consisting of Soul and Body and our Bodies Sanctified by him and are the Temples of the Holy Ghost and therefore shall be raised by him Yea we are said to rise with him and to be set down in heavenly places in and with him It is not more true that he died for our sins than that be rose again for our Justification and if for that he rose for our Resurrection too For the guilt of sin being removed which is the meritorious cause of Death Death which is the Punishment shall not remain but be swallowed up in Victory whereas it lives and reigns and keeps the Field till the Restirrection But we are assured that The Sea and Death and the Vniversal Grave shall give up their Dead Rev. 20.13 And then not only the sting of Death but Death it self shall dye and cease for ever for there shall be no more death Rev. 21.4 Our dead Bodies shall then live so as to dye no more For if we believe on him that raised Christ from the dead the same Spirit that raised Christ shall be the Author of our Resurrection Rom. 8.23 And if we believe that Jesus dyed and rose again even them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him 1 Thes 4.14 He that was dead is now alive and behold he lives for evermore and he hath the keys of Death and Hell Rev. 1.18 And he has expresly told us that the hour is coming in the which All that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth They that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation John 5.28.29 And this is the will of God that sent him that every one who believeth on him shall have everlasting Life and he will raise him up at the last day John 6.40 The like he declares afterwards to Martha I am the Resurrection and the Life he that believeth in me tho he were dead yet shall he live John 11.25 He is the First born from the dead and Believers are the Children of the Resurrection Colos 1.18 His Resurrection not only proves the possibility of ours but it is the pledge of the performance God having raised him up hath loosed the pains of Death since it was impossible he should be holden by them Naturally impossible because of his Divine Power and legally impossible because Divine Justice after such a Satisfaction as the Death of Christ required that he should be raised to Life and receive a Discharge and Reward We could hardly believe the Dead should rise to Life if Christ by his own Resurrection and by raising others had not proved it possible and already done But he hath not conquer'd Death for himself alone but for his Members too and to them he has promised that they shall * John 11.26 never see Death or come within the Prospect or Danger of it And not only shall not but cannot dye any more after the Resurrection for they shall be equal to the Angels Luke 20.36 His Victory over Death was declared by his Resurrection and his entrance into Glory did Compleat the Conquest Now as Christ hath carried his Humane Nature into Heaven we are to be made like him and bear the Image of the Heavenly Adam and therefore our Flesh shall be raised too He is the first-fruits of them that sleep 1 Cor. 15 20. And it is * Bishop Vsher observable tha the Rose from the Dead on that Day whereon the Jews observe their Feast of First-fruits That Feast was not stinted to any day of the Month as other Feasts were but was to be always on the Morrow after the Passover Sabbath that so it might fall always on the First day of the Week the Day of Christ's Resurrection Well therefore might the Apostle say Christ being Risen is become the First-fruits of them that sleep As the Offering of the First-fruits amongst the Jews Consecrated all the rest SECT IV. Neither can we suppose our Happiness would be compleat without the Resurrection of the Body As Soul and body concur to the Constitution of man the Soul is in a State of widowhood till reunited to the Body And in this Life the Body has a share in the work and service of the Man which is to be rewarded or punished as executing the designs of the Soul And the members of the Body serve as members of Righteousness or Sin The Law of God commands the intire Man composed of Soul and Body and this Law is obeyed or violated by both though the moral good or evil of our Actions be chiefly attributed to the Soul as the principal Agent But on this Account the Body shall partake in the rewards or Punishment of the next Life if the intire Person be to be recompenced And it is with respect to the Body that seemed to be lost that the Resurrection is promised the Body resolved into dust or swallowed in the Sea or consumed by fire Such promises of the Resurrection are made to Believers for their encouragment and hope Besides there are many Objects in the heavenly State that do suppose a Body and are to be discerned by our bodily senses as the glorious beauty and magnificence of the blessed mansions and the Humane Nature of our glorious Redeemer c. On which and many other accounts the Body shall be raised and changed and glorified SECT V. Reason it self would make this Probable Man being created with a Body and a Soul which have so natural an Inclination to one another that there is an appetite and desire as it seems to be united and co-operate together and many of our Capacities of Joy and Comfort as well as of Sorrow and Grief result from and depend upon this Union In order therefore to the full and final Felicity that God will confer on some and for the greater Misery wherewith divine Justice will punish others it is very probable from principles of Reason that God will raise the Bodys of men That being united to their Souls they may be better capable of enjoying the promised Happiness or suffering the threatened misery of the next World This seems to be the sense of Job 14. Chap. 14. ver where he says that all the days of his appointed time I will wait till my change come Speaking of the Resurrection of the Body There is hope of a Tree he saith if it be cut down that it will sprout again but man dyeth and where is he he lyeth down and riseth not till the Heavens be no more If a man dye shall he live again All the days of my appointed Time c. * Mr. Howe of Blessedness p. 210. According to common Apprehension and Appearance the State of man at death is hopeless But he professeth his Expectation that at a set and appointed Time God would remember him so as to recall him out of the Grave And therefore puts the question If a man dye shall he
Nature will do much to manifest that such a difference there will be hereafter between a Man and a Beast between the Good and Bad between the final State of those that love and please and serve God and of those that disobey his known will For who can acknowledg and own a God as Maker and Governour of the World the Wise and Righteous Judge of all and think he will turn Men promiscuously into Heaven or Hell at random without distinguishing between Friends and Enemies Righteous and wicked or that he 'l neither Reward or Punish that there shall be no state of Happiness for the one sort or of Misery for the other Besides the Testimony of Conscience as to the Hopes and Fears of these things in another World is of weight in this case But I hope I need not here be large when I speak to such as profess to believe the Bible and there it is as certain as that God is true who hath declared it or that Christ was sent of God who has taught it as true as that he died and rose again and ascended to Heaven and that all his Apostles and Followers have lived and died in the Expectation of such a State The Resurrection of the body I grant was not so plain an Article before the coming of Christ but a general state of Happiness for Holy Persons in another World no Christians will deny And our Lord has proved the personal Capacity of future Rewards by the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the body and by an account of the manner of the Administration of these Rewards as more inchoate and particular at Death more universal and consummate at Judgment in the great day of Retribution All the Doctrines of the Gospel concerning Christ do suppose or ascertain this He came into the World to purchase our Right and Title to such a blessed State and went to Heaven again to plead and prosecute and apply and bestow it So that such a thing is Certain and may be expected by all the Followers of Christ It is as certain and unquestionable as the Word and Oath of God can make it much more Certain than if a Messenger from the Dead did come and tell you so For the manifold witnesses of the Holy Ghost to the Divine Commission of Christ and the truth of the Gospel is a much greater thing and more credible than any such transient Testimony could be But I shall not insist on this the Devils themselves believe it and prove it for if there be no Heaven there is no Hell SECT II. Secondly Particular Christians may have a certain Expectation of this happy State beyond the Grave We know says the Apostle that we have a Building in Heaven when this earthly Tabernacle shall be dissolved We know and are assured of it It is a thing so evident and manifest it is capable of being demonstrated It is not my bare Opinion but the common sense of all the Followers of Christ built on such grounds that we are ready to venture our Lives and all that is dear to us upon this believing Expectation And because we know we have another better Building reserved in Heaven for us we therefore groan and long to be there we have a Building in Heaven though we are yet on Earth As he that hath an Estate in another Kingdom or Country may call both his own though he cannot dwell in both at once nay though it may be he must travel a great way and cross the Seas before he can reach to one of them Particular Christians may be certain The Apostle often declares it as to himself and all the Children of God have a Title to the Inheritance they have Deeds and Evidences to show for it they have the Will and Testament of their Lord and Master to produce and they have the Seal of his Spirit as a witness in their Hearts which is the Earnest of the Inheritance whereby they are sealed to the day of Redemption Sanctifying Grace is called an Immortal Incorruptible Seed 1 Pet. 1.13 and they that are partakers of it have Eternal Life abiding in them 1 John 3.13 because this present Life begun shall be perfected in Glory This Seal of the Holy Spirit on the Soul is the Earnest of the heavenly Inheritance to manifest how sure and certain it is as well as a foretaste to prove how good We have an House in Heaven a Building not made with hands We have it as our own we are so certain of it as we reckon our selves in some sense already in Possession We abide it is true for a while in this earthly Dwelling but we have another and a better House a Building of God not made with Hands and we long to be there SECT III. They that can make out the unfeignedness of their Faith in Christ and the sincerity of their Love to him who can discern the truth of their Sanctification who can perceive the Image of God upon their Souls his Impress Character and Seal having turned their Hearts from the World and Sin to God and Holiness and Heaven with an answerable Conversation in Simplicity and Godly Sincerity they may have a subjective Certainty of this by the Testimony of Conscience and the concurrent Witness of the Spirit enabling them to discern the Truth of their Grace they may know their own interest in the Promise and argue it to their Comfort from the qualifications of such to whom the Promise is made I do not say that All do reach to an actual Certainty and full perswasion the generality we find do not but such a thing is attainable and all should Labour after it And did we seek it in the right way endeavouring by the exercise and increase of Grace to know the truth of it more would reach this than commonly do And then more would long and groan and desire to be uncloathed of this Earthly Tabernacle that they may be cloathed upon with an House from Heaven and Mortality be swallowed up of Life Which brings me to consider the Third thing I proposed to speak to CHAP. IV. To desire and long for a blessed State and Life beyond the Grave proved to be suitable to the Temper of a Christian Spirit SECT I. III. THat it is suitable to the Temper of a Christian Spirit so far as renewed and sanctified to desire and long for that better State and Life beyond the Grave I know there may be an impatient Sense of present troubles or an inordinate Fear of threatning Dangers and Calamities that may make some sinfully desire to be uncloathed make them long for Death and be glad to find the Grave O Lord I beseech thee says Jonah 4. Jonah 3. take away my Life from me for it is better for me to die than to live And my Soul chuseth strangling rather than Life says Job 7. Job 15. But that is not the case here the Apostle goes
live again And till the appointed time when God should revive him out of the dust he would wait for that glorious Change when God shall have a desire to the work of his hands i. e. not allways forget to restore and perfect his own Creature There are many Images and Resemblances of this As in the Corn by which we live when it is cast on the earth and buried in the ground that it may corrupt after it is corrupted it revives and multiplies Our Bodys are fed with this constant Experiment And the Apostles similitude of a grain of Corn Sown in the ground that it riseth multiplied augmented and adorned sets out the advantagious difference between the Qualities of our Bodys when they dye and when they shall be raised And herein he imitates the manner of the Jews who were wont familiariy to illustrate the business of the Resurrection by the similitude of leed sown in the ground and springing up again And what can we discern in a small corn or litle seed of a Tree with Body Bark Branches Leaves Flowers Fruit and yet afterwards we behold them when the seed hath been sown in the ground The Apostle at large Insists on this similitude of seed to explain the manner of the Resurrection 1 Cor. 15.35 So also is the Resurrection of the dead * Dr. Scot of the Christian Lise part 2. chap. 7. So is this mortal Body to be the seed and material Principle of our Resurrection For that which is sown is not quickened except it dye And so is this Seed of our mortal Body to dye and be corrupted before it shall be raised again And Sois this dead corrupted Body to be raised and quickened by the power of God For God gives to every Seed a Body as it pleases him And so are our dead Bodys to be raised again into the proper form and kind of humane Bodys for unto every seed God giveth his own Body And Lastly So is the Resurrection of the Dead that is So are those humane Bodys to be changed and altered by the Resurrection as that which is but bare Seed when it is sown when it is quickened it springs up into a long stalk and ear So the raised Body shall be changed for the better This is further Illustrated by * Mr. Baxter of Self-denial p. 206. another That the dead Body of a man may be supposed to have a living Root as truely as the plants in winter The Soul is the Root of the Body and the Soul is still alive And Christ is the Root of the Soul and he is still alive For though we are dead our Life is hid with Christ in God and when he who is our Life shall appear at the Spring of the Resurrection we shall also appear with him in Glory Colos 3.3 4. There is a Relative Union between Soul and Body and a deep rooted Love of the Soul to its Body and Inclination to it so that it is mindful of it and waits with longing for that hour when the Command of God shall send it to revive that Body Why may not the Living Soul that is the Root and Life of the Body in the dust be the Instrument of God to inform its own Body as it will be the Principle that shall re-inform it The Body in the Grave hath its own Relation to Christ who is still Living and resolved and ingaged by Promise and inclined by Love to revive that Body And when the Hour comes for this Soul that waits to be sent again into the Body what can hinder The very Love of the Soul to its Body and its desire to be re-united is a kind of Natural Cause of the Resurrection A Candle not lighted is as far from Light and as much without it as a dead body is without Life and yet one touch of a lighted Candle will light that which never was lighted before And so may one touch of the living Soul that is now with Christ put Life into the body that lies in the dust And as the lighted Candle makes the other like it and Communicates of its Nature to it so does the glorified Soul Communicate a new kind of Excellency to the Body which it never had before even to be a Spiritual Glorious Incorruptible and Immortal Body And God takes the Soul to Heaven before hand that it may be first Glorified and so be fit to communicate Glory to the body So that there is more reason for the Resurrection of the body though it be turned to Earth than there is reason that a Candle that is gone out should be lighted again by another or than there is reason that I should put on my Cloaths in the Morning which I put off at Night For Nature disposeth me to abhor nakedness and desire my Cloaths and therefore in the Morning I will put them on So Nature teaches the Seperated Soul to desire a re-union with its body And therefore when the Resurrection-Morning comes it will gladly take the word from Christ and give that vital touch to the body that shall revive it and so put on its antient Garment but wonderfully changed for the better c. CHAP. VI. That the Same Body for Substance is to be Raised again at the last day And what the Change will be of these Bodies hereafter from what they now are SECT I. IF it be inquired How can the same Body after so many Changes be raised and re-united to the Soul And what need is there of Asscrting That it shall be the same It ought to be consider'd that the very word Resurrection doth suppose or imply this That the Bodies of Men shall hereafter be truly the same with those that died It is the Body falls to the ground when the Spirit goes upward That Body that then fell is to be raised again and no other Body than that This Mortal Body shall be quickened by the Spirit of Christ that now falls to the ground The same Flesh that was separated from the Soul at death shall be united to it again The same Temple that was destroyed shall be re-built The same Tabernacle that was dissolved shall be raised We are bid to fear God who can destroy Soul and Body in Hell Mat. 10.28 What cause of fear if this very body be not to be raised * Resurgere non est nisi ejus quod cecidit Tert. advers Marc. l. 5. c. 9. This Corruptible must put on Incorruption this Mortal put on Immertality As the Body of Christ which is our Exemplar with which he rose was the same that he deposited in the Grave and as the bodies of those whom our Saviour raised when he was on Earth were the same with those in which they died And how shall the Graves and Sea give up their Dead at the Last Day Rev. 20.13 What need of this if the same Bodies are not to be raised for they can give up no other Bodies than what they received These
and made thee meet for it These Desires it is true are but faint and weak to what the promised salvation may Justly chalenge yet they are holy and sincere and have God and Christ and his blessed Presence above for their Object thou hast his Image and seal imprinted on thy Nature Mind and Will This Evidence and Experience in thy self shall no be deseated in its Tendency and Designt SECT II. Secondly In our Contemplation of this happy State which the saints desire beyond the Grave we ought to remember that though the Glorious Change of the Body be one part the Felicity of the Soul is the principal one Yea the Glory of departed Souls is one great Cause and Means of that happy Change which we expect for the Body To be with Christ and behold his Glory and partake of it does especially refer to the Soul We shall see him as he is and in that respect be made like him We are now the Children of God by free Grace and Adoption but his admirable Love will not desist till our Consormity to his Image be more compleat till we are brought to his Presence and partake of his Holiness to that degree as to be the objects of his eternal Complacence and Delight Father I will says Christ that those that thou hast given me should be with me to behold my Glory Then all our Sins and Failings all our Follies and Infirmities all our Wrinkles and Blemishes all our Transgressions and Imperfections shall be done away and our Souls shall be washed white in the Blood of the Lamb being conformed to our Divine Pattern The lesser Manifestations of the Spiritual Glory of Christ which we have sometimes here are highly valuable to a Saint but unspeakably short of that which we expect these hereafter will be more clear more transforming more satisfactory and more lasting We now see through a Glass but darkly but we shall know as we are known for we shall see him as he is We hope for an inlightened and inlarged Mind to behold the Excellency and Radiancy of the Divine Perfections shining in and through our glorified Redeemer This will oblige the most Improved Saint that ever left this Earth to cry out with the Queen of Sheba concerning Solomon that the one half was never told them was not known or believed before And if we are changed into his Image by beholding his Glory in the Gospel-glass the Vision hereafter will be more clear and so the Change will be greater and the Delight and Complacence resulting from it must needs be unspeakably more And this is our Comfort that it will be such as shall last for ever If we have any Glymps of him at present by the Light of Faith we quickly lose the sight again How soon does an interposing Cloud hide him from us But the Felicity of the Blessed Vision above will be permanent we shall dwell for ever in the joyful Light of his Countenance and abide with him continually in the Heavenly Mansions SECT III. Thirdly Let us then indeavour to confirm our Faith in the Expectation of this blessed State for Soul and Body after Death Let us keep the Grounds of Faith visible in our Eye let us imploy our Thoughts frequently and seriously upon the blessed Object Let us deeply and often consider the cogent Reasons upon which we believe and expect such things both the intrinsick Grounds of Faith and the Motives of Credibility that our Assent may be the more firm and lasting that our Christian Faith may influence us as present things are wont to do Did we not look upon the great things of the other Life as uncertain we could not but reckon them preferable to the best of our present Injoyments Did we believe them we could not but desire 〈…〉 for our not desiring that blessed State but our criminal Infidelity that we believe it not For were we but fully perswaded of the truth of the Promises we must needs imbrace them for their Goodness and Excellency and then we should long till Death did draw aside the Vail open the Gate of Heaven and bring us into the Divine Presence But we waver and doubt concerning the invisible future World and hence it is that we close with what is Present because we are not equally perswaded of the Truth and Cortainty of what is Future Let us then indeavour to strengthen and confirm our Faith SECT IV. Fourthly Let us regulate our Affections and Carriage in this Earthly Tabernacle as Persons who believe and expect such a glorious Change Let us pass the time of our Sojourning in this World as Pilgrims and Strangers Let us abstain from fleshly Lusts that War against our Souls Let us use both our Souls and Bodies answerable to the belief of such things Let us watch lest we are surprized into sin by our bodily Senses Appetites and Imagination Let us remember that the Soul and Body like two diseased Creatures bound together in one chain do now mutually infect corrupt and Poyson one another Let us take heed of sin by the inordinate Love of Bodily Pleasure or the undue fear of Bodily Suffering Let us imitate the Pattern of Christ while he dwelt in a Body and labour to have the same Mind which he had to be in this World as he was in it Lot the good and evil of this World have less powerful impression upon us Let us not be over fond of the Pleasures of the Animal Life may they every day be less considerable with us Let us not so love the Body as on that account to decline any present Duty much less so over-love it as to prefer the Comforts of the present Life to a future Felicity Let us not regret over much that such an earthly Tabernacle must fall into dust that such a perishing Body must dissolve and lye in the Grave We are sensible how weak and useless it was for a good while at first before the Body was fitted for the service of the Soul and we cannot but be sensible what a Trouble and Temptation it has been since Let the burdens and inconveniences of the bodily Life be more tolerable let us not be impatient under them let us be willing that the outward Man decay so that the inward Man be renewed let our Judgment and Esteem our Desires and Indeavours our Joys and Sorrows be rectified and moderated as to all that refers to the Body and this Present Life Let our Eyes and Hearts be fixed on the Heavenly State let us remember we are a sort of Creatures related to the other World though we dwell at present in an earthly Tabernacle In the midst of our earthly Comforts let us think of the Heavenly State and Lise as infinitely better Let us keep alive the Desires of the Presence of Christ and fuller Conformity to him in the height of our Temporal Prosperity Let the believing Thoughts of the Caelestial State be unspeakably sweeter to us than the best of all this
of his glory here can make me brook so long a separation otherwise whatever the League be between me and this Body I had rather be with Christ though that be dissolved If there be no way to come to Heaven but by Dying I would rather dye to be there than live in this absence from Christ my Saviour that I may doubt of his love no more and feel no more effects of his displeasure that he may hide his Face from me no more but with everlasting Compassions receive and imbrace me And what is there in Death that I should fear it that is half so frightful and grievous as my Absence from Christ What is there in this earthly Tabernacle or in this present World that I should so love an abode in it and not be willing to quit it that I may be present with the Lord O let him call me when he will if he will receive my departing Soul Let him draw me through the dust of the Earth if he will draw me nearer to himself and bring me to his blessed Presence 'T is there I long to be 't is that my heart is set upon that is it I groan for I am desirous of his Presence to behold his Glory and receive the Communications and Reflections of it Henceforth I would not be unwilling and backward to go unto him but rather say O when shall I come and appear before him But there is a fourth Particular to which I hasten SECT VI. Fourthly The Vnequal Communications of Light and Grace and Comfort from Christ while in the Body make them thus groan to be uncloth'd There is not that steddiness and Constancy in such Communications from God in our present State as hereafter there will be neither is it suitable to the Character and Condition of Strangers and Travellers that there should Sometimes therefore we may have better Entertainment than at other times we may not expect to have the same Sunshine and Fair weather during our whole Pilgtimage The Light of God's Countenance may be sometimes cover'd and overcast The inward state of things between God and our Souls may be often alter'd But when we shall be at home in our Father's House in the presence of our Lord there will be a fulness of uninterrupted Joy and unchangeable Pleasure Christians are now sometimes in the Mount and then again in the Valley Sometimes they can Rejoyce soon after they are Mourning and Dejected Sometimes the Love of God is strong and vigorous soon after the Love of the World prevails again in some sad Instance or other to grieve the Holy Spirit of God and cause him to withdraw Sometimes they can apply the Promises with Comfort and go to God with Holy Confidence as to their Father and think of Eternity and another World with transporting Joy and of the Heavenly Inheritance as their own with raised Desires and Delight within a Day or two it may be they are again plunged in the Mire and sunk into the depths of Darkness and Discouragement so as not to be able to hold up their heads Sometimes at the Table of the Lord they have Refreshing Views of the Glory of Christ in his Love and Grace as bearing the Curse which they deserv'd as manifesting his special Kindness and Sealing his Love with particular Application to their Souls as Interested in all the Benefits of his Meritorious Death Hereby they are Reviv'd and Quickned and Strengthned and enabled to say I am as one who hath found favour in his sight My Beloved is mine and I am his He led me into his Banqueting-House his Banner over me was Love He called to me as to the Unbelieving Disciple Come reach hither thy hand thrust it into my side and heart see how I have loved thee Come feel the print of the Spear and of the Nails in my Hands and Feet see what I suffer'd for thee to express my Love What can I deny thee after this Upon this an exulting Joy must needs ensue but it did not last And it may be the next Month they bewail that it is quite otherwise with 'em Sometimes their hearts are enlarged and delighted in Prayer Thansgiving Sabbaths Sacraments c. 'T is their Joy sometimes to go to the House of God and call upon his Name and be employed in Heavenly Work to Sing the High Praises of God in the Solemn Assemblies But this is not constant and equal not always alike Could a Christian Act Faith at all times as sometimes he is enabled to do could he every day feel the Love of Christ and express his own as sometimes could he always resign devote yeild himself to the Lord with that entire Adoration Submission and Satisfaction in the divine Will and Glory Goodness and Wisdom as sometimes and on some Occasions he would hardly believe himself a stranger and Foreinner in this world he would be tempted to take Earth for Heaven and say t is Good to be here But whatever Influences of Grace and Comfort we now receive they are not steddy equal and constant and t is but fit that we who are only Passengers through this World and are not at home should be thus made sensible of our true Character and Condition and not find the Way or Weather alike good or our own Health equal or our Accommodations Provisions and Entertainment here This helps to make as long for a Better State and Life CHAP. V. Of the Resurrection of the Body It is Possible Probable and Certain Some have been raised from the Dead Where were their Souls during their Separation from their Bodies Christ's Resurrection of the Body farther illustrated and proved SECT I. The Fourth thing proposed is to prove that this Blessed state and Life which Christians desire and long for is not such a one wherein they are to be alway without a Body but to have their Bodies raised changed and glorified or to be cloathed upon with an House from Heaven The Possibility of the Resurrection of the Body the Probability and the Certainty of it have been often and largely * See Dr. Peirson Dr Towerson c. on the Creed Art XI of the Resurrection of the Body And Mr. Baoeter's Saints Rest Part 1. Chap. 5. and Self-denial Chap. 38. proved That it is possible both on the part of the Agent and Patient Who that considers the Divine Omniscience and Power can doubt but that God can remake an Humane Body of that Dust into which it is resolved and however it be dispersed find out and rally the several parts together and unite them one to another What Impossibility is it that the despersed parts of a Man's Body should be disposed into their due Scituation and Order and reduced to a Temper fit to discharge the Functions and Operations of Life and that the Soul should be Re-united to a Body thus Restored How is it impossible Or why should it be Difficult to him who did at first frame and temper this Body
out of the Dust and inspire a Reasonable Soul into it and out of a meer Chaos make this Beautiful World who formed and fashioned our Bodies in the Womb which is as strange an instance of Allmighty Power as the Resurrection from the Dead will be who gives us every Morning and every Spring a little Representation of the Resurrection of the Dead Who makes the dry Bones to live and is able to subdue all things to himself Therefore to such as doubt or deny this we must say as our Saviour to the Sadduces You err not knowing the Scriptures nor the Power of God Or we may Expostulate as St. Paul doth * Acts 26.8 What Doth it seem incredible to you that God should raise the Dead Is there any Atome of our Dust can escape his Knowledge though cloathed with different forms and figures and hath passed through various changes swallowed by Beasts or consumed by Fire or scattered by the Wind Doth not the Foundation remain though it put on a variety of forms May not the Substance be intire notwithstanding all the transforming alterations that can be supposed The Divine Knowledge being infinite and his Providence reaching to the least as well as to the greatest parts of the World to the beginning progress and dissolution of every one he may easily call forth every part when the appointed time comes for the Re-union of Soul and Body We must question the Divine Omniscience as well as Power if we doubt of this And are there not many things in the first Creation every whit as incredible as the Collection of our scatter'd Dust and compacting these dispersed Atomes into an Humane Body Can it be harder to restore those things that were than to create those things that were not * See Dr. Barrow's Works 2 Vol. p. 520. Is it more difficult to an Infinite Arm to Allmighty and Invincible Power to do this than to make both Soul and Body at first Is not the Blessed Redeemer who hath all Power in Heaven and Earth able to make good his Word who is also the Amen the faithful and true Witness and therefore to deceive us with a Promise and Expectation of what he cannot or will not do would be an eternal Reflection his Truth and Holiness and other Attributes SECT II. God hath already raised Some from the Dead whereof we have Instances both in the Old Testament and in the New Many were raised by Christ himself and many of the Saints came out of their Graves at the Death of Christ and went into the Holy City and appeared publickly to many If it be inquired Where were the Souls of those that were thus raised during the space between their Death and Resurrection This being not to be known but by Revelation and that speaking nothing of it we may safely acknowledge our Ignorance It was a peculiar Case that does not make a general Rule and therefore our Inquiry about it must be very wary It is sufficient to say they were in the hands of God where-ever they were What if there were a particular Dispensation in regard of them different from the case of those who are not to be raised till the last day Nothing can well be proposed in Answer to such a Question but what is conjectural Therefore rejecting all Suppositions that cannot be reconciled to other express Doctrines and Articles of Christianity we may say * Aeuures de Mr. Claude Lettre 16. That either they were received to Heaven or remained in the Air at a little distance from the Body Or they continued in the Body which was to be quickly raised again without animating and informing that Body If we say the first and that these Souls returned from Heaven to their Bodies again for the Manifestation of the Glory of Christ in such a Miracle it is no more unsuitable and unbecoming an Holy Soul to be willing of this and to be thus imployed than was the Humiliation of the Son of God for the Glory of his Father If we say the Second that they remained in the Air not far from the Body it being but for a little while What Inconvenience or ill Consequence can be assigned of such a Supposition If we rather chuse the Third way of solving this it is considerable what the Apostle Paul speaks of Eutichus whom he raised from the * Acts 20.10 Dead Be not troubled for his Life his Soul is in him though it did not then animate and inform his Body As to those who were raised at the time of Christ's death it was only for a little while to 〈◊〉 Testimony to our Lord and then they laid down their Bodies again and returned to the Rest and Glory of departed Souls SECT III. But The Resurrection of our Blessed Saviour is the great thing here to be considered as an Argument both of the Possibility and Certainty of our Resurrection For thus the Apostle Argues at large 1 Cor. 15. v. 12. If it be Preached and Proved and Assured to us that Christ is Risen How is it that some say There is no Resurrection of the Dead that is How can any deny the possibility of it when there is such an Evidence and Proof How can it be doubted but that the same Power which raised Christ from the dead can also quicken our mortal Bodies when the exceeding greatness of his mighty power was displayed in * 1 Eph. 19.20 raising Christ from the dead His Resurrection assures us that his Death and Sacrifice were Satisfactory to the Justice of God and all the Promises that concern the Blessings of the eyerlasting Covenant the sure Meâ—â—â—â—â—â— of David are hereby confirmed 〈…〉 32 33 34. We declare unto you 〈…〉 how that the Promise which was made 〈◊〉 the Fathers God hath fulfilled the 〈◊〉 unto us their Children in that he hath raised up Jesus again as it is also written 〈◊〉 the second Psalm Thou art my Son thâ—â— day have I begotten thee And as conâ—â—â—â—â—ng that he raised him up from the dead 〈◊〉 no more to return to corruption he said on this wise I will give you the sure Mercies of David And therefore after his Resurrection he saluted his Disciples with Peace John 20.21 And God as the God of peace is said to raise Christ from the Dead For had he not been reconciled he would have left him in the Grave Now both the Moral and the Natural Impossibility of our Resurrection is removed by the Death and the Resurrection of Christ The former by the Merit of his Death and the latter by his Resurrection for he can do the same for all Believers If his Power be not sufficient to raise us it could not be sufficient to raise him He is now a * 1 Cor. 15.45 Quickening Spirit able to give Life as the first Adam to transmit Death to his Posterity And he was raised as a publick person and the Head of his Church Our Persons are redeemed by Christ as