up

in Robes of Flame; and had heard his, lamentable cries, and all to no purpofe, for one drop, of cold water; would be able to tell his Brethren this tragical News, with fuch mournful and penetrating accents of Sorrow and Horror; that they could not chufe but feel their Hearts molting within them, by the bare relation of the tormenting heat he endur'd. They must needs weep themselves into repentance, whilft they wept to hear of their Brother's miferable condition, wherein he now was, only for living as they did. And yet more efpecially, when Lazarus should let them understand, that, it was at their tormented Brother's earnest request, that he was now fent to give them timely warning to repent, left they come into his fad Condition. That the fearful apprehenfion of their coming into the fame Torments, was no inconfiderable part of the Torments he now endured, and therefore if they had any kindness for him, who could not in Hell forget his natural affection to them, they would, if not for their own fafety, yet for his fake, and to give him what cafe they might, repent of their Sins. However, he muft let them know, that they had no other way of escaping those Torments into which, otherwife, they muft very fhortly come, but to repent fpeedily. And if they would not take this fair warning, which he, at their Brother's fuit, was now fent to give them, when they came to Hell, befides all the Torments that the Devils would there exercife them with, they would there every one of them help to torment their Brethren, and fo fhould eve ry one for ever feel the Torments of Six.

Such

Such thoughts as thefe we may fuppofe, and what elfe I know not, might make this wicked Sout fo defirous to have Eazarus fent to his Bréthren. The damned in Hell do know, how hardly foever the wicked on Earth are brought to believe it, that there is no escaping of Hell torments, but by a timely repentance. And 'tis evident, that wicked Men do therefore continue in their impenitence, because they do not fo firmly believe, either that there fhall be fuch Torments, or that a finful Life will certainly bring them into them at laft, as to make them afraid of them, and cautious how they venture upon them. And the reafon again why they do not give fuch credit to these things as it concerns them to do, is because they are too little ferious, and do not feriously confider either the weight of the Matters commended to their belief, or the Revelation which God hath made of them in his Word, or the motives of Credibility which that divine Revelation brings along with it: And hence they complain of a want of fufficient Evidence, only because they will not confider either the evidence that they have, or what ought to be held fufficient in fuch a cafe. And lastly, the reason why they are not ferious, and confider all this fo little, is, because they have addicted themfelves wholly to the Pleafures of the World, and have yielded fo much to their Lufts, that they have little or no ufe of their Reafon in any thing, wherein their Lufts, and carnal Appetites, command obedience. They are in too much hafte to fulfil the Lufts of the Flefh, to which, in a little time, they become perfect Slaves, fo that they cannot af ford themselves time enough to confider. Un

lefe

lefs therefore, by fomething extraordinary, this kind of Men be terrified from the pursuit of their carnal Pleasures, and fo awakened out of their fecurity, that they begin to grow a little ferious, and to think well what will become of them, they are hardly ever cured of their folly. To bring his Brethren therefore to this, the wicked Man in Hell is fo importunate to have one fent unto them from the dead. But tho' he could have prevailed to have this done, yet how much he was out in his aim, and how little it would have availed his Brethren, we shall learn from Abrabam's final Anfwer, which comes now to be confidered.

LUKE

And he faid unto him, If they hear not Mofes and the Prophets, neither will they be perJuaded, tho' one rofe from the Dead,

TH

HIS is Abraham's final Anfwer to the RichMan's importunate Petition, and a peremptory rejection of his Project for faving his five Brethren from the torments he was in. And in this Anfwer, he doth as good as tell him very plainly, what we are all concern'd to take notice of, That they who believe not the Holy Scriptures, and are not perfuaded to repent, by fuch Arguments as God hath been pleas'd by his Holy Pen men there to make ufe of, will never be perfuaded by any other means whatfoever. This will now, I hope, be made very plain unto us, by contidering the reafonableness of Abraham's Anfwer, what farther evidence imaginable can any one defire of the things commended to our Faith in the Holy Scripture, which is that we call Divine Revelation, and if it be truth, is fo; and confequently of his intereft and concern to govern himself in all things by it, befides that which he hath already; but only the teftimony

of

of one from the Dead? This, indeed, which the Rich Man in Hell is here fuppos'd to defire, in behalf of his Brethren, is the fame thing which I have heard more than once demanded by fome, too much of this temper and manner of Life, when they have been advis'd to repent and change their vain way of living. This World (faid they we know, we live in it, and we taft of the good things of it, and we now live in Health and Plenty, and as we defire to do. But what that other World you talk of is, we know not, nor' can you tell us. We have, indeed, read and heard of it, but from fuch as knew it as little as we do. Who, I pray, ever came from the other World to affure us what is there to be found, or how it fares with them that are gone thither, and what kind of Entertainment they have there met withal? Bring us once fuch an one to testify of thofe things you speak of, and we will do as you would have us. In the mean time, one Bird in the Hand is worth two in the Bufh, we will take what good we can of what we have, and not famifh now in expectation of plenty, no body can tell where. Thefe would have one fent from the Dead to teftify. But if the Holy Scripture will not perfuade to repentance, nothing in the World will do it.

To clear this we are to confider these things following.

Firft, We have to confider, What kind of Per-1 fons they are, who are to be perfuaded. They are fuch as have not repented of their Sins, and with out repentance must go to Hell The butinefs