the reason is, partly that national laws are more immediately defigned to procure men peace and profperity on earth, than happiness in heaven: and partly also, that they propose such encouragements, as they are able to inflict; which are thɔse of this world only. Mofes indeed went beyond the fanctions, which are in man's power: and affured the Jews of God's bleffings on their obedience, and curses on their difobedience. But as, in fo doing, he spoke, not fo much to fingle perfons confidered fingly, as to the whole people in a body; these bleffings and curfes could be only, what they were, those of the prefent life: because the divifion of mankind into nations will fubfift no longer; and therefore national good or evil can be enjoyed or fuffered only here. But ftill, fince it is evident, through the whole of his law, that the Jews had the most serious belief of a juft Providence; and alfo from the abovementioned proofs, that they believed a future ftate; furely they must believe in general, that this Providence would be fo exerted in that ftate, as to reward the good, and punish the wicked. More and stronger evidences of this will be given under the second particular, the refurrection of the body. 2 At prefent I fhall go on to obferve further, that not only the Jews, but all the nations of the world, whether learned or unlearned, whether known in former times or discovered of later times, appear to have been perfuaded, that the fouls of men continue after death. Now this fo univerfal agreement muft furely have arifen from an inward principal of nature, dictating to all perfons that they are defigned for a future exiftence; and that as they are plainly creatures accountable for their actions, yet often do not account here, they must expect to do it hereafter. Or fhould the notion be supposed to have its origin from tradition; that tradition must have been derived from what God himself had taught the first of men: elfe it had never reached to all men: and it must have found fome powerful confirmation in the minds and hearts of men: elfe in fo great a length of time, amidft fo many changes of human circumftances, it must have been univerfally worn out and forgotten. Indeed, before our Saviour's days, length of time, and folly, and wickednefs, had every where obfcured and darkened this great truth, by fabulous additions and abfurd alterations: which hindered the good influence of it on fome perfons, and difcredited difcredited the belief of it with others. And had there been none of these obftacles thrown in their way; though reason and confcience teach the doctrine of a future state; yet by the generality of men, reafon is little exercifed, and conscience little confulted, in relation to unwelcome truths. And tho the Old Testament gave some further intimations of it; yet these were neither very clear and explicite, nor known by the greatest part of the world. No wonder then if their conclufions, concerning a matter fo intirely out of fight, were often doubtful, and often falfe: and thus they were misled in a fubject of the greatest importance to them of all others. It is therefore one ineftimable benefit of the Christian revelation, that our bleffed Lord hath thoroughly removed the preceding uncertainties and errors; and brought life and immortality to perfect light through the gospel*: not only confirming by divine authority whatever had been rationally taught before; but adding, by the fame authority, several interesting particulars, which human faculties could not discover: and which partly have been mentioned to you, in difcourfing on the general judgment; and partly will be, in what I fhall further fay under the heads now propofed. All that remains to be faid under the first, is, That neither the full reward of good perfons deceased is as yet bestowed on them, nor the full punishment of the wicked as yet inflicted; these things being to follow the general refurrection: but that ftill, fince our Saviour describes the foul of Lazarus, as carried by angels into Abraham's bosom, and there comforted t; fince he' promised the penitent thief, that he should be that day with him' in paradife; and St Paul speaks of being prefent with Chrift, as the immediate confequence of death, and far better than this life: therefore the state of those, who die in the Lord, is now a ftate, not of insensibility, but happiness: wherein they are blef fed, in refting from their labours || and doubtlefs rejoice, with joy unfpeakable and full of glory, in the profpect of that completer felicity, which the righteous Judge of all will hereafter give them. For as to the pretence of a purgatory, where the greatest. part of good perfons are to fuffer grievous temporal punish ments, after death, for their fins, though the eternal punishment is remitted: it hath no ground in the least. Our Saviour's faying, " that the blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft fhall not be forgiven in this world, or that which is to come," is merely faying, it fhall not be forgiven at all, but punished both here and hereafter. "The prifon, out of which," he faith, the perfon, who agrees not with his brother, "fhall not come, till he hath paid the laft farthing t;" is either a literal prison of this world, or the prifon of hell in the next, out of which the contentious and uncharitable shall never come, for they can never pay the last farthing. "The fpirits in prifon," to whom St Peter, faith, "Chrift by his Spirit preached," he faith alfo, were "the difobedient in the days of Noah ‡," with whom "his Spirit ftroves," whilft they were on this earth: and who for their difobedience were fent, not to purgatory, but to a worfe confinement. When St Paul bids men "take heed how they build on the foundation" of Chriftianity; adding, that the "fire fhall try every man's work; and if any man's work fhall be burnt, he shall suffer lofs; but still shall be saved, yet fo as by fire :" he means, that perfons must not mix doctrines of their own invention with the gofpel of Chrift, which in this instance, amongst others, thofe of the church of Rome have done for when "the Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire ¶," to judge the world, fuch notions will not stand the trial; they that hold them will be lofers by them; and though ftill they may be faved, it will be with difficulty and danger: as a perfon efcapes, when his house is burning. When, laftly, many of the ancient Chriftians prayed for the dead; befides that they had no warrant for fo doing, it was only for the completion of their happiness, whom they apprehended to be already in paradife: it was for the apoftles, faints, and martyrs; for the bleffed virgin herself : whom they certainly did not think to be in purgatory. And obferve, if they prayed for them, they did not pray to them. Purgatory then is nothing, but an imaginary place, invented by men, to give bad perfons hope, and good perfons dread of being put into it; that they may get what they can from both, by pretending : *Mat. xii. 31, 32. + Mat. v. 26. 1 Pet. iii. 18,-20. 12 Theff. i. 7 pretending to deliver them out of it again. Fear not therefore fuch vain terrors. "The fouls of the righteous are in the hands of the Lord: and there fhall no torment touch Those of the wicked, on the contrary, as they are to be hereafter with the devils, we may juftly believe are, like them, now delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judge. ment and though the worst of their fufferings fhall not begin, till the day of judgment comes; yet are they represented by our Saviour, as being, inftantly after death, in a place, where they are tormented : and undoubtedly, the lofs of their past pleasures and gains, remorfe for their past follies and crimes, despair of pardon, and the fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation, which shall devour them §; cannot but make their intermediate state intenfely miferable: and what then will their final one be! God grant, that thinking frequently and seriously of these awful subjects, we may know and confider, in this our day, the things that belong to our peace, before they are for ever hid from our eyes |}.` Articles XI, XII. Part II.-The refurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. UNDER the two laft Articles of the Creed, as I have al ready observed to you, are comprehended four points of doctrine: I. That I. That the fouls of all men continue after death." II. That their bodies fhall at the last day be raised up, and reunited to them. III. That both fouls and bodies of good perfons shall enjoy everlasting happiness. IV. That thofe of the wicked fhall undergo everlasting punishment. The first of these being the foundation of the reft; I chofe to enlarge on the proof and explanation of it. Now I proceed to fhow, II. That the bodies of all men fhall be raised up again, and reunited to their fouls. This reason alone cannot prove: and accordingly the heathens were ignorant of it: but it carries' with it no contradiction to reason in the least. For God is infinite, both in power and knowledge: and it is unqueftionably as poffible to bring together and enliven the fcattered parts of our body again, as it was to make them out of nothing, and give them life, at first. And therefore, fince we muft acknowledge the original formation of our bodies to have been of God, we have abundant caufe to be affured, that he can, after death, form them anew, whenever he pleafes. And that this will be done, was probably implied in that general promise, made to our first parents, that the Seed of the Woman, our blessed Lord, should bruise the ferpent's head*; destroy his power and confequently take away the curfe, under which he had brought mankind. For as part of that curse consists in the death of the body, it cannot be completely taken away, but by the resurrection of the body. In after-times, Abraham, we find, had so strong belief of the possibility of this article, that he was willing, on the Divine command, to facrifice his fon reafening, as the epiftle to the Hebrews teaches us, that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead‡. And indeed he could not have been induced to this, by any other reasoning. God had promised him, that by his fon Ifaac he fhould have a numerous pofterity: and this promise he firmly believed. Now he must know, it could never be fulfilled, if Ifaac was to be facrificed, but by his rifing again: and therefore he must be persuaded, that he would rise again for that purpose. On proceeding fomewhat further in the facred hif tory, * Gen. iii. 15. † Heb. xi. 19. |