into good and bad just and unjust Fourthly the consent of his Adversaries which they themselves also allow Before we proceed we must clear it out to be not a Spiritual but Bodily Resurrection not of the Soul but of the Body when the Body which by death faileth to the earth is raised up again and quickned by the Soul this is a second conjunction or re-union after separation a second marriage after divorce and this appears from hence First That it is said to be the object of his hope and so to come for the spiritual he had already Secondly It is of just and unjust the spiritual admits no such distinction of persons all are just who are partakers thereof It is somtimes expressed by living and awaking and here by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to arise the same in sense with resurgo to rise up again as when a man having taken a fall ariseth again iterum enim surgendo resurgere dicitur a Tertul de resur carnis the subject of the resurrection is the same that falls that which ariseth must first be down The soul being immortal cannot be supposed to dy and therefore not ashirmed to arise therefore our bodies only are meant here as in and by death there is a separation of soul and body a resolution of the body into elements and a disjunction of them after this resolution so in the resurrection a gathering of those elements into which our bodies are resolved the forming of our bodies out of them and animation of them by a perpetual and indissoluble union with the soul Now whereas the resurrection of the body is either particular of some men more especially as the son of the widdow of Zarephath and others or general and common to all the latter we speak to for it is in the Text of the just and unjust We shall first give you the proof of it that there shall be such a resurrection afterwards descend to the Explication of it and lastly to Application First of the verity of it this cannot be discovered by natural light or demonstrated by Phylosophical Arguments b Et ut carnis resurrectio negetur de una omnium Philosophorâ—â— schola sumitur Teâ—â— praeser adver haere to Phylosophers it seems strange hard to be believed yea ridiculous therefore they encouncer Paul because he preached unto him Jesus and the Resurrection c Acts 17. 18. and some mocked d Acts 〈◊〉 3. and Festus for this judges Paul mad e Acts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and no wonder for the power by which we are raised and manner how is supernatural and the principles thereof not of themselves obvious to the natural minde but only to faith which is the evidence of things not seen f Heb 11. 〈◊〉 therefore faith Tertullian Fiducia Christianorum resurrectio 〈◊〉 g l. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 caruis The resurrection of the dead is the faith of Christians For this therefore we must repair to Scripture which affords plain assertions and concluding reasons For the first among others these are remarkable that of David I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy 〈◊〉 n Psal 17. 15. of his awaking out of the dust when he should bear the Image of the heavenly We have also Gods promise in Isaiah 〈◊〉 dead shall live together with my dead body shall they arise awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead i Isa 26. 19 And again in Daniel Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt k Dan. 12. 2. Parallel to this is that of cur Saviour Marvel not at this for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the grave 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 l Ioh. 5. 28 29 And as Christ promiseth so Martha believeth a general resurrection I know that he shall rise agnin in the resurrection at Iohn 11. 24. the last day This Paul affirms to be the hope of the promise made of God unto the Fathers Unto which saith he our twelve Tribes instantly serving God day and night hope to come Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead m Acts 26 6 7 8. The question imports the credibility and insallibility of it it hath not reference as I suppose only to the resurrection of Christ but to others also or if Christ be here intended the other may be hence inferred as we shall clear in the reasons This Doctrine the Apostles taught and for it the Rulers persecute them Being grieved that they taught the People and preached through Jesus the Resureection from the dead n Acts 4. 2. This also Paul testifies For if we believe that Jesus dyed and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him o 1 Thes 4. 14. Compare v. 16. The dead in Christ shall rise first This must of necessity be understood of the Resurrection of the Body from natural death not of the soul from sin or ignorance as some vainly suppose because such as the death or sleep mentioned here is such is the rising But the sleep and death specified is not of ignorance or sin because it is such a sleep as follows a mans conversion and the revelation of God in the soul and is consistent with communion and fellowship with Jesus Christ for they are said to sleep in Jesus and to be dead in Christ v. 16. But a state of Spiritual death and ignorance is inconsistent with communion with Jesus Christ Eph. 2. 1. compared with v. 12. You hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins Of whom v. 12. he sayes At that time ye were without Christ The same Doctrine is delivered in Phil. 3. 21. Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his Glorious body c. The Libertines impudently affirm it must be interpreted of deliverance from a state of ignorance and corruption they mean when it is manifested to a man that sin is taken away for say they it is onely sin that makes the body vile But this cannot stand because it is spoken of those who were before this Spiritually risen had the evidence of the Spirit in their hearts Chap. 1. 29. Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not onely to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake Such as did worship God in the Spirit and rejoyced in Christ Jesus and had no confidence in the flesh p Phil. 3. 3. such as were after a sort perfect v. 15. Whose conversation was in Heaven q Phil. 3. 20. from whence they did expect Christ
by Phylosophers ingenerable and incorruptible Arist Phys l. 1. ad finem and the bones and flesh of our bodies though resolved into elements is not annihilated but remains still and hath a being in the world the place whereof is not hid to God but naked and open before him Add hereunto the natural inclination and propensity of the soul to be united to the body it being the form thereof cannot but have a disposition to be conjoyned with it sith it is imperfect and incompleat in a state of separation though this cannot be effected by any Natural power yet it exceeds not the power of an Infinite Agent God being the Author and Lord of Nature can according to his pleasure intend extend contract and change Nature and so recal the dead to life p Idoneus est reficere qui fecit Tertul. Quare miramur quare non credimus Deus est qui fecit considera cuthorem tolle dubitationem August Therefore the doctrine of the Resurrection is not of that sort of Contradictories Besides it may be more rationally concluded and more easily believed that a Subject can again receive that influx of God which once it had then that which it never had A Firebrand once lighted and quench'd is more apt to be inflam'd and why should we think it a more difficult work to reunite soul and body then at first to unite them Rabbi Ame answered after this manner to a certain Epicure A King commanded his servant to build him a Tower where there was neither water nor earth they obeyed and built it in process of time this Tower came to nine the King bids them go and build him a Tower in a certain place where there was water and earth they reply it is above their ability to raise such a Fabrick the King answers if you could erect a Tower in that place where there was neither water nor earth how much more in this where they both abound q Menasseh Bea Israel de Resurrect mortuorum l. 1. c. 4. Cur gentes des qui mortuos exciteturum se promises non credant quasi 〈◊〉 fieri non possit cum homo insit potestate in Element is quemadmedum â—ute cum crearetur sic etiam nunc cum iterum creatur Justin Martyr Apolog. When both these Principles were not he gave us a being how much more can he unite them when they are dissolved this building when it is fallen down he can as easily repair as raise it when it was not It is more incredible that when we are not in the body of so small a quantity of seed bones nerves and flesh in such a Figure as we see should be formed and fashioned and yet doth not this come to pass every day And how many other wonders do we see in Nature every day Wonder they would be thought were they not so common and incredible to some were they not seen but reported onely Experience proves it true and we doubt not the Load-stone draws Iron and the Needle points to the North-pole though reason dictates no such thing because we apprehend it by sense and see it with out eyes we think it no delusion Some say the Sea-fish Echinus although she be taken and torn in pieces yet if the pieces be taken and thrown into the Sea you may perceive them come together by little and little But that is most memorable which is written of the Phoenix that which growing 〈◊〉 Pliny l. 11. c. 36. old comes into Aegypt and there not in the desart but open City with Cassia and other materials builds her a nest fils it with Odours in which she dies and putrifies of whose putrifi'd flesh a Worm is generated and this formed into a Bird t Cyril Hiere sol Catech. 18. or as others report by the beams of the Sun her nest is set on fire and she burnt to ashes out of which arises another Phoenix of her Cyril u Admiranda quidem avis est Phoenix sed avis tamen irra tionalis neque unquam volans per aerem psallebat deo neque scit quis sit unigenitus dei filius ergo animanti quidem irrationali non cognoscenti factorem suum Resurrectio donatur nobis vero glorificantibus Deum mandata ejus custodientibus eadem non dabitur Catech. 18. Clemens Tertullian Ambrose and other Fathers write proving thence the resurrection of her also Solinus Tacitus Pliny and other Naturalists and Historians speak Dion reports that this Bird was seen towards the latter end of Tiberius's Empire w Chron. Cariâ—â—â— p. 203. But because this may be supposed a Fable let us take into consideration some of those miraculous changes which are in Scripture upon record Moses rod turn'd into a Serpent Aarons budding Bitter waters made sweet water turned into Wine yea and many dead raised some in the old Testament of whom Heb. 11. 35. Son of the widdow of Zarephath 1 Kin. 18. And of the Shunamite 2 Kin. 4. 32. A dead man laid by Elisha's body 2 Kin. 13. 21. More in the New Jairus daughter Mat. 9. 25. The son of the widdow of Naim Luk 7. 15. La zarus Ioh. 11. 43 44 and 12. 1. 9. 17. Tabitha Ast 9. 40. Euticus Act. 20. 9 10 11. Many at Christs Resurrection Mat. 27. 52 53. That which hath been already done what hinders but that it may be done again God foreseeing the incredulity of men hath afforded them so many examples that they might believe You see its plainly written in the book of Scripture and as much though not the same you may every day read in the book of nature the vicissitude of things declare it possible Dies moritur in noctem rursus cum suo cultu universo orbi revivissit saith Tertullian x l. de Resur 〈◊〉 Do we not see the day to dy at night and arise as it were to a new life the next morning the Sun having withdrawn himself for a season appears again as a Bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoyceth as a strong man to run his race Trees and Plants which in Winter are dead and withered in Spring revive Swallows Worms and Flies by the Winter cold cast into a dead sleep are by the Summers heat awakened But these cease not to be only for a time suspend their acting and are raised not from death but sleep what is this to mans Resurrection We have resemblances of this also how is the Silk-worm and the Bee generated Is the Worm made lively of a dead carcass a Bird formed and fashioned with flesh wings Veins Bones Feathers and several parts from a moyst Egg And may not the same be done to the body of man The seed which is cast into the earth dies and afterward is quickned and springs up again 1 Cor. 15. 36. It is sown naked it rises clothed it is sown single rises manifold Why should it not be thought as possible that man dying should live
40. If it be eternal and everlasting and for the perfection of it require a raising up at the last day how is it limitted to this life And for his assurance Christ tells him that he hath it already Who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day v. 54. He may be as sure of it as if he had it already or he hath it begun in him in a way and tendency to perfection grace is glory in 〈◊〉 glory grace consummate We are changed from glory to glory 2 〈◊〉 vlt. This life is begun but ends not here it 's not of the soul onely but of the body also therefore Christ adds I will raise him up at the last day And of this we cannot miss for he prefixeth a double asseveration to strengthen our Faith Verily verily I say unto you He that believeth on me hath everlasting life v 47. and tells us it was his business to accomplish his Fathers will I came down from Heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me v. 38. Of this also Peter testifies When the chief Shepherd shall appear ye shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away h 1 Pet. 5. 4. If we receive it while we live what becoms of it when we dy and shall be no more If my soul must animate another body another takes my Crown or it perisheth however as to me it fadeth but the Text sets another day when this Crown shall be received and we first wear it when the great Shepherd shall appear This apparition is not Spiritual to the soul onely in believing so he had already appeared in those to whom he here writes Chap 1. 2 3. But this when the Crown shall be put on is to come hear what the great Shepherd himself speaks as to the time manner and end of his appearing When the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the Throne of his glory Mat. 25. 31. And before him shall be gathered all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as the Shepherd divideth the Sheep from the Goats v. 32. But that is not till the end of the world Mat. 13 30 37 38 39 40. To the same effect is that of Peter Epist 1. Chap 1. v. 3 4 5. Who hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead To an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time This inheritance and salvation we have not in this life for we hope for it it is reserved in Heaven for us and we are kept for it and it shall not be revealed till in the last time and He that overcometh shall inherit all things Rev. 21. 7. Besides it is incorruptible and fadeth not away which cannot stand with any state of the Saints in this life Nor is this only fairly concluded from but plainly asserted in Scripture to be after death whereas Hypocrites and unbelievers have no hope in death Iob 27. 8. the faithful have I would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them that are asleep that ye sorrow not as others which have no hope 1 Thes 4. 13. This hope is in death as appears by the Apostles scope to comfort the Saints and raise up their spirits which are apt to be sadded and dejected with the disease of their beloved friends and from v. 14. If we believe that Jesus dyed and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him For this cause did Paul desire to be dissolved Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is farre better i Phil. 1. 23. He speaks of dying and that bodily not spiritually as a way to a life and state farr better then the present sent Nor was it Paul's desire onely We that are in this Tabernacle groan being burthened not for that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life 2 Cor. 5. 4. When he saith not that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that Mortality might be swallowed up of Life He plainly declares this state not to be while we are Mortal and that when this Mortality shall be swallowed up of Life a Christian shall not onely be unclothed and stript of his burthensome vile and filthy garments but be arayed afresh with those that are light pure and precious What Christ Paul and Peter avouch doth John from the same Spirit testifie Rev. 14. 13. And I heard a voyce from Heaven saying unto me write Blessed are the dead which dy in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them Spiritually we cannot understand this without manifest injury and violence to the Text a man may Spiritually dy and yet not presently rest from his labours as the words import or if it be supposed the rest promised may follow the death specified at a distance namely somtime after when a man naturally dies how is this the peculiar priviledge of those that dy in the Lord For all shall so rest though they never be partakers of this Spiritual death in Christ if there be no resurrection of the dead body and how do their works follow them then how are they then blessed that shall be no more or at least not what they were before whose souls being fired out of their old habitation take to themselves other dwelling places and so return again to their former labours If it be affirmed they may be happy in Heaven though their bodies rise not Tertullian shall answer for me Quomodo foelices si ex parte perituri how can they be happy who in part are perished Happiness is a state of perfection but the soul separate from the body is incompleat and imperfect and therefore cannot be happy till both it and the body be united to make one perfect man Again I reply there is no happiness glory or good thing promised to soul or body but in Christ raised from the dead grant the body is not raised you must yeild also Christ is not raised and so doing you raze the very foundation of all our felicity the house of our hope in all particulars thereof must fall to the ground therefore If there be no Refurrection of the dead and our hope onely in this life we are of all men most miserable Which is Pauls second ground in this Chapter whereof conceiving our selves to have spoken sufficiently we proceed to a third The Universality Perfection Integrity duration of the Arg. 8. Kingdom of Christ and his victory over his and our enemies then cometh the end when he shall have delivered 1 Cor. 15. 24.
of that uproar raised by Demetrius the Silver-smith who made Shrines for Diana Acts 19. 23 24. c. Others take the words properly and that not without reason It was usual in the Roman Empire to condemn Malefactors to fierce and cruel beasts that contending with with them they might delight the beholders and being overcome by them suffer for their deeds This was the lot of Ignatius and other holy Martyrs through the malice and for the pleasure of their enraged persecutors and therefore no wonder that Paul makes mention of sighting with beasts at Ephesus What though Luke pass it by are there not 〈◊〉 memorable things by him omitted which Paul reports of himself 2 Cor. 11. 25. Thus Ambrose Theo-doret and others understand Paul and Nicephorus hath a large narration hereof s Niceph Hist l. 11. c. 25. some things in him perhaps may be fabulous but that all should be so is more easie to affirm then prove however it be whether by men or beasts Paul's dangers and pressures in Asia by his own confession were very great even above his strength insomuch that he despaired of life and had the sentence of death in himself 2 Cor. 1. 8 9. Did he undergo these things after the manner of men That is according to humane reason and prudence or as some men are wont to do for glory and honour in the world or as others for the good of their Countrey These inducements could have no place in Paul or the rest of the Martyrs but the expectation of a glorious Resurrection For it no way beseems a wise man to lay himself open unto so many and grievous calamities for a false and feigned thing that hath no other being then in the brains of some foolish fantastical or deceitful men and such must the Gospel be if there be no Resurrection of the dead The Apostles last Argument is drawn from another absurd Arg. 11. consequent of the contrary doctrine If there be no Resurrection of the dead then let us eat and drink for to morrow we dy v. 32. Lude Bibas Comedas post mortem nulla voluptas was a familiar proverb among the Epicures This is it the Apostle out of Isaiah 22. alledgeth here and in other language he seems to speak thus If there be no Resurrection of the dead wherein rewards are given to the just and punishments to the unjust but that after death the same state and condition is common to all without difference or distinction certainly sensual delights and pleasures of this life are not so base and inconsiderable as the Gospel affirms them to be but somthing more of worth and value is found in them to raise the rate and estimation of them in the minds of men nor is there cause why they should not be most vigorously prosecuted and highly accounted of by all sorts of men in the world who cannot but be judged very injurious to themselves who causlesly straiten themselves in the use of their liberty and abridge themselves of any ways means and methods of making provision for or sacrificing to their own lusts and desires and those of all men may be thought most wise provident and vertuous who are so far indulgent to their humors and desires as to make no scruple of adventuring on any course that hath a tendency to their sensual satisfaction and consequently those who by the Spirit of God are declared the only wise ones upon earth are indeed and truth the grand fools and mad-men of the world who without cause do lay so many stumbling blocks in the way of their present peace ease and felicity But we know the truth of the Gospel hath branded this Doctrine in the Fore-head for beastly and damnable Falshood and Forgery Thus far out of Paul have we proved the Resurrection Arg. 12. of the Dead God's justice requires it that every man in body as well as soul may receive according to his works in this life all things come alike to all there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked to the good and to the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath Eccles 9. 2. therefore it is necessary there should be a judgement wherein the just may be visibly and openly honoured acquitted and rewarded the unjust shamed condemned and punished Therefore saith Paul We must all appear before the Judgement seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5. 10. and this is a righteous thing with God 2 Thes 1. 6. which the Conscience it self bears witness to Rom. 2. 15. and for execution hereof Christ is appointed Judge of quick and dead and Acts 10. 42. 2 Tim. 4. 1. 1 Pet. 4. 5. Acts 17. 31. He hath appointed a day in the which he judge the World in righteousness by that man whom he will hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead And this cannot be done without raising the dead Therefore the twenty four Elders Rev. 11. 18. make the time of raising the dead judging and rewarding men according to their works to be all one And as the Justice so the Wisdom of God is herein Arg. 13. engaged It is not the part of a wise man to be frustrated and disappointed of the end of his Workmanship God hath made man after his own Image for the manifestation of his Glory and communication of his Goodness Wisdom Righteousness c. that by this means he might perpetually serve and glorifie him and be for ever made happy by him This is not in this present life therefore in an other His Truth also is concerned in it it s the promise made Arg. 14. unto the Fathers Acts 26. 6 7 8. Besides Christ is Lord both of quick and dead Rom. Arg. 15. 14. 9. the body sure comes under his government and belongs to his Dominion And will this Prince suffer these for ever to be lost in the grave Also the names given unto death will afford us somwhat Arg. 16. for our satisfaction in this point It 's called a Sleep and this imports an awakening a lying down which presupposeth a rising up again Job 14. 12. a Change and therefore it is not the utter annihilation or perishing of the Creature Iob 14. 14. And as for the Saints such is their Relation to God Arg. 17. and Christ in Covenant they are his Workmanship Spouse Building Body Temples Friends and can we in reason imagine they shall be so forgotten of him as to remain for ever in the dust These Relations engage him to raise them up again and the same Spirit that raised Christ dwels in them and becomes an assurance of their Resurrection Rom. 8. 11. Therefore
iterum remeare licet Comes 〈…〉 Additur pariter terros at a square 〈◊〉 Virgilius g O Pater anne aliquas ad coe um hinc ire putandum est Sublimes animas iterumque ad tarda reverti Corpora quae lucis miseris tam dira Cupido Claudianus h Quos ubi per varios annos per mille figuras Egit Lethaeo purgatos flumine tandem Rursus ad humanae revocant primordia formae Phocylides i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were of the like perswasion and many passages there are in the Sybils to this purpose k Lactant. Instit l. 7. c. 24. Where the Heathens lighted their candle we will not now enquire being little to our purpose it sufficeth they had so much light in their great darkness to make a discovery of this hidden Mysterie Mahomet doubtless had it from the Scriptures as also the Jews for unto them were committed the Oracles of God Thus have we the consent of Adversaries and those very ancient some of them to confirm our Faith in this Article This I urge not as a ground of our Belief but as an evidence of the Antiquity of this Doctrine and the entertainment it hath had and now hath with the enemies of our Religion that it may not be objected to us as a novel opinion and in the judgement of wise and rational men impossible of improbable Having proved this point we now address our selves to a further explication of it and first of the subject or matter thereof As all shall rise so in the very same numerical body that dyes l Aquileiensis Ecclesia in symbolo dicebat credo Resurrectionem carnis hutus Vossij Thes Theol. de Resur carnis the same for substance figure form members lincaments To prevent mistakes herein we must so conceive this Identity of the body which is raised with that which dies hat it doth not import the raising of all the same matter and restoring to the very same condition it had before the same numerical body in divers ages and times admits of great variety it is otherwise in childhood then youth middle age then old age otherwise in health then sickness and when there is an integrity of all members then when the same is maimed nor doth all the same matter continue from first to last from a mans birth to his death but some part is by hunger and other wayes wasted and supply made by nutrition no nor is there the same quantity in respect of extention of the matter but sometimes augmentation other some diminution not the same stature in Infancy as afterward yea the complexion is mutable the external feature and internal temper changed and yet we hold the body to be the same because there is remaining of the Original matter to the end of a mans days notwithstanding the flux and reflux of the matter in part the same humane shape and feature sufficiently to distinguish him from other creatures and when any part is exhausted there is a present supply suitable unto the former So that the Identity of our bodies at the Resurrection with these we now have doth not necessarily enforce a restitution of all that matter of which our bodies here have been constituted 〈◊〉 nor the same state and condition in all respects but so farr as is proper and peculiar to us numerically to distinguish us from other men That thus the same body shall rise is evident for otherwise it were not a Resurrection but transformation or changing from one to another or a Creation and production of new ones not a raising of the old Besides Immortality incorruptibility power glory spirituality are promised to this very body He that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken your mortal body Rom. 8. 11. And this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality 1 Cor. 15. 53 m In duere incorruptionem quantitativam eandem numero essentiam digito demonstrans magis enim expresse non poterat loqui nisi cutem suam manibus teâ—eret 〈◊〉 All that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth Joh. 5. 28 29. And again the same body that overcoms shall wear the Crown the same that suffers shall reign with Christ the same that sins shall be punished and not others for them Every one shall receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done 2 Cor. 5. 10. And those that shall be found alive when Christ comes shall be changed onely not have other bodies given them and it s not likely they shall have this preheminence above the dead That of Phil. 3. 21. affords several Arguments for proof hereof He shall change 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall change the fashion of our bodies not the substance 1 Cor. 7. 31. formes members lineaments The fashion of the world passeth away not the substance but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the figure or fashion of the world Again he shall change 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our vile body it is in respect of its vile and miserable condition by reason of sin it notes the state of our body now and what they shall be our body is the same as before the fall for substance but not for condition it s an humbled and vile body now but thus it shall not remain And it shall be made like to the glorious body of Christ that was the same for substance form though not for quality and state as we proved before and is clear from Joh. 2. 19. Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up In short those reasons which we before urged in proof of the Resurrection prove the raising of the same body As for those parts and members of the body as heart head c. which are necessarily required to fit it for conjunction with the rational soul neither just nor unjust shall want them the matter shall be organized and fashioned into such members for otherwise they could not be men and so not indeed raised Secondly as for those integral parts of man which are not absolutely necessary but onely for his further perfection as fingers toes armes feet c. It is plain that the just shall not want any one of them it will not stand with a state of perfection to be defective in any member therefore lost members shall be restored to the Saints in glory And because the unjust have offended God in all their members making them the instruments of unrighteousness it is probable therefore they shall not rise without any of them they formerly had though they wanted them at the dissolution As for those members which they never had why they should be restored I see no cause but as the Elect shall not be wanting in any thing that conduceth to happiness and glory so to the wicked nothing shall be added which may diminish their misery and infamy onely the blind are to be restored that
they may see him whom they have pierced and behold their Judge and the deaf that they may hear him to their terrour And whereas there are some things pertaining to the nature of man in respect of his present state and according to the common and ordinary course of Nature as humours seed milk c. We suppose that both shall have those things that are recessary in the number of which we do not comprehend superfluous or excrementitious humours or those which are of Nature intended for generation as seed or nutrition of another as milk of which there shall be no use of those things which humane nature cannot here want as blood I conceive this shall be restored also yet to some this seems rather agreeing to a natural than a Spiritual body And although some members are of no use in the Resurrection yet for as much as of the Organical members there is a double relation the first of matter to the form so their end is the perfecting and adorning the body or of an Organ to an active Principle so the end is operation though there be no need of some members as to operation yet in respect of ornament and perfection of the body they are not in vain or superfluous but necessary in the Resurrection so that though there be no use yet there shall be distinction of the Sex As to the quantity and stature of the body some conceive all shall arise at the same stature to which they should have come and beyond which they should not have gone if Nature had not erred but this we shall not assert or undertake to determine The bodyes of the unjust shall be made immortal and incorruptible but passible they shall receive their bodies not for Ornament but torment for they must be tormented and suffer the wrath of the Almighty for ever and ever therefore it is necessary they should dy no more but remain for ever without natural helps that they may be punished without intermission The Saints shall be raised to a perfect and glorious estate they shall be like Christs glorious body Phil. 3. 21. and like the Angels of God Mat. 22. 30. 1. In Immortality Neither shall they dy any more Luke 20. 36. This mortal must put on immortality 1 Cor. 15. 5◠And we groan that mortality might be swallowed up of life 2 Cor. 5. 4. And death is said to be swallowed up in victory 1 Cor. 15. 54. So that there shall be no more death Apoc. 21. 4. Death it self being cast into the lake of fire Apoc. 20. 14. Others raised before Christ and some after by the Apostles dyed again but to these shall be no dying for such was Christs life Christ being raised from the dead dyeth no more death hath no more dominion over him Rom. 6. 9. Our life shall be parallel to eternity the body before the Fall was immortal therefore did God place in Paradise the Tree of Life as a Sacrament of that immortality he should have enjoyed in his innocent state The long life of Adam and the Fathers was the Reliques of that immortality man had before the Fall And this is the state of the holy Angels their days are the days of Eternity God is immortal by Nature thus he only hath immortality 1 Tim. 6. 16. The Angels and souls of men by Creation Adam's body by condition if he brake not Covenant with his Maker ours hereafter by special grace in the Resurrection for the cause removed the effect must cease sin is taken away therefore death also in due time must be removed the Guilt of sin is taken away in Justification the Reign of it in Conversion the Acting of it in Death the last Effect in the Resurrection Adam before the Fall was Potentially mortal as the effect proves he should have been immortal if he had kept the conditions of the Covenant those that are raised shall be so confirmed that they cannot dy for they shall not be in a capacity of sinning which brings death they have not this immortality upon such termes as Adam had 2. In Incorruptibility and Impassibility they shall not suffer any thing that can hurt afflict or impair them It is 1 Cor. 11. 43. 52. 53. 〈◊〉 sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption The dead shall be raised incorruptible this corruptible must put on incorruption Now our bodies by hunger thirst diseases labcur grief c. are wasted every day and at last wholly corrupted in our dissolution but after the Resurrection they shall continue in the same state The Manna which by man could not be kept one day without putrifaction by the Divine power was preserved in the golden Pot for many ages Aegyptians by embalming bodies kept them from corruption many hundred years and why may not an immortal body be kept from corruption by an Omnipotent God And thus also shall the Saints be as the Angels 3. In Power It is sown in weakness it is raised in 1 Cor. 15. 43. Power Here it is weak and sickly then it shall be strong vigorous and healthy the strength of Sampson and other mighty men in a fallen state shew what Adams was by Creation and what 〈◊〉 shall be in the Resurrection for this is a restauration of what we lost and of further perfection The powerfulness of the body in the Resurrection comprehends 1. Activeness in the execution of all those actions which are suitable to it our bodies now are impotent and so indisposed to perform all those actions that belong to them and unserviceable to the soul yet when this great change shall come they shall be made able to act perfectly they shall be observant of and subservient to the souls desires and whereas now their gravity doth hinder their motion upward they shall then like Eagles mount up into the Ayr and convey themselves whither they please for they shall be filled with the Spirit An Egg cannot mount upward while it is without life but when it is quickened and filled with spirits it moveth and mounteth on high A Bird is an heavy body yet by her wings she can raise her self from the earth and fly swiftly in the Ayr. Iron may be so formed by Art that it shall not sink but swim upon the water and why should this motion of our bodies after the Resurrection be thought incredible Christs body could move upward for it ascended into Heaven and ours shall be like it when he comes we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the Ayr. 1 Thes 4. 17. 2. Nimbleness Strength puts Agility into bodies makes them more quick in motion Asahel was swift as a 2 Sam. 2. Roe Our bodies must be more perfect being conformed to Christ who was so quick in motion that he vanished out of sight when he had shewed himself to his Disciples Luke 24. 31. 3. Unweariedness now we are soon tyred with action by reason of weakness but then we shall be so strong and lively
that we shall be unwearied in all our actions and motions 4. In Glory It is sown in dishonour it is raised in glory Which glory stands in the integrity beauty and 1 Cor. 15. 43. splendor of all members they shall be raised perfect having no deformity through defect of convenient members or congruous quantity or through accession of some member or part inconvenient or disproportioned in scituation or uncomliness in any kind whatsoever the body which is now foul filthy without beauty or splendor shall be made lightsome clear and shining clothed with heavenly glory and Divine light When Christ was transfigured on mount Tabor his Face did shine as the Sun and his raiment was white as the light Mat. 17. 2. It may well be supposed it hath no less but rather greater beauty now since hi is entred into his glory for some reasons this glory might be vailed before his Ascension but the Apostle is plain for his glorious state now and ours in conformity thereto Who shall change our vile bodies that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body Phil. 3. 21. and we shall be like him 1 Joh. 3. 2. The glory of his transfiguration was a fore runner not of his own only but of our glory also in heaven the same it was for Essence with what he had afterward though different in circumstance and degrees that onely for a season but this for ever that transient this permanent Psal 45. Christ in the flesh was fairer then the sons of men in his low estate white and ruddy the chief of ten thousand Cant. 5. And is he not beautiful being highly exalted at the right hand of God This beauty is made up of the integrity of his body in respect of the number order and perfection of his members and proportion in colour and exceeding brightness and heavenly splendor and such shall be our glory and beauty of our bodies in the world to come now we have blemishes but then we shall have none yea not onely our imperfections shall be done away but a new beauty conferred on us In all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absolom for his beauty From the soal of his foot even to the Crown of his head there was no blemish in him 2 Sam. 14. 25. Of the Nazarites 't is said they were purer then Snow they were whiter then Milk they were more ruddy in body then Rubies Lam. 4. 7. Moses face shone so that he put on a Vail when he spake to the people and of Stephen 't is said they that sate in the Councel looking stedfastly on him saw his face as it had been the face of an Angel Acts 6. 25. All that glory I conceive no glory in comparison of this at the Resurrection When they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever Dan. 12. 2. And the Righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdome of the Father Mat. 13. 43. We shall all have the same glory for Essence but not 〈◊〉 degrees but as there is one glory of the Sun another glory of the Moon and another glory of the Stars and one Star differeth from another Star in glory so also is the Resurrection of the dead 1 Cor. 15. 41 42. All Stars are not of one magnitude nor all Saints the same in glory all shall be fair pure clear beautiful and delightful to behold having all members of a comly proportion and amiable colour and shining in glory no deformity by defect redundancy or disproportion in any part in respect of matter or colour 5. Spirituality It is sown a natural body it is raised a Spiritual body 1 Cor 15. 44. not for substance but qualities conditions and gifts of the Spirit being by the Divine power sustained and acted immediately 1. Whereas now it is supported by natural helps Food Physick Fire Clothing c. then God shall be all these to the body They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat Rev. 7. 16. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them to living Fountains of water v. 17. Moses Elijah and Christ were preserved forty days without food on earth why should not our bodies be preserved thus without means for ever in heaven 2. It shall be under the guidance conduct and command of the Spirit immediately in all its motions and actions here the soul immediately caries and commands the body but there the Spirit of God both soul and body where it listeth and acts as it pleaseth without difficulty or weariness they shall wholly give up themselves to the command of the Spirit We now proceed to the efficient cause of this great work and that can be no other then God It 's a miraculous work and a new Creation and so above the power of Nature to effect and proper to God who is the Author of Nature The ancient Rabbins said There be three 〈◊〉 Menass Ben Israel de resur 〈◊〉 2. c. 1. Keys in the hand of the blossed God which are not committed to any Legate the Womb the Rain and the Resurrection of the Dead that is He maketh the barren to Bear causeth the Rain and raiseth the Dead This is that Dew in Isa 26. 19. Thy Dew is as the dew of Herbs or as the dew of light the morning dow which refresheth recreates grass and the herbs and causeth them to flourish thy Dew the Divine Power by which thy dead shall be quickned and revived is as the Dew that falleth on the Herbs it shall so raise them as the Herbs that are decayed and withered are raised up by the morning Dew and comfortable heat and influence of the Sun God who quickneth the Dead as Rom. 4. 17. Who quickneth all things 1 Tim. 6. 13. Which raiseth the Dead 〈◊〉 Cor. 1. 9. it is an Act common to all the three Persons Father Son and Spirit The Father raiseth up the dead and quickneth them John 5. 21. and the Spirit Rom. 8. 11. The Son John 5. 21. Even so the Son quickneth whom he will Therefore Christ promiseth it I will raise him up at the last day John 6. 40. 44 54. and John 11. 25. I am the Resurrection and the Life How is that Not Formally but Causally I am the Cause of the Resurrection and Life that any man hath None rise or live but by me This from Christ's mouth the Apostles preached and believed knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus 2 Cor. 4. 14. Thus in Jerusalem they taught the People and preached through Jesus the Resurrection of the Dead And also at Athens Paul preached Jesus and the Resurrection Chap. 17. 18. And thus doth he answer the first Adam As in Adam all dy so in Christ shall all be
made alive 1 Cor. 15. 22. All good and bad by his Power for he hath the Keys of Hell and Death Apoc. 1. 18. He hath Power as God and Commission from God as man to raise the Dead This he doth by vertue of his Office all Judgement being committed to him as the son of man Therefore Raising the Dead and Judging them being raised are put together John 5. 21 22 27. He shall at the last day by his voice awaken all that are a sleep in the dust They that are in the grave shall hear his voice John 5. 28. As the natural Voice raiseth him that sleepeth so the Voice of Christ raiseth the Dead it is likely that shall be a real and articulate voice namely such a one as shall sound out some such sentence as this Arise ye dead and come to Judgement But in an especial manner Christ is the cause of the Saints resurrection as he is their Head First He is an effective principle of rising to all his Members therefore called the Beginning the First-born of the Dead Col. 1. 18. The first Fruits of them that slept 1 Cor. 15. 20. and a quickning Spirit 1 Cor. 15. 45. The power by which we are raised is with Christ per modum redundantiae it abounds in him even to overflowing there is not only a sufficiency of power for his own rising but a redundancy for ours also All things tending to our salvation are in his hands he is entrusted with power for our good as in other things so in this the raising of our bodies He hath not life for his own person alone but treasures of life for every member as he hath life in himself so it is communicated to all his members We have it from him by way of Influence Christ God-man raiseth us the power not humane but divine the same by which his own body was raised yet his Humanity concurring thus far the Deity not raising us without the Will and consent of the humanity Yea as man he desires purposeth promiseth the raising of our bodies Secondly He is the meritorious cause he hath purchased life for his and redeemed them from death by a price taken away sin the cause of death satisfied divine Justice and so procured full and compleat Redemption for them He was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our Justification Rom. 4. 25. and if we be justified then we shall also be glorified 3. He is the exemplary cause we shall be conformed to him in this also He was raised as a pattern and example to all his Members holding forth the manner of their resurrection in his Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body Phil. 3. 21. the Resurrection that he shewed in himself he hath promised to us The Final cause or end of the Resurrection the glory of God in the patefaction of his God-head Truth Mercy Justice Power Wisdom and Providence that the whole man may be judged before the Tribunal of God and all men receive according to their works 2 Cor. 5. 10. that as soul and body have served God or sinned together so they may be rewarded or punished together that the Saints with Christ their Head may both in soul and body be for ever blessed in heaven and the wicked with Satan their head be eternally tormented in hell Although all rise yet is there a different end and issue of their resurrection to some it is a resurrection to life and glory who are therefore called the children of the resurrection Luke 20. 36. to others a resurrection to death shame and condemnation Dan. 12. 2 3. John 5. 28 29. therefore were the Saints buried together and strangers apart because they expected a better resurrection But when shall these things be In the end of the world Mat. 13. 39 40. at the last day John 6. 39 40 44 54. When Christ shall deliver up his Kingdom to the Father and put down all rule authority and power 1 Cor. 15. 23 24. Now that we may leave no way unattempted which may conduce to the clearing of this truth silencing of contradictors and satisfying of the scrupulous we shall in the next place examine and make answer to what is usually pleaded against it and I trust you will in conclusion plainly perceive the most ponderous Arguments and Doubts being laid in the ballance will be found wanting and of no weight at all but lighter then vanity All that can be urged is against to the possibility of the thing in respect of the power of that cause which must effect it or probability and infallibility thereof in respect of his Will In short it is conceived difficult to be done and in some mens fancies never promised It is supposed contrary to sense or reason because of the Objection dissipation of our bodies which are resolved into Elements and are so mingled with them and other bodies that it seems a thing impossible they should be drawn out and severed from them To this we reply The things which are impossible with Solution men are possible with God Luke 18. 27. Is any thing too hard for the Lord Gen. 18. 14. The question should thus be resolved there is not any thing too hard for the Lord that is which doth not in it self imply a contradiction or in him denote imperfection we must not judge of the power of God by what we see in the creature nor limit it to what we find in our selves Canst thou by searching find out God Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection Job 11. 7. This then being presupposed we make not Nature but the God of Nature the worker of this great miracle why should it seem either strange or impossible Sense and Reason is but a crooked line to measure his power and too short to sound his Almightiness though it may seem above yet it is not contrary to Reason the most can be said it exceeds the reach of meer sense it can with no sense be affirmed repugnant to it For God is able to raise the dead Heb. 11. 19. It denotes not imperfection in him to do it nor doth it in it self involve any repugnancy why it cannot be done God is able of stones to raise up children unto Abraham Mat. 3. 8. and why not the same body out of the dust and animate it by the same soul by which it was formerly enlivened Again where the same numerical principles Matter and Form of the thing or Person corrupted remain and the same Agent who did first put them together continues in the same power state and condition what can hinder why they cannot be united and restored again to the same state wherein they were before separation The Agent remains God changeth not and his Arm is not shortned And that the Form the soul remains is clear from Matth. 10. 28. and Jude 7. As for the Matter that remains also The first Matter is held
again y Qui granae seminum mortua putrefacta vivificat per quae in hoe seculo vivas multo magis teipsum exsitabit ut vivas in aeternum August Nor can the resolution of his body into Elements or their separation hinder The Goldsmith by his Art can sunder divers Mettals mingled together the Alchymist out of one draw another shall impotent man do such things and the Omnipotent not be able to separate those Elements into which thy body is changed from those with which it is mixed what ever confusion or mixture there be in the world in respect of us there is none to God all things are obvious to him and distinguished by his wisdome Why should the matter of our bodyes turned to Ayre Water Earth c. lie hid to him to whom the whole world is far less then a little Closet or narrow Chest to the wisest man the World is his Treasury Fire Ayre Earth and Water so many rooms where the matter of our bodys is laid up he knows right well how each part is disposed of where it lies and can bring it forth at his pleasure he can call out can bring forth what over hath been devoured by Beasts eaten by men destroyed by fishes consumed by fire exhaled into ayre converted into earth resolved into water and how ever afterward dispersed into this Universe Neither is there any Den Covert Corner Hole or secret place hidden from the knowledge or beyond the Power of the Creator Though this matter pass into a thousand bodies one after another as if a man be devoured by Beasts they eaten by Men those Men swallowed by Fishes those Fishes again by Men and these resolved into Ayre and other Elements the matter of the first man is not in the dark but in the light to him how many changes soever there be he can restore to him his own the flesh of the dead which is made the flesh of another living man is not so made his flesh but that it may be restored unto the first owner to repair his body in whom it first began to be humane flesh But how shall the man eater be repaired That in him which is exhausted by hunger and exhaled into ayre or any way lost or impaired before his supply from anothers flesh is so laid up in Gods Store-house though mingled with the Elemens or in other bodies God can find it cut and will return it unto him that he needs not that borrowed flesh for his supply there is enough of his own in Gods keeping to make him up a man without being beholding to anorher for the least parcel of his body We must not imagine that whatsoever entreth into the body is turned into the substanc of it for part passeth away into the draught Nor that all that is turned into the substance of the body is permanent and continueth with a man until the day of death and so must rise again and become a part of the body at the day of judgement but every man shall have so much of his own substance as shall make his body perfect though another mans flesh eaten by him be no part thereof And now I suppose it cannot be thought impossible that God should raise the dead whether he will is the main question the Libertines sayes no And why I pray you is not this like to be done Here Object the Devil is changed into an Angel of Light and pleads Scripture or rather wrests it to maintain an Heresie Eccl. 3. 19. That which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts even one thing befalleth them as the one dyeth so dyeth the other yea they have all one breath so that a man hath no preheminence above a beast Beasts dy and rise not again and therefore no Resurrection to be expected by the sons of men These words import no more then a similitude in some Sol. things not in all between a man and a beast one thing befalleth them both that is death and in this a man hath no preheminence above a beast to be free from death the accord is not in all things is evident from v. 21. Who knoweth the Spirit of man that goeth upward and the Spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth They both dy but are not both alike in death this then makes nothing against the Resurrection of the body sith it speaks not any thing of the state of men and beasts after death but onely affirms them both to be mortal 1 Cor. 15. 50. Now this I say Brethren that flesh and blood Object cannot inherit the Kingdom of God Therefore there can be no resurrection of the body consisting of flesh and blood Whereas Paul affirms flesh and blood cannot inherit Sol. the Kingdome of God he means not our bodies simply or according to their substance consisting of flesh and blood as if the nature of flesh and blood were to be abolished and not to enter into the Kingdome of God in the Resurrection but that which before he calles a natural body v. 44 and which is Earthy v. 48. conformed to the Image of the earthly v. 29. that is our bodies as we receive them from the first Adam tainted with sin and subject to infirmities our bodies in weakness vileness corruptibility mortality and as they now are before they be changed these cannot inherit the Kingdome of God this verse is an exegesis or explication of the former As we have borne the Image of the Earthy we shall also bear the Image of the Heavenly As we have been conformable to the first Adam in having natural bodies so we shal be made like the second in having Spiritual bodies and this is necessary because else we cannot inherit the Kingdome of God we must be changed not in substance but quality of natural be made Spiritual of earthy Heavenly of mortal Immortal of corruptible Incorruptible of dishonourable Glorious of weak Powerful of sinful Holy before we are capable of that Heavenly Kingdome and Glorious state of the Saints after the Resurrection and this is evident by what the Apostle adds in the close of this and in other verses following Neither doth corruption inherit Incorruption and v. 51. We shall all be changed and 52. The dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed and v. 53. This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on Immortality The old bodies shall remain but clothed a new the substance continue but the qualities be changed the same flesh and blood but in a better condition If the souls are now free and blessed denisons of Heaven Object how is it likely they should descend again into these bodies and be again captivated in them Are not our bodies as weights Plummets and Shackles to the soul hindring them in Divine contemplation and Heavenly conversation Our bodies are not naturally a burden offence or hindrance Sol. to the Soul in the discharge of her
duty or exercise of her faculties but by accident as they are sinful and subjected thereby to weakness and infirmities all which shall be done away in the world to come Our bodies are Elementary wherein Earth and Water Object are predominant and that makes them heavy for which cause they are placed where weighty and heavy things are to be seated and this heaviness of the body must needs be an hindrance to the souls motion and action Besides Heaven is no place for such bodies there is neither lightness nor heaviness gravity nor levity then what shall our bodies do in Heaven or how shall they there long continue Let not Impotent man limit the Omnipotent God who Sol. made our bodies we now possess thus qualified for our continuance in this world can and will make them suitable to the state and condition of that to come he that made the Iron to swim and ballanceth the waters in the Clouds who to prevent vacuity causeth waters to mount upward and Iron by the influence of the Load-stone to hang in the Ayr who gave ability to the body of Christ after his Resurrection to ascend into the Heavens can as well change the temper of our bodies and make them fit for any place or motion and to continue above the Elementary Region From the proof and explication of this Mystery we proproceed Vse 1. to a brief Application What hath been said serves first for refutation of those that deny or corrupt the Doctrine Refutation of the Resurrection of the body The Philosophers misled by vain Philosophy were for the most part ignorant of and Adversaries to it a Et ut carnis Resurrectio negetur de una omnium Philo sophorum Schola sumitur Tertul. Praescrip advers Heret So were the Sadduces b Mat. 22. 23. Acts 23. 8. the first after Christ among the Christians that denyed it was Simon Magus c Epiph. h. 21. some there were among the Corinthians unsound herein d 1 Cor. 15. as also Hymeneus and Philetus e 2 Tim. 2. 18. Basilides Saturninus and many more are for this by Epiphanius Augustine and other Fathers condemned for Hereticks many more might be named were it necessary I shall adde only one pair more of this viperous brood Coppin and Quintin whom in latter times about the year 1525. the Devil stirred up in Brabant and Holland to oppugne this and other precious truths of God the latter having abjured his Heresie was for this and other notorious crimes executed at Tourney in Gallick Flanders f Gualter Chronog And if the same body rise then not an aerial and aetherial as the Originists held nor as Eutichius Patriarch of Constantinople supposed shall our bodies be impalpable Greg. l. 14. c. 29. in Job and more subtile then the Wind and Ayr neither can the soul pass out of one body into another in death for either it must inform moe bodies then one or some bodies must be joyned to other souls in the Resurrection We forbear to mention any more Heresies or Hereticks in this point the Church hath been continually pestered with them in all ages so that it is no wonder the grand Impostor hath in our times withdrawn so many from the simplicity of the Gospel This should be as a Bridle to restrain from sin and a Vse 2. Exhortation spur to holiness and vertue Herein saith Paul do I exercise Acts 24. 15. my self to have alwayes a conscienco void of offence toward God and toward men then shall be a Resurrection that men may be judged and receive according to their deeds what a madness thenis it for men to spend their days in vanity as if no account were to be given The Saints shall rise to glory they shall be as the Angels then what manner of men ought they to be who expect such a Priviledge as to be the children of the Resurrection And this should be an encouragement to suffer chearfully for Christ sith we shall have our reward in the Resurrection of the just this was the Martyrs comfort and confidence in their sufferings that they should obtain a better Resurrection g Heb. 11. 35. In the mean time we should with Job earnestly long and patiently wait for this glorious change h Job 14. 14. with Paul strive to attain unto the Resurrection of the dead i Phil. 3. 11. that is that state of perfection which doth accompany the Resurrection we should groan to be clothed upon with our house from Heaven k 2 Cor. 5. 4. waiting for the Adoption the Redemption of our body l Rom. 8. 25. This also is a Fountain of Consolation to the Saints 1. In respect of death we need not fear to dy because we hope to live again and in a far better condition when we have put off our ordinary raggs we shall be clothed with royal Robes when our houses of Clay are pulled down we shall have a building raised of hewen stone we leave a prison to possess a Palace our vile bodies shall be made glorious In the grave we rest in our Chambers and our dust is living to the Lord And concerning them that are asleep let us nor sorrow as them which have no hope m 〈◊〉 Thes 4. If ye love me saith Christ ye will rejoyce because I go to my Father n Ioh. 14. 28. We should rejoyce when our friends dy for they go to our Father 2. In respect of sin which cleaves so fast unto and so easily besets us here that we have cause to cry out with Paul O miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death In the resurrection we shall be perfect as the Angels 3. In respect of those manifold wants necessities and afflictions we are subject to in this life in the resurrection all evils shall be removed and all good things enjoyed we shall be as the Angels of God Jobs comfort was That in his Job 19. 26. flesh he should see God David's and Christs upon a like ground Thou wilt shew me the path of life the same was Psal 16. 11. the Martyrs consolation Peter speaks of times of refreshing Heb. 11. 35. which are a Christians hope and therefore we should not Acts 3. 19. faint in affliction nor be discouraged with difficulties which molest us in our Christian race we shall have a time of refreshing at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom be glory and honour for ever and ever Amen A Conference between John Osborn Minister of the Gospel and Richard Coppin concerning the resurrection of the body Osb JOb 19. 25. For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth 26. And though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my slesh shall I see God 27. Whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not another though
my reins be consumed within me Cop. Job did not speak as rightly he should do and that appears in chap. 42. where he comes to confess he spake things he understood not here he gives an answer to those words which he spake in chap. 19. Osb Whereas in your answer you affirm out of ch 42. that Job understood not what he spake My reply is this 1. Job saith not the things were false of which he here affirmeth he spake but understood not but that he understood them not which he afterward expresseth thus things too wonderful for me which I knew not which by any thing that yet appears by you alledged cannot be drawn without violence and injury to the text unto any other sence then this he had spoken things which for the nature of them were so high that he could not understand them he could not reach them or comprehend them there was more in them then his understanding could attain unto this doth not import a contrariety between his words and those things he speaks of but onely a disproportion of his understanding to comprehend them A man may speak of God and his ways as Job in this book doth truly and in so doing he may say as Job I uttered things I understood not things too wonderful for me which I knew not For who can finde out the Almighty how wonderful are his judgements and his ways past finding out So then the narrowness and shortness of Jobs understanding to comprehend the Latitude and reach the heighth of those things which here he speaks of doth no whit overthrow the truth of that he had spoken concerning them So that whatsoever the things were that Job intends in this 42 chap. which he understood not when he uttered them You must prove he speaks falsly of them which yet you have not done nor can it with any good consequence be gathered from the words alledged 2. Though that were granted and the words so taken as by you they are urged that he spake what he knew not and beside the truth yet will not this serve your turn he speaks indefinitely that he uttered things he understood and knew not but that all the things he spake of were of that nature and so falsly propunded by him cannot be imagined or affirmed with any pretence of reason for then all that he spake must be false which I think you dare not adventure to maintain and if you should the very reading of his discourse without Argument would refute you if then it be onely some things he speaks of you must clear the relation of these words in ch 42. 3. to those in ch 19. of his Redeemer and Resurrection or by better evidence of Scripture or reason then yet you have produced prove these to be of that sort or your silence would have been as argumentative as your allegation and this you will hardly do yea you must confess you cannot do it if you do but examine and acknowledge the testimony that God himself gives of Job verse 7 of this chapter Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job hath If Gods testimony deserve the preheminence as doubtless it doth as of one to whom all those things that were to Job so wonderful and unsearchable lay open and plainly discernable you must then prove this of his Redeemer and Resurrection by him after death to be none of those speeches of his which are by God attested here to be right or that all he spake of God was false or let that answer fall as having uttered things you understand not things too wonderful for you Cop. These words of God in commendation of Job have reference to what Job saith in this 42 chapter v. 3. 4 5. specially v. 5 6. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes This is it the Lord commends Job for as having spoken right concerning him Osb This refers to other passages for Job was set in opposition to his three friends Job had discoursed with them who are condemned by God as not having spoken right concerning him as Job who is therefore commended but they speak not in this chapter but before therefore this testimony doth relate to things before Cop. Job so rises that he knew not the time Job being in ch 19. under the first Covenant in 42 under the new speaking ch 19. of his Resurrection and seeing his Redeemer his apprehension being dark he could not tell whether it was in the body or spirit Osb Job speaketh not of Spirit but of seeing God in his flesh which Job waited not for but till after his body had been destroyed with worms and this Job calls the latter day Cop. Job spake that he should see God at the last general day but he was carnal and his words were accomplished in this life for he afterwards sees him he had a full sight of God as he expected and says I have seen the Lord already I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth thee and that was the last day to him Job speaks I have had thoughts that I shall see my redeemer at the latter day but then Job was carnal many souls will say that At the last day I shall see my Redeemer as I have said my self Osb Did Job conceive aright or not when he saith I shall see my Redeemer stand at the latter day upon the earth Cop. He was mistaken as was Martha Martha understood the resurrection in one sense Christ in another Osb This you have not proved nor how this sight of God which you say he had was in his latter day 1. When as you say it is in this life you have not produced any authority of Scripture to prove the latter day is so taken in respect of some latter part of the life of a man but it is usually taken for the latter part of the time of the worlds duration 2. If it be elswhere so taken it doth not appear so taken in these words of Job nay the contrary rather for Job is said to live one hundred and forty years after he had seen the Lord and therefore it cannot be his latter day in this life Cop. It was the latter day to him Osb He speaks of such a latter day that should come after worms had destroyed his skin and his body when his reins had been consumed within him therefore this latter day could not be in his natural life Cop. Job so spake of worms that he should see God after worms had destroyed his body before he knew the sight of God to be in this life for he said it one way but found it another As I my self have thought and as many other souls also Now I appeal to the Consciences of some that are here present whether it be not so Osb Other mens sayings or thoughts
it What is all this v. 17 18. to the old man or labouring and traveling to bring forth Christ in the spirit Cop. The bringing of the soul out of the dust is the bringing of the new man out of the old Osb. Where is your proof that the bringing of the dead out of the dust is bringing the soul out of the dust and that the bringing of the new man out of the old Cop. This is proved v. 14. They are dead they shall not live they are deceased they shall not rise therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish Osb. What is this to the old man Cop. God's raising them is raising their memory or them to a memory which before they had not it was a perishing memory which before they had Osb. What means the perishing of their memory here Cop. They remembred not God or had not the knowledge of God Osb. Prove this phrase to hold forth any such thing Cop. The natural man is enmity with God Osb. Prove the memory perishing to be taken for natural state Cop. It is the darkness of their Understanding Osb. Prove it is meant so here and alledge your Scripture and I will acknowledge my self to be in an error Cop. I prove Ezek. 37. 11. These bones are the whole House of Israel Behold they say our bones are dryed up and our hope is lost Osb. He says nothing of memory much less of memory perishing but speaks of hope lost which are two distinct things hope being of things to come and memory of things past therefore this Scripture cannot witness for you you must seek elsewhere Cop. The Scripture carries it all along that the natural mans memory perisheth not Osb. I see little strength or sense in this answer or that it is in any sort pertinent to our question Let me now see how you can prove in this chapter and particularly in this verse he speaketh of the new man and that by dust is meant corruption of nature and darkness Cop. If men will not receive the truth they may pick Cavils Osb. You judge me though judging be against your doctrine but prove that by dust is meant corruption and darkness Cop. What is it that awakens out of darkness Christ in us who appears as dew on the herbs till Christ as dew revive our dead hopes as appears also by Hos 14. 51. I will be as the dew unto Israel he shall grow as the Lilly How shall he fall as a dew unless upon as as dead Jesus Christ is the dew and he cometh not but on the dead Osb. If this be granted it doth but hold out this that those that are raised are raised by this dew but that the dead on which it falleth are souls onely and not bodies you have not proved Cop. That coming is on a dry soul Osb. Yet I deny that the soul only is quickned by Christ I grant that Christ as dew and as rain falls on a withered soul and thereby quickens and revives it but that it quickens the soul only I deny for it also quickens the body of which he speaks here in Isaiah Cop. I have proved the soul to be quickned by this dew you must prove the dew doth descend upon the body also Osb. It was rather my grant then your proof that the soul is quickned which we affirm also of the body sith what the dew is to the corn and grass that Christ is to the bodies of men as the dew revives the corn and grass and makes it to flourish when it is dead and withered so doth Christ raise mens bodies dead in the grave which we having before abundantly proved by authority of Scripture it is your part to disprove or shew the impertinency of the Scriptures alledged for to the Proposition by me maintained Cop. Would you have me to prove all Will you have no proof on your side You will prove nothing Osb. Seing you will have it so we will make an Essay what may be proved out of this very verse from whence I doubt not to infer the verity of my Assertion and the falsity of yours and that he speaks of bodies quickned by this dew from a bodily death in the grave rather then of souls from corruption the dead that are here raised by the dew falling on them are conformable to Christ they are so dead as Christ's body was and so raised as Christ's Together with my dead body shall they arise But Christ's Resurrection was not from corruption and sin but from a bodily death to life therefore ours also Cop. Christ did descend to the Nature of man that is corruption Christ must lay this in grave and rise from it Osb. Then Christ was a sinner Cop. He took our sins and so his resurrection was from sin Osb. Doth this of Isa 26. 17 hold out any such thing Yea where is he said to rise from sin Cop He took our Nature on him and that 's the cause Osb. It was from the grave and not from sin corruption and ignorance Cop. If he rose not from them then he had them not Osb. Neither had he for he was without sin That remains to be proved Cop. He took all our infirmities on him Osb. Not sinful infirmities Cop. All our infirmities and bare our sicknesses Osb. I deny that John 11. 24. Osb. Let us go on to another Scripture namely Joh. 11. 24. Martha saith unto him I know that he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day Lazarus was dead lay four days in the grave and stunk yet of him Martha saith He should rise again in the Resurrection at the last day This cannot be meant of any spiritual Resurrection in this life but of a Resurrection after death Which perswasion of hers Christ confirms by saying I am the Resurrection Cop. Martha spoke in Ignorance and Christ by way of Reproof Mark the words I know saith Martha my Brother shall rise again in the Resurrection of the last day Christ answers I am the Resurrection and the Life He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live as if he had said she should not believe her self but him Martha believed not as in v. 40. Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of God Therefore Christ reproved an Unbeliever Osb. Christ instructs reprooves not Martha but rather commends her M. John Hughes Martha saith v. 27. that she doth believe therefore she had faith Cop. She believed in general but not in particular and who will not say my friends that are dead I shall see them again at the last day M. Hughes You will not say it M. W. Bartholomew Martha had external faith but not internal faith Cop. Yea yea Osb. Where do you prove by Scripture there is an external faith and what is external faith M. W. Bartholomew She heard with the ear that was her faith Osb. We deny hearing to be