do men employ to reach a little knowledge, and be reckoned amongst the learned? And shall heaven and everlasting happiness slide into our arms when we are asleep? No, certainly. God will never disparage the glories of that place, to bestow them on those who have not thought them worthy of their most serious endeavours. But as the greatness of that happiness may justly discourage all the lazy pretenders to it, so the nature of it leaves small ground of hope to the greatest part of the world. I wonder what most men do expect to meet with in heaven, who dream of coming thither. Think they to feast and revel, and luxuriate there, and to spend eternity in foolish mirth, and vain talk; in sport and drollery, and sensual pleasure; which are all the exercises they are capable of, or find relish or satisfaction in? Away with all those Turkish notions, whereby we disparage the happiness we pretend to. The joys of that place are pure and spiritual, and no unclean thing shall enter there. The felicity of blessed spirits standeth in beholding and admiring the divine perfections, and finding the image of them shining in themselves, in a perfect conformity of the will and nature of God, and an intimate and delightful society and communion with him: and shall such souls be blessed in seeing and partaking of the divine likeness, who never loved it, and would choose any thing rather than to converse with him? A little reflection on the common temper of men's minds may assure us, that they are very far from that meetness and aptitude for the inheritance of the saints in light which the Apostle speaks of. The notion and nature of blessedness must sure be changed, or else the temper of their spirits: either they must have new hearts, or a new heaven created for them, before they can be happy. It is a strange infatuation of self love, that men in the gall of bitterness should think it is well with their souls, and fancy themselves in a case good enough for the enjoyment of divine pleasures.

In the fourth place, Let us reflect on the attempts and endeavours of those who have gone to heaven be

fore us; how they did fight and strive, wrestle and run, for obtaining that glorious prize; and we shall see how improbable it is, that the greatest part of men should come by it with so little pains. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and all those ancient worthies recorded in holy writ, have either done or suffered so great things, as gave ground to expect that country they looked after, accounting themselves strangers and pilgrims on the earth; as you may see in the 11th chapter of Hebrews: where, after a large catalogue of their performances, the author tells us of others, who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trial of cruel mockings, and scourgings, yea moreover, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheep-skins, and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented: of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Such also was that holy violence wherewith the Christians of the first and golden ages did force open the gates of heaven, and took possession of it. The ardent affection wherewith these blessed souls were inflamed towards their maker and redeemer, made them willingly give up their bodies to be burned in the fire, for the glory of God, and the propagation of the Christian faith. Their constancy in their sufferings did amaze their bloody persecutors, and outweary the cruelty of their tormentors: and they rejoiced in nothing more, than that they were accounted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. And what shall we say of their universal charity and love, which reached their very enemies? of their humility and meekness, justice and temperance, and all those other virtues which many of the Heathens themselves did observe and admire? Behold, saith one, how the Christians love one another! These are the men, saith another, who speak as they think, and do as they speak. Pliny, after an exact inquiry, writeth to Trajan the Emperor, That he could never find any other guilt in the

Christians, but that they met together before daybreak, to sing a hymn to Christ, as if he were God; and then to bind themselves with a sacrament or oath, not to do any mischief; but, on the contrary, that they shall not rob, steal, or commit adultery, or falsify their words, or deny their trust, &c. This was the crime of Christians in those first ages, to engage themselves not to commit any crime. And if it fell out that any of them were guilty of drunkenness, or uncleanness, or any other of those sins, which, alas! are so lightly censured in our days, they were severely punished: nay, how bitterly did themselves lament it! They needed not in those days to be pursued by tedious processes, or dragged against their will to the profession of their repentance. They would sue for it with tears, and stand many years at the door of the church, begging to be received. The censures of the church were then looked upon as very serious and dreadful things: and they who would encounter death in the most terrible form, would tremble if threatened with excommunication. Now, tell me, I pray you, what you think of these men? Did they supererogate, and go beyond their duty? or were they fools in doing these things, when half the pains might have served the turn? Did heaven and happiness cost them so much labour, and think you to be carried fast asleep, or rather while you are bending your forces quite another way! If you cannot look so far back, or if you imagine these but romances, like the poetic accounts of the golden age, wherein all men were happy and good, I shall then desire you to take notice of a few persons, whom the divine goodness hath rescued from that deluge of wickedness which overfloweth the world. There are perhaps some two or three in a city, or in a country, who live very far beyond the common rate of men, and may be accounted angels upon earth, if compared with them. They have escaped the pollution that is in the world, and have learned to despise all the vanities of it; their affections are above, and their greatest business is, to please and serve their maker; their thoughts and affections are in

a great measure holy and pure, their converse innocent and useful, and in their whole deportment they observe such strict rules of holiness and virtue, as others may think needless or superstitious: and yet these persons are deeply sensible of their own imperfections, and afraid enough to come short of heaven. I speak not now of those scrupulous persons whom melancholy doth expose unto perpetual and unaccountable fears; much less of others, who make a trade of complaining, and would be the better thought of for speaking evil of themselves, and would be very ill pleased if you should believe them. I speak of rational and sober men, whose fears arise from their due consideration and measures of things, from the right apprehensions they have of the holiness of God, and the meaning and importance of the gospel-precepts. And certainly such holy jealousies over themselves ought not to be judged needless; since St. Paul himself, who had been rapt up into the third heaven, and thereby received an earnest of eternal happiness, found it necessary to take care, lest that by any means, while he preached to others, himself should be a cast-away. I know it is ordinary for men to laugh at those who are more serious and conscientious than themselves, to wonder what they aim at, and to hope to be as sure of heaven as they. But ere long they shall discover their mistake, and shall say, with those spoken of in the book of Wisdom, This was he whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach. We fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honour. How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints! Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us.

To come yet closer unto our present purpose, a serious consideration of the laws and precepts of the gospel, will fully convince us of the straightness of the gate, and narrowness of the way that leads unto eternal life. We cannot name them all, nor insist upon an at length. Look through that excellent sermon on

the mount, and see what our Saviour doth require of his followers. You will find him injoining such a profound humility, as shall make us think nothing of ourselves, and be content that others think nothing of us; a meekness which no injuries can overcome, no affronts nor indignities can exasperate; a chastity which restraineth the sight of the eyes, and the wandering of the desires; such an universal charity as will make us tender other men's welfare as our own, and never to take any revenge against our most bitter enemies, but to wish them well, and to do them all the good we can, whether they will or not. Whatever corrupt glosses men are bold to put on our Saviour's words, the offering the other cheek to him who smote the one, and the giving our coat to him who hath taken our cloak, doth oblige us to suffer injuries, and part with something of our right, for avoiding strife and contention. The pulling out our right eye and cutting off our right hand that offends, doth import the renouncing of the most gainful callings, or pleasant enjoyments, when they become a snare unto us, and the use of all those corporal austerities that are necessary for the restraint of our lust and corrupt affections. The hating of father and mother for the sake of Christ, doth at least imply the loving of him infinitely beyond our dearest relations, and the being ready to part with them when either our duty or his will doth call for it. And we must not look upon these things as only counsels of perfection, commendable in themselves, but which may yet be neglected without any great hazard. No, certainly; they are absolutely necessary: and it is folly to expect happiness, without the conscientious and sincere performance of them all. Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; that is, according to all interpreters, he shall have no interest in it. see then by what strict rules he must square his actions, who can with any ground hope to be saved. But now I must tell you further; that he must not be put to the performance of his duty merely by the force and sanc

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