by birth, is in opposition to the heavenly life, and consists in mere lusts or concupiscences; wherefore this life is to be relinquished or extinguished; which is effected by means of temptations. They who kill the body, then, are the temptations, and the tempting powers, by whose agency the life of the external man, or the life of man's lusts, is extinguished: and he who hath power to cast soul and body into hell, is the love of evil, which is opposition to the Lord pertinaciously cherished, and which causes the Lord himself to appear as in opposition to man; the consequence of which is the destruction both of the internal and the external man, and immersion in endless misery.

Matt. xxvii. 52, 53. When Jesus died on the cross, we read, "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." It has always appeared to me surprising that any should quote this narration in proof of the common doctrine of the resurrection of the body; when it is attended with such difficulties, if taken literally, as strongly lead to the opinion, that the bodies which arose were not natural or material bodies; and, by consequence, that there is no reference to the natural or material body, in any of the passages which treat of the resurrection. In the first place, if the bodies of all who have lived from the creation of the world are to be raised together at a certain last day (as the texts on which the doctrine rests, if they teach any such doctrine at all, must be understood to affirm), is it not very extraordinary that "many" of these same bodies actually rose without waiting for this last day? The matter would be not quite so surprising were there to be two general resurrections,

one at the time of the Lord's resurrection, of all who had lived previously, and a final one of all who should live afterwards: but in the case before us the bodies of all who had previously lived did not rise, but only of many of them.

Is it not then, secondly, very extraordinary, if there was a resurrection of material bodies at all, that it should be merely a partial one? Upon what principle could the selection be aade? How, with justice to the countless millions who were left slumbering still in their graves, to wait for their resurrection thousands of years afterwards, could a termination be thus put to the long sleep of some? And who could those be supposed to be who were thus favored? Mr. Fleming conjectures, and certainly with great plausibility, taking the premises for granted, that they were some of the most eminent saints of the Old Testament. Certainly, very superior eminence was necessary, to make the distinction not invidious. But, as others observe, no saint of the Old Testament was more eminent than David; it would therefore be very improbable that David should

be excluded from such a resurrection: and yet we learn, from Acts ii. 34, that David's body then remained still in its grave. The learned are obliged, therefore, to conclude, that these were not eminent, but merely common saints; and some, to avoid other difficulties, suppose that they were such as had not been long dead, and whose bodies, as yet, were not much the worse for their so journ in the tomb.

But, thirdly, is it not very extraordinary, that so public a miracle, as well as so stupendous a one, as this must have been, if the circumstances were literally as related, was never appealed to by the Apostles, either in their preaching, as recorded in the Acts, or in their Epistles; and is never anywhere alluded to but in this single place? When speaking of the resurrection of Jesus, how came they never to advert to the multitude who rose with him, and who had appeared to so many? The graves were opened at the Lord's crucifixion; their tenants came forth after his resurrection; "consequently," in the words of Doddridge, "the tombs stood open all the sabbath, when the law would not allow any attempt to close them. What an astonishing spectacle! especially if their resurrection was not instantaneously accomplished, but by such slow degrees as that represented in Ezekiel's vision." Astonishing indeed! And how did the Jews evade the force of such a prodigy? The sepulchre of Jesus was certainly found unclosed and empty; wherefore the chief priests bribed the soldiers to say, that his disciples stole the body while they slept. But to what purpose was this fiction, if a multitude of other graves were also thrown open, and the bodies which tenanted them lay disclosed, subject to the inspection of the crowds who would eagerly watch the progress of their revivification, from Friday afternoon till Sunday morning, when they came forth and marched into the holy city? How could this be concealed? Was it pretended that the small band of disciples stole all these bodies likewise? We do not find that any such fiction was in this case resorted to and, indeed, in this case, no one could have believed it; since these things were not done in a corner, but all that was passing in the graves was visible to every observer for more than thirty-six hours. How then did the Jews evade it? We do not find that they had any occasion to try to evade it: for we do not find, from any other part of the gospel-records, that either the friends of Christianity, or its enemies, or a single inhabitant of this world, knew anything about the matter.

Fourthly, is it not very extraordinary, that this resurrection of dead bodies should take place, and yet there should be no intimation as to what became of them afterwards? Did they, after having shown themselves, go and lie down again in their graves, to wait for the final "resurrection at the last day"? This, as the pious Doddridge observes, one can hardly imagine.' Did they

then, like Lazarus and the others raised by the Lord while in the world, continue to live on earth, in due time to die again ? This also, with Doddridge, "one can hardly imagine, because it is only said, they appeared to them." Most therefore, conclude, with the same writer, that "they ascended to heaven, with or after, our Lord;" for it would be impossible to suppose that they ascended before him. But what was done with them in the mean. time? If they remained on earth for forty days, how could they escape observation? how is it that all Jerusalem was not in commotion on account of the presence of such extraordinary visitors? Dr. Doddrigde supposes, that " they were directed to retire to some solitude during the intermediate days, and to wait in devout exercises for their change; for surely, as he justly observes, had they ascended in the view of others, the memory of such a fact could not have been lost." Indeed, the affair of their ascension. was conducted with such secrecy, that it was not even witnessed by those who were admitted to witness the ascension of the Lord; and to make it a greater secret, Matthew himself does not inform us that it ever took place.

Now can any one suppose that a transaction which requires such improbable conjectures to make it possible, ever literally occurred at all? And whither could they ascend? What region was there in existence suited for the residence of resuscitated material bodies? They who contend for a general resurrection of material bodies, find it necessary to provide a material world for their abode. Thus Dr. Hody says, " Perhaps, after all, our heaven will be nothing but a heaven upon earth, or some glorious solid orb created on purpose for us in those immense regions which we call heaven. It seems more natural to suppose, that since we are to have solid and material bodies, we may be placed, as we are in this life, on some solid and material orb. That, after the resurrection, we are to live for ever in a new earth, was, as Maximus tells us, the opinion of many in his time: and the same was asserted, in the third century, by St. Methodius, bishop of Tyre, in his treatise concerning the Resurrection." What then was to become of these resuscitated bodies of saints before this new earth was provided for them? for they who thus believe the Scriptures literally, when they speak of a new heaven [or sky] and a new earth, must believe them literally also when they say, that this new heaven and new earth are not to be produced till the former heaven and earth have passed away. Prior to that event then, at least, a resuscitated material body would be in the situation either of a fish in the air, or of a bird under water, it could find no element suited to its state. Other difficulties, in regard to the literal acceptation of this narrative, present themselves as I write; but I forbear to proceed further.

From what has been suggested, and from the

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circumstance, that of these risen bodies the remarkable expression is used, that they appeared unto many the natural inference is, that they were not visible to all, as material bodies must have been, but only to those to whom they appeared, in other words, that they were seen in vision, not with the natural sight. Hence it will follow, that the bodies which thus appeared in vision were not natural but spiritual bodies, and that the whole transaction belongs more to the spiritual than to the natural world. I shall have occasion to advert to it again, in the Section on the Last Judgment; when I trust, its true nature will readily appear. Phil. iii. 21. "Who shall change our vile body that it be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself." This text is so similar in substance to 1 Cor, xv. 49 and 53, to be considered in the sequel, that it scarcely needs a separate notice: only this passage, combined with its context, evinces (what might be well worthy of particular investigation), how much the idea of an inward and spiritual resurrection was associated with the subject in the Apostle's mind. Thus, having said that he had suffered the loss of all things that he might win Christ, he adds, "That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead: not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow "after," &c. (Ver. 10, 11, 12). Here what could he mean by the power of the Lord's resurrection, but a power of conforming him into the image of his risen Lord? What by the fellowship of his sufferings,' but a submission to such states of affliction and trial as were necessary as means to this end? What by being made conformable to his death,' but the complete mortification of the life of his own old or natural man? And what by attaining to the resurrection of the dead, which he evidently speaks of as something attainable in this life, -otherwise his modest notice," not as though I had already attained," would be nonsense; -what can he thus mean by attaining unto the resurrection of the dead, but a state of complete regeneration' when all that previously was spiritually dead,—all that is the seat of man's inborn corruptions-is quickened with spiritual life, and formed anew by the Lord? Thus his whole argument is consistent: whereas to make him talk of striving to attain unto the resurrection of the dead, meaning by the resurrection of the dead the resurrection of dead bodies, which all (if any) are to experience whether they strive for it or not, and which, strive as they will, they cannot bring on any sooner; is to make him talk in a strange manner indeed. And as, as will be shown in the last Part of this Section, in our remarks on 2 Cor. v. 1-4, he always viewed this spiritual resurrection in connection with the

formation of the heavenly spiritual body within our outward frame, first to come into open manifestation when the latter is put off, which is thus exchanged for it, and, as far as the person's own perceptions are concerned, appears as if it were changed into it; and as, as might be easily shown he seldom uses the term body or flesh in reference to the body of clay alone, but means by it all that belongs to what is called in theology the external or natural man; (as when he says, "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing;" "I delight in the law of God, after the inward man, but I see another law in iny members warring against the law of my mind ;"" Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be the spirit of Christ be in you;" "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead, because of sin;" "He that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies, by his spirit that dwelleth in you," &c.) — having, say, these ideas in his mind, he at present closes the subject with saying, that "the Lord Jesus Christ shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body: according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself," meaning, that we shall have a spiritual body, the image of the Lord's Divine Body; and which is even now being so fashioned within us by the regenerating energy of the Lord.

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2 Tim. ii. 17, 18. "Of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus who concerning the truth have erred, saying, That the resurrec tion is past already; and overthrow the faith of some." This text has been quoted against us, from good old John Bunyan,' in this form "Have you not heard of them that were made to err, by hearkening to Hymeneus and Philetus, as concerning the faith of the resurrection of the body." It seems to be meant to be insinuated, by this false quotation, that we have adopted the opinion of those primitive heretics. How convenient the advocates of error find it, continually to be speaking, as here, of the resurrection of the body, as if such were the language of Scripture; when, in Scripture, no such language is anywhere to be found. As to the error of Hymeneus and Philetus, the Apostle' states that it consisted in saying, "that the resurrection is past already." Whatever idea then they attached to the term resurrection, it evidently was totally different from ours. When the Apostle affirms that they believed the resurrection to be then past, he must mean, that they disbelieved any resurrection which was ther. future, and consequently denied any future life: whereas, according to our idea of it the resurrection is never past,but always future, at every instant of time, to all the inhabitants of the globe, all of whom will experience a resurrection to life without end. Rev. xx. 13. "And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works."