CHAP. I. Of Pardon of Sin.

WHenever we are Serious and Retired, our own Hearts will tell us, That God is justly and highly displeased with us for our Sins; and that this Displeasure of his will end in our to­tal Ruin if it be not removed. Con­science indeed is not always sensible of our Guilt; but 'tis soon awaken'd [Page 2]by any very sharp Affliction: As the Seeds of some Distempers float­ing in a man's Blood, upon the Change of Weather, are apt to drop down into a tender and sensible Part, causing most acute Pains in the lan­guishing Patient. No man therefore can have any rational and lasting Peace and Comfort of Mind, who is not well informed about the For­giveness of Sins; which the Christian alone, by the help of his Bible, can attain unto, but the Deist must be greatly bewildred about, who hath no other Instructor than the Light of Nature and Reason. For,

I. §. I That cannot fully assure us that there is Forgiveness of Sin with God. If this could be Certainly known by meer Reason, it must be gathered, either from the Essential Goodness of God, or else from the vi­sible Effects of his Bounty and Kindness.

From the Former of these it can't be Assuredly inferr'd. For tho' For­giveness of Sin hath its Rise and Spring in the Infinite Benignity of God; yet it doth not flow thence by Necessity of Nature, but 'tis a free Act of his Will, and the Work of his Soveraign Grace and Pleasure. And therefore the Argument of the Apostle is very strong and clear, 1 Cor. 2.11. As no man knoweth the things of a man, save the Spirit of a man which is in him: even so these things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God, and he to whom he is pleased to Reveal them. A shrewd Man may guess at the se­cret Thoughts and Resolves of his fellow-Creature, but he can't certain­ly know them; much less can we in affairs of This nature penetrate into the Mind of God. That Eye which is too weak to reach to the bottom of a shallow Stream, can never pierce to the lowest Depths of the Ocean. [Page 4]Sinners are worthy of Punishment, and 'tis not inconsistent with Good­ness to inflict a deserved Punishment on an Offender. God hath a Right to inflict; and who can assure us that he will remit his own Right, unless he himself declare his wil­lingness to part with it? God nei­ther will nor can exercise one Attri­bute of his to the Prejudice of ano­ther. He will not raise the honour of his Goodness on the Ruins of his Holiness and Justice, or the Con­tempt of his Authority and Govern­ment: And how to reconcile these with the Pardoning of Sinners, is a puzzling Difficulty in which Reason cannot help us: And tho' it could, yet he is infinitely Just and Righte­ous, and therefore at least he may resolve to punish the Offender for ought that he knows; so that at the best it would be with our Souls, as 'tis fabulously reported to be with [Page 5] Mahomet's Body in his Iron Coffin, that hangs in the Air between the upper and the neather Load-stone; so should we be in Suspence between encouraging Hopes and uneasy Fears, which must needs create a mighty Torment in our Minds; this being a matter whereon our Welfare in both Worlds doth so intirely depend. The Scriptures tell us (and tho' that will have no weight with a Deist, yet it will with those who own their Authority) that notwithstanding the immense Goodness of God, yet De­vils, who were originally more no­ble Creatures than we, remain bound in Chains of Guilt as well as Dark­ness, and are reserved to the Judg­ment of the Great Day. And that there should be Forgiveness for fallen Man, when there's none for Apostate Angels, who can assure us?

Nor can this be Certainly inferr'd from the visible Effects of Divine [Page 6]Bounty and Goodness. Men perceive indeed that God is Kind; but withal they frequently feel to their Cost that he is Just, and know within them­selves that 'tis Righteous in him to ren­der Tribulation and Anguish to every evil­doer. He doth do it in some terrible Instances in this World; and for ought that meer Reason can tell us, he may do the like in the other World too; tho' he may defer it for a Sea­son, as long as this present Life doth last; and fill mens Hearts with Food and Gladness for a Time, to reward those broken Mixtures of Good that may be in them, or as a Recompence for some useful Service they may do (tho' his Glory be not designed by them therein), or to employ them as the Instruments of his Providence for the relieving or vexing of others: or for some other wise Ends that may be past our find­ing out. A Malefactor may know [Page 7]that his Prince is very good and kind, who for wise Reasons of State, which he can't penetrate into, gives him an uncertain Reprieve sine Die, keeps him in an airy Prison, and feeds him there very plentifully at the Publick Charge: Yet this is but a very slender Argument that there­fore he shall undoubtedly be par­don'd: Especially if he know him to be a very Just and Righteous Go­vernor, who greatly hates and de­tests the foul Crimes he hath been guilty of: And most of all, if the Prisoner enter into new Conspiracies and Rebellions against him, while he is so lovingly treated: Which is the case of all Mankind with refe­rence to God, who are daily provo­king him, while they live every mo­ment on his Bounty. The utmost that can be solidly gather'd from the common Patience and Goodness of God, is but some loose and faint [Page 8]Hopes, which may encourage Sin­ners to hearken out and enquire af­ter a way of Reconciliation with God. The Ninivites carried this matter as far as any can by meer natural Light and Reason, Jonah 3.9. when they said, Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from the fierceness of his Anger, that we perish not? But then on the other hand, nothing being so suspicious as a Guilty creature, espe­cially when he hath to do with a Holy and a Jealous God, he may as well say, Who can tell but that God will Not turn, nor repent, nor turn away from the fierceness of his Anger, and then we must perish, and there is no re­medy? We can never have a firm Foundation for a Full and Comfortable persuasion, that God will indeed for­give Sins, unless some Act of Grace and Indemnity be publish'd from Heaven to that end and purpose.

Such a one we read of in the Holy Scriptures, in which we have the highest Assurance that can be either given or desired. We have a firm word of Promise frequently repeated, to build upon. The Son of God came down from Heaven on pur­pose to preach this Doctrine in his own Person. He hath purchased this Blessing for us by the sharpest Suf­ferings. When he returned to Hea­ven, Luk. 24.47. he commanded that Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name; and hath settled an Order of Men, who are appointed by this Argument to beseech Sinners to be reconciled to God. This is one express Arti­cle of the New Covenant which he hath sealed with his own Blood, that God will be merciful to our Iniquities, and our Sins he will remember no more. He bequeathed this as his dying Le­gacy among all his sincere Followers in his Last Will and Testament: A [Page 10]Remembrance whereof he would have continually kept up among them; and in order thereunto he insti­tuted the Ordinance of the Supper; for the Cup which we there drink of, is the New Testament in his Blood, which was shed for the Remission of our Sins. And as a Priest he intercedes for this great Blessing, and as a King be­stows it on his People.

II. §. II Suppose that Natural Light and Reason could assure us that God would forgive, yet it cannot certain­ly inform us how far this Pardon shall reach, either as to Persons, or Offen­ces. If we had been left barely to our own Thoughts and Conjectures in this matter, very few, if any, could have had a well-grounded comfor­table Assurance, that they in parti­cular should find Mercy at the hands of God.

We could not reasonably pre­sume, it should be an Universal and Unlimited Pardon. Surely God will make Examples of some, and, for any thing I know, (might every one say) he may make one of Me, among the rest: If any be excepted, why not I?

If I am a mean and inconsiderable Man, 'tis no great matter; no great loss, if such an one should perish: And I am the rather induced to fear that I shall, because of the Inequality of the Divine Favour, in distributing temporal Mercies with so Sparing a hand to me, the bestowing of which is the chief Ground I have to hope for his Pardon. And therefore those, who are very low and poor, and under such miserable circumstances, that they ra­ther indure life, than injoy it, have Rea­son to suspect the good will of God to­wards them; to whom he has given such weak and feeble Motives to Re­pentance, [Page 12]and such slight Grounds to hope for a Pardon thereupon.

If I am a Man of Figure, for that very reason God may single me out, to make his Power, his Justice, and his Wrath, so much the more Glo­rious. And generally wise Gover­nors are wont to make some such as these, Publick Examples of their just Displeasure.

But be a man what he will, as to his Circumstances in this World; there is none but has committed a great many Sins, and some of them are of a Crimson Dye: For where is the Person to be found, who has not often offended against shining Light, and indearing Love; against alluring Mercies, and bitter Afflicti­ons; against repeated Promises, and solemn Vows? Now 'tis true in­deed, that any single Sin, tho' of the smallest Size, will make sad Work in the Conscience, if it be set home [Page 13]with Power on the Heart: As the disorder of any minute single part of our Bodies, an inconsiderable Stone, or a small quantity of Gravel in our Reins, will fill us with most exquisite Pain. Yet generally it is the Multitude and Greatness of mens Sins, and the heinous Aggravations of them, that make the deepest wound in their Spirits. Hence God has gi­ven us so many repeated Declara­tions in his Holy Word, of the Ful­ness, the Plenty, the Riches of his pardoning Grace and Mercy; That he will forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin; That the Blood of his Son cleanseth from all Unrighteousness, &c. These Scriptures are like those Herbs, which some curious Men tell us of, that have the Signature of those parts of the Body, whose Griefs they are designed to asswage; Or the Figure and Colour of those Diseases, for the Cure whereof the kind Hand of [Page 14]Nature has provided them. They clearly shew our Disease, as well as are intended to heal it; and plainly signify how hard a matter it is to settle the peace of a troubled Soul.

Nay the Better and more Serious any man is, so much the Greater would have been his Uncertainty and Perplexity in this matter: For the Better any man is, the more does he observe the inward Corruption of his own Heart, which others take no Notice, and make no Account of; And the deeper Sense has he of the Holiness and Justice of God, of the Vileness of his own Sins, of his Desert of Wrath and Vengeance, and his Unworthiness of Divine Favour.

And every man, but especially such a one knows so much More against himself, than he does against the Generality of Others; that it is reasonable for him to conclude, that, all things considered, he is one of the [Page 15]Chiefest of Sinners. How natural is it therefore, for all, and especially for such, to cry out, Tho' perad­venture there may be Mercy for O­thers, yet sure there is none for Me; I am afraid, that I and My Crimes may be excepted, and that pardon­ing Grace shall not extend so very far as to take Me and my Sins with­in its Reach and Compass; that the Wing of Mercy will not be spread so wide, as to cover Me, and all my numerous and mighty Offences.

But now from this miserable Di­stress, Revelation doth thoroughly deliver us, by certifying us, that, as far as the Heavens are above the Earth, Isa. 53.7, 8, 9.so far are God's Ways and Thoughts a­bove ours: And therefore he is ready Abundantly to pardon. Our Blessed Lord hath told us, Mat. 12.31. All manner of Sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven. Blas­phemy is a wounding the Name of God. Now every Man is tender of [Page 16]his Reputation as of the Apple of his Eye, and God is jealous of his own Honour. Yet, not only all other Of­fences, but even this too, of what sort and kind soever, tho' attended with very aggravating Circumstan­ces, shall be forgiven unto Men; 'tis spoken indefinitely, to Any Man, (al­ways provided he comply with the Conditions of the Gospel), the Blas­phemy against the Holy Ghost only ex­cepted. And 'tis very observable how these words are brought in. Our Saviour was now most highly provok'd by the malicious Pharisees, whose malignant Souls were possest by a worse Devil than any of the Bodies of those who were healed by him, and therefore wickedly impu­ted his Miracles to the Power of Sa­tan. Our Lord did most heinously resent this, as well he might. And yet before he thunders out Wrath and Vengeance against them, words [Page 17]of Grace drop from his Lips towards others, and Mercy gets the start of Justice. He begins with these words, Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of Sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; and afterwards adds, But the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be so. And the Apostle tells us, that among others, this is one peculiar Excellency of Christ's Gospel above Moses's Law, That whereas he that despised the latter by Sinning presumptuously against it, died with­out Mercy; yet through the former such an Ample Forgiveness was preached, Acts 13.38, 39. that by him all that believe are justified from All things from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses. And at another time; That where Sin has Abounded, Rom. 5.20.there Grace shall much more Abound; i. e. upon mens Compliance with the reason­able Terms which God hath settled. Which brings me to the

III. §. III The Light of Nature and Reason cannot fully assure us of the Terms, upon which Forgiveness may be had. It will indeed tell us, that God cannot but insist upon Repen­tance: But the great Question will be, Whether this alone will do? The Pleas which have been made for it will appear to be of no force; which are these,

1. That Repentance is the ^abest thing a Man can DO, and therefore God must be contented with it. So saith another, and he was a Person of great Worth, ^b If the Sinner Repent, you have his Consent, and his whole Heart; you have then gain'd his Mind and Soul, and he doth then all that is in him to DO. 'Tis all the ^cSatisfa­ction or Amends that we can make: [Page 19]Saith another Ingenious Advocate, And seeing it is All that we can DO by way of Reparation for our Offences, tho' Justice will take no notice of it, yet Mercy will. If God is indeed a Merci­ful and Benign Being, he will most cer­tainly accept the Payment we are able to make, and not insist on Impossible Demands with his frail Bankrupt Crea­tures.

But I do not know what Statute-Law Men have to oblige the Al­mighty to Compound with his poor Debtors, and especially to take so very little as this is. To Repent, indeed, is one of the best things that a Sinner can Do; but if that be all he has to offer or say for himself, there is another thing that it becomes the Criminal to think on, besides doing, and that is Suffering: And it is what he has Reason to reckon up­on. We may say in this Case, as God does in another, Go now, Mal. 1.8.and [Page 20]offer it to thy Governor, and see whe­ther he will accept it. Courts of Justice take very little notice of the Malefactor's Repentance. The Law must be observed, and Ordinarily the Offender must be punished; And this is wont to be done, not­withstanding the Mercy of the Judge, and without any Imputation of In­justice or Cruelty. Nay on the con­trary, it would be Injustice, Cruel­ty, and fond Pity, if a Traytor, a Murderer, or the like Offender, after a Multitude of repeated enor­mous Crimes, should be pardoned, merely because he does repent.

2. Ibid. 'Tis urged, That no Generous Man, but will forgive his Enemy, much more his Children, if such Enemy dis­approves the wrong he has done, is troubled and grieved for it, resolves to be friendly and respectful for the time to come, &c. I say, there is no generous Man, but will forgive his Enemy, who [Page 21]is thus affected to him; How much more shall God forgive all Persons thus Disposed, and thus Reformed; seeing there is no Generosity in Man, but what is, with his Nature, infused into him by God; or is an improvement only of the Divine Seed, which God our Maker planted in our Natures. But to this I reply: In many Cases, a Private Person has no lawful Power to re­mit the Penalty of a Crime: As in the Case of the Murder of a near Relation, or the deep wounding of a Man's Reputation, on the publick vindicating whereof, his Usefulness, the Honour of Religion, and the Good of many Souls, may depend. But however, God must be consi­dered, not as a Private Person, but as a Publick one, as the Holy, Just Rector of the World, under whose deep Displeasure we are fallen by our Sins, Id. p. 234. as this Author himself can­not but acknowledge afterwards. [Page 22]Now, the Case of a Private Person, and a Publick One, is vastly diffe­rent. It is ordinarily necessary, for the Honour of the Government, and the Publick Good, that Offenders and Disturbers of the Common Or­der, should be restrained and pu­nished. And if this Plea had any thing in it, the Magistrate must for­give every Delinquent, how Noto­rious soever, if he do but approve himself a true Penitent: Whereas God does command the Magistrate, as his Vicegerent, to inflict the Pe­nalty on Offenders notwithstanding their Repentance; and in so doing, they act as the Ministers of God: What they do, is his Act more than theirs. Yea, God himself, in the Course of his Providence, does lay very severe Judgments upon them that are truly Penitent, (of which more by and by). 'Tis further pleaded:

3. Id. p. 86. Wisdom will effectually dispose God to forgive the Penitent, because the Creature is reformed by Repentance, is made such as it ought to be, and such as God willeth; which being so, it cannot be now Wisdom to destroy it by Pu­nishment, or to afflict it unnecessarily: It is not Justice, but Rage, to Punish, when the Person to be punished is al­ready Amended. This is further en­forced by another, Dr. Whichcot. Serm. p. 314. because to inflict Evil hath only in it the Notion of a Remedy, the Place of a MEAN, not of an END. Now we know that no more of a Mean is designed than what is necessary for the End.—Therefore I take it for granted, that where there is Wisdom and Goodness in the Agent, all Punishment is for Instruction, Re­formation, and bettering of the Offen­der, or for Example to By-standers. And I cannot tell what is Good in Pu­nishment, but these TWO. (But let him that can tye Contradictions [Page 24]together, reconcile this with the fol­lowing Words of the same Great Man, Id. p. 318. viz. Punishment in the Hand of God, is either for the MAINTAIN­ING HIS AUTHORITY, or for the DEFENCE of RIGH­TEOUSNESS, or for the Re­formation of a Sinner, or for an Ef­fectual Admonition to the By-stan­der. Where the TWO in the com­pass of a very few Pages, are en­creased to FOUR. But he goes on.) Id. p. 317. If the Sinner leave off to Sin, and condemn himself; then the Neces­sity of Punishment is taken away: For that for which Punishment is made use of, is obtained without Punishment. And we never make use of a Mean, if the End be obtained.

But to this I Reply, This whole arguing proceeds on a wrong Sup­position, That the Reformation of the Offender is the only end of Pu­nishment: Whereas Satisfaction to the [Page 25]Law, the Honour of the Govern­ment, the Explation of the Crimes committed, are at least as noble Ends, and as necessary, if not more so, than that. Without due care in this Matter, the Divine Threatenings will appear to be like those Flaming Swords that sometimes hang in the Air, vain Meteors, and mere Va­pours, that have no real Edge; and in the Judgment of many wise Men, do not praesignify any future Cala­mities that shall certainly follow, but only serve to affright weak and su­perstitious Minds.

How confidently soever some Men may talk, yet they have the Com­mon Sense of all Mankind lying against them. Who will satisfy Di­vine Justice? Who will make our Peace with the Offended Majesty of Heaven? Has been a most puzzling Inquiry in all Ages. The Heathens saw somewhat more was necessary [Page 26]than a bare Reformation of Man­ners, to appease the Anger of their Gods; and rather than depend up­on that alone, have thought it more Rational to take up with any thing, even the most foolish, and extrava­gant, and brutish Contrivances of Purgations, and Offerings, of Hu­mane Blood and Sacrifices. Micah 6.7. Where­with shall I come before the Lord, and bow my self before the High God? Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings, with Calves of a Year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams, or with ten thousands of Rivers of Oil? Shall I give my First-born for my trans­gression, the fruit of my Body for the sin of my Soul? Yea, the great Patriarch of Natural, and bitter Enemy to Re­vealed Religion, after all his Confi­dence, That meer Repentance would expiate mens Offences, was himself, at a loss in this matter, as appears by the following Passage:

^* These five Articles (viz. 1. The Being of God. 2. That he is to be Worshipp'd. 3. That Virtue is the principal part of Divine Wor­ship. 4. That we ought to Re­pent of our Sins. 5. That there are Rewards and Punishments in the present and future life) every one, without doubt, will acknowledge to be Good and Catholick: but some will pretend they are not sufficient to Eter­nal Salvation. But he that shall so say, is a bold man, and, in my opinion, pronounces a cruel and rash Sentence. [Page 28]Seeing the Judgments of God are not fully known, for which Reason nei­ther will I peremptorily say they are Sufficient, &c. Such is the Power of Truth, that it will be re­veng'd on its fiercest Adversaries, and force them who contradict it, to contradict themselves also.

4. 'Tis urged, that God is our Com­mon^*Father, and will not severely ani­madvert on his Penitent Child: Or, as another ^† enforces it, God hath stamp'd Impressions of Goodness and Kindness throughout the whole Creation.—Every thing maintains its own Off-spring, and endeavours to bring it to good (accord­ing to the several Natures of every kind), [Page 29]and if it be capable, it bears its Off-spring Affection.—Now whatever^*Perfection is found in any Creature, is in God Pri­marily, Originally and Essentially. We all commend the Merciful and Compassio­nate Disposition above the Cruel and Ma­licious. And shall we attribute that to God, which we condemn in any Creature? But sure 'tis not reasonable to insinu­ate that God is cruel and malicious for punishing Delinquents: Especially considering what this Reverend Au­thor saith in the very next Page, viz. If God ^†do punish Sin, he doth that which is Just. And should I argue, that because God is Originally, Primarily and Essentially Just, and therefore he will certainly punish Sinners, if this be all they have to plead that they do Repent, it would hold altogether as strongly as his arguing from his Goodness that he will forgive them [Page 30]barely upon their so doing. We all commend Justice in Men, and espe­cially in a Magistrate, and censure the lazy and fond Neglect of it. And shall we attribute that to God which we condemn in the Creature? Or shall there be any Excellency or Per­fection in us which is wanting in him? He that made the Eye, shall not He see? and he who formed the Ear, shall not He hear? Besides, 'tis as certain that God is our Common Ruler, as that he is our Common Parent; and 'tis Matter of Fact that he do's inflict very severe Penalties on his Rebelli­ous Subjects, notwithstanding their Repentance.

5. 'Tis further urged, That Men are by Nature ^*frail Creatures, and liable to Sin. And that, ^† tho' the Act of a Creature may be aggravated in [Page 31]respect of the Person against whom it is committed, yet in themselves our Sins are but Acts of Weakness, and they are so in God's Account and Esteem, &c. And if there were as much Weakness in All of them as there is in this Ob­jection, a man might be hard put to it to make a Reply. But are our Wilful and Heinous Provocations to be dwindled away and shrunk up in­to Sins of Infirmity? If all our Sins are both in Themselves and in God's Ac­count but Acts of Weakness, I don't know why they should not be so in Ours too. For we can't do better than to entertain such Sentiments as are agreeable to the Nature of Things, and the Judgment of God himself. But Good men have not been wont to take up with such Notions as these. Saul urged for himself in the matter of the Amalekites; That he did not re­serve part of the Spoil from any evil Design, but from a good Intention, [Page 32]to have wherewithal to furnish out a Sacrifice to the Lord; 1 Sam. 15.21, 22, 23. and tho' he was their King, yet in this the Peo­ple over-ruled him, and it would have looked odly for him to have been less forward and zealous to pro­vide for God's Worship than his Sub­jects were. But yet for all this, Sa­muel charges him roundly for it, and tells him it was Rebellion and Stub­borness, which are as the Sin of Witch­craft, Iniquity and Idolatry. And holy Men have been wont to think as ill of their Own as of other mens Sins upon this Account. Holy David ag­gravates his folly from this Circum­stance, viz. the Person against whom it was committed. And he so in­tently fixed his Eye upon this, as tho' none else had been offended by him. Against thee, Ps. 51.4.thee only have I sinned. And God himself, by the Mouth of Nathan, whom he sent to him, warm­ly expostulates with him, 2 Sam. 12.9, 10. Wherefore [Page 33]hast thou despised the Commandment of the Lord to do Evil in his Sight? And agen immediately after, Thou hast de­spised Me, saith he to him in the Name of God. And this is not only the Lan­guage of God in the Scriptures, but in his daily Providences too. Let any man consider the numerous Ca­lamities wherewith many times the World is covered as with a black Cloud, behold the Strugglings of dying Infants, listen to the Cries of a wounded Spirit, and attend to the Groans of a departing Sinner, and then let him judge whether the Sins of Men are Acts of Weakness in God's Account and Esteem.

Scripture indeed is brought in to countenance this strange Assertion: For 'tis said ^* he knoweth our Frame. Ps. 103.14. But if we read on to the end of the Verse, it will appear that this is not spoken [Page 34]of the Corruption of our Natures, but the Weakness and Frailty of our Constitution: For 'tis added, He re­membreth that we are but Dust. And the same is the true sense and mean­ing of that other Text which is press'd into this Service, Isa. 57.16. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: as is evident from the following words, which contain the true reason of these; not because their Miscar­riages are the weak Acts of finite and fallible Creatures, &c. but because then the Spirit should fail before me, and the Souls which I have made. I might add, This is a Gracious Promise, which we know by meer Revelation, whereas we are treating of what may be known by the meer Light of Na­ture and Reason.

In short, no Man would with any Patience bear such a Plea as this in the Mouth of his Servant or Child, for their wilful Contempt and De­fiance [Page 35]of his Authority. And such talk as this, is one of the most effe­ctual ways to give a fatal Check to the working of that Repentance which some design so much to extol; and which indeed can hardly be extolled too much, provided Men do it not so, as to justle a Mediator, and the Necessity of Faith in him in order to forgiveness, out of the World. For the chief Consideration that melts down an Ingenuous Spirit into a Godly Sorrow, is this, the Wisdom, Majesty, Authority, Power, Good­ness, and Justice of God whom he hath displeased. So that some Men by endeavouring to advance Re­pentance, do indeed diminish and discourage it; as the Sun by rai­sing up Vapours out of a River, les­sens the Quantity of Water that was in it.

6. 'Tis urged, That for ^*the most part Mens Sins are not committed so much in Despight to God, as for their own Advantage, under the plausible shew of some Appearing Good. And if this be all that a Thief or a Murderer have to say for themselves, That the one robbed, and the other assassina­ted his Neighbour, not out of any direct Design to affront the Law or Government, but meerly to get a good Sum of Money, or to be re­veng'd on his Enemy, which to them did seem very desirable, this would never prevent the pronouncing or executing the Sentence of Death up­on them.

7thly. Lastly, 'Tis yet further ar­gued, That 'tis Worthy ^*of God to Pardon Penitents. It is more effectual to the Purpose of God's Honour and Glory. For when he Pardons, he procures him­self Love, and gains the Heart and Soul of his Creature. But if he punish, the Party endures because God is Stron­ger, and the Creature cannot make Re­sistance. And again, 'Tis ^†a greater Excellency to win and reconcile by Gen­tleness and Fairness, than to overcome by Power and Force. To win and over­come by fair Means, by Reason and Ar­gument, by Courtesy and Gentleness, these shew Wisdom and Goodness; but to crush and subdue may be done by Power and Subtilty; by Power, because the Person cannot make Defence; by Subtilty, because the Person was sur­prized and taken at unawares. But the Case is not very fairly put. Here [Page 38]is mention made of the invidious Words of Power, and Force, and Subtilty, and the Creatures Weakness, which are not the Springs of God's punishing Men; but not a word of Holiness and Justice, Preservation of Publick Order, the Honour of the Divine Law and Government, or the Desert of the Offender, which are the true Causes of it. Men do not suffer, because God bears them down by main Force, as an Oppressor; or outwits and over-reaches them by Craft; but because they have de­served Punishment; and these valu­able Ends, which I am sure 'tis Wis­dom effectually to secure, do call for the inflicting of it. And as for Goodness, it never was the Intent of God, nor can it be for his Glory, as Governor of the World, to represent himself as a Being of meer Clemency and Kindness. No Creature would be more despicable [Page 39]than a living King resembling his own Marble or Brazen Statue, with a Scepter in its Hand, which it ne­ver stirs, and a broad Sword lifted up in a very threatning Posture, as tho' it would cleave any Man in two that came near it; but this terrible Instrument is in a dead Hand that never gives a Stroke; and therefore is fit only to take up so much Room, and stand for a Shew in a Publick Place, where the smallest Bird or Insect would quickly make bold with it, and pitch upon it without any Fear or Concern. And God may, tho' he Chastize the Guilty, be for ever secure of the Reputation of that his Goodness, having given abundant Demonstrations of it to­wards all his Creatures, and know­ing further how in a glorious man­ner to display it towards those who never offended him. And Sinners having abused that Attribute, 'tis but [Page 40]rational to fear that his other Attri­butes should be employed to repair the Injuries and Dishonours which have been cast upon it.

But he adds to the same purpose, The Creatures suffering Punishment ^*, is but a very SORRY AMENDS for Transgression. For what doth God GAIN by it? God is so far from being recompenc'd by the Sufferings of CON­TUMACIOUS Sinners, that I dare say 'tis more satisfactory to God, more according to his Mind, that a Sinner should repent, and humbly acknowledge his Offence in this State in which he is, than undergo the Suffering of the Dam­ned to Eternity. For God GAINS NOTHING by the one, but he hath the Heart of the Delinquent by the other. These Words (and they are not the only ones in this Learned Man's Sermon, as published by his [Page 41]Friend) may be carried so far as to countenance the wild Opinion of Origen, That the wicked in Hell, yea, Devils themselves at last shall be saved; and it may be a little fur­ther. For 'tis hard to think, That God should continue CONTU­MACIOUS SINNERS in exquisite and Eternal Torments, or indeed severely punish them for any long Period of Time, if he GAIN NOTHING at all thereby. But I will Confront this with another Pas­sage in a Sermon of this ^* Great Man: Where mentioning that Scripture, God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, &c. He adds, It must be attributed to his Goodness and Compassion, &c. It was that which he was NO GAINER by; for our Righteousness is not profitable to him; and I say, no more is our Love. So that it seems whether God save [Page 42]or destroy, he gains nothing at all either by the one, or the other. Nei­ther, indeed, is it possible that he should, if thereby be meant any Addition to his intrinsical Excellency or Happiness, for that was always, and ever will be infinitely perfect and incapable of any Increase or Di­minution. But in a way of Manife­station he doth Gain very much in pu­nishing Sinners. For hereby he doth evidence his Holiness, and Hatred of Sin, the Severity of his Justice, and the Exactness of his Truth, which is no such very SORRY AMENDS for Transgression, as it is very unwa­rily asserted to be. And 'tis as true he may, and doth Gain very much in this Sense in pardoning Sinners for the sake of Christ's Satisfaction on their Repentance and Faith in him. For upon this Bottom he doth it on Terms that are Honourable to him­self; but that it would be so, to do it [Page 43]on meer Repentance without any respect to the atoning Blood of a Mediator (of which unenlighten'd Reason knows not a Syllable) doth not yet appear. And tho' he lose the Hearts of Sinners whom he pu­nishes, yet we have Reason to sup­pose (what Revelation doth abun­dantly assure us of) that the bright and spacious Heavens are filled with nobler Inhabitants than the little Spot of this dirty Earth, on which we tread: that there are (to use the Words of an ^* Excellent Person) Num­berless Myriads of Wise and Holy Sages in the other World, the continual Ob­servers of all his Dispensations, that be­hold them with equal unbiass'd Minds, and from the Evidence of the Matter give their Concurrent Approbation, and Applause. — Great and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty, just [Page 44]and true are thy ways. But it is Enough and much more Considerable to approve himself to himself, and that all his Di­spensations are guided according to the Steady and Eternal Reason of Things. For as he well Speaks in another place of the same ^* Discourse, The Glory of God's Name must be understood to be Primarily an Objective Glory, that shines with a Constant and Equal Lustre in all his Dispensations, whether Men Ob­serve or Observe it not. And shines Pri­marily to Himself, so as that he hath the perpetual Self-Satisfaction of doing as truly becomes him, and what is in it Self reputable, Worthy of him, and Apt to approve it Self to a right Mind (as his Own ever is) let Men think of his Ways as they please.

No Travellers have yet found out that imaginary Neck of Land where­by 'tis supposed that Asia and America are joined together. No man by [Page 45]meer Reason can discover the certain Connection between Repentance and Pardon. But here Revelation doth relieve us. The Holy Scriptures ac­quaint us that Repentance towards God, and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ on the one hand, and Re­mission on the other, are inseparably united. The Apostles Commission runs in this form, To open mens Eyes, Acts 26.18.and to turn them from Darkness to Light, and the Power of Satan to God, that they may receive the Forgiveness of their Sins, and an Inheritance among them that are Sanctified by Faith that is in me.

IV. §. IV We can have no Certainty by meer Natural Light, When God will Pardon us, if he do it at all. Wise Governors are not wont to receive into Favour great Offenders, who have gone on in a long course of Rebellion, upon their first Offers of Submission. If we have nothing but [Page 46]our own Reason to guide us, we might well suppose, that in Order to make us more deeply sensible of our Crimes, and teach us the Value of so great a Mercy, God may let us stand a long while in an humble Pe­nitent manner at his Gate, before he vouchsafe to open it to us, if ever he do so. Now besides that Uneasiness of Mind which the being held in Sus­pence in so important an Affair, must needs create in a Serious and Consi­dering Person, there is this further afflictive Consideration, That our Lives are very short and uncertain. And if the King of Terrors should seize us before our Peace be made with God, we are undone: Or if it surprize us before we have any solid Grounds to believe he is reconciled to us, our Departure out of this World will be like that of a Malefactor out of his Prison, who goes trembling to the Place of Execution, knowing no­thing [Page 47]of a Pardon till he comes thi­ther, being half killed with the Fears, tho' he escape the Stroke of Death.

But here Revelation gives us Light and Comfort: For it certifies us, that no sooner do we sincerely turn to God in Christ, but immediately our Sins are blotted out. Ps 32.5. I acknowledged my Sin unto thee, saith David, and mine Iniquity have I not hid: I said I will confess my Transgression unto the Lord: and then it is presently added in the same Verse, And thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin. The Words do not more closely follow one ano­ther, than God's gracious Pardon did his Candid and Penitent Confession; nor was this a Favour peculiar to the Psalmist, but 'tis recorded for the Encouragement of others: As he himself intimates in the following Verse; Ver. 6 For this shall every one that is Godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found. No sooner doth [Page 48] Ephraim begin to relent, but God is brought in, Speaking after the man­ner of a most Tender and Compas­sionate Father, whose Soul is melted down upon the Return of his disobe­dient Child. Jer. 31.18, 19, 20. Gataker in locum. Is Ephraim my dear Son? Is he a pleasant Child? Or rather, as a Learned Man reads the words, Is not Ephraim my dear Son? Is he not a pleasant Child? For since I spake against him, I remember him still: Therefore my Bowels are troubled for him, I will surely have Mercy upon him, saith the Lord. The Publican, who in a sense of his Vileness, Luk. 18.13, 14. stood afar off, and, as an Argument of his Shame, would not so much as lift up his Eyes towards Hea­ven, but, in token of his great Con­trition, smote upon his Breast, saying, God be merciful to me a Sinner, went down to his house justified; i. e. ab­solved and acquitted of God: and so the wretched Thanksgiving of the Proud Pharisee, Lord, I thank thee [Page 49]I am not as other men, or even as this Publican, was utterly ruin'd.

V. §. V Meer Natural Light and Reason gives us no Assurance whether, and how often God will renew his Pardon. Fresh Breaches, after a Reconciliation, are very provoking. Every one would be apt to despise that Government which still should Spare a Traitor, who hath been pardon'd once and again, and after that breaks out into other Rebellions. There is such a Com­plication of aggravating Circumstan­ces in returning to the Commission of Folly, that we could rationally expect no other than that Divine Ju­stice thereupon should seize us, and say to us, Pay me what you Owe: If God in his holy Word had not en­couraged us, and made it our Duty to believe and hope that upon our deep Humiliation and renewed Faith in the Blood of Christ, he will yet [Page 50]be pacified towards us. Ye have played the Harlot with many Lovers (which is an Offence of that nature, that a man would never pass by one Single act of it; but it hath been frequent­ly repeated by you with Variety of Persons, and therefore you can well look for no other than a Bill of Di­vorce, Jer. 3.1, 22. yet) return unto me, saith the Lord. Return ye back-sliding Children, and I will heal your back-slidings. And if an awaken'd Conscience tells us our Treacherous Dealings have been ma­ny, and we are no more worthy to be regarded by him; yet the Invita­tion is, Hos. 14.2, 4. Take unto you Words, and turn to the Lord, and say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graci­ously: and then follow those reviving Words, I will heal all their back-slidings, and I will love them freely.

There are indeed two Passages in the Epistle to the Hebrews which seem to oppose this; and 'tis sufficiently [Page 51]known how the Novatians abused them of Old; and many serious, but weak Christians, have in all Ages been tormented through a misunder­standing of them. Which therefore I shall largely consider, and so much the rather, because being rightly in­terpreted, I am afraid they will ap­pear to have a very black Aspect on some of our present Deists. The one is, Heb. 6.4, 5, 6. That it is impossible for those who were once enlighten'd, &c. If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto Repentance, seeing they Crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open Shame. The other is of the like Import: Ch. 10.26, 27. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the Know­ledge of the Truth, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sins; but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adversaries. This passage, at the first View, seems to render the case [Page 52]of every Man wholly desperate. And it would much more do so, if one word were exactly tran­slated. For whereas we render it, If we sin Wilfully, according to the Original it should be translated, If we sin Willingly, [...]. which is the Softer word of the two. And who is there that dares to deny but that he hath been guilty of many Voluntary Sins, even since he hath received the Knowledge of the Truth?

Now I shall endeavour to prove, that both these Places are to be un­derstood barely of the Blasphemy a­gainst the Holy Ghost, only it would be attended in these Hebrews, if they should be guilty of it, with more aggravating Circumstances, than that same Sin in the Pharisees was accom­panied withal. Because the Persons offending are supposed by the Apo­stle [Page 53]once to have been the Professed Disciples of Christ, which the Pha­risees never were; and because if they should commit it, they would sin against greater Miracles for the proof of Christianity, since the more plenti­ful Effusion of the Holy Ghost after the Ascension of Christ.

For here is the Characteristical Note whereby our Blessed Saviour hath distinguish'd the Blasphemy a­gainst the Holy Ghost from all other Sins and Blasphemies whatsoever, viz. the Unpardonableness of it. In the former of these Places it is said, that 'tis Impossible to renew these men to Re­pentance: Which is in other words to say, 'tis Impossible they should be forgiven. For why is it, that the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven, but because 'tis impossible they should ever Re­pent who have been guilty of it? And then the Apostle in the very next [Page 54]words doth oppose them that should be guilty of this Sin, to that Ground which receiveth Blessing from God, Heb. 6.7, 8. and compares them to that which beareth thorns and briars, and is rejected and nigh unto Cursing, and whose End is to be burnt. And in the latter place the Apostle tells us, that as for these Men, Ch. 10.26. there remaineth no more Sa­crifice for Sins. Which words are a plain Allusion to the Law of Moses, in which no Expiations were allowed or appointed for Heinous and Pre­sumptuous Sins, but he who was guilty of them, was to be put to Death without any Favour. 'Tis as if the Apostle had said, There is no other Sacrifice for Sins but what the Son of God hath offered up; this they impiously reject, and Christ never design'd to make any a­tonement by his Blood for the Sin I am now speaking of, and there is no other: And where there is no [Page 55]Expiation, there can be no Pardon. He further adds, Ver. 27 There remains no­thing for these men, but a certain fear­ful looking for of judgment, and fiery Indignation which shall devour the adver­saries. What more Significant and Emphatical Words could the Apo­stle use to express the Unpardonable­ness of their Crime? And yet as tho' this had not been enough, he further compares their Case to that of those Men who despised the law of Moses, Ver. 28, ei­ther by renouncing or abjuring it, or Sinning impudently and presumptu­ously against it, and who therefore died without Mercy. 29 And to convince us that the Offenders he is speaking of, should be unavoidably pressed to Death, he lays more Weight on them than on the Despisers of Moses's Law. For, saith he, Of how much sorer Pu­nishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, &c.

'Tis further evident from the Na­ture of the Sin here mentioned, that the Apostle is speaking of the Blas­phemy against the Holy Ghost. The formal nature of that dreadful Sin I take to be this, A malicious reproach­ing our Blessed Saviour as an Impo­stor and Deceiver, imputing the Mi­racles which he wrought by the Spi­rit of God for the Confirmation of his Holy Doctrine and Mission, to the Power of the Devil. A man would wonder, if there were not a thousand Instances of the like kind, how so many Learned Men could make a shift so much to mistake this clear and plain notion of this Sin, and give us so many Extrava­gant Opinions concerning it, as widely distant from each other, as all of them are from the Truth; who doth but consider how St. Mark closes the Speech of our Saviour concerning it. For he winds up all [Page 57]with these remarkable words, Mark 3.30. Because they said, he hath an Unclean Spirit: which give us a clear Light whereby to discern the nature of this Sin. But some rather chuse, as an Evidence of their great Strength, to endeavour to break through the Walls, than turn the Key that is very plainly in the Door, and would easily open it, and let them into the House.

Now that 'tis this Sin, viz. the Reproaching Christ as a Deceiver, the Apostle is here speaking of, will appear from the Expressions which he useth concerning it. He calls it a Crucifying the Son of God afresh, Ch. 6.6. Ch. 10.29.and putting him to an open Shame: A treading him under foot, and counting his Blood an unholy thing, and doing Despite to the Spirit of Grace. All which do amount to this, That they esteemed Christ to be a Vile Malefactor, a wretched Impo­stor; [Page 58]that his Miracles, which for the Matter of Fact they could not deny, were wrought by the help of the In­fernal Powers, and therefore he was deservedly put to death; and had it been to do again, they would as rea­dily have done it, as ever the Mali­cious Jews did.

Moreover, the Sin here spoken of, in one of the Places, Ch. 6.6. is called a fal­ling away, and that from the Prin­ciples of the Doctrine of Christ, which in the Verses immediately foregoing he had newly mentioned; Ver. 1, 2. i. e. a to­tal Renouncing of the Christian Faith, and Returning either to Judaism or Paganism, which these Hebrews were in great danger of, and which 'tis the apparent Design of this Epistle to fortify them against. And tho' in the other place it be called only in the General a Sinning Wilfully or Wil­lingly, Ch. 10.26. yet thereby the same thing is [Page 59]meant. For just before the Apostle had been exhorting them to hold fast the Profession of their Faith without wa­vering, Ver. 23 and cautioning them against forsaking the Assembling of themselves to­gether, as the manner of some was; Ver. 25 which was the natural Means, and the Ou­vert-Act and Sign of their Apostacy. And then these Words are brought in, For if we sin wilfully, &c. i. e. If we cast away the Profession of our Faith, forsake the Christian Assem­blies, and renounce the Doctrine of Christ.

Now it is worthy of our careful Observation, that the Heathens, but especially the Jews, were so implaca­bly bent against our Blessed Lord, that tho' a Christian did desert the Assemblies of the Faithful, and offer to join with them in their Judaical or Pagan Religion and Worship, yet this alone would not suffice; But be­sides this, they required an express [Page 60]Abjuring, and Reviling, and Blasphe­ming Christ as an Impostor. And without this, their Rage was never sa­tisfied; and to speak in the modern Language, they never thought they had fully performed all the necessary Duties of New Converts. Acts 26.11. St. Paul tells us, that when he persecuted the Chri­stians, 1 Tim. 1.13. being exceeding mad with Rage, he compelled them to Blaspheme, as he Himself also did. And giving the Corinthians a Character whereby to distinguish between Divine and Dia­bolical Spirits, 1 Cor. 13.3. I give you to understand (Saith he) that no man speaking by the Spirit of God, calleth Jesus Accursed; which doth plainly imply, that it was very usual for men to do so in that Age, for otherwise this Note of his would have been of no manner of Service to them. Pliny, in his Epi­stle to Trajan, informs him what was the Ordeal Fire by which he tried those who were suspected and accused, whe­ther [Page 61]they would disown Christianity, not only by proposing to them to worship the Heathen Gods, and the Image of the Emperor, but also by demanding of them whether praeterea Christo maledicerent, they would also revile Christ. And he further adds concerning those that fell in that hour of Temptation, that they not only worshipp'd the Pagan Idols and Tra­jan's Image, but also that Ii & Chri­sto maledixerunt, they reviled Christ. And Justin Martyr ^* tells us, That Barchochebas, the Ringleader of the Jewish Rebellion, did order the Chri­stians to be severely punisht, unless they would not only deny Christ, but blaspheme him too. And Po­lycarp being required, in order to save his Life, to reproach ^† Christ, replied, How can I Blaspheme my King and Saviour.

And our Learned ^† Lightfoot saith, That as early as about the 10th or 11th Year after our Saviour's Ascen­sion, Rabban Gamaliel and the Sanhe­drin appointed a new Prayer, in which was a Petition to God to destroy the He­reticks, i. e. the Christians; and this he set among the Common Prayers, and appointed it to be in every man's Mouth. And that the Jews had their Emissaries every where abroad, that to their utmost cried down the Gospel— and blas­phemed it, and Christ that gave it. Of this (saith he) there is Testimony abun­dant in the New Testament, and in their own Writings.

So much shall suffice to prove, that 'tis the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; but a more Aggravated one than that of the Pharisees, that is meant in both these Places. And if [Page 63]any of our Modern Deists have been maliciously guilty of this Sin unto death, I leave them to God.

But provided a man hath not gone so great a Length as this is, how many soever his Sins and Back-slidings from God have been, yet on a renew­ed deep and Sincere Repentance, and a lively Faith in the Blood of Christ, they shall be remitted. Tho' I must add in the words of Moses, Exod. 8.29.Let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully with God any more. For if this Grace be turned into Wantonness, tho' God forgive Men, Ps. 99.8. yet he may and will take ven­geance upon their Inventions.

And this naturally leads me to the Last thing which remains to be spo­ken unto.

VI. § VI Mere Natural Light and Rea­son cannot assure us to what Degree God will pardon those whom he does [Page 64]forgive. It is evident, that he con­tinues many Old Punishments, and sends New, and sometimes very se­vere ones, on those that are truly Penitent. This was undeniably the Case of David, 2 Sam. 12.9, 10, 11.Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me, &c. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, &c.

And Death at last seizes them, as well as the rest of Mankind, which is generally looked upon as the stand­ing Mark of God's Displeasure a­gainst Sin. And how can mere Rea­son assure me, that that shall put a final Period to all my Miseries, that there are not some very severe Penal­ties yet behind for me to endure in the other World? The Generality of men have trembled at the thoughts [Page 65]and fears of future Vengeance. Lucre­tius ^* himself represents a guilty Mind as very jealous that Death was not the End of Misery, but the Be­ginning of greater Evils. And there­fore among other Replies which the great Patron of meer Natural Reli­gion makes to those who might ob­ject, that Repentance was no Satis­faction to Divine Justice, this is one; If any ^†further Punishment ought to be inflicted, God may inflict it on Sinners for a shorter or a longer time after this Life. Such a Notion as this is, did obtain among the Heathen, as is ac­knowledged [Page 66]by their Advocate ^*, and is too plain to be denied.

Were it not for Scripture, Purga­tory would not seem to be an absurd Doctrine; The Imperfection of Good mens Repentance, would incline one to suspect, that after this Life, they might be cast into the Fire again, for the further burning up that Dross that still adheres to them. (But of this, more in the next Chapter.) And I do not yet see, but that, if the Scriptures be laid aside, I may as well argue from the Instances of God's Severity in this Life, and from the un­dergoing a very painful Death, and sometimes a bloody, cruel and un­timely one, which is the lot of many true Penitents, as well as others, That God does not, and will not, pardon men, tho' they do Repent; As another may argue from the Instances of his Com­mon [Page 67]Bounty and Kindness to Wick­ed men, That he will pardon them, if they do.

Moreover, by the Light of Nature we can't attain to a well-grounded Confidence, that if God should turn away his Wrath from us, he will, besides this, receive us into the Arms and Embraces of his Love; become a Friend, as well as cease to be an Enemy; not only refrain from Cha­stizing, but also feast a Returning Prodigal; besides the laying of the Storm, cause the Sun to shine, and lift up the light of his holy Countenance on our Souls, and bless us with a sense of his Loving-kindness, which is better than Life. Tho' David was so far reconciled to Absalom as not to Execute him, yea to permit him to return to Jerusalem, yet for a long time he would not Suffer him to see his Face.

But here Revelation doth tho­roughly deliver us from all our Me­lancholy Fears: For it assures us, that tho' God continue Old Afflicti­ons, or lay New ones on those whom he forgives, yet 'tis only for their Spiritual and Eternal Advantage, to purge out their Corruptions, to ex­ercise and improve their Graces. That all the Strokes he gives them are like those of a Statuary on his ill-shaped Marble, to bring them in­to a beautiful Image and Form, and so make them more meet to grace and adorn the Heavenly Building which they are designed for. That they shall never be in Heaviness, un­less there be a Necessity for it. That God will remember their Frame and his own Promise, and therefore ne­ver suffer them to be tempted above what they are able to bear; as a Gar­dener by his Glasses defends his young and tender Plants from those rough [Page 69]and cold Winds which they can't well endure. And if our Danger be Ex­traordinary, so shall his Assistance also be. Act. 7.56. When the Jews gnasht on St. Ste­phen with their Teeth, and were ready to devour him, the Heavens were open'd, and he saw Christ Standing at the right hand of God. In all other places of the New Testament he is represented as Sitting there. How comes he at this time to be seen in a different Posture? St. Stephen was now in very great Danger. And so great was our Saviour's Concern for him on this account, that, as if the Throne of Glory had now been un­easy to him, he rises up, and is seen standing at the right hand of his Fa­ther, that he might be in a greater readiness to afford that Help to his distressed Servant, which his pre­sent Circumstances did so loudly call for. The Scripture tells us, Psal. 89.32. That tho' he visit their Iniquities with [Page 70]a Rod, and their Transgressions with a Stripe, yet his Loving-kindness he will never take away from them. That if it be not apparently their own Fault, he will manifest himself to them, Joh. 14.21. and fill them with that Peace which passeth all Understanding. Phil. 4.7. And there have been many in all Ages who have practised upon and lived up to the Principles of Christianity, and in so doing have found this to be true by a long and comfortable Experience: Yea, not a few have fed on this Hea­venly Manna, that once were some of the Chiefest of Sinners, who, when they were first awaken'd, have lain under dreadful Agonies of Consci­ence, and, one would have thought, even after their sincere Conversion, should have gone drooping and mourning all their days to their very Graves. Indeed a constant lively Sense of their pasts Sins hath continued engraven on their Spirits, but yet they [Page 71]have been freed from that Distress and Terror of Soul which once they la­boured under. As the Print of the Nails and Spear remained in our Saviour's Hands and Side, (for unbelieving Thomas put his Finger into 'em) but not with that Anguish and Torment which they caused in him when he hung upon the Cross. Yea, Gal. 6.16. walking according to Rule, Peace, according to the Promise, hath been upon them, and they have been fill'd with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory. And if it hath not been thus with others, 'tis not the fault of Christianity, but of the Professors of it.

CHAP. II. Of a Future State of Bliss.

THis is what no Wise and Think­ing Man, but must be deeply concerned about, and cannot chuse but be very uneasy in his own Mind if he has not some clear Account of it, which he may securely depend upon. For,

We are capable of subsisting in another State, and of being either very happy, or very miserable in it, if God so please. There can be no rational Doubt of this, but that the same Almighty Power and Provi­dence, which brought us into, and hath kept us in this World so long, sometimes Comforting, and at other times Afflicting us, can do [Page 73]the like in the next, and that in much higher Degrees, and to all Eter­nity if he please. And,

As Reasonable Creatures, we have a Prospect of, and a Concern for, Futurity. It is the Privilege of our Natures, that we can move this way or that, step back in our own Thoughts to what is past, and for­ward also to what is yet to come. And every Wise man will be fre­quently looking before him, often thinking what is like to be his State hereafter.

And in all Ages all Sorts of Men, as far as we Certainly know, in all Nations, tho' never so Ignorant and Brutish, Wicked and Barbarous, op­posite to or remote from each other, have agreed in this, tho' in a very few things besides, viz. A Persua­sion that there is a Future State of Happiness and Misery. Whether this was the Effect of Tradition, or [Page 74]the Conclusion of their own Reason, or whether it was derived down to us, together with our Being from our First Parents, the Notion of it being engraven on them with a Di­vine Hand, and we taking the Im­pression, being wrought off from them; I shall not now dispute. The mat­ter of Fact is certain, and that's suffi­cient to make any Man deeply con­cern'd about it, seeing 'tis the Com­mon Sense of all Mankind; and that so much the rather, because,

As Lovers of our Selves, we cannot chuse, but earnestly desire to enjoy the one and avoid the other. And yet,

As Sinners, we cannot but know our selves to be unworthy of the Former, and very Liable to the Lat­ter. And therefore Certainty in this matter is desirable on that Account: As also,

Because of its mighty Influence upon our Conduct here in this World. [Page 75]If there be no other Life but this, it would be our Prudence to make as much of it as we can, without any great Strictness and Nicety, because it is our All. Xenophon ^* brings in Cyrus, when hastening to his End, after he had spoken of his Soul's sub­sisting and being happy after Death, [Page 76]yet saying, If these things are so, as I do think, then reverencing my Soul fol­low my Advice: But if they are not so, but the Soul dies with the Body, Yet however reverence the Gods. Methinks the Speech is as weak as the Man; and there is no more of Force or Au­thority in the Words, than of Majesty in the dying King that uttered them. The Generality of Men will be strongly tempted to think, there is much more Sense in that Epicurean Saying, Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die, and drop into the void and empty Space where things un­born do lie.

But if there be another State, we must walk by other Rules and Mea­sures. And how shall we apply our Selves to the Use of Means, when we are at a loss about the End? How can the Mariner steer his Vessel so as to gain his Port, in a cloudy Season, when he can see neither Sun, Moon, nor Stars?

Assurance in this matter is also requisite for our Support and Com­fort in this life. ^* It is the vain Ima­gination of a modern Poetick Philo­sopher, that the Face of the Primitive Ante-Diluvian Earth was smooth, re­gular and uniform, and the whole Year was nothing but one Perpetual Spring without any Rain. We are sure there hath been no such Golden Age since the Memory of Man. Spring and Autumn, Summer and Winter, Sunshine and Clouds, Fair Weather and Foul divide our Year; and the Earth, since the Flood, is very uneven, and broken in many places; an exact Emblem of the State of those who dwell upon it. We are born to Troubles, Job 5.7.as the Sparks fly upward; and may speedily be in such deplorable Circumstances, that we can have nothing to fetch any [Page 76] [...] [Page 77] [...] [Page 78]Relief from, unless we can draw it down from Heaven. We may die in a few Moments, and must within the compass of a few Years: And it will be very dismal in such an Hour, for a Man to feel himself dropping in the Dark, and not know where it is that he is like to fall.

Lastly, The more Holy and Se­rious Men are, the more Inquisitive be they about, the more Desirous of, a future State of Bliss. The Noti­ons of it which are impress'd on their Minds, are more fresh and quick ac­cording to Mens Improvement in Piety; like Letters that are cut in the Bark of a young Tree; as that grows bigger, so do they grow lar­ger and fairer every day. 'Tis with Holy Souls as with Men at Sea, the violent Agitations of the stormy Ele­ment, wherein they Sail, make them Sick and Weary of this present Po­sture of Affairs, and earnestly long [Page 79]to be in a better and more settled Place. It is not more natural for a Seed, when it is quickened, to cleave its way through the Clods of the Earth, and lift up its head into the free and open Air; than it is for the good Principle, proportionably to its Increase in the Soul, to shoot up in fervent Desires and Breathings af­ter the Heavenly State. Upon all these Considerations, a satisfactory Account of it cannot but be very desirable. And tho' a senseless Logg may, yet a Considering Man cannot be carried down the swift and hasty Stream, without many Thoughts, Whither am I going? And how is it like to be with me in that other World, to which I am making such visible and daily Approaches?

But now if we cast away our Bi­bles, we throw our Compass over­board. For,

I. §. I Meer Natural Light and Rea­son cannot give us a full Assurance that there is a Future State of Bliss. About this the Heathens, who wanted Divine Revelation, were at a very great Loss. They had such a Noti­on among them, some Glimmering Apprehensions of it; they inclined to it as a Probable Opinion, and wish'd it were true; but could not be very Confident of it.

I grant indeed, as Learned Men have well observed, that the Later ^*Platonists of the Sacred Succession, out of the School of Ammonius, have written with another Air, and in a much higher Strain of this as well as some other important Subjects, than those that went before them. But 'tis not unknown at what Fire they lighted their Tapers. They sud­denly grew rich by the Spoils they [Page 81]had gotten out of the Holy Scrip­tures, which yet they had not the Honesty to own they had taken thence: But disguised their Notions by giving them a peculiar Turn, that it might be thought, what they had transplanted from the Sacred Writings, did Originally grow in their own Gardens.

And I do not deny but that some­times the Older Philosophers express themselves with some Briskness and Confidence. But then they assert, and do not solidly prove it; and we have little reason to believe them, because at other times 'tis plain they did hardly believe themselves in what they said. They have betrayed a great Doubtfulness of Mind about it, and that in such a Season, when they most of all needed a firm Per­suasion of it as a warm Cordial at their Hearts; in the midst of Trou­bles and Dangers, and when they [Page 82]were on the Confines of the Grave: Let my Fellow-Souldiers Congratulate me when I am dead, (as Xenophon brings in Cyrus, speaking in his last Moments) because ^*then I shall be in safety, and nothing can hurt me, whether I shall be with God, or be reduced to Nothing: But which of these two should be his Case, was Somewhat of a Doubt with him.

I cannot but pity the Distress of Soul that Socrates must needs be in for this very reason, when he was on the Point of Martyrdom for the Uni­ty of the God-Head. Tho', by the way, he was but a sorry Martyr for it, who in Prison asserted a ^† Plurality of Gods, and with his dying Breath [Page 83]order'd his Friend to offer for him a ^* Cock to Aesculapius; and so the last thing that he did, was to disown that Fundamental of all Religion for which 'tis pretended that he suffer'd. And as he was thus divided in his own Mind about the One God, so was he no less about the Future State. The very last words which Plato makes him speak to his intimate Friends in his Apology, are these: I must speedi­ly die, but you shall continue to live; but who shall be in better Circumstances in a little while, You or I, is uncertain to eve­ry one but to God^†alone. Tully in­deed doth endeavour to fetch him off: For, saith he, that which he saith no one knows but the Gods alone with whom it should be better, he himself knew; for he had said it before: Refer­ring [Page 84]to that ^* Passage of Socrates which he had newly quoted, I have great hopes that it will go well with me, &c. (of which more presently), but he still to the last observes his usual way of affirming nothing. The same do those two Learned Men, ^† Serra­nus and ^‖ Huetius, offer in his behalf; and that he doth herein no more than what he ought, having set up for the first Author of Doubting and Questioning every thing; and so doth but maintain the Character which he had assumed; and doth only accom­modate himself to the Opinion of others, and the Hypothesis of the Vulgar with whom he had to do; but that otherwise there was nothing [Page 85]which he was more confident of. But this is but a very lame Excuse for him. I grant indeed he doth se­veral times say that he doth strongly hope he shall go to the ^*Gods, and to the Seat of the Blessed, &c. But then he saith no more concerning Himself than he doth concerning the SWANS: For, saith he, when They are sensible that they must die, as they sang before, they then do it more than ever, rejoicing that they are a going to that God ^†whose Servants they are. Now in spight of the Oracle, we may venture to say, That he who talks of going to God in no other Sense than a dying Bird doth, is not a very Wise [Page 86]and Knowing man, nor like to be a very Happy one. But he further adds, That Dying ^*Swans do sing, because they belong to Apollo; and ba­ving a sort of Prophetick Instinct, they fore-see the good things of the Future State, and thereupon they are far better pleased with their last Day, than with any whatsoever in the fore-going part of their Lives. And I reckon my self a Fellow-Servant with these Creatures, and to be Consecrated to the same God which they are dedicated unto; and that I have not less of a Spirit of Divination than they, communicated to me from him our Com­mon Master, and that I shall not depart this Life in a more Melancholy manner than they do. I think the God, the [Page 87] Birds and the Philosopher, are all of a Feather, and very well match'd.

But besides this, he doth at every turn put in so many cold and qualify­ing Passages, as plainly shew he was like a Blind man, that gropes and feels out his way, and moves with great Fear, not knowing where his next Step shall be: For, saith he, to fear Death is nothing else but for a man to seem to be Wise, when he is not really so: For no man ^* KNOWS but that it MAY be to him the greatest Good. But then it may be the greatest Evil for ought any one can tell; and the way to cure Men of this Fear, had been roundly to have asserted, and solidly to have proved, but that was more than he could do, that Death will be to them very great Gain and Advantage. And presently after he adds: In this I differ from many; and [Page 88]if in any thing I would affirm^*my self to be Wiser than the rest of Mankind, it should be in this, That as I do not well understand the things which belong to the Future Invisible State, so I am sensible that I don't know them. But this I do certainly know, that to injure and rebel against any that is our Superiour, whether it be God or Man, is a piece of very great Wickedness. But as for those things which I do not know whether they are Good or Evil, I will never fear or avoid them, rather than those things which I do certainly know to be Evil. Where we plain­ly see, that notwithstanding his Sceptical Humour in which he did greatly delight and indulge him­self, yet some things he did certainly know, and they are contra-distin­guish'd from what he was not assu­red of, and which are the things re­lating [Page 89]to the Future State. The same we may observe in another Place. What (saith he) would any one have me in a sneaking manner from a fear of that Punishment which Melitus would fain bring me to (viz. Death) which I profess that I do not know whether it be ^*Good or Evil for me; to chuse that which I do certainly know to be Evil? meaning thereby a Voluntary Submission to a Perpetual Imprison­ment, Banishment, or a Fine, which would have been a tacit Acknow­ledgment of his Guilt. Again, a lit­tle after, (saith he) I have great Hopes that Death will be Gain to me: For one of these two things will follow upon it, either that then a man will have no ^† manner of Sense of any thing at all, or else, as it is SAID, he will be [Page 90]translated into another Place. And yet once more in the self-same Page, IF to dye, be to go to another Place, and the things which are reported are true, that all who have departed this Life are there, what greater Good can there be? To which having spoken somewhat of the Condition of Good men after Death, he adds these very remarkable words, If these things are true ^*, i. e. if I were sure they were so, I would willingly dye over and over. Again, saith he, I hope to go to Good men, tho' I will not boldly affirm it. But that I shall go to the Gods Lords who are very good, if I would confident­ly aver any thing in matters of this nature, this should be it. After this ^† [Page 91] Plato brings in his Friend Simmias re­plying thus upon him, I am of the same mind with you, ^*O Socrates, that 'tis altogether Impossible, or at least ex­ceeding Difficult to arrive at any Certain­ty in these Matters, while we are in this Life. —And therefore we must dili­gently do one of these two things, Either learn from others, or find out by beat­ing our own Brains, how these matters are: Or if this be Impossible to be done, then take up with the best of Humane Accounts, and least liable to be confuted, that is to be had, that by the Help there­of as by a Vessel we may sail through [Page 92]the Dangers and Difficulties of this pre­sent Life; unless a man can get a better and a Safer means of Conveyance, and that is a DIVINE WORD. After this Socrates addressing himself to prove the Immortality of the Soul, and the Future State, ushers in his Proofs with a long Preface, telling his Friends, his chief Design was to perswade himself of their Truth. But it seems it was more than he could do. For, among others, he hath these words: ^* IF THE THINGS WHICH I SAY ARE TRUE, 'tis good to be perswaded of them: But if nothing of a man doth remain after he is dead, nevertheless this little time which I have to live will be the more pleasant: And after Death, it will be no disadvantage to me.

Upon this he endeavours to prove the Point as well as he could; and then, for want of better matter, at large relates some of the Poetical Dreams about the Future State; and thereupon concludes, as well he might, that it doth not become a man of Sense to aver, that what he hath reported is true, &c.

Had not Socrates been really at a great Plunge, Plato would never have so far transgress'd the Rules of De­cency which he well understood, and at other times was wont to observe, as at every Turn to bring him in thus Hesitating and Doubting: Espe­cially considering the Weight of the Subject, and the Circumstances of his Master, who now lay under the Sen­tence of Death. And a Learned and Dying Man makes but an Odd Figure when he is brought in Dropping so many Suspicious Words about the Future State, if he really be clear in [Page 94]his own Mind about it. It looks more like Distrust and Fear, than Humility and Modesty. And of all Men it was most intolerable in So­crates, who from an irksome Sense of the miserable Uncertainty and Use­lesness of other parts of Learning, set up for a Reformer of Philosophy, and was altogether for Ethicks, correcting the Manners of Men, and promoting good Living in the World, the great Encouragement whereunto is a Fu­ture Reward. For even Vertue it self, as Fair as it is, like other Beau­ties, is not like to be warmly Courted by many, if it have no Dowry. Add to all this, That he was not now talking to the Rabble, but discour­sing with his Intimate, Learned and Philosophical Friends, with whom he should have dealt more openly and freely; and that so much the rather, because all along they are brought in as much unsatisfied in [Page 95]their own Minds. From all which Considerations 'tis evident, tho' he talked much, yet he knew but little of the matter. And even for that also, 'tis not unlikely that he was be­holden to others. He (as well as they that succeeded him) resembled the New Moon, the far greatest part of whose Face is cover'd with Dark­ness; and the small remainder which is not so, shines with but a faint, pale, yea and a borrowed Light too.

If any one shall say, that Plato used an unaccountable Liberty in ming­ling so much of his own Sentiments with the Speeches of Socrates, that like an interpolated Book, 'tis hard to know what was his own, and what belonged to his Master; I shall not deny it: Because I find, that, when Socrates himself heard him once repeat his ^* Lysis, he cried out, [Page 96] How many things doth this Young man feign me to speak? For (saith Laertius) he had written not a few things in the Per­son of his Master, which he never said. But it will serve my Turn altogether as well, whether it be the One or the Other. Either the Wise Socrates or the Divine Plato, or rather both of them, did float up and down like an unsteady Vessel in the Sea, that is toss'd this way and that; they wan­der'd in an Endless Maze of wild Guesses and Conjectures at Ran­dom.

That Passage in Tully ^* is very ob­servable, who having spoken of those little Philosophers, who affirmed that Death was the total destruction of [Page 97]the whole Man, adds, Nothing doth oc­cur to me to make me think the (contrary) Opinion of Pythagoras and Plato is not true: For tho' Plato should produce no Reason at all (see what Deference I pay to the Man) his Authority would quite bear me down. But he hath produced so many Reasons, that he seems Willing to persuade others, however doubtless to persuade himself. So that in his Opi­nion he was little better than a Well­wisher to the Cause. Let's see whe­ther He himself can do better. He had as sharp an Eye as most Men ever had; and yet he introduces his Discourse on this Argument with words to this effect: I am not going to utter ^*Oracles nor give Demonstrati­ons, but inconsiderable Man that I am among many others, I will give you my Guess as to what is likely: For I can go [Page 98]no further than Probabilities. Let those talk of Certainties who profess themselves to be Wise. Then he reckons up the several Opinions of the Philosophers: Some think the Soul is extinguish'd with the Body, others that 'tis presently dissipa­ted after it hath taken its leave of the Car­kase, others that it remains in being a long while, and others that it lasteth al­ways, &c. Now (saith he) God knows which of these Opinions is true; and which of them is most probable is a great Question. And afterwards having re­jected the Opinion of Dicoearchus, ^* that the Soul is nothing at all, saith he, the Opinions of the rest give us HOPE (if this be pleasing to you) that it is POSSIBLE that Souls when they depart from their Bodies may go to Hea­ven as to their own House. To this his Friend, who discourses with him, replies: I am very desirous it should be [Page 99]so; and if it be not, yet I would fain be persuaded of it. And upon the re­commending Plato's Treatise of the Soul to him, his Friend replies: I assent to what he says, ^*I know not how, while I am reading it: But when I have laid the Book aside, and I begin to think with my self of the Soul's Immortality, all my Assent to it slides away from me. Indeed the ARguments which Plato brings on this Occasion, and which Tully hath but too much honoured by transcribing from him, are al­most all of them so weak and tri­fling, that I wonder how Cleombrotus, when he heard him discoursing on that Subject, could be induced to leap from him into the Sea, that he might presently be in the other State. Had I been his Hearer, unless he could have produced stronger Proofs, and given a better Account of the [Page 100]matter than he hath done in his Dia­logue of the Soul, I should much rather have thrown Him than my self over-board, and have sent him into the other World, that so he might thoroughly have informed himself a­bout the Subject he pretended to treat, but was so far from being a Master of. He talks so weakly on this Head, that I think no man but one who is Non compos mentis, would ever have brought in poor Cleombro­tus as a Felo de se for Drowning him­self.

And in another place Tully brings in Cato after a long Discourse on this Subject, winding up the whole in these Words: ^* If it be an Error that the Souls of Men are Immortal, I am pleased to err, and I will never, as long as I live, be beaten out of it: But if when I am dead (as some little Philoso­phers [Page 101]think) I shall perceive Nothing; I am not afraid, lest the Philosophers who are dead, should deride this Error of mine: But if we are not Immortal, yet it is desirable for a Man in his proper time to be extinguish'd. This cannot be excused by a Pretence that Tully speaks it not in his own Person, but in Cato's: And that when a Man doth personate another, he must speak agreeably to his Character, tho' it be never so contrary to his own real Sentiments. For he himself tells us in ^* another place, that he brings in Cato disputing of Old Age, because he did not know a fitter Person; and that this manner of Writing in the borrowed Per­son of Ancient and Illustrious Men hath, he knows not how, more of Weight in it. And therefore, saith he, when I read my OWN Writings, I am sometimes so affected with them, as tho' they were not [Page 102]my Sayings, but really Cato's. So that under the Covert of another's Name, he plainly writes his own Opinion. And a little after in the same Book, having spoken of the speedy Return of the departed Souls of very Excel­lent Men to Heaven, he can't for­bear adding: IF ^*this be so, then Scipio's Soul to be sure is got thither: But IF it be TRUER, that Body and Soul do utterly perish together, and there be no remaining Sense at all; then as there is no Good in Death, so there is no Evil in it.

Seneca, when he was dangerously Sick, labours to Comfort himself a­gainst the Fears of his Dissolution with this sorry Consideration, That Death [Page 103]^*would put him into the same Condition he was in ere he was born; that Men are like a Candle, which is in no worse State after 'tis put out than before it was lighted. At another time, saith he, I was pleased in enquiring into the Soul's Eternity ^†, or rather to Believe it: For I did easily believe the Opinions of Great Men, who were better at promising what was very grateful to me, than at proving it. When he would comfort ^‖ Marcia for the Loss of her dear Son, saith he, That may be Good or Evil that is Some­thing; but that which is Nothing, and reduceth all things into Nothing, delivers us up to no Fortune; nor can he be Misera­ble who no longer is at all. And again upon the same Occasion, saith he to another, It may be he ^*is gone before; IF what Wise men have said, be true, and [Page 104]there be a Place to receive us after Death. But this is poor Consolation, cold as the Grave wherein a man's Friend is laid. Plutarch speaks no more confidently when he endea­vours to comfort ^* Apollonius upon the untimely Death of his very promi­sing Son; he adopts that Saying of Socrates, That Death is like a deep Sleep, or a long Travelling into a foreign Country, or else 'tis a total Destruction of Body and Soul; and speaks to the last as well as the two other, that he may demonstrate Death to be no Evil. This was one of the Ingredients he uses to make a Plaister to heal the Sore of his distressed Friend. And the best that he could say was, IF the Saying of the Ancient Poets and Philosophers be true ^†, as 'tis Proba­ble that it is, that Good men are ad­vanced [Page 105]when they die, and some of them, as 'tis reported, more highly than others, and there be a certain Place appointed for pious Souls in which they live, you have reason to hope well concerning your Son that he is got among 'em.

As for Death, (saith ^* Antoninus) whether it be a Dissipation of the Elements, or a Reduction into Atoms, or an Annihi­lation, it is either an Extinction or a Trans­migration: Or, as others read it, it is either ^† a Dissipation of the Elements, Resolution into Atoms, Annihilation, Extinction or Transmigration. A Say­ing that much resembles that of Se­neca^‖, Despise Death, which either ends or translates you.

He that would see more of An­toninus's Uncertainty, let him turn [Page 106]to the Places ^* cited in the Mar­gent.

To these Philosophers I will add the famous Historian ^† Tacitus, who, speaking in very affecting Terms con­cerning the Death of his Father-in-Law Agricola, drops this Passage: IF there be any place for the Ghosts of Good men; IF, as Wise men define, the Souls of Great Persons die not with the Body, in Peace maist thou rest, &c.

Of the same Strain is the Speech of that noble Roman Lady Veturia, a Woman of an admirable Wit and Address, and whose Spirit was alto­gether as great as her Quality; who, among other Arguments with which she diverted her Son Coriolanus from ruining his own Country, when it was entirely at his Mercy, makes use [Page 107]of this, That if she could but suc­ceed in her Enterprize of prevailing with him to lay aside his, she should not only gain Immortal Honour here upon Earth, but also, IF there be a place, saith she, ^* for the Reception of Humane Souls after they are dismiss'd from the Body, mine shall go not to a subterraneous and dark one, where 'tis SAID that miserable Wretches are lodg'd, nor to the Plains of Lethe, as they are called; but to the High and Pure Aether, where 'tis REPORTED that they who are descended from the Gods, do lead a blessed and happy Life. I am not without some Grounds of Jea­lousy, that the Whole of her Speech, [Page 108]whereof these Words are a part, as 'tis set down, was made for her by Dionysius, according to the usual custom of most Historians, who are wont to put Words into the Mouths of those Persons whose Actions they relate, and don't so much tell us what They spake, as what Themselves would have said, had they been to have made a set Oration under the same Circumstances; wherein they frequently over-do, make them talk much finer than it can rationally be supposed They are capable of doing; lay on so much Paint, that it easily appears to an observing Eye to be the work of Art, and not of Nature: But be it the Incomparable Veturia, or the Grave Dionysius, 'tis not very material. 'Tis evident the Person that spake, was very doubtful about a Future State.

Now if it were thus with the most Learned and Sagacious Men, with the most Elevated and Exalted Souls; how sad in all likelihood must it needs be with the Body of Mankind? If they who had got the Higher Ground above the Heads of the Common People, and had the Advantage too of standing on one another's Shoul­ders, could see such a little way be­fore 'em; what shall we think of the little Creatures that sate below? In short, we do not find that Ever­lasting Life in the other State was in any Heathen Nation an Article of Religion established by Law. It was but slightly touch'd on by Philoso­phers when ever they did name it, which was but seldom, as a Motive to excite Men to the Practice of Ver­tue. Other Arguments they use and trust to, which they did better un­derstand; and it is Prudence for a man not to urge those Reasons which [Page 110]are strongest in themselves, but ra­ther fight with that Weapon which he is a Master of, and knows how best to manage. And 'tis a shrewd Observation of ^* St. Austin, That tho' the Heathens had abundance of Gods, to whom they did particularly apply themselves, to one for one Blessing, to another God for another Favour; and therefore the Knowledge of the Gods was necessary, that they might direct themselves to them aright, and not ask Water from the God of Wine, &c. Yet Varro himself, who was very well skill'd in the matter, hath not mentioned so much as one God, whom they were to pray unto for Eternal Life.

'Tis true indeed, we who have been taught from our very Infancy by the Gospel, that there is such a Place as Heaven, and so glorious a [Page 111]Reward for the Righteous in the other State, may be apt to think, that we have hit upon it by the Ex­ercise of our own unassisted Reason, or that it was very easy so to have done. But herein it fares with us, as often­times it doth with a Studious Man, who having familiarly convers'd with good Authors, doth verily think some of those Notions and Expressions too which he hath learnt from them, are the genuine Off-spring of his own Mind and Thought. Just as Corn that springs up in some places, seems to the Husbandman to be the natu­ral Product of the Ground, he ha­ving never sowed it with that sort of Grain; the Seeds of which, in Reality, were taken up by the Wind from another Field whereto they did ori­ginally belong, and invisibly dropt down there. I can't better express my Sense of this than in the Words of a modern Author, who herein [Page 112]speaks very well, tho' judging by the main Design of his Book, I take him to be a very Singular Unitarian, see­ing he cuts off all the necessary Arti­cles of our Faith, excepting that of the Belief of Jesus to be the Messiah; tho' I charitably hope he doth not set Christianity on one single Foot, that it may be the more easily pushed down. ^* When Truths are known to us, saith he, we are apt to be favourable to our own Parts; and ascribe to our own Understandings the Discovery of what in Truth we borrowed from others: — and Truths which we are now satis­fied of, we conclude our own Faculties would have led us into without any Assi­stance.—A great many things we have been bred up in the Belief of, from our Cradles, (and are Notions grown Fami­liar, and as it were Natural to us under [Page 113]the Gospel) we take for unquestionable obvious Truths, and easily demonstrable, without considering how long we might have been in Doubt or Ignorance of them, had Revelation been silent: And many are beholden to Revelation who do not acknowledge it. But Revelation is little beholden to such ungrateful Creatures, how much soever they may be to it.

If we lay that aside, I do not see how a Man can be fully satisfied con­cerning a Future State of Bliss. We may indeed, by the Light of Nature and Reason, be sure that there is a State of Future Punishments, because of the great and almost uninter­rupted Prosperity of many wicked Men in this World. As sure there­fore as I am, that there is a God and a Providence, so sure I am that there will be a day of Rec­koning with these Men, and they shall feel that Vengeance hereafter, [Page 114]that does not overtake them here.

But by the meer Light of Reason, I cannot be fully assured that there is a State of Future Rewards for good Men: For this great Bar and Ob­jection lies against it, That the best of Men are Sinners, and Great ones too; and have deserved to suffer far worse things, upon that Account, than any they meet with here. And Deliverance from that Wrath and Torment, which the best of Men are liable to, and worthy of, in the next World; that, tho' alone, would be an unspeakable Favour. We can­not certainly conclude more from the Goodness of God, nor reflect upon him as an hard Master if he proceed no further. A vile Crimi­nal has abundant Reason to thank his Prince, if he give him his Life, which he has forfeited over and over; and cannot with Modesty ex­pect, besides this, to be received in­to [Page 115]the Number of his special Fa­vourites, and be highly preferred by him.

But now the Gospel-Revelation does give us a full Assurance in this matter: Christ has made it a Fun­damental Article of our Faith, has established it as a main Principle of his Religion: 1 Joh. 2.25. This is the Promise that he has promised us, even Eternal Life. He has not only given us some dark Hints about it, but set it in a clear Light, and open Day. 2 Tim. 1.10. We do not gather it by a long Train of rational Inferences from what he has said, which would make but little Impres­sion: For as a Line, the further it is drawn forth, the more does it wa­ver and tremble; so the longer the Train of Deductions is in matters of a Moral Nature, the more hovering is our Assent to any Truth, and the less Efficacy has it on our Souls: And whatever the Learned may do, [Page 116]yet the Common People have not Leisure or Capacity for the spinning of a long and fine Thread. But Christ has plainly told us of this, and that not once or twice only, or by the bye; but repeated it often, ex­presly and designedly, so that we meet with it in almost every Page of the New Testament.

To the Promise there is annexed the Oath of God; not that this makes the matter more certain in it self: For God can no more be guilty of Lying than of Perjury. But the Oath is added to the Promise for our sakes, to create the stronger Belief of it in us, whom Guilt makes so very jealous: Like the Publick Stamp on a piece of Silver, which doth not en­crease the intrinsick Value of it, but only makes it the more Current. God willing more Abundantly to shew to the Heirs of Promise the Immutability of his Counsel, Heb. 6.17, 18.confirmed it by an Oath; [Page 117]that by two Immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie; i. e. to deceive us, we might have the stronger Consolation. This Promise hath also been ratified by the Blood of Christ, whereby the whole of the New Co­venant; and among the rest this, which is one of the main Branches of it, hath been Confirmed. Be­sides which, he has also given us an unquestionable Pledge of it, in his own Resurrection, and Ascension in­to Heaven, whither he is entred as our Fore-runner; which is as fully te­stified to us, as any Matter of Fact can possibly be, by all his Disciples, who could not be deceived in such an Object of Sense; and were Men of such great Piety and Honesty, that they would not deceive us if they could; and who sealed their Testi­mony with their very Blood, Con­firmed all that they said with the Loss of their Lives, and all the Com­forts [Page 118]of them. And there is this fur­ther observable, That when Christ was Ascending, the Angels assured them who stood by and saw it; This same Jesus, Act. 1.11.which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Hea­ven. And the self-same Pen-man, in his Gospel (which should have been immediately joined to the Acts of the Apostles, had it not been for St. John's Gospel intervening) tells us the Manner of his Ascension: Luk. 24.50, 51. He lifted up his hands, and blessed them: And while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and taken up into Heaven. He shall so come in like manner, when his Work of Intercession is finished; Our great High-Priest shall come out of the Holy of Holies, to Bless his People, and appear without Sin unto their Eternal Salvation.

II. §. II Tho' by the Light of Reason only we could be clearly satisfied there is a Reward for the Righteous in the other World, yet we could not thereby be fully assured of the Greatness of it. If we could get a­bove the Fears of Divine Wrath and Vengeance in the next World, which it is hard for a Sinner to do, who knows God and Himself; Yet what Ground should we have to hope for a much better Being and Condition there, than we enjoy here? Especi­ally for a Happiness so highly sur­passing it, as that which in the Gospel is propounded to us. If God should not punish, yea if He should reward, yet a Guilty Creature cannot reason­ably promise himself a very Consi­derable Recompence from a Holy and Righteous God, whom he hath so highly offended, and whom, when he hath done his best, he hath so poor­ly served.

We shall find the Wisest of the Heathens had but very gross Idea's, mean and poor Notions of the Fu­ture State of Bliss. Sometimes they speak of it in General Terms only, which was but a Cover for their Ig­norance; and those too not very lofty and towring ones. He that is afraid of Death (saith ^* Antoninus) either fears the utter loss of all Sense; or else that he shall have a Sense of a different Kind from what he now hath: But if there be none left, then thou shalt have no Perception of any Evil at all. And that I think is unquestionable. But he adds, If thou hast another Sort of Sense, then thou shalt be another Kind of Animal, and shalt not cease to live. Emperors are not at leisure to answer every poor Enquirer; else any Man that hath any Sense at all, would presume to ask his Imperial Majesty [Page 121]what Sort of Animal he shall be; and what Manner of Life he shall lead: And so much the rather, be­cause many of the Learned Philoso­phers tell us that departed Souls do enter into Brutes. And as wild and unaccountable a Paradox as this may seem to be, yet it hath been a very Ancient Opinion, and spread very far, especially among the Wise men of the East, where ^* still it doth great­ly obtain to this very day. Pytha­goras and his Followers, on this Ac­count, are reported to have forborn all sorts of Flesh, whether of Birds or Beasts: And allowing them their Principle, none could justly blame their Abstinence. For 'tis but an Odd thing for a Man to sit down to his Meat, when, for ought he knows, he may Chop up his Father, or Swal­low [Page 122]down his Mother; yea, a mans beloved Wife, for any thing he can tell, may become nearer and more intimate with him after her Death, than ever she was in her Life. She that lay in his Bosom, may descend into his Entrails, turn into Nourish­ment, and, in a Literal Sense, be­come One Flesh with him. And these Philosophers are so very particular, as to tell us what Sort of Brutes de­parted Souls enter into: Some into Bees ^*, others into Asses, &c. Now tho' a Man could reconcile himself to the drudging laborious Life of the one, yet it would go very much a­gainst the Grain to bear the cruel Stripes, and heavy Loads of the other. Nor should I very heartily join in [Page 123] ^* that Man's Prayer, That my Soul, after Death, should have the Honour of entring into a Camel, as Sober and Patient and Sweet an Animal as it is: For 'tis a Laborious Life those Crea­tures lead, and a long Way they tra­vel with a Pack of Drugs from the East, much bigger than the Bunch on their Backs.

Plutarch, in his Consolatory Epistle to his Wife, on the Death of her little Daughter, saith, She is ^† gone to a place where there is no Sorrow. But he hath no better Proof of it than the Customs and Laws of their Ance­stors, which forbad them to use those [Page 124]Funeral ^* Rites in behalf of Infants, which they were wont to employ a­bout Grown Persons: For this, saith he, would be unlawful, seeing they are translated into a better and a more Di­vine Place. By the manner of argu­ing one would think this were the Speech of the little Child before her Departure, not the Language of her Grave Philosophical Father. But these are but General Words, let's come a little to Particulars.

Cluverius ^† tells us, that it was a Custom among the Celtae, the Galls, and the Albani, which he proves out of Diodorus Siculus, Valerius Maximus and Strabo, to bury some Pieces of Money with the deceased Party, and send some by him to their Friends in the other State, for their Use there; [Page 125]and to lend their Acquaintance Mo­ney to be repaid them there; and that this is a very common Custom among many Heathen Nations to this day: As also to ^* kill Camels on their Graves, Horses, Concubines and Butlers; and burn their Gar­ments and other Attire; or bury them and Houshold-Stuff and Arms with them for their Use when ^† they came thither; and they could have no very Extraordinary Apprehensi­ons of the Happiness of Souls there, who were guilty of such a Practice as this. But these were Barbarous People, as the Greeks in their abun­dant Civility to the rest of Mankind were wont to call all the World besides themselves; tho' they were Originally beholden to other Nations for all the Learning and Knowledge on which [Page 126]they so much Valued themselves. Let us therefore see what these Sons of Wisdom have to say to the Point in hand.

Homer may challenge the Privilege of being heard first, because of his Great Antiquity, and his being the first Discoverer of the Elysian Fields. He brings in Proteus thus speaking to Menelaus: The Gods shall send thee to the Elysian Fields, which lie on the utmost parts of the Earth ^*, where thou shalt live safe and happy; there being neither too great a Quantity of Rain or Snow, or too long a Winter; but the blessed In­habitants are continually refresh'd with the gentle Breathing of cool Breezes that come from the Ocean. A good, dry, and warm place, comfortable enough for a naked Soul, or one that hath at [Page 127]best so thin and slight a Cloathing as that of Aether must be supposed to be. But a good Seat is not very desirable, without suitable Sports and Diversion. And Virgil will inform us what they are. ‘Some spend their time in Wrestling ^*.’ One would think he was describing other Fields, which I am loth to mention, and not those of Elysium. ‘Others in Singing and Dancing, the Happiness of a Stage or a Play-house. The Warlike Souls having put off their glittering Armor, in a very peacea­ble manner are refreshing them­selves, and their unbridled Steeds. The Launces that were wont to be cruelly run through the Sides and Hearts of their Enemies, are Mer­cifully stuck into the Ground only. [Page 128]And they behold their Chariots with as much Pride and Pleasure as ever they rode in 'em when they drove them over the Carkases of their fallen Enemies:’ For tho' they have left their Bodies behind 'em, they have carried along with 'em the same ^* Humors they had, whether Jocular and Pleasant, or Savage and Cruel.

Plutarch not having Cordials of his own strong enough to support the Spi­rits of Apollonius for the Loss of his Ver­tuous Son, borrows one from Pindar, whom he quotes, describing the State of the Pious after Death, to whom he would have him believe the De­parted Youth was gone; whose Hap­piness he describes in Words to this effect: They do continually ^†enjoy a [Page 129]clear Sun-shine, when this Earth of ours is wrapt up in Darkness. The Fields round about them are adorned with beau­tiful Roses, and shaded with Trees that yield Frankincense, and bear Golden Fruit. Some sport themselves on Horse-back, others divert themselves with Musick. The Country is always pleasant, and so are they who dwell in it. And there are no other Clouds but what arise from the Smoak of Incense, which they plentifully burn on their Altars, whose sweet Odours at once refresh their Gods and themselves too.

But it may be some will say these were Poets, (yet Poets were their great Divines ^* of Old:) Let us there­fore hear some of their grave Moral Philosophical Writers. Plato brings in Socrates ^†, giving a Description of the future Happy State which he learnt [Page 130]from Gobryas, who had it from I know not what Brazen Tables, exactly re­sembling that of Pindar; for which reason I shall not translate it. Tho', in the Close, Socrates confesses he is not sure that these Particulars are so, but only in the ^* General, that the Soul, when it leaves the Body, goes to a place where it lives free from Grief; but whether it be above or below, he knoweth not. Seneca tells us that there the ^†Secrets of Nature shall be open'd; there shall be neither Night nor Shade; all the Stars mingling their Lights together, and joining them as in one Common Stock. And if this be so, the latter part of the Opinion of the Magi, which ^‖ Plutarch from Theopompus informs us of, may be true, that after a bloody Scuffle among [Page 131]the Gods for six thousand Years, at last Mankind shall be happy, and neither need Food, nor cast a Shadow. But as for the Former part of it, viz. their not wanting of Food, Tully is of another mind: And, in truth, no Man talks so pleasantly on this Argument as he doth: For he fancies that Separated Souls will get a little above the Clouds and thick Exhalations of the Middle ^*Region of the Air, into a clear and warm place; which will be so agreeable, that they will not attempt to climb higher; and there they shall be nourish'd with the same Food with which the ^†Stars are fed. Now it may be the Reader may long to know, but he will not long to take [Page 132]his Commons with them, when I have told him what Sort of Diet it is, those Heavenly Bodies are nourish'd by. 'Tis very Coarse, if ^* Tully himself, or ^† Seneca may be believed: For 'tis no other than the thick and greasy Vapors which Steam up from the Waters, or the Dunghil of this Earth on which we tread; and a Man Man might justly fear the being star­ved among them: For as the Stars are many, and very great, so they are hard Labourers; and therefore, as we might reasonably suppose, if he [Page 133]had not told us, ^* greedy Eaters too; and besides them, the Sun, who is much nearer (especially according to his Opinion) and a very great De­vourer, hath nothing else to nourish him but what he can plunder from this little Globe of ours. And that the Musick may be suitable to the Feast, the Separated Souls are enter­tained there with the imaginary ^† Har­mony of the Spheres. But the Ora­tor goes on: ^‖ There they shall be freed from Aemulation and Covetousness, (tho' in so great a Scarcity of Provi­sions [Page 134]as must needs be among them, there's Temptation enough to that Vice) and from the great Height of the Place have a notable Advantage of bet­ter understanding the Heavenly Bodies, (who so unconscionably rob 'em) and the whole Structure of this Earth, (which is so kind as to nourish them) tho' so wretched a Place, one would think, should be no very pleasant Sight: Especially considering what he pleaseth himself withal at another Time, that when he dies he shall ^*de­part from this rude and disorderly Rout and Crew here below. And I confess 'tis a desirable thing to get out of such a mad Croud; but then it can't be very agreeable to a Wise and Se­rious Spirit to behold them at a Di­stance, no more than to be among [Page 135]them. But then he shall be joined to ^*that Assembly and Council of Souls, and converse with those Famous Men, whom he had known, and heard, and written of. This indeed is a noble Strain, one of the best that I have observed a­mong all the ancient Philosophers. But Socrates said it before him, and from him he borrowed it: For Plato brings him in, comforting himself with the Thoughts, that on his Re­moval hence he should be with Or­pheus and Musaeus, with Hesiod ^† and Homer. Now Poets he knew were pleasant Companions in this World, and I suppose he might think they were so in the other also. He adds, that he should be wonderfully pleased with the Society of Palamedes and Ajax; tho' I don't very well understand what [Page 136]very agreeable Conversation there can be between a Moral Philosopher on the one side, and a rough and boy­sterous Souldier on the other. Espe­cially, if according to the Notion of some of the Heathens, they retain the same Delights and Humors there which they had here. For my own part, I should not be very fond of the Company of Ajax, who, be­cause he could not get the War­like Accoutrements of Achilles, the better to Murder other Men, grew so mad thereupon as to kill Him­self.

Hesiod ^* tells us, and Plato ^† falls in with him, and ^‖ Plutarch, That Good Men, when they die, are turned into Daemons. And so did the Old Roman [Page 137] ^* Laws. Tho', as our ^† Learned Mede hath observed, some departed Souls were meer Heroes, of an Inferior Rank, but Novices for a time, and like Pu­nies, not yet called to the Bar. But as these made them Gods, so Musaeus and his Son as quoted, and one would think approved too by Plato ^‖, make them Brutes; for, according to them, they spend all their time in Perpetual Revellings and Drunkenness; the Healths go round, till their Heads do so too, and Everlasting Tippling [Page 138]and Sottishness is made the fairest Re­ward of Vertue. These Descriptions of the Future State are so absurd and mean, and some of them so very gross and foul, that 'tis impossible to Spiritualize them, or make any to­lerable Apology for them, tho' a ^† Learned Man hath attempted it. But take the Best of these Authors; and as for the Vision of God, Com­munion and Fellowship with him, which is the Life of a Soul, and the most Valuable part of the Happiness of Heaven, they had no Thoughts, no Notions, no Hopes at all, or at best but very weak and faint Ones of so high a Privilege, which they seldom mention, if ever they touch upon it. Possibly here and there a Passage or two looking that way, may be pick'd up; but a Man must [Page 139]go deep for that Ore; and when he hath got it up, 'tis so small, that 'tis lost in the much greater Quantity of Dross; and like the Silver that's found in some Countries, the Separation is very difficult, and what is brought up will not bear the Charges of Digging and Refining. So far was Plutarch from having any raised and settled Apprehensions of this, that in his Treatise of the Tranquillity of the Mind, where one would have expected it, instead of some noble Flight he can hardly lift up his Wings above the Ground. Tho' in another place ^* in­deed he drops a noble Saying in the midst of a heap of wild Stuff, where it stands like a fair House quite out of the Road, and in the midst of a dirty Bottom, in which none would have looked for it, nor can see it till he be just upon it: That the Souls [Page 140]of Men, while in the Body, have no Con­verse with God, but only as they have some little Knowledge of him, as in a Dream by the help of Philosophy: but when being dismissed from the Body, they enter on that pure, invisible and impassi­ble State, God is their Ruler, they de­pend on him, and behold without Satiety, and desire that Beauty which Men are not able to express. But herein he ex­ceeded himself, and spake above what he did at other times: For the Highest that he could reach, when he was treating on a Subject where it was most proper for him to have brought it in, was this: ^* He that hath learned the Nature of the Soul, and thinks that by Death it shall gain a Bet­ter, or at least not a WORSE Condition, has no small Freedom from the Fear of Death.

And that is as high as meer Rea­son can carry any Man, that we shall not be in a WORSE Condition. Now this would be but a melancholy Consideration, to be sent into just such another World as this is, and be doomed to live Eternally in it. The Comforts of the present State are fickle and uncertain, empty and frothy; its Troubles are massy and heavy. And such of 'em as are of a lighter nature, many times miserably discompose us: As the Modern Phi­losophers tell us, that a Column of Air (a thin and slight Body) presses very hard upon us. Whatever it may be in the Physical, in the Moral Sense 'tis an undoubted Truth, that there are Vacuities and Empty Spaces in every Part of this World; they are spungy and hollow Substances which we feed upon. They who have drunk at the River-Head, have never been able to quench their Thirst, nor [Page 142]could they be satisfied with any En­joyments here below. Young Men, not having experienced the Vanity of them, think the Good things of this Life to be very Valuable; but in a little while they see their own Error and Mistake; and that what they took for a Diamond, is but congealed Water, easily melted be­tween our Fingers; or a Glass-drop that is shiver'd in pieces with one Touch of a Man's Hand. If Grace has not mortified us to this World; yet Age, Sense, Reason, and Experi­ence, will make us weary of it: A place wherein a Good and Wise Man has hardly Patience to hold out li­ving for so short a Space of Time as seventy or eighty Years. How sad would it be, to be always chained down to such an Element of Sin and Sorrow, without any Capacity or Hope of being ever removed? How slow are the Minutes, how tedious [Page 143]are the Hours to a Man in Misery? Time to such a one is like the Shadow on a Dial, which he that looks upon can't perceive that it moves at all. And yet many of the Calamities we groan under, we know before-hand will be what the Fathers said of Julian's Per­secution, a little, tho' a black Cloud, which will quickly blow over. At the worst we always have this to relieve us, that in the Grave, (to which we know not how near we may be,) Job 3.17. the Weary are at Rest. And yet in the Thoughts of the Pained Man, as well as in the Style of a Prophet, a single Day stands for a Year. How intole­rable then must it needs be to a di­stressed Creature, to think, I am in a Region of Misery, where there is a constant Revolution of Day and Night; and in the Climate wherein I dwell, these are very unequally di­vided, the latter usually being much Longer than the former! Were I to [Page 144]linger out some Thousands of Years only, it were sad; but 'tis infinitely worse than so with me: For, wretch­ed Man that I am, thus must I lan­guish away to the Ages of Eternity, without any hopes of a better State.

But now the Gospel-Revelation drives away these black and gloomy Thoughts and Fears, as the Rising-Sun doth the Darkness and Horror of the Night. For it proposeth to us a Future Happiness so great, that we have not Words big enough to ex­press, nor Faculties large enough to comprehend. 1 Joh. 3.2. It does not yet indeed appear fully what we shall be. Yet so much is clearly revealed, as is abun­dantly sufficient to raise our Souls to an Admiration of it, and draw forth our most ardent Desires after it. Let us briefly consider it as to our Souls and Bodies.

1. As to our Souls. They shall be enlighten'd with the clearest Know­ledge of God; so that there shall not be the least Speck on our Eye, or the smallest Cloud on our Mind. We shall be filled with flaming Love to God, and never more complain of any Chilness or Coldness of our Hearts towards him. We shall per­fectly resemble him, and not be any longer such party-coloured Creatures, as we now are, which makes us al­most ashamed of our selves. We shall dwell under the bright Beams of his Love and Favour, and never more complain, Whither has my Be­loved withdrawn himself? We shall contemplate, praise, and adore him, without any Weariness, or one di­stracting Thought; yea, we shall feel a constant and perpetual Delight and Joy continually bubbling up within, wherewithall our Souls shall be continually overflowed.

2. As to our Bodies. This is one part of our Happiness, the Discovery whereof is entirely owing to Revela­tion. The Philosophers never dreamt of it: 'Tis well known with what Contempt the Stoicks spake of the Body; they call'd it the ^* Pouch, the Garment, the Sheath, the Hull, and the Leathern-Bottle of the Soul, and the Bond ^† of Slavery: They would not allow it to be so much as a ^‖ Part of themselves: They and the Plato­nists, and Pythagoreans, and all others who were for the [...], or [...], renounced all Thoughts of the same Body. And that Party of the Stoicks, and Plato, who were for the Revolution of all things, expected to receive the same Body indeed; [Page 147]but then it was just the same in all ^*re­spects whatever, not only as to Sub­stance, but also as to all its ill Quali­ties and Diseases. Many of them thought ^† that all the Evil that is in the World proceeded from the ne­cessary Malignity of Matter, which was of so stubborn a Nature, that it was too hard for the Gods them­selves; and these Men could not ra­tionally desire to be again hamper'd by the hateful Hyle, which was al­together as invincible as it was mis­chievous. Plutarch ^‖ tells us, it is a very ridiculous thing to imagin that the Bodies of Good Men do ascend, and to place Earth in Heaven it self. And the Primitive Persecutors were wont, after they had burnt the Chri­stians, [Page 148]to scatter their ^* Ashes, that so they might render the Resurrection impossible, as well as they judg'd the Doctrine of it to be ^† ridiculous.

But Revelation assures us, that at the last Day we shall have our Bo­dies restored with great Advantage; for they shall be of so great Purity and Fineness of Composition, as to be subject to no Wastes, need no Repairs, be liable to no Necessities, suggest no bad Thoughts, and be the Seat of no Diseases or Deformi­ties. These vile and base Bodies, shall then become bright and glori­ous; These earthly and fleshly ones, shall become spiritual and heavenly; These weak and infirm ones, shall become active, strong, and nimble as the Wing of an Angel; 1 Cor. 15. These mor­tal ones, shall put on Immortality; [Page 149]And these corruptible ones, shall put on Incorruption: For so shall be the Resurrection of the Just. They shall be made like to the glorious Body of our dear Redeemer; Phil. 3.21. be bright Mir­rours and everlasting Monuments of the Infinite Power of God, wherein it shall be seen what he is able to do, by the working of that mighty Power of his, whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Yea, such glori­ous Creatures shall holy Men be at the last Day, both in Soul, and Body too, that the Angels shall stand amazed at them; And Christ shall be admired in his Saints, 2 Thess. 1.10.and glorified in all them that do believe, in that day.

III. §. III Natural Light and Reason can't assure us that all this Happiness shall be Eternal and Unchangeable. Many of the Heathen Philosophers were so far from believing this, that they had contrary Apprehensions. [Page 150] Aristotle for a long time, the great Idol of the Learned World, tho' so famous for all sorts of Learning; and tho' he hath given us the best System of Ethicks, yet is supposed to have pluck'd this up by the Roots, and de­stroyed the very Subject of the Point; for he hath been thought to deny the Immortality of the Soul; and his Friends have been put to it to clear him. Let us consider the Stoicks, whether as they came very near to Christianity in their Moral Precepts, they also do the same as to this grand Motive and Encouragement to the Practice of them. They were so divided in their Sentiments, that Learned Men have been almost as much at a Loss to know what Opi­nion they actually held, as they were what was most reasonable to em­brace; and the one have been as much divided in their Reports, as the other in their Sentiments. Out [Page 151]of Deference to Authority, we must hear the Imperial Philosopher in the first place, who proposeth the Que­stion, ^* why the Gods who have or­der'd all things well, and with a singular Love to Mankind, have neglected to take care, that Men, and especially the Good, who have maintained as it were a fre­quent Correspondence with them, and by their pious Works and holy Ministrations have been familiar with them, that these Men, when they are Dead, do no longer exist, but are extinguish'd for ever. Meric Casaubon ^† indeed interprets these Words of the Resurrection of the Body. But Learned ^‖ Men have [Page 152]proved that herein he was mistaken. He speaks of the utter Extinction of the Soul by Death. And the Answer he gives to this stabbing Question is, That if it be so, you must know for certain, they would have order'd it other­wise if it had been just, and possible and natural, and ought to have been other­wise managed. And yet at another time he propounds this Question, ^* If Souls do continue, how will the Air contain 'em all; especially considering they have been from Eternity? Which he answers by propounding another, How the Earth is able to contain all the Carkases, which for so very long a space of time have been buried in it? And then adds, As the Carkases of Men, when they have been for some time in the Earth, are changed and dissolved so as to make room for others; so Souls being translated into the Air, after they have [Page 153]abode there for some time^*are changed, burnt, melted down (like the Metals of a Founder, I suppose,) and so run into the common Soul of the World; and thereby make way for others to come into their places; and because Men die very fast, I conceive this must be very quick­ly done, lest the Place be crouded, and separated Souls be stifled for want of Room and Breath, tho' in the midst of the Air it self. Were it not that he adds these Words, That thus a Man would answer on this Hypothesis, ^† that Souls do supervive their Bodies; I would say, that to reconcile this with the Passage which I but just now ci­ted out of him, would be as difficult as 'tis to make the two Poles to meet [Page 154]and kiss each other. He reels and staggers to and fro, and knows not what Opinion to be of. If he had not a more steady hand in Govern­ment than he had in Reasoning and Philosophy, he would have made but a very indifferent Ruler.

Others of the Stoicks believed, that after Death the Soul lasted as long as its Body did continue. And the Egyptians were of the same Opinion, and that was the reason of their em­balming the Bodies of the Dead. For this we have the Authority of Ser­vius ^*, which the most Learned Ga­taker indeed puts a Slur upon, saying, I don't ^†know whence he had it: Nor I neither; but he who lived so many hundred years ago, might have met with it in some of their Books, which [Page 155]have not been transmitted down to us; nothing being more common than 'tis for Learned Men as much to bewail the Loss of many Ancient Writings, as their nearest Relations could do the Death of the Authors of 'em. Nor is that other Reflection of that Great Man, whereby he would discredit this Testimony of Servius, of any great Weight, viz. as tho' the ^*Egyptians had borrowed this Opinion from the Stoicks. For 'tis very likely that Servius's Author might so mis­represent it, as if the Egyptians had taken it from the Stoicks; whereas, in truth, the latter stole it from the for­mer; according to the known hu­mour of the Greeks, who did vainly arrogate to themselves those Inventi­ons, which 'tis very plain they bor­rowed from their Neighbours. And [Page 156]some tell us this was the true ^* Rea­son why the Egyptians were wont to keep the Carkases of their Friends in their Houses and Closets, and set 'em at Table as formal Guests, believing they had there the Whole Man, not only the Body, but the Soul too. Tho' such Company I suppose would not very much support the Discourse, nor greatly enflame the Reckoning.

Other Stoicks thought, that it was with Human Souls, as 'tis with ^† Ma­terial Beings; there was some solid Substance at the bottom, which did always remain, and from which, in process of time, new Souls did spring when the Old ones were dissolved; somewhat like new Mill'd Money pro­duced from the old Coin that was so miserably clipt and debas'd.

Others of them thought Souls did last till the Universal ^* Conflagration, which they put at a very considerable distance from the Age wherein they lived. Cleanthes said All Souls did so; but Chrysippus and some ^† Others say only those of Good Men. But then they were to cease from being indi­vidual Beings any longer, and to be refunded into the Elements of the World, or that Universal Soul, whence they were Originally taken. Which a Learned Man ^‖ thus very aptly re­presents. 'Tis as if a Man should fill a Vessel with Water taken out of the Sea, and then some time after should break the Vessel, and let the Water run again into the Ocean; wherein [Page 158]it is as it were lost, being mingled and incorporated with the mighty Mass, tho' it be not annihilated.

And this was the Opinion of Py­thagoras too and his Followers; and ^* Heraclitus also, the Author and Founder of a Sect of Philosophers who bore his Name.

But others of them did not think that Souls, tho' they took them for pretty durable Beings, did last alto­gether so long. They fancied that they did ^† perish at length after they had worn out several Bodies, with which from time to time they were cloathed, as with so many new Suits of Apparel.

And herein they did agree in the main with the Pythagoreans and Pla­tonists, [Page 159]who held the Transmigration of Souls, either into Brutes, or other humane Bodies, or both successively; which as we observed in the fore­going Section was a most Catholick Opinion of whole Nations in the East; as also it ^* was of the Egypti­ans, and the Druids too, and the Ancient Germans in the West. How often the Soul might be a Widower, and with how many Bodies it might successively Marry, I do not know, nor think it worth the while to en­quire. But herein some at least of the Stoicks did differ from others, that at last they thought the Soul it self did drop away and crumble into no­thing. Hence Dionysius Halicarnassaeus reflecting on the unhappy Death of the brave and generous Coriolanus, [Page 160]hath these Words: If when ^*the frame of the Body, whatever that be, is de­stroyed, that of the Soul perisheth also, and is annihilated; I don't see how those can be accounted Happy, who having received no Advantage from their Vertue, yet perish for it. But then, as appears from the following Words, he did not carry this so far, that those great Souls should remain for ever, or be Eternally rewarded, tho' he saith that some do so think; because he thought, agreeably to the Sentiments of the [Page 161] Stoicks, they would be sufficiently re­compenc'd for all their Vertues and Sufferings, if they continued only for a Considerable Time in a State of Hap­piness above, and were highly com­mended here below, as it happen'd, saith he, to that Man.

Besides these, as St. Austin ^* in­forms us out of Varro, there were a Sort of Men who held that there was a certain great Year, when all the same Stars and Planets shall re­turn to the same Configuration, and then there shall be a new Production of all Men, and all other things a­gain, which shall rise up successively in the same manner, and all the fame Circumstances wherein they have already appeared. So that I shall again begin just as I have lately done, to write the very self-same Book, on the very same individual [Page 162]Paper, with the very self-same Pen and Ink, and my Reader be got just to the very self-same place in it where he now is. And tho' by the Title which St. Austin from Varro gives them, viz. that of Genethliaci, one would take 'em to be a despicable sort of Figure-flingers and Conjurers, yet they were no less Men than ^* Plato and Pythagoras, and their Followers, and the Egyptians, and many of the Indian Philosophers; and some of the very Stoicks too, tho' they derided St. Paul as a Babbler for Preaching the Resur­rection in the Christian Sense. These Men are far from being agreed about the exact Number of Years when the Stars and Planets shall return exactly to the same Configuration: And therefore I can't tell the Reader how [Page 163]often Souls, as well as other Beings, shall run this Round, and, like Fairies, dance in this imaginary Ring. Only for our Comfort we must know, that this will be an ^* Everlasting Tauto­logy.

Besides all this, there are some Phi­losophers, and St. Austin ^† tells us they are of the highest Form, who thought that the Souls of Good Men are a long time at Rest; but after a very considerable Time they come down from Heaven, and appear in Bodies again. And there was yet another Hypothe­sis, which was no Fiction of Virgil's, but what he brings in as a known [Page 164] ^‖ Tradition, That the wicked, but curable Spirits, after they had smarted for their Folly in the infernal Gulf for a thousand Years, were like so many Head of Cattle driven to the Waters of ^* Lethe, where they drank [Page 165]so long till they were perfectly besot­ted to that degree, that they did irre­coverably forget every thing which they had ever done or suffered. But as Lucian ^† wittily observes, it fell out very happily for the World that Alcestis, and Protesilaus, and Theseus, and Ulysses, slipt by without taking a Cup there, or else it had been impossible they should ever have remembred any thing, and given us such a par­ticular Account of it, as they have done when they return'd to this Earth of ours. After this Draught, they are received up into Heaven where they enjoy all manner of Happiness, till being weary of it, the freak takes them to make another Trial of their Fortune here below, and so they re­turn to this World again; whereupon unless it be a very sorry Heaven in­deed, [Page 166]they pay very dear for their Folly.

Thus have the Heathens for want of a Guide from Heaven entertained these so very different and extrava­gant Notions about it. And for any thing that meer Reason can say to the contrary, it may be but a short Term of Happiness which we shall enjoy in the other State; and that would be a more abundant Recom­pence than we could pretend to de­serve. And tho' the Soul being Im­material is naturally Immortal, and hath no contrary Principles of Cor­ruption within; yet who can assure us but God may withdraw his Pre­serving Influence; and then our Spi­rits must fall back again into that primitive Nothing, whence they sprung up into Being by his power­ful Word of Command. Or for any thing we know by Natural Light, the other Life as well as this may be [Page 167]a continued State of Trial, tho' in better Circumstances, and from which we may fall. It may often happen among departed Souls, what Modern Philosophers have dreamt doth frequently come to pass among the Heavenly Bodies, where a Star is many times covered with a rising Scum, and over-run with so thick a Scurf as to be degraded into a wan­dring Planet, or a Pilgrim Comet, perpetually frisking and bounding from one Vortex to another, a long time before its surrounding Crust be­ing broken it recovers its ancient Eminency again.

But Revelation acquaints us, that the time of our Probation ends with this Life. The dying Groans of a Saint are the last that ever he shall fetch. He shall Sin no more, Sor­row no more, be Tempted and Af­flicted no more: His Bliss shall con­tinue without any Interruption, and [Page 168]without any End. And this, tho' but a Circumstance, yet is of that Weight that it may justly be esteem'd a considerable Part of the Happi­ness of Heaven, to be secured in the Enjoyment of it, without any Fear or Possibility of a Change for ever.

IV. §. IV Natural Light and Reason can't assure us, That we shall enjoy this Happiness immediately after our Death. It seems to be too great a Leap for so very imperfect a Soul as every good Man's is in this Life, to enter upon so great a Glory forth­with upon its being dislodg'd from the Body. We see nothing like this in Nature; all Creatures being wont from mean Beginnings gradually to creep on to the Height of their Perfe­ction in a leasurely way, by very slow and easy Steps. And we have the more reason to think it should [Page 169]be so in the present Case, because good Men in this World are not wont to improve very fast in the Divine Life, but still they have many Im­perfections adhering to them. And one of the greatest Signs of their Growth, is to be deeply sensible of the Remainders of Corruption which do still hang about them. If the Scrip­tures be laid aside, 'tis hardly to be supposed, that a Soul which has been so long in so muddy and defiled a Vessel, can be drawn off from the Body so very clear, as to carry no Dregs along with it; but that it will need to pass through a great many Purga­tions before it be thoroughly refined. And who can tell how severe, and how long a Trial it must endure be­fore it be qualified to receive, and fitted to bear so great a Weight of Glory?

The wisest of the Heathens have thought, that none but those who [Page 170]have been perfectly ^* purged in this Life, can go straightway to Heaven: But as for others, it would require a very considerable Time to cleanse them from that Dross that sticks to 'em before they can be prepared to enter into it. They have fancied that several departed Souls did first wheel and roll about the Earth for ^† many Ages. That some of 'em, when de­liver'd out of the Body, are like poor ^‖ Prisoners, who having lain in Irons for a long while, can't presently feel their Legs, and hardly know how to walk, when their Shackles are off. Plato was so Extravagant in his Con­ceits as to affirm, that many of them could not recover their ^* Wings in a less Space of Time than Ten Thousand [Page 171]Years: But the Pinions of some Philo­sophical Spirits, who were Lovers of Wisdom and beautiful Boys, would grow considerably faster; so that in the Compass of Three Thousand Years they would be capable of flying up­wards. Tho', as Eusebius ^* hath well observed, we have nothing but his bare Word for all this; and herein, as well as in many other Points, he did notoriously Contradict himself. For at another time he makes Socrates tell us, ‘They who have committed great Sins, but yet curable ones, accord­ing to the Nature of their Crimes, are cast into several Rivers of Fire, where they lie for a ^† Year, ac­cording to the Tradition of their Poets, and then come to a certain fenny marish place, where they pray to those whom they have in­jured, [Page 172]that they may come forth and be received into the Mansions of the Blessed. And if their Prayers prevail with these Men, they pre­sently are drawn out; but other­wise they must lie by it.’ Hermago­ras ^*, a Platonist, tells us, Guilty Souls are punish'd for infinite Ages before they are deliver'd out of Tartarus; and then, when they are sufficiently purged, they return to Heaven. And Virgil saith, according to the Platonick Notion, that some dirty Souls are hung up a drying ^† and bleaching in the Wind; others which are very foul, are rinsed and scoured in the Water; but some must be cast into a scorching Fire before their [Page 173]Spots can be clean got out, and they be fitted for a Walk in the Elysian Fields to cool and refresh themselves. There is one Saying of Socrates that is very fit to be applied to all these Fooleries, which Plato makes him deliver, even at the end of that very place where he speaks more soberly of this Subject than any-where else, as far as I have observed: tis this: It may be, O ^* Cal­licles, these may seem to thee to be Old Wives Fables, and thou wilt despise them. And it would not be strange if they were despised, provided that by all our Search we could any-where find what is better and truer.

This is not to be found any-where, but by Divine Revelation, whereby we know and are sure, that as soon as ever Good Men die, they cease from their Labours; When they are absent from the Body, they are present [Page 174]with the Lord. It is but departing, and being with Christ. Angels receive the dislodging holy Soul to convoy it in­to the Seat of the Blessed. How far it is thither, and how long an Angel may be in Wafting a holy Soul to that Place, is uncertain; tho' we may judge the time is but short. This Day (says Christ to the Penitent Thief, when the Day was already far spent) shalt thou be with me in Paradise. And we find that the An­gel Gabriel, Dan. 9.21. who at the Beginning of Daniel's Prayer had a Divine Order to fly to him, made so great a Dis­patch, as to be with him about the Time of the Evening-Oblation. Now suppose that Prayer of Daniel's to be­gin early in the Morning, (for I will allow him to have been up very be­times at his Devotions, especially on a solemn Fast, as this seems to be; yet) from thence till Three in the Af­ternoon, which was about the Time [Page 175]of the Evening-Oblation, is but a very few Hours. The Compass of Time is but very short, before a holy Soul enters into the Heavenly Para­dise, after it has left the Body; and it may be it usually arrives there long before the forsaken Carkase is lodged in the Grave, without the trouble of any tedious Delays, or the Hazard of any new Trial, or the Severity of any further Discipline.

V. §. V Mere Natural Light and Rea­son cannot Certify us what Persons shall enjoy all this Happiness. If we were left to the wild Guesses of our own dim-sighted Reason, we might well suppose that so great a Glory should be confined to a very few special Favourites, and not lie open for All. Some shall be excluded; And every Man that knows himself, would have been apt to suspect, Am not I one of that unhappy Number? [Page 176]And especially these three Sorts of Persons would.

1. Those that have been very great Sinners, either as to the Heinousness of their Crimes, or the Time of their continuing Impenitent under them. The fabulous and idle Poets indeed have placed the Dog, the Bear and the Dragon in the Heavens (and suc­ceeding Astronomers have left them in the quiet Possession of the Place, still calling the respective Constella­tions by those Names;) But that was the effect of a wild and extrava­gant Fancy. Sober Reason will hard­ly allow that they who in the Course of their Lives have long resembled those Brutes, should upon any Terms be translated thither. The Return­ing Prodigal doth express the Natu­ral Sense of such Men, when they prove true Penitents, in that Speech of his to his Father; Luk. 15.19. I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and [Page 177]am unworthy to be called thy Son; make me one of thy hired Servants. The meanest Place, the lowest Office, in thy Family, is too high for me.

But now by Revelation we are as­sured that Heaven stands open to re­ceive Publicans and Harlots, Mat. 21.31. upon their sincere Conversion. And those Jews, that had such a Malignity of Spirit as to contradict and blaspheme, yet had not missed of Eternal Life, if they had not thrust it from them, and judged themselves unworthy of it. Act. 13.46.

2. Those that are mean and poor, and unlearned, and such the Bulk of Mankind is. Socrates would have Heaven to be the Peculiar of Eleva­ted and Refined ^* Philosophical Spi­rits. As for those that have been no­torious for Gluttony, and Wanton­ness, and injuring others, he tells us [Page 178]their Souls, when the Men die, pass into such Brutes, whose Manners they did most nearly express in their Lives and Actions. As suppose into Goats, Asses, or the like. He is indeed a little civiller to the good honest Mo­ral Men, as they call 'em, who have been famous for Temperance and Justice, which they have acquired by the dull way of Custom and Thought, but have not arrived to in the more ex­alted Method of Philosophical Pre­cepts and Discipline. For he allows they may be transformed into Bees, and Wasps, and Ants; or it may be some of them may put on an Human Shape again, and make a new Sett of Indifferent Men.

But the Souldiers are wont to carry all before them here below, and they hope to do so above. The ^* Celti­beri, Hispani and Cimbri and the Dru­ids [Page 179]thought that they who died Vali­antly in the Field, should have the highest Place in Heaven. And Ju­lian ^*, who may reasonably be sup­posed to be well acquainted with the People of that Country where he had so successfully managed a War, tells us, this very Perswasion made the Old Germans behave themselves so Coura­giously in the Field. For my own part, if it had been my Work to have Billeted them, I should never have Assigned them their Quarters in Hea­ven, who generally make every place where they come to be a Hell upon Earth. But Titus ^† the Roman Em­peror carries it so far, that 'tis not to be endured. For in his Speech to his Souldiers, he tells them that Va­liant Men who die in the Field, shall climb up to the Stars; but Cowardly [Page 180]Fellows who die by a Disease, tho' every blot of wickedness be wiped away from them, shall sink down Beneath. Plato ^* is more moderate, he would have all Men who excel in Virtue, whe­ther they died through Age, or any other way, advanced to be Daemons in the other State; but he gives the upper hand to those who die with their Swords in their Hands, and sell their Lives to their Enemies at a dear rate. Tully would have Heaven to be the Reward of the Brave and Pub­lick ^† Spirited-men, who have been very serviceable to their Country by dispatching a Tyrant out of the way, or some such Heroical Action. Especially, if to the Political and A­ctive Virtues, there be but added the Idle ^‖ ones, as Macrobius calls them, [Page 181] i.e. the Contemplative and Philosophi­cal ones.

And we, it may be, might be apt to think it very likely, that some of the great Monarchs of this World, if they employ their Authority and Power for God's Honour; some of the Rich Men, that use their great Estates; or some of the Wise and Learned ones of this World, who improve their Wit, and Parts, and great Knowledge, for the propaga­ting his Cause, and spreading his In­terest, may be thus amply rewarded by him: But as for poor unlearned Men, how little can they do for him, who are but as the Dust of the Bal­lance, that hath not Weight enough to turn the Scales, either this way or that; and therefore cannot, with any Modesty, expect to receive very much from him; especially since they find that God gives them so ve­ry little of the good Things of this [Page 182]Life? And if Scripture be laid aside, the only Rule is the Goodness of God, and the Effects of his Bounty and Providence: And thereupon these Men might well fear, that he who gives them these lower Blessings with so sparing a Hand, would not bestow those infinitely greater ones upon them.

But now by Revelation we are as­sured, That those inconsiderable Men, whom their Fellow-Creatures would scorn to look upon, may come to see the Face of God: They, whom their rich Neighbours would disdain to place among the Dogs of their Flock, Job 30.1. may sit down and Feast with Angels. And this is so unlike­ly to bare Reason, that the Apostle James might well usher it in with that solemn Preface, Jam. 2.5. of, Hearken my belo­ved Brethren, has not God chosen the Poor in this World, rich in Faith, and Heirs of the Kingdom? Yea, Christ [Page 183]assures us, That those Men stand fairest for that blessed Place: He ne­ver said so Severe a thing concerning any Poor Man, as he did of all the Rich, Matth. 19.24. That it is easier for a Camel to go through the Eye of a Needle, than for them to enter into the Kingdom of Hea­ven.

3. Those that are eminently Ho­ly and Serious. For the better Men are, the more sensible they are of their own Vileness, and unworthiness of Heaven, tho' at the same time they are the more desirous of being admitted into it.

VI. §. VI Natural Light and Reason cannot assure us what the Terms are, upon which this Blessedness may be ours. Astronomers have not invent­ed more Imaginary Lines in the Hea­vens, than we should have been con­triving fanciful ways to have brought us thither. That Repentance, and [Page 184] persevering Holiness, are necessary, is obvious at the very first sight: But the Doubt is, whether these are Suffi­cient. To say nothing of the Justice of God, it seems inconsistent with the Divine Wisdom to require no more than these. For all prudent Gover­nors are always wont to observe a Proportion between the Rewards that are offered, and those Services for which they are proposed; even the highest Generosity must, in some measure, be conducted by this Rule, or else it degenerates into Extrava­gance and Folly. For the proposing vast Recompences for very slight and trivial Matters, betrays great Want of Judgment, in not setting a true value upon things, either upon Re­wards, or Services, or both.

Now, by the Law of our Crea­tion we owe God all possible Duty and Obedience, a great deal more than the best of us do yield to him: [Page 185]And should God have exacted it on the Account of his Sovereign Au­thority over us, without promising us any thing at all, much less any great Matters; we had been indi­spensably obliged to it. And our best Actions stand in need of Par­don, so far are they from deserving to be Crowned. Nothing in us, or done by us, can bear the least Proportion to the Heavenly Glory. And therefore, that besides a Par­don, God should promise us Eternal Life as the Reward of what we do for him, is what can hardly enter in­to our Thoughts.

But now Revelation does relieve us in this Matter. The Scriptures tell us, That Christ, by his perfect Obedience and Death, in our room and stead, hath highly Glorified God, and his Government; and not only redeemed us from Hell and Destruction, to which we were lia­ble, [Page 186]but also merited Everlasting Glory for us: And that the Design of this whole Affair, is, to magnify the Riches of God's Grace, and show the vast Regard he has to the Death and Intercession of his own Son, that on his Account he offers such an unspeakable Reward to us; Rom. 5.12. That as Sin has reigned unto Death, so might Grace reign through Righteousness to Eternal Life, by Jesus Christ our Lord. It is not for any Works of Righteous­ness that we have done, or can do; it is not because of their Intrinsick Worth, that such great Things are given to us. Heaven is the Purchase of Christ's Blood, it is for His Sake we are accepted and rewarded: And so upon our Faith and Obedience, we freely receive the Blessings which he hath merited: And the more we abound therein, the greater is our Reward, not because of our Merits, but because of God's gracious Promise, [Page 187]and Respect to the Blood of his Son; for which he assigns us different Degrees of Glory, in Proportion to our different Measures of Holiness and Obedience.

VII. §. VII I shall add one Considerati­on more, which will equally reach both this, and the foregoing Head, viz. Natural Light and Reason can­not assure us where Grace is to be had to enable us to perform the Terms, on which the Pardon of Sin, and the Enjoyment of the Heavenly Glory is suspended. Who­soever consults himself, the Vanity of his own Mind, the Corruption of his own Heart, the Turbulency of his Passions, the unruliness of his Appetite, the Strength of Temptati­ons, the Weakness of his Resoluti­ons, and the Force of Evil Exam­ples, will quickly see an absolute Necessity of a Divine Power to turn [Page 188]him into and keep him in the Paths of Holiness. Some Ingenious Men tell us very strange and surprizing Stories of the mighty Strength of Wheels, and Pullies, and Screws; that 'tis possible by the Multiplication of them to pull up an Oak by the Roots with a single ^* Hair of a Man's Head, lift it up with a Straw, or blow it up with ones Breath. So that by these Con­trivances one of Sampson's Locks when shaven off, would have had far greater Strength, and done greater Wonders than he himself when all of them were on. As Extravagant as this may seem to be, yet 'tis much more easy and likely, than for any Man by his own feeble Arm to pluck up those inveterate Evil Ha­bits, which Time and Custom have settled in him, and made natural to him. Now what well-grounded Con­fidence [Page 189]can we have from the meer Light of Nature, of Divine Help for the accomplishing this great and necessary Work? Whether any shall ever enjoy it; seeing the same Sins that make us need it, render us most unworthy of it? Or in what Proportions it shall be given forth, and how long it shall be continued? Whether the Spirit of God shall be like those Periodical Winds, which in some Parts of the World do annually blow to help the Mariner forward in the pursuit of his gainful Voy­age; or whether it shall only be like that bright Minute which Astrolo­gers tell us of, that comes but once in the whole Compass of a Man's Life, and which if he lazily let slip, he shall never have such another, but is doom'd to Misery by a Fatal Necessity all the remainder of his Days?

But the Christian Institution is pe­culiarly called the Ministration of the Spirit, 2 Cor. 3.8, &c. as contra-distinguish'd from the Judaical one, tho' that also had God for its Author; so small a Por­tion of it was given forth under the one, like little Drops of the Dew from Heaven which just wets the Ground; in Comparison of what is bestowed under the other, like a plentiful Shower of Rain from above that abundanly Waters it. It was in the New Creation as in the Old. The cold and dark Evening went be­fore the warm and bright Morning; and God appointed the lesser Light to Rule the Night, and the greater one to govern the Day. The Jewish Di­spensation like the Moon had its Glory and its Influence on these lower Bo­dies. But the Gospel is like the Sun, who may with more reason than any thing which some Ancient Phi­losophers dreamt of, be called the [Page 191] Soul of the World, whose bright and warm Beams give a new Life and Being to all things here below, awaken the sleepy and drowsy Spirit in every Creature, and cause the Fruits of the Ground to Spring up and flourish, and Crown the Year with an abundant Increase.

Therefore our Blessed Saviour stiles himself the Light of the World; Joh. 8.12. a Title which he doth deserve, be­cause of the Objects that he hath in­formed us of; having set those Old Truths which before were but dark­ly apprehended, in a full and clear Light; and acquainted us with those New ones, which had it not been for him, we had for ever remained Ig­rant of. And he doth deserve it no less, because of that Vital Influence with which his Heavenly Doctrine is accompanied; without which all Knowledge in our Minds would be but like decayed Drugs, which tho' [Page 192]taken into our Bodies, having lost all their Virtue, never operate upon them; nay, Men could not act worse, if they verily believed, or knew those Doctrines to be false, than they do now they believe and know them to be true. Joh. 1.4. Ephes. 5.14. His Light is the Life of Men; Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the Dead, and Christ shall give thee Light. And by the Scriptures we are certified, that God hath appointed his own Son to be his High Almoner to distribute this Royal Gift of his among us his needy Creatures. That being God and Man, he hath the Infinite Goodness of the one, and the tender Bowels of the other uni­ted in him. And he hath not only the Kindness of an Ordinary Man, but his Humane Nature was filled with a Spirit of Love and Compas­sion; and therefore he who hath so strictly commanded us to deal forth [Page 193] our Bread, Isa. 58.10.and draw out our Souls to the hungry, will be much more ready to do it himself. The Woman of Sa­maria, tho' none of the best Temper or Character, who denied him a Draught of Common Water, might have had the Water of Life from him, if she had but seriously asked it of him. Joh. 4.10. And tho' the Hearts of his Country-men the Jews were full of Malice against him, yet from a Custom that had obtained among them of bringing Water from Si­loam to the Temple, and pouring it out there, he takes Occasion to in­timate to them that He was the Foun­tain of Saving-Grace, and gives them an Universal Invitation, saying, If any man, tho' he be never so poor, Joh. 7.37. or hath been never so wicked, yet if he thirst, let him come to me and drink. And assures them that they should not repair to him in vain. 38 For he adds; He that believeth on me, [Page 194]as the Scripture hath said, out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of living Water. This spake he of the Spirit, which they that be­lieve on him should receive, as St. John, the infallible Commentator, adds. And there are several Circumstances of this Speech of his which the Evan­gelist mentions, and are worthy of our Observation: In the last Day, that great Day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, &c. 'Tis the Feast of Tabernacles that is here meant, one of the three on which all the Males in Israel were to appear at Jerusalem; the First and the Last Days whereof were Great Days, and in a Special manner to be observed as a holy Convocation, wherein it was not Lawful for them to follow their Worldly Employments. And consequently this being a Day of Leisure, there was the greater Con­fluence of the People. And it being the Last Day, and they on the Point [Page 195]of departing to their several Homes; just as they were going he utters these Words, that so they might stick and abide by them as mens last Speeches are wont to do. And then 'tis added that Jesus stood up. The usual way among the Jews was for those who taught the People to do it Sitting; but here we find our Saviour chose the other Posture, that his Voice might reach the further. And he did not faintly Whisper, but he Cried, that every one there might be sure to hear him; and that by the Loudness and Fer­vency of his Delivery he might make the greater Impression upon their Souls. So earnestly did he desire to draw Men to him for their Spiritual Advantage.

And as a Sanative Vertue was sent forth from the Body of Christ here on Earth for the Curing the Natural Distempers of all those who resorted to him, and believed on him; so [Page 196]shall Influences of Grace flow forth from him in Heaven for the healing the Spiritual Diseases of those who seek to him and depend upon him. He will do as great Miracles and Cures on Mens Souls, as ever he did on their Bodies. Open the Eyes of them who were Born blind: quicken them who are dead in Trespasses and Sins: re­store their Feet to them that are Lame; cleanse them that are Lepers, and cast out the unclean Spirits from those who have been possessed by them.

And to remove all Jealousies and Obstructions, he hath given us such a Description of the Gracious Nature and Will of God, as is most worthy of him, and most pro­per to incline us to return to him; to awaken the Negligent, and en­courage the Doubting. He hath clearly inform'd us of his Holiness, Justice and Omniscience, as a Reme­dy against the vain and fatal Imagi­nations [Page 197]of those who are secure in Sin, and are apt to fancy him like a drowzy Judge on the Bench, who nei­ther hears nor regards how Causes go. He hath as fully display'd be­fore us the Riches of his Grace, that awaken'd Sinners might not despair, and so prove obstinate and irreclaim­able. It was the Reproach of the Israelites, Ps. 106.20. that they changed the Glory of God into the Similitude of an Ox that eateth Grass. 'Tis of a more perni­cious Consequence to transform him into the Likeness of a roaring Lion; thirsting after Mens Blood, and gree­dy to devour their Souls. Our Bles­sed Saviour, in pursuance of his great Design, which is to recover Men from Sin, hath given us quite other Re­presentations of him: That he is de­sirous to be at Peace, and ready to give forth of his Grace: Luk. 11.11, 12, 13. That the most tender-hearted Father can't be half so ready to give Bread to his [Page 198]Starving Child, as God is to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. And to cut off all Objections to this pur­pose, viz. how can God consistently with his Holiness, Justice, and the Honour of his Government, bestow so rich a Blessing on us? the Scrip­tures further tell us, it was one End of his Death to purchase Saving-Grace for us. It was part of the Prize for which he ran, a Branch of that Joy that was set before him, Heb. 12.2. as an En­couragement to him to endure the Cross, and despise the Shame, and Pain of it. He knew he should have a Seed, and see the Travel of his Soul, Isa. 53.10, 11.and be satis­fied with the blessed Fruit thereof. And when he ascended up on High, Ps. 68.8.he received Gifts for Men, indefinitely of all Sorts and Ranks, yea even for the Rebellious also; Acts 5.31. and was exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repen­tance to Israel, and Forgiveness of Sins. Yea, saith the Apostle to those Men [Page 199]whose Hands were yet reaking in the Blood of Christ, and who therefore, one would think, should never have been applied unto; or if they had, of all Men living they should have been the Last that ever should have heard such glad Tidings; yet on the contra­ry, Unto you First, saith he, Acts 3.26. God having raised up his Son Jesus, hath sent him to bless you in turning, not a few only, but every one of you from his Iniquities.

Considering the Nature of the Gospel, the Representation there­in given of God, the Temper of Christ, his tender Love to the Souls of Men, which drew him down from Heaven; his Carriage on Earth, his Death, Ascension, Exaltation, and the Ends of them; which he who did not stick at the hardest Com­mand of his Father, that of laying down his Life, will be sure punctu­ally to answer; and his own Ho­nour, which is so deeply engaged, [Page 200] the Glory of a King consisting so much in the Multitude of his Subjects, Prov. 14.28. we have the highest Reason to be­lieve, that nothing is more Grate­ful to him, than the lifting up a perishing Sinner out of the Pit, and the helping a strayed Soul in its Re­turn to God.