fee: For behold I fee infinite millions of glorious angels ftand about me with fiery chariots ready to defend me; Thefe holy angels, thefe miniftring fpirits, are appointed of God to carry my foul into the kingdom of heaven, where I fall behold the Lord face to face, and fhall fee him, not with other, but with thefe fame eyes. Life and death of Mrs Katherine Stubs.

4. They welcome us into heaven, and prefent us before Chrift in his throne.

Helmont, in his vifion of the foul, tells, that in the year 1610, after a long wearinefs of contemplation, that he might acquire fome gradual knowlege of his own mind, fallen by chance into a calm fleep, and rapt bevong the limits of reafon, he seemed to be in an hall fufficiently obfcure; on his left hand was a table, and on it a fair large vial wherein was a fmall quantity of liquor, and a voice from that liquor fpake unto him, Wilt thou have honour and riches? At this unwonted voice he became fuprifed with extreme amazement; and by and by on his right hand, appeared a chink in the wall, thro' which a light invaded his eyes with unwonted fplendor, which made him whol ly forgetful of the liquor, voic:, and former council. Prefently he awakened, but his ancient intenfe defire of knowing the nature of his foul, in which he had panted unceffantly for thirteen years together, conftantly remained with him. At length amidst the anxious afflictions of various fortunes, when yet he hoped a Sabbath of tranquility, he had in a vifion the fight of his foul: It was a tranfcendant light, in the figure of a man, whofe whole was homogeneous, actually difcerning a fubftance fpiritual, cristalline and lucent by its own native fplendor. And then it was revealed to him that this light was the fame which he had a glimpse of before: If the demand be, what becomes of this light after its feparation from the body? Dr. Charleton, who tranflated the book of Helmont, gave it in this pofie; Lumen de lumine; light of light, and light to light. The angels of light take thefe luminous fubftances, or fubftantial lights, and prefent them before the uncreated light, the Lord of glory. What the eftate of this light

is, and what it will be, is fung by Mr. Moore in his præexistency of the foul:

Like to a light faft lock'd in lanthern dark,
Whereby by night our weary steps we guide
In flabby fireets, and dirty channel's mark,
Some weaker rays thro' the black top do glide,
And fufher freams perhaps from horny fide:
But when we've past the peril of the way,
Arriv'd at home, and laid that cafe afide,
The naked light how clearly doth it ray,

And Spread its joyful beams as bright as fummer's day?

Even fo the foul in this contracted fate,

Confin'd to thefe ftrait inftruments of fenfe,

More dull and narrowly doth operate;

At this hole heats, the fight may ray from thence,
Here taftes, there fmells; but when he's gone fron thence,
Like naked lamp she is one shining sphere,
And round about hath perfect cognizance;
Whate'er in her horizon doth appear,
She is one orb of fenfe, all eye, all airy ear,

So nothing now in death is to be dread
Of him that wakes to truth and righteousness,
The corps lye here, the foul aloft is fled,
Unto the fount of perfect happiness;
As earth returns to earth, this light no less
Returns to him that gave it, where it is
Prefented by the angels with excess

Of ftrange melodious mufic, joy and blifs.

O then how doth that great light this light greet and kifs!

5. They joy in fweet harmony of praises that never fhall have an end.

A certain man called Servulus, drawing near his end, called for all fuch ftrangers as were in his houfe, defiring them to fing hymns with him; and as he was finging, all on a fudden he cried out aloud, faying, Do ye not hear the wonderful mufic which is in heaven? and even in that inftant his foul departed this mortal life. All that were prefent felt a most pleasant and fragrant finell, whereby they argued the verity of his faying; and that he and a

gels

gels were then in concert finging hallelujahs together in heaven. Greg. Dial. I. 4.

Another called Guthlake, drawing near his end, told Berteline his fcholar, The time is come, my dear fon, wherein I must pass to Chrift: And lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, he yielded up his foul; when at the very infant Berteline faw, as it were, a fiery tower reaching from heaven down to the earth, the brightness where of was fo wonderful, that the pale fun might envy fo great a luftre, whilst the angels themfelves were heard to fing melodious tunes of joy. Felix.

SECT. IV.

Of the Duties that concern us in this refpect.

NOR the feveral duties that concern as in this refpect.

FOR

1. Weigh not the pains or pangs of death, as if they were intolerable; but rather pitch we the anchor of our hope on the firm ground of the word of God, who hath promised in our weakness to perfect his strength,and not to fuffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear, and to give his angels a charge to bring us up in their hands, 2 Cor. xii. 9. and x. 13. Pfal. xci. 11. If the Lord lay one hand upon us, he puts another hand under us: Yea, he chargeth his ange's to bear us up in their hands, and to allay our pains; it proves fo to many, that the very thoughts of death more pains than the pangs of death. Howfoever, it may comfort us that the angels stand by us, who either will help us in, or help us thro thofe pangs of death, that we be not fwallowed up by them.

2. Take we no care of our bodies after death, save only to commit them to the earth. Methinks the angels might take off that carking care which many have. What if thy body be used as the Irish Papifts used the bodies of the dead Proteftants, who caft fome into ditches, and left others to be devoured of ravenous beafts; yea, and digged up others that had been formerly buried, and then left them as dung upon the face of the earth; yet the angels fee and take care that every part, and piece, and member of thy body, fhall be preferved and kept fafe unto that day of our Lord: The earth in her womb, or the fea in her

gulphs,

gulphs, or beafts in their bellies, or whatsoever is the grave of the bodies of faints, they are but as God's close chefts to keep in them a part of the Lord's own treasure; and when these chefts fhall be opened, (as they fhall be in that great day of the refurrection of faints) then fhall thofe bodies be brought out again by the holy angels; and then hall they be as good, nay, better than ever they were before; for our vile body fhall be made like the glorious body of our Lord and Saviour, according to the working whereby he is able even to fubdue all things unto himself, Philip. iii. 21.

3. The nearer we draw to our end, let us draw nearer to God and his holy angels. This is done by having a fpecial care of our fouls, and by doing thofe duties that we owe both to God and his angels. I lift not to enter into controverfies; I deny that any worship is to be given them, or that we ought to pray to them: Yet (as the contemplative bishop Hall faith) this devotion we do gladly profefs to owe to good angels, that tho' we do not pray unto them, yet we do pray to God for the favour of their affiftance and protection, and we do praife God for the protection and miniftration that we have from them. And yet further we come short of our duty to these blessed spirits, if we entertain not in our hearts an high and venerable conceit of their wonderful majefty, gory and greatnefs; and an awful acknowlegement and revrential awe of their glorious prefence; an holy joy, and confident assurance of their vigilant care; and laftly, a fear to do ought that might cause them to turn away their faces in diflike from us. All thefe difpofitions are copulative; for certainly, it we have conceived fo high an opinion of their excellency as we ought, we cannot but be bold upon their mutual intereft, and be afraid to displease them by our hainous and abominable fins. The man that is going out of the world, and within a flep or two of death, fhould methinks be ve ry fearful of neglecting the angels, or of grieving the angels. Why alas! if they watch not over him now, if now they infpire not the foul with bleffed motions, and pious thoughts; if now they fail of their office, when there is more need of it than ever was, or ever will be; oh what

will a poor foul do? Come, think we of this ere it be too late: Yea, the nearer we draw to our end, the more tender let us be of our care and refpect to these bleffed fpirits; and who can tell, but as in the very agony Christ was comforted by an angel, fo thefe miniftring fpirits may at fuch a time minifter comfort and confolation to our fouls? We have feen an heaven of joy entring into fame before they entred into the joy of heaven.

4. Make we to ourselves friends of the angels, that when we die, they may receive us into everlasting habitations. Thus Christ advised us in refpect of riches, make use of them by our beneficence to the poor, that they may pray for you, and make your advantage by being reward, ed by God. This is the meaning of it, Make to yourfelves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, Luke xvi. 9. And if worldly riches, that either in getting, ufing or keeping, do adminifter matter of fin, (and therefore are called unrighteous mammon) may be so improved, how much more may we improve the angels, and gain by the angels, if we make them our friends? but how should we make them friends? I answer,

1. Let us refemble them in their purity, piety, innocen.

Suitableness of spirit and life will breed friendship: If we are but pure in our measure as they are pure, they will delight to befriend us here, and to laye foundation for a far more familiar acquaintance in heaven hereafter :

2. Let us apply ourselves to them, as defirous and willing of their friendship; let us converse with them as friends, affenting to what they fay, and making up holy conclufions with them, and replies, which, they will find ways to understand. O the bleffed motions which they make continually to our fouls! Is it not their joy to gain us, and to win upon us? and to that purpofe are they not fuggefting this and that good thought to fave our fouls?. O then let us answer them in their motions, and receive whatever they adminifter?

5. Tho' we go thro' the valley and fhadow of death, let us fear no evil, for the angels will be with us. It is natural for us to fear death; and indeed as it is the de

ftruction