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II. We shall consider the happiness that the members of the invisible church enjoy; which is called communion with Christ in glory, as it includes in it perfect holiness; accordingly we read of the spirits of just men made perfect, Heb. xii. 23. This perfection consists in the rooting out all those remainders of corruption, and those habitual inclinations to sin, that they were never wholly freed from in this world. The most that can be said concerning a believer at present, is, that he has a princi ple of spiritual life and grace, which inclines him to oppose, and stand his ground against, the assaults of sin that dwelleth in him, whereby it is mortified, but not wholly destroyed. The work of sanctification is daily growing to perfection, though it does not fully attain to it: But when the soul leaves the world, it arrives to perfection in a moment; so that the power which man had at first, to yield sinless obedience, which was lost by the fall of our first parents, is regained with great advantage. For this perfection of holiness not only denotes a sinless state, but the soul's being confirmed therein; and accordingly it is said to be received into the highest heaven, the place into which no unclean thing can enter; where there is spotless purity, as well as everlasting happiness; and here they are described as beholding the face of God in light and glory. These things need not be particularly insisted on in this place, since the same privileges are said, in a following answer, to belong to believers after the day of judgment, both in their souls and bodies, when they shall be received into heaven, and be made perfectly holy and happy, and be blest with the immediate vision of God; Therefore all that we shall consider at present, with relation hereunto, is,

1. That the soul is immediately made partaker of this bles sedness on its separation from the body.

2. It is farther described as waiting for the full redemption of the body, which is still supposed to continue under the dominion of death, though united to Christ, and consequently under his special protection: Upon which account believers are said, when they die, to rest in their graves as in their beds, till their bodies are again united to their souls at the last day.

1. We shall consider that the soul is made partaker of this

* See Quest. xc.

which proves the latter, is a proof of the former. Not only did his actually raising the dead, and arising himself, prove that the dead shall rise, but every prophecy accomplished in him, and every miracle wrought by him and his apos tles, the continuance of his church, the purity of his system of doctrines, the doctrines of election, redemption, justification, regeneration and perseverance, as well as the express declarations on this subject, both in the old and new testsment, all form a solid mass of evidence upon which the hopes of the christian may firmly rest.

blessedness immediately after its separation from the body, as it is observed in this answer; which seems to militate against three opinions that have been advanced relating to the state of separate souls.

[1.] That of the Papists, who maintain that the soul is not made perfect in holiness at death, but enters into a middlestate, which they call purgatory, in which it is to endure exquisite torments, designed partly as a punishment inflicted for those sins committed in this life, which have not been expiated by satisfaction made by them, and partly to free them from the sin which they brought with them into that state.

[2.] Another opinion which seems to be opposed in this answer, is what was maintained by some of the ancient Fathers; namely, that the souls of believers do not immediately enter into the highest heaven before they are reunited to their bodies, but into paradise; not to suffer, as the Papists pretend that they do who are in purgatory; but to enjoy those pleasures which are reserved for them in a place not much inferior to heaven.

[3.] There is another opinion which is subversive of the doctrine contained in this answer; namely, that the soul, at its separation from the body, sleeps till the resurrection; and consequently, in that intermediate space of time in which it is separate, it is no more capable of happiness or misery than the body that lies in the grave. The absurdity of these opinions we shall take occasion farther to consider. And,

[1.] That of the Papists concerning a middle-state, into which they suppose, souls enter at death, in order to their being cleansed from the remainders of sin, whereby they are made meet for heaven. This doctrine, how ludicrous and ungrounded soever it may appear to be, they are so fond of, that it will be as hard a matter to convince them of the absurdity thereof, as it was of old to convince the worshippers of Diana at Ephesus, of their stupid idolatry; because it tends to promote their secular interest. They first endeavour to persuade the poor deluded people, that they must suffer very great torments after death, unless they be relieved by the prayers of their surviving friends; and then, to induce them to shew this favour to them, as well as that they may merit some abatement of these torments or a speedy release from them, they tell them, that it is their duty and interest to leave their estates, by their last will and testament to pious uses; such as building of churches, endowing of monasteries, &c. by which means they have got a great part of the estates of the people into their own hands. And to carry on this cheat, they give particular instances, in some of their writings, of souls being released from this dreadful place by their prayers.

The account they give of this middle-state, between heaven
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and hell, is not only that they are not admitted into the immediate presence of God; but are exposed to grievous torments by fire, little short of those that are endured in hell; and if they are not helped by the prayers of the church, they are in danger of being sent from thence directly to hell, from whence there is no release. They also add, that the punishment, in this state, is either longer or shorter, in proportion to the crimes committed in this world; for which satisfaction has not been made by penances endured, or money given to compensate for them. Some, indeed, are allowed, by them, to pass immediately into heaven, without being detained here; namely, those who have performed works of supererogation; or if by their entering into a vow of poverty, they have parted with their estates, while living in the world, for the use of the church, in which case no end could be answered, by telling them of this fable of purgatory. Others are told that they may escape it, by entering into a vow of chastity and canonical obedience; which belongs more especially to the priests, when entering into holy orders; whereby they take care to make provision for themselves, that so the deluded people may have a greater regard to their prayers, since they will find none in purgatory to perform that service for them. This is so vile and absurd an opinion, that it cannot but expose the church of Rome to the scorn and contempt of all who are not given up to strong delusions.

But though it sufficiently appears, that secular interest is the main foundation of this doctrine; yet there are some arguments, which they take from scripture, to support it; which is the only thing that requires our notice.

One scripture brought to this purpose, is in Isa. iv. 4. where the prophet speaks concerning the Lord's purging the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning; supposing that this should have its accomplishment when the soul left the body, and was detained in this place of torment. But this is very remote from the design of the Holy Ghost herein; for it only contains a metaphorical description of some judgments which God would inflict on people in this life, and as a means to reclaim them from them therefore we often read, in the prophets, of God's refning his people in the furnace of affliction, Isa. xlviii. 10. and accordingly it is said, that the Lord's fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem, chap. xxxi. 9. denoting the sore judgments they should undergo in this world, as a punishment for their idolatry.

Another scripture, which is miserably perverted, to support this doctrine, is that in Zech. ix. 11. By the blood of thy covenant have I sent forth thy prisoners, out of the pit wherein is

no water; which they suppose, is to be understood of some state after this life; because it is called the pit; and it is also described as a place of misery, inasmuch as there is no water, that is, no refreshing comforts; and they add, that the prophet does not speak of hell because some persons are described as sent forth, or released from it; therefore it must needs be understood of this middle-state, between heaven and hell. But, this is far from being the sense of the text, since it contains a prediction of their being delivered from the Babylonish captivity, which, in a metaphorical way of speaking, is called the pit, wherein is no water, to denote the great distress that the people were to be brought under therein; thus the prophet Isaiah, speaking of their deliverance from the captivity, says, The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, Isa. li. 14. Or else it denotes some future deliverance, which the church was to expect after great calamities undergone by them; and this is said to be by the blood of the covenant, denoting that all the happiness the church shall enjoy in this world, as well as the other is founded in the blood of Christ, pursuant to the covenant of grace: and if the text must necessarily be understood of a deliverance from evil after death, it may be considered as a prediction of our being delivered from eternal destruction, by the blood of Jesus.

Again, another scripture which they bring to support this fabulous doctrine, is in 1 Cor. iii. 13, 14, 15. Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is, If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. The reason why this scripture is forced into that cause which they maintain, is, because we read of persons being saved so as by fire; and this they suppose to respect that which should follow after the particular judgment of every one at death in which, a scrutiny shall be made concerning their works, or their behaviour in this world; and if they are found faulty, they may, notwithstanding, be saved after they have endured those sufferings which are there allotted for them.

But there is nothing in the text that gives the least countenance to this notion, since the apostle seems to be speaking concerning those ministers who preach false doctrines, that is, propagate errors not directly subversive of the fundamental articles of faith, but such as tend to embarrass the consciences of men, and, in many respects, lead them out of the way; or of others, who have been perverted by them, and have embraced pernicious errors, which, in their consequences, are subversive

of the faith, but yet do not hold those consequences: these may be saved, but their salvation shall be attended with some difficulty, arising from the mistaken notions which they have imbibed. Some compare this to a person whose house is in flames, and he saves his life with difficulty, being scorched thereby. God will, in his own time, take some method to discover what notions we have received in religion; and he is said to do it by fire. Whether this, as a learned writer observes, is to be understood of the clear gospel-dispensation,* or else respects some trying dispensation of providence, accompanied with a greater measure of the effusion of the Spirit, that shall lead men into the knowledge of their mistakes, and set them in the right way, I will not determine. But whether the one or the other of these senses of the texts seems most agreeable to the mind of the apostle, it is sufficiently evident that no countenance is given, either in this or any other scripture, to this absurd doctrine of the Papists.

Another scripture which they bring for the proof of this doctrine, is in 1 Pet. iii. 19. in which it is said, that our Saviour went and preached unto the spirits in prison. The sense they give of that text, compared with the foregoing verse, is, that as our Saviour, after his death, visited those repositories, where the Old Testament-saints were lodged, and preached the gospel to them, which they embraced; and pursuant hereupon, were admitted into heaven: so he went down into this subterraneous prison, and preached to them also; but whether this was attended with the same success, or no, they pretend not to determine; but only allege this as a proof that there is such a place: and to give countenance to this sense they say, that by the prison here spoken of, the prison of hell cannot be intended; inasmuch as there is no hope of salvation there, and consequently no preaching of the gospel. And it cannot be meant of his preaching to any in this world; for they suppose, that he went after he left the world, and preached to spirits, that is, to persons, whose souls were separate from their bodies; therefore he went, as they argue, and preached to those that are in purgatory: but in giving this sense of the text, they are obliged to take no notice of what follows, which, if duly considered, would plainly overthrow it.

The meaning of this scripture therefore is this, that our Saviour preached by his Spirit, to the old world, in the ministry of Noah, while he was preparing the ark; but they being diso bedient, were not only destroyed by the flood, but shut up in

See Dr. Edward's exercit. Part II. on 1 Cor. iii. 15. who, to give countenance to this opinion, produces two scriptures, viz. Mark xiv. 54. and Luke xxii. 56. where the word gas, is put for fire; from whence he supposes, that gas and top, are used promiscuously.

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