the Work of God upon the Soul, when He grants true Faith and Repentance Operates far otherwife, it Effects the Cure of all at once, as with those who looked upon the Brazen Serpent. Our Saviour Himself (b) makes the Comparifon. And he (c) gave us an Example of it in the Thief upon the Cross, who was tranflated to Paradice the fame Day he Died. And yet he had been a grievous Sinner, and Suffered juftly for his Offences; his Repentance was Late, and he had made no Reftitution; yet he did no Penance in Purgatory.

L. That was an Extraordinary Cafe, his Faith must be very Strong to be Converted upon the Cross.

G. That is more than we know, whether he might not have been Converted before. But however, it fhews ther is no Neceffity for Purgatory, even for very great Offenders.

L. No doubt God may Excufe whom He pleafes.

G. How then do we know Whom He excufes, and whom not? And how can we Pray in Faith, that is, without Sin, to Deliver fuch a particular Perfon from thence?

But if there be no Neceffity for it, as you have Granted in the Cafe of the Thief, how is it to be Imagined that God fhould keep fo many Thousand Souls, for many Years or Ages, in the most Extreme Torments, when there was no Neceffity for it? And if the Pope has Power to Releafe

(b) Joh. iii. 14, 15. (c) Luk. xxiii. 43.

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Release out of Purgatory, he must be a very Cruel Father who keeps one Soul there an Hour longer.

L. We fee the Church impofing Penance and yet Excufing fome, Shortning the Time more than to others.

G. The Church knows not the Heart, and muft Judge by Signs, which yet Secure not from Hypocrifie. But this is all Foreign as to God, who fearcheth the Heart, and knoweth all that is in Man. And tho' our Phyfick of Difciplin works by Degrees, and the Iffue is uncertain; yet God never Cares Imperfectly, Chrift never Half-Healed any Man. And so it is when He pardons Sinners, (a) Thy Sins are forgiven thee. It is not faid,fhall be forgiven, or when thou haft performed fuch and fuch Penance, but the Forgiveness of his Sins was as Immediately wrought as the Cure of his Body. And God gives us all the Affurances that can be, in the Strongest Expreffions, of our Sins being Abfolutely and Totally Forgiven, as being (6) all Blotted out, all cast into the Depths of the Sea. Never to be Remembred or Mentioned unto us any more, as before quoted. I will Heal (c) their Backfliding, Iwill Love them freely. He is Ready to Forgive. He Waiteth to have Mercy He earnestly Remembreth, His Bowels are troubled for Sinners that they may Repent, and in the Day they turn from their Wickedness, He Forgiveth.

(a) Luk. v. 20. (b) Pfal. li. 9. Isai. xliv. 22. Col. li. 14. Mic. vii. 19. (c) Hof. xiv. 4 Pfal. xxxvi. 5. Ifai. xxx. 18. Jer. xxxi. 20. Ezek. xxxiii. 12. Lam. ¡¡¡. 33.

eth. For He doth not afflict willingly, nor Grieve the Children of Men. It is for their Repentance and Reformation, but that Confideration is not in Purgatory.

But how will the poor Souls there (if any are there) be Deluded, if the Stock of Supererogation fhould fail them, that is, the Merits of Saints for their good Works which they have done, over and above their Duty, and what they were obliged to for their own Salvation, and therefore are Applyed to others who had come short of their Duty, to fupply their De ficiencies; which is the Fund provided for the Discharge of the Prifoners in Purgatory? And this is Difpenfed by the Pope to whom he thinks fit, as being the Grand Treasurer of the Church, and Confequently of these SuperAbundant Merits of the Saints. But we want a Text where St. Peter was Conftituted fuch a Treasurer. Or that there is or can be any fuch Treasury. For can a Creature Merit at the Hands of God, for ever fo Great Endowments bestowed upon him? Is it a Merit to Receive great Gifts? And if we Employ them to the best Advantage, is it more than is our Duty to do? And we are ftill (a) unprofitable Servants, as Christ Himself has told us. But was there ever a Man (Christ only excepted) who did all his Duty? Are not all Sinners? And if their Repentance entitle them to Pardon, yet this is far from Merit. My doing my

Duty

(4) Luk. xvii. to.

Duty to Day, makes no Amends for my having Neglected it Yefterday. We find the greatest Saints applying to the Mercy of God, and not pleading their own Merits. Jacob faid, [4] I am not worthy of the least of all thy Mercies, And Job who had [b] None like him in the Earth, a Perfect and Upright Man, &c. faid, I abhor my felf, and Repent in Duft and Afbes. And Daniel, the Man [c] greatly Beloved, Confeffed his own Sins, as well as the Sins of the People. And St. Paul called himself the [d] Chief of Sinners not worthy to be an Apostle, &c. And if the Saints own no Merit in themfelves, then furely they will Difown all those who Apply to their Merits; and, as I faid before concerning the Worfbip and Invocation of them, by which you hope to Gain them to be Interceffors for you, they muft become your Accufers, by their Denial of their Acceptance of fuch Worship from you, which if they thould Accept, it would make them Evil Spirits, as I have Quoted out of St. Augustine.

But what Creature dare plead Purity before God? [f] Behold He chargeth His Angels with · Folly, and he putteth no Trust in His Saints; yea the Heavens are not Clean in His Sight. How much more Abominable and Filthy is Man, who drinketh Iniquity like Water? And what is Man that he should be Clean? And he that is born of a Woman, that he should be Righteous? And if

All

Gen. xxxii. ro. [6] Job. 1. 8. xlii. 6. [c] Dan. ix. 20. 23* [d] 1. Tim. 1. 15. 1. Cor. xv. 9. [e] Job. iv. 18. xv. 15.

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All [a] our Righteoufnefs are as filthy Rags. If there be [b] Iniquity in our Holy things, in the Holy Sanctuary and Alter. What then is Clean? [c] And if the Righteous themfelves fhall Jcarcely be faved, What Merits have they to fpare for others? Efpecially when they are not faved even by their own Works. [d] For by Grace ye are faved not of Works, left any Man fhould Boaft. Can any Man then Boaft of his Works, as not only fufficient for his own Salvation, but over and above as Meritorious to be Applyed to others, and to Deliver Souls out of Purgatory? No, my Lord, the Saints make no fuch Boafts. And will Difown all thofe who make them in their Name. For they know that [e] All have Sinned, and come short, of the Glory of God; being Justified freely by His Grace, through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ- Where is boasting then? It is Excluded. By what Law; Of Works? Nay, but by the Law of Faith. And every Man is Saved by his own Faith, not by the Faith of others. And God will [f] Reward every Man according to his Works, not the Works of others. Miferable then is the Condition of those Souls fuppofed to be in Purgatory if they muft not thence be Delivered but by Works of Supererogation, when no Man can be faved by his own Works, for We are faved---[g] Not according to our Works, but according to the Grace of God in Christ Jefus. [a]

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[4] Ifai. Ixiv. 6. [6] Exod. xxviii. 38. Lev. xvi. 33. [c] 1 Pet. iv. 18. [d] Eph. ii. 8. 9. [e] Rom. iii, 23, 24, 27. [ƒ] Matth. xyi. 27.[8] ii. Tim. i. 9,