And when we come to die, and can with Joy and Triumph, in the Affurance of God's Promises, commend our Spirits to him, and truft him with our Souls, when we know not the Country we go to, and never experienced what the Happinefs of it is, without any Concern or Sollicitude about it; this is a noble Act of Faith, which does great Honour to God, and conquers all the natural Averfions to Death, and makes it an easy Thing to leave this World, and the Object of our Defire and Choice, to see that promised Land, and taste those Pleasures which we are yet Strangers to. We muft live and we muft die in the Faith too, as the Patriarchs did, who all died in Faith, not having received the Promifes, but feeing them afar off. And for that Reafon, the other World must be in a great Measure unknown to us; for could we fee it, could we before-hand tafte the Pleasures of it, or know what they are, it would be no Act of Faith to leave this World for it, to be willing to be tranflated from Earth to Heaven: But no Man is worthy of Heaven, who dares not take God's Word for it; and therefore God has concealed thofe Glories from us, and given us only a Premife of a great, but an unknown Happiness, for the Object of our Hope, to be a Trial of our Faith, and Obedience, and Truft in him.

That the other World is an unknown State to us, trains us up to a great Truft and Confidence in God: For we muft truft God for our Souls, and for the next World; and this naturally teaches us to truft God in this World too, to live fecurely upon his Providence, and to fuffer him to difpofe of us as he pleases.

Indeed, no Man can truft God in this World, who has not a stedfaft Faith in God, for the Rewards of

the

the next. For the external Administrations of of Providence are not always what we could wish; but good Men are very well contented, and have great Reason to be fo, to take this World, and the next together; and therefore are not follicitous about prefent Things, but leave God to chufe what Condition for them he pleases, as being well affured of his Goodness, who has prepared for them eternal Rewards:

And those who can trust God with their Souls, who can truft him for an immortal Life, for an unfeen and unknown Happinefs, will find no Difficulty in trufting him for this World; I mean those who are concerned for their future Happiness, and take any Care of their Souls. If all who are unconcerned for their Souls, and never trouble their Heads what will become of them hereafter, may be faid to truft God with their Souls, then, I confefs, this will not hold true; for the greatest Number of those who thus truft God with their Souls, will truft him for nothing else. But this is not to truft God, but to be careless of our Souls. But now, when a Man who ftedfaftly believes another Life after this, and is heartily concerned what will become of him for ever, can fecurely rely on God's Promises, beyond his own Knowledge and Profpect of Things; he will very eafily truft God for every Thing elfe: For he is not fo follicitous about any Thing in this World, as he is for his Soul; and if he can trust God with his dearest Interefts, furely he will truft him in lefs Matters. The Promises of eternal Life, through our Lord Jefus Chrift, are the highest Demonftrations of God's Love to us; and he who is fo well affured of God's Love that he can trust him for Heaven, can never distrust his Care and Providence in this World. The Methods

of God's Provcdence can never be fo unknown to us in this World, as the State of the other World is unknown: And if we can chearfully follow God into an unseen and unknown World, cannot we be contented to follow him through the most dark and perplexed Tracks of Providence here? So that we have as little Reafon to complain, that the State of the other World is unknown to us, as we have, that we must live by Faith in this World; for abfent, unfeen, and unknown Things, are the Objects of our Faith. And thofe who will truft God no farther than they can fee, neither in this World nor in the next, have no Reafon to depend upon his Providence here, nor to expect Heaven hereafter.

2dly, The State of the other World being fo much unknown to us, is a very good Reafon why we fhould chearfully comply with all the Terms and Conditions of the Gofpel; to do whatever our Saviour requires, that we may obtain eternal Life. This, it may be, you will not fo readily apprehend, and yet the Reason of.it is very plain: for fince the State of the other World is fo much unknown to us, we do not, and cannot know neither, what Difpofitions, and Habits, and Complexion of Soul, are neceffary to fit and qualify us for this unknown Happiness. But our Saviour, who knew what that State is, knew also what is neceffary to that State; and therefore the wifeft Course we can take, is to obey all his Laws without any Difpute, not only as the Conditions of Happiness, without which we fhall not be admitted into Heaven, but as the necesfary Preparations for it. As to explain this by a parallel Cafe, which you will eafily understand: Suppofe we had pre-exifted in a former State, as fome fay we did, before we came into these Bodies : and before we knew any Thing of this World, or

what

what the Pleasures and Entertainments of it are, fhould have been told what kind of Bodies we must go into, no doubt but there would have been wonderful wife Difputes about the Make and Frame of our Bodies; we should have thought fome Parts fuperfluous or ufelefs, or ill contrived; indeed, fhould have wonder'd, what fuch a Body was made for, as well we might, before we understood the Ufe of any Part of it; but God who knew what he intended us for, provided fuch a Body for us, as is both beautiful and ufeful; and we cannot want any Part of it, but we are deprived of fome Conveniencies. and Pleafures of Life. And thus we may eafily fuppofe it to be with Reference to the next World; that the Habits and Tempers of our Minds are as neceffary to relifh the Pleasures of that State, as our bodily Senfes are to tafte bodily Pleasures; and fince we do not particularly know what the Delights of that State are, and Chrift does, we ought as per-. fectly to refign up ourfelves to his Directions for the fashioning our Minds, as we truft God to form our Bodies for us. Whatever Graces and Virtues he requires us to exercife in this World, though we do not fee the prefent Ufe of them, though we may think them an unneceffary Reftraint of our Liberties, and very needlefs and unreasonable Severities; yet we ought to conclude, that Chrift knew the Reafon of fuch Commands, and that fuch Qualities and Difpofitions of Mind will be found as neceflary in the next World, as our bodily Senfes are here.

And this we ought efpecially to conclude of fuch Degrees and Inftances of Virtue, as feem above our prefent State, and not fo well fitted to our Condition of Life in this World: For why should our Saviour give us fuch Laws, and exact such a Degree of Virtue from us, here, as abridges our prefent Enjoyments,

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Enjoyments, and (it may be) expofe us to great Inconveniencies and Sufferings, were not that Temper of Mind which thefe Virtues form in us, of great Ufe and Neceffity in the next Life? As for Inftance :

We should think it fufficient, while we live in this World, where there are so many inviting Objects, and while we are cloathed with Bodies of Flesh, which are made for the Enjoyments of Senfe, and have natural Appetites and Inclinations to them, fo to govern ourselves in the Use of these Pleasures, as neither to make ourselves Beafts, nor to injure our Neighbours, and while we keep within thefe Bounds, to gratify our Appetites and Inclinations to the full. For it is certainly the Happiness of an earthly Creature to enjoy this World, though a reasonable Creature must do it reasonably. But not to love this World, it feems a hard Command to a Creature who lives in it, and was made to enjoy it. To defpife bodily Pleasures, to fubdue the fleshly Principle in us, not only to Reafon, but to the Spirit; to live above the Body, and to ftrive to ftifle not only its irregular, but even its natural Appetites, and to taste the Pleasures of it very fparingly, and with great Indifference of Mind, feems a very hard Saying to Flesh and Blood. We should think it time enough to have our Converfation in Heaven, when we come thither; but it is plainly above the State of an earthly Creature to live in Heaven, to have all our Joys, our Hopes, our Treafure, and our Hearts there. The State of this World would be very happy and profperous without fuch a raifed, and refined, and fpiritualized Mind, and therefore thefe are fuch Virtues as are not neceffary to the prefent Conftitution of this World, and therefore can be only in order to the next.

Thus