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ous enough. What is it then to fee another feasting himself on the things which he always loved beft, whilft we famifh? But who can imagine the troublefome and fretting thoughts which prey on the proud Gentleman's Soul, when he fees a poor defpifed and fcorned Beggar advanced to the greatest height of honour and happiness; whilft he is caft down into the depth of difgrace and mifery? For the rich man to lie fo far below poor leprous Lazarus, who was wont to lie among his dogs, this must needs grind him to the heart. How do his pride, and envy, and spite, now all fly upon him, and tear his Soul?

2. He faw Abraham, it was torment enough to him to fee Lazarus fo advanced; What is it to fee Abraham too? Abraham, I fay, entertaining Lazarus in his bofome, ufing him as his darling, and beft beloved? Of what was this Rich-man, and fuch as he, wont to boaft more loudly than of this, that they derived their Pedigree from Abraham? Father Abraham they had in their mouth on every occafion. We, fay they to our bleffed Saviour, have Abraham to our Father. We be Abraham's Seed, and were never in bondage, Joh. 8. 33. What telleft thou us of making us free? How did all the Jews glory over other men, as dogs and unclean things, unfit for their Company, or God's mercy, on this account, that they were defcended from the Loins of Abraham? Yea, fo much they valued themfelves upon this point of boncur, that they thought it not worth their while to hearken to the bleffed Saviour of the World calling them to Repentance, that they might be faved. What could they have to repent of? What was there for them to be faved from? What better Condition could they be

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put into by Chrift, than that they were in already, by their being the Seed of Abraham, who had the fure Promife of a Blessing on Himself, and on his Seed for ever? God had made an everlafting Covenant with Abraham, and with his Seed after him, and this Covenant was Confirm'd to them by the Sacrament of Circumcifion, and therefore why fhould they fear that they could ever want a Bleffing? But alafs, this vain confidence. of the Rich-man could not keep him out of Hell when he died. There, indeed, he had a fight, of Abraham, but fuch a fight as little pleafed him; a fight that undeceived him to his eternal forrow. He faw Abraham, but it was both above, and a far off; so far above he faw him, that it was in vain for him to hope, that he should ever come near him, or receive any good from him. Now he found what good his vain boasting had done him, and faw his Error and Miftake when it was too late. He did not err in that he believed a Blessing was intail'd on Abraham's feed but he erred concerning the Seed of Abraham on whom it was entail'd, and in the Bleffing too, which was entail'd upon that Seed of Abraham. He thought the Bleffing had been a temporal Blef fing on Earth, and that the Meffiah, who was to be of the Seed of Abraham, would restore again the Kingdom to Ifrael, and make fuch as he was Lords of the World; that fo he might have lived like a Gentleman ftill, eating the Fat, and drinking the Sweetnefs of the Earth, and leaving a large Inheritance to his Children to fare as Sumptuously on as he had done. And if it had been fo, then had he been mistaken in this too, that he thought himself to have a better Right to all this than Lazarus had, seeing Lazarus wasof the

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Seed

Seed of Abraham as well as be, and on that account must have as good a right to fare fumptuonfly on the good things of the World as he had done. But befides this, he now faw how little he understood what the Seed of Abraham was: He knew not how to diftinguish between the natural and spiritual Seed of Abraham, nor what Bleffings belonged to each of them. How that, not because they are the Seed of Abraham, are they therefore all Children. They which are the Children of the Flesh, thefe are not the Children of God; but the Children of the Promife are counted for the Seed, Rom. 9. 7, 8. They who are of the faith, the fame are the Children of Abraham, and are bleffed with faithful Abraham, Rom. 3. 7. 9. And this Faith it was, as was faid before, that placed Lazarus in Abraham's bofome.

How muft now this fight of Abraham a far off, fting the Soul of the Rich man in Hell? It could not but put him in mind of the dignity whence he was irrecoverably fallen, and of the happiness which he might now have had, if he had been as wife as Lazarus, and behav'd himself in this World, as became a Child of Abraham. He must now needs fadly fret within himself, and grow mad with reflecting on his own Folly. To call to mind what once he was, and what he always might have been; and then to feel what now he is, and is like to be for ever; to think with himself, that he was born of fuch a Father, and capable of fo Glorious an Inheritance; and now to find, that he hath not only loft that Bleffed ftate, but is caft down to Hell, among Devils, to be tormented with them to all Eternity; how must he for this begin to curfe himself, and all his wretched Companions, that footb'd him up, and encourag'd him in,or tempted

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him to fo great a madness ? O, ( might he now fay too late) that as I deriv'd my Being from that bleffed Man, whom now I fee in fo great blessed

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I had also had the Wisdom to have imitated his Faith, and Holiness of Life too! O, that I durft have trufted God as he did, and as Lazarus had learn'd of him to do! O, that I had had his Charity, and had as liberally entertain'd Lazarus, as he was wont to entertain Strangers when they came where he was! O, that I had been perfect before God with that happy Man, then had I never come into this place of Torment!

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Let us here leave this Rich Man tormenting himself with the fight of that Blessedness, which once he might have made fure to himself, but now can never hope to enjoy; and learn to be wifer for our selves whilft we may. Was it fuch a killing fight to him to fee Abraham above, and Lazarus, poor despised Lazarus in his Bofome? Did this unwelcome fight torment him by bringing to his remembrance his own Folly, and his inhumane Ufage, and proud difdaining of that poor Soul often lying at his Gare hungring for his Alms? Did he now curfe the Day, that ever he was fo churlish to that good Beggar, as to fuffer him to depart hungry and naked from his Gate? Let then every unmerciful Heart among us confider this, and think with our felves, if we were brought into the Rich Man's Condition in Hell, what we would then give, that all our Sins, and this of unmercifulness especially, were blotted out both of God's, and our Remembrance; and that they might no longer baunt and torment us. Let us in time change that courfe of Life, which will be fure to make not only our own paft Sins, but other Men's happiness our Tormentors. We fhould

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do well to remember now what we are told will then do us no better Service, to remember how pleafant foever it be yet to us, but add to our Torments.

It will then be a great Torment to our proud Spirits, to find that we are brought into fo low and vile a Condition, that no other Company, but that of Devils, is thought fit for us.

It will more torment us ftill, to fee thofe whom we have most defpifed for their low Eftare, and mean Condition in this World, very highly advanced in Honour above us. Then fhall we fay to our felves with those whose Words we read. Wild. v.1. &c. Then fhall the Righteous Man ftand in great boldness, before the Face of fuch as have afflicted him, and make no account of his Labours. When they fee it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his Salvation, fo far beyond all that they looked for. And they repenting, and groaning for anguish of Spirit, fhall fay within themselves. This was he, whom we had fometimes in Derifion, and a Proverb of Reproach. We Fools accounted his Life madness, and his end to be without Honour. How is be number'd the Children of God, and his Lot is among the Saints. Therefore have we erred from the way of Truth, and the Light of Righteoufnefs hath not shined unto us, and the Sun of Righteousness rofe not upon us. We wearied our felves in the way of Wickedness and Destruction; yea, we have gone through Deferts where there lay no way; but as for the way of the Lord we have not known it. What bath Pride profited us? Or what Good bath Riches with our vaunting brought us?

Iamon?

This will yet more torment us, that we shall not be able to forget, but must have always in our remembrance

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