B SECT. III. Reafons for Angels miniftration. UT why should they minifter for the faints? the reafons are: 1. In refpect of God. 2. In refpect of them. 3. In refpect of us, 1. There are some reasons in refpect of God: As, 1. It is his will and pleasure that they should so minifter. Thus Nebuchadnezzar could acknowlege, He doth ' according to his will in the army of heaven,' Dan. iv. 35. The Lord's will is the rule of all justice, and a moft perfect law, whereby he governs the army of heaven, that is, the angels. Hence they are defcribed to be God's minifters that do his pleafure, Pfal. ciii. 21. They enquire no further what is to be done, or why it should be done, but acquiefce in the difcovery of his will and pleasure. Indeed all things and actions are refolved into this firft principle, the good pleasure of his will: He worketh all things after the counfel of his will, Eph. i. 11. This is the fupreme reafon. 2. It is his command that they fhould fo minifter: Every thing that God wills, he doth not command, he wills fin to be in the world, but he doth not command it, for then he would be the author of fin; but as for the angels miniftration, he wills and commands them to it: Blefs 'the Lord ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkning to the voice of his word,' Pfal. ciii. 20. Upon this ground is the Lord very often cal led the Lord of hofts, i. e. the Lord of angels, for fo Jacob called the two armies of angels God's hoft, Gen, xxxii. 1. And the multitude of angels that praifed God at Chrift's nativity, are called a multitude of the heavenly hofts, Luke ii. 13. Look as commanders fay to their foldiers, Go, and they go; fo faith God to his angels, Go and they go; go and minifter to my faints, and prefently they minifter. 3. It is his goodnefs that they fhould fo minifter. A. las if the Lord fhould deal with us according to our demerits, rather dragons and tygers fhould wait upon us than angels: It is more than we can challenge that any Creature after the fall fhould be ferviceable unto us; but that all the hoft of heaven fhould be abased to so low a work, as to be sent forth to minifter for the meanest faint, even for us poor finful wretches, duft and afhes. Oh! what goodnefs is this? Upon this account of the love, mercy, and goodness of God, we read so often of the Lord's fending his angels to attend his faints. Thus Abraham told his fervant, The Lord before whom I walk, will fend his angel with thee, Gen. xxiv. 40. And thus God told Mofes, I will fend an angel before thee, Exod. xxxii. 2. And thus Daniel told the king, My God hath fent his angel, and hath but the lions mouths, that they have not hurt me, Dan. vi. 22. So gracious is that King of heaven, that he will fpare his own courtiers out of heaven, and fend them on errands to his faints for their prefervation; whence Da vid reasons; O taste and fee that the Lord is good, Pfal. xxxiv 7, 8. O the goodness of God. 2. These are other reafous in refpect of the angels: As, 1. It is their duty; not the brighteft angel, but is fub ordinate unto God, and therefore must act and move as the Lord appoints. This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Ifrael, and I knew that they were the che rubims, Ezek. x. 20. The cherubims are glorious angels of great wifdom, ftrength, and agility, and yet they are fubfervient to the Lord, and therefore are faid to be under the God of Ifrael. Surely that word of the Pfalmift [They do his pleafure, Pfal. ciii. 21.] It is the very image of true obedience, q. d. their ministry not at their own pleasure, but at God's: Now what is God's pleasure but the faints welfare? He hath pleasure in the profperity of his fervants, Pfal. xxxiii. 27. The angels that know this, ftand not upon terms with God; all they do is but to hearken to the voice of his word, and then they fly; Then did the cherubims lift up their wings and the wheels befides them, Ezek. xi. 22. It is a remark of a divine upon thefe words, All things are under the God of Ifrael, he hath the preheminence, he is above wheels, and angels are un⚫ der him, at his difpofe: If he give out the word, the cherubims move, lift up their wings, and order the wheels: If he fay, Go and minifter to yonder faints, prefently they go, as it is their duty. 2. It is their delight to attend the faints, they know that one day they shall live together, and fing together, and rejoice together; they know that the faints fhall fupply the room of the fallen angels, and when they meet, O the joy that will be betwixt them! In the mean time, it is their defire and delight to attend their partners in heaven's joy, for they are acquainted with God's defign, and purpofe to fave them, they know what Chrift hath done and fuffered for them; the mystery of godliness is feen of angels, it is fo feen, that they take great delight to behold it, yea, are ravished in the very beholding of it, as fome new and ftrange object: Epithumufin, they look into it, faith Peter, their whole fpirits are taken up with it, as if it were the blessedest fight, that ever they could behold, and they that are fo ravished at the work of our redemption, how fhould they but with delight attend the redeemed ones of Jefus Chrift. 3. It is their honour to wait upon the faints. It is true in fome refpects they are of a higher form, they come nearest to God of all the creatures in the world, and they have kept their cloth of gold unstained fix thousand years. O the purity, agility, beauty, glory, fanctity, and excellency of the angels! Man in his greatest honour, advanc ed to the highest pinacle of happinefs, is yet in many things below the angels; Thou haft made him a little lower than the angels, Pfal. viii. And yet it is no indignity for them to attend the faints, for herein they are but fellow-workers with God and Chrift; My Father worketh hitherto, and I work, John v. 17. My Father is beneficent in preferving faints; and I work by the fame power, faith Christ : At first, I created, and ftill I preferve. Now if God and Chrift thus work and wait, well may the angels co-operate with them. It was Paul's honour that he wrought to gether with God; We then, as workers together with him, befeech you alfo, 2 Cor. vi. 1. Servants of God, fuch as men and angels, cannot but look on it as their glory, to put to their hands in the fame work with their fovereign Lord the King of glory: If Chrift himself came not to be miniftred unto, but to minifter, Matth. xx. 28. the angels may well think it an honour to imitate him, and to minifter alfo P 3 3. Ther 3. There are other reasons in respect of faints. As, 1. It is for their confolation; a mighty comfort it is, that other creatures fhould do them fervice, that heaven and earth, and all therein fhould be made for them, and be continued and preferved for their fakes, and yet as if all this were not enough, except the angels alfo were fubfer. vient: That creatures of the higheft order, of the fineft make, of the nobleft fpirits, who behold the face of God himself, and are taken up with the immediate enjoy ment of his fulness, that they, even they fhould be destined by Christ the King of faints to minifter to his faints; oh, what a comfort is this! If whatfoever things were writ"ten afore time, were written for our learning, that we thro' patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope,' Rom. xv. 4. Surely this that is written of the an gels as concerning their office and miniftration must be full of comfort. Indeed reprobates and unbelievers have none of this comfort, alas, they are not within the verge of this bleffed text, they have nothing to do with this fcripture of heaven's heirs, it is for them, and only for them, whe fhall be heirs of falvation. 2. It is for their benefit, both of body and foul: Some obferve, that were it not for the angels, the devils that are ever seeking to devour, would quickly tear all the bodies of the faints into atoms. We read, how that before Chrift's death, the bodies of many were poffeffed of devils, and when they had torn them. Mark. i. 26. by the command of Christ they were difpoffeffed: But after the great work of our redemption, the devils were more restrained of their power; Now fhall the prince of this world be 'cast out,' John xii. 31. Chrift fo bound him in chains by his holy angels, fince that time, that now he hath not his liberty as before to hurt the faints: It is true, that he is fill in the world and rules in the air, but the good angels fo defend our bodies against the evil angels, that they can. not touch an hair to our hurt, and as for our fouls, they are in their special care; it is impoffible to mention all the benefits that they adminifter to our minds; they for inftance, teach us truths, they open God's will, they reveal the fecrets and myfteries of grace, and by these means they they promote the falvation of our fouls. Thus they did fometimes by dreams in the night, and fometimes by conference in the day, when they affumed bodies; but now ftill they admonish our minds, and in a fecret unperceiva. ble way they perfuade us to the reading, hearing, and a beying of God's word. But of these, and the like fervic es which the angels do to our fouls, we fhall enlarge ano ther time. Use 1. SECT. IV. Ufe of terror. WEI 7ELL then: Is the minifiring office of the angels not for all, but only for heaven's heirs? What terror is this to the wicked? Alas they have no angels to look to them, or take care of them, they are devoid of the prefence and miniftry of the heavenly angels, or if they have any infpection of them, it is but a general inspection fuch as Hagar and Ifmael had, who are fet out in fcripture as the types of thofe that are rejected of the Lord. And this I take to be the reafon why reprobates live, and are not all fuddenly struck dead, to wit, becaufa the angels have fome general charge and care of them, that they may be perferved to their condition, but they are not properly guardians of any fuch men. wo, wo, wo, to the wicked world, when one wo is paft, behold there come two more woes after. As it was with Saul, when God was gone from him, then the Philiftings made war against him, and he was fore wounded of the archers, and at laff he fell on his owa (word and died; So where the angels of God ftand afar off, and will not refcue, one wo follows after another, there the evil fpirits keep their ren dezvous, the devil works in them mightily, they are hoodwinkt and befotted, and blinded by the God of this world, having no power so much as to groan, or with for deliver ance; we may fay of reprobates, as was faid of Saul, An evil fpirit is upon them, and God is not with them; they are already taken in the Inare of the devil, he hath them. jna ftring, and leads them captive at his will and no wonder, for they have not thofe aids, thofe contrary whifperings, they have not the good angels to conflict with the bad, they have not the Spirit, a new gature, much lefs the external PA |