Doct. That Jesus Christ at his coming will so change these vile bodies of ours that they shall become glorious bodies, and fit to be placed in the heavenly city.
In discussing this point —
1. I shall consider the state of the body as it is now.
2. What our bodies shall be at Christ's coming.
3. I shall prove that these same vile bodies which we now carry about do then become glorious bodies.
4. What grounds there are to facilitate our hopes and expectations. I. What the body is now ; he calleth it a '■ vile body ; ' this must be
a little explained.
1. It is vile in respect of its original ; it was made out of the dust of the ground : Gen. iii. 19, ' Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.' That curious frame which we see and admire so much, it is but dust well coloured and moulded up into a comely shape. The matter- of which it was made was the dust of the earth. All elements meet in mixed bodies, yet in gross and heavy bodies, such as man's is, earth is predominant. This showeth the wisdom and power of God at first, that he could make such a curious frame of dust. We read in the plagues of Egypt, that the magicians could not bring forth lice out of the dust of the ground, Exod. viii. 17-19; yet God raised from thence such a noble creature as man is. But it doth much more set forth the wisdom, and goodness, and power of God, that this vile body shall at length become a glorious body, and these corruptible and earthly bodies shall be made spiritual and heavenly, and a clod of earth shall shine like the sun for brightness.
2. As to its constitution, when it is at the best it is but a frail taber- nacle, and liable to death and corruption. Our ' foundation is in the dust, and we are crushed before the moth,' Job iv. 19. The matter that we are made of is not brass, or iron, or stone, or stiff clay, but
170 SERMONS UPON PHILIPPIANS III. [SER. XVIL
dust, which hath no coherence or consistence, but is easily dissipated and scattered with every puff of wind ; so is our dusty tabernacle with every blast of God's displeasure : Isa. xl. 24, ' He shall blow upon them, and they shall wither.' We are poor, weak, and mutable creatures, that easily fail and disappear.
3. It is a vile body in regard of sustentation and support. He bringeth food for them out of the earth : Pa civ. 14, ' He bringeth forth grass for the cattle, and green herbs for the service of'man.' Things bred there and nourished there feed us. As the body is framed out of the dust of the earth, so from the earth it is supported. Meat and drink, and such kind of accommodations, continue and repair this house from day to day ; we are forced to shoar up a ruinous tabernacle, which is ready continually to drop down upon our heads.
4. It is a vile body in regard of the many miseries to which it is obnoxious : Job xiv. 1, ' Man, that is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble.' Life is but short, but long enough to lay us open to many calamities. There are some common miseries which are incident to all mankind during the bodily estate, but the godly are often exposed to a vilified, persecuted, and calamitous estate : John xv. 19, ' Because I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.'
5. It is a vile body, because it is subject to many diseases, aches, and pains. Job and Lazarus had their sores; all have their infirmities to keep them humble. Paul's thorn in the flesh : 2 Cor. xii. 7, 9, ' And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. There- fore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'
6. It is a vile body, because it is not only the soul1 of diseases, but often made the instrument of sin. We are bidden to keep our ' vessel in sanctification and honour,' 1 Thes. iv. 4, meaning our body; but how many use it only for a channel for lusts to run in, or a strainer for meats and drinks to pass through, oppress nature, and make the body more vile by their brutish lusts and affections ?
7. It is vile in death. The body that was dust in its composition will shortly be dust in its dissolution : Eccles. xii. 7, ' Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God that gave it ; ' that is, be resolved into the matter of which it was once made. It is said of a prince, Ps. cxlvi. 4, ' His breath goeth forth, he return- etli to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish.' The greatest potentates in the world are of kin to the dust of the ground, and at length are gathered to the earth from whence they had their beginning.