with each other, and counts his Brothers Happiness his own: If this Man then were there, he would fee all thofe exalted, whom his Pride would make low; he would see them honoured, whom he would have defpifed; he would grieve and envy, fret and fume alone, and find them honour'd, and himself unpitied, and contemn'd to all Eternity.

Laftly, if a man is an Enemy of God, and an hater of Religion, if it has been his Practice to vilifie God's Saints, and to deride his Ordinances, to burlesque the Holy Scriptures, or to blafpheme the Deity; what content of heart think you could it be to him, to fee there is a God of utmost Majefty and Excellence, mighty and irresistible in power to reward his Saints, and as a flaming Fire to confume his Enemies? To fee, that Heaven and Hell, which he boldly and fecurely contemn'd as fabulous, are dreadful Realities? To fee what being Religious comes to, which he derided; and all good men fixt in height of Glory whom he had despised, and thence expect the miserable ftate of thofe men, who had fet themselves as he had done, to laugh God's Servants out of their Religion; or out-brave himself out of his Being?

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Being? Surely to fuch a Perfon, this fight of Heaven could be nothing less than the first Horrors and Amazements, the beginning and foretaste of Hell.

And thus it appears, that all the fins of Impiety towards God, of Pride, and Intemperance, of Envy, Hatred, Uncharitableness, and Unpeaceableness which take up in a manner, the whole Compafs of Tranfgreffions, are all fo many direct Hindrances, and utter Incapacities to our enjoying any Happiness in Heaven; they make us dead to all the Enjoyments, and wholly unfit for the Company of that place; For what Eccl. 13. Communication hath God with wickedness, 16,17, 18. what fellowship, faith the Apostle, hath righteousness with unrighteousness, what Communion bath light with darkness, 1 Cor. 6. 14. Nay the being in Heaven with all our fins unmortified about us, would not only deprive us of all the Happiness and Pleasure of that bleffed place; but it would also render it an un eafie ftate, and make Heaven it self become in part a Hell to us. For it would fill us as I have fhown with fhame and difcontent, with remorfe of mind, and grife of heart, with eternal Torment and Vexation.

As

As for this Reformation of our Lives and Natures, and Deliverance from fin, here then, it is plainly requifite and indifpenfiblely neceffary, to fit and capacitate us for any Enjoyments of Happiness in Heaven hereafter. And this the Scriptures plainly affirm concerning it. St. Paul tells us, That the Veffels of mercy, muft thro' that method of Faith and Repentance which God has prescribed, be prepared unto Glory, Rom. 9.23. And that God's delivering us from the power of darkness hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in light, Col. 1. 12, 13. And our Saviour fays exprefly, That except we put off the old man which is corrupted by finful Lufts, and be born again, we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, Joh. 3. 3.

This then is clear both from the Declarations of the Scripture, and the evidence of the thing, that a Life of Vertue is plainly neceffary to our future Happiness; and that our being faved from fin in this World; is indifpenfiblely requifite to our Salvation in the next. The eternal Life of Heaven is a Life, as I have shewn, that is after the likeness and fimilitude of God's; a Life of unfpotted Vertue, and compleat Goodness, that im

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plies

plies an entire Exemption, and moft abfolute Deliverance from all manner of fin. This Perfection and Compleatness of it we must expect in Heaven, whereas St. Paul fays, The Spirits of just men are made perfect, Heb. 12. 23. But as for the Life it felf, we must enter upon it, and begin it here. That Life of Vertue and Reformation, which we engage upon at our becoming Chriftians is that very Life which never ends, but which is to grow up to full degrees, and to be eternal in the Heavens. And therefore, the Scriptures as in refpect of the full Perfection and Fruition of it, which is to be had in the next World, they are wont to speak of it as a thing future; fo in refpect of that more imperfect Enjoyment, which we have of it in this World, they ufe fometimes to fpeak of it as a thing poffefs'd here. He that believes on me, faith our Saviour, hath eternal Life, Joh. 6.47. And again, Whofo eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood bath eternal life, Verfe 54. St. John bids them, That believe on the name of the Son of God, know that they have eternal life, 1 Joli. 5. 13. And that Grace or Goodnefs of Spirit, which our Saviour expreffed by water, Joh. 4. and which he bid the woman of Samaria to ask

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of him, Verse 10. he tells her, Shall be a Well of water Springing up to eternal life, Verse 14.

A Life of Vertue and Obedience then, is not only a neceffary Qualification for our Salvation, and eternal Life in Heaven; but in a degree it is that very Salvation and eternal Life it felf; our Deliverance from our fins, is not only the way to Happiness, but in an imperfect measure it is that very Happiness, whose perfection and compleat Degrees we are bid to hope for in Heaven.TheMifery that befell us all in Adam, was our falling from God's image, wherein he and all his Holy Angels are infinitely Happy; and that Happiness and Salvation which is promised to us in Chrift, is our Restoration to it. So that as for the Promises of God, 'tis clear from them, that the great Salvation which they are defigned for is this Deliverance from our fins; fince all other promised Bleffings are made to depend upon it, fince it is not poffible they hould be had without it; nay, fince this Deliverance is the chief promis'd Mercy, and even Happiness, and eternal Life it felf; and as to the third part of the Gofpel, I proposed to speak to

viz.

Thirdly,