The Christian Life Volume 5, Discourse 1 (1 of 3)

The Christian Life Volume 5 · Discourse 1 (1 of 3)

p. 1MATTH. xvi. 26.

What is a Man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul? Or what shall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul?

IN the 24th. verse our Saviour urges his Disciples to that necessary Duty of denying themselves, that is, of surrendering up their Wills to the conduct of his, and renouncing all their Worldly Interest when it comes in Competition with their Duty, and of taking up their Cross, and following him; that is, of preparing themselves to endure Persecution for his sake, and to persist couragiously in the Profession and Practice of his Religion whatsoever Oppositions they should meet with from the World. And to press them hereunto, he urges this Argument, Ver. 25. For p. 2whosoever will save his Life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his Life, shall find it. Where the Greek Word foreign which we render Life, may perhaps be better render'd Himself, it being familiar both with Hebrews and Syrians to call a man's Life and Soul Himself: so the Psalmist, thou shalt not leave my Soul in Hell, that is, thou shalt not leave me Perishing in my Grave, Psal. 16. 10. And Levit. 20. 25. Ye shall not make your Souls abominable, i.e. your selves; And that it should be so render'd here is evident, because St. Luke so expounds it, What is a Man profited, if he gain the whole World and lose himself, or be cast away? Luke 9. 25. And indeed the Soul being the Principal Part of a Man and that which advances him into a Species of Being above that of a mere Animal, may very well be called himself, according to that of Hierocles, foreign. Thy Soul is Thee, thy Body, thine, and thy outward Goods thy Bodies. And if instead of Life we render foreign Himself, the Words will be very plain and easy; for whosoever will save himself by renouncing me and my Religion, shall lose himself forever; and whosoever will be content to lose himself for my sake, shall save himself forever. And this he farther inforces in the Text, What is a Man profited, if he shall gain the p. 3whole World, and lose his own Soul? or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? that is, what will it avail a Man to gain the whole World, if he forever ruin himself by it? and when he hath thus ruined himself, what would he give, if it were in his Power, to save and recover himself again? The words thus explained, I shall resolve the sense of them into these five Propositions.

I. That a Man; or the Soul of a Man is a Thing of inestimable Price and Value; for our Saviour here weighs it against the whole World, that is, against all the Pleasures, Profits, and Honours that this inferiour World can afford; and declares that in the just Ballance of his Esteem it out-weighs them all. And certainly that must needs be exceeding precious, whose Worth the whole World cannot counter-poise.

II. That this precious Soul may be lost. This our Saviour plainly supposes in these Words, if he lose his own Soul.

III. That our renouncing of Christ and his Religion will most certainly infer this Loss. For these Words, as I have shewed you, our Saviour urges as an Argument to dissuade Men from Apostacy; but if without losing our Souls, we might renounce him and apostatize from him, there would be no Force in all p. 4this Argument to dissuade us from it

IV. That when this Soul is lost, 'tis lost irrecoverably. What shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? Where the Greek Word foreign, which we render Exchange, is used in the same sense with foreign, which signifies a price of Redemption, denoting that if a Man should or could give never so much to buy his Soul from Perdition, yet no Price of Redemption will be taken for it.

V. That this irrecoverable Loss of a Soul is of such a vast Moment, that the Gain of the whole World is not sufficient to compensate it. What is a Man profited, that is, he is not at all profited, nay he is so far from that that he is a vast Loser.

I. That the Soul of a Man is a Thing of an inestimable Price and Value. And for the Proof of this Proposition, I shall endeavour these two Things.

First, To represent to you of what vast Worth it is in Respect of its own natural Capacities.

Secondly, To shew you of what vast Esteem it is in the Judgment of all those who, as we must needs suppose, do best understand the Worth of it.

1. I shall endeavour to represent to you of what vast Worth it is in Respect of its p. 5own natural Capacities, particularly in these four. (1.) In Respect of its Capacity of Vnderstanding. (2.) Of Moral Perfection. (3.) Of Pleasure and Delight. (4.) Of Immortality.

1. The Soul of Man is of vast Worth in Respect of its Capacity of Vnderstanding. For certainly to understand, is the greatest and noblest Operation that a Being is capable of; for it is this that gives Beauty and Excellence to all our other Operations whether they be natural or moral: 'Tis this that proposes the Ends, and directs the Course, and Prescribes the Measures of all our other Actions; and tho we had never so much Force or Power, yet unless we had Vnderstanding to guide and manage it, it would be altogether insignificant. For Blind Power acts at Random, and if we had the Force of a Whirl-wind, yet without a Mind to stear and manage it, it would be an equal Chance whether we did well or ill with it. So that unless there were some Vnderstanding either within or without us to conduct our active Powers, and determine them to our Good, we were as good be altogether without them; because while they act by Chance it is at least an equal Lay whether they will injure or advantage us. Since therefore Vnderstanding is the Rule and Measure of all our other Powers, p. 6it necessarily follows that it self is the greatest and noblest of them all. What an excellent Being therefore must a Soul be, in which this great and Sovereign Power resides? a Power, that can collect into it self such prodigious Numbers of simple Apprehensions, and by comparing one with the other, can connect them into true Propositions, and upon each of these can run such long and curious Descants of Discourse, till it hath drawn out all their Consequents into a Chain of wise and coherent Notions, and sorted these into such various Systems of useful Arts and Sciences; That can discern the Harmonious Contextures of Truths with Truths, the secret Links and Junctures of coherent Notions, trace up Effects to their Causes, and sift the remotest Consequents to their natural Principles; That … Abroad its sharp-sighted Thoughts over the whole Extent of Beings, and, like the Sun with its out-stretched Rays, reach the remotest Objects; That can in the Twinkling of an Eye expatiate through all the Vniverse, and keep Correspondence with both Worlds; can prick out the Paths of the Heavenly Bodies, and measure the Circles of their Motion, span the whole Surface of the Earth, and dive into its Capacious Womb, and there discover the numerous Offsprings with which it is continually teeming; That can sail into p. 7the World of Spirits by the never-varying Compass of its Reason, and discover those invisible Regions of Happiness and Misery, which are altogether out of our sight whilest we stand upon this hither Shore; In a word, That can ascend from Cause to Cause, to God who is the Cause of all, and with its Eagle-Eyes can gaze upon that glorious Sun, and dive into the infinite Abyss of his divine Perfections. What an excellent Being therefore is that Soul that is endowed with such a vast Capacity of Vnderstanding, and with its piercing Eye can reach such an immense Compass of Beings, and travail through so vast an Horizon of Truth? Doubtless if humane Souls had no other Capacity to value themselves by, but only this, this were enough to give them the Preheminence over all inferiour Beings, and render them the most glorious Part of all this sublunary World.

2. The Soul of Man is of vast Worth in Respect of its Capacity of Moral Perfection. For by the Exercise of those humane Vertues which are proper to it in this state of Conjunction with the Body, it is capable of raising it self to the Perfection of those Angelical Natures, which of all Creatures do most nearly approach and resemble the great Creator, and Fountain of all Perfection. For by keeping a due Restraint upon its bodily Appetites p. 8and thereby gradually weaning it self from the Pleasures of the Body, it may by degrees be educated and trained up to lead the Life, and relish the Joys of naked and immortal Spirits; it may be contempered to an incorporeal State so as to be able to enjoy it self without eating and drinking, and live most happily upon the Fare of Angels, upon Wisdom and Holiness, and Love and Contemplation. And then by governing its own Will and Affections by the Laws of Reason and Religion, it may be degrees improve it self so far in all these Moral Endowments, which are the proper Graces of every reasonable Nature, as to be at last as perfectly wise and reasonable in its own Choices and Refusals, in its Love and Hatred, in its Desires and Delights, as the Angels themselves are. For though it cannot be expected that in this imperfect state a Soul should arrive to such a Pitch as this, yet even now it may be growing up and aspiring to it; which, if it doth, as I shall shew you by and by, when this is expired, it hath another Life to live, which being antecedently prepared for by those spiritual Improvements it hath made here, will furnish it with Opportunites of improing infinitely faster than here it did, or possibly could. For in that Life it shall not only be freed from those many Incumbrances p. 9which do here retard it in its spiritual Progress, nor shall it only be associated with a World of pure and blessed Spirits, whose holy Example and wise Converse will doubtless wonderfully edifie and improve it; but be also admitted into a more intimate Acquaintance with God, who is the Author and Pattern of all Perfection; the sight of whose ravishing Beauty will inflame it with a most ardent Love to him, and excite it to a most vigorous Imitation of him: All which considered, it is not to be imagined how much the state of Heaven will immediately improve those happy Souls that are prepared and disposed for it. But then considering that Moral Perfection is as infinite as the Nature of God, in which there is an Infinity of Holiness and Iustice and Goodness within this boundless Subject, there will be Room enough for Souls to make farther and farther Improvements in, even to Eternity. And then when they shall still be growing on so fast, and yet be still forever improving, to what a transcendent Height of Glory and Perfection will they at last arrive? For tho no finite Soul can ever arrive to an infinite Perfection, yet still it may be growing on to it, because there will still be possible Degrees of it beyond its present Attainments; and when it is arrived to the farthest imaginable Degree, p. 10yet still it will be capable of farther, and so farther and farther to all Eternity. And if so, O blessed God, of what a Capacious Nature hast thou made these Souls of ours, which tho they will doubtless improve in Goodness as fast in the other Life as is possible for them, with all the Advantages of a Heavenly State, yet will never attain to an utmost Period, but still be growing perfecter and perfecter forever?

3. The Soul of Man is of vast Worth in Respect of its immense Capacities of Pleasure and Delight: For its Capacity of Pleasure must necessarily be as large and extensive, as its Capacity of Vnderstanding, and of Moral Perfection; because the proper Pleasure of a Soul results from its own Knowledge and Goodness, from its farther Discoveries of Truth, and farther Proficiency in inward Rectitude and Vertue, and consequently as as it Improves farther and farther in Vnderstanding and in Moral Perfection, it must still gather more and more Fuel to feed and encrease its own Joy and Pleasure. For the Pleasure of every Being consists in the vigorous Exercise of its Faculties about convenient and agreable Objects; but the Faculties of a Soul are Vnderstanding and Will, to which the only agreable Objects are Truth and Goodness; and therefore the more Truth there is in the p. 11Mind, and the more Goodness there is in the Will, the more vigorously will they imploy and exercise themselves about them, and consequently the more they will be pleased and ravished. Since therefore, every new Discovery of Truth, and every new Degree of Goodness gives new Life to our Minds and Wills, and renders both more sprightly and vigorous, it hence necessarily follows that our Souls are capable of as much Pleasure as they are of Truth and Goodness; and how vastly Capable they are of both these I have already shewed you. So that it is not to be imagined by us, who have here so little Experience, what Heavens of Joy a Soul is Capable of; only at present we find by Experience that the more we improve in Knowledge and Goodness, the more pleasant & chearful we find and feel our selves, and that our Faculties still grow more active and lightsom the more we disburthen them of that Ignorance and Sin that cloggs and incumbers them. And upon great Proficiencies in Knowledge and Vertue we find a strange Alacrity within our selves; we are as it were in Heaven upon Earth, and do feel a Paradise springing up within us, the Fragrance of whose Ioys grows many times so strong that our frail Mortality can hardly bear them. When therefore such Souls do cast off this Mortality which now p. 12doth only fetter and intangle them, and have made their Entrance into the invisible Regions of Blessedness, how sprightly and active, how lightsom and chearful will they feel themselves? For in the first Moment of their Admission, all that Mist of erroneous Prejudice which now interrupts their Prospect of Truth, and all those Remains of irregular Affection that check and distract them in their Choice of Goodness, will be forever chased from their Minds and Wills by the clear Light of the Heavenly State; and their Faculties having thus disburthen'd themselves, and shaken off every Clog, with what unspeakable Vigour will they move and act, especially in the Presence of such suitable Objects as the Heavenly State will present before them? When infinite Truth, and infinite Goodness shall be always present to their free Minds and undistracted Wills▪ and nothing shall interpose to hinder them either in seeing the one, or in chosing the other, here will be work enough for both to all Eternity; and both being freed from all Incumbrance, the one will be discovering every Moment farther and farther into that infinite Truth which it loves and admires, and the other will be improving every Moment more and more in that infinite Goodness which it chooses and adores. And then every new Discovery p. 13and new Improvement will spring new Heavens of Joy in the Soul, and by reason of those new Acquests of Truth and Goodness, which we shall every Moment make, we shall every Moment be entertained with new Pleasures, and so before we have spent one Joy, another will succeed, and another that, and so on forever. For when a God of infinite Truth and Goodness becomes the Objective Happiness of a finite Nature which cannot comprehend and enjoy him, but in an infinite Succession, every new Delight the Injoyment of him creates in us must necessarily raise a new Desire, and every new Desire immediately find a new Delight, and so round again to all Eternity. Of what a vast Capacity therefore is this Soul of ours, in which there is room enough successively to entertain all the ravishing Joys and Pleasures that make an Everlasting Heaven; That can drink in those deep Rivers of Pleasure as fast as they spring up and flow from God's right hand for evermore? What Tongue can express the innumerable Joys that such a Soul can hold, whose Capacity is so large as Heaven, and so near to infinite as to be able to contain all those Joys and Pleasures that infinite Truth and Goodness can create?

4. And lastly, The Soul of Man is of vast Worth in Respect of its Capacity of Immortality. p. 14For by its Operations it is evident that the Soul is not composed of Corruptible matter, but is a spiritual and immaterial Substance; for if it were Matter, it would act and move only when other Matter presses upon it, and not be able to determine the Course of its own Motion, but would be forced to move backwards or forwards according as it was thrust on by that outward Matter that continually moves and presses upon it, and all its Motions would be as necessary as that of a Stone in the Air, when it is thrust up by an impressed Force, and pressed down again by the weight of the Air above it: Whereas in this Soul of ours we sensibly feel and experience a natural Liberty of acting, a Power to move it self and to determine its own Motions which way it pleaseth; when it is pressed forward never so vigorously by the strong Impulses of outward Objects, it is in its Power to go on or retreat, and to divert the Current of its Thoughts into a quite contrary Channel to that whereinto it is thrust and directed by all the Impressions of its Sense. For thus in the midst of the Alarums and Shoutings of an Army, of the Noises of Drums and Trumpets ringing in our Ears, our Soul can recollect it self, and reduce its scattered Thoughts into profound Contemplations of a sweet and Blessed Peace; p. 15and when it is pressed from without with never so much Importunity to this or that particular Choice, it is in its Power to reject the Motion, and to choose the quite contrary. By all which it is apparent that the Soul hath an innate Liberty of acting, tha… she is not necessitated from without by the different Concourses and Motions of the several Particles of Matter; but that all the Diversity of her Wills and Opinions is principally owing to her own Freedom and Power of self-determination, and to make the least doubt of it is to question the common Sense and Experience of Mankind. Since therefore the Soul is not determined in its Motions by the different Pressures of material things as all other Matter is, but hath power to swim against the Torrent, and move quite counter to all foreign Impressions, it hence necessarily follows that it is immaterial. And indeed considering how much its Operations do exceed the utmost Power of dull and passive Matter, I cannot but wonder that any Man should be so forsaken of his Reason, as to rank it among material Things; for how is it possible that a Piece of dull unactive Matter, that a little Grass or Dirt, or Mire, after all the Refinings, Macerations, and Maturations, that can be performed by the help of Motion should ever be able to make a thinking Being, p. 16or grow up into the Soul of a Philosopher? That a Company of dead Atoms, which cannot move unless they are moved, can ever be capable of framing Syllogisms in Mood and Figure, and disputing pro and con whether they are Atoms or no? That such inert and sluggish Bodies should by their impetuous jostling together awaken one another out of their senseless Passiveness, and make each other hear and feel their mutual Knockings and Jostlings, and then from this sense into which they have thus awakened one another, and (which they are as incapable of as a Musical Instrument is of hearing its own Sounds, or taking pleasure in the harmonious Aires that are playd upon it) should proceed and consult together to make wise Laws, and contrive the best Models of Government; to investigate the Natures of Things, and deduce from them the several Systems of Arts and Sciences; in a word, how is it possible that a Company of fluid Motes and Particles of Matter should ever be so artificially complicated and twisted one with another, as to form an Vnderstanding that can lift up its Eyes, and look beyond all this sensible World into that of immaterial Beings, and conceive abstracted Notions of things which can never be Objects to any material Senses; such as a pure Point, Equality and Proportion; Symmetry, p. 17and Asymmetry of Magnitudes, the Rise and Propagation of Dimensions, infinite Divisibility, and the like Notions that never were in Matter, nor consequently could ever be extracted out of it: That can correct the Errors of all our material Perceptions, and demonstrate Things to be vastly different from what they apprehend and report them; can prove the Sun, for instance, to be one handred and sixty times bigger than the Earth, when to our Eye and Imagination it appears no bigger than a Bushel; that can lodg within it self all that Mass of sensible Things which taketh up so much Room without it, and when it hath piled them up upon one another in vast and most prodigious Numbers is still as capacious of more, as when it was altogether empty; in a word, that can grasp the Vniverse with a Thought, and comprehend the whole Latitude of Heaven and Earth within its own indivisible Center; how senseless is it to imagine that such Noble Operations as these can be performed by a meer Complex of dead Atoms and senseless Particles of Matter? And if they cannot, as doubtless they cannot, then from hence it will necessarily follow that the Soul of Man is an immaterial Thing. Furthermore we see, that tho the Soul takes in Objects of all sizes, yet when once they are in, they are not as Bodies in a p. 18material Place in which the Greater take up more Room than the Less: For the Thought of a Mile, or ten thousand Miles doth no more fill or stretch a Soul, than that of a Foot or an Inch, or a Mathematical Point; and whereas all Matter hath its Parts, and those extended one without another into Length and Breadth and Thickness, and so is measurable by Inches, Yards, or solid Measures; there is no such Thing as measurable Extension in any thing belonging to the Soul. For in Cogitation which is the Essence of a Soul, there is neither Length, nor Breadth, nor Thickness, nor is it possible to have any Conceit of a Foot of Thought, or a Yard of Reason, a Pound of Wisdom, or a Quart of Vertue. And if what belongs to a Soul be immaterial, it will necessarily follow that the Soul it self is immaterial too, and as such capable of Immortality. For immaterial Natures being pure and simple, having neither contrary Qualities nor divisible Parts in them, as material Things have, can have no Priciples of Alteration and Corruption in them; and being devoid of these, they must needs be capable of living and subsisting for ever. What Noble Beings therefore are the Souls of Men which, together with those vast capacities of Vnderstanding, of Moral Perfection, of Ioy and Pleasure are naturally capable of Immortality, and p. 19consequently of improving in Knowledge, in Goodness, and in Ioy and Pleasure unto all Eternity? And therefore certainly a Soul must needs be a most precious Thing, that can thus …t-live all sublunary Beings and subsist for ever in so s…ublime a state of Glory and Beatitude.

Having thus shewn you the invaluable Worth of the Soul in Respect of its own natural Capacities, I proceed

2. To shew you of what vast Esteem it is in the Judgment of all those, who we must needs suppose do best understand the Worth of it; and that is the whole World of Spirits. For to be sure Spirits must best understand the Excellency of Spirits, because they have a clearer In-sight into each others Natures, and a more immediate Prospect of the Vertue, Power and Excellency of each others Faculties. For as for us, whilest we are in this imbodied state, and do understand by corporeal Organs, we generally judge of the Worth and Excellency of Things by the Impression they make upon our Senses, and as these are more or less gratified and affected with them, we set a higher or lower Value upon them. Since therefore Spirits are a sort of Beings that cannot touch or affect our Bodily Senses, it is impossible we should be competent Judges of the true Worth and Value of them; and therefore p. 20in this matter we ought to be guided by the Judgment of Spirits, who must needs be supposed to have a more intimate Acquaintance with one anothers Natures. And if we will be guided by these, we shall find the whole World of Spirits, even from the highest to the lowest, unanimously rating the Souls of Men at an inestimable Price and Value. And to make this appear, I shall shew you the vast Price there is set upon them.

1. By God the Father.

2. By God the Son.

3. By God the Holy Ghost.

4. By the Holy Angles.

5. By the Devils.

1. Let us Consider the vast Price which God the Father hath set upon Souls. For when he intended to form these Noble Beings, and transmit them into terrestrial Bodies, that so being compounded with a sensitive Nature they might clasp the Spiritual and Animal Worlds together; he being sensible of the vast Hazards and infinite Snares they would be exposed to, was so deeply concerned for their Preservation, that he thought nothing too dear to save and secure them. And fore-seeing their Fall from that terrestrial Happiness which he originally designed them, notwithstanding the liberal Care he had taken p. 21to preserve them in the State of Innocence, he designed to remove the Scene of their Happiness from Earth to Heaven, being resolved, if possible, to repair the Loss of a terrestrial with a caelestial Paradise. For which end, instead of the Covenant of Innocence the Blessings whereof by their Sin they had for ever forfeited, he introduces the Covenant of Repentance, that so by the help of this Plank after their general Ship-wrack, they might be preserved, and go safe to the Shoar of a happy Eternity, And that by this Covenant he might the more effectually recover them, he designed to grant it to them in such a Way, and upon such a wise and weighty Consideration, as might at once affect them with the greatest sense of his Love and the deepest Awe of his Severity; that so whilest by the former he allured, by the later he might terrify to Repentance: To which end he determined not to grant it to them upon any other Consideration than that of anothers suffering for them, and undergoing the Punishment of their Sin in their stead; that so whilst he shewed his Love to them in admitting another to suffer for them, he might express his Hatred to their Sin in not Pardoning it without anothers suffering. And that he he might manifest this his Love to them, and this his Hatred to their Sin in the highest p. 22Degree, as he admitted another to suffer for us so he resolved to accept no meaner Suffering than that of his own beloved Son. And that this his suffering might be the more effectual, he proposed to send him down to us into this lower World cloathed in our Natures, that so he might not only the more familiarly instruct us by his Doctrine and Example, but the more exactly personate us in undergoing the Punishment of our Sin; and upon his undertaking to undergo it, the most Merciful Father agreed to this Covenant of Mercy, by which he obliged himself to receive us into his Favour upon our unfeigned Repentance, and impower'd his Son to govern us according to the Tenour of it, that is, to Crown us with the Rewards of it if we Repented, and instict on us the Punishments of it if we went on in our Impenitence. And that there might be nothing wanting to render this Government of his Son succesful and us obedient to it, he also agreed upon this his Mighty undertaking to substitute to him the Holy Ghost to be the supreme Minister of his Government that so by the Agency of this vicarious Power he might bow and incline the Hearts of Men to submit unto him, and comply with the Terms of this Merciful Covenant in which their everlasting Welfare is so abundantly provided for.

p. 23This is the mighty Project which, for the sake of the Souls of Men, the Father of Spirits hath contrived, and upon which he hath acted and proceeded even from their first Fall to this very Moment; And by this he hath most plainly expressed the high and great Veneration that he hath of them; for doubtless had they not been exceeding precious in his Eyes, he would never have thought it worth the while to project and act, such mighty Things to redeem and save them: He would rather have left them to their own Fate, and not have concerned himself about them, or not have concerned himself to that Degree as to make them the Subjects of such a vast Design. For all wise Agents measure their Designs by the Worth and Value of the Things they aim at, and do never lay great Projects for the sake of little Trifles; and unless God had a mighty Value for the Souls of Men, his making such vast Preparations to save them would be like that foolish Emperors raising a numerous Army, only to go and gather Cockle-shells.

2. Let us consider the vast Price which God the Son hath set upon Souls; For it is plain he valued them at that mighty Rate, as that for their sakes he willingly undertook to execute this vast Design of his Father, and that to save these precious Being he thought p. 24it would be very well worth his while to come down from Heaven and vail his Divinity in our Natures, to put on the Form of a Servant and make himself of no Reputation; to live a Miserable Life, and die, a painful and accursed Death. And can we think he would ever have layd down so vast a Price, as his Glory and Happiness, his Life and Blood amounts to for Things of a mean and inconsiderable Value? Had he so low an Esteem of his Father's Bosom and his own Heavenly Glory as to part with them for Trifles? such slight Apprehensions of Shame and Sorrow, Pain and Misery, as to cast himself into them for the sake of Beings he had little or no Esteem of? Could any thing but what is inestimable countervail that Glory he parted with, and that Misery he indured? Or, can you think those Souls of little Worth which the Son of God thought worth his dying for? No certainly, if we knew nothing of our Souls but this, that the Son of God thought them a good Purchase at the dear Price of his Bliss, his Glory, and his Blood; yet from thence we have infinite Reason to conclude them most precious and inestimable Beings, it being impossible that he who doth so perfectly understand the Worth and Value of Things, should ever be so over-seen as to pay so vast a Sum for slight and cheap Commodities.

p. 253. Let us consider the vast Price which God the Holy Ghost hath set upon Souls; For 'tis for their sakes that he doth so Industriously operate in the Kingdom of our Saviour, that he takes so much pains in it, as he doth and hath always done, ever since it was first erected, to drive on that blessed Design of making the Souls of Men, the native subjects of it happy. It is upon their Account that he hath made so many Revelations of God's Will to the World, and confirmed them by so many Miracles, that so he might extricate those precious Beings out of those Labyrinths of Error in which they had involved and lost themselves, and direct them into the way to true Happiness. And it is for their good that he still continues shedding forth his Heavenly Influences upon them, that he still inspires them with so many good Thoughts, importunes them with such urgent Motives, presses upon them with such earnest Struglings and vigorous Efforts, not only of his preventing but of his assisting Grace too, that if possible he may awaken them into a Sense of their Danger, and excite and quicken them to pursue the Methods of their own Safety and Happiness. So infinitely jealous is this blessed Spirit lest these precious Beings should Miscarry, that tho one would think them sufficiently safe-guarded in p. 26their Voyage through this dangerous Sea under the Convoy of their own Reason, yet he dares not trust them to themselves, but bears them Company all along, and keeps a watchful Eye over them, and when any Rock is nigh he warns them of it, and when they are beset with evil Spirits, those mischievous Pirates that lie in wait to Captivate and Inslave them, he presently comes into their Assistance, and, unless they are resolved to betray themselves, always brings them off victoriously. Nay, tho they many times not only yield to these Piratical Spirits, but joyn their Forces with them to resist and beat off their merciful Friend and Deliverer, yet he doth not therefore presently abandon them, but being infinitely concerned for their Rescue follows them even to the Mouth of the Enemies Harbour with his blessed Motions and Importunities, and never gives over the Pursuit of them till he hath either actually recovered, or lest them past all Hopes of Redemption. And when he sees that they are utterly lost by their own Madness and Folly, and that it is in vain to follow them any farther, he casts a sorrowful Look upon them, and like a grieved Friend after the utmost strugglings and extream Efforts of his affronted Goodness, unwillingly leaves them to their own sad Fate, and gives them up as it p. 27were with the Tears in his Eyes. And can you think this blessed Spirit would be so industrious as he is in his Ministry for Souls, that he would take such infinite Pains to save them, be so extreamly urgent and solicitous for their Welfare, if He did not know them to be a sort of Beings of an inestimable Worth and Value? O blessed God, what are not our Souls worth, that are worth all the Pains thy blessed Spirit takes to save, and make them happy! That not only thou thought'st worth all those vast Thoughts and Counsels, which thou hast spent upon them; that not only thy Son thought worth all those vast Condescentions he stooped to to put those Thoughts in Execution; but thy blessed Spirit also thinks worth all that unwearied Pains and Endeavour, all that incessant Care and Importunity which he employs about them to save and rescue them from Sin and Misery? Doubtless those Beings must needs be exceeding precious, for whose Safety and Welfare all the blessed Trinity are so unspeakably concerned.

4. Let us consider the vast Price which the Holy Angels put upon Souls: For tho they are the Crown and Top of all the Creation of God, and do by their essential Perfections border nearest upon him, yet such is their Opinion of the Souls of Men that they think it no Disparagement to converse with p. 28and minister to them; but from the begining of the World till now have been always ready to maintain a close Intercourse and intimate Correspondence with them; and so far forth as they are permitted by the Laws of their invisible World they are continually attending to stretch forth a helping Hand to them in all their Needs and Necessities. Tho they are the most Illustrious Courtiers of Heaven, yet they disdain not to be the Life-Guards of Souls, to pitch their Tents round about them, as the Psalmist expresses it, Psal. 34. 8. And interpose between them and their Danger; to prompt them to, and assist them in their Duties; to strengthen them against, or to remove their Temptations; to comfort them in their Sorrows, and chase away from them those malignant Spirits that are always about them watching all Opportunities to seduce and destroy them. Hence Heb. 1 14. They are said to be ministring, Spirits sent forth to minister for them, who shall be Heirs of Salvation. And how much they are concerned for the Safety and Welfare of these precious Beings they are charged with is evident by that Passage, Luke 15. 16. There is joy in the presence of the Angels of God over one Sinner that repenteth. So Considerable are the Lives of Souls to the Angels of God, that tho they are always entertained with the p. 29most ravishing Pleasures, yet Heaven it self cannot divert them from being overjoyed at the Repentance of a Perishing Soul, and celebrating its Recovery with a new Festival. And when-ever the happy News is brought them that such a dying Soul is revived, they not only attend to it in the midst of all their Joys and Triumphs, but upon the hearing of it they shout for Joy, and fill the Heavens with a new Acclamation. And when-ever such a Penitent Soul hath bidden adieu to the Body, those blessed Spirits stand ready to recieve and guard it through those Legions of malignant Spirits that do always infest these lower Tracts of Air, and to conduct it safe to those happy Abodes where it is to lodge till the Resurrection; for it is said of Lazarus's Soul, Luke 16. 22. That it was carried by Angels into Abraham's Bosom. All which is a clear Demonstration of the vast Esteem which those blessed Angels have of Souls. For can it be thought that such noble Beings who have a God and themselves to converse with, and have so immediate a Prospect both of his Beauty and their own to exercise their Faculties and employ their Contemplation, would be so ready and willing as they are to attend upon Souls, and minister to their Safety and Happiness, if they had not a mighty Value and Estimation of them? Surely if these immortal p. 30Spirits within us were not unspeakably dear and precious, those Angelical Beings who have always the most sublime and enravishing Objects before them to employ and entertain their Faculties, would never have thought it worth the while to stickle so zealously in their Affairs, and concern themselves so much about them. And thus our Saviour himself argues, Mat. 18. 10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in Heaven their Angels do behold the Face of my Father which is in Heaven; that is, do not undervalue any Soul; for how mean or little soever some of them may appear to you, they are under the Guardianship of those blessed Angels that are the Courtiers of God, and do always attend upon his Majestick Presence.

5. And Lastly, Let us consider the vast Price which the Devils themselves do put upon Souls; for ever since those malignant Spirits through their own Pride and Ambition revolted from God, and conspir'd to make War with Heaven, and revenge their Expulsion thence, the constant Drift of all their Designs and Actions hath been to seduce and ruin them, being conscious that of all the Beings that are within the reach of their Power, there are none so dear to God as these, and that by seducing from him these his most precious Creatures, p. 31they shall do him the greatest spight and most effectually revenge upon him their own Damnation. For doubtless were there any Beings below the Moon more dear to God than these, they would bend their Force and Malice against them, and not make these as they do, the only Centers of their mischievous Activity. Had they any nobler Game to fly at, their ambitious Malice would disdain to stoop to the Quarry of Souls; but because of all others These are the noblest and best worth the ruining, therefore do these malignant Spirits turn all their Artillery upon them, and level all their fiery Darts against them. And how ambitious they are of seducing our Souls, and training them on to Perdition, is evident by the infinite Wiles, and Snares, and Stratagems they contrive against them; by their unwearied Diligence to watch all Opportunities against them; to surprize them where they are careless, and assault them where they are weakest, and cheat them with disguised Suggestions; to inspect their Humours, and apply themselves to their Interest, and nick their Tempers, with convenient Temptations. And if after all their Labour, Craft, and Contrivance they can but seise the Game they hunt for, the Blood of a Soul is so rich a Draught that they think it a sufficient Recompence for all p. 32their painful and mischievous Devices; for St. Peter tells us that they go about like roaring Lyons, seeking whom they may devour. And to be sure those malignant Spirits would never be so impertinently mischievous, as to spend their time in catching Flies, and did they not know our Souls to be noble Preys, they would never go so far about as they do, nor take so much Care and Pains to Catch and insnare them. So that from their unwearied Diligence to seduce and ruin us, we may most certainly conclude either that they are very foolish Devils, or that our Souls are very precious Beings; but howsoever, their Diligence to destroy them is a plain Argument that they esteem them precious, it being by no means to be supposed, that such Wise and intelligent Beings as they are would so much concern themselves, as they do, about things which they had little, or no Esteem for.

And thus you see at what a vast Rate our Souls are valued by the whole World of Spirits, how from the highest to the lowest, those best and wisest Judges of the just Worth of Souls do all unanimously concur in a great and high Estimation. So that whether we value them by their own natural Capacities, or by the Estimation of those who are best able to judg of their Worth and Excellency, we have abundant Reason to conclude them p. 33most precious and inestimable Beings. And now I shall conclude this Argument with some Inferences.

1. From hence I infer, by what it is that we ought to value our selves, and estimate the Dignity of our own Natures, viz. by our rational and immortal Souls, those excellent Beings that are so invaluable in themselves, and so highly esteemed by the best and wisest Judges. 'Tis this intelligent and immortal Nature within us, that is the Crown and Flower of our Beings; 'tis by this that we are exalted above the Level of meer Animals; by this that we are allyed to Angels, and do border upon God himself: And he that values himself by any thing but his Soul, and those things which are its proper Graces and Ornaments, begins at the wrong End of himself, forgets his Jewels, and estimates his Estate by his Lumber. And yet, good God, what foolish Measures do the Generality of Men take of themselves? Were we not forced by too many woful Experiments, it would be hard to imagine that any Creature that believes a rational and immortal Soul to be a Part of its Nature, should be so ridiculous as to value it self, by the little trisling Advantages of a well-coloured Skin, a suit of fine Cloths, a Puff of popular Applause, or a few Baggs of white and red Earth; and yet, p. 34God help us, these are the only things almost by which we value and difference our selves from others. You are a much better Man than your Neighbour; he, alas, is a poor contemptible Wretch, a little, creeping, despicable Thing, not worthy to be looked upon, or taken notice of by such a one as you. Why in the Name of God, what is the Matter? Where is this mighty Difference between you and him? Hath not he a Soul as well as you? a Soul that is capable to live as long, and to be as happy as yours? Yes, yes, 'tis true indeed; but notwithstanding, God be thanked, you are another-guess Man than he; for you have a much handsomer Body, your Apparel is much more fine and fashionable, you live in a more splendid Equipage, and have a larger Purse to maintain it, and your Name forsooth, is more in Vogue, and makes a far greater Noise in the World. And is this all the Difference between your mighty selves and your pitiful Neighbours? Alas poor Men! A few Days more will put an End to this, and when your rich Attires are reduced to a Winding-sheet, and all your vast Possessions to six Foot of Earth, what will become of all those little Trifles by which you value your selves? Where will be the Beauty or Wealth, the Port or Garb, which you are p. 35now so proud of? Alas! Now that lovely Body looks as pale and ghastly, that lofty Soul is left as bare, as poor and naked as your despised Neighbours. Should you now meet his wandering Ghost in the wide World of Spirits, what would you have to boast of more than he, now your Beauty is withered, your Wealth vanished, and all your outward Pomp and Splendor shrouded in the Horrors of a silent Grave? Now you will have nothing distinguish you from the most Contemptible, unless you have wiser and better Souls, and by so much as you were more respected for your Beauty and Wealth, your Garb and Equipage in this World, by so much you will be more despised for your Pride and Insolence, your Covetousness and Sensuality in the other. Let us therefore learn to value our selves by that which will abide by us, by our immortal Souls and by those heavenly Graces which do adorn and accomplish them; by our Humility and Devotion, by our Charity and Meekness, by our Temperance and Iustice; all which are such Preheminences, as will servive our Funerals, and distinguish us from base and abject Souls forever. But for a rational and immortal Creature to prize it self by any such temporary Advantages is altogether as vain and ridiculous, as it was for the Emperor Nero p. 36to value himself for being an excellent Fidler.

2ly. From hence also I infer how much we are obliged to live up to the Dignity of our Natures. Should a stranger to Mankind be admitted into this busy Stage of humane Affairs, to survey our Actions, and the paltry Designs we drive at, certainly he would hardly imagine that we believed our selves to be such a noble sort and strain of Beings as we are. If you saw a Man seriously imploying himself in some sordid and beggarly Drudgery, could you imagine that he believed himself to be the Son of a King, and the Heir of a Crown? And when it is so apparent that the main of our Design is to prog for our Flesh, and make a comfortable Provision for a few Years Ease and Luxury, who would think that we believed our selves to be immortal Spirits that must live forever in an inconceivable Happiness or Misery? When we consider the high Rank which we hold in the Creation, the vast Capacities which there are in our Natures, and the noble Ends which we were made and designed for, are we not ashamed to think how poorly we prostitute our selves, and vilify our own Faculties by the sordid Drudgeries wherein we exercise and imploy 'em? When we think what a Reputation we p. 37have throughout all the World of Spirits, what a vast Rate we are valued at by God, and Angels, and Devils, are we not confounded to think how we under-value our selves by those low and inglorious Ends, which we pursue and aim at? O good God, that thou should'st give me a Soul of an immortal Nature, a Soul that is big enough for all the Joys which thy everlasting Heaven is composed of, and I be such a Wretch to my self, such a Traytor to the Dignity of my own Nature, as to give up my self and all my Faculties to the Pursuit of such vain and wretched Trifles? That I who am akin to Angels, should make my self a Muckworm, and chuse Nebuchadnezzar's fate to leave Crowns and Scepters, and live among the salvage Herds of the Wilderness? That having such a great and noble Nature, I should content my self to live like a Beast, and aim no higher than if I had been born only to eat, and drink, and sleep, and wake for thirty or forty Years together, and then retire into a silent Grave, and be insensible forever? Wherefore in the Name of God, let us at last remember what we are, and what we are born to. Let us consider, that we have Faculties that are capable of exerting themseves for ever in the most inravishing Contemplation, and Love of the eternal p. 38Fountain of Truth and Goodness; of copying and transcribing his most adorable Perfections, his Wisdom, Goodness, Purity, and Iustice, from whence the infinite Happiness of his Nature derives; and thereby of glorifying us into living Images of God, and rendring us like him both in Beauty and Happiness; in a word, that we have Faculties to converse with Angels and with blessed Spirits, to bear a Part in the eternal Comfort of their Joys and Praises, and to relish all those unknown Delights of which their everlasting Heaven doth consist. And having such great and noble Powers in us, is it not a burning shame that they should be always condemned to an endless Pursuit of Shadows and Impertinencies? Let us therefore rouse up our selves, and shake off this sordid and degenerate Temper that sinks and depresses us, and makes us act so infinitely unbecoming the Dignity of our immortal Natures. And since we are descended from and designed for the Heavenly Family, let us learn to demean our selves upon Earth, as becomes the Natives of Heaven, Let us disdain all base and sordid, all low and unworthy Ends of Action, as Things beneath our illustrious Rank and Station in the World of Beings, and live in a continual Tendency towards, and Preparation for p. 39that Heavenly State which is the proper Orb and Sphere of our Natures.

3ly. From hence also I infer how much they undervalue themselves, that fell their Souls for the Trifles of this World. For since we know before-hand that the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all Unrighteousness and Ungodliness of Men, and he hath plainly assured us that our Souls must smart for ever for our Sins, it necessarily follows, that when ever we knowingly suffer our selves to be inticed into Sin, we make a wilful Forfeiture of our Souls. He that knows that such a Draught, however sweetned and made palatable, is yet compounded with the Juice of deadly Nightshade, and notwithstanding that will have the poisonous Draught, is wilfully bent to Murder and Destroy himself. And when we see that the Pleasure of our Sin draws after it the Ruin of our Souls, and yet will Sin notwithstanding, we do in effect stake our Souls against it, and with our Eyes open, make this desperate Bargain, that upon Condition we may injoy such a sinful Pleasure, we will willingly surrender up our immortal Spirits to the Pains of an endless and intollerable Damnation. And if so, O blessed God, how do the Generality of Men depreciate and undervalue themselves? For p. 40how often do we see Men in their little Frauds and Cozenages, sell their Souls for a Penny gain; in their lascivious and intemperate Humours, barter their Souls for a Moments Mirth or Pleasure; in their ambitious Projects and Designs, part with their Souls for a Blast of vulgar Breath and popular Noise. For in every Temptation to Sin the Devil cheapens our immortal Souls, bids so much Pleasure, or so much Profit for them; and in every Compliance with the Temptation we take his Offer, and strike the fatal Bargain; So that if we will Sin, we had need Sin for something since we must pay so dearly for it. But alas! there is no Proffer the Devil can make us, that is a …elerable Price for the Blood of our Souls; though he should offer us the whole World for it, our Saviour assures us that he would bid us infinitely to our Loss; and if so, what wretched Sales do we make of our Souls, when we Sin for Trifles, lie and cheat to get a Penny, consent to a wicked Motion for a Pleasure that will wither while we are smelling to it, and expire in the very Injoyment? For so much we value our Souls at, and do in effect declare, that in our Esteem these precious Beings, which God and Angels set so high a Price on, are worth no more than what that p. 41Profit or Pleasure, for which we Sin, amounts to. O good God! What cheap and worthless Things then are our Souls in our Esteem, who sell and barter them every Day for such mean and worthless Trifles? How do we part with our Gold for Dross, and exchange our Iewels for Pebbles? What sordid Thoughts, what wretched vile Opinions have we of our selves, that are so ready upon all Occasions to sell our selves for nought, or, which is next to nought, for the sorry Proffers of every base and infamous Lust? O would to God we would at last make but a just Estimate of our selves, and thereupon resolve, as it is most reasonable we should, never to comply with any sinful Motion, till we can get more by it than our Souls are worth, and then I am sure we should be for ever Deaf to all the Proffers which the Devil or World can make us.

4ly. And lastly, from hence also I infer how much we are obliged above all things to take Care of our Souls: For since they are Beings of such vast Capacities in themselves, and of such an high Estimation in the World of Spirits, methinks we should all be convinced that to take leave of their Welfare, and prevent their everlasting Miscarriage, is the highest Concern p. 42and Interest of a Man. And yet, God forgive us, if we consult the common Practice of Mankind, we shall find that there is scarce any thing in which we have any Interest at all, that is more slighted and disregarded by us. Our Body is the Darling that hath our Hearts, and takes up all our Care and Thoughts; and to entertain its Appetite, and accommodate it with Pleasures and Conveniencies, there is no Expence either of Labour or Time grudged, or thought much of; but as for the Soul, that precious and immortal Thing which will be living and perceiving unspeakable Pleasures or Pains when this Body is dead and insensible, that is overlooked as a Thing not worthy our serious Notice or Regard. And though we cannot but be sensible how much it is diseased in all its Faculties, how much its Vnderstanding is overloaded with Error and Ignorance, its Will festered with unreasonable Malice and Obstinacy, and its Conscience oppressed with Loads of Guilt sussicient to sink it to the nethermost Hell; yet we seem for the Generality to be no more concerned at it; than if its Ruin or Recovery were equally indifferent to us. We can see it perishing before our Eyes, without any Remorse or Compassion; we can pass Day after Day without making the p. 43least Offer or Attempt to recover it, without offering up a Prayer for it, or entertaining a serious Thought what will become of it for ever. O insensible Creatures that we are, thus to neglect and abandon the most precious Part of our selves! The Part that makes us Men, and by which alone we are capable of being happy or miserable for ever. Let me therefore beseech and conjure you, even by all that is sacred and serious, by every thing that is dear and precious to you, by your best Hopes, and the most important Concern of your everlasting Fate, to take pity upon your perishing Souls, to consider the amazing Dangers whereunto you have exposed them, and to consult the Means of their Recovery; to prick and affect your Hearts with the Sense and Consideration of their impending Ruin, till you have forced them to cry out what shall we do to be saved; to bath their Wounds with the Tears of Repentance, and to pour into them that most sovereign Balm of a serious Purpose and Resolution of Amendment; to pray earnestly for them, and keep a continual Guard about them, and to strive vigorously with those sinful Inclinations that threaten to sink and ruin them. And if we will be but content to undergo these necessary Cares and Pains to secure them, we shall be sure when they leave p. 44these Bodies to reap the Fruits of all in the Possession of an unspeakably happy and glorious Eternity.

II. I proceed now to the Second Proposition contained in these Words, that our precious Souls may be lost. And this our Saviour here plainly supposes, If he gain the whole World, and lose his own Soul. The Greek Word is foreign, which properly signifies to receive a Mulct, or to suffer Damage; and therefore it is here opposed to foreign, if he shall gain. So that the Word doth not denote the absolute Loss or Extinction of the Soul, but its undergoing some dreadful Mulct, or suffering some irreparable Damage. For as Hierocles hath observed foreign. Immortal Substances cannot so die as to lose their Being, but so, as to lose their Well-being they may. And accordingly our Saviour himself calls the Punishment of the Wicked in Hell Fire, destroying them, Mat. x. 28. Fear not them which kill the Body—but fear him which is able to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell. Where by destroying, he doth not mean putting a final End to their Being, but putting them into an irrecoverable State of Illbeing; for in this State of Destruction, they p. 45still continue to act, to weep and wail, and gnash their Teeth, as Christ elsewhere tells us, Mat. xiii. 42. which Actions plainly suppose their Continuance in Being, though in a most wretched and deplorable Ill-being. So that by the Loss of the Soul here is not meant the Destruction of its Being, but its being exposed to an irreparable Damage in the other World. And to prove that in this Sense a Soul may be lost, I shall endeavour these two Things.

First, To shew you what Damages the Soul is liable to in the other World.

Secondly, Upon what Accounts it is liable to, and in Danger of them.

I. What Damages the Soul is liable to in the other World. To which I answer, that there is a seven-fold Damage whereunto the Soul of Man may be exposed hereafter.

1st. It is liable to be deprived of the highest Happiness it is capable of.

2ly. It is liable to the most dreadful Punishment and Correction of the Father of Spirits.

3ly. It is liable to the Fury and Violence of Devils, and other malignant Spirits.

4ly. It is liable to be consmed to the most dismal and uncomfortable Abodes.

p. 465ly. It is liable to the perpetual Vexations of its own cross, wild, and furious Passions.

6ly. It is liable to the intolerable Anguish of its own guilty Conscience.

7ly. It is liable to indure all these dismal Things for ever.

1st. The Soul of Man is liable to be deprived of the highest Happiness it is capable of. The highest Happiness that a Soul is capable of is to enjoy God, that is, to know, and love, and resemble him; and to be admitted into the noble Society of those pure, and blessed Spirits that do thus enjoy him; of all which Happiness a Soul may be for ever deprived by its own vicious and depraved Temper. For besides that by such a Temper it may provoke the just and holy God, who hath the Disposal of the fate of Souls, to deprive it of, and banish it from this Happiness for ever; it may thereby also utterly incapacitate it self from ever enjoying it; it may promote and raise that Temper to such a Degree of Aversation and Antipathy to God, and …anker it into such an inveterate Enmity to all the Perfections of his Nature, as that at last it may be utterly incapable of any such beatifical Knowledg of them, as can any ways incline it to love and imitate him: For the Apostle tells us, that the carnal p. 47Mind is enmity to God, Rom. viii. 7. From whence it is evident, that in every Degree of Sin, there is a Degree of Aversation to God, which Aversation may be improved into such an implacable Malice against him, as that our Knowledg of him, instead of endearing him to us, or ingaging us to imitate him, may only avert us from, provoke, and irritate us against him, and by presenting to us those immense Perfections, for which he deserves our dearest Love, and deepest Adoration, may only fill our Minds with the greater Rage and more invincible Horror. And when the Soul is arrived to such a Degree of Malignity against God, it is as impossible for it to injoy him, as to be recreated with Torment, or delighted with the Objects of its own Antipathies. And for the same Reason also it must be incapable of enjoying the Society of blessed Spirits, because it hath acquired a Temper that is infinitely repugnant to their Heavenly Genius; so that if such a prejudiced Soul should, when it is arrived into Eternity, find the Gates of Heaven open to receive it, it would doubtless be so offended at every thing that is Heavenly, so startled at the Sight of God, and the Displays of his hated Perfections, and seized with such a Horror against those god-like Beings that dwell there, and are p. 48perpetually contemplating and adoring, loving and imitating him, that it would fly away of its own Accord from that blisful Habitation, as Bats and Owls do from the Light of the Day, and rather chuse to banish it self into eternal Darkness and Despair, than be shut up for ever in a Heaven so infinitely repugnant to its Nature. And certainly to be thus excommunicated from the supreme Happiness of our Natures, and be forced to live in everlasting Exile from God and blessed Spirits, and wander about like wretched Vagabonds that are chased and driven from all Hopes of Contentment, will be unspeakable Damage to our Souls.

2ly. The Soul of Man is liable to the most dreadful Punishment and Correction of the Father of Spirits. There is no Doubt but spiritual Agents can strike as immediately upon Spirits, as bodily Agents can upon Bodies; and though we who are Spctators only of corporeal Action cannot discern the Manner how one Spirit acts upon another, yet there is no Reason to Doubt of the thing; and if there be such a mutual Communication of Action between them, there is no Doubt but they can mutually make each other feel each others Pleasures and Displeasures; and if so, then it is only to suppose that the less powerful Spirits are subject to the violent p. 49Impression, of the more powerful ones, and consequently that all finite Spirits are liable to the Lash of an infinite one; for why should it be more difficult for the Father of our Spirits to correct our Spirits, than it is for the Parents of our Flesh to correct our Flesh? For though our Souls are no more impressible with material Stripes than Sunbeams are with the blows of a Hammer, yet are they liable to horrid and dismal Thoughts, and to be as much pained and aggrieved by them, as our Bodies are by the most exquisite Torments. So that if God be displeased with us, he can imprint his Wrath upon our Minds in black and ghastly Thoughts, and cause it perpetually to drop like burning Sulphur upon our Souls. He can not only abandon us to the furious Reflections of our own natural Consciences, which, as I shall shew you by and by, will be hereafter extreamly painful and vexatious, but he can also infuse supernatural Horrors into us, and pour in such Swarms of terrible Thoughts upon us as will give us no Rest, but sting us perpetually Day and Night with inexpressible Anguish. And of this you have a woful Example in that miserable Wretch Francis Spira, who, upon that fearful Breach he made in his Conscience by a cowardly Renouncing of his Religion, was without any p. 50Symptoms of a bodily Melancholy immediately seised with such an inexpressible Agony of Mind as amazed his Physicians, astonished his Friends, and struck Terror into all that conversed with him. For he was so near to the Condition of a damned Ghost, that he verily believed Hell it self was more tolerable than those invisible Lashes that were continually laid on upon his Soul; and therefore wished he were in Hell, and would gladly have dispatched himself thither in hope to find Sanctuary there from those vengful Thoughts which continually preyed upon his Soul. And if in this World our Soul is so liable to the Rod of the Father of Spirits, we may be sure it will be so in the other too, where God, if he pleases can render it an eternal Hell to it self by pouring continually into it fresh Floods of horrible Thoughts, which being thrust on by an Almighty Power, and perpetually urged and repeated on the Mind, must necessarily create in it not only a most exquisite, but uninterrupted Torment. And it being in his Power thus to lash our Souls, to be sure when once he is implacably incensed against them, (as he will be hereafter, if we do not appease him) he will let loose his Power upon them, and make them feel his wrathful Resentments in those dire and frightful Thoughts p. 51with which he will Sting and Scourge them for ever. And if the Soul carry into Eternity with it those provoking Lusts which do here incense Gods Displeasure against it, it will there have no Shelter from the Storm of his Vengance, which like a Shower of Fire and Brimstone, will be continually pouring down upon it. For while it continues in this Shop of Vanities, it hath a great Variety of Objects to divert those dismal Thoughts which God many times infuses into it; but in the other World all these diverting Objects will be removed, and then every dismal Thought which God lets loose will seise and fasten upon it, and like Prometheus's Vultures, prey on its wretched Heart for ever.

3ly. The Soul of Man is liable to the Fury and Violence of Devils, and other malignant Spirits. For when ever the Souls of Men do leave their Bodies, they doubtless flock with the Birds of their own Feather, and consort themselves with such seperate Spirits as are of their own Genius and Temper; for besides that Likeness doth naturally congregate Beings, and cause them to associate with their own Kind, good and bad Spirits are by the eternal Laws of the other World distributed in two seperate Nations, and there live apart from one another, having p. 52no other Communication or Intercourse but what is between two hostile Countries that are continually designing and attempting one against another. So that when wicked Souls do leave this terrestrial Abode, and pass into Eternity, they are presently incorporated by the Laws of that invisible World into the Nation of wicked Spirits, and confined for ever to their most wretched Society and Converse; and then how miserable must their Condition be, who are damned to such a bellish Neighbourhood, and are allowed no other Company but of Devils and devilish Spirits? For since, as I have already shewed you, Spirits can as well act upon one another as Bodies, what can be expected when such malignant Spirits meet, but that they should be continual… snarling among themselves, and baiting and worrying one another? When Wrath and Envy, Malice and Ill-nature are the common Genius that inspires and acts the whole Society, what can their Conversation be, but a continual Intercourse of mutual Mischiefs and Vexations; especially considering how they have here laid the Foundations of an eternal Quarrel against one another? For there the Companions in Sin will meet, who by their ill Counsels, wicked …nsinuations, and bad Examples did mutually contribute to each p. 53others Ruin; and when these shall meet in that woful State, how will the tormenting Sense of those irreparable Injuries they have done each other incite them to exercise their hellish Fury upon, and play the Devils with one another? And when a Company of waspish Spirits so implacably in…ensed against one another shall meet, and like so many Sc…rpions, Snakes, and Add… be snut up together in the in…ernal De…s, how is it possible they should forbear …issing at, and sli…ging, and spitting Venom in one anothers Faces. But then besides the mutual Plagues which those incensed and furious Spirits must needs be supposed to instict upon one another, they will be …lso nakedly exposed to the powerful Malice of the Devils, those fierce Executioners of Gods righteous Vengeance, who, as we now find by Experience have Power to suggest black and horrid Thoughts, and to torture our Souls with such dreadful Imaginations, as are far more sharp and exquisite than any b…dily Torment. And if now they have such Power over us when God thinks fit to let them loose, what will they have hereafter, when these our wretched Spirits shall be wholly abandoned to their Mercy, and they shall have a free Scope to exercise their Fury upon us, and glut their hungry Malice with our Vexations and Torments? p. 54It seems at least a mighty probable Notion that that horrid Agony of our Saviour in the Garden which caused him to shriek and grone, and sweat as it were great Drops of Blood, was only the Effect of those preter-natural Terrors which the Devils, with whom he was then in Combat, impressed upon his innocent Mind. And if they had so much Power over his pure and mighty Soul that was so strongly guarded with the most perfect and unspotted Vertues, what will they have over ours when God hath abandoned us to them, and thrown us as Preys into their Mouths? with what an hellish Rage will they fly upon our guilty and timorous Souls, in which there is so much Tinder for their injected Sparks of Horror to take Fire on? When therefore our guilty Spirits shall not only be liable to the Scourge of God, but Devils and damned Ghosts too shall have their full Swing at them, doubtless the Hell within them will be far more intollerable than any Hell of Fire and Brimstone without them.

4ly. The Soul of Man is also liable to be confined to the most dismal and uncomfortable Abodes. What or where the Abode of wicked Spirits is till the Morn of the Resurrection, is no where expressly determined in the Holy Scripture; but since, wheresoever p. 55they are, they are doubtless under the Power and Dominion of the Devil, who, as the Scripture assures us, is Prince of the Power of the Air; it is highly probable that their present Residence is in these lower Regions of the World; that either being chased by those infernal Powers under whose Tyranny they are, they are continually hurrying about in these inferior Tracts, of Air, or, which perhaps is more probable, that they are imprisoned by those invisible Ministers of the divine Justice vvithin the dark Abysses and under-ground Vaults of the Earth, and not permitted, but upon special Occasions, to come abroad into this upper Region of Light and Liberty. But vvheresoever they are, it is doubtless in some such horrid and dismal Prison, as is fit only to receive such vile and desperate Malefactors, and secure them till the great Assizes, vvhen they shall be brough forth to receive their Tryal and final Judgment: And then being united to their Bodies, and thereby made liable to corporeal Torments, the Scripture expresly affirms that they shall be shut up in everlasting Flames, and be tormented for ever in a Lake of Fire and Brimstone; for then the Lord himself shall come in Flames of Fire to render Vengance to all those that obeyed not his Gospel; and having vvith p. 56those raging Flames set every Part of this lower World on Fire, he vvill re-ascend vvith all his Train to the celestial Mansions, and leave the Wicked vveltring for ever in this burning Vault belovv; for it is plain, that the everlasting Fire to vvhichwhich he vvill then Sentence them is the Conflagration of the World, vvhichwhich, after the Iust are raised, and caught up into the Clouds above the Reach of its aspiring Flames, shall break forth on every side, and turn all this Atmosphere into a Furnace of inquenchable Fire, and therein shall those wicked Miscreants that vvould not be reclaimed, be condemned to live for ever. For the Judgment being ended, the Judg and all his Retinue shall return and leave them in the midst of a burning World surrounded vvith Smoak and Fire, Darkness and Confusion, and vvrapt in fierce and merciless Flames, vvhichwhich shall stick close to and pierce through and through their Bodies, and for ever prey upon, but never consume them. And vvhat an intolerable Mulct this is, I leave every Mans natural Sense to judg.