26 THE raoor or A SEPARATE STATE, them, but, perhaps, the bulk of mankind among the Gentiles; at least in Europe and Asia, if not in Africa and America also, who have been taught by priests and poets, and the public opinions of their nation, and traditions of their ancestors, have generally supposed such a separate state after this life, wherein their souls should be rewarded or punished, except where the fancy of transmigration prevailed ; and even these very trans- migrations into other bodies, viz. of dogs, or horses, or men, were assigned as speedy rewards or punishments of their behaviour in this life. Now though this doctrine of immediate recompences could not be proved by them with certainty and clearness, and had many follies mingled with it, yet the probable expectation of it, so far as it bath obtained among men, bath had a good de- gree of influence, through the conduct of common providence to keep the world in some tolerable order, and prevent universal irregularities and excesses of the highest degree'; it bath had some force on the conscience to restrain the enormous wickedness of men. The patriarchs of the first ages, whose history is related in scripture, had no notion of the resurrection of the body expressly revealed to them, that we can find ; and it must be the hope of such a state of recompence of their souls after death, that in- fluenced their practice of piety, if they were not informed, that their bodies should rise again. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had no plain and distinct pro -. mise of the resurrection of the body; yet it is said; Heb. xi. 13 -16. They received the promises, that is, of some future happiness, and embraced them, and confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on earth, whereby they plainly declared, that they sought some other country; that is, a heavenly, and God hath prepared a city for them. What city, what heavenly country can this be, which they themselves sought after, but the city or country of separate souls or paradise, where good men are re- warded, and God is their God, if they had no plain promises or views of a resurrection of the body ? And, indeed they had need of a very plain apd express promise of sueh a resurrection, to encourage their faith and obedience, if they had no notion or belief of a separate state, or a heavenly country, whither their souls should go at their death. Slob seems to have some bright glimpses of a resurree. tion, in chapter xix. 25 -27. but this was far above the level of the dispensation wherein he lived, and a peculiar and distinguish- ing favour granted to him under his uncommon and peculiar sufferings. In the institution of the Jewish religion by Moses, there is no express mention of a resurrection, and we must suppose their hope
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