And hence ice have the r/round of the ■pcrpetuitij of it, that they will for ever be attendants to us ; because their love and respect to us is founded upon their love and respect to Christ. When fiivour to another is grounded upon a sound foundation ; when the favour that a king or a great person bears to one is founded on the love of his own son; he loves the other because he loves his son whom the other loves ; so it is perpetual and sound, because he will ever love his son. The angels will for ever love and honour and attend us. Why ? For what ground have they respect to us at all ? It is in Christ, whose members and spouse we are. So long as the church hath any relation to Christ, so long the angels shall respect the church ; but the church hath relation to Christ for ever. Therefore, the respect that the blessed angels have to Christ and to the church, it is for ever and for ever.
Well, let us think of this, so as to make use of it ; that now in Christ we have the attendance of angels. We do not see them, as in former time, before Christ's incarnation. It is true ; because now, since Christ is come ' in the flesh,' the government of Christ is spiritual ; and we are not sup- ported with those glorious manifestations, but they are about us in an invi- sible manner. We have Elisha's guard about us continually, but we see them not.* There were more apparitions f in the infancy of the church, because the dispensation of Christ to the church was according to the weak state of the church. But now Christ is come ' in the flesh,' and ' received up in glory,' and there is more abundance of spirit. We should be more spiritual and heavenly-minded, and not look for outward apparitions of angels ; but be content that we have a guard of them about us, as every Christian doth. ' Despise not,' saith Christ, ' these little ones.' They are about Christians, and about little ones, little in years, and little in esteem ; * for their angels,' &c.. Matt, xviii. 10. It is a strange thing. They are God's angels, but they are theirs for their service. ' Their angels behold the face of your heavenly Father.' So that Christ's angels are our angels ; they are angels even of children, of little ones. Nay, let a man be never so poor, even as Lazarus, he shall have the attendance of angels, in life and death. There is no Christian of low degree, of the lowest degree, that shall think himself neglected of God ; for the very angels attend him, as *" Cf. 2 Kings vi. 17. — G. t Thai is, ' appearances.' — O.
coo THE FODNTAIN OPENED.
WO SCO in Lazarus. There is a general commission for the least, the little ones.
Likewise, // ina;/ onnfnrt r(s in all our cxlreniUiea ivhatsoever, in all our desertions. The time may come, helovcd, that wo may bo deserted of tho world, and deserted of our friends ; we may be in such straits as wo may have nobody in the world near us. Oh ! but if a man be a true Christian, he hath God and unj^cls about him alway. A Clmstian is a king ; he is never without his guard, that invisible guard of angels. What! if a man have nobody by him when he dies, but God and his good angels, to carry his Boul to heaven, is ho neglected? Every Christian, if he hath none else with him, he hath God, the whole Trinity, and the guard of angels, to help and comfort him, and to convey his soul to the place of happiness. There- fore, let us never despair, let us never be disconsolate ; whatsoever our condition be, we shall have God and good angels with us in all our straits and extremities. Go through all the passages of our life, we see how ready we are to fall into dangers. In our infancy, in our tender years, we are committed to their custody : after, in our dangers, they pitch their tents about us ; as it is, Ps. xxxiv. 7, ' The angels of the Lord pitch their tents about those that fear the Lord.' In our conversion they rejoice. ' There is joy in heaven at the conversion of a sinner,' Luke xv. 10. At the hour of death, as we see in Lazarus, they are ready to convey our souls to the place of happiness. Lazarus's soul ' was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom,' Luke xvi. 22. At the resurrection they shall gather our dead bodies together. It is the office of the angels. In heaven they shall * praise and glorify God,' together with us for ever ; for ' Christ shall come with a multitude of heavenly angels,' at the day of judgment : ' when he shall come to be glorified in his saints,' 2 Thess. i. 10. Then we shall for ever ' glorify God,' saints and angels together, in heaven. Therefore, in Heb. xii. 22, it is said, * We are come to the innumerable multitude of angels.' What is the meaning of that ? That is, now in the New Testa- ment, by our communion with Christ, we have association with the ' blessed angels, innumerable company of angels,' saith the Holy Ghost there. We have association with them even from our infancy, till we be in glory. Indeed, they are as nurses : ' They shall carry thee, that thou dash not thy foot against a stone,' as it is in Ps. sci. 11. They keep us from many inconveniences.