but the worfer Sort of us muft fink into Defperation. But this is our Comfort, God will be merciful to all upon their true Repentance, and will never remember against them their former Iniquities. Nay, and this I think I may fay further, God will not deal more feverely with the worst of us than we our felves fhould in our Confcience think we deserved, were all our Sins and Tranfgreffions, with the true Circumftances of them, fet in the fame View and Order before us that they are in his eternal Mind. And thus much of the first Head, of Things which occafion our Miftakes and Deceits about this Matter of the Terms of our Salvation.

2. But in the fecond Place, another thing. that is apt to make us lefs dread the Confequences of a wicked Life, and to encourage our Hopes of Heaven upon very easy Conditions, is the vaft Number of Delinquents that God has to punish, if he will punish all who do not lead fuch Lives as the Gospel prefcribes. For thus we reafon tho' my own Confcience tells me I am not fo good as I ought to be, yet I have reafon to believe that I am not worse than the Generality of those I converfe with, and yet they hope to be happy hereafter, or if they be not, Lord, how few fhall be faved! Sure God will not fend to Hell fuch a prodigious Multitude of Souls, as he must be fuppofed to do, if he fave none but the truly Virtuous and Religious: for at this Rate, Hell L 3 will

will be very full, and Heaven will be extremely empty. To fpeak plainly now to this. If those People who reafon in this Manner be honest and well-meaning Chriftians, and do in the main of their Lives endeavour to serve God, and to live righteously and foberly among their Neighbours, tho' yet their Lives are not fo ftrict, or so devout, or fo perfect, that they can fatisfy themselves that they have attained to those Degrees of Piety and Virtue that the Gospel feems to require of them: I fay, if this be their Condition, I would not willingly deprive them of the Comfort of this Reafoning of theirs: Not that there is any Force in their Argument, but becaufe we have really Reason to hope well of these Men, and of fuch as they are. And I do believe

there is a great Number of fuch in the World, Men who are honeft and fincere in the main, and do endeavour to approve themselves to God, but are yet in a low and imperfect State of Virtue. Now as to thefe, I fay, I would by no means difcourage them, only defire them for God's Sake, and for their own Peace Sake, to take a little more Pains, and to break loofe from that Weight which hangs upon them, thofe Sins which do now fo easily befet them. This they may certainly do, if they will apply their Minds to it, and by what means they may make their Calling and Election fure to themselves, which at prefent is uncertain. But now ha

ving faid this, I add further; for any Man that hath no Senfe of Religion, or who lives in a stupid, fenfual, or worldly Life, with little Regard to God or the Concernments of his Soul, or who obftinately perfeveres in any Course of open Sin against his Confcience; for any fuch Man to reafon after this Sort, or to make use of this Argument of the Multitude of Offenders for the comforting himfelf that he fhall efcape well enough, is one of the most impudent things that can be. For admit that the Number of fuch wicked People as he is, was as great as he fuppofeth it to be (as we hope it is not) yet fhall the Number of Offenders affrighten the juft Judge and Governor of the World from executing his righteous Laws upon them? It often indeed happens among Men, that the Multitude of Criminals is a Security to them from Punishment; for the Greatness of their Number may make it formidable to the Magistrate to grapple with them, and therefore for Reasons of State there is a Neceffity of conniving at the moft, and making Examples of a few. But is this any Reason for God Almighty to fpare infolent Rebels? That God that made the World with his Breath, and can with the fame Breath turn it into nothing? That God who receives no Profit or Advantage by our utmost Services, nor can fuffer any Diminution of his infinite Glory and Bleffednefs, tho' we and all Mankind were utterly deftroyed? I fay, with

L 4

fuch

12,

fuch a God as this, can it be urged as an Argument to have Pity on Offenders, to fay that they are too many to be punished? It is rather a Blafphemy to name it. And then as for that Suggestion, that after this way of dealing with Mankind, Hell would indeed be full, but Heaven would be empty; let them not trouble themselves about that. It is to be hoped God has more good People in the World than they (who meafure other Folks by themselves) are aware of. And thoufands, and ten thousands, whom they neverMat. 8.11, think of, Shall at the laft Day come from the Eaft, and from the Weft, and from all the Quarters under Heaven, and fit down with Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of God, when thefe wicked Chil dren of the Kingdom, who had fo many Advantages above the reft of Mankind, fhall be caft out. Yet further, if we fhould admit the greatest Part of Mankind to be as bad as they would have them, to be Atheists, or Knaves, or Hypocrites; nay, if we should fuppofe all Mankind to be Devils incarnate, yet I could by no means yield, that for all this Hell would be near fo full as Heaven. For how many foever the Devils and wicked Men be, there is no doubt in the World, but there are abundantly more (I was going to fay infinitely more) happy and pure Spirits who never departed from God, and who now do, and ever fhall inhabit those vaft

and

7

and glorious Mansions above, than the Number of that infernal Crew can amount to.

3. Another thing that leads us often into Deceits, by making us think better of our Condition than we ought to do, is our Aptnefs to measure our Actions, not by the intrinfick Goodness or Evilness that is in them, but by the popular Opinions that go about concerning them.

Thus for Inftance, when we find that there are fundry Practices frequently and commonly used among Men, which tho' they are exprefly against the Letter of God's Law, do not yet found very ill among the Men of the World, nor is there any Mark of Infamy put upon them, we are apt to conclude from hence, that these Practices, tho' they be Sins in fome Sort, yet so small they are, that we cannot doubt but they will be easily paffed by when we come to make our Accounts with God. This, I fay, is a great Temptation to indulge our selves in many Sins, and yet for all that to believe that all things are right with us. For who is there that is led by this Sort of Principles, that can think himself much concerned to avoid that Action which he fees every Day to be fo inoffenfively practifed; nay, perhaps there is not only no Blemish, no Difreputation doth attend it, but among many it is thought allowable, and by fome commendable.

I muft