his injured Justice, and flighted mercy upon them. But what are the Words that by our Saviour are put into Abraham's Mouth, in Anfwer to the Rich Man's Petition? They are curting Words indeed; instead of Water to cool, here is Vinegar in every Word to add to his Torment, inflead of pittying him, Abraham is here made to fpeak, as if he triumphed in his Grief, and rubbed his Sores, only to increase the fmart and pain. 1. SON, faith he, fo thou wouldst be accounted, and fo indeed thou wastaccording to the Flesh. Remember this, for the heightening of thy Grief, what thou once waft, and what but for thy Folly, thou mightft now have been. Thou might ft, as well as any other of my Sons, have inherited the Blessing entail'd on all the Seed of Abraham, And why didst thou not? How came it to pafs that thou now lieft there tormented in that Flame, whilft others of thy Brethren are here at rest in my Bofome. Didft thou not defcend from my Loins as well as they: And did not I command my Children after me, that they should keep the way of the Lord? Yes, I did, as God is my Witness, Gen. 18. With what Face than dareft thou call me Father, feeing thou wouldst not receive my Inftructions, nor obey my Commands, nor imitate my Example? Hadft thou been my Child indeed, thou wouldst have endeavour'd to be like me, Thou wouldst have done my Works, Joh. 8. 39. Tho' thou waft my Son after the Flesh, yet wouldst thou not be my Son in the Faith; pay, thou haft made thy felf by unrighteousness the Child of another Father, even the Devil, and with him for ever art thou like to dwell. Thou art, I fay, of thy Father the Devil, for the Lufts of thy Father Father thou waft refolved to do. Joh. 8. 44. He that committeth Sin is of the Devil, in this the Children of the Devil are manifefted. 1 Joh. 3.8. 10, O Son, that shouldst have been, remember this, and tremble and blufh, Thou waft indeed one of my carnal off-fpring, and didst enjoy all the Privileges of my Children, thou wantedft nothing that might conduce to thy happiness. Thou overflowedft, even till thou drownedft thy felf in abundance of Worldly Things; thou hadft as much of this World's Goods as thy heart could wish for. Why then didst thou not learn of me how to Husband all fuch Things to thine own advantage? Why didst thou not by thy Hofpitality and Charity lay up for thy felf Treatures in Heaven, where Lazarus now feafteth with me? Thou enjoyedst moreover, all the holy Ordinances of God, all the means of faving Knowledge and Grace. Thou hadft Mofes and the Prophets read unto thee, and waft brought up in the Church, and House of the living God. And why didft thou not believe and obey the Minifters of God, and fincerely worship and ferve him as I did? O, never call me Father more. For tho' thou waft one of thofe Ifraelites, the Children of my Grandchild Jacob, to whom pertained the adoption, and the Glory, and the Covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the Service of God, and the Promifes, whofe are the Fathers, and of whom, as concerning the Flesh Chrift came. Rom. 9 4. Yet waft thou not an Ifraelite indeed, as Lazarus was, elfe hadft thou now been lodged with him in my Bofome. Remember this, and be afhamed, that ever thou wert call'd my Son. Yea, remember what advantages thou hadft in the World, what Encouragements and Helps to do good, which this happy Soul then wanted; and how how by thy wilful abufe of them all, thou lieft now there below, and feeft him here at a great diftance above. Yea, here mayft thou fee Publicans and Harlots, People once of the most infamous and flagitious Lives, upon their early and fincere Repentance admitted into this holy and happy Society, and Multitudes coming from all Quarters of the World, and who were none of my carnal Seed, and fitting down with Abraham, Isaac and Facob in the Kingdom of Heaven, when thou, who calledft me Father, and efteemedft thy felf, because of my Race, a Child of that Kingdom, art caft out into darkness, where there fhall be for ever weeping and gnashing of Teeth. Mat.8. 11. 12. And now, my Son, that wouldst be, comfort thy felf in thy Torments, as well as thou canft, for I can speak no comfort to thee. 2. REMEMBER, Remember I fay, what thou fain wouldft, but fhalt never be able to forget, and what to remember, encreaseth thy Torment. Remember the things that are paft, and never to be recall'd. Remember from what an height thou art fallen, never to rife again, and how much higher thou might'ft now have been, past danger of falling any more. Remember how many Opportunities of advancing thy felf thou haft loft, and try now what thy Wisdom can make of that Reflection. Think now and comfort thy felf as well as thou canst with the Thoughts of thy having liv'd like a Gentleman, and what a brave and wife thing thou lately tookeft thy felf to be; and what a fine time on't thou hadft upon Earth above poor Lazarus. O, what a biting Memento was this! How did this inftead of cooling his Tongue, make him gnash his Teeth, envying the Beggar, and mad at his own Folly. In extreme mifery to be always always put in remembrance of loft happiness,in the midst of Torments to be always thinking of former Foys and Pleafures with despair of ever tafting them again; this is a newTorment ftill, and an endlefs one too. Remember that thou in thy LIFE-TIME, &c. In thy Life-time? What means that? Was not the Rich Man yet alive in Hell? Yes, he was, and that to his Sorrow. Well had it been for him either that he had never been born, or that being born, he had died before he was rich, or that being once dead, he might never have lived or been fenfible any more. But wicked Men can no more die as they would, than they will live as they ought to do. The Rich Man was now alive after Death, elfe had he not been in Torments, for one that is not alive feels nothing. He was more dead whilft he lived, than now after he is dead, for being dead in Trefpaffes, and Sins, he was without any feeling of his fad Condition. He would now account it a Happiness to die, fo he fhould be cooled not in his Tongue only, but all over. the Happines of a Stone, or Clod of Earth, is too much for a wicked Man after death. God defigned Men's Souls to immortality, and by the Law of Creation they can never die. Our Souls were not made, as our Bodies were, of Duft, or any corruptible thing. God breathed into Man the Breath of Life, and he became a Living Soul. Gen. 2.7. And when the Body fhall return to the Earth as it was, the Spirit fhall return to God that gave it. It is He alone that difpofeth of Souls as he pleafeth, and the wicked Man's Soul he will have to live, but it fhall be in Hell and Torments. And it's eternal death is no other but it's eternal mijery. Buc I wish we would all be perfuaded to believe and think of this, before we be made to feel it, and be able to think of nothing else. How gladly foever any of us, who can care for nothing but our Bodies, would have it fo, certain it is, that our Souls fhall never die. I know there be fome in this Age, who exercife all their Wit in endeavouring to perfuade us to think, what I am very con- . fident they cannot yet bring themfelves to believe, that we have no Souls; and all to this end, that we may have nothing elfe but our Bodies to care for. But before they make fuch Fools of us, let them tell us with all their Wisdom, what it is, if we have no Souls, that must take care of our Bodies; for mere Bodies could never yet be perceived to take any care of any thing. They that fay only that our Souls are mortal, fay it to this end, that we may now ufe our liberty, and never fear our Souls fhall be punished hereafter for any neglect or abuse of themselves. But our Bleffed JESUS hath affured us, That Souls which here abufe themselves, fhall for ever be in Terments. And let - us only refolve (which is a very reasonable thing) not to believe these Wife Men of the World against Him, till they can make it appear to us, that they deferve more Credit than He, and then I dare fay, how well foever we ought to wish them, we thall not fee cause to think them any better than bold Fools. As we now ufe our Souls, fo fhall they for ever be after death in Comfort, or in Torment. Whilft ill Men here live, they cannot endure to think of dying; but when they come to Hell, and live in Torments, they can lefs endure to think of living. Let us now take care to keep our Souls Spiritually alive unto God, and dead unto Sin; let us now arife from the Death of Sin unto the |