return upon us with double Strength: Hell and Damnation will conftantly play before our Eyes, and not suffer the least Glimpse of Comfort to enter, nor leave us Courage to repent of our Sins, or to fly to our last and only Hope, the Mercy of God. To the Truth of what I fay, witness the latest and the bitterest Hours of dying Sinners! Hours of Woe and Despair! in which the Soul, confcious of its own Deferts, anticipates the Pains of Hell, and suffers the very Torments of the Damned! in which it feels the Worm which never dies beginning to gnaw, and lies expiring amidst the Terrors of Guilt, without Power either to think of God, or to forget Him! So that all that Sinners get by forming to themselves Refolutions of Unbelief (for that I take to be the true Case of fuch Unbelievers as we are now fpeaking of) is to render their Cafe more defperate; to cut off all Retreat to the Mercy of God, when the Day of their Distress overtakes them; and to lay up in ftore for themselves a double Portion of Mifery, both in this Life and that which is to come.

Since then even the Hopes which Sinners conceive from Unbelief in this World, that they shall undisturbedly enjoy the Pleasures

of

of Vice without fuffering under the Rebukes of their own Minds, are fo very uncertain, fo liable to be diffipated by every crofs Accident of Life; fince they cannot alter their Condition, except for the worse, in the Life to come; it must needs be allowed that Sinners make a very ill Choice for themfelves, when they facrifice the Powers of the Mind to the Paffions of the Heart.

As

long as Men retain a Senfe of God and Religion upon their Minds, there is great Hope that fome Time or other Reason will prevail, and extricate the Man from the Mifery of Sin. Good Principles are the Seeds of good Actions: And, though the Seed may be buried under much Rubbish, yet, as long as there is Life in it, there is a reasonable Expectation of feeing Fruit from it fome time or other: But, when Reason and Understanding are depraved, and as far corrupted as the very Paffions of the Heart; when thus the Blind leads the Blind, what elfe can we expect, but that bath fall into the Ditch?

But Vice is not the only Root from which Infidelity fprings; nor are all, who profess themselves Unbelievers, to be charged with uncommon Degrees of Wickednefs. Happy B 4

were

return upon us with double Strength: Hell and Damnation will conftantly play before our Eyes, and not suffer the least Glimpfe of Comfort to enter, nor leave us Courage to repent of our Sins, or to fly to our last and only Hope, the Mercy of God. To the Truth of what I fay, witness the latest and the bitterest Hours of dying Sinners! Hours of Woe and Despair! in which the Soul, conscious of its own Deserts, anticipates the Pains of Hell, and fuffers the very Torments of the Damned! in which it feels the Worm which never dies beginning to gnaw, and lies expiring amidst the Terrors of Guilt, without Power either to think of God, or to forget Him! So that all that Sinners get by forming to themselves Refolutions of Unbelief (for that I take to be the true Case of fuch Unbelievers as we are now fpeaking of) is to render their Cafe more desperate; to cut off all Retreat to the Mercy of God, when the Day of their Diftrefs overtakes them; and to lay up in ftore for themselves a double Portion of Mifery, both in this Life and that which is to come.

Since then even the Hopes which Sinners conceive from Unbelief in this World, that they fhall undisturbedly enjoy the Pleasures

of

As

of Vice without fuffering under the Rebukes of their own Minds, are fo very uncertain, fo liable to be diffipated by every crofs Accident of Life; fince they cannot alter their Condition, except for the worse, in the Life to come; it must needs be allowed that Sinners make a very ill Choice for themfelves, when they facrifice the Powers of the Mind to the Paffions of the Heart. long as Men retain a Senfe of God and Religion upon their Minds, there is great Hope that fome Time or other Reason will prevail, and extricate the Man from the Mifery of Sin. Good Principles are the Seeds of good Actions: And, though the Seed be buried under much Rubbish, may yet, as long as there is Life in it, there is a reasonable Expectation of seeing Fruit from it fome time or other: But, when Reafon and Understanding are depraved, and as far corrupted as the very Paffions of the Heart; when thus the Blind leads the Blind, what elfe can we expect, but that bath fall into the Ditch?

But Vice is not the only Root from which Infidelity springs; nor are all, who profefs themselves Unbelievers, to be charged with uncommon Degrees of Wickednefs. Happy

were it for Mankind, were there but one Temptation to one Vice! Common Diligence might then secure the single Pass against the Enemy; whereas now, whilft we guard the most suspected Place, the strongest often falls into his Hands: And thus it fometimes happens in the Cafe before us, that, whilst we act with a Superiority to all the Vanities of the World, to all the Allurements and Temptations of bodily Pleasure, Reason itself is betrayed by the Vanity of our Hearts, and finks under the Pride and Affectation of Knowledge. To know all that can be attained to by our utmoft Diligence and Sagacity, to fearch into the hidden Caufes of Things, to examine the Truth and Reality of our Knowledge, is an Ambition worthy of a rational Soul. But all Kinds of laudable Ambition grow to be vicious and despicable, when, instead of purfuing the real Good, which is the true Object, they seek only to make a Shew and an Appearance of it, Thus it is that Ambition for Virtue produces Hypocrify; Ambition for Courage, empty Boaftings and unreafonable Refentments; and, by the fame Rule, Ambition for Learning and Knowledge produces Pedantry and Paradoxes: For he who would defire to

appear