A Prospect of Heaven, Treatise · Chapter 15

A Prospect of Heaven · Treatise · Chapter 15

p. 175CHAP. XV.

SECT. I. Of the ſubſtance of the Saints glory.

HAving ſpoken of the circumſtances, let us now conſider more particularly the ſubſtance of that glory and bleſſedneſs, which the glorified Saints ſhall poſſeſs in their ſouls and bodies: and firſt in their bodies; but before I ſpeak of that glory which God will put upon the bodies of the Saints, I ſhall ſpeak of that which goes before it, and leads unto it, viz. the reſurrection of their bodies: However God's Children are ſubject to death as well as others, yet they ſhall be raiſed again to a ſtate of bleſſedneſs, and their bodies ſhall be re-united to their ſouls. For,

1. God hath decreed it, and it ſhall certainly come to paſs. John 6.39, 40. Chriſt ſaith, This is the Father's will which hath ſent me, that of all which he hath given me, I ſhould loſe nothing, but ſhould raiſe it up again at the last day; and this is the will of him that ſent me, that every one that ſeeth the Son, and believeth in him, may have everlaſting life, and I will raiſe him up at the last day.

2. Chriſt hath promiſed it. Hoſea 13.14. I will ranſome them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death: O Death, I will be thy plagues; O grave; I will be thy deſtruction. John 6.54. Whoſoever eateth my fleſh, and drinketh my p. 176blood, hath eternal life, and I will raiſe him up at the last day: Yea, Chriſt hath conſidered it by his laſt will and teſtament, John 17.22, 24.

3. It is evident by the Saints profeſſion. Job confeſſeth thus much plainly, Job 19.25. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he ſhall ſtand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my fleſh worms deſtroy this body, yet ſhall I ſee God in my fleſh; whom I myſelf ſhall ſee, mine eyes ſhall behold, and no other for me, though my reins be conſumed within me. Our Saviour, who called himſelf the reſurrection and the life, refutes the Sadduces, and confirms the doctrine of the Phariſees, as to that opinion, producing a place out of the Law of Moſes, and uſing it as an argument for the proof thereof: As touching the reſurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was ſpoken to you by God, ſaying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Iſaac, and the God of Jacob: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, Matth. 22.32. with the weight of which argument he aſtoniſhed the multitude, and ſilenced the Sadduces. And St. Paul alſo aſſerteth the doctrine of the reſurrection, being brought before the Councel, the one part whereof were Sadduces, the other Phariſees, one denying, the other aſſerting the reſurrection, Acts 23.6.

p. 177SECT. II.

I Shall now prove the reſurrection of the Saints bodies by arguments:

1. Elſe why ſhould the Saints in all ages crucifie themſelves to the World, ſuffer afflictions for faith in and hope of the reſurrection? 1 Cor. 15.19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miſerable; for the wicked eſteem the godly as the moſt miſerable men in the World; and had they only hope of the things of this life, they were then moſt miſerable, foraſmuch as theſe temporal pleaſures are not a ſufficient reward of temporal afflictions.

2. The bodies of the juſt are inſtruments and companions in the work of holineſs, therefore alſo in the reward of them in glory: now if we be dead with Chriſt, we alſo believe that we ſhall live with him, Rom. 6.8. without this the bodies of the juſt were of all mens moſt miſerable.

3. If the bodies of the wicked ſhall riſe again to receive the reward of condemnation, then by the ſame rule muſt the bodies of the Saints riſe to receive the reward of life and ſalvation. Chriſt ſaith, that the hour is coming when all that are in their graves ſhall hear his voice, and ſhall come forth, they that have done good unto the reſurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the reſurrection of damnation, p. 178John 5.28, 29. if it were not ſo, then God ſhould delight or exceed in juſtice, more then in mercy.

4. Becauſe God is able to raiſe them out of their graves again. As the Lord by the reſurrection of dry bones revived the dead hope of Iſrael,Ezek. 37.10, 11, 12.Ezek 37:10Ezek 37:11Ezek 37:12 and made them to know, that he would open their graves, and cauſe them to come out of their graves, and bring them into the Land of Iſrael: ſo when the bodies of the Saints go down to the duſt, and their bones are dried there, and their hope ſeems to be loſt, yet then doth their fleſh reſt in hope, for God will not leave them in the grave, nor ſuffer his holy ones always to ſee corruption, Pſal. 16.9, 10.

5. Otherwiſe the ſecond Adam could not repair the loſs of the firſt Adam, and Chriſt were not ſo ſtrong to ſave as Adam was to deſtroy: for as in Adam all die, even ſo in Christ all ſhall be made alive, 1 Cor. 15.21, 22. Adam was the Author of Death's ſtrength, and Chriſt of Death's reſurrection.

6. Chriſt is an eternal King, and hath an everlaſting Kingdom, which cannot be unleſs his Subjects alſo be eternal, for theſe are relatives, and do ſeſe mutuo ponere & tollere: Alſo his covenant is everlaſting, and that not with the dead, but with the living, ſc. ſuch as live in ſoul,Matth. 22.32.Matt 22:32 and ſhall at the end of the World live eternally both in ſoul and body; and p. 179unleſs we make Chriſt's body a monſter, we muſt not ſeperate the head from the members, which we ſhall do if we deny the reſurrection of the juſt, Luke 14.14.

7. If we deny the reſurrection of the Saints bodies, we deny Chriſt to be riſen; upon which many abſurdities, groſs hereſies, and all manner of impieties will enſue. 1 Cor. 15. from 13. ad 19. verſe. If there be no reſurrection of the dead, then is Christ not riſen; and if Christ be not riſen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is alſo vain; yea and we are found falſe witneſſes of God, becauſe we have teſtified of God, that he raiſed up Christ; whom he raiſed not up, if the dead riſe not.

SECT. III.

BUt Chriſt is riſen from the dead, and become the firſt fruits of them that ſlept, 1 Cor. 15.20. let us therefore conſider the perſonal types or figures of our Saviour's reſurrection.

1. Adam was a type of Chriſt, among other things in this, viz. that as he ſlept in the Garden, ſo Chriſt died on the Croſs, and was buried in a Garden. When Adam deſcended into a ſleep, there was a reſurrection of his Rib, which awaked into a Woman. Adam's ſleeping was a type of Chriſt's ſuffering and dying; and his awaking, of Chriſt's riſing again: yea, this reſurrection of the ſecond Adam, doth well reſemble the nativity p. 180of the firſt Adam; for in Geneſis, Chap. 2. you ſhall find Adam taken out of the ground, and faſhioned out of the duſt of the earth; ſo was it with our bleſſed Saviour at his reſurrection; he was (as I may ſpeak) born again of the earth, roſe out of the duſt of death; the grave was in travail with him, and Death it ſelf was compelled to bring forth the Lord of life, and ſo he is the firſt-born of the dead, Coloſ. 1.18. But ſee here the malice of the Jews towards our bleſſed Saviour, which ended not upon the Croſs; but as they began with him in his cradle, ſo they perſecute him to his grave; where (as though they had not laid him up ſafe enough) they invent bonds beyond death, they watch and ſeal him up in the grave, as if they could have held in him who had the keys of Hell and death; but for all the great ſtone which they had brought (with much heaving no doubt) to lay upon the mouth of the grave, for all their ſeal ſet upon the ſtone, and a diligent watch ſet to attend the Sepulchre, yet notwithſtanding, our Saviour, who had wrought many miracles upon others, hath wrought a greater upon himſelf; the ſealed ſtone i… removed, the watchmen are deceived, and a d…ad car…caſs revived.

2. The Antients mak… Iſaac a type of Chriſt's paſſion and reſurrection; as namely Abraham's taking,B…a in Ge…eſ. 22. Iſidor. d… …cc…eſ. offic. lib. 1. cap. 29. binding, and laying his Son upon the Altar was a type of Chriſt's death and paſſion; p. 181and as Iſaac carried wood for himſelf, ſo did Chriſt Jeſus carry the wooden Croſs: Now will ye ſee a riſing without death or ſleep; behold Iſaac as near the ſtroke as the hand of his Father ariſing from the funeral pile; he had taken the knife in his hand, ſtretched out his hand to ſlay his Son, and then between the ſacrificing knife and Iſaac's throat, God ſheweth favour to Abraham, bidding him to ſtay his hand; and a Ram was brought, by the power and providence of God, to reſcue and redeem Iſaac from death; here was a ſacrifice offered, yet not ſlain; and though not ſlain, yet accepted, Heb. 11.8. Thus Abraham received his Son Iſaac from the dead in a figure, verſe 19. being a type of the reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt from the dead; who by the power of his Divinity raiſed his Humanity from death to life.

3. But perhaps it will more gratefully affright you, to ſee a man taught to be buried alive, and (more yet) to out-live his funeral: behold, then Joſeph, a moſt excellent type of Chriſt; Joſeph is baſely betray'd, and ſold by his Brethren into Egypt; is falſly accuſed by his Miſtreſs, and caſt into priſon, and after three years impriſonment is delivered; ſo Jeſus is betray'd to the Jews by Judas, his own Apoſtle, Friend and Follower, and falſely accuſed before Pilate by the Jews, and is put to death; but on the third day Christ is raiſed up from the dead: and as Joſeph after his deliverance out of priſon is advanced in the p. 182Kingdom of Egypt, ſo Chriſt after his reſurrection is glorified in the Kingdom of Heaven. Behold then Joſeph from the Tomb-ſtone of his Priſon riſing into a triumph as eminent as innocency, which before had conquered his paſſion, and now his affliction; behold in Joſeph the myſtical Body of our Saviour, a Body admirably mortal and incorruptible; a Body that ſuffered rather the Grave then Death.

4. Sampſon was alſo a type of Chriſt, as in many things, ſo in theſe two eſpecially, of his his death and reſurrection; for after he had ſlept at Gaza (when the Gazites compaſſed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the City, that they might kill him in the morning) he aroſe at midnight, and carried away the gates of the City upon his back, carrying them up to the top of an Hill that is before Hebron, carrying away the doors of the gates of the City, and the two poſts, bar and all, upon his ſhoulders: So maugre the watch that the Jews ſet to keep Chriſt's Sepulchre,Vide Ferum. in Matth. p. 292. Chriſt aroſe with the myſtical Gates of Hell and Death upon his back (no marvel Hell-gates cannot prevail againſt his Church) together with the Poſts and Pillars thereof: and as Sampſon by pulling down the Houſe upon the heads of the Philiſtines, was avenged of his Enemies; ſo Chriſt by opening the ſealed Sepulchre, hath ſubdued Death, yea conquered him in his own Den and Cabin.

p. 1835. But what more proper type can there be then Chriſt makes of himſelf? and that is Jonas, Matth. 12.40. which is thus fitted and parallell'd: Jonah's caſting into the Sea was a ſign of Chriſt's Death; his being taken by the Fiſh, and received into his Belly, a ſign of his Burial; and his caſting on ſhore again, a ſign of his Reſurrection: Three days he lay in his new night of aſtoniſhment, as if he had found an Egypt in the belly of the Whale, and did acknowledge the watry Purgatory; at laſt the grave of the Prophet caſts up the living; he had ſurely died, had he not been buried: here's a reſurrection of this rare Anchorite, though not a reviving, for he and his Tomb were both alive: But the Tomb of our Saviour was as deſperate as his Death, yet was it not poſſible that he ſhould be holden of it, Acts 2.24. for he aroſe on the third day from the Grave; the Humane Soul of Chriſt did not of it ſelf return and quicken his Body, but his Divinity which reſted, raiſed his Humanity that ſuffered; that is, by the vertue and omnipotent power of his God-head, whereby he is able to do all things; he reduced and brought back his reaſonable Soul, and re-united it to his organical Body; and this Body that aroſe was altogether glorious, being void of all infirmities and weakneſs whatſoever, being now no more ſubject to hunger, thirſt, cold, wearineſs, or the like. True it is, he called for meat after his reſurrection, Luke 24.41, 42. and did eat it truly, p. 184but not that he needed any meat, or nouriſhment, his Body being then immortal,Edebat Chriſtus, non ut neceſſitati ſatisfaceret, ſed ut veritatem humanae naturae oſtenderet. Pet. Mart. and impaſſible, but he doth it to prove himſelf to be really riſen again; for as when he had reſtored others to life, (as Jairus's Daughter, Lazarus, and others) to prove that they were truly reſtored to life, he cauſed meat to be ſet before them; ſo to manifeſt and declare the truth of his own reſurrection, he calleth for meat, and eateth it before them; and that it might appear there was no falſhood, nor forgery in the buſineſs, he brought not his meat with him, but he takes ſuch things as he found them furniſhed with, and which they had provided; and although he eateth, he doth it not for his own ſake by reaſon of the neceſſity of nature, or the infirmity of the fleſh, but for the ſake of his Diſciples; for the ſtrengthening of their faith, and not for the nouriſhing and cheriſhing his own fleſh. Though the neceſſity of eating and drinking in glorified bodies be taken away, ſaith Auguſtine, yet it was free, and in his power to eat if he would. Peter Martyr tells us, he did ſometimes after his reſurrection, ad teſtandam veritatem humani Corporis, to teſtifie the truth of his humane Body; as namely, his affording himſelf to be ſeen and felt of Thomas and others, and his eating and drinking with his Diſciples. And ſome again, ad ſuam gloriam demonſtrandam, to ſhew p. 185forth his glory; of which ſort was his conveying himſelf from them they knew not how, and his coming in among them clauſis januis, the doors being ſhut. If you demand, what became of the meat that Chriſt did thus eat? I anſwer, it was a moſt eaſie matter for him that made all things of nothing, to cauſe a little meat and drink to conſume and vaniſh to nothing.Stell. Enarrat. in Luc. 24.Luke 24 Stella out of Chryſoſtome ſaith, that Chriſt laid aſide all accidental properties in his Body after his reſurrection, but retained the eſſential, as longitude, latitude, circumſcription, &c.

SECT. IV.

BUt will you ſee the manifold proofs of Chriſt's reſurrection? if you will turn over the notes of time, you may believe that Pharaoh, as about that time of the year when Chriſt roſe from the dead, was invaded by an hoſt of waves, which conquering his Charets, made him without wheels to hurry faſter into Hell, while Moſes led his Iſrael through the Wilderneſs of the Sea, paſſing through the ſhadow of death in the monument of Waters: Did not our Lord alſo leave his Tomb without an equal and contrary wonder? then the Waters ſeemed to be firm, riſing into Alps, as now the Earth was made to quake like the Waters; and well might the Earth tremble, when the Lord conquered it, and forſook it. The p. 186Angel too made a little Earthquake in the Grave, when he removed the mighty Stone with which the ſenſeleſs Jew tried to oppreſs our Saviour after death, as if he would have ſealed him up to an utter impoſſibility of riſing again; the Earth now moveth and danceth for his exaltation, and the Stones give place to his omnipotency. The Angel having opened the Tomb, ſhall we look into the place whence Chriſt is riſen? but behold, he is not there to be found, an Angel ſupplieth his place, which he had conquered to obedience, as if he had meant to reſt himſelf in triumph after the conflict of his miracle; his rayment white as ſnow, which he did imitate in purity; his countenance was like lightning, but more wonderful; for that's of ſo inſtant a terror, that it's rather the object of our memory then our eye: but this with a courteous Majeſty was patient to be beheld: the terrified Women quickly behold this ſight, being encouraged by the Angel, but firſt by their innocence: the Souldiers beheld it too, but with ſuch guilty faintneſs, that they ſeemed as much to diſgrace their ſex as their profeſſion, diſarming themſelves at once both of their weapons and ſouls together, they became as breathleſs carcaſſes, and were rather the Captives, then the Keepers of the Grave.

But now the Women being comforted, they receive a commiſſion from the Angel to preach the Reſurrection of our Saviour; and out of the p. 187Tomb they haſten with the confuſed ſpeed of fear and joy; and while they ſeek the Diſciples, they find their Saviour himſelf, who comforteth them with his preſence and ſpeech, and again ſendeth them to teach his own Diſciples; and to ſhew their obedience to be as quick as their love, they depart from Chriſt to their duty, and ſpeedily find Peter and John for their Auditors; who no ſooner hear the news of Chriſt's reſurrection, but they run as faſt to the Tomb as the Women ran from it; where no ſooner are they entered, but they perceive Chriſt's victory over Death acknowledged by the Linnen cloathes; his ſpoils of Death, and theſe ſpoils too had been divided, the Napkin off his head being laid up by it ſelf. It ſeems the Angel at our Saviour's reſurrection attended to be a Witneſs of it to the Women, and to leave a teſtimony of it to the Diſciples. Thus that he was not ſtoln away (as was given out) appears by the inconvenience and leiſure of his undreſſing, and by the method of the Linnen, which the affrighted policy of the Souldiers did no more touch then obſerve, and they no more obſerved it then the Women, who after the ſight of the Angel had their eyes as much amazed as their minds; the Souldiers too did more tremble then watch; but the Diſciples had leſs fear, and more time: Beſides, they learnt ſomewhat which they were not taught, and could now teach the Women this news of the Grave, Lo here the Lion of the Tribe of Juda, p. 188whoſe Almighty ſtrength vouchſafed to couch under the power of the Grave; and lo the greatneſs of his love hath raiſed him up from the ſloth of the Grave.

Will ye behold how he was raiſed? behold how the Potter worketh upon the wheel, he taketh clay, he maketh it a veſſel; and this veſſel being made in the hands of the Potter, he makes it again as he beſt pleaſeth. Chriſt was immortal Clay and Earth, purer then Heaven, when by the wonder of Omnipotency, the Creator and Creature were made into one, and of one matter did conſiſt both the Potter and his Pot; from this broken Clay there did ariſe the ſame and a renewed Chriſt. Could any man in this point be yet an Infidel? if any could, ſee how he converts them; he lets Thomas diſgrace himſelf to a belief, and by his diſtruſt mercifully and miraculouſly encreaſeth his faith. Can any body doubt he was renewed in a Body of glory, when he was full of God? had he not a glorious Body, whom the doors that were ſhut (when he entered to his Diſciples) did obediently acknowledge to be the King of Glory? & though he were patient under Death three days, yet ſince the firſt part of the firſt was ſpent before he died, and the laſt part of the laſt after he revived, there was the number, but not the length of three days; and thus he made ſo ſhort a change, as ſeemed rather a ſleep then death: He roſe not ſooner, leſt he might have been thought not to b… f…lly dead; p. 189he lay no longer, leſt he might have been thought to have ſeen corruption.

This reſurrection of Chriſt proved him to be true God, as his birth, life, death, burial, proved him to be true Man: It was his own Argument againſt the Jews, Deſtroy this Temple, and in three days I will raiſe it up again, John 2.19. And St. Paul among other things tells us, He was declared mightily to be the Son of God by his reſurrection from the dead, Rom. 1.4. Methinks this might have ſtopt the black mouthes of the blaſphemous Jews, who at the time of his execution, bade him come down from the Croſs and ſave himſelf, and they will believe on him, Matth. 27.42. which though he would not do, yet here he doth a greater matter;Plus fuit ex Sepulchro reſurgere, quam de Cruce deſcendere. Gregor. to riſe was more, ſaith Gregory, to riſe again out of his Grave, then to deſcend from the Croſs. This likewiſe declareth his dominion over Sin, Death, Hell, and all Enemies; Chriſt therefore died, roſe again, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living; if he had died, and not riſen again, then had he (at leaſt) ſeemed not to have conquered and overcome death, but to have been foyled in the Field, and overcome of Death; and then how could he have been the death of Death, and the deſtruction of the Grave, and have delivered us from the power of Hell, Hoſea 13.14. This likewiſe ſheweth us the ſufficiency of his ſatisfaction, and him to be p. 190an abſolute and all-ſufficient Saviour, whereof we might have doubted, had he only died; for we think not a mans debts then paid, when he or his Surety goes to priſon for them, and there abideth, but when he cometh out again with a general diſcharge, ſo that he dares bid defiance to all Bailiffs and Serjeants whatſoever, or whoſoever can pretend any thing to ſay to him; thus much Chriſt declared to the World by his riſing from the dead, for though he diſcharged our debt by dying, yet we have our acquittance by his riſing again, 1 Pet. 3.21. Rom. 4.25.

SECT. V.

WIll ye conſider the wonder of the reſurrection, as well as the change? do but imagine, that in the dawning birth of the morning, you ſaw the revelation of a grave emulating the morning; a Coarſe riſing with more comfort and glory then the Sun; a winding-ſheet falling away like an empty cloud; the feet and the hands ſtriving which ſhall firſt recover motion; the hands helping to raiſe the body, and the feet helping to bear the body and the hands; the tongue ſo eloquent, that it can tell you it can ſpeak again; the ears ſo pure, that they can perceive the dull ſilence of the grave; the eyes looking forth of their tombs, as if they were glad to ſee their own reſurrection: Would you not be affrighted, as well as inſtructed, at the p. 191Divine power? would you not be turn'd into very Coarſes to ſee this living Coarſe? would you not be ſtruck as pale as the very winding-ſheet you lookt upon? But when all this ſhall be done, as well in mercy as in majeſty; as well to raiſe thee to an hope of eternal life, as to ſtrike thee with a remembrance of a temporal death; as well to make thee like unto God, as to make thee know that thou art not like him; how then wilt thou diſſolve into compaſſion, as if thou wouldſt haſten to the like reſurrection? how wilt thou then kiſs thoſe hands which before thou fearedſt, and then ſtedfaſtly examine and adore the reſurrection of that Body, which is the hope and cauſe of the reſurrection of our Bodies? for therefore did he raiſe himſelf, that he might raiſe us. Chriſt roſe not as a private, but as a publick Perſon; as a Burgeſs in a Parliament repreſenteth the whole Body of the Incorporation for which he is choſen, ſo Chriſt as our Head, repreſents the Perſons of all them that are Heirs of Salvation, Epheſ. 2.6. Chriſt (as in his Paſſion, ſo) in his Reſurrection ſuſtained the Perſons of the Elect; and ſo we in him, as in Capite, riſe with him. St. Paul tells us, that Chriſt ſtanding in our ſtead, repreſenteth our perſons, Rom. 5.18, 19. this appeareth, in that he roſe not alone, but many bodies of the Saints roſe with him, and attended him, Matth. 27.52, 53. to ſhew that the vertue of him our Head, diffuſed and extended it ſelf unto all the Members p. 192of the Church his Body; and his riſing firſt, ſhewed him to be the firſt-fruits of them that ſlept: Chriſt roſe by his own power, and not (as we) by a borrowed power from Chriſt; I have power to lay down my life, (ſaith he) and power to take it up again, John 10.…8. it was propheſied of him, Pſal. 110. ult. therefore ſhall he lift up the head. As in his Paſſion, when he ſuffered, he bowed down his head, and gave up the ghoſt with a loud voice, to note that his ſufferings were voluntary, John 19.30. ſo in his Reſurrection he is ſaid to lift up the head himſelf, to note that he had life in himſelf, and that it was impoſſible he ſhould be holden under death, who was the Lord of life.

SECT. VI.

NOw he that could raiſe up his own Body by his Divine power, can much more raiſe up our Bodies alſo; he it is that ſhall quicken our mortal Bodies, Rom. 8.11. a privatione ad habitum non datur regreſſus; and therefore however the Angels are inſtruments in reſpect of ſome antecedent and conſequent cauſe of the Reſurrection, Matth. 24.31. yet the immediate cauſe is God alone, Chriſt himſelf in reſpect of his Humane nature being excluded; for howbeit the Reſurrection is aſcribed to his Perſon, yet only according to his Divine nature; yet in the communion of both natures we acknowledg, Chriſtum p. 193agere quod ſuum est, verbo operante quod verbi est, & carne exequente quod carnis est. Yet I grant, as in the raiſing up Lazarus, and the Widows Son of Naim, Luke 7.14. ſo in the general reſurrection, Chriſt's Humane nature ſhall perform what belongs to it; that is, give ſome evident ſign of his coming to Judgment; which ſhall be as an inſtrument of his Divine power for the raiſing up of the dead, which ſhall have its inſtrumental force, as that voice in raiſing the Widows Son of Naim, Luke 7.14. and that voice in raiſing Lazarus, John 11.43, 44. And this ſign is expreſt diverſly in Scripture, John 5.28. it is ſaid, all that are in the graves ſhall hear his voice. In Matth. 24.31. He ſhall ſend his Angels with a great ſound of a trumpet, and they ſhall gather together his Elect from the four winds, from the one end of Heaven to the other. And St. Paul ſaith, 1 Cor. 15.52. The trumpet ſhall ſound, and the dead ſhall be raiſed incorruptible, and we ſhall be changed. And the ſame Apoſtle ſaith, 1 Theſ. 4.16. The Lord ſhall deſcend from Heaven with a ſhout, with the voice of the Arch-angel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ ſhall riſe first. By all which places, I ſuppoſe, may be gathered, that the voice of Chriſt ſhall be uſed at that day, as an inſtrument to awake all that ſleep in the duſt.

But what ſhall we riſe too? and ſhall this duſt be taken up and breathed on? ſhall every man by this ſecond Adam be made as wonderful as p. 194the firſt Adam? Beloved, ſhall we want faith, when God wanteth not power? or ſhall we think it harder to unite the Body, then to make it? he that made us etantillo ſemine, ſhall he not be able to raiſe us etantillo pulvere? It were an impious diſcourteſie to deny that to God, which God denied not to his own Servant: Did not the Widow of Sareptah thus receive a Son by Elias, who was neither the Father nor the God? nay, did not his Servant do more for the Shunamite, to whom he promiſed a Son before he was conceived, and reſtored him after he was dead? nay, did not the bones of this Elias give life to one that was as dead as themſelves, teaching him to confeſs the mercy of a grave? It is an high act of mercy of the living God to give life to the dead; yet by a greater mercy he makes it an act of juſtice, freely binding himſelf to admit our boldneſs, not ſo much to requeſt, as to claim a reſurrection: for ſhall the Bodies of the Saints be more remembred by their tombs then their labours? or ſhall they be worſe oppreſſed by death, then they were by their torments? ſhall thoſe eyes that did ſtill watch or mourn, for ever want reſpect as much as ſight? ſhall thoſe hands that have been exerciſed in extending themſelves, and mercy to the poor, be for ever bound by the ingratitude of death? ſhall thoſe knees which have bowed with ſuch willing reverence, be ſo held down by the violence of mortality, that they can never riſe up again? Where p. 195are then thy tears, O David, if thine eyes ſhall not enjoy the happineſs of their own ſorrow? What then, O Job, is become of thy faith and patience, if thy body be now as much without hope, as before it was without reſt? Where are then, O Eſaias, thy victorious ſufferings, if after the ignorant fury of the ſaw and ſchiſm of thy body, thy body ſuffer a wider diſordation from thy ſoul for tedious eternity? Where are thy travels then, O Paul, if after thy Chriſtian Geography and Conqueſt of Paganiſm, thou art for ever confin'd to the dull peace of a Grave? No, the Almighty, which hath made man with wiſdom of Art, will neither loſe his glory nor his work; but as he made the greater Heaven for his Angels, ſo made he the leſs and mortal Heaven of Man's Body (as I may ſo ſpeak) for his Soul, and will have it eternal as his Soul.

SECT. VII.

THere is more excellency of workmanſhip in the Soul, but more variety in the Body; the Soul doth more truly expreſs God, the Body more eaſily; the Soul judgeth beſt, but the Body firſt: and though the eyes of the Soul do behold the work of God more clearly, yet doth the eye of the Body moſt properly. Nay, ſhould not the Body be raiſed to life and Heaven, how great a part of Heaven and that life would be loſt, whiles not enjoyed, and be as unneceſſary p. 196as it is wonderful? God hath prepared joys for the Saints which the eyes have not ſeen, nor the ears heard, but which the eye ſhall ſee, and the ear ſhall hear, and without the pleaſure of a trance for ever poſſeſs, as much without error, as without meaſure; ſuch honour will the Creator of our Bodies do to the Bodies of all his Saints: They ſhall acknowledge Corruption, yet overcome it; they may in their journey be the Gueſts of the Grave, but at laſt they ſhall be the Inhabitants of Heaven. Yet the Lord cannot hereafter honour Humane fleſh by raiſing it, as he hath already by aſſuming it; it was before his Servant, now his Companion; that was a reſurrection of the fleſh, when it was raiſed unto God, but the only reſurrection of our fleſh is when it is raiſed unto the Soul. At the laſt day of Judgement though there be no Marriage of ſexes, yet there ſhall be of parts; when Souls ſhall be united to Bodies in ſo entire and ſo inexorable a Matrimony, that it ſhall admit no hope nor fear of a divorce: nor need we fear in the jealouſie of this Match the Ignoble Parentage of the fleſh, ſince what it wanteth by Birth is ſupplied by Dowry; and fleſh now is become ſuch refined earth, being made wonderful in ſhape and office, that the Soul may be thought ſcarce more noble, but that it ſeems more reſerved by being inviſible; this mortal body, ſhall put on immortality; this Body ſown in corruption, ſhall be raiſed in incorruption; it ſhall not only be freed from death, p. 197but alſo from corruption, yea, and whatſoever ſavoureth of mortality, or the leaſt decay.

And notwithſtanding theſe principles of earth fall into ſuch an heap of duſt, that they are with as much difficulty to be ſeen as numbred; yet thus divided among themſelves, retaining ſtill (though not an appetite, yet) an obedience to a reſurrection: Nature hath not loſt this, and God will ſupply that, and as eaſily unite as diſtinguiſh each duſt; to yield to this is the Creed of the Creed. If any mans faith in the aſſent to this myſtery be as weak as his reaſon, he may help both his faith and his reaſon by ſenſe; by which he ſhall be either convinced or perſwaded. If you will be but as hardy as Antiquity, you may propoſe to your ſelves the ſolemn Poetry of the Phoenix, a Creature rarer then the Reſurrection, though not ſo admirable, in whoſe aſhes you may find the fire of life, expecting but to be fann'd to the reſurrection of a flame; as if this Creature by a riddle of Fate, would by a fire both periſh and revive: But without the courteſie of ſuppoſition, you may in earneſt behold the Eagle ſhoot forth new quills, wherewith may be written and teſtified his endeavor of immortality: thus doth God teach Nature how to teach us myſteries, and without the magical learning of the language of Birds, to underſtand without their voice their ſecret inſtruction. But perhaps you will think that to diſcern this truth in the nature of Eagles, would require a ſight p. 198as ſharp as the Eagles. Remove then your eyes from the Fowls of the Air, but to the Trees whereon they neſt, and with a negligent view you may obſerve, how after the nakedneſs and death of Winter, they bud forth afreſh into life and beauty; yet why ſhould we in the ſloth of this eaſie contemplation, ſtudy ſo broad an object? let our eye with more grateful induſtry confine it ſelf with the ſmall ſeed of corn, and (at leaſt) take the pains to ſee the pains of the Huſbandman; and ſhall we not admire at his delightful Arithmatick of nature, to behold a ſeed, whoſe hope ſeems as ſmall as it ſelf, by being caſt away, to be found by deſtruction to receive increaſe, from the ſame furrow to take both a Burial and a Birth? He that ſhall now ſee a little drop of man's ſeed in a glaſs, and a lump of earth together, would think the one as unlikely to become a man as the other; and yet we ſee how miraculous and curious a work the Lord makes every day of the principle of ſeed; which made David cry out, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Pſal. 139. and he can eaſily reſtore our Bodies out of a praeexiſtent ſomething, which may confute the erronious opinion of the Sadduces, who denied the reſurrection, Matth. 22.23. of the Athenian Philoſophers, who derided it, Acts 17.18. holding the Pythagorean tranſmigration; of Himeneus and Philetus, who ſaid the reſurrection was paſt, 2 Tim. 2.18. and laſtly, of all thoſe Atheiſts and Epicures, Iſai. 22.13. that p. 199cry out and ſay, Mors ultima linea rerum.

SECT. VIII.

BUt now the Soul will have its old Companion again; for ſhould the Soul for ever want the Body, it ſhould want both perfection and wonder: Is not the Soul moſt perfect when it is moſt noble? is it not moſt noble when it is moſt bountiful? and is it not moſt bountiful when it gives life to the dead? Is it not likewiſe moſt full of wonder, when it is thus perfect in that which is imperfect? when it mixeth with corruption, and yet is incorruptible? when it is moſt burthened, and yet is moſt variouſly active? Thus by this neceſſary inclination of the Soul, the Reſurrection is as natural in reſpect of the union, as it is above Nature in reſpect of the manner.

But now ſee the curious zeal of the Soul; it will not only have a Body again, but, in a preciſe ſociety, it will have only its own again: not any other new created Bodies, but the ſame numerical and ſubſtantial Bodies ſhall riſe again, and be re-united to their proper Souls. 1 Cor. 15.53, 54. Phil. 3.21. Job 19.26, 27. St. Paul ſaith, [This] corruptible ſhall put on incorruption; and Chriſt ſhall change [our] vile Bodies: And Job ſaith, in his fleſh he ſhould ſee God; whom I ſhall ſee for my ſelf; and mine eyes ſhall behold, and not another, though my reins be conſumed within me. p. 200There may be ſome general alteration in reſpect of their ſtature, deformities, ſuperfluities, &c. to a glorified perfection; but ſtill it ſhall remain the ſame eſſential Body, and good reaſon there is for it.

1. The juſtice of God requireth, that the ſame Body which hath been inſtrumental in the actions of righteouſneſs, or unrighteouſneſs, ſhould be rewarded, or puniſhed: The Godly muſt receive their rewards according to what good they have done in theſe Bodies, 2 Cor. 5.10. It were injuſtice that this fleſh ſhould be killed, and that ſhould be crowned; that the ſame Body in which we ſerved God, wherein God was glorified,Abſurdum & Deo indignum ut haec caro lanietur, illa vero coronetur, ut corpora quae in via ſacta fuerint membra Chriſti, in patria aliis ſuffectis in eorum locum arcerentur. Tertul. de Reſurrect. cap. 56. which ſuffered for God, and was for Chriſt expoſed to all the injuries, indignities, and torments of wicked Perſecutors, ſhould be eternally laid up in the duſt, and another Body ſhould be created to receive the reward due to the Body in the grave.

2. Becauſe if God ſhould not raiſe the very ſame Bodies of his People, in which they lived and ſerved God in their generation, then God ſhall not deal ſo honourably with the dead Saints, as with thoſe that ſhall be found alive at Chriſt's coming; for their very ſame Bodies ſhall be delivered from the bondage of mortality and corruption, into incorruption and immortality.

p. 2013. Becauſe Chriſt, who is the pattern of the reſurrection, did not riſe in another Body, but in that in which he was faſtened to the Croſs; in which alſo after his death appeared the prints of the nails in his hands, and the holes in his ſide, John 20.27. Therefore Chriſt after his reſurrection, for the cure of Thomas his unbelief, (whoſe faith lay in his fingers) bids him put his finger into his hands and ſide, and not be faithleſs, but believing. It ſeems thoſe ſcars remained in Chriſt's Body after his reſurrection,Vulnerum ſigna, virtutum inſignia. Aquinas. elſe how could Thomas ſee and feel them as he is willed to do? But theſe ſcars were no blemiſhes in his Body then; they were no ſigns of defect, but enſigns of Victory: For as that worthy and renowned Captain Caius Marius, being on a time accuſed of Treaſon in the Senate, tore his clothes, and ſhewed his wounds and ſcars, and ſlaſhes he had received in the Wars, in the ſervice and for the ſafety of his Country, ſaying, Quid opus est Verbis, Vulnera clamant? What need is there of my Words, my Wounds cry loud enough? So Chriſt might ſhew his pierced Side, goared Hands and Feet, not only to ſhew that it was the very ſame organical Body of his that was crucified on the Croſs, but alſo to ſhew his love to his People, and what he did and ſuffered for them. And when the eleven Diſciples were gathered together at Jeruſalem, Jeſus appeared to them; and they being affrighted, ſuppoſing they had p. 202ſeen a Spirit, he ſaid unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts ariſe in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet; it is I my ſelf: a Spirit hath not fleſh and bones as ye ſee me to have, Luke 24.39, 40. A Spirit hath not parts, members, and dimenſions, as I have; therefore you may be ſure, being infallibly taught by your ſenſe, that it is my very Body which you ſee, in which I long converſed with you, ſuffered, and was buried, which is now truly riſen again: Whence, as Theodoret ſaith, he proveth it was his true Body that was crucified on the Croſs, that was now raiſed from the dead.

4. Should not the Saints riſe with the ſame Bodies, it were no reſurrection, but a new creation: Moreover, the ſame Souls do riſe unto Grace; from the death of Sin, to the life of Righteouſneſs; which is called in Scripture, the first Reſurrection, Rev. 20.6. therefore the ſame Body ſhall riſe unto Glory in the ſecond Reſurrection.

5, Conſider that Death in Scripture is called a Sleep, a Dream; and the Reſurrection, an awaking from Sleep, Pſalm 17. ult. therefore as the ſame Body that lies down to ſleep at night awaketh in the morning, ſo the ſame Body that lies down to ſleep in the duſt, ſhall awake and riſe again in the morning of the Reſurrection.

Hence we ſee that the Soul will have its own numerical Body again, for the preſerving of ſuch numerical identity; there ſhall be wonderfully p. 203reſtored the ſubſtantial union, which is but formally diſtinguiſhed from the parts united; there ſhall be reſtored a perſonality, and laſtly the native temperament, which doth contain the individuating diſpoſitions, whereby ſuch a matter hath a peculiar appetite to ſuch a form; which matter, by vertue of ſuch inclination, remains (as formerly) the ſame, though it may be varied by extenſion; as when the Infant ſhall be raiſed into a Man, the perſon ſhall be enlarged, but not multiplied.

Object. But that of the Apoſtle may be objected, who ſaith, That fleſh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, 1 Cor. 15.50.

Reſp. St. Paul ſpeaks of corruptible qualities of fleſh and blood, not of the ſubſtance of it,Identitas formae in quacunque materia conſiſtit, q. ex identitate formae conſequitur identitas materiae, cum materia nullam per ſe habeat actualitatem, ſed eſſe ſuum accipit à forma. Numerica identitas non continetur in ſola identitate primae materiae nudae, ſed etiam identitate corporis humani. Durand. ſent. 4. diſtinct. 44. plura de reſurrectione. Vide Synopſ. purior. theol. diſput. de reſurrect. as is manifeſt in the laſt clauſe of the verſe; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. But fleſh and blood by the Almighty power of God may be without corruption, as the Body of Chriſt was after his Reſurrection incorruptible, immortal and ſpiritual; not converted into a ſpirit, but to the diſtinction of a living body that muſt be maintained by food, Luke 24.39.

p. 204This then may confute thoſe that deny the identical reſurrection of the Body, and affirm, that our Bodies at the reſurrection muſt be aerial, of a more ſubtil nature, not conſiſting of fleſh and members; ſuch were divers of the Anabaptiſts of Germany, and Socinus, with his Followers, who call into queſtion this Article of our Creed, Credo reſurrectionem carnis, I believe the reſurrection of the fleſh, or body.

SECT. IX.

SEe here the ſacred eagerneſs of the Soul, it will neither loſe nor change a duſt; nor will it only poſſeſs, but adorn the Body: In the day of the reſurrection, mankind ſhall feel and expreſs a youthful ſpring; the walking-ſtaff and the wrinckle, ſhall be no more the help and diſtinction of age; and Death it ſelf ſhall ſuffer climacterical fates. Oh how the wonder will almoſt out-act faith! when the Infant and the Dwarf ſhall be made a proper man! when the limbs exhaled with famine, ſhall be repleniſhed with as much miracle as faith! when the Child that left its own Soul before it left the Womb, ſhall in an inſtant, without growth, be as big as the Mother! when ſleep ſhall be commanded from the eye-lids no more by care, but by immortality! which ſhall chaſe Death out of Nature, and with importunate triumph cry out, O Earth, Earth, Earth, hear the word of the Lord; p. 205Thy dead men ſhall live; with their primitive Bodies ſhall they ariſe: Awake and ſing, ye that dwell in the duſt; for your dew is as the dew of Herbs.

The Bodies of the Saints ſhall then have nothing cleaving to them, that may in the leaſt degree impair their bleſſedneſs, darken or blemiſh their glory. St. Paul ſaith, Chriſt loved the Church, and gave himſelf for it, that he might cleanſe and ſanctifie it by the waſhing of water through the word, that he might preſent it to himſelf a glorious Church, not having ſpot or wrinkle, or any ſuch thing; but that it ſhould be holy and without blemiſh both in Soul and Body, Epheſ. 5.25, 26, 27. Firſt it is ſaid, He gave himſelf to it, that he might cleanſe and ſanctifie it by the waſhing of water through the word; and that he might not only cloathe it with his own righteouſneſs, made over and imputed to it, but alſo that he might really purifie it by the water of ſanctification, that he might preſent it a glorious Church to himſelf, not having ſpot or wrinkle, or any ſuch thing. It is one thing to preſent his Church, and each Member of it, to his Father, a glorious Church in himſelf as a Mediator, cloathed with his righteouſneſs, as with a ſpotleſs robe of glory; but 'tis another thing to preſent the Church a glorious Church to himſelf, which he doth without a Mediator; for although there be a Mediator between God the Father and his Church, even the Man Chriſt Jeſus, yet there is no Mediator between Chriſt p. 206and his Church: God the Father looks on his Church mediante Chriſto, but Chriſt looks on the Church immediately; and therefore when he preſenteth the Church to himſelf a glorious Church, without ſpot, &c. it is evident, that the Church ſhall then be glorious and ſpotleſs, not only in way of imputation, in God the Father's acceptation through Jeſus Chriſt his Beloved, but alſo really and in it ſelf, although it ſhall receive all this from the overflowing fountain of Chriſt's fulneſs, through the freeneſs of God's love, and the riches of his grace; and for the greater conſolation of the Saints, the Apoſtle ſaith, when Chriſt ſhall preſent his Church to himſelf as glorious, it ſhall be without ſpot or wrinkle; no ſpot of defilement, or wrinkle of deformity ſhall be in it, nor the leaſt imperfection; for what are wrinkles, but ſigns or effects of natural defect, when the moiſture of the Body is exhauſted or conſumed, Nature beginning to decay, and wanting matter to fill up the Body: but then there ſhall be no wrinkle in the Body, or defect in the Soul, for both ſhall have their full meaſure of glory: And to this the Apoſtle addeth thoſe general terms, [nor any ſuch thing] that he might cut off all conceits of any defect imaginable; as if he had ſaid, Imagine what you can that may in the leaſt degree impair or leſſen the glory of the Church, I aſſure you there ſhall not be any ſuch thing.

p. 207SECT. X.

ANd we may moſt eaſily remember by whom we riſe, by remembring him by whom we fell; yet if we behold the original of their humanity, we ſhall find they were both without ſin; and that the firſt Adam had his beſt Paradiſe within himſelf, but when he was fallen by the weakneſs of the Woman, that was made for his help; never did Woman prove a ſtrong help to Man, before the Virgin-mother of Chriſt, God and Man: then though the firſt Adam had eaten up the fatal Apple, the ſecond Adam ſwallowed up Death; he had before made the poor Man take up the Bed of his ſickneſs and walk, but he himſelf was the firſt that ever took up Death's Bed and walked. Yet ſome before our Saviour borrowed a fantaſtical reſurrection, as Saul's equivocal Samuel; and ſome roſe again in earneſt, but to die again in earneſt, as ſupererrogating Lazarus, that paid to nature one death more then he owed: but our Lord Jeſus is riſen with as much perfection as power, and with as much power as love and glory.

The Poetical Chymick tells us plainly of an Alchymiſtical man at the Earth's centre, who by a ſpherical diffuſion of his vertue, doth, like a ſubterranean Sun, improve Mettals to a metamorphoſis; which as it is bold in the Fable, ſo by a devout mithology may be modeſt in the p. 208moral: this ſecret Workman ſhall be our Saviour, whoſe vertue was diſperſed into the bowels of the Grave, that at his reſurrection he improved Carcaſſes into Saints, who roſe with him, went into the holy City, and appeared unto many, as the Witneſſes and Attendants of his power, of which ſomething hath been already ſpoken: Indeed to advance the head without the members were ſo unnatural, that it were rather like an execution then preferment; and it were ſtranger to ſee a Captain, or Leader, without his Souldiers, then without his Arms: Beſides, were it fit, when the Maſter is riſen, the Servant ſhould lie ſtill? thus then they were raiſed, as much to holineſs as to life; it was not only a reſurrection, but a conſecration, and Chriſt was the firſt-fruits of them that roſe; he had the precedency both in order and vertue.

The firſt-fruits under the Law were the firſt handful, as acceptible as ripe, by a bountiful mediation obtaining holineſs and entertainment for the reſt: this firſt offering did commend it ſelf to the Lord, rather by the ſpeed then the quantity; the Jew offered this at his own home, and it was as domeſtick as his thoughts; being a preſent of eloquent ſimplicity, which at the ſame time did honour and overcome the Almighty. Oh how our Saviour made this figure ſolid, when at once he conquered for us Death and Heaven, as I may ſo ſpeak: He was but the firſt handful of Corn, and yet as powerful as ſmall, making all p. 209the reſt of a like holineſs, though not of an equal.

But there were greater firſt-fruits which the Jews went to pay at Jeruſalem; and as the firſt were an offering of humility, ſo thoſe of pomp: Thoſe did more ſet forth the thankfulneſs of the Labourer, and theſe the magnificence of the Lord. If you will take the words of the Rabbins, (whom in ſtory of cuſtom we have no more cauſe to diſtruſt then to feign) they will tell you, when the Huſbandman carried up thoſe Fruits to the holy City, he had a Bull went before him, whoſe horns were guilded, and an Olive-garland upon his head; this was the picture of his Maſter's affection and ſtate: as if by the impetuous Beaſt, he would expreſs the courage of his joy; by guilded horns, the riches of his plenty; and by the Olive-garland, the Crown of peace: Behold the diſplayed Herauldry of his happineſs! and that it might be increaſed by applauſes, a Pipe played before him, to charge all to take notice of it, until they came to the Mountain of the Lord. Shall not theſe firſt-fruits be likewiſe paid at our great reſurrection? ſhall they not be brought to our heavenly Jeruſalem, the City of the great King? ſhall they not have Angels go before them? ſhall there not likewiſe be Crowns? and ſhall they not likewiſe be uſhered by the voice of a Trumpet? It was the ſound that the Jews uſed at their braver Funerals, and may it not then fitly be uſed, when they ſhall be awaked from their Tombs?

p. 210Till Chriſt was riſen, thoſe that were buried were dead; but if we once but name him the firſt-fruits of them that riſe, let us no more ſay, that they are dead, but that they ſleep: yet all before the reſurrection ſhall not ſleep; ſome inſtead of riſing, ſhall be only new dreſſed, by being cloathed with incorruption, and ſo have rather a change of rayment, then of life; they ſhall not put off their bodies, but their mortality; and be made like unto Chriſt, both in the truth of the reſurrection, and of glory. The Eutychian ſhall then confeſs, that the two natures in Chriſt are not mixed, though joyned; and that his Humanity (though exalted) is not changed: the Pythagorean ſhall then recover the poſſeſſion and acquaintance of his vagabond Soul; the Sadduce ſhall then riſe in that body, in which he denied the reſurrection of the body; and with the eyes of his body ſee the errour of his Soul; the Ʋbiquitary ſhall then ſee that Chriſt's body may be ſeen, and it ſhall certainly prove that it is not everywhere, by being not in the ſame grave whence it was riſen; that is, in reſpect of his corporal preſence, for otherwiſe (as he is God) he was there, and in all other places of the World.