23 "--And to the Spirits of juſt men made per-

23 "--And to the Spirits of juſt men made per-

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. now as you hope to live ſhortly ; begin to be what you expect to be. You know the time is at hand, thatyou ſhall live above all bodily concernments and employments, the foul ſhall be a drudge to the body no more. You shallbe as the angels, Mat. xxii. 30. not marrying, nor giving inmarriage, which is, by a Synechdoche, put for allcarnal employments and enjoyments; eat no more, drink no more, leep no more, buy and fell no more. Now fuit yourſelves as much as your ſtate and the duties ofreligionwill ſufferyou, to that ſtate before-hand. The ſum of what I am at is in 1Cor. vii. 29, 30. Be in all your relations as if you had none.

Look on thoſe things, as if already they were not, which ſhortly mustbe none of yours ; andboth acquaintandaccuſtom your thoughts tothe lifeofſeparation from thebody, which you muſt ſhortly leave.

Which brings me home to the next point, viz. The condition of humanfouls in theflate offeparation.

* * - Και των ευμασι δικαίων τετελειωμενων.to the spirits of just men made perfect.

And Heb. xii. 23.

T HE particular ſcope ofthis context falls in with thegeneral deſign of the whole gospel, which istoperfuade men to a life of holiness. The matter of the exhortation is moſt weighty, and the arguments enforcing it most powerful : He doth not talk, but difpute; hedoth not ſay, but prove, that greater, and more powerful engagements unto holineſs lieupon thoſe who live under the goſpel, than upon the people who livedunder thelaw. And thus the argument lies in this context.

IfGod, at thedeliveringofthelaw upon mount Sinai, ſtrictJy enjoined, and required ſo great purity, and holineſs in that people, ſiguified by the ceremonies of two days preparation, the waſhing of their cloaths, abſtinencefrom conjugal ſociety, &c.

Exod. xix. 10. much more doth he require,and expect it inus, whoare come under amuch more excellent, and heavenly difpenfation thantheirs was.

To make goodthesequel, he compares the legal, and evangelicaldifpenfations, inmany particulars, ver. 18, 19, 20, 21,

22, 23. giving the goſpel the preference throughout thewhole comparifon.

Hence the privileges of the New Testament-believers are ſtated, both negatively, and positively.

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

1. Negatively, By thewing what we are exempted from.

2. Pofitively, Shewing what we are to come unto.

1. Negatively, What we are exempted, or freed from; ver.

18, 19, 20, 21. " We are not come unto the Mount that might " be touched," &c.

The fum ofall is this, that the promulgation ofthe law was accompaniedwith amazing dread, and terror. For, after Mofes, by command fromGod, had fanctified the mount, and ſet rails about it, that neither prieſt nor people, man nor beaſt, might touch the very borders of it, leſt they die; the Lord defcended in fire upon the top of the mountain, the third day in the morning, with moſt terrible tokens of divine majeſty, to wit, with thundrings, lightnings, dark clouds, and the noiſe of a trumpet, exceeding loud; the mount was coveredwith ſmoke, as the ſmoke of a furnace, and † flames mounting up into the midst of heaven, the whole mountain ſhaking, and trembling exceedingly : Outofthis horridtempeft the awful voice ofGod was heard, all the people in the camp trembling, yea, and Mofes himselfquaking for fear.

This was the manner of the law's promulgation : But to fach a terrible diſpenſation as this we are not come, which is the negative part of our privilege.

2. He opens the poſitive privileges towhich we arecome.

(1.) " Ye are come (faith he)tomountSion," nottheearthly, but the ſpiritual Sion.

Mount Sion was the place celebrated above all the world for the worſhip of God, Pfal. lxxxvi. 7.

" All my springs (faithGod) are in thee.

There was the temple, the ark of the covenant, the glory of the Lorddwelling between the cherubims.

The priests that attended the ſervice ofGod, had their refidence there, as the angels have inheaven.

Thither the tribes went up from all quarters of Judah, Pfal.

Ixxxiv. as the children ofGod nowdo to heaven, from allquarters of the world.

Judea was the beſtkingdom in the world ; Jerufalem the beſt city in that kingdom; and Sion the moſt gloriousplace in that city. Here Chriſt taught his heavenly doctrine ; near to it he finiſhed his glorious work of redempti- ⚫on. Hencethe everlasting goſpel went forth into alltheworld :

And, on theſe confiderations, it is put to ſignify the goſpelchurch, or ſtate in this place, and istherefore called theheavenly

Jerufalem, in the following words. We do not come tothe literalSion,norto theearthly Jerufalem; buttothegoſpel-church,

+ Crebris micat ignibus æther ; i. e, The ſky ſhines withfrequent lightnings.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. or ſtate, which maybe calledaheaven upon earth, compared with that literal Jerufalem.

(2.) Ye are come " to an innumerable company of angels."] to ‡ myriads of angels, a myriad is ten thousand : but myriads in the plural number, and fetdown indefinitely too, may note many millions of angels : And therefore we fitly render it, " to " an innumerable company of angels."

They had the miniſtry of angels as well as we, thousands of them miniſtred to the Lord in the diſpenſation of the law at Sinai, Pial. Ixviii. 17.

But this notwithstanding, we are cometo amuch clearer knowledge, both of their preſent miniſtry for us on earth, Heb. i. 14. and ofour fellowship, and equality with then inheaven, Luke xx. 36.

(3.) " Ye are come to the general aſſembly, and church of " the firſt-born, whoſe names are written (or enrolled) in hea- " ven. "] This alſo greatly commends, and amplifies the pri vileges of theNew Teftament-believers ; the church ofGod in former ages was circumfcribed, and ſhut up within the narrowlimits of one ſmall kingdom, which wasa garden incloſed out ofa waſte wilderness: But now, by the calling in ofthe Gentiles, the church is extended far and wide, Eph. iii. 5, 6. It is become agreat affembly, comprizing the believers of all nations under heaven ; and ſo ſpeaking ofthem collectively, it is the general convention, or affembly, which is alſo dignified, and enobled by two illustrious characters, viz. (1.) That it is the church of the first-born, (i. e.) conſiſting of members dignified, and priviledged above others, as the firſt-born among the Ifraelities did excel theiryounger brethren.

(2.) That their names are written in heaven, (i. e.) regiſtred, or enrolled inGod's book, as children, and heirs ofthe heavenly inheritance, as the firſt-born in|| Ifrael were regiſtred in order to the priesthood,Num. iii.40,

41.

(4.) Ye are come " toGod, the Judge of all ."] But whyto God the Judge ? This seems to ſpoilthe harmony, and jarwith the other parts of the discourſe. No, no; they are come to God as a righteous Judge, who as ſuch, willpardon them, 1 Joha i. 9. Grown them, 2Tim. iv. 8. and avenge them on alltheir oppreffing, and perfecuting enemies. 1 Theff. i. 5, 6, 7 .

† Μυριασιν αγγέλων, i, e. Myriads ofangels.

The Helleniſts uſe theword μυριαδας, i. e. Myriads, without any addition to fignify an innumerable multitude .

Grot.

|| The firſt-born of the Ifraelites were regiſtred inan earthlyre giſter, but theſe in anheavenly regiter.

ATreatise of the Soul of Mani

(5.)"And tothe ſpirits ofjuſt men made perfect." Amoſt glorious privilege indeed; in which we aredistinctly toconfider,

1. The quality of thoſe with whom we are aſſociated or ta . kenintofellowſhip.

2. The way and manner ofour aſſociation with them.

1. The quality ofthoſe with whom we are aſſociated, or to whom weare faid to become; andthey are deſcribed by three characters, viz.

(1.) Spirits ofmen.

(2.) Spirits ofjuſt men.

(3.) Spirits ofjuſt men perfected, orconfummated.

(1.) They are called ſpirits, that is, immaterial ſubſtances, ſtrictly oppoſed to bodies, which are no way the objects of our exterior ſenſes, neither viſible to the eye, or ſenſible to the touch, which were called properly fouls whilst they animatedbodies in this lower world ; but now being loofed and ſeparated from them bydeath, and exiſting alone in the world above, they areproperly and ſtrictly ſtiled ſpirits.

(2.) They are the ſpirits ofjust men.] Man may be termedjust twoways, (1.) By a fulldifcharge and acquittance from theguilt of all his fins, andſo believers arejust men, even whillt they live on earth, groaning under other imperfections, Acts xiii. 39.

Or, (2.) By a total freedom from the pollutionof any fin. And though inthis ſenſe there is not "a juſt man

"upon earth that doth good, and ſinneth not," Eccleſ. vii. 22. yet even in this ſenſe Adam was just before the fall, Ecclef. vii.

29. according to his original conſtitution; and all believers are ſo, in their glorified condition; all fin being perfectly purged outof them, and its exiſtence utterlydeſtroyed in them. On which account, (3.) They are called the ſpirits ofjuſt men made perfect,] or confummate. The word perfect is not here to be understood abſolutely, but by way offynecdoche ; they are not perfect in every reſpect, for one part oftheſe juſt men lies rotting in the grave: but they are perfected, for fo much as concerns their fpirit; though the fleſm periſh and lie in diſhonour, yet their ſpiritsbeingonce loofedfrom the body, and freed radically and perfectly from fin, are preſentlyadmittedtothe facial viſion and fruition of God, which is theculminating point (as I may call it) higher thanwhich the ſpirit ofman aſpires not; and attaining to this, it is, for ſo much as concerns itſelf, made perfect.

Evenasabody at last lodged in its centre, gravitatesno more, butisat perfect reſt; ſo itis with the ſpirit ofman comehome

VOL. III.

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan. to God in glory, 'tis now confuminate, no more need tobe done to make it as perfectly happy as it is capable to be made which is the firſt thing to be confidered, viz. the quality of thoſe with whom we are afſſociated.

2. The fecond follows, namely, the way and manner of our affociationwith theſe bleſſed ſpirits of juſt men, noted in this expreffion, [we are come.] He faith not, we shall come hereafter, when the refurrection hath reſtored our bodies, or after the general judgment ; but, we are come to theſe ſpirits ofjuſt men.

The meaning whereofwe may take intheſe three particulars.

( 1.) We that live under the goſpel-light, are come toa clearer apprehenfion, ſight and knowledge of the bleſſed and happy eſtate of the fouls of the righteous after death, than ever they had, or ordinarily could have, who lived under the types and ſhadows of the law, Eph. iii. 4, 5. And fo we are come to them,in reſpect of clearer apprehenfion.

(2.) We are come to thoſe bleſſed ſpirits inourrepreſentative, Chrift, who hath carried our nature intothe very midſt ofthem, andwhom they all behold with highest admiration anddelight.

By Christ, who is entred into that holy place where theſe ſpirits of juſt men live, we are come into anear relation with them: For he being the commonhead, both to them inheaven, and to us on earth, we and theyconſequentiallymakebut onebody or fociety, Eph. ii. 10.

Whereupon (notwithstanding the different and remote countries they and we live in)we are faid " to fit down with them inheavenlyplaces," Eph. iii.

15. and ii. 6.

(5 ) We are come.] That is, we are as good as come, orwe areupon the mattercome; there remains nothing betwixtthem andus but a puffof breath, a little ſpace oftime, which ſhortens every moment : We are come to the very borders of their country, and there is nothing, to ſpeak of, betwixt them and us: And by this expreffion, we are come, he teacheth us to account and reckon thoſe things as preſent, which fo, ſhortly willbe preſent to us, and to look upon them as if they already were, which isthe highest and moſt comfortable life of faithwe canlive on earth .

Hence the note is, Doct. That righteous and holy fouls, once separatedfrom their bodies by death, are immediately perfected in themselves, and affociated with others alike perfectin the kingdom of God.

That the fpirits of juſt men at the time of their ſeparation from their bodiesdo not utterly fail in their beings, northat they are ſo prejudiced andwounded bydeath, thatthey cannot

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

exert their own proper acts in the absence of the body, hath been already cleared inthe foregoing parts of this treatile, and willbe more fully cleared from this text.

But the true level and aim of this diſcourſe is at a higher mark, viz. the far more excellent, free, and noble life the fouls ofthejuſt begin to live immediately after their bodies are dropt offfrom themby death, at which time theybegin to live like themſelves, a pleasant, free, and divine life. So much at least is included in the apoſtle's epithetin my text, fpirits ofjuſt men made perfect ; and ſuitable thereto are his words in 1 Cor. xiii.

10, 12. " When thatwhich is perfect iscome, then that which " is in part ſhall be done away.

For now we see thro' a glais darkly, butthenface to face; now Iknow in part, but then

" I ſhallknow, even as alſo I am known."

Theſe two adverbs, now and then, diftinguiſh the twofold ſtate ofgracious fouls, and thew what it is whilft they are con fined in the body, and what it ſhall be from the time of their emancipationand freedom from that clog of mortality. Now weare imperfect, but then that which is perfect takes place, and that which is imperfect isdone away, as the imperfect twi light is done awayby the opening of the perfect day.

And it deserves a ſerious animadverſion, that this perfect ſtatedoth not ſucceed the imperfect one after a long interval,

(as longas betwixt the diſſolution and refurrection ofthe body) but the imperfect ſtate of the foul is immediately done away by the coming of the perfectone. The glaſs is laid by as ufeleſs, whenwecome to fee face to face, and eye to eye.

The waters will prove very deep here, too deep for any line ofmine to fathom ; there is a cloud always overſhadowing the world to come, agloom andhazineſs upon that ſtate : Fainwe would, with ourweak and feeble beam ofimperfect knowledge, penetrate this cloud, anddiſpel this gloom and hazineſs, bur cannot : We think ſeriously and cloſe to this great and awful fubject, butour thoughts cannot pierce through it : wereinforce thoſe thoughts by a fally, or thick fucceſſion of freſh thoughts, and yet all willnot do, our thoughts return to us either in confufion, or without the expected ſucceſs.

For alas, how little is it that we know, or can know of our own fouls now whilft they are embodied! much less of their unbodied ſtate.

The apoſtle tells us, I Cor ii. 9 " That eye hathnot ſeen, nor ear heard, neither have entred into the heart of "

" man, the things which God hath prepared for themthat Llz

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

" love him." And another apoſtle adds, " Itdothnotyet ap66 pear what we shall be," I John iii. 2.

Yet all this is nodiſcouragment to the ſearch, and regular enquiry into the future ſtate; for though reaſon cannot penetrate theſe mysteries, yetGod hath revealed them to us (tho' not perfectly) by his Spirit. And though we know not particularly, and circumſtantially) what we ſhall be, yet this we know, that " we ſhall be like him, for we shall fee him as he is."

And it is our privilege, and happiness, that we are come to the ſpirits ofjuſtmen made perfect, (i. e.) to aclearer knowledge of that ſtate, than was ordinarily attainable bybelievers, under former diſpenſations.

Theſethings premiſed, I will proceed toopenmy apprehenfions of the ſeparate ſtate ofthe ſpirits ofjuſt men made perfect, in twelve propofitions; whereby, as by ſo many ſteps, wemay orderly advance as far as fafely, and warrantably we may, into the knowledge of this great myſtery, clearing what afterwards ſhall remain obfcure, inthe ſolution of ſeveral queſtions relating to this ſubject, andthen apply the whole, inſeveral uſes of this great point : And the firſt propoſition is this :

Propofition 1. There is a two-fold ſeparation ofthe foul from the body: viz. one mental, the other real : Or,

1. Intellectual, by the mind only.

2. Phyſical, by the ſtroke ofdeath.

1. Of intellectual, or mental ſeparation *, I am firſt to speak in this propoſition; and it is nothing else but an act of the underſtanding, or mind, conceiving, or confidering the foul and body, as feparate and parted each from other, whilft yet they are united in a perſonal oneneſs by the breath of life.

This. mental ſeparation may, and ought to be frequently, and ferioufly made, before death makes the real, and actual ſeparation ; and the more frequently, and ſeriouſly wedo it, the leſs ofhorror, and diſtraction will attendthat real,and fatal ſtroke, whenever it ſhall begiven: For hereby we learn to bear it gradually, and, by gentle eſſays, to acquaint our ſhoulders with theburdenof it.

Separation is a word that hath much ofhorror in the very found, and uſeth to have much more in the ſenſe and feeling of it, elſe it would not deſerve that title, Job viii. 14.

" The king of terrors," or the moſt terrible of all terribles :

But acquaintance, and familiarity abates that horror, and that two ways eſpecially.

* Mental ſeparation is, a conceiving of two things ſeparately, which really are united.

Conimbr. on the foul, p. 595.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

(1.) As it is preventive of much guilt.

(2.) As it gains a more inward knowledge of its nature.

(1.) The ſerious, and fixed thoughts ofthe parting hour, is preventive of much guilt; and the greatest part of the horror of death riſes out of the guilt of fin ; " The ſting ofdeath is

" fin," 1 Cor. xv. 56.

* Auguſtine faith, "Nothing more " recals a man from fin, than the frequent meditation ofdeath."

Idare not ſay it is the ſtrongest of all curbs tokeep us back from fin, but I am ſure it is a very ſtrong one.

Let † a foul but ſeriouſly meditate what a change death will make ſhortly upon his perſon, and condition ; and the natural effects of fuch a meditation, through the bleſſing ofGod upon it, will be a flatting, and quenching ofits keen, and raging appetite, after the enſnaring vanities of this world (which draw meninto ſo much guilt) a conſcientious fear of fin, and an awakened care ofduty.

It was once demanded of a very holy man(who ſpentmuch more than the ordinary allowance oftime in prayer, and ſearching his own heart) why he ſo macerated his own body by ſuch frequent, and long-continued duties !

His anſwer was, Oh ! I must die, I must die ! Nothing could feparate him from duty, who had already ſeparated his foul from his body, and'all this world, by fixed, and deep thoughts of death.

(2.) Herebywe gaina more inward knowledge, and acquaintancewith it, the leſs it terrifies us. A lionismuch more dreadfultohim that neversaw him, thanhe is to his keeper,who feedethhimeveryday. A pitch'd battle is more frightful, and ſcaringto a new-liſted ſoldier, that never took his place in the field before, nor faw the dreadful countenance of an army ready to engage, nor heard the thundring noiſe ofcannon, and vollies of ſhot, the ſhouts of armies, and groans of dying men on every ſide, than it is to an old foldier who hath been used to fuch things.

The like we may obſerve in ſeamen, who it may be trembled at firſt, and nowcan fing in a ſtorm .

Scarce any thing is more neceſſary for weak and timorous believers to meditate on, thanthe time of their ſeparation.

Our heartswill be apt to ſtart, andboggle at the firſt view of death ; * Nibilfic revocat a peccato, quam frequens mortis meditatio.

Aug.

†He who confiders, what he will be in death, will always act with a fear ofcaution, and live as in the fight ofhis Creator, he defires nothingthat is tranſitory,andconfiders himself as almoſt dead, becauſe heknows he muſt ſoon die. Greg. Mer. 12.

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. but it is good todoby them as menuſe todo by young colts, ride them up to thatwhich they fright at, and make them ſmell to it, which isthe way to cure them.

" Look, as bread, " faith one I, is more neceffary thanother food, fo the medita- "tion of death is more neceſſary than many other meditati

" ons."

Every time we change our habitations, we should realize therein our great change : our fouls muſt ſhortly leave this, andbe lodged for a longerſeaſon in another manfion. When we put offour cloaths at night, we havea fit occafion toconfider, that we muſt ſtrip nearerone oftheſedays, and putoffnot our cloathsonly, but the body thatwearsthemtoo.

Holy Job had, by frequent thoughts, familiarized death and thegrave to himself, and could ſpeak of them as menufe to fpeakoftheir houſes anddearest relations, Job xvii. 14. "Ihave

" ſaid to corruption,Thou art my father; tothe worm, Thou " art my mother and fifter,"

But it needs much grace to bring, and hold the heart to this work; and therefore Moſes begs it of God, Pfal. xc. 12. "So teach us to number our days;" and David, Pfal. xxxix. 4. " Lord, make me know

my end."

Yea, the advantages of ithave been acknowledgedbymen, whoſe lightwas lefs, anddiverſions morethan ours.

The Jews, for this uſe andend, had their fepulchres builtbefore-hand, andthat in their gardens ofpleaſure too; that they might ſeaſon the delights of life with the frequent thoughts of " death, John xix. 41 .

Philip of Macedon would be awakened by his page every morningwith this ſentence, memento te effe mortalem; Remember,O king, that thou art a mortal man. Agreat emperor of Conftantinople, notonly at his inauguration, but at his great feaſts, ordered amaſon tobring two ftones before him, and ſay,

66 || Chuſe, O emperor, which ofthe two stones thou wilt for thy tomb-ftone."

Reader, thou wilt find mental feparation much easierthan real ſeparation: it is easierto think of death, than it is to feel it ; and the more we think of it, the leſs we are like to feel it .

Propoſition 2. Actualfeparation may be confidered either in fieri, in the previous pangs, andforegoing agonies of it ; orin facto effe, in the lastseparating stroke, which actually parts the † Sicut panis neceſſarius eft præ cæteris elementis, ita intenta mortis meditatio necessaria est præ cæteris donis et exercitiis.

Dionyf.

Elige ab his faxis ex quo, invictiſſime Cæfar, tibi tumulumme fabricare velis.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

foul and body asunder, lays the body proftrate, anddeadat the feet ofdeath, and thrusts thefoul quite out ofits antient and be-. lovedhabitation.

Let itbe confidered in the previous pangs and forerunning agonies, which commonly make way for this actual diſſolution : and to the people ofGod, this is the worſt and bittereſt partof death(except thoſe conflictswith Satan, which they ſometimes grapple with onadeath-bed) which they encounter atthattime.

There is (faith one) no poinard in death itſelf, like thoſe in theway or prologue to it.

I like not to die, (faid another) butI care not if I were dead; the end is better than theway.

Theconflicts and struggles of nature with death are bitter and ſharp pains, unknown tomen before, whatever pains they have endured: nor can it be expected to be otherwise, feeing the ties and engagements betwixtthe foul andbodyare ſo ſtrong, aswe ſhewed before.

Thefoul will noteasily part with thebody,but difputes the pallages with Death, from member to member, like refolute foldiers in a ſtormed garrifon, till atlaſt it is forced to yieldup the fort-royal into the hands of victorious Death, and leave the dearlybelovedbodya captive to it.

This is the dark ſide ofdeath to allgood men; and though itbenotworth naming, in compariſon with the dreadful conſequents ofdeath to allothers, yet in itſelfit is terrible.

*Separation is not natural to the foul, which was created with an inclination to the body ; it is natural indeed to claſp and embrace, tolove and cherith its ownbody; but tobedividedfrom it, is grievous and preternatural.

The agonies ofdeathare expreſſed in fcripture,bya † word which ſignifies " thetravailing pains of awoman," yea, by the ſharpeſt and moſt acute pains they at thattime feel, Acts ii.

24.

And yet all are not handled alike roughly by thehands of Death; fome are favoured with adefirable ευθανάσια, gentle and çaſydeath.

Itis the privilegeoffomeChriſtians tohavetheir fouls fetcht outoftheir bodies, as itwere by a kiſs from the mouth ofGod, as theJewish Rabbins uſe toexpreſs the manner of Mofes his death. Mr. Bolton feltno pain at hisdeath,but the coldhand

* Seeing the feparation madebydeath is not natural, nor even violent, itfollows, from the approved opinion ofphilofophers, that itmaybecalledpreternatural, Conimb.

A Treatise of the Soul of Man. of his friend, who asked him what pain he felt. Yea, holy

Bayneham in the midst of the flames, profeſſed itwas tohim as abed of roses.

Every believer is equally freed from the ſting and curſe of death; but every one is not equally favoured in the agonies and pains ofdeath.

2.Separation from thebody is tobe conſidered infacto eſſe, i. e. in the reſult and iſſue of all thoſe bitter pangs and agonies, which end in the actual diſſolution offoul andbody. "*Death,

" or actual ſeparation, is nothing elsebut the diffolving of the " tie, or loofing ofthe bond of union betwixt the foul and body."

" + Some call it the privation of the ſecond act of the foul, that is, its act of informing or enlivening the body."

Others, according toſcripture-phrase,thedeparting ofthe foul

from the body.

So Peter ſtiles it, 2 Pet. i. 15. μετα την εμην εξοδον, after my departure, i. e. after my death.

Auguſtine ‡ calls it the laying down of a heavy burden, provided there be not another burden for the foul to bear afterwards, which will fink it into hell.

In reſpect of thebody, which the foul now forſakes, it is called " the putting off this tabernacle," 2 Pet. i. 14. and, " the " diffolving the earthly houſe or tabernacle," 2 Cor. v. 1 .

In reſpect of the terminus a quo, the place from which the foul removes atdeath, it is called ourdeparture hence, Phil. i. 23. or our weighing anchor, and loofing from this coaft or ſhore, to fail to another.

In reſpect ofthe terminus ad quem, the place to which the ſpirits of the just go atdeath, it is called our going to, or being with the Lord, Phil. i. 23.

To conclude, in reſpect of that which doth moſt lively reſemble and ſhadow it forth, itis called our falling afleep, Acts vii. 60. our ſleeping in Jeſus, 1 Theſ. iv. 14.

This metaphor of ſleep must be ſtretched no further than the Spirit ofGod deſigned in the choice of it, which was not to favour and countenance the fancy of a fleeping foul after death, but to repreſent its ſtate of placid reſt in Jeſus's boſom, ifit refer at all to the foul ; for I think it moſt properly reſpects thebody and thence the fepulchres, where the bodies ofthe

* Θανατος εσι ψυχης και σωματος διάλυσις, vel animæ a corpore difceffus, Vives .

+ Privatio actus fecundum ejufdem anima, id eft, informationis Seu unionis erga corpus.

Conimb.

† Relictio corporis depofitiofarcinagravis, modo aliofarcina non patietur, qua homo præcipitetur in gehennam.

Auguft.

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

faints were laid, got the name of*οιμητηρια, dormitories, orfleepingplaces||.

: This is its laſt farewel to this world, never more to return to alow animal life more.

Job vii. 9, 10. "For as the cloud is " confumed and vanished away, fo he that goeth down to the grave ſhall come up no more; he ſhall return no more to his

" houſe, neither ſhall his place know him any more."

The foul is no more bound to a body, nor aretainer to the fun, moon or ſtars, to meat, drink and fleep, but is become a free, ſingle, abſtractedbeing, a ſeparate and pure ſpirit, which the Latins call lemures, manes, ghosts or fouls of the dead, and my text,

Spirits made perfect; a being much like unto the angels, who are δυναμεις ασωμαlες, bodileſs beings. An angel, as one ſpeaks, is a perfect foul, a foul is an imperfect angel : Ido not fay, that upon their feparation they become angels, for they will ſtill remain a diftinct ſpecies of ſpirits.

Angels have no inclination to bodies, nor were ever fettered with clogs of flesh, as fouls were *. And by this you fee what a vaſt difference there is betwixt theſe two confiderations of death : how ghaſtly and affrighting is it in its previous pangs !,how lovely and defirable in the iſſue and reſult of them ! which is but the change of earth for heaven, men for God, fin and mifery, for perfection andglory.

Propofition 3. The feparation of the foul and body makes a great and wonderful change uponboth, but especially upon thefoul.

There is a twofoldchange made uponmanbydeath, one upon his body, anotheruponhis foul.

The change upon thebody is great and viſible to everyeye. A living body is changed into adead carcafe : a beautiful and comely body into a loathſome ſpectacle: that which was latelythe object ofdelight and love, is hereby made an abhorrence to all fleſh; " Bury my dead out ofmy fight," Gen. xxiii. 4 .

What the fun is to the greater, that the foul is to the leſſer world.

When the fun ſhines comfortably, how vegete and chearful do all things look ! how well do they thrive and proſper ! the birds ſing merrily, the beaſts play wantonly, the whole creation enjoyeth aday oflight andjoy : but when itdeparts, what a night of horror followeth ! how are all things

|| Locus fepulturæ confecratus, κοιμητηριον, hoc eft, dormitorium appellatur.

* Sempera corporis compedibus et nexibus liberi, (i. e.) Always free from the clogs and fetters ofthebody.

VOL. III.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. wrapt upinthe ſable mantle ofdarkness ! or if itbut abate its heat, as inwinter, the creatures are, as itwere, buried in the winding-ſheet of winter's froft and ſnow: juſt ſo it iswith the body, when the foul ſhinethpleaſantly upon it, or departs from it.

Thatbody which was fed ſo affiduouſly, cared for fo anxioufly, loved ſo paſſionately, is now tumbled intoa pit, and left tothemercy ofcrawling worms . The changewhich judgment made upon thatgreat and flourishing cityNiniveh, isa fit emblem to ſhadow forth that change which death makes upon humanbodies : thatgreat andrenowned citywasonce fullofpeople, which thronged the ſtreets thereof; there you mighthave ſeen children playing upon the thresholds, beauties ſhewing themſelves through thewindows, melodyfounding in its palaces: butwhat an alteration was made upon it, the prophet Zephaniah deſcribes, chap. ii. 14. "Flocks ſmall liedown in the midt

" ofher, all the beasts of thenations; both the cormorant and " the bittern ſhall lodge inthe upper lintels of it ; their voice

" ſhall ſing in the windows; deſolation ſhallbe in the thresh- "olds, for he thall uncover the cedar-work."

Thus it is with thebodywhendeathhath diſflodged the foul: worms neſtle inthe holes where the beautiful eyes were once placed; corruption anddefolation isupon allparts ofthat ſtately ſtructure.

But this being a vulgar theme, I ſhall leave the body to the dust fromwhence it came, and follow the foul, which is my proper ſubject, pointing at the changes which are madeon it.

The effence of the foul is notdestroyed orchangedby the body's ruin; it isſubſtantially the ſelf-fame foul it was when inthebody.

The ſuppoſition of an effential change, would diforder thewhole frame and model ofGod's eternaldeſign for the redemptionandglorificationofit,Rom. viii. 29, 30. Butyet, though itundergo no ſubſtantial change at death, yet divers greatand remarkable alterations are madeupon it, by ſunderingitfrom the body. As,

1. Itis notwhere it was: itwas inabody, immers'd in matter, married unto flesh and blood; but now it is out of the body, uncloathed, and ſtript naked out ofits garments of flesh, like pure gold melted out of the ore with which it was commixed; or as a bird let outofher cage into the open fields and woods.

This makes a great and wonderful change uponit.

2.Being free from thebody,it isconſequentlydiſcharged and freedfrom all thoſe cares, ſtudies, fears, and forrows towhich it washere enthralledandſubjected, upon thebody's account: it

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

puts offall thoſe paſſions andburdens with it; never ſpends one thought more about foodand raiment, health and fickness, wivesand children, riches or poverty, but lives henceforth after themannerofangels, Matth. xxii. 30.

It is now unrelated to, andthereforeunconcerned about all theſe things.

3. In the unbodied ſtate itisperfectly freed from fin, both inthe acts and habits ; a mercy it never enjoyed ſince the firſt moment it dwelt in the body. The cure of this diſeaſe was

-- indeedbegun in the work of ſanctification; but it is not perfectedtill thedayofthe foul's glorification.

'Tis now, andnot till now, a ſpirit made perfect; that is, a foul enjoying its perfect health and rectitude: No more groans, tears, or lamentations, uponthe account ofindwelling fin.

4. Theway and manner ofits converſe with,and enjoyment ofGodis changed.

Thereare two mediumsbywhich fouls converſewithGod in thebody, viz .

(1.) One internal, to wit, faith.

(2.) The other external, to wit, ordinances, :

(1.) If a man walk withGod on earth, it must be intheuſe and exerciſe of faith, 2 Cor. v. 7. Nor can there be any communion carried onbetwixtGod and the foul without it, Heb. xi. 6.

(2.) The external mediums are the ordinances of God, or duties of religion, both public and private, Plal. Ixiii. 2.

Betwixt theſe two mediums of communion with God, this remarkable difference is found : The foul may fee and enjoyGod by faith, in the want or abſence ofordinances; but there is no feeingor converſing withGod, inthegreateſt plenty and purity ofordinances, without faith, Heb. iv. 2.

Butin the ſame moment the foul is cut offfrom union with the body, it is alſo cut offfrom both theſe ways of enjoying

God, 1 Cor. xiii. 12, Ifa. xxxviii. 11.

Butyet the foul is no loſer ; nay, it is the greatestgainer by this change.

The child is no loſer byceaſing to derive its nourishment by the navel, whenitcomes to receive itby the mouth, a more noble way, whereby it gets anewpleaſure intaſting thevarietyof allde1 . lectable food. Hezekiah bemoaned the lofs ofordinances upon his ſuppoſeddeath-bed, ſaying, " I shall not feethe Lord, even

" the Lord in the landofthe living :" q.d. Now farewel temple and ordinances; I ſhall never go any more into his temple, where my foul hath been ſo often cheared and refreſhed with thediſplays of his grace and goodness; I ſhall never morejoin withthe affemblyofhis people onearth. Andſuppoſe hehad

Mm2

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. not, ſurehewouldhave lost nothing, hadhe then exchanged the temple at Jerufalem, for the temple in heaven; and communion with finful imperfect faintsonearth, for fellowship with angels, and " the ſpirits ofjuſt men made perfect." By this changewe loſe no more than he loſeth, who whilst he ſtands delightfully contemplating the image of his dearest friend in a glaſs, hath the glaſs ſnatchedaway by his friend, whom henow feeth face to face.

Upon this change ofthe mediums ofcommunion, it will follow, that the communion betwixtGod andthe ſeparate foul, excels all the communion it ever had with him on earth, in ( 1.) The clearneſs.

(2.) The sweetheſs.

(3.) Theconſtancy of it.

(1.) Its viſions ofGod, in the ſtate of ſeparation, are more clear, diſtinct, anddirect than they were on earth; clouds and ſhadows are now fled away : The foul now ſeeth as itis ſeen,

-and knoweth as it is known; its apprehenfions ofGod there, differ from thoſe it had here, as the crude and confused apprehenſions ofa child do, from those we have inthe manly ſtate,

(2.) They are alſo more ſweet and raviſhing : As our vi fions are, fo are our pleaſures ; perfect viſions produce perfect pleaſures : The faculties ofthe foul now, and never tillnow, lie level tothat rule, Matth. xxii. 37. The viſions ofGod com rmand, and callforth all the heart and foul, mind and ſtrength, into acts of love and delight.

It was not ſo here; ifthe ſpirit waswilling, the flesh was weak; but there the clog is offfrom the foot of the will.

(3.) Moreconftant, fixed,andſteddy.

'Tis oneofthegreatest difficulties in religion, to fix the thoughts, and cure the wildneſs and rovings of the fancy : The heart is not ſteddy with God; andhence are its ups and downs, heatings and coolings ; which are things unknown in the perfect ſtate.

By allwhich it apears, the change by diſſolution is great and marvellous, both upon the body and foul, but upon the foul more eſpecially.

Propofition 4. Thefouls of the righteous, at the inſtant oftheir feparation, are receivedby the bleffed angels, and by them transferred untothe place ofbleſſedness.

Though angels are by nature a ſuperior order of ſpirits, differing frommenindignity, as the nobles and barons in the kingdoms of this world, differ from inferior ſubjects ; yet are they made miniſtring ſpirits, (i. e.) ſerviceable creatures inthe kingdom of providence, to the meaneſt of the faints, Heb. i.

14. And hereinthe Lord puts a fingularhonour uponhis peas

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

ple, inmaking ſuch excellent creatures as angels ſerviceable to them : Luther afſigns to them a double office, to wit, to fing the praifes ofGod on high, and to watch over his faints here below.

Their miniſtry is distinguiſhed into three branches :

Νεθετικον, for admonition or warning ; Φυλακτικον, for protection and defence ; Βονθετικον, for fuccour, help and comfort.

This laft office they perform more eſpecially at the ſoul's departure :

Like tender nurſes, they keep us whilft we live, and bring us home in their arms to our Father's houſe when wedie.

וי They are about our death-beds, waiting to receive their precious charge into their arms and boſoms.

When Lazarus breathedout his foul, the text faith, it was " carriedby the an- " gels unto Abraham's boſom," Luke xvi. 23.

Andupon this account, Tertullian calls them evocatores animarum, the callers forth of fouls. Atthe tranſlation ofElijah, they appeared in the form of horfes and chariots of fire, 2Kings ii. 11. Horſes and chariots are not only deſigned for conveyance, but for conveyance in ſtate ; and truly, it is no ſmall honour to have ſuch anoble convoy and guard to attend our souls toheaven.

Object. If it be demanded, What need is there of their help or company ? Cannot God by his immediate hand and power gather home thefouls of his people to himselfat death ? He inspired them into our bodies without their help, and can receive them again when we expire them, without their aid.

Solut. True, he can do fo; but ithath pleaſed him to appoint this method of our tranſlation, not out of mere neceſſity, but bounty.

Souls afcend not toGod in the virtue of the angels wings, or arms, but of Chrift's aſcenſion. Had he not afcended as our head, and repreſentative, all the angels in heaven couldnot have brought our fouls thither: He afcended by his own power, and we afcend by the virtue of his aſcenſion.

It is therefore rather for the ſtate and decorum, than any abfolute neceffity, that they attend us in our afcenfion.

Godwill not onlyhave his people brought home to him fafely, but honourably : They ſhall come to their Father's houſe in a becoming equipage, as the children ofa king.

This puts honour upon our afcenfion-day ; that day is adorned by the attendance of fuch illustrious creatures upon us.

It is no fmall honour which God herein deſigns for us, that creatures of greater dignity than ourſelves, ſhall be fent from heaven to attend, andwaitupon us thither.

Yea, that our afcenfion-day ſhould, inthis, reſemble Chriſt's afcenfion, is an honour indeed.

When he afcended, there were multitudes of theſe heavenlycreatures to wait upon him,

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

Pfal. Ixviii. 17, 18. " The chariots ofGod are twentythousand, even thousands ofangels; the Lord is among them as in Si- " nai, in the holy place.

Thou haſt aſcended on high," &c.

Acloud was prepared as a royal chariot, to carry up the King of glory tohis princely pavilion; and then a royal guard of mighty angels to waitupon his chariot; ifnot for fupport, yet for the greater ſtate, and ſolemnity of their Lord's afcenfion.

AndOwhatjubilations ofbleſſed angels were heard that day in heaven ! How was thewhole city ofGod moved athiscoming!

The triumph is not ended to thisday, no, nor ever ſhall.

Now, hereinGodgreatlyhonours his people, that there ſhall be ſome reſemblance, and conformity betwixt their aſcenſion, and Chriſt's ; *Angels rejoice to attend thoſe to heaven, who must be their fellow-citizens for ever in heaven ! It is convenientalſo, thatthose who hadthe charge of usall our life, ſhould attendus to our Father's houſe at ourdeath : Inthe one, they finiſh their miniſtry; in the other, they begin theirmore inti mate ſociety.

Moreover, the angels are theywhomGod willemploy, togather together his elect from the fourwinds of heaven, at the greatday, Matth. xxiv. 31.

Andwho more fit to attend their ſpirits toheaven ſingly, than thoſe who must collect them inta onebodyat laſt, and waitupon that collective body, when they ſhallbe brought to Chriſt ? Pfal. lxv. 14.

Object. But thefight, andpresence ofangels is exceedingawful, and overwhelming to human nature : It will rather aftoniso andterrify, than refreshandchearus, tofind ourselves, allon a fudden, furrounded, andbeset withfuch majestic creatures. We fee what effects theappearance of an angel hath had upongood men in this world : " We shall die, (faithManoah) for wehave

" ſeenGod," Judges xiii. 22. So Eliphaz, " a ſpirit paſſedbe- " fore my face; the hair of my fleſh ſtood up," Job iv. 15.

Solut. True, whilſt our souls inhabit theſe mortal and finful bodies, the appearance ofangels is terrible tothem, and cannot be otherwise, partly upon a natural, and partly upon a moral account. The dread of angels naturally falls upon ouranimal ſpirits : They ſhrink and tremble at the approach of ſpirits ; notonly the ſpirits ofmen, but ofbeaſts, quail at it. A dog, orahorſe is terrified at it, as well as a man, Numb. xxii. 25.

Thedread of ſpirits ſtrikes the animal, or natural ſpirits prima- * As they, (i. e. angels) ſervedthe head, inlikemannerdo they ſerve the members.

They rejoice to ferve them on earth, whom they ſhall have afterwards for companionsinheaven,

Gerbard.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

rily; and themind, or rational foul, by confent. There is alfoanother cauſe offear inman, upon the fight, or prefence of angels, viz. a confciouſneſs ofguilt. Wherever there is guilt, there will be fear, eſpecially upon any extraordinary appearance ofGod tous, though itbebut mediately upon an angel.

Butwhen the foul is freed, both from fleſh, and fin,and ſhall enjoy itſelf in anature like to theſe pure and holy ſpirits, the dread of angels is then vaniſhed, and the foul will take great content, and fatisfaction in their company and communion:

The foul then finds itſelfa fit companion for them ; looks upon them as its fellow-fervants, for fo they are, Rev.xix. 10. And theangels look upon the ſpirits of juſt men, not as inferiors, underlings, but with great reſpect, as ſpirits, in fome ſenſe, nearer to Chriſt than themselves : So that henceforth no dread falls upon us from the prefenceof theſe excellent creatures ; but each enjoyeth ſingular delight, in each other's ſociety. And thus we fee inwhat honourable and pleaſing company the fouls ofthe just gohence to their father's houſe, and boſom.

Propofition 5. Thefoulis notso maimed and prejudiced by its Separationfrom the body, but that it both can, and doth live, and actwithout it ; andperforms the acts ofcogitation, and volition, without the aid, and ministry of the body.

I know it is objected by them that affert the foul's fleeping till the refurrection, that though its effence be not deſtroyedby death, yet its operations are obſtructed bythe want, and abfence of the body, its tool, and inftrument : And thus they form their objection.

Object. All that the foul understands, it understands by ſpecies †; that is, the images ofthings which arefirst formed in the phantasy : As whenwe would conceive the nature ofa house, a Ship, aman, or a beast : we first form the image, or species thereofin ourfancy, andthen exercise our thoughts about it : But this depending upon bodily organs, and instruments, thefeparatedfoul can form nofuch images : It hath nosuch innate ſpecies ofitsown, but comes into theworldan abraſa tabula, whitepaper; andbeingdeprivedby feparation ofthe help offenfes, and phantasms, it confequently understands nothing.

+There are three conditions requiſite for the acts of the underſtanding.

1. The object, a being that is real and intelligible.

2. The Phantaſm, or ſenſible image lurking in the phantaſy.

3. The intelligible image, which is a ſpiritual accident, repreſenting to the underſtanding, in an ideal way, the material object that exifts without the underſtanding.

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan.

Thus the foul, in its ſtate offeparation, is repreſented tous aswounded in its powers, and operations, tothat degree, which feems to extinguiſh the very nature of it.

But, Solut. 1. We denythat the foul knows nothing now butby phantaſms †, and images; for it knows itſelf, its own nature and powers, of which it cannot poſſibly feign, or form any image or repreſentation.

What form, ſhape, or figure, can the fancy ofa man caſt his own soul into, to help him to underſtand its nature ?

Andwhat ſhall we fay of its underſtanding during an extafy, or rapture ? Doth the foul know nothing at ſuch a time ? Doth adull torpor feize andbenumb its intellectual powers ? No, no, the underſtanding is never more bright, clear, apprehenfive, and perfect, than when the body, inan extaſy, is laid aſide, as to any uſe or aſſiſtance of the mind : The foul for that ſpace ufes not the body's aſſiſtance, as the very words extasy and rapture convinceus.

To underſtand by species, doth not agree to the foul naturally and neceſſarily, butby accident, as it is now in union with the body: Were it but once loofed from the body, it would underſtand better without them, than ever itdid in the bodyby them. Aman that is on horſeback, muſt move according to the motion of the horsehe rids; but if he were on foot, he then uſes his own proper motion as he pleaſeth; fohere.

But thoughwe grant the foul doth in many cases now make uſe ofphantasms, and that the agitation ofthe ſpirits, which are in thebrain and heart, are conjunct with its acts ofcogitation and intellection: Yet, as a fearching † ſcholar well obſerves, the fp its are rather fubjects than inftruments of thoſe actions; and, the whole effence of thoſe acts is antecedent to the notion of the ſpirits : As when we uſeapenin writing, oraknife in cutting, there is an operationofthe foul uponthem, before there canbe any operation of the foul upon them, before there canbe any

‡ The underſtanding contemplates objects incorporeal and immaterial, fuch asGod and intelligentbeings.

But theſe by no means affect the phantafy, for they are beyond the reach ofcorporeal powers.

Conimb on thesoul. l. 3. c. 8. q. 8.

||For ifthisbelongsnot to the nature ofthe foul, butbyaccident agrees to it, namely from this, that it is tied to the body, as the Platoniſts affirm, then the queſtion is easily folved.

For the foul being loofed from thebody, will return to its ownnature.

Aquin. p. 1. 2. 8. Art. 1 .

†Howe's Bleſſedness.p. 174, 175

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

operationby them: They act as they are firſt acted, and ſo do theſe bodily ſpirits. So that to ſpeak properly, the body is bettered by the uſe the foul makes of it intheſe its noble actions; but the foul is not advantaged bybeing tied tofuch a body ; it cando its own work without it ; its operations follow its eſſence, not the body to which it is for a time united.

Upon the whole; it is much more abſonous and difficult to conceive a ſtupified, benummed, and unactive foul, whoſe very nature is to be active, lively, and always in motion, than it is toconceive a foulfreedfrom the ſhackles and clogs of thebody, acting freely according to its own nature.

Iwith the favourers of this opinion may take heed, left it carry them farther than they intend, even to a denial of its exiſtence and immortality, and turn them into downright Somatists or Atheists.

Propoſition 6. That the feparated fouls of the just having finished all their work ofobedience on earth, and the Spirit havingfiniſked all his work offanctification upon them, they afcend toGod, with allthe habits of Grace inherent in them ; and all the comfortable improvements of their graces accompanying and followingthem.

This propofition is to be openedand confirmed in theſe four branches.

(1.) When agracious foul is ſeparated from the body, all its work of obedience inthis world is finiſhed.

Therefore death is called the finiſhing of our courſe," Acts xx. 24. " The "

" nightwhen man works no more," John ix. 4. " There is no working in the grave," Eccl. ix. 10. fordeath diffolves the compofitum, and removes the foul immediately to another world, where it can act for itſelf only, but not for others, as it was wont to do on earth. " I ſhall ſee man no more (faith Heze- " kiah) with the inhabitants of the world," Ifa. xxxviii. 11 .

Thatwhich was faid ofDavid's death, is as true of every Chri . ſtian, that " having ſerved his generation according to the will

" ofGod, he fell asleep," Acts xiii. 36.

I do not ſay this lower world receives no benefit at allby them after their death ? for though they can ſpeak no more, write no more, pray for, and inſtruct the inhabitants of this world no more, nor exhibit to them the beauty of religion in anynew acts or examples of theirs (which is what I mean by faying they havefiniſhed all their work of obedience on earth) ; yet the benefit of what they did whilst in the body, till remains after they are gone: As the apoſtle ſpeaks ofAbel, Heb. xi. 4. "Who beingdead, yet ſpeaketh."

This way indeed a-

VOL . III .

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan. bundance of ſervice will be done for the fouls of men upon earth, long after they are gone to heaven. And this ſhould greatly quicken us to leave as much as we can behind us, for thegoodofpofterity, that after our decease (as theapostle ſpeaks,

2 Pet. i. 15.) they may have our words and examples in remem. brance. But for any ſervice to be done de novo, after death, it is not to be expected : We have accompliſhed, as a hireling, our day, andhave not a ſtroke more todo.

(2.) As all our work of obedience is then finiſhedby us, fo at death all the work ofGod is finiſhedby his Spirit upon us.

The laft hand is then put to all the preparatory work for glory, not a ſtroke more tobe done upon it afterwards ; which appears aswellby theimmediate fucceffionof the lifeofglory, (whereofI ſhall ſpeak in another propoſition) as by the ceſſation ofall ſanctifying means and inſtruments, which are totally laid afide as things ofno more uſe after this ſtroke is given ; Adepto fine, ceffantmedia, means are uſeleſswhenthe end is attained. There isno work (faith Solomon) in thegrave.

How ſhort foever the foul's ſtay and abode in the body was, though it were regenerated one day, and ſeparate the next, yet all is wroughtupon it, which God ever intended ſhould be wrought in this world, and there is no preparation-work in the other world.

(3.) But though the foul leave all the means ofgrace behind it, yet it carries away with it to heaven all thoſe habits of grace which wereplanted and improved in it in this world, by the bleffing of the Spirit upon thoſe means : Though it leaves the ordinances, it loſeth notthe effects and fruits ofthem ; though they ceaſe, their effects ſtill live.

" The truth dwelleth in us, " andſhall be in us for ever," 1 John ii. 17. " The feed of "God remaineth in us," I John iii. 9.

Commongifts fail at death ; but ſaving grace ſticks faſt in the foul, andafcends with itinto glory. Gracious habits are inſeparable; glory doth not deſtroy, but perfect them : They are the foul's meetneſs for heaven, Col. i. 12. and therefore it ſhallnot comeinto his prefence, leaving its meetneſs behind it.

In vain is all the work of the Spirit upon us in this world, if we carry it not along with us into that world, ſeeing all his works uponus inthis life have a reſpect and relation to the life to come.

Lock, therefore, as the fame natural faculties and powers which the foul had (though itcould not uſethem)in its imperfect body in the womb, came with it into this world, where theyfreely exerted themselves inthe moſt noble actions of natural life; fothe habits of grace, which, by regeneration, are

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

hereimplanted in aweak and imperfect foul, go with it toglory, where theyexert themselves in amore high and perfectway ofacting than evertheydidhere below. The languiſhing ſpark of love is there a vehement flame ; the faint, remiſs and infrequent delight inGod, is there at a conſtant, raviſhing and tranfportingheight.

(4.) To conclude, As all implanted habits of grace aſcend with the ſanctified foul to heaven; (for the foul afcends not thither as a natural, but as a new creature) ſo all the effects, refults, and ſweet improvements ofthoſe graces which we gatheredas thepleasant fruits of them on earth, theſe accompany and follow thefoul into the other world alſo ; " Their works follow

" them," Rev. xiv. 13.

They go notbefore inthe notion of merits, to makeway for them, but they follow or accompany them as evidences, and comfortable experiences.

I doubt not, but the very remembrance ofwhat paſſed betwixtGod and the foul here, betwixt the day ofits eſpouſals to Chriſt, and itsdivorce from thebody, will be one ſweet ingredient in their blefſedneſs andjoy, when they ſhallbe finging inthe upper region the fong of Moſes and of the Lamb.

They were never given tobe loft, or left behind us. Andthus you fee with what a rich cargothe foul fails to the other world, though if it had noother, it would never drop anchor there.

Propoſition 7. Thesouls ofthe just whenfeparatedfrom their bodies, do notwander up anddown inthis world, nor hover about thefepulchres where their bodies lie ; nor are theydetained in any purgatory, in order to their more perfect purification ; nor do theyfall asleep in a benummedſtupidſtate : but doforthwith pass intoglory, and are immediately with the Lord.

When once the mind of man leaves the ſcripture-guidance and direction, which is to it what the compaſs or pole-ſtar is to a ſhip in the wide ocean, whither will it not wander ? In what uncertainties will it not fluctuate ? and upon what rocks and quick-fands muſt it inevitably be caſt ? Many have been the fooliſh andgroundleſs conceits and fancies of men about the receptacles ofdeparted fouls.

1. Some have aſſigned them a reſtleſs wandering life, now here, now there, without any certain dwelling-place any where.

The only grounds for this fancy, is the frequent apparitions of theghoſts or ſpirits of the dead, whereof many instances are given; and whois there that is a ſtranger to fuch ſtories ? Now, ifdeparted fouls were fixed any where, this world wouldbe quiet and free from ſuchdisturbances.

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I make no doubt, but very many of theſe ſtories, have been the induſtrious fictions and devices of wicked and ſuperſtitious votaries, to gain reputation totheir way, speaking lies in hypocrify, to drawdiſciples after them. And many othershave been the tricks and impoſtures ofSatan himself, to ſhake the credit of the faints reſt in heaven, and the imprisonment ofungodly fouls inhell, as will more fully appear when I come to ſpeak to that queſtion more particularly.

2. Others think, when they are loofed from the bodyatdeath, theyhover about the graves and folitary places where their bodies lie, as willing, ſeeing theycan dwellno longer in them, to abide as nearthem as they can ; juſt as the ſurviving turtle keeps near the place where his mate died, and may be heard mourning for a long time about that part ofthe wood.

This opinion feeks countenance and protection from that law, Deut. xviii. 10, 11. which prohibits men to confult with the dead; of which reftraint there hadbeenno need or uſe, if ithad not been practiſed; and fuch practices had never been continued, if departed fouls had not frequented thoſe places, and given anfwers to their queſtions .

Butwhat I faidbefore ofSatan's impoſtures, is enough for the preſent to return to this alſo.

3. The Papifts ſendthem immediately to purgatory, inorder totheirmore thorough purification.

This purgatory * Bellarmine thus defcribes : " It is a certain place wherein, as in a " prifon, fouls are purged after this life, that were not fully

" purgedhere, to the intent they may enter pure into heaven ; " and tho' the church (faith he) hath not defined the place, yet " the ſchoolmen ſay, it is in the bowels ofthe earth, and upon " the borders of hell."

And, to countenance this profitable fable, divers ſcriptures are by them abuſed and miſapplied, as 1 Cor. iii. 15. Matth. v. 25, 26. 1 Pet. iii. 19.

All which have been fully reſcued out of their hands, and abundantly vindicated by ourdivines, who have proved,Godnever kindled thatfire to purify fouls ; but the Pope towarm his own kitchen.

4. Another fort there are, who affirm, they neither wander about this world, norgo into purgatory, but are caſt by death intoa ſwoon or ſleep; remaining in akind of benummed condition, till the refurrection ofthebody. Thiswas the error of Beryllus ; and Irenaeus ſeems to border too near upon it, when he faith †, " The foulsofdiſciples ſhall go to an inviſible place

* Bellarmin lib. 2. dePurg. cap. 65

Difcipulorum anime abibunt in inviſibilem locum, definitum eis

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan .

" appointed for them ofGod, and ſhall there tarry till the re- " furrection, waiting for that time: and then receiving their

" bodies, and perfectly, (i. e.) corporeally, rifing again, as " Chrift did, they ſhall come to the fight ofGod."

Alltheſe miſtakes will fall together by one ſtroke ; for if it evidently appear (as I hope it will) that the ſpirits of the juſt are immediately taken to God, and do converſe with, and enjoy him in heaven; then all theſe fancies vaniſh, without any more labour about them particularly. Now there are four confiderationswhich tome put the immediate glorification ofthe departed foulsofbelievers beyond all rationaldoubt.

1. Heaven is as ready and fit to receive them as ever it ſhall be.

2. They are as ready andfit for heaven as ever they will be.

3. The fcripture is plainly for it.

And, 4. There is nothing in reaſon against it.

1. Heaven is as fit and ready to receive them, when theydie, as ever it ſhall be. Heaven is prepared for believers, ( 1.) By the purpoſe and decree ofGod, and ſo far itwas prepared from thefoundation ofthe world, Matth. xxv. 34. (2.) By the death of Chriſt, whoſe blood madethe purchase of it for believers, and fo meritoriously opened the gates thereof, which our fins had barred up againſt us, Heb. x. 10, 20.

(3.) By the afcenfion of Chriſt into that holy place, as our repreſentative and forerunner, John xiv. 2. This is all that is neceſſary tobe done for the preparation ofheaven ; and allthis isdone, as much as ever God deſigned ſhouldbe done to it, in order to its preparation for our fouls: fo that no delay canbe upon that account.

2. The departed fouls of believers are as ready for heaven as ever they will be: for there is no preparation-work to be donebythem, or upon them after death, John ix. 3. Eccl. ix.

10. Their juſtification was complete before death, and now their ſanctification is ſo too ; fin, which came inby the union, going out at the ſeparation of their fouls and bodies.

They arefpirits made perfect.

3. The fcripture is plain and full for their immediate glorification ; Luke xxiii. 43. "To day ſhaltthou be with me in paradife."

Luke xvi. 22. " The beggar died, and was car-

eis a Deo ; et ibi usque ad refurrectionem commorabuntur, fuftinentes refurrectionem ; post, recipientes corpora, et perfecte refur. gentes, i. e. corporaliter, quemadmodumet Dominus refurrexit,fit venient ad conspectum Dei, Iren. lib. 5.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

" ried by the angels into Abraham's boſom ."

Phil. i. 21. "I "defire tobe diffolved, and to be with Chriſt, which is far " better."

The ſcripture ſpeaks but of two ways, by which ſouls ſee, and enjoyGod, viz. Faith and fight; the one imperfect, ſuited to this life; the other perfect, fitted for the life to come; and this immediately ſucceeding that, for the imperfect is done away, by the coming of that which is perfect, as the twilight is doneaway, by the advancingof theperfectday.

4. To conclude; there is nothing in reaſon lying in bar to it.

Ithath been proved before, that the foul in its unbodied ſtate, is capable to enjoy bleſſedneſs, and can perform its acts of intellection, volition, &c. not only as well, but much better than it did, when embodied.

I conclude therefore, that ſeeing heaven is already as much prepared for believers, as it need be, or can be, and they as much prepared from the time of their diſſolution, as ever they ſhall be; the ſcriptures alſo beingſo plain for it, and no bar inreaſon against it; all the forementioned opinions are but thedreams and fancies ofmen, whohave forſaken their ſcripture-guide ; and this remains an unſhaken truth, that the ſpirits of the just go immediately to glory, from the time of their ſeparation .

Propofition 8.At the time of a graciousfoul'sſeparationfrom thebody, it is instantly and perfectly freed from fin, which, till that time, dwelt in it from its beginning ; but thenceforthShall dofonomore.

Immediately upon their ſeparation from thebody, they are ſpirits made perfect, as my text ſtiles them ; and that epithet

*perfectcouldnever ſuit them, if there were any remaining root or habit ofcorruption in them.

The time, yea, the ſet time is now come, to putan end to all thedolorous groans ofgracious fouls, upon the account of indwelling fin. What the angel faid to Joſhua, Zech. iii. 3, 4. theſamedothGod ſay ofevery upright foul, at the time of its ſeparation, " Take away the filthy garments from him, and " cloath him with change ofraiments,and ſet a fair mitre upon " his head." Thus the garments ſpotted with the fleſh, are taken away with the body of fleſh, and the pure unchangeable robes ofperfect holiness, cloathed upon the foul, in which it appears without fault before the throne of God, Rev. xiv.

* Therefore he calls them confecrated or perfect, becauſe they are nomore ſubject to the infirmities of the flesh, the fleſh itſelfbeing laid aſide.

Marlorate on theplace.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

There is a threefold burdensome evilin fin underwhich all regenerated fouls groan inthis life ; viz. (1.) The guilt ; (2.)

The filth; (3.) The inherence ofitin their nature.

And there isathreefold remedy or cure oftheſe evils: the guilt of fin is remediedbyjuftification; the filth of ſin is inchoatively healed by ſanctification: the inherence of fin is totally eradicatedby glorification; For as it entred into our perſons by the union of our fouls and bodies, ſo it is perfectly caſt outby theirdifunion or ſeparation at death: the laſt ſtroke is thengiven to the work ofſanctification, and the laſt is evermore the perfecting ſtroke : finlanguished under imperfect fanctification in thetime of life, butitgivesup the ghoſt underperfectedſanctification, from and after death: fanctification gave it its deadly wound, butglorification its final abolition.

For it is with our fins after regeneration, as itwas with that beaſt mentioned,Dan. vii. 12. which, though it was " wounded with adeadly wound, yet its life was

" prolonged for a ſeaſon." Andthisis theappointed ſeaſonfor its expiration.

For if at theirdiſſolution they are immediately receivedintoglory (as ithathbeen proved they are, inourſeventh propoſition) theymust neceffarily be freed from fin, immediately upon their diſſolution; becauſe, nothing that isunclean can enter into that pure and holy place ; they must be, as the text truly repreſents them, " the fpirits ofjuſt men madeperfect."

For, if fo great holineſs and purity be required in all that drawnigh toGodupon earth, as youread, Pfal. xciii. 5. certainly, thoſewhoareadmitted immediatelytohis throne, muſtbewithout fault, according to Rev. vii. 14, 15, 16, 17 .

Whena compounded being comes to be diffolved, each part returns to its own principle; ſo it is here: the ſpiritofman, and all the grace that is in it, came fromGod; and to him they re- *turn at death, and are perfected inhim andby him: the flem returns to earth, whence it came,and all that body offin isdeſtroyed with it; neithertheone or other ſhallbe a ſnareor clog to the foul anymore. A Chriſtian in this world, isbut gold in theore;at death, the puregold is melted out and ſeparated, and the drofs caſt away and confumed.

Hence three conſectaries offer themſelves to us.

Confectary 1. That a believer's life and warfare end together.

We lay notdown our weapons ofwar, till we liedown in the duſt, 2Tim. iv. 7. " I have fought agood fight, I have finiſhed

" mycourſe."

The courſe and conflictyou fee are finiſhed together: though they commence from different terms, yet they always terminatetogether. Graceand fin have each acted its part uponthe ſtageoftime,and the victory hovered doubtfully, fome

A Treatise of the Soul of Man. times over fin, and ſometimes over grace ; but now the waris ended, and the quarrel decided, grace keeps its ground, and fin is finally vanquished. Now, and neverbefore, the gracious foul ſtands triumphing like that noble Argive,

In vacuofolus feffor plauſorque theatro . not anenemy left torenew the combat; the war is ended, and with it all the fears and forrows ofthe ſaints .

Confectary 2. Separated fouls become impeccable, or free from all thehazardof fin, fromthetime oftheir ſeparation : for, there being no root of ſin now inherent in them, conſequently no temptation to fin can faſtenupon them; all temptations have their handles in the corruptions ofour natures: did not Satan findmatter prepared within us,dry tinder fitted to his hand, he might ſtrike in temptations long enough, before one ofhis helliſh ſparks couldcatch or faſtenuponus. Temptations are grievous exerciſes to believers ; they are darts, Eph. vi. 16. they are thorns, 2 Cor. xii. 7.

But the ſeparate foul is out of gunshot: it were as good diſcharge an arrow at the body ofthe fun, as a temptationata tranflated foul.

Confectary 3. Separated fouls are more lovely companions, and their converſes more ſweet and delightful than ever they were in this world.

It was theircorruption which ſpoiled their communion on earth; and it is their ſpotleſs holiness which makes it incomparably pleasant in heaven.

The beſt and lovelieſt ſaints have ſomething in them which is diſtaſteful ; even ſweet briars and holy thiſtles have their offenfive prickles : but when that which was ſo lovely on earth is made perfect in heaven,andnothing ofthat remains inheaven, which was ſo offenfiveinthemonearth ; O whatbleſſed,delightful companions will they be ! O bleſſed ſociety ! O moſt defirable companions ! let my foul for ever be united to their aſſembly.

I love them under their corruptions ; buthowshall myfoulbeknit tothem, when it feeth them shiningin their perfections ?

Propoſition 9. The pleasure and delights oftheseparatefpirits ofthejust, are incomparably greater andsweeter than those they did, or at any time could experience in their bodilystate.

With what a pleasantface woulddeath ſmile upon believers ! what roſes would it raiſe in its pale cheeks, if this propofition were but well fettled in our heartsby faith ! And ifwe will not bewanting to ourſelves, it may be firmly ſettled there, by theſe four confiderations, which demonſtrate it .

Confideration 1. Whatsoever pleasure any man receives in this world, he receives it by means ofhisfoul.

Even all corporeal andſenſitive delights havenoother reliſh andſweetness,butwhat

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

the foul gives them: which isdemonftrable by this ; that if a manbe placed amidſt allthe pleaſing objects andcircumstances inthe world, ifhe were in that centre,where he mighthave the confluence ofall the delights of this world: yet ifthe fpiritbe wounded, there is no more rélith or favour in them, than in the white of an egg. What pleaſurehad Spira in his liberty, eftate, wifeand children; theſe things were indeed propoſed and urged, again and again, to relieve him ; but insteadofpleaſure they became his horror: letbut the mind be wounded, and all the mirth is marred ; one touch from Godupon the ſpirit, deſtroys all thejoy of this world. Nay, Letbut the intentionofthemind be ſtrongly carried another way, and for that time, (though there be no guilt or wound. uponthe foul) the moſt pleasant enjoyments loſe their pleaſure.

What delight, think you,wouldbags ofgold, ſumptuous feaits, or exquifite melodyhave afforded toArchimedes, whenhe was wholly intent upon his mathematical lines ? By this then it is

evident, that the riseofall pleaſure is inthe mind,and the moſt agreeable and pleaſing objects and enjoyments ſignify nothing without it: the mind must be found in itſelf, and at leiſure to attend them, or wecan haveno pleaſure from them ,

Confideration 2. Ofallnatural pleasures in the world, intellectual pleasures arefound tobe most agreeable, and connatural to thefoul ofman.

The more refined andremotefrom ſenſe any pleaſure is, the moregrateful is it to the foul; thoſeare certainly the ſweeteſtdelights that ſpring outofthe mind. A drop of intellectual pleafure is valuedby agenerous and well-tempered foul, above the whole ocean of impure joys, which come to itſophisticated, and tanged through the muddy channels ofſenſe.

No ſenſualiſts in the world can extract ſuch pleaſure out of gold, filver, meat and drink ; as a ſearching and contemplating mind finds in the diſcovery of truth .

* Heinfius that learned library-keeper of Leyden, profeſſed, " That whenhe had ſhut

" up himselfamong fomany illustrious fouls, he seemedto fit " down there, as in thevery lap of eternity, andheartily pitied

" the rich and covetous worldlings, that were ſtrangers to his delights.".

* In quafimulacpedem pofui, foribus peſſulum obdo, et in ipfo aternitasgremio, inter tot illuftres animas sedem mihi fumo, cum ingenti quidem animo : utfubinde magnatum mifereat, qui banc fælicitatem ignorant.

Epift. Prin .

VOL. III .

ATreatise of the Soul ofMani " And + Cardan tells us, " That to know the ſecrets of nature, and the order of the univerſe, hath greater pleaſure and " ſweetneſs in it, than the thought ofman can fathom, or any

" mortal hope for."

"Yea, ſuchbeauty, faith ‡ Plutarch, there " is in the ſtudy of the mathematics, that it were unworthy to *" compare fuch baubles and bubbles as riches with it." "Yea,

" faith another, it were a ſweet thing to be extinguiſhed in " thoſe ſtudies ||."

Julius Scaligerwas ſo delighted with poetry, that he proteſted hehad rather be the author of twelve verſes in Lucan, than emperor of Germany. And to ſay truth, " there is akind of " enchanting ſweetneſs in thoſe intellectual pleaſures, and " feasts ofthe mind; ſuch adelight as hardly fuffers the mind

" to be pulled away from it ."

Theſe pleaſures have a finer edge, a higher guſt, amore agreeable favour to the mind than ſenſitive ones ; as approaching much nearer to the nature of the foul, which is ſpiritual.

Confideration 3. And as intellectual pleaſures do as far exceedall ſenſitive pleaſures, as thoſe which are proper to aman, do thoſe which we have in common with beaſts : So divine pleaſures do again much morefurmount intellectual ones. For whatcompare is there betwixt thoſe joys which ſurpriſe aſcholarinthe diſcovery ofthe ſecrets of nature, and thoſe thatoverwhelm and ſwallowup the Chriſtian inthediſcoveryoftheglorious myſteries of redemptionby Chriſt, and his own perſonal intereſt therein !

To folve thephaenomena ofnatureis pleaſant,but to ſolve all thedifficulties about our title to Chriſt and his covenant, that is raviſhing.

Archimedeshis ευρηκα, I have found it, was but the friſk, or ſkip of aboy, to that rapturous voice of the ſpouſe,

" My beloved is mine, and I am his."

Theſe are entertainments for angels, I Pet. i. 11. a ſhort ſalvation for the ſeaſon it isfeltand taſted, 1 Pet. i. 8. after theſe delights, all others are infipidanddry. And yet one ſtep higher, Confideration4. All th that divine pleasure, which ever the + Arcana cæli, naturæfecreta, ordinem univerſiſcire ; majoris fælicitatiset dulcedinis est, quam cogitatione quis affequi poteft, aut mortalis fperare.

†Talis eft mathematum pulchritudo, ethis indignumfit divitiarumphaleras istas et bullas et pueriliafpectacula comparari.

Dulce est extingui mathematicarum artium studio.

Leon.

Diggs.

*Talisfuavitas, utcum quis ea degustaverit, quafiCirceisposu liscaptus,nonpoteft unquam ab illis divelli.

Cardan.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

holiest, anddevouteft foul enjoyed in the body, is but afip orprelibation, comparedwith those full draughts ithath in theunbodied

State.

Whilſt it is embodied, it rejoiceth inthe earneſts and pledges ofjoy; butwhen it is unbodied, it receives the full fum ; Pfal. xvi. 11. " In thy prefence is fulness of joy."

This fulness of joy is not tobe expected, becauſe not to be ſupported in this world. The joy of heaven would quickly make the hoops of nature fly.

When a good man had but a little more than ordinaryjoy of the Lord poured into his foul, he was heard to cry,

Hold, Lord, hold ! thy poor creature is but a clay veſſel, and canholdnomore ! Theſe pleaſures the foul hath in the body, areof the fame kind indeed with thoſe in heaven, but are exceeding ſhort ofthem in divers others reſpects.

1. The ſpiritual pleaſures the foul hath in thebody, are but by reflection ; but thoſe it enjoys out of thebody, are by immediate intuition, 1 Cor. xiii, 12, now in a glaſs, then face to face.

2. The pleaſures it nowhath, though they be of a divine nature, yet they are reliſhedby the vitiated appetite of a fick anddiſtempered foul ; the embodied foul is diſeaſed and fickly, ithath manydiſtempers hanging about it. Now we know the moſt pleasant things loſe much oftheir pleaſure toa fick man; theſeparatefoul is made perfect, thoroughlycuredofalldiſeaſes, reſtored to its perfect health ; and confequently, divine pleafures muſt needshave a higher gust, and reliſh in heaven, than evertheyhad on earth, 3.The pleaſures ofagracious foul onearth arebut rare and ſeldom, meetingwith many and long interruptions. Andmany ofthem occafioned by thebody, which often calls down the foul to attend its neceffities, and converſe with things of a far different nature; but from theſe, and all other ungrateful and prejudicial avocations, the ſeparated foul is diſcharged and ſet free; ſo that its whole eternity is ſpentin the highest delights .

4. The highest pleaſures ofa gracious foul in the body, are but the pleaſures ofan uncentered ſoul, which is ſtill gravitatingand triving forward, and, conſequently, canbe butlow, and very imperfect, in comparison with thoſe it enjoys, when it is centered and fixed in its everlasting reſt.

They differ as the ſhadowofthe labourer, for anhour in the day, from his reſt inhis bed, when his work is ended.

To conclude; the pleaſures ithath here, arebut the pleafures ofhope and expectation,which cannot bear any propor

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. tion to thoſe of fight and full fruition. O see the advantages ofan unbodied ſtate !

Propofition 10. That gracious fouls, feparate from the body, do attain to the perfection ofknowledge, with more eafe than they attained any small degree of knowledge whilst they dwelt in the body.

Great are the inconveniences, andprejudices, under which fouls labour, in their purſuitsafterknowledge in this life, Veritas inputeo, Truth lies deep. And it is hard, even with much labour, pains and ſtudy, to pump up one clear notion ; for the foul cannot now act as it would, but is fain to act as it can, according to the limitationsand permiffions ofthebody, towhich it is confined : By heedful obſervations, and painful ſearches it is forced to deduce one thing from another, and is toooftendeceived, and impoſedupon by ſuch tedious andmanifold connections.

Beſide, truth is nowforced, incompliance withourweakness, anddiſtance from the fountain, to deſcend from heaven under vails *, ſhadows and umbrages, thereby tocontract ſome kind of affinity with our fancies and exterior ſenſes firſt, that ſo it may with more advantage tranſinit itſelf to our understanding.

It must come under ſome vail or other to us, whilſt we are vailed with mortality, becauſe the foulcannot behold itwith its native luſtre, nor converſe otherwise with it.

Andhenceitwasthat Auguſtine made his rational conjecture, Whymenuſed tobe ſo much delighted with metaphors, becauſe they are ſomuch proportioned to our ſenſes, with which our reaſon, inthis embodied ſtate, hath contracted ſuch an intimacy and familiarity : but when the foul lays aſide its vail of fleſh, truth alſo puts offher vail, and ſhews the foul hernaked, beautiful, and raviſhing face; ithenceforth beholds all truth in God, the fountain of truth.

There are five ways by which men attain theknowledge ofGod, ſaythe ſchools , four ofwhich the foul makes use of in thisworld; but the fifth, which is the moſt perfect, isreſerved fortheſeparate ſtate. Men difcernGod here, (1.) In veftigio, By his footſteps inthe works ofcreation .

Godhath impreſt the marks of his wisdom and power upon the creatures, by which impreffions we diſcern thatGodhath been

* The light from above never deſcends without a vail : for it is impoſſible that divine light could otherwiſe ſhineto us, unleſs it is coveredwith a variety of ſacred ſhadowings.

Dionys. Arcop. de cæleft. Hier. c. 1,

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan.

there.

Thus the veryHeathens arrive to ſome knowledgeof aGod, Rom. i. 20. Acts xvii. 24, 27.

(2.) In umbra, By his ſhadow : ifyou see the ſhadow of a man, you guess at his ſtature anddimenſions thereby.

Thus Chriſtmade fome diſcovery ofhimself to the world, in the Mofaical ceremonies, and antient types and umbrages, Heb. x. 1.

(3.) Infpeculo, In a glaſs : This gives us amuch clearer re preſentation of a perſon, than either his footsteps or shadow could: this isan imperfect ordarker viſion of his face, by way of reflection .

And thus God is ſeen in his word and ordinances, wherein, " as in a glaſs, we behold thegloryofthe Lord,"

2 Cor. iii. 18.

(4.) In Filio, in hisown Son, who is the living image and expreſs character ofhis Father.

Thus we ſometimes ſee a child ſo lively repreſenting his father inſpeech, gate, geſture, andevery lineamentofhis face, that we mayſay,

Sic oculos, fic illemanus,fic oraferebat.

Juſt ſo hisfather ſpake, ſohe went, and juſt ſuch aone hewas.

Thus we know God in the face ofJesus Chriſt, 2 Cor. iv. 6. who is the expreſs image of his Father, Heb. i. 3. and John xiv. 9.

This is the highest way ofattaining the knowledge of God in this life.

But then, inthe unbodied ſtate, we see him, (5.) Face toface, with a direct viſion.

This is toseehimas he is.

The believer is a candidate for this degree now, but cannotbe inveſtedwith it, tillitbediveſted ofthis body of flesh.

Yet the foul, when unbodied, and made perfect, attaineth, not to a comprehenfive knowledge ofGod, for it will ſtill remain a finite being, and fo cannot comprehend that which is infinite.

That queſtion, Job xi. 7. " Canſt thou find out the Almighty " unto perfection?" maybe put to the highest graduate in heaven.

And yet, 1. To fee God face to face, andknow him as he is, will be aknowledge of thedivine eſſence itſelf. To fee the divine effence, is to fee God as he is ; i. e. to ſee him so perfectly, and fully, that the understanding can proceed no farther in point of knowledge, concerning that great queſtion, What isGod ?

Thus no man hath ſeen or can fee God in this world.

Even Mofes himself could not fee God, Exod . xxxiii. 18, 19, 20.

Butthe ſpirits of the juſt made perfect, have fatisfying appreheuſions, though not perfect comprehenfions of the divine effence.

2. In this light they clearly difcern thoſe deep myſteries which they here racked their thoughts upon, but could notpepetrate in thislife. There they willknowwhat istobeknown

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. oftheunionof the two natures in the wonderful perfon ofour

Emmanuel ; and the manner ofthe ſubſiſtence of each perſon, in the moſt glorious and undivided Godhead, John xiv. 20,

The ſeveral attributes ofGod will then be unfolded to our un derſtandings; for his eſſence and attributes are nottwo things,

Rev. iv. 8, 9, 10, 11. Oh ! what a raviſhing ſight will this be!

The mysteries of the ſcriptures, and providences of God, will be no myſteries then : Curioſity itſelf will be there fatisfled.

3. This immediateknowledge, and fightofGodface to face, willbe infinitelymore ſweet, and raviſhingly pleaſant, thanany, or all the views we had ofhim here by faith ever were, or pof ſibly could be.

There is a joy unspeakable in the viſions of faith, 1 Pet . i. 8. but it comes far ſhort of the facial viſion.

Who can tell the full importance of that one text, Rev. xxii.

4. " The throne of the Lamb ſhallbe in it, and they ſhall fee " his face ?" Oh ! for ſuch a heaven (faid one) as toget one glimpse of that lovely face ! Earth cannot bear fuch fights.

This light overwhelms, and confounds the inadequate faculties ofimperfectandembodied ſouls. But there is lumen confortans, a chearing, ſtrengthening, pleasant light, as the light of the morning-star, Rev. ii. 28 .

4. This fight ofGod will be appropriative, andapplicative.

We there ſee him as our ownGod, and portion.

Without a clear intereſt inhim, the ſightofhim could never be beatifical, and fatisfying.

Sight without intereſt is like the light of a glow-worm, light without heat.

All doubts and objections are ſolved, and aufwered, inthe firſt ſight of this bleſſed face.

5. To conclude: This perfect, andmostcomfortable knowledge, is attained without labour by the ſeparate ſoul.

Here every degree of knowledge was with the price of much pains.

Howmanyweary hours, andaking heads, didthe acquiſition ofa little knowledge ſtandus in! But then it flows in upon the foul eaſily.

It was the ſaying of a great uſurer, Ionce took much pains to get a little, (meaning the firſt ſtock) but now I get much without any pains at all. Oh lovely ſtate of ſeparation! That body which interpoſed, clogged, and clouded the willing and capable ſpirit, beingdrawn aſide (as a curtain)by death, the light of glorynow ſhines upon it, and round about it, without any interception, or lett.

Propoſition 11. Theseparatedfouls ofthejustdo live ina more high and excellent way of communion with God, in his templeworship in heaven, than ever they did in thesweetest gospel-ordi

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

nances, andmost spiritual duties, in which they conversed with him here on earth.

That saints on earth have real communion with God, and that this communion is thejoy of their hearts, the life of their life, and their relief under all preſſures and troubles inthis life, is a truth ſo firmly ſealedupon their hearts by experience, as well as clearly revealed in the word, that there can remain no doubt about it, among those that haveany faving acquaintance with the life and power of religion.

This communion withGod isofthat precious valuewithbelievers, that it unspeakably endears all thoſe duties and ordinances to them, which, as means and inſtruments, are useful to maintain it.

Atdeath, the people ofGod part with all thoſe preciousordinances andduties, theybeing only deſigned for, and fitted tothe preſent ſtate of imperfection, Eph. iv. 12, 13. but not at all to their loſs, no more than it is to his that loſes the light of his candle, by the rifing of the fun. A candle, a ſtar is comfortable inthe night; but uſeleſs whenthe funis up, and in its meridian glory.

Chriſtian, praymuch, hear much, and be as much as thou canst among the ordinancesofGod, and duties of religion: For, the time is at hand that you ſhall ferve, and waitonGod no more this way.

But yet think not your fouls ſhall be discharged from all worship, and ſervice of God, when you die : No, you will find heaven tobe a temple built for worship, and theworſhip there tobe much transcendent toall that in which you were here employed.

The ſanctuary was a pattern of heaven in this very reſpect, Heb. ix. 23.

And, on this very account, it is called Sion in my text, and theheavenlyJerufalem ; asdenoting achurch-ſtate, and the ſpiritual worſhip there performedby the fpirits of juſtmenmadeperfect.

Somehelpwe may have tounderſtandthe nature thereof, by comparing itwith thatworſhip and ſervice which we perform toGodhere, inthis ſtate of imperfection, andbyconfidering the agreements, anddiſagreements betwixt them. In this they agree, that theworſhip above, and below, are both addreſſed, anddirected to one and the fame object, Father, Son, and Spirit; all centers, and terminates inGod. They alſo agree in the general quality, and common nature; they are both ſpiritual worſhip.

But there are divers remarkable differences betwixt the one andthe other, aswillbe manifeſt inthefollowingcollation. t 1. All ourworship on earth is performed, and tranſactedby

2.96

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. faith, as the inſtrument, and means thereof, Heb. xi . 6. " He

" that cometh to God maſt believe," &c.

In heaven, faith ceaſeth, and fight takes place ofit, 1 Cor. v. 7.

There we fee, what here we only believe.

There are now before us ordinances, ſcriptures, minifters, and the aſſemblies of faints in the places ofworship : But if we have any communion withGod, by, oramong theſe, we muſt ſet ourſelves to believe thoſe things we fee not. By realizing, and applying inviſible things, wehere get ſometimes, and with no ſmall pains, a taste ofheaven, and a tranfient glance of that glory.

In this ſervice our faith is put hard to it, it must work and fight at once; reſolutelyact whilst ſenſe and reaſon ſtandby, contradicting and quarreling with it.

And if, with much ado, we get but one ſenſible touch of heaven upon our ſpirits, ifwegeta little ſpiritual warmth, and melting of our affections towardsGod, we call that day a good day, and it is ſoindeed.

But inheaven all things are carried ata high rate, thejoy of the Lord overflows us without any labour, or pain of ours to procure it.

We may ſay of itthere, as the prophet ſpeaks of the dew, and ſhowers upon the grass, "which tarrieth not for " man, nor waiteth for the fons ofmen," Micah v. 7.

2. No grace is, or canbe acted here, withoutthe clog of a contrary corruption, Rom. vii. 21. "When I would do good,

" evil is preſent with me."

Every beam of faith is preſently darkenedby a cloud of unbelief, Mark ix. 24. " Lord, I be- " lieve, help thou my unbelief." " We often read in the book

" ofexperience (faith * one) what an inconfiftent fickle thing " the heart is in duties : Now itis with us, by andby it is fled away and gone ; we know not where to find it : It is con- " ſtantonly in its inconftancy and lubricity."

There is iniquity in our moſt holy things, which needs pardon, Exod. xxviii.

38. Our beſtduties have enough in them todamn us, as well as our worst fins: But inthat perfect ſtate above, grace flows purely out of the foul, asbeams do from the fun, or chryſtal ſtreams from thepureſt fountain. No impure, or imperfect acts proceedfrom ſpirits made perfect.

3.Here the graces of the faints arenever, or very rarely acted, intheir highest and most intenſedegree.

When they loveGod moſt fervently, thereis ſomecoldneſs in theirlove.

Who comes upto the height ofthat rule, Mat. xxii. 37. "Thou shalt love * Sape in libro experientiæ legimus quomodo a corde noftro relinquimur : Nunc est obifcum, nunc alibi ; nunc evolat, nunc recurrit : infola lubricitate manent .

Beru.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

" the Lord thyGod, with allthy heart, and all thy mind, and " allthy ſtrength ?" When we meditate onGod, it is not in thedepth ofour thoughts, without ſome wanderings and extravagancies; 'tis veryhard, ifnot impoſſible, for the foul to ſtand longin its fullbent toGod.

But in heaven itdoth ſo, and will do fo for ever, without any relaxation or remiſſion of its fervour.

Chriſt, among the faints and angels inheaven, is as a mighty load-ftonecaft in among manyneedles, which leap tohim, and fix themselves inſeparably upon him.

They all act inglory as the fire doth here, to the utmoſt of their power and ability.

There isno note lower than ⚫glorytoGodinthe highest.

(4.) The moſt ſpiritual fouls on earth,who live moſt with God, have, and must have theirdailyand frequent intermiſſions.

The neceſſities of the body, as well as the defectiveness of their graces, require, and neceffitate it to be ſo. Our hands with Moſes will hang down and grow weary. Our affections will cooland fall, dowhatwe can.

But as the ſpirits ofjuſt men made perfect knowno remiſſions in the degree, ſo neither any intermiſſions inthe acting of their grace : "They ſhall ſerve him day and night in his temple,"

Rev, vii. 15.

You that would purchaſe the continuance of your fpiritual comforts butfor aday, with all that you have in this world, will there enjoy them at full, without any intermitting, through eternity.

5. If the best hearts on earthbe atanytime morethan ordinarily enlarged in ſpiritual comforts, they need preſently fome humblingprovidence tohide pride fromtheir eyes. Even Paul himself must have a thorn in the fleſh, a meſſenger of Satan to buffethim.

Bernard could never perform any duty with comfortable enlargement, but heſeemed tohear hisown heart whifper thus, Benefecifti, Bernarde, O well done, Bernard.

But, inheaventhe highestcomforts areenjoyedinthedeepest humility; and the entire glory is aſcribed toGod, without any unworthy defalcations.

Rev. iv. 10. They put not the crown upon their own heads, but Chriſt's : They caſt down their own crowns, and fall down at the feet of him that ſittethupon the throne.

6. All aſſemblies for worſhip in this world are mixed ; they confiftof regenerate and unregenerate, living anddead fouls :

This ſpoils the harmony, and allays the comfortofmutual communion.

In a congregation confiftingofa thousand perfons, Ah! how few comparatively are there that are heartily con-

VOL. III .

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. cerned in the duty? But it is not fo above.

There are ten thousand times ten thousand, even thousands of thousands beforethe throne, loving, adoring, praiſing, and triumphing together, and not ajarring ſtring in all their harps.

7. Here the worship ofGod is impured, mixed, and adulte. ratedby the finful additions,and inventions of men.

This gra- ⚫cious fouls groan under as a heavy burden, fighing and praying for reformation ; as knowing they can expect no more ofGod's prefence, than there is of his order and inſtitution in worſhip.

But, above, all theworship is pure, the least pin in theheavenly tabernacle is according tothe perfectpatternofthedivine will.

8. We have here duties of divers kinds and natures to perform.

All ourtime is not to be ſpent inloving, praiſing, and delighting in God; but we must turn ourselves alſo toſearching, watching, and foul-humbling work.

Sometimes we are called to get up our hearts to the highest praise, and then to humble them to the dust for fin and judgments; one while to fing his praiſes, and another while to figh even to the breaking of our loins: But the ſpirits of juſt men made perfect, have but one kind of employment, viz. praiſing, loving, and delighting in God.

There is no groaning, fighing, ſearching, or watchingwork, in that ſtate.

9. The moſt illuminated believers on earth have but dark and crude apprehenfions of Chriſt's interceffion work inheaven, or ofthe way and manner inwhich it is there performedby him.

We know indeed that ourHigh-prieſt is for us entered within the vail,Heb. vi. 20.

That he appears in that moſt holy place for us, Heb. ix. 24.

That he there repreſents his fufferings for us toGod, ſtanding before him as a lamb that hadbeen flain,

Rev. v. 6.

That he offers up our prayers with his incenfe to God, Rev. viii . 3.

But the immediate intuitionof the whole performance, by the perfon of Chriſt in heaven, the beholding of him in his work there, with the ſmiles and honours, the delight and fatiffaction of the Father in his perſon and work : Certainly, this must be a far different thing, and what must make more deep and fuitable impreſſions upon our hearts than ever the moſt affecting view ofthembyFaith, at this diſtance, could do.

10. Infuch ravishingfights, andjoyfulafcriptions ofglory to him that fitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for evermore, all theseparated spirits of the just are employed andwholly taken up in beaven, as they come in theirfeveral times thither ; andwill befo employed in that temple-fervice untothe endofthe

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

world, when Chriſt ſball deliver up the kingdom to his Father, and thenceforth God shallbe all in all.

The illuſtration and confirmation of this affertion we have in theſe two or three particulars.

(1.) That all the ſpirits ofjuſt men, from the beginning of the world, untilChriſt's aſcenſion into heaven, did enter into heaven, as a place of reſt, as a city prepared for them ofGod,

Heb. xi. 16. and did enjoy bleſſedneſs and glory there : But yet there ſeems to be an alteration even in heaven itſelf, ſince theafcenfion of Chriſt into it, and ſuch an alteration as advancoth theglory thereof both to angels and faints.

'Heaven it- • felf(faith one who is now there) was notwhat it is, before • the entrance of Chrift into the fanctuary for the adminiſtra- • tion of his office.

Neither the faints departed, nor the angels • themselves, were participant of that glory whichnowthey are.

• Neither yet doth this argue anydefect in heaven, or the ſtate • thereof in its primitive conſtitution: For, the perfection of 6 any ſtate hath respect unto that order of things which it is

• originally ſuited unto. Take allthings in the order ofthe firſt • creation, and with respect thereunto, heaven was perfect in glory from the beginning, &c.

6 Whatever was their reſt, refreshment, and bleſſedneſs ; • whatever were their enjoyments of the presence of God, yet was there no throne of grace erected in heaven, nohigh-prieſt

appearing before it, no lamb as it had been flain, no joint * aſcription ofgloryunto him that fitteth upon the throne and tothe Lamb for ever ;" † God having ordained fome better thing for us, that they without us ſhould not be made perfcet,

Heb. xi. 40.

Nowboth the angels and ſaints in heaven, dobehold Chriſt in his prieſtly office within that ſanctuary; a fight never feen in heaven before.

(2.) This frame of heavenly worſhip will continue as it is unto the end ofthe world, and then another alteration will be madein themanner of his diſpenſatory kingdom: " For then

" he muſt deliver up the kingdom toGod, even the Father ; " and then ſpall the Son alſo himself be ſubject unto him that " put all things under him, that God maybe all in all," as theapoſtle ſpeaks, 1 Cor. xv. 24, 28.

So that as the prefent flate of heaven is not,in all reſpects, what itwas before Chrift's

Pp2 * Dr. Owen's Chriſtologia, p. 158.-355.

† Priusquam ad noftra temporaperventum eft, Camero.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. aſcenſion thither; ſo after the confummation ofthe mediatorial kingdom, and the gathering all the elect into glory, it willnot inall reſpects bewhatnow it is.

Chrift willnever cease tobe the immediateheadofthe whole glorified creation. Godhaving gathered allthe elect, both angels andmen, unto a head in him, andhe being the knot or centreofthat collective bady, the whole frame of the glorified church would be diſſolved, ſhould he loſe his relationofa head toit. Yea, I doubt not but he will for ever continue to be the medium of communion betwixtGod and his glorified church:

God will stillcommunicate himself to us through Chriſt, and ouradherence, love anddelight, will still be thro' Chriſt : In a word, whatever change ſhall be made, the perſon of Chriſt, and therein his humannature, ſhall ſtillcontinue to be the eter nal object ofdivine glory, praiſe, andworſhip, Rev. xxii. 4.

Butwhenhe ſhall have gathered home allhis elect toglory, he will refignhis diſpenſatory † kingdom, and become ſubject

(asman, andas head ofthat bodywhich he purchased) to his Father himself, " that God maybe all in all," as it is 1 Cor.

Χν. 28.

(1.) All in all, that is, allthe faints ſhall be filled, and abundantly fatisfied, in and fromGod alone; there ſhall beno emptineſs, nowant, no complaint: For, as there is water es nough inone fea to fill all rivers, lightenough in one fun to il luminate all the world; ſo all fouls ſhall be eternally filled, fatisfied, andbleſſedinoneGod.

Surely, there is enough inGod for millions of fouls : For, if there be enough inGod for all theangels,Mat. xviii. 10.yea, enough inGodforJeſus Chriſt,

Col. i. 19. there must be enough for all our fouls. The capa-

cityof angels is larger thanours; the capacity ofChrift is larger thanthatofangels: He that fills them, can, and will therefore fill us, or be all in all tous.

(2.) Allinall, that is, complete fatisfaction toall the faints, in the abſence ofall other things, out ofwhich they were wont tofuck fomecomfort anddelight inthis world. He will now be inſtead of all; eminently all without them. We shall fuck no more ſweetneſs out offood, ſleep, relations, ordinances, &c. therewill be no more need or use of them, than there is of candles in the fun-ſhine, Rev. xxii. 5.

(3.) Allinall, thatis, God onlyſhallbe loved, praiſed, and + For if this diſpenſatorykingdom (of Chriſt) had never been delivered up, then he (viz. God)wouldneverreceive the fulluſe ofhis naturalkingdom. Junius.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

admired by all the faints; they ſhall love no creature out of God, butall inGod, or ratherGod in them all.

This is that bleſſed ſtate towhich all things tend, for which the angels and glorified fouls inheaven long. Hence it is that there isjoy inheavenuponthe conversionofany poor ſinner on earth; becauſethereby the body of Chriſt myſtically advanceth towards its fulneſs andcompleteness, Luke xv. 10. No fooner is apoor foul ſtruck by the word to the heart, and ſent home crying, O fick! fick ! fick of fin, and fick for Chriſt! but the news of it is quickly in heaven, and is matter ofgreatjoy there, becauſe they wait as well as Chrift, for the time ofconfummation. To conclude, thoſe that went firſt to heaven before Chriſt's afcenfion, were fullyat reſt in God, and bleſſed in his enjoyment, and yet upon Chriſt's aſcenſion thither, their happiness was advanced : 'Tis a new heaven as itwere to feed their eyes upon the man Christ Jesus there.

Those that now ſtand before the throne, ravished with the face ofChriſt, and ascribing glory to him for ever, are alſo in a moſt bleſſed ſtate, and are filledwith the joy of the Lord. And yet, two things ſtill remain to be farther done, before they are, as they ſhallbe for ever, viz. the reſtitution of their bodies, which yet lie in the dust, and the deliveringup ofthe diſpenſatorykingdom, upon the coming in ofthefulness ofall their fellow-faints ; and after that nomore alteration for ever, but they ſhallbeboth in foul andbody for everwith the Lord. What tongue ofman or angel can give us the complete emphasis of that word, everwith the Lord? or that, ofGod's being allin all ? O what hath God prepared for themthat love him !

Propoſition 12. It pleaſeth God at some times, even in this life, togivesomemen theforefight andforetaste ofthat bleſſedness, which holy feparated fouls do now enjoy, and themſcives shall

Shortlyenjoywith God inglory.

Specimens and earneſts ofheavenareno unknown things upon earth. Asthe grapes ofEſhcol, ſo thejoy of heaven may be taſtedbeforewecome thither, andtheſe forefights and prelibationsofheaven are either,

1. Extraordinary, or 2. Ordinary.

1. Extraordinary, for thewayand manner ; whenthe foul is either, ( 1.) Caught from the body for a ſhort time, in an extaſy, when in a viſional way heavenly things are preſented to it: or, (2.) When the bodily eye is elevated, and ſtrengthened above its natural vigour and ability, to beheld the aftoniſhing objects of the otherworld.

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

(1.) Of the first fort and rank was that famous raptureof Paul, mentioned 2 Cor. xii. 2, 3. " I knew a man in Chriſt

" fourteen years ago, (whether in the body I cannot tell, or " whether out of the body Icannot tell, God knoweth) fuch

" anone caught up to the thirdheaven," &c.

•'Tis queftionable indeed, whether the foul of the apoſtle was really feparated from his body, whilft he ſuffered that extafy, or whether his ſenſes were only laid, as it were, afleep for that time; he himselfcould not determine the queſtion, much leſs can any other : But whether ſo or no, this ſeems evident, that his ſenſes were for that time utterly uſeleſs to him.

If his bodywas not dead, it was all one as if ithad been fo, for any uſe his foul then made of it.

" † In extafies, all the ſenſes and powers are idle, except the " understanding:" His foul, for that time, ſeemed to be difjoined from his body, much as a flame of fire, which you ſhall ſometimes ſee to play and hover at adiſtance from the wood, and then catching the fewel again.

Probably, this was that trance he fell into,inthe temple, when he was praying, mentioned in Acts xxi. 17.

In this rapture his foul afcended above this world, it was caught up into paradiſe, into the third heaven, the place in which Chrift's foul was after his death: and there he heard thoſe αρρητα ρηματα, unspeakable words which it is not lawful for aman to utter : For, alas ! poor mortals cannotpronounce the Shibboleth of heaven : The heavenly inhabitants talk in no other dialect ; but the language of heaven is not properly ſpokenby any but the inhabitants ofheaven. Now Paul was not admittedinto their ſociety at thattime, as hewas at his death, butwas only a ſpectator, a ſtander-by, as the angels are in the aſſemblies ofthe faints here on earth.

But, Owhat a day was that day to his foul ! It was as one of the days of heaven ; no words could fignify toanother man what he felt, what he tafted inthat hour.

Such favours will not be indulgedto many : he was a chofen veffel, and appointed to extraordinary ſufferings

* It does not appear with certainty, whether the foul ofPaul was then feparated from thebody; feeinghe himselfowns his ignorance jas to that matter : Hence we cannot determine what befel him as to abſtraction from the ſenſes,namely, whether theſenſes were extinct, hisbodybeingdead, through the ſeparation of the foul : Or only fopited, thebodynot being dead.

Colleg. Conimbr. lib. 3. Art. 3.

P.512.

† In extafiferiari omnes potentias prater intellectum, Abulen.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

forChriſt, and itwas neceffary hisfupports, andencouragements ſhouldbe anfwerable.

It was no leſs an extraordinary andwonderful viſion, which Ifaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John had ; ſuch repreſentations of God as overwhelmed them, and made nature faint under them; and no wonder, for ifthe eyes ofcreatures are ſo weak, that they cannot directly behold fuch aglorious creature as the fun, how much leſs canthey bear the glorious excellency and majesty ofGod ?

(2.)And fometimes, without an extafy, repreſentations of Chriſt, and the glory of heaven,have been made, and the very bodily eye fortified, and elevated above its natural vigour, and ability to behold him. Thus itwas with Stephen, at his martyrdom.

Acts vii. 55, 56. " Whobeing full of theHoly Ghoſt, " looked ſtedfaſtly intoheaven, and faw the glory of God and " Jeſus ſtanding on the right-hand ofGod."

This was not a fight of faith, but an extraordinary fightby the bodily eye, is evident, from its effect upon his outward man; it made his face to ſhine, as the face ofan angel.

2. There are alſo, beſide this, ordinary, and more common foretaſtes of heaven, and the glory to come, with which many believers are favoured in this world; and fuch are thoſe whch come intotheheart, uponthe ſteady, and more fixed views of theworldtocome, byfaith, and the more raiſed, ſpiritual actings ofgrace in duty.

" Believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable, " and full ofglory," 1 Pet. i. 8. χαρα δεδοξασμενη , with aglorifiedjoy, or ajoyofthe famekind, and nature, with thejoyof glorified fpirits, though in an inferior, and allayed degree.

And yet, with the allowance of its allay, and rebatement, it is like newwine put into old, and crazy bottles, which is ready to make them fly, and would do ſo, ſhould they be ofany long continnance.

" Stay me (faith the ſpouſe) with flaggons, com- " fort me with apples, I am fick of love," Cant. ii. 5.

The fickness was not the ſickness ofdefire, or of grief, of that the had complained before; but the fickness of love, (i. e.) the was ready to faint underthe unfupportable weight of Chrift's manifeſted and fealed love, not able to bearwhat the felt, pained with the love of Chriſt; and the defired cure ſpeaks this to be her cafe, " Stay me with flaggons, comfort me with apples."

As if the had faid, Lord, ſupport, and under-prop my foul, for it reels, ſtaggers, and fails under the preffure, and weight ofthy love. Much like the case ofaholy man, who cried out,

‡ Ifa. vi. 1, 2. Ezek. i. 1. Dan.x. 8, 9.

Rev. i. 17..

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. underthe overwhelming ſenſe ofthelove ofChriſt, ſhed abroad into his heart in prayer, Hold, Lord, hold, thy poor creature is aclay veſſel, and can hold no more.

Though theſe joys bring not the foul into a perfect extasy, they certainly bring it as near asmay be, to it Mr. || Fox tells us of oneGiles, of Bruxels, a godly martyr, who inpriſon ſpent most of his time apart from the reſt, in fecret prayer ; in which his foul was ſo ardent, and intent, that he often forgot himself, and the time ; andwhen he was calledto meat, he neither ſaw, nor heard thoſe that ſtoodby him, tillhe was lifted up by the arms ; and then he wouldgladly ſpeak tothem, as one newly awaked out ofaſweet fſleep.

Theſe foretaſtes of heaven may, from the manner of their conveyance, be diſtinguiſhed into,

1. Mediate.

And, 2. Immediate.

1. Mediate, in, andbythe previous uſe, and exerciſeoffaith, heart-examination, &c.

The Spirit of God concurring with, andbleſſing of fuch duties, as theſe, helps the foul by them to a fight of its intereſt in Chriſt, and the glory tocome ; which being gained, joy is no more under the ſoul's command.

I have, with good aſſurance, this account of a minifter, Who being alone in a journey, and willing to make the beſt improvementhe couldofthat day's folitude, ſet himself to acloſe

• examination of the ſtate of his ſoul, and then of the life to 'come, and the manner of its being, andliving inheaven, in ⚫the views of all those things which are nowpure objects of faith, andhope.

After awhile, he perceived his thoughts beginto fix, and come cloſer to theſe great, and aftoniſhing

⚫things, thanwas usual; and as his mind ſettled uponthem, * his affections began to rife with anſwerable livelineſs, and vigour.

Hetherefore(whilst hewas yet maſter of his own thoughts) * lifted up his heart toGod in a ſhort ejaculation thatGod

' would to order it in his providence,that he might meet with no interruption from company, or any other accident, in that 'journey: which was granted him: For, inall that day's

، journey, he neither met, overtook, or was overtakenby any.

• Thus going onhis way, his thoughts began to fwell, andrife higher and higher, like the waters in Ezekiel's viſion, till at • laft they became an overflowing flood.

Such was the inten- •tion ofhis mind, fuch the raviſhing taftes of heavenlyjoys,

• and ſuchthe full aſſuranceof his intereſt therein; that he ut- || Acts and Mon. p. 811.

ATreatise of the Soul of Man .

'terly loſt a fight, and ſenſe ofthis world, and allthe concerns ' thereof; and, for fome hours, knew no more where he was,

* than ifhe had been in a deep ſleep upon his bed. At last he 'began to perceive himselfvery faint, and almoſt choakedwith,

'blood, which running in abundance from his noſe, haddifco- ' loured his clothes, and his horſe, from the ſhoulder to the hoof. He found himself almoſt ſpent, and nature to faint

*under the preſſure of joy unspeakable, and unſupportable ; 'and at laſt , perceiving a ſpring of water in his way, he, with ' ſome difficulty, alighted, to cleanſe, and cool his face and * hands, which were drenched inblood, tears and ſweet.

6By that ſpringhe fat down, andwashed, earnestly defiring, ' if it were the pleaſure ofGod, that it might be his parting- ' place from this world : He said, death hadthe moſt amiable

' face inhis eye, that ever he beheld, except the face ofJeſus ' Chrift , which made it ſo ; and that he could not remember

(though he believed he ſhould die there) that he had one ' thought of his dear wife, or children, or any other earthly

* concerument.

Buthavingdrank ofthat ſpring,his ſpirits revived, theblood ſtanched, andhe mounted his horſe again; and on hewent,

' in the fame frame of ſpirit, till he had finiſhed a journey of

near thirty miles, and came, at night, to his inn, where, being come, he greatly admired how he came thither, that his horſe, without his direction, had brought him thither, and ' that he fell not all that day, which paſſed not without ſeveral

، trances, ofconfiderable continuance.

'Being alighted, the inn-keeper cametohim, with ſome aſto- ' nishment, (being acquainted with him formerly) O Sir, faid he, what is the matter with you ? You look like adeadman.

Friend, replied he, I was never better in my life. Shew me my chamber, cauſe my cloak to be cleanſed, burn me a little

' wine, and that is all I defire ofyou for the preſent.

Accordingly it was done, and a ſupper ſent up, which he could not touch; but requeſted of the people, that they would not ' trouble, or diſturb him, for that night. All this night paſſed

without one wink of fleep, though he never had a ſweeter night's reſt in all his life.

Still, ſtill, the joy of the Lord overflowed him, and he seemed to be an inhabitant of the other world.

The next morning being come, he was early onhorfeback again, fearingthe divertitement inthe innmight bereavehim of hisjoy; for he said itwas nowwith him, as with aman that carries a rich treaſure about him,who ſuſpects

VOL. III.

Q_G

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. every paffenger to be a thief: But within a few hours hewas ſenſible ofthe ebbing of the tide, and before night, though

* there was a heavenly ferenity, and ſweet peace upon his ſpirit, * which continuedlong with him,yetthe tranſports ofjoy were over, and the fine edge of his delight blunted.

He many years after called that day one of the days of heaven, and * profeſſedhe understood more of the life ofheavenby it, than by all the books he ever read, or difcourſes he ever had en- *tertainedabout it.'

This was, indeed, an extraordinary foretaſteof heaven for degree,but it came in the ordinary way and method of faith and meditation.

There are, alſo, immediate illapſes of heavenly joy, in the hearts ofbelievers, at ſome times ; ofwhich, we may fay as the prophet dothof the dew and rain, that " it tarrieth not for " man, nor waiteth for the fons of men;" a ſurpriſing light and joy, like that, Cant. vi. 12. " Or ever I was aware, my

" foul made me like the chariots of Aminadab."

There is a witneſs of the Spirit, diſtinct from that ofwater, andblood, 1 John v. 8. that is, a witneſs, or ſealing, which comes not in an argumentative way, by reaſoning from either juftification, or ſanctification, but feems to come immediately from the Spirit.

Iknow both forts of teſtimonies, how clear, andſweet foever they are for the preſent, are liable afterwards tobecalled into queſtion; but certainly, during the abode of themupon the foul, they are no less than ashort falvation, a real participation ofthejoy oftheLord. Andthatwhich makes them fo raviſhing, and tranſporting, is,

(1.) The infinite weight with which the concerns of eternity lieupon the hearts, and thoughts of the people ofGod ; nothing lies ſo near to their ſpirits, in alltheworld, as the matters. offalvation do, and have ſtilldone ever ſince God thoroughly awakened them in their firſt effectual conviction .

'Tis faid of Luther, * " There was ſuch a ſtrong impreſſion of God upon " his ſpirit, inhis firſt conviction, that there was neither heat,

6 nor blood, nor ſenſe, nor ſpeech diſcernible in him."

Thơ' itriſe to thatheightbut inafew, yet it ſettles in adeep, ferious, andmoſt ſolemn ſenſe, and folicitude in all.

This heightens thejoy.

(2.)The reſtleſſneſs of the foul, whilst matters of Salvation hang in adubious ſuſpence,muſt needs proportionably overflow itwithjoy, whenGod ſhallclear it.

Itwas the ſaying ofone, * Nec calor, necfanguis, necfenfus, nec vox fuppreſſet. Ep. adMelanct.

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

and is the ſenſe of many more, I have borne ſaid ſhe) ſeven children, and theyhave all coſt me dear; yet could i be well content tobear them all over again, for one glimpse ofthe love ofGod to my foul.

This heightens the joy above expreſſion .

And now, having explained the ſubſtance ofthe doctrine, in theſe twelvepropofitions, it remains, that, as amantiſſa, or caſt upon the whole, I farther clear what belongs to this fubject, inthe ſolution of ſeveral queries about the foul, in its unbodied, and ſeparated ſtate ; and though the nature of ſome of theſe queriesmay seem too curious, yet I ſhalllabour to ſpeak according to the rules of fobriety, and contain myself within the line ofmodesty, inwhat I ſhall ſpeak about them. And the firſt is this; Query 1. Whether any notion, or conception, can be formed of aseparatefoul? And ifso, how we maybe aſſiſted duly toform it, and conceive ofit ?

Sol. 1. It must be acknowledged not only very difficult, but an impoſſible taſk, for a foul immerſed in matter, and ſo unacquaintedwith its ownnature and powers, asitis in its embodied ſtate, togain a perfect, clear, and adequate conception ofwhat it ſhall be in the world to come.

Expect not then a perfect image, much leſs anymagnificentdraught ofthis excellent creature ; thiswould be the samething, as togo about topaintthe fun in its glory, motions, and influences with a pencil. I ſhall think I have done enough, if I can but give you any umbrage, or faintrepreſentation ofthis fublime and ſpiritual being, and the manner of its ſubſiſting and acting out of the body.

For, ſeeing it isby nature inviſible, and in moſt of its actions (whilft it is inthe ſtate of compoſition) itmakes the fame uſe ofthebodyand natural ſpirits, that a ſcribedoth of his penand. ink, without which he cannot decypher the characters which are formed in his fancy; itmust needs be difficult to conceive how it fubfifts and acts in a ſeparate ſtate.

Sol. 2. But though we acknowledge it to be a great difficulty to trace it beyond the limits of this world, though we perceivenothing todepart from the body at the inſtant ofits expiration, but a puff of breath which vanishes like ſmoak into : the air ; and though atheistical † wits daringly pronounce an immaterial ſubſtance to be a mere jargon, a contradiction in terminis ; which, being joined together, destroy one another : yetall this doth not make the notion of a ſeparate foul impofQq 2

† Hobb's Leviathan, chap. xxxvi,

ATreatise of the Soul of Man fible, much leſs undermine its exiſtence in its unbodied and lonely ſtate; the ſcriptures having ſo abundantly obviated all theſe atheiſtical ſuggeſtions, by fo many plaindiſcoveries ofthe happiness of ſome, and miſery of others after this life: yea, my text anſwers us, that death is ſo far from deſtroying or annihilating, that it perfects the ſpirits of the juſt.

Sol. 3. There can be no more difficulty in conceiving of a ſeparate foul, than there is in conceiving ofan angel. For it is certain, that a ſeparated foul, and an angel, are the livelieft and clearest repreſentations of each other, inthe whole number of created beings ‡. Some make the difference betwixt them little more than of a ſword in the scabbard, from one that isnaked.

A foul is but a genius in the body, and a genius (or angel) is a foul outof the body. An angel (faith another) is a complete and perfect foul, afoulan imperfect and incomplete angel.

The ſeparate fouldoth notbecome an angel by putting off the body; they are, and ſtill willbe divers ſpecies : but in this they agree, that in their common nature they are both ſpirits, that is, immaterial ſubſtances, enduedwith underſtanding,will, and active power. And I know not why the one ſhould not be as intelligible as the other ; or if there be any advantage, the foul certainly must have it, feeing our acquaintance with fouls is much more intimate than with angels.

Angels indeed have larger capacities, and haveno natural inclination tobe embodied as fouls have ; but their common nature, as they are ſpirits, is the ſame : and if we can conceive ofone, we may alſo ofthe other.

Sol. 4. But the difficulty ſeems tolie in this, how the foul can ſubſitt alone without a body; and how the habits ofgrace, which were infuſed intoit in this lifeby ſanctification, do inhere in it, or can be reduced into act by it, when it hath no bodilyorgans to work by.

As to the firſt, there is nodifficultyat all, ifwe once rightly apprehend what ismeant,whenwe call it a ſpiritual ſubſtance; that is, a beingby itself, independent upon any other creature as to its exiſtence, as was opened before : the foul depends not for its life upon thebody, but thebody upon the soul.

It is the ſame ſword when it is drawn, as itwas when ſheathed in its ſcabbard; the foul is as much itſelf, when ſeparatedfrom the body, as it was when united with it; its being is independenton it, itcan live and act in abody, and it can do fo with- ‡Dr. More's immortality ofthe soul. 1. 2. c. 17. § 4, et8. Bella deAfcen. mentis.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

out it: for it is a diſtinct being from its body, aſubſtantialbeing itſelf.

And, Sol. 5. As forthe habits ofgrace which accompany it toheaven, it would much facilitate our apprehenfionof it, ifwe but compare acquired and infuſed habits with each other.

It is true, they are ofdifferent natures and originals, but the foul is theſubject of them both, andtheir inheſion, andimprovement, is much after the ſame manner.

Take we then an acquired habit into confideration, which is nothing elſe but a permanent quality rendering the fubject of it prompt and ready to perform a work with eaſe: ſuppoſe that ofmuſic, or writing, andwe shall find theſe habits to be ſafely lodged in the foul, as well when thebody is laid into thedeepeſt ſleep, which is the image ofdeath, as when it is awake and moſt active; for they are both artiſts when aſleep, and need learn nonew rules to play or write when you awake them ; which ſhews the habits to be permanently rooted in their minds.

Infuſed habits ofgrace are as deeply rooted inthe foul, yea, deeper than any acquired habit can be: forwhen knowledge andtongues ſhall be done away, love abideth, 1 Cor. xiii. 8. viz. after death, when the body is afleep in thegrave.

Sol. 6. Add hereto, that theſe habits ofgrace are inſeparably rooted or lodged in a fubject, which isby nature aſpirit, that is to ſay, an intelligent, active being, able touſe its faculties of|| understanding, will, and affections, and confequently, in their uſe, to reduce theſe habits ofgrace inherent in them, into act, without thehelp ofthebody: for toſuppoſe otherwise, were todiſpirit it, anddestroy the very nature of it.

Moreover, let the ſpirit, thus furnished with gracious habits, benow confidered in ſeparation from the body, in which ſtate it enjoyeth, and rejoiceth in a double privilege it never had before, viz. perfection both of itſelf, and of its graces, and the nearest acceſs toGod it is capable of; 2 Cor. v. 6. " Abfent

" from the body, and preſent with the Lord."

It hath now nobody toclogor cloud it,norcan itcomplain ofdiſtancefrom Godas itdid in this world.

Oh ! at what rate must we conceivetheloveanddelight ofa foul under theſe great advantages,

The underſtanding and will are the primaryfacultiesofthefoul, andtherefore are called inorganical,becauſe not fixed to anymember ofthe body, as the ſenſitive appetite and loco-motive powers are to their proper organs.

The foul thereforehath the free uſe and ex. ereiſeofthem inits ſeparate ſtate,

ATreatise of the Soul of Man . tocaſt out their very ſpirits, as I may ſay, in their glorious activities and exercises ! Well then, hereyou find a ſpirit natural-

ly endued with understanding, will, and affections : in theſe • faculties and affections, the habits ofgrace permanently rooted, which therefore accompany it in its aſcenſion toglory : an ability to uſe and exercise theſe faculties and graces, and ' that in a more excellent degree and manner, than it did or • could in this world, the ſubject andhabits inherent beingnow

' both made perfect: the clog of flesh knocked off, andalldi- • ſtance fromGod removed, by its coming home to him, even as near as the capacity ofthe foulcan admit.

Conceive ſuch a ſpirit ſo qualified, now ranked in its proper order among • innumerable other holy and bleſſed ſpirits, which ſurround

• the throne ofGod, beholding hisface with infinite delectation, ' and acting all its powers and graces to the higheſt, in the • worſhipping, praiſing, loving, and admiring him that fitteth

' on the throne, and the lamb for evermore :

And then you have a true, though imperfect idea or notion of the ſpirit of a justmanmadeperfect.

، ، Iwill not here make use of the other glaſs to repreſent a damned foul, ſeparate for a time from its body, and for ever from the Lord : that willbe ſhewnyou in its proper place.

Query 2. Whether therebe any difference in the ſeparation of gracious fouls from their bodies ? And iffo, in what particulars doththe difference appear ?

Sol, For the clear ſtating and fatisfying this queſtion, I will lay down ſome things negatively, and ſome things poſitively about it.

On the negative part, I defire two things maybe noted.

1. That there is no differencebetwixt the feparation of one gracious foul and another, in pointoffafety. Every regenerate foul is fully fecured, in and by Jeſus Chriſt, fromthedangerof perithing, and is out of hazard of thewrath to come.

This must needs be ſo, becauſe all that are in Chriſt are equally justified by the imputation of Chriſt's righteouſneſs, without difference, to them all ; Rom. iii. 22. "Even the righteouſneſs

" ofGod, which is by faith ofJesus Chriſt unto all, andupon " all them that believe, for there is no difference :" by virtue whereof, they are all equally ſecured fromwrath to come, one aswell as another. As allthat failed with Paul, ſo all that die in Chriſt come ſafe to the ſhore of glory, and not one ofthem is loft.

The ſting ofdeath ſmites none thatare in Chrift.

2. There is nodifference betwixt the departing fouls ofjuſt men, in reſpectof the ſupporting presence ofGod with them

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

inthat theirhour ofdiſtreſs ; that promiſe belongs to them all, Pfal. xci. 15. " I will be with him in trouble;" and ſo doth that, Heb . xiii. 5. " I will never leave thee, nor forſake thee."

TheirGod is certainly with them all, toorder the circumstances' oftheir death, and all the occurrences of that day, tohis glory, and their good.

Supports I have, (ſaida good man in fuch an hour) thoughfuavities I want; andſo theyhave alſowho meet with the hardeſt conflict at death .

But notwithstandingtheir equality intheſeprivileges, there is agreat difference betwixt the departing fouls ofjuſtmen. And thisdifference is manifeſt both in the 1. External circumstances oftheirdeath.

Internal 1. In the external circumſtances oftheir death, all have not oneandthe ſame paſſage to heaven in all reſpects ; for,

(1.) Some go thither by the ordinary road ofa natural death from their beds, and the arms oflamenting friends, to the arms and botom of Jesus Chrift : but others swim through the Redfea to Canaan : from a scaffold to the throne; from a gibbet or take to their Father's houſe; from inſulting enemies to their triumphant brethren, the palm-bearing multitude.

This is a rough, but honourable way toglory.

(2.) Some lie long under the hand ofdeath, before it difpatch them; it approaches themby flow and lingering paces, they feel every step of death distinctly as it comes on towards them; but others are favoured with a quick diſpatch,a ſhort paſſage from hence to glory.

Hezekiah feared apining fickneſs, Ifa. xxxviii. 10, 12. what he feared, many feel. O how manydays, yea, weeks and months, have many gracious fouls dweltupon the brink of the pit, crying, Howlong, Lord, how long?

3. The pains and agonies ofdeath are more acute and ſharp tofome of God's people than to others : death isbitterin the moſt mild andgentle form ofit. Two ſuch dear and intimate friends as the foul and body are, cannot part without fome tears, groans, or ſighs; and thoſe more deep and emphatical than thegroans and fighs of the living uſe tobe : but yet, comparatively ſpeaking, the death ofone, may be ſtiled ſweet and easytoanother's.

LatimerandRidleyfound itſo, though burnt inthe fame flame .

In this reſpect all things come alike to all, and the famedifference is found in the worſt, as well as in the beſt men: fome like ſheep are laid inthegrave, Pfal. xlix. 14. othersdie in the

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. bitternessof their foul,Job xxi. 25. andby this nomanknows either love orhatred.

2. There are beſides theſe, ſome remarkable internal diffe. rences in the diſſolution of good men: the ſum whereof is this, 1st, That ſome gracious ſouls have a very hard, ſtrait, difficult entrance intoheaven: juſt as it is with ſhips that fail by a very bare wind; all their art, care, and pains, willbutjuſt weather ſomehead-land, or cape: they ſteer fast by fome dan. gerous rock or fand, and with a thousand fears and dangers, win their port at last.

Saved they are, but yet to uſe the apoſtle's phraſe, ſcarcely ſaved, or ſaved as by fire. And this difficulty ariſeth to them from one, or all theſe cauſes.

(1.) It ordinarily ariſeth from the weakness oftheir faith, which is inmany fouls, without either the light of evidence, or ſtrength of reliance; neither able to diſſolve their doubts, nor ſteadily repoſe their hearts: and thus theydie, much at the rate they lived, poor doubting, and cloudy, though gracious fouls,

Theycan neither ſpeakmuch ofthecomfort ofpaſt experiences, nor of the preſent foretaſtes ofheaven.

(2.) The violent aſſaults and batteries oftemptations makethe paſſage exceeding difficult to ſome. the ſharp conflicts, and dreadful combats many poor fouls endure upon adeath bed ! O the charges of hypocriſy, fortified by neglects ofduty, formality and by-ends in duty, falls into fin after conviction and humiliation, &c. all which the foul is apt toyield to, andadmit thedreadful conclufion.

These are the laft, and therefore oft-times the moſt violent conflicts. The maliceofSatanwill send them halting toheaven, ifhe cannot bar them out of it.

(3.) To conclude: The hiding ofGod's face, puts terror into the face ofdeath, and makes a dying day, a dark, and gloomy day.

All darkness diſpoſes tofear, but none like in. ward darkness.

They must like a ſhip in diſtreſs, venture into the harbour in the dark, though they fee not their landmarks.

2dly, Butothers have the privilege ofan ευθανασία, eaſydeath, acomfortable, and ſweetpaſſage into glory, through the broad gate ofaffurance, 2 Pet. i. 11. evenan abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom.

What a difference doth Godmake not onlybetwixt thoſe that have grace, and thoſe that have none, but betwixt gracious fouls themselves in this matter: the things whichusually make aneafypaſſage toheaven are,

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

1. A pardon cleared, Ifa. xxxiii. 24.

The ſenſe of pardon fwallows up the ſenſe ofpain.

2. A heart weaned from this world, Heb. xi. 9, 13, 16. A heart loofed from the world, is a foot out of the ſnare.

Mortified limbs are cut offfrom thebody with little pain.

3. Fervent love to Chriſt, and longings tobe with him, Phil. i. 23.

He that loves Chriſt fervently, muſt needs loath ablence from Chrift proportionably.

4. Purity, andpeace of confcience, makea death-bed foft and eaſy.

The ſtrains andwounds of confcience, in the time of life, are ſo many thornsin ourbed, or pillow, in the time of death, John iii. 21.

But integrity gives boldness.

5. The work of obedience faithfully finiſhed, or a ſteddy courſe of holiness throughout our life, is that which usually yieldsmuch peace andjoy indeath, Acts xx . 24 .

6. But above all, the prefence of the Comforter with us in that cloudy and dark day, turns it into one of the days ofheaven, I Peter iv. 14.

And thus ye fee, though all dying Chriſtians be equally ſafe, and all fupported, and carried through by the power ofGod; yet their farewels to the body are not alike cheerful.

There are many external,and internal circumftantial differencesin the death ofgood men, as well as a ſubſtantial and effential difference betwixt all their deaths, and the death of a wicked man.

Query 3. Whether any fouls have notices, and forewarnings given them byfigns, or predictions, in an extraordinary way, of their approachingfeparation ?

The terms of this queſtion need a little exTerms opened. planation.

Let us therefore briefly confider what is meant by ſigns, what by predictions, and what by extraordinary figns and predictions .

"A fign is that which repreſents ſomething else tousthan " that which is ſeen or heard."

And a fign of death, is that whichgives notice toourminds that our departure is at hand.

"A prediction † is a forewarning of a perfon more plainly.

" and exprefly of any thing which is afterwards to fallout or " come to país;" anda prediction ofdeath is an expreſs notice or meſſage, informing us of our own, or of another's death, to the end the mind may be actually diſpoſed to an expectation thereof.

* Signum eft quod aliud repræfentat quam quod cernitur .

† Prædicere eft aliquem de re aliqua eventura pramonere.

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Of ſigns, ſome are ordinary and natural, ſome extraordinary and ſupernatural, or at leaſt preternatural.

There are natural ſymptoms and prognoſtics ofdeath which are common to moſt dying perſons, and bywhich phyſicians inform themfelves, and others, of the ſtate of the sick.

Theſe are outofthis queſtion,wehave nothingtodowiththem here; but I am enquiring after extraordinary figns and predictionsby words or things forewarning us immediately, or by others, of our approaching death.

The queſtion is, Whether fuch intimations of death be at any time truly given unto men ? or,

Whether we are to take them for fabulous reports, and ſuperſtitious fancies ?

For the negative, thefollowing grounds are laid.

Reason 1. The ſufficient ordinary provifion Reasons for the God hath made in this cafe, renders all fuch extraordinary notices and intimations ofour death needleſs : and be ſure the moſt wife

Goddoth nothing in vain. We have three ſtanding, ordinary, negative. and fufficient means to premonih us of ourdeparture hence, viz. the ſcriptures, reaſon, anddaily examples ofmortality before our eyes.

The ſcriptures tell us, our life is but "a va- " pour, which appeareth for a little while, and then vaniſheth away," James iv. 14.

That our "days are but as an hand- " breadth," and that " every maninhis beſt eſtate is vanity,"

Pfal. xxxix. 5.

Reaſon tells us, fo feeble a tie as our breath iscanneverſecure" our lives long. " The living know that they must die," -Eccl. ix. 5.

The radical moisture, which isdaily confumingby the flame of life, muſt needsbe ſpent e're long.

And all the graves we feeopenedſo frequently, are ſufficient warnings, that we ourselves muſt ſhortly follow.

Therefore, as therewas no need ofmanna, whenbread might be had in an odinary way, ſo neither is there need of extraordinary figns, whenGod hath abundantly furnished uswith ſtanding and ordinarymeans for this purpoſe.

Reaſon 2. And as the ſcriptures render ſuch ſigns needleſs, fo they feem tobe directly against them.

Chriſt commands usto " watch, becauſe we know not in what hour the Lord cometh."

Yea, even Ifaac himself, an extraordinary perfon, and endowed with a fpirit ofprophecy, whereby he foretold the condition of his fons afterhim, yet it is faid, Gen. xxvii. 2. " That he knew

" not thedayofhis death."

And it is not reasonable to think thatcommon perſons ſhould know that, which extraordinary and prophetic perſonsknew not.

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Reason 3. All mankindbelong either toGod or the devil. To ſuch as belong toGod, ſuch extraordinary warnings are needleſs, for they have awatchful principlewithinthem, which continuallyprompts them to mindtheir change; and beſides, death cannot endanger thoſe that are in Chriſt, how fuddenly or un expectedly ſoever it ſhould befal them.

And forwicked men, itcannotbethoughtGod ſhould favour and privilege them in this matter above his own children ; and as for Satan, he knows notthetime oftheirdeath himself: and ifhedid, it would thwart his deſignand intereſt to diſcover it to them, Luke xi. 21.

Sothatupon the whole, itshould feem ſuch ſigns and predictions are of no uſe, and the relations and reports ofthem fabulous.

But though theſe reaſons make the common and Econtra. dailyuſeofſuch ſigns and predictions needleſs, yet theydeſtroy not the credibility of them in all caſes, and at all times.

For, 1. There are recorded inſtances in ſcripture, ofpremonitions and predictions of the death of perfons. Thus the death of Abijah was foretold to his mother by the prophet, and thepreciſehour thereof, which fell out anſwerably, 1 Kings xiv. 6,

12. And, thus, thedeath of the king ofAffyria was foretold exactly,both as tokind and place, Ifa. xxxvii. 7,

37, 38 .

2. Theſe predictions ſerve to other ends and uſes ſometimes, than the preparation of the perſons warned, even to diſplay the fore-knowledge, power, andjustice ofGod, inmarking out his enemies for ruin.

And, thus, "the Lord is known by the judgments that he executeth," Pfal. ix. 16.

Thus Mr. Knox predicted the very place and manner ofthe death of the laird ofGrange *.

You have ſometimes ſeen the courage and conſtancy of the laird ofGrange in the cauſe of God, and now that unhappy man is caſting himself away.

I prayyou , go to him from me, (faid Mr. Knox), and tellhim, that unless he forſakes that wicked courſe he is in, the rock wherein he confideth ſhall not defend him, nor the carnal wifdoin ofthat man, (meaning the young Leſhington) whom he counteth half aGod, ſhall help him : buthe ſhall be ſhamefully pulled out of that neſt, and his carcafe hung before the fun.

Andeven ſo it fell out in the following year, when the caſtle was taken, and his body hanged out before the fun.

Thus God exactly fulfilled the prediction of his death.

Rr2 * Clark's Lives, p. 277.

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The fame Mr. Knox, in the year 1566, being in the pulpit at Edinburgh, upon the Lord's day, a paper was given up to him, among many others, wherein theſe words were ſcoffingly written concerningthe earl of Murray, who was ſlain theday before, " Take up the man whom ye accounted anotherGod."

At the end of the fermon, Mr. Knox bewailed the loſs that the church and ſtate had by the death of that virtuous man ; and then added, " There is one in this company that makes this

" horrible murder the ſubject of his mirth, forwhich all good " men ſhouldbe forry ; but I tell him, he ſhall die where there

" ſhall be none to lament him."

The man that wrote this paper was one Thomas Metellan, a young gentleman, who f ſhortly after, in his travels, died in Italy, having none to affift or lament him.

3. And others have had premonitions and figns of their own deaths, which accordingly fell out. And theſe premonitions have been given them, ſometimes by ſtrong irreſiſtible impreſſions upon their minds, ſometimes indreams, and fometimes by unusual elevations of their ſpirits in duties of communion with God.

(1.) Some havehad strong and irreſiſtible impreffions of their approaching change, made upon their minds.

So had Sir Anthony Wingfield, who was flain at Breſt, anno 1594 †.

At his undertaking of that expedition, he was strongly perfuaded it wouldbe hisdeath ; and therefore ſo ſettledanddiſpoſed ofhis eſtate, as one that never reckoned to return again. And the day before he died, he took orderfor the payment ofhis debts, as one thatſtrongly preſaged the time was now at hand ; which accordingly fell out the nextday.

Much of the fame nature was that of the late earl ofMarlborough, who fell intheHolland war. He not only preſaged his own fall in that encounter, (which was exactly answered in the event) but left behindhim that memorable and excellent letter, which evidenced to all the world, what deep and fixed apprehenfions of eternity it had left upon his ſpirits. Many examples of this nature mightbe produced, ofſuch as have, in their perfect health, foretold their own death ; and others, who have dropt fuch paſſages as were afterwards better understoodby their forrowful friends, thanwhenthey firſt dropt from their lips.

(2 ) Others have been premoniſhed of their death by dreams, fometimes their own, and ſometimes others. The learned and Sir John Norris's expedition, p. 46

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

judicious Amyraldus I gives us this well atteſted relation of Lewis ofBourbon, That a little before hisjourney fromDreux, hedreamed thathehad fought three fuccefsful battles, wherein his three great enemies were ſlain, but that at last he himself was mortally wounded: and that after they were laid upon one another, he alſo was laidupon the deadbodies.

The event was remarkable; for the Mareſchal of St. Andree was killed at Dreux, the duke ofGuiſe at Orleans, the conftable of Montmorency at St. Denis : and this was the triumvirate, which had fworn the ruin of thoſe of the reformed religion, and thedeſtruction of that prince. At last, he himselfwas flain atBalfac, as if there had been a continuation ofdeaths and funerals.

Suetonius in the life ofJulius Caefar, tells us, that the night before he was flain, he had divers premonitions thereof, for that night all the doors and windows ofhis chamber flew open ; hiswife alſo dreamed that Caefar was flain, and that the had him in her arms .

The next day he was flain in Pompey's court, having received 23 wounds in his body.

Pamelius || in the life of Cyprian, tells us, for amoſt certain andwell atteſted truth, that upon his firſt entrance intoGarubis (the place of his banishment) it was revealed to him in a dream, or viſion, that upon that very day twelve-month he ſhouldbe confummate : which accordingly fell out ; for a littlebefore the time prefixed, there came fuddenly two apparitors to bring himbefore the new proconful Galeius, by whom he was condemned, as having been a ſtandard-bearer of his ſect, and an enemy ofthe gods.

Whereuponhe was condemned to be beheaded, amultitude of Chriſtians following him, crying, Let us die together with him.

And as remarkable is that recordedby the learned and ingenious Dr. Sterne *, of Mr. Uſher of Ireland, aman, faith he, ofgreat integrity, dear to others by his merits, and my kinfman inblood : who upon the 8th day ofJuly 1657, went from this to abetter world.

About four ofthe clock the day before he diad, amatron, who died a little before, and whilft living was dear toMr. Uſher, appeared to him in his fleep, and invitedhim tofup with her the nextnight: he at firſt denied her, but ſhe more vehemently preſſing her request on him, at laft heconſented, and that very night he died.

I have alſo the fulleſt aſſurance that can be, of the truth of † Amyraldus, of divinedreams, p. 122, 123 .

|| Pamelius in vita Cypriani.

* Dr. Sterne's differtatiode morte, p. 163 .

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. this following narrative. Aperſon yet living was greatly concernedabout the welfare of his dear father and mother, who wereboth ſhut up inLondon, in the time ofthegreat contagion in 1665. Many letters he ſent to them, and many hearty prayers to heaven for them.

But about a fortnight before they were infected, he fell about break of day into this dream, That hewas in a great inn which was full ofcompany, and being verydefirous to finda private room,where he might feekGod for his parents life, he went from room to room, but found companyinthem all; at laſt, cafting his eye into a little chamber,which was empty, hewentinto it, lockedthedoor, kneeled downby the outſide of thebed, fixing his eyes upon the plaifteredwall, within ſide the bed; and whilst he was vehemently begging ofGod the life ofhis friends, there appeared upon the plaiſter of the wall before him, the fun andmoon ſhining in their full ſtrength.

The fight at firſt amazed and diſcompoſed him ſo far, thathe could not continue his prayer, but kept his eye fixed upon thebody ofthe fun; at laſt a ſmall line or ring of black, no bigger than that of a text-pen, circled the fun, which increaſing ſenſibly, eclipſed in a littletime thewhole bodyofit, andturned it into ablackish colour ; which done, the figureofthe funwas immediately changed into a perfect death's head, and after a little while vaniſhed quite away. The moon ſtill continued ſhining as before; but while he intently beheld it, it alſo darkened in like manner, and turned alſo into another death's head, and vaniſhed.

This made ſo great an impreffionupon the beholder's mind, thathe immediately awaked in confufion and perplexity of thoughts about his dream ; and awaking his wife, related the particulars to her with much emotionandconcernment; but how to apply it, he could not preſently tell, only he was fatisfied thatthedream was of an extraordinary nature: at last Joſeph's dream came to his thoughts with the like emblems, and their interpretation; which fully ſatisfied him that God had warned and prepared him thereby for aſudden parting with his dear relations; which anſwerably fell out inthe ſame order, his father dying that day fortnight following, and his motherjuſt a month afterwards.

Iknow there is much vanity indreams ; and yet I am fully ſatisfied, fome are weighty, ſignificant and declarative of the purpoſes ofGod.

(3.) Lastly, An unusual and extraordinary elevation of the foul toGod, and enlargement in communion with him, hath been a fignifying forerunner of thedeath of ſome good men: for as the bodyhath its levamen ante ferale, lightning before.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

death, andmore vegete and brisk a little before its diſſolution, ſo it is ſometimes with the foul alſo.

Ihave known tome perfons to arrive on a sudden to ſuch heights of love toGod, and vehement longings to be diſſolved, that they might be with Chrift, that I couldnot but look upon it, as Chriſt did upon theboxofointment, as done against their death : and ſo indeed ithath proved in the event.

Thus itwaswith thatrenowned ſaint, Mr. BrewenofStapleford; as he excelled others in the holiness of his life, fo he much excelled himself towards his death, his motions towards heaven being then moſt vigorous and quick.

The day before his laſt ſickness, he had fuch extraordinary enlargements of heart in his cloſet-duty, that he seemed to forget allthe concernments ofhis body, and this lower world ; andwhen hiswife told him, Sir, I fear you have done yourself hurt with riſingſo early ; he anſwered, " Ifyouhad ſeen ſuch glorious things as I " faw this morning in private prayer with God, you would

" nothave faid ſo; for theywere ſo wonderful andunspeakable, " that whether I was in the body, or out of the body, with "Paul, I cannot tell."

And ſo it was with learned and holy Mr. Rivet, who seemed as aman in heaven, juſt before he went thither; and ſo it hath been with thousands beſide theſe.

I confefs it is not the lot of everygracious foul (as was ſhewed you in the laſtqueſtion) nor doth itmake anydifference as to the safetyof the foul, whatever it makes as to comfort.

Let all therefore labour to make fure their unionwith Chriſt, and live in the daily exerciſes of grace, in the duties of religion; and then, thoughGod ſhould give them no fuch extraordinary warning one way or other, they ſhall never be ſurpriſed by death to their loſs, let itcome never ſo unexpectedly upon them.

Quest. It maybe alſo queried, whether Satan, by his inſtruments, may not foretel the death of fome men ? How elſedid the witch of Endor fortel the death of Saul ? and the Soothfayers the death of Caefar upon the Ides, (i. e.) the fifteenth day ofMarch, which was the fatal day to him ?

Sol. Foreknowledge of things to come, which appear not in their next cauſes, is certainly the Lord's prerogative, Iſa. xli.

23.

Whatever, therefore, Satan doth in this matter, muſt be done either by conjecture or commiſſion.

As to the case of Saul, 'tis not to be queſtioned butthat he knowing the kingdom was made to David by promiſe, and that the Lord was depart- -ed from Saul, and feeinghownearthe armies were to a battle, might ſtrongly conjecture and conclude, and accordingly tell

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. him, "To-morrow thou shaltbe with me," I Sam. xxviii. 19.

And fo for the death of Caefar, the devil knew the confpiracywas ſtrong against him, andthe plot laid for that day; and fo it was both eaſy for him to reveal it to the Soothſayers, and his intereſt todo it, thereby tobring that curſed art into reputation.

As for other ſigns and forewarnings ofdeath, by the unuſual refort ofdoleful creatures, as owls and ravens, vulgarly accounted ominous : Wall-watches, upon this account called death-watches ; and the eating of wearing apparel by rats: I look upon them generally as fuperftitious fancies, not worthy to be regarded among Chriſtians. God may,butIknow not whatgroundwe have to believe, that he doth commiſſion ſuch creatures tobring us the meſſage ofdeath from him.

To conclude, therefore, Let no man expect, or depend upon any ſuch extraordinary premonitions and warnings of his change, and neglect hisdaily work andduty ofpreparationfor it. Wehavewarnings in the word, in the examples ofmortality, frequently before us, in all the diſeaſes and decays we often feel in our own bodies ; and by the ſigns of the times, which threaten death and defolation.

Beye, therefore, always ready, for yeknow not in what watch of the nightyour Lord cometh.

Query 4. Whether feparated fouls have any knowledge of, or commerce or intercourse with men in this life ; and if not, what is to be thought ofthe apparitions ofthe dead ?

1. By feparated fouls, underſtand the departed fouls, both of godly, and ungodly, indifferently, and not as it is reſtrained toone fort only in the text; for ofboth it is pretended there are frequent apparitions after death .

2. By the knowledge ſuch fouls are ſuppoſed to have after death, both ofperſons and things in this lower world, we underſtand not a general knowledge, which one fort ofthem have ofthe ſtate and condition of the church militant on earth ; for this, we think, cannotbe denied tothe ſpirits of thejuſt made perfect, feeing they are ſtill fellow-members with us of the fame mystical body of Chriſt, and do behold our High-prieſt appearing before God, and offering up our prayers for us, and long for the confummation ofthe body ofChrift, as well as cry forvengeance against the perfecutors thereof, Rev. vi. 10. Nor do I think thoſe words, Ifa. Ixiii. 16. repugnant hereunto :

" Abraham is ignorant ofus,and Ifrael acknowledgeth usnot:" for I look upon the import of thoſe words only as anhumble acknowledgment of their defection, which rendered themun

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

worthy that their forefathers ſhouldown, oracknowledge them any more for their children; and not as implying their utter ignorance, or total oblivion ofthe church's ſtate on earth.

But I here underſtand ſuch a particular knowledge of our perfonal ſtates and conditions, as they once had when they dwelt among us in the body ; and this seems tobedeniedthem by thoſe ſcriptures alledged against it inthe margin *.

3. By'commerce and intercourse; underſtand nottheir interceffionwithGod for us, which the Papiſts affirm ; but their concernments about our natural, or civil intereſts in this world, fo as tobe useful to our perſons, by warning us of death, or dangers ; or to our eftates,bydiſquieting ſuch as wrong us, in not fulfilling the wills and testaments they once made ; or by givingus notice,bywords or ſigns, ofthedeath ofour friends, who died at adiſtance from us, or come to ſome violent and untimelyend.

The ſenſe ofthe words being thusdetermined, and the que ſtion ſo ſtated, I will, for the reſolution of it, give you,

I. The ſtrength of what I find offered for the affirmative.

II. The general conceffions, or what may be granted.

III. My own judgment about it, with the grounds thereof.

I. Some there are, even amongthe learnedandjudicious,who are for the affirmative part ofthe queſtion, anddo with much confidence affert, that departed foulsbothknow our particular concerns in this world,andintermeddlewith them : confirming their aſſertion both by reasons toconvince us that it maybe ſo, and variety of inſtances that itis fo.

I will produce both the oneand the other, and give them a due confideration and cenfure.

Theſubſtance ofwhat is pleaded for the affirmative, I find thuscollected and improved by † Dr. Sterne, a learned phyſicianin Ireland, inhis book entitled, A Differtation concerning

Death : where he offers us theſe four arguments, to convince that itis poffiblefor departed fouls thus to appear, and perform fuchoffices for their friends on earth.

"Arg. 1. † Angels by command fromGod, are usefuland *Job xiv. 21. Ecclef. ix. 5, 6. John xix. 25.

+ Differtatio de morte, a p. 208. ad p. 214.

(1. Angeli juſſu Dei hominibus opitulantur, haudquaquam ambigitur; undeanimasa corporefolutasfefe rebus humanis mifcerecomprobari videtur.

Sequelafundamentum duplex eft, prius, quot animæ feparata angeli funt, faltem angelis æquales ; pofte-

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66 helpful to men ; they are the faints guardians, andit is pro- " bable that each Chriſtian hath his peculiar angel : whence

" it will follow, thatſeparatedfouls do mingle themselves with " human affairs, and that becauſe they are angels, at leaſt equal

" unto angels, Luke xx. 36.

Besides, they being ſpirits that were once embodied, muſt needs be more fit for this employment, than those who never had any tie at all to a body ;" unleſswe can imagine them to have lost the remembrance of all that ever theydid, and ſuffered in the body ; as alſo that they put off, and buried all their affections to us with their bodies, which is hard to think. Even as Chriſt our High-prieſt is qua-

" lified for that office, above all others inheaven, becauſe he once dwelt, and fuffered in abody, like ours, here upon earth ; fo ſeparated fouls are qualified above all other ſpirits, who are unrelated to bodies of flesh.

66 Arg. 2. one body; and how much better the triumphant are than " the militant, by ſo much the more propenſe they are to fucThe church triumphant and militant are but

" cour andhelp the other that ſtand in need of it. "

This being the cafe, we cannot imagine but they are inclined to perform all good offices for us ; for elſe they ſhoulddo leſs for us now, they are in a ſtate of the highest perfection inheaven, than they did, or were willing todo, in their imperfect ſtate on earth.

66 Arg. 3. †A will, or teſtament (as Ulpian defines it) is " the juſt ſentence, or declaration of our minds, concerning

" that which we would have done after our deceaſe.

Theſe " teſtaments have always, and among all nations, been religi- " oufly obſerved, as the apostle witneſſeth, Gal. iii. 15.

The rius, quodmagis idonei funt quibus officium generi humanofuccur rendi demandetur, quamfpiritus inter quos et corpus nullus unquam interceffit nexus , &c .

* (2.) Ecclefia eft corpus unum, cujus membra quo meliora, eo magis ad aliis ejufdem corporis membris opitulandumfuntpropenfa; hujusautemcorporis pars altera eft triumphans in cælis, altera militans in terris : Illa melior, hæc opis magis indigna, &c.

† (3. ) Teftamentum (Ulpiano definiente) eft voluntatis noftræ justafententia de eo quodpost mortem noftramfieri volumus. Tepamentum autem tanquam res facra ab omnibus gentibus religiofe obfervatur, Gal. iii. 15.

Ratio autem tam religiofe tamque univerfalis obfervantiæ eft, quoniamanimas eorum qui Testamenta condiderant, etiamfuam poft mortem, in eadem voluntate perfeverare, ejus complementa curare, acdeinque ejus vel executrices, vel non præftite vindices eſſepræfumitur.

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" reaſons ofthisſo religious obſervance area preſumption, that " thoſe who made them when alive, continue in the ſame mind

" andwill after death; that they take care for the fulfilling of " them, and revenge the non-performance upon the unjuſt ex- " ecutors."

For otherwiſe there can be no reason why fo great a ſtreſs ſhould be laid upon the will of the dead, if they carenot whether their wills be performed, or no. Whyshould webe follicitous and ſtudious about it, and pay ſo great a reverence to it, but upon this account ?

Arg. 4.

The ſcriptures forbid conſultations with the " dead, Deut. xviii. 10, 11.

This prohibition ſuppoſeth ſome " did confult them, and received anſwers from them; which " muſtneeds imply ſome commerce betwixt the living, and the " fouls that are departed:"

And, confidering he had before forbidden their confulationwith the devil, it appears that here we must needs underſtand the very fouls of the dead, and not the devil perſonating them only.

Theſe are the arguments of this learned author for the affirmative, which he cloſes with two neceſſary cautions : First,

That this lays no foundation for religious worſhip, or invocation of departed fouls; thoſe that are helpful to us, are not therefore to be worshipped.

Secondly, That we must acknowledge ourſelves tobe under much darkness, as to the way and manner of the converſeof ſpirits with us.

The moſt acute and learned || Dr. More, I find of the fame opinion. He affirms, thatdeparted fouls are capable of a vital union with an airy vehicle (or body) in which they can caſily move from place to place, and appear to the living; and act in their own affairs : as in detecting murders, rebuking injurious executors, viſiting and counſelling their wives and children, forewarning themofſuch andſuch courſes, &c.

To which we may add, the profeſſionof the Spirit, thus appearing, ofbeing the foul of fuch a one ; as alſo, the fimilitude of the perfon :

And all this a-do is in things very juſt, and ſerious, unfit for a devil, with that care, and kindness, to promote ; and as unfic for agood genius: itbeingbelow ſo noble acreature to tell a Sf2 † (4.) In facris fcripturis confulere mortuos paſſim prohibetur, ut Deut. xviii . 10, 11.

Sedfi homines a mortuis nonfufcitentur, legibus haud opus eft; etfi mortui rogati non aliquando refponderent, ab hominibus haudquaquam confulerentur.

Stern. de Morte. ubi fupr.

1 | Dr. More's immortailty ofthe foul, B. 2. c. 16.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. lie. All theſe things put together, and rightly weighed, the violence of prejudicenot pulling down theballance, I dare appeal (faith he) to any, whether it will notbe certainly carried for the preſent cauſe ? Andwhetherany indifferentjudge ought not to conclude, if theſe ſtories, which are ſo frequent every where, and in all ages, concerning theghosts of men appearing, bebut true, that it is true, alſo, that they are their ghoſts, &c.

Theſe are the ſtrongest arguments I meet with, for the affir mative, that the matter is poſſible, it maybe ſo; and then adding the credible inſtances that it is ſo, the matter ſeems to be determined.

To this purpoſe Dr. Sterne alledges ſeveral inſtances outof ſcripture; as that appearance of Samuel unto Saul, and the conference betwixt them ; as alſo, the letters that were sent to Jehoram, by Elijah, after that Elijah was tranſlated toheaven; as appears by comparing 2Chron. xxi. 12. with 2 Kings iii.

11. inwhich itappears, that inJehofaphat's time, whopreceded this Jehoram, Elijah was dead ; and yet, in Jehoram's time, who ſucceededhim, he is ſaid to receive letters from Elijah.

The appearance, and conference alſobetwixt Chriſt, andMofes, and Elias, uponthe mount, in theprefence of fomeofthe dif ciples, confirms it, Matth. xvii. 3 .

Theſe are the principal ſcripture-iaſtances, others are almoſt innumerable ; from amongthat vaſt heap, Iwill ſelect ſome few, thatare moſt material, and ofcleareft credit.

"It is a thing (faith myauthor) both knownand frequent, " that the inhabitants of the Scottish ifles, when their friends

" are dying, cometothem,and request them, that, upon fuch " or ſuch aday, after their death, and in ſuch a place, they

"would meet them; which the dead accordinglydo, at the "timeand place agreed upon, and have ſometimes diſcourſe

" with them."

Infinite examples ofmurders (faith Dr. More) have beendifcoveredby dreams, the fouls of the perfons murdered ſeeming toappear toſome or other afleep, and tomake theircomplaints to them ; givingus a notable example out of Baronius, ofMarcilius Ficinius, who having made a ſolemn vow with Michael

Mercatus, (after they had been prettywarmly diſputing of the immortality of the foul, out of the principles of their master

* Infularum Scoticarum incole ad agros, cum plo deploratis habentur, accedunt, et rogant, utcertoa mortedie, locoque certo, ipfosconveniant ; quodet mortuitempore et loco præftitutispre

Jant, Sterne. ibid.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

Plato) that whether ofthem twodied firſt, he ſhould appear to his friend, and give him certain information of that truth.

It was Ficinius his fate to die firſt, and that not long after this mutual reſolution: He was mindful ofhis promiſe, whenhehad left thebody; for Mercatus being very intent at his ſtudies, betimes inamorning, heard a horſe riding by with all ſpeed, and obſerved that he ſtopt at his window, and therewith heard the voice ofhis friend Ficinius, crying out, aloud, OMichael,

Michael, vera, vera, funt illa ; that is, O Michael, Michael, those things are true, they are true.

Whereupon he fuddenly openedhis window, and eſpyingMarcilius upon a white teed, called after him, but he vaniſhed out of his fight. He fent therefore preſently to Florence, to know how. Marcilius did, andunderstood that he died about that hour he called at his window.

Much to the ſame purpoſe is that ſofamous and well atteſted ſtory of the apparition of majorGeorge Sydenham, to captain

William Dyke, both of Somerſetſhire, atteſted by the worthy and learnedDr. Thomas Dyke, anearkinſman ofthe captain's; and by Mr. Douch, to whom the major and captain were intimately known *.

The ſum is this : The majorandcaptainhad manydisputes about the being ofaGod, and the immortality of thefoul, in which points they could never be refolved, though they much fought for, and defired it; and therefore it was at laſt fully agreed betwixt them, that he thatdied firſt, ſhould, the third night after his funeral, come betwixt the hours of twelve and one, to the little houſe inthe garden adjoining to major Sydenham's houſe, atDulverton, inSomerſerſhire.

The majordied fuft, and the captain happened tolie,that verynight which was appointed, inthe ſame chamber, andbed, with Dr.

Dyke; heacquainted thedoctor with the appointment, and his refolution toattendthe place, andhour that night, for which purpoſehehad got the key of that garden. The doctor could byno meansdivert his purpoſe, but, when the hour came, he wasupontheplace, wherehewaited two hours and a half, neither feeing nor hearing any thing morethan usual. About fix weeks after, the captain, anddoctor, went to Eaton, and lay both inthe fameinn,butnotboth inthe ſame chamber, as they had donebefore at Dulverton.

The morningbefore they went thence, the captain ſtayed longerthanwas usual inhis chamber, andatlength came into the doctor's chamber, but in viſage and form much different

Sad. Trium. part 2, p. 1834

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. fromhimself, with his hair and eyes ſtaring, and hiswholebody ſhaking and trembling : Whereat the doctor wondering, demanded, What is the matter, couſin captain ? the captain replies, Ihave ſeen my major. At which the doctor ſeeming to ſmile, the captain ſaid, If ever I saw him in my life, I saw him butnow; adding as followeth : This morning (faid he) after it waslight, ſome one came tomybed-fide, and fuddenly drawing back the curtains, calls, Cap. cap. (which was the term of familiarity thatthe major uſed to callthe captainby) to whom I replied, What, mymajor? To which he returns, I couldnot comeatthe time appointed, but I am now come to tellyou,

That there is a God, and a veryjust and terrible one ; and ifyou donot turnover a new leaf, you willfind it ſo.

This ſtuckſo cloſe to him, little meat would godown with him atdinner, though a handſome treat was provided. These words were founding inhis ears frequently, during the remainder of his life; he was never ſhy, or ſcrupulous to relate it to any that aſkedhim concerningit, or ever mentioned it, but with horror, and trepidation.

They were both men ofabriſk humour, and jolly converſation, of very quick, and keenparts, havingbeen bothuniverſity, and Inns-of-court gentlemen.

Theapparitionofthe ghost of SirGeorge Villiers, father of theduke of Buckingham, giving three folemn warnings, by three ſeveral apparitions to his fervant Mr. Parker, is a known andcredible ſtory.

But I willwade no farther into particulars, they are almoſt innumerable; let theſe fuffice for a tafte.

II. In the next place,therefore, I will laydown ſome conceffions about this matter; and the Firſtconceffion is this : That theseparate fou's, or spirits of men, are capable of performing, and executing any ministry, orfervice ofGod, (ifheshouldpleaseto commiſſion themso todo) aswellas angels are, whom we know hefrequently employs about the perfons and affairs ofbis people on earth.

Though fouls become not angels by their ſeparation, as Maximus Tyrius calls them, but remain ſpirits ſpecifically diſtinct fromthem; yet are they ſpiritual ſubſtances, as theangels are: This their nature capacitates them either to live, and act out of thebody, or to aſſume (as angelsdo) an aerial body, forthetimeoftheir miniſtry: Nor do I know anything in fcripture, or philoſophy, repugnanthereunto.

Concef. 2. It cannot be doubted, but, upon some special, and extraordinary reasons, andoccafions, fome departed fouls have returned to, and appeared in this world, by order and commiffionfromGod.

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

This is too manifeſt to bedoubted by any that underſtand and believe the inſtances recorded in fcripture.

Mofes and Elias, long after their departure, appeared to, and talkedwith Chriſt, upon the holy mount, in the presence of fome of his apoſtles, Matth. xvii. 3. nor is there any reaſon toqueſtion the reality of their apparition, or to think it to be no more thana phantasm, or imaginary reſemblance of theſe perſons, but very

Moſes andElias themselves : For they came to be witneſſes to Chrift's prophetical office, "And it was not * fit fo great a " point ſhould be atteſted by imaginary witneſſes," or that they ſhould be called Mofes and Elias, if they were not the very ſame perſons .

" 'Tis therefore moſt likely theyboth appeared in their own " bodies † ;" for Mofes's body, we know, was hiddenby the Lord, and Elias's body was immediately tranflated, with his foul toheaven : When therefore the Lord would sendthem upon this folemn errand, the foul of Mofes probably reaffumed that body, which was never found by man, and Elias was already embodied, and fit, immediately, for this expedition.

In like manner we read, Mat. xxvii. 52, 53. that, at the refurrection of our Lord, " many bodies of the faints aroſe, and " appeared unto many :" Theſe were no phantasms, but the very fouls of the departed ſaints returned (having reaſſumed their own bodies) unto this world, not only to confirm the truth of Chrift's refurrection, and adorn that greatday, but as aſpecimen, or handſel of the refurrection of all the faints, in the virtue ofhis refurrection, at the greatday..

Nor will I deny, but, upon ſome leſſer (though never without weighty and folemn) occafions, and reafons, God may ſometimes fend the fouls of the deadback again into thisworld, as in cafes before recited, to evidence against the atheism of men, &c . † Auguſtine relates a memorable example, which fell out at Milan, where a certain citizen being dead, there came a creditor, towhom he had been indebted, and unjustly demanded the money of his fon : The ſon knew the debt was fatisfied byhis father, but having no acquittance to ſhew, his father appeared to him in his fleep, and ſhewed him where the acquittance lay. Whether it were the very foul of hisfather, or, rather, an angel, as Auguſtine thinks, is not certain, tho' the one, as well as the other, is poſſible. But though rarely, and ** Non enim conveniebat ut veritas mendacio, vel imaginariis testibus probaretur.

Maldon. Capellus in loc.

+ Credibilius eft vere corporibusfuis apparuiffe.

Pareus in loc.

†Aug. in lib. de cura pro mortuis agenda.

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan. upon fomeweighty, and ſolemn occafions, ſome ſouls have returned, and appeared; yet I judge this is not frequentlydone upon flight, and ordinaryerrands; and therefore togive you my own thoughts, Ijudge, Concef. 3. That those apparitions whichseem to be, and are generally reputed, andtakenfor thefouls ofthedead, arenot indeedfo, but other ſpirits, putting on theshapes, and resemblances ofthedead, and (for the most part) tricks ofthe devil, todelude, ordisquiet men.

Inthis, I think, the learned || Dr. Brown delivered hisjudgment more folidly, and orthodoxly, than in ſome other points; where he faith, " I believe that the whole frame ofabeaftdoth

" periſh, and is left in the ſame ſtate after death, as before it " was materialled into life; that the ſouls ofmenknow neither

" contrary, nor corruption; that they ſubſiſt beyond thebody, " andcontinue, by the privilege of their proper nature, and " without a miracle; that the fouls of the faithful, as they

" leave earth, take poſſeſſion ofheaven; that thoſe apparitions, " andghosts of departed perſons, are not the wandering fouls

" of men, but the unquiet walks of devils, promoting, and.

" ſuggeſting us into mischief, blood, and villany." And with this opinion I concur, as to the ordinary, and commonapparitionsofthedead. And my reaſons are,

(1.) Becauſe the ſcriptures every where deſcribe the ſtate of departed fouls as a fixed ſtate, either inheaven, or inhell ; and allign the good, or evil done in this worldby ſpirits, not to the departed ſpirits ofmen, buttoangels or devils: And it is our duty to regulate our conceitsby ſcripture, and not according to thevain philoſophyofthe heathens, or the ſuperſtitious traditi ons, and opinions ofmen.

As for the fouls of the godly, theyare at reſt with Chrift, Rev. xiv. 13. Ifa. lvii. 2. and as fixedas pillars inthe houſeof

God, Rev. iii. 12.

And for the wicked, their ſpirits are confined, and ſecured in hell, as in a priſon, 1 Pet. iii. 19. there is a fixedGulphbetwixtthem and the living, Luke xvi. 27, to 32 .

Whatgoodoffices are to bedoneby ſpirits forus, theangels are God's commiſſion-officers todo them. Heb. i. 14. "They

" are all miniſtring ſpirits, ſent forth to miniſter for themwho " ſhall be heirs of falvation : " Theſe are the ſpirits fent forth towalk to and fro through the earth, Zech. i. 10. Their minitry was emblematically repreſented inJacob's viſion, where

ReligioMed. Sect. 37.p. 82.

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan.

they were ſeen afcending and defcending as upon a ladder, betwixt heaven and earth, Gen. xxviii.

12. Yea, their very name angel is a name of office, fignifying a meſſenger, or one fent.

And for the miſchiefdone by ſpirits in this world, the ſcriptures aſcribe that to the devils; thoſe unquiet ſpirits have their walks in this world, they compaſs the whole earth, and walk upanddown in it, Job i. 7. and I Pet. v. 8. they can affume any ſhape ; yea, I doubt not but he can act their bodies when dead, as well as he did their fouls and bodies when alive :

Howgreat his power is this way, appears in what is fo often doneby him in the bodies of witches.

They are not ordinarily therefore the ſpirits of men, but other ſpirits that appear to us.

(2.) If God ſhould ordinarily permit the ſpirits ofmen inhabiting the other world, a liberty fo frequently to viſit this,what a gapwould it open for Satan tobeguile anddeceivethe living !

Whatmight henot by thismeans impoſeuponweakand credulous mortals ? * There hath been agreat deal of fuperftition and idolatry already introduced under this pretence : he hath often perſonatedſaints departed,andpretended himselftobe the ghoft ofſome venerable perſon, whoſe love to the fouls of the people, and care for their ſalvation, drew him from heaven to reveal ſome ſpecial ſecret to them.

Swarms oferrors, and fuperftitious and idolatrous opinions and practices, are thisway conveyed, by the tricks and artifices of Satan, among the Papiſts, which I will not blot my paper withal; only I defire it may be confidered, that if this were a thing ſo frequently permitted by God, as is pretended, upon what dangerous terms hadhe lefthis church in this world, ſeeing he hath left no certain marks by which wemaydiftinguiſh one ſpirit from another, or a true meſſenger from heaven, from acounterfeit andpretended one.

ButGod hath tied us to the ſure and ſtanding ruleof his word ; forbidding us togiveheed to any othervoice or ſpirit leadingus another way, Iſa. viii. 19. 2 Thef. ii. 1, 2. Gal. i. 8.

Itwas therefore a difcret reply which one of the antients made when in aprayer, a viſion of Chriſtappeared tohim, and toldhim, thy prayers are heard, for thou art worthy: the goodman immedi- * For what hath more propagated idolatry amongHeathens and Chriſtians ? Hence didflow many peregrinations, monafteries, temples, feſtival-days, andſuch like. Dav. on Job 33.

VOL . III.

A Treatie of the Soul of Man. ately clapt his hands uponhis eyes, and faid, Nolo bic videre

Chriftum, &c. I will notfee Christ here, it is enoughfor me that 1shall behold him in heaven.

To conclude.

My opinon upon the whole is this, that altho' itcannotbedenied,butinſome grand, extraordinary cafes, as at the transfiguration and refurrection ofChriſt,God did, and perhaps ſometimes, tho' rarely, may orderor permit departed fouls to return into this world; yet, for the moſt part, I judge thoſe apparitions are not the fouls of thedead,butother ſpirits, and, for themoſt part, evil ones.

Ofthis judgment was * St. Auguſtine,whowhen he had at full related the ſtory above ofthe father's ghost directing his fon to the accquittance; yet will not allow ittobetheveryfoul ofhis father, but an angel : Where he farther adds, If (iaith he) the fouls of the dead may be preſent in our affairs, they would not forfake us in this fort; eſpecially my motherMonica, whoinher life, could neverbe without me, ſurely the would not thus leave me beingdead.

Obj. 1. But itwaspleadedbefore, thatwe allowthe apparition ofangels ; anddepartedfouls, if they be not angels, at least are equalunto angels, and in respect of their late relation to us, are morepropenfe tohelp us, thanspirits ofanotherfort canbesupposed tobe.

Sol. It seems too bold, and impoſing upon ſovereignWifdom to tellhim what meſſengers are fittest for him to ſend and employ in his fervice; who hathtaught him, orbeenhis counfellor?

Obj . 2. But these officesseem topertainproperly to them, as they are not only fellow members, but the most excellent members of the mystical body, to whom it belongs to affift the meaner andweaker.

Sol. If there be any force ofreaſon inthisplea, it carries rather for the angels than for departed fouls : for angels are gathered under the same commonhead with faints; the text tells us, we are come to an innumerable company of angels : they and the faints are fellow-citizens, and we know they are a more noble order of ſpirits; and as for their love to the elect, it is exceeding great, as great tobe ſure as the departed fouls of ourdearest relatives can be.

For after death they ſuſtain no more civil relation to us : allthat they do fuſtain, is as fellowmembers of the fame body,or fellow-citizens, which the angels alfo are as well as they.

* Lib . de cura mortuis.

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

Obj. 3. But, faith the doctor, the reasonwhy allnationspay fo great honour, and religious care to the will of the dead, is a fuppofition that they still continue in the fame mindafter death, andwillavengethefalsifications oftrusts upon injurious executors, elfſeno reason can be givenwhy so great a press should be laid upon the will of thedead.

Sol. This is gratis dictum, to ſay no worſe, a cheap and unwaryexpreffion : Can no reason be given for the religious obſervance ofthe teſtaments of thedead, but this ſuppoſition ? I deny it: for though they that made them be dead, yetGod, who is witneſs to all fuch acts and truſts, liveth : and though they cannotavenge the frauds, and injustice of men, he both canand willdo it, I Theff, iv. 6. which, I think, is aweightierground and reaſon to enforceduty uponmen than the fear of ghoſts.

Beſides, this is a cafe wherein all the living are concerned, all that die must commit a trust to them that furvive; and iffraudsſhouldbecommittedwithoutimpunity,who could fafely repoſe confidence in another ; Quod tanget omnes, tangi debet ab omnibus : that which is of general concernment, andbecomes every man's intereſt, infers a general obligation uponall.

As for the letters of Elijah, it is a vanity tothink they came poft fromheaven ; no, no, they were doubtless left behind him, outof due care to the government, and produced on that fit occafion.

Obj . 4. But what need of alaw to prohibit necromancy or confultation with the dead, if it were not practicable ?

Sol. Ido not think the wicked art there prohibited enabled them to recaldeparted fouls; but it was a converſing with the devil who perſonated the dead, and therein akind ofhomage waspaidhim to the dishonour of God; or he might poſſibly

raiſe the bodies of wicked men, and appear in them : but I think the ſpirits of thedead returnnot, except as was before limited.

Obj. 5. But thematters they discover arefound to be true, and the causes in which they concern themselves arejust ; real murders are detectedby them, and realfrauds and injuries corrected and rectified : but the devil being himselfa liar, and deceiver, wouldneverdo it ; it is not his interest to discover or discouragé fuch things. i Sol. Though it benot his intereſt merely todiscover it, yet it is certainly his intereſt to precipitate wickedmen, and haften their ruinby the hand of justice; and he will speak the truth,

Tt2

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. and ſeem toown arighteous cauſe, tobring abouthis greatdeſign of ruining the fouls and bodies of men.

Iwill ſhutup with three cautions.

Caution 1. Strain not confcience to enrich poſterity: be true to the trufts committed to you by the dead, or by the living, remembring, that though they be dead, and cannot avenge the wrong, yet the Lord lives, and will surely do it in a ſeverer mannerthan they could, thouldthey appear in the moſt terrible and frightful forms toyou : Beſides, your own confciences will hauntyou worsethan aghoſt. Bejuſt andtrue therefore in all your promiſes and trusts, forGod is the avenger.

Caution 2. Finiſh your work for eternity before you die ; for " as the cloud isconſumed, and vaniſhed away, so he that go- " eth down to the grave ſhallcome up no more ; he ſhall re- " turn no more to his houſe, neither ſhall his place know him

" any more," Job. vii. 9, 10.

Your fouls will be fixed in eternity foon after they are loofed from your bodies : whendeath comes, awayyou must go,willingor unwilling, ready or unready ; but no returning hither, how willing foever.

Caution 3. Keep yourſelves from that heatheniſh and accurſed practice of confulting the devil about your abſent or dead relations ; a practice toocommonin ſea-port towns,and ofdeep and heinous guilt beforeGod: Ifa. viii. 19. " And when they ſhall

" ſay untoyou, ſeek unto them that have familiar ſpirits, and

untowizards that peep and mutter; ſhould not a people feek " untotheirGod ? for the living tothedead ?"

You need not call the devil twice, that fubtle and officious fpirit draws the living into his net by ſuch a bait as this : You meetyour mortal enemy under the diſguife of your dead friend.

Query 5. Whether theseparatedfouls of thejust in heaven have any converse or communication with each other ? andhow that can be,feeingalltheorgans and instruments of speechandhearing, are widafidewith their bodies ?

It foems impoffible that ſeparated or unbodied ſpirits ſhould converſe together, ſeeing the inſtruments by which the thoughts arecommunicated from one toanother, are periſhed in thegrave.

Suppoſe the tongue ofamanto be cut out, his eyes and hands periſhed, ormade uſeleſs, whilst thefoul remains inthe body; it mayenjoy its own thoughts within itſelf, but it is impoſſible to ſignify them to anotherby wordsor ſigns.

Or ſuppoſe aman in adeep leep(whereinthe ſenſes are only bound for a little time) he may indeed exerciſe his own fancy in apieafantdream, but another cannot underſtandhow it is enterrained; but indeath the ſenſes arenot bound, but extinguiſhed,

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

Beſide, we must not think the felicity of the departed holy fouls to confift in mutual converſes one with another, but in their ineffable viſions ofGod, and communion with him.

Το him who is omniſcient, and underſtands their moſt inward thoughts, they can freely communicate them, and receive his, aswell as pour forth theirown love; but to do it to their fellow creatures, who fee not asGoddoth, ſeems impoſſible.

Indeed it was never doubted, but after the refurrection they ſhall both know and talk with one another in a more excellent and perfect manner thannow theydo; but till that time, the reaſons above ſeem to perfuade us, that all the converſes above, are only betwixt God and them, which indeed is enough to make them happy; and indeed if this ability be allowed to feparated fouls, itseems to render the refurrection of their bodies needleſs ; for theyare well enough withoutthem. But certainly the ſpirits ofjuſt men are not mutes; fuch an auguſtaſſemblyof holy and excellent ſpirits, do not live together in their Father's houſe without mutual converfe and fellowship with each other, as well as withGod.

That acute andjudicious divine, Mr. Joſeph Symonds, in his epiſtle tohisbook, intituled, Sight andfaith, expreſſeth himself about this matter thus : ' I often think (faith he) of the com- • munion of the ſpirits of men, which is certainly more than manyareacquaintedwith: though we act one upon another

• in our preſent ſlate,bythehelp ofſenſe; yetwe are wrought ⚫and deſigned to a more excellent way. Angels, and the • ſpirits of men made perfect, converſe and trade in a mutual communication, not without ſenſe, but without fuch ſenſe as ours.

This, as eternal life,begins here, and is foundin ſome degrees in this mortal ſtate, thoughnot in ſo viſible appearances

as toly open to much obfervation.

Angels, good and bad, do act upon our ſpirits, and our fpi- • rits hold converſe with them, and with the Father of ſpirits,

< whichmaybe difcerned in ſecret parlies anddiſcourſes betwixt ⚫them and us ; much of this appears inDavid's pfalms : and • there paſſeth notonly an inward ſpeech, butthere are inviſible

' approaches, entertainments and touches, which Paul found •whenbound in the Spirit, and under the working of God,

• which wrought inhim mightily, Col. i. 29.

It is alſo moſt • certain that our fouls are notmute, and ſhut out from all mu- ⚫tual traffic with each other, except what they have by the mediation of ſenſes.

• Inſtances are found, that (as they ſayof two needles touched with the loadſtone) the ſpirit ofone at adiftance, hathfound

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• itſelfaffected with the motion and ſtate of another.. And this ، we are all ſenſible of, that there is a ſtrong defire in us to ' communion of ſpirits; and that, becauſe the way moſt ready and convenient to our bodily ſtate isby ſenſe, we are carried with much inclination to maintain intercourse of our minds

' and ſpirits by ſenſe; but, as being made to abetter way, our • ſouls are not fatisfied with this preſent way, as being both painful and ſhort. We cannot give an exact copy of our apprehenfions, defires, deſigns, delights and other affections, by theſe two greatmediators ofcommunion,the eye, and the ear: but, becauſe we are in ſogreat a meaſureconfined to • this courſe, our fouls, as it were, ſtand in theſe two gates, to • fend and receive mutual embaſſies from each other.

Which • way, as it is ſhort in itſelf, ſo it is much ſhortenedbydiſtances, •diſaffections, impotencies, anddiſparities.'

، ، I cannotimagine, thatmen, ina ſtate ofimperfection, ſhould have ſo manyways to communicate theirminds, as by ſpeaking, writing, &c. yea, that the verybirds, and beasts, are, bynature, enabled to ſignify to each other their inclinations ; and that the ſpirits ofjuſt men (which are thebeſt of all human ſpirits, and thatwhen made perfect too,which is the beſt, and higheſt ſtate attainable by them) ſhouldhave none, but live at a greater difadvantage, in this reſpect, than they did, or the very birds, and beaſts in this worlddo. The sum of my thoughts, about this matter, I will laydown in thefollowingſections.

Sect. 1. The ſtate of heaven, (as was at large opened in our eleventh propoſition)being an aſſociation ofangels, and bleſſed fouls, for theglorifying and praiſing ofGod inhis temple there, and this worſhip being carried onby joint conſent, as appears by their joint aſcriptions ofglory to God, Rev. vii. 9, 10, 11 ,

12. they must ofneceſſity, for the orderly carrying on of this heavenly worſhip, understand each others minds, and communicate their thoughts : for without this it is not imaginable how ajoint or common ſervice, in which thousands of thousands are employed, can be decoroufly and orderly managed, except we conceive ofthem as fo many machines, or wind-inſtruments that aremanaged byan intelligent agent, though themſelves be ſenſeleſs and merely paſſive: certainly their conſent is a different thing from that of the keys ofa harpsicord, or ſtrings of a lute, theyare intelligent beings,who,underſtand their own and each others mind : and beſides, without this ability, that fociety in heaven would be leſs comfortable, as to mutual refreſhing fellowſhip, than the ſociety of faints is here. So that it is not to bedoubted, but theſe noble and excellent ſpirits can, anddo

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communicatetheir thoughts to each other, andthat inamoſt excellentway.

Sect. 2. But yet we cannot imagine theſe communications betwixt them tobe by words, formedby ſuch inſtruments, and organs of ſpeech, as we now uſe, for they are bodileſs beings : words, and articulate ſounds, are fitted to the ufe and ſervice of embodied ſpirits.

It is therefore probable, that they convey, andcommunicate their minds to one another, as the bleſſed angels do, not with tongues of flesh, (though we read of the tongues of angels, 1 Cor. xii. 1.) but in away ſomewhat analogous to this, though much more noble and excellent *.

For look, as the ſcripture ſtiles the moſt excellentfood, angels food; ſo the moſt excellent ſpeech, or moſt eloquent tongues, angels tongues.

The pureſt rhetoric thatever flowedfrom the lips of the moſtcharming orator, is but babbling, to the language of angels, or of ſpirits made perfect .

When Paul was wrapt into the third heaven, where he was admitted to the fight, and hearing of this blefſed affembly, it is faid he heard αρρητα ρηματα, words unspeakable, ſpiritual language, ſuch as his tongue neither could, or ought to utter ; fuchasnonebut heavenly inhabitants can ſpeak. And, Dan. viii.

13. " I heard, (ſaid Daniel) one faint ſpeaking, and another " ſaint faid unto that certain faint that ſpake," &c.

He heard the enquiries of the angels, defiring to know the mystery from the mouth of Chriſt. Alanguage theyhave, but not like ours.

Sect. 3. The communications ofangels, and fouls in heaven, is therefore conceived to be an ability in thoſe bleſſed ſpirits, filently, and without found, to inſtil, and infinuate their minds and thoughts to each other, by a mere act of their wills ; juft aswe now ſpeak to God, or ourſelves t, in our hearts, when our lipsdonot move, orthe leaſt outward ſign appears.

There are two ways by which the fouls of men fpeak, one outwardly, by the inſtruments ofſpeech, or ſenſible figns ; the other inwardly, without found, or ſign: This inward, blent ſpeech, is nothing else but an act of the will, calling forth fuch things into our actual thoughts, and meditations, which before lay hid, and quiet in the memory, or habit of knowledge.

* It is certain angels have not tongues, but fomething analogous thereunto, by which they commmunicate their thoughts to one another.

Lightfoot.

+ We are faid to ſpeak to ourſelves in our hearts, when we atuallythink upon, or revolve anything in our minds; butwe think actually, at the command ofthe will, i, e. whenwe will.

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Theſe thoughts, or actual revolvings of things in the mind,are רכבל םע רבר a word or fpecch inthe heart, Deut. xv. 9.

Take heed to thyself, that there be not a wicked word in thy heart ; we tranflate it, a wicked thought : in fcripture called thoughts are the words, and voice of the soul. Andfo, Mat. ix. 3. they ſpake within themſelves, i, e. their fouls ſpake, though their lips moved not. "All meditation is an inward

" ſpeech in the foul, and therefore indifferently ſignifies " both to fpeak, and to meditate *."

The objects which we revolve in our thoughts, are ſo many companions with whom we converſe ; and thus a man, (like Heinfius) may be in the midst of abundance ofexcellentcompany,whenhe is all alone.

Andthis is filent talk to ourſelves, without any found or noife.

Obj . But you will say, Though the spirit of a man can thus talk to, or with itself ; yet this can fignify nothing to others :

For what man knoweth the things of aman, ſave the ſpirit of a man, that is in him ? 1 Cor . ii. 11.

It is not therefore enough to open this internaldoor of the will ; for except we open, alſo, the external + door ofthe lips, no man can know our minds, or be admitted into thefecrets of ourfouls : should we neverso earnestlydefire that another should know our mind, except we please, alſo, to discover it by a word, orfign, he cannot know it ; and therefore an act ofthe will is notfufficient, withoutfome external fignificationfuperadded. And thesefouls being bodileſs, can give no outwardfignification.

Sol. There is, indeed, a neceſſity among men in this world, to unlock another door, beſide that of their will, to communicate the fecrets of their hearts to others ; " but ‡ angels, and הוש Cumpunctofiniſtro, locutus eft ore, aut corde cogitavit, meditatus est.

* Ειπον εν αυτοις, † There are two doors with reſpect to others, and unleſs thou open both of theſe, it is not poſſible that another man can know what paſſes in thy mind, or be admitted into the ſecrets ofthy heart,

On thepart ofthe foul, the will is the one door, for unless thou incline to reveal to others theſe things which ly hid in thy heart, who canknow them ? the other door is the body of flesh itſelf, andtherefore, although , having, as it were, opened the firſt and inward door, thou incline to make known unto anotherwhatis in themind, yet he can in no way know this, unless thou alſo open the other door which isexternal. Zanchius on the works of God, book 3. chap. 29.

‡ Quoniam igitur angeli iis carent craffis corporibus, idcirco nihilimpedit, quo minus quæ unus angelus infua verfat mente, ea altervideat, niſi voluntas : fi enim ea nolit ab altero refciri nunquam, nifi Deo revelante, refcientur.

Zanch, ubi fupra.

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"the ſpiritsofmen, having nobodies, conſequently have but " one door, to wit, that of the will, to open; and the open- " ing thereof, (which is done by one act, or defire, in a " moment) is enough to discover ſo much of their minds, as " they wouldhavediſcovered to another ſpirit

If theykeep " the door of their will chut, no angel, or ſpirit, can know " what is in their thoughts, without a revelation fromGod;" and if they but will, or defire others ſhould know, nowords canſo fullymanifeſt one man's mind to another, as fuch an act ofthewilldothmanifeſt theirs. And this, faith learned Zanchy, is the tongue of angels; and the fame way the ſpirits of men have to make known their minds in the unbodied ſtate.

It is but the turning the keyof the will, and their thoughts, ordefires, are preſentlyſeen and known, by others, towhom they will diſcover them, as a man's face is ſeen in a glaſs, whenhe pleaſeth to turn his face to it.

Would one ſpirit make known hismind to another, itisbut to willhe ſhouldknow it, and it is immediately known.

Sect. 4. This internalway ofſpeaking, and communication among ſpirits, ismuch more noble, perfect, and excellent, than thatwhich is in uſe among us, by words and ſigns ; and that intwo reſpects, viz.

1. Of clearnefs.

2. Ofdiſpatch and ſpeed.

1. Spiritual language ismoreclearlyexpreſſiveofthemind, and thoughts, than words, writings, or any other external ſigns canbe. The greatest maters of languagedooften cloud their meaning, for want of words fit, and full enough toexpreſs it : truth ſuffers by the poverty and ambiguity of words : many controverfies are but mere ſtrifes about words, and ſcufflings in thedark, by the mistake ofeach other's ſenſe andmeaning: fewhave the ability of putting their own meanings into apt, proper, and full expreſſions ; and, ifthey can, yet others, towhom they ſpeak, want an anſwerable ability ofunderſtanding, and clearness of apprehenfion to receive it.

If we could difcern the true and natural ſenſe of things, juſt as it is in the mind of the ſpeaker, or writer, how manycontroverfies would be thereby quickly ended?

But ſpirits unbodied ſoconvey their ſenſe and mind to one another, that therecanbe nomistakes, nodarkenings ofcounfel, by words without knowledge; but one receives it juſt as it lies in the other's mind.

2. Spiritual language is more eaſy, and ofquickerdiſpatch ;

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ſomemenhave voluble tongues, and are more ready, andpre ſential, than others: their tongues are as the pen of a ready ſcribe; and others, no less ready with theirhands, which keep pace with, yea, out-run the tongue ofthe ſpeaker, as Martial notes ..

Currant verba licet, manus eft velocior illis , Nondum linguafuum dextra, peregit opus *.

Yet all this is butbungling work, to the readydifpatch of ſpirits; one act ofthe will opens the window todifcernthe mind of another clearly; fo that the converſe of ſpirits must needs be more excellent, in both reſpects, than any we are accuftomedto, or acquainted with in this world.

I will ſhut up this queſtion with one Corollary. Long to be aſſociated with the ſpirits ofjuſt men made perfect .

You that are going tojoin that bleſſed affembly, will even in this reſpect, gain an invaluable advantage.

It is true, there is much ofcomfort in the preſent converſes ofembodied and imperfect faints; it is ſweet to faſtand pray, to figh and groan together; it is ſweeter to rejoice and praiſe ourGod together; it is ſweet to talk of heaven with our faces thitherward; but alas ! what is this to the converſes that are among the ſpirits ofjuſt menmade perfect ? With what meltinghearts have we ſometimes ſat, under the doctrine of the goſpel ? How have our ears been chained with delight to the preachers lips, whilft he hath been diſcourſing of thoſe raviſhing ſubjects,

Christ, and Heaven ! But, alas ! how dry, anddulla thing is the beſt of this, to the language of heaven ! Three thingsdebaſe and ſpoil the communications of the faints on earth, viz. the darkness, dulneſs, and frothineſs thereof.

1. The darkness and ignorance ofour understandings. How crude, weak, and indigeſted are our highest and pureſt notions of ſpiritual things ! we speak of thembut as children, 1 Cor. xiii. 11. for, alas ! the vail is yet upon our faces.

The body of fin, and the body of fleſh caſt a very dark ſhadow upon the world to come; but the apprehenfions of ſeparated fouls are moſt bright andclear.

This darkness begets mistakes ; miſtakes begetfo many quarrels, and janglings, that our fellowship on earth lofeth, at once, both its profit andpleaſure.

2. There is much duineſs anddeadneſs accompanying the communionoffaints on earth, abundance of precious time is waſted among us, inunprofitable filence, andwhenwe engage indiſcourſes ofheaven, that diſcourſe is often little better than

* Martial. Epigr. lib. 14. ep. 176.

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filence ; our words freeze betwixt our lips, and we ſpeak not with that concernedneſs and warmth ofſpirits, which ſuits with ſuch ſubjects.

It is not ſo among our brethren above ; their affections are at the highest pitch, givingglory to God in the highest.

3.Toconclude; In the diſcourſes ofthe beſt of men on earth, there is toomuch frothandvanity; manywords, like water, run away at the waſte ſpout, but thereGod is the centre, in which all terminates. O therefore let us long to be among the unbodied people ! this world will never fuit us with companions in all things agreeable to the defires of our hearts.

The beſt company are got together in the upper room ; an hour there is better than an age below.

Whatever fellowship faints leave on earth, they ſhall be fure to find better in heaven.

Query 6. Whether thefeparatedfouls of the just inheaven, do incline to a re-union with their own bodies ? And how that reunion is at last affected?

! That theſe bleſſed ſouls have no ſuch inclination, or defire, theſe reaſons ſeem to perfuade.

1. That their bodies, whilst they lived in them, were no betterthanſomany prifons ; many were the prejudices, damages, and miſeries they have ſuſtained and ſuffered in them.

It kept them at an uncomfortable distance from the Lord, 2 Cor. v. 6. theirbemoaning cries ſpake their uneaſy ſtate : how often hath every gracious ſoul, thus lamented itſelf, " Wo is me that I " dwell in Meſheck."

It incloſed their fouls within its mud walls, which intercepted the light and joy of God's face.

Death thereforedida moſt friendly office, when it fet it at liberty, and brought it forth into its own pure and pleaſant light and liberty *.

Theſebleſſed ſpirits now rejoice as priſoners do in their recovered liberty ; and can it be ſuppoſed, after all theſe ſufferings, groans, and fighs, to be diffolved, they can be willing to be embodied again ? Surely there is as little reaſon for fouls at liberty to defire to be again embodied, as there is

Uu2 * The body obſtructs and obſcures the mind in its conceptions, and pollutes it by its union with the fleſh ; hence the light of the mind is more defective, as it paſſes, in a manner, through a glafs of fleſh : doubtless, when, by the power of death, the foul is, as it were, ſqueezed out of the body, to which it was ſo cloſely united ; and in this manner purified, then it breaks from its confinement in thebody, to a pure and unmixed light, ſuitable to its nature. Tertullian on the soul. t

A Treatise of the Soul of Man. for abird got out of the ſnare or cage, to fly backagain to its place of confinement and reſtraint.

Yea,when we confider how loth ſome holy fouls, when under the excruciating pains of ſickness, and as yet in the ſight of this alluring world, have been to hear ofa return to it by the recovery of their health ; we cannot think, but, being quite out of the fight of this, and in the fruition of the other world, the thoughts of the body muſt needs be more lothſome to them than ever.

Weread, that whenagoodman,in time ofhis ſickneſs was told by his friends, that fome hopeful figns ofhis recoverybegan now to appear, he answered,And muſt I then return to this body ? I was as a ſheep driven out of the ſtorm almoſt to the fold, and then driven back into the ſtorm again : or as a weary traveller near his home, who must go back again to fetch ſomething he had neglected: or as an apprentice, whoſe time was almoſt out, and then muſt begin anew term. Offome others it hath been alſo noted,thatthe greatest infirmities they diſcovered upontheir death-bed, have been their too paſſionatedeſires tobe diſſolved, and their unſubmiſſiveness toGod's will in their longer ſtay inthebody. Now, the bodies of the ſaints being ſo cheerfully forſaken, and that only upon a foretaſte of heaven by faith ; how can it be thought they ſhould find any inclination to a re-union, when they are ſo abundantly fatisfied with thejoys ofhis face inheaven ? Certainly thebody hathbeen no fuch pleasant habitation to the foul, that it ſhould caft aneye or thought that way, when it is once delivered out of it: if itwere burdenſome here, a thought of it wouldbe lothſome there.

2. We have ſhewed before, that the ſeparate foul wants not thehelp of the body,but lives and acts atamore free and comfortable rate than ever before.

It is true, it is not now delightedwith meat and drink, with ſmells and founds, as itwas wont tobe; but then itmust be conſidered, that it is happineſs and perfection not to need them. It is now become equal tothe angels inthewayand manner of its living; and what it enjoyedby the miniſtry of the body, iteminentlyand more perfectly enjoys without it.

What perfections canthe foul receive from matter † ? What can a lump of fleſh add to a ſpirit ? And if it canaddnothing to it, there is no reason why it ſhould hanker afterit, and incline toa re-union with it.

It added nothingof +The rational foul receives no perfection from matter, which it could not receive without it; therefore, when it ſhall be ſeparated from it, itis not faid tohave apropensity to it. Ganimb.

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happineſs toit, butmuch trouble, and thereforebecomes juſtly undefireable to it.

3. The ſuppoſitionofſuchapropenfion and inclination, ſeems noway to fuitwith that ſtate ofperfect reſt which the ſouls of the just enjoy in heaven. The ſcripture tells us, that at death they enter into reſt, Iſa. lvii. 2. Heb. iv. 9.

That they reſt from their labours,Rev. xiv. 13.

But that which inclines and defires(eſpeciallywhen the defired enjoyment, as in this cafe, is ſuſpended ſo long) muſt be as far from reſt, as it is from ſatisfaction intheenjoyment ofthething defired.

We knowwhat Solomon hathobſerved of ſuch a life, (and his obſervation is experimentally true), that " hope deferred makes the heart

" ſick," Prov. xiii. 12. Who finds nothisowndefires a very rack tohim in ſuch cases ? Ifwe be kept but a fewdays in earneſt expectation, and defire of an abſent friend, and he comes not, what anuneasy lifedowe life ! But herewe muſt ſuppoſe fome have ſuch an unsatisfied life for hundreds, and others for thousands of years already; and how much longer they may remainſo, who can tell ? We uſe to ſay, Lovers hours are full ofeternity.

Theſe reaſons ſeem to carry it for the negative.

But ifthe matterbe weighed once more,with the following reaſons inthecounterſcale, and prejudicedonot pulldown the ballance; we shall find the contrary concluſion much more ſtrong and rational.

For, Arg. 1. The foul and body are the two conſtitutive parts of man; either of theſe being wanting, the man is notcomplete and perfect.

The good of the whole is thegood ofthe parts themſelves; and every thing hath anatural defire and appetite to its own good and perfection .

It is confeſſed, the foul, for asmuch as concerns itſelf ſingly, is made perfect, and enjoys bleſſedneſs in the absence of the body; but this is only the perfection and bleſſedneſs of one part of man; the other part viz. the body, lies inobſcurity and corruption : and tillboth bebleſſed, andbleſſed together, ina ſtate of compoſition and re-union, the whole man is not made perfect.

For this therefore the foul muſt wait.

*A ſeparate foul has a propenſity tounionwiththebody, for it defires the actual conſtitutionofthe whole compound being, ſeeing it is for this, as its end, that it exiſts, and is found withinthe com. paſs ofreal beings. And this is that perfection which the foul obtainsby thatpropenſity: for thegoodofthewhole compound being isthe goodof the parts themselves.

It muſtthereforebe affirmed, that the ſeparate foul naturally deſires the refurrection.

Alsted. natur, theol. part 1. p. 214, 215.

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Arg. 2. Though deathhath diffolved the union, yet ithath not deſtroyed the relation betwixt the foul and the body; that duft is more to it than all the dust of the whole earth.

Hence itis that the whole perſon of a believer is ſometimes denomi nated from that part of him, namely, his body, which remains captivatedby death inthe grave. Hence, 2Theff. iv. 15.dead believers are called those that fleep, which must needs properly reſpect the body, for the foul ſleeps not, and ſhews what a firm and dear relation ſtill remains betwixt theſe abſent friends.

Now we all know the mighty power ofa relation, if it be at leaſt among entities, yet ſurely it is one ofthe greatest things in the world in efficacy.

It is difficult to bear the abſenceofour dear relatives, eſpeci. ally ifwe be in profperity, and they in adverſity : As the cafe here is betwixt the ſpirit in heaven, and its body in the grave; this aſſociated with angels, that prey'd upon by worms.

Joſeph's cafe is the liveliest emblem that occurs to my preſent thoughts to illuftrate the pointinhand. He was advanced to be lord over all Egypt, living in the greatest pomp and ſplen. dor there; but his father, and brethren, were, at the fametime, ready to periſh, in the land of Canaan, Gen. xliii. 29, 30, 31.

Hehad been many years ſeparated from them, but neither the length of time, nor honours of the court, could alienate his affections from them. O fee the mighty power of relation ! no fooner doth he ſee his brethrea, and underſtand their cafe, and the pining condition of Jacob, his father, but his bowels yerned, and his compaſſions rolled together for them ; yea, he could not forbear, nor ſtifle his own affections, though he knew how injurious his brethren had beentohim, and betrayed him, as the body hath the foul: Yet notwithstanding all this, he breaks forth into tears, and outcries, over them, which made thehouſe ring again with the news that Joſeph's brethren were come. Nor could he be at reſt inthe lap of honour, and plenty, until he hadgothome his dear, and ancientrelations tohim.

Thus ſtands the cafe betwixt foul andbody.

Arg. 3. The regret, reluctancy, and forrows expreſſed by thefoulatparting, do ſtrongly argue its inclination toa re-union with it,when it is actually ſeparated from it : For why ſhould we furmiſe, that the foul, which mourned, and groaned fo deeply at parting, which claſped, and embraced it ſo dearly, and affectionately, which fought, ftruggled, and disputed the pafſſagewith death, every foot, and inch of ground it got, and wouldnot part with the body, tillby plain force it was rent

outof its arms; ſhould not, when abſent, defire to fee, and :

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enjoy its old, and indeared friend again ? Hath it loſt its affection, though it continue its relation ? That is very improbable : Or doth its advancement in heaven make it regardless of its body, which lies in contempt, and miſery ? That is an effect which Chriſt's perſonal glory never produced in him towards us, nor agood man's preferment would produce in him tohis poor and miferable friends in this world, as we fee in the cafe of Jofeph,juſt now inſtanced in.

Itis therefore harſh, and incongruous, to ſuppoſe the foul's love to the body was extinguiſhed inthe parting hour, andthat now, out of fight, outofmind.

Object. But was it not urgedbefore, inoppoſition to this afſertion, that the fouls ofthe righteous looked upon their bodies astheirprifons, and ſighed for deliverance bydeath, and greatly rejoiced in the hope, and forefight of that liberty death would reſtore them to ? How doth this conſiſt with ſuch reluctancies atparting, and inclinations tore-union ?

Sol. The objection doth not ſuppoſe any man tobe totally freefrom all reluctancies, and unwillingness to die ; the holiest fouls that ever lived inbodies of fleſh, will give an unwilling ſhrug, when it comes to the parting point, 2 Cor. v. 2. but this their willingness to be gone, ariſes from two other grounds, whichmake it conſiſtent enough with its reluctancies at parting, and inclination toaſecond meeting.

(1.) This willingness todie, doth not fuppoſe the foul's love tothebody tobe utterly extinguiſhed, but maſtered, and overpoweredby another, and ſtronger love.

There is in every Chriſtian adouble love, one natural to the body, and the things below, the other fupernatural, to Chriſt, and the things above; the latterdoth not extinguiſh, though it conquer, and ſubdue the other.

Love to the body pulis backward, love to Chrift pushes forward, and finally prevails.

This is ſo confiftent with it, that it ſuppoſes natural reluctation, and unwillingneſs topart.

(2.) The willingness ofGod's people to bediſſolved, muſt notbe understood abſolutely, but comparatively ; in that ſenſe the apostlewillbe understood, 2 Cor. v. 8. " We are confident,

" I ſay, and willing rather tobe abſent fromthe body, and pre- " ſent with the Lord," (i. e.) rather than to live always a life of fin, forrow, and abſence from God; death is not defirablein, and for itſelf, but only as it is the ſoul's outlet from fin, and its inlet toGod.

So that the very beſt defire is but comparatively, and it is but few who find the love of this animal life fubacted, and overpoweredbyhigh-raiſed acts of faith, and love.

The genera

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. lity, evenofgoodfouls, feel strongrenitencies,andfuffer ſharp conflicts at their diſſolution ; all which diſcovers with what lothneſs, and unwillingness, the foul unclaſps its arms, to let go its body. Now, as divines argue the frame of Chrift's heart inheaven, towards his peopleon earth, from allthoſe endearing paſſages, anddemonſtrations of love he gave themat parting; ſowe here argue the continued love, and inclination of the foul to its body after it is inheaven, fromthe manifold demonſtrations it gave of its affection to it in this world, eſpecially inthe parting hour. No conſiderations, in all the world, leſs than the more full fruition ofGod, and freedom from fin, could pofGbly have prevailed with it to quit the body, though but for a time, and leave it in the dust.

Which is our thirdargument.

Arg. 4. Andas the dolorous parting hour evidenceth it, ſo doth thejoy with which it receives itagain, atthe reſurrection.

Ifit part from it ſo heavily, and meet itagain withjoy unſpeakable ; fure, then, it ſtill retaineth much love for it, anddefires tobe re-efpouſed to it, inthe interval. Now, that its meeting in the refurrection, is aday ofjoy, to the foul, is evident, becauſe it is called the time of refreshment, Acts iii. 19. and they awakewithfinging, out ofthe dust, Iſa. xxvi. 19.

If the direct and immediate ſcope of the prophet points not (as fome think it doth) at the refurrection, yet it is allowedby all, tobe avery lively alluſion to it, which is ſufficient for my purpoſe : And, indeed, none that underſtand, and believe the deſign, andbuſineſs of thatday, can poſſiblydoubtbut there was reaſon enough to call it a time of refreshment, a finging morning ; for the fouls of the righteous come from heavenwith Chriſt, and the wholehoft of ſhouting angels, not to be ſpectators only, but the ſubjects of thatdays triumph : They come to re-affume, and be re-efpouſed to their own bodies, this being the appointedtime forGod to vindicate and reſcue them from the tyrannical power of the grave, to endowthem with ſpiritual qualities, at the ſecond marriage to their fouls, that in both parts they maybe completelyhappy. O the joyful claſpings, and dear embraces, betwixt them ! who, but themſelves, can underſtand ! And, by the way, this removes the objection before-mentioned, of the miſeries and prejudices the foul ſuffered in this world, in, and from thebody; for now it receives it a ſpiritualbody, (i. e.) ſo ſubdued to, and fitted for the uſe of the ſpirit, as never to impede, clog, or obſtruct its moti ons, and inclination any more, 1 Cor. xv. 44.

In this hope it parted from it, and with this confolation it now receives it again.

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

Arg. 5. There are many fcriptures which very much favour, iftheydo not poſitively,conclude for the foul's inclination to, and defire tobe re-united with its own body, cven whilſt it is in the ſtate of its fingle glorificationin heaven : Certainly our foulsleavenot their bodies at death, as the ostrich doth her egg in the ſand, without any further regard to it, or concernment for it; but they are repreſented as crying toGod to remember, renge, and vindicate them, Rev. vi. 10, 11. " How long, Lord, how long wilt thou not avengeourblood ?" Our blood, ſpeaks both the continued relation, and fuitable affection they have to their abſent bodies.

And tothe ſame ſenſe * ajudicious and learned pen expounds that place, Job xiv. 14. (which is commonly, but I know not how fitly, accommodated to another purpoſe) "All the days of " myappointed time will I waittillmy change come."

Which words, by a diligent comparing ofthe context, appears tohave this for their proper ſcope and ſenſe.

Job in the former verſe had expreſſed his confidenceby way ofpetition, that at a fet and appointed timeGod would rememberhim, ſo as to recal him out of the grave ; and now,

' minded to speak out more fully, puts the queſtion tohimself, " If a man die, ſhall he live again ? ' And thus anſwers it, ' Ail

" thedays of my appointed time' (that is, of the appointed ' time which he mentioned before, whenGod ſhould revive

' him out of the dust) 'will I wait till my change come;' that ، is, that glorious change, when the corruption of a lothſome grave ſhould be exchanged for immortal glory : Which he amplifies , and utters more expreſsly, ver. 15.

Thou shalt " call, and I will anſwer; thou ſhalthave adefire to the work " of thy hands : Thou wilt not always forget to reſtore and * perfect thine own creature. Andfurely this waiting is not • the act ofhis inanimate ſleeping duft, but ofthat part which ſhould be capable of ſuch an action : q. d. I, in that part

•which ſhall be ſtill alive, ſhall patiently wait the appointed time of reviving me inthatpart alſo, which death and the grave ſhall inſult over in a temporary triumph in the mean

' time.'

، ، Upon theſe grounds, Ithink,the inclination oftheſeparated ſpirits ofthejust to their ownbodies tobe a juſtifiable opinion .

As for thedamned, we have no reason to think ſuch a re-union to be deſirable to them ; for alas, it will be but the increafe

* Mr. Howe'sbleſſedneſs ofthe righteous, p. 170, 171,

VOL . III.

ATreatise of the Soul of Man . and aggravation oftheir torments : Which conſideration is fufficient to over-power and ftiße the inclination of nature, and make the very thoughts of it horrid and dreadful. To what end(as the prophet ſpeaks in another cafe) is it for them todefire that day ? It will be a day of darkness and gloomineſs to them; re-union being deſigned to complete the happiness of theone, and the mifery of the other .

But before I take off my hand, and diſmiſs this queſtion, I muſt remember that I am debtor to two objections .

Object. 1. The foul can both live, and act separate from the body, it needs it not ; and if it do not want, why should it defire it?

Sol. The life and actings ofthe glorified are confiderable two ways, ( 1.) Singly and abſtractedly for the life and action of one part: And so we confess the foul lives happily, and acts forth its own powers freely in the ſtateof ſeparation.

(2.) Perfonally, or concretely, as it is the life and action ofthe whole man, and fo it doth both need and defire the conjunction or reunion of the body; for the body is not only a part of Chriſt's purchaſe, as well as the foul, and to have its own glory, as well as it, but it is alſo a conſtitutive part of a complete glorified perfon; and ſo confidered, the ſaints are not perfectly happy tillthisre-union be effected, which is the true ground and reafon ofthis its defire.

Object. 2. But this hypothesis seems to thwart the account given in fcripture ofthe rest, and placidftate ofseparatefouls : for look, as bodies which gravitate and propend do not reft, fo neither dofouls which incline and defire.

Sol. There is a vaſt difference betwixt the tendencies, and propenfions of fouls in the way to glory, and in glory : We that are abfent from the Lord, can find no reſt in the way ; but thoſe that are with the Lord can reſt in Jeſus, and yet wait without anxiety, or felf-torturing impatience, for the accomplishment of the promises to their abſent bodies, Rev. vi. 10,

11.

Corollary. Let this provoke us all to get fanctified fouls, to rule and uſe theſe their bodies now for God.

This will abundantly ſweetentheir parting at death, and their meeting again atthe refurrection ofthe just ; elſe their parting will bedoleful, and their next meeting dreadful.

And to much for the doctrine of feparation.

The Uses of the Point.

Ourway isnow open to the improvement, and uſe ofthis excellent ſubject and doctrine of feparation; and certainly it

ATreatise of the Soul of Man .

affords as rich an entertainment for our affections, as for our minds, in the following uses ; ofwhich the firſt will be for our information in fix practical inferences .

Infer. 1. If this be the life and ſtate of gracious fouls after their ſeparation from the body, Then holy perſons ought not to entertain difmal and terrifying thoughts of their own diſſolution.

The apprehenfions and thoughts ofdeath ſhould have a peculiar pleaſantneſs inthe minds of believers.

You have heard intowhat a bleſſed prefence and communion death introduceth your fouls; how it leads you out of a body of fin, a world of forrows, the ſociety of imperfect faints, to an innumerable companyofangels, andto the ſpirits ofjuſt men made perfect, tothat lovely mount Sion, to the heavenly fanctuary, to the bleſſed viſions of the face ofGod.

Oh ! methinks there hath beenenough faid, to make all the fouls, inwhom the wellgroundedhopes of the life of glory are found, to cry out with the apostle, " We are confident, I ſay, yea, and willing rather to be abſent from the body, and preſent with the Lord,"

2Corv. 8.

When goodMuſculus drew near his end, how sweet and pleasantwas this meditation to his foul ! Hear his fwan-like fong:

* Nilfupereft, vitae frigus praecordia captat ; Sed, tu Chriſte, mihi vita perennis ades :

Quid trepidas anima, adfedes arbitura quietis ?

En tibi ductor adeft angelus ille tuus.

Linquedomumhanc miferam, nunc in fua fata ruentem Quam tibi fida Dei dextera reftituet.

Peccafti ? Scio, fed Chriſtus credentibus infe, Peccata expurgatfanguine cuncta fuo.

Horribilis mors est ? Fateor, fed proximus vita eft, Ad quam te Chrifti gratia certa vocat.

Praefto estde Satana, peccato et morte triumphans Christus ; ad hunc igitur laeta alacriſque migra.

Which may be thus tranſlated.

Colddeath my heart invades, my life doth flie :

O Chriſt , my everlasting life draw nigh .

Why quivereſt thou, my foul, within my breaft ?

Thine angel's come to lead thee to thy reft.

Quit chearfully this drooping houſe ofclay ; Godwill reſtore it in the appointed day.

X x 2 * Melchior Adams, in vita Mufculi, p 385.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

Haft finn'd ? Iknow it, let not that be urg'd ; For Chrift thy fins, with his ownblood hath purg'd.

Is death affrighting ? True, but yet withal Confider, Chrift thro' death to life doth call.

He triumphs over Satan, fin, anddeath; Therefore withjoy reſign thy dying breath.

Much in the fame chearfulframewas theheart ofdyingBullinger , when his mournful friends expreſſedtheir fenfe ofthe loſs theyſhould fuſtain byhis removal. "Why, faid he, ifGod

" will make any farther use of my labours in the miniſtry, he " will renew my ſtrength, and I will gladly ſerve him : But if " he pleaſe (as I defire he would)to call me hence, Iam ready

" to obey his will; and nothing morepleasant can befal me, " than to leave this finful and miferable world togo to mySa- " viour Chriſt." O that all, who are out of thedanger of death, were thus got out of the dread ofdeath too.

Let themonly tremble, andbe convulfedat the thoughts and fight of death, whoſe fouls muſt fall into the hands of a finrevengingGodby the ſtroke of death; who are to breath out their lasthope with their last breath.

Death is yours, faith the apofile, 1 Cor. iii. 22. your friend, your privilege, your paſſage toheaven ; it is your ignorance of it, which breeds your fears about it.

Infer. 2. Gatherfrom hence, the abfolute, indiſpenſible neceffity ofyour union with Christ, beforeyour diffolution by death.

Wo to that foul which ſhallbeſeparated from itsbodybefore itbe united with Chriſt : Nonebut the ſpirits ofjuſt men are made perfect at death. Righteous fouls are the only qualified ſubjects of bleſſedneſs.

'Tis true, every foul hath a natural capacity of happiness, butgracious fouls only have an actual meetneſs forglory.

The fcriptures tell us in the plaineſt words, that " without holiness " noman ſhall fee the Lord," Heb. xii. 14. that " exceptwe

" be regenerate, andborn again, we cannot see the kingdom " ofGod," John iii. 3.

You make the greatest adventure that ever was made by man; indeed, an adventure infinitelytoo great for anyman to make, when you ſhoot the gulph of vaſt eternity upon terms of hazard and uncertainty.

* Si Deo vifum fuerit, mea opera ulterius in ecclefiæ minifterio uti ; ipse vires fufficiet, et libens illi parebo ; fin me voluerit

(quod opto) ex hac vita evocare, paratusfum illius voluntati obfequi ; ac nihil eft quod mihi jucundius poffit contingere, quam ex boc mifera et corruptiſſimo feculo ad Chriftum fervatorem meum migrandumfit , Idem. p. 503.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

What thinkeſt thou, reader ? Dareſt thou adventure thy foul and eternal happiness upon it, that the work of regeneration and fanctification, that very fame work ofgrace, on which the Spirit ofGod has placed all thy hopes ofheaven in theſe fcrip tures, is trulywroughtby him in thy foul ? Confider it well, pauſeupon it again and again before thou go forth.

Should a miſtakebe committedhere,(and nothing is more eafy or common, alltheworld over, thanſuch mistakes) thou art irrecoverably gone.

This venture can be made but once, and the miſcarriage is never to be retrieved afterwards; thou haft not another foul to adventure, nor a fecond adventure to make of this.

Well mightthe apostle Peter callfor alldiligence to make ourcalling and our election ſure: That can never be made too fure, which is ſo invaluable in its worth, and tobe but once adventured.

Infer. 3. How prejudicial is it to dying men tobe then incumbred, diverted, and distracted about earthly concernments, when the time of their departure is at hand.

The buſineſs and employment of dyingperſons is ofſo vaſt importance and weight, that every moment of their time need to be carefully ſaved,and applied to this their preſent and moſt important concern. How well foever you have improved the time of life, believe it, you will find work enough upon your handat death : dying hours willbefound tobe busy and labo. rious hours, even to the moſt painful, ferious, and induſtrious fouls, whoſe life hath been mostly ſpent in preparations for death.

Leave not the proper buſineſs of other days to that day; for thatdaywill have buſineſs enough ofits own.

Sufficient for thatday are the labours thereof.

Let a few confiderationsbe pondered, toclearand confirm this inference.

Confider. 1. The buſineſs and employment of dying perfons, isof themoſt ſerious, awful, and folemn nature and importance ; it istheir laſt preparatory work on earth, to their immediate appearancebeforeGod theirjudge,Heb. ix. 27. it is their ſhoot ing the gulph into eternity, andleaving this world, and all their acquaintance and intereſts therein for ever, Ifa. xxviii. 11.

It is therefore a workby itself to die, awork requiring the moſt intenſe, deep, and undisturbed exerciſes of all the abilities and graces ofthe inner man ; and all little enough.

Confider. 2. Time is exceeding preciouswithdying men ; the laſt ſand is ready to fall, and therefore not to be wasted, as it waswont tobe.

When we had a fair proſpect of many years before us, we made little account of anhour orday; but now one of thoſe hours, which we fo carelessly laviſhed away, is

ATreatie of the Soul of Man. ofmore valuethanall this world tous, eſpecially if thewhole weight of eternity ſhouldhang upon it, (asoftentimes it doth) then the loſs ofthat portion of time, is the loss of foul, body, and hope for evermore.

Confider. 3. Much of that little precious time of departing fouls will be unavoidably taken up, and employed about the inexcuſable, preſſing calls and neceſſities of diſtreſſed nature ; allthat you can do for your fouls muſt thenbe done only by fits and ſnatches, in the midst ofmanydisturbances, and frequent interruptions : So that it is rarely found, that adying man can purſue a ſerious meditation with calm and fixed thoughts : for befides the pains and faintings ofthe body, the abilities of the mindusuallyfail.

Here alfo they fall into a ſaddilemma ; ifthey do not with the utmost intention of mind fix their hearts and thoughts on Chriſt, they loſe their comfort, ifgodly, and their fouls ifungodly; and ifthey do, friends and physicians aſſure them they will deſtroy their bodies.

Theſe are the ſtraits of men bordering cloſe upon eternity; they must haſtily catch a fewmoments in the intervals ofpain, and then are put by all again.

Confider. 4. There is noman living but hath ſomething to do for his own foul ina dying hour, and ſomething for others alſo.

Suppoſe the beſt that can be ſuppoſed, that the foul be in real union with Chriſt, and that union be alſo clear ; yet it is ſeldom foundbut there are ſome aſſaults of Satan : Or if not, yet, how many relations and friends need our experiences and counſels at fuch a time ? Howmanythings ſhall we have to do after our great and main work is done ? Andothers have a great deal more to do, though as ſafe as the former. O the knots and objections that are then tobe diſſolved and anſwered ! The uſual onfets and affaults of Satan that are then to be refiſted !

Andyet moſt dying perſons have much more upon their hands than either ofthe former.

Thewhole work ofrepentance and faith is to do when time is even done.

Confider. 5. Few, yea, very few, are found furnished with wiſdom, experience and faithfulneſs to give dying perſons any confiderable aſſiſtance in foul-affairs.

It may be there may be found among the viſitants of the ſick, now and then a perſon who hath a word of wisdom in his heart; but then either he wants opportunity or courage and faithfulneſs todo the part of atrue ſpiritual friend. Elihu deſcribes the perſon ſo qualified as he ought for this work, Job xxxiii. 23, 24. and calls him,

Oneamonga thousand.

Some are too cloſe and referved, others too triffing and impertinent; fome are willing, but want ability;

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

others are able, but want faithfulness; some cut toodeep by uncharitable cenforiouſneſs; others ſkin over the wound too flightly, ſpeaking peace whereGod and confcience ſpeak none :

So that little help is to be expected.

Confider. 6. How much therefore doth itdeserve tobe lamented, that, where there is ſo much to do, ſo little time todo it, and ſo few to help in the beſt improvement of it, all ſhould be loſt as to their fouls by earthly incumbrances and worldly affairs, which mighthave beendone fooner and better in a more proper ſeaſon ! O therefore letme perfuade allmen to takeheed of bringing the proper buſineſs of healthfuldays to their fick beds.

Infer. 4. What an excellent creature is thefoul ofman, which iscapable, not only offuch preparatious for God, whilft it is in the body, but offuchfights and enjoyments ofGod, when it lives without abody.

Here the Spirit of God works upon it, inthe way ofgrace and ſanctification, Eph. ii. 10. The ſcope anddeſign of this his workmanſhip, is to qualify and make us meet for the life of heaven, 2Cor. vi. 5. For this ſelf-fame thing,orpurpoſe, our fouls are wrought, or moulded, by grace, into quite another frameand temper, than thatwhichnaturegavethem; andwhen he hath wrought out and finiſhed all that he intends to be wrought in the way of ſanctification, then ſhall it be calledup tothe highest enjoyments, and employments for ever, that a creature is fufceptible of.

Herein the dignity ofthe foul appears, thatno other creature inthis world, beſide it, hath a natural capacity, either to be ſanctified inherently in this world, or glorified everlaſtingly in the world to come; to be transformed into the image, and filledwith thejoy of the Lord. There are myriads ofother fouls in this world, befides ours, but to none of them is the Spirit of ſanctification fent, but only to ours : The fouls of animals

ſerve only tomove the dull and ſluggiſh matter, and take in for a few days the ſenſitive pleaſures of the creation, and ſo expire,

-having no natural capacity of, ordeſignation for, any higher employment or enjoyment.

And it deferves a moſt ſerious animadverſion, that this vaſt capacity of the foul for eternal bleſſedneſs, muſt of neceſſity make it capable of fo much the more miſery and ſelf-torment, if at laſt it fail of that blefſedness: For it is apparent they do not periſh becauſe they are uncapable, but becauſe they are unwilling : not becauſe their fouls wanted any natural faculty that others have, but becauſe theywould not open thoſe they have,

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan. to receive Chriſt in the way of faith and obedience, as others did.

Think upon this, you that live only to eat, and drink, and leep, and play, as the birds and beasts of the fielddo ; What needwas there of a reasonable foul for fuch ſenſual employments ? Do not your noble faculties ſpeakyourdefignation for higher uſes? And will you not wish toexchange fouls with the moſt vile and despicable animal in this world, if itwere poffible to be done ? Certainly it were better for you to have no capacityofeternal bleſſedneſs (astheyhave not) ifyou do not enjoy it ; and no capacity of torment beyond this life (as they have have not) if you must certainly endure it.

Infer. 5. If ourfouls and bodies must be separateshortly, how patientlyshouldwe bear all leffer feparations, that may andwill be made, betwixt us andany other enjoyments in this world ?

No union is ſo intimate, ſtrict, and dear, as that betwixt our fouls and bodies.

All your relations and enjoyments in this world, hang loofer from your fouls than your bodies do : and if it be your duty, patiently and ſubmiſſively, to fuffer a painful parting pull from your bodies ; it is doubtless your duty, to fuffer meekly and patiently a feparation from other things, which are but a prelude to it, andamere ſhadow of it.

It is goodtoput fuch cafes to ourſelvesin the midst of ourpleaſant enjoyments.

Ihave nowmany comfortable relatives in the world, wife, children, kindred, and friends ; Godhath madethem pleaſant to me, but he maybereave me of all these.

Doth not providence ring fuch changes all the world over ? Are not all kingdoms, cities, and towns, full of the ſighs and lamentations of widows, orphans, and friends bereaved of their pleaſant and useful relations ? But if God will have it ſo, it is ourduty to bound our forrows, remembring the time isfport, 1 Cor. vii.

29.

In a few days we must be ſtript much nearer, even out of our own bodies bydeath.

Godmay alſo ſeparate betwixt me andmy healthby ſickness, ſo that the pleasure of this world ſhall be cut offfrom me ; but fickness is not death, though it be a prelude and ſtep towards it : Imay well bear this with patience, who must fubmiſſively bear ſharper pains thantheſe ere long.

Yea, and well may I bear this ſubmiſſively, conſidering that by ſuch imbittering and weaning providences, God is preparing me for amuch eaſier diffolution, than if I should live at eaſe in thebody all my days, tilldeath comes to make ſo great and ſudden a changeuponme.

God may alfo feparatebetwixt meand my libertyby restraint.

Treatise ofthe Soul ofMan.

It hath been the lot of the beſt men that ever were in the world; and if it should be ours alſo, we ſhould notbe much ſtartled at it, confidering theſe bodies of ours mustbe ſhortly pentup in a ſtraiter, darker, and more loathsome place ofconfinement, than any priſon in this world can be.

The grave is adarker place, Job xvii. 13. and your abode there will be longer, Eccl. xi. &.

Theſe, and allother our outward enjoyments, are ſeparable things, and it is good thus to alleviate our loſs ofthem.

Infer. 6. How heavenlyshould the tempers andframes ofthose fouls be, who are candidates for beaven, and must be fo Shortly numberedwith the ſpirits ofjust men made perfect.

It is reasonable thatwe allbegin tobe, that which we expect to be for ever ; to learn that way of living and converfing, which we believe must be our everlasting life, andbuſineſs in theworld to come.

Let them thathope to live with angels in heaven, learn to live like angels on earth, inholiness, activity, and ready obedience.

There is the greatest reafon that our mindsbe there, where our fouls are to be for ever . A ſpiritual mind will befound poſſible, congruous, ſweet, and evidential of an intereſt inthat glory, to all thoſe holy fouls, who are preparing anddeſigned for it.

1. Itis poſſible, notwithstandingthe clogs and entanglements ofthebody, tobe heavenly-minded. Others have attained it,

Phil, iii. 20.

Two things make aheavenly converſation polli ble to men, viz.

(1.) The natural abilities ofthe mind.

(2.) The gracious principles ofthemind.

(1.) The natural abilities of the mind, which can, inami nute's time, diſpatch animble meſſenger toheaven, and mount its thoughtsfrom this to thatworld inamoment. The power ofcogitation is a rich endowmentofthe foul, ſuch as noother creature onearth is participant of.

Though ſpiritual thoughts benotthe natural growth of the foul, yet thoughts capableof being ſpiritualized are. Andwithout this ability of projecting thoughts, all intercourſe must havebeen cut off.

(2.) The gracious principles implanted intheſoul,do actual. ly inclinethe mind, andmount its thoughts heaven-ward. Yea, this will prove more thanapoſſibility ofa converſation in heaven; whilſt ſaints tabernacle on earth, in bodies of flesh, it will almoſt prove an impoſſibility that it ſhould be otherwise, fortheſe ſpiritualprinciples ſetting thebentandtendency ofthe

Y y VOL. II.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. heartheaven-ward, we must act against the very law ofour new nature, when we place our affections elsewhere.

2.Amind in heaven is mostcongruous, decorous and comely for thoſe that are the enrolled inhabitants ofthat heavenly city.

Where ſhouldaChriſtian's love be, butwhere his Lord is ! Our hearts and our homes do not use to be long afunder.

Itbecomes you ſo to think, and ſo to speak now, as thoſe who make account to be ſhortly finging hallelujahs before the throne .

3. It is moſt ſweet and delightful; no pleaſure in this world is comparable to this pleaſure; Rom. viii. 6. "To be fpiritual- " lyminded is life and peace."

It is a young heavenborn in the foul in its way thither.

4. To conclude: it is evidential ofyour intereſt in it : anagreeable frame is the ſureſt title, Col. iii. 1, 2.Matth. vi. 21.

If heaven attract your minds now, it willcenter them for ever.

Use 2. This doctrine ofthe ſeparationofthe ſpiritsofthe juſt from their bodies, as it lies beforeyou in this diſcourſe, affords a fingular help to allthe people of God, to entertain lovely and pleasant thoughts of that day; to make death not onlyanunregretted, buta moſt pleasantanddefireable thing to their fouls.

I know there is a pure, ſimple, natural fear of death, from which you must notexpect to be perfectly freed, by all the arguments in the world.

And there is a reverential, awful fear ofdeath, which itwould be your prejudice and lofs to have deſtroyed.

You willhave a natural, and ought to have a reverential fear ofdeath the one flows fromyour ſenſitive, the other from your fanctified nature.

But it is a third fort of fear,which doth you all the miſchief; a fear ſpringing ingracious fouls outof the weakness of their graces, and the ſtrength of their unmortified affections : a fear arifing partly out ofthe darkness ofour minds, and partlyout ofthe fenfuality and earthlineſs of our hearts ; this fear is that which ſo convulſeth our fouls when death is near, and imbitters our lives, even whilst it is at a diſtance.

He that hath been over-heated in his affections to this world, and over-cooled by diverſions and temptations, neglects and intermiffions, to that world, cannot chuſe but give an unwilling ſhrug, if not a frightful ſcreech at the appearance ofdeath.

And this beingthe ſad caſe of too many, good and upright fouls for the main; and there being ſo few, even amongſt ſerious Chriſtians, thathave attained to that courage and complacenceinthethoughts ofdeath, which the apofile ſpeaks of,

2 Cor. v. 8. to be both confidentand willing rather to be abſent -from the body, and to be preſent with the Lord;. Iwill, from

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

this diſcourſe, furnish them with fome ſpecial aſſiſtance therein.

But withal, I must tell you upon whatgreat disadvantages I am here to dispute with your fears : ſo ſtrong is the current ofnatural and vicious fear, that except a ſpecial hand of God enforce, and ſethome the arguments thatſhallbe urged, they will be as eaſily ſwept away before it, as ſo many ſtraws by a rapid torrent ; nor will itbe to any more purpoſe to oppoſe mybreath tothem, than to the tides andwaves ofthe fea.

Moreover, I am fully convinced, by long and often experience, how unfteady and inconſtantthe frames and tempers of *the beſt hearts are; and that if itbe not altogether, yet it is next to an impoſſibility, to fix them in ſuch a temper as this I aim at is .

Where is that man to be found, whoafter the revolutions of many years, and in thoſe years various diſpenſations of providence without him, alteringhis condition, and greater variety of temptations within, can yet ſay, notwithstanding all theſe various aſpects and poſitions, his heart hath ſtillheldone ſteady, and invariable tenour and courſe ?

Alas, there be very few (if any) of ſuch a ſound and ſettled temper of mind, whoſe pulſe beats with an even ſtroke, through all inequalities ofcondition, alike free and willingat one time, as another, to be unclothed ofthebody, and to be with Chriſt .

This height of faith, anddepth of mortification ; this ſtrength of love to Chrift, and ardourof holy defire, are degrees ofgrace to which very few attain.

The caſe ſtandingthus, it is nomore than needs, to urge all forts ofarguments upon our timorous and unfteady hearts; and it is like to prove a hard and difficult taſk, to bring the heart but toa quiet and unregretting fubmiffion to the appointment ofGod herein, though fubmiffionbe oneoftheloweſt ſteps of duty inthis cafe.

If it be hard to fix our thoughts butanhour, on fuch an unpleaſant fubject as death, how hard muſt it be to bring over the confent of the will ? Ifwe cannot endure itat adiſtance, in our thoughts, how ſhall we embrace, andhug itin our bofoms ? If ourthoughts fly back with diſtaſte, and impatience, nowonder ifourwill be obſtinate, and refractory : we must firſt prevail with our thoughts, to fix themselves, and think cloſe to fuch a ſubject, before it can be expected we chearfully reſign ourſelves intothe handsof death.

We cannot be willing to go along with death, tillwe have fome acquaintance with it ; and acquainted with it we cannot be, till we accuſtom ourſelves to

Yy2 think affiduoufly, and calmly ofit.

They thathave dwelt many

Treatise ofthe Soul ofMan. years atdeath's door, both in reſpect ofthe condition oftheir bodies, and diſpoſition of their minds, yet find reluctancyenoughwhen it comes to the point.

Object. But ifseparationfrom the body be (as it is) an enemy tonature, andthere be no poſſibility to extinguist natural &verſation ; to what purpose is it, to argue and persuade, where there is no expectation offuccefs ?

Sol.Deathis tobeconſideredtwoways,bythepeople ofGod:

1. As an enemy tonature.

2. As a medium toglory.

Ifwe conſiderit ſimplyinitſelf, as anenemy tonature, there is nothing in it for which we should defire it; but if we conſider it as a medium, or paſſage into glory, yea, the onlyordinary way through whichall the faints muſt paſs, out of this intoabetter ſtate ; ſo it will appear not only tolerable, but de firable to prepared fouls.

Were there nota ſhore of glory on the other fide of theſe black waters ofdeath, for my own part,

I ſhould rather chuſe to live meanly, thantodie easily.

Ifboth parts were to periſh atdeath, therewereno reaſon toperfuade one to bewilling todeliver up the other; itwere a madneſs for the foul todefire tobe diſſolved, ifitwere ſo far frombeing betteroutofthe body than in it, that it ſhould have nobeing at all.

But, Chriſtians, let me tellyou, death is ſo far frombeingabar, that it is a bridge inyour way toglory, and you are never like to come thither, but by paſſing over it : except, therefore, you will look beyond it, you will never fee anydefireableneſs in it. " I defire tobe diſſolved (faith Paul) and to be

" with Chriſt, which is far better." To be withdeath isſad, but tobewith Chriſt is ſweet; to endure the pains ofdeath is doleful, but to fee the face of Chriſt is joyful ; to part with your pleasant habitations is irkſome, but to be lodged in the heavenlymanfions is mostdelightful; a parting hour with dear relations is cutting, but a meeting hour with Jeſus Chriſt is tranſporting ; tobe rid ofyour own bodies is notpleaſing,but toberidof fin, and that for ever, what canbe morepleaſing, to agracious foul ?

You see, then, in what ſenſe I preſent death as a defirable thing to thepeople ofGod; and therefore feeing nature teach ethus, (as the apostle ſpeaks) toput themore abundant comelineſs upon the uncomely parts; fuffer me to dress up death in its beſt ornaments, and preſentit toyou in the following arguments, asabeautiful, and comely abject of your conditional, andwell-regulateddefires. And, Arg. 4. If upon a fairand just account, thereshallappear to

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

bemore gain to believersin death, than there is in life; reason must needs vote death to be betterto them thatare in Chrift, than lifecanbe; andconfequently, itshould be desirable intheir eyes.

'Tis a clear dictate ofreaſon, incase ofchoice, to chuſe that which isbest for us. Who isthere that freelyexerciſes reaſon, andchoicetogether, that willnot do fo?

What merchant will not partwith ahundred pound's worth of glaſs beads, and pendants, for atun of gold ? Afew tinfel toys, for as many rich diamonds ? Mercatura eft amittere, ut lucreris; that istrue merchandiſe, to part with things of leffer, forthingsofgreater value.

Now, ifyou willbe tried, anddeterminedby God'sbookof rates, then the cafe is determined quickly, and the advantage appears exceedingly upon death's ſide.

Phil. i. 21. "To me to live, is Chriſt ; andtodie, is gain."

Object. True, it might beso to Paul,whowaseminentingrace, andripeforglory ; but it may beless toothers, whohavenotattainedthe height ofhis holiness, or affurance.

Sol. The true and plainſenſe of the objection is this, whetherheaven, and Chriſt, be as much gain to him that enjoys them, though behind othersboth in grace and obedience, as it is to themwho are more eminent ingrace, andhavedone, and ſuffered more for their ſake ? And let itbe determined byyourſelves.

Butifyour meaningbe,thatPaul was ready fordeath, and ſo are not you ; hiswork andcourſe was almoſt comfortably finiſhed, and ſo is not yours; his death, therefore, muſt needs be gain tohim, butitmay be loſs toyou, eventhe loſs ofall that you are worth for ever.

To this I fay, the wisdom ofGod orders the time of his people's death, as well as all other circumſtances about it :

And in this, your hearts may be at perfect reſt, that being in Chriſt, you can neverdie to your loſs, die when you will.

I know you will reply, That ifyourunion with Chrift were clear, the controverfy were ended; but thenyou must alſo confider, they are as ſafe who dieby an act of recumbency upon Chrift, asthoſe that die in the fulleſt aſſurance of their intereſt inhim.

And beſide, your reluctancies, and averſations todeath, are none ofyour way to afſurance; that ſuch aſtrong averſation to fin,and fuch a vehement defire after, and love toChrift, as cản make you willing to quit allthat isdear, anddefirable to you inthisworld for his fake, isthevery next dooror ſtep to alfurance; and ifthe Lord bring your hearts to this frame, and fix them there, it is not likelyyou will belong without it.

Butto return : Paulhad here valued life, with a full allow

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan. ance ofall the benefits and advantages of it; " To me to live,

" is Chrift;" that is, ifI live, I ſhall live in communion with Chriſt, and ſervice for Chriſt, and in the midst of all thoſe comfortswhich usually reſult from both.

Here is life, with the moſt weighty, and desirable benefits of it, laid inone ſcale, and he lays death, and, probably, a violent death too, (for ofthat he ſpeaks tothem afterwards, chap. ii. 17.) in the other ſcale.

Thus be fills the ſcale, and the balance breaks on death's ſide; yea, it comes down with a πολλω μάλλον κρείσσον, a far, far bet. ter.

Buthere falls in (as anexcellent perſon * obſerves) a rub in theway: there are in this cafe two judges, the fleſh, and the ſpirit, and they cannot agreeupon the values, but contradict each other.

Nature ſaith, It is far better to live, than todie, andwill not be beaten off from it.

What then ? I hope you will not put blind and partial nature in competition withGod alſo, as you do life with death.

But ſeeing nature can plead fo powerfully, as wellas grace, let us hearwhat thoſe ſtrong reafons are, that are urged by the flesh on life's fide, and what the foul hath to reply, and pleadon death's fide, (for the foul can plead,andthatcharmingly too, though notby words and founds) and then determine the matter as we ſhall ſee cauſe : butbe fure prejudice pull notdown the balance.

And here the doleful voice of nature laments, pleads, and bemoans itſelf to the wil. ling foul.

1. The pleas of nature for life, andagainst diffolution..

•Omy soul, whatdoſt thou meanby theſe ' defires to be diſſolved ? Art thou in earneſt,

'when thou ſayeſt thou art willing to leave ⚫thine own body, and be gone ? Confider, and think again,

• ere thou bid me farewel, what thou art to me, and what I • havebeen, and am to thee; thou art my foul, that is, my prop, my beauty, my honour, mylife, and, indeed, all that is

• comfortable to me.

Ifthou depart, what am Ibut a ſpecta- ' cle of pity, an abhorred carcaſs, in a few moments ? a prey

⚫to the worms, acaptive todeath ? Ifthou depart, my candle * is putout, and I am left inthe horrors of darknefs.

' I am thy houſe, thy delightful habitation, the houſe in • which thou hast dwelt from the firſt moment of thy creation, and never lodgeſt onenightin any other : every room inme

⚫hath one way or other, been a banqueting-room for thy entertainment, a room ofpleaſure; all myſenſes have been pur

* Mr. How, in Mrs. Margaret Baxter's funeral fermon.

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

veyors for thydelight, my members have all of them been ⚫thine inſtruments and ſervants, to execute thy commands and pleaſure.

If thou and I part, it must be in a ſhower ; thou • ſhalt feel ſuch pains, ſuch travailing throws, ſuch deep, em- • phatical groans, ſuch ſweats, fuch agonies as thou never felt

• before: for death hath ſomewhat ofanguiſh peculiar to itſelf, • andwhich is unknown, though gueſſed atby the living. Be- • fides, whenever thou leaveſt me, thou leaveſt all that is, and • hathbeencomfortable tothee in this world : thy houſe ſhall

• know thee no more, Job vii. 10. thy lands, thy money, thy • trade, which have coſt thee ſo many careful thoughts, and • yieldedthee ſo many refreshments, ſhallbe thine no longer ;

• death will ſtrip thee of all theſe, and leave thee naked.

•Thou haſt alſo, ſincethou becameſt mine, contracted manifold relations in theworld,which I know are dear unto thee ;

• I know it by coſtly experience: How haft thou made me to wear and waste myſelf, inlabours, cares, and watchings for ** them ? But ifthou wiltbe gone, alltheſe muſt be left expo- ' fed, God knows to what wants, abuſes, and miſeries ! for I

6 candonothing for them, or myself, if once thou leave me.'

Thus it charms and pleads; thus it layeth, as it were, violent hands upon the foul, and faith, 'O my foul, thou ſhalt not depart.'

It hangs about it much, as the wife and children of goodGaleacius Caracciolus did about him, when he was leaving Italy, togo to Geneva, (a livelyemblem of the cafe before us).

It faith tothe foul, as Joab did to David, " Thou hast " ſhamed thy face this day, in that thou loveſt thine enemy,

" death, and hateſt me, thy friend."

' O my foul ! my life !

my darling ! my dear and only one ! let nothing but una- • voidable neceſſity partthee and me.'

All this the fleſh can plead, and a great deal more than this, and that a thouſand times more powerfully and feelingly, than anywords can plead the cafe.

And all its arguments are back'd by ſenſe; fight, and feeling atteſt what nature fpeaks.

Letus, in the nextplace,weigh the pleas, and reaſons, which, notwithstanding all this,

2. The pleas of faith in behalfof do over-power, and prevail with the believing foul to be gone, and quit its own body, and return no more to the elementary world. death.

And thus the power of faith and love enables it to reply :

، My dear body, the companion and partner of my comforts ' and troubles, in thedays of my pilgrimage on earth, great is

my love, and ſtrong are the bonds of my affections to thee.

•Thouhast been tenderly, yea, exceſſivelybelovedby me ; my k

Treatise of the Soul ofMan.

⚫caresandfears for thee havebeen inexpreffible, andnothing but the love of Jesus Chriſt is strongenough togainmy con- • ſent to part with thee; thy intereſt in my affection is great, but as great as itis, and as much as I prize thee, I can ſhake

•thee off, and thrust thee aſide, togo to Chrift.

•Nor maythis ſeemabfurd, orunreasonable, confidering that •God never deſigned thee for amanfion,but only a temporary

•tabernacle to me: it is true, Ihavehadfome comfortduring •myabode inthee; but I enjoyedtheſecomforts only inthee,

•not from thee; andmany more I might have enjoyed, hadſt ⚫thou not been a ſnare and aclogto me.

• It is thou that hafteatenup my time, and distracted my thoughts, enſnaredmy affections, and drawnme undermuch

• finandforrow: however, though we may weep over each o- ⚫ther, as acceſſories to the fins andmiſerieswehavedrawn upon ourſelves; yet in this isour joint-relief, that theblood

• ofChriſt hath cleanſed us both from all fin.

•And therefore I can part the more easily, and comfortably from thee, becauſe I part inhope to receive, and enjoy thee

' in a far better conditionthan I leave thee.

It isfor both our • intereſts to part for a time; formine,becauſe I ſhall thereby

• be freed anddelivered from fin and forrow, and immediately •obtain reſt withGod, and the fatisfactionofall my defires ia

⚫his preſence, and enjoyment, whichthere isno otherway to •obtain, butby ſeparationfrom thee: andwhy ſhould I live a •groaning, burdened, reſtleſs life always, to gratify thy fond

⚫andirrationaldefires ? Ifthou loveſtme,thouwouldſt rejoice, *not repine at myhappineſs.

Parents willingly part with their ⚫children at the greateſt diſtance, for their preferment, how

• dearly foever they love them; anddoſt thou envy, or repine ⚫atmine? I have lived many months a fuffocating, obfcure

' life, with thee inthe womb, and neither you nor I had ever • taſted or experienced the comforts of thisworld, and the va- • rious delights of ſenſe, if wehad not ſtruggled hard for an ' entrance intothis world. And now we are here, alas ! though

⚫thou artcontented to abide; I live in thee, but as we both * livedinthewomb, an obſcure, uneasy, and unfuitable life;

⚫thou canst feed upon material bread, anddelight thyſelf a- • midſt the variety ofſenſitive objects thou findeſt here ; but •whatare all theſe things to me? Icannot ſubſiſt bythem ;

⚫that which is food to thee, is but chaff, wind, and vanity to * me: if I staywith thee, I shallbe ſtill finning, and ſtill groaning; when I leave thee, I ſhall be immediately freed from * both, and arrive at the ſum and perfection of allthehopes,

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

*deſires, and whatfoever I have aimedat, and laboured for, in • all the duties ofmy life.

Letus thereforebe content to part.

• Shrink not at the horror of a grave ; it is, indeed, a dark ' and folitary houſe, and the days of darkneſs may be many ;

' but to thee, my dear companion, itshallbe abed ofreft, yea, ' a perfumed bed, where thy LordJeſus laybefore thee : and ' let the time of thy abode there be never so long, thou ſhalt

' notmeaſure it, nor find the leaſt tediouſneſs in it; athousand years there, ſhall ſeemnomore inthe morning of the refur- * rection, than the ſweeteſt nap, of anhour long, ſeemed tobe

' when I was wont to lay thee upon thybed to reſt.

' The worms in the grave ſhall be nothing to thee, nor give thee the thousandth part ofthat trouble that a flea was wont

' todo ; and thoughI leave thee, Jeſus Chriſt ſhall watch, in 'the mean time, over thy duſt, and not fuffer a grain of it to * be loft : and I will return, affuredly to thee again, at the time appointed; I take not an everlasting farewelofthee, but depart for a time, that I may receive thee for ever. To con- ، clude, there is an unavoidable neceſſity ofour parting ; whe- ' ther willing orunwilling, we mustbe ſeparated : butthe con- ' ſent ofmy will to part with thee, for the enjoyment ofJeſus

• Chriſt, will be highly acceptable toGod, and greatly ſweeten ' the bitter cup ofdeath to usboth.'

This, and much more, the gracious foul hath to ſay for its ſeparation from the body ; by which it is easy todifcern where the gain and advantage ofdeath lies, to all believers, and confequently, how much muſt it be, every way, their intereſt tobe unbodied.

Arg. 2. Tobe wearyofthebody, upon thepure accountand reaſonofour hatred to fin, andlongingdefires after Jeſus Chriſt, argues ſtrongly grace in truth, andgracein ſtrength; it isboth the teſt of our fincerity, and meaſure of our attainment, and maturity ofgrace, and, uponboth accounts, highlydefirableby all the people ofGod.

It is ſo great an evidence ofthetruth ofgrace, that the ſcriptures havemade it the deſcriptive periphrafis ofa Chriſtian : fo we find it in 2 Tim. iv. 8. the crown of life is there promiſed, toall them that love the appearance of Chrift, i, e. thoſe that lovetodrink of it, that delight to ſteep their thoughts in fubjects belonging to the other world, and caft many a yearning lookthatway: and 2 Pet.iii. 12. they are deſcribedtobe fuch as are " looking for, andhaſtening to the coming of the day

" ofGod. "

Their earnest expectations, and longings, donot

VOL. III.

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onlyput themupon making all the halletheycan tobewith Chrift, but it makes the interpofing time ſeem ſo tedious, and flow, that with their most vehementwishes and defires, they do what they can to accelerate and haſten it.

As Rev. xxi.

" Come, Lord Jeſus, come quickly."

Lovers hours, faith the proverb, are full of eternity.

O, faid Mr. Rutherford, that Chriſt would make long ſtrides ! O that he wouldfoldupthe

⚫heavens, as a cloak, and ſhoveltime anddays out ofthe way!"

Such defires as theſe, can ſpring from none but gracious and renewed fouls; for nature is wholly difaffected to a removal hence, upon ſuch motives and confiderations as theſe : ifothers wiſh, at anytime, for death, it is but in a pet, a pretent paffion, provokedbyſome intolerable anguiſh, orgreat diſtreſsofnature: but to look, and long, and haften tothe other world, out ofa wearineſs of fin, and a hearty willingness to be with Chrift, ſuppoſes neceſſarilya deep-rooted hatred of fin, abhorring it more thandeath itſelf, the greatest ofnatural evils, and a real

fight ofthings inviſible by the eye of faith, without which it is impoſſible any man's heart ſhould be thus framedand tempered.

Andas it evidenceth the truth, ſo alſo the ſtrength and maturityofgrace; for, alas, howmany thousands ofgracious fouls, that lovethe Lord Jeſus in ſincerity,are to be found quite be lowthis temper ofmind ! O it isbut here and there one, among the Lord's own people, that have reached this height and emi. nence offaith and love.

It is with the fruits ofthe Spirit,juft as it is with the fruits of the earth; fome are green and raw, others are ripeandmellow: the firſt ſtick faſt on the branches, you may ſhake and thake again, and not one willdrop; or as thoſe fruits that grow inhedges, with their coats and integumentsenwrapping them, as nuts, &c. you may try your ſtrength upon them, and fooner break your nails, than diſcloſe and fe-

parate them : fo fast and cloſedo their husks ſtick to them: butwhentime andthe influences of heaven, have ripened and brought them to perfection, the apples drop into your hands without the leaſt touch,andthe nut falls out ofits cafe, of its own accord.

So, much more, doth the foul part from its body, when maturated, andcometo its ſtrength, and vigour.

Arg. 3. It may greatlyprevailupon the willand refolution ofa believer, to adventure boldly and cheerfully upon death, thatour bodies, of which we are bereaved and deprived by death, ſhallbe moſt certainly and advantageously reſtored to us by the refurrection. The refurrection of the dead is the en. couragement and confolation of the dying; the more our faith is eſtabliſhed in the doctrine of the refurrection, the morewe

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

ſhall furmount the fears ofdiſſolution. If Paul urged it as an argument to reconcile Philemon to his fervant Oneſimus, ver.

15. " That he therefore departed for a ſeaſon, that Philemon " might receive him for ever ;" the fame argument may reconcile every believer to death, and take off the prejudice of the fool against it. You shall furely receive your bodies again, and enjoy them for ever.

Now the doctrine of the refurrection is as fure in itſelf, as it iscomfortable tous ; the depth, and ſtrength ofits foundation, fully anſwers to the height, andſweetness of its confolation.

Bepleaſed to try the two pillars thereof, and ſee which ofthem may be doubted or fhaken. Mat. xxii. 29. "You err (faith

" Chrift to the Sadducees, who denied this doctrine) notknow- " ing the fcriptures, and the power of God."

This is the groundandroot of their error, not knowing the fcriptures, and the power ofGod : q. d. did you know and believe the fcriptures ofGod, and the power ofGod, you would never queſtion this doctrine ofthe refurrection, which isbuilt uponthem both..

The power of God convinceth all men, thatknow and believe it, that it may befo, and the ſcriptures ofGod convince all that know and believe them, that it must be fo.

As for his power, whocandoubt it ? At the command and fiat ofGod, the earth brought forth every living creature after his kind, Gen. i. 24,

25. athis command Lazarus came forth, John xi. 43. And was therenotas much difficulty in either of theſe, as in our reforrection ? By this power our fouls were quickened, andraiſed from thedeath of fin andguilt, to the ſpiritual life ofChrift,

Eph. i. 19.

And is it not as eaſy to raiſe a dead body as a dead foul? But what ſtand I arguing in ſoplain a caſe, when we are affured this mighty power is able to fubdue allthings to itſelf?

Phil. iii. 21.

And then, for his promiſe that it ſhall be fo, what canbe plainer ? See 1 Theff. iv. 15, 16. " This we say unto youby

" theword ofthe Lord," &c. (i. e.) in the name or authority of the Lord, andby commiffion and warrant from him. He firſt opens his commiffion, ſhews his credentials, and then publiſhes the comfortable doctrine ofhis refurrection, and the faints pre-eminence to all others therein .

Well then, what remains indeath to frightand ſcarea believer? Is it our partingwith theſe bodies ? Why, it is not for everthat we part with them; as fure as the power and promifes ofGod are true, firm, and ſufficient to accomplish it, we shall fee and enjoy them again.

This comfortedJob, chap. xix. 25, 26. over all his difcafes, when ofall his enjoyments that once

Zz2

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. he had, he couldnot ſay, my friends, my children, my eftate ; yet then he could ſay, my Redeemer.

When he looked upon apoor wasted, withered, 1lothſome body of his own, and faw nothing but aſkeleton, an image of death, yet then could he fee it a glorious body, by viewing it believingly in this glafs of the refurrection. So then all the damage we can receive by death, is but the absence ofour bodies for a time ; duringwhich time, the covenant-relation betwixt God and them, holds good and firm, Mat. xxii. 32. He therefore will take care of them, and indue time reſtore them, with marvellous improvements andendowments, to us again, diveſted of all their infirmities, andcloathedwithheavenly qualities and perfections, 1 Cor. xv.

43, 44. And inthe mean time, the foul attains its reſt, and happineſs, and fatisfaction in the bleſſedGod.

Arg. 4. The confideration ofwhat we part from, and what wego to, ſhould make the medium, by whichwe paſs from fo much evil to ſo great good, lovely and defirable in our eyes, how unpleaſing orbitter foever it be in itſelf.

No man defires phyfic for itſelf.

There is no pleaſure in bitter pills and lothſome potions, exceptwhat riſes fromthe end, viz . the diſburdeningof nature, and recovery of health; and this gives it a value with the fick and pained.

Under a like confideration is death defiredby fickandpained fouls, who find it better todie once, than groanunder burdens continually.

Death certainly is the beſt phyſician, next, and under Jeſus Chriſt, that ever was employed about them; for it cures radicallyand perfectly, so that the foul never relapſes more into any diſtemper, Other medicines are but anodynes, or at beſt they relieve usbut in part, and for a time ; but this goes through thework, and perfects the cure atonce. Methinks that call of Chriſt, which he gives his ſpouſe in Cant. iv. 8. "(Comewith

" me from Lebanon (my ſpouſe) with me from Lebanon:

" and look from the top ofAmana, from the top of Shenir and " Hermon, from the lions dens, from the mountains of leo- " pards)" ſcarce fuits any time ſo well as thetime of death.

Thenit is thatwe depart fromthe lionsdens,and themountains ofleopards, placesuncomfortable and unsafe.

More particularly atdeath the faints depart, 1. From defiling corruptions 2. From heart ſinking forrows 3.From entangling temptations 4. Fromdiſtreffing perfecutions 5. From pinching wants 6. From distracting fears 7. Fromdeluding ſhadows 1. Perfect purity.

2. Fulneſs of joy.

3. Everlaſting freedom.

4. Full reſt.

5. Univerfal fupplies.

16. Higheſt ſecurity.

1:17. Subſtantialgood. into

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

1. From defiling corruptions into perfect purity. No fin hangs about the ſeparated, though itdo about the fanctified foul.

They come out ofthe body fuitable to that character and encomium, Cant. iv. 7. " Thou art all fair, my love, there is no " ſpot in thee."

It doth that for the faints, which all their graces and duties, all their mercies and afflictions, could never do.

Faith is a great purifier, communion with God a great cleanſer, ſanctified afflictions a refiner's fire and fuller's foap; theſehave alldone their parts, and been useful in their places :

But none ofthem, nor all together, perfected this curetilldeath come, andthenthe work is done, and the cure perfected.

Allweeping, all praying, all believing, all hearing, all facraments, all the means and inſtruments in the world, cannet do whatdeath willdo for thee. One dying hour will dowhat ten thouſand praying hours neverdid, nor coulddo.

In this hour thedeſignofall thoſe hours isaccomplished; as he that is dead bymortification, is, at preſent, freed from fin, in reſpect ofimputation and dominion, Rom. vi. 7. ſo hethat is juftifiedand mortified, when dead naturally, is immediately freed from the very indwelling and existence of fin in him.

We read of the washingof the robes ofthe faints, in Rev. vii. 14. The blood of the Lamb cleanſeth them from every ſpot ; but it doth itgradually.

The laſt ſpot ofguilt indeed was fetched out by one act of justification ; but the laſt ſpot offilth is not fetched out till the time of their diſſolution; when they are come out of the agonies ofdeath (which the ſcripture calls great tribulation) then, and not till then, are theyperfectly cleanſed.

Sin brought in death, anddeath carries out fin.

Oh! what a pure, lovely, mining creature, isthe ſeparated ſpirit of a juſt man ? howclear is its judgment, how ordinate its will, how holy, and altogetherheavenlyare all its affections now ! andnever till now it feels itſelfperfectly well, and as it wouldbe.

2. From heart-ſinking forrows, into fulness ofjoy.

The life we now live is a groaning life, 2 Cor. v. 2. where is the Chriſtian, that ifhis infide couldbe ſeen,,and his heart laid naked, wouldnot be foundwoundedfrom many hands ? from the hand

God, of enemies, of friends, of Satan; but eſpecially by the hands ofits own corruptions ? Chriſt our headwas ſtiled a man offorrows, from the multitude of his forrows ; and it is the lot of allhis to be in a ſtate offorrow inthe body. "Inthe

" world (faith he) you shall have trouble." When I conſider howoft the candle offorrowis held tothe thread oflife, Ijustlywonderhowit is protractedto ſuch alength. What friend,

ATreatise of the Soul of Man. what enjoymenthad we ever in this world, from which no forrow, nay, many forrows have not ſprung up tous ? And ifthe beſt comfortsbring forth forrows, whatdo the worst thingswe meet with here bring forth ? I ſuppoſe there are many thoufands ofGod's people this day in the world,that have as much reaſontoaffume the fame newname, thatNaomi did, and fay, callmeMarah .

Look, asday andnightdivide alltime betwixt them ; ſo do our comforts and ourforrows, only with this difference, that our nights of forrow, like winternights, are long, cold and dark ; and ourdays of comfort ſhort, and frequently overcaft.

Butwhenwe put offtheſebodies, we put off our mourning garmentswiththem,and ſhallnever forrowanymore : ThenceforthGodwipes away alltears from his peoples eyes, Rev. xxi.

4. And that isnot all, but they enter in into their Maſter's joy, even fulness ofjoy andpleaſures for evermore. Groans are turned intotriumphs, and ſighs, and tears, intojoyful acclamations and fongs of praise. Oh thatwe were once made throughly ſenſible of the advantages that comeby this exchange I 3. From entangling temptations into everlasting freedom. It is thisbody, and the intereſts, and concerns of it, upon which Satan raiſes most ofhisbatteries against our fouls : It is our fleſh thatcauſeth,our fouls to fin ; and whilst the foul dwells in the body, it is within Satan's reach to tempt, and defile, and trouble it. Oh what grievous thingsdo thebeſt fouls endure, and fuffer on this account !

Temptations are of two forts ; ordinary and mediate, by Satan's exciting and managingour corruptions, by preſenting objects to them ; or extraordinary and immediate, like fiery darts ſhot immediately out of hell intothe foul, which puts it all intoa fiame and combustion : Of the former you read in James i. 14, the latter, Eph. vi. 16. and upon the accountof theoneand the other,the peopleofGod are weary oftheir lives.

Thinkwhat agriefit must be toa foul, that lovesGod, to feel initſelf fuch things as militate against, andwound the name and honour ofGod, which is, and ought to bedearer to it than its life.

Butby thedoor ofdeath everygracious ſoul makes its eſcape fromthe tempting power of Satan: He can no more touch or affectthe foul with any temptation, thanwecan batter thebody ofthe fun with fnow-balls : For as Satan canhave no acceſs to that place ofbleſſedneſs, where the fouls of the faints are; fo if he could, he can find nothing inthem tofaſtenatemptation upon. The ſchoolmen give this asthe reason why the faints

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

inheavenare impeccable, becauſe all their thoughts and affections are everlattingly fixed in, andemployed about thebleſſed

God, whoſeface they continually behold in glory.

4. From diſtreſſing perſcutions, into full and perfect reft.

Asdeath fetsus free from the power of Satan, ſo from the reachof all perfecutors: " There the wicked ceaſe fromtrou- "bling, and there the weary are at reft," as it is in Job iii. 17.

The price ofone Ahab, who had fold himselfto work wickednels, was a ſtock fufficient topurchaſe manyyears trouble toall

Ifrael, 1Kingsxviii. 17. "Wickedmen are as the unquiet trou- " bled ſea which cannot reſt," Iſa. lvii. 20. They cannot reſt from troubling the faints, tilltheycease tobewicked or to live:

WhenGodputs out the candle oftheir lives, they are filentin darkness, Sam. ii. 9. Andwhen God puts out the candle of our life, we are at reſt, though theyrage never so much inthis world.

Death is the faints quietus est, their full and final difcharge from perfecuting enemies. Whenwe are dying, we mayfay, as Plal. ix. 6." Othou enemy, deſtructions are come

" toaperpetual end."

Godmayputanend to theſe perſecutions beforedeath, and ſuchatime,accordingtopromife, is tobe expected, " whenour

" officers ſhallbe peace, and our exactors righteouſneſs," Ifa. lx. 17. but if theaccomplishmentofthepromise be reſerved for ages to come, andwe muſt ſpend ourdays under the oppreffion of the wicked; yet this is our comfort, we know whenwe ſhallbe far enough out oftheir reach.

5. From piaching wants, to univerſal ſupplies.

This is the dayinwhich the Lord abundantly fatisfies the defires, and fupplies the needs of all his people.

There are two forts ofwants uponthe people ofGod: spiritual and temporal.

Spiritual wants are the juſt complaints of all gracious fouls.

You read, I Theff. iii. 10. ofthat which is lacking in the faith ofthe faints : There are nonebut find many things lacking to the perfection of every grace : our knowledge of God wants clearness, and efficacy; our love to God fervor, and conftancy; our faith wants ſtrength, and ſtability : Darkneſs mixes itſelf with our knoweldge, deadneſs with our love, unbelief with the pureſt acts of faith. Go where you will, you ſhall find God's people every where complaining of their ſpiritual wants: one of a dark head, another of adead heart, another of a treacherous memory. Thus theyare loadingone another with their complaints.

Temporaloutwardwants pinch hard alſo upon many ofGod's people: The greatest number ofthemconfiftofthe poor ofthis

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. world, James ii. 5.

Those whoſe foul's are difcharged andacquitted byGod, whoſedebts are paidby Jeſus Chriſt, may yet be intangled in a brake of cares and troubles in the world, and not know which way to turn themſelves intheir ſtreights and difficulties.

But bydeath the faints paſs from all theirwants, inward and outward, to a ſtate ofcomplete fatisfaction, where nothing is lacking : From that day all their ſpiritual wants are ſupplied; for they are now arrived to " the meaſure ofthe ſta- " tureofthe fulness ofChriſt, to a perfect man." Eph. iv. 13.

Now that which is perfect is come, and all thatwas inpart is " done away, 1 Cor. xiii . 10.

And for outward wants, they ſhall feel them no more : For putting off the body, we must needs put offall cares and concernsabout it. " Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats,

" God ſhall deſtroy both it and them,"

1 Cor. vi . 13 .

6. From diftracting fears, into the higheſt ſecurity and reſt ofthoughts for evermore.

The fears ofGod'speople are either about their fouls, or about their bodies ; the fears they have a bout their fouls are inexpreſſible. Two things eſpecially exerciſe their fears about their foul.

(1.) Whether they be really united to Chrift.

(2.) Whether they ſhall be able to continue andperſevere inthe ways of Chrift to the end? they are afraid oftheir fincerity and of their ſtability: And theſe fears accompanymany ofGod's people from their regeneration totheirdifſolution. O what would they not give, what would they not do, yea, what would theynot endure toget full fatisfaction in thoſe things ! Every working of corruption, every diſcovery madeby temptation, puts them into a fright, andmakes them queſtion all that ever was wrought in them .

And, as their fears are great about the inwardman, ſo alſo about the outwardman; eſpeciallywhenſuch bloodyprepaгаtions ſeem to be making bythe enemies that have actedſuch, and ſo manybloody tragedies already in the world.

But at death they enter into a perfect peace and ſecurity, Ifa.

Ivii. 2. No wind of fearſhall ever ruffle and disturb their fouls, and put them into a ſtorm anymore, 7. Fromdeluding ſhadows into ſubſlantial good. This world is the world of ſhadows, anddeluſive appearances.

Here we are impoſed upon, and baffledby emptyand deceitful vanities :

All we have here is little elſe butadream; atdeath the foul awakes out of its dream, and finds itſelf in the world ofrealities, where it feeds upon ſubſtantial good to fatisfaction, Pfal. xvii . 15.

Now the advantages accruing to the foul bydeath, being fo

ATreatise of the Soul of Man.

great andmany, tho' the mediumbeharthand ungrateful in ittelf, yet there is all thereaſon intheworldweshould covet it, for the benefits that come by it.

Argum. 5. The foretaſtes we have had of heaven already in thebody, ſhouldmake allthe faints longtobe unbodied for the full and perfect fruition of thatjoy, feeingitcannot be fully and perfectly enjoyedby the foul, tillithath put off thebody bydeath.

That there are prelibations, firſt-fruits, and earneſts of futureglory given at certain ſeaſons to believers, in this life, is putbeyond alldoubting, notonlyby ſcripture-teſtimonies, but frequent experiences ofGod's people.

I ſpeak not only with the ſcriptures, but with the clear experience of many faints, when I ſay, here are to be felt and taſted, even here in the body, the earnests of our inheritance, Eph. i. 14. " The firſt-fruits

" of the ſpirit," Rom. viii. 23. " The ſealing of the ſpirit, "

Eph. i. 13. " The veryJoy of the Lord," I Pet. i. 8. of the ſamekind, tho' in a leſs degree with thatof the glorified.

Thatthe fulness ofthisjoy cannot be in us whilft wetabernacle inbodies of fleſh, is as plain. When Mofes defired a fight of that face which the ſpirits ofjuſt menmade perfect do continually behold and adore, the anſwerwas, " No man can

" ſee my face and live," Exod. xxxiii. 18, 19, 20. q. d. Mofes, thou aſkeſt a great thing, and underſtandeſt not how unable thou art to fupport that which thoudefireft : ſhould I ſhew thee my glory in thiscompounded ſtate thounowart in, itwould confound thee and ſwallow thee up.

Nature, as now conſtituted, cannot ſupport ſuch a weight of glory : A ray, a glimpse ofthis

لا light overpowers man, and breaks fuch a clay veſſel to pieces : which is the reasonwhy the reſurrection muſt interveen betwixt this ſtate, and that of the body's glorification.

And it is not to be doubted, but one main end and reaſon why theſe foretaſtes of heaven are given us in the body, is to embolden the foul to venture thro' death itſelf for the full enjoyment of thoſe delights and pleaſures.

They are like the grapes of Eſhcol to the faint-hearted Ifraelites, or the ſweet wines of Italy to theGauls, which, once taſted, made them reftleſs till theyhad conquered that goodcountry where they grew.

Rom. viii. 23. " We which have the firſt-fruits of " the Spirit, even we ourselves do groan within ourſelves,

" waiting for the adoption, viz. the redemption of our bo- " dies." a Wellthen, reflect ſeriouslyupon theſe ſweet tastes that you

VOL . III .

Aaa

ATreatie of the Soul of Man. havehad ofGod, and his love, in your fincere and fecret ad dreſſes to him, and converſes with him.

What a holy forgetfulness ofall things in this world hath it wrought ! How infipid and taſteleſs hath it rendered the ſweetest creature-enjoyments !

Whatwillingness tobe diſſolved for a more full fruition of it!

God thiswaybrings heaven nigh to your fouls, out ofdeſign to overcome your reluctancies at death, through which you muſt paſs to the enjoyment of it. And after all thoſe ſights and taſtes, both of the truth andgoodness of that ſtate, ſhall we ſtill reluctate, and hang back, as if we had never taſted howgood the Lord is ! O you may juſtlyqueſtion, whether you ever had a real taſte of Jesus Chriſt, ifthat taſte do not kindlecoalsof fire inyourbofoms, I mean, ardent longings to bewith him, and tobe ſatiated with his love.

Ifyou have been privileged with a taste of that hiddenManna, with the fight of things inviſible, with joys unspeakable, and full of glory, andyet are loath tobe gone to the fountain whenceall thisflows; certainly you hereinboth croſs thedeſign ofthe Spiritingiving them, and caſt a vile diſgrace and reproach upon the bleſſedGod, as thinking there is more bitterness in death, thanthere is ſweetneſs in his preſence. Yea, it argues the ſtrength of that unbeliefwhich ſtill remains inyour hearts, thatafter ſomanytaſtes and trials as you have had, you ſtill remaindoubtful andhefſitating about the certainty and realityof things inviſible.

OwhatadohathGodwith his froward and peeviſh children !

Ifhehad only revealed the future ſtateto us inhis word, as the pureobject of faith, and required us todie upon the mere credit of his promiſe, without ſuch pawns, pledges, and earneſts as theſe are ; Were there not reaſon enough for it ? But after ſuch, and ſo many wonderful and amazing condeſcenſions, whereinhedoth as it were ſay, Soul, if yet thou doubteft, I will bringheaven to thee, thou ſhalt have it in thy hand, thy eyes ſhall fee it, thy hands ſhall handle it, thy mouth ſhall taſted it; How inexcuſable is our reluctancy ?

Argum. 6. Itshouldgreatlyfortify thepeople ofGod, against thefears ofdiffolution, to confider thatdeath can neither destroy the being oftheirfouls by annihilation, nor the hopes andexpectations theyhave of bleffedness, by disappointment andfruftratiot,

Prov. xiv. 32. " The righteous hath hope inhis death."

Though all earthly things fail at death (upon which account dyingis expreſſed byfailing, Luke xvi. 19.) yet neither thefoul, nor the well-groundedhopescan fail. The anchor ofa believer's hope is firm and fure, Heb. vi. 18.

It will come home

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

in the greateſt ſtorm that can beat upon the foul.

For, (1.) God hath foreknown and chosen them to falvation before the world was, i Pet. i. 2. " And this foundation ofGod ſtandeth

" ſure, having this feal, The Lord knowethwho are his,"

2Tim. ii. 19.

His decrees are as firm as mountains ofbraſs, Zech. vi . 1.

(2.) God hath juſtified their perfons, and thereindeſtroyed the power ofdeath over them,

I Cor. xv. 55, 56, 57. " Odeathwhere is thy ſting ? Ograve where isthy victory?

" The Oing ofdeath is ſin, the ſtrength ofſin isthe law."

If allthe hurtful power of death lies in fin,andall the deſtructive powerof ſin riſes from the law; then neither death, nor fin, have anypower todeſtroy the believer, inwhom the righteoufneſsof the law is fulfilled, Rom. viii. 4 namely, by the imputationoftherighteouſneſs ofChriſt tothem, inreſpect ofwhich theyareas righteous, as ifintheir own perſons theyhad perfectlyobeyedallitscommands, or ſufferedallits penalties.

Thus death loſeth its ſting, its curſe and killing power over the foulsof all that are in Chriſt.

(3.) God hath fanctified their natures, which ſanctification isnot only a fure evidence oftheir election and justification, 2 Theff. i. 5, 6. Rom. viii. 1. buta fure pledgeof their glorification alſo, 2Cor. v. 4, 5.

Yea, (4.) Hehath madeafure, and an everlasting covenant with believ ers; andamong other gracious privileges therebyconferredupon them, death is found in the inventory, 1 Cor. xiii. 21 .

Death isyours; to dieisgain to them: Itdeſtroys their enemies, and thediſtance that is betwixt Chriſt and them.

(5.) Hehath fealed them to his glory by the holy Spirit, Eph. iv. 30.

So that theirhopes are too firmly built tobedestroyedby death , andifit cannot destroy their fouls, nor overthrow their hopes, theyneed not fear all that it cando beſides.

: Argum. 7. Itmaygreatly encourage andembolden the people ofGodto die, confidering that though at death they take the laft fight andview ofallthat isdear to them on earth ; yet then they are admitted to thefirst immediatefight and bleſſedvision ofGod, whichwillbe theirhappiness to alleternity.

WhenHezekiah was upon his ſuppoſed death-bed, he complained, Ifa. xxxviii. 11. " I ſmall ſee man no more, with the " inhabitants of the world."

We shall fee thenceforth theſe corporeal people nomore. We shall fee our habitations and dwelling-places no more,Job vii. 9. 10, 11. We shall fee our childrenanddear relations no more. Jobxiv. 21.His ſons come

** tohonour, andheknoweth itnot." Theſethings makedeath terrible tomen; but that which cures allthis trouble is, that Aaaz

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. we ſhall neither need, nor defire them, beingthenceforth admitto the beatifical viſion of the bleſſed God himself.

It is the expectation and hope ofthis, which comforteth the fouls of the righteous here, Pfal. xvii. 15." When I awake, I " ſhall behold thy face in righteouſneſs."

Thoſe weak and dim repreſentations madeby faith, at a diſtance, are the very joy and rejoicing of a believer's foul now, I Pet. i.7, 8, buthow ſweet and tranſporting foever theſe viſions of faith be, they are not worthy to be namedin comparison withthe immediate and beatifical viſion, 1 Cor. xiii. 12.

This is the very fum ofa believer's bleſſedneſs : And what it is we cannot comprehend in this imperfect ſtate; only, in general, we may gather theſe concluſions about it, from the account given of it in the ſcriptures.

-1. That itwillnot be ſuch a fight ofGod as we nowhaveby the mediation of faith, but a direct, immediate, and intuitive viſion of God; (* 1 John iii. 2. "We shall fee him as he is."

1 Cor. xiii. 12. " Then face to face,") which far tranſcends the viſion of faith, in clearness and in comfort.

This seems to import no leſs than the very fight ofthe divine Eſſence, thatwhich

Mofes defired on earth to fee, butcould not, Exod. xxxiii. 20. nor can be ſeen by any man dwelling in a body, 1.Tim. vi. 16. nor by unbodied ſouls comprehenſively : ſoGod only fees himſelf.

Our eyes ſee the fun which theycannot comprehend, yet truly apprehend. God will thenbe known in his eſſence, and in theglory of all his attributes.

The fightofthe attributes of Godgives the occaſion and matter ofthoſe aſcriptions ofpraiſe and glory to him, which is the properemployment ofglorified ſouls, Rev. iv. 11. andver. 12, 13, which is the proper employment of angels, Iſa. vi. 3.

Oh how different is this fromwhat we now have through faith, duties, and ordinances ! See the difference betwixtknowledge by reports, and immediate fight, in that example of the queen of the fouth, 1 Kings x. 10. the former only excited her deſires, the latter tranſported andovercame her very foul.

Some may think ſuch aviſion ofGod to exceed the abilities ofnature, and capacities ofany creature.

But as a learned † man rightly obſerves, if the Divine Nature be capable of union with a creature, as it is evident in the perſon ofChriſt, it is alſo

*The light ofglory is anactual illumination, i. e. a ſupernatural Influx ofGod. elevating the understanding to a fight of the divine effence, Smissing Tracter. 2. Dif. 6. N. 33.

† Norton's Orthodox, Evang. p. 327-

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

373. capable ofbeing the object of viſion to the creature. Beſide, wemust know the light of glory hath the fame reſpect to this bleſſed vifion, that affifting grace hath to the acts of faith and obedience performed here on earth.

It is a comforting, foulſtrengthening light, not to dazzle and overpower, but to comfort, ſtrengthen, and clear the eye of the creature's underſtanding.

Rev. ii. 28. " I will give him the morning-ſtar," lumen confortans; and Iſa. xxxvi. 9. " Inthy light we shall fee light."

2. It will be a fatisfying fight, Pfal. xvii. 15. ſo perfectly quieting, andgiving reſt tothe foul in all its powers, that they neither can proceed, nor defire to proceed any farther.

The underſtanding canknow no more, the will can will no more ; the affections ofjoy, delight, and love are at full reſt and quiet in their proper centre For all good is in the chiefeſt good eminently ; as all the light of the candles inthe world is in the fun, and all the rivers in the world in the sea.

That which makes the understanding, will, and affections move farther, as being reſtleſs, and unſatisfied in all diſcoveries and enjoyments here, is the limited and imperfect nature ofthings we now converſe with ; as if you bring a great ſhip that draws much water, into a narrow, and ſhallow river, ſhe can neither fail nor fwim, but is preſently aground: But let that ſhip have fea-room enough, then the can turn and fail before the wind, becauſe there isdepth of water, and room enough.

So it is here ; all that delighted, but could never fatisfy you in the creature, is eminently inGod ; and what was imperfectly in them, is perfectly to be enjoyed in him, 1 Cor. xv. 28. " God ſhall be all

" in all ;" the comforts you had here were but drop by drop, inflaming, not fatisfying the appetite of the foul : But then

" the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, ſhall feed " them, and lead them unto fountains of living water," Rev. vii. 17.

The object fills the faculties.

A 3. It will be an appropriating viſion ofGod ; you ſhall ſee him as your ownGod, and proper portion; elſe it could never be a fatisfying viſion, Job xix. 27. "Whom I ſhall feefor my- " felf!" Not look on him as another'sGod, but as myGod and portion for ever.

Balaam ſaw Chriſt by a ſpirit of prophecy; but he had no comfort, becauſe no intereſt in him, Numb. xxiv. 17.

The wicked ſhall ſee him, butwithout joy, yea, with weeping eyes, and gnaſhing ofteeth, becauſe they cannot ſee him as their Lord, Luke xiii. 28.

'Tis but a poor comfort to ſtarving beggars to ſtand quivering and famiſhing in the ſtreets inacolddarknight, and fee the lights in the bridegroom's

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. houſe, the noblediſhes ſerved in, and to hear the muſic and mirth of the guests that feaſt within. Here it will be as clear thathe is ourGod, as that he isGod.

Aſſurance is that which many fouls have deſired, prayed, and panted for, but cannot attain.

There be many rubs and ſtumbling-blocks in the way tothat ſweet enjoyment; but herewe find what we have been ſo long ſeeking: There be no doubts, ſcruples, objections, puzzling cafes, to exerciſe yourown, or others thoughts.

But astheſe did ariſe from one of theſe grounds, viz. the working ofcorruption, the efficacy of temptation, or divine withdrawments, and the hidings of God's face: So alltheſe being removed perfectly andfor ever inthat ſtate, the heavens muſt needsbe clear, andnot acloud ofdoubt or fear to be ſeen for ever.

4. Itwillbe adeeply affecting ſight; your eyeswill now fo affect your hearts, as they were never affected before.

The firſtviewof God will ſnatch away your hearts to him, as a greater flame doth the leſs.

Love will not now diſtil from theheart, as waters fromacold ſtill, but guſh out as froma fluice or floodgate pulled up. The soul will notmove after Godſo deadlyand ſlowly as itdoth now,but beas the chariots ofAminadab, Cant. vi. 12. Wemayfay ofthe frames ofour hearts there, comparedwith what they are here, as it is faid,

Deut. xii. 8, 9. " You shall not love, or delight in, God, as you " do this day."

If the perfection of that ſtate would admit fname or forrow, how ſhould weblush andmourn inheaven, to think how cold our love, and how lowourdelights in God were on earth ! I John iv. 16. "God is love; and he that "dwelleth in love, dwelleth inGod."

Look, as iron put into the firebecomes all fiery, ſo the fouldwelling in theGod of love, becomes all love, alldelight, alljoy. Oh what tranſports muſt that foul feel, that abides under the lineoflove ! feels the perpendicularbeams of electing, creating, redeeming, preſerving love, beating powerfully upon it, and melting it into love ! See fome of their tranſports, Rev. v. 13, 14.

5. It willbe an everlasting vision ofGod, I Theſſ. v. 17.

"Soſhall webe ever with the Lord," [ever with the Lord.] Whocanfind words toopen thedeep ſenſe oftheſe fewwords!

Vacabimus et videbimus, videbimus et amabimus, amabimus et laudabimus infinefinefine, faith bleſſed Auſtin. This is the everlasting fabbath, which hathnonight, Rev. xxii. 4, 5. The eternal happineſs purchased for the faints by the invaluable bloodofChriſt.

Ifone hour's enjoymentofGod,intheway

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

offaith,beſoſweet, andno pricecanbeput upon it,nothingon earth taken inexchange for it; what muſt a whole eternity, in the immediateand full viſions of thatbleſſed face inheaven,be !

Well then, if ſuch ſights as theſe, immediately fucceed the fightyouhave onearth, either by fenſe ofthings natural, orby reaſon ofthings intellectual, or byfaith ofthings ſpiritual,who thatbelieves the truth, and expects the fulfilling offuchpromiſes as theſe, would notbewillingtohavehis eyescloſedbydeath, as foonasGod ſhali pleaſe ? I have read ofaholyman that had fweet communion withGod in prayer, who in the cloſe ofhis duty cried out, claudimini, oculi mei, claudimini, &c. Besbut, O my eyes, besout ; youshall neverfeeany thingon earth likethat

Ihave nowfeen.

Ah! little do the friends of dead believers thinkwhat viſions ofGod,what raviſhing ſights of Chriſt, the fouls of their friendshave, when theyare cloſingtheir eyeswith tears.

Argum. 8. Theconfideration of the evildays that are tocome, Shouldmake thepeople ofGodwilling toacceptofanhidingplacein thegrave, as aspecialfavourfrom God.

It is accounted an act of favour by God, Iſa. lvii. 1, 2. tobe taken awayfrom the evil tocome. There are twokinds ofevils tocome, theevil offin,andthe eviloffufferings.

Sins tocome are terrible to gracious hearts, whentemptations ſhallbeat their height, and ſtrength. Oh, what warping and ſhrinking, what difſſembling, yea, downright denying theknowntruths andways ofGod, mayyou fee every-where ? Many confciences willthen be wounded and waſted? Many ſcandals and rocks of offence willbe rolled into theway ofgodliness : Chriſtwill beexpoſed, andput to open ſhame. Should we only be ſpectators of ſuch tragedies as theſe, itwere enough to overwhelm agracious and tender heart.

Butwhat upright heart is there without fears and jealouſies ofbeing brought undertheguiltoftheſe evils in itſelf, aswell as the ſhame and grieffor them in others ? Oh ! it were athousandtimesbetter foryoutodie inthe purityandintegrityof yourconfciences, than to protract a miſerable lifewithoutthem.

Oh ! think what a world it is you are like toleave behind you, in reſpect ofthat tocome!

And as there are manyevils of fintocome,ſo there are many evilsoffufferings comingon : " Thedays of viſitation arecom66 ing on, the days of recompence are come, and Iſrael ſhall

" know it," Hof. ix.7.All the ſufferingsyou haveyetmet with, havebeeninbooks andhiſtories : Younever saw the martyrdom ofthe ſaints,but in the pictures and ſtories ; but you will find itquite anotherthing to be thesubjects oftheſe cruelties, than

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan. to be the mere readers or relators of them.

'Tis one thing to tee the painted lion on a fign-poſt, andanother tomeetthe living lion roaring uponyou. Ah! littledo we imaginehowthe hearts ofmen are convulfed, what fears, what faintings invade their ſpirits, whenthey are to meet theKingofterrors, inthefrightful formalities ofa violent death.

The confideration of theſe things willdiſcover toyou the reaſon of that ſtrange with ofJob, chap. xiv. 13. "Oh that thou

*" wouldſt hide me in the grave; that thou wouldſt keepme in " ſecrettillthywrathbepaſt !" Anditdeſervesa ſerious thought, thatwhen the holyGhoſt had, in Rev. xiv. 9, 10, 11, 12. deſcribedthe miferable plight ofthoſe poor fouls,who being overcomeby their own fears and thelove ofthis world,ſhould plunge themſelves firſt into adeep guilt,by compliance with Antichrift, and receiving his mark; theninto ahellupon earth, the remorfe andhorror of their own confciences, which givesthem no reſt, daynor night; heimmediately fubjoins,ver. 13. " Bleſſed are the " dead that die in the Lord; yea, from henceforth, faith the " Spirit," &c. Oh ! it is a ſpecial bleſſing and favour to be hid out of the way of those temptations and torments, inafeafonable andquietgrave.

Argum. 9. Yourfixed averſation and unwillingness todie, will provoke God toimbitteryour lives with much more afflictions than you haveyet felt, or wouldfeel, ifyour hearts were more mortifiedandweaned in thispoint.

You cannot think ofyour own deaths with pleaſure, no nor yet with patience.

Well, take heed, leſt this draw down fuch troubleuponyou, as ſhall make you atlaſt to ſay withJob,chap.

My foul is weary of my life ;" an expreſſion much like that, 2 Sam. i. 9. "Anguiſh is come uponme, becauſe my life

" is whole in me. Myfoul is hardened, orbecome cruel againft my life, as the Chaldee renders it.

There is a twofoldweariness oflife; one from an excellency of ſpirit, a noble principle, the ardent love of Jesus Chriſt,

Phil.i. 23. " Idefire tobe diffolved, and tobewith Chriſt . "

Another from the mere preſſures, ofaffliction and anguiſh of ſpirit, under heavy and ſucceſſive ſtrokes from the hand ofGodand men.

Is itnot more excellent and defirable to groan for death under a preſſure of love to Chriſt,than ofaffliction from Chrift ?

I am convinced thatvery many of our afflictions come upon this ſcore and account, to make us willing to die.

Is it not fad that God is forced to bringdeath upon all our comfortableand defirable things inthis world, before he can gain our confents to be gone? Why will you put Godupon

A Treatise of the Soul ofMar.

ſuchworkas this ? Whycannot hehave your hearts at a cheaper rate? Ifyou coulddie, many ofyour comforts, for ought I know, might live. Had Joab come to Abfalomwhen he fent forhimthe firſt or ſecond time, Abfalom had never ſet his field of barley on fire, 2 Sam. xiv. 30. And were you more obedient tothe will ofGod in this manner, it is likely he would notconfumeyour health, and eſtates, and relations, with fuch heavy ſtrokes, as he hath done, and will yet farther do except your wills be more compliant.

Alas! tocut off your comforts one after another, and make you live agroaning life, the Lord hath no pleaſure in it; buthe had rather you ſhould loſe theſe things, than that he ſhould loſe your hearts on earth, or company in heaven : Impatiens aegrotus crudelem facit medicum.

Argum. 10. The decree of death cannot be reversed, nor is there any other ordinary paſſage for the foul into glory, but through the gates of death.

Heb. ix. 27 " It is appointed for " allmen once todie, but after that the judgment. "

There is but oneway to paſs out ofthe obfcure fuffocating life in thewomb, into the more free and nobler life in the world, viz. through the agonies ofbirth : and there is ordinarily but one way to paſs from this ſinning, groaning life we live in this world, to the enjoymentofGod and the glory above, viz. through the agonies of death. You must caſt offthis mean, this vile body, before you can be happy. Heaven cannot come down to you, you cannot ſee God and live, Exod. xxxiii. 20.

Itwould certainly confound and breakyou to pieces, like an earthenpitcher, ſhouldGod but ray forth his glory upon you in the ſtateyounow are; and it is ſure you cannot expect the extraordinary favour offuch a tranſlation as Enoch had, Heb. xi.

5. or as thoſe believers,ſhall have, that ſhall be found alive at Chriſt's coming, I Theff. iv. 17. You must go the common road that all the faints go; but tho' you cannot avoid, you muſt fweeten it. God will not reverſe his decree, but you may, and ought to arm yourſelves against the fears ofit. Ahafuerus would not recal the proclamation he had emitted against the Jews, buthegave them full liberty to take up arms to defend themſelves against their enemies.

It is much ſo here, the ſentence cannot be revoked; butyetGod gives you leave, yea, he commands you to arm yourſelves against death, and defy it, and trample it under the feet of faith.

Arg. 11. When you find your hearts reluctate at the thoughts ofleaving thebody, andthe comforts ofthis world, then confider

VOL. III.

ATreatise of the Soul ofMan.

- how willingly andchearfully Jesus Christ left heaven, and the Bofom of bis Father, to come down to this worldfor your fakes,

Prov. viii. 30, 31. Pial. xl. 7. Lo, I come, &c.

Ocompare the frames of your hearts with his, inthis point, and ſhame yourselves out of to unbecoming a temper ofſpirit.

(1. ) He left heaven, and all the delights and glory of it, to come down to this world to be abaſed and humbled to the loweft; you leave this world of fin and mifery to aſcend toheaven, to be exalted to the highest. He came hither tobe impoverished, you go thither to be enriched, 2 Cor. viii. 9. yet he came willingly, and we go grudgingly.

(2.) He came from heaven to earth, to be made fin for us, 2Cor. v. 21. we go from earth to heaven, tobe fully and everlattingly delivered from fin; yet he came more willingly to bear our fins, thanwe go to be delivered from them.

(3.) He came to take a body of flesh, to fuffer anddie in, Heb. ii. 24 you leave your bodies that you may never fuffer in,

or by them any more.

(4.) As his incarnation was a deep abaſement, ſo his death was the moſt bitter death that ever was taſted by any from the beginning, or ever thallbe to the end of the world ; and yet how obediently doth he ſubmit to both at the Father's call,

Luke xii. 50. " I have abaptifm tobe baptized with, and how " am I ſtraitnedtill it be accomplished ! " Ah Chriſtian, your death cannot have the ten thousandth part ofthat bitterness in it that Chriſt's had.

I remember one of the martyrs being alked,why hisheart was fo lightatdeath? returned this anſwer, becauſe Chriſt's heartwas ſoheavyat his death. Othere is avaft difference betwixt the one and the other; the wrath of God, and curſe ofthe lawwere in his death, Gal. iii . 13. but there is neither wrath nor curſe in their death who die in the Lord,

Rom. viii. 1.

God forſook him whenhehanged upon the tree in the ago nies of death, Mat. xxvii. 46. " My God, my God, why halt

" thou forfaken me ?" But you ſhall not be forſaken ; He will make allyourbed in fickness, Pfal. xli. 3. He will never leave you nor forfake you, Heb. xiii. 5.

Yet he regretted not, but went as a sheep or lamb, Ifa. Jiii.

17. O reaſon yourſelves out of this reluctancy atdeath, by this greatexample and pattern of obedience.

Arg. 12. Lastly, Let no Christian be afrighted at death, con fidering that the death of Christ is the death of death, and hath utterly difarmedit ofallits destructive power.

A Treatise of the Soul of Man.

Ifyou tremble when you look upondeath, yet you cannot but triumph when you look believingly upon Chrift.

For, (1 ) Chrift died (O believer) for thy fms, Rom. iv. 25. his death was an expiatory ſacrifice for all thy guilt, Gal. iii. 13. fo that thou ſhalt notdie inthy fins : The pangs of death may, and must be on thyoutwardman, but the guilt of fin, and the condemnation ofGod ſhall not be upon thy inner man.

د (2.) The death of Chriſt, in thy room, hath utterly deſtroyed the power of death, which once was in the hand ofSatan,

Heb. ii. 24. Col. ii. 14, 15. his power was not authoritative, but executive : not as the power of a king, but of a ſheriff ; which is none at all when a pardon is produced.

(3.) Chriſt hath affured us, that his victory overdeath thall be complete in our perſons.

It is already a complete perfonal victory, inreſpect of himself, Rom. vi. 9. he dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him.

It's an incomplete victory already as to our perſons.

It can diſſolve the union of our fouls and bodies, but the union betwixt Chriſt and our fouls it can neverdifſſolve, Rom. viii. 38, 39. and as for the power it ſtill retains over our duſt, that alſo ſhall be destroyed at the reſurrection, 1 Cor. xv. 25, 26, compared with ver. 54, 55, 56, 57. ſo that there is no cauſe for any foul in Chriſt to tremble at the thought ofa feparation from thebody, but rather to embrace it as a privilege; death isours.

O that theſe arguments might prevail ! O that they might at laſtwintheconſent ofour hearts togo along with death; which is themefſſenger ſentbyGod tobring ushome toour Father's houſe!

But I doubt, when all is faid, we are where we were ; all this ſuffices not to overcome the regrets and reluctancies of nature; ſtillthe matter ſticks in our minds, and we cannot conquer our diſinclined wills in this matter.

What is the matter ?

Where lie the rubs and hindrances ? O that God would remove. them at laſt!

Objection 1. This is a common plea with many, I am not ready andfit todie ; were Iready, Ishould be willing to be gone.

Solution ( 1.) How long foever you live in the body, there willbe fomewhat ſtill out of order, ſomething ſtill todo; for you must be in a ſtate ofimperfection while you remain here, and according to this plea, you will never be willing to die.

(2.) Your willingness to be diffolved, and tobe with Chriſt, is. one ſpecial part ofyour fitness fordeath : and till you attain it in fome good meaſure, you are not ſo fit to die as you ſhould be. (3.) Ifyou be in Chrift, you have a fundamental fitneſs

Bbb 2

A Treatise of the Soul ofMan. for death, though you may want ſome circumſtantial preparatives. And as to all that iswanting in your fanctification or obedience now, it will be compleated in amoment upon your diffolution .

Object. 2. Others plead, the defire they have to live, is in order to God's farther fervice by them in this world.

Oh, Jay they, it was David's happiness to die, when he had ferved his generation according to the will of God; Acts xiii. 36. If we bad done so too, we should say with Simeon, " Now letteſt

" thou thy fervant depart in peace."

Sol. (1.) God needs not your hands to carry on his fervice in the world: he cando it by other hands when you are gone.

Many of greater gifts andgraces thanyou, are daily laid in the grave, to teach you, God needs no man's help to carry on his work.

(2.) Ifthe ſervice ofGodbe ſodear toyou, thereishigherand more excellent ſervice foryou inheaven, than anyyou ever were, orcanbe employed in here on earth. Oh ! whydonotyou long tobe amidst the company ofangels and ſpirits made perfect in the temple-fervice in heaven ?

Obj. 3. Abut my relations in the worldlienear myheart, what will become of themwhen Iamgone ?

Sol. ( 1. ) It is pity they ſhould lie nearer your heart than JeſusChrift: ifthey do, you have little reason to defire death indeed.

(2.) Who took care of you, when death ſnatchedyour dear relations from you, who poſſibly felt the fameworkings ofheart thatyounowdo ? Didyou not experience the truthofthatword,

Pfal . xxvii. 10. "When father and mother forſake me, then the Lord taketh me up ?" And ifyou be in the covenant, God hath prevented this plea with hispromiſe, Jer. xlix. 11. " Leave thy fatherless children to me, I will keep them alive ; and let

" their widows truſt in me."

Obj . 4. But 1defire to live to fee thefelicity ofZion before Igo hence, and the answer ofthe many prayers Ihavefown for it; Iam loath to leave the people ofGod insofada condition.

Sol. The publicness of thy fpirit, and love toZion, is doubtlefs pleafing toGod ; butit is betterforyou tobeinheavenone day, than to live over again all the days you have lived on earth inthe beſt times that ever the church ofGod enjoyed in this world: the promiſes ſhall be accomplished, tho' you may not live to fee their accomplishment; die you in the faith of it, as Jofephdid; Gen. 1. 24

But, alas ! the matterdoth not flick here : this is not the

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