8. Good Men living in Obedience to God, may fuffer great Affliction in this World, fo long as they live in it; and evil Men difobeying God, may live all their Life-time in great Profperity.

9. Good Men after Death fhall be for ever comforted, and bad Men after Death fhall be for ever tormented.

When we are told of fuch Things as thefe, one would think it almoft an impoffible thing, that any one who hath any ufe of his reafon left him, should so behave himself, as if he were unconcerned whether they be true or falfe. Now thefe Things (as will appear anon) are all very plainly told us in this Parable, by that great God, who in condiscension to the Infirmities of our humane Nature, was graciously pleafed in our Flesh to dwell (as in a Tabernacle) amongst us, that he might the more familiarly inftruct us; and to bumble bimfelf to Death, even the Death of the Cross, that he might Jave us; and to declare himself the Son of God with Power, by his Refurrection from the Dead, to convince us of the Truth of all that he hath taught us. He, I fay, whose Business into this lower World was, in moft tender Compaffion to us finful Men, to redcem us from Death by his precious Blood, to bring Life and Immortality to light through his Gofpel, to make for us, and fhew unto us both by his Life and Doctrine the way to Blessedness, even He, the Glorieus God, and our moft Gracious Saviour, hath told us thefe Things, and confirmed the Truth of all that he hath told us by many Miracles. And yet fo brutifh and ftupid have our Lufts made a great many of us, that we live as regardless of all that he hath told us, as if they

were

were the verieft trifles in the World, fuch as deferve not our enquiry,or fo much as a ferious Thought. But if nothing in the time of our Health and Profperity will awake us to a ferious Confideration of the Things which belong unto our eternal Peace, whilft we have time before us to make fure of them; Sickness and Affliction poffibly may ftartle us into fad Fears and Doubts, what will become of us when we Die? And we fhall not then be able our felves, nor any other for us, to fpeak peace to our diftracted Souls and Confciences, which now we make a fhift one way or other to lay faft a fleep. However, the flames of Hell will bring us to our Feeling, when all peace fhall be hid from our Eyes, and our Confciences be everlastingly ftung and tortured with Horror and Defpair.

To make us the more fenfible of these Things now in time, whilft the Sof them may do us Sense good, and move us to Repentance, and to fuch a Behaviour in this World, as may fit us for the bleffedness of the World to come; our Blessed and Merciful JESUS hath in this Parable, as it were painted them out in most lively Colours, as on a Table or Picture, wherein the Images of them are very fairly represented to our Eyes. Here we fee two Men in very different Garbs and Po ftures. These two are both Jews, the Sons of Abraham according to the Flesh; both of the Synagogue, profeffing one and the fame Religion; and both vifible Members of the true Church of God, under the Miniftry of Mofes, and the Prophets. But the one of thefe is a good Man, and the other a very wicked one. The wicked Man, is a rich Man, flourishing in Profperity, and swiming in carnal Pleafures. Lo, here he fits in his ftately

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ftately Palace, fplendidly cloathed in Purple and fine Linnen; and hath his Table richly furnished with whatever may please the Palate, pamper his Body, and feed his Lufts; he knows not what either hunger or fafting mean, but fareth Sumptuously every Day. The good and pious Man is not in this plentiful and healthful Condition, but is a very Beggar; his name is Lazarus, as much as to fay, God help him, poor Man, for 'tis plain he has but few Friends, that are either able or willing to do much for him, elfe would he not lye in that Pofture yonder without, where they have laid him for an Alms, at the rich Man's Gate; with a difeafed Body full of Sores and an empty Belly defiring to be fed; not with Dainties, no, he would be glad of any small thing, even the Crumbs and Scraps, which fall from the rich Man's Table, the Off-falls which thofe Dogs are fed withal, which now lick his Sores, and add to his Affliction. Thus in this Life, is often feen, that all Things are with wicked Men, even according to their own Hearts deûre, and they feem to be the very Darlings and Favourites of Heaven; whilst the pious Man that feareth God lies in greatest Misery, as if he were the only Object of God's Difpleafore, and not thought worthy of fo good an Entertainment in this World, as that which rich Men's Dogs do find.

But we must not ftop here; fee there how the Scene is changed. See I fay, how the poor Beggar fmiles at Death, and welcomes his feafonable approach with these triumphant Words, O Death where is thy Sting? See where his ulcerous Body lyeth, he careth not where; let the Dogs tear it, or the Grave fwallow it up; his

Soul

Soul is got out of Prison, and is convey'd by a number of the heavenly Hoft, the glorious Angels of God, into the Bofom of bleffed Abraham. Nor doth the rich Man long out-live him. See where Death has flung him yonder to the Heart, ftrip'd him of all his Purple and fine Linnen, removed out of his fight all his fumptuous Fare; and put a fad end to all his Days of Feafting, carrying him out of his brave Palace into a Bed of Duft, and ferving up his pampered Body for the Worms to feed upon,thus putting an end to all his Wealth, and Joy, and Glory, at once.

But now obferve and tremble: Whilft this rich Man's Body is here as we fee carried to the Grave, his Soul is reprefented to us yonder in another place; the fame rich Man is both buried in the Earth, and fcorched in Flames; his Body is in his Sepulchre, his Soul is in Hell. Whatever he thought before, he now feels, that he hath a Soul; a Soul that died not, but was only parted from the Body by Death; and now to his forrow, it fleeps not neither, nor lyeth infenfible of his State: For as low as it is funk into Hell, it is fenfible, that Abraham is exalted far above it into a State of Glory, and that the lately despised Lazarus is at rest in his Bofom. He is fenfible, even whilst his Body feels no more than the Earth or Stones about it, of Torments in Hell; and fain he would have eafe, yea, ease by any Hand; yea, he would kifs the ulcerous Hand of poor fcorned Lazarous, for the leaft Refreshment. A drop of Water falling on his Tongue from the tip of Lazarus, his Finger, would now be sweeter to him, than all his fumptuous Fare was in his Life-time. Sasche hath, and

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earne

earneft longings of Soul, but all to no purpose but to Torment him.

For fee, how little he prevails by beging of Father Abraham; no more than Lazarus did by beging of him before. 'Tis harder now for him to obtain of Abraham a drop of Water,than it was for Lazarus to obtain of him a Crumb of Bread. All that Father Abraham above can now do for his Son in Hell, is to add to his Torments by rubbing up his Memory. Son (faith he) remember. He muft in Hell be fenfible, not only of his present Torments; but to encrease them of his paft Enjoyments too, and of the Impoffibility he is now under of enjoying the leaft good thing for the future. He must not now forget, tho fain he would, how he demeaned himself in his Life-time, how vainly he wafted his Time whilst he had it; what ill Ufe he made of the many good Things he then poffeffed; how foolishly he chofe for himself in making thofe Things his Portion. He must be caft into defpair, by the fight of that unpalable Gulf that is fixed betwixt bim, and all the leaft Degrees of Comfort; betwixt Lazarus, and all the least Degrees of Sorrow or Disturbance.

Neither is all this enough, to fhew us the wicked Man's miferable Condition in Hell. He is only fenfible of his own lofs and pain, and tormented at once with longings and defpair of bettering his fad Condition; but he is also perplexed with dismal Apprehenfions of the great Danger of his five Brethrens falling into the fame. Thefe he had left behind him on the Earth, and now he knows, what neither be nor they would confider before, That unless they repent in time,

they