ANSW. God created all the angels, spirits, immortal, holy, excelling
in knowledge, mighty in power, to execute his commandments, and to
praise his name, yet subject to change.
There are two species of intelligent creatures, to wit, angels and men.
The former of these are more excellent; and we are in this answer, led
to speak concerning their nature, and the glorious works which they are
engaged in: But let it be premised, that this is a doctrine that we
could have known little or nothing of, by the light of nature. We might,
indeed, from thence, have learned, that God has created some spiritual
substances, such as the souls of men; and we might argue, from his
power, that he could create other spirits, of different natures and
powers, and that some of them might be without bodies, as the angels
are; yet we could not have certainly determined that there is such a
distinct order of creatures, without divine revelation, since they do
not appear to, or visibly converse with us; and whatever impressions
may, at any time, be made on our spirits, by good or bad angels, in a
way of suggestion, yet this could not have been so evidently
distinguished from the working of our own fancy or imagination, were we
not assisted in our conceptions about this matter, by what we find in
scripture, relating thereunto. Accordingly, it is from thence that the
doctrine, which we are entering upon, is principally to be derived; and
we shall consider it, as the subject-matter of this answer, in seven
heads.
I. There is something supposed, namely, that there are such creatures as
angels. This appears, from the account we have of them in the beginning
of the creation of all things, _The morning stars sang together, and all
the sons of God shouted for joy_, Job xxxviii. 7. which can be no other
than a metaphorical description of them. They are called the _morning
stars_, as they exceed other creatures, as much in glory, as the stars
do the lower parts of the creation. It would be a very absurd method of
expounding scripture to take this in a literal sense, not only because
the stars in the firmament do not appear to have been then created, but
principally because these are represented, as engaged in a work peculiar
to intelligent creatures; and they are called, the _sons of God_, as
they were produced by him, and created in his image; whereas men, who
are sometimes so called, were not created. They are elsewhere called
_spirits_, Psal. civ. 4. to distinguish them from material beings; and
_a flame of fire_, to denote their agility and fervency, in executing
the divine commands. It is plain, the Psalmist hereby intends the
angels; and therefore the words are not to be translated, as some do,
_who maketh the winds his angels, and the flame of fire his ministers_,
as denoting his making use of those creatures who act without design to
fulfil his pleasure; because the apostle, to the Hebrews, chap. i. 7.
expressly applies it to them, and renders the text in the same sense as
it is in our translation. They are elsewhere styled, _Thrones,
dominions, principalities, and powers_, Coloss. i. 16. to denote their
being advanced to the highest dignity, and employed in the most
honourable services. And that it is not men that the apostle here speaks
of, is evident, because he distinguishes the intelligent parts of the
creation into visible and invisible; the visible he speaks of in the
following words, ver. 18. in which Christ is said to be _the Head of the
body, the church_; therefore here he speaks of invisible creatures
advanced to these honours, and consequently he means hereby the angels.
Moreover it appears, that there are holy angels, because there are
fallen angels, who are called in scripture, devils; this is so evident,
that it needs no proof; the many sins committed by their instigation,
and the distress and misery which mankind is subject to, by their means,
gives occasion to their being called, _The rulers of the darkness of
this world_, Eph. vi. 12. And, because of their malicious opposition to
the interest of Christ therein, _spiritual wickedness in high places_.
Now it appears, from the apostle Jude’s account of them, that they once
were holy; and they could not be otherwise, because they are creatures,
and nothing impure can proceed out of the hand of God, and, while they
were holy, they had their residence in heaven: This they lost, and are
said _not to have kept their first estate, but left their own
habitation_, being thrust out of it, as a punishment due to their
rebellion, and to be _reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness,
unto the judgment of the great day_, Jude, ver. 6. Now it is plain, from
scripture, that it is only a part of the angels that left their first
estate; the rest are called _holy angels_, and their number is very
great. Thus they are described, as _an innumerable company_, Heb. xii.
22. This is necessary to be observed against the ancient, or modern
Sadducees, who deny that there are either angels, or spirits, whether
good or bad.
II. We farther observe, that the angels are described, as to their
nature, as incorporeal, and therefore called spirits. It is but a
little, indeed, that we can know concerning the nature of spirits, in
this present state; and the first ideas that we have concerning them,
are taken from the nature of our souls, as, in some respects, agreeing
with that of angels. Accordingly, being spirits, they have a power of
thinking, understanding, willing, chusing, or refusing, and are the
subjects of moral government, being under a law, and capable of moral
good or evil, happiness or misery.
Moreover, they have a power of moving, influencing, or acting upon
material beings, even as the soul moves and influences the body, to
which it is united. This we understand concerning the nature and power
of angels, as spirits, by comparing them with the nature of the soul;
though there is this difference between them, that the souls of men are
made to be united to bodies, and to act by and upon them, whereas angels
are designed to exist and act without bodies; nevertheless, by the
works, which are often, in scripture ascribed to them, it appears that
they have a power to act upon material beings. As for the conjecture of
some of the fathers,[27] that these spirits are united to some bodies,
though more fine and subtil than our’s are, and accordingly invisible to
us, we cannot but think it a groundless conceit; and therefore to assert
it, is only to pretend to be wise above what is written, and to give too
great a loose to our own fancies, without any solid argument.
III. It follows, from their being spirits, and incorporeal, that they
are immortal, or incorruptible, since nothing is subject to death, or
dissolution, but what is compounded of parts; for death is a dissolution
of the composition of those parts, that were before united together; but
this is proper to bodies. A spirit, indeed, might be annihilated; for
the same power that brought it out of nothing, can reduce it again to
nothing. But, since God has determined that they shall exist for ever,
we must conclude that they are immortal, not only from the constitution
of their nature, but by the will of God.
IV. Besides the excellency of their nature, as spirits, they have other
super-added endowments; of which, _three_ are mentioned in this answer.
1. They were all created holy; and, indeed, it could not be otherwise,
since nothing impure could come out of the hands of a God of infinite
purity. Creatures make themselves sinners, they were not made so by him;
for, if they were, how could he abhor sin, and punish it, as contrary to
his holiness; nor could he have approved of all his works, as _very
good_, when he had finished them, as he did, Gen. i. 31. if he had
created any of the angels in a state of enmity, opposition to, or
rebellion against him.
2. They excel in knowledge, or in wisdom, which is the greatest beauty
or advancement of knowledge. Accordingly, the highest instance of wisdom
in men, is compared to the wisdom of an angel. Thus the woman of Tekoa,
when extolling David’s wisdom, though with an hyperbolical strain of
compliment, compares it to that of _an angel of God_, 2 Sam. xiv. 20.
which proves that it was a generally received opinion, that angels
exceeded other creatures in wisdom.
3. They are said to be mighty in power: thus the Psalmist speaks of
them, as _excelling in strength_, Psal. ciii. 20. and the apostle Paul,
when speaking of Christ’s being revealed from heaven, in his second
coming, says, that it shall be _with his mighty angels_, 2 Thess. i. 7.
And, since power is to be judged of by its effects, the great things,
which they are sometimes represented, as having done in fulfilling their
ministry, in defence of the church, or in overthrowing its enemies, is a
certain evidence of the greatness of their power. Thus we read of the
whole Assyrian host, consisting of _an hundred and fourscore and five
thousand men_, being destroyed in one night; not by the united power of
an host of angels, but by one of them. _The angel of the Lord_ did it;
but this will more evidently appear, when, under a following head, we
speak of the ministry of angels.
V. These natural, or super-added endowments, how great soever they are,
comparatively with those of other creatures, are subject to certain
limitations: their perfections are derived, and therefore are finite. It
is true, they are holy, or without any sinful impurity; yet even their
holiness falls infinitely short of God’s, and therefore it is said
concerning him, _Thou only art holy_, Rev. xv. 4. and elsewhere, Job xv.
15. speaking concerning the angels, who are, by a _metonymy_, called the
heavens, it is said, they _are not clean in his sight_, that is, their
holiness, though it be perfect in its kind, is but finite, and therefore
infinitely below his, who is infinitely holy.
Moreover, though they are said, as has been before observed, to excel in
knowledge, we must, notwithstanding, conclude, that they do not know all
things; and therefore their wisdom, when compared with God’s, deserves
no better a character than that of folly, Job iv. 18. _His angels he
charged with folly_. There are many things, which they are expressly
said not to know, or to have but an imperfect knowledge of, or to
receive the ideas they have of them by degrees: thus _they know not the
time of Christ’s second coming_, Matt. xxiv. 36. and they are
represented as enquiring into the great mystery of man’s redemption, or
as _desiring to look into it_, 1 Pet. i. 12.
And to this let me add, that they do not know the hearts of men, at
least not in such a way as God is said to _search the heart_, for that
is represented as a branch of the divine glory, Jer. xvii. 10. 2 Chron.
vi. 30. And, besides this, it may be farther observed, that they do not
know future contingencies, unless it be by such a kind of knowledge, as
amounts to little more than conjecture; or, if they attain to a more
certain knowledge thereof, it is by divine revelation. For God
appropriates this to himself, a glory, from which all creatures are
excluded; therefore he says, _Shew the things that are to come_, that
is, future contingencies, _that we may know that ye are gods_, Isa. xli.
23. which implies, that this is more than what can be said of any finite
mind, even that of an angel.
As to the way of their knowing things, it is generally supposed, by
divines, that they know them not in a way of intuition, as God does, who
is said to know all things in himself, by an underived knowledge; but
whatever they know, is either communicated to them, by immediate divine
revelation, or else is attained in a discursive way, as inferring one
thing from another; in which respect, the knowledge of the best of
creatures appears to be but finite, and infinitely below that which is
divine.
Again, though they are said to be mighty in power, yet it is with this
limitation, that they are not omnipotent. There are some things, which
are the effects of divine power, that angels are excluded from, as being
too great for them; accordingly they were not employed in creating any
part of the world, nor do they uphold it; for as it is a glory peculiar
to God, _to be the Creator of the ends of the earth_, so he, exclusively
of all others, is said _to uphold all things by the word of his power_.
And to this we may add, that we have no ground to conclude, that they
are employed in the hand of providence, to maintain that constant and
regular motion, that there is in the celestial bodies, as some of the
ancient philosophers[28] have seemed to assert; for this is the
immediate work of God, without the agency of any creature subservient
thereunto.
Again, to this let me add, that how great soever their power is, they
cannot change the heart of man, take away the heart of stone, and give a
heart of flesh; or implant that principle of spiritual life and grace in
the souls of men, whereby they are said to be _made partakers of a
divine nature_, or _created in Christ Jesus unto good works;_ for that
is ascribed to the exceeding greatness of the divine power, and it is a
peculiar glory belonging to the Holy Spirit, whereby believers are said
to be born from above; this therefore is too great for the power of
angels to effect.
VI. We have an account of the work or employment of angels; it is said,
they execute the commands of God, and praise his name. The former of
these will be more particularly considered, under a following
answer,[29] when we are led to speak of their being employed by God, at
his pleasure, in the administration of his power, mercy and justice; and
therefore we shall now consider them as engaged in the noble and
delightful work of praise; they praise his name. For this end they were
created; and, being perfectly holy and happy, they are fitted for, and
in the highest degree, devoted to this service. This work was begun by
them as soon as ever they had a being: _they sang together_, and
celebrated his praise in the beginning of the creation, Job xxxviii. 7.
And when the Redeemer first came into this lower world, and thereby a
work, more glorious than that of creation, was begun by him, they
celebrated his birth with a triumphant song; as it is said, that with
the angel that brought the tidings thereof to the shepherds, there was a
_multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God
in the highest; on earth peace; good will towards men,_ Luke ii. 14.
Whether all the hosts of heaven were present at that solemnity, we know
not; but there is sufficient ground to conclude, from the harmony that
there is in the work and worship of the heavenly inhabitants, that they
all celebrated his incarnation with their praises; and this was a part
of that worship, which, upon this great occasion, they gave, by a divine
warrant, to him, who was then brought into this lower world, Heb. i. 6.
Moreover, they praise God for particular mercies vouchsafed to the
church, and for the success of the gospel in the conversion of sinners
thereby; on which occasion, they express their joy as our Saviour
observes, though it be but _one sinner that repenteth_, Luke xv. 7, 10.
And,
_Lastly_, They are represented, as joining in worship with the saints in
heaven; for which reason the apostle, speaking concerning the communion
that there is between the upper and the lower world, as well as the
union between the saints departed, and the angels, in this work of
praise, says, _Ye are come unto the innumerable company of angels, to
the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in
heaven, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,_ Heb. xii. 22, 23.
and they are also represented as joining with all others, which are
_before the throne, the number of whom is ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying, with a loud voice, Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing,_ Rev. v. 11, 12.
This is a branch of that social worship, which they are engaged in; and
since we cannot suppose that it is performed without harmony, otherwise
it wants a very considerable circumstance, necessary to render it
beautiful, and becoming a state of perfection, we must conclude, that
there is the greatest order among these heavenly ministers; but whether
they are to be considered, as having a government, or hierarchy, among
themselves, so that one is superior in office and dignity to others; or
whether they have a kind of dominion over one another; or whether some
are made partakers of privileges, that others are deprived of; this we
pretend not to determine, since scripture is silent as to this matter.
And what some have laid down, as though it were deduced from it, is
altogether inconclusive; and therefore they, who express themselves so
peremptorily on this subject, as though they had received it by divine
inspiration, or were told it by some, who have been conversant among
them in heaven, must be reckoned among them, whom the apostle speaks of,
who _intrude into those things which they have not seen, vainly puft up
by their fleshly mind_, Colos. ii. 18.
The Papists are very fond of this notion, as being agreeable to that
unscriptural hierarchy, which they establish in the church here on
earth, which they pretend to be, in some respects, founded upon it,
instead of better arguments to support it[30]. All the countenance which
they pretend to be given to it, in scripture, is taken from the various
characters, by which they are described, as _cherubim_, _seraphim_,
_thrones_, _dominions_, _principalities_, _powers_, _angels_,
_arch-angels_, all which expressions they suppose to signify various
ranks and orders among them; and when they speak of three classes, or
degrees of dignity, and office, under which they are distributed, and
that some of those characters are reduced to one, and others to another
of them, this is nothing else but to impose their own chimerical
fancies, as matters of faith; and when they speak of some of them, as
being of a superior order, and admitted to greater honours than the
rest, whom they compare to ministers of state, who always attend the
throne of princes, or stand in their presence; and others that are
employed in particular services for the good of the church, and are
conversant in this lower world: This is a distinction which the
scripture says nothing of; for they all behold the face of God in
heaven, and are in his immediate presence; and they are all likewise
called _ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them which shall
be the heirs of salvation_.
The great oracle which they have recourse to, where the scripture is
silent, is a spurious writing, that goes under the name of Dionysius,
the Areopagite, concerning the celestial hierarchy[31]; which contains
not only many things fabulous, but unworthy of him, who was converted at
Athens by the apostle Paul’s ministry, Acts xvii. 34. as well as
disagreeable to the sentiments of the church in the age in which he
lived; therefore, passing by this vain and trifling conjecture, all that
we can assert, concerning this matter, is, that there is a beautiful
order among the angels, though not of this kind; and this appears very
much in that social worship, which is performed by them.
And this leads us to enquire how they communicate their ideas to each
other, though destitute of organs of speech, like those that men have.
That they do, some way or other, impart their minds to one another, is
sufficiently evident, otherwise we cannot see how they could join
together, or agree in that worship, which is performed by them, and
those united hallelujahs, with which they praise God, and so answer the
end of their creation. That they converse together is evident, since
they are represented as doing so, in several places of scripture: thus
the prophet speaks of the angel that _talked with him_; he _went forth,
and another angel went out to meet him_, Zech. ii. 3. and elsewhere it
is said, concerning them, that one cried to another, _Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory_, Isa. vi. 3.
and the apostle John speaks of _an angel ascending from the east, who
cried with a loud voice to four_ other _angels_, Rev. vii. 2, 3. who
were performing a part of their ministry here on earth, and giving them
a charge relating thereto; and elsewhere he again represents one angel
as speaking to another, and _crying with a loud voice_, &c. chap. xix.
17. In some of these instances, if the voices uttered by them were real,
this may be accounted for, by supposing that they assumed bodies for the
same purpose, and so communicated their minds to each other, in a way
not much unlike to what is done by man. But this is not their ordinary
way of conversing with each other: notwithstanding, we may, from hence,
infer, and from many other scriptures, that might be brought to the same
purpose, that there is some way or other by which they communicate their
thoughts to one another. How this is done, is hard to determine; whether
it be barely by an act of willing, that others should know what they
desire to impart to them or by what other methods it is performed; it is
the safest way for us, and it would be no disparagement were we the
wisest men on earth to acknowledge our ignorance of it, rather than to
attempt to determine a thing so much out of our reach, in this imperfect
state, in which we know so little of the nature or properties of
spirits, especially those that are without bodies. It is therefore
sufficient for us to conclude, that they converse together, when joined
in social worship; but how they do this, is altogether unknown to us.
VII. Notwithstanding all the advantages which the angels had from those
natural endowments, with which they were created, yet it is farther
observed, that they were subject to change. Absolute and independent
immutability is an attribute peculiar to God; so that whatever
immutability creatures have, it is by his will and power. Some of the
angels, who were created holy, were not only subject to change, but they
_kept not their first estate_, Jude, ver. 6. and, from being the sons of
God, became enemies and rebels; which is an evident proof of the natural
mutability of creatures, if not confirmed in a natural state of holiness
and happiness; and we have ground to conclude, from hence, that the rest
might have fallen, as well as they, had they not been favoured with the
grace of confirmation, which rendered their state of blessedness
unchangeable. But this will be farther considered, under a following
answer[32].
Footnote 27:
_Vid. Augustin. de Civ. Dei, Lib. XV. cap. 23. Tertull. de
Idololatria, & alibi passim._
Footnote 28:
_This was the opinion of Aristotle, though he does not call them
angels, but intelligent Beings, for angel is a character belonging to
them, derived only from scripture; neither do we find that this work
is assigned to them, as a part of their ministry therein._
Footnote 29:
_See Quest. XIX._
Footnote 30:
_It is strenuously maintained, by Baronius, Bellarmine, and many other
writers; as also by many of the schoolmen, as Durandus, Tho. Aquinas,
and others._
Footnote 31:
_This book is sufficiently proved to be spurious, and not to have been
known in the four or five first ages of the church, as not being
mentioned by Jerom, Gennadius, and others, who make mention of the
writers of their own and former ages, and pass their censures on them,
as genuine or spurious. And, from others of the Fathers, who lived in
those centuries, it plainly appears, that the doctrines maintained in
this book, concerning the celestial hierarchy, were not then known by
the church. It is also proved to be spurious, because the author
thereof makes mention of holy places, such as temples, altars, &c. for
divine worship, and catechumens, and the like, and many other things,
unknown to the church till the fourth century; and he uses the word
Hypostases to signify the divine Persons, which was not used till
then. He also speaks of the institution of monks, and various sorts of
them, which were not known till long after the apostolic age; yea, he
quotes a passage out of Clemens Alexandrinus, who lived in the third
century. These, and many other arguments, to the same purpose, are
maintained, not only by Protestants, but some impartial Popish
writers, which sufficiently prove it spurious. See Dallæus De Scrip.
Dionys. Areop. and Du Pin’s history of ecclesiastical writers, Cent.
1. Page 32-34._
Footnote 32:
_See Quest. XIX._
Quest. XVII.