Angels

“ While, with simple innocence and humble piety, we meditate upon them, in common with the whole contents of the inspired writings, angels become our attendant ministering friends, the sweet companions of our thoughts,—infuse into them the chastening ray of divine intelligence, which springs direct from the sun of Heaven,—the sun of suns, and resplendent orb of everlasting day. ”

“ Sweet emotions, smiles and tears,
Lived amid her numbers;
Let their tender memory
Sanctify her slumbers.
Angels claim the angel one;
Fling the palm above her;
Too late, with a fond regret,
We find how much we love her. ”

“ And God is now reveal'd to mortal sight!
Oh, come ye, and sing praises to the Lord!
And hark ! the angels through the lofty sky
Their praises to his name afford;
All glory they ascribe to God on high! ”

“ The angels, with their harps, on clouds, are now presented to the eyes, even of faith, in vain; they are still appreciated on canvas by an old master, but to become one of them is no longer the common aspiration. ”

“ To the disheartened angels falling around.
A pause.
The angel host withdraws
With empty boasts throughout its sullen files,
Suddenly God smiles. . . .
On the walls of heaven a tumble of light is caught. ”

“ Before he felt there was some one there!
He looked, and saw in the sun-lit air
An angel, floating on wings of white;
Nor did he wonder at such a sight:
For angels often had come to cheer
His soul, and he thought them always near.
Happy and humble, he bowed his head,
And listened, while thus the angel said:
"Go to the nearest town, and there,
To-morrow, will be in the market square
A mountebank, playing his tricks for show:
He is the man thou hast prayed to know;
His soul, as seen by the light divine,
Is neither better nor worse than thine. ”

“ UPSALL. Men sometimes, it is said, Entertain angels unawares. MERRY. Nice angels! Angels in broad-brimmed hats and russet cloaks, The color of the Devil's nutting-bag. They came Into the Meeting-house this afternoon More in the shape of devils than of angels. ”

“ We our hearts and voices raise,
Echoing Thy eternal praise.
One, inexplicably Three,
Three, in simplest Unity,
God, incline Thy gracious ear,
Us, Thy lisping creatures, hear!
Thee while man, the earth-born, sings,
Angels shrink within their wings ”

“ Angels shall witness the scene and hover over and thy soul shall be filled, thy tongue shall be loosed and the wisdom of heaven shall be given unto thee, and thou shalt be filled with the love of God. ”

“ The bushes burn with deity. Angels minister to him. There is no mortal pang, but it is allayed by God's fair voice as it whispers, in nature, still and small, it may be, but moving on the face of the deep, and bringing light out of darkness. ”

“ Angels He calls ye: be your strife
To lead on earth an Angel’s life.
Think not of rest; though dreams be sweet,
Start up, and ply your heavenward feet.
Is not God’s oath upon your head,
Ne’er to sink back on slothful bed,
Never again your loans untie,
Nor let your torches waste and die,
Till, when the shadows thickest fall,
Ye hear your Master’s midnight call?
Third Sunday in Advent.
What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? . . . But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. St. Matthew xi. 7, 9. ”

“ 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." ”

“ Oh, yes, in the sight of the angels, this world is full of interest. There is nothing here trivial and common-place. What prophecies of the future must they not read! What saints do they see, ripening for Heaven! What sinners rushing madly to Hell! ”

“ From all my experience which is now of many years, I can declare that the form of the angels is in every respect human; that they have faces, eyes, ears, breasts, arms, hands and feet; that they see, hear and converse with each other; in a word, that they lack nothing which belongs to man, except the material body. I have seen them in a light which exceeds by many degrees the noon-day light of the world ”

“ We behold angels bending the branches of the trees to give the sacred wanderers fruit,—angels everywhere ministering about the simple offices of life, pouring water to wash the infant, holding the napkin, playing around him. ”

“ The Angels see, the Angels rejoice, the Angels feed Thereon and live; Whereon they feed faileth not, nor is their food minished. In the thrones of glory, in the regions of the heavens, in the parts which are above the heavens, the Word is seen by the Angels, and is their Joy ”

“ When they reached the Gates of Heaven the Lord stopped short and, turning to the angels, said:
“You can no longer enter the heavenly abode. You are bringing tidings of the ways of the world which must not be heard by the other angels. And as you liked the world, you shall continue to look at the soul’s doings.” Thereupon the Lord changed the angels and made them into stars, which he scattered all over the heavens, and from there they smile joyfully and kindly upon the earth. ”

“ When the young soul of whom we now speak had reached a certain elevation in her flight toward God, she, too, met the sweet and austere company of those two strong-winged angels—Christian love and death. ”

“ Angels.
1 O, not when the death-prayer is said,
The life of life departs;
The body in the grave is laid,
Its beauty in our hearts.
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2 At holy midnight, voices sweet,
Like fragrance, fill the room;
And happy ghosts, with noiseless feet,
Come brightening through the gloom.
3 We know who sends the visions bright,
From whose dear side they came;
We veil our eyes before Thy light,
We bless our Father’s name!
4 This frame, O God, this feeble breath,
Thy hand may soon destroy ”

“ God makes His angels spirits—that is, winds— His ministers a flaming fire. So, heart! (Weak heart that fainted in thy loneliness) In the sweet breezes spirits are alive; God’s angels guide the thunder-clouds ”

“ When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts. ”

“ but those elect Angels, contented with their fame in Heaven, Seek not the praise of men: The other sort, In might though wonderous and in acts of war, Nor of renown less eager, yet by doom Cancelled from Heaven and sacred memory, Nameless in dark oblivion let them dwell. ”

“ Do you suppose that there are any angels here to-day? I would not wonder if there were ten times more angels here than people. We do not see them, but they are here watching us, and are anxious for our salvation. Will one out of twenty of those who are here to-day go through the gates into the celestial City? ”

“ The angels are so thoroughly honest, so perfectly free from all false modesty and pretended humility, and are so free from all formality and human ceremonies, that the presence of an angel is always elevating and refreshing. The Lord touches me consciously now through the medium of His Written Word... When I read the Scriptures my whole `spiritual body' can feel the touch and power of the Living Divine that flows through its words and sentences, just as plainly and unmistakably as my natural body can feel the touch and force of the wind. ”

“ Fourthly, if may deserve our search, Whether Spirits have any settled form or shape. Angels are commonly pictured like good plump cherry-cheek'd Lads, Which is no wonder, the boldness of the same Artists not sticking to picture God Almighty in the shape of an old man. ”

“ The group of angels over the Last Judgment, flinging their mighty limbs about, and those that surround the descending figure of Christ in the Conversion of St. Paul, may be referred to here as characteristic examples. The angels, blowing their trumpets, puff and strain like so many troopers. Surely this is not angelic: there may be power, great imaginative and artistic power, exhibited in the conception of form, but in the beings themselves there is more of effort than of power: serenity, tranquillity, beatitude, ethereal purity, spiritual grace, are out of the question. ”

“ Angels, by the providences they are employed in, sound God's alarms to the children of men and stir them up to hear his voice; for that is it that cries in the city and is heard and understood by the men of wisdom. ”

“ So be it unto me!
(Here the Devils shall again make a great noise, under the stage.)
III. THE ANGELS OF THE SEVEN PLANETS,
bearing the Star of Bethlehem.
The Angels. The Angels of the Planets Seven
Across the shining fields of heaven
The natal star we bring!
Dropping our sevenfold virtues down,
As priceless jewels in the crown
Of Christ, our new-born King.
Raphael. I am the Angel of the Sun,
Whose flaming wheels began to run
When God's almighty breath
Said to the darkness and the Night,
Let there be light! and there was light!
I bring the gift of Faith. ”

“ Lift the song that heaven rejoices,
Song to Bethlehem glory bringing:
Where the swathing-clothes enfold him,
King of angels, there behold him:
Come, with thoughts to heaven upsoaring;
Come, with lowly knees adoring ”

“ Fiery the Angels rose, & as they rose deep thunder roll'd
Around their shores: indignant burning with the fires of Orc
And Bostons Angel cried aloud as they flew thro' the dark night. ”

“ Q.—What are we to understand by the four Angels, spoken of in the 7th chap, and 1st verse of Revelations?
A.—We are to understand that they are four Angels sent forth from God, to whom is given power over the four parts of the earth, to save life and to destroy; these are they who have the everlasting Gospel to commit to every Nation, Kindred, Tongue, and People; having power to shut up the Heavens, to seal up unto life, or to cast down to the regions of darkness. ”

“ The Three Angel Messages, Ch. 14:6-11 These are distinct notes of divine warning, prelusive of the End, which are given by the mouth of three different angels, showing their separate and individual importance; they are three in number, the symbol of the spiritual, indicating the nature of their contents; and they are introduced as preparatory to the scenes of anticipated judgment in verses fourteen to twenty, and are premonitory of the End. The End is an ever-recurrent note that always finds place in the deeper strains of Apocalyptic literature. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Angels are spoken of as often seen by persons in the flesh; as conversing with and sustaining an intimate relation to them; as feeling a lively interest in humanity, and exerting an influence upon the condition of mortals. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The angels, viewed collectively, are called heaven; yet the essential constituent of heaven is the Divine of the Lord in the angels. In the degree that they receive His influent life, which is the life of unselfish love, and perceive and acknowledge that it is the Lord's life and not their own, they are blessed ”

“ There good angels thou shalt meet;
Hosts of God thou canst not see,
Watch thy steps and wait on thee.
Conder.
992 12s & 11s.
I make mention of you, etc.
Rom. 1:9.
When far from the hearts where our fondest thoughts center,
Denied for a time their loved presence to share;
In spirit we meet, when the closet we enter,
And hold sweet communion together in prayer!
2 O! fondly I think, as night’s curtains surround them,
The Shepherd of Israel tenderly keeps,
The angels of light are encamping around them,
They are watched by the eye that ne’er slumbers nor sleeps ”

“ Since the angels are spiritual, and each and all things of their bodies are held in their connection, form, and order, by atmospheres, it follows that those atmospheres also are spiritual; and they are spiritual because they originate from the spiritual sun, which is the first going forth of the Divine love and Divine wisdom of the Lord. ”

“ These angel children were the first point on which my mind rested, in its struggle to overcome its disappointment, and bring itself en rapport with the artist. In order fully to appreciate their spiritual beauty, one must have seen an assortment of those things called angels, which occur in the works of the old masters. Generally speaking, I know of nothing more calculated to moderate any undue eagerness to go to heaven than the common run of canvas angels. ”