shall be at Home received and entertained with Joy with loving Embracements by Friends waiting looking longing for their coming Home But their swiftest Pace to their Earthly Home is slow to mine to my Heavenly Home It is to mine as the Crawling of a Snail to the Motion of the Sun God is looking for me and Christ is looking for me and the Blessed Inhabitants above are looking for me Is the Cry in Heaven Why is yonder Soul so long a coming When will it be here that we might have a new Lodger in our Dwellings Angels were ordered to go for him the Horses and the Chariots were sent to fetch him up Why is his Chariot so long a coming Why tarry the Wheels of his Chariot The Soul on its Journey looking out of his Chariot and up to Heaven and seeing them out of the Windows of Heaven looking for him and calling come away make haste and come to us it replies I hasten I hasten I come behold I come quickly V. The Angels being the Carriers and the Soul the carried it will be Matter of Joy to both at their Arrival at the Port of Happiness both Angels the Transporters and the Soul that is the Passenger shall rejoice when landed at their intended Haven As Mariners with their Passengers sailing through tempestuous Seas stormy Winds and raging Waves having escaped the Sands and Rocks and Hands of Pyrates and being come to their designed Harbour are filled with Joy and do shoot and shout thereby giving out their Signs of Joy So the Angels and the Soul whom they have conveyed to the Gates of Heaven do rejoice that their Voyage hath been so prosperous 1. The Angels that were the Carriers do with Joy present the Soul to Christ saying O our Lord and King thou gavest us Command to go and fetch this Soul to thee and set it in Heaven before thee and lo here it is Thou gavest us in Charge to conduct it in Safety to the Gates of thy Glorious Kingdom and so we have Thou didst enjoyn us to defend it from the Powers of Darkness and all Hellish Principalities that might assault it by the Way and we have brought it to thee through their Host and here it is we present it to thee and to the Father and the Holy Spirit It is welcomed to the Kingdom by the Father Son and Holy Ghost God the Father doth graciously entertain it as we must speak in our Manner to set forth this Joy as if he said to this purpose come thou blessed Soul come in behold the Kingdom and the Glorious State that I did choose thee to look and see what I prepared for thee before the Foundation of the World All this Glory I did design for thee from all Eternity to all Eternity There were but a few in Comparison of those I justly passed by that I chose unto this Happiness and it pleased me to make thee one of those few thou wast involved in Sin and Guilt thou wast wallowing in thy Blood thou wast dead in Trespasses and Sins as well as others but it was my pleasure to ordain thee to be brought unto this Place and Paradise of Joy which now thou dost behold and which I sent my Angels to bring thee to Come welcom to my Glorious Palace come enter in and sit down with all this Happy Company that before thee I have received hither God the Son will also entertain it saying Come O dear and precious Soul I am Jesus thy Redeemer I am Christ thy Saviour I am he that went from Heaven to Earth that thou and others might be brought from Earth to Heaven I am he that suffered that thou might'st be saved that died that thou might'st live I am he that for thy sake did wear a Crown of Thorns that thou for my sake might'st wear a Crown of Glory Behold me for I am he that was crucified for thee that thou might'st be Glorified with me Come enter into thy Master's Joy welcome to my Kingdom welcome to my Presence come enter into thy Master's Joy God the Holy Ghost shall also Graciously receive it to his Glory saying as we may conceive Draw near thou dear and precious Soul draw near my Comforts shall delight thee more than Ever Thou shalt be filled with my Joy more than ever Thou wast born in Sin but I caused thee to be born again thou wast unclean but I did wash thee in thy Saviour's Blood Thou wast unfit for this Glorious Place and Company but I did prepare and make thee meet to be a Partaker of this Inheritance with these Saints in Light The Image of God by Sin was raced out of thee But I did with my own Finger engrave it again upon thee 〈◊〉 work in thee what Grace was found in thee I did enable thee to pray and hope and wait for this Crown of Life of Righteousness and Glory which is now set upon thy Head I did give thee the Pledge and Earnest and First-fruits of this Glory which now thou art possessed of I bid thee Welcome to thy Entrance into it 2. The Soul that was brought by Angels and thus entertained by the Father Son and Holy Ghost at its first Arrival there shall be filled and transported with unspeakable Joy when received in and looking about might be conceived to say What Glorious Place is this what a Glorious Company is this But let me turn mine Eyes unto my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ My Lord I did love thee before I ever saw thee O how Glorious is my Lord This is he that redeemed me by his Blood This is he who bought me with his Blood who bought me with his Blood who when I was a Captive redeemed me and bought me with his Blood How low was he abased how high is he exalted How much was he abused how much is he now admired O how did I long to see my Lord How desirous have I been to be with him where he is and so I am I was not but now I am O how good is it to be here I never was in such a Place before I never was in such Company before except in my Passage to it Here are such Glorious Sights I never saw such harmonious Songs and Praises as before I never heard Is this the State I prayed for and hoped and waited for I heard much of it before I came into it but at my first Entrance I see more I enjoy more I feel more than I did ever hear O the Joy the Joy the Fulness of Joy that I am filled with O God my Father I do Praise thee I do Praise thee I will for ever Praise thee that it was thy Pleasure to choose me to it O God my Lord Redeemer I do Praise thee I do Praise thee I will for ever Praise thee that thou didst so freely so greatly Love me with such a costly Love as with the Price of thy Blood to purchase this Possession for me and me to be
of the same Kind As this individual Person Peter as a Man is a rational Creature Therefore every one that is a Man is a rational Creature By which here I mean the same with Animal Rationale in Distinction on from Angels it being nothing to my purpose to debate whether they may be called Rational as well as Intellectual Creatures So this individual Person Abraham was Justified not as a Man but as a believing Man Therefore every Man that is a believing Man is Justified and thus the Apostle draws an Universal concerning all Believers from what was written in the particular Case of Abraham as a Believer For from a Particular as such the Consequence is good to all and every one that is such Which Axiom is commonly allowed In the Matter before us it is certain Holy Angels did not carry Lazarus his Soul to Heaven as a Soul for then they should carry all Souls thither But as it was an Holy Soul and if a Soul as Holy shall by Angels be conducted to Glory then every Soul that is Holy shall be so conveyed also 5. Angels conveying Holy separated Souls to Heaven doth not detract any thing from the Glory of God but doth rather make it the more manifest and is subservient thereunto For Christ is their only Saviour Angels their Carriers Christ is their Commander herein they his Servants to do it Christ by Angels brings Souls to possess that Happiness which so many Angels fell from Christ as Mediator is exalted above those Noble Creatures Christ manifests his constant Love to and Care of the Souls of all Believers till he puts them into the actual Possession of what he hath purchased for them Christ came himself from Heaven to procure it and sends his Angels from Heaven to fetch them to it And this will be made more manifest by considering the useful Service of the Ministration of Angels in conveying Holy Souls into his Presence 1. The Holy Angels are the Guides of separated Souls in their Journey to Heaven It is a long Journey from a dying Bed on Earth to the Heaven of Heavens The one being distant from the other some Millions of Miles and a Way the Soul never went before and to it an unbeaten Path it stands in need of a Guide to direct it in its Way which is well known unto the Angels that have so often gone to and fro from the one to the other Many Passengers in a Ship from hence to the East Indies thro' the vast and wide Ocean will need a Pilot to steer their Course or else might never arrive to their intended and desired Harbour So the Soul that is to pass through the vast Regions of the fluid Air in a longer Voyage in respect of Distance will need some to conduct it that it might not miss its Way It may be it goes out of the Body not knowing whither it is going and how then should it know its Way Therefore God that hath sent his Angels to direct and prosper the Way of his Servants on a Journey from one Place to another upon Earth Gen. 24. 7 40. will much more send his Angels to direct their Souls in their Travel from Earth to Heaven 2. Angels are sent to be the Guard of separated sanctified Souls They are to pass through the Devils Territories who is the Prince of the Power of the Air Eph. 2. 2 3. where are numerous and powerful unclean Spirits which are Principalities and Powers and Spiritual Wickednesses in high Places Eph. 6. 12. These would intercept the Holy Soul in its Journey Home to Heaven but Holy Angels are its Guard to conduct it through the Hosts of Devils and protect it as it passeth along This hath been the frequent Ministration of Angels for the Safety of God's People from their Enemies in this Life As when Jacob was to meet his Brother Esau who did resolve to kill him Gen. 32. 1 2. Jacob went on his Way and the Angel of God met him and he said this is God's Hosts and he called the Name of the Place Mahaniam i.e. Two Hosts or Two Camps the one to go before the other behind him or one on the one side and the other on the other to keep him safe from Danger every way If God send his Angels to guard his Servants in this Life when in Danger of their Enemies will he not much more to defend their separated Souls in their Passage to Heaven when they are to pass through the Air where Devils do swarm especially if these Things be considered First When the Host of Devils that the Soul is to pass through is far more numerous than Esau's Company against Jacob. Secondly When Devils are more implacable against the separated Soul than Esau was against Jacob for he was reconciled to him but Devils never will to Holy Souls Thirdly When Devils are more Powerful to act against the separated Soul on its way than Esau and all his Company were against Jacob when he was on his Way Fourthly When the Danger at the most that God's People are in from Wicked Men is the Life of the Body but without doubt such is the Malice of Devils against holy Souls separated from their Bodies on their way to Heaven that if not defended they would seize them to keep them from Eternal Happiness in Heaven Fifthly When this is the Last Season they shall ever have to make any Attempt upon the Holy separated Soul which when once entered into Heaven's Gates shall be assaulted no more for Ever Tho' the War with Devils in some Respects might be over as soon as the Soul is separated from the Body that it shall be no longer managed by the same Subtilties alluring Temptations Fleshly Enticements evil Suggestions sensible objective Snares yet I conceive in other Respects the War is not ended till the Soul is safely arrived in Heaven but is carried on in a different Manner to what it was in the Body When in the Body he assaulted the Soul not by Violence but Persuasion out of the Body he knows it will be in vain to assault by Persuasion therefore on its Way would seize it by Violence did not God by his Angels powerfully preserve it For as Pharaoh and his Host pursued the Children of Israel when they had escaped out of Egypt to the Red Sea where God opened the Waters to Israel to pass thro' and shut them upon Pharaoh so Devils will persue the Soul to the Gates of Heaven till God open to the Soul and shut them against the Soul's Pursuers For as there are Principalities and Powers of Hell that way-lay the separated Soul so the Principalities and Powers of Heaven are ready to secure it And if the Devil contended with the Archangel and the Archangel with the Devil about the Body of Moses why should we think there is no War betwixt the Principalities of Heaven and Hell about the Soul on its Way to Heaven or that the Soul is not
by that Power they are indued with from God but also by Commission and Assistance from him and therefore when we read of any Fight and Conflict between the Bad and Holy Angels the Good always overcame because Christ who is that Michael is the Lord General of the Heavenly Host and they fight under his Banner and he that is the Captain of our Salvation is the Captain Leader and Commander in Chief of this Heavenly Army Rev. 12. 7 8. And there was War in Heaven Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon and the Dragon fought and his Angels and prevailed not neither was there Place sound any more in Heaven 9. And the great Dragon was cast out that old Serpent called the Devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole World he was cast out into the Earth and his Angels were cast out with him Rev. 20. 1. I saw an Angel come down from Heaven having the Key of the Bottomless Pit and a great Chain in his Hand 2. And he laid hold on the Dragon that old Serpent which is the Devil and Satan and bound him a Thousand Years 3. And cast him into the bottomless Pit and set a Seal upon him that he should deceive the Nations no more Thus the Holy Angels are celebrated for their Power being mighty Angels 2 Thes 1. 7. and do excel in Strength Psal 103. 20. Their Power under God is the Soul's Safety on its Way from Earth to Heaven Secondly The Soul by this Convoy is safe because conducted by such knowing Angels Evil Angels though they have lost all that Holiness they were at first created with yet they retain great Measures of Knowledge therefore we read of the Subtilty of the Stratagems and Devices of the Devil yet the Holy Holy Angels are more knowing than they for when Devils are cast out the good Angels do always behold the Face of God in Heaven Mat. 18. 10. So that God revealing his Will to them about any Matter Message or Person they readily know and as readily execute what he reveals to them to be his Will to be done by them As to our present Purpose by God's Revelation to them 1. They know those that are sincerely Holy for they rejoice at their Conversion 2. They know when any Believer is dissolved by Death and when his Soul is separated from his Body else how should they know when to come for it 3. They know where any Believer dies at home or abroad on his Bed or in the Field by Land or Sea else how should they know where to come for it 4. They know the Soul separated which is the Soul of a sanctified Man and which of one unholy else how should they know which to take and which to leave which to carry to Heaven and which to leave to Devils to be carried to Hell and here thro' Divine Revelation they never make any Mistake 5. They know the Way from any part of this World to the blessed World above by their often coming and going and never miss their Way All which laid together shews the Safety of Believers Souls wherever they live wherever they die whoever they be that there is no fear that they should not be found by the ministring Angels or that finding them at Death they should lose their Way to Heaven So that the separated Soul at the first Appearance of Angels to it will see the Love and Care of God concerning it and with admiring Thoughts thereof may say hath God made known to you the Place where I did leave my Body and the very Moment when I parted from it and that I was sincere in Heart to God and gave you charge to come and guide me in my Way unto his Glorious Presence how chearfully will I go with you knowing that by your Power under God I shall not be seized by evil Spirits and by your Skill I shall not lose my Way Thirdly The separated Soul by Angels Ministration is safe because convoyed by such faithful Angels that are always true to their Trust If a Man be on a Journey in Company that is able to protect him and skilful to direct him yet if any in the Company be unfaithful they may betray him but here can be no Danger nor Ground of Fear in respect of this Convoy 1. Else Holy Angels would not be faithful to God the Father in betraying any one Soul chosen by him to Eternal Life 2. Nor to God the Son in losing any whom he hath redeemed and purchased by his most precious Blood 3. Nor to the Holy Spirit of God by dropping any by the Way which by the special Operation of his powerful Grace he hath prepared and made meet for Glory and had given to them the Pledge and Earnest thereof 4. Nor to the Soul committed to their Charge to bring to Heaven for wherein could greater Unfaithfulness to it be shewn than in what concerns its Eternal State 5. Nor to their own Office or Commission to them without fail to conduct such an one to the Happiness of Heaven Such Unfaithfulness is inconsistent with the Perfection and spotless Purity of Holy Angels which being confirmed cannot at any time fall into the least Error or Miscarriage for then would they cease to be Holy Angels What Joy then is this to the separated Soul that hath such a Convoy sent for it as shall not indanger it by Weakness or want of Power by Ignorance or want of Skill in the Way or by Unfaithfulness or want of Fidelity to their Trust O how happy am I on my Way to Happiness How sure am I my Way will be prosperous How certain is it I shall get safely thither Fourthly The gracious separated Soul will be safe because transported by such zealous Angels therefore called Seraphims because they have a burning Zeal in executing all that God gives them a Charge to do Devils are furious envious and malicious and are bent to destroy devour and damn as many as they can by watching by walking to and fro throughout the Earth by tempting and at last by dragging Souls to Hell when separated from their Bodies The Holy Angels are more for God's Glory the Interest of Christ the Good of Souls than Devils are against them for I suppose the Holy Angels do more exceed in Goodness than evil Angels as bad as they are are filled with Wickedness For in Devils there is something Materially Good besides their Being tho' it may be Formally or Circumstantially Evil as much of their Knowledge but in Holy Angels there is nothing that is Materially or Circumstantially Evil. Therefore the Holy separated Soul received into the Company of Holy Angels on its Way to Heaven may delight it self and say While in the Body I was assaulted with Satans Temptations Devils did endeavour to persuade me to sin but whatsoever Violence they may now assault me with they shall no more with any Hopes entice me from my God and the good Company I