ledge in the Most High. Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world, they increase in riches. But the Psalmist acknowledges his own ignorance, and the infirmity of his flesh, but when he went into the sanctuary of God, and rightly considered, then understood he their end, and saith, Surely thou didst set them in slippery places, thou castedst them down into destruction: how are they brought into desolation as in a moment, they are utterly consumed with terrors, as a dream when one awaketh, so O Lord when thou awaketh thou shalt despise their image and after all this grievious temptation, the righteous can rejoice, and say, As for me, I am continually with thee, thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. (Psalm lxxiii.) And David saith, Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb; for the Lord shall laugh at him, for he seeth that his day is coming. I have seen the wicked, saith David, in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree, yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. (Psalm xxxvii.) It may be that the rich man did not think that his time was so short, when he set his mind so much upon his goods; but oh! how dreadful it must be unto him in the same night, when God required his soul. (Luke xii. 20.) And to you who are troubled, saith St. Paul, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. [2 Thes. i. 7.-chap. viii. 9.] Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat, I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not; and their excuse then will be of no use unto them, and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. [Matt. xxv.]

Therefore we plainly see, if we serve and embrace the grace and goodness of God, it will be for our everlasting peace and rest; but on the other hand, if we abuse it, it will prove our everlasting woe and misery. And St. John saith by the Revelation, that they have no rest day nor night, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up, for ever and ever. (Rev. xiv. 11.) And they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pain, and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. (chap. xvi. 10, 11.) And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not, of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. [chap. xviii. 4, 5, 6.] But behold, here is an exhortation to turn to God, for it is said, He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son; but the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. [chap. xxi. 6, 8,] And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beasts and the false prophets are, and shall be tormented day and night, for ever and ever, and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death. [chap. xx. 10, 14.] And John the Divine saith, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia: Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. [chap. xix. 1, 2, 3.] But mark the perfect, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. [Psalm xxxvii. 37.] But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt; there is no peace saith my God to the wicked. [Isaiah Ivii. 20, 21.] No, none at all, as we see the rich man when he was in hell lifted up his supplication unto Abraham, that he may send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool his tongue, for he said, I am tormented in this flame. [Luke xvi. 24.] But there is no

peace saith my God to the wicked; therefore it may be said by some poor sinner, I see by these lines, and by my works, that I have merited this place of torment; but Oh, must it be so, is there not so much as one twig for my poor soul to catch at, that there may be some hopes of delivering my poor sinful soul from hell; now I will say to that poor soul, be not dismayed, for I conceive that there is a lively spark of God's grace still with thee, therefore I would advise thee to come to the Lord as sinful as you are, praying for the gifts of repentance, mingled with faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and if you pray for the pardon of your sins, in faith and in truth, and to rest with your Maker in heaven, I say then, if this be the case, hell cannot detain a faithful soul from God; but for further consolation, look into my Books called The Goodness of God, the Sufferings of Christ, and Exhortation.

BOOK THE THIRTIETH.

The Blessed State of the Righteous.

O what an admirable work is this relating to the Blessed State of the Righteous. O how it comforts my soul; because it is filled up with the goodness of God, it is filled up with blessings and promises for the children of God, and for their everlasting happiness; and this work is so selected from the Holy Scriptures, by chapter and verse, and that in a most beauteous and admirable and plain way and manner, so that a child may understand great parts of it. But yet it is adapted and most suitable and useful for all classes of people. But notwithstanding this, beware and repent, because he who lives and dies in his sins, cannot obtain the blessings which are mentionea in this Book.

But now, behold the blessed state of the righteous; and I heard a voice from heaven, saith St. John, saying unto me, Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth; yea, saith the spirit that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (Rev. xiv. 13.) And now, O Lord, by thy help, I will talk of their blessedness, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise; and now we see how thy beloved Enoch walked with his God in faith and obedience, and he was blessed of the Lord, and he was not,

for God took him to his everlasting mansion of love. (Gen. v. 24.) And Noah also was found righteous in the sight of the Lord, and he blessed him, and saved him in the time of trouble, when the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upwards, and the high mountains were covered. (Gen. vii. 20.) The Lord also blessed Abraham, because he was found faithful, and that by an everlasting blessing. (Gen. xxii.) And after this the Lord received his righteous soul on high, and set him in the high order of heaven, to comfort the poor and needy. (Luke xvi. 20.) And the Lord also blessed his son Isaac. (Gen. xxvi. 3.) And Jacob with a peculiar blessing. Gen. xxxii. 24.) And their names are upon record in the Lamb's Book' of life. (Matt. viii. 11.) And after this, the Lord was with his son Joseph in Egypt, and comforted him in all his trials and adversity; and now methinks the Lord hath set his soul on high, and that he is admired by the holy saints in glory, because in his youth he gained the victory over wicked and proud lust, and bowed not his loins to the wicked allurement of women. (Gen. xxxix. 7.) And again, we see after these things, how that the Lord preserved his servant Moses, and that, even from his mother's womb, and hid him three months from the hand of the destroyer. (Exod. ii. 1.) But yet after this he was nourished and preserved in the midst of all his enemies, to the intent that the Lord might perform his mercy which he promised to Abraham and his seed for ever. Now the Lord was with Moses, and it appears that he was filled with the righteous law of his God, for he was a man that hated and detested cruelty and oppression, and would not let it go unpunished. (Exod. ii. 11, 12.) Therefore by this he defended the law of his God, and he is an example of righteousness to all generations, and his soul, name, and memorial is blessed for evermore. (see Luke xi. 30.-chap. xvi. 39, 31.) And blessed is the man that beareth the fruits of righteousness, for it plainly shows us that his branch is in Christ. (John xv.) And again, the Lord blessed Joshua, which succeeded Moses, and saved him in the day of battle, because he was found faithful, and set his house in order to serve the true and living God. (Joshua xxiv. 15.) And again, Samuel also was a beloved and blessed child of the Lord, and a comforter to his people Israel; and his sacrafice was accepted when he offered the sucking lamb. (1 Sam. vii. 9.) And after this we see how the Lord blessed David in his youth, and took him from the sheep fold, and anointed him to

beking, to the intent that he might rule and govern his people Israel; and concerning his sin, it is all forgiven, for he ietained not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy, and so set his soul on high, and exalted his name to honour. (Rev. xxii. 16.) And see his sweet Psalms relating to the blessed state of the righteous, which are the 15th and 16th verse 11.-(Psalm xxiii. and xxiii. and xxxvii. 25—see Psalm 1xxiii. 23.) O then, seeing that these things are so, let us comfort one another in the name of the Lord. And again, we read that Elijah was very zealous for the cause of his God, and for it he suffered much upon the earth; but O behold how blessed and happy was his soul in its station, when he ascended up to heaven in the chariot of love. (2 Kings ii. 11.) Therefore say unto the righteous, that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings: but wo unto the wicked, for it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. (Isaiah iii. 10.) But blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the rivers: and shall not see when heat cometh: but her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the time of draught, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer. xvii. 7.-see Psalm i. 3.) And precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of his saint. (Psalm cxvi. 15.) Blesse i is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments, surely he shall not be moved for ever, the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. (cxii.) The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools. (Prov. iii. 35.) The wicked are driven ⚫ away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death. (Prov. xiv. 32.) It is said in the Book of Job, that thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace, and thou shall visit thy habitation, and shall not sin, thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season. (Job v. 24.). And blessed are all they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rev. xxii. 14.) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. (Rev. xxi. 4.) There they sing the song of Moses. (Exod. xv. 1.) And of the Lamb. (Rev. xv. 3.) Saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God