and threw down the alter of Baal and cut down the grove by it, and afterwards became a judge over Ifrael till he died. Angels prefence and encouragement once difcovered and made known, are enough, through the bleffing of God, to work in us a fear of God, and obedience to his laws.

THE

CHA P. III. SECT. I.

Of the Miniftration of Angels in our riper Years. HE next period wherein the angels minifter to hea ven's heirs, it is from their riper years unto their death. And in order to this, we shall firft obferve their miniftration; and fecondly, our duties.

1. For their miniftration, I shall follow the fame method, as before.

1. That it is fo, the fcriptures abundantly prove, Pfal. xxxiv. 8. and xci. 11, 12. xix. 15, 16. 2 Kings vi. 16, 17. If I may give inftances, Lot was led out of Sodom by an angel; Daniel was taught by an angel; Cornelius was anfwered by an angel; an angel appeared to Jofeph, Mary Zachary, Peter, Paul, on feveral errands. Scarce any re

markable thing befel the people of God, but it was accom plished by the miniftry of angels. But what needs more Are they not all miniftring fpirits, fent forth to minifter for them who fhall be heirs of falvation?

SECT. II.

Of the Kinds of Angel miniftration at that Time, as to cui Bodies.

F

OR the kinds of their miniftration, it runs in fevera freams; as firft, to our bodies: Secondly to ou

fouls.

1. For our bodies

1. They keep us from evil. So they did in our infancy but now they do it with this limitation, they keep us i all our ways, Pfal.xc.11. i. e. in all thofe courfes appoin ed us by God. The devil left out that claufe in the pfalm when he fet Jefus Chrift on a pinacle of the temple, an tempted him to caft himself down; he told him the pr mife, That the angels fhould keep him, but he omitte the main point, In all his ways. Certainly there is fon pecial treasure inclofed in this, or the devil would nev

ha

have concealed it from our Saviour; then we may expect angel-protection when we are in the ways God hath appointed us. It was no way for Chrift to caft himself down headlong from the pinacle, for the way lay down the stairs. If we keep not in our ways, neither will the angels keep us from external evils. The prophet that went out of his way, and beyond his bounds, appointed him by God, a lion met him by the way and flew him,' Kings xiii.

·

24.

Queft. But do not many external evils befal God's peo pel, even walking in their ways and courfes, appointed them by God? I answer,

It cannot be denied, but that fometimes fuch things do befal the godly. Mephibofheth, a child of five years old, fon to a good father, and afterwards a good man himself, was lamed by a fall from his flying nurfe, Satan was permitted by God to deftroy the goods, children and health. of Job, tho' by the fpirit of God he was filed a perfect upright man, and one that feared God, and ef chewed evil, and that there was none like him in the earth,' Job i. 8. and ii. 3. The Lord, fay fome can coun termand angelical protection, and give inftruction to these powers (tin fome cafes) to fufpend their attendance and care of us, yet the promife is not null, and of none effect: For,

and an

1. Angelical attendance doth mitigate the evil, fo that God's people do not utterly mifcarry; they may be troub ed on every fide, yet not diftreffed; perplexed, but not in defpair; perfecuted but not forfaken: Caft down, but not deftroyed, 2 Cor. iv. 8, 9. Angels are not always to keep us from, but fometimes in troubles; Chrift could have prayed that many legions of angels fhould have kept him from fuffering, this he did not, yet the angels miniftred unto him in the wildernefs, and in the garden, where he fweat drops of blood.

2. The promife of angel protection (as all temporal promifes) runs with this tacite refervation and condition always provided, that God in his infinite wifdom, or reafons beft known to himfelf, did not judge the contrary more conducive to his glory, and our inward good. We

know Job was afflicted that he might be tried, and th Lord doth fometimes fufpend the protection of an gel that we may the more depend upon himself. gets behind the fcreen, that the infant may mother's arms without crying; if the angels us, it is that we may call upon God for aid. Fuller.

As the nurse go into the do not help Dingley and

2. They keep us in health. So they did in our infancy, but the promife runs without limitation to every age in our life. Surely he fhall deliver thee from the fnare of the fowler, and from the noisom peftilence;-a thoufand fhall fall at thy fide, and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee.' And the reafon follows. For he shall give his angels charge over thee; and the conclufion is this, With long life will I fatisfy him,

and fhew him my falvation,' Pfal. xci. 3. and vii. 11, 16. It is the opinion of good divines, that good angels help to remove diseases, and conferve bodily health, and on the contrary, evil angels are God's inftruments of inflicting fore and grievous maladies. As in the midst of his ago nies the Lord Jefus faith Dr. Manton, was comforted and refreshed by an angel, Luke xxii. 43. fo are the angels with the faithful, helping and eafing them in their fickneffes.- -For my own part, faith Baxter, I believe that God's works on the world are ufually by inftruments, and not immediate, and that good angels are his inftruments in conveying his mercies both to foul and body, and that evil angels are inftruments of inflicting his judgments both corporal and fpiritual. Hence God is faid to fend evil angels among the Ifraelites, Pfal. Ixx. 49. Hence Satan did execution on the children, cattle. and body of Job; fo then I judge that Satan is the inftrument in our ordinary diseases, &c. And I may add on the fame grounds, that the angels are inftruments in continuing or reftoring our bodily health. The miniftry of angels, faith Zanchy, is for the promoting of our health, I mean not only the health of our foul, but alfo of our bodily health. No question but the devils, who are our enemies, and continually ftand about us, would quickly ruth upon our bodies, and either tear them, or affect them with divers maladies, but

that

that the good angels do defend us by divine command. I cannot deny, but that God sometimes afflicts men by the miniftry of his holy and bleffed angels, for Sodom was deftroyed by the angels, and Sennacherib's hoft was flain by the angels; and David faw the angel of the Lord, having a drawn sword in his hand, and stretched out over Jerufalem; and an angel of the Lord fmote Herod, and he was eaten of worms: But this is not God's ordinary difpenfation towards his faints. Surely their ordinary employments, and wherein they delight, is according to the promife, He fball give his angels charge over thee.

3. They carefully furnish us with all other neceffaries of this life. Thus when the Ifraelites were in the wildernefs, they were provided for by the angels, Man did eat of angels food, he fent them meat to the full, Pfal. Ixxvii. 20. or as others tranflate, Man did eat of the bread of the mighties, he sent them meat to fatisfy; it is all one, for what is the bread of the mighties, but the bread of the angel's which are mighty ftrength! And manna is called their bread either because it came from heaven, the habitation of the angels, or because it was excellent, fo as the angels, if they needed any food, might eat it or especi ally, as I think, because God fent it by the miniftry of angels, they were the purveyors of it for the Ifraelites. Thus when Elijah went into the wilderness, and lay and lept under a juniper tree, behold an angel touched him, and faid unto him, Arife, and eat, and he looked, and behold there was a cake baken on the coals, and a crufe of water at his head, and he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the fecond time and touched him, and faid, Arife, and eat,' xix. 5, 6, 7. The fame God that provided for him in the time of drought, by the miniftry of ravens, now again fed him by the miniftry of angels. I know thefe provifions were miraculous, but where no miracles are, the angels have an hand even in the ordinary provifions. The an'gel of the Lord encampeth round about thofe that fear 'him?' And what then? O fear the Lord ye his faints, for there is no want to them that fear him; the young lions do lack and fuffer hunger, but they that feek the

Kings

'Lo

'Lord fhall not want any good thing.' I know we fee not the angels providing for us, but what then? Abra ham's fervant faw no angel going along with him, and yet Abraham could fay, The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's houfe, and from the land of my kindred, he fhall fend his angel before thee,' Gen. xxiv. 7, 40. The Ifraelites faw no angel going along with them, and yet the Lord could fay, I will fend an angel • before thee, and I will drive out the Canaanites,' &c. Exod. xxxiii. 2. For my part, I fee no angel removing me from place to place, yet I am fully perfuaded, that no mi nifter of Chrift removes his station, or goes to a people as their pastor, but an angel of God, or the God of angels doth fo order it: This is the office of angels, faith Zanchy, by a command of God to fend the doctors of the church to fuch or fuch a people. Accordingly it was an angel that appeared to Paul in a vision by night, faying, Come over to Macedonia and help us, Acts xvi. 9. Eufebius tells a like ftory of Alexander bishop of Jerufalem, that after his agonies and conftancy of confeffion fhewed in the perfecution of Severus, he was admonished by a vifion in the night feafon to make his journey up to Jerufalem, and drawing near to the city, a vifion with plain words was given to certain chief heads of Jerufalem to go out of the gates of the city, and there to receive the bishop appointed them by God. And tho' vifion or revelation I have none, yet as the most reverend doctor bishop Hall said, Since I am convinced that the unfelt hands of the angels are in many occurrences of my life, I have learned fo much wit and grace, as rather to yield them too much than too little ftroke in ordering all my concernments for this life. It is true, their appearings are ceafed, but not their work ings; their converfe is not fo fenfible, yet it is as real as ever it was before.

SECT. III.

Of the kinds of Angel-ministration at that Time, as to our

FOR

fouls.

Souls.

1. The angels declare to us what is Thus Daniel being

OR Our and mind of God.

troubled with the visions of his head, he went near unto

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