Sergi. X. The Ghrifiian Life, a Life of Faith. 77 but thofe bleed Souls who are enter'd upon the Poffefion of Glory and Happi- nefs, and thofe miferable Wretches who lye groaning under the Wrath of God and the Severity of his Juftice, cannot poffibly, if they would, have any doubt con- cerning the Truth and Reality of thefe things. . But however contentious Men may difpute againft common Senfe, this is fo plain a Truth, that I will not labour in the farther Proof of it ; nor indeed is it reafonable, while we are in this State, to expel that degree of Affurance concern- ing the Rewards and Punifhwents of another Life, which the fight and fenfible experience of them wouldgive us ; and that upon thefe Two Accounts ; r: Becaufe our prefent State will not admit it; and, 2. If it would, it is not reafonable we fhould have it. s. Our prefent State will not admit it. For whilewe are in this World, it is not poffible we fhould have that fenfible Experiment and Tryal how things are in the other. The things of the other World are remote from us, and far out of Sight, and we cannot have any experimental knowledge ofthem, till we our felves enter into that State. Thofe who are already paft into it know how things are';' thofe happy Souls who live in the reviving prefence of God, and are poffeft of thofe joys which we cannot now conceive, underftand thefe things in another manner, and have a more perfeft Affurance concerning them, than it is poffible` for any Man to have in this World ; and thofe wretched and miferàble Spirits who feel the vengeanceof God, and are plunged into the Horrors of Eternal Darknefs, do believe upon irrefiftible Evidence, and have other kind of Convi&ions of the Realityof that State, and the infupportable Mifery ofit, than any Man is capable of in this World. 2. If our prefent State would admit of this high degree of Affurance, it is not fit and reafonable that we fhould have it. Such an over-powering Evi- dence would quite take away the Virtue of Faith , and much leffen that of Obedience. Put the Cafe that every Man, fome confiderable timebefore his de- parture out of this Life, were permitted to vifit the other World, to affure him how things are there, toview the Manfions of the Bleffed, and to furvey the dark and loathfome Prifons of the Damned, to hear the lamentable Outcries of Miferable and Defpairing Souls, and to fee the inconceivable Anguifh and Tor- ments they are in; after this, what Virtue would it be in any Man to believe thefe things ? He that had been there and feen them, could not disbelieve them if he would. Faith in this cafe would not be virtue, but neceffity. And therefore it is obfervable, that our Saviour doth not pronounce them Bleffed, who believed his Refurre&ion, upon the forcible Evidence oftheir own Senfes, But blfed are they that have not feen, and yet have believed. They might be happy in the Effe&s of thatFaith, but there is no Praife, no Reward belongs to that Faith which is wrought in Man by fo violent. and irrefiftible an Evidence. It was the great commendationof Abraham's Faith, that againg hope he believed in hope, he believed the Promife of God concerning a thing in it felf very.improbable But it is no Commendation at all to believe the things which we have feen, be- caufe they admit of no manner of Difpute ; no Obje&ion can be offered to fhake our affent, unlefs we will run to the extremity of Scepticifm; for if we will believe any thing at all, we muft yield to the Evidence of Senfe. This does fo violently enforce our aífent, that there can be no Virtue in fuch a Faith. And as this would take away the Virtue of Faith, fo it would very much -leffen that of our Obedience. It. is hardly to be imagined, that any Man who had feen the Bleffed Condition 'of good Men in another World, and been an Eye-wimefs of the intolerable Torments of Sinners, fhould ever after be tempted knowingly to do any thing that would deprive him of that Happinefs, or bring him into that .'lace of Torment. Such a fight could not chufebut affe& a Man as long as he lived; and leave fuch impreffions upon his mind, of the indifpenfable neceffity of a Holy Life, and of the infinite Danger of a wicked Courfe, that we might fooned believe that all the Men in the World fhould confpire.to kill one another, than that fuch a Man, by contenting to any deliberate Ad of Sin fhould wilfully throw himfelf into thofe Flames : No, his Mind would be continually haunted with
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