The great mystery of godliness laid forth by way of affectuous and feeling meditation : also the invisible world discovered to spirituall eyes and reduced to usefull meditation in three books / by Jos. Hall.

SECT. X.

ANd now, soon after, those Angels that saw thee sweating in thine agonie, and bleeding on thy crosse, saw thee also triumphing over Death, in thy Resurrection; they atten∣ded thee joyfully in the vault of thy sepulture, and saw thee trampling upon the last ene∣mie; being then sutably habi∣ted to so blessed an occasion, in white shining vestures; how gladly were they imployed a∣bout that most glorious solem∣nity, both as actors in the ser∣vice, and as the first heralds of thy victories over Death? I find one of them obsequiously making ready for thy coming

out of those chambers of death, upon thine Easter morning; rolling away that massy stone, which the vain care of thine adversaries had laid (curiously sealed) upon the mouth of that Cave, for the prevention of thy fore-threatned resurrecti∣on; and sitting upon it with a countenance like lightning, and his garment white as snow, the terrour of whose presence made the guard to shake, and to become as dead men; I find two of them no lesse glorious, sitting the one at the head, the other at the feet of that bed of earth whereon thou hadst new∣ly slept; By these Angels wert thou both seen and attended; and, no doubt, but as at thy first coming into the world, when but one Angell published thy birth he was seconded by a mul∣titude of the heavenly host▪ praising God with hymns of rejoycing for thy nativity; so when but one or two Angels

were seen at thy second birth (which was thy glorious resur∣rection) there were more of that heavenly company invisi∣bly celebrating the joyfull tri∣umph of that blessed day; wherein having conquered Death and Hell, thou shewedst thy self in a glorified conditi∣on to the redeemed world of men: After this, when for the securance of thy Resurrection, (upon which all our faith justly dependeth) thou hadst spent forty dayes upon earth, I find thee upon Mount Olivet, at thy most glorious ascension, not seen only, but proclaimed, and fore-promised in thy certain, and at least equally-glorious return, by the blessed Angels. And behold while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand yee gazing up into hea∣ven; This same Jesus which is

taken from you into heaven, shall so come again, as ye have seen him go into heaven] But, O Saviour, these views of thee by thine Angels hitherto were but speciall, and visible even by bodily eyes; How do I, by the eyes of my soul, see thee both attended up in that heavenly progresse, and welcomed into thine Empyreall heaven, by all the host of those celestiall spi∣rits: no small part of whose perpetuall happiness it is, to see thee in thy glorified humanity; sitting at the right hand of Ma∣jestie; there they enjoy thee, there they sing continuall Hallelujahs to him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Notes

• Mat. 28. 2, 3, 4.
• Joh. 20. 12.
• Act. 1. 10, 11.