5. Thus "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." He provided himself of two distinct, rational families, that should depend on him according to a law of moral obedience, and thereby give glory to him; with two distinct habitations for them, cognate unto their nature and use, — heaven above, and the earth beneath. The earth he appointed for the habitation of man; which was every- way suited unto the constitution of his nature, the preservation of his being, and the end of his creation in giving glory to God. Heaven he prepared for the habitation of the angels; which was suited unto the constitution of their nature, the preservation of their being, and the end of their creation, in giving glory to God. Wherefore, as man had power and dominion over all things here below, and was to use them all unto the glory of God, — by which means God received glory from them also, though in themselves brute and inanimate ; — so the angels had the like dominion over the celestial and ethereal bodies, wherewith God hath fitted the place of their habitation, that through the contemplation and use of them God might have a revenue of glory and praise from them also. To suppose any other race of in- tellectual creatures, besides angels in heaven and men on earth, is not only without all countenance from any divine testimony, but it disturbs and disorders the whole representation of the glory of God
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made unto us in tlie Scripture, and the whole design of his wisdom and grace, as declared therein. Intellectual creatures not comprehended in that government of God and mystery of his wisdom in Christ Avhich the Scripture reveals, are a chimera framed in the imaginations of some men, scarce duly sensible of what it is to be wise unto sobriety.
6. This order of things was beautiful and comely. Hence were they all said to be " exceeding good." For each of these families had their own immediate, distinct dependence on God. He was the immediate head of them. There was no other common head inter- posed between God and them. They were not a head unto one an- other. There were no communications unto them, but what were immediate from God himself And their union among themselves was in this alone, that all their obedience did meet and centre in God. So God made the heavens and the earth, and two distinct families in them, for himself
7. This beautiful order in itself, this union between the two families of God, was disturbed, broken, dissolved by the entrance of sin ; for hereby part of the family above, and the whole family below, fell off from their dependence on God ; and ceasing to centre in him as their head, they fell into variance and enmity among themselves. For the centre of this union and order being removed and lost, nothing but enmity and confusion remained among them. Hereon, to show that its goodness was lost, God cursed the earth and all that was in it; for it was put in subjection unto man, who was now fallen from him. Howbeit he cursed not the heavens, which were in subjection unto the angels, because some of them only left their habitation ; and the habitation of the residue was not to be cursed for their sakes. But mankind was wholly gone off from God.
8. The angels that sinned God utterly rejected for ever, as an example of his severity ; the whole race of mankind he would not utterly cast off, but detennined to recover and save a remnant, ac- cording to the election of grace ; which, how he did it in a way of condecency unto all his divine perfections, I have elsewhere declared.
9. Howbeit, he would not restore them into their former state, so as to have again two distinct families, each in an immediate depend- ence on himself, though he left them in different and distinct habita- tions, Eph. iii. 1 5 ; but he would gather them both into one, and that under a new head, in whom the one part should be preserved from sinning, and the other delivered from sin committed.
10. This, then, is that which the apostle declares in these words, " To gather together in one all things which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him." And so he again expresseth it. Col. i. 20, " To reconcile all things unto himself in him, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." All things were fallen into dis-
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order and confusion by sin ; tliey were fallen off from God into vari- ance amonsf themselves. God would not restore them into their first order, in an immediate dependence on his divine perfections. He would no longer keep them in two distinct families ; but he would, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, gather them up into one common head, on whom they should have their immediate dependence, and be reconciled again among themselves.
11. This new head, wherein God hath gathered up all things in heaven and earth into one, one body, one family, on whom is all their dependence, in whom they all now consist, is Jesus Christ the Son of God, incarnate. See 1 Cor. xi. 3 ; Eph. i. 22, 23. This glory was reserved for him ; none other could be meet for it or woithy of it. See Col. i. 17-19.