The end of the Infeparatio ligni. A Cherubim and a firic Sword, Cherubims. and giveth of it to him that was clothed with linnen, thus then was the paffage of Eden guarded with an Angell, a Cherubin armed with a fiery Sword, in regard of the justice of God. The end of this fencing thus of Paradise and of the Tree of life, is, as the Fathers fay,because that it is the will of God, that the Paradife of God and the Tree of life, fhould be infeparablie together, that none should enjoy the Paradife of God, but should tafte of the Tree of life, and none fhould have the Tree of life, but should likewife enjoy the Paradife of God, that fo whofoever fhould enjoy the one fhould have the other; for as it is in the thirty fourth Pfalm and the twelfth verfe: And likewife in the first of Peter the third chapter and tenth verfe: Every man naturally hath a longing defire after long life, and to fee good daies, and to live long and happily, to have eternity and the Paradife of felicity for small is the comfort to live long and have no happineffe, or to have happineffe and not enjoy it long and therefore man when he was caft forth he was debarred hereby, both of the state of felicity and of eternity, that God might be true in his words, and just in his works. Now touching this guard it felf, this fence, it confifteth of two parts: the one is a Cherubin taken and fent from Heaven above, the other a fiery Sword from the Earth below, that Adam and Eve might confider, that Heaven and Earth were armed against them, to be a terror to their Soul and Body: this was a fpirituall and civill punishment, for there was in Adams finne an inordinate defire of the Soul, to feck curiously into Gods fecrets and to know good and cvill, and likewise an inordinate appetite of the body to behold and tafte of the forbidden fruit, thinking that was a fruit more pleasant than all the trees in the garden, and God doubteth in the twenty fecond verfe, that he will put also forth his hand and take of the tree of life, and live for ever and therefore to fence this Tree he fetteth an Angell, not naked but armed to defend it, I say an Angell with a fhaking Sword in his hand : And that thefe Cherubins are Angels, it is doubtleffe by the whole courfe of the Scriptures both new and old, and thereof the ancient and new writers make no doubt they fay, that as the committing of finne was by an evill Angell, fo emißio the punishment for finne was by an Angell, their putting out of Paradife was by means of the evill Angell, and the paffage was kept against them by an Angell armed with a burning Sword: he came like a Serpent to provoke them to finne, and he was punished by a Cherubin an Angell of that order: mention is made of the Cherubins in the time of the Law, in the twenty fifth of Exodus and the eighteenth verse: And in the building of the firft Temple of Salomon; were placed the Cherubims in the inward house, the figures of Cherubims compaffed the house, and the dores of the Oracle were graved with Cherubims, the first of Kings the fixth chapter and the twenty seventh verfe: And likewife in the fecond building of the fecond Temple, in the fourty first of Ezekiell were there many Cherubims. Cherubims. And likewile the Angell in the fourteenth of the Revelations and the feventeenth verte: with the fickle that came from Heaven, was taken for a Cherubim, and why was it a Cherubim that was appointed to defend this paffage to the Tree of life, to punish Adam and debarre him of Paradile with Sword and Fire? It appeareth by the tenth of Ezekiell and the twelfth verse; That the Cherubim had a body with wings, & took fierie coals and fcattered them over the City, and being appointed for a guard for Paradife, therefore it is requifite they Thould be watchfull; therefore it is fid they were full of eyes round about, or according to the fourth of the Revelations and the feventh verle, they were full of eyes before and behinde, which fheweth their knowledge which is requifite in them: To this alfo it is neceffary that there be added, that they be armed with power of Fire and Sword, for as the Cherubims of themselves were fearfull, fo Fire and Sword makes the paffage more fearfull; for to behold the Sword which will cut and the Fire which will burn it is dreadfull, for incifio in the one and infentio in the other, the edge of the Sword and the flame of the Fire are both more terrible; and it is very ufuall in the Scriptures to fee them armed: The Angell that flood in the way of Balaam riding upon his Affe, the twen y fecond of Numbers and the twenty third verse, had his Sword drawn in hu hand, And in the first of the Chronicles the twenty first chapter and the fixteenth verfe, The Angell that appeared to David was armed with a drawn Sword in his band, And the Cherubim in the tenth of Ezekiell and the leventh verse, was armed with Fire against Ferufalem, and again in the fecond to the Theffalonians, the first chapter and the eighth verse, The Angels of God doe appear in flaming fire, rendring vengeance to them that doe not know God nor obey the Gofpell, And here the Angell of God appeareth to Adam, both with a Sword and with Fire to punish him, because he would not obey God nor his commandment. That we may conclude then, that God hath fufficiently fenced this paffage, with his Angell thus armed with a burning Sword: the very Affe which is of leaft understanding, feared the Angell armed with a drawnSword and perceived it before Balaam, but to be armed with Fire it is more fearfull than with a Sword, for many a one would run upon a Sword that by all means would fhun the Fire, look what fcapeth the fword shall be devoured by the fire, and the ancient Fathers upon Fob. 22.20. And S. Ferom upon this place faith, That the Cherubims are thus armed to fhew that they have not only plenitudinem feientia, by their many eyes, but plenitudine mpotentia bý being armed in this fort, God taketh order that they should have both to be watchfull and powerfull. But what doth this vifible fign of Cherubyms and of a Sword fhiken mean? To make them to have a continual remembrance of their fin, and likewife a continual griefe to thinke of the pleasure and happy place that they enjoyed, and to fee themselves left to mifery, and barred of returning to that blessed Paradife, by so strong a guard, fo ftrongly armed that Y y 2 there The Shaking there is no hope left to enter again into that former ftate happiness, and again how grievous is it to fee the cle& Angels above, and the damned Angels beneath, yea all Gods creatures to become his enemies, and to be banifheed from Gods prefence; all his pleasure turned to labor, all plentie to neceffity, all joy to forrow, so that all that he faw without him was terror and fear, and all that was within him was lamentations and mourning and woe, as it is in the fecond of Ezekiell and the nineteenth verfe, And as we fee when the Angell appeared unto David in the time of the great mortality, that flew with the peftilence feventy thousand, David in fack-cloath mourned and faid, it is even I that have finned, but what have these sheep done, alas they have not finned, I should have been panished and my fathers house, and not this people, the first of the Chronicles the twenty first chapter and the feventeenth verfe, And what greater grief could be devifed than to be banished Paradife, and to have no hope left of return, not to live any longer there but to live in the barren earth, in the valley of Achor, the fecond of ofee and the fourteenth verse, which is interpreted the valley of mourning, and yet as the Prophet faith there, that valley fhall be for a gate or dore of hope, for in that God doth not pull up the Tree by the root, nor doth he cut it down as unprofitable, we have hope that we shall have use of it hereafter, for it is fenced to fome ufe, neither is Paradife layed waste norut terly deftroyed, which giveth us a gate of hope. Secondly, the Fathers fay, we have further matter of hope in re of the Sword. gard the Sword is but shaken, the Angell fhakes the Sword bur ftrikes not with the Sword, St. Auftin upon this fhaking of the Sword faith, that qui dicit percutiam non percutit, minatur mortem non occidit, mina ejus, medicina cju: He that faith I will Arike ftriketh not, he that breatneth death, flayeth not, his threatnings are as his curings and again, he placeth the Cherubims armed in the Eaft of Eden at the entrance into Paradife, as the evill Angell that provoked them to finne, came with fair words and was in fhew a friend, but proved a deadly enemy, fo they fay that though the Angell that keepeth the paffage of Paradife, doe feem an outward enemy, yet in the end he will prove our very friend. Verfasilis. Thirdly, there is matter of hope in this that it is a moving Sword, why then faith St. Ferome, may it not be removed, if Adam repent and remove himfelt far from his former fin? Why may not God likewife repent of this Punishment? neither is it unufuall that God doth fo, for in the first of the Chronicles the twenty first chapter and the fifteenth verfe, After God had fent his Angell to destroy Ferufalem, as he was destroying, God repented of the evill and faid to the Angell that deftroyed, it is enough les shy hand ceafe, and that Angell had a Sword drawn in his hand: and after that David had built an Altar and made a burnt-offring, in the twenty seventh verle of the same chapter, The Lord pake again to the Angell, and he put up his Sword again into his Sheath: It was Davids case, the leventy feventh Pfalm and the feventh verfe, In forrow and great grief he said, Will the Lord ab fent Jent himselfe for ever, and will be shew no more favor, hath God forgot ten to be mercifull no doubt God will fhew the mercy that hee found in his mifery, or if with the Prophet, Fer. 47.6. we say, oh thou word of the Lord, how long will it bee ere thou ceafe, turne again inte thy fcabbard, reft and be still, no doubt God will be mercifull. And for the Cherubyms, the Cherubyms that covered the two ends of the mercy leate, in Exodus the 25. chapter and the 18. verfe, were Cherebims of protection that covered with their wings the Mercyfeat. And in Ezekiel 28. it is faid, That the king of Tyrus had been in Eden the garden of God, and verfe 14. That he was the annoynted Cherub that covereth; it was a Cherubym of protection: They no doubt that accompanied the Lamb, Revel. 14. were Angells and Cherubyms finging and harping for joy; and thefe Cherubyms that here aic appointed with fire and fword, if it please God to be mercifull, may turne their fhipe, and lay downe the Sword, for if Gods wrath be appealed, no wrath is executed, as in the cafe of David, and of Ferufalem, and of Ninivie, where God stayed the hand of his An. gell, and his wrath ceafed, for God giveth power to Angells in Heaven and Princes on the Earth, and all the shields of the world belong unto God, Pfal.47. fo that if he be appealed they yeeld their power, and if God will have mercy upon man, and will fay deliver him that he goe not downe the pit, for I have received a reconciliation, then shall he be restored to his former ftate, Fob.33.24. Upon mans repentance God will deliver his foule from deftruction, and if here God were once reconciled, the fword fhould be taken away from the Angell, and he should put it up into his fheath, and man fhould recover his former ftate, and the Angell shall become an Angell of mercy, like the Cherubyms, Exod. 15. That covered with their wings the mercy feat or Propitiatory: Now the meanes of reconciliation is a Propitia:ory facrifice, for Sacrifice is the way of Reconciliation. When Abraham, with his offering of his fonne, had pleafed God, the Angell stayed Abrahams knite, and he found favor with God, chap. 22. After David by his fione had procured the pu nishment of his people, he repented him of his finne, ond offered him up a burnt offering and a peace offering, and then the Lord anfwered him by fire from heaven upon the Altar of burnt-Offering, and when the Lords wrath was appeafed, the Angell fheathed up his Sword, Cron. 21. 26. and here if,' in Adams cafe, Gods wrath be appeafed and he reconciled, the Angell will lay down his firySword, and flamma qua ardet, & gladius qui maltat, the fire that fhould burne fhall be extinguished, and the fword that should flay fhall be fheathed, and by a Sacrifice Gods wrath fhall be appeafed, for Exod. 12. chapter, where God feeth the blood upon the pofts of their houses, God and his Angell will passe over their houses, and plague nor deftruction fhall not fall upon them; the token of blood fhall be a reconciliation of Gods favor, and the Angell paffed by: This brings us to the great Propitiatorie Sacrifice, the like whereof never was in the world, in the which is not the blood of Lambs, Goats, or beaftss Yy 3 : beaits, but the blood of the immaculat Lamb Fefus Chrift, Gods fonne and mans Saviour, who offered his precious blood for the finnes of us all, who was the only and all sufficient Sacrifice to apapease the wrath of God, and reconcile man to his Love; this Sacrifice drew the alliance of Men with Angels, made a reconciliation with God, and restored man to the tree of life and the Paradife of God, and the Angels fhall rejoyce and be glad at this reconciliation and that Chrift was exalted, the cleventh of the Revelations, and the fifteenth verfe. And the feventh place the Fathers doe alledge that this place is a poynting even unto the Gofpell, that in the fencing thus of Paradife, it was foretold that one fhould come that through his obedience fhould remove the armed Cherubyms, and give unto mankinde a paffage into Paradife, and this they ground upon the first of Ezechiell and the tenth verfe and upon the tenth of Ezechiell and the fourteenth verfe, and the fourth of the Revelations and the feventh verfe, they agree that there were foure Cherubyms in the first of Ezechiell and the tenth verfe, they had the face of a Man, the fimilitude of the face of an Oxe, ofa Lyon and of an Eagle, and in the tenth of Ezekiell and the fourteenth verse, one had the face of a Cherubym, the other of a Man, of a Lyon and of an Eagle, and for the Cherubyms in the fourth of the Revelations and the leventh verle. The one was like a Lyon, the other like an Oxe, the third like a Man, the laft like an Eagle, and thefe foure beasts in the Revelation hey doe referre unto the foure Evangelifts: But the other places, and this also, they doe referre unto the four principall acts of Chrift in our reconciliation. They doc apply the face of the Man to Chrifts nativitie, who was borne man of a pure virgin. The face of the Oxe to his paffion, who refembled his death to the death of an Oxe facrificed for the finnes of the People, and the face of the Lyon to his Refurre&tion, who thereby triumphed over death, even he that was a Lyon of the Tribe of Judah. And lastly they compare the face of the Eagle to his glorious afcention whereby he mounted, like an Eagle, above an Eagles pitch, only to reconcile us unto Gods favor. And if the Sacrifice of Chrift be ap. plyed unto us then doth it appeafe Gods wrath to us. David applyeth Nathans rebuke to himselfe, after all his forrow and acknow ledgment of his finne, in the one and fiftith Pfalme, with deepe and hearty repentance, he fheweth that the Sacrifices of God are a contrite Spirit, and a broken heart he defpifeth not; and if with David in the fourth Pfalme and the fift verle, we examine our owne heart and offer the Sacrifices of righteousneffe, and trust in the Lord this application of our Sacrifice to this Sacrifice is by our hearty repentance, and then shall the Sacrifice of Chrift Jefus be unto us a reconciliation and a propitiatory Sacrifice even to us that are penitent, for hee that mourneth and forroweth for his finnes, that repenteth from his heart of his former wickedneffe, shall be fure to have a part of this bleffed Sacrifice once offered for all upon the Croffe: And this is Paul's Sacrifice in the twelfth to the Romans and the first verse, offer up |