"wake, fome to everlasting life, and fome to fhame "and everlasting contempt. And they that be wife, "fhall fhine as the brightness of the firmament, and "they that turn many to righteoufnefs, as the stars "for ever and ever." As this paffage contains a direct and plain affertion of the refurrection of the body, and of life everlasting; so, according to the known rules of interpretation, it is by this more particular paffage that we must explain the more general expreffions of the fame prophet, in the forecited 7th chapter, y 18. where he tells us, that the faints of the Moft High fhould poffefs the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. It is remarkable, that in both these paffages the prophet makes ufe of the strongest expreffions imaginable to fignify perpetuity in the ftrictest sense, for ever and ever.

In If. xxv. 8. after a magnificent promise, of God's enlightening and feafting all nations, which feafting must relate to the full fatisfaction refulting from the bleffings of God's covenant, it is faid, "He will fwallow up death in victory, and the "Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces :" and though these words may relate, not only to the actual bestowing of a bleffed refurrection at the last day, but also to the clear revelation of it by the gofpel; this does not weaken the argument from this text, for a state of future bleffednefs, where death and forrow fhall be abolished for ever; without the hope of which bleffednefs there can be no true fpiritual feafting, or full fatisfaction, given to an immortal foul. Whereas this promife of immortality is expreffed by way of threatening against death, it ferves to give light to another threatening of the fame kind in Hofea xiii. 14. "I will rinfom "them from the power of the grave: I will re"deem them from death: O death, I will be thy "plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction; re"pentance fhall be hid from mine eyes:" where, feeing the fame general truth, the abolishing of death,

death, is repeated four or five times in fo ftrong and emphatic expreffions, it is a proof that the words are to be understood in the higheft fenfe; which is at the fame time the moft literal fenfe they are capable of, and the most agreeable to parallel fcriptures, particularly to thofe already cited.

Though Pfal. xvi. 9. 10. is applied peculiarly to the Meffiah, yet if we confider even the prophetical doctrine concerning the relations between him and his people, he being their reprefentative, their hufband, and their parent*, there is a connection between his refurrection and theirs and accordingly it is faid, If. xxvi. 19. "Thy dead men fhall live, "together with my dead body fhall they arife: a"wake and fing, ye that dwell in duft: for thy "dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth fhall

caft out the dead:" where it is evident, that men are represented as attaining to a most joyful refurrection from the dead; and that by virtue of the refurrection of the dead body of fome extraordinary perfon; who, by the best rules of interpretation, can be no other than the Meffiah, who by faving men from fin, it behoved him to fave them from death; which, according to the Old Testament as well as the New, is the fruit of fin.

The paffages that have been mentioned, where the refurrection of the body is expreffed by awaking out of fleep, and out of the dust, serve to give light to fome other paffages which are perhaps of themfelves more obfcure; as Pfal. xvii. 14. 15. where the pfalmift diftinguishes himself from thofe whose portion is only in this life, which must be the cafe of all men, fetting afide the hopes of immortality; and adds, "As for me, I will behold thy face in "righteoufnefs: I fhall be fatisfied, when I awake, "with thy likenefs." And Pfal. xlix. where the pfalmift, after telling us, y 6.7. &c. that men who

See If. liii.; Pfal. xlv. lxxxix.; If. lix. 21.

truft

truft in riches, cannot be redeemed or ranfomed from death by their riches, fo as to live for ever; he infinuates, that thofe who truft not in riches, but in God, have a more glorious profpect of futurity; and fays triumphantly, y 15. "But God "will redeem my foul from the power of the grave, for he fhall receive me ;" and thence infers an exhortation against envying wicked rich men, because when they die they can carry nothing away; which exhortation can have no conceivable conection with that from which it is inferred, namely, the redemption of the pfalmift's own foul from the power of the grave, without fuppofing that as to himfelf death would not deprive him of all. And accordingly, y 14. fpeaking of the death of foolish and wicked men, he tells us, that "the upright "fhall have dominion over them in the morning;" which, confidering the foregoing words, muft naturally relate to a very remarkable morning after death. It deferves particular attention, that whereas these various expreffions appear very obfcure, confidering the great importance of what is fuppofed to be the fubject of them, there is previous advertisement given in the introduction of the pfalm, which has a very peculiar folemnity in it, that the chief fubject-matter of it is both of very great importance, and yet to be delivered in dark fayings.

As to paffages which speak not directly of the refurrection of the body, but in general of future bleffednefs In Pfal. Ixxiii. 24. the pfalmift fays, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counfel, and after"ward receive me to glory." It is the fcope of the pfalm, to fhew the juftice of the divine administration, notwithstanding the temporal afflictions of the righteous, and the profperity of the wicked, not only for a part of their life, but fometimes to their very death, it being obferved y 4. that there are no bands in their death; which thews, that the defolation mentioned as in a peculiar manner the

.end

end of the wicked, y 17. 19. cannot be meant, or at least cannot be restricted to any temporal trouble, or death itself, the common end of all, but must relate to a juít punishment after death: all which evidently favours the common interpretation of the words, "and afterwards receive me to glory," as meant of heaven. And this is ftill farther confirmed, by more expreffions than one, in the following context; as, "Whom have I in heaven but thee?"

25.; and, "Thou art my portion for ever," y 26.; especially when this intereft in God as his everlasting portion is confidered as part of the answer to a former objection, "That he had cleanfed his heart "and hands in vain," because of his great afflictions in this life; and also as a relief from the ground of dejection mentioned in the words preceding this claim of interest in God for ever, viz. "My heart "and flesh faileth."

In If. lvii. 1. 2. the righteous are represented as bleffed in their death, not only because they are taken from the evils of this life, but because they enter into a state of peace and reft; which reft is not described by inactivity, but is fuppofed only to be a reft from labour and trouble; feeing they who enter into that reft are faid to walk in their uprightness, which evidently denotes activity in holinefs *.

In confidering fome of the many inftructions in the Old Teftament, which, without fo direct affertion of the doctrine of immortality, contain principles whence that doctrine may by neceffary confequence be deduced, it is of particular ufe to have in view fome patterns of that kind of reasoning in the difcourfes of Chrift and his apoftles; and particularly Chrift's argument against the Sadducees,

See more arguments, fuch as thofe taken from the tranflation of Enoch and Elijah, and from the writings of Solomon, in books which treat more fully of this fubject. See Pf. lxxxiv.

at the end.

taken from the books of Mofes, to which these peoples regard is faid to have been in a great meafure confined. It is a remarkable excellency of that argument, that it is founded on a general principle, which is not only of evident certainty, but alfo of evident importance in practice, for guarding against mifapprehenfions of God; namely, That when God makes ftrong declarations of great love and favour to any, which is neceffarily implied in his calling himself their God in a peculiar manner), fuch declarations must not be fuppofed to refemble the empty expreffions of love and regard too oft used among men, but muft imply God's beftowing on his favourites a happinefs worthy of himself, a happinefs durable and complete, including deliverance in due time from all the fruits of fin, and confequently from bodily death itself. If people have an intereft in God as their God, the moit evident confequence of this may justly be expreffed in the words of the pfalmift, Pfal. Ixxxiv. 11. that God will withhold no good thing from them, but will give them grace and glory. Much to this purpofe is the apoftle's reafoning, Heb. xi. 16. they "defire a bet"ter country, that is an heavenly: wherefore God " is not afhamed to be called their God; for he "hath prepared for them a city :" implying, that it would argue difhonourable thoughts of God, to fuppofe that he fhould make fo magnificent and ample declarations of love and good-will to any perfons, as his fpecial friends and favourites, if all this fhould have no more confiderable effects than what take place in this momentary life, and all fhould end in the total deftruction of the very being of thofe favourites in a little time, by annihilation, after they had fhared much lefs in the enjoyments of this life than many of God's adverfàries. But, on the other hand, God's preparing fuch a city and country, that is, an heavenly, fhews, that his favours to his people are every way worthy of him

felf,