Igivethefe Books I fpti '8fe,! founding cf a College in-thif CqU>nyi Gift of Mr. Roger S. White, 2nd. 1913. K DISCOURSE Concerning the Happiness pf Good Men, AND THE Punishment of the WICKED, I N T H E * Next WORLD. Containing "The Proofs of the Immortality of th6 Soul, and Immortal Life. By W. SJiER L O CK, D. D. late Dean of St. Taul% Matter of the Temple, and Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Ma- jefty. The Third Edition. . « ' JL O N D O N: Printed for Z). Browne, J. Walthoe, J. Knap- Uton, B. Tooke, R. Robin/on, J. Pemberton, * and 5T. Ward. 1719. L. . • i - •>,..-... >,p. .,-. . - »„ bfife* ************************ •*•**«**** THE CONTENTS. ' I Ai/£ Introduction, Page i C H A P. I. Concerning the True Reafon and Foundation of our Faith and Hope of ImmortaLLife, p. 3 SeSt. 1. That nae mufi refihe the Certainty of out Faith, as to another Life, wholly into a Divine Re~ relation, Ibid. Sedt. 2. OfwhatUfe Natural and Moral Arguments are, for the Proof of the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State, P-1J CHAP- II. Concerning the Natural and Moral Arguments of a Fu ture State, p. 27 Se6r. 1. That there is noAppearanee ofReafon againji the Belief of another Life, p. 28 Se£t. 2. The firfi Natural Argument for Immortality, ¦from the Nature of the Soul, p. 49. SeS. 3. The Immortality of the Soul proved from the Univerfal Confent of Mankind in this Belief, p. 76 A Digrejfion concerning Connate Ideas, or Inbred Knpw~ ledge, p. 83 Seft. 4. The Immortality of the Soul prov'd, from the Natural Defires of Immortality, and the Jujlice of the Divine Providence, p. 1 1 1 CHAP. III. fPhat farther Evidence the Law of Moles gives us pf the Immortality of the Soul^nd a Future State, p. 12,8 Seft. The CONTENTS. Se£h I. The Mofaical Evidence for the Immateriality of the Soul, ibid. SeSt. 2. Concerning the univerfal Confent in the Be* lief of a Future State, and the natural Defires of Im mortality, p. 141 Se£t. 3. The Mofaical Evidence of a Future State , frqm the Divine Providence, p. iydj Seel. 4. The Immortality of the Soul prov'd from God's Covenant with Abraham, p. 167 Seel. £. The Proofs of the Immortality of $he Soul, from the Law of Mofes, p. 211 CHAP. IV. Concerningthe Gojpel Evidence of Immortal Life, p. 226 Seel. 1 . The Gofpel Notion of Life and Immortality, ibid. ' Seel. 2. The Gofpel-Promtfes of Life and Immortality, ?¦ 233, Seel. 3. The Prpmifes of Immortal Life confirm'-d by the Refarreclion of Chrijt from the Dead, p. 2f 3 C H A P. V. That Salvation , .which is wrought for tcs by Chrijt , gives us the mojl fare and certain Hopes of a blejfed Immortality, p. 2651 5edl. 1. That we mufibe fav'dby a Saviour; and what kind of Saviour Sinners want, ibid. Seel. 2 The eternal Godhead of our Saviour is the on ly certain Fpundation of all our Hopes of Salvation , and Immortal Life, p. 285; Seel*. 3. The vifible Reconciliation of human Nature in the Incarnation of the Son of God, "p. 307 Seel. 4. The Death of Chrifl a true Expiatory Sacri fice to redeem Mankind from Death, p. 316 Seel. ¦$¦. The Conquefl of Death by the Death' and Re- furretSion of Chrtft, p. 3^0 Seel. 6. The Covenant of Pardon andlmmortal Life, fealed with the Blood of ' Chrifl ^ p. 38c? The Conclufion. A Comparifon between the Gain of the World, and the Lofs of 'the Soul, p. 407 A DISCOURSE O F T H E Immortality of the Soul, A N D A FUTURE STATE. The Introduction. HE Serious Consideration of Death and Judgment is abfolutely necefia- ry.ito the Wife and Religious Go vernment of our Lives. That we muft die, difparages all prefenc En joyments ; and if we fuffer fuch Thoughts to fink into our Souls, they naturally moderate our Af fections, andfet bounds to our ufeof them. That we fhall be judged, and rewarded and punifh- B ed, Of the Immortality of the Soul, ed, according to our Works, is a.necefTaryRea- fon to confider well what we do, and what Ac count we can give of our A&ions, when God comes to judge the World j which will poflefs our Souls with a Holy and Religious Fear of God, and make us Wife for Eternity. This is the very fame Argument which the Belief of a Future State fuggefts to us, To de ny all ungodlinefs and -worldly lufls, and to live fo- herly, righteoujly, and godly in this prefent world j looking for that blefj'ed hope, and glorious appear ance of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrijt. And feeing all thefe things Jhall be diffolved, what manner of Perfons ought we to be in all holy conver- fatiori>and godlinefs ? And therefore knowing the terrors of the Lord, we perfuademen. But though a Future Judgment, and the Re wards and Punifhments of the next Life, be the very fame Argument j for the whole of the Ar gument is, that Good Men lhall be rewarded, and the Wicked punifhedj yet a particular Con- fideration of Heaven and Hell, either makes it a new Argument, or gives new Force to it. The .general Argument is Rewards and Punifhrnenfs : but this Argument differs according to the dif ferent degrees of Rewards and Puniihments j for the greateft Rewards and Puniihments are always the greateft and moft powerful Argu ments. And therefore, after a Difcourfe "of Death and Judgment, to give the full Strength and Force to the Argument, it will Be of great Ufe to take as near a ProfpecT: of the other W orld ' as we can* to contemplate, the unconceivable Happinefs of Good Men, and the aftonifhirig- Miferies of the Damned : which is the greateft Argument that can be ufed, becaufe the Happi nefs and the Miferies are the greateft. Now and a Future State. Now though we do not know enough of the other World to gratify the Curiofity of Man kind, yet what our Saviour has revealed, (which is all that can be known of it) is abundantly fuf- ficient to raife our Hopes, and inflame our De fires, and awaken our Fears. For if that Account be true which the Gofpel gives us of the Happi nefs and Miferies of the next Life, it is the grea teft Happinefs and the greateft Mifery which Hu man Nature is capable of; as will appear hereafter. CHAP. I. Concerning the true Reafon and Foun dation of our Faith and Hope of Im mortal Life. SECT. I. That we muft refo-lve the Certainty of our Faith as to another Life, wholly into a Tiivine Revelation. %^ BEfore I proceed particularly to examine thofe Defcriptions our Saviour has given us of the Happinefs ofGoodMen, and the Miferies of the Wicked in the next W orld, the Infidelity of the Age makes it neceflary to eftablifh the Belief of a future State. St. Paul tells us, that the Gofpel of our Savi our contains the laft and great Confirmation of another Life j for he hath brought Life, and Im mortality to .light My the Gofpel. And this is the B a only 4 Of the Immortality of the Soul, Only fure Foundation of oUr Hopes. We want no other Arguments but this: and it feems al- moft as impertine ..t and fuperfluous to ufe them, as it would be to prove that by Reafon which we know by Senfej or to infift on fome Proba bilities and Moral Arguments, when we can de- monftrate. There are many Arguments, as you mall hear, for another Life, which though they cannot de- monftrate the abfolute Certainty of it, nor force an AfTent, yet do very ftrongly perfuade, and have all the degrees of Probability, and the ut- moft Evidence that can be had on this fide Senfe, Demonftration, and Faith : and thefe are Argu ments of good ufe, and not to be wholly reject ed ; tho' we muft not put the Belief of another Life upon this IfTue, becaufe We have better, more certain, and more convincing Evidence. Our Saviour and his Apoftles never appeal to thefe Moral Proofs of another Life j which, how rea- fonable foever they may be, thofe who pleafe may difpute them, and thofe who have no mind to believe may reject them. Whereas that Faith which muft govern our Lives, and conquer this World, ought to reft upon a fure and immova ble Foundation } and fuch the Gofpel Revelation is. - If -God has exprefly promifed another Life, that puts an end to all Difputes, or at moft leaves but one, Whether God has made fuch a Revela tion of his Willi which is much more eafily and more certainly proved, than we can prove a Future State' without it. Whoever believes the Gofpel of Chrift, cannot poffibly doubt whether there be another World, where Good Men fhall be rewarded, and the Wicked punifhedj and therefore he needs no other Arguments to prove this : and, which is not and a Future State. mot well confider'd, ought not to build his Faith cpon any other ; which is of very little Ufe, and of very dangerous Confequence. And it will not be time ill fpent to lay this. Matter plainly befare you ; for I have great reafon to fear, that the Mifcarriages of this nature have given great Advantage to Infidelity. Of what other ufe the Natural Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State, are, 1 fhall confider hereafter: at pre- fent my Bufinefs is to fhew you, of what dan* gerous Confequence it is to want any other Ar guments, or to build our Faith upon any otjjef Arguments, than the Gofpel Revelation. i . For in the firft place this is a Spice of Infi delity j it is an inclination towards it, and fuch Men are -difpofed to be Infidels, or at leaft to be praftifed on by Infidels. For did we heartily be lieve the Gofpel, we could want no other Argu ments of a Future State, and fhould be fatisfied we could have no better. And would Men then fo greedily catch at every Story of an Appariti on, and contend as zealoufly for it, as if the be lief of another World depended upon it? As if they wanted fome better Evidence, or fome more credible Story, than the Refurredtion of our Sa viour ? Would Men want any Philofophica-1 Ar guments to prove the Immortality of the Soul, and think it a mighty Difparagement to their' Faith, if a witty Infidel Harts fuch Objections, as it may be, they know not how to anfwer ? This is at kit, whatever we pretend, to refolve our Faith into Reafon, not into Revelation, and •at belt to hazard our Faith in a doubtful Dis pute j which may prove very Fatal, if we meet with a Man who undepftands the Philofophy of •Nature better than we do. For if we wantPhi- B 5 lofophy Of the Imm&rtalzty of the Soul, lofophy to make us Chriftians, it is poffible to exchange our Faith for fome fmall fhews and ap pearances of Reafon. We may Difpute fuch Matters as thefe, if we be skilled in them, with Atheiftsand Infidels; but mould let them know, that however the Difpute ends, our Faith is not concerned in it : for where there is a plain and exprefs Revelation, all Men muft grant, that no Arguments can prevail againft Revelation which do not confute it. When God has promifed E- ternal Life, whether I can by Nature and Philo fophy prove the Soul to be Immortal or not, the Cafe is the fame; it is to be believed neither more nor lefs for that, for God can and will do what he has promifed. Had there been no Re^ velation, the beft Arguments muft have prevail ed; but when there is, or is pretended to be a Revelation, the greateft Wit and Subtilty muft give place to Revelation, and the only difpute that can be admitted, is, whether it be a Divine Revelation or not. I confefs, could any Man prove, that it is ab- folutely impoffible, that the Soul fhouldlive in a State of Separation from the Body, this would be a confiderable Objection againft the Truth of the Revelation, which teaches fuch a Life after Death : But without confuting the Gofpel Revelation, it is impoffible to confute the Iitit mortality of the Soul, and a Future State ; and it is certain no Man can, and indeed no Man pretends to prove the impoffibility of a Life af ter Death; and then all Men muft allow this poffible, fince no Man pretends to prove it to be impoffible. And then What natural Reafon does not deny to be poffible, and what Revela tion affirms to be true and certain, is a proper Object of Faith, if there be any fuch thing as a Divine and a Future State. 7 Divine Revelation, or any' Authority -due to it. A Chriftian, who believes the Gofpel, is in no danger of the Philofophy of Infidels ; for the Authority of God is above all Reafon and Philo fophy : but if we fet afide Revelation, and dif pute with them upon equal Terms, the Event is doubtful : Not becaufe I fear, that, fetting afide Revelation, there are better Arguments againft the Immortality of the Soul, than there are for it ; ( which I hope to convince you, there are not) but becaufe all fuch Difputes are a Tryal of Skill between Man and Man, and their perfonal Abilities and Qualifications: and if an Infidel happen to be a wittier Man, and better Phjlo- fopher than a Chriftian, the Victory is like to go on that fide; and the Chriftian who lays afide his Faith, may be baffled in his Philofophy ; and that too often endangers the Renouncing his Faith. z. To make you ftill more fenfible of the danger of this, I obferve, that one great Defign of Revelation was to deliver us from the Uncer tainties of Hum an Reafon, and to give us a furer Foundation for our Faith. If any thing be cer tain by the Light of Nature, we muft acknow ledge, that the Principles of Natural Religion are fo ; as that there is a God, and a Providence, and a Life to come, wherein good Men ihall be rewarded, and the wicked punifhed. But tho' the generality of Mankind believed thefe things by a kind of natural Inftinct and Senfation, yec we know what work the Philofophers made, when they came to difpute them : That Men, who firmly believed the Being of a God, and the Immortality of the Soul, without any of their Arguments, efcaped well, if they believed as much after they had heard their wrangling B 4 Debates . 8 Of the ImmWtaltty of the Soul, Debates. This very account St. Paul gives of it, I Cor. i. 20, li . Where is the Wife ? Where is the Scribe? Where is. the Difputer of this World ? Hath not God made fooliflo the Wifdom of this World ? For after that in the Wifdom of God, the World by Wifdom knew not God, it pleafed God by the foolijhnefs of Preaching to fave them that believe. The meaning of which is, that the Difputes of Philofophers had by long Experience been found very ineffectual to inftruct and con firm Mankind in the Belief and Knowledge of God, and of another World, and to direct them in the way to Happinefs; and therefore God in great Compaffion to our Infirmities chofe ano ther, a more eafie, a more convincing, and more compendious way, to teach us ; not by the Wifdom of this World, nor by the uncer tain, Reafonings of Philofophers, but by the Re velation of the Gofpel of Chrifi, by the foolijh nefs of Preaching, which contained no curious Speculations, no new Theories, and - never pre tended to Natural Demonftrations. The Apo- ftles only told a plain Story of the Life, and Death, and Refurrection of Chrifi, and confirm ed their Teftimony by Miracles. The Doctrines which they taught, were plain Matters of Fact, and the Arguments whereby they proved them, were not drawn from the Secrets of Nature, but from a Divine Power, which vifibly appear'd in thofe mighty Works they did. This is the account St. Paul gives of his Preaching, i Cor. z. x—f. And f, Brethren, •when I came to you, came not with Excellency of Speech, or of Wifdom, declaring unto you the Tejlimony of God. For f determined not to know any thing among you fave Jefus Chrifi, and him crucified, And I was with you in iveaknefs^ and in and a Future State. in fear, and in much trembling. And my Speech and my Preaching was not with enticing Words of Man's Wifdom, but in demonjlration of the Spirit and of Power, that your Faith jhould not fiand in the Wifdom of Men, but in the Power of God. He did not preach the Gofpel to them with the Excellency of Speech, or of Wifdom, not with the enticing-Words of Man's Wifdom, as the Gruecian Orators and Philofophers ufed to teach. He did not perfuade them to believe in Chrift with a pomp and flourifh of Words ; nor recommend Chriftianity to them, according to the fafhion of thofe Times, in a new Philofophical drefs ; and was refolved never to do fo, but only to preach to them Jefus Chrift, and him Crucified, and that with all the plainnefs and fimplicity, which fuch a Doctrine requires. But then he had Demonftrations, beyond all the Demonftra- tions of Philofophy, and beyond all the Enticing Words of Man's Wifdom, the Demonjlration of the Spirit, and of Power ; God bearing them Witnefs, both with Signs and Wonders, and with divers Miracles, and Gifts of the Holy Ghoft, according to his own Will, z. Heb. 4. And the Reafon the Apoftle gives for this, is very confiderable, that your Faith Jhould not ftand in the Wifdom of Men, but in the Power of God; that is, that their Faith might reft upon a fure bottom, the Teftimony and Authority of God, which no thing can ever fhake and unfettle ; and not on the uncertain Reafonings of Men, which cannot create a firm and lafting Aflent ; which, if they were never fo true, unlearned Men cannot un- derftand, and learned Men cannot agree about ; which might be perverted by Wit and Sophi- ftry, by Faction and Intereft ; as the Example ©f fecular W"~dorn and Philofophy did abun dantly io Of the Immortality af we d out, dantly prove. This is the Reafon, why he would not mix Philofophy with Chriftianity ; tho' that would have made it the more palatable tp the wife Men of the Age ; becaufe the Reafo- nings of Pbilofophy are uncertain, and if they be once received into our Faith, or allowed any Confideration in it, as much Authority as thefe Reafonings.are allowed in Faith, fo much Un certainty they communicate to it- Thus St. Paul Preached at Athens, and thus he Preached at Rome, and was not afhamed of the Gofpel of Chrift, which is the Power of God unto Salvation to them that believe; and tho' he was skilled in Secular Learning, and was no Stranger to the Writings of the Philofophers and Poets, yet we do not find that in all his Difputes with the Philofophers, he ever above once reafoned with them from the Principles of Nature, and thofe the moft uncontefted Principles too ; of which more prefently. Had he liked this way, we might reafonably have expected it from him when he made his Apology before King Agrippa, and Fefius the Roman Governor ; efpecially when he undertook to defend the Credibility of the Refurrection : * Why fhould it be thought a thing incredible with you that God Jhould raife the Dead? Acts z6. 8. The Infidels of our Age had they heard him fay fo, would certainly have expected a Philofophi- cal Difcourfe of1 the Poffibility of the Refurrecti on, how a dead Body which is diffolved into Duft, and it may be its Atoms fcattered into the four Winds, fhould recover its ancient Shape and Form, and a new Life ; and what an Enter tainment would fuch a Difcourfe as this have been to thofe Great Men, who no doubt were infpired with the Curiofity and the Phijofophick Genius and a Future State. i x Genius of the Age ? But St. Paul meddles not with the Philofophy of the Refurrection, but tells them how he hifnfelf came fo fatisfied in the Truth of it, by the appearance of Chrift to him on his way to Damafcus. By this means Chriftianity prevailed in the World ; for the Foolifhnefs of God is wifer than men, and the Weaknefs of God is Jlronger than men. .But as Philofophy crept- into Religion, the feveral Sects of Philofophers divided the Church with as many Herefies and Schifms, and this brought great Uncertainty into our Faith 5 and Chriftianity owed its Progrefs more to the Publick Countenance and Authority of Govern ment, than to its own Native Force and Power. Our own Age is a Fatal Example of this, in the prodigious Growth of Atheifm and Infide lity among us ; not to mention fome other pefti- lent and prevailing Herefies ; for it is all owing to refolving our Faith more into Natural Rea fon than into Revelation. This is not the way whereby Chriftianity was at firft propagated, nor is it the way whereby it will ever be re- ftored. Some Men who have a great Opinion of their Philofophy, think prefently to convert the World by fome new Witty Hypothefis: but the World was never converted by Philofophy yet; and after fo many Ages Experience, it is time to lay afide thefe Thoughts now. I do not blame any Mens Labours in confuting the Prin ciples of the Atbeiftick Philofophy, while they do not pawn our Faith upon it, and fet afide Revelation as below a Philofopher. But we all know, that the world by wifdom knew not God ; and I do not find that the World is much wifer now than it was in thofe days, nor its Philofo phy i % Of the' Immortality of the Soul, p'hy more certain and demonftrable : Or, what hew Difcoveries foever fome Men may think thefe late Ages have made, they have not made many Converts : but Atheifts and Infidel^ are fo frill. This, as you have heard, was one Reafon which made the Gofpel Revelation neceffary: * and we know the Preaching of the Gofpel con verted great Multitudes to the Faith and Wor- fhip of one Supreme God, as well as to the Faith of Chrift, whom Philofophy never could con vert. And if this were the way to eftablifh the Knowledge of one Supreme God, and the Faith of Chrift in the World, is it not the ready way to banifh them out of the World again, to fet afide Revelation, and to return to the Old Eter nal Wranglings of Philofophy ? Indeed the Being and Nature of one Supreme God, does not immediately fall under my No tice at this time ; but the Nature of the Argu ment requires fome Notice to be taken of it. Some Men, contrary to the moft evident Ex- - perience, think, that the Being of a God can not be proved from Divine Revelation ; becaufe we muft firft believe the Being of a God, be fore we can believe that he has made any Reve lation of his Will to the World: Which is in part true, that we cannot prove the Being of God frotn any Text in the Bible, becaufe we muft firft believe that it is the Word of God, . and confequently we muft believe that there is a God, whofe Word that is, before we can be lieve any thing upon the Authority of a parti cular Text; and therefore we muft believe a God before we can believe that Text ; and then it comes too late to prove that there is a God. And yet it is very evident, that the Preaching of the Gfpoel converted Men to the Belief, and Worftijip and a Future State. 1 3 Worfhip of one Supreme God, as well as to the Faith of Chrift : And the Reafon of it is very plain ; for the Apoftles of Chrift did as well teach the Worfhip of the one Supreme God, as the Faith of Chrift ; and therefore thofe Mighty Works which gave Teftimony to the Apoftles Preaching, did equally confirm both. Revelation is a new kind of Proof, which has nothing to do with Reafon and Philofophy. Men oppofe Reafon, or the fhcws and appear ances of Reafon, to Reafon ; and every Man thinks his Reafon as good as his Neighbour's} and Perfonal Honour, or the Honour of a Sect and Party, makes the Difpute Eternal : But no Man ever ventured to deny, that what is reveal ed by God is true ; and therefore this is the on ly way to fecure our own Faith, to .refolve it wholly into a Divine Revelation, which all the Difficulties and Subtilties of Philofophy can ne ver touch ; and this is the only effectual way of dealing with Atheifts and Infidels. If you can prove by vifible and fenfible Effects, that God has revealed Himfelf and his Will to the World, you unanfwerably confute the Atheift, who be lieves that there is no God : And if you can prove that God has revealed another World to us, thaj: ¦he has promifed Eternal Life to Good Men, and threatned Wicked Men with Eternaipeath, you confute the Infidel: And therefore if ever we would have an end of this Controverfy, which Natural Reafon and Philofophy can never make, we .muft bring it to this fhort Iffue, Whether God has made a Revelation of his Will to the World, and what it is ? But is there no Ufe then of the Light of Reafon, and the Philofophy of Nature, in this Controverfy? Muft we give all this up to A- theifts 1 4 Of the Immortality of the Soul, theifts and Infidels? This is what they defire, and what they glory in ; and after all that can be faid, will conclude themfelves to be in the right, if they have the beft Reafon on their fide : And I confefs, were this the Cafe, they might well conclude fo, for the beft Reafon is always in the right. 3- " The Sum of what I have faid is this, /Tnat though there are a great many Arguments of the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State, which you and I may think very good Argu ments, yet we muft refolve our Belief of ano ther World wholly into Revelation. Other Arguments may, and are, and always will be difputed, and will be thought good or bad, ac cording to Men's Underftandings and Inclinati ons : but the 'Gofpel has brought Life and Immor tality to Light ; has made it in a manner vifible , to us; has left no more place for doubting and difputing, than there is for doubting of what we fee. If we believe the Gofpel, we can want no other Proof of Immortal Life ; and to ' pretend to believe the Gofpel, and not to be fa tisfied without fome Natural and Philofophical "Demonftrations, is a Symptom of Infidelity, and refblves our Faith into doubtful Difputati- ons; it teaches Atheifts and Infidels to defpife "Revelatiofi, when they fee that we our felves are not fatisfied With it ; and when we have "laid that afide we may difpute eternally with out convincing one another. This difappoints onegreat Defign of Preaching the Gofpel, whidh was to put an end to thefe uncertain Difputes, and to give us a more fure Word of Prophecy for the Foundation of our Faith. The pow erful Effects of this were vifible in the Con- verfion of the World to the Faith of Chrift j and and a Future State. 1 5 'and the Mifchiefs of declining a Revelation, and ..reviving the old Philofophick Difputes, "'is alfo too vifible in the increafe of Atheifm and Infi delity among us. And therefore let us bring the Controverfy back again to Revelation. What have we to do with what the Philofophers have faid, and what their Opinions were about it ? Wfty fhould we trouble our felves with uncer tain Reafonings, Wheri we have the eixprefs Pro- mifes of Immortality ? SECT. II. Of what life Natural and Moral Argu ments are , for the 'Proof of the Im mortality of the Soul, and a Future State. TO Mate this Matter plainly, I fhall, Firft, fhew you upon what Accounts, r and in what Senfe I fay, that we ought to refolve our Belief of another World , not into Natural and Moral Arguments, but into the Gofpel Re velation.. z. Of what Ufe thefe Natural ^and Moral Arguments are to our felves. 3. What Ufe we are to make of them in our Difputes with Infidels. 1. As for the firft, my meaning is not, that '¦ there are not very good Arguments of a Future State, befides the Exprefs Declarations and Pro- teifes of the Gofpel; fuch Arguments as have the higheft probability, and would be a fufficient Reafon to perfuade unbiafled and' unprejudiced Men, though there were no pther; for we muft allow this, unlefs we will fay,that Mankind, before the Of the Immoriamy vj trjc ovut, the Publication of the Gofpel, believed another Life without any Reafon fufficient to perfuade a Wife Man : But my meaning is, that the Reve lation of the Gofpel is the only certain Proof of anotherLife ; fo plain, that every Man muft un- derftand it; fo exprefs that no Man can deny it. If we believe the Gofpel, it will admit of no Dif pute: Infidels themfelves do and muft confefs this, that if the Gofpel be true, nothing can be more certain than that there is another Life. Now if the Gofpel gives us the only abfolute and indifputable Certainty, here we ought to ac- quiefce; we need no other Arguments to prove that which we certainly know already ; and therefore we need not, unlefs we pleafe, difpute whether they be true or falfe ; and it is the fafeft way for the generality of Chriftians not to do it. The generality of Chriftians are not well skilled in Difputation, and therefore may be baffled by a Witty Infidel ; but all, the Wit and Sophiftry in the World can never anfwer a plain Revelati on. iThis makes the meaneft Chriftian an over- matjn for the fubtileft Philofopher : And there fore here jis. our Security and our fafe Retreat, and this is what I mean by refolving our Faith wholly into Revelation; not to reject and defpife all other Arguments, as worth nothing, and of no ufe to us ; but yet to build our Faith upon Revelation, and not to fuffer any other Difputes jto ftagger us, while we have God's Word and 'Promife for another Life : And upon thefe Terms we may venture to difpute other Matters, when, whatever the Succefs be, our Faith is fecure. Suppofe you fhould meet with an Infidel, as fuch Men are too often to be met with, who fhould difpute very fubtilly againft all the common Ar guments for the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future" and a Future State*. \f Future State ; and fhould ftart fuch Difficulties as you could not well anfwer: If you believe the Gofpel, you have an Anfwer to all at once, that you are fure of the Conclufion, that there is a- notherLffe, becaufe God has promifed it. 2. And yet thefe Arguments of a Future State from Reafon and Nature are not without their Ufe. We can believe a Future State with*- out them ; Revelation alone will defend our Faith againft all the Wit and Arguments of A- theifts ; but though there is more Certainty in Revelation, there is a peculiar Agreeableneis and Satisfaction in the Proofs of Reafon, and the Natural Indications of Immortality. A rea- fonable Nature is more gratified with Natural Proofs, when they can be had; and it becomes Men of Leifure and Education, to ftudy Nature ; and there is not a more ufeful and entertaining part of Knowledge, than the Natural Know ledge of our own Immortality, which gives us the trueft Knowledge of our felves. Though fuch Arguments alone do not amount to ftrict Demonftration, yet they are very per fua- five; and a Natural Senfe of Immortality difpO- fes us to a more ready, ehearful, and firm AfTent to the exprefs Promifes of Immortality. If we muft live after Deaths it is reafonable to think, that Mankind fhould have fome natural Notice of it : And it would have been no fmall prejudice againft the Revelation of Immortality, had the World never known of, nor fufpected, any fuch thing; and had Natural Reafon nothing at all to fay about it : But the very fufpicions and hopes of Nature make fuch a Revelation credi ble ; and Revelation gives greater Force to thofe Arguments, than they had alone. Nature, fup- pofe it were no more, ftrongly inchnjes-iis to be- C lieve 1 8 Of the Immortality of we j uut, lieve, and hope for,another Life ; and this proves, that to* believe it, is agreeable to Nature ; and then there can be no natural Objection againft be lieving fuch a Revelation : but on the other hand there is a natural Propenfity to believe it; which is a great Advantage to the Chriftian Faith. And when an unqueftionable Revelation contains the exprefs Promifes of Immortality, this proves, that the Inclinations and Hopes of Nature are not vain ; and fhews us fuch degrees of evidence and certainty in them, as we could not fee be fore. We can ftudy Nature to much greater advantage with a Revelation, than the Heathens could do without; and thefe are great Reafons, why we fhould ftudy and defend the Natural Ar guments of Immortality : Not to refolve our Faith into doubtful Difputations ; when we have fo much better and more certain Evidence : But the Harmony and Confent of Revelation and Na ture, will both enlighten our Faith, and give a new ftrength and Authority to Reafon, which will teach us to believe both like Men and Chri ftians, and give infinite pleafure and fecurity to our Minds. if. It is of great ufe alfo in .our Difputes with Atheifts and Infidels, thoroughly to underftand the Natural and Moral Arguments for a Future State ; to know what Strefs to lay on them, and to what PurpofeS to ufe them. It betrays the Caufe of Chriftianity, to lay afide Revelation, and to difpute with thefe Men merely upon the Principles of Reafon and Phi lofophy. For though I doubt not to fatisfy e- very impartial and unprejudiced Enquirer, that if there had been no Revelation concerning ano ther World, all the Reafon we have, and can ufe in this Caufe, is for a Future State ; yet when Men and a Future Stale* tp Men are prejudiced againft this, Belief, arid are refolved not to believe it, as long as they can poffibly disbelieve it* that isf till you can prove as well as perfuade; it muft not.be expected, that mere Natural or Moral Arguments fhould con vince themj for they are not fo Derhonftrative as to forde an Affent: They may reprefent the Belief of another Life highly probable, fp pro bable, as feems little lefS than Dernonftration to Men who are difpofed to believe; but they are not direct^ abfolute^ pofitive Proofs, and there fore may \jc rejected by Men who have no mind to believe; j Common Experience teaches^ that it general- ly proves a vain and fruitlefs Attempt, to con vert Infidels by Philofophy. It.could not do it before the publication of the Gofpel; nor will it do it yeti if you lay afide Revelation. But' there are two things, which we may, and as I hope to fhew you, we can do from the Princi ples of Reafon, which if they will not convince Infidels^ may at leaft filence them* and difpofe them to receive that more perfect Satisfaction which the Gofpel gives ; that isj to anfwer all their Cavils and Objections againft the Moral Ar guments for a Future State; and to fhew them$ that though thefe Arguments are nor abfolute Demonftrations^ yet they have the nigiieft de grees of probability ; that there is not the leaft appearance or fhadow pi an Argument againft a- notherLife, and that there are. very probable Reafons for it. And it is enough to put a mo- deft Man, out of Countenance^ to, be convinc'd that he disbelieves another World and to disbelieve what is greatly probable, and to believe the contrary, without fo much as the and a Future State. 21 the leaft probability, is not to believe or disbe lieve with Reafon. Prefumptions and Probabilities are a fufficient Foundation for a probable Faith ; and a proba ble Faith is of great ufe in the government of our Lives. Would not any Man bluih to own, thar he does not believe that to be probable, which he muft confefs there are probable Reafons for? And is it not as great a Reproach to any. Man, to have no regard to Probabilities in Mat ters of the greateft Concernment to him ? If Natural and Moral Arguments make it highly probable, that there is another Life (and that they at leaft can do) does not that Man contra dict his Reafon, who does not believe another Life very probable, when there are very proba ble Reafons for it ? And if it is probable that there is another Life, does not that Man act ve ry unreafonably, who has no regard to another World in what he does? So that if you can but prove the probability of another Life, you fpoil all the Comfort and Security of Infidelity, and all their vain Boafts and Triumphs ofReafon. z. Though the Natural and Moral Arguments of another Life were allowed only to be proba ble Proofs; yet this convinces Infidels of an A- verfion to the Belief of another Life ; which is as infamous and fcandalous a Crime, as any Man can poffibly be charg'd with. Can any thing be more unnatural than to hate Life and Being? To defire the Death of a Beaft ; to fall into eter nal Silence and Forgetfulnefs ? What a contem ptible thing is Man, if he be born to live mife- rably, and after fome few Years to be no more ? Is not this a Reproach to Human Nature, and a Contradiction to the natural Defires of Immor tality ? And yet it is impoffible that any Man C 3 fhould. I % Of the Immortality of the Soul, fhould reject the probable Hopes of another Life, who does not hate his own Being, and defire that Death may put an end to him. Men who defire Immortality, will believe it as long as they can. As Infidels call for Demon- ftrations to prove another Life, before they will believe it, fo they, with much more Reafon de mand a Dernonftration that there is no other Life, before they will quit thofe great Hopes; much lefswou'd they reject fuch Hopes, though they had no more than fome probable Argu^ ments of another Life. For in truth, great Pro babilities look very like Demonftrations, when Men are willing and defirous to believe; and therefore no Man can reject them, without an obftinate Averfion to Believing. I grant, a wife Man will take care not to be lieve too faft, nor to be too eafily impos'd on by Intereft and Inclinations; but he is never averfe to believing vvhat'is greatly for his Intereft to be true., And therefore Infidelity, when there are probable Reafons of Faith, is not Prudence and Caution in believing, a? Infidels would have the World think, and value thefnfelves very much upon it, when they are unwilling and afraid that there fhould be another Life, and therefore will not believe it. Now whatever the Reproach of Credulity may be, this is a thoufand times more Infamous. For to believe another Life, is to believe on Nature's fide; is a noble and ge nerous Hope, and an honourable Opinion of Hu man Nature: But to wifhand hope that there is no other Life; and to rejoyceand triumph when they think they can prove it, or that they can baffle all the Proofs for it ; this is to hope againft all Mankind, to hope againft Life and Being, a- gainft the Dignity of Human Nature ; and I'm fure find a Future State. 1 3 fure all Mankind ought to abhor them, for wifh- ing them all to be Mortal, which is the greateft Averfion of Nature. Let them wifh and hope for themfelves, and keep their Wifhes to them- felves; and I will not deny but they may have very good Reafon on their fide; for it may be the beft thing they can wifh for: But to defire and hope that all Mankind fhall perifh in the Grave, as well as themfelves, is a profefs'd En mity to Human Nature; and they ought to be treated with that Scorn and Contempt, which fuch unnatural Defires, fuch a contemptible Opi nion as they have of themfelves, and fuch an In jury done to Human Nature deferves, It is no faulty Credulity to believe that to be probable, which has probable Reafons for it ; and when it is our higheft Intereft that it fhould be true, to hope more ftrongly than our Reafons are to believe it; efpecially, when if we be miftakenin our Faith and Hope, it is a very honourable Mi- ftake, and fuch a Miftake as a wife Man would rather chufe, than to know the Truth ; and what no Man fhall ever laugh at us for. Tully was not afham'd to. own, that if he were miftaken in the Belief of another Life, he liked the Miftake fo well, that he was not willing to be undeceived, but defired to live and die with it : For it is a pleafant Delufion, if it be one, to live and die with the Hopes of Immortality ; but it would be a very uncomfortable Difcovery to all generous Minds, to know certainly that they muft perifh in the Grave. And the fame'excellent Philofopher tells the Epicureans very pleafantly, That if he were miftaken in this, however he had this Sa tisfaction, that they fhould never laugh at him for this Miftake. Thofe Laugh too loon at the Belief of another Life, who begin to laugh in C 4 this 24 - Of the Immortality ejwea out, this. World -K and if they ftay till Death decides the Conrroyerfy, if there be another Life, they. will have no Caufe, and no Stomach to laugh ; and if there be none, there is an end of laugh ing on all fides. To believe as the generality of Mankind believe and hope, can never be a Re proach ; becaufe Atheifts and Infidels Will al? ways be out-voted in this World, and the great eft Numbers will be the Judges of Honour and Reputation : And whether there be or be not another Life, the Belief of it can be no Re proach to us hereafter. But to defire and hope that there fhould be no other Life, whether it be true or falfe, will always be infamous; for it is to defire what human Nature abhors, nay, what the meaneft and moft contemptible Crea ture would abhor, were it capable of fuch a Thought. One would think this might fhame the Infidel, and make him a little more modeft, and lefs peremptory in denying a Future State ; for certainly thei;e is not a greater Argument of a vile degenerate Mind, than to love Death, and to hate Life and Being: And it is impoffible for an Infidel to clear himfelf from this Imputation, if we can but prove, that the Natural and Mo ral Arguments for another Life are at leaft very probahle. For not to allow that to be probable, whjch there are probable Proofs of, is not to believe by Reafon ; and Men who do not be lieve by Reafon, muft believe by Inclination; and a very fcandalous Inclination this is, to be inclined to Eternal Death and Nothingnefs. 3. There is this Advantage alfo in it, That if by thefe Natural and Moral Arguments we dan convince Men that it is highly probable there is a Future State, thi? will greatly difpofe them, to the Belief of the Gofpel Revelation, ' ""K ' ' which' and a Future State. 2 y which contains the exprefs Promifes of eternal Life. The Gofpel Revelation carries fuch Evi dence with it, as nothing but obftinate Preju dices and corrupt Intercfts can refift ; and when thefe are removed, it muft conquer by its own Light : And to prove the Future State to be highly probable, removes them all. A Man, who is convinc'd that there are great Probabilities of a Future, State, if he act like a wife Man, muft live as if there were a Future State; and this removes the byafs of Intereft and corrupt Affections, which, I doubt, is the greateft Prejudice of all againft the Belief of a- noth'er World. It is univerfally acknowledged, that if there be another Life, good Men fhall be rewarded, and wicked Men punifhed in the next World. Thofe who believe it highly probable that if will be thus, cannot freely indulge their Vices, but fin with Fear and Shame, as thofe do, who believe another World ; that there is very little difference upon this account, between the Probabilities of another World, and the cer tain Belief of it : And therefore when they are- once come to believe it probable that there is another Life, there can be no Objection againft believing it certain, if there be fufficient Evi dence for it : For if the Fear of Damnation be* the Objection, they fhould reject the Proba bility of a Future State, as well as the Certainty of it : For though there is a great difference between Probability and Certainty ; yet confi- dered as a Prejudice againft believing, they are much the fame ; for Men are almoit as unwil ling to believe the high Probability, as the Cer tainty of a State of .Damnation ; and find no- great Relief in thinking, that it is -only very probable that they fhall be. damned-. Nay, when * ' " " Men 2 6 Of the Immortality of the Soul, Men are convinc'd of the probability of a Fu ture State; they naturally defire to know the Certainty of it, if it be to be known. Proba bilities are very uneafy, they are fufficient to make us fear ; but we defire better Evidence and Security for our Hopes; and this difpofes Men to an impartial Enquiry into the Reafons of the Chriftian Hope. And when Men are convinc'd of the great Probability of a Future State, this makes fuch a Revelation very credible; for nothing can be incredible, which is probable. And when Na ture has furnifhed us with fuch probable Argu ments of a Future State, which we may fup- pofe were fufficient to create a Belief in the more innocent Ages of the World, it feems very be coming the Divine Goodnefs to give us a more fenfible and unqueftionable Proof of it, when the Degeneracy of Mankind, and the eternal Difputes of Philofophers, had confounded thefe Natural Evidences. This is the Advantage, and the true Ufe of Natural and Moral Arguments of a Future State, to prove the great Probability of another Life ; which will fpoil the Triumphs of Infidelity, and difpofe Men to receive the Gofpel. And here we ought to flop, if we will difpute to. any certain Advantage. We may fpoil good Arguments by pretending to prove too much by them ; which has been a common Mifcarri- age in our prefent Difpute. The certain Proofs of Immortality muft be fetch 'd from the Gof pel ; and thofe who believe the Gofpel, need no other; and it is as much as we need defire of Natural and Moral Arguments,, to turn the Scales, and give the Advantage of great Proba bilities to another Life ; which will give a grear Check and a Future State. i? Check to Infidelity, and as it may reafonably be hop'd, bring them to the School of Chrift, for more perfect Inftruction. <5? »& CE? C& C5& <£? St «& C& t£? K&> «& <5? «& <8? Cw «3& <£* tit 0 CHAP. II. Concerning the Natural and Moral Arguments of a Future State. I Shall begin with the Natural and Moral Ar guments of a Future State: But muft defire you to remember what I have fo largely dif- courfed, That I do not alledge them as ftrict Demonftrations, or direct and pofitive Proofs, which exclude all fufpicion or poffibility of the things being otherwise ; but only as fuch high Probabilities, as are next in degree to direct and pofitive Proofs. And therefore it will be no Ob jection againft any thing I fhall fay, though you could prove, that thefe Arguments do not give us an abfolute Certainty ; unlets you can prove, that they are not fo much as probable, or not fo probable, that they ought to move a wife Man, For in a Queftion of fuch vaft Concern ment as this is, and when we muft chufe one fide > if there be not fo much as the leaft Probability on one fide of the Queftion, and very great Pro babilities on the other, this is fufficient to de termine a wife Man which fide to chufe, when he can have no better Evidence. And there fore to lay this Matter plainly before you, I fhall i . Confider what is faid againft the Belief Of another Life; ajad fhew you, That there is not 2 8 Of the Immortality of the Soul, not the leaft appearance of Reafon on that fide. And, z. fhew you, What Natural Evidence we have for another Life, and anfwer the Objecti ons againft it : and I hope I may expect a fair hearing, while I am pleading the Caufe of Man kind, and of Human Nature., againft thofe who would rob us of thefe glorious Hopes and Ex pectations of Immortality. SECT. I. That there is no Appearance of Reafon againji the Belief of another Life. i . ITpO confider what is faid againft the Be- 1 lief of another Life; and that there is not the leaft Appearance of Reafon on that fide. i . Now in the firft place, it will not be a- mifs to confider what it is, that perfuades Men out of the Belief of Immortality, and makes them not only contented to be mortal, but very defirous to prove themfelves fo. This is a Se cret which our modern Infidels are not willing to own, but Lucretius has honeftly confeffed the Truth. Et metus ille for as praceps Acheruntis agendus, Funditus, humanam qui vitam turbat ab imo, Omnia fuffundens mortis nigrore, nea-y ullam Effe voluptatem liquidam puramque relinquit.^ That; and a Future State. 29 That is, that the Fear of Punifhment in the next World, which difturbs bad Men in the fe- cure Enjoyment of their Lufts, and fpoils all the Pleafures and Comforts of Life, makes them very unwilling and $fraid, that there fhould be ano ther World; and that eafily perfuades them, that there is noneyjjt.Bgt: I appeal to you all, whether this be not \% ver^ibad Foundation for Infidelity, and a reafonable Prejudice againft the moft plaufible Arguments that can be urged for it ; for it has all the Symptoms and Indications, that any thing can have, of its being unna tural. As 1. It is againft the Natural Senfe of our Minds, that there is an effential difference be tween Good and Evil, and that good Men de- ferve to be rewarded, and the Wicked punifh ed. This is the Caufe of their Fear ; this makes them tremble at the Thoughts of another World, where they fhall receive according to their Works. If their own Minds do not condemn them for their Wickednefs, -and threaten the Judgments of God againft them, why do they fear another World ? If they do, why do they not begin with the Caufes of their Fears, and confute thofe fuperftitious Notions of the diffe rence between Good and Evil, and their diffe rent Deferts ? If there be no difference be tween Good and Evil, there is no Pretence for Rewards and Puniihments ; and then there can be no occafion for their Fears. But they begin at the wrong End, when they endea*. vour to filence their natural Senfe of Guilt, and natural Fears of Punifhment, by denying ano ther Life : This is to difpute againft the Senfe of Nature, and to prove, that bad Men fhall not be punifhed, not becaufe they don't deferve it, but Of the Immortality of the Soul, but becaufe there is no other State to punifH them in. But let any Man judge, whether it be not more reafonable and natural to conclude, that if Wickednefs deferves to be punifhedj and natural Confcience threatens bad Men with a juft Vengeance, there is another State, whereifl they fhall receive their juft Rewards. I grant^ that it is a very effectual way to ftifle the Senfe of Good and Evil, if we cart prove that there are no future Rewards or Puniihments; but it will be impoffible to fatisfy any Man of this* who acknowledges a difference between Good and Evil ; for Men will fear Punifhment, when they know they deferve it. It is the hardeft thing in the World to get rid of the Natural Senfe of the difference*between Good and Evil| becaufe every particular Man, when he has any Kindnefs or any Injury done him, feels the dif ference ; and all well govern'd Societies arc forced, for their own Prefervation, to make a difference between them : And it is a very hard thing for any Man to perfuade himfelf that there are no Rewards or Puniihments for good or bad Men, when he is convinced that they deferve Rewards and Puniihments. And this is the true Reafon Why thefe Fears fo often return upon Atheifts and Infidels, after all the care they can take to fortify themfelves' with Arguments a- gainft the Belief of another World j efpecially when any great Sufferings overtake them in thii World, or they have a near Profpect of Death' and Judgment ; becaufe the Natural Senfe of Good and Evil, and of the Rewards and Punifh- ments due to good and bad Men, is againft them. And indeed it is fo natural to think, that if there beany difference between Good and Evil, good Men fhall be rewarded, and the wicked punifhr- and n Future State. 3 1 ed, that, till they can confute this, it is in vain for them to endeavour to perfuade themfelves or others, that there are no Rewards or Puniih ments in the next World ; for this is to confute the Senfe of Nature, which may be filenced for fome time, but will never be confuted ; and when Men pretend only to Reafon from Nature, fuch Arguments as contradict the Senfe of Na ture, can never be natural Arguments. 2. This is alfo a very unnatural Effect of Fear, to perfuade our felves to reject the Belief of another World, becaufe we are afraid of it. Fear is naturally very jealous and credulous, as Atheifts and Infidels themfelves confefs, when they afcribe the Belief of a God and of another World to Natural Fears ; "Primus in Or be Deos fecit 'Timor; That the Belief of a God was at firft owing to Fean This indeed is a very falfe Account of it ; for it was the Natural Senfe of a Deity that poffeffed Men with a Religious Fear and Reverence; but it had been much more probable, had they faidj that Fear made Devils, than that it made a God, who is the beft of Beings, and a more proper Object of the Love, and Delight, and Admiration of Mankind, than of their Fear. But fo far they are in the rightj that it is more ^natural to Fear to make fome ' frightful and terrible Objects, than it is to laugh or difpute them away ; and if, as they fay, the univerfal Belief of a God and of another World be owing to the Natural Superftition, and to the Natural Fears of Mankind, it muft certainly ,_ be very unnatural, arid a great force upon Na ture, for Men to turn Atheifts and Infidels, to cure the Fears of God, and of another World. Infidelity is acknowledged to be the Effect of Feat, and to be intended for the Cure of it j but j 2 Of the Immortality of the Soul, but it is a very unnatural Effect, if we may judge of Nature by all the reft of Mankind. But let them adjuft this Difpute between Faith and Infidelity, as they can, that Fear made a God, and that Fear banifhes the God, it had made out of the World again ; tho' they find great Difficulty in this, and when they have done all they can^ the Apparition of a God does very , often fcare them ; yet thus much we know, that though Fear did not make a God, it is the Natural Principle of that Homage and Worfhip we pay to him. And if Religion be the Natu ral Effect of the Fear of God, (and it is a good Sign that is Natural which is Univerfal) then Infidelity cannot be founded in Nature : If the Natural Fear of God teaches us to worfhip him, that is an unnatural Fear which denies his.Beingi 2. This is alfo a very unnatural Cure for thefe Fears. Men are afraid of the, Punifhments of the next World, and therefore* will not believe another Life; and this is one way indeed to cure thefe Fears, but a very bad one. I. For this is not the Remedy which Nature teaches us againft thefe Fears. Another Life, which is Endlefs and Eternal, is not, in it felf confidered, the Object of our Fears, but of our Hopes ; it is only Guilt that makes us fear ; and the Natural Way to cure thefe guilty Fears, is not to difpute away another World, but to re move our Guilt, to repent of all our paft Sins, to ceafe to do evil, and to learn to do well; and then Fear will give place to Hope, and we fhall as earneftly and paffionately defire another World, as bad Men reject the Belief of it. This is the proper Natural Curd of guilty Fears, and this reconciles us to another World ; this is the firft and^i Future State. 33 firft Natural Thought which fuch guilty Fears fuggeft to us, as every Man may feel in himfelf; and therefore Repentance, not Infidelity, is the Voice of Nature. But Men never think of re jecting another Life, till they lay afide the Thoughts of Repentance ; and certainly that is not natural. To repent, is an eafyj natural, infallible Cure: To disbelieve another World, is a Work of Art and Difficulty, and a force upon Nature, and at beft an uncertain Cure ; for Infidelity cart give Men no greater Security againft Fear, than it does againft another World j and thofe remaining Jealoufies and Sufpicions, and the frequent Returns of fuch Fears, which difturb bad Men, may fatisfy us what that is. 2. Infidelity is a very unnatural Cure of thefe Fears, becaufe it cures the Fears of another World by an unnatural Hope. I fhall fhew you hereafter, that nothing is more natural to Man1 kind than the Defire of Immortality ; and then to fall into Nothing, to perifh eternally in the Grave, and never to be more, muft be, a very unnatural Hope : And this is the Hope of Infi dels, that Death will put a final End to them. I grant it is very natural, rather tcf defire not to be, than to be miferable for ever ; and therefore it is very natural for fuch Men, who expect no thing but eternal Miferies if there be another World, to wifh and defire that there were none : But this is not the original Defire of Nature j and it is certain that can never be a natural State, which brings us under a neceffity of hop ing and defiring againft ' ^Tature ; for Nature can never "hope againft it felf, nor contradict its own Defires. A Man who defires accord ing to Nature, can never make it his Choice D to 2 4 Of the Immortally oj ivc o ui*>, to be Nothing; npr make any thing his Choice which wi}l force him to chufe being Nothing: Nothing but Guilt impofes this Neceffity upon us ; for a virtuous Man, and a fincere Penitent, may hope for another Life : And therefore we are under no more neceffity of rejecting thefe Hopes, than we are to be wicked, and to per- fift in Wickednefs. Tho' it is natural to pre* fer not Being, before great and endlefs Miferies, yet it is unnatural to chufe not Being as a Reme dy againft being Miferable, when we have a fure and eafy way to feparate the Fears of Mi feries from/ the Hopes of another Life. It is a Contradiction to Nature, to hope and defire to be Nothing ; and therefore to disbelieve ano ther World, is a very unnatural Cure for the Fears of it. Nature has prefcribed another Cure, and this contradicts the Hopes and Defires of Nature. 1 4. Infidelity alfo ferves a very unnatural End ; for the whole Defign of it is, that Men may live as they lift, and be as wicked as they pleafe, without fear of Punifhment. The Fears of another World difturb no body but bad Men; lay no Reftraints^ but only on our vicious Ap petites, and infamous Pleafures; and therefore all that Infidelity is good for, is to give Men Security in Sin : A very excellent Defign, which Mankind and human Societies have great reafon to thank Infidels for. If Wickednefs be the Ornament, and Per fection, and Happinefs of human Nature, its original State, and what it was made for, Infi delity does great Service to Mankind ; for tho' Men made bold fometimes with the Fears of the other World, though they knew they fhould and a Future State. 3 j fhould fmart for it, yet this did greatly reftrain them, and fowre their Pleafures: But what a „ happy and glorious Creature will Man be, when he may be as wicked as he will, without Fear? When they have removed the Fears of another World, there is but one thing wanting to fet Mankind at perfect Eafe and Liberty ; to per fuade Princes to lay afide their Rods and Axes too, to repeal all their cruel and oppreffive Laws againft the Liberties of human Nature, that Men may no more fear the Punifhments of this World than of the next. And then let thofe fhare the World among them that like it; for my part I would get out of it as foon as I could. Let us but compare a virtuous and a vicious Man together, and fee which of them beft an- fwers the Character of a reafbnable Creature $ which of them is the moft defirable Friend and Companion, and the moft ufeful Member of the Commonwealth : Let us Compare Wifdom and Folly, Juftice and Rapine, Covetoufnefs and Liberality, Civility and Rudenefs, and thus fet the feveral Virtues and Vices againft: each other, and confider in which Neighbourhood we would chufe to live. Let us confider the feveral Paffions and Incli nations of human Nature, and whether Virtue or Vice do beft anfwer the Defign of Nature in them. What is the meaning of that natural Pity and Compaffion which we feel for the Mi feries of Mankind, a natural Sympathy both with the Joys and Sorrows of others ? Is this a Difpofition to Cruelty, Unmercifulnefs, Inju- ftice, Oppreffibn, Self-Love, and a Difregard to the reft of Mankind ? Or to Juftice, Mercy, Kindnefs, Charity, Benevolence, and all the D a tendes- 3 6 Of the Immortality of the Soui, tender and obliging Virtues of Converfation ? *Poes a natural Senfe of Modefty incline us to 3Wantonnefs , Intemperance, Rudenefs, Info- lence towards Superiors or Equals ? Or does it teach us Temperance, Chaftity, and all the De cencies of Converfation both in Words and Actions ? v In a word, the natural Inclination to Society, which is an efTential Property of a Man, to be gwov sroAiTHwV, a fociable Creature, is the Princi ple of all thofe fociable Virtues which are ne- ceffary to the Prefervation of human Societies, and to make them ufeful; which comprehend moft of the Virtues of human Life. This proves that true Virtue is moft agree able to human Nature, its natural Ornament and Perfection, and the only fure Foundation of human Societies ; and therefore Infidelity, which ferves no other End, but to corrupt human Na ture, and to make Men fecurely wicked, muft be as contrary to human Nature, as Vice is : For Nature is all of a piece, and therefore its fpeculative and practical .Principles muft agree ; which is another Proof that Infidelity is a Con tradiction to the Senfe and Belief of Nature, becaufe it overturns all the moral Principles of Nature. f . Setting afide the Consideration of Virtue and Vice, what can be more unnatural than to part with the Hopes of Immortality, to live a free, eafy, and fecure Life for fome few Years in this World ? And this is the beft, it is all that Infidelity can do, could it do all that it pretends to. If there be no Life after this, then we can enjoy nothing but in this World; and if Infi delity fhould do us no hurt hereafter, it is cer tain and a Future State. 37 tain it can do us no good. Now will any Man fay, it is natural to chufe threefcore or fourfcore Years of as great and perfect Happinefs as this World can give, inftead of immortal Life. I confefs, the generality of Mankind run the Ven ture of what they can get in this World, and of a miferable Eternity after it: But this is not the Queftion, what Men do, but what Nature teaches them to do, or what a wife Man, who follows the Dictates of Nature, would do, were fuch a Propofal made to him. And I am fure every Man who follows Nature, muft chufe im mortal Life, before all the fhort and perifhing Enjoyments of this World; that Nature muft be turned off of its Biafs by fome unnatural force, before it can be contented to quit the Hopes of Immortality, for any temporal Advantages. And this is another Dernonftration, that Infidelity, whatever prefent Advantages it propofes, is a- gainft Nature ; for Nature can never prefer a temporal before an eternal Life. I appeal to Infidels themfelves in this Caufe, as much as they have ftifled the Senfe of Nature, and may ven ture to promife, never more to ufe this Argu ment, if they have Confidence enough to de ny it. The Sum of the whole Argument is this; That the Defign Men propofe to themfelves in denying a Future State, is a plain Contradiction to the Senfe, Defires, Inclinations of Nature: And if Infidelity be againft Nature, there can be no natural Evidence for it. When we feek for the natural Proofs of Immortality, we muft feek for them in our felves, in the natural or moral Conftitution of our own Natures; for the -Heavens and the Earth cannot prove the Im? D 3 mortality 3 8 Of the Immortality of the Soul, Mortality of human Souls. And if all the mo ral Principles, Sentiments, and Inclinations of human Nature be againft Infidelity, whether We can prove the Immortality of the Soul from the Principles of Nature, or not, it is certain they cannot prove the Soul to be mortal. And without confidering of their Arguments, it is a mighty Prejudice againft them, that all they intend in rejecting the Belief of another World, is a direct Contradiction to Nature. To conclude this Argument; let me only fhew you how Infidelity difappoints thefe Men in their Expectations, and is not able to do that for them which it promifes, or which they Vainly promife themfelves from it. They think, that if they can but get rid of another World, they fhall live in perfect Eafe and Security, and do what they pleafe, without being over-awed by the Superfluous Fears of Lakes of Fire and Brimftom, of Blacknefs of Darknefs, the Worm that never dieth, and the Fire that never goeth out. And truly fo they would, if they could be perfect, ftupid, unthinking Infidels. There may be fome fuch, for ought I know, at leaft for fome time, till fome frightful Providence awakens them ; but could we perfuade the Men of Wit and Philofophy to fpeak the Truth, we fhould find a great many fearful and doubting Infidels among them: It is certain it muft be fo, becaufe Men of Wit know, that they have no certain Proofs that there is not another World; and though they may think the Proofs of ano ther World are not certain neither, yet this leaves them doubtful; and it is not the Evi dence of Reafon, but Intereft and Inclination, Defires and Hopes, that makes them. Infidels; and and a Future State. 3 9 and this is but a timorous fort of Infidelity at beft. But fuppofe they could get rid of the Fears of the other World, does this fee them at per fect Liberty ? Have they no Senfe of Modefty or Honour ? No fear of Shame or Punifhment? And if our vicious Lufts and Appetites muft be under Reftraint, what difference is there, whe ther they be reftrained by the Fears of this World, or of the next? But I muft recall that, for there is a great difference : the Fears of the next World will fubdue and mortify our Lufts ; and when that is done, we have no more trou ble from them, but Virtue grows eafy and plea- fant : But the Fear of Men only diffembles our Vices, and that makes them very painful when. they are reftrained ; that it is much more for the Eafe and Pleafure of our Lives, to mortify our Lufts with the Fears and Hopes of another World, than to fin by Stealth under the pre- fent Reftraints of Shame and Fear. So that their Hopes are very vain, when they promife themfelves a free, unconfined, undifturbed En joyment of their Lufts : For the Fear of the o- ther- World, whether they will or no, will fome- times difturb them; and the more Senfe, and Wit, and Philofophy they have, the more it will difturb them; and if the Fear of God' do not difturb them, the Shame and Fear of Men will. But then they do not confider, that Infidelity deftroys more fincere Pleafures than it can give, and draws a very melancholy Veil over human Life. There is not certainly a more tranfporting Pleafure in this World1, than the Hopes of im- D 4 mortal 40 Of the Immortality of the Soul, mortal Life, when we can look beyond the Grave, and fee endlefs Ages of Blifs and Hap pinefs: And next to being miferable for ever, there is not a more difmal Thought^ than falling ¦into Nothing, and this is the beft which Infidels hope for ; and we may pity, but have no rea fon to envy, their Hopes. If a Man be eafy and profperous in this World, nothing can be more terrible than fuch a Per? fuafion, That Death, which will certainly come, and we know not how foon, will put an end, not only to our prefent Enjoyments, but to our Being : And there are few Men fo miferable, as to defire Death fhould eafe them upon thefe Terms, to put an end to their Being and to their Miferies together. Few Men are fo dull, as to be impofed on by Epicurus his Fallacy, That Death does not belong to us, and we ought not to be concerned about it; for while we are, Death is not, and when Death is, we are not : For we may fee and think of Death at adiftance, and if Death be nothing to us, the Thoughts of Death, and of being Nothing, muft and will be grievous while we live. But there is no Condition in this World fo profperous, but a good Man will be contented to change it for a more perfect and endlefs Hap pinefs; and there is no. Condition fo miferable, but the Hopes of immortal Life will fupport us under it : So that Infidelity is fo far from con tributing to the Eafe and Pleafure of Life, that whether there be another Life or not, the Belief of it is neceflary to make us eafy and happy in this World. It is impoffible indeed to reconT pile bad Men, who have treafured up for them felves Wrath againft the day of Wrath, to the, Belief and a Future State. 41 Belief and Hopes of another World: But let them look to that, we have no reafon to be Infidels for Company, or fuffer our felves to be perfuaded out of the Hopes of Heaven, becaufe they are afraid of Hell. z. I obferve farther, That Death in it felf con- fidered, is no Argument againft a Future State; that we die, does not prove that we fhall not live after Death : Death indeed is the occafion of this Difpute, whether there be another Life, but is no Argument it felf that there is not; no more than the Winter Decays of Nature are againft the Return of the Spring ; which would be thought as incredible, did we not fee it done every Year. And therefore no Philofophers make this an Ob jection againft a Future State ; tho' it is the only Reafon any Man has to queftion our Immortali ty, becaufe they fee that all Men die: And if the only Reafon of doubting whether we are Immortal or no, is no Proof that we are not, fo far we are equal 5 and the Infidel is as much con cerned to prove that there is no Life after Death, as we are to prove that there is. This is worth obferving, becaufe it is much leafier to object than to prove ; and here the Infi del places his Strength and Confidence ; he looks upon himfelf in poffeffion, and not concerned to prove our Mortality, becaufe 'tis vifible that we all die; and therefore flings the whole Proof upon us, who affert a Life after Death ; and thinks himfelf fafe, that there is no other Life ; unlefs we can prove with mathematical Certainty and Infallibility, that there is. But now, if Death be no Argument that there is not another Life, if it be poffible that thofe who die may live again out of the Bodies; then it is not fuf ficient 4 *¦ Of the Immortality of the Soul, ficient to give them any reafonable Affurance, though they could anfwer all our Arguments for another Life, unlefs they could as certainly prove the contrary : For if another Life after this, be poffible, though our Arguments are not ftrict Demonftrations, the thing may be true, if they have no Dernonftration againft it. 3. Having brought them under a Neceffity of proving the Mortality of the Soul, and that there is no Life after Death, let us now confider what Degree of Evidence a wife Man ought to demand for this fide of the Queftion, That the Soul is Mortal, and there is no Life after Death. And I affirm, that no wife Man ought to be fa tisfied with lefs than the abfolute lmpoffibility, that the Soul fhould live after the Death of the Body. When we offer to prove the Immorta lity of the Soul, nothing will fatisfy thefe Men but ftrict Dernonftration ; but they little con fider, 1 . That there is much lefs Evidence required to induce a wife Man to believe another Life, and to govern his Life by this Perfuafion, than what can reafonably fatisfy a wife Man, that there is no Life after this. Fonj 1 . The Belief of another Life is much the fafeft fide of the Queftion ; if we fhould happen to be miftaken in it, it cofts us nothing : We may live much happier in this World than Infidels do, and pleafe our felves with the enter taining Dreams of future Happinefs; which, if they fhould prove no other but Dreams, are ve ry delightful; and if Death puts an End to us, we fhall efcape as well in the Grave as Infidels do; but Eternity, the Lofs of Eternal Happi nefs, and a Future State. 43 nefs, and the Suffering of Eternal Miferies, de pend on the other fide of the Queftion : If we believe that we fhall perifh in the Grave, and live as thofe who have no Account to give of their Actions, and fhould find our felves miftaken in the next World, we are undone forever. We ought certainly to demand the greateft Evidence for that fide of the Queftion, where the Miftake will do us the moft irreparable Mifchief : And therefore though fome good Probabilities and ftrong Prcfumptions may be reafon enough for a wife Man to believe and hope for another Life, when, though he fhould be miftaken, he fhall never be fenfible of his Miftake, nor fuffer any thing by it; yet nothing lefs than abfolute De rnonftration can juftify the disbelief of another World ; becaufe a Miftake in this Cafe, is nothing lefs than Eternal Mifery. 2. Efpecially, this abfolute Dernonftration is neceffary, when we believe any thing contrary to the Natural Notions, Defires, Inclinations of Human Nature, and contrary to the general Be lief and Perfuafion of Mankind. Whether thefe be good Arguments or no for the Proof of ano ther Life, fhall be confidered hereafter ; but thus much is certain, that they are very good Reafons to demand the moft infallible Dernon ftration that there can be no Life after this, be fore we reject the Belief of it: Nothing elfe will. excufe us in believing contrary to the Impreffions of Nature, but an abfolute Certainty, that thefe Defires, and Hopes, and Fears of Nature de ceive us. It is great Immodefty to contradict, much more to laugh at the Credulity of Man kind, without being able to oppofe Dernonftra tion againft Credulity . But the greateft Reafon of 44 Of the Immortality of the Soul, of all is, that nothing lefs can give us abfolute Security in our Infidelity. The Senfe of Nature, efpecially when all Mankind have thefame^Senfe that we have, will be a Bar againft everything but Dernonftration, and would make a modeft Man fufpect even his pretended Demonftrations, when the reft of Mankind don't think them fo. Now, unlefs Men be abfolutely fecure in their Infidelity, Infidelity is worth nothing ; and no.- thing lefs than mathematical Demonftrations can give them this Security. High Probabilities and Prefumptions on Nature's fide, may create a firm Affent; but mere Probabilities and Conjectures can never prevail againft the Senfe of Nature. 2. Nor do they confider, that nothing can give us an abfolute Certainty that there is no o- therLife after this, but the abfolute Impoffibili- ty that our Souls fhould live after the Death of our Bodies : For if it be not impoffible, then it may be; and that is no Dernonftration, which admits of a contrary may-be. This is a very confiderable Difference between proving the Im mortality and the Mortality of the Soul. To prove the Soul Immortal, we are nor. obliged to prove that it is impoffible the Soul fhould ever die, or fall into a State of perfect Infenfibility ; but only that there are very great Reafons to be lieve that it fhall not. Plato acknowledged, t- ven of his inferior Immortal Gods, that they ow ed their Immortality to the Will and Pleafure of th e Supream God : For wh atever was created out of nothing, may be reduced to nothing again: And we muft own more efpecially, that this is the State of embodied Spirits. But thofe who undertake to demonftrate that the Soul is Mor tal, muft demonftrate not only againft the NaT ture and a Future State. 45: ture of the Soul, but againft the Will and the Power of God, (if they own any fuch Being,) That God neither can, nor will preferve Human Souls Immortal. Nothing is impoffible, which is not impoffible to God ; and then we can prove nothing impoffible, which does not imply a ma- nifeft Contradiction; and, I fuppofe no Man will fay, that the Immortality of the Soul implies a .Contradiction. 4. Having feen what kind of Evidence thefe Men ought to produce againft the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State ; let us now con fider what kind of Evidence they have, and whe ther it amount, as it ought to do, to ftrict De rnonftration. Now, I obferve, that thefe Men never pre tend to any Moral, but only Natural Arguments: They plainly enough acknowledge that all Moral Arguments are againft them ; fuch as the differ ence between Good apd Evil ; the Nature of Rewards and Punifhments ; the Juftice and Pro vidence of God in governing the World : Nay, they reject fome of the beft Natural Arguments, fuch as the Natural Belief and Perfuafion of Im mortality, which is common to all Mankind; and all Natural Hopes and Fears; which may be called either Natural, or Moral Arguments, as being implanted in a Moral Nature. But the chief Arguments which they place their greateft Confidence in, are purely Natural, which relate to the Philofophy of Soul and Bo dy ; and this will fatisfy any Man, who under- ftands never fo little of the Philofophy of Na ture, how fhort fuch Arguments as thefe muft fall of Dernonftration. What variety of Opini ons are there among the ancient Philofophers, a- bout 4 6 Of the Immortality of we .3 out, bout the Nature of the Soul? And how zealous foever they were for their own Hypothefis, none of them ever pretended to Dernonftration. The Philofophy of Nature is a great Secret," and we can know no more of it, than what Obfervation and Experiment teaches; which cannot certain ly inform us in the Nature and Caufes of things. There may be high Degrees of Probability in fome Hypothefis, above others; butourKnow- ledge of Nature, at beft, is very imperfect, and far from Dernonftration : And is not he a wife Man who will venture his Soul upon his undei> ftanding the Philofophy of a Human Soul? f . This will ftill be more evident, if we confi der what triofe Natural Arguments are, where by they prove the Mortality of the Soul : Which may be reduced to two ; its Corporeity ; and its perfect Dependance on the Body in all its Actings. And a few Words will fhew you how far thefe are from Demonftrations. i . That the Soul is Corporeal, or mere Mat ter, and therefore muft die with the Body, and cannot live in Separation from it. As for this Opinion of the Corporeity of the Soul, I may confider it more hereafter; but tho' we fhould fuppofe the Soul to be mere Matter, the Confequence is very far from a Dernonftrati on, That therefore it muft die with the Body. Thofe Philofophers indeed, who made the Soul nothing but the Crafis and harmonious Tempe rament of the Body, not any diftinct Being of it felf, but to refult, as Health does, from the due and equal Compofition of the whole, had reafon to fay, that the Soul muft be diffolved together with the Body ; for when the Compofition is dif folved, and a Future State. 47 folved, the Soul, which owes. its Being to that Compofition, muft diffolve with it. But this was fo abfurd and fenfelefs an Opinion, that both Epicurus and Lucretius rejected it ; and afferted the Soul, though material, yet to be diftinct from the reft of the Body, and compounded of a pecu liar and finer fort of Atoms. Now though the Soul were Matter, but diftinct from the Body, ¦and of a different fort of Matter from the reft of the Body, why may it not furvive the Body? Why may not Human Souls be as Immortal and Incorruptible as the Epicurean Gods, which are as mere Matter as Human Souls ? and Ariftotle him felf thought that there was Incorruptible Matter j for fuch he made the Heavens, and Heavenly Bo dies. However, no Man, who believes there is a God, can doubt, (whether the Soul be Body or Spirit," but that God can make it Immortal, if he pleafes. It is more reafonable to think, that. an Immoital Soul has nothing Mortal or Corrup tible in its Conftitution, and therefore is not Matter, but Spirit. But all Philofophers grant, that Matter it felf, though it is varioufly chang ed and transformed, does not perifh. ^And tho' all material Compofitions may be diflblved, as Spirits themfelves may be annihilated by that Power that made them, yet no confidering Man will pretend to demonftrate, that God cannot make a material Soul of fuch a firm Conftituti on, as to be naturally Immortal. And therefore though we fhould grant the Soul to be Corpo real, this does not prove that it is neceffarily Mortal, and muft die with the Body. z. The fedond Argument to prove the Soul Mortal, is its dependance upon the Body in all its Actings; which proves that it cannot fubfift and 48 Of the Immortality of the Soul, and act feparately from the Body, and donfe-* quently that it muft die, or fall into a.State of Infenfibility with it. Lucretius branches this in to about twenty Arguments, which are fo many In fiances of the Soul's dependance on the Body ; fome of which are very Childifh and Abfurd, as wellasUnphilofophical ; and none of them prove the main Conclufion which he aims at; as I may have occafion to fhew hereafter. If the Soul and Body are vitally united, whe ther the Soul be matter or Spirit, there muft be a moft near and intimate Sympathy between them ; the Soul muft feel all the Impreffions of the Body; muft rejoyce and fuffer with it; it's Senfes muft be lock'd up with lleep; its Underftanding muft encreafe and decay with Bo dily Organs, which in this State of Union are the Inftruments of Action : But this does not prove that the Soul is Corporeal ; for thus in muft be, though the Soul were Spirit, if it be vitally united to Matter ; for there can be no Vi tal Union without it. And it is very abfurd to conclude from the dependance of the Soul on the Body in a State of Union, that therefore it can never fubfift nor act without its Body, but muft live and die with it; when it is demonftrable, that tho' the Soul be Immortal, and can live and act in a feparate State from the Body, yet there muft be this mutual Sympathy and Dependance of Soul and Body in a State of Union : And no thing can prove the Soul to be Corporeal and Mortal, which in the fame State would be the very fame in an Immaterial and Immortal Soul. This may fuffice to fhew you, that the Infidel has no pofitive Evidence, no fair Probabilities, much lefs Dernonftration, for the Mortality of the and a Future State* 4P the Soul : And when there is no Proof that the Soul is Mdrtal, much lefs Evidence will ferve to perfuade us of its Imrriortality ; though we want not Arguments of all forts* SECT. II. The firft natural Argument for Immortal lity, from the Nature Of the Soul E T lis now confider the Natural and Mo* ral Arguments for a .fj|(p=Future State, or that our Souls fhall Live after Death: That 'what we call Death, does not extinguifh the Souk, but is only a Separation of Soul and Bo dy; that the Body returns unto Duft, and the Spi rit returns unto God wloo gave it. Thefe Arguments are very well known to all who have ever confidered this Matter; and may be reduced to four Heads* I . From the Na* ture of the Soul. z. From the Univerfal Con- fent of Mankind in this Belief* 2. From the natural Defire of Immortality i And 4. From the Juftice and Providence of God. And I fhall diftinctly, but briefly confider, what the true Force of each of thefe Arguments is. 1 1. Firft then, we argue from the Nature of 'Human Souls, That they are- Immortal, arid can and fhall live in a feparate State after the Death E of 5 o Of the Immortality of the Soul, df the Body. There are feveral Arguments of this nature ; the firft is purely Phyfical and Phi- lofophical; the reft are of a mix'd nature, both Natural and Moral. i . From the Immateriality of the Soul. 2. That the Soul is capable of being Happy out of this Body. 3. That it can never attain its utmoft Hap pinefs and Perfection in this Body. 4. That it is too Noble a Nature, to be in tended for fo fhort a Duration as this Life. . f. That its Growth and Improvement in this Body, argues, that this Life is but a Preparati on for fome greater and more durable Happinefs. As 1 . We prove the Immortality of the Soul, from its Incorporeity ; that it is not Matter, but Spirit, and thg|gj|re does not die with the Bo dy, but fubfifts in a feparate State from it. This is an Anfwer to the Objection taken from our dying ; for it proves that the Soul cannot die, if it be a diftinct Being from the Body, and of fo different a Nature, thatthat which kills the Bo dy, cannot kill the Soul; for then it is evident that the Soul may furvive the Body. -"All Mate rial Compofitions, fuch as Human Bodies are, may be diffolved by the feparation of the parts from each other; and the more Curious and Ar tificial the Compofition is, the more eafily are they diffolved: But that which is not. Matter, which has no Parts, and no Extenfion, may be annihilated, if God fo pleafe, but can't dfe, as Bodies do. And this is all we pretend to prove by this Argument of the Immateriality of the Soul ; That, the Soul is in its own Nature indi- vifible, incorruptible, and therefore Immortajj for that which cannot be diffolved by any Natu ral and a Future State. ji ral Caufes, muft laft as long as Nature lafts. It may indeed as well be annihilated, as at firft cre ated by the Will of God ; but when God has created an Immortal Nature, which nothing can deftroy but his own immediate Power, as it is an abfolute Security againft a Natural Death and Diffolution, fo it is a very good Argument that God himfelf never intends to annihilate it. The Confequence then from the Immateriality to the Immortality of the Soul, feems very plain and natural. But why fhould we fay that the Human Soul is Immaterial and Incorporeal, when we cannot conceive what Immaterial Sub- ftance is? A Subftance which has no Parts, and no Extenfion, and is circumfcribed by no place, founds very like nothing ; to be fure, is what we can form no pofitive Idea of. There are many things to b*e faid in this Ar gument, which might juftly be thought too nice and abftrufe for my prefent Purpofe; and therefore I muft refer thofe who are of an Inqui- fitive and Philofophical Genius, to the Writings of learned Men, both Pagan and Chriftian Phi lofophers, on this Subject ; and fhall take notice at prefent only of fuch things as may feem moft obvious and intelligible. I readily grant, what I find by Experience true in my own Mind, that we have no com- , pleat pofitive Idea of Immaterial Subftance ; but this, I think, is no Objection at all againft the Belief of Spirits ; no more than it is againft the Belief of Matter, that we have no Idea of Mat ter, ftript of all Qualities and Accidents. All Philofophers own, that the Subftance of all Ma terial things is the fame, diverfified by diffe rent Qualities and Accidents j or, to fpeak E z in J % Of the Immortality of the Soul, in the Atomick Language, by different Mag nitudes, Figures , Sites, and Motion. Now can any Man tell me what that pure nak ed Matter is, which is the Subject of fuch different and contrary Qualities ; which is hot or cold, hard or foit, moift or dry, light or heavy, vifible or invifible, but is none of all this it felf, but capable of being either ? He is a ve ry mean Philofopher who does not know, that the naked Effences of things are not knowable by us. We know nothing of any Material Beings, but their Natural Virtues, Powers, Operations, or fenfible Qualities: But what that Subftance is, which we call Matter, and is the Subject of all thefe different Powers and Qualities, we know not: Which occafioned that old famous Peripa- tetick Riddle, JElia Lalia Crifpis, nee Mas, nee Fcemina, nee Androgyna, nee Cafta, nee Meretrix, nee Pudica, fed omnia. Now in the fame manner that we know what Matter is, we know what a Spirit is ; not what the pure naked Subftance of a Spirit is, but what its Virtues, Powers, Operations, and Qualities are; which are fo effentially different from thofe of Matter, that we have reafon to make an ef- fential Difference between their Subftances alfo. We feel in our felves fomething which under- ftands, reafons, and wills; which can act freely and fpontaneoufly ; which can chufe and refufe; and is the Subject of different Paffions, of Love, and Hope, and Fear, and Defire, and Grief, and the like; which are of a very differentNature from all the Virtues and Qualities of Bodies, that We know of; and therefore muft have a diftinct and effentially different Subject alfo, which we call the Soul or Spirit. Well, and a Future State. j 3 Well, you'll fay, this does feem to prove that there is a diftinction between the Soul and the Body; for it is evident that our Hands and our Feet, and the other parts of our Bodies, don't think, but are directed and governed by a Supe rior Thinking Principle : That our Sight, and Hearing, and Smelling, and other Senfes, are not free and fpontaneous Faculties, but purely paffive, which neceffarily receive thofe external Impref- fions which are made oirthem, and affect us ac cordingly : But yet how does this prove, that this Thinking Principle is not Material, made of divifible Parts, and confequently by Nature dif- folvible and corruptible, as the reft of the Body is? Now I confefs, the infinite Power of God, and theutmoft Powers and Capacities of Nature, even of Material Nature, are fuch Secrets and Myfteries to us, that it is hard to pretend to ftrict Dernonftration againft either of them; to fay, what God can't do, and what Matter is ut terly incapable of receiving. But when Men come to take Sanctuary here, they have quitted all Reafon and Philofophy, and give up their Caufe as defperate. It Men will reafon about thefe Matters, they muft lay afide fuch Appeals on all Hands, and argue from their own Senfati- ons, and the known Phenomena of Nature. The Infidel can no more demonftrate, that the infinite Power of God cannot create an Imma terial Thinking Subftance; than we can, that infinite Power cannot make thinking Matter : Nay, indeed the Difference between thefe two is vaftly great; for though I dare not pretend to fay, what infinite Power can or cannot do, yet according to all the known Principles of Philq- E 3 fophy, $ 4 Of the Immortality of the Soul, fophy, there is no Relation between Matter and Thought; nay, as far as we can judge, an utter Incapacity in Matter to think : But there is not any pretence of Reafon againft the poffibility of an Immaterial Subftance, unlefs a confident Af- fertion, That all Subftance is Body, fhall pais for a Reafon ; and this muft prove either a Cor poreal God, or none. But when we feek for Natural Evidence, we muft be contented with fuch Evidence as -Senfe, and Reafon, and the Philofophy of Nature affords us : And if all this proves the Soul to be Immaterial, we have all the Reafon that can be had on our fide, and none againft us. I fhall not here enter into a large Difpute, but only give you fome brief In timations of things, which are difcourfed more fully by learned Men. i . I obferve, That Confcious Life, Senfe, and Underftanding, is not effential to Matter. This the Epicureans themfelves own,- that Life, and Senfe, and Reafon, is not originally in Matter, nor effential to it : And our very Senfes tell us as much, That all the Matter we fee about us is dead, fenfelefs, ftupid Matter: And what Pre tence then can any Man have to fay, that a Thinking, Reafoning, Underftariding Being, is mere Matter, when there is no other Matter in the World that thinks ? There can be no other Pretence for this, but only, that there is no other Subftance in the World but Matter : Whereas it is a much better Argument to prove that there are fubftantial Beings, which are not Matter, when we know that there are fuch Vir tues and Powers in Nature, as do not belong to any thing which we certainly know to be Matter. 2... It and a Future State. j y 2. It is very unreafonable to think, that Life, and Senfe, andUnderftanding, fhould be in any Subject, to which they do not effentially belong : For they are not tranfient and mutable Acci dents, but the moft real and perfect Things in Nature. A Confcious Life is the firft Perfecti on of Being; and a living underftanding Nature is as much fuperior to Senflefs Matter, as a Hu man Soul is to a Clod of Earth. Now can we think that the greateft Perfections in a created Nature, have not a Subject to which they effen tially belong? Which makes the greateft Perfe ctions in Nature the moft perifhing and mutable Things : For if there be no Subject or Nature, to which they effentially belong, they are mere perifhing Acqdents, which might never have been, and in time may never be again; though the World would be a defpicable Thing without them, were there any Undetftanding Being to defpife it. This only fhews, how abfurd it is in our Infidels, to make a Thinking, Reafoning, Underftanding Being, to be no more than mere Matter, when there is no other Thinking and Reafoning Matter in the World : And yet it is infinitely abfurd to conceive, that Life and Un derftanding, which are the greateft Perfections in Nature, fhould have no Nature of their own, but be mere perifhing Accidents of a Nature, to which they do not effentially belong. But 3. I obferve farther, That, if we judge of Things by the natural Notions and Ideas of our own Minds (and I know no other way we have of judging,) there is no Relation, nor neceflary Connexion between Matter or the Affections of Matter, and thinking. Thofe who join thefe, do it, as they make other Chimaera's, join in- E 4 compatible 1 6 Of the Immortality of the d'oul, compatible Things together ; like unskilful Pain" ters or Poets, who do not take Nature for their ¦ Pattern; Definit in pifcem mulier formofa fuperne. Does the Idea of Extenfion, or Motion, of Heat or Cold, of Hard or Soft, or any other Corpo real Qualities, include Thinking or Reafoning in them? Or, on the "other hand, does Thinking and Reafoning include Extenfion, or local Mo tion, or any other Corporeal Qualities in it ? Cannot we conceive thefe Things perfectly with out each other, and as diftinct from each other ? Now though we fhould not conclude from hence, as a late Philofopher does, That what can be diftinctly conceived without each other, are fo perfectly diftinct in their Natures, that they cannot meet in the fame Subject: That, for Inftance, becaufe Extenfion and Thinking, may be diftinctly conceived without each other, therefore what is Extended cannot think, and what Thinks is not Extended : Yet thus much we conclude from it, as far as we can reafon from natural Notions, (which, it may be, was all the Philofopher meant by it,) That there is no reafonable Pretence to unite fuch Properties, Virtues, and Powers, in the fame Subject, as, in our Conceptions of them, have no relation to each other; efpecially when they are immediate pffential Properties, as Extenfion and Thinking are, which muft make a generical Difference. And this is enough to fhew, .that our Infidels join Matter and Thinking together, contrary to all the Rul< s of Logick and Philofophy : And therefore when they talk of Thinking and Rea foning Matter, they are to be confuted with Neglect and Scorn. There are no Virtues pr Qualities belong to Body, but what include Ex- and a Future State. ty tenfion in them, which is the moft immediate and effential Property of Matter : There is no thing that we know of, belongs to the Soul, but what includes Cogitation or Thinking in it; but Extenfion and Thinking do not include each other; and therefore we have Reafon to con clude, that thefe two belong to different Kinds of Beings, and cannot meet in the fame Subject : For we have no other way of diftinguifhing the Kinds and Species of Things. Thus I am fure the beft and moft ancient Philofophers thought in this very Controverfy. The Pythagoreans and Platonifis made all Minds and Spirits, whatever had a Power of Think ing and Reafoning, to be immaterial Beings. And Ariftotle could not find Thought and Rea fon among his four Elements, and therefore made human Souls a fifth Kind of Subftance, which he called his 'EvT6Ae^«<». And Lucretius himfelf, though a mere Atheift and Corpore- alift, yet would pafs what Complements he could upon the Soul, and diftinguifh it from ordinary and common Matter ; that it was Flos Bacchi, £5? Spiritus unguenti fuavis, fome finer diftilled Spirits, than made common fenflefs Matter. But Degrees don't alter the Kind; Matter is Mat ter ftill, though of a finer Mould ; and if Mat ter can't think, it is impoffible by all the Chy- miftry of Nature to extract Thinking and Rea foning Spirits out of it ; for they are Matter ftill. 4. I obferve, That all the Thoughts, Notions, and Ideas we have in our Minds, whatever their Objects be, whether corporeal, or incorporeal Things, are all immaterial ; and therefore the §pul, which is the Subject of them, muft be "/." ' immaterial 5" 8 Of the Immortality of the Soul, immaterial alio. Has Thought any Subftance or Matter, which, it may be vanifhes as foonas it is thought? Is it extended, or is it divifible, as all the Qualities of Matter are ? Were our Ideas and Notions, and Reprefentations of Cor poreal Things, which we have in our Minds, (and which learned Men have vaft Numbers of,) Material, what Mind would be able to compre hend them all? Where would there be Room to paint them ? What diftinct Cells are there in the Mind, to lodge all the feveral Sciences in ? In finite Volumes pf Hiftory, Mathematicks, and all other Arts ? Now I believe it will puzzle the wifeft Corporealift to tell us, how that which is immaterial, can either be produced out of Matter, or lodged in Matter as its Subject: When all the Affections and Qualities of Bodies are material, to know how a material Soul can have immaterial Ideas and Thoughts. For if once we allow the Effect to be of a different Kind and Species, and that a more perfect Species than the Caufe, there is an end of all Reafon and Philofophy. There might be many things more added of this Nature, not only to fhew you, that a ma terial Soul is abfolutely incapable of thinking, but that if it were capable of thinking, but was to receive all its Ideas and Notices from without, merely from external Bodily Impreffions, it is impoffible it fhould ever form any univerfal No tions and Ideas of Things ; as Logick, and Me- taphyficks furnifh us with : For all Philofophers grant, that there are no Ideas and Notions, much lefs univerfal Ideas, in Matter; and there fore no material Impreffions upon a material Soul, which can have no connate Ideas of its own, and a Future State. jp own, can convey fuch Ideas to it, no more than two Stones ftriking againft each other, can make them both rational and intelligent Beings.' But there is one Argument for the Immate riality of the Soul, confider'd as an intelligent and thinking Being, which I cannot well efcape, becaufe I always thought it a very good one ; though I fhall but juft name it, becaufe it may be thought too nice and philofophical. f . The Argument in fhort is this ; That it muft be a Monad, an indivifible, unextended, and therefore, an immaterial Subftance, which receives all the Impreffions of Senfe, and judges of them. The Reafon of it is this; becaufe we have but one Senfation, one Notion or Idea of whatever we fee, hear, or feel, or underftand ; and therefore it is fome one indivifible Thing in us, which perceives the Whole. Now if the Soul were material, it muft be confefs'd that it is compounded of feveral Atoms, which are re ally diftinct from each other, and muft all then have Senfe and Perception, if the Soul, which is compounded of them all, has. Now at this rate, let any Man tell me, how we can fee any one thing, fuppofe a Houfe or Palace, without feeing five hundred of them. For fuppofe this Houfe or Palace ftrikes upon our Eyes, and conveys the Image of it to our Souls; if our Souls be extended and material, this Image of the Palace, which has Height, and Depth, and Length, and Breadth, mult ftrike upon fe veral Parts of this extended Soul, which are all diftinct, percipient, fenfible Atoms. Now if every one of thefe fenfible percipient Atoms, which compound the Soul, perceive the whole, then you muft fee as many Palaces as there are Atoms 6o Of the Immortality of the Soul, Atoms which compound your Soul. If each of thefe Atoms perceive only that part which ftrikes upon it felf, how do they communicate with each other, and reprefent an entire Palace, when no one of them fees the whole ? Material Atoms, however they may be united, have no natural Communiration with each other; but Senfe and Thought, Reafon and Underftanding, require one entire Monad and indivifible Princi ple ; for nothing that is not perfectly and indi- vifibly one, which nothing is, but what is im material without Extenfion or Parts, can have an entire comprehenfive Notion of any one Thing. 6. If we allow that there is a God, who is an eternal and infinite Mind, and that this God made the World, and created Matter; this is a Dernonftration, that Mind and Reafon does not belong to Matter ; for Mind is before Mat ter, and the Creator of Matter, and therefore no Matter it felf. Now if eternal and original Mind and Wifdom be the moft pure Spirit, at the moft infinite Diftance from Matter; then Mind and Wifdom effentially belong to a fpiri- tual Nature; and therefore when God creates a thinking, reafoning, underftanding Being, he muft create a Spirit : For eternal original Mind is a Spirit ; and Mind and Wifdom cannot be communicated without communicating the Na ture to which it belongs. If the firft eternal creating Mind be a Spirit, there can be no doubt but that an eternal Spirit would create Spirits ' in his own Liknefs, and that all thinking and reafoning Beings are fuch. 7. To put an End to this Argument, I fhall only add, that the Liberty of human Actions, that we can advife and deliberate, chufe, or re- fufe and a Future State. 6 1 fufe, act, or not act, as we pleafe, has always been thought a very good Argument againft the Materiality of the Soul; for Matter cannot move it felf, but moves as it is moved; and therefore there can be no Principle of Liberty and Spontaneity in Matter. But there is an obvious Objection againft this Way of Reafoning ; That this Argument proves too much, and therefore it proves nothing. For if whatever is immaterial is immortal, and what ever has a Principle of confcious Life, Sjenfa- tion, Reafon, and Knowledge, is immaterial; unlefs we will deny, that Brute Creatures have any Senfe and Perception, and confcious Life, We muft acknowledge the Souls of Brutes to be immaterial, and confequently immortal alfo. But we know fo little of the Souls of Brutes, that no Man needs concern himfelf about this Objection. That there is a Spirit in a Beaft, diftinct from its Body, and feparated from it by Death, we learn from Solomon; Who knoweth the Spirit of Man, that goeth upward, and the Spirit of the Beaft, that goeth downward to the Earth? Ecchf. 3. 2,1. And the real Diftincti- on between Body and Spirit in Beafts, moft pro bably infers as real a Didtinction in their Na tures. And that the' Spirit of Beafts going down to the Earth, fignifies that it utterly pe- rifheth, is more than I can prove. The Pythagoreans and Platonifts did agree, That mere Matter was not capable of confcious Life and Senfation; and therefore did affert, That the Souls of Brutes, which manifeftly have Life and Senfation, and fome faint Ap pearances of Reafon and Knowledge, were im material Spirits. And the famous French Philo fopher 6 z Of the Immortality of the Soul, fopher fo far agrees with them, That, if they have Life and Senfe, they are not mere Matter. And yet it feems much lefs abfurd to me, to at tribute Life and Senfation to mere Matter, as the Epicureans did, than to deny Life and Sen fation to Beafts, who appear as much to live, and to perform all the Offices of Life and Senfation, as Men do. Now thefe Philofophers, who ap propriated Life and Senfation to a fpiritual Na ture, did not believe that the Souls of Brutes perifhed with their Bodies, but that they either pafs'd into aerial Bodies, or fell into a State of Infenfibility, till they were united to fome other earthly Bodies ; but that no Life did wholly perifh, no more than the Parts of Mat ter do in their various Changes. And were I only to chufe as a Philofopher, I fhould much rather chufe this fide of the Queftion, than fubfcribe to thofe who attribute all Life to mere Matter, and diffolve it with Matter too; be caufe I had much rather the Souls of Beafts fhould be immortal, than that my own Soul fhould be mortal. All that I intend by this, is only to fhew you how weak and unconcluding this Objection is; becaufe the Principle whereon it is founded, viz. the Mortality of all Brutal Souls, is fo pre carious and uncertain. But fetting afide all this, let us fuppofe that thp Souls of Brutes are im material, and yet mortal; it does not hence fol low that human Souls, tho' they are immaterial, are mortal alfo. That the Soul is Immaterial, proves no more, but that it cannot die as the Body does; it has no Parts, no Compofition, and therefore cannot he divided, or diffolved : And therefore that the Body and a Future State. 6$ Body dies, is no Proof that the Soul dies alfo; and then there can be no pofitive Proof of the Mortality of the Soul. But 1 never thought that the Immateriality of the Soul, alone confidered, was a fufficient Proof of its Immortality: For tho' a Spirit cannot be divided or torn afunder, as a Body may, yet it may be annihilated, if God pleafe; or have fuch an abfolute Dependance on the Body, as to fall into perfect Infenfibility, which is the Lofs of all confcious Life, when it is fe- parated from it. And therefore we muft farther enquire what natural Evidence we have, that human Souls are of fuch a Make and Conftitu- tionj that they can live in a State of Separation from thefe earthly Bodies ; and that it is the Will of God that they fhould do fo : And this will make a vaft difference between human Souls, and the Souls of Brutes, though they were both fuppofed to be alike immaterial. 2. Having therefore laid this for the Founda tion of our Argument, to prove that human Souls are immortal, viz. that they are immate rial, which proves that they are diftinct from the Body, and do not depend on the Body for their Subfiftence, and cannot die as the Body does, and therefore not with the Body neither : In the next place, let us confider the true Nature of human Happinefs ; which will furnifh us with a more fenfible Argument for the Immortality of the Soul. This has either not been taken notice of, or not fo advantagioufly repWfented to this Puipofe; and therefore I fhall the more parti cularly confider it. If we know what the Happinefs of any Crea ture is, we may certainly know what its Nature is* ^4 Of the Imm ortality of the Soul, is ; for Happinefs refults from Nature, and bears- a juft Proportion to it. It is certain Happinefs Cannot rife higher than Nature, nor be more perfect than Nature is ; for that is to be happier than our Natures are capable of, which is a Contradiction. A mix'd Happinefs, when our Pleafures are of very different Kinds, proves a compound Creature; and the higheft and no- bleft Pleafures are always feated in the moft per fect Nature ; and the moft perfect Nature has the moft perfect Life, and is the fuperior and governing Principle. Let us then confider what the Happinefs of Man is ; and we all feel our felves capable of two very different Sorts of Pleafures, which have no Dependance on each other, for they may be parted ; I mean the Pleafures of the Bo dy, and of the Mind. The Pleafures of the Body are the Pleafures of Eating and Drinking, and other Corporeal Delights, which wholly depend on the Body, increafe, and decay, and die with it ; the Pleafures of the Mind are the Pleafures of Wifdom and Knowledge, and Vir tue, and Religion, which are immediately feat ed in the Mind, and have no relation to the Bo dy, any otherwife than as the Soul lives and acts in the Body, and directs and governs it. Which of thefe are the greateft and nobleft Pleafures ; Which moft become a Man, and are moft per fective of human Nature, I need not tell any one, who has tried both. Nay, without try ing, or with a very little Trial of each, the ge neral Opinion of Mankind will tell us this ; or their natural Paffions rather than Opinions. We „adrriire no. Man for Eating and Drinking well, or for enjoying all Bodily Pleafures to the full: This and a Future State. 6f This may create thern Envy, but not Efteem. Whereas Learning , Wifdom, and Prudence , true Piety and Virtue, and all the Offices of Humanity, Charity, and Friendfhip, if they meet with no other Rewards in this World, have the Praife and Commendation of thofe who will not imitate them : Wife and good Men are loved and honoured, as the Glory of human Nature, as more perfect and excellent Creatures than other Men are, who cannot raife themfelves above Flefh and Senfe: Which fhews What the Opinion of Mankind is, concerning the Perfection of human Nature* Nay, an Excefs in bodily Pleafures, as fond as moft Men are of them, is univerfally infa mous; which proves that they are not our laft and higheft Happinefs, wherein there can be no Exdefs. W ho was ever reproached for be ing too Wife and Good? Who ever thought it poffible to exceed in thefe things, or that it was infamous to do fo ? Nay, who was ever reproached for defpifing bodily Pleafures, for great Abftinence and Continency, and almoft - an utter difregard of the Body? Not only Su- perftition is apt to Saint fuch Men, but the wifer part of Mankind do as much reverence fuch a perfect Conqueft over the Body, as they de- fpife and abhor the Slavery and Servitude of brutifh Lufts. It would be impoffible for a Soul,, which is nothing but Body and Matter it felf, thus to raife it felf above the Body, and to contradict and fubdue its bodily Appetites and Inclinations. And were not Mankind con fcious to* th.emfelves of forrie diviner Principle in them than7 Matter, and of fome diviner Plea fures, more honourable and becoming than the F Pleafures 66 Of the Immortality of tioe j out, fines of the Body, it is impoffible they fhould fo univerfally admire thofe Men who defpife the Body and all its Delights. And yet thus it has been, not only among Chriftian Afceticks, but even among Pagan Philofophers themfelves; not as a part of their Pagan Superrtition, but for the love of Wifdom, which gave them a true Contempt of bodily Pleafures. . This might be enough to fatisfy Men, who know little themfelves, what the. Pleafures of the Mind are, that certainly they muft be more fatisfactory and tranfporting than all bodily Plea fures are, and therefore the proper and genuine Pleafures of human Nature: But we have many other unanfwerable Arguments of this, which I fhall briefly reprefent to you. Whatever bodily Pleafures are, they are but for a Moment, and pleafe no longer than we enjoy them : The remembrance of bodily Plea fures, unlefs. it excites new Appetites, gives no new Pleafures to us. But Knowledge and Wif dom is always fweet to the Soul; and the re membrance of virtuous Actions is always frefh and new, and therefore: a more perpetual Spring ofjoy. Bodily Pleafures depend upon things without us, which are not in our Power, and therefore cannot always he had ; but the Pleafures of the Mind are always at hand, and in our own keep ing; our Thoughts are at liberty; and though we cannot always do what we would, we may think of what we pleafe, and entertain our Minds with the moft delightful Contemplati ons. We have God and his Works, .the whole Creation, the whole Compafs of Heaven and Earth ; all Nature and Providence ; the various Revo- and a Future State; &7 Revolutions of the World, and Wifdom of Governments; the Laws of Nature,, of Nati ons , and particular Gommon>wealtbs ; and which is more than all this to us Chriftians^ the certain Revelations ' of the Divine Will in Scripture. Thefe are delightful Meditations^ Which are always in ourrPower; arid though we cannot always do good when we .will, yet the very Inclination arid- Defire to do Goodji and the remembrance of : the Good .we ; have done, is always pleafant: And a Happinefs iri our own keepings as it'feems moft natural, fo it is what wife Men, ; who always defire, to be Happy, fhoiild prefer; for he cannot always be happy, who cannot always have that which he Calls his Happinefs. . , . , , ,-. ¦ • . In fhort, the difference between the Plea- fores of the Mind and Body appear in this j That a Mind which is quiet, and eafy, and fa tisfied with its felf, can bear all external Affli ctions with Patience^ add Comfort, and Hope^i and .Triumph; but all the Pleafures of this Life are infipid, and taftelefsj and troublefome^.to a broken, diftempered, guilty Mind : As the wife Man tells us, That the Spirit , of a Man can bear his Infirmiiies ; but a wounded Spirit who can bear ? And certainly thofe are the greateft Plea fures which not only teach us to defpife the Pleafures of the Body, when there is a Com- petkion.betweert them, but can fuppoft us in the want of bodily Pleafuresj and under all external Sufferings. , Well-* you'll fayj what is the Confequence now of all this? Suppofe we grant, that the Pleafures of the Mind are much greater than bodily Pleafures, the high eft and nobleft Plea- F 2 fu'rei 6 S* Of the Immortality of the Soul, fures of bur Nature^ which do moft become a1 Man, and make him a more excellent Crea ture than thofe of his own Kind, who are wholly funk into Flefti and Senfe ; how does< this prove the Immortality of the Soul ? Now this, l" cOnfefs, it does not prove by a direct and immediate. Confequence, but yet it furnifhes us with fuch Principles, from which this con fequence may be fairly deduced. For, i. This proves that human Souls have a Happinefs of their own, diftinct from, and independent on the Body ; now it is impoffible the Soul fhould have a Happinefs independent ©a the Body, without having a Principle of Life independent on the Body alfo: For the Happinefs of all Creatures, refults from the Principle of Life, and bears proportion, to it: And therefore thofe Pleafures which do not re fult from 'the Body, nor depend on it, muft re fult from a Principle of Life independent on the Body; and if the Soul lives independently on the Body, it can live without it, and in a State of Separation from it: And that I think proves, that there is no reafon to fufpeet that the Soul dies with the Body. 2. However, it is very manifeft, that if the Soul has a diftinct Happinefs of its own, inde pendent on the Body, it is capable of living and Being! happy out of the Body; for thofe Plea fures which do not depend on the Body, it may enjoy out of it : And what poffible Reafon is there to imagine, that the Soul cannot live without this Body, when it may be happy with out it? As for Knowledge, Wifdom, and Vir tue,1 which are the greateft Perfections, and the peculiar Glory and Happinefs of human Souls ; if and a F&ture State. 6$ if our Souls can fubfift without thefe Bodies, can we think that they fhould know lefs, or be lefs wife and virtuous, than they are in them ? And if the Body may die, and the Soul live and be happy, is not this a Reafon to believe that God, who is the Author of Nature, intended fo too? j .,- , 3 . Efpecially if we confider, that this Ratio nal, Intellectual, Spiritual Happinefs, which is the proper and genuine Happinefs of human Souls, can never attain its juft Perfection while we live in thefe Bodies. The Heathen Phih> fophers were very fenfible of this, and made great Complaints of it ; That the Soul was bu ried and ltifled in the Body? and could not freely exert its noble Powers and Faculties, but funk into Senfe, and was intoxicated with bo dily Pleafures. And the Scripture it felf owns this, That there is a Law in our Members war ring againft the Law of our Minds, and leading us into Captivity to that Law of Sin which is in our Members. 'T'hat the Flefh lufteth againft the Spirit, and the Spirit againft the Flefh ; and thefe two are contrary to each other. And if neither Scripture nor Philofophers 'had faid any thing of this, our own Senfe and Experience of our felves and the reft of Mankind too evidently prove it. What an impatient Thjrft have we all after Knowledge, and how little is .it that the wifeft Men know? The neceffary Employments of Life, while we are bound to drudge, and make our Souls Slaves to fupport our Bodies, deprive the greateft pant of Mankind of all Opportune ties of getting Wifdom and Knowledge. Some great and generous Souls inhabit weak and fee- %o Of the Immortality of the Soul, ble Bodies, which cannot bear the fatigue of Study and feVere Thoughts.' And if, as fome Philofophers think, all Souls are' equal, there are many Souls' which have reafon to complain of" very dull and heavy Bodies, which cloud their Imaginations, and will not admit the bright and clear Ideas of Truth. But fetting afide all this; What a lhort and narrow Profpect of things have we, while we live in thefe Bodies? For though I am not of the Mind of thofe Philofophers, who think that there are ho inbred or innate Notions and Ideas in the Soul ; but that all the Knowledge we have, comes from without, from thofe cor poreal Impreffions which are made on our Senfes; which could no more teach Men Lo* gick, and Metaphyficks , and Mathematicks, than they could teach Beafts, who have the fame Senfes that we have, were not thefe Ideas connatural to human Souls : Eiut yet thus much I think is certain, that whatever Ideas we have latent in our Minds, we gain no actual Know ledge of them, but as they are awakened in us by external Impreffions, Obfervations, and a Chain of Thoughts; which reaches fo little a ¦Way, while our Souls are enclofed by our bo dily Senfes, as muft needs render our Know ledge very imperfect. Were our Souls fet at liberty from thefe Bodies, to view the World With a naked Eye, what Wonders would they difcover, which are now concealed from us ? We noW fee only this fenfible World ; and if We would difcover the Guriofities of that, we are forced to borrow fome Artificial and Ma thematical Eyes: But we can fee nothing of the and a Future State. 7 1 the Spiritual World, which is the largeft and moft glorious Profpect. But then as for true Virtue and Piety, where is it to be found, but among fome few defpi- fed Men, who defpife the World, and are de- fpifed by it ? But this is not the prefent En quiry, how many good Men there are; for if their number be fmall, this is the Fault of the Men, not of human Nature : But thefe good Men that are, with what Conflicts and Diffi culty do they conquer their bodily Appetites and Inclinations, and how imperfect are their Attainments in Piety and Virtue, and confe- quently how imperfect is their Happinefs? What difference can we eafily conceive between the Love, Devotion, and Raptures of the moft per fect Saints on Earth, and of unbodied Spirits ? And as imperfect as their Piety, Devotion, and Virtue is, fo imperfect is their Happinefs. This may be thought an Objection againft the Make*,, of Mankind, to put human Souls into fuch Bodies, wherein they cannot attain their compleat Happinefs. Some ancient Phi lofophers thought to folve this Difficulty by faying, That human Souls lived in a former State, and were fent into thefe Bodies, partly as a Punifhment of their former Sins ; but yet to be in a State of Probation, to recover their loft Happinefs. But the holy Scripture gives us a better Account of it, That God made Man upright, but he fought out unto himfelf many In-'. ventions: That our firft Parents loft their In nocence and Paradife together, and propagated a corrupt and mortal Nature to their Pofterity. But though this be not the original State of Mankind, as we may conclude it is not, fince F 4 we :f i Of the Immortality of the Soul, we cannot attain our compleat and perfect Hap pinefs in it ; yet fince our Souls are capable of living out of thefe Bodies, and of being more compleatly and perfectly Happy in a feparate State, than they are or can be in thefe Bodies, it is a good Argument to believe that there is a future State, wherein devout and pious Souls, fhall be more compleatly Happy. 4, And it is no fmall Inducement to thisBe-j lief, to obferve what a gradual Progrefs the Soul makes towards Perfection, while it lives in this Body : An inquifitive and virtuous Soul im proves daily in Knowledge and Virtue. Tho' the Body decays, and all bodily Pleafures with it, Wifdom and Counfel, Piety and Devotion, a fteddy and inflexible Virtue, is the Glory of Age. Sometimes indeed the Infirmities of Age affect the Mind, deftroy the Memory, wipe out all the fenfible Marks and Characters of things; but this no more argues any decay of the Soul, than the Diffractions of a Fever, or the fealing up of our Senfes with Sleep : This cannot be avoided, while the Soul is vitally u- nited to this Body. But fetting afide fuch Ac cidents, as thefe, the Soul is continually improT ving it felf. And can we think, that when it has attained the greateft Improvements and Per fections, that it can in this Body, it fhall fall into nothing? Does not this rather look like a State of Trial and Probation for a more perfect Life?,' f. Efpecially if we will allow that there is a World of Spirits, a World of Invifible and Immortal1 Beings; which none but profeft A- theifts deny. For if there be fuch a State, is it not reafonable to think that fuch divine Souk as and a Future State. 7$ as have fitted and prepared themfelves for the Converfation of Unbodied Spirits, and have all the Qualifications requifite to that State of Life, and where alone they can attain the true Happi nefs of their Natures, and perfect thofe Begin nings of Wifdom and Virtue, which they made in this World : I fay, is it not much more rea fonable to think that they fhould be tranflated to the State and Converfation of Immortal Spi rits ; than with all their Attainments in Wifdom and Virtue, to perifh in the Grave ? This is the firft Natural and Moral Argument (for it is a Mixture of both) for the Immortality of the Soul; taken from the Nature of Human Souls, That they are Immaterial, and therefore by Nature Incorruptible, and therefore Immor tal, if God fo pleafes. That this is the Will and Pleafure of God, That Human Souls fhould be Immortal, and live, tho' the Body dies, feems very evident from the Nature of Human Happinefs, that the Soul has a Happinefs of its own, diftinct from, and independent on the Body ; which proves a diftinct Principle of Life too, which has no dependence on the Body, and therefore may fubfift, and live, and a6t, when the Body dies. To be fure, a Soul, which has a diftinct Happinefs of its own, is capable of living, and being happy out of the Body : And we have reafon to think it will be fo; fince the Soul cannot attain its juft Perfe ction and Happinefs in this Body; which makes it reafonable to conclude, that there is fome oT ther State, wherein it fhall attain the utmoft Degrees of Perfection and Happinefs it was rnade for: Efpecially when we obferve,. That Wife and Virtuous Souls are ftill preffing on to Perfe ction 7-4 Of the Immortality of the Soul, ction, and making greater and diviner Improve* ments, as long as they live in thefe Bodies: And then it is hard to think that they fhould perifh With their Bodies, and die, when they are moft fit to live, as having attained the moft perfect Degrees of a rational and divine Life. Which makes it reafonable to conclude, That there is a World of Spirits, whither the Souls of good Men fhall be tranflated after Death, and perfect themfelves in the Enjoyments of God, and of holy and devout Souls. To conclude this Argument ; this gives a rea fonable Account, what it is that ftifles the Senfe of Immortality in fo many Men ; they are wholly immers'd in Flefh and Senfe, know no other Happinefs, but Bodily Pleafures, and there fore do not feel that they have any Souls diftinct from their Bodies, or that can live and be hap py without them : And if they have no other Life or Pleafures, but thofe of the Body, the Death of the Body muft neceffarily put an end to them. And therefore the moft effectual way to revive the Natural Senfe of Immortality in us, is to keep up the Diftinction between Soul and Body, to adorn and cultivate our Minds with Knowledge, Piety, and Virtue; to relifh rhofq divine Pleafures, which are the genuine and na tural Pleafures cf Souls: And then we fhall feel all that I have faid ; which will give it a Strength and Evidence beyond the mere Power of Reafon and Difcourfe. And it is no fmall Confirmation of all this, That the wifer and better Men are, the more they converfe with their own Souls, and live up on fpiritual and intellectual Pleafures, the more ftrong and vigorous Senfe they have of their own Immor- and a Future State. 7% Immortality: For they feel themfelves to be fomething more Divine than Matter, and to have Pleafures which are Divine and Immor tal. And this is an abundant Anfwer to that Obje ction from £he Mortality of Brutal Souls. For though we allow them to be Immaterial, they have no Natural Indications of Immorality; they have no Happinefs or Pleafures, but what refult from, and depend on their Bodies : And there fore however God difpofes of them after Death, as far as we can judge, they are not capable of any Life or Senfation, when they are feparated from this Body. ' But an Immaterial Soul, which cannot die as the Body does, and has a principle of Life and Happinefs independent on the Body, andfuperior to it, may live when the Body dies : And we have all the Reafon in the World to be lieve, that this was the Defign and Intention of its wife Maker. SECT j 6 Of the Immortality of the Soul, S E C T. III. The Immortality of "the Soul 'proved, from the univerfal Confent of Mankind in this Belief 2. A Nother Natural and Moral Argument ji\. for the Immortality of the Soul, is the univerfal Confent of Mankind in this Belief; which is fuch an Argument as no Man needs be afham'd of, becaufe the wifeft Men and the greateft Philofophers have, in more Cafes than one, frequently ufcd it, and laid very great Strefs upon it. To explain and confirm this Argui- ment, I fhall do three things. Firft, fhew you, That the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State, has been the general Belief of Mankind, Secondly, That this general Confent of Man kind is the Voice of Nature. Thirdly, That the Voice of Nature is a natural Proof of Im mortality. As for the firft; When I fay that the Im mortality of the Soul, and a Future State, has been the general Belief of Mankind, I do not thereby mean, that there never was an Atheift or an Infidel in the World. Were this the Cafe, there would be no need to prove the Soul to be Immortal. But our own Age furnifhes us with too many Examples, of thofe who do not believe another Life after this, or at leaft do pro- fefs not to believe it, and do all they can to per- / fuade and a Future State. 77 fuade themfelves and others not to believe it. Such Men there were in Tully's Days ; and yet that great Philofopher thought the Confent of Mankind in this Belief Univerfal enough to make it the Voice of Nature. Nor do I mean, that Men did fo firmly affent to this Doctrine of Immortality, as to have no Doubts and Sufpici- ons about it. But my only meaning is this,That his was the genera;! Perfuafion of Mankind, which in all Ages prevailed in the World; which is fufficient to prove an Univerfal Confent. For fome few Exceptions are no better Arguments againft an univerfal Confent , than forne few Monfters and Prodigies are againft the regular Courfe of Nature. As will appear if we com pare thefe two together; which will fhew us how natural the Belief, and how forced, violent, and artificial the Disbelief of Immortality, is. Firft then I obferve,. That this has been the Belief of all the Nations in the World, which we have any*competent Knowledge of. Thus iCully aflures us of all the known Parts of the World in his Days. And though, fome late Travellers pretend to have difcovered fome Peo ple fo barbarous, that they feem to have no No tion of God, or Religion, or a Future State; yet others, who have lived longer in thofe Parts, and made better Obfervations, affirm the contra ry. And it is certain, the moft barbarous Indi ans, who might as foon be fufpected of this, as any People in the World, are very far from it. However, zdly, This is acknowledged on all Hands, That the Belief of the Soul's1 Immortali ty, is as Univerfal as the Belief of a God, or any reli- 7 8 Of the Immortality of the Soul, religious Worfhip. The very Idolatries of the Pagan World prove this beyond difpute; for their Countrey Gods were no other than dead Men and Women, Confecrated by theSup'erfti- tion of the People, and Worfhipped with Di-^ vine Honours and Religious Ceremonies. And thofe who made Gods of dead Men, and pray ed, and offered Sacrifices to them, and expected to be blefled and protected by them, muft be lieve that they lived after Death ; which they could not do without the general Belief of the Immortality of the Soul. 3. I obferve farther, That the common Peo^ pie, who were no Philofophers, and never pre tended to Reafon about fuch Matters, did yet moft firmly believe this. The Atheiftick Phi^ lofophers could make Very few Profelytes among them. Nature was too powerful for all their Sophiftry ; for Men felt fomething within them, which convinced theni of their own Immortality, though they could not Reafon or Difpute about it. Which fhews, that it is moft natural to Mankind to believe a Future State, but requires great Art and Induftry to bean Infidel: Which makes it reafonable to think, that if ever there were fuch a People in the World j as never heard of God or another Life, it would be very eafy to teach them both. For unprejudiced Nature will eafily recover the Impreffions of Religion j. if it find a wife Inftructor. 4. 1 obferve farther, Thar there was no Sect of the Philofophers, except the Epicureans, that denied the Immortality of the Soul; and they alfo denied a God, and a Providence; fuch a God as is the wife and powerful Maker and Go vernor of the World. There was fome differ ence and a Future State. jj ence among the other Philofophers about the Nature of a Future State ; but they all agreed in this, That the Soul did liveafterDeath. So that we have not only the Confent of the Mul titude in this Belief, but of all the wifeft Men in the World, who examined the Reafons and Probabilities ofThings, and underftood the Senfe and Inclination of Nature. And none but a profefs'd Atheift can think the Authority of E- picurus and his School, fufficient to balance all the other Sects of Philofophers. y . It will add no fmall Strength to this Ar gument, to confider, That the better Men were, the more firmly they believed a future State. Pi ety and Virtue, even in the Heathen World, raifed Men into the more certain Expectations of a happy Life hereafter; as is evident from Socrates,Plato,nnd Tully. And this Ta/Zy thought a good Argument of the Senfe of Nature; Spe cimen Naturae capi debet ex optima quaque Natura. It is moft reafonable to learn what Nature is, from the moft perfect Pattern of Nature. Will you draw a Picture of Human Nature from Ners and Caligula, and fuch degenerate Mon- ftersj, who retain nothing of a Man but the ex ternal Figure; or from the great Examples of Wifdom, Prudence, Fortitude, Juftice, Tem perance, and all other Virtues ? The firft only ihews the Corruption and Degeneracy of Hu man Nature; but in the other we fee the Beau ties and Perfections of it ; and therefore from them alfo we may beft learn what the Belief and Hopes of Nature are. I am very confident, there cannot one Inftance be given, from the Beginning of the World to this Day, of any one truly Virtuous Man who did not believe another Life; 8 o Of the Immortality of the Soul, Life; and the more firmly believe it, the mote virtuous he was. Though Socrates , as he affe cted to do in all other Matters, fpake doubtful ly of a Future State, yet no Man can reafonably queftion whether he did heartily believe it, when he ventured to die for his Faith ; for which he could expect no Reward from God, but in another World. And though wife and Virtuous. Men, by the mere Light of Reafon and Philofophy, could not attain fuch a full Per fuafion as excluded all Doubt, becaufe their Ar guments had not a demonftrative Certainty ; yet the ftrong Senfe and Impreffions of Nature, and the high Probabilities ofReafon, confirmed and ftrengthened by thofe Natural Hopes and Expe ctations of a Reward, created fuch afirm Belief in them, as prevailed over all their Doubts and Jealoufies. And this is fufficient to my prefent Argument. For tho' this be not a Demonftra tive, yet it is the higheft Moral Evidence we can have. This, I think, it certainly proves, That. Infidelity is not owing to Nature, but to fome unnatural Biafs and Inclination; when not only untaught and unpolifhed Nature, but the moft perfedt, the moft refined, the beft improved and cultivated Nature, inftructs Men in the Be lief of a God, and of another World. And if this be true, then the Infidelity of thofe who have corrupted their Natures, and are fo funk into Flefh and Senfe, as to ftifle all Natural Im preffions ; and to Hope, and Fear, and Under- ftand, juft as Brutes do, whofe Happinefs alone they affect and imitate ; is no Objection againft the general Confent of Mankind in this Belief. Nay, 'tis a mighty Argument how ftrong the Senfe of Nature is, that fo many Thoiifands, who and a Future State. 8 1 Who by their wicked Lives have made it their Intereft and Choice that there fhould be rio o- ther Life, yet are not able to deliver themfelves from thefe Fears, but ftill believe and tremble, as Devils and damn'd Spirits do. 2. The Univerfal Confent of Mankind in the Belief of the Immortality of the Soul, is nothing lefs than the Voice and Senfe of Nature. For it is unaccountable how all Mankind fhould agree in this Belief, unlefs the fame Nature, which is common to them all, teach this to them all. It is certain all Mankind, all the Nations of the World, never met together in a General Coun cil to agree this Matter, Whether the Soul be Immortal, or not : And therefore this Belief is not Matter of Compact and Agreement. And if it had been fo, it had been a very Venerable Authority ; unlets we can think that all Man kind could agree to cheat themfelves and all their Pofterity, with fuch falfe and groundlefs Hopes. Now fetting afide this, I can think but of two poffible Reafons for fuch a general Confent. Firft, the Senfe of Nature improved or awaken ed by Reafon and Difcourfe. For the fame Na ture has the fame Natural Impreffions, and there fore will teach or incline them all to believe the fame thing. Or, z. That this is owing to an • Univerfal Tradition, from the Beginning of ihe World, which in all Ages had been handed down from Father to Son. But the Suppofition of this, which we are willing to Own, will do the Infidel no Service, nor us any harm. For, i. Such an Univeifal Tradition, muft fuppofe that all Mankind defcended from the fame Common Stocks as the Hiftory o't Mbfes aflures us they did: That Adam was the Father G of Of the Immortality of the Soul, of us all: And that gives fome Authority to the Truth of the Mofaical Hiftory. For if all Man kind had not the fame Original, how fhould one and the fame Tradition be propagated all over the World ; efpecially as to thofe Nations which for many Ages never converfed with any other Part of. the World ; and therefore could not know what the Opinion of the reft of Mankind was concerning the Immortality of the Soul, unlefs they had carried that Tradition with them into thofe remote Countries, when they firft parted ? And 2. If this were a Traditional Doctrine from the Beginning of the World, That the Soul was Immortal , there is great Reafon to believe it; for then it muft be the Belief of our firft Parents, who taught this Doctrine to their Children ; and that is Proof enough that it is owing either to Nature or to Revelation : For the firft Man could not have it by Tradition : For if neither Nature taught this, nor God re vealed it, how came our firft Parents to inftruct their Pofterity in it; and that with fuch Care, that the Tradition fhould never be loft? And yet, 3. It is impoffible to imagine, That, were not this Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul founded in the Senfe of Nature, it fhould have been fo univerfally preferved in all the Difperfi- ons of Mankind, through fo many fucceffive Generations. There is no doubt that many thou- fand Traditions fince the beginning of the World, and the Difperfion of Mankind, have been ut terly loft ; and had not Nature fecured this Tra dition, it would have been as eafily loft as any. For if we may guefs at other Ages by our own, there and a Future State. 8 3 there have-aLw^ys been enow in the World , who would have*een very glad to lofe it. Nay, be- fides this, when Mankind have loft the very Memory of any fuch Tradition, and therefore fuch an ancient Traditionj if there were any fuch, has loft its Authority ; how come all Men ftill to agree in it, and to believe it fo firmly, as never to part with it, if it were not truly the Senfe of Nature7? ADigreJJion concerning Connate Ide*- as, or Inbred Knowledge. BUT this is the great Difficulty, What the Voice and Senfe of Nature is ; which if it fignify any thing, muft fignify fome Na tural and Inbred Knowedge; which is ex ploded as a ridiculous Conceit by fome great and profound Philofophers of our Age; who will allow no Innate Knowledge, but affert the Soul to be a Rafa "Tabula , White Pa per, whereon nothing is written, but is ca pable of any Impreffions, and muft receive all from without: That nothing is in the Un derftanding, but what enters by the Senfes; which is the old Atheiftick Hypothefis, which banifhes Original Mind and Wifdom out of the World, makes Mind vounger than Matter, later than the making of the World, and therefore not the Maker of it. I fhould not trouble my felf at this time with profeffed Atheifts; but G 2 when 8 4 Of the Immortality of the Soul, when Men who profefs to believe a God, and another World, advance fuch Principks as tend to overturn, or at leaft very rnuch weaken the Belief of both, it is fitting upon fuch an Occa- fion, to confider what they have to fay. And I fhall Reafon upon their own Principles, upon the Suppofition that there is a God, who is the Maker of the World. i. Then, if we allow that there is a God, and that he made the World, as Mr. Lock does, this is Dernonftration, i . That Knowledge is before the Things that are known, and is the Maker of them : For if God made the World, he knew what he would make, before he made it; and therefore the I- deas of all things were originally in the divine Mind, before any thing was made. 2. Hence it follows, that Ideal Knowledge is efTeritial to a Mind ; it is found no where origi nally but in the eternal Mind ; and it is effential to the very Notion and Idea of a Mind : For what is a Mind, without the Images and Ideas ofThings? Which is a good Argument that created Minds, as far as they partake of the E- •ternal Mind, have the Natural Ideas ofThings interwoven in their Frame and Conftitulion, if I may fo fpeak. For a Mind is a Mind, whe ther created or uncreated: And if created Minds are made after the Pattern of the divine Mind, (and there is no other Pattern for Minds) Natu ral Ideas muft be as effential to created Minds, as they are to the uncreated Mind ; for there is no Notion of a Mind without thern. Of which more prefently. 3, This and a tuture State. 8 j 3. This proves that all Truths, and all true Ideas, are Eternal: They may be feen, and known, and difcovered anew, but cannot he made: They always were in tbe divine Mind, and cannot be otherwife than they always were. And therefore our Improvement in true Know ledge, does not confifl in framing and making new Ideas ofThings, but in finding out the old ones; for Truth is no more to be made, than God. 4. I fhall obferve but this one thing more, That Ideas are not in the Things whofc Ideas they are, but in the Mind that conceives and- apprehends them; for Mind is the Original Seat of Ideas: And this proves that no Ideas can come into the Mind from without, becaufe they are not without, though they may be excited, and rais'd, and brought into view, by external Impreffions. But if the Work of the Mind be not to make new Truths, and new Ideas, but to difcover old ones ; thefe old Truths, which are not in the Things without, muft be origi nally in the Mind it felf; or elfe all the tumb lings and joggings in the World will never find them there. 2. To confirm this, Let us confider the Na ture of Human Souls, as Rational and Intelligent Beings. 1. And in the firft place, I fuppofe all who believe the Mofaical Hiftory of the Creation, will allow, that the firft Man is the moft perfect Pattern and Exemplar of Human Nature, in its Natural State : For the firft Man was immedi ately made by God, and made fuch a Creature as God intended Man to be ; for he was to pro- G 3 pagate. 8 6 Of the Immortality of the Soul, pagate the fame Nature, which God had given him, to his Pofterity. Now we all know that Adam was created with the natural Ideas and Knowledge ofThings, and had all his Knowledge from within, not from without : He knew what every thing was at the firft fight, and what its natural' Powers and Poperties were ; which could not be from external Impreffions, in which way at beft nothing can be known without long Ob- fervation, and many Experiments, and a Train of Reafonings; and therefore muft be from connate or inbred Ideas, which were then bright and fparkling in his Mind. He could fpeak as foon as he was made, and if he had an inbred natural Knowledge of Words, he muft have an inbred Knowledge of Things, which are fignified by Words. For a Mind muft con ceive and have formed Notions and Ideas of Things, before it can fpeak. Now indeed it does not hence follow that every Child muft fpeak, and have the actual Exercife of its Reafon as foon as it is born, be caufe Adam was created in the perfect and actual Exercife of thefe Powers ; for Adam was not cre ated a Child, but a Man, and therefore created in a Manly State of Knowledge, with thofe clear and bright Ideas of Truth, which become the Vigour and Maturity of human Underftandings. But it does hence follow, That tbe Soul of Man, in its original Conftitution, and in the moft perfect State of its Nature, is not a Rafa Tabula, with out any Notions or Ideas of Truth imprinted on it ; but that it has its moft natural and perfect Knowledge from within, from contemplating its own Notions and Ideas of Truth." Nay, it and a Future State. 87 it hence follows, That if Adam's Soul had thefe natural Impreffions and Characters on it, which were the Principles of all rational Knowledge; all human Souls have fo too, or elfe they have not the fame Nature that Adam's Soul had : For a Soul with the natural Ideas of Things, and a Soul without any fuch natural Ideas, are not of the fame Kind and Species of Souls. And if Adam was to beget his own Likenefs, the Souls as well as Bodies of his Children muft have the fame natural Characters and Impreffions on them. And that it muft be fo, will appear, if we confider, zdly, What a 'rational Soul, and an intelli gent Principle is. Mr. Lock will allow the Soul to be a rational intelligent Principle ; and then undertakes to prove, how a rational Soul, which has a natural Principle of Underftanding, may form its own Notions, without any natural and connate Ideas. But now it feems neceffary to me, firft to enquire what this conceiving, think ing, rational Principle is ; and whether thqre can be a rational Nature, without the Princi ples of Reafon innate to it. Now I can no more underftand how a Soul, which has no ra tional Ideas, fhould have any Principle of Rea fon or Thought, and therefore fhould ever actually think, than I can, how that which has no natural Heat, fhould ever warm or burq. For the Principle and the Act are of the fame Kind ; and that which can think, muft have fome natural Thoughts or Ideas which can be brought into Act, which are the natural Seeds and Principles of Thinking. I do defire to know what the Sentient Facul ty is; whether there muft not be Senfe in the Soul, to make it capable of the external Im- G 4 Immef- 8 8 Of the Immortality cf the dout, Impreffions of Pain or Pleafure : And by the fame Reafon there muft be Knowledge in the Soul, to make it capable of knowing external Objects. There is no Thought in the World, but only in Minds; and therefore all the Things of the World can never put a Thought into ys, but can only raife it : That if we have no Thoughts within to be brought into Act, we can never have any, no more than the Stones of the Street. If no Thoughts can come into us from without, we muft find them all within; and what is within, belongs to our Nature, and has always been there, though we did no fooner find it. Life is nothing elfe but confcious Perception, either Knowledge or Senfe ; and then I would know how a living Nature can be without na tural Knowledge. For if all Knowledge muft come from without, Life it felf muft do fo, if Knowledge be Life. Life is an internal Prin-r ciple of Perception, which can neverbe with out the internal Seeds and Principles of Know ledge or Senfe. I would defire to know why external Ob jects do not form the fame Notions and Ideas m the Minds of Brutes, which they do in Men j, for they have Senfe and Perception, and exter nal Objects make the fame Impreffions upon them. And if the Soul of Man have no more innate Knowledge than the Soul of a Beaft, but all Notions and Ideas come from without, and the Beaft receives the fame Inapreffions from without, tba? Men do; why fhould not the fame Impreffions convey the fame Notions to Souls equally void of all natural Ideas ? Whoever obferves the Workings of his own Mindj and a Future State. %o Mind, finds that all Notions and Ideas come by Reflection ; that is, by turning our Eyes and Thoughts inward upon our felves. But why fhould we confult our own Minds, if there be no Characters of Truth, no Ideas of Things to b% found there ? If our Notions and Ideas came from without, they would be as immediately printed upon the Mind, as the Objects of Senfe are ; the Soul would be wholly paffive in Know ledge, as it is in Senfe; and all Mens Notions muft be as exactly alike as their Senfations are. Whereas we know, that Truth is not difcovcr'd without difficult and laborious Searches : Men turn over their Minds, and examine all the Ideas that they find there, till they hit on fuch a Train of Thoughts, as like a Clue leads them into thofe private and fecret Receffes where fuch Ideas are to be found : Which is the Rea fon why Men differ fo much in their Notions of Things; that fome Men are wholly ignorant of the moft ufeful Truths; others fee but a lit tle part of them ; others have diftinct and clear Notions, which they affent to without any doubt. And therefore no Man truly underftands any thing, nor is eafy and fatisfied with any Noti ons which he reads or hears, till he feels them in his own Mind : And the moft' perfect and fatisfactory Knowledge we have is Intuition ; when the Mind fees Truth bright and clear, as the Eye fees Light and Colours ; Sees it, I fay, in it felf, not newly put in there, but fees it to be old and eternal Truth. Now if to know and to underftand, be to fee and to feel Truth, and to fee and to feel it in our Minds, not as We, fee new Fictions, and the Imagery of Fan cy* 5 o Of the Immortality of the Soul, cy, which we know to be our own Creatures; but to fee and know them to be old and riecef- fary Truths, which we only fee, but do not make to be Truths ; then it is certain thefe No tions and Ideas muft be connate, and inbred, and interwoven in the very Frame and Coif. texture, if I may fo fpeak, of a rational Soul. I fhall add but one thing more ; Whether thefe Men will allow our Paffions to be innate? Such as Love and Hatred, Hope and Fear, De fire and Averfation. Thefe Paffions are the in ternal Senfe of the Soul ; and I fuppofe they will grant external Objects cannot create Sen fation, where there is no inward innate Princi ple of Senfe ; for that is to create Life by ex ternal Impreffions; and it is certain thefe inter nal Paffions are not immediately raifed by. ex ternal Objects, but by our own Imaginations and Opinions of Things. And now let any Man judge, whether it be reafonable to think that God has implanted in us natural Paffions, which have Good and Evil for their Objects, but has implanted no natural Ideas in us of Good and Evil. We may, I think, as reafona- bly fuppofe, that God has made Eyes, but made no Light ; that when there is a natural Proportion between thePaffionand the Object, and a natural Relation and Connexion between them, one fhould be the work of Nature but not the other. But the better to underftand, and to confirm this, Let us now briefly examine Mr. Lock's Arguments againft all innate Ideas. And the firft, and I think the only general Argument he Human nas againft them, is, That all Children and Idiots Under- have not the leafi Apprehenfion or Thought of them ftanding, (innate Ideas). As for Idiots he might have fpared Ch.z.p.$. and a Future State. 9 1 fpared them, becaufe tie will hardly allow them human Souls. But the Summ of his Argument is this : 'That to imprint any thing on the Mind, is to make it perceived ; if therefore Children and Idiots have Souls, have Minds, with thofe Im preffions upon them, they muft unavoidably percieve them, and neceffarily know and affent to thefe Truths ; which fince they do not, it is evident there . are no fuch Impreffions. I fhould not have expected fuch an Argument as this from a Man who pretends to be lo inti mately acquainted with human Underftanding : For there is nothing more notorioufly falfe, than that whatever is imprinted in the Mind, is ablu- ally perceived. How many things are there in every Man's Mind, which he does not atlually perceive ; that is, which he does not always actually think of ? For nothing is actually per ceived, but what is actually in the Thoughts; and no Man can think of more than one Thing at a time; and therefore, it feems, has but one thing in his Mind at a time. Are there no Im preffions on the Mind when we are in found un- difturbed Sleep, and perceive nothing? Has that Man no Impreffions on his Mind , who was once admirably skill'd in all parts of Know ledge and Learning, but either by means of fome accidental Diftemper, or of old Age, has loft all the Notes and Images of Things, and perceives no more than a Child? Mr. Lock feems to have been aware of this Objection : for it is fo obvious, that no think ing Man can mifs it : And therefore in what follows, he changes this Affirmative Propofition,- That whatever is imprinted on the Mind, is perceived, into this Negative one, 'That no Pro-> pofition Of the Immortality of the Soul, pofition can be faid to be in the Mind, which it never yet knew, which it was never yet confcious of. But thefe are two very different things; and his altering the State of the Queftion, with out feeming to alter it, has fome Art, but no Plain-dealing in it. The firft Queftion between us, is, Whether any Notion or Idea can be in the Mind, which the Mind does not actually perceive. That this may be, is plain in Fact ; for no Man actually perceives any thing, but what he actually thinks of; yet every Man, every Day he lives, has a thoufand Things in his. Mind, which he does not actually think of, and fo many Ideas he has in his Mind, which lie does not perceive. And if at any time we can have Ideas in our Mind, which we do not actually perceive ; it can ne ver be a good Argument, that any Ideas are not in our Minds, becaufe we do not perceive them. But the fecond State of the Queftion is, Whether we can fay, that any Ideas are in our Minds, which we did never perceive? I ask, Why not," if they may be there and not be perceiv'd? Why may not a Child have fuch Ideas as he never did perceive, as well as a Man have Ideas which he has no actual Perception of? What difference is there between a Child who never had a Perception of his Ideas, and a Man who once had fuch Perception, but by Sicknefs or old Age has now utterly loft all Peiv ception of them? Has this old Man, who was once an admirable Scholar, no Ideas left in his Mind ? Is his Soul bedome a Rafa Tabula again ? If not, why may not a Child have Ideas which it never perceiv'd yet, as well as a Manliave Wjeag and a Future "State. 93 Ideas which he has loft the Perception of? If there may be Ideas in the Mind without Per ception, they may as well be there before they are perceiv'd, as after their Perception is loft. I fuppofe Mr. Lock will grant, that fuch a learned Man, who lofes his Underftanding by Sicknefs or Age, as foon as he is delivered from this Body, will recover all his Notions or Ideas again in the next World with Advantage ; which proves that his Soul was not ftripp'd of its Ideas when it loft the Perception of them, no more than a Man is when he falls afleep. But I would gladly know what his Opinion is about the Souls of Infants, who die in a State of Infancy. They, as he fays, brought no Ideas into this World with them, and did not live long enough here to get any ; do they then go without all Notions and Ideas into the other World, as perfect Infants as they came into this? Are there then Infant Spirits too? Spirits ftripp'd of Body, which muft learn to think and to form Ideas of Things ? Or do the Souls of Infants, as foon as they are difentangled from thefe Bodies, exercife their rational Powers, with the Liberty and Freedom of unbodied Spirits? This it is certain they can never do, unlefs they carry fome Ideas into the next World with them : And this they cannot do, except they brought them into this World with them, for they learnt nothing here ; and yet an Infant Spirit is fomewhat harder to conceive, thari In nate Ideas. I fhould have expected from fo great a Philo fopher, that he would have confidered the Soul in its State of Union to an Earthly Body ; if he believes the Soul to be an immaterial Spirit, and 94 Of the Immortality of the Soul, y and not mere thinking Matter, (for he does not feem throughly refolv'd as to this Point :) But if the Soul and Body are two diftinct Beings, it is evident that the vital Union of the Soul to Matter, muft confine its Operations to Bodily Inftruments ; and then its native Powers may lie conceal'd, or exert themfelves by weak and flow Degrees, as the Body will enable them to act ; and therefore we muft not conclude that there is nothing in the Soul but what appears through the Body. The vital Union of the Soul to the Body con- fifts in this : That in this State of Union it can not act without the Body, nor feparately from it. This is plain with refpect to Senfe ; for will any Man fay, that the Soul of a blind Man has no feeing Faculty, or of a deaf Man has no hearing Faculty ; and yet he cannot fee nor hear without Eyes and Ears ; and if he were born blind and deaf, can have no Imagination of Light and Sounds? And thus it is as to the in tellectual Powers; the Qiricknefs of Perception, the Strength of Memory, and the Vigour of Fancy, the Exercife of Reafon and Judgment, increafe and decay with Men's Age, and alter with the different Temperature of the Brain, the Finenefs of Spirits, the Configuration of the Organs, and the Conftitution of the whole Body ; which make Men as much differ from themfelves in Health and Sicknels, as if they were not the fame Perfons : And yet it is evi dent, that the Change is not in the Soul, but in the Body ; but the Soul cannot exercife its Powers without the Body, nor move otherwife than the Body will move : Which gives a rea fonable Account of Men's different Abilities, and and a Future State. 9 j and different Apprehenfions of Things, and how they come for fb long a time not to perceive thofe Ideas and Characters imprinted on their Minds; though we fhould allow them to be as much inrtate, as the Senfe of Seeing and Hear ing is. r But. Mr. Lock objects, That if there are Ideas in the Mind, which are not, and never were, perceived ; all that can be meant by fuch Ideas being in the Mind, is only this, That the Mind is capable of knowing them. And if the Ca pacity of knowing, be the Impreffion contended for, p. 5. all the Truths a Man ever comes to know, will by this Account be every one of them innate. As for the Capacity of knowing, I have already obferv'd, that it is impoffible to conceive what this Capacity fhould be, without innate Ideas. We are indeed at a great lofs when we talk of Faculties and Powers, which belong to the Ef- fences of Things which we know nothing of: But yet we muft conceive the Capacity and the Faculty of Knowing to be diftinct from thofe Ideas which are known, as we always diftin- guifh between the Faculty and the Object. And Mr. Lock's Argument does not prove, that Ideas which are not actually known and perceiv'd, can be nothing elfe but a Capacity of knowing ; becaufe, as I have already prov'd, there may be, and always are, Ideas actually in the Mind with out being perceiv'd; as all thofe Ideas are, which at any time we don't think of; as when we are afleep, or employed about feme particu lar Ideas, without attending to any other No tions; or have loft the actual Perceptions of our Ideas by Sicknefs or Age. Now if Mr. Lock will in thefe Cafes diftinguifh between the Ca pacity 9 r5 Of the Immortality of the Soul, • paeity of Knowing, and the Ideas ; he may do fo alfo, if he pleafes, with refpect to innate Ideas. And this he muft do, or muft fay, That no Man has any Ideas at any time in his Mind, but what he actually thinks of; which is fo ab furd, that I'm fure he will not fay it. And this I fuppofe will fatisfy him, that there may be innate Ideas, and yet all Knowledge not in- nate : For if we diftinguifh the Capacity and the Ideas, the Capacity of knowing may ex tend both to innate and to acquir'd Ideas. But the great Difficulty of all is, What are innate Ideas, and how to diftinguifh them from acquir'd Knowledge. Mr. Lock tells us, That 'tis ufually. anfwer'd, That all Men know and af fent to them, when they come to the Ufe of Reafon ; and this is fufficient to prove them innate. Now I grant that this is too loofly worded, if any Men ufe to word it fo : And yet it may be true, for any thing he has faid againft it. For all his Arguments are founded in very great Miftakes of the Nature and Ufe of innate Ideas. He fuppofes, that thefe innate Ideas muft be* firft known, and muft be known by their own Light, without being taught, without any La bour or Search of the Mind, without the Ufe of Reafon, Experience, or Obfervation, or any external Notices to bring them into View; and therefore muft be as perfectly known to Children, to Idiots, to Savages, as to the wifefr. Men ; nay, much better, becaufe they have ho Prejudices or Prepoffeffions to tincture and dif- colour their Minds. Such innate Notions as thefe, I grant we have none, and I never thought that we had; nor do I believe, did ever any Man of Senfe think fo ; and therefore Mr. Lock has dnd a Future State. $7 has no Adverfary here. I do believe that moft of the certain and ufeful Notions we have, are innate ; and yet Idoubt not but our actual Know ledge is acquired, and poffibly much in the fame way that Mr. Lock reprefents it : For I fuppofe he does not think, that either he himfelf, or any Body elfe, did at firft form their Notions of Things in fuch art artificial Manner as he has defcribed. But then this acquired Knowledge, as far as it relates to innate Ideas, is not form ing and Making Notions, but finding them : They Were in the Mind before, though not feen and difcover'd ; but by Reafoning, Expe rience, and Obfervation, and by a diligent Search of our Minds, we bring them into view; and then we can difcover by whatTrain of Thoughts, and by what external Notices We found theih. And this Mr. Lock miftakes for making Ideas; and thinks it a, fufficient Confutation of their being innate, if he can fhew by what Means we may come to know them : Whereas thofe Who affert innate Ideas, may allow of much the fame Methods for the Difcovery of them, as he does to make them. And therefore if he would have carried his Point, he was concern'd to prove, that if there be innate Ideas, they muft be known by their jdwn Light, without Study, Reafoning, Obfervation, or any exter nal Notices ; and that if the Mind had no in nate Ideas, yet it could furnifh it felf with fuch Ideas by the Method he has preferib'd. Both Which he takes for granted, without one Word of Proof; though he knows we deny them both. .-,, Thisis Matter of greater Confequence, than Perfons unacquainted with the Secret Would H apprehend; 9 8 Of the Immortality of the Soul, apprehend ; and therefore I fhall ftate it as plainly as poffiblf I can, and fhew what I mean by innate Ideas, and for what Reafons I believe them to be innate. Now I confefs I am of Opinion, that the Mind is fo far from being a Rafa Tabula, that it is plentifully furnifhed with all Ideas of Truth, which are the Seeds and Principles of all the Knowledge we have, or ever fhall have ; that we cannot form any one true Notion, but what is founded in fome connate Ideas. But that which I fhall infift on at prefent, is this, That all eternal Verities, which have a neceffary and immutable Truth, whether they be firft Principles and Maxims of Reafon, or abftracted and intelligible Ideas of fome real Things, or the neceffary and unavoidable Con- clufions of Reafon, are innate : And my Rea fons for it are thefe. i. That thefe eternal Truths were never made, and therefore not made by the Mind. 2. That thefe univerfal Maxims, and abftracted Ideas, have no other Exiftence, but in a Mind. 2. That if they were not originally in the Mind, they can never be imprinted on the Mind from without. t. As for the firft, I fuppofe no Man will fay, that the Mind can make an eternal Truth ; for what is eternal can't be made; and there fore the Mind Can only fee and find out eter nal TrUths ; and when it has found them out, fees that they are no Fictions of its own, but that they are eternal, that they always were true, and always will be fo, before the Mind knew and a Future State. 99 knew them, and tho' there were no created mind to fee them. So that all Men are fenfible, that they do not malce fuch Notions, as always were, and always will be true; and yet in thefe confifts the Certainty of our Knowledge, and that univerfal Cohfent which is among Mankind ; both which would be impoffible^ had Men the making of their own Notions. No Man could be certain that he form'd his Notions right, becaufe there Would be no Cer tain Marks and Criterions of Truth : And it is not probable, were this the Cafe, that two Men would form their Notions in all things alike to one another. We all know fuch Truths, as foon as we fee them, as the Eye knows Light and Colours ; we know them only by feeing them, and by having a clear and diftinct Perception of them, which fatisfies us that they are h, and cannot be otherwife : And all Men who fee them, fee them the fame ; which is the only univerfal Confent we urge, to prove any thing natural or innate. Not that all Men fee and know them, much lefs Idiots, and Children, and Savages; but that all Men, who do fee them, have the fame Conceptions of them, and agree in their Truth and Certainty ; nay, that all Men, to whom they are fairly propofed, if their Minds be not prepoffefled, muft fee and own them for eternal Truths. All eternal .Truths then had a Being, before our Minds did fee or difcover them : And I will not dif pute with Mr. Lock about the Number of them ; for we know not their Number, and never fhall in this World. But whatever the Mind fees, when it does difcover it, to have an eternal and neceffary. Truth ; as, not only fome few Maxims H 2 of i oo Of the Immortality of the Soul, Of Reafon, as that it is impoffible that any thing fhould be and not be at the fame time; that if you add Equals to Equals, they will be ftill equal, and the like : But all the Demon ftrations of Mathematicks, and all the Powers of Numbers, and all abftracted Ideas, which we fee, contain the poffible Ideas of Things, and always were, and always will be true and real Ideas of fomething poffible to be, whether we fee, or know them, or not ; in a word, all thofe Ideas and Notions, which as foon as we fee them, by what means foever we difcover'd them, we fee to have a neceffary and eternal Truth ; it is demonftrable that fuch Truths Were not made, but only found out by the Mind. For it is a pretty odd Power of the Mind to make an Idea or Notion, which, as foon as it has rnade it, it muft acknowledge to be eternal, and therefore never made. 2. Since then there are eternal unmade Ideas, they muft fubfift fomewhere : Now we all know, that Ideas and Notions can fubfift on ly in a Mind, juft as Knowledge only can. There is no Idea in the whole World, but ei ther in the eternal, or in created Minds. That See Dr. there are eternal Truths, is a good Argument Cud- that there is an eternal Mind ; for no Truths Intelle- can ^e eterna'j which had no eternal Being; ^^lw^M>M}^^^5ta^i>ti&iSaatii&M^ SECT. IV. The Immortality of the Soul pfov'd, from ¦ the Natural 'Defires of Immortality , and the Juftice of the 'Divine Trovi- dence. 3 . A Nother Natural and Moral Argument jLX. for the Immortality of the Soul, is that Defire of Immortality, which Nature hath implanted in all Mankind. I fhall firft confider the Matter of Fact. And zdly, The Force of the Argument. As for the firft, There feems to be no great Difficulty to prove, That all Men naturally de fire to live for ever. Let every Man confult his own Inclinations, and try whether it be fo or not. To love Life and Being, is as Natural as to love our felves : For Self-love is nothing elfe but the Love of our own Being and Happinefs. And if we muft always love Life, we muft al ways defire to live. And therefore if Self-love and Self-prefervation be Natural, the Defire of Immortality muft be fo too. But befides this, Tully thinks it a great Ar gument of this Natural Defire of Immortality, That Men, efpecially thofe of the greateft and braveft Minds, are fo much concern'd to pro pagate their Narries and Memory to Pofterity; fome by Children, others by lafting Monuments of ill Of the Immortality of the Soulj of their Wit and Learning; others by coftly and magnificent Buildings; others by great and memorable Actions, which may eternize their Fame : Which, he tells us, is the great Spring of all thofe brave and generous Actions, for which Men can expect no Reward, but Fame and Glory after Death : And is very pofitive in it, That no Man ever facrificed his Life for his Countrey, but upon fuch Hopes as thefe. Now can any Man imagine, that he, who defires his Name fhould live after Death, does not more naturally and paffionately defire that he himfelf may do fo ; The defire of perpetuating our Me mory, is only the Effect of the Defire of Im mortality; and a very lorry Immortality this is, when that which is remembred with Praife and Glory, is nothing it felf. If Nature has made us Mortal, how fhould it imprint in us fuch a vain and fruitlefs defire to counterfeit an Immortali ty, which is nothing to us ? For what Matter is it, how foon we are forgot, if we are nothing our felves? What does a good or a bad Report fignify, when we neither feel the Glory nor the Shame of it? I grant, That as Natural as this Defire oflm* mortality is, fome Men may as paffionately de* fire, againft the Defire of Nature, to fall into Nothing. For the Original Defire of Nature, is not merely to be, but to be happy : So that if any Man has fo liv'd, as to lofe the Hopes of Immortal Happinefs, and to expect nothing but Eternal Mifery, if he be Immortal ; it is no Wonder that he fhould rather chufe not to be, than to be Miferable for ever. For thus it is with refpect to this prefent Life : We know Life is fweet, and it is a pleafant thing for the Eye and a Future State. 113 Eye to behold the Sun : but yet Men may fall under fuch infupportable Misfortunes, as to make them hate Life, and court the King of Terrors ; nay , force themfelves upon him , when they are weary of his Delays. And yet the Love of Life is very natural, though fome miferable People may be impatient of it. Thefe very Men, who are afraid of living after Death , leaft they fhould be miferable after Death too , would be very glad to live always in this World ; nay, would be glad to live after Death too, and infinitely prefer it before not being, could you affure them that they fhould be happy, nay, that they fhould not be extremely miferable. Which fhews what the Inclinations of Nature are; that it is not Immortality they defpife , either in this World or in the next, but they are afraid of a miferable Eternity. Which I take to be the true Reafon of the greater Increafe of In fidelity in a Chriftian Nation, than ever there was in the Pagan World : Becaufe the Gofpel of Chrift threatens wicked Men with fuch endlefs and unconceivable Miferies, as force them, in their own defence, obftinately to reject the moft demonftrative Proofs of ano ther Life. If you fay, 'Tis true, all Mankind do de fire to be immortal, but then the natural De fire of Immortality, is.to be immortal with out dying ; to live immortal Lives in this World ; which feems very evident from the natural Fear and;Averfion to dying, which is as univerfal as the Defire of Immortality; and therefore this cannot prove that the De- I fire 114 ®f fhe Immortality of the Soul, fire of immortal Life after Death, is natural; for this is not the firft original Defire of hu man Nature: Or however fuch Defires can no more prove that we fhall be immortal af ter Death, than our natural Averfion to dy ing, proves we fhall never die. In anfwer to this I grant, Firft, That the firft and moft natural Defire of Immortality, is to be immortal without dying 3 for this was the original State of human Nature : And it is no wonder that our natural Defires anfwer to our natural State. Man was made for Immortality ; if not to live always in this World, yet never to die. Death was the Punifhment of Sin ; by Man Sin enter 'd in to the World, and Death by Sin- And there fore we can have no original, immediate No tion of dying, or of living after Death : For neither Death, nor a Life after Death is, the original State of Nature : Death is the Pu nifhment of Sin , and eternal Life is the Gift of God, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. This is that which hasobfcur'd our natural Eviden ces for Immortality: We have a natural Be lief and Perfuafion of our own Immortality, » and a natural Defire to be immortal; but then we fee that all Men die, and by the Ex perience of all the reft of the World, we know that we our felves muft die : And this is the Difficulty, how to reconcile this natu ral Belief and Defire of Iminortality, with / the Certainty of Dying. This made the com mon People, who never confider'd this Obje ction, but attended only to^thj; Voice of Na ture, to the natural inbred Perfuafion and Defire of Immortality, more firmly to believe a future and a Future State. 1 1 y a future State, than many of their Philofo phers did ; who were very fenfible that Death was a great Objection againft the natural Be lief of Immortality ; and yet they wanted fome more direct and pofitive Proof of a Life after Death , than mere Nature could give them. And this abated the natural Evi dence of another Life, and redue'd the Mat ter to fome high moral Probabilities : This being the wifeft thing they could do in fuch a Cafe, to believe, and hope, and reafon on Nature's fide : Efpecially fince this natural Belief, and natural Defire of Immortality , was too powerful to be conquer'd by the Certainty of Dying : That though all Men certainly knew that they muft die, yet they ftill believ'd and hoped to live after Death. Which is a good Argument, that Death, in it felf confider'd, is no natural Proof againft the Soul's Immortality ; though the natural Belief and Defire of Immortality, is a ftrong natural Evidence for it. 2. Therefore I obferve farther; That though Immortality without dying, is ¦ the original Defire, as it is "the original State of human Nature, yet the natural Defire of Im mortality is not confin'd to any one State of Life : But the adequate Object of this De fire, is to live, and to be happy for ever. To live always in this World, is not the natural Defire of Immortality , but to live always. Wife and good Men are eafily wean'd froni this World; are very well contented ; nay, many times are very defirous to get out of it: And no Man will fay, that God difappoints our natural Defires and Hopes , if he make I 2 US 1 1 6 Of the Immortality of the Soul, us immortal in another World, though we die here. For no Man will fay , we are not immortal, becaufe we die, if our Souls live for ever in another State. Now if the na-1 tural Belief and Defire of Immortality, is not confin'd to this World , Death is no Argu ment againft either. Though Men may be very fond of this Life, and very unwilling to leave a World they know, for an unknown State ; yet a Life after Death gratifies our natural Defire of Immortality : And there fore the generality of Men ftill believe and defire immortal Life, though they know they muft certainly die; which could not be, had the natural Notion of Immortality been an immortal Life in this World. This is fuffi cient to fhew, that thus in fact it is, That all Men naturally defire to live for ever. 2. Let us now confider the Force of this Argument ; how far thefe natural Defires of Immortality , prove that we are by Nature immortal. For is there any thing in the World more extravagant than fome Men's Defires are? And is this an Argument, that we fhall have whatever we defire; becaufe we fondly and paffionately, anditmaybe, ve ry unreasonably defire it ? And therefore to explain the Force of this Argument, I fhall obferve two things, i. That all natural Paf fions and Appetites are immediately implanted in our Nature by God. And, z. That all natural Paffions have their natural Objects. As for the firft, It is certain, as I have al ready fhewn at large , That our Paffions and Appetites are the Life and Senfe of the Soul, without which it would be dead and itupid, without and a Future State. 117 withoutany Principle of Vital Senfation. For what is Life, without Fear, and Love, and Hope, and Defire, and fuch like Paffions , whereby we feel all things elfe, and feel our felves? Now whatever Fancies Men may have about our Notions and Ideas, that they may come into our Minds from without, and be form'd by external Impreffions; yet no Man will be fo abfurd as to fay, That exter nal Objects can put a Principle of Life into us ; and then they can create no new Paffions in us, which are effential to our Natures, and muft be the Work of that God who made us. And therefore, z. Every natural Defire muft have its natural Object to anfwer that Defire ; or elfe the Defire was made in vain ; which is a Reproach to our wife Maker, if he have laid a Neceffity on us, of defiringthat which is not in Nature, and therefore cannot be had. We may as well fuppofe, that God has made Eyes without Light, or Ears with out Sounds, as that he has implanted any De fires in us, which he hath made nothing to anfwer. There is no one Example can be given ,of this in any kind whatfoever: For fhould any Man be fo extravagant, as to de fire to fly in the Air, to walk upon the Sea, and the like; you would not call thefe the Defires of Natures, becaufe our Natures are not fitted for them : But all the Defires which are founded in Nature, have their natural Ob jects. And can we then think, that the moft natural and moft neceffary Defire of all, has nothing to anfwer it ? That Nature fhould teach, us above all things to defire Immorta- fyyf which, is, not to be had ? Efpecially when ' ' I 3 if 1 1 8 Of the Immortality of the *> out, it is the moft noble and generous Defire of human Nature; that which moft of all be comes a reafonable Creature to defire; nay, that which is the governing Principle of all our Actions, and muft give Law s to all our other Paffions, Defires, and Appetites. What a ttrange Creature has God made Man, if he deceive him in the moft fundamental and moft univerfal Principle of Action ; which makes his whole Life nothing elfe but one continued Cheat and Impoiiure? No, you'll fay, God does not deceive Men, but they deceive themfelves ; and change the natural Love of Life, and the Principle of Self-Prefervation, into a natural Defire of Im mortality; and then haftily conclude, that they are immortal, becaufe they defire to be fo: Whereas this is nothing elfe but the Principle of Self-Prefervation, which is im planted in Brute Creatures, as well as Man, who by Nature are afraid of every thing that may hurt them, and have a natural Sagacity to preferve their own Lives. Now had thefe Creatures a Principle of Reafon and Under ftanding, this natural Care and Inftinct to preferve themfelves would turn into a Defire never to die ; that is, into a Defire of Im mortality. For a knowing and reafonable Creature, who has a natural Principle of Self- love, and Self-prefervation, muft defire never to die, which is the neceffary effect of loving Life. And this is the only Difference be tween Men and Brutes ; the Principle of Self- prefervation is the femein both,; but this ad- mir'd Reafon deceives Men into the vain Hopes and Defires of Immortality, which Brutes and a Future State. lip Brutes never think of. This is the moft plau- fible thing that can be faid, to weaken this Evidence of the natural Defires of Immorta lity; That they are no more than the natural Principle pf Self-prefervation, which is in Brute Creatures themfelves ; and therefore it no more proves Men to be immortal, than it does Brutes. I have mention'd this the ra ther, becaufe 'tis the beft, and the only rea fonable thing they have to fay : And a plain Anfwer to it will give great Evidence and Authority to this Argument. For, i . Will any Man fay , That there is no difference between a Principle of Self-prefer vation, or a Defire to preferve this Life as long as we can; and a pofitive exprefs De fire to live for ever ? Had Man no Notion of Immortality , cou'd any Creature that has Senfe, be without the Principle of Self-pre fervation ? I appeal to thefe Men, who be lieve or hope that there is no Life after this, Whether they do not with the greater Rea fon defire to preferve this Life as long as they can ? Which proves, That to defire to live as long as we can in this World, and to de fire to live for ever, are two very different Defires, becaufe they may be parted. 2. Tis very evident, that a Principle of Self-Prefervation relates only to that prefent State in which we are : For the natural De fire of Self-Prefervation, is to preferve our felves what we are. And this proves that it is a very diftinct Principle from the Defire of Immortality, in thofe who know that they muft certainly die, that they cannot continue I 4 always 120 Of the Immortality of the Soul, always what they are, but hope for and defire an immortal Life in fome other unknown State. Thofe who do moft firmly believe, and moft paffionately defire another Life, yet do apparently diftinguifh thefe two Princi ples. In ordinary Cafes, though they defire Immortality, which they know cannot be had in this World, yet they take all the care they can to preferve this mortal Life: The natural Law and Inftinct of Sclf-prefer- vation lnys this Obligation upon them, and they religiouiy obferve it. But then when they are cail'd on to facrincc this prefent Life, for the Sake of God and their moft Holy Faith, the Hope and Defire of Immor tality conquers this natural Principle of Self- preicrvation, and they willingly and chearful- ly rcfign this mortal and perifhing Life, to live for ever: Which evidently proves, that the Defire of Immortality is not merely the natural Love of Life, and the natural Princi ple of Self-prefervation ; for they are two di ftinct Defires, when they 'are not parted; and they may be, and often are parted, both in bad and good Men. Atheifts and Infidels, who believe no Life after this, have yet this Principle of Self-picfervation, and will live as long as they can in this World; and good Men renounce this Principle of Self-prefer vation, of preferving this mortal Life , for the Defire and certain Hopes of immortal Life. And, 3. That Self-Love and Self-Prefervation do naturally lead all reafonable Creatures to the Defire of Immortality , I think a very good Argument to prove that all reafonable Creatures and a Future State. 121 Creatures are Immortal; unlefs the very Frame and Conftitution of their Natures does neceffarily and unavoidably cheat them into fond and foolifh Hopes. No Man will de ny, that Self-Love and Self-Prefervation are neceflary and unavoidable Principles ; and if there be a neceffary Connexion between thefe Principles iri all reafonable Creatures, which is not in Brutes, who have no Under ftanding , it is as neceffary and unavoidable for reafonable Creatures to defire Immorta lity, as to love themfelves and their own Be ing : And greater natural Neceffity than this there cannot be. And why fhould God im- •pofe a Neceffity of defiring Immortality up on all reafonable Creatures, if they fhall never have it ? Certainly no Creature, if it be wifely made, ought to have any natural Appetite and Inclination to a higher Degree of Happinefs, than its Nature is capable of. And therefore, if the Defire of Immortality be natural and un avoidable to a reafonable Creature, who loves himfelf and his own Being, it is a good natu ral Reafon to believe, that God has made all reafonable Creatures for Immortality. 4. The laft Moral Argument I fhall men tion for a Future State, relates to the Juftice of the Divine Providence : But this I have A Prafi explain'd fo largely upon another Occafion , cal ¦DiI" that I fhall but juft mention it here. Tiutui The Sum of the Argument is this ; That judg- we have the natural Notions of the Diffe- ment. fences between Good and Evil, and of their different Deferts ; that good Men deferve to be rewarded, and the Wicked to be punifh ed : That we have as natural a Belief of a Provi- Ill Of the Immortality of the Soul, Providence, as we have of a God, that made the World ; for the Maker of the World muft be the Sovereign Lord of it: That this God is a juft and righteous Judge, who will render to every Man according to his Works : That though there are many remarkable De monftrations of the Wifdom and Juftice of God in this World, yet Juftice is not fo equal ly adininiftred here, as to anfwer thofe natu ral Notions we have of the Juftice of the Divine Government : For many good Men, who deferve veiy well of the World, many times fuffer very feverely , even for the fake of that Good they do, and for which they deferve a Regard ; and very bad Men flourifh and profper m their Wickednefs, are crown ed with Succefs and Triumph , feldom meet with any great Misfortunes while they live, and die in Peace. That unlefs there be ano ther Life after this, many good Men will mifs of a Reward, and many bad Men efeape Punifhment; ali things will feem to happen by chance, and Virtue and Vice muft take their Fortune in this World juft as it hap pens : Which confounds all our natural No tions of Good and Evil , and of the Juftice of God; and yet all Mankind have a natural Senfe of a good and juft Providence, which governs the World. Good Men, though they are great Sufferers, yet are full of great Hopes ; nay, have the more joyful and tran-> fporting Hopes of a Reward, the more they fuffer, and when they never expect that their Sufferings either can, or will be recompensed in this World : And bad Men are tormented with guilty Fears, though their Power be formi- and a Future State. 123 formidable to all the World befides; though there be no vifible Judge to call them to an account, yet their own Confciences make them tremble, and they daily expect fome in- vifible Vengeance to purfjue them ; efpecially the leaft Approach of Death puts them into Agonies and Fears , and they go into the other World Self-condemn'd , expecting to find there the juft Recompence of all the Mifchiefs they have done here. If all this be Dream and Fancy, 'tis a ftrange Fairy Land and enchanted World we live in ; we have not one true Notion of any thing ; either thefe Principles, which we find flick moft clofe to us are all falfe, or we know not how to draw one true Conclufion from them ; Nature and our moft natural Notions and Ideas are as mere Riddles, Myfteries, and Contradictions, as thefe Men pretend all Revelation to be. Thus I have fhewn you, what natural and moral Proofs we have of the Immortality of the Soul , and a Future State : And now I fhall briefly fum up the Evidence, and fee what it amounts to. And if we have all the Evidence that Reafon and Nature can poffi bly give us in fuch a Caufe, we have all the natural Evidence that any wife confidering Man can expect. Let any reafonable Man then- confider, what Evidence he would expect from mere Nature, of the Immortality of the Soul. Now it is certain , this Evidence muft be from within, not from without ; we muft findit in, our felves, not in the vifible Creation : For the external Frame and Conftitution of the World cannot prove human Souls to be Im- 3 mortal, 124 Of the Immortality of the Soul, mortal, as it proves the Being of a God, who made it. If Nature then can difcover the Immortality of the Soul, it muft be our own Nature; and if we muft learn our own Im mortality by reflecting upon our felves, there can be no other way of doing this, but by confidering what the Nature of the Soul is, or what its natural Notions, Ideas, and Paf fions are. As for the firft, I have fhewn you by all the fairProbabilities that Reafon and Philofophy can furnifh us with, That the Soul is by Na ture immortal, and therefore cannot die \yith the Body, but muft fbrvive in a feparate State; for it is an immaterial Being, perfect ly diftinct from the Body , and independent on it. For as far as we can judge , all that peculiarly belongs to the Soul, fuch as con fcious Life, Senfe, and Underftanding, is not effential to Matter • There is no other thinking, living, reafoning Matter in the World; and therefore there can be no Rea fon to fay, that the Soul, which is a think ing, underftanding, reafoning Being, is mere Matter. And if Life, Senfe, and Underftand ing be not eflentiol to Matter, as it is certain they are not, becaufe all Matter has not Ljfe, Senfe and Underftanding; it is very unreaso nable to think they fhould be in any Subject to which they do not effen tially belong ; for they are not tranfient mutable Accidents , but the moft real effential Things in Nature : And yet if there be no Subject or Nature, to which they effentially belong, they are mere perifh ing Accidents, which might never have been, and may never be again. Befides and a Future State. 125 Befides this, there is no natural Connexion between Matter, and the Affections of Mat ter, and Thinking; nay, as I have fhewn you , there is a natural Incapacity in Matter to think : For all Thoughts and Ideas are immaterial, and immaterial Thoughts and Ideas can never be lodg'd in Matter. Now, though I will not fay, that thefe are demon- ftrative Arguments of the immaterial and fpi- ritual Nature of the Soul, becaufe we can't pretend to fuch a perfect Knowledge of the Nature, either of Body or Spirit, as willa- mount to a Dernonftration; yet I will fay, that the moft vifible Advantage is on that fide ; that thefe are better natural Arguments to prove the Soul to be a Spirit, than any that can be produc'd to prove it to be mere Matter: And if it be a Spirit, it may five when the Body dies. Nay, we have feveral moral Arguments to prove that the Soul can fubfift and be happy in a State of Separation from the Body : For the Soul has a Happinefs proper and peculiar to it felf, fuch as the Pleafures of Wifdom, and Knowledge, and Virtue, and Religion, which are immediately feated in the Mind, and have no relation to the Body, any other- wife than as the Soul lives and acts in the Body, and governs all its Motions : And yet thefe are the greateft and divineft Pleafures, and thefe the Soul is capable of in a feparate State. And if it have a Happinefs indepen dent on the Body, it muft have a Principle of Life independent on the Body alfo. 'And yet our Souls never attain their juft Perfection of this intellectual and fjpiritual Happinefs , while ; i6 Of the Immortality of the Soul, while they live in thefe Bodies, ibut make a gradual Progrefs toward Perfection ; which is a good Argument that this Life is only a State of Trial and Probation for a more perfect Life. For can we think , that when the Soul has arriv'd to the greateft Improvements it can make in this Body , it fhall immediately fall into nothing? Thefe are very fenfible Argu ments for the Immortality of the Soul ; and if they prove no more, yet certainly they prove thus much, That the Soul cannot die as the Body does, but may live and be happy in a feparate State. And, this alone is enough to confound the Philofophy, and to deftroy the unnatural Hopes and vain Security of In fidels. But the next Argument, I think, carries this a little higher, That all Mankind have a natural Senfe and Perfuafion of their own Immortality. For it is not eafy to conceive, were human Souls mortal, how it fhould come to pafs that all Men fhould agree in this Belief, That their Souls are immortal. But when we have fo many Arguments to prove that our Souls are immortal, the uni verfal Confent of Mankind in this Belief is a very good Argument to prove it to be the Voice and Senfe of Nature : For it is reafo nable to think, that if the Soul be immortal, it fhould have fome natural Senfe of its own Immortality. Efpecially, if to this we add that univerfal Defire of Immortality, which confirms the univerfal Belief of it. That thefe Defires are univerfal , proves that they are natural ; and the Defires of Nature never rife above it felf. And and a Future State. 127 And therefore a mortal Nature cannot natu rally defire Immortality : Nor can that Na ture be mortal, which has a natural Senfe and Defire of Immortality. Thefe natural Defires of Immortality confirm our natural Senfe and Belief of it : For natural Defires muft be founded in a natural Senfe and Knowledge; and the natural Belief and Perfuafion of Im mortality confirms all the natural Arguments for it. And fuch a concurrent Teftimony as this, is all that we can defire or expect from mere Nature; efpecially when all this agrees with all thofe other Notions we find in our Minds concerning the Difference of Good and Evil, and the Juftice of the divine Pro vidence, in rewarding good Men, and punifh- ing the Wicked; and the natural Hopes and Fears of good and bad Men. I fay , laying all this together, if there be any fuch thing as a moral Dernonftration, I think this may very fairly lay claim to it. I am not fenfible that any thing material can be objected againft any of thefe Arguments, taken fingly; but as they are fupported by each other, there is fuch a Harmony and Confent, as can be ow ing to nothing but Nature; and therefore I hope will be of fome Authority with thofe who reject all other Means of Knowledge. I only defire they would believe with us, till they can produce as great and concurrent ¦ an Evidence of Nature on the other fide. And yet, Thanks be to God, we are in a much better State than this, and have greater and better Evidence than mere Nature can give us. As will appear from what follows. CHAP. 2 8 Of the Immortality of the Soul, CHAP. III. What farther Evidence the Law ofMofesgivesus, of the Immor- • tality of the Soul, and a Future State. SECT. I. The Mofaical Evidence for the Imma- , terialky of the Soul. HAving fhewn what Natural Evidence we have for the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State; the next ftep is, to confider what farther Evidence the Mo faical Revelation gives us of this. It is very certain that the whole Jewifh Nation, except the Sadducees, which was but a late Sect, and whom our Saviour himfelf confuted out of their own Law, did firmly believe another Life after this : And yet we do not find any exprefs literal Promife of Immortal Life made to good Men under the Law. They had in deed all that Evidence for the Immortality of the Soul, which Nature gives the reft of Man kind; but then they believed another Life, without ahd a Future State'. i 2p ¦Without all thofe fabulous Stories, which re- prefented it as ridiculous to wife Men, and beliey'd it with greater Certainty than the Pagan Philofophers did : Which is an Argu ment that they had more certain Evidence for it than the Heathen World had. And therefore, for the greater Confirmation of our Faith, 'tis WOrth" enquiring, What Evi dence' the Jewijh Church had of a Future State, before Life and Immortality were brought to Light by the Gofpel. That Anfwer which Abraham gave Dives, when he defir'd him to fend Lazarus to affure his Brethren of that place of Torment which was prepar'd for Wicked Men in the other World, They have Mofe? and the Prophets ; let them hear them : And if they believe not Mo - fes and the Prophets, neither will they be per- fuaded, though one rife from the Dead: I fay, this proves that Abraham thought there was fufficient Evidence in the Law and the Pro phets, to convincfc any Man of another Life, and of the Rewards and Punifhments of good and bad Men. And I fhall endeavour to fhew you, as plainly as I can, what this Evidence is ; and how far it exceeds that Evidence which the mere Light of Nature gives us. We muft indeed argue upon a Suppofition of the Divine Authority of the Mofaical Reve lation; which, whatever fome amongft us now think of it, it is certain the Jews did moft firmly believe, and do fo to this Day. And my Bufinefs at prefent is, not to prove the Divine Authority of Mofes and the Pro phets, but only to fhew you what greater E- vidence thofe, who did believe Mofes and the K Pro- 1 3 o Of the Immortality of the Soul, Prophets, had of another Life, than the mere Light of Nature furnifh'd the reft of Man kind with. Firft then I obferve, That all the Natural and Moral Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul, and a Future State, receive a new Confirmation from the Law of Mofes. To reprefent this plainly to you, I fhall take a Re view of thofe Natural and Moral Arguments, which I have already enferc'd from the Light of Nature, and Dictate's of Reafon, and fhew you what an Additional Strength the Mofai cal Revelation has given to them. The firft Natural and Moral Argument for the Immortality of the Soul, is the Immate riality of it ; the Account of which, to fave Tranfcribing, you may fee above. Now all this, which the Light of Reafon and Nature gives us fuch high Probabilities of, the Mo faical Hiftory of the Creation confirms be yond all doubt ; as will appear, if we confi der thefe following Things. i. That Account which Mofes gives of the Creation of Man, Gen. z.j. And the Lord God form 'd Man of the Duft of the Earth, and breath' d into his No ft r Us the Breath of Life, and Man became a living Soul. This is a ve ry different Account from what Mofes gives us of the Formation of all other Creatures; and reprefents the peculiar Dignity of Man, by that peculiar Care which God exprefs'd in making him. In the firft Chapter he repre fents God as confulting and advifing about it: And God; faid, Let us make Man in our Image, after our Likenefs, f. z6. And here, That he form'd Man of the Duft of the Earth, and breatl/d and a Future State. , 131 breathed into his Noftrils the Breath of Life.K Which proves the real diftindtion bet ixt Soul and Body, and their very different Ori ginals : God firft formd the Body of Man, and then breath 'd into him the Breath of Life. So that the Soul is not the Crafis and Tem perament of the Body, nor any part of if, nor of the fame Nature with it, but a diftinct Principle, immediately infufed by God. V/hen the Body was perfectly form'd by a Divine Art and Incomprehenfible Wifdom, then God breath'd into it the Breath of Life. Now God's breathing, which is a Metaphorical Expreffion, muft fignify his immediate Pro duction ; that tho' the Soul be no part of the Divine Effence, yet it is a kind of Natural Pro duction, as Breath is,', and nearly refembles its Maker : Which exprefly diftinguifhes theO- riginal of Soul and Body ; the Soul is the Breath of God, the Body is form'd of the Duft. And we may obferve farther, That the Body is originally without Life and Senfe : When God form'd it, it was very Artificial; but a dead ftupid Lump of Earth, till God breath'd into it the Breath of Life, and then Man became a Living Soul. Now this Account of God's making Man, gives us the true Philofophy of Human Souls, and confirms all that I have already difeours'd upon this Argument : For here we fee that the Soul is Immaterial ; for it was not made of Matter, of the Duft of the Earth, as the Bo dy was, but by the Breath of God : It has an immediate Divine Original, and has a near Refemblance to the Purity and Spirituality of the Divine Effence : And this proves, beyond K 2 all 132 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, all difpute, that it is not Mortal and Corrup tible, as the Body is. It is evident from this Account of God's making Man, that the Soul is the only Prin ciple of Life, Senfation, and Knowledge, and all that ftrictly belongs to a reafonable Na ture ; that the Body is only,the Organ and In- ftrument ofthe Soul, but has no Life, or Senfe, or Thought, or Reafon of its own, for all this it receiv'd by God's breathing into it the Breath of Life : And therefore as the Body had no Life or Senfe, before the Soul was breath'd into it, fo it is no great Wonder if it be the fame dead, ftupid, fenflefs Matter, when the Soul is remov'd from it. But this I hope does not prove, that, becaufe the Soul gives Life to the Body, therefore it dies with it too. It is an evident Dernonftration that the Life of the Body depends upon the Soul, but it does as plainly prove, that the Life ofthe Soul does «e*-depend upon the Body : And therefore the mere Death of the Body can never prove the Death of the Soul. There is no appearance of Reafon, to prove that the Soul dies with the Body ; but very great Reafon to prove it does not, becaufe the Soul has a Principle of Life in it felf. Now let any Man judge, how much great er Evidence this is of the Immateriality, and confequently Immortality ofthe Soul, than what the mere Light of Reafon and Philofo phy gives us. We conclude, and that with the higheft Philofophical Probability, that the Soul is Immaterial, and therefore does not die with the Body, becaufe it is a Living, Thinking, Reafoning Being ; which, accord- * ing and a Future State. ing as we can judge by all the Appearances of Nature, Matter is not capable of; and this the wifeft Men and the beft Philofophers have acquiefced in. But the Mofaical Account of the Creation of Man, leaves no room for mere Probabilities and Conjectures, and different Hypothefes in Philofophy; but plainly tells us, That the Body was form'd by God ofthe Duft of the Earth, without any Life and Senfe, but was animated and quickned by the Living Soul which God breath'd into it. So that Life, Senfation, and all Intelle ctual Powers and Faculties, are immediately feated in the Soul ; and the Body is only an Organ and Inftrument to convey external Im preffions to the Soul, whereby it converfes with this Material World . And then we may as well conclude, That a Mufician dies when his Mufical Inftruments are out of Tune, and broken, as that the Soul dies with the Body. 2. To affure us of the Divine Original and Divine Nature of the Soul, Mofes acquaints us, That Man was made in the Image and Likenefs of God. Let us make Man in our I- mage, after our Likenefs , Gen. i . z6. Now let any Man judge what this Image and Like nefs of -God muft fignify. A little Reafon and Philofophy will fatisfy us, that this can not relate to the Body, but the Soul : For God has no Body, and therefore no external Shape and Figure : And therefore this Like nefs and Similitude muft fignify fome more Spiritual Refemblance of the Divine Nature and Perfections. God is a Spirit; and there fore a created Spirit approaches nearer the Divine Nature than Body does. God is Gri ft 3 ginal 3$ 3 4 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, ginal infinite Mind; and therefore all Intelle ctual Perfections, fuch as Knowledge, and Wifdom, and Liberty of Choice, have the neareft Refemblance to the Nature of God. God is perfect Rectitude, Juftice, Goodnefs, Truth; and therefore fuch Moral Perfections, the Notions and Ideas of which are imprint ed on the Mind, are our Spiritual Conformi ty to the Divine Nature. And herein Chrift and his Apoftles place our Likenefs and Con formity to God; when we are renew 'd in the Spirit of our Minds, and created after God in Righteoufnefs and true -Holinefs, 'tis call'd tbe new Creature, and the Divine Nature. This is the Original Conftitution of Human Na ture ; and it is certain no reafonable Creature can be like to God without it. That Argument which fome urge againft this, feems to me of no Confideration all, wz. That if Man be faid to be made after the I- mage and Likenefs of God, with refpect to his Soul, to his Natural Faculties ofReafon and Will, or to his Moral Perfections ; then Angels may with much greater Reafon be faid to be made after the Image of God. Tru ly I think fo too : But what the Inconveni ence of this is, I cannot tell. Angels are call'd the Sons of God in a more eminent Senfe than Man is, and a Son muft partake of his Fa ther's Nature: And therefore if Angels be by Nature the Sons of God, they are made after his Image and Likenefs; and as much liker to God than Men are, as they are more perfect and excellent Spirits.- And that they are ne ver faid in Scripture to be made after the Like nefs of God, is no great Wonder, fince we < ~i have and a Future State. 1 3 r have no particular Account given us of the Creation of Angels; and if there had, there had not been the fame Reafon to mention this as in the Creation of Man: For there can be no doubt that pure and perfect Spirits are made after the Image of God, that Eternal Infinite Spirit, of whom we can have no fuch perfect created Image as pure Spirits. But Man be ing a compounded Creature of Body and Spi rit, it was fitting to let us know our Divine Original, and what a near Relation and Like nefs we bear to God. Others place this Likenefs of God only in that Dominion God gave Man over all Crea tures ; as it immediately follows : Let us make Man in our Jmage , after our Likenefs ; and let him have Dominion over the Fifh of the Sea, andover theFowl ofthe Air, andover Caffel^ and over all the Earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth over the Face of the Earth. But thefe Men fhould confider, That to nuke Man, and to give him Authority and Dominion over all Creatures, are two very different things, as different as Nature and Government are. Na tural Dominion is founded in Nature ; and when God faid, Let us make Man in our Image, after our Likenefs, and let him have Dominion over all Creatures ; it fignifies to make Man fuch a Creature, as fhould be ca pable of governing all other Creatures; that is, endow him with Reafon and Underftand ing, which gives him a Natural Dominion o- ver all Brute Creatures : Which proves, that 'tis the reafonable Soul, which is made after God's Image. For it is reafon and Under ftanding, which is the Superior Nature, to K 4 which j 3 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, which the Government of Brute Creatures' does naturally belong. The Image then of God confifts in the Soul, in its natural Powers and Faculties of Underftanding, Reafon, and Will; and in its moral and fpiritual Perfections of Purity and Virtue. And this proves what I difcours'd fo largely before, That the Soul has a Happi nefs of its own, independent on the Body, and therefore may live and be happy in a fe parate State. Our very Union to thefe Bo-! dies, as they are now corrupted and defiled, yery much defaces the Glorjy of this divine Image, and clogs and hinders the Motions and Efforts of the divine Life ; that we can-* not attain to the juft Happinefs and Perfecti on of our Natures here, but are preffing for-* W-ard with Labour and Difficulty, and with various and uncertain Sudceffes, which, as I obferv'd before, is a good Reafon to believe that there is another State of Life, where we fhall attain thefe fpiritual Perfections and Plea fures ; where we fhall live to God, and with that God, after whofe Image and Likenefs we were made, and are now renew'd and fan-> dtify'd by the Power of the holy Spirit. 2. If all this be not thought a direct Proof of the Immortality of the Soul, and that we fhall. live in another State after the Death of thefe Bodies ; we muft obferve farther, that God made Man to be immortal. This is ne- ceffarily fuppos'd, in the threatning of Death upon his Difobedience : Of the Tree of Know ledge of Good &nd Evil* thou fhalt not eat of it\ for in the day that thou eateft thereof thou /halt furely die, Gen. z. 17. Which does, not fig- nify3 and a Future State. 137 nify, that he fhould immediately die, as foon as he had eaten of that forbidden Fruit, as the Event proves ; for he liv'd many hundred Years after it : But the meaning is, that from that Moment hr fhould become mortal, and fhould certainly die, when God faw fit. Now the threatning Adam with Mortality and Death upon his Tranfgreffion, neceffarily proves, that he fhould not have died, had he not eaten the forbidden Fruit. Let us then confider what the Confequence of this is. God made Man to be immortal ; then Man had an immortal Principle of Life ; for God makes no Creature for Immortality, without giving it an immortal Nature, which is its natural Immortality. Now it is certain nothing is capable of im mortal Life, but that which has a Principle of Life in it felf: And therefore 'tis only the Soul which is by Nature immortal, that Breath of Life, which God breath'd into Man, when he had form'd him of the Duft of the Earth. For the Body has no Life of its own, as I have already obferv'd, but is animated and quickned by the Soul. This is a plain Proof of the natural Im mortality of the Soul. Let us then confider what this Death is, with which God threatned Adam for his eating the forbidden Fruit. For you'll fay nothing can fuffer Death, but that which hath a Principle of Life: And there fore, if the Soul only be this Breath of Life, this Threatning muft reach the Soul, which muft be extinguifh'd when the Body dies ; which proves the Mortauty of the Soul, as - well 3 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, well as the Body, as far as this Threatning ex tends. In anfwer to this, we muft confider, i That it contradidts the Methods of divine Provi dence and Government, to deftroy any Na ture which he has made. All Philofophers agree* that though Matter it felf is chang'd into a thoufand different Shapes, yet not any one Particle of it utterly perifhes : Much lefs, .. can we think, that God deftroys any Princi ple of Life, which he has made by" Nature immortal. And therefore, z. We-muft underftand that. Threatning of Death in that Notion, which is not only the common, but the Scripture Notion of Death; that is, for the Death of the Body, which is by Nature mortal ; tho' it fhould have been preferv'd immortal by the Tree of Life. This is what all Mankind call Death, even thofe who believe the Soul to be immortal ; that the Body lofes all Life, and Senfe, and Motion. For this is dying to this World, and to all the Pleafures and En joyments of it. And idly, That this is the Notion of Death, appears from that Sentence denounc'd, againft Adam after his Fall ; Duft thou art, and to Duft thou Jhalt return ; That as his Body, was originally form'd out of the Duft ofthe Earth, fo upon h is Tranfgreffion, he fhould return to the Duft of the Earth again : Which concerns only the Diffolution of that Union hetween Soul and Body, but does not threaten the Death, Annihilation, or Extin>- ction of the Soul : For the Soul was not made of Duft, and therefore can never return to Duft. and a Future State. 139 Duft. And if this Sentence of Death does not relate to the Soul, but only to the Diffo lution of this mortal Body, then though the Body dies, the Soul is immortal ftill : This Breath of Life is not extinguifh'd, tho' the Body return to its original Duft. And this is an Argumeut of great Confequence, becaufe it proves the Immortality of the Soul after Death, as it proves that the Soul is by Nature immortal; and that the Sentence of Death does not extend to the Soul, but only to the Separation of the Soul and Body, and the Diffolution of the Body into Duft. 4. To confirm us in this Belief, That Death does not put an end to us ; we may ob ferve, in what manner the Scripture fpeaks of Dying. We are told of Abraham, that he gave up the ghoft, and died in a good old age ; an old man, and full of years, and was gather'd to his fathers, Gen. 2f. 8. The like we read of Ifaac, That he gave up the ghoft and died; and was gather'd unto his People, Gen. 3 f. 29. Which naturally fuppofes that their Fore fathers, who were dead, did ftill live and fub fift in a feparate State ; and that they went to them when they went out of thefe Bodies.' For, is, Procopius obferves, they could not be gather'd to thofe who were not. We muft not attribute abfurd, or improper Forms of Speech to the Holy Spirit. And yet to fay, That to be gather'd to their People, fignifies no more than to die as their Forefathers did, and to fall into Nothing as they did, is ma- nifeftly abfurd. Certainly David meant fome thing more by it, when (peaking of his Child, which was dead, he faid, I fhall go to him, but 1 40 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, but he fhall not return to me : Which fuppofes, that they fhould meet together in the other World : And that is impoffible without a Life after Death; for two Nothings can never meet. So that if we believe Mofes, we have a very plain and exprefs Proof of the fpiritual and • immortal Nature of human Souls, without concerning our felves with the uncertain Rea- fonings and Conjectures of Philofophy, which are great Secrets to us. For he tells us, that the Soul was not made of Matter, but was imrhediately created by God, and breath'd into the Body, which was form'd of Duft: That it is this Breath of Life, which gives Life, and Senfe, and Motion to the Body; and therefore as it receives not Life from the Body, but gives Life to it, fo it does not de pend on the Body for Life, but can live with out it ; nay, that it has a Principle of a true divine Life, being made after the Image and Likenefs of God ; and therefore is capable of fuch divine Enjoyments and Pleafures, as have no Dependence on the Body : That Man was made to be immortal; and, had he preferv'd his Innocence, would never have fuffer'd fuch a Separation of Soul and Body as we call Death. But however, that the Sentence of Death related only to the mortal part of Man, to his Body which was form'd of Duft, and muft now return to Duft again : But the Soul is immortal ftill, and lives in a feparate State; where good Men when they die meet each other again ; as the Scripture affures us, That they are gather'd to their Fathers. This and a Future State. 141 This is the Mofaical Philofophy concerning the Nature and Origine of human Soul, which agrees with the wifeft and beft Philofophers in their Doctrine of the Soul's Immortality. And this is the beft Confirmation of the Reafon- ings of Philofophy ; that, as to their main "Conclufion, they are confirmed by the moft authentick Hiftory of the Creation. And I hope it may reconcile fome wanton Philofo- phical Wits to Mofes; that in the moft con cerning Point of all, the Immortality of the Soul, his Account is fo ftrictly Philofophieal. And when We have the agreeing Teftimony both of Reafon and Revelation, I hope this will confirm us in the Belief of this moft im portant Article, the Immortality of the Soul. SECT. II. (Concerning the Univerfal Confent in the Belief of a Future State, and the Natural Defires of Immortality. THE fecond natural and moral Argu ment for a future State, I told you, was the univerfal Confent of Mankind in this Be lief. And if this be a good Argument, the Jews had the beft Evidence of it, from the conftant Faith and Tradition of their Fathers. They knew all their Progenitors from Adam to Abraham, and through all fucceffive Gene rations 5 and there was not an Infidel in their whole 142 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, whole Line. They were Men of great Piety and Virtue, who worfhipp'd the one Supreme God ; and God frequently vouchfafed them his Prefence, and convers'd familiarly with them; as the Hiftories of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, abundantly witnefs. So that they could refolve their Faith into a Tradition as old as Adam. And if Adam believ'd another ,Life after this, he muft learn it either imme diately from God, or from the Dictates of Nature ; and could not be miftaken in either. For though Adam was fall'n, we muft not think that he immediately loft all that natu ral Knowledge, wherewith he was created: For the Fall has not that Effect upon us even at this Day ; and there is no Reafon to doubt, but that Adam underftood the Philofophy of Nature better than all the Experiments and Obfervations fince can teach us. That Trial God made of his Knowledge of Creatures, when he brought them to him to fee by what 1 Names he would call them, is a good Evi dence of this; and makes it very probable, that Adam underftood the Immortality of his own Nature from the Principles of Nature and Philofophy, with which he was fo inti mately acquainted. But befides this, though we cannot cer tainly tell how much Adam underftood of that Promife which God made him after his Fall, That the Seed of the Woman Jhould break the Serpent's Head; yet we may reafonably think, that a Man of fo great Underftanding and Sagacity muft apply this to the Redem ption of Mankind from Death. The Ser pent by his Subtilty had deceiv'd our firft Pa rents and a Future State. 1 43 rents into the Tranfgreffion of the Divine Law, which brought Death upon them and their Pofterity; and therefore to ''"break the Serpent's Head, is to deliver Mankind from Death, that Curfe of the Law, which his Malice and Subtilty had betray 'd them to. And I cannot fee how Adam at that time could underftand any thing lefs by it, if he thought it a Promife of Grace and Favour : For nothing but a Promife of a new Life could fupport and comfort him under the • Sentence of Death. And then this Promife did not only affure Adam of the Immortality of his Soul after Death, but gave him reafo nable Hopes of the Refurrection of his Body too : For the Death of the Body is that Curfe which the Serpent had brought upon him; and therefore the Refurrection of the Body effectually difappoints his Malice, and breaks his Head. And thus St. Paul expounds it in the fecond of the Hebrews, 14 and if f. For as much then as the Children are partakers of Flefh and Blood, he alfo himfelf likewife took part of the fame, that through Death he might deftroy him, who hath the power of Death, that is, the Devil ; and deliver them, who through fear of Death were all their Life-time fubjecJ to ^Bondage. Which plainly relates to this Promife of 'breaking the Serpent's. Head. And it feems very probable to me, that good Men, even in thofe Days, were not wholly igno rant of the Doctrine of the Refurrection. I can give no other tolerable Account of what Job tells us, Job 19. f. Zf, z6, zj. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he fhall ft and at the Utter Day upon the Earth ; 1 44 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, and though after my Skin Worms deftroy this Body, yet in my Flefh fhall I fee God; whom I fhall fee for my felf, and mine Eyes fhall be hold, and not another, though my Reins be con- fumed within me. That our Church under stands this in a literal Senfe of the Refurrection of the Body, appears from that place, fhe has given it in the Office of Burial. And whereas others expound this as a Prediction and Prophecy of that happy and flourifhing State, which he fhould be reftored to in this World; I have two Objections againft it, which I cannot anfwer. i. That had he known how happy and profperous God in tended to make him in this World, as a Re ward of his prefent Sufferings, this muft have filenc'd all his Complaints, even with refpect to his prefent hard Ufage, which yet in this very Chapter he is full of; which makesit moft likely, that he knew nothing how near the end of his Troubles, and his future Feli city was. Nor is it likely that God fhould difcover this to him ; becaufe thefe Afflictions were intended as a Trial of his Faith and Pa tience, and to make him a great Example of both to the World : But had he certainly known what a happy End his Sufferings fhould have, even in this Life, his Patience and Sub- miffion to the Will of God had not been fo exemplary and wonderful. For, I believe, there are but few Men, did they know it be forehand, but would be contented to endure all that job did, for fo fhort a time as he did, to enjoy fo great and fo long a Profperity in this World in Recompence of it. My fe- cond Objection is, That, in the plain and li teral and a Future State. 14? teral Senfe, thefe Words fignify a Refurre ction of the Body, after it is deftroy'd by Worms, and diffolv'd into Duft ; and there fore cannot be mere Metaphors to reprefent temporal Happinefs and Profperity by. For this is contrary to the Ufe of Scripture, that mere Metaphors fhould have more Truth and Reality in them, than the Things they are in tended to reprefent. Temporal Deliverances, and Temporal Profperities, are many times made ufe of in Scripture as Types and Meta phors, to reprefent the fpiritual Bleffings of the Meffias ; for thefe fpiritual Bleffings are much greater than all the prefent external Pomp, and Glory, and Riches of a tempo ral "Kingdom. But to rife again from the Dead, after the Worms have deftroy'd this Body, is infinitely a greater thing, than to be very profperous in this World after fome fevere Trials and Afflictions. And there is no other Example in Scripture, wherein the Type and Figure has more Truth and Reality than its Antitype has. Thefe, I think, are ¦very reafonable Objections againft this meta phorical Interpretation : And the only Obje ction I know againft the expounding thefe Words of Job, of the true and proper Refur rection of the Body after its Death and Diffo lution, is the general Perfuafion, That the Doctrine of the Refurrection was not then known to the World. And it is moft proba ble that this was not then generally known : But yet, as I have now fhewn you, this might have been known from that Promife God made to Adam, That the Seed of the ^oman fhould break the Serpent's Head: And L from, : 4 6 Of the Immortality of the Soul, from thefe Words of Job, which will not reafonably admit of any other Senfe, it feems moft probable that fuch wife and good Men as Job was, did under ftand it, and therefore that they did expound the Promife made tq Adam, in this Senfe. For there is no other Promife or Revelation but this, whereby they could know it. But to return to our Argument. The Jews had reafon to believe, that the Tradi tion of a future State came from Adam; and that he had very good Reafon to believe it, whatever it was, or he would not have deli- ver'd it down to his Pofterity. And the great Opinion they had of the great Piety of their intermediate Anceftors, could not fuffer them to think that they were miftaken in a Matter of fo great Concernment to them felves, and to all Mankind. Whoever be lieves that immortal Life after Death was the Faith of all the ancient Patriarchs, from Adam, to Abraham, Jfaac and Jacob, who were not only skili'd in the Philofophy of Nature, but favour'd with divine Manifefta- tions, can never fufpect, that they were de ceived in it. However they came by this Knowledge, whether by Nature or Revela tion, the moft prudent and cautious Man may venture to believe as Adam did, and as the whole Series and Succeffion of good Men have done from the beginning of the World. This gives new Strength and Authority to the Argument from a general Confent. For tho* the Antediluvian World were grown very wicked, and all Flefh had ' corrupted their Ways, yet the holy Line, which preferv'd the and a Future State. 147 the Belief and Worfhip of the true God, pre- ferv'd alfo the Belief of another Life : And when we can trace this up to the beginning of the World, it is an Authority not to be refifted. This Evidence the Jews had above the reft of the World, who from the Hiftory pf Mofes could derive their Pedigree, and with it their Faith, from Adam himfelf. But befides this, there is onePaflage in their Hiftory, which puts the Matter out of doubt. One of their Anceftors, as a Reward of his fingular Piety, did not die, but was immedi ately tranflated to Heaven, Enoch walked with God, and was not; for God took him, Gen. f . 24. He was an Example of fingu lar Piety and Virtue; and God made him an Example of as great Rewards, which were not confin'd to this World, but reach'd to Heaven. Enoch pleafed the Lord, and was tranflated, being an Example of Repentance to all Generations, Ecclus. 44. 1 6. This was a vifible Dernonftration of another Life, where good Men fhall be rewarded. It did not in deed prove, that they fhould be tranflated to Heaven without dying; but it did prove, that there is another Life, where good Men live, and are rewarded with the Vifion ^nd Enjoy ment of God. No Man can doubt of this, who believes this Story ; and this Evidence the Jews had, who did moft firmly be lieve it. 3. As for the natural Defires of Immorta lity, wherein all Mankind agree ; if this be a good Argument that we are immortal, the Jews faw the moft powerful and vifible Ef fects of it in their Progenitors. It is certain L 2 all Of the Immortality of the doui, all Men defire to be immortal, and muft own it, if you put the Queftion fairly to them. We feel this Defire in our felves ; and in fuch things as are purely natural, we may judge of other Men by our felves : For Nature is the fame in all. But yet few Men give any great Signs of fuch a Defire, that it looks ra ther like an unactive unform'd Wifh , than a Defire of Nature, which hath always Life, and Vigor, and Concernment in it. But the Jews, in their Progenitors, faw thefe Defires anima-- ted and infpired with mighty Hopes, and with invincible Refblutions of obtaining immortal Life- They defir'd and hop'd to be immor tal ; and this made them very devout Wor- fhippers of God, and great Examples of all divine and human Virtues. The Antediluvian Patriarchs, from whom they defcended, pre? ferv'd their Innocence and Integrity, when all the World lay in Wickednefs. The Apoftle to the Hebrews has fumm'd up this in fhort; and prov'd, that all the great and eminent Examples of Piety and Virtue were owing to the Faith and Hope of un- feen things ; which improv'd the natural Hopes and Defires of Immortality into the moft powerful Principles of Action. For Faith is the Subftance of things hoped for, and the Evidence of things not feen ; and by it the Fathers obtain 'd a good Report, Heb. ii. I, 2. So that they did not ferve God merely for prefent and temporal Rewards, but for the Hopes and Defires of Immortality, of things unfeen. This the Apoftle lays great Weight on, and undertakes to prove through out this Chapter, by an Induction pf Parti culars, and a Future State. 1 49 cularsj That the Defires, and Expectations, and Hopes of unfeen things, were, from the beginning of the World, the great Principle of all Religion, to which we owe all thefe great and eminent Examples of Piety and Virtue. And it will be of good Ufe briefly to confider this, which will both confirm the conftant Tradition of this Faith $ and fhew us the powerful Effects of thefe De fires and Hopes, and how eminently God approv'd and rewarded thefe good Men for it;. He gives us three eminent Examples of this before the Flood, which were fignaliz'd with three as extraordinary Events; Abel, Enoch and Noah. By Faith Abel offer' d to God a more acceptable Sacrifice than Cain , by which he obtain' d witnefs that he was righteous, God tefiifying of his Gifts ; and by it, he being dead, yet fpeaketh, ¦#¦. 4. Abel offer' d the beft he had to God , out of a great Zeal to ho nour him , and from a firm Belief and Exi pectation to be accepted and rewarded by him. And God accepted his Sacrifice, and he obtained witnefs that he was righteous, God tefiifying of his Gifts by fome vifible Signs of his Grace and Favour. But how does this prove that Abel believ'd another Life , and ferv'd God in hopes of unfeen Rewards ? Now there needs no other Proof of this, than that he chofe to ferve and pleafe God at the peril of his Life , though he knew how he provok'd his bloody Brother by it ; and there fore was the firft Martyr for Religion : And he that' dies for Religion, muft expect his Reward after Death. And that Teftimony L 3 God i j o Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, God gave of his Acceptance of Abel, and of his Offering, whom yet he fuffer'd to fall an early Sacrifice to the Rage and Jea- loufy of his wicked Brother, proves the fu ture Rewards of good Men; unlefs you can think that God commends and approves of Piety and Virtue, which he will not reward. And this is one thing which he being dead, yet fpeaketh. His Example teaches us to do Well, though we fhould fuffer ill for it in this World, and to expect our Reward in the next. His next Example, which is of a very different Nature from this, is that of Enoch, who was tranflated , That he Jhould not fee Death, and was not found, becaufe God had tranflated him; for before his Tranftation he had this Teftimony, • That he pleafed God. But without Faith it is impoffible to pleafe God; for he that comes to God, muft believe that he is, and that he is a Rewarder of them that dili~ gently feek him, f. y, and 6. This is another Example of the Faith and Hope of unfeen things, which made Enoch an Example of extraordinary Piety ; and God made him as eminent an Example of the Truth and Cer tainty of thefe Hopes, by tranflating him im mediately to Heaven without dying. The next Example is Noah, who by God's own Teftimony, was the only righteous Man then living; and the Apoftle exprefly takes no tice, that he believ'd unfeen things : For be- ing warn'd of God of things not feen as yet, mov'd with fear, prepared an Ark for the fa- ving of his Houfe. And there is no doubt but he who believ'd God as to unfeen things, did as firmly believe the unfeen World, as the unfeen and a Future State. i j t unfeen Deluge : The firft preferv'd him from that Deluge of Wickednefs which overfpread the Earth ; the fecond from that Deluge of Water which deftroy'd it. And he is a my- ftical Example to us, by what Means we muft efcape the final Deftruction of the World , and of all ungodly Men, to wit, by Faith and Baptifmal Regeneration ; as St. Peter ex pounds it , i Pet. 3 . 20, 21. In thefe good Men we not only fee the great Examples of Faith, and a powerful Hope of Immortality ; but the great and certain Rewards of it too : For which Reafon the Apoftle particularly mentions thefe good Men, not becaufe they were the only Exarnples of Faith in the old World, but becaufe God had given fuch ex traordinary Teftimonies and Confirmation to their Faith. Abel facrific'd in Faith, and di ed in Faith ; his very Death was precious to God : And a Faith , which God owns and approves in this World without any Reward, cannot fail of a Reward in the next. Enoch by Faith walked with God, and he was tran flated to Heaven without dying; which is the original Notion of Immortality. Noah by Faith was righteous before God, and God fav'd him from that univerfal Deluge which he brought upon the wicked World ; which fhews us, that good Men fhall be finally de- liver'd from the Ruin and Deftruction of the Wicked.' From thefe good Men the Apoftle proceeds to the Example of Abraham , who was the Father of the Faithful; and takes notice of feveral eminent Acts of his Faith : As that he left his own Countrey and Father's Houfe at L 4 God's 1 5: 2 0/V$£ Immortality ofthe Soul, God's Command , and went into a ftrange Countrey, not knowing whither he went: That though God had promifed to give CaJ naan for an Inheritance to him and his Po fterity, yet he fojourned in it, as in a ftrange Land, where neither he, nor Ifaac, nor Ja cob, had any Inheritance as long as they lived. And left we fhould think, that in all this A- braham and the Patriarchs had no farther re gard, than to the temporal Promife, he tells us exprefly, That he look'd for a City , which hath Foundations, whofe Builder and Maker is God, f.10. And that they all died in Faith, not having receiv'd the Promifes , but having feen them afar off; and they were perfuaded of them, and embraced them; and confefs'd that they were but Pilgrims and Strangers upon Earth. For they that fay fuch things, declare plainly that they feek a Countrey ; and truly had they been mindful of that Countrey from whence they came out , ( that is, Ur of the Chaldees) they might have had opportunity to have returned; but now they defire a better Countrey, that is, a heavenly ; wherefore God is not afham'd to be call'd their God, for he hath prepared for them a City, f. 13, 14, if, 16. So that all thefe peculiar Acts of Faith, refolve themfelves into the Belief of unfeen Rewards. And for this Reafon the Apoftle alledges feveral particular Acts of Faith , which do not immediately relate to the Be lief of another World, and yet makes them Examples of that Faith, which is the Subftance of things hoped for, and the Evidence of things not feen. Excepting what the Apoftle fays of Abraham and the Patriarchs looking for a bet ter and a Future ,State. 153 ter Countrey, that is, a Heavenly; and Mofh chufing rather to fuffer AffiiUions with the Chil dren of God, than to enjoy the Pleafures of Sin for a Seafon ; efieeming the Reproach of Chrift greater Riches than the Treafures of. Egypt, and that becaufe he had refpeU to the Recom- pence of the Reward; and the Example of thofe who were tortur'd, not accepting Deliverance, that they might obtain a better Refurreblion; all which plainly and exprefly refer to the Belief of future Rewards : I fay , excepting thefe, all the other Acts of Faith here men- tion'd are of a more particular Confideration ; as Abraham and Sarah's believing that Pro mife God made them of a Son in their old Age; Abraham's offering up Ifaac at God's Command ; Ifaac 's bleffing Jacob and Efatt\ and Jacob's bleffing the Sons ofjofeph; and Jofeph's mentioning at his Death the depart ing of the Children of Ifrael, and giving Com mandment concerning his Bones; and Mofes's Parents when he was born, concealing him three Months ; and Mofes keeping the Paffo- ver ; pafling the Red Sea ; and the Walls of Jericho falling down; and Rahab's conceal ing the Spies ; and all the Victories of Gideon, Barak, Sampfon, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the Prophets ; who through Faith fub- dued Kingdoms, wrought Righteoufnefs , ob tained Promifes , ftopp'd the Mouths of Lions, quenched the Violence of Fire, efcaped the Edge of the Sword, out ofWeakrlefs were made ftrong, waxed valiant in fight, and turned to flight the Armies of the Aliens : I fay , fuch Acts of Faith as thefe do not immediately refpect the Belief of another World, and future Re wards, i j 4 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, wards j but yet they are great Inftances of Faith in God; which it is impoffible any Man fhould have, in any great Degree, with out the Belief of future Rewards. Take away the Belief of another Life, and all wife and confidering Men muft have a ve ry mean Opinion of Providence. For why fhould any Man think that God is much con- cern'd for Mankind, who are only to take a fhort turn or two in this World, and fo leave the Stage ? Did Death put an end to us , a Life of Faith would be a very unaccountable and abfurd way of fpending our Time ; to wafte our few and fhort Days in Hope and Expectation, when we know that Death will quickly come , and put an end to us and all our Hopes. Would any wife Man upon thefe Terms have done as Abraham did ; who left his native Countrey, and his Father's Houfej to fpend his whole Life in a ftrange Land, where he had nr> Inheritance, only in expe ctation of God's Promife, that after fome hundred Years, his Seed fhould inherit that Land ? What was all this to him, if in the mean time he muft fall into nothing ? If there were no Life but this, it would be moft reafonable to make the beft we can of it, and to fpend it in prefent Enjoyments , not in Faith and Hope. And thus moft Men take care to do, as near as they can, who believe no other Life after this. And therefore all great and eminent Acts of Faith in God, whatever the particular Inftances of it be, are a certain Proof that fuch Men do believe unfeen things, and live by Faith in God's Promifes in this World, in Hopes and Ex pectations and a Future State. i j j pectations of the unfeen and unknown Re wards of the next. Let us then reflect upon all this, and confider what new Evidence this gave the Jews of a future State, beyond what the Heathens had. Now in the firft place: This furnifhed them with many eminent Examples of the Belief of a future State; with the Examples of the wifeft and beft Men of the World in all Ages; with the Examples of their own Progenitors from the beginning ofthe World ; which is apt to endear any Opinion and Cu- ftom to us, and to make it a Family- Faith. And this they had the moft certain Evidence of, in the vifible Effects of this Faith both in Life and Action. They fhewed their Faith by their Works ; they firmly believed ano ther Life, and they moft paffionately defired it ; not with fome lazy and fruitlefs Wifhes, but they took care to ferve and pleafe God, and that in the moft difficult Inftances, and with the moft unreferved Obedience, with out difputing, without repining, withoutthe leaft Diftruft and Diffidence, with an heroical Refolution, invincible Courage, and unwea ried Conftancy. And if Examples can figni fy any thing , there cannot be greater aftd more convincing Examples than thefe. It is certain that thofe Men are in very good ear ner!, that they do heartily believe another Life, and heartily defire the Happinefs of it, who are ready to forego any prefent Enjoy ments , and to fubmit to the greateft Hard- fhips and moft difficult Trials to obtain it. This is another kind of Argument, than merely to hear Men profefs their Belief of a- nother 5 6 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, notherLife, and their Defires of it , when the whole Courfe of their Lives contradicts fuch a Faith and Hope. The Wickednefs of Men can't confute the natural Belief and De fires of Immortality; but the Examples of fuch good Men give a mighty Confirmation to it ; efpecially when God himfelf gave fuch a glorious Teftimony to them , as he did to Abel, Enoch, and Noah, and in an eminent Degree to Abraham, with whom he enter'd into Covenant, and chofe his Pofterity for his peculiar People, and took upon himfelf the Name of the God of Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob. So that tho' we do not find any ex prefs Promife of another Life under the Law, this falls very little fhort of it. And this Evi dence the Jews had from the Hiftory of Mo>- fes, and the Examples of their Fore- fathers recorded there. SECT. III. The Mofaical Evidence of a Future State, from the Divine ^Providence. 4. t ¦ 1 H E next natural and moral Argu* 1 ment of a future State is the Wif dom and Juftice of Providence. And we have fufficient Evidence of this, from the mere Light of Nature, to make it a very fenfible and convincing Argument : But the Hifto ry of Mofes gives new Strength and Qearnefs to and a Future State. 15Z to it, as giving us an ocular Dernonftration of thofe Principles from whence this Conclu fion is drawn, and a new Evidence of the ne ceffary Connexion between thefe Principles and the Conclufion. The Strength and Cer tainty of the Conclufion muft bear proportion to the Certainty ofthe Premifes, and to the Evidence of the Connexion. And therefore, when we prove the Immortality of the Soul, and a future State, from the divine Provi dence, our Evidence for a future State can't exceed that Evidence we have, that God go verns the World; that he is a wife and a juft Governor , and therefore will certainly , at one time or other, reward good Men, and punifh the Wicked. Now though we have very good natural Proofs of all this , yet we muft grant, that they fall very fhort of that Evidence, which the Hiftory of Mofes gives us. There is the fame Difference between them , that there is between the mere Con- clufions of Reafon , how plain foever they may feem to be, and the certain Evidence of Senfe. If we believe the Hiftory of Mofes, which the Jews moft firmly did , and which was therefore a divine Evidence and Authority to them, we there fee the Providence of God, and the Wifdom and Juftice of his Go vernment, in the moft unqueftionable and furprizing Events. The Deftruction of the old World by a Deluge of Water , was a terrible Proof of a juft and righteous Providence. This was God's doing : For he forewarned Noah of it, and commanded him to prepare an Ark, to preferve 158 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, preferve himfelf and his Family, to people the new World. And herein God made a vifible Diftindtion between good and bad Men, that when he deftroy'd the whole World of Sinners, he preferv'd Noah and his Family, who was the only righteous Perfoq then living. His confounding the Language ofthe Builders of Babel, and their Difperfion into all Parts of the Earth, is another fenfible Proof of the divine Providence. Mofes tells us, that ail this was done by the immediate Power and Command of God ; and the Events themfelves prove it : For none can deftroy the World , but he who made it : And the natural Unaccountablenefs of an univerfal De-j luge, t which fome Men have fo perplex'd themfelves to affign the philofophical Cau-? fes of, proves, that it was a fupernatural Ven-r geance. And tho' the Confufion of Langua-r ges has not fo much Terror in it, yet it is to the full as furprizing and myfterious. For it is impoffible that any Power, but that which firft form'd the Mind of Man, fhould in a Minutes time wipe out all their old Ideas of' Words, and imprint new ones in their room. The Hiftory of Abraham, Ifaac, and Ja cob, who liv'd under the immediate Govern ment of God ; The Life of Mofes , and all thofe Wonders God wrought by him in E-. gypt , and in the Red Sea , and in the Wil- dernefs, efpecially that terrible Appearance on Mount Sinai at the giving of the Law ; and all that long Series of Wonders and MiracleSj| whereby God gave them Poffeffion of the Land of Canaan; The Hiftory of their Judges, their Kings, and the whole Form and Admi- niftration and a Future State. 159 niftration of their Government; Their fre quent Captivities , and wonderful Deliveran ces from their Enemies, which were a pun ctual Apcomplifhment of the Threatnings and Promifes of their Law : I fay, all this made the divine Providence and Government as vi fible to Ifrael, as a King is vifible on his Throne, in his Minifters and Laws, and pub- lick Adminiftration of Juftice. Now how ftrong foever the natural Argu ments for a Providence are, no Man can think them equal to fuch a vifible Government. The natural Proofs we have ofthe Difference pf Good and Evil, are not like the Publicati on of the Law from Mount Sinai in an audi ble Voice with all the moft awful and vifible Solemnities. The natural Perfuafions we have pf the Juftice of God in rewarding the Good, and punifhing the Wicked , are not like ex prefs Promifes and Threatnings, and the vifi ble Execution of them : And the greater E- vidence we have of the divine Providence , the better is the Argument from the divine Pro vidence to prove a future State. That God go verns this World, does not immediately prove a future State ;' but the Conclufion refults from the Juftice of Providence, and the prefent unequal Adminiftration of it. If God go verns the World, thofe natural Notions, we have of God, affure us that he is a righte ous and holy Governor; and therefore that he will reward good Men , and punifh the Wicked : And fince he does not always make fuch a vifible Diftindtion between good and bad Men in this World, we reafonably enough conclude, that there is another World,wherein . 60 Ofthe Immot tality efthe Soul, wherein this Diftindtion will be made. And this is a very good Argument, when we have fuch an Affurance of the divine Providence, as no myfterious and unaccountable Events can ftagger. But we know there are many Men which make that an Argument againft a Pro vidence, which we urge, upon a Suppofition, of a Providence, as an Argument for a future State: That all things happen alike to all; That there is not an equal and uniform Di- ftribution of Juftice in the Government of this World, is, fay they, a plain Argument that God does not govern the World, becaufe the World is not jultly govern'd. Now though it be eafy to vindicate thefe Inequalities of Providence, upon Suppofition of a future State* and thefe unequal Adminiftrations are very good Arguments of a future State, upon a Suppofition of a divine Providence; yet, inftead of proving a future State by it , this is a very untoward Objection againft Provi dence, if our original Proofs of a Providence be not very evident and certain. As for my own part, I am abundantly fatisfied that our natural Proofs of a Providence are much ftronger than this Objection is againft it. But yet when there are Arguments on both fides, and nothing. but Reafon to appeal to, all Men do not judge equally and impartially, but very often determine the Queftion by In clination , or fome appearing Intereft : And then, as we fee too many do, they may reject the Belief of a Providence , for the fake of fuch unequal Adminiftrations, and the Belief of another World, for want of a Providence. But when we have fuch undeniable Proofs of the and a Future State. i tf i the Divine Government and Providence, as the Hiftory of Mofes gives us, which no Man can believe, and deny a Providence; their Objection againft a Providence proves a very good Argument for a Future State. And this is a great Advantage the Jews had, above the reft of Mankind, for the Belief of a Future State. They were more vifibly govern'd by God, and had more fenfible Proofs of the Di vine Truth and Juftice, in the publick Blef fings and Profperity of their Nation, when they obey'd God ; and in thofe National Judg ments and Calamities, when they difobey'd him, than the reft of Mankind had: Though with refpect to particular Men, they were as fenfible, as the reft of the World are, of an un equal Providence ; and frequently complain'd of the Profperity of the Wicked, and the ma ny Sufferings and Afflictions of the Righte ous. Now when we have fuch certain Evidence of a Divine Providence, that the greateft Dif ficulties of Providence can never be a fuffici ent Reafon to disbelieve a Providence; the prefent unequal Adminiftration of Juftice, is a very good Reafon to believe, That the Pro* vidence of God extends beyond this World. When we are fo abundantly affur'd, as the Jews were, by the Promifes and Threatnings of their Law, and by the publick and vifible Execution of Juftice, that God does Love and Will Reward good Men, and Punifh the Wick ed; this is a good Reafon to believe, that thofe good Men, who are not rewarded in this World, fhall be rewarded in the next; and that thofe wicked Men, who efcape Pu- M nifhment 1 6 2 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, nifhment in this Life, fhall be referv'd for more terrible Vengeance hereafter. And thus we find good Men under the Law did under* ftand this; and thus they anfwerd that Obje ction concerning the Sufferings of good Men, and theProfperity of the Wicked. The jxdPfalm is a plain Proof of this. The Pfalmift complains very Tragically of the Prof perity of the Wicked, which was a great Snare and Temptation to him. My feet were almdft gone, my fteps had well nighjlipfd. For I was envious at the foolifh, when I faw the Profperity ofthe wicked. For there are no bands in their death ; but their ftrength is firm. They are not in trouble like other men, neither are they plagued, like other men. And yet thefe were a very wicked Generation, proud and infolent Oppreffors of the Good, and Blafphemers of God and his Providence. Therefore pride com- paffeth them about like a chain, and violence co ver eth them like a garment ; they fet their mouth againii the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth ; and they fay, How doth God know, and is there knowledge in the moft High ? And yet thefe were the happy and profperous Men, Behold thefe are the ungodly, that prof fer in the world, and increafe in riches. And what Encouragement is there then for Piety and Virtue, when fuch Men as thefe are prof perous, and even divide the World among them ; while thofe who take care to ferve and pleafe God, are very great Sufferers ? Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and wajhed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagu'd, and chafien'd every morn- ing. Here and a Future State. rtf 3 Here is the Objection very fully and paffio nately reprefented on both Sides. Let us then confider how he anfwers it. He lays this down in the beginning of the Pfalm as an undoubt ed Principle, which no difficulties of Provi dence fhould ever make him queftion, Verily, God is good to Ifrael, even to fuch as are of a. clean heart. As the Prophet Jeremy does up on the fame Occafion : Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee, yet let me talk with fhee concerning thy Judgments : Wherefore doth the way ofthe wicked profper ? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacheroufly ? Jer 12. 1. This, as I obferv'd before, the Jews had unqueftionable Evidence of. And when this is laid for the Foundation, That God is very Juft and Righteous, and very good to good Men ; this Objection concerning the Profperity of the Wicked, and the Sufferings of the Good, is eafily anfwered. And there are two Anfwers given to it, which are fo in- termixt with each other, that fome Men do not fufficiently diftinguifh them. The Firft is, That notwithftanding fome Wicked Men are very Profperous, and fome Good Men very much Afflicted ; yet God makes a very vifible Diftindtion between them in this World ; enough to difcover his Love and Care towards Good Men, and his Dif- pleafure againft the Wicked : Which fuffici ently anfwers the Ends of his Providence here; that though wicked Men profper for a while here, yet the Divine Vengeance oft en overtakes them; their Ends prove Mi ferable, or they are punifh'd in their Pofte rity, and their Names utterly rooted out: M 2 But .^4 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, But the Divine Providence watches over good Men, delivers them from many Evils, and many times vifibly owns them in this World, and fets fome peculiar Marks of Fa vour and Honour upon them, and bleffes their Pofterity for their fakes. This the Pfalmift has fome refpedt to in this place, \6, ij, i8.f. When 1 thought to know this, it was too painful forme, until I went into the Sanctuary of God; then under food I their end. Surely thou didft fet them in flippery places, thou cafledfl them down into deflrutlion. How are they brought into defolation, as in a moment ? they are utter ly confumed with terrors. This is the Portion of many wicked Men, notwithftanding their great Profperity for a time. Neverthelefs I am continually with thee ; thou haft holden me by my right hand. My flefh and my Heart fail- eth, but God is the ftrength of my heart, and my portion for ever. The like we may fee at large in the 2-jth Pfalm. And this is a very good Anfwer, as far as it reaches; for it proves God's great Love and Regard to good Men, and his Abhorrence of the Wicked : That God judgeth the righteous ; and that God is an- _ gry with the wicked every Day, 7th Pfal, 11,12, 13. -j^. But this is not a full Anfwer. For there are fo many Wicked Men Profperous, and fo many Good Men Afflicted, that if God makes no other difference between good and bad Men, than what he does in this World, this can be no Vindication pf the Wifdom and Juftice of Providence, when there is fuch a vifible Failure of Juftice in fo many thoufand Inftances. And therefore 1. To make this Argument of and a Future State. 165 of any Force, we muft extend it to future Rewards and Punifhments, and then it is a very good Anfwer; for when that Diftindti on God makes between good and bad Men in this World, is not fo equal and univerfal as to extend to all good and bad Men, it is a fufficient Proof and Earneft what their differ ent Portions fhall be in the next World. And this the Pfalmift intended in that Latitude of Expreffion, whereby he defcribes God's Ven geance on the Wicked, and his Care and Pro tection of the Good. In the jtd. Pfalm he refolvesthis Difficulty into the End of wicked Men, which he could give no fatisfadtory Ac count of, until he went into the Sancluary of God, and then he underftood their End. What End does he mean? Only their Death? But good Men muft die as well as the wicked. Or is it the Manner and Circumftances of their Death, as it there follows ? Thou haft fet them in flippery places ; thou cafieft them down into tf)efiruclion ; how are they brought into Defla tion, as in a moment ? They are utterly confumed with Terrors. But all bad Men do not pome to fuch a Tragical End ; as he owns in this very Pfalm, That they have no Bands in their Death, but their Strength is firm. And the \oth Pfalm fuppofes, that they may live and die in great Profperity ; and yet that their End is, that they fhall perifh in the Grave like Sheep : They are laid in the Grave, Death fhall feed on them; (that is, the Worm that never dieth fhall devour and confume them) apd the Righteous fhall have Dominion over them in the Morning.?, and their Beauty fhall confume in the Grave from their Dwelling; But God fhall redeem my Soul M 3 from : 6 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, from the Power of the Grave,' for he floall re ceive me. This fhews what that End is of good and bad Men, which anfwers this Dif ficulty of Providence ; not their mere dying, which is common to both, but their different States after Death , that vifible difference which will be made between them in the Morning, when they fhall all rife out of their Graves to receive the Recompence of then- Works : Then the Righteous fhall have Domi nion over them in the Morning. This difference the wife-Man obferves in the 14^ of Proverbs, 7, 3 2 . The Wicked is driven away in his Wick ednefs., but the Righteous hath Hope in his Death. Wicked Men after all their Profperity, are many times feiz'd with a Divine Vengeance, and hurried out of this World, diffracted and confumed with Terrors, as the Pfalmift fpeaks : For what is the Hope of the Wicked, though he hath gain'd, when God taketh away his Soul ? Will God hear his Cries when Trouble comes up on him ? Job. 27. 8, 9. But good Men, what ever they fuffer in this World, yet go out of it full of Hopes and joyful Expectations of a Reward : They have Hope in their Death. Thus in the 37th Pfalm f. 37, 38. Mark the perfect Man, and behold the upright ; for the End of that Man is Peace : But the Tranfgreffors fhall be deflroyed together ; the End of the Wicked fhall be cut off. What can this Peace fignify, but the Joy and Triumph of a good Confci- ence, and great Hopes; that State of Peace and Reft, whic^jL good Men .fhall enter into after Death ? And therefore the Deftruction of the Wicked, the End ofthe Wicked, which fhall be cut off, muft be referr'd to the other World and a Future State. 1 6j World alfo ; That the Wicked fhall be turn'd into Hell, and all the Nations that forget Gody Pfal. p. 17. Which, if it be underftood only of a Temporal Death and Deftruction, is true of all other People and Nations, how Religi ous foever they be; and therefore this, being the peculiar Punifhment ofthe Wicked, muft fignify fomething after Death. Thus I have fhewn you what Confirmati on the Law of Mofes gives to all the Natural and Moral Arguments for a Future State: From whence it appears, that this was the Univerfal Belief of all the Old Teftament Saints. Though the Law of Mofes contain'4 no exprefs Promifes of another Life, yet they had fuch collateral Evidence, that no good Man doubted of it : Which I fhall explain more fully in fome following Sections, by confidering God's Covenant with Abraham, and the Nature of the Mofaical Difpenfation. SECT. IV. The Immortality ofthe Soul prov 'd from God's Covenant with Abraham, HAving fhewn you what a new Confirma tion the Hiftory of Mofes gives to all the Natural and Moral Arguments for a Future State; let us now confider that Covenant which God made with Abraham, which was the beginning and Foundation of the Mofai cal Difpenfation. For when the reft of the M 4 World 1 6 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, World had fo foon after the Flood declin'd to Idolatry, it pleas'd God to call Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go arid fojourn in a ftrange Land, which he would fhew him ; and for his Encouragement he promifes, Iwill make of thee a great Nation, and I will blefs thee, and make thy Name great, and thou Jhalt be a Bleffing ; and I will blefs them that blefs thee, and curfe them that curfe thee; and in thee fhall all Families of the Earth be bleffed, Gen. 12. 1,2, 3. When, in Obedience to God, Abraham was come into Canaan, the Lord appear'd unto him again, and faid, Unto thy Seed will I give this Land, f. 7. When A- braham and Lot were parted, God renews this Promife to him again ; Lift up now 'thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, Northward, and Southward, and Eafiward, and Weftward; for all the Land that thou fee ft, to thee will I give it, and to thy Seed for ever ; and I will make thy Seed as the Duft ofthe Earth; fo that if a Man can number the Duft of the Earth, then fhall thy Seed alfo be number' d,Gex\. 1 3 . 1 4, 1 f , 1 6. After this God made a more general Promife, Gen. if. 1. The Word of the Lord came to Abraham in a Vifion, faying, Fear not, Abraham, lam thy Shield, and ex ceeding great Reward. And upon Abraham's Complaint, that God had yet given him no Seed, he renews the Promife of a Son to him : He that fhall come forth out of thine own Bow els fhall be thy Heir; and that his Seed fhall be as number lefs as the Stars in Heaven, f. 4, and f . And tells him what fhall happen to his Seed before they fhould poffefs that good Land : Thy Seed fhall be a Stranger in tfo Land that and a Future State. 169 that is not theirs, and fhall ferve them ; and they fhall affiitl them four hundred Tears. In the 17/^ of Gen. God renews this Covenant with Abraham ; / ani' the Almighty God, walk before me, and be thou perfect ; and I will make a Covenant between me and thee, and will mul tiply thee exceedingly. And, in Teftimony of this, he changes his Name from Abram to A- braham ; For a Father of many Nations have I made thee ; and will eftablijh my Covenant be twixt me and thee, and thy Seed after thee, for an Everlafting Covenant; to be a God to thee, and to thy Seed after thee : And inftituted Cir- cumcifion as a Sign of this Covenant. And to name no more ; When Abraham, in Obe dience to God's Command, had offer'd up his Son Ifaac to him, God renews this Cove nant with an Oath : By my felf have I fiworn, faith the Lord; for becaufe thou haft done this thing, and haft not with-held thy Son, thine only Son, that in bleffing I will blefs thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy Seed like the Stars of Heaven, and as the Sand which is upon the Sea-Jhore; and thy Seed fhall poffefs the Gates of his Enemies ; and in thy Seed fhall all the Nati- ' ons ofthe Earth be bleffed, becaufe thou haft o- bey'd. my Voice- This is God's Covenant with Abraham in the feveral Branches of it ; which you fee contains no exprefs literal Promife of another Life, or a heavenly Canaan. But if we will expound this Covenant fo, as to be worthy of God, and a peculiar Mark of his Grace and Favour to Abraham, we muft underftand fomething more Divine and Spiritual in it, than what the mere Letter fignifies. That the 1 7 o Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, the Patriachs did fo underftand it, I have aU ready fhewn, not only from the Authority of the Apoftle, but from the Force and Evidence of that Reafon, whereby he receives it. Thefe all died in Faith, not having receiv'd the Pro mifes, but having feen them afar off ; and were perfuaded of them, and embraced them, and c'on- fefs'd that they were Strangers and Pilgrims in the Earth ; for they that fay fuch things, de clare plainly that they feek a Countrey. And truly had they been mindful of tjoat Countrey from whence they came out, they might have had Opportunity to have return' d ; but now they feek a better Countrey, that is, a Heavenly: Wherefore God is not afham'd to be call'd their God, for he hath prepar' d for them (i City, \ith. 1 1. 13, 14, if, 16. And that they had reafon thus to believe and hope, will appear, if you confider with me thefe following Particulars: For indeed the whole is very unaccountable, if we confine God's Covenant with Abraham to this prefent Life. For, 1. It feems very unaccountable, that God out of great Grace and Favour fhould en ter into Covenant with Abraham, and give him nothing but Promifes, which he fhould never live to fee accomplifh'd ; which indeed is to give him nothing, when he to whom the Promife is made fhall never enjoy it. And yet thus it was, if thefe Promifes made to A- braham were merely Temporal ; For, except* ing the Birth of Ifaac, he faw the accpmplifh- ment of none of them. The Land of Canaan Was merely a Land of Promife to him, notaa an Inheritarice ; he was but a Pilgrim and Stranger in it; and fo were Ifaac and Jacob, and and a Future State. 17 1 and the other Particulars, till they remov'd into Egypt ; which prov'd not only a ftrange Land, but a Land of Bondage to them. And it will puzzle any Man upon thefe Terms to fay wherein God was fo peculiarly gracious to. Abraham above the reft of Mankind,* to, whom he gave nothing while he liv'd, and if there be no Life after this, could give him nothing after Death. 2. It feems as unaccountable alfo, that God fhould blefs the Pofterity of Abraham for his Sake, and in remembrance of his Covenant with him, and fuffer Abraham himfelf to per rifh, without Hope, and without a Reward. There are indeed Examples of this kind a- mon.g Men, who reward the Children for their Parents Sake, when they are dead and gone: And there is good Reafon for this, be caufe we can't preferve the moft beloved and deferving Perfons from Death ; and, when they are Dead, we have no better way to' fhew our Love -and Honour to them, than by being kind to their Pofterity : But then fuch Perfons, whofe Memory is fo dear to us, that for their fakes we do good to their Chilr dren, would certainly have had the greateft Share of our Kindnefs themfelves, had it been in our Power to preferve them. What then fhall we fay to this Cafe? No Man doubts but God can make us Immortal, if he pleafe; and is it not reafonable then to believe, that, when God expreffes fuch a peculiar Favouy for any one, as to enter into Covenant with him, and with his Pofterity to all future Ge nerations for" his Sake, he will preferve this beloved Perfon from falling into Nothing? If 172 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, If God do Good to Abraham's Pofterity for Abraham's Sake, we have reafon to conclude, that Abraham ftill himfelf is very dear to God, that he who remembers his Covenant with Abraham, has not forgot Abraham him felf ; and therefore that Abraham ftill lives to God. 3. If we confider this Matter, well, it will feem very ftrange, that God fhould enter in to Covenant with Abraham upon mere tem poral Accounts ; for fuch a fhort momentary Life, and the vanifhing Joys of it, are not worthy fo great a Concernment. A Cove nant has fomething facred and folemn in it, it fignifies a more peculiar Favour, than Crea tures can challenge from an ordinary and common Providence, fuch Acts of Grace, as no Creature can have any Right to, but only by Promife. Let any Man then judge, whe ther mere temporal Bleffings can be the pro per Matter for fuch a Covenant ; whether they can be the diftinguifhing Marks of God's Favour; whether they are the greateft things God can beftow upon thofe Men, whom he delights to blefs and honour. A little Philo fophy taught even the Heathens themfelves to defpife this vanifhing Scene, though never fo glorioufly painted and adorn'd. And what, the wifer and better Men are, the more they defpife, can never alone be a proper Object of fuch peculiar Covenanting Grace : Which is a good Reafon to believe,that there was feme- thing more divine contained under thefe tem poral Promifes. For as God^s entring into Covenant with Man, is a peculiar and diftin guifhing Favour, fo the Matter of the Cove- 3 nant and a Future State. 173 nant muft be fomething great and peculiar too, and worthy of God ; efpecially if we add, 4. That in the mere Letter of this Cove nant there is nothing extraordinary promifed to Abraham, beyond what other Men enjoy'd, with whom God never enter'd into Covenant. God promifed Abraham a Son, and made him wait for the Performance of this Promife till the Strength and Vigor of Nature was fpent : But it is no extraordinary Matter to have a Son, which is a common Bleffing of Nature : And had he had a Son in his Youth, as other Men have, the Miracle had not been fo great, but the Bleffing, as far as merely concerns having a Son, had been greater; for it had given him his Defire fo much fooner, and a longer Enjoyment of it. But God promifed Abraham a very numerous Pofterity, like the Stars in the Heaven, and like the Sand upon the Sea-fhore. But if we confider this as a mere temporal Bleffing, it is hard to fay wherein it confifts : It is at moft but an imaginary Hap pinefs, though we fhould live to fee great and mighty Nations defcend from our Loins : And yet Abraham never faw this, nor was like to fee it in this World; he had only a Promife of it, and faw him from whofe Loins this numerous Iffue was to defcend : But what was this to him, if he muft fall into Nothing himfelf, and lofe all Senfe and Knowledge of this, as well as of all #her things, as foon as Death clofed his Eyesf* And yet this was not peculiar to Abraham neither. Adam was the Father of all Mankind, and lived to fee the World well peopled with his Pofterity, and that not much to his Satisfaction neither; as we 1 74 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, we may eafily guefs from the Impiety of Cain, and the Wickednefs of that whole Generation which defcended from him. Noah was a fe cond univerfal Father, whofe Pofterity peo pled the new World; and Sem, Ham, and Japhet, had each of them a much more nu merous Pofterity than Abraham had; and fo had many other Heads of Families and Na tions ; as we may conclude from the Hiftory ofthe Difperfion. So that hitherto God had promifed nothing fo peculiar to Abraham, as to be the diftinguifhing Marks of his Grace and Favour. Well, but God promifed to give the Land of Canaan to his Seed for an Inheritance : But were there not other Coun tries in the World as pleafant and fruitful as Canaan, where Men lived in as much Eafe and Plenty, and enjoy 'd as great Conveniences of Life? And why then was it fo extraordi nary a thing to allot them Canaan for their Inheritance ? So that if we underftand all thefe Pron.ifes in a mere temporal Senfe, here are no fuch extraordiriary and diftinguifhing Marks of the divine Favour, as required, or willju- ftify, fuch a folemn Covenant as God made with Abraham. f. If we confider the Accompliihment of- thefe Promifes, we fhall not find the Ijrae- lites, upon a mere temporal Account, the moft happy or profperous People in the World. There were greater and more flourifhing Princes at that time than Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob. We know the Hiftory of Abra ham's difficult Trials, and of Jacob's Trou bles ; which occafion'd that Anfwer he gave to Pharaoh, when he asked how old he was ; Jacob and a Future State. 1 7 j Jacob faid unto Pharaoh, the days of the years of my Pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have the days and years of my Life been ; and I have not attain' d to the days and years of my Fathers, in the days of their Pilgrimage, Gen. 47. 8, p. Would any one have expected fuch an Anfwer and Con- feffion as this, from a Man in Covenant with God, had mere temporal Profperity been the Matter of that Covenant ? If God intended nothing more for them, certainly they ought to have been the happieft Men in the World : And yet they met with as many Troubles as any other Men, and fupported themfelves un der all by Faith ; which is a very uncomfor table Principle to live by in this World, if there be no Life hereafter. The Hiftory of the Children of Ifrael in Egypt, after Jofeph was dead and gone, proves them to be fo far from being the happieft, that they were the moft oppreffed People in the World. And yet thefe were the Heirs of the Promifes, the peculiar People of God, and his firft born', even while they were thus oppreffed. And does this then look like a mere temporal Cove nant? Or, did not the Covenant and Promife of God take place all this while, that he would be^ the God of Abraham, and of his Seed after him ? But God in his appointed Time, at the end of four hundred Years from his making this Covenant with Abraham, own'd them vifibly for his peculiar People and Inheritance ; de- liver'd them out of Egypt by Signs and Won ders ; and punifh'd their Oppreflors with grie vous Plagues.; carry'd them through the Red Sa 176 Of the Immortality of the Soul, Sea on dry Land, and drown'd the Egyptians who purfued after them : Thefe were Marks of a peculiar Favour. But yet, when they rebelled againft him in the Wildernefs, he ex- ercifed great Severities towards them ; made them wander and wafte their Days forty Years in the Wildernefs, till all that Generation of Men, which came out of Egypt, except ing Caleb and Jofhua, were confumed. But, to pafs over the Wars of Canaan, when God fo vifibly own'd their Caufe, and by fo many miraculous Victories gave them Poffeffion of the promifed Land : if we confult the Hifto ry of their Judges and Kings, we fhall not find them fo very happy and profperous, as might be expected from a mere temporal Co venant. They were frequently opprefs'd by their Heathen Neighbours; engaged in bloody and doubtful Wars; confumed with Famine, and Peftilence, and Sword ; Ten Tribes car ried away into a final Captivity ; and at length the City and Temple of Jerufalem burnt by the Chaldeans ; and their two remainingTribes carried away Captive to Babylon for feventy Years. After their Return from Captivity, they met with new Troubles, were fpoiled and oppreffed by the Egyptians and Affyrians, efpecially by Antiochus, as the Hiftory of the Maccabees informs us. They were conquered and made Tributaries by the Romans; re duced into a Roman Province under Roman Governors, as it was in our Saviour's Time ; and at laft their City and Temple finally de ftroy'd, and they difperfed into all Parts of the World, as it continues unto this Day. This is a brief Account of the publick State of and a Future State. 177 of that Nation ; which was fo checquer'd with profperous and adverfe Events ; fo often opprefs'd and ruin'd, and fo often reftored, and at laft fo miferably deftroy'd ; that, as to mere external Profperity , no Man can ever pretend that the Jews were fo much happier than other Nations. And that gives us little Reafon to think, that God's Covenant with Abraham was merely temporal, when fo many other Natidns enjoy'd more temporal Profpe rity without a Covenant. And, as for parti cular Men, there were always the fame Com plaints amongft them as among others, as I fhew'd you before, of the Profperity of bad Men, and the Afflictions and Sufferings ofthe Righteous ; which ought not to have been under a Theocracy and a mere temporal Co venant. For if God*s Covenant with A- braham was merely temporal, and reach'd no farther than this Life; all good Men at leaftt ought to have been very profperous in this World, and the wicked miferable. So that if we will allow that God intended any pecu liar Bleffings to Abraham, in entring into Co venant with him, and that he did perform his Covenant, we muft feek for fomething more divine in it than mere temporal Bleffings. 6. Thofe general Promifes God made to Abraham, cannot poffibly be confined to this Life, and to mere temporal Bleffings. As to fhew you this particularly. In Gen. if. r. The word of the Lord came nnto Abraham in a Vifion, faying, Fear not, Abraham, I am thy Shield, and thy exceeding great Reward. Now did any thing, that Abraham ever enjoy'd in this World, anfwer this Promife of God's be- N ing 178 Ofthe Immortality of the doui, ing his Shield, and his exceeding great Reward ? Would God have made fuch a Promife as this to a Man near a hundred Years old, and ready to drop into the Grave, fhould he have perifh'd there, and for ever after been as un- capable of any Reward, as that which is not ? For God to be his Shield, fignifies to be his Protector and Deliverer ; which can fjgnify but very little, if he fuffer'd him to fall into Nothing. And to be his exceeding great Re ward, fignifies that he would beftow exceed ing great Rewards on him : But there are no fuch exceeding great Rewards in this World ; and it is certain, Abraham received no fuch great Rewards while he lived; and therefore this muft relate to future Rewards. And yet this is not all : God does not merely Promife him, that he would exceedingly reward him, but that he himfelf would be his exceeding great } Reward; that is, that he would exceedingly reward him in the Enjoyment of himfelf. But we know, the perfect Enjoyment of God is referv'd for the next World; and muft fig nify the immedaite Prefence and Vifion of God. And thus the Pfalmift underftood it; who plainly alludes to this Promife, Pfal. 16. 6, and following f. The Lord is the Portion of mine Inheritance, and of my Cup ; thou main- tainefi my Lot ; that is, God is my Shield, and my exceeding great Reward. The Lines are fallen unto me in a pleafant place; yea, I have a goodly Heritage ; which is a manifeft Allu- fion to the Divifion of the Land of Canaan, the Land of Promife by Lot. / will blefs the Lord, who hath given me Counfel; my Reins alfo inflrucl me in the Night Seafon. I have and a Future State. have fet the Lord always before me ; becaufe he is on my Right Hand, 1 fhall not be moved; that is, God is my Shield, my Protector and Deliverer. Therefore my Heart is glad, and my Glory rejoyceth ; my Flefh alfo fhall reft in hope, for thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell (or in the Grave,) nor wilt thou fuffer thy holy one to fee Corruption. Thou wilt fhew me the Paths of Life : In thy Prefence is Fullnefs of Joy; at thy Right Hand are Pleafures for evermore. This indeed is a Prophecy of our Saviour, and of his Refurrection from the Dead ; but fhews us, what it is for God to be. oUr Shield, and our exceeding great Re ward; which extends beyond the Grave, to the eternal Vifion and Fruition of God. Much to fame purpofe we find Gen. 17. i. The Lord appear' d unto Abraham, and faid, I am God Almighty, walk before me, and be thou perfect. Now can we think that God encou rages Abraham's Faith by his Almighty Power, merely for the Performance of fome temporal Promifes; and not rather that he encourag'd him to expect from his Almighty Power whatever Happinefs his Nature was capable of; which muft extend to immortal Life, for that Almighty Power can beftow ? f. 7. he promifes, / will eftablijh my Covenant between me and, thee, and thy Seed after thee in their Ge nerations, for an everlafting Covenant; to be a God unto thee and to thy Seed after thee. To he a God, fignifies to beftow all the Bleffings on him that God can beftow ; and an ever lafting Covenant with Abraham and his Po fterity to be their God, cannot merely fignify, that he will be their God in all fuccefllve Ge- N 2 nerations, 179 8 o Of the Immortality of the Soui, nerations, as they come into the World, till they go out of it again.; that he would be the- God of Abraham as long as he lived, and the God of Ifaac and Jacob, as long as they lived ; and after the fame manner, a God to all his Pofterity. But an everlafting Cove nant with Abraham and bis Seed in their fe veral Generations, to be their God, in the full Extent of that Promife, fignifies, That he will everlaftingly be a God to all of them: And that muft fignify, that they fhould ever laftingly be, and everlaftingly be happy in the Enjoyment of him. But there is another Promife which God madq to Abraham, that puts this Matter out -of doubt. For God promifed Abraham, In thee fhall all the Families of the Earth be blef fed, Gen. 12. And renews this Promife with an Oath, Gen. 22. 18. And in thy Seed fhall all the Nations of the Earth be bleffed; which muft neceffarily fignify either an univerfal temporal Monarchy, or the fpiritual Bleffings of the Mefftas. The firft the Jews expected and hoped for, though without any fufficient Reafon ; and if we may judge of the Promife by the Event, it is certain this could not be the meaning of it : For the Jews never had an univerfal Monarchy. But the true pro mifed Seed of Abraham, the Bleffed Jefus, their promifed Meffias, hath bleffed all the World; and all the Nations of the Earth may be bleffed in him. But then thefe are fpiritual Bleffings; which proves that the Covenant with Abraham was a fpiritual Co venant ;v that the promifed Seed, and promi- . fed Land, were but Types and Figures of the Meffias, and a Future State. 1 8 1 Mefftas, and of the heavenly Canaan : As will appear from what fhall follow. 7. As a farther Confirmation of this, that God's Covenant with Abraham, to be his God, was not confin'd to this Life ; I obferve, that God owns himfelf to be the God of Abraham, and the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob, after their Death. This is our Saviour's own Argument, wherewith he put the Sadducees to filence, Mat. 22. 31, 32. But as touching the Refurrection of the Dead, have ye not heard what was fpoken unto you by God, faying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God o/Ifaac, and the God of Jacob : God is not the God of the Dead, but of the Living. This is a very fenfi ble Argument, to prove, that thefe good Men ftill live to God. For when tfye Multitude heard this, they were aflonijhed at his Doctrine, at the undeniable Clearnefs and Evidence it carried with it. For to be a God to any Per- foh,. is to be his Benefactor, his Preferver, his Shield, his Portion, his Reward; as God pro- , mifed to Abraham. And therefore, when fuch a Perfon ceafes to be, God ceafes to be his God ; for he is not the God of that which %is not. God is the God of all Men, and of all the World ; as God fignifies a Creator, and a Sovereign Lord ; but in this Senfe he can not be the God of that which is not. For the Relation begins and ends with the Rela tive ; he was not the God of Man, till he made him ; nor can he be the God of Man any longer, than he preferves him in being, And therefore in this common and general Notion of a God it is evident, that God is not the God of the Dead, but of the Living. N 3 Much 1 8 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Much more, when to be a God fignifies a God in Covenant; fo to be a God to Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob, as he was not to the reft of Mankind. For if thofe good Men perifh'd in the Grave, there was an end of God's Covenant with them ; of all that pe culiar Love and Favour, which he had pro mifed to them, as far as concern'd their own Perfons. I know not. what to add to make our Saviour's Argument more plain than it is And at prefent we only confider the force of the Argument, not the Authority of the Spea ker. And if God's being the God of Abra ham, and Ifaac, and Jacob, prov'd that they were "ftill alive, then his Promife to them, to be their God, muft include in it the Promife of immortal Life. Thus far I think all Chri ftian Writers agree, that this Argument proves that the Souls of good Men live after Death ; though fome know not how to apply this to the Refurrection of the Body, for which pur- pofe our Saviour here alledges it. But this is not my Bufinefs at prefent, to prove the Re furrection of the Body, but only the Immor tality of the Soul, and a future State ; which this Argument fufficiently proves. And there-, fore I fhall referve the Confideration of it, as it relates to the Refurrection, for a more pro per Place. 8. As this Promife, which God made to Abraham, to be his God, did extend to the o- ther World ; fo the promifed Seed did pecu liarly fignify the Meffias, and the fpiritual Bleffings of his. Kingdom. Which is a far ther Proof, that God's Covenant with Abra ham did contain all the Promifes of that Lift ani and a Future St at el 183 and Immortality, which is now brought to Light by the Gofpel. To underftand this, we muft firft diftinguifh between that promifed Son, from whom his numerous Pofterity like the Stars in the Heaven, and like the Sand upon the Sea-Jhore fhould defcend, and the promi fed Seed, in whom all the Nations of the Earth Jhould be bleffed: And, Secondly, we muft di ftinguifh between Abraham's carnal Seed and Pofterity, and Abraham's Children, who are the Heirs of the Promifes. If we will allow St. Paul to be a good Expofitor of God's Co venant with Abraham ; he is very exprefs in this : And I fhall fhew you, that this Diftin dtion is very vifible in the Covenant it felf. As to the firft, St. Paul is very exprefs in it, that Chrift is the promifed Seed. Galat, 3 . 16". Now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promifes made : He 'faith not, unto Seeds, as of many ; but as of one ; and to thy Seed, which is Chrift .• God had promifed Abraham a Son in his old Age ; and Ifaac was that Son ; and in that Senfe Ifaac was the Son ofthe Promife, in whom Abraham'.? Seed fhould be called; that js, from whom that numerous Pofterity fhould defcend, whom God would peculiarly own for Abraham's Seed in Covenant with him. But yet Ifaac was not that Seed, in whom all the Nations of the Earth fhould be bleffed. Nor did sAbraham, or any of the Patriarchs after him, think that this Promife had receiv'd its full Accomplifhment in the Birth of Ifaac. There are feveral Parts of God's Promife to Abraham, which muft be diftinctly confi- der'd, The firft Promife was more general} which was afterwards, upon feveral Occafions, N 4 explain'4 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, explain'd by Parts. Gen. 12. 1,2, 3. Now the Lord faid unto. Abraham ; Get thee out of thy Country, and from thy Kindred, and from thy Father's Houfe, unto a Land that I will fhew thee: And I will make of thee a great Nation, and f will blefs thee, and make thy Name great, and thou flialt be a Bleffing : And I will blefs them that blefs thee, and curfe them that curfe thee ; and in thee fhall all the Fami lies of ihe Earth be bleffed. After this, God more particularly promifes, That he would give the Land of Canaan to his Seed, f. 7. And, that he would multiply his Seed as the Duft of the Earth, Gen. 13. if, 16. After this, he promifes him an Heir of his own Body, He , that cometh forth out of thine own Bowels, fhall be thine Heir, Gen. 1 f . 4. And ftill he more particularly acquaints him, that he fhould have an Heir born of Sarah his Wife, and, that he would eftablijh his Covenant with him for an everlafting Covenant, and with his Seed after him, Gen. 17. 19. And, as a Reward of his Faith and Obedience in offering up his Son Ifaac, he renews his Covenant with him, to blefs him exceedingly, and to multiply his Seed: And now more particularly explains what he at firft promifed him, that in him all. the Families of the Earth Jhould be bleffed, by adding in the laft place that which was the End and Perfection of all thefe Promifes, and whither they all tended ; In thy Seed fhall all the Nations of the Earth be bleffed. Which cannot relate, as St. Paul argues, to his whole Seed and Pofterity, but to fome certain Per- fon, who in future times fhould defcend from him. And therefore he tells us, That God in this and a Future State. 1 8 y this Promife did preach the Gofpel to Abraham : And that the Covenant with Abraham was confirm' d of God in Chrift, and, that he is the Seed, to whom the Promife was made, Galat. 3- 8> *7> l9- And that this promifed Seed, in whom all the Nations ofthe Earth fhould be bleffed , was not Ifaac, is evident from this ; that God renews this very Promife to Ifaac, Gen. z6. 3,4. For unto thee and to thy Seed, I will give all thefe Countries , and I will perform the Oath which I fware unto Abraham thy Father, and I will make thy Seed to multiply as the Stars of Heaven, and I will give unto thy Seed all*thefe Countries, and in thy Seed fhall all the Nations of the Earth be bleffed. And this fame Pro mife God renew'd again to Jacob at Bethel; In thee and in thy Seed fhall all the Families of the Earth be bleffed, Gen. 28. 14. And we may obferve, that this is always the laft and finifhing Claufe of God's Covenant with A- braham, Ifaac, and Jacob: That, when this was accomplifh'd , when this promifed Seed was come, then God. had fully accomplifh'd his Covenant with Abraham. And this ex ternal literal Covenant was to give place to that new Covenant, which thispromifed Seed fhould make with all Mankind, and thereby bring the Bleffings of Abraham upon all the Nations of the Earth. And therefore from this time, the Prophets in their feveral Generations made mention of this promifed Seed under different Characters. Jacob in his prophetical Benediction of Ju dah, prophefies of him under the Name of Shiloh, Gen. 49. 10. Mofes under the Cha racter 8 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, racter of a Prophet. He was promifed to David as his Son, who fhould inherit his Throne for ever. And all the fubfequent Pro phets foretel ofthe Reign ofthe Meffias, and his glorious and peaceful Government ; and give fuch Characters of his Perfon, and Birth, and Miracles, and Life, and Death, and Re furrection , whereby he might be known when he appear'd in the World, and where by we certainly know that Jefus was the pro mifed Seed, the Son of Abraham and David. Now if the Appearance of Chrift in the World for the Redemption of Mankind, be the final Accomplifhment of God's Covenant with Abraham ; this fufficiently proves, that it was a fpiritual Covenant , and did princi pally relate to the fpiritual Bleffings of the Meffias ; which are therefore exprefly called the Bleffings of Abraham, Galat. 3. 13,14. And thus Zacharias in his prophetick Hymn makes the Birth of Chrift, and thofe Bleffings which he came to beftow upon the World, an Accomplifhment of that Covenant and Pro mife God made to Abraham, Luke 1. 68, and following Verfes. Bleffed be the Lord God of Ifrael, for he hath vifited and redeemed bis People ; and hath raifed up an horn of Salva tion for us in the Houfe of his Servant David j as he fpake by the Mouth of his holy Prophets, which have been fince the World began : That we fhould. be faved from our Enemies, and from the Hands of all that hate us : To perform tint Mercy promifed to our Fathers, and to remember his .holy Covenant : The Oath which he fiware to our Father Abraham,1 that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out ofthe Hands of and a Future State. 187 of our Enemies, might ferve him without fear , in Holinefs and Righteoufnefs before him all the Days of our Life. Secondly, Rightly to underftand God's Co venant with Abraham, we muft diftinguifh al fo between Abraham's carnal Seed and Pofteri ty, to whom God in a literal Senfe gawe the earthly Canaan for an Inheritance; and his fpi ritual Seed , who were the true Heirs of the Promifes. Forif it appear, that God did make fuch a Diftindtion between Abraham's Seed,we muft find out two forts of Promifes, and two different Inheritances, for two fuch different Seeds. The Jews themfelves were fenfible, that there was fomething very myfterious in this Matter. Philo Judaus wrote a Book whol ly upon this Argument , Who is the Heir of Divine Bleffings : Which he refolves into a divine and heavenly Mind, difentangled from earthly Paffions, and worldly Cares. That there is fuch a Diftindtion between Abraham's Seed, is very plain and undeniable in the New Teftament. John the Baptifi be gan his Preaching with it. Think not to fay within "jour felves, we have Abraham to our Father ; for. I fay unto you, that God is able of thefe Stones to raife up Children unto Abraham, Matth. 3. p. Which neceffarily fuppofes, that Abrahamhas other Children, than thofe, that defcend from him merely by natural Genera tion. And our Saviour himfelf, John 8. in his Difpute with the Pharifees, though he allows them to be Abraham's carnal Seed, yet he would not allow them to be the Children of Abraham , becaufe they did not the Deeds of Abraham, 37, 39, 40, and 44 verfes. 3 ' St. Paul 1 8 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, St. Paul is very exprefs in this : He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that Circumcifion , which is outwardly in the Flefh : But he is a Jew, who is one inwardly, and Cir cumcifion is that of the Heart ; in the Spirit , and not in the Letter , whofe Praife is not of Men, but of God, Rom. 2. 28, 2p. Which plainly acquaints them, that God's Covenant with Abraham was not made with his carnal Pofterity , merely confider'd as fuch ; and therefore was not a mere external and tem poral Covenant. For Circumcifion was a Sign of this Covenant, and gave a Title to all the Promifes of it. And if this were not a mere external, but a fpiritual Circumcifion, then this Covenant, and the Promifes of it, did contain alfo divine and fpiritual Bleffings, which did belong only to the fpiritual Seed. Indeed there are Tome PafTages relating to A- braham's Seed, which are very unaccountable, without having recourfe to myftical Interpre tations. God at firft only promifed Abraham in ge neral to make of him a great Nation, to give the Land of Canaan to him and to his Seed after him. Now any one wou'd have thought, that this Promife had extended to all Abra ham's Seed, to all who fhould defcend from him by natural Generation. And yet we know it was quite otherwife. Ifhmael was Abraham's Son by Agar, Sarah's Maid. And when God promifed Abraham a Son by Sarah, yet he earneftly intercedes for Ifhmael; O that Ifhmael might live in thy fight ! But God re jects Iflomael from being Heir of the .Cove nant and Promifes ; As for Ifhmael / have i heard and a Future. State. , 189 heard thee ; behold I have blefi'ed him, and will make him fruitful , and wilt multiply him ex ceedingly : Twelve Princes fioall he beget, and I will make him a great Nation. Which, ex cepting the Promife of the Land of Canaan, is the very fame, as to the external Letter , with what God promifed to Abraham him- Telf. But then he adds, My Covenant I will efiabl'ifh with Ifaac, whom Sarah fhall bear un to thee, Gen. .17. 18, ip, 20, verfes. Jfimael indeed was born of Agar a Bondwoman and Sarah's Maid; but he was Abraham's Son; and when the Promife was made in general to Abraham's Seed, why fhould this any more exclude Ifhmael from God's Covenant, than Dan and Napthtali; who were born to Jacob of Rachael's Maid Bilhah ? Or Gad and Afhur, who were born of Zilpath, Leah's Maid ? But, befides this, God made another Di ftindtion in the Pofterity of Abraham, where there could be no fuch Exception as this. Ifaac was the Son of the Promife, and God eftablifhed his Covenant with him, and with his Seed after him. And therefore it might have been expected, that all the Pofterity of Ifaac fhould have been Heirs of God's Cove nant -and Promife : And yet we fee 'twas other- wife. Rebeccah had Efau and Jacob at a birth ; and Efau was the firft-born , and therefore by rigjrt of Inheritance was Ifaac 's Heir; and confequently Heir of all thofe Promifes which God had renewed to Ifaac and to his Seed. And yet God rejected Efau, and eftablifh'd his Covenant with Jacob and his Seed. We muft acknowledge fome great Myftery in this, or it will be impoffible to reconcile it with the 1 90 Ofthe Immortality of the d out, the Wifdom of God, or with the Truth arid Stability of his Covenant and Promife. And St. Paul has given us the moft particular Ac count of this, Rom. p. and Gal. 4. which I fhall therefore briefly confider. When the Jews were told, that notwith- ftanding they gloried fo much in being Abra ham's Seed and Pofterity, to whom the Pro mifes were made; yet God would reject them from being his People, and deftroy theirCity, and Temple, and Nation , and featter them over the face of the whole Earth, for reject ing and crucifying their Meffias, and adhe ring to the external Difpenfation of the Law, in oppofition to the Faith of Chrift ; and that he would now eftablifh his Covenant only with the believing Jews and the believing- Gentiles: They naturally enough objected j that this could not be; becaufe it would dif- anul that Covenant that God had made with Abraham and with his Seed forever. In anfwer to this St. Paul tells them, that they were miftaken in the true Notion of Abraham's Seed; for the Promife and Covenant was not made with &W. Abraham's carnal Pofterity , as he proves by the Examples of Ifaac and Ifh mael, and Jacob and Efau, Not as though the Word of God had taken none effect ; as if God's Promife and Covenant with Abraham had fail'd ; for they are not all Ifrael whifh are of Ifrael , neither becaufe they are of the Seed of Abraham, are they all Children ; but in Ifaac fhall thy Seed be called; that is, they which are the Children of the Flefh , thefe are not the Children of God; but the Children of the Pro mife are counted for the Seed; for this is the Word and a Future State. i 191 Word of Promife ; at this time will I come, and Sarah fhall bear a Son, Rom. p. 6, 7, 8, p. Where the Apoftle from the Example of Ifaac and Ifhmael proves two things : Firft, That Abraham's carnal Seed and Pofterity, the Children of the Flefh, who only defcend from him by natural Birth, are not the Heirs of God's Promifes, are not that Seed of A- hraham, to whom the Promifes were made. For then Ifhmael was as much Abraham's Seed, and had as good a Title to God's Pro mife as Ifaac had. But who then are this Seed of Abraham, to whom the Promifes are made? That he tells them in the fecond place; The Children of the Promife are counted for the Seed; that is, all thofe who are born, as Ifaac was, by Faith in God's Promifes. For God promifed Abraham in his old Age, that Sarah, his Wife, fhould bear him a Son, who fhould be his Heir; and Abraham be lieved God, and this was accounted to him for Righteoufnefs. And thus Ifaac was not fo much the Child of Nature, as of Faith : As the Apoftle to the Hebrews tells us ; Through Faith alfo Sarah her felf receiv'd Strength to conceive Seed, and was deliver' d of a Child, when fhe was pafi Age, becaufe fhe judged him . faithful, who had promifed , Heb. n. 11,12. And this St. Paul tells us was the meaning of that Promife; In Ifaac fhall thy Seed be called; Not that all the Children of Ifaac fhould be reckoned the Seed ofAbraham, and Heirs of the Promifes; for the^next Example of Ja cob and Efau proves, that that was not fo: But fuch Children as Ifaac was,, the Children of the Promife, the Children of Faith, they fhall 1 9 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe ^ 'out, fhall be accounted for the Seed. And this appropriates the Covenant of God to Abra ham's fpiritual Seed : They which are of Faith are bleffed with faithful Abraham ; and ye are the Children of God by Faith in Chrift Jefus. And if ye are Chrift 's , then are ye Abraham'; Seed, and Heirs according to Promife, Galat. 3, P, 26, 2p. Now if Abraham's Seed , to whom the Promifes were made, are his fpiritual Seed, his Children by Faith, I need not prove that the Covenant it felf was fpiritual, and its Pro mifes fpiritual and eternal. This Example proves that thofe may be the Children of Abraham, and Heirs ofthe Promifes, who are not his Children by natural Defcent; if they imitate the Faith of their Father Abraham. And therefore God might reject the unbe lieving Jews, and own the believing Gen tiles, as his Children, and the Heirs of his Promifes, without difanulling his Covenant with Abraham and his Seed. The next Example of Jacob and Efau, more exprefly relates to the Difference be tween the two Covenants; the Law of Mo fes, and the Gofpel of Chrift. The Jews ex pected Juftification by the Law of Mofes, the Covenant of Works ; and rejected the Faith of Chrift; and for this Reafon the Apoftle tells them, that God would reject them; and receive the believing Gentiles for Abraham's Seed, and his peculiar People. This is what he undertook to prove in this Chapter, as ap pears from the Conclufion, thirtieth and fol lowing Verfes. What fhall we fay then, that the Gentiles , who followed not after Righte oufnefs, and a Future State. 17 f oufnefs, even the Righteoufnefs of Faith ; that isj are own'd and juftified by God, through Faith in Chrift Jefus ; but Ifrael who followed after the Law of Righteoufnefs , hath not attained io the Law of Righteoufnefs ; are not accepted, nor ju ftified by God: Wherefore ? Becaufe they fought \ it not by Faith, but as it were by the Works of the Law : For they (tumbled at the Stumbling-ftonej as it is written, behold I lay in Sion a Stum- hling-ftone, and a Rock of Offence; and whofo* tver believeth in him, fhall not be afhamed. Now this, the Apoftle tells us, was typi- fy'd and prefigur'd in Jacob and Efau, io, i r, 12, 13, f. And not only this, thatis^ God did not only make this Difference between Ifaac and Ifhmael, but even when Rebedcah alfo had conceihi'd by one, even by our Father Ifaac, though Jacob and Efau had the fame Father and Mother, and Ifaac their Father was Son of the Promife, yet God made a vifible Di ftindtion between them. For the Children', not being yet born, nor having done either Good or Evil, that the Purpofe of God according to Election might fiand, not of Works, but of hini that called. It was faid unto her, the Elder fhould ferve the Younger ; as it is written , Ja cob have I loved, but Efau have I hated. The} fhort Account of which is this : Rebeccah conceiv'd Twins,' which ftfuggled in her Wombj and being cohcern'd to know tbe meaning of it ', God tells her, two Nations are in thy Womb, two manner of People fhall be' feparated from thy Bowels ; and one People fhall be ftranger than the other People ; and the El der Jhall ferve the Younger, Gen. 2f. 22, 23, Ifaac was the Son ofthe Promife, and he had O Eftnt 178 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Efau and Jacob at one Birth ; which was a Figure of two Covenants contained in that Promife, which God made to Abraham. Efau, who was the firft-born, prefigured the Law of Mofes, or the Covenant of Works, which God firft gave to the Ifraelites , and confe- quently, prefigured the carnal Ifrael, who were under the Difcipline of that Law. Ja cob, who was the younger Brother, took hold of Efau's Heel , and immediately fol- low'd him into the World; which fignified the Gofpel Covenant, which fhould be pub- lifhed towards the end of the Mofaical Dif penfation : The firft a Covenant of Works, the fecond of Faith : The firft the Carnal, the fecond the Spiritual Seed of Abraham, the true Heirs of God's Promifes. For the Elder fhall ferve the Younger , that is , the Younger fhall be the Heir, and therefore the Lord of the Family. Upon which account God is faid to love Jacob, and to hate Efau , that is, this myftical Jacob and Efau, this fpi ritual and carnal Seed , the one the Heir of the Promifes, the other rejected from being Heir. And the Apoftle proves, that this is the true myftical Senfe of it by this Argu ment , that the Birthright was given to the Younger, before the Children were born, and before they had done any Good or Evil. And therefore God did not make this Di ftindtion between them upon any perfonal Ac count, either perfonal Merit, or Demerit, for this did not concern their Perfons ; but they were Types and Figures, whereby God declared his Purpofe according to Election, that it is not of Works, but of him that calleth. The and a Future State. 175? The Purpofe of Election is God's chxxfihg Abra ham a Seed, who fhould be accounted Abra ham's Seed, and Heirs of the Promifes. This Purpofe God had declared in the Promife to Abraham ; In Ifaac fhall thy Seed be called j which does not fignify all his carnal Seed and Pofterity, but the Children of the PrOmifejj the Children of Faith, as Ifaac waSi This Purpofe God declared in rejecting Ifhmael, and chafing Ifaac for his Seed ; and to con firm this Purpofe, he gave another Inftance of it in Jacob and Efau. There was no Dif ference in their Birth ; or if there were any, Efau had the Advantage, as being elder Bro ther; no Difference in Merit , for neither of them had done good or evil. Which proves, that God,, in chufing Abraham's Seed, who fhould be'Heirs ofthe Promifes, (which he calls here the Purpofe of Election , which does not refer to the Election of any particular Perfons, but of Abraham's Seed ) did not regard theti mere natural Defcent from Abraham; for both Ifhmael and Efau were rejected , though de- feended from Abraham .; Nor the Righteouf nefs of Works, or of the Mofaical Law ; for Efau was rejected, and Jacob chofen, before either of them had done either good or evih But God's Purpofe of Election was, in Ifaac fhall thy Seed be called; that is , as I have already fhewn, all thofe who are born by the Power of Faith , as Ifaac was , are Abraham's Seed. This is the Apoftle's Proof, that Abraham's Seed, who are Heirs ofthe Promifes, are the Children of Faith: That is, that thofe, who believe in Chrift, we Abraham's Seed; and were originally intended in that Covenant God O 2 ) made ISO Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, made with Abraham* Which fhews the Di-* ftinction between Abraham's carnal and fpiritu al Seed; and that the Promifes made to Abra ham were all the Bleffings of the Meffiahi Not merely the Temporal Promifes of the Law of Mofes; but that Life and Immortali ty, which was brought to Light by the Gofpel. Ninthly, I fhall add but one thing more, that the Land of Canaan, which God promi fed to Abraham and to his Seed, was a Type of Heaven. All that I have already faid, to prove, that God's Covenant with Abraham was not a mere Temporal Covenant, but con- tain'd Spiritual and Eternal Bleffings, neceffa rily proves that the Land of Canaan, which was the only Inheritance, that God in ex prefs words promifed to Abraham and his Seed, was not a mere Temporal Inheritance. And if Chrift was that Promifed Seed in whom all the Nations of the Earth were to be bleffed, as I have now fhewn you ; and not Abraham's Carnal but Spiritual Seed were the Heirs of the Promifes ; then that Promifed Land,which only the Spiritual Seed of Abraham was to in herit, cou'd not be a mere Temporal, but a Heavenly Canaaru But, befide this,- there are a great many Circumftances relating to this Promifed Land ; which, when put together, can never be well accounted for upon any o* ther Principle : And have all the Force of an Argument, Which the Nature of Types and their Myftical ReafOns and Interpretations can give them. As to fhew this particularly. The firft Command that we read God gave to Abraham, was, Get thee out of thy Countrey, and from thy Kindred,and from thy Father's houfe, unto and a Future State. 1 8 1 unto a Land that I will fhew thee, Gen. 12. r. This was the firft Act of Abraham's Faith, which intitledhim to the Promifeof the Land of Canaan. By Faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place, which he fhould af terwards receive for an fnheritance,#bey'd : And he went out, not knowing whither he went, Heb. 1 1 . 8. What then is meant by his own Coun trey, and by his Father's Houfe? Is it only that place, where he was born, and where his Kindred and Relations lived ? This indeed is one fenfe of his Countrey, and his Father's Houfe; and in this fenfe he obey'd. and went into Canaan, which was then an unknown Countrey to him. But it is fomewhat unac countable, why God fhould call Abraham out of his own Countrey ; and make him forfak'e all his Kindred and Relations, not to give him the immediate Poffeffion of Canaan, but only a Promife of it, that fome Ages after his Po fterity fhould inherit it; but he himfelf fhould fojourn all his Days in it, without any Poffef fion, or any fettled Habitation there : As the Apoftle adds ; by Faith hefojourned in the Land- of Promife, as in a ftrange Countrey; dwelling in Tabernacles with Ifaac and Jacob, the Heks with him of the fame Promifes. If this were to take him from bad Company, it carried him into worfe. For the Canaanites were then fo wicked a People, that God was re- folved to root them out, and to give their Land to Abraham's Pofterity for an Inheri tance. And though Men have a Natural Af fection for their Native Countrey, and for their Father's Houfe; yet this is no fuch dif ficult Tryal, to change the Air, and to tranf- O 3 plan? 1 8 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, plant themfelves into a better Countrey. And yet in this fenfe Cannan was no ftrange Coun trey to Ifaac and Jacob, who were born there- And though they had no Inheritance in that Countrey, nor any Cities to dwell in; yet they pitched their Tents where they pleafed; and were great Princes, and owned fo by thofe Princes and Inhabitants, who courted their Friendihip and Alliance. There muft then he fomething more my- fterious in this; and the Apoftle plainly inti mates, what it is. To earthly Creatures this World is their Countrey, their Home, and their Father's Houfe. And though there are many Countries, which they know little or nothing of, yet in general they know, what the World is, and what its Enjoyments are; and are in their own Countrey, and among their own Kindred, Men like themfelves, while they live here. But Heaven is an un known Countrey ; much more unknown than Canaan was to Abraham, before ever he faw it. It is only God, that can difcover this Countrey to us, and the way to it, as he led Abraham into Canaan. Thefe are the proper Characters of this World, and of Heaven. The one is our Native, the other an unknown and ftrange Land, which is Foundation e- hough for a Type. And Abraham's leaving his own Countrey at God*s Command, ana living a Stranger, all his Life after, in the Land 'of Canaan, is in Scripture made a" Figure of a Chriftian's Life in this World, who is but a Pilgrim and a Stranger here. Thus David ex pounds it, 3Pth Pfalm, 12th f. For I am a Stranger with thee, and a Sojourner, as all my Fathers and a Future State. 183 fathers were. And yet he was not a Stranger in the Land of 'Canaan, as Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob were in a literal Senfe, for he was King of Ifrael: And Canaan was no longer a ftrange Land in that Senfe, but it was the Inheritance of Ifrael. Thus in 1 ipth Pfalm, iotXxf. lam a Stranger on the Earth ; hide not thy Command ments from me. And therefore St. Peter exhorts all Chriftians as Strangers and Pilgrims to ah- ftain from flefhly Lufts, which war againft the Soul. When Abraham left his own Countrey, though he did not go out of the World, yet he was ever after a Stranger; had no other Countrey while he lived, which he could call his own. Andlf this was his myftical leaving the World, the Promifed Land muft be Hea ven, which the Earthly Canaan was but a Fi gure of. Abraham lived a Stranger in the Earthly Canaan, though God had promifed it him for an Inheritance. And he lived and died in the Faith of this Promife, as Ifaac and Jacob a.]fo did. Which is a certain Proof, as the Apoftle argues, that though they did be-- lieve that their Pofterity fhould inherit the Earthly Canaan, yet they underftood better things contain'd in this Promife, even a Hea venly Countrey which they hoped to inherit; though they had no Inheritance in the Earth ly Canaan, but were Pilgrims and Strangers on the Earth. I obferve farther, that the Titles and Characters, which are given to Canaan, do in a ftrict and proper fenfe belong only to Heaven. It is every where called the Promi fed Land, and the Land of Promife : For God gave it to Abraham by Promife, Gal. 3.18. Now %\\e ftrict Notion of a Promifed Land, and a O 4 , Promifed 184 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, Promifed Inheritance, is what we can have no right to, but in virtue of a Promife, which is neither our Birth-right, nor the Merit of bur Works. Thus St. Paul oppofes the Law arid the Promife: If the Inheritance be by the Law, that is, either by natural defccht, or by the Merit of Works ; it is no more of Promife-^ but God gave it to Abraham by Promife. And in this fenfe nothing can fully anfwer the Character of a Promifed Land and a Promifed Inheritance, but only Heaven. For this we have no natural right to ; for it is above the Original right of an Earthly Nature. And then whatever our Merits are, we can never merit a Reward, which is above our Nature. E- ternal Life is the Gift of God,: which we can have only by Promife. And that in a proper Senfe is only the Promifed Inheritance, not which may be had by Promife, but may alfo be had without it, by Birth-right or Purc.hafe, or Conqueft, 'as any mere Temporal Inheri tance may : But what nothing but a Promife can create any right to. And therefore when Canaan was called the Promifed Land, and the Land of Promife, as being given to Abra ham by Promife; it was a juft reafon to eX+ pect a more Divine Accomplifhment' of this promife, thafi in a mere Temporal Canaan. ' Thus God gave Canaan to Abraham and his Seed for an Inheritance, and for an Everlafting Inheritance. But does any thing in this World deferve the Title of an Inheritance, much lefs pf an Everlafting Inheritance ? Can there be any fuch thing in fuch a mutable and change-^ able Scene ? Or hath God's Promife to Abra* ham and: his Pofterity failed, who have now :- "•- '¦ ¦ ¦ for and a Future State. i8y for fb many Ages, had no Inheritance in the Earthly Canaan ? No fure. But, as St. Paul proves from the rejection of the unbelieving Jews, that the carnal Pofterity of Abraham was not that Seed, to which the Promifes were made ; fo it is as evident, that the Temporal Canaan was not that Everlafting Inheritance, which God promifed to Abraham and his Seed ; fince Canaan is no longer their Inheritance. But Heaven is truly and properly an Inheri tance, the Inheritance of them that are fanclifi- ed, the Inheritance of the Saints in Light, the Inheritance ofthe Kingdom of Christ and of God; an Inheritance immortal and undefiled, which fadeth not away, referved in the Heavens for us. Nothing lefs deferves the Name of an Inhe ritance; and yet what God calls an Inheri tance, efpecially an Inheritance promifed with all the Solemnities of a Covenant, muft cer tainly be an Inheritance in the higheft and moft perfect Senfe. And fince the Land of Canaan in the Letter is not fuch an Inheri tance, it muft prefigure a more perfect Inhe ritance, the Inheritance of the Kingdom of God, and of his Chrift. Indeed this very Title of the Kingdom of God, and of Chrift, gives a new confirmati on to what I have now faid. For we know that the Kingdom of Ifrael was the Kingdom of God, and of his Meffiah. God was their King, and he promifed to fet his King, even his promifed Meffiah, upon the Throne of his Father David. Yet have I fet my King upon my holy hill of Sion ; / will declare the Decree, the Lord hath faid unto me, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee, Pfalm 2. 6, 7. 1 Now 1 8 6 Ofthe ImrmrtaUty ofthe Soul, Now the Temporal Canaan was the Tempo ral Inheritance of this Kingdom ; but the Kingdom of God and of Chrift extends to a- nother World. And therefore this Temporal Canaan muft include in it the Promife of a Heavenly Canaan, which is the Perfection and Accomplifhment of the Kingdom of God, and of his Chrift. Jacob's Vifion is a plain and exprefs Proof of this. He dream' d, and behold a Ladder fet upon the Earth, and the top of it reach' d to Hea ven. And behold . the Angels of God afcending and defcending on it. And behold the Lord flood above it and faid, I am the Lord God of Abra ham thy Father, and the God of Ifaac ; the Land whereon thou lie ft, to thee will I give it, and to thy Seed. ' And thy Seed fhall he as the Duft ofthe Earth, and thoufhalt fpread abroad to the Weft, and to the Eafi, and to the North, and to the South ; and in thee, and in thy Seed fhall all the Families of 'the Earth be bleffed. Gen. z8. i z, 1 3,14. Now what does this fignify lefs, than that Communication, which is between Canaan and Heaven ?< That the Promife of the Land of Canaan reaches from Earth to Hea ven; that the Foot of this Ladder flood up on the Earth, but the Top of it was in Hea ven, where the God of Abraham and Ifaac dwells. And this is that Land which, God promifed to Abraham and Ifaac, and which he, now promifes to Jacob, from whence there is an Afcent into Heaven. But let us hear hew Jacob himfelf expounds this Vifion, f.16. And Jacob awaked out ofhisfleep, and he faid, furely the Lord is in this place, and I knew ii not. For did not Jacob know, that God is prefent and a Future State. 187 prefent in all places, that he fills Heaven and Earth with his Prefence? Yes, moft certain ly. But here he finds him prefent in fuch a manner, as he is not prefent in the reft ofthe World. The Ladder from Earth to Heaven, and the Attendance and Miniftry of Angels plainly fhew'd his peculiar Favour and Regard for his place. And therefore he was afraid, and faid, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the Houfe of God, and this is the Gate of Heaven, f. 17. And therefore he called the Name of that place Bethel, which fignifies the Houfe of God. But God has but one Houfe, which, as Jacob's Ladder did, reaches from Earth to Heaven. Heaven is his Throne, and the Earth is his Foot float. But the Footftool, though the meaneft part, yet be longs to the Throne. And therefore it is not all the Earth in general, which is called his Footftool, but only Canaan; and in Canaan it felf fuch places, where God was pleafed to manifeff himfelf more particularly prefent. Thus the Ark is called God's Footftool; a.sDa- vid tells the People of Ifrael, As for me, I had it in my heart to build an Houfe for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and for the Footflool of our God, 1 Chron. 28.2. And in the pf th Pfalm, f. f. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worfhip at his Footftool, for he is holy. Our Saviour applies this Title to the whole Land of Canaan, Matth. f . 3f . Swear not by the Earth, for it is his Footftool: That is, the Land of Canaan ; for the Jews never fwore by any other Earth. In this fenfe theTemple is cal led God's Houfe, where he is faid to dwell, and to place his Name there, and to fit be tween 1 8 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, tween the Cherubims: And the Ark ofthe Covenant is God's Prefence : Jerufalem is the Holy Mount, the City of the Great King. But it is only the Relation between Canaan and' Jerufalem, and the Temple and Heaven, which is God's Houfe and Throne; and the Communications of the Divine Grace and Prefence from his Throne to his Footftool, from Heaven to Earth ; which is the Reafon and Foundation of all thefe glorious Chara cters. And cut off Canaan from Heaven ; take down this Ladder, which preferves the Communication between Heaven and Earth ; that is, make Canaan a mere Temporal and Earthly Inheritance, and it is no longer the Footftool, or the Houfe of God; no more than Ur of the Chaldees, or Egypt, or any o- therpart of the Earth deferves that Title. And yet, what Jacob adds is ftill more exprefs and fignificant : This is no other, but the Gate of Heaven. 'Tis a very near relation to Heaven indeed, to be the Gate of it : For a Gate is of no other Ufe or Value, but to give us Entrance and Adnfiflion into Heaven. And therefore the Promife of that Land, Which is the Gate of Heaven, muft include the Promife of Hea ven, or it fignifies little. This I take to be an evident Proof, that the Promifed Inheritance and Promifed Land, was not confined to a mere Temporal Canaan. But the true Reprefentation of the Cafe is this : God enter'd into Covenant with Abraham, to be his God, and the God of his Seed; and promifed, that, when the time appointed was come, he would give them Poffeffion of the Land of Canaan for an Inheritance, ; where they and a Future State. they fhould live feparate from the reft ofthe World as his Peculiar People, under his \m- mediate Care and Government, and enjoy tbe fpecial Marks of his Favour and Prefence, while they lived; and when they died, if their Sins did not ftop up their way, they fhould be tranflated into his immediatePrefence, and exchange a Temporal for a Heavenly Ca naan. This was a Promife and Covenant worthy of God ; this made Canaan indeed the Houfe of God, and the Gate of Heaven. This Was a good Reafon for the Patriarchs to live and die in the Faith and Hope of God's Pro mifes; which they expected the Performance of, to themfelves in another World, and to their Pofterity both in this and the next. Thus, to proceed, this gives us an Account alfo of Efau's Prophanenefs in defpifing his Eirthright ; for that is the Name the Apoftle gives it, Heb. 12. 16. Left there be any For nicator, or prophane Perfon, as Efau, who for one Morfel of Bread fold his Birth-right. The Story of which we find, Gen. 2f. 2p. and fol lowing Verfes. The Birth-right, which he fold, was, to be the Heir ofthe Promifes; of that Promife God made to Abraham of the In heritance ofthe Land of Canaan. The Rea fon of his felling it was, that coming out of the Field faint, he defired his Brother Jacob, that he would feed him with that red Pottage which he had made. Jacob took the Advan tage of this, and required him alfo to fell him his Birthright. And Efau faid, behold I am at the point to die, and what profit fhall this Birthright do to me ? And Jacob faid, fwear to me this day ; and he fwore to him, and he fold 1 9 o Of the Immortality oj the d out, fold hisBirthright unto Jacob. Thus Efau de- fpifed his Birthright. From which Account it appears, that Efau underftood no more by the Promifed Land, than a Temporal Inheritance, which would do him no good, now he was ready to die. This was a prophane Contempt of God's Covenant and Promife, and of his own Intereft in it ; but the Foundation of it was that grofs carnal Apprehenfion he had ofthe Covenant itfelf; which was great Im piety and Prophanefs to think thus meanly of God's Covenant and Promife; as if God had with fo much Solemnity made a Covenant, which was not worth having. And if this be Prophanenefs, then it is certain God's Cove nant with Abraham was not a mere Temporal Covenant, nor the Promifed Inheritance a mere Temporal Canaan. But there is fomething farther to be confi- der'd, which I think nothing can give a rea fonable Account of, without acknowledging Canaan to be a Type and Figure of Heaven. For it may be thought very unaccountable, why God, who had promifed by Covenant to give the Land of Canaan for an Inheritance to the Seed and Pofterity of Abraham, fhould defer the Accomplifhment of this Promife for fo many Ages. For it was four hundred and thirty Years, before the Ifraelites went out of Egypt ; and they fpent forty Years in the Wildernefs, before they enter'd into Cana an; fo that there palled four hundred and feventy Years from the beginning and making this Promife, to the accomplifhment of it- There may indeed be fome Account given of this Delay. For when God had promifed a whole and a Future State. 191 whole Countrey to the Pofterity of Abraham, it was reafonable enough to defer the actual Performance of it, till they were grown a great Nation, and numerous enough to peo ple fuch a Countrey, and to drive out the In habitants of it ; which will account for fome part of this time. But ftill it is a great Dif ficulty, why, in the mean time, God fhould fuffer fuch a beloved People, with whom he had enter'd into Covenant, to be opprefs'd fo many Years with a cruel Bondage in Egypt ; and afterwards, when he had delivered them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, fhould m^ke them wander forty Years in the Wildernefs; till all thofe, who came Men out of Egypt, except Caleb and Jojhua, were dead. And I can refolve this into no better Caufe, than the Typical State ofthe Jewiflo Church. God no doubt had other wife Reafons to juftify his Providence in expofing the Chil dren of Ifrael to fuch a hard Bondage in Egypt ; and the Hiftory of Mofes tells us, why all that Generation of Men died in the Wildernefs. But there were more myfterious Reafons than this; fuch as to make Ifrael a Figure and Re- prefentation of the miferable Slavery and Ser vitude of Mankind under the Dominion of Sin, and the Tyranny of wicked Spirits ; that Kingdom of Darknefs.reprefented by the E- gyptian Bondage ; and to be a Figure of the Redemption of Sinners, in the Deliverance of Ifrael out of Egypt ; and ofthe Difficulties and various Tryals of the Chriftian Life in this World, and the Spiritual Supports and Com forts of it; and the Danger of Infidelity and T)\{6bed.iexice,f or which God fw ore in his wrath, that 1 9 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, that they Jhould not enter into his reft. All whicff we fee very lively Figures of, in what hap pened to Ifrael in Egypt and the Wildernefs For this was the miferable State of Mankind; they were enflaved for many Ages to wicked Spirits, whom they worfhipped for Gods. Chrift delivers us from this Slavery by Signs,' and Wonders, and Miracles, and a Divine Power. But after this we ftill live in the Wil dernefs of this World, where we are ftung by fiery Serpents, the Temptations of the Devil and wicked Spirits; and have no other Cure, but to look, by the Eye of Faith, on the bra zen Serpent upon the Pole, that is, our Cru cified Saviour. And all the Support and Nou- rifhment we have, is the Manna from Heaven,- and Jefus Chrift, that Bread of Life, which came down from Heaven, and the Water out of the Rock, which Rock was Chrift. Now if all this was Typical, as I could fhew you at large, from all the Allufions and Applicati ons of the New Teftament, that the Egyptian Bondage was a Figure of the Slavery and Ser vitude of Sin, from which we are deliver'd by Chrift ; and the Church in the Wildernefs, a Type of the Chriftian Life in this World; then their Entrance into Canaan muft be a Type of our Entrance into Heaven : And confequently, Canaan was a Type and Figure of Heaven, the true Promifed Land, and Pro mifed Inheritance. And this gives an Account why Mofes, whd brought them out of Egypt, and by whofe Miniftry God gave the Law to Ifrael, was not permitted to lead them into Canaan, and give them Poffeffion of that good Land ;' be* caufe and a Future State. lop caufe immortal Life is not by the Law of Mo fes. Tlje Law was given by Mofes, but Grace and Truth came by Jefus Chrift. And there fore Jofhua was made Captain of the Hoft to bring them into Canaan ; and his Name was changed to make him a more proper Type of Chrift. And yet Jofhua himfelf led them only into the Earthly and Typical Canaan*. But there is a more divine and heavenly Reft ftill referved for the People of God; as the Apoftle argues, Heb. 4. 3,4* and following Verfes, to prove that there is another Reft for true Believers ; which none but true Be lievers fhall enter into. For we which have believed do enter into Reft, as he faid; as I have fworn in my wrath, if they fhall enter into my reft, although the Works 'were finifhed from the Foundation of the World. For he fpake in a, certain place of the feventh day on this wife, and God did reft the feventh day from all his Works* And in this place again, if they fhall enter into my reft. Seeing therefore it remaineth that fome muft enter therein,, and they, to whom it was firft preached, enter' d not in becaufe of Unbelief : That is, thofe Ifraelites, who for the Punifh ment of their Unbelief all died in the Wil dernefs, and never entred into Canaan: A" gain, he limiteth a certain day, faying, in Da vid, to day after fo long a time : That is, fo long after Jofhua had given them Poffeffion of the Land of Canaan : As it is faid, to day if ye will hear his Voice, harden not your Hearts. For if Jefus had given them reft : If the Poffeffion of the Land of Canaan, which Jofioua gave them, was all the Reft that was promifed} then would he not afterwards have P fpokeo 1 1 o Ofthe Immortality of the j out, fpoken of another day. There remaineth there* fore a Reft to the People of God. A Heavenly Reft, which Canaan was but a Type of. Thus I have, as briefly as I cou'd, fhewn you what Evidence we have to believe, that God's Covenant with Abraham, to beftow on him and his Seed the Land of Canaan for an Inheritance , did include in it the Promife of Heaven and immortal Life in the Kingdom of God. 1 am very fenfible, what I have now faid will be ridicul'd by Men, who be lieve neither the Old nor the New Tefta ment. But I have nothing to do with them at prefent. It is fufficient to my purpofe, that fuppofing the Hiftory of Mofes to be true, as it is related, there can be no other tolerable Senfe made of it. And if we be lieve the New Teftament, we cannot reject Myftical Interpretations in general, when we find fo many of them there. And then I feat not any Objections in particular againft what I have faid. For either the Reafon of the thing, or natural Fitnefs and Congruity of the Interpretation, or the Authority of the New Teftament, will confirm it all. And though this has been drawn out to a great Length, I will make no Apology for it ; fince, befides my original Defign, it contributes fo much to the right underftanding of God's Covenant with Abraham ; which was the firft Draught of the Gofpel- Covenant, and fill'd up and perfected by the Appearance of Chrift that promifed Seed. S E C T. and a Future State. 211 SECT. V The 'Proofs of the Immortality of tfpe Soul from the Law of Mofes. 3-T" ET us now confider wha,t Evidence | i the Mofaical Difpenfation gives us for the Immortality of the Soul and a future State. For this is of a diftinct Confideration from God's Covenant with Abraham; which was confirm'd of God in Chrift four hundred and thirty Years before the giving of the Law, Gal. 2. 17. Now it is confeffed by all, that the Law of Mofes contains no exprefs Promife of another Life. But yet the whole Mofaical Difpenfation is one continued Proof of it ; if we will allow that God had any wife Defigns in that Difpenfation, or the Jews any common Senfe to underftand it. As firft, to confider it only in the moft ge neral Notion as an inftituted Religion. I fhall not at prefent difpute this Point with our modern Infidels, whether the Law of Mofes were a divine Inftitution ; or, which is all one, whether the Law was given by God. The Jews did firmly believe it, and had great reafon to do fo, if the Hiftory of Mofes gives-' a true Account of that terrible Appearance on MoUnt Sinai, when God fpoke the Law with an audible Voice, and gave them his Statutes and Ordinances by the Hands of Mo fes, when he was with him forty Days in the P 2 Mount. 212 Of the Immortality of the Soul, Mount. This, I fay, the Jews always be lieved, and do fo to this Day ; and therefore did, and do believe, that their Religion came from Godv Now I dare appeal to the moft obftinate Infidels, whether they would not think it a very good Argument for a future State, did they believe there was any fuch thing as a reveal'd and inftituted Religion. For is it credible, that God would give his Law immediately from Heaven, and fo mi nutely prefcribe all the Rites and Ceremonies of his Worfhip ; if all Religion were to be confin'd only to this World ? Or, that any People would patiently fubmit to fuch a bur- denfome Yoke, as the Jewifh Law was ; who had nothing to hope or fear from God, but only in this Life ? The Belief of Rewards and Punifhments is the true Foundation of Reli gion. He that cometh to God, muft believe that he is ; and that he is a Reward^ of them that diligently feek him, Heb. 1 1 . 6. And yet mere temporal Rewards and Punifhments ne ver did, nor ever can make true devout Wor shippers of God. Experience tells /Us, that Men will venture what God can or will do to them in this World, could they be fecurethat there is no Account in the next. And there fore, when God himfelf inftitutes a Religion, arid annexes Rewards and Punifhments to the Inftitution; whatever the Letter of thefe Promifes or Threatnings fignifies, they muft always be extended to another World ; be caufe thefe are the proper Promifes and Re wards of Religion ; without which it lofes its facred Obligation, and turns into a mere Ci vil and Politick Inftitution- But ' and a Future State. 213 But what is this, you will fay, to the Propf of a future State, when the Lawit felf makes no mention of it ; and contains no other Pro mifes or Threatnings in exprefs Words but what are temporal; which feems rather to confute the Belief of another Life ? For had there been any future Rewards ; it is reafo nable to think, that God would have pn> mifed fuch Rewards in exprefs Terms ; which would have been a more powerful Support to their Faith, and a ftronger Obligation to religious Worfhip. But this is not the Queftion, whether this be the beft Evidence we can have for a fu ture State; for that we grant it is not.' But whether it be not a better Evidence than the mere Light of Nature gives us: And whe ther devout Jews had not all the reafon in the World to expound thefe terriporal Promifes into eternal Rewards; which according to the Senfe of Mankind are the proper Rewards of Religion. When we are aflured that God will reward his devout Woffhippers, which the temporal Promifes of the Law affure us of; it is very eafy and natural to believe, that thefe Rewards fhall be compleated and per fected in a better Life. This is what good Men moft paffionately defire: This is what God can do; what the Light of Nature teaches us to hope for, and then fuch temporal Promifes are a very good Pledge and Earneft of it. For if God have a Favour to good Men, and will greatly re- Ward them, as thefe temporal Prpfnifes prov$ he will ; it is not to be thought that God wilt confine all his Grace and Favour to this World ; P 3 where 2i4 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, where, if it were nothing elfe, the Shortnefs s of their Abode makes them uncapable of any great Reward. And thisAffurance the Mo faical Law, confider'd as a divine Inftitution, gave the Jews ; though it made no exprefs ¦ Promifes of another Life. Efpecially if we confider, fecondly, that thefe Promifes are of fuch a Nature, and fo circumftantiated, that they cannot receive their juft and full Accomplifhment in this World. God promifed Abraham to give him the Land of 'Canaan for an Inheritance ; which, as I have already fhewn you, included in it the Promife of Heaven. And the Mofaical Difpenfation confirms this many ways. When Abraham was commanded by God to leave his own Country and his Father's Houfe, and to follow him into a ftrange Land ; from that time he lived, as it were, out of this World. And when God in his own appointed time fulfilled this Promife to Abraham's Pofterity, by giving them Poffeffion of Canaan for an Inheritance; this Land it felf was feparated from the reft of the World, as if it were no part of it. They were to live by themfelves, and to be a World by themfelves ; to have no Communication with the Idolatrous Na tions ; and fuch at that time all the Nations of the World were. None were permitted to live among them, who did not worfhip' the one Supreme God, the God of Ifrael, and no other God befides him. For this was a holy Land , which God had chofen for himfelf, to place his Name there. And they were a holy and a peculiar People, feparated' to the peculiar Worfhip and Service of God. Now and a Future State. 215 Now is it poffible to expound all this to a mere literal Senfe? Can we poffibly think, that God who is the Maker of the World, and the Sovereign Lord of all, fhould feparate Canaan from the reft of the World, and the Children of Ifrael from the reft of Mankind, only to have a little Spot of Earth, and a little handful of Men on it, whom he would call his own ? If God defign'd only to have a People in this World, why did he not affert his Au thority over all Mankind ; and make himfelf as much known to them all, as he did to Ifrael? Why did he feparate Canaan, and fe parate Ifrael from the reft ofthe World, when the whole World and all Mankind are equally his ? If God's Covenant with Ifrael were a mere temporal Covenant, it were impoffible to give any Account of this Matter. But when all Mankind were declin'd to Idolatry, it became the divine Wifdom by extraordinary Methods to preferve a holy Seed in the World ; and to feparate them from the Converfation of Idolaters by peculiar Laws and Rites of • .Worfhip, to ferve the Ends of his Grace and Providence in future Ages. But this is not my prefent Bufinefs. What I have now to obferve is only this : That fince God had fe parated Ifrael, and feparated Canaan from the reft of the World ; they had reafon to think, that his Covenant and Promifes were not con- fin'd to this World ; when it feparated them from this World, and would not allow them any Converfation in it. For to take them out of this World, even while they lived in it, and to do this as a peculiar Act of Grace .and Favour, could fignify nothing lefs, than that P 4 they 1 1 6 Of the Immortalify ofthe Soul, they were not of this World ; but that he had referved a better World, and more divine Converfation, for the true Ifraelites. And therefore, as I obferved before, after God had given them the Poffeffion of the Land of Ca naan ; good Men ftill own'd themfelves to be Pilgrims and Strangers upon Earth . Thus God promifed his Prefence to them, that he would dwell among them and be their God. This he did in the Tabernacle in the Wildernefs, where was the Ark of the Cove nant ; and when they were fettled in Canaan, David defign'd, and Solomon built him an Houfe, where he took up his Abode and Reft, and dwelt between the Cherubims, and was daily attended by his Priefts and Minifters. But when all the Earth is God's, as well as Canaan ; and he is prefent in all Places ; why had he his Temple only in Canaan ? Why did he promife his Prefence only to Ifrael? Truly I can give no other Account of it but this; that his Dwelling with them in the Temple, was a Pledge of their Dwelling with him in Heaven; that as God fills Heaven and Earth, yet his immediate Prefence is only in Heaven; there is his Throne and vifible Glo ry; fo of all the Places on Earth, he chofe Canaan for his peculiar Refidence. The Tem ple was his Earthly Throne, where God dwelt among them. But what was the Happinefs of this, if it did not entitle them to. be tran flated into the Prefence of God ? The Pro mife of a Land, where God would dwell a- mong them, could receive its juft Accom plifhment in no other Place but Heaven. And this was a good reafon for devout Men to and a Future State. 217 to expound all thofe Bleffings God promifed them in the Land of Canaan, if they obferv'd his Statutes and Judgments, of the fpiritual Bleffings of the heavenly Canaan. That long Life in the earthly Canaan fignified immortal Life in the heavenly ; that Peace, and Plenty, and Riches, and Honour, fignified the Eafe and Self-enjoyment, Dignity and Perfection of that happy State. Thus Solomon applies it, Prov. 3. 13. and following Verfes, Happy is the Man that findeth Wifdom, the Man that getteth Underftanding; for the Merchandife of it is better than the Merchandife of Silver, and the Gain thereof than fine Gold: Length of Days is in her Right Hand, and in her Left Riches and Honour. She is a Tree of Life (which we know was to beftow Immor tality on Man) to every one that layeth hold upon her ; and happy is every one that retaineth her. And thus St. Paul expounds the Pro mife of long Life in the fifth Commandment : Honour thy Father and thy Mother, which is the firft Commandment with Promife, that it may be well with thee, and that thou may ft live long upon the Earth, Eph. 6. z, 3 . which he applied to the Ephefians, who never lived in Canaan, nor were ever like to live there. But long Life in the promifed Land did not mere ly fignify long Life in Canaan, but Immorta lity in Heaven. The Gofpel it felf reprefents the Happinefs of the other World, by Life, Riches, Glory, a Crown, a Kingdom : For we have no other way of conceiving thefe invifible things, but by fenfible Images and Reprefentations. Arid therefore in a Typi cal State, which was the State of the Jewifh -'f Church, 2 1 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Church , the Promifes of temporal Bleffings in a temporal Canaan, might very properly be expounded as Figures of eternal Life and Bleffednefs in the Kingdom of God. Andfo St. Paul feems to underftand it, when he tells us, Godlinefs hath the Promifes both of the Life that now is, and of that which is to come. So it was under the Law : Tho' the exprefs Letter of the Law contain'd only temporal Bleffings, yet they included all the fpiritual Bleffings of another Life; and were fo un derftood by- good Men. As now under the Gofpel , tho' the moft exprefs Promifes we have are of immortal Life, yet they contain in them God's peculiar Care and Providence over us in this World; that if we feek firft the Kingdom of Qod and his Righteoufnefs , all thefe things fhall be added unto us. Thirdly, To confirm this, I obferve farther, that God gave the fame Laws to Ifrael as the Condition of their Happinefs, and Profperity in the Land of Canaan , which he now re quires us to obferve, to qualifie us for the Happinefs of Heaven. And it is reafonable to think, confidering the Wifdom, Juftice, and Goodnets of God, that where the Con ditions are the fame, the Happinefs alfo fhould be the fame. The Ten Commandments are acknow ledge to be the Summary of all natural and moral Laws; and the Ceremonial and ritual Obfervances of the Law, were intended to fignifie all that fpiritual Purity of Heart and Mind, which is now required by the Gofpel. Circumcifion, and Warnings, and Purificati ons, and abftaining from unclean Meats, and ' a great and a Future State. 219 a great many other Obfervances, were to teach them the moft divine Virtues, viz. the Circumcifion of the Heart, to wafh them and make them clean, to put away the Evil of their Doings, and to learn to do well, as their own Prophets expound them. Their Sabba- tick Reft, their Publick Falls, and Feftivals, and Sacrifices, which contain'd all the Parts of natural Worfhip, with all the inftituted Signs and Expreffions of it, and which good Men underftood to be of no value without internal Piety and Devotion of Mind, which they were intended to fignify : I fay, thefe and fuch like Laws were the Terms of God's Covenant with Ifrael^ And there is nothing more, if we confider the true Intent and Sig nification of thefe Laws , required- of us un der the Gofpel, to entitle us to Heaven. Which is a very good reafon to think, that Heaven was promifed them under the Type and Figure of a temporal Canaan. And cer tainly thus the Pfalmifi underftood it, Pfalm. if. Lord, who fhall abide in thy Tabernacle ? who fhall dwell in thy holy Hill? He that walketh upright hly, and worketh Righteoufnefs, and fpeaketh the Truth from his Heart. He that backbiteth not with his Tongue, nor doeth evil to his Neighbour, nor taketh up a Reproach againft his Neighbour : In whofe Eyes a vile Perfon is contemn' d, but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that fweareth to his own Hurt , and changeth not ; he that putteth not out his Money to ufury, nor taketh reward - againft the Innocent. He that doeth thefe things, pall never be moved. Thefe were Laws gi ven to Ifrael to obferve in the temporal Cana an: 220' Of the Immortality of the Soul, an : But the Pfalmift certainly fpeaks here of the true Holy Hill, that is, of Heaven it felf, which the earthly Sion was but a Figure of. For many dwelt in the earthly Sion, who did not obferve thefe Laws ; but none could dwell in this holy Hill without obferving them ; and thofe who did obferve them, fhould never be moved, that is, fhall always dwell there; which fignifies, that this holy Hill the Pfalmift fpeaks of, is an eternal Habitation , which can be true only of Heaven. Had God intended no more in his Promi fes to Ifrael, but a temporal Canaan, he ufed them much worfe than he did the reft of Mankind. All the Privilege they had by being God's peculiar People, was to live un der feverer Laws, and to be more feverely punifh'd for their Sins; as God himfelf tells them, You only have I known of all the Fami-t lies of the Earth, therefore will I punijh you for all yourlniquities, Amos 3,2. As for inftance. All the reft of the World were Idolaters, but God did not therefore dif- poffefs them of their Countries; many of which were as flourifhing Countries as Canaan was. But if the Jews turn'd Idolaters, God certainly delivered them into the Hands of their Ene mies; eithertobeopprefs'd'by them at home, or to be carried Captive by them into foreign Countries; that as they ferved firange Gods "in. their own Land, they fhould be Strangers in a Landj which was not theirs, Jeremiah f. ip. Now fuppofing Canaan to be a mere tem poral Inheritance , it is very unaccountable , why God fhould fuffer all the reft of the "World to be Idolaters, but not fuffer the * Children and a Future State. 221 Children of Ifrael to commit Idolatry in Ca naan. For why fhould the Idolatry of Ifrael in Canaawbe more provoking than the Idola try of all the World befides ? And yet for this reafon the Ten Tribes were carried away into a perpetual Captivity ; and Judah was afterwards carried Captive into Babylon for feventy Years. But now if Canaan was a Type of Heaven, as the carnal Ifrael was of the true fpiritual ifrael, this gives a plain account of it. For how profperous foever Idolatry may be on Earth, no Idolaters muft live in Hea ven; none muft be own'd for God's peculiar People, nor dwell in his Prefence, who wor fhip any ftrange God. , And this is a good Reafon, why God gave the fame Laws for Canaan, as for Heaven. But then if this be allow'd as a good Reafon, it proves that the Promife of the temporal Canaan did reach to Heaven ; that they were train'd up under fuch Laws and Difcipline in the temporal Canaan, as fhould prepare and qualify them to dwell in God's immediate Prefence in Heaven. Fourthly. 'Tis univerfally acknowledg'd by all Chriftians, that the moft myfterious Parts of the Jewifh Worfhip were Types of Chrift. The Temple where God dwelt by fymboli- cal Signs, was the Type of the Body of Chrift, wherein the Fulnefs of the Godhead dwelt bodily, not in Types and Figures, but empdliKas, really and truly, Colofiians^. z. p. And therefore Chrift owns himfelf to be grea ter than the Temple, Matth. iz. 6. Moft of the Sacrifices of the Law were Types of that * great Sacrifice upon the Crofs; as we muft own, if we acknowledge the Authority of the New 222 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, New Teftament , which applies all thefe le gal Sacrifices to the Sacrifice of Chrift ; as, befides many other Places, you may fee at large in the Epiftle to the Hebrews. Now if the Mofaical Oeconomy was typical of Chrift and of the Gofpel State , it muft typify alfo all the Bleffings of the Gofpel, and therefore that Immortality which Chrift hath brought to ' light by the Gofpel. And indeed all the Amufe- ments of their Law were fuch a mere Shew and Pageantry , that wife and devout Men had reafon to apprehend fomething more di vine and myfterious conceal'd under them. And it is certain , that when earthly things are Types, they muft be Types of heavenly. The earthly Tabernacle and Temple, where God chofe to dwell on Earth, muft typify the immediate Prefence of God in Heaven, whi ther the God incarnate, who was made Flefh and Blood amongft us, will tranflate all his fincere Difciples, to be where he is, and to fee his Glory. Thofe legal Sacrifices, which fanctified to the purifying of the Flefh , and to give Admiflion into the earthly Taberna cle and Temple , muft typify that great Sa crifice, wherewith heavenly things are puri- fy'd, and which gives Admiflion into the im mediate Prefence of God. Fifthly. We muft here more particularly confider rjie Nature of Sacrifices, which made up a great part of the Mofaical Law. Tho' the ufe of Sacrifices has been as ancient as the Fall of Man, 'tis a great Difpute whether Sacrifices are a part of natural or inftituted Worfhip. We have in Scripture no account of their Inftitution , and that occafions this Difputej and a Future State. 223 Difpute. But I could never yet find in my own Mind , or learn from any other Man , a good natural Reafon for offering Beafts in Sacrifice to God. And yet all natural Wor fhip is founded upon fome plain natural Reafon. And befides this, were Sacrifices a Branch of natural Worfhip, how come they to be abbrogated ? For tho' the Gofpel of Chrift improves Nature , it abrogates no thing that is purely natural. And it is cer tain that in the Jewifh Law there was no thing natural, but all typical in their Sacri fices. And therefore, tho' there is no men tion made in the Hiftory of Mofes ofthe Ori ginal Inftitution of bloody Sacrifices , we have reafon to think, that Sacrifices were not Nature, but Inftitution. But then this ftarts a greater Difficulty: To what End thefe Sacrifices were inftitu- ted by God ? All Men grant, that Sacrifi ces were for the Expiation of Sin, to redeem the Life of the Sinner, with the Life of the Beaft, which was facrific'd in his ftead. But then this feems very unaccountable, how the Life of a Beaft fhould make an Attonement for the Sins of Man ; why Blood fhould be required for the Expiation of Sin; and what Satisfaction this could make to the divine Ju ftice. But felting afide all thefe Difputes at pre fent, there feems to be one great End of Sacrifices which is little taken notice of, and that is , to give Men Hopes of a Life after Death. Adam was threatned with Death, if he fhould eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Gpod and Evil : In the Day that thou eat- eft 224 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, efi thereof, thou fioalt furely die. So that from that time he was under the Sentence of Death. But yet he lived many hundred Years, be fore this Sentence was actually executed up on him; which muft be refolved into the merciful Goodnefs of God, who immedi ately upon the Fall promifed a Redeemer, that the Seed of the Woman fhould break the Serpent's Head; and in the mean time ac cepted the Sacrifice of Beafts, as a Ranfom for the Life of Man; as it was in the Cafe of Ifaac, who was a Type of Chrift; when he was to be offered as a Sacrifice to God, his Life was fpared , and a Ram offered in his ftead; which fignified that the Sacrifi ces of Beafts fhould be accepted till the com ing of Chrift, who fhould put an end to them all, by the great Sacrifice of the Crofs. We do not indeed read that Adam at that time offer'd any Sacrifice to God; but we read, that which makes it very probable that he did : For it is faid, that unto Adam and his' Wife God made Coats of Skins, and cloathed them; which muft fignify the Skins of Beafts; and that proves that Beafts were thenkill'd; which, as far as we can learn, they were not for many Ages, but only for Sacrifices. But ftill what is this to a Life after Death ? The Account of which feems plain and fhort, that the Sinner legally dies in the Death of the Beaft which is , facrific'd in his ftead, but he himfelf lives after this legal Death , which is a Life after Death, and an Earneft of immortal Life, after the Death of thefe Bodies; and gave good Men great reafon to hope and a Future State, 1 2 $ hope for it. Thus I'm fure it was in fact in all the World. For, whatfoever Reafons they had for it, all Men thought the Expi ation of Sacrifices extended to another Life. But what the Sacrifices of Beafts were but an obfeure Figure of, was evident in the Sa crifice of Chrift, Which was typify'd by them. He died upon the Crofs for us, to deliver us from Death; but then he himfelf rofe again from the Dead, and became the Example and the Author of a Life after Death. Which fhews us, what the Meaning of thofe "Fi gures was ; and gives us fuch a Proof of a Life after Death, as neither the Light of Nature, hor the Law of Mofes could give us. Which brings me to the Third and moft perfect Evidence of immortal Life ; that Life and Immortality is now brought to Light through the Gofpel. Q. CHAP, 22 6 Of the Immortality ofthe Souly CHAP. IV. Concerning the Gofpel Evidence of Immortal Life. SECT. I. The Gofpel Notion of Life and Im mortality. HAVI N G explain'd to you the natural artd moral Arguments for the Immor tality of the Soul, and a Future State , and fhewn you what greater Evidence we have of this from God's Covenant with Abraham, and from the Hiftory and Law of Mofes ; let us now confider, what greater Evidence the Gofpel of our Saviour has given us, which is the laft and higheft Evidence of all : As St. Paul tells us, Chrift hath abolijh'd Death, ¦und brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gofpel, z Tim. i. io. But this feems to be a terrible Objection againft all, that I have already difcours'd : As if the World had known nothing of Life and Immortality, till the preaching of the Gofpel' by Jefus Chrift. For if there were fuch good Evidence for a future State from the Light or Nature, and from the Laws of Mofes, as I have endeavour'd to prove that there is, how can pnd a Future State. * 227 can the Apoftle fay; that Life and Immortality is brought to Light by the Gofpel; which feems to imply; that the World was in the Dark be fore, and krtew nothing of it?. And therefore it wttT be neceffary , before I proceed, rightly to ftate this Matter. The common Anfwer to this Objection \s', that tho' Mankind did generally believe a Fu ture State, that the Souls of good and bad Men did live after Death, and that they were rewarded and punifh'd according as they had deferv'd , yet they had not fo clear and cer tain, and diftinct a Knowledge of this, as the Gofpel Revelation gives us : That tho' they were not wholly in the Dark, rtot perfectly ignorant of anothet Life, yet .now they fee by a brighter Light, and have the higheft E- vidence, that can be given for unfeen things \ that comparatively fpeaking, Life and Immor tality may be faid to be brought to Light by the Gofpel, tho' the World was not wholly igno rant of a Future State before. Now this I grant is true; but it does not feem to anfwer the height of this Expreffion. For to bring to' Light, properly fignifies a new Difcovery of fomething that was unknown before, or not generally known. And there fore we muft enquire what the Apoftle means by Life and Immortality 5 for here^ as I appre hend it, the Miftake lies. Now by Life and Imniortality is generally -Underftood no mote than a Future State ; that the Souls of good Men livej and receive the Rewards of Virtue after Death. And in this Senfe it is very hard to fay, that Life and T,n~ mortality is brought to Light by the Gofpel ; fince Q„a ths 228 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, the Generality of Mankind , whatever the Reafons of this Belief were, did believe it from the beginning of the World. But this is not the Gofpel Notion of Life and Immor tality ; which does not merely fignify the Life of feparate Souls, but the Refurredtion of the Dead into Immortal Life, to live for ever in Immortal and Incorruptible Bodies. If it appears that this is the true Gofpel Notion of Lifeand Immortality, you will all grant, that this Life and Immortality is brought to Light on ly by the Gofpel. The Heathen World knew nothingofit; their wifeft Philofophers laught at the mention of it, when St. Paul preach'd Jefus and the Refurrection. There is indeed fome reafon to think, that good Men, both; before and under the Law, had fome Notion ofthe Refurrection of the Body, as I have already obferv'd to you from that Paffage in Job, which cannot reafonably be expounded to any other Senfe. / know that my Redeemer- liveth, and that he fhall ftand at the latter day upon the Earth. And though after my Skin, Worms deftroy this Body, yet in my Flefh fhall I . fee God : Whom I fhall fee for my felf, and mine Eyes fhall behold, and not another ; though my Reins be confumed within me. Job i9-2.f, 26", 27. And there are feveral Texts in the Book of Pfalms, which feem plainly to look that way. In our Saviour's days this feems to have been the receiv'd Opinion concerning the Refurrection. For the Objection of the.- Sadducees againft the Refurrection, plainly re-, lates to the Refurrection of the Body. They put the Cafe of a Woman, who had fucdef- fively married feven Brethren, whofe. Wife fhould and a Future Stale. 229 fhould floe be, ofthefeven, at theRefurrettio.n,for they all had her? which they muft underftand of the Refurrection of the Body; for they could not think that unbodied Spirits married. And if they intended by this Objection to op- pofe the received Opinion of the Refurredti on, then the Refurrection of the Body was the general Faith of thofe Days. And we may obferve, that as often as our Saviour fpeaks of the Refurrection of the Dead, yet none of them ever objected againft this as a new Doctrine. And yet it does not appear, whence they had this Notion, or what Foun dation there was for this in their Law, which makes no exprefs mention of it. One thing which feems ftrongly to have inclin'd them to this Belief, is, the Glory ofthe Kingdom 'of the Meffias, which gave them art Expecta tion of riling again from the Dead, to reign with him on Earth, when- he appear'd; with out which all the good Men for fo many A- ges, who lived before the coming of the Mef fias, could have had no fhare in the Glo ry and Happinefs of his Reign. But this fmr mortal Life was never brought to Light, was never made vifible, till the Appearance of Chrift. The Heathen World knew nothing of it; and the Jews had but very imperfect Conjectures about it : But now we fee the Rer furrection of the Dead, and Immortal Life, in the Refurredtion of Chrift from the Dead, ] Now I need not fay much to prove, that this is the true Gofpel Notion of Life andfm- : mortality : Not only that the Souls of good Men live and fubfift after this Life in a lepa-r rate State ; for tho', as our Saviour fays, they Q.3 fit 230 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, all live toGod, yet the Separation of Soul and) Body is both in a Natural and Scripture No-: tion a State of Death ; and fuch Men are cal led the Dead ; but Immortal Life begins in the, Refurrection of the Dead. The Apoftle tells us, that Chrifi has abolijh'd Death, and brough^ Life and Immortality to Light. Now to abo- \ifh Death is to put an end to it ; and nothing puts an end to Death, but rifing from the ¦Dead. This Chrift has done in his own Pet; fon, and thereby deftroyed the Power of Death, and given a vifible Dernonftration tp all his Difciples of Life anfi Immortality : That they- alfo fhall rife again from the Dead, and live in Immortal Bodies, as he now does. And therefore what we render Immortality d$ct£«la, fignifies Incorruption, which relates wholly tp the Body, which fees Corruption in the Grave, is fown in Corruption, but raifed in Incorrupti on. St. Paul tells us that as in Adam all die, ' fo in Chrift fhall all be made alive. Now we know, that that Death, which I Adam brought upon himfelf and alt his Pofterity? is the Se paration of Soul "and Body. And therefore to be made alive in Chrifi, muft fignifie our Re furrection from the Dead with incorruptible and immortal Bodies. But I need not infift upon the Proof of this. For there is not any one Text in the New Teftament, where Im mortal Life fignifies any thing elfe, but the ftate of the Refurredtion. And this is the force of our Saviour's Argument, whereby he proves the Refurrection of the Dead. Now that the Dead are raifed, even Mofes fhew" 'd at the Bufh, when he called the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Ifaac, and the' God and a Future State. 0/ Jacob: For he is not the God of the Dead, but ofthe Living; for all live to him, Luke 20. 37, 38. Some think, that our Saviour's Ar gument proves no more, but that the Souls of good Meq live after Death, not that their Bodies fhall be raifed again from the Dead : Which is very ftrange, when our Saviour exr prefly alledges it to prove, that the Dead a- rife ; and the Difpute, as I obferv'd before, was not about the Immortality of the Soul, but the Refurrection of the Body. When pur Saviour proves that Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob, who were dead, fhall rife again, be caufe God is not the God of the Dead, bat of the Living ; Can livingheve fignifie thofe who' are dead, and live only in a Spate of Death ? What then do the Dead and Death fignifie ? How do Dead and Living, and Life and Death, differ, if both fignifie the State of Separate Souls, which yet are conftantly oppos'd to each other in Scripture? So our Saviour tells us, / am he that livetb and was dead, and be hold I am alive for evermore. Where his be ing dead fignifies the feparation of his Soul and Body, and his living fignifies the re-union of them at his Refurrection, when he reaffu- medhis Body Immortal and Glorious never to part with it more, Revelations 1. 18. And thus we muft; underftand our Saviour's Argu ment, if we will make any thing of it. The Dead rife, that is, thofe, who are now in a ¦ State of Separation, who have left their Bo dies in the Grave, fhall rife again with their Bodies, into Immortal Life. And this our Sa viour proves, becaufe God owns himfelf to be the God of fuch good Men, who are dead : ,<£* Their 23t £ 3 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Their God, that is, their Father, their Pre- ferver, their Benefactor, their exceeding great reward, who will beftow all Bleffings on them, But God is not all this vifibly to good Men, while they want their Bodies, which are ne ceffary to compleat and perfect their Happi- ^ nefs. But then he will appear to be their God, when he fhall reftore them to .Life again, and cloath them with Immortal and Glorious Bodies; For he is the God of the Li ving. And if it be objected, why then does God call himfelf the God of thefe good Men, while they are in the State of Death ? Our Saviour anfwers, All live to him. They are not extinct, but are as happy as a State of Se paration will admit, and their Life is fafe in God's hands, who in his own good time will certainly reftore them to Life again. And therefore he is their God now, and will ap pear in a more gloripus manner to be their »God then, i This is a plain and fenfible Argu ment, and, I doubt not, is the true meaning of our Saviour in this place. And this may fatisfie us, what is meant by Living, and by Life and Immortality. Whatever Perfuafion, the World had of the Immortality of the Soul, that alone is not the Gofpel Life and Immortality , which fignifies fuch a perfect State of Life, as refults from the bleffed Re* uniori of Soul and Body. SECT and a Future State. n SECT. II. The Gofpel 'Promifes of Life and Im mortality. HAving thus clear'd the way, I proceed to confider how this Life and fmmor tality is brought to Light by the Gofpel. Now there are two things commonly in- fifted on to this purpofe, which are of great Weight and Moment ; tho, I think, |as com monly ftated, they fall very fhort of that full Evidence, which the Gofpel gives us. And they are, Firft, the exprefs Promifes of Life and Immortality : And, Secondly, the Vifible Confirmation of all thefe Promifes by the Re furrection of Chrift from the dead, Firft, The exprefs Promifes of Immortal Life. That there are fuch Promifes contain ed in the Gofpel, is too plain to need a Proof. Our Saviour upon all occafions promifes Eter nal Life to all his fincere Difciples, and threat ens Hypocrites, and Infidels, and incorrigible Sinners, with Eternal Punifhment. Thus ouf Saviour declares the Will of his Father; Gbd fo loved the World, that he gave his only begot ten Son, that whofoever believes in him, Jhould not perifh, but have everlafting Life. This is the Will of the Father, which hath fent me, that of all that he hath given me I fhould lofe nothing, bu.t fhould raife it up again at the laft day ; and this , 2 4 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, this is the Will of him that fent me, that every one that feeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlafting Life, and I will raife him up at the laft day, John 6. 2.9, 40. I am the RefurreSlion and the Life, he that believeth in me, though he be dead, yet fhall he live, and he that liveth and believeth in me, fhall, never die, John 1 1 . 2f . This is Life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou haft fent, John 17. 3. All thofe Promifes, which fo frequently occur, of the Kingdom of Heaven, of feeing God, of Glorious Bodies at the Refurrection, that the Righteous fhall fhim forth like the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father, give us as great an affurance of this, as the exprefs Word and Promife of God can give us. Let us then confider the nature of this Evidence, which, Firft, is a new fort of Evi dence, which the World never had before: And, Secondly, That we can have no Evidence of Life and Immortality, in the Gofpel No tion of it, without a Promife : And, Thirdly, it exceeds all other fort of Evidence which the World ever had before. As for the Firft, I need fay little of it; for no Man pretends that the World had any ex prefs Promife of Immortal Life before the Re velation of the Gofpel. The Men of Reafon, who think Natural Reafon fufficient for all the Purpofes of Religion, reject all Revelati on, and confequently all Divine Promifes, which can be known only by Revelation, And tho', as I have fhewn you, there are ve ry ftrong Prefumptions in the Jewifh Law of another and a better Life after this, and fuch as gave good Men a very firm Belief of it, yet it and a Future State. 23c it is certain there are no exprefs Promifes of Life and Immortality in the Old Teftament; for they might eafily be fhewn, if there were any there. And our Saviour himfelf in his Difpute with the Sadducees alledges no fuch Promifes, but argues only by confequence, from God's owning himfelf to be the God of Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob. And there fore this is a new kind of Evidence, which the World never had befpre. Arid what the Ad vantage of this is, will appear, if we confider, Secondly, That we can have no certain E- vidence of Life and Immortality, in the Gof pel Notion of it, without a Promife. Gofpel Life and Immortality is the Refurrection of . the Dead ; and 'tis certain there can be no na tural Proof or Evidence of the Refurrection, becaufe there is no natural Reafon or. natural Caufe of it. If the Dead rife again, it is ow ing wholly tp the gpod Will and Pleafure-of God, and is entirely the effect of a Diyine Power, not of Natural Caufes. And there fore we can know nothing of it, nor have any other Evidence for it, but only by Reve lation. If God declare his Will, that he will rajfe the Dead, this is a good reafon to be lieve it; but there is no reafon for it antece dent to the Divine Will, which can be known only by Revelation. There may be fome Natural Reafons given to prove the Immor tality of the Soul, that it does -not die with the Body, but furviyes and acts in a feparate State. And this is the utmpft that the Hea then Philofophers ever pretended to ; and the utmoft that our Modern Deifts, who reject all Revelation, will own: And indeed, when they 2 3 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, they have laid afide all Revelation, they have no reafon to own any more, But this is not to believe Immortal Life, but orily that the Soul does not lofe all Knowledge, or confci ous Senfation, in a State of Separation from the Body. But this is a State of Death ftill,. not Immortal Life, which is the peculiar Re ward our Saviour1 alone exprefly promifed to his Difciples. I muft -confefs (tho? I hope a prevailing Cuftom will excufe it) I think we take a wrong Courfe, when we begin the Proof of Immortal Life with proving the Natural Im mortality ofthe Soul: Which, how well for ever we can prove it, fignifies nothing to a Chriftian Immortality. For tho' the Soul * cannot die with the Body, and lofe all Know ledge and Senfe in a State of Separation from the Body, yet this does not prove that the Dead fhall rife again into Immortal Life,which alone is the Gofpel Immortality. And yet this is the Subject of the warmeft Difputes and the fierceft Zeal, which neither our Sa viour nor his Apoftles ever concern'd themr felves with.. The not diftinguifhing between what we Commonly Call the Immortality of the Soul, and that Life and Immortality which Chrift hath brought to Light by the Gofpel, very often occafions dangerous Miftakes to the great pre judice of the Chriftian Faith. This makes fome Men think, that, to prove that Immor? tal Life which Chrift has promifed, it is ab- folutely neceffary to prove, that the Soul is by Nature Immortal; and that, if they can prove the Natural Immortality of the Soul, , this and a Future State. 237 this proves that Immortal Life which Chrift hath promifed ; and that, as much as they fail in thefe Proofs, fo much lefs • Evidence they have of the Gofpel Immortality. But thefe arc two very different things, and muft be prov'd by very different Arguments; and indeed in a different Order and Method. The Immortality of the Soul does not prove the Gofpel Immortality ; but the Gofpel Immor tality is the beft Proof of the Naturalimmor- tality of the Soul, which ultimately refolves our Faith into the fole Authority of a Divine Revelation, and a Divine Promife; as the o- ther way does into the mere Evidence of Na tural Reafon; which may greatly endanger/ our Faith. As to explain this briefly to you. Firft, The Immortality of the Soul figni fies no more, than that it does not die with the Body, does not fall into nothing, or into a State of Infallibility. But that Life and Immortality, which the Gofpel promifes, is the Refurvection of the Dead. Now thefe two different kinds of Immortality muft be proved by very different Arguments. The Natural Immortality of the Soul without a Revelation, can be prov'd only by Natural Arguments, taken from the Nature and Ope rations of the Soul, iyc. But the Refurrecti on of the Dead can be proved by no Natural Arguments : For it is not h. the Power of Na ture to raife the Dead. That depends, wholly on the good W ill and Pleafure of God, which can be known oniy by Revelation. So that the Prcots of thefe two do not depend on each other. Ve ujay have a certain Reve lation of Immortal Life, whether we can -. . ?• prove 238 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, prove the Natural Immortality of the Soul ot not. And tho' we could prove the Immorta lity of the Soul by plain and felf-evidertt Rea fons, this does riot, and cannot, prove the Gofpel Immortality: That is, tho' we could prove that the Soul does not die with the Body, this cannot prove, that the Body fhall rife again, and Soul and Body be re-united in Eternal Life. And therefore the CHriftiari Faith of the Refurrection of the Body, and Eternal Life, is not directly and immediately concern'd in this whole Difpute of the Im mortality of the Soul. For as the Proofs of Immortal Life are good without it, fo the Natural Proofs ofthe Immortality of the Soul cannot prove the Refurrection of the Body and Immortal Life. But, 2. Tho' the Natural Immortality of the Soul does not prove the Gofpel Immorta lity, yet the Gofpel Promifes of Immortal Life are the beft Proof of the Natural Im mortality of the Soul. Chriftians are no farther concern'd in the Belief of the Natu ral Immortality of the Soul, than to prove that the Soul lives and fubfifts after Death, that it does not fleep nor fall into a ftate of Infenfibility between Death and the Refurre ction. We have indeed very good Proofs of this in Scripture, without concerning our felves in this Difpute, ofthe Natural Immor tality of the Soul ; as I fhall have occafion to fhew hereafter. But yet, if we can prove that the Soul is by Nature Immortal, this is a Dernonftration againft that abfurd Opinion of the Sleep or Death of the Soul until the ^Refurrection. Now and a Future State. 239 , Now what better Confirmation can there be of all the Natural Arguments for the Im mortality of the Soul, than the Gofpel Pro mifes of Life and Immortality ? For there is reafon to think that the Soul is by Nature Immortal, when God has promifed to cloath it with an Immortal Body. If the Soul were by Nature mortal, why fhould it ever rife a- gain, when it once dies? For Death is the Na tural End of a Mortal Creature; and when it dies,it has had all that Being,which it was made for. But if the Soul be by Nature Immortal, and Death fignifies only its Separation from the Body, there may be very wife Reafons, why a good God, mould cloath the Immortal Souls of good Men with Immortal Bodies a- gain, and raife them into Immortal Life. And it will add fome force to this Argument, if we confider, that bad Men fhall rife again into endlefs Punifhments; which is a good Argument, that their Souls are by Nature immortal* For, whatever other Difficulties there may be in Eternal Punifhments, this will be an unanfwerable one, that a Mortal Creature fhould be made Immortal, to be pu- nifh'd for ever. For Eternal Punifhments can never be juft, if the Perfon who is to fuffer them, be by Nature mortal. For fuch Pun ifhments, as exceed the Proportion of Nature, muft exceed the Natural Meafures of Juftice too. So that the Refurrection of the Body, which is the Gofpel Immortality, does by plain and neceffary Confequence prove the Immortality of the Soul alfo : and then we fhall more clearly fee the Natural Symptoms and Evidences of Immortality, and feel the force 240 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, Force of thofe Arguments, which, when we begin with them, when they ftand alone, how probable foever they may appear, do not carry an abfolute Certainty with them. 3 . The Evidence of thefe divine Promifes of Life and Immortality, exceeds all the Evi dence that the World ever had before. What I have already faid, fufficiently proves this, For if all the ^natural Arguments for the Im mortality of the Soul, were they never fo good, cannot prove the Gofpel Life and lav mortality, that is, cannot prove, that the Dead fhall rife with immortal and incorrupti ble Bodies; and if the Gofpel Promifes of Life and Immortality do more certainly prove the Immortality of the Soul, than any natu ral Arguments can prove it without fuch a Promife, there is no doubt but thefe Gofpel Promifes are a greater and better Evidence of immortal Life, than the World ever had be fore. But that which I at prefent defign, is to confider the difference between a divine Pn> mife and natural Reafon, as to the Evidence and Certainty of Faith, that is, between a divine and natural Faith. For even in natural Knowledge, whatever is not Senfe and De rnonftration, is no more than natural Faith, or a Belief and Perfuafion of the Truth of fomething, which we neither fee, nor can demonftrate by neceffary, immediate, fetf- evident Principles. And fuch is the Immor-' tality of the Soul and a future State, which we neither fee, nor can demonftrate; that is, cannot prove by. fuch neceffary Principles, as it is impoffible, we fhould he deceiv'd in* if \ and a Future State. 241 if our Faculties are true. I know not what fome of our modern Deifts, who are gene rally very bold Undertakers, may think of this. But moft of the wifeft Philofophers, who did themfelves believe the Immortality ofithe Soul and a future State, never pretend ed to abfolute Certainty and Dernonftration, but only to fuch great Probabilities, which did ftrongly perfuade, and make it very rea fonable for a wife Man to believe it. And then I think, without faying one word more, I may very fairly leave it to every Man of common Senfe, to judge whether the exprefs Promife of God, or fuch probable Reafons, be the fureft Foundation of our Faith. I take it to be abfolutely impoffible, that any Man, who believes God has promifed immortal Life, fhould doubt whether there be another Life after this. But many Men, who underftand all the natural and moral Arguments that are urged for the Immortality of the Soul, are not convinced by them ; and others, who are perfuaded by fuch Arguments to believe a fu ture State as moft probable, yet are not with out fome doubt about it. Which is a fenfi ble Proof, that all Mankind think the Promife of God a better Security for the other World, than all the Arguments of Reafon and Philo fophy. But tho' there is no occafion to prove, that the Promife of God is a better Security for immortal Life than mere natural Reafon, yet it may be of great Ufe to fhew you where in a divine Promife exceeds all the Evidence of natural Reafon. Now that which makes any Evidence un certain is, that tho' there are very good Proofs R on 242 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, on one fide, yet there are very great Objecti ons on the other ; that in many Cafes it may be hard to know, whether the Proofs or the Objections outweigh the other : And when this is the Cafe, Men will judge very diffe rently, according to their Interefts, Prope^ri- fities, and Inclinations. Arid therefore fuch Proofs as leave no Objections that may di fturb a wife Man, carry the moft certain and convincing Evidence with them. And fuch I take a divine Promife to be, which is not liable to any of thofe Objections, which weaken the natural Proofs of Immortality, and has all the Evidence and Certainty, which natural Reafon, as well as Revelation, can give it. As to fhew you this particularly. i . One Objection againft the natural Proofs of Immortality is our Ignorance of the Na ture and Caufes of things. For without a perfect Knowledge of Nature, which no modeft Man will pretend to, our Arguments taken from the Nature of things, which we call natural Arguments, muft be liable to great Uncertainty. As for inftance : We prove the Immortality of the Soul from its Immateria lity ; that it does not confift of grofs divifi- ble Parts as our Bodies do ; and therefore can- riot be wounded or torn afunder, cannot die by a Fever, or Poifon, or a Stab ; and there fore cannot die with the Body. And thus far, 1 think, the Argument is generally allow'd good, that if the Soul be a diftinct Subftance, and of a different Nature from the Body, which cannot die as the Body does, it is rea fonable to think, that it can furvive the Bo dy, and live without it. But then we prove the and a Future State. 243 the Soul to be fuch an immaterial Subftance from its Operations ; becaufe Matter and Bo dy is not capable of Thought, of Reafon, and of Liberty of Action ; and the wifeft Philofo phers have always thought this a very good Argument. But others, who value themfelves upon their Knowledge of Nature too, are very pofitive that it can never be proved, that Matter is incapable of Thought and Reafon; at leaft they think, that the Almighty Power of God can add Thought and Reafon and a Self-moving Principle to dull and ftupid Mat ter. This indeed feems very ftrange Philofo phy; for after all their fhifting and changing Phrafes, it comes to no more than this, that Matter, which all the World knows and fees$ has no Life, nor Senfe, nor Thought, rior Reafon, may be fo curioufly moulded as to have all this ; to live, and reafon, and chufe, and refufe; to underftand Logick, and Ma- thematicks, and the fublimeft Speculations, which have nothing to do with Matter or Senfe. But tho' the Arguments for the Im materiality of the Soul, from whence we con clude its Immortality, are fuch, as are a rea fonable Foundation for a natural Belief of it, yet we muft confefs, that our Knowledge of the Nature and Powers both of Body and Spirit are fo imperfect, that we cannot de monftrate one way or other ; that if Men will talk thus perverfely againft all the Evi dence of Senfe and Obfervation, I know no Remedy for it. But now the Promife of God delivers us from all this Uncertainty. For if he, who made us, and knows what kind of Creatures R 2 he 244 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, he made us, fays we fhall live for ever, we fhall certainly do fo. We are not concern'd, in order to believe God's Promife, to know what our natural Frame and Make is, or how we are by Nature immortal. That Almighty Word, which at firft made all things, and made us, fays, we are, and fhall be immortal. This is certainly beyond all the natural Argu ments for Immortality. For there is no room for any farther Doubts or Difputes, when God has promifed ; who is faithful and able to perform what he promifes. 2. We are to confider farther, that thefe natural Arguments for the Immateriality, and confequently Immortality of the Soul, can prove no more, were they never fo certain, out that the Soul is capable of living in a ftate of Separation from the Body, if God fo pleafe ; but this wholly depends upon the Will and Pleafure of God ; and, fetting afide Revela tion, it feems as reafonable to think, that Man fhould never have died, as that the Soul fhould live after Death. For fince Soul and Body were made to live together, why fhould an immortal Soul ever lofe its Body, and live without it ? It is certain God could have pre- ferved the Body immortal as well as the Soul ; which might render it doubtful, what the State of the Soul after Death is. And therefore here come in all the moral Arguments for a future State, to prove, that it is God's Will that the Soul fhould live after the Body, to be rewarded or punifhed accor ding to what it had done in the Body, whe- ' ther Good or Evil : Such as the Juftice of the divine Providence in rend'ring to every Man according . and a Future State. h. 4 f according to his Works ; and fince good Men are not always rewarded, nor bad Men pu- nifh'd in this World according to their De- ferts, it feems neceffary to vindicate the Ju ftice, Holinefs, Wifdom, and Goodnefs of the divine Government, to acknowledge ano ther Life after this, wherein good Men fhall be rewarded, and the wicked punifhed. And the natural Hopes of good Men under all their prefent Sufferings, and the natural Fears and Terrors of bad Men, even of the moft powerful Sinners, when they fee no body to hurt them in this World ; which Hopes and Fears always increafe, the nearer they fee Death approaching, are good natural Indica tions of another Life, where they expert their juft Rewards and Punifhments. NoW thefe are very good probable Arguments; and God forbid that I fhould go about to weaken their Evidence. But you muft all grant that this falls very fhort of an exprefs Promife of immortal Life to good Men, and of exprefs Threatnings of endlefs Punifhments to the Wicked. This I am fure our Infidejs think," who, tho' they profefs to believe the Rewards and Punifhments of good and bad Men in the next World, yet for this reafon obftinately reject all Revelation, for fear they fhould be too fure of it. For this is fuch an exprefs Declaration of the Will of God, as will ad mit of no Difpute; whereas many Men rea fon very differently about the divine Nature and Providence; and others ridicule the Hopes and Fears of good and bad Men as the Effect? of a fuperftitious Education, and of Tradi tionary Dreams and Fables. R 3 Indeed %^6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul', Indeed this very way pf reafoning from the divine Nature and Government, either with out or beyond a Revelation, as evident and demonftrable as fome Men think it, is it felf liable to very great Uncertainties, and very often leads Men into very great Miftakes. For our Knowledge of the divine Nature and Got vernrhent is very imperfect any farther than God has thought fit to reveal himfelf and his. Will to us : And when we venture any far ther, we foon find our felves in the dark, and ''tis great Odds, but that we draw fome very wild and uncertain Conclufions, and it may be, contradict the divine Revelation with a yain Pretence of a more certain Knowledge of the divine Nature. Thus fome Men from God's Eternity are apt to conclude, that the World muft be eternal too ; for they cannot think, that a good God would fuffer an Eter nity to pafs without making a World ; at leaft they think this a good Reafon to affign many Ages to it before that Date that Mofes allows to the Creation. Others from the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God conclude the Pre-exi- ftence of all human Souls, which muft all be as old as the Creation ; and then they muft have liv'd in fome former State,- before they funk into thefe Bodies. And others from the divine Goodnefs reject the Doctrine of eter nal Punifhments, and teach, that all Devils and bad Men fhall at laft be faved. From the Eternity of God's Decrees, and the certain Fore-knowledge of all things, others conclude the abfolute Fatality of all Events, and the Neceffity of all human Actions. Thefe, and, fuch-. and a Future State. 247 fuch-like Opinions, are the Effects of Rea foning from thofe imperfect Notions we have of the divine Nature without the Authority and Guidance of Revelation. From that na tural Knowledge we have of God, we may fafely conclude that he will do what is wife, and juft, and good : But when we come to apply this to particular Cafes, we do not fo properly argue from the divine Nature, as from thofe Notions we have of Wifdom, and Juftice, and Goodnefs,: And as far as they fall fhort of the infinite Wifdom, and Juftice, and Goodnefs of God, which no Creature can fully comprehend, fo much Uncertainty there muft be in our Reafonings about them. Which is Proof enough, that the Declaration of the divine Will in an exprefs Promife of Life and Immortality, is a much better Security than all our Reafonings, even from the divine Na ture and Providence, any farther than they are fupported by Revelation. And indeed, if this were not fo, I know not to what pur pofe God fhould make fo many Promifes to good Men in Scripture both with refpect to this Life and to a better. 3. There is this farther Advantage in a di vine Promife, that, whatever God promifes, we have the Security of eternal Truth and Almighty Power for the Performance of it. Which anfwers all the Difficulties that may be objected from the Nature of the Promife, and the feeming natural Impoffibilities of per forming it. When we have no other Proof of any thing than mere natural Reafon, every Objection from the Nature of things either R 4 abates 248 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, abates or deftroys all the Evidence of Reafon : For when we reafon only from the Nature of Things, an appearing Incapacity, or Impoffi- bility, is an unanfwerable Objection againft natural Proofs. But when we have the Pro mife of God, we have nothing to do with Nature, or with the Powers and Poffibilities of Nature ; for it is not the Power of Na ture, but the Power of God we rely on. And therefore, unlefs any Man can prove the thing promifed to be impoffible to the Power of God, no natural Impoffibilities are any Ob jection. This was the Jewijh Infidelity : As many wonderful things as God had done a- mong them, if he promifed to do any new thing, which they thought impoffible to be done, they would not believe him. He clave the Rocks in the Wildernefs, and gave them drink as out of the great Depths. He brought Streams alfo out of the Rocks, and caufed Wa ters to run down like Rivers. And they finned yet more againft him, by provoking the Moft High in tbe Wildernefs. And they tempted God in their Heart by asking Meat for their Lufts. Yea they fpake againft God; they faid, Can God fur- nip a Table in the Wildernefs ? Behold hefmote tbe Rock, that the Waters gujhed out, and the Streams overflowed; Can he give Bread alfo? Can he provide Flefh for his People ? Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth, fo a Fire was kindled againft Jacob, and Anger alfo came up againft Ifrael, becaufe they believed not in God, andtrufted not in his Salvation, Pfal. 78. if, and following Verfes. This is Infidelity, to diftruft the Power of God to do whatever he and a Future State. 249 he promifes. And it is a Degree of Infidelity to think our felves concern'd to anfwer all the natural Objections againft God's Promifes, before wq will believe them. Whereas this was the Glory of Abraham's Faith, that he rejected all fuch Objections; that when God promifed him a Son in his old Age, he con- fider'd not his own natural Decays, nor the Deadnefs of Sarah'* Womb, but believed in Hope, in a firm Truft and Confidence in God againft Hope, againft all natural Hopes and Expectations, as knowing that God was faith ful, who had promifed, and that what he had promifed he was able alfo to perform. And thus the bleffed Virgin believ'd that MefTage the Angel brought her, that fhe fhould bear a Son by a divine Power, by the over-fhadow- ing of the Holy Ghoft, without knowing a Man ; which was contrary to the Courfe of Nature. And thus we muft believe the Pro mifes of God, not confidering the Powers of Nature, but the Power of God. Whatever natural Difficulties or feeming Impoffibilities there may be in the Doctrine of the Refur rection, this is not our Concernment ; God will take care of that. 'Tis not z natural, but a divine Power, which will raife us at the laft Day, and cloath us with immortal and incorruptible Bodies; and whether God can raife the Dead, or no, let thofe, who have a mind to it, difpute it with God : But let us believe without difputing, as we fecurely may, when God has promifed. Now what Firm- nefs does this give to our Faith, when a di vine Promife anfwers all natural Objections, whatever they are? For when no Objections from 2 5 o Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, from Nature can confute God's Promifes, no fuch Objections ought to fhake our Faith. Which is fuch a degree of Certainty, as it is impoffible mere natural Reafon, which is o- blig'd to anfwer all the Difficulties in Nature, which many times are not very eafily anfwer'd, can ever give us. Thus 1 have fhewn you what the Evidence and Certainty of a divine Promife is, and how much it exceeds all the Evidence of mere na tural Reafon. And this is the Evidence the Gofpel gives us of Life and Immortality. And I heartily wifh and pray, that thofe a- mong us who defpife all Revealed Religion, and think nothing certain but what Nature teaches, would ferioufly confider thefe things, and compare both what Revelation, and what Nature teaches, and the different Evidence and Certainty of both. It is a vain thing to talk of Religion without the Belief of ano ther World, and the future Rewards of good Men ; and therefore that is the beft Religion, and will make the beft Men, which gives us the moft certain Evidence of immortal Life. But can natural Reafon difcover any fuch thing to us ? The moft that pretends to, are the the natural Proofs of the Immortality of the Soul. But tho' we fhould grant thefe as cer tain, as Mathematical Demonftrations, is this immortal Life ? It is not that immortal Life, which the Gofpel promifes; for that is the Refurrection of the Dead. Tho' the Soul lives and acts in a feparate State, this is a State of Death, as the Separation of the Soul and Body is. Now to live in a State of Death, can never be thought a compleat Happinefs, nor and a Future Stated 2 y I nor a proper Reward of good Men. If there be a natural Sympathy and Congruity between Soul and Body; if the State of Separation be a Curfe and a Punifhment, it cannot be a State of Reward. The Man cannot be faid to live, in a true and proper Senfe, till Soul and Body be reunited again, which is his na tural State of Life. I know the Platonifts talk'd vdry contem ptibly of the Body, and gave it very hard Names, as the Prifon and Dungeon of the Soul, whither it was condemn'd, as a Punifh- r ment for its Sins in fome former State. And I cannot deny, but fince the Fall of Man, thefe Bodies of Sin and Death, as St. Paul calls them, may deferve all thefe ill Chara cters. But whoever believes that this was the original State of human Souls, to live and to be happy in Union with thefe Bodies, can never think that their Happinefs is compleat, or that they truly live as human Souls mould live, till they are reunited to thefe Bodies, tho' changed and transform'd into immortal and incorruptible Bodies, which will make their Happinefs more compleat and perfect. What the Happinefs of feparate Souls is, we can but guefs; tho' that the Spirits of juft Men made perfect are very happy we do not queftion, of which more hereafter. But I am fure natural Reafon, without Revelation, can tell us nothing of it. For either Death is the natural Condition of Mankind, or the Punifhment of Sin. If the firft, I very much fear it will weaken the natural Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul. If the fecond, which nothing but the Hiftory of Mofes can inform 2 5 2 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, inform us of, (and therefore thofe, who be lieve not Mofes and the Prophets, and the Gofpel of our Saviour, have no reafon to be lieve) I wonder by what Arguments they prove, that the Soul can be happy in a State of Separation, that is, while it is in a State of Punifhment, before its Sins be forgiven, and the Punifhment remov'd : And how they can prove, that God will reward good Men, while he continues the Punifhment of Sin upon them, and will always do fo, I cannot guefs ; for this is to reward and punifh at the fame time. When God is reconcil'd to Men thro' the Merits and Mediation of Chrift, he may for wife Reafons defer their Refurrection till the Day of Judgment ; and in the mean time beftow fuch Happinefs upon them as fe- • parate Souls are capable of. But if Death be the Punifhment of Sin, we can never be fe- cure, that feparate Souls either are, or ever fhall be, happy without a Promife and Ex pectation at leaft of a bleffed Refurrection. This is the difference between Deifts, who reject all Revelation, and Chriftians. They pretend to believe the Immortality of the Soul in a State of Separation ; but we believe immortal Life, or the Refurrection of the Dead, with immortal, glorious, and incor ruptible Bodies. They have fome probable Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul; we have an exprefs Promife of Life and Im mortality : But were they never fo certain of the Immortality of the Soul, they can never prove the Happinefs of feparate Souls, who are in a State of Death, and are never to rife again. For the Re-union of Soul and Body * in and a Future State. 2 j 3 in the Refurrection of the Dead, which re- ftores them to Life and Immortality, js the proper Reward and compleat Happinefs of good Men; not a living Death. Let us then blefs God for the Gofpel of our Saviour, and for that Life and fmmortality , which he hath brought to light thro' the Gofpel; and live like Men, who have the exprefs Promifes and cer tain Hopes of eternal Life. And I heartily pray, that thofe, who with fo little reafon magnify and adore natural Reafon to the con tempt of all Revelation, may fee their Mi ftake ; and learn that from the Gofpel of our Saviour, which mere Nature can never teach them ; and yet which is the greateft Con cernment of Mankind to know, as it will be their greateft Happinefs to enjoy. mmmmmmmmmmMmm SECT. III. The Tromifes of Immortal Life confirmed by the Refurredtion of Chrifi from the 'Dead. HAVIN G fhewn you that the Gofpel of Chrift contains the exprefs Promifes of immortal Life; and that fuch exprefs Promi fes give us a more certain Evidence of immor tal Life, than the World ever had before, or ever could have had without a Promife: I proceed now to fhew, Secondly, What af- furance the Refurrection of Chrift gives usof 2 j 4 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, of the Truth and Certainty of all thefe Pro mifes. For if divine Promifes give us the greateft affurance of immortal Life , and the Refurredtion of Chrift gives us the higheft Confirmation of all thefe Promifes; there needs nothing more to compleat and perfect this Evidence of Immortality. . Firft, Then, let us confider the Refurre ction of Chrift as a great Miracle. Now tho' all the Miracles, which our Saviour wrought, while he lived on Earth, were a manifeft Proof of his divine Authority, and an unde niable Confirmation of all the Promifes, which he made in God's Name; yet he him felf refers the laft and finifhing Proof of all to his own Refurrection from the Dead. This Anfwer he gave the Pharifees, who, after all the Mifacles they had feen him do, ftill de manded a Sign. An evil and adulterous Genera tion feeketh after a Sign ; but no Sign fhall be gi ven to it but the Sign ofthe Prophet Jonas : For as Jonas was three Days and three Nights in the Whale's Belly, f 6 fhall the Son of Man be three Days and three Nights in the Heart of the Earth, Matth. 12. 3P, 40. And, Deftroy this Temple, and in three Days I will raife it up ; which, the Evangelift tells us, he /pake of the Temple of his Body, John 2. ip. Now what greater Teftimony could pod poffibly give to any Prophet, than to raife him from the Dead ? This is an undoubted Miracle; all the World fees , that a dead Man cannot raife himfelf; and therefore this muft be done by fome invifible Power, and that no Crea ture-power neither. For if Man was made by God, none can raife Man from the Dead, but and a Future State. 2 y j but he who form'd Man of the Duft of the Earth , and breath'd into him the Breath of Life. For to give Life at firft, and to reftore it again when it is loft, is the Work of the fame Almighty Power. There are fome great Philofophers and ex act Speakers, who will by no means allow us to talk of the Certainty of Faith; but for what reafon. I cannot tell, unlefs they would have us believe our Faith to be uncertain, or lefs certain, than what they call natural Know ledge and Science. This is a more civil way than to reject and ridicule all Faith: But, if they will allow any thing in Religion to be certain, I would defire to know, what more certain Proofs they have from natural Reafon, that there is a God, than we have, fuppofing the Hiftory of the Gofpel to be true , that Chrift came from God , and re vealed his Will to us. The beft natural Proof they have ofthe Being of a God is the vifible Frame of the World , which is a Work of infinite Wifdom and Almighty Power; that is, they prove an invifible Almighty Caufe, which we call God, from the vifible Effects of an Almighty Power. And does not Chrift prove his divine Miffion and Authority by the fame Argument, that he works the Works of God, that he does fuch Works as never Man did; and, as the blind Man told the Pharifees, fuch , as no Man can do , except God be with him ? If I do not the Works of my Father, be lieve me not ; but if I do, though ye believe not me , believe the Works , that the Father hath fent me. For if the vifible Frame ofthe World proves, that there is a God, who made the World, 2 j 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, World, becaufe it could not be made with out him ; then for the fame reafon thofe mi raculous Works, that none can do but God, not only prove, that there is a God who does them , but that the Perfon , who does them in God's Name, comes from God. So that if we allow the Refurrection of our Saviour to be an unqueftionable Miracle, that is, what is above the Power of any natural Caufe, and muft be attributed to the imme diate Power of God; it gives us the fame fort of Evidence for the divine Authority of our Saviour , and the Truth of all his Promifes, which we have for the Being of God by mere natural Reafon; that is, the Argument from vifible Effects to an invifible Caufe. Secondly, But befides the Miracle of pur Saviour's Refurredtion , which is an evident Proof, that it was owing to a divine Power; what greater Approbation could God give to our Saviour, than to raife him again from the Dead ? However God may rdward good Men in another World, who, as our Savi our did, lay down their Lives to bear witnefs to the Truth : fuch Rewards are not vifible to us in this World; and therefore cannot give any vifible Teftimony of God's extraor dinary Favour to fuch good Men; nor confe- quently any new Authority to that Doctrine which they preach. But all the World will own, that to raife a Man from the Dead, who had facrific'd his Life to bear witnefs to the Truth , is a moft fignal Expreffion of God's peculiar Love and Favour to fuch a Man, and an undeniable Confirmation of the Truth and a Future State. % ; Truth of all that he taught the' World in God's Name. This is fuch a Teftimony as never was given to any Man, but only to Je fus Chrift ; and therefore gives him fuch an Authority, as never any other Prophet had, and is fuch a Confirmation of the Gofpel, as no Religion before ever had. And, befides this, whereas we muft con fefs , that there have been a great many Im- poftors in the World, who have abus'd Man kind with fome counterfeit Miracles; and Deifts and Infidels make this a Pretence for rejecting all kind of Miracles ; the Refurre ction of Chrift is fuch a Miracle, and gives" fuch a Teftimony to him, as no Impoftor ever pretended to. Whatever lying Wonders they wrought while they lived, none of them could ever give this Authority to their Impoftures by riling again from the Dead. This the De vil could not help them in : And tho' God for wife Reafons , and in juft Judgment , might fuffer thofe who receiv'd not the Truth in the Love of it , to be impos'd oni by the Cheats and Delufions of wicked Spi rits, artd as wicked Irripoftors, by permitting them to do fome great artd wonderful Works in imitation of real Miracles ; yet , to give the greater Authority to our Saviour, in the laft and moft perfect Revelation of his WilLj he hath given fuch a Teftimony to Chrift, in railing him from the Dead , as neither Men nor Devils can counterfeit. Had God ever fuffer'd an Impoftor to rife again from the Dead, it had been too great a Temptation to have been refifted ; for it had been impoffi ble after this to diftinguifh the vileft Impo- S ftow 2 5 8 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, ftors and the greateft Prophets. But the Re furrection from the Dead is peculiar only to " our Saviour, and is fuch a divine Teftimony as no Impoftor ever had. And for this rea fon Chrift made his laft Appeal to his Refur redtion from the Dead, to prove the Divini ty of his Doctrine, and of all his other Mi racles; becaufe he knew no Impoftor ever had, or ever fhould, confirm his Authority by riling again from the Dead. And for the fame reafon it was the peculiar Office of the Apoftles to be Witnefies of his Refurrection ,' on which the Truth and Certainty of the whole Gofpel, and all the Promifes of it did entirely depend. For tho' fome other Mira cles might have been counterfeited, this ne ver was, nor ever fhould be; and therefore his Refurrection gave a new Authority to all his other Miracles; that they were wrought, riot by a Confederacy of evil Spirits , but by the Power and the Spirit of God. Some of the Pagan Philofophers, who liv'd fince the Times of Chriftianity, and were im placable Enemies to Chrift and his Religion ; fuch as Celfus , Porphyry , Jamblicus , and Ju lian the Apoftate ,. knew not what to fay to thofe many Miracles , which were attributed to our Saviour : They could not abfolutely deny, that fuch things were done, nor deny Miracles to be a divine Teftimony : And therefore to leffen the Authority of our Savi our's Miracles, they fet up Pythagoras and A- pollonius for his Rivals, and tell a great many wonderful Stories of what they did, but with out any credible Authority. And yet, as they tell their Story, it is eafy to fee, that all is and a Future State. 259 is owing to Fiction or Magick; that they were all either forged Stories, or the Cheats of wicked Spirits; and not to be compar'd to the Miracles of our Saviour, either for Num ber or Nature, or Quality; much lefs as to the Evidence and Certainty of them. But here is one Anfwer, which will ferve for all. Let them fhew us any Man, that di ed , and rofe again from the Dead , in tefti mony of the Doctrine, which he preach'd ; and then we will grant, that this will weaken the Authority of our Saviour, not with ftand ing his Refurrection from the Dead. But this they can never do : For I fuppofe no Man will think, that Pythagoras's concealing him felf for feven Years; and then pretending, that he had been in the other World, and re- turn'd again to teach Men Philofophy, is to be compar'd to that certain Account we have both of the Death and Refurrection of our Saviour; who rofe again with an immortal Body, not to live in this World and to die a- gain, but to afcend in his glorified Body up to Heaven, there to live for ever , and never to die more : Which is fo peculiar to our Saviour, that no Man yet ever had the Im pudence to pretend to it. Thirdly, We may confider farther, that the Refurrection of Chrift from the Dead did not only give a divine Authority to his Perfon , and a general Teftimony to the Truth of that Gofpel which he preach'd, but a particular Teftimony to that great Gofpel-Promife of the Refurrection of the Dead. God gave a glorious Teftimony to the Prophet Elias, when he tranflated him to Heaven in a fiery S 2 Chariot 2 60 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Chariot without dying; and fome may think, that this would have given as great an Autho rity to our Saviour, and have been much more honourable for him , than to die in an infa mous manner upon the Crofs , and then to rife again from the Dead. But, befides that the Expiation of our Sins made his Death ne ceffary as well as his Refurrection; whatever Authority fuch an immediate Tranflation into Heaven without dying would have given him, we fhould have wanted a vifible and fenfible Proof of the Refurrection of the Dead into immortal Life. It is hard to fay what is wanting to confirm our Faith of a bleffed Refurredtion, when we have God's exprefs Promife for it, fo attefted as leaves no place for any reafonable Doubts. And yet fuch is the Weaknefs of human Na ture, that we find it a great Tryal of Faith to believe fuch Promifes as we never had any Example of. This was the Tryal of Abra ham's Faith, to believe, that he fhould have a Child in his old Age, when the Strength and Powers of Nature were decay'd ; becaufe fuch a thing had never been known in the World before. And thus it was with the bleffed Virgin, when the Angel promifed her, that fhe fhould conceive without knowing a Man, by the overfhadowing of the Holy Ghoft. It is more eafy to believe, that God will do what he promifes , when we know the thing has been done before : And there fore fuch a vifible Example of the Refurre ction of the Dead, as we have by the Refur rection of Chrift, gives great confirmation to the Promife of the Reiurrection. For tho* there and a Future State. 1 6 1 there were fome Examples of raifing the Dead before the Refurrection of Chrift, as Chrift himfelf raifed Lazarus and fome others from the Dead, which was a vifible Proof of his Power to raife the Dead; yet there was no Example of a Refurrection into immortal Life : They were raifed only to live fome longer time in this World , and then to die again ; but Chrift was the firft, who rofe a- gain into immortal Life, never to die more ; and one fuch Example isa vifible Proof of the, Refurrection. For if Chrift be preached, that he is rifen, how fay fome among you, that there is no Refurrection of the Dead ? But if there be no Refurrection of the Dead, then is Chrift not rifen. As St. Paul reafons, I Cor. if. 12, 13. Nay, I obferve farther, that the Refurre ction of Chrift from the Dead was abfolute- ly neceffary to confirm his Promife of raifing us. For there are two Parts of his Promife, Firft, That he would raife himfelf from the Dead on the third Day ; and, Secondly, That at the laft Day he would raife us. And if he had not raifed himfelf from the Dead, what reafon could we have had to believe his Pro mife of raifing us ? For his raifing himfelf from the Dead was the greateft Security he could give us, that he would raife us; for had he continued under the Power of Death himfelf, it is certain he could have no Power to raife us. But when we fee that he is actu ally rifen from the Dead himfelf, as he pro mifed, and afcended into Heaven, thereto continue till the laft Day, when he promifed to raife us; this gives us as great an Affurance S 3 of 262 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, 6f our own Refurrection, as we have ofthe Refurrection of Chrift. When we fee the Refurredtion of the Dead actually begun in the Perfon of Chrift, where by Promife and Covenant it was to begin, this is fuch an .Evi dence of our Refurredtion, as the firft Fruits are ofthe following Harveft; nay much more fo ; for it is not only a Sign , but a Caufe. For, by dying and rifing again from the Dead, he is inveited with Power and Autho rity to raife us ; of which more hereafter. So that, if we confider the Refurrection of Chrift only as a Proof of his divine Authori ty, that he came from God to reveal his Will to the World, and as a particular Confirmati on of his Promife of immortal Life; this is fuch an Evidence as the World never had be fore, and will certainly render our Unbelief very inexcufable. But, before I expoftulate this Matter with Infidels, there is one Objection lies in our way. For our Saviour in the Parable of Di ves and Lazarus feems to give no more Au thority to the Refurrection of the Dead to prove another Life after this, where good Men fhall be rewarded, and the Wicked pu nifhed , than he does to Mofes and the Pro phets. This rich Man being in Torments, begs Abraham that he would fend Lazarus to his Father's Houfe , for he had five Brethren , that he might tefttfy to them, that they alfo come not into this Place of Torment. But A- braham faid unto him, they have Mofes and the Prophets, let them hear them. .He re plies, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the Dead, they will repent. And and a Future State. 16$ 'And he faid unto him, if they believe not Mo fes and the Prophets, neither will they be per- fwaded, though one rofe from the Dead, Luke 1 6. 27, and following Verfes. Which feems to give no greater Authority to the Refur redtion of the Dead, and therefore not to the Refurrection of Chrift himfelf, than to the Writings of Mofes and the Prophets, to confirm the Promifes of another Life. But it is certain this is not our Saviour's Meaning, who fo often appeals to his own Refurrecti on from the Dead , as the laft and greateft Confirmation of his divine Authority, and of the Truth , and Certainty , and Divinity of all he did and taught, and particularly ofthe Promife of immortal Life. And the thing fpeaks it felf; that thofe exprefs Promifes , which Chrift has made us of immortal Life , and that Confirmation that he has given us of thefe Promifes by his own Refurrection from the Dead, is much beyond any Evi dence that Mofes and the Prophets have given us. Nor can I fee any reafon from what our Saviour makes Abraham here fay to think o<- therwife. For, Firft, Suppofing we fhould grant, thatZ)/- ves thought that his Brethren wanted a bet ter Evidence for another Life , and the Re wards and Punifhments of good and bad Men, than Mofes and the Prophets had given them ; yet Abraham's Anfwer, that thofe, who would not believe Mofes and the Prophets, would not believe fuch a Meffenger from the Dead , as Dives defir'd , is a very good An fwer, without fuppofing that there could be rip better Evidence for another Life, than S 4 what :&4 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, what Mofes and the Prophets had given them ; much lefs without fuppofing that the Refur rection of our Saviour himfelf from the Dead is not a better Evidence and more certain Proof of immortal Life. To underftand what Abraham means by one rifing from the Dead , we muft confider what it was that Dives defir'd of Abraham , which was only to fend Lazarus to his Bre thren , to allure them of that Place of Tor ment prepar'd for bad Men; not that Laza rus fhould, in the Gofpel Notion of the Re furrection, rife again from the Dead; that is, re-affume his Body immortal and glorious, and appear to them in this glorified Body ; for this was what Abraham could neither do for Lazarus, nor for himfelf ; but that he fhould appear to them, as Ghofts and feparate Spuls us'd to do, in a vifible Shape and Form, fo as to be known by them ; not in a true human Body, as one raifed from the Dead. Now Abraham was certainly in the right, that tho' Mofes and the Prophets have not given us £he higheft Evidence, that can be given, of immortal Life,, yet they have given us much better Evidence of it than the Apparitions of Ghofts and Spirits could do ; and that thofe, who would not believe Mofes and the Pro phets, would much lefs believe an Apparition of Lazarus, whatever he fhould tell them of the other World , and of the State of their Brother Dives in it. For what Authority hath a Ghoft or Apparition ? Who knows what it is? Whether it be the Perfon it re prefents , or fome deluding and counterfeit Spirit ? And then, who can tell, whether it fpeaks and a Future State. 16 y fpeaks true or falfe ? And is this to be com par'd to the Authority of a ftanding Revela tion , which, tho' it do not fpeak fo plainly as the Gofpel does , or give fuch undeniable Proofs of Immortality, yet is certainly to be credited beyond any Apparitions, which have no Authority at all; which may a little awa ken and terrify Men at prefent; but the Fright will foon be over, and they will be lieve and live juft as they did before ? Abra ham's Anfwer may fatisfy us of the Vanity of this whole Difpute about Apparitions, as far as may concern Religion , and the Belief of another World, in it. For this will not con vince any Man, who will not believe the Law of Mofes, much lefs who will not be lieve the Gofpel of Chrift. Here is no com parifon made between the Mofaical and the Gofpel Revelation ; between the typical Pro mifes of the Law of Mofes, and the plain and exprefs Promifes ofthe Gofpel of Chrift con- firm'd by his own Refurrection from the Dead. But after all it does not appear to me from any thing in this Parable, that Dives's Bre thren were Infidels, who believ'd nothing of the other World. For Dives does not defire Abraham to fend Lazarus to give them a greater Affurance of the other World ; nor does he fay, that they would believe it ever the more, if Lazarus went unto them ; but that they would then repent. Nor does Abra ham fay that they would not believe the other World upon the appearing of Laza rus, but that they would not be perfwaded, that is, to repent and reform their Lives. And, 2 66 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, And this is certainly true. There are many Men, who believe Mofes and the Prophets, and, which is more than that , they believe the Gofpel of Chrift too, and yet live very wicked Lives, and have great need to be fummon'd to Repentance. The moft effectu al Means Dives could think of for this, was to fend one from the Dead to preach Repen tance to them. But Abraham tells him other- wife, that thofe who will not hear Mofes and the Prophets, who will not repent of their Sins at their Admonition and Reproofs, would not repent , tho' one fhould come from the Dead to pcrfwade them. Which does not relate to the different Degrees of Evidence, but to the Power of Perfwafion. And it is certainly a great Truth, that thofe, who will not be perfwaded fo repent of their Sins by all the Arguments of the Law and the Gofpel , would not be perfwaded , tho' a Meffenger from the Dead fhould preach to them. And now I would defire the Infidels of our Ageferioufly to confider, what there is want ing in this Evidence to give us the moft abfo lute Affurance of a bleffed Refurrection into immortal Life. Let them but fuppofe for a while that the Gofpel gives us a true Ac count of what Chrift did and taught, of the Doctrine which he preach'd , and the Pro? mifes Which he made, of his Death and Re furrection from the Dead ; and then deal fin- cerely with themfelves and the World, and fay what is wanting in this Evidence. For this is the Gofpel Evidence, whether it be true or falfe. For, whether the Gofpel con* tains and a Future State. 167 tains a certain Proof of immortal Life, and, whether the Gofpel it felf be a credible Hi ftory, are two diftinct Queftions, and ought to be diftinctly anfwer'd ; tho' Infidels, to give the better Colour to their Infidelity , are defirous to confound them. I never yet met with any Man, who was fo hardy, as to deny , that the Gofpel contains fuch un queftionable Proofs of immortal Life, that, fuppofing the Gofpel to be true, there can be no doubt made of it. Now this is all that 1 am at prefent concern'd for, to fhew you, that Life and Immortality is brought to light by the Gofpel. And if our Infidels would plainly confefs this, which they dare not de ny, it would lay the Ax to the very Root of Infidelity. For, Firft, They muft then confefs, that there may be a better and a -ftronger Proof of im mortal Life than any the Light of Nature can give themj which would make them fenfible, that the Light of Nature is not the only nor the beft Guide in Matters of Religion. Secondly , They muft confefs the Neceffity of Revelation to give us the certain Proofs of immortal Life. And one would think, this fhould be a good Means to reconcile them to Revelation. For the Gofpel Proof of immortal Life, which is the moft certain Proof that can be given , can be had only from Revelation. Thirdly, They muft confefs, that if the * certain Knowledge of immortal Life be the moft defireable thing in the World , it is as defireable, to have fuch a Proof of immortal Life 2 6 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Life as the Gofpel has given us ; and there fore, that all Men ought at leaft to wifh, that the Gofpel were true. Fourthly, They muft confefs, that there is a certain Proof of immortal Life got abroad in the, World , whether it be true or falfe , and therefore that they are infinitely con cern'd to examine impartially the Truth of it : For if it fhould prove true, and they re- fufe to believe it, they could not plead Igno rance in excufe for their Infidelity. All this muft be own'd, if we acknowle'dge the Go fpel Proofs of Immortality to be good and cer tain, fuppofing the Gofpel Hiftory to be true ; and whoever owns all this, can never be an Infidel long. CHAP. and a Fitture State. 169 CHAP. V. That Salvation, which is wrought for us by Chrifi, gives us the moft fure and certain hopes of a Blef fed Immortality. SECT. I. That we muft be fav'd by a Saviour, and what kind of Saviour Sinners want. WHAT I have hitherto difcours'd, con cerning the Gofpel Evidence of- Im mortal Life, relates only to thofe exprefs Pro mifes of Immortality contain'd in the Gofpel, and that great Confirmation of them by the Refurrection of Chrift from the Dead. But this reaches no farther than the Authority o£ a Prophet : Whereas the Certainty of our Sal vation, which is compieated in Immortal Life, depends wholly upon the Power, Merits, and Authority of a Saviour, as the Scripture every where affures us. The Gofpel contains a great many Promifes ofthe Forgivenefs of Sins, and Juftification, and Eternal Life; but all thefe Promifes are made to us in a Saviour. The ijo Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, The firft Promife God made to Adam, and in him to all Mankind, after the Fall, was the Promife of a Saviour, that Seed of tbe Wo man which fhould break the Serpents head. This was the firft Publication of the Gofpel, to fend a Saviour and Deliverer, who fhould de ftroy the Kingdom and Power of Darknefs, and redeem Mankind from Death. It was this Promife which delivered our firft Parents from prefent Death, and admitted them to a ftate of Repentance; and, tho' they were caft out of Paradife, gave them a new right to that Earth, whereon they liv'd, and new hopes of Immortal Life. There never wis any fuch thing fince the Fall of Man, as what fome call the Religion of Nature, that is, a Religion without a Saviour. All that Mer cy and Goodnefs, which God hath ever fince the Fall fhewn to Sinners, in forgiving true Penitents, and rewarding pious and virtuous Men, is owing to this Promife, and to the Accomplifhment of it: There was no Pro mife made before this, nor any fince but upon this Foundation. So that whatever Opinion we have of the Divine Goodnefs, and how much it becomes a good God to forgive true Penitents, and to reward virtuous Men, it is evident, that ever fince the Fall, God has confin'd the exercife of all his Grace and Goodnefs to a Saviour. Thus we know the fundamental Article of God's Covenant with Abraham was the pro mifed Seed, that in his Seed all the Nations of the Earth Jhould be bleffed; which, as I have largely fhewn you, fignifies all Spiritual Blef fings, the Forgivenefs of our Sins, and 1m- 4 mortal and a Future State. 271 mortal Life, which Jefus Chrift, this promi fed Seed, fhould beftow upon Mankind. All the Types and Figures of the Law of Mofes ; their Tabernacle, and Temple, and High- Prieft, and Sacrifices ; were Types and Fi gures of Chrift, and of the Spiritual Bleffings of his Kingdom. God renew'd this Promife of the Meffias to David under the Notion of a King, that fhould defcend from his Loins, and inherit his Throne for ever : Once have I fworn by my Holinefs, that I will not lie unto David: His Seed fhall endure for ever, and his Throne, as the Sun before me : It fhall be efta- blifhed for ever as the Moon, and as a faithful Witnefs in Heaven, Pfalm 8 p. 3 f , 36, 37. And we know the Kingdom of the Meffias was fo glorioufly defcribed by the fucceeding Pro- pTiets, that the Jews expected a great Tempo-? ral Prince, who fhould fubdue all their Ene mies, and put the Government ofthe World into their Hands. But tho' they miftook this World for the next, 'a Temporal for a Spiritual Prince; yet they were fo far in the right, that they expected all they hop'd for from the Kingdom and Government of their Meffias. This Promife was accomplifh'd in the Birth of Chrift, that Seed of 'the Woman, who fhould break the Serpent's head; that Seedof Abraham, in whom all the Nations of the Earth fhould be bleffed ; that Son of David, who fhould inherit his Throne for ever; whom the Angel named Jefus, a Saviour, for He fhould fave his Peo ple from their Sins ; and he is therefore by Za- tharias, in his Prophetick Hymn called the Horn of Salvation, and by Simeon, the Salvati on of God. And I need not tell you, that all the 272 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, the Promifes ofthe Gofpel are made to us on* ' ly in his Name, and thro' Faith in his Blood ; that in him all the Promifes of God are yea, and in him Amen ; for there is no Salvation in any other, neither is there any other Name under Heaven given among Men, whereby we muft be faved, Acts 4. 12. But to make us all fenfi ble, what Security this, and this alone, can give us of our Salvation ; and how Chrift an fwers his Name, and has accomplifh'd the Work of our Redemption ; let us firft confi der what it is to have a Saviour; and what need we have of a Saviour : Which were it well underftood, would put an end to many Difputes in Religion, and tranfport us with the Love and Admiration of that good God, who hath given us his own Son to be our Sa viour. The Deifts think, there is no need at all of a Saviour; and therefore reject all revealed Religion, and all inftituted Worfhip; for the Light of Nature teaches them to repent of their Sins, and that God will forgive all Peni tents; and this is all the Religion they need. But could you convince them, that they need a Saviour, this would bring them back to Re vealed Religion, and reconcile them to Chri ftianity, which is the only Religion that preaches a Saviour to us. The Socinian goes a little farther than the Deifts, though as to the true Notion and De fign of a Saviour, he believes as little of it. He owns the Divine Authority of the Old and New Teftament, and believes in Chrift as the moft excellent Prophet, whom God fent into the World to make the laft and moft perfect and a Future State, 273 perfect Revelation of his Will for the Salva tion of Sinners; that he gave the moft holy Laws, and was himfelf the moft perfect Ex ample of them ; that he promifed Forgive- nefs of Sins, and Eternal Life, tp all who be* lieve and obey the Gofpel; that tie died upon the Crofs to be a Pattern of Obedience to God, and of all fuffering Graces and Virtues; and that by riling again from the Dead he might give a vifible Proof of another Life* All this is very true, but falls vaftly fhort of the true Notion of a Saviour,- which does tiot fignifie a mere Prophet, (and all this makes Chrift no more, tho' the moft excellent Pro phet) but carries Authority, Power, and Vi* ctory in its Name* Let us confider the State of fallen Man$ Which will convince us how much we want a Saviour, and what kind of Saviour we Wants As firft, by Sin Man has forfeited the Love Of his Maker, and Immortal Life, and is be come fubject to the Wrath of God, and to the Curfe of the Law; This is the firft, tW hot the Only thing to be confider'd in the cafe of fallen Man, as fome feem to think, who kndw no other ufe of a Saviour, but to deli ver us from the Wrath of God, by making & full and perfect Satisfaction Co a natural vindi ctive Juftice : and this makes thofe Men, who believe that God is fo good, that he both can and will forgive Sin, without requiring any other Satisfaction but the Repentance of a Sinner, to think that there is no need of a Saviour at all. This is all that the Deift has to fay againft the need of a Saviour, or the Socinian agairift the Neceffity of Satisfaction ; T that 274 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, that God is'fo good, that he will be reconci led to penitent Sinners, without a Saviour, of without Satisfaction ; that there is no need of reconciling God to Sinners, but only of re conciling Sinners to God. This has a fair appearance, bdcaufeit feems to make a lovely Repfefentation ofthe Divine Goodnefs, which is the darling Attribute of Mankind : But it Were ealie to fhew you, how uncertain our Reafonings are from the Divine Nature, with out a Revelation. The Notion of a natural vindictive Juftice, which others think as ef fential a Perfection ofthe Divine Nature, as thefe Men do Goodnefs, is thought to prove the direct contrary to what they pretend to prove from the Goodnefs of God, viz. that God cannot forgive Sin without full Satisfa ction made to Juftice. And when they form fuch Notions of Juftice and Goodnefs, as con- tradidt and deftroy each other, and can never meet, in thefe utmoft Extremities, in the fame Perfort, it is very probable, that they are both in the wrong, though they pretend both ' to conclude the Neceffity, and no Ne ceffity of Satisfaction, with the fame Clearnefs and Dernonftration, from the natural Notions of infinite Juftice, and infinite Goodnefs. It may make thofe who believe any thing of the Scripture, if they confider the Cafe of fallen Angels, to fufpect their Arguments from the Notions ofthe Divine Goodnefs; for the fal len Angels, who have no Saviour, are not ad mitted to a State of Repentance and Pardon neither : Nor are thofe miferable Wretches who die impenitent. And yet their Argu ment from the Divine Goodnefs extends as much and a Future State. 27 j much to fallen Angels^ as to fallen Man, and to repenting Sinners, , whenever they repent: And yet it is impoffible to conceive^ but that Devils and damn'd Spirits would repent, were there any place for Repentance, Or hopes of Pardon; which fhews, that when Sentence is paft, Repentance comes too late, and can not of it felf reverie the Divine Judgment. Now this is in fome refpect the cafe of fal len Man : The Sentence of Death is paft on him, and executed in every Age, as one Ge neration fucceeds another : The Queftion then is not in general, whether a good God can or will forgive Sin ; for there is no doubt, but ui Sovereign and Abfolute Lord, can forgive Sin upon what Terms foever he pleafes ; but the Queftion is, whether a good God will think mere Repentance a fufficient reafon by his own immediate Act to reverie a Sentence,; which he himfelf has. paft and executed upon Sinners. It is certain he does not, for the beft Men and the moft penitent Sinners die,; as well as the wicked; there never having been but two Exceptions, Enoch and Eliasj fince the Fall of Mail ; and there had not been one, had not God -promifed a Saviour, who fhould redeem all Maukind from Death ; and when the Redemption of Mankind from Death was undertakeri by our Saviour, there might be, and certainly were, very wife Reafons for God to excufe two Men frofn dying. Now then if the Goodnefs of God does not oblige' him upon our Repentance to reverfe that Sen tence of Death, which he hath pafs'd upon all Mankind; we need a Saviour to deliver us from the Power and Dominion of Death,1 and T i tf* 27 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, to raife us again into Immortal Life. To for give Sin is to deliver Us from the Punifhment of it; and when Death is the Punifhment of Sin, he who will obtain the Pardon of our Sins, muft redeem and deliver us from Death, that is, muft redeem our Bodies from Cor ruption, and re-unite Soul and Body in Im mortal Life. This is to be our Saviour, to expiate our Sins, and to conquer Death for us, without which our Sins are not perfectly expiated ; for while we are in a State of Death we have the vifible Marks of God's Difplea- fiire, and feel the Punifhment of our Sins in the Lofs of our Bodies ; and muft for ever pe rifh under the Guilt and Punifhment of our Sins, without fuch a Saviour, as cart conquer Death, and raife us into Immortal Life. So that what our Saviour tells us of himfelf, lam the Refurrection and the Life, is the true and neceffary Character of the Saviour of the World : None can be the Saviour of Sinners, but he who can raife them from the Dead. He does not indeed finally fave all, whom he raifes from the Dead ; for there is a Refurre ction to Condemnation, as well as a Refurre dtion to Life; but none are faved but thofe who rife from the Dead ; we are not redeem ed from the Curfe of the Law, which is Death, till that Curfe be taken away in the Refurre ction of the Dead. And if it does not become God by his own immediate Act to reverfe that Sentence, which he has finally pafs'd upon all Mankind, this muft be done by the interpofi- tion of a Saviour and Deliverer, who has Au thority and Power to raife the Dead. Did the Deifi and Socinian believe this, that the and a Future State. 277 the Refurre£tion of our Bodies is an effential part of our Salvation, they would foon be fenfible, how neceffary a Salvation is to deli ver them from the Power of Death. But the Deift at moft fatisfies himfelf with the Belief of the Soul's Immortality, and that the Souls of good Men fhall be happy in the next World in a State of Separation from their Bodies : And the Socinian will talk of the Refurre aion , at leaft our modern Socinians feem to have no great Opinion of the Refurreaion of the Body, but think that Refurreaion figni fies only a Revivifcence or returning to Life again, after the long Death or Sleep of the Soul, call it which you will. Now thofej who hope to be faved without the Expiation of their Sins, or the Conqueft of Death, who can reconcile the Notion °f Salvation with a State of Death, which is the Punifh ment of Sin, may defpife a Saviour : But if the Redemption of our Bodies by their Refur reaion from the Dead be an effential part of our Salvation ; if the re-union of Soul and Bo dy immortal and glorious be Immortal Life? as the Gofpel reprefents it; then we want a Saviour, who can expiate our Sins by his Death, and conquer Death by his Refurreai on from the Dead, and has Authority and Power to raife us from the Dead, to change our vile Bodies, that they may be fdfhion'd like unto his own moft glorious Body, according to the mighty working of his Power, whereby he is able to fubdue all things to himfelf. Secondly, By the Fall of Man human Nature is greatly corrupted ; the flefhly Principle, which is fond of all the prefent Enjoyments T 3 of 278 Ofthe Immortality of the doui, of Senfe, is too ftrong forthe Government of mere Natural Reafon, which is it felf greatly corrupted, and either m.ifguides us, or takes part with the Lufts of Men, and encourages Wickednefs and Vice. The Experience of all Mankind confirms what St. Paul tells us, of the Law in our Members, which wars againft the Law of our Minds, and without the fpecial Affiftance of the Divine Grace, leads us into Captivity to the Law of Sin, which is in our Members. Which made the Apoftle very fenfible ofthe Neceffity of a Saviour and De liverer; O wretched Man that f am ! whoflmll deliver me from the body of this Death ? I thank God through Jefus Chrift my Lord, Rom. 7. 25, 24, 2f. as he adds Rom. 8. 2. For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Chrift Jefus, hath rnade me free from the Law of Sin and Death. So that Mankind wanted a Saviour to deliver them from themfelves, from their own cor rupt Wills, Affections and Lufts; to redeem them from their vain Converfation receiv'd by Tradition from their Fore-fathers, to quicken thofe who were dead in Trefpaffes and Sins ; which isa Work of no lefs Divine Power than raifing the Dead, It is in Scripture called Re generation, being born again, and that not of Blood, nor by the Will of the Flefh, nor by the Will of Man, but of God; that is, not by the mere Powers of Nature, but by the Power of the Divine Grace; they are born of Water and of the Spirit, by the wafhing of Regenerati on, and the renewing ofthe Holy Ghoft. Nay fuch Men are New Creatures created in Chrift Jefus to good Works. Now this is not all Metaphor, but fignifies a new making usj a true and a Future State. 27 p true fpiritual Creation and Birth, which gives new Light to our Minds, renews and fanai- fies our Wills, fubdues the Flefh to the Spi rit, and tranfplants our Affeaions, pur Hopes, our Treafure from Earth to Heaven. The Heathens themfelves were fenfible of the Corruption of Human Nature, and fome ofthe wifeft of them attributed at leaft all great Proficiencies and Attainments in Virtue to a Divine Aid. For though Cotta'in Tally fays, that no Man prays the Gods to make him a good Man, which he fuppofed every Man might make himfelf if he pleas'd ; yet this was not the general fenfe either of their Poets or Philofophers, as Maximus Tyrius proves at large in a Differtation upon this very Quefti on, whether any Mart be made good deix y.ai%&, by a Divine Aid and Help; where taking notice of that ftrong Biafs and Pro- penfity that is in Mankind to Sin, he exprefly tells us, that to refift this Torrent, and to conquer all the Charms of fenfual Pleafures, We want truvocyavi^S 0e£ ^ &,tha.t God fhould fight for us, and help us. Now if the Sanaifications of our Nat.ures, the Purity of Heart, and Innocence and Holinefs of Life, be neceffary to entitle us to the Favour of God, and the Eternal Rewards ofthe next Life; and in this corrupt and degenerate State, we cannot renew and fanaifie our felves without a Divine Power, to work in us both to will and to do : we want fuch a Saviour, as can fave us from our Sins, can fubdue our fenfual Lufts and Paffions, and beftow the Holy Spirit on us as an abiding Principle of Sanaification and Newnefs of Life. Were no more required T 4 to % 8 © Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, to make Men good but to inftrua them in their Duty, and in the Motives and Argu ments of Obedience, and to give them all pof fible. Affurance of the Rewards and Punifh ments of the next Life, which are the moft forcible Arguments of all; an extraordinary Prophet would have ferv'd for this purpofe, and there had been no need of a Saviour. But ^ere Reafon and Arguments, how powerful foever they be, can't make a lame Man walk, nor a blind Man fee, nor give a new fpiritual Life to one dead in Trefpaffes arid Sins. There is a diviner Power neceffary to give Life and Energy to all the Arguments of Religion, a lightning, healing, ftrengthening, quickning, fan&ifying Power; and this is the Work of a Saviour, not a Prophet. This is what Man* kind have no natural Right to; for fuperna- tural Grace is not due to Nature , and there fore we cannot challenge it from our Maker, but muft owe it to our Saviour. What is not due is Grace, and all Grace muft be ob tained for us, difpenfed and adminiftred by a Saviour, This is another mighty Advantage, and glorious Privilege, which the Chriftian has above a Deift, by believing in a Saviour, that he has the Affiftances of the divine Grace and Holy Spirit to fanaify his Nature, to confirm his Faith, and ftrengthen his Refolutions, and torefiftall the Temptations ofthe World, the Flefh, and the Devil : And if he beg thefe divine Affiftances, and comply with all holy Motions, he fhall in all things be more than Conqueror through Chrifi, who flrengthens him. But and a Future State. 281 But now fhould we fuppofe that a Deift could be faved in his own way, without a Saviour, by repenting fincerely of all his Sins, and obeying the Commandments of God, and living a holy and virtuous Life; yet how fhall he be able to do all this? Is his Nature lefs corrupt than the reft of Mankind, or his Reafon ftronger to refift all the Affaults of Temptations, and to preferve his Innocence and Virtue ? For, by rejeaing a Saviour, he rejeas all fupernatural Affiftance, and mufi truft to the mere Powers of Nature; and how unable they are to make good Men, the Experience of the whole Heathen World witneffes, not excepting moft of the Philofo phers themfelves, that when any Example or Virtue appear'd, and a very little Appearance in fo corrupt a State of the World was thought very confiderable, they prefently concluded that it was 6«'« police, had fomething Divine and Supernatural in it. Or, whatever low Attainments fuch Men may make in fome moral and political Virtues, which yet few of them make any great Shew of, the divine Graces of the Chriftian Life, Poverty of Spi rit, Purity of Heart, an univerfal Love and Charity, Piety and Devotion, and a Conver fation in Heaven, are as much above their At tainments, as above their Philofophy : Indeed they never pretend to them, but rejeft Chri ftianity for the fake of fuch divine Virtues, which they have nothing to objea againft, but that they are above their natural Powers, and natural Inclinations; and this I grant they are, ftich as mere Nature, in this corrupt Sfate, will neither teach, nor praaife, but yet 282 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, yet are true divine Perfeaions, fitted to the pure and fpiritual State of the next Life, and which Chriftians through the Sanaification of the Spirit, and the Affiftances of the di vine Grace attain unto. 3. There is another Notion of a Saviour, to fave us from our Enemies, and from the Hands of all that hate us ; that we being deli vered out of the Hands of our Enemies, might ferve him without Fear, in Holinefs and Righ teoufnefs all the Days of our Life, as it is in Zachary's Hymn. This Jofhua was a Type of, who fought the Battels of Ifrael, drove out the Inhabitants of Canaan, and gave them Poffeffion of that good Land. And a little Confideration of the miferable State of the Heathen World, will fatisfy us how much we wanted fuch a Saviour and Deliverer as this. The great Enemy of Mankind is the De vil, with all his Retinue of evil Angels and feducing Spirits, who had fet up his King dom in the World, and was worfhipped for a God with impure and barbarous Rites and Ceremonies : For when Mankind had forfaken God, they fell under the Government of wicked Spirits, who ufed them like Slaves, and would have kept them fo to this Day, had not this mighty Saviour and Deliverer ap- pear'd to fave us out pf the Hands of our Enemies, to deftroy the Works, the King dom, and the Power of the Devil. And a Saviour was abfolutely neceffary to this Pur pofe alfo, as we may eafily conclude, if we believe, that for this Purpofe the Son of God' was manifefled to deflroy the Works of the De vil. and a Future State. 283 vil. Tho' we muft acknowledge that the Devil, and all wicked Spirits, are abfolutely under the Power of God, as all wicked Men are, yet God does no more fubdue and con quer wicked Spirits by an immediate Power, than he does wicked Men. No doubt but he could have deftroyed the Canaanites by an immediate Vengeance; but he fent Jofhua to fight the Lord's Battels, and to drive them out ; and he was a Type and Figure of the true Jefus, that mighty Saviour, who fhould appear to deftroy the Devil's Kingdom, and to fet up the Kingdom of God in the World ; and therefore this is his Charaaer, that he is God's King; I have fet my King upon my holy Hill of Sion. But tho' Chrift has now deftroyed the vifi ble Kingdom of the Devil in the Chriftian World, fo that he is no longer publickly wor- fhipp'd with Temples, and Altars, and Priefts, and Sacrifices; yet we fiand in, need ofthe daily Defence and Proteaion of our Saviour " againft his Wiles and Stratagems ; for he is a very fubtile, reftlefs Spirit, who can tranf- form himfelf into all Shapes, and make fuch. dextrous Applications, and lay fuch invifible Snares for us, that we fhall neither fee, nor fufpea any Danger, till it is too late ; fo that we have reafon every Day to pray, fead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from the. evil one ; for the beft of us all have reafon to fear what the Succefs of the Combat would be, fhould God deliver us up to be tempted by the Devil. But our Security is in the watchful Providence of our Saviour, who has fhe Devil under Command, and will not fuffer * him 284 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, him to tempt us above what we are able, and prays for us, as he did for Peter, that our Faith fail not. And this is another ineftimable Advantage, which Chriftianity gives us above Deifm ; for Chrift defends none but his own Difciples from the Infults of wicked Spirits ; and there fore thofe who rejea Chrift, have no right to his Proteaion, but are expofed to all their Arts and Infinuations, who can fuit all Tem pers, and lead them on by gentle Steps, till they have them fafe ; and I confefs Deifts themfelves feem to me to be fad Examples of fuch Praaices as thefe. N There cannot be a more plaufible Pretence, efpecially to Men of a Philofophical Genius, than to be very cautious of believing, to ad& here to Reafon as the fafeft Guide, and to re-, quire ftrict Dernonftration for every thing. No Man would fufpea any hurt in this; and yet it is an infallible way to make Men Atheifts. The Devil cannot deal with the Authority of God ; It is written anfwers all his Tempta tions, and makes him fly; but if he can bring you out of Conceit with Revelation, and per fuade you to fling away your Bibles, he will reafon with you as long as you will, and fur- nifh you with fuch Reafons as you like beft, as he finds you moft inclined, whether to A- theifm. Infidelity, or Herefy. Is there any thing in the World that appears in more dif ferent Shapes, than what Men call human Reafon, when it intermeddles in Religion? And can the Devil have a better Game to play, than to teach Men Reafon and Philofo phy? And indeed, whoever confiders what kind and a Future State. 2 8 j kind of Principles are cried up as folid Reafon, by our modern Atheifts, Deifts, and Hereticks, fo contrary to the common Notions and Sen timents of Mankind, can hardly think that there is any thing lefs in it than a preternatu ral Infatuation, all the perplex'd Turnings and Windings of the old Serpent are fo vifible in them. But I cannot infift on this now. This Men get by rejeaing a Saviour, who alone can deliver us out of the Hands of our fpiri tual Enemies, that they fall into the Snares of that old Deceiver, the great Enemy of Souls. S E C T. II. The Eternal Godhead of our Saviour is the only certain Foundation of all our Hopes of Salvation and Immortal Life. I Do not at prefent defign to engage in that Difpute about the eternal Godhead of the Son. He is in Scripture call'd God, the Son of God, the only begotten Son of God : And the Catholick Church in all Ages has underftood this of the eternal Son of God, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begot ten, not made, being of one Subftance with the Father, by whom all things were made ; and ex- preffed a very warm Zeal for this Faith ; and that with great Reafon, fince our hopes of Salvation depend on it. And were Men but made fenfible of what Confequence. it is to believe ; 8 6 Ofthe Immoriality ofthe Soul, believe our Lord Jefus Chrift to be the eter nal Son of God, they would not eafily part with this Faith, nor wantonly rejea it. For, i. Let us confider what kind of Chriftia nity thofe Men profefs, who rejea the eter nal Godhead of the Son, how a Creature Sa viour alters the very Reafon and Nature of all our Hopes. For, i . Such Men have no Father in their Religion, as the Objea of their Faith and Worfhip. The Socinians indeed, who deny the eternal Godhead of Chrift, as he is the eternal Son of God by Nature, yet call God Father, and pray as Chrift hath taught us, Our Father, which art in Heaven; but the Queftion is, Under what Notion they do, or can call God Father? Is this a natural or ac quired Relation ? Is God our Father, and we his Children, by Nature, or by Adoption? A natural Relation between God and us, with out our Adoption in Chrift, can be founded only in his making us, and our being made by him; and thus Father fignifies no more than a Maker; which makes all Mankind e- qually the Sons of God, as being all his Crea tures; but I do not remember that God is ever called the Father of Men in the Old Te ftament, merely upon account of Creation; however it is certain, this is not the Gofpel Notion of it. None are the Sons of God but Chriftians, and they are Sons not by Na ture, but by Regeneration and Adoption, and it is in Chrift Jefus that we receive the Adop tion of Spns ; we are made the Sons of God by Faith in Qhrift Jefus ; to as many as receiv ed him, to them he gave Power to be called the Sons and a Future State. 287 Sons of God, even to as many as believe on his Name ; who were born not of Blood, nor of the Will of the Flefh, nor of the Will of Man, but of God, 1 John 12. 13. who are Sons, not by Nature, but by Adoption and Grace. And therefore this Title and Charaaer of Father, which is the peculiar Name of God under the Gofpel, has an immediate Relation to Chrift ; he is the Father of our Lord Jefus,- .artd this is the Reafon why God fent his Son, into the World, to make us his Sons. When the ful- nefs of time was come, God fent forth his Son, made of a Woman, made under the Law, tore- deem them that were under the Law, that we might receive the Adoption of Sons, Galat. 4. 4, f . Thofe who deny the Divinity "of our Saviour, do, and muft own all this in fome Senfe or other, unlefs they rejea the Gofpel, which teaches all this in exprefs Words ; but I would defire you to obferve what a vaft dif ference there is between the Socinian Account of God's being our Father, and what the true Catholick Faith gives us of it. For our re lation to God as our Father being refolved in to our Adoption in Chrift, it muft bear fome Analogy and Proportion to that Relation which Chrift has to God, as to his Father. So that if Chrift be a mere Man, he is riot the Son of God by Nature himfelf, but ' a rriere v nominal and adopted Son, and then we are the adopted Sons of God in an adopted Son, which is a very remote and flender relation, and does not anfwer to thofe magnificent Ex- preffions in Scripture concerning our Adop tion and Sonfhip. Behold what manner of Love the Father hath befiowed upon us, thai' we 288 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soui, Jhould be called the Sons of God, i John 3.. 1 .' But what a mighty thing is this for God to call Chrift his- Son, who is not his Son by Nature, and then to Call us his Sons in Chrift? For according to this Doarine, it is merely to call us Sons, it is a mere arbitrary Name ; for where there is no natural Foundation for the Relation, there is no natural Reafon for the Name, but God might have called us any thing elfe as well as Sons, had he fo pleafed. But if Chrift be the eternal Son of God, and We be united to Chrift as Members of his Body, here is a natural Foundation for our Adoption in Chrift, for this Covenant Rela tion of Father and Sons, between God the Father of Chrift, and all fincere Chriftians, who are the Members of Chrift, the myfti cal Body of the Son of God ; for thus the Relation lies, We are Chrift' s, and Chrift is God's, as St. Paul fpeaks, 1 Cor. 3.23. And therefore fuch as the Relation is between God and Chrift, and between Chrift and us, Tuch is our Relation to God : Chrift is the Son of God by Nature, of the fame Subftance with his Father, and infeparably One with him; we are not the Members of Chrift by Nature, but this Son of God, having taken upon him human Nature, all Mankind have a relation to human Nature, and that is a natural Foun dation for a Covenant Relation between Chrift and Chriftians as the Members of his Body* Human Nature by its perfonal Union to the Son of God, is one with the Son ; for the Son of God is by his Incarnation both God and Man in one Perfon ; we are naturally re lated to Chrift, as having the fame Nature with 4 him, • and a Future State,, 289 him, and therefore are capable of being uni ted to his Myftical Body by Faith and Rege neration, of becoming Members of his Body, of his Flefh, and of his Bones, of being One with him, and in him with the Father,: as our Saviour prays for all his fincere Difciples, that they all may be One, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they alfo maf be One in us, John 17. 21. Now when we are thus my- ftically united to Chrift, asf to be One with him, to be Members of his Body, and Branches in this fpiritual Vine, we muft have the fame kind of relation to God, that Chrift has; if God be the Father of Chrift by Nature, and eternal Generation, he muft be our Father by Adoption in Chrift ; becaufe we are his, and according to the Nature of our Union to him, muft be related to God his Father. This gives a fenfible Account of the Na ture and Reafon of our Adoption in Chrift : If God had no Son by Nature, there can be no Foundation for Adoption ; for to adopt is to receive one, who is not a Son by Nature, into the Place, Relation, and confequent Rights and Privileges of a natural Son; but if there be no Son by Nature, there is no fuch Relation, nor Privileges to be adopted to. A Man, who has no Son of his own, may adopt a Son, becaufe there is fuch a Relation in human Nature, as that between a Father and a Son, and the Rights and Privileges of it are well known ; but if there be no fuch Relation in the divine Nature, if God have no S,pn by Nature, there can be no Foundation for Adoption, becaufe there is no fuch natu ral Relation in God, nor any natural Rights U belonging 2 p o Ofthe Im mortality ofthe Soui, • belonging to it. And therefore St. John tells us,- /& that ^denieth. the Son, who denies that 3?e/»i Chrift is the Son of God , hath not the Father, hath not God for his Father; for there is no. eternal Father, if there be no e- ternal Son ; and if we deny God to be a Fa ther, he can be none of our Father ; but he that acknawledgeth the Son, hath the Father alfo, ijoh. 2. 23. And for this Reafon the Apoftle ufes thofe Expreffions, of continuing in the Son ant} the Father, f. 24. of denying the Father and the Son, f.,zz. of having the Father and the Son, Ep..2. p. For God. is no Father^ in a true and proper Senfe, if he have riot a Son of his own, Nature; and then he cannot. be our Father by Adoption. So that to deny the Son is to deny theFather, but t» have the Son; is to have the Father alfo. .•Well, fuppofe then that this is the true Gofpel Notion of God's being the Father, and of our Adoption in Chrift to be his Sons, what greater Happinefs does this fignify, than what thofe profefs to believe, who reject the Divinity of pur Saviour? /That is, that if we believe and obey the Gofpel of Chrift, God will be a Father toj us, and deal with us. as with Sons, which is our Adoption in Chrift; that he will forgive our Sins, and beftoW an immortal Inheritance upon us ; the only1 dif ference feems to be, that this has lefs of My- ftery in it, but fignifies the fame Happinefs, which we expedt by our Adoption in Chrift.; that excepting their. Miftakes in Faith, they have the fame Hopes and Expeaations, -and believe all this as firmly as we do. Now tho' a Miftake pf this Nature is of fatal and a Future State. 29 fatal Confequence, (for it is not enough to believe the Forgivenefs of Sins and immortal Life, unlefs we believe and hope for it in God's Way, and accept of it, as he has offered it) the Jews believed this, but were rejeaed by God, becaufe they rejeaed their Meffias; and if God hath made Chrift not only a Preacher of Righteoufnefs, to publifh his Will for the Salvation of Mankind, but the Author of eter nal Salvation to all them that obey him, Heb. f . p. if this be his Commandment, that we fhould believe on the Name of his Son Jefus Chrift, 1 John 3. 23. if whofoever fliall confefs, that Jefus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God, i John 4. if. if this be the Record, that God hath given unto us eternal Life, and this Life is in his Son, and that he ihat hath the Son hath Life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not Life, 1 John f . ii, 12. which St. John fo often inculcates On us, it is to little purpofe to believe other Matters, without believing Jefus to be the Son of God, the eternal Son of the eternal Father ; for it is this Son of God alone in whom we receive the Adoption : But$ I fay, to fet afide this now,- there is a vaft difference in the thing it felf, between knowing and be lieving God to be our Father in Chrift his eternal Son, in whom he hath adopted us to be his Sons and Children, and God's owning himfelf to be our Father, and us his Children, without any other Reafon or Foundation for fuch a Relation, but only his Promife for Ghrift's Sake to be kind and merciful to us, as a Father is to his Children. For, 1 . Here is the Dignity and Glory of the Relation loft ; U 2 for 2 (? 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, for in this Senfe, God's being our Father fig nifies no relation to us, unlefs that of a Ma ker, and Sovereign Lord; but it properly denotes the Nature and Adminiftration of his Government, which is kind, affeaionate, and merciful, as the Government of a Father is or ought to be ; and our being his Sons figni fies no more than that we fhall be kindly and mercifully ufed, as Sons are by their Father; which indeed is great Grace and Favour to Sinners, but no more than what innocent Creatures might expea from God by the right of Creation, and therefore founds no new Re lation between God and us. But it is a quite different thing to be united to Chrift as the Members of his Body, to be one with Chrift, the eternal Son of God, and to be owned by God for his Sons, as the Myftical Body of his Son, as the Brethren of his eternal Son, and therefore his Sons by Adoption and Grace; , this is a Charaaer not inferior to that of An gels; human Nature is advanc'd above An gels by its perfonal Union with the Son, of God , this Incarnate Jefus is the Lord of An gels, the Head of all Principalities and Powers, who are but the Minifters of his Kingdom; and therefore Chriftians, who have a natural relation to the human Nature of Chrift, and are fpiritually united in his Myftical Body, who, by. their relation to the eternal Son of God, have God for their Father, and are own'd by him for his Sons, are thereby advanced to the Dignity of Angels, which human Nature in its utmoft Glory and Perfeaion, without fuch a Relation and Charaaer, could never pretend to; but the Dignity of the Relation fets and a Future State. 293 fets an inferior Nature upon the level with them. And therefore the Scripture fpeaks of our Adoption and Sonfhip, as the height of Glory and Advancement : To as many as received him, to them gave he Power, to become the Sons of God, John i. 12. and, behold what manner of Love the Father hath beftowed on us, that we fhculd be called the Sons of God, 1 John, 3.1. What this is now we cannot tell; for though now we are the Sons of God, it doth not yet appear what we fhall be; as the Glory of the King's Son is not fo vifible out of his Father's Court and Kingdom ; but when we come into the Kingdom of the Son, and ap pear under the Charaaer of Sons, we fhall then fhine forth like the Sun in the Kingdom of our Father ; whatever our external Glory fhall then be, which we are affured will be very- great, the Glory of our Relation and Chara aer of the Sons of God, will give the greateft Brightnefs and Luftre to it. This I hope may fatisfy you what a vaft difference there is be tween being the Sons of God, and having the Title of Sons without the Relation, which we can never have without our Adoption in the eternal Son of God : If Chrift be not the eternal Son of God, our being adopted the Sons of God in Chrift, founds big, but fig nifies nothing great ; fo that thofe muft never part with the Faith of Father and Son, who would not part with the Glory and Happinefs of their Adoption. 2. Thofe who deny Chrift to be the eter nal Son of God, and that we are adopted in this eternal Son, lofe the beft Security of God's Fatherly Love and Affeaion to them; which U 3 ' yet 294 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, yet is all they mean by God's being our Fa ther in Chrift. Befides the Dignity and Glory of the Re lation, the great Happinefs of having God for our Father is, that it entitles us to his Fatherly Love, Affeaion, and Care; and gives us. as great Affurance of this, as we have of our re lation to him ; for Affeaion fprings from Re lation, and is fuch as the Relation is ; fo that whatever Promife God makes us of being a Father to us, and of treating us as Sons, if he be not our Father, this cannot give us fuch full Satisfaaion of Mind, and fuch a firm Hope in God, as to know that he is our Father. When we are allured of this, we need no o- ther Proof of his Fatherly Affeaion; and all Mankind prefer the Security of Nature before any Promifes, which may have fuch fecretRe- ferves, Limitations, and Conditions;, as Nature cannot have. And yet to promife the Love and Affeaion of a Father without the Rela tion is juftly thought impraaicable; for fuch Affeaions as are due only to fuch Relations, and naturally refult from them, can never be applied to any other" Objeai " A Man may be extremely kind to a Child that is not his own, and may do as much for it, as if it were his own; but he" cannot have the Affeaion of a Father for it, which is a very different Paffion from all other kinds of Love, 'and has a pecu liar Tenderriefs and Concernment in it, which nothing but Nature can give. And therefore fuch a Man wifhes, that the beloved' Child were his own, and finds a new Pleafure and a new Paffion in fuch a Though ; and fuch a Child, if he have Underftanding enough, wifhei and a Future State. 295 Wifhes that fuch a kind Perfon were his Fa ther, and would think himfelf more fecure in a natural Affeaion. This fhews us, what a vaft Difference there is between God's Promife to be our Father , and his being our Father, and our knowing him to be our Father; and yet as I have fhewn you, this is all that God's being our Father can fignify, that he promifes to deal as kindly and mercifully by us, as a Father deals by his Children, unlefs Chrift be his eternal Son by Nature, and we made the Sons of God by our Adoption in Chrift his eternal Son. That God calls himfelf our Father, and us his Sons and Children, does give us the Security of his Promife, that he will love us, and do good to us , for that is the leaft thefe Names can fignify ; but yet if there be no fuch Relation, as that of Father and Sons between God and us, this does not and cannot fignify, what we properly call a fatherly Love and Affeaion, which can never be feparated from the Re-; lation, nor fubfift without it ; which yet as it is the higheft Security, fo it gives the di- vineft and moft tranfporting Pleafures to the Mind; for the Love of a Father confider'd by it felf is a mighty Pleafure to a dutiful Child, who loves his Father: It is a great Pleafure to be beloved, efpecially with the moft natural and tender Affeaion , which is the Love of a Father. What a ravifhing Thought then muft it be, that God is our Father, and loves us with the natural Affeai on of a Father ? But this Satisfaaion we can-, not have, if God be not our Father, though he beftows other great Favours and Bleffings on us. U 4 For, 2 p 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, For, 3. To deny Chrift to be the eternal Son of God, amd that God is our Father by our Adoption in his eternal Son, makes an effential Difference in the Nature of God's fatherly Love and Affeaion to us. If God have no eternal Son by Nature, he is not, in a ftria and proper Senfe, a Father, as having no Son of his own Subftance ; and therefore cannot have in a ftria and proper Senfe what " we call the natural Affeaion of a Father. He is the Maker of all things, but not a Father; which differ as much as to create, and to be get; and the natural Love and Affeaion of a Creator and Father, differ as effentially as the Relations do, juft as our Affeaion to our Workmanfhip, and to our Son differ; fo that if God have a Son of his own Subftance, his fatherly Affeaion to his Son muft as much exceed his Love to Creatures, tho' the moft excellent Creatures, as his Son is above all Creatures. This I fuppofe will be allowed ; but what is this to us , who are not the Sons of God by Nature, but mere Creatures ; and the low- eft Order of reafonable Creatures; and there fore were we perfeaiy innocent and upright, which God knows we are not, we could at moft expea no other kind of Love from God, but what is due to Creatures : And therefore God's being our Father, and loving us as a Father, muft be expounded to fuch a Senfe as fits the Objea, that he is fo our Father as he can be the Father of Creatures , of Men, of Sinners; and loves us with fuch a fatherly Af feaion, as fuch Creatures are the Objects of. This were certainly true, were we not the Sons and a Future State. 297 Sons of God by our Adoption in Chrift Jefus his eternal Son; but now by our Union to Chrift, as his myftical Body, we become one with him, and one Objea of the Father's Love : It is not merely our Maker, but the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who is our Father, and we are loved in Chrift, and therefore with the fame kind of Love which he has for Chrift, which is a true fatherly Af feaion. For if we are beloved in Chrift, that Love which the Father has for Chrift, his eternal Son, defcends on us, and is the fame kind of Love, which he hath for his Son; this is that Love wherewith God loves us in Chrift, which, as St. Paul tells us, hath its Heights , and Depths , and Lengths , and Breadths, and is a Love paft underftanding ; we know it is the Love of God, which he hath for his own eternal Son, wherewith he loves us, and we know this is beyond the mere Love of Creatures; but what it is, we cannot com prehend now, we fhall know more of it, though not comprehend ft, when we come to Heaven ; but from what I have now faid, you may perceive, what a vaft Difference the owning or denying the eternal Godhead and Sonfhip of Chrift makes in the Notion of our Sonfhip and Adoption, and of God's fatherly Love and Affbaionffor us, and on which fide the Advantage lies. 4. The great Privilege of our Adoption and Sonfhip is a Right and Title to the In heritance, as St. Paul tell us, if Children then Heirs , Heirs of God , and joint Heirs with Chrifi, Rom. 8. 17. This Inheritance indeed is reprefented in Scripture in as glorious and » magnir - 2 5> 8 Of the Immortality of the Soul, magnificent Terms, as Words can exprefs; but yet all this muft be expounded tp a high- , er or lower Senfe, according to our Belief concerning Chrift's Perfon and Sonfhip. Our Sonfhip and Inheritance is founded in the Sonfhip and Inheritance of Chrift, and fuch a Son and Heir, as he is, fuch proportiona- bly we fhall be ; for in him we are the Heirs of God, as joint Heirs with Chrift. Now though it is very unaccountable, that God fhould make Chrift the Heir of all things, if he were not his eternal and only begotten Son, of which more hereafter ; it may fuf- fice for the prefent to obferve, that all Men of common Senfe muft grant, that there is an infinite Difference between the Inheri tance, Kingdom, Majefty, and Glory of the eternal Son of God, and between any created Glory, any Inheritance and Kingdom , that the moft exalted Creature is capable of. If God begets a Son of his own Nature andSub- ftance, God of- God, Light of Light, very God of very God, he muft as mUcb excel all created Glories, as God is above Creatures; and therefore his Kingdom and Inheritance is as, much above them too. God can no more confer the Majefty and Kingdom of an eter nal Son upon a nfere Creature , than he can make fuch a Creature his eternal Son; fo that thofe,, who believe Chrift to be a mere Creature, a mere Man, though exalted to the higheft Degree of created Glory , fall infi nitely fhort of that Glory and Happinefs, which we expea in the Kingdom ofthe Son, of God, which we fhall inherit with him. Thofe who deny Chrift to be the eternal Son of and a Future State. %$% pfGo«j, may, and dp} believe thofe Promifes he has made of a glorious Immortality ; but they can never form fuch magnificent Ideas of that Kingdom and Glory , as thofe who believe Chrift to be the eternal Son of God, and that they fhall for ever dwell in his Pre fence , and inherit his Kingdom , be where he is, and behold his Glory, the Glory, not of a Creature, but of the Son of God incar nate, who loved us, and gave himfelf for us, who became Man, and fuffered and died upon the Crofs, and being rifen from the Dead, afcended into Heaven, and now fits at the Right Hand of God; a Sight, which is the Glory of Heaven, and the Happinefs of thofe bleffed Saints who are admitted to dwell in his Prefence, and fee his Glory. And what ever other Happinefs there may be in Heaven, this, which is the greateft we can conceive, cannot be in Heaven , if the eternal Son of God incarnate be not there : This is the pe culiar Glory of the Kingdom of the Son, and this is the Heaven I hope for, not to dwell in the Prefence , and fee the Glory of an exalted Creature, but the vifible Glory and Majefty of the eternal Son of God incar nate. Thus you fee in this one Particular, what a vaft Difference it makes in the Chriftian Faith and Hojp e to deny Chrift to be the eter nal Son of God ; for then we have not God for our Father; our Sonfhip and Adoption in Chrift is a mere Name and Title without any natural Reafon for it; we lofe the Dignity and Glory of our Relation in being the Sons of God, and the greateft Affurance of God's ¦=.. - • ,. - - • "¦*¦ \ fatherly 3 o o Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, fatherly Love and Affeaion to us, and as much leffen the Inheritance of Sons, and our own Hopes of Glory, as we leffen the eter nal Glory of our Lord and Saviour. Thefe are the greateft and moft valuable things in the Chriftian Religion, and not eafily to be parted with, how myfterious foever the eter nal Generation, the Incarnation, the Death and Sufferings of the Son of God be. God grant, that we may always adore fuch My- fleries , as are full of a myfterious Love and Goodnefs, and big with a myfterious Happi nefs. 2. It is a very good Proof of the eternal Godhead of Chrift, that the Scripture does every where fo much magnifie the Love of God in giving his own Son to fave us. The Redemption of Mankind, both in its own Nature, and by the Purpofe and Defign of God, is a Difpenfation of Grace, a glorious Manifeftation of his Love to Mankind, even to finful and apoftate Man ; there cou'd not be a higher Expreffion of it, than to fend his own Eternal and only begotten Son to be the Saviour of Sirtners. In making the World God difplay'd the Glories and Perfeaions of a wife and bountiful Creator ; we fee his Power in giving Being to all things, which had no Being, till he made them; his Wifdom in the infinite Variety, apt Contrivance, beautiful Order, and univerfal Harmony of all things ; and his creating Goodnefs in making every Creature, that hath Life and Senfe, capable of fuch a Happinefs, as is proportion'd to its Nature : Thus God made all things for him felf, to declare his Majefty and Glory to his Creatures. But and a Future State. 301 But the Fall of Man gave occafion for o- pening a new Scene of Glory, of pardoning and redeeming Love ; and here God intended to give us a more furprizing and aftonifhing View of his Love and Goodnefs, than the whole Creation affords us ; and both our Sa viour and his Apoftles lay the great Strefs of it upon this, that he gave his own Son, his only begotten Son, for the Salvation of Sin ners. Now all Mankind muft acknowledge this to be incomprehenfible Love indeed, if this Son, whom God gave for us, be his Eternal and only begotten Son; this is a true myfte rious Love, which, as St. Paul fpeaks, has its Heights andDepths,and Lengths andBreadths, a Love which paffeth Knowledge; and we have reafon to believe he was fo, fince both Chrift and his Apoftles fo magnify the Love of God, in giving his Son for us ; which, if we muft underftand the Scripture according to the ufual Senfeiof fuch Forms of Speech, muft relate to his natural Love and Affeaion to his Son, and to the Greatnefs and Glory of his Perfon, who is his only begotten Son, that he gave us the moft beloved, and the moft glorious Perfon to be our Saviour. To redeem Sinners is a great Aa of Goodnefs, by what means foever it be done; but had Chrift been a mere Man, there had been no fuch Wonder in it, that God fhould give one Creature for the Redemption of fo many Millions ; here is no Violence offered to natural Affeaion, as it was in Abraham's Cafe, when he, was com manded to offer up his own and only and be loved Son in Sacrifice to God , which was a Type 302 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Type of God's Love in giving his Son to be a Sacrifice for our Sins; nor would there be any fuch Difproportion between the Value of the Sacrifice and thofe who are redeem'd by it. For tho' God had fent the moft excellent Man that ever was made$ the fparing of one Man could not ftand in Competition with the Redemption of all Mankind; fo that if Chrift were but a mere Man, there is ho great diffi culty in comprehending the Love of God in giving one Man for the Redemption of all ; it is infinitely more incomprehenfible* that the Death of one mere Man fhould redeem all Mankind, than that God fhould give one Man to redeeril all. The Charaaer of God's on ly begotten Son cannot belong to a mere Man,- becaufe it cannot anfwer the Height of thefe Expreffions. concerning the Love of God in giving- us his Son, and if God intended to magnify his Love to Sinners in their Redemp-s tion, there could not be a more undeniable Proof, nor a higher Inftance of it , than to redeem us by his own Son. And could any thing more become God than fuch a Manifeftation of his Goodnefs as this ? This is to be good like a God, beyond all the Meafures, arid all the Imaginations of created Goodnefs. And befides a|l that the Sort of God has done and fuffered for the Re demption of Sinners , could there be a more powerful Means thought on for the reclaim- ing'Sinneis, than the Love of God in giving his Son for us, and the Love of Chrift in gi ving himfelf for us ? What are the moral Arguments to perfwade Men to Virtue, and to diffwade them from Vice, to this ? Nay the and a Future State. 333 the mere Authority of God himfelf will not make fuch good Men as a prevailing Senfe of his Love; for the firft works upon our Fear, which is a flavifh Principle; the fecond infpires us with Love and Devotion , which conquers our earthly Paffions, and pro duces the divineft Virtues; For the Love of Chrift 'conflraineth us, becaufe we thus'' judge , that if one died for all, then were all dead; . and that he died for us, that we who live fhould not henceforth live unto our felves, but to him, who died for us, and- rofe again, z Con f. 14, if. How does this allay all our guilty Fears, that we have the Son of God for our Prieft and Mediator? What Affurance does this give us of all good things from God ? For he that fpared not his own Son, but. delivered him up for us all, how fh all he not with him alfo- freely give- us all things ? Rom. 8: 32. The fitfeft Mini- fter of a Difpenfation of Grace and Love is the Son of God's Love ; a Creature Prophet may publifh God's Love to the World, but the Appearance ofthe Son of God is a vifible Manifeftation of it. 3. If God, fave Mankind by a Saviour, the fitteft Perfon to be our Saviour, muft be his own eternal Son. To be the Saviour of Men is too great a Glory and Dignity to be be donferred on a Creature , for it advances fuch a Creature into the Throne of God. He who is our Saviour will be the Objea of our Faith , and Hope , and religious Affi- anee, of our Praifes and Adorations, which is a true divine Glory ;: fo that to make a Creature our SaviaUr is to make him our Godi and had God no eternal Son , who is the 304 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, the proper Objea of divine Honours, he muft have faved us immediately by 'himfelf without a Saviour, unlefs he would have fhared divine Honours with his Creature. This is evident in that Glory to- which Chrift is advanced , he fits at the Right Hand of God, and has divine Worfhip given to him, as we are com manded to honour the Son as we honour the Fa ther ; fo that if he be but a mere Man, a Man is made a God, and fo muft be, if he be made the Saviour of Men ; for Men themfelves will transform their Saviour into a God ; for to fave is as endearing a Name, and as divine a Glory, as to make. Now if to be a Saviour be too great an Advancement for a mere Creature, and a Glory fit only for the Son of God, this juftifies the Reafonablenefs of the Chriftian Faith , and the Wifdom as well as Love of God, in making his own Son to be our Saviour, who is by Nature the Objefl: of divine Honours, but no Rival with his Fa ther. But befides that is too great an Advance ment to a Creature to be the Saviour of Sin ners, it requires a Power alfo much fuperior to any created Power. We do not call him a Saviour, who has not an inherent Power to fave us , who can do nothing for us by his own Power, but only publifh to us the Pro mifes of Salvation, and intercede with God as an humble Supplicant, that he would fave us; this indeed a Creature Prophet andPrieft may do, but the Scripture gives us a very different Notion of a Saviour, that he is one mighty to fave, that he is able to fave to the uttermoft, that he is the Horn of Salvation, which figni fies ' and a Future State. $& J fies Strength and PoWer ; that he is the Au thor of eternal Salvation, which certainly fig nifies fomething more than to be the Preacher of it. When our Saviour was rifen from the Dead, he declares to his Difciples, that all Power was committed to him both in Heaven and in Earth , Matth. 28. 18. How com mitted to him j if he cannot exercife this Power, if he cannot fway the Scepter of the Whoie World, which no mere Creature can do ? The Salvation of Sinners requires the Exercife of a truly divine Power, in forgi ving Sin, in. renewing and fanctifying our Nature, which is the new Creation, in con quering Death , and raifing the Dead into immortal Life, in governing all the Affairs of the World in fubordination to his fpi* ritual Kingdom, in fubduing all his Ene mies, whether Men or Devils, in reftraining their Malice in this World, and in their fi nal Condemnation and Punifhment in the next. He who can't do all this, can't be the Saviour of Mankind; and he who can do all this, can't be a mere Creature, but the Son of God. A Power to do all that is neceffa ry to our Salvation is included in the Notion pf a Saviour; and when God promifes to do all this for us by a Saviour, it fignifies, that he will fend us fuch a Saviour as can do all this; and we can have no greater Affurance or the Performance of thefe Promifes than we have of our Saviour's Power to do all this; and we are fure, that no Cieature has this ¦Power; and therefore a Saviour, who can do* all this, muft be the Son oi God. % Let 306 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, Let us then flop here a while, and confider, what infinite Security this gives us of Salva tion and Eternal Life, that God has fent his own Son, the Son of his Love, in whom he is wellpleas'd, to be the Saviour of Sinners. This is the higheft Dernonftration of God's Love to Sinners, and how much he defires, they fhould be faved. Tho' God had never fo ex- prefly declar'd his readinefs to be reconcil'd to Sinners, this wou'd not be fuch a fenfible De rnonftration of his Love, as giving his Son to fave us. When we fee our Saviour, then, as Simeon fpeaks, our Eyes fee his Salvation. This is not a bare Declaration of his Love to Sin ners, but a vifible execution of it. And yet the only Foundation of our Hope is in God's good will to Sinners; without this we can never be faved ; and we can have no greater Af- furance of Salvation, than we have of God's Will to fave us ; and when we are affur'd of this, our Salvation is fecure; for God never wants means to fave us. Efpecially, if we confider farther, that, when he fends his own Son to fave us, as I obferv'd before, he fends one that is mighty to fave. For the Son of God can neither want Intereft, nor Merit, nor Power to fave; for he is the Son of his Love, does always that which pleafes him, and has the Power of God. This is fuch Security, as thofe can never have who believe our Saviour to be a Creature. For the moft excellent Creature can never have the Intereft, the Merit, the Power of the Son of God. And if we muft be fav'd by, a Saviour, our Security of Salvation can.be no greater than the perfonal Intereft, Merit, and Power and a Future State. 307 Power of our Saviour. That Chrift is Man qualifies him to be the Saviour of Mankind ; but that he is Gbd makes him able to fave. A Creature Saviour can no otherwife fave us, than a Creature Prophet can work Miracles ; they have no Power of their own to do either, but are only God's Minifters to declare his Will, and to give the fignal; but God does all himfelf by his own immediate Power; which gives us no other Affurance of our Sal vation than the Word of a Prophet can give us. But God has done better for us, has gi ven us his own Son to be our Saviour, who is the Arm, the Power, and the Wifdom of God, who in his own Perfon is Eternal Life, and therefore can beftow Eternal Life. And what greater Affurance can we defire of Life and Immortality, than that God has given us Eternal Life to be our Saviour, that God has given us Eternal Life, and this Life is in his Son? SECT. III. The vifible Reconciliation of Human Na ture in the Incarnation of the Son of God. HAving thus fhewn you that we muft be fav'd by a Saviour, and who this Savi our is, no lefs Perfon than the Eternal Son of God ; there wants nothing to compleat this Dernonftration, and to give us the moft. ab- X 2 folute 3 o 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, folute Security, that we can poffibly have, of Salvation and Immortal Life, but to fee the aaual accomplifhment of our Redemption in what Chrift our Saviour has done and fuffered for us, in his Incarnation, Death, Refur reaion, and Afcenfion into Heaven, where he now fits at the right Hand of God to make Interceffion for us. I fhall begin with the Incarnation, that this Eternal Word was made Flefh and dwelt among us, the Son of God became Man, that is, took Human Nature into a perfonal Union with himfelf, was not a Human Perfon, nor united to any particular Man, but God incarnate, the Son of God li ving and aaing in Human Nature, as the Soul lives and aas in the Body. This is the Catholick Faith of the Incarnation, and the vifible beginning of our Salvation. For, i. This is a vifible Reconciliation of Human Nature to God in the Perfon of Chrift. The Proof of this wholly depends upon our Saviour's being perfea God and perfea Man in one Perfon; and whoever denies either of thefe, deftroys this great Evidence we have of God's Reconciliation to Sinners. Can there be a nearer and clofer Union between God and Man, than for the Son of God to take Human Nature into a perfonal Union with himfelf? And can there be fuch an Uni on as this without a Reconciliation ? When God becomes Man, I think there needs no o- ther Proof, nor can there any greater be gi ven, of his Kindnefs for Human Nature. For certainly God hath a great good will for Man, when his own Eternal Son becomes Man him felf. This / and a Future State. 309 This is not fo well confider'd by the gene rality of Chriftians; and yet it is one ofthe moft comfortable and tranfporting Thoughts in the World. All Catholick Chriftians ac knowledge the great Love and Humility, and Condefcenfion of our Saviour in becoming Man ; but all that moft Men confider in his becoming Man, is only this, that it made him a proper Sacrifice and Expiation for the Sins of Men. And certainly this was one great end of it; becaufe without fioedding of Blood there is no remijfion: And none but he, who is truly Man, can be a Sacrifice and make an Atonement for the Sins of Men, as the Apoftle to the Hebrews tells us, For as much as the Children are Partakers of Flefh and Blood, he alfo himfelf likewife took part of the fame, that through Death he might deftroy him that had the Power of Death, that is, the Devil, and de liver them, who through fear of Death were all their life time fubjett to Bondage,Hcb. z. i4,if. But Human Nature was reconcil'd to God in the Incarnation of his Son, before the Sins of Mankind were expiated by his Death. The Son of God incarnate, God-Man, is by Nature a middle Perfon between God and Man ; he is one with his Father, and he is one with Mankind; God and Man meet in him. And can we doubt, whether he, who has u- nited God and Man in one Perfon, will recon cile God to Mankind? He himfelf is the Me dium of this Union; he unites all his fincere Difciples to himlelf in his Myftical Body, as belonging to hisHuman Nature, to which all Mankind have a natural relation ; and this u- nites them to God the Father, with whom X 3 he 3 1 o Ofthe Immortality oj the Soul, he is infeparably One, according to our Savi our's Prayer for his Difciples, I pray for them, I pray not for the World, but for them which thou haft given me; for they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them, John 1 7. o, 10. Neither pray I for them alone, but for them alfo, which fhall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they alfo may be one in us, 20,2 1 . No thing can be plainer than this, that we are united to God by our Union to Chrift, who is in the Father, and the Father in him ; and the Medium of our Union to Chrift is his per fonal Union to Human Nature, which gives him a natural relation to all Mankind, and is the Foundation of a Covenant-relation andU- nion to all Believers. This is a vifible Recon ciliation and kind of natural Union of Human Nature to God, which intitles all Mankind, according to the terms of the Gofpel Cove nant, to all the Benefits and Advantages of it. For, 2, The Incarnation of the Son of God intitles Mankind, according to the Terms of the Gofpel Covenant, to the Merits of all that he did and fuffer'd in .Human Nature. For fo the Scripture declares, that he took Human Nature on him for no other reafon but/ to fave and redeem Mankind. For why fhould the Son of God become Man, but to advance Men to the Glory and Happinefs of being the Sons of God ? as the Apoftle tells us, Verily he took not on him the Nature of Angels, but the Seed of Abraham, Heb. 2. 16. By which he proves, that he is the Saviour of Mankind, not of Angels. For he could take no created Nature and a Future State. 3 11 Nature upon him with any other defign than to fave it, nor fave any other Nature than what he took; he firft faves human Nature in his own Perfon, and when human Nature is fav'd^ Mankind may have a Covenant Title to the Salvation of human Nature. Thus he is in his own Perfon, a vifible Pattern of the Re demption of Mankind; as he united human Nature in a perfonal Union to himfelf, fo he unites all his Difeiples to God in his own my ftical Body, takes away the Diftance and En mity, and makes them his adopted Sons: As he died and rofe again from the Dead in human Nature, fo he has conquer'd Death for all his Difeiples, and will raife them into immortal Life : As he hath afcended up into Heaven into the immediate Prefence of God in human Nature, fo he is gone before to pre pare a Place for us , and will come again arid receive us to himfelf , that where he is , there we may be alfo; as he pray'd his Father, that his Difeiples might be where he is, to behold his Glory. Of which more hereafter. 3. The Incarnation of the Son of God makes human Nature immortal. Tho' the human Nature of Chrift was by God's Ap^ pointment to die upon the Crofs, yet, being perfonally united to the Fountain of Life, it Could not" perifh in the Grave. Eternal Life can never die, and it is a Contradiaion to fay, that what is perfonally united to eternal Life, can finally die and perifh. In which Senfe St. Peter tells us of Chrift, Whom God hath raifed up, having loafed the Pains of Death, becaufe it was not poffible he fhould be holden pf them, Aas 2. 24, So that, whatever hu- , X 4 marj 312 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, man Nature was before, here we have a vifi ble Proof of its Immortality. For the human Nature of Chrift is immortal, and this new Immortality of human Nature gives Mankind, who were condemn'd to die, a new Right to immortal Life. Eternal Life would never have united human Nature to himfelf, which necefTarily makes it immortal, had he not in? tended to beftow a new Life and Irrmortality upon Men; For why fhould human Nature be immortal, and all Mankind die? Thus the Incarnation of our Saviour gives us a vifible Proof of the Reconciliation or human Na? ture to God, and of the Immortality of hu? man Nature, which is all loft by denying the eternal Godhead of our Saviour. For if Chrift be no more than a mere Man, here is no Union of God and Man in one Perfon, no Reconciliation of human Nature to God in the Perfon of Chrift, nor any Proof of Im mortality by fuch an Union. 4. As a farther Confirmation of all this, we may confider the Incarnation of our Savi our as a vifible Dernonftration of God's graci ous Prefence with Mankind. -The great Pri vilege ofthe Jewijh Church above any other Nation was God's peculiar Prefence among them ; for tho' he fills Heaven and Earth ¦with his Prefence , yet he is frequently in Scripture faid to be more peculiarly prefent with feme People, at fome Places, and at fome rimes; and his peculiar Prefence is made a di ftinguifhing Mark of Grace and Favour, pod had chofen Ifrael for his peculiar People, and, in token of it, his Prefence dwelt among them. From the time of their going out of Egypt, ' he* and a Future State, 313 be took them under his own immediate Care, Proteaion, and Guidance ; he direaed their Journeys in a Cloud by Day, and a Pillar of Fire by Night. And what a peculiar Favour and Bleffing the Prefence of God was,- we may learn from the Story of the Molten Calf, which the Ifrttelites made in the abfence of Mofes in the Mount. God was fo provoked by this Idolatry , that he refufed to go him felf any longer With them ; but promifed to fend his Angel with them : Therefore, now go, lead the People to the Place, of which I have fpoken unto them ; behold, mine Angel fhall go before thee, Exodus 32. 34. It is not eafy to give an Account of this Difference between God's going with them, and fending his An gel to condua them; but Mofes makes a ve ry great Difference between God's Prefence and his AngeJ, Exodus 33. 12, 13, &c. Mo fes faid unto the Lord, thou fay ft unto me, bring up this People ; and thou haft not let me know, whom thou wilt fend with me ; yet thou baft faid, I have known thee by Name , and thou haft alfo found Grace in my Sight. Now there fore, I pray thee, if I have found Grace in thy Sight, fhew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find Grace in thy Sight ; and confider that this Nation is thy People. And he faid my Prefence fhall go along with thee, and I ¦Will give thee Reft. And he faid -unto him , if thy Prefence go not with me , carry us not up hence. For wherein fhall it be known here, that I and thy People have found Grace in thy Sight ? . Is it not in that thou goeft with' us? So fhall we be feparated, land thy People^ from all the People that are upon the Face-offke Earth. And ' ' • the 3 r 4 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, the Lord faid unto Mofes, I will do this thing alfo that thou haft fpoken ; for thou haft found Grace in my Sight, and I know thee by Name. Where the Prefence of God , as diftinguifh'd from a created Angel , muft fignify a divine Perfon, who is the Prefence, the Arm, the ' Wifdom, the Counfel , the Power of God ; that is, his own eternal Son, to whom he committed the immediate Care and Condua of the Jewifh Church. For Mofes defir'd to know whom God would fend with them ; an Angel he would not accept of, but defir'd he would fend his Prefence with them ; and this God promifes, thzf his Prefence fhould go with them. It is this Prefence of God, wh$ik- dwelt in the Tabernacle and Temple, and di ftinguifh'd Ifrael from the reft ofthe World as God's peculiar and cbofen People. So that God's Prefence was always a Mark of his peculiar Favour, and was never vouchfafed to any but his chofen and peculiar People; who were his peculiar Care, and for whom he defign'd very peculiar Favours and Blef fings. Now was there ever fuch a Prefence of God in the World as the Incarnation of our Savi our, when the Son of God took human Na ture upon him, and liv'd and convers'd among Men, did in a true literal Senfe dwell and walk among them ? as St. John tells us, that the Word was made Flefh and dwelt among us, iffKYjvuxrw Iv rifMv, tabernacled among us, and we beheld his Glory, the Glory as of the only be gotten of the Father, John i. 14. Which is a manifeft Allufion to that vifible Glory, which filled the Tabernacle and Temple, arid figni fied and a Future State. 315: fied God's Prefence there. But now God was prefent in human Nature, not by Types and Figures, not by a Cloud of Glory, but the Fuinefs of. the Godhead dwelt in him bodily ; and tho' he very much conceal'd his Glory, while he was upon Earth, yet it very often broke out in bright and dazling Rays, and was very vifible to true Believers, as St. Jqbn affures us, we beheld his Glory, tho' it was con ceal'd from the unbelieving World. This is certain, if Chrift was the eternal Son of God incarnate, he did live and converfe among Men, which is fuch a Prefence and Manife- ftation of himfelf, as God never made to the World before. And if the Divine Pre fence be always a Mark of Favour and fome peculiar Bleffing, what may we expea from fuch a Prefence as this ? When God fends his own Son into the World to blefs us, we may reafonably expea fuch Bleffings as this World cannot give, not a temporal but a heavenly Canaan, not merely a long but an eternal Life. This fhews us, what Evidence the Incarnation of the Son of God gives us of Salvation and immortal Life; fuch as no Man can have, who does not believe, that Jefus is the Chrift, the Son of the living God. For tbe Argument of God's Love in giving his Son will not hold in any Creature ; we cannot fee the Reconciliation of human Na ture to God in a mere Man ; and the moft ex cellent Prophet is not the Prefence of God. And who would be without fuch Arguments as thefe, to raife him into the Hopes of im mortal Life ? Were the Divinity of our Sa viour an empty and ufelefs Speculation, Men ' » might 1 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, might philofophize, as they pleas'd, about it; but it is of dangerous Confequence to philofo phize away our Evidences of Salvation and immortal Life. SECT. IV. The1)eath of Chrifi a true expiatory Sa crifice to redeem Mankind from "Death. LET us now confider the Death of Chrift, by which he has given Life unto the World. Upon which Account he tells us, The Bread of God is he , which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth Life unto the World. I am the living Bread, which came down from Heaven ; if any Man eat of this Bread, he fhall live for ever; and the Bread, that I will give, is my Flefh, which I will give for the Life ofthe World, John 33, f 1. Throughout the New Teftament, the Pardon of our Sins, and all our Hopes of Salvation and immortal Life, are attributed to the Death of Chrift, whom -God hath fet forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood, to declare his Righteoufnefs forthe Remiffion of Sins, that are paft., thro' the Forbearance of God, Romans 3. 2f . Hence Chrift is faid to die for all, to tafle Death for ¦every Man, to die for the Ungodly, to bear our Sim in bis own Body upon the Tree, to redeem #$ from tbe Curfe of tbe Law by being made a Curfe forms-; bis Blood 'is faid to cleanfe us from ¦all Sin ; that by bis own Blood, be entredin once into tbe Holy Place^ baying obtained eternal Re demption and a Future State. $17 demption for us. That for this Caufe he is the Mediator of the New Teftament, that by means of Death , for the Redemption of the Tranfgref- fions, that were under the firft Teftament, they which are called might receive the Promife of eternal Inheritance : That he was once offered to bear the Sins of many, and unto them, that look for him , fhall he appear the fecond time without Sin unto Salvation : That by one Of fering he hath perfected for ever them that are fanttified. All the Sacrifices of the Law are reprefented as Types and Figures of the great Sacrifice of the Crofs, he is our Atonement, our Propitiation , our Peace , who hath made Peace through the Blood of his Crofs. Whoever reads thefe and fuch like Texts , wherewith the Gofpels and Epiftles abound, would think it impoffible to raife any Difpute about this Matter, whether the Death of Chrift be a true and proper Sacrifice for the Sins of the World; whether our Sins are expiated, and God atoned and reconciled to Sinners by the fhedding of his Blood ; and yet there is no thing, which the perverfe Wits of Men have more perplex'd and entangled : Not that the Scripture is not fufficiently plain, but they de fire to know what God hath not thought fit to tell them, and rejea what is plainly reveal ed, becaufe they cannot fatisfy their Reafon about the Philofophy of Chrift's Death and Sacrifice. As if fuch little Creatures as we are, fhould be able to comprehend the Reafons, and fathom the Depths of the divine Will and Counfels. I fhall give you as plain and brief an Account of this Matter, as I can, thatyoumay the better underftand, what I have to fay in this Caufe. Some ; 8 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Some there are, who think this a very in credible Story , that the Son of God fhould become Man, and die upon the Crofs, as an expiatory Sacrifice for the Sins of Men ; be caufe they can by no means underftand, what neceffity there is for any Satisfaaion to be made to God for the Sins of Men ; For can not God, who is the fupreme unaccountable Lord and Judge of the World , forgive Sin, if he pleafes, without any Sacrifice or Expia tion , when every Prince , nay every private Man in his own Caufe, can do this, when he fees fit, and is thought to do very well in it? And if God has fuch a tender Compaffion for Sinners, as this Account ofthe Death of Chrift reprefents him to have , is it not much more credible, that he fhould forgive all truly pe nitent and reformed Sinners without a Sacri fice, than expofe his only beloved Son to a painful and infamous Death , when. he could have forgiven Sin without it? As for that Neceffity of Satisfaaion, which fome refolve into a natural vindiaive Juftice in God , which cannot forgive Sin without executing a juft Vengeance againft it , either in the Perfon of the Sinner, or his Surety and Sacrifice; this they think makes a very terri ble Reprefentation of God, and contradias all the Notions Mankind have of his Goodnefs, and readinefs to forgive. For how frightful is it to think that we have to do with a God, who cannot forgive without exaaing the ut- moft Punifhment, that every Sindeferves? And who will call this Forgivenefs, to punifh no more, when we have punifh'd as much as juftly we can ? And yet the Scripture mag nifies and a Future State. 3 19 nifies the Grace and Goodnefs of God in for giving our Sins for Chrift's Sake, notwith- flanding that Chrift died to make Atonement for our Sins. Nor can they poffibly underftand, how bearing the Punifhment of Sin makes Satisfa aion for it ; for is any Man fatisfied for the Injury he fuffers, that he, who did the Inju ry , fuffers for it as he deferves ? Does any Man think this a Reafon to forgive and to be reconciled to the injurious Perfon, that he has fuffered for the Injury he has done ? Is not every good Man much better fatisfied with Repentance , and Reparation of the Injriry , and the Amendment of the injurious Perfon, without his fuffering, than with his fuffering without Repentance and Amendment ? That Repentance and Amendment feem the only natural Atonement and Expiation of Sin, be caufe that alone can repair the Injury, and a- tone, and pacify, and reconcile the injur'd Perfon. It contradias, they fay, the effenti al Notions both of Juftice and Goodnefs, and is infinitely unworthy of the Juftice and Goodnefs of God , to place the Satisfaaion for Sin merely in the Satisfaaion of Revenge ; and yet they cannot conceive what other Sa tisfaaion the mere bearing the Punifhment of Sin can make to vindiaive Juftice. And yet, were this the true Notion of Satisfaaion, they fay it utterly deftroys the Satisfaaion of a Sacrifice, let the Sacrifice be what it will ; for though Punifhment might be transferred, Revenge can't, which can no more change its Objea, than Anger or Love; and Punifh ment without Revenge is no Satisfaaion to vindictive 3 2 o Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, vindiaive Juftice : Much lefs could the Son of God, his only begotten and well beloved Son, be the Objea of fuch a Revenge, and that , when he did the moft acceptable Ser vice to his Father, and exercifed the profoun- deft Humility, Self-denial, Patience, Obedi ence, and Refignation to the Will of God , and the moft perfea Truft and Affiance in him , for which God hath highly exalted him^ and given him a Name, which is above every Name; which is no great Argument, that he was the Objea of his Wrath and Vengeance upon the Crofs , when he exalted him from the Crofs to his own Throne, and fet him at his own Right Hand. But whatever Satisfaaion be due to vindi aive Juftice, why, fay they, would no lefs Sacrifice than the eternal Son of God be ac cepted for the Sins of Men ? What Propor tion is here, between God and Creatures, that the Son of God muft die to deliver Men from Death ? And what Juftice, where there is no Proportion ? To refolve this into the infinite Demerit of Sin, as committed againft the infinite Majefty of God , and therefore requiring an infinite Sacrifice to expiate it, they fay, is no Scripture Account of Chrift's Death, and introduces upon other Principles a Stoical Equality of all Sins; for if the infi nite Majefty of God, whom we offend by our Sins, gives an infinite Demerit to every Sin, then all Sins are equal , and deferve an equal Punifhment, unlefs we will allow of Degrees in Infinite. Nay , by the fame Reafon every virtuous Aaion muft have an infinite Merit too, as it refpeas the infinite Majefty of God ; which and a Future State. % 2 1 which deftroys all the Degrees of Virtue and Vice, and the Juftice of Government, in pro portioning Rewards and Punifhments to Men's Deferts. Nay, if this were true, it Would prove the quite contrary to what it is intended for. For if a finite Perfon iriay merit infinitely pf God, there is rto need, that an infinite Per fon, as the Son of God is, fhould die as a Sa crifice for Sin, fince a. finite Perfon may offer a Sacrifidd of infinite Merit ; for the infinite Majefty of God, to whom it is offered, ac cording to this way of Reafoning, muft give an infinite Merit to it. But indeed the Foun dation of all this is naught: For though the Quality and Charaaer of the Perfon does pro- portionably aggravate every Offence, which immediately rdfpeas his Perfon and Charaaer, yet every Aa of Difobedience is hot Crimen iafa Majeftatis, a direa Affront and Injury td Majefty : The Authority of a Prince is con cerned in all his LaWs, but yet the Breach of ho Law is Treafon, but what immediately concerns the Life, Authority, orGovernfnenl ofthe Prirtce: Thus every Sin is an Act of* 'Difobedience to God, but not a direa and de- figned Affront to his infinite Majefty ; and therefore the Demerit of Sin muft bemeafured by the Nature of the Action, not by the Ma jefty of God. . Thefe are the Difficulties Which attend the Notion of Satisfaaion , as founded in vindi- ftive Juftice; and therefore others refolve the Neceffity of Satisfaaion into the Reafons of Government : That God is riot to be confi- der'd in this Matter as the Pars lafa, the of fended Party, or as a Creditor to whom we Y owe 322 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, owe the PUnifhment of our Sins,~but as a Re- aor or Governour. They grant in the firft Senfe, that God might have forgiven Sin, had he fo pleafed, without a Sacrifice, but the wife Government of the World would not al low it : It was neceffary, they fay, for God to maintain the Authority of his Laws and Go vernment, and to deter Men from Sin by fome vifible Execution of his Juftice: And yet to invite Sinners to Repentance by the higheft Affurances of Pardon and Forgive- riefs ; and nothing could fo perfeaiy anfwer thefe Ends, as to give his own Son a Sacrifice for Sin ; in whofe Death and Sufferings he has declar'd his fierceft Anger and Difpleafure againft Sin, which he would not forgive with out the Death of his own Son; and yet has given lis the higheft Demonftratidn of his great Love and Compaflion for Sinners, that he fo loved the World, as to give his only be gotten Son, that whofoever believes in him fhould notperifio; but have ever lafting Life. Thefe in deed are Confiderations of great weight and moment, and ought to have a powerful Influ ence upon our Lives, and will have fo, when they are put into their right Place; but the Queftion now is, whether this be a good Ac count of the Neceffity of Satisfaaion , and how it agrees with the Scripture Account of Chrift's Death, as a Sacrifice for Sin. For how can the Reafons of Government make that neceffary, which the divine Juftice does not make fo ? For, is the Juftice of Go vernment fo different from the Juftice of tbe divine Nature, as to make them two things? We muft then either return to a natural vin- diaive and a Future State. 323 diaive Juftice, or confefs, that the Reafons of Government do not mike an Expiation and Sacrifice for Siri neceffaryi but only more a- greeable to the Wifdom of Government ; and then there was no Neceffity that Chriftfhould die to make Atonement for our Sins ; and, for my part, though I dare not fay, that God Could not fave us any other way, but by the Death of Chrift $ yet it cart never enter intd my Thoughts * that the eternal Son of God became Man, fuffered and died, only to ferve the Ends of Government , if his Death in it felf confider'd had nP direct and immediate Influence upon our Redemption. It muft be acknowledged, that thefe Per- , fons believe very ofthodoxly concerning the Death of Chrift, that it is a true and proper Sacrifice, that Chrift died for us$ in our Place andftead^ that he died for our Sins, and by bis' Blood made Atonement and Expiation for tbem$ and delivered us from eternal Death , that he redeem' d us from the Curfe of the Law by be ing niade a Curfe for us , as it is written 4 eurfed is every one that hangeth on a Tree : And with great Zeal and judgment vindicate the Scripture Account of Chrift's Death againft all the cavilling Objeaions of the Socinians j but yet to avoid that harfh Account, which fome give of a natural vindiaive Juftice , I doubt, they have run into another Extream^ and deftroyed the Neceffity of Chrift's Death j and any true artd proper Expiation for Sin s For a true and proper Expiation for' Sin j is certainly to fatisfy Law and Juftice* not mere ly to ferve the Ends of Government ; and if Law and Juftide require no fuch thing, we! Y a msnf 324 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, may call what We pleafe an Expiation and Sa crifice, but in truth it is only an Art of Go vernment, not a proper Sacrifice Tor Sin. And yet unlefs Chrift's Death was fuch a Sacrifice for Sin, as did in a proper Senfe ex piate our Sins, and redeem us from Death, I cannot feehow itfhould fervetheEnds of Go vernment. If Law and Juftice requir'd no Sa crifice and Expiation for Sin, why was it not as honourable for God, to forgive Sins with out a Sacrifice, as with it? If God could in Law and Juftice have raifed us from the Dead into immortal Life without Chrift's dying for us, and rifing again from the Dead, how does this recommend God's great Love and Good nefs to Sinners? He has done a great and wonderful thing indeed, but what he need not have done; which very much leffens the Opinion both of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God in it. And was there no effeaual way to deter Men from Sin, and to invite them to Repentance, but the Death of Chrift? Why would not the certain Promifes of Par don and immortal Life to true Penitents, and the as Certain and irrevocable Threatnings of eternal Miferies againft all impenitent Sinners, have been as effeaual to this End ? It is cer tain from Experience, that, at this Day, thefe are the great Motives and Arguments to Re pentance, without which the Death of Chrift would have little effea upon the World; and if this were all that Goddefigned in the Death of Chrift, he might certainly have given as great and undeniable Evidence and Affurance of this, though Chrift had not died. In fhort, we freely acknowledge, that the Death and a Future State. 3 2 j Death of Chrift ferves a great many admira ble Ends in Religion, and contains many for cible Arguments" to Repentance arid new O- bedience ; but the Foundation of all muft be laid in the Expiation of his Death ; that by his Death he hath delivered us from Death, and given Life to the World ; and whatever weakens this, (as to deny the abfolute Necef fity of Chrift's dying to redeem us from Death certainly does) weakens all the other Arguments contained in the Death of Chrift, and makes the Love and Wifdom of God in_ giving his own Son to die for us, wnen there was no Neceffity of fuch a Sacrifice to deli ver us from Death, as unaccountable, as they think a natural vindiaive Juftice. Thefe and fuch like Difputes concerning the Nature, Reafons, and Ends of Chrift's Death, tempted Socinus and his Followers, to deny the Death of Chrift to be a true and proper Sacrifice or Expiation for Sin; but this is fo direaiy contrary to the whole Style and Language of Scripture, that it would be • lefs impious to rejea its Authority , than to offer fuch manifeft Force and Violence to it. What a Prieft, and a Sacrifice, Expiation and Atonement, bearing Sins, being made a Curfe, and fuch like facrificial Phrafes, fignified in the Jewifh Law, was very well known; and is there any Colour ofReafon to think, that when the Apoftles apply all the fame Terms and Phrafes to Chrift and his Death, and make the legal Priefts and Sacrifices mere Types and imperfea Reprefentations of our great High- Prieft, and the great Sacrifice of the Crois, |:hey fhould mean any thing elfe by it, than a Y 3 proper 3 16 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, prober Prieft and a proper Sacrifice? For how fhould we underftand their Meaning, but by their Words, or their Words, but in thai: Senfe, which both tlie divine Law and the common ufe of Mankind had given them ? Efpecially fince the whole Catholick Church from the Days of the Apoftles, till Socinus underftood them in the fame Senfe. But I do not intend to difpute this MaWep now ; for I cannot perfwadcmy felf, but that the Socinians themfelves muft believe, that the Language of Scripture is againft them; but they thirflc the Doarine of Satisfaaion, as it has been fepreferite'd by fome Men, fo very abfur'd, fo unworthy of God, fo contrary to the Reafon of Mankind, that they are refol ved to force any Senfe on Scripture, rather than believe it ; that could we give a fair Re- prefentation of the Death of Chrift, without, clogging it with Philofophical Difputes, and unfcriptural Hypothefes, it would appear fo worthy of Gocj, fo agreeable to the beft Rea fon, and of fuch infinite Confolation to Sin ners, that there would be no need to pervert the Senfe of Scripture, to avoid this Faith, and that would anfwer all their fore'd Criti- cifms at once; and this may eafily be done, if we will be contented with that Account which < the Scripture gives of it. ' To reprefent this as plainly as I can, let us con,fider, what the State of Man Was after the Fall, what a kind of Saviour he wanted, and what that Redemption is, which the Scri pture attributes to the Death of Chrift. As for the firft, it is very well known, that, as God threatned Adam with Death in cafe he ''"'" eat and a Future State. 327 eat of the forbidden Fruit, in the Day that thou eateft thereof, thou Jhalt furely die ; fo, when he had eaten , he pronounces the final Sentence on him, Duft thou art, and to Duft thou Jhalt return. So that Adam from that moment became mortal, which neceffarily in volved all his Pofterity in the fame Fate ; for the Children of mortal Parents muft be mor tal, and muft die, as their Parents do, Now fince Man muft die, and has no Power to raife himfelf from the Dead , the natural Confe* quence of this Sentence is , that he muft die for ever, that he muft never live more. For he that dies, and cannot raife himfelf frorn the Dead , muft always continue under the Power of Death. This was the miferable State of all Man-> kind after the Fall ; and this fhews us the Ne ceffity of a Saviour and Deliverer, and what kind of Saviour Man had need of, viz. fuch a Saviour, not as could deliver him from the Neceffity of dying, for that was determined by an irreverfible Decree, but from the Power and Dominion of Death, that is, that could raife him into immortal Life again: Without fuch a Saviour Mankind muft have continued for ever under the Power of Death, and there fore fuch a Saviour was as abfolutely neceffary as immortall Life is. We need not entangle our felves in the Dif pute concerning a natural vindiaive Juftice,, to prove the Neceffity of Chrift's dying for the Redempripn of Sinners; for a Saviour is as neceffary as Salvation is ; and though we fhould fuppofe, that God had no refpea to Vindiaive Juftice, but only to Love and Good- Y 4 ^h 528 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, nefs , and Compaffion to fallen Man , in gi ving his Son to die for us, (which is what the Scripture affigns as the Reafon of God's giving his §on) if the Death of Chrift were neceffary to redeem us from Death, the Good nefs of God makes it as neceffary as a vindi ctive Juftice. I dare not pretend to know any more of the divine Nature, either of the Juftice of Goodnefs of God, than what God has decla red of himfelf, either by the Works of Na ture, or by his Word. To pretend to a di rea intuitive Knowledge of God? tp meafUre the divine Perfeaions by our feahty Notions, to fay what God muft, what he can, or what he cannot do in Juftice or Gpodnefs, is not only a bold and daring Prefumption, but, as I could eafily fhew you in numerous Inftan ces, the Caufe'of Atheifm, Infidelity, and Herefy : And therefpre I know no more of the divine juftice, than by his Laws ; and from thence I; learn, '" that the Punifhment of, Adam's Sin was Death,' not only his own Death, but the Death of all his Pofterity, who died in him, when he became mortal'. This then is what the Juftice of God requi red in Punifhment of Adam's Sin. Though^ as I have el'fewhere obferved, there was an admirable Mixture of Wifdom and Goodnefs' in it; efpecially confidering God's graciousJ Defign of redeeming Man from Peath; for when Man was fallen, and hurhan Nature corrupted by the Fall, immortal Life in this World would have proved no Bleffing, but a Curfe.' ' • ¦ • v. * Now it is evident Chrift did not die to re- verfe and a Future State. 32^ :verfe this Law, to deliver Men from the Ne ceffity of dying ; for this Law has taken place upon all Mankind from Adam to this Day, excepting Enoch and Elias, and will do fo to the End of the World; and I know of no other Satisfaaion to Law and Juftice, but the Execution of the Law ; and therefore the di vine Jufticp takes its own Satisfaaion in exe cuting this Curfe upon all Mankind; and when the Law is executed, I know not what other Satisfaaion it can require. If the Sa tisfaaion of Juftice be to flop the Execution of the Law and reverfe the Sentence inftead pf executing the Sentence of the Law, it is manifeft that, in this Senfe, Chrift has not fatisfied the divine Juftice, nor that Law,' tvhich threatned Death, becaufeuall Men ftill die : God never intended fuch a Saviour for Man, and if he had, he fhould have appear'd at the beginning of the World, to have put a Stop to this Curfe, before Death had preyed upon fo many Ages and Generations of Men ; but the only Salvation Man was capable of, when this irrevocable Sentence of Death was once paft , was not to be faved from dying , which the Law would not admit, but to be raifed again from the Dead into immortal Life ; which the Law might admit, if fuch a Saviour, who could, and would, redeem Man from Death, was to be found : For though the Sentence of Death, with refpea to Men, who have no Power to deliver themfelves from Death , is equivalent to eternal Death ; for thofe muft always continue under the Power Of Death, who cannot raife themfelves from the Dead ; yet the Law having only threat- u',» . . ned 330 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, ned Death , without any exprfefs mention of eternal Death, it left room for a Saviour, and was fo intended by God, who had no fooner pronounced the Sentence of Death againft Adam, but he promifes him a Saviour, the Seed of the Woman, who fhould break the Ser pent's Head, who by Death Jhould deftroy him that had the Power of Death, that is, the De- mil, and deliver them, who through fear of Death, were all their life- time fubjecl to Bon dage : So that God might, if he pleafed, ap point a Saviour and Deliverer to redeem Man from Death, without the Infringement of a- ny Law or Juftice : The Juftice of the Law is fatisfied in the Death of Man, but the Law makes no Provifion for his rifing again, but leaves him in a State of Death ; this the divine Goodnefs took care of, and hath raifed up a Horn of Salvation for us in the Houfe of his Servant David. And therefore let us now confider, 2. What Account the Scripture gives us of the Death of Chrift, and that Salvation he has wrought for us by his Death; the right underftanding of which great My fiery is whol ly refolved into that fundamental Article of our Faith, that Jefus Chrift is the Son of the living God, God manifefied in the Flefh , true and perfect God, and true and per feci Man in One Perfon. Now the Account the Scripture gives us of this, either relates, to the Nature of Chrift's Death, or to the bleffed Fruits and Effeas of it. i. As to the Nature of Chrift's Death. Now as I have already obferved, the Scrip ture every where affures us, that Chrift died for and a Future State. 331 for us, that he died for our Sins, that he tafted Death for every Man, that he died for all, be* caufe all were dead; that he bore our Sins in his own Body on tbe Tree; that he was made Sin for us, who knew no Sin ; that he made his Soul a Sacrifice for Sin ; that while we were yet Ene mies, Chrift died for us, the Juft for the Unjuft, to reconcile us to God. What can poffibly be plainer than this, or what other fenfe can be made of it, but that the Death of Chrift is a Sacrifice for the Sins of the World; that in dying he bore the Punifhment of Sin, not of his own Sins, for he had none, and could not have been a Sacrifice for Sin, if he had, and therefore for our Sins ? The Socinians allow, that Chrift in fome fenfe died for us ; for this is not to be avoided, unlefs they will rejea the Authority of Scripture, which exprefly fays, that Chrift died for us ; and therefore in fome fenfe this muft be true, if the Scripture fpeaks truth. But all they will allow to be meant by it is, that he died for our good, and this is a great Truth too ; but did he fo far die in our place and ftead, as by Death to redeem us from Death ? for nothing elfe is in a ftria and proper Notion dying for us. Whatever other Advantages we may receive by any Man's Death, we never fay he dies for us, unlefs he dies as our dv1l4 all the righteous blood filed upon the earth ; from the blood of righteous Abel, unto': the Blood of Zacharias Son of Baraf chias, whom ye flew between the Temple and the Altar. Verily I fay unto you, all thefe things: fhall come upon this Generation. He tells them, that they themfelves were WitnefJ'es, that' they were the Children of them that killed the Prophets; and that they would fill up the meafufe of their. Fathers in killing their Meffias, his Apoftles ani Difeiples 1 and a Future State. Difeiples; and therefore all this righteous Blood fhould be required of them, that is, that they fhould utterly be deftroyed, be no longer a People and Nation, as he immediately adds; O Jerufalem, Jerufalem, thou that killefi the Prophets, and ft one ft them that are fent unto thee, how often would 1 have gathered thy Children to-> gether, as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her fVings, and ye would not. Behold your Houfe is left unto you defolate. So that God's vifiting the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children fignifies that publick Vengeance God will take upon a wicked, idolatrous, perfecuting Nation, when one Generation after another continue and im prove in fhe fame Wickednefs, and fill up the meafure of their Fathers Sins ; artd this recon ciles the fecond Commandment with the i8ll» of Ezekiel, where God fo fully declares againft punifhing the Children for their Father's Sins., All Souls are mine, as the Soul of the Father, fo the Soul of the Son is mine, the Soul that finneth, it fhall die. Which cannot be a mere Declara tion of God's arbitrary Will and Pleafure for that time, thattho? formerly God had punifh'd the Children for the Sins of the Fathers, yet now he would do fo no more ; for the reafon God gives for it, is eternal, was the fame from the beginning of the World, and will be fo to the end of it, All Souls are. mine. And, God complains of the Injuftice of that Proverb, and what a Reproach it was to his Nature and -Government, The Fathers have eaten fowre Grapes, and the Childrens Teeth are fet on edge ; which he could not juftly have done, had this been hisPraaicein former times. The Examples thefe Men give of this nature Z 4 both 343 344 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, both from Scripture and human Laws, do not reach the prefent Cafe. God told David by the Prophet Nathan, that his Child, which was born to him in Adultery, fhould die. So that the innocent Child was punifh'd with Death for David's Sin; and if any thing can be cal led a Punifhment, certainly Death is: It is fo moft certainly, if we confider Death as the Curfe of the Law infliaed on all Mankind for Adam's Sin ; but the particular Times and Cir cumftances of dying are not always infliaed as a Punifhment; for God, who is the Sovereign Lord of Life and Death, may take away the Lives of the moft innocent Perfons, at what time, and in what manner, and for what wife Reafons he pleafes^without any Injuftice; and then he may do this, when it is for the PuniftV ment, not of the Innocent, but of the Guil ty. Parents may be punifhed in their Chil dren, fince natural Affeaion makes their Death and Misfortunes the fevereft Punifhment to them; but this is not to transfer the Punifh ment of the Guilty to the Innocent, but to punifh the Guilty in the Sufferings of the In nocent; which may be, when fuch Sufferings neither are, nor are intended, as Punifhments of the Innocent. Thus as to human Laws Treafon forfeits Eftate and Honour, and cor rupts the Blood, which punifhes the innocent Children, and all their innocent Pofterity with their guilty Parent: This indeed is a great Misfortune, but no formal Punifhment ; it is a Misfortune to any Children to be born of Beggars, or of mean People, who have no Inheritance to leave them ; and a more fenfi ble Misfortune to have prodigal Parents, who fpend and a Future State. 34 j fpend their Eftates, and leave their Children ' Beggars, who were born to a plentiful For tune, but thefe are not formal Punifhments; and it is the fame cafe, if Parents legally for feit their Eftates and HonOurs, as if they fpent their Eftates, or could part with their Honour ; Children muft in thefe Cafes follow the Fate of their Parents, and therefore muft fuffer by their Parents Fault or Folly. But thefe are no Examples of punifhing the Innocent for the Guilty ; a wild furious Revenge may do this, but thofe who fuffer it may juftly complain, and nothing can excufe it, but fuch a Neceffity as fuperfedes the common Rules of Juftice. A Tray tor may forfeit his Eftate and Honour, , and his Son fuffer by it, becaufe it cannot de fcend to him when his Father has loft it; but ftria Juftice will not allow, that an innocent Son fhould die for his Father's Treafon ; what ever Neceffities of Government Men may pretend for tranfgreffing the known Rules of Juftice, God knows how to govern the World without it. But ftill, what is all this to the Notion of a Sacrifice, where the Innocent fuffers the Puhifhment of Sin to redeem and fave the Guilty, dies that the Sinner may live ? If Parents are punifhed in the Sufferings of their Children, or Children fuffer by the Sins of their Parents, is there any thing of the na ture of a Sacrifice in this ? Is the Sinner pu- nifh'd in his Sacrifice ? By no means : but the Sacrifice bears the Punifhment of Sin, to fave the Sinner from Punifhment; and it is the Juftice of this we are to enquire after, whe ther it be juft, that an innocent Sacrifice fhould bear the Punifhment of Sin to redeem the 34^ Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, the Sinner; not abfolutely, whether it be juft,. that the Innocent fhould fuffer for the Guilty. But to this our Adverfaries have not one word to fay, nor is it , poffible they fhould fay any thing to the purpofe, without deftroying the very Notion of a Sacrifice ; for if the Inno cent muft not fuffer for Sin, nor bear the Pu nifhment of Sin, there is an End of Sacrifices. This might reafonably fuffice in anfwer to this Objeaion, to fhew, that it does not con cern the prefent Cafe : Irt a general and abfo lute Senfe all Men allow it very unjuft to pu- nifh the Innocent for the Guilty; but the Queftion is concerning Sacrifices, which muft not be meafured by the common Rules of juft and unjuft, for they are no Branch of natural Juftice; but muft be reduced to Goodnefs, as being a merciful Provifion for the Redemption and Salvation of Sinners; and in fuch Cafes, whatever is upon al] Accounts good, is juft: Not that poodnefs alters the ftanding Rules , of Juftice and Righteoufnefs, but that Good nefs may do that, which Juftice cannot require tobedone; nay which would be unjuft if re quired to be done, but is fo far from being un- unjuft when Goodnefs does it, that it is the Glory and Perfeaion of Goodnefs. There are as many Iriftahces of this as there are great and heroical Aas of Goodnefs; but I fhall content my felf with two at' prefent, which are proper to the Bufinefs in hanil Out Sins we know in Scripture are compared to Debts, and no Law or Juftice can require a Stranger, who is no way concerned in it, to pay another Man's Debts ; but yet a good; Man, who does, pay another Man's Debts, and redeem and a Future State. 347 redeem him out of Prifon, does a very gene rous Aa of Kindnefs, which had been unjuft had it been irnpofed, but was great Goodnefs in him to do : And fhall we charge our Sa viour's Sufferings with Injuftice, when he as freely and voluntarily , out of mere Pity and Compaffion to Sinners, pays that Debt, which they owe to the divine Law , by dying for them ? '< Thus St. Paul reprefents the Love of Chrift in dying for Sinners by one Man's dying for another. Scarcely for a righteous Man would one die, yet peradventure for a good Man fome would even dare to die ; but God commended bis Love io us , in that while we were yet Sinners Chrifi died for us, Rom. f . 7, 8. Now we muft confefs, it would be very unjuft for any Law or Judge, to condemn any Man to die, to fave the beft Man in the World ; but yet, it feems, it would be far from unjuft, even ain hcroical Aa of Goodnefs, for any Man to offer himfelf to Death to fave the Life of fuch a good Man : And this is the Love of God, who gave his Son for us; this is the Love of our Saviour, who freely gave him felf a Sacrifice and Propitiation for our Sins : This had been unjuft , had he not made it his own Choice ; but that makes it a furpri- iing and afhonifhing Aa of Goodnefs, which challenges the eternal Praifes and Adorations of his redeemed Ones. But ftill this does not fatisfy ; for fay they, if Chrift fuffered the Punifhment of Sin,, he muft fuffer the Wrath and Vengeance of God, which is due to Sin ; and this is impoffible to conceive , that the only begotten and well- v.. - , ' beloved. 34? Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, beloved Sori of God, who was always infinite ly dear to his Father, and never dearer than when he hung upon the Crofs, in obedience to his Will, to obtain eternal Redemption for Sinners, fhould at the fame time be the Ob jea of his Wrath and Vengeance. Now I muft confefs, if by the Wrath of God they mean any thing more than that Pu nifhment of Sin, which may be called his Wrath, as the Effea of his Wrath and Dif- pleafure againft Sinners, this is fuch a Repre sentation ofthe Death of Chrift, asmayjuft- ly prejudice all thinking Men againft it : For it is Blafphemy to fay, that there ever was one Minute wherein Chrift was not the Son of God's Love; and a Contradiaion to fay, that the Son of God's Love was at the fame time.the Objea of his Hatred, of his Wrath and Vengeance. This is no Scripture Account of Chrift's - Death, Which every where declares God's great Love to our Saviour, and his full Affu rance of his Father's Love, his perfea Truft and Affiance in him, and profound Submiffion to his Will, even in his bittereft Agonies; and yet our Saviour tells us that all, that he was to fuffer, ended in his Death, when he cried, it isfinijhed, and gave up the Ghofi. But fome Men think, that if Chrift fuffer ed for Our Sins to redeem us , he muft fuffer all that we fhould have fuffered, had he not redeemed us by his Blood ; that is,-, all the Mi feries of the Damned : A Thought which makes me tremble with the utmoft Abhor rence. But thefe Men miftake the Nature of a Sacrifice, which can only fuffer that Pu nifhment and a Future State. 349 nifhment which the Law threatens, which we know is Death , -but can neither be the Objedt of a perfonal Vengeance, nor fuffer the Horrors of a perfonal Guilt, as it is impoffible an innocent Perfon fhould ; and thus Chrift died for our Sins, but could neither fuffer the Wrath of God, nor feel the Horrors and De- fpair of Sinners. This does not belong to the Sacrifice, but to the Sinner himfelf; the Sa crifice can never be the Objea of God's Wrath and Difpleafure ; for then it could not make a Propitiation and Atonement, which nothing can do, but that which pleafes; and it founds to me like a Contradiaion, that what is the Objea of God's Wrath fhould be an acceptable Sacrifice. To be the Objea of God's Wrath is to fuf fer his Anger, his fierceft Anger and Difplea fure; if then Chrift fuffered the Wrath of God, God was very angry with him; but I would fain know, for what Reafon? Had Chrift done any thing to difpleafe him ? He was perfeaiy innocent and holy, always obe dient to his Will, and therefore God could not be angry with him upon his own perfo nal Account ; but he ftood in the Place of Sinners, and therefore that Anger which was due to Sinners, was transferred on him : But tho' Punifhment may , can Anger alfo be transferred, which is always perfonal? But what is meant by Chrift's ftanding in the Place of Sinners ? Is it any thing more, than that he died a Sacrifice for Sin ? And "was this a Reafon for God to be angry with him ? Was not this by his Father's Appointment, and in Obedience to his Will? And is the moft per fea 3 j o Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, fea Aa of Obedience and Submiffion a Rea fon of Anger? But was God's giving his Son a Sacrifice for Sinners,, an Expreffion of God's Anger and Difpleafure, or pf his Love to Sinners ? And if God m great Love and Com- paflion to Sinners , gave his Son to die for, them, how does this Son of his Lpve become the Object of his Wrath and Difpleafure by dying for them ? This, I confefs," would be a very confiderable Objeaion to me againft believing the Death of Chrift to be a true and proper Sacrifice for Sin , could I not believe this, without owning that he fuffered the Wrath and Vengeance of God ; but this is' not only contrary to the Scripture Account, of Chrift's Death , but cdntradias the true Notion of an expiatory Sacrifice. But it is time now to! Confider the bleffed Effeas and Fruits of Chrift's Death , or for ¦what Reafons he died, which will, more fully explain this great Myftery to us. SECT. V. The Conqueft of Death by the Death and RefurreHion of Chrift. TH E firft thing here to be confider'd is Chrift's abolijhing Death by his Death and Refurreaion from the Dead in human Nature; for both thefe, as I fhall fhew you,' were neceffary to obtain a perfea Viaory for us over Death, and to give us a new Right to immortal Life. This Account our Saviour himfelf and a Future State. 351 hiirifelf gives us of it. That he is the Bread vf God, which came down from Heaven , and giveth Life unto the World. I am the Bread of Life. Tour Fathers did eat Mannah in the Wildernefs, and are dead. This is the Bread, _ which cometh down from Heaven, that a Man -may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living Bread, which came down from Heaven, if any Man eat of this Bread, be fhall tive for ever; and the Bread which I will give is my Flefh , which I will give for the Life of the World j John 6*. 33, 48, 4p, fo, f 1. That his giving his Flefh, fignifies his dying for us, no Man doubts ; and by giving his Flefh^ by dying for us, he gives Life to the World. For the fame Reafon he tells us, that he is that good Shep herd, that- layeth down his Life for the Sheep ; who came, that they might have life, and might have it more abundantly , John io. ,io, n. Thus he tells Martha , I am the Refurrection and the Life; he that believetbfnme, though he were dead, yet Jh all he live, and he that liveth and believeth in me , fhall never die, John 1 1 . 2f , 26". All which iS refolved into his Con- queft over Death, that he died, and rofe again from the Dead, to give Life to the World : Therefore doth my Father love me, becaufe I lay down my Life, that I may take it again. No. Man taketh it from me, but Hay it down of my. felf; I have Powder to lay it down, and I have Power to take it Up again :¦ This Commandment have I received of my Father, John io. 17, 18. This was the Covenant between Chrift and, his Father, that he fhould lay down his Life. a Sacrifice for Sin, conquer Death by his Re furreaion' from the Dead,- and thereby give Life to the World, The- 3 j 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, . The fame Account the Apoftle to the He-, brews gives us of Chrift's becoming Man and dying for us. Forafmuch .then as the Children are Partakers of Flefh and Blood, he alfo him felf likewife took part of the fame, that through Death he might defiroy .him who had the Power of Death, that is, the Devil; and deliver them, who through fear of Death, were all their Life time fubject to Bondage, Heb. z. 14, if. that is, he died to conquer Death, to deftroy the Power and Kingdom of the Devil, whofe Dominion is in the Regions of Death; who by teiripting our firft Parents brought Sin and Death into the World, and whofe Kingdom Was to be deftroyed, together with the Power and Dominion of Death, which is the Foun dation and Strength of his Kingdom, by that Seed of the Woman, that fhould break the Ser pent's Head. Thus St. Paul tells us, that ChrifThath given us the Viaory over Death; has conquered Death in his own Perfon, by rifing again from the Dead , and will at the #laft Day raife all his faithful Difeiples into im mortal Life. O Death! where is thy Sting? O Grave / where is thy Victory ? The Sting of Death is Sin, it is that which kills, and the Strength of Sin is the Law, that final Sentence God pronounced againft Adam, and all his Po fterity in him, Duft thou art, and to ISuft thou jhalt return. But thanks be to God, who hath given us the Victory, by our Lord Jefus Chrift j 1 Cor. if. ff,f6,f7/ .., This is acknowledged by all who believe, that Chrift raifed himfelf from the Dead by his own Power, that he has conquered Death in his own Perfon, and as a Reward of it has received and a Future State. 353 received Power and Authority from his Fa ther to raife his Difeiples from the Dead, and and to beftow immortal Life on them : But there are very few, that feem to me to under ftand the true Myftery of Chrift's conquering Death by Death, or of his dying to conquer Death ; and yet, without this, we can never rightly underftand the true Nature of Chrift's Death, the Reafon and Neceffity of it, nor how much we owe to the Love of our Savi our in dying for us. Now I have already ob ferved to you, that all Mankind being under the Sentence of Death , he who will be the Saviour of Mankind muft raife them again from the Dead ; for no Man is faved and delivered from the Curfe of the Law , while he is in the State, and under the Power and Domini on of Death. Man confifts of Soul and Body; and therefore a naked Soul, in a State of Sepa ration, is not a compleat and perfea*Man, nor can enjoy the compleat and perfea Hap pinefs of a Man ; and therefore is not com pleatly faveff, till Soul and Body be re-united. The not obferving this, is the Reafon, why fome Men fo little underftand the true Nature and End of Chrift's Death. The moft they are concerned for, is, to prove a future State of Regards and Punifhments, where good Men fhall be happy, and the Wicked mife rable; this is all that the wifeft Philofophers ever thought of, and this is all, that moft Chriftians feem concerned about; which muft needs give them very obfcure Notions, both of the Death, and the Refurreaion of Chrift. But though the Souls of good Men are cer tainly in a State of Happinefs, when fepara- A a ted 354 V ^e Immortality ofthe Soul, ted from their Bodies, yet this is no where in Scripture called immortal Life ; they are in a State of Death ftill ; for Death is the Separa tion of Soul and Body, but our Immortality commences with our Refurreaion, and it is abolifhing Death, which brings Life and Im mortality to Light. This Chrift hath done, and this the Saviour of Mankind muft do, if he will be a compleat Saviour. But then the Queftion is, why Chrift muft die himfelf, to conquer Death ? For could he not as well have raifed us from the Dead without dying himfelf; Yes, without doubt, he had Power to raife the Dead without dying himfelf; for he raifed the Dead before he died himfelf, and had he not had this inherent Power, he could not have raifed himfelf from the Dead : But the Queftion is not concerning the abfolute Power of God, which can do all things, but the Power of a Saviour; what the Saviour of Mankind muft do to conquer Death, and to deliver us from the Dominion of it. Now in this Enquiry, I won't prefume to go one Step beyond the Law, beyond that Sentence pro nounced againliAdam, Duft thou art, and to Duft < thou Jhalt return; for I know nothing beyond this ; and if we cannot find a Reafon here , why the Saviour of Mankind fhould die, and by Death conquer Death, and deliver us from the Dominion of it ; we muft be contented to know no more, but that thus it was, and thus God had appointed it fhould be. The Law then condemned all Mankind to die ; the Sentence is final and irreverfible, and therefore all Men muft die, and continue un der the Power of Death , unlefs they can re deem and a Future State. 3 5 y deem themfelves, and fatisfy that Law, which inflias Death : For none can redeem Man but Man ; the Nature that finned muft make the Atonement, and put an end to the Curfe, or rather the Atonement muft be made, and the Law fatisfied in the Nature that finned; for no mere Man could do this. The Sin, which brought Death into the World, was Difobe- bience to the divine Command in eating the forbidden Fruit ; and therefore the moft pro per Atonement for this Sin is the moft perfea Obedience, Obedience unto Death, even the Death of the Crofs. Thus St. Paul reprefents it, Rom. f. 1 p. For as by one Man' s Difobe dience many were made Sinners, fo by the Obe dience of one fhall many be made Righteous : For if by one Man's Offence, Death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of Grace, and of the Gift of Righteoufnefs , fhall reign in life by dne, Jefus Chrift, f. 17. And as for the Law, which threatned Death, that is fatisfied by dying, by bearing the Curfe, as all Laws are fatisfied when they are execu ted ; and Death is abolifhed and conquered, and an End put to the Curfe of the Law , by rifing again from the Dead; which fhews, how neceffary it is that the Saviour of Man kind fhould both die and rife again from the Dead, fhould die to fatisfy the Law and bear the Curfe of it, and fhould rife again to put an end to it and abolijh Death : And as he could/not rife from the Dead without dying, fo no Man's Refurreaion could abolifh Death, any otherwife than as it is the Redemption of his own Perfon from Death, but. only his, who died and rofe again for all Mankind, and A a 2 put 3 5 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, put an end to the Curfe of the Law, by bearing its Curfe and loofing the Bands of Death. But, the better to underftand this great Myftery, whereon all our Hopes of Immor tality depend, there are two or three Quefti ons which muft be briefly refolved. As, i . What Reafon there was that Chrift fhould die, fhould bear the Punifhment of Sin, and the Curfe of the Law, when every Sinner himfelf dies ? How it can be faid, that Chrift tafted Death for every Man, when every Man taftes Death for himfelf? Now this had been a Difficulty indeed, had Chrift died for all Men, by his Death to deliver all Men from the Neceffity of dying; for then no other Man ought to have died, if Chrift died for all : But it is manifeft, this was no Intention of Chrift's Death , becaufe all Men ftill die ; and if Chrift died for us, not to deliver us from the Neceffity of dying, but to redeem us from the Power and Dominion of Death , and to raife the Dead into immortal Life, he may in the trueft and propereft Senfe be faid to die for all Men, if he die to deliver all from the Power of Death. He muft firft fatisfie the Law,, before he could conquer Death , and put an end to the Curfe of the Law , and therefore he muft die, which is the Punifh ment of Sin, and the Satisfaaion of that Law, which threatned Death ; and if his Death fa tisfied the Law, and put an end to Death by delivering all Mankind from the Power and Dominion of Death, then he died for us all, , tafted Death for every Man, fince to his Death we all owe our Redemption from Death. The A a Law, and a Future State. 3 j 7 Law, which threatens Death, is fatisfied in dying ; for, as I obferved before, I know no other Satisfaaion of any Law, but the Exe cution of it; the Law may be repealed or difpenfed with by a fuperior Authority for o- ther Reafons, but nothing elfe can fatisfy it ; and thus every Man fatisfies the Law of dying by his own Death ; and could he raife himfelf again from the Dead, this mere Law of dying could demand no more of him. It is not mere ly the Law, which threatens Death, that con tinues Men in the State and under the Domi nion of Death , but want of Power to raife themfelves, which makes the threatning of Death, without a Deliverer and Saviour, equivalent to eternal Death ; And it is this eternal Dpath from which Chrift faves and de>- livers us, by conquering Death for us all, and raifing us into immortal Life : But he could not do this without dying ; for he muft fatis fy the Law, and bear the Curfe of it in human Nature, before he could give human Nature the Viaory over Death by his own Refurreai on from the Dead, and thereby give Mankind a new Right and Title to Immortality and the Refurreaion ofthe Dead. 2. But this ftarts another Difficulty, why Mankind muft be delivered from Death by the Death of a Man ? It is commonly anfwered, and that very truly, that the Atonement and Expiation of Sin muft be made by the Nature that finned, and therefore as Death entred in to the World by the Sin of Man , fo Man muft die, and give a new Life to the World. Thus to be fure it is, by Man came Death, and by Man came alfo the Refurrection of the Dead; A a 3 and 3 5 8 Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, and for this reafon, as the Apoftle tells us> Chrift became Man; forafmuch as the Chil dren were partakers of flefh and blood, he alfo himfelf took part ofthe fame, that through death he might deftroy him who had the power of death, that is, the Devil ; and deliver them, who thro' fear of death, were all their Life-time fubjecl to bondage. But if we ask any farther, what Neceffity there was for this, that Man muft redeem Mankind, 1 muft confefs, I have not met with a fatisfaaory Anfwer to it ; and yet the Neceffity of the Incarnation muft be re folved into the neceffity ofthe redemption of Mankind by Man. That God has order'd and appointed that it fhall be fo, when there is no other reafon given, fhould filence all far ther Inquiries; for then we muft feek for no reafon antecedent to the Divine Will ; but yet it is of mighty advantage for the right under ftanding this great Myftery, if we can difco ver, wherein this Neceffity confifts. Nowthegreat end of Chrift's Death, which was to redeem Mankind from the Power and Dominion of Death, points out to us the rea fon and neceffity of his becoming Man and dy ing for us. For, the Sentence of Death be- ing'proh'Ounc'd againft all Mankind in the Per fon of Adam, Human Nature muft die to fa tisfy the Law , and be redeemed from the Power of Death to give Mankind a new title to Immortal Life, if any other Nature had died, and been redeemed from Death, this had been nothing to Mankind; for it had not been the Redemption of Human Nature; and Mankind can be redeemed only in the Re demption of Human Nature; and therefore '":' . • ¦¦ ;¦¦¦¦¦ the and a Future State. 3 j (? the Saviour and Redeemer of Mankind muft become Man, and fuffer and die in Human Nature, and having fatisfied the Law of dy ing, muft redeem Human Nature in his own Perfon from the Power and Dominion of Death by rifing again from the Dead. This is in the trueft and propereft Notion the redemption of Human Nature from Death in the Perfon of Chrift, and this is the redemption of Man kind, this is our Victory over Death and the Grave; Chrift hath obtained eternal redempti on for us, and though we fhall not aaually rife from the Dead till the General Refurre aion, yet we are rifen in and with Chrift, as we all died, in Adam ; he brought the Sen tence of Death upon himfelf and all his Pofte rity, and Death reigned over all, yet every Man dies in his own appointed time ; and thus Chrift by Death hath conquer'd Death, hath raifed his own Human Nature from the Dead, and given Mankind the Viaory over Death ; which can no longer detain us Eternal Captives, tho' we muft expea the Sound of the laftTrumpet to raife us again intoImmortalLife. 3. And this brings us to the greateft diffi culty of all, Ho"w Chrift by his Death fatisfies the Law of dying, and conquers the Power and Dominion of Death for all Mankind ; How the Death of one Man, who dies and conquers Death, and raifes himfelf again from the Dead, delivers all Mankind from the Curfe of the Law, and the Power and Dominion of Death ? That Chrift did become Man, and die to redeem all Mankind from Death, muft be wholly refolved into the good Will and Pleafure of our Heavenly Father, who fo lov- A a 4 ed 3 60 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, ed the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believes in him, Jhould not perijh but have ever lafting Life, John 3. i6\ But ftill the Queftion is, by what kind of Virtue and Power the Death of Chrift redeems all Manhifd from the Dominion of Death ? God has fent Chrift to be our Redeemer and Savi our, and this is an Aa of Grace and Good nefs; but the very Name of a Saviour figni fies, that what he does for us has an immedi ate and neceffary influence upon our Salvati on; that we owe a Saviour to the Goodnefs of God, but that we immediately owe our Salvation to our Saviour-j to what he. hath done and fuffered for us : That it is not mere ly the good Will and Pleafure of God, that fhe Death of Chrift fhould redeem us from Death; for that leaves no other Neceffity or reafon for Chrift's Death, but only the arbi trary Will and Appointment of God ; but when God hath given us a Saviour, this Sa viour muft deliver us in fuch a way, as anfwers the Demands, and fatisfies the Juftice of the Divine Law. This the Author of the Reafonablentfs of Chriftianity takes no Notice of: He tells us that all Mankind are condemned to Death for Adam's Sin, to Death in his Notion of Death, which is a ceafing to be, a lofing all Life and Senfe; and that the Office of the Meffias was to redeem Mankind from Death, by raifing them from the Dead ; but not one word of any Virtue or Efficacy in the Death and Re furreaion of Chrift to do this; fuch an In quiry as this did not agree with his main De fign! to reduce the whole Chriftian Faith to the and a Future State. 361 the Belief of this one fingle Article, that Je fus is the Meffias, and that his being the Son of the Living God, fignifies no more than his being the Meffias; for had he confider'd by what means Chrift faves and delivers us from Death, he would have found a Son of God incarnate, a Prieft and a Sacrifice, a Propiti ation and Atonement, to belong to the Cha raaer and Office ofthe Meffias ; which he has left no room for in his fhort Creed. To reprefent this as plainly and briefly to you, as 1 can, we muft confider the Oppofi tion between Adam and Chrift ; for this is the Account the Scripture gives us of this great Myftery, that as by Man came Death, fo by Man came alfo the Refurrection of the Dead; for as in Adam all die, jo in Chrift fhall all be made alive, 1 Cor. if. 21, 22. That as by one Man's dif obedience many were made finners, fo by the o- bedience of one fhall many be made righteous, Rom. f . 1 p. The very oppofition between • Chrift and Adam fhews the credibility of it; for if we all loft Immortal Life by one, it is ve ry agreeable to the Divine Juftice, and much more becoming the Divine Goodnefs, that what was loft by one, fhould be reftor'd by one ; and if we confider how we all loft Im mortal Life in Adam, we fhall better underftand how Chrift has reftored Immortality to us. Now it is evident, that this Sentence of Death was pronounced againft none but our firft Parents ; for there was no other Man in the World at that time but Adam; the Law of not eating of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, was given to no other Man but Adam ; nor was any other Man ever capable of 3^2 Ofthe Immortality. of the Soul, of tranfgreffing that Law : for they were all fhut out of Paradife, where that Tree grew, and could not come near to the Fruit of it; and no Man can be charged with a perfonal Breach of that Law, which was never given to him, and which he was never in a Capa city either of obeying or tranfgreffing. How then comes the Sin of Adam to affea all Man kind, to bring Death upon all his Pofterity, who were not, and could not be guilty of his Sin, who, as St. Paul fpeaks, had not finned after the fimilitude of Adam's tranfgreffion? To charge this wholly upon God's arbitrary Will and Appointment, who imputes Adam's per-' fonal Sin to all his Pofterity, as much as if they themfelves had been perfonally guilty of it, feems very hard and unequal, and unwor thy of the Juftice and Goodnefs of God ; be caufe ip is evident, they neither were, nor could be perfonally guilty of this Sin; and therefore this had been, a falfe Judgment ; and when Rewards and Punifhments are confe quent upon it, I know no difference between a falfe and unjuft Judgment. But we need not feek far for a reafon, why all Mankind die in Adam; for there is a plain, natural, andj neceffary caufe of it : For Human Nature was corrupted and condemn'd to Death in Adam. All Human Nature was in Adam, ; for there, was no other Man in the World but he, and he was to be the Parent of all Mankind; and therefore they muft receiye Human Nature from him ; and they could receive it in no o- ther condition, than he himfelf had it: If then Adam by his Sin became mortal himfelf, he muft propagate a mortal Nature to his Po fterity^ and a Future State. 363 fterity ; if by eating the forbidden Fruit he had corrupted his own Nature, he muft alfo propagate a vitiated and cprrupted Nature ; and if a corrupt Nature was a very wife rea fon, why Adam fhould not be immortal in this World, it is as good a reafon, why all his Pofterity fhould die as he: For a corrupt Nature ought not to be immortal in this World, by what means foever it be corrupt ed. And thus by one Man's difobedience, many were made finners : By one Man Sin enter' d into, the World, and Death by Sin, and fo Death paffed upon all Men, for that all had finned, Rom. f. 12. tfyat is, befides the many aaual Sins, which all Men are guilty of, they had a corrupt finful Nature, which they deriv'd from Adam, as they muft neceffarily do, when he had corrupted his own Nature ; and there was no natural means of preventing this, but by putting a final End to Adam and Eve, and creating a new Head for Mankind : But this God did not think fit to do, but laid a new and more glorious Defign for the redemption of Mankind by Jefus Chrift, that as by Man came death, fo by Man fhould come the refurre ction of the dead, i Cor. if. 21. As then Human Nature was loft and undone in Adam, was corrupted and became mortal by the Corruption and Mortality of Human Nature in his Perfon, which brought all Man kind under the Sentence of Death; fo the Myftery of our Redemption is the Redemp tion of Human Nature from Sin and Death in the Perfon of Chrift, which entitles all who belong to him, defcend from him, and are in grafted into his Body by a new and fpiritual ?.-.-' '' ' Birth, 3 ^4 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Birth, to a bleffed Immortality, as our natural defcent from Adam condemns us to Death and Corruption ; and therefore all that we are to confider here for the underftanding this great Myftery, is, the redemption of Human Na ture in the Perfon of Chrift, which is the re demption of us all, who will be redeemed. Now we fhall the more eafily apprehend this, if we carefully obferve but one thing, which is univerfally owned by all Catholick Chriftians, but the juft confequences of it not fo well confider'd ; and that is, that Chrift took upon him Human Nature, not any parti cular human Perfon, to redeem ; that he is true and perfea God and true and perfea Man in one Perfon, that he took Human Na ture into a perfonal Union with the Divinity, in Oppofition both to the Herefie of Neftori- us, who divided the Perfons, and to the He refie of Eutycjoes, who confounded the Na tures, and by both confounded the Myftery of our Redemption, as I obferv'd before with reference to the Incarnation. Though Adam was a particular Man, yet there being no other Man then in the World, and all Mankind being to defcend from him, all Human Nature was in him, and he fell not only for himfelf, but Human Nature fell in him. And therefpre the Saviour of Mankind muft not redeem any particular Man, but Hu man Nature ; for Mankind is redeemed in the redemption of Human Nature, as we were all loft and undone in the Fall of Human Na ture. And if Human Nature muft be redeem ed in the Perfon of a Saviour, as it was loft in the Perfon of Adam, the Saviour of Mankind muft and a Future State. 3 6y muft take Human Nature into a perfonal U- nion with himfelf; for he cannot redeem Hu man Nature unlefs he be perfonally united to Human Nature. This is the Account, as I have fhewn you at large, which the Scripture gives us of the Perfon of Chrift, that he is the Son of God incarnate, God manifefted in the Flefh, I John 3.8. that the Word was made Flefh and dwelt among us, John i. 14. that he was of tbe feed of David according to the Flefh, but declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holinefs, by the refurrection from the dead, Rom. 1.4. And 1 do not wonder, that thofe who deny Chrift to be perfea God and perfea Man in one Perfon, can form no No tion of our Redemption by his Death. For, as 1 have often obferved to you the Sentence of Death being paft upon Human Nature in the Perfon of Adam, (who was the only Man then in the World, and the root of Human N ature) as the Univerfal Father of Mankind, \ Human Nature muft die to fatisfie the Law of dying ; and that very Perfon, who dies in Human Nature, muft redeem Human Nature from Death by raifing it again from the Dead, to give Mankind a new right to Immortal Life. Now 1 think it is little lefs than a De rnonftration, that no Perfon can do this, but fuch a Perfon, as we fay Chrift is, the Son of God incarnate. It is certain no mere Man can do this; for every mere Man is a fingle human Perfon, and whatever he does of this nature is perfonal, and reaches no farther than his own Perfon ; if .» he dies, he dies for himfelf, and if he rifes a- 'k . gain ; 66 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, gain, he rifes for himfelf; but what is this to the reft of Mankind, how are they concern'd either in the Death, or Refurrection of any particular mere Man ? There is a plain account, how all Men die in Adam, becaufe human Na ture became mortal in him, and he being the univerfal Parent, all Men received a mortal Nature from him : But there is no fuch rela tion now between any particular Man, and the reft of Mankind, as to entitle all Men to the benefit of his Death and Refurreaion; there is no natural Reafon for this, nor any appea rance of Reafon, why God fhould impute, what one -mere Man does, to another. To talk of Acceptilation, which is owning a Pay ment where little or poffibly none is made, or relaxation of the Law, which is difpenfing with the Law in part, tho' not in the whole, contradias the very Notion of Satisfaaion to Law and Juftice ; for a full and plenary Satif- faaion is confiftent with neither. It is this Miftake which confounds Men's Notions about the Satisfaaion of Chrift's Death ; they confider the Death of Chrift as the Death of one Man, of one fingle human Perfon; and then, it is a great Difficulty in deed, how the Death of pne fhould fatisfy that Law, which, confequentially at leaft, condemns all to die ; and how it is reconcile- able with the Juftice of God, that an inno cent Man fhould fuffer for the guilty. Now," whatever other Anfwers may be given to thefe Difficulties, here is a very plain one, that it is not one Man, as that fignifies one fingle particular Man or human Perfon, that dies for all, but the Son of God offers his own hu man and a Future State. $67 man Nature to Death for the Redemption of all Men; and it is evident, that the Death of human Nature is a compleat literal Satisfaaion of that Law, which condemns human Nature to Death : And as human Nature finned and died in the Perfon of Adam, which by a na tural Defeent fubjeaed all Mankind to the Sentence of Death, fo human Nature dies as an Atonement and Propitiation for human Na ture, fatisfies the Law of dying, and conquers Death, in the Perfon of Chrift; and what is done in human Nature may by the Goodnefs of God extend to all Mankind, who may as juftly be entitled to the Atonement and Expiation, the Triumph and Viaory of hu man Nature over Death, in the Perfon of Chrift, as they were to the Sin and Miferies and Death of human Nature in the Perfon of Adam. All Men die in the Death and Morta lity of human Nature, which was the Pu nifhment of Adam's Sin; but innocent ;and perfea human Nature having made the Atone ment by Death, and conquered Death in the Perfon of Chrift, this is no longer a Reafon why Mankind fhoujld continue under the Power of Death, fince human Nature is rais'd from the Dead, and reftor'd to Immortality : So that now God, without any Infringement of Law or Juftice, may enter into a new Co venant of Life and Immortality with Man kind ; and this he has done in his Son Jefus Chrift, who has made the Atonement, andcon- quer'd Death. And this I hope gives a very reafonable and intelligible Account of our Re demption by Chrift, who has abolijhed Death, and brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gofpel. ' This 368 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, This fhews us in general, that Mankind muft be redeemed from Death, not by the Death of any fingle human Perfon, or parti cular Man, but by the Sacrifice of human Na ture ; but then there are feveral Qualifications requir'd to make human Nature it felf a pro per Sacrifice for the Sins of Men. As, Firft, it muft be the fame human Na ture, the fame Flefh and Blood that finned : That fame Nature, which was condemn'd to die, muft fatisfy the Law by dying ; and that was human Nature in the Perfon of Adam, and as propagated from him to all Mankind. Had Chrift taken on him any other Flefh and Blood, than whatdefcended from Adam; had God immediately formed his Body, as he at firft did Adam's, ofthe Duft ofthe Earth; or had he, as fome antient Hereticks pretended, brought a Body from Heaven with him, or transformed his Divinity into Flefh and Blood, he could not have been a Sacrifice for Adam and his Pofterity; becaufe he would not have had the fame Humane Nature with them, not that Human Nature which was condemn'd to die, and by Death was to be redeemed from Death ; for no Nature can be redeemed, but that which was under Condemnation. So that had not Chrift's Human Nature been the very fame with that of Adam, though he had died and conquered Death in his own Perfon, and redeemed his own Humane Nature from Death ; Adam and his Pofterity had not been concerned in this ; becaufe the Human Na ture of Chrift was not their Human Nature, and therefore Adam and his Pofterity could not and a Future State. 3 69 not be redeemed in the Redemption of Chrift's human Nature. To make this plain to you, let us fuppofe, that God at firft had immediately formed two Men of the Duft of the Earth, and breathed into them the Breath of Life; that they were perfeaiy the fame as to Kind and Species, but independent on each other ; two original Heads of their feveral Generations, which for Diftinaion's fake let us call Adam and Enoch : That God gave the fame Command to them both , and had threatned them both with Death in cafe they fhould eat the forbidden Fruit : Let us then fuppofe , that as Adam" tranfgreffed this Law, and brought Death up on himfelf and his Pofterity, fo Enoch prefer- ved his Innocence and his Immortality. Now in this Cafe, the Saviour of Adam and his Po fterity muft not take human Nature derived from the Line of Enoch, whom we fuppofe not to have fallen, nor forfeited his Immorta lity, but from the Lixne of Adam, which was under the Sentence of Death , and by Death to be redeemed from Death : The Law which threatens Death can be fatisfied only in the Death of that Nature, which it condemns to die; and the Nature it felf , which is con demn'd, muft be redeemed, not another re- deem'd for it. And therefore the Scripture lays great weight upon this, that Chrift does lineally defcend from Adam , Abraham , and David, that he is the Seed of the Woman made of a Woman, Galat. 4. 4. that is, as the Ca tholick Church always taught, ofthe Sub ftance of his Virgin Mother ; thzthe thatfan- £tifietb, and they that are fanttifiedareallof one, B b proceed 3 7° Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, proceed from the fame common Root , have the fame Flefh and Blood, for which Caufe he is not ajhamed to call them Brethren. And for- afmuch as the Children are Partakers of Flefh and Blood, he alfo likewife took part of the fame : For he took not on him the Nature of Angels, but he took on him the Seed of Abraham, Heb. z. ii, 14, 16. So that upon this Account Chrift was a very proper Saviour of Mankind, he ha ving not only taken human Nature on him , but the very fame human Nature, which all Mankind have; that fame Nature, which fell and died in the Perfon of Adam, is redeemed in the Perfon of Chrift. 2. As it is neceffary to the Redemption of Mankind , that the Saviour of Man fhould take the fame human Nature, which the reft of Mankind have, fo to make human Nature an acceptable Sacrifice to God, it muft be perfeaiy pure and holy, cleanfed and fanai- fied from all the Pollutions of Flefh. For a finful polluted Nature needs the Expiation of a Sacrifice, but can be no acceptable Sacrifice it felf. And for this Reafon we know, our Saviour was born of a pure undefiled Virgin by the immediate Operation of the Holy Ghoft, that his human Nature was fanaified from the very Womb, had none ofthe Stains or Pollutions of natural Births , but was the Lamb of God without Blemifh and without Spot, 1 Pet. 1. ip. 3. I muft add one thing more, that to make human Nature a proper Sacrifice for the Sins of Men, it muft be fuch an human Nature, as is not under the Sentence of Death it felf For a Life, which is owing to Law and Ju ftice, and a Future State. S71 Mice, can only pay its own Debt, but can't be a proper Sacrifice for any other Life, much lefs redeem all Mankind from Death. And therefore our Saviour every where tells us , that he was under no other Neceffity of dy ing, but to fulfil his Father's Will in the Re demption of Mankind : That Death was his own Choice, not matter of Force and Com- pulfion, for no Man could take away his Life, could put even his human Nature to death, had not he pleafed to lay it down himfelf. John io. 17, 18. Therefore doth my Father love me, becaufe I lay down my Life, that I might take it again. No Man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of my felf; I have Power to lay it down , and I have Power to take it again , this Commandment have I received of my Father. For this Reafon he is faid to make his Soul an Offering for Sin, Ifaiah f2. 10. Which does not only fignify, that he died willingly, but that it was wholly at his own Will and Choice whether he would die or no; and therefore he is faid to become obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Crofs, Phil. 2. 8. Now though any particular fort of Death , as the Death of the Crofs, may be an Aa of Obe dience, yet dying it felt is none in thofe who are under the Neceffity of dying. It is not therefore without great reafon, that all the Evangelifts take fuch particular notice of that one Circumftance of his dying, that after ha ving taken the Vinegar, he cried, It isfnifh- ed, recommends his Spirit into the Hands of his Father, Cried with a loud Voice, bowed his Head, and gave up the Ghoft; *vvhich was an evident Proof, that he did not die, as other B b 2 Men, 3 7 2. Of the Immortality ofthe Soul, Men, by the mere finking of Nature, which was ftrong and vigorous in him, but when his Hour of dying was come , which is exprefly obferved to be the Ninth Hour, the time of killing the Paffover , then he offered up his Soul to God: Which was fo extraordinary a manner of dying, that, as St. Mark exprefly obferyes, it convinc'd the Centurion, that he was the Son of God, Mark if .^o. And when the Centurion, which ftood over againft him, faw that he cried out and gave up the Ghoft, he faid, truly this Man was the Son of God. I do not fuppofe, that this Roman Centurion underftood the true Doarine of our Saviour's Divinity ;- but he had heard, that he had profeft himfelf to be the Son of God •, and that, even in the Pagan Theology, fignified fomething more divine than a mere Man; and this he con cluded was really fo from his manner of dy ing ; for to give up our Souls when we pleafe, is as much above the Power of Nature, as to raife our dead Bodies to life again. St. Luke indeed only obferves, that the Centurion con- feft, that he was a righteous Man; and from hence fome conclude, that to be the Son of God, as St. Matthew and St. Mark exprefs it, fignifies nothing more, than what St. Luke calls a righteous Man. But it is more reafona ble to think, that the Centurion owned both, that he was the Son of God, arid a righteous Man, who died innocently, and that for dif ferent Reafons : God gave teftimony to his In- nocency, by the miraculous Darknefs, Earth quakes, and other Prodigies, which attended his Death ; which made the Centurion con fefs, that he was a righteous and innocent Man : But and a Future State. 3 7 3 But when he faw, how he died, thathew/>i with a loud Voice, and gave up the Ghoft, this had fomething fo divine in it, and above the Power of Nature, that he owned him to be the Son of God. To be the Son of God, and a righteous Man are very different Charaaers, though for different Reafons they may belong to the fame Perfon ; they never fignify the fame thing in Scripture, much lefs did they fo in the Pagan Theology, and therefore this Roman Centurion could not underftand the fame thing by them. But this by the way. It is evident, that no forfeited Life can be a true -and proper Sacrifice for Sin, and therefore the Saviour of Mankind muft be under no o- ther Neceffity of dying himfelf, but his own Will and Choice, as he makes himfelf a wil ling Offering and Sacrifice for Sin. And thus our Saviour affures us it was with him. No Man could take away his Life, but he laid it down of himfelf. He was condemn'd to death by Jews and Romans, and nailed in an infamous manner to the Crofs, as Sinners brought their Sacrifice to the Prieft, and offered it to Death ; but after having indured all the killing Pains and Agonies of the Crofs, which was all that Men could do to kill him , he was Prieft as well as Sacrifice himfelf, and offered up him felf to God, commended his Spirit into his Hands, cried with a loud Voice, and gave up the Ghoft. But this feems to ftart a new Difficulty, how the human Nature of Chrift could be ex empted from the Law of dying, from that Curfe of the Law, Duft thou art, and to Duft thou Jhalt return, when all human Nature died B b 3 in 374 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, in Adam, which brought Death upon all Man kind? Now it is commonly anfwered , and very trulv, that this Sentence of Death affcas only thofe who defcend from Adam by carnal Generation, for they and only they derive a corrupt and mortal Nature from him; but thus Chrift did not defcend from Adam, but had his Body formed of the Subftance of the Virgin, by as immediate a divine Power, as Adam was at firft form'd by God of the Duft ofthe Earth ; and therefore though he took the fame Flefh and Blood, which Adam and all his Pofterity have, he does not derive a corrupt Nature, which is under the Sentence of Death , from him, And it being only a corrupt Nature derived from Adam, which fubjtcts all Mankind to Death, the human Nature of Chrift, which was immediately formed by a divine Power, and fandtified by the Holy Ghoft in the Womb of the Virgin, muft be exempted from this Curfe. Now this is true, and abfolutely neceffary to exempt the human Nature of Chrift from Mortality and Corruption , but this alone could not make him immortal ; for Adam himfelf, tho' immediately formed by God in a State of perfea Purity and Innocence, was not by Nature immortal, but fhould have been fo, had he not finned, by virtue of the Tree of Life: And had Chrift been a mere Man, he could have been no more immortal than Adam was before the Fall, and therefore though he had been exempted from Adam's ¦ Curfe, yet without the Tree of Life he had been mortal ftill; but Chrift was not a mere Man, a fingle human Perfon, but the divine Word, and a Future State. 375- Word, the Eternal Son of God perfonally u- nited to Human Nature : and this makes Hu man Nature immortal, that it is united to an immortal Perfon, who is Eternal Life, the Re furreaion and the Life, the true Tree of Life in the midft ofthe Paradife of God : And Hu man Nature, though in its own Conftitution mortal, when perfonally united to Eternal Life, can never die, but by the Will and Choice of that Perfon, whofe Nature it is; and thus Chrift might, and aaually did, lay doWn his Life, and was in the moft proper Notion both Prieft and Sacrifice, who wil lingly offered himfelf to God for the redemp tion of Mankind! This is fufficient to fatisfy us, that human Nature, the very fame human Nature that Adam had, but perfea and innocent, and ex empted from the Law of dying it felf, is the only proper Sacrifice to be offered to God for the Redemption of Mankind ; becaufe that alone can fatisfy the Juftice of that Law, which threatned Death againft human Nature in the Perfon of Adam. So that here we have found a Sacrifice, but where is the Prieft, who by Death can abolifh Death, and redeem human Nature and all Mankind from the Dominion of it ? This was the principal Part of the Prieftly Office by the Death of the Sacrifice, and fprinkling the Blood upon the Altar in teftimony of it, as an Oblation to God, to make Atonement for the Sinner, and to redeem him from the Sentence of Death, which was, in a Figure, to give a new Life to him : For all expiatory Sacri fices were for the Redemption of a Life, which B b 4 without 3 7 6 Ofthe Immortality of the Soul, without fuch Sacrifices was by the Law for feited to God ; and there is ho notion of a Sa crifice, nor of the Expiation of a Sacrifice, without the Redemption of Life : So that the Expiation of a Sacrifice was a Figure of the Refurrection, was giving a new Life to the Sinner; and therefore our true High Prieft, and true Sacrifice, muft do that in Truth and Reality, which the typical Priefts and Sacri fices of the Law could do only in a Figure. Under the Law a Beaft was a Sacrifice for a Man, and in that cafe the Sacrifice was not raifed again from the Dead to make the Atone ment, but the Beaft died, and the Life of the Man was faved ; but a Bsaft is not a true and proper Sacrifice for a Man : No Sacrifice, as I have already fhewn you, can fatisfy the Law, but the Death of that fame Nature, which finned; fo that human Nature, which finned in the Perfon of Adam, muft it felf die a Sar crifice for Sin; the Nature, which is to be redeem'd from Death, muft it felf die. Now if there be no Atonement and Propitiation made by Sacrifice without reftoring a new Life to the Sinner, the Prieft, who is to make this Atonement by the Death and Sacrifice of -human Nature, muft raife it again from the Dead, and prefent it alive to God : This is the Propitiation of a Sacrifice, to give a new Life, to redeem from Death, and when the , Sacrifice that dies is the very fame Nature which muft be redeemed by the Sacrifice, the Sacrifice it felf muft be redeemed from Death, or no Atonement is made. This I take to be the true Notion of the Refurreaion of Chrift, that it is a Sacerdotal Aa, and a Future State. ^77 Act, the Adt of a Prieft in reftoring a loft or forfeited Life, which is the true Atonement and Propitiation made by Sacrifice, the Re demption of human Nature from Death. All Chriftians own, that the Refurreaion of Chrift is the laft and great Proof of the Truth of Chriftianity, a vifible Evidence of God's Ac ceptance of his Perfon and Sacrifice, and an ocular Dernonftration of another Life ; but it is all this, as it is the Completion and Perfe- aion of his Sacrifice, the vifible Atonement and Propitiation of his Sacrifice in abolifhing Death, and redeeming human Nature from the Dominion of it; for this is the true Vir tue and Efficacy of an expiatory Sacrifice, to reftore Life; and if Chrift, who died a Sa crifice for Sin, had not rifen again from the Dead, his Death had made no Expiation, had not redeemed human Nature from Death. Thus St. Paul reafons i Cor. if. 14, 17. And if Chrift be not rifen, then is our preaching vain, and your Faith is alfo vain ; and if Chrift be not raifed, your Faith is vain, ye are yet in your Sins ; there can be no Expiation made for Sin by the Death of Chrift, if he be not raifed from the Dead ; he has not redeemed us from Death, if he be not rifen himfelf; then they alfo that are fallen afteep in Chrift are perifhed, jr. 18. they who are already dead in the Faith of Chrift fhall never rife again •, for our Sins are not expiated, nor the Power of Death conquered, if Chrift be not rifen. The Force of which Arguments I cannot underftand, un lefs the Virtue, and Efficacy, and Expiation of Chrift's Death is completed in his Refur reaion from the Dead, which conquers Death, and 378 Of the Immortality of the Soul, and gives a new Life to the World. If the Refurreaion of Chrift had been only an ex ternal Proof of the Expiation made for Sin by his Death, we had wanted tins' comforta ble Evidence and Affurance of it, if he had not rifen ; but ftill our Sins might have been expiated by his Death, though he had not rifen from the Dead ; but the Apoftle exprefly tells us, that if Chrift be not rifen, our Sins are not expiated, but we are ftill in our Sins ; which proves, that the very Expiation of Chrift's Death is perfeaed in his Refurreaion, that the Death of Chrift is not a complete expiatory Sacrifice, till it is perfeaed in his Refurreaion ; then the Atonement and Pro pitiation is made, when by Death he has con quered Death, and given us a new Right and Title to immortal Life. And this I take to be the true Meaning of what St. Paul tells us of Chrift, Rom. 4. 2f . Who was delivered for our Offences, and was raifed again for our Ju ftification. He died for our Sins, and in his Refurreaion completed the Atonement, and delivered us from the Guilt and Punifhment of them. If then we confider the Refurreaion of Chrift, as the completion and perfeaion of his Sacrifice, without which the Death of Chrift had not expiated our Sins, had not re deemed us from the Curfe of the Law, and . the Dominion of Death; this is a manifeft Proof,what kind of Perfon the Saviour of Man kind, our great High Prieft, muft be : For he muft have an inherent Power in himfelf, riot only to lay down his Life, but to take it again, that is, he can be no other than the Son of God in- and a Future State. 379 incarnate, than the Eternal Word made Flefh. That \ Human Nature is the only proper Sacrifice for Mankind, I have already fhewn you ; but tho' Human Nature can die, it can not by its own Power raife its felf from the Dead, without which there is no redemption of Mankind from Death ; and yet the fame Perfon that dies, muft by his own Ppwer raife himfelf from the Dead, or he does not con quer Death. To rife from the dead, and to conquer Death, are two very different things; all Men fhall rife from the Dead at the laft Day, that is, they fhall be raifed by a Divine Powr er ; but no Man can be faid to conquer Death, and give a new Life to the World, but he who raifes himfelf; which no mere Man ever did or can: This is above a created Power; to reftore Life belongs to the fame Power, which firft gave it; and therefore St. Paul tells us, that Chrift was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Ho linefs , by the refurrection of the Dead, Rom. 1 .4. This was amanifeft Proof, that he had a true Divine Nature and Power, was in a true and proper Senfe the Son of God, that he raifed himfelf from theDead; for though the Scripture frequently attributes the Refurreai on of Chrift to God the Father, who raifed him from the Dead, yet our Saviour as ex prefly teaches, that he would raife himfelf from the Dead. Deftroy this Temple, and in three days I will raife it up, John ip. Hehad power to lay down his Life, and he had power to take it again, but in fubordination ftill to his Father's Will , this Commandment have I receiv'dofmy Father, John 10. 18. HisPow- cr 380 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, er is the Power of his Father, not two fepa rate Powers, but one, as the Divinity is one. He lives by the Father, but as the Father bath life in himfelf, fo he hath given to tbe Son to have life in himfelf, John f . 26. and by this inherent Power he raifed his own Human Na ture from the Dead, and thereby gave Man kind a new Right to Immortal Life. Thus I have fhewn you, how Chrift by Death hath conquered Death, and given a new Life to the World, which no mere Man, none but the Son of God incarnate could do ; it is only Chrift the Son of the living God, who hath the Words of Eternal Life. SECT. VI. The Covenant of Tar don and Immortal Life fealed with the Blood of Chrift. THE better to underftand this glorious Myftery of our Redemption by the Death of Chrift, and what Security this gives us of Immortal Life, I obferve farther, that the Covenant of Grace and Pardon, and Im mortal Life, is attributed in Scripture to the Blood of Chrift ; which is therefore call'd the Blood ofthe Covenant, the Blood ofthe Ever- lafting Covenant, Heb. 10. 2p. and 1 3. 20. For under the Law all Covenants were made by Sacrifices ; as the Prophet David fpeaks Pfal. fo. f . Gather my Saints together unto me; thofe that have made a Covenant with me by Sacri fice. Thus God made a Covenant with Abra ham, and a Future State. 381 ham, as you may'fee in Genefis i f . 8, &c. When Abraham asks God by what means he fhould know, that he fhould inherit the Land of Ca naan, God commands him to take an Heifer of three years old, and a She-Goat of three years old, and a Ram of three years old, and a Turtle Dove and a young Pigeon. And he took unto him all thefe, and divided them in the midft, and laid each piece one againft another ; but the Birds divided he not. This was a Sacrifice of God's appointment to confirm his Promife and Covenant with Abraham, as we are exprefly told in f. 1 8. In that fame day the Lord made a Covenant with Abraham, faying, Unto thy Seed have I given this Land, &c. But the laft and great Confirmation of all, was, when^f- braham at God's Command offer'd up his Son Ifaac in Sacrifice to him, which was a Figure of God's giving his own Son a Sacrifice for us. When Abraham had built an Altar, and laid the Wood in order, and bound Ifaac his Son, and laid him on the Altar upon the Wood, and fir etch ed out his hand, and took the Knife to flay his Son: The Angel ofthe Lord called unto him out of Heaven, and ftop'd the Execution, but ac cepted the Sacrifice : And be faid, lay not thine hand upon the Lad, neither do thou any thing to him ; for now I know that thou fear eft God, fee ing that thou haft not wit held thy Son, thine on ly Son from me. And this was the final Confir mation of God's Covenant with Abraham: For the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of Heaven the fecond time, and faid, By my felf have I fworn, faith the Lord, for becaufe thou haft done this thing, and haft not witheld thy Son, thine only Son : That in bleffing I will blefs [ 8 2 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, blefs thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy Seed as the Stars ofthe Heaven, and as the Sand which is upon the Sea-fhore ; and thy Seed Jhall poffefs the gate of his Enemies , and in thy Seed fhal all the Nations ofthe Earth be bleffed; be caufe thou haft obeyed my voice, Gen. 22. Thus the Apoftle to the Hebrews exprefly tells us it was in the Mofaical Covenant, which he calls the firfi Teftament, which was not dedicated without blood. For when Mofes bad fpoken e- very Precept to all the- People according to the Law, he took the blood of Calves and of Goats, with water and fcarlet wool, and hyfj'op, and fprinkled both the book and all the people, faying, This is the blood of the Teftament, which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he fprinkled likewife with blood both the Tabernacle, and alt the veffels ofthe Miniftry. Andalmoft all things are by the Law purged with blood, and without fheddingof Blood is no remijfion, Hebrews p. 18, ip, 20, 21. And this account the feme Apo ftle gives us of the Death of Chrift : For this caufe he is the Mediator ofthe New Teftament, that by means 'of death for the redemption of the tranfgrejfions,that were under the firfi Testament, they which are called might receive the promife of Eternal Inheritance. For where a Teftament is, there must alfo of neceffity be the death ofthe Te fiat or. For a Teftament is of force after Men are dead: Otherwife it is of no ftrength at all whilft the Testator liveth, f. if, 16, 17. So that the blood of Chrift, who through the eternal Spirit offered himfelf without fpot to God, to purge our Confidences from dead works to ferve the living God, f. 14. gave as inviolable aSan- aion to the Gofpel Covenant, as the Death of *and a FuturfSiate. 383 of a Teftator does to his laft Will and Tefta ment ; and this New Teftament could have had no valid Authority without his Death ; and thus hath he obtained a more excellent Miniftry, by how much alfo he is the Mediator of a better Covenant, which was eftablifhed upon better Promifes, Heb. 8. 6. For we muft obferve that tho' Chrift died for our Sins, and bore the punifhment of Sin, and put away Sin, and bf his Death and Re furreaion abolifhed Death, and purchas'd for us a new Right to Immortal Life; yet this gives no Man an abfolute and immediate Right and Title to the Forgivenefs of Sins and Im mortal Life: Itpurdhafes and feals the Cove nant of Pardon and Immortal Life ; but we muft not expea to obtain the Forgivenefs of Sins and Immortal Life, but only upon the Terms and Conditions of that Covenant. It occafions great and fatal Mi flakes in Re ligion fo to expound Chrift's dying for Sin, bearing the punifhment of Sin, dying in our ftead, and making expiation for Sin, as to fignifie, that he Has made fuch a Satisfaction to the Divine Juftice, as abfolutely to acquit all thofe, for whom he died, from the Guilt and Punifh ment of all their Sins, whatever they are. For this reafon the Socinians rejea the Doarine of Satisfaaion as inconfiftent with God's For givenefs of Sin. For, fay they, when the Debt is fully paid and difeharg'd, what Grace is it to forgive the Debt? When the Sinner has fully paid the Debt, tho' not in his own Perfon, yet in the Perfon of his Surety^ what Juftice can exaa more, what need is there ~ef Forgivenefs, when all is paid? and yet the Grace 384 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, Grace of God in forgiving Sin is as much mag nified in Scripture, as his Goodnefs in fending his Son to die a Sacrifice for Sin ; tho' the Expiation of Chrift's Death , and the For givenefs of Sins, can never be reconcil'd, if the Expiation of his Death aaually difcharges thofe, for whom he died, from the Guilt and Punifhment of all their Sins. Others from hence conclude, that Chrift by his Death has not made a general and uni verfal Atonement for the Sins of all Mankind, becaufe all Men fhall not be fav'd; and yet it is abfurd to fay, that thofe fhall not be fav'd, for whom Chrift died, and for whofe Sins he made an Expiation and Atonement to God : Which is the great fupport of thofe Doarines of abfolute Eleaion and Reprobation. And I muft confefs, did I believe the Death of Chrift did aaually difcharge all thofe from the Guilt and Punifhment of their Sins, for whom he died, I muft conclude that either Chrift did not die for all, or that all fhould be faved. The Antinomians from the fame Notion of the Expiation of Chrift's Death do as reafo- nably conclude, that Chrift has done all for us, and left nothing for us to do, but to be lieve him to be our Saviour, and to truft in- tirely in him for Salvation : Their Sins, what ever they are, can do them no hurt, for Chrifi has made a perfea Satisfaaion" for them ; and how much foever their Confciences accufe and terrify them, 'tis want of Faith in Chrift, and a diftruft of his Merit and Satisfaaion to think their Condition ever the lefs fafe, becaufe their Sins are great; They are not under the Law, but under Grace ; the Law has nothing to do either and a Future State. * 385 either to Command or to* condemn them; Chrift hath fatisfied and fulfill'd the Law for v them : And^tho' Gratitude and Thankfulnefs may oblige them to obey the Laws of our Sa viour, yet this muft not be made the Condi tion of our Salvation, which is injurious to the Merits of Chrift. Now as abfurd and contradiaory as all this is to the whole De fign of the Gofpel, it is not eafy to give a fair Anfwer to it, if we believe that Chrift has aaually difcharg'd all from the Guilt of Sin and the Condemnation of the Law, who be lieve that he has done fo. For if Ghnft has done all for us that is neceffary for our Salva-1- ^ tion, I know not what is left for us to do, * but to believe that he has done it: If he will make fuch Believers holy and righteous by an irrefiftible Power, as fome of them feem to think he will, that is his Care, not theirs; for their Salvation is fafe without it. To ftate this Matter as plainly and briefly as I can, I obferve, 1. That our Redemption from Death by the Death of Chriil is abfolute and univerfal. This was God's Covenant with his Son, that, if he died in human Nature to fatisfy the Law of dying, and conquer Death, he fhould redeem all Mankind from the Power and Dominion of Death , by raifing them from the Dead. And we all know that this Redemption is u- niverfal, that both good and bad Men fhall rife again at the kft day, tho' to very different States; as our Saviour tells the Jews, John f . 28, 2p. Marvel not at this ; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves fhall hear his voice, and fhall come forth; they C c that 386 Ofthe, Immortality ofthe Soul, that have done good unto the refurrection of Life, and they that have done evil, unto the refurre aion of Damnation, And in this fenfe Chrift did in a true literal fenfe die for all, and tafte Death for every Man ; for as in Adam all die, even fo in Chrift fhall all be made alive, 1 Cor. if. 22. which is univerfal redemption. But, 2. This Redemption of Mankind from Death by the Death of Chrift, is not an abfo lute Pardon and Forgivenefs of all our Sins. , For bad Men fhall rife again to a State of Pun ifhment, which is Proof enough, that their Sins are not pardon'd. Death, as it fignifies the Separation of Soul and Body, was origi nally the Punifhment of Adam's Sin, and af terwards became the Punifhment of all Sins, as St. Paul tells us, The wages of Sin is Death, Rom. 6. 23. But yet Death, in this Notion of it, is not the only Punifhment of Sin ; h> - deed it is not the Punifhment of Sin to any other reafonable Beings but only Man. The Angels finn'd, but did not die, but were caft down from that State of Glory and Happinefs, which they enjoy'd, and are referved in, ever- lafting chains under darknefs unto the Judgment of the great- day, Jude 6. A State of Mifery and Sufferings is the proper Punifhment of Sin, that thofe, who do ill, fhould fuffer ill. But Annihilation is no Punifhment, when it delivers from a State of Mifery; and Death, as it fignifies a Separation of Soul and Body, thofe immortal Spirits were not capable of. But Man confifting of an immortal Soul and a mortal Body, which may be parted, was capable of dying; and the very Separation of Soul and Body is in itfelf a very great Punifh ment : and a Future State. 387 fnent: For he cannot enjoy the compleat and perfea Happinefs of his Nature in a State of Separation. But this, as I fud before, is not the only Punifhment of Sin; but Death tran- flatesus into an invifible State, to receive the juft recompence of our Sins, which is a more proper Place of Punifhment than this World, where good and bad Men live intermix'd with each other. And thus we muft confider Death, not only as a Separation of Soul and Body, but as a State of Punifhment; for fo it would have been to all Mankind without a Saviour. But yet thefe two are very diftinftly to be confider'd in our Redemption by Chrift ; for he has not redeem'd us from both in the fame manner. He has abfolutely redeem'd us from Death, as that fignifies the Separation of Soul and Body ; for both good and bad Men fhall rife again : But he has not thus abfolutely and unconditionally redeem'd us from thofe other Punifhments, which our Sins deferve ; for bad Men fhall corns forth of their graves to the refurrection of Damnation. And there is a ma- nifeft reafon for this difference. For, till Man was redeem'd from Death, he was not capable of Pardon and Forgivenefs ; while he was under the Curfe ofthe Law, he muft fuf fer all thofe Punifhments and Miferies^ which his Sins deferv'd, as well as the Separation of Soul and Body. For the original Curie is Death, which involves in it all the other Pu nifhments that are due to Sin, till that Curfe be removed: And then, tho' all Men are not equally wicked, and therefore fhall not be e- qually punifh'd, yet. the beft Men are guilty of fo many Sins, as muft expofe them to very G e %¦ grea* 388 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Soul, very great Sufferings without Grace and Mer cy, which there is no place for, till the Curfe be remov'd. And therefore Chrift hath ab-' folutely redeem'd us from this Curfe ; he hath redeemed. us from the Curfe of the Law, that is, from Death ; by being made a Curfe, that is, by dying, for us. And this makes all Mankind capable of Pardon; the Curfe being removed, God may now enter into a new Covenant of Grace with Mankind ; which fhews us, how conliftent the Expiation of Chrift's Death is with the Grace and Mercy of God in forgiv ing Sins. Chrift by his Death has not only conqu'er'd Death, and gain'd an abfolute Power and Au thority to raife the Dead, which makes all Mankind capable of Salvation, as delivering them from the Power and Dominion of Death, but has alfo made a general Expiation and A- tonement for all our Sins ; not abfolutely, but by way of Covenant. For the aaual For givenefs of Sin, and the aaual Reconciliation of God to Sinners, tho' it be founded in the Merits of a Sacrifice, yet requires fuch Con ditions and Qualifications on the Sinners part, as may make it fit for a holy and good God to forgive Sin, and to be reconcil'd to Sinners, and make the Sinner happy in the Enjoyment of God. And therefore the Blood of the Sa crifice is the Blood of the Covenant , which contains and expreffes all thofe Conditions, which God requires on our part to obtain the Forgivenefs of our Sins. Hence the Gofpel, which contains thefe Conditions ofthe new Covenant, is call'd the Aoy@- rfc KcHaAKxyfc, the Word of Reconciliation, that is, the Terms, upon and a Future State. upon which we may be reconcil'd to God; and the Apoftolical and Minifterial Office is JWovi1* rtjg %oZl and perifhed With all its Delights; Heaveri indeed remains, arid I fee it , and I long for it, but I cannot have it. I have indeed my Choice, and a miferable Choide it is: I chofe what was not worth having* and what I could not keep , and now I muft want for ever. f. For this is the greateft Aggravation of the Lofs, that it is for ever j Heaven Gates are fhut againft fuch Sinners, and that for ever ; they have loft an Opportunity of ma king themfelves eternally happy, which can never be recalled ; and if a temporary Difap^ pointment, if every Delay of our Defires be fo uneafy and troublefome, what will eternal Defpair be? So that if we confult all the Paffions of hu* man Nature, if we believe that we fhall have the fame Paffions in the next World that we have in this; that the Sight and Prefence of a great Happinefs will excite in us ftrong and vehement Defires ; that to mifs it will over whelm us with the fharpeft Sorrows; that a Refleaion on our Guilt and Folly will turn all our Paffions on our felves ; and that eter nal Difappointment will fill us with raging Defpair ; if there be any Pain, any Torment in thefe Paffions , this is the Punifhment of Lofs. zdly, And yet, if we believe our Saviour, the Lofs of the Soul fignifies a great deal more than the Lofs of Heaven , even thofe unconceivable Torments, which are repre sented in Scripture, by Lakes of Fire and Brimftone ; the Fire prepared for the Devil and his and a Future State. 4%$ his Angeh; Blacknefs ofDarknefs; the Worm that never dieth, and the Fire that never go- etJf °*f- The very naming of which ftrikes the Fancy with all the Images of Terror; , and yet we have Reafon, to think, that the Punifhment it felf is much more terrible than .all the Reprefentations that can be made 'of it. Now fhall I prove that all the Happinefs of this World is dearly purchafed with Eternal Miferies ? Let me firft fee the Man, who will fay, it is not, who in cool and deliberate ' Thoughts will chufe to be eternally Miferable, that he may for fome few Years be as happy as this World can make him. There are in deed a great many Sinners, who venture eter- nal-Mifery for fome prefent Satisfaaions, but it is becaufe they do not believe that there is a Hell, or if they do, they flatter themfelves- that by one means or other they fhall efcape it. But 1 would fee the Man who would deliberately chufe the Pleafures of Sin, which are but for a Seafon, did he certainly know that there is a Hell, and that he fhould be eternal ly miferable for it, as miferable as the Omni potent Juftice and Vengeance of God can make him. I am very certain, there is no fuch Man to be met with in the World ; and therefore I may conclude, that all Men believe that the fhort Pleafures of Sin are very dearly 'purchafed with Eternal Miferies. But if any "Man wants a Proof of this, let him but reflect upon the Frame and Conftitution of his own Mind, and confult thofe Paffions which he finds there, and he will need no other Oracle. " Now / 6 Ofthe Immortality ofthe Sou/, Now every Man will find in himfelf a greater Averfion to Pain and Mifery than a Fondriefs for Pleafure; this very Principle governs thd World, and keeps Mankind in brder; this the fear of PunifhmeQt in this World reftrains Mens Lufts and Paffions; that no Man Sins but in hopes of Impunityj and when thefe Hopes fail them, and they come to fuffer for sheir Sins, they repent they committed them, which is art Argument that they do not think them worth what they fuffer for them; and if it is poffible by Human Punifhments to make Men repent of their Sins, what will they do when the Vengeance of God feizes on them in the next World ? Befides this, all Men will find in themfelves,' that they want fomething to fupport them un der great Sufferings^ and that nothing can do this for any long time, but only a good Confcience, and great Hopes ; that they fuf fer for a good Caufe j and that their Suffer ings fhall be rewarded. A fullen and obftinate Refolution may hold out for a time, but is foon fubdued, and cannot harden itfelf againft long and extreme Miferies. And then there is no poffible Relief for the Miferies of the Damned; The Remembrance of their finful Enjoy ments will be no Relief to them, for they are paft and gone; and the Pleafures of Sin laft no longer than the Enjoyment ; efpecially when Confcience is awakened, as it will cer tainly be in the next World; forthe Eternal Reproaches of Confcience will be no great Relief to them* Ani 7. . anS a Futre State. 437 Audi as for Hope, the can have none ; for ir Miferies come aftej their Pleafures, and !; nave no End. EteliU anc* Endlefs Mif- <'s ..re without Hop* anc^ a Sinner who • iffers without Hop* 'muft feel all that he jffers, and fink urder it. So far as my ovn Senfe of Things, and my Experience of tbe reft of Mankind, can in form me, this is the State of Human Nature : ' And if it be fo/ it had been good for that Man he had never been horn, how fortunate 'foever he has been in this World, who muft je miferstble for ever. And now, every Man e^n VC17 eafily apply 'it to himfeff : For ?he Sum of all is this, Not to lofe our Souls for any, or for all, the Plea fures and Enjoyments of this World. This J , nope you all refolve, at leaft while thefe Things are warm upon your Minds : And that you may not deceive your felves in it, I will only /add one Thing, That if you refolve not to lofe your Souls for the Gain of the whole World, you muft refolve not to venture them neither for the whole World ; for if yPu venture your Souls you may lofe them: This is the only ..way Men have to lofe their Souls, who do heartily believe the Happinefs and Miferies of the next World : They 4° not, they cannot make a voluntary Exchange of their Souls for all the World; but yet they venture their Souls, to tafte fome of the Pleafures of Sin ; and when they have once begun to venture, they commonly venture on till they lofe * them; which has been the Cafe of fo many Thoufands, that it fhould make all Men, who love 418 ,0/*^ ImmWtaJy 0f jL South love their Souls, awi „frhk\„ * x the whole WorldTaT oFthliC%aA * . Soul into a State ofc^iH World, that is, ouchtC^** H. . known Sin, for tSL\%C°mmit? ragevwhichmaylfSJ^P0!1 •$?¦ F J N I X 'in-. j tp h-'*9i*