A SERMON OF THE Transfiguration of our LORD, Preached before the Queen-Dowager, IN Her Chapel at Somerset-House, On the Second Sunday in LENT, 1687/8.  
By THOMAS GOD-DEN, D. D. Preacher in Ordinary to Her MAJESTY.  
Published by Her Majesty's Command.  
LONDON, Printed by Henry Hills, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, for His Household and Chapel; And are to be sold at his Printing-house on the Ditch-side in Blackfriars. MDCLXXXVIII.   

A SERMON OF THE Transfiguration of our LORD, Preached on the Second Sunday in Lent.  Assumit Jesus Petrum & Jacobum & Joannem fratrem ejus, & ducit illos in Montem excelsum seorsum; & transfiguratus est ante eos, Matth. 17. 1. Jesus taking Peter and James and John his brother, leadeth them into a high Mountain apart; and was transfigured before them. 
IN the last Sundays Gospel, 
Matth. 4. 8.  as St. Matthew relates, the Devil took our Saviour up into an exceeding high Mountain, to show him all the Kingdoms of the World, and the Glory of them: In this present Gospel our Saviour himself leads three of his Disciples into another high Mountain, to give them a Prospect of the Glory which is prepared for the Just in Heaven: Opposing Mountain to Mountain, and Glory to Glory; the Glory of Heaven to that of Earth, to defeat the designs of the Tempter by the same method he had made use of to overcome. But as the Objects were different, and the Mountains too; the one deservedly called by Historians, 
Adrichom.  Mons Satanae, the Devil's Mount, for having been the Theatre of his greatest Temptation; the other by St. 
2 Pet. 1. 18.  Peter, Mons Sanctus, the Holy Mount, for the excellent Glory which was represented on it: so was the manner of ascending them different also. For whereas the Devil, as St. Matthew says, took our Saviour up into an exceeding high Mountain; that is (according to the Explication best agreeing with the Context) carried him through the Air (as an Angel had formerly done Habacuch) without giving him the least trouble or pain to ascend; 
Dan. 14. 35.  the same St. Matthew tells us, that our Saviour did not so with his Disciples, but that he led them up; duxit illos, that is, went himself before them, and caused them to follow him, on foot, to give us to understand, that the Way to Perdition is pleasant and easy; ducunt in bonis dies suos; those who walk in it, pass their time in mirth and jollity, Job 21. 12. But the Way to true Glory is hard and difficult; Straight is the Gate and narrow the Way which leadeth unto Life, Matth. 7. 14.  
But how straight and narrow, how hard and difficult soever it be, the greatness of the Reward more than recompenses the Labour of acquiring it, as appears by what passed with the Disciples of my Text; for being arrived at the top of the Mountain, our Saviour there became transfigured before them, so that the brightness of his Face vied with that of the Sun in his richest Attire of Light, and the whiteness of his Garments with that of the Snow when arrayed in its whitest Dress. Which of Us, Dear Christians, had he been present at this Glorious sight, would not have cried out with St. Peter, Domine, bonum est nos hic esse; Lord, it is good for us to be here! And who is there of us now, that is not inflamed with a holy Desire, or, as I may call it, Curiosity, as Moses was when he beheld the burning Bush, 
Exod. 3. 3.  to know how it came to pass that the Body of our Saviour, which till then had appeared different in nothing from the Bodies of other Men, should be suddenly invested with a brightness like that of the Sun; and what End or Design he had in the doing of it?  
To satisfy this twofold demand of how and why he would be thus transfigured, is what I have designed for the Subject of my present Discourse, and accordingly shall divide it into Two Parts. In the First I shall give you an Account (as God shall enable me) of the Mystery itself, that is, how it came to pass that the Body of our Saviour was so transfigured, that it became bright and shining as the Sun. In the Second, why he would work this wonderful change in his Face and Garments, and that in the sight of his Disciples: Et transfiguratus est ante eos; And he was transfigured before them, or in their sight.  
Whilst the Disciples were absorbed with wonder at this Glorious Spectacle, the Evangelist says, that a bright Cloud over-shadowed them; which Cloud, St. Augustin says, was a Symbol of the Holy Ghost, in which he appeared (as he formerly had done in the Figure of a Dove at our Savior's Baptism) to Grace the Solemnity with his Presence: That the Assistance of this Divine Spirit may not be wanting, whilst we treat of this Glorious Mystery, let us humbly implore it by the Intercession of that Sacred Mother, who in the Conception of her Son was overshadowed by the same Divine Spirit.  
Ave Maria.   

The First Part.  
Et transfiguratus est; And he was transfigured.  
TO give an Account how the Body of our Saviour was so transfigured, as to become bright and shining as the Sun, it will be necessary to inquire into the meaning of the word Transfiguration. When we say a thing is disfigured, every one understands the meaning of it: but if we say a thing is transfigured, the sense is not so easy and obvious to all, at least to the Unlearned, as not to require some Explication: Which yet I shall endeavour to manage so, that whilst I am instructing those of the lowest Form, such as are in a higher Class may not lose their time; remembering, with the great Apostle, that I am a Debtor to both; Sapientibus & insipientibus debitor sum.  
A thing than is said to be transfigured, according to the proper acceptation of the word, when its Shape or Figure, not its Essence, is altered, so that it puts on another appearance, more Noble and Glorious than it had before; for the Particle trans here signifies an excess, or passing beyond or above what is commonly and usually found in the Thing. An Example of this we have in a Cloud, which of itself is nothing but a dark Vapour or Mist exhaled from the Bowels of the Earth: yet dark and misty as it is, no sooner is it penetrated by the Rays of the Sun, but presently it becomes bright and shining; and what before seemed a black Veil, which muffled the Light of that Glorious Planet, having now drank in his Beams, is transformed into a radiant Mirror, in which he seems to rejoice to behold himself so gloriously reflected. This change of the Cloud so much for the better, may fitly be called its Transfiguration; and gives us, tho' not a Parallel, yet a glimpse at least of what passed in the Transfiguration of our Saviour; when his Body, till then dark and obscure, like those of other men, became bright and shining like the Sun.  
But now, because this Transfiguration, or change so much for the better, may proceed from a twofold cause; either from without, as in a Cloud, when penetrated with the Rays of the Sun; or from within, as when a Globe of Crystal is enlightened by a burning and shining Lamp set in it: the Question still remains, Whether this bright Illumination which discovered itself in the Face and Garments of our Lord, proceeded from some Celestial Splendour without, like that which appeared to the Shepherds at his Birth; or from some Intrinsical Principle, or Fountain of Light, which, like the Lamp upon the Crystal, diffused itself upon his Body?  
The Solution of this Question depends upon that generally known Doctrine of Divines with St. Thomas, 
3. P. q. 34. a. 4.  That the Soul of our Redeemer, by virtue of the Hypostatical Union with the Word, enjoyed the Beatifical Vision, or sight of the Divine Essence, and so was full of Glory and Brightness from the first instant of his Conception; 
Ibid. q. 45. a. 2.  And that from hence, as the Stream flows from the Fountain, there ought to have issued, by a Connatural Emanation, a Communication of proportionable Glory and Brightness to his Body. For, 
Ep. 56. ad Dioscorum.  as St. Austin says, Tam potenti Natura Deus fecit animam, ut ex ejus plenissima Beatitudine redundet etiam in Corpus plenitudo Sanitatis, id est, incorruptionis vigour: God created the Soul of Man of so powerful a Nature, that from the fullness of its Bliss there should redound also upon the Body a fullness of Health, or vigour of Incorruption, under which terms he comprehends all the four Prerogatives of a Glorified Body, viz. Clarity or Brightness, Agility, Immortality, and Impassibility. All these Qualities than were due to the Body of our Saviour, as being united to his Glorified Soul, from the first instant of his Conception. But the end of his coming into the World being to Suffer and Die for our Salvation, 'twas necessary his Glory should remain shut up within his Soul, without being communicated to his Body; for had his Body been glorified as well as his Soul, he had not been in a capacity to suffer for us. Thus did the desire he had to suffer for us cause him to work a constant and prodigious Miracle upon Himself, by forcing, as I may say, the Stream of his Glory, like the Waters of Jordan, to roll itself up, and stand on a heap, without pouring itself forth upon his Body, which otherwise it would have done. But now the time being come, in which the Divine Wisdom thought fit, not so much for His Own sake as for Ours, that his Pure and Innocent Body before it suffered, should enjoy one Sun-shiny day among so many Cloudy ones: Behold He opens the Sluice, as I may call it, of that Light and Glory which till then had been kept shut up within the Floodgates of his Will, and gives it leave to pour itself forth in a full Stream upon his Body, which presently was so penetrated and steeped in a glorious Flood of Light, that (as the Text says) his Face shined like the Sun, and his very Garments became white as Snow.  
Thus it was, Dear Christians, that the Body of our Saviour became so gloriously transfigured, not by an Illumination from without, but by an Irradiation from within; by which it appears to have been not so much the effect of a New Miracle, as the suspension or discontinuation of a former one. For as in the Waters of Jordan the Miracle consisted in that they stood on a heap, and not that they afterwards flowed into the Sea, for that was their natural course: so in the Transfiguration upon Mount Thabor, the Miracle was, that the Stream of Glory should remain penned up within the Soul of our Redeemer from the first Instant of his Conception, without any other Bank than that of his own Will, and not that it poured itself afterwards upon his Body, for that was but that natural consequence of the Glory of his Soul.  
And now, Dear Christians, (to make some Application of this to ourselves) how much are we bound to our Dearest Redeemer, both for the One and the Other! First, that he repressed his Glory, and kept it from communicating itself to his Body, through the whole course of his Life for the space of three and thirty years; and than that he let it flow and manifest itself in his Transfiguration, in the brightness both of his Face and Garments, since both were done for our sakes! Had he not been pleased once at least to permit that Flood of Glory, of which his Soul was full, to pour itself forth upon his Body, happily we had been, if not wholly ignorant, yet not so sensible at least of his Love and Mercy in miraculously suspending its Emanation all the rest of his Life, that he might be in a condition to suffer and die for us. And is it not reason, that now we know it we should both thank him for it, and make it, in the best manner our condition will permit, the Pattern of our Imitation? Not that we can transfigure our Bodies as His was; this is a Privilege reserved for the next Life: but that we may and must prepare and dispose these vile and mortal Bodies of ours to be configured (as the Apostle saith) to the brightness of his Glorified Body hereafter, 
Phil. 3. 21.  by repressing within us at present a Flood of another nature, that Flood I mean of Original Corruption, which we bring with us into the World from our first Parent Adam. For such is the condition of man since his Fall, that the Soul is no sooner united to the Body, (which is in the very first Instant of its Creation) but it contracts the Gild of Original Sin, and together with it a strong Propension or Inclination to the Love of itself, and of all those Objects which are grateful to Flesh and Blood. So that the heart of man is like a corrupted Fountain, out of which, as our Saviour himself hath told us, 
Mat. 15. 19  proceed evil thoughts, Murders, Adulteries, Fornications, Thefts, false Witness, Blasphemies, and the like. And altho' the Gild of Original Sin be washed away by the Waters of Baptism, yet (as the Council of Trent hath declared) Concupiscence, 
Sess. 5.  or the Propension to these and the like Vices is permitted to remain even in the Regenerate, for the Exercise of their Virtue, in withstanding the first suggestions of sin, so as not to suffer it, 
Rom. 11. 12.  as the same Apostle saith, to reign in our mortal Body, in such manner as to obey it in its inordinate Lusts and Desires.  
This is what we obliged ourselves to do, in the solemn Promise we made in Baptism of renouncing the Suggestions of the Devil, the Desires of the Flesh, and the Pomps and Vanities of the World. And that the doing of this is a Miracle, and such an one as may and aught to be done by us, 
Ecclici 31.  the Son of Sirach declares, when speaking of the Just man, whom he calls Beatus, or Blessed, he lays this down for one of the conditions of his Beatification, that he has done Miracles in his Life; fecit enim mirabilia in vita sua: And that we might know what Miracles these were, he presently adds, Qui potuit transgredi, & non est transgressus; facere mala, & non fecit; He, says he, is the man that hath done Miracles in his Life, who when it was in his power to transgress, transgressed not; and when he could have done the evil, to which his corrupt Nature inclined him, withheld himself from committing it. And for this reason it is, that when our Saviour, among other Signs or Miracles which he foretells should be done by those that believed in him, puts this for one, 
Marc. 16.  That if they drink any thing that is deadly, it shall not hurt them: St. Gregory tells us, 
St. Greg. Hom. 29. in Evang.  That then it is this Miracle is wrought in a more Sublime, because Spiritual manner, by the Faithful, when feeling in themselves the venomous suggestions and persuasions of the Devil, or their own corrupt nature, they are not drawn by them to commit any thing that is evil. Dum pestiferas suasiones audiunt, sed tamen ad operationem pravam minime pertrahuntur; mortiferum quidem est quod bibunt, sed non eis nocebit: In this case, saith he, they drink that which indeed is deadly of its own Nature, but not consenting to it, it shall do them no harm.  
And now, if the repressing the first motions of Sin be so miraculous in respect of other Vices; how much more in regard of that of Pride, which is the Source and Spring of all the rest? 
In Ps. 7.  Whoever has thoroughly considered, says St. Augustin, 
Quo primo vitio lapsa est anima, hoc ultimum vincit.  or which is more, experienced in himself the different degrees of difficulty which occur in the subduing of Vices, knows very well, that the Sin of Pride and Vainglory is the chief, if not the only one, to which those who have attanied to Perfection are obnoxious; and as it was the first which infected the Soul, so also it is the last that is overcome. From whence St. Peter Damianus doubted not to affirm, 
Serm. 60.  That if so so great a man as Elias could shut his mind from admitting a thought of Vainglory, 
Facilius obserare Coelum, quam Animum.  'twas a greater Miracle than the shutting Heaven by his Prayer, that it reigned not for three years and six months together. 
Jac. 5. 17.   
Here than it is, that a Christian truly shows himself to be a Thaumaturgus, or Worker of Miracles, when finding thoughts of Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Impurity, Anger, Blasphemy, Revenge, and the like, to arise in his heart, ready like an impetuous Flood to overflow, by his Reason or Superior Will, assisted with the Grace of Christ which was given him in Baptism, he forces them back, and will not suffer them to gain upon his consent, nor to reign in his Mortal Body; Fecit mirabilia in vita sua; he hath done Miracles in his life: And by depriving himself of those undue delights and satisfactions which are the natural consequences of Concupiscence, he both prepares and disposes his own mortal Body to be configured to the Brightness of the Body of his Glorified Redeemer; and shows his Gratitude to him, for having deprived himself of that Glory and Brightness which was due, and as such would and ought to have redounded upon his Body, from the Glory of his Soul, (had he not miraculously repressed and kept it back) from the first Instant of his Conception to the day of his Transfiguration. Why he permitted it then to pour itself forth in a glorious Flood of Light upon his Body and Garments, and that in the presence and sight of his Disciples, is what I come now to treat of, as the Subject of the Second Part of my Discourse.   

The Second Part.  
Transfiguratus est ante eos; He was transfigured before them.  
AND why before them, or in their sight, but to excite them more efficaciously to labour for the obtaining of so Glorious a Reward? To give light to this Answer, it may not be unuseful to premise, what the Scripture relates to have passed with the Patriarch Jacob, when his Sons brought him the News of his Son Joseph's being alive. The Case was this:  
Joseph being now Viceroy of Egypt, 
Gen. 45.  and having made himself known to his Brethren, commanded them to go tell his Father Jacob of all his Glory, and to bring him along with them into Egypt, to preserve him from the Famine, which was yet to last five years. To accomplish this design, he provided them of Carriages, and all things necessary for the way, adding over and above a Present of the good things of Egypt, which might serve as an Earnest or Pledge of the Riches of the Place, to excite him to the Journey. No sooner were they arrived in the presence of their Father, but they acquainted him with the good News; Joseph, Filius tuus, vivit & dominatur in universa terra Aegypti; Joseph, that Son of thy Love, whose Absence, not to say Death, thou hast so bitterly lamented for so many years, is yet alive, and is Governor over all the Land of Egypt, and nothing is wanting to complete his Happiness, but to have his Father Jacob with him. How may we imagine was the heart of the Holy Man transported with joy at the hearing of this News? and how would he give order to get all things ready for the Journey, that he might go and enjoy the presence of his Beloved Joseph? This indeed might have been expected; but not a word of any such thing. On the contrary, the Scripture saith, That when Jacob had heard these things, his heart fainted within him; or (as the Vulgar hath it) he remained as a man awaking out of a heavy sleep, without knowing what to think, for he did not believe them; Quo audito Jacob quasi de gravi somno evigilans, tamen non credebat eyes. What then was to be done? They give him a more particular account of all the words of Joseph which he had said to them. And when this availed as little as the former, they showed him the Wagons and rich Presents which Joseph had sent him; and the Text saith, That when he had seen them, cumque vidisset plaustra & universa quae miserat, his Spirit revived within him, revixit Spiritus ejus; and, as if he were now no more the same man, but another, he said, It is enough, I am now convinced that my Son Joseph is yet living; and so, without regarding either the Feebleness of his Old Age, or the Difficulties of the Way, he resolved to go and see him before he died. Behold here, how much more powerfully our Affections are moved to act by the things we see, than by those we only hear! And can we then wonder, if our Dearest Redeemer, whose Wisdom suggested, and Goodness prompted him to make use of the most efficacious means to inflame our Affections with the Love of Heaven, led the Disciples of my Text up to the top of Mount Thabor, and was there transfigured before them!  
He had often told them of the Glory of Heaven, and proposed it as a Reward to all those who should deny themselves, and take up their Cross and follow him. He had foretold them also, that himself would rise again the third day, as the first Fruit of those that slept, and promised that his Followers should shine like the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father. 
Mat. 13. 43.  And what did all this work upon them? If they did not look upon it as a Dream, they remained at most but as men awakened out of a deep sleep; for St. Luke says in express terms, that when he spoke to them of his Passion and Resurrection, 
Luc. 18. 34.  Ipsi nihil horum intellexerunt; they understood nothing of these things, and what he said affected them no more than if he had spoken in some unknown Language; & verbum hoc erat absconditum ab eyes. What remedy then to disengage their Understandings from this stupidity, and engage their Wills to labour heartily for Heaven? The remedy was, (and blessed be his Goodness in condescending so graciously to our Weakness) to suffer himself to be transfigured before them, and by communicating that Glory to his Body, which hitherto he had kept restrained within his Soul, to give them a sight of that Glory of which he had so often discoursed to them: And that they might not doubt but that a participation of the like Glory was designed also for his Servants and Followers, he caused Moses and Elias to appear in like Majesty and Brightness with him. The same was also signified in the brightness of his Garments, which (as St. Thomas observes upon this place) were a Type or Figure of the Saints; of whom the Prophet Isay saith, 
Isa. 41. 27.  that he shall clothe himself with them as with a Robe of Glory, and wear them for an Ornament in the day of his Nuptials. From whence the Devout St. Austin, with his wont Acuteness, took occasion to apply those words of holy David, 
Ps. 147.  He giveth his Snow like Wool, (the usual matter of which Garments are made) to what passed in the Transfiguration of our Lord; 
Merito fulgebat Vestis Christi sicut Nix, tanquam de illa lana jam facta erat Tunica.  giving us to understand by his appearing then as it were clothed with Snow, what kind of Fleece his Garment of Glory was to be made of, that is, of those who had washed their Stoles in the Blood of the Lamb, 
S. Aug. in Ps. 147.  and so were become pure and white as Snow; or▪ as St. Paul expresses it, a Glorious Church without spot or wrinkle; without spot, as washed white in the Blood of the Lamb; and without wrinkle, as having been extended with him upon the Cross.  
How much more efficaciously the Affections of the Disciples were inflamed to action by the sight of so Glorious a Reward, than by what they had only heard discoursed of it, the Transport of St. Peter, and the hast he was then in to fall to building of Tabernacles, and (when that was not permitted, as being out of season, because before the time) the Immense Labours both himself and the rest courageously undertaken, and cruel Torments they cheerfully underwent for the obtaining of it, are too well known to be insisted on. What concerns ourselves, Dear Christian Auditors, is to imitate the Example of those, who (as the same St. Peter saith) have made known unto us the Power and Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
2 Pet. 1. 16.  having been spectators of his Majesty when they were with him in the Holy Mount, and not to suffer ourselves to remain so dull and stupid as not to be moved with it. When Nehemias' had restored the Temple and the Altar, 
2 Machab. 1. 22.  he caused the Sacrifices to be sprinkled with a thick Water, which the Priests had found in a deep and dry Well, where their Ancestors had hid the Holy Fire when they went into Captivity. The Sun was then in a Cloud; and whilst he remained so, the Water also remained as before: But as soon as the Sun break forth out of the Cloud, accensus est ignis magnus, ita ut omnes mirarentur; a great Fire was presently kindled, to the wonder & astonishment of all that beheld it. And will it not be a matter of greater Wonder and Astonishment, if now that the Sun of Justice, after having so long remained under a Cloud, has displayed the Beams of his Glory, both in his Face and Garments, our hearts shall still remain like thick Water, that is, cold and earthy, and not be converted into Fire? The consideration of this made Holy David cry out, Filii hominem usquequo gravi cord? Ye Sons of men, how long will you suffer your hearts to lie grovelling upon the Earth? And why will you spend your days in hunting after the vain and transitory, and therefore false and lying Goods of this Life, without aspiring to those Eternal, and therefore only true and substantial Goods, which are prepared for you in Heaven? If a Prize be proposed to be run for of any considerable Value, how do those who are to run for it pluck up their Spirits, and abstain from all things, however otherwise pleasing and dear to them, that may hinder them in the Race? And if they do this to obtain a corruptible Reward, how much more, as St. Paul presses the Argument, 
1 Cor. 9 25. 2 Tim. 2. 5.  ought we to abstain from all those things that are hurtful, and may hinder us in our Course to Heaven; since what we contend for, is no less than a Crown of never-fading Glory? They, when they have done their best, may miss of what they run for, because many run, but only one can get the Prize: But for the Prize of Heaven, every one (to use the Apostle's expression) that runs lawfully, that is, keeping the Commandments of God, (tho' not with equal Swiftness and Perfection, for our Saviour tells us, that in his Father's House there be many Mansions) is sure to obtain it.  
Alas, Dear Christians! had it been our hard Lot to have been born in some Barbarous Nation, where there had been no certain Knowledge of the true Reward of Virtue; or to have been brought up among the Philosophers, of whom St. Augustin reporteth, that they had above two hundred different Opinions concerning the last end or Happiness of man, not knowing which to fix upon, or to prefix to themselves, as the Prize they were to run for, or the Mark to which they were to direct the course of their Lives and Actions: some shadow of excuse might have been pretended by us, why we poured forth ourselves upon the things of this World, and placed our satisfaction in the enjoyment of them. But now that we both know the Prize that we are to run for, and that if we run lawfully, that is, observing the prescribed Rule of God's Law, we shall certainly obtain it; what can we pretend to save ourselves from falling under the Sentence of that Servant, who because he knew the will of his Master, and did not do it, was deemed worthy not only to be deprived of the Reward, but to be beaten with many stripes? Let us not deceive ourselves, One way or other we must be finally like to Angels. 
Mat. 22. 26.  What our Saviour said of the Just, that they shall be as the Angels in Heaven, (and who, says St. Austin, would have believed it, if He had not said it?) is as true of the Wicked, that they shall be like to the Apostate Angels in Hell. No medium to be expected; Eternal Happiness must be our Reward, or Eternal Misery our Doom. This may seem a hard condition to the inordinate Lovers of this World, and perhaps to some faint-hearted Christians, who could wish to be in Heaven, so it might cost them nothing: But who ever thought the Children of Israel were hardly dealt with, because God, after he had led them on dry ground through the middle of Jordan, let the Waters flow in their ordinary Channel, and hinder their retiring back, so that they were reduced to a necessity of being either Conquerors or Slaves? This happy necessity whetted their Courage to that degree, that in a short time they became Masters of the Earthly Canaan, which was a Type and Figure of the Heavenly One. And God seems to make use of the same Stratagem to encourage us to fight for the Glory of Heaven, when having led us through the Waters of Baptism, he puts us upon a necessity of making ourselves eternally happy, if we will not be eternally miserable.  
What then if some difficulties occur in regulating the inordinate desires of our corrupt Nature to the Law of God? What if it cost some pain and labour to mortify and repress the absurd and extravagant suggestions of our sensual appetites? Is there any thing of satisfaction even in this World, (how short and momentary soever) but costs pain and trouble to obtain it? Does not the Merchant undertake long Voyages at Sea, and expose his Riches to the danger of being lost, to augment them? Does not the Soldier undergo the greatest hardships, and enter the Combat with manifest hazard of his Life, to gain the empty Honour of a Triumph? Does not the sick person abstain from all things which the Physician commands him, and swallow many a bitter Potion, to recover his Health, which may be lost again, as soon as reestablished? And if the transitory things of this World are not attainable without much toil and labour (which when they are gotten are upon the brink of being lost) can we expect that Heaven alone should be cast upon us without any pains or labour on our part to obtain it? Surely nothing can be more unjust, nor more unworthy a Creature endued with Reason, than this unequal Proceeding. Nor can I imagine any other cause of it, but the want of true Faith, or a supine neglect to render it lively by framing a right Judgement of the greatness of the Glory of the next Life in comparison of this? Did we do this, it were impossible we should not ardently desire, and heartily labour for it; and instead of repining at the pains we are to take for it, wonder, as St. Austin did, that so great a Reward should be exposed for so little Labour. 
In Ps. 36.  Miraberis tantum dari pro tantillo labour: It were but just, says he, that Eternal Labour should be exacted of us for the obtaining of Eternal Rest; Pro aeterna requie, aeternus labor subeundus erat. But because then the Reward could never be obtained, because the Labour would never be at an end, God has been so gracious as to order, that it shall not only be temporal, but short. Non solum temporalem voluit laborem tuum Deus, sed brevem. And I may add, not only short, but momentary: For if this Globe of Earth on which we live, compared with the vast Extension of the Heavens, bears no greater a proportion than that of a Point to the Circumference; what can the few days we have to live upon this Point, be, in comparison of Eternity, but a Moment? And yet how much of this Moment do we daily pair off, and squander away upon the Vanities of the World, as if a whole Moment of Labour were too much for an Eternity of Glory? Whatever our Conduct hath been hitherto, let us not henceforward be so ungrateful to the Riches of God's Goodness, and so treacherous to our own true Interest, as not to employ the remainder of it at least in the Duties of a Pious and Holy Life, for the purchasing of so Great and Glorious a Reward.  
To conclude, and sum up in brief what I have discoursed in this Part, that, like good Seed laid up in your hearts, it may bring forth Fruit with Patience: God has allotted to man two Lives, the One in this World, short, and subject to many miseries; the Other Eternal, in the next, and to those who live well free from all Misery, and replenished with all kind of Goods. This supposed, nothing can be more evident, than that the latter is infinitely and without comparison to be preferred before the former. What then can we conclude from these premises, unless we will renounce our Reason, as well as our Happiness, but a strong Resolution to set ourselves seriously to work, and not suffer any day, or hour, or moment of our Life to slide away, without making an advance towards the obtaining of so great a Good? What was represented on Mount Thabor, tho' Great and Glorious, as you have heard in the First Part, was but a Glimpse or Reflection of that Essential Glory, which the Blessed shall enjoy in Heaven. If then the Labour of acquiring it deters us, let the Greatness of the Reward invite us; so Great, that St. Paul says, Neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the good things which God hath prepared for those that love him. May his Infinite Mercy bring us to that happy Station, where we may behold him, as he is, face to face, and see and enjoy what here we cannot comprehend. In the mean time, let us say from our hearts with St. Paul, 1 Tim. 1. 17. To the King of Ages, Immortal, Invisible, only God, be Honour and Glory for ever and ever. Amen.   
FINIS.  

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