others seem to think , that because a mercenary souldier happens to be commonly esteem'd a term of reproach , that therefore moral virtue must be utterly disgrac'd by the epithet mercenary . but we beg leave to examine this matter thorowly . the reason why a mercenary souldier happens to be commonly esteem'd a term of reproach , i take to be this : the mercenary souldier is commonly hir'd by an ambitious prince , to raise the power of the prince that hires him , above law , and oppress a free people : whereas a prince that is contented to be just what the choice of the people , and the rule of the law makes him , knows that his people are best govern'd , and most safely defended by the militia of the country . in the case stated , the militia-man is honourable , and the mercenary souldier base . nay in this case , the more strenuously the mercenary souldier fights , the worse man he is : but when the mercenary is engag'd where honour and conscience justifies him ( which sometimes , tho but rarely happens ) his valour , is true virtue ; his pay , a reasonable encouragement of his valour : and it would not be valour , but rashness for a martial man , whether of the mercenary or the militia order , to offer himself to dangers , where he had no advantage to make , nor interest to defend . the militia-souldier if he does not fight for pay , yet he does to defend the country whereof he is a citizen , and in which he has a private interest . the security of his private interest in the defence of his country , is the merces , the pay , the hire , the wages for which he fights : and in the truth and reality of the thing , such a person is as much a mercenary , as any swiss , who with his masters consent is hir'd abroad in a just war ; or any poor stroler at home , who having nothing else to fight for , fights for bread. the short of this is , he is a base mercenary that does an ill thing for gain : he is a worthy mercenary that does a justifiable thing for gain . the prospect of advantage in one kind or other , is the motive of all the deliberate actions of a rational man : and he that has no such thing in his eye , is an unthinking person ; and therefore the prospect of advantage , whether in this or a future state , cannot take from a moral action the praise of virtue . a friend of mine ( inclin'd to the sentiments which i labour to refute ) is wont to insist much on the glorious saying , that a good man loves virtue for its own sake . when i press him to explain clearly what he means , he is wont to enlarge elegantly and well upon the agreableness and fitness of virtue ; for instance , of justice , charity and mercy : and thus far he is very right ; justice , charity and mercy are the most agreable and fit things in the world for a rational man to practise . but now let me ask , what is it which makes these virtues so agreable to human nature , and so fit to be practis'd by rational man ? or i am strangely mistaken , or all that can be assign'd , is , the natural tendency which they have to benefit mankind , and to establish the foundations of society firm and sure . if so , then i must observe , that every good man who loves virtue for its own sake , i. e. for its agreableness to human nature , i. e. for its tendency to benefit mankind , and establish the foundations of society ; he loves virtue mercenarily , for he himself is a member of the society , and his private benefit is included in that of the publick . but my friend tells me , and i believe him , that in acts of justice ( which he always ) in acts of charity and mercy ( which he frequently performs ) he has no regard to any advantage , upon those accounts likely to accrue to him either in this present or a future state. i answer , that to a man in easy circumstances , the practice of these virtues yields an immediate and a very great pleasure ; and they may be practis'd by an habitual good man ( such as i reckon my friend ) without any regard had to the future advantage and farther pleasure which may accompany them . an habitual good man may be so taken up with the present satisfaction of virtuous deeds , as that he shall be frequent in the practice of them , without giving himself time to consider , whether he may not reasonably hope for a future compensation . but then it ought to be taken notice of , that a great part , perhaps much the greatest part of virtue , consists in doing good at the price of suffering evil : and few , very few ( in my poor opinion ) would practise virtue under severe present discouragements , if they had no hope beyond this life . i am not surpriz'd to read in antient story that men of the fairest fame , as soon as advanc'd under some princes , have chang'd their manners , and lost their reputation : for when there 's no keeping an honest reputation , and a gainful post of honour both , it must be hope in a future state , or nothing that can perswade them to take care of the former , and let the latter go . i confess it is easy for a man to be good in easy circumstances ; to be just , when he is not very poor ; to be charitable , when he has more than a competence ; to be merciful , when he is likely to gain friends and fame by it : but he that is content that virtue should never be practis'd but in such cases , is content that the world should be much more wicked than it is , and every good man more uneasy and more unable to do the good to which he is inclin'd . in this place i think it proper to transcribe some lines from bishop taylor in his ductor dub. ( not that i hope to gain my point by his authority , tho i can't but be pleas'd to find so wise a man in my sentiments , yet let the reader only weigh what is said ) it is impossible a man should do great things , or suffer nobly , without consideration of a reward ; and since much of virtue consists in suffering evil things , virtue it self is not a happiness , but the way to one . he does a thing like a fool that does it for no end ; and if he does not choose a good one , he is worse : and virtue it self would in many instances be unreasonable , if for no material consideration we should undertake her drudgery . i omit his quotation from st. austin , and give his next words with some little addition : sensual pleasures , those sensual pleasures which trespass on the rights of others , are ( while they can be made to consist with the safety of our persons , and the health of our bodies ) highly eligible , and all difficult virtue to be avoided , if in this life only we have hope . the author i have quoted , assigns two causes of amability , and says there are no more , viz. perfection and usefulness . i think there is but one cause of amability , and that is usefulness : for perfections which do not relate to me , i may admire ; but nothing can attract my love , and prompt my desires , but that which i know to be useful to me at present , or hope to find so hereafter . the reason why a thinking person loves and desires to practise virtue , is , because he tastes pleasure now , or expects it hereafter . perhaps the present pleasure may effectually recommend some easier instances of virtue in happy and blessed times to the practice of well-dispos'd men : but in most cases , and to the many , virtue will ever need to be recommended by the reasonable hopes of a better portion in a future state. let me put a case , which i fancy does sometimes , tho but rarely happen : a married man loves his wife ; first for the sake of her friends , or her fortune , or her agreable features , or his own solemn vow ; but afterwards he loves her for her own sake , finding her to be good-natur'd and fruitful , obedient and wise . now meaning no more than that he admires these great perfections , that is not , in strict speaking , loving them , or the wife because she possesses them ; then only the husband may be properly said to love these amiable perfections , and his wife who is mistress of them , when he considers that he is delighted and pleased with the perfections of his wife , and made happy by her . in short , let us speak strictly and properly , and then we must affirm that love is relative . i may admire what i am never like to be the better for : but what i love , i love because i find great satisfaction in it at present , or hope to do so hereafter . the present pleasures of virtue are not sufficient to recommend it so much , as but a tolerable condition of the world does necessarily require : and if we endeavour to disprove the reasonableness of future hopes , we open a flood-gate to a world of iniquity more than abounds at present , and trouble our own enjoyments and ease , as well as the welfare of the publick . i would be glad to be taught how men may be perswaded to difficult virtue ; for instance , to do their country service , to preserve it , or deliver it from slavery , when they are like to ruin themselves and their families by it . indeed i read of one codrus , who by his own death purchas'd a happy victory to his people : but the historian says , athens never had another king after him , because they never expected another codrus . i may say of men , that dare be good whatever it cost them , as virgil concerning the scatter'd trojans , apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto ; plainly there 's so very few of them , that to keep the world in no worse a condition , than that in which it now stands , it is necessary to take in their aid , who may be prompted to virtue by future hopes . i will not here dissemble what has bin sometimes objected to me by some deists ( to whom yet i can hardly allow that name ) they have asserted that the world is preserv'd in that tolerable order which we see , by sense of honour , and fear of the civil magistrates vengeance : good men are mov'd to be so by sense of honour ; and the wicked are restrain'd from that wickedness from which they are restrain'd , by fear of the civil magistrates vengeance : so that there 's no need of future hopes , or fears for one thing or other ; but they that pretend to be influenced by them , are either hypocrites , or deceiv'd by not examining the causes of their actions throughly . this objection has several parts , which must be answer'd one by one . good men , they say , are mov'd to be so by sense of honour . by sense of honour i suppose they do not mean so low a motive , as the esteem which accompanies virtue , the reputation and praise which good men gain by the practice ; tho this is a very material thing , and not so airy as 't is often represented : for whom others highly esteem , to him upon occasion they are ready to be kind and useful . but by sense of honour , i rather think they mean a consciousness that it is the most becoming and honourable thing in the world , for reasonable men to practise virtue , because the practice of virtue is beneficial to mankind in general , and the chief support of society . by the way i take notice , that this very sense of honour , this being virtuous because virtue is beneficial to mankind , and the chief support of society , does prove that the expectance of advantage does not take away from the worth of a virtuous action , does not make a moral action unfit to be call'd virtuous : for every man knows that by doing good to others , he not only contributes to the ease of his own mind , but also lays up a reputation , that for ought he can promise himself , he may live to need ; and by contributing to the security of the body-politick , he contributes to the security of his private interest . but this only by the way , tho it serves to strengthen something i have before answer'd : to my purpose it shall be allow'd , that sense of honour will carry well-dispos'd men a great way many times in the practice of virtue ; but for want of education , and by means of ill education , and ill examples , the bulk of mankind are always ill-dispos'd ; and even of the well-dispos'd , but very few are able to maintain their character in a crooked and perverse generation ; and fewer yet would do it , were it not for future hopes . further , it is too boldly said , and can never be made out , that the generality of good men are mov'd to be so merely by sense of honour secular , honour which relates to this world only : and as to future happiness ( be there any such thing or no ) 't is notoriously unreasonable to conclude , that no men are powerfully prompted to virtue by the desires and hopes of it , especially when they solemnly protest both living and dying , that they are prompted to it by those motives . i would not leave any thing unanswer'd , which has fall'n under my notice , by reading or conversation , and may seem to have the face of good argument , in favour of the sentiments of the objectors ; therefore i will here reply to a reflexion which i lately met with in a private ms. the anonymous author says , that to do good in hopes of reward hereafter , increases the vitious principle of selfishness . before i answer directly , i will premise something concerning this term reward , of which the adversary hopes to make some advantage . there are some good men , who are firmly perswaded that that thinking principle , which we call the soul , shall after this life exist again ; and yet believe that rewards and punishments are not the most proper words to express the different portions in that life . these men observe that the satisfactions and pleasures of sense are not equal to the satisfactions and pleasures of the mind ; the satisfactions and pleasures of the mind are created by virtue . to have sober and temperate , just , charitable , merciful and holy affections , regular passions , love , desire and joy ; dislike , hatred , anger , fix'd on proper objects , and exerted in due measure , according as best befits the several degrees of goodness or badness , which may happen to circumstantiate those several objects : this is to be vertuous , and this creates in the mind greater satisfactions and pleasures than the satisfactions and pleasures of sense . it were easy to demonstrate and illustrate this , but the men i have to deal with grant it . i hasten : the noblest idea , imagination , conception , which we can frame of future happiness , is to have our good affections improv'd and most intense , our passions most wisely directed , and most exactly regular : for , from this most excellent temper of mind , must needs follow the highest happiness , such happiness ( as the scripture phrases it ) which hath not enter'd into the heart of man to conceive ; i. e. we cannot conceive , as our passions and affections are now , what will be the happy consequences of their improvements to perfection hereafter . on the other side , the pains of the mind which it feels from reflection , after it hath bin engag'd in wickedness , are far more cruciating , than the pains which are caus'd by hurting the organs of the body , according to that of the scripture , a wounded spirit who can bear ? to have horrid , monstrous , and unnatural affections , passions misplac'd , irregular and extravagant ; this is to be very vitious , and this makes the vitious man miserable in this life . the most dreadful idea , imagination , conception , which we can frame of future misery , is to have our affections in the highest degree horrid , monstrous , and unnatural ; our passions in the highest degree misplac'd , irregular , and extravagant : for from this most wicked temper of mind , must needs follow the extremest misery , which ( if the pains of the body are less cruciating , than the pains of the mind ) fire can but faintly emblem . such happpiness and such misery which i have now mention'd , some good men , no sceptics as to our future existence , think to be improperly denoted by the terms rewards and punishments . but why should we contend about words ? i think they ought to allow us these scripture-terms , when we do not condemn this their description of heavenly happiness , and hellish torments . i have now made my way to the anonymous author's reflexion , who opposing the belief of a future state , says , that to do good in hopes of reward increases the vitious principle of selfishness . my reply is , 1. that selfishness is a principle which all other living creatures partake of in common with man. every one has it implanted in his nature , and cannot divest himself of it . even they that lay violent hands on themselves , are acted by this principle of selfishness : for they put an end to their own lives , because they hope that way to retire from the evils which they have not patience to endure . 2. this principle of selfishness is not in its own nature vitious , but becomes so only by being pursued irregularly . the laws that are in all nations made to determine and ascertain property , do plainly declare it to be the common sense of mankind , that it is not only lawful , but natural and necessary for a man to be selfish , to take care of his own rights : if so , then it can become vitious only by undue circumstances . man , as he is a member of society ▪ has giv'n up several of his natural rights , for the better preservation and security of what he has not given up . in this state he is , in many instances by the express words of positive law , and in more by reason and conscience , bound not to be selfish at the hazard and detriment of the publick ; not to pursue his private interest , when he cannot do so without visible prejudice to the body-politick , whereof he is but a single member . farther , a private man , who has a competence for himself and family , is bound in reason and conscience , not to pursue his own interest to the prejudice of another person who has not a competence , but is in straits . no one must question this , who approves ( which i hope we all do ) that excellent rule which makes a part of natural as well as reveal'd religion , viz. do as you would be done by . to be selfish farther than this excellent rule will allow , is a vitious principle : but to be selfish as far as this rule will allow , that is , when neither the publick , nor any private person is against reason damag'd thereby , is natural , necessary and honest ; and he that is not selfish , that does not pursue his private interest in such a case as this , must be ▪ a fool or a madman . the prospect of reward , where neither the publick nor any private person is , against positive law or right reason , injur'd , is no circumstance that can make selfishness vitious , but rather commends it : for a man cannot do himself too much good , if in doing himself good he does others no injury . the next part of the objection is , that the wicked are restrain'd from that wickedness from which they are restrain'd , by fear of the civil magistrates vengeance . that the fear of the civil magistrates vengeance is a great restraint of wickedness , is what no person will question ; but that it should be the only restraint , and that men ill-inclin'd , or dangerously tempted , are aw'd by nothing else , is a bold assertion , impossible to be made out , highly improbable , and particularly unreasonable for the objectors to assert . it is a bold assertion , because it is impossible to be made out ; it is impossible to be made out , because it is impossible for the objectors to know the hearts of men , and discern by what principles their actions are govern'd : it is highly improbable , for the many have either had no education , or so unhappy an one , and have been engag'd so much among the worst examples , that their minds are oftner govern'd by weak and false principles , than by sound and true : not that i think the apprehension of misery , which in a future state will be the consequence of wickedness with impenitence , a weak or false principle , but it is so in the opinion of the objectors ; and i argue , supposing that it really were so , yet the apprehension we speak of , shall still have its influence on the minds of the many . it is particularly unreasonable for the objectors to assert , that men ill-inclin'd , or dangerously tempted , are aw'd only by the civil magistrates vengeance , because these very objectors do commonly impute many of the foolish and wicked practices of men to their unhappy education , to the ill company they frequent , and to their superstitious principles . possibly the objectors may be here ready to interpose and tell me , that a weak argument should not be made use of to an honest and noble purpose . to admit this for the present ( tho i think there may be many cases , in which 't is reasonable to use an argument likely to prevail , tho in its own nature weak ) yet i judg the misery which will hereafter fall on the impenitent wicked , to be a good argument for the restraint of wickedness : but be it good or bad , it has its influence , and therefore the fear of the magistrates vengeance is not the only restraint of wickedness : that it has its influence , the objectors ought not to deny , because , as abovesaid , they know not the hearts of men , and can't discern by what principles their actions are govern'd ; and because they do grant , that the many are as often govern'd by weak and false principles , as by sound and true . 't is not my business in this place to prove the apprehensions of misery , threatning impenitent wickedness in a future state , to be a sound principle for the restraint of wickedness ; but if it does restrain , then the objectors are in the wrong , who would put upon us , that the fear of the civil magistrates vengeance is the only restraint . i have bin often studying to find out , what should lead the objectors to such a strange assertion , as that , the fear of the civil magistrates vengeance is the only restraint of wickedness : the only thing that i can imagine is this ; perhaps they observe that very many who profess to believe a future state , wherein the impenitent wicked shall exist miserable , are yet , notwithstanding such their profession , as much addicted to wickedness as any of the most ungracious unbelievers , and make as little conscience at least of some immoralities , as any of them who are either downright atheists , or so reputed . observing this , perhaps hence they conclude , that none of all them who profess the same , are aw'd by that their notion . but may not i as well conclude , that no men are aw'd by the penal laws of the land , because so great numbers who have read or bin told , and are firmly perswaded , that the law condemns petty-larcenary to the whipping-post , pillory , or hot iron ; felony and treason to the gallows and the sled , do yet daily pilfer , cheat , and break houses , rob and murder , deface and counterfeit the king's coin ? it is as plain that wicked men , who suffer under this law , are not aw'd by it , as that wicked men , who are perswaded of the future danger of immorality , are not aw'd by that ; and it is as good a consequence , that the knowledg of the penaltys annexed to human laws , restrains no wickedness , as that the persuasion of the future danger of wickedness does restrain none . so then by the same argument that the objectors would prove , that the persuasion of the future danger of wickedness has no influence on the minds of men , they prove that the knowledg of the penalties annex'd to human laws has no influence on them ; and so there 's an end of all laws whatsoever . by this reasoning the laws of god wrote in the hearts of men , and the laws of men wrote in books , are both made insignificant and useless , good for nothing but to prove a defect of wisdom in their authors . but among those who question the future state , some there are who willingly grant that the fear of the civil magistrates vengeance , and the fear of future misery , have both of them an influence to restrain men from sin ; but to abstain from sin , out of fear of the one or the other , is , they say , servile and base . to this i reply : it must be granted that the wise heathens , who had form'd their virtue on the noblest principles , the love of god , and the joys of a conscience exercis'd in all manner of well-doing , have justly condemn'd that abstinence from vice , which is enforc'd merely by a dread of the rods and axes of the civil magistrate , as servile and base : for he that keeps his hands from stealing and striking , his tongue from slandering and bearing false witness , merely that he may avoid the penalty of human laws , is not advanc'd the least step towards virtue : he has all the love of iniquity still about him ; and even of that which he does not actually practise , must be deemed guilty in the accounts of god and wise men , because his desires are towards it . no manner of praise can be justly ascrib'd to him , who would transgress the law , but that he is afraid to purchase his transgression at the price of a present severe penalty . this man's nature is wicked , while his actions are under restraint . this drew that saying from st. paul , the law ( meaning the law of the civil magistrate ) is not made for the righteous but the wicked . the righteous abstain from sin because of the baseness thereof , the wicked only for fear of the penalty ; the fear of the penalty keeps their hands , but not their hearts from mischief , therefore still they are wicked men. but there is another kind of fear , some call it a fear connate , born with us : but that my discourse may not lie expos'd to exceptions , i call it a fear which the exercise of reason in meditating and reflecting begets ; a fear of doing that which is odious in the sight of god and good men , destructive of our own greatest happiness , and injurious to others . this fear is a powerful restraint of sin , and a good advance in the ways of virtue . human nature is so fram'd by the great god , that every thinking man not habitually debauch'd , has an aversion against all vile immoralities in his first wicked sallies ; his face is cover'd with shame , and his heart shook with fear . in his first wicked sallies the man is fearful for his present reputation , and fearful of what may be the fatal future consequences . now to be asham'd of being ill thought of , and to be afraid of deserving a miserable condition , these are degrees of virtue ; for thus a man takes an honest care of his own interest , every man owes this honest care to himself , 't is no little fault to neglect it : now the doing of that which it were a great fault to neglect , cannot but deserve the name of virtue . it is true , that fear which has for its object only the sword of the magistrate , is servile and base ; and such a man when he has the tempting hopes of concealing his breach of the law , will be sure to break it : but a fear of doing that which is odious in the sight of the most holy being , and of them who are most like him , is mix'd with some regard to virtue in its very first original ; a fear of doing that which is destructive of our own peace of mind , future hopes , and also injurious to others , is mix'd with a wise care of our own honest interests , and a love of just and righteous dealing , and therefore cannot justly be reproach'd as servile and base . to return from this digression : the next part of the objection is , that there 's no need of future hopes or fears for one thing or other , i. e. to keep men innocent , or to make them virtuous . it is true , there were no need of them , if they had no influence on men ; but i think i have prov'd that they have , and i will now essay to prove one thing more , viz. if a man believe that after death he shall never more exist again , he is not like to become virtuous or innocent either . the schemes which some christians frame to themselves of a future state , are as extravagant and improbable as the impostor mahomet's paradise . i am far from thinking such schemes necessary or useful to virtuous ends and purposes : but i look upon the doctrine of a future state , wherein it will be well with the virtuous , and ill with vitious men , as the only sure foundation , which can firmly bear the whole superstructure of morality , and make it appear to be every man's interest to be sober and chaste , just and merciful , charitable and holy , in the worst of times and most unhappy circumstances . it may seem perhaps to some , that my former discourse contradicts what i here advance : for i have admitted that the pleasures of a good conscience , the joys of a mind reflecting on its own virtuous disposition and beneficial actings , are far more pleasant and joyous than the joys and pleasures of sense ; and that the torments of a mind reflecting on its own criminal disorders , irregular and unnatural passions and affections , are far more punishing than the pains of a wounded or diseased body . now judging at first sight this may be mistaken for a good argument , it is most probable that the bulk of mankind should be virtuous , because in this life there 's most to be got by virtue , most to be lost and suffer'd by being vitious . but if this matter be farther look'd into and consider'd as it deserves , it will plainly appear , that the man who questions his existence in a future state , is still most likely to indulge his sensual appetite , and prefer such pleasures before those of a good conscience : for we are not masters of the power of reasoning in our first years ; we are born indeed with a docility above all other creatures that we know of , with a capacity of learning to reason ; but we learn it by slow degrees : a long while we live only the life of sense , and then our choice is govern'd wholly by our sensual appetites ; and we have no regard to any but our selves , except to them who gratify our desires : nay , which is worse than all this , they that have the most careful education , do not miss the sight of many vitious examples . to prefer our selves before all others , and indulge our sensual appetites , can hardly fail of growing habitual to us , before we are masters of so much reason , as to consider how much the practice of virtue in some denial of our selves and senses , tends to promote the comforts of this life : and when we come to be able to consider this , and actually do consider it , 't is none of the easiest things imaginable to overcome an habitual contrary inclination . they are far the lesser number who are ever won to wise consideration and virtuous practice ; but if the present advantages of virtue and disadvantages of vice were all the argument propounded , it is mighty probable that the sensual livers would be harder to be reclaim'd than they now are ; it is mighty probable they would with strange accord tell their grave advisers , they did not know but virtue might have many charms , and vice some immediate troubles and imminent dangers ; but they could be content a while with the pleasures of sense , bear the troubles and venture the dangers ; 't would be seasonable to be sober and chaste , when they shall be grown impotent and old ; to be good-natur'd and obliging , when they shall want power to bear up their high minds , and make themselves rever'd : to be just and charitable when they shall abound . will the opposers of a future state tell these men , that if they indulge their sensual appetites till nature begins to fail , it will be then out of their power to shift their course , and experience the comforts which largely flow from well-doing , because their vitious inclinations will outlive their vitious powers ? alas ! this will but tempt them to have a greater opinion of their vice ; for they may reason thus : the thoughts of that thing can never be punishing to them , from which they cannot withdraw their affections ; therefore except a very painful sickness , or a more than ordinary misfortune befal an immoral man , i can't see how any argument drawn from the nature of things in this life can possibly reclaim him : but it is possible that such a one may be reclaim'd by the considerations of a future state ; for this is an argument , which if adverted to , must needs at least disturb the joys , the foolish and mischievous joys of the most prosperous libertine . it is granted , that generally speaking , virtue is its own reward , the virtuous man meets many present advantages by being virtuous : but then there are some instances of virtue , that sometimes happen to engage men in unwelcome sufferings ; now what shall persuade these persons to practise virtue in such circumstances , if they disbelieve the future state ? again , it is granted , that generally speaking vitious men are greatly punish'd by their own vices ; but then we cannot deny but that with some men some vices agree better . some know how to manage their vices with a sort of discretion , and while they sooth their senses , take care of their health and fame also . now what shall perswade these men to quit those vices which agree well enough with them , if they fear no miserable event in a future state ? as i said before , the doctrine of a future state is the only sure foundation which can firmly bear the whole superstructure of morality , and make it appear to be every man's greatest interest to be sober and chaste , just and merciful , charitable and holy , in the worst of times and most unhappy circumstances . the author of the inquiry concerning virtue having advanc'd several notions ( in my opinion ) contrary as well to the interests of virtue , as to the short discourse of mine concerning the future advantages of it , i purpose now to write brief notes on that book , and hope at one and the same time to correct his mistakes , and justify my own sentiments . by the way , the inquiry concerning virtue is the tract i have refer'd to , having formerly had a sight of the ms. tho yet ignorant of the author . p. 3. religion and virtue are very rarely consider'd apart , or distinguish'd from one another . i will not dispute this with our author ; but then since he does consider them apart , i think it an omission that he has not particularly and distinctly defin'd them : possibly the definitions of them may be made out from the course of his reasonings ; but sure they ought some where or other to have bin particularly and plainly set down , especially because he himself professes , that the subject he enters upon needs a very particular explanation of things , and more than ordinary clearness of terms . p. 4. we may do well to consider , what it is that we call atheism , and what virtue , and afterwards examine the consistency of these two together . this is very incautiously and offensively worded , but i will wait till he openly declares what he calls atheism , and what virtue , before i pass my censure . p. 5. if every thing that exists , be according to a good order , and for the best , by being in the wisest and just est manner , then is there of necessity no such thing as real ill in the vniverse , nothing ill with respect to the whole . it shall be granted that there is nothing ill with respect to the whole , but still there may be that which is ill , real ill , with respect to some great and noble part of the whole , and no reproach to the wise and just disposer of the whole neither ; because that which is real ill with respect to some great and noble part of the whole , shall after some revolutions of time , appear to have contributed to the most wise and just disposal of the whole . let thus much for the present be said in general ; when our author speaks more particularly by instance , i will come up more closely to him , and more particularly speak my mind . p. 5. whatsoever in the order of the world is called ill , supposes a possibility in the nature of the thing , to have bin otherwise contriv'd , or order'd by some wisdom or other . the whole might for all that we know have bin otherwise contriv'd and order'd than it is , but we do not know how it could have bin contriv'd and order'd better ; nay indeed we do not know how the whole is contriv'd and order'd , our knowledg extends but to some parts of the whole , and sees not thro them neither : but that which i admit to be real ill , with respect to some parts of the whole , being only so for a time , and with respect to some parts only , is not real ill with respect to the whole . p. 5. if the order of all things be such that nothing can be thought of or imagin'd more wise , perfect , and just , then it is impossible but that there must be wisdom , vnderstanding and design in the whole . i grant the order of all things with respect to the whole , to be most wise , perfect , and just ; in the whole there is wisdom , understanding and design , and that in the perfectest and highest manner and degree . but then from hence i argue thus : if there be perfect wisdom , design , and understanding in the whole , then there must be a most wise , designing , and understanding being , in which perfect wisdom , design , and understanding exists . our author's words seem to incline to that old pagan doctrine , that the whole is god ; that the whole system of nature is the only wise , understanding , and designing being , which to me is perfect nonsense : for , the wisdom , understanding , and design which our author speaks of , as existing in the whole , can be nothing but the congruity and mutual serviceableness of the parts ; but the whole , the whole system of nature cannot be properly said to be the cause of the congruity and mutual serviceableness of the parts which compose the whole . p. 6. if there be any thing ill in the universe from design , then that which is the cause of , or which disposes all things , is no one good designing principle . tho there be nothing ill in the vniverse , with respect to the vniverse , from design ; yet there may be something temporarily ill in the parts , which after some revolutions of time shall appear to have contributed to the perfection of the universe ; and therefore that being from whom the design came , temporarily ill with respect to some part , may nevertheless be one good designing principle or mind . i will give instance here , tho our author speaks only in general . if we consider only that part of the universe which mankind makes , and that short time which men live , it is ill , real ill , that the man who does good should suffer evil , and that the man who does evil should not suffer proportionably to the evil which he does : but if we consider this with respect to that state which probably shall be hereafter , with respect to the advantages which the former shall then probably reap , and the loss which the other shall then probably incur , then there appears no such thing as real ill in the universe . p. 7. whatsoever is superiour in any degree over the world , or that rules in nature with discernment and a mind , is that which we call god. i do not approve of our author's definition of god ; i would rather , keeping as near to his phrase as i can , define thus : whatsoever does exist , having supreme power over us and all things else , is that which we call god. pagan philosophers , the most of them , as well as the vulgar , paid religious worship to many suppos'd powerful inferiour gods ; but most of the vulgar , and all the philosophers almost to a man , acknowledg'd one single supreme intelligent being ; for proof of this i refer to dr. cudworth's intellectual system . p. 8. to believe no one supreme good designing principle or mind , but several , is to be a polytheist . this was not well consider'd by our author : for if nothing makes a man a polytheist , but to believe no one supreme good designing principle or mind , but several , then there never was a polytheist in the world. he that understands the sense of the word supreme , cannot but perceive , that it is impossible there should be more than one such . the old polytheists believ'd and worship'd many superiour powers , but they nor did nor could imagine more than one supreme . sect. 2. p. 12. there is in every creature a certain interest or good , which is an end in that creature ; and to which end , if any thing either of his appetites , passions , or affections be not conducing , but the contrary ; this is ill to him , and in this manner he is ill , with respect to himself , as he is said to be ill also with respect to others , when any such appetites or passions make him injurious to them . questionless the chief good of every creature , is the chief end of every creature ; the end which he ought , and which he is naturally dispos'd to pursue ; and which when he does not pursue , his natural constitution is vitiated . to apply this to the rational creature : if we allow free will to man ( which i suppose our author does , because else 't is nonsense to talk of virtue and vice ) then that man is a good man , and acts well and wisely , who imploys his thoughts , and directs his practice for the attainment of his own chief good . farther , such is the constitution and frame of man , and such his chief end or good , that his pursuing the same can never make him injurious to other men ; but on the contrary , his pursuing his own chief end or good , tends very much to the promoting the chief end or good of his brethren . what our author discourses concerning the animal system and animal nature , whether it be accurate and exact , i shall not at present concern my self ; but the distinction i admit , and thus much i grant him , that no part of the universe is of it self compleat , but every part has a relation to the whole , whereof it is a part ; and that there is no part but contributes to the perfection of the whole , tho consider'd with less general respects , it may be for a time ill to some other part , and also to it self . p. 17. nor do we say a man is a good man , when his hands are ty'd , which hinders him from doing the harm that he has a mind to do , or ( which is near the same ) when he abstains from executing his ill purpose , thro a fear of some impending punishment , or thro an allurement of some private pleasure or advantage , which draws him from his ill intention . our author here is making his way to the main purpose of his book , which being the introducing of a doctrine that i take to be not only erroneous , but also discouraging to virtue and destructive to society , i shall therefore watch his approaches , and make my remarks upon his specious artful insinuations . to speak exactly , he that nor does nor means harm , ought to be denominated innocent ; and only he that does or is ready to do good , virtuous . but by our author's favour , not to be able to do the harm which one has a mind to do , and to abstain from executing an ill purpose thro fear of some impending punishment , or thro allurement of some private pleasure or advantage , is not the same , nor near the same thing : for in the one case , the ill-minded man is wholly govern'd by his irregular passions and affections , and restrain'd only by force exterior from the evil act ; but in the other he makes some use of his reason , and by that use which he makes of his reason ( tho not the best which might be made ) he abstains from the evil act. i will grant our author that the man who abstains from executing his evil purpose , only thro fear of impending punishment , or thro allurement of some private pleasure or advantage ( meaning by punishment , the punishment which human laws threaten to evil actions , and by pleasure or advantage , sensual pleasure and secular advantage ) has not well consider'd things , nor exercis'd his reason so far , as to form those true notions in his mind which are requisite to set a value upon his abstinence from evil ; nor would i call such a man innocent . but then there are other fears , and other hopes to which men may owe their abstinence from some evils , and no disparagement to their innocence neither : for instance , i presume it were an injurious evil thing , for a physician to try an experiment upon a poor patient , without the knowledg and consent of his patient , merely to improve his own knowledg ; but this a physician may have many opportunities of doing , and that with all imaginable safety to himself , so that not so much as his skill shall be call'd in question , tho the experiment fails , and the patient miscarries ; for so patients every day do under the ablest physicians , proceeding by common methods : and yet a physician that has no fears from without to restrain him from trying an experiment , may be restrain'd by the fears of doing a base thing , by the fears of that uneasiness which his considering mind , conscious to the evil deed , may create him : and whenever such fears keep a man free from the evil act , his abstinence from it is praise-worthy , and he is of right to be deemed innocent . upon the same score , a due regard had to the pleasures of a good conscience , has a great influence to keep a man , in such like circumstances plac'd , innocent , and does not depretiate the innocence which it preserves . our author should not talk in general of punishments and advantages , the objects of our hopes and fears , without specifying what kind of punishments and advantages he means , when he lays down such and such propositions . i am of the mind , that when we act rationally , we are always influenc'd by some one or other hope or fear : indeed a man may arrive at a habit of well or ill-doing , and then not advert to the special motive in every particular act ; but all momentous actions , and the original of the good or ill habit proceeds from some hope or fear . what signifies the decor facti so much talk'd of , the comliness and fitness of the action call'd virtuous , but the advantageousness thereof to one's self , country , neighbourhood , near relation , friend , acquaintance ? from hence the action has its comliness and fitness , from hence it is denominated virtuous ; and he that does it , does it with this prospect . what i would conclude hence is , that hope and fear , which are the springs of all action , render an action good or ill , according to the nature of that thing which is the object of our hope and fear . but our author seems to lay a stress upon that distinguishing epithet private , private pleasure or advantage , which otherwhere he calls private good , self-good ; but in this matter he does not deal distinctly enough neither : for i will grant him , that there are some kind of private pleasure or advantage , private good , self-good , such as profit , pleasure , honour , all secular satisfactions , which if they are the chief designs and purposes of the agent , they depreciate that action which is really advantageous to the publick , and perhaps to the doer also , farther than he might hope ; but a regard had to the private chief good of every man , is that which sets the high value upon his actions , and gives them that excellence , because of which they may fitly be called virtuous . to speak my sense in every thing as plain as i can : a man 's chief good i allow to consist in just and equal affections , whereby he is dispos'd to take a wise care of his health , a duly proportion'd regard of his secular interests , and to imploy a constant study and labour to do good to all mankind , as far as his abilities can reach , and in the order as this or that society or person most reasonably calls for a prior regard . these just and equal affections create to a man greater happiness than can accrue to him from secular satisfactions . now if the mind of man shall exist again ( as we think it most probable , and mean to give our reasons ) it shall exist with these just and equal affections , in beneficent degrees still improving , more useful to others , and more happy in it self ( for even in this life as a good man increases in his good affections , so his fervour and his joys daily advance ) a regard had to this hope is proper to regulate our judgment and affections , and dispose us to virtue more powerfully than the consideration of the happiness which virtue creates to us in this life . now no man's chief private good can be separated from the good of others , tho his secular private good may : whatsoever is of honest advantage to one's acquaintance , friend , relation , neighbourhood , country , mankind in general , has a tendency to one's own chief advantage , and many times to some inferiour advantages of one's own also ; but no man could at all endeavour the advantage of others , if it tended to his own greatest loss . there is implanted in mankind a strong principle of self-love prior to all kind respect towards others : we cannot but love our own honest secular interest , before the honest secular interest of another man ; our private self-good future , more ardently than the private self-good future of another man. we do ill only when we prefer a small secular interest of our own before a weighty interest of another , whose condition is sad and piteable , or before a weighty certain interest of the publick , or before a probability that we may happen to have in our hands of promoting the interests of virtue . and this i think is speaking something more distinctly than our author has done , and more according to verity . i said i would assign my reasons why i thought it most probable that the mind of man should exist again after death , ( at what time , as to me is most probable , his regular or irregular affections shall create his happiness or misery ) i will not defer the making good that promise ; only let it be consider'd 't is high probability , not sensible demonstration that i pretend to , tho i have a temptation to pretend even to that , which temptation i have from the reasoning of that noble philosopher mr. lock , i quote it in the words of mr. wynn's abridgment , p. 200. the idea of a supreme being , infinite in power , goodness and wisdom , whose workmanship we are , and on whom we depend , and the idea of our selves as understanding rational creatures , would , i suppose , if duly consider'd , afford such foundations of our duty and rules of action , as might place morality among the sciences capable of demonstration ; wherein i doubt not but from principles as incontestable as those of the mathematics , by necessary consequences , the measure of right and wrong might be made out to any one , that will apply himself with the same indifferency and attention to the one , as he does to the other of these sciences . but of what i have to say let the reader judg . i will use the word mind or man promiscuously ; for it is the reasoning principle which we call mind , that does distinguish , and constitute us what we are . if in the universe every thing is according to a good order , and the most agreable to a general interest that is possible , so that nothing could have bin contriv'd more wisely , and with more advantage to the general interest of beings , or of the universe ( which our author seems to admit , and affirms to be perfect theism , p. 7. ) then man or human mind must exist again after this life ended : for , that order of things in which man 's future existence is not suppos'd , is not the best order which we can imagin ; but we have the idea in our minds of a juster and wiser contrivance . in defence of the doctrine which i now impugn , some have bin pleas'd to say , that every sin meets with adequate punishment or pain in this life , and every good deed with adequate reward or advantage . were this true , i must confess i could not pretend that any thing is amiss in that order of things , in which man 's future existence is not suppos'd . but i hope to make the contrary appear to an impartial deliberate considerer . there are some sins , which , as it often happens , do not meet with punishment , or pain adequate in this life ; and the most difficult instances of virtue , which ever and anon call for our practice , do not create present joys equal to the labours and dangers thereof . i do not expect to carry my point by my bare assertion ; nor do i allow any thing to the authority of my adversaries , however in learning my superiours : therefore i will offer instance , and reason the matter with them as well as i can . what a world of barbarous injuries has a certain mighty potentate caus'd to be committed for the enlargement of his dominions , and the increase of his glory ? what wondrous successes has he sometimes cunningly bought , sometimes fraudulently surpriz'd , and sometimes by over-powering numbers forc'd ? with what odious insolence has he treated not only independent states and commonwealths , but also crown'd heads , in point of due honour his equals ? how has he slighted his holy father , and made a mere property of the head , as they call him , of the catholick church ? how has he triumph'd in all these iniquities , bribing blasphemous panegyricks , and monumental proud inscriptions ( the wit of hungry priests , expence of servile courtiers ) to his immortal manship ? he has bin for a long time flatter'd , if not belov'd , by crouching slaves and conquer'd nations , and fear'd by states inferiour in their numbers , or unequal thro their own divisions far and wide , which are the two things the most agreable to an ambitious soul. he has never wanted women witty , fair , and easy to excite and answer his lust ; whatever his appetite has coveted , or his health needed for its support , has bin ready for him upon all occasions . but where 's the adequate punishment or pain all this while ? no such thing has as yet befall'n him ; not but that he has met with crosses and disappointments in his well-laid ill designs , which may have giv'n him an hour's vexation in his closet , but no long disquiet : for he never was long without taking new measures to retrieve the old game , and those new measures rais'd new hopes , and those new hopes brought not more uneasiness than an ordinary patience might well enough undergo . but ( it may be said ) he has bin often compell'd to re-deliver his rapine . indeed much of this is true , and it could not but sit heavy on a great heart ; but then he never re-deliver'd the whole , and by redelivering but part , he gain'd something of a specious title to what he retain'd : and then too he assum'd to himself the glory of that peace which himself most wanted , and never condescended ( as he loves to speak ) to a peace , but to get new breath , and divide his united enemies ; one point of which he was always sure of , and seldom miss'd the other . now all this while where 's the adequate punishment ? hitherto all the misfortunes he has met , have bin no more painful and punishing , than just to give a better relish to his tyrannick pride and successful depredations ; if there be one single sin of his that has bin adequately punish'd , it must be his — but i will not speak of lawless love or — for some men , beside that they count it no sin , prefer the pleasure to the pain . but it may be by way of objection reply'd to me , mark the end of this man , conclude not that he shall not , because he has not as yet , paid the price of his crimes . well! i cannot promise my self to live so long as to mark his end , but i will suppose it as much as can be to the disadvantage of my cause , tho no one can presume , but that it may be so honourable and so easy , as still to mend my argument . suppose then that his armies on all sides shall be repuls'd and beaten , his asses grow weary of their burden , and sick of their driver ; his domesticks that eat of his bread , forsake him : suppose that in the midst of his distress , wandring , despis'd , and hated , no one shall love him so well , or hate him so passionately , as to rid him of his wretched life ; but that he must be beholden to his own right hand , or to the anguish of his disorder'd mind : who would call this adequate pain or punishment , for millions of murders , and remorseless villanies ; fruitful countries laid waste , temples thrown down , and sepulchers digg'd up ; the bold breach of faith sworn , all manner of laws and rights , for a long course of early , young , and of vigorous manly years , insulted : does all this deserve no more than that a heavy misfortune fall upon the guilty wretch in his old and decaying age ? i wonder how any man can pretend that this would be adequate punishment , and yet 't is a hundred to one but the mighty sinner goes off the stage suffering little or nothing of all this . it were not hard to give numerous instances of vile men , that have revell'd long in all abominable , and cruel lewdness and injustice ; who notwithstanding have dy'd without notable misfortune , or tormenting regret . i have selected one that possibly has done the most evil of any name , that is to be met in history , and hitherto he has come off cheap ; and if it appears , tho but in a single instance , that all sins are not adequately punish'd in this life , i presume it must follow , that that order of things in which man 's future existence is not suppos'd , is not the best and wisest order that can be imagin'd . but farther to evince that all sins are not adequately punish'd in this life , let it be consider'd , that many times , persons whose crimes are hainous , find means to escape the vengeance of the magistrate , while they who are less guilty , are very severely dealt with : nay and the former , so it often happens , go on rejoycing in their crimes , while the latter venture on evil actions , not without great trouble and anxiety of mind . now let my adversaries call what they will adequate punishment , i am sure it is not the wisest order of things imaginable , that the less guilty suffer most , and the most guilty least , or not at all . i will dismiss this argument with the brief mention of an instance or two from antient story . cesar was in many a conspiracy against the liberty of his country ; at last he absolutely inslav'd it to his own arbitrary will , and three years injoy'd the success of his unrighteous usurpation : at the end of that term brutus and cassius , &c. dispatch'd him of a sudden . if this was adequate punishment , then subjugating a free people is a light injury . orestes slew his mother , and was all his life-time troubled in conscience for it ; suppose this now was adequate punishment : but nero slew his mother , by whose means he got the empire , and never was troubled for the matter : he dispatch'd also his wife octavia , and his master seneca ; he spar'd no person that gave him offence : his end indeed was tragical , but it was sudden and quick , no way adequate to his horrid life . i presume i have now made it appear to an impartial equal considerer , that there are some sins , which ( as it often happens ) do not meet with punishment , or pain adequate in this life : i hope to make it appear as plainly , that the most difficult instances of virtue , which ever and anon call for our practice , do not create present joys equal to the labours and dangers thereof . generally speaking , such is the nature of virtue , that it is fitted not only to promote the good . ( as our author phrases it ) of the private system , but also of the publick . virtue naturally tends to the benefit of every particular man , and also of all mankind united in societies . temperance conduces to the health of the temperate man , to the health of his body , and to the health of his mind ( from the health of both which arises the greatest good which he is capable of at present ) and also to the enrichment of the publick ; for , the less is consum'd at home of any thing serviceable to life , the more remains to be exported abroad by way of trade ▪ justice and charity are immediately , visibly beneficial to society ; and they purchase to the just and charitable person , not only the agreable comforts of a good reputation , but great measures of security to be treated with justice again , and reasonable hopes to find a return of charity in time of need . now such being the nature of virtue , so proportion'd and fitted to all the honest desires and nobler ends of mankind in this state , it would become a wise man in some cases to practise it , even tho he were sure there were no reward , nothing to be got by it hereafter : but then there are other cases in which virtue ( tho always serviceable to society ) may accidentally happen to be unserviceable to a private man , and wholly unable to create him present joys equal to the labours and dangers thereof . nay , there are cases , in which some virtues , aiming at the service of the publick , may become effectual to the utter ruin of a man's fortunes , friends , health , life . now if it is ever odds against a man , that his virtue shall not be successful to the publick according to his desire , but on the contrary , prove an occasion of ruin to his fortunes , family , friends , health , life ; how the reflexion on his virtue can create him joy greater , or but equal to the pain which these misfortunes will cause , while he believes no future state , i cannot divine . if it should be objected , that i suppose a case which ought not to be suppos'd ; i reply , that this very case has , within our memory , befall'n several worthy persons in more than one country , upon their opposing the arbitrary designs of tyrannizing princes . their honest endeavours to preserve their country from poverty by loss of trade , from slavery , and its numerous attendant mischiefs , have cost several the loss of high honours , and valuable profits , wasted their estates , reduc'd their families to hardships , broke their health in close prisons , and sometimes put an end to their days by ignominious punishments . there is not one instance of virtue more widely beneficial , and more truly glorious , than a wise and resolute use of all lawful likely means to preserve to that society whereof we are members , the safe and secure enjoyment of their trade and liberties . the satisfaction and pleasure of mind in labouring this thing , will not be denied to be as great , if not greater , than that which proceeds from any other instance of virtue : but to be ( tho accidentally , and by means of consulting the publick good ) the occasion of great misfortune , not only to some dependants , acquaintance , and friends , but to wife and children also ; to the ruin of ones own health , and shortning ones days ; this , in my opinion , cannot but make the most virtuously dispos'd man , who believes no future state , very uneasy , and hinder him from relishing the satisfactions which otherwise his virtue might create to him . i do now , only for argument sake , suppose a man , who believes no future state , capable of serving his country at the price of these difficulties and sufferances ; but , that being suppos'd , i contend that these ▪ difficulties and sufferances cannot be more painful , than the consciousness of his virtue can be joyous . and methinks this may be made out even to a full and fair demonstration . unexpected disappointments , and losses , the falsness of an intrusted servant , the ingratitude of an oblig'd friend , want of many necessaries , and undeserv'd reproach , these are heavy weights , and no little power have they to disorder the thoughts of the mind ; it must yet more sensibly touch a man ( especially believing no future state ) if his concern and labour to serve his country brings ruin on the wife of his bosom , and his children , the pledges of their mutual love ; and i question very much , whether ever any man , who believes no future state , did despise ( the melancholy prospect being before him ) his dear wife and children , and undauntedly practise the dangerous virtue : but a prison has still a more afflicting influence on the mind of a well-dispos'd man ; and by that time restraint and barbarous usage has broke his health , his spirits must fail , his mind must needs languish together with his body : and when a man is in continual pain , tho he does not utterly lose the consciousness of his integrity , yet what comfort can he take in it , when he sees that it has undone , not only his dearest relatives , but himself also ; and considers that himself undone is dying , dying for ever , and never like to be the better for his virtue hereafter ? i think our preachers do not exact the words of paul literally , when he wish'd that curse on himself for the sake of his brethren the jews : and in my judgment , as no man can wish to be miserable hereafter , that others may be happy hereafter ; so no man who looks upon this life as the end of all things to him , can be content to be miserable in this life , in hopes to make others happy in this life . if any adversary shall oppose his denial to what i have here determin'd , then he must be forced to assert , that man is a creature in whose composition there 's no such thing as self-love , or reason ; but this is extremely absurd , and therefore my determination must be allow'd . it may be easily understood , how it is possible for a man to give up all that is near and dear to him , nay his very life , for the service of his country , or for the sake of a friend more serviceable to his country than himself , if he believes that he shall exist again after death , and then either receive a recompence of reward , or find it in his increasing virtuous affections : but to sacrifice himself and his nearest and dearest relations for the service of his country , when he believes that both he himself , and they whom he sacrifices , shall exist no more , is not possible to be done , in my judgment , by any but a humorous man , whose fancy is over-heated with metaphysical lofty unaccountable extravagancies . i remember , i confess , that tully , in his book of offices , says , that to contemn life for the interest of the publick , magni & excelsi animi est , is the part of a great and gallant mind : and i am told by them that have read tully with more care and heedful observation than i pretend to , that tully never made that notion of a future state an argument to enforce the practice of virtue : if so , then i may gather that tully did not give any credit to that notion ; and then it will follow , that his doctrine , viz. to contemn life for the interest of the publick , is the part of a great and gallant mind , is contrary to mine : but 't is reason i require , and not authority . yet i do not grant that tully never made the notion of a future state an argument to virtue . i will not forget to examine that assertion before i finish these papers . i am much told also by some , who differ with me in these speculations , as much as they agree with me in friendship , that it is most just , fitting , reasonable , the publick should be prefer'd before the private . but i desire these my friends to tell me , if they can give any reason why the publick should be prefer'd before the private , besides this which i now give , viz. every private member of the society has agreed to do it , and has an interest in doing it . if they can give me no other reason , which i am perswaded they cannot , then i note , that when a private good man has no interest in the publick , he has no obligation to the publick . i word it , that when a private good man has , &c. for i grant that a justly condemn'd traitor , who has no longer an interest in the publick , is yet in conscience bound quietly to suffer the penalty of the law by him broken ; and not only so , but because he expresly or tacitly consented to the law by which he dies , he ought for the common good to discover his traitorous accomplices . i restrain my note to a good man , whose virtue , through the iniquity of the times , and the unrighteous administration of the executive power , might , by accident , fatally endanger him . such a man is not bound to strive against the stream for his country's good , to his own ( in all probability ) utter ruin . i take this to be manifest , tho 't is ( before i was aware ) something more than the position which i undertook to make good , oblig'd me to meddle with ; for i was only to prove , that there would be more pain than pleasure in such a virtuous labour , supposing it possible to be attempted , and i think i have prov'd it : and if there be more pain than pleasure in some virtuous actions , then there 's an end of the excellence of those virtuous actions ; then they have not that worth , as that they should be lov'd for their own sakes . thus upon the supposition of no future state , it appears that it is not reasonable to practise virtue , whenever it is likely to rob us of our fortunes , fame , health , or life : and on the contrary , if it be reasonable to practise virtue in such difficult cases , then it must be so on this ground , because it is very probable that we shall exist again in a future state. thus have i expatiated upon one reason why i think it most probable that the mind of man shall exist again after death . i shall now assign another , and treat of it more succinctly , because what i have insisted on already makes way for it , and helps to illustrate it . that belief , which is generally necessary for the tolerable well-being of the human system , must needs be a belief of things certainly true : and on the contrary , that belief which is apparently destructive of the tolerable well-being of the human system , must needs be a belief of things absolutly false . but the belief of a future state , wherein the virtuous shall be happy , the vicious unhappy , is generally necessary for the tolerable well-being of the human system , and therefore it is a belief of what must needs be true ; and the belief , that after this life ended men shall exist no more , is apparently destructive of the tolerable well-being of the human system , and therefore it is a belief of what must needs be false . to do our author justice , he does grant , p. 63 , 64. that the belief of future reward and punishment is capable of raising men to virtue , and of saving them from falling into a licentious and vicious practice ; tho , i know not how , p. 68. he says something in abatement , viz. the doing any thing on the consideration and foresight merely of reward , is no virtue ; nor can the endeavour after virtue , the setting about to make one's self virtuous on that score , be any virtue . i look upon our author to be a man of virtue and probity , but i am fully satisfied , that this latter passage does not at all serve the cause of virtue , nor the former so much as i could wish : for i reckon , that i have prov'd , that the taking prudent care of a man's private interest must needs be first in his thoughts , and is truly virtuous ; not to injure others , is innocence ; to do them all good , is the perfection of virtue . i am pleas'd that our author grants , that the belief of future reward and punishment is capable of raising men to virtue ; but i contend farther , and now hope to make it appear , that the belief of a future state , wherein the virtuous shall be happy , the vicious unhappy , is generally necessary for the tolerable well-being of the human system . it is to this belief we owe , that those who are virtuous in difficult times and instances ( how few or how many soever they are ) do not run with a multitude to do evil . it is to this belief we owe , that such men do not sit still satisfied with their particular unmolested condition ; but generously venture all their secular interests to maintain the cause of virtue , to promote the practice of moral goodness , and to redeem the liberty and welfare of their country : and if there were not a considerable number of these in all , as yet free kingdoms , and commonwealths , long e're this there had been no such thing as commonwealth or kingdom free : and if there were not some such as these in kingdoms and commonwealths inslav'd , the administration there would be yet more tyrannic and mischievous than it is ; the people in those commonwealths and kingdoms much more abus'd and wasted than they are . it is to this belief we owe the generous offices of humanity , of love , and charitable supports , which even in our late times we have known dealt to many innocent persons , when they were miserably harass'd by a power that overbore the law to ruin them . it is to this belief we owe much , perhaps the greatest part of the honesty which is in trade ; for tho false dealing is common , yet honest dealing is not so hard to be found neither as some would perswade us , who both vilify human nature , and deny the future state. by the way , it is not well done of them denying the future state , at one time to speak of noble virtuous tempers , that are such without regard to what may be hereafter , at another time to insinuate , that all men would be rogues and knaves had they the secure opportunity , and agreable temptation . i return . honest dealing , infrequent as it is , would be yet more infrequent , if some men were not influenc'd by future hopes and fears . who would not use false arts and ways in trade , at least so long till he had provided a competence sutable to his desires , for himself and family , if he believ'd that death was the end of all things ? indeed reputation on the one hand , and the danger of penal laws on the other , may prevent much fraud ; but i now speak only of that fraud which might be secretly and securely practis'd . no secure opportunities of unjust gain would ever be let slip , by a man of a fortune but moderate , or low , if he had no prospect of being the better for his virtue hereafter : for tho we are naturally dispos'd to help our kind , yet i think not till we have first provided what we judg we shall need for our selves . he that fares very hardly , when he might accommodate himself better by a fraud , which may chance to ly both out of the reach of the law , and out of the danger of discovery , can be prompted to detest such a tempting injustice , only by his perswasion of future existence ; at what time his patient enduring of hardships , his abstinence from secure lucrous injustice , his inexpugnable virtue shall make him inconceiveable amends . in short , if it were not for this belief of a future existence , we should seldom or never have any thing great and good , useful and praise-worthy said or done : suspicions , jealousy , and diffidence , would encrease to such a height , as to leave no possible room for friendship , one of the greatest pleasures of life ; we should have nothing practis'd among men , but that honesty which they did not lose by , or could not avoid , with a little cheap and easy , cold and cautious civility thrown in upon occasion . i think i have now made it appear , that the belief of a future state , wherein the virtuous shall be happy , the vicious unhappy , is generally necessary for the tolerable well-being of the human system : now thence i gather , that it is a belief which must needs be true ; and on the other side , the belief , that after this life ended , men shall exist no more , being destructive of the tolerable well-being of the human system , it follows that it is a false belief : for tho it may often happen in particular cases , that the leading a man into the knowledg , and perswading him of the truth of a thing , may prove detrimental to him , yet this is but by accident , thro some weakness and indisposition of the mind , or pravity of the temper of the person , who is perswaded and let into the knowledg of truth : truth in its own nature has no unhappy detrimental tendency , or to particular men , or to mankind in general . now the belief of what i have bin discoursing , is of most wide , is of universal , most useful , and advantageous influence to all and every man ; and therefore i conclude , it must needs be a true belief : the contrary belief is of most wide , is of universal , most pernicious , and destructive influence to all and every man ; and therefore i conclude , it must needs be a false belief . i am strongly perswaded , that hardly any man will dare to say , that a perswasion universally pernicious and destructive , may possibly prove true ; that a belief universally useful and advantageous , may possibly prove false : but i am sure our author cannot say it , who , in the beginning of his book , affirms that all things in the universe are according to a good order , and that nothing could have bin contriv'd more wisely , with more advantage to the general interest of beings : for it is no good order , but diametrically contrary to the general interest of rational beings , that truth should be , of its own nature , mischievous ; falshood , of its own nature , useful and advantageous . as i once said before , i look upon our author as a man of virtue and probity ; he grants much of what i have said concerning the usefulness of the belief above-mention'd , and of the mischievousness of the contrary : for by the belief of future advantages to virtue , he says , p. 75. that a man may keep himself virtuous , where an atheist cannot . i advance farther , and infer , from the concession , the truth of that belief , which is able to keep a man virtuous , where the atheistical belief cannot . and when any person shall shew me the weakness of my inference , i promise to revoke it . in the mean time i cannot but wonder at what has fall'n from our author's pen , p. 51. religion ( according to the kind it may be of ) is capable of doing great good , or great harm , and atheism not any positive good or harm . i grant the former part of this assertion , religion ( according to the kind it may be of ) is capable of doing great good or great harm : but then i contend , that atheism is incapable of doing positive good , and capable of doing nothing but positive harm . the reason which our author brings for his offensive doctrine , is , for however it ( atheism ) may be indirectly an occasion of mens losing a good and sufficient sense of right and wrong ; yet it will not , as atheism merely , be the occasion of setting up false right and wrong , which only fantastical reasoning , ill custom , or ill religion can do . to this i reply , that atheism , as atheism merely , tho it tends not to any religion at all , yet it does lead men to ill custom , and fantastical reasoning , which our author admits likely to be the occasion of setting up false right and wrong , and consequently of doing no positive good , but much positive harm : for if the atheist is capable of doing any positive good , it must be only then , when his circumstances in the world are easy , and to his hearts content ; but at every other time , if he has an inviting great probability of success and secrecy , he cannot restrain himself from making his circumstances easy , and to his hearts content , by doing positive harm . this i have prov'd in what went before ; i only now add , that i am strongly of the opinion , that were our author to choose a servant with whom he must intrust a considerable stewardship in the east or west-indies , where he had no means narrowly to inspect his management , or punish his mismanagement , he would rather choose a servant of good reputation in the belief of a future state , than a servant of good reputation in the atheistick belief . p. 53. it is possible for a creature capable of using reflection , to have a liking or dislike of moral actions , and consequently a sense of right and wrong , before such time as he may have any notion or sense of god at all : this is what will hardly be question'd . by several passages which follow , i cannot but allow , that our author has no ill meaning in this ; but then it has so untoward an air , and is liable to so obvious and unhappy misconstruction , that i think fit to descant upon it ; but this i shall do with all candour . that a creature capable of using reflection , may have a dislike of moral actions , before he has any notion or sense of god at all ; thus much of the remark is by me wholly granted to our author : for , nothing can contribute more to a dislike of moral actions , than the utter want of all notion or sense of god. but what degree of liking of moral actions , what measure of sense concerning right and wrong , a creature capable of using reflection may have , before he has any notion or sense of god at all , ought to be carefully examin'd and distinctly weigh'd , before any deduction be made or intimated from such a remark as this . with our author's leave thus much i will presume to determine and make good , viz. it will not only be question'd , but absolutely deny'd by the generality of thinking men , that a creature capable of using reflection , can have so just a liking of moral actions , and so true a sense of right and wrong , before he has the notion and sense of god , as he ought to have , and cannot but have , using reflection , when he has once learn'd the notion , and becomes affected with the sense of a god. indeed moral actions are altogether agreable to a rational nature , or ( as our author phrases it ) to a creature using reflection : but the exercise of his reason , or his using reflection will lead him to the notion of a god , and that notion will make his sense of right or wrong more correct , and give it a larger scope , give it a wider field to exercise it self in ; that notion heedfully adverted to , will raise his liking of moral actions far above what it could arrive at without it . and this our author seems to grant , p. 59. if there be a being conceiv'd all-intelligent and all-seeing , of infinite power , wisdom , and goodness , the belief of such a being must of necessity be highly effectual to the creating or farthering of good affections , and to the removing of contrary ones , by rendering every thing that is of virtue more lovely , splendid , and attractive ; and every thing that is of vice , more ignominious and deform'd . but without the notion of a being all-intelligent , all-seeing , of infinite power , wisdom and goodness , the rational or reflecting creature 's liking of moral actions , will show it self only in some cheap and easy instances , and be very apt to be diverted or abated by the secular interest of the private system . in few and plain words , this matter may be thus sum'd up : a man that has no notion nor sense of a god may possibly like and practise moral actions , when he has no beloved lust to gratify , nor dreaded danger to avoid , the one of which may be easily gratified , and the other securely avoided by actions immoral : but when he has a beloved lust to gratify , which may be easily gratified , or a dreaded danger to avoid , which may be securely avoided , and no notion nor sense of god at all to influence him , he will at that time be sure to gratify his lust , and do what he can to avoid his danger , tho the means to be us'd for such ends be never so immoral : the reason of this is , because in all creatures , especially the rational , self-love is the predominant principle . a rational creature who believes a god , and expects a future existence , may generously prefer the noble interests of society before wealth and health , and even his life it self , if the case so require , because he expects hereafter to find an inconceivable advantage in so doing : but there is no argument in nature , no reason , nor shadow of a reason to perswade a rational man who knows nothing of god , and expects no future existence , to venture the loss of his life , or but of his estate ( without which he cannot provide necessaries for his wife and children ) for the service of his country , when the laws and liberties thereof are in danger either from crafty priests imposing gainful doctrines for necessary faith , or arbitrary princes dispensing with the laws which they swore to maintain . p. 81. it will appear that one who has not the opinion or belief of an intelligent principle , or god , may , tho very difficultly , and at a great hazard , be capable of virtue , so as to have an honesty , a faith , a justice , perhaps of great note and worth ; may have many generous and good passions , and possibly that of love to virtue for its own sake , as well as for being believ'd advantageous . i am not willing to quit the respect which i have , and think i ought to have for our author ; yet i cannot but declare that he has here made a very erroneous and pernicious conclusion , which neither does appear from the reasons by him offer'd , nor can it be made to appear from any thing which the wit of man can offer : indeed he has cautiously worded his conclusion , and wisely guarded himself . he has wisely guarded himself in this prefatory induction — if the reasons i have offer'd be found of any weight . i am glad that he is not confident of having prov'd so erroneous and pernicious a doctrine . he has worded it very cautiously , viz. in these phrases and terms of abatement , may , tho with great difficulty , and at a great hazard , — may perhaps , — may possibly . but contrary to what he has thus concluded , i have already prov'd , and shall now essay farther to confirm it , that one who has not the opinion or belief of an intelligent principle or god , can by no means be capable of such a virtue , as to have an honesty , a faith , a justice of great weight and worth . i take my rise for what i have now in my thoughts , from a passage of our author , according to him , p. 59. the word god imports no less than a being all-intelligent , all-seeing , of infinite power , wisdom and goodness . the belief of such a being ( he says ) must of necessity be highly effectual to the creating or farthering of good affections , and to the removing of contrary ones , by rendring every thing that is of virtue more lovely , splendid and attractive ; and every thing that is of vice , more ignominious and deform'd . now the loveliness of virtue consists wholly in its advantageousness , advantageousness of one sort or other , or else 't is an empty phrase , mere insignificant cant. such as the advantageousness of virtue is , such , and no other , is its loveliness : and on the other side , answerable to the disadvantageousness of vice , is its ignominy and deformity . by the belief of a being all-intelligent , all-seeing , of infinite power , wisdom and goodness , a rational creature becomes perswaded of a greater advantageousness in virtue , disadvantageousness in vice , than he could possibly be perswaded of without it . the belief of a being with the abovementioned perfections makes man's future existence credible ; for , i have already prov'd that all things are not according to a good order , if man shall not exist again . i add now , if man's future existence be necessary to justify god's wisdom , it is not hard to be conceiv'd how the same is as necessary to justify his goodness : for , the worldly prosperity of free agents , who make the worst use of their free will , and the worldly adversity of free agents , who make right use of it , are as unanswerable arguments against the goodness , as against the wisdom of god , if free agents must not exist again . i need not make words to show , how the omnipotence , and omniscience of god join with his infinite wisdom and goodness to ascertain us of our future existence . now if there be a god , who is ( as our author allows the word to signify ) a being all-intelligent , all-seeing , of infinite power , wisdom and goodness ; then we shall exist again , and after this life receive rewards , or ( to speak with them whose nicer philosophy excepts against that term rewards ) we shall become inconceivably happy by our virtue , and unexpressible losers by our vice. and this perswasion is evidently powerful to engage men to the practice of the most difficult virtue , and to restrain them from the most pleasing , secret , and secure vice. such a man as this may have , nay , using reflection , cannot but have honesty , faith , and justice of the greatest note and worth , cannot but have many generous and good passions , not without a love to virtue for its own sake : but he that has not the opinion or belief of an intelligent principle or god , may perhaps be capable of some cheap and easy virtue , such as sutes best with his natural temper , and does not much trouble the condition of his affairs ; but is certainly incapable of that more noble , and more difficult virtue , which threatens ruin to his fortunes , or an untimely end to his life . i determine thus , because there is in every creature ( to use our author's phrase ) a certain interest or good , which is as an end in that creature , to which god or nature design'd him . that certain interest or good , to which god or nature design'd his rational creature man , man is bound in duty to pursue : to this end , if his passions and affections are wisely , primarily directed , it is his duty , it is that which he ought to do , and for which he ought to be commended . if there be any such thing as god , or virtue , then there must be a future state : this consequence i have in some measure already prov'd , and mean to confirm it further , but i will take no advantage of it now . if there be any such thing as a future state , then it is the duty and virtue of a rational man primarily to direct his passions and affections for the securing his interest in that state , because his interest in that state ( supposing such a thing ) is immensly more considerable than his interest in this : but if there be no future state , then the certain interest , or good , or chief end of man , is such as his nature is capable of in this life ; and his pursuing that is what he ought to do , is his virtue , or else virtue is but a name , of which no body knows what to make . if man's chief interest , good , or end be in a future state , then he ought not , cannot dispense with his care to purchase that , for the sake of any interest of any others . if man's chief interest , good or end , be in this present life , then he ought not , cannot dispense with his preferring that before any interest of any others ; and thence it will undeniably follow , that he is utterly incapable of practising any instance of noble and difficult virtue , which happens to threaten ruin to his fortunes , and an untimely end to his life . but i will search into this matter yet more nicely , that i may take from my adversaries all subtil specious pretence of reply . the chief interest , good or end of man in this life is either corporeal , or mental ; if the mind be a principle distinct from body , then this distinction is just , and ought to be admitted , and may be thus desin'd , or describ'd : mental interest is the pleasure which the mind receives by reflecting on its virtue ; corporeal interest is the pleasure which the mind tasts by mediation of the senses . if the mind is not a principle distinct from body , then all our interest in this life is only corporeal , and all pleasure no other than bodily pleasure ; and then a man ought to prefer his bodily pleasure before any interest of any others , because if there be no future existence , bodily pleasure is his chief interest , good or end. but perhaps some friends of our author , tho they admit nothing but body in nature , and esteem thinking , and arguing to be the effects only of matter and motion , may yet distinguish as i have done , and make the pleasure which human nature is capable of , twofold ; the pleasure which is tasted by means of the senses , and the pleasure which is tasted by reflection . hereupon perhaps they may say , that the pleasure which is tasted by reflection ( which they will call too , the pleasure of the mind ) is the chief interest , good , or end of man ; and then conclude , that tho the pleasure of the mind , which is tasted by reflection , cannot but be prefer'd by a reasonable man before all other considerations whatsoever , that may happen to come in competition with it ; yet corporeal pleasure , the pleasure which is tasted by mediation of the senses , is a meaner interest and end , which a reasonable man ought not to pursue before the interests of society , tho there be no life after this . these gentlemen ( and i think our author accords with them throout his second book ) determine that the present mental satisfaction , which good men receive by reflecting on their virtuous actions , is sufficient to perswade all considering persons to the practice of virtue , tho there be no life after this . i reply , it may be sufficient to perswade the most considering persons in most cases , but in all cases it is not so . i have given some instances , i am able to give many more , and shall if that be stood upon ; but , thinking it may not by impartial readers , i chuse to argue closely , and carry on my reply : that consideration which is not sufficient to prompt thinking persons to virtue in all cases , does in effect , if there be no other to be offer'd , betray the cause of virtue ; for if the necessity of virtue be not in all cases as well as in some , in the most difficult cases as well as in the most common and easy , provided for , the cause of virtue is as good as given up : for , who shall draw the line , and measure distances , set out the exact bounds , and nicely determine , that if circumstances be so and so discouraging , dangers so and so pressing , a good man need not hazard his fortunes or his life , to serve his friend , the starving mobility , or the liberty and property of the freeholders of his country ; but in all cases one moment less discouraging , less pressing and hazardous , it becomes him to be resolutely virtuous , honest and good . 't is precarious impertinence for any man to pretend any thing of this nature ; for , the reasonableness of being true to one's friend , just to all persons , charitable to the necessitous , and bold in the defence of liberty and property , is not at all alter'd by the different circumstances of times , things or places , but remains always one and the same , be they more or less discouraging , pressing and hazardous , without any alteration , unless that it greatly becomes a virtuous , honest and good man , when his duty happens to be more difficult and dangerous , to exert himself so much the more . and to do this , he shall never want motive sufficiently powerful , if he be throly convinc'd of the certainty of a future state : but if he be not , a cheaper , easier virtue shall content him . now to prevent an objection which i suspect , and to take away all ansa of cavil , i own , that now and then an eminent person may in an odd humour , and in an unthinking heat , venture on a glorious action , that not only looks well , but is also highly useful , and beneficial to the publick , which may cost him his honourable station in the commonwealth , the loss of his fortunes , and perhaps of his life , tho he believes no future state : but i positively affirm , that this can be done by no man who disbelieves a future state , when he acts deliberately ; and i defy all my adversaries round , together with the author of the inquiry , and his favourers , to assign a reason sufficient to prompt a deliberate thinking man to do it . i have discours'd with some of them , men of as singular learning , and of as acute parts perhaps as any that now live ; and nothing could i ever hear from them as an argument for virtue , the future state not being suppos'd , but that virtue was its own present sufficient reward , which , as i have shewn , holds but in common cases . i have also shown to how little purpose they affect the use of that fam'd saying , virtue is its own reward , and to be lov'd for its own sake . to love virtue for its own sake , as the brave heathen philosophers us'd to speak , and to love god for his own sake , as we now commonly word it , signifies nothing but to love god without low secular regards : to love virtue , when it is discountenanc'd , when it is the enemy of a man's temporal ends and prosperities ; this he only can constantly do who believes a future state. but i am amaz'd to hear our author expose his own argumentation as he does in the close of the passage by me last cited . a man ( says he ) who has not the belief of a god , may possibly love virtue for its own sake , as well as for being believ'd advantageous . can any thing deserve to be lov'd for its own sake which is not advantageous ? if so , then our author will incur this gross absurdity , that a thing may deserve to be lov'd for its own sake , which is not at all lovely . certainly this is the oddest distinction that ever was coin'd by a man of letters and good sense , which every one that reads our author 's inquiry concerning virtue , must grant him to be . if advantageousness be not that which makes virtue deserve to be lov'd for its own sake , then , for ought i know , vice may deserve to be lov'd for its own sake , in which there is nothing truly advantageous . but i leave it to our author's second thoughts , whether he will forgo this distinction , or explain it ; for my part , i know not what to make of it as it lies . just at this moment , a gentleman , that knows what subject i am writing upon , and has seen some of my papers , is pleas'd to tell me , that i have imitated an absurd practice of the papists , proving one doctrine by another that needs proof . the papists ( says this gentleman ) having a gainful interest in the doctrine of praying to saints , and thereupon a great inclination to believe it , did defend the same , when the protestants objected that the saints could not hear prayers , by this invention . the saints understood all things , viewing them in the mirror of divinity ; or as others are pleas'd to phrase it , in speculo trinitatis , in the looking-glass of the trinity : so i having an inclination to believe a future state , and not being able to demonstrate it by direct proof , endeavour to make it good by this fetch , there must be a future state , or there can be no such thing as virtue . now by the favour of this gentleman , whose singular learning i highly honour , i shall show that there is no manner of similitude between the practice of the papists in the instance before us , and mine in managing the argument i have attempted . there might be a similitude perhaps , if he would put it thus : the papists prove that saints ought to be pray'd to , because else there 's no such thing as a mirror of the divinity , or looking-glass of the trinity , wherein all things are visible to them : and i prove the truth of a future state , because else there 's no necessity of virtue . but then i desire this gentleman to consider that both he and i laugh at the mirror of the divinity , or speculum trinitatis , as much as at the doctrine of praying to saints ; whereas tho he questions the future state , yet we both admit the necessity of virtue : therefore if i show that there is no argument sufficient to prompt men to virtue , and restrain them from vice in the most difficult times and places , but the belief of a future state , i appeal to all impartial judges , whether i don't gain my point . one of my friends , who is , as i am , fully perswaded that we shall exist again in a more blessed or sad state , according as we frame our spirits , and demean our selves in this life , did once let me know that he had some meditations in hand , whereby he thinks he shall demonstrate the immortality of the soul : but what he has farther than such moral demonstration as i have offer'd , demonstration from the generally receiv'd idea of god , and from the concessions of all men of sense , who are not such enemies to virtue , as in some cases to free mankind from the obligation ; also what he has farther than high probabilities from topics philosophical , with regard to which men of sense are in prudence bound to act , i cannot conceive : and to speak ingenuously , i do not think it agreable to the infinite wisdom , which we acknowledg in god , to have made the notions of a future state , and the immortality of the soul , so clear , obvious , and certain , as to put them beyond dispute . for where notions are but high probabilities , or such moral demonstrations as require thought and labour to make out ; attention and quitting all prejudices before they can be admitted , there is room for the exercise of consideration , prudence , and industry : but were all bright demonstration concerning the notions of future state , and the soul's immortality , the matter is so vastly , so immensly momentous , that we should be irresistibly carried to secure our chief interest , without reasoning and considering upon it ; and then our happiness would be our fate , not the attainment or reward of our wise meditation , and virtuous rational choices . if it be agreeable to the infinite wisdom of god to create a creature with the powers of considering , thinking , and reflecting , and to leave him much in the hands of his own free will , so that he may consider , think , reflect , and act wisely , or let it alone ; then to me it seems necessary , that the notions of future state and immortality of the soul , should be no clearer , nor more obvious , nor more certain than they are , i. e. but demonstrably certain upon the supposition that all men are oblig'd to be morally honest in all times , circumstances , and places ; and also but highly probable from philosophical arguments . the use that i make of this , is , that i hope my adversaries will not deny , but that all men are oblig'd to be morally honest in all times , and circumstances , and places ; and that it becomes wise men to consider , think , and reflect ; and that where they are not govern'd by the greatest probabilities , there they are not wise : and if they can give me a cogent argument , which shall oblige men to virtue , and restrain them from vice , in all times , circumstances , and places , a future state not being suppos'd , i promise to discard it . our author in the 2 d part of his book professedly proposes to show what obligation there is to virtue , and how any one may have reason to embrace virtue , and shun vice. in this part he ingenuously and appositely to this design expatiates upon many useful notices , which have no small influence to perswade to virtue , and restrain from vice , but offers at no reason which comes up so high ; as to perswade men to the one , and restrain them from the other , in those difficult cases which i have stated . now tho i think that i have sufficiently secur'd my discourse already , from what might be objected out of this author ( for his 2 d book has no new notions in abatement of what i have advanc'd concerning a future state ) yet i purpose to look into this second part , that i may not seem knowingly to have overlook'd any obligation to virtue , which might perhaps be thought powerful enough to influence considering persons in all times , circumstances , and places , without the intervention of a future state. p. 83. his preface , in short , runs thus : to be virtuous , is for a rational creature , in the use of good vnderstanding and judgment , to have the disposition and temper of his mind sutable and agreeing with the good of his kind . a rational creature , whose affections are sutable and agreeing to the good of his kind , has also other affections towards the private nature or self-system ; and in following the first of these , the creature must often contradict and go against the latter : it may seem therefore that the pursuing the common interest or good of his kind , is a hindrance to the attainment of private good. i do here , and shall abridg , keeping very close to his phrase , not in the least varying his sense . p. 85. affections to the good of the publick do often expose to hardships and hazards , by over-ruling their opposites , the self-preservative passions , and by necessitating the creature to self-denial , and , as it were , self-desertion . well! the truth of this we subscribe to , but now we want to know what that is , setting aside the notion of a future state , which has a force of sound reason powerful enough to perswade considering men to cherish their good affections to the publick , when the doing so exposes them to hardships and hazards , and forces them to deny themselves , and quit their self-preservative passions ( which , by the way , is self-desertion with a witness , self-desertion , without the abatement in that phrase , as it were . ) to solve this difficulty , after some amusements , our author addresses himself thus : p. 90 , 91. the natural affections towards the private system , or self , may be in a too great , and therefore vitious degree ; they may also be too weak , in a degree too low and vitious that way . he makes this out by several instances ; but i need not trouble my self with his instances , for i admit the notion : natural affections to the private or self-system , may be too strong , or too weak , and then are vitious . this being laid down , i was expecting how he would manage it , in proof of this difficult proposition which lies upon his hands , viz. that a man was oblig'd to cherish good affections towards the publick , when the doing so would expose him to hardships and hazards , force him to deny himself , and quit his self-preservative passions ; but instead of this , all that our author proposes to himself to prove , is , p. 101. that to have excellent affections ( such as have bin mention'd , just affections both to publick and private ) is to have the chief enjoyment of life . 2. to have the self-passions excessive , and beyond a just degree , is injurious to the creature , and of self-ill . 3. to have no affections towards the kind , nor self-ones , is prejudicial to the creature . now let all these propositions be granted him , i do not see that he has made the least step towards solving the difficulty which he had rais'd : he offers not one word to prove , that a man ought to cherish good affections to the publick , when the doing so will expose him to hardships and hazards , and make him quit his self-preservative passions : all that i can collect from the whole course of his reasonings in what follows , is , that a man's affection to private good , is too high , or too low , and thereby irregular and vitious , when his serving and taking care of himself takes off his affection from the publick ; i. e. in short , according to our author , whenever publick and private good come in competition with one another , a man is in duty bound to undergo hardships and hazards , to deny , to desert himself , to quit his self-preservative passions , and labour the good of the publick . now i may take up the words of the rich man in the gospel to our lord christ , who had recommended to him a doctrine of self-denial , tho not of quitting his self-preservative passions : this is a hard saying , and who can bear it ? wise lawgivers use to enforce their precepts with promises and threats ; so our lord : and in the old testament this is the language of the law , do this and live : but who ever heard of such a law-giving language as this , do this and die ? quit your self-preservative passions , and consult the good of the publick , tho you lose your fortunes , health , and life by it ; when the good of the publick is in danger , let the private system be sacrific'd ; 't is a man's duty then to dy , and there 's an end of him . as the apostle spake of himself and fellow christians , so i of such as cherish good affections to the publick , if in this life only they have hope , they are of all men the most miserable . but who shall perswade men to submit to the miseries of which we have spake , if there be no hope beyond this life ? our author must not undertake it , for i find he is furnish'd with no arguments to that purpose . his arguments prompt to virtue only in common cases . one that has no other nor better , can have ( to use our author's phrase and reasoning , p. 116. ) only a partial affection to virtue , an affection only to some particulars , which is an inconsistency and contradiction ; this partial affection has no foundation or establishment in reason , but depends solely on capriciousness and humour . i might dismiss our author now , and think of concluding this ( such as it is ) defence of the notion of a future state. but i must confess i am perswaded that several of the most speciously said things which are behind , are so unhappily worded and dispos'd , that they tempt , or at least leave room for opinions inconsistent with the universal necessity of virtue ; i therefore think it meet not to pass them over altogether without animadversion : it looks well what he says , p. 106. to have the natural affections , such as are founded in love , complacency , good will , and in a sympathy with the kind or species , is to have the chief enjoyment of life . but as far as i can perceive , he takes it for granted , that a man who disbelieves a future state , may yet have the natural affections , such as are founded in love , complacency , good will , and in a sympathy with the kind or species , in as high a degree as any one else , and by that means be happy in the chief enjoyment of life . now this i find fault with : for tho i grant , that a man who questions the future state , and has his natural affections beneficently dispos'd to the good of his kind , partakes largely of the chief enjoyments of life ; yet i have already prov'd that such a one cannot in all difficult circumstances so effectually exert his beneficent affections , as he that believes a future state : and now i farther add , that the man who cannot in all difficult circumstances so effectually exert his beneficent affections , cannot have that high degree of inward satisfaction and joy as the other : for , the wider the extent , and the higher the degree of virtue is , the more satisfying and joyous are the reflexive thoughts in the mind of a virtuous man ; and what is still more , the bare consciousness of meriting and possessing the esteem and love of others , cannot possibly be so satisfying and joyous , as when it is join'd with the comfortable assurance of having done that which is well-pleasing to god , and with the expectance of being the better for it , not in this life only , but also in the life to come . it looks very well what he says , p. 139. that to want the natural affections ( the above-mention'd beneficent affections ) is to be chiefly miserable . and upon this head he very truly and pathetically describes the disorders and mischiefs of excessive , irregular , selfish passions , the torments of unnatural and horrid affections ; the pain , anxiety , misery which are consequent to vain fear , fierce anger , luxury and lust , pride and ambition ; envy , hatred and malice , revenge , cruelty , and tyranny : but all this while he forgets to take notice of what i have already mention'd , viz. that tho generally speaking vitious men are greatly punish'd by their own vices , yet some vices at some opportunities agree better with them ; some vitious men know how to manage their vices with a sort of discretion , and while they sooth their senses , and wrong their neighbour , take care of their health and fame . now nothing can make this sort of men uneasy , but the consideration of what may be hereafter . now this topick our author has not insisted upon , i cannot say he has not touch'd it , but he has touch'd it at such a rate , that without doing him injury , i may venture to say he does not seem over-earnestly concern'd to have it believ'd that the man whose affections are vitious , ought to fear what may befal him in a future state. let the reader judg . p. 193. what enjoyment , or what rest is there for him , who is not conscious of the merited affection or love of any human soul , but on the contrary is conscious of merited hatred , not only from every fellow-creature , but from every thing in the universal nature ? what ground of horrour and despair ? what foundation of fear , and continual apprehension from mankind , and from superiour powers , whenever any such are credited , or but suspected ? upon this passage i shall make no worse reflection than this : tho the thoughts of an ill man reflecting on his criminal actions , do naturally create him much misery ; yet that discourser , who treating upon this argument , leaves him room to doubt of a future state , does , against the interests of society and government , ease him of too much of the burden : for , whatever cause he has to be troubled in mind , it is a great abatement to think , that when he dies there 's an end of it . fear and shame are the only restraints of an evil inclination ; but set aside the notion of a future state , and from some persons in some cases you remove these restraints : for , some persons are too big for laws , and no man , at least no infidel to that notion , blushes in the dark . a standing army and the inquiry concerning virtue , will compleat a tyrant by freeing him from the fear of god and man ; the latter alone will finish a libertine . this may seem too severely said , because i have acknowledg'd , that the inquiry offers many excellent arguments for virtue , and against vice. but since those excellent arguments are partial , of force only in particular , and not serving in all difficult cases ; since no turpitude , no dangers are mention'd , causing fear or shame to the vitious , but what are of no longer duration than this short life ; the mighty and the wary sinner are really tempted to indulge their irregular passions and affections . i dismiss our author ; and now it comes into my mind to talk , as i promis'd , with that very learned acquaintance , who would bear me down that tully never made the notion of a future state an argument for virtue . my reading has been narrow , and my memory such , as to have little of what i have read at command ; but examining it at leisure , i remember something in tully's tract wrote to pomponius atticus , titled cato major , de senectute , which , if i am not greatly mistaken , disproves his assertion . the discourse is dialogue ; but what is said under the person of cato was the sense of tully , as is plain from these words of his : ipsius catonis sermo explicabit nostram omnem de senectute sententiam ; cato's discourse will declare my whole sense concerning old age. now not to take advantage of the dying speech put into the mouth of cyrus by xenophon , which tully under the person of cato recites with approbation , let the reader judg of this passage , so remarkable , that it has been almost as much cited as any text in the bible . o praeclarum diem , cùm ad illud divinum animorum concilium , coetúmque proficiscar , cúmque ex hac turba , & colluvione discedam ! proficiscar enim non ad eos solùm viros , de quibus ante dixi ; sed etiam ad catonem meum , quo nemo vir melior natus est , neque pietate praestantior ! o blessed day , when i shall arrive at the divine assembly of souls , when i shall leave this vile crowd and earth behind ; for there i shall meet not only those [ noble romans ] whom i just now mention'd , but also my cato , than whom a more worthy and pious man the world has not known ! now that which gave tully the confidence of expecting to be happy after death in the company of those gallant men , who , as he , had deserv'd well of the age they liv'd in , was this : he was not asham'd of the life he had led , but was conscious to his own merit . non me vixisse poenitet , quoniam ita vixi , ut non me frustra natum existimem . towards the end of this book he adds , quod si in hoc erro , quòd animos hominum immortales esse credam , lubenter erro : nec mihi hunc errorem , quo delector , dum vivo , extorqueri volo . if i mistake in thinking the souls of men to be immortal , i mistake with delight ; nor would i have this mistake , with which i am pleas'd , torn from me as long as i live . i had almost overseen the smart reflection which follows : sin mortuus ( ut quidam minuti philosophi censent ) nihil sentiam , non vereor ne hunc errorem meum mortui philosophi irrideant . but if , when i am dead , i become nothing but sensless matter ( as some silly philosophers think ) those silly philosophers will become sensless matter too , and so there will be no danger of their hitting me in the teeth with this my mistake . by this it appears to me , that this prince of philosophers , and true father of his country , this venerable master of righteous morals , now with his dear cato , the noble scipio's , his friendly fannius , laelius , and scaevola , sustain'd his honest mind under all the labours and difficulties of virtue , by contemplating the infinite advantages he should reap in a future state : and surely while he acquaints others with what expectations he was influenc'd , he may justly be look'd upon as one that seriously endeavour'd to influence them by the same . it is true , he does not speak of the immortality of the soul , and the blessedness which waits the virtuous , with that confidence which is peculiar to christians ; but he speaks of it as of a thing so very probable , that he thought it highly became him to express his regard to it , by a virtue so settled and firm , as no adversity could shake . one thing more i desire of my acquaintance ( whose singular parts and learning make me that i cannot argue against him , without fear and suspicion of my self ; tho let me do what i can , i am not able to complement him with submitting my understanding ) i. e. that he would a little consider the design and purpose of tully in that golden fragment of his sixth book , somnium scipionis , the only valuable remain of six books de republicâ ; the loss of which i should infinitely regret now , as men of sense and probity have done formerly , were it not for the incomparable discourses concerning government , which that wise , learned and truly noble gentleman algernon sidney hath left us . tully's dream in the person of scipio is so fine a piece , i can hardly forbear translating the whole : the reader i hope will forgive me , if i take it from the beginning , and go as far as the passage i shall chiefly insist on . when i came into afric , colonel ( as you know ) of the fourth legion under marcus manilius , i made it my business to meet masanissa , a king , who for very good reasons was much a friend to our family : i no sooner came to him , but the aged prince took me in his arms , and wept ; a while after recovering from his transport , he lifts up his eyes to heaven , and breaks out into this exclamation : o thou great god , the sun ! and you the rest inhabitants celestial ! i bless and praise you all , that once before i dy , i have the happiness to behold within my own dominions , and under this roof , p. cornelius scipio , whose very name i love to hear ; so dear , and so well fix'd in my mind is the memory of that most excellent and invincible man. then i ask'd him some questions concerning his kingdom ; he me some concerning our commonwealth . this kind of discourse took up the whole day ; in the evening we were royally entertain'd , and continued our discourse till midnight . he dwelt upon the name of africanus , and talk'd much of the great things done and said by him : after this we withdrew to rest . travelling and sitting up late laid me in a profound sleep . and here ( for it often comes to pass , that the thoughts and discourse of the day produce in sleep something like that which ennius writes of homer , whom he read and studied so long till he dream'd that himself was homer ) africanus appear'd to me in that form , with which , not the remembrance of his person , but the idea of his statue made me acquainted . i knew 't was he , and stood amaz'd : but he bid me quit my fear , and , with a presence of mind , heed what he should say to me . see you that city ( showing me carthage from a high starry radiant place ) which i taught to obey the romans ; she the old war renews , and has not the wit to be quiet . you come now to fight against this city , tho hardly of age to command ; two years hence you shall be consul , and take it , and so deserve the honourable sirname , which by adoption you inherit : but when you have ras'd carthage , and triumph'd ; when you have discharg'd the high office of censor , and gone embassador over egypt , syria , asia , greece , you shall be again , tho absent , chosen consul , finish a long war , and destroy numantia . but when in your triumphal chariot you shall be carried up to the capitol , you 'll find the state in confusion by the seditious management of my nephew tiberius . and now africanus , inheritor of my name and virtue , you must stand by your country with all your wisdom and courage : and doubtful at this juncture will your own fate seem ; for , when your age hath measur'd eight times seven annual courses of the sun ( both which numbers are full and mysterious ) a momentous critical period to you , the eyes of the senate , and all good men of our confederates , and all that own the latin name will be set on you alone , their hearts all turn'd towards you ; you are the man on whom the safety of the city then relies , and you being dictator ( if so be you luckily escape the treachery of your impious kinsmen ) shall preserve and settle it safe . here laelius and the rest surpriz'd , show'd their concern ; but scipio gently smiling said , let me dream on , and all will be well ; listen then to what follows . that you , africanus , may be more vigorous in defence of the government , know of a certain , that for all them , who have sav'd their country from ruin , signally serv'd its interests , amplified and better'd the condition thereof , there is a determinate seat in heaven allotted , where they shall enjoy an everlasting age of bliss . without going any farther , i can't but conclude , that this waking dream of tully under the person of scipio , speaks the sense which tully had of a future state , as plainly as it shows his wit and judgment . it is to me an amazement , that any men should think , as i am told some do , that tully is in jest here , and devis'd this ingenious dream , not to give the romans a true account of the real sense of his mind , but only to cozen them into a zeal for their country , whenever it should be dangerous to appear in defence of its interests ; into a love of justice , and moral honesty , when the practice was like to be detrimental to a man's affairs in the world. indeed this great man had not the very same sense of a future state , with respect to all circumstances , as perhaps the jews of old had , or some christians since his time : tho by the way , it is not very plain in the old testament , that the jews had any notion at all of a future state ; i deny not but that they did believe it , for they might gather it from the same principles of reason which we do : but it does not appear to me in those books , that their prophets plainly taught it them . the most learned among christian doctors freely grant that the promises and threatnings in the old testament look not beyond this life , tho ( they say ) relatively consider'd , they denote more , and serve as types of gospel-revelations . as for some christians , they have drawn a scheme of future state , not only without , but directly contrary to the lines of the gospel : what the gospel says of this matter , if rightly understood , is not contrary to reason : but tully had not that light , yet his reason led him to the knowledg of a future state , wherein good and bad men meet with duly proportion'd fruits of their good and bad way of living , tho he incumbers the notion with philosophical fables . but if it could be made out that tully did not believe this notion , which in his dream he makes an argument for the most difficult virtue , viz. that of serving one's country in a time of imminent danger ; yet thus much i shall incontestably gain , viz. that in tully's opinion there was no argument but this of force to perswade men in that case : and then he is with me thus far , that a general reception of this notion is necessary for the tolerable well-being of society . but i will not yet dismiss this fictitious dream , dream'd by a wise man , when his eyes were open , his mind present with it self , studious and serious ; it may be worth our while to translate a little of macrobius's elegant exposition upon it . between the books of plato and tully concerning government , this difference appears at first sight : plato describes that form which was most necessary for the ends of government ; tully that which was antiently instituted among the romans . plato , by means of a quick and piercing genius , seeing thro the nature and reason of things , perceiv'd that all his discourse concerning government was to no purpose , unless the minds of men were possess'd with a love of virtue ; without which , not only a great commonwealth , but every lesser society , and indeed every private house is obnoxious to the most destructive disorders . to possess men with the love of virtue , so necessary to the well-being of all societies in general , he saw that nothing would conduce so much , as the making it appear that the advantages of virtue were not terminated with the short life of man : this prompted him to essay the proof of the immortality of the soul. having prov'd that ( by such arguments as in those days went for apodictic ) he look'd upon it as a necessary consequence , to assign to souls , freed from the prison of the body , divers habitations , with respect to their good or ill deserving , in the future state : this he has done in his phaedo , and in his gorgias , sweetning his graver morals with the pleasantry of the wise socrates ; but this he has done more especially in those volumes in which he form'd his scheme of a commonwealth : and this order and method , so wisely design'd by plato , tully with no less judgment has imitated . to this purpose macrobius in his first chapter . the title of the fourth is , what may be the purpose and scope of this dream , where he speaks thus : towards the end of the sixth book , when laelius wonder'd that no statues were erected to scipio nasica , as a reward of his publick service in slaying one of the seditious gracchi ; scipio replied , tho the consciousness of their worthy deeds be the highest reward of virtue , yet that divine virtue ( viz. of slaying tiberius gracchus , who troubled the peace of the state , and affected tyrannick power ) covets no erected statues , nor triumphs with fading lawrel crown'd , but some more stable and flourishing rewards . laelius asks , what are those ? scipio replies , suffer me to pursue what i have to say farther , and so falls into the story of his dream , showing that those were more stable , and flourishing rewards which were laid up in heaven for the defenders of their country ; as appears from these words , quo sis , africane , alaerior , &c. that you , africanus , may be more vigorous in defence of the government , know of a certain , that for all them who have sav'd their country from ruin , signally serv'd its interests , amplified and better'd the condition thereof , there is a determinate seat in heaven allotted , where they shall enjoy an everlasting age of bliss . and a little after , declaring what sort of seat that was , he says : and so , scipio , after the example of your grandfather , and of me who begat you , live justly and piously . it is a piece of justice and piety to be useful to parents and relations : but to be useful to one's country , that 's the greatest justice and piety , that 's the way to heaven , and the company of those worthies who have finish'd their course , and now inhabit that place which you see , pointing to the gallery . there is another beautiful place in the dream , which confirms me , both that tully did really believe a future state , and thought it the only argument for difficult virtue . igitur altè spectare si voles , &c. therefore if you will lift up your eyes and thoughts towards this eternal seat , seek not the applause of the vulgar , nor place all your hope on those rewards which men bestow on men. you must be won by the charms of virtue alone ; as to what others talk of you , let them look to that , but talk of you they will. the opinion of the world concerning us is bounded within the compass of these countries which we know : no one's fame can be everlasting , it lessens by the death of succeeding generations , till with late posterity 't is buried . he had no sooner finish'd this admonition , but i replied : well africanus ! if heaven is open to those who deserve well of their country , i shall now , tho i always trod in my father's and your steps , and never degenerated ; i shall now , having an eye to the reward before me , contend more earnestly to obtain it . upon this he urg'd : be sure you do so , and reckon that it is not you who are mortal , but only your body ; for , it is not the form and figure that appears , which constitutes a man what he is , but it is the mind which is the man : know then that thou art a god , at least , if that be a god which lives , and has sense , which remembers , and takes care of things to come , which rules , commands , and moves the body over which it is set , as the great god moves , commands and rules the world. just at this period i am told , that from this very dream it may be made appear , that tully did not believe the future state : i have now read it over again and again , and am amaz'd at the strangeness of the assertion . indeed tully says , that souls do move themselves by an interior motion of their own ; and thence he concludes that they had no beginning , but ever did exist , and ever shall . but then it is plain he holds , that they have existed in another state before this , and shall exist in another after this . and that the state after this , was a state wherein all souls were not like to be in the same condition , he sufficiently intimates , by putting those words into africanus's mouth : hanc tu exerce , &c. exercise this your immortal soul in the best works : the best are , an endeavour to serve your country , with which your soul is exercis'd , and thereby shall sooner ascend to this happy dwelling . i shall move no more words concerning tully's sense of this matter , which might be farther confirm'd from multitudes of passages in his works . yet let me refer my reader to what the author of the letter to the deist , p. 105. has taken notice of as quoted by my lord herbert of cherbury , in his treatise de religione gentilium . i mean now to cast my eye on those places in tully , wherein some have told me , he directly denies the future state. let the reader allow me to introduce the first passage objected against me , with a short prefatory account of the occasion and subject of the oration , where it is to be found . clodius a wild young noble roman in love with pompeia the wife of cesar , found means to get into cesar's house in woman's habit , on a solemn festival , when the ladies were celebrating a secret service ( at which men were never present ) to the goddess ceres . he carried his disguise so aukwardly , that it was discover'd : the story taking air , he was accus'd by one of the tribunes for profaning the lady's religion . he pleaded for himself , that he was absent from rome on the day the fact was charg'd : tully strengthened the evidence against him , deposing that on that very day clodius had bin at his house . this notwithstanding , clodius , bribing his judges , was acquitted , but never forgave cicero his deposition . by the same means he gain'd his absolution , he soon after procur'd himself to be chose tribune , and by the help of the consuls gabinius and piso , he perswaded the people to banish cicero , then demolish'd his country seats , burn'd his house in the city , and on the ground built a temple to liberty . but clodius his insolence increasing , pompey found it his interest to have cicero recall'd ; the people unanimously voted it , and order'd his houses to be rebuilt at the common charge . when clodius could not stem this tide by bold force , he labour'd to give his prevailing adversary what trouble he could under the colour of religion ; it was impossible , he pleaded , for cicero to be reinstated in his city dwelling , because on the very ground , on which the same stood , a temple had bin built to liberty . cicero pleads his right , and overthrows the cheating pretence of religion , in his oration pro domo sua ad pontifices . he lays open the craft of the ministers of religion , and exposes clodius farther , in his oration de haruspicum responsis ; and there having recounted the many villanies , and odious lewdness of his adversary , he proves him to be miserable , tho his corrupt judges had absolv'd him : for he stood condemn'd in his own mind , and in the opinion of all good men , the consciousness of which was the most severe of punishments . he flourishes upon this topick thus : tu cùm furiales in concionibus voces mittis , cùm domos civium evertis , cùm lapidibus optimos viros foro pellis , cùm ardentes faces in vicinorum tecta jactas , cùm aedes sacras inflammas , cùm servos concitas , cùm sacra ludosque conturbas , cùm uxorem sororemque non discernis ; cùm quod ineas cubile non sentis ; cùm baccharis , cùm furis , tum das eas poenas , quae sunt solae hominum sceleri a diis immortalibus constitutae . when you harangue the people with malicious eloquence , when you demolish the houses of citizens , when with stones you pelt and drive the most worthy senators from the forum , when set fire to common dwellings , and sacred temples ; when you stir up slaves to sedition , and disturb the celebration of religious ordinances ; when you know no difference between your wife and your sister , and matter not whose bed you defile ; when you lewdly revel , and outragiously debosh , then you suffer those pains , which are the only that the gods have ordain'd to punish the wickedness of men. now this is one of the places represented to me , as a plain declaration of tully's opinion against a future state ; and the representer is in doubt whether he shall look upon me as dull of understanding , because i do not conceive it to be so , or obstinate for not acknowledging it . well! i cannot help what any man thinks of me : nay , tho i am really desirous to be well thought of , and would give something for the representer's good word ; yet in this case i cannot think , as he would have me , because in truth the matter appears otherwise to me than it does to him . i am indeed convinc'd from this place , that tully believ'd none of the snakes and burning torches of the infernal furies , so much talk'd of by the poets ; none of the material fire , scorching flame , and stifling smoke , which some of the more ignorant christians take into their description of hell : but as i conceive , he might for all that he has here said , really believe a future state , where the punishment of evil deeds shall be the same in substance , tho not in degree , as it is here . tully's business in this oration was to paint out clodius in his true colours , to let people see into the hands of what an ill man they had giv'n the power of a tribune , to let his judges see what a guilty wretch they had absolv'd ; to convince his whole audience , that a villain absolv'd by corrupt judges could not yet but be miserable , thro the irregularity of his passions and affections , and the consciousness of his misdeeds : pursuant to this purpose it was proper for him to distinguish between the punishments exacted by men , which were sometimes bought off , and those inflicted by the gods , which were never to be avoided ; the one reaching body and goods , the other the mind . the gods interpose not in what concerns the former , their inflictions are laid on the mind . self-consciousness and reflection are the ministers of their vengeance , they make use of no other to punish wickedness . this is all that tully says ; and many good men , as well christians as deists , who believe the future state , will say upon the matter the same thing . but tho according to tully the gods have ordain'd only self-consciousness and reflection to punish wickedness in this life ; may they not have ordain'd this also , tho this only , to punish it hereafter ? i say not everlastingly , for tully had other notions of the gods than that comes to ; but so long at least , till the punishment shall work a change of mind in the sufferer , and then the punishment cannot but cease . i interest not my self in the case , but take it for granted that tully could not make the gods authors of no punishments , but what were design'd for the amendment of the sufferer , and the instruction of the beholder . but farther , tully was a man that knew how to praise and dispraise , none better ; when he pleads for archias the poet , ligarius , or milo , his decorations have all the life and force that wit and friendship can give them ; and when he accuses catiline or clodius , piso and gabinius , his accusations have all the weight and bitter vehemence that wit and anger can give them . his talent was to move the affections of his hearers , in order to which he did not so much consider what was nicely true , as what was proper to be said for the end he aim'd at . now if he had not believ'd a word of a future state , he would not yet in this oration have denied it , because it was improper , and very contrary to the end which he aim'd at to do so . when the orator with flowing merciless eloquence was exaggerating the torments which clodius could not but suffer , tho his judges had absolv'd him , through his sense of the odium which he had incurr'd from all true lovers of their country , and conscious reflection on his demerits ; was it not , i appeal to the reader , was it not very improper for him to tell his auditors that the vile man would be tormented by his evil conscience while he liv'd , and no longer ? could tully be so weak , when he labour'd to perswade the citizens that clodius was very miserable , tho not condemn'd and punish'd according to the laws of his country , as to profess that after a little while he must pass into the same state of eternal forgetfulness , as the worthiest senator of 'em all ? they must have a mean conceit of the orator that put this upon him ; but however , i am sure his words will not bear it . yet one remark farther : tully was not like to deny the future state in his invective against clodius , because whatever his rhetorick might be able to perswade the people , that clodius suffer'd by his consciousness of his villanies , yet it did not appear that clodius had suffer'd more vexation of spirit than tully who declaim'd against him . tully was witness against clodius in the matter of his trespass on the lady's religion , mov'd to do it by his imperious wife terentia , who hated clodius , because her husband was to have married his sister : hence began the difference between them , for before they had bin friends . by bribery and popular arts clodius became a tribune ; cicero fear'd his power , was cheated by his seeming reconciliation , forsook his advantage of commanding under cesar , meanly sollicited his own cause in mourning habit with long neglected hair , attended by 20000 gentlemen , enough to have defended him , had not the mind of their leader bin full of confusion and fear . clodius insulted him till he fled , pursued him with the votes of the people , oppos'd his return with armed force , and after that boldly stood his ground , till he fell by the hands of milo , a tribune of as great resolution as himself . now an equal considerer of this story will be apt to suspect that the honest man had more trouble and vexation of spirit , during the contention , than the violent , leud and unjust tribune . indeed when the stream was turn'd , and the favour of the people again came about to tully , he bore hard upon clodius with the best weapon he had , his eloquent tongue ; but he could not get his publick acts rescinded , even cato oppos'd that , nor his person condemn'd ; this disturb'd his thoughts , and heated him into that satyrical harangue which labours to prove the man to be miserable , tho he had scap'd his revenge . but when all is done , cicero that was concern'd to have it believ'd that clodius was severely punish'd by his guilty conscience , was not so weak as to add , he was not like to be punish'd by the same hereafter . i will add but one note by the way , and i have done with my reply to this objection : disorders and trouble of mind are commonly consequent to those vile deeds which clodius committed , but they are not always so , nor does it plainly appear that clodius suffer'd those torments ; more likely it is , that his mind was lifted up with the thoughts of having pretty well weather'd the storm : but if wicked men are to suffer nothing after this life , a great many will go off , as clodius did , with suffering little or nothing at all . another passage objected against me , to prove that tully was an absolute infidel to a future state , is this , in his oration against calpurnius piso : i will briefly recite , and reply . me tamen fugerat deorum immortalium has esse in impios & consceleratos poenas certissimas constitutas . nolite enim putare , p. c. ut in scena videtis homines consceleratos , impulsu deorum , terreri furiarum taedis ardentibus ; sua quemque fraus , suum facinus , suum scelus , sua audacia de sanitate ac mente deturbat ; hae sunt impiorum furiae , hae flammae , hae faces . i did not consider , that these ( speaking of the torments of a guilty mind ) were the certain punishments awarded by the gods against vile and profligate men : for i would not have you think , o conscript fathers , that wicked men , as sometimes on a stage , are by the impulse of the gods , terrified with the burning torches of the furies ; every ones own fraud , his own wickedness , his own villany , his own desperate boldness , puts him beside himself , and disorders his thoughts ; these are the furies that torment the wicked , these the flames , and these the torches . a very like passage to this occurs in his oration for ruscius ; and if this had not bin objected against me , i might have bin apt to have quoted it in proof of tully's belief of a future state : for furies , flaming torches , and all that , were in those days part of the description of future punishments . now tully here seems to admit the notion of future punishments , only he corrects a popular mistake concerning the nature of them . furies and flames are metaphors of real evils ; and devils are no such idle stories , unless fools and knaves have the painting them . they now range up and down the world ( for ours is not the age in which any of them are to be chain'd up ) seeking whom they may devour . there 's the devil of pride , the devil of cruelty , the devil of bigotry , and that grand devil the father of these , the devil of ill nature , noon-day devils most an end , so far are they from flying when the early dawn breaks : but there 's the devil of envy , the devil of treachery , the devil of fraud , and the devil of lust , sneeking devils , that choose rather to walk in darkness ; legion may well be their common name , for there 's no counting their number ; and vast havock do they make , both in church and state , perhaps they know not that distinction ; but 't is certain they never mind it : nay they pursue all vile wretches into the other world also , such is their implacable malice ; and all they who carry irregular passion , and base affections with them out of this life , carry these devils with them into the next ; and till they recover an honest mind , by them they are like to be tormented . i know nothing that tully has advanc'd against these notions , but i am much mistaken if right reason does not favour them : yes , and revelation also ; else what mean those words of the apostle st. james , god tempts no man , but every man is tempted , when he is drawn away of his own heart's lust and entic'd . all temptations come from some devil or other , who takes up his seat in the heart of a vile man ; but whatever devils there are in the heart , this is a comfort , it is possible they may be exorcis'd , sometimes by the rational discourses of a virtuous monitor , sometimes by the woful experience of the possess'd ; and he must have a very unreasonable prejudice against scripture , that thinks none of them can be ejected nor by prayer , nor by fasting . tully somewhere has these words , qui requirunt , quid quaque de re ipsi sentiamus , curiosius id faciunt , quam necesse est . they who search what is our particular opinion about every thing are more curious than is necessary . he means , i suppose , that in many points his particular sentiments are not easy to be discover'd ; but if they be harder to be discover'd in one place than another , i take them to be so in his orations , for there he ever exerts all the mighty powers of his commanding eloquence , and says all that can be said to serve his friend and plague his enemy , without tying himself up to the strict rules of truth , or keeping an exact constant agreement with his own philosophical notions . he was of the mind as the well-spoken men of his profession still are , viz. that the cause , whose patronage they undertake , ought not to suffer for want of speaking up for it : but in his divine ( i had almost said inspir'd ) books of offices ( they are inspir'd with a spirit of honesty and goodness , with a spirit of wisdom and truth ) in those books wrote when civil broils had thrust him out of all publick business ; in his discourses concerning the nature of the gods , and in his tusculan questions ; in these pieces or no where we may expect to find the heart and soul of the man. but even in these a learned acquaintance would bear me down that tully discovers his disbelief of a future state : i press him to cite some passage to that purpose ; he offers me these words , me verò delectat ( animae credere immortalitatem ) idque primùm ita esse velim , deinde etiamsi non sit , mihi tamen persuaderi velim . cicero in tuscul . quaest . 1. paulo inferius . feci mehercule ( platonis sc . evolvi librum de animâ ) & quidem saepius , sed nescio quomodo , dum lego , assentior cùm deposui librum , & mecum ipse de immortalitate animorum coepi cogitare , assensus omnis illa elabitur . it delighteth me ( viz. to believe the immortality of the soul ) and first i wish it may be true , and then should it not be true , i wish i may be persuaded that it is . a little after . i have done it often ( i. e. i have often read plato's book of the soul ) but it happens , i know not how , that while i read him i assent to what he says ; but when i have laid the book aside , and begin to consider with my self concerning the immortality of the soul , all that assent vanishes . i am very glad of this objection , 1. because i take it to be as good as any he can produce in favour of this assertion , that tully did not believe the immortality of the soul , nor consequently a future state. 2. because ( tho i am far from being convinc'd by it , and dare hardly hope to convince him ) the examining of this passage will , in my opinion , utterly shame his assertion before all impartial considerers . in order to do this fairly and fully , first , i call to mind , that i have heard him sometimes reprove the ignorance or prevarication of sundry writers who quote for tully's sayings those words which he speaks , not of himself , but only puts into the mouth of a third person against whom he disputes . now i must observe to my acquaintance , that these two passages which he has quoted , as testimonies that tully disbeliev'd the immortality of the soul , and consequently a future state , are not spoken by tully as from himself , but are the words which he puts into the mouth of a third person against whom he disputes , which i prove thus : tully makes his way to the first of his tusculan questions concerning the contempt of death , by giving an account how he came to exercise himself in weighty philosophical questions ; then he tells his friend brutus , to whom he writes , that this was the method which he took , ponere jubebam de quo quis audire vellet , & id aut sedens , aut ambulans disputabam , itaque dierum quinque scholas ut graeci appellant , in totidem libros contuli ; fiebat autem ita , ut cùm is , qui audire vellet , dixisset quid sibi videretur , tum ego contradicerem . i bid him ( i. e. the person with whom he confer'd ) to set down that point or question , concerning which he would gladly hear ; and then sitting , or as i walk'd , i discuss'd the same : so the schola's , as the greeks call them , the conferences of five days i disposed into five books ; and thus were the conferences manag'd , when he that desir'd to hear the question discuss'd had said what he thought good , then i on the other side spake my mind . from these words in the preface to the first dialogue , it is beyond controversy plain , that the words spoken by atticus , or the hearer ( as are those objected against me ) represent not the mind of tully , but what marcus ( the other fictitious name in the dialogue ) replies ; that , and that only can fairly be charg'd on him : which being very material , i crave leave to set before the reader some remarkable portions of it . n. 27. vnum illud erat insitum priscis illis , quos cascos appellat ennius , esse in morte sensum , neque excessu vitae sic deleri hominem , ut funditus interiret : idque cùm multis aliis rebus , tum è pontificio jure , & ceremoniis sepulchrorum intelligi licet : quas maximis ingeniis praediti , nec tanta cura coluissent , nec violatas tam inexpiabili religione sanxissent , nisi haesisset in eorum mentibus , mortem non interitum esse omnia tollentem atque delentem , sed quandam quasi migrationem commutationémque vitae , quae in claris viris & foeminis , dux in coelum soleret esse : in caeteris humi retineretur , & permaneret tamen . it was with those antients whom ennius calls casci , as a natural sentiment , that death did not bereave a man of all sense , nor make an utter end of him : which , among other things , appears from pontifical laws , and from sepulchral rites , which men of the best sense had never so carefully observ'd , nor enforc'd with so fatal penalty , but that it was a settled principle with them , that death was not the end of all things , but a certain removal as it were , and change of one life for another , by means of which famous men and women were translated into heaven , others left below , but still left in existence . n. 30. firmissimum hoc afferri videtur cur deos esse credamus , quòd nulla gens tam fera , nemo omnium tam sit immanis , cujus mentem non imbuerit deorum opinio . multi de diis prava sentiunt : omnes tamen esse vim & naturam divinam arbitrantur . nec vero id collocutio hominum , auc consensus efficit , non institutis opinio est confirmata , non legibus . omni autem in re , consensio omnium gentium lex naturae putanda est . this seems a strong argument why we should believe the being of gods , because there is no nation so wild , no man so savage , whose mind is not indued with an opinion of gods. many men have an unworthy opinion of gods , but all judg that there is a nature and power divine ; and this is not the effect of conference and friendly agreement , it is not owing to customs or laws : but that thing , whatever it is , which has the consent of all nations , is to be deem'd a law of nature . n. 31. maximum vero argumentum est , naturam ipsam de immortalitate animorum tacitam judicare , quod omnibus curae sunt , & maximè quidem , quae post mortem futura sunt . but 't is a very great argument that nature it self gives a silent verdict for the immortality of the soul , because all men are concern'd , most highly concern'd about what shall be hereafter . n. 33. nemo unquam sine magna spe immortalitatis , se pro patria offerret ad mortem . licuit esse otioso themistocli , licuit epaminondae , licuit ( ne & vetera & externa quaeram ) mihi , sed nescio quomodo inhaeret in mentibus , quasi saeculorum quoddam augurium futurorum , idque in maximis ingeniis , altissimisque animis , & existit maximè , & apparet facillimè ; quo quidem dempto , quis tam esset amens qui semper in laboribus , & periculis viveret ? none ever without a strong hope of immortality , would venture his life to save his country . themistocles might have liv'd at ease , so might epaminondas , and ( not to hunt after old and foreign examples ) so might i my self , but that i know now not how , there is inherent in our minds , a certain foreboding of a life to come ; and that same foreboding is most busy , and does most plainly appear in men of the best wits , and most discerning minds ; which notion being set aside , who would be so mad as to live in continual labours and dangers ? he pursues this point by taking notice what respect several orders of men , poets , mechanicks , philosophers , have to this notion ; and then has these words : sed ut deos esse natura opinamur , qualesque sint ratione cognoscimus ; sic permanere animos arbitramur consensu nationum omnium : qua in sede maneant , qualesque sint ratione discendum est , cujus ignoratio finxit inferos , easabque ; formidines , quas tu contemnere non sine causa videbare . but as by nature we are inclin'd to think that there are gods , and by reason learn what to think of them : so by the consent of all nations we are mov'd to believe that souls remain after death : in what place they remain , and what nature they are of , 't is reason must teach us ; the ignorance of which thing ( viz. the nature of the soul ) invented the inferi , and those bugbears , which you not without cause seem to despise . here again tully owning his belief of a future state , discovers that his thoughts concerning it were widely different from the fancies of poets , and dreams of priests ; but tho he was free from the errors which they had introduc'd into natural religion , and above the imaginary fears which , he says , were wont to afright women and children , especially when a pale ghost was brought on the stage , with a dreadful verse of homer in his mouth , whose hollow noise proclaim'd i know not what about fell acheron , gloomy caves , cragged impending rocks , and pitchy darkness ; yet he is far from setting aside that great restraint of secret dishonesty , the apprehension of being in a worse state for it hereafter . of this we have a manifest testimony in what follows . our excellent author having run over several philosophical arguments for the immortality of the soul , seeks to credit his discourse by a very remarkable account of the words and actions of dying socrates — his & talibus adductus socrates , nec patronum quaesivit ad judicium capitis , nec judicibus supplex fuit , adhibuitque liberam contumaciam a magnitudine animi duetam , non a superbia : & supremo vitae die de hoc ipso multa disseruit ; & paucis antè diebus , cum facile possit educi ex custodiâ , noluit : & cum pent in manu jam mortiferum illud teneret poculum , lo●utut ita est , ut non ad mortem trudi , verum in eoelum videretur ascendere . ita enim censebat , itaque disseruit duas esse vias , duplicesque cursus animorum ● corpore excedentium : nam qui se humanis vitiis contaminâssent , & se totos libidinibus dedissent , quibus caecati velut domesticis vitiis , atque flagitiis se inquinâssent , vel in rempublicam violandam frandes inexpiabiles concepissent , iis devium quoddam iter esse , seclusum a concilio deorum : qui autem se integros castosque servassent , quibusque fuisset minima cum corporibus contagio , seseque ab his semper sevocâssent , essentque in corporibus humanis vitam imitati deorum , his ad illos a quibus essent profecti reditum facilem patere . socrates , by these and the like arguments perswaded , neither demanded to have council allow'd him , when his life was so nearly concern'd , nor with humble deference courted the favour of his judges , but us'd a free and undaunted boldness before them , which proceeded not from vanity and pride , but from the just greatness of his mind . also he discours'd of this very thing ( viz. the immortality of the soul ) on the day he died . and a few days before , when he might easily have bin convey'd out of prison by his friends , he refus'd . when he was just ready to take the deadly hemloc-potion in his hand , it appear'd by his discourse , that he did not look upon himself as a criminal going to suffer a violent death , but as a just man ascending up to heaven . such was his perswasion , and therefore he declar'd that when souls depart out of the body , there lay two ways before them ; they who defil'd themselves with vices common to men , who gave themselves wholly up to lustful passions and affections , by which being blinded , dishonesty became familiar and habitual to them , or who by conspiring against the laws and liberties of their country had contracted an inexpiable guilt , all of this sort took a by way secluded , and fenc'd off from the happy assembly of the gods : but they whose wiser care had preserv'd themselves pure and virtuous , whose minds were never poison'd with corporeal pleasures , but always restrain'd their affections from such objects , and , while in the body , liv'd the life of gods , all they after death took the road leading to the good gods whence they came . by this it plainly appears that tully believ'd a future state , such a future state in which there was a good and a bad , that to be enjoy'd , this to be suffer'd by men , according to what they do in the body : so little is the difference between this honest pagan theist , and a sober christian ; and perhaps if things were equally weigh'd , it might appear much one and the same thing to all the purposes of virtue , whether wicked men shall hereafter find a hell to punish their misdeeds , or carry it with them . but if i should leave my last citation thus , and pass on to something else , i doubt not but one or other of my adversaries ( who are now and then kindly visiting , and freely objecting against me ) would tax me of disingenuity , and dissembling , of designedly over-looking that which makes against me , and i know nothing is got to a good cause by such a conduct ; therefore i will read on , and consider what may be made of those words , which seem not of a piece with the rest . itaque commemorat , ut cygni , qui non sine causâ apollini dicati sunt , sed quòd ab eo divinationem habere videantur , quâ providentes quid in morte boni sit , cum cantu , & voluptate moriantur ; sic omnibus & bonis & doctis esse faciendum : nec vero de hoc quisquam dubitare possit , nisi idem nobis accideret diligenter de animo cogitantibus , quod iis saepe usu venit , qui acriter oculis deficientem solem intuerentur , ut aspectum omnino amitterent . sic mentis acies seipsam intuens , nonnunquam hebescit : ob eamque causam contemplandi diligentiam amittimus . itaque dubitans , circumspectans , haesitans , multa adversa revertens , tanquam ratis in mari immenso nostra vehitur oratio . therefore he ( socrates ) remarks that as swans , not without reason sacred to apollo , from whom they have the gift of divination , foreseeing the good there is in death , dy with joy and singing : so should the virtuous and the wise , men of good sense and learning do ; of this there is no doubt to be made , unless that should befal us thoughtfully considering the nature of the soul , which commonly happens to them who gaze on the sun in eclipse , till they can see no longer ; for so the sight of the mind , turn'd upon it self , and intently examining its own nature , grows dim , by which means we lose all the expected fruit of our diligent contemplation : so while i my self doubt , and look round the thing in question , while i demur , and consider once and again what may be said pro and con , my discourse is like a floating vessel tost to and fro in the wide sea. i must confess , that from this passage one might be apt to imagine , that tully , even in the most serious matter , was a little addicted to the academic wanton rhetorical way of talking all that came into his thoughts , what side soever of the question was serv'd or prejudic'd by it : he had giv'n occasion to be suspected of this vanity once before . n. 49. praeclarum autem nescio quid adepti sunt , qui didicerunt , se , cum tempus mortis venisset , totos esse perituros ; quod ut ita sit ( nihil enim pugno ) quid habet ista res aut laetabile aut gloriosum ? they have discover'd a worthy secret indeed , who have learn'd , that when they die , they must wholly perish and be no more ; which to suppose it true ( for i dispute not against it ) what have they rejoice at , and be proud of ? but now i answer ; 1 st , that perhaps there is more of a rhetorical apophasis , than academic scepticism in both these passages . tully delights much in this figure apophasis , which promises not to mention those things which are most industriously mention'd and offer'd to the hearers consideration . in the latter of these passages he says , that he would not dispute against them who pretended to have discover'd that death was the end of all things , and yet in the very next words he does dispute against them , and that sufficiently to the declaration of his own opinion upon the question , if not to the conviction of his adversaries . n. 49. nec tamen mihi sane quicquam occurrit , cur non pythagorae sit & platonis vera sententia . and yet i know no reason but that the opinion of pythagoras and plato may be true ; which was for the immortality of the soul. and a little after , neque aliud est quidquam , cur incredibilis his animorum videatur aeternitas , nisi quod nequeunt qualis animus sit vacans corpore , intelligere , & cogitatione comprehendere . nor is there any thing else in the case , why they ( his adversaries ) could not believe the immortality of the soul , but because they can't conceive how the soul can subsist without the body , and think , and by thinking understand ; and yet they understand nothing of the nature of the soul in the body . much more to the same purpose follows . 2 dly , as to that reflection which tully makes , after the account which he had given of socrates , viz. that his discourse was like a floating vessel toss'd to and fro in the wide sea : i answer , that notwithstanding this comparison , suppos'd to savour so much of the old academic uncertainty , he continues his discourse , perswading to the practice of virtue , and to the contempt of death , because of the advantages which good men should find thereby hereafter . and 3 dly , what is still more , he always brings in atticus , the other person in the dialogue , as convinc'd by what he offers , and fully satisfied concerning the truth of the immortality of the soul : by which the orator enforces what he says concerning the contempt of death , and the practice of virtue . 4 ly . to put this matter out of controversy , and make it incontestably manifest , that tully was not such a sceptic in the question concerning the immortality of the soul , as one or two of my acquaintance contend ; at the latter end of a set speech which plato puts into the mouth of dying socrates . n. 99. sed tempus est jam hinc abire me , vos ut vitam agatis : vtrum autem sit melius , dii immortales sciunt , hominem quidem scire arbitror neminem . but 't is now time that i go hence and die , do you my friends live on : but which of the two is best , that only the gods know ; i am of the mind that no man living does . upon these words the orator has this reflection . etsi , quod praeter deos negat scire quenquam , id scit ipse , utrum melius ; nam dixit ante ; sed suum illud , nihil ut affirmet , tenet ad extremum . tho , that which he says none but the gods know , he himself knows well , he knows which is better ; he had before declar'd which is better ; but that way of his ( that way afterwards call'd academic ) of determining nothing , he holds to the end . here tully plainly reproves that foolish philosophical humour , which obtain'd so much , of talking off and on , in matters of moment ; and declares it as his opinion , that however socrates in his last words did seem to play fast and loose , yet he was in his own mind sufficiently convinc'd of the immortality of the soul , and the future state , on which account it was better for injur'd good men to die than to live . i hope this labour , to prove that tully did not disbelieve the immortality of the soul , consequently nor a future state , may not seem to the reader tedious , or impertinent : for if it could be made out , that the wisest of the heathens rejected these notions , and never us'd them as arguments to encourage virtue , and restrain vice , it would be a prejudice against my discourse , who have endeavour'd to gain some credibility to these notions from the principles of natural reason . it would be a prejudice , i say , against , not an utter subversion of my discourse ; for my adversaries must show where i have argued wrong , and not tell me of great authorities against me , if they mean utterly to subvert it . but if , when they object great authorities against me ( which i acknowledg to be a prejudice , for how can i hope to see farther than such a man as tully ? ) i give a fair answer , and make it appear , that the citations which are objected against me are by my adversaries mistaken , and misapplied ; and that the same , if rightly consider'd , are so far from contradicting , that they favour the doctrines which i defend , by the acknowledg'd principles of natural reason ; then , i think , i have been all this while strengthning those doctrines , not spending my time in an impertinent labour . i have this to say further for my self , i have not only answer'd the objections which have been offer'd by my learned acquaintances , but i have also accounted for those difficulties which i my self chanc'd to meet with while i read those tracts of the great orator , whence their objections were taken . for , i will never contend for any opinion , against which i know of an objection , which appears so considerable , that it is the interest of the opinion to have the objection pass'd over , without any notice taken of it . if i could not have solv'd those difficulties , which i my self chanc'd to meet with , i would have given up the authority of tully , tho the objections of my adversaries were not of strength sufficient to oblige me to it . in pleading a cause at the bar in our courts of judicature , the lawyer will answer what he can , but to be sure start no objection against his client , which is not easily answer'd ; and possibly sometimes he may win the day by taking no notice of some circumstances which the adversary oversees : but in our disputes concerning philosophical truths , a man must leave no objection without reply ; for these causes are try'd over and over again every day , and he that takes no notice of a considerable objection , will be found out by one or other , and suppos'd to have silently pass'd it by , as being conscious of the weakness of his cause , and unable to answer it . again , in answering i have answer'd fairly ; i have not by a cheating translation or otherwise , misrepresented the author to serve the ends of my discourse , which is a method but too frequent with them who dispute for religious opinions , but thereby they do their cause , be it good or bad , a great disservice : for a bad cause by dissembling artifices is render'd more odious in the eyes of all prudent men who search diligently into the nature of things ; and a good cause by such poor methods is brought under deserv'd suspicion . i will give one instance of this , which shall not be an invidious one , from a writer now living , nor shall it be off from our purpose . mr. stanley in his life of socrates , represents that renowned philosopher ( very truly in my opinion ) as a man perswaded of the immortality of the soul , and of a future state : but he overdoes the thing by dissembling artifice , in a prevaricating translation of a passage from plato , as if the truth of the immortality of the soul , and the future state were in danger of finding no acceptance among thinking men , unless socrates spake up to these notions with as full assurance , and in as plain and positive words , as any christian whatsoever . the passage in plato is this : pla. phaed. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . for a translation of this paragraph mr. stanley was pleas'd to give his readers these words : truly did i not believe i should go to just gods , and to men better than any living , i were inexcusable for contemning death ; but i am sure to go to the gods , very good masters , and hope to meet with good men , and am of good courage , hoping that something of man subsists after death , and that it is then much better with the good than the bad . but this is not a fair rendring of this passage which plato ascribes to socrates . if there be nothing alter'd nor left out , this speech ( which plato relates as the speech of socrates , or makes for him , agreable to the sentiments he suppos'd socrates to entertain ) in plain english sounds thus : for did i not think to go , o simmias and cebes , first to other gods wise and good , in the next place to men deceas'd better than those here among the living , i should offend in being so willing to die . but now well you know that i hope to go to good men , tho of this i have not all the confidence imaginable : but that i shall go to the gods very good masters , of this you well know that i have as strong a confidence , as of any such like thing ; so that for this cause i am not so much troubled to die , but i have hope concerning the dead ; and as it was said of old , it shall go better with the good than the bad . this is the picture which plato draws of socrates ; the bolder strokes which mr. stanley gives to it , may perhaps grace it , but then they misrepresent it . according to plato , socrates did think the soul was immortal , socrates was perswaded that there was a future state. he hop'd it should go well with him after death , nay he had a confidence of these things ; not indeed all the confidence imaginable , not such a confidence as men have of a mathematical demonstration ; but yet such a confidence as was sufficient to make him content to dy rather than do a base or a mean thing to save his life . after all that i have now said and answer'd , both to the author of the inquiry concerning virtue , and to the occasional objections of others , in justification of that grand motive to virtue , the hopes of future advantage , and in proof of the immortality of the soul , and the certainty of a future state , i do freely confess that if any person has thrown off a conscientious sense of the necessary obligation which lies upon all rational men to be virtuous in private , as well as publick ; in the most difficult , as well as the most easy circumstances , then have i said nothing which can much affect him : but then i please my self to think , that if a man does not look upon himself as freed from such obligation , if he does not own himself a dangerous member of society , unworthy to be lov'd as a friend , unfit to be trusted in any matter of moment , where he may be tempted to be false , with probable hopes of concealing the crime , he will hardly be able to get rid of the moral demonstrations which i have made out , evincing the immortality of the soul , the certainty of a future state , and the wisdom of living so in this world , as men that expect to receive hereafter endless advantage by their virtue . but what , it may be said , if a man positively denies the immortality of the soul , and esteems the future state as a fable ; if he looks upon virtue as obligatory , only while it serves the necessities and comforts of this life present , have we no arguments to evince the erroneousness of that mischievous opinion ? yes surely ; but in order to do it , we must consider what particular system of universal nature those men frame to themselves against whom we dispute . the very learned dr. cudworth in his intellectual system , for a fuller confutation of atheism , pretends to examine , and refute all the various forms thereof : now tho i would not subscribe to all which that most highly deserving author urges against the several forms of atheism ; yet i am persuaded most of his materials are proper and serviceable , only i am inclin'd to think , they are capable of still farther improvement . the democritic and epicurean atomic hypotheses ; also the anaximandrian or hylopathian , and that wild fancy of corrupted stoicism , which supposes the world to be one huge plant or vegetable , having a plastic nature , orderly disposing the whole without mind or understanding ; these the doctor thinks are by sagacious moderns laid aside as indefensible : but the boldest and most dangerous hypothesis which is now reviv'd , is that of strato lampsacenus , which he calls the hylozoic hypothesis , that ascribes to matter , life and perception . the moderns who take up with this scheme , assert that the whole mass of boundless mattter hath existed from all eternity , mov'd , as now , from all eternity , and by its various , natural , and necessary motions has produc'd and will produce all that ever has bin , and that ever shall be produc'd ; that human cogitation is nothing but local motion , yet all motion not cogitation , but only motion so circumstanc'd , in bodies so modified . against this bold and precarious hypothesis , the doctor disputes in the close of his 3 d chap. and partly in the 5 th . but without wrong to him , i may venture to affirm that he has not said all which may be said ; and one thing i wish unsaid , viz. that the hylozoic philosophers are not fit to be disputed with any more than a machine is , p. 846. l. 5. for , this has the face of an ingenious reflection ; but then it is also liable to be suspected , as an artifice of a disputant that is at a nonplus , and has no convincing argument to offer against his subtle adversary . yet this may be pleaded for the learned doctor , that he did not turn the hylozoics off so , whatever he contemptuously and angrily replied , when he was surpriz'd with the thoughts of their strange and precarious assertion , which makes cogitation to be nothing but local motion : for in the above-cited place , and elsewhere , he disputes against this assertion . one thing he observes very well , viz. that which inclines the hylozoics to their hylozoicism , is , because they are sensible , that if there were any other action beside local motion , there must needs be some other substance beside body , p. 845. it is one good step towards the cure of a disease , rightly to understand the nature of it , the causes whence it sprang , and the fuel with which 't is fed ; but after that , a particular skill is necessary to work the cure. the learned doctor in his preface , where he gives an account of his book , affirms that it is as certain to him as any thing in all geometry , that cogitation and understanding can never possibly result out of magnitudes , figures , sights , and local motions . i am as much perswaded as he , that cogitation and understanding cannot result from these principles ; but i wish he had pointed his finger to the place where he has made this as certain as any thing in all geometry . but yet i will not say that a geometrical certainty of this truth is not to be had ; what one man has not demonstrated , another may . mr. abbadie among a great deal of lumber , has some excellent materials ; i will select what i judg most conclusive , and not scruple to alter what i hope to dispose to better advantage . matter acquires not thought by motion , because in motion there are but three things which can be consider'd : the thing mov'd ; the place from whence 't is mov'd ; the place to which it comes . now thought is none of all this . if it be said that thought is the effect of some particular motion , then it will follow , that that effect is nobler than its cause ; and not only so , but likewise that it is an effect quite of another nature than its cause . bare motion does not produce thought , because all matter does not think . different kinds of motion do not produce thought , because that which makes motion different is only slowness or swiftness , directness and obliquity , with which thought has no more affinity , than with motion consider'd abstractly . it is not barely matter which acts when we think , because the parts of matter may act , and be reflected on upon another ; but 't is impossible that any of them should act or be reflected on themselves ; whereas that thinking principle which is in us reflects on it self , on its own actions , thoughts ; and on the manner of its actings and thinking . matter and motion act only on objects present and contiguous : but thought flies over the wide ocean , pervades the earth , and reaches the stars ; reviews past things , and makes useful conjectures at futurities ; reflects , provides against accidents that may or may not happen . by diseases men sometimes have their heads so disorder'd , that their imaginations are confus'd , and things appear to them otherwise than they really are , while their understandings remain clear , and they argue justly upon those false appearances , being very sensible that their diseases occasion those false appearances of things ; thence it seems natural to conclude that their reasoning principle , which is not so easily hindred in its office by diseases , is something distinct from matter . these are the most considerable philosophic arguments , which i remember to have read against the hylozoics : i hope i have not spoil'd them in my recital ; but the reader may consult the french author translated by lussan . i have nor health , nor time , nor yet learning enough to make the most of a philosophic argument drawn from the acknowledg'd principles , laws , and powers of matter against these hylozoics : but i beg leave to offer one or two thoughts , such as they are , against these bold and precarious philosophers . the first shall be argument ad hominem : if i should assert , that the table on which i now write , does understand and think , the hylozoics could no more demonstrate the contrary , than i can demonstrate that matter , however mov'd , is incapable of thinking . but , 2. this seems to me demonstration : if thought be nothing but matter mov'd , it is impossible for us to conceive a thought of a thing which is not matter . again , if matter of itself does not think but as 't is mov'd , then 't is motion , not matter , which is thought , or the cause of thought : but how extravagant and contradictious is it to affirm , that an accident which relates to matter is a real thing , or the cause of a real effect , which is of another nature , and more noble than matter ? 3. there can be no such thing as free will in man , if there be nothing but matter in the world : for , the laws of matter are constant , one and the same without variation ; and if there be no such thing as free will in man , then there 's no such thing as virtue or vice. now i am of the mind , that he who without prejudice seriously considers this argument , will be abundantly satisfied that matter , however mov'd , is incapable of thinking , tho he has not a geometrical certainty , or intuitive knowledg of the same . if i had a good benefice instead of a lean vicarage , i could be content with a parliamentary right to the tithes of my parish , and let the jure divino right go : so i think , an honest good man may be satisfied , safely satisfied , that matter , however mov'd , cannot think ; because if there be no free mind able to alter the natural and necessary motions of matter , then there 's no such thing as right and wrong ; and to talk of regular and irregular passions and affections , is a jest . but i leave the prosecution of this subject to the abler pen of a worthy friend , whose meditations i long to see . but i hope the reader will allow me to have sufficiently prov'd what i first undertook , viz. that the prospect of future advantage does not take off from the praise of virtue : also that he who believes there is no god , or who calls the immense body of universal matter , god ; that he who denies the immortality of the soul , and expects no future state , does thereby disown the most powerful obligations to virtue , makes himself unfit to be lov'd intirely , or trusted confidently : for men of common sense will ever choose to love and trust him , who looks upon himself under the highest obligations and most forcible motives to be grateful and faithful ; and be apt to neglect him , whatever virtue he professes , or is by nature and education inclin'd to , who owns no obligations nor motives to virtue , besides present usefulness , which in some cases it has not , and no restraint of pleasing vice but human laws , which reach not a world of cases . postscript to a friend , who dissuaded the printing of the foregoing sheets . sir , you are pleas'd to allow the strength of my argument thro this whole discourse , but you would not have me publish my papers , because you can see little in them , beside what you met with some years since in a judicious and solid small tract , intitled , a letter to the deists . this is very friendly , and i own the obligation ; but i were unworthy of your friendship , if i should subscribe to your judgment , because you are my friend : and i were still unworthy , if denying to be govern'd by you , i should refuse to give my reasons . i am not of the comic poet's mind , from whom we have the proverb , nullum est jam dictum , quod non dictum fuit prius . i rather fancy , since the universe has no bounds , that there may be eternal progressions in reasonings , eternal advances in knowledg : so that if perhaps i have wrote nothing but what has bin wrote before , yet there 's no cause to imagin the subject to have bin so copiously and clearly handled already , that nothing of moment can be added by the study of them who come after . upon which account i had reason on my side , thus far at least , viz. that i endeavour'd to give some new accession of strength to those foundations of natural religion , without which i don't see how difficult virtue can subsist . let me digress so far as here to call in a few words , which should have bin inserted in my dissertation , being part of a letter wrote to me , by one that uses me kindly as you do . it seems plain , that no man loves misery , no nor labour to no purpose ; and he that thinks he shall cease to be after this life , must think he shall cease to exercise virtue , his chief delight , or his all : so he has no motive to dy for the sake of his country , or on any noble account whatsoever ; and at last will come to this result , that self-preservation is the truest virtue , tho on the meanest terms . but to return , that i have troubled the press with nothing but what the letter to the deist made publick some years past : this i think i may , without departing from the rules of modesty , positively deny . but not to offend the reader with a crambe bis coctâ , i shall only note , that it must be granted me , i did not borrow from that letter all which i have offer'd in defence of this doctrin , that the hope of future reward is not a base mercenary , but a reasonable and just motive to virtue . 2. nor thence have i borrow'd what i have answer'd to the objections of nominal deists drawn from the writings of moral heathens : for i met those objections in conversation , not books . 3. what i have oppos'd to the author of the inquiry concerning virtue , could not be borrow'd from the letter to the deist , which was wrote before it , but must needs be as new as the inquiry : and if the inquiry be an ingenious , subtle , erroneous , and dangerous book , then it will be farther granted , that a solid good answer comes seasonably and usefully : whether my answer be such , the reader must judg ; but for your part , sir , you have approv'd it , and therefore if you agree with your self , you must not blame my printing . now as to those particular arguments , the substance of which i confess my self to have in common with the letter to the deist ; i will not say as hierom's master donatus commenting on the above-cited verse from terence , pereant qui ante nos nostra dixerunt ; confounded be all they who said the things which i have said , before i said them : no , i had rather go into that better natur'd defence ; non quicquid cum antiquis convenit , ex antiquis sumptum : upon which lemma , paschasius has this witty epigram , tho he points it with a little of donatus's assuming waggish self-love . plurima me veterum sensa expressisse fatebor , ne fatear , fursim , vel furiosus ego . multa sed ex aliis falsò sumpsisse putabis , quae mea percupiam dicier , & mea sunt . conveniunt tamen haec antiquis : dî male perdant antiquos , mea qui praeripuere mihi . i gave these lines to be translated to my second son , the boy you took such a fancy to . often on antient fancies have i hit , and for this luck must i be call'd a cheat ? they err who say i steal the antients fame ; for i no more than what 's my own do claim : in mine , and theirs , if you no difference see , blame th' antients for their stealing mine from me . now my hand is in to you , it comes into my mind , that you once acquainted me , that some of my learned acquaintance dislik'd this essay : but this i am far from putting off with that old hypocritical saw , no man can have a meaner opinion of my performance than i have my self ; because their dislike , whereof i have bin all along conscious , prompted me to consider the matter again and again ; and that repeated consideration has confirm'd me in my sentiments , and made me in love with them : so that if these acquaintances can still be my friends notwithstanding their dislike , i will thank them for their dislike , as well as for their friendship . this notwithstanding , i am not so vain as to reckon that i have , borrowing or not borrowing , exhausted the argument ; or said half which their singular parts and attainments might have help'd me to have said : no , for even my present mediocrity could and would have added some method , and farther strength to it ; but my much business , and many infirmities made me willing to put such an end to it as you see . i have now one favour to beg of you , and i take leave : pray thank my adversaries in my name for their opposing the sentiments in this dissertation defended ; thank them heartily . i really hold it a very singular good office to have my sentiments seriously and strenuously oppos'd : for , no longer than i can defend , will i retain them . old as i am , i am not so afraid of altering my opinions , as not to listen to reason whoever offers it : he that convinces my understanding , shall , while i live , lead my affections ; but if what is offer'd has not evidence enough to convince me , they use me very hardly who will not admit me into their friendship , because i am not their proselyte . i am pleas'd to be seriously and strenuously oppos'd by them who best can do 't , even tho they go for hereticks , that so i may go upon the surer ground . and for this cause i much wonder , that the best reformed church should have any of her sons desirous to put a restraint on the press : for all truths , the more they are impugn'd , the surer they are establish'd ; and the more the press is restrain'd , the more our articles will be suspected , whether there be any other just cause of suspicion or no. there 's ten thousand to one against a man who takes doctrines upon trust , and assents to this or that scheme with faith implicit ; but that which he suffers to be examin'd , to be sifted , and which he himself considers over and over again , in that it is impossible he should be deceiv'd , unless it be a matter wherein he may be mistaken innocently , and without prejudice to his future hopes . i thought i had done , but one thing more comes in my way . you once let me know that i was suspected to favour heretical opinions . to this i answer , i hope it is no fault not to run from the converse of men of learning and probity ; but from the persons you nam'd i do assure you i differ , and that in all points that can be insimulated of heresy : particularly i think the socinians in the wrong , and never was of their congregation ; i do not know the names of three socinians , nor the persons of any two such ; but i confess i look upon them as men of learning and probity . allow me but to have charity for all honest men however differently perswaded , and you will have no cause to deny me being a not unworthy member of the church of england . and pray observe one thing more , their conversation is very narrow , who are perswaded altogether as the men they converse with . i take it , that a free conversation is the most useful thing in the world , and that their company is worth nothing who will not endure contradiction . they whom i converse with , know , and are not angry with my church-sentiments ; i know , and will never persecute their dissent : for , non eadem sentire bonis , de rebus iisdem , incolumi licuit semper amicitia . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a37289-e380 abbadie of the truth of christian religion . a discourse concerning the redeemer's dominion over the invisible world, and the entrance thereinto by death some part whereof was preached on occasion of the death of john hoghton esq, eldest son of sir charles hoghton of hoghton-tower in the county of lancaster, baronet / by john howe ... howe, john, 1630-1705. 1699 approx. 222 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 125 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; 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(eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a44673) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 48663) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 535:12) a discourse concerning the redeemer's dominion over the invisible world, and the entrance thereinto by death some part whereof was preached on occasion of the death of john hoghton esq, eldest son of sir charles hoghton of hoghton-tower in the county of lancaster, baronet / by john howe ... howe, john, 1630-1705. 31, [1], 213 p. printed for tho. parkhurst ..., london : 1699. reproduction of original in the university of illinois (urbana-champaign campus). library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng hoghton, john, d. 1699. funeral sermons. sermons, english. future life. 2004-10 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-12 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-01 rachel losh sampled and proofread 2005-01 rachel losh text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a discourse concerning the redeemer's dominion over the invisible world , and the entrance thereinto by death . some part whereof was preached on occasion of the death of john hoghton esq eldest son of sir charles hoghton of hoghton-tower in the county of lancaster ; baronet . by john howe , minister of the gospel . london , printed for tho. parkhurst , at the bible and three crowns in cheapside near mercers-hall , 1699. to the most deservedly honoured , and truly honourable , sir charles hoghton and the lady mary hoghton of hoghton-tower . grace , mercy , and peace , &c. you will , i know , count it no indecency , that , when god hath so nearly , many years ago , join'd you , in relation , in affection , and now , so lately , in the affliction , equally common to you both , i do also join your names on the same paper , and make this solemn address to you together . it is by the inestimable favour of heaven , that the mutual interest god hath given you in each other , as it obliges , doth also ( as i have great reason to hope ) effectually dispose and enable you ; so , not only to partake in the comforts , but in the sorrows that are common to you both , as that the former shall be greatly increased , and the latter proportionably allay'd , and mitigated , thereby . thus is the advantage of your conjugal state , both represented in god's designation , and apprehended , in your own experience . and you are to consider the blessing of god herein , as having a peculiarity in it , not being extended to all so related , neither to all that were great in this world , nor to all that were pious , and good. great worldly felicity , hath been rendered insipid and spiritless . great calamities , much the more bitter , by the want of a meet mutual helpfulness , between such relations . a great , and a good man in his time . a prince ( as he is thought to have been ) in his country , a man that was perfect , and upright , one that feared god , and eschewed evil , when he lost not one , not the eldest , only , of his numerous offspring , ( as you have ) but all at once , seven sons , and three daughters , with such concomitant circumstances of accumulated afflictions , as blessed be god , are not in your case ; and might now expect some relief , from his other self , the nearest and most inward companion of his life , and partaker of his joys and sorrows ; all the succour he hath from her , was ●n impious endeavour to provoke and irritate his spirit , that taunting scoff , dost thou still retain thy integrity ? and that horrid advice , curse god and die. whereas that rational , religious , soul-composing thought , shall we receive good things at the hand of god , and not also evil things ? was deeply fixed in the mind of the one ; how much more effectually relieving had it been , if it had circulated between both the relatives ; and they had , alternately , propounded , and enlarged upon it , to one another ! with you , i cannot doubt , it hath been so ; and that you have made it your business to improve your mutual interest , not to aggravate , but to alleviate , your affliction each to other . you have , both of you , great occasion , and obligation , to revolve and recount to each other , the many good things you have received at the hand of god , to mitigate what there is of evil , in this dispensation . both of you have sprung of religious , and honourable families , favoured of god , valued , and beloved in the countries where he had planted them . they have been both , seats of religion , and of the worship of god. the resorts of his servants . houses of mercy , to the indigent . of justice , to the vitious . of patronage , to the sober , and vertuous . of good example , to all about them . you were , both , dedicated to god , early , and he gave early testimony of his accepting the dedication . he began with you both betimes , blessing your education , and owning you for his , by disposing and forming your spirits to own , betimes , the god of your fathers . he hath blessed you indeed , adding the spiritual blessings in heavenly things , to your many earthly comforts . which jabez migh● mean , not content , with a common blessing ; and the more probably , from the acceptance he found , 1 chron. 4.9 , 10. god granted his request , as solomon's , 1 kings 2.10 . when his request was as little vulga● . you both concurred , in the dedication of this your son , as in the rest of yours ; and i doubt not with great seriousness ; you covenanted with god in christ , to be his god. and if he enabled you to be in good earnest herein , even that was of special grace and favour ; and ought to come into the account of the many good things you ●ave received of god's hand , as offering to god willingly , did , in the estimate of david : when the oblation was of a meaner kind , 1 chron. 29.14 . but then you ought to consider , what the import , and meaning was of that your covenant , wherein you accepted god in christ to be the god of your son ; and dedicated him to god through christ to be his . was it not absolute , and without limitation ? that god should be a god to him entirely , and without reserve ? and that he should be his , absolutely , and be dispos'd of by him , at his pleasure ? otherwise , there was a repugnancy , and contradiction , in the very terms of your covenant . to be a god to him ! is not , god , the name of a being incapable of limitation ? doth it not signify infinite unlimited power , and goodness ? to be a god to any one , therefore , under restriction , is to be a god to him , and no god. and so to covenant with god , can neither have sincerity in it , nor good sense . he can be under no restraint , in the exercises of his power , and goodness towards any , to whom he vouchsafes to be their god in covenant ; but what he is pleased to lay upon himself ; which must be from his own wisdom and good pleasure , to which in covenanting we refer our selves ; with particular faith , in reference to what he hath expresly promis'd ; and with general , that all shall be well , where his promise is not express . but from our selves , nothing can be prescribed to him . he must be our all , or nothing ; in point of enjoyment as our sovereign , all-comprehending good ; in point of government , as our sovereign all-disposing lord. so we take him , in covenanting with him , for our selves , and ours . for he so propounds , and offers himself , to us ; if we accept , and take him accordingly , there is a covenant between him and us , otherwise we refuse him ; and there is no covenant . when he promises , as to his part , he promises his all ; to be god all-sufficient to us ; to be ours in all his fulness , according to our measure , and capacity : we are not straitned in him , but in our selves . he undertakes to be to us , and do for us , all that it belongs to him , as a god to be , and do . to give us grace and glory , about which , there can be no dispute , or doubt , they are always , and immutably good . and to withhold from us no good thing , here , are comprehended , with the former , inferiour good things , about which , because they are but mutably , and not always good , there may be a doubt , whether , now and in present circumstances , they will be good for us , or no. and now , it belongs to him , as he is to do the part of a god to us , to judg and determine for us : for which he alon● is competent , as being god only wise , and otherwise he were not god all-sufficient ; and not to leave that to us , who are so apt to be partial , and mistaken , in our judgment . but when he makes his demand from us , of what we on our part are to be , and do ; he demands our all , absolutely ; that we surrender our selves and ours , whatsoever we are , and have , to his pleasure and dispose , without other exception , or restriction , than by his promise , he hath laid upon himself . nor are we to think it strange there should be this difference , in the tenour of his covenant , between his part and ours . for we are to remember , the covenant between him , and us , is not , as of equals ; he covenants as god ; we , as creatures ; he , according to the universal , infinite perfection and all sufficiency of a god , we , according to the insufficiency , imperfection and indigency of creatures . these things were ( i doubt not ) all foreknown , and , i hope , considered by you , when you so sol●mnly transacted with god , concerning this your son ; wherein you could not but then take him for your god , as well as his god. it needs now only to be apply'd to the present case ; and it manifestly admits this application , viz. that this his disposal of him , in taking him , now , up to himself , to be glorify'd by him , and to glorify him , in the heavenly state , was a thing then agreed upon , by solemn covenant , between god and you . it was done by your own vertual , and unretracted consent . the substance of the thing was agreed to expresly ; that god should be his god , and finally , make him happy , and blessed in himself . but if you say , you would only have had his compleat blessedness , yet a while defer'd ; i will only say , could you agree with that god , whose he was , and whose you are , about the substance of so great a transaction , and now differ with him about a circumstance ? and besides , all circumstances must be comprehended in your agreement . for taking him to be your god , you take him to be supream disposer in all things : and his will to be in every thing the rule , and measure of yours . which you have expresly consented to as often as you have pray'd , either in the words , or after the tenour , of that prayer , wherein our lord hath taught us to sum up our desires , and represent the sense of our hearts . but besides the duty , that is both by his law , and by covenant-agreement , owing to god , it is also to be considered , as an high dignity , put upon you , to be the covenanted-parents of a glorified son ; a matter of greater boast , than if you could say our son ( to repeat what i formerly ly wrote ) is one of the greatest princes on earth ! how far should paganism be out-done , by christianity ! which exhibits to our view death abolish'd ! life , and immortality brought to light , by jesus christ , in the gospel ! 2 tim. 1.10 . which sets before us all the glories of the other world in a bright representation ! which , if we believe , that faith will be to us , the substance of what we hope for , and the evidence of what we see not . thus , tho you saw not the kind reception , and abundant entrance of this son of your delights , into the everlasting kingdom , it will yet be a thing evident to you ; and your faith will render it a great , and a most substantial reality . pagans had but obscure glimmerings of such things ; and in such afflicting cases , when they have occurr'd , comparatively lank , and slender supports ; yet such as were not to be despis'd . should i transcribe what i find written in way of consolation by plutarch to apollonius , upon the loss of a son , you would see what would give both instruction and admiration . i shall mention some passages . he praises the young person , deceased , for his comliness , sobriety , piety , dutifulness towards parents , obligingness towards friends , acknowledges that sorrow in the case of losing such a son , hath ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) a principle in nature , and is of the things that are ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) not in our power , or which we cannot help ; that to be destitute of it is neither possible , nor fit . that an apathy , or insensibleness in such a case is no more desireable , than that we should endure to have a limb , a part of our selves , cut , or torn off from us without feeling it . but yet affirms that immoderate sorrow upon such an occasion is ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) preternatural , and hath a pravity in it , and proceeds from a misinform'd mind . that we ought in any such case to be neither ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) unaffected , nor ill affected . he tells his friend a story ( the meaning whereof , is more considerable to us , than the credit of it , as perhaps it was to him ) concerning two graecian youths , cleobis and biton , whose mother having a duty to perform in the temple of juno , and the mules , not being at hand , in the instant , when she expected them , to draw ●er chariot thither , they most officiously drew it themselves ; with which act of piety their mother was so transported , that she made her request to juno , on their behalf , that if there were any thing more desirable unto mortals , than other , she would therewith reward her sons ; who thereupon threw them into a sleep , out of which they awak'd no more . thereby signifying , that death was the best gif● that could be bestow'd upon pe●sons of such supposed piety , as they ! to which purpose , is what he relates concerning the death of euthynous an italian , referr'd to , towards the close of the following discourse . son , and heir to the ample estate , of elysius , a person of principal dignity among the terinaeans . to whom anxiously enquiring of diviners , concerning the cause of this calamity , the spectre of his son , introduced by the father of the latter , appear'd in his sleep , shewing him certain greek verses , the sum whereof was , thy enquiry was foolish . the minds of men are vain , euthynous rests by a kindly decreed death , because his living longer , had neither been-good for him , nor his parents . he afterwards adds , a good man , when he dies , is worthy not so much of lamentations , as of hymns , and praises . he animadverts upon the aptnes● of parents to quarrel with any circumstanc●s of a son's death ; be th●y what they will , if he die abroad , then the aggravation is , that neither the father nor the mother , had opportunity to close his eyes ; if at home , then , how is he pluck'd away , even out of our hands ! he gives divers memorable instances , of sundry great persons , bearing with strange composure of mind , the same kind of affliction . i omit what he wrote to his wife on their loss of a child . as also to recite many , very instructive passages , out of seneca writing to marcia , on the same account , viz. by way of consolation , for her loss of a son , and to helvia , for her loss in the same kind . to polybius , having lost a near relation , &c. but we have the oracles of god , and do , too commonly , less need to receive instruction from heathens , than deserve to be reproached by them . that there is so frequent cause for the complaint of that an●ient worthy in the christian church . non praestat fides quod praestitit infidelitas . the infidelity of pagans , performs greater things than the faith of christians . their sedate temper , their mastery over turbulent passions , may , in many instances , shame our impotency , and want of self-government , in like cases . for who of them have ever had , o● could have so great a thing to say , as is said to us by the word of the lord , 1 thess. 4.13 . for this very purpose , that we may not sorrow concerning them that are asleep , even , as others , who have no hope , i. e. ver . 14. if we believe that jesus died , and rose again ; even so , them also , which sleep in jesus , will god bring with him . for ver . 15. this we say to you ( and 't is said by the foremention'd aut●ority , the lord himself having revealed it to this great apostle , and directed him to say it ) that we who are alive , and remain unto the coming of the lord , shall not prevent them which are asleep . ver. 16. for the lord himself shall descend from heaven wi●h a shout , with the voice of the arch-angel , and with the t●ump of god ; and the dead in christ shall rise first . ver. 17. then we which are alive , and remain , shall be caught up , together with them , in the clouds , to meet the lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the lord. ver. 18. wherefore comfort one another with these words . i have transcribed these few verses , that they might readily appear to present view . and because all their efficacy , and all our advantage by them , depends upon our believing them ; let us closely put the question to our selves , do we believe them ? or do we not ? the apostle seems ●o design the putting us upon this self reflection . ver. ●4 . by inserting the supposi●ion , if we believe , — q d. this will effectually do the business , of allaying all our hopeless sorrow . for , if we believe that one fundamental truth ( and therefore let us see whether we do or no ) of christ's dying and rising again , it will draw such a train of consequences , all tending to fill our souls with a vital joy , as will leave no place for undue sorrow any longer . that faith , will be still urging and carrying us forward , will make us wholly intent upon prospect and expectation . what are we now to look for upon such a foundation , so firmly laid , and fully believed ? if we believe that jesus died ! he did not submit to die , without a design ; and his rising again , speaks him master of his design : and that he hath it now entirely in his power . he died not for himself , but for them he was to redeem ! and being now risen again , what must become of them ! all that follows is now matter of glorious triumph ! if plato , plutarch or seneca , had but once had such a revelation from heaven as this , and had that ground to believe it , that we have ; how full would their writings have been of it ! how had they abounded , in lofty paraphrases , upon every period , and word of it ! the faith of such things , would surely make a truly ch●istian heart , so earn●stly press forward , in the expectation of the great things , still to ensue , as to leave it little leisure for retrospection . and this is the source of all our intemperate sorrow , in such a case as this , our framing to our selves pleasing suppositions , of being as we were , with such , and such friends and relatives about us , as we heretofore enjoy'd . as hope of what is future , and desireable , feeds our joy ; so , memory of good things past , doth our sorrow . in such a case as this , which the apostle here speaks to , the decease of our dear friends , and relatives , fall'n asleep ; we are apt to look back , with a lingering eye , upon that former state of things : and to say , as he , o mihi preteritos — o that god would recall for me the years that are gone over — ! or , as in sacred language , o that i were as in months past — when the secret of god was upon my tabernacle . when the almighty was yet with me ; when my children were about me ! what pleasant scenes do we form to our selves , afresh , of past things , on purpose to foment present sorrow ! and whether we have that design or no , we are more prone to look back to former things we have known , than forward to future , we know not ; especially , if the further we look back , the less we find of trouble intermingl'd in our former course . a smooth and pleasant path we would go over again , if reason , and the necessity of affairs do not recall us , and urge us forward . and so , sir , might you find matter for a very copious , and not ungrateful recollection , to call over again , and revolve in your thoughts , the pleasures of your youth , ( more innocent than of many others , ) when you were incumbered with no cares , entertain'd with various delights , of one sort and another , in this or that pleasant seat of your parents . but how remote is it from you , upon consideration , to wish your self back , into your juvenile state , and circumstances ? how much a more generous , and god like pleasure is it , to be doing good in the world , and still to abound therein , to go forward , and do still more and more ! and , madam , who could have a more pleasant retrospect , upon former days , than y●u ? recounting your antrim delights ! the delight you took in your excellent rela●ions , your garden delights , your closet-delights , your lords-days delights ! but how much a greater thing is it to serve god in your present station ! as the mother of a numerous and hopeful offspring ? as the mistress of a large family ; where you bear your part , with your like-minded consort , in supporting the interest of god and religion ! and have opportunity of scattering blessings round about you ! but our business is not recurring , or looking back . god is continually calling us forward . time is a stream , running on , towards the vast ocean . tending backward , is vain striving against the stream . and as it is the course , and method , of nature , of providence , and grace , to tend forward , and carry us from less to greater things , in this world. so do all these conspire , to carry us on , because our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , our highest pitch , cannot be here ; to yet far greater things in the greater world. of which vast world , it is the design of the following discourse to give you some account ; tho , god knows , it is but a very imperfect one . such as it is , if god only make it an occasion to you , of fixing your minds and hearts upon that mighty theme , you will find it easy and pleasant to you to amplify upon it , and enlarge it to your selves . and thereby , through god's blessing , i doubt not , arrive to a fulness of satisfaction , concerning this late dispensation , which hath a gloominess upon it ; but is in very deed only gloomy , on one side , viz. downwards , and towards this wretched world , this region of sorrow and darkness : but on the side , upwards , and towards that other world , which casts its lustre upon it , its phasis , and appearance , will be altogether bright and glorious . and the more you look by a believing intuition into that other world , where our blessed redeemer , and lord , bears rule , in so transcendent glory ; the more will you be above all the cloudy darkness , of this event of providence , towards your selves , and your family . herein , your perusal of this very defective essay , may be of some use to you . and i reckon'd it might be of more lasting and pe●manent use to you , and yours after you , and to as many others , into whose hands it might fall , as a little book , than as one single sermon . you will , however , i doubt not , apprehend in it , the sincere desire to assist you in this your present , difficult ●rial ; followed by the faithful endeavour , of most honoured in the lord , your very respectful and obliged servant , in him , and for his sake , john howe . may 17. 1699. rev. 1.18 . — and have the keys of hell ( hades , or the unseen world ) and of death . the peculiar occasion of this present solemnity , i mean , that is additional to the usual business of the lord's day , may be somewhat amusing to narrower and less considering minds , i. e. that i am now to take notice to you of ( what the most would call ) the premature , or untimely death of a most hopeful young gentleman , the heir of a very considerable family , greatly prepared by parts and pious sentiments , and further preparing by study and conversation , to be useful to the age , cut off in his prime , when the meer shewing him † to the world had begun to raise an expectation in such as knew him , of somewhat more than ordinary hereafter from him , his future advantageous circumstances , being considered , of which you will hear further towards the close of this discourse . nor did i know any passage in the whole sacred volume , more apt to serve , the best & most valuable purpose , in such a case , than the words now read ; none more fitted to enlarge our minds , to compose them , and reduce to a due temper even theirs who are most concern'd , and most liable to be disturb'd , or to instruct us all how to interpret and comment aright upon so perplexing , and so intricate a providence as this at the first , and slighter view may seem unto us . in order whereto our business must be to explain this most weighty awful saying . and apply this most weighty awful saying . 1. for the explication , these 3 things are to be enquired into . 1. who it is that claims , and asserts to himself this power here spoken of ? 2. what it is about which this claimed power is to be conversant ? 3. what sort of power it is that this emblematical expression , signifies to belong to him ? 1. who it is that claims the power here spoken of ? . where the enquiry is not so much concerning the person that makes this claim ; which all the foregoing context puts out of question to be our lord christ. but touching the special notion and capacity wherein he claims it , and according whereto it must be understood to belong to him . and whereas he is described by very distinct titles , and attributes , promiscuously interwoven in the preceding verses of the chapter , viz. that sometimes he is introduced speaking in the stile of a god ; as ver . 8. i am alpha , and omega , the beginning , and the ending , saith the lord , which is , and which was , and which is to come , the almighty . and again , v 11. i am alpha , and omega . but that sometimes he is represented in the form of a man ▪ and accordingly described even from head to foot , and said to appear in the vision that exhibits him , as one like the son of man , that we might certainly understand him so to be , verse 13 , 14 , 15 , 16. and such things said of him as are incident to a mortal man , the shedding of his blood , verse 5. and that he was dead , verse 18. former part . yea and expressions of this different import intermingled , that we might know it was the same person that was continuedly spoken of under these so vastly different characters , as , i am the first and the last ; i am he that liveth and was dead , verse 17 , 18. we may thereupon very reasonably conclude that he is not here to be conceiv'd under the one notion or the other , neither as god , nor as man , separately or exclusively of each other ; but as both together , as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as god-man , under which conjunct notion , he receives , and sustains the office of our redeemer , and mediator between god , and man which will enable us the more clearly to answer the third enquiry , when we come to it , concerning the kind of that power , which is here claimed . and which , because there can be no doubt of the justice of his claim , we are hereby taught to ascribe to him . for the management whereof , we are also hence to reckon him every way competent ; that he was par negotio that it was not too big for him . no expressions being used to signifie his true humanity , but which are joyned with others , as appropriate to deity . and that nothing therefore obliges us to narrow it more than the following account imports ; which we are next to enquire about ; viz. 2. the large extent of the object about which the power he here claims , is to be conversant . i. e. hades ( as we read , hell but which is truly to be read ) the unseen world , and death . the former of these , we with a debasing limitation , and ( as i doubt not will appear ) very unreasonably do render hell. the power belonging to christ , we are elsewhere taught to conceive is of unspeakably greater latitude . and here we are not taught to confine it to so vile & narrow limits , as this translation gives it . all things in the context conspire to magnifie him , and , agreeably hereto to magnifie his dominion . when therefore the apparent design is to speak him great , that he should only be represented as the jaylor of devils , and their companions , is , to me unaccountable ; unless a very manifest necessity did induce to it . from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , there can be no pretence for it . tho' it ought to be extended , it is by no means to be restrained to that sense : which as it is the ignoblest , so it will appear but a very small , minute part of its signification ; whether we consider the literal import , or the common use of the word . literally it signifies , but what we see not , or what is out of our sight . and as the word of which it is compounded signifies also to know , as well as to see , it may further signifie , that state of things which lies without the compass of our knowledge , even out of the reach of our mental sight ; or concerning which , tho' we are to believe what is revealed , we cannot immediately , or distinctly know it ; and in reference whereto , therefore , we are to walk by faith , not by sight , 2 cor. 5.7 . and the common use of the word , hath been very agreeable hereto ; with writers of all sorts , i e. to signifie indefinitely the unseen world ; or the state of the deceased out of our world , who are , consequently , gone out of our sight , whether they were good or bad ; so as not peculiarly to signifie hell , or any place , or state of torment , only . it were easie to abound in quotations to this purpose , if it were either needful , or proper in a discourse of this nature . what i intend in this kind , i shall only set down on the by in the margin , upon which they that will may cast their eye † ; that the discourse be not interrupted as to others that either have no need to be informed in this matter , having known as much before , as can be now told them ; or no inclination to be diverted from their present purpose in reading ; apprehending that what is generally told them , only concerning the usual signification of a word , is not said without some ground . and let texts of scripture be consulted about that , how hades , and ( the correspondent word in the o. t. ) shee l , are used there . if we take the help of interpreters , the impartial . reader is to judge of their fidelity , and ability who go our way * . upon the whole , it being most evident , that hell , is but a small , and mean part of what is signified by hades , it will be very unreasonable to represent or conceive of , the power here ascribed to our lord , according to that narrow notion of it . and would be a like incongruity , as if , to magnifie the person of highest dignity , in the court of a mighty prince , one should say , he is the keeper of the dungeon . th● word it self , indeed , properly taken , and according to its just extent mightily greatens him i.e. 't is as much as to say , his dominion is of unknown limits ; such as no eye can measure . we think with a sort of veneration , of what is represented as too big for our knowledge . we have a natural awe and reverence for unsearchable darkness . but in the mean time we herein suffer a just diminution of our selves ; that when our enquiry stops , and can proceed no further , it being but a very little part of the universe that lies within our compass , having tir'd our enquiring eye , and mind , upon all the rest we write hades , call it unseen , or unknown . and because we call it so ; in reference to us , god himself calls it so too . it being his way ( as is observed , by that noted jew * ) speaking to men , to use the tongue of the children of men , to speak to them in their own language , and allow them to coin their own words . which at first they often do very occasionally ; nor , as to this , could they have a fairer , or a more urgent occasion , or that is more self-justifying than in one word to say of that other world , that it is hades or invisible , when that is truly all that they have to say , or can have any immediate notice of about it . it hath therefore its rise from our selves , and the penury of our knowledge of things . and is at once both an ingenuous confession , with some sort of modest cover , and excuse of our own ignorance . as with geographers , all that part of this globe , which they cannot describe , is terra incognita ; and with philosophers , such phaenomena , in nature , as they can give no account of , they resolve , shortly and in the most compendious way , into some or other occult quality , or somewhat else , as occult . how happy were it , if in all matters that concern religion , and in this , as it doth so , they would shut up in a sacred venerable darkness , what they cannot distinctly perceive , it being once by the undeceiving word expresly asserted , that it is , without , therefore , denying its reality , because they clearly apprehend not what it is . with too many their religion is so little , and their pride and self-conceit so great , that they think themselves fit to be standards . that their eye or mind , is of a size large enough to measure the creation ; yea and the creator too . and by how much they have the less left them of mind , or the more it is sunk into earth and carnality , the more capable it is of being the measure of all reality of taking the compass , of all being , created and uncreated . and so that of the philosopher takes place in the worst sense can be put upon it [ to see darkness is to see nothing ] all is nullity that their sense reaches not . hades is with such , indeed , empty , imaginary , darkness ; or in plainer english there is neither heaven nor hell , because they see them not . but we ought to have the greater thoughts of it , not the less , for its being too big , too great , too glorious for our present view : and that it must as yet , rest , as to us , and so let it rest a while , under the name of hades . the unknown dominion of our great lord. according to that most express account he at his ascension gave of the existence of both parts together , that less known to us , and that more known , matt. 28.18 . all power is given to me both in heaven and earth . that death is added , as contained also within the limits of our lord's dominion , doth expresly signifie his custody of the passage from this visible world to the invisible ; viz. as he commands the entrance into each distinct part of hades , the invisible world , consisting of both heaven , and hell , so he hath power over death too , which is the common out-let from this vvorld , and the passage unto both . but it withall plainly implies , his very absolute power over this visible vvorld of ours also : for it signifies he hath the power of measuring every ones time here , and how long each inhabitant of this world shall live in it . if it belong to him to determine when any one shall die , it must by consequence belong to him to assign the portion and dimensum of time that every one shall live . nor is there any conceivable moment in the time of any ones life , wh●rein he hath not this power of putting a period by death thereunto , at his own pleasure . he is therefore signified to have the power of every man's life and death at once . and the power of life and death is very high and great power . he therefore herein implicitly claims , what is elsewhere expresly ascribed to him , rom. 14.78 , 9. none — lives to himself , ( i.e. de jure , no man should ) or dies to himself : for whether we live , we live unto the lord , or whether we die , we die to the lord ; whether we live therefore or die , we are the lords . for to this end christ both died , and rose again , and revived , that he might be lord , both of the dead and living . in summ , here is asserted to him a dominion over both worlds ; this , in which we live , and that , into which we die , whether the one or the other part of it . and so in reference to men , who once have inhabited this world , the sense of this ●ext , and that we are insisting on , is the same . tho' hades is of vastly larger extent than only to be the receptacle of such as have liv'd here ; it having also , in both the parts of it , innumerable inhabitants who never had a dwelling assigned them in this world of ours at all . but thus far we have the vast extent of our lord christ's dominion , competently cleared to be the proper intendment of this text. and that it never meant so faint and minute a representation of it , as only to make him keeper of the bottomless pit. tho' of that also he hath the key ; as we shall further take notice . but are , now to enquire of , what will tak up less time . 3. the kind of that power over so vast a realm , or manifold realms , signified by this emblematical expression , of having the keys , & ● . every one knows , that the keys are insignia ; some of the tokens of power ; and according to the peculiarity of the object , may be , of divine power . the jews , as some writers of their affairs say , appropriate the keys of three , others of four things to god only . of life , or the entrance into this world. of the rain , or the treasures of the clouds . of the earth ( say some * ) as of the granary of corn. and of the grave . of which , says one of their own . — the holy blessed , one hath the keys of the sepulchres in his hand , &c. and , as we may be sure he admits thither , so he emits from thence ; and ( as he says ) in the future age , the h. b. one will unlock the treasures of souls , and will open the graves , and bring every soul back into its own body , &c. nor is this key of the vast hades , when it is in the hand of our redeemer , the less in the hand of the holy , blessed one ; for so is he too . but it is in his hand as belonging to his office , of mediator between god and man , as was before said . and properly the phrase signifies ministerial power , being a manifest allusion to the common usage , in the courts of princes , of entrusting to some great minister the power of the keys ; as it was foretold of eliakim , isa. 22. that he should be placed in the same high station in hezekiahs court , wherein shebna was , of whom so severe things are there said ; and that the key of the house of david , should be laid upon his shoulder , &c. ver . 20 , 21 , 22. and the house of david , being a known type of the house or church of god ; and he himself , of christ , who , as the son , hath power over the whole house , according to this typical way of speaking our lord is said , rev 3.7 . to have the key of david , to open so as none can shut , to shut so as none can open , i. e. to have a final decisive power in all he doth , from which there is no appeal . nor could any thing be more congruous , than that having the keys of the celestial house of god , the heavenly palace of the great king , the habitation of his holiness and glory , in which are the everlasting habitations , the many mansions , the places prepared for his redeemed ; he should also have the keys of the terrestrial bethel ; which is but a sort of portal , or vestibulum to the other . the house of god , and the gate of heaven . and as he is implied to have the keys of this introductive , preparatory kingdom of heaven ( as the keys of the kings palace , where is the throne or seat of government ; and the keys of the kingdom must mean the same thing ) when he is said to give them to the apostle peter , and the other apostles : this was but a prelude , and a minute instance of his power of those keys of hades , and of the glorious heavenly kingdom it self contained therein , which he was not to delegate , but to manage himself immediately in his own person . if moreover he were signified by the an●el , rev. 20.1 . who was said to have the key of the bottomless pit ; that also must import a power , tho' great in it self , yet very little in comparison of the immense hades , of which he is here s●id to have the ke●s . so remote is it , that the power ascribed to him there , should be the measure of what he here assets to himself : and the difference must be vastly greater than it is possible for us to conceive , or parallel , by the difference between having power over the palace , & all the most delightful & most spacious territories in the vastest empire of the greatest prince , and only having power over a dungeon in some obscure corner of it which for the great purposes , whereto all this is it be applied , we can can scarcely too much inculcate . and to such application let us now with all possible seriousness and intention of spirit , address our selves . which will consist in sundry inferences , or deductions , laying before us some suitable matter , partly of our meditation , practice . the former whereof are to prepare , and lay a ground for the latter . 1. divers things we may collect that will be very proper for our deep meditation ; which i shall propose not as things that we can be suppos'd not to have known before , but which are , too commonly , not enough thought on , or considered . and here we shall somewhat invert the order wherein things lye in the text , beginning with what is there latter and lower , and thence arising , with more advantage , to what is higher , and of greater concernment . as , 1. that men do not die at random , or by some uncertain , acciaccidental by stroak , that as by a slip of the hand , cuts off the thred of life ; but by an act of divine determination , and judgment , that passes in reference to each ones death . for as the key signifies authority and power , the turning this key of death , that gives a man his exit out of this world , is an authoritative act. and do we consider in what hand this power is lodg'd ? we cannot but apprehend every such act is the effect of counsel and judgment . what philosophers are wont to discourse of fortuitous events in reference to rational agents , or casual , in reference to natural , must be understood but with relation to our selves , and signifies only our own ignorance of futurities ; but can have no place in the all-comprehending mind , as if any thing were a contingency unto that . for them that live as if they thought they came into this world by chance ; 't is very natural to them to think they shall die , and go out of it , by chance too , but , when , and as , it happens . this is worse than paganish blindness ; for besides what from their poets , the vulgar have been made to believe concerning the three fatal sisters , to whom they ascribed no less than deity concern'd in measuring every ones life . the grave discourses which some of them have writ concerning providence , and its extent to the lesser intermediate concerns of life , much more to that their final great concern of death , will be a standing testimony against the too-prevailing christian scepticism ( they ought to excuse the soloecism , who make it ) of this wretched age ! but such among us as will allow themselves the liberty to think , want not opportunity , and means by which they may be assur'd , that not an imaginary , but real deity is immediately and constantly concern'd in measuring our time in this world. what an awful thought is this ! and it leads to a 2 inference . that it is a great thing to die . the son of god , the redeemer of man hath an immediate presidency over this affair he signalizes himself by it , who could not suppose , he should be magnified by a trifle ! we slightly say , such a one is dead ! consider the matter in it self , and 't is great . a reasonable soul hath chang'd states ! an intelligent spirit is gone out of our world ! the life of a gnat , a fly , those little automata , or self moving things , how admirable a production is it ! it becomes no man to despise what no man can imitate . we praise the pencil that well describes the external figure of such an animalculum , such a little creature , but the internal vital , self moving power , and the motion itself , what art can express ! but an humane life how important a thing is it ! t was one of plato's thanksgivings that god had made him a man ! how careful a guard hath god set over every mans life ! fencing it by the severest law. if any man shed mans blood , by man shall his blood be shed ; and how weighty is the annexed reason ! for in the image of god he made man. this then highly greatens this matter . he therefore reserves it wholly to himself , as one of his peculiarities , to dispose of such a life ! i am he that kills and makes alive . we find it one of his high titles , the god of the spirits of all flesh . he had what was much greater to glory in , that he was the father of spirits , indefinitely spoken when he hath all the heavenly regions , the spacious hades , peopled with such inhabitants whose dwelling is not with flesh ; ( and for vast multitudes of them ) that never was , that yet , looking down into this little world of ours , this minute spot of his creation , and observing that here were spirits dwelling in flesh ▪ he should please to be s●yl●d also the god of those spirits , signifies this to be with him too an appropriate glory , a glory which he will not communicate farther then he communicates godhead . and that he held it a divine right to measure the time unto each of them of their abode in flesh , & determine when they shall dislodge . this cannot be thought on-aright , without a becoming , most profound reverence of him on this account . how sharp a rebuke is given to that haughty prince , the god in whose hands thy breath is hast thou not glorified . that would prepare the way , and we should be easily led on , were we once come to think with reverence , to think also with pleasure , of this case , that our life , and every breath we draw , is under such a divine superintendency . the h. psalmist speaks of it with high complacency , as the matter of his song , that he had a god presiding over his life . so he tells us he would have each 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , composed not more of night and day , than of prayer and praise directed to god under this notion , as the god of his life , psal. 42.8 . and he speaks it not grudgingly , but as the ground of his trust and boast , psal. 31.14 , 15. — i trusted in thee , o lord , i ●aid thou art my god , my times are in thy hand . that this key is in the hand of the great emmanuel , god with us , will be thought on with frequency , when it is thought on with delight . 3. our life on earth is under the constant strict observation of our lord christ. he waits when to turn the key , and shut it up . thro' the whole of that time , which , by deferring , he measures out to us , we are under his eye as in a state of probation . he takes continual notice how we acquit our selves . for his turning the key , at last , is a judicial act ; therefore supposes diligent observation , and proceeds , upon it . he that hath this key , is also said in the next chapter , verse 18. to have eyes like a flame of fire ; with these he observes what he hath against one or another , ver . 20. and , with most indulgent patience gives a space of repentance , ver . 21. and notes it down , if any then repent not , as we there also find . did secure sinners consider this , how he beholds them with a flame in his eye , and the key in his hand , would they dare still to trifle ? if they did apprehend how he , in this posture , stands over them , in all their vain dalliances , idle impertinencies , bold adventures , insolent attempts against his laws , and gover●ment , presumptuous affronts of his high authority ; yea or but in their drowsie slumbrings , their lingering delays , their neglects of offered grace . did they consider what notice he takes how they demean themselves under every sermon they hear , in every prayer wherein they are to joyn with others , or which perhaps , for customs sake , they put up alone by themselves . how thei● hearts are mov'd , or unmov'd by every repe●ted call that is given them to turn to god , & get their peace made by application of their redeemer's reconciling blood. in what agonies would they be ! what pangs of trembling would they feel within themselves , lest the key should turn , before their great work be done ! 4. whatsoever ill designs by this observation he discovers , 't is easie to him to prevent . one turn of this key of death ( besides the many other ways that are obvious to him ) disappoints them all , and in that day all their thoughts perish . 't is not therefore from inadvertency , indifferency , or impotency , but deep counsel , that they are permitted to be driven on so far . he that sitteth in the heavens laughs , and he knows their day is coming . he can turn this key when he will. 5. his power as to every ones death cannot be avoided , or withstood . the act of this key is definitive , and ends the business . no man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit ; nor hath he power in death , eccles. 8.8 . 't is in vain to struggle , when the key is turn'd ; the power of the keys , where it is supremely lodg'd , is absolutely decisive , and their effect permanent and irrevocable . that soul therefore for whose exit the key is turned , must thereupon then forthwith depart , willing or unwilling , ready or unready . 6. souls that go out of this world of ours , on the turn of this key , go not out of being . he that hath this key of death , hath also the key of hades , a key and a key . when he uses the former , to let them out from this , he uses the latter , to give them their inlet into the other world , and into the one or the other part of it ; into the upper , or the lower hades , as the state of their case is , and doth require . our business is not now with pagans , to whom the oracles of god are unknown : if it were , the best and wisest of them who so commonly speak of souls going into hades , never thought of their going no whither ; nor therefore that they were nothing . they had reasons , then , which they thought cogent , that induced them , tho' unassisted with divine revelation , to conclude they surviv'd their forsaken bodies . and what else could any unbrib'd understanding conclude , or conceive ? when we find they have powers belonging to them , which we can much more easily apprehend capable of being acted , without help from the body , than by it ? we are sure they can form thoughts , purposes desires , hopes ; for it is matter of fact , they do it ; and coherent thoughts , and thoughts arising from thoughts one , from another . yea & thoughts abstracted from any thing corporeal , the notions of right and wrong , of vertue and vice , of moral good , and evil with some agreeable resolves , thoughts quite above the sphere of matter , so as to form a notion of the mind , it self , of a spiritual being , as unexceptionable a one as we can form of a body . yea of an original self subsistent mind and spi●i● , the former and maker of all other . t is much more apprehensible , since we certainly know that all this is done , that it is done without any help of the body , than how flesh , or blood , or bones , or nerves , or brains , or any corporeal th●ng , should contribute to such methods of thinking , or to any thought at all . and if it can be conceiv●d that a spirit can act without dependence on a body , what should hinder but we may as well conceive it to subsist and live without such dependence ? and when we find this power of thought belongs to somewhat in us that lives , since the deserted carkass thinks not , how reasonable is it to suppose , that as the body lives not of it self , or life is not essential to it , for life may be retir'd and gone , and it remain , as we see it doth , the same body still , that the soul to which the power of thought belongs , l●ves of it self , not independently on the first cause , but essentially , so as to receive life , and essence together from that cause , or life included in its essence , so as that it shall be the same thing to it to be , and to live . and hereupon how obvious is it to apprehend that the soul is such a thing as can live in the body ; which when it doth , the body lives by it a precarious borrowed life ; and that can live out of the body , leaving it , when it doth so , to drop and die . these sentiments were so reasonable , as generally to prevail with the more deeply thinking part of mankind , philosophers of all sorts ( a few excepted , whose notions were manifestly formed by vicious inclination ) in the pagan world , where was nothing higher than reason to govern . but we have life and immortality brought to light in the gospel , and are forewarned by it that these will be the measures of the final judgment , to give eternal life at last to them who by a patient continuance in well-doing , seek honour , glory and immortality . to the rest , indignation , and wrath , &c. because there is no respect of persons with god. as supposing the discovery of another world , even by natural light ( much more by the addition of supernatural ) to be so clear , as that the rule of the vniversal judgment , even for all , is most righteously to be taken from hence , and that there is nothing but a resolution of living wickedly , to be opposed to it . it is also no slight consideration that a susceptibleness of religion should among the creatures that dwell on earth be so appropriate , and peculiar to man , and ( some rare instances excepted ) as far diffused , as humane nature . so as to induce some very considering men , of the antients , as well as moderns , both pagans and christians , to think religion the more probable specifying difference of man , than reason . and whence should so common an impression be , but from a cause as common ? or how can we avoid to think that this signature upon the soul of man , a capacity of religion should be from the same hand that formed the spirit of man within him , and that a natural religiousness , and humane nature it self , had the same author . but who sees not that religion as such , hath a final reference to a future state ? he was no despicable writer ( tho' not a christian ) that positively affirmed , hope towards god to be essential to man ; and that they that had it not , were not partakers of the rational nature . 't is so much the more a deplorable and monstrous thing , that so many , not only against the light of their own reason , but of divine revelation , are so industrious to unman themselves . and having so effectually in a great degree done it really , and in practice , aim to do it in a more compendious way notionally , and in principle too . and make use ( or shew ) of reason to prove themselves not to be reasonable creatures : or to divest themselves of the principal dignity , and distinction of the rational nature . and are incomparably herein more unnatural than such as we commonly count 〈◊〉 upon themselves , who only act against their own bodily life , but these against the much nobler life of their soul ; they against the life of an individual ; these against their own whole species , at once . and how deplorable is their case , that count it their interest , to be in no possibility of being happy ! when yet their so great dread of a future state , as to urge them upon doing the most notorious violence to their own faculties to rid themselves of it , is a very convictive argument of its reality . for their dread still pursues , and sticks close to them . this shews it lies deep in the nature of things which they cannot alter . the terrible image is still before their eyes ; and their principal refuge lies only in diverting , in not attending to it . and they can so little trust to their own sophistical reasonings against it , that when they have done all they can , they must owe what they have of ease and quiet in their own minds , not so much to any strength of reason they apprehend in their own thoughts , as in not thinking . a bold jeast may sometimes provoke others laughter , when it doth not extinguish their own fear . a suspicion a formido oppositi will still remain , a misgiving , that they cannot nullifie the great hades , pull down the spacious fabrick of heaven , or undermine the profound abyss of hell by a profane scoff . they will in time discern the difference between the evanid passion of a sudden fright , that takes its rise from imagination , and the fixed dread which is founded in the reason of things . as one may between a fright in a dream , and the dread of a condemned criminal , with whom , sleeping , and waking , the real state of his case is still the same . nor are the things themselves , remote , or unconnected , god's right to punish a reasonable creature that hath liv'd in contempt of him , and his own reasonable apprehension hereof , or his conscience both of the fact and desert . they answer as face to face , as the stamp on the seal , and the impression on the wax . they would sain make their reason a protection against their fear , but ●h●t cannot serve both ways . the reason of the thing lies against them already , and there cannot be an eternal war between the faculty and the object . one way or other the latter will over-power the former , and draw it into consent with it self : either by letting it see there is a just true cause of fear , or ( assisted by divine grace ) prevail for the change of the sinners course . whereupon that troublesome fear , and its cause , will both upon the best terms cease together : and that what hath been proposed to consideration under this head , may be the more effectually considered , to this blessed purpose . i add that , 7. the discovery of the invisible world , and the disposal of affairs there , have a most encourageing aspect upon this world. for both the discovery and the disposal are by our blessed redeemer , in whom mercy and might are met in highest perfection . how fragrant breathings of grace , how glorious a display of power are there , in what he here says , fear not ! i am the first and the last ; i am he that liveth and was dead , and i am alive for evermore , amen . and i have the keys of hades and of death . he hath opened the celestial hades to our view , that it might be also open to our safe entrance and blissful inhabitation . he who was dead , but liveth and had made his victorious triumphant entrance before us , and for us : he who had overcome him that had the power of d●ath — conquer'd the gigantick monster at the gate , gain'd the keys , and designed herein their deliverance from the fear of death , who were thereby subject to bondage , heb. 2.14 , 15. he who hath abolished death , and brought life and immortality to light in the gospel , 2 tim. 1.10 . 't is he who bids us lift up our eyes , and behold the heavens opened , and himself standing at the right hand of god. the horrid , infernal hades , he hath discovered too , only that we might fear and shun it . but yet more distinctly consider , why doth he here represent himself under this character , he that liveth and was dead ? but that he might put us in mind of that most convictive argument of his love , his submitting to die for us . greater love hath no man — and that he might at once , put us out of doubt concerning his power , that he yet survives , and is sprung up alive out of that death , victorious over it : how amiable is the representation of such power in conjunction with such love ! the same person having an heart so replenish't with love , an hand so armed with power , neither capable of unkind design , or unable to effect the most kind . behold him in this representation ! who would not now fall at his foot and adore ! who would hesitate at resigning to him , or be appalled at his disclosure of this unknown world ! do but consider him who makes the discovery , and who would not expect from him the utmost efforts of love and goodness ? from him who is the brightness of his fathers glory , and the express image of his person ! his essential image who is love ! from him who came into this wretched world of ours full of grace and truth ! and who could not have come but by the inducement of compassion to our miseries . from him who knows all things , and whose ●ye penetrates into every recess of the vast hades : all his own empire , in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge : put who only knows not to deceive : who hath told us , in his fathers house are many mansions , and if it were not so , would have told us that , joh. 14.2 . from him into whose mouth guile never entred , but into whose lips grace was poured , and is poured out by them ; so that the ear that hath heard him hath born him witness , and filled with wonder those that heard the gracicious words which came out of his mouth . who hath told us all concerning that unseen world , that in this our present state it was fit for us to know ; and enough , in telling all that will be his followers , that where he is , there he will have them be , joh. 17.24 . and consider the manifest tendency of the discovery it self . what doth it mean or tend to , but to undeceive miserable mortals , whom he beholds from his high throne mock'd with shadows , beguiled with most delusive impostures , and easily apt to be imposed upon ? foolish , deceived , serving divers lusts and pleasures ; feeding upon ashes , and wearying themselves for very vanity ; sporting themselves in the dust of this minute spot of earth ; wasting their little inch of time , wherein they should prepare for translation into the regions of unseen glory . to these he declares he hath formed a kingdom for all that cover to mend their states , and that his kingdom is not of this world ; that for such as will be of this kingdom , he will provide better , having other worlds , the many heavens above all which he is ascended , at his dispose , ephes. 4.10 . but they must seek this kingdom and the righteousness of it in the first place ; and desist from their care about other things . he counsels and warns them not to lay up their treasure on earth — but in heaven , and to let their hearts be there with their treasure . and what can withstand his power who having been dead liveth victorious over him that had the power of death ; and is alive for evermore possest of an eternal state of life . and have we not reason to expect the most equal and most benign disposal of things in that unseen world : when he also declares i have the keys , rightful authority , as well as mighty power , to reward and punish ? none but who have a very ill mind can fear from him an ill management . he first became capable of dying , and then yielded himself to die , that he might obtain these keys for gracious purposes . he had them before to execute just vengeance , as he was originally in the ●orm of god , and without robbery equal with god ; an equal sharer in sustaining the wrong that had been done by apostate rebels , and an equal sharer in the right of vindicating it . but that he might have these keys to open the heavenly hades to reduc'd apostates , to penitent believing , self-devoting sinners , for this it was necessary , he ●●ould put on man , be found here in fashion as a man , take on him the fo●m of a se●vant , become obedient to death ( even that servile punishment , the death of the cro●s , phil. 2.7 , 8. for this he is highly exalted into this power , that every knee might bow to him , — in hope of saving mercy , ver . 9 , 10. compared with , isa 45.22 , 23. he had the keys without this , of the supernal hades to shut out all offenders , and of the infernal to shut them up for ever . but that he might have them to absolve repenting believers , and admit them into heaven , and only to shut up in hell implacable enemies . for this he must die , and live again . he was to be slain and hanged on a tree , that he might be a prince and a saviour to give repentance and remission of sin , act. 5.30 , 31. that to this intent he might be lord of the dead and the living , he must both die and rise , and live so as to die no more , rom. 14.9 . these keys for this purpose , he was only to have upon these terms . he had a right to punish as an offended god , but to pardon and save , as a mediating sin expiating god-man but as he was to do the part of a mediator , he must act equally between the disagreeing parties : he was to deal impartially on both sides . to render back entire to the injur'd ruler of the world his violated rights , and to obtain for us his forfeited favour , as entire . and undertook therefore when as a sacrifice he was to be slain , to redeem us to god by his blood , rev. 5.9 . to give him back his revolted creature , holy , pure , subject and serviceable , as by his methods , he shall be at last ; and procure for him pardon , acceptance and eternal blessedness . when therefore he was to do for us the part of a redeemer , he was to redeem us from the curse of the law , not from the command of it ; to save us from the wrath of god , not from his government . had it been otherwise , so firm and indissoluble is the connection between our duty and 〈◊〉 f●licity , that the sovereign ruler had been eternally injured , and we not advantaged . were we to have been set free from the preceptive obligation of god's holy law , than most of all from that most fundamental precept , thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thine heart , soul , might and mind . had this been redemption ? which supposes only what is evil and hurtful , as that we are to be redeemed from . this were a strange sort of self-repugnant redemption , not from sin and misery , but from our duty and felicity . this were so to be redeemed as to be still lost , and every way lost , both to god , and to our selves for ever . redeemed from loving god! what a monstrous thought ! redeemed from what is the great active and fruitive principle . the source of obedience and blessedness . the eternal spring , even in the heavenly state , of adoration and fruition . this had been to legitimate everlasting enmity and rebellion against the blessed god , and to redeem us into an eternal hell of horrour and misery to our selves ! this had been to cut off from the supream ruler of the world for ever ; so considerable a ●imb of his most rightful dominion , and to leave us as miserable , as everlasting separation from the fountain of life and blessedness could make us . when therefore our lord jesus christ was to redeem us from the curse of the law , it was that the promised spirit might be given to us , gal. 3.13 , 14. who should write the law in our hearts , jer. 31.33 . ezek. 36.27 . fulfil the righteousness of it in us , by causing us to walk after his dictates , according to that law , regenerating us , begetting us after gods image , and making us partakers of a godlike nature : so we through the law bec●me dead to the malediction and curse of it , that we may live to god more devoted lives than ever , gal. 2.19 . thus is gods lost creature given back to him with the greatest advantage also to it self . with this design it is apparent our lord redeemed us , and by his redemption acquired these keys . nor are we to doubt , but in the use of them , he will dispense exactly according to this just and merciful design . and what a perverse distorted mind is that , which can so much as wish it should be otherwise ? viz. that he should save us to the eternal wrong of him that made us , and so as that we should be nothing the better , i. e. that he should save us without saving us ? and hath this no pleasant comfortable aspect upon a lost world ? that he who hath these keys , will use them for such purposes , i. e. to admit to eternal bliss , and save to the uttermost all that will come to god by him not willing to be everlastingly alienated from the life of god ) because he ever lives to make intercession , or to transact and negotiate for them , ( as that word signifies ) and that in a rightful way ▪ and even by the power of these keys ! 8. that there must be some important reason why the other world is to us unseen , and so truly bears the name of hades . this expresses the state of the case as in fact it is , tha it is a world lying out of our sight , and into which our dim and weak eye cannot penetrate : that other state of things is spoken of therefore as hidden from us by a vail . when our lord jesus is said to have passed into the heavens , heb. 4.14 . he is also said to have entered into that within the vail , heb. 16.19 , 20. alluding to that in the temple of solomon , and before that , in moses's tabernacle ; but expresly signifying that the holy places into which christ entred , not those made with hands , which were the figure of the true , but heaven it self , filled with the glorious presence of god , where he appears for us , heb. 9.24 . is also vailed from us . as also the glory of the other state is said to be a glory as yet to be revealed , rom. 8.18 . and we are told , job 26.9 . the great god holdeth back the face of his throne , and above , ver . 6. 't is represented as a divine prerogative , that sheol which is there groundlesly rendred hell ) the vast hades , is only naked before him , lies entirely open to his view , and therein the dark and horrid part of it destruction ( by which peculiarly must be meant hell ) is to him without a covering , not mo●e hidden from his eye . which shews this to be the divine pleasure ; so god will have it be , who could have expos'd all to common view , if he had pleased . but because he orders all things according to the counsel of his will , ephes. 1.11 . we must conceive some weighty reason did induce hereto , that whatsoever lies beyond this present state of things should be concealed from our immediate view , and so come uno nomine , to be all called hades . and if the reason of gods conduct , and the course of his dispensation herein had been equally hidden , as that state it self is , it had been a bold presumption to enquire and prie into it ; modesty and reverence should have restrained us . but when we find it holds a manifest agreement with other parts of his counsel , that are sufficiently revealed ; and that the excellency of the divine wisdom is most conspicuous and principally to be beheld and admired , in ordering the apt congruities and correspondencies of things with each other , and especially of the ends he proposes to himself , with the methods and ways he takes to effect them ; 't were very great oscitancy , and an undutiful negligence not to observe them , when they stand in view , that we may render him his due acknowledgments , and honour thereupon . 't is manifest that as god did not create man , at first , in that which he designed to be his final state , but as a probationer , in a state of trial , in order to a further state : so when he apostatized and fell from god , he was graciously pleased to order for him a new tryal , and put him into the hands of his merciful redeemer , who is intrusted with these keys , and with the power of life and death over him , to be managed and exercised according to the terms plainly set down and declared in his gospel . wheresoever he is with sufficient evidence revealed and made known , men immediately come under obligation to believe in him , to intrust and commit themselves into the same hands ; to rely upon the truth of his word , in every thing he reveals , as the ground of their submitting to his authority in every thing he requires . what concerns their present practice , he hath plainly shewn them , so much as it was requisite they should preapprehend of future retributions , rewards and punishments he hath revealed also ; not that they should have the knowledge hereof by immediate inspection , but by taking his word . that as their first transgression was founded in infidelity ; that they did not believe god , but a lying spi●it against him ; their first step in their recovery , and return to god , should be to believe him , and take his word about things th●y have themselves no immediate sight or knowledge of . this point was by no means to be quitted to the first apostates . as if gods saying to them , if you transgress , you shall die , or go into hades , was no sufficient inforcement of the precept , unless he had given them a distinct view of the states of felicity , or misery , which their obedience , or disobedience would lead them into . this had been to give away the whole cause to the revolted rebels , and rather to con●ess errour and oversight in the divine government , than impute fault to the impugners of it ! this being the state of the case , how suitable had it been to the design of this second trial to be made with men , to withdraw the vail , and let every ones own eyes be their informers of all the glories of the heavenly state ! and hereupon proclaim and preach the gospel to them , that they should all partake herein , that would entirely deny themselves , come off from their own bottom , give themselves up absolutely to the interest , love , service and communion of their redeemer , and of god in him ? to fortifie them against the assaults and dangers of their earthly pilgrimage by reversing that rule , the just shall live by faith ; even that faith which is the substance of the things hoped for , and the evidence of things not seen ; or by inverting the method , that in reference to such things , we are to walk by faith , not by sight , and letting it be . we are to walk by sight , not by faith ! and that lest any should refuse such compliance with their great lord , whole hades , should be no longer so , but made naked before them , and the covering of hell and destruction be taken off , and their own eyes behold the infernal horrors , & their own ears hear the shrieks and howlings of accursed creatures , that having rejected their redeemer , are rejected by him . we are not here to consider , what course would most certainly effect their salvation , but what most became the wise holy god , to preserve the dignity of his own government , and save them too , otherwise almighty power could save all at once . as therefore we have cause to acknowledge the kindness and compassion of our blessed lord , who hath these keys , in giving us for the kind , such notices as he hath , of the state of the things in hades . so we have equal cause to admire his wisdom , that he gi●es us not those of another kind , that should more powerfully strike sense and amaze us more , but instruct us less that continues it to be hades still , a state of things to us unseen as yet . as the case would have been on the other supposition , the most generous noble part of our religion had been sullied or lost ; & the tryal of our faith — which is to be found unto praise , honour and glory at the appearin● of jesus christ , even upon this account , that they who had not seen him in his mean circumstances on earth , nor did now see him , amidst all the glories of his exalted state , yet believing , lov'd him , and rejoyced in him with joy unspeakable , and full of glory , 1 pet. 1.7 , 8. this faith , and all the glorious tryals of it , with its admirable atchievements , and performances , whereby the elders heretofore obtained so good a report , and high renown on earth , and which filled the world with wonder , had all vanished into obscurity and darkness , i. e. if they had believed no more , or no greater things , than every man besides , had the immediate view of by his own eye-sight . and yet the trial had been greater , on another account , than the divine wisdom in conjunction with goodness , and compassion , thought fit ordinarily to put sincere christians upon . for who could with any tolerable patience have endured longer abode on earth , after they should once have had the glory of the heavenly state immediately set in view before their eyes ! especially considering , not so much the sufferings , as the impurities of their present state ! what for great reason was a special vouchsafement to one apostle was for as great to be common to all christians . how great is the wisdom and mercy of our blessed lord in this partial concealment of our future state , and that while so much as is sufficient is revealed , there is yet an hades upon it , and it may still be said , it doth not yet appear what we shall be , 1 joh. 3.2 . but as these majestick life-breathing words of our great lord , do plainly offer the things that have been mentioned ( and many more such that might occur ) to our thoughts and meditation ; so will they be thought on in vain , if they be not followed and answered by suitable dispositions , and actions of heart and life . therefore the further use we are to make of this great subject will be to lay down 2. divers correspondent things to be practised and done , which must also suppose dispositions and frames of heart and spirit agreeable thereto . 1. let us live expecting a period to be ere long put to our life on earth for remember , there are keys put into a great hand for this very purpose , that holds them not in vain . his power is of equal extent with the law he is to proceed by . and by that it is appointed for all once to die. therefore as in the execution , he cannot exceed , so he will not come short of this appointment : when that once shall be , it belongs to him to determine . and from the course we may observe him to hold , as it is uncertain to all , it can be very remote to none . how short is the measure of a span ! 't is an absurd vanity ●o promise our selves that which is in the power of another . how wise and prudent a thing to accommodate our selves composedly to his pleasure , in whose power we are ! and to live as men continually expecting to die ! there are bands of death out of which , when they once take hold , we cannot free our selves . but there are also bands of life , not less troublesome or dangerous . 't is our great concern to be daily by degrees , loosening and disentangling our selves from these bands ; and for preventing the necessity of a violent rupture , to be daily disingaging our hearts from an ensnaring world , and the too close embraces of an over indulged body . tell them resolutely , i must leave them , whensoever my great lord turns the key for me , and i know not how soon that may be . it is equally unhappy and foolish to be ingaged in the pursuit of an impossibility ; or in a war with necessity , the former whereof cannot be obtained , the latter cannot but overcome . we owe so much to our selves , and to the ease and quiet of our own minds , to be reconciled , at all times , to that which may befal us at any time . how confounding a thing is surprizal by that which our selves regret and dread ! how unaccountable and ignominious must it be to pretend to be surprized with what we have so great reason always to expect ! and whereof we are so oft forewarned ! is it no part of christian watchfulness to wait for such an hour ? tho' that waiting all the days of our appointed time , mentioned john 14.14 . refers to another change than that of death , viz. ( as the foregoing and following verses shew ) that of the resurrection , yet it cannot but be equally requisite , upon a no less important reason . and the requests , that the lord would make us know our end , and the measure of our days that we may know how frail we are , psal. 39.4 . and that he would teach us so to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom , psal 90.12 . are equally monitory to the same purpose , as the most express precepts : as also the many directions we have to watch and wait for our lords appearance and coming are as applicable to this purpose . for whensoever his key opens our passage out of this world , and these bodies , hades opens too , and he particularly appears to us , in as decisive a judgment of our case , as his universal appearance and judgment will at last give for all . the placid agreement of our minds and spirits with divine determination , both as to the thing , and time , of our departure hence , will prevent the trouble and ungratefulness of being surpriz'd ; and our continual expectation of it , will prevent any surprizal at all let this then be an agreed resolution with us , to endeavour being in such a posture , as that we may be capable of saying , lord whensoever thou shalt move thy key , and tell me this night , or this hour , i 'll require thy soul , thou shalt not , o lord , prevent mine expectation , or ever find me counting upon many years injoyment of any thing this world can entertain me with . in further pursuance hereof , 2. be not over-intent on designs for this present world ; which would suppose you to count upon long abode in it . let them be always laid with a supposition , you may this way , even , by one turn of this key , be prevented of bringing them about ; and let them be pursued with indifferency , so as that disappointment even this way , may not be a grievance . a thing made up of thought and design , as our mind and spirit naturally is , will be designing one way or other ; nor ought we to attempt that violence upon our own natures , as to endeavour the stupifying of the intelligent , designing mind , which the author of nature hath put into us . only let us so lay our designs , as that how many soever we form , that may be liable to this sort of disappointment ; we may still have one greater and more important , so regularly and surely laid , that no turn of this key shall be in any possibility to frustrate , but promote it rather ▪ the design for the kingdom of god to be first sought , with his righteousness , mat. 6.33 . or which is pu●sued by seeking glory , honour ▪ and immortality , to the actual attainment of eternal life , rom. 2.7 . may , if prescribed methods be duly observed , have this felicity always attending it , to be ●ucessfully pursued , while we live , and effected when we die , but this is an unaccountable vanity under the sun , that men too generally form such , projects that they are disappointed both when they do not compass them , and when they do . if they do not , they have lost their labour , if they do they are not worth it . they dream they are eating , and injoying the fruit of their labour , but they awake , and their soul is empty . and if at length they think of laying wiser and more valuable designs , the key turns , and not having fixed their resolution , and begun aright , they and all their thoughts ( foolish or more wise ) perish together . because there is a fit season for every fit undertaking , a time , and judgment for every purpose , or a critical time , such as is by judgment affixt to every such purpose , eccles. 8.6 . and because also men know not their time , c. 9.12 . therefore their misery is great upon the earth , and as birds caught in a snare , they are snared in an evil time that falleth suddenly upon them . o miserable , miserable mortals ! so are your immortal spirits misimployed and lost ! their most valuable design for another world is seldom thought on in season , their little designs for this world they contrive and p●osecute with that confidence , as if they thought the world to be theirs , and themselves their own , and they had no ●ord over them . this rude insolence that holy apostle animadverts upon , of such as say , to day or to morrow we will goe to such a city , and continue there a ●ear , and buy and sell , and get gain , whereas they know not what shall be on the morrow . and what is their life ? a vapour , &c. so much of duty , and becoming behaviour is in the mean time forgotten as to say , if the lord will we shall live , &c. this is to bear themselves as absolute masters of their own lives . how bold an affront to their soveraign lord ? they feel themselves well in health , strength , and vigour , and seem resolved it shall be a trial of skill who hath the power , or to whom the keys belong , till it come to the last irrefragable demonstration , that he changes their countenance and sends them away , joh. 14.20 . and then they go driven , pluckt , and torn away from their dwelling-place rooted out of the land of the living , psal. 2.55 . but if any premonitory decays make them doubt the perpetuity of their own abode here , they some what ease their minds by the pleasure they take in thinking , when they have filled their own bellies , psal. 17.14 . what they shall leave of their substance to their babes , and to them that shall come after . and their inward thought is , that their houses shall continue for ever , and their dwelling places to all generations ; and they call their lands after their own names , and their posterity approve their sayings , think and act as wisely as they , psal 49.11 , 12. — thus they take upon them , and reckon they for their time , and theirs after them shall still dwell in their own a wise thought ! they are the owners when another keeps the keys . several other things of like import , i shall more lightly touch , that may be collected from what hath been already more largely said , and leave to be further enlarged upon , in your own thoughts , and shall dilate more upon some other , as they are either more material , or less thought on by the most . 3. be not prodigal of your time on earth , which is so little in your power . because you are not to expect much , make the best use you can of your little . 't is so precious a thing that it is to be redeemed , 't is therefore too precious to be embezelled and trifled away . the connexion of those two precepts , ephes. 5.15 , 16. of walking circumspectly not as fools , but as wise , and that of redeeming the time more than intimates , that to squander time is a foolish thing . of the several sorts of things that we make our selves , their shape and frame , shews their use and end . are we to make a less judicious estimate of the works of god ? if we therefore contemplate our selves , and consider what a sort of production man is , can we allow our selves to think god made him a reasonable creature on purpose to play the fool ? or can we live as if we thought so , without reproaching our maker ? but whereas he who hath been the author to us of such a nature , capable of improving a lifes time in this world unto most valuable purposes , hath also been the autho● of such a law , requiring us to red●em time . the reproach will be wholly turned off from him upon our selves , and our consequent ruine be upon our own guilty heads . and he will find some among our selves , who by the advantage only of the reasonable nature , common to us and them ; that are instructors to us , not to waste our days in vanity , and will be witnesses against us if we so foolishly consume , what we cannot command . some such have unanswerably reprehended the common folly of those that dread the thought of throwing away their whole life at once , that yet have no regret at throwing it all away by parcels and piece-meal . and have told us a wise man can find nothing of that value , for which to barter away his time * . and we are to consider , that as we are reasonable creatures we are accountable . that we are shut up in these bodies , as in work-houses . that when he that keeps the keys lets us out , we are to receive the things done in the body , according to what we have done , whether good or evil , — 2 cor. 5.10 . that it belongs to him that measures our time to censure it too , and the use we have made of it . 4. let him be at once both great and amiable in our eyes , who hath so absolute power over us , and so gracious propensions towards us , i. e. who hath these keys , and who acquired them with so merciful intentions , even upon such terms as could not but signifie the greatest compassion and good will towards such as we . reconsider , what hath been offered as matter of meditation , to both these purposes . and now , hereupon , let us endeavour to have a correspondent sense , inwrought into our hearts , and to bear our selves towards him accordingly . the power and efficacy of whole christianity depends upon this , and doth very principally consist in it . what a faint , impotent , languishing thing is our religion , how doth it dwindle into spritless , dead form without it ? either the form of knowledge is nothing else but insipid dead notion ; and our forms of worship , only fruitless unpleasant formality , if we have not a vivid sense in our hearts both of his glorious greatness , and of his excellent loving kindness . as much as words can signifie towards the impressing such a sense into our hearts , we have in these words , uttered from his own mouth , so that he may say as that memorable type of him once did , you may plainly perceive , it is my mouth that speaketh to you . i am the first and the last . i am he that liveth and was dead , and behold i am alive for evermore . and hereto he now sets his solemn ratifying seal , amen . wherewith he leaves us to pause , and collect , that thus it was brought about , that he could add , and i have the keys of the vast hades , the whole unseen world , and of death . and god forbid that , now , these words should be with us an empty sound , or a dead letter ! let us cast in our minds what manner of saluta●ion this should be ! doth the son of god thus vouchsafe to bespeak miserable abjects , perishing , lost wretches ! how can we hereupon but bow our heads and worship ! what agitations of affection should we feel within ! how should all our internal powers be moved ! and our whole souls made as the chariots of amminadib . what can we now be unwilling of , that he would have us be , or do ? and as that , whereof we may be assured , he is most willing . 5. let us entirely receive him , and absolutely resign our selves to him , as our prince and saviour . who would not covet to be in special relation to so mighty , and so kind a lord ! and can you think to be related to him , upon other terms ? and do you not know that upon these ▪ you may ? when in his gospel he offers himself , and demands you . what can that mean but that you are to receive him , and resign your selves ? the case is now brought to this state , that you must either comply , or rebel . and what ? rebel against him who hath these keys , who is in so high authority over the whole unseen world ! who is the head of all principality and power , who is gone into the heavens , the glorious upper hades , and is at the right hand of god , angels , authorities , powers being made subject to him , 1 pet. 3.21 . we little know or can conceive as yet , the several orders and distinctions of the celestial inhabitants , and their great and illustrious princes and potentates , thrones , dominions , &c. that all pay him a dutiful and a joyful subjection and obedience . but do we not know god hath given him a name above every name ? and that in his name ( or at it , as it may be read , i. e. in acknowledgment of his sovereign power , every knee must bow , of things in heaven , on earth and under earth , and all confess that he is lord to the praise and glory of god the father ? and who art thou , perishing wretch ! that dar'st dispute his title ? or that when all the creation must be subject to him , wilt except thy self ? and when it cost him so dear , that his vast power might be subservient to a design of ●race , and thou must at last be saved by him , or lost for ever . what can tempt thee to stand out against such power , and such grace ? if thou wert to gratifie thy ambition , how glorious a thing is it to be a christian ! a subject , a devoted homager to so mighty a prince ! if to provide against thy necessity , and distress , what course can be so sure and successful , as to fly for refuge to so compassionate a saviour ! and dost thou not know there must be to this purpose , an express transaction between him and thee ? wonder he will condescend to it ! to capitulate with dust and ashes ! to article with his own creature , with whom he may do what he will ! but his merciful condescension herein is declared and known . if there shall be a special relation settled betwen him and thee , he hath told thee in what way it must be , i. e. by way of covenant-transaction , and agreement , as he puts his people of old in mind , his way was with them ; i entred into covenant with thee , and thou becamest mine , ezek. 16.8 . this i insist upon and press , as a thing of the greatest importance imaginable , and the least thought of : nor the strange incongruity animadverted on , viz. that we have the seals of such a covenant among us , but the covenant it self slips through our hands . our baptism soon after we were born , with some foederal words then , is thought enough , as if we were a nation of always minors . who ever therefore thou art , that hearest these words , or readest these lines ; know that the great lord is express towards thee in his gospel proposal . wilt thou accept me for thine , and resign thy self as mine ? he now expects and requires thy express answer . take his gospel as from the cross , or take it as from the throne , or as from both , 't is the same gospel interwoven of grace and authority , the richest grace , and the highest authority at once inviting and requiring thee to commit and submit thy self unto him . take heed lest his key turn before thou have given thy complying answer importing at once both thy trust and thy subjection . give not over pleading with thy self , with thy wayward stupid heart , till it can say to him , " lord , i ●ield , thou hast overcome . till with tender relentings thou hast thrown thy self at his feet , & told him , lord , i am ashamed , i am confounded within my self , that thou shouldst die upon a cross to obtain thy high power , and that thou art now ready to use it for the saving so vile a miscreant as i ! that when thou hast so vast an unknown world , so numberless myriads of excellent creatures in thy obedience , thou shouldst yet think it worth thy while to look after me ! and that i should so long have withstood thy kind and gracious overtures and intendments ! o forgive my wicked aversion ! i now accept and resign . and now this being sincerely done , with fulness of consent , with deep humility , with yearning bowels , with unfeigned thankfulness , and an inward complacency , and gladness of heart . 6. let your following course in this world be ordered agreeably hereto , in continued dependence , and subjection . as we have received christ jesus , the lord , so we are to walk in him , col. 2.6 . take him according to the titles here given him , as christ — , a person anointed , authorized , qualified to be both , jesus , a saviour , so we are to walk ( according to our first reception of him , ) in continual dependence on his saving mercy , and and to be a lord , or as 't is here exprest with eminency , the lord , so we are to walk in continual subjection to his governing power . otherwise our receiving him , at first , under these notions , hath nothing in it but mockery and collusion . but if his obtaining these keys , upon the terms here exprest , as having been dead , and now living , and having overcome death ( as 't is also rom. 14.9 . ) did signifie his having them for saving purposes , as it must , since for other purposes , he had them sufficiently before ; and if we reckon'd this a reasonable inducement to receive him , and commit and intrust our selves to him as a saviour , that he dy'd , and overcame death ? for his grace in yielding to die , had not rendred him a competent object of trust , otherwise than in conjunction with his power in overcoming death , and so gaining into his hands these keys : then , the same reason still remaining , how constant an encouragement have we to continue accordingly walking in him all our days ! how potent an argument should it be to us , to live that life which we live in the flesh , by faith in the son of god who loved us , and gave himself for us ? gal. 2.20 . i. e. inasmuch , as having been crucify'd with him ( which is also there exprest ) we feel our selves to live nevertheless ; yet so as that 't is not so much we that live , as christ that liveth in us ; who could not live in us , or be to us a spring of life , if he were not a perpetual spring of life , in himself . and consider , how darest thou live otherwise in this flesh , in this earthly house , whereof he keeps the keys , and can fetch thee out at his pleasure ? when he hath warned thee to abide in him , that when he shall appear , thou mayest have confidence , and not be ashamed at his coming , 1 joh. 2.28 . he will certainly then appear , when he comes to open the door , and dislodge thee from this flesh ( though there be here a further , and final reference to another appearance , and coming of his ) and if he then find thee severed , and disjoyned from him ( thy first closure with him , not having been sincere , truly unitive and vital ) how terribly will he look ! how confoundedly wilt thou look in that hour ! neither hast thou less reason to live in continual subjection to him , considering that as he dy'd , and overcame death that he might have these keys , so he now hath them , and thou art under his governing power . the more thou consider'st his right to govern , the less thou wilt dispute it . when he was spoken of as a child to us born , that he might become a man of sorrows , & be sorrowful unto the death , and have all the sorrows of death come upon him , he is at the same time said to be the mighty god , & it was declared the government should be upon his shoulders . as he was the first begotten from the dead , viz. both submitting to death , and conquering it ; so he was the prince of the kings of the earth , ( a small part of his kingdom too ) his throne being founded on his cross , his governing power , in his sacrifice , i. e. the power whereby he so governs , as that he may also save ; making these two things the salving the rights of the godhead , injured by sin , and the delivering of the sinner from an eternal ruine , to agree , and consist with one another . what an endearing obligation is this to obey ! that he will be the author of eternal salvation to them that obey him ! inasmuch as , while our obedience cannot merit the least thing from him , yet his vouchsafing to govern us doth most highly merit from us . for he governs by writing his law in the heart , which makes our heart agree with the law , and by implanting divine love in us , which vanquishes enmity and disaffection , and vertually contains in its self our obedience , or keeping his commandments , joh. 14.15 . and 23. 1 joh. 5.3 . therefore this government of his , over us , is naturally necessary to our salvation and blessedness , and is the inchoation and beginning of it ; as our perfected love to god , and conformity to his nature , and will , do involve and contain in themselves our compleat and perfect blessedness , with which a continued enmity , or a rebellious , mutinous disposition against god , is naturally inconsistent ; and would be to us , and in us , a perpetual , everlasting hell. there can therefore be no inthralling servitude in such obedience , but the truest liberty , that by which the son makes us free indeed , joh. 8.36 . yea a true sort of royalty : for hereby we come in the most allowable sense , to live as we will , our will being conformed to the will of god. whereupon that was no high extravagant rant , but a sober expression , we are born in a kingdom , to serve god is to reign . and we know this to be the will of god , that all should honour the son , as they honour the father . herewith will the evangelically obedient comport with high complacency ; accounting him most highly worthy that it should be so . wherein therefore the christian law seems strictest , and most rigorous in the enjoyned observance of our lord christ , herein we shall discern an unexceptionable reasonableness , and comply with a complacential approbation . and let us put our own hearts to it , and see that without regret , or obmurmuration they can readily consent to the equity of the precept . 't is enjoyned us ( constructively at least ) that because christ dy'd for us , when we were dead , quite lost in death , we that live hereupon , should settle this which our selves as a sixed judgment , and upon that intervening judgment , yield to the constraint of his love , so as henceforth no more to live to our selves , q. d. god forbid we should henceforth be so profane ! we must now for ever have done with that impious , unlawful way of living . what ? after this ! that we have so fully understood the state of our case , that we should be so assuming , as ever , again to offer at such a thing , as living to our selves , to make our selves deities to our selves : or to live otherwise than unto him who dyed for us and rose again , 2 cor. 5.14 , 15. this is high and great , and may seem strict and severe . what ? to hav● the whole stream of all the actions , and aims , the strength and vigour of our lives , to be carried in one entire undivided current unto him , and ( as it must be understood , gal. 2.19 . ) to god in him , so as never more to live to our selves , a divided , separate life apart from him ! or wherein we shall not finally , and more principally design for him ! how high is his claim ! but how equal and grateful to a right mind ! with what a plenitude of consent is every divine command , ( taking this into the account ) esteemed to be right in all things ! so as that whatsoever is opposite is hated as a false way , psal. 119.128 . and as the precept carries its own visible reason , the keeping of it carries its own reward in it self , psal 19.11 . and is it too much for him who bears these keys , and obtained them on such terms , and for such ends , to be thus affected towards him ! we are required , without exception , without limitation or reserve , whatsoever we do , whether in word or work , to do all in the name of our lord jesus christ , col. 3.17 . enquire we , do our hearts repine at this law ? do not we ? doth not this world owe so much to him ? why are we allowed a place and a time here ? why is not this world a flaming theatre ? is it not fit every one should know under whose government they live ? by whose beneficence , under whose protection , and in whose name they may act so , or so , and by whose authority ? either obliging , or not restraining them , requiring , or licensing them to do this or that ? doth this world owe less to him , that bears these keys , than egypt did to joseph , when thus the royal word went forth in reference to him ? i am pharaoh , and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of egypt ? how pleasant should it be to our souls , often to remember and think on that name of his which we bear , isa. 26.8 . mal. 3.18 . and draw in as vital breath , the sweet odours of it , cant. 1.3 . how glorious a thing should we count it , because he is the lord our god , to walk in his name for ever and ever , as all people will walk every one in the name of their god , mic. 4.5 . and then we shall account it no hard law , whatever we do , to do all in the name of our lord jesus , giving thanks to god the father by him , and for him ; blessing god every day , that we are put by him , under the mild and merciful government of a redeemer . then , we shall rejocyingly avow , as the apostle doth , 1 cor. 9.21 . that we are not without law to god , but under law to christ. vvhereupon , when you find your special relation is thus settled and fixed , unto the great lord both of this present visible world , and of hades , or the invisible world , also , by your solemn covenant with him , and evidenc't by the continued correspondency of your heart and life , your dispositions and actions thereunto . 7. do not regret or dread to pass out of the one world into the other at his call , and under his conduct , though through the dark , passage of death ; remembring the keys , are in so great and so kind a hand . and that his good pleasure herein is no more to be distrusted , than to be disputed or withstood . let it be enough to you , that what you cannot see your self , he sees for you . you have oft desired your ways , your motions , your removals from place to place , might be directed by him in the vvorld . have you never said if thou go not with me , carry me not hence ? how safely and fearlesly may you follow him blindfold or in the dark any whither ! not only from place to place , in this world , but from world to world ! how lightsome soever the one , and gloomy and dark the other may seem to you . darkness and light are to him alike . to him hades is no hades , nor is the dark way that leads into it to him an untrodden path . shrink not at the thoughts of this translation , though it be not by escaping death , but even through the jaws of it . vve commonly excuse our aversion to die , by alledging that nature regrets it . but we do not enough consider that in such a compounded sort of creature as we are ; the word nature must be ambiguous . there is in us a sensitive nature that regrets it ; but taking the case as it is now stated , can we think it tolerable , that it should be regretted by the reasonable nature ? unto which , if we appeal , can we suppose it so untrue to its self , as not to assert its own superiority ? or to judge it fit that an intelligent , immortal spirit , capable of so great things , in another world , should be content with a long abode here . only to keep a well-figured piece of flesh from putrifying , or give it the satisfaction of tasting meats , and drinks , that are grateful to it , for a few years ! and if for a few , why not for many ? and when those many were expired , why not for as many more ? and the same reason always remaining , why not for alwaies ? the case is thus put , because the common meaning of this allegation , that nature reg●ets or abhors this dissolution ; is not that they are concerned for their souls how it may fare with them in another world , which the most little mind or trouble themselves about ; but that they are to have what is grateful to them in this world. and was this the end a reasonable spirit , was made for , when , without reason , sense were alike capable of the same sort of gratifications ? vvhat law , what equity ? what rule of decency can oblige the soul of a man , capable of the society , and enjoyments of angels , to this piece of self-denial ▪ for the sake of his incomparably baser body ? or can make it fit that the nobler and more excellent nature , should be eternally subservient to the meaner , and more ignoble ? especially , considering that if ( according to the case supposed ) the two last foregoing directions be complyed with , there is a sort of divine nature superadded to the whole humane nature , that cannot but prompt the soul ennobled by it , to aspire to suitable , even to the highest , operations and enjoyments , whereof it is capable , and , which are not attainable in this present bodily state . and if there were still a dispute between nature and nature , it s enough that the great lord of hades , and of this present sensible world too , will determine it . in a far lower instance , when the general of an army commands it upon an enterprize , wherein life is to be hazarded , it would be an ill excuse of a cowardly declining , to say , their nature regrets and dreads the adventure . the thing is necessary . against what is so unavoidable as death , that is an abject mind that reluctates . * come , then , let us imbolden our selves , and when he brings the key , dare to die . it is to obey , and enjoy him who is our life , and our all . say we chearfully each of us , lord jesus receive my spirit , into thy hands i commit it who hast redeemed it . 8. let us quietly submit to divine disposal , when our dear friends and relatives are by death taken away from us . for consider into what hands this affair is put , of ordering every ones decease , and removal out of this into the other world , and who hath these keys ▪ 't is such a one , whose right , if we use our thoughts , we will not allow our selves to dispute , or to censure his administration . his original right , is that of a creator and a god. for all things were created for him , and by him , col. 1.16 . and without him was nothing made that was made , joh. 1.2 . ●he first and the last to all things , v. 17. his supervening right , was that of a redeemer , as hath been already noted from this context , and , as such , he had it by acquisition , dying to obtain it , & overcoming death ! i am he that liveth and was dead . and then , as he elsewhere declares , by constitution , all power is given me both in heaven and on earth , mat. 28.19 . the word ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) imports rightful power . and who are we ? or any relatives of ours ? whom all the power of heaven and earth hath no right to touch ? what exempt jurisdiction , can we pretend our selves to belong unto ? or will we adventure to say , not denying his right , he did not use it well in this case ? who is more fitly qualifyed to judge , than he that hath these keys ? and let this matter be yet more throughly discuss't . what is it that we find fault with in the removal of this or that person , that was near , and delightful to us ? is it that he was to die at all ? or that he dy'd so soon ? if we say the former ; do we blame the constitution , appointing all men once to die , by which this world is made a portal to another , for all men , and whence it was necessary none should stay long in this , but only pass thorough , into that world wherein every one is to have is everlasting abode ? or is it that , when we think it not unfit this should be the general and common course , there should yet have been a particular dispensation for this friend or relation of mine ? let the former be suppos●● the thing we quarrel at , and consider the intolerable consequences of the matters being otherwise ; as the case is with this apostate sinful world. such as upon second , better-weighed thoughts , we would abhor to admit into our minds , even as the matter of a wish . what would we wish to mankind a sinning immortality on this earth , before which a wise heathen profest to prefer one day vertuously spent ? would we wish this world to be the everlasting stage , of indignities and affronts to him that made it ? would we wish there should never be a judgment day ? and that all the wise & righteous councels of heaven should be ranverst & overturned , only to comport with our terrene & sensual inclinations ? is this our dutifulness and loyal affection to our blessed lord , the author of our beings , and the god of our ●ives , whose rights and honours should be infinitely dearer to us than our selves ? is it our kindness to our selves , and all others of our kind and order , that are all naturally capable , and many , by gracious vouchsafement , sitly qualified , to enjoy a perfect felicity in another world , that we would have all together confined for ever , to this region of darkness , impurity and misery ? or if it displease us , that our relatives are not , by some special dispensation , excepted from the common law of mortality ? we would , surely , as much have expected an exemption our selves ; otherwise our dying away from them , would make the so much regretted separation , as well as theirs from us . and what then , if we were required to draw up our petition ? to put it into express words ? to turn our wish for our selves , and all our relatives and peculiar friends , into a formed , solemn prayer , to this effect , that we are content the law stand in force , that all the world should die , with only the exception of some few names , viz. our own , and of our kindred , and more inward friends . what ashamed confounded creatures should we be upon the view of our own request ! would we not presently be for quelling , and suppressing it , & easily yield to be non-suited , without more ado ? what pretence can we have not to think others as apt to make the same request for them , and theirs ? and if all the rest of the world shall die , would we and our friends dwell here alone ! or would we have this world be continued habitable only on this private account , to gratifie a family ! and if we , & our friends be holy , heavenly minded persons , how kind were it to wish to our selves , and them , when fit for the society of angels and blessed spirits above , a perpetual abode in this low earthly state ! vvould we not now , upon riper , second thoughts , rather be content that things should rest as they are ; and he that hath these keys , use them his own way . but if by all this , we are put quite out of conceit , with the desire of a terrestrial immortality , all that the matter finally results into is , that we think such a relative of ours dyed too soon . vve would not have coveted for him an eternity on earth , but only more time . and how much more ? or for what ? if we were to set the time , 't is like that when it comes , we should be as averse to a separation , if coexistent , then , as now , and so we revolve into the exploded desire , of a terrestrial immortality , back again at last . if we were to assign the reason of our desire , that would seem as in the present case , a plausible one to some , which is mentioned by plutarch in his consolation to apollonius for the loss of his son , concerning another such case ( as he instances in many ) of one elysius an italian , whose loss of his son euthynous , was much aggravated by this , that he was a great heir . but what was said to that , there , and what is further to be said to any thing of that kind , i shall reserve to a more proper place . it is a more weighty allegation , and of more common concernment ; when an useful person is gone , and one very capable of becoming very eminently so . and this requires deeper consideration , and sundry things ought to be considered in order to the quieting their minds , who are apt to behold such darker dispensations , in the course of providence , with amusement , and disturbance of spirit , i. e. when they see persons of excellent endowments , and external advantages , beyond the most , cut off in their prime , while the world is cumbred with drones , never likely to do good , and pestered with such , as are like to prove plagues to it , and do great hurt and mischief to the age wherein they live . an ancient and not uncommon scruple to pious observers heretofore . wherefore ( says holy job ) do the wicked live , become old , yea are mighty in power ? their seed is established in their sight — ch. 21.7 , 8. when his seed was cut off before his eyes . and here let us consider , 1. that this world is in apostacy from god : and though he is pleased to use apt means for its recovery , he doth what he thinks fit herein , of meer grace , and favour , and is under no obligation to do all that he can . his dispensation herein must correspond to , and bear upon it the impress of other divine perfections , his wisdom , holiness , justice as well as grace . and for grace it self , whereas all since the apostacy lie together in a fearful gulf of impurity , and misery , and some , made more early sensible hereof than the most , do stretch out a craving hand and cry for help . if now a merciful hand reacht down from heaven take hold of them , and pluck them sooner out ; is this disagreeable to the god of all grace , to make some such instances , and vouchsafe them an earlier deliverance ; tho' they might , being longer delayed , be some way helpful to others , that continue stupid , and insensible ? 2. vvhen he hath done much , in an age , still obstinately unreclaimable , he may be supposed to let one appear , only with a promising aspect , and in just displeasure , presently withdraw him , that they may understand they have forfeited such a blessing , to this or that country , as such a one might have proved . 3. this may awaken some , the more to prize , and improve , the encouragements they may have from such as remain , or shall spring up in their stead , who are gone , and to bless god that the weight of his interest , and of the cause of religion , doth not hang and depend upon the slender thred of this mans life . the god of the spirits of all flesh , can raise up instruments as he pleases ; and will , to serve his own purposes , though not ours . 4. he will have it known that tho' he uses instruments , he needs them not . 't is a piece of divine royalty and magnificence , that when he hath prepared , & polish'd , such an utensile , so as to be capable of great service , he can lay it by , without loss . 5. they that are most qualified to be of greatest use in this world , are thereby also the more capable of blessedness in the other . 't is owing to his most munificent bounty , that he may vouchsafe to reward sincere intentions , as highly as great services . he took david's having it in his heart to build him an house , as kindly as solomon's building him one . and as much magnifies himself in testifying his acceptance of such as he discharges from his service here , at the third hour , as of them whom he engages not in it , till the eleventh . 6. of their early piety he makes great present use in this world , testifying his acceptance of their works , generally in his word , and particularly by the reputation he procures to them in the minds and consciences , of such as were best able to judge , and even of all that knew them , which may be truly accounted a divine testimony , both in respect of the object , which hath on it a divine impress , and speaks the self recommending power of true goodness , which is the image of god , and in respect of the subject , shews the dominion god hath over minds , engaging not only good men to behold with complacency of such pleasant , blooming goodness , correspondent to their own ; but even bad men to approve in these others , what they entertain not in themselves . the same things are accepted with god , and approved of men , rom. 14.18 . thus being dead , they , as abel , yet speak . 7. and it is a brighter , and more unsullied testimony , which is left in the minds of men , concerning such very hopeful persons as die in their youth . they never were otherwise known , or can be remembred , than as excellent young persons . this is the only idea which remains of them . had they lived longer to the usual age of man , the remembrance of what they were in youth , would have been in a great degree effac'd , and worn out , by latter things ; perhaps blackened , not by what were less commendable , but more ungrateful to the greater part , especially , if they liv'd to come into publick stations . their just zeal , and contestations against the wickedness of the age , might disoblige many , and create them enemies , who would make it their business to blast them , and cast upon their name and memory all the reproach they could invent . whereas the lustre of that vertue and piety which had provok't no body , appears only , with an amiable look , and leaves behind nothing , of such a person , but a fair , unblemisht , alluring and instructive example ; which , they that observed them , might , with less prejudic'd minds compare with the useless , vicious , lives of many that they see to have filled up a room in the world , unto extream old age , either to no purpose , or to very bad . and how vast is the difference in respect of usefulness to the world , between a pious , young gentleman , dying in his youth , that lived long in a little time , untainted by youthful lusts , and vanities , and victorious over them ; and an accurst sinner of an hundred years old , isa. 65.20 . one that was an infant of days , and though an hundred years old , yet still a child , that had not filled up his days with any thing of real value , or profit to himself , or others , ( as some very judicious expositors understand that text ) that ( as he aptly speaks ) had nothing besides grey hairs , and wrinkles , to make him be thought a long liver ; but who might truly be said not to have liv'd long , but only to have been long in the world. how sweet and fragrant a memory , doth the one , how rotten and stinking a name , doth the other , leave behind him to survivors ! therefore such very valuable young persons as are taken hence in the flower of their age , are not to be thought , upon that account of usefulness to this world , to have lived in it , that shorter time , in vain . they leave behind them that testimony , which will turn to account ; both for the glory of gods grace , which he hath exemplified in them , and which may be improved to the good of many who shall have seen that an holy life , amidst the temptations that the youthful age is exposed to , is no impracticable thing ; and that an early death , is as possible also to themselves . but besides their no little usefulness in this world , which they leave , we must know , 8. that the affairs and concernments of the other world , whither they go , are incomparably greater every way , and much more considerable . and to this most unquestionable maxim must be our last and final resort , in the present case . all the perturbation , and discomposure of mind , which we suffer upon any such accasion , arises chiefly , from our having too high and great thoughts of this world , and too low , and diminishing thoughts of the other ; and the evil must be remedy'd by rectifying our apprehensions in this matter . because that other world is hades , unseen , and not within the verge of our sense , our sensual minds are prone to make of it a very little thing ; and even next to nothing , as too many , will have it to be quite nothing at all . we are concerned , in duty to our blessed redeemer and lord , and for his just honour , to magnifie this his presecture , and render it as great to our selves as the matter requires , and as our very narrow minds can admit . and should labour to correct it as a great and too common fault , a very gross vulgar error , to conceive of persons leaving this world of ours , as if they hereby became useless ; and , upon the matter , lost out of the creation of god. so is our fancy prepossest , and filled with delusive images , that throng in upon it thorough our unwary senses , that we imagine this little spot of our earth to be the only place of business , and all the rest of the creation , to be meer vacuit● , vast , empty space , where there is nothing to do , and nothing to be enjoyed . not that these are formed , positive thoughts , or a settled judgment , with good men , but they are floating imaginations , so continually obtruded upon them , from ( what lies next ) the objects of sense , that they have more influence to affect the heart , and infer suitable , sudden , and indeliberate , emotions of spirit than the most formed judgment , grounded on things that lie without the sphere of sense can outweigh . and hence when a good man dies ( elder or younger ) the common cry is among the better sort ( for the other do less concern themselves ) o what a loss is this ! not to be repaired ! not to be born ! indeed this is better than the common stupidity , not to consider , not to take it to heart , when the righteous man perisheth , or is taken away . and the law of our own nature , obliges and prompts us , to feel , and regret , the losses which afflict us . but such resentments ought to be followed , and qualified , by greater thoughts , arising from a superiour nature , that ought presently to take place with us , of the nobler employments which god calls such unto , of whom this world was not worthy , heb. 11.38 . and how highly his great and all comprehending interest , is to be preferr'd before our own , or the interest of this or that family , country , or nation , on earth ! and , at once , both to enlarge and quiet our minds , on such occasions we should particularly consider , 1. the vast amplitude of the heavenly hades , in comparison of our minute spot of earth , or of that dark region ( wheresoever it is ) reserved for the just punishment of dilinquents , according to such intimations as the holy scriptures give us hereof , which being writ only for the use of us on earth , cannot be supposed to intend the giving us more distinct accounts of the state of things , in the upper world , than were necessary for us , in this our present state . but it is no obscure hint that is given of the spaciousness of the heavenly regions , when purposely to represent the divine immensity , 't is said of the unconsined presence of the great god , that even heaven , and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him , 1 king. 8.27 . 2 chron. 6.18 . how vast scope is given to our thinking minds to conceive heavens , above heavens , incircling one another , till we have quite tired our faculty , and yet we know not how far short we are of the utmost verge ! and when our lord is said to have ascended far above all heavens , ephes. 4.10 . whose arithmetick will suffice to tell how many they are ? whose vranography to describe how far that is ? we need not impose it upon our selves to judge their rules infallible , who , being of no mean understanding , nor indiligent in their enquiries , have thought it not improbable that there may be fixed stars within view , at that distance from our earth , that a movable , in as swift motion , as that of a bullet shot from a canon , would be fifty thousand years in passing from the one to the other * . but how much remoter that star may be from the utmost verge of the universe , is left altogether unimaginable . i have been told that a very ingenious artist going about , in exact proportions , to describe the orb or vortex to which our sun belongs , on as large a table as could be convenient for him to work upon , was at a loss to find a spot not too big , in proportion , for our earth , and big enough , whereupon to place the point , made very fine , of one foot of his compass . if any suspect extravagancy in our modern computations let him take a view of what is discoursed to this purpose by a writer of most unexceptionable wisdom , and sobriety ( as well as most eminent sanctity ) in his time * now when the lord of this vast universe beheld upon this little spot , intelligent creatures in transgression and misery , that he did so compassionately concern himself , for the recovery of such as should , by apt methods , be induc't to comply with his merciful design ; and appoint his own eternal son to be their redeemer , in order whereto , as he was god with god , he must also become man , among men , one of themselves , and so as god-man , for his kindness to some , be constituted universal lord of all . shall meer pity towards this world greaten it above the other ? but we are not left without ground to apprehend a more immediate reason for his being , as redeemer , made head and lord of all those creatures that were the original inhabitants of the invisible world. for when it had been said , col. 1.16 . that all things were created by him , not only the visible things on earth ▪ but the invisible things in heaven , here is a regression to these latter , who were before ( for their greater dignity ) generally , first mentioned , and now some enumeration given of them , whether they be thrones , or dominions , or principalities , or powers , and all things again repeated , that these might appear expresly included , said over again to be created by him , and for him , which was sufficient to express his creative right in them . 't is presently subjoyned , v. 17. and he is before all thin●s , and by him all things consist . all owe their stability to him , viz. the mentioned ●hrones , dominions , &c. as well as other things . but how ? or upon what terms ? that we might understand his redemptory right was not here to be overlook't , 't is shortly after added , and having made peace by the blood of his cross , it pleased the father ( to be repeated out of what went before ) by him to reconcile all things to himself ; and this by him , iterated , q. d. by him shedding his blood on the cross , whether they be things on earth , or things in heaven , lest the thrones , dominions , mentioned before should be forgot . and a word is used accommodable enough to the several purposes before expressed , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which doth not always suppose enmity , but more generally signifie , upon a sort of commutation , or valuable consideration , to procure or conciliate , or make a thing more firmly ones own , or assure it to himself , though 't is afterwards used in the stricter sense , v. 21. i have often considered with wonder and pleasure , that whereas god is called by that higher , and far more extensive name , the father of spirits ; he is also pleased so graciously to vouchsafe , as to be styl'd the god of the spirits of all flesh , and thereby to signifie , that having an order of spirits so meanly lodged that inhabit frail and mortal flesh , though he have a world of spirits to converse with , whose dwelling is not with flesh ; yet he disdains not a relation to so mean and abject spirits ( his off-spring also ) in our world. and that , because this was the place of offending delinquents that he would recover ; the redeemer should sort himself with them , and , as they were partakers of flesh and blood , himself likewise take part of the same ! this was great , and godlike ! and speaks the largeness , and amplitude of an all comprehending mind , common to father and son ; and capable of , so , applying it self to the greatest things , as not to neglect the least . and therefore so mu●h the more magnifies god , and our redeemer , by how much the less considerable we , and our world are . but that hence we should so over magnifie this world , as if nothing were considerable that lies without its compass , is most perversly to misconstrue the most amazing condescension . the spirit of god , by holy david , teaches us to reason the quite contrary way . and from the consideration he had of the vastness , and splendor , of the upper world , of the heavens , the moon and stars , &c. not to magnifie but diminish our world of mankind , and say , what is man ? and let us further consider , 2. the inexpressible numerousness of the other worlds inhabitants , with the excellencies wherein they shine , and the orders they are ranked into , and how unlikely is it , that holy souls that go thither , should want employment ? great concourse , and multitude● of people , make places of business in this world , and must much more do so , where creatures of the most spiritual , and active natures , must be supposed to have their residence . scripture speaks of myriads ( which we read an innumerable company ) of angels , besides all the spirits of just men heb. 12. who are sometimes said to be more than any one , ( which we causlesly render man ) could number , rev. 7. and when we are told of many heavens , above all which our lord jesus is said to have ascended ; are all those heavens , only empty solitudes ? uninhabited glorious deserts ! when we find how full of vitality this base earth of ours is , how replenish't with living creatures , not only on the surface , but within it , how unreasonable is it to suppose the nobler parts of the universe to be less peopled with inhabitants , of proportionable spirituality , activity , liveliness and vigour to the several regions , which , the remoter they are from dull earth , must be supposed still the finer , and apt to afford fit , and suitable habitations to such creatures ? whether we suppose pure , unclothed spirits be to the natives in all those heavens , all comprehended under the one name of angels , or whether ( as some think of all created spirits ) that they have all vital union with some or other vehicles , ethereal , or celestial , more or less fine , and pure , as the region is , to which they belong , having gradually associated unto them the spirits of holy men gone from us , which are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , angels-fellows , luk 20.36 . it is indifferent to our purpose . let us only consider them all , as intelligent , spiritual , beings , full of holy light , life , active power , and love to their common lord , and one another . and can we imagine their state to be a state of torpid silence , idleness , and inactivity , or that they have not much higher , and nobler work to do there , than they can have , in such a world as this , or in such bodies , as here , they lugg to and fro ! and the scriptures are not altogether silent , concerning the distinct orders of those glorious creatures , that inhabit all the heavens , with this upper hades , must be understood to contain . tho' it hath not provided to gratifie any ones curiosity , so far as to give us particular accounts of their differences , and distinctions . and though we are not warranted to believe such conjectures concerning them , as we find in in the supposititions dionysius ' his celestial hierarchy , or much less the idler dreams of valentinus , and the gnosticks about their aeones , with divers more such fictions , yet we are not to neglect , what god hath expresly told us , viz. that giving us some account of the creation , in the hades , or the invisible part of it ; there are thrones , dominions , principalities , powers , angels , ( and elsewhere archangels , authorities , col. 1.16 . with 1 pet. 3.21 . which being terms that import order , and government , can scarce allow us not to conceive , that of all those numberless multitudes of glorious creatures , that r●plenish and people those spacious regions of light , and bliss , there are none , who belong not to some or other , of those principalities and dominions . whence therefore , nothing is more obvious , than to conceive , that whosoever is adjoyned to them , ascending out of our wo●ld , presently hath his station assigned him , is made to know his post ▪ and how he is to be employed , in the se●vice and adoration of the sovereign lord of all , and in paying the most regular homage , to the th●one of god and the lamb. it being still to be remembred , that god is not worshiped there , or here , as an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or as though he needed any thing , since he gives to all breath and being and all things , acts 17. but that the felicity of his most excellent creatures , doth in great part consist , in acting perpetually according to the dictate of a just & right mind . and that therefor tehey take highest pleasure in prostration , in casting down their crowns , in shrinking even into nothing , before the original , eternal , subsistent being , that he may be owned as the all in all , because they follow , herein , a most satisfy'd judgment , and express it when they say , thou art worthy o lord , to receive glory , and honour and power , for thou hast created all things , and for thy pleasure they are , and were created , rev. 4.11 . and worthy is the lamb that was slain , to receive riches , and wisdom , and strength , &c. ch . 5.12 . and they that rest not night or day from such high and glorious employments , have they nothing to do ? or will we say or think , because we see not how the heavenly potentates , lead on their bright legions , to present themselves before the throne , to tender their obeysance , or receive commands and dispatches to this or that far remote dynasty — ; or ( suppose ) to such and such a mighty star ( whereof there are so numberless myriads . and why should we suppose them not replenish't with glorious inhabitants ? ) whither they fly as quick as thought , with joyful speed , under the all-seeing eye , glad to execute wise and just commands upon all occasions . but alas ! in all this we can but darken counsel with words without knowledge . we cannot pretend to knowledge in these things ; yet if from scripture intimations , and the concurrent reason of things , we only make suppositions of what may be , not conclusions of what is ; let our thoughts ascend as much higher as they can . i see not why they should fall lower than all this . and because we cannot be positive , will we therefore say or think , there can be no such thing , or nothing but dull inactivity in those regions ? because that other world is hades , and we see nothing , shall we make little , or next to nothing of it ? we should think it very absurd reasoning ( if we should use it , in reference to such mean trifles in comparison , and say ) there is no such thing as pomp and state , no such thing as action or business in the courr of spain or france , of persia or japan , because no sound from thence , strikes our ear , or the beams of majesty there , dazle not our eye ? i should indeed think it very unreasonable to make meer magnitude , or vast extent of space , filled up with nothing but void air , ether , or other fine matter ( call it by what name you will ) alone , or by it self , a very considerable note of excellency , of the other invisible world , above this visible world of ours . but i reckon it much more unreasonable and unenforc't , ( to say no more ) by any principles , either of philosophy , or religion , finding this world of ours ( a baser part of the creation ▪ ) so full of life , and of living inhabitants , of one degree or another ; to suppose the nobler parts of the universe , still ascending upwards , generally unpeopled , and desert ! when it is so conceivable in it self , and so aptly tending to magnifie our creator , and redeemer , that all the upper regions be fully inhabited with intelligent creatures , whether meer spirits , unclothed with any thing material , or united with some or other matter , we need not determine . and whereas scripture plainly intimates , that the apostate revolted spirits that fell from god , and kept not their first stations , were vastly numerous ; we have hence scope enough for our thoughts to conceive , that so spacious regions being replenisht with intelligent creatures , always innocent and happy , the delinquents compared with them may be as despicable for their paucity , as they are detestable for their apostacy . and that the horrid hades , wherein they are reserved to the blackness of darkness for ever , may be no more in proportion , nay , unexpressibly less , than some little rocky island , appointed as a place of punishment for criminals , in comparison of a flourishing , vast empire , fully peopled with industrious , rich , sober-minded and unhappy inhabitants . we might further consider , 3. the high perfection they presently attain to , who are removed , though in their younger years , out of this , into that other world. the spirits of just men are there said to be made perfect . waving the olympick metaphor , which is , at most , but the thing signifying : that which is signified , cannot be less than the concurrence of natural , and moral perfection . the perfecting of all our faculties , mind , will , and active power , and of all holy and gracious excellencies , knowledge , wisdom , love , holiness . the apostle makes the difference be , as that of a child , and that of a man , 1 cor. 13. and would any one that hath a child he delights in , wish him to be a child always , and only capable of childish things ? or is it a reasonable imagination , that by how much we are more capable of action , we shall be the more useless , and have the less to do ? we may further lastly add , that which is not the least considerable . 4. that all the active , services , and usefulness , we are capable of in this world , is but transitory , and lies within the compass of this temporary state of things , which must have an end . whereas the business of the other world , belongs to our final and eternal state , which shall never be at an end . the most extraordinary qualifications for service on earth , must hereafter , if not by the cessation of the active powers and principles themselves , as tongues , prophecies , and such knowledge as is uncommon , and , by peculiar vouchsafement , afforded but to a few , for the help of many . ●hese endowments designed for the propagation of the christian faith , and for the stopping mouths of gainsayers , must in the use and exercise , at least , by the cessation of the objects , and occasions , fail , and cease , and vanish away , 1 cor. 13.8 . the like may be said of courage and fortitude to contend against prevailing wickedness ; skill , ability , with external advantages , to promote the impugned interest of christ , and christian religion ; of all these there will be no further use in that other world. they are all to be considered as means to the end . but how absurd were it to reckon the means of greater importance than the end it self ? the whole present constitution of christs kingdom on earth , is but preparatory and introductive to the celestial kingdom . and how absurd were it to prefer this temporary kingdom to the eternal one , and present serviceableness to this , to perpetual service in the other ? 't is true , that service to god and our redeemer in this present state , is necessary in its own kind , highly acceptable to god , and justly much valued by good men. and we ought our selves willingly to submit to serve god in a meaner capacity in this world , while it is his pleasure we shall do so , especially if god should have given any signification of his mind , concerning our abode in the flesh , some longer time , as 't is likely he had done to the apostle paul , phil. 1.24 . because he says , he was confident , and did know that so it should be , ver . 25. we should be abundantly satisfied with it , as he was . but to suppose an abode here , to be simply , and universally more eligible , is very groundless , and unreasonable . and were a like case , as if a person of very extraordinary abilities and accomplishments , because he was useeful in some obscure country village , is to be looked upon as lost , because his prince , being informed of his great worth , calls him up to his court , and finding him every way fit , employs him in the greatest affairs of state ! to summ up this matter , whereas the means , are always , according to usual estimate , wont to derive their value from their end . time , from eternity . this judgment of the case , that usefulness in this present state , is of greater consequence , and more important , than the affairs of the other world , breaks all measures , overturns the whole frame , and inverts the order of things , makes the means more valuable than the end : time more considerable than eternity ; and the concernments of a state that will soon be over , greater than those of our fixed , permanent , everlasting state , that will never be over . if we would allow our selves the liberty of reasoning , according to the measure and compass of our narrow minds , byast , and contracted by private interest , and inclination , we should have the like plausible things to think , concerning such of ours as die in infancy , and that when they have but newly look't into this world , are presently again caught out of it ; that if they had lived , what might they have come to ? how pleasant and diverting might their childhood have been ? how hopeful their youth ? how useful their riper age ? but these are commonly thoughts little wiser than theirs , and proceed from a general infidelity , or misbelief , that whatsoever is not within the compass of this little , sorry , world , is all emptiness , and nullity ! or if such be pious and more considering , 't is too plain they do not , however , consider enough , how great a part it is , of divine magnificence , to take a reasonable immortal spirit from animating a piece of well figured clay , and presently adjoyn it to the general assembly above ! how glorious a a change is made upon their child in a moment ! how much greater a thing it is to be adoring god above , in the society of angels , than to be dandled on their knee , or enjoy the best provisions they can make for them on earth ! that they have a part to act upon an eternal stage ! and though they are but lately come into being , are never to go out of being more , but to be everlasting monuments , and instruments of the glory of their great creator and lord ! nor , perhaps , is it considered so deeply as it ought , that it hath seemed meet to the supream wisdom , upon a most important reason , in the case of lengthning , or shortning the lives of men , not ordinarily , or otherwise , than upon a great occasion , to interrupt the tendencies of natural causes , but let nature run its course : for otherwise , very frequent innovations upon nature , would make miracles cheap , and common , and consequently , useless to their proper , great ends , which may be of greater significancy in the course of gods government over the world , than some addition to this , or that life can be worth . and therefore should this consideration repress our wonderment , why god doth not , when he so easily can , by one touch upon this , or that second cause , prevent , or ease the grievous pains , which they often suffer that love him , and whom he loves . he reckons it fitter , and they will in due time reckon so too themselves , when the wise methods of his government come to be unfolded , and understood , that we should any of us bear what is ungrateful to us , in point of pain , loss of friends , or other unpleasing events of providence , than that he should make frequent , and less necessary breaches upon the common order , and course of government which he hath establish't over a delinquent , sinful , world. whereupon it is a great piece of wisdom and dutifulness towards our great lord , not to pray absolutely , peremptorily , or otherwise than with great submission , and deference to his wise and holy pleasure , for our own or our friends lives , ease , outward prosperity , or any external or temporary good thing . for things that concern our spiritual and eternal welfare , his good and acceptable will is more expresly declared , and made known already , and before hand . but as to the particular case of the usefulness of any friend or relative of ours in this , or the other state , the matter must be finally left to the arbitrement and dispose of him who hath the keys o● hades , and of death . and when by his turn of them he hath decided the matter , we then know what his mind and judgment is , which it is no more fit for us to censure , than possible to disannul . whatever great purposes we might think one cut off in the flower of his age , capable of serving in this world , we may be sure he judged him capable of serving greater in the other . and now by this time i believe you will expect to have somewhat a more particular account of this excellent young gentleman , whose early decease hath occasioned my discoursing so largely on this subject . not more largely than the importance , but much less accurately , than the dignity of it did challange . he was the eldest son of sir charles hoghton , of hoghton tower , in the county of lancaster , baronet , and of the lady mary , daughter of the late lord viscount masserene , his very pious consort . a family of eminent note in that northern part of the kingdom , for its antiquity , opulency , and interest in the country where it is seated ; and which hath intermarried with some or other of the nobility , one generation after another . but hath been most of all considerable , and illustrious , as having been it self , long , the immemorial known seat of religion , sobriety , and good order , from father , to son ; giving example , countenance , and patronage to these praise-worthy things to the country round about . and wherein , hitherto ( through the singular favour and blessing of heaven ) there hath not been that visible degeneracy , that might be so plainly observed , and sadly deplored , in divers great families . as if it were an exemption from what was so anciently remarked by the poet , aetas parentum , pejor avis , — &c. but on the contrary , such as have succeeded , have , by a laudable ambition , and emulation , as it were , striven to outshine such as have gone before them in piety , and vertue . in this bright and lucid tract and line , was this most hopeful young gentleman , now arrived to the age wherein we use to write man , beginning to stand up in view , and to draw the eyes , and raise the hopes of observers , and well-wishers , as not likely to come short of any of his worthy ancestors , and predecessors . but heaven had its eye upon him too , and both made and judg'd him meet for an earlier translation , to a more eminent station there . he was from his childhood observed to be above the common rate , docile , of quick apprehension , solid judgment , and retentive memory , and , betimes , a lover of books and learning . for religion ; his knowledge of the principles of it , continually grew , as his capacity did more & more admit , under the eye and endeavours of his parents , and such other instructors , as they took care he should never want . but his savour and relish thereof , and the impression made thereby up●n his soul , was so deep , and so early , as to be apparently owing to an higher cause , the gracious operation of the holy spirit , and a singular blessing thereby , upon his pious education . and in this way , it could not be easie to such as were his most diligent , & constant observers , to conclude , or conjecture , when god first began to deal with his spirit . above ten years ago , i had opportunity for a few days , to have some converse with him , in his fathers house . and , as i could then perceive , his spirit was much tinctured with religion ; so i received information , that for a considerable time before , there constantly appeared in him such specimina of serious piety , as were very comfortable to his parents , and might be instructive to others , that took notice of them . in the course of divers following years , he greatly improved , under domestick , and private instruction , both in grammar-learning , and academical studies , for which he wanted not apt helps . when there was great reason to hope he was so well establish't in religion and vertue , as neither to be shock't by the importunate temptations of a sceptical vicious age in the general , or betrayed by the facility of his own youthful age. his prudent , worthy father , judged it requisite , and not unsafe , to adventure him into a place of more hazard , but greater advantage , for his accomplishment in that sort of culture , and polishing , that might , in due time , render him both in reality , and with better reputation , serviceable in a publick station , i. e. where he might gain such knowledge of the world , of men , and of the laws of his country , as were proper for his rank , and one that was to make such a figure in the nation , as it was to be hoped he might . and upon that account , not yet a year agoe , brought him up to london , entered him in the temple , took for him convenient lodgings there , and left him settled , unto mutual satisfaction . he was little diverted by the noise , novelties , or the gaities of the town , but soon betook himself to a course of close study ; discontinued not his converse with god , and thereby learn't , and was enabled , to converse with men , warily , and with caution ; so as he might be continually improving and gaining good , without doing , or receiving hurt . the substance of the following account , i received from a pious intelligent young man , who several years attended him before his coming to town , and afterwards , to the finishing of his course . mr. hoghton 's early seriousness , increased with his years . his deportment was grave , composed , without any appearance of pride , which he carefully avoided his diligence in study was unusual , and his proficiency very great ; neither was this less an effect of his conscientiousness in the improvement of his time , than of his desire after knowledge . as to his demeanour , and performance of duties , towards his several relations , his self denial , his sedateness of mind , his fear of sin , his tenderness of conscience , love of the best things , and unconcernedness about things of an inferior nature , so far as hath fallen under my observation , in near six years time , i believe few , if any of his years , did exceed him . in his sickness he was very patient , submissively undergoing those heavy stroakes it pleased god to lay upon him . vpon his apprehension of death , he seemed very little discouraged , but quietly resigned himself into the hands of the all-wise disposer of all things . some time before his sickness , and in the time of it , he said , afflictions were very proper for ●ods children , and those that were never afflicted , had reason to question the truth of their grace , and gods love to them , quoting that scripture , if ye are without chastening , then are ye bastards , and not sons . he often repeated those words , in the beginning of his illness . — 't is an hard thing to make our calling , and our election sure . — i desire to glorifie god. — when he understood , from some expressions of his physician , how dangerous his distemper was , he said , he knew very well the meaning of his physicians words ; but that however it proved , he hoped he was safe . he was so strict in the observation of the lords day , that if he happened to lie longer than ordinary in the morning , he would continue the later in duties , in the evening ; saying , we ought not to make that day shorter than other days . though he was very intent on his studies , yet on saturdays he always broke them off at noon , and spent the afternoon in reading divinity , and preparing himself for the lords day . he was always constant in his secret duties , and suffered nothing to hinder him from the performing of them . before he expired , he spoke with great assurance of his future happiness , and hopes of meeting his relations in glory . thus far goes that account . his sickness was short . when , hearing of it , i went to visit him , i was met in an ante-chamber , by his ingenious , dear , brother , to whom it is no reproach to be second to him , and who , it is to be hoped , will be at least , truly so ; making him , though a fair example , yet not a standard ; who hath for divers years , been most intimately conjunct , and conversant with him , known his way , his spirit , his manner of life , his purity : and may be led on , and excited thereby , wherein he hath observed him to excel others , to endeavour not to come short , but , if it were possible , to excel him ; remembring , he is to be the next solace of his parents , hope of his family , and resort of his country ( if god shall vouchsafe to continue him ) in succeeding time . from him , i had little expectation of finding his sick brother in a conversable condition ; the malignity of his feaver having , before seized his head , and very much disordered his intellectuals ; but going in , i was much surprized to find it so far otherwise . he presently knew me ; & his understanding that served him for little else , fai●ed him not in the concernments of religion , and of his soul. there was not an improper or misplac't word ( tho' the case could not admit of interchanging many ) that came from him . concerning the substance of the gospel of christ , ( as it could be shortly summed up to him ) he said , he had no doubt , and his transactions with christ himself , accepting him ; resigning , and entrusting himself absolutely , and entirely to him , and god in him , were so explicite , distinct , & clear , as could leave no place of doubt concerning him . he profest his concurrence to such requests , as were put up to god concerning him ; and the next morning , slept quietly in the lord. nor now will it be unfit , to shut up the discourse , with some few , suitable reflections , upon this double subject . the text , and this providence , taken together . 1. how happy is it ! when this power , of our great redeemer , and lord , mention'd in the text , and a preparation , with chearful willingness , dutifully to comport with it , concur and meet together , as they have done in this instance . our lord hath shewn his power . he asserted it , in the text. in this instance he used it , giving an open testimony , that he takes it to belong to him , to make such translations from one world , to another , whensoever he judges it a fit season . nor is solicitous , whether men acknowledge his right , so to do , or no ; or what censures they will pass upon what he hath done . he doth his own work , and leaves men to their own talk , or mutterings , or wonder , or amusement at it , as they will. so it becomes sovereign power to do , establish't upon the most unquestionable foundations ; exercis'd according to the wisest and most righteous measures . he hath used his own right , and satisfied himself in the use of it . he thought not himself concern'd to advise with any of us , about it , who , as his counsellor , should instruct him ? isa. 40.13 . rom. 11. v. 34. he owes so much to himself , to act as unaccountable to no one , nor liable to any ones controll . here is most rightful , resistless power , justly and kindly us'd on the one hand ; and , on the other , how placid , how calm , a resignation ! here was no striving ! no crying ! no reluctant motion , no querulous , repining voice . nothing but peaceful , filial submission ; a willingness to obey the summons given . this was an happy accord , the willingness of this departing soul , proceeding not from stupidity , but trust , in him who kept these keys ; and such preparedness for removal , as the gospel requir'd . o happy souls ! that finding the key is turning , and opening the door for them , are willing to go forth upon such terms , as knowing whom they have believed , &c. and that neither principalities or powers — life or death — &c. can ever separate them from the love of god in christ jesus their lord. life , they find , hath not separated — whereof was the greater danger ; and death is so far from making this separation , that it shall compleat their vnion with the blessed god in christ , and lay them infolded in the everlasting embraces of divine love ! happy they ! that can hereupon welcome death ! and say , now , lord , lettest thou thy servant depart in peace ! that , before , only desired leave to die , and have , now , obtained it ; that are , with certainty of the issue , at the point of becoming compleat victors , over the last enemy ; and are ready to enter upon their triumph , and take up their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , death is swallowed up in victory . o death , where is thy sting ! o grave , where is thy victory ! — thanks be to god , who giveth us the victory through jesus christ our lord. happy soul ! here will be a speedy end of all thy griefs , and sorrows , they will be presently swallow'd up , in an absolute plenitude and fulness of joy. there is already an end put to thy tormenting cares and fears ; for what object can remain to thee , of a rational fear , when once , upon grounds ( such as shake not under thee ) thou art reconcil'd to death ? this is the most glorious sort of victory , viz. by reconciliation . for so , thou hast conquered , not the enemy only , but the enmity it self , by which he was so . death is become thy friend , and so no longer to be feared ; nor is there any thing else , from whence thou art to fear hurt ; for death was thy last enemy , even this bodily death ! the whole region beyond it , is to one in thy case , clear , and serene , when to others , is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever . there are no terrible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , no formidable consequences , no reserves of misery , no treasures of wrath to be feared by thee . to one , in thy condition , may that , without hesitation , be apply'd , nihil metuit , qui optat mori ; he fears nothing , who desires to die . what is the product of some mens infidelity , is the genuine product of their faith . from so contrary causes may proceed the same effect . the effect , a willingness to die , or a bold adventure upon death , is the same , but only in respect of the general kind ; with great differences in the special kind , according to the difference and contrariety of the causes , whereof they discernibly tast and savour . with infidels , it is a negative , dead , stupid , partial willingness , or but a non-aversion ; and in a lower , and much diminished degree ; or if some present , intolerable , disgraceful calamity urge them , a rash , obstinate , presumptuous rushing upon death ; because they do not consider consequences . with believers , such as in reference to the concernments of the other world do walk by faith , while as yet , they cannot walk by sight , in reference to those things , 2 cor. 5.7 . it is a positive , vital , courage , v. 8. we are confident , and a preponderating inclination of will ; we are willing rather to be absent from the body , and to be present with the lord ; because ( as is manifest ) they do consider consequences , and how blessed a state will certainly ensue ! how vast are these special differences , of the same thing in the general , willingness to die ! o the transports of joy that do now most rationally result from this state of the case ! when there is nothing left , lying between the dislodging soul , and the glorious unseen world , but only the dark passage of death ; and that so little formidable ; considering who hath the keys of the one , and the other . how reasonable is it upon the account of somewhat common herein , to the redeemer , and the redeemed , ( altho' every thing be not ) to take up the following words , that so plainly belong to this very case . therefore my heart is glad , and my glory rejoyceth ; my flesh also shall rest in hope . for thou wilt not leave my soul in sheol , or hades ; thou wilt not forsake , or abandon it in that wide world , neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption . thou wilt shew me the path of life ; the path that leads unto that presence of thine , where is fulness of joy ; and to those pleasures which are at thy right hand ; or in thy power , and which are for evermore ; and shall never admit either of end , or diminution , psal. 16.9 , 10 , 11. now , what do we mean to let our souls hang in doubt ? why do we not drive things for them , to an issue ? put them into those same safe hands that holds these keys ; absolutely resign , devote , entrust , and subject them to him ; get them bound up in the bundle of life ; so adjoyn and unite them to him ( not doubting but as we give them up , he will , and doth , in that instant , take hold of them , and receive them into union with himself ) as that we may assure our hearts , that because he lives , we shall live also . thus the ground of our hope becomes sure , and of that joy which springs from such an hope . our life , we may now say , is hid with christ in god ( even tho' we are , in our selves , dead , or dying creatures ) col. 3.3 . yea , christ is our life , and when he , who is our life , shall appear , we shall appear with him , in glory , verse 4. he hath assured us , that because he is the resurrection , and the life ; he that believeth in him , tho' he were dead , shall yet live . and that , whosoever lives , and believes in him , hath thereby , a life already begun in him , in respect whereof he shall never die , joh. 11.25 , 26. what now can be surer than this ? so far we are at a certainty , upon the included supposition , i. e. that we believe in him . and what now remains to be ascertain'd ? what ? only our own intervening death ? we must , 't is true be , absent from these bodies , or we cannot ( as we would ) be present with the lord. and is that all ? can any thing now , be more certain than that ? o happy state of our case ! how should our hearts spring and leap for our joy , that our affairs are brought into this posture ! that in order to our perfect blessedness , nothing is farther wanting but to die . and that the certainty of death , compleats our assurance of it . what should now hinder our breaking forth into the most joyful thanksgivings , that it is so little doubtful we shall die ! that we are in no danger of a terrestrial immortality ! and that the only thing that it remain'd we should be assured of , is so very sure . that we are sure it is not in the power of all this world , to keep us always in it . that the most spiteful enemy we have in all the world , cannot do us that spite , to keep us from dying ! how gloriously may good men triumph , over the impotent malice of their most mischievous enemies , viz. that the greatest mischief , even in their own account , that it can ever be in their power to do them , is to put it out of their own power ever to hurt them more ( for they now go quite out of their reach ) they can ( being permitted , ) kill the body , and after that ( luke 12.4 . ) have no more that they can do . what a remarkable , significant , after that , is this ? what a defiance doth it import of the utmost effort of humane power and spite ! that here it terminates ! 't is now come to its ne plus ultra ! and so we are to look upon all our other trials and afflictions , that in any providential way may befall us ; we may be sick , in pain , in poverty , in disgrace , but we shall not be alwaies in mortal flesh , which is the subtratum , and the root of all the rest . can we be upon better terms , having but two things to be concerned about , as necessary to our compleat felicity , union with christ , and disunion from these bodies ? god is graciously ready to assist us , in reference to the former , tho' therein he requires our care , subserviently hereto : in reference to the latter , he will take care himself , in his own fit season , without any care or concern of ours in the matter . and only expects us to wait with patience , till that sit season come . and come it will , perhaps , sooner than we may think . he doth not , alwaies , go by our measures in judging of the fit season ; as this present instance shews . 2. from the text , taken in conjunction with this act of providence , we may observe the great advantage of a pious education . tho' the best means of such education do not always prove effectual ; yet this being much the more probable course , upon which to expect gods blessing , than the parents prophane negligence of the souls of their children ; such an example , wherein god by his blessing testified his approbation of parental care and diligence ; should greatly quicken the endeavours of parents herein ; as hoping , hereby , to serve his great , and merciful , and most principal design , who hath these keys ; and whose office it is , to transmit souls , when they are prepared and ready , out of this world of ours , into that blessed glorious world above . and , though they may think themselves disappointed , when thorough gods blessing upon their endeavours , they have educated one , to such a pitch , as this young gentleman was raised and brought up unto ; with a prospect , and hope of his having a long course of service to run thro' here on the earth : yet let parents hence learn to correct what was amiss , or what was wrong ; not what was right , and well . their action and endeavour was , what ought to be . their error or mistake ( if there was any ) was more principally , as the case is here stated , about their design , and end . not that they designed such an end , for that also was very justifiable , and laudable : but if they designed it as their more principal end ; which the case , as it is now put , supposes , that is , that they take themselves to be disappointed , for no man complains of it as a disappointment , if he miss of an inferior end , and attain that which is far nobler , and more excellent . our great aim should be the subserving the design of the great lord of heaven and earth ; which ultimately and supreamly refers to the heavenly , eternal state of things ; & that souls may be ripen'd and fitted for that , and to do service here on earth , subordinately to the other ; and while they are in preparation for the heavenly state . his principal design must be for that which is principal and concerning that ( as was formerly argued ) there can be no more doubt than whether heaven or earth , eternity or time , a fixed , permanent , everlasting , or a temporary , transitory , vanishing state of things be more valuable , and to be preferred . our redeemer hath acquired , and doth use these keys , for the translating of souls , assoon as he shall judge them meet to be partakers of the inheritance of saints in light , col. 1.12 . some he makes meet much earlier than others . his design , so far as it is known , or may be supposed , should give measure to ours ; therefore ours must be to make them meet , as early , for his purposes , as is possible ; as knowing it cannot be too early : they were devoted to him early , and pursuantly hereto , no time should be lost from the great business of fitting , and forming them for him ; inasmuch also , as the same qualifications , viz. that are of higest excellency , and value , do equally prepare them to serve , and glorifie him , in either world , as he shall chuse to , dispose of them . and it unquestionably belongs to him to make his choice , as it does to us , to endeavour to make them ready . if any of us , having purposely educated a son for the service of his prince , and present him accordingly , we would submit it to his pleasure , to chuse the station , wherein he shall serve him : especially if he be a prince of celebrated wisdom , and goodness . and should we complain , that he is put early , into a station of much higher dignity , than we thought of ? how lit●le is this matter considered , by most , that go under the name of christian parents ; that are ( more generally ) very solicitous to have , as they call it , their children christ'ned . but never have it in their thoughts to have them educated in the knowledge of christ , or train'd up for christ. as if their baptism were intended for a mockery , their education in the whole course of it , hath no such reference . 't is how they may with better reputation , bear up , not the name of christ , but their own . their aim , looks no higher , than that they may inherit their lands , maintain the honour of their families ; appear ( if such be their own rank ) well-accomplisht gentlemen : and of some of those little things that are thought requisite hereto , we may say as our saviour did in another case , these things ought ye to have done , and not to have left the other ( the much greater things ) undone . what should hinder , but that learning to sing , or dance , or fence , or make a modish leg , might consist with learning to know god in christ , in which knowledge stands eternal life ! whatsoever hath real excellency , or hath any thing in it of true ornament , will no way disagree with the most serious christianity . and how lovely is the conjunction of the well-accomplisht gentleman , and the serious christian ! only sever inconsistencies , as how fashionably to curse , and swear , and damn , and debauch , which are thought to belong to good breeding in our age. let not religion , reason , shame , and common sense , be so totally abandoned all at once , as that the same persons shall take care to have their children baptized into christ's name , and be taught to renounce , by their deeds , that great name , almost assoon as they can pronounce the word . where so direct a course is not taken to make those of the succeeding age ignominionsly bad , yet how little is done , towards the making of them truly , and usefully good ? much care is taken to shape , and adorn the out-side of the man , how little to form , and furnish their minds ! here , if they can be brought to make , or judge of a verse , or a jest , or a piece of wit , 't is a great attainment . or if , at home , they can have them taught so much law , as shall , hereafter , enable them to squeeze their tenants , and quarrel with their neighbours , or so much of behaviour , as shall qualifie them to keep gentlemen company ; or if ( as our pious poet phrased it ) they ship them over , the thing is done . then , they shall be able to talk a little of the fashions of this or that foreign country , and make much the better figure in their own . but if , with all other parts of useful knowledge , and good breeding , that are thought requisite for this world , they be also well-instructed touching their redeemer's dominion over it , and the other world also ; and concerning the nature , constitution , design , laws , and priviledges of his kingdom ; if it be seriously endeavoured to make them apt , and prepared , instruments of serving his interest here , as long as he shall please to continue them in any station , on earth ; and that they may also be made meet to be partakers , at length , of a far more excellent inheritance , than an earthly parent could entitle them to , that of the saints in light , col. 1.12 . if they can be fitted to stand in the presence of the eternal king , and to keep company with angels , and blessed spirits above ! how worthy and noble a design is this ! and with what satisfaction is it to be reflected on , if the parents have ground to apprehend , they are herein , neither unaccepted , nor disappointed ! 3. it is of ill presage to our land , that when he that hath these keys , uses them in the so early translation of so hopeful a person as this young gentleman was , so few such are observed to spring up , for the support of the truly christian interest , in the succeeding generation . that the act of our great redeemer and lord , herein , was an act of wisdom , and counsel , we cannot doubt . against the righteousness of it , we can have no exception . the kind design of it , towards them whom he so translates , is so evident in the visible agreement of their spirit and way , with the heavenly state , as their end , as puts that matter out of question . but we are so much the more to dread the consequences , and to apprehend what may make our hearts meditate terror . by the christian interest , i am far from meaning that of a party . but what every one must take for christianity , that will acknowledge there is any such thing . and for the support of that , in the most principal doctrines , and laws of it , what is our prospect ? to go down here somewhat lower . let us suppose a rational susceptibleness , or capacity of religion , to be the difference of man , wherein the controversie may seem to admit of being compromis'd ; whether it be religion , alone , or reason , alone , of which this must be said , that it distinguishes man from the inferiour creatures . and let it be reason , with this addition , an aptness ( suspicere numen ) to be imprest with some religious sentiment , or to conceive of , and adore , an original being . the wise , and mighty author , and cause of all things . and now , how near akin are religion , and humanity let us , next , understand christianity , to be the religion of fal'n man , designing his recovery , out of a lapsed , and lost state ; i. e. man having violated the law of his creation , and offended against the throne and government of his creator , the supream , and vniversal lord of all . it was reckon'd not becoming so great a majesty ( tho' it was not intended to abandon the offenders to an universal ruine , without remedy ) to be reconcil'd , otherwise than by a mediator and a reconciling sacrifice . for which , none being found competent , but the eternal son of god , the brightness of his glory , and the express image of his own person , who was also the first and the last , the lord god almighty ; and partaking with us of flesh & blood , was capable , and undertook to be both mediator and sacrifice . it seem'd meet to the offended majesty , to vouchsafe pardon and eternal life , and the renewing grace requisite thereto , to none of the offenders , but through him ; and accept from them no homage , but on his account . requiring wheresoever the gospel comes , not only repentance towards god , but faith in our lord jesus christ , as the summary of the counsel of god contain'd therein , acts 20.21 — 27. and that all should honour the son , as he the father requires to be honoured , john 5.23 . whereas now so apt a course as this was establisht , for restoring man to himself , and to god , through the influence of the blessed spirit , flowing in the gospel-dispensation , from christ as the fountain : what doth it portend when , amidst the clear light of the gospel , that affords so bright a discovery of the glorious redeemer , and of all his apt methods for bringing to full effect , his mighty work of redemption , an open war is commenc'd against him , and his whole design , by persons , under seal , devoted to him ! if there were but one single instance hereof in an age , who would not , with trembling expect the issue ? but when the genius of a christian nation , seems , in the rising generation , to be leading to a general apostacy , from christianity , in its principal , and most substantial parts ; and they are only patient of some external rituals , that belong , or are made appendent to it , so as but to endure them , either ●ith reluctancy , or contempt . when the juvenile wit , and courage , which are thought to belong to a gentleman , entring upon the stage of the world , are imployed in satyrizing upon the religion , into which they have been baptiz'd , in bold efforts against the lord that bought them ! whither doth this tend ! some would seem so modest , as in the midst of their profane oaths , and violations of the sacred name of god , to beg his pardon , and say , god forgive them . but so ludicrously , as he whom cato animadverts upon , for begging pardon that he wrote in greek , which he was unacquainted with ; saying , he had rather ask pardon , than be innocent ; for what should induce him to do so unnecessary a thing , for which pardon should be necessary ? th●se men think pardons very cheap things ! but will god be mocked ? or doth he not observe ? 't is the prevailing atheistical spirit we are to dread , as that which may provoke jealousie , and to make himself known by the judgments he shall execute . there is great reason to hope , god will not finally abandon england . but is there not equal reason to fear , that before the day of mercy come , there may be a nearer day of wrath , coming ? a day that shall burn as an oven , and make the hemisphere about us , a fiery vault ! in our recovery from a lapsed state , which the religion profest among us , aims at ; there are two things to be effected . the restoring reason to its empire over the sensitive nature , that it may govern that ; and the restoring religion , and love to god , to its place and power , that he may govern us . while the former is not done , we remain sunk into the low level , with the inferior creatures ; and till the latter be effected , we are ranked with the apostate creatures , that first fell from god. the sensualty of brutes , and the enmity of devils , rising , and springing up observably among us , import the directest hostility , against the redeemer's design . and them that bid this open defiance to him , he hath every moment at his mercy ! in the mean time , is this emmanuel 's land ? his right in us he will not disclaim . and because he claims it , we may expect him to vindicate hims●l● . his present patience , we are to ascribe to the wisdom , and greatness of an all-comprehending mind . he counts not an heap of impotent worms his match ! but when the besom of destruction comes , one stroak of it will sweep away multitudes . then contempt will be answered with contempt . they cannot express higher , than to oppose and militate against a religion , introduc'd and brought into the world by so clear , divine light , lustre and glory , not by arguments , but by jeasts ! o that we could but see their arguments , to dispute those keys , out of his hands that holds them ! but do they think to laugh away the power of the son of god ? he also will laugh at their calamity , &c. prov. 1. or expose them to the laughter of men wiser than they , psal. 52.5 , 6. 't is little wit to despise what they cannot disprove . when we find a connection between death , and judgment , how will they contrive to dis-joyn them ? they will be as little able to disprove the one , as withstand the other . but a great residue , 't is to be hoped , our blessed redeemer will , in due time , conquer in the most merciful way ▪ inspiring them with divine wisdom , and love , detecting their errours , mollifying their hardness , subduing their enmity , making them gladly submit to his easie yoke , and light burden . he is , before the world end , to have a numerous seed , and we are not to despair of their rising up more abundantly than hitherto among our selves , so as no man shall be therefore asham'd to be thought a serious christian , because 't is an unfashionable , or an ungenteel thing . then will honour be acquir'd , by living as one that believes a life to come , and expects to live for ever , as devoted ones , to the ruler of both worlds , and candidates for a blessed immortality , under his dominion . nor will any man covet to leave a better name behind him , here , or a more honourable memorial of himself , than by having liv'd an holy , vertuous life . it signifies not nothing , with the many , to be remembred when they are gone . therefore is this trust wont to be committed to marbles , and monumental stones . some have been so wise , to prefer a remembrance among them that were so , from their having liv'd to some valuable purpose . when rome abounded with statues , and memorative oblisks , cato forbad any to be set up for him , because ( he said ) he had rather it should be askt , why had he not one ? than why he had ? what a balmy memory will one generation leave to another , when the savour of the knowledge of christ shall be diffused in every place ! 2 cor. 2.14 . and every thing be counted as dross and dung , that is in any competition with the excellency of that knowledge ; when that shall overflow the world , and one age praise his mighty works , and proclaim his power and greatness to the next . and the branches of religious families , whether sooner or later transplanted , shall leave an odour , when they are cut off , that shall demonstrate their nearer vnion , with the true vine , or speak their relation to the tree of life , whose leaves are for the healing of the nations , even those that were deciduous , and have dropt off , may ( without straining a borrow'd expression ) signifie somewhat towards this purpose . 4. from both the mention'd subjects , good parents may learn , to do god , and their redeemer , all the service they can , and have opportunity for , in their own time ; without reckoning too much upon what shall be done , by a well-educated , hopeful son , after they are gone , unless the like dispensation could be pleaded unto that which god gave to david , to reserve the building of the temple to his son solomon , which without as express a revelation , no man can pretend . the great keeper of these keys , may cross such purposes ; and without excusing the father , dismiss the son , first . but his judgments are a great deep , too deep for our line . and his mercy is in the heavens , psal. 36. extending from everlasting to everlasting , upon them that fear him : and his righteousness unto childrens children , psal. 103. finis . books printed for thomas parkhurst , at the bible and three crowns , the lower end of cheapside , near mercers-chapel . books written by the reverend mr. j. howe . of thoughtfulness for the morrow . with an appendix concerning the immoderate desire of foreknowing things to come . of charity in reference to other mens sins . the redeemer's tears wept over lost soul● ; in a treatise on luke 19.41 , 42. with an appendix , wherein somewhat is occasionally discoursed concerning the sin against the holy ghost , and how god is said to will the salvation of them that perish . a sermon directing what we are to do after a strict enquiry , whether or no we truly love god. a funeral sermon for mrs. esther sampson , the late wife of hen. sampson , dr. of physick , who died nov. 24. 1689. the carnality of religious contention . in two sermons , preach'd at the merchants lecture in broadstreet . a calm and sober enquiry , concerning the possibility of a trinity in the godhead . a letter to a friend , concerning a postscript to the defence of dr. sherlock's notion of the trinity in unity , relating to the calm and sober enquiry upon the same subject . a view o● that part of the late considerations addrest to h. h. about the trinity : which concerns the sober enquiry on that subject . a sermon preach'd on the late day of thanksgiving , decemb. 2. 1697. to which is prefix'd dr. bates's congratulatory speech to the king. a sermon for reformation of manners . books written by j. flavel . the fountain of life opened , or a display of christ in his essential and mediatorial glory . containing forty two sermons on various texts . wherein the impetration of our redemption by jesus christ is orderly unfolded , as it was begun , carried on , and finished by his covenant transaction , mysterious incarnation , solemn call and dedication , blessed offices , deep abasement , and supereminent advancement . a treatise of the soul of man , wherein the divine original , excellent and immortal nature of the soul are opened ; its love and inclination to the body , with the necessity of its separation from it , considered and improved . the existence , operations and states of separated souls both in heaven and hell imm●diately after death , ass●rted , discussed and variously applied . diverse knotty and difficult questions about departed souls both philosophical and theological , stated and determined . the method of grace in bringing home the eternal redemption , contriv'd by the father , and accomplish'd by the son , through the effectual application of the spirit unto god's elect , being the second part of gospel redemption . the divine conduct , or mystery of providence , its being and efficacy asserted and vindicated : all the methods of providence in our course of life open'd , with directions how to apply and improve them . navigation spiritualiz'd : o● , a new compass for seamen , consisting of thirty two points of pleasant observations , profi●able applications , serious reflections , all concluded with so many spiritual poems , &c. two treatises , the first of fear , the second , the righteous man's refuge in the evil day . a saint indeed : the great work of a christian . a touchstone of sincerity : or , signs of grace and symptoms of hypocrisie ; being the second part of the saint indeed . a token for mourners : or , boundaries for sorrow for the death of friends . husbandry spiritualiz'd : or , the heavenly use of earthly things . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a44673-e140 job 1.1 . psal. 84.11 . hierom. job 29.1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. notes for div a44673-e4620 † ostendunt terris hunc tantùm fata nec ultra esse si●unt . † and here it may suffice to take notice that greek writers , poets , philosophers , historians ; and other writers , that have made only occasional mention of this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or of the words next akin to it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or lexicographers , that have purposely given an account of it , from greek authors , that must be supposed best to understand the use of words in their own tongue ; generally such as have not been engaged in a controversie , that obliges men usually to torture words to their own sense , or to serve the hypothesis , which they had espoused ; have been remote from confining this , or the cognate words ; to that narrow sense as only to signifie a place or state of torment for bad men , but understood it as comprehending also , a state of felicity for the pious and good . for such as have been concern'd in interpreting this or other like words with reference to the known , and famous controversie , which i need not mention , their judgments must weigh according to the reputation they are of with the reader . the greeks , no doubt , best understood their own language . and among them can we think that homer in the beginning of his 1. il. when he speaks of the many brave souls of his hero's , those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which the w●r he is describing , sent into the invisible regions , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that he ever dreamt they were all promiscuously dispatcht away to a place of torment . not to mention other passages where he uses the the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; to the same purpose . divers others of of the greek poets are cited by several ready to our han●s , with which i shall not cumber these pages . that one ● enough , and nothing can be fuller to our purpose , which is quoted by clem. alexandr . str. l. 5. ( as well as by sundry others ) and ascribed to the comic . diphilus ( tho' by others to another , philemon . ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . in hades we reckon there are two paths , the one of the righteous , the other of the wicked ; plainly shewing that hades was understood to contain heaven , and hell. plato , when in his phaedo , he tells us that he that comes into hades , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , not initiated and duly prepared , is thrown into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ( a stinking lake ) but he that comes into it fitly purified , shall dwell with the gods ; as expresly signifies hades to include the same opposite states of misery and felicity . in that dialogue called axiochus , tho' supposed not to be his , written by one that sufficiently knew the meaning of such a word , we are told that when men die they are brought into the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the field of truth , where sit judges that examine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , what manner of life every one lived while he dwelt in the body , that they who while they liv'd here were inspir'd by a good genius , or spirit , go into the region of pious men , having before they came into hades been purified — such as led their lives wickedly are hurried by furies up and down chaos — in the region of the wicked . in the third book de repub. plato blames the poets that they represent the state of things in hades too frightfully ▪ when they should 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , praise it rather . plutarch de superst . brings in plato speaking of hades , as a person , or a god , dis , or pluto ( as they frequently do ) and says he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , benign or friendly to men ; therefore not a tormentor of them only . caelius rhodigin . quotes this same passage of plutarch , and takes notice that our saviour speaks of the state of torment by another word , not hades , but gebenna ; which sufficiently shews how he understood it himself . and whereas there are who disagree to this notation of this word , that makes it signifie unseen , as some will fetch it from the hebr. and go as far back as adam in their search , alledging for this the authority of an old sibyll , will have it go for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and signifie as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unpleasant ; nothing is plainer than that this other is the common notion , which ( tho' fancy hath not a greater dominion in any thing than in etymology ) would make one shy of stretching invention to find how to differ from the generality . therefore calepin , upon this word , tells us that the greek grammarians , do against the nature of the etymon ( which plainly enough shews what they understood that to be ) generally direct its beginning to be writ with the asper spirit ; but yet he makes it signifie obscure , or not visible . and tho' plato is endeavoured to be hook't in to the deriving it from adam by a very far fetch ; yet 't is plain that his calling it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in a place before referr'd to , shews he understood it to signifie invisible . and so lexicons will commonly derive it ( vulgo , says caelius . rhodis . ) but its extensiveness , as comprehending a state of happiness , is our principal concern , which way ( as we might shew by many more instances ) the common stream carries it . pausanias in his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , speaking of hermes ( according to homer ) as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and that he did lead . souls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , could not be thought to mean , they were then universally miserable . sext. empir . is an authority good enough for the meaning of a greek word . when ( adversus mathem . ) he tells us , tho' by way of objection ; all men have a common notion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ( using the genitive with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as homer , and others do , another word house , or abode , in the dative , being understood ) and yet , as to the thing , he afterwards distinguishes poets fables , and what from the nature of the soul it self , all have a common apprehension of . as also diog. laert. hath the same phrase , mentioning the writings of protagoras , who , he says , wrote one book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , using the genitive , as here , after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as hath been usual , on the mentioned account . and tho' his books were burnt by the athenians , because of the dubious title of one of them concerning the gods. so that we have not opportunity to know , what his opinion of hades was , we have reason more than enough , to think he understood it not of a state of torment only for evil spirits . * primate usher's judgment may be seen in his answer to the jesuits challenge , that this word properly signifies the other world , the place or state of the dead — so that heaven it self may be comprehended in it . grot. on luk. 16.23 . makes hades most certainly to signifie a place withdrawn from our sight ; spoken of the body , the grave ; of the soul , all that region wherein 't is separate from the body . so that as dives was in hades , so was lazarus too , but in separate regions . — for both paradise , and hell , or as the grecians were wont to speak ) elysii and tartara were in hades . you may have in him more quotations from the poets , the sense of the essenes from josephus , and passages from divers of the fathers to the same purpose . dr. hammonds mind was the same , copiously exprest on matt. 11.20 . but differs from grot. in ascribing to philemon , the jambicks above recited , which the other gives to diphilus . dr. lightsoot is full to the same purpose . on the 4th art. of the creed . and tho' bellarmin will have this word always signifie hell ( which if it do with sheol the correspondent word ; jacob desired to go to hell to his son , as dr. h. argues . ) camero ( as good a judge ) thinks , except once , it never d●es . if any desire to see more to this purpose with little trouble to themselves , let them peruse martinius's lexic . on the word inserus , or insernus . i could refer them to many more whom i fo●bear to mention . only if any think in some or other text of scripture this word must signifie hell only , since it is of that latitude as to signifie heaven in other places , an impartial view of the circumstances of the text , must determine whether there , it be meant of the one , or the other , or both . * maimonides . * weems . pirke . r. elie●er . edit . per g. h. varst . c. f. dan. 5.23 . 2 tim. 1.10 . rom. 2.7 . v. 8. v. 11. philo judeu● , quod det●r . potiori insid . sole● ▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ●al . 3.13 , 14. rom. ● . 3. ● . heb. 10.38 . c. 12.1 . 2 cor. 5.7 . heb. 11.2 . heb. 9.26 . jam. 4.13 , 14 , 15. * neque qui● quam reperit dignu● , qu●d eum temporsu● permutare ! sen. gen. 45. isa. 9.6 . sen. joh. 5.23 . psal. 45.6 — 11. joh. 20.28 . * miser est quicunque non vult , mundo secum moriente , mori sen. tr. cicer. heb. 11.4 . non est quòd quenquam propter canos aut rugas putes diu vixisse . non ille diu vixit , sed diu fuit . sen. * computation by the honourable francis roberts , esq philosoph . transactions for the months march and april , 1694. * bolton in his four last things , who speaking of heaven , directs us to guess the immeasurable magnitude of it : ( as otherwise — so ) by the incredible distance from the earth to the starry firmament ; and adds , if i should here tell you the several computations of astronomers , in this kind , the summs would seem to exceed all possibility of belief . [ and he annexes in his margin sundry computations which i shall not here recite , you may find them in the author himself , p. 21. ] and yet besides , ( as he further adds ) the late learnedest of them place above the 8th sphere , wherein all those g●orious lamps shine so bright , three moving orbs more . now the empyrean he●ven comprehends all these ; how incomprehensible then , must its compass ●nd greatness necessarily be ! but he supposes it possible , the adventure of mathematicians may be too audacious and peremptory , &c. and concludes the height and extent of the heavens to be beyond all human investigation . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . sen. ●r . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . joh. 14.19 . rom. 5.2 . corn. nep frag. pl●tarch de gerun● . 〈◊〉 . the weary traveller his eternal rest being a discourse of that blessed rest here, which leads to endless rest hereafter. by h. h. d. d. rector of snaylwell, and canon of ely. harrison, henry, 1610 or 11-1690. 1681 approx. 247 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 138 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a87158 wing h893a estc r215784 99896339 99896339 154187 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a87158) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 154187) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2403:17) the weary traveller his eternal rest being a discourse of that blessed rest here, which leads to endless rest hereafter. by h. h. d. d. rector of snaylwell, and canon of ely. harrison, henry, 1610 or 11-1690. [10], 256 p. printed by a. g. and j. p. for r. clavell, at the peacock in st. paul's church-yard, london : 1681. h. h. = henry harrison. copy filmed at umi microfilm early english books 1641-1700 reel 2403 lacks pages 33, 34 and 61-64. reproduction of original in the folger shakespeare library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng christian life -early works to 1800. future life -early works to 1800. 2008-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2008-08 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-10 john pas sampled and proofread 2008-10 john pas text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the weary traveller his eternal rest , being a discourse of that blessed rest here , which leads to endless rest hereafter . by h. h. d. d. rector of snaylwell , and canon of ely. matt. 11.29 . take my yoak upon you , and learn of me , for i am meek and lowly in heart , and ye shall find rest unto your souls . there remains therefore a rest to the people of god , heb. 4.9 . london : printed by a. g. and j. p. for r. clavell , at the peacock in st. paul's church-yard . 1681. to the right reverend father in god and my ever honoured lord , peter , lord bishop of ely. my lord , many have laboured , and wearied themselves in a restless enquiry after a perpetual motion , whose thoughts might have been employed to better purpose in finding out perpetual rest : there is no man living but would have rest , all our labours , all endeavours tend that way : your lordships unwearied active motion , in the high place and calling , in which divine providence hath set your lordship , leads undoubtedly , in a direct line , to this desired rest ; and as all natural motions make more hast , as they come nearer their center , so your lordships more vigorous , and cheerful moving in this holy function , makes us jealous , lest your lordship should make more hast to an eternal rest in the church triumphant , than stands with the interest of the present church militant , in which your lordships care and government , have been so eminent , and are still so necessary : to no other therefore could i more advisedly address these meditations of rest , than to the blessed hand of a patron , whose indefatigable labours have so fairly entituled him , to all the promises of this most glorious and blessed rest . nor comes this under your lordships protection without design , for having once taken sanctuary there , and past the dread it hath of your lordships view , i shall not need for ever after be sollicitous , what eye it may be exposed unto for its censure . but if it be asked why i ( after so many pious , devout , excelling discourses of this nature ) should cast my mite at last into this sacred treasury ; the poor widow in the gospel shall answer for me , who at the same time when she beheld the richer offerings of the wealthy , thrown frankly in before her eyes , yet held she not her self thereby excused : and that this ( though the meanest of all oblations that have gone before it ) may yet contribute something , towards the safe conducting some drooping travellers , that are weary and heavy laden , to their long home , their last and happy eternal rest , hath been sincerely in the desires , and shall for ever be in the prayers of , my lord , your lordships most devoted obedient son , and most obliged humble servant , hen. harrison . errata . page 25. line 26. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 45. l. 22. f. satisfied r. falsified . p. 77. l. 11. comma at sees , and l. 13. the sense to go on without any new paragraph . p. 87. l. 15. f. watchful r. wrathful . p. 114. l. 20. f. modesty r. in modesty . p. 143. l. 7. f. up r. it up . p. 144. l. 5. f. dwell r. duel . p. 152. l. 24. f. descend . r. descended . p. 153. l. 20. f. cease r. to cease . p. 180. l. 13. f. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p 184. l. 25. f. easily r. easy . p. 213. l. 17. f. natural r. mutual . p. 218. l. 17. f. wifes r. wives . advertisement . the general catalogue of books , printed in england since the year 1666. and a catalogue of school-books . as also , a catalogue of latin books printed in foreign parts and in england since the year 1670. brutum fulmen : or the bull of pope pius v. concerning the damnation , excommunication , and deposition of q. elizabeth , as also the absolution of her subjects from their oath of allegiance , with a peremptory injunction , upon pain of an anathema , never to obey any of her laws or commands , &c. both printed for r. clavel , at the peacock in st. paul's church-yard . the weary traveller his eternal rest. man goeth forth to his work , and to his labour , until the evening ; saith the royal prophet , psal . 104.23 . the day of his life is spent in a painful and weary travel , 'till the evening come , 'till his declining sun be fully set , and he fitted to lie down in peace , and enjoy the happy rest of a long ensuing night . but that man , in this his day , might not disquiet himself in vain ; that he might not bear the heat and burthen of the day , and yet miss of this rest at night ; the holy apostle st. paul writing to the hebrews ( and in them to all christians ) begins his fourth chapter , with an exhortation to fear , lest a promise being left them of entering into god's rest , any of them should seem to come short of it . wherein he layes down the ground and motive of hope , plainly implied in the same words ; a promise being left them of entring into his rest ; concluding the whole chapter , with a most cogent endearing invitation , to come boldly to the throne of grace , to obtain mercy , and to find grace to help in time of need ; that so he that went on his way weeping , and bearing forth good seed , might doubtless come again with joy , and bring his sheaves with him ; that he that went sighing and groaning , under the weight and burthen of his heavy load , might have no cause to faint , or despond in the way , nor start aside through the sad affrightments of hopeless fear . hope and fear ( well temper'd together ) are the two preservatives of our safety or spiritual life ; they are that , which keep our faith and love , from despair on the one side , and from presumption on the other ; from slothful security on this hand , and tormenting distrustful anxiety on the other . fear , as the rudder of the ship , diverts our souls , in their sailings to heaven , the haven of their eternal rest , from the quick-sands and rocks that are in the way ; while hope , as the sails , filled with the breathings of god's spirit , his faithful promises , carries us forward , against the tide or stream of the world , our earthly desires , and carnal inclinations : wherefore the wise apostle , here , as every where else , throughout this , and his other epistles , seeks to temper and mix these two , in the souls of christians : and having exemplified the possibility , both of attaining , and also of losing god's rest , in the ancient israelites , ch . 3. v. 7. to the end ; now repeats , and presseth the motives of fear and hope , upon the hebrews , and in them on all christians . let us therefore fear , lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest , any of you should seem to come short of it . were the promise of rest unconditional and absolute unto some , and not at all propounded to others , with any feazibleness of attaining it , by a true possibility of performing its conditions ; the former should have no reason to fear , nor the latter to hope : but the promise being conditional and general , excluding none from god's rest , that will prepare themselves for it , by faith , hope , and love unfeigned ; sincere impartial persevering obedience and patience ; giving them full assurance of it , upon the evidence of their integrity in these things ; inclusive of none , but such as entirely , humbly , thankfully , believe and accept it on these terms : they that as yet neglect these terms , or are in danger of falling away from their former diligence in observing them , had need to fear , lest they miss of it ; and in that fear , work out their own salvation , give all diligence to make their calling and election sure ; which as it seems by st. peter , is not so , unless by adding to faith courage , to courage knowledge , godliness , charity , temperance , patience , more and more . having these promises , dearly beloved , saith st. paul , 2 cor. 7.1 . the promises of a most gracious reception , all the mercies of heaven hereafter ; with so much on earth , as is for our good ; i will receive you , and be your father , and you shall be my sons and daughters , saith the lord almighty . having these promises , let us cleanse our selves from all pollution of flesh and spirit , perfecting holiness in the fear of god it seems then , that humble fear of offending god , and losing his promises , by not performing of their conditions ( not coming out from among the wicked , or coming out , not cleansing our selves more and more , from all pollutions of flesh and spirit ) is not only the beginning of wisdom , as you have it elsewhere , but perfective of holiness , which is our only true wisdom . were all that profess the name and gospel of christ jesus , sincere professors ; or were all that begin to be so , secured for ever from ceasing to be so , by turning back to disobedience and unbelief ; saint paul , and st. peter , would not thus both of them exhort to fear , lest a promise being left them of entering into god's rest , any of them should seem to miss or fall short of it . but since it is so clear and manifest , that many professors in all ages have been faithless , and hypocritical in their profession ; and since it is so disputable at least , nay highly probable , both from scripture , and from reason and experience , that many professors sincere at first , may prove backsliders , and fall away from their former righteousness , faith , and obedience ; 't is both the duty and wisdom of all to fear , lest any miss of the promises , for want of performing sincerely and constantly the necessary conditions annexed to them . scarce is there any part of divinity more dangerously mistaken , corrupted , debauched , by the prejudices or interests , passions or lusts of several men , made more instrumental , to flatter and cherish that sloth in good , or security in evil , for destruction of which they were made or propounded , than that of the promises of christ and his gospel . some give them the inclosure , or monopoly , as i may so say , of our faith , while the precepts and threats , which have as much right to be believed as they , his kingly and prophetic office , to which he was as particularly anointed , as to that of priest , being too commonly set aside as unnecessary ; nay , with some not only look'd upon as no part of the gospel , but as dangerous to be obtruded for the object of faith or duty . some would perswade themselves and others , that the promises of christ are particular and absolute , confin'd to some few , and to those howsoever they be qualified ; when as the whole tenor and current of christian doctrine proclaims directly the quite contrary , that they are general and conditional ; a picture that looks every man in the face , that comes into the room , but cannot be imagined to eye any man else ; unrestrained to all , provided they perform the condition , and an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; those diffusive rich store-houses , sealed up against all , who do not perform it . shall we therefore have the patience , the justice and piety , yea , the wisdom and faithfulness to our selves , to resist a while these strong prejudices , to rescue the sacred object of faith from such misprisions , to set up the promises of christ henceforth in such a posture , as may have the safest and kindest influence ; the powerfullest and most benign aspect on our hearts and lives , not to swell and puff up our phansies any longer , with an opinion that we are the special favourites of heaven , to whom the promises of rest are consign'd unconditionally , or without possibility of being forfeited ; but to engage and oblige our souls to that universal constant righteousness , holiness , obedience , as well as faith , which may really instate us in those promises , that may , like the angel to st. peter in prison , awake us out of our sleep and dream , and shake off those gyves and manacles , which keep our feet from walking in the ways which god hath prescribed , and thereby even confine and fetter god himself , if i may so speak , from making good his promises effectually , to such indisposed unqualified persons . if we look on the lives of most christians professing the gospel , with great pretence at least of confidence , that they shall be partakers takers of god's rest , that the promise thereof belongs to them , though they live as those that set up their rest in the lusts of the flesh , those lusts of the eye , that pride of life which is directly contrary to it , and the love of the father ; we have but too great reason to fear , that unless they repent and reform speedily and effectually , they will prove such as no rest belongs to . and if we look on the slothful negligence in good works , yea the wilful backsliding to wicked works , to false doctrines , to lewd practises , which are to be found too visibly and frequently even in those , who once were sincere believers , such as had for a time obeyed both in heart and life the gospel of christ , received his precepts into their practice , as well as promises into their creed ; we shall have too great reason to fear , that they also may fall away finally from those conditions , without the renewed presevering performance of which , there is no rest of gods to be had . wherefore both in respect of the former faithless professors , and of the latter backsliding professors , let us fear , as the apostle exhorts us , fear in wisdom towards our selves , and fear in charity towards others ; fear and watch over our selves and one another , watch and pray , labour and strive , lest a promise being left us of entering gods rest , any of us seem to fall short of it , for want of attending to its conditions , which is not onely an outward profession but a lively faith working by love , and that not onely begun or continued for a while , but persevering to the end . despise not then the motive of fear , lest you despise your own souls . to fear any mortal visible enemy , any earthly temporal danger , in an holy righteous cause , is cowardise and servile baseness : to fear the labour of study and diligence , is sloth and idleness : but to fear god and his righteous threats , especially that of losing his rest , of incurring his endless intolerable displeasure , this is a wise and gracious fear ; not only the beginning of wisdom and grace , but its safety and preservation , its watchful monitor , exciter , and furtherer all along ; for it makes us examine and prove our selves , whether we are as yet in the faith , well settled and grounded , such a faith as works by love and sincere obedience , not a groundless or fruitless credulity , perswasion , confidence of all being well , on a bare profession ; and when we have found that we are sincere in faith , repentance , love , obedience , it awakes our care to continue so , by growing in grace , and persevering against whatever allurements or terrors , lest we fall from our own steadfastness , and hold not fast the ground of our confidence to the end . it works on our memory , and revives our humility for sins past ; it works on our reason , and stirs up our care against sin for the future . the fear of missing or falling short of gods rest , of incurring intolerable eternal trouble , anguish , and pain , restrains us from running on in the ways of destruction . in the restraint some hope of pardon shews it self ; in this hope we see the mercy and love of god , and then at last perceive the horrour and ugliness of sin , not onely in its punishment , but in it self . this last hath more of love than fear in it , and the fear is now become filial ; for a good son will fear the anger of his father so much the more , because he knows the greatness and sweetness of his love , and by that fear preserves and increases his filial obedience . our saviour commands his apostles themselves , who sure were sons , and had the spirit of adoption , to fear him that can destroy both body and soul in hell fire , that they might not fear , but choose to suffer all that man could inflict on their bodies , rather than hazard the loss of his favour ; for what 's the fire of persecution to that of gods wrath ? or the pains of a rack for an hour or two , to the torments of hell for evermore ? the fathers call this fear , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the bridle of lusts or disorderly appetites , and not onely the entrance to piety , but the guardian of all virtue . s t jerom confesses he owed the strictness of his life to this fear ; and s t ambrose says , love it self is upheld by it . some would confine fear to mount sinai , as if mount sion did exclude it ; whereas the apostle having compared the law on the one , and the gospel on the other , heb. 12.18 , 22. adds presently ver . 25. see ye refuse not him that speaketh ; for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth , much more shall not we escape , if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven . and then concludes the whole chapter with these words , wherefore let us have grace , whereby we may serve god acceptably , with reverence and godly fear ; for our god is a consuming fire . i know that of s t aug. is true , brevis differentia legis & evangelij , timor & amor. but 't is the fear of temporal punishment which is proper to the law , wherewith , as also with hope of temporal promises , they were in that nonage allured or terrified , first to outward , then to inward spiritual obedience . we should indeed for the great kindness and enamouring amiableness of our redeemer and redemption , be all on fire with thankful love ; but we must consider not onely what 's the height of our duty we owe to our lord , but what 's that which at first entrance into his school we can perform , and what afterwards through the remainders of corruption we still need , and what he will be pleased to accept . thus to be frighted and chased to happiness is an argument indeed of our imperfection ; but since our state is as yet imperfect , 't is our wisdom to use all such helps as our lord allows of . and yet even in the state of innocency our first parents needed this motive , and had not fell if they had used it : they fell with this thought , that they should not fall . they who in this lapsed imperfect estate , require such christians onely as are made up of all love , do but votum accomodare , non historiam , nec qualis est , sed qualis esse deberet describunt . they tell us what their wish is , and our duty ; but consider not the real history of what is , and what is likely to be effected . thus tully says of cato , that optimo animo & summâ fide utens , nocet , interdum reipublicae , with an honest and good meaning he did sometimes much hurt to the commonwealth , by imposing that strictness of laws and manners , which 't was not able to reach or keep . tanquam in platonis republicâ non tanquam in faece romuli ; fitting his sentence rather to plato's phansied utopian commonwealth , than to the real state of rome . so i may say of these perfectionists , they do not remember that they have to do with men , in whom some remainders of the old man will still be lusting against the spirit ; and those lustings must be check'd , and chil'd and supprest sometimes , with this fear of falling short of god's rest , and falling into intolerable troubles . and yet suppose they were as st. paul , and feared sin more than hell , yet the height of some mens grace is no ground for a general doctrine ; nor because love is the best of all , therefore may fear be made unlawful ; as if that were a sin , which god propounds to keep us from sin. hell i am sure is a part of our creed as well as heaven , and god hath propounded both a tribunal and a mercy-seat , and if we may serve god as moses did , with an eye of hope to the recompence of reward , why not with an eye of fear towards him , who though a father , will-judge every man according to his works . our saviour indeed , luke 12.32 . bids his flock , how little soever , not fear , because it is their fathers pleasure to give them the kingdom ; but the fear he forbids , is the fear of distrustfulness in him , or his promises , or assistances ; as if he would not or could not defend his obedient children against the numerous herd of the wicked ; not the fear of incurring his holy and just displeasure , in case they should do what must displease him . we do not fear as the jews did , present punishment to restrain us from that lust , which otherwise we love and would willingly follow . our greatest motives of obedience are not from that spirit of bondage , which looks chiefly on temporal things , and thinks it self rejected for ever if chastised here , or tried with afflictions ; for the gospel directs us to things invisible and eternal , much more clearly than the law , and makes afflictions patiently endured , the sign of gods favour rather than hatred ; nor is it contrary to the spirit of adoption , to fear offending him that adopted us , lest thereby he disinherit us . though we are received into the family of gods children , and must love god above all as our father , love our redeemer so much more than all relations , than life it self and its dearest contentments , as to forsake and renounce them for ever , rather than him : yet we are still exhorted and enjoyned to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear , not to fear what man , but god can do unto us . to love him as a father , and fear to lose his love by offending him ; to love the son , and kiss him with reverence lest he be angry ; to love the holy spirit of god , and fear to grieve , resist , and quench him , lest we turn his grace into wantonness , and make him withdraw his gracious presence , that would enable us in holiness and righteousness to serve him , without fear of any evil that can befall us so doing , or of any enemy that can hurt us ; and yet to fear him whom we serve as our lord and king. a good son may fear to incur his father's wrath by ceasing to be so , and yet cry abba father . tertullian interprets that of saint john , perfect love casts out fear , of lazy fear , that will not go on in the way of grace , for fear of a lion in the way , some hazard , and difficulties likely to meet him ; not the fear of gods wrath possible to be incurred by sin and backsliding , but of temporal dangers and persecutions . if our love be perfect , though with the perfection of sincerity , that is , habitually prevailing over all other loves , 't will cast out such fear , and make us lay down our lives for the brethren , to glorifie god , and encourage others by the evidence of our faith , content to adventure any thing for christs sake , even death it self ; but sure not the displeasing of god , and the torments of hell , that were too prodigal an alms , too wild a valour , directly contrary to the love as well as fear of god in christ . charity again casteth out all fear , but by degrees ; as that increaseth , so fear abateth . if our sanctification were as perfect for degrees , as universal for its parts ; were our obedience like that of angels , which cannot fail , we should need neither hope to encourage our love , nor fear to guard it ; but while it is only in part , the best christians in this state of imperfection , may have use of a deaths head , and make gods threats as well as promises , subordinate means to concur with the principal ; buttresses to keep the building from swerving , while the foundation of faith and love keeps it from sinking : fides & spes tuta si cauta , secura si sollicita . tert. fear makes our love reverent , our hope wary , our faith discreet . if the sails be too full , they may endanger us as much as a rock ; for fear as a rudder guides and steers our faith and hope , between the gulph or sands of despair ; and the rock of presumption or proud security . serve we the lord then in love , but in fear too , and rejoyce unto him with trembling , as david speaks ; fear him as lord ; love and rejoyce in him as jesus ; yea , and fear him as jesus too ; fear to offend so gracious a saviour , to vilifie and hazard such precious salvation , sit timor innocentiae custos , saith st. cyp. ut deus qui in mentes nostras clementer influxit , in animi hospitio justâ operatione teneatur . if god hath entered into our hearts through his son by his spirit , let us be glad and rejoyce in his presence , for thankful joy is his entertainment ; but let fear keep the door , that nothing enter that may displease so holy a presence . — aiunt quidam , saith tert. se salvo metu ( vel fide ) peccare ; some say , they can venture on sin without any prejudice to faith or fear ; sic ergo & ipsi ( salvâ veniâ ) detrudentur in gehennam , dum salvo metu peccant ; so shall such who say and do so , be thrust into hell , without any prejudice to god's mercy , or christ's merit and intercession . whether we consider the infinite eternal worth and weight of this rest , the intolerable endless troubles of missing it , or the absolute necessity of hating and shunning all evil , of loving and following all duties and graces , in order to attaining the one , and escaping the other . whether we look upon the weakness , inconstancy , treachery of the flesh within us ; or upon the variety of temptations , alluring and terrifying us from the world without , set on by the devil with all the vigilance of subtil malice ; or on the shortness or uncertainty of the time wherein this rest must be secured , or lost for ever . whether we look on the love and infinite mercy of god , in offering , purchasing , inviting , drawing us to this rest at such a price , by such powerful obliging variety of means or motives ; or on the deceitfulness of mans heart , willing to think the conditions of it , fewer and easier than they are ; and to satisfie it self in the hopes of it on an outward profession , a speculative faith , or a partial obedience . or lastly , whether we consider the possibility of falling away through sloth or impatience , from the sincere repentance and faith , love and obedience , which was begun . all and every one of these call for an humble watchful fear , and godly jealousie over our selves , solicitous cautions and diligence lest we fall short of it . take heed then , of thinking this fear of missing it , either unnecessary , or unbeseeming christian professors or true believers ; since many professors are no true believers , and they that are may cease to be so , unless they watch and pray assiduously , and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling . look not upon it , as too slavish for persons regenerate , and children of light ; since sure it is that the spirit of god , and the holy apostles made choice of no arguments , but such as were fit to be made use of by christians ; and the motives of fear , are more than once the arguments they chose , even to those who had been made partakers of christ , and were of the house and family of god ; such as had received the kingdom that could not be moved . heb. 12.28 . who yet , are there exhorted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to have grace , or to hold it fast , by making an humble diligent use of that pretious talent . or if you will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to be thankful to god , the munificent donor of such a benefit , and this duty raised to the height , to the serving of god 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , whether that refer to the persons , and signifie serving with cheerful alacrity ; for fear and chearfulness are very consistent , the former the guardian , the conservator of the latter ; or whether it refer to god as we render it , serving him acceptably , with reverence and godly fear , you have still in this apostle , the motives of fear annexed to this duty ; for our god is a consuming fire . 't was wisdom then and sober piety in him that said , he would not leave his part in hell ( meaning the benefit he found in meditating on god's threats as well as promises ) for all the goods of this world ; knowing how useful the flesh of the viper was to cure its poison ; the torments attending upon sin , to check its temptations ; the apprehension of a fever or other distemper , annexed by consequence , to restrain from those pleasant forbidden fruits , which courted his senses , and sollicit his phansie ; the deadly hook , to keep from venturing on the bait ; the sea , from the syren . thus when the apostle exhorts the hebrews to fear , lest any of them should seem to fall short of this rest : the word seem , signifies not only an outward appearance of the things , without a reality of the danger or misery forewarn'd of ; but in let us take heed , is also meant a real incurring the same , without taking heed to the counsel given ; or it may be , the apostle chose to speak so , to mitigate the sharpness of that which he spake of to the hebrews , that he might not be thought to conclude them apostates , but only to fear they may be so , unless they look'd in good time warily to it . such charitable rhetoric we read him using heb. 6.9 . but beloved , we are persuaded better things of you , and things that ( are near or ) accompany salvation , though we thus speak . it may be also he saith seem , to stir up their fear and caution the more , against such coldness , sloth , and inconstancy of mind , as began to appear among the hebrews , which if not in time bewailed and rectified , might hazard the prize set before them , and fall to peremptory infidelity . thus he is charitably suspicious of them , and jealous over them with a godly jealousie , as he speaks 2 cor. 11.2 . and gives withall to understand , that 't is not enough for a wise and thankful christian , to abhor and avoid utter apostacies , and final missing of gods rest ; but 't is their safety , duty , and honour , to keep from the very approaches to it , and appearances of it ; and not to give any occasions to others , to hear , or see , or think that we are fallen , or falling away . abstain from all appearance of evil , 1 thes . 5.22 . lest while you indulge your selves to sloth , and give your selves over as far as you may with any hopes of attaining heaven , to the pleasures and cares , or other concerns of this life ; you do not only seem to fall short , but do so indeed , and plainly appear to do so . and this is the last sence of the word lest ye seem , that is , appear and give too great undeniable evidence , that you are of those that apostatize , and fall short of gods rest . so when it is said , v. 2. the gospel was preach'd as well to us as unto them , it does not imply that the gospel was preach'd as clearly and fully to them as unto us ; but that it was preach'd sufficiently to them , in such a manner , and measure revealed , as was most suitable to those times , by types and prophesies , spiritual and eternal things , under the vail of external and visible temporal things ; yet so that the light shone through the vail on all their hearts , who were attentive to the drift and true aim , the grounds and reasons of them , and to the prophesies that went before and along with them , to make them the clearlier understood . the apostle by saying as well to us , speaks by a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or intimation , of so well at least , and much better ; for to us the gospel is preach'd , without intervention of types and prophesies , in its clear , full , actual exhibition , unveiling those types , fulfilling those prophesies , revealing the whole mystery of godliness , and counsel of god much plainer , dispensing the light and grace of gods spirit more generally and plentifully : so that the argument runs thus ; if they that had gods rest promised to them more obscurely , and in a lower degree and measure , yet fell short of it for want of being sound , and constant in faith and obedience ; how much more shall they do so , who having the gospel preach'd unto them in its clearest fullest degree of light and power , yet do not receive , believe , and obey it , with faithful sincerity and perseverance ? now by faith , for want of which the word preach'd did not profit them , is meant such a firm well-grounded persuasion of gods unchangeable all sufficient wisdom and truth , as to adhere and cleave thereto , against whatever appearing difficulties or temptations . for the ancient israelites , they had most of them once believed god and moses , when they slew the passover , and sprinkled their doors with the bloud thereof , went out of egypt , though pharaoh was ready to pursue them , and went through the red sea into the wilderness towards canaan , following the conduct of the cloud and pillar of fire ; but when there arose any new difficulty or temptation , moses his absence for 40 days , want of water , bread for a while , nay want of flesh , the allurements of women , though heathenish idolaters , the news of gyants and high walls , they strangely forget the former evidences of gods faithfulness , power , goodness , and truth ; question and tempt him , repine and murmur , and turn back in their hearts to egypt . wherefore 't was want of consideration , and serious attentive frequent minding what they had formerly known and believed , which continually exposed them to fall away to unbelief and disobedience : such are the grounds and motives of faith propounded in scripture , that they who attend impartially and seriously , cannot with any true reason , deny their assent and approbation of that doctrine , which they prove and and blind the heart , that final impenitency ; and infidelity is the issue in too too many . let no man then deceive himself with presumptious hopes , of entring gods rest , on bare profession of his gospel ( for that may be counterfeit ; and void of any well grounded faith ; sure to fail in time of trial. ) thus we see the word and means of grace , though never so wisely and powerfully dispenced , may prove very generally ineffectual , for want of being mixt with faith in the partakers : and that they who enjoy the means of grace , and yet are not wrought upon by them , to faith and obedience , sincere , and durable , their call and profession , of being the people of god , does them not onely no good ; but hastens and aggravates their condemnation ; is it not time then for those who live in the light of the gospel ( as never i think any nation did , for hundreds of years , if this hath not ) to look to their hearts and lives impartially ; and thence discover what grounds and stability of faith ; there is in the one , what fruits and good effects in the other ; and if they find themselves at a loss , to take the blame intirely and wholly to themselves , not to the want of means and motives , pastors or teachers , skillful and faithful , but to the want of their own attention and consideration ; their taking up their profession of christianity on no better or surer grounds ; than that which a pagan , or mahometan relies on , for their wicked errors . or if they have taken it up on better , and know what , and why , they believe ; then they are clearlier convinced , and condemned by their own conscience for not persevering , and increasing that faith by living sincerely according to it , but contradicting their very faith , as well as profession , untill the custom of sin hath darkned , if not extinguisht their former evidences ; is it not high time then for any that finde it thus with them , to cast away all longer delays of self abhorrence and repentance , to return to god and their own hearts with shame and grief for their former backslidings , and for ever , from henceforth to be the more humble for what is past , watchful and zealous for the future in reviewing their faith , and living by it in holiness and righteousness , purity and peaceableness , obedience and patience , lest that faith which hath been deadned , and contradicted so long and often ; turn to a total and final apostacy in the end . there 's nothing more clear in holy scripture than that they whom god vouchsafes to call by his loudest voice ; and powerfullest means , to repentance and faith , and obedience ; are rendred thereby so much the more hainously guilty of willful ingratitude , unbelief , and disobedience , and therefore liable to so much the sorer condemnation ; unless they repent , believe , and obey according to that light and grace which was afforded them : you have i known of all nations , therefore you will i punish the sooner and more severely . this is the condemnation , that light is come into the world , and ye have loved darkness rather than light . woe unto thee corazin , woe unto thee bethsaida , for if the mighty works , &c. they had repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes . how shall we of all others escape , if we neglect so great salvation . it is indeed a great favour and mercy of god to send us his gospel , to prevent us with all the means of grace , but favours and mercies abused and perverted ; increase the guilt of those that receive them , but would not use them to god's glory and their own salvation : and yet what more common and general for men and women of all sorts , to suppose themselves safe enough , and entituled sufficiently to god's rest , because they are of the visible church , professing that truth which should purify and sanctify them , but doth not , because it is not aright considered and laid to heart , in its grounds and reasons , terms , and conditions , as well as its promises . the greatest part of the jews you see , though brought out of egypt with many miracles , made the peculiar people of god , the lively oracles committed to them , and what not that could be desired to make them holy or happy , yet for want of considering and believing the word of god , forfeited and lost their title to canaan . and the greatest part i fear of christians ; yea of the purest professors of christianity , will forfeit and lose their title to heaven ; unless they consider , believe , and obey the gospel of christ more sincerely , impartially , constantly than hitherto they seem to have done . and if they miss of gods rest , for want of considering and performing its conditions , their anguish and pain will be so much the heavier to all eternity : they that have the oracles of god , the word and sacraments ; pastors and teachers granted to them , and yet are never the better , and holier , are so much worse ; because they disgrace , and bring a reproach on the greatest and weightiest truth in the world , as if it had no evidence or power in it . the israelites once were like gideons fleece , full of heavenly dew in a drought ; endued with those high and happy priviledges , of which we read rom. 2.3 . and rom. 9.4 . but yet because they lived not answerably to their vocation , but made their privileges occasions of pride , and vain presumption of gods favour ; till at last they rejected their very messias , of whom they boasted as their peculiar , they are at this day like the mountains of gilboa barren and dry , while the dew of heaven hath fallen abundantly upon the nations . the favours shewn to the christian church are greater than theirs , because the truth is clearlier revealed , the means of grace more powerfull and less burthensom . but yet these favours , if trusted to , and yet neglected ; will prove aggravations of god's displeasure . to be surrounded with such helps of god from above , of men below ; ready to further us towards heaven , of precepts to guide , promises to encourage us , and yet to fall short of gods rest , is a double and treble shame and sorrow : wherefore if not in gratitude to god , for all his mercies , yet for fear lest these mercies prove by our own willful neglect and contempt of them , the aggravations of our misery , let us while it is called to day ; excite our selves , and exhort one another to repentance and faith , holiness , and righteousness , obedience and patience , against whatever temptations arise . we have a promise infallibly sure , incomparably pretious , of entring gods rest , his word to quicken us ; his sacraments to confirm us ; his grace to prevent assist and follow us ; if we hearken to his word , and resist not his grace , neither prophane nor idolize his sacraments , but receive them with faith and reverence ; as they were instituted in love : if we hear the church , and watch over our selves and one another , sin shall have no dominion over us , we shall be built up from one degree of faith and holiness to another , until we enter gods rest ; without any fear or possibility of falling from it : but if we neglect the conditions of it , and trust to the promise as if it were absolute ; to the means of grace , as if they were even grace it self ; our sloth and confidence will end in despair ; and find for ever so much the greater trouble and anguish ; for having missed of god's rest , offered unto us on such conditions . let us awake then , and excite our selves and one another ; by all the arguments of hope and fear , love and gratitude , that so god may have the honour of all his favours bestowed upon us , and we the everlasting comfort , of being thankful , and hearing that beatifical voice : well done good and faithful servant ; enter thy masters joy and rest . now this rest of gods , is not the rest of the sabboth or canaan in this life , but that eternal rest with god in heaven , implied indeed and preparation made for it by the sabboth ; typified by canaan , begun here by believers to be injoy'd in its first fruits , through faith and hope , but not to be had in its full harvest ; its perfect peace and joy in god , 'till we come to heaven : we which have believed , saith saint paul , do enter into rest , that is , shall if we persevere in faith and holiness , enter into it perfectly ; without possibility of forfeiting or losing it ; do enter into it now by faith and hope in god's promises ; by love and obedience of his precepts , which gives us a real title to it ; yea a true , though initial imperfect defeasible admission into it , by that rest from the guilt of sin , which faith and the merits and intercession of christ jesus , receives and imbraces with peace and joy , by that rest from the power , disorder and tyranny of sin , which faith procuring gods spirit , and looking upon the certainty and weight of his promises and threats , the beauty and excellency of his precepts , together with the great obligation of god's mercy in sending his son to die for our sins , and rise again for our justification , effects and enjoys . thus believers , if such believers as rely on the promises of god's rest , with faithful resolutions and endeavours to perform its conditions ; do enter into it initially ; and shall enter into it eternally . but how proves the apostle this ? the proof of it is in these words . he said i have sworn in my wrath that they shall not enter my rest , who shew themselves obstinately unbelieving and disobedient : the argument is taken à contrario , from the nature of contrary things ; if infidelity and disobedience , be that alone which excludes from the promise of god's rest ; then faith and obedience , or such a faith as produceth obedience , is that which entitles us to enter into it , for god's promise cannot be satisfied ; nor wholly norutterly disappointed , or made to become of none effect : and therefore though they who would not believe it ; nor keep its conditions , fell short of it , yet they who believe and perform its conconditions must enter into it : yea his very wrath and oath against the one for their unbelief and disobedience , implies and inferrs his complacency , and love towards the other , his undefeasible decree and oath , that they persevering in faith and obedience shall enter , and fully enjoy his rest ; and this rest , was not the rest of canaan : for if joshua or jesus , the son of nun , had given them rest , then would not david afterwards have spoken of another rest ; from whence the apostle inferrs , what he began with ; there remains therefore a rest to the people of god ; another manner of rest than that of canaan ; eternal and perfect with god in heaven , to which the true joshua or jesus the son of god ; must give us entrance by faith in him ; of whom joshua the son of nun , was but an imperfect transitory type , as that rest of canaan , and of the sabboth , was of the perfect eternal rest ; which still remains for gods people ( the whole church of true persevering obedient believers . ) from what the apostle hath said we may make this observation : that man hath no true and perfect rest in ought but god : his rest is mans rest , because he is the rest and happiness of man ; the ultimate compleate satisfactory object of reasonable creatures ; to rest in any thing but in him , as our happiness , without dependance on him as the author , and reference to him as the end thereof , is sinful vanity and vexation , sure to end in eternal trouble without repentance . canaan it self was not to be the final rest and happiness of the israelites , nor must any thing in this world , any thing less than god be ours : what god hath said to the jews of old — he much more clearly hath said and proved to us christians : arise and depart , for this is not your resting place . the heavenly rest and eternal life of seeing god , as he is , was but obscurely and imperfectly revealed to them ; who lived before or under the law till christ came , in whom the promise of it was made , when man had lost all hope of it . it was till then , wrapt up as it were in the seed and bloome of types and prophesies , implied and intimated in the sabboth , and canaan , and temporal blessings , attending piety in this life rather than manifested , and brought to light in its clearest evidences and strongest assurances , as now our lord jesus hath done , who hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel , and therefore if they were obliged only in god through christ jesus , to place their happiness in nothing below , but to look on him through the vaile of types , and temporal blessings ; how much more are we obliged , as well as enabled , to do so , to whom christ hath been exhibited with all the fulness of truth and grace , revealing the whole counsel of god , our rest in him , and the way to attain it , without obscurity and beyond dispute ? if david foresaw and foretold this rest to be remaining ; when he not only enjoy'd canaan , and its blessings , as the other israelites did ; but the very height thereof , as a prosperous king ; if he could say , deliver me o lord from the men of this world , whose portion is in this life ; i am a stranger and sojourner here as all my fathers were ; how much more are we obliged to think and say so , who have not such types and temporal blessings to vaile the object of our rest , and interrupt our sight of it , to whom the son and lord of david , hath been exhibited , exemplifying and teaching us , our only rest to be in god the father , through him the son , by his holy spirit , dying to purchase an entrance to it , rising and ascending and sitting down in a glorious rest at gods right hand to assure us of it . it is no less than the sin of idolatry to place our rest , confidence or happiness , in pleasures or honours , possessions or riches , or any thing else that this world can gratifie us with ; it is the bitter spring or root of all sins ; it contradicts the design of god , in giving us any temporal blessings ; he gave them to help us unto him , that reflecting upon him as their author and end , we might be perswaded to love him incomparably above all ; if we fall in love with them , instead of raising our love to him , we quite pervert the intent of his favours , and turn them into hinderances , to his dishonour and our own ruine . he gave them to comfort us in our journy ; and shall we so mistake his meaning , as to set up our dwelling in the inn , and travaile no farther towards our country but forget the giver , because of that gift which was sent us on purpose , to mind us of him ? this were to bring that curse on our selves which the prophet foretold , rather than prayed , might fall on gods enemies ; let their table be made a snare , and that which should have been for their wealth , be an occasion of falling to them . this were indeed to provoke god , either to withdraw those favours , which thus he sees rested in , instead of him , or else to embitter and curse them from yeilding any content ; and if he should suffer us still to rest in them to his dishonour , 't would prove the greatest , surest curse of all others , to live and die in this false deceitful transitory rest , which leads to , and ends in eternal trouble , and sorrow of body and soul . that which is mans true rest , must be able to give him full and perpetual satisfaction ; but all things below do neither satisfie us , while we have them , nor can continue with us longer , to yield us that rest or pleasure which we fancy . we spend much time and care to get them , and when we have gotten them , as we think , they die in the mid'st of our embraces , and leave little or nothing behind them , but shame and loathing : taedet adeptos , quod adepturos torsit , we pine for them as ammon for thamar , and then repine at our selves and them , that we were such fools as to seek our rest , where 't was not : therefore all carnal worldly persons , whether the sensual or voluptuous , the covetous , or ambitious , are fain to wander from one purstui and design to another ; till having run the whole circle , they are weary and giddy , perplext and tired , and cry out , vanity of vanities , all is vanity and vexation , no rest to be had below , and how shall we hope for that above , who never sought till 't was too late : ahabs kingdom seem'd as nothing , unless he might have naboths vineyard ; and having obtained it by perjury and murther , it pressed him to death and hell. alexander had no rest , till he conquered , he thought , one world , and then had as little , or rather less , suspecting and killing his nearest friends , untill he drank himself to death and found that poison in intemperance , which he feared to find from his cup-bearer . let 's consult our own experience , and hearts , hath any of us who have run through several states of life , with hopes of rest , when this or that were attained , found the rest which we hoped for , and not , either quite miss'd what we sought , or miss'd of that rest , and satisfaction which we sought and hoped to have found ? or if any of us have been so happy , and yet so miserable , so happy as to obtain our desires ; and yet so miserable as to desire no more , no rest in heaven , no peace and joy of life eternal with god ; can any of us without stupifying our very reason , common sense , as well as faith , take rest in that which we know we must leave e're many years , and which for ought we know may leave us e're many days ? thus we see what an hainous sin ; indeed the spring of all sins is , to seek or desire to rest in ought but god , and withall , what a folly and madness it is against our selves , as well as a sin against god : and yet how guilty of this ingratitude and this folly are most christians , if we reckon them so , who carry the name and profession of christianity ? if god send men health and wealth , peace and plenty , possessions and honours ; how ready are they to set up their rest on this side jordan ? whereas all this was given them to raise their gratitude , towards its donor , and make them thereby long after him , that they might at length rest in him : but if god send them afflictions and troubles , to wean them and drive them from this their folly ; they are troubled and grieved as if they had lost their god and saviour in losing that which they had not lost , if they would but have used it moderately and thankfully , as coming from god , and leading to him . but woe , and restless trouble , and anguish for ever more , must , and will be their portion ; whom neither prosperity can invite , nor adversity drive to rest in god : secondly , they who believe with such a faith in christ jesus as works by love , the love of god above all , as their perfect eternal rest and happiness , their all-sufficient shield here , and exceeding great reward hereafter , they alone do enter god's rest ; here by faith hope and love , hereafter by full immediate , inseparable sight and fruition : here they enter god's rest inchoitivè , by having a title to it , as adopted sons and heirs of god through christ jesus , by having a true , though imperfect prospect or foresight of it , through faith in gods word and the merits of christ . now this is a blessed rest to the soul , compared with that miserable toile and drudgery , fears and troubles , which all unbelieving and disobedient wicked persons lie under , how prosperous soever their outward condition in this world seems . the rest of a traveller , is far short of one that is come to his country and home , and yet it is a true rest , compared with one that wanders through desarts , boggs and precipices into ruine . he that now knows he is in the right way to his final rest , his fathers house , where he shall be sure of a glorious inheritance , and satisfactory eternal peace and joy , that through the way he goes also , he shall be directed in all turnings , protected from all dangers , refreshed and relieved at every stage ; with competent food and comfortable rest ; this mans heart is calm and quiet from those anxieties , which the other suffers ; and though he must look to his way as he goes , be thrifty and temperate in his inn ; and travel forward with watchful diligence , and painful industry , yet his labours and cares have the rest of hope , and chearful expectance ; and as he draws nearer his country and home , so his rest and joy increaseth . this is the rest of holy travellers towards heaven , their country , their god and father : to which christ , matt. 11.28 . invites the weary and heavy laden , and into which , when they come unto him , they enter by faith ; if such a faith as takes up his yoke , and wears his burthen with meekness , and lowliness , as easy and gracious . faith laies hold on the merits of christ , and rests on him that takes away the sins of the world ; by the propitiation of his obedience , for pardon and peace , as knowing nothing else can procure it but that . that most certainly and fully shall procure it for all that come unto god by him , for mercy and grace . god was in christ , saith st. paul , 2 cor. 5.19 , 21. reconciling the world unto himself , not imputing their trespasses to them ; for he hath made him to be sin for us , who knew no sin ; that we might be made the righteousness of god in him . he might have declared his mercy to us some other way , but this was the only best way to declare his righteousness as well as mercy , that he might be just as well as gracious , in justifying the sinner , and punishing the sin . therefore being justifyed by faith , we enter into gods rest , having peace with god through christ jesus , saith st. paul. he that relies his weary soul on this rock and sure foundation , shall never be ashamed of his hope , if he rely with such a faith and hope on it , as accepts of the yoke , as well as the rest ; but shall by degrees , as he grows in holiness and righteousness , find the rest of his soul increased and assured unto him more and more , till he attain that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that fulness of peace and joy in believing , which st. paul expresseth , rom. 8.38 . who shall lay any thing to the charge of gods elect , 't is god that justifieth , who is he that condemneth ? 't is christ that died , or rather is risen again to god's right hand , and there makes intercession for us . as for afflictions that often may and do follow this rest of faith for justification ; st. paul shews in the next words that they rather confirm and ratifie the pardon , than question or lessen it ; through that experience of gods wise and faithful love , in making all things work together for good , to those that love him above all : who shall seperate us from the love of god in christ ? shall tribulation or distress , persecution or nakedness ; famin or sword ? in all these we are more than conquerors through him that loved us . if weak christians coming to christ with faithful desires ; and resolutions to weare his yoke , and bear his burthen , meekly and humbly , find not this rest of justification , with such a degree of peace and joy , as st. paul expresseth , 't is not because christ giveth them not what he promiseth ; but because he giveth it them gradually , according as they are able and fit , by their faith to receive it ; for he saith to every soul now , as to them in st. matt. 9.24 . be it unto you , according to your faith , if your faith be strong , and lively ; both in believing my promise and merit , and in undertaking that yoke of his yoke ; though they find not as yet that rest and peace which their souls desire , pray and stay for . blessed is he that stayeth and waiteth with humble prayer gods leisure ; since he hath promised who cannot fail , that he will not break the bruised reed , but give in time the garment of joy , for the spirit of heaviness : and isai . 57.15 , 16. i will dwell with the contrite humble spirit to revive it , for i will not contend for ever , neither will i be always wrath , lest the spirit should fail before me , and the souls which i have made . thus you have seen the first rest which true believers enter into even here in this life , the rest of pardon , and justification upon their repentance and faith in christ . the second , is a rest from the tyrannous reign of sin , by those motives of hope and fear , love and gratitude ; which faith propoundeth from christs gospel and the spirit of grace ; holiness and comfort , which faith procureth by earnest prayer . now this is so necessarily joyned with the other , the rest of pardon , that 't is its ordinary standing evidence , and the means to obtain it more and more . for we may not come to christ for pardon , to give us the rest of justification from sins guilt , and condemning power , by his blood , unless we so value that pardon and its price , as sincerely to hate , and be heartily willing to forsake that sin , which the wisdom and holy justice of god could not , or would not remit or forgive , but at such a price as his own eternal infinite sons humiliation to , and in that humane nature which had offended . we must feel as well the burthen of sins loathsom filth and hateful disorder , as well as that of its guilt and punishment , before we are those weary and laden , those poor and humble ones in spirit , who have a title to rely on christ for rest from both ; but to those who so come unto him , our gracous lord never denies what he invites to , rest from the slavish service of sin , as well as from its intolerable guilt and condemnation : his blood and spirit are never sever'd ; where-ever the one is actually imputed to justification , the other is always imparted also to sanctification , and therefore st. paul joyns them together , 1 cor. 6.11 . such were some of you , but ye are washt , but ye are sanctified , but ye are justified , in the name of the lord jesus , and by the spirit of our god : and rom. 8.2.9 . the law of the spirit of life in christ jesus , hath set me free from the law of sin and death . but if any man have not the spirit of christ , he is as yet none of his , though he may be his by repentance and faith . and indeed this rest from sins dominion , you will easily see to be a necessary , and great part of the souls happiness in this life , if you will but consider the burthensome drudgery , that wicked men lie under until they obtain it , and enter into it by such a faith in christ jesus , as works by obedience . for every person living in any course of impiety , unrighteousness , intemperance , is a self-accusing , self-condemning , divided creature , a terror and shame unto himself . he cannot choose but wish and desire eternal rest , yet is customarily drawn by his lusts and passions , to do that which certainly leads to eternal anxiety and tribulation . his reason invites him to that good which is spiritual , immortal , infinite , and therefore a satisfactory rest to his soul ; to the only god who made him at first , and who alone can make him happy . but his lust and passions draw him away to that which is earthly , sensual , devilish . not only finite and fading , and so disappointing him , but filthy and base , and so distracting and vexing his soul with foul disorder and guilty shame . his spirits and conscience often tells him , that he ought to maintain an humble holy communion with god , by faith and hope and love , prayers and praises ; that so he may be prepared to see him in that immediate clear revelation of his glory ; but his lusts and passions , so burthen and oppress him , that he cannot lift up his heart to god , nor draw near his holy presence with any delight , but studies to shun him , and live without the remembrance of his goodness and mercies ; that he may forget his power and justice . to behold the creator in the creature , and love the giver in his gifts , to contemplate his power wisdom and goodness , shining in his word and works ; to be thankfull for his past benefits , rejoycing in his present favour , and panting after his blessed presence to all eternity ; to fit himself for that presence , by purifying himself , as he is pure ; by being righteous holy and merciful , as he is ; to govern himself and those that are under him , in such order as god prescribes ; this is the rest as well as the labour of rational souls in this life , a pleasure and honour as well as a taske . but sin is such a burthenous tyrant and oppressor , that it makes the sinner imploy his reason , made to serve , know , love and enjoy god : it makes him imploy this reason in the drudgery of covetousness , in the brutishness of lusts , and sensuality , in the devillishness of malice , envy , revenge , pride and ambition . his reason was given to study god and his will , to please and delight in him here , that he may for ever see and enjoy him , with mutual complacency ; to help others to do so by word and deed , and who is there that hath not quite unchristian'd and unman'd himself , but in sober retirement , thinks this a work that hath pleasure in it , and rest as well as labour ? but sin is such a wearisom tyrant and oppressor , that it makes the reasonable immortal soul , that heavenly breath , that image of god , a sneaking pandor to his lusts ; a drudging purveyor to his belly and appetite ; a fawning dissembling false hearted flatterer , to his pride and ambition ; a slanderous sycophant , detractor and whisperer to his envy ; a brawling railing reviler to his wrath or anger ; a bloody assassinate to his revenge ; a griping extortioner , or theevish cheater to his covetousness ; a seducer and tempter , that is an assistant to satan in ruining his own and other mens souls : and when all this is done , see what wearisom , restless toyle remains for the sinner . he would live for ever in this world , but sees he must die and be call'd to account ; and seeing that , he would die for ever , and turn to nothing , but that he sees he cannot neither . he would have gods favour , but dares not come near him . he would live in peace and approbation with himself , but a civil war and contrary desires , lusts and passions , contrary each to one another , and all to reason , tear and divide him from himself . he would live at rest and peace with other men , but his covetousness and pride makes him injurious , his wrath and revenge , his malice and envy makes him impatient , and quite bereave him of this peace : he would be rich , but either his sloth will not gather , or his lusts and vain glory scatters as fast as his industry gets . he would live in safety and ease , but his haughty ambition , makes him endure labour and danger day and night . he would be in honour and high repute , but his sordid lusts and cowardly fears , griping covetousness or wrathfull revenge , makes him hateful and contemptible . his pride and ambition would command all men , but it makes him first fawn and flatter , bow and cringe to those whom he secretly hates and scorns . he would be true to his own principles and religion , not give himself the lie , by professing what he doth not believe ; but his love of the world , and fear of poverty or of death , doth so disturb the rest of his soul , that he coucheth under every load , complies and conforms to any profession of faith or worship , which those who prevail would have him subscribe to , till he lay down his faith , hope , and conscience , at the feet of a man , whose breath is in his nostrils , who threatens and strikes , and is no more . thus he that serves is restless indeed , opprest and tired with contrary tyrants , crossing and thwarting one another , till they wrack and tear the man in pieces , and drag him to everlasting trouble , anguish and sorrow . how sweet then and highly pretious is that rest , which faith in god through jesus christ enters into , when under the light and worth of that truth , which it hath received , it guides and subdues all its appetites , affections and passions from a right principle by a right rule , to a right end ; which is nothing but god and his word ; god as its author governour and happiness , or perfect rest ? for though the rest be yet imperfect , because the world the flesh and the devil do yet oppose it ; yet christ hath promised that no opposition shall overthrow it , unless we willfully and obstinately grieve that spirit of truth , holiness and comfort , which was given us as the seal of our faith and peace with god , the preserver and finisher of this rest , the assurance of our present adoption , and future inheritance , if we will but wisely and thankfully value that rest , into which we are enter'd , humbly and watchfully pray unto christ to confirm and increase it ; all oppositions shall prove advantages , all dangers , travails and labours , so many evidences of gods faithfulness to us , and ours to him ; of his being our all sufficient shield and supporter here , our exceeding reward and satisfactory rest for evermore . now see what a blessed rest there is in faith and holiness , and all those graces which wait on them . faith in god gives the mind a sabboth of rest , from all those anxious perplexing enquiries , and self contradicting resolutions , which humane reason left to it self is vexed with ; and settles the heart on that divine wisdom and truth , which can neither deceive nor be deceived , humbling at once the understanding and advancing it , because it is its greatest advancement to be humbled under god , who never fails to honour those who honour him ; and makes the conscience arise and rejoyce , to see that it hath submitted it self to such a guide . take faith in its meanest offices , of trusting god in our temporal affairs , resigning our selves to his wisdom , power and goodness , as one that can and will chuse better for us , than we our selves ; what peace and rest is this to our souls , from all those servile fears and cares , those base submissions , and baser oppressions , which the covetous worldling , or cowardly trembling unbeliever undergoes ? though the waters rage and the earth shake , yet he whose heart trusts in the lord , that all things shall work together for good , he is the only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or a squar'd man , whom no change can make a changeling , because his heart stands fast , and believes in the faithful god ; he is gotten above this region of meteors , clouds and winds ; because the lord is his sun and shield , which no cloud can intercept , no wind shake . but then in the higher offices of faith , whereby it considers and embraces the glorious truth of god , our redeemer and saviour , and sees that they are as certainly true as gloriously great . that former sins confessed and forsaken , are blotted out for the merits of christ , the law satisfied by such a surety ; satans accusations silenced by such an advocat ; that afflictions and death have lost their sting , and are turned into benefits . that he who hath begun a good work will also finish it , and never leave us in life and death , untill he hath brought us to perfect rest , and full happiness both of soul and body ; what fruit can this produce but peace and joy in the holy ghost , cheerful constancy and perseverance in doing and suffering the will of god ? it rescues us from all those trembling fears , and sorrowful agonies , which else must seize upon our hearts , from the weakness of the flesh and the strength of our enemies , from the curse of the law , and the horrors of conscience , from the malice and subtilty of the world and the devil . how well then might st. paul say we that believe enter gods rest ; do already , in good degree ; shall compleatly and unchangeably , if we persevere . hope , the second christian grace , is so near of kin to faith , that 't is lineally derived from it , and born of it ; nor can that heart but find a comfortable blessed rest , which hopes in the fountain of all blessedness , hopes to see and enjoy him for ever ; and in that hope purifies himself : all other hopes are dead or dying , sure to leave him void of rest , full of anxiety that builds on them . this is the only lively hope as saint peter calls it ; because placed in the fountain of life and joy it self : this is that grace which applies to our selves the general promises , the souls anchor , which makes it ride safe and triumphant in the midst of tempests here below , because it enters within the vail of heaven it self , and takes possession before hand of all its treasures , and by its joyful expectations becomes that helmet in st. paul , which guards the head against all blows of the world or devil ; wherefore he bids us rejoyce in hope , be patient and cheerful in tribulation , instant in prayer , and tells us , coll. 1.11 . that this is that which strengthens the heart with all might , to all patience , and long suffering with joyfulness . it is indeed the anticipation of heaven on earth , and makes the rest of that world , our portion in this . as for charity the third grace , the image and transcript of god himself who is goodness and love ; greater than either , or faith or hope , is holy charity ; greater than they for rest and joy as well as use , because the very fruit and end , the evidence and perfection of both . can there be any more blessed rest , or satisfaction in this life , than the love of him , who is infinitely amiable , whose glorious perfections ravish the angels , into an extasy and admiration of endless felicity ? what ever we do or can love else , we can neither be sure to enjoy it long , nor if we could , would it satisfie , but cloy or tire , and leave us empty and discontented : but to love god , is to rest in him : nor can any thing tire or finish , intercept or disappoint the rest and peace , and joy of that love which is fixed on him , who is the eternal boundless good : this is godliness , this is holiness , to love god in all , and above all what we love besides , and 't is our happiness as well as holiness , that which gives reason its throne , and proper dignity , above all those blind , violent lusts and passions within , or temptations without , which keep a man from possessing himself with any freedom or solid peace ; nor can a man be firmly united to himself , but by being united unto god : when once the soul loves god sincerely , and constantly above all ; and hath resign'd its will to his , it hath its rest ; whether the world smile or frown , nothing can come amiss to it , come what will it cannot destroy its rest in god. as is the object or main end on which the soul of man fixes as its happiness ; so is the soul for its condition , quiet or restless , constant or wavering , discontented or satisfied : he that parsues earthly things as his main end , becomes vain , unstable , unsatisfied and perplexed , led up and down by the foolish fire of sence or phancy , changing as they and the world change , disquieted with that vexation , and vanity which they find abroad , and that sedition they find at home , 'twixt reason and unreasonable lusts , affections and passions . but he that rests and centers himself on god through christ , on that one end , and sovereign good , in that way which he hath appointed , which is indeed but himself , become a suitable way to that end he hath chosen ; that which will unite and reconcile him , not only to himself in all his faculties , desires , and actions or pretensions ; but to all the various , providential dispensations in this world , which seem so intricate , perplext , and perplexing to flesh and blood ; wherefore they that by faith have entred into the love of god above all , must necessarily have entred into rest , in the same degree in which it is evident to themselves , that they have done so : and then the charity which flows from the love of god above all , on his image or proxy or neighbour , our brother , our fellow christian ; is their any thing besides that principle , from which it flows more full of rest , peace and joy , than to love and promote his virtue and happiness , to love that nature which christ assumed and died for ; to love the image of god in man , which is to love god himself by reflection and consequence , and so indeed to love our selves , increase and secure our own happiness ? it is the voice of all mankind not quite degenerated to beast ; that friendship and charity is the sweetest delight of this life , next to that in god himself . that malice and envy , to be hatefull , and hating one another , is one of the greatest , odiousest miseries , the very image of hell it self , where there is nothing but hatred and cursing ; whereas of heaven we understand little more , than that the blessed inhabitants of it love god above all , and one another as themselves ; nor can their happiness fail or abate , because their charity or love cannot . bounty and mercy , the fruits of this charity , makes a man gods vicegerent , in doing good to those that are , or may be his ; in rescuing them from the devils malice and wicked men , by seasonable relief of their soul and body , and is so pleasant , so joyfull a duty , that it renders the giver more rest and delight , than the needy receiver , and returns with usury at the present into his bosom , by the comfortable evidence of his own sincerity , and so of his interest in many promises ; both of securing his temporal welfare , and increasing his eternal . love towards men , especially christians , for christ sake , melting our hearts , and opening our hands , with cheerful joy to relieve their wants , free 's our souls from the chilling cold of unmerciful covetousness , which gripes it self as well as others ; gives us rest from the canker of envy , and fretful malice , which makes us take delight and content in another mans graces , welfare and happiness , as part of our own ; gives us rest from the rack and fire of rage and revenge , gives us the peace and honour , of conquering evil with good , and then makes us rejoyce again , that this is our plea for gods mercy towards our selves : and who then would refuse or neglect the rest of charity ? humility is another grace , which besides the calm and rest of soul , which christ hath peculiarly promised to it , hath such an attractive , controlling loveliness , that 't is the rival of heaven and earth . god himself that inhabits eternity , dwells with the humble ; ( as the god of peace brings rest and peace wherever he dwells ) and what wise or good man , loves not to dwell with such also ? so true is that of prov. 16.19 . 't is better to be of an humble spirit , than to divide the spoil with the proud . how restless is pride in all its designs , and haughty pursuits ? how discontented with god and man if it miss of them ? and if it attain them , how full of ingratitude and scornful disdain , of fears and jealousies on the one side , of tumors and swellings , of endless ambition on the other ? but the humble person enjoys the rest of thankful contentment in all conditions , thinks himself less than the least of gods mercies , had rather by farr obey than rule ; and if he receive contempt or injuries , is not disturbed with wrath or revenge , but sits down in humble silence , as fearing he may have some ways deserved it . great is the rest which meekness and patience brings to the soul of man : meekness is the ornament of a quiet spirit , very pretious in gods sight , and therefore ought to be so in ours . i appeal to the reason and experience of any man , whether it be not rest and ease , to forgive an injury rather than be provoked to revenge ; and to lay aside the consideration of other mens malice , envy and peevishness , rather than imitate it , and suffer the vexing remembrance of it , to boil and ferment in our watchful minds , until it hath conquered , and transform'd us into the same troublesom evil ? is it not peace , and a blessed rest to sit still , and lift up no hands , but those of charity , and charitable prayer , rather than labour in fighting and wounding one another ? to hold ones peace , than to rail and revile ? which hath more rest in it , to study to be quiet , and do ones own business , or to be prying and intermedling with other mens office , faults or secrets ? to speak evil of no man , or to be always finding fault , and speaking the worst we can of any , who differ from us in any respect ? which is the greatest trouble and burthen , meekly to obey our lawfull governours , in church and state , where god hath not commanded the contrary ; or be allways disputing against a few harmless indifferent ceremonies , untill we have quarre'ld our selves , and others into a causeless scandalous , pernitious separation ? then for humble contented patience , that precept of the old testament , but wisdom and mystery of the new : thou shalt not covet , but be content patiently with thy own portion ; what is it but a rest rather than burthen , a purchase or priviledge , rather than duty when once learnt ? let the carnal or worldly man , with his bored tub of insatiable desires , cry as the horseleach ; give , give and seek after wealth as he should after god , without bounds : yet the heathen philosopher could resolve it the only way to true rest , not to seek to raise our fortunes to our desires , but to bring down our desires to our fortunes and present condition : the one is not onely uncertain , because not in any mans power , but impossible , because his desires increase with his purchases , as fire with fewel ; whereas the other is possible , and certain . contentment and patience glorifies god , by placing its wealth in his favours , who having promised him necessaries here , and a kingdom hereafter , hath taught and obliged him to be contented , with any fare upon the way ; because he sees his being so , confirms and increaseth his future happiness . nullo egere dei est , quàm paucissimis deo proximum . as for sobriety , temperance , chastity , reason secondded by experience , assures any man , that to drink to the quenching of ones thirst , or at most to the moderate cheering one spirits ; to eat to the satisfying ones hunger , or at most to the gratifying of festival joy , hospitality , friendship and thankful delight , in what god hath bountifully given , is all the good that is to be had from meat and drink ; that 't is a trouble as well as a sin , to swill as if one were in a feaver , or till one brings himself to a feaver , or dropsy ; to eat and drink till reason is drowned , smothered and buried under the load , and till the phantastick , forced pleasure of two or three mispent hours , end in the pain of head and stomach for whole days after , if not in some villainous lust or passion , and bloudy quarrel , in sickness and death both of soul and body . the conscience finds all trouble in it , and the body it self ( for gratifying of which , god and conscience was despised ) find no rest within some hours : and what comparison between the rest , safety , health and honour , of either virginal or conjugal chastity , which keeps the desires of the flesh , under the power of reason and faith , lives in the hope of seeing god , preserves the bond of love in families inviolated , and the unclean shameful excesses of wandring lust , which are conceived with fear and anxiety , brought forth and finisht with shame and sorrow ; begin in disorder of soul and body , end in loathing ; begin in trouble , end in worse ; burn at first and consume at last the peace of the mind , if not the health of the body also ; besides the confusions , tumults , quarrels it breeds in families , and all for the sneaking brutish delight of a few minutes ? there is indeed one grace , which seems to have little rest in it : the suffering persecutions to death , rather than disown the truth , or violate duty : but god hath made so many promises to mitigate , and temper all temptations to the strength , which we either now have , or shall receive upon our prayers , of his turning to good , whatsoever seems most evil : and of his rewarding our courage and patience with so much the greater weight of glory , that these promises being believed , we are enabled as well as obliged not only to be contented but joyful also in tribulations for truth and righteousness sake ; and therefore no wonder , if suffering miseries for the honour of god , and our lord jesus , for the furtherance of our own salvation and other mens , hath more rest than trouble in it ; without this rest , a flow of all other good things , which this world can give , will leave a man but a miserable wearied traveller , under a heavy load and burthen of discontents and sorrows ; and with this rest , all labour and sorrow is inconsistent , and though we may not expect to have this promised eternal rest , endless felicity as our deserved wages , yet we may and ought to hope for it , as our promised reward . angels — and saints departed this life , they have it allready , the devils and damned are past all hope . great pains and labour do the men of this world take , but not in order to this rest , and therefore a multitude of mistaken sinners , lay out the chief of their days and time , in pursuance of pleasures , and honours , and profits of this world , as if heaven and salvation were easy atchievments , as if they might with a wish only at the last , come to die the death of the righteous , who had so notoriously lived the life of the wicked . 't is not only the doing of evil , but the not doing of good , which shall be punished at the last day , the judge shall then condemn for not feedings , for not clothing . go ye cursed into everlasting fire , for i was hungry and ye fed me not , for i was naked and ye clothed me not . not doing of good is none of the least evils ; he that sits still and moves not one step towards this rest , by wearing christs yoak ; and bearing his burthen , shall lose heaven as infallibly , as he that runs from it ; who so hides his talent , shall receive no other wages save that of the slothful servant . the way to heaven is narrow , the gate straight , it must be striving that gives us entrance ; not only the hopes of heaven but the escaping of hell , makes it our duty to be doing of good , and by so doing , we express our fear , lest a promise of rest being left , any of us should seem to fall short of it . so run that ye may obtain , is the command ; and all precepts of scripture are back'd with threats for ill ( or not ) doing , as well as promises for doing well , and are intended by god , as so many arguments , and strong motives to hold us to our duty ; do we our part and god will certainly do his , and we cannot lose the reward of well done good and faithful servant , enter into thy master's joy : the last judicial sentence of christ of which we read , matt. 25. come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world ; is an invitation of so much mercy and loveing kindness , that none can give , nor can any expect or require more ? what can the eloquence of man add to it , or what better assurance can be desired , than the gratious promise of so powerful , so faithful a lord ? or what greater reward can any hope to receive , than that which the author and dispenser of all good assures us , by letting us know what ever we do to the poor and needy , he will interpret it as done to himself and so reward our labour of love as to crown it with eternal rest ; an inheritance of that kingdom , and all its joys , as well as honours which fade not away ? but we must not understand this award of eternal life , this glorious inheritance , to be the reward of the righteous , for the merit of their good works , as everlasting fire is to the wicked for their demerits ; what ever the romish church pretends to , from those words of our saviour in the forenamed 25th of st. matt. the particle for ( say they ) is as truly causal by way of merit and efficiency in the one as in the other ; the form of speech in both sentences the same : depart ye cursed into everlasting fire . for i was hungry and ye gave me no meat . come ye blessed inherit the kingdom , for i was hungry and ye fed me . in answer to this , 't is clear enough , that though the particle , for , be granted to signifie causality in both sentences , yet need it not signifie the same kind , or degree of causality in both ; and if it need not , then it must not , unless they resolve to contradict many other plain scriptures , rather than depart from their own vain , and proud conceit of meriting heaven in strict justice : for first , the word or particle for , may signifie only the cause of our , or others knowledge , that the kingdom of heaven is their inheritance by true title of gracious promise , or the covenant of grace and mercy in christ jesus , which accepts and rewards repentance , and faith , working by love , whereof these works of charity , are the fruits and signs . for every authentick declaration , or revelation of any truth , before unknown , is the true cause of our knowledge of it , though not of the real truth which is so known : now among such as profess christ and call him lord , 't is hidden to us , who are the true heirs of the heavenly kingdom , and who not , untill at the day of final judgment , when all men shall be judged by their works . the first infallible certain knowledge which shall be had of this difference , is from the declarative sentence of that infallible righteous judge , who hath declared he will proceed , with one , and the other , according to their several works , when all must appear before the judgment seat of christ , that every one may receive the things done in the body , according to that he hath done , whether it be good or bad . 2 cor. 5.10 . the ones performance of good works , declared and testified by the judge , shall be the true cause by which men and angels shall know them to be the heirs of that heavenly kingdom , which here they sought and longed after , with faithful desires , and endeavours , such as prepared and fitted themselves for it . the others omission of good works , testified by the same judge , shall be the true cause by which we shall know them to be utterly unworthy of gods everlasting favour and mercy , most worthy of death eternal . we shall then truly know , that the one are crowned ( as saith st. cyprian ) according to gods grace , which graciously accepts of faithful sincerity in stead of strict legal perfection ; and that the other are condemned according to justice , because they neither fulfilled the law , nor embraced the gospel , upon its gracious terms and conditions . that the ones omission of good works , and commission of evil ones , is the true meritorious cause of their condemnation : and that the others performance of good works , at least in faithful resolution , and that hearty inward faith , hope , and love , which would have produced them , if time and space had been granted , is the testimony or declaration , that they are the sons of god , heirs of everlasting life , though not the meritorious cause of their salvation and life eternal . we commonly come to know the cause by the effect : and therefore this word , for , may , and doth often point out , not the cause of the thing it self , but the effect , and our knowledge of the cause by it . that 's the major , 't is commonly said , for the mace is borne before him : let no man think , that the bearing of the mace before him , is the cause of his being major ( his lawful election was the cause of his majoralty , and his majoralty the cause of the mace being carried , or borne before him ) but the bearing the mace before him , is the true cause of many mens knowing him to be the major . and this answer to the question , may serve with greater probability , than ought our adversaries bring for themselves . but with more clearness and evidence of reason , agreeing with the analogy of faith , and the current of scripture , i answer , that the particle for implys a causality in both the sentences , but in one , that of the wicked , the strict meritorious sole cause of their condemnation ; whereas in the godly , and charitable persons , the heirs of heaven , the for implys such a causal influence as that which they call conditio or causa sine quâ non , good works , or that faith working by love of god and man , whence they spring , and the necessary conditions , without which no man shall inherit the kingdom ; yea the necessary qualifications , without which he hath not only no worthiness , but no capacity , no fitness to prepare himself for that kingdom , whose happiness is to see god , with mutual complacency . and no man can so see the holy , merciful , gracious god , the god of love , and father of mercies , the faithful , righteous , unchangeable fountain , of all that is pure loving or lovely , unless he be like him , and bear the image of those his perfections , though imperfectly as to degrees , yet impartially and sincerely as the transcript and resemblance of that wisdom which comes from above , first pure , then peaceable . unless his religion be that undefiled one before god , which visits the fatherless and the widow in affliction , and keeps himself vnspotted from the world. these and the like graces , with their fruits ( if time be granted to bring them forth ) are not only described and required , clearly and frequently in holy scripture , as the necessary conditions , without which no man shall , but as the necessary qualifications , without which no man can see the lord , with holy eternal love and joy . and therefore no doubt the for hath a rational inference in it , as to the acceptance , and reward of the godly , and righteous person . come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you : for i was hungry , and ye fed me , &c. for ye have perform'd the conditions , which i in my gospel ( or gracious covenant ) required of you , with promise to accept and reward them ; for ye are qualified with those graces , and holy dispositions , which are my own image and likeness , the impress of my holy spirit , which renders you capable of enjoying me and my father with endless delight ; which makes you ( though not in strict justice worthy of my heavenly kingdom ) yet in my gracious mercy and bounty , and through my merits , not utterly unworthy , that is , not wholly unmeet to inherit it ; for these all have confest , and forsaken their evil ways , fled with penitent believing hearts , to that propitiation which god had set forth in his only son through faith in his blood : by doing so they have received that holy spirit , by whose direction and assistance , they have mortified the flesh , with its lusts and affections , conquered the world with its temptatations , resisted the devil , and quenched the fiery darts of the wicked , fought the good fight of faith , till they finished their course ; and though the remainders of sin and the flesh , abide lusting and strugling against the spirit , yet no sin hath reigned over them , and the very remainders of sin , they have bewailed , watcht over , and resisted , betaking themselves to christs intercession for their pardon ; therefore they are heirs of the kingdom through the merits of christ imparted to them , whereby they are entituled to it , as the meritorious cause on his part , whereby they have an actual plea , title and interest in christs merit , as the condition and qualification on their part . and thus the kingdom and eternal rest is theirs , though not by right of justice or merit , but by right of gracious promise . and may not all this be thought sufficient to justifie the truth of the for , or causal particle , unless it be granted that it signifie meritoriously in strict justice on their part , as strictly and fully as in the other , depart ye cursed ; for ye did no good works , but many ill ones , without repentance and reformation , without faith and love to me ? the goodness , and justice of gods majesty will not suffer him to sentence any man to any punishment , much less to eternal intolerable sorrow and pain , unless it hath been strictly and fully deserved , or demerited . but the goodness and bounty and mercy of god , may without wrong to any perfection , or attribute of his , accept and reward any man , that is not utterly incapable of it , but in some sincere degree qualified for it , with such an abundant measure of happiness as he thinks fit , although no ways merited by him . the lord jesus hath satisfied his fathers justice and honour , in his government , and holy laws , and made it a righteous thing with him , to save the penitent sinner , upon condition of reformation and holy obedience : they that are saved have performed these conditions ; and therefore they are admitted with a for . come ye blessed , &c. for i was hungry . if a gracious prince , of his own free goodness , proclaim a general merciful pardon , to all rebels , traytors , and theeves , provided they will by such a day acknowledge their fault , and profess and resolve to do so no more , and make their peace with their neighbours , whom they have wronged : suppose , all accept the pardon in outward shew , but some of them secretly practice the same wickedness against their sovereign , and their neighbours , when as the others perform faithfully the conditions of their pardon : if at the general assizes , the judge upon notice of their demeanours , should say to the one , i restore you to your former condition , state and dignity ; for ( or because ) since your pardon proclaimed , ye have so demeaned your selves , as penitent , loyal , faithful subjects : and to the other , you i condemn to death and torments ; for ( or because ) ye have abused your sovereigns clemency : no man of sober reason , or common sence ( i think ) can deny , that either the condemnation of the one , were entirely to be ascribed to their own willful choise , and vile misdemeanours , as due in justice to their demerits ; or that the restoring or saving the other , were to be attributed , not to the merit of their demeanour , but to the kings gracious mercy , and bountiful favour . their good demeanour , could be at most but the necessary condition or qualification of their pardon or restoration , without which , it could not consist with the wisdom or honour of the prince , his laws , or government , so to use them ; with which , it might well consist with his wisdom and honour so to do , and that with advantage to the glory of his mercy , without disparagement to his justice , especially in case his justice and honour , had been satisfied for their former misdemeanours , by the merits and intercession of the prince , his royal son : now just so it is in this case of which we now speak . they whom our lord calls here to eternal life , and that with a for : for ye have fed , clothed , lodged me ; are so far from this proud conceit of romish merit by their works , that they are ready to disclaim them , as nothing worthy of such acceptance , ready to blame their sluggish backwardness . lord , say they , when saw we thee hungry , thirsty , naked , or a stranger , or prisoner , and relieved thee ? nor is it amiss what is observed and acknowledg'd by jansenius , ( though a romanist , and too far engaged in this error ) what saint chrisostom had long since observed before him ; that our saviour saith to those on his right hand , come ye blessed of my father , but to those on his left hand , he saith only , depart ye cursed , but adds not , of my father ; implying that god the father is the author and gracious donor of life everlasting , but every man that doth wickedly , and dies in his wickedness without repentance , is the only author and cause of his own accursed estate : the one are blessed freely , and mercifully by god the father , for his son christs sake , in whom alone he is well pleased with all that come by him , with such a faith as works by love : but the other are accursed most justly , because they sought not , or refused when it was offer'd them , that grace and mercy which would have blessed them , first with grace to do good works , then with glory , a superabundant weight of glory for doing them : and this is consonant to that of st. paul , rom. 6. v. the last : for the wages of sin is death , but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or gift of god , is eternal life . again the same janfenius also observes , that our saviour in the sentence of condemnation , doth not say , depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for you , but for the devil and his angels : whereas in the sentence of the righteous , it runs thus : come ye blessed inherit the kingdom prepared for you . by this , saith he , it is implied , that the salvation of the righteous , must be ascribed to the mercy of god , who hath prepared the kingdom , and the damnation of the unrighteous , not to god , but to their own iniquity . how this will consist with his , and his mother romes proud tenent of meriting heaven , i cannot see ; nor is it much material to see , save only that this may be seen thereby , that wisdom and truth is often justified , not only by her children , but by her enemies ; forced by that light sometimes to own , what by their prejudices they study and labour to deny . such was also that final extorted confession of bellarmine himself , after all his disputes against the truth . tutissimum est in solâ , dei misericordiâ totam fiduciam reponere , but that more common , and owned saying of all their schools and divines , fundamentum meriti non cadit sub merito , the foundation of merits , ( or the first grace by which man is first justified ) cannot be merited ; and although granting this , yet they earnestly contend , that by the good use of this first grace , life eternal is properly merited ; but they say it , without , and against scripture and reason . for reason tells us , whatsoever any man hath interest in , by mercy and grace , and gracious promise , it must be expected , sued for , and humbly accepted , on the same terms that it is granted , or else it is forfeited . but not only the first grace , but all increase of grace whatsoever , must be grace , and freely bestowed not merited . the preparations of this heavenly kingdom for us , and us for it , are the fruits of mercy . no man can do well , unless he be first enabled by god to do so , and the more he is enabled by gods gifts and graces bestowed upon him , the more obliged he is to god. the least increase of grace , given after the first use of grace , exceeds the measure of our service and thankfulness , and that which creates new title of debt unto god , cannot possibly be any ground or title of merit from god , to be adopted in christ jesus , or made the sons of god by grace , who were by nature the children of wrath , strangers and enemies , is a blessing , for which we become so deeply indebted , servants to god our creator , redeemer , and sanctifier ; that should we do abundantly more , and better than we do , we could not make the least recompence , for that he hath done for us ; and yet we cannot continue , to will or do well , but by the free undeserved continuance , and increase of that grace , and holy spirit which first prevented us : yet who is there , that doth all that good so well and constantly , as that spirit did or would have enabled him ? the manner of the apostles question rom. 11.35 . who hath first given to him ? includes an universal denial ; no man hath , no man can give any thing to him , and therefore none can receive any thing from him ; none to be sure , that are not only his meer creatures , but sinful creatures , can receive any thing from him , by way of merit , but of free mercy and bounty . if we view and scan the tenor of all gods promises made in scripture , from the first grace , to the increase and perseverance , and final accomplishment of them in glory , we shall find that he promiseth only this , to be merciful and bountiful unto us , and if mercy and bounty be the compleat object of all his promises , then may we not expect their accomplishment , as the merit of our service , but as the fruit of his mercy and loving kindness . if a loving earthly father , should give his son a liberal pension , before he could modesty ask , or discretion expect it , and promise him also , that if he employed this present years allowance well , he would allow him more liberally the next year ; in this case , how well soever the son used his present pension , yet seeing the profit is wholly his own , not his fathers , the more bountifully his father useth him the next year , the more still he is obliged and bound unto him : although this good use of his fathers bountiful allowance , were the condition and some kind of motive or reason , why , and on which , he was treated : a gracious and ingenious son , would not challenge the second or third years pension , as due to him , by right of merit , more than the first , although he had his fathers promise , for these two years , which he had not for the first : for his fathers promise was only to be good and bountiful unto him , so he would be dutifully thankful for his bounty : now to expect and challenge that by right of merit , which was promised out of favour and loving kindness ; although a condition of dutiful demeanour , and faithful diligence , especially if that demeanour , or diligence came after former misdemeanours , and be not such in all respects , as it should be neither , is an high degree of unthankful , undutiful pride , especially from a son to a father , a son that was once a rebel and enemy . on our heavenly fathers part , no debt of doing us good can be laid ; it was his meer free goodness , to give our first parents such being as once they had ; having lost that goodness wherein we were made , 't was more than meer goodness , 't was abundance of mercy , to make us any promise at all of restauration , to our lost inheritance , the eternal life of his favour ; and after this promise made , it is the continuance and increase of the same mercy , to adopt us , and to increase his grace upon us daily , and lastly to crown all this with an exceeding great reward , which is himself , the endless vision of him , from whom we have all we enjoy here , or hereafter . non fuisti & factus es , malus fuisti , & liberatus es , quid deo dedisti ? we may deserve the diminution or withdrawing of gods mercy , favours , and blessings , but we cannot merit , or deserve their increase . merit supposeth such an inducement as may not only prevail , but such as must oblige , and tie in strict justice ; whereas no such tie , or obligation , can be laid upon the fontal , original goodness , much less upon free mercy ; which yet multiplies it self to all that provoke not its withdrawing or abatement . methinks men should be afraid , of this proud opinion of their own merit ; because 't is so like that of the pharisee's , when even that publican , whom he condemned , will rise up in judgment against them , for he went away justified , rather than the other . luke 18.4 . the pharisee absteined from many gross sins , and wanted not many good works , to alledge for himself . he gave tythes of all he had , fasted and prayed , and seemed also more humble than the romanist , for ought appears , for though he thought himself better than the publican , yet he acknowledged both his abstinence from sinful works , and his perseverance in good ones , to be from god. god i thank thee , for this , and for that ; he saith not as they , god i thank thee , thou hast given me the first grace , only to restrain me from such sins , as the publican walks in , whereas my proficiency , in doing of good ? is from my own meritorious choice , but i thank thee for one and the other . yet because he so glories in gods graces , as if they had not been received from free mercy , because he is not truly humbled by that grace , which in words he confesseth to have received from god alone , therefore is he less justified than the publican , for the use of all the graces , which god bestows in this life , is to teach us true humility , not to glory in our selves , but in him , to whom all grace and glory belongs : and if we make not this use of it , if we say not with jacob , lord , i am less than the least of thy mercies towards me : if when we have done justice , and loved mercy , we walk not humbly with our god , and say not as our lord hath taught us , forgive us our trespasses , we have been but unprofitable servants in respect of what we might , and should have been ; we turn his grace into pride , and vain glory , and are worthy to lose the acceptance and reward , which was promised for christs merits , not ours , though not without sincere performance of those conditions , to which his mercy , and grace enableth us . our good works are acceptable to god , a sweet sacrifice , but still it is through jesus christ . better is it for us , to hear one saint from heaven , one of those spirits made perfect , than thousands of daring , sinful disputants here below . for what are all the chairs , and schools of men on earth , to the suffrage of heaven , where not only one , but all the saints , and perfected spirits , cast down their crowns before him , that sits on the throne at the feet of the lamb. rev. 7.5 . saying aloud , to him that hath loved us , and washt us from our sins in his blood , and made us kings , and priests to god , and his father , be glory , and power , for evermore ? thus have we seen , that 't is not merit that will bring us to this promised eternal rest , and yet they that will attain to it , must imploy their talent well , they must come unto christ , as christ came unto us , by charity and by humility . to obtain this rest , will cost some care and pains , and therefore we must expect it , but this care and pains will be highly rewarded , and therefore 't will be our wisdom to undergo it : the men of this world are apt to think christianity , and coming to christ a joyless thing , because it speaks so much of holy living , of presenting our bodies a living sacrifice , of mortifying and sacrificing its lusts and affections , as if they were no longer to enjoy themselves , who voluntarily deny themselves in all these ; but they are but false hearted spies , that would bring this bad report upon a good land , for the mortifying the lusts of the flesh , the presenting our bodies a living sacrifice , is not the destruction of our joys , but the increase of them , and gives assurances of this eternal rest : for let the body be never so backward to be presented unto god , and offer'd up in sacrifice to him , though it shrinke at the sight of the altar , and tremble to see the sacrificing knife , yet are we not to hearken to its foolish tenderness ; no cruelty like such indulgence ; the life and safety , and rest of the soul , depends upon this disciplining , this mortifying the body : for he that mortifies and kills , and slayes his lusts , doth but sacrifice that which would hurt , destroy , and ruine himself , 't is but a carnal , worldly man that is killed at most , nay 't is but a beast , 't is but the unreasonable appetite that is slain ; reasonable man is saved alive , and made more reasonable by so doing , and exalted thereby to a spiritual life . he that leaves this beast alive , and is led by his unruly passions , is hurried even in this life , to more sorrows , cares , and vexations , than any saint or martyr endures in his passage to heaven , when he offers himself up unto god , by an holy life , and patient death : therefore who so desires in good earnest , not to fail of this promised eternal rest , must crucify the whole body of sin , must subdue and bring into subjecton every vnruly member thereof . the lustful , covetous , disdainful evil eye which hath made thee blind , or ill sighted to all that is good , must be closed up and put out , and the charitable , peaceable , contented good eye set open ; and then god will one day ravish that eye , with objects of eternal joy and rest and delight in heaven . our ears must be closed up and deaf to all ungodly prophane discourses , and unsavoury communication , but open to all that is harmless and good , sober and wise , rational or christian : if the ungodly wanton cruel ear , that itches after falseshood and wrong be cut off , and the religious believing chast merciful ear remain ; then thou hast made thine ears , the gates of heaven and life and rest , for the spirit of truth to enter in ; being thus opened thou shalt hear the joys of heaven sounding in thy ears , such joys as god hath prepared for them that love him . the lips also must be closed , and the tongue tied up from oaths and curses , prophane allusions to holy scripture , bitter revilings , strife and clamour , open slanders and secret detractions , but they must be opened , and the tongue loosed to all holy duties , of prayers and prayses towards god , wholsom counsel , admonition and instruction , towards men. if the prophane seducing , contentious , provoking , bitter tongue be tied up and silenced , and the wise , pure , and peaceable and faithful tongue , be loosened and set on work , thou art no loser by this change , because thou hast exchanged folly for wisdom , shame for honour , strife for peace , the discord of infernal spirits , for the musick of angels ; thou hast exchanged the tongue of an atheist , for the tongue of a prophet , or a saint . next , the hand must be withheld from violence and oppression , from theft and sacriledge , fraud and deceit , but open to all the works of piety and charity . if the injurious griping , bloody hand be cut off , and the innocent holy pure hand be lifted up to god in prayer , and stretcht out to man in charity ; what hast thou lost , but the hand of a murtherer , a thief , an usurer , or adulterer , and hast for it , the holy hand of a priest , the royal hand of a benefactor : holy and acceptable unto god , pleasing and beneficial unto men ? the feet also must be restrained from wandering into the ways of wickedness , where we meet with temptations and vanity , snares and dangers ; they are to carry us from the seducing assemblies of schismaticks , the bloody conspiraces of rebels , the riotous assemblies of gluttons and drunkards ; they must be ready and forward , to go to the place , where gods honour dwelleth , where his word and sacraments are dispensed , to the house where the widow and fatherless inhabit . if the wicked perverse sinful foot be cut off , and the holy charitable foot be left thee , to carry thee to thy duty towards god and man , what hast thou lost , but the disconsolate walk of a wilderness , amongst briers and thorns , and serpents the path of dismal darkness , and death and error , where no rest is to be found : for that of truth , light , and life , and eternal happiness ? last of all , we must be sure to keep the heart for god ; that of all the rest he chiefly expects , without which , the putting out of the eye , the cutting off the hand , and setting a watch over our tongue , and offering up our dearest and only isaac , in obedience to christs command , will be thought but an hypocritical mockery of god , who knows the heart and cannot be mocked . my son give me thy heart , prov. 20.26 . that he asks , and that he will have , and surely no son will withhold that from his father . the heart is the throne of the great king , where he sits and rules the whole man ; this is the most holy place of the temple , where the spirit of truth and holiness inhabits , and therefore he that gives him not this , gives him nothing that he will accept , or that will make for our everlasting rest . if the heart be first presented , the rest will and must follow , a wise and holy tongue , a diligent and liberal hand , a watchful and attentive ear , a wary foot , obedient sober chast flesh , will not stay behind , but will all conduce to the carrying us on in peace to this desired rest . every part and member of the body looks to be at rest and in perfect happiness in heaven , and therefore every part must look to praise and glorify him on earth ; 't is not enough that the tongue be holy and chast , if the hand be covetous , nor that the ear be diligent and attentive at holy duties , if the tongue speak not , and the hand act not according to what the ear heard . every member must do its office , the head was made to know god , the heart to love him , the tongue to praise him , the feet to follow him , wherefore withhold no part from him ; remember he made the whole man , and redeemed the whole , if any thing be withheld , no rest , no happiness to be expected ; 't is in our choice whilst we are here , what we will do , and which we will chuse ; whether to take part with satan , whose work it is to destroy us , or come when christ calls us to him , who will assuredly save us ; one of these we must do , there 's no neutrality between both ; either we must be the members of christ the children of god , and heirs of heaven , or else we must be the children of satan , and heirs of intolerable endless condemnation . remember the dreadful misery of their choice , who take hell for their portion , and remember that a short delight here unrepented , will cost a lasting sorrow hereafter . shall the son of god , become the son of man , to present us unto god his father , to give us eternal rest , and shall we refuse , and flee from our own happiness , and become profoundly miserable in despight of all his mercy , and tender care over us ? if christ say , come unto me , all ye that are weary and heavy laden , and i will give you rest : shall we stop our ears at this gracious call of christ , and continue in wilful sins ? what do we else then , but knowingly prefer the whispers of satan , before the loud cries , and calls of christ ? we chuse hell and death , and the company of infernal spirits , before heaven and life , and the society of saints and angels . if we refuse to come now when christ calls us , at the last day he will refuse to receive us . if we appear with hearts filled with iniquity , and hands full of blood , with feet that walked in the counsel of the ungodly , and stood in the way of sinners , he will not know us for his children , having lost his image , in which we were made , he will say unto us , depart from me ye cursed , i know ye not . but if we carry with us the resemblance of our maker , that image and likeness of him which he once stamped upon us ; if we can present him with a wise and pure heart , if we can lift up unto him holy hands , if we can see him with chaste eyes , and if our feet have walked in his commandements and trod his courts , if our feet have stood in thy gates o jerusalem , then shall the gates of heaven open unto us , then our heavenly father will take us for his obedient sons ; such as heard his voice , and such as shall hear it again , when he will say , come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the begining of the world , for i was hungry and ye fed me , in prison and ye visited me , &c. all the sons of god from the first born , to the last , are all heirs to a kingdom , all his invitations are to a crown , his sons are inheritors of those joys which fade not away and of that rest which never shall have end . whereas the sinful person 's immoderate desires of the things of this world , are but his torment , till he be satisfied , and then his satisfaction is his torment , because there 's no rest , nor quiet in it , and proves so much less than his expectation . thus is the restless sinner always sick , one while of too much , another while of too little , now of loving , then of loathing , now of want , then of satiety , for he never ceaseth to want , till he cease to desire ; and man is always desiring either the presence of somthing he cannot have , or the absence of somthing he cannot remove , or else the continuance of somthing he cannot keep . hence the sinner appears to be as the prophet esaiah speaks , isa . 57.20 . like the troubled sea when it cannot rest , whose waters cast up mire and durt , the winds within him , and the waves and tide without him , give him no rest , and when his delights are at the highest floud , they do bring him the sad news of an approaching ebb . ask but the unclean adulterer , and let him tell you , what rest and peace he finds in his vice ; compare but his short pleasure , with the tormenting fire of his lusts , joyn'd with the worm of his guilty conscience : have but patience to look upon him in his nasty diseases and rotten bones , his wasted flesh , as well as estate ; ( for that is often the event , always the hazard ) and he will have little to boast of , but will find himself really to endure more misery in the way to eternal death , than many a holy chast christian finds to eternal life . ask the glutton or the drunkard , whose highest thoughts are for the cloying , not satisfying their disordered appetites ; ask if they find not themselves uneasy , when they consider how short and low their pleasure is , compared with the irksom diseased shamefulness of their sin . see how heavily the ambitious proud person walks , between his eager desires and doubtful expectations , under his false hopes , and true fears , and then judge whether his wearisom days , and restless nights , can bring him any true content . should i instance in the idle gallant , whose time like a burthen lies upon his hands , or in the contentious wrangler , or unpeaceable brawler , the secret whisperer , or the open detractor , i should tire your patience sooner than want a proof , that sin is a wearisom uneasy heavy restless burthen , and that it is necessary by the way of virtue to come unto christ for ease and rest . the angel in tobit , bids tobias take out the gall of the fish , to cure his blindness ; if we rip the bowels of worldly , sinful lusts , and pleasures , and take out the gall of them , that is to say , seriously look upon the bitterness they bring with them , and the gall and wormwood they leave behind them , it may prove a remedy of our spiritual blindness ; yet such is our short-sightedness , that we think we are at ease under our load , and at rest in our sore travel . sin turns all things up side down , it sets earth above , and heaven below : reason at the footstool , and brutish appetite on the throne , and having thus lookt downward for our rest and happiness , we are ashamed to look heaven in the face , and having lost heaven for earth by sin , we look downward still , as fearing that hell , which we have so well deserved ; and this is it which makes men suffer all sorts of diseases , the gout , the stone , tooth-aches , and all kind of tortures , rather than die , because ill led lives leave men under anxious fears and sad doubtings , what shall be their future state . when tamberlin commanded all leprous persons to be put to death , lest they should lead a miserable life , the poor lepers thought his mercy cruel , and would have endured more willingly two leprosies than one death ; not because of any great comfort they took in their lives , but because they knew not what might follow after death . to lose this life without assurance or hopeful probability of a better , is doleful and bitter , but to lose it with assurance from gods own mouth of a far worse , of incurring an eternal death , anguish and pain without mitigation , this makes death deadly indeed , when the sinner must die again , for the sin he dies in , when the first death leads to a second ; and when all the terrors , and sorrows , and pains , of the first death , are but the evidences of more , or worse to follow ; when the fire that 's now begun to be kindled , will burn down to the lowest hell , deut. 32.22 . if we believe this in good earnest , why do we not hate sin , worse than death ? because sin is the cause of all this ; the cause of death and all that is deadly : it makes us liable to a dreadful account at the day of judgment , and makes our whole life restless and uneasy . this being so , how dare we trifle away one day or hour more of that term , or time of trial , upon which , though so short , and so uncertain , depends such a life and such a death , such joys and such sorrows , such rest and such disquiet , to all eternity ? methinks if heaven cannot allure us , with all the joys and blessed eternal rest there to be had ; hell might affright us , with its dreadful sufferings , into our duty , and compel us to make god at least , our last refuge , if not our first choice . no loss so great as the loss of god , and the kingdom of heaven , and that rest we are there invited to . no prison so loathsom , as the bottomless pit of horror and darkness : no sight so ghastly as that of frightful fiends : no shriekings so terrible as those of damned ghosts : no stench so noisom as that of the lake of fire and brimston : no fire so hot as of the wrath of god , which puts the sinner into chains never to be loosed , into darkness never to be enlightened , and gives him gnashing of teeth never to be remedied , gnawing vipers never to be pulled off ; and this makes up such a mass of woes , such a deadly death , as exceeds all humane eloquence to express , much more all patience to endure . now to avoid all this st. paul tells us , heb. 12.1 . what we must do , we must lay aside every weight , and the sin that doth so easily beset us , and run with patience the race that is set before us ; running the way of gods commandements , which st. paul calls here a race , is the way to this everlasting rest ; therefore let us so run that we may obtain it , and then our recompence is , a crown of life ; if we slothfully neglect it , our punishment is , tribulation and anguish , endless and intolerable , the worm of conscience that never dies , the fire of hell that never goes out . were we left to the glimmering suspicious light of natural reason , as most nations were of old , and many are still , to guess at the way that leads to this everlasting rest , or to find it out by a painful enquiry , through many difficulties , and impediments of a contrary erroneous education , we were by far the more excusable , but when by the mercy of god , we have the gospel sounding in our ears , and the way to this rest chalkt out before our eyes in holy scripture , and lively oracles , with all the powerful perswasive motives of hope and love , inviting us to it on the one hand , and all the cogent constraining motives of threats and fear , to drive us to it ; hearten'd on with promises , assistances , and instructions on the other hand ; what pretence of excuse can we have , that we should fall short of this rest ? but some are often enquiring , what is the lowest degree of holiness , faith , and obedience , that is consistent with the escaping of hell , or hope of heaven ? they would know , what is the lowest rate that heaven and eternal rest will come at ? the greatest part of those that would be resolved in this enquiry , are of a most disingenuous unworthy disposition ; for when god hath obliged us , by so many mercies , assistances , encouragements , and rewards , thus to beat down as low as they can , the price of all his kindness and bounty ; 't is a dangerous sign that he that seeks heaven and happiness so faintly , will not seek it long ; for we sail against tide , in our voyage to heaven , and earnest diligence is required in the passage thither , but if we begin to lay aside our sails and oares , we shall by the very stream of our nature , ( the world and the flesh ) be carried backward to perdition . the way to heaven is upward , but the ground is falling that we tread on , and the heaviness of our nature , doth perpetually expose us to relapses . 't is very probable , that he that is so jealous and wary , of doing ought more than is necessary to this eternal rest , will never attain to do so much : he is likely to shoot short of his mark , who is so affraid of over-shooting it . he that said : so run that you may obtain , meant , so diligently , so earnestly , as if you were never sure enough of obtaining it , but by running as fast as your spirits can hold out , till you come to the gaol , the high price of your calling in christ . the slothful servant that said his master was an austere man , did but slander his master , to hide his own negligence , thinking all too much that he did , and that eternal salvation , which cost no less than the death of the lord of life , the son of god , was set at too high a price . such as are thus niggardly of their pains , will find at last , that by not improving their talent , they will lose at once both heaven and it . take from him the talent , saith christ in the parable , matt. 25.28 . and cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness . that this may not happen unto any one of us , let us follow the advice of the apostle , heb. 12.14 . which saith , follow peace with all men , and holiness , without which no man shall see the god of peace . god is not disquieted or troubled , or angry , though for our sakes he seems to be so , when his wronged justice must punish us , unless we repent : 't is our sin not his wrath , which whets the sword of the destroying angel , and shall not we desire to be like the angels , yea like our heavenly father , in being at rest and quiet , and keeping the peace of our spirits , in the midst of a froward generation ? to be sedate and quiet in the midst of as many humours as men ? to be the same when others run several ways to break our rest ? to be humble when one scorns us ? meek when another provokes and rages ? silent when this man reviles ? charitable when the other hates and persecutes us ? not to be transported with passion at others violence ? to stay at home , and keep our selves in calmness , and peaceable rest , when the world is gone out of order , not to pull it more in pieces , by seeking to settle it as we please ? not to enrage the fire that threatens us , by blowing up with violent words , but to quench it with soft answers , and to overcome evil with good , following peace with all men , and fighting only against our lusts and passions , which war against the soul , and disturb and hinder its rest and peace ? from whence come wars , and fightings amongst you , are they not from restless lusts and desires of all sizes , that war and rage with in you ? these lusts are the spawn of the two great sensual principles , desire and anger . sometimes pride , sometimes coveting that which god hath not made ones lot , and then disturbing and confounding properties , in hope of attaining it : all the unpeaceableness in the world , is forged , and managed by these lusts : and the graces which christ prescribes , matt. 5. as humility , meekness , contentedness , are sent to root them out , and to dwell with that impatience , and insatiable restless ravening , which troubles the world : but too many there are amongst us , who have not thus learnt christ . the wrathful malecontent , who disturbs both church and state , sails through a stormy tempestuous sea and rocks and sands ready to ruine him , that by the ruine of many others , in soul and body , estate and good name , he may arrive at his wisht-for haven of riches and power : but what doth he find at the end thereof , but a miserable shipwrack of himself , as well as others , horror of conscience , hatred from men of all parties , perpetual jealousies of his being bereaved of his dearly bought , unjust acquisitions , and at last , 't is likely , hamans gallows , absalons tree , or joabs sword ? however an infamous name and memory , after an anxious perplext life , and that which is incomparably worse , eternal intolerable sorrow and pain both of soul and body . the like may be said of the heretick or schismatick , who , when he hath prided himself a while , by leading a numerous party or sect , of unstable souls , from the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints , from the unity of peace , and order of obedience to lawful governours , into destructive error and schisme , finds himself wilder'd , and those that followed him crumbled into subdivisions , 'till one and the other end in shame and self confusion , bringing them either to repentance , or intolerable endless misery . but on the other side , the peaceable , meek , obedient follower of christ enjoys his rest , and the benefit of good government , with cheerful thankfulness to god and man ; bears the troublesom oppressions , and disorders , of an evil one patiently ; and if the violence of seduced governours , call him to the fire and fagot , imprisonment , banishment , sequestration and what not , he chuseth rather , poverty and death , with torments for an hour or two , than the farr worse rack of an evil conscience , the worm that dieth not , and the fire that is not quenched . they that go about to build a tower up to heaven , if they be once confounded and divided in their language , 't will prove but a babel , or shameful chaos at best : when one builds and another pulls down , what profit have they then but labour ? eccl. 34.23 . a house divided against it self , be it a family , a kingdom , or church , it cannot stand to gods glory ; and it were to be wisht , that they who have the glory of god in their mouths , when they separate from the church ( which baptized , and taught them their christianity ) for matters of an indifferent nature , no where forbidden , would take heed of dishonouring god , and his glory , by pretending to make them the end of their groundless quarrels and jealousies . the common enemies to true religion are atheism , and supersttion . whereto then serves all this ado , about gestures , and vestures , and other external rites and formalities ? that for such things as these ( never imposed but for decency and order ) men should clamour against the times , desert their ministerial office , fly from their country as out of babylon , stand at open defiance against lawful authority , in church and state , draw their pens and swords against them ; whereto serves all this , but to give scandal to atheist and romanist ? the atheist , to think there is no certainty in religion , and scoff at all ; the romanist , to think that theirs is the true , when their adversaries have so little unity and peace with each other ? unity and peace , are the order and harmony , the beauty and strength , and comfort of our own spirits , as also of families and neighbourhoods , cities and kingdoms , church and state. peace gives a seasonable opportunity of gathering wealth , and of employing and enjoying it , with thankfulness to god , and charity to man ; it gives an advantageous leisure for learning , and knowledge of all sorts ; especially that which most concerns us , the knowledge of god and christ jesus . but division and strife , are the ruine and misery of single persons , the bane of private families , publick societies , church and state , and all that is profitable , or comfortable to man. when the world is out of frame , peace establisheth the pillars of it , brings every part to its own place , the sensual under the rational , the flesh under the beck of the spirit . it draws the servant under the master , the subject under the magistrate . the peace of families and kingdoms , makes every part to dwell together in unity , it keeps every man in his right place , the master on horseback , the servant on the ground ; the king on the throne , the subject in his private station ; the pastors in their place of teaching , and the people in theirs of attention and devotion : like an intelligence , it moves the lesser sphere of a family , and the greater orb of a commonwealth or kingdom , composedly and orderly in its happiness . peace is so necessary in all conditions to rest and happiness , that without it , ones family is a prison , or sad confinement to trouble and molestation : neighbourhood , gives but the opportunity of vexing and injuring one another : towns and cities , are but so many wildernesses of wild beasts : the church no church , more like babel , than jerusalem : a kingdom or state , a disorderly chaos ; yea an aceldama , or field of blood . by peace at home , good laws and orders are made and kept ; magistrates respected , subjects relieved according to their necessities : by peace and agreement in the church , gods ordinances are duly observed , good discipline executed ; pastors and teachers maintained and encouraged , the people edified , gods houses preserved and beautified : who is there then that would not seek his eternal rest hereafter , by seeking peace and ensuing it here ? christian religion , that leads and conducts us to this eternal rest , is also the wisest and most powerful preserver of peace in order to it ; it commands us to study and pray for it , to follow it , with all diligence till we overtake it ; we are commanded to lose our right for the sake of peace , to part with coat , or cloak , or any thing tolerable , rather than it . peace levels the hills , and raises the vallies , and casts an healthful peaceable influence , on all conditions and qualities of men : that as it was prophesied , isa . 11.6 . the wolf may dwell with the lamb , and the leopard lie down with the kid. and if it be not so with christians , it is because they are so in word , but not in heart ; have received the gospel of peace in their ears , and heads perhaps , but not in the love thereof : for were they indeed the sons of peace , in whose hearts the peace of god takes place , were they members of that body of which christ is the head , then every member of such a kingdom or church , would keep its place , with subordinate dependance ; the rich by supplying the poor , the poor by blessing the rich , the wise by teaching the ignorant , the ignorant by hearkening to the wise ; every man being as an angel , or ministring spirit , to another . but the restless , unpeaceable person , counts it his honour , to speak and do what he list : to pursue his enemies till he take them , and beat them as small as the dust before the wind ; to stand in the vally , and touch the mountains till they smoak ; reach at that which is above , and pull it down ; divide that which is united ; shake that which is establisht , violate that which should not be toucht ; and are ever moving and heaving upward , to gain a name , though it be by firing a temple , or setting a kingdom or church in combustion . thus are honours valued and sought among men , the sons of belial , that would be yokeless . honourable schismaticks descend from jeroboam , who made israel to sin ; from corah , dathan and abiram , who rose up against moses and aaron , till they perished in their contradiction : honourable hypocrites , pharisees , and the sons of pharisees , whose name , and profession was , to separate as more holy ; though the baptist and christ himself , condemned them as more wicked . honourable murtherers , of their father the devil , who was so from the beginning of sins entrance into the world ; ambitious , covetous , discontented , revengful , humorous , unpeaceable persons , and these would be accounted the honourable grandees of the world ; but in the court , and heraldry of heaven , we find no such titles of honour . an honour it is to be at peace and rest ; cease from strife , prov. 20.3 . the peaceable man , he is the honourable man in scripture , and in gods account : by peaceableness , and following peace , men procure to themselves a sure title to everlasting peace and rest ; knowing that the merciful shall obtain mercy , the peaceable , peace , and rest at the last . but there are amongst us , unquiet restless persons who pretend to inspirations , and boast themselves of the spirit ; but we are exhorted by st. john , 1 ephes . 4.1 . not to believe every spirit , but to try the spirits , whether they are of god or no , because many false prophets are gone out into the world : and our saviour's direction for the discovery of them we have , matt. 7.16 . ye shall know them by their fruits . our saviours meaning could not be only , nor chiefly , the fruits of their lives in their outward conversation , for falsehood is often set off by hypocrisy ; and a shew of sanctity , goes for great purity ; and pretences of religion and reformation , serve to delude , and mislead unstable souls . this is the wool which the wolf wraps about him , when he means to do most mischief , with least suspition . the old serpent is not so silly as to think , that his ministers ( whilst they are working the works of darkness ) should be able to draw a considerable party into their communion , should they appear in their dismal colours ; therefore he puts them into a new dress , before he send them abroad in the world ; transforming them , as if they were the ministers of light ; therefore our saviour could not mean the fruits of their lives so much , as the fruits of their doctrine , that is to say , the necessary consequences of their doctrines . if what is spoken and taught by them , upon examination do plainly appear inconsistent with any one branch or duty of a christian life , the words we may be sure are not wholsom words . it can be no heavenly doctrine , that teacheth men to be earthly , sensual , and devilish , that tends to make men unjust in their dealings , uncharitable in their censures , undutiful to their superiours . it was not the purpose of god , in publishing the gospel , and thereby freeing us from the rigor and curse of the law , so to turn us loose and lawless , to do ( as when there was no king in israel ) what seemed good in our own eyes ; follow our own crooked will , gratify any corrupt lust ; but to oblige us the faster , by these new benefits , and heavenly promises , and to bind us to our good behaviour the more strictly , allowing no liberty to the flesh , to fulfil the lusts thereof , but to exact of us sincere sanctity and purity , both of inward affection , and outward conversation ; otherwise no true rest to be expected . but our pretenders to the spirit , who call the scriptures a dead letter , boast of new inspirations , and endanger greatly the bringing in confusion amongst men , and disturbances into states and kingdoms ; the governours whereof , having no other authority , than what is either founded or agreeable to the word , or will of god , it will still be in the power of each pretender , to deliver oracles out of his own breast , as the immediate dictates of gods spirit , quite contrary to the safety , and interest of that government , which any where is , or may be established : and so the peace of kingdoms , must be as uncertain and changeable , as the phansies of men , and the laws as alterable as testaments are while the testator lives ; every illuminate breast pretending to come like moses from god in sinai , with new tables of divine commandements , which must abolish and exclude the old ; but it is our great comfort , blessed be god , that the publick doctrine established in the church of england , is at this day such , that it is not chargeable , with any one thing , contrary to any part of that duty , which a christian owes , either to god or man. let these pretenders consider what the apostle saith , 1 cor. 12.7 . the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal : as if he should have said , let no man pretend to the spirit , for any other end or purpose , save for what it was given , and that was not to procure himself glory , not to separate from his brethren , not to pride and puff up himself by despising and scorning others , but to advance the glory of god , and promote his own and others salvation . if what thou hast or pretends to have , be given , the honour is the givers , and the receiver must give an account how he hath used , what he hath received . now in order to the procuring this eternal rest , there are indeed in the church several gifts , in several men ; different offices , and divers operations , which look at first as if they proceeded from several principles , and tended to division ; but as all this variety tends to unity , so all indeed proceeds from unity , unity in trinity , one and the same god truly distinguisht into three persons , but always united into the same god-head . but what rest may those men expect , who dig at the foundation of our religion , and stick not to deny that blessed trinity , into whose worship , and in whose name we are baptized : the name of the father , the son and holy ghost ? to which three sacred persons we so often say , glory be to the father , and to the son , and to the holy ghost . these are the three which said to each other , when they made man , gen. 1. let us make man after our image , in our likeness . these are they which manifested themselves at our lords baptisme ; joyning again to renue that image , in which we were made . the father in the voice , the son owned by that voice , the spirit in the dove abiding on him : these are that holy , holy , holy , to whom the seraphims in isaiah , under the old testament , gave all glory . these are they to whom the angels and saints in heaven , sing that anthem of praise in the revelations . this is the sum of christian religion , and that which brings rest and peace eternal to all that well understand and receive it . and therefore the council of nice ordained that the literae formatae , or commendatory letters , which were the solemn warrants of entertainment , and hospitality , between christians , should be subscrib'd by these letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , denoting the trinity , and their faith who carried those letters . there are three ( saith st. john ) that bear record in heaven , the father , the word , and the spirit , and these three are one and the same god blessed for ever : one essence , according to what our lord hath said , i and the father are one . thus to believe , highly concerns us all , because of all errors , none so pernicious , none so intolerable , as those which concern the first fountain , whence all things flow ; and the last end to which all things tend . derive all from the blessed trinity , ascribe and refer the glory of all to the blessed trinity , and then we shall come to enjoy him in blessed rest and happiness , whom we thus believe , adore and honour . st. paul tells us , 1 cor. 12.8 . that there are diversities of gifts , but the same spirit ; differencies of administrations , but the same lord ; diversities of operations , but it is the same god , that worketh all in all . this should stand as a great argument of unity , and charity amongst our selves , humility and thankfulness to god , who hath made us partakers in several measures , and degrees of these gifts , these administrations , these operations ; that though our gifts , and places , and works are very different and unequal , yet they come all from the same spirit , lord , and god ; who wisely governs and orders all things by his council here below : the apostle tells us , v. 8. to one is given the word of wisdom , [ a special ability of understanding ] to another the word of knowledge , [ to interpret the mystical senses and veiled meanings of holy scripture ] to another faith , [ or a firm belief to work all miracles ] to another the gift of healing , [ a peculiar power to cure diseases without the help of physick ] to another the working of miracles , [ such as was the delivering hymineus and philetus , to be afflicted by satan ; the striking elymas blind , and ananias and saphira dead ] to another diverse kinds of tongues , [ the gift of speaking several and strange languages , which he was never taught ; ] and all this worketh that one and the same spirit , who divides his several gifts , to several men , according to his good pleasure . other scriptures tell us the same , as that of st. matt. 25.15 . the master of the house gave to one servant five talents , to another two , to another one , to every one according to his several ability : he gives such , and so much as he sees every man is fit to make use of , to gods glory and the common good . thus god will shew himself both a free donor , and a wise disposer of all things . for if one man should have all abilities , and others few or none of any worth , the world might seem to be guided , either by blind fortune , or fatal necessity ; but now that men have their several offices , and their several abilities , by which they are each fitted for anothers service , and all for the beauty and benefit of the whole frame ; the hand of divine providence , appears in the disposing of them . god would have men take notice of their gifts , and of their defects , that by the one they may learn humility , and by the other thankfulness . for if any one had all parts , he would be too proud of his perfections , and begin to think he needed not the supply of gods farther favours , who had so much of his own already . again , if any man were destitute of all gods gifts , and mercies , he would want matter to bless god for . but now that god hath given to men a measure of good things , and hath temper'd their gifts , with many defects , they may easily see , they are both indebted to god for all they have , and depending on god for all they want . and so this dividing gods gifts , should teach us to think humbly of our selves , and thankfully of god , and to set up our rest in those gifts and graces , which his bounty hath so freely conferred upon us . not inwardly to repine and envy , nor outwardly to disturb and pervert , that order which god hath made , but to let god alone with his wise and gracious dealing with us , and to rest satisfied with our own portion , and to prize and esteem the gifts of others , acknowledging their due worth and value where ever we find them ; for if the holy spirit of god , divide his gifts as he will , and his will is always gracious and wise , then either to deny , or envy , or debase them , is no better than to thwart god , in one especial work of his wisdom and goodness . some men indeed would have greater gifts , and most men would have greater callings and places in the church and state ; all secretly grudging against god , and envying one another ; and if it were not the mercy of god , to over rule such secret swellings , they would burst out to the overthrow of peace and order , and would prove no less destructive , to our temporal quiet and rest here , than to our eternal rest hereafter . 't was good counsel which joseph gave to his brethren , when they were returning with their sacks of corn to their father in canaan , see ye fall not out by the way . we are all travellers returning to our fathers house , the heavenly canaan , in which are many mansions , enough certainly for all the sons of adam , and god hath given to every man , such gifts and graces , such guides and assistances , for their conduct , that were they not wanting to themselves , they need not doubt their safe arrival . but such are our fallings out by the way , such our jarrings and dissentions , our lingrings , delays and backslidings , that we may have cause to fear , the greater part of these travellers will fall short of these mansions , and never take up their rest in their fathers house . it is an ancient and true saying , unum quodque est propter operationem suam . god hath made all that he made ; ordered all things that he ordained ( and there is nothing but what he made and set in order ) for that work and operation , to which its nature , place and faculties , are fitted . the work and operation therefore , is the first in order of intention or design , though the last in order of execution and accomplishment . but nothing can operate or work aright , except it be gifted , or endued with some faculty , or hability to that work . and that this faculty or hability may produce its work in due order , it must have its due place and office , appointed by him who orders all things . now as this is true and certain in the universal body of the world , and in the particular natural body of all men ; so it is chiefly to be observed , in the spiritual body of christ's church . first there are gifts to enable men to perform the work for which god hath appointed them . then there are offices 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or administrations , to authorize them , and give them commission , in their several places to exercise those gifts , with which they are endued , and perform those works , for which they are gifted and authorized . then there are works , which must be performed by men endued with those gifts and those commissions . this is the wise method and order which he that hath made all things in number , measure and weight , hath prescribed , and observed himself in all his works , and prescribed us in his word to observe . gifts are first mentioned , because they are first necessary , for the qualifying of the person both for his office and his work . what ever we have , what ever we are , by nature or grace , in our worldly condition , or in our spiritual , is a gift : for what are , or what have we , in any respect , if good it be ; that we have not received , from that god , who is the only self-subsisting , all-sufficient fountain , and fulness of all being and life ? for in him we live , and move , and have our being : from him , and through him , and to him are all things . he spake the word , let it be thus , and thus , ( by that eternal word his only son ) and it was so . his spirit moved upon the waters , and all things that he pleased to have done , through this word , by this spirit were produced ; for by the word of the lord were the heavens made , and all the host of them by this spirit , or word of his mouth . all then is his gift : ab unissimo deo manant multiformia , ab aeterno temporalia ; all diversity comes from unity , all times and temporal things , from the eternity , of this trinity . it is god alone that hath made and order'd the dull earth and the active sun , distinguished the world into such diversity of creatures , in order to serve one another , the elements for the mixt bodies , herbs and grass for the living unreasonable creatures ; those for man , and man for his own service and glory . if god had made but one creature , that one had proved him an infinite god , as to his power , for nothing but an almighty power , can bring forth any thing , though but an atom , or dust or sand out of nothing . but now that he hath made and appointed so many creatures , in such a just and excellent order , this makes the riches of his wisdom and bounty , clearly appear to the eye of reason , and then he demands of man , who hath this reason , in all humility and thankfulness that he adore and revere that god , who hath made so many divers creatures to serve him , that he may learn thereby to serve and love his creator , and gracious benefactor ; and so at last come to enjoy him , whom he hath thus served and loved , in eternal joy and rest . if any one should ask , why was i made a liveless element , a senseless plant , an unreasonable though a living creature , but a reasonable man , above all these , able to see , and consider what i see and know ; to the honour of god ? there can no account or reason be given , but the free bounty of his gift , who thus distinguisht and ordered all things . and so also amongst men ; why one is noble , another obscure ; one rich , another poor ; one beautiful , witty , and strong , another weak , dull , or less comely , what account can any one give , but that there are diversities of gifts , but the same spirit , lord , god , who thus orders them ? and this must teach us contentedness , without envying superiors ; and charity , without despising or neglecting inferiors . but besides these gifts , these offices and administrations , which god hath placed in the world , for its temporal government ; there are gifts supernatural and spiritual , which god hath ordain'd and placed in the church , for the spiritual government of mens souls , in order to gods service here , and mans eternal rest and salvation hereafter . and these gifts , saint paul in the first to the corinthians , 12.28 . reckons up to be eight in number . first apostles , secondarily prophets , thirdly teachers . after miracles , then gifts of healing , helps , governments , diversities of tongues : whereof five were needful only at first , and so to continue but for a time : but those that were to abide for ever , are reduced to three , teachers , helps , governments . priests or presbyters to teach , deacons to help , bishops both to teach , help , and govern . these all , the church had from the beginning , and our church blessed be god , still hath them . these the synod of carthage calls the three degrees of the clergy ; and we find frequent mention of them , in all the monuments and records of the church , whether provincial synods , or general councels , publick liturgies , or private writers , historians or fathers ; canons made for their several offices and administrations , bounding and limiting each from other , in their proper works and operations . that of presbyters and deacons , hath been less questioned ; but that of bishops more disputed in late times : yet who can question , or doubt of their being placed in the church , by the apostles themselves , that hath with any impartial eye , read and considered , either the scripture , or the ancient expositers of scripture . timothy at ephesus , and titus at creet , have their episcopal office and duty plainly described , and order'd in scripture by st. paul. the seven stars in christs hand , rev. 1.20 . are the seven angels of the seven churches , saith christ himself . and he that considers what these churches were , of how numerous christians , of what large circuit , containing several cities and countries , can hardly doubt of what the ancients have said : that the angels of these churches were not only bishops , but metropolitan arch-bishops . sure we are , that church writers and historians , set down the very particular names of these seven angels or bishops , and not only so , but their successors for several ages . the first general counsel of nice , from which the nicene creed hath its name , consisted of three hundred and eighteen bishops , as many as abraham had in his army against the kings , in the story of genesis , as st. ambrose wittily alludes . and the first general synod , calls the government by bishops , arch-bishops or metropolitans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the antient guise : so ancient it was , that the ancient writers we have ( and some we have of the next age after the apostles ) mention it as universally spread over the church , and from no other at first derived , than from the apostles . nor could it indeed have been so early , or so generally diffused , from any less authority than theirs . these are they whom st. paul calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , giving them power of ordination and of government , rulers and presidents . ignatius every where distinguisheth them from presbyters , and deacons , as being above them , and calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , governours . so doth st. cyprian , origen , eusebius , epiphanius , and who not ? attributing to them not only the chief place , but the highest authority and power of government . hierom himself , though but a presbyter , and a zealous defender of presbyters dignity , derives the difference of degrees no lower , than from the times of the apostles , for so are his words ; when they began to say , i am of paul , i of appollo , i of cephas , then were bishops every where placed to prevent schism . and that we may know , that these apostolical traditions are taken from the old testament ; what aaron and his sons , and the levites , were in the jewish temple , that bishops , presbyters and deacons , were in the christian church . and therefore if we will not make so learned , and so religious a person , plainly contrary to himself , he must be so understood in his other sayings , as not to deny what he plainly affirms , that episcopal government came from the apostles . but this hath been so fully discussed of late years in this nation , and particularly by a person of great worth and learning , at a visitation in cambridge , ( to which i refer you ) that i shall no longer insist upon it , only remind you , that differences there are of administrations , that is , of offices in the church , as well as diversities of gifts ; and all these different administrations , high and low , as well bishops , as priests and deacons , are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the proper term of the lowest of the three , the deacons ; which we translate administrations , but might as well be rendred ministeries , or services : but why are they so called ? surely to teach the highest of them , both diligence and humility in their office. every honour , hath its burthen answerable to it ; and the higher the office of government , if it be truly and conscienciously discharged , the pain-fuller is its work and service . 't is an old saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . the master in a great house , is the greatest servant ; while all they serve him , in their several places , he is fain to serve them all , study and watch to provide for all , to govern all . in no house is this so true , as that of the church : for whose cares , studies , dangers , watchfulness are so great , so various , so perpetual , as theirs , if they do their duty ? and whose condemnation is so great , if they do it not ? bishops are generals in this spiritual army , and yet faith st. paul , fellow souldiers ; accountable to our common lord christ jesus , not only for their own souls , but for others too ; nor is the meanest common souldier , by the hundreth part , obliged to so many cares and pains , exposed to so many dangers and troubles , as these generals . rulers they are in gods house , but their ruling is for gods service , and mans salvation : and what a load of cares and pains , doth this ruling lay upon them ? fathers they are in place and dignity , but brethren in love and humility they must be . stars and angels they are called , but how do the stars run their course , day and night for the service of this inferior world ? how do the angels condescend to be ministring spirits to the poorest of gods family ? read but what our saviour saith , matt. 20.27 . whosoever will be chief amongst you , must be your servant , even as the son of man came to minister , and to give his life a ransom for many . read what saint paul saith , 2 cor. 11.23 . to the 30. and you will surely confess , that the highest offices in gods church , are the most painful dangerous services : ministeries truly so called , so truly , that the ancient bishops entering that office , might truly say , nolo episcopari . but the more painful their service is , the greater ought to be their honour , both of inward respect , and outward maintenance . all that are under these ministeries , or administrations , ought to take heed of despising them for this reason , because they are ministeries ; but rather honour them because they are over you in the lord. the higher powers , kings themselves , are twice called by this very word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the ministers of god , rom. 13. the angels are called ministring spirits , yet are still principalities and powers , thrones and dominions . nay , our lord himself , whilst he was yet on earth in the form of a servant , is called by this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the minister of the circumcision for the truth of god. this must teach those in this high place , humility and diligence , but others it must teach obedience and thankfulness , to esteem them highly , for their works sake ; to obey them that have the rule over you , and submit your selves , because they watch for your souls , as they that must give an account . he that desires the office of a bishop , desires a good work , saith st. paul : good indeed , and a work indeed . to govern and guide so many flocks and their pastors , with zeal to god , and charity to man ; with unwearied patience and humility ; without corruption or partiality , through favour or fear , of high or low , small or great , poor or rich ; to govern and teach wisely and diligently ; to look so carefully to ordination , that all the truth , and none but the truth , be constantly preached , and the service of god be constantly performed , with all reverence , free from prophaness , with all purity , free from superstition . that the sacraments and discipline of the church , be administred in their power and beauty ; all this is a work indeed , as full of labour and care , as of honour : even the lower administrations , those of presbyters and deacons , have not they their work too ? they have sure in their several places enough to spend their time , and spirits wholly in , if they do their duty . the presbyter hath a great share of all . the bishops work is in a great part committed to him , and would the people make that use of gods ministers , which their eternal rest and salvation requires , it would quickly be found , that preaching were not half of the ministers work and care : and yet preaching is no small work . to instruct clearly in all the mysteries of faith , to exhort earnestly , and affectionately , to all the duties of life and practice ; to convince so many numerous errors , as daily arise ; to rebuke and reprove so many sins , and sinful persons ; without fear of the great , or the many ; to comfort the feeble minded ; to humble the haughty ; to stir up the slothful , and temper the furious ; to uphold the falling , and relieve the wavering , and reduce the wandering ; to stop the mouths of so many , and subtil gainsayers , from the atheist to the schismatick ; from the prophane to the superstitious ; to clear those obscurities , to answer those difficulties , remove those scandals , which so many men in weakness , or wilfulness are subject to , and to second all this with a life unblameable ; this certainly , is a work of great variety , study , and pains : and yet a work so necessary it is , that better for us , we had no gifts nor ministry at all , than not to perform it : and the more it behoves the rest of the world , not to hinder , not to discourage , not sacrilegiously to rob , not to perplex us in this our work ; but to strive to make it as comfortable to us , and as fruitful to your selves as you can , seeing the end of these ministeries , these services , these works , the end of all our labour , is to bring you to endless rest . all our abilities , all our gifts are from the same spirit , all our works are wrought by the same lord , who worketh all in all , that is well wrought ; both in him that writes , and him that reads , both in him that speaks , and him that hears , in him that is governed , and in him that governs . if this be so , let us banish all pride , if our gifts , and places , and works be never so high , never so many ; envy , if our gifts and places seem never so few and low ; for what are the highest amongst us , but the instruments and servants , of this supreme donor , and mover ; receiving all from him , accountable for all to him ? and how can the lowest and meanest murmur , or object any thing against it , since they that have the lowest and meanest , have it a gift , and could not challenge it as due , but have it by the wise disposal of that lord , whose wisdom knoweth what is fittest for each ; and whose goodness bestows that which is most fit , and the meaner , or less gifts and places any one hath , the more easily is both his work , and his account ? away then with haughty pride , or mutinous envy . let not one say with repining regret , i am slow in apprehension , weak in memory , shallow in judgment , whilst others are quick , tenacious and solid : i have neither wealth to buy voluminous authors ; nor arts , nor parts , as others have , to dive into those difficulties , and obscurities , and gain a clear solution of them , as others have . nor let others say in haughty contempt of their inferiors , or meaner brethren ; how mean are such and such compared with me , in graces , and places ? i can lead my amazed auditors , whither i will , with my eloquent tongue ; whilst others freez in their pulpits , and tire their auditors into wearisomness and drowsiness . but let the one and the other say , these are gifts freely bestowed , where it pleaseth the giver , and who shall say unto him , what doest thou with thy own ? he owes nothing to any , who can demand any thing of him as his due ? he is the supreme wisdom , who shall direct him in his counsel ; where and how to dispose and bestow his gifts ? the supreme lord , who shall command him , where and how to dispose and order his administrations ? he is the only almighty god , who shall accuse his work of weakness or defect ? let the lowest and meanest remember to say , though god hath denied me this or that which others have , yet hath he given me something which others want . he hath not given me an high place , but he hath given me that retirement and safety , of which those that are in high places , are bereaved . he hath denied me promotion , but given me that health , which they that are preferred before me , would willingly purchase . on the other side , let those that have highest gifts and places , say to themselves , why should we boast of our lords bounty , and not rather tremble to think , of ascribing that to our selves , which is his free gift and dispensation ; least he take it away , when he sees it abused ; or if he continue it , condemn us the heavier for being unthankful ? since it is thus ordered , by the wise disposer of all things , let one , and the other remember , that all are the spirits almsmen in their gifts . the lord's ministers in their offices , gods workmen in their works , and thus when every one shall be contented with his talent , each one shall find peace and quiet , and rest within him here , and be qualified for eternal rest hereafter . the world hath many pretenders to this rest , and those so contrary one to another , that their very pretences to it , shew this eternal rest to be very desirable ; but the contrariety shews , that this rest hath so much of difficulty in it , that all that lay claim to it , cannot justifie their claim : and though they cry with the mathematician 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i have found , and i have found it ; yet they are so much to seek , that their confidence , without evidence , hath brought many to put it to the question , whether there be any such rest to be found ? we must not be so foolish , or so slothful , as those scepticks , who question , or deride the possibility of searching , and finding out this eternal rest ; but with humility and diligence , humbly apply our selves to those rules , which are given us for its discovery . some there are that lay claim to no other , nor higher felicity , than that which either natural philosophy , or civil policy can help them to : and these , though they have gone far , discovered and publisht many truths , pleasant and profitable for the world ; yet their aims are too low , to give the soul of man satisfaction , or acquiescense here : the light and rules they walk by , too weak , and too uncertain , to reach those very aims , which themselves own ; much more must they needs fall short of mans great eternal end , this endless rest : the pursuit whereof , is our wisdom here ; the attaining whereof , is our happiness hereafter . there are in the world men ( and those not a few ) who seek after wealth and honour , and great power ; and weary themselves day and night , to attain their ambitious desires , and think themselves still in the way towards this eternal rest : but our saviour's appearing in the world , as he did , in much humility , demonstrates unto us the contrary . the innocency , righteousness , charity and holiness of his life , were so conspicuous , that the scribes and pharisees , nay , the devil himself , could not find any true accusation against him ; and he that betrayed him , went and hanged himself , because he had betrayed so innocent , so good , and holy a person : because he came not to gratifie , the wordly and carnal expectations of the jews , with any outward pomp or splendor , suitable to their desires , they vilify his person , revile his doctrine , persecute his followers , contrive his ruine : yet what was a temporal advancement , or deliverance to an eternal redemption , from sin , death , and hell ; to an eternal advancement , above all enemies , to those honours and joys at gods right hand ? and how contrary had it been to the design of his incarnation , which was to satisfie for mankind's former pride and ambition , intemperate voluptuousness , insatiable covetousness ? to exemplify , as well as teach them , the grace of piety , and contentedness , with the meanest condition here below , by setting their hearts on things above ? how contrary had it been to such a purpose , for our lord to have appeared in the plenty of wealth , or the splendor or pomp of worldly honour , in the power of armies , to conquer nations , by sword or force , all which would have but enraged the sinful distempers of mans soul , which he came to cure ? he had given the jews abundant evidence , both at his birth , and throughout his life ; yea , at his very death , that 't was not weakness , or any necessity that made him appear in such mean condition ; but his voluntary choice , and love to mankind ; to draw them off from the love of this world , to that of god and a better life : for surely he that could command a star , to attend him at his birth , and an heavenly host to sing an anthem of glory to god , at his nativity ; might more easily , had it pleased him , been born in another place than a stable , with other manner of attendants , than a poor virgin , and a carpenter . he that could feed five thousand , with a few loaves and fishes , might have maintained as numerous an army , as he pleased : he that could cure the blind , and lame , and deaf at a word ; heal all manner of diseases , command the waters , and the wind , raise the dead , cast out devils , might quickly have had an invincible force , of men and angels , to quell the romans and other nations . he that could strike his apprehender to the ground , at the beck of his will ; make the sun withdraw his light , at noon day , and full moon ; the earth tremble , the rocks rend , the graves open at his death ; could easily have saved himself from death ; but then he should have by his example , renowned that love of worldly riches , pleasures and honours , which by his doctrine of humility , self denial , and contempt of the world , he sought to mortify and disgrace . high and lofty thoughts , do much hinder our progress towards our eternal rest , and hide from us the true knowledge of our selves ; whose first element is but dust ; dust thou art , and to dust shalt thou return : dust is our native soyl , and last home ; to which we must by a firm decree , repair ere long . by soring aloft after worldly honours , we do but make our wearisom way , the longer , and more crooked ; our fall more grievous ( especially if suddain ) and our final account after death more heavy . aspiring ambition overthrew the tempter , lucifer himself . what spirit is it then think we , which moves such young and tender plants , as scarce thrive under the walls of gods house ; such vines as hardly bear fruits , in the warm and well fenced vale ; ( i mean the retirements and vacations of a low and private condition ; ) to affect the cold and open mountains , exposed to blasts of noysom winds ? is it their glory to be above others of their own rank , and education ? this might be purchased , with less danger to themselves , and more good to church and state ; if they sought to overtop them , more by their own proper height , or true growth , in all graces and good works , than by meer advantage of ground : for when every valley shall be exalted , and every mountain made low ; that is , when all worldly differences of states , shall be laid aside , ( as at the last day they will be ) the fruit which hath grown in the vale of humility and contentedness , will appear both higher , and better far , than the ordinary off-spring of the mountains or highest places of preferment . were men so wise in heart as to consider , that the lower their place or condition is ( so it be not exposed to flouds of violence ) the apter it is to suck in the dew of heaven , and bring forth fruit in its season . there are in the way to this eternal rest , great variety of travellers , furnisht with various and different abilities ; whose faces differ not more than their minds and manners , and these though they run contrary ways , yet all pretend they are in pursuit of the same end , and are upon their march to this eternal rest , even then , when their backs are turned upon it . the bloudy restless traytor would be thought to be in search after this eternal rest , and life , though he seek for it in the paths of death , and works like the mole under ground , and thinks that no man shall see him , 'till his abominable wickedness be found out , and 'till , in the same net that he laid for others , is his foot taken , and 'till his own demerits , and the justice of the laws , halter him into a shamefull death , and swing him into another world , there to have his portion , with ( the first and greatest of rebels ) the devil , and his angels , and ( unless prevented by a timely repentance ) to remain in flames that burn to all eternity . another sort of rebels there are more noble , though not less bloudy than the former , of an higher and more honourable extraction ; yet such as move in the same sphere , who hide their heads aloft in the clouds , who also think that none shall see them ; but he that is higher than the highest , laughs them to scorn , and lets them drop into the same pit , which they made for others ; 'till the sanction of the laws , strikes the coronet from off their heads , their heads from their bodies , and lays the ax to the root of that tree , which brought not forth good fruit , and is therefore hewn down , rieven out , as it were , and cleaved for the fire . were religion as much in these mens hearts , as it hath been in their pretences ; that religion i mean , which is , first pure , then peaceable , they might have been gathered to their fathers in peace , and not have pulled upon themselves , a speedier , and a sadder mortality , than that which god and nature had first appointed for them . next , the zealous schismatick thinks he is making sure of this eternal rest , for himself and also for his followers , who runs , before he is called , and intrudes himself into that holy function , of which we read , heb. 5.4 . no man taketh that honour unto himself but he that is called of god , as was aaron . that is , no good , or holy man , must or ought , or doth take this honour upon himself , but he that is truly called of god. such as corah , have too often , and too presumptuously taken it upon them , without being called , appointed , or ordained , by lawful authority ; but how hainous a sin it is so to do , may appear by the dreadful punishment thereof ; the earth opened and swallowed him , and his , up in a moment , uzza may not touch the ark , the bethshemites may not so much as gaze into it . and though now , no such punishment be inflicted any more ; nor such a death as st. peter inflicted on ananias , befall sacrilege , ( for miracles are ceased ) and such examples at the first were inflicted on purpose , to signify the guilt of that sin , and so to terrify from it for ever ; yet god and his law is the same for ever , and they who prophane his holy orders , and institutions , by bold obtruding themselves upon them , will find a punishment meet for their sin , here or hereafter . what more prophanes holy things , than that which makes them common to all , who have but the forehead to claim and take them ? but since the acceptance of the office , and its work on gods part is all in all , as that which can bring a blessing on priest or people ; it highly concerns us , both in wisdom to our selves , and in duty to god , and in charity to others , neither to take that honourable office to our selves , nor give admittance , or countenance to those that do so , since it is indeed no honour , nor office , unless as it is derived from him , and is more likely , if not more certain , to bring a curse and not a blessing , on such invaders of the priesthood , and their followers . if god will be sanctified by them that draw near unto him , then surely most , by them that draw nearest ; by having the office of being his mouth unto the people , and theirs unto him . and sure it were a great dishonour unto religion , that all great and publick things , nay every profitable science and art , should in all societies be distinguisht , by their proper professors , ministers or artists , and only religion should be in common , exposed to be bruised by the hard hands of any mechanicks , and sullied by the rude touch of undiscerning , undistinguisht , unconsecrated persons . in reason the means should hold some proportion with their end ; and therefore the end of this holy office , being divine and supernatural , 't is reasonable persons which enter into it , should be able to shew their vocation , mission and ordination ; for that the very design of religion , forces us to a distinction of persons , and solemn call and ordination , in order to the office and work . and because every one is not fit to approach to god in the publick addresses of his church ; there must in reason be a solemn separation , and ordination , made of those persons , whose calling peculiarly is holy , and they thereby taught , and obliged to be so . that such persons being made higher than the people , by their calling ( though our brethren in nature ) may be the instruments of conveying the peoples prayers unto god , and gods blessings unto the people . thus it was throughout the world , jew and gentile , before christ's time , either pretendedly or really , and if christian religion allow otherwise , we must in effect confess , that we have the worst religion ( which is blasphemous dishonour to christianity ) and as false as its greatest infernal enemy : or that we are the worst of men , which is intolerable shame to our selves , and therefore to be disowned and detested , in heart and deed . let any favourer of these intruders , name if they can , but one true and sound doctrine , which any one party , dissenting from the church of england , hath recommended to the world , which was not before , sufficiently and solidly , taught and proved , by lawful pastors : but who can number the dangerous errors , which have been multiplied and spread abroad by these dissenters ? heresies and schismes , abroad and at home , have invaded the vnity , peace and prosperity , of almost all the reformed churches , to the extream hazard of the christian faith , to the introducing sedition in state , schisme in church , darkness and confusion in both . while many pretend to strive for the truth , how do they darken their own understandings , as well as others , with tumult and clamor , wrath and bitterness , amongst which truth is lost on both sides , as well as charity ? they write , and fight , as they say , for the truth ; but truth and love are slain in the quarrel , and prest to death , is it were in a throng , whilst they that stand by as neuters , laugh at both . what good christian can remember without sorrow and detestation , the horrid confusions , and dismal effects , in church and kingdom , which they have introduced and maintained ? the like whereof , if not greater , threatens us daily ; if god in his mercy , overcome not our evil with his goodness . as to their several pretences to piety and holiness ; what hinder'd , or yet hinders them , from living as godlily , and as holily , with thankfulness and honour , within the church , to its preservation ; as without it , and against it , they pretend to do , to its disturbance , and destruction ? a surplice and hood , a signing the child with the cross at baptisme , a bowing to our lord jesus , when he is named , we have been often told , is what they bring , as their greatest proof , of superstition and will-worship ; whereas the last , is manifestly no more , than to glorify with the body , or knee at sometime , that which is lawful to do at any time ; to whom god hath commanded us to bow our souls and bodies , and that to the glory of the father . and to think that a surplice is more superstitious , than a gown or other garment , which god hath neither commanded , nor forbidden , is it self a great superstition : nor can that , or the signing with the cross , be with any colour of truth or reason , called will-worship ; which the church professeth , she useth not , as any part of gods worship , but as an indifferent , yet decent ceremony ; to signify and teach man with , not to worship god with ; and what is not owned as any worship , cannot surely be called will-worship . but when all is done , is this all , that must keep us at everlasting difference and separation ? can they strein at such gnats , or rather startle at such shadows of dreams in their own phansies , yet swallow such camels , as disobedience to lawful superiors in church and state ? the hanious breach of unity and charity , peace and order in one and the other , exposing both to the common enemy , first to deride , reproach and despise us , then to undermine and ruine us ? how many papists , how many hereticks of several sorts , yea how many atheists , and scornful deriders of all religion , have these our causeless , obstinate divisions , bred amongst us ? and shall not these dreadful effects of schism at length affright us into unity ? wo be to them by whom these offences come ; and wo be to them by whose default they still continue . wo to them that have so torn the church in pieces , that now the great things of the gospel of christ , which god hath written , with the pen of a diamond , or sun beam , are either neglected , or called in question , while they contend without bowels of pity , mercy or piety ; write in gall , and fight in blood , for such things as are at the best , but hay and stubble ; compared with the precious foundation of our religion . god grant both us and them , while it is time ( if yet it be so ) wisdom and grace , to know and follow the things belonging to our peace , here and hereafter ; and to take christ's yoak upon us , and learn of him , who was meek and lowly in heart , that so we may find rest unto our souls . and let us do this the rather because what health is to the body , or calmness to the sea ; such is peace and concord to a church and state. but should it be asked of us , as joram did of jehu , is it peace jehu ; we must answer now , as he did then ; what peace so long as our rents and divisions , our separatists and dissenters , are so many ? our saviour foresaw and prophesied of these very days in which we live , inimici domestici , ones foes shall be they of ones own houshold : perditio tua ex te , jerusalems sorrows are from her own sons . what contentions so sharpe and lasting , as those which arise amongst brethren ? the nearer the relation , the greater the feude ; and the farther off usually from reconciliation : witness the sad breaches , which too often happen , between persons solemnly conjoyned by the strictest ties , and bonds of amity , above , and before any other . i mean the married couple , who might come in , and claim their portion of this eternal rest ; who are presumed to assist each other , in all the great affairs of life ; whose joys are or might be doubled , and their sorrows abated , by a mutual bearing of each others good , or adverse fortune ; insomuch that when their scene of life is come to an end , and the curtain drawn , they may lay them down in peace , and change the labour of a weary life , for the joys of a blessed eternal rest : but how much otherwise falls it often out , even between these dearest friends ? what bitter complainings are frequently heard in our streets , from persons joyned in holy wedlock , when but once disaffected to one another ? the unruly torrent of dissentions , oft times runs so high , that the man hates his own flesh , and the woman man makes head against her husband , and these though sacredly conjoyn'd and made one , become two again , so bitterly divided , that no wholsom words , nor sage counsel , can ever sweeten , or reconcile them . for prevention of this great unkind mischief , which so often happens amongst us , and so much hinders that rest and quiet here , that much conduceth to a blessed , endless rest hereafter ; men should do well wisely to consider , that whoso enters the state of marriage , casts a dye of the greatest contingency , and yet of the greatest concern in the world ( next to that of eternity it self . ) deliberandum diu , quod statuendum semel . men had need consider well of that , which must be resolved on once for all , and must either bring a great and lasting content and happiness , or trouble and misery , as lasting as life it self . a woman indeed ventures most ; for she hath no sanctuary to retire to , from the sad misfortune of an ill choice ; she must dwell upon her sorrow , and hath no appeal from his unkindness , but that of subjects from tyrant princes , prayers and tears , and though the man hath more diversions , ( yet when it comes to his turn , to lie under this unremediable sadness ) he must return to it again , and whilst he is sitting amongst his neighbours , he remembers the objection in his bosom , and sighs deeply . it hath been the unhappy chance of many , who enter the honourable state of marriage , upon some dishonourable aims or other , to be bound to sorrow and vexation for many years , by the cords of their consorts peevish disorder ; and the worst of the evil is , they are to thank their own follies , for making no better choice : for god and goodness were less in their thoughts , and had less interest in their choice , than mony , to gratify their worldly covetousness ; or beauty , their inordinate lust . men and women change their liberty of single life , for a rich fortune , prefer gold before virtue , and shew themselves to be less than money , by valuing it more than the wise content , and lasting felicity of their lives : and when they have counted their money and sorrows well over , how willingly would they buy with the loss of all that money , modesty , sweetness of conversation , temperance and faithfulness in their consort . but they are chained with the fetters they chose , and they are no whit the less chains , nor the easier , for being made of gold or silver , but sometimes the worse . nor doth he honour marriage aright , who chooseth it only , or principally for beauty ; cui sunt eruditi oculi , sed stulta mens , whose eyes are judicious , but his soul and thoughts sensually foolish . a little thread of red and white , is an ill band of conjugal affections , to tie hearts together , in all conditions till death , since their love is , nor can it be any better , or more durable , than its cause : and they are fond of each other , as long as phansie and health lasts : but sickness , child-bearing , care , time , and any thing almost that destroys a flower , may destroy that love , which at the best is but earthly and sensual . he that will find rest and quiet in his conjugal state here , must begin it with god and goodness , with wise and virtuous designs . then is marriage honourable indeed , when good and fair intentions conduct and manage it . the preservation of a family , the production of children , the avoyding of fornication , the refreshment of a wise and virtuous society , all these are honourable ends . society was the first designed , it is not good for man to be alone . children the next , increase and multiply . the avoiding fornication the last ; and that will be hardly avoide by marriage , unless you chuse such a consort , whom you can love in all conditions , and outward changes . the first , makes marriage delightful ; the second , necessary to the publick ; the third , to this or that particular person . the first makes the mans heart glad ; the second is a friend to families , cities and kingdoms ; churches and heaven ; the third is an enemy to hell , and an antidote to the chiefest inlet to damnation . to have a lasting quiet , and sure content in the conjugal life , it is prudent and useful , that all offences of each other be warily avoided , at the first beginnings especially of their conversation : an infant blossom is quickly blasted , and the love of lately married persons is busie and tender , inquisitive and jealous , and apt to take a fright , or alarm , at every unkind word , or carriage : but after the hearts of man and wife are endeared to each other , by natural confidence , and experience , trifling accidents cannot disturb their united affections , but will vanish at the sight , and remembrance of weightier obligements ; and so after their having lived in peace , and love , and joy , for a while on earth , they may meet and rejoyce together in heaven to all eternity . that the married life may prove happy , let every one love his wife as himself , saith st. paul. the husbands power over his wife , is fatherly and friendly , not magisterial : she that is bound to leave father and mother , and brother , for thee , is miserably abused , if she find it otherwise . a mans dominion over his wife , is like that of his soul over his body , for which it takes a wise care , and useth it tenderly ; and it is often led by its tolerable inclinations and desires , save when they are evil , or dangerously tending to that which is so . the government is , and ought to be divided , since the woman also hath gods image stampt upon her , and may sometimes assist , and supply her husbands wisdom . and as to the family , si tu cajus , ego caja , was publickly proclaimed upon the threshold of the husband , when his bride first enter'd under his roof ; and although there is a just measure of obedience , due from the wife , yet that 's scarcely at all expressed , in the husbands directions in holy scripture ; but all his duty is signified by love , by nourishing and cherishing , by honouring her as the weaker vessel , by not being bitter to her , by dwelling with her according to knowledge . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , be not bitter against her , that 's the first and lowest signification of love . a civil person is never bitter against a stranger , much less a friend that enters his roof , and is secured there by the laws of hospitality ; and he surely is strangely rude , who useth her rudely , that quits all her interest for him : and is besides , as much the same person , as another can be the same , having the same religion , children , and family , and is fled for protection , as to a sanctuary , not only to his house , but to his bosom and heart . marcus aurelius said well , that a wise man will often admonish his wife , reprove her seldom , but never lay his hands upon her . st. chrisostom tells us , that an husband reviling or striking his wife is , as if a king should use his viceroy so , from whom most of that reverence and majesty must needs depart , which at first he put upon him , and the subjects will pay him the less duty , by how much the rudelier the prince hath treated him ; the loss redounds to the king himself , and the government will be thereby disordered and ruin'd . he that loves not his wife and children , feeds a lyoness , and breeds nothing but fears and sorrows to himself , nor can blessing it self make him happy : all the commandements of god , injoyning a man to love his wife , are but so many invitations to him to be happy himself , and make her , and his children so . if mutual love be once secured , there can be no great danger from any thing else , because such love as makes the man chast , keeps the woman also within the sober bounds of modest chastity . obedience is the womans duty , which though no where expresly enjoyned the man to exact , yet is often commanded the woman to pay , and the less it is exacted , the better and more kindly is it , when duly paid , both in the sight of god and man : and this proclaims her humility , and reverend esteem of his wisdom , and is an acknowledgment of the injunction imposed by god ; and though in sorrow she bring forth children , yet with love and joy she may bring them up . the womans obedience though largely extended by st. paul , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ephe. 5.24 . in every thing , yet 't is limited , by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as 't is fit in the lord , collos . 3.18 . the womans duty obliges her to put on the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit , which is in the sight of god of great price : sweetness of manners , humble comportment , fair interpretation of all things , that are capable of it , an industrious hand , a silent tongue , a faithful heart , to his person and bed , his purse and estate . and that this may be done with chearfulness , it is one excellent height of christian religion , above not only the heathens and mahometans , but the mosaical allowances ; that it hath provided for union between man and wife , by forbidding strictly poligamy , or the having many wifes ; and also hath forbidden divorce , except in case of adultery . by forbidding poligamy , our religion hath prevented all those domestick emulations , which would necessarily almost arise , between a leah and a rachel , though in jacobs family ; a sarah and a hagar , though in abrahams house : the mans love runs in a fuller stream , because not divided into many rivolets ; and the womans love and faithfulness is demanded more justly , because it hath an equal proportionable answer , without the provocation of any corrival . and then by forbidding divorce upon any pretence , but that of adultery , it makes peace more necessary , and contention more terrible , seeing if they will not become a mutual comfort , they must always endure that mutual torment , from which they are allowed no refuge . if all this be not enough to settle domestick peace , turn but your eyes upon the wildest creatures , let the beasts of the field , and the fowls of the air , shame us into it : for even the most unsociable hurtful creatures , keep peace at home , in their own nests and dens . what bloudy tygar is there , that doth not softly and tenderly demean himself over his female mate , and young issue ? what ravenous kite , doth not joyn with his she partner , in building his nest , sitting upon the eggs , feeding his young ones ? the lyon doth not roar at home , nor tear his lioness , nor devour his whelps , but maintains peace at home , by his very enmity abroad : the prey of his foreign cruelty , is the common food of his private den . thus god from heaven , men on earth , the beasts of the field , and fowls of the air , do all teach and instruct man and woman how to be happy , and to go by couples to the ark of their eternal rest . now this eternal rest , must not be sought , ( because it cannot be found ) by a partial obedience , by leaving one sin , and cleaving to another ; every man is not alike inclined to every sin , nor can the pursuit of some pollutions , consist with the prosecution of others ; for sins are contrary one to the other , as well as to grace : nor is there any thing more usual , than for the violent unruly nature of rash man , to run out of hatred to one extream , into another opposite to it . superstition dotes , prophaness is mad : and how many hating superstition , turn prophane ? whilst others hating to be prophane , turn superstitious ? covetousness gathers all , prodigality scatters all ; men usually fall into one extream , whilst they run from another ; either they despise prophesying , or think it all in all . to abhor idols , and yet to commit sacrilege ; to worship the walls , or else to beat them down ; is to drive out one devil with another . the necessity of cleansing our selves from these enormities , is plainly seen , by those very reproofs , which one sinner gives another contrary to him . how doth the lukewarm or prophane detest the schismatick and superstitious ? or how doth the furious superstitious , or blind zealot , detest the lukewarm or prophane ? how doth the squanderer hate the niggard ? and how doth the niggard hate the prodigal ? let me take my fill of lust , saith the wanton , and i will trample upon wealth : let me hug my mammon , saith the miser , and i will bid defiance to lust : let me wash my hands in the blood of mine enemy , saith the revengeful , and i will be content to give freely to them that have not provoked , or injured me : thus as the nations in times of darkness , had each of them their several idols , which they worshipped , and neglected others , but all agreed in dishonouring the only true god ; so every partial false hearted reformer , hath his bosom darling pollution , which if he may cherish , he can be content to leave the rest ; yea be forward and zealous against them , that he may either hide , or satisfie , or get an indulgence in what he affects . but all the virtue in the world , cannot satisfie for one willful , habitual pollution , indulgently cherish'd : yea , that one indulged pollution , proves all the other seeming cleansings to be but counterfeit . saul slew many amalekites , but sparing some , when god had commanded all to the sword , he forfeited his kingdom by his hypocrisy ; and one of that nation whom he spared , became afterwards his executioner : though it be but one known sin you live in , the sparing of that , shews your hatred against the rest to be falsehearted and hypocritical : for though it be but one , it is contrary to that sincere holiness , which god indispensably requires as his due ; though it be but one , it is a reigning one ; defiling the purity , defacing the beauty , destroying the peace of an upright conscience ; yea though it be but one in actual appearance , yet in seminal virtue it includes many , and may in time be fruitful of many : thus one sin weakens grace , grieves gods spirit , prepares matter and fuel for others . covetousness and pride beget envy and strife , that , anger ; that , murther . ambition led absalon to treasonable conspiracy against his father , that , to open bloudy rebellion ; that , to incest ; any one pollution indulged unto , may introduce a whole legion : and though it be but one , it is a vilifying , and dishonouring of god in all his perfections , for some unsatisfactory , transitory phansy ; and if it be habitually , unrelentingly continued in , will be punished eternally with separation from gods presence , to endless miseries : and what folly is it , to lose gods favour , and incur his intolerable , eternal displeasure , for one defiling transitory vanity ? thus you see he that will enjoy eternal rest , must cleanse himself from all pollution , without deliberate habitual indulgence to any one . and that we might not miss of this eternal rest ; the apostles , the embassadors of christ , they woe and intreat us by the kindest compellations , as you may see , 2 cor. 7.1 . dearly beloved : having these promises , dearly beloved , let us cleanse our selves from all pollution ; 't is a style you shall hardly find in the old testament , unless in the canticles , where christ woes his spouse the church , with all the endearments of kindness and love , although there are somtimes such expressions as contain the same in real effect . but the ordinary stile runs there , with more severity , agreeable to that administration , where the spirit of bondage , was more ordinary , than that of adoption : but here in the gospel , though threats are sometimes intermixed , yet kind intreaties , and condescending invitations , are oftner found ; for god most justly expects now , when his son hath appeared , and given his life for us , to redeem us from all inquity , to purify us and make us zealous of holiness , that we should not need so many threats to drive us to him , as if he were only our last refuge ; but that in the sense of his admirable mercies , we should be drawn with the cords of a man , the bands of love , and make him our first most acceptable choice . wherefore we see his first embassadours that he sent , transcribed the pattern of that humility , and heavenly charity , which he had set them ; and make it their humblest , earnest intreaty , that we would be reconciled unto god ; that he would be blessed , in suffering them , to turn us from our iniquity ; that we would be holy and pure first , and then happy ; as if it were rather their happiness , and his that sent them , than theirs to whom they spake so passionately , so humbly , so charitably : dearly beloved , because so dearly beloved of god , that he sent his only begotten son , to buy and reclaim us to purity & holiness , to learn of him , to learn of his messengers , to value our selves at that rate , which he hath valued us at , who thought it an acceptable bargain to him , to lay down his life , with agonies of soul , and torments of body , rather than suffer us to wallow here in filthy pollutions , which lead to eternal intolerable misery , and not to that eternal rest , in the kingdom prepared for the blessed of his father . despise not then the goodness of god , who made you at first , after his own image : despise not the mercies of christ the son of god , who came to take your nature , and die for you : despise not the spirit of god , who waits , and longs , for your sanctification : despise not those precious promises , which yet are offer'd to all that cleanse and purify themselves ; nor those endless intolerable woes , and miseries , which are threatned to all despisers . he that seeks not this rest , but walks in the ways of his own heart , 'till he can walk no longer , and thinks to delay from time to time , his faithful conversion , and reformation , 'till he must take sanctuary at last , in the sighs and groans , sorrows and purposes , of sickness and his death-bed ; he that 'till then retained his sins , and now when he knows , or fears at least , that he must die , is sorrowful for haveing walked contrary to god , and a good conscience , he is in all probability sorrowful only for his danger , which may possibly consist with as great an affection to sinful ways , as in perfect health ; for even then , in some circumstances , he would have withstood the greatest temptation ; the boldest lust would refuse to be satisfied in the market , such restraint is no abatement of the affection : he that grieved not , 'till death and hell pressed him hard , and doom was ready to seize upon him , grieved for the sad consequences of sin , not for its baseness and disorder . for a remedy herein , all such persons , had need to cure themselves of these tormenting fears of death and hell , by a timely , and early repentance ; because a late repentance is seldom sound , and never save : and this repentance , which necessarily foregoes remission of sins , can no ways better be obtained , than by constant and fervent prayer : ask and ye shall have , said our saviour ; the prayer of faith availeth much , said st. james . god is nigh unto all them that call upon him faithfully : seek , and ask , and beg , and sue for what you will , by fervent and faithful prayer , by prayer that goes not out of feigned lips , and it shall be given you . prayer is the very breath of gods spirit , whereby our soul draws in , and sends forth gods grace ; and it s own gracious desires : prayer , it is our very scaling ladder , and engin of battery , whereby heaven is beseiged , and suffers violence : 't is our arrow by which we pierce the clouds , and having gotten audience above , 't is our weapon by which we wound our enemies below : 't is the rudder , and anchor which keeps our souls steddy in many waters , when many winds and billows beat upon us : 't is the compass by which we sail when all is clouded : 't is our key , by which we open heaven , and wrestle with god ; resolving with jacob , not to part without a blessing . but 't is not every lazy prayer , born in the lips , or at most in the phansy , uttered only for fashion sake , or to quiet for a while a galled conscience : no , it is the prayer of a righteous man ( though a man of infirmities with others ) when fervent , that availeth much ; so much , that it hath shut , and opened heaven , made the sun stand still , and go back . though the person be righteous , if the prayer be not fervent , god hath no regard to it ; no reason to hear and consider that prayer , which he himself ( that makes it ) scarce hears and considers . great reason then have all to watch and to pray , to make our calling and election sure , and wisely in time to provide , whilst the day of salvation lasts , that our labours here , may terminate , and end in eternal rest ; because we know not how short our time is . all flesh is grass , said the prophet isaiah , 40.6 . and all the goodliness thereof is as the flowers of the field : the grass withereth , the flowers fadeth away , because the spirit of the lord bloweth upon it , surely the people is as grass ; for as the grass , how green and flourishing soever it seems , yet it sprang from the earth , and shortly after beasts devour it , or winds blast it , and if it come to last out its full time , even then the sythe comes to cut it down : so is mans life , with all its fresh seeming contentments , at the mercy even of every creature ; fire and water , air and sickness , famin and the sword , and what not almost ? and though he escape all sad accidents , and casualties , to the utmost length of mans age , yet there is a natural syth of gods decree , and mans inward corruption , that will not fail to cut him down : no age , no condition , can be exempted by any art , by any means from the stroak of death . every age hath proper to it self some posterns , some out-lets of death , besides those numberless open gates through which thousands yearly pass . the bud is blasted as soon as the blown rose ; the lamb comes to the shambles , as well as the grown sheep ; death looks not at mens estates , or degree , or age ; it comes not to the church book to summon them by that ; the womb , the cradle , protects not many , infants die in both we know : and the jews proverb is daily fulfilled , in golgotha are skulls of all sizes : childhood is so tender , and yet so unwary of running into harms-way , that parents eyes , and nurses arms , are scarce sufficient to keep one child , from strange and early calamities , and death it self ; unless a guardian angel be granted it , to watch its very playings and sleepings , eatings and drinkings . the more uncertainty , and instability we find here in things below , the less ought we to rely and trust in any creature , and so much the more ought we to put our trust in god. the very unfaithfulness of all things else , should renue and confirm our faithfulness and to god , who makes sickness and death , become life and health , by removing the vail of flesh , which intercepts the light , and sight of the fountain of life , and gives an immediate access to him ; in whom alone this eternal rest is to be found . it is the honour and triumph of true religion , that having chosen god for its rest , it cannot be bereaved , or defeated of its choise , by any calamities whatsoever of this life . it lifts up the soul , above all the winds and storms of this uncertain , transitory world ; and fixes the heart upon that eternal fountain of joy , and rest and happiness , where there is no variableness , nor shadow of turning . wish , and desire , and love , whatsoever you please besides god : put your trust in any thing less , or lower than him ; and you are not only sure , that your love will be turned into hatred , your liking into loathing , your trust into despair , when death comes ; but even while life , and health lasts , you are at uncertainties , tossed perpetually betwixt the ebbs and flows of chance , 'twixt hopes and fears , like an unstable wave of the sea , or hanging like a doubtful meteor in the air ; whilst the humble , patient christian , that trusts in god , and takes him for his rest , and exceeding great reward , waiting on him , as his all-sufficient shield ( with resignation ) for life or death ; contented to live , but willing to die , and to be with christ ; he is the only fixt star in this lower firmament : his feet stand fast , be the pavement never so slippery . in the term of mans life , there is a vicissitude of good and evil , a mixture of labour and rest , joy and sorrow ; there is a seed-time , and an harvest ; a sowing in tears , and reaping in joy ; he that now goeth on his way weeping , and beareth forth good seed , shall doubless come again with joy , and bring his sheaves with him : but we may not expect summer in the winter season , an harbour in the main ocean ; our portion before we are of age , a reaping in joy 'till we have sown in tears : the traveller cannot think to find home in his inn , nor heaven upon earth . the children of israel had the wilderness , and the red-sea to pass through , before they could arrive at the land of canaan , the place of their rest . they were all labourers that were sent into the vineyard , and could not expect their peny , 'till the day , and their work was done ; let us therefore pray the lord of the harvest , that our labour and travel , may happily be turned at last into ease and rest ; that when the six days of our life are at an end , we may cease from our works , as god did from his ; and enjoy with him an everlasting sabboth of eternal rest . and the rather is this rest hereafter , to be laboured for now ; because whilst we are here upon earth , we have nothing pure and unmixt ; our very joys are mingled with sorrow ; and solomon tells us , even in laughter , the heart is sad : expences here wait upon honour ; care of education goes along with the blessing of children ; and our most comfortable hopes , are mixt with perplexing fears : but when we come to rest in the holy city , that city which is above ; we shall have a perpetual day without night , light without the sun : our hunger shall be satisfied without food ; no need of clothing there to cover our shame ( for shame and sin shall cease together ) then all sad doubtings , what shall be our condition and state hereafter , shall vanish away , and we shall agree together with one heart and mind , to sing halelujahs , and perpetual prayers to god in the highest . there will be no dissenters there , no seperatists , to break or interrupt that harmonious everlasting concord . what wise man then , will set his heart upon the world , when all things in it are but for so short an abode , so unstable and so unsatisfactory , and not rather on that abiding city above , where the joys and pleasures are durable and eternal ? christians of all others ought to remember what st. paul saith , heb. 13.14 . here we have no abiding city , but we seek one to come : our very profession exposeth us to all affliction , and obliges us to live as strangers and pilgrims upon earth : what is canaan or jerusalem below , to that above , whereof the other was but a type ? things that are seen and perceptible by any bodily eye are temporal , transitory , subject to changes every day , and sure to be abolisht at length , they will be taken from us , or we from them , when death comes ( which may come every day ) and therefore not worthy to be looked upon by such an immortal soul or spirit , as constitutes man ; which being made for eternity , cannot be satisfied with ought that is temporal , how long soever it may abide , much less when 't is sure to continue no longer as to us , than this uncertain short life ; and therefore in respect of our own , and the worlds end , we may be truly said to have no abiding city here , and are therefore the more carefully to seek and expect our eternal rest and habitation from above . while the world continues , and we in it , we have no continuing city here , because neither habitation nor goods , health nor wealth , honours nor pleasures , or any contentment is , or can he assured us for our lives : how many villages , towns and cities , have fires and earthquakes and wars destroyed ? how many kingdoms and common-wealths , have civil disorders , and foreign invasions overthrown ? or rather what one in any nation have they not ? the histories or records of all ages , all places ( besides the infallible oracles of god which we have in our hands ) will give us a full induction and proof of this truth . this island wherein we live , hath given us not only many historical , but experimental sensible proofs , that from the king to the meanest subject , we have no continuing city here , nor setled rest and true happiness . but besides these publick revolutions , vicissitudes and changes , every family , every private person lies continually exposed to casualities , to variety of sickness invading their health , variety of molestations from those above them , from those below them , from those about them , and also from their own follies , lusts and passions , from within them ; in so much that whatsoever men fix their hearts upon in this world , to take their greatest contentment in , they cannot be sure on reasonable grounds , that it shall continue with them one year longer . the felicity and satisfactory happiness of this city above , in which this eternal rest is to be found , ought to be valued so much the more , because st. paul tells us , 1 cor. 2.9 . that eye hath not seen , nor ear heard , nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive , the fulness of those good things which god hath prepared for those that love him . a grateful and pleasant taste of these good things , god affords the souls of the faithful here in this life ; how transcendently then , unutterable and unconceivable will be the full fruition of all that , which the gospel reveals to us but as in a glass , when enjoy'd to the height in the highest heavens , through all eternity , when we shall see god as he is with everlasting , overflowing satisfaction to all the faculties of the soul ? the eye of mart hath seen here admirable things in art and nature ; the ear hath heard , and the tongue hath tasted delicious things ; and mans heart can conceive much more than art or nature could ever present our senses with . the very pleasure of natural knowledge in the judgment of persons exercised therein , exceeds whatsoever sensuality , vain glory or covetousness pursues or enjoys ; and yet the knowledge and love of god in christ , incomparably surpass , st. paul tells us , whatsoever the heart of the natural man ( advanced to the height ) can conceive as pleasant or delightful to it . how much more doth this city to come , and its endless unconceivable pleasures , where this everlasting rest is to be had , exceed even our expressions and conceptions when they are at the highest ? if god hath provided such good things for mankind here below , in this world , which was not made for the place of our happiness , but only to give us a transitory glimpse , of his infinit wisdom , power and goodness , and to draw our hearts after the author of what we see ; if he hath built this inferior world or city , which hath no foundations in comparison of those to come , with so much wisdom , power and bounty , and made such glorious heavens as shine it forth to our admiration , and enamel'd it with such variety of pleasures , as even the best find it a matter of difficulty to part therewith ; and yet god never intended when he built it , that it should continue long : if there hath been so much cost of accurate contrivance , and mighty bounty , laid out on that which was to last but for a time , what think we , must be the riches , beauty and glory of that city , which he intended should endure to all eternity ? surely this world where we now live , is but as some out-houses , to that heavenly palace , an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as st. paul saith , a work-house , a place for labour and travel , before we come to our resting place , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or place of rewards , as he calls heaven . this is but a place to fit our selves in for the city above ; a place it is wherein the greatest part of its inhabitants , have dishonour'd their maker , and him that made the world , by preferring its transitory pleasures before him ; disorder'd themselves , injured their brethren , and thereby fitted themselves for that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that hell , or place of everlasting punishment . and if the most wise and holy god , who made this world , and knew when he made it , that it might , and would be so abused , yet so bespangled its roof with stars , sun and planets , and laid its flowery foundation so pleasantly , fragrantly , fruitfully and usefully ; certainly that city which he hath erected for none but his beloved servants to live in to all eternity , must vastly surpass this in glory : and because we can hardly conceive of invisible future good things , but by some resemblance to present and visible , and men are of several tempers , apprehensions and desires ; the scriptures condescend thereto , and strive to express the next lifes happiness , in all the variety of several notions which either sense , phansy or reason can desire . the voluptuous seek for pleasure and mirth ; if they will have it , let them set their hearts and affections on him that made them and redeemed them , that he might sanctify them and bring them to these delights they seek in him , they shall find when enter'd the city above , a feast of new refined wines , a feast of marrow and all delicacies , the joy of harvest , and of those that divide the spoil of their enemies . they shall find a celestial paradice or eden of god , whereof that which was made for adam and his posterity , continuing innocent , was but a transitory imperfect map. there is the hidden manna , hidden here but revealed there ; a new song always sung , a garden of lillies and roses which never die , and whose fragrant scent never decays . the ambitious mans heart is set on honour and glory , but if he will set his heart on god , and that honour which comes from him , in him he shall not fail to find a kingdom of glory and immortality , a crown of righteousness , whose weight is exceeding and eternal , for his having preferred the god that made him , before the empty false hearted honours , which come to tempt him from his duty of humility , goodness and holiness . the covetous mans heart is set on riches ; but if he will set his heart on god , in him he shall find everlasting treasure ; mansions that fail not , able to satisfie the utmost desires of him that possesses them , either for duration or abundance : a city whose walls and gates are full of all manner of precious stones , an inheritance , as st. peter describes it , incorruptible and undefiled , that fades not away , 1 pet. 1.4 . what ever we can inherit here is subject to some , nay all of these ; corruption , defilement , and fading away , both we and it . the substance is embased and soiled , by some bad thing coming to it from without . all things in their best estate , lose their luster , and fade away : one mans inheritance corrupts , by another mans unthriftiness , and is purchased by another , another's escheated or confiscated . we are weary here and then we rest , and are quickly as weary of our rest as of our weariness . the creatures fail and tire , and disappoint us , that we should not set up our rest in them , or in any inheritance here below , but be chased , and forced to seek our rest in god ; with whom there is an inheritance laid up for us , in danger of none of all these ; uncorrupt , that shall hold its being , and none can disseize us of it ; undefiled , never embased by any mixture , and we our selves become undefiled , uncorrupt and unfading too , and what can the covetous in his largest thoughts desire more . we have , or may have a natural certainty , by light of reason , that there is another future state , a life of rest and joy , after labour and sorrow here . the soul of man which is a spirit , whose operations are not only far above , what any body or matter is capable of , but can overrule and contradict , what ever the body most vehemently inclines to , embrace poverty , reproach , and death , with peace and joy . since for certain , by light of reason , there is a god that made the world , and governs the world , and hath obliged mankind by notions imprinted in his soul , to piety and righteousness , charity and temperance , and yet hath left him a liberty to chuse or refuse ; that he maybe rewarded for chusing good , and punished for the contrary : and since many chuse the ways of sin , who are not punished in this world ; and many chuse the ways of virtue , who are not rewarded in this life ; it follows by necessary consequence of reason , from the justness and holiness and goodness of god , that there must be another future life , wherein the prosperous wickedness of sinners shall be punished ; the labours and sufferings of godly , righteous , temperate , charitable persons , abundantly rewarded . all this the very heathens many of them , have expresly owned , and fairly proved , by their general acknowledgemt , that 't were better to suffer the loss of life , and all its comforts , than to live in the practice of hainous vice , which could not be true , if there were no other life after this : and surely the notions of good and evil , being so deeply interwoven with mens souls , that the consciences of those who chuse , and act that which is evil , though never so secretly , and so succesfully , reproach them with the guilt of it , and terrify them with the apprehensions of future punishment : and the consciences of those who chuse and act that which is good , though never so much reproached and afflicted for so doing , cheers and comforts them with joyful hopes , and expectations of some future reward . the souls and consciences of men being so deeply stamped with this , by him that made them , that no evasions , or arts of hypocrisy , or subtile wickedness , can blot it out ; it necessarily follows , as necessarily , and as surely , as that the reason and conscience of man was not made in vain , nor given him to make him the most abused , deluded , miserable creature in the world ; even in that , which is the very dignity , and excellency of his nature ; that there must be a life , wherein these notions and apprehensions , so natural and so general , must be verified . thus far reason by natural light may enable , and hath in effect empowred many to believe , that there is a resting place for the virtuous , not to be found here but hereafter ; commorandi locum natura nobis , non habitandi domicillium dedit : no abiding city here , but one to come : heaven is the proper country for mans soul , which came from thence inspir'd by god , divina quaedam particula aurae ; and thither tends . but because this light is obscure and imperfect , compared with that of revelation ; therefore the main irrefragable evidence , both that there is another state to come , and of its transcendent happiness , blessed rest and tranquility , as to soul and body , is to be fetcht from the holy oracles , and there we have it indeed , as fully and as cleerly revealed , as this our mortality is capable of ; proved by all the demonstrations of the spirit , which attentive reason can desire . for , there we have the son of god descending from heaven , to take our nature , and in that nature to teach and exemplify , the only way that leads thither , and purchase our admission to it , ( to this crown of life , to this resting place , to this city to come ) by his death ; thereby procuring for us an inheritance incomparably more worthy , than all our labours and sufferings here can come to . this rest is not allotted for sluggards , drowsy , slothful persons , who squander away their precious hours in earthly trifles , and think not this glorious eternal city , and rest there , which christ hath bought with his own blood , worth their seeking , untill they have nothing else to seek : yea , when this eternal rest is offered them , by gods preventing grace , have no heart to give him his price , when the price is only to part with that which is vain and temporal , for that which is satisfactory and eternal . the way to this rest , saith our lord , is streight and narrow , through temptations without , and corruptions within , and therefore cannot be found but by those that seek it , with attentive heed . god indeed seeks us first , shews us this city where this happiness and rest is to be found , and the way to it , invites and enables us to obtain it , by walking in holiness , and righteousness , which qualify us for it . even the things of this transitory life here below , its riches and honours ( such as they are ) are seldom attained but by diligent seeking ; and can we think this heavenly inheritance , with all its joys , and riches , and honours , should be attained without a constant studious diligence ? and the more we labour and suffer here , the more sweet and pleasant will be our rest when it comes . grata quies fessis , rest we know is welcome to the weary traveller : and now , courteous reader , i have by this time possibly wearied , and tired thee out , in a long and tedious walk ; but it was , only the better to fit and prepare thee for an happy , seasonable and lasting rest , that i have thus carried thee through a rough unbeaten path ( the path of faith , hope , and charity , meekness , patience , temperance , humility , chastity and obedience ; ) all which come , but as so many faithful guides , safely to conduct thee to the gates of heaven ; and give thee even in this life , by anticipation , a tast of the joys of that other , even of that place , where saints and angels shall be thy companions , and where thou shalt see god face to face , who is wisdom , purity , holiness , and all perfections . i cannot leave thee better , than where thou hast so near an approach to this glorious prospect of eternal rest : only one thing i have , at parting , to remind thee of , viz. go ye cursed into everlasting fire , or come ye blessed inherit the kingdom ; one of these two must be thy doom , and the final sentence of all flesh : let it therefore be thy wisdom as well as duty , to chuse that better part , which can never be taken from thee , to chuse god and eternal life , before riches and honours and pleasures , and all that this world can give : and to prefer an eternal boundless good , before uncertain transitory vanities , sure to end in eternal sorrow ; that so thy toilsom weary travel here , may have its accomplishment in eternal rest hereafter . amen , amen , amen . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a87158-e810 dr. templer , 1676.