A discourse on the present vileness of the body, and its future glorious change by Christ. To which is added, a sermon on the nature and importance of conversion. : Both occasionally deliver'd at Dorchester April 23. 1732. / By Mather Byles, A.M. ; [Three lines from Claud. Phoenix]

A discourse on the present vileness of the body, and its future glorious change by Christ. To which is added, a sermon on the nature and importance of conversion. : Both occasionally deliver'd at Dorchester April 23. 1732. / By Mather Byles, A.M. ; [Three lines from Claud. Phoenix]

Table of contents

Title page

PREFACE.

THE Glorious Change of the vile Body.

THE Nature and Necessity OF CONVERSION.

An HYMN to CHRIST for our Regeneration and Resurrection.

§

§

[Page]

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A DISCOURSE On the Present Vileness of the Body, AND Its Future Glorious Change by CHRIST. To which is added, A SERMON ON THE Nature and Importance OF CONVERSION. Both occasionally deliver'd at Dorchester April 23. 1732.

By MATHER BYLES, A. M.

Hic neque concepto fetu, nec s [...]mine surgit;

— secunda morte reformat

Et petit alternam totidem per funera vitam.

Claud. Phoenix.

BOSTON: Printed by S. KNEELAND & T. GREEN, for N. PROCTOR MDCCXXXII.

PREFACE.

[Page]

IF any enquire into the Reasons of this Publication; the Importunity of some Friends, and the Judgment of others, together with some Desire to do good, are the general Arguments of a modern Preface: And the Author hopes he has some Right to this common and useful Train of Thoughts.

The Sermons are Plain, & adapted to a popular Audience. They were composed without any Tho't of the Press, and when they were perswaded out of the Author's Hands, be could not find Leasure from his other Studies to transcribe them: for which Cause the Reader will not expect to find any thing laboured or uncommon. The Author imagines that lively Descriptions, a clear Method, and pathetick Language best become the Desk: And this possibly may be one Reason why be insisted no more upon [Page]Philosophical Arguments in his Discourse upon the vile Body changed. Tho' he believes the Doctrine of the Stamen will as easily account for a Resurrection, as for Generation, yet he supposes such Talk in the Pulpit serves more to amuse the Auditory, and complement the Preacher himself, than to honour CHRIST, or do good to Souls.

If by looking over the ensuing Pages, any Christian shall have one more holy or proper Tho't. the Writer will think his Pains well rewarded.

THE Glorious Change of the vile Body.

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PHILIP. iii. 21.

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.

THe Apostle Paul in the Chapter open before us, after some Precepts laid down, concludes with Two Motives to perswade Men to the Practice of them: And these are, the Coming of CHRIST, in the Verse preceeding my Text; and the Resurrection of the Saints now read unto you. Both of them are very solemn and sublime Thoughts: But it is only the latter which comes immediately with in the Compass of our present Meditation.

The Resurrection of the Dead, and, which is much the same thing, the Transformation of these found alive at the coming of CHRIST, are very clearly revealed in the New Testament, especially by the Apostle Paul. But the Glory of a Believer's Raised Body is not nor indeed can it be any where more sully express'd, than in the Words under our immediate View. Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.

The Apostle tells us, Our Bodies are now vile; our vile Bodies shall be changed; it is our Lord JESUS CHRIST who shall change them; and they shall be fashion'd like unto his glorious body. How much is crowded into a few Words! how emphatical are they! how copious! how sublime! How amply do they fill the Mind, and Exhaust, the Imagination, inspire our Faith, and awaken our Joy?

[Page] In handling these Words, I shall only have Time to speak to Three of the Four Articles (or if you please, Doctrines) which you see are plainly contained in them.

I These Bodies of ours, in their Present State, are VILE BODIES Who shall change our vile bodies? Shall we here let our Thoughts loose upon a few Particulars, which will render it plain, and humble us with the sad Conviction. These Bodies, of whose Beauty and Vigour we are so apt to boast, alas, they are vile Bodies.

1. Their Original is mean and despicable. In the Sense of the Greek Text, our Body was vile, even in the Purity of its first Creation The Word which we translate vile, is [...]: The Body of our Humility. 'Tis a humble Body. It carries Humiliation even in its Origin and Constitution. It comes from Humus; the moist Ground; The Clay, the low Earth. The First Principle of Humane, is Humus. Humiliation and Vileness is thus entail'd upon our Body, even from the primitive Materials out of which it was framed. Even Adam in Paradise and Innocence, might in this sacred sense, have own'd a Vile Body.

And now, Let the Proud Creature look down to the Earth, & view the Dust from which he sprung, & then confess his Body Vile. And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground † Out of the Clay was this living Frame fashioned; here it had its humble Original; and from this abject Earth, did it arise and shoot up, thus curious in its Form and Constitution. This beautecus Arrangement of finer Dust, was taken from the common Glebe, into which it must quickly fall, and resolve again. The Limbs which now shew the exactest Symmetry and Proportion, the Pulses which beat with the strongest Energy and Life, and the Aspect that is flush'd with Health and Beauty, owe all their Existance to the same Clods of Earth which harbour our Brethren, the Worms: The Worms, which wait to Feast upon our moulding Carcase; and riot in our wasting Flesh. The Body is of the Earth, earthy: Dust it is, and to Dust it shall return. Let us reflect thus, & then confess, This VILE BODY.

2. It is a sinful Body, and therefore a vile Body. It has in it a Body of Death; and no wonder it looks ghastly, and loathsome, and vile. All its Appetites are vitiated, and disorder'd, and it leads the Soul about like a Malefactor in Chains. The Spirit which God infuses, is depraved and polluted by it: and Original Sin is communicated thro' the Veins of the guilty Parent. The several Senses of the Body, prove so many Traitors to the nobler Faculties of the Mind, and continually captivate and debase it. How many Sins enter at the Eyes? and how many idle Ideas pass in at the Ears, forever open [Page]to the Vanity of empty and corrupted Air. The Luxuries of the Palate debauch the enslaved Mortal, and drag him on to Excess and Intemperance. He wanders among sensible Appearances, and for gets spiritual and divine Reallities. He is hardly brought to consider, that the things which are SEEN are temporal, but the things, which are not seen are eternal. Is not the Body, that thus abuses the Soul, the Rational principle within, a vile Body? The Body, the beautiful Workmanship of an Alwise Artificer, how is it sunk beneath the Level of the brutal World, by its Sin against God? O wretched that we are! who shall deliver us from the Body of this Death?

3. Our Body is a weak, infirm Body, and therefore a vile Body. It is a feeble House of Clay, that totters to every Blast. Disease and Mortality lurk in every Member, and Vein, and Muscle. It is liable to Contagions and Distempers of all Sorts. They March silent and unseen, in the fine Air about us. They lie brooding in their Venom, thro' all the Fluids within: Latent Destruction! Death in Ambuscade! A thousand different Fevers stand ready to seize this Body; to torment it, and to burn away its Life: To lick up the finer Spirts, and shap the Vital Cord. It may be at once blinded by a Defluxion of Rheum, fetter'd with the Tortures of the Gout, and broken in the Agonies of the Stone: Like Sampson in the Philistian Prison-house, at the same Time blinded, and shackled, and grinding. Every Nerve about us, is capable of Pains too great for us to bear, too strong for us to resist, and too subtil for us to escape. The Strength of the most athlerick Body, is still on the Wing; may fly away suddenly; will do it speedily; and must at last wholly leave it. The Beauty of the most amiable Body, is every Day hasting to fade, and go out in obscure Darkness. Our daily eating and drinking, proclaim a feeble Body, that would faint and die if these were omitted. Every Time we set down to a Table, or take a Cup in our Hand, we confess we are Creatures that need constant Support and Nourishment. When we lie down to the necessary Sleep of the Night, we own the Sleep of the Night must relieve us a little from the long Slumber of the Grave. Every Breath we draw, insinuares, in a silent Whisper, our Frailty, our Dependance on God, and our shorn Continuance: It warns us that our Life is Wind.—So Weak is out Body, that it take away much of our Thought from our Souls, to contrive for its Life, and Health, and Sust, nance.—Let us look now upon the brittle Frame, and exclaim, O the vile Body!

4. It is a dying Body, & therefore a vile Body. Here our Bodies now stand, perhaps flourishing in all the Pride and Bloom of Youth: Strong our Sinews; moist our Bones; active and supple our Jomes; our Pulses beating with Vigour, and our Heares leaping with a Profusion of Life and Energy. But oh! Vaim Appearance and gaudy Dream! Surely every Man at his best Estate, is altogether Vanity. He walks in a vain Show; he glitter, with delusive Colours; he spends his Years as an Idle Tale. What avails it, that he is now [Page]hardy and robust, who must quickly pant upon a Death-bed. What avails it, that his Limbs are sprightly in their easy Motions, which must quickly stretch in the dying Agony. The Lips now flush'd with a Rosey Colour, will anon quiver and turn pale. The Eyes that roll with a sparkling Vivacity, will fix in a ghastly Horror. The most musical Voice will be stop'd; and the tuneful Breath fly away. The Face where Beauty now triumphs, will appear cold, and wan, and dismal, rifled by the Hand of Death. A Cold Sweat will chill the Body; a hoarse Rattling will fill the Throat; the Heart will heave with Pain and Labour, and the Lungs catch for Breath, but gasp in vain. Our Friends stand in Tears about our Bed: They weep; but they cannot help us. The very Water with which they would cool and moisten our pearched Mouths, we receive with a hollow Groan, Anon we give a Gasp, and they shriek out in Distress, 'Oh! He's gone,—He's dead!' The Body in that Instant stretches on the Sheets, an awful Corpse. This is the End of our Body for this World: Pronounce now; Is it not a Vile Body? But this brings me to the last Article.

5. Our Body will quickly be a dead Body, and this proclaims it a vile Body. The Silks and soft Linnen which now fold and adorn these Bodies, must be changed for a winding Sheet. The Applause and Complement which now flatter us, are not heard in the Retirements of the Grave, to disturb its aweful Silence: Nor shall Reproaches and Revilings break in upon our Rest there. Our pleasant Habitations will be left for others, while we have no Apartment left us, but a Coffin, or a Tomb at most. We shall forsake our Dishes and our Tables; and our selves become Food for the crawling Vermin of the Dust. How quickly shall we hasten to Clay and Ashes, in the solitary, and dark, and cold Grave?

In a few Years, the most beautious, or learned, or pious Head will grin a hideous Skull. Our broken Coffins will show nothing but black Bones, and black Mould, and Worms & Filth. The Places that know us shall know us no more. The persons who were most intimate in our Acquaintance; who sooth'd us with their Visits, or caress'd us in their Bosoms, will now forget us. When they shall perhaps enter our Tombs and take up our Bones in their Hand, they'll not suspect the frightful Carcase to be Ours, save by the Letters on the broken Coffin, or the Inscription on the mouldring Monument.

And now, Man giveth up the Ghost, and where is he? What becomes of the Dream of Worldly Happiness? Where are the Houses, and the Coffers? The Great Name, the loud Applause, and the Brutal Pleasure? His Riches are left to others: And to whom he knows not; whether a Wise Man or a Fool. He forsakes his numerous Houses, and is confined to a narrow Coffin, in a lonely Vault. [Page]Out of all his Lands he retains but a few Foot of Earth to cover him from the Sight. His boasted Name is forgot among the living, and scarce once in an Age casually read upon his Grave-stone. His Breath goeth forth, he returneth to his Earth, in that very Day his Thoughts perish. ‖

The Spirit is given up; and see the Body drops down, pale, and stiff, and cold. The Eyes are fixt; the Teeth are set; the Breath is fled. Is this the Face we once gaz'd upon with so much Pleasure? Are these the Cheeks that glow'd so fresh, and bloom'd so lovely? Are these the Lips that smil'd so graceful, and pour'd out such a gliding Stream of Eloquence and Musick? Where's the tuneful Voice that once held the listening Ear, and rais'd the attentive Eye? Where are the proportioned Limbs, the supple Joints, the vigorous Pulses, the beating Heart, the working Brain, and the breathing Breast? Lo, the Body is laid in the Dust, and the Worms cover in. Polluted Vermine crawl over every Part of the elegant Form, and the beautious Face. It is folded in a winding Sheet, it is nailed in a black Coffin, and it is deposited in a silent Vault, amidst Shades and Solitude. The Skin breaks and moulders away; the Flesh drops in Dust from the Bones; the Bones are covered with black Mould, and Worms twist about them. The Coffins break, and the Graves sink in, and the disjointed Skelliton strows the lonely Vault. This shapely Fabrick must leave its Ruins among the Graves; lie neglected and forgot; moulder away without a Name, and scatter among the Elements. 'And were these Bones once living like ours? and must ours be as they'? This hideous Skull, the frightful Jaw fallen, and the black Teeth naked to the Eye, was it once a thinking Frame, covered with a beautcous Skin? Strange Alteration made by Death! And are not our Burying-Grounds full of such Spectacles? What do they but illustrate and confirm the Doctrine? Methinks every Grave, with open Mouth, preaches upon my Text, This Vile Body. O, Vile Body! under what infarmous! Dishonours of Loathsomeness and Corruption art thou? Thou must be laid away in the dusty Galleries of the Grave, the gloomy Chambers of Death, unregarded and unknown; lost in deep Retirement, and awful Silence. O Vile Body!

Thus we have seen with what Propriety Vileness belongs to these Bodies. How suitable and emphatical the degrading Epithet? Let us here pause, and improve, and set Limits to the Description.

Is this Body so Vile and Wretched? How vain and foolish is it to be Proud of our Body [...]:[Page]The Body of our Humiliation. Vain Men! Proud of the very Body of Humiliation; Vile, debasing, sinful Clay. Why should we set our Eyes upon that which is not; or in a little Time will not be? Why should we prefer our Bodies, and forget our Souls? Cloath and adorn those, while we are regardless of the Salvation of these? Why, ye Fair, should ye be proud of a Beauty destin'd to the embrace of Worms? Or why, ye Strong, should ye boast the hardy Nature, which must quickly faint, and drop down breathless. O far be the Tho'ts from us, to be vain of such vile Bodies! Away, the haughty Mein, and the disdainful Glance: the conscious Smile, and the assuming Brow. Away the artful Movements and manag'd Airs of Wantonness and Pride. No more let airy Fashions and looser Modes of Dress expose the Body. Nor let it be lost in the studied Disproportions of an ambitious Garb. Why need we affect an Apparel, fantastically Demure, on the one hand; or choose on the other, Pomp, and Glitter, and empty Show? We may appear decent in the Polite World, without running thro' all the quick Succession of Fopperies: The round Attyre like the Moon, in a perpetual Circle of Changes. Let the vile Body, be CLOATHED, with HUMILITY:* Modesty and Sobriety are the best Ornaments.

But let us set Limits to the Exclamation, and not carry it too far. No; our Bodies, vile as they are, are to be honoured and respected by us. They are the wonderful Production of Omnipotence, the curious Workmanship of an alwise Artificer. Let the Body of the Sinner be as vile as it will, your Bodies, ye happy Relievers, are raised above the common Clay in a nobler Honour, What, know ye not, (says the Apostle) that your Bodies are the Members of JESUS CHRIST? — Know ye not, that your Bodies are the Temples of the holy Ghost, that dwelleth in you. ‡ Our Bodies, it is true, are in many respects vile; But yet, under all their Humble Circumstances, they are the Members of our Lord JESUS. Let us always then, when we call our Bodies vile, remember that they are noble too, and intitled to the sublimest Honours. Let us take Care of them, cherish them, view them in the Light in which CHRIST looked upon his own Body. For he spake concerning the Temple of his Body, Joh. ii. 21. Let us respect and reverence our Bodies, as the Temples of the HOLY SPIRIT; the Members of JESUS CHRIST, and the Candidates of a glorious Resurrection. When we wash, or feed, or cloath, or adorn our Bodies, let such Meditations as these, produce, and sanctify the Act.

But we come to the second Doctrine.

[Page] II. These vile Bodies of ours shall be CHANGED. The greatest Part of Believers on CHRIST shall be changed [...] a Resurrection from the Dead: But not all. Some shall never die, but be found alive at the Appearance of CHRIST: These shall be caught up to meet the descending Judge, and shall be changed in the shining Ascent. See in the Ist Epist. Cor. xv. Chap. where the Apostle treats this Subject at large, ver. 51, 52. Behold I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sheep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an Eye, at the last Trumpet, (for the Trumpot shall sound) and the dead shall be raised incorruptable, and we shall be changed. So that in the End, there will be very little Difference between the dead Believers, and those whom our Lord finds alive at his coming. Both shall be changed at our Lord's descent; caught up to meet him in the Regions of Air, as his fiery Chariot rolls down amidst Thunder, and Clouds, and Whirlwinds. The Living Saints shall be snatched from the Earth, and changed from the feeble State they are now in: Those who are Dead, and sleep among the Tombs, shall shake of the Dishonours of the Graves, and be changed from the Vileness of Dust and Worms. Of these in their Order.

1. This vile Body shall be changed from the STATE of DEATH. What though our Bodies die; they shall revive from the Conditior of Curse and Corruption. If a man die, shall he live again? Yes; at the Resurrection of the Dead shall he be raised. GOD shall raise the Dead, by the Man whom he hath ordained, whereof he has given Assurance unto all Men in that he raised him from the Dead. So long ago as the Time of Job, the holy Man could look to a Redeemer, who should call him from the corruptions of the Grave, and renew his consumed Limbs to Strength, and his Eyes to Light. [Job xix. 25, 26, 27.] For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter Day upon the Earth. And tho' after my Skin, Worms destroy this Body, yet in my Flesh shall I see GOD; whom I shall see for my self, and my Eyes behold, and not another, tho' my Reins be consumed within me. We must die, but what then, we are as sure of a Resurrection as we are of Death. But Oh! what a blessed Change will the Resurrection make upon our dead Bodies. Perhaps the Worms have feasted themselves upon our Last Dust; But they shall refund it, and give back every Attom: All that really belongs to our numerical Body. The Fishes perhaps have eaten the Carease, buried in the Waves, and lost in the Depths of the Ocean: But the Sea also shall return it back,† and give up the Dead that is in it. These Bodies may dissolve, and scatter among the Elements. Our Fluids may forsake their Vessels; the [Page]Solid contract, and fold up in its primitive Miniature. And even after that the little invisible Bones may moulder to finer Dust, the Dust may refine to Water, wander in a Cloud, float in a River, or be lost in the wide Sea, and undistinguished Drop among the Waves. They may be again sucked up by the Sun, and fall in a Shower upon the Earth; They may refresh the Fields with Dew, flourish in a Spire of Grass; look green in a Leaf, or gaudy in a Flower or a Blossom. For we know Matter is continually changing, and one Element perpetually loosing it self in another. But let our Dust wander where it will, thro'out the whole material Creation, yet at the first Blast of the last Trumpet, it shall all at once rush together, and start up a compleat Man. The vile Body shall be changed, where ever it lay hid: The Dust shall be called together; the Bones shall harden, and the Joynts connect; a new, unknown, incorruptible Fluid suddenly fill the Vessels; the Sinews shall brace with an immortal Strength, no more to be parted; and the Skin cover all with everlasting Beauty, never to fade any more. This shall be the Change from the State of Death, which our vile Bodies shall pass through.—The prophetick Vision of Ezekiel, shall be litterally fulfilled at that day. Ezek. xxx [...],—14.

2. This vile Body shall be changed from its PRESENT STATE. Tho' it shall be raised from the Dead, it shall not revive to its present mean and dishonourable Condition, but shall be changed. Now it is a Body full of Uncleanness and Corruption, Disease and Death. But it shall be changed. Tho' it is sown in corruption, it shall be raised in incorruption. * Now our Body is mean and vile, and upon many Accounts dishonourable; But it shall be changed. Tho' it is sown in Dishonour, it is raised in Glory. Now they are weak, and faint, and soon exhausted, and spent with long and close Labour. But they shall be changed from their feeble state. It is sown in Weakness, it is raised in Power. Now how gross and heavy are our Bodies? How sluggish and unactive the unweildy Flesh? But it shall be changed. This I say Brethren, Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth Corruption inherit Incorruption, vor. It is sown a natural Body, it is raised a Spiritual Body, vor. What can we say more to illustrate the blessed Change? Our Body is now in a thousand respects an infirm and dying Body: But, O glorious Transformation! This corruptible must put on Incorruption; and this mortal must put on Immortality, vor. This is the Change from the present State, of which these very vile Bodies are the Candidates. But we will not prevent our selves from saying.

[Page] III. This vile Body of ours shall be FASHIONED LIKE UNTO CHRIST's GLORIOUS BODY. They shall be changed from the corrupt and unclean State of Death. More than this: they shall be changed from all the Dishonours and Meanness of the Present Life: But O sublimest Glory of all! O divine Expectation, and sacred Hope! They shall be fashioned like unto his glorious Body. Like the illustrious and immortal Body of our blessed LORD JESUS CHRIST. Observe; CHRIST still has a Body. His Body has a Form and Shape belonging to it. It is not our Bodies shall be made like unto CHRIST's glorious Body; but shall be fashioned; [...], shall receive a like Figure and Shape, and be changed into the same Image. So says the Apostle, 1 Cor. xv. 47.49. The first man is of the Earth earthy; the second Man is the Lord from Heaven. And as we have born the Image of the Earthy, we shall also bear the Image of the Heavenly.

But what is this Image? and what is implied in that most expressive Idea, our vile shall be changed; and fashioned like unto CHRIST's glorious Body? I shall just hint at a few Particulars very briefly.

1. To have the vile Body fashioned like unto CHRIST's glorious Body, implies in it, that it be made splendid and illustrious. The Body of CHRIST is a shining Body, and scatters Light and Glory round about it. Saul was struck blind, dazled with the unsufferable Blaze, that rush'd in a Tempest upon his Eyes, from the Body of the Son of GOD. John beheld him, with his Face shining like the Sun in its meridian Flame, and his Body beaming in an answerable Glory. The Angels and the glorified Saints behold him, as the great Ornament and the Light of Heaven: For the Lamb is the Light of it, and they need no Sun, or Moon, or Candle. †

If CHRIST's Body be thus splendid, our's shall be so too; for they shall be fashioned like unto his glorious Body. They shall put on a shining Form; shoot like a Flame from the Grave, and glitter like a Ray of Light up the Ether. Dan. xii. 3. They that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament, and they which turn many to Rightcousness, as the Stars for ever and ever.

2. It implies that our Bodies shall be immortal. CHRIST's Body is immortal; Being raised from the Dead, he dieth no more, Rev. vi. 9. He pronounces with a Voice of Triumph, Rev. i. 18. I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen.

[Page] Is the Body of CHRIST immortal? our Bodies shall be fashioned like unto his own immortal Body. This Mortal must put on Immortality. We must all die; we shall die but once, Being raised frow the Dead, Death shall be swallowed up in Victory; and there shall be no more Death. *

3. It implies that our Bodies shall be glorified with very mysterious and astonishing Powers. The Body of Christ could ascend and descend with equal ease. It could stand alost in the Air, without any visible Support: So he looked down thro' the opened Heavens, upon the expiring Stephen: Act. vi. 56. So he dazled the Eyes of Saul in the Road to Damasous; Act. ix. 3. It could rise up gradually from the Ground, and tower away thro' the upper Skies, to the World above. So he ascended in the View of the Men of Galilee, till a Cloud sail'd ander his Feet, and ravished hun from their gazing Eyes; Act. i. 9. The Body of CHRIST could shift its form as their was Occasion, and vary its Shope and Dress, according to the Disposition of his Soul. To Mary Magdalene he assumed the Form and Habit of a Gardener; Joh. x [...]. 15. While the same Day, the Two Disciples going to Emmans, mistook him for a Traveller, from his Air and Dress.† For after that he appeared in another Form unto two of them as they walked, and went into the Country. In a Word, the Body of CHRIST could appear or vanish just as he pleased, and it should seem without Resistance from grosser Matter. Thus to his Disciples met together, with the Door shut, on a sudden, he stood confess'd in the midst of them, to their Wonder and Amazement.‡ I can see nothing tending to Heresy in this conjecture: Nor do I think we have any reason to read the Passage, after the Time of shutting the Door. But it is indifferent to our present Head, whether the Body of our Lord penetrated thro' the Pores of the Wood, as Light, which is a Body, does thro' the much finer Pores of Glass; or whether it had a power so marvellous, as to open and shur the Door, at once so swift, and so soft, as to be entirely unperceived both by their Sight and Hearing. Either the one or the other, show the wondrous Powers of the raised Body.

And are these the Glories of CHRIST's Body? our's shall be fashioned like it. When we are raised from the Dead, our Bodies will be active as the Flames, and vigorous as the Sunbeams. They will be able to command their Shape, or to shift their Place as they please. To glide over Oceans, life thro' the Clouds, dart like a Stream of Lightning from East to West, and range suddenly over the whole Creation.

[Page] 4. It implies, That our Bodies shall be renewed, holy Bodies. CHRIST's Body is holy, and always was so. He knew no Sin; and tho' he was made in the likeness of sinful Flesh, yet without Sin. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, seperate from Sinners. His Body was shered, and consecrate, and perfectly holy from its Birth. So the Angel blessed the Womb of the pregnant Virgin, The Holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of GOD. *

Is the Body of CHRIST holy? our's shall be so too; shall be fashioned like unto his own holy Body. These Senses shall be refined, these Passions rectified, and these Appetites adjusted to a perfect Order and Oeconomy. O divine Felicity, when this sinful Flesh, shall be changed into a perfectly holy Temple! Our Sanctification displays it self upon Spirit, Soul, and Body: [...] in this Life, we are sanctified but in Part, [...] each of these: But our Souls are wholly sanctified, upon the last happy Gasp of Death: Our Bodies will be so too, at the final Note of the great Trumpet, that shall call them from the dusty Bosom of the Grave. Then shall they be raised holy Bodies, fashioned like unto CHRIST's most glorious Body.

5. Why should we proceed any further? Shall our Bodies be fashioned like to CHRIST's glorious Body? It is enough! We can go no higher; can wish no more! We make a vain [...] to describe the Glory, which the Fancy cannot paint, not the Heart conceive. Our raised Bodies will shine with a Splendour; which, at present, we can have no equal Idea of. Beloved, now are we the Sons of GOD; and it doth not appear what we shall be: But we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ‡ It does not yet appear what we shall be: We can't imagine or conceive the Brightness of our future Glory. No matter; It is enough for us, that we shall with these Eyes behold the beauteous and majestick Face of JESUS, and see him as he is. If we may but with open Face behold the Glory of the Lord, we shall irresistibly catch the Bearns, and be changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory. The Vision will be a transforming Vision. We shall be like Him, for we shall see him as he is. Be like Him; How? who can say how? It is above our mortal Language to declare how. It does not appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. O happy Vision! O blissful Change! O mysterious Glory.

The Fourth Proposition of the Text, is, It is our LORD TESUS CHRIST who shall change our vile Body, and fashion [Page]it like His glorious Body. This is the Work of the great GOD our SAVIOUR. He can do it, and he will do it, Here is the Power; here is the Goodness of a GOD. He is able and he will keep, and raise, and glorify, even the Dust commitred to Him. From the Hints of the Context I might fetch Arguments enough to enlarge here.— But I see the Time expires, and I desist.

I come now to make a short Improvement of the noble Doctrines.

I. How unhappy are Wicked Men! He shall change OUR vile Body that it may be fashioned like his. Ours; none but ours. The Unbeliever and Impenitent has no Interest at all in this blessed hope; none but the sincere Christian can apply it to himself. It is true, the wicked must be raised from the Dead, as well as the holy. But Oh! how wide the Differerce between the one and the other, at the great decisive Day! The wicked shall be raised to shame and everlasting Contempt. No Glory shall shine about them, no Image of CHRIST shall appear upon them. They shall be changed, 'tis true, but O the dreadful Change! Their feeble Bodies must be changed into Bodies strong to bear the Wrath of an Almighty GOD. Their dying and dead Bodies shall be changed into Bodies of an immortal Constitution; Bodies that must live forever in unsufferable Auguish! That must measure Eternal Ages with Groans and Out-cries, and Execrations and Despair. Their corrupt and filthy Bodies shall be changed into ten thousand Times more hideous and loathsome Figures: Fit to be Inhabitants of Hell, and Companions for Devils. Their healthy and pleasurable Bodies shall be changed, be seized and rack'd with an unknown Variety of Pains and Torments; shall feed the Flames of the horrible Furnace; kindled with the Wrath of GOD, that burneth as an Oven, and endureth for ever. And Oh! who can dwell with devouring Fire? who can inhabit everlasting Burnings? The darkness of a Grave shall be changed for the outer Darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth. Instead of being fashioned like unto CHRIST's glorious Body; they shall be blacken'd with the finish'd Image of the Devil, and be consigned over to everlasting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. O the fearful Change, which the Resurrection will make upon the Bodies of the wicked!

II. Let us learn to set a due Parke upon our Bodies. Tho' we may not idoli [...]e them, as the Criroe generally is, we ought to honour them, and cherish them with a proper Care. What Honours are they coming to in a future State? They shall be raised, and changed, and fashioned like to CHRIST's glorious Body.

[Page] III. Learn the Honours of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. 'Tis HE who shall raise these vile Bodies, and fashion them like his glorious Body. Herein is the dear Saviour mighty as a GOD; Herein he is good as a GOD too. Not only can he, but he will do this for us. O what Love should beat in the Hearts of these Bodies, to him who shall change them, and be the Strength of these very Hearts, and their Portion for ever. What Thanks shall we pay this adored JESUS! What grateful Returns shall we make him! Let every Breath arise tuneful in his Honours, who shall quickly inspire these Nostrils with Breath that will never scatter or gasp away. Let every Pulse in our Blood, bear Time to Musick of his Praise, who will anon give the Pulses to leap thro' this living Frame, unfainting and immortal. Let every Member of these vile Bodies, grow honourable, by Employment in his Service, who shall change our vile Bodies, and fashion them like his own. Our Eyes, be ye exhausted in viewing the Works of GOD, in Reading his Word, and be lifted up to Heaven in his Praise! These Eyes which shall see GOD! Our Ears, employ all your curious Organs in hearing his dear Voice; These Ears which shall quickly be changed; which shall hear the Voice of the Son of GOD, in the Graves where they he, and be transported with endless Hallelujahs. Shall not there Tongues of ours be redeemed from the silent Grave, and utter the Anthems of Heaven? Awake up then, our Tongue, our Glory and bless and praise the LORD These Lips shall forget the [...] of Death, and be changed, and bloom afresh: what can we do less than praise thee aloud with joyful Lips, who shall renew their faded Beauty. O Let all the Body which shall be changed by CHRIST, be employed in the Service of CHRIST. How was CHRIST's Body employed upon Earth? Let our Bodies be employed like as now, which shall be fashioned like his here after.

IV. And to conclude. R [...]joyce, O Believer. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead Body shall they arise, Awake, and sing ye that dwell in the Dust: for thy dew is as the dew of Herbs, and the Earth shall cast out her dead. * Shall our Body be raised from the Grave, let us not be afraid to put off this Body; Let us meet Death with Triumph! Death! which shall only change this vile Body for a glorious one. What glories are to come even upon this vile Body of ours. Our Souls, the noblest Parts, they are safe. Nay, but our body roo, the vile Body, shall be all glorious. Now, perhaps, these Bodies are in Pain; but quickly they shall know no more Pain. Now they are weary with Labour; quickly, they shall rest from then Labour, and rise to constant Exercise without Weariness. Now [Page]they weep and sigh in many Sorrows: Quickly all Tears shall be wiped from our Eyes, and Sorrow and Sighing shall [...] away. Now they shall die, and go down to the Graves which wait for us: But tho' we die, yet shall we live; we shall be redeemed from the Power of the Grave, and arise to die no more. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoyceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my Soul in the Grave; nor suffer thy holy one always to see corruption Thou wilt show me the path of Life, in a Resurrection from the Dead. In thy Presence is Fulness of Joy, and at thy Right hand are Pleasures for evermore.

AMEN.

Notes

†

Gen. ii. 7.

↵

‖

Psal. xlvi. 4.

↵

*

I Pet. v. 5.

↵

‡

I Cor. vi. 15, 19.

↵

†

Rev. xx. 13.

↵

*

1 Cor. xv. 42.50, 44, 53.

↵

†

Rev. xxi. 23.

↵

*

Rev. xxi. 4.

↵

†

Luk. xxiv. 13. Mark xvi. 12.

↵

‡

Joh. xx. 19, 26. Luk xxiv. 36, 37.

↵

*

Luk. i. 35

↵

‡

1 Joh. iii. 2.

↵

*

H [...]. xxvi. 19.

↵

THE Nature and Necessity OF CONVERSION.

[Page]

MATTH. xviii. 3.

Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little Children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

THE main Subject which our Lord JESUS CHRIST insisted on in the constant Course of his Ministry, was, the Necessity of Conversion and the New Birth. When Nicodemus came to converse with him, he took the First Opportunity to surprize the Honourable Rabbi with this most important Doctrine: Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of GOD, Joh. iii. 3. And here in my Text, when the ambitious Disciples came to him to determine a Dispute which they had been no doubt warmly engaged in; Which of them should be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? Nay, says our Lord, Not too Fast: Except ye be converted, and become as little Children, ye shall so much as enter in there at all. Pride, and Strife, and Emulations, are no Preparatives for that World. Nor the Kingdom of Grace below, nor the Kingdom of Glory above, is to be enter'd with this unmortified, aspiring Temper. Conversion, Humility, and a new Life, must make us meet for that Inheritance in Light. CHRIST himself has determined this Matter, and it therefore comes to us with all Authority and Conviction. Let us then attend earnestly to the Illustration and Application of the Words.

[Page] The Doctrine of CHRIST now before us is this, DOCT. Conversion is of absolute Necessity in order to our Entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

In the clear and profitable Handling of this Doctrine, I shall endeavour these three things. I. To explain to you the Nature of Conversion here spoken of. II. To shew what we are to understand by the Kingdom of Heaven. And III. To prove that this Conversion is absolutely Necessary in order to our Entrance into this Kingdom. And to make some practical Inferences.

I. I am to explain the Nature of True Conversion. Except ye be converted, says the Text. Conversion, and to be converted, are Phrases often found in the Holy Scriptures; and our Salvation turns upon our right understanding what they mean. The Literal Sense of the word Conversion then is no more than this, turning about. And this is the meaning of the Word in this Place: and so it is explained in many other Texts. Sinners are called upon to turn: and this Short Word comprizes in it all Salvation. Let us meditate a little here, and endeavour to understand it well.

Man was at first created holy and happy in the Enjoyment of GOD. The Soul of Adam was filled with Thoughts of GOD, and love to him. The Glory of GOD was his. End in all that he did. The Sense of GOD, Love to GOD, and Satisfaction in the Will of GOD, made up the Happiness of Adam in Paradise. The Soul was satisfied and crowded with the Enjoyment of the Infinite Being; and a Sense of his Glories, and his Love.

Well. But no sooner did Adam sin, and renounce this Happiness, than GOD forsook him, and he was left destitute and empty. That Soul that was once filled full of GOD, has now in it a vast Casm. We feel indeed our want of Happiness: But our dark Minds know not where to find it. The Desire remains: but the Satisfaction is lost and gone. Our Souls feel something wanting. There's a vast Hollow there without any thing to fill it up. It is constantly craving, Give, Give. That's the Reason that Men are never perfectly easy and at Rest. They are forever pursuing that Happiness which they constantly miss of. GOD is gone, and Happiness with Him: and they try to fill up the empty Space, with every thing they can lay their Hands on. Riches, and Honours, and Sensual Pleasures, these they fancy will make them happy. They try; and try again; and repeat their Tryal: But they still meet a Disappointment. They think; If ever I obtain such a thing I shall be satisfied. If ever I get into such Circumstances, I shall set down contented. They obtain what they desire, [Page]and are just where they were before. Then they put off the Point of Happiness a little further, and still think on some Temporal Good which they have not yet enjoyed. If they obtain this too, they are still disappointed. Thus they go on from one Deceit to another, till Death overtakes them, before they have tryed their last Project. This has been the Case of all Mankind from Adam until now: Nor will Men take Warning after all. All past Examples, and all their own Experience to this Moment, will make no lasting Impression on them. They have lost Happiness in GOD: they wander from Creature to Creature in Pursuit of it. Madness is in their Hearts while they live; and after that they go down unto the Dead. I am not at all wandering from my Text, in these Observations, but making clear the Way to it.

Conversion then lies here. The Man as he is pursuing Happiness in Creatures, is stop'd short and convinced that these will not do. GOD gives him a New Sight of things. He sees an End of all Perfection below GOD. He sees he is undone every where else. Now his Will is renewed. He turns about: (THAT'S CONVERSION) he TURNS ABOUT to GOD, and from this Time seeks all Happiness in Him alone. He says, Who shall shew me any Good? and he replies, Lord, lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon me. Whom have I in Heaven but Thee? and there is none upon Earth that I desive besides Thee. For ever after this Turn of Soul, the Man is set upon pleasing GOD: upon yielding to the Will of GOD: upon approving himself in the Sight of GOD. He never seeks his Happiness in the Creature any more. He may indeed, under the Power of Temptation, cast a wishing Look at them. But he recalls it in a Moment. He never can rest casy one Moment short of the Favour of GOD. Like the Needle touch'd by the Magnet, still pointing Northward. When it is shaken indeed, and tost about, it trembles, it wavers, it vibrates, it varies a Point this way and that, but it never fixes but right North again. So a Soul thus touched by the SPIRIT of GOD, may be tost by Temptations, and the Hurries of the World, and look this Way and that among the Creatures, till the Violence of the Shock is over, but [...] never fixes; never rests, till be points full and steady to GOD again. This short Paragraph is, I think, a full and clear Account of Conversion.

We all are seeking Happiness. Every Natural Man seeks for it somewhere below GOD. Conversion is, The Man seeing he is infinitely wrong, turns about to GOD again to seek his whole Satisfaction there. I hope I have now said enough in a few Words to explain the Matter, and shew what Conversion is. Before we proceed to the next Head, we may make one or two solemn and affecting Inferences.

[Page] 1. From what we have heard, we perceive that Conversion is out of our Power. It is impossible for us to convert our selves; or for all the Angels in Heaven to do it for us. To convince you of this, Let the Natural Man make the Experiment. Try this Moment. Try and see whither you can bring your Hearts to this, to rehounce all Happiness in every thing but the Favour of GOD; to let GOD order for you; to have no Will of your own; to be swallow'd up, and ravish'd with his Will, whatever it is. Can you forego every Creature-Comfort? Can you leave this World, and all the Delights of it, to go to a World where you will have none of them, but the Love of GOD will swallow you up? These things are so distant from an unrenewed Heart, that they look like wild Paradoves to it. The Man finds he can't bring his Heart to this; and he thinks no Body ever could. And yet, there is not a Good Man upon Earth, but knows a little what this means. He knows a little what it is to love GOD; to have his Happiness in GOD; to exult that the Will of GOD is done. Not a Good Man upon Earth, but would gladly leave all the Delights of Life, only to be made perfectly holy. Nay, all he fears in Death is, lest it should not convey him to a World of perfect Holiness. Could he be sure consummate Holiness would be to him the immediate Consequent of Death, he'd die chearfully; without a Struggle or a Groan. Seeing then that Conversion is not in our own Power, let us seek to GOD for it. Sensible, and amazed at our own Incapacity, let us go to GOD, and take to our selves Words and say with repenting Ephraim, Jer. xxxi. 18. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my GOD. Be sensible of the sinful Nature which still carries us away from him. Be sensible of that first Sin, by which we departed from him, and pray, Psal. lxxx. 19. Turn us again, O Lord GOD of Hosts, and cause thy Face to shine and we shall he saved. To see our own Impotency is the first Step towards Conversion.

2. From what we have heard we learn our Necessity of JESUS CHRIST. We can't turn again to GOD without Him. No man can come to the Father but by Him. The Enmity between GOD and us is irreconcilable but by CHRIST. Out of him GOD is a consuming Fire. We may indeed feel the Want of Happiness, but we should never dare to go to GOD for it. He would be our Enemy, and we should hate him for it. False Notions of the Divine Justice and Mercy could never bring us truly to him: And true ones would only drive us farther from Him. So that set CHRIST aside, and there can be no Conversion.

3. We Infer the Honours of the HOLY GHOST. He is the Agent who performs this Work. One Reason that Men fall Short of this saving Change, is the not acknowledging him as they ought. Did men regard the Operation of the Holy SPIRIT more, there would be more frequent Converts. Men are apt to trust to [Page]their own Strength when they set about the Work of Conversion. They rob the Spirit of GOD of his Glory, and so it all comes to nothing. He it is who makes this great Change in men. He must be the Almighty GOD then: and we should honour him as so.

4. You see how many mistake in their Notions of Conversion. Some think that to be converted is only to profess the Christian Religion. They fancy that to turn from Heathenism to Christianity is all that is implied in it. To talk of a Baptised Person's being afterward converted they think is Cant and Superstition. This is the modern (I wish I could not add, the obtaining and fashionable) Scheme. If we speak of our being Converted, they ask, why what were you before? Jews, or Turks, or Heathen? Alas, the fatal Mistake! We are all undone in our Natural State, unless we know what Conversion means. We are all naturally departing from GOD, and seeking Happiness in something below him. If ever we are happy then, it must be by our stopping here, and turning about to him. Conversion does not consist, in embracing a new Sect, or Party: in Baptism, or Approach to the Lord's Table; or any external Privilege, or Advantage, or Alteration. No; it consists in turning from the Creature to GOD.

5. From what we have heard, we learn the Propriety of the Expression in the Text, Except ye become as Little Children. Conversion implies such a Change as will bring us to begin our Life anew. We must become as Little Children: modest, unambitious, teachable as they. Like them, we must begin to live again: begin another kind of Life: pursue a quite different End, by quite different Measures. Like a weaned Child, must be weaned from Creatures, and the things we were formerly fond of. But I would not enlarge here. I proceed to the Second thing proposed.

II. To shew what we are to understand by the Kingdom of Heaven, spoken of in the Text. Except ye be converted, and become as little Children, ye shall not enter into the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. I shall not be long in explaining this Phrase. The Kingdom of Heaven, and the Kingdom of GOD, are principally used in the Evangelists for the State of the Gospel in This World; or the Rewards of it in the Future. Sometimes it means the Kingdom of Grace; and sometimes the Kingdom of Glory. And I suppose that tho' the Text may ultimately refer to the Latter, yet it takes in the former also. And therefore we shall consider them both in our Handling the Third Proposition: Which is this.

III. Except we be converted and become as little Children, we shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

1. Without this we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Grace. God cannot receive us as his Favourites even in This World, till [Page]we have had this Change passed upon us. He will take no Delight in us, while we openly neglect him, and set up Self and Creatures in his Throne. We may indeed belong to his Kingdom of Mercy, and he may have Designs for our Salvation before our Conversion: But we are by no means Subjects in this Kingdom of Grace before this. By no means intitled to his Special Favours, and the Objects of his peculiar Delight.

We may indeed belong to the Visible Kingdom of CHRIST in the World, and not be savingly Converted. We may be Members of his Church here, and eat and drink in his Presence, and yet he know nothing of us. But here too, in order to our being worthy Guests at this sacred Feast, Conversion is necessary. But

2. Without this Conversion besure we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Glory. Rev. xxi. 27. There shall in no wise enter into it, any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination. And not only has GOD declared this, all over his New Testarnent, but it is impossible even in the Nature of the Thing. The principal Happiness in the Kingdom of Glory is, in being perfectly conformed to the Will of GOD: And this, we know, is only attainable by Conversion. We entertain juster Ideas of Heaven, when we apprehend it as a State than a Place. There is indeed such a glorious Place; but we know not where, or what it is. But as to the Temper and Happiness of this Holy World, this every Good Man feels a little of in his own Breast. What do they do in Heaven? What do they Enjoy there? Truly they praise GOD; they love GOD; they seek their whole Happiness in GOD; and are perfectly conformed to his Will. And now, how can an Unconverted Man enter that glorious World? His whole Soul is bent upon Self and Creatures; here he terminates, and he knows nothing further. Should such a Soul but once get into the Mansions of Glory, he would be like a Swine in a Golden Palace: He'd be quite out of his Element; and long for the Puddle and the Mire again. Like Uzziah with his Leprosy in the holy place, 2 Chron. xxvi. 20. And Azariah the chief Priest, and all the Priests looked upon him, and behold he was leprous in his Forehead, and they thrust him out from thence, yea, himself hasted also to go out. So would be the Case of the Polluted Soul in the Holy Heavens. Not only would the Angels, and Just Spirits drive him our from among them, but he himself would haste also to go out. What should he do there? His Soul has no turn to this Sort of Happiness. Unmortified Lusts, and raging Appetites; Pride, and Sensuality, and Self-Will would be a Hell in his own Bosom, amidst all the Glories of Heaven. His whole Nature must be changed; he must be converted, and begin a New Life, or he could never enter into that blessed State. [Page] Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little Children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thus I have endeavoured as clearly as I could, to explain and demonstrate the Doctrine, and I come now to the Solemn Application.

1. Shall not the Unconverted enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, Where then shall they go? They must go somewhere. They are in Being, and they must exist for ever. Here they cannot always live: In a sew Days more they must leave this Earth; not suffered to tarry by Reason of Death. To Heaven they cannot go. They have no Part there; nothing to do there; The Voice of CHRIST, like a Flaming Sword, guards the Passage against them. Verily I say unto you, they shall not enter there. Well then, what will become of them! O fearful, destitute, ruined State! The infallible Word of GOD informs us where the miserable Creatures must take up their Eternal Lodging, Matt. xxv. 46. These shall go away into everlasting Punishment. Mark ix. 43.48. into the Fire that never shall be quenched: where the Worm dieth not, and the Fire is not quenched. Rev. xiv. 10, 11. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of GOD, which is poured out without mixture, into the cup of his Indignation, and he shall be tormented with Fire and Brimstone, in the presence of the holy Angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the Smoke of their Torment asoendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night. He that overcometh, indeed, shall inherit all things: He that is converted and has his Nature changed, shall enter into the World of Glory: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their Part in the lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the second Death, Rev. xxi. 7, 8. See now the Place to which the unconverted must go! See the gloomy Landskip of that infernal World! And O, are we not amazed? are we not in Agony, about our escape from this Ruin? Who can dwell with devouring Fire? who can dwell with everlasting Burnings? Is not the Case awful and dreadful? And do not our Hearts quiver, and our Souls sink and die within us. Behold, Life and Death set before us: Eternal Life, and Eternal Fire; and are they insignificant Things! O stupid! O mad! if they make no Impression upon us. On the one Hand we are informed, Repent and be converted, and your Sins shall be blotted out; and Except ye be converted ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Nay, on the Contrary, we must take up our eternal Abode in the World of Darkness, and Fire, and Chains. Ah! miserable Case of Unconverted Men! Who would not fear, who would not fly their Doom? And therefore,

[Page] 2. From what we have heard, O let us labour instantly after saving Conversion.

Turn ye, Turn ye, why will ye die. Consider the matter, and debate it with your own Hearts. Conversion begins in serious Consideration. I thought on my ways, and turned my Feet unto thy Testimonies, was the good old way, Psal. cxix. 59. Let us then go alone, and put the Case to our selwes, ‘Am I converted or not? What Happiness am I pursuing; a Happiness in the Creature, or a Happiness in the Enjoyment of GOD? Can I think that the Possession of any Temporal Good can make me Happy? Have I not often made the Experiment already; and have I not as often been disappointed? And why should I try any more? Is it not high Time for me to turn about, and see if I cannot find that Happiness in GOD, which till now I have in vain sought for in Objects below him?’ Propose these Questions to your own Souls, and see what answer your Conscience will frame upon them.

Now be convinced that you cannot give this Turn to your selves. Learn to feel and be sensible how atached to Self and Creatures you are. Mourn it and confess it before GOD: and tell him how undone you are without his Almighty Grace. Plead with Him in Tears and Agony to change your vile Nature: to turn you savingly to Himself. Be importunate, be restless till you find this done for you: Till you find a Soul intirely forsaking the Creature and pursuing its whole Satisfaction in GOD alone. Till CHRIST appears transcendently dear and lovely to you; and you can joyfully leave this World to go to His Arms and his Bosom. This divine and saving Turn of Soul, may be given to you, as you are in the Use of these appointed Means labouring to obtain it.

3. O Let those of us who have been converted, live becoming the Change we are under. Be thankful, be joyful: thankful to the GOD who has turn'd us, and joyful that we are passing to Heaven. Let us labour more and more after the Heavenly Temper: Love GOD more; think on him, work for him, long and wish to be with him. If ever we find a prevailing Fondness for Creatures after this; if ever we find our Wills going to rebel, or our Desires tend to this World; let us immediately check the inordinate Affection, and say, ‘No, I have renounced these long ago. I have chosen GOD for my Portion, and his Will for my Law long ago. GOD forbid, that after having escaped the Snare, I should be again taken and entangled therein. No, No, farewell Creatures: no more shall you tempt me from my true Happiness. Farewell the Riches I once coveted; the Applause I once grasp'd after; the Pleasures that looked so charming. Farewell Felicity on Earth: and welcome the Will of my GOD: welcome Everlasting Life. Welcome the Good Taings of Earth, which my [Page]GOD pleases to give me: But adieu all Thoughts of Happiness in the Possession of these. Welcome Afflictions too; the Gifts of my GOD, and the Purchase of my SAVIOUR? Shall I receive Good at his Hands, and not receive Evil? 'Tis the Cup which my Father gives me, why should I not drink it! Other Lords have had Dominion over me: But what have I any more to do with Idols?’

And while are thus awakening the Piety of our own Souls, how should we pity a miserable World about us? Poor Creatures! they know not what this Love to GOD means. They never felt what it was to be resigned to the Will of GOD, and swallowed up in his Love and his Praises. They are, as we once were, [...] to Sense and Creatures; and have no Idea of Conversion and the New Birth. You may talk them eternally of these things; but they discern them not: you had as good go to explain the Mystery of Colours to a Man born blind. Ah, Poor Men! how should we pitty and pray for them: How should we contrive to shew them their Danger and Misery; and labour with them to make their escape? Remember, He that converteth a Sinner from the Error of his Way, shall save a Soul from Death. Sure we never need envy them the little Good they possess: But O how should we admire the Free Grace which has distinguished us from them! There's no Room for boasting in the Case. 'Tis all sovereign, and all free: To GOD belongs the Glory; and to us Wonder, and Gratitude, and Humility.

We draw on towards a Conclusion. And how can we leave off better than with a View of that Heavenly World, spoken of in the Text? This then shall be the last Inference from the whole.

4. What a Holy and Happy Place is the Kingdom of Heaven? There is not one sinful Person, not one sinful Frame in that World. The Spirits of Just men are made perfect before they are admitted there. Tho' the Good Man here loves GOD above all, and chooses his Portion in him, yet this gracious Temper is often shock'd and broken by Temptations and Indwelling Sin. But There is no Sin, no Corruption, no Tempter. All the Employment, all the Conversation, and every Thought is about GOD and his Glories. Alleluia, for the Lord GOD omnipotent reigneth; This is the Language, the Temper, the Work, the Felicity of Heaven. There, they are filled with all the Fulness of GOD. There, GOD is all in all. In that happy World, every Inhabitant, and every Object, glorifies GOD, and is filled with his Glory. His Perfections, and his Love takes them intirely up; and nothing else is seen, or heard, or thought of. O happy, happy State! The Converted Soul knows a [...] what this means: but what it fully is, we know not now, we shall know hereafter. Eye has not seen, nor Ear heard, nor can the Heart of man conceive it all.

[Page] These, ye Converted Souls, are the Joys set before you! These are the Glories, and this the Felicity reserved in Heaven for you. Here you perceive a little Taste of it, in your Conformity to the Will of GOD; There you shall set down to the full Feast, and be perfectly conformed to his Will. Here the Joy of the LORD enters into you; There you shall enter into the Joy of your Lord.

FINIS.

An HYMN to CHRIST for our Regeneration and Resurrection.

[Page]

I.

TO Thee, my LORD, I lift the Song,

Awake, my tuneful Pow'rs:

In constant Praise my grateful Tongue

Shall fill my foll'wing Hours.

II.

Guilty, condemn'd, undone I stood;

I bid my GOD depart:

He took my Sins, and paid his Blood,

And turn'd this wand'ring Heart

III.

Death, the grim Tyrant, seiz'd my Frame,

Vile, loathsome and accurst:

His Breath renews the vital Flame,

And Glories change the Dust.

IV.

Now, SAVIOUR, shall thy Praise commence;

My Soul by Thee brought Home,

And ev'ry Member, ev'ry Sense,

Recover'd from the Tomb.

V.

To Thee my Reason I submit,

My Love, my Mem'ry, LORD,

My Eyes to read, my Hands to write,

My Lips to preach thy Word.

Information about this book

Title statement

A discourse on the present vileness of the body, and its future glorious change by Christ. To which is added, a sermon on the nature and importance of conversion. : Both occasionally deliver'd at Dorchester April 23. 1732. / By Mather Byles, A.M. ; [Three lines from Claud. Phoenix]

Byles, Mather, 1707-1788.

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

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Ann Arbor, MI :

Date

2011-05.

ID [DLPS]

N02925

ID [TCP]

N02925

ID [STC]

Evans 3510

ID [NOTIS]

APZ0480

ID [IMAGE-SET]

3510

ID [EVANS-CITATION]

99038099

Availability

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Series

Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 3510.

Notes

(Evans-TCP ; no. N02925)

Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 3510)

Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 3510)

Source

— A discourse on the present vileness of the body, and its future glorious change by Christ. To which is added, a sermon on the nature and importance of conversion. : Both occasionally deliver'd at Dorchester April 23. 1732. / By Mather Byles, A.M. ; [Three lines from Claud. Phoenix], Byles, Mather, 1707-1788., Byles, Mather, 1707-1788. Sermon on the nature and importance of conversion..

Extent

[4], ii, 14, 10, [2] p. ; 20 cm. (8vo)

Printed by S. Kneeland & T. Green, for N. Proctor.,. Boston: :: MDCCXXXII. [1732]. (First sermon has caption title: The glorious change of the vile body; second sermon has caption title: The nature and necessity of conversion.) ("An hymn to Christ for our regeneration and resurrection."--recto of last leaf.)

Creation

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