man to conceive the things which God bath prepared for those that love him. The abovementioned schemes are narrow transcripts of our present state: But in this indefinite description there is fomething ineffably great and noble. The mind of man must be raised to a higher pitch, not only to partake the enjoyments of the Christian Paradife, but even to be able to frame any notion of them.

Nevertheless, in order to gratify our imagination, and by way of condefcension to our low way of thinking, the Ideas of Light, Glory, a Crown, &c. are made use of to adumbrate that which we cannot directly understand. The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne Shall feed them, and shall lead them into living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither forrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away, and behold all things are new. There shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the fun for the Lord God giveth them light, and shall make them drink

drink of the river of his pleasures: and they shall reign for ever and ever. They Shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away.

These are chearing reflexions: And I have often wondered that men could be found so dull and phlegmatic, as to prefer the thought of annihilation before them; or fo ill-natur'd, as to endeavour to perfuade mankind to the disbelief of what is so pleasing and profitable even in the profpect; or fo blind, as not to see that there is a Deity, and if there be, that this scheme of things flows from his attributes, and evidently corresponds with the other parts of his creation.

I know not how to account for this absurd turn of thought, except it proceed from a want of other employment joined with an affectation of fingularity. I shall, therefore, inform our modern Free thinkers of two points, whereof they feem to be ignorant. The first is, that it is not the being fingular, but being fingular for something that argues either extraordinary endowments of nature, or benevolent intentions to manP3 kind, kind, which draws the admiration and esteem of the world. A mistake in this point naturally arises from that confufion of thought which I do not remember to have seen so great instances of in any writers, as in certain modern Free-thinkers. SECT. ΧΙ.

The other point is, that there are innumerable objects within the reach of a human mind, and each of these objects may be viewed in innumerable lights and positions, and the relations arising between them are innumerable. There is, therefore, an infinity of things whereon to employ their thoughts, if not with advantage to the world, at least with amusement to themselves, and without offence or prejudice to other people. If they proceed to exert their talent of Free-thinking in this way; they may be innocently dull, and no one take any notice of it. But to see men without either Wit or Argument pretend to run down Divine and Human Laws, and treat their fellow-fubjects with contempt for profeffing a belief of those points on which the present as well as future interest of Mankind depends, is

not

not to be endured. For my own part, I shall omit no endeavours to render their persons as despicable, and their practices as odious in the eye of the world, as they deserve.

DEATH and JUDGMENT.

Afflata eft numine quando

Jam propiore Dei.--

TH

Virg.

HE following Letter comes to from that excellent man in Holy Orders, whom I have mentioned more than once as one of that fociety who assist me in my speculations. It is a thought in sickness, and of a very serious nature, for which reafon I give it a place in the paper of this day.

SİR,

THE indifpofition which has long hung upon me, is at last grown to fuch a head, that it must quickly • make