the Earth Tho Angelick Spirits were originally placed in the superiour World Heaven was their first Habitation yet the Human Body was lodged in the Earth at its first Formation this is the place of its Residence and must be while in its present State and Condition Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 15.50 Heaven is too pure an Air for our Animal Bodies to breath in till they shall be purified and refined and endued with those excellent Qualities which will fit them for such a noble Region Therefore so long as our Souls continue in our Bodies they have but an Earthly Lodging tho their Motions and Operations may reach to Heaven yet their Essential Residence is in the Earth on this account while we are present in the Body we are absent from the Lord 2 Cor. 5.16 While we dwell in this Tabernacle we sojourn in a polluted and troublesome World a place to which Sin hath introduced the greatest Disorder and Confusion where Iniquity abounds and where many Occasions of Grief are continually ministred to us a Vale of Tears a Field of War a Stage of Contention and a waste and howling Wilderness 3. Upon the account of those Means whereby it is supported and refreshed Our Bodies in their present State would immediately fall if they were not propp'd up and repair'd by Earthly Comforts viz. Meat Drink Physick and Raiment All the Conveniences of Life which we value and prize which we industriously labour for and after which our Affections do often run in an immoderate degree are nothing better than Earth An Earthly Body is only capable of Earthly Enjoyments 4. Upon the account of its Disposure and Resolution When Death rends the Soul from the Embraces of the Body then the Dust returns to the Earth as it was Eccles 12.7 it is turned into common Earth and laid in a Bed of Dust Thus much for the Description of the State and Condition of the Human Body in this Life I proceed Secondly To the second thing contain'd in the words viz. An implicite Assertion of its Dissolution If it were dissolved Tho the conditional Conjunction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if is here made use of yet it doth not import any Hesitation or Doubt in the Apostle's Mind concerning the Dissolution of his Body as if it were uncertain whether it should be dissolved or not but that Conjunction hath the same Signification here with the Adverb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 when and so the words may be render'd thus When our Earthly House of this Tabernacle shall be dissolved We find that this Particle hath the same Signification Joh. 16.7 1 Joh. 3.2 so that these words do amount to an Assertion of the Body's Dissolution For what Comfort could arise to the Apostle and his Fellow-Sufferers from the Thoughts of their Entrance into an Heavenly Habitation after the Dissolution of their Bodies if they were not assured that some time or other they should be dissolved We read of a twofold Dissolution made by Death in Sacred Writ viz. a Dissolution of the Person or the Man Phil. 1.23 I desire to depart or as the original word may properly be render'd to be dissolved this consists in the Separation of the Soul from the Body and a Dissolution of the Body in my Text. This is a Metaphor taken from the Destruction of Buildings the Overthrow of Earthly Fabricks When a Structure is demolished it is said to be dissolved for so the Original Word whereby the Ruine of the Temple is exprest Mat. 24.2 Mark 13.2 most properly signifies In Allusion hereunto the Death of the Body is called its Dissolution Now pursuant to the Metaphor several things are imply'd in the Body's Dissolution 1. The Continuance of its Matter after Death When an House is demolished tho it loseth its Form yet the Matter still remains it is not annihilated The Matter of the Human Body passeth through various Changes after Death yet it is not reduced to nothing for if it were at the great Day there could not be a Resurrection but a new Creation of Human Bodies Whereas the Scripture assures us that the same Body which dies shall live and rise again Tho it may be accidentally and with respect to its Qualities another Body yet it will be essentially and with respect to its Substance the same 2. The Destruction of its Form When a Building falls its Form is lost tho its Matter remains the same Effect doth Death produce in the Body Herein these two things may be comprehended 1. The loss of its Beauty and Comeliness What Beauty is there in the Rubbish of the most splendid and stately Palace Surely there is nothing in it that can attract the Admiration and Esteem of those who behold it They who delighted to view and walk in a House while standing will turn their Eyes from its Ruines The Beauty of the most amiable Body becomes a Prey to Death when it is seized by this mighty Conqueror Death draws a dismal Vail over all its Glory and makes very unlovely and deforming Impressions on it The Bodies of our deceased Relatives which we formerly beheld with great Delight would be now very unpleasant Spectacles to us we cannot without Regret turn our Eyes towards the Corps of our dearest Friend but are willing soon to bury it out of our Sight 2. The loss of its Excellency and Usefulness What Value is there in the Rubbish of a fallen Sructure which while standing was worth many thousands or what use can it serve for Tho a living Body is exceeding valuable yet a dead Body is of no more Worth than common Earth and it is as useless and unprofitable The Eyes Tongue Hands and Feet which were all active Members and perform'd many Operations when seized by Death become wholly unactive they lose their Motion and Activity when bound with its Adamantine Chains and Fetters Those Bodies of our Relations which were very serviceable to us while in the Land of the living can do us no good when numbred among the Dead 3. In the Dissolution of the Body may be imply'd its entrance into the Grave and corrupting there A standing House is raised above the Ground but a fallen House lies level with it and the Materials thereof are separated and divided When Mens Bodies die they are laid in the Grave which is the House appointed for all living They enter into the place of Silence and of Darkness and there they moulder away and crumble to Dust 4. Herein may be implied the various ways whereby the Structure of the Human Body decays and is destroyed Some Buildings fall down of themselves Time the Consumer of all material Things upon the Earth destroys them other Fabricks are blown down by violent Winds others fall by the force of devouring Flames and others are demolish'd by Men. In like manner some Mens Bodies may be said even to fall of themselves because no internal Distemper nor external Violence is the Cause of
the Heavenly Inheritance in his Royal Palaces and holy Temples Our Apostle expresseth the like Assurance 2 Tim. 4.8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judg shall give me at that day Holy Job also exprest his Assurance of future Glory in his adverse State Job 19.25 26 27. I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth And tho after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet in my Flesh shall I see God c. Tho all who have a Faith of Affiance do not attain to a Faith of Assurance yet it is attainable in a Mortal State Thus much by way of Explication II. I shall present you with some Inferences from the Words First I infer The prodigious Folly of those who give their Bodies the Preference to their Souls It is the part of a wise Man to value things in proportion to their Worth and Excellency But the generality of Mankind show that their Corporeal Part hath a greater share of their Esteem than their Spiritual Part They carefully provide Food and Raiment for the former but never seek after the Bread of life to feed and the Robe of Christ's Righteousness to array the latter They will labour hard to erect or purchase a comfortable Habitation for their Bodies but do not at all endeavour to secure an happy Dwelling-place for their Souls when they enter into an invisible World They will hazard the loss of their Souls to secure their Bodies from Temporal Evils or to procure those things which will gratify the sensitive Appetite What Madness is it to prefer a Clod of Earth to a Spirit Is not that a foolish Soul that values its sojourning-place more than it self and will expose it self to eternal Ruine for the Preservation of its Earthly Tabernacle What stupid Fools are they who esteem their Bodies which are continually advancing towards and must speedily return to the Dust more than their Souls which shall survive them and live for evermore Surely such Persons are as the Horse or as the Mule which have no Understanding Secondly I infer The Folly of those who are proud of or glory in their Corporeal Strength or Beauty As Men are apt to boast of the exact Form and Strength of those Houses wherein their Bodies dwell so likewise of the Excellency of those Bodies wherein their Souls tabernacle But this will appear very foolish to us if we consider our Frame and remember that we are Dust Our Bodies were formed of the same Matter for kind that we trample under our Feet and disdain to touch with our Fingers Tho our Bodies are very robust yet they are but Earthen Vessels and will soon be broken to pieces In a very short time our Bodies must be dissolved and then all their Beauty and Strength will vanish and become a Prey to the King of Terrors Thirdly I infer The Vanity of placing our Happiness in our living Comforts our near and dear Relations We are exceeding prone to let out our Affections immoderately towards them to give them too high a Place too large a Room in our Hearts to think our selves happy in an Husband Wife or Children not considering they are frail mortal Creatures They can be no longer enjoy'd by us than while their Souls continue in their Bodies and those curious Fabricks which we behold with Pleasure and Delight keep their Station Did we seriously consider what frail brittle Houses their Souls inhabit how soon they may be demolished and in how short a time they shall be dislodged from them we should see it highly reasonable to moderate our Affections towards them O let the everliving everlasting God be the Darling of our Souls and the Soveraign of our Affections Fourthly I infer How necessary it is for us all speedily to endeavour after a Right and Title to an Heavenly Habitation To confirm this Assertion and to press you to this Duty I shall offer these things that follow to your Consideration 1. Your Souls are designed to a perpetual Residence in some Habitation The Father of Spirits hath resolved to preserve the Being and Life of your Souls for evermore no Period shall ever be put to their Existence and therefore when they leave their present Habitation they must enter into another There are but two Receptacles of departed Souls viz. an Heavenly Paradise and an Infernal Lake when your immortal Spirits are divorced from your Bodies they must either ascend to the former or descend to the latter And how can you bear to think of dwelling with consuming Fire and abiding with everlasting Burnings 2. Your Bodies shall enter into the same Habitation when re-assumed by your Souls into which your Souls enter when divested of your Bodies Where-ever your Souls go after Death there will your Bodies be disposed after the Resurrection If the noble Inhabitant dwells in Heaven the House that it dwelt in upon Earth when rebuilt shall be fixt in that glorious Region this Earthly Tabernacle shall become a Celestial Structure but if it be cast into Hell the raised Body must stand in that direful Prison as an everlasting Monument of Divine Wrath. By making Provision for your Souls you will also secure the Felicity of your Bodies their true Interest is inseparable 3. How terrible will the Agonies of Death be to us if we see our selves destitute of a Title to Eternal Life They who have disregarded their future State when the evil day of Death seem'd to be at a distance from them have had very aweful and terrible Thoughts about it when it hath made sensible Approaches to them With what Horror will your Souls be seised when Death sits upon your quivering Lips if you apprehend that they shall be speedily expelled your Bodies and eternally excluded the Heavenly Building 4. This Life is the only time for securing an Interest in this glorious Habitation As the Tree falls so it must eternally lie Death will fix us in an unalterable and unchangeable State Those Spirits that are now in Prison will find no place for Repentance tho they should seek it with Tears 5. The time of our Souls Residence in our Bodies is very uncertain Persons are very apt to defer this weighty and important Business some put it off to old Age others to a Sick-bed some think it will be time enough to seek after another Habitation when the Strength of their Earthly Tabernacles decays and they feel them shake and totter Our Lives will be but short at longest and how short they will be we know not Some are cut off in the Morning of their Days others in their full Strength we are not sure that Age will snow upon our Heads before they are laid in the Dust or that the Structure of our Bodies will by any loud Crack give us notice of its Downfal Some Bodies are demolished by a speedy and sudden Stroke their Souls are turn'd out of them without any
their Dissolution old Age hath dried up their natural Moisture exhausted their Strength and brought them down to the Dust their Life was like a Lamp that goes out when there is no more Oil to feed it The Bodies of others are destroyed by the immediate Stroke of God's Hand some Bodies are burnt up by the Heat or blown down by the Blast of violent Distempers others fall by Human Force and Violence That our Bodies must be dissolved we have a sacred Assurance from the God that made them He hath told us that the Body must return to the Earth from whence it came that he will bring us to Death and to the Grave which is appointed for all living It is appointed for all Men once to die Heb. 9.27 This Appointment is accomplished upon our Fellow-Creatures every day Man goes to his long Home and the Mourners continually walk about the Streets Yea many of our dear Relatives have been rent from our Embraces and hurried into the gloomy Territories of the King of Terrors some whose Bodies were stronger than ours and seem'd more able to hold out against a besieging Enemy Do not the continual totterings and shakings of our Earthly Tabernacles and the frequent Repairs which they stand in need of portend their Downfal So that the living may many ways know that they must die Thirdly I proceed to that Description which the Apostle gives of the blessed State and Habitation of the Saints after Death We have a Building of God an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens The Apostle carries on the same Metaphor in the latter part which he made use of in the former part of the Verse As he compares the Soul's Residence in the Body to that of an Inhabitant in an House so he represents the Glory and Felicity of the Soul after the Dissolution of the Body by its Entrance into and Abode in a more glorious Habitation But what this House is whereof the Apostle speaks is not yet agreed among Expositors Some do thereby understand the same Body which the Soul now dwells in and must be dislodged from when raised again at the last day Others think the Apostle intends that Glory and Blessedness into which the Souls of Believers enter immediately after their Separation from their Bodies It is certainly true that the Earthly Tabernacles of the Saints shall not always lie in the Dust that the Divorce between their Souls and them will not be perpetual but they shall be raised from their Graves and reassumed by their antient Possessors and then the Soul will have a more noble Habitation than now it hath the Body will be much more excellent and glorious than it is in its Mortal State And it is as certain that the Soul will not be without an Habitation when it is by its great Landlord turned out of its Earthly House but will enter into the blissful Regions above I conceive the latter to be principally intended for the Apostle comforts himself with the well-grounded Hopes of that Glory to which Death would introduce him When our Earthly House of this Tabernacle is dissolved we have a Building of God an House c. i. e. we shall enter into it and become Possessors of it And in the following Verses he expresseth a vehement Desire to be discharged from his Body that he might enter into this House now he would partake of the Glory of the Resurrection never the sooner for his speedy Dissolution the Bodies of all the Saints will be raised and glorified at the same time However I shall not exclude but include the former Sense in my farther Discourse of these words wherein we have a twofold Account of this Building or House viz. Negative and Affirmative 1. Negative It is a Building an House not made with Hands This Character agrees to the glorious Habitation of the Saints above in opposition to all Terrene Structures The splendid Palaces wherein Earthly Monarchs dwell were contrived by Human Skill and fram'd by the Hands of Men and consequently all their Excellency and Glory is of a carnal and sensible Nature The Tabernacle in the Wilderness was contriv'd by God himself and yet because Man had an Hand in the Erection thereof it is said to be made with Hands Heb. 9.11 24. But that glorious House in which the Saints shall dwell when they leave their Bodies was neither contriv'd by Human Art nor fram'd by Human Strength no Creatute was instrumental to the Erection of that stately Fabrick and the Glory thereof is not of a carnal and sensible Nature And the Saints Bodies at the Resurrection may in some sense be said to be made without Hands in opposition to those Bodies which they now carry about with them because tho these Structures will be materially the same that now they are yet there will be an accidental Alteration in them and whereas Man was instrumental to their first Production tho God only was their principal Efficient yet they shall be raised again by the immediate Operation of God It is observable that the Human Body of our blessed Lord is called a Tabernacle not made with Hands Heb. 9.11 not only in contra-distinction from the Jewish Tabernacle but also from all other Human Bodies because no active Principle but Divine Power produced it 2. This Building or House is described Affirmatively and that from three things It s Efficient its Situation and its Duration 1. It is described from its Efficient God it is a Building of God The Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to which God is subjoined denotes the Efficient Cause The Excellency of any Building is sutable to its Contriver and Builder Seeing Divine Wisdom and Power infinitely surpass Human surely the Works of God's Hands must transcend the Works of Mens Hands The glorious Place above is called a City whose Builder and Maker is God Heb. 11.10 Now this World which is the Saints present Habitation being made by God surely something more must be intended by his Erection of this House than the immediate Creation thereof by him It can import nothing less than that the Divine Being hath exerted more of his Power Wisdom and Goodness in this than in any other Fabrick which he hath erected and that the Blessedness of the Triumphant Saints is more immediately derived from God than any thing that is enjoyed in a Mortal State And there will be a more admirable display of the Divine Glory in the Resurrection of the Saints Bodies than there was in their Creation they will become as glorious and perfect as Human Bodies can be 2. From its Situation in the Heavens It is observable that some words are in the New Testament put in the Plural instead of the Singular Number particularly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heavens for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heaven Mat. 12.25 in my Text and several other places with a Design as I conceive emphatically to denote the Excellency and Glory of that lofty Region Not the
Aerial or Aetherial but the Imperial Heaven is here intended This is a place far superior to the Earth and therefore an Entrance into and Abode in it is sometimes mentioned as comprehensive of all that Felicity which is possest by those that inhabit it When the Soul of a Believer quits its Earthly Tabernacle it mounts up as on Eagle's Wings to the Heavenly Temple This is the Habitation of God's Holiness there the great Jehovah in a special manner dwells there are the brightest Discoveries of the Divine Splendor and the highest Adorations given to his most Excellent Majesty There the glorified Courtiers do not behold him through a Glass darkly but see him face to face In that Building dwells and reigns the Lord Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant When we shall be absent from the Body we shall be present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5.8 The Heaven must receive him until the times of restitution of all things There dwell an innumerable company of glorious Angels far more glorious than any of the Princes of this World and all the Spirits of Just Men that are made perfect This is not an Habitation of Violence and Oppression for no unclean thing can enter there The Inhabitants of this House are out of the reach of Satan and his malicious Off-spring they are not expos'd to the Hostile Attempts of the roaring Lion of Hell or his Whelps upon Earth They are liable to no troublesome Changes Heart-breaking Exercises perplexing Disappointments corroding Cares or sinful Infirmities This is a delectable and secure Habitation here is fulness of Joy here are Rivers of Pleasures which constantly refresh the glorified Soul In this House is Light without Darkness Day without Night Joy without Sorrow and Singing without Weeping The Soul that enters into this House hath the most intimate Fellowship with God the Master of it and a refreshing Communion with the blessed Angels and Saints who cohabit with it therein All things in this House are sutable to the Grandure and Magnificence of the Structure And when the Saints Bodies shall come forth from their Houses of Silence and Darkness and be reunited to their Souls they shall be received together with them into the Heavenly Jerusalem and shall share with them in the Felicity of that blessed Seat 3. It is described from its Duration Eternal This I conceive is predicated of this Heavenly Habitation in opposition to the Frailty of our Earthly Tabernacles which must be dissolved and then all our Temporal Comforts and Delights will vanish we shall no longer enjoy them The Celestial City hath immoveable Foundations it is subject to no Decay or Dissolution its Duration will run parallel with the Ages of Eternity And the Glory of that Place will last as long as the Place it self it is called a never-fading Crown an Incorruptible Inheritance and an Everlasting Kingdom The Divine Being in the Vision and Fruition of whom the Happiness of glorified Saints principally consists is to everlasting Moreover their Abode in this House will be as lasting as the Building they shall never be dispossest of or expell'd from it Tho the first Adam was driven out of an Earthly Paradise yet the spiritual Seed and Off-spring of the second Adam shall never be expell'd the Heavenly One And when their Bodies shall rise from their Beds of Dust they will live to die no more Death will have no Power to demolish these curious Fabricks for it shall be swallowed up in Victory 1 Cor. 15.54 This Mortal shall then put on Immortality Tho a little time wastes and consumes our Bodies in their present State yet there shall be no Diminution of their Excellency and Beauty in an endless Eternity when we become the Children of the Resurrection These Buildings will be always kept in their Vigor and Glory by the immediate Power of the supream Architect I proceed Fourthly To the comfortable Knowledg and Assurance which the Apostle and other Christians had concerning their present Right to and future Fruition of this Blessedness We know Herein we may consider the Subject We and the Predicate know 1. The Subject We. The Apostle here speaks only of those that were real Christians who had sincerely closed with and were united to the blessed Jesus they only have a Right and Title to and therefore they only have ground to expect and hope for this glorious Habitation They who come not under such a Character have reason to fear that when their Earthly Tabernacles shall be dissolved their Souls will enter into a different Habitation An House indeed contrived by infinite Wisdom and framed by Almighty Power and an eternal House but not in Heaven but in Hell an House where there is Blackness of Darkness inconceiveable Grief and intolerable Torment an House prepared for the Devil and his Angels wherein the Wicked must cohabit with and be tormented by those Apostate Spirits who left their Primitive Habitation for evermore An House wherein they shall be Exiles from God's comfortable Presence and every thing that is either really good or esteemed so by them But I conceive the Apostle speaks not here of all Saints for tho they may know and have ground to hope that when their Souls are dislodged from their Bodies they shall enter into this blissful Habitation yet all Believers have not attained to this Knowledg and Assurance thereof Clouds and Darkness do overspread some gracious Souls and they are filled with many Doubts and Fears concerning their spiritual and eternal State But he speaks concerning himself and some other Christians who had attained to and were in the Exercise of this Knowledg This leads me to the second thing viz. 2. The Predicate know This Knowledg here spoken of is a certain Knowledg a firm and full Perswasion that when their Bodies should be dissolved their Souls should be received into Heaven There are several things included in this Knowledg viz. a firm Belief of a future State of Blessedness provided for the Saints and into which they shall enter after Death This might be known from the Holy Scriptures wherein we have a sufficient Confirmation of this sacred Truth Moreover a firm Perswasion that they were interested in Christ and made meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light This they might know by comparing themselves with those Marks and Characters of the Heirs of Salvation which were laid down in sacred Writ by the lively exercise of their Faith upon Christ and by the Testimony of the holy Spirit bearing witness with their Spirits that they were the Children of God Lastly an Assurance of their Preservation in a State of Grace to a State of Glory This they might fairly collect from the Word of God wherein there is a full account of the Everlastingness of the Covenant of Grace the Immutability of Divine Love the Efficacy of Christ's Death together with the Constancy and Prevalence of his Intercession and the perpetual Residence of the holy Spirit the Earnest of