1&4 BookW. 1looktng unto 'Jjcius>. Chap 1. Sccr.6. · of God, and that the Spirit of God d1velleth in y011, and worketlt in you? 4· If by Chrill:'s pref~na., w_e mean the preft_nceof h!s Angels, llhall then fay, we have fa1d enough; as a Kmg ts fatd to be where hts Courtts· where his Train Qr Retinue are, fo Chrift, the King of Kings is ther_e efpecially prefent,' where the heavenly Guard, the bleffed Angels k<ep thetr facred ftauon and Rendezvouz, wherefoever it is. Now that this is Chrift"s fpecial prefence, it will appear in fundry Texts. I. When racob faw that vilion inBethel, of the Ladder reaching from earth to hea. Gen. <8.V,t;. ven, and ofthe Angt!s of God afc~nding and dofcending upon it, Surely (faith 'lac ob) the Lord" mthuplacc, and I kz.ew tt not; and he WtUafraid, and faid, how dreadful is thi& pl4ce? thu u none other but the houfe of Ged, and thi; i; the gate of heaven: he calls it God'shoufc, whcreG_odand his holy Angels, w,ho ar.e of his houih~ld are efpeciaUy prefent; and he caUs 1t the Gate of heaven, heavens Gutld-hall, heavens Court, namely becaufeoftheAngels; for the ~ate, Guild:hall, or Court was wom to bethejudg~· ment-hall, and the place where Ktngs and Sena(ors ufed to lit, attended by their Gu.rd and ~11111fiers. The Caldee addeth, thi; ;, no common or private place, bitt a place wherein God taksthplfaJitre, and over againft thi; place i; the Gate of heaven. 2. When the Lord defcended upon Mount Sinai to give the Law, fome phce the fpe– A8-s7.q. Gd.. 3.19. Heb.>.'· cification of God's prefence in the Angels, to which purpofe are alledged thefe Texts· JVhohave received the Law by the difpojition of ·.Angels, and hav~ not k!pt it : and again: TheLaww.uordaimdby A11gelsinthehandof a Mediator. Agam, tbe Apoftlecallsthe Law the Word fpokfn by Angels. I have al.ready delivered my t~oughtsconcerning thefe. Angels; butfome (Ifay) conclude from hence, that thefpectal prefi!nce of the Divine Majefl:y confifl:; in the encamping of his facred Retinue, the blelfed Angels. for that the Lordof himfelf, who filleth heaven and earth, could not defcenil, or be i~ o~ place more than another : There's yet another text ~cry pertinent to this. And h, Dcot. 3J· •· faid, the Lord came from SintJi, and rofe up from Seir unto them, he Jl>ined forth from lWount Paran, and he came with ten thoufands of hi' S~ines, from hi; right hand rve~it a Pial. 6S. 17 • fiery La1v for them : the wordstracflatcd ten thoufands ofhi; Saints, are in the Original, tent hottfand; of Santfity, or holy ten thoufMds, or holy Myriads ; which in ~ apprehen– fion, points to the Angels, rather than his Saints: and the Pfalmift puts it out ofqueftion, The Cha.·;ots of God are twenty theuf~tnd, even thoufands of Angels, the Lord i; Among them, tU in Sinai, i11 the holy place. · 3. Afterthe Law given, this prefet~ce of God was fixed to the Temple; and what that was, Ifaiah defcribe thus; I Jaw alfo the Lord fitting npon " Throne, high, 11nd !fJ. 6 · 1 ' '· lifted up, and hi& trairz filled the Temple; about itflood the SertJphims; They were God's Train, and they filled the Temple. And hence Davidaddreffes to Godwere faid to be in the prefencc of Angels : Before the godJ will I ftng praifcs to thee, I will worfoip to– wards thy holy 1"emple. The Septuagint tranllates it thus, iv~vTiov •;»""'' before the Alll'fJI.uS '•'· gels. I know in the time of the Gofpel, we do not fo fix God's prefence to our Tem– ples, or places of publick afi"embling for the worlhip of his Name; but to our Church– affemblks in fuch places, why rnay we not? Were the Rudiments of the Law worthy of an attendance of Angels, and are the Churches of the Gofpel de!litute of f~ glori– ous a Retinue I Did the bleffed Spirits wait upon the Types, and do they dechne the Office at rhe minifiration of the fubfiance ? Is the Nature of man made worfe, lince the Incarnation of the Son of God? or have the Angels purchafed an exemption from their Minifl:ry, lince Chrift became our Brother in the flel11? We have llttle reafon ~· think fo · the Apoftle treating of a comely and decent demeauor to be obferved tn . Church.;ffemblies, and in particular, of women's being covered or veiled there, lte 1 Co' 1 , .J<). enforces it from this prefcnce of Angels: For this eau(; o11ght the woman to have ac~ciJ,y( h>m. 16 • vering on her head, beca1t[e of the ;'}ngels; namely~ wnich are there prefem. Upon thiS in, Cor./'""'· ground, ChrJfoftome reproves the trreverent behavwur of Ius Audttory; The Chnrch, 15. in Hcb. l (aith he) is not aShop of Mannfaflwm ·~ Merchandiz..e, bm the place of Angels, and<( Archangels, the Conrt ef God, and the 1mage and reprefeJJtO'Jent of heavm 1t felf.-J kpo1v the!lfceft them not; bm hear, and kyowtha! A11gels are every w!.ere, and e[pmally "' the houfc of God, where they attend 11pon thet~ Kmg, an~ whe-re a/~'; filled with.mcorporeal P?IVm .By this time, I hope; we kno":'·wh.at.ts the meamng ofChn[ls prefence mChurch– affembhcs; ro wit, the prefence of ht.s Sp1rtt, a1;d the pre(ence of Jus ~nt::els. f. And if it be fo would not a perfwalion of this prefence of Chn[\ m our Church-A· femblies, be a fp;cialm"eans or motive to bring all imo order ? ·Sometimes I. won.der a: "the irrev;rent carriage o[ !"ome J;Jearers, laughing, talking, pra~g, lleeptng, '"c~~~
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