LUKE 16. v. 23.

And in Hell he lift up his Eyes, being in Torments, and Jeeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his Bofome,

III.thefe two Perfons, the Rich Man and WE

E are now to fee in what Condition

the Beggar were, immediately after their Death, And this we may understand in some good meafure from what is told us of them in this Verfe; and more we fhall discover in those which follow. Something hath been taught us already of the comfortable state of the poor Man; and here are we taught fomething of the miferable state of the Rich Man. And the Things which we are exprefly taught of it, are these three.

1. That immediately after hisDeath he was in Hell. 2. That being in Hell, he was there in Torments. 3. That in Torments, he beheld Abraham and Lazarus in his Bofome. And these three Things do all of them deferve our ferioùs Confideration.

1. So foon as the Rich Man died, he was in Hell. The Rich Man (faith our Saviour) alfo died, and was buried; and being in Hell, he lift up bis Eyes, being in Torments. Nothing comes betwixt his Death and Burial, and his Torments in Hell. But before we confider this any farther, let us obferve fomething from the whole Verfe,

of univerfal Concernments to be well Learn'd, and firmly believ'd, and it is this.

When Men die, or depart out of this World by Death, whether they be good or bad, their Souls die not; but continue ftill alive, and pafs into another State, wherein they are fenfible of Good and Evil. The Rich Man's Soul after Death is faid to be in Torments, and we shall afterwards find, that he was fenfible of his Torments, or indeed they were no Torments. He was fenfible of the condition of Abraham alfo, and Lazarus, as well as of his own; and that Lazarus his Soul was in Abraham's Bofom is plain, and that he was there in joy and comfort is as plain, from what is faid of him afterwards. And hence we conclude against our Somatists, that Men are not only Bodies, or mere Machines, Things that confift of nothing else but Matter put into motion; and also against another Sect, that our Souls fleep not after Death, or lie in an infenfible condition till the Refurrection. And this helps us to understand our own Nature, what we are; and alfo confirms our Faith, touching the Immortality of our Souls, which are fuch Things as fhall not die, but in one ftate or other live for ever.

Some Men are grown fo quite out of love with Holiness, and all manner of Goodness; and are fallen fo deeply in love with Sin and Impurity; and are fo extreamly fond of their Bodies, and mad to fulfil all the Lufts of the Flesh; that for the fake of their Sins, they are quite faln out with their own Nature, and cannot endure to think any longer that they are Men, or that they have any fuch Things in their Bodies as rational Souls. And indeed, it is no great wonder, that they, who are bufy, continually to spoil the Work of

God

now are.

God in themselves, and have made themfelves fuch deform'd Creatures; fhould (to conceal their own folly and madness herein) be willing to have all Men believe, that God never made any Man more beautiful, perfect and lovely than themselves We are told, and it cannot be hard to believe it, of fuch Men as thefe, that they are Men walking after their own Lufts, and glorying in their Shame. And it is for their Lufts fake, and for the delight they have in thofe carnal pleasures, which God hath forbidden; that they in the first place fall out with God himself, and would make all the World, if they could, believe, that there is no fuch Being as God is. Hence they set all their Wits on Work; to contrive by what means they may perfuade Men to think it a Thing not impoffible, that this World might be fuch as it is without a God; and if they can but bring them to believe fo much, they will hope by degrees to bring them to a Belief, of what they fuppofe all Men would be as well content to have true, as they are; to wit, that there is no God, for then might they fin merrily, without all fear of being call'd to any account for it; which, if there be a God, they cannot do; God having, as their own reafon tells them he muft, given them Laws to live by, and told them, that he will reward the Keepers, and punish the Breakers of his Laws. Now if they find either their own, or other Men's Reafon too ftrong for them in this point; and if they find it too hard a Thing to be believ'd, that all Things can be as they are, and have long been, without fome One Being of fo great Power, Wif dom, and Goodness, as to make them what they are, and fo cannot prevail with Men to be down right Atheists; they will yet try one Experiment

more

more in favour of their Lusts, and do all they can to make them Deifts; who granting the Name of God due to Something, they know not well what, fuppofe themfelves to be indeed very fine pieces of Workmanship; not wifely defigned or contriv'd by a voluntary free Agent, take heed of that; but either by the necessary Operation of natu ral Causes, eternally working by a conftant and immutable Law: or by fome lucky bit and chance, no Body knows how; any thing you imagine poffible fhall be allowed of, fo you do not hold Man to be the work of one that governs him by Moral Laws; or to have a Spirit within him capable of understanding the goodness of thofe Laws; and of governing the Man by them. If they cannot rid the World of God the Maker and GoverBor of it fome way or other, they will do their utmoft to free Men from fuch troublefom things as their Souls, that they fo may be incapable of Moral Government. For as long as Men are suppofed to have rational Souls, and fuch Souls are found by all their Faculties fitted for fuch Government, they cannot get rid of those Laws, and fo dare not live as they lift.

We live in an Age, wherein the World swarms with thefe Men-and-no-Men, who would be called Men, yea, and thought the only wife Men of the World too; and yet would have it believ'd, they have nothing in them, which makes one either a Man, or Wife. There are but few indeed that are Philofophers enough, to reason and difpute much about these Things; but there are enow, who have love enough for their Sins to wed them to fuch Opinions, be they right or wrong. Tho' they have not Wit enough to apprehend either the strength or weakness of

the

the Arguments wherewith they are are maintain'd.

We, who have taken upon us in good earnest the profeffion of Christian Religion, are content to be wife unto Sobriety; and to fubmit our felves to be taught of God, rather than by the World's Wife Men; who, by their ownWisdom know not God, tho' tho' they call us Fools for it. We willingly confefs, that we have not Wit enough to conceive how all Things in the World could come to be what, and as we fee them, without a wife and powerful Maker, which is God. Neither yet, whilft we feel fomething in us, thinking, and reasoning about Things past, prefent and to come, and contriving for the Happiness which we long for, and arguing for a God in our Breafts against our Lufts; dare we pretend to understand, how we fhould feel all this, without Souls; or how inanimate Matter can thus work of its felf. Yet, tho' we pretend not to fuch a measure of Wifdom, as to think our felves wiser than all that have been before us, who have fufficiently declared themselves convinced, both of the Existence of Souls diftinct from Bodies, and of the being of a Supreme Power, caufing and governing all things; we are loath to be fo much Fools, as to believe we are but a hanfomer fort of Brutes. So long as we have any ufe of Reason, we think it very reafonable we should use it, and judge of our felves, and of all things by the beft Light and Evidence we can come by. And feeing our bleffed JESUS hath reveal'd unto us things moft highly deferving of our notice, and moft ferious Thoughts, and hath given us the greatest Light into the misterious Things of God, and of our Selves too, that the World ever faw; and hath fo ftrongly confirm'd

the