Book IV. THE ANGELS coMPARED To THE FACE oF AN EAGLE. 635 M E T A P H 0 R. P A R A L L E L. bear ic, and never fcem to com– plain. l V. Oxen ore very ufcful Crea– tures; much Jncreafe was brought in by them. No Creature, faith Grcmhi/1, is more uleful to the Support of a Family, than the Ox; for of old all the Plowing was done by Oxeu. See 2 Kings xix. 1 'I· Job had Oxen plowing in the Field, he had five hundred Yoke of Oxen, no mention being made of Horfes, 7oh i. 3· There was a fevere Law made againlt thofe that fiole an Ox, Exod. xxii. I. Davidmakes it one Part of the Happinofs of a Common-Wealth, that the Oxm are j/rong to labor. their Work never end, Rev. iv. x. yet they never complain. IV. Angels are very uleful Creatures; they are ufeful to God, they continually go on his Errands, execute his Judgments at the Command of his M omh. They were uleful to Chrill: in the Days of his Flelh; they proclaimed the joyful Tidings of his Nativity, Luke ii. 9, 10, 11. had the Charge of him in his Humiliation, whilfi his Conflict re– mained with the evil Angels; they minifiered to him in his Tempcuions, and \Vhen he was in his bloody Agony; they declared 2nd made known his R efurreCl:ion, lie is not here, he is rifen, Matt. xxvi. 6. They wi:ndfed to his Afcenlion, and to his fecond Co01iog; Ye A1en ofGalilee, why j/and ye gazing up into Heaven? 'The fame J efus which is taken from )'Oil into Heaven, jhal! fo come, as )'C have fmz him go into llMven, Afls i. 10, 1 1. T hey fhail come wirh him, when he cornec; the fecond Time, withom Sin, unto Salvation: He jhall come in the Glory of his Father, with all his holy Angels. They !hall attend him on tile Throne of Judgment, and as Offi– cers execute his righteous Semence, ~~iz. frize all condemneci-Sinn.c:rs, and caft them l!1to the Lake of Fire and Brimltone, &c. Angels are ufeful to the Saints. We li ttle think what great Good we receive by the Minifiration of Angels. See Watchers. N F E R E N C E ~ This lhould inliruCl: us, we lhould be like An2;els in many refpeCls. 1. When God commands, or calls upon us t.o do any Service or Duty, how ready ought we to be to do it! even fay, with Samuel, Here am I, fpmk Lord, what thou commandej/1 will do it. 2. It lhould teach us to be faithful to the Lord, as the holy Angels are. 3· To be patient under Burdens, Reproaches, a1d all the Oppolitions we meet with. 4· To be ferviceable to God, and to one another, in the Places and Stations wherein God hath fet us, &c. 1\ngels in all they do, feek the Glory of God, and the Profh anJ the great Good of the Saints ; let us in this imit"te them. THE FACE OF AN EAGL E . I. Angels are guick~fighted; they, as you hear, have Eyes before and behind, as if they were all Eye ; vchich notes the Excellency of their Sight, and Knowltdge of Things. They fo.ll' aloft, fi•nd before God; they are fa id to behold the Face of God: 'Iheir /lnge!s a/way behold the Face of my Father which is in Hcaveil, Mall. xviii. 10. I. An Eagle hath" mighty quick Sight ; her Eyes behold afar off'; from the Top of Rocks, out of Clouds, they aoe faid to behold Fiihc::s i\vimming in the Sea. So Hrong is the Sight of an Eagle, rh"t fhe can a long time beho!d rhe Sun with open and fl:edfafi Eyes. 1!. Eagles are fwift in their I!. Angels are fwift Creatures ; their Agility, Flight. Naturaiifts rell ll", no Speed, and Swiftnefs is extraorCinary, moving, Bird flies more fwiftly than the faith one, like Lightning, from one end of Hea– Eagle, 2 Sam. i. 23. ven to the other; compared therefore to a Flame ot Fire, Heb. i. 7· and faid from hence alfo to have Wings with which thq fly, !fa. vi. ' Their O!:ricknefs or Agility in Motion pro– ceeds from their fpirirual Narure, which is not fubjeCl: to Wearinefs; they cannot be hmdrrnl by any corporeal Subfl:ance; they can pafs over and through all Impedi– ments. And beftdes this, their Agtlity is much helped forward by their Promptitude and Readmefs, PropenCity and Zeal, to difpatch their Errand and Minifiry upon which they are employed. lt is not here, faith A]jlon, '.l'imor, bot, Amor addidit alas. Their Swiftnefs is very necdfary, faith Clark: I. Becaufe of the vafi Difl:ance berween Hea– ven and Earth, betwixt which they often pafs and repafs. 2. Becaufe many of the Saints,
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