I know whom I have trusted and that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day 2 Tim. 1. 12. We shall all be desirous when we come to die to commit our Souls to God saying Lord into thy hands we commit our Spirits Why let us cheerfully bequeath our Souls to God now by the resignation of a holy Life that he may willingly receive them then at the resignation of a happy Death Let us devote our Souls to the service of that God from whom we had them Let us give them back to him that gave them us what more equal His giving of them was grace free mercy our returning of them to the Giver is Duty God calls for them My Son give me thy heart Prov. 23. 26. He requires to be lov'd with all the heart with all the soul and with all the strength Luke 10. 27. How câ—n we in reason or conscience deny it God gave us these Souls not to use as we list he made all things for his own glory Our Souls are his let us therefore according to the Apostles counsel glorifie him in our Souls which are his They are not at our own dispose we are not Masters of them Have we promised them to Sin and Satan We may retract our promise A promise unlawfully made may lawfully be broken yea cannot lawfully be kept We gave what is none of our own such a gift is therefore void in Law Our Souls are Gods Do they think of this who are so free of their Dammeâ—s Poor wretches How madly do they give away their Souls Should God say Amen to such Imprecations what would become of them Are Souls so cheap Did they cost so small and contemptible a price when Christ shed his Blood to redeem them that we should make so little accompt of them Let us remember whence we had our Souls and let that make us mind their welfare and take care what becomes of them Did they come from God from Heaven It were sad they should go to Satan to Hell This is not for them to return but to wander to be lost And what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole World and lose his Soul Matth. 16. 26. 4. Are our Souls from God Let us then mind more their Divine Original think of our Countrey our Home Heaven Our Father God The Father of Spirits Heb. 12. 9. Children from home are often thinking of it and wishing to be there Home is we say home though never so homely no place like that to them Why Heaven is our Home Let us have our Conversation there while our abode is on Earth What do we sojourning in Mesheck and dwelling in the Tents of Kedar How Shall we not desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better as Phil. 1. 23. Doth no place use to seem like home to Strangers though indeed better Much less let Earth be taken by us for our home when it is so much worse than that What comparison between Earth and Heaven Trouble and Rest Sorrow and Joy Misery and Happiness A Crown of Thorns and a Crown of Glory We must indeed stay Gods time for our going home Children at School must expect to be sent for e'r they stir but yet let us in the mean time be much in the thoughts of Heaven and of Glory Let the bent of our desires be and the byas of our Souls draw that way 'T is strange that men should generally have so much forgotten the descent of their Souls that Heaven should have so little place in their thoughts and discourses Do they think they had their Souls from God who have not God in all their thoughts Men brag of their Corporal Descent and yet mind not that which is their greatest Honour They make their Heaven-born Princely Souls embrace Dung-hils 5. And lastly If God gave us our Spirits our Souls then let us be hence inform'd of the absolute and undoubted right God hath to dispose of our lives May not he take away that gave See Job's argument cap. 1. 21. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away What then Why blessed be the Name of the Lord. He breath'd our Souls in and if he will have us breath them out he dothus no wrong All Souls are mine saith God they are indeed for he gave them When God calls us by death let us submit quietly What will we deny God his own our Souls That is Injustice we ought not so to do and 't is folly to boot we cannot with-hold them from him if we would And as in respect of our selves so our friends and relations Doth God take them away Who can say to him What doest thou Where the word of a King is there is power That they were at all was from him that we enjoy'd them long was his mercy let us part therefore cheerfully and contentedly and with holy Job in the fore-named place as well bless God when he takes away as when he gives I am now come to the last Branch of the latter Proposition touching the Souls return to God that gave it As it was from him so it must and shall return to him The Souls of good men are convey'd by the holy Angels as was the Soul of Lazarus Luke 16. 22. and the Souls of bad men by the evil Angels the Devils they shall require or fetch away thy soul from thee Luke 12. 20. This Night saith God to the rich man shall thy soul be required of thee So we read it but in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They do or shall fetch it away viz. the Devils as before The Devils like Catch-poles shall seise upon the Souls of the wicked and carry them before Gods Tribunal before the Seat of Justice thence to be sent to that Prison out of which there is no redemption The improvement which I shall make of this Consideration shall be onely by way of Exhortation Let me stir you all up to an expectation of and preparation for this return So prepare for it as that you may return to God with comfort To that end 1. Beware of those things which may render unfit or make unwilling to come before God Take heed of Sin take heed of Slothfulness in Duty the one will make afraid the other will make asham'd to appear in Gods presence 1. Take heed of Sin guilt begets fear the guilty person doth not love to think of coming near God but rather endeavours to keep at a distance When Cain hath sinn'd he will go out from the presence of the Lord Gen. 4. 16. Here the guilty person is jolly because he thinks he is far enough from God out of his sight so foolish men are apt to perswade themselves procul a Jove procul a fulmine But when they come to return to him when there can be no creeping into Corners to hide themselves but they must appear how will they then tremble How shall a
if Salomon had not spoken it a King a great King a wise King What the spruce Gallant the ruffling Courtier these Dust What they that rustle in Silks and glitter in Gold that dazle the Sun with their Jewels and choak the Air with their Perfumes Yes all alike Dust So Naizanzen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Original of all is but the same and that Dust What though in some more refined Differ they may in degree not in kind Worshipful Honourable Royal Dust is Dust still Let Calice sand be finer than ordinary yet is there no reason it should lose its Name 't is Sand. Well that the Body is from the Earth we see yea and not onely so but it must return to it also The Dust shall return to the Earth as it was Ocular Demonstration saves us the labour of both Explication and Proof as to this We every day see the truth of this return made good Were the Body from Earth once yet were it to return to it no more Pride would not be so irrational a sin Tell me not what I was is the voice of Up-starts but the Preacher tells us likewise what we shall be No man so ridiculous as he who having risen from a mean beginning fall's again who first begins to fall is pitty'd but he whose rise and fall are both remembred scorn'd Heu quantum mutatus ab illo Is the Ironical Language of the beholder in such a Case nor is it to be wondred at if as the Poet hath it Moveat cornicula risum Furtivis nudata coloribus Hast thou forgotten that thy Body was Dust once and beginnest thou to swell Remember it must be Dust again too and let that humble thee Witty Lucian whose ingenuity deserves to be no less esteemed than his language hath a Dialogue wherein he brings the Ghosts of beautiful Nereus and deformed Thersites together the latter of which is now bold to challenge the former so little of difference is there between ugly and handsome when both are dust the Body being return'd to the Earth as it was As it was Hoc autem ipsum non sic intelligendum quasi revertantur in certam portionem terrae corpora humana singula ex qua formavit Deus Adam c. saith Lorinus This is not so grosly to be understood as if all the bodies of men did return into that very individual Earth of which God created Adam But because as his body was made of dust and did return to it so shall our bodies return to dust like thereunto I have done with the Explication of the first part of the Verse touching the Body's rise and tendency and the Terms from which and to which of its motion which are indeed but one Earth thence it comes thither it goes I le run over the following part next that I may reserve the Application of both together till the last And the Spirit shall return to God that gave it Spirit Is an aequivocal word signifying other things beside but the use of it in Scripture for the rational Soul of Man is better known than that I need spend time about it When a word hath divers significations the sense must point us unto that which we are to fix on so it doth here determining it to be as I have said meant of the reasonable Soul And It is moreover critically observed by Divines that when this word is put alone for the Soul it alwayes signifies the rational Soul otherwise it hath this additament The Spirit of life as Gen. 7. 15. But of that enough The Spirit shall Return to God that gave it Origen had a conceit as indeed he had many borrow'd from the Platonists That all Souls were created from the beginning as were the Angels and that for their sin they were afterwards thrust down into Bodies and so according to that Opinion their return to God should insinuate their having been with him been in Heaven before but the words following clear the sense To God that gave it Therefore is the Soul said to return to God because it was from him as its Author I shall not enter the dispute here with those that maintain the traduction of the Soul that it is not immediately created by God but deriv'd from our Parents I suppose were there no better Arguments to confute them than that which is drawn from this place that Opinion might well enough keep up its credit 'T is enough that the Soul of the first Man was given by God as well as the first Body of the Earth whence it may be no less proper to say that the Souls of all Men return to God that gave them that is at the beginning than that their Bodies return to the Earth of which they were made viz. then also But how do the Souls of all Men return to God What of wicked men too The wicked shall be turned into Hell Psal 9. 17. And without holiness no man shall see God Heb. 12. 14. To go to God seems to be the Priviledge of the righteous onely Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Mat. 5. 8. Yes the Souls of all go to God though to a different end of the bad to receive their Sentence of Condemnation to be doom'd to punishment of the good to receive their Absolution and to have a reward bestowed upon them Both must meet before Gods Tribunal to be try'd and sentenc'd according to their Works The Souls of the just return to God willingly as to their Father of the wicked unwilling'y as to their Judge The Soul of the Saint long'd for its return its motion naturally tended that way no wonder whither should every thing tend but to its Center Whither should Rivers run but to the Sea God is the Center of Souls nothing rests out of its Center nor can the Soul rest disjoyned from God The Souls of good men return to God during their life time they are the wicked who return onely at death when they cannot help it The World is full of troubles perturbations cares anxieties where should the believing Soul rest but in the bosom of God Fecisti nos Domine ad Te saith the Father excellently inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in Te. Thou madest us O Lord for thy self nor can our Souls be at quiet till they rest in thy self The words then are sufficiently explain'd let us spend the rest of our time in picking out that matter of Instruction and Exhortation which may be beneficial to us The Body is from the Earth that is the first branch of the first Proposition Let us learn hence 1. Humility What a piece of Earth pufft up Who art thou that magnifiest thy self upon the accompt of bodily accomplishments Beauty Strength or the like Alas thou art but Earth That Body of thine which thou so trimmest and pamperest is but a piece of handsome clay a piece of white earthen ware it makes a pretty show 't is confest
but have a care of a knock keep it whole as long as thou canst for if once it fall asunder it is no longer of any worth the matter of it is but Earth good for nothing however the form of it may for a time commend it both to thy self and others Let young people think of this especially in whom the sin of Pride is wont to be most predominant When thou art dressing thy self at thy Glass O young person admiring thine own form and ready with Narcissus to fall in love with thy self think then What do I take all this pains for to deck a piece of Earth my body is no better And as Humility within our selves so let us learn it with reference unto others from this consideration Who are we that contemn our poor Brethren Are they ragged and beggerly Are they mishapen and deformed what then Their Bodies are made of no worse matter than our own all are but Earth Much less let any of us dare to magnifie our selves against the great God adventure to take up the Cudgels against Heaven Will the Terrae filii the Sons of Earth make war with Jupiter yea though Gyants great in strength and stature Alas poor Earth Shall the Clay magnifie it self against the Potter Good God! that ever Earth should be so proud as to defie its Maker What are we all the men of the world joyn'd together but so many Earthen Vessels Let but God smite us and we crumble to dust yea how easily can he dash us to pieces one against another Let not Earth then dare to incur the displeasure of the Almighty let us in all humility reverence and obey him O Earth Earth Earth hear the Word of the Lord. Let us serve the Lord with fear and rejoyce with trembling as Psal 2. 11. least we be broken with a rod of iron and dasht in pieces like a Potters Vessel as v. 9. Again Are our Bodies of Earth then 2 Let us not make our selves slaves to them What shall the Divine Soul serve the Earthen Body for shame This is for Servants to ride and Princes to go on foot Let us not make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof as Rom. 13. 14. Let us curb and check the Body when it grows malepert and domineers let us make Earth know it self Do we come hither think we into the world for naught but to gratifie our Bodies to eat and drink and sleep c. These bodily services how much of our pretious time do they take up Some they must as we are men but as little as may be they should as we are Christians Let it not be said of any amongst us Dum comuntur aluntur annus est How many are there who make Idols of their Bodies who worship an earthen god the grossest and most stupid Idolatry imaginable Some make their back their god others their belly these we read of Phil. 3. 19. Whose God is their belly who mind earthly things The things of the Body are and must needs be earthly things for the Body it self is but Earth Let us mind the Body less and the Soul more Let us not feed the Swine and starve the Child The Soul is the Treasure which we have in these Earthen Vessels as they are call'd 2 Cor. 4. 7. Let us secure the Treasure and not be much solicitous about the Vessels 3. Are our Bodies Earth We might from hence too take notice of the infinite Wisdom of God the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Apostle calls it who of such rough matter can frame such excellent pieces This commends the Workmans art that he can make Earth so glorious Let us take notice of this not to make us proud which we have been already caveated against but to cause us to glorifie God with these Bodies of ours By the way too Let us be hence confirmed in our belief of the Resurrection if God couâ—d of very Earth make such Bodies as these why can he not of Earth raise them up again No matter what the stuff be if God be the Workman 4. See we hence the necessity of death or something aequivalent to it that change mentioned 1 Cor. 15. 51. Why we have Earthen Bodies and these are not fit for Heaven What should Heaven do with Earthen Pitchers The azured Windows of that Imperial Pallace need no such Flowre-Pots No This corruptible must put on incorruption this Earth must be refined from its dross and dreggs e'r it be fit Company for Angels Again 5. Let us learn not immmoderately to fear them that can onely kill the Body break an Earthen Pot a great matter who cannot do as much as that Neither is the Conquest great on their part nor the loss much on ours Let us not fear the wearing out of our Bodies in Gods Service or the laying down these Earthly Tabernacles in his Cause for his sake and at his Call Little will we do for him upon whom we will not bestow a piece of Earth A Crown of Glory is a good reward 'T is a thriving way of negotiation thus to barter with God to get Heaven for a piece of dust laid out But I hasten and pass from this to the later Branch of the Proposition The Body must to Earth again As it was saith the Text. Had it not been for the sin of Man the Body should have been immortal it was sin that brought in death In the day that thou eatest thou shalt die Gen. 2. 17. Yet this immortality of the Body would have been not ex natura sed gratia The Body is made of dying ingredients Earthen Ware will crack one time or other The Pitcher goes not so often to the Well but it comes broken home at last To die is in Nazianzen's Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To pay a Debt to Nature There are then two reasons why the Dust must to the Earth 1. The natural frailty of Mans Body which declines towards the Grave 2. Gods Decree for the punishment of sin To the Earth the dust must such is its Nature and to the Earth it shall such is Gods determination Well Learn we hence too 1. Not to be too fond of these Bodies of ours not to tiddle them to satisfie all their wanton appetites and desires to live like Epicures How will that delicate Body do to lie down in the Grave which here even tires the Soul to invent ways of making much of it Yet this it must come to nolens volens The wind must not blow upon thee O Man or Woman here what a care thou hast of thy self This and the other is not good enough for thee to eat nor this or that to wear Thy Luxury must rifle no less than 3 Elements yea thy Eye must be fed as well as thy Belly Quasi gula crapulae non sufficeret etiam oculis caenamus ipsis oculis est gula saith Pâ—…tean And remotest Countries must be ransackt to furnish thy Back and why