Of the Immortality of the Soul. A SERMON Preached before the KING and QUEEN. AT WHITEHALL. UPON PALM-SUNDAY, 1694. By the Right Reverend Father in God, JOHN, Lord Bishop of NORWICH.  
Published by Their Majesty's Special Command.  
LONDON: Printed for William Rogers at the Sun, over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet. MDCXCIV.   

The Bishop of Norwich's SERMON OF THE IMMORTALITY of the SOUL, Before the KING and QUEEN AT WHITEHALL, On Palm-Sunday, 1694.   

OF THE IMMORTALITY of the Soul.  St. MATTH. X. v. 28. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 
WHEN our Lord was about to send his Disciples forth into the World to preach the Gospel, he thought it just and necessary to speak of the Dangers unto which they certainly should be exposed by doing their duty, and to prepare their minds against them; so that they might neither be surprised by Tribulations and Sufferings when they came, nor sink under them.  
And to enable them to deal with the most malicious Enemies of his Holy Religion, he commands them to furnish their Souls with two excellent Virtues, Wisdom and Innocence. They were to be wise as Serpents, and as harmless as Doves. As Wisdom would cause them to decline and avoid all needless hazards and difficulties; so Innocence would make them gentle, and meek, and tenderhearted, and not apt to revenge injuries.  
But then that true Wisdom which would secure them from running into unnecessary danger, would likewise prompt them readily to encounter and submit to those pains, troubles, and hardships, which were necessary to establish the Heavenly Doctrines of their Master; to endure small evils, to escape greater; and to lay down their lives, rather than have both Soul and Bodydestroyed for ever. And it must be a mighty encouragement to undertake the Office of Preaching the Gospel, which Christ had allotted them, that the cruelty of their fiercest Opposers could extend no farther than the body: whereas that God, whose message they were to Publish, could destroy both Soul and Body. And fear not them which kill the body, etc. From which words we may deduce several Observations.  
(1.) That the Soul and Body are distinct Being's.  
(2.) That after the dissolution of the Body, the Soul doth live in the separate state.  
(3.) That nothing less than the Almighty Power of God can destroy the Being of the Soul.  
We have a noble Argument before us, and which the Infidelity of our times hath rendered very necessary. It is our Soul, which makes us like God, and superior to other Creatures; and its subsistence in the boundless Eternity, which shall succeed our short abode in this World. In treating whereof, I shall endeavour to avoid all needless Speculations, and confine myself to those Arguments, which seem most clearly and strongly to prove the great Truths contained in the Text. The Propositions I chiefly shall insist upon at this time, are these two:  
(1.) That the Soul and Body are distinct Being's. (2.) That after the Dissolution of the Body, the Soul doth exist and live in the separate State.  
(1.) That the Soul and Body are distinct Being's. The very Argument our Lord uses to persuade the Disciples not to fear those who can kill the Body, rests upon this Supposition, That the Soul and Body are Being's distinct one from another. For if Men had no Souls; or if the Soul was not a different thing from the Body; or if other Men had as much Power over the Soul as the Body, there would be no Force in his Reasoning. But to make this Truth the more evident, I shall draw Arguments from these three heads.  
(1.) From the distinct Properties of the Soul and Body.  
(2.) From the Incapacity of Matter to think.  
(3.) From the difference every where supposed in Scripture between the Soul and Body.  
(1.) From the distinct Properties of the Soul and Body. Now if we will give ourselves leave a little to contemplate our own Nature, we shall discover in us Powers, Qualities, and Actions, which are peculiar to the Soul, and quite different from the Affections and Qualities which belong to the Body. Essential Properties of the Soul are to think, to understand, to will, to consider, to judge, and the like. But Inseparable Properties of Body, are length, breadth, thickness, size, shape, etc.  
But as these things may be esteemed Essential, some to the Mind, and some to the Body; for if either you sever Thinking from the Mind, or Extension from the Body, you can have no Conception or Apprehension of the one, or the other; So they are very distinct, not having the least Affinity each with other; thus Consideration, Remembrance, Judgement, Liberty, Conscience, have no Relation unto Body, and do not enter into the Notion and Idea of it; neither doth Length, Breadth, Size, Figure, Hardness, Softness, enter into the Conception of a Soul; for we never speak of the length, or the shape, or the bulk, or the colour of our Thoughts, since that would be absurd Speech, by which we could mean nothing.  
So that it is manifest, our Souls are distinguished from our Bodies by Properties, which are peculiar and essential to each of them; and that we have as clear, full, and distinct Apprehensions of the Attributes that are Essential to the Soul, as of those which are inseparable from the Body. For does not every Man as plainly comprehend what is meant by Thinking, Considering, and Judging, as by Dimensions, Motion, and Divisibility in Bodies? 
Euseb. praep. Lib. XV. p. 810.  Every Man judges (says Atticus Platonicus) that they are the Properties of the Soul, to deliberate, to consider, and after any manner to think. For when he looks upon Body, and its Powers, and likewise concludes, that those kind of Operations cannot belong unto Bodies, he presently yields that there is in us some other Thing, which does deliberate or advise, and that is the Soul.  
(2.) I argue that the Soul and Body are distinct substances from the incapacity of matter to think. All we know of the Nature and Qualities of Matter, we learn from its Operation on our Senses; for further than it acts upon some of our Senses we have no notice of it. But Matter can no other way work upon our Senses, but by motion, which is the Cause of all that variety, which shows itself in bodies. If then Matter can perceive and think, and all the Effects and Changes in Matter be wrought by Motion, then unto Motion must be ascribed Thought and Perception. But as nothing is more unlike than Corporeal Motion and Cogitation, so it is unconceivable how one should be the cause of the other, that is, how stupid matter by any degree of Motion communicated to it, should acquire a Power to consider, reflect, and remember.  
The Epicureans indeed, who hold the Soul corporeal, to explain how Matter may perform the Functions of the Mind, do teach that the Parts of Matter which go to making a Soul, are light and small, and of a globular or round Figure. Just as if a massy piece of Lead, when melted and formed into Bullets, was in a nearer capacity to think, meditate, debate, and act like a Soul. But I appeal to the common sense of Mankind, whether that Philosopher has a right to call any Legendary Tale into question, who can believe that little balls of Matter, by being briskly moved, can come to have Understanding, Will, and Judgement.  
Surely they ought to doubt of nothing, who can be persuaded that small Bodies round, or of any other shape, should by justling and moving one against another, be endued with Reason and Wisdom, and a Talon to dispute concerning the Nature of their own Being's; to raise Questions, whether they are Matter or Spirit, bodily or incorporeal Substances? And not only yield to, or resist the impressions of Objects present to them, according to the acknowledged Laws of Motion, but also reflect on the times long since past, and meditate on those which are to come, nay, stretch out their consideration to infinite Space, and eternal Duration.  
But as the Epicureans would rid us of our Difficulties by assigning the Figure of the Parts, which compound a corporeal Mind; so the Stoics would make the thing intelligible by describing the kind or sort of Motion which causes Matter to think. Now it's their Doctrine that the Soul is Fire, and consequently, that it performs its Office by such motion as is in Fire.  
But this is strange Fire which gives us Understanding, and yet no Light, whereby we may any whit more easily conceive in what manner it is possible for Matter to think. For who can show so much as the shadow of an Argument to move a sober Man to conclude, That there should be Reasoning Powers and Faculties any more in a Fire of Coals, than in a lump of cold Clay; or that a Log of Wood should get sense and understanding by being put into a Flame. 
* Sive anima, sive ignis sit animus, eum jurarem esse divinum, Cic. Tusc. quaest. lib. 1.  If Materialists will make their Senses, to which they so often appeal, the Judges, they must confess, That the Natural Effect of Fire is to separate and rend the Parts of Bodies asunder, which action can bear no faint resemblance to the Thoughts, Deliberations, and Judgements of the Soul, nor to that freedom of Will with which it either sets its Faculties on work, or stops them.  
These are some of the gross and nauseous Absurdities, which unhappy licentious persons are forced to cram down, who yet are so nice and squeamish, as not to yield their Assent to any Truths of Religion, for which there is not Mathematical Proof or Demonstration.  

* Aristoteles longè omnibus (Platonem semper excipio) praestans & ingenio & diligentia, cum quatuor illa genera Principiorum esset complexus, e quibus omnia orirentur, quintam quandam naturam censet esse, è qua sit mens. Cogitare evim, & providere, & discere, & docere, & invenire aliquid, & tam multa alia, meminisse, amare, odisse, cupere, timere, angi, laetari, haec & similia corum, in horum quatuor generum nullo inesse putat. Cic. Tusc. quaest. lib. 1.  Aristotle, a man of most profound Judgement, and penetrating Thoughts, who was of opinion that every thing under the Sun was compounded of the four Elements, observing that the Faculties and Operations of human Souls were so remotely distant from all the Phoenomena or Appearances of Bodies, was compelled to believe, that there was a fifth Essence or Element, of which only Souls were form. To remember the past, to consider the present, and provide for the future; to increase our own Knowledge, and to improve others, and such like; all the products of a thinking faculty, were things in the Opinion of this great Philosopher, not possible to be accounted for by the Affections and Modes, and Qualities of matter. 
* My dear Friend, have not you and I concluded an hundred times, that how much soever we strained our Understanding, we could never concsive how from Insensible Corpuscles there could ever result any thing sensible, without the intervention of any thing but what is Insensible; and that with all their Atoms, how small and how nimble soever they make them, what motions and figures soever they give them, and in what order, mixture, or disposition they range them; yea, and whatever industrious hand they assign them for Guidance, they would never be able (still supposing with them, that they have no other properties or perfection than those recited) to make us imagine how thence could result a Compound, I say not that should be Reasoning like a man, but that should be merely Sensitive, such as may be the vilest and most imperfect worm on earth. How then dare they pretend that they will make it out, how thence can result a thing Imagining, a thing Reasoning, and such an one as shall be the Imaginations and Ratiocinations themselves. Mr. Bernier's Letter of Atoms and the mind of man, p. ult.   
(3.) The Soul and Body will appear distinct Substances from the difference every where supposed in Holy Scripture between them. To show which, I begin with the Creation of Man. 
Gen. c. 1. v. 26.  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. But man is not like God in respect of his Body, because God hath no body. Besides, the body in its nature is divisible and corruptible: but God without change or decay is eternally the same, a Being for ever infinitely perfect. The similitude therefore between God and Man must be with relation to the Soul, which is a Spirit as God is a Spirit.  
The distinction between Soul and Body may also be observed from the manner wherein God created Man. And the Lord form man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. 
C. 2. v. 7.  His Body was made of the Earth, but his Soul which gave life to it, came immediately from God. 
* J. Philoponus de Mund. Create. p. 21.  The Soul therefore was not created of the same Substance, nor together with the Body, but of one better and more Divine, as the Scripture shows. For of the brute Creatures void of Reason, it says, That the Water brought forth some, and the Earth others; but of Man, that God breathed into him the breath of Life. Manifesting thereby that he had an Intellectual and Rational Nature, more noble than that of Brutes, and near of kin to the Divine Being's above.  
Accordingly also Solomon pronounceth, that at the hour of death, 
Eccl. 3. 21.  The spirit of man goeth upward, and that the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth. In which Author, the wisest of men, (if his Authority may be of any weight) there is another Passage that demonstrates the Soul and Body to be distinct Substances, and puts the matter beyond a possibility of a contradiction. 
Cap. 12. 7.  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phocylid. Poem.  The Soul of the dead remain uncorrupted. For God lends men the Spirit, and 'tis his Image: But the Body we have of the Earth, and we all being dissolved into it, shall be dust; 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Trismegist.  but Heaven shall receive the Spirit.  
In pursuance of our Argument it may here be proper to observe, how difficult it will be for them, who maintain that the Soul is only a mode, accident, or quality of the Body, to give a rational account of Christ's words in our Text: Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, etc.  
According to these Philosophers other men may kill the Body, but are not able to hurt the Accidents and Qualities of the Body, which they are pleased to call the Soul. And yet it is most certain, that men only can destroy the Accidents and Qualities in Bodies, but cannot destroy their Substance, which after all force used to it, will still subsist in other forms and shapes. Insomuch as they quite invert our Saviour's Doctrine, it following manifestly from their Assertions, that men have only power to kill the Soul, that is, to destroy the Modes and Accidents in the Body, but can do no injury to the Body or Substance itself.  
In one Instance more give me leave to show how repugnant these wild Opinions are to the Christian Religion: And it shall be in the Promise of our Lord to the Penitent Malefactor, who was crucified with him, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise; 
Luke c. 23. v. 43.  which in their sense must be thus: While the Body of this Sincere Penitent was on the Cross, or in the Grave, the Modifications and Qualities of his Body were to attend our Saviour into Paradise. But I think only to name such ridiculous stuff is sufficient to confute it; nothing being plainer than that men must either part with these Principles, or the Doctrines of their Saviour, for they can never consist and agree together.  
(2.) That after the Dissolution of the Body, the Soul doth exist and live in the separate State. It appears from our Lord's words, fear not them which kill the body, etc. that he does rather suppose, than go to prove the Immortality of the Soul, which he took for a granted truth by them steadily believed. And therefore it was not his design to convince them, that the Soul does live after its separation from the body; but to show that it is such a simple and incorruptible substance, that nothing beneath Almighty Power can destroy it.  
But I fear a general decay of Faith and Piety will not only justify, but make it requisite, that we should endeavour to prove that fundamental Doctrine of the immortality of the Soul, the truth whereof our Lord supposed, while he was instructing his Disciples.  
(1.) The first Argument I shall use for the Immortality of the Soul, shall be from the general sense and persuasion of men, that the Soul does survive the Body. This Belief seems to be as early as the first Inhabitants on the earth; for Authors of the greatest Reputation and Antiquity, who write of the Opinions and Manners of men, do relate almost of every Country, that they thought the Soul did subsist after death.  
This Persuasion prevailed among the 
* Josephus lib. 3.  Jews, 
Philo de Mundi opisicio, de somniis de praemiis & Poenis.  not only while 
Animasque praelio, aut suppliciis peremptorum aeternas putant hinc Moriendi contemptus. Haec de Judaeis Tacitus, lib. 5. Hist.  they were the immediate and peculiar Care of God, 
Maimonid. de fund. Legis, p. 47.  but hath been diligently preserved and transmitted to their Posterity; 
Vide Manass. Ben. Israel de resurrect. Mort.  the Sect of unbelieving Sadduces being long since extinct. 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Herodot. in Euterp.  The Egyptians, 
Diodor. Bibliothec. p 83.  a Nation famous for Invention of 
Dion. Halicarn. Rom. Antiq. p. 523. 3.  Arts and Sciences, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Strabo l. 4 p. 197. id l. 3. p 76.  are said first to have taught the Doctrine of Immortality 
Caesar. l. vi. p. 118. Pompon. Mela. lib. 2. c. 2. p. 28.  of Souls. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diog. Laer. proeem. Segm. 11.  Which Opinion found Entertainment among all the Ancient Inhabitants of the East; was the Persuasion also of the old Greeks and Gauls, and Thracians.  
This was the Opinion of 
* II. ι '. Odys' λ '  Homer, who preceded all the Sects of Philosophers, he in words, very like our Saviour's, declaring that nothing was so valuable to him as his Soul, and he makes Ulysses to summon before him the Souls of the dead, and to hold discourse with them. And among the old Greek and Latin Poets, scarce more than a Dissenter or two from the Judgement of Homer are to be found.  

* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diog. l. 1. Segm. 24.  Thales, supposed by some the first Physiologer who treated of Nature, 
Herod. in Euterp.  is supposed also first to have taught the Immortality of Souls. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pausan.  But as Herodotus does ascribe the first publication thereof to the Egyptians; 
Pherecydes Syrus primus dixit animos hominum esse aeternos. Cic. Tuscul. l 1.  so Pausanias ascribes it to the Chaldaeans and Indian Magis; 
Vide Menagii in Diog. Laert. li. 1. Seg. 116. Observationes.  as Tully does it to Pherecydes, Pythagoras' Master; and some to others: insomuch, that this belief of the Souls future Subsistence seems so general and very ancient, that the first Writers are not able to discover the Authors of it, or fix the time of its beginning.  
This also is the avowed Doctrine of Pythagoras, the Founder of the Sect of Italic Philosophers, and of Plato, with all his judicious Interpreters, and Plotinus, Amelius, Porphyrius, Proclus, Alcinous. And into this List we may bring Aristole, about whom though there is some Controversy, yet 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Photii Biblioth. Col. 1317.  Photius affirms, that they did not dive deep enough into his Profound Mind, who were of another Opiníon. And as Moses relates, that after the body was form of the Earth, God did breathe a living Soul into it; so 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristol. l. 4. de gen. animal.  Aristotle expressly teaches, that the Soul only enters the body from without, and is of Divine Extraction: he may also pass for a good Witness, both when he affirms that the Renowned Philosophers who were before him, believed that the Soul lived after it had left the body, and also when he says no Philosopher before him held the World to be Eternal.  
That great man 
* Omni autem in re consensio omnium gentium, lex naturae putanda est— Atque haec ita sentimus natura duce, nulla ratione, nulla doctrina.— Quod si omnium consensus naturae vox est: omnesque qui ubique sunt, consentiunt esse aliquid, quod ad eos pertinent, qui vita cesserint nobis quoque idem existimandum est— Sic permanere animos arbitramur consensu nationum omnium.— Tusc. qu. lib. 1.  Tully urges for the truth of this Doctrine, Immemorial Tradition, that we have the consent of all Antiquity for it; and that the voice of all men is the Law of Nature; and that all are much concerned for those things, which shall take place after death. 
* Cum de animarum aeternitate disserimus non leve momentum apud nos habet consensus hominum, aut timentium inferos, aut colentium, utor hac publica persuasione. Epist. 117. Nihil aliud intercidet, quam corpus fragilitatis caducae, morbis obnoxium, casibus expositum, proscriptionibus objectum. Animus vero divina origine haustus, cui nec senectus ulla, nec mors, onerosi corporis vinculis exsolutus, ad sedes suas & cognata sidera recurret. Suasoriar. p. 129.  Seneca also treating of the Eternity of Souls, does affirm that he has the Public persuasion on his side, and the consent of men, who either fear the invisible Powers below, or worship those above; and that the Soul is of Divine Original, obnoxious neither to old age nor death; and that as soon as it is set at liberty from the heavy Chains of this Body, it will return to its place in Heaven.  

* Obtinuisse non minus de incorporalitate animae, quam de immortalitate sententiam. Macrobius. in some. Scipio. l. 1. c. 14.  Macrobius declares that the Opinion hath universally obtained, as well that the Soul is an incorporeal substance, as that it is immortal.  
And as the Belief of Immortality was generally received among the Ancients; so men all along since have been steadfast and constant to it. For from Modern Histories, Voyages, and Travels, it is found to be the common Opinion of the World as much in these later days, as it was in old time. The 
* Ut condones mihi peccata mea, & Statuas mihi immunitalem ab inferno.—  Turks have so strong a persuasion both of the Resurrection of the Body and the subsistence of the Soul after it leaves the body, 
Custodi me ò adjutor meus— in hac & futura vita peculiariter in die resurrectionis. Muhammedan. Prec. p. 18. & p. 399. Vide Hottinger. Hist. Orient. p. 254.  that not only the Alcoran, but their Offices of Prayer have frequent relation thereunto. The 
* Anima imbuta hisce perfectionibus, cum discesserit à corpore experietur in semet ipsa voluptatem maximum, & laetitiam immensam, efficieturque anima illa tanquam Angelus ex Angelis Propinquis Deo. Propositae Sapientiae Arabum Philosoph. p. 75.  Arabian Philosophers think that a virtuous Soul, when it has taken leave of the body, shall partake of immense Pleasures and Joys, and be as the chief Angels which are nearest to God.  
The 
* Joh Mendoza de Regno Chinae, l 2. 6.  Chinese hold the Soul spiritual, 
Trigautius' de Christ. expedit. apud sinas. p. 102.  and separable from the body, 
Linschoten's Voyag. p. 39  and that after death pious Souls 
Varenius de divers. Gent. Religion. p. 255, 269.  shall be rewarded, 
Lerius Navigat. c. 16.  and bad souls tormented. 
Osorii Hist. l. iv.  They who have of 
Benzo Hist. Nou. orb. p. 29.  late traveled in Persia, 
Harriot. Virgin.  India, 
Tavernier Persian Trav p. 165.  Japan and other Countries of the East, 
Ind. Trav p 167.  have observed the same Belief to 
Jos. Acosta lib. 5. c. 7.  prevail among the present Dwellers of those places: 
Rauwolf's Trau. p. 240.  and the like accounts we have of Southern Inhabitants from them who have visited Guinea, and other parts of Africa. And though they who first touched at the Cape of Good Hope, either through want of time rightly to be informed, or not having Curiosity sufficient to discover the Truth, did relate the people of those Parts to have no Religion; yet we have quite another story of them from late Travellers, who with more care and accuracy have searched into those matters. And what is remarkable the first Discoverers of America, found the people of Brasil, Canada, Virginia, etc. tho severed from the rest of the world by the vast Ocean, and with whom probably they had no intercourse in many ages to have generally the same belief of the Souls Immortality.  
But after all it must be allowed, That there have been here and there some, who resolving to live wickedly in this Life, have pretended to deny a Future One: even the Christian Church hath not wholly escaped this Infection. For within its Pale some have started up, who maintain the Impious Doctrines of Epicurus, to the great dishonour of the Lord who bought them, and the reproach of their Holy Profession.  
Of this sort of ill men about the beginning of the last Century, 
* Esse quandam vim in natura humana, qua caetera animantium genera destituantur, ut neminem sensu rationis nitentem, praeter Pomponatium, & asseclas, dubitare arbitror. Postellus de orbis Concord. p. 114.  Italy produced a plentiful Crop, who valuing themselves more upon the Reputation of their Philosophy, than Religion; 
O Italia, etiam ea hominum monstra alis, qui non satis habent esse impii, nisi etiam virus suum omnibus coeteris propinent, & cum hac pernicie in Aulas principum penetrent. Idem ib.  taught openly, that the Soul did perish with the body: so that it seemed necessary to have their wicked opinions condemned by a 
* Council Lateran Sessio 8. 19 Decemb. An. 1513.  Council. But notwithstanding these vain glorions persons by venting such strange Notions, hoped to have been accounted the only Masters of Sense and Reason, yet by the judicious and strong Confutations of the worthy Men who answered their Writings it does appear, that they were as weak Philosophers, as bad Christians.  
But as those who bid defiance to God, and ridicule Religion, bear no proportion to the Bulk of Mankind, so 'tis no wonder some such should be found. For when Men abuse the liberty God has given them over themselves, and by continual Debauchery weaken and corrupt their Faculties, it may so come to pass, that they shall hardly form a true Judgement of any thing. Indeed, a Mind enfeebled and clouded with the steams of brutish Lust is no more able to contemplate the Glorious Nature of God, or to be affected with pure and intellectual Pleasures, than a Body brought into the World without Eyes and Hands, is capable to do the ordinary Works of Life.  
For Men may make themselves Monsters, as well as be born so; 
* Quid enim est tam falsum tamque abhorrens à vero, ut non ad id probandum argumenta excogitari queant?— Neque quicquam est tam absurdum, quin dicendo probabile fieri; neque tam verum & exploratum, quin dicendo in dubium vocari, aut etiam coargui queat. Muretus' in Arist. Eth. p. 150.  but then by the Example of a few such Monsters we ought not to suffer either our Faith to be shaken, or our Manners to be perverted.  
Before I part with this Head, I would observe, where Piety, and Virtue, and Wisdom, have thriven most in the Conversation of Men, and the greater good they have done to the World, so much the more firmly they have been persuaded, that their Souls should subsist after they had left their Bodies; and on the contrary, that there hardly ever were found any much diposed to scoff at Providence, and deny a Future State, who had not been infamous Livers.  
A Heathen Philosopher hath spoke of this Point with so much Wisdom and Piety, that I think it will be no loss of time here to present you with what he hath said, 
Hieroc. in carm. Pythag. p. 165.  If Conscience awaken in a bad Man a sense of his evil Deeds, which tortures his Mind, and puts him in fear of Punishment in Hell, his only remedy is to fly to Nonentity, or Not-being; so he cures one Evil with another, supporting his Wickedness by the Destruction of his Soul. He gives Sentence of himself that after Death he shall be nothing, to fly the Penalties of Future Judgement. For a wicked Man will not have his Soul immortal, that he may not subsist to suffer punishment. He anticipates his Judge, by declaring it is sit that a wicked Soul should be re-reduced to nothing. But as through want of Counsel he was drawn to Sin, so through Ignorance of the measure of Things he passes wrong Judgement on himself. For the Judges of Spirits departed, framing their Sentence according to the Rules of Truth, do not judge it meet the Soul should be annihilated.  
(2.) My next Argument shall be taken from the fears Men have of Punishment after this Life for their Sins. Sin troubles the Minds of Men in such instances, as the Law takes no notice of; and in such, which notwithstanding they are punishable by Law, yet were acted too-secretly to be detected; and then also, when the Offenders having fled their Country, were out of reach of the Secular Judge. Such Persons likewise have been perplexed with the remembrance of their Wickedness, whose height and power made them strong enough to break through the Laws, and trample on them; in which several Cases there was nothing but the Natural Suggestions of Conscience to terrify them.  
Now, whence can all this inward Trouble proceed, but from an invincible persuasion, that after Death will come Judgement. If any doubt this, we may appeal to disconsolate Sinners themselves, who often finding no ease in the business of their Calling, in the Conversation of their Friends, nor in the change of Company or Place, have been driven to seek for relief of another kind, and to apply themselves to proper Persons, unto whom they may unburden their Souls, and confess their secret Offences, hoping by their devout Prayers, and ghostly Assistance, to procure some remedy for their distressed Minds.  
I may add, That so insupportable have been the Horrors of a wounded Conscience, that men have disclosed their capital Crimes to the Magistrate, when they well knew it was his duty to punish such Criminals with Death. And the reason why they exposed themselves voluntarily to Temporal Death, was to escape Divine Vengeance in another World, which they of all things dreaded. They did trust, that having confessed their Sin, and repent of it, and made all the satisfaction they could to Civil Justice, God would not enter into Judgement with them, but out of his infinite Compassion forgive them, and save their Souls alive.  
Neither was the Course here taken to be imputed to Melancholy or Distraction, since experience assures us, many hereby have quieted their Minds, and found comfort in Death.  
Now, if the fears of what shall become of us after Death, were the Effects only of the false Principles which are owing to bad Education; certainly they would not be so general, nor so deeply riveted in our Nature, nor so terrible, that Men should be willing to sacrifice their Lives to get rid of them.  
(3.) The third Argument I would urge for the Immortality of the Soul, and that Men were not made only to live here, is this, That there is nothing in the World which fills the mind with satisfaction. Men are always dissatisfied with their present Condition, and endeavouring to make some Alteration in it; and after the Alteration is made, they do not continue any long time pleased; but rather discover that they have only changed their old Grievances for new ones, and are disturbed with a fresh set of Complaints.  
Those who have the greatest opportunities to supply themselves with the various pleasures of Sense, should, if any were, be easy in their Enjoyments; and yet experience declares, that what lately they with much eagerness desired, does palls their Appetites, and grow flat and insipid.  
It is well known that Men, who have had their Treasuries filled with Gold, who have commanded Great and Victorious Armies, and conquered and ruled over many Nations, have after the large increase of their Wealth, their Power, and their Glory, upon little occasions been disturbed, and discontented, and fallen into such fits of Rage, or Lust, or Melancholy, as are in no wise consistent with true Contentment of Mind. And therefore they still post and press forward from one design to another, but with the same dissatisfaction; either trusting those who will deceive them; or striving to remove that which will never leave them; or vehemently coveting what they shall never obtain.  
Now, what reason can be given why worldly Goods ever show better and greater at a distance, than they prove in our Possession, but this; that they carry no proportion to the Appetites of the Mind, which is of a Spiritual and Heavenly Nature, and can never hope to receive adequate Satisfaction from any thing here below?  
Wherefore if these vast Capacities and Desires were placed in us by a Being of Infinite Wisdom, and if a Being infinitely wise can do nothing in vain, than it follows, that our Souls were created not only for this World, but to live in another, where they shall converse with, and enjoy such bright and glorious Objects, as will completely gratify and delight them. And from hence I deduce a fourth Argument for the Immortality of the Soul; viz.  
(4.) From the common appetite in Men to live for ever, and in that Eternal State to possess the chiefest good which will satiate the highest and most extensive Desires of the Mind. Every Man that comes into the World loves happiness, and would enjoy it eternally; it was not only the desire of St. Paul to be dissolved, and be with Christ; but the wish of Balaam, to die the death of the righteous. He believed a future Life, and that good Men should be blessed in it, and he wished he might have a share of their Blessedness.  
We have had great experience of God's Goodness, who hath enriched us with many favours, and therefore we ought to believe that he loves us, and did intend good to us in the whole contrivance and constitution of our Nature, wherein he only could put these unextinguishable Appetites to live and subsist happily for ever, and to partake of such Felicity as this World does not afford, and which indeed is no where to be found, but in his infinitely perfect Being.  
Now he who loves us exceedingly well, and of whose Bounty we have shared thus largely already, would not have endued our Nature with those vehement Appetites, which, unless he be pleased in fit time to give them satisfaction, can only serve to distract and torture our minds, and render us extremely miserable. For such a Treatment would be not only inconsistent with his infinite Wisdom, which appears in every part of the World; but repugnant to his boundless Goodness, which always disposes him to promote the Happiness, pity the weaknesses, and supply the wants of his poor Creatures.  
'Tis hope of enjoyment of Everlasting Happiness, which makes us to bear Injuries, Pains, and Losses patiently, and at length yield to the stroke of Death with a willing and contented mind. But had we reason to believe, that Death would make an utter end both of Body and Soul, as the conceit thereof all-along this Life would be an intolerable burden, so we should leave the world with deep Horror.  
But if there be a God; and that God is the Author of our Nature; and the Author of our Nature is infinitely Good, and always acts suitably to that Goodness; and if it be the property of infinite Goodness to bestow all that endless Bliss and Felicity upon its Creatures, which it not only hath made them capable of, but which it hath inclined their very Nature earnestly to desire and hope for; then we may from hence, beyond all question and doubt, conclude the Immortality of our Souls. And our hope of a joyful Eternity can no where rest so safely as upon the Divine Goodness.  
(5.) I shall but name one Argument more, though it is of unconquerable Force, to prove the future subsistence of the Soul; and that is Divine Providence which governs the World, preserves all things in their natural order, and observes whatever is done upon Earth, to the end all men may receive a Treatment from God, agreeable to their behaviour. That those who love, and fear, and serve God, may partake of the Glories with which he will reward the Heavenly-minded; and that they who neglect, and forget, and dishonour God, may be banished into outer Darkness.  
That they who have done good in their Generation, and showed pity to their fellow-creatures, may obtain a Recompense; and they who have been impure, and malicious, and have laid wait for the righteous, oppressed the poor, and not spared the widow, may receive Judgement without Mercy.  
But since this equal distribution of Rewards and Punishments, which the Divine Justice does require, is not made in this world, we have full assurance our Souls shall live in another, and there have Judgement pass upon them according to their deserts.  
It now but remains that I make a short Reflection or two upon this Discourse.  
(2.) If our Souls shall survive our Bodies, it ought not only to encourage us to be patient and resigned to the Will of God, under the great variety of Troubles and Afflictions which happen in this Life, but also to arm us against the fear of Death.  
Since Death only will lay open a passage for us into another Life, which will infinitely surpass this For as much as there we shall be delivered from all those things, which render our present condition either dangerous or uncomfortable. We shall no longer be exposed to the Temptations of wicked men, or of our own Lusts, now so dangerous and dreadful to us, when admitted into the Conversation of Angels and Souls made Perfect; we shall not so much as suspect treachery and wrongs when out of reach of the Malice of Men and Devils: we shall not fear Pains, and Diseases, wherewith it is not possible our incorruptible nature should be affected; in a word, we never again shall be liable to the power of Death, the King of Fears, for our Lord says we cannot die any more.  
The Poet supposes the Soul of Achilles after he was slain, 
Quintus Calaber lib. 14. p. 678.  to be introduced into the presence of his Son, and to exhort him, not to grieve and be cast down for his Father's Death, by means whereof he was admitted to familiarity with the Blessed Gods, but to furnish his mind with his Virtues, from which he should reap most pleasant Fruit.  

Arrian. in Epict. l. 1. c. 9 p 109.  Is not Death not Evil? Are we not of kin to God, and come from him? Let us go back thither from whence we came; and get loose from these Fetters, which are straight and heavy. Here are Robbers, and Thiefs, and Judicatures, and Tyrants, who if they have Power over us, it is with respect to our BODY, and its Possessions. Let us show they have no power, and wait the pleasure of God, unto whom, as soon as he shall discharge us from our Duty in the present Station, we shall return.  
What befalls the righteous Man in his Death, and how little reason he has to be concerned and dread it, we learn from the Excellent Author of the Book of Wisdom: 
C. 2. 23, 24.  For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity; nevertheless through the envy of the devil came death into the World; and they that do hold on his side do find it. 
C. 3. 1, 2, 3, 4.  But the Souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die, and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction; but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.  
O desirable Immortalicy! from the belief of which not any Evil can come, no real Good can be lost; but the worst of Miseries may be escaped, and the chiefest of Goods obtained. Thou puttest the Souls of the righteous in the Hands of God, a place of the greatest Peace and greatest Safety, where without fear of being disturbed, or dipossessed, they shall praise, and glorify, and magnify, his Name for ever.  
(2.) Since our Spirit must return to God, who gave it, it does highly concern us to keep it always in a fit Condition to be given back unto him. 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  This is a great work, if we consider what our Soul is, or whither it is going. 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  'Tis our Soul which hath the Image of God impressed upon it, 
Nazianz. jambic. 2.  and which is more valuable to us than the whole World; and this Soul is going to receive a Sentence, which will make it either infinitely Happy or Miserable, from that God, who is of purer Eyes than to behold evil, and therefore if it take leave of the Body polluted with the Lusts of the Flesh, he will abhor it.  
If we have not banished Envy, and Wrath, and Hatred, and all Malicious Passions out of our Souls, how shall we presume to surrender them into the Hands of God, who is Love; and when the Condition on which only he will now dwell in us, and perfect his Love in us, is that we love one another?  
God is just and true, and his Eyes behold the things that are equal; therefore if we are false, and perfidious, and deceitful, and oppress or overreach our Neighbours, he will command us workers of iniquity to depart from him.  
It is an admirable Saying of the Pythagoreans, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hieroc. in Carm. Pythag. p. 25.  That there is no place on Earth more acceptable to God, than a pure Soul.  
I am sure it is the Doctrine of St. John, that every one that hopes to see God as he is, must purify himself even as he is pure. That is, must endeavour to become like God in his Purity, Justice, Love and Mercy, and other Perfections which are imitable by his reasonable Creatures.  
May we then not only not give ourselves up to commit acts of Uncleanness, but not so much as harbour or cherish any impure Thoughts. And may God in his infinite Mercy, bestow on us such a measure of his Grace, as may enable us to subdue our unruly Lusts, and bring them under the government of our Reason, and the Laws of our Holy Religion.  
And may not the Horrors of a guilty Conscience seize upon us when the Terrors of Death shall approach us; but our Merciful Lord at his coming may find us labouring in his Vineyard, and say, Well done good and faithful Servants, come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World.  
FINIS.   

ADVERTISEMENT.  
Two Sermons of the Wisdom and Goodness of Provide, Preached before the Queen at Whitehall, August 17. and 24. 1690. on Prov. 3d. 6th.  
A Sermon Preached at St. Andrews Holbourn, June 28th. 1691. on Gal. 6th. 7th.  
Of Religious Melancholy; A Sermon Preached before the Queen at Whitehall, March 6th. 1691. on Psal. 42. 6th.  
These by the Right Reverend Father in God John Lord Bishop of Norwich.