Angel of God

“ Quoth the other, ‘I am the Angel of Death.’ ‘Welcome to thee!’ replied the man. ‘Praised be God for thy coming! I am weary of awaiting thee; for indeed long hath been thine absence from him who longeth for thee.’ Quoth the angel, ‘If thou have any business, make an end of it.’ But the other answered, saying, ‘There is nothing urgent to me as the meeting with my Lord, to whom belong might and majesty!’ And the angel said, ‘How wouldst thou liefer have me take thy soul? ”

“ And I looked on high and I saw other angels whose countenance shone as the sun, their loins girded with golden girdles, having palms in their hands, and the sign of God, clothed with garments in which was written the name of the Son of God, filled moreover with all meekness and pity; and I asked the angels saying: Who are these, Lord, in so great beauty and pity? And the angel answered and said unto me: These are the angels of justice who are sent to lead up the souls of the just, in the hour of need, who believed that they had the Lord for their helper. ”

“ PARTICULARLY THE ANGEL GUARDIAN.
The holy angels are to be honoured with a particular devotion, on account of the superior dignity of the angelic nature, as well as the peculiar love which they bear to us, and the benefits they confer on us. For though in essence they are spirits, the noblest of all creatures, denizens of the court of God, and always beholding the face of the Father who is in heaven, yet, as St. Bernard says, this does not deprive us of their affectionate ministry; for while they inhabit the heavens, they do not despise the earth. ”

“ As you journey along the way of life, Christian reader, there is an angel of mercy guarding you by day and night. Naught in all the world can harm you. 'Their angels do always behold the face of God.' By this we understand that your guardian angel has constant access into the presence of God to bear him an intelligence concerning his little one under his charge. Glory be to God!
If you will but live holy and confide in God, he will guide you safely and triumphantly through this world and bring you in a ripe old age to an eternity of rest. ”

“ When an angel is appointed to perform a duty, to go to the earth, to preach the Gospel, or to do anything for the advancement of his Father's kingdom in any part of the great domain of heaven, the vision of that angel is opened to see and understand the magnitude of the work that is expected of him to perform, and the grand results which will grow out of it. That is the reason why the angels are of one heart and of one mind, in their faithfulness and obedience to the requirements of their Father and God. ”

“ I must ring the bell for my pupils. [He sees the Angel.] What are you? Who are you? I think I saw some that were like you in my dreams when I was a child—that bright thing, that dress that is the colour of embers! But I have done with dreams, I have done with dreams.
Angel. I am the Angel of the Most High God.
Wise M. Why have you come to me?
Angel. I have brought you a message.
Wise M. What message have you got for me?
Angel. You will die within the hour. You will die when the last grains have fallen in this glass. [She turns the hour-glass.] ”

“ And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. ”

“ A little while longer, and the living, breathing, speaking guardian angel was all his own—blessing his heart and house, filling his very soul with the purest love, the most profound gratitude to God, by whose infinite mercy he was thus almost miraculously saved. ”

“ But when it is question of dispensing the mysteries of God, then one Angel can teach another by clarifying, illumining, and perfecting. And in this sense the Angels do in some sort share in the active life as long as this world lasts, for they are occupied with ministering to the inferior creation. ”

“ By ‘angel’ is meant the power of the confirmations of God—that the candle of God’s confirming power shineth out from the lamp-niche of those souls—meaning that every one of those beings will be granted the most vehement confirming support. ”

“ Again, we see how incoherent is the whole section which contains the alleged prayer to angels: "Thou wast yesterday under a demon, to-day thou art under an angel: the angels minister to thy salvation; they are granted for the ministry of the Son of God, &c. All things are full of angels. ”

“ What a glorious conquest when an angel can snatch a soul from eternal perdition by his prayers and exertions! If the devil is active to gain us, would it not be against reason that the good angel would stand back and remain inactive? The last hours of a man, his judgment, and entrance into heaven, are the moments of the great and final duties of the guardian spirits; and if the soul be detained in purgatory, then the duty of the angel will be to offer the prayers of friends, relatives and of the Church to almighty God for the good of that soul. ”

“ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: ... And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:9-14) .
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: (Matt. 25:31) . ”

“ As we raise our eyes to the “angel” bosses of the groining and to the springers of the eastern bay we can say, “Therefore with the angels and archangels and all the company of Heaven we laud and magnify Thy glorious Name,” “To Thee all angels cry aloud,” for the Redeemer looks down upon us surrounded by the angels, and beneath the springer canopies there stand the figures of the archangels, “the seven spirits that are ever before the throne of God,” and of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom was given by the Early Church the sweet title of the Queen of the Angels, “Regina Angelorum.” ”

“ A question arises regarding the angels who dwell with us, serve us and protect us, whether their joys are equal to those of the angels in heaven, or whether they are diminished by the fact that they protect and serve us. No, they are certainly not; for the work of the angels is the will of God, and the will of God is the work of the angels; their service to us does not hinder their joy nor their working. If God told an angel to go to a tree and pluck caterpillars off it, the angel would be quite ready to do so, and it would be his happiness, if it were the will of God. ”

“ By these words is manifested that over every believing man an angel is set as a guardian, who shields him against the devil's machination, and supports him in holy virtues, as the psalmist said of every righteous man, "God hath commanded his angels concerning thee, that they may preserve thee, and lift thee in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." ”

“ Angel, or 'the angel of the covenant,' who is a transient, and possibly only apparent, manifestation in human form of Him who afterwards became flesh and dwelt among us, or some other supernatural embodiment, for that one purpose, of the divine presence,—any of these hypotheses is consistent with the intentionally reticent text. What it leaves unspoken, we shall wisely leave undetermined. God acts and speaks through 'the man.' That is all we can know or need. ”

“ And then secondly, if we should admit that the Angel should speak so unto him, the Angel in this case is not properly said to speak as a Person, but as an Instrument, so as a mans Tongue speaks, whereas yet a mans Soul or himself more properly speaks then the Tongue. Wherefore if God take so full possession of all the powers and faculties of an Angel, that for a time he loses the sense of his own personality, and becomes a mere passive Instrument of the Deity, being as it were the Eye or Mouth of God; what in this case he speaks is to be under stood of God, and not of himself. ”

“ Through the impression of these rationes upon the angelic mind, an angel knows other angels as well as corporeal creatures. Their natures also yield them some knowledge of God. The angelic nature is a mirror holding the divine similitude. ”

“ Nay, those Bodies that are not to be felt are the most perfect Bodies, as God and the Angels.
Fa. I have heard that God and Angels are Spirits, but we feel the Spirit.
Eu. The Holy Scriptures condescend to those low Expressions, because of the Dullness of Men, to signify a Mind pure from all Commerce of sensible Things.
Fa. Then what is the Difference between an Angel and a Mind? ”

“ Here, then, we have a little nucleus of men and women who say this angel has come in the 19th century, in the "dispensation of the fulness of times;" that he has brought with him and given to those who are preaching it, the "everlasting Gospel" as it existed in the ancient times; that in their practice they are in the habit of exercising faith in God, that they have repented of their sins; that they have been baptized in water for the promised remission; that they have laid aside their follies; that they want to free themselves from error and from all unrighteousness ”

“ The angels are spirits; God is also a Spirit, but there is an infinite difference between Almighty God and the highest angel. The angels have a sublime understanding, great wisdom, and much knowledge, but their understanding, wisdom, and knowledge are finite. Their wills are holy, and are much more powerful than ours, but they are not infinitely holy, nor are the angels almighty. ”

“ It is done by God's dispensation, that the great heavenly angel is the constant supporter of christian men on earth, and their intercessor in heaven with Almighty God, who liveth and reigneth to all eternity. ”

“ It was a loyal angel who, with an impulse of faith and love, envying the glory of confessors and martyrs, jealous and eager, like his God himself, to [248] emulate man in the beauty of sacrifice, had flung himself in the midst of the blasphemers, to brave them, to confound them, and to fall beneath their blows. ”

“ You see, if it could be proved that the Christian dead become angels, we could have all that we need, direct from God, about—to use the beautiful old phrase—the communion of saints. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is filled with angels who are at work on{91} earth. They hold sweet converse with Abraham in his tent. They are intrusted to save the soul of Lot. An angel hears the wail of Hagar. The beautiful feet of an angel bring the good tidings to maiden Mary. ”

“ The grave comportment of the angel and the modesty of his countenance corresponded to his veneration of the Virgin. Learn hence to act like an angel in your intercourse with men, but more especially so with God in prayer. The Virgin was pronounced by the angel to be full of grace, by excellence, and far superior to all other pure creatures. Reflect what you are full of, whether of grace and virtue, or not rather of pride, vanity and self-love. ”

“ Thus we learn that the terms "man" and "angel" are interchangeable in this respect: angels are men in the generic sense of the term. The Greek word translated "angel" and the Hebrew word translated "man" refer to both sexes.
Men and women become good angels, or " evil angels" (Psalm lxxviii. 49) , according to the character they have acquired during their abode in this world. Jesus, speaking of the children of God, in the resurrection, said "they are equal to the angels" (Luke xx. 36) ”

“ Christ in turn sends an angel to impart it to His servant John. Angels are the natural intermediaries between God and man. They often fulfilled this mission before the time of Christ. Today their ministry is less needed for this purpose since we have the unerring Church of Christ as our teacher and guide in all things pertaining to salvation. ”

“ By and by an obscure individual, a young man, rose up, and, in the midst of all Christendom, proclaimed the startling news that God had sent an angel to him; ”

“ And the Angel, their protector,
Gives before God's throne this notice
"To the right and left alternate
Have I ever cared to turn them,
That their fair and youthful members
Be not by the mould-damp injured; ”

“ 'I would rather be an angel than God!'
The voice of the speaker sounded clearly through the hawthorn tree. ”

“ The question naturally arises, how the angel who possesses these high predicates stands related to angels who elsewhere appear not representing the whole self- manifestation of God to his people, but discharging isolated commissions. The Biblical data for the solution of this question are very scanty. An essential distinction between the " angel of the Lord," who speaks in all things with full divine authority, and subordinate angels, is sought mainly in Gen. ”

“ The "Angel of the Lord," visible, sure,
Known for the angel by his presence pure
Whereon was written love, and peace, and grace,
With beauty passing mortal mien and face.
So when the Angels were no more to see,
Re-entering those gates of space,—whose key
[Pg 165] Love keeps on that side, and on this side death—
Each shepherd to the other whispering saith,
Lest he should miss some lingering symphonies
Of that departing music, "Let us rise
And go even now to Bethlehem, and spy
This which is come to pass, shewed graciously
By the Lord's angels." ”