Discourse About Christ and Antichrist, Treatise
The Reſurrection of the Body Aſſerted and Cleared.
ACT. 26.8.
Why ſhould it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God ſhould raiſe the Dead?
THeſe are the words of the Apoſtle Paul, ſpoken by way of Apology, in defence of himſelf, and of that moſt queſtioned and contradicted part of his Doctrine, viz. the Reſurrection of the Dead. This being in it ſelf, & ſo accounted by him, the chief Foundation of a Chriſtians Hope, where ever that great Apoſtle came, he firſt laies, and then builds upon it. At Athens, among the learned Greeks, Act. 17.18.we find him, by their own confeſſion, preaching but two things, Jeſus, and the Reſurrection. Afterwards, when he was empleaded by the Jews, he doth openly avow his Faith. I am, ſaith he, a Phariſee; i. e. Act. 23.6.I do with them hold and maintain the Reſurrection of the dead, for, as it follows, of the hope and reſurrection of the dead I am called in queſtion. Again, when he was convened before Felix, the Roman Deputy, he inſiſts upon the ſame Argument; for whereas he was charged by Tertullus with being an Heretick (which word is ſtill continued, Act. 24.5.as that name of Obloquy, whereby men are wont to diſgrace all new Diſcoveries of old Truths) Paul doth, in deſpight of that opprobrious Name, own that, which they called Hereſie, Ver. 14.and aloud proclaimes, that he believed, as all the Jews either did, or elſe had reaſon to do from their writings, there ſhould be a Reſurrection of the dead, Ver. 15.both of the juſt and of the unjust. And now again, being brought forth before a mixt Auditory, both of Jews and Romans, he doth not only aſſert the Doctrine, but likewiſe in theſe words offers to diſpute the Caſe, and to prove the Reſurrection by the dint of Reaſon.
The words themſelves, which are propoſed by way of queſtion, contain three parts:
1. A Propoſition: that God will raiſe the Dead; for theſe words, Why ſhould it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God ſhould raiſe the Dead? Imply, that God will certainly raiſe them.
2. An Oppoſition: that this is judged very incredible; for theſe words, Why is it judged incredible with you, that God ſhould raiſe the Dead? Implies, that this is ordinarily eſteemed and reputed as a thing incredible.
3. A Demonſtration or a Conviction; that though this was judged incredible, yet indeed in it ſelf it was not ſo. For this queſtion, Why is it judged incredible, &c. implies, that in the opinion of the Queſtioner, there was no ſufficient Reaſon why it ſhould be ſo eſteemed.
And theſe three Parts afford us three Doctrinal Concluſions:
1. That God will raiſe the Dead.
2. That this Doctrine, concerning the Reſurrection of the Dead, ſeems to natural men very incredible and very unreaſonable.
3. That the Reſurrection of the Dead, however it be judged incredible by natural men, yet is in it ſelf highly credible, highly rational.
Doct. 1 The firſt Concluſion is, That God will raiſe the Dead; By Dead, here I mean that part of man which dies, viz. his Body; for the ſoul dies not, but when the body returns to its duſt, the ſoul returns to him that gave it. And fear not them, ſaith our Saviour, Eccl. 12.7. Mat. 10.28.which kill the body, but are not able to kill the ſoul; with this part of our ſelves, as ſoon as ever we diſlodge from the Body, in the Apoſtle Pauls Language, we do foreign, i.e. 1 Cor. 5.8.dwell and cohabite with the Lord, as in our proper Fathers houſe; for Heaven is the Souls Native and Original home: and therefore the re-union of that at laſt with the Body, is rather a return than a Reſurrection. To ſpeak properly, the Body only riſes; thus our Saviour: The hour is coming, ſaith he, Joh. 5.25.when the dead ſhall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear, ſhall live; where, that we might not be miſtaken, who he meant by dead, he adds by way of Explication, the houre is coming, when all who are, Ver. 28.foreign, in the Tombes or Monuments, ſhall hear his voice. Now what elſe are Monuments but as one calls them, Tertul.Cadaverum ſtabula; The ſtalls or receptacles of our corrupt and periſhing bodies. And therefore, when our Saviour envites all to come unto him, he uſes this by way of motive, that whoever came to him, he would not loſe foreign, i.e. any thing that belonged to him, For, ſaith he, Joh. 6.39.I will raiſe him up at the laſt day. And again, He that believes on the Son, he ſhall have Eternal Life, and I will raiſe him up at the laſt day. Implying, not only that if the body were not raiſed, ſomething which did eſſentially belong to man would be loſt and periſh; but likewiſe that without this raiſing of the body, Eternal Life would not be a ſtate of happineſs; becauſe it would be nothing elſe but an Eternal ſeparation from that part unto which the ſoul alwaies deſires to be joyned, and from which it is unwillingly ſevered, as the Apoſtle argues, 1 Cor. 5.1. and following verſes.
But doth our Saviour, do his Apoſtles ſay this only? Say not the Prophets the ſame? Is not this Article of our Faith, as well as all the reſt, to be proved out of the Old Teſtament? Volkol. l. 2…It will concern us a little to enquire into it, that we may ſtop thoſe mens mouths, who traduce our Religion, when they tell us, that it is wholly new; for if our Saviour had taught any thing which was either contrary to, or not eminently contained in the Writings of Moſes and the Prophets, the Jews would have had juſter Reaſon to disbelieve his Doctrine than as yet they can pretend. For to inſiſt only upon this of the Reſurrection (which of all other Divine Diſcoveries ſeems to have leaſt footing in the Old Teſtament.) It is plain that the Sadduces, who denied the Reſurrection, are charged by our Saviour with Ignorance of the Scriptures, Ye erre, ſaith he, not knowing the Scriptures; i. e. not reflecting upon thoſe places of Scripture wherein the Reſurrection is, though not directly ſpoken of, yet, plainly and by good conſequence implied. And thereupon he interprets one place, which, though not minded by them, yet, did verifie his Aſſertion. The Place is, Exod 3.that ſtile which God, in his Apparition to Moſes, did aſſume, Mat. 22 31, 32.when he calls himſelf, The God of Abraham, the God of Iſaac, and the God of Jacob; this, ſaith our Saviour, doth demonſtrate the Reſurrection, For God is not God of the dead, but of the living; which words conclude two things: 1. That the fouls of Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob were then living with God. 2. That the living of their ſouls did neceſſarily infer that their bodies ſhould live too; ſince God is not God of this or that part only, but of the whole man. Another place in the Old Teſtament which did imply the Reſurrection, is the promiſe God made to Abraham; Gen. 12.1.that he would bring him to a Land flowing with Milk and Honey. But by this Land, as the Apoſtle excellently argues, Heb. 11.8, 16.was not meant Canaan, for there Abraham had no poſſeſſion, but confeſſed of himſelf that he was a Pilgrim and ſtranger in it; which manifeſtly ſhews, that he deſired a Country, not that which he left, but a better, even a heavenly one; and that he looked after it, as a Place of Happineſs not only for his Soul, but likewiſe for his Body, is plain from what the Apoſtle ſaith afterwards, concerning the undaunted Conſtancy of the Primitive Martyrs, i.e. ſuch as died in bearing their witneſs for the Truths of God, before the coming of our Saviour in the fleſh. They would not, Ver. 35.ſaith he, accept of deliverance, that they might obtain a better Reſurrection. Beſides theſe places which do imply this Doctrine, there are ſome that do expreſly mention it; As that of Job, Job 19. Ver. 25.whoſe words, however controverted by many Learned men, yet out of the Original, are exactly thus, For I know that my Redeemer (i.e. promiſed Meſſiah, unto whom this Term of foreign is moſt ordinarily applied, as Iſa. 59.20. foreign, i.e. the Redeemer ſhall come to Sion, and unto them that turn from tranſgreſſion in Jacob, which no Interpreter but muſt needs underſtand of the promiſed Saviour) liveth, and at laſt he ſhall ariſe (or ſtand, i.e. as Judge) over the Duſt, (i.e. either upon Earth, as our Engliſh Tranſlation hath it; or, over all men, Ver. 26.though now for the preſent they lye in the duſt.) And, after my skin, when they (i.e. the worms, or the diſeaſes he was then afflicted with) have pierced through this (i.e. body of mine) yet out of my fleſh ſhall I ſee Jehovah, whom I ſhall ſee for my ſelf, and my eyes ſhall behold, Ver. 27.and not a ſtranger; which doth ſo clearly manifeſt his belief of the Reſurrection, that, as the words cannot poſſibly be made ſenſe without it, ſo the Greek Tranſlation, by uſing the word foreign, which ſignifies, To raiſe up again to life, in that ſenſe I ſpeak of, doth plainly favour it. This likewiſe was the Faith of David, where he ſaies, Thou wilt not ſuffer thy Holy one to ſee Corruption: Pſal. 16.11. Act. 3.For though (as to the Riſing on the third day, i. e. before the natural Humours were reſolved and Corrupted) it was literally fulfilled by our Saviour, and ſo applied to him both by Peter and Paul, Act. 13.yet it is plain, that he who ſpake thoſe words did likewiſe believe a Reſurrection of his own Perſon, therefore he ſaies, My fleſh ſhall reſt in hope. But moſt plain is that of Daniel, who, Dan 12.2.ſpeaking of Michael, i.e. Meſſiah the Prince, (and we know it was the Charge againſt our Saviour, that he made himſelf foreign, i.e. Meſſiah the Prince) ſaies, that in his time, Many (i. e. the multitude) of them that ſleep in the duſt ſhall awake, ſome to everlaſting life, and ſome to ſhame and everlaſting contempt; which is ſo clear a Prophecy of the Future Reſurrection, and in ſo expreſs Terms, that our Saviour in his Declaration of it ſeems to allude to theſe very words of Daniel, and to have had them in his eye; only what Daniel calls everlaſting contempt, our Saviour explains, by calling it, the Reſurrection of Condemnation: And thoſe, ſaith he, Joh. 5.29.who do good, ſhall go forth to the Reſurrection of life; but thoſe who do evil, to the Reſurrection of Condemnation. So that from hence it evidently appears, that we Chriſtians, in this particular, do own no more than what other holy men among the Jews did before us; and our Apoſtle did very well underſtand what he ſaid, when in the words foregoing my Text, he tells them, that he was then judged for the Promiſe (i. e. of Future life and happineſs not to be attained, but after the Reſurrection) made by God unto the Fathers; whereupon he proceeds to make that query, Why ſhould it be judged incredible, that God ſhould raiſe the dead?
And ſo much for the firſt Obſervation.
Doct. 2 The ſecond Obſervation is this, That the Doctrine of the Reſurrection, though plainly revealed in Scripture, ſeems to natural men very incredible; Act. 17.18.ſo it appeared to the Learned Philoſophers at Athens, who called Paul foreign, Prater, or Trifler for preaching it: And they did ſo little underſtand what the word foreign meant, that they took it to be the name of ſome Daemon; for thus ſome ſaid of Paul, That he was a publiſher of ſtrange Daemons, becauſe he preached unto them Jeſus and the Reſurrection; which laſt word ſhould have been left untranſlated, for they took foreign, which Paul ſpake ſo much of, to be the name of ſome New Goddeſs. So likewiſe in this Chapter, when Paul makes a Relation of his Converſion, which yet was very miraculous, Feſtus heard him patiently, but when once he began to mention how Chriſt was raiſed from the dead, Act. 26.23, 24. foreign.Feſtus could hold no longer, but cryed out with a great deal of impatience, Paul thou art mad, too much learning hath quite unhinged thy braine, and overturned thee into madneſs. 2 Cor. 15.Hence the Apoſtle, in that Chapter where he doth moſt elegantly diſpute it, brings in an heathen asking this queſtion, Ver. 35.But ſome man will ſay, How are the dead raiſed up? Which is not an How of enquiry, into the manner and Method of the Reſurrection, in what order it ſhall be accompliſhed; but an How of doubting, concerning the whole thing: Joh. 3.9.Like Nicodemus's How, How can theſe things be? And therefore in the Primitive Perſecutions, the enemies of Gods People never ſhewed more witty cruelty in any thing than in deviſing waies how to elude the Reſurrection; and that not only by mangling, torturing, and burning their bodies, but by ſcattering their Aſhes in the Rivers, …nſeb. l. 5. c. 1.foreign, ſaith mine Author, foreign, &c. As if they had been able to conquer God, and deprive the Saints of their Reſurrection. Neither was this only the perſwaſion of the Heathen world, but we ſee oftentimes in Scripture, thoſe who owned higher Principles, yet manifeſting their doubts and deſpaires of this. c. 7.9.Thus Job, notwithſtanding his ſo excellent confeſſion, in a fit of impatience cries out, As the cloud is conſumed and vaniſheth away, c. 14.7.ſo he that goeth down to the grave ſhall come up no more. And again, There is hope, ſaith he, of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will ſprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not ceaſe. But, if a man dye, ſhall he live again? Ver. 14.By which words he ſeems to conclude, that by death at leaſt the Body is utterly loſt. So Ezekiel, when God, to try his faith, asked him this queſtion, c. 37.3.Son of man, can theſe bones live? That holy man durſt not affirm it, but uſes an anſwer which ſhews that he was altogether uncertain and at a loſs about it: O Lord God, ſaith he, thou knoweſt; i.e. I am not able to reſolve thee; that dry bones ſhould live, belongs as much to a Divine knowledge to comprehend, as to a Divine Power to effect it. Thus in the New Teſtament the Apoſtles, though they knew their Maſter to be the Son of God, and the Meſſiah, (which was a great maſter-piece of Faith) yet they did not at all underſtand the Reſurrection; Mar. 9.for when our Saviour after his Transfiguration did charge them, that they ſhould not tell any what they had ſeen, untill the Son of man were riſen from the dead; The Evangeliſt adds, that they kept the matter private to themſelves, but queſtioned or diſputed with one another, what the riſing from the dead ſhould mean: at which time, it ſeems, they were ſo utterly ignorant of the thing, that they ſcarce underſtood the meaning of the word. Hence was it, that even then when the Reſurrection of our Saviour had cleared the Point, 1 Cor. 15.12.and left ſcarce room for the leaſt umbrage of ſuſpition to enter; yet there were ſome in the Church of Corinth, who utterly denied it; and other, 2 Tim. 2.18.of the Sect of Hymenaeus and Philetus, who affirmed, that it was paſt already; So hard a matter was it for this Doctrine to get ground in the world; 1 Tim. 13.6.and therefore the Apoſtle when he ſums up the Myſtery of Godlineſs, i.e. as it is revealed by our Saviour, he makes this to be one great part of it, that Chriſt was not only riſen from the dead, but believed on in the World. The ſubduing of the world unto the perſwaſion and credence of our Saviours Reſurrection being every whit as miraculous as the raiſing him.
The Reaſons why this appears ſo to incredible, to natural men, are
1. Becauſe naturally men do doubt the Immortality of the Soul. I know very well, that there are many excellent Diſcourſes about this in the Heathen Writers; and Plato, Phade.in a certain Dialogue of his, brings in his Maſter Socrates, diſputing about it, with as much ſtrength of Reaſon, and clearneſs of Expreſſion, as the wit of man can poſſibly invent; but after all his fine ſayings he concludes, foreign; But expreſly to affirm, that the matter is indeed ſo, as I have diſcourſed of, doth by no means become an underſtanding man. And ſo makes it at the beſt only a probable opinion, without daring to think, as our modern Demonſtrators do, that he had fully and ſatisfactorily cleared it. And therefore his ſo much magnified Socrates, when he was now to be led unto execution, takes his farewell of the Judges in theſe words, which diſcover nothing but his uncertainty, Apol.I go to dye, and you to live, and which of us do go unto the best eſtate, foreign, De Senect.none knows but God alone. So Tully, the moſt Learned of the Romans, calls Immortality an Errour, which he will by no means part with, becauſe he is pleaſed and delighted with it. Wherein he diſcovers his Wiſhes, De Animâ.rather than his Hopes; For as Tertullian excellently argues, to ſuppoſe the ſoul Immortal, it was in the Heathen nothing elſe but a bold and vain preſumption, ſince it alwaies lay in his power to deſtroy the Soule, who made it; and whether he would or not, he had not, as to them, revealed his pleaſure. And indeed the words of Job in his deſpair are the higheſt reaſoning of moſt Philoſophers, c. 14.10.Man, ſaith he, dieth, and waſteth away; yea, man giveth up the Ghoſt, and where is he? And Solomon, in the perſon of a natural man, asks a queſtion, which he challengeth the World to anſwer, Eccl. 3.21.Who knoweth the ſpirit of a man that goeth upward, and the ſpirit of a beast that goeth downward to the Earth? Who knoweth? i.e. upon the principles of meer Reaſon, and Reſearch of Natural Cauſes, who is able to reſolve it? Whereupon among the Jews, Act 23.8.the Sadduces, who denied the Reſurrection, denied likewiſe both Angel and Spirit, i. e. the ſurviving of the ſoul, as well as the reſtoring of the body. So that ſince men do naturally doubt of the leſs, it is no wonder if they deſpair of the greater? They who are apt to give the ſoul it ſelf for loſt, how can they imagine that the body ſhould ever be recovered?
2. The ſecond Reaſon, why natural men are ſo apt to disbelieve the Reſurrection, is, becauſe they make a wrong eſtimate of Gods Power. We ſee in this World nothing better, and therefore we are ready to meaſure God by our ſelves; and believe no more of his Power than what falls within the compaſs of Humane probability; which is the true and fixed ground of all that Atheiſtical Diſtruſt, which in all times doth ſo much abound among men: Who is the Lord, ſaid Pharaoh, Exod. 5.2.that I ſhould let Iſrael go? And, Who is Jehova, ſaies Inſulting Senacherib, 2 Reg 18.35.that he ſhould deliver Jeruſalem out of my hand? Nay, not only theſe wicked men, but the Saints of old have moſt ſtumbled, when they have been put to Act Faith upon Gods Omnipotency; Gen. 18.11.Thus Sarah when ſhe heard the promiſe of a Son, ſhe laughed, What, ſaith ſhe, now I am old ſhall I have pleaſure, my Husband being old alſo? Wherein ſhe muſters up Arguments to make her Diſtruſt ſeem Rational. So Moſes finds out many excuſes to avoid being ſent upon Gods Errand, I am not Eloquent, faith he, Exod. 4.10.but ſlow of ſpeech, and ſlow of Tongue; And at laſt, in plain terms, he entreats that God would find out a fitter Meſſenger to go upon his Embaſſie, And whence did this proceed, Ver. 13.but from his diſtruſt of Gods Power to Qualifie him firſt, and to Protect him afterwards? Thus David, Jeremy, Zachary, nay, almoſt all, when a ſtreſs or difficulty hath been laid upon their Faith, they have been ready to cry out, with Nicodemus, How can theſe things be? Thus it fares in the Caſe of the Reſurrection; Men do firſt confine the Omnipotence of God to their own Notions, and then deny what otherwiſe they would never have doubted of. Mat. 22.29.Our Saviour therefore tells the unbelieving and gainſaying Sadduces, Ye erre, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the Power of God; not knowing the Scriptures, which declare the Reſurrection; nor the Power of God, which is able to effect it.
3. The third Reaſon of this Unbelief is, becauſe Natural men are guided only by ſenſible Impreſſions; what they ſee, that they believe, and are not, without a great deal of difficulty, carried one jot farther. Hence were the Jews ſo importunate with our Saviour to ſhew them a ſign from Heaven; Mat. 16.1.And when our Saviour told fome of his Followers, in anſwer to their Demand, that it was the work of God, (i.e. well-pleaſing to, Joh. 6.30, 31.and required by him) to believe on him, whom he had ſent. They preſently reply upon him, What ſign ſhewſt thou then, that we may ſee and believe thee? So thoſe Scoffers in Iſaiah, when the Propher had denounced terrible things againſt them, Let him make ſpeed, ſay they, and haſten his work, that we may ſee it. That is, you ſpeak much to us of what ſhall come hereafter, but we ſee no danger near, and therefore we will not believe you. Thus thoſe wretched Phariſees, when they had nailed our Saviour to the Croſs, Let him now, ſay they, come down from the Croſs, and we will believe him. Vain men as well as Cruel! Vain, in that they conceived it lay in their own Power to believe when they pleaſed; Cruel, in that they did inſult over a man, whom they had ſo inhumanely murdered: Both Vain and Cruel, in that they could imagine our Saviour, after the Miracles of his Life, and more than miraculous Patience of his Death, fruitleſly ſhewn amongſt them, would now deſcend at laſt meerly to ſatisfie their Impious Curioſity. We are all of the Tormented Perſons mind; Luk. 16.30, 31.though Preaching can do no good upon us, yet we think, if one came from the dead and taught us, we ſhould then certainly be converted; But our Saviour hath reſolved the Caſe clean otherwiſe, If they, ſaith he, hear not Moſes and the Prophets (who ſpeak in the Name of God with that Authority, as becomes his Power; and with that Purity, as becomes his Holineſs; if theſe men, thus ſpeaking, be not liſtened to) neither will men be perſwaded, though one roſe from the dead. So that our Saviour (who beſt underſtood all the Topicks and Methods of Perſwaſion) hath left it as an Eternal and Experienced Truth, That no Miracle can convince them whom the Word will not work upon; that Illuſtrations of Faith are infinitely more ſatisfying than Impreſſions from ſenſe; ſince the one periſh preſently, and decay by uſing, but the other ſoak into the ſoul, and grow up into a kind of Connaturalneſs with it, moulding and faſhioning the mind unto their own temper, and every day adds freſh life and vigour to them. But a Natural man going not further than his Eye of natural Reaſon can carry him; having never ſeen any thing like to the Reſurrection, no wonder if he doth not believe it.
4. The laſt and true Reaſon, why Natural men do not believe the Reſurrection of the dead, is, becauſe they are unwilling to believe it. It is harſh and ſevere Doctrine; It laies the Axe to the Root of the Tree of Self, and cuts off all our Fantaſtick Enjoyments; It is the Fan that blows away our Husky and Chaffie Pleaſures, and leaves us to fix upon nothing, but a ſolid and ſubſtantial Good. And therefore when one comes, and preſſes this cloſely upon us, we are ready to cry out, as the woman, when ſhe had loſt her Son, did to the Prophet, What have we to do with thee, O thou man of God, art thou come to call our ſins to remembrance, and to ſlay our Son, i.e. To kill and deſtroy our Pleaſures, which are the Darlings of our Soul? Hence it is, that either we fortifie our ſelves with Objections againſt the Reſurrection, as the Heathen world did, and take a great deal of pains to ſtrengthen our Unbelief; or elſe, like Felix, Act. 24.25.we run away from the ſound of it, for fear it ſhould put us into a fit of trembling. Should a man come and preach, as ſome among the Jews did, Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we ſhall dye; Iſa. 22.13.ſuch an one as this we ſhould welcome into our houſe, and thank him for his Poyſon. But let them call to us to repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand; they will fare as John and our Saviour did; though they may ſcape with their Lives, yet they ſhall not eſcape our Cenſure. Let a Paul teach us, that now God commandeth all men every where to repent, becauſe he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the World in Righteouſneſs, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given aſſurance unto all men, in that he hath raiſed him from the dead. This Doctrine ſo ſober in it ſelf, of ſo great concernment to the Party that hears it, and of ſo little to him that ſpeaks it, will yet be entertained with ſcorn and obloquy; Take him away, he is not fit to live, Act. 22.22.ſaies the enraged Jew; He is a Babler, and an impertinent Prater, ſaies the learned Athenian: A meer Fanatick, ſaies Festus; in ſhort, without enquiring whether the Reſurrection, thus declared, be poſſible or not; we haſtily conclude that it is impoſſible; and upon that undoing Preſumption raſhly venture upon our own Damnation.
And ſo much for the ſecond Obſervation.
Doct. 3 The Third Obſervation was, That the Doctrine of the Reſurrection, however Incredible it may ſeem to Natural men, yet it is in it ſelf highly credible, and may be evinced, even by that which Natural men do moſt pretend to, and that is Reaſon. Now the credibility of it will appear from theſe three Arguments:
1. It is Poſſible, it may be; God can do it.
II. It is neceſſary, it muſt be; There is no Providence without it.
III. It is evident and certain that it hath been; and ſo hath been, as withal it demonſtratively proves that it ſhall be.
The Firſt Argument, Reaſon 1 which proves the Doctrine of the Refurrection Credible, is the Poſſibility of it, it may be; and this muſt be well weighed, in oppoſition to the foreign, or How of naturall men, who think it implies a contradiction, that a body ſo ſcattered and diſperſed (one man ſometimes feeding upon another, and ſo confounding the Integral parts of both) ſhould ever be reſtored again, Orig. l. 2. & 7.and thence conclude it impoſſible; as Celſus the Epicurean Philoſopher, and others.
Now the Reſurrection will appear poſſible, upon a twofold account.
1. In reſpect of God, who raiſeth the Body.
2. In reſpect of the Body, which is raiſed by him.
1. The Reſurrection is poſſible, in reſpect of God who raiſeth the Body; he is able to do it; which is intimated here by our Apoſtle, Why, ſaith he, is it judged incredible with you, that God ſhould raiſe the dead: As if he had ſaid, did we affirm, that the body of man, like Plants, did riſe by any Seminal and Prolifick vertue of its own, then none would wonder if you did deride and disbelieve us: But we teach no ſuch Doctrine, we only affirm, that God will raiſe the dead by an immediate Act of his Omnipotence: And then, why ſhould this appear incredible to you? For cannot God do whatever he pleaſes? What ſhould hinder him, that he cannot as well raiſe the Dead, as make the Living? It is with this, that God himſelf doth ſilence Sarahs ſcruples: Gen. 18.14.Is any thing too hard for the Lord? With this he doth repreſs Moſes Diffidence, Who hath made mans mouth? Or who maketh the deaf or dumb, the ſeeing or the blind? Is it not I the Lord? As if he had ſaid, I that have done the greater, am I not able to do the leſs? I who have made mans mouth, am not I able to diſpoſe and fit it for what ends I pleaſe? With this the Angel doth relieve Maries ſurprize and wonder, Luk. 1.37.when (upon the promiſe that ſhe ſhould conceive a child, without the knowledge of a man, which certainly was every whit as impoſſible as that I am treating of) ſhe began to ſtagger and Heſitate a little, With God, ſaith the Angel, nothing ſhall be impoſſible; and for a further ſtrengthening of her Faith, Ver. 45.Elizabeth encourages her from her own experience, Bleſſed is ſhe that believeth; for there ſhall be a performance of thoſe things which were told her from the Lord. For, who is there that will preſume to ſet limits to Gods Power? Or, that dare ſay to an Almighty Agent, hitherto canſt thou come, but no farther? He that dares be guilty of ſo bold and blaſphemous an Aſſertion, muſt likewiſe allow this contradiction, that a Finite Agent can conceive the utmoſt of an Infinite and Incomprehenſible Perfection. As therefore in the Queſtion, concerning Mans Freewill, and Gods Predetermination of Future Contingencies, I have by experience found it, that the beſt way to reconcile theſe two, is to deny neither, but to charge all doubts upon Gods Omniſcience: For it is, and will be a doubt, which none but a Divine and All-knowing Underſtanding can reſolve, How Man ſhould Act Freely, (as we are conſcious to our ſelves that we do) and yet not the leaſt Action we do, but was Predeſtined by God from all Eternity; which not only plain Texts of Scripture, but the Truth of Philoſophy, and the bare ſeries and ſubordination of Cauſes doth clearly demonſtrate. Here, inſtead of tiring out our ſelves with vain Reaſoning, and Uncharitable Reviling; the ſafeſt and moſt prudent way is, to ſhelter our ſelves under Gods Omniſcience, for it is dignus Numine Nodus; and we cannot better diſcover our own Humility, or give God the glory of his Knowledge, than if we confeſs, that there are ſome things which only he can underſtand. So in the diſpute concerning the Reſurrection, when doubts ariſe, as too often they will; and the more we think of it, the ſtronger and the more puzling will the Objections be; here the beſt way will be to have recourſe to Gods Omnipotence, and to believe firmly, that God is eaſily able to do more than Man can conceive. Thus did the Apoſtle Peter anſwer thoſe Scoffers, who began to queſtion whether our Saviour would make good his Promiſe in coming to judge the World: This, ſaith he, 2 Pet. 3 5.they are willingly ignorant of, that by the Word of God the Heavens were made of old. As if he had ſaid, Theſe men have no reaſon to look upon Chriſts judging the World, and deſtroying it by fire, as ſo incredible a thing; for when God made it out of nothing, he did produce a greater Wonder. So let us not doubt but God is able to recover our ſcattered Duſt, where ever it is lodged in the bowels of the Earth; who did extract this admirable Frame of all things out of the wombe of Nothing.
2. The Reſurrection is Poſſible, in reſpect of the Body which is to be raiſed, for that hath already paſſed a greater change than the Reſurrection doth amount to: Since to paſs from nothing to ſomething is a much greater change, than barely to paſs from Death to Life: Yet one we have already experimented, and why ſhould we then doubt or deſpair of the other? This Holy men in Scripture do often reflect upon, c. 10.10, 11, 12, &c.Hast thou not, ſaith Job, poured me out as Milk, and crudled me like Cheeſe; thon haſt cloathed me with Skin and Fleſh, and haſt fenced me with Bones and Sinews; Thou haſt granted me life, &c. So that what he ſpeaks a little before, Ver. 9.Remember, I beſeech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay, and wilt thou bring me into dust again? may be inverted thus, God hath made us as the Clay, Pſal. 139.14.and cannot he bring us out of the dust again? So David, I will praiſe thee, ſaith he, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; my ſubſtance was not hid from thee, when I was made in ſecret, when I was curiouſly wrought in the loweſt parts of the Earth; wherein he eloquently deſcribes the wonderful Art whereby God had made him: And cannot he repair theſe buildings of fleſh and bloud with the ſame eaſe with which at firſt he reared them? Let him that doubts ask himſelf this queſtion, Was there not a time when once I was not! As David, My members in continuance, or ſucceſſively, were faſhioned, when as yet there was none of them. And as God, without my taking care, without the expence ſo much as of a Miracle did joyn and cement theſe pieces; did call for his Wind, and breath life into them; did put in a portion of his Spirit into them, and give them underſtanding: So when they are ſevered, cannot he recall and reunite them? Eſpecially, ſince the Parts of our diſſolved earth they are ſcattered only, they are not loſt; Thrown up and down, in a ſeemingly careleſs manner, but ſtill they are under the eye of an All-ſeeing Providence, and laid up like ſacred Reliques, foreign, in Gods ſtore-houſe, to be fetched out thence when the Heavens ſhall be no more; which is an Anſwer to Job's Melancholy; …. 14.12.Man, ſaith he, lieth down, and riſeth not till the Heavens be no more they ſhall not awake, nor be raiſed out of their ſleep. Now we are taught, that the Heavens ſhall be no more; 2 Pet 3.and that is the time appointed for this Reſurrection.
Reaſon 2 The Second Argument which makes the Reſurrection ſeem credible, is from the neceſſity of it; It muſt be, there would be no Providence without it. For the Reſurrection ſerves to demonſtrate two prime Attributes of God, without which neither God could be honoured, not the World governed.
1. It demonſtrates Gods Mercy.
2. It demonſtrates Gods Juſtice.
1. The Reſurrection demonſtrates Gods Mercy: For God hath appointed this order in the World, that every thing ſhould have a kind of Reſurrection. The Sun, ſaith Solomon, ariſeth, Eccl. 1.5, 7.and the Sun goeth down, and haſteneth to the place where he aroſe. And, Unto the place from whence the Rivers came, thither they return again. Thus Day dies into Night, and Night riſes into Day: Winter is the Death of the Year, and Spring is its Reſurrection. And many more ſuch like inſtances there are in Nature. Now it would not be ſuited to the Grace and Mercy of our God, that every thing ſhould ſuos patimanes, have its Turns and Returns, and the Nobleſt Creature of all, Man, ſhould be altogether exempted! That every thing elſe ſhould have alternate changes, and be repaired by dying, and Mans body only ſhould be huddled up in the Horrour of Eternal Night! Sure that merciful Father, who ſhewed ſo much curious Architecture in contriving this Body, did not intend it ſhould Act a Part only upon this ſhort Scene of Life; for then certainly he would not have conjoyned it with a Gueſt which looks and breaths after nothing but Immortality. Our Saviour, Joh. 12.24.prophecying of that Progreſs his Goſpel ſhould make after his deceaſe, compares himſelf to a Corn of Wheat, which if it fall into the ground,and dye not, it abideth alone: but if it dye, it bringeth forth much fruit. 1 Cor. 15.36.And the Apoſtle, when that queſtion was asked, How are the Dead raiſed up? Replies preſently, Thou Fool, that which thou ſoweſt is not quickened except it dye; implying it to be nothing elſe but direct Folly, to queſtion that which in a thing ſo obvious as the ſowing of Corn, might be concluded not only Poſſible but Neceſſary: Since Man is beyond many grains, and more eſpecially the Object ofGods care and Compaſſion: For whoſe Inſtruction he hath ſcattered about the World ſo many Preludiums and Rudiments of a better Reſurrection.
2. The Reſurrection is neceſſary, becauſe it demonſtrates Gods Juſtice. Were it not for Future Judgment, nothing would be ſo full of Confuſion and Diſorder as the World. This Earth, in the preſent Polity and Frame of it; is nothing elſe but a meer Chaos, where Vice and Iniquity thrive, as in their own ſoyl, but Virtue and Piety do find neither Place nor Protection. It muſt be foreign, That day of Reckoning to be reveal'd in Fire, which muſt abſolve Providence, and ſcatter thoſe Miſts wherewith the beauty of it is now obſcured and ſtained. It is this that muſt ſtop men in their Carier of ſin, and keep them honeſt in the dark: For in that ſacred Irony of the Wiſe man, Rejoyce, Eccl. 11.9.O young man, in thy youth, and walk in the waies of thy heart. and in the ſight of thy eyes: but know thou, that for all theſe things God will bring thee to judgement; which is all one as if he had ſaid, Go young man, ſin if thou dareſt, for thou muſt hereafter come to judgement. Eccl. 9.2.In this world, All things come alike to all; God ſcatters his good things with an undiſtinguiſhing hand, tanquam Miſſilia Coeli, as his Largeſſes, and ſigns of his promiſcuous Bounty, rather than marks of his eſpecial Love. But future Judgement is Gods ſevering time, called by the Apoſtle, the time foreign, Act. 3.21.i.e. of ſetting all things right; of placing every thing upon its proper Baſis, and giving all their due. Now to this the Reſurrection of the body is neceſſary, For we must all appear, 2 Cor. 55.10.ſaith the Apoſtle Paul, 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 evill. In the Law we find, That the ſoul that ſinneth must dye; and it is moſt juſt, that the body which did joyn in the ſin, ſhould likewiſe partake in the puniſhment. Thoſe dear Allies were not ſeparated in their good or evill doing, and therefore there is no reaſon they ſhould be diſtinct in their Reward. I carry about me, ſaith the Apoſtle. the dying of the Lord Jeſus, (i.e. I lead a kind of dying and Calamitous life for his ſake) that ſo the life alſo of Jeſus might be manifeſted in my mortal Fleſh. In requital of all our Indignities, 2 Joh 8.Impriſonments, Faſtings, &c. if the ſoul only ſhould be glorified, we ſhould not have a full reward; which it is our duty to look after. And therefore this Hand, this Tongue, this Eye, This, whatever it is, whereby God hath been either provoked or honoured, ſhall be quickned again, and put into the poſſeſſion of a never-dying life, and fitted for the enjoyment of eternal either Joy or Torment.
Thirdly, Reaſon 3 The Laſt Argument which makes the Doctrine of the Reſurrection credible, is from the evidence and certainty of it, ſince it hath been ſo, as that withall it neceſſarily implies that it ſhall be. For Chriſt is Riſen, and taken poſſeſſion of glory, not only for himſelf, but for his Followers. 1 Cor. 15.14.Now if Chriſt be preached, as the Apoſtle argues, that he roſe from the Dead, how ſay ſome among you, that there is no Reſurrection of the dead? V. Garbut. Remonſt.As if he had ſaid, If you barely conſidered the Reſurrection in it ſelf, you might then have ſomething to plead in the excuſe of your Unbelief, but ſince Chriſt is Riſen, there is no longer any room left for the leaſt diſpute about it. For Chriſt is riſen, either as a Judge, or as an Head; and therefore all muſt riſe, the wicked, to be condemned; the faithful, to be ſaved by him.
The Uſe of this may ſerve to demonſtrate two things:
1. The Reaſonableneſs of Chriſtian Faith.
2. The Neceſſity of Chriſtian Life.
Uſe 1 This ſerves to demonſtrate the Reaſonableneſs of Chriſtian Faith: As when God would convince the Heathen, that their Idols were not Gods, he challenges them to produce their ſtrong Reaſons, and to prove their Cauſe by Arguments: Shew, Iſa. 41.23.ſaith he, the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are Gods; yea, do good, or do evill, that we may be diſmaied, i.e. If ye are indeed, as your Worſhippers ſuppoſe, Gods, then ſhew it by thoſe infallible and unalterable ſigns of a Diety, viz. Your Preſcience, and your Power. So may a Chriſtian ſay in this Caſe, he may and ought to challenge the unbelieving World to produce their ſtrong Reaſons to declare their Cauſe, and to ſee whether they have ſo much to ſay, even in point of Reaſon, for the moſt clear and un queſtioned part of their Opinion, as we have for the moſt contradicted of ours. For a Chriſtian ſhould not ſatisfie himſelf with a bare and naked Faith, grounding himſelf either upon Tradition, or the credit of his Teachers, but he ſhould labour for himſelf If to know both what, and why he believes. It is a general Rule the Apoſtle Peter gives, 1 Pet. 3.15.Be ye alwaies ready to give an account of your Faith to every one that asks you. And our Saviour though he did preſs his Followers to believe on him; yet he never did require from them, Orig. lib. 1.foreign, as the Heathen falſly objected: i.e. An unreaſonable and Untried Faith; but where ever he gives the Command, he alleadges at the ſame time Reaſons ſufficient to convince the moſt obſtinate gainſayer, ſuch are the heavenlineſs of his Language, Joh. 15.22.Had I not, ſaith he, come and ſpoke unto them, they had not had ſin; but now they have no cloak for their ſin; For his words, by their own confeſſion, were ſuch as never any man ſpake, and carried a clear Reſemblance to the body he took, as being moſt humble in ſtile, and moſt ſublime in ſenſe. Joh. 3.And therefore he complains of them, Why, ſaith he, do ye not know foreign, i.e. diſcern who I am by my manner of diſcourſe amongst you; for certainly ſuch words could not proceed from one who came to deceive the world; as thoſe replied, Theſe are not the words of him that hath a devil. Joh. 10.21.Another Argument our Saviour uſes to induce them to believe was his Works, which Nicodemus confeſſeth were ſuch as never any man did. Joh. 5.36.And our Saviour doth often appeal to their Teſtimony, as where he ſaies, I have a greater witneſs than that of John, for the works which the Father hath given me to finiſh, the ſame works that I do, bear witneſs of me, that the Father hath ſent me. And again, If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, Joh. 15.24.they had not had ſin. But, that which our Saviour moſt inſiſted upon was the Scriptures, to them he refers the Jews; out of theſe do the Apoſtles altogether argue; and to the ſearch of theſe are all conjoyn'd; and ſtill we can ground our belief upon their Teſtimony, whatever we boaſt of is not Faith but Fancy, and will not hold out in a time of Triall. Then the ſoul can only ſit down ſatisfied, when by comparing the Predictions of the Old Teſtament with the fulfillings of the New, it can ſubſcribe probatumeſt, I have examined, and find it true.
Now, becauſe this is a matter of very great importance, and yet too much neglected, therefore I ſhall preſs it upon theſe Conſiderations:
1. This will ſweeten our Obedience. Till we are ſatisfied as Men, we can never obey as Chriſtians: For Faith is nothing elſe but another kind of Reaſon, whoſe Baſis and Foundation is laid in humility: Therefore the Apoſtle calls that great Action of a Chriſtian, when he doth not, as in the Old Law, ſacrifice an Oxe, but himſelf up to God, foreign, a ſervice ſuiting us as reaſonable Creatures. In things of Art, the hands will not do what the head doth not direct; ſo in ſpiritual things, we quite miſtake our way, if we think of going blindfold and hoodwinck'd to Duty. Ignorance and Implicite Obedience is a fit Sacrifice for the devil, whoſe kingdom is founded in darkneſs, when as Regeneration is nothing elſe but renewed Light: And the clearer Diſcoveries are made to the Underſtanding, the more pliant and obedient is the Will, 1 Cor. 14.and the more eaſie doth it find the Yoke. For this end, is Preaching and Propheſying in a known Tongue commanded, that there might be a Race of knowing Chriſtians. And Paul would not ſo much as Sing, or Pray, or do any other Act of Religious Worſhip, with his Spirit only, but with his Underſtanding alſo. There cannot be a greater brand caſt upon any ones devotion, than to worſhip they know not what; Joh. 4.22.for that is that which our Saviour doth eſpecially blame the Samaritans for.
2. This is the beſt way to win upon others. And this principally concerns Miniſters of the Goſpel; whom I may ask, in the Apoſtles words: Thou that teacheſt another, Rom. 2.20.wilt thou not teach thy ſelf? Thou who commandeſt another to believe, wilt thou not give him a Reaſon, why he ſhould believe, and ſo leave him without excuſe? 1 Tim. 4.12.Thus the Apoſtle bids Timothy be an example to the Faithful, foreign, i.e. in reaſoning: and gives this general charge, that a man of God muſt be apt to teach, in meekneſs instructing thoſe that oppoſe themſelves. There are indeed ſome men of diſeaſed minds, who have quenched in themſelves all Principles, by which they may recover and be enlightened. But there are in the World many ſober Diſſenters, who ſtand off from embracing Chriſtianity, meerly from the apprehenſions they have, that the Tenets of it are Abſurd and Unreaſonable; Act. 17.20.ſuch as theſe muſt be won by Argument. Thus Paul dealt with the Athenians, who, when they deſired to be better informed of his Doctrine, he makes a moſt excellent diſcourſe to them concerning Providence, and clears by unanſwerable Reaſon, that their way of Worſhip was falſe, becauſe it begot in mens minds low and mean opinions of the Deity, as if he were confined to Place, or did take delight in outward Repreſentations. Thus did our Saviour deal with Nicodemus. In ſhort, Ignorance in a Goſpel-Teacher is a capital crime; for our Saviour, when ever he preached, he did it with this Preface, Hear and Underſtand; and when his Diſciples, were ſomewhat dull of Apprehenſion, he ſharply reproves them, foreign, What are you, whom I deſign to be Lights and Guides of the World without Underſtanding.
3. The want of this, is the cauſe why Chriſtians ſtand ſo much at a ſtay, and make no better Progreſs. Total Ignorance is a certain ſign of Perdition, … Cor. 4.3.If our Goſpel, ſaith the Apoſtle, be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Partial Ignorance is a ſign of weakneſs, for there is that Light, that Evidence in our Religion, that if it be followed, it will alwaies fill the mind with freſh Diſcoveries. They who firſt read the Scriptures, are like ſuch that ſee a glorious Palace at a diſtance, it is wrapped up in a Miſt, and the Beauty of it lies concealed; but the nearer we approach, & the more intently we view it, the more is the Luſtre of it manifeſted. The World, i.e. Carnal men, do count the Goſpel foreign, an Idoll, and a Fooliſh thing; but Paul tells us, and all true Believers find it to be the Wiſdome of God, a Plot laid from all Eternity; for the effecting of which the World was made; and when the Myſtery of Salvation, there declared, is perfected, the World ſhall be laid aſide as an uſeleſs Scene. Chriſt, to invite our Study, doth ſtile himſelf the Light of the World; and who doth not ſee, that all who are not enlightned by him are covered with Darkneſs, Uncertainty, and doubting? But John calls our Saviour foreign, i.e. in the proper ſignification of the word, Reaſon, he being that Eternal Fountain, from whom true Reaſon ſprung; and by whom our loſt and ruin'd Reaſon is repaired. 1 Cor. 2.The Spirit, ſaith the Apoſtle, ſearcheth the depths of God; i.e. the Spirit of God in man, makes him unquiet and reſtleſs in his ſearch, till he hath ſounded thoſe depths, which the Ignorant and Lazy World paſs haſtily over. How eaſily by this light would thoſe Miſts, about Incarnation, Providence, Reſurrection, &c. which to this day perplex the diſputing world, be all diſperſed and ſcattered? As to this laſt, the Apoſtle here is very Poſitive, that he would venture all upon a Diſpute, and that the beſt reaſon ſhould carry it.
Uſe 2 The ſecond Uſe is to ſhew the Neceſſity of Chriſtian Life; and this is ſo clear from the Premiſes, that it need not be long inſiſted on. For, If the Dead riſe not, 1 Cor. 15.32.the conſequence which Paul brings in wicked men making is very Natural, Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we ſhall dye. But if the dead riſe, then Peter hath made a Rational Inference, 1 Pet. 4.7.The end of all things is at hand, let us be ſober, and watch unto Prayer. For the time is coming, when the hidden things of our ſhame ſhall be brought to light; 1 Cor. 4.5.this certainly, if once believed, would keep us honeſt in the dark; one Sermon about it made Felix tremble, though, being a Roman, his Unbelief made him careleſs; and his calling valiant. Did but men once give themſelves leave to think of it, they would not ſo ſpend their daies, as if they had nothing but this Inch of time to provide for. For as our ſouls are alwaies on the wing; ſo our bodies are not entirely our own; but hereafter to be reſumed again, and made either Cages for Unclean, or Manſions for Clorified Spirits. And therefore that unchangeable ſtate, into which they ſhall once paſs, is by all wiſe and knowing men moſt to be ſecured. So that I ſhall conclude in the words of the Prophet Hoſea: Who is wiſe, Hoſ. 14.9.and he ſhall underſtand theſe things? Prudent, and he ſhall know them? For the waies of the Lord are right, and the Juſt ſhall walk in them: but the Tranſgreſſour ſhall fall therein.
FINIS.
Errata.
PAge 16. Line 2. by yet more, r. yet more, by. p. 13. l. 24. doctrine dangerous, r. doctrine is dangerous. Ib. l. 26. have, r. leave. p. 18. l. 7. Regimen… r. Reg… men p. 24. l. 34. deſtroyed, r. deſcryed. p. 25. l. 13 Bounds r. Mounds. p. 27 l. …. foreign r. foreign. p. 32. l. 19. deſire r. deſired. p. 56. l. 28. ſtill r. till.
End of the text · Edward Bagshaw, Discourse About Christ and Antichrist (1661)