to secure that which they are already possessed of *." If, after all, there are some whose minds are hardened against all the forms and appearances of external things, and that look down with equal contempt upon all the events of this world, whether of a dreadful or engaging aspect, even this disposition of mind does not make them happy: nor do they think themselves so, they have still something to make them uneasy; the obscure darkness that overspreads their minds, their ignorance of heavenly things, and the strength of their carnal affections, not yet entirely subdued. And, though these we are now speaking of are by far the noblest and most beautiful part of the human race; yet, if they had not within them that blessed hope of removing hence, in a little time, to the regions of light, the more severely they feel the straits and afflictions, to which their souls are exposed by being shut up in this narrow earthly cottage, so much they certainly would be more miserable than the rest of mankind.

As oft, therefore, as we reflect upon these things, we will find that the whole comes to this one conclusion: "There is certainly some end t." There is, to be sure, some end suited to the nature of man, and worthy of it; some particular, complete, and permanent good: and since we in vain look for it within the narrow verge of this life, and among the many miseries that swarm on it from * Alia felicitate ad illam felicitatem tuendam opus est. † ἐσίν ἄρα τί τέλος.

beginning to end, we must of necessity conclude, that there is certainly some more fruitful country, and a more lasting life, to which our felicity is reserved, and into which we will be received when we remove hence. This is not our rest, nor have we any place of residence here; it is the region of fleas and gnats, and while we search for happiness among these mean and perishing things, we are not only sure to be disappointed, but also not to escape those miseries, which, in great numbers, continually beset us; so that we may apply to ourselves the saying of the famous artist, confined in the island of Crete, and truly say, "The earth and the sea are shut up against us, and neither of them can favour our escape; the way to heaven is alone open, and this way we will strive to go *."

Thus far we have advanced by degrees, and very lately we have discoursed upon the immortality of the soul, to which we have added the resurrection of our earthly body by way of appendix. It remains that we now inquire into the happiness of the life to come.

Yet, I own, I am almost deterred from entering upon this enquiry by the vast obscurity and sublimity of the subject, which in its nature is such, that we can neither understand it, nor, if we could, can it be expressed in words. The divine Apostle, who had had some glimpse of this felicity, describes it no otherwise than by his silence, calling the words * Nec tellus nostræ, nec patet unda fugæ, Restat iter cæli, cœlo tentabimus ire.

he heard, "unspeakable, and such as it was not lawful for a man to utter *." And, if he neither could, nor would express what he saw, far be it from us boldly to force ourselves into, or intrude upon what we have not seen; especially as the same Apostle, in another place, acquaints us, for our future caution, that this was unwarrantably done by some rash and forward persons in his own time. But since in the sacred archives of this new world, however invisible and unknown to us, we have some maps and descriptions of it suited to our capacity; we are not only allowed to look at them, but, as they were drawn for that very purpose, it would certainly be the greatest ingratitude, as well as the highest negligence in us, not to make some improvement of them. Here, however, we must remember, what a great odds there is between the description of a kingdom in a small and imperfect map, and the extent and beauty of that very kingdom, when viewed by the traveller's eye; and how much greater the difference must be, between the felicity of that heavenly kingdom, to which we are aspiring, and all, even the most striking figurative expressions, taken from the things of this earth, that are used to convey some faint and imperfect notion of it to our minds? What are these things, the false glare and shadows whereof, in this earth, are pursued with such keen and furious impetuosity, riches, honours, pleasures? All these, in their justest, purest, and sublimest

* ἄρρητα, βήματα, ἅ, ἐκ εξόν ανθρωπω λαλῆσαι. 2 Cor. xii. 4.

sense, are comprehended in this blessed life: it is a treasure, that can neither fail nor be carried away by force or fraud: it is an inheritance uncorrupted and undefiled, a crown that fadeth not away, a never-failing stream of joy and delight: it is a marriage-feast, and of all others the most joyous and most sumptuous; one that always satisfies, and never cloys the appetite: it is an eternal spring, and an everlasting light, a day without an evening: it is a paradise, where the lilies are always white and full blown, the saffron blooming, the trees sweat out their balsams, and the tree of life in the midst thereof: it is a city where the houses are built of living pearls, the gates of precious stones, and the streets paved with the purest gold; yet all these are nothing but veils of the happiness to be revealed on that most blessed day; nay, the light itself, which we have mentioned among the rest, though it be the most beautiful ornament of this visible world, is at best but a shadow of that heavenly glory; and how small soever that portion of this inaccessible brightness may be, which, in the sacred scriptures, shines upon us through these veils, it certainly very well deserves that we should often turn our eyes towards it, and view it with the closest attention.

Now, the first thing that necessarily occurs in the constitution of happiness, is a full and complete deliverance from every evil, and every grievance; which we may as certainly expect to meet with in that heavenly life, as it is impossible to be attained

while we sojourn here below. All tears shall be wiped away from our eyes, and every cause and occasion of tears for ever removed from our sight; there, there are no tumults, no wars, no poverty, no death, nor disease; there, there is neither mourning nor fear, nor sin, which is the source and fountain of all other evils: there is neither violence within doors, nor without, nor any complaint, in the streets of that blessed city; there, no friend goes out, nor enemy comes in. 2. Full vigour of body and mind, health, beauty, purity, and perfect tranquillity. 3. The most delightful society of angels, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all the saints; among whom there are no reproaches, contentions, controversies, nor party-spirit, because there are, there, none of the sources whence they can spring, nor any thing to encourage their growth; for there is, there, particularly, no ignorance, no blind self-love, no vain-glory nor envy, which is quite excluded from those divine regions; but, on the contrary, perfect charity, whereby every one, together with his own felicity, enjoys that of his neighbours, and is happy in the one as well as the other hence there is among them a kind of infinite reflection and multiplication of happiness, like that of a spacious hall adorned with gold and precious stones, dignified with a full assembly of kings and potentates, and having its walls quite covered with the brightest looking glasses. 4. But what infinitely exceeds, and quite eclipses all the rest, is that boundless ocean of happiness, which results from