immortal by Nature, and if he forfeited his fupernatural Privilege of Immortality by his Sin, I think 'tis evident, even to Demonftration, that God has done us no Injustice, by appointing Man once to die.

2. If we reflect upon the Moral and Penal Evils that attend the best of Men in this World, we shall fee much more reafon to admire both the Wisdom and Goodness of God, in laying us under a neceffity of Dying, than to reflect on either of thefe Attributes, because God has appointed Man once to die. Here good Men are not only tempted to fin, but frequently overcome by the Tempter: They Rom, 7, 23. find a Law in their Members warring against the Law of their Minds, and frequently carrying them into Captivity to the Law of Sin, which is in their Members. Now we fhall never be perfectly freed from indwelling Sin, till the moment of our Diffolution. Moreover, as long as Sin is in the World, it will be follow'd with a Train of Miferies: Indeed fome People are not expos'd to fo many and fo great Troubles as others; yet Men indefinitely are born to Trouble, as the Sparks fly upward. Man that is born Job 14. 1. of a Woman, is of few Days, and full of Trouble. Now fince Man in no State of Life here can be entirely freed from Sin, and perfectly exempt from Troubles, even of various kinds; 'tis fo far from being any juft Reflection upon the Wisdom and Goodness of God, that Man is made fubje&t to Death, that 'tis an unfpeakable Mercy to all good Men, that they are oblig'd to drop these Bodies, with which they put off the Body of Sin, and have an Opportunity to reft in their Beds; I mean, to lie down in the Ifa. 57.3. Cc 2

Grave,

Job 3. 17.3 Grave, where the Wicked ceafe from Troubling, and where the Weary are at Reft.

3. The Ends of the Divine Government upon Earth are admirably ferv'd, by this Decree and Difpenfation concerning the Mortality of Man. God's Defign in governing the World, is the real Benefit of Rational Beings, as well as the Advancement of the Glory of his own Attributes and Perfections. If Men run riot in Sin now, and are prodigiously wicked, tho they know they fhall die, and they cannot reafonably expect to live beyond the common Standard of Human Life; what a Hell would this Earth be, if inhabited with innumerable Myriads of immortal Sinners! 'Tis more than probable, that the extraordinary Wickedness of the Old World, which provok'd God to destroy all but eight Perfons, was very much promoted by the long Lives of wicked Men, who had fo many and fo great Opportunities of corrupting those they convers'd with: And therefore it has been frequently obferv'd, that when God promis'd Noah, that there should never be fuch another Deluge as to destroy all Flesh, he faw it neceffary, after the Flood, to contract Human Life; that Men might not have fo many Opportunities of tempting one another to Sin, and of advancing the Interests of Satan's Kingdom, as the Antediluvians had.

4. Good Men cannot receive a confummate Reward in this Life, nor bad Men be expos'd to the utmoft Miferies their Sins have deferv'd: for if wicked Men were to be punish'd here according to their Deferts, who could bear the thoughts of continuing in this World, which would fo much refemble that Lake of Fire and Brimftone, where the Worm never dies, nor is the

Fire ever quench'd? Indeed God does fometimes, in the Courfe of his Providence, put a visible difference betwixt the Righteous and the Wicked, even in this Life: But the compleat Happiness of the one, and the perfect Mifery of the other, cannot be adminiftred here, but is referv'd for the other State into which Men enter at Death. What God can do, if he'd act out of his ordinary way, by a Series of Miracles, thro the Ages of Eternity, is not for us to determine; but according to his eftablish'd Methods of Government, and the Nature and Order of Things, the Glory of God, and the Happiness of Mankind, is beft fecur'd by his appointing Man once to die.

5. If God had not determin'd that Men fhould die, the World would have been overstock'd with People many Ages ago: And what would have follow'd upon this, but while Men could have fubfifted, the first Poffeffors would have been Princes, and the generality of their Descendants Beggars? For 'tis not to be imagin'd that they who had been in poffeffion of an Estate three or four thousand Years, would confent to quit their Right, while 1ving, to younger Branches of the Family. And if the Poor are fo numerous and full of Complaints now, both would have increas'd in proportion, or else all People must have been upon à level, and all Civil Distinctions loft; and instead of well-govern'd Communities, the whole World would have been one confus'd Mob. Moreover, 'tis easy to make it appear, even to Demonstration, that if there had not been a Succeffion of Funerals, as well as Births, the whole Globe of the Earth would not have contain'd the infinite Numbers that would have

been produc'd from Adam to this day. Nor could the Earth have furnish'd a Supply; fo that the Inhabitants muft either have died with Famine, or have been fuftain'd by Miracles. No one therefore has the leaft fhadow of Reafon to reflect either on the Goodness or the Wisdom of God, for decreeing that Man should die; efpecially if we confider,

In the fixth and laft place, The infallible Affurance that God has given all good Men, of a joyful Refurrection to Eternal Life. And this was done very early; for fo amazing was the Divine Goodness, that the Promife was exhibited before the Sentence of Death was denounc'd on our firft Parents. For tho they had forfeited their Immortality by their Sin, and highly difpleas'd and provok'd the great Sovereign of the World: yet before God faid to Gen. 3. 19. them, Duft thou art, and to Duft thou shalt return; he promises the Messiah, and fays to Satan, I will put an Enmity between thee and the Woman, and between thy Seed and her Seed; it Shall bruife thy Head, and thou shalt bruife his Heel. In which words we have the Gospel, as it were, in Miniature: for both Jewish and Christian Interpreters have acknowledg'd, that this Promife did refer to the Meffiah; and in it there is a very plain intimation, not only that the Son of God fhould affume Human Nature, and fuffer in it, but that his Success should be glorious, that he should destroy the Power of Satan, and be the Author of eternal Redemption to his People. Indeed 'tis objected, That [Seed] fignifies a Nation, or Number of Perfons; as when God, promises the Meffiah, Ifa. 53. 1o. that he fhall fee his Seed. In return to which, I fay, That tho Seed be a Noun of Multitude,

yet

yet we find it apply'd in Scripture to a fingle Perfon; as when Seth is call'd another Seed, Gen. 24. 25. And agreeably to this, is the way of arguing the Apostle ufes in his Epiftle to the Galatians : Gal. 3. 16. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promifes made. He faith not, And to Seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy Seed, which is Chrift. St. Paul argues from the Words being in the Singular Number, because 'tis Seed *, and not Seeds; therefore it fignifies one Person, and not more; and that Perfon is Chrift. Now fince Mankind had this early Affurance of the Incarnation of the Son of God, and that in the Human Nature he fhould overcome Satan, or as the Author to the Hebrews expreffes it, Deftroy him who had the Power of Death, that is the Devil, and deliver them, who thro fear of Death, were all their Life-time fubject to Bondage: I fay, this is fuch an Inftance of amazing Goodness, as may juftly raise the Admiration of Men and Angels, that an offended Deity should promise the great Blessing of a perfect Saviour to Rebels, before he denounces against 'em a Threatning for their Difobedience.

The Doctrine of the Refurrection is plainly reveal'd in the Old Teftament, tho various Circumstances concerning that Event are fet in a clearer Light by the New. Fob is exprefs with reference to this great Article of Faith: I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he fhall Job 19. 25, Stand at the latter Day upon the Earth; and tho after my Skin, Worms deftroy this Body, yet in my

* Indeed R. Ifaac makes fome Spiteful Remarks on the Apoftle apon this Occafion, which are fully confuted by Bishop Kidder, in bis 2d Part of his Demonstration of the Meffiah, p. 256.

CC 4

Flesh

26.