the Depths, are too Holy and Pure, to pass over the Sight of Evil, and to approve of the ill-favour'd Features of Satan yet imprinted in me. Thou discoverest not only my Sins, Iniquities, and all my evil Deeds, but thou also beholdest all the Spots and Imperfections of my best Performances, and of my most glorious Acts. My Lord, and my God, I am not only grieved to see so much Sin in the World, in the Church, and in my Self, but I am also troubled, that I have not grief enough; that my Soul is not fufficiently vexed, as that of righteous Lot; that the Zeal of thine House doth not eat me up, as it did the Man after thine own Heart; that mine Eyes are not become a Well-spring of Tears, as those of the Prophet; that I am not heartily concerned for thy Church, as thine holy Apostle; and that I do not figh and cry, as the Servants whom thou didst mark with the Letter Thau. O wonderful Lord! Since 'tis thy Pleasure, wherefore do I not embrace thee with a lively Faith and a fincere Repentance? Wherefore do I not strive by Prayers and Supplications, to obtain from thee thy most precious Blessings, an inward Change of my Self and Spirit, that I may heartily love, fear and adore thee, as thou deservest. O Lord, I find thou hast not forsaken me, but hast commissioned Death to convey me out of this troublesome and forrowful Abode, to destroy all my mortal Enemies, my Sins and Lufts, and advance me to the Freedom of thy Children. I am not disturb'd at the Approach of so great a Benefactor, that rejoiceth my Heart, and causeth me to embrace and welcome its Arrival, as thy Messenger sent to draw me out of this Egypt of Cruelty and Oppreffion, out of this Babylon of Vice and Abomination. I am ready, Lord, when wilt thou free me from thefe Chains and Fetters of Mortality, to ascend up to my God and Saviour, who is ready to embrace me! Dispatch to me fome of thy blessed Angels, who may carry me up to thine boly Mountain, to thine heavenly Jerufalem, to thy glorious Paradise, where no Impunity can be admitted, nor Serpent to seduce us, nor Temptations to prevail upon us; where I shall never offend thee, nor grieve thy holy Spirit, whereby I am fealed to the Day of Redemption. O my God! I am weary to hear thy holy Name so often blasphemed, and to fee so much Impiety Impiety and Wickedness reigning every where in the World. Hafte my Departure hence, and the Accomplishment of all the glorious Promises of Salvation to thy Church and People; when I shall behold thy Face continually, love thee with a perfect Love, and worship thee without Disturbance in the Society of the glorified Spirits, and holy Angels; when I shal! Jing forth thy Praises in Heaven, be cloathed with the white Robes of thine holy Martyrs, and with the Seraphims, attend upon thy magnificent Throne. O my God! Grant that thy holy Zeal kindled in my Soul, may serve me as a fiery Chariot, and a facred Flame to carry and haften me up to thy celestial Palace, where thou hast prepared for me an eternal Mansion, and a blessed Inheritance. Amen. CHAP. XXII. The Tenth Consolation, is the Glory and Happiness of our Souls at their Departure out of the Body. I F there were neither Punishment nor Torment juftly efteem themfelves the happieft of all Men. And if there were neither Glory nor Rewards to be expected after Death, the Righteous and the Faithful, who drink, here below, Cups full of Bitterness and Sorrow, would be the most miferable of all Creatures. The Condition of the Beasts, would appear more happy than theirs; for they enjoy in Quiet and Peace, all the Pleasures that their animal Nature is able to relish, They are not tormented by so many Diseases as vex our Bodies; neither do they know the Cares and Difpleasures, that confume and fret our Minds. They grieve not for the Time past, nor trouble themselves with any Apprehenfions of the Time to come. They A a 4 never 4 never feel the fierce Affaults of Luft: They are ig norant of many of those Passions, that torment and domineer over our Souls. All their Pains and Suffer ings vanish with their Breath; so that when they are dead, their Sufferings have an End. If we make our Eyes the Judges of these Things, we may fay, The Accident that happens to Men and Beasts is the same Accident; as is the Death of the one, so is the Death of the other. But if we search and examine farther, we shall find more Difference than between Heaven and Earth, between Light and Darkness; For, 'tis true, that the Death of Beasts delivers them from the Sense of all Evils, but doth not introduce them into any real Happiness. When it puts an End to their Misery, it puts a Period to their Being, and to all that Pleasure and Content, which they formerly enjoy'd; for their Souls and Bodies die together, without any Hopes of living again, If we look to the Wicked and Unbelievers, we shall find that Death deprives them, not only of their Ho nours, Riches, and of all their Pleasures and carnal Enjoyments, but puts out their Taper in the blackest Darkness, and all their greatest Delights are loft in a vast Sea of Bitterness. If Death loofeth them from the Chain of Misery, unto which all the Children of Adam are tied, if it frees their Bodies from the Pain of any temporal Evils, it cafts their Souls into eternal Torments. But for Vertuous, and the believing Chriftians, if Death is so great a Friend to them, because it delivers them from many Evils and Miseries; 'tis a greater Friend, in regard it opens to them, the Gate that leads to an endlefs Glory and Happiness. The Son of God had a Design to perfuade us this Truth, in that remarkable Parable of the 16th of St. Luke's Gofpel. For at one Hand he shews a rich Mifer, cloathed in Purple and fine Linnen, feeding upon Dainties, and living in much Splendour and Magnificence; and at the other he discovers to us a poor Wretch, named Lazarus, all covered with Sores, lying at this rich Man's Gate, intreating that he might share with the Dogs in the Crumbs, that fell from the rich Man's Table. The Dogs had compassion on him, and licked his Sores. At last the poor Man died, and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's Bofom, ο wonderful Change! He that was lately a Companion, scarce good enough for Dogs, now folaces himself in the Angels Embraces. He that was lying at the Gate of a proud and unmerciful Wretch, is admitted into the glorious Palace of Immortality, and reposes himself in the Bosom of a charitable and rich Abraham, where he is fatisfied with the Bread of the Living God, and drinks of the Rivers of his Pleasures. The rich Man died also, but whilft his Body was laid in the Earth with State and Honour, the Devils drag'd his Soul into Hell, and cast it into a Fire, that burns continually, and that nothing is able to extinguish. Therefore our Saviour represents this damned Soul, crying, out of Hell-Fire, Father Abraham, have pity upon me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the Tip of his Finger in Water, and cool my Tongue, for. I am tormented in these Flames. In the next Verses our Lord shews, how all the Complaints of the Damned are Fruitless, and their Tortures Remediless. He makes Abraham return an Answer to this wretched Son, My Son, remember, that thou in thy Lifetime received'st thy good Things, and likewise Lazarus evil Things; but now he is comforted, and thou art torment ed. The Heathens have looked upon Death as the End of all their Afflictions and Sufferings; but they have never tasted of the Powers of the Life to come, they have never had any Afsurance of future Glory and Happiness. The spiritual Joys, and celestial Comforts, God keeps for them that fear him and worship him in Spirit and in Truth. These precious Riches, and divine Excellencies, are only discoverable to the Faithful, chiefly since the Time in which Christ our Saviour hath brought Life and Immortality to Light, through the Gospel. Hitherto I have given you a short Survey of of the Calamities that attend upon us in this mortal State; I have essayed to prefent to you all the Comforts, that we may gather from thence, to strengthen a believing Soul, and enable it to withstand and endure all the Encounters with which it is afsaulted in this Valley of Tears. At present I intend to describe its future Happinefs, when 'tis separated from the Body, and introduc'd into Heaven. I shall as far as I am able, difcover to you that Glory and Bliss which our Souls enjoy, in expectation of the great Morn of the Refurrection. You must not think to fee here any perfect Image of our Celestial Paradise, or any magnificent Draught of the Advantages referved for us there. It would be as difficult a Task as to paint the Sun in its Splendor, or to measure the Waters of the Sea. I cannot find Words to express my Thoughts, all my Conceptions are far below an Happiness so perfect, and a Glory fo fublime. I shall think that I have done enough, if I can but represent to you fome few Beams of fo great a Light, if I can but fhew fome Drops of that Ocean of heavenly Pleasures, in which we shall swim for all Eternity. ! I shall not deliver any Thing from my own Fancy, nor offer to speak of that which I have never learned from the great Doctor of our Souls. I shall not engage my felf in vain Speculations, more fit to pleafe and puff up the curious Wits, than to comfort and rejoice the devout Souls, or fatisfie such as hunger and thirft after Righteousness. One Word from the Mouth of the Lord is better, and far more worth than all the Reasonings of human Wisdom, than all the Subtilties of Philofophy, than all the Arguings and Conclufions of the most refined and eloquent Ages. In this Description, I shall not feek mine own Glory, nor the Applaufes of the World, but the Glory of my God, and the Inftruction of Souls which he hath purchafed with his Blood. I defire to be understood of the weakeft Capacities, as well as of the Learned. hope that fuch as know the Language of Canaan, fuch τ I as |