Upon the corruption of the feed before it springs,
TheHeavenly Use of EarthlyThings.
Süreheaven intends not peace, butwars, Incallinghome ambaffadors.
How long did Sodom'sjudgments ſtay, When righteous Lot was ſnatch'd away?
How long remain'd that ſtately hall, When Sampion made the pillars fall ?
When horfemen andcommanders fly, Woe to the helpleſs infantry.
This is a ſad and fatal blow, Apublic loſs, and overthrow.
You that ſo longhave wish'd them gone, Bequietnow the thing isdone:
Did they torment you e'er your day ?
God hath remov'd them out o' th' way.
Now ſleep in fin, and take your eaſe ; Their doctrine ſhall no more diſpleaſe.
But, Lord ! what ſhall become of us ?
Our teacher's gone, and leftus thus :
To whom ſhall we ourſelves addreſs, When conſcience labours in diſtreſs ?
Oh ! who ſhall help us out at need ?
Or pourin balm whenwoundsdobleed?
Help, Lord ! for unto thee our eyes Do pour out tears; our groans, our cries Shall never ceaſe, 'till thou reftore The mercies which we had before ; 'Till Sion'spaths, where graſs now grows,
Be trodden by the feet of thoſe That love thy name, and long t' enjoy The mercies they have ſinn'd away.
CHAP.
XI.
Upon the Corruption of the Seedbefore it ſprings.
Seeds dieand rot, and then muſtfreſb appear ; Saints bodies riſemore orient than they were.
OBSERVATIO Ν.
FTER the feed is committed to the earth, it seems to periſh and die, as our Saviour ſpeaks, John xii. 24.
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abid- " eth alone; but if it die, itbrings forth much fruit." The VOL.VI.
Husbandry Spiritualized ; or, death of the corn in the earth, is not a total death, but only the corruption or alteration of it: for if once the ſeminal life and vertue of itwere quite extinguiſhed, it could never put forth blade or ear without a miracle.
Yet, becauſe that alteration is a kind of death, therefore Chriſt here uſes it as a fit illuſtration ofthe refurrection. And indeed there is nothingin nature more apt to illuſtrate thatgreat myſtery.
What a fragrant, green, and beautiful blade do we ſee ſpring up from a corrupted feed ? How black and mouldy is that ! How beautiful and verdant is this ?
APPLICATION.
VEN thus ſhall the bodies of the faints arife in beautyand glory at the refurrection : " They are ſown in dif- * honour ; they are raiſed in glory; they are ſown natural bodies; they are raiſed ſpiritual bodies,"
I Cor. xv. 43, 44.
The husbandman knows, that though the feedrot in the earth, yet it will rife again. And the believer knows, " that though
" after his ſkin worms destroy his body, yet in his fleſh he " ſhall ſee God," Job xix, 25, &c. And the reſemblance betwixtthe feed ſown, and ſpringing up; and the bodies of the faints dying, and riſing again, lies in theſe following particulars.
1. The feed is committed to the earth from whence it came ; ſo is the body of a faint ; earth it was, and to earth it is again refolved. Grace exempts not the body of the beſt man from feeing corruption, Rom. viii, 10.
Though Chriſt be in him, yet the body is dead; that is, ſentenced todeath, becauſe of fin, Heb. ix. 27. " But it is appointed for all men once to " die."
2. The feed is caſt intothe earth in hope, 1 Cor. ix. 10.
Were there not a refurrection ofit expected, the husbandman would never be willing to caſt away his corn.
The bodies of faints are alſo committed tothe grave in hope, I Theff. iv. 13, 14. " But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,
" concerning thoſe which are aſleep, as they which have no " hope; for ifwe believe thatJefus died, and roſe again, even
" ſo alſo them which ſleep in Jeſus, ſhall the Lord bring with " him.". This bleſſed hope of a refurrection ſweetens not only the troubles of life, but the pangs ofdeath.
3. The feed is caſt into the earth ſeaſonably, in its proper ſeaſon ſo are the bodies of the faints, Job v. 26. " Thou shalt come tothygrave ina full age, as a thock of corn cometh
" in, in its feafon." Theyalways die in the fittest time, though
TheHeavenlyUse ofEarthlyThings.
ſometimes they ſeem todie immaturely: the time of theirdeath was from all eternity prefixedbyGod, beyondwhich they cannot go, and ſhort of which they cannot come.
4. The feed lies many days and nights under the clods, before it riſes and appears again ; even ſo man liethdown, and rifeth not again until the heavens be no more," Job xiv. 12.
The days ofdarkness in the grave are many.
5. When the time is come for its ſhooting up, the earth that covered it can hide itno longer; it cannot keep it down a day more ; it will find or make way through the clods. So in thatdaywhen the great trump ſhall found, bone ſhall come to its bone, and the grave ſhall not be able to hold them a minute longer.
Both ſea and earth muſt render the dead that are in them, Rev. xx. 13.
6. When the feed appears above-ground, it appears much more freſh and orient, than when it was caſt into the earth :
God cloaths it with ſuch beauty, thatit is not like to what it was before. Thus riſe the bodies of the faints, marvelloufly improved, beautified, and perfected with ſpiritual qualities and rich endowments ; in reſpect whereofthey are called fpiritulbodies, 1 Cor. xv. 43. not properly, but analogically ſpiritual; for look, as ſpirits ſubſiſt without food, raiment, leep, know no laſſitude, wearineſs or pain; ſo our bodies, after the refurrection, ſhall be above theſe neceſſities and diſlempers ; for we shall be as the angels of God, Matth. xxii. 30. Yea, our vile bodies ſhall be changed, and made like unto Chrift's glorious body; which is the highest pitch and aſcent of glory andhonour that anhuman body is capable of, Phil. iii. 21. Indeed, theglory of the foul ſhall be the greatest glory ; that is the orient invaluable gem : ButGod will beſtow a diſtinct glory upon the body, and richly enamel the very cafe in which that precious jewel ſhall be kept.
In that glorious morning of the refurrection, the faints ſhall put on their new freſh ſuits of fleſh, richly laid and trimmedwith glory. Thoſe bodies, which inthegravewerebutduſt and rottenneſs,when itdelivers them back again, ſhall be thining and excellent pieces, abſolutely and everlastingly freed, (1.) From all natural infirmities and diſtempers : Death is their good phyſician, which at once freed them ofalldiſeaſes.
It is agreat affliction now to many ofthe Lord's people, to be clogged with ſo many bodily infirmities, which render them very unferviceable to God.
The spirit in deed is willing, but theflesh is weak . A crazy body retorts and ſhoots back its diſtempers upon the foul, with which it is ſo N2
Husbandry Spiritualized; or, cloſely conjoined: But though now the foul (as Theophraftus ſpeaks) pays adear rent for the tabernacle inwhich it dwells; yet, when death diffolves that tabernacle, all the diſeaſes and pains, under which it groaned, ſhall be buried in the rubbish of its mortality ; and when they come to be re-united again,
Godwill beſtow rich gifts and dowries, even upon thebody, in the day of its re-eſpouſals tothe ſoul.
(2.) It ſhall be freed from all deformities; there are no breaches, flaws, monftrofities in glorified bodies; but of them it maymuch rather be ſaid, whatwas once faid of Abfalom, 2 Sam. xiv. 25. " That from " the crown of the head, tothe ſoal ofhis foot, there was no " blemish in him."
(3.) It ſhall be freed from allnatural neceffities, to which it is now ſubjected in this its animal ſtate.
How is the foul now diſquieted and tortured with cares and troubles, to provide for a periſhing body ? Many unbelieving and unbecoming fears, it is now vexedwith : What ſhall it eat? And what ſhall it drink ? And wherewithal ſhall it be cloathed? " But meats for the belly, and the belly for meats ;
"God ſhall deſtroy both it and them," I Cor. vi. 13. i, e. as to their preſent uſe and office; for as to its exiſtence, ſo the belly ſhall not be destroyed.
But even as the maſts, poop and ſtern of a ſhip abide in the harbour, after the voyage is ended, ſo ſhall theſe bodily members, as Tertullian excellently illuſtrates it.
(4.) They ſhall be freed from death, to which thenceforth they can be ſubject no more ; that formidable adverſary of nature ſhall aſſault it no more.
" For they which " ſhall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the re- " ſurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in " marriage; neither can theydie any more ; for they ſhall be
" equal to the angels, and are the children ofGod, being the " children of the refurrection," Luke xx. 35, 36.
Mark it (equal to the angels) not that they ſhall be feparate, and fingle ſpirits, without bodies as the angels are: but equal to them in theway and manner of their living and acting *. We shall then live upon God, and act freely, purely, and delightfully for God; for all kind of living upon, anddelighting increas tures, ſeems inthat text (by a ſynecdoche of the part which is ordinarily in fcripture put for all creature-delights, dependencies, and neceffities) to be excluded. Nothing but God ſhall enamour and fill the foul ; and the body ſhall be perfectly fubdued tothe ſpirit,
Lord, what haſt thou prepared for them that love thee!
TheHeavenly Use of Earthly Things.
REFLECTION S.
1. If I ſhall receive mybody again ſo dignified The healthandimproved in theworld tocome,thenLord let ful faint's meneverbeunwilling touſe mybodynowfor the reflection. intereſt ofthyglory, or myown ſalvation ! Now,
OmyGod, it grieves me tothink how many precious opportunities of ſerving andhonouring thee I have loſt, under pretenceof endangering my health !
Ihavebeenmore folicitoustolive long and healthfully, than to live usefully and fruitfully; and, like enough, my life had beenmore ſerviceable tothee, ifit had notbeen ſo fondlyovervaluedbyme.
Fooliſh ſoul ! hathGod giventhee a body for a living tool or inſtrument ?
And art thou afraid to use it?
Wherein is themercyof having abody, if not in ſpendingandwearing it out inthe ſervice of God? To have an active vigorous body, andnot to employ and exerciſe it forGod, for fear of endangering its health, is, as if one ſhould give thee a handſome and ſprightful horfe, upon condition thou ſhouldeſt not ride or work him. O! if some of the ſaints hadenjoyed the bleſſing of ſuch anhealthyactive body as mine, what excellent ſervices would they have performed to God in it ?
2. If mybody ſhall as furelyrife again inglory, Thefickly vigour, and excellent endowments, as the feedwhich
I fowdoth ; why should not this comfort me over faint'sreall the pains, weakneſſes, anddulneſs, withwhich fection. my foul is now clogged ?
Thou knoweſt, myGod, what a griefithathbeentomy foul, tobe fettered and entangledwith thediſtempers and manifold indiſpoſitions of this vile body :
Ithathmademe figh; and ſay, with holyAnfelme, when he fawthe mounting bird weigheddown by the stone hanging at her leg, Lord, thus it fares with the soulof thy ſervant ! Fain would I ſerve, glorify, and enjoy thee, but adiſtemperedbodywill not let me.
However, it is reviving, to think, that though Iam now forced tocrawl like aworm, in thediſcharge of myduties, I ſhall ſhortly fly, like a ſeraphim, in the execution of thy will.
Cheer up, drooping foul; the time is at hand, when thou shalt be made more willing than thou art, andthy fleſh not ſoweak asnow it is.
3. And is it ſo indeed? Then let the dying The dying faint, like Jacob, rouze uphimſelf upon his bed, faint's reand encourage himself against the fears ofdeathby this refreshing confideration. Let him fay, with fection.
Husbandry Spiritualized ; or, holy dying Mufculus, why trembleſt thou, O my foul, to go forth ofthis tabernacle to the land ofreſt ? Haththy bodybeen ſuch a pleasant habitation to thee, that thou ſhouldſtbe fo loth to part with it, though but for atime, and with aſſurance of receiving it again with ſuch a glorious improvement ?
I know, O my foul, thatthou hast a natural inclination to this body, refulting from thedear and ſtrict unionwhich God himſelf hath made betwixt thee andit; yea, eventhe holiest of mendo ſometimes ſenſibly feel the like in themselves; but bewarethou love itnot immoderatelyor inordinately; it isbut acreature, how dear ſoever itbe to thee; yea, a fading creature, and that which now ſtands inthy way to the full enjoyment of God.
But ſay, my foul, why are the thoughts of partingwith it ſo burdenſome to thee ? Why ſo loth to take death by its cold hand? Is thisbody thy old and dear friend ?
True, but yet thou parteſt not with it upon ſuch ſad terms, as ſhould deſerve a tear at parting. For mayeſt thou not ſay of this departure, as Paul at the departure ofOneſimus ? Philem.
Ver. 15. " It therefore departeth for a ſeaſon, thatthou mayeſt " receive it for ever."
The dayof re-efpouſals will quickly come; and in the meantime, as thybody ſhall not be ſenſible of the tedious length of interpoſing time,ſo neither ſhaltthou be follicitous about thine abſent friend; for the fruition ofGod in thine unbodied ſtate, ſmall fill thee with infinite ſatisfaction, and reſt.
Or is it,not ſo much ſimply for parting with it, as for the manner of thy parting, either by the flow and lingering approaches of a natural, or the quick and terrible approaches of a violent death: Why trouble not thyſelf about that ; for if Godlead thee through the long dark lane of a tedious fickness, yet at the end of it is thy father's houſe: And for a violent death, it is not ſo material, whether friends or enemies ſtand weeping or triumphing over thy deadbody.
Nihilcorpus fenfit in nervo cum anima fit in coelo.
When thy foul ſhall be in heaven, it will not be ſenſible how the body is usedon earth.
4. But, oh ! what an uncomfortable parting The ungodly will minebe ! andhow much more fadourmeetfoul's reflecing again! howwill this foul andbodyblush, tion. yea, tremble, when they meet, who have been co-partners in ſo much guilt ?
Idamned my foul, to pleaſe my flesh, and now have ruined both thereby: Had I denied my fleth to ſerve Chriſt, worn out my body in the ſervice of my foul, I had, thereby, happily provided for them both, but Ibegan at thewrong end, and ſohave ruinedboth eternally.
TheHeavenlyUse of EarthlyThings.
The POEM.
ARE ſeeds have no great beauty, but, inhum'd, B Thatwhich they had is loſt, and quite confum'd ;
Ihey foon corrupt and grow more baſe, by odds, Whendead, and bury'd underneath the clods :
It falls in baſeneſs, but at lengthdoth riſe In glory, which delights beholders eyes.
Howgreat a difference have afew days made, Betwixt it, in the bushel and the blade !
This lovely, lively emblem aptly may Type out the glorious refurrection-day; Wherein the faints, that inthe dustdo lie,
Shall rife in glory, vigour, dignity ; With finging, inthatmorning they arife, And dazle glory, fuch as mortal eyes Ne'er viewed on earth.
The ſparkling beauties here, No more can equalize their ſplendor there, Than glimmering glow-wormsdo the faireſt ſtar
That thines in heaven, or the stones that are In every ſtreet, may competition hold With glitteringdiamonds in rings of gold.
For unto Chrift's moſt glorious body they Shall be conform'd in glory at that day;
Whofe luftre would, thould it on mortals fall, Tranſport a Stephen, and confound aPaul.
'Tis now a coarſe and crazy houſe of clay ; But, oh ! howdeardo fouls for lodgings pay !
Few more than I : For thou, my foul, haft been Within thefe tents of Kedar cooped in ; Where, with diſtempers clogg'd, thou mak'ſt thy moans,
And, for deliverance, with tears and groans Haſt often fu'd: Cheer up, the time will be,
When thou from all theſe troubles ſhall be free :
No jarring humours, cloudy vapours, rheums, Pains, aches, or whatever elſe confumes My days in grief; whilst in the Chriſtian race,
Fleſh lags behind, and can'tkeep equal pace With the more willing ſpirit: None of theſe
Shall thenceforth clog thee, or disturb thine eaſe.