WHO this is, is plain in the Context, it is the Saviour our Lord Jesus Christ, and so the words fall into this Proposition: ‘That by the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself, our Lord Jesus Christ will change our vile body, and fashion it like his own glorious body.’

We shall explain the Words.

[...], according to the energy, the operation; 'tis used, Eph. 1.19, 20. The exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power: Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him up from the dead. Jesus Christ hath a mighty working power, the same with the power of God himself; [...], it signifies not only an orderly subjection, as it is used in those Scriptures that command subjection to Rulers, Parents, Masters, Rom. 13.7. but a violent subjection, a sub­jugation, as 'tis used, Ephes. 1.22. A putting of all things un­der his seet. So they that will not come under his Scepter by an orderly subjection, must fall under his Rod by an in­voluntary subjugation. Antichrist and all his Party, wicked Men and all their Confederates must either submit or subju­gate. [...], the body of our vileness; it notes a vile, abjected and dejected, servile condition. He shall change it, alter the scheme of it, not in substance, it shall rise the same body, nor in the parts of it, it shall rise with the same members of it, but in the con­dition and quality of it, it shall be changed into another fashion; 'twas a vile body, it shall be a glorious body, [...], that it may be fashioned: in other places, as ver. 10. it's translated, more conformable; that I may be made conformable unto his death. The same substance put into a new and better fashion; now the body of Christ being the richest and most fashionable piece of God's work, he saith, We shall be fashioned like him: (quali­tate, in quality; non aequalitate, not in equality, take that by the way) degrees don't alter the quality; that as the Saints here are a fashioning like him for grace, and receive grace for grace, as face answers face in a glass, so in glory they shall [Page 3]receive fashion for fashion, form for form, feature for fea­ture, beam for beam, irradiation for irradiation, with the glo­rious body of Jesus Christ.

The Proposition shall be spoken to in its parts, and the first part is to discover something of the vileness of man's body. The best of Saints, while they are here, have vile bodies; though David, Psal. 139.15. speaks great things in commendation of the excellency of these bodies. He speaks of them as to their first Creation, and their curious formation by the hand of God in the womb; and it was certainly a very stately body at first, to which all bodies were to be subservient: But Paul speaks of it as it is now smut­ted and blackt with sin, and he speaks not only of the bodies of the wicked, they have vile bodies indeed, but of the re­generate, of those he speaks here, of the bodies of those that shall be chang'd and fashion'd like unto the glorious body of Christ one day, these have vile bodies. Now the vileness of the body may be expressed,

1. From the vileness of its Original. It is a house of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, crushed sooner than a moth, Job 4.19. whose mother is the dust of the earth, and sister worms are of the same pedigree; the dust to the dust from whence it came, Eccles. 12.7. And as by the Law of Na­tions a person is sent back to his own nearest Kindred, and the place from whence he came; so are we commanded back to the dust by the Law of death, and the dust must keep us: A good Lesson for those to meditate upon, that like Bees, when they are up and angry, keep a humming and buzzing in the Air, in the pride of the Advancers of whom the Naturalists say, That if you throw dust upon them, they will home and hive, and be inoffensive. So it is with many.

2. The vileness of its pollution. All the members stain'd with the filth of original sin; Eyes full of Adultery a Tongue set on fire of Hell, lying Lips, and Hands swift to shed blood, [Page 4]as much may be said of all the rest; a body that needs washing, Heb. 10.22. all over: For though God made man upright, as the Limner that drew a white line so strait and small, that one would have thought the work would have remain'd so, and bid defiance to any possible alteration; yet the Devil, by his Arts, hath drew a black line quite through it so cunningly, that there is but little of the white remaining. In the first sin, the person corrupted the nature, but now the nature corrupts the person, as one saith. And it is in the best of Men, (Jesus Christ only excepted) as Augustine observes well, the circumcised Father begets an un­circumcised Child; and though the Corn be sown without the Chaff in seed time, yet the Chaff is found cleaving to the Corn in Harvest.

3. The vileness of its Actions: And,

First, As it acts as an Instrument. The Hand is an Instru­ment to act the determinations of a bloody heart. The Eye is an Instrument to convey, or let in the adulterous stains of an unclean soul; and so of the rest, they are instruments and tools of the mind for the execution of sin: to be an instru­ment of vileness, is a vile thing.

2dly, As it acts as a clog and hinderance to all that's good. The Apostle cry'd out against the body upon this account, Rom. 7. O the contrary law in the members that wars against the law of the mind, and leads me into captivity to the law of sin and death which is in the members. And again, When I would do good, evil is present with me. And concludes, Lo then with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh the law of sin. Anselm wept when he saw a Boy with a Bird and a Stone with a string tyed at the leg of it, it would have flown away, but it could not for the Stone, thinking of his own condition, forced to sink under the insupportable tyranny of this vile body.

3. As it acts as a tempter. A Dalilah, a Devil, worse [Page 5]than a Devil, to draw a man aside from the ways of God. The body lies at the soul many times to consent to the commission of those sins, which farther than consent the soul can have no hand in, as Adultery, Drunkenness, Gluttony; and the body promiseth to gratifie the soul, in helping for­ward the sins that the soul only can be actually guilty of, as Blasphemy, Unbelief, &c. And thus these two Brethren in iniquity tempt one another, and gratifie one another; and the temptation is so strong on either side, that they will ra­ther fall and perish, and be damn'd together, than leave off these tempting insinuations one upon another; the deed proves itself. And is it not a vile thing to be a temptation unto vileness? And is not Satan a vile wretch upon this ac­count? I'll name no more.

4. The vileness of its Infirmities, I mean its Diseases and Sores, which though they are of God's sending, yet they are vile and offensive to ones self and others; and yet these in­firmities which we call sinful, are much more vile. The leprosie of sin is worse than the plague in the guts, and both these our vile bodies are subjected under.

5. The vileness of its Condition when it is separated from the soul, there it lies for worms and putrifaction to seize upon a stinking Carcass, that the dearest Relations are glad to see it far enough: Bury my dead out of my sight, Gen. 23.8. as Abraham said of Sarah; as lovely and desirable a Relation as she was when she was alive, now he could en­dure the sight of her no longer.

Before I pass from this Head, I shall give,

• 1. A Caution against Pride.
• 2. An Exhortation to Humility.
• 3. Some Comforts and Supports.

To the first, your beauty, your strength, your apparel, how proud they make you! you can hardly tell what Cloaths to put your selves in, to trick up these vile bodies; and when [Page 6]you have done your best, or your worst rather, there's but a vile Body adorned, a rotten Post gilded, an Ape in Alamode. See 1 Pet. 3.3, 4. and Isa. 3. from v. 16. to the end of the Chapter, where a man would think he had reckon'd up all the antick garbs that could be nam'd, yet our patching and painting, and nakedness, is a degree above what the Prophet ever dream'd of. It's granted apparel must be worn, and according to every man's rank and fashion in the World, this vile body may have a richer or meaner covering; there were Rings and Jewels, and Silks and Embroideries, but no Examples of any Religious persons in Scripture that went in antick modes, or laid all out upon their backs.

To the second, [...], here render'd vile, may be ren­der'd humble, as 'tis used, Luke 1.48. and in other places, for humbleness of mind, and a base and low esteem of our selves: however accomplisht otherwise, know that as to thy body thou art a vile Wretch. Men think when once they are advanc'd to some considerable degrees of wealth or wit, now they are somebody, now they are brave, and look to be admir'd; but methinks this vile body, like the Peacocks black feet, should make their Plumes fall. To sharpen this Exhortation,

1. Know, that the body of a Dog or a Toad is not so vile as thy body; a Toad, following the instinct of nature, serves the Law of God in its capacity, but thy vile body stands out in Rebellion against the Law of God. A Toad, with its venom, can but kill a vild body, but thy vile body hath kill'd a precious soul. A Toad dares look its maker in the face, because it never sin'd, so canst not thou without a Christ. A Toad is not proud of itself, but thou art of the beauty and strength of thy vile body A Toad when it dyes, all its misery is ended; but it must not be so with thy vile body, and will not this humble you?

2. You will never see Christ precious, till you see your [Page 7]selves vile. No Man will cast himself upon the love of a Stranger, as long as he hath any thing to support him of his own; nor value a Physician, till they see themselves other­wise past Cure. While the Prodigal was in his Ruffle, his Fathers house was worth nothing in his eye; but when once Famine and Poverty had setled his mind, and brought him to call and count himself poor, unworthy to be called thy son; then his Fathers house was worth all the World beside.

3. Those that are humbled under the sense of their vile­ness, are the persons Christ admires. The Woman in Mat. 15.28. that was so vile in her own eyes, that when Christ call'd her Dog only for tryal, Truth Lord, saith she, and I am so; Christ admires her, O woman, great is thy faith. The Centurion in Luke 7.9. & 6. that was so vile in his own eyes, that when others thought him a worthy person, and said so, For he loveth our Nation, and hath built us a Syna­gogue; yet, saith he, go tell the Lord Jesus, That I don't think my self worthy such a person should come under my roof; and yet I believe he had a fair house, for he was a great man: Christ admires him, Verily I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.

Do the third, Some Consolations and Supports to the Peo­ple of God, against the vileness of these vile bodies, that if any shall ask what gain is there in godliness, or what advan­tage have those that fear God over other men? To this I shall add this comfortable discovery.

1. Though a vile body, yet it is such a body as Christ hath dyed for. The blood of sprinkling is upon it, 'tis a body that Christ hath redeem'd from the hand of Hell; though a vile body, it shall not be a damned body: as vile as it is, Christ thought it too good for the Devil, and 'twere well if we could think so too.

2. Though a vile body, yet it is the Temple of the Holy [Page 8]Ghost, 1 Cor. 3.16, 17. Know you not that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defile the Temple of God, him will God destroy: for the Temple of God is holy, whose Temple ye are. And if any shall say, this Temple is the soul of man, he explains himself, ch. 6.18. telling them, it's meant of the body also; for upon the dis­covery of the great evil of that sin of fornication, he draws his argument from the abuse it puts upon the body being a bodily sin, and urgeth bodily purity from this argument; What, know you not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?

3. Though a vile body, yet Jesus Christ looks after it, and concerns himself with all its sicknesses and alterations; makes our Bed, holds our head in our sicknesses; and at our very deaths our dust is precious, attends our bu [...]ials. It is said of Moses, The Lord buried him. And in our Graves he lies down with us, whence it is said, We sleep with Jesus. Even so them also that sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him, 1 Thess. 4.14. Christ keeps up his Relation with the dead bodies of the Saints.

4. Though vile bodies, Christ will raise them out of their dust, and fashion them like unto his glorious body, which is the next thing I am to speak to: And let the wicked and profane speak as much of their vile bodies, and prove it if they can or dare.

Second Part. That this vile body shall be changed and fashioned like his glorious body. There will be a great and glorious [...].

Amongst a great many changes man meets withal, these four are the principal.

1. From Sin to Grace. Otherwise exprest from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan, to the glorious liber­ties of the Saints in life. Those that boast they are no [Page 9]Changelings, never knew the necessity of this change, nor the danger of staying one hour longer in an unconverted state; without conversion no salvation, all the blood of Christ can't save that man that is not become a new crea­ture by the renovation of the Spirit upon his heart.

2. From Life to Death. All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come, Job 14.14. 'Tis a great change that death makes; turns beauty into deformity, light into darkness, sense into no sense, and to the Saints weariness into rest; they that have been toiling and labouring in the world, whose lives have been a continual combating against corruption and temptation, now have leave to go to rest: They rest from their labours. What a change doth it make in the Families and amongst the Relations between whose arms they die! Let death take off but the least branch of the Tree, and remove a Child, it makes a great change; but when it comes to cleave the Tree in sunder, and to part Man and Wife, it turns all upside down, and many times breaks up the habitation.

3. From Death to a Resurrection. 'Twas Chrysostom's comparison, That when we intend to rebuild a House, we warn out the Tenant, and provide some little place for him; but when we have rebuilt it, we call him back again into a new and better Habitation. So God minding to rebuild this House of ours, provides a place in the dust for these vile bodies, after­ward to be call'd up again, to repossess their former privi­ledges with greater advantages. Now to be call'd out of the dark and cold Grave, to stand upon the brink of Glory and Immortality, will be a great change indeed; as when a man that hath lay'n in a dark Dungeon many years, is brought into the light of the Sun, with all his Bolts knockt off.

4. From the Resurrection into the Eternal State. The definitive sentence, Come ye Blessed, or, Go ye Cursed, that will [Page 10]determine and fasten every man [...]in their everlasting abode, will make a great change indeed. Then the great question will be out of all question: Whether must I go? Must I to the heights above, or the depths below? Am I for Heaven or Hell? Animala tremula blandula [...]quo vadis? Where shall I be for ever and ever? This great resolution hangs upon the lips of the Judge, as he shall please to pronounce for us, or against us. Then shall many go to Heaven, that here thought they should go to [...]ll; and many shall go to. Hell, that here thought they should go to Heaven. Now for the description of the change itself, in sive particulars.

1. From a mortal body, it is chang'd into an immortal body. This mortal, pointing to his body, shall put on immor­tality, 1 Cor. 15.53. Bodies that cannot dye, are not to be found a [...]ongst the sons of men. Look over the Records of all Ages, What is become of such a great King? The answer is, He is dead. Of such a great General, that, like Alexan­der, drave the world before him? He is dead. What is be­come of such a Tyrant, that raged against the Churches, and rob'd them of their Priviledges? He is dead. Of such a worthy Minister that brought home many souls to God, of whom it might be said, as 'twas (I think) of Chrysostom, Better the Sun should not shine, than Chrysostom should not preach? Why, He is dead. But the answer, He is dead, is no language in the other world, they understand no such thing; 'twas never spoken in Hell or Heaven, He is dead. 'Twere well for those in Hell if they could dye, and 'tis well for the Saints in Heaven that they can't dye; there will be no more death, nor fear of death. Death shall never come behind us, and thrust in his cold hands down our na­ked backs more. No more tears for Relations that are gone before. No more cold sweat and dying groans from those that are a going; and 'tis a better state of immortality, than Adam had in Paradise, of whom it is generally concluded, [Page 11] That if he had never sin'd, he had never dy'd. He had po­tentiam non moriendi, a possibility he might not have dy'd: But we in the next world shall have impotentiam moriendi, as one observes, an impossbility of ever dying.

2. From a corruptible body, it is chang'd into an incor­ruptible body. 1 Cor. 15.42. This corruptible shall put on incorruption. Corruptions are either sins or diseases, the word, insirmities, takes in both of them. Here we have abundance of corruption upon the account of sin, and sin the worst sickness. It may be said of the best of men, He is a Sinner; and pray'd by the best of men, God be merciful to me a Sinner. But in the Eternal State (if we get Heaven) there will be no more sin, no more Bills put up for a hard heart, an unbelieving heart, a dead heart, a bad memory; no more crying out of a contrary law in the members, because there will be a perfect subjection of the body to the soul, and both to Christ. And so forasmuch as here our bodies are corrupted by diseases, by corrupt inclinations, and several ailments, that like busie Workmen are pulling down our house over our heads as fast as they can, or God will suffer them; but in the place we are going to, we hope shortly to be landed at, there will be an end of all this, we shall be sick no more, no more crying, O my head, or O my heart! no more angry malignant Fevers to drink up our spirits, there everlasting health; not one man was over sick in Heaven, or of it.

3. From a weak body, it is chang'd into a powerful body. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power, 1 Cor. 15.43. Not only rais'd by power, but in power. I [...] we shall he equal to the Angels, as 'tis said, Luke 20.36. our power will be a very strange power: See what the power of one Angel was, 2 Kings 19.35. He smote in one night one hundred and sour­score and five thousand soldiers, and when they arose in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. It shall be a pow­erful [Page 12]body. Here we are always lamenting over our insuf­ficiencies, we can't think a good thought, or speak a good word, or do a good action; we would love God, but can't; serve him, but we cannot. It hath put the learned world into a sweat, to determine what the power of man is, and how far it extends; and those that assert any spiritual power in man to convert to God, have not power themselves to make it out; at least to the satisfaction of others that may be thought to know as much as they: But this will be no dispute in Heaven, it's clear there we shall have power to love God, and praise him; and we shall have power to do to content. There we shall love him enough, and praise him enough; that is to say, we shall come up to the highest de­gree of duty and love, that glorifi'd creatures are capable of; we shall have power to serve God, and never to be weary in that service.

4. From a natural body, it shall be chang'd into a spiri­tual body. 1 Cor. 15.44. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Not that our bodies shall be turn'd into spirits, but into spiritual bodies, remaining bodies still. Concerning the spirituality of the glorifi'd body, I think some have gone too far in their assertions, as if it should neither see nor feel, nor have flesh and bones; as if it should move in a mo­ment to the greatest distances, and could penetrate bodies, which is very unlikely, because the raised body of Jesus Christ was not under such donations. John 20.27. See me now and feel me, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me have; intimating, that a spiritual body doth not lose the properties of a natural body, though a spirit hath them not, nor stands under any subserviency to any senses or loco­motive properties that way. A spirit hath no eyes, ears, senses, but a spiritual body must have them, With these eyes I shall see God, Job 19.25. And for our Saviour, after his Resur­rection, to come to his Disciples when the doors were shut, [Page 13]it's answer'd, that he did not penetrate through the doors, John 20.19. it refers not to the manner of his entring, as if he went through the doors, but to the time of his entring; at that time of night we call the shutting in of the doors, the doors were shut for fear of the Jews that had been like enough to have broke up their meeting; but when Christ came, it's like they were very ready to open the doors to him; or if he did penetrate the doors, Jerom answers, It was a miracle done by the divine power of Christ, either to penetrate or open them, and so no rule for us to take the mea­sures of a spiritual body by. Now this I conceive by a spiri­tual body.

1. It will be fully possess'd by the Spirit, having its life and operations not so much from the soul as it once had, (though from that also) as from the Holy Ghost, who shall so irradiate this body by his indwelling presence, as to make it diaphanous and transparent, as Iron heat by fire, is trans­form'd into a fiery likeness and nature; hence they are said to shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever, Dan. 12.3. and Mat 13.43. Then shall the righteous shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father. So that there will be a great change; no more dulness and dead­ness, no more ignorance and darkness; we shall now clearly see all things, understand all things; no more doubts and fears, no more tremblings in the joints, or chillings, like wa­ter down our backs, for fear matters don't stand right be­tween God and us. No more disputes about Religion, the product of Pride and Ignorance; or stretching one another, and straining the Consciences of men to come up just to our sentiments, or the Peace is broken; here we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known; we shall understand all things.

2. It will be fully resign'd up to the Spirit; no more lothness nor lumpishness, nor backwardness, nor opposition inus to the Holy Will of God for ever.

And lastly, when 'tis a spiritual body, there will be no more need of eating or drinking, or cloathing, or sleep, or marriage; no more taking care what we shall eat or drink, or wherewith we shall be cloath'd; no more care or fear about Money or Estate, that hath fill'd the world full of vexation and bitterness; no more dancing after French and foolish Fashions, and the disquiets that arise from my not being so fine as others will be, at an end for ever; no more undutiful Children, and ungodly Relations, that here break our hearts: It will not trouble us in the least, to see all the Enemies of Christ related, or not related to us, under his feet for ever.

5. From an ignoble, thick and dark body, it shall be changed into a glorious body: So the Text, like unto his glorious body. There will be a glory upon the body; glory carries with it, 1. Perfection. 2. All Perfection. 3. All Perfections imbodied together, and conspiring to make one most perfect Perfection. And 4. This Perfection polisht and with a glorious dazling gloss set upon it, to the greatest ad­vantage for admiration and content. There will be the glory of Christ's body upon the body, and what that glory is, I can't express; many of the Faithful are already gone to see, and we are going after them. If the Beatifical Vision is so inexpressible, what then is the Beatifical Fruition of the glo­ry of Christ? But amazement stops me!

Third Part. How shall this be done? Or how shall I do to believe there can be such a change! The Text attributes it to the mighty working, subduing power of Christ; and 'tis well the Apostle lays it there, we should hardly have be­liev'd it else. But there are some considerations of Christ that may facilitate the belief of the thing, and give men to understand this is not so hard to be done, as flesh and blood, and carnal reason thinks it is: For,

[Page 15] 1. The great power of the Agent, and the proportio­nableness of the cause to such an effect as this before treated of, is enough to silence all unbelief in this matter; 'tis a great work, but not too great for Christ to do. I remember when these great things were promis'd, Psal. 46.9. of cea­sing the Wars, that the Earth hath so long groan'd under; and stilling the Rage of Men, that no Reason or Religion could yet compose and calm; breaking the Bowe, and cutting the Spear in sunder, and burning the Chariots in the fire. Some would say, Lord, How can these things be done? How is it possible this raging Devil can be dispossest out of the hearts of men, that hath held his possession ever since Cain lived! The Answer is no more but this, Be still, and know that I am God, ver. 10. Who is this that talks at this unbelieving rate, not a word more? Is there not a strength in God to bring forth such an impossible Birth as this seems to be? So when God promi­fed what great and incredible things he would do for Abra­ham, Gen. 35.11. God thought he said enough to silence all Objections, when he said, I am God Almighty. So here, there's a mighty work to be done, a mighty change to be wrought, but why should it seem uncredible, when there is an Al­mighty God to do it? One Almighty stands for more than All the Mighties can be rais'd up against him.

2. As he hath a great Power, so he hath also a great in­clination and propensity to do it: For,

1. God can't love us, unless we be thus chang'd and pre­sented without spot and wrinckle, irrebukeable in his pre­sence. As great a desire as Christ hath to save souls, he must not think to land any souls in Heaven for their everlasting abode, unless he sit them for their place and company: Are these the souls you bring me, and the company I must be everlastingly withal, saith God? Then see they be changed, so as my Holiness may see reason to take infinite pleasure in them. Princes must have their Attendance in a Garb suitable to their Grandeur.

[Page 16] 2. Christ must do greater matters than this for us; as our Saviour argues in another case, Mat. 6.25. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? So is not your Resurrection more than your Adornings? Is not your Life more than your Robes you must be cloathed with? The power of raising more than the power of beautifying your vile bodies? Whether is it easier to say, Be thou raised from the dead; or, Be thou cloathed upon with thy beautiful Gar­ments? If he can give us a glorious Life, he can far more easily give us glorious Apparel.

3. His own interest calls for as great Advances upon our Bodies, as we have been speaking of; we are to be his Everlasting Spouse! the Bride the Lambs Wife! And it is requisite we should be made glorious, for him to bestow his eternal delights upon; hence the Text argues he will do it, because he can: And you may be sure he will do what he can do, to make his Life comfortable with his Bride in Hea­ven; she shall be adorn'd like herself, and like the Wife of so great a Prince. It's a Man's honour to make his Wife equal in glory and condition with himself, though she was a Beg­gar's daughter, and taken off the dunghil.

The Fourth Part. Discovering the Inferences from this Doctrine.

1. Then, there must of necessity be a Resurrection of the Body; Etiam hujus carnis, of this very Body, as some of the ancient Creeds emphatically worded their Belief in this matter. It seems some denied it, 1 Cor. 15.12. How say some amongst you, that there is no resurrection of the dead? Who they were he names not; mens sins, and not their per­sons, ought to be pointed at in publick Discourses. Whoever they were it matters not, but it's a Doctrine Philosophical, Heads and Hearts, and profane Wits, do not throughly believe, if they did, they durst not do as they do. Tertullian's obser­vation [Page 17]is good, that Resurrectio mortuorum is fiducia Christia­norum. Only Christians believe this, and only good Chri­stians believe it throughly.

I shall wave the common Arguments, and only Note to you the influences which the workings of Christ will have upon the dead Bodies of the Saints; it's hinted in 1 Cor. 15. If the dead rise not, then is not Christ risen? Why, must they rise because he rose? Yes, the Resurrection of Christ hath a working influence upon the dead Bodies of the Saints. How so!

1. Because Christ is their second Adam, ver. 22. As in Adam all dye, so in Christ shall all be made alive. The first and second Adam are the two great Representatives of the whole world, and the Scripture often speaks of them, as if there were no more men in the world but them two, inclu­ding all under one of those common persons; now the Text seems to assort, That as surely as death came into all his seed by the first Adam, so surely shall the Resurrection unto Life come into all that are Christs by vertue of their union with him.

2. Because Christ is the Head of the Church, and the workings of the Head influence all the Members; if the Head be above water, the Members can't drown; they are his Members, flesh of his flesh; the flesh of a Saint, is the flesh of Christ by union; and the Spirit of a Saint, is the Spirit of Christ, Eph. 5.30. and 1 Cor. 6.15. Your Bodies are the Members of Christ. He hath two Bodies, a natural Body, and a mystical Body, and that mystical Body is call'd Christ, 1 Cor. 12.12. And you can't imagine that Christ can sit to all Eternity mutilated, or wanting any of his members. See Ps. 26.10. Thy dead men shall live; my dead body they shall arise, so it should be read, (for the words [together with] are not in the original) Cadaver meum resurgent, they are my dead Body. I count I have a dead Body in the Grave [Page 18]still, though I am risen, and I must raise them also; and likely the power of the Resurrection of Christ spoken of, Phil. 3.10 may refer to this glorious change mentioned in the Text, wherever buried in the Earth, or in the Sea, or in the Fishes Bellies, they are his dead Body, they sleep in Jesus; and if he be alive, he can't but raise them. To conclude this Part, There's a great deal of difference between the Re­surrection of the Saints, and those that have no part in Christ, that are raised by other workings, and to other ends. The difference lies,

1. In the Cause: The one, by the voice of a terrible Citation, Arise ye dead. The other, by a sweet influence their union with Christ will have upon them.

2. In the Manner: The one with joy, the other with terror. The Saints, as soon as ever they are awaken'd out of their dead sleep, shall break out into in expressible joy, to see themselves at the threshold of Eternal Blessedness, and the door open before them, and the Lord Jesus ready at the door to bid them enter. They come out of their Graves, as Jo­nah out of the Whale's Belly, or Daniel out of the Lyon's Den. The other as Men asleep, awaken'd by a Serjeant with a Writ of Arrest in the King's Name; as a Malefactor in hold, rouzed by the sound of the Judges Trumpets, in a fright to think what's a coming upon him.

2. In the Reunion of Soul and Body. Who can express the horror a wicked Sinner will be under, to think, Now must I be join'd to yonder Body that drew me into sin, O cursed be yonder Body, would to God yonder Body and I might never meet; never Men so loth to be united to a Rack; I dread to have to do with that cursing, swearing, ly­ing Tongue, and yonder drunken Paunch, into which wrath must be poured instead of Bowls of Wine I once pleasurally drunk of. O cursed Lips, and cursed Eyes, and cursed Hands, let me never be united to you more. O let me alone with [Page 19]the punishments I have; Reunion will but double my tor­ments. On the other hand, none can express the Joy will be, when the separated Soul shall meet her raised Body from the Grave; O what Embraces there were between Jacob and Joseph when they first saw one another, after Jacob thought Joseph had been dead! Surely we shall never under­stand this Joy till we taste it. O my Body I thought I had lost thee, 'tis a long time since I saw thee, welcome those bended Knees, those praying Lips, those blessed Members that used to help me in the service of God, and have been la­bouring with me for this Crown of Glory. How will the Soul be able to contain itself for joy in that hour! You and I have pray'd together, and fasted together, and mourn'd to­gether, and pray'd to God together, I am glad to meet you; and its a great part of my Eternal Happiness, that you and I shall live together in joy, and never part more.

2. Then, that we call Death in the true Notion of it, is not such a [...] as the Philosophers thought it, nor such a dreadful passage to the Saints, as they are ready to suppose it. Indeed to a Man out of Christ, it's a terrible thing to dye, and bid farewell to all his joys in one last breath. To the Saints, it's a curtesie, a kindness to them, for God to come and take them out of the world, and from the Evil to come; to deliver them from Satanical Temptations, Earthly Incumbrances, Wicked Mens Conversations, Sins Infection, and to see that part of the Lord's Prayer fulfill'd upon them, Deliver us from all Evil: A thing to be pray'd for, and nor dreaded in the least. And then cloath'd upon with a glorious Body, seated in a glorious inheritance, mar­ried to a glorious Redeemer, advanced to a glorious holiness and purity in Soul and Body; made happy in the enjoy­ment of glorious Companions. True, there's no more worldly joys; but what loss is it if the Candles be put out, when the Sun shines in all his glory! This should make us [Page 20]willing to dye, fearless of death, and moderate our mourn­ings for those that dye in the Lord, and are gone before us. It's said of Believers, John 11.26. They shall never dye; that's a strange Assertion! Why, don't godly men dye as well as others? Is not Abraham dead, and Paul dead, and Peter dead? No they are not dead, in a proper sense.

1. They are not dead under the second death, which con­sists in the separation of the Soul from God. Him that overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death, Rev. 2.11. & 20.6. Let careless, Christless Creatures look to themselves, 'twill be a dreadful death to them; Sentient se mori, they shall feel themselves dye, they shall feel they have a terrible God to deal withal: Now they count Sin nothing, Wrath nothing, Hell nothing, but then they shall find it something; the second death is the worst death, Saints shall taste nothing of the second death.

2. They are not dead under the first death. There is in the first death to the wicked,

1. An Arrest upon the guilty Sinner to take him into [...] custody, till he shall come to his Trial; and here the [...] find it only an invitation to a Feast, and the Lord sending his Chariots for them to come away; and that which others find a Prison of custody, is but a dressing Room, where they are putting off their Rags, and putting on their glorious Ap­parel.

2. There is a sting, the sting of death. Now the wicked have a guilty Conscience that hath often stung them in their Lives, and will sting them worse at their deaths; but to the Saints, O death, where is thy sting! There may be some natu­ral fears and shrinkings, arising from their ignorance of the true nature of that which they call death; but did they know, they would have more quiet and content than ever weary Traveller took to upstrip himself, and go to rest. Death, like the Bee, stung Christ once, and hath lost her [Page 21]sting, she can sting no more. And for Death itself, when it hath done its worst, it can't kill the Believer, his Life is out of Death's reach. We are dead, 'tis no killing of one that's dead already; as when they came to Christ, and saw that he was dead already, they forbare doing any more, they brake not his legs, John 19.33. O Death, we are dead already; and our Life that seems to be threatned, is hid with Christ in God! O Death, how wilt thou reach it! A living Man may dye, but Life never.

3. Shall the Body be thus transform'd? Why do we then vilifie and abuse our Bodies with Luxury and Lust, and other Intemperances? Is that Tongue that is accustom'd to Swear­ing and Lying, that Throat that is us'd to Drunkenness and Swilling, those Eyes that sparkle with Adultery or Malice, that Face and Back that is profan'd with antick Garbs and Dresses, in a way of being made thus glorious for ever? Do Men that intend a beautiful Picture, a most exact Piece of Art, fully it beforehand with Crock and Slud? Don't they rather prepare the liveliest Colours, and the fairest Tables, to subserve that Design? Do Men that intend to Engross a Deed for Credit and Reputation, go to work with bad Ink, and worse Paper! Or Maidens that intend a good Piece of Needle-work, mire their Thread and Parchment! You that abuse your Bodies to Intemperances, do the very same things! Dost thou ever expect a drunken Body, should be made like the glorious Body of Christ! Why was Christ a Drunkard? and so of all the rest, Will you join the members of a Har­lot to the Body of Christ? Or can such a glorious structure as the Body must be raised to, stand upon such rotten foundations, and made up of such corrupt materials as sinful Intemperance will be sure to provide. Take heed, God hath declar'd in words at length, and not in figures, That except we be converted, we can't be sav'd; and without holiness, none shall see the Lord. And though he will have[Page 22]mercy upon his unworthy servants that repent and seek his face, it will be hard to prove he owes a profane Enemy any such kind of kindness; and though he will transform the Bodies of his own Saints into this glorious likeness, doth it therefore follow that the wicked Haters of God and Holiness may expect the like favor?

5. The Fifth Part, Is the Practical Conclusion of the whole, teaching how to keep up living Hopes in dying Ago­nies, wherein,

1. Note, That this fashioning of the Body to the likeness of the glorious Body of Christ, must be begun in this life. He that is not fashion'd like unto Christ in some degree be­fore he dyes, shall never be fashion'd like him after he dyes. Grace is Glory Militant, and Glory is Grace triumphant, and Grace is call'd by the name of Glory, 2 Cor. 3. ult. From glory to glory; that is, from one degree of Grace to another. There's a Glory upon a Saint already; 'tis a Heaven upon Earth, a dawning of the everlasting day, a morning twilight of a blessed immortality. God never changeth a Man's heart from sin to holiness, but Christ comes and salutes him in the dialect of Heaven, Come thou blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you. As it is with a King the first day of his Coronation he enters upon his Kingdom, and he hath made us Kings and Priests to God. Well then, Would you have this Glory when you dye, you must be sure to mind it while you live; a man can get nothing when he dies. We say it's a spending time, and not a getting time; as for Example, Would a Man say, I will leave such and such Legacies to my Friends, and Portions and Inheritances to my Wife and Children: Why? Where is it? Art thou worth so much? He can't say, I'll Enable my self upon my Death­bed, he must have got it before. Such wise work do they make, that expect the Investitures of Glory when they die, [Page 23]and did not care to capacitate their Bodies for it while they liv'd. Doth not Nature itself teach us, we must be trading and getting an Estate while we live, if we mean to be found worth any thing when we dye. True, the Kingdom was prepar'd before the world was, but yet 'twas for such of whom Christ could say, I was hungry, and you gave me meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. The provision for, went before the possession of that Kingdom.

2. The fashioning of this glorious Body, as it is begun here, and finish'd in the other world, is all done by the work­ings of the subduing power of Christ. So the Text gives us to understand; therefore its worth the while to consider, how far the workings of the subduing power of Christ hath past upon us in this life; every thing must have its beginning, and the initial workings of it are to be inspected.

1. I don't question but those grosser sorts of Sins which were of old call'd, Devoratoria Salutis, those Devourers of our Salvation, and all the hopes of it, are already subdu'd in the Saints. Those Sins which Philosophy itself could find sufficient Reason to chain up; Believers must be no Drun­kards, Whoremongers, Liars, Railers, Cheaters, Persecutors, Sabbath breakers, Prayerless, Proud, these Sins carry their convictions in their faces, and 'tis no uncharitableness at all to judge these Men in a dangerous and damnable Estate; these are the Inhabitants of the Mountains, and as long as they reign, the workings of Christ's power have not at all appear'd.

2. But our greatest danger lies from the Inhabitants of the Vallies, those more close and cunning Enemies of our sal­vation; which though they are not so much offensive, yet they are equally destructive with the other. I'll mention only these six, and I beseech you get them subdu'd in you, in preparation for your dying hour.

1. A secret delight in Sin. Sin in itself is the great evil [Page 24]of the world, but yet there may be Arguments a great many drawn, even from Sin, why we should repent; but delight in it shuts out all possibility of repenting whil'st that delight remains; it's the delight ruine us. True, we all sin, and if sin as such, could hinder our glorious Transfigurations when we dye, we were all of us in a sad case; but Christ hath or­dered otherwise for our comfort; but if we delight, as ma­ny do that delight in nothing else, and not only do it them­selves, but take pleasure in those that do it, Rom. 1. ult. that Chapter breaths nothing but condemnation against that sort of sinners. If a Woman under the Law were under a force, and she cryed out, the man, saith the Text, shall be adjudged to death, and the woman shall be free, as having done nothing worthy of death, Deut. 22.25. 'Twas judg'd so amongst the very Heathens, as when Tarquin forc'd Lucretia, it was said, There were two in the Act, and but one in the Adultery. If a Servant be knock'd down, and rob'd of his Masters money, and comes home all bloody, Sir, I have been overpowred, and I have been rob'd, 'twill be excusable, he's an unworthy Master that don't make much of that servant; but if he had yielded his Purse by consent, and with content, and 'twas a pleasure to him to be thus rifled, then saith the Master, I could find in my heart to make thee work in Prison till thou hast made me satisfaction We must ever distinguish between sin, and the delight in sin; if this remain, there's little of the subduing power of Christ to be seen upon you.

2. A too intense love of the world. While we are in the world, we must be doing; here's a Body to be sed, and a Family to be kept, and a Gospel to be maintain'd, and the Poor we have always with us: But 'tis the intense love of the world, would I could see it more subdu'd under the power of Christ in my self and others: It's said amongst the Rabins, by Moses, that when he was a Child, they gave him Pharaoh's Crown to play withal, and he cast it upon the [Page 25]ground, and kick'd it about the Room, and made no more than a Foot-ball of it; and he did the like when he was a man, Hebr. 7.26. counting the Reproach of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt. The worst of the Gos­pel, better than the best of the world. While you are thus over head and heart in the things of the world, you are in no case for this glorious change and fashioning; love not the world, nor the things of the world: If any man (let his Reasons be what they will, his occasions as great as great can be, there's no protection from the dint of the following stroke) love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. This love of the world is such a kind of sin, as no man will think himself guilty of it: Say to a Professor, Brother, I fear you follow the world too hard, you love the world too much. No, not I, saith he, such an one, my Neighbor in­deed, is a neer man, and doth little good with what he hath, but for my part I have a care of my soul, Not Guilty, my Lord: But when God and the Countrey comes to try him, he ap­pears a person too justly charg'd. I despair of you, if this sin be not begun to be subdued in you.

3. A Lukewarmness in Religion. Those commands of being zealous for God, fervent in spirit, striving to enter, ta­king Heaven by violence, using all means, if that by all means we might attain, pressing forward to the mark of the price of the high calling, spending and being spent in the work of the Lord. And those Examples of our Forefathers that served God to the loss of all things, and loved not their lives to the death, they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword, they wander'd up and down in sheep skins and goat-skins, being destitute, af­flicted, tormented, and much more, Hebr. 11.37. Here now was some zeal for God, and some love to Religion: But these things carry no weight with the Professors in these days, I am afraid if we had their trials, most of us would be to seek [Page 26]of their zeal; their bodies were subdu'd before-hand for a new fashioning, we chuse rather to venture the loss of the glorifying our bodies, than to expose our bodies to those hardships: As in the common things our Forefathers were for that which was best, that it grew to a Proverb, The best is best cheap; now we are for slighty things, slight Laces, and slight Silks, Garments one may see through, cheap, and slight. So we are for a slighty Religion, a cheap Religion, a fashion of Profession, cold and heartless Devotions; a crape Religion, a man may see their Hypocrisie through all their Profession. I beseech you get the subduing power of Christ upon this sin of lukewarmness, and let these judgments of God that have been, and are, and are yet like to come upon you, chase you into a little more heat for God; for in this tepid state, you are fitter to be spued out of the mouth of Christ, than to be fashioned like his glorious body.

4. A Repugnance against the directing or correcting Will of God. We need not trouble our selves about the se­cret Will, Deut. 29.29. David pray'd for his Child, and Abraham for his Ismael, against the secret Will; and were blameless, Lex obscura non est Lex: But God hath revealed his Will in a directing and correcting way; of the first Christ saith, You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you, John 15.14. of the other, Job blesseth a taking God, as well as a giving God, The Lord gives, and the Lord takes, Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Job 1.21. If I must lose such Relations, and meet with such disappointments, and drink of such a bitter Cup, The Will of the Lord be done. If I don't do this, I make my self wiser than God, I call his Go­vernment into question, I dethrone the Lord, and do as good as say, I could order things better my self. Satan is a rest­less, discontented spirit, and how like a Devil this sin makes thee look! Nothing doth more oppose our being fashioned like unto his glorious body, than to rebel against the means of fashioning of us here like unto his blessed Will.

[Page 27] 5. Unbelief in the Word of Promise, a great hindrance. Fashioning is a mighty work, and Christ can do no mighty works for those whose unbelief holds his hands, Mat. 13.58. I find instead of fashioning, a trembling upon all sorts of Creatures but Believers, at the Resurrection of the dead; upon the sinless part of the Creation, there will be a great afrightment and amaze, the Sun turned into darkness, and the Moon into blood, and all the creatures tremble in the conflagra­tion, when the heavens shall melt away with fervent heat, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken, Mat. 24.29. De Angelis hoc dicitur, this is spoken of the Angels, saith Augustine: Much more upon the sinful part, Devils and wicked Men, and unbelieving Wretches, calling to Rocks and Mountains to fall upon them, and dash them, and quash them into a thousand pieces, rather than endure the dread of that day; only Believers will have a blessed time of it, lift up your heads, for your Redemption draweth nigh; a day of refresh­ing it will be to them, a day of restitution of all things. To all the rest of the world it will be a day of taking away all things from them, to these a day of restitution of all things to them. To the rest a day of stripping of them, as you have it, Isa. 3.24. In stead of a sweet smell, there will be a stink; in stead of a girdle, a rent; in stead of well set hair, baldness; in stead of a stomacher, a girding with sackcloth; and burning, in stead of beauty. Only to Believers it will be said, Arise, O Sion, put on thy beautiful garments. And one word for all in plain English, without Trope or Metaphor, He that believes shall be saved, and he that believes not shall be damned, Mat. 16.16. Hath God said, he will shew thee mercy, and sworn it, and given it under his hand in black and white, in so many written promises, and visibly made his Word good upon so many sanctified souls before thine eyes, of whom thou canst say, They were blind, but now they see. Moreover, in pursuit of the promise, Hast thou not selt the [Page 28]dealings of God upon thy own heart? and he has made thee willing to accept of Christ and mercy, if God would give it thee; made thee hunger and thirst after righteous­ness, weary of sin, and heavy-laden with the burden of it: That thou fearest God, tremblest at his Word, art afraid to sin, and thy heart is ready to break if thou dost, wouldst not for all the world be in the estate thou wert once in, & wouldst not for ten thousand worlds give up with Christ, or part with what thou hast of him; and yet thou wilt not believe there is mercy for thee, but callest the Curses and the Terrors of the Law about thee, and dwellest in the midst of Distrusts and Despondencies, and thinkest thou dost well, and that God hath placed thy habitation there. Now this sin is a most uncomfortable sin, it even buries a man alive, makes him he can have no hopes in his death of this glorious fashioning Conversing thus with these doubts and fears, will make a man as afraid of dying, as children are that talk of Fairies and Spirits, till they are afraid to go to Bed.

Lastly, A slavish Bondage under the fear of Death, this is a great Enemy to our being fashioned. To live under sub­jection to the fear of Death, is little less than a Death itself. Heb. 2.15. Who, through fear of death, were all their life time subject unto bondage, always living under the fear of dying. The fear of dying looks two ways.

1. The fear of the death of any dear Relation. I have a Husband, Wife, Child, but I am afraid I shall lose them, and what shall I do if they are gone? And so deprive our selves of the comforts of our Lives, while we are in bondage un­der the fear of their Deaths. It's a sign we have low thoughts of God, and value the presence of our Relations more than our Relation to God, and by this we are a getting ready to be in Arms against the Will of God, whenever he takes them from us; God must look to himself, and if ever God offer to do such a thing, as take away any such person [Page 29]as we have Idolized, he shall quickly see we are displeased with him and we will not put it up: Alas poor worms!

2. The fear of our own death, when persons can't think of dying with a pleased mind, and be reconciled to the thoughts of it; it hinders the dressing of a Child when he is loth to come to it; and I can't think but we mightily weaken and worst our dying hopes, when we can't endure to think of dying: O Friends! it would be great preparation of you for this glorious fashioning, if you that are the Children of God, could get these fears subdued under the power of Christ: Consider, 1. This dying you are afraid of, is your passage to your Port: the landing place is Heaven; and Death is a stepping out of the Boat to the Shore; 'tis done in a moment: Sickness indeed is tedious, but Death is over in the twinckling of an eye. In this sense, no praying against a sudden death, no extraordinary bitterness in a sudden death; every mans death is sudden, dispatcht in an instant; the separation of the Soul from the Body is immediately over; and can you be rationally in bondage, to the fear of that, that is but a momentary step out of all your sorrows in­to your everlasting joyes; from the tempests of a raging Sea, where there are such innumerable Rocks and Pyrates, and but a poor, little, rotten, creeping Vessel neither, into an eternal settlement, where are pleasures for evermore?

2. the dying you are afraid of, is a payment of a great debt you owe to God and Nature; Christ hath paid your other debts for you, only this remains for you to pay; De­bemur Morti nos nostraque: Hor. Though some had rather die, than pay, yet an honest heart finds no greater pleasure, than to be paying of debts: We borrowed these Bodies from the Earth, and when they return, there's the debt paid, and the heart at rest.

3. The dying you are afraid of, is a sweet sleep after a weary days work: It's said of the good men of old, They [Page 30]slept with their Fathers; and of Stephen when he dyed, he fell asleep; and is it such a hard thing to be reconciled to a bed, and a good nights rest, when the bones are weary?

4. The dying you are afraid of, 'tis a finishing of our Captivity, and the restauration of our Liberty; to see a dog when he is tied, how impatient he is to get loose: a Pri­soner to have his chains off, and the door open for his Li­berty: Oh to be a slave to the Devil, to Lust, to Passion, to Fashions, to Impositions and a thousand heart-breaking In­cumbrances, and yet loth to be dissolved! when Paul and all of his Spirit cry out, I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is far better. Oh to be imprison'd, and even buried in a vile body, a Sink, a Boghouse, a Well, and not to be reconcil'd to the thoughts of getting loose, is such a temptation as nothing but Folly and Ignorance can fasten upon us. O were it not our duty rather to say and pray to our Lord Jesus, in the words of Joseph to Pharaoh's Brother, Gen. 40.14. Think on me, I pray thee, and shew me kindness, and bring me out of this house of this vile body.

NOW to close up in Commemoration of our dear Friend deceased, who lived so desired, and dyed so lamented, I shall modestly and truly offer some Remarks about his Personal and Ministerial Endowments to your view.

First, For his personal Endowments, he was certainly

1. A Person of a very sweet nature and temper, so affable and courteous and chearful, that he gained upon all that con­versed with him; and if any tax'd him with any pride or mo­roseness, or distantialness in his carriage, it must be only such as did not know him; he had so winning a way with him, he might bid himself welcom into whatsoever house he enter'd. Pride and Moroseness are bad qualities for a man of his Employ, and make men afraid of the ways of God, for fear they should never enjoy a good day after.

[Page 31] 2. A Person of a very great Gravity, and could carry a majesty in his face when there was occasion, and make the least guilt tremble in his presence with his very countenance. I never knew a man better loved, nor more dreaded. God had given him such a spirit with power, that his very frowns were darts, and his reproofs sharper than swords; he would not con­temn familiarity, but hated that familiarity that bred con­tempt.

3. A Person of a very large Charity. He had large bow­els, and a large heart; a great dexterity in the opening of the bowels of others, as well as his own, to works of mercy, that I think I may say, there is not a Church in England that hath more often and more liberal Contributions for poor Ministers, and other poor Christians, than this is, according to the pro­portion of their abilities.

4. A Person of a wonderful Patience. Notwithstanding the many weaknesses and infirmities which for a long time have been continually without ceasing, as it were, trying their skill to pull down his frail body to the dust, and at last effected it, yet I never heard an impatient word drop from him. When I came to visit him, and asked him, How do you Sir? He answered, Pretty well; I bless God I am well, I am contented with the Will of my Father, my Father's Will and Mine are but one Will. It made me often think of that, Isa. 33.24. The Inhabi­tant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity. Sense of Pardon, took away sense of Sickness.

5. A Person of a very strong Faith in the promises of both worlds, and he could not be otherwise, being such a continual Student in the Covenant; he feared nothing of himself, or others, knowing the Promise and Oath of God would stand firm, and the Head of the Church would see to the safety of all his members here and hereafter.

Secondly, For his Ministerial Endowments, he was,

[Page] 1. An experienced Minister. From the heart to the heart, from the conscience to the conscience; he had a Body of Di­vinity in his head, and the power of it upon his heart.

2. A laborious Minister. As his works in Press and Pul­pit are undeniable Witnesses of: To preach so often, and print so much, and yet not satisfied, till he could imprint also his works upon the hearts of his people, which is the best way of printing that I know, and the greatest task of a Minister of Christ.

3. He was a Minister delighted in his work. It was his meat and drink to labor in that great work, insomuch that under his weakness he would be often preaching of little Sermons (as he call'd them) to those that came to visit him, even when by reason of his distemper they were very hardly able to understand him.

4. He was a successful Minister. The instrument in the hand of God for the conversion of many Souls about this City, & elsewhere.

5. And now he is at Rest. And though he is gone, he is not lost; he is yet useful to the Church of God, and being dead he yet speaks by his Example and Writings, which were very profitable and spiritual.