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thy State, or no; yet, if thou art but willing and diligent, thou mayit know thyself, whether thou art an Heir of Heaven or not. 'Tis the main Thing I defire, that if thou art yet miferable, thou mayst difcern and escape it. But how canft thou efcape, if thou neglect Chrift and Salvation? 'Tis as impoffible, as for the Devils themselves to be faved. Nay, God has more plainly and frequently spoken it in Scripture of fuch Sinners as thou art, than he has of the Devils. Methinks a Sight of thy Cafe fhould strike thee with Amazement and Horror. When Belshaz zar faw the Fingers of a Man's Hand that wrote upon the Wall, his Countenance was changed, and bis Thoughts troubled him, fo that the Feints of his Loins were loofed, and his Knees fmote one against another (b):~ What Trembling then fhould feize on thee, who haft the Hand of God himself against thee, not in a Sentence or two, but in the very Scope of the Scriptures, threatening the Lofs of an everlasting Kingdom? Becaufe I would fain have thee lay it to Heart, I will fhew thee the Nature of thy Lofs of Heaven,-together with its Aggravations.

§ 2. (1.) IN their Lofs of Heaven the Ungodly lofe -the Saint's perfonal Perfection,-God himself,-all delightful Affections towards God, and the bleed Society of Angels and Saints.

$3. (1.) The glorious perfonal Perfection which the Saints enjoy in Heaven, is the great Lofs of the Ungodly. They lofe that fhining Luftre of the Body, furpaffing the Brightnefs of the Sun at Noon-Day. Though the Bodies of the Wicked will be raised more Spiritual than they were upon Earth, yet that will only make them capable of the more exquifite Torments. They would be glad then, if every Member were a dead Member, that it might not feel the Punish

(b) Dan v. 5, 6,

Punishment inflicted on it; and if the whole Body were a rotten Carcase, or might lie down again in the Duft. Much more do they want that moral Perfection which the Bleffed partake of; thofe holy Difpofitions of Mind; that chearful Readinefs to do the Will of God; that perfect Rectitude of all their Actions. Inftead of thefe, they have that Perversenefs of Will, that Loathing of Good, that Love to Evil, that Violence of Paffion, which they had on Earth. 'Tis true, their Understandings will be much cleared by the ceafing of former Temptations, andexperiencing the Falfhood of former Delufions. But they have the fame Difpofitions ftill; and fain would they commit the fame Sins, if they could; they want but Opportunity. There will be a greater Difference' between these Wretches, and the glorified Chriftian, than there is betwixt a Toad, and the Sun in the Firmament. The rich Man's Purple, and fine Linen, and fumptuous Fare, did not fo exalt him above Lazarus, while at bis Gate full of Sores.

$4. (2) THEY fhall have no comfortable Relation to God, nor Communion with him. As they did not like to retain God in their Knowledge; but faid unto him, Depart from us, for we defire not the Knowledge of thy Ways; to God will abhor to retain them in his Houfehold. He will never admit them to the Inheritance of his Saints, nor endure them to ftand in his Prefence, but will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me ye that work Iniquity. They are ready now to lay as confident Claim to Chrift and Heaven, as if they were fincere believing Saints. The Swearer, the Drunkard, the Whoremafter, the Worldling, can fay, Is not God our Father, as well as yours ? But when Chrift feparates his Followers from his Foes, and his faithful Friends from his deceived Flatterers, where then will be their prefumptuous Claim?. Es

Then

Then they fhall find, that God is not their Father, because they would not be his People. As they would not consent that God by his Spirit fhould dwell in them, fo the Tabernacle of Wickednefs fhall have no Fellowship with him, nor the Wicked inhabit the City of God. Only they that walked with God here, fhall live and be happy with him in Heaven. Little does the World know what a Lofs that Soul hath, who lofes God! What a Dungeon would Earth be, if it had loft the Sun? What a loath fome Carrion the Body, if it had loft the Soul? Yet all thefe are nothing to the Lofs of God. As the Enjoyment of God is the Heaven of the Saints, fo the Lofs of God is the Hell of the Ungodly. And as the enjoying of God is the enjoying of All, fo the Lofs of God is the Lofs of All.

$5 (3) THEY alfo lofe all delightful Affections towards God. That tranfporting Knowledge; thofe delightful Views of his glorious Face; the unconceivable Pleasure of loving him; the Apprehenfions of his infinite Love to us; the conftant Joys of his Saints; and the Rivers of Confolation with which he fatisfies them. Is it nothing to lofe all this? The Employment of a King in ruling a Kingdom, does not fo far exceed that of the vileft Slave, as this heavenly Employment exceeds that of an earthly King. God fuits Men's Employments to their Natures. Your Hearts, Sinners, were never fet upon God in ̧ your Lives, never warmed with, his Love, never longed after the Enjoyment of him; you had no De-. light in fpeaking or hearing of him; you ad rather have continued on Earth, if you had known how, than be interested in the glorious Praifes of God. Is it meet then that you fhould be Members of the ce Jeflial Choir ?

$6. (4) THEY fhall be deprived of the bleffed Society of Angels and glorified Saints. Inftead of being Companions of thofe happy Spirits, and numbered with those triumphant Kings, they must be Members of the Corporation of Hell, where they fhall have Companions of a far different Nature and Quality. Scorning and abufing the Saints, hating then, and rejoicing in their Calamities, was not the Way to obtain their Bleffednefs. Now you are fhut out of that Company, from which you firft fhut out yourfelves; and are feparated from them, with whom you would not be joined. You could not endure them in your Houfes, nor Towns, nor fcarce in the Kingdom. You took them, as Ahab did Elijah, for the Troublers of the Land; and, as the Apoftles were taken, for Men that turned the IVorld upside down. If any Thing fell out amifs, you thought all was owing to them. When they were dead or banished, you were glad they were gone, and thought the Country well rid of them. They molefted you by faithfully reproving your Sins. Their holy Converfation troubled. your Confciences, to fee them fo far excel you. It was a Vexation to you, to hear them pray or fing Praises in their Families, And is it any Wonder it you be feparated from them hereafter? The Day is near when they will trouble you no more. Betwixt them and you will be a great Gulf fixed. Even in this Life, while the Saints were mocked, deftitute, afflicted, tormented, and while they had their perfonal Imperfactions; yet, in the Judgment of the Holy Ghoft, they were fuch of whom the World was not worthy (c). Much more unworthy will the World be of their Fellowship in Glory.

$7. (I) I KNOW many will be ready to think, they could fpare thefe Things in this World well.

E 6

enough,

(0) Heh, X, 36--33..

enough, and why may they not be without them in the World to come? Therefore to fhew them that this Lofs of Heaven will then be moft tormenting, let them now confider,- their Underftandings will be cleared to know their Lofs,and have more enlarged Apprehenfions concerning it,their Confciences will make a clofer Application of it to themselves,their Affections will no longer be ftupified,nor their Me

mories be treacherous.

§8. (1) The Understandings of the Ungodly will then be cleared, to know the Vorth of that which they have loft. Now they lament not their Lofs of God, because they never knew His Excellence; nor the Lofs of that holy Employment and Society, for they were never fenfible what they were worth. A Man that has loft a Jewel, and took it but for a common Stone, is never troubled. at his Lofs; but when he comes to know what he loft, then he laments it. Though the Underftandings of the Damned will not be fanctified, yet they will be cleared from a Multitude of Errors, They now think that their Honours, Eftates, Pleafures, Health, and Life, are better worth their Labour, than the Things of another World;, but when these Things have left them in Mifery, when they experi ence the Things which before they did but read and hear of, they will be of another Mind. They would not believe that Water would drown, till they were in the Sea; nor the Fire burn, till they were caft into it; but when they feel, they will eafily believe. All that Error of Mind which made them fet light by God, and abhor his Worfhip, and vilify his People, will then be confuted and removed by Experience.. Their Knowledge fall be increafed, that their SorJows may be increafed. Poor Souls! they would comparatively be happy if their Understandings were wholly taken from them, if they had no more Know

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