by it as great an addition of ftrength or fpiritual aid, as, being joyned with our fincere endeayours, is neceffary to make us virtuous and happy. If we deny the first of these, we fubvert the foundation of prayer to, and dependence upon God; we can give no tolerable account of, at leaft, one third part of the gospel of Chrift; and we unavoidably difcourage mankind from all hopes of happiness: If we deny the second, we deltroy the very nature of man, render all laws, exhortations, admonitions, rewards and punishments useless, filly and impertinent; and make divine grace the very foundation of carnal fecurity, of defperate and deftructive negligence and floth: If we deny the third or fonrth, we muft unavoidably affirm, either that the happiness of man does no way depend upon the grace of God, or that his mifery is fatal and unavoidable. All which are abfurdities grofs and palpable to all minds which lie not under the thickeft darkness of blind fuperftition and prejudice. Whoever will now reflect upon all that has been faid, will eafily be able to conclude, that we have no enemy without us, none within us, that can neceffitate and compel us to be miserable: misery may be our choice or punishment, it can never be our fate: our natural corruption may invite and incline us, but can never force and compel us to be wicked: for there is no temptation, no inclination, which God's grace and our industry, are not able to resist and overcome: fo that now there remains at laft no other incapacity of happiness, than what is Penal, which is the next thing to be spo

ken to.

Penal

Penal incapacity confifts in God's final and immutable rejection of man from grace and pardon. The matter of this objection fhall

Of Penal Incapa

pacity.

be fully handled, Vol. 4. where I fhall be obliged to treat of the troubles of the mind, and their cure. In the mean time, all that is neceffary to be observed here, is, firft, That this ftate of final rejection from grace and pardon, is Penal; a ftate to which nothing but mens voluntary tranfgreffions can betray 'em, and thole. too tranfgreffions of the deepeft guilt, and moft crying aggravations: for furely nothing lefs can provoke a God, who delights to exercife Loving-kindness and Mercy, a God of infinite long-fuffering and patience, to pass a sentence, an irreversible sentence of eternal ruin and damnation upon any of his creatures. Secondly, That no mistaken fancies of the unpardonableness of our state may either tempt us defperately to renounce God our Saviour, and virtue, it behoves us to confider, what ought to be the proper influence of this perfuafion, that there is fuch a Penal ftate on this fide the grave.

Firft, If they who believe fuch a state, will act confonant to their own opinion, they must not allow themselves in a courfe of wilful fin, left they be infenfibly betray'd into that dreadful state.

,,

Secondly, Since impenitence and hardness of heart is a neceffary and infeparable confequence of that dreadful fentence, which excludes men from grace and pardon; therefore no man can rationally conclude himself in this state till he

has

has made all poffible attempts to recover him. felf from his fin, and that without fuccefs : and because,

Laftly, No man can conclude his endeavour unfuccefsful, till death furprize him in an obdurate and impenitent ftate: for habitual finners have become eminent faints; and lapfed Chriftians, nay apoftates, have not only recovered their former ftate, but redeemed their crimes by more than ordinary degrees of repentance, devotion and charity, and, by undeniable confequence, have been reftored to God's favour; for grace is in order to pardon, fanctification in order to juftification, virtue in order to glory: therefore no man must give over his attempts of appeafing God, and fubduing his corruptions, while God continues him in the land of the living. Thefe rules, if obferved, will, I'queftion not, render the perfuafion of fuch a penal fate, as the objection fuppofes, very profitable and useful to fome, and not pernicious to the eternal intereft of any for he, who by the dread of fuch a state, is deterred from bold and provoking fins, and from an habitual courfe of wilful impiety, reaps an unfpeakable advantage by it; and he who adheres to religion and virtue, and continues to his life's end, fincerely endeavouring to please God, and obtain his pardon, fhall never fuffer any prejudice in another life by his melancholy, and mistaken fancies in this.

4

:

Having thus cleared my affertion, that happiness is attained here, from fuch objections as feem to derive any countenance or ftrength

from

from reason, there remains but two more that I think of, the one whereof preffes hard upon me, under a pretended authority of revelation; the other urges the experience of mankind againft me. I will begin with the former; and confider, with what afpect revelation regards the happiness of this prefent life; and whether there be any thing in it that forbids the hopes, or obftructs the attainments of it.

CHAP. VII.

Religion no enemy to our prefent happiness.

Happiness the fruit of religion, proved by plain texts, and the natural influence of faith and virtue. The doctrine of the cross not inconfiftent with happiness; nor that of mortification.

I

F men were not very ingenious in framing excufes of their folly, and in the contrivance and purfuit of ruin, it would feem very ftrange, that the gospel, which was defign'd to be the great inftrument of our happinefs, thould be alledged to difcourage and damp our endeavours after it; that the gofpel, whofe great end is to fill our minds with joy, peace and hope, fhould be traduced as an enemy to our pleasure. But fo it is; and therefore refolving to leave no obftacle unremoved, nor defpife any objection

n

that

that has the leaft colour or appearance of an argument in it, I will examine this fancy.

Religion ever had, and always must have, the character of its author visibly stamp'd upon it; nothing that is not infinitely kind, and infinitely wife, can be found in any part of revelation truly divine: from whence we may rationally conclude, that the great aim of God in the establishing religion, is to advance the happinefs of man, and to advance it in a method confonant to those natural principles he has implanted in him: nor did any one infpired author think otherwise. He that keepeth the law (faith Solomon) happy is he, Prov. 29. Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing fhall offend them, Pfal. 119. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding, Prov. 3. That this was to be understood of actual and prefent happiness in this life, is apparent from what follows a little after; Length of days are in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantnefs, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those that lay hold upon her. And though the gofpel, as a higher and more perfect difpenfation, doth propofe to us as our great and chief end, life and immortality; yet doth it by no means exclude us from happiness here; but rather doth establish it upon proper and firm foundations; and fences it about with impregnable bulwarks. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you; let not your heart be troubled,