2 S ER 111 0 N S upon the Serra L there is a Pure right; [Ire have ;] a certain confidence ; [We know.] Tis not we think,we hope well ; But we know. 'Tis propounded as a Common priviledge, you and I and all the fufiering fervants; We know. 4thly. That this Pure confidence of our ot'n right in it, and future poflàtlion of it,doth fupport and fortifie the Soul againft all the dangers and preffures of the prefent life, yea againft death it fell I. That the bodily life is Frail and Ilranfrtory, and within a little while will furely come to an end. The Circumflances of the Text explained will reprefent it to you. r. The Body ofman is called an Houfe. (r.) For the beauty and comely proportion, that is between the parts, as let up by line or rule.There is an admirable piece ofArchite- aure in building and railingup the body ofman,Story after Story,and Room after Room, Còntrivance after Contrivance, fo compact and fet together,that themoft Curious piles in the world, are but rude heapsCompared toit, Tfal. 139. 15, 16. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, &c. The ferious contemplation of Gods Workmanfhip, in our very Bodies, will force us to acknowledge his unfpeakablewifdom ; all things are fo well dif- pofed and ordered for profit, and ufe. The greateft miraclesare to be teen in Gods Corn- mon works. We wonder when we hear of any work exceeding the force of Nature,or done betide the order of Second Caufes. We wonder when we read that Iron did fwim, as z King. 6. 6. Yet his hanging the world upon nothing, is a greater miracle : There is nothing but the fluid Air to fupport this vaít body, and confiftence of Earth that we tread upon. We wonder at the Curiofities of Art, whereas the Lords Ordinary works look very Common -like in our Eyes : as to go no farther : The frame of our own Bodies is very Curious andexact : So many Bones, Arteries, Veins and Sinews, &c. And all difpofed in fuels a comely proportion ! Well then,the Body in regard of the frame and ftrudureofit is fitly called an Houle. ( z. ) With refpeíl to an Inhabitant. The Soul dwelleth in the Body as a manMan Houfe. It guideth and ordereth the Body, as the Inhabitant ordereth the affairs of the Houfe, or as the Mariner and Pilot dire&ts the motions of the Ship Not that the Soul is in the Body accidentally;we muff not ftrainit fo far. There is a formal- union between the Soul and the Body. But the Soul is the man, that's theinhabitant. God began man at his Body. He firft built the Houfe, and then put in the dweller : He formed, and organized the Body out of the duff of the Earth, and then breathed into him the Breath of Life ; and fo man became a living Soul, Gen. z. 7. Well then, the Immortal Soul is the tnatt,and that which fhould be chiefly regarded. Moft men are like thofe that take care to deck and adorn the Houfe, but never regard the Inhabitant; all their care is for the Body, whilft the poor neglected Soul hath caufe to complain of hard. ufage.This is as if a man fhould trim his Houle and ftarve himfelf. In a Body over cared for, there ever dwelleth a neglected Soul. idly. The Specification of this nation; or what kind or fort of Houfe it is; olwia TH axriays, our Earthly Houfe of this Tabernacle. A Tabernacle or Tent is a movable dwelling fee up for prefent ufe, fuch as hath a roofor covering, but no Foundation. Teflum habet, Fun- downturn non habet. A poor lorry Habitation, either left when the ufe ceafeth, or taken down, or fuffered to fall apieces of its own accord; Paul himfelf was a Tent - maker, and Spiritual men converfe with corporal things Spiritually, they are improving Common Occafions to an Holy ufe, and therefore doth he fo often confecrate this notion of a Tent to lignifie our frail and flitting Condition here. (s.) ATent or Tabernacle is ea /ly raifed np, and-as eafily taken down. So men are defcribed, fob 4. rg. They dwell in Hoots of Clay, their Foundation is in the dull, they are Cruflied before the heath ; a moth is but a handful of enlivened duff. ( a.) A Tent is fet up for afhort time of ufe, not for a fixed habitation. As there are principles of Corruption in our Bodies, fo onr ufe and end is but for a while, when we havedone our part,and ferved our generation ,according to the will of God, the Stage is !hilted, and the world furnifbed with a new Scene both ofAds, and A &ors. ( idly.) A Tent is dellroyed by taking the parts afunder. Death is nothing but a diffo- lution of the parts whereof man is compofed,a taking afunder of the Soul from the Body. Well then, if the Body be but a Tabernacle,alwaies decaying of its felt, though it fhould be preferved from external injuries,and if its ufe be fhort,and when that is over,the Soul Mall be plucked from the embraces of the Body, let us do all the gcod that we can in this little time that we have to fpend here, z Pet. 1. r . t 4. I think it inert as long as l am in this Tabernacle to [fir you sip by puttingyou in remembrance, knowing that I matt fbortly put off this Tabernacle, even as our Lord lefts,' bath (hewed me. This fhould make us beflir our folres while time and ftrength lafteth. Yea the nearer our Journeys end we are,the faller fliould we run. Natural motion is in principio tardier ; when death is near the
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