the Poffibility of it, which some doubted of, or denied, he argues from Chrift Rifen from the Dead. If there could be no Refurrection of the Body when the Separation by Death is made; if this be an Impoffibility in the Nature of Things, and exceeds the Power of God; then it would neceffarily follow, that Chrift is not rifen: And if he be not rifen, Faith in him is vain; and all those who have died in the Faith and Hope of a Refurrection to immortal Life and Happiness are perished; that is, by Death they are utterly annihilated, and their Being is extinguished. These Abfurdities, he obferves, muft neceffarily follow the Denial of the Doctrine and Fundamental Article of the Refurrection of our Saviour. In Oppofition to fuch a Principle of Infidelity, he afferts this Truth, Now is Chrift rifen from the Dead, and become the First Fruits of them that fleep. He obferves, that they above all others fhould be in a moft wretched and deplorable State and Condition if they were cut off from the Hope and Profpect of immortal Life and Happiness: If in this Life only we have Hope, we are of all others moft miferable. To quit and renounce all Earthly Honours and Dignities; and not only fo, but to be expofed to all Kinds of Sufferings and Perfecutions; to live daily in danger of the most violent Deaths that enra→ ged Enemies can invent; and, after this, to

be

be deprived of all the Hopes of Immortality, would clearly fhew fuch to be the most wretched and miferable of the whole Human Race: But, on the other hand, the Chriftian, who hath a rational and well-established Faith of this Doctrine, and a fure Hope of a future State of Bleffednefs, cannot be miferable in any State. Now, that Doctrine which adminifters fuch Hope, must be of the greatest Moment and Value: And what is it that gives this Hope but the RESURRECTION of our Saviour? See I. PETER i. 3.4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who, according to his abundant Mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively Hope by the Refurrection of Jefus Chrift from the Dead, to an Inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, referved in Heaven. Where you fee that the Chriftian's having this lively Hope, or the Hope of immortal Life, and of the incorruptible, undefiled, never-fading Inheritance, is afcribed to our Lord's Refurrection. This is the Firft-Fruits, and he is called the Firft-born from the Dead; not that he was the firft who was ever raised from the Dead, for we read of one who was raised by ELIJAH, another by ELISHA, and our Lord raised LAZARUS from the Grave; but these were raised fo as to die again; but our Saviour was rifen to immortal Life, never to be fubject to the Dominion of

Death any more. Thus he fpake himself, I am he that was dead, and behold I live for evermore. He was the first who rofe by his own Power, and who hath given affured Hope to his Servants of being raised in Conformity to him. He fhall, fays the Apostle, change our vile Bodies, and make them like to his own glorious Body, according to the mighty Working whereby he is able to fubdue all Things to himself: Well, then, might he say, I am the Refurrection, and the Life; be that believeth in me fhall not die, that is eternally. Tho' the Separation between Soul and Body must be made, yet there fhall be a Re-union of both; and thus fhall they who believe in Christ, and die united to him as their Head, be raised to the Poffeffion of immortal Life and Bleffedness. May not this give us a rational Explication of what the Apoftle fays, that Chrift abolished Death; that is, by dying in our Stead, delivered us from the tormenting Fears of Death, which would otherwife have for ever triumphed over the Human Race, and by his Resurrection from the Dead, breaking the Power of Death, rifing as a glorious Conqueror over it, he hereby brought Life and Immortality to light; fo that tho' in Adam we all died, in Chrift we are made alive. By Man came Death; by Man came also the Refurrection from the Dead.

Thus

Thus I have sufficiently demonstrated the great Importance of this effential Article of our Faith. The Apostle, in his 2d Epistle to TIMOTHY, ii. 16. 17. 18. cautions. against paying any the leaft Regard to those who would fubvert and undermine this fundamental Doctrine. He calls their Difcourfes prophane and vain Bablings, for that they will encrease to more Ungodliness, their Words and corrupt Reasonings will eat as doth a Canker; of whom is HYMENEUS and PHILETUS, who concerning the Truth have erred, faying, that the Refurrection is paft already, and overthrow the Faith of fome. They maintained that all the Doctrine of the Refurrection confifted in raifing a Sinner, dead in Trespasses and Sins, from his fpiritual Death in Sin, to a Life of Virtue and Holiness; thus interpreting the Doctrine of the Refurrection, they faid it was paft already, and overthrew the Faith of the Resurrection of the Body to immortal Life. And the Apostle, in that fore-quoted Chapter to the Corinthians, plainly tells them that fuch corrupt Communications would vitiate their Morals, for if they once brought themselves to believe that there would be no Refurrection, no future State of Recompence, this would open the Door to all Licentiousness, or, as he expreffes it, lead to Ungodlinefs. The natural Inference they would make would be this, Let us eat and Cc 2 drink

drink, for To-morrow we shall die, and then be as though we had never had any Exiftence. They, therefore, who call this Doctrine into Question, who firft begin to doubt, and at length to deny it, do, as our Saviour told the unbelieving SADDUCEES, greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the Power of God; for why fhould it be thought a Thing incredible, that a God of Omniscience and Omnipotence, who at first created all Things out of nothing, fhould raife the Dead?

I proceed now to make fome practical Improvement of this Difcourfe.

ift, Let none of Chrift's Difciples be afhamed to own their Fath in a crucified Saviour; for though he fuffered fo ignominious a Death, yet he was raifed by the Power of God. What though the Author of our holy Religion fuffered fo fhameful a Death by the Hands of ungrateful unbelieving Sinners? This ought not to diminish our Thoughts of him, or depreciate him in our Efteem; but we ought rather to have the most admiring Sentiments of his Mercy and Goodness towards us, that he would thus voluntarily abase himself as to fuffer the acute, the lingering, and ignominious Death of the Crofs for our fakes, and for our Recovery and Redemption