largest shares of evil in life; and bad persons enjoy, in common with others, the highest degrees of prosperity in it; but the former are frequently sufferers, and sometimes even to death, for the very sake of their duty; and the latter gain every sort of worldly advantages, by the very means of their wickedness. Yet, evidently, there is a difference between right behaviour and wrong; and God must see this difference; and his will must be, that mankind should observe it; and, accordingly, we feel ourselves inwardly bound so to do. Now, is it possible that a Being, of perfect justice and holiness of infinite wisdom and power, should have ordered things so, that, obeying him and our own consciences, should ever make us miserable; and disobeying them, prove beneficial to us on the whole ? We cannot, surely, imagine, that he will permit any such case to happen. And, therefore, since in this world such cases do happen, this world is not our final state; but another will come after it, in which every one will be recompensed according to his works. Without this belief, religion and virtue would often want sufficient motives; with it, they never can; and, therefore, this belief is true. Strongly as these arguments prove the doctrine of a life after death; yet, it receives a considerable addition of strength from the universal agreement of all mankind in it, with but a few exceptions, from the very beginning. Of the earliest ages, indeed, we have only short accounts; yet enough to judge, what their notions of this point were. What could they be, indeed, when they knew that Abel, with whom God declared himself pleased, was murdered by his brother for that very reason? Surely his brother's hatred did not do him more harm, than God's love of him did him good. That would be thinking lowly, indeed, of the Almighty. And, therefore, since plainly he had not the bene H fit of his piety here, there must be another place, in which he received it. Again, when "Enoch "walked with God, and was not, for God took "him :"3 could this peculiar favour be only depriving him, before his natural time, of the enjoyments of the present state? Must it not be admitting him to those of a future one? When God called himself, in a distinguished sense, "the God "of Abraham" and the Patriarchs, what had they enjoyed in this life, answerable to so extraordinary a manner of speaking? Many, in all likelihood, both equalled and exceeded them in worldly satisfactions. But, therefore, as the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches, "God was not ashamed to be "called their God, because he had prepared for "them a heavenly city." When Jacob confessed himself a "pilgrim, and stranger on earth, he plainly declared, (as the same Epistle observes,) "that he desired a better country" for his home. Again, when mourning for the supposed death of his son Joseph, he saith, he "will go down to "him" we translate the next word wrongly, "into the grave, 995 as if he meant to have his body laid by him: that could not be, for he thought him devoured by wild beasts; it means into the invisible state-the state of departed souls. And in this sense it is said of several of the Patriarchs, "that they were gathered unto their people," and of all that generation which liveth with Joshua, that they "were gathered unto their fathers."7 66 In the time of Moses we find, that even the Heathens had a strong notion of another life. For they had built a superstitious practice upon it, of seeking to the dead, and inquiring of them concerning things to come. A foolish and a wicked custom, indeed; but, however, it shows the belief (3) Gen. v. 24. (4) Heb. xi. 13, 16. (5) Gen. xxxvii. 35. (7) Judg. ii. 10. was deeply rooted in them. And though future recompenses were not, directly or expressly, either promised to good persons, or threatened to bad, in the Law of Moses; yet that might be, not because they were unknown, but because God thought them sufficiently known; and for reasons of unsearchable wisdom, did not think proper, that Moses should make any considerable addition to that knowledge; of which there was the less occasion, as temporal rewards and punishments were more equally administered by Providence amongst the Jews, than any other people. Besides, a life to come, is not mentioned in the law of our own nation neither; though we know, they were made by such as professed firmly to believe it. And the reason is, partly, that national laws are more immediately designed to procure men peace and prosperity on earth, than happiness in heaven; and partly, also, that they propose such encouragements, as they are able to bestow, and such penalties as they are able to inflict; which are those of this world only. Moses, indeed, went beyond the sanctions which are in man's power; and assured the Jews of God's blessings on their obedience, and curses on their disobedience. But as, in so doing, he spoke not so much to single persons considered singly, as to the whole people in a body; these blessings and curses could be only what they were, those of the present life; because the division of mankind into nations, will subsist no longer; and, therefore, national good or evil can be enjoyed or suffered only here. But still, since it is evident, through the whole of his law, that the Jews had the most serious belief of a just Providence; and also, from the above-mentioned proofs, that they believed a future state; surely, they must believe, in general, that his Providence would be so exerted in that state, as to reward the good, and punish the wicked. More and stronger evidence of this will be given under the second particular"the resurrection of the body." At present I shall go on further to observe, that not only the Jews, but all the nations of the world, whether learned or unlearned-whether known in former times, or discovered of later times, appear to have been persuaded, that the souls of men continue after death. Now, this so universal agreement must, surely, have arisen from an inward principle of nature, dictating to all persons, that they are designed for a future existence; and that, as they are plainly creatures accountable for their actions, yet often do not account here, they must expect to do it hereafter. Or should the notion be Lupposed to have its origin from tradition, that tradition must have been derived from what God himself had taught the first of men; else it had never reached to all men; and it must have found some powerful confirmation in the minds and hearts of men; else, in so great a length of time, amidst so many changes of human circumstances, it must have been universally worn out and forgotten. And Indeed, before our Saviour's days, length of time, and folly, and wickedness, had every where obscured and darkened this great truth, by fabulous additions and absurd alterations; which hindered the good inflnence of it on some persons, and discredited the belief of it with others. had there been none of these obstacles thrown in their way; though reason and conscience teach the doctrine of a future state; yet, by the generality of men, reason is little exercised, and conscience little consulted, in relation to unwelcome truths. And though the Old Testament gave some further intimations of it; yet these were neither very clear and explicit, nor known by the greatest part of the world. No wonder, then, if their conclusions concerning a matter so entirely out of sight, were often doubtful, and often false; and thus they were mis led in a subject of the greatest importance to them of all others. It is, therefore, one inestimable benefit of the Christian Revelation, that our blessed Lord hath thoroughly removed the preceding uncertainties and errors; and "brought life and im mortality to perfect light by the Gospel ;"9 not only confirming by divine authority, whatever had been rationally taught before; but adding, by the same authority, several interesting particulars, which human faculties could not discover; and which partly have been mentioned to you, in discoursing on the general judgment; and partly will be, in what I shall further say under the heads now proposed. 66 All that remains to be said under the first is, that neither the full reward of good persons deceased, is, as yet, bestowed on them; nor the full punishment of the wicked, as yet, inflicted; these things being to follow the general resurrection: but that still, since our Saviour describes the soul of " Lazarus, as carried by angels into Abraham's bosom, and there comforted;" since he promised the penitent thief, that he should be that day "with him in paradise; and St. Paul speaks of being "present with Christ," as the immediate consequence of death, and far better than this life; therefore, the state of those "who die in the "Lord," is now a state, not of insensibility, but of happiness; wherein they are blessed in resting from their labours," and, doubtless, "re"joice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory," in the prospect of that complete felicity, which the righteous Judge of all will hereafter give them. 66 66 For as to the pretence of a purgatory, where the greatest part of good persons are to suffer grievous temporal punishments, after death, for their (9) 2 Tim. i. 10. (1) Luke xvi. 22, 25. (2) Luke xxiii. 43. (5) 1 Pet. i. &. |