dolorous groans of gracious souls, upon the account of indwelling sin. What the angel said to Joshua, Zech. iii. 3, 4. the same doth God say of every upright soul, at the time of its separation. " Take " away the filthy garments from him, and clothe him with change " of raiment, and set a fair mitre upon his head." Thus the garments spotted with the flesh, are taken away with the body of flesh, and the pure unchangeable robes of perfect holiness, clothed upon the soul, in which it appears without fault before the throne of God, Rev. xiv. 5.
There is a threefold burdensome evil in sin under which all re- generated souls groan in this life; viz. (1.) The guilt ; (2.) The filth ; (3.) The inherence of it in their nature. And there is a threefold remedy or cure of these evils : the guilt of sin is remedied by justification ; the filth of sin is inchoatively healed by sanctifica- tion : the inherence of sin is totally eradicated by glorification ; For as it entered into our persons by the union of our souls and bodies, so it is perfectly cast out by their disunion or separation at death : the last stroke is then given to the work of sanctification, and the last is evermore the perfecting stroke: sin languished imder imperfect sanctification in the time of life, but it gives up the ghost under perfected sanctification, from and after death : sanctification gave it its deadly wound, but glorification its final abolition. For it is with our sins, after regeneration, as it was with that beast mentioned, Dan. vii. 12. which, though it was ** wounded with a deadly wound, yet its life was prolonged for a " season." And this is the appointed season for its expiration. For if at their dissolution they are immediately received into glory (as it hath been proved they are, in our seventh proposition) they must necessarily be freed from sin, immediately upon their dissolu- tion ; because, nothing that is unclean can enter into that pure and holy place ; they must be, as the text truly represents them, " the " spirits of just men made perfect.'"
For, if so great holiness and purity be required in all that draw nigh to God upon earth, as you read, Psal. xciii. 5. certainly those who are admitted immediately to his throne, must be without fault, according to Rev. vii, 14, 15, 16, 17.
When a compounded being comes to be dissolved, each part returns to its own principle ; so it is here : the spirit of man, and all the grace that is in it, came from God ; and to him they return at death, and are perfected in him and by him : the flesh returns to earth, whence it came, and all that body of sin is detroyed with it ; neither the one or the other shall be a snare or clog to the soul any more. A Christian in this world, is but gold in tlie ore ; at death, the pure gold is melted out and separated, and the drosa cast away and consumed.
4^ A TREATISE OF THE SOUL Ot MAX.
Hence three consectaries oifer themselves to us.
Consedaritj 1. That a beHever's life and warfare end together. We lay not down our weapons of war, till we lie down in the dust, 2 Tim. iv. 7. " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my *' course." The course and conflict you see are finished together : though they commence from different terms, yet they always terminate together. Grace and sin have each acted its part upon the stage of time, and the victory hovered doubtfully, sometimes over sin, and sometimes over grace ; but now the war is ended, and the quarrel decided, grace keeps its ground, and sin is finally vanquished. Now, and never before, the gracious soul stands tri- umphing like that noble Argive,
In voctio solus sessQ?', plausorque theatra. Uot an enemy left to renew the combat ; the war is ended, and with it all the fears and sorrows of the saints.
Consectary 2. Separated souls become impeccable, or free from all the hazard of sin, from the time of their separation : for, there being no root of sin now inherent in them, consequently no temp- tation to sin can fasten upon them; all temptations have their handles in the corruptions of our natures: did not Satan find matter prepared within us, dry tinder fitted to his hand, he might strike in temptations long enough, before one of his hellish sparks could catch or fasten upon us. Temptations are grievous exercises to behevers ; they are darts, Eph. vi. 16. they are thorns, 2 Cor, xii. 7. But the separate soul is out of gunshot ,• it were as good discharge an arrow at the body of the sun, as a temptation at a translated soul.
Consectary 3. Separated souls are more lovely companions, and their converses more sweet and delightful than ever they were in this world. It was their corruption which spoiled their communion on earth ; and it is their spotless holiness which makes it incom- parably pleasant in heaven. The best and loveliest saints have something in them which is distasteful ; even sweet briars and holy thistles have their offensive prickles : but when that which was so lovely on earth is made perfect in heaven, and nothing of that re- mains in lieaven, which was so offensive in them on earth ; O what blessed, delightful companions will they be ! O blessed society I O most desirable companions ! let my soul for ever be united to their assembly. I love them under their corruptions; but how shall my soul be knit to them, when it seeth them shining in their perfections ^
Proposition 9. The pleasure and delights of the separate spirits of the just^ are incomparahly greater and sweeter than those they ^id, or at any time could eocpei^ience in their bodily state.
With what a pleasant face would death smile upon behevers !
A TREATISE OF THE SOUL OF MAN. 43
what roses would it raise in its pale cheeks, if this proposition were but well settled in our hearts by faith ! And if we will not be wanting to ourselves, it may be firmly settled there, by these four considerations, which demonstrate it.
Consideration 1. Whatsoever pleasure any man receives in this loorld^ he receives it by means of' his soul. Even all corporeal and sensitive delights have no other rehsh and sweetness, but what the soul gives them, which is demonstrable by this ; that if a man be placed amidst all the pleasing objects and circumstances in the world, if he were in that centre, where he might have the confluence of all the delights of this world ; yet if the spirit be wounded, there is no more relish or savour in them, than in the white of an egg. What pleasure had Spira in his liberty, estate, wife and children ; these things were indeed proposed and urged, again and again, to relieve him ? but instead of pleasure they became his horror : let but the mind be wounded, and all the mirth is marred : one touch from God upon the spirit, destroys all the joy of this world. Nay,