to sin in the divine nature, by things that are to us most loathsome and detestable. A creature lying in its blood, and in a state of putrefaction, is not more shocking and Ezek. xvi. 6. offensive to us; than one that lies in sin, is to God. Yea death itself, which to our nature is the most terrible of all things, cannot be more our aversion, than sin is the aversion of a holy God. Those who live wickedly are therefore said to be dead in trespasses and sins. By these representations, we may form some notion of sin's contradiction to the divine nature: and thence we must conclude, the necessity of its being taken away, before we can be admitted into the favourable presence of God.

Ephes. ii. 1.

Farther; we read of God's hating the workers of iniquity, and of his being angry with the wicked every day: Which are expressions that undoubtedly intimate, his being as effectually turned away from, or set against, impenitent unrenewed sinners, as we are against those things that are the object of our hatred, or deserve our anger. For, though we are by no means to think, there are such passions as these in Almighty God; yet we may conceive of his dealing with the wicked, by a wise and prudent magistrate's dealing with those, that have done all that ever they could to injure his authority, and to bring the laws into contempt.

But, that I may give you the clearer notion of God's abhorring and rejecting the workers of iniquity, you may take the account of their case, in short, thus....... Man being, at 'first, made up of two different natures, flesh, and spirit; the 'laws of his creation most certainly obliged him, to have been 'governed by the dictates of that nature, which was the noblest, and most excellent: This his Maker required: This, in reason, one would have expected. However, such was man's 'sin and folly, that it proved quite otherwise. He was soon 6 drawn away to gratify his senses, whilst he disgraced his bet'ter powers. Hereupon, his Maker being justly displeased, < appointed the separation of that soul and body, by death,

'which acted so ill when united. Nevertheless, after he had ( appointed it unto men once to die, he contrived a farther way 'for recovering the soul out of this unhappy subjection to sen'sible and corruptible things: and promised upon such a res'toration of the soul, to restore that happiness man had lost, 'by raising him to a heavenly paradise. Now, if notwithstanding such grace as this, men will still prefer the animal life above the spiritual; what can they expect, but that their throwing such an aggravated contempt upon the Father of Spirits, and the spiritual happiness he proposes, should end in their banishment from both? Yea, how can it be otherwise, whilst they are pursuing those things which carry them still farther and farther from the divine Being, but that at last they should be removed to an eternal distance from that God, to whom they have made themselves utterly disagreeable? And it will follow from hence, that,

3. The unrenewed mind is as much set against the happiness of heaven, as the great God is set against the admission of such a one into it. So that if we could conceive an unregenerate person to be actually gotten into the presence of God above, it would be no happiness to him to be there.

Can two walk together, says the Prophet, except they be agreed? Would it be any pleasure for two persons to live continually together, whose inclinations, wills, and dispositions, are opposite and cross to each other? Would there not be an earnest desire of more suitable company and society? what pleasure then can a man, that is set upon things sensible and sinful, have in the presence of that Being, whose nature, and will, and blessedness, are intirely spiritual and holy?

› Either God, or the sinner must be changed, before there can be any agreement between them: And till there is a conformity, and an agreeableness, there can be no happiness. Without this, to spend an eternity together, would be a most undesirable thing. Now, can the sinner be so foolish and blasphemous as to imagine, that God should cease to be infinitely perfect and holy? or that he should become such a one as him

self? Common sense, one would think, could not fail of directing him rather to conclude, that the change must be in his own soul; and that his will must be brought to the will of the Lord, and his nature conformed to the divine nature, in order to his dwelling in the blissful presence of God.

An unrenewed mind is no way suitable either to the company, the employments, or the entertainments, of heaven.

The company of those that inhabit the world above, must needs be disagreeable to an unholy soul. For, since God himself is so (as we have just been arguing) all those that are conformed to him, and whose felicity consists in the enjoyment of him, must consequently be disagreeable too. Jesus Christ is the express image of the Father, in holiness, as well as other perfections; and as it was his character on earth, it is his glory in heaven, to be separate from sinners. Holy angels, even in their appearance to good men here below, have filled them with confusion and dread; and how then shall the whole host of heaven, in all their splendour and purity, be endured by sinful men? The spirits of just men, that are perfected above, are such as the sinner hated, scorned, persecuted, or lived in a constant dislike to, in this world; and can they then be happy together in another world; when the difference between them is greatened, by the consummate holiness of the one, and the increased prejudices of the other? Their dying in a state of enmity, has made that enmity an unalterable thing. Lay all this together, and if an unholy person would not find one companion like himself in heaven, think, what pleasure he could have in the society of the blessed, supposing it were possible for him to get among them.

Again, the employments of heaven would not suit the temper and inclinations of such a one, any more than the company. Contemplation of the things of God and religion, is what he has never inured himself to; his temper has been too much set against serious consideration, ever to take pleasure in such an exercise. And the services of angels, who are always fuifil

ling the pleasure of their Lord, would go quite against the grain of the sinner's inclinations; who had been used to seek his own pleasure, and to consult his own will, in all his actions. Instead of praying, that the will of God might be done on earth as it is in heaven, he would wish the quite contrary; that there might be no other doing of the will of God in heaven, than what he had been used to here on earth; that is, not to regard it at all, yea, farther, the very praises and triumphs of heaven would be unsuitable to an unrenewed mind. Such a one could by no means bear a part in that solemn acclamation, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty; since he had no admiring thoughts of God's holiness. Nor could he ever join in that song of the Lamb,.......Glory to him that hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, so long as he remained unsanctified and unrenewed. Such employments as these, could afford no pleasure to a wicked man.

Hence it necessarily follows, that the entertainments and joys of heaven, would by no means answer the wishes and desires of an unregenerate soul, though placed in the midst of them. The substantial happiness of the heavenly inhabitants consists in the knowledge and love of God: But I need not say more to prove that an unrenewed soul is incapable of this; I shall only add, that by this incapacity, such a one must needs suffer the eternal loss of all these joys, which arise from a beholding the unveil'd glories of the Deity; and also of all those, which are wrapt up in that high satisfaction that results from the loving, and knowing we are beloved by, the greatest and best Being in the universe. At the same time, the unholy soul is a perfect stranger to all those transports, that are owing to a review of the methods of comverting grace; and can taste nothing of the bliss, that springs from a sacred indissoluble friendship with holy intelligent spirits. And, upon the reasons already alledged, the same might be said of every other joy of heaven.

But now, let me engage you seriously to attend to the conclusion of the whole matter. And there is one truth, which I apprehend will appear with great evidence, after what has

been said; namely, That a great deal more is necessary, than is commonly imagined, to reconcile you to the heaven and happiness of christians. There is not only a difficulty, in bringing men to the gospel terms of obtaining happiness; but even in reconciling them to the happiness itself. The christian's heaven is not a Mahomet's paradise, a place of sensual delights and enjoyments; but it is a spiritual felicity, and such only as can be enjoyed by pure intellectual Beings.

Thou

That man, therefore, talks of he knows not what, who can talk of going to heaven whilst his business, or pleasures, or possessions here, engross his thoughts and affections. must have relishes of a very different nature from those of the sensualist and the worldling, before thou canst be happy with God, and the glorified spirits above.

If then, thou hast ever made it thy wish to die the death of the righteous; remember that now thou art told, thou must in thy life-time become righteous, by being thus renewed and born again, or that wish will avail thee nothing. But whether thou art convinced of this or not, I must, for the present, cease arguing with thee, and close this chapter: which I shall do, with these two inferences from what has been said.

1. We may infer, There are but few that shall be saved.

If such spirituality be necessary to prepare men for heaven; we may conclude, without any thing of an uncharitable censorious temper, that very few are going thither. Thus much, our Lord told his disciples in his day; and this, we have abundant reason to apply also to our own day.

Take an account of those that live in atheism and unbelief; and that will not acknowledge or serve God at all:

Then compute the number of those that worship God vainly, in an idolatrous superstitious manner, and resting in their bodily worship and devotion: