The

of the Perfonal Wisdom, or the Son of God," in the Book of Proverbs, where perfonal Pro- Prov. 8. 22, perties are often afcrib'd to Wisdom. And to 31. exprefs the Eternity of Wisdom, 'tis faid, It was with God. So here, the Word was with God, i. e. (faith one) it was always together with him, partaking of his Happiness and Glory. To which our Saviour refers in his Prayer, Glorify me with thine own felf, with the John 17. 5. Glory I had with thee before the World was. fame was in the beginning with God: Here the Evangelift plainly diftinguishes betwixt God. the Father, and God the Son: for tho he affirms that the Word was God, yet he fignifies to us that it was not God the Father; for, fays he, the fame was in the Beginning with God, i. e. the fame perfonal Word, the Son of God; who is afterwards call'd the only begotten of the John 1. 14 Father. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. "Which (as a * Learned Man remarks) could

not have been more emphatically exprefs'd, "than it is here by the Evangelift, after the "manner of the Hebrews; who when they "would fay a thing with the greatest force and "certainty, are wont to express it both affir"matively and negatively: as, he shall live, and "not die; he fhall most affuredly live. So here, "All things were made by him, and without him cr was not any thing made that was made; i. e. "He made all Creatures without exception, "and confequently he himself is not a Crea"ture, because it is evidently impoffible that 66 any thing should ever make it felf: But then

* Vid. Archbishop Tillotson's Sermons concerning the Divinity and Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour, pag. 37, 38. in Octavo. " if

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"if he be, and yet was never made, it is cer "tainly true that he always was, even from "all Eternity."

4. Those that have a Redeemer in Heaven, have reason to believe that they fhall perfevere on Earth. This Inference is very natural, and will appear fo, if we confider John 14.19. What our Redeemer fays himself; Because I live, ye shall live alfo. A Believer's Life does not depend upon his own free Will, but upon the Life of Chrift in Heaven. That omnipotent Grace which caus'd us to fpring out of the Grave, and restor'd Life to our dead Souls, can with a great deal of ease make us perfevere Rom. 5. 10. in it. He that reconciled us when we were Enemies by his Death, will much more fave us by his Life. As the first Act of Divine quickning is owing to his meritorious Death, fo the continuance of that spiritual Life is fecur'd by his prevalent Interceffion.

The Covenant of Grace, in which every Be2 Sam.23.5. liever is interested, is an Everlafting Covenant, order'd in all things and fure. And the Advan tage of being in fuch a Covenant-Relation to God, is excellently exprefs'd by the Prophet: Jer. 32.40. I will make an Everlasting Covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good; but I will put my fear in their Hearts, that they shall not depart from me. And our blessed

28.

John 10.27, Saviour fays, That he gives to his Sheep Eternal Life, that they fhall never perish, neither fall any pluck them out of his hand.

I proceed now to the

Second general Head of Difcourfe, which is to fpeak of Job's Expectation, with respect to his Redeemer and himself; which he expresses in

these

thefe words: That he shall stand at the latter Day upon the Earth, and tho after my Skin (fays he Worms deftroy this Body, yet in my Flesh Shall I fee God: whom I shall fee for my felf, and mine Eyes fhall behold, and not another, tho my Reins be confum'd within me. Wherein we make take notice of these five things.

1st, Of what Job fuppofes and expected, viz. his own Diffolution by Death; Tho after my Skin, Worms deftroy this Body, tho my Reins be confumed within me.

2dly, Here is his Hope and Affurance of the Refurrection of his Body; for after it had been once a Feaft for Worms, he expected, in his Flesh, to fee God: which could not be, except that Body was raised.

3dly, Here is his fteddy Faith concerning the Identity of the dying and rifing Body, in my Flesh; that is, in my own Flefh fhall I fee God.

4thly, Here is the Happiness he was affured of, as confequent hereupon; and that was his injoying the Vifion of God, Whom (fays he) I fhall fee for my self, and not another.

Sthly, The time when he expected this Happiness, and that was, at the latter Day.

I fhall fpeak of each of these as briefly as I can, and fhut up my whole Difcourfe with a few Inferences.

1ft, Fob did expect his own Diffolution by Death; Tho after my Skin, Worms deftroy this Body, tho my Reins be confumed within me. I will not ftand to recite the various Readings of this Text, but take the words juft as they lie in our Translation, which are very expreffive of Job's expected Diffolution of his Body; for the [Body] be not in the Hebrew Text, yet it is evident he intends it: and it is not improH 2 bable

bable but that he might take up fome of his Flesh, or point to his Body, when he faid, Tho after my Skin, Worms deftroy This, pointing to his Body, or stretching forth his Arm, for fo it is in the Original; tho after my Skin, Worms deftroy this, i. e. this Body.

By Destruction, he doth not mean that the Matter of which the Body is compos'd, fhall be annihilated; but that the Body being feparated from the Soul, its Beauty and Usefulnefs fhall become a Prey to Death, which corrupted in the Grave, shall be reduc'd to Duft, its first Original, according to the Divine Gen. 2. 19. Threat; Duft thou art, and to Duft thou shalt return. Therefore Job, in feveral places of

14.

24, 25, 26.

this Book, is very exprefs in this matter; Job 17. 13, If I wait, the Grave is my House-I have faid to Corruption, Thou art my Father; and to the Worm, Thou art my Mother, and my Sifter. He expected to be gnawn by Worms, and to become an Entertainment for the most contemptible Infects. Therefore again, fays he, Job 21. 23, One dieth in his full Strength, being wholly at eafe and quiet. His Breafts are full of Milk, and his Bones are moistned with Marrow. Another dieth in the bitterness of his Soul, and never eateth with Pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the Duft, and the Worms fhall cover them. All Perfons, how distant foever they may be in their Way and Walk, in their State and Condition, yet at last they shall meet in the Grave, where all Diftinctions are buried with the Confufion of human Duft. This was what fob expected, tho he had an Intereft in the Redeemer; for the Righteous Zach. 1. 5. must die as well as the Wicked. Your Fathers, where are they? and the Prophets, do they live

for

for ever? The Grave receives, without diftinction, the Rich and Poor, the Strong and Weak, the Wife and Foolish, Young and Old, Holy and Profane; for thofe of the greatest Integrity are compos'd of the fame frail Materials, and are liable to die of the fame Difeases as the vileft of Men. This is fo evident in Fact, that I need not go about to prove it. For altho we have had many Volumes written to preferve Health, yet I think Mr. Afgil's profane Pamphlet was the first that was ever written to give Directions to avoid Death; an Attempt as vain as to meafure Wind, to weigh Fire, or ftop the Course of the Sun. For as the Records of the Grave are an undeniable Testimony of the Frailty of human Nature, fo the Death of this Perfon, in a little time, will confute the Works of his Life, and give the lye to his abfurd Opinion. But then (fays he) if I die, I declare I die of no Religion. No doubt but he speaks the Truth; for he that lives without God in the World, will certainly die without any good Hope, and a stranger to all Religion.

Now altho what this Man has attempted be vain and idle, yet it will not be an improper Question here to ask, Why the Righteous die, fince the Satisfaction of Chrift for them was, upon all accounts, compleat and perfect? I will only name a few things in answer to this, and fo pafs on:

First, The threatning of Death was not pronounc'd till after the Promise of the Meffias; which fhews,that God did defign that the Righteous fhould die as well as the Wicked, they being guilty of Original Sin as well as others. Now tho the Meffias is promis'd, who was to fa

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tisfy