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he takes possession of that throne of glory to which he is entitled.

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XXIV. It was also a remarkable circumstance attending the ascension of Jesus, that a cloud received him,f and removed him from the sight of the disciples, while they looked stedfastly towards heaven. It is ascribed to JEHOVAH, who is very great, as an evidence of his divine glory and majesty, that he "makes the clouds "his chariots, and walketh upon the wings of the "wind." Christ's being conveyed in a cloud, therefore, when he ascended to heaven, is a proof of his Divine majesty. Every where," says Bede," the "creature approves itself obedient to its Creator. At "his birth, the stars indicate the place of his nativity; "the clouds overshadow him at his sufferings; they "receive him at his ascension; they will attend him "at his coming to judgment." So, too, whilst the saints are engaged in the most delightful contempla tion, God is often pleased to draw over them a cloud, which serves, like a veil, to intercept their views of the heavenly glory; for in this world "we walk by faith, "not by sight." He gave also a salutary check to human curiosity, when he permitted the disciples to see Jesus ascending, but not to see him enter into heaven. It was proper they should see a part, that unbelief might have no pretence. It would have been improper for them to see all, that faith might have its due exercise in admiring, not in boldly surveying, the hidden glories of the upper sanctuary.

XXV. The CERTAINTY of the ascension of Christ is clearly confirmed by the following testimonies. 1st, By

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the testimony of the APOSTLES; whose number is competent, whose integrity bids defiance to calumny, and whose faith was supported by the indubitable evidence of their senses; to which, as to this and similar matters, they every where appeal. i

XXVI. 2dly, By the testimony of HOLY ANGELS; who declare that Jesus was, in reality, seen by the Apostles, when he ascended; and also that he is one day to come again from heaven in the same manner in which they saw him ascend.j

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XXVII. 3dly, By the testimony of STEPHEN; who, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly "into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus "standing on the right hand of God;"-and who, in the immediate prospect of death, informed his enemies, with a joyful countenance, of what he saw. It is It is perfectly credible, that Stephen saw with his bodily eyes, something of the same kind with that which was often seen in mental visions by the Prophets, and in particular, by John in the Apocalypse; who saw the throne, and Him that sat on it, and a Lamb as it had been slain. Stephen saw "the heavens opened;" as Christ also did at his baptism. m This signifies at least the removal of impediments that obstructed the sight, and that would otherwise have rendered it impossible for him to penetrate to the things which are transacted in heaven. That God, who makes the seeing and the blind, who allots to individuals the different measures in which they possess the sense of sight, and who has taught mankind the art by which they can present to

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their view distant objects as if they were near, and small ones as if they were great, and bring to their eyes, by means of optical tubes, objects which otherwise are beyond the sphere of their vision,-that God could, with the utmost facility, miraculously strengthen the eye-sight of Stephen, so that, notwithstanding the almost unmeasurable distance intervening, he might see the objects exhibited in heaven.

XXVIII. 4thly, By the testimony of PAUL, who more than once affirms that he saw the Lord; that is, saw him in the same manner in which he was seen by Stephen. A great light from heaven having suddenly surrounded him, he turned his eyes to the quarter whence so extraordinary a brightness shone, and there he "saw that Just One, and heard the voice of his "mouth." We are not to imagine, that, on Paul's account, Christ left the highest heavens, and descended to the aerial regions adjacent to the earth; for we are assured that "the heavens must receive him until the "times of the restitution of all things." Nor are we to suppose that an Angel appeared to Paul, representing the person and sustaining the character of Christ; for it is unlawful for an Angel, or any creature, to usurp the place and prerogatives of God. things, therefore, must have happened. saw Christ in a symbol, as the Israelites saw God in Sinai; or by a miraculous elevation of the power of vision, he beheld Christ's very body in heaven. That the last of these was his privilege, he seems indeed to intimate, when he adds himself to the number of those who saw Christ alive after his death, that is, saw him

n 1 Cor. ix. 1. xv. 8.

• Acts ix. 3, 4, 5, 17. xxii. 6-9, 14.

P Acts iii. 21.

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actually in the body, and not merely in a symbol. Without doubt, too, he saw him in heaven, when, being caught up to paradise, he "heard unspeakable “ words,”—words of greater force and energy than the language of mortals is able to express, and which, being reserved for the world to come, are proper to be heard only in paradise :-" Which it is not lawful for "a man to utter;" that is, which a mere man is not permitted to speak,-words so superlatively excellent, that whoever uttered them must be recognised as greater than man. We ought not, without necessity, to admit a tautology in the Apostle's language: and in order to avoid it, the first member of the clause must be referred to the person who hears, to whom the words were "unspeakable ;" and the last, to the person who speaks, whose language was so transcendantly excellent, that it were impossible for any but God to speak in such a style.40

XXIX. 5thly, By the testimony of JOHN, Rev. xii. 1, 2, 5." And there appeared a great wonder," a remarkable emblem of the most important and interesting things." In heaven," whence John received all his revelations, and whither he was required to go up in order to behold them." A woman," that is, the Old Testament Church.-" Clothed with the sun;" not like that other woman, who was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls; but irradiated by the bright beams of divine truth, proceeding from the Son of God, who is "the true light," and "the same yesterday, and to

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'day, and for ever.""" And the moon under her feet," nobly trampling on earthly, fading, and transitory objects; for the moon, being the lowest of the planets, and subject to continual variations, is a fit image of the instability of the world." And upon "her head a crown of twelve stars." The Church is a Queen, and the daughter of the King; and hence she wears a crown. The twelve stars are the patriarchs, the prophets, and the saints of the twelve tribes. Previously to the birth of Christ, the twelve tribes were united in one commonwealth, and all that were genuine saints of each of the tribes of old, contributed to the beauty and splendour of the Church.-" And she "being with child," by virtue of the promises of God regarding the Messiah, who was to be born amongst the people of Israel,-" cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." The travailing in birth, denotes the hope and expectation of believers of those times. The crying, relates to the fervent prayers, by which they earnestly solicited the Messiah's coming. The pain, signifies the oppression sustained by the Church, partly from Herod, that determined the Messiah's kingdom, partly from the Pharisees and Scribes, who loaded the Church with heavy burdens, whilst they darkened and almost exploded the doctrine of the righteousness and grace of Christ;-which served to inflame the desire of the Messiah in the breasts of the faithful.-" And she brought forth a "man-child." Christ, that strong and mighty Conqueror, was born at last, according to the hope and expectation of believers" Who was to rule all nations

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