N01272:140
Meditations on the glory of the heavenly world. I. On the happiness of the…
Meditations on the glory of the heavenly world. I. On the happiness of the soul of believers, at the instant of their separation from their bodies. II. On the glory of the bodies of God's children, in the resurrection world, when they shall be as the angels of heaven. III. On the glory of both soul and body in the heaven of heavens, after the day of judgment, to all eternity. / By Increase Mather, D.D. ; [Six lines of quotations]
Boston in N.E. printed: : Sold by Benjamin Eliot, at his shop in King Street., 1711
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
There was among the Jews a Sect of Heretics, called Sadducees. Writers inform us, that they took their Name from a Rabbi, whose Name was Zadok. He had a Master who taught his Disciples that their Obedience to ⟨p. 106⟩GOD should not be Mercenary: Men ought to serve Him, although' they should receive no Reward for it. Whence Zadok, and those which were his Followers, concluded there would be no future Reward: Consequently no future World, or Resurrection from the Dead. Some of these came to our Lord JESUS CHRIST with an Objection which they thought was an unanswerable Argument against the Resurrection of the Dead. They pretended that there was a Woman Married to Seven Husbands successively: If there shall be a Resurrection, whose Wife of the Seven shall she then be? Christ gives them to understand, that they Reasoned like Ignorant men; and their want of Knowledge was the cause of their great Error. Another Evangelist asserts, that he said to them, To do Err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the Power of God, Mat. 22 29. The Scriptures affirm a Resurrection of the Dead. The Ancient Sadducees owned no part of the Scripture to be a Foundation for Faith, besides the Five Books of Moses, Therefore Christ Confuted them out of ⟨p. 107⟩One of those Books, for which they pretended the greatest Veneration. Nor were they duly apprehensive of what the Scripture declares concerning the infinite Power of GOD. Had they Considered that as they ought to have done, they would not have thought it impossible, nor would it have seemed incredible to them, that He should Raise the Dead. Further to Convince them of their Error, Christ informs them, that they Argued from a false Principle: For their Objection supposeth, that in the Resurrection World there will be Marrying and giving in Marriage. Which is a very false Supposal, & a gross Error. For although' in this world, Marriage among mortal Men is necessary for the continuance of Mankind: In that World in which men shall be immortalized, there will be no more Marriage than there is among the Angels of Heaven. Holy Angels are in the Scripture called the Sons of God, in respect of Similitude: They resemble the immortal GOD, more than any Other Creatures do. So are the Children of the Resurrection, called ⟨p. 108⟩