Imatges de pàgina
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Itruction of the creature, and parts body and foul; as it leads the body thro' a dark, dirty way, the grave; and as it leads the foul thro' the devil's territories, the air, it is no wonder if nature startle, and be afraid of it. But the Chriftian hath many confiderations to allay his fear, and to cheer up his fpirit: As, 1. Death is but the feparation of foul and body; it is not the annihilation of foul and body, but a fair fhaking hands between two parting friends. It is as if the wife should take leave of her husband to go to fee her father; to whom the hufband fays, that he will follow after her, and be with her in the morning. Farewel my dear, fays the foul, I must go to my Father; and farewel my dear, fays the body, I will come after thee, and be with thee in the morning of the refurrection. It is true, they cannot part without many a tear and kifs; but what needs fear? the morning comes as well as the night. 2. The body's paffage thro' the grave, tho' dark and difmal, yet it is fafe and fecure, and fit for rest and fleep: He fball enter into fleep, they shall reft in their beds, Ifa. lvii. 2. When a righteous man dies, or his body is buried, he is but gone to bed; and therefore we call thote places where the dead are laid up and buried, Dormitories. or fleeping places; they fleep for a time, but they fhall awake, and rife up again at the laft day. 3. The foul's paffage thro' the air, tho' full of devils, yet it is accompanied with a fafe convoy. There is a white regiment of glorious angels, that will bring the fouls of faints thro' all perils, To mount Sion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerufalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general affembly and church of the first born which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the fpirits of juft men made perfect, and to Jefus the mediator of the new covenant, Heb. xii. 22, 23, 24, How can the wife fear an enemy, when the huíband hath fent a puiffant army to convey her fafely to himfelf? How then fhould we fear the way, or fear death, or devils, when the angels (who are ftronger than all enemies) have charge to conduct us to the bridegroom of our fouls? and they will not, cannot fail of what they have in charge; they are the army of heaven, the faints own guard, the officers. ahd

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and foldiers of the Lord of hofts; and therefore they will be fure to perform their truft, we need not fear it.

6. Let us prepare and make ready for that glorious welcome which the angels will give us into glory. Would you know how to prepare? 1. Procure their joy by your converfion; there is joy in the prefence of the angels of God over one finner that repenteth. The converfion of a finner is the gratulation of angels; and if they joy at our repentance, how much more will they joy to fee you in heaven with them? 2. Procure their love by the ftrictnefs and holiness of your lives; live like angels; bring foul and body, as near as may be into a fpiritual frame; this is the way of friends to procure welcomes here on earth, if they will but maintain a familiarity, and fympa thy, and nearness, and likeness to one another in mind and manners. O thus do you, and then you may expect an gel's welcome into that city of glory.

7. Wait upon God with encouragement, that one day the angels will prefent us to Chrift in his throne without fpot and blameless. It is now our complaints, Oh the fins whereof we are guilty! and oh wretched men that we are, who fhall deliver us from this body of death! but the day is coming when we fhall be freed from thefe complaints, as Chrift's minifters have a charge, and when they have done their work, they will prefent us to Jefus Christ, 2 Cor. xi. 2. and as Chrift himself hath a charge, and when he hath done his work, he will prefent us to himfelf, Jude 24. and to his Father, Col. i. 22. So the holy. angels have a charge alfo, and when they have done their work, they will present us to Jefus Chrift; how? even as minifters do, That I may prefent you as a chafte virgin to Chrift, 2 Cor. xi. 2. or as Chrift himself doth, that he might present to himself a glorious church, not having Spot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing, but that it should be holy, and without blemish, Eph. v. 37. So will the angels do, even prefent us faultlefs before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy. Let us prefs on to perfection even upon thefe hopes, that howfoever it is with us now, furely we fhall be faultlefs, we shall be equal unto the angels, equal in grace, equal in glory; for to that end will they prefent

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us to Chrift on his throne, and accordingly will Christ pronounce his fentence, Enter you into the joy of your Lord.

8. Praife we God for this mercy of angel-ministration from first to laft. This we must do in heaven, only begin we this tune and ditty whilst we are on earth; and if we cannot do it as we would, let us call in angels to joig with us in bleffing, praifing, and admiring God. This was David's cuftom, Praife ye the Lord, praise the Lord from the heavens, praise ye him in the heights; praise ye bim all his angels, praise ye him all his hofts, Pfal. cxlviii. 1,2. The angels defire no better employment than fuch as this; they love to fing the tune of the gospel moft; and therefore ftir we up them, and stir we up ourselves with them to be much in praises of our God. Surely he deferves a thousand thousand hallelujahs, and that we should blefs him on a thousand ftringed inftruments: Here is fuel enough, the Lord kindle a great fire in every one of our hearts, to inflame them with the love of fuch a God as this is. It was the last speech of dying Chrysostom, Glory be to God from all creatures. And if I fhould die this hour, I could with my foul in no better temper; Blefs the Lord, O my foul, and all that is within me blefs 'his holy name. Blefs the Lord, ye his angels that 'excel in ftrength, that do his commandments, hearkning to the voice of his word. Bless the Lord all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure. Blefs the Lord 'all his works in all places of his dominion. Blefs the 'Lord, O my foul,' Pfal. ciii. 1, 20, Úc.

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CHA P. V. SECT. I.

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Of the Miniftration of Angels at our Resurrection. HE laft period wherein the angels minifter to faints, it is from the refurrection to the glorification of their fouls and bodies in heaven, In this last, as in all the former, I fhall obferve, 1. Their miniftration. 2. Our duties.

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1. For their miniftration we may confult thefe texts,

And he fhall fend his angels with the great found of a trumpet, and they fhall gather together his elect from 'the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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The Lord himself fhall defcend from heaven with a fhout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.

'The Son of man fhall fend forth his angels, and they 'fhall gather out of the kingdoms all things that offend, ⚫ and them who do iniquity:So it fhall be at the end of the world, the angels fhall come forth, and fever the wicked from among the juft.

Alfo I fay unto you, whosoever fhall confefs me before men, him fhall the Son of man alfo confefs before the angels of God:And I will not blot his name out of the book, of life, but I will confefs his name before my Fa'ther and before his angels,' Mat. xxiv. 31. and xiii. 41, 49. 1 Theff. iv. 16. Luke xit. 8. Rev. iii. 5.

SECT. II.

Of the kind of Angel-Miniftration at that Time.
OR the kinds of their ministration at this time.

FOR. Te angels will fummon all the faints to appear

before Jefus Chrift in his judgment feat. This is done by the found of a trumpet, And he shall fend his angels with the found of a trumpet:-The Lord himself shall 'defcend from heaven with a fhout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.' What this trump is I have difcuft elsewhere, and I take it to be metaphorical, viz. a found formed in the air like the found of a trumpet; and for the archangel, it is not limited to one, but that all the archangels, and all the angels of God are thereby underflood. O the day, when all the angels fhall be sent of Christ to bid all the world' appear before him! this is that voice on which Jerome fo often meditated, Whether I eat or drink, or whatsoever I do, methinks I always hear that voice of the trumpet founding in mine ears, Arife ye dead and come to judgment. This is that voice of which Chryfoftome faid, O the terrible trumpet, that all elements fhall obey! it fhall fake the world and the rocks, break the mountains, diffolve the bonds of death, burft down the gates of hell, and unite all spirits to their own bodies. This voice fhall take from death all her fpoils, and caufe her to reftore again all that he hath taken away from the world. In this miniftration the faints

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may rejoice; be it ever fo terrible to the wicked, it is nothing to them but an awaking out of fleep, as if the angels should fhout and fay, Awake and fing, ye that dwell in the duft, for lo the winter is paft, the rain is over and 'gone, the time of the finging of birds is come; arise, a" rife ye faints and come away.'

2. The angels will gather all the faints together to the judgment feat of Chrift. In this are involved thefe particulars.

i. That the angels will collect the dust of all the bodies of the faints. This all the fchoolmen hold, The collection of the dust of the bleffed is by the miniftry of the bleffed angels. They can move and remove bodies as they pleafe, as crafs and inferior bodies are in order governed by those that are fuperior, and more fubtil; fo are bodies ruled and difpofed of by fpirits indowed with life. Auguftine goeth further, and fays, That irrational fpirits are governed by rational, and rational creatures that tranfgrefs, are governed by rational creatures that are juft. Gregory joins with him, faying, Invifible creatures do give motion and fenfe to carnal bodies which are visible; and fo nothing is difpofed of in this visible world, but by another creature which is invifible. Hence Aquinas concluded, That in all things which corporally are done of God, he is pleased to use the miniftry of angels, and that therefore the gathering of the duft, and the reparation of the bodies of all the faints is only by the miniftry of the angels at the refurrection day. Come Chriftians! keep faith and a good confcience; tho' men prevail over your bodies to kill them, and to fcatter the afhes of them all the world over, let never any uncomfortable damp of flavish fear vex your bleffed hearts, be you not afraid of evil tidings, or of deftruetion when it cometh; for the angels have a care of every picce, and part and particular of your bodies; not one hair of your heads, not one atom of the fubftance of those bodies you bear about you, shall be left in the grave, or in any part of the world, but it fhall be gathered by the angels and brought together in one heap or lump.

2. That the angels will form, and fashion and organize thofe

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