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'em ferve fome of the best Purposes. And nothing but what I dare recommend to your Lordship, will appear in this Enterprize, as now revis'd and corrected. For fhould I offer to fuch Hands but the leaft that were not Orthodox, I am fure your Lordship would be one of the first to Detect it, and could not Forgive it. But I am perfuaded 'twill give your Honour no lefs Satisfaction in the Perufing, than I had in the Tranflating; When here, my Lord, you'll find the Solution of Sampfon's Riddle, Out of the Eater came forth Meat, and out of the Strong, Sweetness. Thus even a dead Mercury may point us right to the City where we wou'd be, towards which it self never moves. And an amiable Reprefentation of the End is no small Attrative, to Invigorate our Progress upon the Way. Therefore, I cannot but thankfully accept the friendly Office even from any Hand, that will but fet in a fair Light before me the Continuing City which we seek to come: When so engaging is the Kindness, thus to Win us into our own Happiness; where too oft

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en fo dull we are, as to Forget it; Tea, So much worse than Dull, to Contemn it ; and throw away even to the World's End, what we do not know how Near it is at band.

The Age of your Chaplain, my Lord, being his Monitor, to give notice that be's ready to touch the End of his Course, makes him the more Inquifitive, to Pry into that World, whither he is basting; and to get fuch an Inviting Prospect, that inftead of fhrinking back, he may Long to be there. And knowing your Lordship also to be fenfible, that your Self has no furer Footing upon the prefent Stage; I am bold to offer to your Lordship'sContemplation,that which may prove abundantly more Alluring, than all the Biggeft and Fineft of your Advantages here on Earth are Tempting. Together with the Way alfo (in variety of Paths) here defcribed, to get fafe unto that bles Sed Journey's End.

And having found this Entertainment fo Relishing to my felf, that I could not

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but wish the best and greatest of my Friends might Participate; Did I not count your Lordship in the Head of that Number, I fhould tax my self as guilty of Somewhat worse than a bad Memory. To your Service therefore, my Lord, do I humbly tender this Draught of a Nobler World, than Eyes of Flefh did ever behold: In which you'll meet with a rich Variety more than ordinary, and a great deal of refined Chriftianity, with many curious Thoughts and uncommon Strokes, very fublime and Heavenly: Tet no less.. Delighting than Surprizing.

And with fome Characters here given of fuch as fhall dwell in God's Holy Place I could not but greatly Please my self, To obferve fo apparent a Congruity to the Perfon well known to your Lordship. In whom are fo confpicuous the Humblest Condefcenfion even to Men of the Lowest condition; and no fuch Valuation of the prefent Honour, as to blind the eyes from Seeing a far Higher Glory; or to obstruct the Care of feeking that Honour which comes from God only: And who has A 5

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alfo the Large Heart, as well as Eftate, To do ftill the more Good, the more Acceffion there is to the World's Good; Carrying Such a wife Remembrance of the Stewardship, as to look out beyond Self and Family, to thofe great Offices of true Nobility, Mercy, and Charity, which are moft like to fecure the never-ending Comfort of that most joyful Sentence, Well done, good and Faithful Servant, &c.

For you well know, my Lord, 'Tis a moft fcandalous Afperfion upon our holy Profeffion, That we explode Good Works, as Popish When we plead for these Works, as the needful Test of our Christianity; and condemn only the Conceit of Merit, for a piece of Popery. Our Religion teaching us, to be ever Looking unto Jefus, our Saviour; (Tho' not to pay Such Superftition as they do at Rome, to his Name :) To build our main Hopes upon his fole Merits, and to take our Faith in him, for one of the firmeft Grounds of our Expectation from him: Tet never to Acquiefce in any Faith, but what we can fhew by our Works,

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and what helps us to Overcome the World, even fo, as to account all in it but as Dung, that we may Win Christ: Tea, to take fuch our Contempt of all things on Earth, as one of our best Evi dences for Heaven.

My Lord,

I depend much upon your Lord/hip's Candor, and your Goodness of Principle, as well as Taft, for the favourable Acceptance of fuch Doctrine, as I know to be very little Relifh'd by many of the Age, who think themselves Mafters of the fineft Palates; (Tho' fitter, it may be, to Judge of Somewhat elfe, than what relates to the Life hereafter. Which if they'd be thought to Admire, 'tis only, That any fhould be fo filly, as to Believer it.) But I am confident of your Lordfhip's better Senfe, and brighter Example, than to fcorn things of this Nature, as only the Trade of the Preacher..

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I need not (for my own part,) fear the cenfure of Declaiming against the World,

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