continually burning in them, never to be quenched or abated: for, certainly, as the smiles and favour of the eternal God constitute the joys of Heaven, so do His frowns and anger make up the flames of Hell. To see Him that made us displeased with us, to see Mercy itself to frown upon us, to see the great and All-glorious Creator of the world, the chiefest Good, to look angrily upon us, and to shew Himself offended at us, and incensed against us! Methinks the very thoughts of it are sufficient to make the stoutest heart amongst us tremble. But then what shall we think of those poor souls that see and feel it? What shall we think of them? Questionless, they are more miserable than we are able to think them to be. For we cannot possibly conceive either the greatness of Heaven's glory or the sharpness of Hell's torments; only this we know, and may be certain of, that whatsoever is ungrateful to their minds, whatsoever is troublesome to their thoughts, whatsoever is contrary to their desires, whatsoever is painful to their bodies, or whatsoever is or can be destructive and tormenting to their souls, that, all they who are once in Hell shall fear and feel, and that for ever.

14.

But this is too sad and doleful a subject to insist on long, neither should I have mentioned it, but for our own good, and to prepare us the better, both for the understanding and improving the advice of our Saviour, "Enter ye in Matt. 7. 13, at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." The meaning of which words, in brief, may be reduced to these three heads:

I. That it is an easy matter to go to Hell, that place of torments we have now been describing, and by consequence that many go thither: for the gate is wide, and the way is broad, that leadeth thither.

II. That it is a hard and difficult thing to get to Heaven, that place of joys we before spake of, and by consequence that but few get thither: " For strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth to it."

III. Howsoever difficult it is, our Saviour would have

us strive to get to Heaven, so as to press through that strait gate, and walk in that narrow way, that leadeth into life.

I. As for the first, that the gate is wide, and the way broad, that leads to hell, or that it is an easy matter to go thither, I need not use many words to prove it. For though there be but few that mind it, I dare say there is scarce any one but believes it, yea, and hath oftentimes found it too true by experience, even that it is an easy matter to sin, and that we know, is the broad way that leads to hell; so broad, that they who walk in it, can find no bounds or limits in it, wherewithin to contain themselves; neither are they ever out of their way, but go which way they will, they are still in the ready way to ruin and destruction. And usually it is as plain as broad, so that men rarely meet with any roughness or trouble in it, but rather with all the pleasures and delights which they desire, who look no higher than to please the flesh; yea, whatsoever it is that they naturally desire, they still meet with it in the road to hell; and whatsoever is ungrateful and irksome to them, they are never troubled with it in the ways of sin. There are no crosses to be taken up, no self to be denied, but rather indulged and gratified; there are no such tedious and troublesome things as examining our hearts, and mortifying our lusts, as praying or hearing, as fasting or watching: these are only to be found in the narrow path that leads to Heaven; the broad way to hell is altogether unacquainted with them, being strewed all along with carnal pleasures and sensual delights, with popular applause and earthly riches, and such fine things as silly mortals use to be taken with.

And hence it is, that, as our Saviour tells us, many there be which find this way, and go in at this wide gate that leads to ruin, because they see not whither it leads, but they see the baits and allurements which are in it, which they cannot but crowd about as fishes about the hook, or as flies about a candle, till they be destroyed. Yea, this way to destruction is so broad, that almost all the world is continually walking in it; the gate so wide, that thousands at a time pass through it. And, therefore, we may well conclude, it is a very easy thing to go to that place of torments which

even now we spake of, or rather that it is a hard, a difficult matter, to keep out of it, the way being so narrow that carries from it, that it is a difficult thing to find it; and the way so broad that leads unto it, that none can miss of it that hath but a mind to walk in it.

But I hope none of my readers have so, God forbid they should have, a mind to go to Hell: their taking religious books into their hands is rather an argument that they have a mind to go to Heaven, and read on purpose to learn the way thither. And we do well to take all opportunities of finding out the way to bliss; for we may assure ourselves it is a very narrow one, it is hard to find it out, but much more hard to walk in it; for it is a way very rarely trodden, so that there is scarce any path to be seen, most people going either on one side or else on the other side of it; some running into the by-paths of error, heresy, or schism; others into the broad way of profaneness or security insomuch that there are but very few that hit upon the right path that leads directly to the New Jerusalem, the place of rest. I speak not this of myself; no, Christ Himself, that came from Heaven to earth, on purpose to shew us the way from earth to Heaven, saith, that "strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it!"

II. And let not any think that Christ spoke these words in vain, or that it is no great matter whether we believe what He said or no. For, questionless, one great reason why so few ever come to Heaven, is because most think it so easy to get thither, that they need not take any care or pains about it. For even amongst ourselves, to whom the Gospel is so clearly revealed, men generally think if they do but read the Scriptures, and hear sermons, and live honestly with their neighbours, so as to harm nobody, but pay every one their own, then they shall as surely come to Heaven as if they were there already; nay, many are so simple as to think that their separation from the Church militant on earth is the way to bring them to the Church triumphant in Heaven; and others so ridiculous as to believe that a death-bed repentance is sufficient to entitle them to eternal life. But stay a while it is not so easy a matter to

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get to Heaven. Indeed to me it seems one of the greatest mysteries in the world, that ever any man or woman should come thither; that such sinful worms as we are, who are born in sin, and live so long in sin and rebellion against the great Creator of the world, should ever be received so far into His grace and favour, as to enjoy life and eternal happiness in Him. And did we look no further than ourselves, we might justly despair of ever obtaining so transcendent glory which we are so altogether unworthy of. But the goodness of God both is and hath been so great to mankind, that there is none of us but, in and through the merits of Christ Jesus, is in a capacity of it. But we must not think that it is so easy a thing to come to Heaven, as the Devil, the world, and our own base hearts, would persuade us it is: if we do, we are never likely to come thither; no, we may assure ourselves, as Heaven is the greatest good that we can attain, so doth it require our greatest care and study imaginable to attain it.

This, therefore, is that which I shall endeavour to convince men of, and account myself happy if I can do it. For I dare say, there is none of us but desire to see Christ in glory, and to be happy with Him and in Him for ever; but that we can never be, unless we do whatsoever is required of us in order to it; and if we think it is so easy a matter to do whatsoever is required of us, I have just cause to suspect that we never yet made trial of it, nor set ourselves seriously upon the performance of those duties which are enjoined us here in reference to our being happy for ever. For if we have set upon it in good earnest, we cannot but have found very hard and difficult, by reason of our natural averseness from what is good, and inclinations unto evil. For we Heb. 12. 14. all know that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." So that holiness is the way, the direct and only way that leads to Heaven; neither is there any way imaginable of being happy hereafter, but by being holy here. And though it be an easy thing to profess holiness, and to perform some external acts of it, yet to be truly pious and holy indeed, so as we must be if ever we would go to Heaven, this is every whit as difficult as the other is easy.

it

1. For, first, I suppose all will grant that He is not truly

holy that lives in any known sin, as the Apostle intimates, saying, "He that is born of God doth not commit sin." 1 John 3. 9. And therefore he that still indulgeth himself in the commission of any known sin, he is not yet regenerate or born of God, he is not truly holy. So that to our being so holy here as that we may be happy hereafter, it is absolutely and indispensably necessary that we forsake and avoid to the utmost of our power whatsoever is offensive unto God, and contrary to His laws. But it is as difficult as it is necessary to forsake sin as we ought to do. It is an easy matter, I confess, to rail at sin, to backbite others, or blame ourselves for it. But that is not the business; but to loathe our sins as much as ever we loved them, to abhor as much as ever we desired them, and to be as much averse from them as ever we were inclined to them; to forsake sin as sin, and by consequence all sin whatsoever, one as well as another; so as to deny ourselves all that pleasure we were wont to take in any sin, and all that seeming profit which we used to receive by it, and that too out of love to God, and fear of His displeasure: this is to forsake sin indeed, but it is sooner spoken of than done; and it requires a great deal of time, and skill, and pains, to get so great a conquest over ourselves as this is, to cut off our right hand, to pluck out our right eye, and cast it from us; even renounce and forsake those very beloved and darling sins, which the temper and constitution of our bodies, the corruption of our hearts, and constant custom and practice, hath made in a manner natural to us. So that our very natures must be changed before we can ever leave them. And, therefore, it must needs be a matter of as great difficulty as it is of moment to master and subdue those sins and lusts that have been long predominant in us; which I dare say many of us have found by their own sad and woeful experience, having struggled perhaps many years against some corruption, and yet to this day have not got it under, nor totally subdued it. And it is such, and such alone, who are competent judges in this case, for they that never strove against their sins, cannot know how strong they are, nor how hard it is to conquer them. And therefore it is to those who have made it their business to destroy and mortify their lusts, that I appeal