1. The bodies of the saints, when they arise, shall be comely and beautiful. The body of a saint in this life may be deform- ed : those whose minds are adorned with virtue, yet may have mis-shapen bodies ; as the finest cloth may have the coarsest list: but this deformed body shall be amia- ble and beautiful. This beauty consists in two things: 1. Perfection of parts. There shall be a full proportion of all the mem- bers ; in this life there is oft a defect of members ; the eye is lost, the arm is cut off, but in the resurrection all parts of the bod)" shall be restored again ; therefore the resurrection is called the time of restoring all things. Acts iii. 19. Malchus' ear cut, restituit. — 2. Clarity and splendour. The bodies of the saints shall have a graceful majesty in them; they sha'l belike Ste- phen whose face shone as if it had been the face of an angel, Acts vi. 15. Nay, they sliall be made like Christ's glorious body, Phil. iii. 21.
2. The bodies of the saints, when they arise, shall be free from the necessities of nature, as hunger and thirst, Rca'. vii. 16., " They shall hunger no more." Moses on the mount was so filled with the glory of God, that he needed not the recruits of na- ture. Much more in heaven shall the bo- dies of the saints, so filled with God's glory, be upheld without food.
3. The bodies of the saints, when they arise, shall be swift and nimble. Our bo- dies on earth are dull and heavy in their motion ; then they shall be swift, and made fit to ascend, as the body of Elias in the
Now the bodv is a clog ; in heaven it
an*.
shall be a wing. We shall be as the an- gels, Mat xxii. 30. And how nimble are they ? The angel Gabriel in a short time came from heaven to the earth, Dan. ix. 2L As the helm turns the ship instantly wlii- ther the steersman will ; so the body in an instant will move which way the soul wilL 4. Tlie bodies of the saints, at the resur-
OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.
20t
rcction, shall be very firm and strong, 1 Cor. XV. 43., " It is raised in power." Througli frequent labour .and sickness, the strongest body begins to languish : but at the resurrection we sliall l)e of a strong constitution ; then there will be no weari- ness in the body, nor faintness in the spi- rits. This may comfort you who now con- flict with many bodily weaknesses. This weak body shall be I'aised in power ; the body, which is now a weak reed, shall be like a rock.
5. The bodies of the saints at the resur- rection shall be immortal, 1 Cor. xv. 53.,
" This mortal must put on immortality ; our bodies shall run parallel with eternity, Luke XX. 3G., " Neither can they die any more." Heaven is an healthful climate, — I there is no bill of mortality there. If a I physician could give you a receipt to keep you from dying, what sums of money would you give ? At the resurrection Christ shall give the saints such a receipt, Rev. xxi. 4., " There shall be no more death." ! II. The second privilege believers shall have at the resurrection, is, They shall be openly acquitted at the day of judgment.
OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.
Quest. XXXVIII. JVHA T benefits do be- lievers receive from Christ at the resurrection ?
Ans. Their bodies shall be raised up to glory, and shall be openly acquitted at the day of judgment, and crowned with the full and perfect enjoyment of God to all e- ternity.
II. They shall be openly acquitted at the day of judijment. This is to be laid down for a position, that there shall be a day of judgment, Rom. xiv. 10., " For we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." This is the grand assizes, — the greatest ap- pearance that ever was, Now Adam shall see all his posterity at once. We must all appear ; the greatness of men's ])ersons doth not exempt them from Christ's tribunal ; kings and captains are brought in trembling before tlie Lamb's throne, Rev. vi. 15. We must all appear, and appear in our own persons, not by a proxy.
Quest. 1. How doth it appear that tliere shall be a day of judgment ?
Ans. Two ways. 1. By the suffrage of scripture, Eccl. xii. 9. 12, Ik, " For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing:." Ps. xcvi. 13., " For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth." The reduplication denotes the certainty, Dan. vii. 9, 10., '' I beheld till the thrones weie cast down, and the Ancient of davs did sit, whose garment was white as snow." *' The judgment was set, and the books were opened." — 2. It appears fi'om the pet-
ty sessions kept in a man's own conscience ; when a man doth virtuously, conscience doth excuse him, when evil, conscience doth ar- raign and condemn him. Now, what is this private session kept in the court of conscience, but a certain fore-runner of that general day of judgment when all the world shall be summoned to God's tribunal ?
Quest. 2. Why must there be a day of judgment ?