Page images
PDF
EPUB

Lord, (ver. 26) to give notice of his Birth; at which you find with this Angel (as I fuppofe) a multitude of an heavenly Hoft, 11. 13. i, e. all those under the Command of this Prince of the Hoft, praifing God, and faying, Glory be to God in the higheft.

This therefore I conceive is intimated in the words of my Text, when it faith, the Angels of Christ's Difciples beheld Gods face, that we are under the Favour and Protection of the highest Rank of Angels, God hath affigned us the ftrongeft Guard. Thofe Angels who have a multitude of the heavenly Hoft under them, take charge of the Body of Chrift, even of the meaneft and weakest Member of it. The chief is Michael, but there are others, as you fhall fee before I have done with this Argument, who attend upon the Affairs of the Church, and are ready to do us Good, that are of the highest Dignity in the hea venly Quire.

་་

We have reafon therefore to praise him, because he hath placed the lowest of us in the fame Degree with David, who faith, my help cometh from the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth, Pfal. 121. 2. In the Hebrew it is, my help cometh from before the Lord, i. e. from his mighty Angels which ftand before him, and behold his Face, whereby he helps and delivers me. The high praises of God ought to be in our Mouths, who are fo efteemed by the King of Heaven. Instead of our Complaints and Lamentations, this one fingle Meditation would adminifter abundant matter of Praife and Thanksgiving, if

[ocr errors]

we

we laid it to Heart. We fhould never be able to find any time wherein we may not rejoice, becaufe, faith our Saviour, they always behold the Face of my Father, and are continually watchful bring in Bleffings to us: All that is within us: ought to bless his holy Name, and we should blefs the Lord (as the Pfalms fpeak elsewhere, 34. 1.) at all times; his praife fhould be continu ally in our Mouths, who hath appointed his most excellent Ministers to wait upon us, and fecure. our Happiness.

We know the Efteem that a great Man fets upon any Perfon, by the quality of the Meffenger that he fends upon any occafion to him; and fo hereby our Saviour would make us understand, how much his Father values and prizes those who believe on him, and are his faithful Difciples, in that thofe Angels are theirs which behold his face in Heaven, and are nearest to his glorious Majefty: But we are unworthy of this Efteem, and may well forfeit it, if we set not a great Price upon this Loving kindness of God, and do not duly value it; which we should express by our conftant and hearty Praises, and efpecially by a fincere Study of all, Piety, which is the beft Expreffion of our Thankfulness, and will most especially endear us to him, and to his holy Angels,

[ocr errors]

THE

SERMON XVII.

BEING THE

Second SERMON

ON

Michaelmas-Day,1672.

MATTH. XVIII. 10.

----For Ifay unto you, that in Heaven their Angels do always behold the Face of my ther which is in Heaven.

Fa

N this Day, as I have already told you, the Church of Chrift hath been wont to commemorate the great Mercy of God in the Miniftry of Angels; the greatest of which he hath given a Charge unto, that they shall take Care of us, and do us Offices of Love and Kindness. Therefore in the Rituals of the Eaftern Church, it is

called

[ocr errors]

called σύναξις των παμμεγίςων ταξιαρχών, &c. the Solemn Festival of the very greateft Leaders, or Commanders of the Hoft above, Michael and Gabriel, and all the Heavenly Powers; or, as others have it, the Solemnity of the Prince of the Heavenly Militia, Michael, and the rest of the incorporeal Powers.

Now according to the old Saying, that was avpw, Man is double, there being an outward and an inward Man, the good Offices which they do us are of two forts, either relating to our Bodies or to our Souls. Of the first I have already difcourfed, and shown how they are in the Nature of a Guard to us, efpecially to those that are good, according to that of the Pfalmift, 34. 7.

I come now to treat of the latter, concerning the Good they do to our Souls; which, as the principal part of Men, fo, one would think, fhould be the principal part of their Care. And thus St. Hierome, upon thefe Words, cries out, as I intimated in the Morning, Magna eft dignitas Animarum, &c. Great is the Dignity of Souls, who from their Nativity have an heavenly Minifter affigned to them for their Cuftody. It muft be confeffed, that this is more obfcurely spoken of than the other; yet fomething there is that they contribute to our Spiritual Welfare, as may be made manifeft by their Opposites, the Devil and all thofe Spiritual Wickedneffes that follow him. Their great Enmity is to Mens Souls; they study nothing more than to carry them to Perdition: And therefore we may con

clude,

clude, that these good Angels are the Friends and Lovers of Mens Souls, which are in Worth and Dignity next to themselves, and study their Prefervation or Deliverance from the Power of the Evil One.

It is an hard Matter, I know, to affign the Manner and Way how they convey their Spiritual Afftance to us; but I fhall fhew you plainly there is Caufe to believe the Thing. And I know not how to illuftrate it better, than by confidering what Hurt is faid to be done to us by our Adverfary the Devil; whereby we may understand what Service thefe Bleffed Spirits do us, who are Adverfaries to him, and Helpers of us.

Now we meet with these two Characters of the Devil in holy Writ, that he is a Murderer, and that he is a Lyar. As he is a Murderer, seeking the Destruction of Men, he doth all the Mischief he can both to Mens Bodies and to their Minds. As he is a Lyar, he seeks only to deceive, abuse, and destroy the Mind. For the Hurt that this Murderer doth to their Bodies, it is either in Mens private Capacities, by troubling the Air, bringing Diseases and Infections, when God permits him, raifing Storms and Tempefts, and fuch like things: Or in their publick Capacity, ftirring up the Spirit of ambitious, haughty, covetous, and cruel Men to oppress and enflave others; to make unneceffary Wars, to fill the World with Rapine, Slaughter and Blood; to overturn Kingdoms, and indeed to turn the World upfide down. Then for their Minds, he doth

them

« PreviousContinue »