Chapter 43: The perfection of the bodies and souls of the Saints in glory

NOw thirdly, let us consider it positively; now in this positive consideration, these things are to be followed: First, the perfection of their natures that they shall be raised to: Secondly, the glory that shall be put upon them at the day of Judgement: Thirdly, the possession of Heaven: Fourthly, the having God to be their Portion: Fifthly, their blessed communion with Jesus Christ: Sixthly, their communion with the Saints and Angels: Lastly, the eternal Sabbath that they are to keep in Heaven. Under these seven heads, all that we have to say concerning the positive reward of the Saints, may be contained; First, the perfection that their natures shall be raised unto; and in that consider these three things: First, the perfection of their bodies: Secondly, the perfection of their souls: Thirdly, the perfection of the whole man. First, the perfection of the bodies of the Saints is no little matter; and because so long as we are in the flesh and live by sense, they are bodily things that do affect us; therefore I will show a little the perfection of the bodies of the Saints: they shall have much of the recompence of the reward in their bodies. In the general, their bodies shall be made like the glorious body of Jesus Christ, Phil. 3:21 Certainly the body of Christ is very glorious; in the transfiguration of Christ, which was but a little glimpse of his glory, how glorious was the body of Christ? In Rev. 1. Saint John had a little glimpse of the representation of Christ, and how glorious is it set forth? the body of the meanest Saint shall be like the glorious body of Christ: What is that? I will go no further then that I finde in 1 Cor. 15. 42, 43, 44. and there are four things that set forth the glory of the bodies of the Saints, when they come to attain the recompence of reward: First, it is raised in incorruption: Secondly, it is raised in glory: Thirdly, it is raised in power: Fourthly, it is raised a spiritual body. First, every Saint of God shall have an incorruptible body, there shall be no more death: it shall be made incorruptible in regard of that fulness of the presence of God with it: If spices, & enbalming of dead bodies can keep them so long as they do sometime from smelling; surely the glorious presence of God with the body, shall have infinite more power to keep the bodies of the Saints incorruptible. What would we give if a Physitian were able to give us a potion to make our bodies incorruptible, that they should never dye? yet as they are now, it is hardly worth the desiring to have them incorruptible; but when they shall be glorified, and incorruptible too, that is glorious. They shall be incorruptible, not subject to any suffering: as God is able to binde up the active power of a creature that it shall not be able to act, so he can binde up the corruptible power, that it shall not work to corruption: as in fire God can binde up the power of fire, that it cannot burn; so God can binde up the power of any creature that has any corruptible power, that there should not be the least passion that tends to corruption. All sufferings come from the prevailing of the stronger agent over the patient; and when any suffer, it comes from some kinde of inability of the form of the patient, whereby it begins to leave the matter in some degree: now the bodies of the Saints shall be so formed with such an excellent form, and so filled with the glory of it, as that there can be no power external or internal, that shall prevail against this form to weaken it. And besides, the reason that is given why the Heavens are incorruptible, may be given why the bodies of the Saints shall be incorruptible: the Heavens are of so excellent a form, that the capacity of the matter is fully filled up; and there may be truth in that reason: so the bodies of the Saints being in their blessed estate into which they shall be raised, they shal have such full satisfaction with the form wherewith they are informed, that there shall not be the least propension to receive any other from.

Secondly, it is raised in glory, and that consists in these two things: First, in the admirable beauty of it: Secondly, in the wonderful lustre and splendor of it: First, in the admirable beauty of it, having all parts in proportion and exact temper, whatever can make one beautiful shall be in the bodies of the Saints; if we could extract all the beauty of all the men and women in the world, and put them into one, it were but as a deformed thing in regard of the meanest of the bodies of the Saints in Heaven; and much of the beauty will be not only from their exact temper and comeliness that God shall put upon them; but likewise from the excellency of their souls within them, and from the unspeakable joy, and cheerfulness of the heart; And then the splendor and the lustre of their bodies, says the Scripture, They shall shine as the stars in the Firmament: look what splendor is in the stars, such shall be in these clay bodies of ours, Daniel 12:3 Yea, they shall be in greater splendor then the stars, they shall be as the Sun, Matthew 13:43 He that has ears to hear let him hear, and believe this, that it shall be so, that the bodies of the Saints shall shine more glorious then the Sun in its strength. You will say, How is it possible that this should be? yes, this is but according to that expression in Phil. 3:21 Who shall change our vile bodies, that it may be fashioned according to his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself. It does not require a greater power to raise from the least degree of glory to the highest possibility, as it is to make a thing out of nothing; and therefore the making of the least creature out of nothing, will argue more power, then making the bodies of the Saints to shine brighter then the Sun in the Firmament. Now certainly, God in the glorifying of the Saints, will manifest that power that he did in the creating of the world; and if it does not require so much power to raise their bodies into such a glorious condition, as to create a creature out of nothing; then there is no reason why we should not believe this. We know when Moses had been but forty days on the Mount with God, when he came down among the Israelites, his face did so shine, that they were not able to behold it: surely the glorified bodies of the Saints, being eternally present with God, shall shine far more gloriously then Moses face did: and that is for the splendor of them.

Thirdly, it is sown in weakness, and raised in power: now the strength and power of them appears in these four things: First, in that the body shall be able for to attend the soul in the most high operations; here if the soul be exercised about any high and glorious object, the body presently fails: as in the extasies of the Prophet, when God revealed himself extraordinarily to Daniel, his body failed; He fainted, and was many days sick, Dan. 8:27 But there shall be that power in the body, as it shall be serviceable to the soul in the most high and glorious operations that it shall have, when God shall manifest himself in the fullest way that possibly can be.

Secondly, in that it it shall every moment to all eternity, without any intermission, be exercised in the highest things that a body can be in, without any weariness.

Thirdly, there must be a great deal of power to be able to bear the weight of glory that shall be put upon them: 2 Cor. 4:17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding, and eternal weight of glory; such a weight, as certainly if the body were not by the power of God upheld, it were impossible it should bear it: here we finde, when there is great joy in the heart, the body is not able to bear it; but then there shall be a power to bear the weight of glory they shall have.

And the last, is that which I finde expressed in Luther, namely, The bodies of the Saints shall havethat power, as to toss the greatest mountains in the world like a Ball. And I finde it in an expression of Anselem, It shall be such power, as they shall be ableto shake the whole earth at their pleasure: and we cannot think this incredible upon that ground that was named before: there is not so much difference between the raising a thing from the lowest degree of power, to the highest possibility; as in raising a thing from nothing to the lowest degree of power. Suppose a creature had but so much power now, as to stir the least mote that is in the Sun; to raise this power so high as to stir the whole earth, does not require so much power as to make a thing out of nothing: and if God do intend to manifest his power in glorifying the Saints, and in making of them powerful; why should we not think, that God will extend that possibility of power that is in the body to that heighth? certainly, glorious shall be the power of the bodies of the Saints: and that is the third thing.

Fourthly, it is sowen a natural body, and it shall be raised a spiritual body; not that it shall be turned into a spirit: It shall remain a body; but the spiritualness consists in three particulars.

First, that it shall be in a spiritual condition; they shall have no more need of meat, or drink, or clothes, or marriage, or the like, that now the body stands in need of: the Angels themselves shall have as much need of meat, and drink, and clothes as their bodies shall: so says Christ; They shall not be married, nor given in marriage, but they shall be as the Angels in Heaven.

Secondly, the spiritualness of the body consists in the absolute subjection of the body to the spirit, as to be fully and absolutely serviceable to the spirits of the Saints, which here they are not. Here many times is a strife between the spirit and the flesh; the spirit is willing, when the flesh is not; but then there shall be an absolute subjection of the body to the spirit: As here the spirit of a carnal man is called flesh, because his soul is serviceable to the flesh, to make provision for the sins of the flesh, his soul is counted carnal, the wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God: As the soul now is as it were carnal, because it is serviceable to the flesh, so the body shall be spiritual, because it shall be serviceable to the spirit: for you to have such a body as to be serviceable to your souls, as you would desire, it were a great blessing, time will come when it shall be so.

Thirdly, the spiritualness of the body consists in the agility of the body; the ability it shall have to move up and down which way it will, and that suddenly; they shall move in the Heavens, as the birds do in the ayr. I remember an expression that Luther has, that the body shall move up and down like a thought. And Augustine says, They shall move to any place they will, as soon as they will. These words we do not finde in Scripture; but lay this for a ground, that whatever we can expect for the excellency of a body, it is that we speak of, or beyond it; and then we have a great deal of liberty to invent what expressions we can for our comfort: certainly there shall be that happiness of the body that shall come to that we speak of, or to more.

Fourthly, some make the spiritualness of the body to consist in the transparency of it; Aquinas says, It shall be so clear and transparent, that all the veins,and humors, and nerves, and bowels shall be seen, as in a glass.

Now brethren, the reasons why God will reward the Saints in this part, are, First, because humane bodies, as well as humane souls, have an hypostatical union with the second person of the Trinity; and therefore God rejoyces to raise humane bodies, as well as humane souls unto happiness. Secondly, Christ suffered so much in his body; therefore God will glorifie the bodies of the Saints. Thirdly, our bodies are part of the members of Christ; our bodies are joined in a mystical union with Jesus Christ. Fourthly, our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, and God will glorifie his own temples. Fifthly, our bodies are in part sanctified as well as our souls, and therefore shall also be glorified. Lastly, our bodies shall be glorified, for the further terror and confusion of the damned; because they in their bodies shall see the glory of the Saints, and be confounded. Here you see a way to get your bodies in a blessed condition: here is a stir for clothing of our bodies, but there shall be a cloathing with immortality: you that have sickly and weak bodies, remember this, you shall one day receive your bodies in another manner then you have them now. Eusebius tels us of one of the children of the Macchabees that were put to death for the profession of the truth; when theycut off his members, says he, I have received these from Heaven, and now I do give them unto the God of Heaven, and I hope I shall have them again: Let us be willing to put our bodies to pain; if our bodies suffer hunger, or thirst, or nakedness, or be tyred, or suffer Imprisonment, or any violence be offered to our bodies in the cause of God, What great matter is it? we shall receive our bodies in another manner. The overcoming of the flesh is the destruction of it, but the overcoming the flesh, is the glory of it.

When we speak of the happiness of our souls, we are not so capable of it; but when we speak of the happiness of our bodies, we are sensible of that. Now certainly, there shall be much more for our bodies, here is a way to provide for your bodies: Lay up provision for your flesh, is spoken as an argument of a carnal heart, in Rom. 13:14 the Apostle exhorts them, not to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof: but there is a way of laying up provision for the flesh that is lawful, and that this day I exhort you too. If you love your bodies, be godly: if you did believe these things were so, would not these make you love godliness? if I should come unto you, and show you how you might get some good for your bodies, then I should prevail with you: give some credit to that we say now, if you will not believe these things, I may say unto you as the Prophet said unto the Noble man that would not believe there could be great plenty, says he, You shall see the great plenty with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; so if you will not believe the great things that the Ministers of God speak of in his name to you, your eyes shall one day see those despicable, contemptible bodies of the Saints in this glory, though you shall not be partakers of any of it.

Now for the perfection of the soul: As the soul is of a far larger extent then the body, so it is more capable of happiness then the body is; and that being the proper seat of godliness, so it shall be the more rewarded: What splendor shall the soul have (says Bernard) when the body shall shine gloriously as the Sun? All that we can say for the soul for the present, because we understand so little of the soul, is, That the soul shall not depend upon the body, as it does now for its operation. And the soul shall no way be hindred by the body, as now it is hindred here. And all the faculties of the soul shall be extended to the utmost: Now if an infinite power can extend the least degree of power to such an heighth in the members of the body; much more can an infinite power extend the faculties of an immortal soul, that is capable of a great deal more power then the body is. Besides, as the faculties are extended, so all the graces of Gods Spirit, that the Saints of God have here, shall be extended to the heighth, and they are capable of a higher extention then any thing that is natural; for the more spiritual a thing is, the more capable it is of extention. As the plant is more capable to be drawn out to an higher excellency then a stone, and the sensitive creature to an higher excellency then the plant; and the rational creature to an higher excellency then the sensitive, and grace, which is supernatural, can be extended to an higher excellency then the natural: Besides, what increated excellency we might imagine could possibly be put upon it shall be; who could have thought that the humane nature should have had an hypostatical union with the body of Christ? and as God has done for the bodies of men, more then all the Angels could have invented: so there is to be communicated to the soul more then can be invented.

Thirdly, the perfection of body and soul, does consist in the majesty of the person being united together: you know when Christ was here in the flesh, in the estate of his humility, when he did let out but one beam of his majesty, those who came to apprehend him were not able to stand, but fell backward; if Christ by letting out some small beams of his majesty, could make men fall backward, how glorious must he needs be, when those full beams of his majesty shall be let out? the majesty of the Saints shall have some proportion with his, and that very great, which must needs follow from that which has been said. We read of Stephen, that when he stood before the Councel arraigned as a malefactor, it is said, They looked upon his countenance, and it was as the face of an Angel: O what majesty will appear in the countenances of the Saints hereafter! And as in Adam in the estate of Innocency, there was such majesty in his countenance, that all the beasts were afraid of him, what will be the majesty of God in his Saints then, as they shall be hereafter? It is said of Basil, when he was sent for to be taken by his Persecutors, being in holy exercises, there appeared such a majesty in his countenance, that those that came to take him, were not able to stand before him. There is a majesty in the countenance of Gods people, when they walk close with God; but how much more will there be majesty in their countenances hereafter? So that you see Gods people shall not only be glorious within, as the Kings daughter is glorious within; but they shall be glorious outwardly. And so much for the first thing, The perfection of the natures of the Saints.