and Convulfions of Thought. Impatience makes them rather venture any thing than endure what they feel: This fometimes puts them upon being their own Executioners, hoping by a defperate Sally upon themfelves to extinguish their whole Being, and dispatch Soul and Body together. Thus on the other fide, when they can acquit themselves as to the main, when they can give a fair Account, or fuffer in a good Cause, they usually leave this World with great Evennefs and Satisfaction, and bear up against the harfheft Circumftances with fingular Fortitude and Unconcernedness: They have naturally a fecret Prefage that Providence will appear for them afterwards, that Folly and Violence, and Injustice, will domineer only in this Life; but that Reafon and Honefty will be confider'd in the other: This Perfwafion buoys up their Innocence, and fupports their Spirits, and hardens their Refolution, and makes them almoft impregnable against all Accidents and Injuries. This Confideration made Socrates appear fo great

1 A

and

and fo graceful at his Tryal; the Hopes of appearing before more equal Judges after Death, where his Caufe would be re-heard and juftify'd, made him defpife the Malice of his Enemies, disdain the Meanness of escaping Prifon, and drink off the mortal Draught with as little Concern, as if it had been at an Entertainment*. This Doctrine of a Judgment to come we fee may be in a great Measure made out from the Remorfe and Applauses of Confcience, and has gain'd Ground where there was nothing but natural Reason, and the Attributes of God to prove it. And as Plato observes, “That thofe Men who burlesqu'd "the Belief of Heaven and Hell in their "Health, when they came to dye they ❝ had violent Apprehenfions of the Re"ality of thefe Things; and if they were "guilty of any heinous Mifdemeanors "they ufually went off with great Dif"order and Amazement". And fince God intends to judge the whole Race

*Plato Apol. Socratis,

of

of Mankind (as I fhall prove farther by and by) it is very reasonable to fuppofe, that this Decree of Providence fhould be either discoverable by the Light of Nature, or reveal'd to our first Parents,

general and un

and fo kept up by a interrupted Tradition. For if all Men are to be judg'd, then they ought to prepare themselves accordingly; and if fo, it's but equitable they fhould be acquainted there will be fuch a Day: For to fummon Men before fuch a dreadful Tribunal without giving them any Notice; to confign them over to a State of Mifery in the other World, without acquainting them, that they should have either Punishment or Being after Death; to condemn them to Hell, when they had no Reason to conclude there was any fuch Place, is a very incomprehenfible fort of Justice, and by no Means agreeable to the Perfections of the Divine Nature. And therefore, if there will be a future Account, in which all Mankind will be deeply concern'd, then there must be fome univerfal Principle

to prove this important Truth; fo that none may be ignorant of it without their own Fault. But,

2. To prove the Certainty of a Judgment to come more incontestably, let us confult the facred Writings. He that made the World can beft inform us how it will be difpos'd of; he has Omnipotence to back his Decrees, and therefore his Counfels and Appointments must certainly ftand. Now the Scripture affords us as exprefs Declarations to this Purpose as is poffible; our Saviour himfelf affures us, that the Hour is coming in the which all that are in the Graves hall bear bis Voice, and shall come forth; thofe that have done Good unto the Refurrection of Life; and they that have done Evil unto the Refurrection of Damnation*. His Apoftle St. Paul fpeaks with the fame Plainnefs to the Athenians, That God has appointed a Day in which he will judge the World in Righteoufnefst. And we are told in

*John v. 29. † Acts xvii. 31.

the

the Text, That we must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Chrift, &c. St. John had his Imagination fill'd with fo strong and lively an Idea of this great Appearance, that he describes it almost as particularly as if it had been already past. I faw (fays he) a great white Throne, and him that fate on it; from whofe Face the Earth and the Heavens fled away; and there was no Place found for them: And I faw the Dead Small and great ftand before God; and the Books were opened, and the Dead were judged out of thofe Things which were written in the Books: And the Sea gave up her Dead, and Death and Hell delivered up their Dead which were in them; and they were judged every Man according to their Works*. I proceed now in the fecond Place,

II. To defcribe the Terror and Solemnity of this Judgment, from the following Circumstances.

* Rev. xx, 11, 12, 13.

1. From