Some of the Ancients were of opinion that this sleep took hold of and seized upon all man, namely upon his soul as well as upon his body; Asserting that the soul is in a sleep or slumber, that is, that the soul from the time of its disunion from the body until the resurrection, lies still without any motion or operation. I giant that many operations of the soul do cease when it parteth from the body. There are some acts of the soul which are organical, and there are other acts that are inorganicall or immaterial: The organical acts, that is, whatsoever the soul acts by the members of the body, those acts I say must needs cease; but the soul can act of it self without the assistance of the body; as we may collect by many experiments while our bodies and souls are joined together. How often do we find our souls at work, when our bodies lie still and do nothing; when sleep binds up all our senses, and shuts up the windows of the body so close, that we can neither hear nor see: yet then the soul frames to it self and beholds a thousand various shapes, and hears all sorts of sounds and ⟨p. 405⟩voices, then the soul sees, and the soul hears, the soul deviseth, and the soul discourseth, the soul grieves, and the soul rejoiceth, the soul hopes, and the soul fears, the soul electeth, and the soul refuseth: All this the soul doth in dreams and visions of the night, when deep sleep falls upon man. So also in ecstasies and ravishments, the body is as it were laid by, as useless and uninstrumentall to the soul. I knew a man in Christ about fourteen years ago, (so the Apostle Paul saith,) whether in the body, I cannot tell, or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth, 2 Cor. 12.2. As if he had said, I was lost as to my body, I could not tell what I was, I did not feel my self; yet he had mighty operations in his soul, his spirit wrought strangely, and then took in such revelations of God and from God, as his bodily organs could never fashion into words, or represent by speech: He heard *unspeakable words, which it is not alawful (or possible) for man to utter. The soul hath an ear to hear such words as the body cannot find a tongue to express. So the Apostle John in his divine ravishments, I was in the Spirit upon the Lords day. As for his body, that was, as to that business laid by and suspended as useless in that day;
Some of the Ancients were of opinion that this sleepe tooke hold of and seaz'd upon all man, namely upon his soule as well as upon his body; Asserting that the soule is in a sleepe or slumber, that is, that the soule from the time of its disunion from the body untill the resurrection, lyes still without any motion or operation. I giant that many operations of the soule doe cease when it parteth from the body. There are some acts of the soule which are organicall, and there are other acts that are inorganicall or immateriall: The organicall acts, that is, whatsoever the soule acts by the members of the body, those acts I say must needs cease; but the soule can act of it selfe without the assistance of the body; as we may collect by many experiments while our bodies and soules are joyned together. How often doe we find our soules at worke, when our bodies lie still and doe nothing; when sleepe binds up all our sences, and shuts up the windowes of the body so close, that we can neither heare nor see: yet then the soule frames to it selfe and beholds a thousand various shapes, and heares all sorts of sounds and ⟨p. 405⟩voices, then the soule sees, and the soule heares, the soule deviseth, and the soule discourseth, the soule greeves, and the soule rejoyceth, the soule hopes, and the soule feares, the soule electeth, and the soule refuseth: All this the soule doth in dreames and visions of the night, when deepe sleepe falls upon man. So also in extasies and ravishments, the body is as it were laid by, as uselesse and uninstrumentall to the soule. I knew a man in Christ about fourteene yeares agoe, (so the Apostle Paul saith,) whether in the body, I cannot tell, or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth, 2 Cor. 12.2. As if he had said, I was lost as to my body, I could not tell what I was, I did not feele my selfe; yet he had mighty operations in his soule, his spirit wrought strangely, and then tooke in such revelations of God and from God, as his bodily organs could never fashion into words, or represent by speech: He heard *unspeakeable words, which it is not alawfull (or possible) for man to utter. The soule hath an eare to heare such words as the body cannot find a tongue to expresse. So the Apostle John in his divine ravishments, I was in the Spirit upon the Lords day. As for his body, that was, as to that businesse laid by and suspended as uselesse in that day;
- *Quae sando explicari a quequam homine non possunt. Beza.
- aQuae nulla vine Sanctorum quidem possit explicari, nempe quia divinū est numen Sic explicat Clemens Alex. Strom 5. Beza.Quae nulla vine Sanctorum quidem possit explicari, nempe quia divinū est numen Sic explicat Clemens Alex. Strom 5. Beza.
