talk'd unto it on this manner, My little Soul, my deareft Companion, thou art now going to wander in obfcure, cold, and ftrange Places: Thou shalt never jest again according to thy wonted manner; thou shalt never give. me any more Sport or Pleasure.

You'll fay Adrian was a powerful Monarch, but no great Philofopher; perhaps he knew how to govern, and was well acquainted with the Politicks; but he was ignorant of the Morals, and had no Skill to die well. To answer this Objection, let us give an Example beyond all Exception.

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Ariftotle is generally efteem'd to have been the fubtileft, and the most learn'd of the Heathen Antiquity, the Prince of all the Philofophers, the Glory of his Age, and the Founder of his Sect. When his excellent Soul had furvey'd all things, examin'd the Hea vens, fearch'd among the Excellencies of the Earth, pried into all the Wonders of the World, and found out the rarest Secrets of Nature; he could never find any folid Comforts against the Apprehenfions of Death. Notwithstanding all his admirable Subtilties, and his profound Learning, the Fear of this cruel Death terrifies his Confcience in fuch a manner, that he confeffed, That of all terrible Things, Death was the moft dreadful.

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Chap. III.

Of divers forts of Death, with which we are to

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encounter.

Hen David had a Design to fight with Goliah, and could not make use of the Armour of King Saul, he took a fmooth Stone out of his Bag, caft it with his Sling, ftruck the Philiftine in the Forehead, and brought down this proud Giant, who had defy'd the Armies of Ifrael. We have already exa

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min'd and try'd all the Armour of human Wifdom: and Learning, laid up in the Store-Houfes of the greatest Wits of former Ages, and we have found that they are not able to afford us any Affiftance in an Encounter with Death, Let us therefore now fee: whether we may overcome this proud Enemy with the Sling of our myftical David, with the Weapons of our divine Shepherd. But before we begin the Refiftance, let us look and behold it in the Face, The Enemy that I intend you fhall overcome, is a Monster with three Heads, for there are three forts of Death, the Natural, the Spiritual, and the Eternal,

The natural Death is a Separation of the Soul from the Body; altho' our Body hath been fafhioned with the Finger of God, 'tis but a weak and frail Veffel made of Earth; but our Soul is an heavenly, fpiri tual, and immortal Substance. 'Tis a Sparkle and a Ray of the Godhead, and the lively Image of our great Creator For when God had made our first Parent, he breathed into his Noftrils the Breath of Life, Gen. ii. 7 that we might thereby underftand, that our Souls alone proceeded from his immediate Hand, therefore he is nam'd the Father of Spirits, Heb. xii. and The faithful Creator of Souls, I Pet. iv. This Soul raifes us a Degree above all Animals, and above the celestial Bodies, and renders us like the Angels of Heaven. 'Tis the Light that enlightens us, the Salt that preferves us from Corruption. In one Word, by this Soul we live, enjoy our Senfes, move and underftand. As foon as this Angelical Guest leaves its Manfion, the Body, it lofeth all its Beauty, and falls of it felf into a State of Ruin. For this Flesh that we are fo careful of, and feed with all manner of Dainties, then corrupts and rots, After that it hath been ftretch'd a while upon Beds of Gold, and richly attir'd in Purple and Scarlet, 'tis caft upon a Bed of Worms, and cover'd with the vileft Infects of the Earth. Notwithstanding all its former Perfumes, it

yields then a moft horrid Stink. Before it ravifh'd the Eyes of the Beholders with its admirable Beauty; but now it becomes fo odious and offenfive, that the Living care not to fee it; 'tis at laft reduc'd to Alhes, according to the Sentence that was pronounc'd in the earthly Paradife, Duft thou art, and to Duft thou fhalt return.

The fpiritual Death is the Separation of the Soul from God our Creator, For he being the Soul of our Souls, and the Light of our Life, we fall into an Abyss of Darkness and Death: For all thofe that depart from God fhall perish, Pfal. lxxiii. As the Members when they are cut off from the Body, commonly rot, as the Twig withers when 'tis feparated from the Vine; fo in a Separation from God, we can neither live, move, nor have a Being. And as 'tis with the Body feparated from the Soul, it nourishes a Neft of Worms that devour it, and fends forth a moft infufferable Stench; fo 'tis with our Soul at a Distance from God: It yields thofe evil Affections that torment and confume it, and the ill Scent of its Crimes are offenfive to Heaven and Earth. Of this kind of Death our Saviour speaks to the Jews in this manner; If you do not believe that I am be, you shall die in your Sins, Joh. viii. And to the Angel of the Church at Sardis, Thou haft a Name that thou livest, and art dead, Rev. iii. This fame Death St. Paul mentions in the second Chapter of the Coloffians, and the fecond of the Ephefians. When we are dead in our Trefpaffes and Sins, God hath quickned us together with Chrift. And elsewhere he exhorts a finful Man, Awake thou that fleepeft, and arife from the Dead, and Chrift fhall give thee Light, Eph. v. And 'tis of the fame kind of Death that St. Paul (peaks concerning the wanton Widow, that he is dead while fhe liveth, ¡ Tim. v.

It was this kind of Death that Adam fuffer'd as foon as he had tafted of the forbidden Fruit, according to God's threatning; In the Day that thou eateft thereof thou fhalt die the Death. For not only his Body became fubject to Death, but his Soul alfo was caft into the Death of Sin, and enflaved to Corruption. It hap pened to him as to a Lamp newly put out, the Snuff. yields a moift ill-favour'd Scent.

As the Life of Grace is a Preparative to the Life of Glory, and furnifheth us with the fore-tafte of the heavenly Joys: So on the contrary the Spiritual Life is, as it were, the Suburbs of Hell, 'tis the firft beginning of an eternal Death, and the Entrance into the infernal Pit. The eternal Death is nothing else but an entire and irrecoverable Separation of the Soul and Body from God, accompanied with infinite Torments; Torments indeed, unto which all the Suffer-ings of this mortal Life are light and inconfiderable: Nevertheless, as the Spirit of God reprefents the heavenly Joys and Felicities by things that are moft pleafant and delightful; thus to exprefs to us Hell's Torments, it borrows things that are the most dreadful and painful in this Life. We are told of an Abyss or Furnace full of Flames, a bottomless Pit burning with Fire and Brimftone. The Scripture mentions, Chains of Darkness, an eternal Night, and an Hell Fire, where there are weeping and gnashing of Teeth. It tells us, that Tophet is ordain'd of old, yea, for the King tis prepared, he hath made it deep and large, the Pile thereof is Fire and much Wood, the Breath of the Lord like a Stream of Brimftone doth kindle it, Ifaiah xxx. 33.

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Fanfie to your felves a Man devour'd with Worms, burning in hot Flames, in continual Torments, in whofe Wounds kindled Brimftone is pour'd without Intermiffion, with boyling Lead, and burning Pitch and if there be any other Pains more fharp and grievous, fanfie it also. All this will give us but a Light and imperfect Image of the State of Hell, for all the Pangs of the Body are nothing in Comparison to the Horrors, Troubles,

Troubles and incredible Griefs, that fhall for ever rack and torture the damned Souls.

As Shame aggravates our Sufferings, and renders them more terrible, the damned fhall be loaden with Shame and Infamy for all Eternity; their Names fhall be hateful to God and his holy Angels, and they fhall be curfed with an endless Curfe. And as 'tis an Increase to our Torment to fuffer in the Company of abominable Varlets, and to become a Companion of the most infamous Rafcals; they fhall fuffer with Hell's Executioner, and fhall be fent to the Fire prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels. All their Senfes fhall fhare in these horrid Torments, they fhall be crusht in the Wine-prefs of God's eternal Wrath, and they fhall feel for ever and ever, the Stroaks of God's Vengeance, and of his Almighty Hand. They fhall then learn by Experience, what a terrible thing 'tis to fall into the Hands of the living God, and how infufferable that Fire is that fhall confume his Enemies. Their Eyes fhall per ceive nothing but the bottomless Pit, the Devil's Image, and the Furies of Hell; their Ears fhall hear nothing but the horrible Outcries, and fearful Roarings of tormented Devils, and damned Souls. They fhall be choak'd with the noifome Smell and Fumes of the bottomless Pit; they fhall then drink the very Dregs and Bottom of God's Anger and Indignation, and they fhall fuck the Venom of his Arrows. Fire and Brimftone fhall be the Portion of their Cup, Pfal. xi.

The Sufferings of this Life are but fhort, and for a Moment, but the Torments of the Damned fhall never end; Their Worm dieth not, and their Fire fhall never be quenched, Mark ix. Rev.xx. They fhall be tormented Day and Night to all Eternity. When they shall have fuffer'd as many thousand Ages as there be Drops of Water in the Sea, or Grains of Sand on the Shoar, it fhall be but the beginning of their Grief. They fhall live for ever to die continually, and they fhall die and never be confum'd. In the midft of thefe hot Flames, they shall beg a Drop of Water to cool their Tongue, Luke xvi. but

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