1. I Would not be thought Peremptory and Dogmatical, in what I shall discourse on this Subject: For though the Reality of the Future State have the Suffrage of all Mankind, and be Evident both by Natural and Super­natural Light; yet the Particularities there­of are much in the Dark, and we know but little Concerning them.

2. In a Case so Obscure, to be Positive and Assertory, would savour of Greater Arrogance, than I am willing to harbour. [Page 4] Modesty and Suspicion in Things obscure, is more Decorous, and more Acceptable, than Bold and Confident Assertions and Determi­nations.

3. If Any Thing should drop from my Pen in the Progress of this Discourse, which may Seem too Affirmative, and Hardly re­concilable with a Becoming Modesty and Jealousie, I desire Those Luxuriancies of Expressions may receive Some Abatements, and be made Fairly agreeable thereun­to.

4. For although I may possibly be indif­ferently Well perswaded of the Truth of what I shall discourse; yet I am not Cer­tain: 'Tis not improbable, that I should be Mistaken: I am of Humane Race, and have no Priviledge of Exemption from Hu­mane Infirmities and Errours.

5. Therefore what I shall say on this Point, shall be Problematical and Disquisi­tive; for indeed, by this Discourse I have as Much Inclination to inquire, what O­thers think therein, as to deliver my Own Apprehensions concerning it: For although I should not Demonstrate the Probleme, (to which I do not indeed pretend) I think it not Impossible, but that some other Person may Do it.

6. What Other Men may have said al­ready concerning it, I cannot tell; 'tis not impossible, but that the School-Men may have largely discoursed it; for they are a Bold and Daring sort of Men, and there is almost Nothing that escapes their Inquiries and Disquisitions.

7. Yet I must Say, That those Few that I have had the Opportunity to Converse in, or Consult withal, say Nothing at all concerning it: Other Questions (in my opinion) of far less Ʋse and Importance they debate at large; but of This I find nothing, but a Most deep and Profound Si­lence.

8. Some very Brief and Transient Pas­sages I do nevertheless acknowledge to have read of this Subject, in some other Authors; which were the first Occasions of applying my self to the Consideration of it. Had not those Passages a little Moved and Ingaged my Thoughts in the Contemplation thereof, I had probably remained Satisfied in a general Belief of the Transcendent Hap­piness of the Future Life. without making any Particular Inquiries into the Nature of it: Peradventure I might never have De­bated, whether our Knowledge (in which, by the Confession of all Divines, it doth much lie, though not wholly consist) be [Page 6]Compleat and Perfect Immediately upon our Admission into the Divine Presence, or at least at the Resurrection of the Dead; or whether it be Eternally Progressive and Increasing for evermore.

9. Nevertheless it is my Opinion, that it may be Ʋseful, to form to our selves as Positive, Particular, and Determinate No­tions of the Nature of Future Happiness, as we possibly can; provided they be not in­consistent with the Inspired Writings, or disagreeable with the Revelations that God hath made concerning it.

10. For General Accounts of things are not anear so affecting, as a Plain and Parti­cular Narrative and Description of them. To say, That the Future State is Illustri­ous and Full of Glory; That those that shall be deemed worthy of it, shall See God, and partake in the Glory, that Christ Jesus injoyes in the Presence of his Father, is to speak very Great Things, and such as should Exceedingly ravish and affect our Souls.

11. But such is the Constitution of Hu­mane Minds, that Great Things do rather amaze, and induce a kind of Stupor upon them, than affect with a Grateful pleasure and Joy. Some Objects are too Big for our Senses; our Eye cannot bear the Light [Page 7]of the Sun, in its Highest Altitude and Splendour. Some Sounds are so Great, that they are Ʋngrateful and Offensive to our Ears: And there are some Objects too Great for our Minds; and when they are proposed unto them, they do rather ex­cite and awaken in them a Kind of Won­der and Admiration, than a Delightful Tast, Savour, and Consolation.

12. The Main Doctrine of the Christian Religion, is contained in a Few Propositi­ons; 'tis briefly contained in that Form of Words, that is usually called the Apostle's Creed; and more briefly in the Words u­sed at our Baptism: But all know, and must confess, that till those Things are Par­ticularly, and at Large explained, they make Little Impression upon the Minds of Men; they are Very little Moved or Af­fected by them.

13. It may be therefore Reasonably ho­ped, that an Explication of the Nature of Future Happiness may be acceptable to Pi­ous and Considering Minds: Those Texts of Scripture that describe it, are too Big for our Understandings. If the Meaning of them can by Division be explained, it may be More suitable to our Capacities, and More affecting to our Hearts.

14. That the Happiness of the Blessed [Page 8]in the Other World will be Very Great, is the Common Confession of all Christians; what ever be their Differences in Other Things, in This they are at Perfect Agree­ment: They all acknowledge the Future State, (called in the Scripture, the King­dom of Heaven) Transcendently Happy and Glorious; and that there is nothing in This World, that can be an Apt or Proper Re­semblance of it; they are all Beneath it, as far as Darkness is Beneath Light; or the faint Shining of a Sorry Glow-Worm, is infe­riour to the Lustre of the Sun in its Meri­dian Splendour.

15. 'Tis also confessed, that very Much of the Happiness of that State consists in Greatness of Knowledge, and Largeness of Ʋnderstanding. In This World, those that know Most, know very Little; those that have the Greatest Reputation for Wisdom and Understanding, are Ignorant and Blind; and what they do see, is Very darkly, and with much Imperfections: Their Capaci­ties are very Narrow, their Faculties are Weak; and can neither Discern, nor Com­prehend much, by the Most diligent En­deavours and Applications: But in the Other World their Capacities will be enlarged, and their Faculties strengthened; and Light and Knowledge will be Increased, beyond [Page 9]our present Conceptions and Imaginations.

16. The Knowledge of God is the Most excellent Knowledge; He is the Most ex­cellent Object; and therefore, the Know­ledge of Him must needs be so. All Sci­ence is valuable according to the Objects thereof: Where the One is Worthy and Excellent, the Other is so; where the One is Mean and Worthless, the Other is not Valuable or Regardable. And hence it is, that even in this World, the Knowledge of God surpasses all other Knowledge, whatsoever it be.

17. Whatsoever Constitutes Man happy, must be Analogous, and suitable to his Fa­culties: There must be an Agreeableness between the Subject, and the Object, or Man cannot be Happy. Light, Beauty, and Proportion Pleases the Eye; Musick, and Harmonious Sounds Delight the Ears; and Fragrant, and Odoriferous Scents and Perfumes the Smell: And the Reason is, they are Congruous to these Faculties; there is a Proportion between them.

18. Man is indued with a Reasonable Soul, and the Knowledge of Things, is very Suitable and Pleasant to it: Musick is not more Pleasant to the Ear, nor Beauty and Proportion to the Eye, than Knowledge to the Mind of Man. The Pleasures of Con­templation, [Page 10]and the Delights of Knowledge, vastly excel all the Pleasures of Sense, be they never so exquisite or perfect. The Delights of the Sensual and Voluptuous, are Mean and Brutish; the Delights of Wise and Knowing Men, are Raised, Sublime, and Angelical.

19. The Rational Faculty is not only de­lighted in Knowledge, but 'tis very much Perfected and Advanced by it. The grea­ter any Man's Knowledge is, the greater and More Perfect is his Mind; the less any Man is possessed withal, the less and the More imperfect and defective is his Sense. Those that have least Ʋnderstanding, have the Narrowest and most contracted Spirits.

20. Nothing so much delights and per­fects the Minds of Men, as the Knowledge of God; that's most pleasant, and mini­sters greatest Satisfaction to them: Th [...] quiets, and lays to rest the Motions, and Satisfies the Appetites of them: It also perfects, and compleats them. The Know­ledge of God, and the consequent Effects thereof, is the Greatest Perfection that they are capable of attaining, possessing, and injoying either in This, or in the Other World.

21. In this World, God is known by his Word, and by his Works: All that we [Page 11]know of Him, is either by Contempla­ting the Works of his Hands, or by Read­ing and Considering the Revelations that he hath made of himself, in the Sacred Volums. From the Effects of his Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, visible and discernable in his Word and Works, we come to the Know­ledge of Those Perfections, and do form Those Notions that we have concerning them.

22. It seems Probable, that we shall know God in the Other State, after the Same manner that we know Him in This. God is the same Immutably; in Him is no Va­riableness, nor Shadow of Turning: His Nature, Attributes, Excellencies, and Per­fections, suffer no Alteration. What He Is, He Was, and Will Be Eternally.

23. The Nature of our Faculties will remain the Same There, that they are Here. Gradual Advantages and Perfections I do acknowledge they will receive, and those Very Great immediately upon their Admis­sion thither: But Gradual Advantages will not alter the Specifick Nature of our Souls. If their Specifick Nature were chan­ged, we should cease to be Men; and then it would follow, that Men obeyed and dis­obeyed the Laws of God, and another Spe­cies, or kind of Creatures will be Saved [Page 12]and Damned. Which seems to me very Absurd and Incongruous. Whether God may awaken any New Powers, or Facul­ties in the Soul of Man, after its Depar­ture hence, I know not; nor will I deny the Possibility of it; for I think it consistent with the Preservation of our Specifick Na­tures: Which is all that I affirm.

24. If God be the Same in the Other State, and This, (as 'tis certain, He is) and if our Essential Faculties continue the Same, I see no reason, why we may not think it (at least probable) that the Bles­sed shall know God by his Works, and such other Revelations, as he shall make of himself there.

25. And indeed, I cannot tell of what Use the Various and Illustrious Objects in that State will be, unless they discover to us the Excellencies and Perfections of God. Of what Use will the Pomp and Splendour, the Glory and Lustre of the House of God be, if it learn us nothing of his Nature and Admirable Attributes and Perfections? This is the Great, though not the Only, Use of all things in This World; and such I conceive will be the Use of them, in That which is to come.

26. VVhether God will make Use of any Second Causes, for the Maintenance [Page 13]and Support of our Beings, (though it seem to me probable) yet I will not affirm, but if that should be granted, yet it cannot with any Reason be imagined, that That is the Only Ʋse of them: 'Tis not the Only Ʋse of them Here; nor is it in any mea­sure probable, 'twill be the Only Ʋse of them There. The Heavens declare the Glory of God; and so do all the Beings that are contained in it, and encompassed by it: And I make no doubt, the Heaven of Heavens, and all the Illustrious Objects there, are of the Same Ʋse, and designed to the Same Intent and Purpose.

27. That the Objects in the Other World will contribute towards the Happiness of the Blessed, I shall affirm: But yet 'tis (I conceive) by acquainting us with the Ex­cellencies and Perfections of God, and de­monstrating the Transcendency, and Riches of his Love, his Bounty, and his Grace. 'Tis God is the great Object of Humane Happiness; and in the Knowledge of Him, and the consequent Fruits and Effects there­of, is the Supreme Felicity of Men. Crea­ted Beings promote our Happiness only by revealing the Excellencies of God, and gi­ving us a Knowledge and Perception of them.

28. Some School-men (I do easily grant) do assert an Immediate Knowledge of the Essence and Perfections of God, in the World to come: But I am not satisfied in the Proofs and Evidences, that they bring in favour of it; and many (if not most) Protestants reject the Opinion; and with very Consi­derable Reasons, Confute what they Affirm, and lay down for the Support of it. Vid. Voet. disput. select. Pag. 1193. Vol. 2^o. Cum multis aliis.

29. But though it be granted, That the Happiness of the Blessed will consist very Much in the Knowledge of God; yet per­adventure, it may be doubted, whether This Knowledge be Perpetually Increasing, or whether it be Instantaneous, and present it self to the Eye of the Mind, as Light to the Bodily Eye, which no sooner appears above the Horizon, than all Eyes are en­lightned thereby in a moment.

30. I am prone to think This Know­ledge Progressive and Increasing; and that Mary Ages spent in the House of God, will furnish the Blessed with More of the Know­lege of Him, than they were endowed withal upon their first Admission and En­trance there. I cannot think, that the Mil­lions of Ages (pardon the Expression) that do compound an Everlasting Duration, will [Page 15]make no Increase in the Knowledge of the Blessed, nor add no Perfection to their Ʋn­derstandings.

31. VVhether the Proofs that I shall make of this Probleme be Valid or Invalid, the Reader must determine, when he hath Weighed and Considered them. I am con­tent, that they be esteemed as they are. 'Tis no part of our Creed, that I am de­fending. If my Arguments be thought in­valid, and my Opinion rejected, 'twill be no matter of Provocation to me: If They be thought cogent, and my Opinion wor­thy of Acceptation with Pious and Ingeni­ous Men, perchance I may be a little plea­sed therein: But if it may advance the Love of God, and make Heaven any whit the more acceptable to the Thoughts and Meditations of Christians, I am sure I shall greatly rejoyce.

32. These Things being premised, 'twill be adviseable to propose the Probleme, [Knowledge Eternally Progressive] and give the Sense wherein I understand it.

33. The word Knowledge I take in the largest Meaning and Signification; I un­derstand it not in the Strict Sense of Ari­stotle, for the Knowledge of Things by their proper Efficient, and Constitutive Cau­ses; but in a General and Ʋnlimited Sense, [Page 16]for All Kinds of Knowledge, by whatso­ever means, or after whatsoever manner it be obtained.

34. By Eternally Progressive, I mean E­verlastingly Increasing; it will Advance for Ever; it will never arrive at that Per­fection, beyond which it can proceed no further. The Visible World is Finite, the Extension thereof is Limited and Determi­ned: The Waves of the Sea have their Bounds prefixed, and set unto them: Hi­therto, says God, shall they come, and no farther; and here shall their Rage be stop­ped: But Humane Knowledge hath No Bounds affixed unto it; it may Increase to all Durations.

35. By the Future State, I mean the State of the Blessed, after their Departure hence. There is Another World and State, Consequent and Future to This. Humane Souls do not perish, when they leave their Bodies; they subsist in Another State, and do Advance in Knowledge There, as well as Here: Here 'tis obviously Progressive; and I see no reason, why it may not be so There. Here we proceed gradually in the Knowledge of Things; and such is the Constitution and Nature of our Faculties, that 'tis in my Apprehension Impossible it should be otherwise: And I cannot imagine, [Page 17]that Death should make so great an Alte­ration in them, that what was before na­turally Impossible, should become not only Possible, but Necessary and Ʋnavoidable; for such must our Knowledge be, if it be Perfect, Immediately upon our Dissolution and Departure hence.

36. By the Blessed, I mean such as God shall deem Worthy and Meet to be Parta­kers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light; such as having done his Command­ments, and performed the Terms of the Gospel-Covenant, have Right to the Tree of Life, and Admission Through the Gates into the City.

THe Question being thus briefly stated, I shall lay down such Propositions, as shall render it fairly Probable to Persons of Free and Ʋnprejudiced Minds, and will give themselves Liberty to consider Things, without Byass and Partiality.

1. God's Perfections are Infinite; his Power hath No Limits of Extension: He can effect all things, that are the Effects of Power. There is nothing Impossible unto Him: His Wisdom is of Vast Extent, and reaches all things. There is nothing can escape the Cognizance of his Infinite Un­derstanding: His Goodness is of Equal Extent with his Power and Wisdom; it touches all things that are the Proper and Congruous Objects thereof.

2. Though Man receive Great Advan­tages [Page 19]immediately upon his Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven; yet he still re­mains a Finite Creature: His removal from this Howling Wilderness, doth not make him a God, nor endow him with Divine Perfections: He remains There a Finite Es­sence, and of Limited Powers. Though he be Mightily Advanced, and his Capa­cities Enlarged beyond our present Con­ceptions; yet he is still a Creature, and his Nature remains the Same invariably.

3. A Finite Creature can never compre­hend an Infinite Creator: The Globe of the Earth cannot be contained in a Nut­shell, nor the Waters of the Ocean in a Bottle or Tankard: The Hills cannot be crowded into a Cottage, nor the Mountains into a Shepherds Tent. There is no Con­gruous Proportion between the One, and the Other; And there is far less Proporti­on between the Understanding of Man, and the Perfections of God: The One is Finite, the Other is Infinite; and between them there can be no Analogy: Whereas there is some betwixt all Created Beings, (though sometimes very small) forasmuch as they are all Limited and Circumscri­bed.

4. Man must Know (though not Compre­hend) the Excellencies and Perfections of [Page 20] God, or he cannot be Happy. All Appe­tites have their Proper Objects, and in the Knowledge and Fruition of them, they find their Content and Satisfaction; and in the Absence of them, they find Misery and Tor­ment. This we find true, in the Experi­ence of every Day. Men have Appetite and Inclination to a Sociable Life; and therefore, in the Company and Society of Seconds, they find Pleasure and Repose; and Solitude is Irksome and Ʋngrateful to them. They have Appetites and Inclina­tions to Eat, and Drink, and Rest; and in the Enjoyment of the Objects of those Ap­petites, they are Pleased and Satisfied; and if they be deprived of them in their Pro­per Seasons, they are Troubled and Ʋn­easie.

5. Man hath an Inclination and Desire to know God: 'Tis Natural to him, to proceed from the Effect to the Nearest Cause, and from That to the Next; and so in an Orderly and Regular Gradation, till it ascend to God, the Prime Cause of all Things; and there it Rests, and is Satis­fied. That's the Proper and Terminating Object of all Humane Knowledge and Dis­quisition: When we have pursued things thither, were we sit down in Complacency, and solace our selves in our Acqusitions.

6. What the Mind of Man cannot re­ceive of the Divine Perfections at Once, it may receive at Many times, and by Suc­cession: The Soul being a Limited Es­sence, it cannot receive or know much of the Excellencies of God, at one Single Grasp or Fathome; but at several times, and Suc­cessively, it may know much; and how much, is not safe to say or determine. Ten Thou­sand Men cannot pass the Gates of a City at once; but in succession of Time, Many Millions may do it. All the Water in the Ocean could not pass the Mouth of the Streights of Gibralter, at one Point of Time; but in a Continued space of Time, it might certainly do it, supposing nothing else did hinder it. There is no Mathema­tician, that at one view of his Mind, be­holds all the Propositions in Euclid, Apol­lonius, and Archimedes, with their several Demonstrations; but many have done it Successively; and indeed all that are Ma­sters in that Pleasant and Ingenious Sci­ence.

7. Infinite Perfections (and such are those of God) can never be exhausted: As Infinite Duration cannot be measured, so Infinite Perfections cannot be drained: Whatsoever is exhaustible, is Finite; whatsoever may be sathomed by Humane Understandings, [Page 22]is of Limited Nature and Perfection: That which is Infinite, contains those Depths that can Never be sounded. And such are the Properties and Excellencies of God: The Days of Eternity will never Fully and Per­fectly reveal and expose them. After all our Search into them, we shall never Find them out unto Perfection.

8. Therefore they may furnish Matter and Subject for Eternal Contemplation: They may Perpetually exercise our Minds, and minister new Occasion for our Specula­tions. There will be no defect of Matter for our Thoughts, nor Subject for our Me­ditations. An Object of Ʋnlimited Excel­lency may well afford Reason, Occasion, and Foundation, for everlasting Thoughts and Considerations. Where the Object is Inexhaustible in its Virtues, the Thoughts may be Eternal in their Inquiries and Search concerning them.

9. Whatsoever is known of God in the Future State, will be either by Natural or Supernatural Revelation. God will be known by the Illustrious Works of his Hands. The Objects that adorn the New Jerusalem, will declare the Glorious Perfe­ctions of their Maker; every thing There, will speak forth his Praise, unveile his Glo­ry, and render it Conspicuous to those that [Page 23]shall be admitted to behold it There: And peradventure, there may be some Super­natural Ways of Revelation, which may uncover something of the Divine Excel­lencies even There, as well as Here.

10. The Objects or Works that reveal and discover the Attributes and Perfections of God to the Blessed, in the World to come, will be Very great and Many; and how great and Many they may be, can neither be determined, nor imagined. Those that reveal him Here, are Many, and some of them Very great and magnifi­cent. And surely, it cannot be justly thought, but that the Things that shall re­veal God in the Other State, will be as nu­merous, and much More great and Glori­ous; it being designed to illustrate and set forth the Glory of God in a most Re­splendent manner. He will there be Glo­rified in his Saints, and admired in those that believe. And he cannot attain this Glory, unless there be something Very great to reveal, and lay him open before us.

11. The Mind of Man is Fitted and A­dapted to the Use of Knowing; and 'tis pleased therein. This is true in the Ex­perience of Most, if not of All Men. There are very Few, if Any, that are not delight­ed [Page 24]in Knowledge and Ʋnderstanding. Some Brutish Sensualists, and Covetous Earth-Worms, may be so swallowed up among Secular and Sensual Things, that they may have lost almost All Desire of Knowledge, and all Taste and Sense of Pleasure in it: But 'tis Apparently otherwise in Multitudes of others, and in all of Free and Ingenuous Minds; and in the most Profligate and Bru­tish at sometimes.

12. God imploys all things to their Pro­per Ends and Uses in This World; and I see no cause to doubt, but he will do so in the Other. He Made the Sun to heat, warm, and enlighten the World; and so he Ʋses and Imploys it. He Made the Earth, that it might bring forth Grass, and Trees, and Fruits, for the Ʋse of Man and Beast: And to that end, he Hath and Doth imploy it. And the like may be said, and is Abun­dantly visible in All the Works of his Hands; they All serve the Ends and Purposes, to which by their Nature and Constitution they are fitted and prepared.

13. The Humane Soul is not only adap­ted to the Ʋse of Knowing, but it hath a very Vigorous and Passionate Desire after it; and that Desire is Natural and Essential to it. Hunger and Thirst are not More Na­tural to our Bodies, in their present State [Page 25]and Constitution, than the Desire of Know­ledge is unto our Minds; and they can no more put off the One, than the Other.

14. This Desire will not only be Con­tinued, but Perfected, Enlarged, and In­creased in the Paradise of God. It will receive no Abatement, much less an Anni­hilation There; but it will become much more eager, sharp, and earnest. 'Tis ve­ry much dead in all Men (though not e­qually) here Below: But it proceeds from the Sinful Depravations and Diseases of the Soul, when it shall return to Health and Soundness, that Dsiere will Revive, and become Vigorous, Brisk, and Active. In Bodily Diseases, the Appetites of Hunger and Thirst do sometimes Languish, and almost Dye; but when Health returns, those Appetites return with it, and become as Quick and Pressing as ever.

15. This Inclination must have Satisfa­ction, or else Heaven will be Mans Torment, not his Happiness. Eager Appetites, with­out Suitable Objects for their Satisfaction, are an Insupportable Misery; and perad­venture, they may be much of the Tor­ment of the Damned: Whether that be so, yea or no, I will not determine: But sure I am, and the Experience of all Man­kind confirms it, that Ʋnsatisfied Desires [Page 26]are a great Vexation and Anguish: They are like Hunger and Thirst, where there is no Bread or Water, or any Congruous Object to Quiet, or take off their Fury, and their Rage.

16. Nothing can satisfie This Appetite and Desire, but such things as are Agree­able unto it. Desires of Knowledge must be satisfied by Intelligible Objects; as that of Seeing is quieted with things Visible and Congruous to the Visive Faculty; and that of Hearing, with things Audible and Analogous to that Sense: So that of Know­ing is appeased by Objects Agreeable there­unto.

17. The Soul of Man is an Active Es­sence: We find it so Here; and 'tis more than probable, 'twill be so Hereafter: When 'tis loosened from this gross and heavy Body, 'twill be More active, and and not Less: And yet even Here, some think 'tis Never Idle; when the Body Rests, the Mind is Imployed; as is Obvious in our Dreams: And though we have no Memory of them, yet it may well be thought, that we never sleep without them.

18. An Active Essence, without Objects whereon to imploy its Faculties and Pow­ers, must needs be a very Great Burthen to it self. Hence it is, that Here below, [Page 27]we are so Impatient of Idleness, and that 'tis so burdensom to Men, to have No­thing to do; nothing almost being more Irksome and Intolerable. And thence Men. that are not pressed by Necessity to use Bo­dily Labours, nor have no great Taste or Savour in Reading and Meditation, have in­vented Play and Divertisements, to exer­cise the Active Powers of their Souls, and to avoid the Insupportable Burthen of Do­ing nothing.

19. New Objects, and New Discove­ries, do most affect our Minds, and make the most Grateful Impressions on them in Time: And 'tis not unlikely, but they will do so in Eternity. Those that Con­verse in Books, and Contemplate and In­quire into the Nature of Things, do find themselves Sensibly affected with new things. Thence 'tis said, That Pythagoras sacrifi­ced a Hecatomb to the Gods, upon his finding out the Demonstration of the For­ty-seventh Proposition of the First Book of Euclid. He was so ravished with that New Discovery, that he knew not how Sufficiently to testify his Gratitude unto them. 'Tis not to be doubted, but that he knew many things in Geometry, and had skill in Demon­stration, before he found the Artifice of Demonstrating that Proposition: But this [Page 28]was New, and made more Pleasant Sensa­tions upon him, than all his Other Know­ledge.

20. As in Numbers, there is, nor can be none so great, to which some Increase may not be made by Addition; and yet Number will never be Infinite: So in Be­ings, I conceive, they neither are, nor can be so Many, to which no Addition can be made by an Infinite Power; and yet they will still remain Finite: For Infinity is an Incommunicable Attribute and Property of God, and nothing is capable of it besides Him.

21. If Beings may Everlastingly increase, there is no reason to doubt, but Knowledge may increase in Proportion with them: If the One may receive Advantage, and be multiplied, the Other may do so likewise. For Beings, and the several Properties and Affections of them, are the Objects of Hu­mane Understanding; and Men's Science is Greater or Less, according to the Grea­ter or Less variety of Objects that they are acquainted withal.

22. But of the Variety of Objects, that will be proposed to the Contemplation of the Blessed, in the Kingdom of God, and of the Probability or Possibility of an Eter­nal Increase of Knowledge thence, I in­tend [Page 29]to discourse in the Next Chapter; and therefore, I'le here Conclude This.

1. HAving said something in the Prece­ding Chapter, from the Considera­tion of the Nature of God, and his Perfecti­ons compared with the Nature, Faculties, and Inclinations of Man, to Prove, or at least make Probable the Doctrine that I have asserted; I shall now proceed to propose some Objective Reasons and Evidences for the farther Establishment and Proof of it.

2. The Visible World is of very Vast Extent; and no Man can determine the Li­mits of it. Who can with any Certainty say, This is the Compass, and These are the Extensions of the Earth and Heaven? Who can tell me the Diameter of the Glo­rious Fabrick, that presents it self to our Eyes? Where is the Mathematician, that [Page 30]will describe the Measure of its Circumfe­rence? They have pretended to give us the Diameter and Circumference of the Earth, the Distance of the Planetary Bo­dies from it, and from each other; toge­ther with their Peripheries and Magni­tudes: But none ever dared to determine the Magnitude of the Whole World, or so much as to guess at its Extensions.

3. This Earth on which we dwell (and which, in comparison with the Whole World, is but a Point, by the Confession of the greatest Mathematicians) furnishes an al­most Infinite Number of Objects to our Con­templation. How numerous are the Kinds of Beings on the Earth, and in the Sea? What Naturalist hath ever pretended to give us an Exact History of them? The Kinds of Birds, and Beasts, and Fishes, and Insects, are to us Incomputable; and so are the Kinds of Herbs, and Flowers, and Earths, and Minerals, with many o­thers.

4. What Kinds of Beings, and how Nu­merous they may be in the Superiour Parts of This World, we cannot say; but 'tis not Improbable, but they may be Replenished with Beings Suitable to their Quality and Condition. The higher Parts of this Il­lustrious Fabrick are much more Pure, [Page 31]Clean, and Splendid, than this Howling Wilderness, and the Caliginous Air that doth encompass, and surround it; and it may be, the Beings that inhabit them, may as much Transcend those Here, as the Place of the One doth Transcend that of the Other. This Earth seems to be one of the meanest Parts of the Universe; and perhaps, the Beings in it, may be the Meanest in their Kinds of all the Works of God's Hands.

5. There may be Other Worlds now Existing, besides that which falls under our Knowledge and Observation. Some Philo­sophers have discoursed of an Infinity of Worlds; and thought such an Opinion Worthy of God, whose Power is Infinite, and Goodness Inexhaustible. I like not the Notion of Infinite Worlds; but I think it not impossible, but that there may be Ma­ny Others, besides This, of which we are a Part, and which is offered to our View and Contemplation.

6. There may have been Other Worlds Pre-existent to This. The Holy Scriptures do assure us, that This World was made Five Thousand, and Some Hundreds of Years since: But it no where says, That there never was Any World before it; it no where affirms, That God Never produced any Created Being, or Systeme of Beings, till [Page 32]he gave Existence to the Heavens, and the Earth, and all the Host of them: Of which Moses discourses in the First and Second Chapters of Genesis.

7. And truly, he that considers the A­ctivity, Goodness, and Fecundity of the Di­vine Nature, will hardly be able to think, that God Never gave Being to any Crea­tures, will a Few Years since; a Thousand Years with Him, are but as One Day: And is it imaginable, that he should purpose to have such Essences, as should partake with Him in his Happiness, and Glory, to all Eternity, a Parte post; and yet a Parte ante, should never produce Any, till about Five or Six Days ago? This will seem very Improbable to a Considering or Inquiring Man.

8. There may be a Succession of Worlds, after the Conflagration of This; and to how long Continuance this Succession may be ex­tended, I will not pretend to judge. 'Twere great Temerity and Presumption, for any Mortal to say, Hitherunto will it proceed, and no Farther; and here will God rest, and put a Period to the Exercise of his Crea­tive Power and Virtue.

9. In those Other Worlds past, present, and to come, there may have been, and there may be Various Kinds of Beings; of [Page 33]which we have no Knowledge or Cogni­zance in This. The Kinds of Beings here Below, are exceeding Numerous, as I have observed already; and differing Countreys do produce differing Species and Kinds of Creatures: America will furnish us with Herbs and Trees, Fruits and Minerals, with Fish and Fowls of Other Natures and Qua­lities, than any that are found in Europe. Africa, and the Southern Islands do abound with many things, that Asia and the Nor­thern Countreys are utter Strangers unto.

10. And if Several Countreys, on the Sur­face of the same Earth, do furnish to us Various and Differing Beings; we may reasonably judge, that Several Worlds in the same Ʋniverse or Creation, will supply us with very great Variety and Difference of Creatures.

11. There may be Sundry Gradual Dif­ferences among the Same Kinds of Beings: Thus 'tis on Earth; and so it may be in Other Parts of God's Creation, amongst Men that are of the same Specifick Nature. Gradual Varieties are almost Infinite; some have the Perfections of Angels almost, and others are raised but little above the Craf­tier sort of Brutes: And the Intermediate Differences between these Extreams, are innumerable. And the same may be ob­served [Page 34]in other Kinds of Beings. And this Variety, together with the several Causes, Reasons, and Ends thereof, will afford Great Subject and Matter for Speculati­on.

12. The Supreme Heavens (there is no doubt) will afford and minister great Va­riety of Wonders to our Meditation. 'Tis the Palace of the Great King; 'tis the House of God; the Place wherein he gives the greatest Demonstrations of his Glorious Perfections, and especially of his Kindness, and remunerating Bounty and Grate: And certainly, such a Place must needs be very Illustrious; it must be adorned with things Great and Wonderful; it must be embellish­ed with what will create Extasie and Admi­ration. Nothing Mean is seen in the Courts of Great Kings; all things There are full of Splendour, Stately, Magnificenct, and be­coming Their Grandeur and Greatness: And it cannot be supposed, but that the Court of Heaven will be as Worthy of God, and as Suitable to his Greatness, as are the Courts of Mortal Kings.

13. The Distance betwixt God, and the Greatest Monarchs upon Earth, is Infinite; there is no Analogy or Proportion between their Greatness. What Proportion is there between the Waters of the Sea, and the [Page 35] Hollow of a Man's Hands? What Propor­tion is there between the Dust of the Earth, and a Measure? Some Proportion there is between them, because they are all Finite: But between God, and his Creatures, even the Greatest and most Sublime amongst them, there is no Proportion: God being of Boundless and Infinite Perfections; and they being all of Limited Nature and Qua­lities.

14. If we may guess at the Glory of the Court of God, by the Transcendent Great­ness of his Essence and Perfections, (and I know not by what else we may make our Conjectures concerning it) we must say, That the Splendour of it, surpasses that of the Courts of Mortal Kings, almost as much as God surpasses Them. The Fabrick of Heaven, that House not made with Hands, transcends the most Pompous Palaces of Princes, almost as much as God Transcends Them in Power, State, and Glory.

15. In the Kingdom of God, (at least, after the Resurrection) Man will be Com­pounded of a Body and a Soul: And this Glorious Fabrick will contribute much to­wards the Happiness of both. 'Twill be an Object, and a State suitable to the Sen­ses and Appetites of the Glorious and Spi­ritual Bodies, where-withal they will be [Page 36]endowed. What those Senses and Appe­tites will be, I cannot define; nor how Great the Changes and Advantages will be, that they will receive with the Change and Alteration of the Body, on that Great Day: But all confess, (and there is no doubt of it) That the One will be the Rule, and the Measure of the Other; the Change of the Body will give Law (as it were) to the Change of the Senses, and Bodily Appetites that shall be continued unto it.

16. But 'tis the Soul, that will receive the Greatest Advantage, and Happiness, by the Injoyment and Possession of this House of God: Thereby it will learn much of the Divine Excellencies and Perfecti­ons; much of his Power, Wisdom, and Goodness; much of his Love and Kindness; much of the Ʋnfathomable Riches of his Grace. And 'tis therein, that the Happi­ness of Man doth consist; that I conceive, is the Vision of God, in which almost all Di­vines do place the Supreme Felicity and Hap­piness.

17. Yet either Voluntarily, or by Com­mand, the Blessed Inhabitants of Heaven may leave those Happy Mansions, and tra­verse and view the Whole Creation of God Here we may observe Men travelling from One Kingdom to Another, to observe the [Page 37] Manners, and Customs, the Laws, Govern­ment, and Institutions, by which they are Governed, and under which they Live; as also, to take Knowledge of whatsoever is Rare and Peculiar, Stupendious and Worthy of Observation. And I do not know, but the Blessed may pass from One Part of the World to Another, and behold what-ever is Curious and Admirable in them: And what Wonders of Power, Wisdom, and Goodness may be found in every of them, who can imagine? And how much of the Glory of the Divine Attributes may be Il­lustrated by them, who can determine?

18. The Scriptures do assure us, That the Holy Angels do sometimes converse, and are imployed here Below. 'Though Heaven be their Home and Countrey, and they be therefore called the Angels of Hea­ven; yet sometimes they spend a little time on Earth; and many things do they observe and learn Here. What they know of the Redemption of the World by a Savi­our, and of the Warfare that is betwixt the Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Ser­pent, they know by the Church, and the Revelations that are made unto it; together with the Experience that they have of the Conduct and Success thereof. And if the Holy Angels of Heaven learn many things [Page 38]from This Earth, the Blessed may learn ma­ny things from This and Other Worlds, and Parts of God's Creation.

19. For something may be known of God, which the Heaven of Heavens doth not reveal or discover; though they be a most Illustrious Glass, in which the Face of God may be seen; yet I am not sure, that they do reveal all that the Blessed are ca­pable of Knowing concerning him. Some­thing the Blessed may learn in Other Parts of the Universe, which they cannot learn in the Paradise of God: Not that God could not make it known unto them There; but he chuses Several Creatures, and Several Parts of the Creation; upon which to im­press the Image and Footsteps of his Perfecti­ons, and by them to propose them to the View and Knowledge of Rational Beings; for 'tis they alone, that are capable of see­ing and beholding them.

20. All God's Works do manifest, and shew forth his Glorious Attributes and Per­fections: The Firmament sheweth his handy Work: The Sun, Moon, and Stars, in their Essence, Regular Motions, Influences, and Ef­fects, do declare his Infinite Power, Wis­dom, and Goodness. There is not a Crea­ture in the Heavens, or in the Earth, which doth not teach and reveal something of the [Page 39] Admirable Excellency of their Maker. And if This World, and all the Beings in it, do speak forth the Glory and Perfections of the Great God, it cannot be doubted, but that whatever Other Worlds there be, have been, or may be, will speak the Same Lan­guage. God makes all things for Himself; that is, for the Discovery of Himself, and Illustration of his Boundless Perfections.

21. God knows his Own Excellencies, and needs no Effects for the Discovery of them: He needs not This, or any Other World, to acquaint himself with the Extent of his Power, his Wisdom, or his Good­ness. These, and all his other Attributes, are Perfectly understood by him. He Doth not, nor Cannot learn any thing concerning them, from the Works of his Hands. His Creatures do not teach him Knowledge, nor doth he gain any Ʋnderstanding by the Ef­fects of his Creative Power and Virtue.

22. Therefore Reasonable Creatures must contemplate, and behold them; or 'twill be Very hard, in my Apprehension, to give any fair Account of them. Of what Use were the Heavens, and the Earth, the Sea, and the Dry Ground, with those various, and almost innumerable sorts and kinds of Beings, that are in it, if there were no In­telligent Beings, to Behold, View, and Con­sider [Page 40]them? Why were they Made? and why did God engrave his Own Image, and impress the Characters of his Own Perfe­ctions on them, if there were no Intellectual Essences to observe them? And if this Fa­brick that our Eyes behold, were made to be a Glass, in which Men and Angels might see, and contemplate the Glory of its Ma­ker; such will be the Use of all Other Worlds, that have been, are, or may be: They will be also Mirrors, in which un­derstanding and intelligent Beings will be­hold the Glory of God, and among them the Blessed-Inhabitants of Heaven.

23. 'Tis true, in the Present State, and by reason of the Darkness and Impotence that Sin hath introduced upon the Soul of Man, this World is in great degree useless, with regard to the Principal and Main end of it: 'Twas Built, Framed, and Fashion­ed, to Reveal God unto them; and it bears very Apparent Characters of a Deity upon it. But Man is Blind, and cannot See them; or Lazy and Negligent, and will not observe them; or ingaged in the Pro­secution of Pleasures, Profits, and Honours, and cannot attend to consider them. But, in my Opinion, this only proves, That there are other Intellectual Beings, that do contemplate God in the Several Creatures, [Page 41]and Sorts of Essences, that are here below: And that though the World were made chiefly to reveal God to Man, yet that was not the Only Ʋse of it; but that Angels might therein see and behold the Glory of God. And if This World were made partly for the Use and Contemplation of Angels; 'tis not improbable, but that This, and Other Worlds, may be also made, partly for the Use and Contemplation of the Blessed and Glorified Saints of Heaven.

24. Yet I must add, That This World is of Ʋse to Mankind. Some among them do See and Discern a God If Infinite Excel­lency and Perfection therein; and More might do so, if they would apply themselves to Consider it. Thought Sin hath darkned the Eye of the Mind, it hath not Ʋtterly extinguished, and put it out. Something it may still See of God, in the Creation, if it would put it self on the Meditation of them. But if it were granted, That Mankind were utterly disabled from Seeing or Learning a­ny thing of God, from the Things that are seen; yet it would not follow, that it were Ʋseless to him. Things may be in their own Nature Ʋseful, to certain Ends and Purposes; though Men may have Vo­luntarily made themselves incapable of Ʋ ­sing them. Wholsom Meat and Drink may [Page 42]be Ʋseful for the nourishing of Humane Bo­dies; though Some Persons may have so in­jured their Constitution, and destroyed their Stomachs and Digestive Faculties by Intem­perance, that they are uncapable of ma­king that Ʋse of it. And 'tis certain, that the World were of Ʋse to teach Men God, though Man were Ʋtterly disabled so to Ʋse and Imploy it.

25. The Sum of what I have said in this Chapter, is this: The World in which we Live, and do Behold, is of very Large and Great Extent; the Species, and Kinds of Be­ings in it, are Very greatly Numerous. There may have been Other Worlds Pre-existent to This; there may be Others Co-existent with it, and Others may Succeed it, to an Indefinite and Ʋnlimited Period. All God's Works Shew forth his Glory; they are Ʋse­less to their main End and Intention, if there be no Intelligent Natures to Behold and Consider them. Angels do Behold and Consider the Works of God in This Subluna­ry World: And 'tis not improbable, in my Judgment, that the Glorious Saints of Hea­ven may see and behold the Glory of God, in the Works that he hath made and done in This, and many Other Worlds: And so Great, and almost Infinitely various may they be, as to minister Eternal Matter of Con­templation, [Page 43]and an Increase of Knowledge for evermore.

1. THe Ways and Means of Obtaining and Increasing Knowledge, are Va­rious: I shall reduce them to these Heads; 1. Intuition. 2. Historical Narration. 3. Re­velation. 4. Discursive Argumentation. That I be not misunderstood, I shall here pre­mise, That I do not Positively affirm, that the Knowledge of the Blessed will increase by all These Ways in the World to come, nor that there are no Other Ways of ma­king Addition to it. All that I shall af­firm, is, That 'tis Possible, yea, and Pro­bable, that it may be augmented by them.

2. By Intuition, I mean a present Inspe­ction of Things; or a View of them, as they are presented to us, and set before us. Knowledge of things by present Intui­tion, [Page 44]is distinguished from that Knowledge of things that we have by considering the Signs, Images, and Representations of them. The Knowledge that I have of Persons, Ci­ties, Villages, and Countreys, by ocular and present Inspection, differs from the Know­ledge that I have of them by viewing their Pictures and Statues, or inspecting the Maps and Delineations of them. The Knowledge that we have of the Glory of the King­dom of God, and the Person of our Saviour in it, differs much from that which the Blessed Saints and Angels have concerning them. Theirs is Present and Intuitive, Ours is Absent and Abstractive. We obtain it by considering the Reports that are made, and the Descriptions that are given of them in the Book of God: Whereas Theirs is at­tained by the Vision, Presence, and Inspe­ction of those things themselves.

3. In this World, 'tis but very little that we know by Intuition; and the Rea­sons are, our Presence is Limited and Con­fined: We are fixed to a Little Spot of God's Creation; and can View, at once, but few of the Creatures of God. And though by Local Motion, we are able to remove our selves from Place to Place, and view Many things Successively, by present Intui­tion, which at Once we cannot do; yet the [Page 45]Sphere of our Activity is small; and 'tis with Difficulty and Slow Motions, that we do pass through it. It takes up a Great deal of time, to inspect the Beings that may be seen in a Circumference of a few Miles Diameter; and 'tis not done with­out some Toyl and Labour: And much more must be imployed to view a Circum­ference, or Space, whose Diameter is Ma­ny Miles, and of Large Extension.

4. Two things will very much augment and increase the Intuitive Knowledge of the Blessed; and those are the Extension of their Presence, and a Facility of moving from Place to Place: These, I do humbly, conceive, will be very Great Advantages unto them therein. Peradventure, their Presence may be so Extensive, that by Means thereof they may inspect and behold more things at One View, than we can Suc­cessively, and one after another, in Many Years: And, it may be, their Motion may be almost as quick, as the Beams of Light; and they may pass the Immense Spaces of the Universe, in the Twinkling of an Eye, or at least with Incredible Swiftness, and in a Very Small Space of time. But these things must be spoken to something More at large, and something More particularly, that they may appear a Little Probable, if not Ʋndoubtedly Certain.

5. Tho' the Presence of the Blessed in the Future World, will be certainly Definite and Limited; for their Advancement to Bliss and Glory, will not make them so Many Gods; their proper Natures will still remain: They will be Men in Heaven, as truly as they were on Earth. But tho' they continue Men, yet I do (with Submis­sion) conceive, that their Presence will be much more Extensive, and Large, than now it is: And in all likelihood, the Ex­tension of their Presence may be Varied There, according to the Variety of their Graces and Virtues, their Faith and their Obedience, Here.

6. Our Lord Jesus remains a True Man in his Glorified Estate; and yet, certainly, his Presence is much More Extensive, than when he dwelt upon Earth: When he was upon Earth, 'twas as much Limited, and Confined, as that of Other Men: But it seems to me utterly Improbable, that it should continue or remain so, now he is in Heaven. Then he was able to inspect, and view by Intuition, no more than others that were of Humane Race; for He was in all things made like unto them, Sin only ex­cepted: But now, perhaps, he may as easi­ly inspect the Whole Globe of this Earth, and the Heavens that Encompass and Surround [Page 47]it, as any of us can view a Globe or Cir­cumference of an Inch Diameter.

7. For he is the Soveraign of Mankind: He is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth: He is the Governour of the World: The Laws by which they ought to Live, and by which they must be Judged, are his Laws. Sentence will pass upon all Men, at the Great Day of Accounts, according to their Obedience or Disobedience to them.

8. Besides, He is our Great Intercessor with God Almighty: But how can he Hear our Prayers, and Ʋnderstand our Needs and Wants, unless he be Present with us, and do Inspect and Observe them? Can he In­tercede for what he Knows not? Or can he Know what he doth not Hear? Or can he Hear where he is not Present? Or can he be Present with all those that call upon him, unless his Presence be of Large and Exten­sive Nature? Is not his Name called upon, from the Rising of the Sun, to the Going down of the same? And can all those Pray­ers come before him, unless his Presence be very Diffusive, and extended with the Fabrick of Earth and Heaven?

9. In the mean time, I am not about to affirm the Ʋbiquity of Christ's Bodily Pre­sence, nor to determine the Manner of it. I suppose his Presence of no greater Ex­tension, [Page 48]than his Government; and his Go­vernment, no larger than the Extent of his Redemption; and what else may be Neces­sary for the Protection and Preservation of his Church and People. And as to what concerns the Manner of his Presence, I de­termine nothing: 'Tis but little that we know of the Nature of our Own Souls, whil'st they are in the Body; and therefore, can pretend to know little of the Soul of our Saviour, since it is cloathed with a Glorious Body What is the Nature of that Body, and what are its Extensions, how the Soul is Joyned to it, and doth Actuate and Enliven it, and by what Tubes and Op­ticks it doth View and take Cognizance of the Affairs of Men, I cannot tell, but that Jesus Christ, even in his Humane Nature, hath some Knowledge of them, I think can­not be doubted.

10. To say of Christ, as the Papists do of the Saints and Angels, to whom they address their Prayers, gives me no Satisfa­ction: They tell us, That God Hears the Prayers that they present unto them, and acquaints them with them, that they may Again Offer and Present them to him. This, and some other Improbable Accounts do they give of their Praying to Saints and Angels, when Protestants do tell them, That they [Page 49]cannot possibly take Cognizance of them, by reason that their Presence is of Limited and Determinate Nature.

11. For what is the Advantage of the Man Christ Jesus, above Angels and Saints, if he Possess and enjoy no Greater Perfections, than they do? It cannot be doubted, but that They may understand the Needs and Wants of Men, if God will Reveal them unto them: And if Christ Jesus come no otherwise by the Knowledge of them, what is his Excel­lency, and what are his Advantages (at least, in that Kind) greater than Theirs? And how hath he a Name above every Name, not only in This World, but also in That which is To come? And how hath He in all things the Preheminence? Surely, these Expressions of Scripture do import Some Excellencies and Advantages Peculiar to the Human Nature of Christ Jesus, which Saints and Angels are uncapable of.

12. Moreover, Christ Jesus is the Head of his Church, even in his Humane Nature; and from Him the Holy Spirit is communi­cated, by the Means of his Ordinances, to all the Members of it: But how can this be, without Knowledge? Or how can he know the Ʋsefulness and Necessity of it to the Several and Single Members of His Bo­dy, [Page 50]without Largeness of Presence? The Reason of the Divine Omniscience, is de­rived from his Omnipresence. God knows all things, because he is Present Every Where: And I do humbly think, that the Extensiveness of our Saviour's Knowledge, bears proportion with the Extent of his Pre­sence.

13. In brief, Christ Jesus considered as Man, and as Mediator, is the great and general Administrator of all the Affairs of this Humane World. Whatsoever is done in it, he does it; for all Power in Heaven and Earth, is given to him: and God hath given him Power Over all Flesh; all things are made Subject to Him; and he is the Head over all things to the Church. These things, with many more of like importance, the Holy Scriptures do assert concerning Him: But how the Power thus given to Christ, can be exercised without Knowledge of the Affairs of the World, and of the Church, (I mean, an Intuitive Knowledge of them) nor how he can have any Know­ledge of them, without great Extension of Presence, is beyond all Imagination, or pos­sibility of Conception.

14. Great is the Mystery of Godliness; and certainly, even the Man Christ Jesus, is a far more Glorious Person, than the [Page 51]most of Christians, yea, or of Christian Divines, do conceive or apprehend. He is called the Sun of Righteousness, and com­pared to Light; snd doth Enlighten all the Intellectual World. He is the Express Image of his Father's Person: That is, per­haps, the most Lively Character and Ex­pression of the Deity, that is among Created Beings. He is Sat down on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High: That is, He is next the Pure Godhead, the most Illustri­ous Essence in the World. His Power, Wis­dom, Goodness, Presence, and other Attri­butes, are far Superiour to those of any o­ther Creatures; and they approach so near those of God himself, as to be an Apt and Fair Resemblance of them.

15. Let no Man misunderstand me in what I have said concerning the Humane Nature of Christ Jesus. I do not assert the Ʋbiquity of it; nor do I deny his Divine; or the Ʋnion thereof to the Humane. I Extend the Presence of his Humane Nature no farther, than the Nature of his Media­tory Office doth require it. He is the Great Prophet, Priest, and King of Humane Race: And as far as the Exercise of these several Offices do require his Presence, so far I Extend it, and no farther: Though I will not determine, that these are the Bounds or [Page 52] Limits of it. And touching the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the Ʋmon of the Eter­nal Word with the Humane Nature, I e­steem it the Great Essential, as well as the Great Mystery, of the Christian Religion; and do very heartily believe it.

16. If any Man shall doubt the Truth of what I have said, concerning the Presence of Christ's Humane Nature, because he is not able to comprehend or imagine the Manner of it: I answer; The Existence of Multitudes of things, is Certain; though the manner thereof may be Incomprehensible: The Existence of the Humane Soul in the Bo­dy, is Certain, and that it gives Life and Motion to it; but how 'tis Ʋnited, and by what Ties and Ligaments 'tis fastened there, and how it gives Life and Motion to it, no Man can tell. That Children are Formed in their Mother's Wombs, and that Birds and Fouls are Formed of Eggs, is Ʋndeny­able; but how these things are done, no Man is able to inform us.

17. Besides, we are ignorant of the Na­ture of Humane Minds, and what Improve­ments they are capable of being advanced unto, aster they are freed from their Gross and Heavy Bodies: And we know as little of the Nature of those Spiritual Bodies, where-withal we shall be invested at the [Page 53] Resurrection, and which Christ Jesus is already cloathed withal in the Heavens. Peradventure, the Soul of our Saviour may be so far advanced and perfected, as to be able to actuate a Spiritual Body of very vast Dimensions: And this Body may penetrate all Gross and Material Bodies, even as Light doth the Purest Christal. So that, to deny the Presence of Christ's Humane Na­ture, because we cannot comprehend the manner of it, (especially since we know so little of the Capacity of a Humane Mind, and such was that of Christ Jesus) or of the Nature of that Spiritual and Glorious Body, which is the Tabernacle and Habitation of it) is I think, Unreasonable.

18. But, after all that I have said on this Subject, I shall add thus much. I do not confidently affirm it; I only propose it to the Consideration of Free and Ʋnprejudiced Minds; and leave them fully the Liberty to Embrace or Reject it, as they see ca [...]se: Only I would desire them well to consider, how many and great things the Scripture speaks of the Man Christ Jesus: In Him Dwells al [...] the Fulness of the Godbead: He is filled with the Holy Spirit, that he may be a Head of Vital Influence to all his Mem­bers. He is the Universal Law-giver, and Light of all Men; and will be the Univer­sal [Page 54] Judge of all the World: Which doth imply great Largeness of Knowledge, Wis­dom, and Power; and by consequence, a ve­ry Extensive Presence.

19. But what means all this long Dis­course? Why this? If Extension of Pre­sence be Reconcileable, and Consistent with the Humane Nature of our Saviour, in his Glorified Estate; it may be Reconcileable with it in the Blessed. If he be a True Man, notwithstanding, his Presence is Extended to very vast Distances: The Blessed may be so, though their Presence be Extended in some Good Degree and Measure. And if the Humane Nature in the Holy Jesus be capable of these Extensions, and this Ampli­tude, the same Nature is capable of it in the Blessed, in their Degree and Proporti­on.

20. And this Extension of Presence will very much increase their Intuitive Know­ledge; they will be able to see and observe, at one View, much of the Works of God, and many of the Productions of his Infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodness. By it they will be able to observe the Connexion and Dependance of things on each other; and consequently, the Beauty and Harmony of them, which will very much Affect & Delight them. He that beholds one Piece, or Part [Page 55]of a Curious Picture or Statue, is not Mo­ved or Delighted by it; but he that be­holds it altogether, and observes the Rela­tion and Symmetry of its Parts to, and with each other, is even transported with the Admiration of it. He that Views only one Part of a Landskip, finds peradventure but little Pleasure in the Prospect of it; but he that Sees it altogether, and in its whole Extent and Dimensions, finds a Marvellous Complaisance therein.

21. Though this Extension of Presence in the Future State should be doubted, and consequently, the Increase of Intuitive Know­ledge thereby; yet it may be very much increased, by Facility of Motion, from Place to Place; which almost all Divines and Christians do acknowledge a Power of Pro­perty Inherent in the Blessed. All confess a Power of removing themselves from one determinate Spot of the Ʋniverse, to ano­ther, with Incredible Swiftness. For a­mongst other Properties of the Glorious Bodies, where-with they will be invested at the Resurrection, they reckon Quickness and Agility for Motion and Action. And surely, Spiritual Bodies are, in their own Nature, more Agile, and Fit for Motion, than these Gross and Earthly Bodies, that we now bear about with us.

22. The Blessed being thus Agile, and Fit for Motion, they may as easily pass from World to World, or from One part of the Ʋniverse, to Another; as we do from Village to Village in the Country, or from Street to Street in a vast and popu­lous City. Some Philosophers have ima­gined the Sun, Moon, and Stars, with o­ther Planetary Bodies, to be so many Ha­bitable Worlds; and the Learned Hevelius hath lately given us a Map of the Moon, in which he hath described and distinguish­ed the several Seas and Countreys in it.

23. And if the Moon be an Habitable World, (as it is not altogether Improba­ble) I see no reason, why we may not think the same of all the other Luminous Bodies, that are placed in the Expanded Heavens: If that Planet be a World much like our Earth, the Sun may be a World something advanced above it, in Lustre, and in Glory: And the Inhabitants thereof may be Illu­strious in proportion to their Countrey, and excel Us who live upon This Earth, as much as the Lustre and Brightness of the One, surmounts the Shadows and Darkness of the Other.

24. And the Blessed being of a Very A­ctive Nature, and capable of moving with Velocity and Swiftness, may step from Star [Page 57]to Star, and Intuitively observe what-ever is Wonderful, and Worthy of Observation there. They may observe what-ever in them is fit to Exalt the Honour, and Ad­vance the Pra [...]ens of their Great Creatour: And it needs not to be doubted, but they will find Sufficient Reasons and Occasions for it. There is something Great in all the Works of God upon the Surface of this Earth, and in the Seas and Rivers, that run within the Banks and Shores thereof. And surely, the more Illustrious Worlds, and Parts of the Creation, will produce things vastly Greater than any that are found Here below, and more Worthy of Admirati­on.

25. But no Part of the Ʋniverse will produce things so Great, as will the Court of Heaven: There shall we see and behold the Bravest, the most Stately, and most Magnificent Effects of the Divine Power, Wisdom, and Goodness. And how Great is the Extent of that Glorious Palace, and what great Variety of Beings may be found There, who can determine? If the Earth, compared with the Heavens, be but a Point; the Heavens, compared with the Heaven of Heavens, may be much more so; the Extent thereof, may be almost Infinite. And though there should be no Other Worlds, [Page 58]either Past, Present, or to Come; yet even That alone might employ Eternal Ages, to view and behold the Wonders, and the Glo­ries of it.

26. There may be various Kinds of Ra­tional and Intellectual Essences or Beings. There may be Pure Minds, and such as are utterly Immaterial; and there may be Several Gradual Differences amongst them. There may be Angels Incorporate, and fur­nished with Material Organs; much of the same Nature with those, where-with the Blessed will be endued at the Resurrecti­on: And among these, there may be very many Gradations, and Modal Differences and Distinctions; and among the Saints, the Gradual Differences may be very great and many; and so may be the Reasons of them. And all these will lie open to our View and Meditation.

27. What Kinds of Beings may be de­signed and prepared for the Ornament of the New Jerusalem, that City of the Living God, I cannot say or determine: But for­asmuch as there are many things Here be­low, which (besides the Illustration of the Divine Perfections) seem to be of little or no use, unless it be to Embellish and Adorn the World, and render it Pleasant to our View; so 'tis probable, that in the House [Page 59]and Kingdom of God, many things may be placed There, to make it Beautiful and Pleasant to those that shall be thought Wor­thy of Admission Thither. And these Be­ings may be of Several Kinds and Natures, and may minister Matter to our Contempla­tion, as well as Pleasure to the Bodily Sen­ses, where-withall we shall be endued There.

28. But the most Amazing Wonder, that will be proposed to the Intuition and Contemplation of the Blessed, will be our Lord Christ Jesus. He that was sometimes the most Despised of Mortal Men, is There the Prince of the Kings of the Earth: He that was the Contempt of Men, is the Object even of Angel's Admiration: He that sometimes stood before the Tribunal of Pon­tius Pilate, is already Appointed Judge of the Living, and the Dead; and all must come before his Judgment-Seat, and receive their Sentence from Him. And how great the Excellencies and Perfections of this Jesus are, who will undertake to Characterize or Describe?

29. A God indeed, in the Humane Na­ture, He cannot be; but certainly, He is, and will remain, the most Glorious and Re­splendent Image of God, in the Whole Crea­tion. He had never been Exalted far a­bove [Page 60]all Principalities and Powers; Angels and Authorities had never been made Sub­ject to Him, if He had not greatly surpas­sed them in his Personal and Essential Per­fections and Advantages. His Power, Wis­dom, and Goodness, his Presence, his Pro­vidence, his Government, and Empire, is much more Large and Perfect, than that of any other Created Essence: And therefore, He hath obtained a more Excellent Name, than any of them; and is advanced, and set before them

30. Of this Jesus, the Blessed will have a present Intuition; not only in his Personal, but Politick Capacity: They will behold him as Head of Saints and Angels; the Captain-General of all the Hosts of Hea­ven; the most Illustrious Being that presides over them; and under the Pure Deity, Di­rects and Governs them, and Communi­cates Vital Influences unto them: For al­though the Scripture doth assure us, That (the Work of Man's Restauration and Sal­vation beign accomplished) He shall Give up the Kingdom to God the Father, yet I do conceive, that He will always retain the Honour and Title of the Saviour and Re­deemer of Men; and that as the Sun doth Illustrate this Inferiour World, so that Son of Righteousness will Illustrate the Supreme [Page 61]and Heavenly Jerusalem; The Lamb is the Light of it: And the Blessed shall Eternal­ly Behold and Dwell in his Light, to their incredible Pleasure and Satisfaction. But of the [...]ncrease of Knowledge by Intuition, I have said enough; and therefore, here I'le put a Period to This Chapter.

1. WHen God made Man, he endued him with Reasonable Faculties, and made him capable of Moral Govern­ment: He was able to understand his Du­ty; and by the Prospect of Rewards and Punishments, he could chuse the Obser­vance, and refuse the Neglect and Contempt thereof. He was able to See and Discern the Meaning and Importance of the Divine Commandments; and he could, upon con­sideration of its Advantages, chuse Obedi­ence; and on the Prevision of its Mischiefs, refuse Disobedience and Sin.

2. The Laws, by which God intended to Govern Mankind, were written in the Nature of Things; and from thence they were to derive the Knowledge of them. The several Beings in the World, consi­dered with Relation to God, and one Ano­ther, are the Signs of the Divine Will; and [Page 63]Divine Laws are nothing else, but the Sig­nifications of God's Will, concerning Man's Duty, Reward, and Punishment; and the Whole Creation (at least, as far as Man is capable of observing it) are the Revealing Signs thereof.

3. God did not Reveal all his Will con­cerning Man's Duty, (even whil'st Inno­cent) in the Nature of Things, but some Part of it: He made known even then, by Supernatural Revelation. Such was the Pro­hibition of Eating of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: And such (according to the Opinion of Some Divines) was the Precept of Sacrificing Beasts: For that Sacrifices of that Kind were offered to God, whil'st Man continued Incocent, they think probable; because God cloath­ed our First Parents with Skins immediate­ly after the Fall; which (they think) were the Skins of those Beasts that had been of­fered in Sacrifice to God. Of the First of these Precepts, there is no doubt, but that it was made known by Supernatural Reve­lation: But whether Beasts were offered in Sacrifice before the Fall, seems very Ʋn­certain, if not Improbable; and consequent­ly, whether there were any Precept con­cerning it, till afterwards. For the Rea­son of This Opinion, I conceive, is not Va­lid; [Page 64]and other Accounts are given of the Skins, where-with our First Parents were cloathed, by Learned Divines and Exposi­tors.

4. Since the Fall of Man, 'tis Apparent, that much of God's Will hath been made known to them by Revelation. This no Man doth, or can doubt, that Reads and Be­lieves the Holy Scriptures. That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent's Head, was made known to Adam by Re­velation; and, peradventure, some other things, not Recorded in the Book of God. That the World was to perish by a De­luge, if they continued in their Impeniten­cy: That God would no more Drown the World for its Wickedness, was Revealed to Noah after the same manner. Many things were so made known to Abraham, and the other Patriarchs; to Moses, and the Prophets, in succeeding Generations; and after them to the Apostles of Christ Je­sus.

5. The History of the Creation was known to Moses, either by Immediate Re­velation, or by Tradition from those that at first received it by Revelation: For though the Creation of the World might be Col­lected and Gathered from the Things that do appear; yet the manner of it could not [Page 65]possibly be Collected thence. How could it be known, that God Created the Hea­vens, and the Earth; and that the Earth was without Form and Void; and that he said, Let there be Light, and there was Light; and that he Divided the Light from the Darkness; and called the One Day, and the Other Night; and that The Evening, and the Morning were the First Day? And so on, according to the History and Ac­count that Moses gives of it. This could not be known otherwise, than by Revelati­on. There is nothing in the Frame and Fabrick of Heaven and Earth, and the se­veral Creatures in them, that give us any notice of the Manner and Order of their Creation.

6. To pass by many other things; The Government and Policy of the Jewish Nati­on, both Ecclesiastical and Civil, was Esta­blished by Immediate Revelation from A­bove: All their Laws were appointed by God himself: He was their Legislator. Their Government was a Theocracy. God was their Supreme Prince, and Ruled over them. Whatever he required of them as a Common-wealth, or a Church separate from all the Nations upon Earth, to his peculiar Worship and Service, was made known to them by Inspiration. Their Laws, [Page 66]and Methods of Government, were not the Products and Effects of Reason upon the Consideration of the Nature of Things; but of Divine, and (in many things) of Arbi­trary Will, by Revelation.

7. The Christian Church is also thus E­stablished: The great Author and Founder of it came out of the Bosom of God the Fa­ther, and appointed the Laws by which 'tis Constituted, Ruled, and Governed. Tho' many of those Laws be of Natural Revela­tion, yet even they were anew Revealed from Heaven; and other Laws, both for its Constitution and Administration, were purely of Supernatural Appointment and Institution.

8. The Angelical Host know much of the Will, Nature, Attributes, and Perfe­ctions of God by Supernatural Revelation. Thus they understand the Will of God, concerning Man's Salvation; thus they be­come acquainted with the Grace, Mercy, Pity, and Compassion of God to wards Faln Man. All that they know of these things, is by the Revelations that God hath made to the Church, and World, concerning it. No­thing thereof was, or could be learned from the Book of Nature: All the Knowledge they have concerning it, is by Extraordina­ry Methods of Discovery.

9. That God was Placable, they might perhaps inferre from the Consideration of his Nature, and his Works; but that he would be Reconciled unto them, they could not know, till he Himself had declared it by Revelation. The Will of God is secret; and no Man or Angel can know, or un­derstand it, till he hath by some Overt-Act discovered and revealed it. That God would be reconciled to Sinful, Lapsed, and Faln Man, was not discovered by Natu­ral Revelation: Therefore, all that Angels know about it, is from God, and that by Supernatural Manifestation.

10. If Man, whil'st Innocent, knew at least some Part of God's Will, by Super­natural and Extraordinary Revelations; if after the Fall, God hath continued to make known his Will to the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles, after the same manner; yea, if the Angels know much by the same Me­thod and Means of Discovery; I see no reason, why it may not be at least Probable, that the Blessed may Increase and Advance their Knowledge in the Future State, by the same Way and Method. Though I doubt not, but that very much of the Nature, Will, and Attributes of God, will be expo­sed, and laid before their Eyes, in the Glo­rious Works of his Hands; yet I am not [Page 68]sure, that Supernatural Revelation will be of No Ʋse There. 'Tis not Improbable; but something, that may and shall be known of God, may be Excepted from Natural, and Reserved for Supernatural Revelati­on.

11. As the History of This Worlds Gene­ration was made known to Man by Extra­ordinary Revelation, as I have observed al­ready; so 'tis possible, the History of the Generation of many Other Worlds may, by the same Means, be made known to the Blessed: For although it will be abundant­ly obvious, by Natural Evidence and Light, that all Beings do proceed from the First Being, and all Effects from the First Cause; yet the Time and Manner of their Producti­on, is not obvious thereby. If it may be supposed, that there are Angels, or Intel­ligences, Younger than this World; I think it may be said, That they could not know the Time or Manner of its Generati­on; unless it be by Revelation, or the Tra­dition of such Intelligent Beings, as were Pre-existent to it. There is no Evidence in the Nature of Things, that This World was made between Five and Six thousand Years ago; nor that Light was one of the First Things that was made; and other Things in that order, in which they are [Page 69]described in the History of the Creation.

12. As many of the Laws, and much of the Policy and Government of the Church of God in This World, is known both to Men and Angels by Revelation; so 'tis not im­possible, but some part of the Laws, Go­vernment, and Policy of Other Worlds, may be known to the Blessed after the Same manner. They may obtain the Knowledge of it, just as the Angels obtain the Know­ledge of Our Laws and Government here be­low: And 'tis affirmed by St. Paul, That 'tis by the Church that they attain it: That is, as I conceive, by the Revelations made to the Church, and by the Experience that they have of the Obedience that they pay unto them, and the Rewards that are con­sequent thereunto; together with the Pu­nishments that attend the Neglect and Con­tempt of them; in which, many times, they are the Instruments and Executioners.

13. And who knows, whether many of the Obscure Prophecies in the Old and New-Testament, and some other Difficulties in the Inspired Writings, may not be Explain­ed, Opened, and Unfolded, after the Same Manner that they were delivered to Men? They were spoken by the Prophets, ac­cording as they were thereunto moved by the Holy Ghost; and perchance, the Same [Page 70] Spirit that was the Author of them, may be the Interpreter and Explainer of them: The same Divine Spirit that revealed the Matter of them to the Prophets, may open and unfold the Meaning of them to the Bles­sed.

14. The Holy Apostle, St. Paul, observes some Analogies and Similitudes between the First and Second Creation, as is apparent in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians. As in the Old Creation, God commanded Light to shine out of Darkness; so in the New Creation, he causes Light to arise upon those that sit in Darkness, and in the Valley and Shadow of Death. As a Dark and Confused Chaos did precede Light, and a Well-ordered World, and State of things, in the First Creation; so a State of Igno­rance, and Darkness, doth precede a State of Light and Knowledge, Rectitude and Or­der, in the Second.

15. The Analogies, Likenesses, and Pro­portions, that are observed between these Two Creations, by the Sacred Writers, are but few: But 'tis not improbable, in my Ap­prehension, but that there may be Very ma­ny more, than those observed by them; and perhaps, there may be almost nothing in the History of the First Creation of things, which hath not its Likeness, Shadow, and [Page 71] Resemblance in the Second. And who dares to deny, that they may be discovered to the Blessed, by Extraordinary Revelati­on?

16. The Frame and Fabrick of the Ta­bernacle, and the several Vessels and Uten­sils thereof, had certainly their Meaning and Signification: The Epistle to the He­brews, puts that past all doubt and contro­versie; yet, I think, that there is very little of the Import and Signification of them expounded unto us, and set before us in the Holy Scriptures. What is meant by the Shew-Bread, and by the Candlestick with its several Lamps, by the Cherubims covering the Mercy-Seat with their Wings; who is able to determine. Something the New-Testament hath said for the Explicati­on of Some of them, and something other Authors have said to unriddle the Meaning of them: But besides what the Scripture hath said thereof, we have no security of its Truth. All Accounts of the Significati­on of those things, unless such as we find in the Bible, are but Conjectures; and as they may be True, so they may be False; for we have no Certain Assurance of their Verity: And 'tis not impossible, but that the Full and Certain Knowledge of them may be reserved for Another World; and [Page 72]that the Blessed may know them by Pecu­liar and Special Revelation.

17. Besides what I have said, there were many Typical Persons, Things, and Actions, under the Old-Testament; and I do believe, that no Meer Man, either did, doth, or shall, in This World, understand them. Sure­ly the High-Priest was a Typical Person; and very many of those Actions, which (as a Priest) he did perform, were also Typical: And so I think of many things, of which we read in the Old-Testament; and particu­larly, the Holy of Holies, and the Vail that separated it from the Holy Place. David also, and Solomon, and Isaiah, were Typical Persons; and something of the Antitypes of them, the New-Testament doth inform us of; but, I think, Very little, and that Darkly and Imperfectly too. And, perhaps, the full Knowledge of them may be kept in Reserve for the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Blessed shall There know it by Inspira­tion.

18. To which I may add the Meaning and Importance of many of the Ceremonial Laws, of which we read in the Books of Moses. What is the Meaning and Reason of their Institution, is not easie to tell: It may be reasonably supposed, that the Hebrews, for whom those Laws were appointed, un­derstood [Page 73]the Meaning and Reasons of them, better than we do at This Distance of Years; especially if we Remember, and Consider, that we are under no Obligation to Observe them. Yet I am much inclined to think, that even they themselves never fully understood either the Meaning, Ends, or Reasons of their Institution.

19. Who knows the Meaning or Rea­son of their several Sorts and Kinds of Sa­crifices; or can give us any Evidence, that the Jews themselves understood them? Why were some of them Wholly consumed upon the Altar, others only in Part? Why was Some Part of some of them eaten by the Priests, and Others by the People themselves that made the Sacrifice and Oblation? There were many Particularities in the most of their Sacrifices, which can hardly be ac­counted for; and I do much believe, that the Jews themselves never well understood them. And what I have said of their Sa­crifices, is applicable to Many other of their Laws. Some Knowledge of the Nature and Reason of them, was to be found among the more Enlightned of them; but a full and perfect Knowledge of them, I do be­lieve they were Strangers to; and possibly, may be known by no Means, but that of Revelation; no in no Place, but in the [Page 74] Future State; and by the Blessed There.

20. In most Ages, since the Creation of This World, God hath on Sundry Reasons, and at Sundry Times, made known his Will and Purpose concerning Future E­vents. Thus he made known to Abraham the Servitude and Bondage of his Posterity, in a Strange Country, for the space of Four Hundred Years, and their After Deliverance and Prosperity. Thus he made known to the Jews their Captivity in Babylon, for the space of Seventy Years; and their De­liverance by Cyrus, and Restauration to their Own Country. And many other things, which those that read the Holy Scriptures cannot be ignorant of.

21. It may reasonably be conjectured, that the Blessed Saints and Angels, had the Knowledge of all these Future Events, by the Revelations that God made concerning them: And I see no reason, why many things may not be known by the Blessed, in the Heavenly Jerusalem, after the Same Manner, and that in a Succession of Times and Ages, Without End, or Period of Dura­tion.

22. For whether there may not be a Suc­cession of Worlds, to an Indefinite Period of Time, & whether God may not govern them Much after the Manner of This, partly by [Page 75] Natural, and partly by Supernatural Laws, who can define? I know nothing in the Christian Religion, that forbids such Opi­nions or Apprehensions: Though it Teaches no such Doctrine, (nor do I affirm it Cer­tainly True or Necessary) yet I find not a­ny thing in the Contents thereof, which is Opposite unto it, or Inconsistent with it. I do not affirm, There shall be a Succession of Worlds equally Wicked with This, and con­sequently such as shall need a Saviour and Redeemer: But what hinders, that there may not be a World, yea, Many Worlds, that may retain Their Primitive Integrity and State, and that God may Govern them by Natural and Revealed Laws, (since A­dam, whil'st Innocent, was so Governed) and after such a Part of Time, as shall seem good to the Pleasure of his Will, remove the Inhabitants thereof, to Better and more Glorious Habitations.

23. Yea, let me add, That I am not ve­ry sure, that God Governs the Saints and Angels in Heaven, by no other but Natu­ral Laws. The Service the they do to God Almighty, either in the Protecting of Kingdoms, Churches, and Particular Persons, or in Punishing his Enemies, may (in my Apprehension) by performed in Obedience to some Positive and Particular Commands [Page 76]and Revelations. For although Rewards and Punishments be of the Law of Nature, yet the Time and of Measure them is not so. What Law of Nature doth determine, when, and in what Degree and Measure the Enemies of God, and of his People, shall be Punished and Chastised? What Law of Nature doth appoint, when Kingdoms and Churches shall be protected, or delivered out of the Hands of their Oppressors, and such as seek their Ruine? These things seem to me to depend on the Wisdom and Will of God; and that there is no Possibi­lity of coming to the Knowledge of them, but by Immediate Revelation.

24. And if in Particular Instantaneous Cases, they are Governed by Revealed Laws, what hinders, but that in some other Cases they may be Governed by them, through the vast Durations of Eternity? Who knows, but that there may be some Positive Institutions, by which they may worship God, and exalt his Praise? And who ean tell, how Various and Great may be the Number of them? Or whether some of them may not be Temporary, and Expire, and others Succeed them of new Ap­pointment and Command.

25. If Innocent Adam were Governed by both Natural and Revealed Laws; if [Page 77]it be not altogether improbable, that the Blessed Saints and Angels are so Gover­ned; it cannot fairly be doubted, but that the Inhabitants of Other Worlds may re­ceive from God, Both sorts of Laws for their Direction and Conduct; and that the Knowledge of them that are Supernatural, may Increase and Advance the Ʋnderstan­dings of the Blessed: It being altogether as possible, that they may arrive at the Know­ledge of them, as it is that the Angels of Heaven should partake in the Knowledge of the Christian Mysteries and Laws; of which we are assured from the Sacred Vo­lumes.

26. Whether all that I have said on this Subject, will render it probable, that the Knowledge of the Blessed may Increase Eter­nally by Revelation, I leave to the Judg­ment of the Reader. I have suggested such Probabilities, as occurred to my Thoughts. Those that shall peruse them, may Accept or Refuse them, as they shall judge conve­nient, or as they please.

1. THat the Holy Saints and Angels are capable of Communicating their Thoughts and Sentiments to each other, is not doubted by Divines; nor is there any reason for it. Man is a Sociable Creature: 'Tis a Property that seems to be Essential unto him: And we have reason to think the like of the Holy Angels. They are Ʋn­derstanding Beings, as well as Men; and, I believe, they are endowed with the same Essential Properties with them. And that Sociableness is as agreeable to the Angeli­cal, as to the Humane Nature; and from both Equally inseparable.

2. How they do Communicate with each other, I do not Ʋnderstand, nor peradven­ture, Any Man living on the Face of this Earth. He that will tell you how they do it, must intimately understand the Nature [Page 79]of Spirits, and whether they be Imbodied, yea or no, and what is the Nature of those Bodies, and Vehicles, in which they lodge or dwell. But these are such things, that no Man of Sound Sense can pretend unto: And, by certain Consequence, no Man doth know the Manner how Saints and Angels do mutually Converse together, and Enter­tain each other. For whil'st we are igno­rant of the Nature of things, we must needs be ignorant How they produce their Ef­fects. We are very much ignorant of the Nature of our Food and Physick; and there­fore, can't tell how they do perform their Operations on our Bodies. Physicians are not yet agreed, whether Purgatives do o­perate by Pulsion or Traction, or meerly by Provoking Nature; and they are as little agreed how our Meat and Drink are Di­gested, Distributed, and Turned into Blood and Humours, and also into Flesh and Bones.

3. Though we know not How very many things are done; yet we are much assured, that they Are. We know not How a Tree grows from a Seed, nor a Cu­rious Variegated Flower from a Slip, that seems Simple, and without any Diversity. We can't tell How Beasts and Fishes are Formed, nor how Vermine are Bred in a [Page 80] Carkass, nor how Froggs are made of Spawn, or the Mudd and Slime of the River Nile. The Truth and Existence of these things, is Ʋndeniable; but How they are Made and Generated, no Man is able to ex­plain.

4. If many things be Really Existent, the Manner of whose Existence we can give no Fair Account of. I see nothing that can reasonably hinder us from granting, that Saints and Angels do Converse together and Communicate their Knowledge and Concepti­ons to each other. 'This certain, that They do many other things, which we cannot Ʋnderstand or Comprehend. They do, or at least have, often Appeared in Humane Shape, and Conversed with Men. Whether they have become Visible, by forming un­to themselves Extemporate Bodies, of the Matter of the Air, and other Elements; or whether they have condensed their Own Proper Bodies, and made them Visible by Conspissating the Matter of them, who can inform us? Granting either of these Sup­positions, who can teach us how they do effect it? These are Inquiries, that the Wisest cannot Answer; these are Problems, that they cannot reach or fathome.

5. Supposing then that Saints and An­gels can Communicate their Knowledge, I [Page 81]do affirm, That the Knowledge of the Bles­sed may be very greatly Increased thereby. For if there be, or have been, Other Worlds Existent besides This in which we live, the Blessed may receive Information concerning them, by and from the Angels of Heaven, that have superintended them, and by the Appointment of God, taken Cognizance of their Affairs: For it must not be doubted, but that God exercises a particular Care, and Providence over all the Works of his Hands; and 'tis as likely, that he should make the Holy Angels the Instruments and Administrators of it, in those Other Worlds, as well as in This; of which there is no doubt, or the least scruple or peradventure, among those that bear the Name of Chri­stians.

6. By this means, the Blessed may be informed of the Nature of the several Be­ings Existent there; and what was the Ʋse, the Virtue, and Perfections of them; and especially, what Reasonable Creatures did in­habit There; as also, what was the Go­vernment and Laws that God prescribed un­to, and imposed upon them; and what the Obedience they gave unto them: To which I might add many other things; as, what was the Period of their Existence, and by what Subordinat Means and Causes their Be­ings [Page 82]were preserved and continued; what and where they do receive Rewards and Pu­nishments.

7. Thus also they may be informed of all the great Emergencies that happened to them, and what were the Causes and Oc­casions of them; as also, what Laws, what Order and Government was observed among them; and into what Various and Different sorts these Reasonable Beings were distin­guished; and how they employed and spent their Time: For Reasonable Souls must have something, upon which they may Exercise their Powers either by Action, Contemplation, or both; else their Powers are of No Ʋse, but are made in Vain; which cannot be imagined, it being beneath the Wisdom of a Prudent Man, and much beneath that of the All-Wise God, to give Being to Rational Creatures to no End or Purpose.

8. How many and numerous the Notices may be, that the Blessed may receive after this manner is neither safe nor possible to de­termine; for should they descend to things minute and particular, (and who knows how low they may descend) how almost Infinite, and beyond all Computation would they be? Should there have been many Worlds Pre-existent to This, or Co-existent [Page 83]with it, what Infinite Matter of Communi­cation and Discourse would their Affairs af­ford to the Holy Angels, or other Intelle­ctual Agents, that had Knowledge and Cog­nizance of them? And how much of Eter­nity would be Employed in these kind of Histories and Narrations? And if we may judge any thing of the Agreeableness of things Then, to the Temper of our Minds, by what we may find Here below, and ob­serve concerning them, we must say, That such things will be very Pleasant and De­lightful; not barely as Histories, but as Re­ports and Evidences of the Infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God; not as bare Narrations of such and such Events, but as Effects of the Infinite Power, Admi­rable and Ʋnsearchable Wisdom, and Im­mense Goodness of the Creator of all things.

9. After the Same Manner the Blessed will obtain the Knowledge of the Affairs of This World, since the Creation of it: The Holy Angels will certainly give them a large Account of the World, before the Flood; how, and by what Gradations they corrupted themselves, departed from God, and abandoned themselves to Sensuality and Prophaneness. What Moses hath very briefly reported, they will discourse more at large, and give to the Blessed a Full, Clear, [Page 84]and Satisfactory Knowledge of them. Ma­ny things that are Dark and Obscure to us, will be set in Open Light, by their more Large and Ample Discourses: That which now ministers Matter for Many, and al­most Insuperable Objections, will be totally freed from them, by their Larger Commen­taries and Explications concerning them.

10. The Holy Men of that Age, may also contribute something towards the Increase of the Knowledge of the Blessed. Adam, and Abel, and Seth, and Enoch, and Noah, knew very much of the Affairs of the World, from the Creation to the De­luge; and since their Removal to Heaven, there is no question, but that they have ve­ry much improved it: And surely, they will Communicate their Knowledge, and en­tertain the New-Come Saints with the Re­ports and Narratives of it.

11. The Holy Angels also will acquaint them with the History of the World, after the Flood, till the Days of Abraham; they will give them Account of the Re-peopling of it by the Posterity of Noah, of the Tow­er of Babel that they began to build, of the Confusion of their Language, and of their Dispersion into several Parts of the World thereupon: Of these things, I make no question, they will give very large and [Page 85]particular Accounts: Of those things, of which we now know almost nothing, then and there (I mean in the Society of the Bles­sed) we shall have a Clear, Full, and Perfect Knowledge.

12. Noah himself lived four hundred and fifty Years after the Flood; and there is no doubt Saw and Knew much of the Affairs of the World: And there is as Little Doubt, in my Opinion, that he doth and will Com­municate the Knowledge thereof among the Blessed: And so will other of the Pious Pa­triarchs, and Good Men of that Age. They will all contribute to the Increase of the Knowledge of those, that in succession of Times, are admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven.

13. And surely, the History of the Church of God, in all Ages of the World, by the Narrations of Saints and Angels, will be most perfectly delivered to the Blessed. They will acquaint them with the several Accidents that have happened to it; how it hath suffered Many and Great Calamities from its Enemies, and sometimes hath Al­most perished from among Men; and then how, and by what Means it hath risen as from the Ashes, and become Illustrious a­gain in the World.

14. They will declare, and propose to [Page 86]their Knowledge, and Consideration, by what Improbable Means God hath raised and pre­served it: In the First Ages of Christianity, God raised and increased His Church, by the Preaching and Discourses of a few Poor Fisher-men, in despight to all the Oppositi­on that was made against it, by all the Wis­dom, Learning, Power, and Policy of the World; yea, those very Means, by which the Enemies of God's Church thought to destroy it, were by the Wise and Over­ruling Providence of God, made instrumen­tal of advancing it. They persecuted all that were called by the Christian Name; they despoyled them of their Estates, their Friends, their Liberties, and their Honours; they treated them as the Vilest Miscreants; they killed and murthered them by Thou­sands; they invented the most Cruel, Lin­gering, and Painful Deaths, that they could imagine: And yet all this would not de­stroy the Church of God; the Blood of the Martyrs was the Seed thereof; and the More they mowed, and cut them down, the More they increased.

15. As God raised his Church at first (I mean the Christian Church) by very Impro­bable Means; so hath he recovered it from a Lapsed and Corrupted Estate, by Means altogether as unlikely. After it had lain di­vers [Page 87] Hundreds of Years under the Papal Yoke; after it had long sat in Ignorance and Darkness, and been accustomed to Su­perstition and Idolatry; and all the Kings of the Earth were ingaged in the Defence thereof; was it likely, that Luther, a poor mean Monk, should so Leaven the World by his Doctrine, as to cause a Se­paration from the Romish Falshoods and Su­perstitions, and to recover a great part of the Christian World to the true Worship of God, according to the Simplicity pf the Go­spel: This was a thing Totally improbable; there was no appearance or likelihood of Success therein.

16. Of these things, we have Some Ac­count in the Holy Scriptures, and in Antient and Modern Histories: The Scriptures give us some brief Reports of the Raising of the Christian Church, and by what Means 'twas done: The Histories of the Antique Fa­thers and Writers report the Increase and Enlargement of it; and by what Instru­ments 'twas accomplished, and with what Opposition: And so do our latter Historians make Report of the Late Reformation, and by what Agents and Second Causes it became successful. But I do not doubt, but that the Saints and Angels do and will give more Large and Perfect Accounts of these things.

17. And how particular they may be in it, who is able to determine: But 'tis my O­pinion, that they will be very Exact and Particular. Heaven is designed for the Ex­altation of the Divine Praise, and for the Celebration of the Honour of God's Perse­ctions; which cannot be done without Knowledge; and the most Exact and Per­fect Knowledge, gives the Greatest and Best Capacities for it. None are so fit to ad­mire, Praise, and adore the Attributes and Perfections of God, as those that have the Largest and Compleatest Knowledge of the Great and Stupendious Effects of them. He is best able to commend a Learned Man, that hath read his Books, and hath the most Intimate and Perfect Understanding of his Accomplishments. He is best able to speak forth the Praises of God, that hath the Ful­lest, and most Extensive Knowledge of his Providence, and his Works.

18. How can any Man Praise and Adore the Wisdom of God, in the Raising, Preser­ving, and Defending his Church, in despight to all the Craft, Subtilty, and Malice of the Enemies thereof, without the Knowledge of the Divine Conduct, in all its Affairs and Concernments? How can the Blessed praise the Power, the Wisdom, the Justice, and Goodness of God, in the Government of the [Page 89] Church, without an Exact Knowledge of God's Dealings with it? And how can they have any Cognizance of them, but by the Tradition and Discourses of Saints and An­gels? 'Tis true, God may give them the Knowledge of them by Revelation; and I will not deny, but that some of the Provi­dences of God towards his Church may be so Made known unto them. But 'tis not God's usual Method, in This World, to do those things by Supernatural Ways and Means, which may be done by those that are Natural; nor do I believe, that it will be his Ordinary Way, in That which is to come. Some Peculiarities of Dispensations, perhaps, he may make known by Revela­tion; but the Ordinary Way of imparting to the Blessed the Series of his Dispensations towards the Church, will be by Historical Narration, and Tradition.

19. There hath been a perpetual War between the Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent, or (which is all alone) between the Subjects and People or Church of God, and the Subjects and Vassals of the Devil. And as the visible Contests and Battels that have been managed by these two Kingdoms, under their Heads and Chieftains, will be discoursed and related among the Blessed; so I do not doubt, but [Page 90]that the Invisible Wars that have been ma­naged by Michael, and his Angels, in fa­vour of the Church, against the Dragon, and his Angels, in prejudice unto it, will be very largely laid open there: And how Large and Extensive the Knowledge thereof may be, who can say? And if the Sevenal Smaller Instances and Particulars thereof be made known, (as 'tis probable they will) how Numerous, and almost Infinite will they be? And how many Ages may be spent in the Communication of the Knowledge of them?

20. Multitudes of very strange Events do happen and occur to Kingdoms, Nations, and Churches, and particular Families and Persons, of which we are able to give no Account, because we have No Knowledge (or at least, very Little) of them, or their Affairs: We know not what their Mercies have been, nor what are their Sins and Pro­vocations. We know not what are their Qualities and Dispositions, nor what are their Temptations; and therefore can't rec­kon for the Various and Strange Providen­ces, that do betide them. But in the Other World, when we shall have an Historical Narrative of all those things, 'twill be ea­sie to give a reason of all the Strange E­vents that did betide them. If a Person should be taken out of a Cave, or some [Page 91]Place of Secresie and Silence, after many Years Retirement and Abode there, and brought to a Place where Publick Execu­tions are done, and there see Men Hung by the Neck, cut down ere they were Dead, their Bowels taken out, their Members cut off, and burnt before their Faces, and their Bodies cut into Quarters after the manner of Beasts; 'tis not to be doubted, but that he would be Strangely Amazed at such a Proce­dure: But when he should afterward be acquainted with their Natures and Disposi­tions, their Actions and their Designs, and receive a full History and Narrative of them, he would be able to give himself a Reason of all these Severities, and be abundantly Satisfied in the Wisdome and Equity of them.

21. The Affairs of the World, and the Church, are so much Mingled and Confoun­ded, that the One cannot be known with­out the Other: The Victories and Tri­umphs of the Church, can't be mentioned, or proposed to Consideration, without re­membring the Attempts and Assaults that were made upon them by the Men of the World. The Triumphs of the Church o­ver Judaisme and Paganisme, can't be re­ported, without mention of the Great and Furious Opposition that was made by the [Page 92] Jews and Pagans. The Success and Con­quests of the True Church of God, upon the Apostate Romish Synagogue, cannot be called to mind, without a Rehearsal of its Great and Enraged Opposition unto it.

22. And truly, This World being a Stage or Theater, and the several Revolutions and Changes in it, being only so many Scenes and Parts of the Comedy, or rather of the Tragedy; and the Glorious Saints and Angels being the Spectators, and they all being to give to God the Praise after the great Catastrophe and Conclusion of all things; It seems to me very probable, that they shall have a Very Perfect Knowledge of all the Affairs of it. No Man can judge of the Skill and Contrivance, the Wit and Ingeny of a Comedian, that hath not a full and clear Knowledge of all the Parts of the Comedy. And sure it is, that no Man can reasonably, and as it becomes a Man, judge of the Infinite Wisdom, and Curious Skill of God, in the Various Changes and Mutations that are seen in the World, un­less he hath a Large and Comprehensive Knowledge of them. No Man can give that Applause to the Wisdom, Justice, and Goodness of God, as is Suitable to those Attributes, that hath not a Very Great and Perspicuous Knowledge of the several Events [Page 93]and Contingencies, that have happened in the World.

23. And forasmuch as the meanest Saints that formerly lived on Earth, had a Part to act upon the Stage of This World, and did perform it; perhaps, even Each of Them, as well as the Holy Angels, may contribute something to the mutual Increase of Knowledge amongst the Blessed. The Least of all Saints will be able to say Some­thing of the Attributes and Perfections of God. Some of the Effects of his Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, they have observed, and will be able to mention to his Praise.

24. How many of the Days of Eternity may be spent in learning the History of the World, and the Church of God in it, I must not pretend to Discourse, much less Define. But surely, it being so Exceeding large, and the Parts and Instances of it being so Numerous, it may Justly be thought, that a very Considerable Part thereof, will be therein imployed. 'Tis certain, that in the Future State, the Blessed will retain their own proper Essences; which being Finite, I am not able to conceive, how they can receive the Knowledge of things any other way, but Successively; and what is received Successively, doth exhaust more or less of Time; according as that Knowledge, or those [Page 94] Notices of things are more or less numerous and increased.

25. Let no Man hence infer, that the Days of Eternity will be spent in Ineffective Discourses, Histories, and Narrations: To entertain Such Thoughts of it, were to De­fame and Blaspheme it. The Discourses of the Blessed, will not be Ineffective, Idle, and Ʋnprofitable; they will Affect the Hearts both of those that Speak, and those that Hear; they will produce Affections suit­able to their Nature. Some of the Histo­ries that will be reported There, will pro­duce Amazements and Wonder; others will awaken, and actuate Love to God; others Joy, Delight, and Pleasure in Him: And all of them Praise and Confessions to the Ho­nour of his Transcendent Excellencies, and Glorious Attributes and Virtues. The Minds of the Blessed will be so Set and Tuned, that every mention of the Works and Providen­ces of God, will make Impressions on them Acceptable to God, and to the Advantage of their own Felicity.

26. And certainly, such Discourses are an Imployment worthy of the Blessed, and very suitable to the Estate and Condition to which they are advanced. They are ad­vanced to a High and Happy State; and what is more comely and decorous, than to [Page 95]speak of the Wonders of his Power, Wis­dom, and Goodness, that hath Raised them to it; and thereby excite and actuate their own Love, Thanks, and Praise? Nothing can be more Congruous and Agreeable to Ra­tional Natures, in their Circumstances, and under their Obligations, than such kind of Exercises: Nothing can be more worthy of God, nor nothing more agreeable to Ʋn­derstanding Beings.

27. We may observe, that the Holy Psalmist very frequently calls to mind, and reports the Mighty Works, and Stupendi­ous Providences of God towards the Jewish Nation: He remembers God's Covenant with Abraham, their Captivity in Egypt, and miraculous Deliverance thence: He reports their many Provocations in the Wil­derness; the Judgments that he executed upon them; their Feigned Repentance, and Flattering him with Their Lips, when Their Hearts were not Ʋpright with him. And why did he remember these things? 'Twas to exalt the Honour of God's Kindness, Grace, and Mercy towards the Jews, and his Sted­fastness in his Covenant. He had sworn un­to Abraham, to give the Land of Canaan for an Inheritance to his Seed; and he would not fail to Verify his Oath, notwith­standing all their Provocations.

28. And truly, I see no reason, why the Blessed, in the Kingdom of Heaven, may not report the Works and Providences of God, and make mention of them to His Praise. If Praise be comely for the Righ­teous in this World, it will be altogether as comely for them in the Other: And if the making mention of the Mighty Acts of the Lord, be a proper means of exciting and awakening it in This, it may be so also in That which is to come. If it be a Great and Pleasant Duty on Earth, 'tis Much more so in Heaven. Though Pious Men on Earth have received Many and Great Blessings from God, and such as do very much oblige them to Laud and Praise Him; yet sure it is, that those that are in Heaven, have received Many More, and those that are of More Raised, and Excellent Nature; and therefore, are under Greater Obligations thereunto. And if we may conjecture a­ny thing of the Nature and Constitution of Humane Minds There, by what we have experience of Here, nothing will more in­large and excite their Gratitude, and their Praise, than the Reports of his kind Provi­dences, and Mighty Works done in the World.

29. Some more things I might suggest, to make the Increase of Knowledge by Tra­dition [Page 97] Probable, and that Eternally; as the Nature and Constitution of the Kingdom of Darkness, the Order and Government, the Laws and Constitutions, the Rewards and Pu­nishments, that are observed and found a­mong them. For without some Order and Government, they cannot manage their Op­position to the Kingdom of God, and his Christ; and without Rewards and Punish­ments, Laws are Insignificant, and Toothless things. These things (I doubt not) are well known by the Holy Angels, and by Them communicated to the Blessed: As al­so, what are the Punishments that God in­flicts upon Them, and Condemned Souls, for their Wickedness; and the several Mea­sures, and Gradual Differences of them; with other things of like nature. But, per­haps, the Reader may think, I have been too Prolix already; therefore, this Chapter shall here receive its Conclusion.

1. RAtiocination is an Inferring of One thing from Another, or a Proceed­ing from Things Known, to those that are Ʋnknown; and a Concluding of One from the Other. Thus we conclude, that the Sun is near the Summer-Solstice, because the Days are at their Greatest Length; and that it is near the Winter-Solstice, because they are of the Greatest Shortness. Thus we conclude, that the Sun approaches the Equator, when we see the Grass grow Green and Flourishing, and the Trees put forth their Buds and Leaves.

2. The reasoning Power, and discursive Faculty, will be of use in the World to come. From the Consideration of what God is, from the Memory of what He hath done, and from the Knowledge of what He doth do, the Blessed will Certainly conclude, the Necessity of Love and Obedience to Him. [Page 99]When they consider, that He is the First Cause, and giveth Being to all Creatures, and to Men Life and Breath, and All Things: When they remember, that He Made them after his Own Image; and when they had lost it by sinning against Him, He sent his Son into the World, to Take away their Guilt, to Renew and Sanctifie their Natures, and to Restore his Image to them again: When they call to mind, that He Supports their Be­ings and Faculties, and Furnishes them with Suitable Objects, for their Imployment and Delight; They do Immediately infer, the great Necessity of Loving and Serving this Great and Good God.

3. If the Ʋnderstandings of the Blessed were Infinite, I think they would have no Ʋse of Ratiocination: But forasmuch as they are certainly of Limited and Definite Na­ture, I cannot understand, how they will be able to perform that Duty, and exercise those Affections upon God, without it; which all Men confess, are the Imployment and Happiness of the Blessed. Can they Love God, without Consideration of his Tran­scendent Excellencies, and Amiable Perfe­ctions? Can they Obey Him, without con­sidering his Rightful Soveraignty, and ma­ny and Great Benefactions? Or is not this Consideration, and Love and Obedience con­sequent [Page 100]sequent thereunto, a manifest Ratiocination, and Use of their Discursive Faculty and Power?

4. That some things in This World, are more Obvious, and better Known than others, cannot be denyed; and, I believe, were so to Adam, whil'st he remained Innocent. I doubt not, but that the First Principles of Things were more plain to his Ʋnderstan­ding, than the numerous Conclusions dedu­ced from them, as well as they are to Ours. 'Twas more obvious to him, that the Se­veral Lines drawn from the Center of a Circle, were equal among themselves; than that all the Sides of an Aequilateral Trian­gle, are the Radii of Equal Circles; with many others, that might be mentioned, if the thing were not plain, beyond all Rea­sonable Doubt or Scruple. And if it be thus on Earth, and were so even Before the Fall, why may it not be so in Heaven?

5. If from Moral Principles the Blessed do infer Morael Conclusions, (which I think, cannot be denyed) why may they not do the like from Natural? If from the Being, Goodness, and Providence of God, they do in­fer Love, Fear, and Obedience, why may they not infer from such things as are Natural, and Well Known, those things that are Ʋn­known, yet Naturally consequent unto them? [Page 101]And indeed, (as I see no reason to deny it) so I am much Past Doubt of the Truth of it. I cannot but believe, that the Bles­sed will Conclude, that they are able to Move To and Fro, with Incredible Swift­ness, because their Bodies are Spiritual; and many other Conclusions of like Nature, will they infer from like Premises.

6. The Conclusions that (in this weak and imperfect State) have been made from some few Principles, in every Art and Sci­ence, are almost Infinite: Who can num­ber the Conclusions that have been made from the Principles of Natural Philosophy, Metaphysick, and Geometry? How many vast, and almost numberless Volumes, have been written concerning them? And when will they make an end? 'Those Sciences have been studied and polished by Heathens and Chritians, for well night two Thousand Years; and yet every New Writer pretends to say something, that was not said before; and to add to the Advancement, Increase and Perfection of them.

7. Some think, the Inferences and De­ductions, that are made from the Principles of Geometry alone, may be capable of E­verlasting Increase and Augmentation; and truly, he that considers the Numberless num­ber of Propositions, that are in the several [Page 102] Branches and Dependencies of that Science, will find no great difficulty in believing it. How numerous are the Propositions, that are to be sound in Geometry, properly and strictly taken, in Astronomy, Algebra, Mu­sick, Opticks, Dialling, and the Art of Na­vigation? And how Few and Simple are the Principles, from which they have been Inferred and Deduced? What daily Addi­tions, and Increases, are made to them by Learned Men? Every day, almost, Books are Published and Printed, in which some­thing is added towards the Perfection of those Sciences.

8. And as Numbers may be perpetually, and to all Durations Increased by Additi­on; so I am very much inclined to believe, that the Propositions in Mathematicks, nei­ther are, or ever will be so Numerous, but that they may be Increased: And those that are Skilled in them, and do observe how they Generate each other, will (I am per­swaded) think as I do; and Modestly af­firm, That it may be continued to Infini­ty.

9. In the mean time, I will not affirm, That the Study of Geometry will be any part of the Imployment of the Blessed. Perhaps, there will be NO Ʋse of it, or Occasion for it There. Some Arts and Sciences will ex­pire [Page 103]with our Dissolution, because the Ʋse of them will then determine. All the Me­chanick Artifices, by which Men support Themselves, and their Families, will receive their Period with our Lives: The Arts of Plowing and Sowing, of Building and Plan­ting, of Passing the Seas, and Navigating into Forreign Countries, will end with This Life, because there will be No Ʋse of them in the Other. And, perhaps, so it may be with all Mathematical Learning and Sci­ence.

10. But if the Principles of one Single Science, may be Productive of almost Infi­nite Conclusions, much more may the Princi­ples of all Sciences: And that some Science will be of Ʋse in the Other State, few doubt or deny. The Science of Natural Philosophy will remain There: The Blessed shall understand the Nature of their Own Bodies, and all Others, that they Converse withal, and are Presented to their View. How can they give God the Praise of them, if they do not Know them, nor cannot pe­netrate the Abysses of them? And how far this Knowledge may extend, who is able to divine?

11. Besides, it is not improbable, that the Future World may furnish many Species, and Kinds of Bodies, to our Contemplation. [Page 104]The Earth, and Sea, and Air, have their peculiar Kinds of Corporeal Essences; yea, every Climate, almost, hath something pecu­liar to it self: And what hinders, but that the Highest Heavens may have multitudes of Peculiarities; the like whereunto, our Eyes have never Seen, nor our Ears Heard? Yea, give me leave to say, That I am much past doubt of it. Surely, that Blessed State will present many Glorious Objects, and Ex­cellent Beings to our View; and our Know­ledge will be much Increased and Enlarged thereby.

12. Moreover, we cannot doubt, but the Science of Metaphysicks will also be con­tinued There. The most Glorious of all Reasonable Creatures, are of Spiritual and Metaphysical Nature: Such are all the Ho­ly Angels, and Blessed Saints. Whether there be any thing Material in their Constituti­on, whether they be Imbodied in Pure, and AEtherial Vehicles, I will not here dispute; but all do grant, that there is something in their Essence, that is Spiritual; and, with­out all doubt, the Blessed will have some Knowledge of it. They will not remain so ignorant of the Nature, Powers, and Capaci­ties of Spirits, as now they are. Some­what they will Ʋnderstand of them, and the Manner of their Operations; as also, what [Page 105] Gradual Differences there are among them, and what Diversity in their Accomplish­ments and Perfections: For as there are very Many Differences (I mean, Gradual) among Bodies, so there may be among Spi­rits, for ought that I know. And from this Diversity, may proceed very great Diffe­rence in their Powers, Capacities, and Per­fections; the Knowledge whereof, may In­crease, perhaps, to all Durations.

13. The Science of Theology will not on­ly Continue, but be very much Inlarged. Much more of God will be Revealed in the Future State, than ever was Revealed in This; and our Faculties will be much more Capa­ble of considering and understanding those Discoveries and Revelations. I do not doubt, but that Heaven will present to the Blessed, far more Illustrious Demonstrations of the Divine Perfections, than any that have been made here below. The Creation, Provi­dence, and Word of God, I do acknowledge, have unfolded much of God; yet I do be­lieve, that Heaven will discover Much more: For Here we See through a Glass darkly, but there Face to Face. Here we see Him very Obscurely and Imperfectly; but There we shall see Him as He is. And as the Revelations of Him will be more Clear and Full, so will our Minds [Page 106]be More Capable of receiving and entertain­ing them.

14. And who can guess, what Abysses there may be in the Theology of the Bles­sed? Who can imagine, what may be the Treasures thereof? And what Time may be spent to Exhaust them? And whether, after Millions of Ages, there may not re­main much Ʋnexhausted? The Inquiries that Job makes, (Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Al­mighty to Perfection? It is as high as Hea­ven; What canst thou do? Deeper than Hell; What canst thou know? The Measure thereof, is longer than the Earth, and broa­der than the Sea) may be as truly made in the Other World, as in This: And, in my Apprehension, the Perfections of God, and the Knowledge and Theology of them, are truly Inexhaustible in both.

15. The Mysteries of the Sacred Trinity, and Personal Ʋnion, may afford Subject and Matter for Eternal Contemplations; and, it may be, there may be those Depths in them, which the Blessed may never be able to Fathome or Comprehend. They are such things, as in This World, we cannot Ʋn­derstand; our Reason draws back at the Contemplation of them: And had we not some Reverence for the Holy Scriptures, [Page 107]that do Reveal and Propose them, we should utterly refuse All Assent unto them. They are Too Bigg for our Minds, in the Present State; and therefore, we live under some Temptation to reject them; and were we not awed by the Word of God, we should certainly do it. In the Other World, these things will be more Clearly revealed, and more fully Ʋnderstood: But whether there be not something, which after all Search and Inquiry, will remain Ʋnknown even to the Blessed themselves, I think very Proba­ble, if not absolutely Certain.

16. The Perfections of the Person of our Saviour, (I mean, of his Humane Nature) are without all scruple, exceeding Great and Large; and there is not an Essence (unless God himself) Equal with it, much less Superiour to it, in the whole Ʋniverse of Beings. The shining Lustre of his Body, with the several Perfections of it, will be exceeding Great; but the Powers, Excel­lencies, and Capacities of his Soul will be much more Stupendious, Admirable, and A­mazing. And I see no reason, why the Blessed may not obtain the Knowledge of them, and other things before-mentioned by Ratiocina­tion: Why may not much of the Knowledge that they have there, both of Bodies and Spi­rits, be gotten by Inference and Deduction? [Page 108]Why may they not argue from those things that are Plain, to those that are Dark? Why may they not argue from Causes to their Effects, and from Effects to their Cau­ses too?

17. Here 'tis the ordinary Method of proceeding: Men argue from the Fabrick of Heaven and Earth, and the several Crea­tures in it, the Certainty of a First Cause, of Infin [...]te Power, Wisdom, and Goodness; and from the Immateriality of the Divine Es­sence, its Incorruptibility; and from its Spi­rituality, its Simplicity; with sundry other Inferences of like Nature. And why the Blessed may not do the Same, I cannot Ʋn­derstand: if their Reasonable Faculties Continue, (as Surely they do) the Use of them may Continue. If it be consistent with the Glory and Happiness of Heaven, to In­joy them, I see no Valid Reason, why the Ʋse and Exercise of them may not consist with it.

18. What hinders, but that there may be such Effects and Images of a Trinity in Ʋnity, and of an Hypostatical Ʋnion, as may much Reveal the Nature of those My­steries; and make the Inference as Necessa­ry and Easie, as from an Effect to a Cause, or from a Copy to an Original. Some Ima­ges of them we do observe here. In the Hu­mane [Page 109]Mind, there is a Trinity of Essential Principles, and yet but One Soul. In Man, the Body and Soul do constitute but One Person: But 'tis not improbable, but there may be more Perspicuous Images of them there; and that those that here we do ob­serve, will be More fully understood. And in consequence thereunto, these Mysteries may be as Evident to the Blessed, as that the Whole is bigger than any Part and that all the Parts taken together, are equal to the Whole. I do not mean, they shall Fully understand them; but they shall Clearly un­derstand them, and to the Satisfaction and Quiet of their Souls.

19. The Reconcileableness of the Infal­libility of God's Will, with the Liberty of Man's, is an Insuperable Difficulty Now; but perchance, it may be none Then. The Blessed may possibly see and understand those Principles, Premises, and Suppositions; from whence they may be easily deduced, without any Inconsistency or Opposition. The Difficulty of reconciling these things, pro­ceeds from our Ignorance of the Nature of God and Man, and the Influence that the One, and the Other hath upon Humane A­ctions. Did we know, what God, and what Man is, and what are the Operations Peculiar to One, and the Other, in the [Page 110]producing those Effects that are ascribed to Men, probably much, or all of this Dif­ficulty would Disappear. Now 'tis not questioned, but that the Blessed will very much Ʋnderstand all these; and from them will argue, and infer an easie and obvious Agreement between them.

20. The Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God are Infinite; they are Oceans, without either Bank or Bottom, if I may so express it. His Power is Omnipotent. God can ac­complish whatsoever he pleases. No Op­position can be made to his Mighty Arm. If he will work, none can hinder it. His Wisdom is unsearchable; the Depths there­of are unfathomable; no Created Being can find them out unto Perfection. His Goodness is of very vast Extension: Who can take the just Measures of it? 'Tis wi­der than the Earth, larger than the great A­byss; yea, more extensive than the Poles of Heaven. And what vast Numbers of Inferences and Conclusions may be made from the Consideration of them? How far may they be Propagated? and where will they determine?

21. From the Knowledg of the Divine Na­ture and Attributes, the Blessed may, 'tis like, infer and deduce the manner of the Divine Agency upon the Minds of Men. That God [Page 111]doth move and act upon the Souls of Men Here, is certain both in Scripture, and in Ex­perience; and there is no doubt, but he will do so Hereafter: But how he doth it, is an Insuperable Difficulty. God is a Pure Act, of Infinite and Immense Presence; without any Accidents, properly so called. His Attributes being his Essence, according to the general Opinion of Divines; I say, how God doth influence the Minds of Men, and what that Influence is Ex parte Dei, is past the reach of Mortals to determine. 'Tis commonly said, That 'tis nothing but God himself; by God, meaning his Act; and thereby understanding his Essence as in Act: But how an Essence Equally, and E­ternally Active, can produce those Various Impressions upon Various Minds, and on the Same Minds, at Sundry times, is past our present Imagination. And so it is also how they can receive the Divine Influx, if it be nothing but his Active Essence. But it may be, that the Blessed may have Know­ledge of those Praecognita, from whence the Knowledge of these things may be inferred by Plain and Easie Ratiocination.

22. That there is a Creative Power in God, is confessed by all Christians; and some sober Philosophers have said some things in favour of it. By Creative Power, [Page 112]I mean a Power of giving Being to things, without any Pre-existent Matter. This is such a Perfection, as we cannot Compre­hend; but the Other State may furnish us with such Knowledge of the Divine Omni­potence and Fecundity, that the giving Be­ing to Things by Creation, will be an Easie and Obvious Effect of it: And the Blessed will as easily infer it thence, as we do in­fer the Growth and Fructification of Herbs, and Trees, and Fruits, from a Fruitful Soyl, the Warmth of the Sun, and the Dew of Hea­ven.

23. The Doctrine of the Resurrection, is a thing that we believe, out of Reverence to the Holy Scriptures, and God, who is the Author of them: But how Dead Bones, and Scattered Dust can live; how those-Bo­dies that have been eaten by Wild Beasts and Fishes, or burnt to Ashes, and those Ashes cast into the Sea, can be Recollected, and become an Habitation for the Soul, we are not able to understand. But 'tis not improbable, but that the Blessed, may from the Knowledge that they have of the Power of God, and the several Subordinate Causes thereof, infer and conclude it, with no more Difficulty, than we infer the Building of a City, or House again, after its ruined and laid in Rubbish; from the Knowledge that [Page 113]we have of the Power and Skill of Men, the Advantages of the Place where it was scituate, and the Plenty of Materials for the Re-edification of it.

24. The Nature of that Influence, and Support, by which we Live, and Move, and have our Being, is a thing that we are To­tally ignorant of. That there is such a thing, is generally confessed by all Consi­dering Men; for Creatures do not become Independent, as soon as they do subsist. They depend on God in Facto esse, as well as in Fieri: They need the Divine Cau­sation, as well when they are Made, as when they are Making. But what this Divine Influence and Causation is, we do not Ʋnderstand; but 'tis not unlikely, but that the Blessed may by searching, Find it out. They may have the Knowledge of those Premises, from which the Nature of it may be easily deduced. In those Scien­ces that we imploy Our selves in, and ex­ercise our Contemplations on here, there are many Propositions, that in themselves, and Irrespectively considered, are Ʋnintelligible, and past our Comprehension; which, ne­vertheless, are Plainly deducible from their Premises, and Evident enough to him that is Prepared for the understanding of them, by necessary Antecedent Knowledge. Thus [Page 114]'tis in thousands of Mathematical Proposi­tions. That in all plain, right-angled Tri­angles, the Square of the Hypotenuse should be equal to the Squares of the other two Sides, is a thing that no Man understands Absolutely and Irrespectively: But if he un­derstands the Necessary Premises and Prin­ciples, 'tis plain enough, and the Deducti­on thereof is not Difficult. And if things dark and obscure, may be inferred from things more Plain and Obvious in this World, I know not why it may not be so in the Other.

25. I have argued a Possibility of Increa­sing Knowledge, by Ratiocination, in the Future State; and I have mentioned several Instances, in which an Increase thereof may be so Made: But they are but a Few of those very Many that I might have Remem­bred. And what Thousands of Instances the Other World may present unto the Blessed, for the Augmentation of it, in that manner, who can assure us? What Bodies of Science may be raised from them, who can divine? Perhaps each single Instance, and Particular, may minister Subject for a large and ample Science. And where those Instances are innumerable, who can fix Bounds to the Increase of Knowledge there­by; or say, Thus far may it proceed, and [Page 115]no farther? Or, what Improbability is there in the Eternal Progress of it?

26. 'Tis certain, the Mind of Man was made for the Knowledge of God, and that God is known by his Works; and 'tis as certain, that the several Virtues, Excellen­cies, and Perfections of those Works, are not equally Obvious: some are more Evident and Apparent; others lie more in the Dark, and are more secret from Observation. Thus 'tis in This State, and thus it may be in That which is to Come. Here we proceed, and Argue the Nature of things Ʋnknown, from those that are Known; and so may the Blessed do Hereafter, for ought that I do see to the contrary. The Mind of Man takes a great deal of Pleasure in arguing One thing from Another, whil'st Below; and it may be, that it may Conti­nue so to do Above.

27. The Other World will not Abate, much less Abolish, the Regular Inclinations of the Humane Mind; but Perfect and In­large them. The Inclination to Know, yea, and to know by Ratiocination, seems to me Natural and Essential to the Soul; and if so, it can no more put it off, than it can put off its Being. The Kingdom of Hea­ven (I humbly suppose) will very much Inlarge and Perfect its Discursive Power [Page 116]and Inclinations; it will make the Use and Exercise of it, more Facile, Pleasant, and Successful; but will not Abolish or Destroy it. An Intellectual Finite Being, without the Power and Use of Ratiocination, seems to me a Paradox, or rather a Contradiction. That a Limited Understanding should be able to know any thing, unless the First Principles of things, and some Objects of Sense; yea, or do any thing worthy of God, or it self, without Ratiocination; seems alto­gether Improbable, if not Impossible. But of This I have spoken already, as I remem­ber.

28. A Limited Understanding cannot Know all things at Once; it must receive the Knowledge of them Successively. And forasmuch as there is a Dependance and Connexion among Beings, and One follows upon, and oftentimes derives from Ano­ther, 'tis very probable, that such will be the Knowledge of them; and that the Man­ner of understanding them, will be such as is their Manner of Being; i. e. One Thing will be inferred and deduced from Ano­ther; which is an Exercise of the Discur­sive Faculty. Besides, if any thing be known by its Effects, (of which, I think, there is no doubt) in the Future World, there must be the Use of Ratiocination: For from [Page 117]the Nature and Qualities of the Effects, to determine the Nature and Properties of the Cause, is to reason and argue from what is Obvious and Easie, to that which is Dark and Difficult.

29. Again, Is it worthy, or doth it be­come a Rational Creature, to act, or do any thing for which he can give no Ac­count? Is it congruous and decorous, for Intellectual Essences to act like Natural A­gents, or like Brutes? Such is their Man­ner of acting, if they act without Ratioci­nation, and Discourse. Is that Obedience and Worship Worthy of God, that is Ir­rational, and performed without any Pre­vious Exercise of the Reasonable Faculty? Or is it possible, that Worship, Love, and Obedience, can be performed without it? Is that Worship or Love, is that Service or Obedience, that hath no Consideration of the Excellency, Goodness, or Authori­ty of God, as the Cause and Foundation of it? I know not what it may Seem, or Appear to others; but I must acknowledge, I am of Contrary Apprehensions; and do think, that all Obedience and Love to God, proceeds from Ratiocination; and conse­quently, that 'tis of Use for the Increase of Knowledge, as well as for the producing of Love and Obedience in the Other World.

30. I have hitherunto supposed a Mul­tiplicity of Worlds, for the making an E­ternal Increase of Knowledge among the Blessed; a thing probable, and such as hath some Appearance of Truth in it: And I do confess, I cannot possibly reconcile my Mind to an Opinion, That from all Eter­nity, nothing was made or produced by God, till the Present World; the Annals of whose Birth and Duration, are left us by Moses, and other Inspired Authors; and since them, by Others: and the whole Pe­riod of its Continuation, amounts not to Six Thousand Years.

31. Nevertheless, I will here add, That I know not whether there be any Need of it. Peradventure, the History and Affairs of This VVorld, together with the great Variety of Beings that are in it, and that of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the more Illustrious Creatures that are There, may minister Matter for Eternal Contemplation, and an Increase of Knowledge thereby: For how Many and Numerous they are, and what vast Systems of Science may be gathe­red from them, who is able to inform us? If the Conclusions that we make from some Few Principles, in this State of Darkness and Imperfection, be so Numerous, and al­most Infinite, what may they be in that [Page 119]State of Light, and very Great Perfection?

32. For as I think it Probable, that the Knowledge and Happiness of the Blessed, is Progressive; so I do easily and willingly grant, that it Receives very great Advan­tage and Increase immediately upon their Admission into the Kingdom of Heaven: And I do farther grant, that their Powers and Capacities will be very much Enlarg­ed and Perfected, yea, and made more A­ble, and fit for Ratiocination: They will much more Easily make Inferences from Principles and Premises, than they would do as long as they were in this VVeak and Imperfect State; and consequently, enlarge the Bounds and Extent of Science exceed­ingly. And how far they may be able to extend them, I cannot conjecture; but I think it may be done Indefinitely, if not E­ternally.

33. These things I have suggested, to make it fairly Probable, that the Knowledge of the Blessed, in the Future State, may In­crease by Ratiocination: What Force or Weight there may be in them, I must leave to the Judgment of the Reader; and here Conclude This Chapter.

1. I Am not ignorant, that the Opinion that I have asserted in the preceding Discourses, is liable to sundry Objections: And 'tis no wonder; for there is almost nothing in any Part of Science, either Na­tural or Theological, which hath not been assaulted by them. Some Men have made Objections against the Being and Providence of God; others against the Possibility of Motion, and the Certainty of Sense: And if Objections have been made against things so Plain to all the Reason and Sense of the World, it may not be expected, that a thing so much in the Dark, as what I have discoursed, should be Ʋtterly Free from them. This Chapter therefore shall be im­ployed in making some Answer to them.

2. 1. Object. The Holy Scriptures speak [Page 121]of the Future State, as a State of Great and Present Perfection; and all Divines, when they make mention of it, represent it as a Glorious and Perfect State: To which no Addition can be made; but is at its utmost Exaltation, as soon as ever we be admitted into it. To this Objection I have sundry things to Answer.

3. 1. I do easily grant, that some (yea, many) Divines may have spoken very much to the Sense of this Objection: But among Protestants, especially those that are of Free Judgments, 'tis not the Dogmatical Asser­tion of Divines, but the Evidence and Proof of what they do affirm, that doth Convince, and make their Doctrine Worthy of Credit and Belief. So that, unless they have Pro­ved, as well as Asserted, the Doctrine of this Objection, I am not obliged to believe, or give Assent unto it.

4. 2. But I would distinguish of Perfe­ction: There is an Absolute, and there is a Relative Perfection The Saints of God, under the Gospel-Dispensation, are Perfect in a Relative Sense, and compared with those that lived under the Law; and so are Grown Christians compared with those that are Weak, and (as the Apostle expresses it) Babes in Christ. And in one of these Comparative Senses, must the word Perfect be meant; [Page 122]1 Cor. 2.6. Howbeit we speak Wisdom among them that are Perfect. In an absolute Sense, neither Christians compared with Jews, nor Strong Christians compared with Weak ones, are Perfect; but in a Relative Sense, they are so. And so the Blessed, as soon as they are admitted the Gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, are Perfect in a Relative Sense; and in comparison of those they have left Behind them in This World, and of what they themselves were when they dwelt Here below. And in this Relative Sense, must we understand the word Perfect; Heb. 12.23. And to the Spirits of Just Men made Perfect; and others of like importance.

5. 3. Perfection may be considered with Respect to Sin, and it may be considered with Respect to all Attainable Excellencies, that Humane Nature or Mankind are capa­ble of. In the first Sense, the Blessed are Perfect; as soon as they get to Heaven, they are perfectly Free from all Sin, both of Inclination, Habit, and Act; the Plague of the Heart is perfectly cured; there re­mains not any thing of the Old Nature up­on their Souls; yea, they are freed of all Sinful Ignorance: they know all that is Their Duty to know, and all that is Neces­sary for the Performance of it. But whe­ther they Know all that ever they shall [Page 123] Know, or are Capable of Knowing, is Ano­ther Question. God made Man upright, Ec­cles. 7. ult. That is, He made him without Sinful Imperfection: But that they knew as much the first Day of their Creation, as they would have Known, had they lived a Thousand Years in their Innocent State, I do not believe. Our Lord Jesus was Per­fect, with respect to Sin, at his Birth; yet He had not then Attained all attainable Ex­cellencies: for He increased in Wisdom and Stature, and in Favour with God and Men, Luk 2.52. And if our Blessed Saviour, and our First Parents were Perfect, before they had attained all the Wisdom and Knowledge they were capable of; so may the Blessed, in the Future State.

6. 4. Those very Persons, that do as­sert the Perfection of the Blessed, immedi­ately upon their Departure hence, and Ad­mission into the Kingdom of Glory; do yet acknowledge, that the Resurrection will add something to the Increase of their Know­ledge, yea, and of their Happiness also: And 'tis a thing so plain, that it cannot be de­nyed. Will the Saints in Heaven know no more after the Resurrection, than they did before? Will those Works of Wonder add nothing to the Enlargement of their Ʋn­derstandings? Will their Knowledge re­ceive [Page 124]no Advange thereby? This were a manifest Contradiction, in any Man that should affirm it. So then, I hope, I may conclude, That if Perfection be reconcile­able with an Increase of Knowledge before the Resurrection, it may be reconcileable with it afterwards.

7. 5. To what hath been said, I may add, That the Angels of Heaven (without doubt) were made Perfect: Yet surely, the Creation, Government, and Affairs, ot This World, hath Added much to their Know­ledge: That they have been Imployed in them, and consequently have had Know­ledge of them, the Scriptures do assure us; and I am past all Scruple concerning it: Yea, I am inclin'd to think, that this Infe­rior World was made for the Use of An­gels, as well as Men; and in it they be­hold the Glory of God, and the most Illu­strious Perfections of their Maker: an have Learned very many Things from the Con­templation of it: Yea, 'tis my Opinion, that they have ascribed much more of the Praise thereof to God, than ever was done by Mortals. The Creation and Providence of God, are a very Clear Glass, in which are discovered the Attributes and Perfecti­ons of God: But since the Fall, Man's Eyes have been so Impaired, that they could not [Page 125]discern them, nor give him the Praise of them. But that which I would infer from this Paragraph, is this: If an Increase of Knowledge be consistent with Perfection in Angels, it may be consistent with it in the Blessed Saints: If the one were Perfect be­fore they had obtained much of that Know­ledge, that now they are possessed with; the other may be Perfect in the same Sense, though they want much of that Knowledge, that they may, and certainly will obtain.

8. 2. Object. The Future State is a State of Rest and Fruition; The Blessed are there said to rest from their Labours, and their Works to follow them, Rev. 14.13. which seems inconsistent with an Increase of Know­ledge, forasmuch as Knowledge is not ob­tained without Labour; especially that which comes by Ratiocination, and the Ex­ercise of our Reason on such Beings as are presented to us. To this Objection I reply as followeth.

9. 1. The Soul of Man is a very Active Being: Action is of the very Essence of it; and can no more (in my Apprehension) be Separated from it, than Heat from Fire, or Extension from Natural Bodies. If you separate Action from Humane Minds, you Destroy them: If they do Nothing, they are Nothing. Not to Act, and not to Be, [Page 126]are the same thing with them: The Ces­sation of their Being, is equipollent to the Cessation of their Action and Operation. God is a Pure Act; Souls are his Image; and in the Activity of their Nature, they are a Representation of Him.

10. 2. The Rest of the Humane Soul therefore (as I do humbly conceive) consists very much in the Performance of such Acti­ons, and the Use of such Imployments, as are congruous and suitable to its Nature, and to the End and Intent for which it was made. Man's Inferior Faculties and Senses have their proper Ends, Actions, and O­perations; and in the Exercise and Use of them, on their own peculiar Objects, they find and experience all the Content and Sa­tisfaction that they are capable of. And surely, the Rest and Happiness of the Ra­tional Soul, must likewise Consist in the Ex­ercise of its Active Powers, upon Congruous and Suitable Objects. And the Philosopher some where places Humane Felicity in Acti­on, and not in a Dull Inactive Stupor.

11. 3. There is nothing more Suitable, and Agreeable to the Humane Soul, than the Exercise of its Intellectual Faculty on the Being, Nature, and Properties of things. This is Wonderfully Congruous, and there­fore Pleasant to it: It delights to consider [Page 127]the Nature of things; and from those things that are more evident, to Infer those that are less; and also from the Effect, to Infer the Cause; and from the Intermedi­ate Causes, to Ascend by several Steps and Progressions, to the First Primitive and O­riginal Cause of all things. This Labour is its Rest, this Work is its Reward; this Ʋse of its Powers, is their Felicity, and their Glory: This is the Imployment which they do desire; in which they are pleased, and in which they will find Repose, yea, Ravishment and Extasies for ever.

12. 4. Though the Mind of Man finds some Difficulty in the obtaining of Know­ledge here Below, and though it costs It much Painful Study, to attain any conside­rable Degree or Measure of it; yet I see no Reason to conclude, or suspect any such thing in the Kingdom of Heaven. It will receive so much Inlargement, Perfection, and Advantage by its Ascent thither, that 'twill be no more Trouble to advance in Knowledge, than 'tis for us to turn Our Eyes from one Object to another, and to observe the Beauty and Proportions of them.

13. 5. A Diseased Eye cannot behold the Light, without some Trouble and Of­fence; though it be the Proper Object thereof, and the Medium by which all o­ther [Page 128]things become Visible; yet if it be Sore, it becomes very Offensive unto it; and if you can but cure or remove that Distem­per, Light becomes Pleasant unto it again. Since Man became Sinful, his Understan­ding Faculty hath suffered great Diminuti­on; 'tis Indisposed and Ʋncapable, in great degree, of obtaining Knowledge, (though that were the End for which it was created) and what it doth obtain, is not without La­bour and Difficulty of Endeavour: But as soon as it enters the Gate of the Heavenly Jerusalem, this Indisposition and Impotence will be removed; and, with great Facili­ty, it will Contemplate the Nature of things, and increase in Knowledge there­by.

14. 3. Object. If Knowledge be capable of Everlasting Increase, in the World to come, then the Blessed are never Happy; for a Capacity of Increase therein, supposes Want, and a desire of Satisfaction; and where there is Want, and an Ʋnsatisfied Appetite, there is no Perfect Happiness: all Desire being painful; and if Pressing, 'tis very Ʋneasie and Tormerting. To this Ob­jection, I Answer i [...] the following Para­graphs.

15. 1. This Objection presses all that believe the Resurrection, as well as me. [Page 129]Those that do affirm it, and some Increase of Knowledge and Happiness thereby, (as all Christians do, or ought to do) and that Separate Souls do desire that Very Happy Day, are as much Obliged to Answer this Objection, and reconcile it to their Own Doctrine; as I am bound to do it, and re­concile it to Mine. They affirm, That Souls are Happy Immediately upon their departure hence; and yet that they do desire the Resurrection of their Bodies, and are capable of Increasing Knowledge there­by. And if Desire and Want be consistent with Happiness before the Resurrection, I hope it may be Consistent with it afterwards. And if they will Answer the Objection, as it opposes their Doctrine; I will take their Arguments, (if they be good) and thereby Defend my own.

16. 2. But I am not satisfied, that all Want, Appetite, and Desire of Satisfaction, is Painful or Tormenting. No doubt, the Blessed Desire the Continuation of the Glo­ry, and Happiness, that they do possess and enjoy: They Desire always to see the Face of God, and His Christ, and to con­verse in the Quire, and Communion of Saints and Angels: They desire always to Love Him, and be Beloved of Him. Yet I do not think those Desires Troublesome or [Page 130] Tormenting: Their Happiness receives no Abatement or Diminution by them. They do very well agree, and dwell together: Nor is there any Quarrel or Contests be­tween them.

17. 3. The State to which they are Im­mediately advanced, is so exceeding Glori­ous in it self, and also in comparison of That which they Lately left, and the much Worse that they had deserved, that it Abundantly pleases and delights them. He that is ta­ken from a Prison, or a Dungeon, and had deserved the Gallows, or the Block, and set upon a Throne of Glory, and made a Mighty Prince; hath sufficient reason of Joy, Satisfaction, and Pleasure, though he be not the Greatest Prince upon Earth: 'Tis no just Occasion of Trouble to him, if there be some that are Greater than he; especi­ally if there be a Possibility of Increasing his Empire, and becoming Equally Great with the Greatest of them.

18. 4. The Blessed, 'tis true, are not so Perfect in Knowledge and Happiness, as soon as they enter the Gates of the City of God, as those that have spent many Years and Ages There: But 'tis so much Better, than the Condition in which they lived upon Earth, among Sins and Sorrows, Vexations and Im­perfections: 'Tis so much Better, than the [Page 131] State of the Damned, with whom they had Deserved to dwell, that they have Reason of great Joy and Triumph; especially when they consider, that their Knowledge and Happiness is Progressive, and will Advance for ever.

19. 5. Besides, we may not imagine, that the Appetites and Desires of the Blessed, are Fierce and Raging: Though they desire an Increase of Knowledge, Happiness, and Perfection; yet 'tis with great Modesty and Calmness. Their Desires are not Trouble­some or Tormenting, for as much as they are Immediately satisfied: No sooner do they Hunger or Thirst, than they do Re­ceive Satisfaction. Eternal Hunger is no Infelicity, where there are Perpetual Objects to Quiet and Allay it.

20. 6. Nay, peradventure, Heaven were not a State of Happiness, if there were No Desires There: The Soul would Languish, if Desire did not Actuate and Enliven it. The Happiness of Rational Spirits consists in Action, as I have before observed; and Appetites and Desires are the Spring of A­ction. So that Perpetual Action, produced by Perpetual Desires, and those Desires Per­petually satisfied, perhaps may Compound much of the Happiness of Heaven.

21. 4. Object. St. Paul says. 1 Cor. 13.9, 10, 11, 12. [Page 132]That whil'st we are in this World, We Know but in part, and Prophecy but in part: But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done a­way. Now we see through a Glass darkly, but then Face to Face: Now I know but in part, but then shall I know as I am known. These Expressions seem to assert a Perfe­ction of Knowledge in the Blessed, and that Immediately upon their Entrance into Hea­ven: For what else means that Phrase; When that which is Perfect is come; and that, But then Face to Face; and that, Then shall I know as I am known? To which may be added those words, 1 Joh. 3 2. We shall see Him as He is. To this Objection I shall not need to say much; what I have said in Answer to the First Objection, being enough to take off the Force of it: To which, nevertheless, I add as followeth.

22. 1. The Perfection that the Apostle speaks of, is only Relative, (as I do hum­bly suppose) for that some Increase is made to the Knowledge of the Blessed, after their Admission into the Kingdom of Hea­ven, cannot be denyed; and I think, I have said Enough to prove it.

23. 2. That Expression of seeing Face to Face, is Figurative and Metaphorical; and, I think, means no more, than a Much [Page 133]Clearer Knowledge of things, than was at­tainable in This World: But a Knowledge Absolutely and Compleatly Perfect, and such as receives no Increase, is (I conceive) A­nother thing, and more than is Meant, or can be Proved from this Expression.

24. 3. Those Expressions of Knowing as Known, and Seeing God as He is, are (I conceive) also Figurative, and not to be understood in the Proper Sense of the Words: For no Man can know God and Heaven, and the Great things There, so Fully and Perfectly as God knows them: Nor shall any Man see God as He is, if thereby be meant Fully and Perfectly; for a Limited Understanding cannot fully com­prehend an Infinite Essence. All that can be Meant by it, I think, is this: In Hea­ven the Blessed shall have Clearer Appre­hensions of God, and all Things There, than in This World they had; and shall Know God, and Them, as truly (though not so fully) as He Knows them.

25. 4. Besides, those words of the Apo­stle, mentioned in the Objection, may be un­derstood in a Transient and Progressive Sense. The Blessed are in a State, in which they Know much, and are in Progress towards a More Perfect Knowledge: There is no [Page 134]need of Ʋnderstanding Them of Immediate Perfection, as soon as received to Glory.

HAving made some Answer to the Prin­cipal Objections, that are, or may be made to the Doctrine proposed in the fore­going Chapters; I shall add some few Infe­rences, or Deductions, from the Whole of what hath been said, and so conclude.

1. The Happiness of the Blessed is Pro­gressive and Increasing: 'Tis not a thing Fixed, Steddy, and Ʋncapable of any Vari­ation: It doth not change or vary indeed for the Worse, or to their Prejudice and Dis­advantage; but it changes to their Benefit and Profit exceedingly. 'Tis like a Rising Sun, that shines More bright by its Moti­on and Alteration. 'Tis an Eternal Spring. 'Tis an Everlasting May: The Beauty and Verdure of it, Increases continually. We cannot say of the Happiness of the Saints in [Page 135]Glory, Hitherunto shall it Proceed, and Here shall it Determine.

2. For Love will Increase with Know­ledge; the One will make Equal Progres­sions with the Other: They will go Hand in Hand, and the One advance with the O­ther. The More the Blessed Advance in the Knowledge of God, the More will they In­crease in Love to Him; the more Lively, Vigorous, Passionate, and Ravishing will it be towards Him. The More they Contem­plate his Works, and Observe of his Ad­mirable Perfections in them, the More will they be in Love with Him, and the Greater will be their Esteem for Him, and Admira­tion of Him.

3. Love is Always accompanied with Joy and Delight: Thus we find it Now, and so 'twill be Hereafter. The Love that Men Bear to their Friends, their Estates and Honours, yea, to their Sins and Lusts, ministers Plea­sure to them; and can the Blessed Love God, the Supreme Good, and Chiefest Ex­cellency, and not find Consolation and Joy therein? Can they Love the God that Made them, and the Saviour that Redeemed them from Sin and Hell, and Raised and Exalted them to Heaven and Glory; and find no Transports therein? Can they Love, and that with Vigorous Affection, and have no Sense [Page 136]of Joy therein? Surely, That is impossi­ble.

4. Great Love and Joy will express it self in Enlargedness of Thanks and Praise. How will the Blessed Triumph in the Prai­ses of God? and how Abundant will they be in Thanksgivings to Him? They will love Him Greatly, and therefore they will praise Him Much; they are full of Joy, and there­fore will Express their Gratitude with ut­most Continued Hallelujahs. Active Passi­ons are incapable of Restraint or Inclosure; and therefore will Break out in Songs of Laud and Blessing.

5. Much of the Happiness and Felicity of the Blessed, will consist in the Exercise of Love and Delight in God, and the ascribing of Honour and Gratitude to Him. Know­ledge will Generate Love, and Love will Excite, Awaken, and Stir up Praise; and these will constitute Their Happiness in a Good degree. God is the Objective Happi­ness of the Blessed; His Excellencies do present themselves to their View and Consi­deration; they Know and Ʋnderstand them, they Love and Delight in them, and are en­larged in the Praises of them: And in These their Subjective Happiness doth con­sist.

6. The Blessed will never Want Imploy­ment. Matter for Everlasting Contempla­tions will be Presented to them, by which their Knowledge will be Increased; and with the Increase of Knowledge, an Increase of Affection; and Consequently, of grateful Adoration. And thus will they be E [...]er­cised for evermore: The Days of Eterni­ty will be Thus consummate: Thus will the Inhabitants of the Heavenly Jerusalem pass their time, and Exercise themselves to all Durations. Heaven is no Inactive State; the Blessed There are Perpetually Im­ployed; and in that Imployment, they find Their Rest. Idleness is no Pleasure to Such Beings, whose Natures are Active by their Very Constitution: And such is that of our Faculties, (as I have observed before) and in Action Suitable to it. And upon the most Raised and Glorious Objects, consists Their Happiness: There it is, and There they may Find it; but no where else.

7. There will be no Satiety in the King­dom of Heaven: In This World, Men are Satiated, and sometimes even [...]oathed with their Injoyments and Fruitions: Those things which they Most earnestly, and Passionately desired, and for which they laboured with the Greatest Endeavour, they are oftentimes soon glutted withal, and sometimes grow [Page 138] Weary of them. But 'twill not be so in Heaven: No Man will ever be Over-filled with knowing God, or searching out His Perfections; and God is a Being which can­not be Fathomed, or Fully searched out: There will be Something New to be disco­ver [...]d in Him for ever. No man will ever be t [...]red with Loving God, or being Belo­ved of Him: No Man will ever be surfei­ted of Rejoycing and Delighting in Him, or of expressing it in Psalms and Hymns of Hallelujah. The Reason why Men are e­ven Cloyed with their Enjoyments Here be­low, is because they Find not that in them they Expected: they were Deceived by them, and therefore Grow into a Displea­sure Against them. But there will be No such thing Above. God will abundantly Sa­tisfie all Expectations: Heaven will Deceive no Man; they will There find More, not Less, than they did expect.

8. The Future State may, Perhaps, pre­sent us with New Things continually, or at least as often as there is Occasion for them. Who knows, but that when-ever the Bles­sed have sufficiently Considered and Exhaust­ed the Beings that are with Them, or pre­sented to Them, More may be proposed, and set Before them; or that they may be Removed to some other Part of the Uni­verse, [Page 139]to observe what is Worthy of Ob­servation There? And this Vaniety of things and Objects, will take away all Possibility of an Offensive Fulness. In This State, few Men are full to Loathing, whil'st they have continual Variety of things in Enjoyment, or in Hopes and Prosecution. Variety of things, keeps up their Expectations; and they do hope to find that in One or More things, which they have in vain sought after in O­thers. In Heaven the Blessed are Never deceived in their Expectation: In all things they seek to Know something more of God, and that they Find in them: And when they have Drained one, they go to another; and in such Variety, there can be no Nause­ousness.

9. An Inequality of Glory among the Blessed, is asserted by Many Divines: And from what hath been said, we may give some Probable Account, wherein it doth consist. Peradventure, their Minds may be of very Various Capacities; some may be More Large and Extensive, than others, if God do here Freely and Arbitrarily, as a Benefactor, give unto Men Minds of very different Capacities, I know not why he may not do it as a Judge, or as the Bountiful Rewarder of those that serve Him. I am not ignorant, that many Philosophers sup­pose [Page 140]an Equality among Souls; and that those Differences that are so Observable in them, proceed from the Various Structure, and Conformation of the Organs, and Mix­ture of the Elements, which constitute our Bodies. I do easily grant, that some of the Differences observed among them, may A­rise from thence; but that All do so, I can­not believe. That there is no Difference between the Soul of the greatest Divine, Philosopher, or Statesman, and that of the veriest Dolt or Ideot, is to me an Impro­bable Paradox; and I cannot but think, that there is a Gradual Difference, at least, among Souls themselves.

10. This Diversity (I humbly conceive) is found in all the Faculties and Powers of the Soul; I mean, in the Ʋnderstanding, Will, and Active or Executive Power. In all these the Difference is Various, accord­ing as Men's Love, Service, and Good Works may have been Various Here below. Those that have been most Pious, Holy, and Abun­dant in the Works of Righteousness, will have the Largest Understandings, the most Vigorous Affections of Love, Delight, and Joy, and the most Prompt and Ready Power and Method of Expressing them, in Such Ways, and by Such Means, as are fit and congruous thereunto. They will know [Page 141]most, and love and rejoyce most, and ex­press this Love and Joy most readily in the Other World, that served the Honour of God, and the Good of Men most Industriously in This. They that have been Most Holy, and lived Most to the Acceptation of God in Time, will know Him Most fully, and love Him Most passionately in Eternity: And yet their Knowledge and Love, as well as that of others, may be capable of Increase and Augmentation, as I have dis­coursed before.

11. And there may be as great Diversi­ty in the Bodies, and Bodily Organs and Senses of the Blessed, as there is in their Minds: Some may be more Pure and Spi­ritual than others; and consequently, more Agile and Fit for Motion: Some may have their Senses, and the several Organs and In­struments thereof, More Perfect and Com­pleat than Others; and consequently, more Capable of apprehending their Objects, and Perceiving all the Perfections and Curiosi­ties in them. Some may have a More Large and Extensive Presence, than others; and therefore, be capable of inspecting at One View, more of the Works of God; which renders them More affecting, and More a­mazing. He that stands upon a High Hill or Turret, beholds More things than he [Page 142]that stands in a Valley, and is much More pleased and delighted therein; yea, is much more ravished with Admiration of them.

12. How great may be the Variety, and Gradual Difference among the Blessed, in these things, cannot be determined. Great have been the Numbers of Men, that since the Creation, have dwelt on the Face of this Earth; and yet, perhaps, there were ne­ver Two among them, in All things, and Totally alike. Some Difference in the Mix­ture of the Elements, of which they were Compounded, in the Shape, Figure, and Proportion of their Bodies, in the Features of their Faces, and Beauty of their Coun­tenances, might be seen and observed up­on them. And as Various may be the Dif­ference of the Glorious Bodies of the Bles­sed. The Starrs are Vastly numerous; and yet, perchance, the Difference of their Glo­ry may be as Great as their Number, and that None of them are in all things Alike and Equal. And such may be the Inequa­lities among the Inhabitants of the Celestial Kingdom.

13. And it may be Modestly supposed, that the Love of God to the Blessed, may be as Various as their Glory and Perfections are. The more Glorious and Perfect any Crea­ture [Page 143]is, the more Like he is to God; and certainly, the More Like any Creature is to God, the More it is Beloved of Him. Why else doth God despise the Heaven, and the Earth, in comparison of an Humble, and Contrite Spirit, and one that trembleth at his Word? Isa. 66.1, 2. Is it not because there is More of his Image on such a Per­son, than on the Frame and Fabrick of the Material Earth and Heavens? Why doth God love, and take more delight in the Man Christ Jesus, than in Men and Angels, and all the Holy Myriads that are About his Throne, (of which, I think, there is no doubt) Is it not for this Reason, that He is a far more Illustrious Image of his Attributes and Perfections, than Any or All of them?

14. How God will manifest a Various and Different Affection to the Blessed, according to the Difference of their Perfections, I can­not affirm: Whether he will do it by In­ternal Effusions of Joy and Consolation, or by External Effects and Demonstrations, or by both, (which seems most probable) I know not; that's a Question, that I will leave for the Determination of the Other World. But that God can, and doth do it, is past doubt with me. He manifests a Pe­culiar Love to his Only Beloved Son; and can do so to All the Members of his Body, [Page 144]in Several Measures and Proportions.

15. This great Variety of Love and Af­fection will Cause no Envy or Emulation A­mong the Blessed; for they are free of all Sinful Passions, Affections, and Inclinati­ons; and do rejoyce in the Effusions and Manifestations of the Love of God to Others, as well as to Themselves. Particular Advan­tages are Matter of Common Joy. As All the Heavenly Quires do Rejoyce in the Pre­heminence of Christ Jesus; so do they in the Advantages of Each other.

16. But tho this Variety causes no Envy or Emulation in Heaven; yet methinks, the Meditation of it should be a great Spur and Incentive to Piety, Virtue, and Good Works here on Earth. Certainly, it ought to make us abound in all the Fruits of Righte­ousness, that so we may be capable of the Greatest Manifestations of the Love of God; since those that are most Diligent in his Ser­vice, since those that are the most Pious and Virtuous in This World, will be the most Glorious and Excellent in the Other; and those that are most Worthy, will be most Beloved of God, and receive the Greatest Evidences and Demonstrations of his Affe­ction: The Consideration of it should put us upon vigorous Endeavours after a migh­ty Holiness and Virtue, that we may be the [Page 145]Objects of God's Choice, and Peculiar Love in Heaven.

17. 'Tis a Question controverted among Divines, whether the Blessed have any Knowledge of each other, in the Kingdom of Heaven: And I humbly conceive, that from what I have said in the Fore-going Pa­ges, 'twill not be Difficult to resolve it. So Long a Tract of Time as Eternity, may mi­nister sundry Occasions and Opportunities to Friends and Relations, for the Knowing of Each other: And since 'tis not spent in So­litude and Retirements, but in Mutual Pre­sence, Society, and Conversation; 'tis not possible Almost, that they should escape the Knowledge of one Another.

18. The Memory and Narration of the Mighty Works and Providences of God, of which they had Knowledge in This World, will bring Men to the Cognizance of each other There. There is a Twofold Memory in Man; there is a Sensitive, and an Intel­lectual Memory: The First of these depends upon those Ideas and Similitudes of things, that by the Mediation of our Senses, have been Impressed upon our Minds: The O­ther depends of Such things, as by Reason and Discourse, are fixed and engraven up­on it. The First kind of Memory, I think, will be of Little or No Ʋse in this Case.: [Page 146]For though it should be granted, that it should retain the Ideas of things There; yet forasmuch as there is no Counterpart of them in the Things themselves, all being oblite­rated by the Death and Dissolution of the Body, and not restored by the Resurrection. I do not see, how the Blessed can thereby take any Cognizance or Knowledge of Each Other; but the Intellectual Memory will be of Great Use in this Affair. We shall There remember, that we were born of Such and Such Parents, and received Such and Such In­structions from them; and lived under the Teaching of Such and Such Preachers, and in the Neighbourhood and Society of Such Persons, Friends, and Acquaintance; with many other things: And the mention of any of them, in the Mutual Society and Con­versation of the Blessed, will bring them to the Personal Knowledge of each other.

19. But besides this Way of Knowing each other, there may be several Other Ways of obtaining it; such as the Traditi­on of Angels, and Blessed Spirits; they may possibly Inform such as shall come After them to the Kingdom of Heaven, who have in the times Preceding been admitted Thi­ther; and where are their Proper Mansions and Places of Abode and Residence; and perhaps, Some Knowledge of each other [Page 147]may be impressed upon the Minds of the Blessed by Inspiration.

20. But forasmuch as the Souls of the Blessed are carried hence, and by the Mini­stration of Angels removed to Heaven, and placed in Mansions There; peradventure, by the Will of God, those that have been allyed either by Nature, Neighbourhood, or Conversation, may be placed near toge­ther, in That House of God; and then a Little Discourse may Soon bring them to the Knowledge of each other; or the Angels may openly, and in the Presence of All, de­clare Who they have brought Thither, and joyned to their Society and Number.

21. One thing more I will add to what I have already inferred from the Precedent Discourse: Eternity will unfold all the My­steries and Wonders of Divine Providence. There are Many and great Labyrinths now in it; and we cannot Search them out, nor give any Account thereof: But Eternity will unvail them, and set them Open and Plain before us. The Wisdom, Holiness, Justice, Goodness, and Truth of God, will be Conspicuous in every thing He hath done: All Objections will be Satisfied; and 'twill Appear, that there was nothing of Iniquity, or Ʋnrighteousness in any of them.

22. What Troubled us to see, and in­dure, [Page 148]will be Pleasant to remember, when we have understook the Reasons of it. 'Twas Grievous to us to have the Wicked prosper, and the Righteous suffer by their Hands. 'Twas an Affliction to us, to behold the Church of God under Persecution, and the Enemies thereof bringing their Wicked De­vices to pass. But the Memory of these things will be Grateful, when we shall be gloriously instructed in the Reasons and Ef­fects of them.

23. And thus I have said many things in favour of the Question, that in the Begin­ning I undertood to defend. But I am not Dogmatical in what I have said; nor shall I be offended with any Man, that is of O­ther Apprehensions. In things of This Na­ture, I am content that Men think as they please, or according as their Reason shall direct them; which, I am sure, is Sufficient­ly various. I have taken the Liberty to sug­gest my Own Thoughts on this Subject; and I have no desire to retrench to Other Men the Liberty of Theirs. If any Man shall propose any thing Better, either in fa­vour of this Opinion, or in Confutation of it, it shall be Equally acceptable to me.