The Greatness of the Soul, Sermon (1 of 3)

The Greatness of the Soul · Sermon (1 of 3)

p. 1THE GREATNESS OF THE SOUL, And unspeakableness of the Loss thereof, &c.

MARK 8. 37.

Or VVhat shall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul?

I Have chosen at this time to handle these Words among you, and that for several reasons, 1. Because the Soul, and the Salvation of it, are such great, such wonderful great things, nothing is a matter of that concern as is, and should be the Soul of each one of you. House and Land, Trades and Honors, Places and Preferments, What are they to Salvation? to the Salvation of the Soul? 2. Because I perceive that this, so great a thing, and about which Persons should be so much concerned, is neglected to amazement, and that by the most of p. 2Men: Yea, who is there of the many thousand (that sit daily under the sound of the Gospel) that a… concerned, heartily concerned about the Salvation … their Souls? that is concerned, I say, as the Natu… of the thing requireth. If ever a Lamentation wa… fit to be taken up in this Age, about, for, or con…cerning any thing, it is about, for, and concerning th… horrid neglect, that every where puts forth it se… with reference to eternal Salvation. Where is on… Man of a thousand? yea, Where is there two of te… thousand that do shew by their Conversations public… and private, that the Soul, their own Souls, are considered by them, and that they are taking that car… …or the Salvation of them as becomes them, to wit… as the weight of the Work, and the Nature of Sa…vation requireth. 3. I have therefore pitch'd upo… this Text at this time; to see, if peradventure th… Discourse which God shall help me to make upon it will … …en you, rouse you off of your Beds of ease … and pleasure, and fetch you down upon you… Knees before him, to beg of him Grace to be con…cerned about the Salvation of your Souls. And the in the last Place, I have taken upon me to do thi… that I may deliver, if not you, yet my self; and tha… I may be clear of your Blood, and stand quit, a… to you, before God, when you shall for neglect b… damned, and wail to consider that you have lost you Souls. When I say, saith God to the Wicked, th… … surely dye: aaEzek. 3. 18, 19.Ezek 3:18Ezek 3:19and thou the Prophet or Preacher givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the Wicke… …om his wicked way to save his life. The same wicke… Man shall dye in his iniquity: but his blood will I requir… at thy hand. Yet if thou warn the Wicked, and he tur… not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way; … p. 3…all dye in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy …oul.

Or what shall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul?

In my handling of these Words. I shall first speak …o the occasion of them, and then to the words them…elves.

The occasion of the Words was, for that the Peo…le that now were Auditors to the Lord Jesus, and …hat followed him, did it without that consideration …s becomes so great a Work: That is, The genera…ty of them that followed him, were not for consi…ering first with themselves, what it was to profess Christ, and what that Profession might cost them.

And when he had called the People unto him the great …ultitudes that went with him, Luke 14. 25.) with is Disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come …fter me, let him deny himself, and take up his Cross and …ollow me. (ver. 34.) Let him first sit down and …ount up the Cost and the Charge he is like to be at, … he follows me. For following of me is not like fol…owing of some other Masters. The Winds sits always … my Face, and the foaming Rage of the Sea of this World, and the proud and lofty Waves thereof, do …ontinually beat upon the sides of the Bark or Ship …hat my self, my Cause, and my Followers are in: …e therefore that will not run hazzards, and that … afraid to venture a drowning, let him not set foot …nto this Vessel: So whosoever doth not bear his Cross, …nd come after me, he cannot be my Disciple. For which …f you intending to build a Tower, s…teth not down firs… …nd counteth the Cost, whether he have sufficient to finish … Luke 14. 15 26. 27 28, 29.

True, To Reason this kind of Language tends to …ast Water upon weak and beginning Desires, but … Faith it makes the things set before us, and the …reatness, and the glory of them more apparently excellent p. 4and desirable. Reason will say, Then who will profess Christ that hath such course entertainment at the beginning? but Faith will say, Then surely the things that are at the End of a Christians race in this World, must needs be unspeakably glorious; since whoever hath had but the knowledge and due consideration of them, have not stuck to run hazzards, hazzards of every kind, that they might imbrace and enjoy them. Yea, saith Faith, it must needs be so, since the Son himself, that best knew what they were, even, For the joy that was set before him, endured the Cross, and despised the shame, and is set down on the right-Hand of the Throne of God, Heb. 12. 2.

But I say, There is not in every Man this knowledge of things, and so by consequence not such consideration as can make the Cross and self denial acceptable to them for the sake of Christ, and of the things that are where he now sitteth at the Right-Hand of God (Col. 3. 2, 3, 4.) Therefore our Lord Jesus doth even at the beginning give to his followers this instruction. And lest any of them should take distaste at his Saying, he presenteth them with the consideration of three things together: namely, The Cross, the Loss of Life and the Soul; and then reasoneth with them for the same, saying, Here is the Cross, the Life and the Soul. 1. The Cross, and that you must take …p. if you will follow me. 2. The Life, and that you may save for a time, if you cast me off… 3. And the Soul, which will everlastingly perish if you come not to me, and abide not with me. Now consider what is best to be done, will you take up the Cross come after me and so preserve your Souls from perishing? or will you shun the Cross to save your lives, and so run the danger of eternal damnation? Or, as you have it in John (will you love your life till you lose it? or will you hate your life and save it) p. 5… that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his …e in this World shall keep it unto life eternal, John 12. … 5. As who should say, He that loveth a temporal …ife, he that so loveth it, as to shun the profession …f Christ to save it, shall lose it upon a worse account, …han if he had lost it for Christ and the Gospel; but …e that will set light by it for the love that he hath to Christ, shall keep it unto life Eternal.

Christ having thus discoursed with his followers a…out their denying of themselves, their taking up …heir Cross and following of him: doth in the next …lace put the Question to them, and so leaveth it …pon them for ever, saying, For what shall it profit a Man, if he shall gain the whole World, and lose his own …oul? (ver. 36) As who should say, I have bid you …ake heed that you do not lightly, and without due consideration, enter into a profession of me and of my Gospel (for he that without due consideration shall …egin to profess Christ, will also without it forsake …im, turn from him, and cast him behind his back) …nd since I have even at the beginning laid the con…deration of the Cross before you, it is because you …hould not be surprized and overtaken by it unawares, …nd because you should know that to draw back from …he after you have laid your hand to my Plough will make you bbLuke 10. 62.Luke 10:62unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven. Now …nce this is so, there is no less lies at stake than Sal…ation, and Salvation is worth all the World, yea, …orth ten thousand Worl…s if there should be so many: And since this is so also it will be your wisdom to begin to process the Gospel with expectatio… of the …ross and tribulation for to that are my Gospellers in …his World appointed: cc2 Thes. 3, …2 Thess 3And if you begin thus and …ould it, the Kingdom and Crown shall be yours: for p. 6as God counteth it a righteous thing to recompence tribulation to them that trouble you, so to you who are troubled and endure it▪ for we count them happy, says, James, that endure, Jam. 1. 12. and 5. 11.) rest with Saints, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel, &c. And if no less lies at stake than Salvation then is a Man's Soul and h…s all at the stake: and if it be so, What will it profit a Man, if by forsaking of me he should get the whole World? For what shall it profit a Man, if he shall get the whole World, and lose his own Soul?

Having thus laid the Soul in one ballance, and the World in the other, and affirmed that the Soul outbids the whole World, and is incomparably for value and worth beyond it; in the next place, he descends to a second question (which is that I have chosen at this time for my Text) saying, Or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul?

In these Words we have first a supposition, and such an one as standeth upon a double bottom.

The Supposition is this, That the Soul is capable of being lost, or thus, 'tis possible for a Man to lose his …. The double bottom that this supposition is grounded upon, is, 1. A Man's ignorance of the worth of his Soul, and of the danger that it is in: And the second is, for that Men commonly do set an higher price upon present ease and enjoyments than they do upon eternal Salvation. The last of these doth naturally follow upon the first; for if Men be ignorant of the value and worth of their Souls, as by Christ in the Verse before is implyed; what should hinder but that Men should set an higher esteem upon that with which their carnal desires are taken, then upon that about which they are not concerned, and of which they know not the worth.

p. 7But again, As this by the Text is clearly supposed, so there is also something implied: namely, That it is impossible to possess some Men with the worth of their Souls, until they are utterly and everlastingly lost. What shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? That is Men, when their Souls are lost, and shut down under the Hatches in the Pits, and Hells, in endless perdition and destruction: Then they will see the worth of their Souls, then they will consider what they have lost, and truly not till then. This is plain, not only to sense, but by the natural scope of the words, What shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? Or what would not those that are now for sin made to see themselves lost, by the light of Hell Fire (for some will never be convinced that they are lost, till with rich Dives they see it in the light of Hell Flames:)▪ say, what would not such, if they had it, ddLuke 16. 22, 23.Luke 16:22Luke 16:23give in exchange for their immortal Souls, or to recover them again from that place and torment?

1. The first is, That the loss of the Soul is the highest, the greatest Loss; a Loss that can never be repaired or made up. What shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? that is, to recover or redeem his lost Soul to liberty.

I shall observe two Truths in the Words.

2. The second Truth is this, That how unconcerned and careless soever some now be, about the Loss or Salvation of their Souls: yet the day is coming (but it will then be too late) when Men will be willing, had they never so much, to give it all in exchange for their Souls. For so the Question implies, what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? What would he not give? What would he not part with at that day; the day in which he shall see himself damned, if he had it, in exchange for his Soul?

p. 8The first Observation or truth drawn from the words is cleared by the Text, what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? That is, There is not any thing, nor all the things under Heaven, were they all in one Man's Hand, and all at his disposal, that would go in exchange for the Soul, that would be of value to fetch back one lost Soul, or that would certainly recover it from the confines of Hell. eePsal. 49. 8.Ps 49:8The redemption of the Soul is precious, it ceaseth for ever. And what saith the words before the Text but the same; For what shall it profit a Man, if he shall gain the whole World, and lose his own Soul? What shall profit a Man that has lost his Soul? nothing at all, though he hath by that Loss gained the whole World; for all the World is not worth a Soul, not worth a Soul in the Eye of God, and judgment of the Law. And it is from this consideration that good Elihu cautioneth Job to take heed, because there is wrath (saith he) beware, lest he take thee away with his stroke: when a great Ransom cannot deliver thee. Will he esteem thy Riches? no not Gold, nor all the Forces of Strength, Job 36. 18, 19. Riches and Power, What is there more in the World, for Money answereth all things? that is, all but Soul-concerns: it can neither be a price for Souls while here, nor can that with all the Forces of Strength recover one out of Hell Fire.

Doct. 1. …o then, The first Truth drawn from the Words stands firm; namely, That the L…ss of the Soul is the highest, the greatest Loss, a Loss that can never be repaired or made up.

In my discourse upon this subject, I shall observe this method:

I. I shall shew you what the Soul is.

II. I shall shew you the greatness of it.

p. 9III. I shall shew you what it is to lose the Soul.

IV. I shall shew you the cause for which Men lose their Souls, and by this time the Greatness of the Loss will be manifest.

I. I shall shew you what the Soul is, both as to the various names it goes under, as also by describing of it by its powers and properties, though in all I shall be but brief, for I intend no long discourse.

I. The Soul is often called the Heart of Man, or that, in and by which things to either good or evil have their rise: thus desires are of the Heart or Soul, yea before desires, the first conception of good or ev…lare in the Soul, the Heart. The Heart understands, wills, affects, reasons, judges, but these are the faculties of the Soul; wherefore Heart and Soul, are often taken for one and the same. ffProv. 23. 26. Mat. 15. 19. 1 Pet. 3. 15. Ps. 26. 6.Prov 23:26Matt 15:191 Pet 3:15Ps 26:6My Son, give me thy Heart. Out of the Heart proceedeth evil thoughts, &c.

2. The Soul of Man is often called the Spirit of a Man: because it not only giveth Being, but life to all things and actions in, and done by him. Hence Soul and Spirit are put together as to the same action. ggIsa. 26. 9.Isa 26:9Wi…h my Soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my Spirit within me will I seek thee early: when he saith, yea with my Spirit I will seek thee; he explaineth not only with what kind of desires he desired God, but with what principal matter his desires were brought forth: It was with my Soul, saith he, to wit, With my Spirit within me. So that of Mary, My Soul, saith she, doth magnifie the Lord, and my Spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour: not, that Soul and Spirit are in this place to be taken for two superiour Powers in Man: but the same great Soul is p. 10here put under two names or terms, to shew that it was the principal part in Mary, to wit, her Soul that magnified God, even that part that could spirit, and put life into her whole self to do it. Indeed sometimes Spirit is not taken so largely, but is confined to some one power or faculty of the Soul; hhJoh 20. 3.John 20:3As the Spirit of my Vnderstanding; and be renewed in the Spirit of your Mind; and sometimes by Spirit, we a…e to understand other things, but many times by Spirit we must understand the Soul, and also by Soul the Spirit.

3. Therefore by Soul we understand the Spiritual, the best, and most noble part of Man, as distinct from the Body, even that by which we understand, imagine, reason, and discourse. And indeed (as I shall further shew you presently) the Body is but a poor empty Vessel, without this great Thing, called the SOVL iiJam. 2. 26.Jas 2:26The Body without the Spirit or Soul, is dead, or nothing but a clod of dust (her Soul departed from her, for she died.) It is therefore the chief and most noble part of Man.

4. The Soul is often called the Life of Man, not a Life of the same Stamp and Nature of the Bruit: for the Life of Man, that is, of the rational Creature, is that, as he is such, wherein, consisteth and abideth the Understanding, and Conscience, &c. Wherefore then a Man dieth, or the Body ceaseth to act, or live in the exercise of the thoughts, which formerly used to be in him: When the Soul departeth, as I hinted even now, her Soul departed from her, for she died; and as another good Man saith, kkPs. 146. 4.Ps 146:4In that very day their thoughts perish, &c. The first Text is more emphatical: Her Soul was in departing (for she dyed.) There is a Soul of a Beast, a Bird, &c. but the p. 11Soul of a Man is another thing: it is his Understanding, and Reason, and Conscience, &c. And this Soul, when it departs, he dies. Nor is this life, when gone out of the Body annihilate, as is the Life of a Beast; no, this in it self is immortal, and has yet a Place and Being when gone out of the Body it dwelt in; yea, as quick, as lively is it in its Senses, if not far more abundant than when it was in the Body; but I call it the Life, because so long as that remains in the Body, the Body is not dead. And in this sense it is to be taken where he saith, He that loseth his life for my sake, shall save it unto life eternal: And this is the Soul that is intended in the Text, and not the Breath, as in some other places is meant. And this is evident, because the Man has a Being, a sensible Being, after he has lost the Soul; I mean not by the Man, a Man in this World, nor yet in the Body or in the Grave; but by Man we must understand either the Soul in Hell, or Body and Soul there after the Judgment is over. And for this the Text also is plain, for therein we are presented with a Man sensible of the damage that he has sustained by losing of his Soul: VVhat shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? But,

5. The whole Man goeth under this denomination: Man consisting of Body and Soul, is yet called by that part of himself, that is most chief and principal. llRom. 13. 1.Rom 13:1Let every Soul (that is, let every Man) be subject to the higher Powers. Then sent Joseph, and called his Father Jacob to him, and all his Kindred, threes…ore and fifteen Souls, Acts 7. 14. By both these, and several other places, the whole Man is meant, and is also so to be taken in the Text; for whereas here he saith, VVhat shall it profit a Man, if he shall gain the p. 12the whole VVorld and l…se his own Soul? 'Tis said elsewhere, mmLuk. 9. 25.Luke 9:25For what is a Man advantaged if he shall gain the whole World and lose H…MSELF? and so consequently, or, VVhat shall a Man give in exchange (for himself) for his Soul? his Soul when he dyes, and Body and Soul in and after Judgment?

6. The Soul is called Good Man's Darling. nnPs. 22. 20.Ps 22:20Deliver Lord (said David) my Soul from the Sword… my Darling, from the Power of the Dog: So again in another place he saith, ooPs. 35. 17.Ps 35:17Lord how long wilt thou look on, rescue my Soul from destruction, my darling from the Power of the Lyons? My darling, this Sentence must not be applied universally, but only to those in whose Eyes their Souls, and the redemption thereof is precious. My Darling, most Men do by their actions say of their Soul, my drudge, my slave; nay, thou slave to the Devil and Sin: for what sin, what lust, what sensual and beastly lust is there in the World, that some do not cause their Souls to bow before and yield unto? But David here, as you see, calls it his Darling, or his choice and most excellent thing; for indeed the Soul is a choice thing in it self, and should, were all wise, be every Man's darling or chief treasure. And that it might be so with us, therefore our Lord Jesus hath thus expressed the worth of the Soul, saying, VVhat shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? But if this is true, one may see already what misery he is like to sustain, that has, or shall lose his Soul; he has lost his Heart, his Spirit. his best Part, his Life, his darling, himself, his whole self, and so in every sense, his all: And now what shall a man, What would a Man, But what can a Man that has thus lost his Soul, himself, and his all, give in exchange for his Soul? Yea, What shall the Man that has sustained this L…ss p. 13to recover all again, since this Man, or the Man …ut under this Question, must needs be a Man that is gone from hence, a Man that is cast in the judgment, …nd one that is gone down the Throat of Hell?

But to pass this, and to proceed: I come next to describe the Soul unto you, by such things as it is set …ut by in the Holy Scriptures, and they are in general …hree.

I. The ppOf the Powers of Faculties of the Soul.Power of the Soul.

II. The Senses, the Spiritual Senses of the Soul.

III. The Passions of the Soul.

I. We will discourse of the Powers, I may call …hem the Members of the Soul; for as the Members …f the Body being many, do all go to the making up …f the Body, so these do go to the compleating of the …oul.

1. There is the Vnderstanding; which may be …ermed the Head, because in that is placed the Eye …f the Soul: and this is that which, or by which the …oul discerneth things that are presented to it, and …hat either by God, or Satan: This is that by which Man conceiveth, and apprehendeth things so deep …nd great that cannot by Mouth, or Tongue, or Pen …e expressed.

2. There is also belonging to the Soul, the Con…ience, in which I may say is placed the seat of Judgment; for as by the Understanding things are let in Sword… the Soul, so by the Conscience the evil or good …f such things are tryed, especially when in the.

3. Place the Judgment, which is another part of his noble Creature, has passed, by the light of the …nderstanding, his verdict upon what is let in to the …oul.

p. 144. There is as also the Fancy or Imagination, another part of this great thing▪ the Soul; and a most curious thing this Fancy is: It is that which presenteth to the Man the idea, form or figure of that, or any of those things wherewith a Man is frighted or taken, pleased or displeased. And,

5. The mind (another part of the Soul) is that unto which this Fancy presenteth its things to be considered of, because, without the mind nothing is entertained in the Soul.

6. There is the memory too, another part of the Soul; and that may be called the Register of the Soul: for it is the memory that receiveth and keepeth in remembrance what has passed, or has been done by the Man, or attempted to be done unto him: And in this part of the Soul, or from it will be fed the Worm that dyeth not when Men are cast into Hell; also from this Memory will flow that peace at the day of Judgment, that Saints shall have in their service for Christ in the World.

7. There are the Affections too, which are as I may call them, the Hands and Arms of the Soul; for they are they that take hold of, receive and embrace what is liked by the Soul: And it is a hard thing to make the Soul of a Man cast from it what its affections cleave to and have imbraced. Hence the Affections are called for, when the Apostle bids Men qqCol. 3.Col 3seek the things above; set your Affections upon them, saith he: or as you have it in another place, Lay hold of them; for the Affections are as hands to the Soul, and they by which it fasrneth upon things.

8. There is the Will, which may be called the Foot of the Soul, because by that the Soul, yea, the whole p. 15Man is carried, hither and thither, or else held back, and kept from moving.

These are the golden Things of the Soul; though in carnal Men they are every one of them made use of in the Service of Sin and Satan. For the Vnbelieving are throughout impure, as is manifest, because their rrTit. 1. 15.Titus 1:15Mind and Conscience (two of the Master-pieces of the Soul) are defiled: for if the most potent Parts of the Soul are ingaged in their service, what think you, do the more inferior do? But I say, so it is, the more is the pity: nor can any help it, This work ceaseth for ever, unless the great God who is over all, and that can Souls, shall himself take upon him to sanctifie the Soul▪ and to recover it, and perswade it to fall in love with another Master.

But I say, What is Man, without this Soul, or ssEccl. 3. 19. 20, 21.Eccl 3:19Eccl 3:20Eccl 3:21wherein lieth his preeminence over a Beast? no where that I know of. For both (as to Man's Body) go to one place, only the Spirit or Soul of a Man goes upward, to wit, to God that gave it, to be by him disposed of with respect to things to come, as they have been and have done in this life. But,

2. I come in the next place ttOf the Senses of the Soul.to describe the Soul by its Senses, its spiritual Senses, for so I call them: for as the Body hath Senses partaining to it, and a… it can see, hear, smell, feel and taste, so can the Soul; I call therefore these the Senses of the Soul, in opposition to the Senses of the Body, and because the Soul is the Seat of all spiritual Sense, where supernatural things are known and enjoyed; not that the Soul of a natural Man is spiritual in the Apostles sense, for so none are, but those that are born from p. 16above, nor uuCor. 3. 1, 2. 3.they so always neither. But to go forward.

1. Can the Body see? Hath it eyes? so hath the Soul. The Eyes of the Vnderstanding wwEph. 1. 18. Of Sight.Eph 1:18being enlightned. As then the Body can see Beasts, Trees, Men, and all visible things, so the Soul can see God, Christ, Angels, Heaven, Devils, Hell, and other things that are invisible, nor is this property only peculiar to the Souls that are illuminated by the Holy Ghost; for the most carnal Soul in the World shall have a time to see these things, but not to its comfort; but not to its joy, but to its endless woe and misery, it dying in that condition. Wherefore Sinner, xxJob. 35. 14.Job 35:14say not thou, I shall not see him, for Judgment is before him, and he will make thee see him.

2. Can the Body bear, yyOf hearing.hath it ears? so hath the Soul (See Job 4. 12, 13.) It is the Soul, not the Body, that hears the Language of things invisible. 'Tis the Soul that hears God when he speaks in and by his Word and Spirit, and 'tis the Soul that hears the Devil when he speaks by his illusions and temptations. True, there is such an Union between the Soul and the Body, that oft-times if not always, that which is heard by the Ears of the Body, doth influence the Soul, and that which is heard by the Soul, doth also influence the Body; but yet as to the Organ of Hearing, the Body hath one of his own distinct from that of the Soul, and the Soul can hear and regard even then when the Body doth not, nor cannot. As in time of sleep, deep sleep and trances, when the Body lyeth by as a thing that is useless. For God peaks once, zzJob. 33. 14, 15, 16.Job 33:14Job 33:15Job 33:16yea twice, yet Man (as to his Body) perceiveth it not. In a Dream, in a Vision of the Night, p. 17when deep sleep falleth upon Men, in slumbrings upon the Bed. Then openeth he the Ears of Men and sealeth their instruction, &c. this must be meant of the Ears of the Soul, not of the Body; for that at this time, is said to be in deep sleep; moreover, this hearing, it is a Hearing of Dreams and the Visions of the Night. Jeremiah aaJer. 31. 26.Jer 31:26also tells us, That he had the rare and blessed Visions of God in his sleep; and so doth Daniel too, by the which they were greatly comforted and refreshed: but that could not be, was not the Soul also capable of hearing? **Dan. 10, 8, 9.Dan 10:8Dan 10:9I heard the Voice of his words (said Daniel) and when I heard the Voice of his words, I was in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the Ground.

3. As the Soul can see and hear, so it can bbOf tasting.taste and relish, even as really as doth the Palate belonging to the Body. But then the thing so tasted must be that which is suited to the Temper and Palate of the Soul. The Souls taste lyeth not in, nor is exercised about meats, the Meats that are for the Body. Yet the Soul of a Saint can taste ccHeb. 6. 5. Ps. 19. 10. 1 Pet. 2. 1, 2, 3. Heb. 5. 12, 13, 14.Heb 6:5Ps 19:101 Pet 2:11 Pet 2:21 Pet 2:3Heb 5:12Heb 5:13Heb 5:14and relish God's word, and doth oft-times find it sweeter than Honey, nourishing as Milk, and strengthning like to strong Meat. The Soul also of Sinners and of those that are unsanctified, can taste and relish, though not the Things now mentioned, yet things that agree with their fleshly minds▪ and with their polluted and defiled, and vile affections. They can relish and taste that which delighteth them; yea they can find Soul-delight in an Ale-house, a Whore-house, a Play-house. Ay, they find pleasure in the vilest things, in the things most offensive to God, and that are p. 18most destructive to themselves: This is evident to sense, and is proved by the daily practice of Sinners. Nor is the Word barren as to this; They feed on ashes, ddIsa. 44. 20 c. 55. 2. Hos. 4. 8.Isa 44:20Hos 4:8they spend their Money for that which is not Bread, yea, they eat and suck sweetness out of sin, They eat up the Sin of my People as they eat Bread.

4. As the Soul can see, hear eeOf Smelling.and taste, so it can smell, and bring refreshment to it self that way. Hence the Church saith, ffCant. 5. 5. 13.Song 5:5Song 5:13Her Fingers dropped with sweet smelling Myrrh: and again, she saith of her beloved, That his Lips dropped sweet smelling Myrrh. But how came the Church to understand this, but because her Soul did smell that in it, that was to be smelled in it, even in his word and gracious visits. The poor World indeed cannot smell, or savour any thing of the good and fragrant scent and sweet that is in Christ: but to them that believe, His name ggCant. 1. 3.Song 1:3is as an oyntment poured fourth, and therefore the Virgins love him.

5. As the Soul can see, taste, hear, and smell, hhOf feeling. Eph. 4. 18, 19. 1 Tim. 4. 2.Eph 4:18Eph 4:191 Tim 4:2so it hath the sense of feeling, as quick and as sensible as the Body: He knows nothing that knows not this; he whose Soul is past feeling, has his Conscience …eared with an hot Iron. Nothing so sensible as the Soul, nor feeleth so quickly the Love and Mercy, or the Anger and Wrath of God. Ask the awakened Man, or the Man that is under the Convictions of the Law, If he doth not feel? and he will quickly tell you, That he faints and dyes away by reason of God's hand and his wrath that lyeth upon him: read the first eight Verses of the 38th. Psal. (if thou knowest nothing of what I have told thee by experience) p. 19and there thou shalt hear the Complaints of one whose Soul lay at present under the Burthen of guilt, and that cryed out that without help from Heaven, he could by no means bear the same. They also that know what the Peace of God means, and what an eternal weight there is in Glory, know well that the Soul has the sense of feeling, as well as the sense of seeing, hearing, tasting and smelling: but thus much for the senses of the Soul.

Thirdly, I come in the next place to describe the Soul, by the Passions of the Soul. The Passions of the Soul, I reckon, are these and such like: to Wit, Love, Hatred, Joy, Fear, Grief, Anger, &c. **Of the Passions of the Soul.And these Passions of the Soul are not therefore good, nor therefore evil, because they are the Passions of the Soul: but are made so by two things, to wit, Principle and Object. The Principle I count that from whence they flow, and the Object that upon which they are pitched. To explain my self,

1. For that of Love, This is a strong Passion, the Holy Ghost saith, iiOf Love, Cant. 8▪ 6, 7.Song 8:6Song 8:7'Tis strong as Death, and cruel as the Grave. And it is then good, when it flows from Faith, and pitches it self upon God in Christ as the Object; and when it extendeth it self to all that is good, whether it be the good Word, the good Work of grace, or the good Men that have it, and also to their good lives. But all Soul-love floweth not from this principle, neither hath these for its object. How many are there that make the Object of their Love, the most vile of Men, the most base of things, because it flows from vile Affections, and from the Lusts of the Flesh? God and Christ, good Laws, and good Men, and their holy lives, they cannot abide, because their love wanteth p. 20a Principle that should sanctifie it in its first motion and that should steer it to a goodly Object, but that is the first.

2. There is kkOf Hatred.Hatred, which I count another Passion of the Soul: And this, as the other, is good or evil, as the Principle from whence it flows, and the Object of it are. Ye that llPs. 97. 10.Ps 97:10love the Lord, hate evil… then therefore is this passion good, when it singleth out from the many of things that are in the World▪ that one filthy thing called Sin, and when it setteh i… self, the Soul, and the whole Man against it, and in…gageth all the Powers of the Soul to seek and inven… its ruine: But alas, where shall this Hatred be found▪ What Man is there whose Soul is filled with his passi…on thus sanctified by the Love of God, and tha… makes sin which is God's enemy, the only object o… its indignation? How many be there, I say. who… hatred is turned another way, because of the malig…nity of their minds.

They hate mmPr…v. 1. 2… Deut. 7. 10. 2 Chr. 1…. 2. Ps. 34. 21. Prov. 29. 1… Job 21. 14. Mal. 3. 14. Prov. 8. 12.Deut 7:102 Chr 1:2Ps 34:21Prov 29:1Job 21:14Mal 3:14Prov 8:12Knowledge.

They hate God.

They hate the Righteous.

They hate God's ways.

And all is because the Grace of final fear is not th… Root and Principle from whence their hatred flows For the Fear of the Lord is to hate evil; wherefore where this grace is wanting for a Root in the Sou… there it must of necessity swerve in the letting out … this passion, because the Soul where grace is wanting is not at liberty to act simply, but is byassed by th… Power of Sin, that while grace is absent, is prese… in the Soul.

p. 21And hence it is, that this Passion (which when acted well, is a Vertue) is so abused and made to exercise its force against that for which God never ordained it, nor gave it license to act.

3. Another Passion of the Soul is nnOf Joy.joy, and when the Soul rejoyceth not in iniquity, but rejoyceth in the oo1 Cor. 13. 6.1 Cor 13:6Truth. This Joy is a very strong Passion, and will carry a Man through a world of difficulties: 'tis a Passion that beareth up, that supporteth and strengtheneth a Man, let the Object of his joy be what it will. 'Tis this that maketh the Soul fat in goodness, if it have its object accordingly, and that which makes the Soul bold in wickedness, if it indeed doth rejoyce in iniquity.

4. Another passion of the Soul is ppOf Fear.Fear, natural fear (for so you must understand me of all the Passions of the Soul, as they are considered simply, and in their own nature.) And as it is with the other Passions, so it is with this, it is made good or evil in its acts, as its principle and objects are; when this passion of the Soul is good, then it springs from sense of the greatness and goodness, and Majesty of God; also God himself is the object of this fear; I will qqMat. 10. 18. Luk. 12. 5.Matt 10:18Luke 12:5forewarn you (says Christ) whom ye shall fear, Fear him that can destroy both Body and Soul in Hell, yea, I say unto you, fear him: But in all Men this passion is not regulated and governed by these Principles and Objects; but is abused and turned through the Policy of Satan, quite into another channel. It is rrNumb. 41. 9. 2 Kings 17. 38. 7.2 Kgs 17:382 Kgs 17:7made to fear Men, to fear Idols, to fear Devils and Witches, yea it is made to fear all the foolish, ridiculous and apish Fables, that every old Woman or p. 22Atheistical Fortune-teller, has the Face to drop before the Soul. But fear is another passion of the Soul.

5. Another passion of the Soul is Grief, ssOf Grief.and it as those aforenamed, acteth even according as it is governed. When holiness, is lovely and beautiful to the Soul, and when the Name of Christ is more precious than life, then will the Soul sit down and be afflicted, because Men keep not God's Law. I beheld ttPsal. 119. 158.Ps 119:158the Transgressors and was grieved, because they kepe not thy word: So Christ, he looked round about with anger, Being grieved for the uuMark. 3. 5▪Mark 3:5hardness of their hearts. But it is rarely seen that this passion of the Soul is thus exercised. Almost every body has other thing… for the spending of the heat of this passion upon: Men are grieved that they thrive no more in the World; grieved that they have no more carnal, sensual and worldly honour; grieved that they are suffered no more to range in the Lusts and Vanities of this life: but all this is because the Soul is unacquainted with God, sees no beauty in holiness, but is sensual and, wrapt up in clouds and thick darkness.

6. And lastly, There is wwOf Anger.Anger; which is another passion of the Soul: And that as the rest, is extended by the Soul, according to the Nature of the Principle by which it is acted, and from whence it flows▪ And in a word, to speak nothing of the fierce…ness and power of this passion, it is then cursed▪ when it breaketh out beyond the bounds that God hath set it, the which to be sure it doth when it shall by its fierceness or irregular mo…tion, run the Soul into sin. Be angry and xxEph. 4. 26, 27.Eph 4:26Eph 4:27sin not is the Limitation wherewith God hath bounded thi… p. 23…assion: and whatever is more than this, is a gi…ing place to the Devil.

And one reason among others, Why the Lord doth …o strictly set this bound, and these limits to anger, … that it is so furious a Passion, and for that it …ill so quickly swell up the Soul with sin, as they say, Toad swells with its poison. Yea, it will in a moment …o transport the Spirit of a Man, that he shall quickly …orget himself, his God, his Friend and all good …ule: but my business is not now to make a Com…ent upon the Passions of the Soul, only to shew …ou that there are such, and also which they are.

And now from this description of the Soul, what …ollows but to put you in mind what a noble, power…ul, lively, sensible thing the Soul is, that by the Text is supposed may be lost, through the heedles…ess, or carelesness, or slavish fear of him whose Soul …t is; and also to stir you up to that care of, and la…our after the Salvation of your Soul, as becomes the Weight of the Matter; if the Soul were a trivial Thing, or if a Man though he lost it, might yet …imself be happy, it were another matter: but the …oss of the Soul is no small loss, nor can that Man …hat has lost his Soul, had he all the World, yea the whole Kingdom of Heaven in his own power, be but …n a most fearful and miserable condition: but of these …hings more in their place.

Having thus given you a Description of the yyOf the greatness of the Soul when compared with the Body.Soul, what it is: I shall in the next place shew you the Greatness of it: And the first thing that I shall p. 24take occasion to make this manifest by, will be shewing you the Disproportion that is betwixt th… and the Body: And I shall do it in these followi… particulars,

1. The Body is called zzThe Body an House for the Soul.the House of the … an House for the Soul to dwell in. Now every bo… knows that the House is much inferior to him, … by God's Ordinance is appointed to dwell therei… that it is called the House of the Soul, you find Paul to the Corinthians; For aa2 Cor. 5.2 Cor 5we know, saith h… if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolve we have a Building of God, an House not made wi… hands, eternal in the Heavens. We have then an Ho… for our Soul in this world, and this House is th… Body, for the Apostle can mean nothing else: the…fore he calls it an earthly House. If our earthly House Our House. But who doth he personate, if he says, T… is an House for the Soul: for the Body is part of h… that says, Our House?

In this manner of Language he personates his … with the Souls of the rest that are saved; and th… to do, is common with the Apostles, as will be easi… discerned by them that give attendance to Reading Our earthly Houses; or as Job saith, bbJob. 4. 19. ch. 13. 12.Job 4:19Houses … Clay, for our Bodies are Bodies of Clay: your r…membrances are like unto ashes, your bodies are bodies clay. Indeed he after maketh mention of an Hou… in Heaven, but that is not it about which he no… speaks; now he speaks of this earthly House whi… we have, we, our Souls, to dwell in, while on th… side Glory, where the other House stands, as rea… prepared for us when we shall flit from this to that or in case this should sooner, or later be dissolve▪ p. 25…ut that is the first, The Body is compared to the House, but the Soul to him that inhabiteth the House: Therefore as the Man is more noble than the House … dwells in, so is the Soul more noble than the Body. …nd yet alas, with grief be it spoken, How common …s it for Men to spend all their care, all their time, …ll their strength, all their wit, and parts for the …ody and its honour and preferment, even as if the …oul were some poor, pitiful, sorry inconsiderable …nd under-thing▪ not worth the thinking of, or not …orth the caring for. But,

2. ccThe Body clothing for the Soul. Luke 12. 23. … Cor. 5. 2, 3, 4.Luke 12:23The Body is called the Clothing, and the Soul …hat which is clothed therewith. Now every body …nows that the Body is more than Rayment, even car…al sense will teach us this: But read that pregnant place; For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being …urdened (that is with mortal flesh) not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality …ight be swallowed up of life. Thus the greatness of …he Soul appears in the preference that it hath to the …ody: The Body is its Raimen…. We see that above all Creatures, Man, because he is the most noble among …ll visible Ones, has for the adoring of his Body, that more abundant comeliness: 'tis the Body of Man, not of Beast that is clothed with the richest Ornaments; …ut now what a thing is the Soul▪ that the Body it …elf must be its cloathing! no suit of apparel is by God thought good enough for the Soul, but that which is made by God himself, and that is that curious thing …he Body. But oh! how little is this considered, …amely, The greatness of the Soul: 'Tis the Body, the Cloaths, the suit of Apparel that our foolish fancies …re taken with: not at all considering the richness p. 26and excellency of that great and more noble part▪ the Soul; for which the Body is made a Mantle to wra… it up in; a Garment to cloth it withal. If a Ma… gets a rent in his Cloths, it is little in comparison o… a rent in his Flesh; yea, he comforts himself whe… he looks on that rent. saying, thanks be to God, it … not a rent in my Flesh. But ah! on the contrary how many are there in the World, that are mor… troubled for that, they have a Rent, a Wound, o… a Disease in the Body, than for that they have Soul▪ that will be lost and cast away. A little Rent in th… Body dejecteth and casteth such down, but they are not at all concerned, though their Soul is now, an… will yet further be torn in pieces. ddPsal. 50. 22.Ps 50:22Now therefor… consider this, ye that forget God, lest he tear you i… pieces, and there be none to deliver: but this is the second thing whereby, or by which the greatness o… the Soul appears; to wit, in that the Body, that excellent piece of God's Workmanship, is but a Garment, or Clothing, for the Soul. But,

3. eeThe Body a Vessel for the Soul. 1 Thes. 4. 4.1 Thess 4:4The Body is called a Vessel, or a Case, for the Soul to be put and kept in. That ev…ry one of yo… should know how to possess his Vessel in sanctification an… honour: The Apostle here doth exhort the People to abstain from fornication: which in another place h… saith, is a Sin against the Body. And here again h… saith, ff1 Cor. 6. 18.1 Cor 6:18This is the Will of God, your sanctification that you should abstain from Fornication, that the Body be not defiled, that every one of you should know how t… possess his Vessel▪ in sanctification and honour: His Vessel his Earthen Vessel, as he calls it in another place, For we have this treasure in Earthen Vessels: Thus then the Body is called a Vessel, yea every Man's Body is hi… p. 27Vessel. But what has God prepared this Vessel for, and what has he put into it? Why▪ many things this Body is to be a Vess…l for, but at present God has put into it that curious thing, the Soul, Cabinets that … rich and costly things of themselves, are not made nor design'd to be Vessels to be stuf… or filled with trumpery and things of no value: no, these are prepared for Rings and J…wel, for Pearls, for Rubies and things that are choice. And if so, what shall …e then think of the Soul, for which it is prepared, and that of God, the most rich and excellent Vessel in …he World, surely it must be a think of worth, yea, of more worth than is the whole World besides. But alas! Who believes this talk? do not even the most of Men so set their minds upon, and so admire the glory of this Case or Vessel, that they forget once with seriousness to think, and therefore must of necessity be a great way off of those sutable esteem…, …hat becomes them to have of their Souls. But oh, …ince this Vessel, this Cabinet, this Body is so curiously made, and that to receive and contain, what thing is …at for which God has made his Vessel! And what is …at Soul that he hath put into it? Wherefore thus …n the third Place is the greatness of the Soul made …anifest, even by the Excellency of the Vessel, the Body, that God has made to put it in.

4. ggThe Body a Tabernacle for the Soul. 2 Pet. 1. 14. Joh. 21. 18, 19. 2 Cor. 5. 1.2 Pet 1:14John 21:18John 21:192 Cor 5:1The Body is called, a Tabernacle for the …oul. Knowing shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle, …hat is, my Body by Death: So again, For we know that … our Earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we …ave a b…ilding of God, &c. In both these places, by …aberna…le can be mean… nothing but the Body; …herefore both the Apostles in these sentences do p. 28personate their Souls, and speak as if the Soul wa… the All of a Man: yea, they plainly tell us, that th… Body is but the House, Cloths, Vessel and Tabe…nacle for the Souls. But what a famous thing there…fore is the Soul?

The Tabernacle of old, was a place erected fo… worship but the Worshippers were far more excelle… than the place; so our Body is a Tabernacle for th… Soul to worship God in, but must needs be accounte… much inferior to the Soul, for as much as the wor… shippers are always of more honor than the place the… worship in: as he that dwelleth in the Tabernacle… hath more honor than the Tabernacle. hhRom. 1. 9.Rom 1:9I serv… (says, Paul) God and Christ Jesus with my Spirit or So… in the Gospel; but not with his Spirit out of, but i… this Tabernacle. The Tabernacle had Instruments o… worship for the Worshippers, so has the Body for th… Soul, and we are bid to iiRom. 6. 13.Rom 6:13yield our Members as I…struments of righteousness unto God. The Hands, Feet… Ears, Eyes and Tongue (which last is our glor… when used right) are all of them Instruments of th… Tabernacle, and to be made use of by the Soul, the In…habiter of this Tabernacle for the Souls performance… of the service of God.

I thus discourse, to shew you the greatness of th… Soul.

And in mine Opinion there is something, if no… very much in what I say. For all Men admire th… Body both for its manner of building. and the curi…ous way of its being compacted together. Yea, th… further Men, wise Men, do pry into the wonderfu… work of God, that is put forth in framing the Body… the more still they are made to admire: and yet, a… I said, this Body is but a House, a Mantle, a Vessel… p. 29Tabernacle for the Soul. What then is the Soul it …elf? But thus much for the first particular.

2. We will now come to other things that shew us …he Greatness of the Soul. And

1. It is called God's breath of life. kkThe Soul is called God's breath. Gen. 2. 7.Gen 2:7And the Lord God formed Man, that is, the Body, of the Dust of …he Ground, and breathed into his Nostrils the breath of …ife, and he became a living Soul. Do but compare …hese two together, the Body and the Soul: The Body is made of Dust, the Soul is the Breath of God. Now if God hath made this Body so famous, as indeed he has, and yet it is made but of the Dust of the Ground, and we all do know what inferior matter that is, what is the Soul, since the Body is not only its House and Garment, but since its self is made of the breath of God? But further, it is not only said, That the Soul is of the Breath of the Lord, but that the Lord breathed into him the breath of Life: to wit, a living Spirit, for so the next words infer; And Man became a living Soul. Man, that is, the more excellent part of him, which for that it is principal, is called Man, that bearing the denomination of the whole: or Man, the Spirit and natural Power, by which as a reasonable Creature the whole of him is acted; became a living Soul. But I stand not here upon definition, but upon demonstration: the Body that noble Part of Man, had its Original from the Dust: for so says the word, Dust thou art (as to thy Body) and to llGen. 3. 19.Gen 3:19Dust shalt thou return; but as to thy more noble part thou art from the breath of God, God putting forth in that a mighty work of creating Power, and mm1. Cor. 15. 45.1 Cor 15:45Man was made a living Soul. Mark my reason, There is as great a disparity betwixt the Body and the p. 30Soul, as is between the Dust of the Ground, and that her… called the breath of life of the Lord. And, note further… That as the Dust of the Ground did not lose, but gai… glory by being formed into the Body of a Man: so th… breath of the Lord, lost nothing neither, by being mad: living Soul. O Man! dost thou know what thou art?

2. nnThe Soul, God's Image. Gen. 1. 26, 27.Gen 1:26Gen 1:27As the Soul is said to be of the breath o… God: so it is said to be made after God's own Image… even after the similitude of God. And God said let t… mate Man in our Image, after our likeness. So Go… created Man in his own Image, in the Image… of God created he him. Mark in his own Image, in the Image of God created he him; or as James hath it, ooJam. 3. 9.Jas 3:9l…is made after the similitude of God; like him, having in it, that which beareth semblance with him. I do… not read of any thing in Heaven or Earth, or unde… the Earth, that is said to be made after this manner or that is at all so termed, save only the Son of God himself. The Angels are noble Creatures, and for present imploy, are made a little higher than Man himself: But ppHeb. 2.Heb 2that any of them are said to be made after God's own Image, after his own Image, even after the similitude of God, that I find not. This character the holy Ghost in the Scriptures of Truth giveth only of Man, of the Soul of Man: for it must not be thought that the Body is here intended in whole or in part; for though it be said, qqPhil. 2.Phil 2That Christ was made after the similitude of sinful flesh: yet it is not said, That sinful flesh is made after the similitude of God; but I will not dispute: I only bring these things to shew how great a thing, how noble a thing the Soul is; in that at its Creation God thought it worthy to be made, not like the Earth, or the Heavens, or the Angels, Ceraphims, Seraphins, or Arch-Angels; p. 31but like himself, his own self; saying Let …s make man in our own likeness. So he made man in …is own Image. This I say, is a Character above all Angels, for as the Apostle said, To which of the An…el… said he, at any time, thou art my Son? So, of which of them hath he at any time said, This is or …hall be made in, or after mine image, mine own Image? O what a thing is the Soul of Man! that, above all the Creatures in Heaven or Earth, being made …n the Image and similitude of God.

3. rrThe Soul, God's desireAnother thing by which the greatness of the Soul is made manifest is this: It is that (and that only, and to say this is more than to say, it is that above all the Creatures) that the great God desires communion with. He hath set apart his that is godly for himself: that is, for communion with his Soul: therefore the Spouse saith concerning him, ssCant. 7. 10.Song 7:10His desire is towards me; and therefore he saith again, I will tt2 Cor. 6. 16.2 Cor 6:16dwell in them, and walk in them, To dwell in, and walk with, are terms that intimate communion and fellowship, as John saith, uu1 John 1. 1, 2.1 John 1:11 John 1:2Our fellowship, truly our fellowship, is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. That is, our Soul-fellowship, for it must not be understood of the Body, though I believe that the Body is much influenced when the Soul has communion with God; but it is the Soul, and that only, that at present is capable of having and maintaining of th…s blessed communion. But I say, What a thing is this, that God, the great God, should chuse to have fellowship and communion with the Soul above all. We read indeed of the greatness of the Angels, and how near also they are unto God; but yet there are not such terms that bespeak such familiar acts between p. 32God and Angels, as to demonstrate that they hav… such communion with God, as has, or as the Souls o… his People may have. Where has he called them hi… Love, his Dove, his fair one? And where, when h… speaketh of them, doth he express a communion tha… they have with him, by the similitude of … Love? I speak of what is revealed, the secret thing belong to the Lord our God. Now by all this i… manifest the Greatness of the Soul. Men of greatnes… and honour, if they have respect to their own glory will not chuse for their familiars, the base and ras… Crue of this World; but will single out for their fellows, fellowship and communion, those that are mo… like themselves. True, the King has not an equal… yet he is for being familiar only with the Nobles o… the Land; so God, with him none can compare: ye… since the Soul is by him singled out for his walking Mate and Companion, 'tis a sign, it is the highe… born, and that upon which the blessed Majesty looks… as upon that which is most meet to be singled out for communion with himself.

Should we see a Man familiar with the King, we would even of our selves conclude he is one of the Nobles of the Land; but this is not the Lot of every Soul (some have fellowship with Devils, yet not because they have a more base Original than those that lye in God's bosom, but they through sin. are degenerate, and have chosen to be great with his Enemy) but all these things shew the Greatness of the Soul.

4. wwThe Soul, a Vessel for Grace.The Souls of Men are such as God count… worthy to be the Vessels to hold his Grace, the Graces of the Spirit in. The Graces of the Spirit; what like them, or where here are they to be found, save in the Souls of Men only? of xxPs. 51. 6. Ps. 45. 13.Ps 51:6Ps 45:13his fulness have all we p. 33received, and grace for grace; received, into what? Into the hidden Parts, as David calls it. Hence the King's Daughter is said to be all glorious within, because adorned and beautified with the Graces of the Spirit. For that which David calls the hidden part, is the inmost part of the Soul; and it is therefore called the hidden Part, because the Soul is invisible, nor can any one living infallibly know what is in the Soul but God himself. But I say, the Soul is the Vessel into which this golden Oyl is poured, and that which holds, and is accounted worthy to exercise and improve the same. Therefore the Soul is it which is said to love God. yyCant. 3. 1, 2, 3, 4. Isa. 26. 9.Song 3:1Song 3:2Song 3:3Song 3:4Isa 26:9Saw ye him whom my Soul loveth? and therefore the Soul is that which exerciseth the Spirit of Prayer, With my Soul have I desired thee in the night, and with my Spirit within me will I seek thee early. With the Soul also Men are said to believe, and into the Soul God is said to put his Fear. This is the Vessel into which the wise Virgins got Oyl, and out of which their Lamps were supplied by the same. But what a thing, what a great thing therefore is the Soul, that, that above all things that God hath created, should be the chosen Vessel to put his Grace in. The Body is the Vessel for the Soul, and the Soul is the Vessel for the Grace of God. But,

5. zzThe Price of the Soul.The Greatness of the Soul is manifest by the Greatness of the Price that Christ paid for it to make it an Heir of Glory; and aa1 Cor. 6. 20. 1. Pet. 1. 18, 19.1 Cor 6:201 Pet 1:181 Pet 1:19that was his procious Blood. We do use to esteem of things according to the Price that is given for them, especially when we are convinced that the purchase has not been made by the Estimation of a Fool. Now the Soul is purchased by a Price that the Son, the wisdom of God p. 34thought fit to pay for the redemption thereof, what a thing then is the Soul? Judge of the Soul by the Price that is paid for it, and you must needs confess (unless you count the Blood that hath bought it, an unholy thing) that it cannot but be of great worth and value. Suppose a Prince, or some great Man, should on a sudden descend from his Throne or Chair of State to take up, that he might put in his bosome, some thing that he had espyed, lying trampled under the Feet of those that stand by; would you think that he would do this for an old Horse-shooe, or for so trivial a thing as a Pin or a Point? nay, would you not even of your selves conclude, that, that thing for which the Prince, so great a Man, should make such a stoop, must needs be a thing of very great worth? Why, this is the case of Christ and the Soul: Christ is the Prince, his Throne was in Heaven, and as he sat there, he espied the Souls of Sinners trampled under the Foot of the Law and Death, for sin: now what doth he, but comes down from his Throne, stoops down to the Earth, bb1. Cor. 8. 9.1 Cor 8:9and there since he could not have the trodden-down Souls without price, he lays down his Life and Blood for them. But would he have done this for inconsiderable things? no nor for the Soul of Sinners neither, had he not valued them higher than he valued Heaven and Earth besides. This therefore is another thing by which the Greatness of Soul is known.

6. ccThe Soul immortal. Luk. 12. 4. Mat. 10. 28.Luke 12:4Matt 10:28The Soul is immortal, it will have a sensible Being for ever, none can kill the Soul. If all the Angels in Heaven, and all the Men of Earth should lay all their strength together, they cannot kill, or annihilare one Soul: no, I will speak without fear, p. 35…f it may be said, God cannot do what he will not do; then he cannot annihilate the Soul: but notwithstanding all his wrath and the vengeance that he will inflict on sinful Souls, they yet shall abide with sensible Beings, yet to indure, yet to bear punishment. If any thing could kill the Soul, it would be death, but death cannot do it, neither first nor second, The first cannot, for when Dives ddLuke 16. 22, 23.Luke 16:22Luke 16:23was slain as to his Body by death, his Soul was found ali… in Hell, He lift up his eeMark 9.Mark 9Eyes in Hell being in torment. The second death cannot do it, because it is said, their Worm never dies, but is always torturing them with his gnawing; but that could not be, if time or lying in Hell-fire for ever, could annihilate the Soul. Now this also shews the Greatness of the Soul, that it is that which has an endless life, and that will therefore have a Being endlesly. O what a thing is the Soul!

The Soul then is immortal, though not eternal. That is eternal that has neither beginning nor end; and therefore eternal is properly applicable to none but God; hence he is called ffDeut. 33. 27.Deut 33:27the eternal God. Immortal is that, which though it hath a Beginning, yet hath no end, it cannot dye, nor cease to be; and this is the state of the Soul. It cannot cease to have a Being, when it is once created, I mean a living sensible Being. For I mean by living, only such a Being as distinguishes it from annihilation or uncapableness of sense and feeling. Hence as the rich Man is after death, said to ggLuke 16. 22, 23.Luke 16:22Luke 16:23lift up his Eyes in Hell; so the Begger is said, when he dyed, to be carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosome. And both these sayings, must have respect to the Souls of these Men; for as for p. 36their Bodies, we know at present 'tis otherwise with them. The Grave is their House, and so must be till the Trumpet shall sound, and the Heavens pass away like a Scroul.

Now (I say) the Immortality of the Soul, shews the Greatness of it, as the eternity of God, sh… the greatness of God. It cannot be said of any Angel, but that he is immortal, and so it is, and ought to be said of the Soul. This therefore shews the Greatness of the Soul, in that it is as to abiding, so like unto him.

7. hh'Tis the Soul that acts the Body.But a word or two more, and so to conclude this Head. The Soul! why, it is the Soul that acteth the Body in all those things (good or bad) that seem good and reasonable, or amazingly wicked. True, the Acts and Motions of the Soul, are only seen and heard in and by the Members and Motions of the Body, but the Body is but a poor Instrument, the Soul is the great Agitator and Actor. iiJam. 2 26.Jas 2:26The Body without the Spirit is dead. All those famous Arts and Works, and Inventions of Works that are done by Men, under Heaven, they are all the Inventions of the Soul, and the Body as acting and labouring therein, doth it but as a Tool kkEccl. 7. 9.Eccl 7:9that the Soul maketh use of, to bring his Invention unto maturity. How many things have Men found out to the amzing of one another, to the wonderment of one another, to the begetting of endless Commendations of one another in the World, while in the mean time the Soul, which indeed is the true Inventor of all is over-look'd, not regarded, but dragged up and down by every lust, and prostrate, and made a slave to every silly and beastly thing? O the llIsa. 44. 20.Isa 44:20amazing darkness that hath p. 37covered the Face of the Hearts of the Children of Men, that they cannot deliver their Soul, nor say, is there not a lye in my Right-hand? though they are so cunning in all other matters. Take Man in Matters that are abroad, and far from home, and he is the mirror of all the Word: but take him at home, and put him upon things that are near him, I mean that have respect to the things that concern his Soul, and then you will find him the greatest Fool that ever God made. But this must not be applyed to the Soul simply, as it is God's Creature, but to the Soul sinful, as it has willingly apostatized from God, and so suffered it self to be darkned, and that with such thick and stupefying darkness, that it is bound up and cannot, it hath a Napkin of sin bound so close before its Eyes, that it is not able (of it self) to look to, and after those things which should be its chiefest concern, and without which it will be most miserable for ever.

8. Further, mmThe Soul capable of having to do with invisibles.as the Soul is thus curious about Arts and Sciences, and about every excellent thing of this Life. So it is capable of having to do with invisibles; with Angels good or bad; yea, with the highest and supream Being, even with the holy God of Heaven. I told you before, that God sought the Soul of Man to have it for his Companion, and now I tell you, that the Soul is capable of communion with him (when the darkness that sin hath spread over its face is removed.) The Soul is an intelligent Power, it can be made to know, and understand depths, and heights, and lengths, and breadths, in those high, sublime and spiritual mysteries, that only God can reveal and teach; yea, it is capable of diving unutterably into them. And herein is God the God of p. 38glory much delighted and pleased, to wit, That he hath made himself a Creature that is capable of hearing, of knowing, and of understanding of his mind, when opened and revealed to it. I think I may say without offence to God or Man, That one reason why God made the World, was that he might manifest himself not only by, but to the works which he made; but (I speak with reverence) how could that be, if he did not also make some of his Creatures capable of apprehending of him in those most high Mysteries and Methods, in which he purposed to reveal himself? but then, what are those Creatures which he hath made (unto whom when these things are shewn) that are able to take them in, and understand them, and so to improve them to God's glory as he hath ordained and purposed they should, but Souls? for none else in the visible World are capable of doing this but they. And hence it is, that to them, and them only, he beginneth to reveal himself in this World. And hence it is that they, and they only are gathered up to nnHeb. 12. 23.Heb 12:23him, where he is (for they are they that are called the spirits of just Men made perfect) the Spirit of a Beast goeth downward ooEccl. 3. 21. c. 12. 7.Eccl 3:21to the Earth, it is the Spirit of a Man that goes upward to God that gave it; for that, and that only is capable of beholding and understanding the glorious Visions of Heaven, as Christ said, ppJohn 17. 24.John 17:24Father I will that those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the Foundation of the World. And thus the greatness of the Soul is manifest. True, the Body is also gathered up into glory, but not simply for its own sake, or because that is p. 39capable of it self to know and understand the glories of its Maker; but that has been a Companion with the Soul in this World, has also been its House, its Mantle, its Cabinet and Tabernacle here: It has also been it, by which the Soul hath acted, in which it hath wrought, and by which its excellent appearances have been manifested. And it shall also there be its copartner and sharer in its glory. Wherefore as the Body here did partake of Soul Excellencies, and was also conformed to its spiritual and regenerate Principles; so it shall be hereafter a partaker of that Glory with which the Soul shall be filled; and also be made suitable by that glory, to become a partaker and copartner with it of the eternal Excellencies which Heaven will put upon it. In this World it is a gracious Soul (I speak now of the Regenerate) and in that World, it shall be a glorious one. In this World the Body was conformable to the Soul as it was gracious and in that World it shall be conformable to itt, as its glorious: conformable, I say, by partaking of that Glory, that then the Soul shall partake of; yea, it shall also have an additional glory to adorn, and make it yet the more capable of being serviceable to it, and with it in its great acts before God in eternal glory.

O, What great things are the Souls of the Sons of Men!

9. But again, as the Soul is thus capable of enjoying qqThe Soul capable of diving into the Depths and Mysteries of Hell.God in Glory, and of prying into these Mysteries that are in him: so it is capable with great prosundity to dive into the mysterious depths of Hell. Hell is a place, and state utterly unknown to any in this visible World, excepting the Souls of Men; nor shall any for ever be capable of understanding the p. 40Miseries thereof, save Souls and fallen Angels. Now I think as the Joys of Heaven stand not only in speculation or in beholding of Glory, but in a sensible Enjoyment and unspeakable Pleasure, which these rrPsal. 16. 11.Ps 16:11Glories will yield to the Soul: So the Torments of Hell will not stand in the present lashes and stroaks which by the Flames of eternal Fire God will scourge the Ungodly with; but the Torments of Hell stand much, if not in the greatest part of them, in those deep thoughts and apprehensions, which Souls in the next World will have of the Nature and Occasions of Sin; of God, and of separation from him; of the Eternity of those Miseries, and of the utter Impossibility of their help, ease, or deliverance for ever. O, damned Souls will have thoughts that will clash with Glory, clash with Justice, clash with Law, clash with it self, clash with Hell, and with the everlastingness of Misery; but the Point, the Edge, and the Poison of all these thoughts will still be gauling, and dropping, and spuing out their stings into the Sore, grieved, wounded, and fretted place, which is the Conscience, though not the Conscience only. For I may say of the Souls in Hell, that they all over are but one wound, one sore. Miseries as well as mercies, sharpen and make quick the Apprehensions of the Soul. Behold Spira in his Book▪ Cain in his Guilt, and Saul with the Witch of Endor, and you shall see Men ripened, Men inlarged and greatned in their fancies, ssIsa. 33. 14. Psal. 50. 3. Rev. 14. 10, Mark 9. 44, 46.Isa 33:14Ps 50:3Rev 14:10Mark 9:44Mark 9:46imaginations and apprehensions, though not about God, and Heaven and Glory; yet about their Loss, their Misery, and their Woe, and their Hells.

p. 4110. Nor doth their ability ttThe Ability of the Soul to bear.to bear (if it be proper to say they bear, those dolors which there for ever, they shall endure) a little demonstrate their greatness. Everlasting burning, devouring fire, perpetual pains, gnawing worms, utter darkness and the ireful words, face and strokes of divine and infinite Justice, will not, cannot, make this Soul extinct, as I said before: I think it is not so proper to say, the Soul that is damned for Sin doth bear these things, as to say it doth ever sink under them; and therefore their place of torment is called the bottomless Pit, because they are ever sinking, and shall never come there where they will find any stay. Yet they live under wrath, but yet only so as to be sensible of it, as to smart and be in perpetual anguish by reason of the intollerableness of their burthen. But doth not their thus living, abiding, and retaining a Being (or what you will call it) demonstrate the greatness and might of the Soul? Alas! Heaven and Earth are short of this greatness, for these though under less judgment by far, do fade and wax old uuHeb. 1.Heb 1like a Moth-eaten Garment, and in their time will vanish away to nothing.

Also we see how quickly the Body, when the Soul is under a fear of the rebukes of Justice; How soon I say, it wastes, molders away, and crimbleth into the Grave; but the Soul is yet strong and abides sensible to be dealt withal for Sin, by everlasting burnings.

11. The Soul by God's Ordinance wwHeb. 9. 27. The might of the Soul further shewn.Heb 9:27while this world lasts, has a time appointed it to forsake and leave the Body to be turned again to the Dust as it was, and this separation is made by death: Therefore p. 42the Body must cease for a time to have sense or life, or motion; and a little thing brings it now into this state: But in the next World the wicked shall partake of none of this; for the Body and the Soul being at the Resurrection rejoyned, this death that once did rend them asunder, is for ever overcome and extinct; so that these two which lived in Sin ▪must for ever be yoked together in Hell. Now there the Soul being joyned to the Body, and death which before did separate them, being utterly taken away; the Soul retains not only its own being, but also continueth the Body to be, and to suffer sensibly the Pains of Hell without those decays that it uses to sustain.

And the Reason why this death shall then be taken away, is, because Justice in xxMat. 10. 28.Matt 10:28its bestowing its rewards for transgressions, may not be interrupted: but that Body and Soul as they lived yyLuk. 12. 5.Luke 12:5and acted in sin together, might be destroyed for sin in Hell together: Destroyed, I say, but with such a zz2 Thes. 1. 8, 9.2 Thess 1:82 Thess 1:9Destruction, which though it is everlasting, will not put a Period to their sensible suffering, the vengeance of eternal Fire.

This death therefore, though that also be the Wages of Sin, would now, were it suffered to continue, be an hindrance to the making known of the Wrath of God, and also of the created Power and Might of the Soul. 1. It would hinder the making known of the Wrath of God, for it would take the Body out of the way, and make it uncapable of sensible suffering for sin, and so removing one of the Objects of Vengeance, the Power of God's Wrath would be so far undiscovered. 2. It would also hinder the Manifestation of the Power and Might of the Soul, which is discovered much by its abiding to re…in p. 43its own being while the Wrath of God is grap…ng with it: and more, by its continuing to the Body … sensible being with it self.

Death therefore must now be removed, that the …oul may be made the Object of Wrath without …olestation or interruption. That the Soul, did I …y? yea, that Soul and Body both might be so. Death …ould now be a Favour, though once the Fruit of …in, and also the Wages thereof, might it now be …uffered to continue: because it would case the Soul …f some of its burthen. For a tormented Body can…ot but be a burthen to a Spirit, and so the wise Man …nsmuates, when he says, The Spirit of a Man will …stain his infirmity: that is, bear up under it, but …et so, as that it feels it a Burthen. We see that …ecause of the Sympathy that is between Body and …oul, how one is burthened if the other be grieved. A sick Body is a Burthen to the Soul, and a wounded Spirit is a Burthen to the Body: A wounded Spirit who …an bear? but death must not remove this burthen, but the Soul must have the Body for a Burthen, and the Body must have the Soul for a Burthen, and both must have the Wrath of God for a Burthen. O therefore, here will be burthen upon burthen, and all upon the Soul, for the Soul will be the chief Seat of this burthen. But thus much to shew you the Greatness of the Soul.

I shall now come to the second Thing which was propounded to be spoken to: and that is to shew you what we are to understand aaOf the Loss of the Soul.by losing of the Soul, or what the Loss of the Soul is, What shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul.

1. The Loss of the Soul bbHe that loseth his Soul, loseth himself.is a Loss, in the Nature p. 44of it peculiar to it self. There is no such Lo… as to the Nature of Loss as is the Loss of the So… For that he that hath lost his Soul, has lost himse… In all other Losses it is possible for a Man to save him…self, but he that loseth his Soul, loseth himself; F… ccLuk. 9. 25.Luke 9:25what is a Man advantaged, if he gain the who… World, and lose himself? So Luke has it. Wherefor… the Loss of the Soul is a Loss that cannot be parallel… He that loseth himself, loseth his all, his lasting a… for himself is his all, his all in the most comprehen… sive Sence: What mattereth it what a Man gets, i… by the getting thereof he loseth himself? Suppose… Man goeth to the Indies for Gold, and he loadet… his Ship therewith, but at his return, that Sea tha… carried him thither, swallows him up, now what ha… he got? but this is but a lean Similitude with re… ference to the Matter in hand, to wit, to set fort… the Loss of the Soul. Suppose a Man that has bee… at the Indies for Gold, should at his return himsel… be taken by them of Algiers, and there made a Slav… of, and there be hunger-bit, and beaten till his bon… are broken; What has he got? What is he advantaged by his rich adventure? perhaps you will say, He has got Gold enough to obtain his ransom: Indeed this may be, and therefore no similitude can… be found, that can fully amplifie the Matter. For wha… shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? It is a Loss that standeth by it self, there is not another like it: or unto which it may be compared, 'tis only like it self, 'tis singular, 'tis the chief of all losses, the highest, the greatest Loss. For what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul? A Man may lose his Wife, his Children, his Estate, his Liberty, and his Life, and have all made up again, and have all restored with p. 45…dvantage, and may therefore, notwithstanding all …ese losses, be far enough off from losing of himself; ddLuk. 14. 25. Mark. 8. 35.Luke 14:25Mark 8:35for he may lose his life and save it: yea, some…imes the only way to save that is to lose it: but …hen a Man has lost himself, his Soul, then all is gone, …o all intents and purposes. There is no word says, …e that loses his Soul, shall save it: but contrary-wise, …he Text supposeth, that a Man has lost his Soul, and …hen demands if any can answer it, What shall a Man …ive in exchange for his Soul? All then that he gains …hat loseth his Soul is only this, he has gained a Loss, …e has purchased the Loss of Losses, he has nothing …eft him now but his Loss; but the Loss of himself, of his whole self. He that loseth his life for Christ, …hall save it, but he that loseth himself for Sin, and for …he World, shall lose himself to perfection of loss; …e has lost himself, and there's the full Point.

There are several things fall under this first head, upon which I would touch a little.

1. He that has lost his Soul eeHe that has lost himself will never be more at his own dispose.has lost himself: Now he that has lost himself, is no more at his own dispose; while a Man enjoys himself, he is at his own dispose. A single Man, a free Man, a rich Man, a poor Man, any Man that enjoys himself is at his own dispose. I speak after the manner of Men; but he that has lost himself is not at his own dispose. He is as I may say, now out of his own hands: he has lost himself, his Soul self, his own self, his whole self by Sin, and Wrath, and Hell hath found him: he is therefore now no more at his own dispose, but at the dispose of Justice, of Wrath and Hell. He is committed to Prison, to Hell Prison, there to abide, not a pleasure, not as long and as little time as he will, but p. 46the Term appointed by his Judge: Nor may he the… chuse his own affliction, neither for manner, me…sure, or continuance. 'Tis God that will spread th… Fire and Brimstone under him, it is God that w… pile up wrath upon him, and it is God himself th… will blow the Fire. And the Breath of the Lord, like … Stream of Brimstone ffIsa. 30. 33.Isa 30:33doth kindle it: And thus it … manifest that he that has lost himself, his Soul is n… more at his own dispose, but at the dispose of the… that find him.

2. Again, As he that has lost himself ggHe that hath lost himself, is no… at liberty to dispose of what he hath.is no… at his own dispose, so neither is he at liberty to dispos… of what he has, for the Man that has lost himself… has something yet of his own. The Text implie… that his Soul is his when lost, yea when that and hi… all, himself is lost: but as he cannot dispose of himself, so he cannot dispose of what he hath: let m… take leave to make out my meaning; If he that i… lost, that has lost himself, has not, notwithstanding… some thing that in some sence may be called his own then he that is lost is nothing. The Man that is i… Hell has yet the Powers, the Sences and Passions … his Soul; for not he nor his Soul must be though… to be stript of these; for then he would be lowe… than the Brute; but yet all these since he is ther… are by God improved against himself; or if you wil… the Point of this Man's Sword is turned against hi… own Heart, and made to pierce his own Liver.

The Soul by being in Hell, loseth nothing of it… aptness to think, its quickness to pierce, to pry, an… to understand: nay, Hell has ripèned it in all the… things; but I say, the Soul with its Improvements a… to these (or any thing else) is not in the hand of hi… p. 47…hat hath lost himself to manage for his own advan…age, but in the Hand, and in the Power, and to be …isposed as is thought meet by him into whose re…enging hand by sin he has delivered himself: to wit, …n the Hand of God: so then God now has the Vi…tory, and disposeth of all the Powers, Sences and …assions of the Soul for the chast…zing of him that …as lost himself. Now the Understanding is only …mployed and improved in, and about the appre…ending of such things as will be like Daggers at the …eart: to wit about Justice, Sin, Hell and Eternity, …o grieve and break the Spirit of the Damned; yea, …o break, to wound, and to tear the Soul in pieces. …he depths of Sin which the Man has loved, the …ood Nature of God whom the Man has hated, the Blessings of Eternity which the Soul has despised …hall now be understood by him, more than ever: …ut yet so only, as to increase grief and sorrow, by …mproving of the good and of the evil of the things …nderstood, to the greater wounding of the Spirit: …herefore now, every touch that the Understanding …all give to the Memory will be as a touch of a r…d …ot Iron; or like a draught of scalding Lead poured …own the Throat. The Memory also letteth these …ings down upon the Conscience with no less terror …nd perplexity. And now the Fancy or Imagination …oth start and stare like a Man by fears, bereft of …its, and doth exercise it self, or rather is exercised …y the Hand of revenging Justice, so about the …readth and depth of present and future punish…ents, as to lay the Soul as on a burning Rack. Now …so the Judgment, as with a mighty Maul driveth …o…n the Soul in the sence and pangs of everlasting …isery, into that Pit that has no bottom; yea, it …eth again, and as with a Hammer it rivetteth e…ery …rful thought and apprehension of the Soul p. 48so fast that it can never be loosed again for ever and ever. Alas! Now the Conscience can sleep, be dull, be misled, or flatter no longer; No, it must now cry out, understanding will make it; Memory will make it; fancy or imagination will make it: Now I say, it will cry out of Sin, of Justice, and of the Terribleness of the Punishment that hath swallowed him up that has lost himself. Here will be no forgetfulness, yet nothing shall be thought on but that which will wound & kill; here will be no time, cause or mean… for diversion, all will stick and gnaw like a Viper. N… the memory will go out to, where Sin was heretofore committed, it will also go out to the Word that did forbid it. The V…derstanding also, and the Judgmen… too, will now consider of the pretended Necessit… that the Man had to break the Commandments o… God, and of the seasonableness of the Cautions, an… of the Convictions which were given him to forbea… by all which more load will be laid upon him that h… lost himself; for here all the Powers, Sences a… Passions of the Soul must be made self-burner… self-tormenters, self executioners by the j… Judgment of God; also all that the Will sha… do in this place, shall be but to wish for eas… but the wish shall only be such as shall on… seem to lift up, for the Cable Rope of despair sha… with violence pull him down again. The will i… deed will wish for ease, and so will the mind, &c. b… all these wishers will by wishing arrive to no mo… advantage but to make despair which is the mo… twinging stripe of Hell to cut yet deeper into t… whole Soul of him that has lost himself: Where fo… after all that can be wisht for: they return again… their burning Chair, where they sit and bewail the… misery. Thus will all the Powers, Sences and P…ons of the Soul of him that has lost himself, … p. 49of his own power to dispose for his advantage; and will be only in the Hand and under the Management of the revenging Justice of God.