Works of John Bunyan: THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT.-845

 

THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODIES, BOTH OF GOOD AND BAD, AT THE LAST DAY: ASSERTED, AND PROVED BY GOD’S WORD. ALSO, THE MANNER AND ORDER OF THEIR COMING FORTH OF THEIR GRAVES; AS ALSO, WITH WHAT BODIES THEY DO ARISE. TOGETHER, WITH A DISCOURSE OF THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND THE FINAL CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE WORLD.

Fifth, the excellent preparation that God hath made for the judgment of the wicked, doth clearly demonstrate their rising forth out of their graves. 1. He hath appointed the day of their rising. 2. He hath appointed their judge, to judge them. 3. He hath recorded all their acts and doings against that day. 4. He hath also already appointed the witnesses to come in against them. 5. The instruments of death and misery are already prepared for them.

1. He hath appointed the day of their rising, which day John calleth the time of the dead, that they should be judged (Rev 11:18), which time, Paul saith, is a time fixed; "He hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world," &c. (Acts 17:31). This time and day Christ brings down to an hour, saying, "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth;" &c. (John 5:28,29).

2. As he hath appointed the day, so he hath appointed the judge, "He hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). This man is Jesus Christ; for it is he that is "ordained of God to be the judge of quick an dead" (Acts 10:42).

3. All their deeds and works, to a word and thought, are every one already recorded and enrolled in the books of the laws of heaven against that day. "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond:—upon the table of their heart" (Jer 17:1). And again saith God, "Write it—in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come, even for ever and ever, that this is a rebellious people," &c. (Isa 30:8,9).

4. God hath prepared his witnesses against this day (James 5:1-3; Job 20:27; Matt 24:14; Rom 2:14,15; Mal 3:5).

5. The instruments of death and eternal misery are already prepared. "He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors" (Psa 7:13; 21:12). Hell is of old prepared, he hath made it deep and large, the fire, the everlasting fire, is also now of a long time prepared (Isa 30:33; Matt 25:41); the heavy weights of God's curse are also ready (Deu 29:20) and their "damnation now of a long time slumbereth not" (2 Peter 2:3). But now I say, how ridiculous a business would all this be, if these things should be all prepared of the only wise God, and there should be none to be judged; or if he that is ordained judge, should not, either through want of power or will, command these rebels, and force them before his judgment-seat. Glad indeed, would the sinners be, if these things might be true; glad I say, at very heart, if they might be in their secret places of darkness, and the grave for ever; but it must not be; the day of their rising is set; the judge is appointed; their deeds are written; the deep dungeon is with open mouth ever waiting for them; wherefore at the day appointed, neither earth, nor death, nor hell can hinder: There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Sixth and Lastly, besides what hath been said, I cannot but believe, there shall be a resurrection of the wicked at the last day, because of the ungodly consequences, and errors that do most naturally follow the denial thereof. For,

1. He that taketh away the doctrine of the resurrection of the wicked; he taketh away one of the main arguments that God hath provided for to convince a sinner of the evil of his ways; for how shall a sinner be convinced of the evil of sin, if he be not confident of the certainty of eternal judgment? and how shall he be convinced of eternal judgment, if you persuade him, that when he is dead, he shall not at all rise? Especially seeing the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment must unavoidably be one of the forerunners of the other (Heb 6:2). It was Paul's reasoning of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come that made Felix tremble (Acts 24:25). It is this also he calleth the argument of terror, wherewith he persuaded men (2 Cor 5:10,11). This was Solomon's argument (Eccl 11:9); and Christ's also, where he saith, "that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matt 12:36).

2. They that deny the resurrection of the wicked, they do both allow and maintain the chief doctrine of the ranters, with most of the debauched persons in the world. For the ranters deny it both in principle and practice, and the other in practice at least. Now to me it is very strange, that these men above all other, should both know and live8 in the doctrines of the kingdom of God: especially seeing the denial hereof is an evident token of one appointed to wrath and destruction (2 Tim 2:18). But to be plain; there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust: wherefore, whatever others may say or profess, being beguiled by Satan, and their own hearts, yet do thou fear him that can "destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28).

There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them" (Rev 20:13). Having in the first place shewed you, that the wicked must arise;
I shall in the next place,

Works of John Bunyan: THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT.-844

 

THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODIES, BOTH OF GOOD AND BAD AT THE LAST DAY: ASSERTED, AND PROVED BY GOD’S WORD. ALSO, THE MANNER AND ORDER OF THEIR COMING FORTH OF THEIR GRAVES; AS ALSO, WITH WHAT BODIES THEY DO ARISE. TOGETHER, WITH A DISCOURSE OF THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND THE FINAL CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE WORLD.

Fourth, the severity of the hand of God towards his children, with his forbearance of his enemies, doth clearly bespeak a resurrection of the ungodly, that they may receive the reward for their wickedness which they have committed in this world. We know that while the eyes of the wicked start out with fatness, the godly are plagued all the day long, and chastened every morning (Psa 73:3-15), wherefore it is evident that the place and time of the punishment of the ungodly is another world. If "judgment must begin at the house of God,—what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:17,18). Alas, poor creatures! They now plot against the righteous, and gnash upon them with their teeth; but "the Lord shall laugh at him, for he seeth that his day is coming" (Psa 37:13); for as he saith, the wicked is reserved, or let alone in his wickedness, to the day of destruction, and shall then be brought forth to the day of wrath, though in the meantime, he may go to his grave in his banner, and rest within is tomb7 (Job 21:29-32). As Peter saith again, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Peter 2:9): And Jude saith, For them is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 13). The punishment of the ungodly is reserved till the day of judgment, which will be the time of their resurrection. Observe,

1. The wicked must be punished.

2. The time of their punishment is not now, but on the day of judgment.

3. This day of judgment must be the same as the resurrection of the dead, at the end of this world. "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 13:40,41). There shall then be resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

4. The sovereignty of the Lord Jesus over all creatures doth plainly foreshew a resurrection of the bad, as well as of the good. Indeed, the unjust shall not arise, by virtue of any relation they stand in to the Lord Jesus, as the saints shall; but yet, because all are delivered into his hand, and he made sovereign Lord over them; therefore by an act of his sovereign power, they that are ungodly, shall arise; this is Christ's own argument, "The Father judgeth no man," saith he, "but hath committed all judgment unto the Son"—that is, count him, and fall before him as their sovereign Lord, even as they honour the Father, and he hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. And then he adds, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:22-29). From hence also Paul argueth, saying, "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living," and then adds, "We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ" (Rom 14:9,10).

Pray mind these words, Jesus Christ by his death and resurrection, did not only purchase grace, and remission of sins, for his elect, with their eternal glory; but did thereby also obtain of the Father to be Lord, and head over all things, whether they be things in heaven, or things on earth, or things under the earth. "All power," saith he, "is given unto me, in heaven and in earth, and I have the keys of hell and of death" (Matt 28:18; Rev 1:18), So that all things, I say, whether they be visible, or invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers; all things were created by him, and for him (Col 1:16). This being thus, "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,—and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:10,11). Now, that this may be done, He hath his resolutions upon a judgment-day, in which he, to shew himself his people, his way, and word in their glory, will have all his enemies raised out of their graves, and brought before him, where he will sit upon them in the throne of his glory, and will shew them then, "who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (Matt 25:31,32; 1 Tim 6:14,15).

Behold, He comes, "with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 14,15).

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THE SECOND PART OF THE TEXT,

To wit, that there shall be a resurrection of the wicked. "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust;" for as the just go before the unjust, in name and dignity, and honour, so they shall in the last day, go before them in the resurrection.

Now, then, when the saints have thus risen out of their graves, given up their accounts, received their glory, and are set upon the thrones, "for there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David" (Psa 122:5). When, I say, they are all of them in their royal apparel, with crowns of glory, every one presenting the person of a king, then come the unjust out of their graves, to receive their judgment for what they have done in the body. As Paul saith, "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one," both saints and sinners, "may receive the things done in the body, whether it be good, or whether it be bad."

But now, because I would prove by the word, whatever I would have others receive for a truth, therefore I shall, in a few particulars,

FIRST, prove the resurrection of the wicked.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE WICKED.

First, then, it is evident that the wicked shall rise, from the very terms and names that the raised shall then go under, which are the very same names that they did go under when they lived in this world. They are called the heathen, the nations, the world, the wicked, and those that do iniquity; they are called men, women, [of] Sodom, Sidon, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Tyre. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment (Luke 10:12-14); the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment (Matt 12:41,42); and it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for other sinners that have resisted more light (Matt 11:21-24). "The heavens and the earth, which are now,—are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:7; Joel 3:12-14). Now these terms, or names, are not given to the spirits of the wicked only, but to them as consisting of body and soul. Further, Christ tells his adversaries, when they had apprehended him, and shamefully entreated him, that yet they should see him sit on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Matt 25:31,32; 26:64; Jude 14,15), as John also doth testify, saying, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Rev 1:7). 

Now none of these sayings are yet fulfilled, neither shall they, until his second coming; for though the Jews did many of them see him, when he did hang upon the cross, yet then he was not coming in the clouds of heaven, neither did then all kindreds of the earth wail because of him. No, this is reserved till he comes to judge the world; for then shall the ungodly be so put to it, that gladly they would creep into the most invincible rock or mountain under heaven, to hide themselves from his face, and the majesty of his heavenly presence (Rev 6:14-17). There shall therefore, that this may be brought to pass, be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. For though an opinion of no resurrection may now lull men asleep, in security and impiety, yet the Lord when he comes will rouse them, and cause them to awake; not only out of their security, but out of their graves, to their doom, that they may receive for their error, the recompense that is meet.

Second, The body of the ungodly must, at the last, arise out of the grave, because that body and their soul, while they lived in the world, were co-partners in their lusts and wickedness. "The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed" (1 Sam 2:3). He will therefore bring every work into judgment, "with every secret thing" (Eccl 12:14). And as he will bring into judgment every work, so will he also the worker thereof, "even the dead, small and great" (Rev 20:12-14). It is not in God to lay the punishment where the fault is not, nor to punish a part of the damned for the whole. "With righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity" (Psa 98:9). "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen 18:25). As therefore the body was co-partner with the soul in sinning, so shall every man receive the things done in his body, according to what he hath done. Wherefore he saith in another place, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (Rev 22:12). There shall therefore be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Third, the body of the wicked must rise again, because as the whole man of the just is also the vessel of mercy and glory, so the entire man of the unjust is the vessel of wrath and destruction. There are, saith Paul, in a great house not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honour and some to dishonour. Now, as he sheweth us, these vessels to honour, they are good men, and the ship to dishonour are the bad (2 Tim 2:20,21). Now as these vessels to dishonour, are called the vessels of wrath: so it is said, that God with much long-suffering, doth suffer them to be fitted to destruction (Rom 9:22). How they are thus fitted he also further sheweth, where he saith, They do "after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasure up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" (Rom 2:5), which treasures of wickedness, James saith, it is treasure up against the last days (which is the time of judgment), and observe it, he saith, that then it shall eat their flesh as it were fire (James 5:2,3). Now then, their bodies being the vessels of the wrath of God, and again, seeing with this wrath they must be possessed at the last day, that their flesh must with it be eaten, it is evident, that their body must rise again out of their graves, and before the judgment-seat appear; for it is from thence, that each of them must go with his full load to their long and eternal home, "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:47,48).

Works of John Bunyan: THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT.-842

 

THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODIES, BOTH OF GOOD AND BAD AT THE LAST DAY: ASSERTED, AND PROVED BY GOD’S WORD. ALSO, THE MANNER AND ORDER OF THEIR COMING FORTH OF THEIR GRAVES; AS ALSO, WITH WHAT BODIES THEY DO ARISE. TOGETHER, WITH A DISCOURSE OF THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND THE FINAL CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE WORLD.

Ahasuerus in this was a type to hold forth to the children of God, how kindly he will take all their labour and service of love, and how he will honour and dignify the same; as Christ saith, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them" (Luke 12:35-57). The meaning is, that those souls that shall make it their business to honour the Lord Jesus Christ, in the day of their temptation; he will make it his business to honour and glorify them in the day of his glorification (John 12:26). "Verily, I say unto you, that he will make them sit down to meat, and shall come forth and serve them. If any man will serve me," saith he, "him will my Father honour." It hath been God's way in this world to proclaim the acts and doings of his saints in his word before all in this world, and he will do it in that which is to come (Mark 14:9; Rev 3:4; 14:1-6).

Third, Another thing that shall be yet added to the glory of the saints, in the kingdom of their Saviour, at his coming is, they shall every one of them then have his throne and place of degree on Christ's right hand, and on his left, in his glorious kingdom, according to the relation they stand in to Christ, as the members of his body; for as Christ will have a special eye on us, and a tender and affectionate heart, to recompense to the full every good thing that any man doth for his name in this world: so also he will have as great regard, that there be to every member of his body, the place, and state that is comely for every such member. When the mother of Zebedee's children petitioned our Saviour that he would grant to her, that her two sons might sit, the one on his right hand, and the other on his left, in his kingdom: though he did not grant to her the request for her children, yet he affirmed that there would be places of degrees and honour in heaven, saying, "To sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father" (Matt 20:20-23).

In the temple, there were chambers bigger and lesser, higher and lower, more inward and more outward: which chambers were types of the mansions that our Lord when he went away, told us he went to prepare for us. "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2,3). The foot here shall not have the place prepared for the eye, nor yet the hand, that which is ready, for the ear, but every one shall have his own place in the body of Christ, and the glory also prepared for such a relation. Order, as it is comely in earth, so much more in the kingdom of the God of order, in heaven, where all things shall be done in their utmost perfections. Here shall Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, with the prophets, have every one his place, according to the degree of Old Testament saints. As God said to Daniel, "Go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days" (Dan 12:13). And here also shall Peter, Paul, Timothy, and all other the church officers have their place, and heavenly state, according as God hath set them in the church in the New Testament. As Paul saith of the deacons, "They that have used the office of a deacon well, purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 3:13). And so of all other saints, be they here of what rank, quality, or place in the church soever, they shall have every one his state, his heavenly state, according as he standeth in the body.

As he saith, seeing those members that are most feeble are necessary, to them shall be given "more abundant honour" (1 Cor 12:22,23). Of this heavenly order in the kingdom of Christ, when his saints are risen from the dead, was Solomon a notable type in his family, and among his servants and officers, who kept such exactness in the famous order in which he had placed all about him, that it did amaze and confound beholders. For "when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cup-bearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her" (2 Chron 9:3,4). "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God" (Psa 87:3). Having gone thus far, I shall now come to

Works of John Bunyan: THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT.-841

 

THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODIES, BOTH OF GOOD AND BAD, AT THE LAST DAY: ASSERTED, AND PROVED BY GOD'S WORD. ALSO, THE MANNER AND ORDER OF THEIR COMING FORTH OF THEIR GRAVES; AS ALSO, WITH WHAT BODIES THEY DO ARISE. TOGETHER, WITH A DISCOURSE OF THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND THE FINAL CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE WORLD.

FOURTH, Shew you something also of that with which they shall be rewarded.

THE REWARD OF THE JUST.

First then, those that shall be found in the day of their resurrection, when they shall have all their good things brought upon the stage; they I say, that then shall be found the people most laborious for God while here; they shall at that day enjoy the greatest portion of God, or shall be possessed with most of the glory of the Godhead then. For that is the portion of saints in general (Rom 8:17; Lam 3:24). And why shall he that doth most for God in this world, enjoy most of him in that which is to come? But because by doing and acting, the heart, and every faculty of the soul, is enlarged, and more capacitated, whereby more room is made for glory. Every vessel of glory shall at that day be full of it; but every one will not be capable to contain a like measure; and so if they should have it communicated to them, would not be able to stand under it; for there is "an eternal weight in the glory that saints shall then enjoy" (2 Cor 4:17), and every vessel must be at that day filled—that is, have its heavenly load of it.

All Christians have not the same enjoyment of God in this life, neither indeed were they able to bear it if they had it (1 Cor 3:2). But those Christians that are most laborious for God in this world, they have already most of him in their souls, and that not only because diligence in God's ways, is the means whereby God communicates himself; but also because thereby the senses are made more strong, and able, by reason of use, to understand God, and to discern both good and evil (Heb 5:13,14). To him that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance (Matt 13:11,12). He that laid out his pound for his master, and gained ten therewith, he was made ruler over ten cities; but he that by his pound gained but five, he was made ruler over but five (Luke 19:16-19). Often, he that is best bred in his youth, he is best able to manage most, when he is a man, touching things of this life (Dan 1:3,4); but always he that is best bred, and that is most in the bosom of God, and that so acts for him here; he is the man that will be best able to enjoy most of God in the kingdom of heaven. It is observable that Paul saith, "Our—affliction—worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:17). Our afflictions do it, not only because there is laid up a reward for the afflicted, according to the measure of affliction; but because afflictions, and so every service of God, doth make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound; and so more able to hold, contain, and bear more (Psa 119:71). "Every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour" (1 Cor 3:8). And this is the reason of such sayings as these—Lay up for yourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that you may lay hold on eternal life (1 Tim 6:19), which eternal life, is not the matter of our justification from sin in the sight of God; for that is done freely by grace, through faith in Christ's blood; (but here the apostle speaks of giving of alms) but it is the same that in the other place he calls "the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." And hence it is that he in his stirring them up to be diligent in good works, doth tell them, that he doth not exhort them to it because he wanted, but because he would have "fruit that might abound to their account" (Phil 4:17); as he saith also in another place, "Beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor 15:58). Therefore I say, the reward that the saints shall have at this day for all the good they have done, it is the enjoyment of God, according to their works: though they shall be freely justified and glorified without works.

Second, As the enjoyment of God at that day, will be to the saints, according to their works and doings—I speak not now of justification from sin—so will their praise and commendations at that day, be according to the same, and both of them their degrees of glory; for I say, as God by communicating of himself unto us at that day, will thereby glorify us, so also he will for the adding all things that may furnish with glory every way, cause to be proclaimed in the face of heaven, and in the presence of all the holy angels; everything that hath for God, his ways, and people, been done by us while here we have been. "Whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops" (Luke 12:2,3). Again, He that "shall confess me," saith Christ, "before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven" (Matt 10:32).

Now as he of whom Christ is ashamed when he comes in his glory, and in the glory of the holy angels, will then lie under inconceivable disgrace, shame, dishonour, and contempt: so he whom Christ shall confess, own, commend, and praise at that day, must needs have very great dignity, honour, and renown, "for then shall every man have praise of God"—to wit, according to his works (1 Cor 4:5). Now will Christ proclaim before thee and all others what thou hast done, and what thou hast suffered, what thou hast owned, and what thou hast withstood for his name (Mark 8:38). This is he that forsook his goods, his relations, his country, and life for me: this is the man that overcame the flatteries and threats, allurements and enticings, of a whole world for me; behold him, he is an Israelite indeed (John 1:47), the top man in his generation, "none like him in all the earth" (Job 1:8). It is said, that when king Ahasuerus had understanding of how good service Mordecai the Jew had done to and for him, he commanded that the royal apparel and the crown, with the horse that the king did ride on, should be given to him, and that he should with that crown, apparel, and horse, be had through the city, in the presence of all his nobles, and that proclamation should be made before him, "Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour" (Esth 6:9-11).

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SECOND, into all the good and holy actions and deeds they did do in the world. Now here shall all things be reckoned up, from the very first good thing that was done by Adam or Abel, to the last that will fall out to be done in the world. The good of all the holy prophets, of all apostles, pastors, teachers, and helps in the church; here also will be brought forth and to light, all the good carriages of masters of families, of parents, of children, of servants, of neighbours, or whatever good thing any man doth. But to be general and short,

First, here will be a recompense for all who have sincerely laboured in the word and doctrine—I say, a recompense for all the souls they have saved by their word, and watered by the same. Now shall Paul the planter, and Apollos the waterer, with every one of their companions, receive the reward that is according to their works (1 Cor 3:6-8).

Now, all the preaching, praying, watching, and labour thou hast been at, in thy endeavouring to catch men from Satan to God, shall be rewarded with spangling glory. Not a soul thou hast converted to the Lord Jesus, nor a soul thou hast comforted, strengthened, or helped by thy wholesome counsel, admonition, and comfortable speech, but it shall stick as a pearl in that crown "which the Lord the righteous Judge, shall give thee at that day" (2 Tim 4:7,8). That is, if thou dost it willingly, delighting to lift up the name of God among men; if thou doest it with love, and longing after the salvation of sinners, otherwise thou wilt have only thy labour for thy pains, and no more. "If I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed to my charge" (1 Cor 9:17; Phil 1:15). But, I say, if thou do it graciously, then a reward followeth; "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye," saith Paul, "in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy" (1 Thess 2:19,20). Let him therefore that Christ hath put into his harvest, take comfort in the midst of all his sorrow, and know that God acknowledgeth, that he that converteth a sinner from the error of his way, doth even save that soul from death, "and covereth a multitude of sins" (James 5:20). Wherefore labour to convert, labour to water, labour to build up, and to "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;—and when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away" (1 Peter 5:2,4).

Secondly, And as the ministers of Christ's gospel shall at this day be recompensed; so shall also those more private saints be with tender affections, and love looked on, and rewarded for all their work and labour of love, which they have shewed to the name of Christ, in ministering to his saints, and suffering for his sake (Heb 6:10). "Whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free" (Eph 6:8). Ah! Little do the people of God think how largely and thoroughly God will, at that day, own and recompense all the good and holy acts of his people. Every bit, every drop, every rag, and every night's harbour, though but in a wisp of straw, shall be rewarded in that day before men and angels—"Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you," saith Christ, "he shall in no wise lose his [a disciple's] reward" (Matt 10:42). Therefore "When thou makest a feast," saith he, "call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just" (Luke 14:13,14). Suppose there be any repentance among the godly at this day. In that case, it will be, because the Lord Jesus, in his person, members, and word, was no more owned, honoured, entertained, and provided for by them, when they were in this world: For it will be ravishing to all, to see what notice the Lord Jesus will then take of every widow's mite. He, I say, will call to mind, even all those acts of mercy and kindness, which thou hast shewed to him, when thou wast among men. 

I say, he will remember, cry up, and proclaim before angels and saints, those very acts of thine, which thou hast either forgotten, or, through bashfulness, wilt not at that day count worth the owing. He will reckon them up so fast, and so thoroughly, that thou wilt cry, Lord, when did I do this? and when did I do the other? "When saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, since ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matt 25:37-40). "The good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid" (1 Tim 5:25). Whatever thou hast done to one of the least of these my brethren, thou hast done it unto me. I felt the nourishment of thy food, and the warmth of thy fleece. I remember thy loving and holy visits when my poor members were sick, and in prison, and the like. When they were strangers and wanderers in the world, thou tookest them in. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matt 25:21-23; 34-47).

Thirdly, here also will be a reward for all that hardness and Christian endurance of affliction that thou hast met with for thy Lord, while thou wast in the world. Here now will Christ begin from the greatest suffering, even to the least, and bestow a reward on them all: from the blood of the suffering saint, to the loss of a hair: nothing shall go unrewarded (Heb 11:36-40; 2 Cor 8:8-14). "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:17). Behold by the scriptures how God hath recorded the sufferings of his people, and also how he hath promised to reward them—"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you," and speak "all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice," leap for joy, "and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven" (Matt 5:11,12; Luke 6:22,23). "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (Matt 19:29).

Fourthly, there is also a reward on this day, for all the more secret and more retired works of Christianity. 1. There is not now one act of faith in thy soul, either upon Christ, or against the Devil, and Antichrist. Still, it shall in this day be found out, and praised, honoured and glorified, in the face of heaven (1 Peter 1:7). 2. There is not one groan to God in secret, against thy own lusts, and for more grace, light, spirit, sanctification, and strength to go through this world like a Christian: but it shall even at the coming of Christ be rewarded openly (Matt 6:6). 3. There hath not one tear dropped from thy tender eye against thy lusts, the love of this world, or for more communion with Jesus Christ, but as it is now in the bottle of God; so then it shall bring forth such plenty of reward, that it shall return upon thee with abundance of increase. "Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh" (Luke 6:21). "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle; are they not in thy book?" (Psa 56:8). "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psa 126:5,6).

Having thus in brief shewed you something concerning the resurrection of the saints, and that they shall count with their Lord at his coming, both for the burning up what was not according to the truth, and rewarding them for all their good. It remains, that I now in few words,

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[Second.] But yet take notice, that in this day, when the saints are thus counting for their evil before their Saviour and Judge; they shall not then, as now, at the remembrance and confession of sin, be filled with the guilt, confusion, and shame that now through the weakness of faith attendeth their souls; neither shall they in the least be grieved or offended, that God hath before the angels and the rest of their holy brethren, laid open to a tittle their infirmities, from the least and first, to the biggest and last. For,

1. The God to whom they confess all, they will now more perfectly than ever see he doth love them, and free them from all, even when and before they confess and acknowledge them to him. They shall, I say, have their soul so full of the ravishing raptures of the life and glory that now they are in, that they shall be swallowed up in that measure and manner, that neither fear, nor guilt, nor confusion can come near them, or touch them. Their Judge is their Saviour, their Husband, and Head; who, though he will bring every one of them for all things to judgment, yet he will keep them for ever out of condemnation, and anything that tendeth that way. "Perfect love casteth out fear," even while we are here; much more then, when we are with our Saviour, our Jesus, being passed from death to life (John 5:24; 1 John 4:18).

2. The saints at this day shall have their hearts and souls so wrapped up in the pleasure of God their Saviour, that it shall be their delight to see all things, though once never so near and dear unto them, yet now to perish, if not according to his word and will. "Thy will be done," is to be always our language here (Matt 6:10); but to delight to see it done in all things, though it tend never so much to the destruction of what we love; to delight, I say, to see it done in the height and perfection of delight; it will be when we come to heaven, or when the Lord shall come to judge the world. But,

3. The sole end of the counting of the saints on the day of God will be, not only for the vindication of the righteousness, holiness, and purity of the word, nor will it centre only in the manifestation of the knowledge and heart-discerning nature of Christ [though both these will be in it, (Rev 2:22,23)]. But their very remembrances and sight of the sin and vanity that they have done while here, shall both set off, and heighten the tender affections of their God unto them, and also increase their joy and sweetness of soul, and clinging of heart to their God. Saints, while here, are sweetly sensible that the sense of sin and the assurance of pardon will make famous work in their poor hearts. Ah, what meltings without guilt! what humility without casting down! and what a sight of the creature's nothingness, yet without fear, will this sense of sin work in the soul! The sweetest frame, the most heart-endearing frame, that possibly a Christian can get into while in this world, is to have a warm sight of sin, and of a Saviour upon the heart at one time. Now it weeps not for fear and through torment, but by virtue of constraining grace and mercy, and is at this very time, so far off of disquietness of heart, by reason of the sight of its wickedness, that it is driven into an ecstasy, by reason of the love and mercy that is mingled with the sense of sin in the soul.

The heart never sees so much of the power of mercy as now, nor of the virtue, value, and excellency of Christ in all his offices as now, and the tongue so sweetly enlarged to proclaim and cry up grace as now; now will Christ "come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe" (2 Thess 1:10).

Wherefore, though the saints receive by faith the forgiveness of sins in this life, and so are passed from death to life; yet again, Christ Jesus, and God his Father, will have every one of these sins reckoned up again, and brought fresh upon the stage in the day of judgment, that they may see and be sensible for ever, what grace and mercy hath laid hold upon them. And this I take to be the reason of that remarkable saying of the apostle Peter, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21).

If a sense of some sin, [for who sees all? (Psa 19:12)], And a sight of the love of God will here so work upon the spirit of the godly: what will a sight of all sin do, when together with it they are personally present with their Lord and Saviour?

Yea, if a sight of some sins, with a possibility of pardon, will make the heart love, reverence, and fear with guiltless and heart-affecting fears; what will a general sight of all sin, and together with them an eternal acquittance from them, work on the heart of the saint forever?

Yea, I say again, if a sight of sin, and the love of God, will make such work in that soul where yet there is unbelief, blindness, mistrust, and forgetfulness: what will a sight of sin do in that soul, who is swallowed up of love, who is sinless, and temptationless; who hath all the faculties of soul and body strained by love and grace, to the highest pin of perfection, that is possible to be in glory enjoyed and possessed? Oh, the wisdom and goodness of God, that he at this day, should so cast about the worst of our things, even those that naturally tend to sink us, and damn us, for our great advantage! "All things shall work together for good," indeed, "to them that love God" (Rom 8:28). Those sins that brought a curse upon the whole world, that spilt the heart-blood of our dearest Saviour, and that laid his tender soul under the flaming wrath of God, shall by his wisdom and love, tend to the exaltation of his grace, and the inflaming of our affections to him for ever and ever (Rev 5:9-14).

It will not be thus with devils; it will not be thus with reprobates; the saved only have this privilege peculiar to themselves. Wherefore, to vary a little from the matter in hand: will God make that use of sin, even in our counting for it, that shall in this manner work for our advantage? Why then, let saints also make that advantage of their sin, as to glorify God thereby, which is to be done, not by saying, "Let us do evil, that good may come;" or, "Let us sin, that grace may abound;" but by taking occasion by the sin that is past to set the crown upon the head of Christ for our justification; continually looking upon it, to press us, to cleave close to the Lord Jesus, to grace and mercy through him, and to the keeping of us humble for ever, under all his dispensations and carriages to us.

Now, having counted for all their evil, and confessed to God's glory, how they fell short, and did not the truth in this, or that, or other particulars, and having received their eternal acquittance from the Lord and Judge, in the sight of both angels and saints; forthwith the Lord Jesus will make inquiry,

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But to pass that, [we come THIRD, to the examination the just must undergo, and the account they must give to the Lord the Judge; or,]

THE JUDGMENT OF THE JUST.

Now when the saints are raised, as ye have heard, they must give an account of all things, in general, that they have done while they were in the world; of all things, I say, whether they be good or bad.

FIRST, Of all their bad; but mark, not under the consideration of vagabonds, slaves and sinners, but as sons, stewards, and servants of the Lord Jesus. That this shall be, it is evident from divers places of the holy Scriptures:

First, Paul saith, "We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ,"—we saints—"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom 14:10-12). Again, "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one [of us] may receive the things done in his body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor 5:9,10).

It is true, God loveth his people, but yet he loveth not their sins, nor anything they do, though with the greatest zeal for him, if he be contrary to his word; wherefore as truly as God will given a reward to his saints and children for all that they have indeed well done; so truly will he at this day distinguish their good and bad: and when both are manifest by the righteous judgment of Christ; he will burn up their bad, with all their labour, travel, and pains in it for ever. He can tell how to save his people, and yet take vengeance on their inventions (Psa 99:8).

That is an observable place, in the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. The third chapter, "If any man build," saith he, "upon this foundation [Christ] gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" (1 Cor 3:12-15). Now observe,

1. As I said before, the foundation is Christ (verse 11).

2. The gold, silver, and precious stones that here are said to be built upon him are all the actings of faith and love, according to the word, that the saints are found doing for his sake in the world (1 Peter 1:7; Rev 3:18).

3. To build on him wood, hay, and stubble, it is to build, together with what is right in itself, human inventions and carnal ordinances, fathering them still on God and his allowance.

4. The fire that here you read of, it is the pure word and law of God (Jer 23:29; John 12:48).

5. The day that here you read of, it is the day of Christ's coming to judgment, to reveal the hidden things of darkness, and to make manifest the counsels of the heart (1 Cor 4:5).

6. At this day, the gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble, and that of every man, shall be tried by this fire, that it may be manifest of what sort it is; the wind, the rain, and floods, beat now as vehemently against the house upon the rock, as against that on the sand (Luke 6:48,49).

Observe again,

(1.) That the apostle speaks here of the saved, not of the reprobate—"He himself shall be saved."

(2.) That this saved man may have wood, hay, and stubble; that is, things that will not abide the trial.

(3.) That neither this man's goodness, nor yet God's love to him, shall hinder all his wood, hay, or stubble from coming on the stage, "Every man's work shall be manifest: the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is."

(4.) Thus, a good man shall see all his wood, hay, and stubble burnt up in the trial before his face.

(5.) That good man then shall suffer loss, or, the loss of all things that are not then according to the word of God—"If any man's works shall be burnt," or any of them, "he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire"—that is, yet so as that all that ever he hath done, shall be tried, and squared by the word of God.

From all which, it must be unavoidably concluded, that the whole body of the elect must count with their Lord for all things they have done, whether good or bad, and that he will destroy all their bad, with the purity of his word, yea, and all their pains, travel, and labour that they have spent about it. I am persuaded that there are now many things done by the best of saints, that then they will gladly disown and be ashamed of; yea, which they have and do still do with great devotion. Alas, what gross things do some of the saints in their devotion father upon God, and do reckon him the author thereof, and that he also prompts them forward to the doing thereof, and doth give them his presence in the performance of them! Yea, and as they father many superstitions and scriptureless things upon him; so they die in the same opinion, and never come in this world, to the sight of their evil and ignorance herein.6

But now the judgment day is the principal time wherein everything shall be set in its proper place; that which is of God in its place, and that which is not, shall now be discovered, and made manifest. In many things now we offend all, and then we shall see the many offences we have committed, and shall ourselves judge them as they are. The Christian, is in this world, so candid a creature, that take him when he is not under some great temptation, and he will ingeniously confess to his God, before all men, how he hath sinned and transgressed against his Father; and will fall down at the feet of God, and cry, Thou art righteous, for I have sinned; and thou art gracious, that, notwithstanding my sin, thou shouldest save me. 

Now, I say, if the Christian is so simple and plain-hearted with God, in the days of his imperfection, when he is accompanied with many infirmities and temptations; how freely will he confess and acknowledge his miscarriages, when he comes before his Lord and Saviour; absolutely stripped of all temptation and imperfection. "As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God" (Rom 14:11; Phil 2:10,11). Every knee shall bow, and reverence God the Creator, and Christ the Redeemer of the world; and every tongue shall confess, that his will alone ought by them to have been obeyed in all things; and shall confess also, and that most naturally and freely—I mean, the saints shall—in how many things they were deceived, mistaken, deluded, and drawn aside in their intended devotion and honour to God.

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Thus, in a few words, have I shown you the truth of the resurrection of the just, and also the manner of their rising. Had I judged it convenient, I might have much enlarged on each particular, and have added many more; for the doctrine of the resurrection, however questioned by heretics, and erroneous persons; yet is such a truth, that almost all the holy scriptures of God point at, and centre in it.

God hath, from the beginning of the world, shewed to us, that our body must be with him, as well as our soul, in the kingdom of heaven. I say, he hath shewed us, how he will deal with those that are alive at Christ's coming, by his translating of Enoch (Gen 5:24), and by taking him body and soul to himself (Heb 11:5); As also, by his catching of Elias up body and soul into heaven, in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11), and,

Secondly, He hath often put us in remembrance of the rising of those that are dead, at that day, as (1.) By the faith he gave Abraham, concerning the offering of his son: for when he offered him, he accounted "that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure" (Heb 11:19). In a figure of the resurrection of Christ, for Abraham's justification; and of Abraham's resurrection by Christ at the last day, for his glorification. (2.) By the faith he gave Joseph concerning his bones; which charge, the godly in Egypt, did diligently observe, and to that end, did keep them four hundred years; and at length, carried them, I say, from Egypt to Canaan, which was a type of our being carried in our body, from this world to heaven (Heb 11:22).

Besides, how oft did God give power to his prophets, servants, and Christ Jesus, to raise some that were now dead, and some that had been long so; and all, no doubt, to put the present generations, as also the generations yet unborn, in mind of the resurrection of the dead. To this end, how was the Shunammite's son raised from the dead? (2 Kings 4). Was the man also at the touching of the bones of Elisha? (2 Kings 13:20,21). Together with the body of Lazarus, with Jairus's daughter, and Tabitha, and many others, who, after their souls were departed from them, Lazarus lying in his grave four days, were all raised to life again, and lived with that very body out of which the soul, at their death, had departed (Luke 8:53-56; John 11:43,44; Acts 9:40,41). But above all, that notable place in Matthew, at the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, gives us a notable foreword of the resurrection of the just. Saith the text, "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many" (Matt 27:52,53).

When the author of the Hebrews had given us a catalogue of the worthies of the Old Testament, he saith at last, "These all died in faith." In the faith of what? That they should lie and rot in their grave eternally? No, verily; this is the faith of Ranters, not of Christians. They all died in faith, that they should rise again; and therefore counted this world not worth the living in, upon unworthy terms, that after death "they might obtain a better resurrection" (Heb 11:13,35).

It is also worth the considering, that of Paul to the Philippians, where he saith that he was confident that that God that had begun a good work in them would "perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6). Which day of Christ, was not the day of their conversion, for that was passed with them already, they were now the children of God. Still, this day of Christ, it is the same which in other places is called the day when he shall come with the sound of the last trump to raise the dead. For you must know, that the work of salvation is not at an end with them that are now in heaven; no, nor ever will, until (as I shewed you before) their bodies be raised again. God, as I have told you, hath made our bodies the members of Christ, and God doth not count us thoroughly saved, until our bodies be as well redeemed and ransomed out of the grave and death, as our souls from the curse of the law, and dominion of sin.

Though God's saints have felt the power of much of his grace, and have had many a sweet word fulfilled on them; yet one word will be unfulfilled on their particular person, so long as the grave can shut her mouth upon them: but, as I said before, when the gates of death do open before them, and the bars of the grave do fall asunder; then shall be brought to pass that saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up of victory;" and then will they hear that most pleasant voice, "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead" (Isa 26:19). Thus much touching the truth of the resurrection of the just, with the manner of their rising.

Now you must know, that the time of the rising of these just, will be at the coming of the Lord: for when they arise, nay, just before they are raised, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear in the clouds in flaming fire, with all his mighty angels; the effect of which appearing will be the rising of the dead, &c. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout," saith Paul, "and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead shall rise" (2 Thess 1:8; 1 Thess 4:16; 1 Cor 15:52).

Now, at the time of the Lord's coming, there will be found in the world alive both saints and sinners. As for the saints that then shall be found alive, they shall, so soon as all the saints are raised out of their graves, not die, but be changed, and swallowed up of incorruption, immortality, and glory; and have the soul-spiritual translation, as the raised saints shall have; as he saith, "We shall not all [die, or] sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,—for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor 15:51,52). And again, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess 4:16,17). As he saith also in another place, he "shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom" (2 Tim 4:1).

Now when the saints that sleep shall be raised thus incorruptible, powerful, glorious, and spiritual; and also those that then shall be found alive, made like them: then forthwith, before the unjust are raised, the saints shall appear before the judgment-seat of the Lord Jesus Christ, there to give an account to their Lord the Judge, of all things they have done; and to receive a reward for their good according to their labour.

They shall rise, I say, before the wicked, they being themselves the proper children of the resurrection; that is, Those that must have all the glory of it, both as to pre-eminency and sweetness; and therefore they are said, when they rise, to rise from the dead; that is, in their rising, they leave the reprobate world behind them (Luke 20:35,36; Acts 3:15; 4:10; 13:30; John 12:1,9,17). And it must be so, because also the saints will have done their account, and be set upon the throne with Christ, as kings and princes with him, to judge the world, when the wicked world is raised. The saints shall judge the world; they shall judge angels; yea, they shall sit upon the thrones of judgment to do it (1 Cor 6:2,3; Psa 122:5).

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Now, I say, as we have in this world borne the image of our first father; so, at that day, we shall have the image of Jesus Christ, and be as he is—"As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also, (at our resurrection,) bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor 15:48,49). It is so in part now, but shall so be in perfection then.

To mount up to heaven, and to descend again at pleasure, shall, with us, in that day, be ordinary. If there were ten thousand bars of iron, or walls of brass, to separate between us, and our pleasure and desire, at that day, they should as easily be pierced by us, as is the cobweb, or air by the beams of the sun: And the reason is, because to the Spirit, wherewith we shall be inconceivably filled at that day, nothing is impossible (Matt 17:20); and the working of it at that day, shall be in that nature and measure as to swallow up all impossibilities. He "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,"—now mark, "according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself" (Phil 3:21). As who should say, I know that there are many things, that in this world hinder us from having our bodies like the body of Christ; but when God shall raise us from the dead, because he will then have our body like the body of his Son; He will stretch forth such a power to work upon, and in our body, that he will remove all impossibilities and hindrances.

Nay, further, we do not only see what operation the Spirit will have in our body, by the carriage of Christ, after his resurrection; but even by many a saint before their death. The Spirit used to catch Elijah away; no man could tell whither. It carried Ezekiel hither and thither: It took Christ from the top of the pinnacle of the temple into Galilee; through it he walked on the sea; the Spirit caught away Philip from the eunuch, and carried him as far as Azotus (1 Kings 18:11,12; 2 Kings 2:11; Eze 3:14; Luke 4:14; Matt 14:25; Acts 8:39,40).

Thus the great God hath given us a taste of the power and glory that is in himself, and how easily it will help us, by its possessing 5 of us at the resurrection, to act and do like angels; as Christ saith, They that shall be counted worthy of that world, and of the resurrection from the dead, they shall not die, but be equal to the angels (Luke 21:36).

Further, as the body, by being thus spiritualized, shall be as I have said, so again it must needs be, that hereby all the service of the body, and faculties of the soul, must be infinitely enlarged also. Now "we shall see him as he is," and now we shall know even as we are known (1 John 3:2; 1 Cor 13:12).

First, Now we shall see him; to wit, Christ in his glory; not by revelation only, as we do now, but then face to face; and he will have us with him to this very end (John 17:24). Though John was in the Spirit when he had the vision of Christ, yet it made him fall at his feet as dead (Rev 1:17); and also turned Daniels' beauty into corruption (Dan 10:8). It was so glorious, and so overweighing a glory, that he appeared in; but we shall, at the day of our resurrection, be so furnished, that we shall with the eagle, be able to look upon the sun in his strength: we shall then, I say, "see Him as he is," who now is in the light, that no eye hath seen, nor any man can see till that day (1 Tim 6:16).

Now we shall see into all things; there shall not be anything hid from us; there shall not be a saint, a prophet, or saved soul, small or significant, but we shall then perfectly know them. Also, all the works of creation, election, and redemption, and shall see and know as thoroughly, all the things of heaven, earth, and hell, even as ideally, as now we know our A, B, C. For the Spirit, with which we shall in every cranny of soul and body be filled, I say, "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Cor 2:10). We see what strange things have been known by the prophets and saints of God, and that when they knew but "in part."

Abraham could, by it, tell to a day, how long his seed should be under persecution in Egypt (Gen 15:13); Elisha, by it, could tell what was done in the king of Assyria's bed-chamber (2 Kings 6:12); Ahijah could know by this, Jeroboam's wife, so soon, yea before her feet entered within his door, though he saw her not (1 Kings 14:1-6).

The prophet of Judah could tell by this, what God would do to Bethel, for the idolatry there committed; and could also point out the man by name that should do the execution, long before he was born (1 Kings 13:2). What shall I say, Enoch by it could tell what should be done at the end of the world (Jude 14,15). How did the prophets, under certain circumstances, prophesy of Christ's birth, his death, his burial, of their giving him gall and vinegar, of their parting his raiment, and piercing his hands and feet! (Isa 53). Of his riding on an ass also; all this they saw, when they spake of him (John 12:41). Peter also, though half asleep, could at the very first word, call Moses and Elias by their names, when they appeared to Christ in the holy mount (Luke 9:33). He is very ignorant of the operation of the Spirit of God, that scrupleth these things. But now, I say, if these things have been done, seen, and knownby spiritual men, while their knowledge has been but in part, how shall we know, see, and discern when that which is perfect is come? Which will be at the resurrection; "It is raised a spiritual body."