102 MET A pH 0 R s FROM HEAVEN. Book{. Satan falling from l-leavm like Ligbtni"i. His Dignity in l-le&uen was very eminent, and yet for the [welling Pride of his Mind be is }ltmg j1-om the higheji (Glory) to the loweft (Wrt:chednejs) how much more ought you to bewaFe of Pride <vbo carry a mortal Body l!bout;•ou, obnoxious to all Perils. llut others underfhnd this of the Power and Efficacy of Chrifl, which by the Preaching of the Apoftles he put forth, to which Satan again!t hi; 'vVill was forced to give Way, and was, as it were call: down from the Height of that l'ower which he exercifed uver Men. . In HEAVEN, we are alfo to conl!der the Ornammts of it, as the Luminaries as they are called, Gen. i. 14. The Sun, Moon, and Stars, which are the Organs of Light, The Sun and Moon conftantly fhining do metaphorically denote eternal llletredne!s in Heaven. <rhy Sun /hall no more go down, neither }hall thy Moon withdraw itftlf, lfa. lx. 20. The Explication follows, For the Lord}hall be thine everla.fting Light, and tht Days of thy Moun•ing }hall be ended. See Rev. xxii. 5· Such Things as concern the State of the Church in this Life, and Heaven are mixed in this Chapter of Ifaiah, as an accurate InfpeClion into it, will fhew. The Chaldee in tranOating thefe Words of the Sun and Moon, does (not inelegantly) expound them, thy Kingdqmjhall no longer b~ abolijhed, nor thy Glory tratuferred. The Light of the Sun denotes Profperity, as Otall be fhewn hereafter; therefore on the Contrary the Setting or Darknefs of the Sun me– taphorically denotes Calamity, Sorrow and Mifery, Jer. xv. 9· Her Sun is gone daw11 whi!t it was yet Day. Chaldee, their Glory is tranOated in their Life-time; that unex– peCted and moll: heavy Calamities are treated of here, the foregoing and following Ver!es fhew. Amos viii. 9· I will cauft the Sun to go down at Noon, and I <vi/{ darken tbe Earth on a clear Dt~y, that is, 1will fuddenly overwhelm you with heavy Strokes and Calamities. So Micah iii. 6. Joel ii. 10. and iii. 4· Jfa. xiii. 10. On the other Side an lncrcaft of the Sun and Moon's Light metaphorically fignifies great fpiritual Happinefs, lfa. xxx. 16. 'I'he Light of the Moon }hall be as the Light of the Sun, and tbe Light of the Sun jhall be ftven-fold, as the Light offtven Dap, &c. As if he had faid, the Help which I will afford you fhall be fo great and illuftrious, that in that Time the two Lu– minaries of the World the Sun and Moon (as if they would congratulate the Deliver– ance of the People) will be more chearful and more fhining than they were wont to be. Some refer this to an Hyperbole. By the Name of S<rARS, illuftrious and principal Men are underftood, Dan. v.iii. IO• .lfnd it, (viz. that little Horn by which /lntiochus is underftood) waxed great evm to the 1-io.ft of Hwven, mzd it ca.ft down fome of the Hoft and of the Stars to the Ground, and jlamped upon them. By the Hoft of Heaven the People of God or the Church fame– times rircumfcribed in Judea is underftood; but by Stars, the Princes or chief Men, who by their Adminiftra.tion in the Church or Commonwealth were of more Eminency th 0 n others, are noted ; hence in Verfe 2 4· it is fo expounded, he fhall deftroy the mighty and the holy People; that is, he fhall deftroy the higheft and the loweft. See I Jv[ac. i. 25· z. By the Name of S'l'ARS, the Teachers of the Word of God, and Church Ru– lers are figured, Rev. i. I 5, 20. and ii. I. which Confideration fairly leads us to know. (1.) Their Lord and Ma.fter, whofe Countenance is faid to jhine as the Sun in its Sirmgth, RtrJ. i. J 6. 1. As the Sun communicates his Light to the Stars in Heaven : SoChri.ft the Sun of Righteoufnefs, Mal. iv. 2. imparts the Light of faving Knowledge to his faithful Ser– vants, 2. Cor. iv. 6. 2. The Lord brings forth the Hoft of the Stars by Number, and calleth them all by Names, Jfa. xl. 26. So Chri.ft leads forth his Minifters in his Church as a facred Hoft, ~gainft Satan and the World, and calleth them alfo by Name, Pfal. lxviii. 11. (2.) Their Offia: God placed tbe Stars in the Firmament, to enlighten the Earth, Gen. i. I7· 3· The Light of DoCtrine which the Mini.fters bring to the Church is from Heaven and taken out of the heavenly and Divine WorJ alone, 2Pet. i. I6, I9· which i• fweeter
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