felt his Justice, to reward the Innocnt, and to punish those that bid defiance to Heaven. It was therefore rationally faid of Frederick the Emperour, hearing, that a Nobleman in one of his Provinces, a Man who had denied himfelf nothing, that his fenfual appetite did crave, lived all his time, fo far as Nature was able to bear it, in gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, oppreffion, injuftice, and had committed feveral Murthers too, and had never been fick, and died at last after Ninety five years abode in the World, of meer old age, quietly, foftly, without any pain, or disturbance; That either there must be no God,or there must be another World, where this licentious Wretch must be punish'd.

Either Man is a nobler Creature than a Beaft, or he his not; if he be not, what means his Reason, his Speech, his Power to express his Mind, and to examine the nature, manner, ends, caufes, and defigns of all things, his dominion over all the Beasts of the Earth, &c. If he be, we must not affirm that of him, which will certainly declare him more miferable than the Beafts, whofe fpirits go downwards. If there be no other World, no Judgment to come, no after-retribution, Why is Man poffeffed with the fear of it? This fear is a thing of that confequence, and hath fo great an influence upon Mens lives, that from that fear, according as Creatures are either poffefs'd with it, or want it, they may justly be called either happy, or

miferable.

miferable. Beasts, I fee, are not capable of these fears, and confequently cannot be disturb'd with the apprehenfion of fuch things, and therefore muft neceffarily be more happy and nobler Creatures, than Men, who are not only capable of fuch apprehenfions, but, by a natural instinct, feed and cherish fuch thoughts as these.

And can there be any thing more abfurd, than to call an Ox, or Lion, or Elephant, a nobler Creature than Man? and yet this must neceffarily follow, if there be no other World. Man would be the most miferable Creature in the World, being fo apt to be tormented with thofe fears, if he did die into annihilation: and he might juftly with himself a Beast, and lament that God had put fuch a clog to all his delights and merriments, and accufe his Maker of Injustice or Cruelty,for frighting,or poffeffing him with fears of that which never was, nor is nor will be.

Such Confiderations, and paufing upon the point in cool blood, would most certainly fatisfie any rational, impartial man, and deliver him from halting between two opinions, and convince him, that he doth not cease to be when he dies, that there is a juft Judge, that he will in a short time find it by woful experience, if a serious return to God prevent it not, and that when the jolly fioner banishes all thoughts and contemplations of this nature from his mind, he turns monfter, changeling,

Devil, nay, worse than Devil, for the Devils believe a World to come, and tremble; and its merely want of Confideration makes him fo.

3. The fame defect makes him wonder at the malapertness and impertinence of Divines, that in every Sermon almoft, pronounce Eternal flames to be a due and juft punishment for Temporal fins.

Let the vain man but call his thoughts together, and fummon his understanding, to take a view of fuch Topicks as these: Why should I think it incongruous to God's justice, to punish fins committed here, with an eternity of pain and anguish? Hath not he power to do with his own what he pleaseth? May not he affright stubborn finners with what punishment he hath a mind to? It is not every infirmity, every ac cidental errour, every ignorance, every little fault that this Eternity of anguish is threatned to, but a wilful ignorance, cuftomary finning, ftubborn difobedience, habitual Rebellion. Had I a Servant, to whom I were as kind as to my own Child, whom I had rais'd out of the duft, and heap'd innumerable favours up

on,

in

and promis'd all my Eftate to, after fome few years fervice; and should that Servant, ftead of honouring me, defpife me, whereever be comes; instead of obeying me, laugh at my reasonable commands; instead of working, play his time away; inftead of going to the place I fend him to, run to Brothel-houses, or

Taverns;

Taverns; instead of loving me, hate me, and affront me, flight both my actual kindneffes, and my future fmiles, and notwithstanding my continual exhortations to another course of life, continue wilfully in the way he hath begun merely to gratifie his foolish lufts, and when he is convinc'd too of the unreasonableness of his doings, knows it is ingratitude in the highest degree, and yet will be guilty of it; and when he might do otherwife, only out of malice, and to vindicate his own humour,refolves against it; What punishment can there be too great for fuch a Wretch?

Were this mine, or my Neighbour's cafe, we fhould certainly doom fuch a Monster to all the tortures that severity can invent, or inflict; and why fhould I have any hard thoughts of God, for punishing the finners ingratitude, with eternal pain or lofs, an ingratitude fo great, all things confider'd, that the worst returns one man can make to another, cannot fufficiently express the horrour and vilenets of it; and though God ought to be look'd upon, as a being of infinite love and benignity to his creatures, yet what a Monster doth he make himself, that throws dirt upon infinite beauty, and excellency.

God, for ought I fee, in condemning wilful finners to eternal mifery, gives them but their own choice and if that old faying be true, Volenti non fit injuria, To him that's willing, can be done no injury; God certainly cannot be ac

cufed

cused of cruelty, for he gives the stubborn finner but that, which he did deliberately pitch upon, and affected; and though no man doth ordinarily chufe punishment, much less everlafting calamity for its own felf; yet as long as they do, with vehement affection, long after that, which hath this calamity infeparably annext, we justly fuppofe that they agree to fuffer the calamity, as well as to enjoy the thing, which is the others infeparable companion. He that is certain, that the smell of fuch an Herb, or Flower, is poisonous, and will kill him; it notwithstanding this conviction, he will fmell to it, it's apparent he makes choice of his death and ruine; and though it may be replied, That while the finner doth fo, he is no better than distracted; and Who will punish a Madman for affronting him? yet is it fuch a Madnefs, as he may eafily cure himself of, if he be not unwilling and the madness is the more inexcufable, because Reason is wilfully turned out of doors, and he rather feigns himself mad, than is fo.

There is not a finner, that lives under the Gofpel, but he must know, that he who doth not practically believe the Gospel, or, which is all one, lives in wilful contempt of the Laws of the Gospel shall certainly be damn'd; for the Gofpel is fo full of thefe threatnings, that he that doth but come to any place, where this word of life is preach'd, if he be not deaf, muft neceffarily hear it; nay, if he will but

make