The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as it affordeth both milke for babes, and strong meat for such as are at full age / by ... Nicholas Bifield ; ... now published ... by his sonne, Adoniram Bifield.

Quest. 3. Why did God build and make this Heauen.

Answ. Not to be a place for himselfe to dwell in, for hee needs no such place, being Immense, and these Heauens can∣not containe him, he being in his Essence without and beyond all Heauens, 1. Kings 8. 27. but he made it that it might bee a a place wherein he might manifest his glory in speciall manner. but especially that in that place, hee might giue entertaine∣ment vnto such as by grace he had chosen to bee his children, and therefore is called the Fathers house.

The consideration of the Doctrine of this Heauen of Hea∣uens, should make violent impression vpon our hearts, and that in three respects,

1. It should wonderfully abase vs, to thinke how wee haue neglected the knowledge, and care and desire after this glo∣rious place: It should make vs hate our selues for our sense∣lessnes and madnesse, that preferre an earthly mudde-wall cottage, before such a princely or rather diuine Pallace; that are in loue with this earthly place, that is full of sinne, sorrow, disgrace, darkenesse, and death, and yet haue no heart after a place so wonderfully free from all euill, and so replenished with all good? Oh wretches that wee are that labour & care day and night to repaire these glassie or mud-walled Tabernacles of our bodies, and haue no more minde to prouide for that matchlesse triumphing place of spirits.

2. It should wonderfully fire our hearts to the loue of God, that hath prouided for vs such a place of glorious inheri∣tance, of his mercy, loue, and grace, so happy, so lasting, so amiable; yea, what thankes can wee euer giue him for the very comfort with which he hath refreshed vs, in telling vs of Heauen, that were such, as in our selues had bin so farre from hauing it, as we had neuer knowne of it by the light of Nature.

3. It should exceedingly transforme our hearts into the ear∣nest care and endeauour to carrie our selues so as might be∣come the desire and assurance of so blessed a place: wee should shew that we vnderstand what a place Heauen is.

1. By auoiding euery thing that is abhominable, euen all those sinnes that are threatned with the want or losse of hea∣uen: as remembring that that is no place for vncleane per∣sons to liue in, Reuel. 21. 8.

2. By earnest endeauour to get the righteousnesse that may make vs fit for that kingdome, Mat. 6. 33.

3. By studying the the assurance of Heauen, aboue all o∣ther assurances whatsoeuer.

4. By a conuersation in heauen, directing our thoughts and affections after heauen, remembring it aboue all de∣lights, our mindes daily running vpon it and imploying our selues in such dueties as might shew that our hearts were in Heauen, though our bodies bee here: our prayers and all

the parts of Gods worship should sauour of this know∣ledge, Phil. ••. 20. Colos. 3. 1. 2.

5. By a voluntary forsaking or contemning of the profits and pleasures of this world, being content to finde here but the entertainement of Pilgrims and strangers, euen such as are farre from their owne home, Heb. 11. 13, 14.

6. By inuincible Patience in bearing all the assaults of life here, not wearied with afflictions, considering this eternall weight of glory in heauen; not dismayed with any terror of Sathan, nor perplexed with any scornes of the world, seeing the time will shortly come wee shall bee deliuered from all these things, and possesse an inheritance that is vndefiled and immortall in heauen: and the lesse should we be trou∣bled about the dissolution of our bodies, or rather wee should desire to get out of this earthly Tabernacle, that wee might come to dwell in that heauenly building, 2. Corinthi∣ans 5▪ 1. 2.

7. By our diligent labour to carry our Treasures, to lay them vp in heauen: that is our best house, and the onely s••fe place where neither Rust no Moth can corrupt, nor theeues breake through and steale. What we haue in heauen is safe kept by the power of God, What we haue on earth is vn∣certaine, and therefore our greatest care should be to send as many prayers and good workes to heauen, as accounting it the best treasure, and the wisest course so to imploy our selues, Mat 6. 20.

Thus of the Heauen of Heauens: Before we leaue that inui∣sible world, we must intreat of the Angels, which are the Hoste of the Lord in that vpper world.

That the Lord did a most glorious worke, when hee made the Angels, may appeare many waies.

1. By the names and Titles giuen them. They are called spi∣rits, Starres of the Morning, Sonnes of God, Principalities, and Powers, Thrones, and Dominions, Seraphim and Che∣rubim, yea, Gods: all which shew they were wonderfully made and of great excellencie.

2. By the substance he made them to be: for the substance of Angels is not corporeall, and therefore purer then any bo∣dies

in Heauen and Earth, and so pure as no senses can dis∣cerne them: for though God onely be simply 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Imma∣teriall, yet Angels are Immateriall in respect of any Physi∣call composition, for they consist not of matter and forme, as other Creatures doe: but haue onely that kinde of com∣position, which they call Metaphysicall, for they are com∣pounded of essence or act and power.

3 By the place where he sets them when he had made them: for he seated them in heauenly places, Ephes. 3. 10. hee made them to liue about himselfe, in the Chamber of his presence, alwaies before his face. They were Creatures made of purpose to liue in the Court of the King of Kings.

4 By the numbers he made of them: Daniel said, hee saw thousand thousands of Angels, and an hundred times ten thousand thousand, Daniel 7. 10. Heb. 12. 22. It is said, there is an innumerable company of Angels. Hee meanes, they are more then man can number, not more then God can number: and the number is the more to bee admired, because the Angels doe not marry, and so are not increased by propagation.

5 By the manner of their being and working in respect of time and place: for Angels are in place definitiuely, not circumscriptiuely, as they say in Schooles: that is, they are so in place that wholly they are there, they cannot bee said to be in another place, but yet while they are there, it can∣not be told by any creature, what roome they take vp, or how much place they fill, for length, bredth, or height or depth: and so for time, they doe not worke in a moment as God doth: but yet in respect of vs they worke strange things in an vnperceiueable time: and to shadow that out, they are described to haue wings, not that they haue, but by way of signification, or resemblance.

6 By the gifts with which God endowed them, when hee made them: I will instance in their knowledge and power: for knowledge it must needes be great in Angels: for be∣sides the knowledge they had naturally by Creation, they know strange things by reuelation from God, and by ex∣perience gather many things from the course of things in

the world, or their causes in nature, and the manifold wis∣dome of God is made knowne to Angels by the preaching of the Gospell, which they see into with wonderfull abili∣ty, though men be so dull and blockish in hearing, 1 Cor. 11. 10. Ephes. 5. 10. Iohn 8. 44. Daniel 8. 16. & 9. 22. adde to all these wayes their supernaturall knowledge of God, by which they are inabled to stand for euer without falling from God. Great also is the power of Angels, espe∣cially in working vpon bodily creatures. One Angell could kill almost all Senacheribs Army in a night; by an Angell was Peter fetched out of prison, Acts 12. 7, 8. and Philip carried from place to place, Acts 8. 39. and the Sodomits smitten blinde, Gen. 19. and the Host of the Syrians frigh∣ted with a noise they made, 2 Kings 6. 28. and without doubt, they can doe strange things about the soules of men. They haue appeared to men in their dreames, and as euill angels can tempt men internally, so may good Angels incourage and counsell godly men, though they discerne not who raiseth those comforts or counsels: onely Mira∣cles of themselues they cannot doe, nor can they know the thoughts of the heart of man of themselues.

7 By the language in which God hath made them able to treat one with another, or with man or God: for it is cleare, they vse not any fleshly or corporall language in as much as they haue not bodies, and so no tongues: but they speake one to another by a spirituall and heauenly lan∣guage, without any audible sound or vocall speech or noife, I say after an vnutterable manner angellically, they insinuate, instill, and communicate one to another, or to the vnderstanding of men, what they will. The deliuering of the sense of the minde by voice, is an inferiour kinde of meanes, because it agrees onely to bodies: such Spirits as are onely mindes and haue no bodies, can conuerse one with another without sound of words, in their owne vnder∣standings as in a most cleere Looking-glasse, shewing what they will one to another.

Before I come to the vse of this part, certaine questions men might aske about Angels, are to be resolued, as

Notes

• Quest.
• Answ.