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<DATE>2013-05-15</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
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<VID>179751</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P><HI>Happine&s;s at Hand.</HI> OR A Plain and Practical DISCOURSE OF THE Joy of Ju&s;t Mens Souls in the State of Separation from the Body. For the In&s;truction of Weak Chri&s;tians, and for the Comfort of the Afflicted. By <HI>J. B.</HI> Rector of <HI>Fincham&s;ted</HI> in the County of <HI>Berks.</HI></P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>P&s;al. 63.3.</HI></BIBL> Thy Loving Kindne&s;s is better than Life.</Q>
<Q>Qui cupit di&s;&s;olvi, &amp; e&s;&s;e cum Chri&s;to, haud patienter moritur, &s;ed patienter vivit, &amp; delectabiliter moritur.
<BIBL><HI>Aug.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P><FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="license">
<P>LICENSED,</P>
<CLOSER><DATE><HI>July</HI> 2. 1686.</DATE></CLOSER>
</FLOATEXT></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>J. H.</HI> for <HI>L. Meredith,</HI> at the <HI>King's Head</HI> at the We&s;t End of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Church-Yard. 1687.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>THE Epi&s;tle Dedicatory. <HI>To the Wor&s;hipfull, and my mo&s;t worthily honoured Friend,</HI> Dr. Robert Woodward, <HI>Chancel|lour of my Lord Bi&s;hop's Court at</HI> Sarum.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Worthy Sir,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>AS I have adventured to make u&s;e of your Name in this way, &s;o I am per|&s;waded, 'tis &s;carce more ea&s;ie for uncharitable Minds to <HI>Blame</HI> me for it, than for your <HI>Kind|ne&s;s,</HI> and <HI>Courte&s;ie</HI> to excu&s;e it,
<PB REF="4">in &s;ome Mea&s;ure; And if Any &s;hould account me pre&s;umptu|ous in &s;o doing, I can truly tell them, That I had a very great, (and almo&s;t Irre&s;i&s;tible) <HI>Temptation</HI> to it: For, Gentle|men of good Repute and Judg|ment do not &s;eem to doubt, but I might bear the Reflecti|ons of <HI>Ingratitude,</HI> as well as <HI>Imprudence;</HI> if, (having an op|portunity) I &s;hould not make &s;ome publick <HI>Acknowledgment</HI> of my <HI>Obligations</HI> to your <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI> for tho&s;e great In&s;tan|ces of your unde&s;erved <HI>Friend|&s;hip,</HI> which (Ble&s;&s;ed be God) I &s;o happily received, in tho&s;e publick <HI>Circum&s;tances,</HI> that made me &s;tand in need of &s;o <HI>Good</HI> a <HI>Friend.</HI></P>
<PB REF="4">
<P>Accept therefore, I be&s;eech you, Sir, this plain <HI>Piece,</HI> as a <HI>Pledge</HI> of the unfeigned <HI>Thanks</HI> that I mu&s;t <HI>ever</HI> owe you.</P>
<P>And, Sir, I do the rather beg your <HI>Acceptance</HI> of it, becau&s;e the <HI>Doctrine</HI> defended is apparently owned by the <HI>Church</HI> of <HI>England;</HI> and, partly, Becau&s;e if it find (in the Main) that <HI>Honour</HI> and <HI>Favour,</HI> I &s;hall think my &s;elf &s;ufficiently Armed again&s;t the <HI>Cen&s;ures</HI> of the <HI>Profane, Malignant World.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Father</HI> of <HI>Mercies</HI> fol|low you &s;till with His <HI>Good|ne&s;s;</HI> Granting you many <HI>Hap|py Days</HI> here on Earth; and, when your <HI>Time</HI> is ended;
<PB REF="5">the <HI>Joys</HI> of <HI>Eternity,</HI> and the <HI>Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s</HI> of Them that <HI>Dye</HI> in the Lord. So praying, refteth, (Good Sir)</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your Wor&s;hip's, mo&s;t humble Servant, and mo&s;t effectually obliged,</HI>John Brandon.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>A Word to the READER.</HEAD>
<P>CHri&s;tian Reader. If thou aske&s;t, why I publi&s;h this Di&s;cour&s;e? I can &s;afely an&s;wer, 'Tis not to offend thee. But po&s;&s;ibly Thou may&s;t expect &s;ome fur|ther Account, which take as followeth.</P>
<P N="1"><HI>1.</HI> The Subject here treated of, is not &s;o commonly handled as many other Points of Religion; Among the Multi|tudes of Books abroad in the World (which I have made &s;ome Enquiry a|bout) there is not &s;o much as one Poc|ket-Volume, that I can find, written upon it, purpo&s;ely, plainly and practically; And Tho&s;e that have &s;poken occa&s;ionally of it in larger Pieces containing various Subjects, have &s;aid a great deal more than they have proved, about it; I could &s;hew a prety many pages relating to it, that afford not &s;o much as one good Sub|&s;tantial
<PB REF="6">Argument for the truth of it; and yet it de&s;erveth to be as well proved as mo&s;t Doctrines that I know of, (and much better than &s;ome that have been &s;ufficiently contended for.)</P>
<P N="2"><HI>2.</HI> 'Tis a Subject that &s;eems to afford an Eminent Degree of Support and &s;atis|faction to a Pious Soul. For though the Being <HI>(for ever with the Lord)</HI> be the Top of our Felicity, (whether we enjoy it &s;ooner or later) yet, me thinks the Hope of being with Him in a little Time may be agreat Addition to a Chri&s;tian's Joy.</P>
<P>May it not be a Matter of Special (yea &s;trong) Con&s;olation, to think and Be|lieve (on Scripture grounds) that he &s;hall be a Gainer by his Di&s;&s;olution, have his Soul with Chri&s;t and his Angels before his Body is with Worms, and Du&s;t, and &s;ee the Eternal Light and Love, as &s;oon as Death has drawn the Vail of Fle&s;h?</P>
<P>And that it may A&s;&s;i&s;t thee (Chri&s;tian Reader) in the chearfull Service of thy God, (which is the true&s;t Heaven that Thou can&s;t hope for here on Earth) is &s;o
<PB REF="6">evident that it need not be proved. Well may he &s;erve his God with Gladne&s;s, that hopeth &s;o &s;hortly to &s;ee his Salvation.</P>
<P>And I was the more encouraged to go on herein, becau&s;e I feared no Oppo&s;ers: For the Church of <HI>England</HI> teacheth its Friends to &s;ay (in the Burial Service) <HI>[O God with whom the Souls of the Faithfull, after they are delivered from the Fle&s;h, are in Joy and Feli|city.]</HI> And if I am oppo&s;ed by its Ene|mies, it will be matter of &s;mall Regard with me, (yet if any man of what per&s;wa|&s;ion &s;oever, &s;hall employ his Pen to Di&s;|prove the Main of what I have &s;aid on this Point, He may be attended to, if God grant Life and Lei&s;ure.)</P>
<P>I can ea&s;ily judge, that a Work of this Nature were fitter to be managed by others, than by Me, yet that mu&s;t not hinder me from doing it, as I can. And if my Imperfect Doing of it may Anger any man &s;o far as to move him to do it Better, I &s;hall think, I have written to very good purpo&s;e.
<PB REF="7">And now, I have onely to Reque&s;t of thee the&s;e few things.</P>
<P N="1"><HI>1.</HI> That thou would&s;t reade over this Di&s;cour&s;e (when thou ha&s;t not a better at hand,) for which I need urge no other Motives, than the Smallne&s;s of it, and the Greatne&s;s of it's Subject.</P>
<P N="2"><HI>2.</HI> That thou reade it with a Chari|table Eye, and a Chri&s;tian Aim, recei|ving the Truth with all Readine&s;s of mind; not Rejecting any thing thou finde&s;t to be Sound, for the Sake of any thing that thou thinke&s;t to be weak.</P>
<P N="3"><HI>3.</HI> That thou would&s;t be&s;eech God of all Grace, to give us &s;uch Grace as may be &s;ufficient for us; &s;uch as may fit us both (in his due time) for the Parti|cipation of that Felicity which this &s;mall Book is de&s;igned to Di&s;cover. I add no more but to Sub&s;cribe my Self</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Thy Servant, for the Sake of Je&s;us,</HI> John Brandon</SIGNED>
<DATELINE>Fincham|&s;ted (Berks) <DATE>May 10th. <HI>1686.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>A Table of the Contents of this Di&s;cour&s;e.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>THE Introduction, with &s;ome Pre&s;uppo&s;itions relating to the Point,</HI> (Viz.) <HI>The Soul's Immortality, and it's Capablene&s;s of being Happy out of the Body.</HI> Page 1</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECTION I. <HI>The Happine&s;s of good Mens Souls in their Separation from the Body a&s;|&s;erted, and the Probability of it di&s;co|vered.</HI> pag. 12</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. II. <HI>The happy State of good Mens Souls after Death, proved from</HI> Phil. 1.23. <HI>[having a De&s;ire to depart, and to be with Chri&s;t, which is far better,] to|gether with an An&s;wer to a Socinian Exception.</HI> pag. 17</ITEM>
<PB REF="8">
<ITEM>SECT. III. <HI>The Point proved from</HI> Luke 23.43. [<HI>This day Thou &s;halt be with me in Paradi&s;e, and</HI> Colo&s;. 1.20. <HI>To re|concile all things to him&s;elf, whether Things on Earth, or Things in Hea|ven] with an An&s;wer to &s;ome Ex|ceptions.</HI> pag. 26</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. IV. <HI>The &s;ame proved from</HI> 2 Cor. 5.8. <HI>[We are willing rather to be ab&s;ent from the Body, and pre&s;ent with the Lord,] and</HI> Heb. 12.23. <HI>[The Spirits of Ju&s;t Men made per|fect.]</HI> pag. 31</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. V. <HI>The &s;ame Doctrine proved from</HI> Rev. 14.13. [<HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the Dead that dye in the Lord, for they re&s;t from their Labours,</HI> &amp;c.] pag. 36</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. VI. <HI>The happine&s;s of Ju&s;t Mens Souls, in the State of Separation vindica|ted.</HI> pag. 39</ITEM>
<PB REF="8">
<ITEM>SECT. VII. <HI>The Point improved, for Confutati|on of Errors.</HI> pag. 45</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. VIII.<HI>For trial of our &s;elves, whether we are of the number of tho&s;e Ju&s;t ones, that may ju&s;tly expect this approaching Felicity.</HI> pag. 48
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>An Appendix to the Eighth Section, being a Character of that Ju&s;t per|&s;on, who&s;e Soul &s;hall &s;hortly be &s;o happy.</HI> pag. 71</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. IX. <HI>Shewing the U&s;efulne&s;s of the Point, in two other Particulars.</HI> pag. 83.</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. X. <HI>Being a Per&s;wa&s;ive to &s;everal great Duties.</HI> pag. 88</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. XI. <HI>Containing the Re&s;olution of two great Que&s;tions.</HI> pag. 95</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. XII. <HI>Treating of the Nature of this
<PB REF="9">Happine&s;s, and the Joy that attends it.</HI> pag. 113</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. XIII. <HI>Shewing the Greatne&s;s of the Love of Chri&s;t, which the Souls of his Peo|ple all enjoy after Death.</HI> pag. 132</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. XIV. <HI>Di&s;covering the Greatne&s;s of Chri&s;t's Love, in what he did or &s;uffered for Sinners.</HI> pag. 142</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. XV. <HI>Being other brief Improvements of the Point.</HI> page. 150.</ITEM>
<ITEM>SECT. XVI. <HI>Being a farther Improvement of the Doctrine afore&s;aid, as an Antidote a|gainst the Fear of Death.</HI> pag. 157</ITEM>
<ITEM>A POSTSCRIPT. <HI>Attempting the Re&s;olution of a Weighty Que&s;tion, with an Appendix to the</HI> 13th. <HI>Section, concerning Chri&s;t's Filiation; in a Letter to a learned Authour.</HI> pag. 185</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="tract">
<PB N="1" REF="9">
<HEAD>Happine&s;s at Hand.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="introduction">
<HEAD>The Introduction, with &s;ome pre|&s;uppo&s;itions relating to the Point.</HEAD>
<P>THAT Godline&s;s is great gain, and the ways there|of peace and plea&s;antne&s;s, is a&s;&s;ured to us by the Authour of that ble&s;&s;ed Book which may &s;ave our Souls but cannot deceive them. And though Religion be &s;o good in this Life that every good action may afford &s;ome degree of comfort (as Dr. <HI>Sibbs</HI> was wont to &s;ay) when the Soul is not under temptations and mi&s;takes; yet the be&s;t of Reli|gion is re&s;erved for another World,
<PB N="2" REF="10">and its &s;tronge&s;t Con&s;olations kept in &s;tore to be enjoyed in that high and holy place where there is joy without &s;orrow, peace without trouble, Sanctification without Sin, and all without end.</P>
<P>And that thy Joy may be full, con&s;ider (Chri&s;tian Reader) what grounds thou ha&s;t to believe that this Happine&s;s is at Hand al&s;o, and &s;hall be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed in good part by thy Soul in its &s;eparated State; mo&s;t certainly the love of thy Lord is better than Life, and will be bet|ter to thy Spirit than the life of thy Fle&s;h and all the comforts of this lower World; the di&s;covery of which I am not pre&s;ently to attempt, but rather to premi&s;e a few particu|lars in order to it.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t thing to be &s;uppo&s;ed as the Foundation of what follows, is <HI>[The immortality of Mens Souls]</HI> which &s;ome have been &s;o bruti&s;h as to call in que&s;tion imagining that
<PB N="3" REF="10">Men die (in all re&s;pects) as the Bea&s;ts that peri&s;h and therefore live as if Body and Soul &s;hould rot together.</P>
<P>Who&s;e folly therein I need, on this occa&s;ion, no farther to &s;hew than by con&s;idering the words of him who is the faithfull and true Witne&s;s, and knows us better than we do our &s;elves, <HI>viz. Mat.</HI> 10.28. <HI>[Fear not them that can kill the Body, but are not able to kill the Soul.]</HI></P>
<P>In which words our Saviour &s;pake plain enough: nor can any &s;ubtilty in the earth evade the force of them; or ob&s;cure to any purpo&s;e, the clear|ne&s;s of that Te&s;timony which they give to the Souls Immortality. For they are brought in as an incourage|ment to his Apo&s;tles to preach the Go&s;pel; an incouragement I &s;ay, again&s;t the fury of Per&s;ecutours (of whom he &s;pake in the foregoing ver&s;es.) He would not have this di&s;hearten them: <HI>Fear not</HI> (&s;ays he)
<PB N="4" REF="11"><HI>them that can kill the Body but are not able to kill the Soul. q. d.</HI> [As they can do nothing more again&s;t you than they are permitted to doe, &s;o the wor&s;t they can po&s;&s;ibly do to you can kill no more than your Bo|dies: your nobler parts your Souls are above the reach of all their vio|lence; therefore fear them not in any di&s;couraging way.] Will not any one that readeth that Text with heedfulne&s;s, and without prejudice, be &s;atisfied that this is the meaning of it? And if it were de&s;igned by our Saviour to expre&s;s the Souls im|mortality, how could it be done more effectually and more plainly in a few words? But nothing is plain enough to them that will not &s;ee the truth. The &s;trength of which as to this particular, may appear by the weakne&s;s of tho&s;e Interpreta|tions which the contrary minded have put upon this Text.</P>
<P N="1">1. (Say &s;ome) the killing of the
<PB N="5" REF="11">Soul may be meant of <HI>Damning</HI> it. They cannot <HI>kill</HI> it with Eternal <HI>Death</HI> or Damnation.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> That none of the greate&s;t Per&s;ecutours could kill the Soul in <HI>that manner</HI> is very true, but 'tis not the meaning of that Text [<HI>Mat.</HI> 10.28.] For the Damning of the Soul is not &s;poken of in the word, <HI>kill;</HI> but in the word, <HI>De&s;troying;</HI> but fear him who is able to <HI>De&s;troy</HI> Bo|dy and Soul in Hell, (in the &s;ame ver&s;e) now to <HI>[kill,]</HI> and to <HI>[De&s;troy,]</HI> are different words, and as different things: the di&s;obedient are threat|ned with an everla&s;ting <HI>[De&s;truc|tion,]</HI> 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1.9. but no where with an everla&s;ting <HI>killing.</HI> 2. The <HI>[killing]</HI> of the Soul which is there denied to be in the power of Men, is not to be under&s;tood of <HI>Damna|tion,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>that</HI> is never expre&s;&s;ed by that word (in Scripture) Let any Man &s;hew &s;o much as one Text therein where the <HI>Damnation</HI> either
<PB N="6" REF="12">of the Soul or of the Per&s;on is called a <HI>killing</HI> of the one or the other. 3. The &s;ame word in the Original is u&s;ed of both, which &s;hews it meant in the &s;ame &s;en&s;e of both. So that as the word <HI>[everla&s;ting]</HI> (<HI>Mat.</HI> 25.46.) &s;poken of the puni&s;hment of the wicked, is the &s;ame that is &s;po|ken of the Life, or Glory, of the Righteous; and therefore proves the perpetuity of the former as well as of the latter, as is &s;hewed el&s;e|where.) So the Original word for <HI>[killing]</HI>
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Everla&s;ting Fire no Fancy.</HI> Cap. 1. Sect. 1.</NOTE> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">] being the &s;ame for &s;ub&s;tance that is u&s;ed in the &s;aid Text, con|cerning the <HI>killing</HI> of the Soul and of the Body, it mu&s;t needs be under&s;tood accordingly.</P>
<P>So that [they can kill the Body but cannot kill the Soul] mu&s;t needs &s;ignifie to us that the Soul continues to live the life of a Soul when the Body cea&s;eth to live the
<PB N="7" REF="12">life of a Body. And I know not how any can deny it unle&s;s he be re&s;olved upon perver&s;ene&s;s, and will offer violence to the plaine&s;t &s;peeches imaginable.</P>
<P N="4">4. At that rate of Interpretation which the&s;e Objectors u&s;e, our Sa|viour &s;hould, (therein) have &s;po|ken no more of the Soul than may be &s;aid of the Body. For Men (we know) cannot <HI>Damn</HI> the Body no more than the Soul. But there we &s;ee the <HI>[killing]</HI> which is denied as to the Soul, is granted of the Bo|dy [<HI>that can,</HI> &s;ays our Lord, <HI>kill the Body but cannot kill the Soul.</HI>] And if any yet think the meaning is that no Per&s;ecutors can damn the Souls of God's Servants, I wou'd fain know why they &s;uppo&s;e him to have taught &s;o plain a truth in &s;o dark a manner; For how &s;hall we be certain that <HI>[killing]</HI> means <HI>Damna|tion</HI> in that place, when it &s;ignifieth no &s;uch thing in any other Scrip|tures?</P>
<PB N="8" REF="13">
<P>Others can fancy the meaning is [that men cannot <HI>kill</HI> the Soul for ever] or for good and all (as we &s;ay.) But that's as vain as the former, and appears to be &s;o by the &s;ame rea|&s;on; for then there &s;hould be no more &s;aid of the Soul than may be &s;aid of the Body; for they cannot kill the Body for ever: it &s;hall be alive after death has done its wor&s;t; <HI>It &s;hall be rai&s;ed Incorruptible</HI> (1 Cor. 15.) <HI>and this mortal mu&s;t put on Im|mortality.</HI></P>
<P>And that the word, <HI>kill,</HI> (in St. <HI>Matthew</HI>) mu&s;t be meant of killing <HI>[for ever]</HI> no proof can be pretended to either from the phra&s;e, or cir|cum&s;tances, or &s;cope of the place, and therefore it might be &s;ufficient to deny it without confuting it.</P>
<P>Others again would evade the force of this Text of St. <HI>Matthew</HI> by comparing it with <HI>Luk.</HI> 12.4. <HI>Fear not them that kill the Body, but after that have no more that they can
<PB N="9" REF="13">do,</HI> where there is nothing &s;aid of the Impo&s;&s;ibility of killing the Soul. &mdash;And indeed as a Kingdom is mo&s;t in danger when it is divided again&s;t it &s;elf, &s;o Religion (they per|ceive) is mo&s;t powerfully re&s;i&s;ted when it is oppo&s;ed by its own &s;trength, (by that ble&s;&s;ed word which is at once its rule and &s;up|port) But it cannot be u&s;ed for &s;o ill a purpo&s;e without gro&s;s ignorance or great perver&s;ne&s;s as may ea&s;ily be exemplified in the &s;aid Objection.</P>
<P>For (fir&s;t) both the&s;e Texts are from the &s;ame Spirit of Truth: and however the latter be expre&s;&s;ed, yet the former is the word of Chri&s;t al|&s;o, and he really meaneth as he &s;peaketh therein. And if Men could any way make the Soul of Man to <HI>cea&s;e</HI> to be a living Soul, it would &s;ignifie little to &s;ay that they cannot <HI>kill</HI> it; &s;ince (on that &s;up|po&s;al) they may do as much, whe|ther it be properly called killing or
<PB N="10" REF="14">no: nor would that Man well e&s;|cape the imputation of a Bla&s;phe|mer that &s;hould &s;ay the infinite wi&s;edom would &s;peak &s;o vainly on any occa&s;ion.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But yet St. <HI>Luke</HI> doth not &s;o expre&s;s it, and St. <HI>Matthew</HI> (&s;ay &s;ome) may be expounded by S. <HI>Luke.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Sol.</HI> 1. Though it be not &s;o ex|pre&s;&s;ed by St. <HI>Luke,</HI> yet where it is &s;o expre&s;&s;ed, I de&s;ire the liberty of believing it true. 2. There is no nece&s;&s;ity (in this affair) of expoun|ding the one by the other; and if there were it may &s;eem fitter to ex|pound <HI>Luk.</HI> 12.4. by <HI>Mat.</HI> 10.28. than contrarily, for that of <HI>Matthew</HI> is more &s;pecial and particular than that of <HI>Luke.</HI> And if any will &s;ay our Saviour did not intend to teach us the Souls immortality in the for|mer, becau&s;e he did not mention it in the latter, yet we mu&s;t not &s;uffer their confidence to carry it, (as we &s;ay) or take their word for it. Nor
<PB N="11" REF="14">can they require us &s;o to doe unle&s;s they &s;hould pretend to Mr. <HI>Hobbs</HI>'s profoundne&s;s, or a greater Man's in|fallibility.</P>
<P>Having &s;uppo&s;ed, and in part proved, that the Soul of Man re|mains alive after his Body is dead; the next particular I would premi&s;e is this [that it is a Subject capable of joy or &s;orrow after it leaves the Body] according as it leaveth it in a State of Sin or a State of Grace. It is not like &s;ome &s;ort of In&s;ects in the depth of Winter, that have a vital principle without motion or operation, that are alive and &s;eem as in&s;en&s;ible as if they were dead.</P>
<P>I know &s;ome would per&s;wade us the Soul &s;leeps after Death: but their great errors in other things may fully excu&s;e us from believing them in this; and I think it as &s;trange a fancy as can enter into the Head of any Man that hath his under&s;tanding well awake: for
<PB N="12" REF="15">as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;ays of God <HI>[He that made the Eye &s;hall he not &s;ee?]</HI> So we may &s;ay of the Soul, that which gives &s;en&s;e to the Body, &s;hall not it perceive? e&s;pecially &s;ince it liveth after it leaves the Body (as hath been proved.)</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. I. <HI>The Happine&s;s of good Mens Souls, in their Separation from the Body a&s;&s;erted, and the probability of it di&s;covered.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BEfore the proof and Vindication of this point it may be proper to &s;hew the probability of it (that they who are not per&s;waded 'tis true may not be over confident that it is fal&s;e) by &s;hewing the judgment
<PB N="13" REF="15">of Eminent Writers, that are pre&s;u|med able to judge of a matter of this nature. And if I were to &s;ati&s;|fie a Romani&s;t of it I might cite the noted Men of his Church. <HI>i.e.</HI> (1.) <HI>Aquin.</HI> their great Schoolman <HI>Sum. prim.</HI> 2^d^a^e^. <HI>que&s;t.</HI> 4. <HI>Art.</HI> 5. <HI>Aliqui dicunt quod Animae &s;eparatae ad be|atitudinem non perveniunt,</HI> &amp;c. <Q REND="inline">Some (&s;ays he) tell us that good Mens Souls come not to Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s till the day of Judgment.</Q> But this is plainly fal&s;e. In like manner goes <HI>Bellarmine</HI> in his tract <HI>de Ar|te Moriendi,</HI> and e&s;pecially in <HI>Lib. de a&s;cen&s;. mentis grad.</HI> 2 <HI>chap.</HI> 5. <HI>p.</HI> 35. <HI>Quid mirum (ait) &s;i Angeli &amp; beatae Animae,</HI> &amp;c. Where he joins toge|ther the Angels and Ju&s;t Mens Souls, doubting the happine&s;s of the one no more than the other. So <HI>grad.</HI> 7. <HI>cap.</HI> 5. &mdash; <HI>Quibus perpetuus Dies e&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. [Speaking of the &s;ame] 'Tis al|ways day with them, they know no darkne&s;s of &s;in or &s;orrow. <HI>Tho. &agrave;
<PB N="14" REF="16">Kempis de imitat. Chri&s;ti lib.</HI> 1. <HI>cap.</HI> 23. <HI>Sect.</HI> 6. <HI>Drexel. Heliotrop. l.</HI> 1. <HI>c.</HI> 1. <HI>Sect.</HI> 4. <HI>Cajetan in Philip.</HI> 1.23. mo&s;t plainly, in &s;everal pa&s;&s;ages that I need not tran&s;cribe. But I leave the&s;e and rather cite our Prote&s;tant Worthies. <HI>Mu&s;culus in Math.</HI> 17. <HI>Mors piorum Egre&s;&s;us e&s;t ex mundo ad patrem,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>i. e.</HI> The death of God|ly ones is a going out of this World to their Heavenly Father, therefore to be de&s;ired more than to be drea|ded. <HI>Zanchius in Philip</HI> 1.23. <HI>Qua|nam &s;ui parte,</HI> &amp;c. &mdash; [In what re&s;|pect did <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;ire after his di&s;&s;olu|tion to be with <HI>Chri&s;t?</HI> Not in re&s;|pect of his Body, apparently there|fore of his <HI>Soul:</HI> therefore his Soul was capable of that Happine&s;s im|mediately after death.] Others &s;peak to the &s;ame purpo&s;e as follows, <HI>D. Joh. Maccov. de Anim. fept in ex|plic. Theorem.</HI> 2. <HI>Ur&s;in. Catech. part.</HI> 2. <HI>Re&s;p. ad que&s;t.</HI> 42. <HI>Paraeus in Rom.</HI> 6. <HI>Re&s;p. ad Dub.</HI> 9. <HI>Al&s;ted. Theol. Ca&s;uum
<PB N="15" REF="16">p.</HI> 172. <HI>Pi&s;cator in Philip.</HI> 1. <HI>E&s;&s;enius in Triumpho Crucis (de &s;atisf Chri&s;ti) lib.</HI> 1. <HI>&s;ect.</HI> 4 <HI>cap.</HI> 3 (<HI>part.</HI> 1.) <HI>Dan. Cha|miet. lib.</HI> 25. <HI>cap.</HI> 2. <HI>(de Beatitudine) Jo&s;. Stegman. Photin. di&s;p.</HI> 52. <HI>q.</HI> 1. <HI>Jo. Scarpii cur&s;. theol. de purgatorio. Palan. &s;yntagmo l.</HI> 7 <HI>cap.</HI> 5. <HI>Arnoldus</HI> (<HI>Lux. in Tenebr. p.</HI> 418. <HI>D. Henr. Altin|gius L. C. Loc.</HI> 5. <HI>Controver&s;.</HI> 2. &mdash; To whom I may add a few of our Engli&s;h Worthies (and tho&s;e are as good as a great many) Bp. <HI>U&s;her &s;ub|&s;tance of Chri&s;tian Religion</HI> (of Judg|ment) Bp. <HI>Prideaux Fa&s;cicul. de Ec|cle&s;i&acirc; q.</HI> 2. B. <HI>Davenant</HI> in <HI>Colo&s;. cap. 8. ver.</HI> 15. <HI>Bolton de</HI> 4. <HI>Novi&s;&s;imis.</HI> And this at lea&s;t mu&s;t be a probable Ar|gument of the truth of what I con|tend for: for that is like to be &s;ound Doctrine which is &s;o evidently own|ed by the&s;e excellent Authors &s;o ble&s;&s;edly enriched with the wi&s;e|dom from above. And if any &s;uch, (or le&s;s than they) had written a &s;et Di&s;cour&s;e on it, plainly and prac|tically,
<PB N="16" REF="17">and to the capacities of vulgar Chri&s;tians, I might have &s;pared the little pains that I have taken about it.</P>
<P>If then I have erred in maintai|ning this Principle I have erred with Company (and good Compa|ny too) But I tru&s;t the en&s;uing Sec|tions will &s;hew it to be a truth to tho&s;e that &s;eek the truth in love.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="section">
<PB N="17" REF="17">
<HEAD>SECT. II. <HI>The Happy State of Good Mens Souls after death proved from</HI> Philip. 1.23. <HI>[having a de&s;ire to depart and to be with Chri&s;t, which is far better] together with an An&s;wer to a Socinian exception.</HI></HEAD>
<P>HAving told thee (Chri&s;tian Reader) that this Doctrine is probably true, I am now to &s;hew how certainly 'tis &s;o, and that in the fir&s;t place from tho&s;e words of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>[Having a de&s;ire to de|part and to be with Chri&s;t, which is far better.]</HI> In 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. he called Death an Enemy, and doubtle&s;s he was not in love with it as con&s;ider|ed in it&s;elf: But yet to die and be with Chri&s;t, this he heartily de&s;ired
<PB N="18" REF="18">as that which would be far better for him. He tells his beloved Peo|ple (<HI>ver&s;.</HI> 24.) that his continuance in the World would be mo&s;t for their benefit. <HI>[To abide in the Fle&s;h, is more needfull for you.]</HI> But his <HI>departing</HI> would be mo&s;t for his be|nefit being a <HI>departing</HI> and being with Chri&s;t. And therefore he was in a &s;trait (as he calls it) not know|ing which to chu&s;e. Now if he &s;hould not upon his departure be with Chri&s;t, as to his Soul, he mu&s;t needs have accounted a longer life to be mo&s;t de&s;ireable. For as to others good it was apparently &s;o, and no le&s;s for his own good al&s;o, if his Soul could have no happine&s;s in its ab|&s;ence from the Body; for he had a great degree of comfort in Chri&s;t while he was living, and could &s;ay in the mid&s;t of all his Per&s;ecutions, Ble&s;&s;ed be God who always giveth us cau&s;e to Triumph in Chri&s;t. And he that had an eminent mea&s;ure of
<PB N="19" REF="18">Communion with Chri&s;t while li|ving, and all tho&s;e &s;trong Con&s;olations that flowed from his a&s;&s;urance that nothing &s;hould &s;eparate from his love (<HI>Rom.</HI> 8.) would have been a great lo&s;er by dying, if his Soul mu&s;t then have been deprived of tho&s;e precious comforts which before he had in <HI>Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Surely St. <HI>Paul's</HI> words &s;hew no fear of any &s;uch thing, but plainly evince the contrary, as the like ex|pre&s;&s;ion in other ca&s;es would be thought to import. Suppo&s;e one &s;ay, [I de&s;ire to go to <HI>London</HI> and &s;ee my Friends, or, I de&s;ire to go to Church and profit my Soul] In the&s;e &s;peeches any Man of rea&s;on would judge (unle&s;s the per&s;on had the reputation of a Lyar) that he cer|tainly meant as he &s;pake, and ho|ped to &s;ee his Friends by doing the one, and to benefit his Soul in doing the other. And &s;o in Scripture, <HI>To go up and &s;ee the Land, to go over and
<PB N="20" REF="19">po&s;&s;e&s;s it</HI> (<HI>Numb.</HI> 13.30. <HI>Deut</HI> 3.25.) are meant of going to &s;ee and po&s;&s;e&s;s it as the Way to the one and the o|ther. And if St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s phra&s;e <HI>[to depart and be with Chri&s;t]</HI> were not meant in like manner, it were &s;ome|thing more than very &s;trange; and it can be no otherwi&s;e, his being <HI>with Chri&s;t</HI> after his departure being affirmed to be a better &s;tate than be|fore he had (notwith&s;tanding the enjoyments before mentioned) nor mu&s;t our Oppo&s;ers right rea&s;on (which they talk &s;o much of) di&s;|&s;wade us from expounding the words in that way that is mo&s;t a|greeable to common &s;en&s;e.</P>
<P>And though this may &s;eem plain enough to any unprejudiced per&s;on, yet it will not be ami&s;s to an&s;wer what is excepted again&s;t it, and to clear it from that darkne&s;s which &s;ome have (&s;o learnedly) ca&s;t upon it.</P>
<P><HI>Except.</HI> And as to this I know none more con&s;iderable than <HI>V. Smalcius,</HI>
<PB N="21" REF="19">who in his Di&s;putation <HI>[De Judicio Extremo]</HI> is plea&s;ed to pre&s;ent us with this <HI>Memorandum, viz.</HI> 1. That St. <HI>Paul</HI> there makes no mention of his Soul, but &s;peaketh <HI>[De &s;e toto]</HI> of his whole Per&s;on. 2. That he might die and be with Chri&s;t at the Ap|pointed time (the Re&s;urrection) without <HI>&s;uppo&s;ing any Being with Chri&s;t pre&s;ently after death.</HI>]</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> By this Man's temper (and Tenet) we may &s;ee that humane Learning and Acutene&s;s is not &s;uf|ficient to make a Man &s;ound in the Faith, and it might move our won|der that one of &s;o much &s;ubtilty &s;hould not perceive the Apo&s;tles meaning in this particular, if we did not remember the old &s;aying, <HI>None &s;o blind as tho&s;e that will not &s;ee,</HI> for had it been (confe&s;&s;edly) inten|ded to &s;hew his Souls being with Chri&s;t (or enjoying of him) upon his <HI>departure,</HI> yet it needed not have been expre&s;&s;ed otherwi&s;e than by a
<PB N="22" REF="20">de&s;ire to depart and be with Chri&s;t. For after his departure he could not be with Chri&s;t as to his Body till the Re&s;urrection; which will be at the time appointed and cannot be ha&s;tened by his (or any Man's) &s;hor|ter Life. Nor could he de&s;ire to de|part this Life, if it were not for the hope of being with Chri&s;t in a bet|ter &s;tate thereby, &s;ince it was more for his Peoples profit to have lived longer with them. And we are &s;a|tisfied he was not weary of his Life through the troubles that he met with in the &s;ervice of Chri&s;t (his Faith and Love was more powerfull than &s;o) nor doth he name any thing but his being with Chri&s;t (which was far better) as a motive to him to de&s;ire to depart this Life.</P>
<P>And to &s;ay ['tis not meant of his Soul's being with Chri&s;t, becau&s;e he &s;peaks of his <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> without na|ming his <HI>Soul</HI>] is indeed to talk more like an Ignorant Man than a Di|vine
<PB N="23" REF="20">or a Di&s;putant, for 'tis &s;poken of his <HI>Per&s;on</HI> in re&s;pect of his <HI>Soul:</HI> and nothing is more common in di&s;|cour&s;e than to &s;peak that of Per&s;ons, which holds true of them in re|&s;pect of their Bodies, or their Souls (though not both perhaps) as when we &s;ay, they are Sick or Lame, Wi&s;e and Knowing, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> we hope we may &s;peak true enough, and proper enough too, though we do not &s;ay <HI>(formaliter)</HI> they are Sick as to their Bodies, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>] but &s;ay (ab|&s;olutely) [they are &s;ick] &s;o when Scripture &s;ays, <HI>To du&s;t thou &s;halt return,</HI> it mu&s;t be taken accordingly: and my Authors Brain was not &s;o Earthy as to think it mu&s;t be &s;o therefore with his whole Per&s;on; or to argue that Man's Soul &s;hall turn to Du&s;t, becau&s;e 'tis &s;aid <HI>to Du&s;t [thou] &s;halt return.</HI> More therefore I need not &s;ay upon this Argument, till others think fit to &s;ay more a|gain&s;t it. Yet for the comfort of
<PB N="24" REF="21">weak Chri&s;tians I think fit to add, that this privilege [of being with Chri&s;t after Death] is not peculiar to St. <HI>Paul</HI> but belongs al&s;o to all that are truly Godly. Death (as well as Life) is <HI>yours,</HI> &s;aid he to the believing <HI>Corinthians,</HI> and in them to all other faithfull Chri&s;tians, and certainly he meant, t'was theirs in a comfortable &s;en&s;e, for their good, and leading to their happine&s;s, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.22. And if all things work for good to them that love God, Death &s;hall al&s;o (and do <HI>them</HI> a kindne&s;s as well as the Apo&s;tle) <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.28. nor doth the Apo&s;tle make any compari&s;on between him&s;elf and the re&s;t of the faithfull in this ca&s;e, or &s;et him&s;elf a|bove them in any re&s;pect: as al&s;o in other places he declares them to have the &s;ame intere&s;t in him, and Acceptance for his &s;ake. <HI>Chri&s;t who is our Life,</HI> Colo&s;. 34. <HI>He made us accepted in the Beloved,</HI> Eph. 1.6. Phil. 4.19. <HI>[My God &s;hall &s;upply all
<PB N="25" REF="21">your need according to his Riches in Glory through Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI> Yea, <HI>He is made unto us, Wi&s;edom and Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, and Sanctification and Re|demption,</HI> 1 Cor. 1.30.</P>
<P>And that the Souls of other Chri&s;|tians are capable of happine&s;s after death, as well as S. <HI>Paul</HI>'s, I will un|dertake to prove when I can think worth while &s;o to doe.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="section">
<PB N="26" REF="22">
<HEAD>SECT. III. <HI>The point proved from</HI> Luke 23.43. <HI>[This day thou &s;halt be with me in Paradi&s;e; and</HI> Co|lo&s;. 1.20. <HI>To reconcile all things to him&s;elf whether things on Earth or things in Heaven] with an An&s;wer to &s;ome exceptions.</HI></HEAD>
<P>AMong the many Scriptures that confirm this comfortable Doc|trine, the&s;e are very con&s;iderable. In the former our Saviour tells the dying Penitent the joyfull News <HI>[This day thou &s;halt be with me in Pa|radi&s;e]</HI> but he was not &s;o in re&s;pect of his Body, therefore in re&s;pect of his Soul. Whether his Soul was to be that day in Heaven, or only ten|ding to it, I &s;hall not here enquire;
<PB N="27" REF="22">'Tis enough for my purpo&s;e that it was to be in <HI>Paradi&s;e;</HI> for that can &s;ignifie no le&s;s than a place and &s;tate of happine&s;s. And we doubt not but Chri&s;t's favourable pre&s;ence could make any place a <HI>Paradi&s;e</HI> for delight, and more delightfull than the Earthly <HI>Paradi&s;e</HI> ever was. This Text is &s;o &s;trong on our &s;ide that our greate&s;t oppo&s;ers can hardly tell what to &s;ay to it, any otherwi&s;e than by e&s;pou&s;ing that wretched e|va&s;ion of the fore&s;aid <HI>Racovian</HI> Doc|tor <HI>Val. Smalcius,</HI> viz. Changing the Sentence, by mi&s;placing the Com|ma, and reading the words thus <HI>[Verily I &s;ay to thee this day, Thou &s;halt be with me in Paradi&s;e]</HI> namely, &s;ome time or other, as if <HI>[this day] were meant of Chri&s;t's &s;peaking, and not of the Penitent's enjoying. Modus loquendi Hebraicus,</HI> &amp;c. It is, &s;ays he, <HI>a &s;peaking after the manner of the Hebrews,</HI> who u&s;e to expre&s;s them|&s;elves &s;o, when they would tell us
<PB N="26" REF="23">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="27" REF="23">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="28" REF="24">matters of &s;pecial remark, as <HI>Deut.</HI> 30.18. <HI>If ye Wor&s;hip other Gods and &s;erve them, I denounce unto you this day that ye &s;hall &s;urely peri&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>But if they gain the cau&s;e at &s;uch a rate,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luk.</HI> 23.43. <HI>cleared.</HI></NOTE> let them take all, and &s;et up their own Here&s;ie for &s;acred and &s;aying truths. For 'tis ea&s;ie to turn <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">th into errour, and &s;en&s;e into non-<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">&s;e, by mi&s;-pointing any places of Scrip|ture or any other Books; and when Men make &s;o bold with the words of our Lord, we may fitly call them to account for it, and cen&s;ure their pre&s;umption and perver&s;ene&s;s, which in this ca&s;e &s;eems very plain. For fir&s;t, they &s;hew us no good rea&s;on why it &s;hould be read <HI>[I &s;ay unto thee this day]</HI> nor was there need that Chri&s;t &s;hould tell him that he &s;aid &s;o in <HI>that day;</HI> nor do we find him u&s;e &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion in any place, or on any great occa&s;ions.
<PB N="29" REF="24">For when he would tell us the ne|ce&s;&s;ity of Conver&s;ion, he &s;ays not [<HI>I &s;ay unto you this day,</HI> but [<HI>Verily I &s;ay unto you, except ye be converted ye &s;hall not enter into the Kingdom of Hea|ven,</HI> and the like of his being own|ed by the Angels [<HI>Verily, Verily I &s;ay unto you, hereafter ye &s;hall &s;ee Heaven open, and the Angels of God a&s;cen|ding and de&s;cending upon the Son of Man,</HI> Joh 1.51.</P>
<P>Vain enough therefore is that Author's &s;ugge&s;tion, that it was &s;o &s;poken for the weightine&s;s of the matter. And though in the Old Te&s;tament there were &s;uch phra&s;es u&s;ed <HI>[I &s;ay to thee this day]</HI> yet it was in matters of threat, or of com|mand, but not in matters of pro|mi&s;e, or comfort. Our Lord al&s;o hath it [<HI>Verily I &s;ay,</HI> &amp;c.] now as there was no need at all of <HI>&s;uch a &s;o|lemn</HI> A&s;&s;everation to tell the Peni|tent Thief <HI>when</HI> it was he &s;pake un|to him (his own Ears being &s;uffici|ent)
<PB N="30" REF="25">&s;o it was very <HI>proper</HI> to be u&s;ed in telling him of the happy change that he &s;hould make &s;o <HI>&s;peedily,</HI> and tended much to &s;atisfie him in it.</P>
<P>So that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Colo&s;.</HI> 1.20. <HI>to reconcile all things to him&s;elf, whether things on Earth or things in Heaven.</HI> Here what can we &s;up|po&s;e meant by <HI>[things in Heaven re|conciled] Pi&s;cator</HI> expoundeth <HI>tam fideles,</HI> &amp;c. as well the faithfull re|ceived to Heaven as tho&s;e &s;till on Earth. If this be the &s;en&s;e of it 'tis full enough to prove the faithfull Chri&s;tians Soul to be happy after death: and if it be not, I almo&s;t de&s;pair of knowing it. As to the Holy Angels it &s;eems very improper to interpret it of them; for how are they Things reconciled that never offended their God, and &s;o needed not any reconciliation? [And there is in that Chapter no di&s;cour&s;e of <HI>Enoch</HI> and <HI>Elias,</HI> or any thing to enforce it to be meant of them and
<PB N="31" REF="25">whether the expre&s;&s;ing it by <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">, all things, not [all Per&s;ons] he may not have a &s;pecial re&s;pect to the Souls of the faithfull departed, I leave to others to con&s;ider of.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. IV. <HI>The &s;ame proved from</HI> 2 Cor. 5.8. [<HI>we are willing rather to be ab&s;ent from the Body, and pre|&s;ent with the Lord; and</HI> Heb. 12.23. <HI>[The Spirits of ju&s;t Men made perfect.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IF other places &s;hould not &s;atisfie Men as to this particular, yet <HI>the&s;e</HI> one would think could not fail of &s;o doing. In the former St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks nothing that was peculiar to him&s;elf, but joyneth the re&s;t of the
<PB N="32" REF="26" MS="y">faithfull in the very &s;ame privilege with him&s;elf. [We, &s;ays he, are willing to be ab&s;ent from the Body, and to be pre&s;ent with the Lord.] Wherefore it mu&s;t needs be grant|ed that the Apo&s;tle did believe that when they were (as he calls it) ab|&s;ent from the Body, they &s;hould be pre&s;ent with the Lord, not only in a general &s;en&s;e, as all things are, but in a <HI>gracious</HI> and <HI>&s;piritual</HI> manner, and &s;uch as containeth more com|fortable Communion with him than any they could have in this mortal Life; and that their <HI>being thus</HI> pre|&s;ent with them, when ab&s;ent from the Body is to be under&s;tood in re|&s;pect of their Souls, is that which needeth not to be proved to any that make u&s;e of &s;ober rea&s;on, and are willing to under&s;tand the plaine&s;t words; and I find not that the con|trary minded have made any excep|tions again&s;t this proof that are wor|thy any &s;erious con&s;ideration. And
<PB N="33" REF="26">for that of the Apo&s;tle, [<HI>Heb.</HI> 12.23] I take it to be no le&s;s convincing; <HI>For what but the Souls of good Men can be &s;uppo&s;ed to be called the Spirits of ju&s;t Men made perfect?</HI> For it can|not be &s;aid of the Angels, they being di&s;tingui&s;hed from them in the &s;ame ver&s;e, nor can it be meant of the Per&s;ons of Men (Bodies and Souls united) for the&s;e are called Men, and not Spirits; much le&s;s the Spirits of ju&s;t Men.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But we find in Scripture, the Angels that have a charge over the faithfull are called <HI>their</HI> Angels, and why may they not be called <HI>their</HI> Spirits, being Spirits indeed?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The que&s;tion in this matter is not, whether they <HI>may</HI> not be &s;o called in &s;ome &s;en&s;e, or re&s;pect? but whether in that Text they <HI>are</HI> &s;o called, and I &s;ay they are not, for two Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e the Angels are men|tioned ju&s;t before (as was intima|ted)
<PB N="34" REF="27">and they are never called the Spirits of Men, or the Spirits of the Ju&s;t, in Scripture.</P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e the&s;e are &s;poken of as made perfect (as the things that are imperfect are brought to perfection by degrees, for &s;o the original &s;igni|fieth) now the Holy Angels never were de&s;titute of any perfection that their nature needeth. Since therefore it mu&s;t be only the Souls of the Ju&s;t that there are called the Spirits of the Ju&s;t, it will be ea&s;ie to conclude the point from it. For 'tis evident it cannot be meant of their Spirits (or Souls) while in the Bo|dy here on Earth; for in this &s;tate they are not made perfect, but have a great deal of &s;infull imperfection in them: not as though I were <HI>alrea|dy perfect,</HI> &s;aid St. <HI>Paul</HI> of him&s;elf. <HI>And 'tis &s;aid they are made perfect:</HI> that is, <HI>already perfect;</HI> and therefore is not &s;poken of that perfection which they &s;hall have <HI>hereafter at
<PB N="35" REF="27" MS="y">the Re&s;urrection of their Bodies,</HI> (nor can the &s;cope of the place, or con|text, favour the interpreting of it concerning their &s;tate on Earth) and &s;ince it cannot be under&s;tood of their Souls in their Bodies on Earth nor at the Re&s;urrection, then it mu&s;t be meant of their Souls in their &s;epa|rated &s;tate. And if in that &s;tate they are, they are more perfect than before they were, they mu&s;t cer|tainly be more happy al&s;o.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="section">
<PB N="36" REF="28">
<HEAD>SECT. V. <HI>The &s;ame Doctrine proved from</HI> Rev. 14.13. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the Dead that die in the Lord, for they re&s;t from their La|bours,</HI> &amp;c.</HEAD>
<P>HAving urged &s;everal Scriptures for my purpo&s;e, I &s;hall now only add this unto them. And if any Per&s;on doubts whether this will prove the happy &s;tate of Ju&s;t Mens Souls in &s;eparation from their Bodies, he mu&s;t be a Man of doubtfull Re|ligion.</P>
<P>But (for the bu&s;ine&s;s) let us note in what manner the truth was ma|nife&s;ted: <HI>I heard,</HI> &s;aid St. <HI>John, a voice from Heaven &s;aying to me, write, Ble&s;&s;ed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.</HI></P>
<PB N="37" REF="28">
<P>Note al&s;o that it is not &s;poken of Men as living on Earth or in Hea|ven, but of them as dying in the Lord, (in his Faith and Fear) <HI>Ble&s;|&s;ed are tho&s;e Dead.</HI></P>
<P>It is added, from henceforth (from the time of their dying.) And how can we think it would be &s;aid, <HI>Ble&s;|&s;ed are tho&s;e Dead, if they did not ob|tain &s;ome ble&s;&s;ed privilege by dying?</HI> if death did not bring more good to their Souls than hurt to their Bodies; then we have the Spirit a&s;&s;erting it, <HI>yea, &s;aith the Spirit;</HI> Together with one part, or property, of their ble&s;&s;edne&s;s; <HI>they re&s;t from their La|bours,</HI> (from all their troubles what|&s;oever.) And this Re&s;t mu&s;t include a po&s;itive happine&s;s in the Love and Peace of their gracious God: For a meer Negative, or Privative Re&s;t, con&s;i&s;ting in a bare Freedom from Pain and Trouble, is no more than the Bea&s;ts partake of; when the Hor&s;e is dead there's an end of his
<PB N="38" REF="29">wearine&s;s as well as his work. And I hope we may &s;afely believe that a dead Chri&s;tian (that &s;hewed him|&s;elf &s;uch in his life) is in a better &s;tate pre&s;ently after Death than a dead Bea&s;t can be; and he who&s;e Religion is any thing &s;tronger than his Athei&s;m will account this Text an evidence of it.</P>
<P>And this &s;hall &s;uffice for Confir|mation of the point, and I doubt not but it may be &s;ome &s;atisfaction to tho&s;e that &s;eek the truth in Love, and humbly implore the guidance of God's Holy Spirit. In the next place I am to make good my me|thod, and &s;o to vindicate this truth from exceptions, and defend it from that violence which &s;ome have of|fered unto it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="section">
<PB N="39" REF="29">
<HEAD>SECT. VI. <HI>The Happine&s;s of Ju&s;t Mens Souls, in the &s;tate of &s;eparation, vin|dicated.</HI></HEAD>
<P>AS to contend for the truth is no unlawfull &s;trife (by clear|ing and confirming it) &s;o to main|tain it again&s;t objections is not un|nece&s;&s;ary. And I know not whe|ther &s;ome may not expect it.</P>
<P>But before I an&s;wer Mens Cavils again&s;t this comfortable Doctrine, it may not be ami&s;s to &s;ay &s;omething to tho&s;e that would di&s;&s;uade us from medling with matters of this nature. For to what purpo&s;e (&s;ay they) &s;hould we trouble our &s;elves about it? For if we believe the Ser|vants of God &s;hall have an Eternity of Happine&s;s after the Re&s;urrection,
<PB N="40" REF="30">is not that &s;ufficient for us, whether our Souls can be happy in their &s;e|paration or not?</P>
<P>Whether it is kindne&s;s or cro&s;ne&s;s, Religion or Sin, that moves men to talk after this rate, I &s;hall not now enquire: Sure I am, It is our Duty to &s;earch the Scriptures (and ble&s;&s;ed be God for the liberty of doing &s;o.) And certainly 'tis not below us to &s;earch them for this purpo&s;e, if per|haps we may find &s;atisfaction about it: which that we may, I tru&s;t, will be acknowledged by the unprejudi|ced Reader. Things revealed do belong to us; and that this is revea|led may ea&s;ily be perceived by what has been in&s;i&s;ted on about it. And he that grants it a truth will never deny it to be a comfortable one (what&s;oever al&s;o Chri&s;tians may un|dervalue, methinks they &s;hould not de&s;pi&s;e the Con&s;olations of the Scrip|ture which will hold when other comforts fail). And though it be
<PB N="41" REF="30">not very delightfull to deal with the confident cavils of deceived Sinners, yet to prevent their mi&s;chief, I am willing to be&s;tow a few lines upon them. As for Scripture that they u&s;e to oppo&s;e this truth by, 'tis e&s;pe|cially that of the P&s;almi&s;t, <HI>P&s;.</HI> 6.5. <HI>In death there is no Remembrance of thee, and in the Grave who &s;hall give thee Thanks?</HI> But mu&s;t not they be very quick-&s;ighted that can find in the place of Darkne&s;s, an Argument again&s;t this encouraging Doctrine?</P>
<P>But how little this Text maketh again&s;t it a few words will &s;hew. For. 1. The P&s;almi&s;t doth not &s;ay, <HI>there is no Remembrance of God after Death,</HI> but thus <HI>[In Death there is no Remembrance of thee,</HI> viz. In that which is in Death or under Death's power, even the Body. Or, <HI>then there is no &s;uch Remembrance of God as in the time of Life,</HI> for the Edificati|on of others, (or the like) and we know Negatives in Scripture are
<PB N="42" REF="31">&s;ometimes meant only in &s;ome re|&s;pect, or kind; as when the Pro|phet &s;ays, <HI>there is no Peace to the Wicked:</HI> that is, <HI>no &s;ound well-groun|ded Peace;</HI> for they may have Peace &s;uch as it is, yea till &s;udden de&s;truc|tion come upon them, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.3.</P>
<P>It follows, <HI>[Who &s;hall give thee Thanks in the Grave]</HI> very &s;ure, that's no place for Prai&s;e: Yet nothing hinders but that the Soul after its departure, may have a ble&s;&s;ed Re|membrance of the goodne&s;s of its God, and give him perpetual thanks, in its way and according to its capaci|ty. Nor do tho&s;e words of the P&s;almi&s;t import any thing to the contrary:</P>
<P>For as it was no part of the P&s;al|mi&s;t's de&s;ign to enquire into the &s;tate of a &s;eparated Soul (in that Text) &s;o the Soul it &s;elf, when &s;eparated from the Body, is not in the Grave. Nor doth it an&s;wer to the word <HI>[Who]</HI> for the Soul is not a Per&s;on, but only a Con&s;titutive part of the Per&s;on.</P>
<PB N="43" REF="31">
<P>With no le&s;s vanity is <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 146.4. objected again&s;t this point <HI>[His Breath goes forth, he returneth to his Earth, and in that very day his thoughts Peri&s;h]</HI> for Man's <HI>[thoughts]</HI> in that Scripture, need be extended no far|ther than his Earthly Thoughts, his Coun&s;els, Projects and Policies, as to this world,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Moller in loc.</NOTE> which is enough to di&s;&s;uade us from put|ting our tru&s;t in Man.</P>
<P>Which al&s;o to doe was the purpo&s;e of the P&s;almi&s;t in that place. The Soul of the be&s;t Man would be pitifull Poor indeed, if after Death it &s;hould be depri|ved of all its thoughts (or think|ing power) and I am very confi|dent the Apo&s;tle would not have de&s;ired to depart this Life, if af|ter Death his Soul &s;hould not have &s;o much of Life as a thinking faculty containeth. In the new Te&s;ta|ment al&s;o there are &s;ome Texts ur|ged
<PB N="44" REF="32">by the&s;e Men, but chiefly that of St. <HI>Paul</HI> 2 Tim. 4.8. <HI>Henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, which the Lord the Righteous Judge &s;hall give me in that Day,</HI> (meaning the day of Judgment.)</P>
<P>Therefore that Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s &s;ignified thereby (&s;ay they) is re&s;erved till that day, and not given before. But this Argument is &s;o far wide that no art can make it come any thing clo&s;e for their purpo&s;e. For though we grant that the Faithfull have not their Happine&s;s till then (which is the mo&s;t that it can prove.) Yet that doth not contradict the Happine&s;s of their Souls, in their &s;eparated &s;tate. And how happy &s;oever their Souls be in that ca&s;e, yet their Per&s;ons cannot enjoy the State of Glory, till they are in the State of Per&s;onality, in the Union of their Bodies and Souls; which will not be till the Re&s;urrection.</P>
<PB N="45" REF="32">
<P>There be, I confe&s;s, other Texts that &s;ome can fan&s;ie this Doctrine to be oppo&s;ed by; but I pa&s;s them, becau&s;e they are &s;o far from confu|ting it, that in my Opinion, they do not &s;o much as &s;eem to concern it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. VII. <HI>The point improved for Confuta|tion of Errours.</HI></HEAD>
<P>AMong&s;t the many good pur|po&s;es for which the truth in hand may be &s;erviceable, it may fit|ly be con&s;idered for the di&s;proving &s;ome principles, that &s;ome People have too gladly entertained. 1. That of the Libertines [that the Soul at Death loo&s;eth its very being, and vani&s;heth into Air (or what they plea&s;e) or, that it then hath a
<PB N="46" REF="33">drow&s;ie &s;tate, if any, and &s;leeps, as it were, in the Grave or other pla|ces] Doctrines exactly calculated for the Meridian of Profanene&s;s, and may indifferently &s;erve for all bad practices. They are indeed of &s;uch a di&s;mal A&s;pect, and Malign Influ|ence that I can hardly compare them to any more fitly than tho&s;e that came out of the mouth of the <HI>Leviathan</HI> (for they look as ugly though not ju&s;t like them.) And as one day their folly &s;hall be mani|fe&s;ted to all Men, &s;o the pre&s;ent truth doth fully di&s;cover it.</P>
<P>For if the Soul in its &s;eparated &s;tate be capable of Joy and Happi|ne&s;s (as was proved) certainly then it loo&s;eth not its Being, nor its Ap|prehen&s;ion. And well may he be deemed a &s;en&s;ele&s;s Man here, that thinketh his Soul &s;hall be &s;o in&s;en&s;i|ble hereafter.</P>
<P>And as plainly doth it oppo&s;e the Doctrine of Purgatory, which
<PB N="47" REF="33">though <HI>Bellarmine</HI> and his Brethren &s;ay hath its difficulties as to tho&s;e que&s;tions about it, which the Church has not determined, yet is &s;trongly a&s;&s;erted by them as a place of real puni&s;hment for the Souls of &s;uch as &s;hall &s;ee Happine&s;s at la&s;t; but mu&s;t, in order to it, be Purged and Purified in that place of Suffer|ing. Which can hardly need any other confutation than the proof of the happy &s;tate of the Spirits of the ju&s;t in their departure from their Bodies; which I hope hath been given from the Texts urged for that purpo&s;e.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="section">
<PB N="48" REF="34">
<HEAD>SECT. VIII. <HI>For Trial of our &s;elves, whether we are of the number of tho&s;e ju&s;t ones, that may ju&s;tly expect this approaching Felicity.</HI></HEAD>
<P>SInce there is &s;uch a happy &s;tate for the ju&s;t after Death, yea pre&s;ently after it; &s;o as that Death it &s;elf becomes their advantage, and leadeth their Souls into the ble&s;&s;ed pre&s;ence of their Saviour: Since it is thus (I &s;ay) methinks it &s;hould mightily move con&s;idering People to &s;earch and try their ways, and &s;tates, and &s;ee whether they are in &s;uch a &s;tate as may warrant them to lay claim to this <HI>Happine&s;s at Hand,</HI> which the word of our God di&s;co|vers to us. If it be reported (any thing credibly) that they who are
<PB N="49" REF="34">&s;o and &s;o qualified &s;hall have Ho|nours and Preferments, how ea&s;ily would they be brought to con&s;ider whether they have the &s;uppo&s;ed Qualifications: at lea&s;t if they think them&s;elves capable of them (though at the &s;ame time they are not igno|rant that Death will &s;hortly di&s;grace all worldly glory.) Much more &s;hould Men try whether they can yet lay claim to that real Happine&s;s, that &s;hall come quickly and la&s;t for ever.</P>
<P>Now (as to this) They need no more to prove their Intere&s;t in it upon the account of Chri&s;t, than to prove them&s;elves to be truly Ju&s;t, or Righteous Per&s;ons. For 'tis the Ju&s;t that &s;hall come out of Trouble, <HI>Prov.</HI> 12.13. 'Tis the upright one who&s;e end is Peace, <HI>P&s;.</HI> 37.37. 'Tis the Righteous that hath hope in his Death, <HI>Prov.</HI> 14.32 'Tis the &s;ame al|&s;o that the Prophet tells us, &s;hall enter into Peace, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 57.2. And we know by a Ju&s;t or Righteous Man, the
<PB N="50" REF="35">Scripture meaneth a Godly or Reli|gious Man. There are but two &s;orts, the <HI>Good,</HI> and the <HI>Bad,</HI> (in Scripture) which are commonly cal|led the Righteous and the Wicked, (<HI>Malachi</HI> 3. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 37.) The Ju&s;t, and the Unju&s;t (<HI>Math.</HI> 5.) So that the que&s;tion will be [who are the&s;e Ju&s;t, Righteous, Religious People?] To which I &s;hall An&s;wer, 1. Nega|tively, 2. Po&s;itively.</P>
<P N="1">1. Negatively, They are not the Ju&s;t ones that laugh at Religion, and mock at all that is called Holy; that are more taken with the prin|ciples of the <HI>Leviathan,</HI> than with the precepts of the Bible; that are Enemies to the word of Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, and had rather hear of any thing almo&s;t than the holy truths thereof that mo&s;t concern them; that &s;ay in their Hearts, their Tongues are their own; and are not affraid (of that fearfull Sin) to de&s;pi&s;e Govern|ment, and &s;peak evil of Dignities,
<PB N="51" REF="35">2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.10. <HI>Jude</HI> 8. That drink as if they were made only to &s;wallow, and keep Company (in their u&s;ual cour&s;e) till they are unfit for any Company; that love to rai&s;e them|&s;elves by the ruines of others, and &s;pare not the Poor, the Widow, and the Fatherle&s;s, to gratifie their greedy humours, and plea&s;e their proud malicious Minds; that &s;pight at the very Appearances of Piety, and rail at the mo&s;t upright and inoffen&s;ive Livers when they have put &s;ome hated Names upon them (as the Heathens of old baited Chri&s;tians with Dogs when they covered them all over with the Skins of wild Bea&s;ts) that go about doing mi&s;chief in abundance, inven|ting a company of ugly, &s;illy, re|proachfull tales to &s;et us at a di&s;tance from each other, and de&s;troy the &s;acred Bonds of Peace and Love; that have &s;o de&s;perately debauched them&s;elves, and overcome their con|&s;ciences,
<PB N="50" REF="36">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="51" REF="36">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="52" REF="37">as to follow (without fear or &s;hame) &s;uch cour&s;es as the Hea|thens would cry out again&s;t; that provoke the mo&s;t high in the mo&s;t horrible manner, and imprecate on them&s;elves (on the &s;malle&s;t occa&s;i|ons) the wrath of that great God which the proude&s;t Devils tremble at. That the&s;e and &s;uch like, are not the Ju&s;t and Righteous ones, that the Scripture promi&s;eth Salva|tion to, is very evident in it &s;elf. And I need no more to prove it, than to prove a Dunghill is not a Star. If therefore &s;uch People &s;hould have never &s;o good thoughts of their States, yet in the day of God's Vi|&s;itation, they &s;hall &s;ee their Vanity, and under&s;tand with &s;hame enough, that the holy one remembreth all their Wickedne&s;s, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 7.2.</P>
<P>And now I &s;hall endeavour to &s;hew what a Man may have, and yet not be a truly Ju&s;t and Righte|ous Per&s;on, and afterwards add the
<PB N="53" REF="37">Character of &s;uch a one in various propo&s;itions.</P>
<P>For the former: A Per&s;on may have outward peace and pro&s;perity, and yet not be a Ju&s;t Per&s;on; he may have very much of all earthly good, and not be good him&s;elf. Though pro&s;perity is promi&s;ed to the Godly &s;o far as the Divine Wi&s;|dom &s;ees fitte&s;t, yet it commonly cometh to many of the Wicked, <HI>P&s;.</HI> 73.12. Behold the&s;e are the un|godly, the&s;e pro&s;per in the World. Yea the Tabernacles of Robbers did pro&s;per, <HI>Job.</HI> 12.6.</P>
<P N="2">2 A Man may have (as out|ward pro&s;perity, &s;o) inward peace and yet not be a Righteous Man. That guilt may not much afflict the con&s;cience here, which hereafter may &s;ink the Soul into the horrid depths of endle&s;s &s;orrows. The <HI>French</HI> Hi&s;torian tells us that two of the verie&s;t Villains that ever that great Nation held, were ob&s;erved
<PB N="54" REF="38">to die very quietly, though they &s;hewed no &s;igns of true Repentance; and St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells us of the wicked that when they &s;ay, Peace and Safety, then &s;udden De&s;truction cometh upon them, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.</P>
<P N="3">3. One may have a fair out&s;ide and a good profe&s;&s;ion, be a moral hone&s;t Man (as they call it) and &s;o far from &s;candalous in the Worlds Eye, as to e&s;cape their &s;everer cen|&s;ures, and yet not be a ju&s;t Man (indeed and in a Scripture &s;en&s;e.) It would be (in compari&s;on at lea&s;t) a very Happy Age, if all that &s;eem good were &s;o indeed: if all that are not &s;candalous in the &s;ight of the World, were Righteous in the &s;ight of God. The <HI>Scribes</HI> and <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> whom we mu&s;t &s;urpa&s;s in goodne&s;s, if ever we would &s;ee the Kingdom of Heaven, (<HI>Mat.</HI> 5.20.) The&s;e I &s;ay, had (many of them) a fair out&s;ide, and could not have gained &s;uch a Reputation for Piety as we
<PB N="55" REF="38">know they had, if they had come &s;hort of moral Men, and &s;ober Li|vers; and indeed they were &s;ome|what more than &s;uch; for 'tis not ea&s;ie to conceive a more curious frame of Religion, as to the out|ward part of it than they had; wit|ne&s;s their Praying and Fa&s;ting, their Alms and Ob&s;ervation of the Sab|bath, in <HI>Mat.</HI> 6. and el&s;ewhere. Yet they were not &s;poken of as the Righteous Servants of God: yea that very Text, (<HI>Mat.</HI> 5.20.) &s;hews plainly that they came &s;hort of Hea|ven, notwith&s;tanding all their pre|tences and performances.</P>
<P>And if a Man may be morally hone&s;t, and outwardly Religious, and yet not be Righteous and Re|ligious indeed, O then (Chri&s;tian Reader) what &s;hall we think of tho&s;e that are Scorners of Religion, and have &s;carce any &s;hews of good|ne&s;s in them: that value the Scrip|ture no more than a Play Book,
<PB N="56" REF="39">and an Orthodox Sermon than an idle Story: that act contrary to the great Rules of Morality and Sober Rea&s;on, di&s;honouring their God and them&s;elves, at once, by horrid Oaths and Imprecations, by Helli&s;h Railings, Lyes and Slan|ders, in their ordinary cour&s;e; that call them&s;elves People of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> and live as if they were made to di&s;grace it, &s;aying (once in a month or two) <HI>[I Believe in God]</HI> yet behaving them&s;elves daily as if they <HI>Believed</HI> there is no God; boa&s;ting very fre|quently of the Loyalty of their principles, yet &s;eldom coming to Church to pray for their King; in a word, grinding the Faces of the poor and needy in the gro&s;se&s;t manner) treating them with terri|ble threatnings, and di&s;cour&s;ing them with Luciferian Loftine&s;s, when they humbly beg the money that they have hone&s;tly earned of them,
<PB N="57" REF="39">and be&s;eech it for their nece&s;&s;ities &s;ake? O how far are the&s;e from the Ju&s;t Man's path? And though at pre|&s;ent they may have a fal&s;e peace, yet when Con&s;cience is awakened they may be forced to con&s;ider (with confu&s;ion enough) that their God is not to be mocked, and that he knoweth how to re&s;erve the un|ju&s;t to the day of Judgment to be puni&s;hed, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.9.</P>
<P N="4">4. A Man may have &s;ome kind of good motions, and good de&s;ires, and yet not be a truly Ju&s;t and Righteous Per&s;on. <HI>Pharaoh</HI> him|&s;elf de&s;ired <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to pray for him, and 'tis &s;aid of <HI>Simon Magus</HI> that he <HI>Believed, Acts.</HI> 8.13. which mu&s;t needs imply &s;ome good thoughts of the Chri&s;tian Faith, and &s;ome motion of his mind to|wards it. And tho&s;e to whom the Holy Prophet was as a plea&s;ant Song (which argues that they had &s;ome delight in his Mini&s;tery, and
<PB N="58" REF="40">&s;ome de&s;ire after it) yet are not &s;poken of as God's Righteous Ser|vants: for 'tis added, <HI>They hear thy words but do them not, Ezech.</HI> 33.32. Divines, (I acknowledge) u&s;e to put a good Interpretation upon good de&s;ires, and &s;peak often of their Acceptance in the &s;ight of God, when they write for the com|fort of afflicted Con&s;ciences: But then tho&s;e good de&s;ires are &s;uppo&s;ed to be &s;ound and well grounded, and attended with &s;uitable endeavours, and an upright inoffen&s;ive Conver|&s;ation in the main: But as for tho&s;e good de&s;ires that too many are apt to content them&s;elves with; as when they content them&s;elves to live ill, (in Sotti&s;h, Profane, Mali|cious, and Injurious practices) and yet &s;atisfie them&s;elves with this that they wi&s;h in &s;ome &s;ort that they could do better (and &s;o hope that God accepteth the Will for the Deed in &s;uch a ca&s;e) This, I &s;ay, is a &s;ad
<PB N="59" REF="40">mi&s;take, and one of the mo&s;t wretched delu&s;ions that ever <HI>Satan</HI> deceived any Sinner with; for God doth ab&s;olutely require Men, and chiefly Chri&s;tian Profe&s;&s;ors to live well; and will never di&s;pence with it for the &s;ake of any good de&s;ires; nor are our de&s;ires truly good any further than they make us, truly and in the main, followers of that which is good. Nor can any de|&s;ires be accepted with God, which a Man may have while his heart is in love with any way of Wickedne&s;s. <HI>If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me,</HI> P&s;al. 66.18. The&s;e things are &s;o plain that there may &s;eem little need to &s;ay any thing to clear or confirm them: yet becau&s;e 'tis the &s;adde&s;t thing imagi|nable for Men to be deceived to de&s;truction by fal&s;e Apprehen&s;ions of their own goodne&s;s here on Earth, I &s;hall add a few words more about it. Con&s;ider therefore that as the
<PB N="60" REF="41">Scripture in &s;ome places de&s;cribes the ju&s;t by their good de&s;ires (for 'tis little of good, for any to doe what is good again&s;t their Wills) &s;o in other places, and more u&s;ually it de&s;cribes them by good Conver&s;a|tion, and upright doings. When the que&s;tion is put, <HI>Who &s;hall dwell in God's Holy Hill,</HI> (<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 15.2.) 'tis an&s;wered, <HI>He that walketh uprightly and worketh Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> (Not he that faintly wi&s;heth to walk up|rightly, and in the mean time liveth wickedly, but he that &s;o de&s;ires it as to doe it in &s;ome mea&s;ure, and in his ordinary cour&s;e. So the Ser|vant in the parable that is &s;tiled <HI>good</HI> and <HI>faithfull,</HI> is intimated to have done well, and not only to have &s;poken well, or to have wi&s;hed his Ma&s;ters work well done, without any more concern about it. Thus al&s;o <HI>Zachary</HI> and <HI>Elizabeth, Luk.</HI> 1.6. are commended for Righteous Per&s;ons, not for having &s;ome good
<PB N="61" REF="41">thoughts of God's ways, or &s;ome uneffectual good wi&s;hes about them, but for walking in them, (ver&s;. 6) <HI>They were Righteous before God, walk|ing in the Commandments of the Lord. The Righteous</HI> (that are noted to be mercifull al&s;o) <HI>are &s;poken of as walk|ing in their uprightne&s;s, E&s;ay.</HI> 57.1, 2.</P>
<P>Briefly, 'tis well doing, and not well wi&s;hing without it (where Ability and Opportunity is affor|ded) that &s;hall end well at la&s;t, and come off with Credit at the great day of Revelation: <HI>They that have done good &s;hall come forth to the Re|&s;urrection of Life,</HI> Joh. 5.29.</P>
<P>And the great rea&s;on why Men &s;hall be judged according to their ways, may be &s;uppo&s;ed to be this, be|cau&s;e the&s;e are the true&s;t di&s;cove|ries of their de&s;ires and di&s;po&s;itions; (as the &s;tream di&s;covereth the na|ture of the Fountain whence it floweth) and the matter is clear in any other ca&s;e: If, for in&s;tance,
<PB N="62" REF="42">one that hath took up Arms again&s;t his King, &s;hould con&s;ider what it is that he doth, how evil, how dan|gerous, how &s;candalous it is, and &s;o &s;hould re&s;olve (and accordingly de&s;ire) to cea&s;e his Rebellion, and become a true Subject: yet if he does not &s;o indeed, and actually lay down his Arms (it being a thing that lyeth in his power) he is cer|tainly no better than a Rebel &s;till, and mu&s;t not think that his King will accept tho&s;e good de&s;ires and Re&s;olutions that made him never a whit the better Man.</P>
<P N="5">5. A Man may doe &s;ome good deeds and yet not be in the number of the ju&s;t. Po&s;&s;ibly his goodne&s;s may be as the Morning Dew, when his Wickedne&s;s is more con&s;tant and prevailing. His common cour&s;e may be Earthly and Sen&s;ual, yea Devili&s;h too, though he &s;ometimes make a &s;hift to &s;tep out of <HI>Satan's</HI> path into &s;ome good action for his
<PB N="63" REF="42">credit &s;ake, or the like ends. As we have the <HI>Scribes</HI> and <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> for examples of it, though they were the greate&s;t enemies our Sa|viour had.</P>
<P>It was &s;aid of <HI>Amaziah,</HI> he did what was right in the &s;ight of the Lord, but not with a perfect (or upright) heart, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 25.2. Thus &s;ome will doe works of Ju&s;tice to|wards Men, and yet live in a wil|full and common neglect of the du|ties of Prayer, and publick Wor&s;hip and Service toward God, and what is &s;uch Mens Righteou&s;ne&s;s worth, while 'tis &s;o void of Religion to|wards the God of Righteou&s;ne&s;s? Some again will doe works of mercy towards the Poor, yet allow them&s;elves to rail at the Rich, and &s;pight at any that are above them in the World; and what is &s;uch Mens mercy worth?</P>
<P>Are the&s;e ju&s;t Men indeed that are &s;o injurious to their God, and
<PB N="64" REF="43">di&s;honour him more in &s;ome ways than they honour him in others? We think that Man more an Ene|my than a Friend that knowingly and u&s;ually does us more hurt, than good. And our Religion, we know, engages us to mind (in its place) every part of God's revea|led Will, to keep a good Con&s;ci|ence towards God as well as Men, and towards one as well as another, <HI>Acts.</HI> 24.16. <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.15. In &s;hort, to live Godly, Righteou&s;ly and Soberly in this pre&s;ent World, <HI>Tit.</HI> 2.12.</P>
<P>Having &s;een what good a Man may have and yet not be a good or ju&s;t Man, I think it will be no in|excu&s;able digre&s;&s;ion to con&s;ider what evil one may have and yet be &s;uch indeed.</P>
<P N="1">1. A Per&s;on may have variety of troubles, yea &s;uch as the mo&s;t and the wor&s;t do &s;eldom meet with, and yet be a ju&s;t Per&s;on (Righte|ous
<PB N="65" REF="43">and accepted in the &s;ight of God) the &s;traits of time may be Tempe&s;tuous to tho&s;e to whom the Ocean of Eternity &s;hall be calm enough. <HI>Many are the troubles of the Righteous,</HI> P&s;. 37. and we know the troubles of <HI>Job,</HI> that upright Man, were &s;uch as few or none ever &s;uffered the like.</P>
<P N="2">2. Inward and Spiritual Afflicti|ons are not at all incon&s;i&s;tent with the State of the ju&s;t in this World. One may be full of doubts of his Salvation and fears of Hell, yea he may be under the extremity of the&s;e evils (and be &s;wallowed up as it were in the&s;e depths of &s;orrow) and yet be an Heir of Heavens joy. The <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> &s;hews us, <HI>He had &s;uf|fered God's Terrours from his Youth,</HI> P&s;al. 88.15. <HI>Job</HI> complained that <HI>the Terrours of God had &s;et them&s;elves in array again&s;t him,</HI> 6.4. <HI>Terrours are turned upon me, they pur&s;ue my Soul,</HI> Chap. 30.15. adding (<HI>v.</HI> 17.)
<PB N="66" REF="44"><HI>My Bones are pierced in the night &s;ea|&s;on, and my Sinews take no Re&s;t.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. A Chri&s;tian may be followed with great Temptations, yea with horrid and unheard-of ones, and yet may be a ju&s;t Man. For it was &s;o with our Lord him&s;elf. He was tempted to fall down and wor&s;hip the unclean Spirit, and to ca&s;t him&s;elf down from the Pinna|cle of the Temple, <HI>Mat.</HI> 4.6.9. And if the&s;e things befell the Son of God, the vile&s;t Temptations may be managed again&s;t the Ser|vants of God. They that have grace in their hearts and favour in Heaven, may have their Heads fil|led with horrible thoughts (of God, Chri&s;t, Scripture, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>) And the&s;e thoughts being hated increa&s;e not their guilt, but their grief only, and <HI>Satan</HI> the &s;ugge&s;ter of them &s;hall an|&s;wer for them, and not the temp|ted humbled Sinners.</P>
<PB N="67" REF="44">
<P N="4">4. A Man may have much to doe with Sin, and find a great deal of evil in his Soul, (in affections, thoughts and pa&s;&s;ions) and yet be found in the number of the ju&s;t. Not only di&s;turbing thoughts in Prayer and other Duties, but al&s;o many other evil affections and in|clinations may be really in him, and yet he may be a Servant of God. St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ays, <HI>The fle&s;h lu&s;teth again&s;t the Spirit</HI> (Corruption a|gain&s;t Grace) which &s;uppo&s;eth &s;in|full di&s;po&s;itions. And <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.21. &s;ays he of him&s;elf, <HI>When I would doe good, evil is pre&s;ent with me:</HI> Name|ly, the evil of his own heart, for the <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> &s;ignifieth properly not the evil one <HI>Satan,</HI> but the evil thing Sin. To which may be added <HI>Jam.</HI> 5.17. where &s;peaking of that eminently Righteous Man <HI>Elias,</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>He was a Man of like pa&s;|&s;ions with us</HI> &mdash; which &s;eems to mean that he was &s;ubject to the
<PB N="68" REF="45">&s;ame &s;infull pa&s;&s;ions that others are, and had them really though not Reigning in his Soul: &s;uch as ra&s;h anger, immoderate cares, inordi|nate fears, impatient motions, and the like &mdash; That this is the meaning of it may be gue&s;&s;ed by the 17. ver&s;e, <HI>Elias was a Man &s;ubject to like pa&s;&s;ions as we are, and he prayed that it might not Rain for three years, and it Rained not:</HI> that is, God &s;hewed &s;uch a regard to his Prayers, though he were &s;uch a one; now if we interpret it of the <HI>like</HI> pa&s;&s;ions only in a <HI>natural</HI> &s;en&s;e (&s;o as to have in him joy and fear and the re&s;t that belong to the nature of Man as &s;uch, without any thing of Sin) this would be lit|tle wonder that his Prayers &s;hould be thus heard; there being nothing more agreeable to the divine good|ne&s;s than to &s;hew a great regard to the petitions of tho&s;e Creatures that are fully conformed to their Maker's
<PB N="69" REF="45">Will, and have nothing ami&s;s, or offen&s;ive in them. But that God &s;hould &s;o regard the petitions of one that was &s;ubject to the like &s;infull pa&s;&s;ions as we are, this was <HI>won|drous</HI> indeed, and a piece of un&s;peak|able conde&s;cen&s;ion in the mo&s;t high and holy one: this therefore is mo&s;t like to be the meaning of it.</P>
<P>And if it were not &s;o, it would be little encouragement to &s;infull Creatures, which I verily believe it was e&s;pecially written for. So that &s;infull affections and motions, where they are re&s;i&s;ted and oppo&s;ed, and accompanied with a con&s;cientious cour&s;e in the main, are no argu|ments at all that a Man is not a|mong the number of the <HI>Ju&s;t.</HI> What&s;oever evils there may be, which do only hinder us in the ways of God, but do not ordinarily turn us out of them (or &s;et our hearts again&s;t them) all the&s;e are not able to di&s;prove our &s;incerity or
<PB N="70" REF="46">deprive us of Acceptance with our gracious God. The Traveller that re&s;olveth, with God's A&s;&s;i&s;tance, to go to &s;uch and &s;uch Towns (&s;et|ting out and proceeding as he ought to doe) though he &s;hould be &s;ome|times thru&s;t out of his way, or be forced to carry a Burden that makes him walk &s;lowly and wearily in it, yet is in truth a Traveller towards tho&s;e places as much as if he went with the greate&s;t ea&s;e and &s;peed; &s;o the Chri&s;tian that makes God his end, and the way of his Command|ments his common path to walk in, though he be clogg'd with Sin and compa&s;&s;ed with Infirmity (and many ways hindered in running the Race that is &s;et before him) yet is a Traveller towards Heaven truly &s;o called, and &s;hall one day &s;ee that City of God.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="appendix">
<PB N="71" REF="46">
<HEAD>An Appendix to the 8^t^h^. Section, being a Character of that Ju&s;t Per&s;on who&s;e Soul &s;hall &s;hortly be &s;o Happy.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. HE is an Enemy to unju&s;t doings: He loves not the Work nor the Wages of Unrighte|ou&s;ne&s;s, but has the great Law of [doing as he would be done by] written in his heart, and copied out in his Conver&s;ation. And with|out this, a Man can no more be called Ju&s;t, than he can be called Wi&s;e without Wi&s;edom, or &s;trong without &s;trength. This therefore is fitter to be premi&s;ed than proved, doubtle&s;s the upright Man will walk in uprightne&s;s.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Ju&s;t Per&s;on is one of a &s;o|ber Life: the Wi&s;edom of the Ju&s;t will make a Man &s;o, and not &s;uffer him to live like a Sot while he ho|peth
<PB N="72" REF="47">for the Inheritance of the Saints. The Ju&s;t Man will be Ju&s;t to him|&s;elf, and will not ordinarily doe Sa|crifice to a Barrel to e&s;cape the Drunkards Songs or Cen&s;ures He knows his God requires him to watch and be &s;ober (1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.8.) and that it becomes him to be &s;o as he is a Man, much more as a Chri&s;tian. The grace of God, where once it is a Teacher indeed, teaches the great Le&s;&s;on of living &s;oberly in this pre|&s;ent World, <HI>Tit.</HI> 2.12.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Ju&s;t Man is a Godly Man too, and makes Con&s;cience of pay|ing God as well as Man his due. When the Scripture acquaints us that <HI>Zachary</HI> and <HI>Elizabeth</HI> were Righteous People, it &s;aith, <HI>they walk|ed in all the Commandments of the Lord, Luke</HI> 1.6. 'Twas not the Cu&s;tom of the World, but the com|mands of God that they cho&s;e to walk by. The Ju&s;t Man is (with|out Controver&s;ie) a Man of Con|&s;cience:
<PB N="73" REF="47">and Con&s;cience re&s;pecteth God as well as Men, yea God in the fir&s;t place, and Men for his &s;ake, <HI>Acts</HI> 24.16. <HI>Herein I do exerci&s;e my &s;elf to have a Con&s;cience void of offence towards God and towards Men,</HI> and <HI>Acts</HI> 23.1. <HI>I have walked in all good Con&s;cience before God.</HI> The doors of the Temple, or Tabernacle, were the Gates of the Lord, and into them 'twas &s;aid the Righteous &s;hall enter (However the Wicked de&s;|pi&s;e them,) <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 118.20, 21. And when the P&s;almi&s;t had &s;aid, <HI>Know ye that the Lord is God, it is he that hath made us,</HI> &amp;c. He pre&s;ently ad|deth &mdash; <HI>Enter into his Gates with Thank&s;giving, and into his Courts with Prai&s;e,</HI> P&s;al. 100.3, 4. As if he had &s;aid, ye do not acknowledge the Lord to be your God, and your &s;elves his Creatures to any purpo&s;e, if ye deny him the Honour of Pub|lick Wor&s;hip and Prai&s;e. And in the New Te&s;tament what can be
<PB N="74" REF="48">more ob&s;ervable than the zeal that <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> him&s;elf, that ju&s;t one in the highe&s;t &s;en&s;e, did &s;hew for the honour of the Temple, the place of publick Service to God, driving the Traders out of it, pouring out the Changers Monies, and over|throwing the Tables therein, <HI>John</HI> 2.15. It was &s;trange if &s;ome &s;pight|full Hypocrites did not cen&s;ure him very &s;harply for it, and report him de&s;titute of that meekne&s;s that the Servants of God &s;hould &s;hew forth; and perhaps it was &s;o: for as he did more than is written in the Go&s;pel, &s;o we have no rea&s;on to doubt but he &s;uffered more than is written al|&s;o.</P>
<P>Surely then the Ju&s;t Man will be ju&s;t to his God, and gladly give him, in his con&s;tant cour&s;e, the Glory due unto his Name. If therefore the Hou&s;e of God be unto People as a place of contempt, his Day an idle time with them, and matters of
<PB N="75" REF="48">vanity be ordinarily more plea&s;ing to them in it than the exerci&s;es of piety: then, (Reader) in &s;pight of all their faire&s;t pretences, and &s;moo|the&s;t Speeches, I &s;hall not fear to affirm that their Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Religiou&s;ne&s;s are much alike, and that both of them together are no more worth than the hone&s;ty of a common Thief, when he hath no opportunity of &s;tealing.</P>
<P N="4">4. He is one that makes Con&s;ci|ence of being &s;ubject to his Gover|nours, and is taught in the fear of God to Honour his King. He de|&s;ireth not to &s;eparate what God hath joyned together, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.17. They are &s;poken of as &s;ome of the wor&s;er &s;ort of unju&s;t People, that de&s;pi&s;e Dominion and &s;peak evil of Dig|nities, <HI>Jude</HI> 8.</P>
<P N="5">5. The Ju&s;t Man is a mercifull Man al&s;o. They the Prophet cal|led Righteous are noted to be mer|cifull too. <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 57.1. <HI>The Righteous
<PB N="76" REF="49">peri&s;h, and mercifull Men are taken away.</HI> The Ju&s;t Man (whom Scrip|ture &s;tileth &s;o) is certainly a good Man: and 'tis the nature of a good Man to have real compa&s;&s;ions in his Soul. Yea, he is mercifull to his Bea&s;t al&s;o: <HI>A Righteous Man regar|deth the Life of his Bea&s;t,</HI> Prov. 12.10.</P>
<P N="6">6. The Ju&s;t Man is an humble Man: though he often looketh to|wards Heaven, yet he is lowly in heart what&s;oever his Apparel be, he is cloathed with Humility. God will &s;ave the Humble Per&s;on, <HI>Job</HI> 22.29 and 'tis the Righteous to whom his Salvation belongeth. <HI>The Salvation of the Righteous is of the Lord,</HI> P&s;al. 37.39. <HI>Every one that is proud in Heart, is an Abomination to the Lord,</HI> Prov. 16.5. But certainly the Ju&s;t Man is not &s;o.</P>
<P N="7">7. A Ju&s;t Man is a Heavenly-minded Per&s;on, and would not be a Worldling for all the Earth, and the Sea is worth. Though he
<PB N="77" REF="49">thankfully accepteth Earthly Ble&s;|&s;ings, yet Spiritual and Heavenly are mo&s;t in his e&s;teem. <HI>They that are after the Spirit do mind</HI> (chiefly) <HI>the things of the Spirit,</HI> Rom. 8.5. Accordingly the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking of the re&s;t of the faithfull as well as him&s;elf, &s;aith 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.18. <HI>We look not at the things that are &s;een, but at the things that are not &s;een, for the things that are &s;een are Temporal, but the things that are not &s;een are Eternal.</HI> Tho&s;e that el&s;ewhere he &s;o &s;adly la|mented as to weep at the mention of them, (and who&s;e ends were de|&s;truction,) were People that did mind earthly things, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.18, 19. that is, they minded the&s;e things mo&s;t, and &s;et their very hearts, as we call it, upon them. He that ha|bitually and practically loveth the Riches, Honours, or Plea&s;ures of the World more than God, and the Happine&s;s that is to be found in en|joying him in a State of perfect Ho|line&s;s,
<PB N="78" REF="50">is not a Saint for calling him|&s;elf a Chri&s;tian, but a fooli&s;h Man for accounting him&s;elf &s;o. Nor is there any di&s;po&s;ition that I know of that is more apparently contrary to the power of Godline&s;s, and the renewed nature of a gracious Soul. He that is more at the command of his Covetou&s;ne&s;s than of his God and his Con&s;cience, is like to appear among&s;t the Di&s;obedient at la&s;t. Grace it &s;elf cannot fit a Man for Happine&s;s any other way than by gaining his heart to God.</P>
<P N="8">8. The Ju&s;t Man is &s;o effectually fallen out with Sin, that no Art can reconcile him to any ways of wil|full Wickedne&s;s, &s;o as to chu&s;e ordi|narily to walk therein, <HI>Prov.</HI> 4.18. <HI>The Ju&s;t Man's path is as the Shining Light.</HI> Therefore &s;urely he doth not give him&s;elf over to follow the Works of Darkne&s;s, nor walk in the way of Damnation. And how can we conceive the contrary without
<PB N="79" REF="50">&s;uppo&s;ing God's Grace to be given him in vain? For how could he live wor&s;e than &s;o, if he were utter|ly de&s;titute of it? The Scripture de|&s;cribeth God's Righteous Servants by their true devotedne&s;s of him, and their unfeigned choice of his ways to walk in (which cannot &s;tand with any common cour&s;e of known Wickedne&s;s,) <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.38. <HI>Stabli&s;h thy word to thy Servant who is devoted to thy Fear.</HI> It was the great evidence of the Grace of God in the <HI>Macedonians</HI> that they gave them&s;elves up unto the Lord, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.2. 5 The <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> al&s;o &s;etteth forth his Religion by the chief Bent of his Will to it, &s;aying, <HI>I have cho&s;en thy Precepts; I have cho&s;en the way of Truth,</HI> P&s;al. 119.13.30. The wicked are Per&s;ons of the contrary Charac|ter. They did not chu&s;e the fear of the Lord, <HI>Prov.</HI> 1.24. and, they cho&s;e the thing in which he delighted not (<HI>i.e.</HI> the way that he hated) <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 65.12.</P>
<PB N="80" REF="51">
<P N="9">9. The Ju&s;t Man in all and a|bove all, hath an Eye to the Ju&s;t one: he hath his Faith and Love fixed upon that infinitely amiable object <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Righteous.</HI> If you could give him the uttermo&s;t of this World's good, and a&s;&s;ure him to keep it (in ea&s;e and peace) ten thou&s;and years together, yet Chri&s;t is more to him than all this; yea, 'tis as nothing, and vanity in com|pari&s;on of him. All our Religion, I dare &s;ay, is worth very little, if Chri&s;t be not more valuable with us than all this World: for el&s;e we are Worldlings in Heart, and mind earthly things in &s;uch a &s;ad &s;en&s;e, that De&s;truction is the end it tends to, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.18, 19. The Wi&s;edom of the Ju&s;t will make a Man truly and &s;piritually acquainted with his own unworthine&s;s, and &s;in&s;ulne&s;s, &s;o as to know for certain that he is by Nature a Child of Wrath, and lia|ble to eternal Damnation, and there|fore
<PB N="81" REF="51">to &s;ee more need of Chri&s;t than his Eye hath of Light, or his Body of Breath. His Heart yields a&s;&s;ent to that ble&s;&s;ed word that &s;hews him to be a Mediatour and Saviour for Sinners, and the Deliverer from the Wrath to come, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1.10. Yea the Authour of Eternal Salvation, (which infinitely exceeds all tempo|ral good,) <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.9. And accor|dingly his People have e&s;teemed of him as the chiefe&s;t of ten thou&s;ands, as altogether lovely, <HI>Cantic.</HI> 5.10.16. St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s great de&s;ire was to be found in Chri&s;t, not having his own Righteou&s;ne&s;s (to tru&s;t to) <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.9. counting all things, as lo&s;s, that he might Win Chri&s;t. St. <HI>Peter</HI> al|&s;o tells us that to them that believe, Chri&s;t is precious (that is mo&s;t pre|cious) 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.7. For we do, in effect, wholly undervalue him if we prefer any thing of the Earth before him. Thus, Reader, I have given thee the Character of that Ju&s;t Per|&s;on
<PB N="82" REF="52">(in Heart and Life) that &s;hall be happy after Death; and if it tru|ly agrees to thee, thou art in &s;ome mea&s;ure happy here, through <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> and nothing &s;hall make thee mi&s;erable. Thou mai&s;t (if &s;uch) &s;afely lay claim to the comforts of a Chri&s;tian, and neede&s;t not to live like a Fool or a Slave, in fear (I mean) of Poverty and Want, of Scorn and Contempt, of any Ad|ver&s;ity or Extremity what&s;oever. For to them that walk uprightly: The Lord God him&s;elf, is a Sun and a Shield, and will never fail them nor for&s;ake them, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 84.11. <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.5.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="section">
<PB N="83" REF="52">
<HEAD>SECT. IX. <HI>Shewing the u&s;efulne&s;s of the point in two other particulars.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IN the next place, it may occa&s;ion us to con&s;ider the different ends of the Righteous and the Wicked. They may (I grant) be alike <HI>in</HI> their ends, but they will not be alike <HI>afterwards.</HI> Though they may die the &s;ame kind of Death, yet Death will not be the &s;ame to both; the one &s;hall be a gainer by it, and be with Chri&s;t; which is far better than any condition here: the other &s;hall be a loo&s;er by it, and be in greater mi&s;ery than any he feared in this World. That which by any means cuts the thread of his Life, ca&s;ts down al&s;o all the Pillars of his hope, <HI>Proverbs</HI> 11.7. <HI>When a
<PB N="84" REF="53">Wicked Man dyeth,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Wicked Man's mi&s;ery after Death.</NOTE> <HI>his Expectation &s;hall Peri&s;h, and the hope of unju&s;t Men Pe|ri&s;heth.</HI> As then he is deprived of all his Wealth and Honour, Sport and Plea&s;ure, and all that outward good or comfort which here he took any content|ment in; &s;o his departed Soul will find nothing to &s;upply the want of them. 'Tis true: It hath to doe with God, but not in a way of mer|cy and favour; and therefore his pre&s;ence will not comfort it in the ab&s;ence of earthly comforts. <HI>The Spirit,</HI> &s;ays <HI>Solomon, returns to God that gave it;</HI> that's &s;poken of the Spirit, or Soul of Man, in general, whether good or bad. The Spirit of a good Man returneth to God as to a gracious Father, the Spirit of a bad Man as to a Righteous Judge and di&s;po&s;er of it. And we cannot imagine that the Soul of one that
<PB N="85" REF="53">would never return (in a holy &s;en&s;e) in his life time &s;hould return to God, in a happy &s;en&s;e, when his life is ended. For he will recompen&s;e him according to his ways, &s;aith the Prophet, <HI>and hath revealed his Wrath again&s;t all the ungodline&s;s and unrigh|teou&s;ne&s;s of Men,</HI> Rom. 1.18. 'Tis &s;aid of the unbeliever, &s;o continuing, <HI>that the Wrath of God abideth on him,</HI> John 3.36. And every ungodly Man (we doubt not) is an unbelie|ver, in a Scripture &s;en&s;e, though he cares not to think &s;o ill of him&s;elf. And what wonder is it if the holy one &s;hew his high di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t the departed Soul of that Sinner, that would not Religiou&s;ly depart from Evil, nor was ever reconci|led through Je&s;us Chri&s;t? Now what a dreadfull ca&s;e will this be? What a terrible taking will a guilty Impenitent Soul be in, when it &s;ees it &s;elf in the Regions of Eternal Dark|ne&s;s? When it hath lo&s;t all com|forts
<PB N="86" REF="54">and comfortable Expectations, and &s;hall never &s;ee any more good: when Money and Lands, when Ac|quaintance and Friends, when Time and Hope, and all is gone! O what deep di&s;tre&s;s, what &s;ub&s;tantial &s;orrows will it be filled with, when 'tis compa&s;t about with mi&s;eries un|changeable, and utterly &s;wallowed up (without help or hope) in the depths of God's revenging Wrath? &mdash;Con&s;ider of it, Reader, in the fear of God, and never let thy Soul be &s;atisfied without that mercy and grace which may fit thee to e&s;cape &s;uch a fearfull condition.</P>
<P N="2">2. It may al&s;o keep us from won|dring at, (or at lea&s;t from &s;tumbling at) the troubles of true obedient Chri&s;tians in this World. They come on them, many times, thick and threefold (as we call it) and are &s;o far from moving the carele&s;s World to pity them, that they ex|po&s;e them rather (but too common|ly)
<PB N="87" REF="54">to the utmo&s;t &s;corn and con|tempt.</P>
<P>Sometimes al&s;o they are ready to Bla&s;pheme (on that occa&s;ion) and &s;ay, Behold, what good doth all their Godline&s;s do them? For, how mi&s;erably do they live? and who is there round about that have more &s;orrows and grievances than many of tho&s;e that make &s;o much adoe a|bout Religion? But a&s;&s;uredly all this will not warrant them to de&s;|pi&s;e Religion, or tho&s;e that love and follow it. For be&s;ides other con&s;i|derations that might be urged, name|ly, Their remaining &s;infulne&s;s which maketh the cha&s;ti&s;ements of their Heavenly Father needfull for them (with that mo&s;t wi&s;e providence and Fatherly love that ordereth and limi|teth them) together with the nature of Sin it &s;elf that makes them worthy of more and greater &s;ufferings than in this mortal life they can ever bear; <HI>Death eternal being the wages of Sin,</HI>
<PB N="88" REF="55">Rom 6.23. I &s;ay, be&s;ides the&s;e and the like con&s;iderations that may be urged, the &s;hortne&s;s of their trou|bles, and the certainty of their Souls Happine&s;s after Death, may abundantly &s;atisfie them: and is more than &s;ufficient to countervail the &s;adde&s;t &s;ufferings of this mortal State, (as will farther be evinced by the nature and property of that Felicity, which in its place with God's A&s;&s;i&s;tance I &s;hall endeavour to explicate)</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. X. <HI>Being a per&s;wa&s;ive to &s;everal great Duties.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE truth of the pre&s;ent point may be looked on as a true
<PB N="89" REF="55">and ju&s;t ground for Chri&s;tian prac|tices; and 'tis great pity but Peo|ple &s;hould be &s;omewhat the better for a point of &s;o much comfort and en|couragement to Goodne&s;s. Here therefore I may fitly endeavour to engage my &s;elf and others to the duties following.</P>
<P N="1">1. Patience under God's afflicting hand (whether by outward or in|ward troubles) Men of ordinary prudence can follow very unplea|&s;ant methods of Phy&s;ick from the meer pro&s;pect of that ea&s;e and health which they hope, in time, to find by &s;o doing (though none do pro|mi&s;e them health, much le&s;s a&s;&s;ure them of the continuance of it How &s;hould a Chri&s;tian then endeavour (more and more) that patience may have its perfect work, when he fore|&s;ees by Faith that ble&s;&s;ed Re&s;t which his Soul &s;hall have after death hath &s;eized upon his Body; and hath the word of God to a&s;&s;ure him that this
<PB N="90" REF="56">happine&s;s &s;hall never end, but be compleated at the Re&s;urrection of the ju&s;t, when their wa&s;ted Bodies &s;hall for&s;ake their dark Pri&s;ons, and <HI>Shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father,</HI> Mat. 13.43. He may therefore &s;ay with chearfulne&s;s as once a worthy Servant of Chri&s;t [Hold out Faith and Patience, for your work will &s;hortly be at an end.]</P>
<P N="2">2. The Duty of Charity &s;hould hence be enforced upon us according to our place and power. What if Men be never &s;o unworthy or un|thankfull, yet Chri&s;tians &s;hould be ready to extend their Charity to them, in any rea&s;onable way, for the &s;ake of that good God who will do them &s;o much good after death. How can they do le&s;s than &s;hew forth real compa&s;&s;ions (on all fit oc|ca&s;ions) yea towards their very names, if they find them wronged therein, when they remember their heavenly Father's Love, and con&s;i|der
<PB N="91" REF="56">how &s;hortly he will receive their immortal Souls, and Crown them with his tendere&s;t mercies?</P>
<P N="3">3. Upright living in the general: how &s;hould this engage a Chri&s;tian to honour his God what he can, and (as the Apo&s;tle exhorts) to do all to his Glory: to live by Faith and walk in Love, and be ready to every good work? For as <HI>Samuel</HI> &s;aid, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.24. <HI>Serve the Lord in truth with all your heart, for con&s;i|der what great things he hath done for you;</HI> How fitly then may I &s;ay to &s;uch a one, be diligent in thy duty, and lead thy life to the glory of that gracious God who will &s;atisfie thy Soul with his glorious goodne&s;s when once it hath left this &s;infull World.</P>
<P N="4">4. It &s;hould make a Chri&s;tian willing (yea glad) to glorifie his God by dying for his truth (if pro|vidence &s;hould call him to it.) Life is &s;weet, (&s;ays the Proverb) and to
<PB N="92" REF="57">part with it when we can keep it is commonly counted a hard Chapter: and 'tis really a principal part of &s;elf denial. But 'tis no more than a Chri&s;tian ought to be content to practi&s;e (though Mr. <HI>Hobbs</HI> his <HI>Le|viathan</HI> would render it needle&s;s) when God calls him to it, and when he cannot keep his Life without re|nouncing the truth or doing wicked|ly &s;ome other way; and as in &s;uch ca&s;es he &s;hould think him&s;elf bound to it by Chri&s;t's dying for him (who&s;e death was more grievous than the death of any Man el&s;e, and who&s;e life was more precious than the life of all created Beings;) &s;o he &s;hould be encouraged to it by acting his faith upon the truth in hand: for why &s;hould he either think it much or think it &s;ad, to part with his life for the honour of that immortal Maje&s;ty who&s;e pre&s;ence and favour is his whole Felicity, and &s;hall &s;ure|ly be to his departed Soul an Ocean
<PB N="93" REF="57">of Eternal Peace and Plea&s;ures?</P>
<P N="5">5. It &s;hould move a Chri&s;tian to be content under the ordinary cro&s;|&s;es of this life, and particularly pains and &s;ickne&s;&s;es and &s;pightfull cau&s;ele&s;s a&s;per&s;ions and di&s;graces.</P>
<P>No Affliction (we confe&s;s) is in it &s;elf joyous but grievous; (and therefore People are not to be bla|med for being &s;en&s;ible of them; nor are tho&s;e kind of Per&s;ons wonder|full wi&s;e, nor yet very charitable, that cen&s;ure their Neighbours of gro&s;s impatience for crying out in an extremity of pain) though, I &s;ay, no Afflictions, or tho&s;e in&s;tanced in, are in them&s;elves any other than matters of grievance, yet a Chri&s;tian has no cau&s;e to be di&s;content or di&s;|couraged: for his mind may receive great &s;atisfaction when his Body can receive no ea&s;e; and why &s;hould he faint at tho&s;e Tribulations that &s;hall &s;o &s;hortly have an end, and a happy end too?</P>
<PB N="94" REF="58">
<P>For however his Body be tired with Sickne&s;&s;es, and his Name abu|&s;ed by the ba&s;e&s;t Tongues, yet e're long his Soul &s;hall have Re&s;t enough, yea and credit enough al&s;o among&s;t the excellent Inhabitants of the un|&s;een-World when once it hath put off its Earthly Tabernacle.</P>
<P N="6">6. It &s;hould move Chri&s;tian Pa|rents to take care of their Childrens &s;piritual welfare, and &s;ee that they be brought up in the Knowledge of God, and the In&s;tructions of that &s;acred word, <HI>Which is able to make them Wi&s;e to Salvation,</HI> 2 Tim 3.15. And &s;o tends to prepare them for a happy immortality when this mor|tal life is pa&s;&s;ed away.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="section">
<PB N="95" REF="58">
<HEAD>SECT. XI. <HI>Containing the Re&s;olution of two great Que&s;tions.</HI></HEAD>
<P>I thought to have gone on in the &s;mooth track of duties and com|forts ari&s;ing from the Doctrine in hand: but on &s;econd thoughts I was willing to re&s;olve (&s;o far as the gi|ving my opinion of) &s;ome Queries relating to the pre&s;ent point.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Whether the Souls of the Ju&s;t af|ter Death, do go &s;o immediately and directly to Heaven (or are &s;o confined and limited) as to have nothing to do e at any time in this lower World?</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Whether the Re&s;t and Joy which they have after Death be perfect or not?</HI></P>
<PB N="96" REF="59">
<P>Concerning the&s;e I de&s;ire the Rea|der to be of my mind no farther than he can &s;ee &s;ome rea&s;on for it. As to the former, the mo&s;t common opinion (I think) is, that &s;uch de|parted Souls have no more to doe with any on Earth, or have no pre&s;ence with them (nor appearance to them) at any time, or on any account.</P>
<P>But with me the &s;aying of it, with|out the proving of it &s;ignifies but lit|tle: and I know no Argument they being for it that my rea&s;on is &s;atisfi|ed in. I therefore conceive the con|trary to be true: [that holy Souls after death may be at &s;ome times, and on &s;ome occa&s;ions, pre&s;ent with Men in this World, appear to them and conver&s;e with them] (though I believe it is not ordinary, nor ought to be expected by any.) And &s;ince there's no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> better way to prove a thing may be, than to prove that it hath been; I &s;hall therefore
<PB N="97" REF="59">offer what to me &s;eemeth con&s;i|derable for that purpo&s;e. And fir&s;t: That Text of St. <HI>Matthew</HI> 17.3. <HI>There appeared</HI> (&s;ays the E|vangeli&s;t) <HI>unto them Mo&s;es and Elias talking with them. &mdash; Mo&s;es</HI> then appeared at Chri&s;t's Transfiguration: now we read that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> dyed, and was buried in the Land of <HI>Moab, Deut.</HI> 34.5. And if then he appea|red in his Body, he mu&s;t have been rai&s;ed from the Dead at that time: but Scripture tells us no &s;uch thing, which in all probability it would have done if it had been &s;o. There is therefore as great a probability that he then appeared in his Soul only. And I find the Reverend Bi&s;hop <HI>Hall</HI> (in Contempl. on the Transfiguration) expre&s;s him&s;elf in this &s;ort; [<HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did then appear, but whether in the Body, or out of the Body I cannot tell.] Thereby granting the latter might be as well as the former: and it is no ab&s;ur|dity
<PB N="98" REF="60">for me to &s;uppo&s;e that po&s;&s;ible which &s;o excellent an Author judg|ed &s;o.</P>
<P>If any &s;hould ask, how can a Soul being a &s;piritual &s;ub&s;tance, appear in the World? perhaps I may an|&s;wer (in like manner) I cannot tell: and if I, nor others cannot tell the manner of it, yet that di&s;proves not the reality of the thing. I know the Spider makes his Web, yet I do not tell Men (nor they me) how he makes it, nor yet of what matter. And if &s;uch Cavillers would tell us how Angels do appear (that are as far from all e&s;&s;ential corporeity, as the Souls of Men) we might the ea|&s;ier &s;hew them how Souls may ap|pear. And thus much al&s;o I will add, that an eminent Divine a&s;&s;u|red me that the be&s;t Philo&s;ophers he knew were of opinion, that the Souls of Men removed from their Natural Bodies, are embodied (as it were) in Aerial Vehicles; and that he him|&s;elf
<PB N="99" REF="60">was of the &s;ame Judgment.</P>
<P N="2">2. That of <HI>Samuel</HI> appearing to <HI>Saul,</HI> (1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 28.12, 13, 14.) may fitly be urged. For the Scripture gives no cau&s;e to believe that <HI>Samu|el</HI>'s Body was then rai&s;ed from the Dead, (nor do I find Expo&s;itors &s;uppo&s;ing &s;uch a thing) it may there|fore well be thought it was <HI>Samuel</HI> in <HI>Soul</HI> only. For the context &s;eems to evince that it was <HI>Samuel really:</HI> The Apparition being called by no other name, as oft as 'tis men|tioned, &mdash; ver&s;. 12. <HI>When the Woman &s;aw Samuel,</HI> ver&s;. 14. <HI>And Saul per|ceived it was Samuel;</HI> and thrice more in the other ver&s;es 'tis &s;o cal|led. I know the contrary minded will have <HI>Samuel</HI> to be meant of &s;omewhat el&s;e, either the Witches Familiar, or <HI>Satan</HI> in his &s;hape, or &s;ome cunning piece that was to de|ceive <HI>Saul</HI> with I know not what extraordinary Arts and Tricks, (as Mr. <HI>Scott</HI> and Mr. <HI>Web&s;ter</HI> are wil|ling
<PB N="100" REF="61">we &s;hould think.) But if this be a warrantable way of interpre|ting Scripture, I &s;hall hardly know what is not; and let any intelligent Per&s;on judge whether by &s;uch a way of interpreting, the plaine&s;t Hi&s;tory in Scripture (or el&s;ewhere) may not be &s;poiled; And let it be re|membred that <HI>He</HI> that called it <HI>Sa|muel</HI> &s;o often was the holy Pen-man of that part of Scripture. And the Letter is to be in&s;i&s;ted on, if there be nothing in that context, or in o|ther Scripture, to enforce the con|trary; I am al&s;o the proner to think there is no &s;uch thing, when I con|&s;ider the in&s;ufficiency (if I much mi&s;take not) of the be&s;t An&s;wers that are given by Writers of great Judgment and Acutene&s;s in other matters: as Dr. <HI>Willet, Chamierus,</HI> and the <HI>Anti-Racovianist Nichol. Arnoldus</HI> in his Notes upon the place. Who&s;e An&s;wer being brief, (and yet the &s;ub&s;tance of what the others
<PB N="101" REF="61">&s;ay) I &s;hall (with due re&s;pect to his Name and Works) humbly take leave to examine. Well then:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">in Lib. cui tit. Lux in Tenebris.</NOTE> It mu&s;t not be thought that it was <HI>Samuel</HI> in <HI>his Soul,</HI> that there had to doe with <HI>Saul.</HI> This the learned Author will not grant, and gives the follow|ing rea&s;ons as (1) <HI>Quia &s;ic &s;ubjectus fui&s;&s;et Pythoni&s;&s;ae:</HI> Becau&s;e (&s;ays he) if &s;o, he &s;hould have been Subject to the Witch of <HI>Endor;</HI> whereas &s;uch a Servant of God was not, in his Soul &s;ubject to her.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> True indeed: He was not thus &s;ubject to her, nor doth that Scripture imply any &s;uch thing. For it is not &s;aid that <HI>Samuel</HI> came at her command; yea the contrary is intimated: for when he that is called <HI>Samuel</HI> appeared, <HI>the Woman</HI> ('tis &s;aid) <HI>cryed out with a loud voice:</HI> a &s;ign &s;he was &s;urpri&s;ed, by &s;eeing what &s;he was not wont to &s;ee (and
<PB N="102" REF="62">perhaps before &s;he had gone over all the methods of her Inchant|ments,) doubtle&s;s the appearance of her Familiar in humane &s;hape (or any thing el&s;e that was u&s;ual in her Magical Contrivances) was not like to have been &s;uch an Afrightment to her.</P>
<P N="2">2. An&s;. &mdash; <HI>Pa&s;&s;us e&s;t &s;e Adorari,</HI> &amp;c. The <HI>Samuel</HI> here, (&s;ays he) &s;uffered <HI>Saul</HI> to wor&s;hip him. But true <HI>Samuel,</HI> though <HI>in Soul</HI> only, would not have &s;uffered &s;uch a thing.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> Indeed the holy Soul of <HI>Sa|muel</HI> Would not have con&s;ented to &s;uch a thing: but 'tis po&s;&s;ible for it (for ought I know) to have &s;uffered &s;uch a thing. The be&s;t of God's Servants, in &s;ome ca&s;es may let a Sin pa&s;s without a formal reproof. (Not to e&s;pou&s;e the opinion of tho&s;e that &s;ay, Duty properly re&s;pects the Per&s;on, not a part of him. <HI>Lex datur per&s;onis.</HI>) 2. How knows any
<PB N="103" REF="62">Man that this apparition did not re|prove <HI>Saul</HI> for <HI>Wor&s;hipping</HI> it if he did &s;o indeed: For there is no nece&s;&s;ity of &s;uppo&s;ing that not to have been done, which the Scripture doth not &s;ay <HI>was</HI> done. We read of our Saviour, that he did many things (meaning, no doubt, many great and wonderfull ones) that are not written, or recorded, <HI>John</HI> 21. And whereas &s;ome conceive that <HI>Saul</HI>'s act was only an act of reverence and re&s;pect, and not of wor&s;hip or adoration, they are like enough to be in the right; and I am confident the expre&s;&s;ion (in the 14 ver&s;e) <HI>[He &s;toopt with his Face to the ground, and bowed him&s;elf]</HI> doth not enforce the contrary.</P>
<P>His 3^d. An&s;. <HI>Quia Sauli non Re|&s;pondebat,</HI> &amp;c. Becau&s;e (&s;ays he) God refu&s;ed to An&s;wer <HI>Saul</HI> by any of the Prophets then living: much le&s;s then would he do it by the dead, and <HI>Luke.</HI> 16. Such a thing was de|nied
<PB N="104" REF="63">to the rich Man that reque&s;|ted it.</P>
<P><HI>Reply.</HI> That &s;aying [The Lord an&s;wered him not] may, according to the &s;cope of the place, be inter|preted of an&s;wering <HI>Saul,</HI> as he ex|pected, or in a comfortable way as t'was &s;aid to a wicked People, <HI>When ye make many Prayers, I will not hear,</HI> E&s;ay. 1.15.</P>
<P>And though <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. we are taught to attend to the Scripture, and not to expect information from Saints departed; yet this hinders not but that the Soul of a Saint in an <HI>extraordinary</HI> ca&s;e, may have &s;ome conver&s;e with the living in this World. And I have read in a good Author, that &s;ome of tho&s;e Angels that Scripture tells us appeared to People, were probably the Spirits of Ju&s;t Men, called Angels only from their Office of Me&s;&s;age and Mini&s;tration. Thus Reader, I have given thee my thoughts in this mat|ter:
<PB N="105" REF="63">and if thou &s;hewe&s;t me that I have erred herein, I &s;hall willing|ly owe thee, and pay thee, my thanks, And if I am (herein) out of the way, yet I am not alone: &s;ome of my betters are of the &s;ame mind, and particularly the famous Philo|&s;opher and Divine Dr. <HI>Henry More.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall now only (as to this) add a remarkable Hi&s;tory (mentioned by a good Author) as followeth [One Mr. <HI>Watkin&s;on</HI> a Religious Man had a Daughter, whom he dearly loved, married to a Man at <HI>York</HI> (He then living in <HI>London</HI>) She came &s;everal times to vi&s;it her Father: and the la&s;t vi&s;it &s;he made, &s;he &s;aid, at par|ting, that &s;he feared &s;he &s;hould ne|ver &s;ee him more in this World. To which he an&s;wered, if he died be|fore her, in ca&s;e God would permit: the Dead to &s;ee the Living, he would &s;urely &s;ee her once more.</P>
<P>When he had been dead about half a year, in a night when &s;he|could
<PB N="106" REF="64">not &s;leep, the Chamber grew lighter and lighter; and being per|fectly awake, &s;he &s;aw her Father &s;tand by her, who called her as he u&s;ed to do, &s;aying <HI>[Did I not tell you I would &s;ee you again?]</HI> She called him Father, and talked of many things. He bad her be Patient, and Dutifull to her Mother; He al&s;o bad her &s;peak what &s;he de&s;ired at that time, becau&s;e he mu&s;t &s;hortly leave her; and then he &s;hould meet her no more till they met in the Kingdom of God: and &s;o at length the Chamber grew darker, and he was gone.]</P>
<P>I know very well that Men of large Con&s;ciences have a very nar|row belief of matters of this nature, (for the mo&s;t part.) And I doubt not but the Athei&s;tical Leviathani&s;ts of this Age are ready to laugh at &s;uch a Relation; but I dare &s;ay, 'tis not the le&s;s credible for that. For as it was the &s;ub&s;tance of a Letter
<PB N="107" REF="64">written to a Doctor of Divinity, &s;o 'tis recorded by a very ingenious, and judicious Author Mr. <HI>Jo&s;eph Glanvil,</HI> with the&s;e words at the end of it [I was told this with great a&s;&s;urance by Dr. <HI>Ru&s;t,</HI> afterwards Bi&s;hop of <HI>Dromore,</HI> and was not credulous in the&s;e things.] Now though the&s;e Men had a de&s;ign to promote the intere&s;t of Religion, yet 'tis verily thought they were not &s;o unwi&s;e or unworthy as to endeavour it by frivolous and un|grounded reports. (Thus to the fir&s;t Que&s;tion)</P>
<P>Que&s;t. 2. <HI>Whether the Re&s;t and Joy of Ju&s;t Mens Souls in their &s;epa|rated State, be perfect or not?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> This is propo&s;ed by &s;everal Writers, and particularly <HI>Buchan in Loc. Com.</HI> and <HI>Al&s;tedius</HI> in <HI>Theol. Po|lemic&acirc;:</HI> and is determined in the Ne|gative. <HI>Inchoat&acirc; Beatitudine,</HI> &amp;c. O|thers
<PB N="108" REF="65">u&s;e the word <HI>Incompleta.</HI> They enjoy (&s;ay the&s;e) the beginning of Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, or an imperfect Ble&s;|&s;edne&s;s &mdash; Tho&s;e that like this No|tion (for me) may make the mo&s;t of it, and reap all the comfort that it can afford: for my part I mu&s;t needs &s;ay I do not admire it. And now I &s;hall take leave to declare my Sentiments herein (with &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to better Judgments, and a Willing|ne&s;s to be farther informed.) And (1.) by way of Conce&s;&s;ion: I grant that the perfection of happine&s;s, properly &s;o called, or in re&s;pect of the <HI>Compo&s;itum,</HI> or whole Man, is re&s;erved to the day of Judgment. <HI>Then the Lord will give his Righteous Servants the Crown of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and the eternal weight of Glory, as St.</HI> Paul &s;peaketh.</P>
<P>(2.) I grant there is a &s;tate of Chri&s;tians in this Life that may be called a Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, which yet is accompanied with no &s;mall imper|fection,
<PB N="109" REF="65">becau&s;e they daily lodge an Enemy of God, and have &s;in dwelling in them. <HI>If we &s;ay we have no &s;in we deceive our &s;elves.</HI></P>
<P>But (3.) that a holy Soul after death has not the perfection of Hap|pine&s;s, or le&s;s of Happine&s;s than it needeth or de&s;ireth, this I cannot comply with. Here therefore I &s;hall attempt to prove that the de|parted Souls of the Ju&s;t are in a State of perfect Happine&s;s, and have all that &s;piritual comfort from the God of all comfort, which on any account they have need of, (and &s;uch a Happine&s;s I think we may ju&s;tly call perfect, and is all that I wi&s;h to my own Soul in its ab&s;ence from the Body.)</P>
<P>Now (for this) let us con&s;ider the &s;tate of Sanctified Souls after their removal from their Bodies. They have certainly Life, and Sen&s;e, and Knowledge, and all the e&s;&s;en|tial perfections that belong to them
<PB N="110" REF="66">as &s;piritual &s;ub&s;tances. St. <HI>Stephen</HI> (doubtle&s;s) would not have &s;aid (when his Enemies were killing him) <HI>Lord Je&s;us, Receive my Spirit,</HI> if he had not believed that his Soul &s;hould continue in its &s;piritual Being after his Body was dead. Now the Souls of &s;uch, if they have not all the Happine&s;s that they <HI>need,</HI> then they mu&s;t know &s;o much or not; if we &s;ay they do <HI>not</HI> know it, we &s;hall hardly prove that they know any thing el&s;e: and &s;o comply with the Socinian Dream, of the Souls &s;lee|ping after death.</P>
<P>And (in rea&s;on) what are they more like to know than their own State? But if then they know them|&s;elves de&s;titute of any Happine&s;s that they need, that knowledge mu&s;t be matter of trouble and di&s;&s;atisfacti|on unto them; and &s;o (at that rate) the Souls of the Ju&s;t &s;hall be in part really unhappy, which tho&s;e that judge of them by the Scriptures will not believe.</P>
<PB N="111" REF="66">
<P N="2">2. If in their &s;eparated State they have a perfect enjoyment of God, they mu&s;t be perfectly happy: (by the confe&s;&s;ion of all tho&s;e that know wherein Happine&s;s con&s;i&s;teth.) And that in that State they have a per|fect enjoyment of God, is (one would think) no hard matter to make evident. For nothing but &s;in can hinder the Soul from a perfect Communion with God, and comfort in Him. The Prophet tells the Peo|ple of nothing but their <HI>Iniquities that could &s;eparate between them and their God</HI> (he means apparently in point of comfort, <HI>E&s;ay.</HI> 59.2. But their iniquities (we have &s;een alrea|dy) do not follow them into the other World; their Souls are not under the defilements of &s;in, when they leave the Body and go into the glorious pre&s;ence of the holy one. The Apo&s;tle calls them <HI>the Spirits of Ju&s;t Men made perfect,</HI> Heb. 12. and the P&s;almi&s;t tells us <HI>no evil &s;hall dwell with him.</HI></P>
<PB N="112" REF="67">
<P N="3">3. To be ever with the Lord, (in his &s;pecial glorious pre&s;ence) is &s;poken of as the very top of our Felicity, and the principal matter of a Chri&s;tian's Comfort, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 4.17, 18. And this Happine&s;s the de|parted Spirits of the Ju&s;t do partake of&mdash; <HI>To depart and be with Chri&s;t</HI> &s;ays St. <HI>Paul, Phil.</HI> 1.23. and in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.8. <HI>De&s;iring rather to be ab&s;ent from the Bo|dy, and to be pre&s;ent with the Lord.</HI> If therefore the one proveth the com|plete Happine&s;s of the whole Man as &s;uch, the other as well proveth the perfect Happine&s;s of the Soul as &s;uch. Go on therefore, O Faithfull Chri&s;tian, in thy Chri&s;tian cour&s;e, with Faithfulne&s;s and Diligence, with Chri&s;tian courage and Re&s;olu|tion: and let thy Soul magnifie the Lord, for it &s;hall &s;hortly want for no Felicity.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="section">
<PB N="113" REF="67">
<HEAD>SECT. XII. <HI>Treating of the Nature of this Happine&s;s, and the Joy that at|tends it.</HI></HEAD>
<P>BEing come unto the&s;e points I am in the depths indeed: and may well &s;ay, as St. <HI>Paul, who is &s;ufficient for the&s;e things?</HI> But ha|ving engaged in this Service, 'tis fit I &s;hould go on with it, and perform it as God &s;hall enable me.</P>
<P>Here then, I am to con&s;ider the happy privileges of a Sanctified Soul in its &s;tate of Separation.</P>
<P>And (1.) its Sanctification; I mean full and perfect by which it is freed from all the evil of &s;in for the pre&s;ent, and all the danger of it for the future, as the Apo&s;tle calls them, <HI>the Spirits of Ju&s;t Men made perfect,</HI>
<PB N="114" REF="68">(Heb. 12.23.) That this is meant of the Souls of the faithfull, is gene|rally granted (and 'tis common in Scripture for the Soul to be &s;poken of under the name of Spirit: <HI>The du&s;t (the Body) &s;hall return to the Earth, but the Spirit &s;hall return to God that gave it,</HI> Eccle&s;. 12.7.) And St. <HI>Stephen</HI> in like &s;ort commended his Soul to his Saviour, <HI>Lord Je&s;us, receive my Spirit,</HI> Acts. 7.59. And, in that Text to the <HI>Hebrews [The Spirits of Ju&s;t Men]</HI> can &s;ignifie no|thing but their Souls, becau&s;e men|tion is made of Angels in the ver&s;e before, from whom therefore they are plainly di&s;tingui&s;hed. And <HI>[their being made perfect]</HI> mu&s;t needs be meant, of perfection in Grace and Holine&s;s: for as to any perfection in a natural &s;en&s;e, they had it as much before in this World (yea the &s;tate of the Soul in its Separation, without the perfection of Grace in it, may be thought to be a &s;tate of
<PB N="115" REF="68">greater imperfection than before it was in.) Now ponder with thy &s;elf, Reader, of this particular, and think what a ble&s;&s;ed condition this mu&s;t be</P>
<P>If he is &s;tiled <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed, who&s;e Ini|quity is forgiven,</HI> P&s;al. 32.1. How Ble&s;&s;ed then may they be accounted that have all their Iniquities par|doned, and removed al&s;o? What a Happine&s;s is it, to be freed from all po&s;&s;ibility of &s;inning? If St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;o much lamented the In-being of Sin, complaining <HI>that when he would do good, evil was pre&s;ent with him,</HI> (Rom. 7.) and called him&s;elf <HI>Wretch|ed</HI> Man for that very rea&s;on. How glad (may we think) would he have been, if at that very hour, he could have a&s;&s;ured him&s;elf that he &s;hould never be troubled with it any more? a privilege which after death his Soul was perfectly in&s;ta|ted in. If the poor Man that I have read of, was &s;o much delighted to
<PB N="116" REF="69">behold the Face of that Phy&s;ician that had cured him of his fainting Sleeps, and frightfull Dreams; O then with what tran&s;cendent Joy and Gladne&s;s will a gracious Soul reflect upon the Love of its Re|deemer, when he hath freed it from all degrees of &s;infulne&s;s, and healed all its Infirmities for ever! Oh what &s;acred and &s;atisfying Irradia|tions will it receive from the Sun of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, when the Spirit of Glory hath perfected all its Gra|ces, and delivered it from all the darkne&s;s of &s;in! And in being free from &s;in, it &s;hall be free from all other evils (as he that is freed from his Debt is &s;ecured from all arre&s;ts and troubles that relate to it) for what&s;oever our God may be plea&s;ed to doe out of Sovereignty (and with|out re&s;pect to his Creature's &s;in) as 'tis &s;uppo&s;ed <HI>Job</HI>'s Afflictions came on him in that way: Yet Divines agree that God did never lay Afflic|tion
<PB N="117" REF="69">on his People but while they had &s;in dwelling in them; &s;o that the Souls of his Servants, after Death, are rid of all other evil, as well as of &s;in. They &s;hall then be no more di&s;turbed by any Enemies of their Peace; the Regions of the un&s;een World they are then in, &s;hall be al|ways Serene: The Ocean of Eter|nity &s;hall be calm and comfortable to them; Then they &s;hall have no more to doe with the Temptations of <HI>Satan,</HI> the Mocks of the Profane, the Snarls and Cen&s;ures of proud-hearted Hypocrites. The&s;e &s;hall fol|low the upright no farther than the Grave: <HI>For their end is Peace,</HI> P&s;al. 37.37. How found and &s;ub&s;tantial will the Soul's Joy be when it &s;ees it &s;elf &s;afe in the Arms of God's Love, beyond the &s;phere of &s;in and &s;orrow? which &s;hould move it to bear the more contentedly the Troubles and Temptations of this Tran&s;itory Life.</P>
<PB N="118" REF="70">
<P>In particular, the gracious Soul &s;hall then have the excellencies that are mo&s;t e&s;&s;ential to true Happine&s;s, and be perfected in the Knowledge and love of God in Chri&s;t. St. <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf, though he knew much more of Chri&s;t than mo&s;t ever did, or &s;hall do in this World, and had the Revelations of things too great to be uttered, (2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.) Yet his knowledge had a real imper|fection at the &s;ame time. <HI>We know but in part,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.9. and <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 12. <HI>Now I know in part,</HI> but (as it follows) <HI>then I &s;hall know as I am known.</HI> I will not play the Critick on that phra&s;e, nor &s;earch curiou&s;ly into the depths of it: 'tis, for our purpo&s;e, clear enough; for it mu&s;t be meant of <HI>perfection</HI> of knowledge, becau&s;e 'tis oppo&s;ed to a knowing in <HI>part.</HI> If any &s;ay it is to be under|&s;tood e&s;pecially of the &s;tate at the Re&s;urrection, I &s;hall not gain&s;ay it. But I &s;ee not why it may not be ap|plyed
<PB N="119" REF="70">al&s;o to the Soul in its Separa|tion. For as the particle <HI>[Now]</HI> doth confe&s;&s;edly denote the &s;tate of this Life, &s;o the particle <HI>[Then]</HI> doth as plainly intimate any time or &s;tate after this Life ended. And he might expre&s;s it &s;o if it were properly and primarily meant of the Soul, in its Separation from the Body: As when he &s;aid <HI>(Phil.</HI> 1.) <HI>I de&s;ire to de|part and be with Chri&s;t.</HI> Which [Be|ing <HI>with</HI> Chri&s;t] is confe&s;&s;edly in|tended in re&s;pect of his <HI>Soul.</HI> Nor is it ea&s;ie to conceive how his Soul's being with Chri&s;t after Death, &s;hould be &s;o much a better conditi|on than any in this Life, if therein it had not perfection in the Know|ledge and Love of Chri&s;t: For on Earth he had a great mea&s;ure of them, and was daily tending for|wards towards perfection, and was a&s;&s;ured that nothing &s;hould &s;eparate him from the Love of Chri&s;t, (<HI>Rom.</HI> 8.)</P>
<PB N="120" REF="71">
<P>Surely therefore a holy Soul will not want for knowledge when it has left the World. How can it be any thing le&s;s than perfectly light in the Lord, when it &s;hall be perfectly and gloriou&s;ly pre&s;ent with him? And who is able to tell us what a Joy and Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s this mu&s;t be? If I could know my God and Saviour with &s;uch a powerfull, &s;piritual and affec|ting knowledge as &s;ome good Men have had on Earth, my heart &s;hould be glad and my &s;pirit rejoyce, though I were utterly de&s;pi&s;ed in the World, and had not one hours health all the days of my Life; yet all their knowledge here was imper|fect (as we have &s;een;) And how much better &s;hall that &s;tate be where all &s;infull imperfections &s;hall be done away? If the My&s;tery of Chri&s;t and Salvation by him, be &s;uch a glorious thing <HI>that the Angels of Hea|ven de&s;ire to look into it,</HI> (1 Pet. 1.12.) O then what abundant matter
<PB N="121" REF="71">of &s;atisfaction and joy will it yield to all tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Souls to whom it doth really and eternally belong? and to whom the worth and excel|lency of it (with their intere&s;t in it) is fully di&s;covered by the Spirit of Grace and Revelation.</P>
<P N="2">2. Another privilege that holy Souls &s;hall have after their depar|ture hence, is their Company.</P>
<P>They &s;hall then conver&s;e with the be&s;t of Creatures, and &s;uch as never offended their good God, I mean the Holy Angels: After Death they &s;hall be (as it were) made Free of that Company, and &s;ee them|&s;elves Members of that Ble&s;&s;ed So|ciety united in, and under, the &s;ame Head Chri&s;t Je&s;us. Now (in|deed) if they &s;hould &s;ee but one of tho&s;e immortal Spirits &s;tanding be fore them with his Crown of Glory, compa&s;&s;ing them about with a Light brighter than that of the Sun, offer|ing to draw nigh unto them, and
<PB N="122" REF="72">asking to joyn with them in the Prai&s;es of the great <HI>Jehovah;</HI> &s;uch a &s;ight probably would more a&s;to|ni&s;h them than rejoyce them; be|cau&s;e the &s;en&s;e of their &s;infulne&s;s might ca&s;t a Damp upon their Hearts, and make them unfit for the heavenly employment: But it &s;hall be otherwi&s;e with their Souls when they are fully conformed to their Maker's Will, and as free from &s;in as the Angels of his pre&s;ence; for the Angels of Heaven and the Spirits of Ju&s;t Men made perfect, are Members of that happy Society which Divines u&s;e to call the Church Triumphant; and therefore are related to one another by a far nearer and nobler Relation than that of Fellow Creatures, of which the learned may con&s;ult <HI>Polanus</HI> (in <HI>Syntag.</HI>) and <HI>H. Altingii Theol. Nov. problemat. p.</HI> 616. In a word, they are called in the Go&s;pel <HI>Their An|gels,</HI> Math. 18.10.</P>
<PB N="123" REF="72">
<P>And we cannot think that tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Spirits above that have mi|ni&s;tred to them, and (by Gods ap|pointment) took charge of them, and e&s;pecially, rejoyced at their Conver&s;ion, (<HI>Luke</HI> 15.10.) I &s;ay, we cannot think they will do any thing le&s;s than joyfully congratulate their &s;afe Arrival at the &s;tate of per|fect purity and peace: and chiefly as it is the proper Fruit of the Will of God, and the purcha&s;e of his Chri&s;t. Surely the holy Inhabi|tants of the be&s;t World, will not be &s;trange to Holy Souls when they come into it; nor are they like the fooli&s;h Hypocrites of the Earth that delight to &s;hew them&s;elves proud and &s;cornfull, and look with an evil eye upon the welfare of others.</P>
<P N="3">3. As I que&s;tion not a Holy Com|munion and Conver&s;e between the Angels of God, and the perfected Spirits of the Ju&s;t, &s;o hitherto I can as little doubt their knowledge of
<PB N="124" REF="73">one another and their &s;atisfaction in each others Happine&s;s: (in their &s;tate of Separation) at lea&s;t, and e&s;pecially, tho&s;e of them that were before more nearly related, and were wont to join together in God's Service and Prai&s;es here on Earth. For it was the de&s;ign of Chri&s;t, to bring his People into a nearer Union with each other, as well as him&s;elf: [<HI>that they may be one as we are one,</HI> John 17.22.] And tho&s;e Arguments Divines bring for the Saints know|ledge of one another after the Re|&s;urrection, may &s;eem almo&s;t as &s;trong for their Souls Acquaintance with one another, in their ab&s;ence from their Bodies. The Scripture &s;pea|king of the death of the faithfull &s;ays, that (therein) they are gathered to their Fathers (the holy Patriarchs and other their Religious Predece&s;|&s;ours.) But they are not gathered to them in re&s;pect of their Bodies, therefore in re&s;pect of their Souls.</P>
<PB N="125" REF="73">
<P N="4">4. Holy Souls after Death &s;hall be with Chri&s;t, <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.23. <HI>When ab|&s;ent from the Body, they are pre&s;ent with the Lord,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.8. And oh what a thing is this! 1. [To be with Chri&s;t] (in his &s;pecial and blis|full pre&s;ence, to know, love and en|joy him fully, clearly, continually; as the &s;ame Apo&s;tle maketh it the Crown of all Comforts, <HI>To be for ever with the Lord,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4.17.) Thus, I &s;ay, <HI>to be with</HI> Chri&s;t mu&s;t needs be a matter of pure&s;t and per|&s;ecte&s;t Joy to a Chri&s;tian's Soul. Oh that thou coulde&s;t fully under&s;tand (good Reader) the preciou&s;ne&s;s of &s;uch a privilege!</P>
<P>But, Alas I want words to ex|pre&s;s it, much more a heart to con|ceive it: I am my &s;elf too little a Chri&s;tian to tell thee the &s;weetne&s;s of this Con&s;olation, to di&s;cover the depths of this pure&s;t River of the Water of Life. If the holy Apo&s;tle could &s;olace him&s;elf in the hope of
<PB N="126" REF="74">having the Company of his converts at <HI>Rome;</HI> If the Lord Chancellour of <HI>England</HI> (in the Reign of King <HI>Henry</HI> the 8th.) was &s;o much deligh|ted to &s;ee in <HI>London</HI> the <HI>Florentine</HI> Merchant that (in &s;ome difficult ca&s;es) had befriended him beyond Sea; (the expre&s;&s;ions of who&s;e joy and gratitude were &s;o memorable, that the Learned Dr. <HI>Hakwell,</HI> thought good to record them, in his Apology of God's power and providence;) If the Hearts of the weak have gathered &s;trength, and revived to admiration at the coming of &s;ome eminent unexpected Friends: (though the&s;e were but dying Du&s;t, and had not any degree of comfort ab&s;olutely at their command:) How un&s;peakably then mu&s;t a gracious Soul be refre&s;hed, and mo&s;t &s;uper|latively &s;atisfied, by the pre&s;ence and favour of that immortal Maje&s;|ty who &s;uffered Death, and the Cur&s;e to make it happy?</P>
<PB N="127" REF="74">
<P>Surely it mu&s;t needs be an ine&s;ti|mable benefit to be in the happie&s;t manner, <HI>pre&s;ent with him</HI> who is the King of Glory, the Con&s;olation of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> the joy of Angels, and the Saviour of the World.</P>
<P>This therefore, as he was a Me|diatour, was his great de&s;ire for his People, <HI>That they might be with him where he is,</HI> John 17.24. The joy of which we may a little gue&s;s at by the things that &s;hall accompany this their <HI>Pre&s;ence</HI> with him.</P>
<P>As (1.) a full Deliverance from all Doubts and Fears, and all things that may cau&s;e, or occa&s;ion them. Here how hard a thing was it for them to get an a&s;&s;urance of their in|tere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and Salvation by him? and when they had it, t'was no ea&s;ie matter to maintain and pre|&s;erve it: yea the be&s;t on Earth are not &s;o privileged, but that if they be not carefull and watchfull over them|&s;elves, they may fall into &s;uch &s;ins
<PB N="128" REF="75">as may darken all their evidences for Heaven, and deprive them of the Joy of their Salvation. It was <HI>David</HI>'s ca&s;e, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51. But when once their Souls come to dwell with Chri&s;t, then they &s;hall be ever &s;e|cured from all po&s;&s;ibility of doubt|ing about their &s;piritual and eternal welfare: no &s;uch &s;ad mi&s;t can cloud that Soul which lives under the Rayes of the Sun of Righteou&s;ne&s;s: Here as they may have a&s;&s;urance, &s;o they may loo&s;e it again. But to be with Chri&s;t is far better, in that re&s;pect: and they then Re&s;t from their Labours (from all that may be tedious and tire&s;ome unto them,) <HI>Rev.</HI> 14.13.</P>
<P N="2">2. Their <HI>Pre&s;ence</HI> with the Lord (in St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s &s;en&s;e) will &s;et them free from all manner of cares: not only from di&s;orderly and di&s;tru&s;tfull cares, but al&s;o from all natural, ne|ce&s;&s;ary, and prudential cares, which their pre&s;ent &s;tate doth expo&s;e them
<PB N="129" REF="75">to: And the rea&s;on is plain, becau&s;e then their Souls are above all wants and nece&s;&s;ities: They want not for Monies when they are fully po&s;&s;e&s;t of the riches of Chri&s;t; They want for no Friend&s;hip and good Compa|ny, when they are happily joyned to the whole Family of Heaven. They take no care for Food or Sleep, when they enjoy him who is the Bread of Life, and partake of that eternal Re&s;t which he hath purcha|&s;ed for them.</P>
<P N="3">3. In a word; Then they &s;hall be freed from taking any care about doing their Duty, and plea&s;ing their God: For the <HI>Difficulty</HI> of Duty will then be over, and the <HI>Comfort</HI> of it only &s;hall remain. When they thus dwell with the holy one, they &s;hall be fully framed to his holy Will. To love God in perfection, and de|light in him, (without which Hea|ven it &s;elf cannot make us happy.) The&s;e things (I &s;ay) willbe as natu|ral
<PB N="130" REF="76">and ea&s;ie to holy Souls after death, as it is to a thir&s;ty man to drink, or to the eye to behold the de&s;ired Light; There being no &s;in then re|maining in them, to alienate and e&s;|trange them from their gracious God, (as hath been already proved.)</P>
<P>And as their Being with Chri&s;t &s;ecureth them from all Trouble, &s;o it &s;hall afford them the true&s;t and &s;tronge&s;t Con&s;olation: and that on the&s;e following grounds. 1. Be|cau&s;e they &s;hall then &s;ee Chri&s;t to be their Own for ever: And in all their knowledge of him they &s;hall know him to be <HI>Theirs.</HI> Propriety is in it &s;elf a plea&s;ant thing: with what content do Men many times &s;peak even of tho&s;e outward (in&s;uf|ficient) comforts which they can truly call <HI>their own. My</HI> Mony and <HI>my</HI> Lands, <HI>my</HI> Relations and <HI>my</HI> Friends, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Do u&s;ually &s;ound with an <HI>Accent</HI> of Plea&s;ure. O what ble&s;&s;ed Delight then, mu&s;t a pious
<PB N="131" REF="76">Soul be elevated with, when it dwells with Chri&s;t in a better World? What Triumphant exultation will it be filled with, when it can &s;ay (with full a&s;&s;urance) <HI>My</HI> Rock and <HI>my</HI> Refuge, <HI>my</HI> Lord and <HI>my</HI> King, <HI>my</HI> God and <HI>my</HI> Saviour, <HI>my</HI> great High Prie&s;t and <HI>my</HI> Redeemer!</P>
<P N="2">2ly. When they are with Chri&s;t (in the &s;en&s;e afore&s;aid) they &s;hall po&s;|&s;e&s;s the eternal Trea&s;ure, and know (perfectly) <HI>the Love of Chri&s;t which pa&s;&s;eth knowledge,</HI> Eph. 3.19. The very <HI>Being</HI> with him, nece&s;&s;arily implies the enjoying of his Love, (as the <HI>Departing</HI> from him, imports the want of it, <HI>Mat.</HI> 7.23.) And how great a Happine&s;s mu&s;t that be? And though I cannot comprehend it, yet I may fitly take occa&s;ion to con&s;ider it: and it &s;hall be the &s;ub|&s;tance of the following Section.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="section">
<PB N="132" REF="77">
<HEAD>SECT. XIII. <HI>Shewing the Greatne&s;s of the Love of Chri&s;t, which the Souls of his People &s;hall enjoy after Death.</HI></HEAD>
<P>WIthout this, my &s;mall Book would be too &s;mall, and would &s;peak me guilty of too great an over&s;ight to be hand&s;omly excu|&s;ed. For how &s;hould I make good its Title Page, of the Joy of Ju&s;t Mens Souls after Death, if I &s;hould not treat of that Love of his, which &s;hall &s;urely be their Glory and Joy?</P>
<P>And though it may be &s;omewhat difficult to re&s;olve in what method to di&s;cour&s;e of his unmea&s;urable Love, yet I think the main of what con|cerns me to &s;ay, may be reduced to the&s;e two Heads.</P>
<PB N="133" REF="77">
<P N="1">1. <HI>What Chri&s;t is, in Him&s;elf.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>What he hath done and &s;uffered for Sinners.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, let us con&s;ider (for this pur|po&s;e) <HI>what Chri&s;t is in him&s;elf.</HI> For, as it was &s;aid of old, as the Man is, &s;uch is his Strength; &s;o we may &s;ay herein, as the Per&s;on is, &s;uch is his Love; the more excellent any Per|&s;on is, the more excellent and valu|able is his Kindne&s;s, in what way &s;o|ever it be expre&s;&s;ed towards his In|feriours. It were a greater matter for one that is a King, to hazard his Health for the good of any People, than for an ordinary Per&s;on to ven|ture his Life for them.</P>
<P>Now on this account, the Love of Chri&s;t towards Sinners, mu&s;t needs be worthy of everla&s;ting Admirati|on, becau&s;e he was a Per&s;on of infi|nite excellency, the Eternal Son of God, of the &s;ame &s;ub&s;tance with his
<PB N="134" REF="78">heavenly Father.] Reader, I be|&s;eech thee, Hold fa&s;t this Principle, and part not with it as thou love&s;t the life of thy precious Soul. For the contrary opinion is not only an errour, but &s;uch an errour as &s;tri|keth at the very heart of Chri&s;tiani|ty, and overthrows the very Foun|dation of our Faith. 'Tis not my pre&s;ent De&s;ign to prove this at large, (yet &s;omething &s;hall be &s;aid of it in due place.) And (by the way) we may perceive how nece&s;&s;ary the Knowledge of it is, by con&s;idering that of our Saviour, <HI>Mat.</HI> 16.13. He asked his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Whom do Men &s;ay that I the Son of Man am:</HI> q. d. They are very well &s;atisfied that I am indeed the Son of Man, true and very Man (as really as any of you is;) But what do they think of my Per&s;on? Do they take me to be a <HI>Humane</HI> Per&s;on, and &s;o no more than a Man, or the Son of Man? To which the Di&s;ciples an|&s;wered,
<PB N="135" REF="78"><HI>Some &s;ay, Thou art John the Bapti&s;t, &s;ome Elias,</HI> &amp;c. (Per&s;ons very eminent, and as great in God's account as any of the Sons of Men.) But yet they did not therein think highly enough of him; and there|fore, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 15. He asked his Di&s;ci|ciples, <HI>Whom &s;ay ye that I am?</HI> To which <HI>Peter,</HI> in the name of the re&s;t, giveth an&s;wer &s;aying, <HI>Thou art Chri&s;t, the Son of the living God,</HI> ver&s;. 16. which An&s;wer <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> &s;o well appro|ved of, that he pronounced him ble&s;|&s;ed, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 17. and intimated this Truth to be the Rock on which the Church is built: and a&s;&s;ureth him, that again&s;t it the Gates of Hell &s;hall not prevail, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 18.</P>
<P>And now that [his being the Son of the living God] (which he took to him&s;elf &s;o apparently) is meant of being his <HI>Son</HI> properly, by eternal and un&s;peakable Generation, of the &s;ame &s;ub&s;tance with his Father. This (I &s;ay) is now to be cleared and
<PB N="136" REF="79">confirmed, and it may be &s;o from tho&s;e Scriptures wherein he is called, <HI>The Son of the Father,</HI> 2 John 3. <HI>His own Son,</HI> Rom. 8. <HI>His only begotten Son,</HI> John 3. <HI>who had Glory with the Father before the World was,</HI> Joh. 17.5. <HI>who thought it no Robbery to be</HI> (or declare him&s;elf to be) <HI>equal with God,</HI> (viz. God the Father) <HI>Phil.</HI> 2. Titles certainly too high for any mere Creature (whatever <HI>Satan</HI> and <HI>Socinians</HI> &s;ugge&s;t to the contrary.) The <HI>Jews</HI> &s;uppo&s;ed him guilty of Bla&s;phemy, becau&s;e he being a Man, made him&s;elf God (that is, decla|red him&s;elf &s;o to be) which they did not charge him with, on any other ground than his owning him&s;elf to be the Son of God, <HI>John</HI> 5.18.10.33. compared with <HI>Mark</HI> 14, 61, 64.</P>
<P>And if our Saviour had not been the Son of God in &s;uch a &s;en&s;e as imported him to be true and very God (as the <HI>Jews</HI> conceived him to mean,) there is no doubt but he
<PB N="137" REF="79">would have &s;hewed them their mi&s;|take, yea quickly too, and have di&s;owned that Title (in the &s;en&s;e that they took it) being Lowly in Heart, and filled with the highe&s;t Zeal for his Father's Glory.</P>
<P>And that he was not called the Son of God, upon the account of his miraculous conception, or any privileges that a meer Creature may partake of (as too many would per&s;wade us) may be ea&s;ily manife&s;|ted on the&s;e two grounds 1 Be|cau&s;e he was the Son of God before the&s;e things could be &s;aid of him. As (in the fullne&s;s of time) he came of the Lineage of <HI>David,</HI> according to the Fle&s;h, and was called the Son of <HI>David:</HI> So before his Incarnation, he was <HI>David</HI>'s Lord. <HI>David in Spirit called him Lord,</HI> Mat. 22.43. compared with <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 110.1. Surely therefore he was a Per&s;on in <HI>David</HI>'s time: And what Per&s;on was he then? Surely the &s;ame that now he
<PB N="138" REF="80">is, even the Son of God: The &s;ame in all times pa&s;t, pre&s;ent, and to come, <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the &s;ame ye&s;terday, and to day, and forever,</HI> H. 13. Nor do I yet find that the <HI>Socinians</HI> them|&s;elves ever were &s;o &s;en&s;ele&s;s as to &s;ay, that Chri&s;t was the Son of Man, or one of the Angels, in <HI>David</HI>'s time. (And if then he were not a Humane Per&s;on, nor an Angelical Per&s;on: what remains but that he was a <HI>Divine</HI> Per&s;on at that time, (&amp; therefore at all times.) In a word, he was then &s;uch a Son as the &s;ame Kingly Prophet calls upon Men to <HI>tru&s;t</HI> in, and calls them ble&s;&s;ed that do &s;o, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.12. and therefore God the Son, of the &s;ame &s;ub&s;tance with his Father (and &s;o above the rank of meer creatures, for to tru&s;t in a meer crea|ture, is &s;o far from ble&s;&s;edne&s;s that it is in it &s;elf an accur&s;ed thing, <HI>Jer.</HI> 17.5.</P>
<P N="2">2. Such things are &s;aid of Chri&s;t, the Son of God as no temporal ex|cellencies, privileges, or qualifica|tions
<PB N="139" REF="80">can po&s;&s;ibly entitle him to: as, To have his outgoings from everla&s;|ting, <HI>Micha</HI> 5.2. compared with <HI>Mat.</HI> 2.6. To be the Fir&s;t and the La&s;t, <HI>Rev.</HI> 1. To have all things con&s;i&s;t in him (or by him) <HI>Col.</HI> 1. To have all things created by him, and for him, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.16. Not to in|&s;i&s;t on tho&s;e places where he is called God ab&s;olutely, and &s;olemnly, &s;ee <HI>John</HI> 20.28. and <HI>Heb.</HI> 1.8. <HI>Unto the Son he &s;aith, Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever.</HI></P>
<P>If any can convince me, that all this will not prove Chri&s;t to be the Son of God, in a higher &s;en&s;e and manner than any temporal privile|ges, or created excellencies can make him to be, they then may have hope enough to make me be|lieve that my Right Hand is my Left, or any other piece of the pro|founde&s;t Non-&s;en&s;e, that their pre|tended Right Rea&s;on can impo&s;e upon me. Yet it being a matter
<PB N="140" REF="81">above the reach of natural Rea&s;on, I mu&s;t &s;ay, (with him in the Go&s;pel) <HI>Lord I believe, Help thou my unbe|lief.</HI> They that would &s;ee more on this great &s;ubject, may con&s;ult <HI>Steg|man-photin Refut. Di&s;p.</HI> 5. <HI>quae&s;t.</HI> 7. <HI>Jacobi ad part. Def. Fidei.</HI> and e&s;pe|cially the acute <HI>Thalyaeus</HI> in <HI>Anat. Samo&s;at. quae&s;t.</HI> 2.</P>
<P>And whereas &s;ome do much urge <HI>Luke.</HI> 1.35. to prove that Chri&s;t was the Son of God, by rea&s;on of his miraculous Conception, becau&s;e 'tis immediately added. <HI>[Wherefore al&s;o that holy thing that &s;hall be Born of Thee, &s;hall be called the Son of God.]</HI> This I &s;ay, will not &s;erve their pur|po&s;e: And if from hence they could make &s;uch a knot as we could not untie, yet that would not make the matter e're the <HI>clearer</HI> on <HI>their</HI> &s;ide. And whether we can &s;earch the depth of that &s;acred Text or no, yet we may &s;oon be per&s;waded that this his miraculous conception was
<PB N="141" REF="81">not the chief rea&s;on of his being, or being called, the Son of God. For if &s;o, he mu&s;t have been the <HI>Son of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>this</HI> work is peculiarly a&s;cribed to <HI>him</HI> in the foregoing ver&s;e. <HI>But Chri&s;t,</HI> we are told, <HI>is the Son of the Father,</HI> John 2.3. and the Holy Gho&s;t is <HI>the Spi|rit of the Son,</HI> Gal. 4.6.</P>
<P N="2">2. If Chri&s;t was the Son of God, on account of his miraculous concep|tion, then he began to be &s;o when that began: But 'tis not &s;o (certain|ly) For he was the Son of God long before, and was &s;o called, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.7.12. and he had Glory with his Father before the World was, <HI>Joh.</HI> 17.5.</P>
<P>He was therefore the Eternal Son of the Father (as our Church &s;pea|keth) on account of an eternal and un&s;peakable Generation. And be|ing a Per&s;on of infinite Dignity, his Love mu&s;t needs be of infinite value; &s;o that the utmo&s;t conceivable kind|ne&s;s
<PB N="142" REF="82">of all the Angels in Heaven, (if they were as many as the drops in the Sea, and the Sands on the Shore) would be utterly incon&s;ide|rable in compari&s;on of <HI>His,</HI> and ex|ceed the Under&s;tandings of mortal Men, almo&s;t as far as it doth their De&s;ervings, (which by the next Sec|tion may farther appear.)</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="section">
<HEAD>SECT. XIV. <HI>Di&s;covering the Greatne&s;s of Chri&s;t's Love, in what he did, and &s;uffered for Sinners.</HI></HEAD>
<P>That the &s;en&s;e of the love of Chri&s;t, will be the &s;pecial matter of the joy of Ju&s;t Mens Souls after Death, will ea&s;ily be granted, and may in its place be farther proved: At pre|&s;ent
<PB N="143" REF="82">I think it my Duty, and full enough to my purpo&s;e, to &s;et forth the greatne&s;s of his Love, in the great things that he did and &s;uffered for Sinners &s;ake. And fir&s;t, I may fitly in&s;tance in <HI>his</HI> taking our na|ture into unity with his own Divine Per&s;on, &s;o as to become true and <HI>very</HI> Man, like unto us, <HI>Sin</HI> excep|ted. If St. <HI>John</HI> &s;o much admired that &s;uch as we &s;hould be called the Sons of God (by Adoption,) <HI>Be|hold what manner of Love is this?</HI> 1 <HI>John</HI> 3.1. How then may we wonder at that <HI>Love</HI> that moved the Son of God from Everla&s;ting, to be|come the Son of <HI>Man</HI> in <HI>Time?</HI> What a height of kindne&s;s and con|de&s;cen&s;ion was that which moved the mo&s;t High and Holy one to &s;toop &s;o low for our &s;akes and Salvation? Sure the utmo&s;t kindne&s;s that the be&s;t of Creatures can have towards us, in compari&s;on of this Love of Chri&s;t, is but as a drop to the Sea,
<PB N="144" REF="83">or as a Mote in the Sun to the whole frame of Nature.</P>
<P>For let us but think with our &s;elves what a wondrous thing it was that the Son of God &s;hould vouch|&s;afe to take our Nature on him, and be made in the likene&s;s of &s;infull Fle&s;h, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.3. well may we &s;ay in this as the P&s;almi&s;t doth, <HI>Lord, what is Man that thou art mindfull of him?</HI> For the Nature of Man that is corrupt with &s;in, and &s;ubject to the darkne&s;s of the Grave, what is this, (I &s;ay) to him who is the Light of the City of God, and had Glory with the Father before the World was, <HI>John</HI> 17.5. Thus there|fore to a&s;&s;ume our Nature, might &s;eem a matter infinitely <HI>below</HI> him, but that his love thought <HI>nothing</HI> &s;o. And as he took Humane Nature to him&s;elf, &s;o in it he did tho&s;e excel|lent things that expre&s;&s;ed the great|ne&s;s of his <HI>Love</HI> towards Men, and the care he took of their eternal
<PB N="145" REF="83">Salvation. <HI>He came into the World to &s;ave Sinners,</HI> 1 Tim. 1.15. He went about doing good, preaching the Go&s;pel of the Kingdom, and work|ing the mo&s;t ab&s;olute uncontrolla|ble miracles for Confirmation of his holy Doctrine, leading them in the way to Heaven by his own ble&s;&s;ed example, bearing patiently the grea|te&s;t Slanders, and &s;uffering the con|tradictions of Sinners again&s;t him&s;elf, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.3. Overcoming daily their evil with good, and inviting them to him&s;elf to come unto him, that they might have Life. And the eminency of his Love and Goodne&s;s, will be e&s;pecially vi&s;ible in the evils that he &s;uffered, and voluntarily expo&s;ed him&s;elf to for the &s;ake of Sinners; which, being compared with the excellency and innocency of his Per&s;on, will ea&s;ily appear to exceed the mo&s;t enlarged thoughts of Men and Angels. As to this therefore, I mu&s;t &s;ay with the Apo&s;|tle,
<PB N="146" REF="84"><HI>who is &s;ufficient for the&s;e things?</HI> And as it was &s;aid of old, <HI>who hath declared his Generation?</HI> So I may (as ju&s;tly) who can declare his Hu|miliation and Pa&s;&s;ion, and that Sa|cred Depth of Divine Love that was di&s;covered therein?</P>
<P>That he whom the Heaven of Heavens could not contain, and of whom they borrow their Brightne&s;s and Glory, &s;hould be laid in a Manger, and live in Meanne&s;s and Ob&s;curity; That He who is <HI>Rich</HI> from all Eternity &s;hould in time become poor for our Sakes; That He who was the God of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> the Author and Maintainer <HI>of the Water of Life</HI> (Rev. 22.1.) &s;hould Him&s;elf be &s;ubject to Wearine&s;s and Thir&s;t, and be fain to refre&s;h him|&s;elf with &s;o weak a Cordial as the Water of <HI>Jacob</HI>'s Well (John 4.) That He whom the Highe&s;t Angels wor&s;hipped &s;hould be abu&s;ed by the ba&s;e&s;t Men, be reviled and &s;corn'd,
<PB N="147" REF="84">buffeted and &s;pitted on, and (at la&s;t) be Crucified between two Malefactours, (as if he had been the wor&s;t of the Three) That He who was purer than all the created In|habitants of the high and holy Place, &s;hould &s;uffer him&s;elf to be tempted to Sin, and bear Day by Day, the vile&s;t A&s;&s;aults of the unclean Spirit: (<HI>Math.</HI> 4.) That He who uphold|eth all things by the word of his power, (<HI>Heb.</HI> 1.) &s;hould be weak and faint, and in the mid&s;t of &s;or|rows, give up the Gho&s;t: That He who was the Heir of all things, and the Son of the Ble&s;&s;ed, &s;hould be de|prived of all Comforts, and cry out upon the Cro&s;s, <HI>My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> and (in a word) fall under Condemnation, and be made a Cur&s;e, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.13. Wonder, Chri&s;tian Reader, wonder evermore at that Superlative Love which moved him to do, and &s;uffer &s;uch marvellous things for &s;uch as
<PB N="148" REF="85">we. Methinks our Hearts &s;hould be mightily affected with it, and our whole Souls be &s;wallowed up as it were in this ble&s;&s;ed and boundle&s;s Ocean; And becau&s;e we can know but little of it whil&s;t we live, let us be content to dye, that our Souls may know it better; For certainly the perfect Knowledge and Enjoy|ment of this tran&s;cendent Love of Chri&s;t, mu&s;t needs be no le&s;s than Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s indeed. If the People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> (after the Dedication of the Hou&s;e of God) went away &s;o glad and merry in heart for the Goodne&s;s that the Lord had &s;hewed them therein, (2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 7.10.) If they had &s;o much comfort in their Souls when Providence had delivered them from the &s;orrows of their Captivity, and made them &s;it in peace under their own Vines; <HI>Neh.</HI> 8.17. If the Wi&s;e|men rejoyced &s;o exceedingly when they &s;aw but our Saviour's Star ap|pear? <HI>Math.</HI> 2.10. O then what
<PB N="149" REF="85">ble&s;&s;ed Joy may we conceive to po&s;|&s;e&s;s tho&s;e happy Souls, that partake of the &s;weete&s;t Influences of that Sun of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and enjoy tho&s;e Rivers of &s;acred plea&s;ures that flow from his everla&s;ting Love? (being perfected at the &s;ame time in their Love towards him) This mu&s;t needs be far better than the be&s;t condition here; and how much better thou &s;halt know, Chri&s;tian Reader, at the fitte&s;t Sea&s;on, in a far better manner than I am able to tell thee.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="section">
<PB N="150" REF="86">
<HEAD>SECT. XV. <HI>Being other Brief Improvements of the Point.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THIS Truth will truly &s;erve for other good purpo&s;es, be&s;ides tho&s;e already mentioned: and in the next place it may a&s;&s;ure us of the comfortablene&s;s of a Chri&s;tian Life The Enemies of Religion be|ing (as St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaketh) unrea|&s;onable and wicked men, in&s;tead of Rea&s;ons again&s;t it do rather deal in Reproaches and Slanders: And there's &s;carcely a greater reproach ca&s;t on it by the Men of the World than the unplea&s;antne&s;s of it (as they imagine) and the oppo&s;ition they &s;up|po&s;e it to carry again&s;t Mens pre|&s;ent Comfort and Content. Religi|on
<PB N="151" REF="86">they confe&s;s, is many times (like Fire) a good Servant (as we u&s;e to &s;ay) and therefore they think good (it may be) to have &s;ome|thing of it, and make a profe&s;&s;ion of it for their Credit &s;ake, or other earthly Ends: But in the mean time they are loth to account it a good Ma&s;ter: For if they came un|der the power of it, and be ruled by it in their general Cour&s;e, they think it would make them melan|choly, and robb them of the very Joy of their Lives. But a&s;&s;uredly there is no more rea&s;on why we &s;hould be a&s;raid of Piety for the cau&s;ele&s;s Cen&s;ures of ungodly Sin|ners, than why we &s;hould de&s;pi&s;e the Light of the Sun for a mad Man's mocking and railing at it.</P>
<P>Let men but try the good way in truth, and walk uprightly in it, and then (my Life upon it) it &s;hall not (in the main) make them &s;ad: It &s;hall much rather make them
<PB N="152" REF="87">glad; yea it &s;hall one day be the Joy of their Hearts to remember that they walked therein, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.12. <HI>This is our rejoycing, the Te&s;timo|ny of our Con&s;ciences, that in Simpli|city and godly Sincerity, we have had our Conver&s;ation.</HI></P>
<P>And the rea&s;on of it may in part be &s;een from hence; for the good Way &s;hall have a good End, and bring them that walk in it to a hap|py State in &s;pight of all that Death can do; yea after it has done its wor&s;t upon them. When they de|part this Life, they &s;hall be with Chri&s;t which is far better, <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.23.</P>
<P N="2">2. We may here inform our &s;elves of the Nature of tho&s;e Troubles that come upon good Chri&s;tians in this Life, <HI>viz.</HI> That they are but Cro&s;|&s;es and not Cur&s;es: Trials of Grace and mercifull Vi&s;itations, not Venge|ances in the lea&s;t Degree, or any Effects of de&s;tructive wrath; for &s;urely that mercifull Father that
<PB N="153" REF="87">will make them &s;o happy after Death doth not mean any mi&s;chief to them, in the Afflictions he layeth on them in this pre&s;ent Life: But will make all things work together for good unto them that love him, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.28.</P>
<P N="3">3. It may encourage Chri&s;tians in their Spiritual Warfare, and make them to run with patience the Race that is &s;et before them. How &s;tre|nuou&s;ly &s;hould they now &s;trive a|gain&s;t Sin, &s;ince they &s;hall &s;hortly be more than Conquerours through him that loved them? what Diffi|culties &s;hould make them weary of well doing, &s;ince they &s;hall &s;o cer|tainly and &s;o &s;peedily enter upon the Eternal Re&s;t?</P>
<P N="4">4. Let Chri&s;tians &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;i|der this point and endeavour by Prayer and Meditation, and all o|ther good means to get their Hearts more affected with this Happine&s;s that is &s;o near at hand. And to this end compare we the Joy of Ju&s;t
<PB N="154" REF="88">Mens Souls made perfect, with other matters of Con&s;olation, that the Scripture offers unto our thoughts; O what gladne&s;s would it have put into the Heart of a pious Chri&s;tian, to have &s;een the Saviour of the World in the Temple, to have heard him preach the Doctrine of Salvati|on, and &s;peak as never Man &s;pake? To have &s;een the Multitudes that were miraculou&s;ly fed, and the Dead that were rai&s;ed by him? To have &s;een him invite poor Sinners to him&s;elf (&s;tanding in the mo&s;t &s;olemn Day of the Fe&s;tival) and crying with a loud Voice, <HI>who&s;oever is a-thir&s;t let him come unto me and drink;</HI> e&s;pecially if at the &s;ame time he could have known his need of him, and intere&s;t in him? And what a Joy would it have been to have &s;een him (after his Conque&s;t over Death) a&s;cending to the high and holy Place? To have &s;tood among the Cele&s;tial
<PB N="155" REF="88">Orbs, to behold how he pa&s;&s;ed through the Regions of the Air, how dark the brighte&s;t Stars were made by the pre&s;ence of their Ma|ker's Glory? But chiefly, what a thing would it have been, to have &s;een the <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us</HI> at his <HI>Entrance</HI> into the Heaven of Heavens? To have &s;een the Everla&s;ting Doors &s;et open for that <HI>King</HI> of Glory to enter in? together with that unconceiva|ble welcome which he then recei|ved of all the Heavenly Hierarchy, Angels and Archangels, Cherubins and Seraphins, (all the innumera|ble Armies of immortal Spirits) con|gratulating his incomparable Victo|ries over Sin, the Devil and Death, offering up their prai&s;es to him, and ca&s;ting all their Crowns before him? How joyfull a thing may we well conceive this would have been, or rather joyfull beyond all our pre&s;ent conceptions? And yet I think we may ea&s;ily believe that the perfected
<PB N="156" REF="89">Spirits of the Ju&s;t do enjoy more comfort than all this could amount to; for though in &s;uch Ca&s;es a Godly Man's Eye would in a great Mea&s;ure affect his Soul, yet while his Soul is &s;infull, 'tis impo&s;&s;ible it &s;hould be &s;o perfectly joyfull as when it is freed from all Sin; And while Sin is in it &s;elf Enmity again&s;t God, it abiding in us mu&s;t needs be an Enemy to our Comforts, and withhold (in &s;ome mea&s;ure) Good things from us.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="section">
<PB N="157" REF="89">
<HEAD>SECT. XVI. <HI>Being a farther Improvement of the Doctrine afore&s;aid, as an Antidote again&s;t the fear of Death.</HI></HEAD>
<P>HE that dwells in a World where Dying is &s;o much in fa&s;hion, &s;hould be (one would think) very inqui&s;itive after &s;omething (if po&s;|&s;ible to be found) that may com|fort him again&s;t that fatal &s;troke which he has &s;o little hopes of e&s;|caping; nor can I apprehend how any Man &s;hould be able to lead a truly comfortable Life, that is not above the fears of Death, in &s;ome good mea&s;ure; becau&s;e there is no Place or Ca&s;e, no Company or Con|dition, no Day nor Hour wherein
<PB N="158" REF="90">it may not overtake him (for ought he knows to the contrary.) And though what I am now to add can be but little comfort to the care|le&s;s ungodly World (becau&s;e Reli|gion will comfort none whom it doth not rule) yet to the true con|&s;cientious Chri&s;tian I hope it may afford even &s;trong con&s;olation; For what more effectual Armor again&s;t the fears of Death can be &s;hewed to &s;uch a one (or be wi&s;hed by him) than this Truth before us? [That Death it &s;elf &s;hall be his advantage, and prove a Friend unto his Soul.] If a Man have an Antipathy again&s;t Bleeding, (&s;o as to &s;aint almo&s;t at the very thought of it) yet he that can prove that it is nece&s;&s;ary for him as a means again&s;t tho&s;e difficult and dangerous di&s;tempers that he feels or fears (and can demon&s;trate the &s;afety of it al&s;o) may thereby reconcile him to it, and make him not only content, but glad al&s;o, to
<PB N="159" REF="90">part with a little of his Blood. Much more may a Godly Chri&s;tian be content to part with his Life (when God calls for it,) while his Faith and his Rea&s;on is really &s;atis|fied, (by the word of truth) that his Death &s;hall be &s;afe and gainfull, and that his Lord and Saviour will be better to his Soul than the Life of his Body, and all created com|forts what&s;oever. For a wicked Man to be afraid of dying is no wonder at all, nor no Ab&s;urdity neither: well may he fear Death that &s;hall feel Damnation after it, if he dye in the State he is yet in; but for a Religious Per&s;on, that placeth his Happine&s;s in God through Chri&s;t, and de&s;ires nothing more than to be fitter to &s;erve and enjoy him: For &s;uch a one to be afraid of dying, O what pity is it? I do not &s;ay 'tis &s;trange: For alas, it is but too com|mon with the be&s;t: (Many are now of a fearfull Heart, that &s;hall &s;tand
<PB N="160" REF="91">without Fear at the Day of Judg|ment;) but I may &s;afely &s;ay that &s;uch Fears, in &s;uch Per&s;ons, are very needle&s;s and &s;trangely unrea&s;onable. As yet I know nothing that a good Chri&s;tian is le&s;s concern'd to fear than dying: For when he is <HI>ab&s;ent from the Body, he &s;hall be pre&s;ent with the Lord,</HI> 1 Cor. 5.8. that is, in a more excellent manner than he was or could be, in this mortal Life, in a State far better, as 'tis expre&s;&s;ed el&s;ewhere (<HI>Philip.</HI> 1.23.) God hath often &s;aid by his Prophets, <HI>Fear not,</HI> and in <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 40.10. He urged it to his Servant, with the Rea&s;on of it: [Fear not for I am with thee: Be not di&s;mayed for I am thy God, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>] Now if any &s;huld &s;ay this may ex|cu&s;e them perhaps from fearing or|dinary Evils, but not from fearing Death, I wou'd then demand the Rea&s;on of his Speech, and can per|&s;wade my &s;elf that he cannot &s;hew any Rea&s;on, truly &s;o called, in de|fence
<PB N="161" REF="91">of it; And I need &s;ay no more to confute him therein, than to tell him that God is the God of his People, as truly, and as com|fortably at a dying Hour as at any other time; and that Death &s;hall not &s;eparate them from the Love of God, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.38.</P>
<P>But po&s;&s;ibly it may be expected that I &s;hould an&s;wer &s;ome objections; which al&s;o, with God's A&s;&s;i&s;tance I &s;hall endeavour to do.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> 1. When you have &s;aid all you can, yet (&s;ay &s;ome) we know very well, that Dying is a Hard word, and a Harder thing: and hath &s;uch Difficulties accompanying it, as are puzling and unplea&s;ing to the mo&s;t of Men.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> What it may be to the <HI>mo&s;t,</HI> is little to my purpo&s;e to enquire of: For 'tis not <HI>mo&s;t</HI> Men but <HI>good</HI> and <HI>upright</HI> Chri&s;tians that here I &s;peak of. And that Dying is &s;o hard a thing to &s;uch per&s;ons, I think I am not obli|ged
<PB N="162" REF="92">to believe: 'Tis confe&s;&s;ed it may &s;eem &s;o unto them, but it is not &s;o indeed; for the Difficulties are more fancifull than real. And when they are mo&s;t troubled at the thoughts of Death, yet (in that Ca&s;e) it is not Dying it &s;elf, but Snning and Doubting, that is the cau&s;e of their Di&s;tre&s;s: which as to the weake&s;t true Chri&s;tian they are pardoned for Chri&s;t's Sake, &s;o at Death there is an end of them. (See before, Sect. 12.) Chri&s;t's Death for them has taken away the Sting of Death, (1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.56, 57.) So that they have more cau&s;e to be afraid of Li|ving, than of Dying: For in Life they are liable to variety of Troubles, and may often be in heavine&s;s through manifold Temptations: But in Dying, they are &s;ubject to none of them. From thence forth their Souls &s;hall never &s;ee one evil Hour. <HI>They that dye in the Lord are ble&s;&s;ed from thence forth, and they re&s;t from their Labours,</HI> Rev. 14.13.</P>
<PB N="163" REF="92">
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> 2. But at a dying Hour we may expect <HI>Satan</HI>'s fierce&s;t A&s;&s;aults, and &s;tronge&s;t Temptations: For he is never more apt to a&s;&s;ail us than when we are at the weake&s;t; (as &s;ome report of the Learned and Pious Mr. <HI>Pemble,</HI> that when he lay on his Death-bed, the wicked one managed his &s;ubtile&s;t Sugge&s;tions a|gain&s;t him, even in way of Argu|ment, to baffle his Faith in the Ble&s;&s;ed Je&s;us, to keep his Soul from re&s;ting on that Rock of Salvation.)</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This needs not to trouble any true hearted Chri&s;tian: For (fir&s;t,) he cannot conclude it &s;hall therefore be his own ca&s;e; or that his la&s;t Hour &s;hall be, in any &s;ad &s;en&s;e, an Hour of Temptation. God deals very variou&s;ly with his People, and ordereth all their Af|fairs according to the Methods of his own mo&s;t mercifull Will and Wi&s;|dom. Mr. <HI>Pemble,</HI> and others, had manifold Temptations in their latter
<PB N="164" REF="93">Hours; Mr. <HI>Holland, Molinaeus,</HI> Mr. <HI>Robert Bolton,</HI> and multitudes more had their Hearts then filled with Heaven's Peace; and though <HI>Satan</HI> wants not malice, or knowledge, to take advantage of their weakne&s;&s;es, and to oppo&s;e them with his fiery Darts when he &s;ees them lea&s;t able to re&s;i&s;t; yet we are &s;ure his Power is limited, &s;o that he cannot give them one Minutes di&s;turbance more than God is plea&s;ed to permit, <HI>who&s;e mercy,</HI> we are told, <HI>is to everla&s;ting upon them that fear him,</HI> (P&s;al. 103.17.) and therefore &s;hall not be tur|ned from them by all the Power of Hell. How well would they be &s;atisfied if &s;ome of their be&s;t friends (who&s;e kindne&s;s they have mo&s;t experienced) had a power given them to order all circum&s;tances that concern their Death? Behold the matter is much &s;afer than &s;o, and all their Affairs in a better hand. Sure I am, the true&s;t Affection, and
<PB N="165" REF="93">heartie&s;t Love of the mo&s;t compa&s;|&s;ionate Parent upon Earth is as no|thing, and vanity to the tender Mer|cy of that Great High Prie&s;t, and gracious Saviour with whom they have to do. Nor would he be cal|led the Shepherd of their Souls (1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.25.) if he did not mean to take care of them accordingly, and help them in their greate&s;t need.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> 3. But the mere Ab&s;ence of the Soul from its Body, may &s;eem to make its condition &s;omewhat un|comfortable; for Philo&s;ophers com|monly write of the De&s;ire it hath to the Body, and a late Metaphy&s;ical Pen has laid it down as a Theorem <HI>[De&s;iderat Anima &s;eparata iterum cum corpore conjngi] i.e.</HI> The &s;eparated Soul de&s;ires to be united to its Body.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> As to this, I think that of St. <HI>Paul</HI> to the <HI>Colo&s;&s;.</HI> may fitly be re|membred, <HI>Take heed le&s;t any man &s;poyle you through Philo&s;ophy and vain Deceit:</HI> For indeed, Some things
<PB N="166" REF="94">that go under that Name are &s;uffi|ciently vain and deceitfull. And as to this. [the Soul's de&s;ire to be united to the Body again] if meant of the Souls of the Ju&s;t, to me &s;eemeth no excellent Notion; nor can I con|ceive how men &s;hould know it if it were &s;o indeed. Their Arguments for it I am not &s;atisfied in, and I hope it is excu&s;able if I venture to urge one or two again&s;t it.</P>
<P N="1">1. If a good Chri&s;tian's Soul, when ab&s;ent from the Body, doth actually and properly de&s;ire to be joyned to it, (as a &s;ick man de&s;ireth health, or a Pri&s;oner Liberty) then whil&s;t &s;eparate, it mu&s;t wi&s;h to be in another condition; as the Sick wi&s;heth his health. But the &s;epara|ted Soul of a good Chri&s;tian doth not wi&s;h it &s;elf at that time any o|ther condition: for being perfectly <HI>&s;anctified,</HI> it is perfectly <HI>&s;atisfied</HI> in the Will of God, who crowneth it with his loving kindne&s;s, and is bet|ter
<PB N="167" REF="94">unto it than the Body, and all the comforts here below.</P>
<P N="2">2. If &s;uch a Soul thus de&s;ireth to be in the Body; then, the Being in the Body &s;eems to it a better and more de&s;irable State, but that it doth not, nor cannot without Delu&s;ion; for St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells us, <HI>to depart and be with Chri&s;t is far better,</HI> Philip. 1. And if in any &s;en&s;e it de&s;ires to be joyned to its Body, yet it de&s;ires this only in God's appointed time, for the rea&s;on afore given.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> 4. But may it not grieve a Man to think of leaving his old Friends and Acquaintance, and go|ing into that World and State which he never &s;aw, nor ever &s;pake with any that did?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Doubtle&s;s this is that which lyeth hid in the hearts of many, though they &s;peak not to any &s;uch purpo&s;e: And an evil Heart of un|belief may be much moved by it. But how little cau&s;e a Godly Chri|&s;tian
<PB N="168" REF="95">hath to be unwilling to dye on this Account, a few words may &s;uf|fice to make manife&s;t. For,</P>
<P N="1">1. He that is &s;uch indeed hath his Will, in &s;ome good mea&s;ure, re&s;igned up to his God, who&s;e Will is, that He and his Friends &s;hould not dwell always together in this World.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Friends that he leaveth at Death, are but fellow Creatures, and &s;infull ones too; &s;uch Friends as may afflict him, as well as comfort him; in a word, &s;uch as may hinder, as well as help in the way towards Heaven. (Nor can their greate&s;t Friend&s;hip be firm and con&s;tant to him any farther than God's Favour doth make it &s;o, nor do them any good without his good providence.) But by Death, the Sanctified Soul is tran&s;lated into a far better condition, to enjoy that mo&s;t gracious glorious God, who was his fir&s;t and be&s;t Friend; to who&s;e unde&s;erved good|ne&s;s he was ab&s;olutely beholding for
<PB N="169" REF="95">all the kindne&s;s that ever any Crea|ture &s;hew'd him; In &s;hort, that ble&s;&s;ed God to whom all Nations, (as the Prophet &s;peaks,) are as nothing and vanity; that God who&s;e Name alone is excellent, and his Glory a|bove the Heavens; who&s;e Power is Omnipotency, who&s;e Time is Eter|nity, who&s;e Bounty is un&s;peakable, and who&s;e Benignity is better than Life, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 63.3. And touching the other part of the Objection, <HI>viz.</HI> [the Strangene&s;s of the State that the Soul doth enter upon] nothing but gro&s;s infidelity can make it &s;eem of any weight. For (1.) <HI>Strangene&s;s</HI> in it &s;elf hath no harm in it: When the man that was born blind had Sight given him by Our Saviour, it was doubtle&s;s a <HI>Strange</HI> thing to him to perceive the Light which he never did before, nor could have any Ideas of: yet the change was not grievous but joyous unto him. How much more mu&s;t it be &s;o with that ble&s;&s;ed Change
<PB N="170" REF="96">(to a Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s that changeth not) which a gracious Soul &s;hall find after Death? And (2.) as to &s;uch a <HI>Strange|ne&s;s</HI> as con&s;i&s;teth in <HI>unacquaintedne&s;s;</HI> I take it to be a &s;trange Fancy, with|out any ground at all in Scripture or Rea&s;on: yea the contrary &s;eems very evident from Scripture. For as to their God the Ca&s;e is clear; in their ab&s;ence from the Body they are pre&s;ent with the Lord, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.8. And that it is meant of a more &s;pecial and comfortable pre&s;ence with him than before they had, may ea&s;ily be gathered from the Apo&s;tle's Scope in that place; and is partly proved in a foregoing Section, where that mo&s;t comfortable Text is in&s;i&s;ted on. And how can they but have a nearer Communion with him, when they are freed from Ignorance and Unbe|lief, and all tho&s;e things that are of|fen&s;ive in his Sight?</P>
<P>And concerning the Creatures al&s;o, I humbly conceive that the
<PB N="171" REF="96">Souls of &s;uch Per&s;ons do not want for Acquaintance with them: How can we imagine that tho&s;e Holy Angels &s;hould de&s;ire to be &s;trange to tho&s;e Souls in another World, that delighted to do them good in this World, and rejoyced in their Grace and Repentance? <HI>Luke</HI> 15.10. Will tho&s;e heavenly Inhabitants chu&s;e to be at a Di&s;tance with them, when they are mo&s;t perfectly united to their glorious Lord and Head, Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Righteous? This let them believe that can: for my part I hate the Thoughts of &s;o gro&s;s a Soleci&s;m. And I &s;ee no cau&s;e to doubt of the &s;piritual Communion and Conver&s;e of Holy Souls with each other, in this their State of Separation; The knowing one another can be no in|convenience when they are complea|ted in Grace, and perfected in Love. That <HI>Charity</HI> and <HI>Joy</HI> are found in the perfected Spirits of the Ju&s;t, is confe&s;&s;ed by all that believe them to
<PB N="172" REF="97">&s;uch, and to partake of any Happi|ne&s;s after Death: And how can the&s;e Affections more properly be exerci&s;ed among them, than in <HI>Rejoycing</HI> at each others Happine&s;s? And how can <HI>that</HI> be without the Knowledge of each other, and of their happy State? And to this I &s;hall only add the po&s;ition of the Learned <HI>Macco|vius. Communicant Animae Separatae, &amp;c.</HI> Separated Souls do communi|cate their minds to one another. <HI>De Anima Sep. Cap.</HI> 4.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> 5. But (&s;ay &s;ome) it is not Dy|ing, but <HI>&s;orrowfull</HI> Dying that we are &s;o unwilling of. Alas, we are &s;o haunted with horrible Temptations, and our Faith and Hope are &s;o &s;adly &s;haken therewith, that we fear le&s;t we &s;hould dye in De&s;pair: which al&s;o we are the more amazed at, be|cau&s;e we are told that De&s;pair is a mo&s;t horrid Sin, &s;uch as &s;poileth all at once (as we &s;ay) and &s;tops up (as it were) the current of God's Mercy towards us.</P>
<PB N="173" REF="97">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> This Objection I cannot but think fit to deal with; and I am the more willing to do &s;o for the Satisfaction of tho&s;e, who&s;e Religi|ous Friends may have dyed in Doubts and Fears, (and with no Appearance of comfort:) For which end I lay down the en&s;uing A&s;&s;ertions.</P>
<P N="1">1. That &s;uch a ca&s;e is not incon|&s;i&s;tent with the State of a true Chri|&s;tian. Though the bright Morning Star (Chri&s;t &s;o called) be truly ri&s;en upon any Per&s;on, and hath imparted to him the Light of Life, yet that doth not make it impo&s;&s;ible for his Sun to &s;et in a Cloud; for the Word of God &s;ays nothing to the contra|ry. Though he therein promi&s;eth his Servants everla&s;ting Joy after Death, yet he promi&s;ed not that they &s;hould have Joy the Minute, or Hour before they dye. And when <HI>Solomon</HI> tells us, <HI>there is one Event to the Righteous and to the Wicked</HI> (as to outwards he meaneth) <HI>Ecl.</HI> 9.2. I
<PB N="174" REF="98">cannot fan&s;ie, why any uncomforta|ble Circum&s;tances about Death &s;hould &s;eem to be excepted. Our Ble&s;&s;ed Lord him&s;elf (in compari&s;on of who&s;e Holine&s;s the Heaven of Heavens is but unclean) departed this Life in the Depths of Sorrow, and cryed with a loud voice, <HI>My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me?</HI> Math. 27.46.50. Which being inti|mated, gave &s;ome &s;atisfaction to a Learned and worthy Divine, when (in his la&s;t Sickne&s;s) he asked his Friend, what that man might think of the State of his Soul that is ju&s;t a|dying, and can find no comfort in his God? Mr. <HI>Rob. Bolton</HI> mention|eth a very Religious Gentlewoman, who in her latter Hours was exer|ci&s;ed with many Sorrows, and, to appearance, dyed in them (&s;hewing little or no Sign of any comfort in her Soul.) But that judicious Man of God did not think the wor&s;e of her State, or que&s;tion her Salvation:
<PB N="175" REF="98">but rather &s;uppo&s;ed that &s;ad Di&s;pen|&s;ation of her God to be in Judgment to tho&s;e wicked People, that mali|ciou&s;ly &s;laundered her good Conver|&s;ation in Chri&s;t; that tho&s;e who would not be bettered by her unblamable Life, might be hardned by her un|comfortable Death.</P>
<P>But this we may account God's <HI>&s;trange</HI> Work, mo&s;t commonly the way of Holine&s;s doth end more comfortably. And we are a&s;&s;ured the upright ones end is peace, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 37.37. though we cannot be &s;ure of peace in his Soul ju&s;t before his End; becau&s;e we read God's Judgments are un&s;earchable, and his ways pa&s;t finding out. Thus of the fir&s;t A&s;&s;er|tion.</P>
<P>The Second is this, [That to be followed much with Satan's &s;ore&s;t Temptations is no ill Sign] St. <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf complained of Ter|rours within, as well as Troubles without. Yea Chri&s;t him&s;elf, when
<PB N="176" REF="99">his Heavenly Father had &s;olemnly owned him for his Beloved Son in whom he was well plea&s;ed, <HI>Math.</HI> 3.17. the next news we hear of him was, that he was led into the Wilderne&s;s to be tempted of the Devil, (yea 40 days, as St. <HI>Mark</HI> hath it. <HI>Mark</HI> 1.11.13.) whil&s;t the &s;trong man armed keepeth po&s;&s;e&s;&s;i|on, the things he hath are in peace. The Pyrate &s;pendeth not his bigge&s;t Bullet upon the empty Ships, but upon the laden, and be&s;t laden. So Satan doth not ca&s;t the fiery Darts of his Temptations, again&s;t tho&s;e that are under his accur&s;ed &s;lavery, and follow the ways he would have them, (at lea&s;t not u&s;ually, nor unle&s;s he have them at a pinch, as we &s;ay, un|der &s;ome con&s;iderable Cro&s;&s;es as to the World,) but rather again&s;t tho&s;e that have cho&s;en a better Ma&s;ter, and turned through grace into the Holy Path.</P>
<P>The third A&s;&s;ertion in an&s;wer to
<PB N="177" REF="99">the &s;aid Objection is thus, [That a Chri&s;tian's Fear of Dying uncomfor|tably, is no &s;ign that he &s;hall Dye &s;o.] As God bids his Prophet, &s;ay to them that are of a fearfull heart, <HI>Be &s;trong and fear not:</HI> So he is plea&s;ed many times to &s;trengthen and en|courage them abundantly, and do for them above all they could ask or think. He that had his Spirit overwhelmed in him, and walked mournfully all the year round by rea&s;on of tho&s;e bla&s;phemous Sugge&s;|tions, that the unclean Spirit had &s;o con&s;tantly exerci&s;ed him with, yet at length was enabled to offer up joyfull Prai&s;es to his God and Savi|our, and ended his days in a ble&s;&s;ed peace, (as a great Authour hath te&s;|tified.) The like is recorded of Mr. <HI>Saunders,</HI> viz. That though he was &s;ometimes much concerned (as we call it) to think what he &s;hould do if he &s;hould be brought to the fiery Trial, yet when he was brought to
<PB N="178" REF="100">it, he had his Fears removed, and (being &s;trengthened with God's Spi|rit of Might) pa&s;&s;ed as comfortably through that Sea of Blood, as the re&s;t of that noble Army of Martyrs.</P>
<P>The fourth A&s;&s;ertion. [God often worketh by contraries, and brings about his gracious purpo&s;es by means that &s;eem the mo&s;t unlikely.] As he brought water for his People, not out of the Sea or the River, but out of the Rock; &s;o he often &s;uffers tho&s;e People to be mo&s;t &s;haken with Temp|tations, whom he meaneth mo&s;t to e&s;tabli&s;h, to make mo&s;t grounded and rooted in the Faith. Of which I might in&s;tance in <HI>Luther</HI> and others, if it were my purpo&s;e to enlarge on this particular.</P>
<P>The fifth A&s;&s;ertion. [The Arm of God's Love is infinitely &s;tronger than the Arm of a Chri&s;tian's Faith:] If therefore he be &s;uch in &s;incerity, he may be &s;ure that either he &s;hall not Dye in de&s;pair (or Di&s;comfort) or
<PB N="179" REF="100">el&s;e that he &s;hall not be ruined by Dying &s;o. For if his Graces be ne|ver &s;o much oppo&s;ed, yet God's Kindne&s;s to his Servants is ab&s;olute and unconquerable. If their Faith and Hope &s;hould &s;eem to be &s;haken beyond recovery, yet compa&s;&s;ion cannot fail in the Father of Mercies, and his Covenant of Peace &s;hall not be removed, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 54.10. &s;o <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.38. <HI>What &s;hall &s;eparate us</HI> (&s;o &s;pea|king of the re&s;t of the faithfull as of him&s;elf) <HI>from the Love of Chri&s;t? Neither Death nor Life, nor things pre|&s;ent, nor things to come;</HI> (that is, they &s;hall never do it, by any means, or any &s;ad <HI>Circum&s;tances</HI> that can attend them.)</P>
<P>The &s;ixth A&s;&s;ertion [De&s;pair, in all kinds and ca&s;es, is no &s;uch heinous and dangerous Sin as &s;ome have ima|gined.] (And it were to be wi&s;hed that &s;ome Authours, otherwi&s;e lear|ned and good, had written more cautiou&s;ly about it than they have
<PB N="180" REF="101">done.) And tho&s;e that de&s;paired of <HI>Francis Spira</HI>'s Salvation, becau&s;e he ended his days in the darkne&s;s of De|&s;pair may &s;eem as unskilfull, as un|charitable: and I believe they have been blamed for it by many Divines be&s;ides, and &s;ince, Mr. <HI>Perkins.</HI> &mdash; But to come directly to the point it &s;elf. <HI>De&s;pair</HI> therefore may be con|&s;idered in &s;everal &s;orts of People, and on &s;everal grounds (or occa&s;ions of it.)</P>
<P>As to the fir&s;t; <HI>De&s;pair</HI> in a wicked man, if total and ordinary, I confe&s;s mu&s;t needs be a very &s;ad matter; becau&s;e it hinders him from u&s;ing the means of Salvation. Yet it doth not make his Salvation impo&s;&s;ible, be|cau&s;e 'tis not impo&s;&s;ible for it to be removed.</P>
<P N="2">2. To de&s;pair of Salvation out of a conceit, that there is not in Chri&s;t a &s;ufficient Power and Merit for that purpo&s;e: This, I &s;ay, is no le&s;s dan|gerous; becau&s;e it is grounded on a
<PB N="181" REF="101">prevalent Unbelief, and argues the Per&s;on under it to have no right Ap|prehen&s;ions of the Per&s;on of Chri&s;t, or the Excellency and Al&s;ufficiency of his Merit and Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P N="3">3. But for a true Chri&s;tian to be brought into De&s;pair by <HI>Temptations</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;takes,</HI> this I cannot conceive to be &s;uch a heinous Sin, or &s;uch a dangerous Ca&s;e. For example; If through Melancholy, or Satan's Sug|ge&s;tions, he be brought to think, that he is under the guilt of the unpar|donable Sin, then he cannot chu&s;e but de&s;pair of being pardoned. And though I believe it is a great truth, that no true Chri&s;tian &s;hall ever be guilty of the unpardonable Sin (hav|ing an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and there be|ing no condemnation to them that are in Chri&s;t, even &s;uch as walk not after the Fle&s;h but after the Spirit, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1, 2. and for other rea&s;ons that need not now be named:) Yet I doubt not but &s;uch a one may fear
<PB N="182" REF="102">he is under it, and verily think &s;o: I remember Mr. <HI>Fox</HI> tells us it was the ca&s;e of Mr. <HI>John Glover</HI> a Per&s;on of exemplary Piety. So that De&s;pair, in &s;uch per&s;ons and on &s;uch grounds, may be reckoned among&s;t tho&s;e Frailties and Infirmities which our God doth pardon of cour&s;e to his adopted Children in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>He is (what he is &s;tiled) their <HI>Hea|venly Father,</HI> (<HI>Mat.</HI> 6.) and we can ea&s;ily under&s;tand that the Child is incomparably &s;afer by his Father's Hold of him, than by any Hold that he can take of his Father.</P>
<P>He is their God for ever, <HI>P&s;.</HI> 48.14. and no Darkne&s;s or Di&s;comfort, no Terrour of Life or &s;hadow of Death &s;hall ever deprive them of their Intere&s;t in him, or di&s;anull his purpo&s;e of Grace which was towards them in <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us</HI> before the World began.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> 6. But after all this, you may perhaps (when your turn comes) be
<PB N="183" REF="102">as much afraid to Dye as others are.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Very like &s;o; I can &s;ay nothing to the contrary: nor can I tell in the lea&s;t how it will be with me, in point of comfort at my la&s;t Hour. I well know, that of my &s;elf I am as nothing, and all my Suffici|ency is of God. I &s;hall therefore fear the la&s;t Enemy, either much or little, or not at all, according as that King Eternal &s;hall be plea&s;ed to grant or to withhold the Influences and A&s;|&s;i&s;tances of his Holy Spirit. If he &s;hould leave me to my &s;elf, to the Power of Temptation (to the Doubts and Sins of my own Heart) I know my Spirit would fail on a &s;uddain, and I &s;hould look like tho&s;e that have been &s;even Days dead. But (good Reader) how weak &s;oever, I or others may be, yet our God is Strong and Faithfull and True: and the Empyrean Heaven may &s;ooner fall and peri&s;h, than the lea&s;t part of his promi&s;ed Goodne&s;s fail. Go on
<PB N="184" REF="103">therefore, O Chri&s;tian, in the <HI>good Way</HI> with a good Courage and Re&s;o|lution; Live upon Chri&s;t, and live unto him, and &s;erve that ble&s;&s;ed Lord with Joyfulne&s;s of Heart; Fear not the Reproach of Men, nor be a|fraid of their Revilings: Endeavour to bring Glory to the Name of Chri&s;t by walking (more and more) as be|comes his Go&s;pel, and then never value a thou&s;and hard Cen&s;ures, and di&s;gracefull Names, or any other cruel Arts that Hell can invent to di&s;courage Religion by. For e're long through the tender Mercies of our God, thou &s;halt be above the reach of all thy Enemies; when thou remove&s;t from the be&s;t of thy Friends on Earth, thou &s;halt dwell with tho&s;e that Love thee better; When thy Soul &s;hall leave this ma|lignant World, it &s;hall &s;ee the Love of the Lord Je&s;us; that free, that full, that glorious Love which is bet|ter
<PB N="185" REF="103">than Life and &s;tronger than Death, which makes the Ho&s;t of Heaven glad, and fills the Seraphins with Sacred Joy.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="postscript">
<HEAD>A POSTSCRIPT, <HI>Attempting the Re&s;olution of a weighty Que&s;tion; with an Appendix to the</HI> 13^t^h. <HI>Section concerning Chri&s;t's Fi|liation, in a Letter to a Learned Authour.</HI></HEAD>
<P>SIR, I am &s;atisfied in your Opi|nion of the Nece&s;&s;ity, or at lea&s;t the Expediency of An&s;wering tho&s;e Oppo&s;ers, who enquire how 'tis likely the Soul can <HI>Act,</HI> when 'tis without its <HI>Body</HI> to act in? &s;ince it apparently dependeth on the Body in its Operations, and its actings are evidently hindered when the Body is indi&s;po&s;ed by Sleep or Sickne&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="186" REF="104">Which I hope may in part be &s;ol|ved by the en&s;uing Con&s;iderations.</P>
<P N="1">1. That the Soul's depending on the Body in &s;ome of its Actings doth only prove, that it hath need of the Body in it's <HI>pre&s;ent State</HI> wherein it was appointed to act in it, and by it.</P>
<P N="2">2. That the Soul doth act in &s;ome ways very much, when the Body lea&s;t contributes to its Operation. Even in Sleep it &s;elf the Soul is not wholly unactive, for it then acteth by Thoughts and Dreams.</P>
<P>And as &s;ome tell us they &s;eldom wake but out of &s;ome Degree of Dreaming: So 'tis impo&s;&s;ible for any to prove that they did not <HI>dream,</HI> or exerci&s;e a <HI>thinking</HI> power in their deepe&s;t Sleeps; for that may be, though they do not remember it. Some Mens Fancies and Con&s;ciences have acted mo&s;t &s;trangely, when their Bodies have lain as dead many Hours together; declaring when they came to their Sen&s;es, what a
<PB N="187" REF="104">&s;ad ca&s;e they had been in, and thought them&s;elves to have been in Hell.</P>
<P N="3">3. That its Dependance on the Body in &s;ome of its Operations, doth not prove its Dependance on it in All: or in tho&s;e that are mo&s;t natu|ral to it, as <HI>Under&s;tanding</HI> and <HI>Willing, Hoping</HI> or <HI>Fearing, Joying</HI> or <HI>Sorrowing.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. That God who hath told us in his word that it is Immortal, and cannot be Killed (<HI>Math.</HI> 10.28.) doth know how to pre&s;erve its operating power, without the help of a Weak and Dying Body. If its Life and Be|ing doth not depend upon its union with the Body, why &s;hould we con|ceive its Operation and Apprehen&s;i|on to depend on it?</P>
<P N="5">5. Though the Soul in its <HI>Separa|tion</HI> be without its Terre&s;trial Body, yet it may not therefore be conclu|ded to have <HI>No</HI> Body to <HI>Act</HI> in: for it may have an <HI>A&euml;rial Body;</HI> which was &s;o far from being counted ab|&s;urd
<PB N="188" REF="105">by the Ancients, that they did &s;uppo&s;e the Angels them&s;elves to be (in &s;ome &s;en&s;e) embodied Crea|tures. And perhaps it may be hard to prove, that the Holy Apo&s;tle doth not mean &s;ome &s;uch thing, when he &s;aith [<HI>we de&s;ire to be cloathed upon, with our Hou&s;e which is from Heaven,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.2. and (ver&s;e 4.) <HI>not that we would be uncloathed, but cloathed upon.</HI>]</P>
<P N="6">6. When the &s;ame Apo&s;tle had (in his Rapture to the third Hea|ven) &s;uch Divine Di&s;coveries as he could not utter, he a&s;&s;ures us, that he could not tell us in what State he had them. <HI>[Whether in the Body or out of the Body, I cannot tell]</HI> 2 Cor. 12.2, 3. Which it &s;eems was very remarkable, &s;ince it is mentioned twice in tho&s;e ver&s;es. Now how can it be imagined, that the Apo&s;tle &s;hould make it his bu&s;ine&s;s, to declare that he knew not whether he had tho&s;e Revelations <HI>in</HI> the Body or
<PB N="189" REF="105"><HI>out</HI> of it, if the Soul without its Terre&s;trial Body, were an Unactive and In&s;en&s;ible thing?</P>
<P>Sir, I have al&s;o con&s;idered farther about the great Point we were di&s;|cour&s;ing of; [whether Chri&s;t be the Son of God on the Account of his miraculous Conception?] and for the Negative I would humbly offer the&s;e Rea&s;ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e the Affirmative &s;eems to enervate the Arguments, that Orthodox Divines u&s;e to prove him the Son of God by Real and Eternal Generation; or at lea&s;t, to take a|way the nece&s;&s;ity of arguing about it: For (they will &s;ay) what need any Man &s;eek &s;uch a ground of his Son&s;hip, if he may fitly be called the Son of God upon a far different Account?</P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e Chri&s;t is not <HI>therefore</HI> called [the Son of God] in any Scripture unle&s;s it be in <HI>Luke</HI> 1.35. And I think it hath not yet been
<PB N="190" REF="106">proved that he is &s;o called in that place on that Account, for <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF"> is the only Nerve that the proof of the contrary-minded is fa&s;tened on; which methinks &s;hould afford no cogent Argument: For the Particle [<GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">] may be con&s;equential as well as cau&s;al: And 'tis hard to find any thing in that Text (or context) that will prove it to be <HI>cau&s;al.</HI> And po&s;|&s;ibly the Conjunctive [<GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF">] may make again&s;t it.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Relationes &s;e mutu&ograve; ponunt:</HI> If therefore Chri&s;t be the Son of God upon &s;everal grounds, he mu&s;t have &s;everal Filiations in <HI>Re&s;pect of God,</HI> and &s;o &s;hould be <HI>more</HI> than <HI>one Son</HI> of God; unle&s;s a Man &s;uppo&s;e his miraculous Conception to be the <HI>only</HI> Rea&s;on why he is called the Son of God; which as it will never be granted by the Orthodox, &s;o I think it is not a&s;&s;erted by any at all.</P>
<P N="4">4. It &s;eems needle&s;s for Chri&s;t to have any other Filiation in Re&s;pect
<PB N="191" REF="106">of God, than what is grounded on Eternal Generation. As to him&s;elf 'tis plain he hath no need: And there &s;eems to be as little need of it as to us; Becau&s;e his Eternal Son|&s;hip is every way &s;ufficient to eno|ble the <HI>Humane</HI> Nature, and to put a glorious Value upon what he did and &s;uffered for us.</P>
<P>I have not con&s;ulted Authours upon this Occa&s;ion: So that this is but the Re&s;ult of my own Thoughts, which may have need of Rectifica|tion, and the whole, Sir, is humbly &s;ubmitted to your favourable, yet impartial Cen&s;ure, by</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Obliged Servant, <HI>J. B.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
<PB REF="107" MS="y">
<HEAD>Books Printed for <HI>Luke Meredith,</HI> at the <HI>King's Head</HI> at the We&s;t End of St. <HI>Paul's Church-Yard.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>A Dialogue between a</HI> Pa&s;tor <HI>and</HI> Pari|&s;hioner, <HI>touching the</HI> Lord's Supper <HI>Wherein the mo&s;t material Doubts and Scru|ples, about Receiving that Holy</HI> Sacrament, <HI>are removed, and the Way thereto di&s;cove|red to be both Plain and Plea&s;ant. Very u&s;efull for private Chri&s;tians in the&s;e Scru|pulous Times. With &s;ome &s;hort Prayers, fitted for that Occa&s;ion; and a Morning and Even|ing Prayer, for the &V;&s;e of Private Families By</HI> Michael Altham, <HI>Vicar of</HI> Latton <HI>in</HI> E&s;&s;ex <HI>The Second Edition.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Re&s;t for the Heavy-Laden. Promi&s;ed by our only Lord and Saviour</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>to all Sincere Believers, Practically di&s;cour&s;ed up|on. By</HI> Clement Elis <HI>Rector of</HI> Kirkby <HI>in</HI> Nor|tingham&s;hire. <HI>Author of the</HI> Gentile Sinner.</P>
<P><HI>Some Queries to Prote&s;tants</HI> An&s;wered. <HI>And an Explanation of the Roman Catho|lick's</HI> Belief <HI>in Four Great Points con&s;idered.</HI> 1. <HI>Concerning their</HI> Church. 2. <HI>Their</HI> Wor|&s;hip. 3. Ju&s;tification. 4. Civil Government.</P>
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<P>Page 56, Line 20, for <HI>greate&s;t,</HI> reade <HI>gro&s;&s;e&s;t.</HI></P>
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