Doct. "1. That we are presently with the Lord as soon as the soul il itteth out of the body.
VeE. 8.] SEllMONS UPON 2 COEINTHIANS V. 27
This is one of the plainest texts to prove that separated souls, as soon as they are out of the body, do enjoy bliss and glory. There are a sort of men in the world who are so drowned in sense that they cannot believe things to come, either questioning the immortality of the soul, or else, which is a step to it, asserting the sleep of it ; and all because they so fancy it to be tied to the body, as that it cannot exercise its functions and operations without it. Tliose that deny the being of the soul, or the abiding of it after the body is dissolved, I shall not handle that now ; but to those that grant the abiding of the soul, but in a deep sleep, without any sense and feeling of good or evil, I must show the falsehood of this opinion, or else all that I shall say will be to no purpose. Therefore I shall handle these three things —
1. That the soid is distinct from the body.
2. That the soul can live and exercise its operations apart from the body.
3. That the souls of the saints actually do so.
1. That the soul is distinct from the body, and is not merely the vigour of the blood, appeareth by scripture, reason and experience. In scripture we read, that when man's body was organised and framed, ' God breathed into him the spirit of life/ Gen. ii. 7.
[1.] The life of man is a distinct thing from this mass of flesh ; that is proportioned into hands and feet, head and belly, arms and legs, bones and sinews. And this life of man, whatever it be, it is such a life as implieth reason, and a faculty of understanding, and willing or opposing : ' In him was life, and that life was the light of men,' John i. 4. It doth not only enliven this flesh, but discourse and choose things at its own pleasure — a life that hath light in it. It is distinct from the body in its nature, being a substance immaterial, and not capable of being divided into parts, as the body is, for it is a spirit, not created of matter, as the body was. The body was formed out of the dust of the ground, and therefore it can be resolved into its original, but the spirit was immediately created by God out of nothing. Therefore the scripture saith, Eccles. xii. 7, ' Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.' Where the body is dust in its composition, it shall be dust in its dissolution. There is described the first and last condition of the body, in regard of its material cause, and the soul is described in the kind of its being. It is a spirit, or an immaterial substance ; its author, God, gave it ; he framed the body too, but not so immediately in ordinary generation. And our natural fathers are distinguished from the Father of our spirits, Heb. xii. 9. And by its disposal ; when the body returneth to dust, the soul returneth to God that gave it. When the material and passive part is separated from that inward and active principle of its motions, the scripture telleth you what becometh of the one and the other. The material part is resolved to dust again, but the spirit returneth to God. So the saints resign it : Acts vii. 59, ' And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'
[2.] It is distinct in its supports. The body is supported by out- ward means, and the help of the creature, but the soul is supported without means, by the immediate hand and power of God himself.
28 SERMONS UPON 2 CORINTHIANS V. [SeR. XI.
The body is patched up with daily supplies from without. As it was made out of the earth, so is its food brought out of the earth, Ps. civ. 14, and its clothing too ; but the soul needeth not these things.
[3.] It is distinct in its operations. There are certain operations of the soul wholly independent on matter, as understanding and willing, for they agree to God and angels, who have no bodies ; and there is no proper instrument in the body by which they should be exercised, as sight by the eye, hearing by the ear ; nay, it understands not only corporeal things, which are received by the ministry of the senses, but spiritual things, as God and angels, who have no bodies. And it can reflect upon itself ; therefore it hath operations proper and peculiar to itself ; so that it doth not depend on the body.
[4.] It is distinct from the body as to weakness and perfection, as to pleasure and pain.
(1.) As to weakness and perfection. The soul perisheth and decayeth not with the body ; when the body droopeth and languisheth; the soul is well and jocund — yea, better than it was before. There are distinct periods of time, beyond which it is impossible to add a cubit or hair's-breadth to one's stature. But the soul is ever growing forward to its perfection ; and multitude of years, though they bring on much weakness, yet increase wisdom, Job xxxii. 7. Yea, the soul is strongest when weakest ; dying christians have manifested the highest excellency under bodily infirmities, and when least of the life of nature, most glorious expressions of the life of grace : 2 Cor. iv. 16, ' For though the outward man perish, the inner man is renewed day by day.'