RASTER'S DYING TFIOCDHTS. 43 the pleasure of the flesh being no sweeter to a man than to a beast, and the trouble that accompanieth it much more. Beasts have not the cares, fears, and sorrows, upon foresight, which man hath. They fear not death upon the foreknowledge of it, nor fear any misery after death, nor are put upon any labor, sufferings, or trials, to obtain a future happiness, or avoid a future misery. All which considered, he speaketh not by reason, who saith this vain, vexa- tious life is better than tke possibilityor probability of the everlast- ing glory. Now; as to the consequence, or major of the first argument, it is evident of itself, from God's perfection, and the . nature of his works. God maketh it not man's natural duty tq lay out his chief care and labor of-all his life on that which is not, or to seek that which man was never made to attain ; for, then, 1. All -his duty should result from mere deceit and falsehood, and God should govern all the world by a lie, which cannot be his part who want- eth neither power, wisdom, nor love:, to rule them by truth and righteousness, and who bath printed his image both on his laws and on his servants ; in which laws lying is condemned, and the better any man iS, the more be hateth it; and liars are loathed by all mankind. 2. And then the better any man is, and the more he doth his duty, the more deluded, erroneous, and miserable should he be. For he should spehd that care and labor of his.life upon deceit, for that which he shall never have, and so should lose his time and labor : and he should deny his flesh those temporal pleasures which bad men take, and suffer persecutions and injuries from the wicked, and all for nothing, and on mistake : and the more wicked, or more unbelieving, any man is, the wiser and happier should he as being in the right, when he denieth the life to come, and all duty 'and labor in seeking it,'or in avoiding future punishment; and while he taketh his utmost pleasure here, he bath all that manwas made for. But all this is utterly unsuita- ble to God's perfection, and to his other works for he maketh nothing in vain, nór can he lie; much less will he make holiness itself, and all that duty and work of life which reason itself obligeth'all men,-to be not only in vain but hurtful to them. But of this argument I have been elsewhere larger. IV. Man differeth so much from brutes in the knowledgeof God, and of his future-possibilities, that it proveth that he differeth as much in his capacity and certain hopes. 1. As to the antece- dent, man knoweth that there is a God by his works. He knoweth that this God is our absolute Lord, our ruler and our end. He knoweth that, naturally; weowe him all our love and obedience. He knoweth that gold men use not to let their most faithful servants be losers by their fidelity ; nor do they use to set them to labor in vain.
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