THE Spring being far advanced, the Meadows being Covered with a Curious Carpet of de­lightful Green, and the Earth Cloathed in Rich and Glorious Attire, to Rejoyce and Triumph for the Return of her Shining Bridegroom: The Healthful Air rendred more Pleasing and Delightful by the gentle Winds then breathed from the South, impregnated with the Exhile­rating Fragrancy of the Variety of Flow­ers and odoriferous Plants over which they had passed; and every Blooming Bush, and Flourishing Grove plentifully stored with Winged Inhabitants, who with a [Page 2] delightful Harmony sweetly Sing forth their Makers Praise, and Warble out their Joyful Welcomes to the Gaudy Spring. I one Day took a Walk in the Fields, to Feast my Eyes with the variety of De­lightful Objects which that Season of the Year, wherein the Universe bears the near­est resemblance to the happy state where­in the Immortal God at first created it, liberally offers to the view of the Ad­miring Beholders, and thereby lays an Irresistible Obligation upon Heavenly Minds, to Spiritualize the several Obiects they b [...]hold, and satiate their happy Souls with Heavenly Meditations, by affording them such innumerable occasions of Con­templating the Divine Goodness. And as I walked, the various Objects repre­sented to my View, afforded divers occa­sions of, and furnished me with matter for different Meditations. Sometimes I would Contemplate the Divine Wisdom in the curious Frame and Fabrick of the World, stretching the North over the Empty Place, and hanging the Circle of the Earth upon nothing, when by the ir­resistable Power of his Almighty Word, he spake a Confused Chaos into Form and Beauty, Commanding some part of [Page 3] the Earth to raise it self into lofty Hills, and aspiring Mountains; forming their Concave Heads for Springs, and or­daining their Bowels for the Production of the Usefullest and the Richest Mine­rals, and appointing other Parts of it to subside into Humble Valleys, and be Formed into Champain Plains, whose Surface he Clothed with a Carpet, curi­ously interwoven with various and delight­ful Flowers, and Adorned with a Natural Landscape of stately Cedars, Shady Palms, and Spreading Pines, Fruitful Groves, Aromatick Plants, and Balsamick Shrubs, Invironing the whole with the Liquid O­cean, Commanding the Sea to Compass and Imbrace the Habitation of Man, reser­ving it as a perpetual store to Administer Rain to the Bottels of Heaven, and Con­vey Liquor to the Bubling Fountains, sup­ply Mankind with the variety of Useful and Delectable Creatures wherewith the Almighty hath stored it, and serve him for the use of Navigation and Commerce. Replenishing the Earth likewise with in­numerable Rarities, and almost Infinite Variety of Living Creatures; and furni­shing the Air with the most admirable and Ravishing Musick, Establishing a Glitte­ring [Page 4] Cannopy, admirably Beautified with Spangling Stars to cover all his Subluna­ry Works, Ordaining it to be a Taber­nacle for the Sun, whose Influence and Mo­tion Conveys Heat and Vegitation, and Measures Light and Darkness to all things beneath his Sphere.

And having thus finished and Beauti­fied the World, and prevented the very Wishes of Man by those admirable Pre­parations for him, at last he Formed him also, and from a Clod of Earth exalted him to be the Head of the Universe, and the Perfection of all the Visible Creation, advanced him into the Throne, and gave him Dominion over all the rest of the Creatures, appointing him to be their High Priest, to Offer up their Tribute to their Great Creator, whereby the Di­vine Goodness antedated his most Ample Desires, rarified his Inlarged Heart, and filled his Capacious Soul with Sacred Wonder.

Sometimes I would Expatiate in my Thoughts upon the Reasonableness and Easiness of that Law which God gave to Man in the Primitive state of Innocency and Happiness, as the Rule of his Obedi­ence, and the Condition upon which he [Page 5] should remain in the perpetual Possession of all those Glorious Felicities wherewith he was then Crowned.

And then upon the Folly and Madness of Man, that notwithstanding the Rea­sonableness of the Homage he was Obli­ged to pay to the Great Monarch of Hea­ven and Earth, he should so easily per­mit himself to be puffed up with so much Pride and Arrogancy, as to aspire after an Equality to, and be prevailed upon, and wheadled by the very first Tempta­tion to fall into flat Rebellion against, and Commence open War with his Soveraign, whereby he lost at once the Divine Fa­vour, and all the Happiness and Felicity which was the Consequence thereof, Ex­pelled himself out of Eden, and Baro­cado'd the enterance into the Celestial Paradise, against him and his Posterity for ever: Precipitated himself into a Gulf of Desolation and Woe, and ren­dered himself obnoxious and liable to all the Torments and Misery, which Abused and Inraged Justice, in Conjunction with, and Assisted by Almighty Power, was able to Inflict.

Then I could not but Meditate on the Triumphs of Hell, and how the Devils [Page 6] rejoyced at their Victory, Priding them­selves, that although they were not able to revenge themselves upon the Great God for Expelling them out of Heaven, and Casting them down into Hell, to be for ever Tormented in those unquench­able Flames, yet they had wrakt their Infernal Rage and Devilish Revenge upon Poor Mankind, and thereby spoiled as they thought the New Creation: Rob­bed God of the Honour he designed to himself thereby, and Involved Adam and all his Posterity into equal Ruine with themselves, who must now undergo a­like just Condemnation, be equal sharers with them of their Misery, and Eternal­ly bear them Company in the Everlasting burnings.

And then methoughts I saw wretched Man in a most Forlorn and Despairing Manner, bitterly exclaiming against his Madness and Folly, and pitifully bewai­ling and lamenting his deplorable and wretched Condition; running into the Woods, and striving to hide his Guilty Head among the Thickets, from the una­voidable search of the All seeing Judge, who immediately followed him thither; called him to the Bar, and Convicted [Page 7] him of the Crime of Disobeying and Rebelling against his Almighty Will, in wickedly breaking, and perfidiously vio­lating his most Just and Righteous Law. Upon which my trembling Ears diligent­ly listned to hear the dreadful Pronoun­cing of the Fatal Sentence, Consequent to the preceding threatning, in the Day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die. But lo, to my wonder and astonishment, Divine Love produced a Reprieve before Sen­tence, and Mercy stept in and stayed the Execution, Free-grace having from all E­ternity prepared a Propitiatory Sacrifice to Compensate for the Crime, and restor'd the Prisoner to the Favour of his Sove­raign; to the exceeding amazement of Angels, those shining Courtiers of the King of Glory, that continually reside in his Celestial Palace, and perpetually attend the performance of his Royal Command, who were all of them hereupon filled with a Divine Wonder, at the Infinite and In­conceiveable Condescention of the great Jehovah, in parting with his own Son, his only Son, for the Redemption of Rebelli­ous and Ungrateful Man: To the inex­pressible Comfort and Consolation of the Reprieved and Pardoned wretch, who [Page 8] was hereby instantly raised from the depth of despair to the very Pinacle of hope. And to the Grief and Confusion of Hell, whose Tormented and Despairing Inhabitants found themselves strangely disappointed, by the admirable Contri­vances of the Covenant of Grace made between God the Creator, and God the Redeemer from all Eternity, whereof they had no Knowledge till now when the sweet Effects of it began to appear in the Expiation of that Mischief which their Infernal Subtilty had effected; and the advancing Man to a Happiness far more Admirable and Glorious than that from which he was fallen, in regard of the im­mutable stability thereof; it being so firmly fixed by the Eternal Decrees of God, and Confirmed by the Precious Blood of the Mediator, to all those hap­py Souls who are of the Number of Gods Elect, and for whom the Blessed Jesus hath Bought and Purchased this Eternal Happiness, that it is an utter Impossibi­lity for all the Rage of Earth and Hell to rob them, or deprive them of it.

And having thus in my Meditations run through the Creation, the Fall and Re­demption of Man, I reflected more par­ticularly [Page 9] upon the sad and innumerable miseries whereunto Fallen Man is now Sub­ject, as the Reward and Consequence of his Depravation, revolving in my Mind the Huge Slaughters, Cruel Maslacres, and the Bloody and Inhumane Executions which have happened in all Ages; the Miseries and Calamities of Sickness, and the Tormenting Pains wherewith many of those Distempers to which he is Sub­ject are attended, as the Gout, Stone, Strangury, Collique, and the like; the many unseen Accidents which frequently render the nearest Relations uncomforta­ble and displeasing, and imbitter the sweetest and most desirable Enjoyments, together with the various perplexities which always accompany the most prospe­rous and flourishing Condition of Rich and Great Men, and from which their Large Possessions, Great Places, Honourable Titles, and the Palaces of Princes cannot secure them. Nor can even the Throne it self exempt him that sits thereon from ha­ving the glittering Diadem wherewith his Royal Temples are Incircled, attended, and incumbred therewith, and rendred always uneasy, and sometime unsafe there­by; but chiefly upon the miserable and [Page 10] deplorable Condition of Man in the Loss of God's Image, and the Original Cor­ruption wherewith his very Nature is De­filed, the Poisonous and Infectious steems whereof are perpetually Bubling forth in the many and horrid Acts of Prophaneness and Debauchery, whereof his short and transitory life is Composed, and at the Pe­riod and Conclusion thereof, sadly plunges him into a Sea of Wrath and Everlast­ing Misery: And that notwithstanding all this, it is a Work of most incredible dif­ficulty to allure and prevail with this wretched Creature to accept of and im­brace the Blessed Jesus in the Offers of the Gospel, and thereby at once free him­self from the intollerable slavery of Sin, the Fear and the Danger of Hell, and be Reconciled to, and enjoy the favour of God with all the Delights and Glories of Heaven as the Consequence thereof: That nothing below an Infinite Power can possibly effect it; the Consideration whereof Clipped the Wings of my aspi­ring Soul, which till now had been Tow­ering aloft, and Soaring above the Clouds, and so overwhelmed it with Grief and Melancholly, that I sat me down on a Flowery Bank, when leaning on my Hand in a kind of a sad and sorrowful Posture, I [Page 11] fell asleep, and in my sleep I Dreamed, and methoughts I saw at some distance, an innumerable Company of Men, Wo­men and Children Dancing and expres­sing abundance of Mirth and Jolitrie, which begat in me an extream desire to inform my self of the Quality of the Per­sons, and the occasion of their Rejoycing. To which purpose I directed my steps towards them, and as I drew nearer, I found them to be vastly more in Num­ber than I at first conceived them, and could perceive that there were Persons of all Degrees and Ranks; and that Young and Old, the High and the Low were all of them ingaged in the same kind of Di­version, and that the Rich and the Honou­rable were Confusedly intermingled with the Poor and the Despicable, wherefore meeting with some stragling Persons be­fore I got up to the great Heard, I inqui­red of them with great earnestness, what Countrey it was wherein I was then Travel­ing? What kind of People they were that Inhabited it, and what was the occasion of all that Mirth which I discovered in the Company that I saw on yonder Plain?

Sir, reply'd they, every one of your Questions sufficiently demonstrate that [Page 12] you are a Stranger in our Country, which obliges us to give you as Positive and Sa­tisfactory an Answer as possibly we can; Wherefore, know Sir, the Country where­in you now are, is called Wilderness, as well for the Largeness and Barrenness of it, as the innumerable Dangers which al­ways attend those who Travel in it. It is Situated exactly between two vast and mighty Countreys, each of which are far longer and bigger than it self. There is but one way into it, through which all its Inhabitants have entred, and there are but two ways out of it, through which, all those who Travel to either of those Countries Situated upon its Borders must of necessity pass. And that fine, broad, smooth and pleasant Path which you see goes down there on the left hand, Beau­tified and Adorned with many rare and delightful Varieties, and which, as you see, is throng'd with Passengers, is one of them, and is known by the Name of Impenitency, it leads directly to the Kingdom of Darkness. And look up yonder Hill on your Right­hand, wherein you see not above two or three Travellers, is the other, and that is usually known by the Name of Conver­sion, it leads as directly to the Countrey [Page 13] which lieth on that side of the Wilderness, and is called Celestial Paradise, as the other does to the Kingdom of Darkness. Now we suppose you cannot but wonder by this time why the Path which leads down to the Kingdom of Darkness is so much Crowded with Passengers, and the other which leads to the Celestial Para­dise so seldom trod. But before we ac­quaint you with the Reasons, it is neces­sary that we inform you of the different Entertainment those Travellers meet with, as well in their Journey towards, as their Reception into each of those Countries. You must know therefore, that those which Travel towards the Celestial Para­dise, by reason of the narrowness and un­evenness of the Way, have a very hard and difficult Journey of it, are forc'd to strive and struggle hard, and put forth all their might and strength to get for­wards, because the Road lies all the way up Hill, besides which they are forced to grapple with abundance of Difficulties and Discouragements; and to Incounter with mighty and powerful Enemies, who en­deavour sometimes by flattery to perswade and allure them to forsake the way, and at other times by open force and violence [Page 14] to force and thrust them down, continually molesting them some way or other, ad­ding moreover continual Mockings and Scoffings, deriding their Madness and Fol­ly (as it is termed by them) for walking in such untrodden and forsaken Pathes. But to make amends for the troublesome­ness and unpleasantness of the way, they no sooner draw near to the Borders, and get within view of the Countrey; but they are met by some of the shining Courtiers of the Great King, by whom they are Congratulated for their safe Arrival with­in the view of the Celestial Paradise, bearing them Company, and assisting them in the remainder of their Journey, and as soon as they arrive there they are Welcomed and Embraced by the King himself, by whom they are immediately arrayed in Robes of Majesty, Seated upon Thrones of Glory, and their Victorious Temples adorned with Crowns of Triumph; in which man­ner they are to Live and Reign in the Royal Palace, and with the rest of the Blessed Inhabitants of the Place, be Kings and Priests unto himself, and the Lamb for ever and ever.

But on the contrary, those who Travel towards the Kingdom of Darkness, in re­gard [Page 15] the way is broad, plain, and easy, somewhat inclining down Hill, filled with abundance of Passengers, and replenished with many other Felicities, to render it the more pleasing and delightful, and thereby allure them to persevere therein, their Journey thither is attended with little or no trouble, opposition or diffi­culty; but they march on Couragiously in Triumph and Glory: But at the end of the way, suddenly and at unawares, and usually before they can imagine they are got half way in their Journey, they fall down into the Kingdom of Darkness, which some have thus described.

And being thus fallen into this dark and dismal Place of Horrour, they are there lost for ever, as it is said of them in Holy Writ; I saw the Wicked flourish like a green Bay-tree, but I looked, and loe sud­denly he was not. They are likewise evil­ly Intreated, and made Slaves of by the [Page 16] King of that Place, which many of them are not Ignorant of, and yet will not be perswaded from walking in the Path that leads thither, and therefore we shall next give you the Reasons thereof.

First, Some because they have Christi­an Parents, were Baptized in their In­fancy, and Educated in the Christian Re­ligion, suppose themselves born Heirs ap­parent to Celestial Happiness; and there­fore conclude that whatsoever way they walk in, they shall certainly get thither in the End. And that their Indulgeing themselves in Prophaneness and Debau­chery will prove no impediment to their obtaining that Eternal Happiness, which they vainly Imagine to be their Birth-Right: And therefore you may with as much Confidence of prevailing speak to the Mountains to remove, or Com­mand a House to turn its Foundations up­permost, as to convince them of their danger, or perswade them to lay a better Foundation for, or obtain a New Title to everlasting Glory.

Secondly, Some having Travelled many Years in the ways of Sin, and found abun­dance of delight and pleasure therein; and having never so much as looked towards [Page 17] the ways of Religiou and Holiness, but at a distance they fancy them to be far more dismal and void of pleasure and de­light than they really are, and therefore cannot perswade themselves to leave a pleasant Rode wherein they are well ac­quainted, for a loansom Path wherein they are altogether Strangers. Or, if they have ever adventured to enter a little way therein, by the Discourage­ments they meet withal, and the Revolve­ing in their Minds, the sweetness of their former Enjoyments, they have been allured back; returning with the Dog to his Vomit, and with the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the Mire.

Thirdly, The greater number are drawn into it by their Ignorance and Folly, and the Example of others; accounting it safe enough to go to Hell with a Multi­tude, and esteeming a Popularity in Mi­sery better than a Singularity in Happi­ness.

Fourthly, Some walk in the Broad-way, because all that they enjoy there is their own, and the place which they receive, at their End of it, they receive upon the Score of Merit; but if they should go in the Narrow Path, then both the necessary [Page 18] Provisions for their Journey, and the Ce­lestial Paradise at the end of it, must be given them as a Free Gift, by the King of the Country, which they cannot in­dure.

Fifthly, Many refuse to walk in the Nar­row way, because of its simplicity and plainness, they must have their Glorious Colledges, and their Splendid Ministers, their Beautiful Quires, and Raised Al­tars, Inclosed with Hangings of Arras and Tapestry, and richly furnished with the Finest Silver, and Adorned with the Gold of Ophir. They must have a Gau­dy and Pompous Worship, and a Ravi­shing Harmony of Vocal and Instrumen­tal Musick to delight and exhilerate their Spirits, and if you will deny them this, you may go to the Celestial Paradise alone for them, for you shall be sure to have none of their Company.

Sixthly, Abundance of those who walk in the Broad-way have obtained some knowledge of the Celestial Paradise, en­tertain good thoughts of it, and would fain procure an Interest therein; but it being an hereafter Happiness, an Inheri­tance in Promise only, and they being impatient Creatures, are unwilling to [Page 19] stay so long for their Happiness, or tar­ry for their Portion till the end of their Lives: Wherefore closing with the desires of those mentioned in Holy Writ; that cry out, Oh, who will shew us any good? wholly neglect that inestimable Treasure where­with those happy Souls are enriched, up­on whom the Son of the Blessed lifts up the Light of his Countenance, and there­by makes them to Rejoyce more than others whose Corn, and Wine, and Oyl increases.

Seventhly, Many of those, who do en­ter into, and make some Progress in the way to Celestial Happiness, by reason of some defects in their entrance, they after a little time strike into some of those By Paths which Border upon the way to Life, and seem to run Parallel with it, but in­deed, after some Miles Travelling they Wind off, and by insensible degrees lead into the Broad way again, and when they arrive there, they Bless themselves to find the way to Celestial Paradise, wherein they confidently perswade themselves they are yet Travelling, as free from trou­ble, and replenished with as great or great­er Felicities than that wherein they For­merly Travelled towards the Kingdom of [Page 20] Darkness; so that by this means the Con­vincing them of their dangerous mistake, and the reducing them back again to the way of life, is become far more hard and difficult than it was at first, and many of them never find they have lost their way until it is too late to return.

They having given me this Descrip­tion of the Country, I found my Heart exceedingly affected therewith, which put me in mind of what the Disciples of our Lord said to each other, viz. did not our Hearts burn within us, when he talked with us by the way, and opened to us the Holy Scrip­tures; But perceiving one of them going to proceed, I begged of them first to re­solve me this Question concerning the Narrow Way, which they called Conver­sion; whether there were no manner of Pleasure and Delight therein, which may in some measure allay the bitterness, and Compensate the troubles of the Jour­ney?

You must know, Sir, reply'd they, its so far from being wholly without, that it is the only Path in the whole Country, which affords any True, Solid, and Real Plea­sure. In the other indeed they have [...] great many Carnal Pleasures, and Flesh­ly [Page 21] Delights, but they afford no Real, but on­ly an Imaginary Happiness; and therefore although they express abundance of Mirth, yet it is the Travellers in the Narrow Way which have the only True and Real cause of Rejoycing. But you must know Sir, that they are Pilgrims, and the Hap­piness and Treasure whereof they are Pos­sessed, is such as is most agreeable to, and convenient for such a Condition; were they Clog'd and Laden as the others are, what Progress would they make, do you think, in their Pilgrimage; since the Path is so narrow, lies up Hill, and is attended with so much difficulty all the way till they come to their Journeys End? And there­fore their Treasure is chiefly within them, so that all the Enemies in the World can­not Rob them of it, nor do Strangers in­termeddle therewith: Redeeming Love, Pardoning Mercy, and Converting Grace is their Happiness and Treasure: They are Reconciled unto, and are become at Peace with God; and the Great, the E­verlasting, and the Almighty Jehovah is become their Portion and Inheritance. In­finite fullness and Alsufficience it self is the Ocean wherein they Swim, the Air wherein they Breathe, and the Fountain [Page 22] whereat they Drink, the Streams whereof refresh their Spirits, and make glad their Souls, even in the midst of outward Calamities. They have an assurance of Di­vine Love, and are filled with the Peace of God which passes all Understanding. And now I hope you are Convinced, Sir, said they, that the Way is not without its Comforts; but if it were, the sweetness of the End would Compensate and make amends for the bitterness of the Way. To which I making no reply, they conclud­ed me satisfied by my silence, and therefore proceeded.

And now, Sir, said he that spoke to me at first, having thus Described unto you the Country wherein you now are, and my Friend having resolved your Doubt concerning the Narrow Way, which we call by the Name of Conversion. I shall proceed to the Answer of your Se­cond Query, what kind of People they are which Inhabit this Countrey: They are, Sir, of the Generation of a certain Man called Adam, a Native of the Land of Eden, and being Expelled that Coun­trey for their Usurpation and Rebellion against the Monarch thereof; they set­tled in this Wilderness. They are a Peo­ple [Page 23] who are Naturally extream proud, and yet both they and all their Prede­cessors were Beggars from the Cradle, and they are born to Trouble, Desolati­on and Misery, as naturally and with as much frequency as the Sparks fly up­wards. Besides which they are in conti­nual danger of being taken in some or other of those Snares which the Prince of Dark­ness hath placed all over this Wilderness so secretly, and covered them with so much Craft and Subtilty, that its a Mat­ter of Incredible difficulty to discern them, and thereby fall into Tophet, the Place where the Damned are Eternally Tormen­ted; notwithstanding which it is their constant custome to rush amongst those Snares with as much eagerness and incon­sideration as the Horse rusheth into the Battel; and put far from them the Evil Day, until such time as it overtakes them at unawares, and the Son of the Eternal, when his Wrath and Indignation is stir­red up, suddenly tears and rends them to pieces: And in order to this, putting far from them the Evil Day, is the Intent and Design of that Mirth and Jolitry which you see expressed by the People that Dance on yonder Plain, which may [Page 24] serve as an Answer to your Third and last Query.

The Discourse being thus finished, and I having acknowledged my Obligations to them for their Courteousness and Ci­vility, returned them Thanks for their gratifying my Curiosity, and taking my Leave of them, I went towards the Plain, and as I drew nearer, I perceived there was a large hollow Circle or Cavern in the midst of them; and because I could not conceive what it should be, I pressed in among them, and going to the Brink thereof looked in, and lo to my Amaze­ment and Wonder, I then plainly per­ceived that they were all of them Dancing about a Pit that was bottomless, and play­ing with Flames that never go out; and as I stood there, methoughts I could hear the horrible out-cries and dismal Screeches of the Damned, and the Ratling of the Chains, and the Fiery Shackles of the Pri­soners of Hell, whereupon being much astonished, my Spirits sinking within me, and my very Flesh trembling for fear, I suddenly started back, and fled for my life, lest the Rowling Flame which flowed like a stream of Brimstone, should have Consumed me, or the Noisome Fumes of [Page 25] the Burning Sulphur which came up into my Nostrils should have Suffocated and Choaked me; but being gotten some di­stance from it, and as I thought out of the danger thereof, I first lifted up my Soul to God, returning Adoration and Praise to him for delivering me from the danger of the Horrible Pit; and then turning my self towards them again, I could not but stand and behold them with Admiration and Pity, and found my Heart touched with a sensible Commise­ration of their desperate Folly and Mad­ness, in their wilful continuing to sport themselves in a Place of so much hazard and danger, notwithstanding the reitera­ted cautions they perpetually receive to forwarn them of their danger, and Ad­vise them to flee from the wrath to come. And behold as I looked earnestly upon them, methoughts I saw sometimes one, and sometimes another drop into the Pit, and the Flames catched hold of them, methoughts when they were falling they struggled with all their might and main, endeavouring if possible to make their escape; but, alas, it was then too late, and there was no remedy.

But while I stood in this manner look­ing [Page 26] towards them, I saw several Gentle­men in Gowns standing up amongst them, and thereupon I drew near and listned to what they would say; and the truth is, I there heard divers very Learned and Ra­tional Discourses of the evil Consequences of Sin, the Dreadfulness of Tophet, and the Happiness of the Celestial Paradise; inso­much that I verily thought within my self, that those Orations would certainly make Converts of at least an half of the Company, and prevail with them to go on Pilgrimage to the Promised Land, which had been so admirably Described and Commended to them; and I waited with a great deal of Patience to see them begin; but all to no purpose, for not a Man of them would stir a Foot, whereat I wondered, and Reasoned thus within my self. Good God, said I, shall all these Learn­ed and Rational Discourses be spent in vain, and prove like Water spilt upon a Stone. Shall so many excellent Words, and so many curious Sentences be lost in the Air, and prove of none Effect? Shall they Accomplish nothing to thy Ho­nour, nor the good of those to whom they were directed? Shall so much Pains be taken by the Orators, and yet shall [Page]

[Page] [Page 27] they not have one Soul added to their Mi­nistry as an Incouragement to them in their Work, and to Demonstrate thy aprobati­on thereof? Lord what can be the occa­sion of this, and where shall I fix the Rea­son thereof. And methoughts I found my Mind wonderfully grieved and per­plexed because I could obtain no satis­faction therein; but after some Pauses and Serious Deliberation thereon, I con­sidered that the Reason of it was, because they Preached to them as if they were all Converts, and had already begun their Pilgrimage, and therefore stood in no need of any Perswasions to enter into the Narrow Way, but only a few short and cursory directions for their walking there­in. And whilst I was musing on this Matter, and bewailing the miserable Con­sequences of so Fatal a Mistake, I sud­denly heard a Man speak with a loud Voice like the Noise of Thunder, and looking up, I saw a fine Grave Old Man, whose Name as I have since learned was Boanerges; he laid open their miserable and undone Condition, and assured them in the Name of the Eternal Jehovah, That unless they repented they should all likewise Pe­rish: At the pronouncing whereof, I saw [Page 28] one of them began to change Counte­nance, and look as if he were almost per­swaded to become a Pilgrim; wherefore, I drew near to him, to observe what he would do, and methoughts I heard him say thus to himself: The truth is, I now see plainly that I am in a lost and undone Condition, and that this Careless and Prophane life which I now lead will cer­tainly undo me; to prevent which, I must Repent and forsake my Sins, in or­der to my finding Mercy. But, oh, said he, the mischief of all is, that I must then leave all my Delights and Pleasures, for­goe and bid an Eternal farewel to all this Brisk and Jolly Company, with whom I have hitherto spent my time in Mirth and Pleasure, and abandon those beloved Practices which always afforded me so much Delight and Satisfaction, that I have accounted them as dear to me as my Right Eye, and as necessary as my Right-hand, and the parting with them, will be as ter­rible, Displeasing, and Painful, as the Dis­joynting, nay Dis-membring of my Body; and therefore, what wilt thou do, O my Soul, wilt thou consent to a Mortificati­on of the Parts; or wilt thou content thy self with the Destruction of the whole? [Page 29] Wilt thou yield to a Cutting off those Cor­rupt Members, with which it is morally im­possible thou shouldest ever enter into life, or wilt thou resolve by a sparing of them, to plunge thy self, Soul and Body, into e­verlasting Death. And after a little pause, he added, But suppose, O my Soul, that thou couldest freely consent to part with all these things which thou hast esteemed as Precious as thy life, nay more precious than thy self, yet thou must go further and Submit to the doing and suffering ma­ny things very irksome and tedious to Na­ture; as being Buffeted, Hated, and De­rided by the World, the loss of thy Re­putation, and Credit; Goods, and Estate; the Imprisonment of thy Body, and it may be the loss of thy Life too: And in­deed the whole way to this Celestial Para­dise is attended with so much hardship and danger, that even those who Com­mend it to thee, and perswade thee to go on Pilgrimage thither, tell thee plain­ly, that through many Tribulations thou must inherit the Kingdom. Upon which methoughts he began to shrink, and shrug­ing up his Shoulders, was about to Ad­dress himself to his former Courses; whereupon I saw a Grave Serious Old [Page 30] Gentleman, who stood by, the Gravity of whose Countenance shewed him to be a Judge, (and as I remember one of them that that stood by, told me his Name was Conscience, and he is, said he, the Vicegerent of the great King) he boldly struck him upon the Shoulder, and in a kind of harsh and surly Dialect, told him plainly, that since he believed not, he was damned; and that by the rejecting the Council of God, he had accounted himself unworthy of Eternal Life, and drawn upon him the Infinite Wrath of the Eternal Jehovah, whio is thereby so much inraged and filled with Anger against thee, that he is coming forth in his Fury to Revenge upon thee, wretched thee, all that Scorn and Contempt wherewith thou hast shamefully slighted, and wilfully re­fused the Sacred Charms of Redeeming Love, and the Wonderful and Amazing Offers of the Divine Bounty. Upon this methoughts I saw him tremble and look as if he were in a straight, and knew not what to do; upon which the Gentle­man began to speak again, and told him, that it was no time for him to Debate, lest before he came to a Conclusion, he were overtaken by the hand of Justice, [Page 31] and then I can assure you, said he, there will be no possibility of escape. Where­upon I heard him say to himself, this Wicked and Profligate course I see now must be forsaken, or else this Old Gentle­man will never let me alone, but will be a perpetual trouble to me, which I am not able to indure, for his Words are terri­ble as Thunder, and I dread his Reproof more than an Earthquake; besides if what he says be true, I shall be in a dread­ful Condition, for as I remember, I have somewhere read, that This Majesty of Heaven and Earth against whom I have been guilty of High Treason (having lived in Actual Rebellion against him this many Years, and whom Mr. Conscience tells me, is now coming forth against me Armed with Fury and Wrath to destroy me, and Execute me as a Traytor) is a Consuming Fire to the Workers of Iniqui­ty; That his very Nostrils breathe Smoke, and out of his Mouth comes devouring Fire; and the Prophet Daniel hath for­merly told me, that he had seen him seve­ral times, and that once he beheld him seated upon a Throne which appeared to him like the Fiery Flame, and his Wheels as Burning Fire, and affirmed that he be­held [Page 32] a Fiery Stream issue and come forth from before him, and that thousand thousands Ministred unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. And now, O my Soul, if all this be true, and this great and terrible Jeho­vah be coming forth in this manner a­gainst thee, as I fear he is, for I read the other day a Passage in the Divine Law which now comes fresh into my Mind, and I verily believe it to be intended as a De­claration of War against me, viz. The Lord trieth the Righteous, but the Wicked and him that loveth Violence his Soul hateth, upon whom he will Rain Snares, Fire and Brim­stone and an horrible Tempest, this shall be the Portion of their Cup: For his hand shall search out his Enemies, and his right hand shall find out all those that hate him, whom he will make as a Fiery Oven in the time of his Anger, he will swallow them up in his Wrath, and the Fire shall devour them, their Fruit he will destroy from the Earth, and their Seed from among the Children of Men, be­cause they intended Evil against him, and imagined a mischievous Device, which they on­ly wanted Power to perform; therefore will he constrain them to turn their Backs when he makes ready his Arrows upon his strings [Page 33] against the Face of them: What wilt thou do? It is impossible for thee to stand be­fore him, or defend thy self against him, for he is too strong for thee, and infi­nitely above thy match; neither hast thou any other Forces to Muster up against him, but Briers and Thorns which he will easily go through and burn together; nor can I see any probability of escaping by flight; for whither wilt thou go from his presence, or in what place wilt thou hide thy self from his sight? Dost thou know any place secret enough to exclude thee from his search, or art thou acquain­ted with any Cavern so dark and remote, and the way to it so intricate and per­plexing, that Infinite Wisdom cannot find it out, nor Omnisciency it self Pe­netrate it? Having thus reasoned with himself he ceased, discovering by the De­jectedness of his Countenance, the trou­ble of his Mind; whereupon I saw a brave solid Person step to him, as I remember, his Name was Judgment; and having first fixed his Eyes upon him, and viewed him for a considerable time, he spake to this, or the like purpose; Sir, I am somewhat concerned to see you in such a dreadful and deplorable Condition, and [Page 34] I would fain be instrumental for the help­ing you out of it: I must acknowledge, that of all Men in the World, I have been the most mistaken in you; for the truth is, I did verily believe you to be in as good a Condition as any Man living, and flattered my self into an opinion, that as you were blessed with Outward and Temporal Felicity, so you were in a safe and sure way to obtain Everlasting Happiness; nor had I yet been undecei­ved, had not the Son of the Blessed, who is by Virtue of his Mediatorship, made unto us Wisdom, as well as many o­ther Precious and Necessary things, with­out which we can never be happy, dart­ed the Beams of Divine Light into me, and by those enlightning Rays inabled me to take a clearer prospect of your Condi­tion than ever I did before, whereby I plainly perceived, that your Condition was far worse, and more dangerous and dismal than I ever imagined; but I must tell you for your Comfort, that at the same time wherein I received this discovery of your danger and misery, I received like­wise Information of your Remedy too. At which Words methoughts the Man sud­denly revived and looked chearful, as if [Page 35] the Power and Efficacy of some rich and reviving Cordial had raised and exhile­rated his drooping Spirits, and chased a­way those disponding thoughts which till now had filled his fearful Breast with Hor­ror and Despair: And he cried out, Oh, Sir, if you will do that, I shall esteem you the best Friend I have in the World: Pray what course must I take to prevent my be­ing Miserable for ever? Sir, said he, your only way to prevent that, and to secure your being Eternally happy; is immedi­ately to fly for your Life, (for if you stay here, there is no probability to prevent our Ruine) and go on Pilgrimage to the Celestial Paradise; for in the way thither there stands a City, the Name whereof is Refuge, and it is appointed and ordained by the Eternal, to be a place of shelter for all those, who, finding themselves pur­sued by the Avenger, will fly into it; and he hath freely promised, upon the Word of his Omnipotency, that from the very Day and Hour of entrance thereinto, we shall be Eternally safe from the Aven­ger; nay, hath assured us, that the A­venger himself shall thereupon become pacified, that his heart shall be molified towards us, and his Indignation against [Page 34] [...] [Page 35] [...] [Page 36] us be appeased, and that he shall put on Bowels of Compassion, and Cloath him­self with the Love and Tenderness of a Father towards us, when speaking to us in the most Melting and Compassionate manner, he shall declare that Fury is not in him, but Favour and Friendship, Love and Good will is all that we may now expect to find from him; that he would Cloath and Beautifie our Souls with Holi­ness, and Inrich them with the Inestimable Treasures of Glory and happiness, bestow upon them the refreshing Dews of Hea­ven here, and the fulness of it hereafter; by which Sweet and Comfortable Words, he shall effectually perswade us to lay hold of his strength, and make Peace with him, Promising, that thereupon he will become a Sun and a Shield to us, that Infinite Love, and Divine Goodness shall be our Inheritance, and Omnipotency it self our Portion: Now the Gates of this City stand open Day and Night to give conti­nual Entrance to any who fly thither.

But now, if ever you expect en­trance into this City, you must consent to the being stripped of all those abo­minable Rags and filthy Garments where­with you are now Cloathed; and you [Page 37] must lay down all those Lusts and Corrup­tions, which for the sake of an Imaginary Happiness you have fancied in them, you have hitherto with incredible Pains and In­dustry always carried about with you, and Indulged them in your Bosom; but no you must relinquish them for ever, and aban­don and turn from them with the greatest hatred and detestation imaginable; nay since they have Traiterously opposed your subjecting your self to the Son of the Bles­sed, and would not have him to Reign over you, you must bring them before him, that he may slay them: This indeed is hard and irksome to Nature, and you will find some difficulty in the performance thereof; but yet, assure your self that this must be done, or otherwise you will be Eternally undone. Oh therefore, let me prevail with you to consent to, and resolve upon the perfor­mance hereof. Consider I pray you, did not the Eternal part with his own and only Son for you, and will you then be so ungrateful to deny the parting with those Wretched and Cursed Companions for him, which if not parted with, will infallibly betray you to everlasting Ruine, and Precipitate you into the deepest Place of the Burning Lake? I say again, [Page 38] let me perswade you to this, or else sit down satisfied, and content your self to spend your time in Mirth and Folly, and your Eternity in Pain and Misery; and therefore pray resolve what to do, and let your Debates come to a final issue.

Whereupon I saw a third Person come to him, who seemed to be of a far more brisk and Aiery Complexion, than the two former, telling him, that he had di­ligently listned to all the foregoing Di­scourse, and found himself wonderful­ly pleased and delighted therewith, veri­ly believing, that at the very same in­stant when, and by the very same Act of Grace whereby the Son of the Blessed darted the Beams of his illuminating Light into Mr. Judgment, whereby he plain­ly saw and discovered his Misery, together with the way and means whereby you may, said he, be saved from it: He dart­ed into me likewise, a sense and feeling thereof, making me to Sympathise with you, and incline to help and assist you in the performing the hard Task, and the carrying you over all those Difficulties Mr. Judgment hath Described, for I assure you, that I begin to think so well of the Jour­ney, that if you will undertake it, I will [Page 39] go along with you and assist you with Legs wherewith you shall Walk and Run therein: Nay, to encourage you the more, I promise and ingage my self to furnish you with Wings for the inabling you to sore aloft and fly above the Clouds. The extraordinary Promises this Gentle­man made him of Assistance begat in me a more than ordinary Curiosity to Inquire his Name, and I was answered by some who knew him, that his Name was Af­fection.

And now methoughts I heard Conscience begin again to round in his Ears, the greatness of his danger, the necessity of his escape, and the incouragement he had received from those two Persons for the attempting thereof, demanding what he intended to do. You may be sure Sir, re­ply'd he, that by this time I am weary of this dreadful and dismal Condition where­in I now am, hanging as it were between Heaven and Hell, without being able to discern to which of the two places I am most inclined, nor can I possibly discern if Death should now put a period to my Life, which of them would be my Eter­nal Home, and therefore you may well imagine, that I am not without some in­clination [Page 40] to go on Pilgrimage to the Ce­lestial Paradise; but there is a certain Person in the World whose consent I must first obtain for my so doing, or else I must still remain as I am; for the truth is, without his consent to, and help and assistance therein, I can neither begin nor perform my Journey; and yet I am afraid he will not be perswaded to consent to, and assist me therein, for I have found him by woful Experience to be a cross, stubborn, ill-natured fellow, being natu­rally inclined to oppose and hinder eve­ry thing which is good, and by Custome inured to the Practice of that which is evil.

Pray, said Conscience, who can that be with whom you maintain so near a Cor­respendence, that without his consent you will not be happy. It is, reply'd he, one whom you know very well, and I think you have some kind of acquaintance with him, and when I have told you his Name, I believe you'l be of my Mind, his Name is Mr. Will, and I am confident that you know him to be both a Wilful Headstrong Per­son, strongly bent against any thing that is good, especially against this Pilgrimage, and likewise, that he hath such an absolute [Page 41] Power and Dominion over me, that I can do nothing without his Consent. Then said Conscience, if that be the Man you spake of, I acknowledge there is a great deal of truth in what you say, yet I tell you again, you must not make use of this as an Argument for your delay, lest ruine suddenly overtake you, and you Repent when it is too late, and there be no Re­medy: You must send for him, and see if you can get him to consent, and let your two Friends, Judgment and Affection, Dis­course with him, and see if they cannot perswade him to a Compliance.

Whereupon I saw him return all alone by himself, and being curious to know what he was going to do, I followed him, and saw him enter into a secret place wherein he concealed and hid himself from my sight, and indeed from the view of every Mortal, which made me the more desirous to inform my self what he did there; to which end, methoughts I crept as near to the place as possibly I could without being discovered, and with­al I observed a profound silence, lest o­therwise peradventure I might have been an unhappy Instrument to disturb him in his private Meditations: Being thus seat­ed, [Page 42] I hearkned diligently if I could hear him speak; but notwithstanding all my diligence he spake so low, that by that means and my distance I could not hear much, only sometimes when he was more earnest than ordinary, he would exalt his Voice a little, and then I could hear him Expostulate after this manner: Lord thou hast Convinced me, Oh that thou wouldest Convert me too? Thou hast given me a sight of my Sin, Oh that thou would­est give me a hatred and detestation of it too? Lord; that my Soul may abhor and loath it, and that I might loath my self because of it? Thou hast by the Terrors of thy Law made me afraid, and by the Threatnings of thine Anger, and the Thunderings of thy Fury hast made thy Wrath and thy Justice terrible to me; Oh that thou wouldest now by a Powerful and Effectual Application of the Promises of thy Gospel, make my Soul to hope in thy Mercy, rejoyce in thy Love, and tri­umph in thy Favour? Thou hast given me a sight of a Saviour; Oh that thou wouldest give me an Interest in him too? Now thou hast shewn him to me; Oh let me not be put off without him; and since there is such a Remedy provided, let not [Page 43] my Soul perish for the want of it; since there is such Balm in Gilead, let not my Wound prove incurable, and since there is a Physician there; Oh, oh, that my Soul may be healed and recovered by him.

I am weak and feeble, ready to faint and perish, and thou hast told me that he is willing as well as able to heal me; Oh make me willing to go to him? Thou hast said, thy People shall be a willing People in the Day of thy Power; Lord Exert thy Power in me, and make me willing to go to thy Son, since thou hast made him willing to receive me? Thou hast in the Gospel made a free Offer and Tender of him to me; Lord make me willing and able to accept of it and imbrace it, by receiving him into my Soul, and the making a Compleat and ab­solute Surrender and Resignation of my self unto him.

Lord thou hast informed my Practical Judgment, and caused Light to shine into my Understanding, and thereby in part cured that Blindness and removed that Darkness wherewith they were naturally filled, making some of those Scales to fall off which Original Corruption at first [Page 44] drew before them, and Actual Transgres­sion hath since thickned and increased, until at length they were extended over the whole Surface, and rendered it not only Dark, but even Darkness it self: Thou hast awakened my Conscience, and in part cured it of the Plague of Hardness and Unfaithfulness; and thou hast more­over regulated my Affections, and redu­ced them to better Order and Obedience. And now, O Lord, hast thou done all this for me, and yet shall I have no benefit thereby? Hast thou brought to the Birth, and wilt thou not give strength to bring forth? Shall it stick here? Wilt thou give me a glimpse of Mercy, only to make me the more sensible of future Misery, and afford me a prospect of thy Love, only to let me know I am not an Object there­of? Hast thou given a view of Heaven, on­ly thereby to precipitate me the deeper into Hell: Indeed if all this should be, yet I must acknowledge that thou art Righteous when thou Judgest, and Just when thou Condemnest: But Lord, so long as there is so much Merit in thy Son, and Bowels in thy Love, I will still hope in thy Mercy, and from thence plead with thee for the finishing that [Page 45] Work which thou hast graciously begun in my Soul? Subdue my Will as well as inform my Judgment, and cure the Stub­bornness and Rebellion of the one, as the Blindness and Darkness of the other? And as thou hast Regulated my Affecti­ons to Love and admire thee; so bring my Will to comply with, and make choice of thee? Make it willing to con­sent to, and aquiesce in that admirable contrivance of Saving me by Jesus Christ? Lord display the Riches of thy Grace, and the Glories of thy Love so effectu­ally before it, that it may be sweetly per­swaded and allured to a Complyance; Oh that by a Discovery of the freeness, full­ness and redundancy of thy Grace thou wouldest draw and attract it to thee, for hereof I am Confidently assured, that if thou dost begin to draw, my Will can do no less than follow after thee.

And now his Voice beginning to be low again, I could hear him speak no more, only I could sometimes hear him Sigh, and now and then breathe forth an imper­fect Sentence, as, Lord how long; or, Oh when wilt thou come unto me, &c. When he had done, he came out, and I saw him go into a little Walk not far from the [Page 46] place, as soon as he came there, he met with Will, Judgment, and Affection, and so they walked together, and as they walked, he began to break the Matter to Mr. Will thus, You know, Sir, said he, that you and I have for a long time been loving friends and Intimate associates, have maintained an exact Correspondence, and with equal consent have spent our time in Sin and Wickedness: Raised an unreasonable Re­bellion against, and maintained an un­lawful War with our Soveraign, and that with such a preposterous Ingratitude and amazing Folly, Madness, and Foolhardi­ness; that we have taken the very Mer­cies which we received from him, and made Weapons of them wherewith to fight against him, and in the mean time laughed at our own Danger, and sported with, and made light of his Power; nay, we have even run upon the very Bosses of his Buckler, and played at the Mouth of his Roaring Cannon; and although some­times he hath laid hard at us, yet we have refused to yield, and when he hath of­fered us a Truce, and proposed Terms of Reconciliation, we have scorned them; and yet you cannot but be sensible that he hath infinitely the odds of us, for the [Page 47] very Ground whereon we stand to fight, is full of Pits and Snares, and Incommo­dated with a Thousand Inconveniences, besides which it borders upon an Unfadom­able Precipice, on the very Brink where­of we have frequently played, and sported our selves with the Rowling Fire, and Unquenchable Flame wherewith it is fil­led: You know likewise that our Feet fre­quently slipt, and we had both of us like to have fallen into it, especially one time, when, if you remember, we were brought down to the very Gates of Tophet, and the shadow of Death covered us, it was only the Effect of Divine Patience that we then escaped it; but now I am In­formed, (nay and I am sure it is certain­ly true too) that our Soveraign Armed with Fury and Revenge, is Marching a­gainst us, and is resolved to tumble us down into the Pit, as a Reward of our Treason and Rebellion against him; to prevent which, and in order to the ma­king my Peace with him, I am Advised to fly to a City that stands in yonder nar­row way, the Name whereof is Conversion, and I think they say the Name of the Ci­ty is Refuge, through which lieth the way to Celestial Happiness; they give such an [Page 48] admirable Description of the City, and such Convincing Reasons why I ought to repair to it, that I am inclined to yield to their perswasions, and in regard there is so near a Relation between us, I would fain have you to go with me; nay I can­not go without you; and therefore, pray Sir, be so kind to your self and me, as to Consent to go with me; for the truth is, I must not, I cannot, I dare not take a denial from you. When he had done, Judgment and Affection seconded him, lay­ing down divers weighty and excellent Arguments why he was obliged to com­ply with a Motion founded upon such ad­mirable Reason, and by the Complying with which he might reap such an extra­ordinary advantage.

I perceived by the Countenance of the Man, that the Lectures which had been read to him were very distasteful and un­pleasant, and no way suitable to his Cor­rupt Inclinations; for scornfully throw­ing up his deformed and Mis-shapen Head, Rowling about his Luxurious and Adul­terous Eyes, and holding up his Sturdy and Rebellious hand, he began to Huff and Hector at a strange Rate, and cried out to them after this manner.

[Page 49] Pray, Sirs, leave off your Canting, a­way with your whining, I cannot indure it; if you love me, give over your Im­portunities, and let me alone, leave me to my Sensual Delights, and the Pleasure of my present Injoyments, for I assure you, you shall not prevail with me to part with or relinquish them. Tell not me of Danger; I see none, fright me not with Tophet, I feel it not; nor terrifie me with your Stories of Infinite Justice and Divine Vengeance, for I fear them not; you shall impose none of your Melancholly Fancies upon me, nor will I believe any of your Chimera's; you tell me of a Strange kind of Happiness, you know not where nor when; you tell me of strange kind of Horror and Torments, but where, or what they are, you know no more than my self: You tell me likewise of Death and Judgment, which indeed is of most weight with me, and I acknowledge my self most affected therewith; because I have Daily Objects of Mortality before my Eyes, and the ve­ry Emblem or Effigies of Death is frequent­ly represented to my view in the Death of my Relations and Friends; nay, the fading Flower, and the withering Grass read me perpetual Lectures of my frailty; [Page 50] and the Tolling Bell often brings News, that the Destroyer is abroad, and terri­fies me with Alarms of his approaching towards me; but yet this also seems at a great distance, for Death is not yet come within view of me. I am young, and in my strength, and injoy the Green­ness and Verdure of my Youth, the Prime of my Days are not half spent, and I have many Years to pass over before I ar­rive at Old Age, some of which, at least I resolve to spend in my present Courses, and lay out on my sinful Dalsiances; its time enough to Repent hereafter, when I have satisfied my Soul with Pleasure, and glutted my self with the Creature, then I will begin to think of Heaven; for I think, that when Death, Judgment, and Eter­nity, with the other terrible things whereof you tell me begin to mend their pace, and make more speed in their Ap­proaches towards me; it will be the fit­test time for me to fly to this City of Re­fuge, and till then, pray let me alone, for I am yet free, and am resolved not to bring my self into a Voluntary Bondage.

Having given this cross and untoward Answer to what they had proposed: He turned about, and was going away in a [Page 51] Rage, but methoughts I saw Judgment lay hold on him, and cry, pray Sir turn again, and let us Debate this Matter with a lit­tle more Consideration and less Partiali­ty, lay aside your Heat and your Prejudice, and attend with Patience to what we have further to offer, and when you have heard it, then Judge of it with a Mind, not Predetermined against it, but resolving within it self to be Convinced by it, and yield to it if it be backed with sufficient Authority, by its agreeableness to and Cor­respondency with the Rules of Scripture and Reason.

I perceive that what we have Propo­sed has angered you, and put you into a fume; but pray sit down and consider a little, whether notwithstanding all that Confidence and Fearlesness you have ex­pressed, and that Couragious and Hero­ick temper of Mind you boast your self to be the Master of, you can indure without any kind of Concernment or Grief to think of being everlastingly shut from the pre­sence of the Eternal, and Banished the Bea­tifical Vision of his Face: Can you take Plea­sure think you in being for ever Banished the Presence of the Lamb, whose Person is so Comely and Glorious, and his Face [Page 52] Cloathed with such admirable and ravi­shing Smiles, that it contains in it, and conveys unexpressible Pleasures and De­lights, and inconceivable Joy and Conso­lation to those happy Persons who are ad­mitted to the beholding and contemplating thereof: Can you, I say, indure to think of the loss of all this, together with the loss of the Company of the Holy Angels and Glorified Souls, who there Celebrate an Eternal Marriage, and keep an Ever­lasting Sabbath: And being raised to the highest Pinacle of Admiration and Joy, with Exalted Voices and a Divine Harmo­ny, sweetly Sing forth, and perpetually Breathe out their Praises and Adorations of him, who having died for them, and washed them from their Sins in his own Blood, hath now made them Kings and Priests unto God, and to himself for ever. Or, admit you can think of all this with­out being concerned or grieved for your loss, yet tell me, can you as easily indure the Vengeance of Eternal Fire? Are you willing to exchange your stately House, your pleasant Fields, and your delightful Orchards for everlasting Burnings? Can you consent to have your Merry and your Jovial Company, which you now keep, ex­changed [Page 53] for that of the Damned; or those Musical and Harmonious sounds wherewith you are so much delighted, for the Hideous roaring, and dismal Out-cries and Shrieks which the Extremity of their Pain, and the Depth of their Despair extort from them? Are you willing to have that Sweet Air wherein you now breathe, and which you suck in with so much complacency, conver­ted into the Nauseous and Offensive Fumes that flow from burning Brimstone, or to have this Pleasant Light, and Delightful Day which you now injoy, turned into an Eternal Night? What think you, will a Burning Oven, or a Glowing Furnace be an easie Lodging for thee? canst thou feed upon devouring fire, and satiate thy Thirst with Boiling Oyl? or canst thou swallow Scalding Lead, and Drink down Burning Brimstone with as much eagerness and delight as now thou doest Wine in thy Rioting and Drunkenness? Thou now accountest the Duties of Religion hard and unpleasing; how then wilt thou suffer all those Torments? Thou now deridest Hell as a Scare-Crow, because thou hast not felt its Pangs, nor met with any, who having made their escape thence, could with their Flaming Tongues relate [Page 54] to thee the Terrours thereof; but what­ever it seems to thee now, Oh how will it appear to thee then, when thou findest thy self really sinking, and the Day is come when thou must actually descend in­to it, and feelest thy self wrapt up in the Flames of it: Oh how terrible it will then be to thee, when thou must bathe thy self in a Sea of Wrath, and Welter out thy Eternity in a Burning Flame, without being able by all thy Crying and how­ling, complaining, and lamenting, to pre­vail for one drop of Water to cool thy Flaming Tongue, or obtain the least Miti­gations of the extremities of thy Pain and Torments: Oh think with thy self how will thy Fleshly Delights, and Dalliances wherein thou now indulgest thy self, re­lish with thee then, when they are thus seasoned and sauced.

Methoughts at this Discourse I saw him begin to shrink, and could perceive him to shake and tremble exceedingly, crying out, Oh Sirs, what shall I do to be saved? you have by this Discourse very much a­wakened me out of the deadly Sleep, and Fatal Lethargie whereinto Lucifer, by the consent of my own wretched and deceit­ful (as well as deceived) Heart, had hushed [Page 55] me; you have convinced me of the dan­ger and dreadfulness of my Condition, and now I am freely willing, and give my consent that he should go on Pilgrimage, and Promise that I will bear him Compa­ny, and assist him in his way to Celestial Paradise, and to Morrow we will begin our Journey thither.

Having thus prevailed with Will, and got his Consent to go on Pilgrimage, the time likewise being so very near wherein they were to set out towards the Place where his Blessed Redeemer Resided, and kept his Celestial Court: He went away wonderfully pleased, being in a kind of Rapture upon the account of his Victory, and the Happiness he expected as the Con­sequence thereof; and methoughts I could do no less than rejoyce with him too. But as I lifted up my Eyes, I espied a cer­tain Person coming towards the Place where we were, and although when I first espied him, he seemed to be at so great a distance, that I could but just discern him, yet he came forward with such swift­ness, that in less time than a Minute he was got just by the place where the Man stood; his Person was so deformed and ugly, and his Countenace so grim and [Page 56] terrible, that I presently fancied he was no Mortal, but rather some Malicious Devil, who envying that any should be happy, since he was Damned to be Eter­nally Miserable, for when I looked ear­nestly upon him, I could perceive a kind of Blew Sulphury Flame come out of his Mouth, and he breathed Fire out of his Nostrils as out of a Furnace, the Smoke whereof Infected and Putrified the very Air, impregnating it with such an often­sive and Sulphury smell, that it almost suffocated me, and his Eyes seemed to be so swelled with fury, that they were rea­dy to burst, and as they rolled about, they sparkled like a Burning Coal, threat­ning Ruine to all upon whom they were fixed: Well, thought I, this poor Man is beset by this Fiend, what will he do, or how will he defend himself against him; how will he be able to grapple with him, since he is so strong and powerful, that he did in the very first Battel that ever he fought, after his coming into the Infernal Regions, by his own proper strength, without any kind of help, or Auxiliary Forces, overcome and Conquer the whole Humane Race, yea struck them Dead, and laid them at his Feet at the very first [Page 57] blow. And Holy Writ terms him the Power of Darkness, and the Prince of the Pow­er of the Air. Besides if he could defend himself against his Power and Strength, so that he could not overcome him by open Force, yet he is so great a Politician, and Master of so much Subtilty, that his De­vices for the Ruine of poor Mortals are innumerable, and his Wiles for the whee­dling and Wiredrawing them into his de­structive Snares, so many and various, that without an extraordinary care, and con­tinually watching and eyeing of them, it is impossible for the most careful and pry­ing Soul to trace or discern them, for if they neglect their Watch but an hour or two, they unawares fall into such a Laby­rinth, and find therein so many Crosses and difficult Paths, wherein are so many turnings and windings, that they find it the most difficult and intricate matter ima­ginable to get out again; and some never find the way out, but are lost therein for ever. Now methoughts, I said to my self, alas, poor Man, what wilt thou do, how wilt thou be able to resist this Strong, and this Subtle Adversary, since thou art but a poor thing, but just now, nay hardly yet escaped out of his base and [Page 58] slavish Vassalage, and hast not had time to recover thy Strength, make Provision of Forces for thy Assistance, or cast up a­ny Breast Works to defend thee from his Assaults; and just as I had done speak­ing these Words, I saw him lay hold of the Man, and with a furious Counte­nance demand of him what he did there, why he was not with the Company he was wont to keep? and many such like Questi­ons, telling him he was a Traitor, a Rebel, a Schismatick, a Puritan, a Precisian; that he was Headstrong, Stubborn, Disobedient to the Church, and what not; and therefore, said he, I command you upon your Alle­giance to go back again, and wholly lay a­side all thoughts of the Pilgrimage you had designed, for I will assure you its a very silly Contrivance to forsake such pleasant Company, and relinquish so Sweet and Pleasant Injoyments whereof you are al­ready in present possession, for something which you have never seen, felt, or en­joyed, and so cannot possibly be assured that they are certainly true, or supposing them to be true, yet there are several Discouragements attending your Pilgri­mage to Celestial Paradise, which are suffi­cient to disswade any Wise and Conside­rate [Page 59] Man from attempting of it. As First, you'l meet with but little Com­pany upon that Road, and what you do meet with, will be but mean and odd kind of Persons, you will find them all Pevish and Froward; some Loose and Scanda­lous; others Rigged and Censorious, rea­dy to catch at, and quarrel with you for the meanest trifles; you will likewise, if you prosecute your intended Journey, sub­ject your self to abundance of Perils and Dangers; therefore, pray go back to your Company: There is at the Tavern in yonder High way, a meeting of seve­ral of your acquaintance to Drink Healths, and Huzza's: I charge thee to go thither to them, and by imploying thy self in those Exercises wear out of, and Ba­nish from your Mind those idle Fancies, and Groundless Whimsies which hath of late crept into it: There is likewise a little further, about three or four steps beyond the Tavern a spacious Theatre, where there will be a Commedy Acted this Afternoon, being exactly at three of the Clock, I Command you to go thither like­wise for the same purpose; so that you may see all my Commands are easie to be performed, agree exactly with your Na­tural [Page 60] Inclinations, and afford as much pleasure and satisfaction to your self as ad­vantage to me.

It's true, reply'd he, you have ever pre­tended to a Soveraignty over me, and have with a Tyrannous and Arbitrary In­solency commanded my Thoughts, and disposed my Actions, and it is as true, that I have yielded an absolute Obedience to all your Commands; made my self a Slave and Vassal by the doing your Drudgery, and provoked my Rightful Soveraign against me, only to gratify your Hellish Revenge, and give you an opportunity of insulting over the Wretch you have by your Subtilty and Malice made Eternally miserable: Yet I absolutely de­ny that ever you had any true and right­ful Power over me, but you were a cruel Tyrant and Usurper; nor had I any pow­er to dispose of my self to you, but was guilty of as great Usurpation in suffering my self to be so imposed upon, as you were in attempting it, since I was His, by Infi­nite Obligations. Besides I am informed that your Work, as hard and difficult as it is, will be rewarded with nothing but Death; wherefore I found my self con­strained to leave your Service, and enter [Page 61] my self a Servant to the Eternal, who is my Leige Lord, and do resolve to conti­nue so for ever, in defiance of thee and all thou canst do. Hereat methoughts the Fiend stormed exceedingly, and with a fierce and terrible Countenance, he roar­ed in a most hideous Manner, breathing forth immediate Ruine and Destruction to the poor trembling Wretch, if he did not yield, so that I looked when he should be Slain and Trampled under Foot by his proud and insulting Foe. But whilst I stood thus doubtful what would be the issue of that great Combate; lo as I look­ed earnestly upon them, I saw the poor thing pluck up his Courage, and very nimbly draw a Sword which he had for­merly received out of the Sacred-Armory, wherewith he began to lay about him wonderfully; crying, Oh, how shall I do this great Wickedness and Sin against God; and charged so home upon his Adversary with that Sword, that notwithstanding all that force and strength wherewith he made resistance, he found himself under a necessity to give back and flee; where­by I perceived that what is said of him in Holy Writ, is certainly true; resist the Devil and he will flee from you. And now [Page 62] methoughts I saw the Man look very chearfully, and discover much briskness and agility in his walking, as being in a Rapture of Joy for his Victory; but as I afterward perceived the Fiend by this means took advantage against him, for seeing his Enemy fled, and himself be­come Master of the Field, he was now more secure, being altogether void of any dread or fear of his adversary's rally­ing again, when indeed he only retreated to take breath, and contrive some new Stratagem for the renewing the Battel with better advantage to himself; where­fore I saw that when he was got a little way out of sight, he made a stand, and having paused a little, he turned about, and presently advanced towards the late Victor, whose thoughts were so taken up with his Conquest, that he never saw the return of his Adversary; whereupon I heard him say thus to himself; well now I have him sure enough, he overmatched me in Strength, by reason of his Sword, the keenness whereof I cannot indure, nor have I any Armour that will defend me from the Fatal Effects of it, when it is wisely used by those that have it; but I shall overmatch him in Craft, and bring [Page 63] about that by Subtilty, which I could not do by Violence. I began now to wonder in my self, what Method he would take next in Assaulting him, but he soon resolved me by putting his De­vice in practice; and first, I saw him beck­en a Person who was in the Mans Compa­ny (I think they call him Phansie) to come to him, he presently went upon the first call. Well Friend, said he, you and I have been old Acquaintance, and we have been always very Familiar together, upon which score I make bold to desire your Company at this time, to acquaint you how you may do me an extraordinary kindness, and I request your ready in­deavour to accomplish it. You need not question it, Sir, reply'd Phansie, for I am naturally inclined to Froth and Vanity, and am in my Element when Actually imploy'd in your Service, wherein I have found more sweetness than in any thing else whatsoever. I am glad to find you so plyable, said the Fiend to him, and now therefore I will tell you the thing I would have you do for me; you see that Man which walks yonder is turned Rebel a­gainst me, has cast off my Power and Autho­rity, and is removing himself and all that [Page 64] he has quite out of my Territories, in­tending to go and settle himself in Ce­lestial Paradise; I know that if ever he get within that place, he will be far be­yond my reach, and there will be no possi­bility of ever coming at him, or revenge­ing my self upon him, and therefore I re­solve to use my uttermost indeavour to withdraw his thoughts from thence, and prevail with him to return to his former Pleasures and Delights. I know likewise, that the chief Man with him is one Mr. Heart, I think they now call him Mr. New-Heart, although when they were both in my Service, this New-Heart was then an Old Man, he was then very familiar with me, and I made him my Confident, and one of my Council; and he used to lodge me in his best Room; but of late he is grown wonderful shie, and will not by any means come at me, nor suffer me to come at him, but I know that you have so much Power with him, and such an influence upon him, by reason of your In­timacy and Familiarity, that you can prevail with him to do any thing; and if I can draw him over to my side, he will bring the rest along with him. Now therefore take these fine, sweet and pleasant things [Page 65] which I now give you, and lay them just before him, and let them be displayed by you to the best advantage, and by the strength of your imagination the injoyment of them must be represented as the best and most desirable Happiness he can possi­bly obtain: And now, Sir, said he, if you will undertake it, and do your best for the performing of it, I do not question but I shall succeed and reduce him to my Obedience again. Now I understood that the Man was altogether ignorant of this Conspiracy which was thus strongly Com­binated against him, nor did he in the least perceive the Snare which was there­by laid for his Eternal Ruine, which made me burst forth into the following Lamen­tation for the dangerousness of his Con­dition. Alas, poor Man, said I, I find thee to be in a far worse condition now than thou wast before, although then it was bad enough with thee, for thou hast not only a Strong and Subtile Adversary to fight with, but thou hast those about thee too, who Conspire to betray thee into his Hands; and that which is yet more sad, and I fear will prove more Fatal to thee, is, that thou art ignorant of all this, and so in the more danger of being insnared and ruined thereby.

[Page 66] Phansie being thus instructed, went his way, and managed the business so sliely, that Mr. Heart was intoxicated therewith; whereupon I saw the Fiend send one of his Companions, whose Name as I understand was Asmodai, to lay some pleasing Object in the Mans way, in hope that he would be taken therewith, and accordingly he having planted himself in a certain way through which he knew the Man would pass; he dropt down something just before him as he passed by; it is not convenient for me to tell you what it was, but thus much I may ad­venture to tell you, it was something which he had formerly been very much in Love with, and was so suitable to his Tem­per, bore such an exact resemblance to his Complexion; and was so ingrafted into, and interwoven with his very Na­ture, that you would have taken it for an Essential part thereof; when he First saw it, he gave a little start, seeming much amazed to find it there, concluding as I understood, that he had left it so far behind, that he should never have seen it more; after a little pause he turned his Head away and would not give it a look, but went forwards as fast as he could. [Page 67] well, thought I, this Man will not be so easily insnared as I was afraid he would have been; but I was not long in that Mind; for I found that notwithstanding his seeming resolution at first, yet he began to flag and yield, for although he turned away from the Object it self, yet Mr. Phansie so ordered the matter, that he had the perfect Image and Idea of it continually before his Eyes, and imprint­ed so firmly in his Mind, that he could not possibly rase it out, and remembring the former Love he had for it, and the sweetness of those Pleasures the injoyment thereof had yielded him, he began to find himself somewhat pacified towards it, and his indignation against it to cease; where­upon he first admitted it into his sight, then adventured to play with it, and at last (although not without some reluctan­cy) he consented to a perfect Reconcilia­tion, and admitted it to the same famili­arity and indearness wherewith he had formerly imbraced it, and so fell insensi­bly into the Snare which was laid for him by the Fiend, who was as I am informed the Prince of Darkness himself. Me­thoughts I found my self very much grieved and troubled thereat, concluding [Page 68] that he had by this means put an end to all his Conviction, and banished the thoughts of his Pilgrimage to Celestial Paradise, fearing lest being thus Whee­dled into the Labyrinth whereof I told you before, he should be Eternally lost therein, without being ever able to find the way out, or free himself from the intri­cacies and perplexities thereof; and that which increased my fear, and confirmed me the more strongly in my Opinion, that there was a final period put to all further proceedings in his intended Pilgrimage, was the seeing of him after he had dallied and sported sometime with this lately ba­nished, but now reconciled Darling, turn again to his former Company, and dance with them as eagerly as ever about the bottomless Pit, only with somewhat more Caution than formerly; this made me think of what I had formerly read in Ho­ly Writ, which says of some Persons, that their goodness is like the early Dew which quickly passes away: I could not chuse like­wise but observe, that how strong soever Convictions are, if the Heart be not real­ly and throughly changed, and the Will subjected to, and melted into the Divine Will, our Sense of Sin, and our dread [Page 69] of Danger will by little and little wear off, and we shall become as vain and as loose as ever: Now you must know that this alteration opened the Mouth of Con­science, and made him Roar again, and Thunder more loud than ever, De­nounceing the Judgments of the Eternal a­gainst him now as an Apostate; telling him, that it had been far better for him never to have known the Ways of Righ­teousness, than thus basely and shamefully to turn out of them again to the Ways of Sin and Wickedness; all which he had learnt to Answer, by acknowledging the truth of what Mr. Conscience said, and crying, I wish it were better, and I would I could do otherwise, if I were to begin again I would be more careful, and watch more against the Devices of the Prince of Darkness, that so I might not be thus easily betray'd by him into his Snares and Gins; but alas, now it is too late, and having been deluded thus far out of the way, I may as well venture over Shoes over Boots; it is now too late to return, I would to God it were not so. Nay, said Conscience, now you talk very foolishly, for the farther you have gone from your Happiness, more haste you ought to make [Page 70] your return towards it, and the more you have offended that Divine Goodness which hath condescended so far, and stooped so low as to offer you terms of Mercy and Pardon, Reconciliation and Eternal Sal­vation; the more speed you should make to Confess and acknowledge the same, and the more Hearty should you be in your lamenting and mourning over it; and when you have so done, then you must turn to him, who never, never, never changes, and whose Love is like himself, an unchangeable and an unalterable Love. Oh that I could do so, said he, but I can­not, I have now multiply'd my iniquities against him, and my Sins are increased as the Stars of Heaven, or the Sands on the Sea Shore. What though they be, said one, whose Name to the best of my Remembrance was Hope, who now began to speak, and of whom I had taken no notice till now, they are not too great for Almighty Power to conquer, nor yet too many for Divine goodness to forgive, he hath Strength enough to subdue all your Corruptions, and Mercy enough to Pardon all your Crimes; your Sins are great indeed, but his Mercies are greater, for they are Infinite; your Sins are ma­ny, [Page 71] and increased to a great number, but his Mercies are more, for they are num­berless; the cry of thy Sins are reached up to Heaven, but his Mercies are above the Heavens; now therefore take courage and adventure to cast thy self at his Feet, and lie at his Mercy, and do as the Church we Read of in Divine Story did, cry after him, my Father, my Father, the hope of his Youth. Oh, said he, this is good Council, and I would to God I could do according to it, but I cannot, Oh I can­not do it. Nay then, said Conscience, I denounce thee to be a Wicked and an Ac­cursed Wretch, Cursed in time, and Cur­sed in Eternity, for the great Lawgiver, whose Vicegerent I am, hath declared in the Records of his Law, that whosoever continues not in every thing that is written in the Book of the Law to do them, is accurs­ed; and I who being a Witness of, and ha­ving Recorded all thy Wicked and Pro­phane Actions, am impowered with Au­thority from him to pass Judgment upon thee, do declare that thou hast not con­tinued in all things that are written in the Book of the Law to do them, and there­fore thou art the Man which the Righte­ous Judge of Heaven and Earth hath de­nounced [Page 72] Accursed; nay, if it be possible, thou art more than Accursed; for first, thou hast not only, not continued in all things written in the Book of the Law to do them, but thou hast continued in nothing that is written in the Book of the Law to do it; there is not one Com­mand in the whole Book of the Law, but what thou hast violated and broken; thou hast wickedly and wilfully acted contrary to all its Rules, and Rebelled against eve­ry Precept contained therein. And Se­condly, thou hast not only done all this, but when the Offenced Majesty of Heaven and Earth, had out of the good Pleasure of his Will Graciously provided a Reme­dy, in the Person of the Redeemer, offer­ring that he should by his Infinite Merits make a full satisfaction to Divine Justice for the wrong which thou hadst done, and which was so great, that you as a Fi­nite Creature were not able to satisfie, any otherwise than by suffering the Ven­geance of Eternal Fire, and that you should moreover upon your accepting of, and imbraceing this offered Redeemer, become reconciled to him, and injoy all the Felicity and Glories of Heaven, you disdainfully scorned and slighted them, [Page 73] rejecting the Council of God against thy self; now therefore, if those who are al­together ignorant of this Saviour, and by reason of their living in Heathenish or Mahometan Regions have never received the offer of a Blessed Redeemer, are accur­sed, and must suffer the Sentence of Eter­nal Damnation: How much sorer Punish­ment think you, will you be thought wor­thy of, who have spurned against the ve­ry Bowels of Mercy, trampled under Foot the Offers of Pardon, and spit in the very Face of a Tender and Compassio­nate Saviour. Ah, Sir, said he, all that you have said I acknowledge to be true, and it all helps still to aggravate my Mi­sery, and heighten my Offence, and makes my Crimes too great to be Pardoned. But, pray Sir, said Mr. Hope, let me prevail with you to cast your self on the Merits of our Saviour, and lye at the Fountain of Mercy. In the Condition wherein you now are, you must of necessity be for ever Miserable, you can be no more if we suppose the worst, that you should not be accepted; Oh therefore resolve, that if thou must Perish thou wilt Perish at the Fountain of free Grace, and if thou must be cast away, tell him whose [Page 74] goodness is as large as his power, and knows no other limits than his own Om­nipotency, that thou art resolved it shall be upon the very Shore of that Ocean which is so full of Mercy, that its Depth is unfathomable, and its Breadth unmea­surable; and let me tell thee for thy fur­ther incouragement, that although thou canst hear nothing from the Eternal now, but Vengeance is mine and I will repay it, saith the Lord; I will tear you in pieces, and there shall be none to deliver; there is no Peace to the Wicked, saith my God; and although the Sinner live to be an hundred years old, he shall be accursed; so are the Paths of all them who for­get God, and the hope of the Hypocrite shall perish; yet if you will fly to the City of Refuge, and get the Son of the Blessed to Interceede for thee; thou wilt then find him speaking to thee in another kind of Dialect, and he will tell thee that he was indeed angry with thee, but his Anger is now appeased; he was thine Enemy, but he is now become thy everlasting Friend; his Hatred, and his Vengeance, his Justice and his Fury was to have been thy Portion, but now his Goodness and his Love shall be thine Eternal Inheritance, you shall be an Instrument of my Honour [Page 75] in this World, and I will make thee a Vessel of Glory in the other; I will Bless you with my special presence in thy Soul, and that shall both fit and prepare thee for, and be an assurance and earnest of the injoyment of my immediate Presence in Heaven, I will teach thee so to order thy Conversation aright, that at the end of it I may shew thee my Salvation; the fulness of my Son, and the Alsufficiency of my self, shall be an inexhaustible and overflowing Fountain to thee. Now pre­thee tell me, continued he, is not all this worth the adventuring for? Yes, reply'd he, it is, and Oh▪ that I could follow your Advice, but there are so many Discou­ragements, that I cannot adventure. No, said Conscience, then I tell thee that thou art the most hardned and impenitent wretch that ever I met with in my whole life; I tell you your danger; Mr. Judg­ment hath informed you how to prevent it, and here is your good Friend Mr. Hope, gives you all the incouragement that can possibly be expected or desired to make tryal of his Advice: Pray let me have your Answer what you do intend to do in this Case, for I must not, nor will not be thus put off with delays any longer. A­wake [Page 76] and rouse up thy self, thou hast been often complaining of, and lamenting thy Base, Vain, and Earthly Heart, and bit­terly Exclaimed against thy Sloathful, Lingering, Careless, and Delaying Tem­per, hast often been wishing that things were, and hoping that they would one day be better with thee, promising thy self that it will not be always thus with thee, but that thou shalt some time or o­ther get rid of thy intanglements, and go thy Pilgrimage; but Oh, what if thou shouldest after all this wishing, and would­ing, and hoping, and expecting it to be better with thee, let things run on thus from Day to Day, and so from one Year to another, until thou art surprized by the King of Terrors, and be by him hur­ried away before ever thou art come to a point, or made any resolution what to resolve on, or hast gotten thy Heart to a through, and a saving closing with the Redeemer; Oh now consider what will become of thee if the Case should be so with thee; dost thou think that thy Gol­den or Silver Key will open the Gates of Heaven, and shut the Gates of Hell to thee, or purchase thee an Inheritance in the Promised Land; or canst thou be so [Page 77] Vain and so Foolish as to imagine that the remembrance of thy ease, thy plea­sure, or thy plenty here, will alleviate thy Pain, or procure thee any kind or man­ner of ease in thy Eternal Dolours, or yield any Comfortable or Refreshing Con­solations to thy miserable Soul when it lies Broiling upon the Hot and Scorching Coals of Divine Fury, and Frying in the Burning Flame. Thou art by this shuffle­ing and procrastinating Guilty of Mon­strous Madness and Folly, and art so Mer­cilesly cruel to thy self, that the very Angels blush at thee, and are ashamed of thy Brutishness, and even the Heavens and the Earth are Amazed, and all the Creatures stand Astonished at it. This Discourse made him Tremble exceedingly, and very much revived his Convictions a­gain, and he solemnly promised Consci­ence that he would now resolve to go on Pilgrimage, and promised to begin his Journey on the Morrow, protesting that he did really intend to do as he said, wherewith Conscience being satisfied held his Peace for that time. I looked still when Mr. Affection should have appeared, and have Contributed something towards so good a Work, since he had formerly [Page 78] been so much for, and promised such large Assistance in the performing the Pilgrimage to Celestial Paradise, but up­on inquiring into it, I found he was wholly taken off, and diverted by the late Reconciled Companion, and so fallen in Love, and taken up with him, that he had not time or leisure to look towards, or so much as think of Paradise, but in­stead thereof, as soon as he saw Consci­ence and the Man was parted, he present­ly stept to him, and indeavoured to dis­swade him from it, telling him what new Delights and Sweetness their Friend Fan­sie had found out in other Objects, e­specially in that which you wot of, said he, to which I perceive you are by his means, together with some little Assistances con­tributed towards it by my self and Mr. Heart, almost wholly reconciled again. And Phansie being by, seconded him, Re­presenting and Guilding things over with such Artificial Glosses and Smooth Appea­rances of Delight and Advantage, that the poor Man, was absolutely bewitched and Inchanted thereby, so that he pre­sently forgot all the Terrors of Consci­ence, and all the Solemn Promises and Protestations he had made but just before [Page 79] of beginning his Pilgrimage the next Day, which made me think of what I had for­merly read in Drexelius his excellent Trea­tise of Eternity.

But yet the free Grace and Goodness of him whose Name is I am, whose Love is unchangeable, and Mercy so unsearch­able, that it is past finding out, and who doth whatsoever he pleases, being moved and inclined to do all that he doth, only by the Dictates of his own Counsel, and the good pleasure of his Will, would not suf­fer it to be so with this Man; resolving, as I did perceive, that the Prince of Darkness should not make a Prey of him, nor would he permit him to erect Tro­phies of Honour and Triumph to himself upon this Mans Overthrow and Ruine; notwithstanding the poor wretch himself [Page 80] was freely willing to be a Slave and Vas­sal with quiet, rather than be a King with some little hazard and danger, in the Way through which he must pass to his Coronation.

Wherefore he sent Boanerges to him a­gain, Commanding him to Preach ano­ther Lecture about the danger and dread­fulness of his Condition, and to denounce Judgment against him, if he did not imme­diately Repent, and fly to the City of Re­fuge: Having received this Command, he presently obeyed, and thus he began;

Thou Wicked, Vile, and Miserable Wretch, said he, that hast been so un­grateful as to slight and refuse the Offers of Mercy and Pardon, and hast like an hardened wretch, made the Son of the Blessed, whose Countenance is White and Ruddy, and his Person altogether Lovely, being the chiefest of ten thousands; and in point of Excellency, infinitely beyond Comparison, stand knocking at thy Door, Intreating, Perswading, and Wooing thee for admittance into thy Heart, and a Grant of thy Love, until his Head was wet with the Dew, and his Locks with the Drops of the Night: The Prince of Peace will shortly therefore appear against thee as [Page 81] a Rageing and a Devouring Lion, and shall come from Heaven with his Mighty Angels in Flaming Fire, to take Vengeance on thee, because thou knowest not God, nor wilt yield Obedience to the Gospel, and shall punish thee with an everlasting De­struction from the presence of the Lord, and from the Glory of his Power; and Oh, how amazing and cuttingly will the very first appearance of the Son af Mans coming in the Clouds with Power and great Glory, strike into thy Guilty and Self Condemned Heart, then thou wilt begin with inexpressible Grief and Bitter­ness of Spirit to sigh and say within thy self. Oh that strong and Terrible Judge whom I now see sitting down upon yon­der Flaming, White, and Glorious Throne, accompanied with all the Blessed Inhabitants, and Shining Courtiers of Heaven, is that same Blessed Redeemer, and Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, that sweetest Lamb, who did most Graci­ously power out his most precious Blood like Water for me, that I might thereby have been Washed, and Cleansed, Sancti­fied, and Saved; and he it was, who so fairly and frequently Invited and Wooed me with the most Powerful and Charm­ing [Page 82] Arguments, and Tearms of Dearest Love, but only to abandon my Lust, and bid Adieu to the Prince of Darkness, who was my implacable Enemy, and then sought, and hath now together with my own wilfulness accomplished my utter Ru­ine; promising that if I would give my Consent, he, even he, would become my Alsufficient and Everlasting Husband, and if I had then accepted it, he would now at this very time have placed an Immortal and Splendid Crown of Hea­venly Bliss and Matchless Glory upon my Head with his own Almighty Hand: But wo, and alas, I like a wilful, foolish, and desperate wretch neglected this great Sal­vation, forsook my own Mercy, and so judged my self unworthy of Eternal Life, and like a Cruel and Bloody Butcher to my own Soul, I have Inhumanly Murther­ed and Destroyed my self; and therefore happy were I now, if I could Intreat some Rock to fall on me, or perswade some vast and mighty Mountain to cover me, under the Ruines whereof I might lie everlastingly hid from the Face of him that sits on the Throne, and from the Wrath of the Lamb; Oh that I might now be turned into the Meanest, and [Page 83] Basest, and most Despicable Beast, might be changed into a Bird, a Stone, or a Tree, or any other thing how Con­temptible soever: Oh that I might by all my Supplications and Tears obtain the favour only to Evaporate into Air, or be quite Annihilated, and put into the same state wherein I was before ever I had any Being; I should now account my self Blessed and Happy that ever I was Born, if I could now be unborn; Ah that my Soul might now become Mortal, that I might die in Hell, and not welter Eternally in those Fiery Torments to which I am now to be Damned by a Just, and Ever­lasting, and an Irreversible Sentence; which Torments are too excessive and In­tollerable that I am not able to abide them, and yet so certain and infallible, that there is no possibility for me to avoid them: I might indeed in the Day of my Gracious Visitation have escaped them, but now I must lie down in Sorrow, and Eat the Fruit of my own doings; But all thy Lamentings and Complainings, thy Be­wailing and Mourning thy self, nor all thy Supplications and Tears, thy Crys, nor thy Prayers will then avail thee any thing; thy Punishment shall then be pro­portionate [Page 84] to thy Crime now; thou now refusest to hear the Charming Invitations, and the Melting Intreaties of the Blessed Jesus, and then he will refuse to hear thine; thou now hardenest thy Heart against him, he will then harden his a­gainst thee; thou art now deaf to the Calls of the Gospel, and the Offers of Grace and Salvation, for which the very Rocks thou callest on, and the Mountains whose help and assistance thou vainly im­plores to fall on thee, and hide thee from the dreadful Face of the Judge, and the Penetration of his Fierce and Terrible Eyes, shall then tacitely flout and upbraid thee for thy folly and madness therein, by standing deaf to all thy Complaints, and letting thee Beg, Intreat, and Implore their help in vain and to no purpose, and after all thy reluctancy and unwillingness thou shalt be compelled to stand before the Flaming Judgment Seat, and then, and there at that most impartial, strictest, and last Tribunal give an exact account of every Act of thy Life and Word of thy Mouth, every thought of thy Heart and glance of thy Eye, and all the Brutish and Impure Abominations of thy Filthy Heart, all thy Secret Sins and Closet Villanies, [Page 85] which no Eye ever saw, but that which is ten thousand times brighter than the Sun, shall then be disclosed and laid open to the view of all the innumerable Inhabi­tants of Heaven, Earth, and Hell, to thy unspeakable and everlasting shame; thou knowest thy self to be secretly Guilty of many hateful and abhorred Crimes, which thou wouldest not should be dis­covered for the whole World, or known to any but thy self, or it may be to two or three of those filthy and prophane Wretches, who are thy accursed Compa­nions and Partners therein; but assure thy self, that at that Day all shall be discove­red, and thou shalt be display'd and laid out in thy Colours in the Face of Heaven and Earth to thine Eternal Confusion. In what a woful case thinkest thou will thy heavy Heart then be, what amazing Terrors and desperate Rage and Despair will then tear and rend it, if it were possible, into ten thousand pieces? Ah, how will thy Spirits Faint, and thy Heart Sink within thee? How will thy Flesh tremble, and thy Head shake, when thou shalt hear the unalterable and irreversible Sentence pronounced upon thee; depart ye Cursed into everlasting Fire, prepared for [Page 86] the Devil and his Angels; every Word whereof breathes out Fire and Brimstone, Vengeance, and Misery, and every Silla­ble bites deeper, and terrifies more than ten thousand Scorpions Stings. The very departing from the Glorious Presence of him who is Life it self, were Hell enough; but thou shalt go with a Curse, and not only so, but thou must go into Fire, and that Fire must be Eternal and Everlasting too, fed continually with infinite Rivers of Brimstone, and kept in perpetual Flame and Fierceness by the unquenchable Wrath of the justly Inraged God to all E­ternity.

And if the very Pronouncing this Sen­tence be so amazing and dreadful; Oh, how will thine Heart-strings crack, and thine Eyes burst with Tears, when thou shalt behold this killing Sentence, put­ting into Execution, and seest the Devils Actually laying Hands on thee, and drag­ing thee from the presence of the Judge into that Infernal Prison which is to be thine Eternal abode, and where all thy Imployments shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth!

Now I could perceive that this Dis­course startled and terrified him more [Page 87] than any he had formerly heard, and that which helped to increase it, was his fancy­ing that he felt the Ground sink, and the Earth whereon he stood fall from under him, when turning hastily to see what the Matter was, he thought he saw the Bottomless Pit opening and extend­ing it self to receive and swallow him up; with the fright and amazement whereof he suddenly gave a very great start and ran for his Life, and as he ran, he looked often behind him, as if he apprehended himself still in danger, and was afraid the Hand of Justice was pursu­ing him to throw him down in that dread­ful place, but being got a pretty way from the place, he made a stand, and looking back to see and admire the dread­fulness of the danger he had escaped, and adore that Divine Goodness which had sent him so many Warnings of Perswasi­ons to flee from it. And now he began to consider with himself what he should do, and whither he should repair for safety. The City of Refuge, to which he had been directed, he saw lay up the Hill of Self-denial, a Hill very hard and difficult to be climbed up to, and seeing there were se­veral Refuges nearer at hand, and easier [Page 88] to come at, and with all as much or more frequented than the other, viz. The Moun­tains of Confession, Prayer, Amendment of Life, Holy Duties and Ordinances, with di­vers more which are all Situated there­abouts, he presently fled thither, and took Sanctuary in them, but notwithstanding innumerable others whom he had found there, were altogether in Peace, and in­joyed a perfect quietness in their Spirits, being absolutely free from any fears or apprehensions of the Burning Lake, yet he could find no such safety and secu­rity as others fancied they did, and he expected he should have found there; but they all cried out to him, Salvation is not in us, nor is Peace with God, or safety from his Wrath and Indignation within our borders, and therefore unless you intend go through a by way to Tophet, and Perish as certainly as if you had never set a step, or moved a foot towards Paradise, look beyond us, and flee to the only Refuge that can secure you from the A­venger of Blood, who is still in pursuit of thee, and will certainly and suddenly overtake thee if thou stayest here; Oh therefore be advised before he lay hold of thee, and Sheath the Sword of Justice [Page 89] thy Bowels. You may well imagine that the hearing those terrible, unpleasing, and unexpected Lectures, where he expect­ed to find nothing but Peace and Tran­quility, and a perpetual safety from that Desolation and Wo which he found himself notwithstanding still subject to, and was threatned and denounced against him with as much terror and fiereeness as ever, filled his very Soul with trouble and grief, and almost overwhelmed his Spirits with sorrow; the Arrows of the Al­mighty stuck fast within him, and the Poison thereof had almost drank up his Spirits, all which brought him into such inconceivable and inexpressible perplexi­ties, that I can far better conceive of them my self, than I can relate them to you; the truth is, the poor Man knew not what to do, being almost at his Wits Ends, and upon the very Brink and Bor­der of Despair; whereupon I saw him rouse himself, and fall more roundly to Work, with Prayer and fasting, keeping the Sabbath, and hearing of Sermons, fre­quenting of Lectures and Christian Con­ferences, and like the Marriners in a Storm, and ready to Perish, he cast away and abandoned many of those things [Page 90] which hitherto had been pleasant and de­lightful, but now he found them to be burdensome and dangerous to him: not­withstanding all which, no Peace, Comfort, or Consolation could he obtain; for al­though he followed hard after them, they fled so fast from him, that he could not possibly overtake them; whereupon he be­gan to expostulate with himself after this manner: Unhappy Man that I am, while I remained in my Course of Sin and Wicked­ness, I could not be at quiet for Conscience, who harrased me continually to leave my danceing about the Pit, which was as he af­firmed (and as I am apt to believe) Bot­tomless, and now I have complyed with his Advice, I cannot as yet obtain any Peace in my Soul; what can possibly be the reason or occasion thereof? I wish I have not mistaken the Way which I was direct­ed to take, and am got into some other Path which leads not to Celestial Paradise, but to some other place, but I certainly think it cannot be so, for I remember that I have always been told by those who have been well acquainted with the Way, and are appointed by the King of the Coun­trey to be Guides to those who Travel thither, that Praying, Hearing the Word, [Page 91] and other such like Holy Exercises where­in I now Employ my self, lead directly towards Paradise, and yet my Heart mis­gives me that this cannot be the Way, because I remember also that they used to describe the Ways of Paradise to be Ways of Pleasantness, and all the Paths therein to be Paths of Peace; But to the trouble and disquiet of my Soul I can find no such thing by those ways wherein I now am: And then directing himself to the Eternal, he said,

O Lord rebuke me not in thine Anger, nei­ther chasten me in thy hot displeasure, for thine Arrows stick fast in me, and thy Hand presseth me sore; there is no soundness in my Flesh, because of thine Anger, neither is there any rest in my Bones because of my Sin, for thou hast brought all mine Iniquities upon my Head as a heavy burden, they are too hea­vy for me to bear; my Wounds stink and are corrupt because of my Foolishness, I am trou­bled, I am bowed down greatly, I go Mourn­ing all the day long, my Loins are filled with a loathsome Disease, and there is no sound­ness in my Flesh; I am feeble and sore broken, I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my Soul; but thou, O Lord, knowest all my desires, and my groanings are not hid from [Page 92] thee; my Heart panteth, and my Strength faileth me, as for the light of my Eyes also, it is gone from me, I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is ever before me, wherefore I will declare my Iniquities and be sorry for my Sin, and I will hope in thy Mercy, O Lord; the sorrows of Hell hath compassed me about, and the floods of desolation make me afraid; the sorrows of Hell hath invironed me, and the snares of Death prevented me; but in my distress I will call upon thee, O Lord, and cry unto thee, O God, thou God of my Salva­tion, to whom alone is all my desire, and in whom alone is all my relief and succour; di­rect me, O God, my strength, guide me into the way of Holiness, and lead me into the Path wherein thou wouldest have me to walk: I am feeble, do thou uphold me; my Feet are ready to slip, but do thou establish me; for thou, O Lord, art my Rock upon which I lean and stay my self, thou art my Strength and my Redeemer: I am, O Lord, like a weaned Child, aukward and unskilful to tread in these Paths which are altogether new and unusual to me, but do thou graciously con­descend according to thy promise, to lead me by the Hand, and teach me to go; Oh leave me not until thou hast conducted me into the [Page 93] way of Life, which leads to the Heavenly Pa­radise: and lest there should be any thing in me that may peradventure occasion my fal­ling short of that blessed place, do thou enter into me, and search my Heart, and try my Reins, O God, and if thou findest any evil way in me, purge it away with the Blood of thy Son, and guide me into the way everlasting. After this, I saw that he was somewhat more chearful than before, but it lasted not long, for as he afterwards told one of his Friends in my hearing, he had something within him which continually cry'd unto him, Away Man and flee for thy life, for thou art not yet safe from the Avenger, who is yet in pursuit after thee, and if thou escape not quickly, he will certainly lay hold on thee, and thou shalt Perish as surely and much more fa­tally than if thou hadst never made any one step towards an escape; which did terrifie him exceedingly, and made him rore out, and cry for help to him, who has stiled himself the God of help, and promised to be a present help in time of trouble, saying, In the day of trouble call upon me and I will deliver thee, so shalt thou glorifie me: Cast thy Burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; commit thy way un­to [Page 94] to the Lord, and he shall direct thy Paths: Trust thou in him, and rely on him only, and he also will bring it to pass. Here Conscience interrupted him somewhat ab­ruptly, and said, I cannot but wonder at thy desperate madness and folly, in that thou still abusest the Divine Pati­ence, and by continuing in thy Obstina­cy, darest the Almighty to do his worst, fancying to thy self, that thou hast by thy Repentings and thy Tears, thy Fast­ings and thy Prayers, and a little forced partial and imperfect amendment, stopped all his proceedings against thee, and so tied up his Hands, that he cannot hurt thee, when, alas! thou art still in the High Way to ruine; thou now endeavourest to set thy self to keep the Law, but I must still pronounce thee Accursed, be­cause thou continuest not in all things written in the Book of the Law to do them, nor indeed art thou able to do so; but admit thou wert, yet that will not make satisfaction to Justice for the wrong thou hast already done it, the keeping the Law now, will not compensate, or atone for thy former Breaches of it; nor must thou expect to put God off with good Words, or fair Promises, plausible Pre­tences, [Page 95] and faint Resolutions; nor will he admit that thou shouldest have any other Saviour than his Son, nor that thou joyn any thing with him, for he will have the whole Honour of saving thee, or else he will leave thee still to Perish in thy Sins. At this I could perceive him to be exceedingly troubled and terrified, which was much increased by his espy­ing the Avenger Marching against him, Cloathed with Vengeance, and Armed with Fury, Brandishing a Flaming Sword in his Al-conquering Hand; wherefore he fuddenly cried out to Heaven for help, looking every way, as if he would run, but knew not whither, for he could dis­cover no place which promised him more security than that wherein he then was, and seeing the Avenger was then almost got up to him, and ready to lay hold of him, he fainted and even despaired of e­scaping; but just as he was in the very depth of extreamest danger, I looked to see what would become of the poor thing, and loe suddenly one stept to him, and with a brisk and cheerful Voice, cried to him, Oh Sir, why ly you here and pe­rish within view of the remedy, you have but a little way further to the City of [Page 96] Refuge, where the Son of the Blessed stands waiting for you, and ready to re­ceive you, if you will but go to him. This welcome and unexpected Message in the very Minute of the lowest extremity strangely revived his desponding Soul, and made so great and sudden an alte­ration in him, that I can compare it to nothing so well as to the Prophets Vision of dry Bones, for as one dead he revived, and his Spirits came into him again; when looking up upon him, he cried, Sir, that which you say hath a little re­vived my Spirits, and I find a strange kind of sweetness and delight therein, but pray whereabouts stands this City of Refuge which you spake of, I have heard much of it, and have been advised to re­pair thither, as the only place where I could be safe; and to tell you the truth, I did think I had been got into it; and although Mr. Conscience and several others indeavoured to convince me of it, yet I could not be perswaded; but now I see by woful experience, that I am more than a Mile short of it, and in as much danger of Perishing as before I came hi­ther. Why, said the Gentleman, it stands a little further there right before you in [Page 97] that middle Path between that wherein you now are, and that from which you lately came; whereupon he looked that Way with great eagerness, but could not discover it. I have, said the Gentle­man, a Box of Eye Salve which I received from our Lord himself, wherewith if you please I will Anoint your Eyes to make you see the more clearly. Ah, with all my Heart, Sir, said he; And when he had so done, he bid him look towards the place which he pointed to. Do you not see, said he, a litle Narrow Ruged Path that goes up there? Yes, said he, I can see it now, although before I could not discern it so well: Why that Path is cal­led by divers Names, but they all signi­fie the same thing; some call it by the Name Repent and be Converted that your Sins may be blotted out, when the times of refresh­ing shall come from the presence of the Lord; others call it by the Name, Believe and ye shall be saved; with many more, as, Turn and Live; the way of Rigtheousness, and the way of Peace; the Heavenly Path, &c. Now therefore do you look streight through it, and you will see a very small and narrow Gate, that Gate goes direct­ly to the City of Refuge; the Man could [Page 98] not see it at first, but having fixed his Eyes very steadily, and looked earnest­ly for some time, he espied it, which I could perceive by his Countenance, and the Joy he discovered thereat, to be the Pleasantest and most Blessed sight that ever his Eyes saw; for there he beheld the Glorious Sun of Righteousness begin to arise upon him, with healing un­der his Wings, discovering the Son of the Blessed to stand there with extended Arms and a smiling Countenance, Clo­thed with Goodness and Love, and drop­ing Mercy and Pardon from his Divine Lips, ready to receive and embrace him, and calling to him, O poor Soul, who art weary and heavy laden, come unto me and I will give thee rest and ease; this sight presently convinced him that he was yet really far short of the City of Refuge, cured him of all his unwillingness to go further than those Mountains where he then was, and effectually removed all that aukwardness which was upon his Soul, and set his feet at Liberty to walk to­wards this place of safety: Upon which I saw him presently throw away several of those things he had about him, Gird up his Loins, and run towards it, and being [Page 99] arrived there, attempted to enter, but could not; for, by reason of the straitness of the Gate, he could not possibly croud in, by reason of many things he had yet a­bout him which never pass that Gate, and are of such a Nature, that any Per­son who has any of them about him, can­not enter there, nor go through it to Ce­lestial Paradise, neither is there any other way to go to it than through that Gate: He attempted to enter divers times, but all in vain, until looking behind him, he saw the Avenger just at his Heels, ready to lay hold on him, and Sheath his destroy­ing Sword in his Guilty Bowels; where­upon he gave a very great start, threw off those things which impeded his getting in at the Gate, striping himself of his ve­ry Garments, which were all torn, ragged, and defiled, so that they were not ca­pable of covering the shame of his Naked­ness, and he appeared a very filthy and loathsome kind of Creature whilst he had them on; being thus stript, he entred re­solutely into the Gate, striving with all his might to go through it, and finding much difficulty in the Passage, the Gen­tleman, who had shewn him the Gate, [Page 100] whose Name I think was Faith, and was a Stranger to the Man till that time when he shewed him the Gate, and directed him the Way to it, helpt him to lay hold of a certain Post placed there on pur­pose for the help and stay of all those who pass the Gate; the Name of it is, Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out: And I saw as he passed through the Gate, he received new Garments, wherewith being arrayed he seemed like a­nother Man, appearing much more Beau­tiful and Comely than before; But that which appeared to me to be most admira­ble and strange, I beheld while his Heart was taken out, and another which was a new one put into him, which although the Prince of Darkness supposed to have been done before, when the Man first be­gan to think of forsaking his Service, and turning out of the broad way, yet it was not really changed and renovated until this very Moment: The Old Heart which was taken out of him was a perfect Stone, as solid as a Rock, and as hard as the ne­ther Milstone; But the New Heart, was a Heart of Flesh, being tender, soft, and pliable, and thereby fit to receive the [Page 101] Sacred impressions of the Divine Will, and made capable of receiving and retaining the Image of our sweet Redeemer, which I then saw the Eternal stamp upon it with his own Almighty Hand. And I saw him as soon as he was got through the Gate, bow himself down to the Earth, and Worship the Son of the Blessed, and lying prostrate on the Ground before him, he said as follows;

Almighty and Eternal God; thou King of Kings, and Prince of Peace, whose Greatness and Power is Infinite; whose Glory and Majesty is Incomprehensible; whose Goodness and Mercy is unconceive­able; upon thy frequent and often reitera­ted gracious Invitations to come unto thee, and thereby be at once secured from ever­lasting Ruine and Misery, and Intituled to, and assured of Eternal Salvation and Happiness, I am now come in according to thy Command, and in the most hum­ble manner imaginable, prostrating my self before thy Footstool; I acknowledge my self by Nature to be a most Wicked, Filthy, Polluted, and Undone Wretch, be­ing born a Stranger, an Enemy, and a Tray­tor to thee, and by that Original Guilt which I contracted in the very Womb, [Page 102] inclined to do Wickedly, and Sin against thee, as naturally as Fire produces heat, or the Sparks fly upwards; and that I was therefore bound over by a most Just (and otherwise than by thy Merits Irre­versible) Sentence, to Eternal Damnation, and I found by woful experience, that I as Naturally tended to, and as freely moved towards the Burning Lake, as the Stone doth towards its Center, having moreover by my Wicked course and con­versation continued my Rebellions against thee, and thereby rendred my self ten thousand fold more the Child of Hell, ha­ving by rushing into Sinful Courses and Working Wickedness with both Hands greedily heaped up unto my self Wrath against the Day of Wrath; and as if all these Offences were not enough, I have committed a far greater, by Sinning a­gainst the Remedy, and refusing tenders of Grace and Mercy, Pardon and Reconcilia­tion, which thou wert pleased to make me preposterously resolving rather to be a sordid Slave to my own Lusts and Cor­ruptions, a miserable Vassal to the Prince of Darkness, an Heir of everlasting Mise­ry, and an Eternal Companion for the Damned, than admit to be made free in­deed, [Page 103] a Son of the Eternal, an Heir of the Heavenly Glory, and an everlasting Associate with an innumerable Company of Angels and Glorified Saints, that Bles­sed Assembly and Church of the First Born which are written in Heaven, basely and bitterly opposing thy Blessed Kingdom, indeavouring to hinder the promoting thy Interest, the Purity, Spirituallity, and Holy Preciseness whereof I abhorred and detested, as quite contrary to my Vile, Base, Carnal Heart, and those Sensual Pleasures and Worldy Contentments in­to which I had most desperately cast my self, cruelly Persecuting all thy Embassa­dours, and trampled under Foot the Blood of the Covenant, which should have Sanctified and Saved me: Notwithstand­ing all which, such is thy astonishing Grace and Goodness, so unparallel'd thy Love, that thou still declarest thy self willing to become my Saviour and Redeemer, ap­pease the Anger, and satisfie the Fury of the Eternal against me, and reconcile me to him, if I would but give my con­sent thereunto; wherefore I call Heaven and Earth to record, and conjure all the Creatures therein to Witness this Day, that I do here with all the Powers of my [Page 104] Heart give my full and free consent to the same, accepting of thee as the only New and Living way, whereby I can possibly obtain access to the Father; and upon the bended knees of my Soul, I do here freely and willingly give up, and joyn my self to thee in a Marriage Cove­nant, the Obligation whereof shall be perpetually unalterable.

Wherefore, O thou Anointed of the Father; I now come to thee a Hungry, Di­stressed, Thirsty Soul; a Poor, Wretched, Miserable, Blind, and Naked Creature, a most Filty, Loathsom, and Poluted Wretch, a Guilty, and Condemned Traytor, un­fit for the meanest Office in thine House, and unworthy to wash the Feet of the very lowest of thy Servants, and there­fore Infinitely more unworthy and unfit to be Solemnly Contracted, and Married to the Majesty of Heaven and Earth: But yet since such is thy unparallel'd Love, and unmerited Goodness, that thou wilt have it so, I do here with all possible Veneration, and with the firm and set­tled Resolution of my Heart, accept thee to the utmost of my Power, freely con­senting to, and acquiescing in the admi­rable Contrivance of Divine Wisdom to [Page 105] save me by thy Righteousness and Merit, and take thee for my Head and Husband, my Hope and my Happiness, my Porti­on and my Shield; and I do declare my self freely content to take thee for better for worse, for Richer and for Poorer; for all times and Conditions whatsoever, pro­mising both in Prosperity and Adversity to Love, Honour, and Obey thee before all others, and that to the very Death: I accept of, and Imbrace thee in all thine Offices; I disown my own Merit, and freely declare my self empty of all man­ner of worthiness, and do here avow thee to be the Lord my Righteousness: I do renounce my own Wisdom, and do here take thee for my only Guide: I renounce my own Will, and do here take thy Will for my Law, and the only Rule of my Faith and Life.

And since I am perfectly satisfied, that suffering is the way to Reigning, the Cross the way to the Crown, and that I must through manifold Tribulations inherit the Kingdom; I do here oblige my self by this Covenant to take my Lot as it falls, and resolve by the Assistance of Divine Grace to run all manner of hazzards with thee, verily supposing and assuring my [Page 106] self, that neither Life nor Death, nor any Afliction or trouble whatsoever, shall ever be able to part between thee and me.

And because thou hast graciously given me thy Holy Laws and the Commands of thy Gospel as the Peaceful Way and Plea­sant and Delightful Path, in and through which, I must by thy Assistance walk to thy kingdom; I do here willingly sub­mit my Neck to thy Yoke, and acknow­ledging all thy Laws to be Holy, Just, and Good; I do Solemnly take them as a con­siderable part of my Happiness, and the Rule of my Thoughts, my Words, and my Actions; promising, that although thou knowest, and I find by dreadful ex­perience, that my Flesh will Contradict and Rebel, yet I will indeavour to order my whole life according to thy direction therein, and will not knowingly allow my self in the neglect of any thing which is my Duty.

Only in regard, that through the frail­ty of my Flesh I am subject to many fai­lings; I humbly presume to protest be­fore thee, that unallowed miscarriages, contrary to the settled bent and inclinati­on of my Heart, shall not annul this Cove­nant, [Page 107] which I am the more bold to assert, because thou thy self hast promised and assured me that it shall be so.

And now my sweet Redeemer, thou who penetratest into the Heart, and hast all things open and naked before thee, knowest that I make this Solemn Contract of accepting and imbracing of thee, and dedicating and giving up my self to thee freely without hesitation, fully without reservation, and sincerely without Hypo­crisie, to the best of my knowledge; hum­bly imploring, that if thou espiest any kind of flaw or falshood herein, thou wouldst discover it to me, and help me to do it with more uprightness and since­rity?

And now, Glory, and Honour; Ado­ration, and Praise be ascribed by my Soul, to the great Creator and Conserver of all things, whom I shall be bold from this Day forward to look upon as my God and Father, and shall account it my Happiness as well as my Duty, that I may sweeten my Pilgrimage through the Wilderness of this World, by Contemplating the ad­mirable Effects of thy Infinite Wisdom and Love, in finding out such a way for the recovery of undone Sinners: And [Page 108] Glory be to thee, O thou Compassionate and Indulgent Mediator, who hast loved me, and washed me from my sins in thine own Blood, and art now become my Savi­our and Redeemer: And Glory, Adorati­on, and Praise be given likewise unto thee, O thou Eternal Spirit, who hast by thy Powerful and Gracious Operations apply'd to me the Precious Merits of my Sweet Redeemer, and by the Finger of thine Al­mighty Power Effectually Changed and Converted my Soul from the World to God, from self to Christ, and from a Course of Sin to the Practice of Holi­ness.

And now, O thou Infinite, Eternal, and Alsufficient Jehovah, the Lord God Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Spirit, who art a Fountain of Mercy and Pardon, and an Ocean of Goodness and Love: Thou art now become my Covenant Friend, and hast through thy wonderful Grace and Goodness permitted me to become thy Co­venant Servant, Amen, Amen: And let the Contract which I have this day made on Earth, be Ratified by thee in Heaven.

As soon as he had thus expressed him­self, I saw him pluck a Paper out of his Bosom, wherein I supposed the substance [Page 109] of what he had said was written, and ha­ving opened it, he spread it before the Son of the Blessed, Subscribed his Name to it, and then presented it as his Act and Deed to him, who received it with such a rea­diness and Complacency, that plainly de­clared the greatness of that delight he took therein; and stretching forth his Hand, he lifted him up from the Earth, and imbraced him with the greatest love and tenderness imaginable, spake Com­fortably unto him, kist him, and promi­sed to love him with an everlasting love, which is better than life it self, assuring him likewise that he would present him before his Father without spot and blame­less in love; and that he would send him a perpetual supply of all things necessary for his Pilgrimage, at the end whereof he would receive him into the Eternal Mansi­ons of Bliss, and place a Crown of Glory upon his Head: And as for your Old Com­panions, said he, who would not that I should Reign over you, I will now slay them before me: Now therefore Gird up the Loins of thy Mind, watch and be so­ber, and hope to the end; run without weariness, and walk without fainting; be thou faithful to the death, and then I will [Page 110] give thee a Crown of life; I will likewise write your Name in the Book of Life; and therefore tell me, said he, what is your Name. Ah Lord, said the Man, my Name is so bad, wretched, and scanda­lous, that I am ashamed to tell it. I would, said he, have you be ashamed of it, and never own it more; but yet you must tell it me, for I intend to change it, and give you a New Name, a precious and an honourable Name, for I will give you in my House, and within my Walls a Place, and a Name far better than that of Sons and Daughters; I will give you an ever­lasting Name which shall not be cut off. Lord, said the Man, thou knowest that I have always hitherto been known by the Name of Reprobate. Its true, said he, but thou shalt be called so no more, but Believer shall be now thy Name, by which Name I will enter thee in the Book of Life: And I will give thee a White Stone with this New Name inclosed in it, which shall not be so legible and easy to be read by any other Person as thy self, who receivest it; and that thou mayest have Life, and have it more abundantly, thou shalt receive of my fulness, and have Grace for Grace: I will give thee to [Page 111] Eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God, whereby thou shalt be put out of all possibility of being hurt by the Second Death: I will feed thee with the Food of Angels, and give thee hidden Manna to eat; I will shut the Door of Hell against thee, so that no Man shall be able to open it, and open the Gate of Heaven to thee, so that no man shall be able to shut it against thee; and when thou art cast out of the Synagogue, by those who call themselves Believers, and are not, and art by them Excommunicated and delivered over to the Prince of Darkness, with an express Command to him to take thee, and when he will not (or rather cannot, for because I give unto you Eternal Life, you shall never Perish, nor shall Men or De­vils, Earth or Hell pluck you out of my Hands; my Father which gave you to me is greater than all, and no Man is able to pluck you out of my Fathers Hand: I and my Father are one; and as such we in­gage our selves for thy Defence) then it may be the Gaol shall; but if so, yet be not dismayed, for I ingage to make that and all things else to Work together for thy good; and assure thy self, that al­though [Page 112] those things may not at present be pleasant but grievous, yet they shall afterwards appear to have in the Bow­els of them the peaceable Fruits of Righ­teousness; and if thou wilt take care to keep the Word of my Patience, I also will ingage to keep thee from the hour of Temptation which shall come upon all the World, to try them that dwell upon the Earth, and when thou hast overcome, I will make thee a Pillar in the Temple of my God, and thou shalt go no more out, and I will write upon thee the Name of my God, and the Name of the City of my God, which is, the New Jerusalem that cometh down out of Heaven from my God, and I will write upon thee my New Name; and I will Grant that thou shalt sit down with me on my Throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father on his Throne; in the mean time I will be your Mediator to my Father, and when the Accuser of the Brethren shall bring any Accusation against you in­to the Court of Heaven, I will be your Advocate, I will appear for you, and plead my Merits in Bar of any punish­ment he shall Imprecate against you for the same. I am and will be your High Priest, [Page 113] and as I have already offered up my self to the Father as an Acceptable and a Pro­pitiatory Sacrifice for you, whereby I be­came at once your Sacrifice and your Al­tar whereon your Sacrifice was Offered, so I will now perform the other part of my High-Priesthood, and I will Inter­ceed for you to my Father, and my In­tercession will be prevalent enough, and sufficient for thee, and I will thereby pro­cure thee whatsoever thy Heart desires, for the Father can deny me nothing: In fine, my Merit and my Fulness, and all that I am and have, shall be thine; and whatsoever I am to my self, that I will be to thee. Now therefore be of good Courage, go on thy Pilgrimage with an Holy Resolution to be Faithful, and cleave to the Lord with full purpose of Heart all the Days of thy Life; thou wilt meet indeed with abundance of Enemies, and innumerable Discouragements; but fear thou none of these things, for God shall be thy Leader, and the strong God thy Captain; he shall teach thy Hand to fight, and thy Fingers to War; nay he shall fight all thy Battels for thee, give thee Victory over all thine Enemies, and make thee more than a Conqueror overthe Pow­ers [Page 114] of Darkness, and all the rest of thy Adversaries, both within and without thee. Wisdom it self shall be thy Guide, Almighty Strength thy Support, and In­finite Goodness thy Reward at the peri­od of thy Pilgrimage, when thou shalt re­ceive from me the end of thy Faith, the Salvation of thy Soul.

And then taking him by the Hand, he led him to his Store-House, the Sacred Armory, where he hath always in readi­ness all kinds of Armor and Arms, admi­rably Designed and fitted for the Spiritu­al Warfare; and from thence he furnished him with a Sword, a Shield, a Helmet a Brestplate, and Sandals, together with a well contriv'd Engine of such mighty force and efficacy, that with it he afterwards did wonders, and so did some of those who had formerly made use of it, for they did by it shut and open Hea­ven, Battered down the Walls of Ci­ties, Conquered their Conquerours, and put their insulting and Victorious Ene­mies to flight; for of such force and prevalency it is, that in less than a Mi­nute, it is able to bring into our assistance so many Auxilliary Forces, as may be able to defend us against, and inable us to [Page 115] Conquer more than 10000 times 10000 E­nemies; which occasioned a certain Queen, who was a Soveraign Princess, to say, that she was more afraid of the Prayers of a certain Pilgrim, who was her Subject, than of many Regiments of Armed Men; and yet this Engine, as mighty as it is, is no bigger than a Man may carry always about him, which is somewhat signified by its Names, which as I was told, are two, Pray always, and with all manner of Prayer: I was told likewise, that those who have it not are liable to all man­ner of danger and misery, and have not any manner of defence against it; nay it hath a Voice too, and imprecates Ruine and Misery upon all those that have it not, for I my self heard it often call out to Heaven, saying, Lord pour out thy fury upon the Heathen that know thee not, and the Families who call not on thy Name. But seeing that all those Pieces of Armour were design'd for Front Pieces, and that he received none for the defence of his Back-parts, he humbly inquired the rea­son thereof, and was told, that it was be­cause the Nature of the War wherein you are to ingage, is such, that you must stand fast, fight manfully, and resist to the very death and spilling your Blood, rather [Page 116] than yield or flee; and therefore bear it always in your Thoughts, and let it be written in your Memory, that if ever you turn your Back, you thereby lay your self open to be Mortally wounded by your In­fernal Adversary, having no Armor given you to defend those parts. Then said he, Lord, is there no Case wherein I may turn my Back and flee? Yes, reply'd he that is fairer than the Children of Men, in some extraordinary Cases it will be both your duty and your safety too, to flee; as when the Sin you are tempted to com­mit hath such a likeness to, interest in, and Correspondency with your Flesh, and the very Complexion of your Nature, that the very standing to contend with it may prove your overthrow, and the very yield­ing to fight only, lay a sure foundati­on for its obtaining the Victory; the Wea­pon wherewith thou intendest to wound it, may stab thy self, and those very thoughts and considerations wherewith thou intend­est to choak and strangle it, prove Cordials to revive and strengthen it, adding more Fewel to the Fire, and proving like Oyl to increase those Flames which burn with too much vehemency and violence already. I say, in those cases you must flee, and you have a Paragraph in the Sacred Statute-Book [Page 117] to Warrant your so doing, viz. flee also youthful lust.

Being thus Harnessed, the Son of the Blessed, Blessed him, and sent him away; and I saw him go forward in his Pilgri­mage with abundance of Chearfulness and Agility; and as he walked in the Narrow Way, he thus discoursed to himsef; Oh, how Beautiful and Comely is my Beloved? His Aspect was sweet, and his Counte­nance was pleasant, he was arraied with Flames of Love, and filled with Bowels of Compassion; in his Right-Hand he had plentious Redemption, and in his Left-Hand multiplied Pardons: methinks I could see his Sacred Brest swelled with Mercy and Love, and by their pantings, discovering themselves uneasy and even in Pain until they were eased by the sucking of my Hungry and my Thirsty Soul; wherefore wonder, O my Soul, and all the Powers within me, be ye amazed and asto­nished at the greatness of the thing, for the Tabernacle of the most High is with me, and he will dwell with me; he will be mine, and I shall be his; I shall be his Son, and he will be my Father; be astonished and even ravished with wonder, O my Soul; for the Infinite Breach which Sin had made [Page 118] between God and thee is now made up, the difference Composed, and the Offender received to Mercy; so that God and thee are now reconciled, and have entred in­to a Covenant of Peace, Heaven and Earth having agreed upon the terms, struck their Hands, and Sealed the Indenture: O hap­py Conclusion! O Blessed Conjunction! If the Stars should condescend to dwell with the Dust, if Fire and Water could be re­conciled, or the North and South Poles be brought to meet and mutually imbrace each other, this were much; but yet this Agreement and Conjunction wherewith thou art now Blest is much more won­derful and strange, for the terms of Di­stance were infinitely greater: Rejoyce therefore, O ye Angels, and shout ye Se­raphims; and let all the glorious Inhabi­tants of the Celestial Mansions prepare an Epithalamium, and stand ready with the Marriage Song, for loe here is a wonder of wonders, the great Jeho­vah hath given himself to a Worm, and the King of Kings hath Contracted a Marriage with his hopeless, helpless Cap­tive, Publickly acknowledging and own­ing it before the whole World, freely declaring that he is become one with me, [Page 119] and I with him, and that he hath given me the Fulness of Heaven for my Joyn­ture, and the Fatness of the Earth for my Substance, having kept back nothing from me.

And now, O Lord, thou art that God, and that I AM, and thy Words they are truth it self; wherefore having made all these Promises to thy Servant, so that thou hast prevented my very wishes, non­plust my desires, and left me nothing to ask at thy Hands but what thou hast already freely granted and bequeathed to me, and all that thou hast left me to do, being to accept and imbrace thy kindness, adventure my self upon thy Fidelity, and trust my whole happiness both here and hereafter upon these thy Promises, I only request that the Word which thou hast spoken concerning thy Servant thou wouldest establish for ever, and do as thou hast said, that so thy Name may be mag­nified for ever, and the freeness of thy Love in the choice of thy Servant be the Matter of my Praise and Adoration through the Days of Eternity.

And now adieu vain World, and all the empty and imaginary Pleasures of Sin, I bid you all an Eternal farewel; nay, I [Page 120] will now tread you under Foot, and tram­ple upon you as the basest Dross and Dung; the vain Threats of an Insulting World shall no longer terrify me, nor shall thy salse and deceitful Promises any more delude or flatter me to fall in Love with a Strumpet, or Adore a Painted I­mage, to forsake the everlasting Spring, the overflowing Fountain, and the inex­haustible Ocean, to drink of thy impure puddles, or attempt to satiate my Thirst at thy broken and empty Cisterns: And although the Prince of Darkness dress the Harlot in all her Pomp and Bravery, and by Painting and Patching her deformed Face, make her appear to be a Beautiful and Lovely Object, in hope thereby to allure me to fall in love with her, and return to her imbraces again; yet his pains therein shall all be lost, and prove labour in vain, for I bid thee defience, O thou incorrigible and implacable Enemy of my Souls Salvation, resolving in the Divine Strength, that all thy Subtil Wiles, nor thy Tempting Baits shall ever be able to prevail with me for the changing my present choice, unless thou art able (as I am sure thou art not) to shew me such a Crown, and such a King­dom as the Almighty hath settled upon [Page 121] me, or at least give me something which may ballance the loss of an Infinite and an Alsufficient God, who hath now given himself to me; but I know you cannot do that neither, and therefore take notice, that I do from this Day forward, and for ever Banish you, and all those filthy and deceit­ful Lusts and Pleasures which are thy ac­cursed Companions and Attendants, out of my Heart; get you gone, get you hence, I will have no more to do with you, I have enough in God, in Christ, and the Promises, to fill and satisfie my Soul; these have I lodged within my Heart, and there is now no more Room for such Guests as you are, nor shall you ever again be per­mitted a peaceable entrance within these Doors.

And thus I saw him go on rejoycing in the Lord, and triumphing in the happiness of his present Condition, continually looking forwards and reaching forth his Hand towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, fixing his Eye always upon the place whi­ther he was going, in the midst whereof he saw the Son of the Blessed, the Eter­nal Darling and Glory of his Father, ad­vanced far above Angels and all Created [Page 122] Powers, and seated upon a Bright and Glorious Throne, admirably framed of Majesty and Mercy, Justice and Love; and strongly supported by Almighty Strength and Unchangeable Goodness, ha­ving on his Sacred Head a Royal and Impe­rial Crown, the Riches, Splendor, and Glo­ry whereof so far excceds all expression, that I am no way able to relate it; nay the Tongues of Angels would fail, and the Pen of the most Dexterous and Florid Scribe be nonplust, should they attempt the Description thereof; and his Victori­ous Temples justly encircled and richly bedecked with Wreathes of Victory and Triumph; Angels, and Thrones, and Do­minons being Subjected to him, who is the everlasting Heir of all things; and Cloathed from Head to Foot with Gar­ments of unapproachable Light; which made him break forth into an Extasie of Admiration and Joy. And I after heard him, with his Hands and his Eyes lifted up to Heaven, utter these and the like ex­pressions; O my Soul, with how much Shining Glory and Lustre dost thou be­hold thy Beloved Array'd? O how ad­mirable is the Beauty of his Face? How Ravishing are the smiles of his Counte­nance, [Page 123] and how attractive the Glances of his Eyes? How delightful are the Ex­pressions of his Love to thee, and the Kis­ses of his Rosey Lips affords thee a sweet­ness that far excedeth even life it self. And at other times, when he lay down to Rest and Repose his weary Limbs, tired with the difficulties and hardships of his Journey, he would break out suddenly in­to Heavenly and Ravishing descriptions of the Celestial Paradise.

With what raised Affections and infla­med Love, would he say, do I review thee, O thou City of God, thou Para­dise of Delight, and Region of Peace and Tranquility. Joy and Happiness, Glory and Honour, Beautify thy Palaces. O, with what breathings and longings of Soul after thee, do I now think of thee, and of those Glorious Inhabitants who dwell within thy Saphir Walls, and whose Holy Feet trace thy Jasper Streets! O how Glorious art thou, O Jerusalem! So splendid is thy Brightness, an so redun­dant thy Glory, that Kings shall come and lay down their Crowns before thee, and account all their Pomp and Glory as Dust in Comparison of thee.

And still as he walked he would keep [Page 124] his Eyes so fixed upon the recompence of Reward, that the Prince of Darkness with all his Wiles could not prevail with him to cease viewing of it, nor perswade him to turn out of the Way towards it: whereat being exceedingly enraged, he a­larmed the whole World with the News thereof, telling them that they were like to lose a Companion, and stirring them up against him to Revenge his abando­ning their Company, and either bring him back by fraud or force, or else make his Pilgrimage as bitter and unpleasant to him as possible. They presently follow­ed his Counsel, and Earth and Hell uni­ting together, listed themselves under his Banner, and marching against the poor Pilgrim, they Attaqued him all at once, but all in vain, for he made such resistance, and defended himself so well with his Helmet and Shield, that they were not able to stand before him, but fled to­wards the place from whence they came, and he went forward in his Pilgrimage, and as he went, he Sang,

[Page 125] But whilest he was thus rejoycing upon the account of his Victory, they rallied again, and returning upon him ere he was aware, they Charged him with so much Resolution and Fury, that they wounded him in divers places, beat his Sword out of his Hand, and so disabled the Arm which managed the Shield, that it became in a manner useless to him, in­somuch that his Spirit began to flag, his Heart fainted, and his hopes were just gi­ving up the Ghost, and himself falling a Victim to their Rage and Malice; when suddenly calling to Mind the great things which the Son of the Blessed had-told him might be effected by the Engine he delivered him, he presently roused up him­self, as one inspired with New life, and be­gan to play it upon them, and as soon as he began to play, I heard a Voice saying to him, Pluck up thy Spirits Man and be of good Courage, for more are they who are with thee, than those which are against thee, my Grace shall be sufficiont for thee, and my strength shall be made perfect in thy weakness: Whereupon I lifted up mine Eyes, and lo I saw an innumerable Com­pany of Horses and Chariots of Fire round about him, and a whole Army on their [Page 126] March from the Eternal to his rescue; by whose Help and Assistance the Prince of Darkness and all his Irreligious Rout were put to flight, not one of them being able to stand before him; which gave him new occasion of Rejoycing and Singing Praise to him by whose Assistance he was now a Conquerour.

Methoughts after this Victory he went forward with more speed and swiftness than before, and Travelled so fast, that in a few hours he was got many Miles from the Bottomless Pit towards his Jour­neys End. Now this way wherein he walked lay exactly between two Walls, which the Eternal had placed on each side of it; the Name of that Wall on the Right-hand, was called by the Name of General Calling; and the other was named Particular Calling, to teach Pilgrims, that neither of them must be neglected by them, and yet intimate to them, that they ought always to give General Calling the chief Place, and the upper Hand, al­though they must not suffer it wholly to justle out the other. In his Travels I saw two Pilgrims overtake him, they both set out after him, but having gotten into the Way, not through the Strait Gate, but through a certain Gap which was in the Righ-hand Wall near adjoyning to the Gate, and by that [Page 128] means met with less sensible trouble and opposition from the Prince of Darkness: When they came up with Believer, they saluted him, telling him they were glad to find any Travellers in that Despised Road, and hoped that since they were so happy to meet in so pleasant a Path, they might keep Company together, and be helpful to each other in their Pilgrimage. Believer, you may well imagine, was as glad as they to find others travelling towards Paradise, and was as well pleased likewise to have Company thither, since Experience tells Men, that it is not good for them to be a­lone; wherefore being exceedingly pleas'd with their Motion, especially to hear them talk so sensibly of their Pilgrimage, he answered them, he wished it might, and hoped it would be as they desired, for said he, if any of us after we have entred this Path, and travelled so many Miles herein, should look back and return again to the Broad Way, we shall thereby not only make our selves unfit for, and unworthy of the Celestial Paradise, but likewise list our selves in the number of those whom the Son of the Eternal hath assured us shall have greater Damnation. We ac­knowledge it, said one of them, and O that [Page 129] it may be none of our cases, and that we who have Walked together, and Com­municated together in the means of Grace and the Sacred Ordinances of the King­dom, may not after all this be Eternally separated, and whilst some of us shall be received with Joy, and welcomed into the Promised Land, others of us should be for ever excluded out of it, and thrust down into a Sea of Wrath. Amen, Amen, said Believer: Then he inquired of them of what Country they were: They An­swered, they were born in the Wilder­ness which lieth below this Hill, and at the end of this Narrow Way wherein we are now Travelling, it is called by some, the Howling Wilderness, by others the Land of Rebbels, the Bewitching World, the False and Deceitful Paradise, &c. A Country, said he, which I know very well, I was born in it my self: I dwelt in it many years, and continued there untill Divine Fury had overtaken me, torn me to Pieces, and tumbled me down into the Bottomless Pit, had not Everlasting Goodness warn­ed me of my Danger, and put it into my Heart to go on Pilgrimage as you see. And pray my Good Friends, said he, how came you to leave it? Why, to tell you [Page 130] the truth, answered they, as we were Danceing about the Brink of the Pit, we saw divers of our Companions fall in, and moreover one Boanerges, said they, was sent by the King of Kings, and was Command­ed by him to denounce War against us, as­suring us, that unless we presently for­sook our Evil Courses and Repented, we should all likewise Perish: Whereupon we presently fled for our Lives into this Way, and do resolve to go on Pilgrmage to Celestial Paradise. Pray, said he, which Way did you come into this Way? I hope you will not be offended at my inquisitive­ness, for I do assure you, it is in Love and Tendernerss to your precious and immor­tal Souls that I make this Inquiry; for if there be an Error in our Entrance into the Way, it is very improbable we should ever persevere therein, since there is no­thing more common, than for those who begin in Hypocrisie to end in Apostacy; but admit that by reason of the prevalen­cy of our fears of Tophet, and to pacifie a Bawling, Chiding Conscience, we do make a shift to keep drudging on to the End of our Lives, yet, if then we are not found to have entred through the strait Gate into this Narrow Way, we [Page 131] shall for that Error in the beginning of our Pilgrimage be denied entrance into the Ce­lestial Paradise; and that which is yet much more dreadful (and therefore should induce us to look back and inquire if our beginning be right, and such as will bear us out at the Tribunal of him whose Eyes are infinitely brighter than the Sun, and therefore able to penetrate into, and look through all our Disguises and Spe­cious pretences, so that there will be no deceiving of him) if there be an Error there, and by that means we run our Race and do our Work amiss, we shall never be permitted to return again to mend it; for as the Tree falls so it must lie for ever, without any possibility of removing or exchanging its place. All this we know to be true, reply'd they, and have learn­ed from one of the Disciples of our Lord, that we ought to render a reason of our Faith to every Man who shall make an in­quiry into the same, and therfore I am, (and I hope my Brother too) so far from being angry, that I return you Thanks, and am ready to give you a satisfactory account as far as I can. You must know therefore, that being sore frightned by Boanerges, we presently repaired this way, [Page 132] easily ascended the little Hillock we found a little below the Narrow Way, a­bout the middle of which we met with a very strait Passage, through which with some small difficulty we passed into this Road. Having given him an account of their Country, and the Reason why they left it, and the Way whereby they came out of it, he was indifferently well satis­fied, that they were sincere and resolved Pilgrims. Only, said he to himself, the Eternal granted them an easier passage than I found. But notwithstanding their seeming willingness to render an account how they got into the Way to Paradise, yet they were really unwilling, were glad when the Scrutiny was over, and all the time they walked together, they found one means or other to shuffle off all further Discourse upon that point, for it appear­ed a little then, but more afterwards, that although they fancied the place in the Wall through which they came into that Path was the Strait Gate which leadeth into the way of Life, yet they had many doubtings and misgivings of Heart, that it was not; but however being unwilling to be at the pains of going so far back, and very desirous to appear at least to [Page 133] other Pilgrims to be real Converts, and to have entred in a Regular Way and Manner into their Pilgrimage, they thought it the best way to prevent as much as possible its being too much inquired into. As they went along the Road he asked them what were their Names. My Name, reply'd one of them, is, Desire to be Good, and mine, said the other, is, Would be Happy. Very well, said he, I wish you may both an­swer your Names and somewhat more. And thus I saw them go forward talking together until they came to a place where there was a Passage through each Wall, the one exactly opposite to the other, and each of them lead into a path that lay just without the Walls, and ran close by them as far as they could see, and both of them replenished with many though different Pleasures, and yet not so much different in them [...]ives, as they vary in the Tempets and Apprehensions of those who walk therein. Now when they had look­ed into those by-Paths, the two Pilgrims declared their Opinions to be, that they were made by the Kings Order, as Foot-Paths for the ease of Pilgrims, and to make their Pilgrimage the more pleasant and delightful, and therefore were for [Page 134] walking in them, lest, said they, we be found to put a slight upon the Favours the Divine Goodness hath hereby offered to us. No, said Believer, I dare not, nor would I have you to go into them, for they seem to me to be By-Paths, and I am very suspitious that all By-Paths lead out of the Way of Life. Its true, said they, they do so, but these can be no By-Paths, for you see that they run all along by the Walls side, so that if we find occasion, we may turn out of them into this Path again at our Pleasure. I will not, said he, and, O do not you venture that; for how­ever they seem to run so as far as you can see, yet who knows how they run farther off, or whither they will lead you in the End; as for the Way wherein we now are, I am sure that is the right Way, and that Eternal Glory is at the End of it, because the King himself set me into it, charging me withal, that I should not dare, as I loved my Soul, esteemed his Favour, or vallued Everlasting Happiness, to turn out of it either to the Right-hand or to the Left, so that if you will not be perswaded to go along with me and be happy, I must not, nor I will not be Wheedled and Wiredrawn to go along with you to be [Page 135] Miserable: Pray remember what you were saying when you first overtook me, viz. How dreadful it will be if any of us who have Conferred, and Prayed, and Walk­ed together, should after all this Miscarry, and be Eternally Separated and Doomed to Everlasting Misery; if it fall out so with either of you, you will be forced to re­member when it is too late, that you were forewarned thereof by me. Having thus told them their Danger, and finding them notwithstanding Obstinate and Head-strong in their way, he left them to their own Devices, and went forward on his Journey. Now I saw that when he was gone, the two Pilgrims could not agree which of the Paths they should take, wherefore Desire to be Good took the Right-hand Path, and Would be Happy turn­ed into the other on the Left-hand, which Believer, (who looked back to see which of the Ways they would take) be­holding, he said thus to himself; Lord, what a strange Creature is Mankind? How willing is he to be Miserable? How unwilling to be Happy? How easily Whee­dled into the Path of Danger; and how hardly perswaded to enter into, or when entred to continue in the Way of Life? [Page 136] And now, O Lord, what is thy Servant, that thou shouldest be so loving and in­dulgent to me, and bring me into the Way of Life, when thou hast left so many others to Perish in the Paths of Death? and be so unwearied in thy care to pre­serve and keep me therein, when thou permittest so many others to be Wheedled by the Prince of Darkness, and a deceit­ful, yielding Heart, foolishly to turn out of it into the Ways of Sin and Death again? Lord, let the consideration hereof inflame my Heart with more love to thee, teach me to be more Faithful and Obedient, and lead my Soul to a nearer and a more universal Compliance with the Divine Will.

Now methoughts seeing the three Pil­grims thus parted, I became strangely concerned thereat, and it created in me an extraordinary desire to know what be­came of them all, and whither the two By-Paths led; to which end I would get upon the Walls, sometimes on one Wall, and sometimes on the other, and look af­ter them, yet so as not to lose the sight of my Pilgrim, who continued still in the Narrow Way. And I saw that the Way on the Left-hand which Would be Happy [Page 137] took, was a Road of so much Business, that the Imploy and Management there­of ingrossed so much of his Time, and kept him in such a perpetual hurry, that he not only lost his Way to the Celestial Pa­radise, but he quite forgot also, that there was any such place, or at leastwise that ever he had been Travelling toward it, or had any kind of Business there; and at length it brought him into the Broad Way again, where he returned without any Reluctancy or Notice, being not at all concerned thereat: Well, thought I, I may now say of thee, Farewell for ever, for there is now an end of thy Pilgrimage, unless the Eternal, who is the Father of Mercies, should by a Miracle of Mercy revive thy Convictions again. And as for Desire to be Good, I saw, that not long after his entrance into the Path, he over­took one whose Name was Intend well, who was got over into the Path not long before him, fancying as the other, that now they had nothing to do, but to mind and follow their General Vocation, vain­ly Imagining that the Eternals command­ing them to forsake the World, not suf­fering themselves to be Carnal, but Spiri­tually minded, have their Conversation [Page 138] in Heaven, and that they should set their Affections not on the things which are seen, but on the things which are not seen, because the things which are seen are Temporal, but the things which are not seen are Eternal; I say, they thought that those Commands warranted their so do­ing: but, as I afterwards learned, they were grosly mistaken therein, and that this mistake was almost as mischievous and as fatal as the other into which Would be Happy fell: Now I saw them walk toge­ther a long time in that Way, every Day frequenting of Sermons, and Lectures, and Christian Conferrences, or else keeping of Days of Fasting and Humiliation, in all which they seemed to take a great deal of Delight and Pleasure, and manifested a­bundance of Heat, Warmth, and Zeal. Well, thought I, I hope better things of these two Pilgrims than I did of the other that took the Left-hand Way; but at length I perceived them to be perfectly glutted and clogged with their Injoy­ments, and by the Constancy of their At­tendance thereon, their fervour began to flag, and by degrees they grew exceed­ingly weary and tired thereof; and after­wards I understood that was the Design of [Page 139] the subtle Serpent, in perswading and drawing them into that Path, that so by being Righteous over much, they might be surfeited with the Duties and Ordinan­ces of Religion, and turn from them with loathing, and thereupon return again to his Service, or at least put them to the trouble of going back again as far as the Strait Gate, in order to their getting in­to the Way of Life again, and so it fell out in those two Pilgrims, for I saw In­tend well at length fall into a certain Path which led back again into the Broad Way, and I never heard that there was ever any farther Enquiry made by him after the Celestial Paradise. And Desire to be Good beginning now to be sensible of the Error he had been Guilty of, in turn­ing out of the Way wherein the King had appointed him to go on Pilgrimage to the Celestial Paradise, and being there­upon overwhelmed with sorrow, he re­turned with Grief and Shame to the Strait Gate, whereat Believer had entered, which he was not able to pass without much dif­ficulty and Striving, nor was he favour­ed with those Sweet Soul-Affecting and Heart-Ravishing Intimations and Assuran­ces of the Redeemers Love, wherewith [Page 140] Believer was blest; nor did the Son of Righteousness arise upon him with so much Brightness and Splendor as upon the other; but instead thereof, he was forced through a long tract of time to Walk alone in a mournful and disconsolate manner, bitterly exclaiming against his former folly, and ever and anon lamen­ting the absence, and declaring how vehe­mently he longed for the presence of the Beloved of his Soul, who did at last gra­ciously Condescend to Visit him with his Salvation, and refresh his Spirits with his loving kindness and his tender Com­passions, which have been ever of Old.

And now I think it is time to return to our Pilgrim again, who by this time was got a great way on his Journey, and had joyned him in Company with a great many Pilgrims, who were going likewise the same way, and intending for the same place with himself, having all of them their Faces set Sion-ward. And lo I be­held an Ambassador come from the King of Kings, and inviting them in his Name to a Royal and Plentiful Feast, where they all sate down at a well spread Table, Richly furnished with all manner of Va­rieties, and plentifully stored with all the [Page 141] Delicacies of the Gospel, all which were served up in several Dishes, and the first which I saw set on the Table was a Re­presentation of a Broken, a Bleeding, and a Dying Jesus, whose Face although it were fairer than the Children of Men, was defiled with Spittle, bruised with Blows and Buffetings, and covered over with a Purple Gore; whose Head which was white as Snow, and like the pu­rest Wool, was Crowned with Thorns, the points whereof wear beaten down in­to his Head with Reeds, and thereby both Head and Hair Died in a Sanguine Red, whose Eyes which used to be Infi­nitely brighter than the Flames of Fire, and sparkle more than the Richest Dia­monds, now swam in Tears, were dim with Blood, and darkened at the approach of Cruel Death; whose Mouth and Lips, although they were wont to speak as ne­ver Man spake, were now grown Pale and Wan with strokes, grim with Death, and imbittered by the Gall and Vinegar which he Drank; whose Arms wherewith he used to Fathom the World, and Im­brace all the Powers of the Universe, were now distrained and stretched on the Cross; and his Shoulders, by the strength [Page 142] whereof he upheld the tottering Creati­on, was beaten and lashed with Knotty Cords and Whips, and when so Bruised and Wounded thereby, that it would have drawn Tears from the Dryest Eyes, and have moved the Hardest and most Obdu­rate Heart to Pity and Commiseration to behold it, he was inforced notwithstand­ing to bear a Heavy Cross, whereon him­self was to be Crucified; whose Hands, whereby the Worlds were made, and with which he formed the curious Frames and Fabricks of Heaven and Earth; and his Feet, which used to move so swiftly to bring Pardon and Relief to the Condemned and the Miserable, were now Bored and Pierced through, and by Inhumane and Salvage Traytors Cruelly Nailed and Tenter'd on the Cross; whose Heart, which was never polluted nor defiled, and was the very Spring and Fountain of Mer­cy and Love, was now pierced and wound­ed with a Spear; and those Bowels, which Yearned with Pity, and Rouled with Compassion towards others, when in Di­stress and Misery, were now dried up for want of Moisture, and Pained and Tortured with straining pulls, and the extrremity of his Torments, and even broken and rent a sunder by his dying pangs. So that from [Page 143] Head to Foot, there was no part free; but methoughts he appeared covered all over with Blood; his Face was sadly Mortified, and numerous streams of Blood flowed from the several Wounds the Crown of Thorns had made in his Guiltless Head; his Eyes looked Watery and Red, his Mouth Wan and Pale, his Arms were Distorted, and his Flesh beat and torn from his Shoulders, his Hands and his Feet were Boared, his Heart-strings broken, and his Bowels dri­ed up and clung together; his Wound­ed Side ran like a Fountain of Blood, the Sacred Streams whereof was indued with such a Cleansing Virtue, that being sprinkled on the Pilgrims, they were pre­sently washed thereby from all their Pollu­tions, and adorned with a wonderful Beau­tie and Comliness; and withal, so Pow­erful and Perswasive, that upon the very sight thereof, the Eternal forgave them their Iniquities: The Wound in his Side, from whence this Fountain of Blood issu­ed, was so large and open, that as some of the Guests afterwards told me, they could through it look into his Breast, and see the pantings of his Heart, the whole whereof they assured me, was Composed of Love. The next Course I saw served [Page 144] up, was a Dish of Gospel Mysteries, eve­ry one whereof contained and had inclo­sed in it a Sacred Wonder, the number whereof was so great, that my Memory was not able to contain them, and having forgotten many of them my self, I cannot relate them to you; but such of them whereof I took a more particular notice, and wherewith I found my Heart more than ordinarily affected, were as follow: The First Mystery I remember which offered it self to view, was God manifested in the Flesh, which being opened by the Steward of the Feast, the Sacred Wonders inclosed therein (for there was more than one contained in this Mystery) plainly offered themselves to the view of the Beholders. And it contained, first, as Wonder of Righteousness, Justice, and Severity, in that the Eternal would not spare but punish Sin, although upon his own and only Son, notwithstanding the Guilt thereof was not contracted by him, but only imputed to him. The Second Wonder, was a Won­der of Wisdom, whereby the Eternal had made Light to spring out of Darkness, Life out of Death, Gain out of Loss, Blessing out of a Curse, and Victory out of an Overthrow, and brought about ma­ny [Page 145] other glorious and incredible things by absolute Contrarieties; As the rising of the World by the fall of its Upholder: The riches of his People by the poverty of their Inricher; and the fulness and glory of the Saints, by the emptiness and shame of the King of Saints. The Third Wonder, was a Wonder of Mercy, in that the E­ternal, notwithstanding he shut his Ears, and hardened his Heart against the Cries and Intreaties of his own Son, when he submissively begged of him, Father if it be thy Will let this Cup pass from me, should yet open his Ear to, and receive the Cries of Sinners, who had Conspired and Rebelled against him. The Fourth Wonder was a Wonder of Love: A Wonder of Love! Ah that was a Wonder indeed, and there was more Wealth and Sweetness contained therein, and the sight of it afforded more satisfaction and delight than the Bluntness of my Pen will permit me to Describe. First, The wonderful Love of the Eternal, the Everlasting Father of the Prince of Peace, in providing such an admirable way for the Saving of Sinners, and the making them who were by Nature Children of his Everlasting Wrath, Children of his Dearest Love by Grace, and the parting [Page 146] with, and giving up his own Eternal Son, who had never offended him, to become a Sacrifice and a Ransome for lost and undone Mankind, who were Strangers and Enemies, and had ever Rebelled against him. Secondly, the Wonderful Love of the Blessed Redeemer in consenting to give himself, his Blood, his Life, his Soul a Ransom for his People, to Ransom them from Everlasting Misery, buy them out of the Hand of Justice, purchase for them an Eternal weight of Glory, and an Everlasting Inheritance with the Saints in Light; but that which added to, and in­creased the Wonder beyond all expressi­on, nay, beyond conception it self, was, that all this should be done for Worms and rottenness, for Dust and Ashes, for the most filthy and polluted, for the most worthless and despicable Creatures, who were not capable of meriting, or any way deserving this Redeeming Love before, or answering and Compensating of it af­ter it was be [...]ed upon them. The Fifth Wonder, was a Wonder of Divine Patience, Long-suffering, and Forbearance, in that the Eternal did not speedily Exe­cute Vengeance upon those Ungrateful Wretches who had slighted his Mercy, [Page 147] abused his Love, and scornfully refused and trampled upon his Son, affronting him for the kindness he offered them, and spitting in his Face for the Reward of his Love, in tendering them Pardon and For­giveness. Now although those Dishes which were already placed on the Table were Admirable and Splendid, yet those which followed far exceeded them in Sweetness, and afforded infinitely more delight and satisfaction to those who fed thereon; and the First of them was, A particular and Effectual Application of Electing, Redeeming, and Converting Love to the Souls of the Redeemed, by the Hand of the Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel; which Mystery likewise con­tained in it several Wonders; as, that Divine Goodness should chuse them and neglect others, making them to be the Heirs of Life, whilst others were left to Inherit the Paths of Death, that he should Embrace them in his Arms, and bestow upon them the Kisses of his Lips, whilst others are not permitted so much as to behold his Face; but were by a Sentence of Banishment for ever excluded from his presence; that he should Indulge them in his Bosom, when others were Trampled [Page 148] under his Feet; that they should be recei­ved and accepted by him, notwithstanding they had neglected and stood out so long against him, and had refused and slight­ed so many offers and tenders which had been made by him, &c. The next Course was of Multiplied Pardons, and Plentious Redemption, ready prepared for, and freely bestowed upon Relenting and Returning Sinners, and reiterated Pardons and Forgivenss for those unwary Pilgrims, who had through oversight neg­lected to keep up their Watch, and by reason of the prevalency of their re­maining Corruption, fallen into some un­due Practices against the King, contrary to the settled bent and inclinations of their Hearts, which were always Constant and Loyal to him. The last Course which I saw served up, was Unchangeable Love, brought to the Table, and Handed down and Conveyed to them in an unaltera­ble and an Everlasting Covenant, orde­red in all things and sure. And for the better pleasing of the Eye, as well as de­lighting and satisfying of the Heart of the Guests, the Dish was covered over with Promises of an inestimable value, and garnished round with such Assurances [Page 149] as these, I will not Violate my Covenant, I will not alter my Love, nor suffer my Faithfulness to fail; my Covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing which is gone out of my Mouth.

Besides these Dishes which I have told you of, there were many others which I cannot so well remember, and every Dish which came to the Table, was Saused with Eternity, and Garnished with Un­changeableness and Instability; neither was there wanting Variety of Delectable Liquors for the satiateing of the Thirsty, as well as the satisfying of the Hungry Soul, for there was plenty of Living Wa­ter, Honeyed Milk, and Spiced Wine in abundance; and indeed the Glory as well as the Plenty of the Feast was such, that I fear nothing more than that I shall de­tract from and lessen it by my attemp­ting to describe it, and therefore I would have you Guess at it, not so much by my Description, as by the Wealth and Rich­es, and the Bounty and Love of the King that made it, and the Quality of the Persons whom he invited to it. Now you must know, the King who made this Feast is the Lord of Life and Glory, the Eternal God, the Everlasting Jehovah, [Page 150] the Mighty and the Uncontrolable Mo­narch of the Universe, who says of the Earth it is mine, and all the fulness there­of; and is the owner and absolute dis­poser of all that the Heaven of Heavens can produce; and whensoever he makes a Feast, he makes it like himself, that so he may thereby shew forth and declare to them who are his happy Guests, the Wealth, and Riches, and Glory, and Fulness, and Love of him who hath Invi­ted them to, and Entertains them at his Table. And the Persons who were the invited Guests to this Royal and Kingly Feast, were all or most of them Princes and Princesses, the Sons and Daughters of the Majesty of Heaven and Earth, and by the Glory of their Countenance and the Majesty of their Port and Carriage, they each of them resembled the Children of a King.

Now the Table being thus Spread and Furnished, the Guests Seated, and the Steward of the Feast having Implored a Blessing from Heaven upon the Rich Va­rieties wherewith it was Stored, the King himself Arrayed in Royal Robes of Love and Majesty, Girt about with Truth and Faithfulness; and having his Crown on [Page 151] his Head, and bravely attended on by an innumerable Company of his Glorious, Splendid, and Shining Courtiers, came in amongst them, and Saluting them all, bid them welcome to his Table, and turn­ing First to one, and then to another; he invited them to Eat Heartily of the Bread which he had prepared, and Drink freely of the Wine which he had Mingl­ed; crying out unto them, and saying, Eat O Friends, and Drink, yea, Drink abun­dantly, O my Beloved! You are now at a Feast where you have Provisions enough to fill and satisfie you, therefore Eat and spare not, and let your Souls Drink free­ly of the Cup of Salvation which I have provided you. You need not fear your Eating of my Table empty, nor shall the Fountain whereat you now Drink ever be Exhausted; O therefore, Feed and Feast your Souls; for assure your selves, that the more you Eat at my Table, the more you shall have to Eat, and the welcomer you shall be; and the more you Drink at the Ocean of my Love, and the Foun­tain of my Goodness, the more you shall have it overflowing to you; and therefore I charge you that you rise not before you are satisfied, and that none of you go [Page 152] Empty from my Table. O Create not an occasion to your selves, to reflect with shame and sorrow hereafter upon your Madness and Folly in going from In­finite fulness without being filled, and from Alsufficiency it self, without being satisfied. I am sure you do not, or at least you need not Question your welcome to my Table, and the Provisions I have there provided for you, nor my willingness to make you so, since I have by many and Irrefragable Arguments given you un­questionable Demonstrations thereof.

The King having made this Declarati­on, methoughts I saw Believer, (who had before he would adventure to approach the Table, or participate of the Feast to which he was invited; plucked out of his Bosom (which was the place where he used to keep it) the Memorials of his Co­venant, and having read the Conditions thereof, and Considered with himself how he had answered the Obligations he had thereby laid upon him, and finding himself saulty in some Particulars, he mightily bewailed his folly and oversight therein, and in the most humble manner imaginable upon his Knees, with shame and blushing, acknowledged and confessed [Page 153] it, and craved Pardon for the same, pro­testing the sincerity of his Intentions to amend, and promising to yield better O­bedience for the future, and having so done he set his Hand and Subscribed his Name to it, as he did before when he first entred into Covenant, and so fold­ing of it up, he put it into his Bosom a­gain, and kept it there as a perpetual Memorial of the Matter,) now pluck the Memorial of the Covenant between him and the Son of the Blessed out of his Bosom, and with a most profound Reve­rence and Veneration Humbly presented it to the King, intreating him to set his Seal to it; which I saw the King take into his Sacred Hand, and having read it over, and perused the Contents of it, I heard him declare himself highly plea­sed and delighted with that Faith in his Promises, Hope in his Mercy, and Confi­dence and Trust in his Truth and Faith­fulness which Believer had by that Act discovered himself to be possessed of, and therefore willingly affixed the Broad Seal of Heaven to that Memorial of his Co­venant, and Certificate of his Marriage. And then Methoughts I heard Believer sing softly to himself the following Himn.

And after they had all of them Eaten and Drank their fill, and the Steward of the Feast had in their Names, and on their behalf returned Praise and Thanksgiving to the King for the Bounty and Love wherewith he had Treated them at his Table; they all sang an Himn to the Praise and Adoration of him, who was both the Maker and the Matter of their Feast; and then the Steward standing up, he Blessed them in the Kings Name, and so they departed; and I saw them go forward on their Journey, Talking and Discoursing together of the great things which they had seen, and felt, and participated of at the Kings Table, and saying one to ano­ther, certainly we shall never forget the Glorious sights which have been repre­sented to our view this day, especially, that Blessed and Glorious Mystery which was so full of Wonders, and those Wonders so great and Transparent, viz. The Mystery of God Manifested in the Flesh; Ah Blessed Mystery! and thrice happy [Page 156] we who have had our Eyes Blessed there­with, and have had Hopes and Assuran­ces given us, that we have an Interest therein, and shall both here and hereaf­ter in Time and in Eternity, injoy the be­nefits thereof.

But after some time, I saw Believer overtaken by one of his old Companions, with whom he admitted to talk a little, which brought up former Injoyment in­to Remembrance, which he found created some kind of delight to him; upon which the poor Man was presently seized with the Plagues of Spiritual Laziness and Auk­wardness, so that he became in a manner altogether indifferent whether he went forward or not, and the Plagues increas­ed and grew so much upon him, that in a little time, he neither cared whether he did, nor knew how to set one Foot fur­ther; nay, I perceived he had, (notwith­standing all that he had formerly suffered thereby, the trouble and sorrow it had procured him, the Comforts it had Rob­ed him of, marred his Confidence in the Eternal, and made him both afraid and ashamed to repair to his Throne of Grace, or once dare to lift up his Face before him) some little Inclination to go back again [Page 157] with him; whereby the Blessed and the Holy Spirit which was sent into his Heart by the Redeemer, to be the Di­rector and Comforter, and Reliever of his Soul, and as such had indeavoured to perswade him against having any thing to do with this Old Acquaintance, or once stop to speak to him; and when he could not prevail for that, but the poor overtaken, and wilful Man had resolved notwithstanding all that was said to the Contrary, to buy Repentance at the dear rate of parting with all these Assurances he had of, and all the delight and satis­faction he took in, the Favour of the Eter­nal, and for any thing he knew to the contrary his Soul too, to purchase it: Then he perswaded him to Repent of his Folly, told him the danger he had brought him­self into by this relaxation from, and prevarication in his Covenant, advising him to stop before he was gone so far that he would not be able to stop, nor would be peradventure accepted by the Eternal if he did, but now he was grown more wilful and obstinate than before; nay, he was so taken up, that he heard not, or at least minded not what was said to him, whereat the Holy Spirit was offended, [Page 158] grieved, quenched, and finding all his Mo­tions slighted, and all his Dictates oppo­sed and disobeyed, he withdrew, but I saw that he did not absolutely leave him, but only retired out of sight, forbore the sensible performance of his Visible Ope­rations, whereby the poor Man was left in a sad and dismal Condition. He in­tended at first it should seem only to speak to it, or so, without any Design of Cloa­sing with, or imbracing of it, but the Prince of Darkness perceiving that he stopped to speak with it, and knowing that the Original Corruption which he had within him, was of the Nature of Tin­der, and thereby apt to take Fire upon the least occasion, he presently laid hold of the opportunity, and flying swiftly through the Air with a little spark of Fire in his Right-hand, which he brought with him out of the Bottomless Pit, he came close by him, and having ordered the Object that had at first stay'd him to ap­pear, just as he came to him, the Man see­ing it coming lift up his Eyes to gaze at it, and thereupon the Wicked Fiend, who only watched for, and desired that op­portunity, threw the burning Spark which he brought in his Hand for that purpose [Page 159] in at those Windows or Casements of the Soul, which meeting with a Nature that was no other than Tinder to this Spark, he was presently set all on a Flame. Now when I saw things go thus with him, I still expected when he should by an absolute Compliance have turned his Back upon the Celestial Paradise, and have declared his resolution then and there to have put a final period to his Pilgri­mage, and return again into the Broad Way; but notwithstanding my fears, I perceived that all the Wiles and Devices which the Prince of Darkness was Master of, was not able to effect that; not but that Believer's Inclinations to do so, were strong and powerful enough, but because the Seed of the Eternal remained in him, and the Prince of Darkness could not find out or Devise any expedient to force or steal that out of him, however he resol­ved to keep him as long as possible in that posture, wherein he found him, hoping to effect that by length of time, which he could not accomplish at present, and resolving since he could not steal away, or force the Seed out of his Heart which the Eternal had Sown there, he would Be­leaguer and Besiege it so close as to pre­vent [Page 160] the Eternals sending any relief or succour to it, and thereby starve it out, or force it to a Surrender: And in this sad kind of Condition the Man continu­ed for a long time, hanging as it were be­tween Heaven and Hell, and halting be­tween two Opinions, until at last he came to a place where one of those Temples stood which the Eternal had placed in the Road for Pilgrims to do their Homage and Worship, and Adore him in. Now when he came to the Door, I could easi­ly perceive him to be indifferent whether he went in or passed by, but being entred he there met with an Embassador from the King, who assured the Pilgrims which came there to Worship, that if any of them sinned wilfully after the receiving the knowledge of the Truth, there re­mains no more sacrifice for Sin, but a fear­ful looking for of Judgment, and Fiery Indig­nation, which shall devour those Adversaries; for if those who despised Moses Law, died without Mercy, of how much sorer punish­ment shall you be thought worthy, who have trodden under Foot the Son of God, and ac­counted the Blood of the Covenant wherewith you were sanctified an unholy thing, and done despite to the Spirit of Grace: And I will [Page 161] assure you, said he, you will find it a dreadful thing to fall thus into the Hands of the living God, for our God is a consuming Fire to all of you, who are Workers of Iniquity: Now Believer looking back, and reflecting upon what he had done, found, that if it were not his very case which had been Treated of, yet at least it came somewhat near it, looked like it, and led directly towards it; whereupon he presently applied all that had been said to himself, affirm­ing it was all directed at, and intended for him; and that which made him the more confident it was so, was this, he fancied that the Embassadour looked on him, and pointed at him all the time he was delivering his Embassy; whereupon he roared in the bitterness of his Soul, and cried out, O, wo, wo, and ten thousand woes unto me, wretch­ed me, deluded and deceived me, for I am now lost and undone, my hope is cut off from the Lord, and the everlasting God hath forsaken me; the Blessed Redeemer hath now ceased to interceed for me, and the Holy Spirit is withdrawn from me. After this manner he lamented and bewailed his backsliding, nor were his fellow Pilgrims, divers of whom attempted it, able to fix any Comfort up­on him; they told him of the Mercy of the Eter­nal, the Merits of the Redemer, the certainty and firmness of those Promises, and the unalterable­ness of the Covenant wherein they had made over and given themselves unto him: They told him, that the everlasting Jehovah was not as a Man, that he should Repent; nor as the Son of Man, that he should Change; all which he acknowledg­ed to be good Plaisters for a wounded Soul: But O, said he, they will not stick upon me. And thus he went mourning from them, and I saw him retire [Page 162] into a secret place all alone by himself, where pro­strating himself on the Earth, before the Eternal with a dejected Countenance, a sad Heart, a weep­ing Eye, and a doubting Spirit, having his Face co­vered over with shame and blushing, not daring to look up to Heaven, as unworthy to behold that place, he only laid his Hand upon his Guilty Breast, and sighed out Lord be merciful to me a Sinner: He would have proceeded further, but was not able, so that he was forced to sigh out the rest in silent Groanes, which he was not a­ble to utter, or form into Words. Now after he had lain thus grovelling on the Ground for some time, I saw him a rise, and taking the Re­cords of the Sacred Law into his Hand, he open­ed it just about the middle, and the very first thing that he fixt his Eyes upon, was the follow­ing Promise; He that confesseth and forsaketh his Sins shall find Mercy: His Eyes were so dim and blared with weeping, that he could not see to read it plain at first, so that he was forced to look on it again, and again before, he could read it plain­ly; then turning towards the latter end of it, he found another, which was not only more full and sweet in it self, but also directed him how to make use and improve the other, viz. If any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the Righteous; from which two places of the Divine Law, he Extracted abundance of Comfort and Hope, and resolved presently to put them in practice.

Wherefore Addressing himself in the most humble manner imaginable upon his Knees to the Eternal, he uttered himself after this man­ner.

[Page 163] Lord (said he) I have sinned against Heaven, and before Thee, and am not worthy to be called thy Son; wherefore Thou hast almost consumed me in thine Anger, because of my Backsliding: And thy wrath hath troubled me, because of my sin. Mine iniquities are ever before Thee, and Thou hast set my secret sins in the Light of thy Countenance. Thou makest me to spend my daies in sorrow, and pass away my nights in despair. Lord, who knows the power of thy Anger? according to thy fear, so is thy wrath; the sense wereof lyeth so heavy upon me, That I am like one going down into the pit, and like a man that hath no strength, thy fierce wrath goeth over me, and thy Terrors have cut me off; so that my daies are consumed as smoke, and my bones are burned and consumed within me: My heart is smitten and withered, like grass, so that I forget to take my bread; and yet all this I freely acknow­ledge to be Just, because I have sinned against Thee. I am destroyed indeed, but it is by my self; I am wounded, but is by my own weapon of my own forming, and an arrow out of my own Quiver. I am Poisoned but it is by a draught of my [Page 164] own Composing. I am Robbed and strip­ped of all my enjoyments, but it was not without my own consent: And there­fore thou maist justly refuse to Heal or Relieve me, Pardon and forgive me; But Lord, didst not thou tell me, that thou wert an Everlasting God; that thy Love was unchangeable. I have indeed slighted thy Love, abused thy Patience, trampled upon thy Son, despised thy Grace, and greived thy Spirit. And have not only sinned against, and broken and violated all those obligations which thou hast been perpetually laying upon me by the infinite and uncontroulable in­stances of thy Love and thy Bounty: But likewise against all those obligations that I have been laying upon my self too, I have violated all my Covenants, my pro­mises and my vows, and sinned against my own prayers, lamentations and Tears: And wilt thou therefore, O Lord, prove as changeable as my self! Wilt thou take an advantage against me! Wilt thou cut me off for ever! or wilt thou resolve to be favourable no more! Is thy mercy clean gone for ever! And shall thy pro­mises fail for evermore! Hast thou for­gotten to be gracious! Or wilt thou in [Page 165] anger shut up the Bowels of thy tender compassions! Wilt thou who art the God of Grace, refuse to be gracious! The Fountain of Mercy, cease to be Mer­ciful! Hast Thou not said in the Re­cords of thy Law, that Thou wilt not be alwaies Wrath, neither wilt Thou keep Thy Anger for ever, lest the spirit fail before Thee, and the Soul which Thou hast made?

And then applying himself to the Son of the Blessed, Lord, said he, Didst not Thou assume me in the day when Thou enteredst into Covenant with me, and per­mittedst me to enter into Covenant with Thee; That Thou wouldst become my High Priest and Advocate; and that as Thou hadst shed thy most precious Blood, as a Sacrifice to Attone for my sins; so Thou wouldst appear before thy Father, as my Advocate, and plead that Blood, and the Merits of it, to appease his Anger, and turn away his displeasure against me, and Procure me Pardon and forgiveness from him, and Reconcilia­tion with him. And wilt Thou now, when I am confounded in my self, and even environed and overwhelmed with Despair, having no hope or possibility [Page 166] of finding relief any where but in thy self, forget thy Promise, and prove worse then thy Word? Wilt Thou be­cause I have wickedly and most perfi­diously broken my Covenant, break thine too? Sure it cannot be, for thou art the same for ever, and canst not change: wherefore thou Blessed Jesus, thou sweet Redeemer of my Soul, I will by thy own Assistance, (for without it I am sure I shall not be able) resolve with an humble boldness, to act Faith in thy Promises, lay hold on thy Co­venant, and hang upon the words of thy lips, as the Bee doth on the flower, from whence she extracts a sweetness wherewith the dews of Heaven hath re­plenish'd it. And according to thy own directions, I will now take unto my self words, and say unto thee, Lord, Par­don thou my iniquities, and receive me graciously: Heal thou my Backslidings, and love me freely. And do thou who art so Eloquent and Powerful an Ora­tor, that thy Father can deny thee no­thing, Who art so wise an Advocate that none of thy Clients did or shall lose their Cause; so prevailing an In­tercessor, that whatsoever thou Inter­cedest [Page 167] for, and what request soever thou makest on the behalf of thy Members, is fully and immediately granted; go to the Eternal, and plead my Cause at at his Bar, and when Thou hast there procured Pardon and Reconciliation for me; then send thy Spirit to convey the knowledge and comfortable Assurance thereof, unto my Soul, that so thou maist cause my heart to sing for joy, and put a new song of Praise and Thanks­giving into my mouth, that I may re­joice in the Lord, and triumph in God my Saviour, Amen, Amen.

And methoughts, I saw him rise from his knees in a most Humble, Serious, and sedate Frame, having his heart en­larged, lifted up to Heaven in Holy and desires, and yet his eyes cast down to the Earth, as being both ashamed for his hav­ing so shamefully Backsliden from, and prevaricated with the Infinite Jehovah, the Eternal Majesty of Heaven and Earth; and withal not absolutely freed as yet from all manner of fear, diffidence and doubtings, whether the Eternal would be reconciled to him, or whether the Blessed Redeemer would intercede for him, and endeavor to prevail with the [Page 168] Eternal to consent to a reconciliation: having as he afterwards told some of his fellow Pilgrim, many mis-givings of Heart, that they would never give him credit or trust him more, since he had falsified his word, violated his promises, and broken his Covenant with them so often before; wherefore plucking the memorial of his Covenant out of his bo­som, he first read it over, and then began to examine himsef what parts of it he had broken, and tried, convicted and condemned himself for the same: And having so done, I heard him say thus to himself, Well! since it is so that I have been so foolish and un­wary, as to suffer my self to be thus wheadled by my subtle Adversary, to dal­ly and play with that which I thought I had Eternally shaken hands with, and had firmly resolved to have no more to do with it for ever; and I am not able to obtain any Assurance within my self, whether I am in a state of Grace, nor yet whether I am Pardoned by the Eter­nal, for thus Backsliding from him; I will now therefore, resolve to enter in­to Covenant anew as if I had never done it before; I will give up and make [Page 169] a Resignation of my self to the Blessed Redeemer, as tho' all I had hitherto done in that respect, were false and fain­ed: And when I have done this, then I will see if I can take more heed to my ways, be more careful to maintain a stricter and more Spiritual Govern­ment over my thoughts and affections.

Whereupon kneeling down before the Eternal, he opened the paper, and hav­ing spread it before him, he first be­wailed with shame and sorrow his Vi­olation thereof, freely acknowledging, and confessing his Guilt, and that he had thereby justly deserved to be Eternally forsaken by, and banish'd the Presence of the Eternal for ever. And then he si­lently sighed out his humble Request, That Free Grace might notwithstanding Re­prieve and Pardon him, and the Divine Goodness Heal and Restore him. Then I heard him read over the Conditions of his Covenant and saw him when he had so done, in the most Solemn manner ima­ginable, present it to the Divine Ma­jesty, as his act and deed, setting his hand and subscribing his Name to it, as he had done at the first.

[Page 170] Whereupon methoughts I looked up, and saw The Son of the Blessed, stand by the Golden Altar, which was erected be­fore the Throne of God, having a Golden Censor in his hand, which was full of in­cense, wherewith he offered up the Prayers and Desires of Believers, upon the Golden Altar, which was before the Throne, and the smoke of the Incense which came with the Prayers of Believers, and ascended up be­fore the Eternal, out of the hand of the Bles­sed Redeemer who is the compassionate Ad­vocate and merciful High Priest of all re­lenting and returning Pilgrims, where­with the Eternal was to exceedingly well pleased, that all his frowns were thereby pre­sently changed into smiles, his Anger into Love, and his indignation into Compassi­on, so that he now spake kindly to believers; returning the words of Peace and Truth, and comforting him that was cast down, saying unto him, Behold I have called thee as a man calleth a Woman that was forsak'n and greived in spirit and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God, for a small moment, have I forsaken thee, but with great mercy will I gather thee, in little wrath I hid my face from thee, for a moment, but with Everlasting kindness will I have [Page 171] mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redee­mer; And the Covenant between us shall be, as the waters of Noah, shall no more go over the Earth, so have I Sworn that I would not be wrath with thee, nor rebuke thee. The Mountains shall depart and the Hills they shall be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, nor shall the Cove­nant of my Peace ever be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. Thou hast indeed played the Harlot, gone a whoring from me and embraced strangers, whereby thou hast deserved no better at my hands than that I should write thee a Bill of Di­vorcement, put thee away and resolve never to own thee again: But yet fear not, for I have Pardoned thee and have covered thy shame with the skirt of my Love, so that thou shalt forget thy shame, thy unfaithful­ness, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy Widowhood any more; for thy Ma­ker is thy Husband, the Lord of Hosts is his Name, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel, whose Truth is established for ever, and his Faithfulness to all generations; wherefore art thou afflicted, tossed with tem­pest and not comforted? Behold I will lay thy Stones with fair Colours, and thy Foun­dation with Saphires. And now if thou [Page 172] wilt take care to keep close to me, and be unfaithfull no more, then will I also resolve never to withdraw the sense of my Love and the Light of my Countenance from thee any more for ever.

And now I saw upon this Reconciliation, the Eternal Spirit, who was the Director, Reliever and Comforter of his Soul, re­turn to him again, being sent from the Redeemer, to acquaint him with, and assure him of that Reconciliation, which he had by his efficacious and prevailing Mediation procured for him, with his Father, and to fill and feast his Soul with comfort, joy and consolation upon that account, and assist him in the pre­serving himself in the Divine favour for the future; whereupon I heard him break forth into such sweet and Heavenly Ex­pressions as these, Lord, said he, how infinite is thy Condescention, and how wonderful is thy Love! How unfa­thomable is thy Mercy! And how un­wearied is thy Patience! O that ever such a Backsliding wretch, such a worth­less Worm, such a Rebel, Traytor and Prodigal as my self, should be again re­ceived to Mercy! O what a wonder 'tis, that ever such Backslidings as mine [Page 173] were, should be healed! That ever such unfaithfulness should be Pardoned! That ever such Ungratefulness should be forgiven; but since thou hast de­clared that it is so, and hast assured me of the Truth and certainty thereof, both by the Word and Oath of him that cannot lye, I Believe, Lord, help thou my unbelief. And now, O my God and my Father, I do with all hum­ble Boldness, lay hold of, and thankful­ly receive these renewings of thy Love, and fresh assurances of thy Favour and Friendship, which thou hast at this time graciously sent me, and do as the most suitable return which my poverty is ca­pable of making to thy Infinite and un­merited Love, subject my Soul and all the powers of it, to thee, to be disposed of as thou pleasest; and ordered, and directed in all things, according to the pleasure of thy will: In order where­unto, I do with all humble Boldness and firm Resolution, lay hold of thee, O my God! and of that Covenant which thou hast made with me, both as my happiness, and my safety, my portion and my strength too. And thou, and the Covenant, which thou hast made [Page 174] with me, and now renewed to me, shall be that Rock whereon I will build all my confidence and hopes; and make the stay of my Heart and the support of my Soul; that shall be the very life of my joyes, and the joy even of my life it self; where I will for ever sit and Sing, under the Shadow of thy branches with great delight, and thy fruit shall be sweet to my tast. There, even there, I will behold the Glory of thy Face, and veiw the ravishing Beauty of thy Coun­tenance, and satiate my Love-sick Soul with the matchless Greatness and Bra­very, freeness, sweetness, and redun­dancy of thy Joy.

And now methoughts I saw him go forward in his Pilgrimage with more speed and diligence than ever, and with such an addition of strength, that not­withstanding he met with innumerable discouragements, and every step brought him into new and more threatening dangers, both from Earth and Hell, which with one accord united and banded to­gether to obstruct and retard his pas­sage; yet he couragiously trampled them under foot, and with ease and facility, passed through them towards the pro­mised [Page 175] Land. And now after he had marched thus rejoycing and triumphing in God for some time, I saw an Em­bassador come from the King of Kings, and invite him, with many other Pil­grims, whom he had now overtaken a­gain, to a noble and splendid Feast, at the Kings Table: A Feast of fat things, and wine on the Lees; fat things full of marrow, and wine on the Lees well re­fined. He gladly accepted of and em­braced the Invitation: But yet I observ­ed, he durst not adventure to go to the Kings Table, before he had first read over the Memorial of his Covenant, exa­mined himself how he had kept it, Con­sest his prevarications with sorrow and Repentance, and then protesting the Resolutions of his Soul to be more strict and yield better obedience for the fu­ture, again set his hand and subscribed his name to it as before. And having thus renewed his Covenant with the E­ternal, he went and sate down with the rest, at the King's Table, where I saw him present the same to the King, beg­ging that he might have the Seal of it Renewed likewise, which was presently granted. And now methoughts I could [Page 176] discern him to eat more heartily, and drink more freely at the Kings Table, then I had seen him do at other times, when he was invited thither; and when the Feast was over, he went away like­wise filled with a Joy as far exceeding what he had formerly expressed, as the Joy of Harvest exceeds that of the Seed time; or the Joy of Marriage transcends those that flow only from the first o­vertures of it: And as I afterwards heard him acknowledge in a Conference he had with some of the Pilgrims, it was the most ravishing and transforming Glimpse, and the sweetest, and the most satisfy­ing Taste of that Eternal Felicity and Delight that is to be had in the Celestial Paradice.

In this sweet and Heavenly Frame he continued a long time, still calling to his fellow Pilgrims, and telling them the greatness of those Joys, and the sweetness of that pleasure which the Eternal poured into his Soul; and would frequently say, O what a wonder it is that Divine patience hath born with me thus long. Methinks it is a wonder that the Eternal should not feed me with Wrath, with Gall and Wormwood, [Page 177] with fire and Brimstone, and that he hath not Cloathed me with fury and flames, with indignation and Vengeance! But O it is yet a greater, nay an infinitely greater wonder that he should feed me with Mercy and Love, Grace and Good­ness, and Cloath me with pardon and and forgiveness! That he should give himself to me, as my happiness and por­tion, and give me leave upon all occa­sions to make use of him as my Inheri­tance and Treasure! And that rather than I should want, he should Bountifully make me a continual and perpetual Feast; of which Feast he himself is the matter as well as the Maker! O that ever a poor worthless, forlorn and despicable Wretch, who was cast out in his Blood, and no eye pitied him, should be thus Dignified and Advanced! That ever I should be permitted to feed, and feast, and live even upon Omnipotency it self! O come unto me all ye that fear the Eternal, and I will tell you what he hath done for my Soul: He that is Mighty hath done for me great things, and Holy is his Name! O that I could love him, please him, and Delight in him more! That I could rejoice and triumph in him [Page 178] more! And O that the whole imploy­ment of my life, may be to admire and boast of the Sweetness and Glory, Riches and Plenty of my Portion! And that my Tongue may speak Good of his Name, and exalt and sing forth his praise, so long as I have a tongue to speak or sing withal.

But notwithstanding all this Heaven­ly Discourse, I understood he was not yet perfect, for afterwards, I perceived his heat and fervour begin to abate, and by reason of the remainder of Con­ceptions, the power of his Indwelling­sin and the deceitfulness of his treach'rous Heart, he was thereupon prevail'd with to meddle a little too much with take de­light in some things, which were in­deed lawful in themselves, and were be­stowed upon him by the Eternal, for the Comfort and ease of his Pilgrimage, in a moderate enjoyment thereof. But the least excess in Love to, and Delight therein, hath ever been accounted (and he found by woful experience, that it was so to him) a wonderful hindrance to Pilgrims in their Journey toward Celestial Paradice; so that he began to grow very cold, dull and indifferent, [Page 179] and by that means lost much of the Com­fort and Joy which he had been possessed withal, but as soon as he perceived it, he presently ran to a certain mountain which stands in that Road, and is so exceeding high, that Pilgrims were used to climb up thither, and take a Veiw of Celestial Paradice, formerly called Pisgah, but I think they now call it Contemplation. The delightful and ravishing Sight whereof very much con­duces towards the recovering them out of those fits of carnal Security. And when he came to the foot of the Mount, he encouraged himself to get up to it by the sweetness of those pleasures, the conveniency of its height would afford him a prospect of, saying to himself,

And having thus encouraged himself, up he went, but by reason of its height and steepness, it was not without some difficulty that he reached the top of it; But being once there, it gave him a fair prospect of the whole Universe. And the first thing he fixt his eyes upon, [Page 180] was the Wilderness, where he saw a World of Sin and Wickedness, Cursing, Swearing, and Blaspheming God, Theft, and Rapine, and murther, Irreligion, Breaking the Sabbath and prophaning every thing which was Sober and Sa­cred; And as the consequence hereof, great variety of tormenting pains and perplexing misery, attending of, and falling on the Inhabitants thereof: Then casting his eyes a little lower, he saw Tophet, the place which the Eternal had made for the Reprobate: A pla ex­ceeding deep and large, the pile where­of was Fire, and much Wood, and the Breath of the Lord, like a perpetual stream of Brimstone, doth kindle it: Where he saw an innumerable company of vain and impertinent Wretches, weeping and wailing, and gnashing their teeth, and bitterly bemoaning and la­menting themselves and howling in those dismal flames. Then he lifted his eyes to Eden, where he took a Veiw of the happy place, where the Eternal first made Proclamation of mercy, and de­clared the Riches and Glory of his free Grace and Love, in the choice and pro­vision of a Redeemer, saying, The Seed [Page 181] of the Woman shall break the Serpents head. Then he removed his eye to Canaan, where he beheld the Temple, the Sa­crifices, and all the other Types and Figures that were lively representations of the promised Messiah. After this he directed his eyes towards, and took a veiw of Bethelem, Egypt, Nazareth, Jor­dan, Jerusalem, and the rest of the Cities of Judah, the Mount of Tranfiguration, the upper Room, where the Blessed Re­deemer Instituted his last Supper, the Garden beyond the brook Cedron, where he endured his Agony, and was Betrayed, the High Priest's Hall, where that blessed Face which was fairer then the Chil­dren of men, was Spit on, and in scorn and derision covered and buffetted; the the Judgment Hall, whither he was car­ried by those ungrateful Jews, and where he was Condemned by the Roman Gover­nor, First to be in a most inhumane man­ner Cruelly Scourged with Whips, and beaten with Reeds, and then his Roy­al Head to be barbarously Crowned with a Diadem of Thorns: And after all this, by a most unjust Sentence, de­livered to be Crucified, only to gratifie the importunity and clamour of a mul­tude. [Page 182] From thence he directed his eye to Golgotha, where he saw him as an Eternal High Priest, after the order of Melchisedeck, offer up himself as a Sa­crifice to Divine Justice; and then to the Sepulchre, where he saw him lye three days, as a Testimony that he was really dead, & on the third day rise again, as an assurance that he had paid the uttermost farthing that Justice could demand, and that the Eternal was fully and compleat­ly Satisfied. And from hence he fol­lowed him through several places to Mount Olivet, whence he saw him As­cend to the Celestial Paradice, there to prepare a place for him. And now methoughts I could easily discern him to be exceedingly filled with admiration and wonder, at this blessed and glorious Sight, following him with his eyes to the very entrance of Paradice, and look­ing in after him, he beheld a little glimpse of the surprising Beauty and inexpressible Glory and splendor of the place.

Now you may well imagine that af­ter such transforming Sights as these, he was able to trample under foot all that coldness, deadness and indifferency [Page 183] which he carried up with him, and by that means was Enabled to Walk without weariness, and ran without fainting, like a man whose Fetters were just now knockt off, and all those cloggs wherewith he was wont to be hindred, were removed. And yet after all this I could perceive he lost sight of it a­gain, and thereby he lost much of that comfort and consolation which the sight of it yielded him; and indeed the whole way, both before and after this, lay over Hills and Dales, sometimes on the Mount, and sometimes in the Valley, some­times he could behold the Sun of Righ­teousness arising upon him, with healing under his wings, darting his glorious Beams, and conveying his refreshing and and exhilerating Influences into his Soul; and at other times he was so benighted, and such sable Clouds interposed be­tween him and Paradice, that he was so far from seeing the Sun, that he was not able to discern either Moon or Stars. Sometimes he would be walking with the Son of the Blessed, who was the beloved and the darling of his Soul, in the Gardens of Spices, satiating him­self with Love, and the mutual em­braces [Page 184] and enjoyment of each other; and yet at other times his Beloved would withdraw and hide himself behind the wall, so that he could not find him, altho' he enquired after him, and it may be, when he did appear he would only vouchsafe to look on him through the window, or shew himself through the Lettice.

Yet towards the latter end of his Jour­ney, when he drew nearer to Paradice, the path wherein he walked, became more smooth and fruitful; and the little winged Choristers, wherewith the blooming and fragrant Groves on either side of it, were replenished, sang more sweetly than they were wont to do, and the Air likewise became more serene and clear, the reason of all which was, because the Beloved of his Soul was more frequent in his Visits, and longer in his Stays then formerly, yet not so, but that he had some intermissions, some ups and some downs, some Sun and some Cloud, some Light and some darkness still.

And thus I saw that through abundance of those vicissitudes and changes, he came at last to a certain River or nar­row Sea, which parts between the Wil­derness [Page 185] and Paradice: Through which he was of necessity to pass, in regard there was no other way to go it. Now the Name of this River was anciently called Jordan, but more modernly known by the name of Dissolution; he was some­what sorrowful, when he first saw the River and begun to shrink and tremble for fear, and was ready to wish that the passing through that River, which was so dis­pleasing to nature, were not the way to Paradice. But considering with himself that there was no other way, that he was unworthy of a Crown, if he would not willingly adventure through a nar­row, straight, difficult passage to ob­tain it, especially since it was so exceed­ing short too, and the greatest difficulty and danger thereof taken away by his Redeemers passing through it before him, he pluckt up his Spirits, and rouz'd up his two Friends Faith and Hope, to assist him in, and bare him company through the River, telling them that this was the last time that ever they could possibly have an opportunity to afford him any assistance; for said he, so soon as ever I reach the further shore, I must there take my Eternal leave of you; [Page 186] for I shall no sooner have set my foot on that Blessed Land, but Faith shall be im­mediatly turned into Vision, and im­perefect Hope changed into perfect Fru­ition; and then couragiously entered the River, saying, O Death where thy sting! O Grave where is thy Victory! The Sting of Death is taken away, and Victory of the Grave obtained for me, by the Son of the Blessed, who hath Redeemed my Soul from both, in the day of his Cruci­fixion, when and where he erected Tro­phies of his own and my Victory, upon their ruine and destruction, spoiling Prin­cipalities and Powers, and leading cap­tivity captive. When he first entred, he only waded therein, but after a little while it proved so deep, that he was forced to swim, wherein he took abun­dance of pains, and laboured hard to keep himself above Water, still lifting up his face towards, and fixing his eye on the Recompence of Reward, the sweetness and Glory of which Sight, did very much alleviate the pains and trou­blesomeness of his passage, and made it easie to him, and made him speak much of the sweet effects of Divine Goodness and Love, and of the Beauty, Order and [Page 177] Glory, Quietude; Peaceableness, and U­nity of the place to which he was going; And he continued to go until he came to the other side, when drawing nearer the shore more plain, and getting a dis­covery of the Glory of the Heavenly Country, he did witsh a delightful smile give a sudden start, and leaped on shore saying, Farewel forever thou dangerous and stormy Sea, for I have now passed thee, and am arrived in a safe, a still, and an Eternal Harbor; When he first enter­ed the River, he had still about him some Remainder of Corruption, and was cloathed with Mortality and Imperfecti­on, all which he left behind him in the River, and so soon as ever he was got on the other side, I could plainly perceive that he had nothing remaining in him, or cleaving to him, but what was perfect, pure, and immortal.

Now I saw, that as soon as ever he came on shore, he was received, and wel­comed by a great number of the shining Courtiers of Heaven, who had waited on and incompassed him all the time of his Passage through the River of Dissolution, although then they were not visible to him: They congratulated his safe Ar­rival [Page 178] telling him how welcome he would be to, and how joyfully received by the King of the Caelestial Paradise, who is, said they, the King of Kings, and the absolute Monarch of the Universe, adding moreover that they were sent by him, to be his Life-guard, and attend him in state through the rest of his Journey, to the place of his Coronation, which lieth, said they, throw the very midst of the Ene­mies Country, and when he was come a­bout half way thither, he was met by a far greater number of those Glorious In­habitants, every one of them declaring the greatness of that Pleasure which his Arrival afforded them, and joyned with him in singing praises and Hallelujahs to him who having washed him from his sins in his own Blood, and espoused him to himself, had now consummated the marriage, and Crowned the Nuptials with a full, a perfect, and an Eternal Injoyment of each others Love, and that the joy and delight of that happy Marriage might be the more full and Compleat, they even then began to Celebrate it by playing on their Musical Instruments, the sounds whereof yeild such an Heavenly Ravish­ing and Divine Harmony, that it Infinite­ly [Page 179] exceeded those Descriptions which some have given of the Musick of the Spheres, although that is said to be so ad­mirable and delightful, that should it but strongly touch the ear, it would tempt the ravished Soul to forsake its mortal Habitation. And thus he passed on to the Gate of the City, which he found wide open, and through it an abundant entrance was administred unto him, into the Everlasting Kingdom. As soon as he was arrived within the Gate, the blessed Redeemer stood with extended Arms rea­dy to receive and embrace him, and hav­ing first arrayed him in White, and shine­ing Garments, placed a Crown of Glory on his head, and palms of Triumph in his hands; he then lead him towards, and ac­cording to the promise he had formerly made him in the day when he entered in­to Covenant, with him, he presented him to his Father without any kind of spot or Defilement, being blameless in Love be­fore him for ever in the Beatifick Vision, of whose blessed face, and the familfar In­joyment and full fruition of whose Glory and Love he is to live and Reign for ever and ever, World without end. Amen.

And now methoughts when I saw the [Page 180] Gates opened to give admittance to this happy Pilgrim, I took that opportu­nity to look in and take a delightful view of that blest and glorious place, which is so much famed in sacred Story, and I found the Prospect of it to afford such an abundance of Pleasure and Satisfaction, I think I shall never forget it. And I hope I shall never sit down satisfied until I also have obtained the Possession thereof: This sight being so Pleasant, and the Pro­spect of its Glory being so ravishing and Delightful to me, I would willingly give you a Description of the Country, in hopes thereby to make you in Love with it. But yet I must do it with a caution, and beg that you would not expect I should give you an exact and perfect de­scription of a place which I only know my self by report, or at best by that short and transient Glimpse at a vast and incre­dible distance, which I then obtained, e­specially since its extent and largeness, its glory and sweetness &c. is not only more then can be any way expressed by the Tongue of men or Angels, or descri­bed by the most florid and ingenious Pen, but even above, and infinitely be­yond all possibility of Conception too, [Page 181] when the Soul most expatiates and in­larges it Thoughts and Contemplations thereon; however, assure thy self that what I do say of it, is really true, and infinitely more than I can either write or think; The full Prospect and Knowledge whereof thou must be content to stay for till thy self shall be admitted as an Inha­bitant thereof.

Celestial Paradice is a place admira­bly scituated in a most incomparably sweet Serene and delectable Air, infinit­ly exceeding the fairest and the best sci­tuated place, which this World wherein we now live can possibly produce; for be­ing advanced by the Almighty Jehovah, who contrived and formed it by his Wisdom, and fixed and established it by his Power, far above the heavy Earth, whereon we walk, and the thick foggy Air wherein we breathe, it aspires into the purer Sky, where the Eter­nal Jehovah himself ever shines, and is that Glorious Sun whose Bright and Illustrious Rays fill those happy Regions with a perpe­tual Confluence of Light, and thereby main­tains an Eternal day by the help whereof, and the Advantage of its Scituation, the whole Universe presents it self at once to the admiring view of its blessed Inhabi­tants. [Page 182] And the whole Circumference thereof seems to make their prying Souls the happy Center, wherein all its Beauty and Glory Conspires to meet; no noysom or offensive scents can possibly penetrate or infect that sweet and Blissful Place, for there is nothing affects that Air, but what is pure and Odoriferous, and serves only to perfume the Heavenly Mansions with the more exhilerating Fragrancy, and moreover, a perpetual Calm and Quietude reigns in that happy Region, and therewith Eternally crowns all its o­ther Felicities.

For there you shall hear nothing but what will infinitely delight and charm thy ravished Soul into sweet and delight­ful contemplations. And when thou shalt hear the infinite praises of thy great Cre­ator, sung forth by all his works of won­der; and every Creature thou beholdest with Chearful Hyms and Seraphick Songs, Celebrate the Admirable Wisdom and the Infinite Goodness of him that Created it; The Harmony thereof will be so ra­vishing, and their imploment so pleasing, that thou thy self wilt jo [...] and dance in company, and rejoyce and sing together with them▪ And as the Situation of Pa­radice [Page 183] is delightful and pleasant, so are its Dimension, large and extensive, its Buildings stately and glorious, and all those varieties wherewith it is beautified and adorned, are splendid and rich, eve­ry where becoming the Majesty and Glo­ry of that Palace, which is the Royal Ci­ty and Palace of the Great King. The Metropolis of the Universe, and the Re­sidence and Seat where the Imperial Ma­jesty of Heaven and Earth, whose Domi­nion is an everlasting Dominion, and who extends his Reign throughout all Gene­rations, keeps his Court, and whlther his happy subjects repair to behold the Ma­jesty of his Glory, stand before him as his devoted Servants, and worship and adore the Soveraign of the World, to view and admire the Wisdom and Righteousness of his Government, the Goodness and Equi­ty of his Laws, the strange and wonder­ful methods of his Grace, the admirable continuance of his works, and the univer­sal care he takes of every Creature, the Infinite extent of his Providence, the greatness of his Power, and his absolute and unaccountable Authority whereby he unites those things which were in them­selves at the greatest distances, and dis­solves [Page 184] the combinations and confederacys of those who are enemies to his interest and people, when they are most strong­ly and closely united, and renders all the Matchiavillian designs of Rome and Anti­christ, barren & unfruitful, or else makes them prove abortive jnst when they are ready to bring forth, and the disappoint­ing the devices of the crafty, and confoun­ding the subtilty of the wise, makes the adversaries of his Church become the in­struments of their own ruine and over­throw. And there likewise his blessed sub­jects satiate their Ravisht Souls with the delightful and satisfying views of the Beauty of his Holiness, the brightness and extent of his Understanding, the riches and the freeness of his Love, Righteousness and equity of his Ju­stice, the inexhaustibleness of his Goodness and the Immutability of his Faithfulness and Truth.

Then next to the King himself there sits the Kings Son, the Blessed Redeemer and the Mediator of the new Covenant, upon a Throne of Glory at the Right hand of the Father, whose Glorified Body being now in the Meridian of his Glory, Exal­tation and Triumph, is filled with greater [Page 185] light & shines with infinitely more bright­ness and splendor then the Sun, vvhen shi­ningin its strength. And there the eternal Spirit performs his Divine Operations in the Souls of the Redeemed more fully and perfectly & constantly, more sensibly & feelingly, and therefore more Comfor­tably to them, and vvith a perpetual con­stancy that admits of no intermission, but he is ever inlarging and disposing, fitting and capacitating their happy souls to drink in those eternal pleasures and ever­lasting delights whereinto they are plun­ged, and wherein they bathe themselves; And is ever conveying into, and more absolutely then when they vvere in their imperfect state, filling them vvith the joys of the Holy Ghost, and the peace of God vvhich passes all understanding. Then you have the holy Angels vvhose bright­ness and splendor likevvise very much conduces to beautify, & adorn the place: And there also dwell the Redeemed, eve­ry one being placed upon a Throne of Majesty, vvith Imperial Crovvns on their heads, and Palms in their hands, shine like the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father, in vvhich station they ever behold the face of God in Righteousness, and obtain [Page 186] such an understanding and knowledge of him as perfectly turns them also into the nature of him that they behold, and transforms them into the likeness of that holy and pure Being which they eternally delight to be viewing of, and the Re­flections of whose Glory and Goodness doth as it were overshadow their inamoured souls, and by living animates them into the same Disposition with its self. And that Divine Beauty whereon they everlastingly feed and feast their eyes, imprints its own form upon their souls, and renders them fair and Beauteous with the very same lovely Excellencies which they de­light to behold in him.

And now methought when I had taken this view of the Caelestial Paradice, I wished that I might have been permitted to enter into it likewise. But whilst I was thus wishing with my self, the place began to appear more bright than before, and the Glory and Splen­dor of it increased to such a degree, that my eyes were too weak to be­hold it, nor could my Mortality longer endure the sight of its Glory which now so ovewhelmed me, that me­thoughts I sunk down and fainted away; [Page 187] Whereupon I awoke, and found my self still grovling on the earth, in the same wicked and prophane, and carnal, har­dened and secure World, wherein I lived before I fell asleep and dreamed this Dream.