For though Paradife, where God placed Adam in Innocence, was a happier State of Life than this World, freed from all the Disorders of a mortal Body, and from all the necessary Cares and Troubles of this Life, yet you'll all grant that Heaven is a happier Place than an earthly Paradife; and therefore it is more for our Happiness to be tranflated from Earth to Heaven, than to have lived always in an earthly Paradife. You will all grant, that the State of good Men, when they go out of these Bodies before the Refurrection, is a happier Life than Paradife was; for it is to be with Chrift, as St Paul tells us, which is far better, Phil. i. 23. And when our Bodies rife again from the Dead, you will grant they will be more glorious Bodies than Adam's was in Innocence: For the first man was of the earth earthy, but the Second man is the Lord from heaven, I Cor. xv. 47. Adam had an earthly mortal Body, though it should have been immortal by Grace; but at the Refurrection our Bodies fhall be fashioned like unto Chrift's moft glorious Body. The righteous shall shine forth like the Sun in the kingdom of their Father: That as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall alfo bear the image of the beavenly, I Cor. xv. 49. So that our Redemption by Christ has infinitely the Advantage of Adam's Fall, and we have no reafon to complain, That by man came death, fince by man alfo came the refurrection of the dead. That

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St Paul might well magnify the Grace of God in our Redemption by Christ, above his Juftice and Severity in punishing Adam's Sin with Death, Rom. v. 15, 16, 17. But not as the offence, fo alfo is the free gift: For if thro' the offence of one, many be dead; much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jefus Chrift, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that finned, fo is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation; but the free gift is of many offences unto juftification. For if by one man's offence, death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteoufnefs, fhall reign in life by one, fefus Chrift. Where the Apostle magnifies the Grace of God upon a fourfold Account.

1. That Death was the juft reward of Sin, it came by the offence of one, and was an Act of Juftice in God: Whereas our Redemption by Chrift is the Gift of Grace, the free Gift, which we had no juft Claim to. 2. That by Christ we are not only deliver'd from the Effects of Adam's Sin, but from the Guilt of our own: For tho' the judgment was by one to condemnation; the free gift is of many offences unto juftification. 3. That though we die in Adam, we are not barely made alive again in Christ, but fhall reign in life by one, Jefus Chrift; which is a much happier Life than what we lost in Adam. 4. That as we die by one Man's Of fence, fo we live by one too; By the righteouf

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nefs of one, the free gift comes upon all men unto juftification of life. We have no reason to complain, that the Sin of Adam is imputed to us to Death, if the Righteousness of Christ purchase for us eternal Life. The first was a neceffary Confequence of Adam's lofing Paradife; the fecond is wholly owing to the Grace of God.

Thus we fee what it is that makes us mortal: God did not make Death; he created us in a happy and immortal State; but by man fin entered into the world, and death by fin. Whatever Averfion then we have to Death, fhould beget in us a greater Horror of Sin, which did not only at first make us mortal, but is to this Day both the Cause of Death, and the Sting of it. No Degree indeed of Virtue now can preferve us from dying; but yet Virtue may prolong our Lives, and make them happy while Sin very often haftens us to the Grave, and cuts us off in the very midst of our Days. An intemperate and luftful Man destroys the most vigorous Conftitution of Body, dies of a Fever, or Dropfy, or Rottenness and Confumptions; others fall a Sacrifice to private Revenge, or publick Juftice, or a Divine Vengeance, for the wicked shall not live out half their Days. However, fetting afide fome little natural Averfions, which are more eafily conquer'd, and Death were a very innocent, harmless, nay, defirable Thing, did not Sin give a Sting to it, and terrify us with

the Thoughts of that Judgment which is to follow. Quarrel not then at the Divine Juftice in appointing Death; God is very good, as well as juft in it; but vent all your Indignation against Sin; pull out this Sting of Death, and then you will fee nothing but Smiles and Charms in it; that it is nothing but putting off these mortal Bodies; to reaffume them again with all the Advantage of an immortal Youth. It is certain indeed we muft die, this is appointed for us; and the very Certainty of our Death will teach us that Wisdom which may help us to regain a better Immortality than we have loft.

SECT. II.

How to improve this Confideration, That we muft certainly die.

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OR, 1. If it be certain that we must die, this fhould teach us frequently to think of Death, to keep it always in our Eye and View. For, why fhould we caft off the Thoughts of that which will certainly come, especially when it was fo neceffary to the good Government of our Lives, to remember that we must die? If we muft die, I think it concerns us to take care, that we may die happily, and that depends upon our living well and nothing has fuch a powerful Influence upon the good Government of our Lives, as

;

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the thoughts of Death. I have already fhewed you what Wisdom Death will teach us; but no Man will learn this, who does not confider what it is to die; and no Man will practise it, who does not often remember that he muft die: But he that lives under a constant Senfe of Death, has a perpetual Antidote against the Follies and Vanities of this World, and a perpetual Spur to Virtue.

When fuch a Man finds his Defires after this World enlarge beyond, not only the Wants, but the Conveniencies of Nature, Thou Fool, fays he to himself, What is the Meaning of all this? What kindles this infatiable Thirst of Riches? Why must there be no end of adding Houfe to House, and Field to Field? Is this World thy Home? Is this thy abiding City? Doft thou hope to take up an eternal Reft here? Vain Man! Thou must fhortly remove thy Dwelling, and then whofe shall all these Things be? Death will fhortly close thy Eyes, and then thou shalt not fo much as fee the God thou worshippeft; the Earth fhall fhortly cover thee, and then thou fhalt have thy Mouth and Belly full of Clay and Duft. Such Thoughts as these will cool our Defires to this prefent World: will make us contented when we have enough, and very charitable and liberal of what we can fpare: For what should we do with more in this World, than will carry us through it? What better and wifer Ufe can we make of fuch