THE Words related to, are those in the foregoing Verses; where the A­postle delivers the Doctrine of the Resurrection: Telling us, That at the sound of the Trump of God all the dead shall be raised; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; and be taken up to meet the Lord in the Air; and thence accompany him into glory; and there abide with him for ever. And having deli­vered this Doctrine, he directs the Applica­tion of it (in the Text) to an End of all o­thers the most serviceable to Humane Life, that is, to the administring of Comfort in case of any Worldly Trouble or Affliction.

I shall premise a Word or two concern­ing the Article it self, and then proceed to the Application directed.

[Page 2]We may observe how differently the World was affected at the News of our Saviour's Resurrection: The Disciples heard it as that which they most longed to hear; and the Message of those Travellers from Emmaus telling them, The Lord is risen indeed, was such a Cordial to Them, that it came to be prescribed to succeeding Christians as an An­tidote against all Worldly Fears: The Lord is risen, growing into a common form of Salu­tation among them, whereby they were wont to congratulate and give Joy to one another.

On the contrary, When the same Report was brought to the other Jews, and that with the strongest evidence of Truth that any Re­port was capable of, (viz.) from the In­timation of the Earthquake, and the Attesta­tion of the Band of Souldiers, and the con­current Resurrection of several of their own Acquaintance that were known to have ap­peared in the City (and what more could be desired to convince the Reasonable?) yet for all this they would not believe it; they would rather believe their own absurd Fiction, That his Disciples came by night and stole him away.

We need not look far for a Reason why this News was so differently entertained: The [Page 3] Disciples had an Interest in it; for all their Hopes depended upon the Divinity of their Master, which was now demonstrated by his Rising again from the Dead. Whereas the Jews Interest (as their Malice had brought it about) lay quite on the other side: The Report of his Resurrection threatned them with the danger of being called to account for their malicious Prosecution of him; and therefore they feared and hated the Report; and therefore they would not believe it, how credible soever the Testimonies made it ap­pear.

It is no wonder then, if the Doctrine of our Common Resurrection shall sometimes meet with the same stubborn Infidelity; if there are Men that will reject the Belief of the Resurrection as Absurd, and yet swallow much greater Absurdities in their own Scheme of No-Resurrection: It is only ma­nifest, That such Men's Interest lies against the Article; and that they Err not for want of Evidence, but barely for want of Com­pliance in their Affections. It is not Reason but Vice, that opposes the Belief of the Re­surrection; and Vice opposes it Irreconcile­ably: For although many vicious Men do [Page 4] believe the Resurrection, yet it is certain, that all vicious Men would rather not believe it; they all lay under the Tempta­tion of wishing they knew how to evade the belief of it; and therefore what wonder if some, setting their Wits heartily about it, make a shift to compass the Delusion they Desire?

It were vain to attempt the reclaiming of these Men from their Errour by Reason and Arguments; for they that pretend to fa­thom the Power of God, and to state all the possibilities of its acting, must needs think all men's Reason shallow, in comparison of their own: And they that will deny the Scri­pture to be the Word of God, because it asserts a Resurrection, neither would they be­lieve a Resurrection, though one rose from the Dead: For, supposing such a Miracle were wrought before their Eyes, they might as well conclude that Evidence to be a Phan­tasm, as they now conclude the Scripture to be a Forgery. He that will hope to reform such men's Judgments, must have the Art of reforming their Manners, and the power of awakening their Consciences: For in the Conscience it is (as our Apostle has ob­serv'd, [Page 5] 1 Tim. 1. 19.) that the Shipwrack of Faith begins, and There only it can be re­pair'd. Let them be persuaded to live so as to be able to Wish a Resurrection, and then the Article will soon appear as credible as that there are Antipodes; which we know has sometimes been look'd on as a strange Opinion, and yet now every one finds it to be true.

But in the mean time, We may be bold to argue against these men, what the Apo­stle argues against other Apostates, (viz.) That professing to be wise, they become fools: I mean Fools by their own Standard: Be­cause that by not-believing the Resurrection, they quit hold of the greatest Temporal Com­fort that humane life is capable of; The Re­surrection being a Truth that God has re­vealed, among other Reasons for this in par­ticular, That it might serve to support and chear our minds, amidst those many Evils to which we are obnoxious in this present World. Which is the particular Argument that my Text obliges me to pursue.

I need not bring Evidence to holy Job's Observation, That Man is born to trouble; the multitude of Complainers may save me [Page 6] that labour: But there is another Observa­tion, which he grafts upon this, well worth our Contemplating, and that is, That Affli­ction cometh not forth of the Dust, nor does Trouble spring out of the Ground: Whereby he intimates that no Evils befall us, but the Divine Providence has a hand in the dispo­sal of them: And, this being so, we may far­ther assure our selves, That God inflicts no Evils in this life, without having made a Pro­vision of such possible Reliefs as may suffice to the comfortable bearing of them: And to think otherwise, would not only be inju­rious to the Goodness of God, but likewise the way to make our selves more miserable than God is willing any of us should be. God ordains no Grief without a Medicine; inflicts no Trouble without an Expedient of pro­portionable Consolation; and accordingly my Text offers one that is Adequate to all that can befall us. But before I insist on That, I shall enquire what expedients of this kind the Fancies of Men have been able to project for themselves; and from the Insuffi­ciency of these I shall make it appear, That there is no solid support of a Man's mind, when under the pressure of worldly Troubles, [Page 7] but only that which offers it self in the pro­spect of the Resurrection.

No search has been more curiously pursued in all ages than this, What Cure for Grief? What Remedy for Afflictions? What Recom­pence might a Man possibly make himself for the Troubles he endures? And several me­thods have been directed in the Case. But that which pleased Men most, and therefore has been most in practice, was to betake them­selves to Intemperance and sensual Pleasures; proposing by these to make themselves amends for the Evil they suffer'd, or at least to stupifie and harden themselves against its Impressions. Intemperance never wanted other Arguments, but this has always been lookt upon as its fairest Apology, when used to remove sorrow from the heart, and to make men forget their Trouble. Thus the Epicure, Eccles. 2. 23. puts the Question, What has man for the vexation of his heart? All his days are sorrows, and his Tra­vail grief: and thereupon he concludes, Where­fore there is nothing better for a man, than to eat and to drink, and delight his senses. And so those Libertines, Wisd. 2. having first laid down their Scheme to prove themselves wholly Material and wholly Mortal, and so no better than [Page 8] Beasts of another shape, they make this Re­flection, That Life is short and tedious, short in time, and yet tedious in vexations; and thence they infer, Therefore let us enjoy the good things that are present; and let none go without his share of our voluptuousness. I confess that this Conclusion and Method is less reproachful, when consequent to such a Scheme of Relief: And yet even Then, How narrow are the Comforts of it? How many Griefs are there that will not abide this Remedy? And how many that it cannot reach? And those it does reach, how thin a shelter does it afford them? And how soon will the storm break through? And in the mean time, how many are its own mischiefs? and greater oftentimes than those it is applyed to cure? But, on the other side, while we own a God, what an affront is it to that God to stupifie our selves against the a­waknings of his Discipline? While we own a future Reward, what a madness is it to over­look that Reward, and to take our Consola­tions here, in bar to those that are to come? While we own a Conscience, what a violation and outrage is it to that awful faculty to flee to Vice for a shelter from Misfortune?

Upon this single Consideration of Consci­ence, [Page 9] the wiser Heathens grew into an ab­horrence of this Sensual Method; and set up another in opposition to it: For some of their Philosophers advised men to fortifie themselves against Afflictions with this No­tion (viz.) that they were not Evil: For they would not allow any thing to be Evil, that was not in a man's own power, nor occa­sioned by his own default. Their Meaning hereby was no more than this, (and thus much is certainly true,) That Afflictions are not Evil in comparison of Sins: But yet we must acknowledge that Afflictions are such Evils as will make a man Miserable, if he has no other prospect than this Notion to support himself withal: And therefore I do not mention this Notion of Theirs as a com­petent means of Comfort; but as it is a no­ble Provocation to Virtue: For let us con­sider with our selves; If those Heathens ar­rived to such a pitch of moral Fortitude, as to account Calamities not Evil in comparison of Sins; a Gout not Evil in comparison of an irregular Appetite; a Prison not Evil in comparison of a ruling Passion; What con­fusion and reproach does this threaten to Christians, if they, notwithstanding their [Page 10] Profession of the Cross, shall be found to choose Vice rather than Trouble, and per­haps to fear many Sins less than they fear One Calamity?

The best Rules that Humane Wisdom has ever prescribed for the management of Af­flictions, are these Two, Business and Pati­ence. The help of Business lies in diverting the Thoughts; for so long as we can suspend our mind from thinking on that which grieves us, so long we have a Truce with our grief, and it affects us very little. And this is the Reason why Trouble has its full blow at the Idle man, because he has nothing else to think of; whereas while the mind is taken off by its attention on something else, a great part of the violence of that blow is broken. But in the mean time, How many Troubles of Life are there, that are too sul­len to be imploy'd, and too importunate to be diverted? Troubles that can absolutely command us to bear and to attend them: In case of which, there is no Remedy but Patience; And let us see what Remedy there is in That.

It is the work of Patience to summon up the powers of the mind, and to fit us to bear [Page 11] what we cannot help, as Composedly as we may: And by this means we are secured at least against the mischiefs of Impatience; which is always found both to increase the burden, and likewise to impair the strength of the Bearer. But in the mean time, Tho' Patience be a prudent Guard and Defensa­tive against farther Evil; it is not any Com­fort or Relief of the Present: As, when a man lies pained of a broken Bone, the more restless he is, the more torment he creates himself; but be he never so quiet, that does no way alleviate what he actually feels, nor offer any compensation for the feeling of it. I speak not now of Patience as it is a Chri­stian Grace; as it is a dutiful submission of our Wills to the Discipline of God, and so the Parent of Hope; for in this Sense, it is the very Consolation directed to in the Text: but I speak of Patience as it is simply a me­thod of humane Wisdom to bear quietly that which we cannot help; In which Sense, it neither carries any such Virtue in it, nor can it found any such Consolation. And therefore They that were truly Wise among the Heathen, having well considered this state of things, That the Afflictions and [Page 12] Troubles of Life were numerous, and that they fell indiscriminately upon Good Men as well as Bad, and that there was no pro­portionable Compensation to be met with in this World; from this very Foundation they raised their Reasonings to the Con­jecture of a Life to come; wherein the God that governs all things should acquit and manifest the Goodness of his Nature; and those Men that were Patient and Virtuous under their present Evils, should receive a full and satisfactory reward. This, though it were their bare Guess, pleased them so much, that they could not choose but nurse it into Hope; and though they could advance it no farther than Hope, yet that very Hope was more entertaining to them in their Troubles, than all other Expedients that the World could offer.

Now, what was their Guess is our Evi­dence; and what was their Hope is our As­surance. Nay, our Assurance amounts to the state of a much greater Felicity than they could either guess or hope for. Let us see then in particular, What it is that the Text offers for the Matter of our Comfort, and what every Good Christian has Right to [Page 13] Hope for from the state of the Resurrection.

The Holy Scripture represents it Thus, (viz.) That Christ our Lord, Who is the Author of sal­vation to all them that obey him, shall raise us up at the last day; and shall take us into the Mansions of his Father's house; That where He is, we may be also: And that we shall not only be with Him, but (what is greater) we shall be like him too: 1 Joh. 3. 2. For he shall change our vile bodies, that they may be fa­shioned like unto his glorious body; and we shall bear the Image of the Heavenly Adam. The Apostle, to give us a more distinct light into that wonderful change that shall pass upon every Good Christian at the Resurrection expresses it 1 Cor. 15. in these Five opposite respects: He tells us that our Bodies in their present state, are Weak, and Dishonourable, and Animal, and Corruptible, and Mortal; Weak, by reason of the jarring principles of their Com­position; Dishonourable, by reason of the ma­ny noisome and humbling effects that those principles produce; Animal, because their Life depends (as that of Beasts does) upon the Return of an uncertain Breath; Corrup­tible, for that they tend every day towards Dissolution, which at last is finished in actual [Page 14] Death. But on the contrary, he says, Those Bodies that shall be, are Vigorous, and Glori­ous, and Spiritual, and Incorruptible, and Im­mortal; Vigorous, without any Weakness or Impediment; Glorious, without any Darkness or Deformity; Spiritual, without any Gros­ness or Incumbrance; Incorruptible, without any Pain or Passibility; Immortal, without any Alteration or Decay.

Our Blessed Saviour, to fortifie his Disciples against those Troubles which he had told them were likely to ensue, took as many of them with Him into the Mount as made up a legal Evidence, and there gave them an Ocular Conviction of this happy change: Where he transfigured himself before them, and assumed for a while the lustre of a glori­fied Body; under which appearance, it is said, that his Face shone like the Sun; and his Ray­ment (pierced through with the beams that darted from his limbs) became as white as the Light: Insomuch that his Disciples fell into an Ecstasie at the beholding their Own Appearance; being too weak at present to bear the very sight of that Majesty and Glo­ry, which in due time they themselves were to put on.

[Page 15]Now this is the Hope that is set before e­very one of us in the prospect of the Resur­rection; and this is that Hope which the Apostle, Heb. 6. 18. calls the strong Consolati­on. Indeed what Consolation can be stron­ger? Or what state of life can be so uncom­fortable as that this may not fuffice to com­pose and sweeten it? How strong a Conso­lation is it for a Man under bodily grief and pains, to contemplate a state, whereunto he is passing, where shall be no more sorrow, no more pain, and where all Tears shall be wiped from his eyes? How strong a Consolation is it for a Man under the circumstances of destitu­tion and neglect to contemplate that there is not any person in the World so Great, so Happy, so Honoured, so Belov'd, but that (having a little patience) he himself shall be more so. How strong a Consolation may it be to any of us to consider that all we suffer shall turn to a happy Account; if only we take care to direct it to that Account: and that All we lose, is not lost; unless we fling it after Providence, and lose it by our own peevishness; For otherwise it is only taken up to an Interest, which shall be paid at the Resurrection of the Just?

[Page 16]It is very remarkable in the Case of Holy Job, that when he was stript and destitute of all that the World calls Comfort, God was pleased to reveal this Doctrine of the Resur­rection to him in so bright a manner, that we cannot have the Article fuller exprest at this day, than it is in those Words of his, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth; and though after my skin, worms destroy this Body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for my self, and Mine eyes shall behold, and not another. That Job had so full a Revelation of this healing Truth was a particular mercy to Him; but it is likewise an Instruction to Us, That, since the Man of Universal Afflictions had this Revelation given him for a sure means of his Comfort, there can be no Affliction to which the same means may not be applyed with all desirable success.

And from hence I shall take occasion to reflect upon one common miscarriage; which is This, There are few in the World, who being under the state of Affliction, do not look upon it as their undoubted Right to Complain: And from the Colour of this Right they insensibly fall into several both [Page 17] Sins and Mischiefs: For while they complain of the Issue it self, they impeach Providence, and become Irreligious; while they com­plain against immediate Causes and Instru­ments, they nurse Uncharitableness, and in­flame themselves to Revenge; while they indulge this humour of complaining, they frustrate the Discipline of their Afflictions, and refuse to be made better by them; and lastly they preclude themselves from the Comfort offered in my Text, because they are not in a state of mind to apply it. In order to prevent this Evil, I shall strike at the Root, and shew That all such Complain­ing is Originally Unjust.

And to make it appear so, We may con­sider, That all the Evils we complain of are either such as we bring upon our selves, or else such as are inflicted upon us from with­out: Now if they are such as we bring upon our selves, by our own act and default, we have no Reason to complain of These; all the Reason we have in this case, is to com­plain of the Cause, that is, of our selves; and so to correct the Fault, and so to pre­vent the Evil. But if they are such as are in­flicted from without, and such as it is not in [Page 18] our power to prevent, we have no Need to complain of These, because God offers us a Consolation proportionable to the Evil; and therefore the only need we have in this Case, is to take hold of the Comfort, and so to stop the mouth of the Complaint.

Now let us look out into the Complain­ing World, and how many shall we find the apparent Authors of those Evils whereof they complain? How many are there that complain of Want, and yet owe that Want to their own Lavishness or Sloth? How many that complain of Disgrace, and yet owe that Disgrace to their own unworthy behaviour? How many that complain of Enemies, and yet owe those Enemies to their own Pride or Contention? How many that complain of the Desertion of Friends, and yet owe that Desertion to their own Ingratitude? How many that complain of the Undutiful­ness of Children, and yet owe that Unduti­fulness to their own ill Example? How ma­ny that complain of Pains and Diseases, and yet owe those Griefs to their own Luxury and Lust? Now is there any Justice in such Complaints as These? Shall a man (says the Prophet Jeremy,) complain for the punishment [Page 19] of his sins? Especially for such punishments as are the necessary effects and consequen­ces of his Sins? The Truth is, that men are so far from being just in complaining of such Evils as These, that they have much more Reason to bless God for them: There being no small Mercy in that Providence of God that orders Sin to be attended with such punishing consequences: For if it be hard to wean Men from their ill Inclina­tions, notwithstanding these Mortifications and Checks they meet with in the pursuit of them; How desperately obstinate would such Inclinations grow, if so be they were not so attended?

On the other hand, as for all those Evils that are not of our own procuring, but are laid upon us by the direction of Providence, what Justice, or what Wisdom is there, to spend that time in Complaining, which we might otherwise imploy to the making our selves amends? For this is the Point my Text calls us to, To meditate on the Joy of the Resurrection, and thence to draw that Comfort that is needful for our Relief.

[Page 20]And now I shall add a Motive or Two to enforce the Practice of this necessary Duty.

Let us then consider, (First,) If God has prescribed an Expedient to make our Lives comfortable, and we at the same time ac­knowledge the Insufficiency of all other Ex­pedients, What Apology can we make for not applying That which God has prescri­bed? When the Prophet Elisha prescribed to Naaman the Syrian for the cure of his Leprosie, That he should go wash in Jordan, we know the Syrian took Exceptions at the Method; Abana and Pharpar, Rivers of Da­mascus, were in better esteem with him, and why should Jordan be preferr'd? Had he, in this Pett, returned to Damascus and wash'd in his own Country Rivers, and lost his pains; we could not but have look'd upon him as well rewarded for his Peevish­ness: But the Syrian grew wiser, and went and wash'd in Jordan, and was healed. Let us grow wiser by his Example; and when God points us out the proper means for our healing, say why we should adhere to [Page 21] our Abana and Pharpar, why we should pre­fer the Methods of our Native Country, the World, though in the mean time uni­versal Experience warns us that we must ne­cessarily lose our pains.

But Iosing our Pains is not the worst on't; Let us consider (Secondly) that we must as necessarily lose our Virtue. For al­though the burden and grief of Afflictions be a great Evil, yet their Temptation is usually a greater. Because since our Souls cannot possibly close with Afflictions, nor be contented with Uneasiness, but lie under a natural force to seek out something that may relieve; it must necessarily follow, that if we do not take hold of such means as are Just and Honest to relieve our selves withal, we cannot but engage in such as are sinful. And hence it comes to pass, That for one Man made Miserable by bear­ing Afflictions, Thousands are made Guil­ty by shifting Afflictions; which is a much more formidable Issue. Our Saviour there­fore, after he had warned his Disciples, that Troubles must certainly come, yet he fre­quently [Page 22] aims Them with this Advice: Be not Troubled; Let not your hearts be Troubled; See that ye be not Troubled. They must not be troubled, though Troubles came; that is, when Troubles came, they were to shel­ter themselves under the Consolation of his Promises, and there stand at Guard both a­gainst the Grief and the Temptation of them: Knowing This, That if a Man sink under Troubles, then his State is a Snare; because it hinders him from serving either God or himself in that manner as is fit: But on the other hand, If a Man betake himself to worldly Shifts and Comforts, then his Means are a Snare and betray him into the actual disservice both of God and his own Soul. So that He, who in case of Troubles applies the Expedient of the Text, and entertains his mind with the Hope of the Resurrection, he alone is in the proper method that can both case his present cir­cumstances, and at the same time preserve his Integrity.

[Page 23]I must confess that the Expedient of the Text lies liable to One Exception, which is This, That however excellent it may be in its own nature, yet it is not fit for every ones Application. For how shall every man draw Comfort from the prospect of the Resurrection, when most men find it the greatest horrour of their Thoughts? The Coming of our Lord in the Clouds to Judge the World in Righteousness, is not so soft a Con­templation as to sit easie upon every ones mind, much less to give him courage and relief. And this indeed is True: And so in like manner it may sometimes happen, that the best Medicine in the World will not be able to heal an ordinary wound: For when the habit of Blood and Juices is extremely vitiated, whatsoever is apply'd, will not so much heal as inflame. But then what does the Patient in such a case? He purges and diets, 'till such time as his Habit mends; and then, having discharged the hinderances, he soon finds the benefit of his Medicine. And this directs the method in our parallel case: If the Thoughts of the Resurrection do not [Page 24] comfort us, the fault lies not in That, but in our selves: Wherefore we must cleanse and change our selves to such a state wherein the Application may have better Influence upon us. Now we must observe, for the great Commendation of this Expedient, that it is not only Healing, but Cleansing too: To meditate on the Resurrection Sanctifies as well as Comforts; and is as effectual to make men Good, as to chear and support them when they are so. So long therefore as the Thought of the Resurrection startles us, it is only a Proof That our Minds are unaccustomed to the Subject: Let us think of it frequently, and it will grow softer at every Thought: We shall perceive it to loosen us from our sinful Habits; and to make us take heed to our ways, and to raise our Affections to heavenly things; and then, as oft as we shall think of the Coming of our Lord, the Graciousness of the Redeemer will void the Terrour of the Judge; and we shall be able to enjoy the prospect of our Recompence, an humble Faith securing it to be Ours.

[Page 25]Since therefore to meditate on the Re­surrection is our necessary work; and will, in a while, be our pleasant work; and will in the end be our happiest work; Let us do it with all our might; and think what shame it will be to have it said, That many honest Heathens spent more Thoughts about a Fu­ture Life, and lov'd it more, and enjoy'd it more, while it was but a bare Conjecture, than we do, now it is a Certainty.

And now I shall conclude the whole with this Reflection. We may observe, That all those glorious Accessions and Improvements, which the Scripture mentions as accruing to Good Men at the Resurrection, belong simply to the Body: It is said, That our Bodies shall be changed; they shall be re­fined and sublimated, and so prepar'd to sustain the Joys of Heaven; which other­wise they could not do: But no such sub­stantial Improvements are mention'd of the Soul; which we may take for an Intimati­on, how Noble and Excellent a Being the Soul is in its original Nature: It is breathed from God; and imprest with His Image; [Page 26] and that Image imports no less than such Perfections as are Divine: And accordingly the Soul is in it self Incorruptible, and Im­mortal, and of an immense Capacity both to know and to enjoy: Indeed it is constitu­ted to see through the Body as through its Glass; and that Glass at present is very dark; but when once that Glass shall come to be brightned, so soon as the Soul shall be dis­charged from the Grossness of Flesh, and the Cloud of Passions, and the Stains of Sin, it will need no other Elevation to behold the Face of God, no other Capacity to compre­hend all the Treasures of Wisdom, no other Strength to bear the Weight of Eternal Glory.

I mention this to incline our Thoughts to the care of that precious part of our Be­ing: We often take care of our Bodies to a sinful Excess; while we neglect our Souls, where our Care could not exceed; so worthy they are of all the Care we can bestow.

But if we will needs take care of our Bo­dies, why so much of these vile Bodies, which notwithstanding all our care, are every mo­ment tending to Corruption? Why not ra­ther [Page 27] of those Glorious and Incorruptible Bodies, which by God's blessing shall be ours; if so be our due care be not wanting? Let us then consider the difference between our Present Bodies, and our Future; and in Them let us consider the difference between Heaviness and Vigour, between Grief and Indolence, be­tween Pain and Alacrity, between Corruption and Incorruption, between Decay and Ever­lastingness: Beseeching God that the Thoughts of this may provoke us to take such a Care, That when our earthly house of this Tabernacle shall be dissolved, we may have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.

Amen.