71

III.] THE SEPARATE STATE OF THE SOUL. neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for those that love Him.' How, therefore, we shall exist in a world to come, "wherein dwelleth righteousness," we know not; but only that we shall exist, and our faculties will be so enlarged "when He shall appear," that we shall see the Almighty face to face. But whether the soul immediately after death will be active in a separate state, or sleep, until He shall appear in judgment, is no where positively revealed; we only know, that whatever may be the condition of the soul, it will be neither in a state of trial, nor capable of any change; but as death leaves it, judgment will find it if there be any thing clear in the Scriptures, it is this; and therefore they invariably represent this life as the time allotted to man for securing his eternal welfare. The subject has been handled by many pious and learned men, and those passages in Scripture, which seem to favour the opinion of the soul's activity in an intermediate state, have been explained with sufficient clearness to show at least, that they are not positive: whilst, on the other hand, those who take alarm at this state of repose, as approaching to annihilation, and who think it would place retribution at too great a distance to influence the present existence, are exhorted to consider, that many

72

ST. PAUL'S METHOD OF

[LECT.

thousands of years are, in that case, the same as a moment of time.-The soul may be hushed in death, but will awake to judgment !—But let us see what the apostle does declare unto the Thessalonians, "by the word of the Lord," that is to say, by express revelation.

The Thessalonians, it appears, had been bereaved of some of their Christian brethren, and this diffused a general sorrow through the Church their grief was much increased by the apprehension, that those brethren, who had thus gone before, would not partake of the benefits of Christ's second coming, or in other words, had been forestalled by death, of all the privileges of the Christian profession. The apostle, therefore, bids them not to be sorry, as the Gentiles were in such cases, who had no hope of another world; but to consider the doctrine they had been taught to believe, viz. "that Jesus died and rose again :" and thus, becoming the first-fruits of them that slept, would bring with Him, at His second coming, those that slept in Him. He then proceeds to deliver as much as had been revealed to him on this subject-"this we say unto you by the word of the Lord." He does not pretend to fix the day of the Lord, nor does he rebuke the Thessalonians for their erroneous speculations on its early appearance;-but he says, "of the

III.]

COMFORTING THE THESSALONIANS.

66

73

times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night:" thus waving the question of the time when Christ should appear, he applies himself to console the sorrowful Thessalonians by the word of the Lord." We which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, (he saith, we, not meaning that he should be alive, but he personates the Christians, who shall at that period be remaining,) as if he had said, such of us Christians as shall remain unto the judgment day, shall not prevent, that is, be beforehand, or have any advantage over them which are asleep; but this will be the order of that great and awful day, the Lord Himself will visibly appear, descending from the heavens with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and so far from the living saints having any preference, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we (the Christians) which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be ever with the Lord: he then bids them comfort and exhort one another with the words which he thus spake by Divine revelation. Now since the apostle's object was to console the Thessalonians for the premature loss of their dear friends,

74 ST. PAUL'S AUTHORITY LIMITED.

[LECT.

one might think that, had he been authorized, he would have said, even now though their bodies be asleep, their souls are in the enjoyment of bliss; for this would have been the greatest consolation of all; and instead of their being deprived of a share of the blessedness to come, those who had fallen asleep would ever have surpassed in bliss those who remained alive, being already in the full possession of their reward. It is evident, therefore, St. Paul had no authority to speak upon the separate state of the soul; for he only consoles the people with that which shall happen at the judgment day; and he says, the dead in Christ sleep. I do not affirm this PROVES the insipidness of the soul in the intermediate state of separation from the body; but this I say, it proves St. Paul had no distinct revelation on the subject, and consequently, all that men may say upon it is pure matter of speculation; and it cannot be imposed upon Christians, as an article of faith, either one way or the other. Hence we see the real Church of Christ is silent upon this point in the three Catholic creeds which our reformers retained, the intermediate state is passed over in silence'.

The compilers of our Liturgy seem, indeed, to have inclined to the opinion, that the good soul entered immediately after death into a state of happiness-but their senti

III.] ST. PAUL'S AUTHORITY LIMITED.

75

We read of no judgment in the Scriptures, except that of the last day: the end of the world is invariably pointed to, by the sacred writers, as the time for men to give an account of the deeds done in the body. Since then it hath not pleased the Lord to reveal this secret unto the children of men, why should man "'intrude into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind?"

ments are only slightly seen, in one of the prayers at the burial of the dead; most of the Latin fathers entertained a similar opinion; but it was not imposed by our reformers as an article of faith. If we consult the primitive Church we shall find the authority for the popular opinion diminish. Irenæus states the orthodox faith as follows :

Manifestum est, quia discipulorum ejus animæ abibunt in invisibilem locum definitum eis à Deo, et ibi usque ad resurrectionem commorabuntur, sustinentes resurrectionem, post recipientes corpora, et perfectè resurgentes, hoc est corporaliter, quemadmodum et Dominus resurrexit, sic venient ad conspectum Dei. Adv. Hæres. lib. v. cap. 31. And Lactantius, though later, denies that souls are judged immediately after death, but maintains they are kept in one common custody, till the time arrives when the great Judge shall make a trial of their merits. It is generally agreed among divines, that the soul shall not enjoy the presence of God until the resurrection; but this state of custody, or negative happiness, differs but little in its practical influence from the opinion of a state of sleep, or unconscious repose. I conceive the Christian is at liberty to derive his consolation from either view of the subject he finds most consoling-but the council of Trent has made one view alone of it the foundation of the invocation of saints!