The way to true happiness in a serious treatise /

Precious Souls,

There is that Life and Light and Love in every true Believer, but especially in every Faithful Minister of Christ, which engageth them to long and labour for your Salvation. Life is communicative and active. It maketh us sensible that Faith is not a Fantasy, nor true Religion a Stage-play, nor our hopes of our Eternal Happiness a Dream. And as we desire nothing more for our selves, than to have more of the Holy Life whic•• we have, alas in so small a measure; so what is it that we should more desire for others? With the eye of an infallible (though too weak) ⟨image 3⟩faith, we see the Heaven which you neglect, and the blessed Souls in Glory with Christ, whose companions you might be for ever: we see the multitudes of Souls in Hell, who came thither by the same way that you are going in: who are shut out of the glorious presence of God, and are now among those Devils that deceived them, remembering that they had their good things here, Luk. 16. 25. And how they spent the Day of their Visitation, and how light they once set by God, by Christ, by Heaven, by Mercy, whilst Mercy was an earnest solicitor for their Hearts: And with our bodily eyes we see at the same time, abundance of poor sinners living about us, as if there were no God, no Christ, no Heaven, no Hell, no Judgment, no nor Death to be expected; as if a man were but a master beast, to rule the rest, and feed upon them, and perish with them. And if it were your own case, to see what Souls do in Heaven and Hell, and at once to see how unbelievingly, carelessly and senselessly most men live on earth, as if there were no such difference in another World, would it not seem a pitiful sight to you? If you had once seen the five Brethren of Dives on Earth, eating, drinking, laughing and merry, clothed and faring daily with the best, and at the same time seen their Brothers Soul in Hell, begging in vain for a little •ase, and wishing in vain that one from the dead might go warn his Brethren, that they come not to that place of Torment, would it not seem to you a pitiful sight? would not pity have made you think, [Is there no way to open these Gentlemen's eyes? No way to acquaint tem what is become of their Brother, and where Lazarus is, and whither they themselves