Exposition of Ezekiel 1-5, Commentary on Ezechiel · Chapter 1 · Verse 8
VERS. 8.
They had the hands of a man under their wings.
SOme would make ſixteen hands to each living creature or face, but that's not likely; we finde no number ſet down, and therefore will be content to leave that undiſputed, whether two, four, eight or ſixteen; Hands they had, and hands of a man; and that under their wings on their four ſides.
The hand notes action: Eccleſ. 9.10. Whatſoever thy hand findeſt to do, do it with thy might: So Prov. 3.27.foreign. Ariſt. 3. de anima. The Philoſopher calls it the Inſtrument of Inſtruments, and ſaith, God hath given to man two ſpeciall Organs, to the body the hand, to the ſoul reaſon; and look what uſe reaſon is of to the ſoul, the hand is of the like uſe unto the body; yea, ſoul, reaſon, body, are all beholden to the hand for the ſervice that it doth, the great things in families, Cities, Kingdomes are done by the hand. Scalig. faith,Scal. exercit. 256. Nature hath armed man with three things, Reaſon, Speech, Hands. Reaſon is the hand of the underſtanding; Speech the hand of Reaſon, and Hand the Executreſſe of Speech that doth the commands; all things would be as dead, if the hand did not quicken them by the ſpirit and motion of art.
Obſer. 1. That Angels are fit for ſervice; they have hands, and hands are not made in vain; they are for work: where there are no hands, no power, ſtrength, or way to put forth that power, there is no fitneſſe for ſervice; but Angels have power and wayes to execute that power; they have hands, not for ornament, but for action.
2. That Angels do their works rationally, they have the hands of a man; look as men do manage the works of their hands judiciouſly and wiſely, ſo do Angels; there is nothing defective, ſuperfluous, perverſe, raſh, indiſcreet, or culpable in their miniſtrations, they know all circumſtances, and miſſe not in any: how wiſely did the Angel manage the buſineſſe with Mary? Luke 1.28. hee ſalutes her, ſhee feares; In the 30. verſe hee comforts her, and tels her, ſhee ſhould conceive, and have ſuch a ſon as never woman had; and when ſhe doubted of it, ver. 34. How ſhall this be, ſeeing I know not man? ver. 35. the Angel tels her, The Holy Ghoſt, &c. And farther, ſee the wiſdome of the Angel, he tels her, ver. 36. that her Couſin Elizabeth had conceived a ſon in her old age, and that was the ſixth monethmonth with her, and how ever thou thinkeſt it impoſſible for thee that art young without man to conceive, and for her is old with man to conceive, ver. 37. yet nothing is impoſſible with God.
3. That knowledge muſt iſſue into actions: Angels are full of eyes, and full of hands too, their actions are anſwerable to their knowledge, Rev. 4.8. They are full of eyes within, and they reſt not day and night; if they have no ſervice in the world beneath, they will be praiſing God above; they know much, and therefore act much. Knowledge without practice is little worth;Scire tuum nihil eſt n ſi te ſcire hoc ſciat alter, Perſ. if hid from others, it is as nothing, as not being, ſaith the Poet: Unleſſe Learning, Knowledge be improv'd, it's of no account: the Egyptians painted a tongue, and a hand under it, to ſhew that Knowledge and Speech is efficacious and good,Quid prodeſt foreign; Nazian. when that which is known and ſaid is done. What good doth the unpracticall ſpeech of Golden-tongued men? Let men be Chryſoſtomes, golden-headed and golden-mouthed, if they be not golden-handed too, it's nothing. God would not have us all eye, and reſt in knowledge, Joh. 13.17. If yee know theſe things, happy are yee if yee do them; and Rev. 22.14. Bleſſed are they that do his commands, that they may have right to the tree of life; happineſſe is intailed to doing, not knowing: and the Angels ſeem to finde greater happineſſe in doing Gods commands abroad in the world, then ſtanding alwayes in his preſence, Pſal. 103.20. They hearken unto the voyce of his word, if he bid them go they are gone, and account it their greateſt honour to be doing; they have hands, and would not be idle: knowledge without action, is a man without arms; it's wine ſhut up in the veſſell, that doth good to none, and will corrupt at laſt, and ma… the veſſell, ſuch knowledge will be like the poyſon that lies long in the body, and at laſt kills without remedy.
4. That Angels are great agents, and do much ſervice; they have hands on their foure ſides, at leaſt they had four hands, and they were able to do much, and great ſervice; ſome make more; and no hands of theirs is idle: one Angel can do more then thouſands of men, witneſſe that great ſlaughter in a night, and other things formerly ſpoken of. Briareus, a great doer is ſaid to have an hundred hands.
5. That God doth carry on his works here in the world by inviſible vertue, by hands under wings, by wayes and means not ſeen: There is vis plaſtica in the womb, which forms and perfects the birth, yet is not ſeen; and in the womb of the world God hath vires plaſticae, which form and perfect his works, yet not ſeen; much is done by the power of Angels, yet their power not ſeen. Mighty things are done by Gods Spirit in the Ordinances in the Aſſembly, in our hearts, and yet Gods Spirit is an inviſible agent: the Miniſter, the Word would not do it, unleſſe ſome inviſible vertue went along therewith, Zaeh. 4.2, 3. though none were found to powre oile into the Lamps, yet God had Olive trees were not thought of, nor ſeen: Zachary ſaw not, the Candleſtick, Bowle, Lamps, or two Olive trees, till the Angel awakened him, and made him ſee, that God had wayes to communicate vertue unto the Church he knew not of, and that though the Church were poor, low, not able to make a conſiderable Army to carry them to Jeruſalem, and plant them there, yet he had his Spirit to work it out for them; and therefore ſaith, Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, 2 Theſ. 2.8. The Lord ſhall conſume Antichriſt by the Spirit of his mouth: and ſo the two witneſſes, Fire goes out of their mouths and devours their adverſaries, Rev. 11.5. in an inviſible way, by a ſecret work: It was a hand under the wing that made peace betwixt Scotland and us, that gathered this Parliament, that hath, and doth keep it; it's inviſible vertue that hath made them unanimous and magnanimous; inviſible vertue that upholds this Kingdome, that reſtrains the remainder of wrath, that daunts the adverſary, that hath ſhaken the Prelacy, and brought forth the great things in our dayes; it's the hand under the wing that hath opened the hearts and purſes of many to further the great ſervice in hand.
6. That wee are to do Gods works without noiſe or notice of our ſelves; Angels that are agents for God, have their hands under their wings, their actions are ſeen, but not their hands. In Jud. 13. when Manoah Catechized the Angel, and asked him, What is thy name? v. 17. the Angel would not tell him, but ſaid, Why askeſt thou thus after my name, ſeeing it is ſecret? ver. 18. And you ſhall not finde the names of above two Angels in Scripture, Gabriel and Michael. Angels are jealous of Gods glory, and had rather conceale their hands and names, then God ſhould loſe the leaſt degree of his glory: for Manoah would therefore have known his name, that he might have honoured the Angel afterward; and we are very apt to look at the inſtrument, and neglect the principall: it's wiſdome to muffle up our ſelves and to hold forth God as much as may be Mat. 5.16. Let your light ſo ſhine before men, that they may ſee your good works, &c. he doth not ſay, that they may ſee you, but ſee your good works, and glorifie their father, not you: As Fiſhers, they would have the bait ſeen, not themſelves; they would catch the fiſh with their bait, not ſcare them with their ſight. Mat. 6.1. Take heed you do not your almes before men to be ſeen of them; almes muſt be given, but wee and our hands muſt be hid. Paul exhorts the Philippians, to hold forth the word of life, Phil. 2.16. not themſelves, but the Word of God which is the word of life.
7. That their operations and preſence are together; they are not in heaven, and ſo work on earth, or in one part of the world and work in another, but their hands are under their wings, whither their wings do carry them, there they act, and not elſewhere. The Angel came down to ſtir the water in the pool, Joh. 5.4. and cure the Party that ſtept in firſt; they have not that power to work at any diſtance.
8. That Angelicall vertue and nature is hid from us, it's too high for our capacity; their hands, their operative vertue we cannot diſcover, or ſee into: a little of the Angels is preſented to us by theſe faces, wings, feet, hands, &c. but the diſtinct knowledge of Angels as Angels is reſerv'd til wee are like the Angels in heaven; therefore wee muſt not intrude into thoſe things which we have not ſeen, vainly puft up with our fleſhly minds, but be content to be ignorant of their natures and many of their actions and excellencies, till we come to glory.
Now from their parts we come to their motions; and it's ſaid;