pented of them in time, but gon on to provoke and difobey God, and despise and neglect Religion all their lives, these shall fuffer the fad and utmost Vengeance of God's Anger and of Eternal fire. All other wicked Men of what fort foever, whether they were Sinners above others, or only lived in fome fins without Repentance and Amendment, these fhall be for ever in a very bad state, a state of Mifery and lofs of true Happiness, and their Mifery fhall be exactly proportioned to their fins, and be in the fame degrees and measures that thofe were, which are all known to the infinitely wife and Just God, who without refpect of Perfons will then render to all according to their works, and with an equal and impartial Justice diftribute thofe Rewards and Punishments to them.

They then who have ferved God beft in their lives, fhall be beft rewarded by him; they who have fuffered with Chrift shall then reign with him; they who endured any afflictions for his fake and the Gofpel's fhall have the greater Glory which thofe are not to be compared to; they fhall receive a hundred-fold for all they have done or fuffered for Chrift; not only for fuffering Perfecution, though Martyrdom has always had a brighter and a weightier Crown affigned to it, but for denying any prefent Intereft or worldly gain, or unlawful pleasure and fenfual Inclination for the fake of Vertue and Religion: Then those who have beft improved their Talents to God's Glory, and the good of others, and the Service of Religion, fhall have more

gifts and rewards from their great Lord; they who have turned many unto Righteousness fhall fhine as the stars in Glory, in feveral Orbs and different degrees of Luftre; for as the Apostle fays, one ftar differeth from another in Glory, 1 Cor. 15. 41. and So likewife fhall it be at the Refurrection and in another World, there fhall be different degrees of Happiness and Glory for Good Men both in their Bodies and Souls according to their different degrees of Goodness, Service and Obedience to God in this life.

There being but two places, or rather two States in another World, appointed for all rational beings that ever were created, as feems plain by the Scripture Revelation, where fo far as it defcribes or gives us a Map of that Invisible and unknown World, it divides it only into two Mighty Kingdoms or vaft Regions, an upper and a lower, parted from one another by unknown bounds and inhabited by Good and Bad Spirits, where the one are very happy and the other very miferable, there being but two fuch Receptacles for the Souls of all Men and Angels to fpend an Eternity in, (for the fixt continuance and Eternal Duration of their state is more plainly revealed than their particular State and Condition) fo that all Rational Souls must be configned to one of those States and Places, for they who have made a Third or Fourth have made it only out of their own brains and imaginations, not out of any Scriptural foundation or Authority)

Authority) there must be allowed to be very great differences and unequal degrees of Happiness or Mifery in those two places, or elfe neither the Juftice of God nor the different Cafes of Men can be accounted for with any tolerable eafe and fatisfaction to our thoughts, or be any way reconciled to the Principles either of Reafon or Religion.

God the Juft and All-knowing Judge will give all allowances to the hard circumftances, the invincible ignorance, the unavoidable failures, the powerful temptations, the particular cafes and feveral difadvantages that any of Mankind have been under, and with the fairest and most impartial equity will adjudge all their Conditions and proportion their future Rewards and Punishments according to what is due to them, all things confidered, according to the right or wrong ufe of that freedom and liberty which he gave them, and the faults or vertues under that Light and Knowledge they had, of their own wills and choices, by which alone they can either be or be denominated good or bad Men. Some of Mankind feem not to have either Vertues enough to qualifie them for Heaven, or to be fo wilfully vitious as to deferve Hell, but to be in a kind of middle ftate here between Vertue and Vice, whatever they fhall be in hereafter; and many who are guilty of fome Vices which the Scripture declares damnable and exclufive of Heaven, yet are not of fuch downright Irreligion and General Profligacy and Debauchery

Debauchery as others: Thus also many have fome real fenfe of Religion, but yet are but weakly moved and influenced by it, and do but juft live in a very low way of Grace and Vertue, and are not fo Rich in good works, nor do fo abound in Acts of Piety, Zeal, Usefulness, and Charity as others. Therefore one Equal Complete Perfect Entire State either of Happinefs or Mifery cannot belong to all these alike, but Heaven or Hell are proportionably unequal different conditions of both exactly fuited and fitted to the Moral and Religious Deferts, Capacities and Qualifications of all Rational Beings in which they fhall be fixt to all Eternity without alteration, though perhaps not without further improvements and gradual rifings and fallings, according to the Nature of either of thofe States.

Thefe Thoughts have been a great ease and fatisfaction to my felf in the Conception of the great and amazing things of another World; and I therefore communicate them not only on the fore-mentioned account, but because they may be fo to others who confider thofe greatest Objects of Meditation with any penetration of thought, according to the best helps we have of Philofophy and Scripture; and I am perfuaded it would be good Service to Religion if it were thus fairly reconciled in all the revea led Truths and Articles of it to the thoughts of inquifitive Men, as I doubt not but it may be. But this is a fubject of another Nature, which I am not now to meddle withal.

CHAP.

CH A P. VI.

Practical Rules and Directions concerning the Particular Exercife of Repentance.

Shall now confider the Particular Exercise of Repentance taken as a fingle Duty diftinct from all others of Obedience, which are in the largeft fenfe involved in it, and without which it is not effectual to Pardon and Salvation, as I have all along fhewn; but Repentance taken fingly for a particular act of a Sinner juft ftruck and affected with a fense of his Sins, and exercifing at fet times Penitential Reflections and proper Actions upon the thoughts and remembrance of them; this which is often called Repentance, and is fo in fome fenfe, but not fufficient to compleat this Duty and to entitle us to all the effects of Repentance as they are promised to it in Scripture in a more large and comprehensive Notion, as including a good Life and all manner of Obedience after we have failed and come fhort in any point: This which I would call Penitence or Penance, as being a Penal Exercife or Penitenial Course and Discipline fit for a Sinner to go through, after he has committed any great Sin, or whenever he seriously remembers and confiders and recollects as he ought often to do with himself,the most confiderable mifcarriages of his Life; This confifts in thefe following things.