The mourners cordial against excessive sorrow discovering what grounds of hope Gods people have…

2: What ground of Hope the people of God have, concerning their Dead, more then other men have.

A. The Apostle here intimates concerning others, that they have none at all: not as if there were none but Gods children that make any pretence to an hope concerning such as these. If we speak of the Heathen Nations, to which our Text hath a more immediate respect, they entertained divers sentiments concerning the state of the dead, and made answerable improvement of these notions. The Epicurean Sect indeed thought man to be utterly mortal; their tenent was Cum sumus, non est mors; cum mors est, non sumus. And hereupon they pleased themselves with this, that death puts an end to all miseries: But the Platonists held the Immortality of the soul, and the communion of souls in a future state, and would take a great deal of satisfaction in ⟨p. 57⟩the forethoughts of that happy day when they should come to enjoy one another again in a better condition. The Peripatetics also verged this way, though not without some hesitancy. But as to the Resurrection of the Body, it agreed not with their principles, and seemed an impossibility to their way of reasoning, and therefore they exploded it with all manner of scoffs and scorns: If we speak of the visible profession of Christianity, and such as have been acquainted with the Word of God, these do for the generality acknowledge the same Truths upon which the Hope of Gods Children is built▪ and do also support themselves with such •ope from the consideration thereof, as affords them a great deal of present quiet▪ But the intendment of the expression is, that there are none else but the people of God who have a good ground for their Hope; that all others, how confident soever they may be, do build without a foundation.

A. The Apostle here intimates concerning others, that they have none at all: not as if there were none but Gods children that make any pretence to an hope concerning such as these. If we speak of the Heathen Nations, to which our Text hath a more immediate respect, they enterteined divers sentiments concerning the state of the dead, and made answerable improvement of these notions. The Epicurean Sect indeed thought man to be utterly mortal; their tenent was Cum sumus, non est mors; cum mors est, non sumus. And hereupon they pleased themselves with this, that death puts an end to all miseries: But the Platonists held the Immortality of the soul, and the communion of souls in a future state, and would take a great deal of satisfaction in