doubt. For as the word of God hath revealed the certainty of a future state of happiness, which the good man shall enter upon after death, and plainly described the requisite qualifications for it; when by a long and laborious self acquaintance, he comes distinctly to discern those qualifications in himself, his hopes of heaven soon raise him above the fears of death. And though he may not be able to form any clear or distinct conception of the nature of that happiness, yet in general he is assured that it will be a most exquisite and extensive one, and will contain in it every thing necessary to make it complete; because it will come immediately from Gop himself. Whereas they who

"When we say that the state of the other world is unknown, the only meaning of it is that it is a state of such happiness, so far beyond any thing we ever yet experienced, that we cannot form any notion or idea of it. We know that there is such a happiness; we know in some measure wherein this happiness consists; viz. in seeing GoD and the blessed JESUS, who loved us, and gave himself for us; in praising our Creator and Redeemer; in conversing with saints and angels. But how great, how ravishing, and transporting a pleasure this is, we cannot tell, because we never felt it. Now methinks, this should not make the thoughts of death uneasy to us, should not make us unwilling to go to heaven; that the happiness of heaven is too great for us to know, or to conceive in this world. For men are naturally fond of unknown and untried pleasures, which is so far from being a disparagement to them, that it raises our expectations of them that they are unknown. In the things of this world, enjoyment usually lessens our esteem and value for them, and we always value that most which we have never tried; and methinks the happiness of the other world should not be the only thing we despise before we try it. It is some encouragement to us that the happiness of heaven is too big to be known in this world; for did we perfectly know it

L

know not what they are, must necessarily be ignorant what they shall be. A man that is all darkness within, can have but a dark prospect forward.*

Oh what would we not give for solid hope in death! Reader, wouldst thou have it, know GOD, and know thyself.

now, it could not be very great." Sherlock on Death, p. 71, 72.

*Who, expos'd to others' eyes,
Into his own heart never pries,
Death's to him a strange surprise.

Sen. Tra. Thyes.

PART III.

Shewing how self knowledge is to be attained.

FROM what has been said under the two former parts of the subject, self knowledge appears to be in itself so excellent, and in its ef. fects so extensively useful and conducive to the happiness of human kind, that nothing need further be added by way of motive or inducement to excite us to make it the great object of our study and pursuit. If we regard our present peace, satisfaction, and usefulness, or our future and everlasting interests, we shall certainly value and prosecute this knowledge above all others; as what will be most ornamental to our characters, and beneficial to our interest in every state of life, and abundantly recompense all our labour.

Were there need of any further motives to excite us to this, I might lay open the many dread. ful effects of self ignorance, and shew how plainly it appears to be the original spring of all the follies and incongruities we see in the characters of men, and of most of the mortifications and miseries they meet with here. This would soon

appear by only mentioning the reverse of those advantages before specified, which result from self knowledge. For what is it, but a want of

self knowledge and self government that makes us so unsettled and volatile in our dispositions? So subject to transport and excess of passions in the varying scenes of life? So rash and un. guarded in our conduct? So vain and self sufficient? So censorious and malignant? So eager and confident? So little useful in the world, in comparison of what we might be? So inconsistent with ourselves? So mistaken in our notions of true religion? So generally indisposed to, or unengaged in the holy duties of it? And final ly, so unfit for death, and so afraid of dying? I say, 'to what is all this owing, but self igno. rance? the first and fruitful source of all this long train of evils. And indeed there is scarce any, but what may be traced up to it. In short, it brutifies man to be ignorant of himself. Man that is in honour and understandeth not (himself especially) is like the beasts that perish.*

"Come home then, O my wandering, self ne glecting soul; lose not thyself in a wilderness or tumult of impertinent, vain, distracting things. Thy work is nearer thee; the country thou shouldst first survey and travel is within thee ;. from which thou must pass to that above thee; when by losing thyself in this without thee, thou wilt find thyself before thou art aware in that below thee. Let the eyes of fools be in the corners of the earth; leave it to men beside themselves, to live as without themselves; do thou keep at home and mind thine own business.

* Psal. xlix. 20.

Survey thyself, thine own make and nature, and thou wilt find full employment for all thy most active thoughts.* But dost thou delight in the mysteries of nature? Consider well the mystery of thy own. The compendium of all thou studiest is near thee, even within thee; thyself being the epitome of the world. +If neither ne

cessity or duty, nature or grace, reason or faith, internal inducements, external impulses, or eternal motives, might determine the subject of thy study and contemplation, thou wouldst call home thy distracted thoughts, and employ them more on thyself and thy God."‡

Now then let us resolve that henceforth the study of ourselves shall be the business of our lives. That, by the blessing of GoD, we may arrive at such a degree of self knowledge, as may secure to us the excellent benefits before mentioned. To which end we should do well to attend diligently to the rules laid down in the following chapters.

* Some men admire the heights of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the steep falls of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuit of the stars, and pass by themselves without admiration; saith St. Augustin.

Who can sufficiently admire the noble nature of that creature man, who hath in him the mortal and the immortal, the rational and irrational nature united, and so carries about with him the image of the whole creation; whence he is called microcosm, or the little world; for whose sake (so highly is he honoured by GOD all things are made, both present and future; nay, for whose sake GOD himself became man? So that it was not unjustly said by Gregory Nysthat man was the macrocosm, and the world without the microcosm. Nem de Nat. Hom. cap. 1. p. 54. + Baxter's Mischief of Self Ignorance.

sene,