must be saved, but only that of the Lord Jesus, Acts, iv. 12.

7. Q. From whom is this forgiveness to be sought? A. Who hath power to forgive sins but God only? Mark, ii. 7. Of him, therefore, it must be sought in the name of Jesus Christ.

8. Q. But has not Christ left a power with his church to forgive sins?

A. He has left with his church a ministerial power to declare forgiveness of sins to all such as truly repent of them and believe in him. When, therefore, the ministers of his word are called in to the assistance of sick or scrupulous persons; they may, upon the supposition of a true repentance, pronounce in God's name the pardon of their sins to them. But in this they only deliver the sentence of God, which, if the sinner be truly penitent, God will infallibly make good: otherwise it will be of no use to them, because it was erroneously, though charitably, passed upon them.

9. Q. But does not the church of Rome ascribe much more to the absolution of the priest than this?

A. Yes it does: nor is this one of the least presumptuous, or least dangerous of its errors. They tell us that the sentence of the priest in this case is not only declarative, but judicial. And, which is yet worse, they add, that though a sinner be not af fected with such a sorrow for his sins, as would otherwise be sufficient to obtain God's pardon; yet, by rightly confessing them to a priest, they shall be forgiven, and an entrance opened into heaven, by the power of the keys in absolution. By the former of which, as they usurp upon the prerogative of God, Mark, ii. 7; so do they, by the latter, lay a very dan

gerous stumbling-block in the way of wicked men; whilst they encourage them to rely on such a sorrow for the forgiveness of their sins, as will certainly fail and ruin them in the end.

SECT. XIX.

Of the General Resurrection.

1. Q. What is the third privilege promised by God to Christ's church?

A. The resurrection of the body.

2. Q. Shall not all men whatsoever be raised again at the last day?

A. They shall.

3. Q. How then is this a privilege of those who are the faithful members of Christ's church?

A. Because, though all men shall be raised, yet not all after the same manner. The bodies of the faithful shall be raised in a most blessed and glorious state. 1 Cor. xv. 42, &c. So also is the resurrection of the dead, (i. e. the righteous dead). It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in power. They shall be perfected in all their parts and qualities; shall be rendered an habitation fit for a glorified soul to dwell in; and be prepared for the enjoyment of an everlasting felicity. And thus to rise, in such a state, and for such an end, is certainly a very great benefit, and the peculiar privilege of Christ's holy church. Luke, xiv. 14. And thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. xx. 35, 36, 37. But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor

are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now, that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. John, v. 28, 29. The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Phil. iii. 21. Who 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. Matt. xiii. 43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Dan. xii. 3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.

4. Q. How then shall the wicked be raised?

A. Their bodies shall also be restored to them; and that in such a state as to be capable of undergoing for ever those torments which God has prepared for them. But their resurrection shall be to shame and misery: and what is the blessing of the righteous, shall to the wicked be a means of increasing their pain, and enlarging their punishment.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.—John, v. 28, 29. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrec

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tion of damnation. Acts, xxiv. 15. I have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

5. Q. Shall we receive the same bodies we now have at the resurrection; or, shall some other bodies be prepared for us?

A. The very nature of a resurrection does unanswerably prove, that we shall receive the same bodies; and the end of it confirms it to us: our bodies being therefore raised and restored to us, that we may be rewarded or punished, in the same estate both of soul and body, in which we had done things worthy either of reward or punishment.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Dan. xii. 2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Rom. viii. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 1 Cor. vi. 13, 14. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his power 2 Cor. v. 10. For we must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good, or bad. John, v. 28, 29. The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

6. Q. Shall all mankind, not only good and bad, but every single person of either kind, be raised at the last day?

A. All that ever died shall be raised. John, v. 21. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Father quickeneth whom he will. 2 Cor. v. 10. We must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, whether it be good or bad. But many will be found at the last day alive on the earth. Now, they shall not die, nor, by consequence, rise from the dead. But they shall be changed: that is to say, the men of that age, (whether good or bad,) shall, by the mighty power of God, be put into the same state with those, who being dead, were raised from the dead: and so be brought with them before the Judgment-seat of Christ. 1 Cor. xv. 51. Behold, I shew you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. 1 Thess. iv. 15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

SECT. XX.

Of the Future State; of Heaven,-Hell.

1. Q. What shall follow upon the resurrection? A. The last and general Judgment of mankind; which being passed, and the sentence pronounced upon every one according to his works; it shall immediately be put in execution; the wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life everlasting, Matt. xxv. 46.