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IV. The Lord Jesus Christ God man is the Judge of the angels that gives them the reward of eternal life. They did not enjoy perfect rest till he descended and confirmed them, so that the angels, as well as men, have rest in Christ God man. (See the next.)

V. They have this benefit by the incarnation of Christ, that thereby God is immediately united with a creature, and so is nearer to them, whereby they are under infinitely greater advantages to have the full enjoyment of God.

VI. Jesus Christ God man is he through whom, and in whom, they enjoy the blessedness of the reward of eternal life, both as the Head of influence through whom they have the Spirit, and also as in Christ God man they behold God's glory, and have the manifestations of his love.

VII. As the perfections of God are manifested to all creatures, both men and angels, by the fruits of those perfections, i. e. by God's works, (the wisdom of God appears by his wise works, and his power by his powerful works; his holiness and justice by his holy and just acts, and his grace and love by the acts and works of grace and love,) so the glorious angels have the greatest manifestations of the glory of God by what they see in the work of man's redemption, and especially in the death and sufferings of Christ.

[940] The elect angels have greatly increased both in holiness and happiness, since the fall of those angels that fell, and are immensely more holy than ever Lucifer and his angels were; for perfection in holiness, i. e. a sinless perfection, is not such in those that are finite, but that it admits of infinite degrees. The fall of the angels laid a foundation for the greater holiness of the elect angels, as it increased their knowledge of God and themselves, gave them the knowledge of good and evil, and was a means of their being emptied of themselves and brought low in humility, and they increased in holiness by persevering in obedience. What they behold of the glory of God in the face of Christ as men's Redeemer, and especially in Christ's humiliation, greatly increased their holiness; and their obedience, through that last and greatest trial, contributed above all things to an increase of their holiness. This further shows how the elect angels are dependent on Christ God man.

[941] Christ's humiliation many ways laid a foundation for the humiliation of all elect creatures. By seeing one infinitely above them descending so low, and abasing himself so much, they are abundantly made sensible how no abasement is too great for them. Lucifer thought what God required of him too great an abasement for so high and worthy a creature as he; but in Christ Jesus they see one infinitely higher than he descending

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vastly lower than was required of him. It tends to humble the angels, and to set them for ever at an immense distance from any thought that any thing that God can require of them can be too great an abasement for them; and then it tended to humble them, as this person that appeared in such meanness, and in so despicable a state, is appointed to be their Lord and their God, and as they were required humbly to minister to him in his greatest abasement. It tends to abase elect men two ways.

1. As here is the example of the voluntary humiliation of one infinitely more worthy than they; and,

2. As here is the greatest manifestation of the evil, dreadful nature of sin, and particularly as here is the effects of their sin. Here appears the venomous nature of their corruption, as it aims at the life of God, and here appears the infinite greatness of its demerit in such sufferings of a person of infinite glory. So that all elect creatures are as it were humbled and abased in their head. This shows further how the elect angels are dependent on Christ God man.

[938] Heaven-How the elect angels know good and evil. It is a thing supposed, without proof, that the glorious inhabitants of heaven never felt any such thing as trouble or uneasiness of any kind. Their present innocency and holiness does not prove it. God may suffer innocent creatures to be in trouble for their greater happiness. The nature and end of that place of glory does not prove it, for if that did not hinder sin from entering, neither will it necessarily hinder trouble from entering there.

The elect angels probably felt great fear at the time of the revolt of Lucifer and the angels that followed him. They were then probably the subjects of great surprise, and a great sense of their own danger of falling likewise, and when they saw the wrath of God executed on the fallen angels, which they had no certain promise that they should not suffer also by their own disobedience, being not yet confirmed, it probably struck them with fear. And the highest heavens was not a place of such happiness and rest before Christ's ascension as it was afterwards; for the angels were not till then confirmed. So that it was in Christ God man that the angels have found rest. The angels, therefore, have this to sweeten their safety and rest, that they have it after they have known what it is to be in great danger, and to be distressed with fear.

[1098] That the angels in the times of the Old Testament did not fully understand the counsels and designs of God with regard to men's redemption, may be argued from that text, Isai. Ixiv. 4. "For since the beginning of the world they have not heard (men is not in the original,) nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God! beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that

waiteth for him." In the original, what "he hath made or done for him that waiteth for him." It is rendered in the margin, "hath seen a God besides thee which doth so for him that waiteth for him." But our translation gives the sense more agreeable to the citation of the apostle, 1 Cor. ii. 7, 8, 9. It is manifest by this text, if we take it in a sense agreeable to the apostle's understanding of it, that none of old understood the mystery of man's redemption by Jesus Christ, it never entered into the hearts of any; and if this be the sense, it will follow from the words of the text, not only that it had not entered into the hearts of any of mankind, but also of the angels, for all are expressly excluded but God himself; none have heard, seen, or perceived, O God, beside thee. The meaning is not only that no works had been already done that ever any had seen or heard of parallel to this work; for if the meaning was, that no works that were past had been seen or heard of like this work, those words, O God, beside thee, would not be added; for if that were the sense, these words would signify, That, though others had not seen any past works parallel with this, yet God had, which would not have been true; for God himself had not seen any past works parallel with this. The same may also be argued from Eph. iii. 9, 10, 11, compared with Rom. xvi. 25, 26, and Colos. i. 26. Not only are the words of Eph. iii. 10 very manifestly to my present purpose, but those words in the verse preceding are here worthy of remark. The mystery, which, from the beginning of the world, hath been HID IN GOD; which seems plainly to imply, that it was a secret which God kept within himself, which was hid and sealed up in the divine understanding, and never had as yet been divulged to any other, which was hid in God's secret counsel, which as yet no other being had ever been made acquainted with; and so the words imply as much as those in the forementioned place in Isaiah, that none had perceived it beside God.

[1247] Angels. That they are as the nobles and barons of the court of heaven, as dignified servants in the palace of the King of kings, is manifest by Matt. xviii. 10. See my Notes. So in their being called thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers.

[1276] Angels ignorant of the majesty of the gospel till Christ's coming.

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you the hope of glory. Doctor Goodwin says, "This doctrine of the gospel he kept hid and close in his own breast; not a creature knew it; no, not the angels, who were his nearest courtiers and dearest favour

work itself. There is the same reason, that those things that are without the limits of the work itself, as to time, should be in the hands of Christ, because of the relation they have to that work, as that those things that are without the limits of the work itself, as to place, and nature, and order of being, should be in his hands; as the angels in heaven, and indeed all the works of God that were before the fall of man, were parts of the work of preparation for the work of Redemption. The creation itself was so; and for this reason the creation of the world was committed into his hands; and there is no reason to suppose that one part of this work of preparation was conmitted into Christ's hands, because it was a preparation for his work, and not other parts of the preparation for the same work. All things are for Christ, for his use; and therefore God left it with him to prepare all things for his own use, that in every thing he might have the pre-eminence, and that in him might all fullness dwell, a perfect sufficiency every way for the design that he had to accomplish; and therefore by the will and disposition of the Father, all things were made by him, and all things consist by him, and he was made Head over all things to the church, and for the purposes of the work of redemption that he was to accomplish for the church. Colos. i. 16, 17, 18, 19. "For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things are created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist, and he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence; for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell." Eph. i. 22. "And hath put all things under his feet, and given him to be head over all things to the church. It is manifest by these things that not only the creation of the world, but the upholding and government of the world were committed into the hands of Christ, and doubtless it was so from the beginning. As Christ's delegated dominion over the world will not be at an end till his use of it is finished, and he has completed that work in which its great use consists, and has fully obtained his end of it, which will be at the end of the world, when he will deliver up THAT kingdom to the Father. So doubtless the delegated dominion over the world began when his use of it began, which was at the beginning of the world, or as soon as the world was finished, and then the kingdom was committed to him of the Father.

[936] Fall of the angels.-Satan, the prince of the devils. It seems manifest by the scripture, that there is one of the devils

that is vastly superior to all the rest. His vast superiority appears in his being so very often spoken of singly, as the grand enemy of God and mankind, the grand adversary, the accuser of the brethren, and the great destroyer. He is more frequently spoken of singly, in scripture, than devils are spoken of in the plural number, as though he were more than all the rest. He seems commonly in scripture to be spoken of instar omnium. It seems to be from his great superiority above all the rest, that he is so often spoken of under so many peculiar names that are never found in the plural number, as Satan, Diabolos, Beelzebub, Lucifer, The Dragon, The Old Serpent, The Wicked One, The God of this world, The Prince of this world, John xii. 31, The Prince of the power of the air, The Accuser of the brethren, The Tempter, The Adversary, Abaddon, Apollyon, The Enemy, and The Avenger. His strength and subtilty are very great indeed; so much superior to the rest, that he maintains a dominion over them, and is able to govern and manage them, that they durst not raise rebellion against him, agreeble to Job xli. 25, "When he raiseth up himself the mighty are afraid." But he is king in hell, the prince of the devils; as Leviathan is said, Job xli. 34, to be "king over all the children of pride." See Rev. ix. 11. All the rest of the devils are his servants, his wretched slaves, they are spoken of as his possession, Matth. xxv. 41. "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and HIS angels." They are his attendants and possession, as the good angels are Christ's attendants and possession, Rev. xii. 7. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels."

This angel, before his fall, was the chief of all the angels, of greatest natural capacity, strength, and wisdom, and highest in honour and dignity, the brighest of all those stars of heaven, as is signified by what is said of him, under that type of him, the king of Babylon, Isai. xiv. 12, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" This signifies his outshining all the other stars, as the morning star outshines the rest. It is yet more manifest from what is said of the king of Tyrus, as a type of the Devil, in Ezek. xxviii. 12-19. Here I would observe several things. (See Note on the place.)

I. It is exceeding manifest that the king of Tyrus is here spoken of as a type of the Devil, or the prince of the angels, or cherubim that fell.

1. Because he is here expressly called an Angel or Cherub, once and again, ver. 14. 16. And is spoken of as a fallen cherub.

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