The soul has a vast intellectual capacity; for the knowledge of God, nature, providence, the original and present state of man, the visible world, sublime speculations, and useful discoveries, come within its comprehension. It can reason, infer, reflect, and carry on a chain of thoughts, with perspicuity and close connection, concerning things. Its powers take in objects of all dimensions; yet they are not situated as bodies in a material place, where the greater occupy more space than the less: for the thought of a mile, or ten thousand miles, does no more fill or stretch the soul, than that of a foot, an inch, or a mathematical point. And whereas all matter has its parts, and those extended, one without another, into length, breadth, and thickness, and so is measurable by inches, yards, or solid measures; there is nothing of measurable extension in any thing belonging to the soul, neither length, breadth, nor thickness; nor is it possible to form an idea of a foot of thought, a yard of reason, a pound of wisdom, or a quart of virtue.[202] The soul is capable of abstract notions, mathematical and metaphysical conceptions. Its powers are so great, that we can explore nature, span the surface of the earth, dive into its capacious seas, and there discover the numerous inhabitants of the watery world. We can travel to the sun, continue our journey through our own spherical system, from planet to planet, tell their dimensions, measure their distances, and accompany them through their various revolutions. We can pass the boundaries of our own, and enter into other systems; and from thence, into eternity itself: ascending from region to region, from world to world, from the creature till we reach the abode of the great Creator, who is the first cause of all things; and then, with ravished eyes, gaze on that glorious Luminary of the moral world, till we are amazed, delighted, and overpowered, with the splendor of his infinite perfections.
The soul is immortal in its duration: it once began to be, but will never cease to exist. When the whole of time is elapsed, it will live in the vigorous exercise of its active powers, and its existence run parallel with eternity. The death of the soul cannot be effected by the operation of second causes; and God, who is the first cause, will never annihilate it. The Sadducees denied the immateriality and immortality of the soul, saying, that, except God, there was no spirit: they were much like the Epicureans among the Gentile philosophers. In refutation of this Sadducean notion, our Saviour referred them to the five Books of Moses, which they acknowledged as of Divine authority, where God says, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Abraham had been dead upwards of 300 years when these words were spoken to Moses. Now, says our Saviour, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Though the bodies of these renowned patriarchs had been long dead, and ceased to exist among mortals, their souls were still living, not only in a future state, but with God. He also warned his disciples of the opposition they would meet with, in the faithful discharge of their religious and ministerial duties, from the prejudice, rage, and fury of men; but urged them to take courage, and not suffer themselves to be intimidated, so as to neglect in any degree the execution of the important commission he had given them, saying, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.” Hence the soul is a principle distinct from the body, actually survives it, and can subsist without it, not only retaining its vital existence, but its consciousness, reflection, and activity. The following lines of Addison are strongly and beautifully descriptive of the immortality of the soul:
“The soul, secure in her existence, smiles
At dissolution, and defies its power.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth—
Unhurt, amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds.”
In a word, since the soul is not material, it can have no parts; if it have no parts, then it cannot be separated; if it cannot be separated, then it cannot be dissolved; if it cannot be dissolved, then it is incorruptible; and if it be incorruptible, then it is immortal.