937 [Of the angels:] They not only have the reward of eternal life adjudged to them by X, but actually continually & eternally derive it from him as their Head of life and divine influence. the Spirit is given them through hi944 & 945 Reasonableness of the Xn rel.

951 This superabundant talk of experiences is like suckers at the root of a tree which tho they appear very flourishing and abound with leaves /p./ yet draw away the sap of the tree from going up into the fruitfull branches there to bring forth fruit.

953 [This seems to be the first mention of heathen philosophers (1741?). Tradition is the great antipode to reason. That is, the heathen philosophers got their kn not from reason but from trad, either from the ancient fathers or from the Jews.]

953. That the HEATHEN PHILOSOPHERS had their notions of the unity of God of the Trinity of the immortality of the soul the last judgmt the general conflagration, &c-- by TRADITION from the first ages of the world & from the Jewish nation is manifest by their own testimony <and many things they say shew that they suppose that they had these things by tradition from those that were divinely instructed and inspired of God.> Thus Plato says concerning the immortality of the soul as his words are related by Gale in his Court of the Gentiles. Part. 1. B3. C. 8. p. 80. "We must alwaies give credence to the antient & sacred traditions

which declare unto us that the soul is immortal & that <it> hath judges and recieveth great judgment when tis seperated from the body" & elsewhere Plato having proved the immortality of the soul by the best rational arguments he could produce concludes "there is a divine & more sure word or tradition whereby it might be known ibid.

¶So they come by their opinions of the deluge and conflagration as is evident by the Egyptian priests answer to Solon (in the account Plato gives of it in his Timaeus Fol. 22. 23.) when he enquired of him concerning these things The priest made answer "Solon Solon you Grecians are alwaies children there is no Grecian antient." Solon demanding the reason why he spake thus the priest answered "ye are all said to be young in regard of your souls. For ye have therein no antient opinions flowing from first tradition nor any chronologic sentence. But the cause of these things is There have been & shall again be many destructions of men in many places and those very great by reason of fire & water" Gales Court of the Gentiles B. 3. C. 6. p. 68.69. Part I So from hence some of them had some notion of the universal corruption ruin & spiritual death of mans soul Thus Plato says (Gorgias. Fol. 493.) His words are "I have heard from the wise men that we are now dead & that the body is but our sepulcre" Court of the Gentiles Part 1. B. 3. C 5. p. 62.

¶What the antient philosophers were in pursuit of was the wisdom of the antients to gather up antient traditions. For this end they travelled so much abroad into Egypt Phoenicias & Chaldea as is evident by many passages /p./ in Gales Court of the Gentiles. The Pythagoreans were called & because their wisdom consisted very much in their searching out & contemplating the antient by which they meant the antient mysterious stories or traditions. <as in G. C. of Gen. P. 2. B. 3. C. 3. p. 243.> Court of the Gen. P. 2. B. 1. C. 1. p. 4. So Aristotle gave these names to all philosophers as in the next page but one. [p.6a?] Plato in his Timaeus speaking of the origine of the universe (who sometimes spake of the production of the world in the same words with Moses) acknowledgeth that this could not be known but by some probable fable or tradition

Court of the Gen. P.2. B. 1. C 1 p 14.

¶ That the heathen philosophers & poets affected to be thought inspired & to write & speak from a divine afflatus seems to be from hence that those antient wise men from whom they had the most divine & excellent parts of their wisdom by tradition had their wisdom by inspiration. The tradition they were so busy in pursuit of in their travelling to & fro to gather them up were traditions from the antient inspired holy fathers of the nations of the world & partiarchs of the chh of God That these doctrines were at first given by inspiration from God, was the cause that they were looked upon sacred & the keeping of them was looked upon as the special business of the priests. see after Num. 956. [finis]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¶ 932. (add this to No 911.) PROGRESS OF THE WORK OF REDEMPTION. The glorious times the proper & appointed season of the APPLICATION of redemption. This is spoken of as the proper time of the first resurrection Rev. 20. & also the proper time of the marriage of the Lamb & the bringing guests to the marriage supper chap. 19. [finis; 9-10 1.sp. blank before next.]

 

¶ 933. HELL TORMENTS. aggravated PUNISHMENT OF GOSPEL SINNERS. If God so highly resents mens ill treatment of his people and has punished it with such severity from age to age how will he resent <[their ill treatment of (om.E)]> his own dear Son his Elect in whom his soul delighteth towards whom he in all the great dispensations of his providence manifests such infinite love & delight [finis]

 

¶ 934. HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. God doubtless will entertain his saints according to the STATE OF THE KING when he comes to entertain 'em at the feast that he has provided with such great contrivance & wonderfull & amazing exercises of infinite & mysterious wisdom shewing the bottomless depths & infinite riches of his wisdom & with such great & mighty ado & innumerable & wonderfull exercises of his power having to provide this feast created heaven & earth & done all in all ages bringing such great revolutions in such an amazing wonderfull series and besides that come down him[self (om.E)] from his infinite height & become man & also provided the feast at such infinite expence as that of his own blood We read of Ahasuerus a great king, when he made a feast unto all his princes & servants he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty, and gave drink in vessels of gold and royal wine in abundance according to the state of the king Esth. 1. So doubtless the happiness of the saints in heaven shall be so great that the very majesty of God shall be exceedingly shown in the greatness & magnificance & fullness of their entertainment & delights [finis]

 

¶ 935. CONFIRMATION OF THE ANGELS. at Xs ascension PROGRESS OF THE WORK OF REDEMPTION.] [E's brack.] The service of the angels of heaven was altered after Christs ascension from what it had been before in some analogy to the alteration that was made in the service of the church on earth. The service of the church on earth before Xs ascension and the /p./ establishment of the evangelical dispensation consequent thereupon was more legal & mercenary more from a spirit of bondage not so free and ingenuous but afterwards when faith as the great condition was more fully revealed and God here more clearly revealed the saints infallible perseverance the service of the church is more the service of those [that (om.E)] are not under the law but under grace from a free spirit a spirit of adoption which is a spirit of love. So the angels till they were confirmed at Christs ascension served God more from a spirit of fear being yet in probation & their eternal happiness or eternal damnation being yet suspended on their perfect obedience not yet compleated their service was more mercenary but when X ascended and they were confirmed thenceforward their service became more disinterested & meerly the service of love, being now no longer in a state of probation but sure of eternal life by the infallible promise of God. [finis]

 

¶ 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 superiour to all the rest. His vast superiourity appears in his being so very often spoken of singly as the grand enemy of God & mankind the grand adversary accuser of the brethren & the great destroyer. He is more frequently spoken of singly in Scripture than devils are spoken of in the plural number as tho' he were more than all the rest He seems commonly in Scripture to be spoken of as instar omnium. it seems to be from his great superiourity 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 Leviathan The wicked one The God of this world <the prince of this world Joh. 12. 31> the prince of the power of the air the Accuser of the brethren the tempter the Adversary Abaddon Apollyon The Enemy & the Avenger. His strength & subtilty is very great indeed so much superiour to the rest that his [sic] maintains a dominion over 'em & is able to govern & manage 'em that they durst not raise rebellion against him agreable to Job. 41.25. 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. 41.34. to be king over all the children of pride <see Rev. 9. 11.> All the rest of the devils are his servants his wretched slaves they are spoken of as his possession Math 25. 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels [E's] They are his attendants & possession as the good angels are Xs attendants & possession. Rev. 12. 7. And there was war in heaven Michael [E's line] & his angels fought against the dragon & the dragon fought & his angels

¶ This angel before his fall was the chief of all the angels of greatest natural capacity strength & wisdom & highest in honour & dignity the brightest of all those stars of heaven as is signified by what is said of him /p./ under that type of the devil the king of Babilon. Isai 14. 12. How art thou fallen from heaven O Lucifer son of the morning! . This signifies his outsh[in]ing all the other stars as the morning star outshines the rest < Here insert Num. 980. next Book. [no caret]> And as the devil was the highest of all the angels so he was the very highest of all Gods creatures he was the top & crown of the whole creation he was the brightest part of the heaven of heavens that brightest part of all the creation he was the head of the angels that most noble rank of all created beings & therefore when spoken of under that type of him the Behemoth[E's] he is said to be the chief of the ways of God Job. 40.19. And since it is revealed that there is a certain order and government among the angels the superiour angels have some kind of authority over others that are of lower rank & since Lucifer was the chief of them all we may suppose that he was the head of the whole society the captain of the whole host He was the archangel the prince of the angels & all did obeysance unto him. And as the angels as the ministers of Gods providence have a certain superintendency & rule over the world or at least over some parts of it that God has committed to their care Hence they are called thrones, dominions principalities & powers therefore seeing Lucifer was the head & captain & prince of all & the highest creature in the whole universe we may suppose that he had in some respect as Gods chief servant & the grand minister of his providence & the top of the creation in some respect committed to him power dominion & principality over the whole creation & all the kingdom of providence. <and as all the angels are all calld the sons of God Lucifer was his first born & was the first born of every creature.> But when it was revealed to him that as high & as glorious as he was that he must be a ministring spirit to the race of mankind that he had seen newly created that appeared so feeble mean & despicable so vastly inferiour not only to him the prince of the angels & head of the universe but also to the inferiour angels & that he must be subject to one of that race that should hereafter be born he could not bear it This occasion'd his fall & now he with the other angels he drew away with him are fallen elect men are translated to supply their places & are exalted vastly higher in heaven than they & Jesus Christ the chief & head prince & captain of all elect men is translated & set in the throne that Lucifer the chief head & prince of the angels left to be the head of the angels in his stead the head of all principality & power that all the angels might do obeysance to him for God said let all the angels of God worship him & God made him his first born instead of Lucifer higher than all those thrones dominions principalities & powers & made him yea made him in his stead the first born of every creature & made him also in his stead the bright & morning star and head & prince of the universe yea gave this honour dignity & power unto him in an infinitely higher & more glorious manner than ever he /p./ had done to Lucifer & appointed him to conquer subdue & execute vengeance upon that great rebel Satan aspired to be like the most high but God exalted one of mankind the race that he envied & from envy to whom he rebelled against God to be indeed like the most high to a personal union with the eternal Son of God & exalted him to proper divine honour & dignity set him at his own right hand on his own throne & committed to him proper divine power & authority constituting him the supream absolute & universal Lord of the universe, & Judge of every creature the darling of the whole creation the brightness of Gods glory & express image of his person as God man as in his divine nature he is the natural image of God [next, new sitting]

¶ God in his providence was pleased thus to shew the emptiness & vanity of the creature by suffering the insufficiency of the highest & most glorious of all creatures the head & crown of the whole creation to appear by his sudden fall from his glorious height into the lowest depth of hatefullness deformity & misery Gods design was first to shew the creatures emptiness in it self & then to fill it with himself in an eternal unalterable fullness & glory To shew the emptiness of the creature the old creation or the old heavens & earth were to go to ruin & perish in some sense or at least all was to be emptied great part of the old creation was actually to sink into total & eternal perdition as fallen angels <some of fallen [sic; no caret]> & fallen men & their visible heavens & earth were to be destroyed all mankind was in a sense to be totally ruin'd tho' some of 'em were to be restored after they had sensibly been emptied of themselves. & tho the highest heavens never was to be destroyed yet before it should have its consummate & immutable glory the highest & most glorious part of it was to perish & great part of the glorious heavenly inhabitants and the rest were hereby to be brought to see their own emptiness & utter insufficiency & so as it were to perish or die as to self dependence & all self fullness & to be brought to an entire dependence on the sovereign grace & allsufficiency of God, to be communicated to them by his Son as their Head & thus the whole old creation both heaven & earth as to all its natural glory & creature fullness was to be pulled down & thus way was to be made for the creation of the new heavens & new earth or setting forth the whole elect universe in its consummate & everlasting immutable glory in the fullness of God in a great most con-/p./spicuous immediate & universal dependence on his power & sovereign grace & also on the glorious & infinitely excellent nature & essence of God as the infinite fountain of glory & love The beholding & enjoying of which & union with which is the being the elect creatures all in all. all its strength all its beauty all its life its fruit its honour & its blessedness.

¶ Corol. 1 from this last paragraph. This may shew us the necessity of a work of HUMILIATION in man or the necessity of mans being emptied of himself in order to a partaking of the benefits of the new creation & the redemption of Jesus Christ.

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¶ Corol. 2. This shews that even the elect angels have their eternal life in a way of HUMILIATION & also dependence on sovereign grace as well as elect men tho' not the same sort of humiliation & dependence in all respects

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¶ To shew the emptiness of all creatures in themselves the ruin of the creation began in heaven in the very best & highest part of the creation & in the highest creature in it the crown & glory of the whole creation because it was the will of God that a meer creature should not be the head of the creation but a divine person & that he should be the crown & glory of the creation, heaven was the first part of the creation that was subject to ruin & it shall be the last part that shall be renewed or amended by a new creation. There are two parts of the creation one is the world of man & that is this visible world & the other is the world of angels & that is heaven The whole is to be changed the former shall be destroyed because all men fell & only an elect number saved out of it the other shall not be destroyed because all the angels did not fall those that stood supported it a blessing was left in it & therefore God said destroy it not. & therefore the change that is to be made in that is to be of a contrary nature to destruction it is to be made infinitely more glorious by a new creation. & therefore Gods dealings with respect to the world of angels are contrary to his dealings with the world of men. the world of men is to be destroyed & therefore elect men are taken out of it & carried into the world of angels & reprobate men left in it to perish & sink with it The world of angels is not to be destroyed but renewed & glorified & therefore reprobate angels are taken out of it & cast into the world of men & elect angels are kept in it to be renewed & glorified with it. Concerning the new creation of heaven see No. [ref. not completed; prob. wr. same time as this number.]

¶ Because Gods design was to shew the emptiness of the creature & its exceeding insufficiency therefore God suffered both angels & men quickly to fall & the old creation quickly to go /p./ to ruin

¶ Some may be ready to think it to be incredible and what the wisdom of the Creatour would not suffer that the most glorious of all his creatures should fall and be eternally ruin'd or that it should be so that the elect angels those that are beloved of God should none of them be of equal strength & largeness of capacity with the devil. To this I would say

¶ 1 That the man X Jesus that is exalted into the place of Lucifer in heaven tho' he be of a rank of creatures of a nature far inferiour in capacity to that [of (om.E)] <the angels> & especially far below the highest of all the angels yet God can & hath exalted that little worm out of littleness & weakness to an immensely greater capacity dignity & glory than Lucifer ever had. 2. God can reward the elect angels that originally are inferiour to Lucifer & can increase their capacity & strength & there is no reason to think but that he has or will reward elect angels as well as elect men men [sic; mg.] with a great exaltation of their nature & probably did at his ascension exalt the natures of some of them so as to exceed all that ever Lucifer had it seems probable by that [xo] Rev 20. at the beginning & probably at the day of judgment the natures of all <both elect men and [xo, on line]> angels will be so exalted as to be above the devil in capacity. [Next a new sitting]

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¶ Seeing that this was the case with the devil that before his fall he was the head of the creation the captain & prince of the angels & had some kind of superintendency over the whole universe & seeing his sin was his pride & affecting to be like the most high, no wonder that he seeks to reign as G. of this world & affects to be worshipped as God

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¶ That the DEVIL so restlessly endeavours to set up himself in this world & to maintain his dominion here & to oppose God & fight against him to the procuring his own continual disappointment & vexation & to work out his own misery & at last to bring on his own head his own greatest torment his everlasting & consummate misery is the fruit of a curse that God has laid him under for his first ambition & envy & opposition to God in heaven He is therefore made a perfect slave to those lusts that reign over him & torment him & will pull down on him eternal destruction [finis]

 

¶ 937 ANGELS, ELECT THEIR DEPENDENCE ON CHRIST. [Begins w 4 11. of condensed statement of points; E xo & rewrote with much development; this no is prob. 1st draft or from brief outline; n.b. the transposition of sections.] Two questions may be raised with respect to the elect angels. Ques. I. How far the elect angels are dependent on X for eternal life. Ans. 1 Probably the service appointed them as the great trial of /p./ their obedience was serving X or ministring to him in his great work that he had undertaken with respect to mankind

¶ 3. They were dependent on the sovereign grace of grace of [sic] X to uphold them & assist them in this service & to keep them from ruining themselves as the fallen angels had done. by the fall of Luc the angel of that <brigh> Lucifer that greatest brightest & strongest of all creatures especially they were taught their own emptiness & insufficiency for thems. and were led humbly in a self diffidence to look to X seek [sic] to him & depend on him in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell to preserve them So that they all along hung upon him through the whole course of their obedience during their time of trial having no absolute promise as believers in Christ have amongst men of perseverance in one act of faith but only God the Father had revealed to them that if they were preserved it must be by influence & help from his Son <& also made known to them the infinite riches of the grace of his Son & its sufficiency for them & given them experience of it in preserving them when the other angels fell, & God directed them to seek to his Son for help> but this humble dependence was part of their duty or work by which they were to obtain eternal life and it was not as it is with men the fruit of the purchase of life already made the first act of which entitles to all other fruits of the purchase through eternity. Thus the angels did depend on X and they were supported by strength & grace from him freely communicated it was sovereign grace that he was not obliged to afford them for he was not obliged to afford them any more grace than he did the angels that fell so that it can truly be said of the angels that they have eternal life by sovereign grace through X in a way of selfemptiness self diffidence & humble dependence on him. So far is the way of the elect angels recieving eternal life like that of elect mens recieving it

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¶ 2. When Lucifer rebelled & set up hims. as a head in opposition to God & X & drew away a great number of the angels after him Christ the Son of God manifested him [or hims (mg.)] as an opposite Head and appeared graciously to disswade & restrain by his grace the elect angels from hearkening to Lucifers temptation So that they were upheld & preserved from eternal destruction at that time of great danger by the free & sovereign distinguishing grace of X. <Herein X was the Saviour of the elect angels for tho' he did not save them as he did elect men from ruin they had already deserved & were condemned to, & a miserable state they were already in, yet he saved em from eternal destruction they were in great danger of & otherwise would have fallen into with the other angels.> The elect angels join'd with him the glorious Michael as their captain while the other angels hearkend to Lucifer and joind with him & then was that literally true that was fulfilled afterwards figuratively Rev. 12. when there was war in heaven Michael & his angels fought against the dragon & the dragon fought & his angels and prevailed not neither was there [sic] place found any more in heaven and the great dragon was cast out that old serpent called the devil & Satan which decieveth the whole world he was cast out into the earth & his angels were cast out with him FALL OF THE ANGELS.

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¶ 4. X is their Judge & they actually recieve their reward at his hands as their Judge as I have elsewhere shewn

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¶ 5 They not only have the reward of eternal life adjudged to them by X, but actually continually & eternally derive it from him as their Head of life and divine influence. the Spirit is given them through him

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¶ 6. They have their happiness in him in this brightness of Gods glory & express image it is that they behold the glory & love of God /p./ & so have eternal life in the enjoyment of God Thus X is the tree of life in paradise on whose fruit all its inhabitants live to all eternity & the Lamb is the light of that glorious city [3 1/2 1.sp. blank before next]

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¶ Ques. 2. How far the angels are dependent on X as God-man and have benefit by his incarnation sufferings & exaltation & the work of redemption that he wrought out for mankind

¶ Ans. 1. The work of redemption is their end they were created to be subservient to X in this affair

¶ 2. Their work & service that was appointed them that was the trial of their obedience was to serve X & his elect people in this affair & it was by obeying X as his servants in this affair that they actually obtained eternal life.

¶ 3. Especially did the angels obtain life by attending on X & being faithfull to him during the time of his humiliation which was the last & most trying part of their obedience.

¶ 4. The Lord Jesus X God man is the Judge of the angels that gives them the reward of eternal life. <They did not enjoy perfect rest 'till he ascended & confirmed them. So that the angels as well as men have rest in X G. man see the next>

¶ 5. They have this benefit by the incarnation of X that thereby God is become a creature & so is nearer to them. whereby they are under infinitely greater advantages to have the full enjoyment of God

¶ 6. Jesus X God [man] [c] is he through whom & in whom they enjoy the blessedness of the reward of eternal [life] [c] both as the Head of influence through whom they have the Spirit and also as in X God-man they behold Gods Glory & have the manifestations of his love

¶ 7. As the perfections of God are manifested to all creatures both men and angels by the fruits of those perfections or Gods works. the wisdom of God appears by his wise works & his power by his powerfull works his holiness & justice by his holy & just acts & his grace & love by the acts & works of grace & love So the glorious angels have the greatest manifestations of the glory of God by what they see in the work of mens redemption and especially in the death and sufferings of X. See No 940. 941. [finis]

 

¶ 938. HEAVEN. HOW THE ELECT ANGELS KNOW GOOD AND EVIL. 'Tis a thing supposed without proof that the glorious inhabitants of heaven never felt any such thing as trouble or uneasiness of any kind. Their perfect innocency & holiness don't prove it God may suffer an innocent creature to be in a trouble for their greater happiness. The nature & end of that place of glory don't prove it for if that did not hinder sin from entering neither will it necessarily hinder /p./ trouble from entring there

¶ The elect angels probably felt great fear at the time of the revolt of Lucifer & the angels that followed it They were then probably the subjects of great surprize & great sense of their <own> danger of falling likewise & 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 probable [sic] struck them with fear And the highest heavens was not a place of such happiness & rest before Xs ascension as it was afterwards for the angels were not till then confirmed So that it was in X God man that the angels have found rest. The angels therefore have this to sweeten their safety & rest that they have it after they have known what it is to be in great danger & to be distrested [sic] with fear. [finis]

 

¶ 939. OCCASION OF THE FALL OF THE ANGELS. <We cant but suppose> that it was made known to the angels at their first creation that they were to be ministring spirits to men & to serve the Son of God in that way by ministring to them as those that were peculiarly beloved of him. because this was their proper business for which they were made this was the end of their creation Tis not to be supposed that seeing they were intelligent creatures that were to answer the end of their beings as voluntary agents as willingly falling in with the design of their Creatour that God would make them and not make known to em what they were made for when he entred into covenant with them & established the conditions of their eternal happiness. & especially when they were admiring spectatours of the creation of this beloved creature <for whose good they were made> & this visible world that God made for his habitation. Seeing God made the angels for a special service tis reasonable to suppose that the faithfullness of the angels in that special service must be the condition of their reward or wages and if this was the great condition of their reward then we may infer that it was their violating this law & refusing & failing of this condition that was that by which they fell Hence we may infer that the occasion of their fall was Gods revealing this their end & special service to them & their not complying with it that must be the occasion of their fall

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¶ COROL. CONFIRMATION of the angels at XS ASCENSION.] [E's brack.] Hence tis renderd exceeding probable that the angels were not confirmed 'till Xs ascension for by what has been now said it appears that the proper condition of their reward or wages /p./ must be their faithfullness in that special service that God made them for or was the end of their beings but that was to be ministring spirits to X in the great work of redemption <his exalting & glorifying beloved mankind> But the angels had not any great opportunity to do this business till this work of Xs glorifying mankind had been carried on considerably in the world nor had they the proper & chief trial whether they would submit to the service of being subservient to X in the work of redemption of fallen men 'till that work of redemption was wrought & X had gone through his humiliation & it was seen whether they would submit to serve obey & adore their appointed Head & King in his abject meanness & when set at naught & abased to hell for beloved tho sinfull vile men. [finis]

 

¶ 940. The ELECT ANGELS. are greatly increased both in holiness & 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 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 & themselves gave em the knowledge of good and evil & was a means of their being emptied of themselves and brought low in humility & they increased in holiness by persevering in obedience What they beheld of the glory of God in the face of X as mans Redeemer & especially in Xs humiliation greatly increased their holiness & their obedience through that last & greatest trial contributed above all things to an increase of their holiness. This further shews how the elect angels are dependent on X God man See No. 937. [finis; ref. at end wr. same time]

 

¶ 941. CHRIST HUMILIATION. many ways lay'd a foundation for the humiliation of all elect creatures. By seeing one infinitely above them descending so low & abasing hims. 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 & worthy a creature as he. but in X Jesus they see one infinitely higher than he descending vastly lower, than was required of him. it tends to humble the ELECT ANGELS & to /p./ set em forever at an immense distance from any thought that any thing that God can require of em can be too great an abasement for them. & then it tended to humble them as this person that appeared in such meanness & in so despicable a state is appointed to be their Lord & their God. & 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 willing humiliation of one infinitely more worthy than they & 2. as here is the greatest manifestation of the evil dreadfull nature of sin, as here is the nature & effects of their sin here appears the venomous nature of their corruption as it aims at the life of G. & 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 shews further how the elect angels are dependent on X G. man. See. 937. 940. [finis]

 

¶ 942. CONFIRMATION OF THE ANGELS. Before the angels were confirmed in holiness judicially, that they were sure of never falling away they were first greatly prepared for it by having their hearts greatly confirmed in holiness naturally, in some respect so as it [xo E] i.e holiness was greatly confirmed by the tendency & influence of the means God used with them to that end They were first greatly confirmed by what they saw of evil the knowledge they gained of the evil of sin & punishment in the fall of the angels the dreadfull ruin that sin brought. & also by what they saw of their own weakness & mutability & insufficiency for themselves & also the distinguishing grace of X to them in preserving them when others fell. & afterwards by what they saw in the fall of man & its consequences & the grace of G. to man. & what they saw in Gods dispenasations of providence on behalf of his chh & against his enemies from age to age. and by the many trials they had of their obedience through the ages of the old Testament. but this natural confirmation & so their preparation for a judicial confirmation had its finishing stroke by what they saw & did in the time of Xs humiliation & above all at the time of his last sufferings. what came to pass then did above all other things confirm their hearts in holiness & ripen their preparation for a judicial confirmation. What then was compleated & crown'd their preparation their hearts were then confirmed by what they saw then of Gods glory /p./ which had its chief manifestation then. & what they they [sic] then saw of the evil & dreadfull nature of sin which had a much greater manifestation in what X did & suffered for sin & sinners than in the sin & punishment of the fallen angels & in the honour that they saw one so infinitely great & glorious as Jesus X put upon Gods authority & law & the hatred he manifested of sin & his willingly abasing himself so infinitely to honour G. & promote the happiness of his little unworthy sinfull creatures & by their own steadfast universal & perfect obedience to God & thorough subjection to X under such a trial & in seeing Xs exaltation & the success of such humiliation & obedience as X performed & the infinite benefit benefit [sic] of thorough obedience to G. in under in great humiliation & self-denial in what they saw in X.

¶ This confirmation of the hearts of the elect angels that prepared 'em for a judicial confirmation consisted in the following things 1. In the warning they had, or what they saw to make 'em sensible of the evil nature & dreadfull consequences of sin & so to cause 'em to fear God 2. In their humiliation by what they saw to make 'em sensible of their own emptiness & insufficiency for thems & dependence on the grace of X. 3. What they saw more of God in the manifestations of his glorious excellency & goodness & grace to them to increase their love to God and X. 4. In the example they had set them of obedience by X whose obedience was performed by a person infinitely greater than they and was performed with such infinite abasemt. & an abasement of a like kind with what was required of them (only infinitely greater) viz. abasement in ministring to so mean & despicable a creature as man. & in the infinite love to God & regard to his authority that was manifested by that obedience. 5. They had their hearts confirmed in obedience by habit & custom having long persevered in perfect obedience & having often overcome under trials that they had.

¶ & then besides the natural tendency <& influence to confirm their hearts in holiness of the angels in holiness that these things had which> came to pass while they were yet in a state of preparation for their judicial confirmation. that judicial confirmation it self had also a great natural tendency to confirm them as the bestowment of this infinite reward upon them made manifest /p./ Gods eternal electing distinguishing love & sovereign & infinite grace to them & as they hereby recieve the sweet & infinitely precious fruit of that grace & love which [has a] tendency [sic] forever most strongly to engage their hearts to God in love & to move 'em with great fervour now to make an everlasting dedication of themselves to God and X. [finis]

 

¶ 943. JUSTIFICATION FAITH, REPENTANCE. Repentance is often spoken <of [c]>. as the special condition of remission of sins But yet tis evident by the Scripture that remission of sins is by faith in Jesus X; and that this is the special condition of remission of sins, by which we become entitled to this great priviledge <, appears[c]> by Acts. 10. 43. "To him give all the prophets witness, that thro' his name, whosoever believeth in him shall recieve remission of sins". Thus Peter reveals[xo c] <ed [c]> the condition of the remission of sins to Cornelius the first fruits of the Gentiles when he came on this very errand to shew him the way of reconciliation by which it is evident that faith & repentance are not to be looked upon as properly two distinct things in this case but that evangelical repentance is a certain exercise of faith in J. X [finis]

 

¶ 944. WISDOM of God in the Work of Redemption. REASONABLENESS of the XTIAN RELIGION. MISERY OF the damned.]. [E's brack.] The Lord Jesus X the eternal Son of God being equal with the Father & being the Creatour & Lord of the Angels. He humbled hims. to behold the things done in heaven the angels for several thousand years had been adoring his infinite condescension that he would look upon them or take any notice of their love & praise. It appeared to them exceeding wonderfull. but how were they astonished after this when they saw this same person not only bowing to behold man yea and coming down to dwell with him in his nature but also appearing as the vilest of men & the subject of such extreme ignominy & reproach & suffering from God & men. as one that was made a curse. Now such is the nature of all creatures that the seeing of this would have tended to have diminished that humble adoration of Xs infinite highness & glory & awfull majesty. it would have tended to have take off the awe from their mind and to have made the object to appear more cheap, & less adorable. it was needfull therefore that together with such manifestations of the grace & condescension and love of X that were so amazing so beyond all that could ever have entred into the hearts of angels there should be at the same time proportionable manifestations of the awfullness of his majesty & the terribleness of his wrath & how infinitely dreadfull a thing it is to slight him this is represented is [sic] the infinitely aggravated punishmt of gospel sinners those that neglect so great salvation & despise so glorious a person. [finis]

 

¶ 945. Reasonableness of the XTIAN RELIGION. PERSEVERANCE. That the saints should be earnestly exhorted & pressed to care & caution & earnest endeavours to persevere is most reasonable & it can't be otherwise that [xo E] notwithstanding their having an absolute unchangeable promise that they shall persevere for still perseverance is their duty & what they are to do in /p./ obedience to God For that is the notion of perseverance their holding out in the way of Gods commandments But if it were absurd to command em to persevere thus [xo E] as the work they have to do then how could they do it in obedience to him The angels in heaven are confirmed and tis promised to em that they never shall sin. but [xo c] yet 'tis proper for God to give em commands tho in so doing he requires the improvement of their care & endeavour to obey & fulfill his will exactly <it is not obedience if they dont take care and endeavour to obey if they should cease to take care that very thing would be their fall so in this case if Xtians cease to take care to persevere that very thing is falling away.> [finis; last part added after next No. wr.]

 

¶ 946. CONSUMMATION of all things PROGRESS OF THE WORK OF REDEMPTION. As the work of redemption is the end of all Gods other works so it will in a sense be the last of Gods works It shall have its actual fulfillment & accomplishmt at the consummation of all things. what shall then be fulfilled will be the redemption of the elect church in an eminent manner Luke 21. 28. lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. Eph. 4. 30. sealed to the day of redemption Eph. 1. 14 till the redemption of the purchased possession Rom. 8. 23 the adoption to wit the redemption of our body. that is the proper season of the chh's actual redemption all that went before was of the nature of preparatives or forerunners or prelibations of this Then the chh shall be brought home to X into a perfect union then the whole chh shall be redeemed then each member shall be redeemed in the whole man then each individual shall be perfectly redeemed that is the proper time of rewards the marriage of the Lamb the time wherein the Son of God shall obtain & bring home his wife then the chh shall be redeemd from the earth. then is the time of refreshing the time of the restitution of all things the time of the creation of the new heavens & new earth. And therefore when X shall come forth out of heaven at the end of the world to accomplish this great work that is the last of Gods works & the end of all other works of his all the holy angels shall come with him & heaven shall be left empty all the ministers of providence shall attend that great work all being made for that. [finis]

[N.B. a note on Sp.p. by Dwight: "No. 946 is to be printed in Work of Redemption p. 426 at this mark "]

 

¶ 947. CONFIRMATION OF THE ANGELS. The service of the angels will not be at an end 'till the end of the world when the work of redemption shall [be (om.E at mg.)] finished and Christ whose servants they are shall have finished his work as Mediatour having fully brought home & glorified all his elect to whom the angels are ministring spirits. and therefore their most solemn judgment & reward shall be then but yet God is pleased to confirm them before the last judgment and grants them an anticipation of their reward and deals with them in this respect as he deals with mankind man is confirm'd when he first believes in Christ but his work is not done till death and the reward not bestow'd 'till then & therefore let the saint be never so fully confirmd and assured before yet tis proper that judgment should succeed the finishing of his work The bestowment of reward for a work done is by an act of judgmt [finis; 3 1/2 1.sp. blank at end of p.]

[N.B. the nos. along here are more carefully wr. than usual, esp. in apostrophes.]

 

¶ 948. CHURCH DISCIPLINE. ELDERS of Christian churches answer'd [xo by E] much to the elders of the particular cities of Israel. as the whole Jewish nation represented the whole church of God and were a type of the Christian church so the particular cities & towns seem to [wwxo] be [sic] represent particular churches in some respects. The elders of the cities seem'd to have been like the select men of our towns here in New England. They were the principal men of the city for age & discretion that were chosen by the inhabitants to manage the affairs of the city. The priests were superiour to them in judgment. [finis]

 

¶ 949 DAY OF JUDGMENT. PROGRESS OF THE WORK OF REDEMPTION. The first thing at the Day will be the trumpets sounding which will be by a created angel the archangel he is called probably the greatest & strongest angel in heaven he will be the forerunner or harbinger of X at his last coming X at each of his comings has a harbinger at his first coming John the Baptist a minister in his church and so as it were called to the office of an angel, as ministers are angels of the churches but at his second coming his forerunner will be a real heavenly angel & the highest angel in heaven the greatest officer of the court of heaven will be sent before the King to prepare his way by a great & loud cry that shall give all the world notice of his approach The living shall not first see X coming in the clouds of heaven & then hear the last trumpet afterwards for if so they would see X before they are prepared for it they will not be able to see God in that great majesty & glory remaining in the present feeble frail state unchanged God says no man shall see me & live. 'tis needfull that their change whereby they shall be made incorruptible should be either before Christ appears or the first moment of his appearance this proves that the sound of the last trumpet shall not follow Xs appearance on the clouds because the changing of the living follows that as the Apostle tells 1 Cor. 15. 52. 1 Thess 4. 16.17. The change that will pass on the living on the sound of the last trumpet will be needfull to fit their eyes to recieve those rays of Xs glory by which he will be seen for those rays will be very different from the rays of the light of this world. all that shall be seen or heard before this change shall be from a creature (tho' the greatest of meer creatures) and this will be as much as their natures can endure while unchanged. The sound of the trumpet of this great harbinger of the Judge shall first alarm the world giving notice of the approach of the Judge and shall call the living forth out of their houses into the open air to look towards heaven as expecting the Judge. This arch-angel shall continue to sound 'till X shall appear & shall sound louder & louder 'till not only the inhabitants of the world shall be alarmed but the earth <& sea> shall be terribly shaken & the graves shall be shaken open and the dead bodies laid bare and withal there shall be great and wonderfull appearances in the heavens so that the whole visible creation above & below shall appear in an uproar being alarmed & shaken by that sound of the last trumpet and thus shall be fulfilled that in Luke 21. 25.26.27. And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon & in the stars and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves roring [sic] mens hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the heaven shall be shaken and then shall they see the Son of /p./ man coming in a cloud with power & great glory. This archangel will be the forerunner that will give the cry at midnight to both wise virgins & foolish behold the bridegroom cometh go ye forth to meet him which shall be before the Bridegroom actually appears and possibly the first blasts of the last trumpet shall terrify slumbering wise virgins as well as foolish Christ will send this angel before him to open the graves of the dead that he may raise them to life when he comes as X when he raised Lazarus tho' he need [sic] none to uncover his grave he could as easily have removed the stone by the same power that raised the body as have raised it after it was removed yet he commanded some body else to take away the stone. The last & loudest blast of this trumpet shall be attended with Xs actually appearance in the heavens at a great distance the last & greatest sound of the trumpet & the first rays of Xs glory shining down into this world shall accompany one another and then the dead shall all be raised at once & the living changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. So that however it shall be [the (om.E)] voice of the archangel that shall open the graves of the dead <this servant shall> roll away the stone yet it will not be his voice shall actually quicken the dead tho' the dead shall rise at the last blast of his trumpet but it shall be the beams of Xs glory that <the> light of life shining on the dead that shall raise them. the first shining forth of that glory from heaven which shall accompany the last & loudest & longest blast of the trumpet shall raise the dead & change the living. Gods coming down at Mt Sinai there [A ed: thence] to give the law was one of the most remarkeable resemblances of his coming at the day of judgment to execute that Law, that ever was given but then an angel came first with the sound of a trumpet as Gods forerunner or harbinger & his trumpet shook the mountain & shook the earth and made all the people that was in the camp to tremble and this angel continued to sound & sounded louder & louder till at length at the loudest & longest blast of the trumpet God came down on Mt Sinai & Moses spake & God answered him by a voice. Exod. 19. 16.17.18.19.20. The raising of the dead is infinitely too great a work for the archangel or any meer creature tis a work of Gods glorious power & of the exceeding greatness of his power & it will visibly be done immediately by X himself altho the archangel shall be concerned in it to open the graves & to prepare the way & shall give forth that great sound that [shall (om.E)] accompany the first shining of Xs glory that shall raise the dead & change the living & shall glorify the bodies & souls of all the elect. Christ when [sic] he shall probably first appear at a great distance as a star tho' a star of inconcievable brightness & glory as the bright & morning star <and> as he approaches near he will appear as the sun of righteousness in full glory that will be a glorious morning Christs first appearance at a great distance as the morning star shall introduce the dawning of that morning the light as X descends shall wax greater & greater till perfect day. the dead shall rise early in the morning at the first dawning of the light of Xs glory as X himself arose at the dawning of the day. & it shall be in the second resurrection as it is in the /p./ [first (om.E)] or in the resurrection of the soul wherein the first thing is to have the earth broken & removed & the dead soul as it were uncoverd by the sound of the trumpet by the alarm of angels at Mt Sinai & by the preaching of ministers that are angels of churches but then it is the light of X appearing as the morning star & shining upon the soul that gives life and actually raises the dead soul. However slumbring saints might be terrified by the midnight cry wherewith they shall be suddenly waked out [of (om.E)] sleep & rising see their lamps burn very dim and almost gone out saints that are found in a cold dead carnal frame at the sound of the last trumpet may be exceedingly alarmed and terrified by it when they first hear it yet when X shall appear that sight shall not be terrifying but exceeding joyfull to 'em the first beams of his light as they will change their bodies & also change their souls to a conformity to Xs glorified body & soul & shall drive away all sin so they shall drive away all sorrow & all fear with it & the sight of this morning star shall be a most pleasant & delightfull sight unto them as it is in a spiritual resurrection or reviving of the soul in first conversion or a spiritual renovation & quickening of a saint after a slumbring carnal frame first the soul is terrified by the terrible trumpet from Mt Sinai but then is comforted by the appearance of Christs glory & the sweet beams of his light shining into the soul [ see 1079. B.7. (E's brack.)

¶ The first object that [the (om.E)] dead shall open their eyes upon as they are raised shall be X coming in heaven at a great distance For in a moment after he is come within sight they shall be alive to behold him at the same moment that the living shall be changed to be enabled to behold him both shall begin to view this great sight together which shall be a ravishing sight to the saints and as X draws nearer & nearer his glory will appear brighter & brighter & more & more transporting & ravishing to the saints 'till they shall be as it were drawn up by it of from the ground to meet the Lord in the air which shall be at the sound of another trumpet probably of many angels sent forth unto all parts of the world to summon the raised dead & changed living to come before the judgment seat see Math 24. 30.31. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven & then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power & great glory And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. then shall the separation between the righteous & the wicked be made Math 13. 41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend & them that do iniquity

¶ After this separation shall be made & all shall have been gathered before the judgment seat & the books have been opend & the hidden things of darkness brought to light & the secrets of all hearts made manifest then the blessed sentence on the righteous shall first be pronounced /p./ before the accursed sentence on the wicked as is represented Math 25. for the saints shall first be openly justified by X & made to sit down as assessours with him in judgmt that they may act with X in judging and passing sentence on the wicked But tho the cursed sentence on the wicked shall be last pronounced yet it shall be first executed. The righteous before they go into heaven shall stay to see the execution of the sentence on the wicked. Math 25 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishmt but the righteous into life eternal but tis more plain in Math 13. 30 Let both grow together untill the harvest & in the time of harvest I will say unto the reapers Gather ye together first[E's] the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn So. v. 41.42.43.

¶ So that the perfect glorifying of the elect as tis the finishing of the work of redemption so tis the last thing shall be accomplished it shall be that which shall crown the whole series of Gods wonderfull dispensations from the beginning of the world[finis]

 

¶ 950. PRIDE. HUMILIATION. In order to a right understanding [of (om.E)] the nature of that humiliation that a person is the subject of it is very needfull that the nature of pride should be distinctly & clearly understood. All Satans kingdom is build[sic] on these two foundations pride and worldliness his temple leans on these two pillars. & therefore the work of the Spirit of God in repentance consists in these two thing [sic] viz humiliation and mortification of worldly lusts or weaning the heart from the world. by the world here I mean the objects of the lust of the flesh & the lust of the eyes. Pride is something diverse from self-love [E's] as we use the word in a bad sense for a selfish love a love that is confined & limited to self & excludes others for self love in this sense includes all the corruption of nature it includes pride & worldliness both

¶ Pride may be thus defined It is that habit or state of a persons heart whereby he is inordinately disposed to exaltation amongst other beings as to his comparative dignity or worthiness of esteem and value

¶ The immediate object of pride is not a mans sensual pleasure nor is it a mans own excellency considered absolutely tis not a disposition in a person to seek his own excellency absolutely, or a disposition to be excellent, a man can't excessively affect his own excellency in one sense i.e he cant excessively desire to be excellent to have those qualifications that will render him a just object of esteem provided he seeks that which is his true excellency & that for its own sake from love to true excellency pride has no consideration of excellency as such or with respect to its loveliness or desireableness in its own nature but tis only a comparative dignity that pride affects or the height that one is in or may be concieved to be in amongst other beings. Nor is it the love & esteem of others absolutely considerd that is the proper & immediate object of pride but a comparative esteem & value it don't content pride to be esteemed & loved by others & to be so much valued by them, but to be highly valued & esteemd comparatively. Tis a persons comparative exaltation as the proper object of esteem & value or such an exaltation amongst others that is the proper & immediate object of pride. Whatever a persons [sic] apprehends /mg./ does or might [sic] him [sic] more considerable amongst other beings to set him beyond his /p./ proper place among others more above his inferiours or higher than his equals or above or equal or nearer to his superiours is what is the object of pride & that whether those other beings with whom we compare our exaltation or dignity be God or creatures

¶ Pride is that by which a person is inordinately disposed to exaltation amongst other beings. which appears either 1 in a disposition to exalt himself amongst other beings either in his opinion of himself looking on himself high amongst them sufficient without them independent on them or but little dependent, or great & worthy among them or in his practice towards hims. and others as concerned with them <to be ostentatious & make a shew of one [sic A: our] own dignity to others> to expect respect & honour from others to assume much to self to detract from them to despise them & treat them with contempt or at least to deny 'em that honour & respect that belongs to them. or 2. In an inordinate disposition to be exalted wherein consists ambition which is an inordinately affecting to be exalted among others

¶ Pride is that habit or state of a persons heart whereby he is thus inordinately disposed to his own exaltation. This state of the heart arises from two things either 1. directly from an inordinate love that the person has to his own comparative height amongst other beings his placing his happiness in it whereby he inordinately desires it & delights in it & excessively values it & so his understanding is prejudised & he is ready to imagine that he is as he so excessively loves to be or 2. more indirectly from inordinate self-love and corruption of the heart in general which all of it is of a blinding nature & so blinds the eyes from beholding the glory of God & excellency of other beings & also from beholding his own pollution & hatefull deformity. & this upholds self-conceit or an inordinate high thought of self & this self conceit cherishes & feeds that inordinate love to comparative exaltation foremention. [sic] So that self conceit arising from the blindness of the mind through the influence of corruption in general feeds that inordinate love to selfex[alt]ation there is in the will [sic A copyist; ed: world] & on the other [hand (om.E)] that love there is to self-exaltation prejudices & blinds the understanding & promotes self-conceit. [finis]

 

¶ 951. TALK OF EXPERIENCES. The profession that persons make of the divine gifts they have recieved from God and their declaring their experiences abroad is like the wind that accompanies a cloud the fruit that they bring forth is like the rain as is evident by Prov. 25. 14. Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds & wind without rain If there be a cloud arising that by its appearance promises a shower yet we see if there be abundance of wind, there commonly is but little or no rain the cloud does as it were spend itself in wind So if professours place religious [sic] very much in religious discourse & abound very much in talking of their own experiences it is a wonder if their religion don't spend it self that way so that [there (om.E)] should be but little fruit in good works. and by this means true Xtians will be too much like false professours whom the apostle for their being much in declaring their own goodness compares to clouds without water carried about of winds Jude 12.

¶ This superabundant talk of experiences is like suckers at the root of a tree which tho they appear very flourishing and abound with leaves /p./ yet draw away the sap of the tree from going up into the fruitfull branches there to bring forth fruit. [finis]

 

¶ 952. CONSUMMATION of all things NEW-HEAVENS. & NEW EARTH PROGRESS of the work of redemption. HEAVEN SHALL be changed & Exalted to higher glory at the end of the world. The creation consists of two parts upper & lower Thus we read of the worlds in the plural number that were made in the creation Heb. 1. 2. which the Apostle in the next chapter distinguishes into two viz this world & the world to come. v. 5. as also Eph. 1. 21. The upper world is said to be the world to come both because it is future to us in this world and also because to the whole elect chh it is to succeed this world when this is destroyed & also on another account that we will observe by & by. The one of these worlds God hath made for his own Son & for his attendants & ministers the angels & the other for man. Ps. 155. 16. The heaven even the heavens are the Lords but the earth hath he given to the children of men. According to the two different kinds of intelligent creatures that God hath made angels & men there are two worlds. [Rest added after next no. begun] The one is corruptible but the other incorruptible, the one is that which can be shaken the other that which cannot be shaken but shall see after next. [finis]

 

¶ 953. That the HEATHEN PHILOSOPHERS had their notions of the unity of God of the Trinity of the immortality of the soul the last judgmt the general conflagration, &c-- by TRADITION from the first ages of the world & from the Jewish nation is manifest by their own testimony <and many things they say shew that they suppose that they had these things by tradition from those that were divinely instructed and inspired of God.> Thus Plato says concerning the immortality of the soul as his words are related by Gale in his Court of the Gentiles. Part. 1. B3. C. 8. p. 80. "We must alwaies give credence to the antient & sacred traditions

which declare unto us that the soul is immortal & that <it> hath judges and recieveth great judgment when tis seperated from the body" & elsewhere Plato having proved the immortality of the soul by the best rational arguments he could produce concludes "there is a divine & more sure word or tradition whereby it might be known ibid.

¶So they come by their opinions of the deluge and conflagration as is evident by the Egyptian priests answer to Solon (in the account Plato gives of it in his Timaeus Fol. 22. 23.) when he enquired of him concerning these things The priest made answer "Solon Solon you Grecians are alwaies children there is no Grecian antient." Solon demanding the reason why he spake thus the priest answered "ye are all said to be young in regard of your souls. For ye have therein no antient opinions flowing from first tradition nor any chronologic sentence. But the cause of these things is There have been & shall again be many destructions of men in many places and those very great by reason of fire & water" Gales Court of the Gentiles B. 3. C. 6. p. 68.69. Part I So from hence some of them had some notion of the universal corruption ruin & spiritual death of mans soul Thus Plato says (Gorgias. Fol. 493.) His words are "I have heard from the wise men that we are now dead & that the body is but our sepulcre" Court of the Gentiles Part 1. B. 3. C 5. p. 62.

¶What the antient philosophers were in pursuit of was the wisdom of the antients to gather up antient traditions. For this end they travelled so much abroad into Egypt Phoenicias & Chaldea as is evident by many passages /p./ in Gales Court of the Gentiles. The Pythagoreans were called & because their wisdom consisted very much in their searching out & contemplating the antient by which they meant the antient mysterious stories or traditions. <as in G. C. of Gen. P. 2. B. 3. C. 3. p. 243.> Court of the Gen. P. 2. B. 1. C. 1. p. 4. So Aristotle gave these names to all philosophers as in the next page but one. [p.6a?] Plato in his Timaeus speaking of the origine of the universe (who sometimes spake of the production of the world in the same words with Moses) acknowledgeth that this could not be known but by some probable fable or tradition

Court of the Gen. P.2. B. 1. C 1 p 14.

¶ That the heathen philosophers & poets affected to be thought inspired & to write & speak from a divine afflatus seems to be from hence that those antient wise men from whom they had the most divine & excellent parts of their wisdom by tradition had their wisdom by inspiration. The tradition they were so busy in pursuit of in their travelling to & fro to gather them up were traditions from the antient inspired holy fathers of the nations of the world & partiarchs of the chh of God That these doctrines were at first given by inspiration from God, was the cause that they were looked upon sacred & the keeping of them was looked upon as the special business of the priests. see after Num. 956. [finis]