Refreshing Streams Flowing from the Fullness of Christ, Part 4

Refreshing Streams Flowing from the Fullness of Christ · Part 4

p. 71The glorious reſurrection of the body by CHRIST.

JOH. 5.28, 29.

Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the 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.

THe great priviledge of the glorious reſurrection of our bodies, The reſurrection of the body, a fruit of Chriſts Merit.is alſo a ſweet refreſhing ſtream flowing out from the fulneſs of Chriſt his love, merit, and power, 1 Cor. 15.22. Since by man came death, by man came alſo the reſurrection of the dead; we get a right and claim to this priviledge by Faith in Jeſus Chriſt, the purchaſer of it; Ioh. 5.24. Verily, verily I ſay unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that ſent me, hath everlaſting life, and ſhall not come into damnation, but is paſſed from death into life. It is ſpoken of the whole perſon, and ſuppoſeth man made up of ſoul & body, & alſo in the praeterit time, he is paſſed from death unto life: becauſe his intereſt and claim to Chriſt doth enſure unto him all the benefits purchaſed by the death of Chriſt; As the purchaſe is by the merit and ſatisfaction of Chriſt: The application and appropriation of the right and claim by Faith in Jeſus Chriſt; ſo we are put in the poſſeſſion of it by our Lord at p. 72his ſecond coming, Philip. 3.21. he ſhall change our vile body, that it may be faſhioned according to his glorious body.

In the words we have theſe four points conſiderable.

1. In the words 4. points. 1.The certainty of the reſurrection of the body, The hour is coming: Our Lords Diſciples and hearers marvelled when they heard of the Myſterie of the firſt reſurrection whereof our Lord was ſpeaking, that thoſe who were yet dead in their ſins and treſpaſſes ſhould be quickned by the word and Spirit; in theſe words he ſaith, marvel not at that, for not only is there a firſt reſurrection in this world to a new life, but alſo a ſecond reſurrection in the other world into eternal life.

2. 2The univerſality of the reſurrection, All in the graves.

3. 3The powerful means of the reſurrection, They ſhall hear his voice, and ſhall come forth.

4. 4The different ends of the reſurrection, according to the difference of the perſons that will be raiſed, They that have done good, unto life, and they that have done evil, unto the reſurrection of damnation.

From the firſt point we obſerve this Doctrine and Concluſion; Doctrine. There ſhall be a reſurrection of the body.It is moſt certain there will be a reſurrection of the body; The hour and time appointed for it in Gods purpoſe is coming, ſaith our Lord, in whoſe lips was never found guil; There is a certainty of infallibility in reſpect of divine prediction; for heaven and earth will paſs away, before one of his words fall to the ground; and there is alſo a certainty of immutability in reſpect of Gods Decree and eternal purpoſe; for the counſel of the Lord ſhall ſtand, and he ſhall do all his pleaſure; Iſa. 46.10. The reſurrection of the body is moſt certain in both reſpects.

1. 1. It is foretold.It is foretold and revealed by the holy Spirit in the Scriptures both of the Old and New Teſtament, in that foreign, firſt Goſpel, preached by God himſelf in Paradiſe, Gen. 3.15. the ſeed of the woman ſhall bruiſe the head of the Serpent, that is deſtroy all his works: when the head is bruiſed and cruſhed, forthwith all the operations and actings proceeding from it, are cruſhed and deſtroyed. So the power p. 73and dominion of death over the body in the grave, one of his works brought upon us by his tempting, and our own virtual conſent in our firſt Parents is deſtroyed in the ſeed of the woman, as was foretold in that firſt and fundamental Goſpel-Promiſe. Exod. 3.6. I am the God of Abraham, Iſaac, and Iacob; which place our Lord cites againſt the Sadduces, to prove the certainty of the reſurrection, Math. 22.32. Becauſe God is the God of the whole man, and man is not whole without the body; Iob 19.25. I know my Redeemer liveth, and that he ſhall ſtand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms deſtroy this body, yet in my fleſh ſhall I ſee God; whom I ſhall ſee my ſelf, and mine eyes ſhall behold, and not another; Iob is confident of his reſurrection in the ſame individual body, Pſal. 17.15. I ſhall be ſatisfied▪ when I awake with thy likeneſs; which place ſound Interpreters, both antient and modern, do expound of the awakening of the body from the ſleep of death in the day of reſurrection; To this purpoſe ſpeak alſo the holy Prophets, Iſa. 25.8. He will ſwallow death into victory: And this is by delivering our bodies from the captivity of the grave, wherein death and corruption for a time had power over them. Iſa. 66.14. Your bones ſhall flouriſh like an herb; at the day of reſurrection, the bodies that were hid in the graves, and ſecret receptacles of the earth, like a herb hid under the ground in time of Winter; The Son of righteouſneſs at his return will revive them, and make them ſpring forth in freſh and lively colours by the effectual influence of his mighty power, Dan. 12.2. Many of them that ſleep in the duſt ſhall awake, ſome to everlaſting life, and ſome to ſhame and everlaſting contempt; It is certain alſo from the divine Oracles of the New Teſtament, Math. 12.41. The Ninevites ſhall riſe in Iudgement, Ioh. 11.24. I am the reſurrection and the life, ſaith our Lord, Act. 24.25. Paul preacheth before Foelix of the Iudgement to come, and if there will be a Judgement, certainly the reſurrection of the body muſt precede, that the perſons to be judged may give appearance before the Judgement Seat; And Paul preaching to the ſame purpoſe, p. 74Act. 26.9. ſaith, Why ſhould it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God ſhall raiſe the dead?

As the reſurrection of the body is infallibly certain, 2. It is appointed by God.in reſpect it is revealed and foretold in holy Scriptures, ſo it is immutably certain, in reſpect it is ſo appointed by God in his eternal counſel and decree, which cannot be altered, Act. 10 42. God hath commanded us to preach that Jeſus Chriſt is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead; If God ordained him to be Judge, then certainly he ordained that there ſhould be a reſurrection, that men might be brought before this Judge; for without a reſurrection there could be no perſons to be Judged, Rom. 14 10. We ſhall ſtand before the Iudgement ſeat of Chriſt: There cannot be a ſtanding till firſt there be a raiſing from the dead, Act. 17.31. He hath appointed a day wherein he will Iudge the world in righteouſneſs. The Apoſtle proveth the certainty of the reſurrection, from the certainty of a day of Judgement ſet and appointed of God, Iob 6.40. This is the will of him that ſent me, that every one that ſeeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlaſting life, and I will raiſe him up at the laſt day: In which words our Lord ſheweth us, that eternal life is appointed and ordained of God for all that believe on him, and that the reſurrection of the body is a means alſo appointed of God for executing the Decree of their compleat glory.

That the reſurrection of the body is poſſible and probable, 3. It is poſſible and probable.the Apoſtle Paul proveth at large, 1 Cor. 15. from Gods power ſeen in things natural and obvious to ſenſe, as in raiſing out of the grain of corn ſown and dying under the clod, a fair ſtalk of corn with many grains; The day (ſaith Tertullian) is buried in the night, and yet riſeth in the morning: we ſee alſo in vegetables, the herb that is withered in the Winter, doth in the Spring time revert and flouriſh again; the Lillie puts on again thoſe pleaſant colours in the Spring time, that were laid aſide in the Winter: Do we not ſee that Alchymiſts out of divers herbs caſt into one common Limbick, do extract thoſe ſimple principles of which at firſt they were compoſed: And what is our ſleeping in the night p. 75time, but a ſhadow, and reſemblance of death? then are our ſenſes bound up from exerciſe, and our awaking in the morning is a riſing to the uſe and exerciſe of our ſenſes: ſuch like arguments prove only the poſſibility of a reſurrection; for with God nothing is impoſſible; and all things are alike poſſible to him, who is of infinite power: but the certainty of it is proved only from holy Scriptures, for God is able to do many things which he will not, as to raiſe up children to Abraham of ſtones; This poſſibility of the reſurrection is well inferred from his infinite power, but the certainty of it is concluded from his will and purpoſe revealed in holy Scriptures, which are infallibly true.

This Doctrine ſerveth for admonition to all, Ʋſe 1 Be thankful for the revelation of this Myſterie.who live within the verge of the Church of Chriſt, to be thankful to God, who of his good pleaſure hath revealed to us this great myſterie hid from the wiſe men and great Philoſophers in former ages; who in their conjectures about the eſtate of the dead, became vain in their own imaginations: It is true, they had ſome glimpſes of the immortality of the ſoul; Plato in his Dialogue entituled Phaedo, ſaith, by deaths coming to a man, that which is in him immortal departeth freed from corruption, and giveth way to death. Cicero in his Tuſculan queſtions, lib. 1. ſaith it was a maxim inbred in the Antients, that man at death is not ſo taken away, that by it he is altogether deſtroyed and annihilated; The Poet Lucan, lib. 1. rendreth the reaſon why the old Gauls were ſo hardie in all their encounters at …ght; becauſe their Pagan Prieſts, called Druides, did teach them, that their ſouls immediately after death would be in a happy condition; but concerning the reſurrection of the body ye cannot read one ſyllable in all the heathen writers; Such Doctrine was mocked at by the Philoſophers of heathens, Act. 17. they could not give an aſſent to it: And therefore Paul ſaith, Act. 26.8. Why ſhould it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God ſhould raiſe the dead? They meaſured Divine Myſteries by the ſhort plummet of humane reaſon: Likewiſe from this ground, that of nothing, there can be nothing produced, they could not believe that Myſterie of the infinite power of God in the p. 76work of Creation; in like manner, having their underſtandings prejudiced with this received maxim, that from a privation there cannot be any regreſs unto the habit, they could not aſſent to the Doctrine of the reſurrection of the body; Humane reaſon cannot reach Divine Myſteries, they are above its capacity, 1 Cor. 2.14. the only ground whereon reſts our aſſent to ſuch a Divine Myſterie, Auguſtine.is the infallible teſtimony of God in holy Scripture; Auguſtin (ſaith well) that a natural man requires a reaſon of evidence in the matter it ſelf, before he believe it, intelligam (ſaith ſuch a man) ut credam, let me underſtand it that I may believe; but the Diſciple of Ieſus Chriſt, who hath captivated his thoughts unto the word of God, ſaith, credam ut intelligam, let me once believe that God hath ſpoken it, then ſhall I underſtand it to be true and evident from the teſtimony of God; when we conſider the goodneſs of our God in revealing to us this great Myſterie hid from many of the wiſe in the world, let every one of us ſay with our bleſſed Lord, Math. 11.25, 26. I thank thee O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, becauſe thou haſt hid theſe things from the wiſe and prudent, and haſt revealed them unto babes; even ſo Father, for ſo it ſeemed good in thy ſight.

It ſerveth alſo for comfort to three ſorts of perſons, Ʋſe 2 1. To ſuch of the children of God as are under any trouble and pain in the body; Comfort to Saints under bodily pain.though it were a painful languiſhing diſeaſe, yet here is a ſure ground of hope and comfort; It is moſt certain thy bodie will be raiſed, and in the bodie thou ſhalt have a comfortable reſt from all labour and pain: This was Iobs comfort in the day of his ſore trouble, that in the ſame body he ſhould riſe and ſee God, Iob. 19.25, 26. It was the Apoſtles comfort, 1 Cor. 15.19. If in this life only we have hope in Chriſt, we are of all men moſt miſerable; becauſe they ſuffered more in the body then other men did; yet the hope and comfort of the reſurrection upheld them; It is ſome eaſe and comfort to one that is Sea-ſick, to look a far to the Land, but their comfort and joy of heart is much greater when they come ſafely to it; ſo in all our troubles in the body, which are as a Sea-ſickneſs in our paſſage towards our Country above, let us look by Faith to the certainty of the p. 77reſurrection of the body; and if there be ſome comfort and joy (as undoubtedly there is) from Faith into the Promiſe, and from hope of the promiſed reſurrection; What then will be the meaſure of thy comfort and joy, when in a glorified body thou ſhalt ſee the Son of God manifeſting his glory and tranſcendent beauty in his body.

It ſerveth for a ground of comfort to them that are on their death-bed, Ʋſe 3 Comfort to Saints againſt the apprehenſions of death.and have received in themſelves the ſentence of death; be of good comfort, the day is coming, when thy body ſhall be raiſed out of the duſt; Conſider for thy comfort;

1. 1The myſtical union of the bodies of Believers with Jeſus Chriſt their head, and thou mayſt be confident our Lord and glorious head will not want any part of his Myſtical body; 1 Cor. 15.20. Chriſt is the firſt fruits of them that ſleep; as the firſt fruits were a ſure evidence that the harveſt was coming on a pace, ſo the reſurrection of Chriſt is a ſure ground of hope and comfort for aſſuring us of the reſurrection of our bodies; 1 Cor. 15.16. If the dead be not raiſed, then is not Chriſt raiſed.

2. Conſider the end of Chriſts death, 2and of his ſecond coming, 2 Theſ. 1.7. It is a righteous thing with God to render to you who are troubled, reſt with us, when the Lord Ieſus ſhall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels; It is true, in the grave thy body will have a kind of a negative reſt; then no pain in the body; but in the day of reſurrection thou ſhalt have a poſitive and refreſhing reſt in God himſelf, like a man awakened and reſting on a bed of Roſes.

3. Conſider the endurance of the Kingdom of the Mediator, 3in reſpect of the manner of the adminiſtration of it in this world; 1 Cor. 15.25. He muſt reign until he have put all his enemies under his feet; One of thoſe enemies is the grave, which our Lord before ſubdued, and will alſo put under our feet, when our bodies ſhall be raiſed out of the grave, and we ſhall be above the power of corruption; Therefore thou that believeſt in Chriſt mayeſt dye with great comfort, and exult with Paul, 2 Tim. 1.12. I know whom I have believed, and I am perſwaded he is able to keep that which I have committed to him p. 78againſt that day; Commend thy Spirit into his hands, and thy dying body to his Fatherly care to be kept in the grave by him; he is a Faithful Creator, and Conſervator of both; at the day of reſurrection he will render both; Thou mayſt be aſſured, the Lord who requires men to be faithful in rendering again the pledge intruſted to them; Deut. 24.13. he will in the day of reſtoring all things, render again to thee thy ſoul and body, with increaſe of glory, beauty, and ſtrength.

Thirdly; Comfort to Saints mourning for the death of their friends.It ſerveth for comfort to thoſe who mourn for the death of their dear friends; I grant it is not only lawful to mourn, but it were unnatural not to do ſo; Our Lord wept over Lazarus; Joſeph mourned many days for his old Father; The death of dear friends is one of Gods viſitations, and it becomes us well to take notice of Gods viſiting us; 1we muſt neither ſlight and deſpiſe the chaſtiſement of the Lord, nor be faint-hearted, when we are rebuked of the Lord, Heb. 12.5. The firſt is a brutiſh ſtupidity and Heatheniſh Apathie; the other is a ſillyneſs and puſillanimity, proceeding from unbelief, and repining of Spirit; but let thy mourning be qualified and moderated with the comfort and hope of the reſurrection, 1 Theſ. 4.13. Sorrow not even as others which have no hope: That Heathen Moraliſt could ſay, We have not loſt our friends, but ſent them before us; what then ſhould Chriſtians ſay, who believe not only the immortality of the ſoul, but alſo the reſurrection of the body? As in thy mourning thou makeſt conſcience of natural affection to thy dear friend, ſo at the ſame time make conſcience alſo of thy ſupernatural affection and ſubmiſſion to the will of thy heavenly Father; this conſideration will regulate thy ſorrow.

2. 2Conſider, It is beſt for thy dear Chriſtian friend to be with Chriſt, and thou haſt great cauſe to bleſs God that thou knoweſt where he is; he is now at his reſt from all his labours, Rev. 14.13. A loving wife parting from her husband on the ſhore, when he is going to another Country, though her heart be ſad at parting, yet doth ſhe rejoyce to hear of his ſafe and happy arrival at his wiſhed Port; bleſs God, and p. 79rejoyce in this, thou knoweſt from the good Word of God thy friend is come ſafe to his Port, where the ſalvation of God will be a perpetual Bulwark againſt all troubles and ſtorms.

3. Conſider, The Lord our God keepeth the very duſt, 3and rude materials of their bodies; Rizpah watched over the bodies of the Sons of Saul, and guarded them againſt the ravenous fouls of the ayr, 2 Sam. 21. And ſhall not the Lord, who is love it ſelf, preſerve the bodies of his own dear children againſt that day? the Lord had a care of the Prophets dead body, 1 King. 13.24. when a ruinous houſe is taken down by the owner, he carefully layeth aſide the ſtones and timber, and keepeth them, till afterward out of them he raiſeth it up in a new frame: So the Lord doth keep the materials of the body, until he raiſe it up in a new frame of beauty.

4. Conſider, 4as the body of thy deceaſed friend is carefully kept, ſo will it be powerfully raiſed, and we ſhall all meet together in that aſſembly of the firſt born: Peter, James and Iohn, met with Moſes and Elias at the transfiguration of our Lord: which was a prelude of his ſecond coming in viſible glory; ſo in that day thou ſhalt ſee and know thy dear friends, but all in Chriſt: That ſuperlative relation of being glorified fellow Members of his Myſtical body, will ſwallow up all relations according to the fleſh; As a woman marrying one that is her neer kinſman, though ſhe know ſuch a relation, yet her love to him as her husband ſurpaſſeth far her former reſpects ſhe carried to him only as her kinſman.

The ſecond point conſiderable, 2 Point. The univerſality.is the univerſality of the reſurrection, All that are in the Graves: The word rendred, graves, ſignifieth monuments or remembrances, becauſe graves are memorials of the dead, and ſhould be of good uſe for the living, to be Monitors and remembrancers of their mortalitie: by Graves we underſtand not only the lower places of the earth, wherein the bodies have been interred, for the bodies of many will be raiſed that were never buried: but by graves we underſtand the receptacles of the dead, ſuch as the Ayr, Water, and Earth, they muſt and will p. 80render up their dead, Revel. 20.13. As for the bodies of thoſe who will be living upon the earth at our Lords ſecond coming, though their bodies will not be in graves, and therefore cannot be ſaid properly to be raiſed out of their graves, yet they will be changed from an eſtate of corruption, unto incorruption; There will be a raiſing and elevating of the condition of their body from mortality unto immortality; This change will be in the twinkling of an eye, 1 Cor. 15.51. as ſome falling aſleep, do ſleep for a long time; whereas others no ſooner have their eyes ſhut, but incontinent they awake; ſo the change of ſuch as are living at our Lords coming, will be in a very ſhort and inſenſible time; As Adam in an inſtant, after he had ſinned, became mortal; ſo all who are ſound living at Chriſts ſecond coming, in an inſtant will become immortal, and incorruptible in the body.

There will be an univerſal reſurrection of all the dead, Doctrine. 2 Cor. 5.10. There ſhall be an univerſal reſurrection of the dead.We muſt all appear before the Iudgement ſeat of Chriſt; Therefore all muſt be raiſed, that all may appear, Rev. 20.12. And I ſaw the dead ſmall and great ſtand before God; as in a ſeed-plot, though the ſeeds be mixed there together in one place, yet the Sun in Spring time maketh ſeveral herbs to riſe from thence, diſtinct one from another in ſtalk, flower, and fruits: So though many dead bodies be ſown in one common burial place, as a ſeminary of the reſurrection, yet the Lord will raiſe from thence the ſeveral bodies, every one diſtinct from another in number and individual qualities; No new Creation.The ſame individual bodies that died will be raiſed, for it is ſaid, All in the graves; at that time there will not be any Creation of a new body.

1. 1Becauſe it is called a reſurrection; and a reſurrection is the riſing of the ſame thing that had fallen.

2. 2Death is called a ſleep, and burial places are foreign, ſleeping places; Such are raiſed which ſometime ſlept; but bodies created anew on that day, cannot be ſaid to have ſlept.

3. 3The Sea is ſaid to render up the dead: Revel. 20.13. but if the bodies were anew created, there would be no rendering of the old.

p. 814. 4It is ſpoken in an Emphatick and Demonſtrative manner; 1 Cor. 15.53. This corruptible, this mortal; and therefore it muſt be the ſame body that ſometime was ſubject to death and corruption.

Obj. Objection. Will the ungodly be raiſed by vertue of Chriſts reſurrection?

Anſw. No, Anſwer. becauſe believers that are Members of his Myſtical body, are only ſaid to riſe with him, Eph 2.6. and they are called the Children of the reſurrection, Luc. 20.36. but he will raiſe the wicked by force as their Judge, by vertue of that …en…ence. Gen. 2.17. what day thou eateſt of the forbidden fruit thou ſh lt certainly dye, and that the ſentence of the ſecond death may be executed on them, they muſt be raiſed,; So that their reſurrection is a curſe, and not a bleſſing to them But the Godly will be raiſed by Chriſt as their head, drawing all his Members unto himſelf by a full redemption from all their enemies, that he may be compleat in his body, and they may be compleat in their head, in whom and with whom both the ſoul and the body is fully glorified.

This Doctrine ſerveth for a ſeaſonable wakening and warning unto ſecure ſinners, Ʋſe 1 An awakening to ſecure ſinners.who diſhonor God here in the condition of their mortality by many vile ſins committed in and by the body; Remember thou wilt be raiſed in the ſelf ſame body, and brought before him who is Judge of quick and dead; It will be with thee that liveſt and dyeſt in thy impenitency, as it was with the Baker in the priſon, Gen. 40. he was much diſquieted in the morning with the remembrance of his ſad dream in the night time; his trouble was great in the night time greater in the morning, when by Joſeph it was expounded of his ſhameful death, but greateſt when his dream was fulfilled and himſelf led from the priſon to the place of a painful and ſhameful death: ſo wicked and profane men are greatly diſquieted when thoughts of a reſurrection and Judgement are ſometime born in upon them againſt their will, then are they as with a violent gripe and ſtitch ſuddenly ſurpriſed and ſuppreſſed: but all this diſquietneſs and anguiſh of Spirit is like a dream in compariſon p. 82of that horror will overtake them in that day of reſurrection; Then will their own conſciences ſuggeſt unto them, what ſhall be their doom; They will be ſelf-condemned before ever the Judge pronounce his Sentence: I require the ſenſeleſs ſinner to conſider in time, if after thy yeſter-nights drunkenneſs or other wickedneſs, thy conſcience hath ſmitten thee ſoundly, ſometime after thy firſt ſleep, in ſuch a manner, that thou couldſt get no reſt for the laſhings of it, which were as pricks in thy eyes, and thorns in thy ſides; how thinkeſt thou thy conſcience will torment thee in that day, wherein there will be no reſt, no, not for a moment from extream and endleſs pains? then ſhall all thy ſins be ſet before thee in the light of thy countenance: If Judas was ſo tormented with the ſenſe of one horrid ſin, to wit his treachery in betraying the Innocent, what will thy torment and deſperate horrour be, when all thy ſins will be ſet before thee as a ſhameful fang in the eye of a condemned thief; The black ſight of thy ſins, and of Judgement, will be the firſt thing thou ſhalt ſee after thou art raiſed in the body: Therefore while it is called to day, harden not your hearts; but obey that Act. 3.19. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your ſins may be blotted out, when the times of refreſhing ſhall come from the preſence of the Lord; for though ſins be forgiven only in this life, wherein there is place for repentance, and for reconciliation with God; And though ſentence of abſolution is now quietl, pronounced in the conſcience of the true penitent and believer, yet at the day of reſurrection, the ſentence of Abſolution and Juſtification will be ſolemnly pronounced in that great Court of Jeſus Chriſt, wherein it will be made known to Angels and men: when he will ſay to them on the right hand, come ye bleſſed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you, Math. 25.24. And contrarily men ſelf-condemned in this world, and dying in their impenitency, ſhall then be condemned before Angels and men.

It ſerveth for a ground of ſol d comfort to the Godly, Ʋſe 2 who honour God in the body; Solid comfort to the Godly.fall thy body where it will▪ at home or abroad, by a natural or violent death yet it ſhall be raiſed again: Some of the dear children of God have been devoured p. 83by wild beaſts, others in the fire conſumed into aſhes, and their aſhes ſcattered into the Ayr; yet theſe bodies will be raiſed (as many report of the Phoenix) out of their aſhes; ſome have been drowned in the waters, and others ſmothered under the earth; yet the Lord in that day will gather all his Iewels, as men do their Gold out of the ruines of a burnt houſe, Revel. 20.13. the Sea gave up the dead that were in it, and hell and death gave up their dead; by hell is meant the receptacles within the lower parts of the earth; as Jaylours are countable to the Judge for the priſoners delivered into their keeping, and muſt preſent them to the Judge at his command: So all the priſon houſes of the bodies of the Saints will be opened, and all the Jaylours muſt make open doors in that great day of our Lords glorious proceſſion, that the priſoners of hope may come forth and be made partakers of that full redemption from the grave and corruption.

Ob. But what ſay ye of thoſe Anthropophagi…men eaters, Objection. doth not their fleſh and blood conſiſt of the bodies of men devoured by them? and if the ſubſtance eaten up by them ſhall be reſtored to the firſt owner then they themſelves will have no proper ſubſtance of a body to be raiſed.

Anſw. 1. Anſwer. Theſe Canibals will caſt out the dead bodies devoured by them at the command of the Lords mighty power, 1as the fiſh did caſt out Ionah.

2. All the parts of the body were not devoured, 2as the bones and ſome other parts: The Lord out of thoſe remainders both can and will raiſe up the body whole and intire.

3. 3Whatſoever the devourer wanteth by reſtoring the parts devoured to the firſt owner, God in his wiſdom and power both can and will ſupply the ſame: It is enough for us to believe (as it is revealed) that the Lord will raiſe up the ſame individual body; we believe the matter, but as for the particular manner, we leave that to the power and wiſdom of God, who can do above all that we can think, Eph. 3.20. and in the hope of our glorious reſurrection, we give to God, Father, Son, and Holy-Ghoſt, all praiſe, honour and glory for now and ever, Amen.

p. 84The third point conſiderable, 3. Point. The powerful means of our reſurrection.is the powerful means of our reſurrection; they ſhall hear his voice and ſhall come forth; of this ſpeaketh the Apoſtle, 1 Theſ. 4.16. The Lord himſelf ſhall deſcend from heaven with a ſhout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the Trumpet of God; By that voice and trump we underſtand ſome ſenſible manifeſtation of his power and glory at his ſecond coming; as the Audible voice doth expreſs the conception of our minde, and as the ſound of a Trump is an ordinary ſign of ſtate and power; ſo this viſible appearing in glory, and the great work of raiſing the dead, will be a manifeſt expreſſion of the glorious power of the Son of God: in this ſenſe the Word of God is taken, Heb. 1.3. He upholdeth all things by the word of his power: that is, by his powerful providence conſerving the being of his creatures; This active providence is as it were the word, and expreſſion of his infinite power, whereby he doth in heaven and earth what he will: Thus it is ſaid Ionah 2.10. The Lord ſpake unto the Fiſh, and it vomited out Ionah; This ſpeaking was Gods doing and working by his mighty power: in ſuch a language will the Almighty Lord ſpeak to all the graves of the dead, and in an inſtant, at the word of his power, they will caſt out their dead; Thus he is ſaid by his word to have created the world; the work of Creation was the expreſſion of his eternal purpoſe ſo to do, and of his omnipotent facility in doing; as a word is eaſily ſpoken, and doth expreſs the thought of our mind. It is called his mighty power, or efficacy of power. (as it is in the original) according to which he will raiſe the dead; Philip. 3.21. he rent the vale of the Temple, he ſhattered the Rocks, and opened the graves at his death in his loweſt condition: what then can reſiſt his power in the day he cometh forth to Judge the world; ſince he was ſo powerful in the day of man when he was Judged? in this manner I take it with ſome ſound Interpreters, not ſo much literally of an audible voice and material Trump, as to be ſpoken in an alluſion to Kings, who in ſolemn proceſſions to their great and high Courts of Juſtice, have their Heralds and Trumpeters going before them, at whoſe proclamation and ſounding (as was the cuſtom of Egypt, p. 85Gen. 41.43.) immediately all come out of their houſes to behold the King in his ſtate and glory, and to do him the homage of the higheſt civil reverence; ſo when our Lord and King of Saints ſhall come attended with Millions of Angels then ſhall he by his mighty power rai…e the dead, & they ſhall come forth immediately out of their earthen houſes, and do homage to him: The Godly will acknowledge him for their Lord and Redeemer; and delight themſelves in the ſight of his glorious pomp and power, they ſhall meet him with acclamations of joy, Revel. 5.9. Thou haſt redeemed us unto God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and Nation; But the wicked will be forced to acknowledge him for their Judge, and ſhall be confounded at that ſight; And becauſe the number of the wicked will exceed the number of the Godly, therefore it is ſaid, Revel. 1.7. All kindreds of the earth ſhall wail becauſe of him; Some think there will be an audible voice at our Lords coming, for he can make his thundering voice to be heard over all the earth; yet this is moſt certain, and without all controverſie, that an act of infinite power will go along with that voice; As in raiſing Lazarus from the dead, our Lord cryed with a loud voice, Ioh. 11.43. Lazarus come forth; what he ſignified by this audible voice, he did work and execute by his inviſible and mighty power; ſo together with that voice at his ſecond coming, ariſe ye dead, and come to Iudgement, he will expreſs his mighty and irreſiſtible power in raiſing the dead; he will raiſe the Godly as their head, but he will raiſe the wicked as their Judge. Doctrine.

The ſecond coming of our Lord to raiſe the dead, The ſecond coming of Chriſt ſhall be with great Majeſty.will be with great glory, Majeſtie and power, Luc. 21.27. Then ſhall they ſee the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory; It was the antient cuſtom, that the Conquerors were carried in triumphal Charriots drawn with white horſes; ſo ſhall our victorious King and Conqueror come riding on a white cloud; What is meant by the ſign of the Son of man. Mat. 24.30.Matt 24:30and this manner of his coming I conceive in the moſt ſimple ſenſe to be the ſame which is called the ſign of the Son of man, Math. 24.30 And then ſhall appear the ſign of the Son of man in heaven: which is expreſſed more fully p. 86Luc. 21.27. By his coming in glory and power: The Divines of the Roman Church in their ſuperſtitious conjecture, think it will be the ſign of the croſs; Others think it will be ſome ſign immediately preceding the coming of our Lord to raiſe the dead; which ſign (ſay they) will be ſo manifeſt and extraordinary, that all men ſeeing it will be convinced that the Lord is at hand, and coming immediately to Judge the world: Others take it to be that purging fire ſpoken of 2 Pet. 3.10. when the heaven like a garment infected from the contagion of the body of this inferiour world about which it was wrapped, is purged from that vanity whereunto it is made ſubject through mans ſin, Rom. 8.22. But with ſound Interpreters I take it to be the ſame with that glory and power wherewith Luke ſaith he will come, which power and glory will be an evident and peculiar ſign of his coming for Millions of Angels will attend him: Many Angels were guarding Elijah, 2 King. 6. how many then will attend his Lord and ours? and as by all the beholders, a King is known to be there, where his ſpecial ſervants are attending him with all reverence; ſo in that day our Lords preſence will be made manifeſt by the glorious attendance of Angels, to whom for fitting them for the Miniſtery of that day, he will give ſome outward, viſible and glorious repreſentation: for it is ſaid, Luc. 21.27. They ſhall ſee him coming with power and great glory: and Math. 25.31. The Son of man ſhall come in his glory, and all his holy Angels with him.

2. 2. The ſecond coming of Chriſt ſhall be with great power.As his coming will be with great Glory and Majeſty; ſo will it be with great power: at his firſt coming he ſubjected himſelf to the infirmities of our nature, and unto the puniſhment due to our perſons, and upon this account he came to be Judged, Iſa. 53.5. He was bruiſed for our iniquities, the chaſtiſement of our peace was upon him: That was the day of his weakneſs, but this will be a day of power, wherein he will come to Judge the quick and the dead; To this effect he hath received a Commiſſion from the Father, Ioh. 5.22. The Father hath committed all Iudgement to the Son; he will Judge in the humane nature and pronounce the Sentence, but by the power of his Divine nature execute the ſame, becauſe p. 87God alone, in whom is infinite mercy and goodneſs, can make ſome eternally happy, and others in his infinite Juſtice and wrath eternally miſerable; and to this ſenſe ſaid our Lord, Math. 20.23. To ſit at my right hand is not mine to give, but the Fathers: he giveth it not as man, but as the Son of God equal in power with the Father.

This Doctrine ſerveth for matter of terror, Ʋſe 1 and wakening unto all prophane and careleſs ſinners, Terrour to prophane perſons.that are not moved with the word of threatning; thou who heareſt all the threatnings with a deaf ear, and takeſt no notice of them for cleanſing thy heart and thy wayes from wickedneſs, remember at this day of appearing before thy Judge, thou ſhalt be forced to hear his voice on the deafeſt ſide of thy head; Thou that wouldeſt not riſe out of the grave of thy ſins, wherein thou waſt rotting for many years: thou that wouldſt not Judge thy ſelf, that wouldeſt not obey him in this life as thy Lord and head: Thou ſhalt by the force of his power and Iron Scepter be ſubjected to him as thy Judge in that day, wherein all knees ſhall bow before him: thou that wouldeſt not bow to thy Lord at the throne of Grace, ſhalt be bruiſed and broken before thy Judge at the throne of Juſtice: Oh how fearful will that voice be, when he calls for thee to come out of thy grave to Judgement! It will be as the imperious call of a ſevere Lord at the Gate, returning home to reckon with his ſervants: when the idle and lewd ſervant (that was unfaithful in the time of his abſence) heareth it, he trembleth for fear: And as Nabal at the report of Davids wrath, his heart dyeth within him: Then wilt thou be like unto Paſhur, Jer. 20.3, 4. Terrour round about thee: thou wilt be a terrour to thy ſelf: Thy own conſcience as a familiar evil Spirit will haunt thee with horrid repreſentations, and torment thee: That glorious guard of Angels attending that great Judge will be a matter of terrour to thee, thou wilt fear as Sh…mei did Benejah; that ſtrong guard ſhall fall upon thee: Adam did flie at the calm voice: but what will thy fear be at that dreadful ſound? whether wilt thou flye in that day of aſtoniſhment? the heavens will not admit thee: the earth will no longer bear thee: hell only will be enlarged to receive p. 88and contain thee: Foelix trembled when he heard of Iudgement to come; conſider in time what will thy trembling be, when thou ſhalt be raiſed up and hurried before thy Judge: The people of Iſrael, Exod. 19. did tremble at the giving of the Law with thundering in the Mount; what then will be thy trembling when thou art Judged according to that Law? therefore while it is called to day, harden not thy heart, but hearken unto the voice of the Lord in this life, break off thy ſins by repentance, ſo ſhall the day of reſurrection be unto thee a day of peace, and not of terrour, a day of joy, Ʋſe 2 and not of endleſs ſorrow.

It ſerveth for admonition to the children of God, Awakening to ſlumbering Saints.who are ſubject to their own ſlumberings, and cold fits of a beginning ſluggiſhneſs; as thou wouldeſt prevent this, meditate often upon the day of thy reſurrection, and coming unto Judgement; great ſounds and noiſes do keep men from ſleep; Jerom ſaid, he thought he heard ever that voice ſounding into his ear; ariſe dead, and come to judgement; Oh that this ſound were often in our ears! I dare ſay, the greatneſs and dreadfulneſs of it would drown the ſound and noiſe of many temptations, that we ſhould not hearken unto them; This would make us more watchful and faithful, both in our Chriſtian and particular callings; and then as ſervants who have been diligent and faithful, we ſhall rejoyce at the report of the coming of our Lord.

It ſerveth for a ground of comfort unto the children of God, Ʋſe 3 Who bearken unto his voice in his word, Comfort to the children of God.who have a deſire to fear his name, and have a reſpect to all his commandments; If thou be one of thoſe, be of good comfort, his coming ſhall not be terrible, but comfortable unto thee; his call in the day of reſurrection, at thy grave, will be as the known and familiar call of a loving husband returning to take his Spouſe out of a ſtrange Country; Queſtion. Anſwer. there ſhall be much joy in thy heart.How a man may know his reſurrection ſhall be with joy to glory.

Obj. But how ſhall I know that my riſing in that day ſhall be with joy and not with terrour?

Anſw. Thou maiſt know it,

1. 1By thy part in the firſt reſurrection, Revel. 20.6. Bleſſed p. 89is he that hath his part in the firſt reſurrection, the ſecond death ſhall have no power on him; If thou art riſen by Repentance to a new and holy life, this firſt reſurrection to an eſtate of Grace, is a ſure evidence of thy ſecond reſurrection to an eſtate of Glory, becauſe Grace is the earneſt and firſt fruits of Glory.

2. Thou mayeſt know it by the inhabitation of the Spirit, 2Rom. 8.11. If the ſpirit of him that raiſed up Ieſus from the dead dwell in you, he that raiſed up Chriſt from the dead ſhall alſo quicken your mortal bodies by his ſpirit that dwelleth in you; If the ſpirit of God dwell in thy body as his Temple, thou mayeſt be aſſured, in the day of reſurrection he will enter into his Temple, and fill it with his joyful preſence; therefore as thou wouldſt be ſure of a joyful reſurrection, uſe thy body as a Temple to the holy Ghoſt in theſe reſpects. 1. 1In ſeparating and ſanctifying thy body for the ſervice of thy Lord; though the ground of the Temple of Ieruſalem was ſometime a common or profane place, a threſhing floor, yet afterward it was ſet apart from that common uſe: So muſt thy body and all the members thereof be ſeparate from all profane and ſinful employments. 2 Cor. 6.17. Be ye ſeparate, ſaith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you; There muſt be a ſeparation from thy ſinful delights before God receive thee into a communion of grace in this life, or into a communion of glory in the other life; thy tongue muſt be ſeparate from ſwearing, lying, backbiting, railing, and all filthy communication, thy ears muſt be circumciſed, thy eyes turned away from beholding vanity, and the other members muſt be purified, and preſerved from all pollution, as veſſels belonging to the Temple of the holy Ghoſt.

2. 2The Temple of Ieruſalem not onelyonly was ſeparate from a common uſe, but alſo in all the parts of it was conſecrate to a religious uſe for the worſhip of God; So not onelyonly thy ſoul, which is the inward and moſt holy place of the Temple, but alſo thy body muſt be dedicated to the ſervice of God; Let thy tongue be tuned to his praiſe, thine eyes lifted up to behold his wondrous works, thine ears ready to hear his word, p. 90thy hands to work the works of righteouſneſs, thy knees to bow to him in prayer, and thy feet ſwift to run in the ways of righteouſneſs and peace.

3. 3No ſtranger might come within the porch of the Temple of Jeruſalem; ye know what a buſineſs was made in alleaging, Act. 21.28. that Paul had brought in Graecians to defile the Temple; In like manner do thou uſe thy body as a Temple to the holy Ghoſt; admit not within the Porch of that Temple, to wit thy ears or eyes, any ſtragling or ſtrange motion, which may defile thy conſcience, which is thy little ſanctuary within that Temple.

4. 4After that the Temple was conſecrate, there was a great care to keep it clean, ſo muſt thou labour to preſerve thy body pure and clean from the pollutions of the world from without, and from inordinate affections from within; It thus thou uſe thy body, fear not, for in the day of reſurrection the holy Ghoſt that dwelt in thy body here, will fill it with joy and gladneſs in that day: after the Temple of Ieruſalem was built and conſecrate to God; The Lord filled it with a ſpecial preſence of his glory in the Cloud: ſo if thy body be conſecrate to God, it ſhall be filled with beauty and glory: if thou tremble at his word in this life, & work out thy ſalvation with fear and trembling, be of good comfort, the day of thy reſuirection will be a day of good tidings, from heaven and of joy to thee; then all thy evil dayes will be over, wherein thou hadſt thy trembling fits and feavers of conſcience; but that will be thy good day, without ſucceſſion of an evil day; then ſhalt thou have perpetual peace in thy ſoul, and confirmed health in thy body; for if thou be eſpouſed here to Ieſus Chriſt in holineſs and righteouſneſs, thou ſhalt not be afraid at his glorious coming; the glory of thy Lord and Husband will reflect upon thee, and his ſpouſe ſhall rejoyce at his coming; The wiſe Virgins rejoyced at the voice and coming of the bridegroom, in that day thou ſhalt rejoyce, as Iacob did in hearing and ſeeing his Ioſeph in the day of his great honor & power in Egypt. Our Lord with his white cloud at his coming will ſcatter and aboliſh all thy clouds of afflictions; Though now, (it may be) thou haſt much weakneſs in the body, yet in that day thy Lord will p. 91come with power to give unto thee a ſtrong body: It may be for a ſeaſon thou ſuffereſt much diſgrace and trouble in the body for keeping a good conſcience in an evil time, yet be of good comfort, thy righteous Lord will come in great glory, and ſhall give unto thee a new name, even glory and honour, that none can take from thee; Therefore in the ſenſe of thy true conjugal affection unto him wrought in thy heart by his ſpirit, and in the lively hope of the full manifeſtation of his love in that joyful day when there will be a perpetual cohabitation in glory; let thy ſoul be looking and longing for his ſecond appearing, and as thou heareſt him ſaying, Rev. 22.12. Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, So let thy ſoul as an eccho, anſwer with the ſpouſe, Even ſo Lord Ieſus come.

4. Point. The fourth point conſiderable in the words, Point. 4 is the different ends of this univerſal reſurrection; They that have done good unto the reſurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the reſurrection of damnation; both the godly and the wicked will come forth from their graves; but as they differed in their life and death, ſo ſhall they differ in the end of their reſurrection; The godly will come forth as the Butler out of Priſon, Gen. 40. to ſtand and live for ever in the favour of God; but the ungodly as the Baker, to be made ſpectacles of the Iuſtice and wrath of God for ever. It is true, the bodies of the wicked will be raiſed immortal and incorruptible, to the end they may be everlaſting ſubjects of everlaſting pain, as the body of a Malefactor is held up at a Pillory, when he is ſcourged, that by the extention of his body, he may be rendred the more capable of the ſcourge and pains.

The reſurrection of the bodies of Believers, who live to the Lord, and die in the Lord, will be unto an happy condition, Doct. Believers ſhall ariſe to happineſs.and freedom from all trouble, pain, and all the conſequents of ſin; for the Reſurrection of Life is oppoſed unto the Reſurrection of Damnation; as the ungodly in their bodies, will be faſtned like condemned ſlaves to eternal torments, they will be ever dying and pining a way in torments, but never dead; ſo the godly will live in the body a life of happineſs, being abſolved and freed from all pain, and enjoying p. 92all ſatisfaction in the preſence of an al-ſufficient God, Phil. 3.21. he will change our vile bodies, and he will make them like unto his own glorious body; Our bodies in this life are but weak and frail, a little thing will diſtemper them, even one nights unreſt; Our bodies in this vale of miſery, are but vilis ſaccus ſervorum: The greateſt amongſt the children of men carry about with them ſuch excrements, as ſhould be Monitors of frailty, and documents of humility, and that which maketh our bodies moſt vile, is this, that they are cages of unclean birds, of many unruly luſts; though they reign not in the godly, yet they dwell in them, as Hagar with Sarah, and do moleſt them: But at the reſurrection there will be a change of our Bodies: Our Lord will make them like unto his glorious body; and it is ſaid Mat. 17. at his transfiguration (which was a prelude of the glorifying of his body) his face did ſhine as the Sun: As the Tabernacle under the Law was made according to the pattern ſhewn in the Mount, ſo our earthly Tabernacles will be renewed according to that pattern ſhewn in the Mount, where our Lord was transſigured, great will be the brightneſs of their bodies; in that day of reſurrection there will be a moſt glorious ſight, when the bodies of the Saints will riſe up together as ſo many Suns above the horizon of the grave and time; that will be a lightſome and a glorious day: This ſurpaſſing glory of their bodies is deſcribed more particularly, 1 Cor. 15.42. in divers reſpects.

1. Wherein the glory of the body conſiſts.In reſpect of endurance, it is ſown in corruption, but raiſed in incorruption. Our life here is in a continual flux, as one part of running water thruſteth forward the other parts, ſo ſome parts of our body decay daily, 1the radical moyſtneſs is waſted by the natural hear, and muſt be repaired by meat, drink, ſleep, and other helps, as ſo many props to ſupport our weak and ruinous Tabernacle of clay, as a lamp that conſumes the oyl muſt have a new ſupply: But at the reſurrection our bodies will be incorruptible, their condition will be fixed without any decay in part or in whole; Then the vital and animal ſpirits of the body will be as pure Wine without any mixture of dreg; There will be no ſuperfluous or excrementitious humor in the body, it will be as the gold purified ſeven p. 93times in the furnace, all droſs and corruption will be fully purged out, and the body will be made an everlaſting veſſel of honour; There will be no alteration in the body, nor declining to old age; but the glorified Saints ſhall be like the Cedars in Lebanon, Pſal. 9.14. they ſhall ſtill bring forth fruit in old age, they ſhall be fat and flouriſhing.

2. In reſpect of the ſtature and beauty of the body, 2it is ſown in diſhonour, it is raiſed in glory: there will be great glory in the bodies of the godly, excellent comelineſs in ſtature, and a beautifull, and equal proportion of all the members; The Saints who had any deformity, or defect of members in this life, ſhall have none then, Act. 3.19. It is called the day of restoring all things; what ever their body wanteth now for comelineſs, ſhall then be reſtored and ſupplyed: Our Lord reſtored Malchus his ear, and by the ſame power he will reſtore the defect of any member, as there will be comelineſs in a juſt ſymmetry and proportion of the members, ſo a ſurpaſsing comelineſs in the colour and brightneſs of the body; do we not ſee in our daily experience, the body is ſown in diſhonour? a little before death the face becomes pale, earthlike, and the body of one dying doth ſmell of the earth, like wine neer run out, ſmelling of the dreg; after the ſoul and breath is gone, the body corrupteth and beginneth to ſtink like an empty earthen houſe without fire in it; at ſuch a time the body is loathſome even to the neareſt friends; Sarah had a fair and comely body, yet after her death Abraham deſired a place to bury her out of his ſight: But in the day of reſurrection the bodies of the godly will be raiſed in honour, in great comelineſs and ſplendor; though they be ſown in diſhonour, and thruſt into the duſt, yet like the root of a Lilly ſhut up under the ground in time of Winter, they ſhall ſpring up again, and be cloathed with beauty by the power of God, who cloaths the Lilly.

3. In reſpect of conſtitution, and healthfull diſpoſition; 3the body is now ſown in weakneſs (ſaith the Apoſtle) but will be raiſed in power.

Our conſtitution of body in this life at the beſt is weak, though all bodies be not alike weak; a fit of the burning Ague or of the Stone, will lay the ſtrongeſt man on his back, and p. 94though the bodies of ſonne be ſtrong for bodily imployments, yet through frequent labour and exerciſe they languiſh, and become weary; Sampſon, though of matchleſs ſtrength, yet did waſte his ſpirits in the labour of the fight, and became weary and thirſty; the ſtrongeſt bow will ſlug thorow too much bending and ſhooting, and the ſtrongeſt body will become weary with too much exerciſe; on a death bed the ſtrongeſt man is not able to hold the drink to his own head, or to turn himſelf in his bed: But in the day of reſurrection the body will be raiſed in a ſtrong conſtitution; then will there be no wearineſs in the body, nor faintneſs in the ſpirits. This weakneſs of body now is one of the Symptoms of original corruption, but death as a Catholicon will purge out that bitter peccant humour which maketh our bodies weak; and after that purgation, our bodies will be preſerved and raiſed to a ſtrong and confirmed health for ever in the heavens, where the body will be kept from all corruption from within, or alteration from without.

4. 4In reſpect of exerciſe and operation, it is ſown a natural body (ſaith the Apoſtle) but it is raiſed a ſpiritual body; not of a ſpiritual ſubſtance, but with ſpiritual qualities; for if it were raiſed an Aerial body (as ſome erroneouſly have aſſerted) then ſhould not the ſame body which died, be raiſed, for it is ſown an earthly body, but it is called a ſpiritual body in reſpect of the exerciſe and uſe of the body after the reſurrection; it is here on earth a natural body, having neceſſity of natural means and helps for preſerving the ſpecies by procreation, and for conſerving the perſon by nutrition, but after the reſurrection the body will be abſtract, and retired from all ſuch natural operations and employments; the glorified Saints will be like angels, neither giving nor taking in marriage, Mat. 22.30. The number of the elect and triumphant Church wil be then compleat, and their whole delights will be in an immediate communion with God, which will drown both the remembrance, and the deſire of all creature-delights, neither will the body then have need or uſe of meat and drink, becauſe the body will be of a fixed and durable conſtitution, without any poſsibility of alteration or decay; They will be filled p. 95with God, and this will fully ſatisfie and delight both the ſoul and the body: they will not hunger nor thirſt, becauſe they will be ever full of the bread of life, and of the water of life; It will be a ſpiritual body, in reſpect of Agility, for Spirits are Agile; The Angel Gabriel in a very ſhort time came from the heaven to the earth, Dan. 9. And the Angel Act. 8. carried Philips body in a very ſhort time from one place to another, ſo ſhall our ſpirits carry our bodies in a very ſhort time through a large ſpace and intervall. Auguſtine, Auguſtine.in his book of the City of God, lib. 22. ch. 30. ſaith, That certainly whereever the Spirit and ſoul would be, ſtraight wayes the body will follow the deſire of the heart, and be in that place: Neither will the ſoul deſire any thing which is unbeſeeming for it ſelf or the body; as the helm turneth the Ship in a very ſhort time, whereſoever the Steerſman will, ſo our bodies will turn inſtantly at every motion of our Spirits; our body will be caught up by our Spirits into the third heaven in a ſhort time, as Philips body was caught up, and carried from one place to another, Act. 8.39. where the ſame word is uſed which ye have, 1 Theſ. 4.17. As for thoſe members of our bodies which ſerved to natural uſes and employments in the time of our ſojourning here, they will remain in the body for ornament and integrity; as the breſts in women come to old age, though they do not ſerve them for giving ſuck as ſometime they did, yet are they for the ornament of their bodies: Auguſtine, in the place above cited ſaith well; Auguſtine.all thoſe members and bowels of the incorruptible body, which in the time of mortality ſerved for divers uſes, now they will ſerve for matter of praiſe to God.

This Doctrine ſerveth for admonition; Ʋſe 1 ſeeing there are different ends of the reſurrections; Be careful in this life to do wellſome will be raiſed to life and glory; others to damnation. Let it be thy deſire and endeavour to be of their number in this life, who do well, becauſe glory is appointed for ſuch; how earneſt ſhould we be to know that our reſurrection will be unto life; If many priſoners were ſhut up in one common priſon, and it were told to them all, that ſome of them ſhould be taken forth unto liberty and honour, and others unto ſhame and pain, in ſuch p. 96a caſe how earneſt would each of thoſe priſoners be to enquire if himſelf were one of thoſe appointed for liberty and honour: It is certain, death as a Jaylor will ſhut up all mankinde in the common priſon of the grave and corruption; how ſolicitous then ſhould we be to know if we be appointed of God unto life and glory; in this text our Lord giveth unto us a ſure evidence of a glorious reſurrection unto life; to wit, if thou haſt done good in the body: They that have done good ſhall come forth unto the reſurrection of life: It is true good works have no place, or intereſt in the work of our ſalvation by way of merit; Chriſt our Mediator only hath Merited it by the work of his righteouſneſs; by him alone we have boldneſs to enter into the holieſt, Heb. 10.19. Neither have good Works any efficacy on our ſalvation, It is the free gift of God, Rom. 6.23. Yet it is moſt true that good Works are neceſſary by way of concomitancy in him who is to be ſaved; for without holineſs none ſhall ſee the face of God, Heb. 12.14. Although thou canſt not be juſtified in this life by thy good Works, yet in the day of reſurrection thou ſhalt be judged according to thy Works, Math. 25. 2 Cor. 5.10. Therefore as in the day of reſurrection thou wouldeſt differ from evil doers, who will be raiſed unto damnation, ſee thou differ from them in thy living and dying.Godly differ from the wicken in living:

1. The wicked man in his life-time employeth his deſires, endeavours, and time to ſerve his own luſts; but the care of a Godly man and ſound believer, 1will be to ſerve his Lord, Rom. 13.14. Put on the Lord Ieſus, and make no proviſion for the fleſh, to fulfill the luſts thereof.

2. 2The wicked man walketh in the broad way that leadeth to deſtruction; he taketh unto himſelf eaſe and pleaſure in ſin, as one having room in a broad way; he doth not afflict or grieve his own heart at any time by refuſing the unlawful deſires of it; But thou who wouldſt riſe to life, muſt walk in the ſtrait way that leadeth unto life; thou muſt ſtraiten and hem up thy deſires, and afflict thy unrenewed part and fleſh by refuſing and rejecting unruly deſires; and if at any time thy heart look back unto ſin, thou muſt afflict thy Spirit with p. 97Godly ſorrow for any ſtep thou haſt made toward the broad way.

The Godly man and ſound believer differeth alſo from the wicked in his dying, Godly differ from the wicked in dying.The wicked man at his death layeth not hold on Chriſt, and dyeth unwillingly: but thou that wouldſt riſe unto life, thou muſt with old Simeon, an old expectant of glory, embrace Chriſt, 1and hug him and the Promiſe of life made in him, in the arms of thy faith; as a dying man holdeth faſt his gripe, ſo ſhalt thou keep thy gripe of Chriſt, & in the day of reſurrection thou ſhalt be found in him: The Godly man dieth willingly, commending his Spirit unto God as a faithful Creator, he goeth unto death as his bed, out of the which he will riſe in that morning of eternity with refreſhment, but the ungodly and impenitent go to death unwillingly, as unto a priſon, out of which they know they will be carried unto Judgement: This is the heavenly poſture of a Godly man on his death-bed; he reſteth by Faith on the only merit and ſatisfaction of Jeſus Chriſt, as a ſick man doth upon a ſoft Mat underneath him; he hath the lively hope of a glorious reſt to his ſoul after its parting from the body, and of a glorious reſurrection of the body, as a Pillow to hold up his head and heart, that in all his pain he fainteth not: and he hath good Works as a coverlet to adorn him in the ſight of all that behold him: The Believer at his death reſteth not on them: they are his coverlet, but not his mat: he is adorned and covered with them before the world, who ſeeth them in him, and ſhould both glorifie God in his rich and free love for his graces beſtowed on him, and ſhould labour to imitate him in his good life and happy death: If thus thou differ from wicked men in thy life and death, and be not an evil doer as they are in the purpoſe of their heart, and courſe of their life; The Lord who by his grace maketh thee to differ from them in this life, ſhall in eternal mercy make thee to differ from them in thy reſurrection; for thy reſurrection ſhall be unto eternal life: if thou live to Chriſt, thou ſhalt dye in Chriſt, and in that day thou ſhalt be found in him, and go with him to the third heaven, and remain in glory for ever with him.

p. 98It ſerveth for a ground of terrour and awakening to the ungodly, Ʋſe 2 Terror to ungodly men.who ruſh into ſin, as the horſe into the Battle, go on in their ſins like the Ox unto the ſlaughter, and will not know the evil of their wayes till the deadly dart of Gods wrath ſtrike through their ſouls: Remember O fooliſh man, if thou live and dye in thy ſins, and as Zophar ſpeaketh, Iob 20.11. If thy bones be full of the ſins of thy youth, and they lie down with thee in the duſt, thou ſhalt riſe unto damnation; what thou wouldeſt not believe in this thy day, thou ſhalt be forced from ſenſe of pain to believe in that day of the Lord; and then ſhall the faithful Miniſters of Jeſus Chriſt ſay as Paul did to his fellow-Paſſengers in the Ship, Act. 27.21. If ye had hearkened unto me, ye ſhould not have gained this harm and loſs: The remembrance of neglected opportunities will encreaſe the fretting torment of their ſouls. It may be thou haſt pain and ſickneſs in thy body, with great agony at thy death: but conſider all that is but as a flea-bite in compariſon of that worm that dyeth not, and the fire which cannot be quenched: Thou mayeſt be aſſured, unleſs thou repent while thou art in the body, thy pained and deformed body ſhall be raiſed up in greater pain and deformity: An ugly and hideous ſpectacle will thy face and body be, ſo that (if it were poſſible) in that day thou wouldeſt flye from thy ſelf. Then ſoul and body at their reunion and uniting, will in a manner curſe one another, and live, or rather languiſh together as it were in mutual imprecations for ever. This will be a part of their hell, like two Maſtiffs chained together and tearing one another, the ſoul will curſe the body, and all the Members of it for miniſtering temptations by the eyes and ears, and for being too ready to bring forth and act ſin conceived in the heart; then ſoul and body that ſinned together, ſhall be tormented together; as they were bound together in ſin, ſo alſo in puniſhment; therefore let the ſad forethought of pain in the body in that day, calm thy impetuous affections; Remember, as thou ſoweſt in the body, ſo ſhalt thou reap in the body, Gal. 6.8. thou ſhalt receive according to that thou haſt done in the body, 2 Cor. 5.10. The ſerious forethought of this will be an awful means to ſuppreſs thy tumultuary p. 99affections; The Town-clerk, Act. 19.40. compoſed the tumult with one word; we are in danger (ſaid he) to be called in queſtion for this dayes uproar: ſo conſider, thou art in danger to be called in queſtion in that day of reſurrection, for the inſurrection and rebellion of thy heart againſt thy Lord in this thy day. The Royal preacher ſoundeth forth this ſad, but profitable Note into the ears of young men, who are dit-times violent, like Jehu, in their ſinful courſes; Eccleſ. 11.9 Rejoyce O young man in thy youth, &c. but know thou that for all thoſe things God will bring thee unto Judgement.

This Doctrine ſerveth for a ſolid ground of comfort to the Godly, who endeavour to glorify God in the body; Ʋſe 3 Sound comfort to the Godly.let the meditation on theſe glorious qualities of the body in the day of reſurrection comfort thy heart under all the pains and troubles in the body; Thy vile body will be changed; now thy body is decaying and dying daily; thou art troubled in underpropping thy ruinous houſe of clay, and do what thou canſt, one time it will fall down; but there is thy comfort, it will be raiſed in incorruption: This was the ground of the Apoſtles comfort againſt the decay and diſſolution of the body; 2 Cor. 5.1. We know that if our earthly houſe of this tabernacle were diſſolved, we have a building of God, an houſe not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; there we will get a Manſion, John 14.2. In my Fathers houſe are many Manſions; then our condition will not be ſubject to alterations, like men dwelling in a Tabernacle and removing from place to place, but it will be fixed and permanent without any change; it will be foreign — an abiding of glory, and joy.

2. Though now (poſſibly) there be ſome deformity in thy body, yet in that day thy body ſhall be compleat and comely; though at thy death thy body were full of fores and ulcers, yet if thou dye in the Lord, thy body ſhall be raiſed in honor and comely beauty; in that day Lazarus will have no ſores; as the body will be fully purged in that day from all contagion of ſin, ſo will it be freed from all deformity, which was only a Symptom of indwelling corruption.

3. Whereas thy body is now weak and frail, a little thing p. 100doth ſoon diſtemper thy Spirit, and little labour makes thy body weary; This is thy comfort, that in the day of reſurrection thy body will be raiſed in ſtrength: though now thou canſt not go up a little hill without ſome wearineſs in the body yet in that day thou ſhalt go up in the body to the third heaven, and ſhalt not be weary.

4. Now thou art much troubled about the natural operations and imployments of the body, for food and rayment and other things pertaining to this decaying life: but in that day thou wilt have appetite after nothing but God himſelf, and all thy appetite will be fully ſatisfied by a perpetual delight in thy God, infinite, all-ſufficient, unchangeable and eternal in glory, goodneſs, and bounty towards thee; Thou who art vexed & diſquieted in this life with the relicks of inordinate concupiſcence remaining in the body; thou haſt cauſe to be humbled in the ſight of God for that body of death; yet there is thy comfort, thou ſhalt be freed in that day from all ſuch moleſtation in the body, and thou ſhalt be like unto the ſpotleſs Angels, without all inclination to delight in any thing but in the knowledge and love of God…: In that day great will be thy joy at the meeting of the ſoul and the body; Though at parting here by death there was much pain, and trouble, like the parting of Iacob and Benjamin; yet their meeting will be with great joy like the meeting of Iacob and Ioſeph; the ſoul will bring down good news from heaven to the body, like the report of the faithful ſpies, Numb 14. to encourage the body to go with it unto the heavens, where they ſhal rejoyce together for ever in the preſence of God; then ſhall their joy be encreaſed at their meeting with Chriſt, and perpetuated in their abode with Chriſt in the third heaven, and following with praiſe and triumph the Lamb, whereever he goeth. To him, with the Father, and holy Spirit be all praiſe, honour, and glory, now and ever, Amen.