A Preservative Against Deism, Chapter 2

A Preservative Against Deism · Chapter 2

p. 72CHAP. 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 p. 73the 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 p. 74the 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. p. 75If 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 **foreign. Xenoph. Opera. Edit. Paris. p. 237. This Paſſage, together with the foregoing Parts of his Speech that introduce it, Tully thus imperfectly tranſlates: Apud Xenophontem autem moriens Cyrus Major haec dicit, Nolite arbitrari, O mihi chariſſimi Filii, me cùm à vobis diſceſſero nuſquam aut nullum fore, &c.—Quare ſi haec ita ſunt, fic me colitote ut Deum: Sin unà eſt interiturus animus cum corpore, vos tamen Deos verentes, qui hanc omnem pulchritudinem tuentur & regunt, memoriam noſtri piè inviolateque ſervabitis. Tully de Senectute, Edit. Schrevelii, p. 1264.brings in Cyrus, when haſtening to his End, after he had ſpoken of his Soul's ſubſiſting and being happy after Death, p. 76yet 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?

p. 77Aſſurance in this matter is alſo requiſite for our Support and Comfort in this life. **Burnet's Theory of the Earth. Archaeolog. Part II. Ch. V.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.Job 5:7as the Sparks fly upward; and may ſpeedily be in ſuch deplorable Circumſtances, that we can have nothing to fetch any p. 76duplicate page p. 77duplicate page p. 78Relief 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 p. 79to 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,

p. 80I. §. 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 **Stillingfleet's Orig. Sac. p. 500.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 p. 81had 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 p. 82were 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 **foreign. Xenoph. foreign. inter opera, p. 238.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 ††Plato Apol. Socr. p. 27.Plurality of Gods, and with his dying Breath p. 83order'd his Friend to offer for him a **Plato's Phoedo, p. 118. Edit. Serrani.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 ††Apolog. p. 42.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 p. 84to that **Quod praeter Deos negat ſcire quenquam, id ſcit ipſe, utrum melius ſit. Nam dixit ante: Sed ſuum illud nihil ut affirmet, tenet ad extremum. Tuſc. Quaeſt. l. 1. p. 1063.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, ††In notis ad Apolog. Socratis, p. 41.Serranus and ‖‖Concordia Rationis & Fidei, p. 156.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 p. 85which 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 **Apolog. p. 40. Phoedo, p. 63. it. p. 80, 81. it. p. 115. See this alſo in Tully. Tuſ. Qu. l. 1. p. 1066.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 ††foreign. Plato's Phoedo, p. 84, 85.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 p. 86and Knowing man, nor like to be a very Happy one. But he further adds, That Dying **foreign. Id. p. 85.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 p. 87Birds 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 **Apolog. p. 29.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 p. 88if in any thing I would affirm **Ib.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 p. 89to 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 **Id. p. 37.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 ††Id. p. 40. See this alſo tranſlated by Tully. Tuſc. Quaeſt. p. 1063.manner of Senſe of any thing at all, or elſe, as it is SAID, he will be p. 90tranſlated 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 **foreign. Apolog. Socr. p. 41., 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 p. 91††foreign. Plato's Phoedo, p. 63.Plato brings in his Friend Simmias replying thus upon him, I am of the ſame mind with you, **foreign. Plato's Phoedo, p. 85.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 p. 92the 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: **Phoedo, p. 91.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.

p. 93Upon 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 p. 94his 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 p. 95their 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 **Diog. Laert. in vitâ Platonis, p. 207, 208. Edit. Colon. Anno 1616.Lyſis, he cried out, p. 96How 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 **—Se cùm tempus mortis veniſſet, totos perituros. — Nec tamen mihi ſanè quidquam occurrit, cur non Pythagorae ſit & Platonis vera Sententia. Ut enim rationem Plato nullam afferret (vide quid homini tribuam) ipsâ Auctoritate me frangeret. Tot autem rationes attulit, ut velle caeteris, ſibi certè perſuaſiſſe videatur. Tuſc. Quaeſt. l. 1. p. 1057.is very obſervable, who having ſpoken of thoſe little Philoſophers, who affirmed that Death was the total deſtruction of p. 97the 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 **Tuſc. Quaeſt. l. 1. p. 1053.—Explicabo, nec tamen ut Pythius Apollo, certa ut ſint & fixa quae dixero, &c.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 p. 98no 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, **Id. p. 1054.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 p. 99ſo; 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, **Tuſc. Qu. l. 1. p. 1054.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 p. 100matter 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: **De Senectute at the end, p. 1265.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 p. 101think) 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 **De Amicitiâ in the beginning, p. 1265.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 p. 102my 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 **Id ſi ita eſt, ut optimi cujuſque animus in morte facillime evolet, &c. Sin autem illa veriora, ut idem interitus ſit animorum & corporum, nec ullus Senſus maneat, ut nihil boni eſt in morte, ſic certè nihil mali. Id. p. 1267.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 p. 103**Ep. 54.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 ††Ep. 102., 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 ‖‖Ad Marciam, Ch. 19.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 **Epiſt. 63. the laſt words.is gone before; IF what Wiſe men have ſaid, be true, and p. 104there 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 **Conſol. ad Apol. Edit. Xylandri, p. 109, &c.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 ††P. 120., as 'tis Probable that it is, that Good men are advanced p. 105when 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, l. 7. §. 32.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 ††Gataker in locum, p. 273.a Diſſipation of the Elements, Reſolution into Atoms, Annihilation, Extinction or Tranſmigration. A Saying that much reſembles that of Seneca ‖‖Contemnite mortem, quae vos aut finit aut transfert. Seneca de Provid. ch. 6., Deſpiſe Death, which either ends or tranſlates you.

He that would ſee more of Antoninus's Uncertainty, let him turn p. 106to the Places **Lib. 3. §. 3. l. 4. §. 14. & 21. l. 6. §. 24. l. 7. §. 50. l. 8. §. 25. & 58. l. 10. §. 58. l. 12. §. 5.cited in the Margent.

To theſe Philoſophers I will add the famous Hiſtorian ††Vita Agricolae, ad finem.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 p. 107of 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, **— foreign. Dionyſ. Halicarn. l. 8. p. 522, 523. Edit. Wichelii.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, p. 108whereof 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.

p. 109Now 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 p. 110are 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. Auguſt. de Civit. Dei, l. 4. c. 22. l. 6. c. 9.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 p. 111Reward 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 p. 112ſpeaks 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. **Reaſonab. of Chriſtianity, p. 276, 277, 278.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 p. 113the 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, p. 114that 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 p. 115the 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. 2.25.1 John 2:25This 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. 1.10.2 Tim 1:10We 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, p. 116yet 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.Heb 6:17Heb 6:18confirmed it by an Oath; p. 117that 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 p. 118of 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.Acts 1:11which 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.Luke 24:50Luke 24:51He 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.

p. 119II. §. 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.

p. 120We 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 **De Seipſo, l. 8. §. 58.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 p. 121what 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 **Burnet's Archaeol. l. 1. cap. 2. It. in Appendice, p. 353.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 p. 122down 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 **Socrates in Platonis Phoedone, p. 81, 82. & Tim. Locr. de Anima, p. 104. Macrob. in Somn. Scip. l. 1. ch. 9., 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 p. 123**Bayles Dict. in Hali Beigh. out of Rycaut. p. 18.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 ††foreign. Conſolat. ad Uxorem, p. (Oporum) 611.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 p. 124Funeral **foreign, &. Id. p. 612.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 ††De Antiquâ Germ. l. 1. c. 32. p. 222.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; p. 125and 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 **Hody of the Reſurrection, p. 6, 32, 33, 46.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 ††Lucian de Luctu, p. 432. Edit. Bened.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 p. 126they 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 **foreign. foreign, &c. Odyſſ. l. 4. v. 564., 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 p. 127beſt 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 **Pars in gramineis exercent membra palaeſtris, Contendunt ludo, &c. Virgil Aeneid. l. 6. v. 643.. 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. p. 128And 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 **Secundùm illum (Virgilium) res quoque leviores, quas viri exercuerant, etiam poſt Corpus exercent. — Quae gratia Curruum, &c. Macrob. in Somn. Scip. l. 1. cap. 9.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 ††Plutarchi Conſolat. ad Apollon. p. 120.enjoy a p. 129clear 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 **Stillingfleet's Orig. Sacr. p. 57, 58.of Old:) Let us therefore hear ſome of their grave Moral Philoſophical Writers. Plato brings in Socrates ††In Axiocho. Tom. 3. p. 371., giving a Deſcription of the future Happy State which he learnt p. 130from 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 **P. 372.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 ††Ep. 102. Aliquando Naturae tibi Arcana retegentur, &c.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 ‖‖De Iſide, p. 370.Plutarch from Theopompus informs us of, may be true, that after a bloody Scuffle among p. 131the 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 **—Neceſſe eſt ita feratur ut penetret & dividat omne Coelum hoc, in quo nubes, imbres, ventique coguntur, &c. Tuſc. Qu. l. 1. p. 1056.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 ††— Eaque ei demum naturalis eſt Sedes eùm ad ſui ſimilem penetravit, in quâ nullâ re egens aletur, & ſuſtentabitur iiſdem rebus quibus Aſtra ſuſtentantur & aluntur. Id. Ib.Stars are fed. Now it may be the Reader may long to know, but he will not long to take p. 132his 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 **De Nat. Deorum, l. 2. p. 1134.Tully himſelf, or ††Totum hoc Coelum, quod igneus aether, mundi ſumma pars, claudit, omnes hae Stellae, quarum iniri non poteſt numerus, omnis hic coeleſtium coetus; & (ut alia praeteream) hic tam prope à nobis agens curſum Sol, omni terrarum ambitu non ſemel major, alimentum ex terreno trahunt, & inter ſe partiuntur: nec ullo alio ſcilicet quàm halitu terrarum ſuſtinentur. Hoc illis alimentum, hic paſtus eſt, &c. Senec. Quaeſt. Nat. lib. 6. c. 16.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 p. 133had not told us, **—Tot Sydera tam exercitata, tam avida per diem noctemque, ut in Opere, ita & in Paſtu. Quaeſt. Nat. l. 2. cap. 5.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 ††Quid? hic, inquam, quis eſt qui complet aures meas tantus & tam dulcis Sonus? Hic eſt, inquit ille, qui intervallis conjunctus imparibus, ſed tamen pro ratâ portione diſtinctis, impulſu & motu ipſorum orbium conficitur, &c. Tully in Somn. Scip. p. 1318. col. 2.Harmony of the Spheres. But the Orator goes on: ‖‖Profecto beati erimus, cum corporibus relictis, & cupiditatum & aemulationum erimus expertes, &c. Tuſc. Qu. ubi ſupra.There they ſhall be freed from Aemulation and Covetouſneſs, (tho' in ſo great a Scarcity of Proviſions p. 134as 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 **O praeclarum diem, cùm ad illud divinum animorum Concilium coetumque proficiſcar, cumque ex hâc turbâ & colluvione diſcedam. De Senectute, p. 1264.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 p. 135them. But then he ſhall be joined to **Ib.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 ††Plato's Apolog. Socr. p. 41.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 p. 136very 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 **foreign, &c. Heſiod.tells us, and Plato ††De Republ. l. 5. p. 468, 469.falls in with him, and ‖‖In Romulo, p. 36.Plutarch, That Good Men, when they die, are turned into Daemons. And ſo did the Old Roman p. 137**Divos & eds qui coeleſtes ſempr habiti, colunto: & ollos quos in Coelum merita vocaverint. Deorum Manium jura ſancta ſunto: Hos letho datos Divos habento. Tully de Legibus, l. 2. p. 1196.Laws. Tho', as our ††Works, p. 631.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 ‖‖foreign. Plato de Republ. lib. 2. p. 363., 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 p. 138and 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 ††Le Clerk in Notis in Orac. Chaldaica, p. 176.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 p. 139go 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 **De Iſide, p. 382.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 p. 140of 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: **De Tranquill. Animae. Operum, p. 476.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.

p. 141And 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 p. 142could 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 p. 143are 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.Job 3:17the 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 p. 144linger 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. 3.2.1 John 3:2It 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.

p. 1451. 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.

p. 1462. 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 **Gatak. not. in Anton. p. 309.Pouch, the Garment, the Sheath, the Hull, and the Leathern-Bottle of the Soul, and the Bond ††Senec. Epiſt. 65.of Slavery: They would not allow it to be ſo much as a ‖‖Mens cujuſque, is eſt quiſque. Tully Som. Scip. p. 1319.Part of themſelves: They and the Platoniſts, and Pythagoreans, and all others who were for the foreign, or foreign, 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; p. 147but then it was juſt the ſame in all **Origenes c. Celſum, p. 208, 209. It. 244, 245.reſpects whatever, not only as to Subſtance, but alſo as to all its ill Qualities and Diſeaſes. Many of them thought ††Stillingfleet's Orig. Sac. p. 496, 497.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 ‖‖In Romulo, p. 35, 36.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, p. 148to ſcatter their **Euſebii Hiſt. l. 5. c. 1. ad finem.Aſhes, that ſo they might render the Reſurrection impoſſible, as well as they judg'd the Doctrine of it to be ††Celſus apud Origen, l. 5. p. 242.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. 15.1 Cor 15Theſe mortal ones, ſhall put on Immortality; p. 149And 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.Phil 3:21be 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. 1.10.2 Thess 1:10and 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. p. 150Ariſtotle 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 p. 151of Deference to Authority, we muſt hear the Imperial Philoſopher in the firſt place, who propoſeth the Queſtion, **Antonin us, l. 12. §. 5.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 ††In notis in M. Antoninum.indeed interprets theſe Words of the Reſurrection of the Body. But Learned ‖‖De Mente ſolâ ſatagit Marcus, de Corpore nihil ſolicitus, quod nec ſe, nec ſuum, nec ſui quicquam à quoquam cenſeri volebant Stoici. Gataker in Annot. in Antonin. p. 423. Edit. Cantabrigiae 1652. Hody of the Reſurrection, p. 23, 24, 25.Men have p. 152proved 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, **Antoninus, l. 4. §. 21.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 p. 153abode there for ſome time **foreign, &c. Id. Ib.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, ††foreign. Ib.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 p. 154and 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 **Ad Aeneid. l. 3. p. 664., which the moſt Learned Gataker indeed puts a Slur upon, ſaying, I don't ††Unde habeat, neſcio. Gataker Annot. in Anton. p. 140.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 p. 155have 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 **Quaſi ſc. à Stoâ dogma iſtud arripuerint. Aegyptii ſc. Id. ib.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 p. 156ſome tell us this was the true **Hody of the Reſurrection, p. 12.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 ††Gatak. Annot. in Antonin. p. 140. It. 301.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.

p. 157Others of them thought Souls did laſt till the Univerſal **Id. p. 139.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 ††Arius Didymus in his Account of the Stoical Philoſophy, as quoted by Euſeb. Praep. Evang. l. 15. c. 20. p. 822. Edit. Pariſ.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 ‖‖Huetii Concordia Fidei cum Ratione, p. 159.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 p. 158it 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 **Id. 160.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 ††Stoici uſuram nobis largiuntur tanquam cornicibus: diu manſuros aiunt animos, ſemper negant. Tully Tuſc. Qu. l. 1. p. 1060.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, p. 159who 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 **Cluverius de Germ. Antiq. l. 1. c. 32. Hody of the Reſurrection, p. 6, 7, 8. Dr. Jackſon, Vol. 3. p. 424.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, p. 160hath theſe Words: If when **foreign. Dionyſ. Antiq. Rom. p. 529, 530.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 p. 161Stoicks, 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 **De Civitate Dei, l. 22. c. 28.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 p. 162Paper, 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 **See for this Dr. Jackſon, Vol. 3. p. 425. and Hody of the Reſurrection, à p. 16. ad 23.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 p. 163often 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 **—foreign. Numenius in Euſeb. Demonſtr. l. 15. c. 19. p. 821. Edit. Pariſ. It. Origen. c. Celſum, l. 4. p. 208.Everlaſting Tautology.

Beſides all this, there are ſome Philoſophers, and St. Auſtin ††Hoc dixerunt valde magni Philoſophi. St. Aug. de Tempore, Serm. 139. It. 142.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 p. 164‖‖Dii quibus imperium eſt animarum, umbraeque ſilentes, Et Chaos & Phlegethon, loca nocte tacentia late Sit mihi fas audita loqui, ſit numine veſtro Pandere res altâ terrâ & caligine merſas. Virgil Aeneid. 6. v. 264.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 **—Animae quibus altera Fato Corpora debentur, Lethaei ad fluminis undam Securos latices & longa oblivia potant. Virgil. Aeneid. l. 6. v. 713. O Pater anne aliquas ad caelum hinc ire putandum eſt Sublimes animas, iterumque ad tarda reverti Corpora? quae lucis miſeris tam dira cupido? Id. v. 719. Has omnes ubi mille rotam volvêre per annos, Lethaeum ad fluvium Deus evocat agmine magno, Scilicet immemores ſupera ut convexa reviſant Rurſus, & incipiant in corpora velle reverti. Id. v. 748.Lethe, where they drank p. 165ſo 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 ††De Luctu. Tom. 2. p. 428, 429. Edit. Benedicti.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, p. 166they 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 p. 167a 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 p. 168without 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 p. 169be 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 p. 170have been perfectly **Socrates in Platonis Phoedone, p. 80, 113, 114. Plat. Gorgias, p. 526.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 ††Tully's Somn. Scip.many Ages. That ſome of 'em, when deliver'd out of the Body, are like poor ‖‖Tuſc. Qu. l. 1.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 **In Phoedro, p. 248, 249.Wings in a leſs Space of Time than Ten Thouſand p. 171Years: 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 **Praep. Evang. l. 13. c. 16.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 ††In Phoedone, p. 113, 114.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, p. 172that 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 **In Macrob. in Somn. Scip. l. 2. c. 17., 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 ††—Aliae panduntur inanes Suſpenſae ad ventos: aliis ſub gurgite vaſto Infectum eluitur ſcelus, aut exuritur igne, &c. Aeneid. l. 6. v. 740.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 p. 173Spots 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 **In Platonis Gorgiâ, p. 527.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 p. 174with 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.Dan 9:21who 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 p. 175of 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? p. 176And 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.Luke 15:19I have ſinned againſt Heaven, and before thee, and p. 177am 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.Matt 21:31upon 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.Acts 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 **In Platonis Phoedone, p. 81, 82.Philoſophical Spirits. As for thoſe that have been notorious for Gluttony, and Wantonneſs, and injuring others, he tells us p. 178their 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 **Cluverii Germ. Antiq. l. 1. c. 32. p. 221.Celtiberi, Hiſpani and Cimbri and the Druids p. 179thought that they who died Valiantly in the Field, ſhould have the higheſt Place in Heaven. And Julian **In Caeſaribus, p. 39, 40., 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 ††Joſephus de Bell. Jud. l. 7. c. 4.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 p. 180Fellows who die by a Diſeaſe, tho' every blot of wickedneſs be wiped away from them, ſhall ſink down Beneath. Plato **De Repub. l. 5. p. 468.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 ††Somn. Scipionis.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 ‖‖Macrob. in Somn. Scip. l. 1. c. 4. It. l. 2. c. 17.ones, as Macrobius calls them, p. 181i.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 p. 182Life? 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.Job 30:1may 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.Jas 2:5of, Hearken my beloved Brethren, has not God choſen the Poor in this World, rich in Faith, and Heirs of the Kingdom? Yea, Chriſt p. 183aſſures 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.Matt 19:24That 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 p. 184perſevering 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: p. 185And 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, p. 186but 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.Rom 5:12That 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, p. 187and 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 p. 188him 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 **Biſhop Wilkin's Archimedes, p. 96.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 p. 189can 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?

p. 190But the Chriſtian Inſtitution is peculiarly called the Miniſtration of the Spirit, 2 Cor. 3.8, &c.2 Cor 3:8as 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 p. 191Soul 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.John 8:12a 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' p. 192taken 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.John 1:4Eph 5:14His 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 p. 193our Bread, Iſa. 58.10.Isa 58:10and 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.John 4:10And 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.John 7:37or 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. 38For he adds; He that believeth on me, p. 194as 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 p. 195of 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 p. 196ſhall 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 p. 197of 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.Ps 106:20that 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.Luke 11:11Luke 11:12Luke 11:13That the moſt tender-hearted Father can't be half ſo ready to give Bread to his p. 198Starving 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.Heb 12:2as 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.Isa 53:10Isa 53:11and be ſatisfied with the bleſſed Fruit thereof. And when he aſcended up on High, Pſ. 68.8.Ps 68:8he received Gifts for Men, indefinitely of all Sorts and Ranks, yea even for the Rebellious alſo; Acts 5.31.Acts 5:31and 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 p. 199whoſe 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.Acts 3:26God 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, p. 200the Glory of a King conſiſting ſo much in the Multitude of his Subjects, Prov. 14.28.Prov 14:28we 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.