Secondly, It doth require and depend upon morti fication of the flesh. And pray why do we take fo much care of body, make so much ado for body, as if we were fo much concerned for it, as if our bodies were the more valuable part, or more confiderable than the mind? Why are we fuch flaves to bodily defires? Ask the queftion; fince flefh, (as it is) cannot enter into glory: fo the apoftle faith, fleft and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God; which we do understand of flesh and blood, with all its advantages, flesh and blood in the best state that ever it was; flesh and blood as God made Adam in paradife for Adam in the state of innocence, he needed an advance, a change, that he might be capable of glory fo that it might be faid of Adam, as the apoftle faith of thofe that shall be alive at the refurrection, they shall be changed. Adam, though he had perfifted in innocency, he should have been changed; for flesh and blood, as he was made at firft, could not enter into the kingdom of God.

These bo

dies, as the apostle tells us, are fuch as God hath fitted us with, to converfe here; the bodies that here we have, are the bodies that belong to us in the state of humiliation; but it fhall be quite another thing, the body that our fouls fhall be invested. withal, in the foul's exaltation; it fhall be fo different from this, that the apostle calls it a spiritual body, which is nonsense to a philofopher, but the word in common construction is well understood. The apoftle uses another word, which fignifies they hall quite be changed; the fcheme, the form, the fashion of these bodies fhall be changed; Phil. iii.

21. and the earthly houfe of this tabernacle shall be dif folved, and we fall have a houfe, not made with hands eternal in the heavens, 2 Cor. v. 1. And this I fuppose to be an account of what God faid to Mofes, thou can't see my face, and live. This is ftrange, for it is eternal life to know God, and him whom he hath fent, and our happiness confifts in vifion and if we be not united to God by enflamed affections, we shall never be so happy as we would. But this is fpoken in refpect to this narrow contracted ftate; we are not able to bear this now; but in glory we fhall fee the face of God, that we may live, in glory we fhall be ever with the Lord. Or thus, thou can'ft not bear fo great a light, because of the vaft difproPortion, and ineptitude of these grofs bodies: why then do we take fo great care about them? why do we doat fo much upon them? Now, in a preparation to this state of happiness, we must partake of the virtue, and infufion of Christ's death : we must be crucified with Christ, by mortification and dying to fin and to the world. Nothing is more distant from the heavenly converfation, than to be at the command of the flesh, to be acted, ruled, and governed by it, to be fwallowed up and drowned in its fentiments, and pleasures, to be employed to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lufts thereof. Now this is a bar, an impediment, to the enjoyment of God; it comes too near the capacity of beasts, of plants and stocks We are to be discharged of a great deal of that which we call body, and then we shall be much more ourfelves. Now that we may be capable of entering into heaven, we must be born again by regenera

tion, and participation of the divine nature; and this is fuperadded to our rational nature for this we do obferve, that there is a defcent from above to below, by feveral degrees: and every higher degree of perfection, as it is fuper-eminent and predomi nant to that which is below, fo it doth include the lower degree, and doth rule over it, and you have four degrees of life.

1. The vegetative life, that is the life of plants.

2. The fenfitive life, and that is the life of beasts, and that doth comprehend and contain the vegetative.

3. The rational life, that is the life of angels and the fpirits and fouls of men; now this contains the other two.

4. You have the divine life, which is the life that by regeneration we are born into, and which is the life we shall lead in eternity.

Thirdly, That which a heavenly converfation doth confift of, is patient enduring the evils that befall us in this life. For, fuffering of evils may be reckoned upon as that in all probability one time or other will befall all men, even well-doers. It is faid proverbially, of all things I hate the fortune of Policrates. Odi Policratis fortunam. The meaning of this is, he was a man that for many years of his life, had every thing according to his own heart's defire, and those contingencies which proved to others a cross, yet did not fo here; for dropping his ring into a river, he found it the next day. But it turned at laft; and the refidue of his life was as unsuccessful. So it is not defirable for a man to meet with no unVOL. II. certainties

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certainties, no difficulties, no loffes in the world. It is juft as nature is; they that have constant health, as commonly young men have, whenever they come to be fick, fickness makes a great havock in nature. It is not always fair weather, but there is an intercourse of storms, which are boisterous and tempeftuous. If there be any, that have an easy paffage through this world, they are those which we commonly call gracious, that are very benevolent, that are of calm and gentle fpirits, that are extremelý affable, and courteous whom none have any fufpicion of, they never stand in any man's way, fo that none have occafion to wish them harm. And I believe it is David's notion, when he faith, Pfal xxxvii. 25. I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not feen the righteous forfaken, nor his feed begging bread. I'like the notion that is given the righteous; not one that is exactly just according to law, cr rule, or common principle of juftice; but it is the merciful, the gracious, the benevolent. So Rom. vi. 7. St. Paul faith, for a juft man no one will dare to die, a man that will do right, will do no body wrong, no man will die for fuch a one. But for a good man one would venture to die. Now fee how St. Paul hits the word that was in ufe before ; for I remember Homer ufes the fame word that St. Paul doth: thofe good men, who are men that are full of tears, that are ready to compaffionate all men in mifery, to fupply them; who give themselves to mercy; for fuch men, a man will be fo far from hurting them, that a man would be ready to die for them. Now a man's happinefs depends mightily upon this this makes heaven earth. upon

The

The noble philofopher hath refolved it into a ftea. dy mind, and an intellectual calm, a well compofed mind in outward hurliburlies and confufions, when we can fay of a man, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. Let the world be never fo boisterous, tumultuous, and various, all this affects not a man, if he maintain an intellectual calm and afteadiness in his mind. Three things (faith the greatest wit that our English nation hath bred) make heaven upon earth.

First, For a man to abide in the truth, whereinfoever he be engaged or concerned; for truth will give a good account of itself; but we fay of a liar, he had need of a good memory.

Secondly, To dwell in univerfal love, and hearty good-will with all men; for no man is jealous, or fufpicious of another, but he that is fenfible that he bears another ill-will himself.

And the third is, to reft fatisfied in the iues of providence; that is, knowing himself to be a creature, a fecond caufe, and under government, and as knowing we have not the government in our hands, but are to be fatisfied with what God orders and ap¬ points. That is thus; that which God doth, that do I confent unto, and delight in; that which God permits, that must I bear. These three things will make heaven in the world; always to be in the truth, to dwell in univerfal love, and perfect good will, and to rest in the iffues of providence: and if any man hath a troublesome life in the world, it is because he fails in thefe, or fome of them. Heb. xii. 2. We are to run with patience, the race that is fet before us, looking unto Jefus that ran before us; and