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Countenance, because all that fat in the SERM. Council lookt fedfaftly on him, as Men in Wonder and Aftonishment. It could not be the Graces of Innocency and Modefty that drew their Attention; for Men refolved right or wrong to have his Blood, muft have been blind to Charms of that Kind. And to name no more, the celestial Form of the Angel who fat on Chrift's Sepulchre is thus described; his Countenance was like Matth. 28. Lightning, and his Raiment whiter than3, 4. Snow, and for fear of him the Keepers did Shake, and became as dead Men.

From these Specimens we may form fome general Idea of that Glory in which the Saints fhall be raised at the laft Day; and that befides the Incorruptibility, Beauty and juft Proportion of their new Bodies, there will be fuperadded a certain Luftre and Radiancy that is not fully to be conceived by us. And this feems to be confirmed by that Paffage in the Prophet Daniel, ch. 12. v. 3. They that be wife shall shine as the Firmament, and they that turn many to Righteoufnels, as the Stars for ever and ever. And alfo by thofe Words of our Saviour, Then fhall the Righteous fhine forth as the 13.48. Sun in the Kingdom of their Father.

Bb 4

Bi

ERM.

'XII.

But yet it does by no Means follow from this extraordinary Change, that it is not the very fame Body as before, in Point of Subftance; for the Qualities and Figures of Bodies are often changed meerly by

Difpofition of the very fame numerical
Parts. Thus for Inftance, Sand, with other
dull and dark Ingredients, is by intense
Heat turned into tranfparent and shining
Glafs And the Silk Worm after lying in
a feeming State of Death for fifteen Days,
without Senfe or Motion, or Food, rifes
up on a fudden a nimble Creature with va-
riegated Wings; upon which it has been
fet forth as a very lively Emblem of the Re-
furrection. There cannot be a greater Dif-
ference between any two Bodies, than there
is between the fame Body under these
Transformations, and yet there is no Ac-
ceffion of Subftance in either, but those new
Appearances and Perfections are produced
by the different Texture and Combination
of the fame Particles of Matter. From
hence we may easily conceive how this vile
Body that is fown in Dishonour, may at
the Refurrection be fashioned like unto
Christ's glorious Body, and yet
be compofed

of

of the very fame Particles that were buried SER M. in the Duft.

As to the Refurrection of the Wicked, the Cafe will not be the fame with them. There is no Ground either in Scripture or Reafon, to conclude that their Bodies will receive any Improvements in Beauty and Perfection; but on the contrary will become as much more deformed as Fury and Envy, Horror and Despair can make them; and we know the horrid and ghaftly Lines that these Paffions imprint upon human Faces. One Change indeed will pass upon their Bodies in common with thofe of the Righteous, and that is Incorruptibility; but happy would they be without it. For could they be confumed in the Lake that burneth with Fire and Brimftone, there would be an End of their Mifery; but to be rendred Fire-proof, and yet to retain the Senfe of Feeling, to burn for ever without being confumed, is a Circumftance of Mifery peculiar to the Damned in Hell.

The laft Circumstance I fhall take Notice of relating to the Refurrection, is, that the very fame Body fhall be raised again. That this is poffible and eafy to God, I

have

XII.

SER M. have proved before: And that it will in XII. fact be fo, appears plainly from the very Senfe of the Term; for if a new Body was to be made, it would be abfurd to call it a Resurrection; thus it was evidently in the Cafe of our Saviour's Refurrection, which is represented as the first Fruits and Pledge of our Refurrection to follow. And indeed there is not a Paffage relating to it in the new Testament but implies this.

I will readily confefs that the Happiness of glorified Saints will be just the same, whether new Bodies are formed out of new Matter to be united to their Spirits, or not. But with respect to the Mifery of wicked Men, there may perhaps be fome Difficulty in the Cafe; for Remorfe of Confcience, fuppofed to be meant by the Worm that dieth not, will be one Part of their Punishment; and St. Paul exprefly fpeaks of the Accufations of Confcience at the Day of Rom.2. 15. Judgment. Now there can be no fuch Thing as a Consciouínefs of paft Actions without Memory; and Memory in Man is a compound Faculty, in which the Body bears a confiderable Part. This is plain from Experience, for Memory decays with the Body, in old Age especially, and is

fome

XII.

fometimes totally deftroyed for a Time by SER M. acute Distempers affecting the Brain and Nerves, and will again revive with Health; in the mean time the Soul or Spirit is untouched, and cannot poffibly be hurt by thefe Accidents, but is capable of reasoning and thinking; only its intermediate Operations cannot be recorded for want of Memory. If therefore the Body, or any Part of it, be necessary to Memory, it must be neceffary to Consciousness. From whence it should seem to follow, that a wicked Man must at the Refurrection have the very fame Body in which he committed his Wickedness, and that a new Body compofed of new Parts cannot have the fame Consciousness, which yet seems to be effential to Guilt, because a new Consciousness infused by a divine Power into a new Subject, would be the Act of God, and not the Act of the Perfon.

I might add to what has been said on this Subject, that there feems to be a certain Fitness and Equity in raifing and uniting the fame Body to the fame Soul; that as they have in this Life been Partners in good or bad Actions, they may likewise be Partners in Rewards or Punishments in the next. If the Hands