Chapter 12. The Seventh Royal Privilege—the resurrection of our bodies
his coat rent, and will he have his body rent! O that I could speak here weeping!
Well, this will be a bright foil to set off heaven the more—there is a time shortly coming when our love shall be perfect, there shall be no difference of judgment in heaven; there the saints shall be all of one mind. Though we fall out along the way—we shall all agree in the journey's end. The cherubim, representing the angels, are set out
"with their faces looking one upon another"; in this life Christians turn their backs one upon another—but in heaven they shall be like the cherubim with their faces looking one upon another.
It is observed that the olive tree and the myrtle tree have a wonderful sympathy, and if they grow near together, will mutually embrace, and twist about each others roots and branches. Christians in this life are like tearing brambles—but in heaven they shall be like the olive and myrtle—and sweetly embrace one another! When once the blessed harp of Christ's voice has sounded in the ears of the saints, the evil spirit shall be quite driven away! When our strings shall be wound up to the highest pitch of glory, you shall never more hear discord in the saints' music! In heaven there shall be a perfect harmony!
Chapter 12.
The Seventh Royal Privilege—the Resurrection of our Bodies.
Trajan's ashes after death were brought to Rome and honored, being set upon the top of a famous pillar. So the ashes of the saints at the resurrection shall be honored, and shine as silver dust! This is an article of our faith. Now for the illustration of this, there are three things considerable: 1. That there is such a thing as the resurrection.
2. That this is not yet past. 3. That the same body that dies, shall rise again.
1. I shall prove the proposition that there is a resurrection of the body. There are some of the Sadducees of opinion that there is no resurrection; then "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die," 1
Cor. 15:32. To what purpose are all our prayers and tears? and indeed it were well for them who are in their lifetime as brute beasts, if it might be with them as beasts after death. But there is a resurrection of the body, as well as an ascension of the soul; which I shall prove by two arguments.
1. Because Christ is risen, therefore we must rise. The head being raised, the rest of the body shall not always lie in the grave, for then it would be a head without a body. His rising is a pledge of our resurrection, 1 Thess. 4:14.
In regard of justice and equity.
The bodies of the wicked have been weapons of unrighteousness, and have joined with the soul in sin! Their eyes have been a casement to let in vanity!
Their hands have been full of bribes! Their feet have been swift to shed blood! Therefore justice and equity require that they should rise again, and their bodies be punished with their souls!
Again, the bodies of the saints have been members of holiness!
Their eyes have dropped down tears for sin! Their hands have relieved the poor! Their tongues have been trumpets of God's praise.
Therefore justice and equity require that they should rise again, that their bodies as well as their souls may be crowned!
There must be a resurrection, else how should there be a remuneration? We are more sure to rise out of our graves—than out of our beds! The bodies of the wicked are locked up in the grave as in a prison, that they may not infest the church of God; and at the day of judgment they shall be brought out of the prison to trial. And the bodies of the saints are laid in the grave as in a bed of perfume,
where they mellow and ripen until the resurrection. Noah's olive tree springing after the flood, the blossoming of Aaron's dry rod, the flesh and sinews coming to Ezekiel's dry bones—what were these, but lively emblems of the resurrection!
2. That this resurrection is not yet past. Some hold that it is past, and make the resurrection to be nothing else but regeneration, which is called a rising from sin, and a "being risen with Christ"; and do affirm, that there is no other resurrection but this, and that only the soul is with God in happiness, not the body. Of this opinion were
Hymeneus and Philetus, 2 Tim. 2:18. But the rising from sin is called the first resurrection, Rev. 1:6, which implies that there is a second resurrection; and that second I shall prove out of Dan. 12:2. "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake." He does not say they are already awake—but they shall awake. And John
5:28, "The hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." Observe, Christ does not say, they have come forth of the grave already—but they shall come forth.
Here a question may be moved, Whether the bodies of some of the saints are not in heaven already? then it will seem that their resurrection is not yet to come; as we read that Elijah was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot; and Enoch, Heb. 11:5, "was translated, that he might not see death."
Answer. I know the question is controverted among divines. Should it be granted that they are bodily in heaven, by an extraordinary writ, or dispensation from God—this does not at all disprove a general resurrection to come. But there are some reasons do incline me to think that Enoch and Elijah are not yet bodily in heaven, nor shall be until the resurrection of all flesh, when the rest of the elect, like a precious crop, being fully ripe, shall be translated into glory. The first is Heb. 11:13, where it is said, "these all died in faith," where Enoch was included: now why we should restrain this
word, these, only to Abel, Noah, Abraham, and not also to Enoch, I see no rational ground.
Question. But is it not said, he was translated, "that he might not see death"; how can these two stand together, that Enoch died—yet he did not see death?
Answer. These words, that he might not see death, I conceive (with some other divines) the meaning is, that he might not see it in that painful and horrid manner as others: his soul had an easy and joyful passage out of his body; he died not after the common manner of men. Seeing and feeling are often in scripture—the one is put for the other.
2. My second argument is, 1 John 3:2: "We know when he shall appear, we shall be like him." We read in scripture but of two appearings of Christ, his appearing in the flesh, and his appearing at the day of judgment. Now his appearing in this text, must needs be meant of his last appearing: and what then? "We shall be like him," that is, in our bodies, Phil. 3:21. The spirits of just men being already made perfect, Heb. 12:23, whence I infer, Enoch is not yet ascended bodily into heaven, because none of the bodies of the saints shall be fully made like Christ until his second appearing.
3. Besides this, may be added the judgment of many of the Fathers, who were pious and learned. It is not probable that Enoch and Elijah should be taken up in their bodies into heaven, says Peter Martyr; and he urges that saying of our Lord, "No man has ascended into heaven"; (that is, physically) "but the Son of man that descended from heaven." Of this opinion also is the learned Doctor Fulk, who in his marginal notes upon the 11th to the Hebrews, has this descant:
"It appears not," says he, "that Enoch now lives in the body, no more than Moses; but that he was translated by God out of the world, and died not after the common manner of men." And concerning Elijah, the same author has this passage: "It is evident that he was taken up alive; but not that he continues alive." And again, "Because we read
expressly, that he was taken up into heaven, 2 Kings 2:1, it is certain"
(says he) "that his body was not carried into heaven." Christ being the first that in perfect humanity ascended there, 1 Cor. 15:20,
"Christ has become the first fruits of those who sleep." He is called the first fruits, not only because he was the most excellent, and sanctified the rest—but because he was the first cluster which was gathered; the first that went up in a physical manner into the place of the blessed: hence we see that the resurrection is yet to come.
3. At the resurrection every soul shall have its own body. The same body that dies, shall arise. Some hold that the soul shall be clothed with a new body—but then it were improper to call it a resurrection of the body, it should be rather a creation. It was a custom in the African churches to say, I believe the resurrection of this body. I confess, the doctrine of the resurrection is such, that it is too deep for reason to wade: you must let faith swim. For instance, suppose a man dying is cast into the sea, several fish come and devour him, the substance of his body goes into these fishes, afterwards, these fish are taken and eaten, and the substance of these fishes go into several men. Now how this body, thus devoured, and as it were, crumbled into a thousand fractions, should be raised the same individual body, is infinitely above reason to imagine; we have scarcely faith enough to believe it.
Question. How can this be?
Answer. To such I say as our blessed Savior, Matt. 22:19, "You are in error—not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."
1. You are in error—not knowing the scriptures. The scripture tells us expressly that the same body that dies shall rise again; Job 29:26,
"In my flesh shall I see God," not in another flesh. And verse 27, "My eyes shall behold him," not other eyes. So 1 Cor. 15:53, "This mortal shall put on immortality," not another mortal—but this mortal, and, 2 Cor. 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is
due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
Not in another body. Death in scripture is called a sleep. It is far easier with God to raise the body, than it is for us to awaken a man when he is asleep!
2. You are in error—not knowing the power of God. That God, who created all things out of nothing—can he not reduce many things to one thing? When the body is gone into a thousand substances, cannot he make a compilation, and bring that body together again?
The chemist can, out of several metals mingled together—as gold, silver, and tin—extract the one from the other, the silver from the gold, the tin from the silver, and can reduce every metal to its own kind? And shall we not much more believe that when our bodies are mingled and confounded with other substances, the wise God is able to make a divine extraction, and reinvest every soul with its own body!
Use 1. This is comfort to a child of God. As Christ said to Martha, John 11:23, "Your brother shall rise again," so I say to you, your body shall rise again. The body is sensible of joy as well as the soul; and indeed, we shall not be perfect in glory until our bodies are reunited to our souls. Therefore in scripture, the doctrine of the resurrection is made matter of joy and triumph! Isaiah 26:19, "Yet we have this assurance: Those who belong to God will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy!"
Death is as it were the fall of the leaf—but our bodies shall flourish as a herb, in the spring of the resurrection. That body which is mouldered to dust shall revive.
Sometimes the saints sow the land with their bodies, Psalm 142:7, and water it with their blood, Psalm 79:3. But these bodies, whether imprisoned, beheaded, sawn asunder—shall arise and sit down with Christ upon the throne! O consider what joy there will be at the reuniting of the body and soul at the resurrection! As there will be a sad meeting of the body and soul of the wicked, they shall be joined together as briars, to scratch and tear one another; so, what
unspeakable joy will there be at the meeting together of the soul and body of the saints—how will they greet one another (they two being the nearest acquaintance that ever were). What a welcome will the soul give to the body! "O blessed body, you allowed yourself to be martyred, and crucified, you were kept under control by watchings, fastings, etc. When I prayed, you attended my prayers with hands lifted up, and knees bowed down. You were willing to suffer with me, and now you shall reign with me! Cheer up, my dear friend; you were sown as seed in the dust of the earth with ignominy—but now are raised a spiritual body. O my dear body, I will enter into you again as a heavenly sparkle, and you shall clothe me again as a glorious vestment!"
Use. 2. It shows the great love and respect God bears to the weakest believer; God will not glorify the bodies of his dearest and most eminent saints, not the patriarchs or prophets, not the body of Moses or Elijah, until you rise out of your grave. God is like a master of a feast that stays until all his guests are come. Abraham, the father of the faithful, must not sit down in heaven until all his children are born, and the body of every saint perfectly mellow and ripe for the resurrection.
3. If the bodies of the saints must arise—then consecrate your bodies to the service of God! These bodies must be made one with Christ's body. The Apostle makes this use of the doctrine of the resurrection,
1 Cor. 6:14, "And God will raise our bodies from the dead by his marvelous power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead." There is the doctrine. "Don't you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which belongs to Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!" Verse 15; There is the use. It is enough for wicked men to adulterate and defile their bodies.
The drunkard makes his body a tunnel for the wine and liquor to run through. The epicure makes his body a living tomb to bury the good creatures of God. The adulterer makes his body a slave to his lust.
The body is called a vessel in scripture; these vessels will be found musty at the resurrection, fit only to hold that wine which you read