N00620:100
Angelographia, or A discourse concerning the nature and power of the holy angels, and…
Angelographia, or A discourse concerning the nature and power of the holy angels, and the great benefit which the true fearers of God receive by their ministry: delivered in several sermons: : to which is added, a sermon concerning the sin and misery of the fallen angels: also, a disquisition concerning angelical-apparitions. / By Increase Mather, president of Harvard College, in Cambridge, and preacher of the Gospel at Boston, in New-England. ; [Two lines from Hebrews]Angelographia, or A discourse concerning the nature and power of the holy angels, and the great benefit which the true fearers of God receive by their ministry: delivered in several sermons: : to which is added, a sermon concerning the sin and misery of the fallen angels: also, a disquisition concerning angelical-apparitions. / By Increase Mather, praesident of Harvard Colledge, in Cambridge, and preacher of the Gospel at Boston, in New-England. ; [Two lines from Hebrews]
printed by B. Green & J. Allen for Samuel Phillips, 1696
A DISCOURSE Concerning the Power and Ministry of Holy Angels. › Doctrine 2 › Objections
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2. It is possible, that such as belong to God, may, (and too often they do) give way to Sin and Temptation, and so deprive themselves of the Protection of God, and His Angels. By Sinning against God, they provoke him to countermand and suspend the wonted Protection of His Holy Angels. For, their Ministration, and the Charge that they have to keep and guard us, doth run with this express limitation, that we shall keep our selves in the way, that God has bid us keep in Psal. 91.11. He shall give his Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. But if men go out of their way, then they go from under the Charge of those Holy Angels. When they sin against God, they go out of their way: when they hearken unto the Tempter, he will certainly lead them out of the way: when they sin against God, they Run away out of the Hands of Holy Angels, and do thereby put themselves into the Hands of Evil Angels; they deprive themselves of Divine, and consequently of Angel Protection. We have an awful instance concerning this, in 1 King. 13.22, 24. You read there of a man of God, that was sent unto Jeroboam: and the Lord commanded ⟨p. 56⟩him, that he should neither eat nor drink, till he returned home to his own House again. As he was returning, an old lying Prophet came to him, desiring him to turn in to his house, to eat and drink there. No (saith the man of God) I may not do so: for, God hath charged me, that I should not. The Lying Prophet replied, I am a Prophet as well as thou, and an Angel hath spoken to me, and told me, that thou must come into my house. The poor man of God was deceived, and did so, and the issue was, He never lived to come Home; but a Lion met him by the way, and killed him. This was, because he went out of God's way, and so from under God's Protection. It is indeed, a blessed truth, that God will not utterly depart from any of his Faithful Servants; he will not utterly forsake them; for so his Covenant is, Heb. 13.5. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Nevertheless, he may for a time, and he may in a great measure forsake them, in case they sin against him: As it was with Sampson, though he did not apprehend it at the first: