branches fpring out of the body of a tree, or feathers out of the body of a bird. So fairly and firmly are the characters and impreffions of the life to come fealed upon the immortal fpirits of all men, that no man can offer violence to this truth, but he muft alfo do violence to his own foul, and unman himself by the denial of it. Who feels not a cheerinefs to spring from his abfolving, and an horror from his accufing confcience? neither of which could arife from any other principle than this. We are beings confcious to ourselves of a future ftate, and that our fouls do not vanifh when our breath doth; that we ceafe not to be when we cease to breathe.

And this is common to the most barbarous and favage Heathens: "They fhew (faith the apostle) the work of the law written in "their hearts, their confciences alfo bearing them witness, and "their thoughts in the mean time accufing, or elfe excufing one "another." By the work of the law, underftand the fum and fubftance of the ten commandments, comprising the duties to be done, and the fins to be avoided. This work of the law is faid to be written upon the hearts of the Gentiles, who had no external written law; upon their hearts it was written, though many of them gave themselves over to all uncleannefs; and they fhewed or gave evidence and proof, that there was fuch a law written upon their hearts. They fhewed it two ways: (1.) Some of them fhewed it in their temperance, righteousness, and moral honesty, wherein they excelled many of us, who have far greater advantages and obligations. (2.) In the efficacy of their confciences; which, as it cleared and comforted them for things well done; fo it witneffed against them, yea, judged and condemned them for things ill done. And these evidences of a law written on the heart are to be found, wherever men are to be found. Their ignorance and barbarity cannot ftifle thefe fentiments and impreffions of a future state, and a just tribunal to which all must come. And the univerfality of it plainly evinces, that it fprings not out of education, but the very nature of an immortal foul.

Let none fay that these univerfal impreffions are but the effects of an univerfal, tradition, which have been, time out of mind, spread among the nations of the world: for as no fuch univerfal tradition can be proved; fo if it could, the very propenfion that is found in the minds of all men living, to embrace and clofe with the propofals of a life to come, will evince the agreeableness of them to the nature of an immortal foul. Yea, the natural closing of the foul - with these propofals, will amount to an evidence of the reality and existence of those invifible things. For as the natural fenfes and their organs prove that there are colours, founds, favours, and juices; as well as, or rather because there are eyes, ears, &c. na

turally fitted to close with, and receive them; fo it is here, if the foul naturally looks beyond the line of time, to things eternal, and cannot bound and confine its thoughts and expectations within the too narrow limits of present things, furely there is fuch a future ftate, as well as fouls made apprehensive of it, and propense to clofe with the discoveries thereof. So natural are the notions of a future ftate to the fouls of men, that those who have set themselves defignedly to banish them, and struggled hard to fupprefs them, as things irksome and grievous to them, giving interruption to their fenfual lufts and pleasures; yet ftill these apprehenfions have returned upon them, and gotten a juft victory over all their objections and prejudices; they follow them wherefoever they go; they can no more flee from them than from themselves; whereby they evidence themselves to be natural and indelible things.

Inf. 11. Hath God endued the foul of man with understanding, will, and affections, whereby it is made capable of knowing, loving, and enjoying God? It is then no wonder to find the malice and envy of Satan engaged against man more than any other creature, and against the foul of man, rather than any thing elfe in man.

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It grates that Spirit of envy to see the foul of man adorning and preparing, by fanctification, to fill that place in glory from which he fell irrecoverably. It cut Haman to the very heart, to see the honour that was done to Mordecai; much more doth it grate and gall Satan, to fee what Jefus Chrift hath purchased and defigned for the fouls of men. Other creatures being naturally incapable of this happiness, do therefore efcape his fury; but men fhall be fure to feel it as far as he can reach them; 1 Pet. v. 8. "Your adverfary the devil goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom "he may devour." He walks to and fro; that fpeaks his diligence; feeking whom he may devour; that fpeaks his defign; his reftleffnefs in doing mischief is all the rest and relief he hath in his own torments. It is a mark of pure and perfect malice to endeavour to destroy, though he knows he fhall never be fuccefsful in his attempts. We read of many bodies poffeffed by him; but he never takes up his quarters in the body of any but with design to do mifchief to the foul. No room but the best in the house will fatisfy him; no blood fo fweet to him as foul-blood. If he raise profecution against the bodies of men, it is to deftroy their fouls: holiness is what he hates, and happiness is the object of his envy the foul being the fubject of both, is therefore purfued by him as his prey.

Inf. 12. Upon the confideration both of its excellent nature and divine original, it follows, That the corruption and defacing of fuch an excellent creature by fin deferves to be lamented and greatly bewail

ed; and the recovery of it by fanctification to be ftudied and diligently profecuted, as the great concern of all men.

What a beautiful and bleffed creature was the foul of man at first, whilst it stood in its integrity? His mind was bright, clear, and apprehensive of the law and will of God; his will cheerfully complied therewith; his fenfitive appetite and inferior powers ftood in an obedient fubordination. God made man upright, Ecclef. vii. 29. w ftreight, and equal, bending to neither extreme. The law of God was fairly engraven upon the table of his heart. Principles of holiness and righteousness were inlaid in the frame of his mind, fitting him for an exact and punctual difcharge of his duties both to God and man. This was the foundnefs of his conftitution, the healthful temper of his inner-man, whereby it became the very region of light, peace, purity, and pleasure. For think how ferene, lightfome, and placid the state of the foul must be, in which there was no obliquity, not a jar with the Divine will; but joy and peace continually transfused through all its faculties !

But fin hath defaced its beauty, razed out the Divine image which was its glory, and stamped the image of Satan upon it; turned all its noble powers and faculties against the author and fountain of its being. Surely if all the pofterity of Adam, from the beginning to the end of the world, fhould do nothing elfe but weep and figh for the fin and mifery of the fall, it could not be fufficiently deplored: Other fins, like fingle bullets, kill particular perfons: but Adam's fin, like a chain-fhot, mowed down all mankind at once. It murdered himself actually, all his pofterity virtu ally, and Chrift himself occafionally. Oh! what a black train of doleful confequents attend this fin! It hath darkened the bright eye of the foul's understanding, 1 Cor. ii. 14. made its complying and obedient will stubborn and rebellious, Job. v. 40. rendered his tender heart obdurate and fenfelefs, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. filled its ferene and peaceful confcience with guilt and terror, Tit. i. 15. The confiderations of these things is very humbling, and fhould cause thofe that glory in their high and illuftrious defcents, to wrap their filver ftar in Cyprefs, and cover all their glory with a mourning veil. But this is but one part of their duty.

How should this confideration provoke us to apply ourselves with the most serious diligence to recover our loft beauty and dignity in the way of fanctification! This is the great and most proper ufe of the fall, as Mufculus excellently speaks ;-ut gratiam Chrifti eo fubnixiusa ambimus,-to inflame our defires the more vehemently after grace.

Sanctification reftores the beauty of the foul, which fin defaced, Eph. iv. 25. Col. ii. 1o. Yea, it reftores it with this advantage,

that it shall never be loft again; holiness is the beauty of God impreffed upon the foul, and the impreffion is everlasting. Other beauty is but a fading flower: Time will plough deep furrows upon the fairest faces, but this will be fresh to eternity.

All moral virtues, homilitical qualities, which adorn and beautify nature, and make it attractive and lovely in the eyes are but feparable accidents, which death difcinds and crops off like a of men, fweet flower from the ftalk, Job iv. 21. "Doth not their excellen- "cy that is in them go away?" But fanctification is infeparable, and will afcend with the foul into heaven. Oh! that God would fet the glass of the law before us, that we may fee what defiled fouls we have by nature, that we might come by faith to Jesus Chrift, who cometh to us by water and by blood, 1 John v. 6.

Inf. 13. To conclude. Upon the confideration of the whole matter before us, if this excellent creature, the foul, receive both its being and excellencies from God; Then he that formed it must needs have the full, and only right to poffefs and use it, and is therefore moft injuriously kept out of the poffeffion of it by unfanctified and difobedient perfons.

The foul of man is a building of God; he hath laid out the treasures of his wifdom, power, and goodness in this noble ftructure; he built it for an habitation for himself to dwell in; and indeed fuch noble rooms as the understanding, will, and affections, are too good for any other to inhabit. But fin hath fet open the gates of this hallowed temple, and let in the abomination which maketh defolate. All the doors of the foul are barred and chained up against Christ, by ignorance and infidelity; he seeks for admiflion into the foul which he made, but findeth none. A forcible entry he will not make; but expects when the will shall bring him the keys of the foul, as to its rightful owner. So he expreffeth himfelf to us in Rev. iii. 20. "Behold I ftand at the door and "knock: If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will "come in to him, and fup with him, and he with me.' fanding at the door, denotes his earnest defire and patient waiting, His in the ufe of all thofe means that are introductive of Jefus Chrift into the fouls of men. His knocking, fignifies the various effays he makes by his ordinances and providences externally, and the convictions and perfuafions of his Spirit, and the confciences of finners internally: Every call of the word, and every conviction of confcience is a call, a knock from heaven, at the door of the foul, for the admiffion of Chrift into it. By the foul's hearing his voice, and opening the door, understand its approbation, and confent to the motion and offer of God. By Chrift's coming in, is meant his uniting that foul unto himself that opens to him. And as his coming in denotes union, fo his fupping with the foul, and the foul with him, de

notes his fweet communion; imperfect here, complete and full in

heaven.

O the admirable condenscension of God to poor finners! The God that formed you with a word, and can as cafily ruin you with a frown, yet waits at the gates of your fouls for admiflion into them. There be many fouls within the found of this complaint, that have kept God out of his own right all their days. They have shut out Jefus Chrift, and delivered up their fouls to Satan: If he but knock by a flight temptation, the door is prefently opened; but Jefus Chrift may wait in vain upon them from fabbath to fabbath, and from year to year: But the longest day of his patience hath an end; and there is a refufal of grace, after which no more tenders of mercy fhall ever be made.

What fay you, Souls? Will you at laft open the door to Jefus Chrift, or will you still exclude him? If you will open to him, he will not come empty-handed, he will bring a feast with him, fuch a feast as you never tafted any thing like it in your lives: But, if you will not open to him, then I call heaven and earth to witnefs against you this day, that you have once barred the doors of your foul against him, whofe pleafure and power gave them their very beings; against him who is their fovereign Lord, and rightful Owner. And confequently this act of yours muft ftop your mouths, and deprive you of all pleas and apologies when you fhall knock hereafter at the door of mercy, and God fhall ever fhut it up against you, according to his juft, but dreadful threatenings, Mat. vii. 22. Prov. i. 24, 25. And thus much of the divine original, and excellent nature of the foul of man.

Having taken a view of this excellent creature, the foul, in opening the former propofition: we come next to the confideration of its union with the body, in this fecond propofition.

Doct. II. That the fouls and bodies of men are knit together, by the feeble band of the breath in their noftrils.

*

"There is (faith a learned man) no greater mystery in nature, "than the union betwixt the foul and body; that a mind and spi"rit fhould be fo tied and linked with a clod of clay, that while "that remains in a due temper, it cannot by any art or power free "itfelf. It can by an act of the will move an hand, or a foot, or "the whole body, but cannot move from it one inch. If it move "hither, or thither, or by a leap upward do afcend a "body ftill follows it; it cannot shake or throw it off.

* Mr How in a funeral Sermon, p. 9, 10.

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