generally in the first place swear Fidelity to his Opinion; that is, he doth by familiar forms of Oaths and raving Im precations inculcate to himself that God is nothing but a Mormoe or Bug-bear: and fo he hardens himself in his pre

tence.

In the next place, he pronounces Re ligion a Trick, contrived by the Art of Princes, and conferved by the Intereft of Priefts that if ever any talkt wifely about Religion, it is only they who difcard all particular pofitive Religions, and ftick only to that of Nature. But then what is Nature, or at least the Interpreter of Nature, but common Usage and Custom? And what is it that we have not Custom for? We have Custom for all forts of Vices; we have Custom for oppofite Religions, and for no Religion and fo in fine from Nature can arife no Obligation at all.

In the next place, the Doctrine of Spirits is cried down as abfurd; and all the matters of fact that tend to affert their Being, can obtain no more credit than Lucian's raillery upon the inchanted Broomftaff. But most of all abfurd, in his conceit, and unphilofophical is the Doctrine of Immortal Souls. "For "what do Souls act above the power "of fubtile matter in the state of Uni"on? and how can they difengage "themselves from common perishing "in the ftate of diffolution? The Beafts

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approach very near us in our most "wife and fagacious Operations, without "the hazard of being Immortal; and "why should Man fanfie that hazard "to himself? No, we are born at all "adventures; and we shall be as tho' "we had never been; and our Spirits "fhall vanifh into foft Air. And now what can be done with a Man of this perfwafion? 'Tis to as little purpose to tell him of Hell and Torments, as of Charon

and

and Cerberus: All is Par follicito Fabula fomnio, as his Minion Poet hath concluded it. And thus the Atheist is become as fafe and impregnable, as in a Caftle of Brass.

But,alas,the miserable dream of peace that must awake into an Eternity of real evils! Alas, the pitiable Reasons that must be confuted by fo fad an Experiment! For as we have hitherto taken the profpect of the Sinner's way, fo my Text requires us to look a little further, and advert his end. You have seen what the Man was; he was gay and fecure in his wickedness: but now, Lo this is the man, this is his prefent State; he is become a Spectacle of Vengeance, an object of terrour and of corn, and pointed out for a warning to all that fhall come after. Lo, this is the Man that had Ship-wreckt his Faith,and wafted his Conscience, and corrupted his Mind, fo that he had loft the notices of what he did: But now his Miseries have re

Etified his Notions; he believes and trembles; He fees God again in the terrour of his Judgments; and is convinced by an eternal dying, that the Soul is fubject to no other Death, He now lies fcourged with past enjoyments, and terrified with his present Paffions; His wit and parts groan under the Conviction of Folly, and his shame and anguish are confummated by despair. But my Text only points at this; nor is it my business to infift upon it any farther. I have my end in minding you from the Example, That Sin and Judgment are infeparably link'd together; That if we will escape Doeg's end, we must avoid his way; That if we will refift Sin fuccessfully, we must refift it in its first Iffues and pluck up the roots of it, which in paffing I have discovered.

And now that the most important of what I have said, may be left more immediately upon your Thoughts, I fhall fum it up into one fentence, and con

clude.

clude.

The Leffon that the whole Example does moft genuinely teach us is this, That when a Man once ceases to take God for his ftrength, (which was Doeg's first default) when he once neglects to apply himself to Heaven for conduct and support, that Man naturally falls from one Sin to another, and there is no fecurity of ftopping betwixt Indevotion and the Bottomless Pit.

From whith the Divine Mercy prevent us.