whereof they feem to be ignorant. The firft is, that it is not the being fingular, but being fingular for fomething, that argues either extraordinary endowments of nature, or benevolent intentions to mankind, which draws the admiration and efteem of the world. A miftake in this point naturally arifes from that confufion of thought which I do not remember to have seen so great inftances of in any writers, as in certain modern freethinkers.

The other point is, that there are innumerable objects within the reach of the human mind, and each of thefe objects may be viewed in innumerable lights and positions, and the relations arifing between them are innumerable. There is therefore, an infinity of things whereon to employ their thoughts, if not with advantage to the world, at least with amufement to themselves, and without offence or prejudice to other people. other people. If they proceed to exert their talent of freethinking in this way, they may be innocently dull, and no one take any notice of it. But to fee men without either wit or argument, pretend to run down divine and human laws, and treat their fellow fubjects with contempt for profeffing a belief of those points on which the prefent as well as future interest of mankind depends, is not to be endured. For my own part, I shall omit no endeavours to render their perfons as despicable, and their practices as odious in the eye of the world, as they deferve.

SECTION XI.

Death and Judgment.

Afflata eft numine quando
Jam propiore Dei......

VIRG.

THE following letter comes to me from that excellent man in holy orders, whom I have mentioned more than once as one of that fociety who affift me in my fpeculations. It is a thought in fickness, and of a very ferious nature, for which reafon I give it a place in the paper of this day.

P 3

་

SIR,

SIR,

THE indifpofition which has long hung upon me, it at laft grown to fuch a head, that it must quickly make an end of me, or of itself. You may imagine, that whilst I am in this bad ftate of health, there are none of your works which I read with greater pleasure than your Saturday's papers. I fhould be very glad if I could furnish you with any hints for that day's entertainment. Were I able to dress up feveral thoughts of a ferious nature, which have made great impreffions on my mind during a long fit of ficknefs, they might not be an improper entertainment for that occafion.

Among all the reflections which usually rife in the mind of a weak man, who has time and inclination to confider his approaching end, there is none more natural than that of his going to appear naked and unbodied before him who made him. When a man confiders, that as foon as the vital union is diffolved, he shall fee that Supreme Being whom he now contemplates at a distance, and only in his works; or, to fpeak more philofophically, when by fome faculty in the foul he shall apprehend the Divine Being, and be more fenfible of his prefence, than we are now of the presence of any ob'ject which the eye beholds, a man must be loft in • carlessness and ftupidity, who is not alarmed at fuch a thought. Dr. Sherlock, in his excellent treatise upon death, has represented in very ftrong and lively colours the state of the soul in its first separation from the body, with regard to that invifible world which every where furrounds us, though we are not able to discover it through this groffer world of matter, which is accom<modated to our fenfes in this life. His words are as follow:

"That death, which is our leaving this world, is no"thing elfe but our putting off thefe bodies, teaches us, "that it is only our union to thefe bodies, which inter

cepts the fight of the other world: the other world is << not at fuch a distance from us as we may imagine: the "throne of God, indeed, is at a great remove from this

"earth,

"earth, above the third heavens, where he difplays his "glory to those ɔleffed fpirits which encompafs his throne; "but as foon as we ftep out of these bodies, we step into "the other world, which is not fo properly another "world, (for there is the fame heaven and earth ftill) "as a new state of life. To live in these bodies is to "live in this world; to live out of them is to remove "into the next for while our fouls are confined to these "bodies, and can look only through thefe material cafe"ments, nothing but what is material can effect us; nay, "nothing but what is fo grofs, that it can reflect light,

and convey the fhapes and colours of things with it "to the eye: fo that though within this vifible world ❝ there be a more glorious scene of things than what ap

pears to us, we perceive nothing at all of it: for this "veil of flesh parts the visible and invisible world: But "when we put off thefe bodies, there are new and fur"prifing wonders prefent themfelves to our views: when "thele material fpectacles are taken off, the foul with its "own naked eyes fees what was invifible before; and

then we are in the other world, when we can fee it, "and converfe with it. Thus St. Paul tells us, that "when we are at home with the body, we are absent from "the Lord; but when we are abfent from the body, we "are prefent with the Lord. 2 Cor. v. 6, 8. And "methinks this is enough to cure us of our fondness for "these bodies, unless we think it more defirable to be "confined to a prifon, and to look through a grate all "our lives, which gives us but a very narrow profpect, "and that none of the best neither, than to be fet at li"berty to view all the glories of the world. What "would we give now for the leaft glimpse of that invi"fible world, which the firft ftep we take out of thefe "bodies will prefent us with; there are fuch things as "" eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it en"tered into the heart of man to conceive: Death opens "our eyes, enlarges our profpect, prefents us with a

new and more glorious world, which we can never "fee while we are fhut up in flesh; which fhould make

"us

us as willing to part with this veil, as to take the "film off our eyes, which hinders our fight.'

As a thinking man cannot but be very much af⚫fected with the idea of his appearing in the presence of that Being, whom none can fee and live; he must be 'much more affected when he confiders that this Being whom he appears before, will examine all the actions of his past life, and reward or punish him accordingly. I muft confefs that I think there is no fcheme of religion, ⚫ befides that of Christianity, which can poffibly support the most virtuous perfon under this thought. Let a 'man's innocence be what it will, let his virtues rife to the highest pitch of perfection attainable in this life, there will be ftill in him fo many fecret fins, fo many human frailties, fo many offences of ignorance, paffion and prejudice, fo many unguarded words and thoughts, and, in fhort, fo many defects in his beft actions, that without the advantages of fuch an expiation and atonement as Chriftianity has revealed to us, it is impoffible that he should be cleared before his Sovereign Judge, or that he should be able to stand in his fight. Our holy religion fuggefts to us the only means whereby our guilt may be taken away, and our imperfect • obedience accepted.

४

It is this feries of thought that I have endeavoured to exprefs in the following hymn, which I have com⚫ pofed during this my fickness.'

When rifing from the bed of death,

O'erwhelm'd with guilt and fear,
I fee my Maker face to face,
O how fhall I appear!

If yet, while pardon may be found,
And mercy may be fought,

My heart with inward horror fhrinks

And trembles at the thought;

When thou, O Lord, fhall ftand disclos❜d,

In Majesty severe,

And fit in judgment on my foul,
O how fhall I appear!

But

But thou haft to'd the troubled mind,
Who does her fins lament,
The timely tribute of her tears,
Shall endless woe prevent.

Then fee the forrows of my heart,
Ere yet it be too late,

And hear my Saviour's dying groans,
To give thofe forrows weight.

For never fhall my foul despair,
Her pardon to procure,
Who knows thy only Son has dy'd,
To make her pardon fure.

Mortis

Animæque capaces

LUCAN.

THE profpect of death is fo gloomy and difmal, that if it were conftantly before our eyes, it would imbitter all the sweets of life. The gracious Author of our being hath, therefore, fo formed us, that we are capable of many pleafing fenfations and reflections, and meet with fo many amufements and folicitudes, as divert our thoughts from dwelling upon an evil, which, by reason of its feeming diftance, makes but languid impreffions upon the mind. But how diftant foever the time of our death may be, fince it is certain that we must die, it is neceffary to allot fome portion of our life to confider the end of it; and it is highly convenient to fix fome stated times to meditate upon the final period of our existence here. The principle of self-love, as we are men, will make us enquire, what is like to become of us after our diffolution; and our confcience, as we are chriftians, will inform us, that according to the good or evil of our actions here, we fhall be tranflated to the manfions of eternal blifs or mifery. When this is ferioufly weighed, we must think it madness to be unprepared against the black moment; but when we reflect that, perhaps, that black moment may be to-night, how watchful ought we to be! I was wonderfully affected with a difcourfe I had

lately