Souls in separation one from another can think or love or do any thing else whatsoever and I desire to be informed of the contrary by any that know of such things separately done and without the conjunction of them both together P. 56. He says God is not prais'd by Bodies but by Souls I reply not by Souls without Bodies but by Men he is praised during the Conjunction of their Souls and Bodies but by the breaking of that Union all human actions loose their Power and Performances which by the Resurrection shall at last be restored with greater Capacities than before were enjoyed He says he desires to love God perpetually and for ever I cannot blame him for it for whilst he can do so he shall have a perpetual security from the stâ—oke of Death concerning which the Hymn of Hezekiah when he was drawn out of the jaws of Death doth sufficiently instruct us He says he cannot desire any Good but God wills it as much or more I reply he may lawfully desire a good and large Estate with design and intent to destribute liberally to the Poor but neither I nor he do think God oblig'd to will as he wills in this point or many other like occasions P. 57. He demands would God give Man a desire to a good thing and not give him the good thing desired I reply God gives and allows to Men the desire of many good things which he gives them not the power to attain unto He quotes our Lords direction to pray and promises that whatsoever we pray for in his Name he will give us Whence he may as well warrant the good success of a Prayer requesting him to give us Fortunatus's Purse or something equivalent thereunto P. 51. He says there are in the Scripture sufficient Evidences if not self evident proof that the Soul is immortal I reply I have not yet been so fortunate as to meet with sufficient Evidence to that purpose in the Scripture and much less with those self-evident proofs which he says may be found there And I lay very much blame upon him for not producing such Evidences and Self-proving Arguments as he knows to be there for the Conviction of those honest Hearts for whose sakes he hath invented all these Arguments of his own and which have very little force or coertion in them The third Argument which he calls his last for proof of the Souls Immortality he draws from the nature and manner of the Resurrection and says that if the Soul die and perish with the Body then at the resurrection the Soul which rises cannot be the same with that which dyed but one newly created for informing the rising Body and which cannot be conscious of what was done in the person formerly dead and so not deserving Reward or Punishment for works done by the Person now rising in his former Soul and Body To this I reply that nothing can have a real and true resurrection to Life which was not really and truly dead before And therefore if the Soul have a real and true Resurrection at the last day it must have had a true and real Death perishing or extinguishment before that time Whence if it be to have a true and future Resurrection it must die and perish with the Body whose amicable concomitant it always is both in the procreation at the Birth in the Life at the Death and in the Resurrection of the Person And as to the sameness of that Soul with that that perished at the death it shall be as much the same as the Body rising shall be the same with that that dyed And herein I do further conceive that we cannot properly hold a discourse concerning the Resurrection of the Body or the Soul separately consider'd there being nothing either in Reason or Scripture upon which Men can ground their Apprehensions of a Resurrection of either of them separate from the other But if we will speak properly and truly of the Resurrection we must say with St. Paul 1 Cor. 15. that it is the Resurrection of the Dead not of the Body or Soul but of the Person which comprehends them both as the two main and constituent parts thereof He says there v. 32. If the dead rise not let us eat and drink for too morrow we dye And there is an end of us then he demands if the Dead be raised with what Bodies do they come without making any enquiry concerning the Soul which I conceive he past as a necessary principle which must give Life to the Body and constitute the raâ—sed Person The Apostles Creed in our Language delivers as an Article of Faith the Resurrection of the Body but in so doing it de arts from its originals both of the Greek and Latin Languages in the express words of both which it is called and termed the Resurrection of the Flesh I find no sufficient reason why this variance from our Originals should be continued amongst us and do therefore wish the Correction or Amendment of it believing withal that the best and most proper expression of our Faith in this point used in the Niceen-creed by the words I look for the Resurrection of the Dead by which I conceive is intended the dead persons constituted of Souls and Bodies the same or after the same sort and manner as they formerly liv'd in this World able to account for all they did whilst they before lived here and to receive just Recompences according to their Works done in this Life Here when Men dye they are commonly said to sleep with their Fathers and the faithful especially are said to dye in the Lord and to rest from their Labours 1 Thess 4. They are said to sleep in Christ and Solomon directs to remember these days of darkness for that they shall be many and therefore we must remember them that we may be prepared for them by keeping our Lights and Lamps burning and shining till death extinguish them and our selves together by casting all into that sound sleep which Death only can afford us giving us thereby a perfect Rest from all Oppressions Maladies Temptations and Troubles Of which Men have an Umbrage or Similitude when they see Men folded in a very profound and sound Sleep out of which with pinching or beating they can with great difficulties be awaked And yet we find that Men roused out of such a Sleep after they have rubbed their Byes and have been throughly awakened can give a ready and reasonable account of the things which they have done before their falling asleep And of a like Nature with the rousing from such a Sleep I conceive the Resurrection of the Dead will be And if any Man will still be so curious as to puzzle himself and his opponent with the nice demands of how and by what means such things shall be done and would desire me to account de modo resurrectionis and the means by which it shall be acted and performed I shall only giving
And of this our daily Experience fully assures us by the sudden Death of those who pass out of this World by Hanging or Strugling which proves the want of this Breath to be a sudden and sure cause of Death Physicians have told us that if after the Childs perfection the Mother be ript open and the Child be taken from her in the Secondines it may live some Hours after without assistance from this Breath of Life but that after once it hath received this Breath whereby the flame of Life and Glowing of the Blood hath been kindled in it it can never after that live many Moments without such fanninig of the ambient Air drawn in through the Lungs as hath before been described An Umbrage or Similitude of this Operation we may read in Ezekiels Vision of the dry Bones of which there was a vast number then there was a shaking and the Bones came together Bone to his Bone then Flesh was super-induced over the Bones with the Arteries Sinues and Veins and all the rest of the Viscâ—ra to humane Bodies belonging after which the Skin was drawn over them all and yet they were still but dead Carcastes because as the Text says there was no Breath in them And therefore God directs the Pophet saying prophesie unto the Winds and say thus saith the Lord come from the four Winds O Breath and breath upon these slain that they may live and upon the Prophets doing so as he was directed the Breath came into them and they lived and stood up upon their Feet an exceeding great Army so as by the Winds breathing this Breath of Life and fanning the stems of their pullulent Blood and Humors the flame of Life was tinded and kindled in them by the Vertue and Activity of which they all aâ—ose stood up upon their Feet and became living Persons in the very same manner as Adam before had done And thus may be spared and saved that vast imployment which Men have needlesly put upon God of making or creating new Souls every day for all the several procreations in the World that bear the figure of a humane Shape be the coitions never so unlawful or bestial The sort of Soul last before described suits well with Moses Text concerning Adams Creation and agrees punctually with the resurrection of Ezekiels dry Bones and is a very probable and likely Specimen of that Resurrection which Men expect at the last Day and which we may look for with as great certainty as that there will be a too Morrow after the day now passing St. Paul thus testifying 1 Cor. 15.13 If there be no Resurrection of the Dead our Teaching is Vain and your Faith is also Vain ye are yet in your Sinns and all they that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished Whence it seems consequent that the expectations of future Recompenses to Christians is founded upon the resurrection of the Dead and if that could or should possibly happen to fail us it would make the whole Christian Religion an Oeconomy to become a vain pretence and of no benefit at all to them who profess it And our Apostle proceeds further upon this point to vers 29. and there in further proof of the Resurrection he says if in this Life only we have hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable and the reason why Christians would be so is because that in this Life they are obliged to deny themselves and to mortifie and sometimes to crucifie the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts which Men do in expectation of great Rewards and avoiding punishments promised and threatned in a future slate to come after this Life is ended all which are here applyed to prove a necessity and certainty of the Resurrection of the Dead Then still the Apostle goes on to vers 32. where he says If I have fought with Beasts at Ephesus what advantageth it me if the Dead rise not Let us eat and drink for too morrow we dye plainly intending that let Men suffer what they will for the Name and Faith of Christ those sufferings shall profit them nothing unless there be a Resurrection of the Dead And then the Apostle proceeds to say something concerning the manner of this Resurrection and to give further proof of the same from other Topicks And the same Apostle 1 Thess 4. directs the Disciples not to sorrow very much for their dead Friends because they shall have a Resurrection those who sleep with Jesus shall Christ bring with him at his second coming after he hath raised them by the voice of the Arch-Angel and the trump of God and then shall they be caught up into the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and so shall we ever be with the Lord adding comfort one another with these words He doth not say comfort your selves or one another with the hopes or expectations of your dead Friends Souls being gone to Heaven although if that were a Truth and known to him I think he could not reasonably or even possibly have omitted it in this place 2 Tim. 1.16 The Lord give Mercy to the House of Onesiphorus the Lord grant unto him that he may find Mercy of the Lord in that day chap. 4.7 I have fought a good fight c. and henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but to 〈◊〉 them who love his appearing which words plainly intend our Lords second coming Whence that day must intend the last Judgment 1 Pet. 4.13 Rejoyce in as much as ye are made partakers of Christs Suffering that when his Glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding great Joy cap. 5.4 He exhoâ—ts the Elders to be careful in their Offices and when the chief Shepherd shall appear ye shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away 2 Pet. 3 The same Apostle exhorts seeing the earthly World and all that is in it shall be burnt up and dissolved what manner of Persons ought ye to be in all holy Conversation and Godlyness looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God which though it be terrible to others shall to them be a great Recompence and Reward without mentioning an intermediate State of departed Souls 1 John 2 28. He exhorts the Disciples to abide in Châ—ist that when ye shall appear ye may have Confidence and not be ashamed before him at his Coming cap. 3.2 Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is mentioning no expectations of future Recompences till our Lords second Coming and time of our own Resurrection when we shall see him as he is and be made like unto him Jam. 5.7 exhorts the Disciples that under all their Afflictions they should be patient unto the
coming of the Lord which he says draws nigh without mentioning of any Reward after Death untill the Coming of the Lord. And thus I have quoted a cloud of knowing Witnesses to prove that the hope of Recompences future to this Life is founded upon the firm Rock of the Resurrection and Christs coming to Judgment without mention of a separate state of Souls or other in ermediate Recompences between Death and Judgment and to strengthen the Hope and Belief of those few honest Hearts which our Writer has us'd his best endeavour to over throw and pervert We read Gen. 6.17 God says to Noah I do bring a flood of Waters upon the Earth to destroy all Flesh wherein is the Breath of Life c 7.22 All in whose Nostrils was the Breath of Life of all that was in the dry Land dyed I conceive these Texts do very well explain what is meant or intended by the Words God breath'd into Adams Nostrils the breath of Life whereby he presently became a living Person It seems such a Breath as tinded and kindled in his Blood and Humours and the stems thereof that flame or Spirit of Life which immediately acted his organical Body and gave Life and Motion thereunto and continued to perform that Office in him during the whole time of his Life and in no other manner then it is known to do among the Beasts that perish The breath of all their Nostrils was stopt by suffocation in that deluge and thereby was fully verified what is said by Solomon Eccles 3.19 concerning Men and Beasts as the one dyeth so dyeth the other yea they have all one Breath So that herein a Man hath no preeminence above a Beast all are of the Dust and all turn to Dust again and who knoweth the Spirit of a Man that goeth upward or the Spirit of a Beast that goeth downward to the Earth By which it seems he did not know there was such a difference between the Spirits of Men and Beasts yet that there was among the Men of his time an Opinion or Conjecture that there was or might be such a difference between the Spirits of Men and Beasts concerning which he demands who knows the truth of it Which seems pregnant with this Negative that no Man doth with any clearness know whether there be such a difference between their Spirits or not after which he says chap. 12.7 That when Men dye The Dust shall return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit shall return to God who gave it In his third chap. the matter is argued more at length and with greater deliberation whereas the latter seems but a sudden Expression and without a serious debating upon the matter but thereunto I have made a larger Answer in another Treatise Psal 104.29 David says to God Thou hidest thy Face they are troubled thou takest away their Breath they dye and return to their Dust viz. The Children of Men do so Isa 2.22 Cease ye from Man whose Breath is in his Nestrils for wherein is he to be accounted of Dan. 5.23 Daniel says to Belshazzar thou hast highly honoured thy puppit Gods but the God in whose Hand is thy Breath thou hast not glorified Acts 17.25 Paul tells the Athenians that God needs not their Service or any thing else that the World has in it seeing he giveth to all Life and Breath and all things Upon which I conceive that the expressions of Life and Breath if they be not consignificant are of a similar Nature one to another and may intend the Breath which gives Life A Spirit of the same Nature with that which God breathed into Adams Nostrils at the time of his Creation By the Texts before quoted I stand at the present convinced that the Breath of Life which God breathed into Adams Nostrils was not an immaterial intelligent substance but was of a similar Nature to that before quoted Gen. 7.22 where it is said all in whose Nostrils was the Breath of Life dyed and such as was prophetically call'd for by Ezekiel to come from the four Winds a Breath to breath upon those slain Persons now ready for Life that they might live The Breath of Life which by God was breathed into Adams Nostrils I yet conceive as I have before delivered to have been common Air breathed into him in such a moderate Proportion as might kindle and inflame his Blood and Humours and the stems of them ready and ripe for that operation and activity which the Spirits of Blood so kindled might impart to them and that it was not an extraneous substantial intelligent Spirit created by God at that time and for that purpose And I am ready and desirous to put the whole state of the Controversie upon the true and clear desiding of this Question being ready to grant that if God did create a new substantial intelligent Spirit for that purpose and infused the same into Adams Body for the informing thereof at his Creation that then it is likely he may so continue to do and create new Souls for all persons procreated in humane shapes all the World over and in all ages of it from Adams Creation to our present time But if that Breath of Life which God breathed into Adams Nostrils was only formed of the common ambient Air breathed into him with a fitting moderation for tinding and kindling the flame of Life in his Blood and Humours and the stems thereof then ripe and ready for that Operation then it is likely that God did neither form and make a substantial intelligent Spirit for the acting of Adams Body nor that he hath created such Spirits for Men in the Ages following but that rather such substantial intelligent Spirits have drawn their Original from the apprehensions and Imaginations of Men and because I think the same to be a mistake I do willingly contribute my best endeavours for the rectification thereof and to bring all disputes concerning the same to such a determination as shall be most agreeable to the tenor of Scripture and the clearest rules and dictates of reason that Men are able to attain unto for the more sudden attaining of which end I have propounded to put the whole Controversie upon the determination of this single point whether God did create for Adam a spiritual intelligent Soul or not If my opponents be able to prove with intelligible clearness that he did so then I am ready to give up unto them the Opinion which I maintain in this Controversie and if they be not able to prove the Creation before mention'd they may if they please forbear further to oppose the maintainers of my Opinion concluding thereupon that if they neither can perform one part of the demand nor will submit to the other we shall still be obliged to proceed on both sides to the further examination of the whole Controversie and those many points and arguments which thereupon have risen and are likely to be referred to a further Examination and Determination P. 59 He says he is well able to prove the essence of the Soul to be thinking by fundamental arguments but refuses to do it now because he says it is beside his present purpose But I differ in Opinion and think if he be able to do it that proof will ever be to very good purpose and therefore I request him to bestow his pains upon it believing yet that he will never be able to make a good performance of it viz. that there is either such a Soul in Man as he pretends nor that thinking is the essence of it allowing what he hath before spoken to be true that of that which is not there can be neither effect nor essence P. 60. He would have Men to bring their Minds to such an abstractedness as to lay aside all thoughts of bodily things and all thoughts that come by occasion of Body and then to reflect upon what you find remaining until your Mind hath a reflex and clear knowledge of it self I conceive that this Advice tends to perswade Men to give over all thinking upon the things which they know and to think altogether upon they know not what and so to become distracted as he professes he hath sometime been The remaining Pages of this Pamphlet speak only concerning himself and his own personal actings and sufferings with which I have no design or inclination to meddle and therefore my Observations upon this Pamphlet shall here be concluded and finished FINIS