55 8· T!Je Exercife of the l\1ediatory Office Lheir departure into b!~[[edRe}l in the · Prefence of God.Take away the perfwafion hereof, and the whole nature of Faith is defhoyed. But into the fulnefs ofprefent Glory they could not be admitted, as hath been declared. IVforeover God hereby mani.feil:s his·Gl9ry unto the holy An- · gels themfelves. Thefe thing~· wherein it cloth confifi were hid in himfelf even from them,, from the Foundation of the World; hidden in the holy Counfels of his Will, Ephef 3· 9· \Vherefore unto thefe Principaltties and Powers in Hea·ven(y Places,.~ the manifoldWifdom of God was made known by the Church, 1-·er. 10. The Church being redeemed by the blood of Chrift, and himfelf thereon exalted in this Glory, they came to know the manifoldWifdomofGod,. by theeffetts of it, which before they earnefily defired to look into, I Pet. 1. I 2. Hereby is all the Glory of the Counfels of God in Chrifl: made confpicuous unto then:1; and they receive them.,. felves no fmall advancement in. Glory thereby. For in the prefent com-prehenfi.on of the Mind.o(God, and doingofhis Will, cloth their Bleffednefs confi.fl:. Heaven itfelf was not what it is, before the entrance of Chrifi into the Sanctu-ary for the.Admini11ration of his Office.. Neither the S-aints depa-rted, h<;>r the Angels-themfelves,were participant of that Glory which Q_OW they ·fire. Neither yet ,?oth this argue anydefd'Fih Heaven-,or the fi.ate thereofin its primitive confi:itution. For the perfeElion of any fiate hath refpecr unto that Order of things which it is.origina,l 'y fuited l:tnto.. Take all thing? in the order of the firfi Creation, and with refp,ect thereunto, Heaven was perfett in,Glory from the beginning. Howbeit there was frill a relation-and regard in it unto.the Church of Mankind on the Earth-, which was to be tranflated thither. But by the entrance of fin, all this Order was diflurbed, and all this Relation was broken. And · ~ere followed. thereon animperfection in thejl.ate ofHeaven . it
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