IV.

ANGELIC MINISTRY.

WHEN treating of angelic ministry, we must bear in mind the sympathy which exists in their bosoms, for the angels know themselves to be by nature liable to fall, even as Adam was; and that the same electing love which raises the sinner, and sets him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, also preserves them from the guilt and condemnation of Satan and his crew. The rejoicing that takes place in heaven when a soul is brought to God in penitence and faith, is a proof of this; and we shall find, as we go on, many indications of tender sympathy on the part of the angelic ministers of God's mercy to man, expressed by so much condescending gentleness and delicate consideration, as we may truly call it, for the weaknesses of our poor fallen race, that when we divest an angel of his fabulous characteristics, and picture him to ourselves the exceedingly majestic, formidable creature that holy scripture describes, we may well feel our hearts melted into grateful affection for

these our glorious and highly-privileged "fellow-servants." May the Creator and Preserver alike of angels and of men, be with us to direct, to guard, and to bless our inquiries into the precious record of these angelic ministrations of mercy and love!

The first instance we meet with is that of Hagar in her desolation and distress, brought on herself by despising her mistress. A fugitive, alone, and friendless, she had reached a fountain of water, and there rested; probably unable to choose a path in that desert. "And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence comest thou? and whither wilt thou go?" She could not answer the latter part of the interrogatory, and to the former she gave a reply, that included no acknowledgment of her own misconduct ; I flee from the face of my mistress, Sarai." No reproof was given: not a word of reproach for her rebellious offence, but what was implied in the answer, proving how well the celestial speaker knew the actual circumstances of her case. "And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will

be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him: and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me; for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?" Gen. xvi. 7—13. There is a difficulty here that often meets us in similar circumstances: the speaker is an angel of the Lord: yet the latter part of his address is delivered as in the person of God himself; and Hagar evidently considered that the voice was that of the Lord. In some cases we know that He is spoken of under the term 'angel': thus in the appearance of the burning bush, where Moses says, "The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the middle of the bush," he presently adds, "when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” Exodus iii. 2-4. So that it may be supposed he first saw a glorious angel, and afterwards heard the voice of God himself. This seems at first to be confirmed by Stephen's narrative : he says, "There appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord, in a flame of fire, in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, I am the God of thy fathers; the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Acts vii. 30-32. Yet presently afterwards

he adds, "This is he that was in the church in the wilderness, with the angel which spoke to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the lively oracles to give unto us." verse 38. And, once more, he says, "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears..........who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it." verses 51-53, and the plural is again used by Paul: "If the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him ;......For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.” Heb. ii. 2—5.

By collating these passages we may learn caution in pronouncing that, when the Bible tells us an angel appeared or spoke, it was God who appeared or spoke; and we may also remember that the prophets very frequently make abrupt transitions from speaking in their own persons to speaking in the Lord's, without the usual preface, Thus saith the Lord: and we can readily suppose a created angel, fulfilling the office of an ambassador from the Most High, may do the same thing, delivering his Master's message in his Master's words; and so occasioning us to draw conclusions not warranted by the text. The instances in which we are undoubtedly to believe that by the term angel our Lord Jesus is

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meant, are Gen. xlviii. 15, 16 where Jacob says, "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads ;" and in that remarkable passage, Exod. xxiii. 20—22. “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him and obey his voice, provoke him not: for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries." This could hardly be spoken of any created being; and we know that the provocations of the Israelites in the wilderness are called by St. Paul, "tempting Christ." 1 Cor. x. 9. These cautions recorded, we may be satisfied to proceed, with the plain word of inspiration to guide us.

The three men who visited Abraham as he sat in the tent-door in the heat of the day, (Gen. xviii. 1.) are no where called angels; but there can be little doubt that two of them were the same who immediately afterwards went to Lot, in Sodom. This we know, that it is distinctly said of Abraham, in reference to this event, “The LORD appeared unto him ;" and that in the subsequent part of the narrative the LORD is represented as communing with him, and is repeatedly named. We will not intrude into what the Holy Spirit has so