Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-08-05
SPIRITS,
The Bible and the World Of Spirits
Who and What are the Good Angels.
Substance Of n sermon Delivered in the
Second Presby terian Church, by
the Pastor.

Heb. 7: "A. Are they not al aiintsfeTfBg spfr
It's, sent forth to minister for Them that shall o.
ne heirs Of Sdiudriols
Upon CHANGING the eye e this chap
ter we at once discover that the Apostle
designs to establish and define the su,
perhuman glory of Christ. And as hi
Is writing especially to converts of the
Hebrew race, it is natural for him t.
appeal TO the Old Testament, which
both Jew and Christian acknowl.
edged, as they still continue tC
do, to be of Divine authority,
These Hebrew converts were then as.
sailed by strong temptation to turn back
from Christianity to Judaism-persecu-
cution, old ties, and the attractions of q
gorgeous ritual, constituted the tempta-
ton. One Of the chief points in Pauls
argument consists in the comparison OF
the position occupied by Christ with that
of a glorious order of intelligences, call
ed angels.
With the general scope of this argu-
ment we shall have nothing to do at
present. But, combining our attention to
the thought suggested in the text, two
questions are pressed upon u attention.
~ Who are these angels? and (2) What
do they do for men?
/. In reply to the first question, let
Us hear the opinion which has generally
been held by the great body of those
who receive the Bible as a revelation
from God, learnedand unlearned, RO-
manist and Protestant alike. This al
most universal belief may be expressed
in words to this effect. The angels are a
distinct
ORDER OF INTELLIGENT CREATURES,
possessed by creation of higher qualities
than men; that they are pure spirits,
having power, like our own souls,
to think, and to act upon mind as well
as matter; but unembOdied spirits, hav-
ing no organic connection with matter
similar to our bodies; that they were
each created by a several act Of God
without any distinction Of sex, and
consequently without the marriage tie
or the parental relation; that their
proper home is Heaven, or that part Of
the universe where the OmnipTesent
God is revealed through peculiar SYM
bOls, and where the glorified humanity
of Christ abides; and lastly, that Scrip
ture intimates without infinitely speci-
flying that there are distinctions in rank.
if not in being also, among these angels,
who are spoken Of as angel and arch
angel, cherubim and seraphim, dOmin-
ions, municipalities and powers.
.. So much for the substance of that
DOCTRINE Or ANGELS,
which has generally gained the consent
Of Christians. 1t is open to free discus
sion, as is every other article of relig-
iOus belief. In itself it possesses
no absolute authority, for the
Bible is the ultimate standard
by which all opinions are to
to be tried. It is not to be wondered at
then by those who know human nature
in other respects that men, even good
men, should depart from this generally
received doctrine. God has nowhere
promised to work the perpetual miracle
of making all time-pieces run together
or all human minds think alike. "TO
the law and TO the testimony is the
only appeal. If they speak not ac-
cording to these there is no truth in
them"
Let me mention a few of the discord-
ant opinions. for time and patience
would utterly fail were l to burden your
memories with all the fables of the Rab-
bis who have accurately mapped out in
their own fancies the various depart
ments in the
GOVERNMENT OF HEAVEN,
or the vagaries of the poets who have
amused themselves by silly stories of
the Gloves of the angels"
First. One Of the opinions to which [
allude is the assertion that angels are
not pure spirits, but have a material or
g~aniZatiOn similar to thehuman BODY,
BUT more refined and ETHEREAL.
Two arguments for attributing rarified
material bodies TO the angels have been
advanced. One of them is the fact of
having appeared in such a way
rs to be detected by the senses, and the
other claims to be that, without a body
Of some sort, they could have no control
matter. But the reply is that APP
recorded in the Bible belong to
The age of miracles, and were the results
Of Divine agency. For how can we
account for our not detecting
them now, while busted about their min
Of love to this world? 1t has been
suggested that the s~infulness of Christians
nowadays can account for the inability
which is deplored. No doubt, Christians
are far enough from being what they
be, and no doubt they lose many
privileges thereby; but 1 cannot believe,
with s%criptural evidence, that
SEEING ANGELS
IS one Of them. Neither the Bible nor
experience ascribes a keener physical
sight to good men. Those among
US who claim to enjoy daily
lision of these spirits do not seem to be
much better than others deprived of the
privilege. And, lastly, there can be no
reasonable doubt that many Christians
Of the present day are at least a. much
sanctiied as Balaam, who loved the
wages of unrighteousness. And yet he
saw angels, as did also the stupid beast
he was riding. No blunder can
be more absurd or more ~inexcusable
than to overlook the miraculous in
scripture.
The other argument, if such it may
be termed, for the necessity of angelic
is simply this: "Nothing but
matter can act upon matter" This is
metaphysics, and very poor metaphysics
At that, and yet it has a plausible sound
% those who do not think. Logically
however, this plausible maxim
ienies the possibility of the human
spirit acting upon its material body, as
we'll as a spiritual God acting upon a
material universe. The Bible, not being
4 treatise upon
PHILOSOPHY,
Ices not discuss metaphysical ques-
1t does, however, imply,
what the best philosophy has al
taught, the wide difference
between the two orders of substances,
)Ody and spirit. To the list of spiritual
essences belong the human soul, angels
and God. Yet these are not the same
'ort Of spirits. 'The Egyptians are
men and not God, and their horses are
iesh, not spirit" The chasm between
)Ody and spirit must be crossed some
low, whether we can explain it or not.
The Divine Spirit acts freely upon mat
er without a body. The human soul,
its present life, acts first upon its
oddly organism, and then through it
IpOn the material world. Who is able
o affirm that ali finite spirits must fol-
Ow the human method? How human
pirits control their material organisms,
low angelic spirits may act upon mat
er, how the infinite spirit may act upon
mind or matter, and how matter NAV
upon matter are questions without
answers. The fact of mutual action
nd reaction is intuitively known and
in every sentence which we
liter, but the DaoduS operoRdi is equally
unknown in all.
Second-The second departure from
he generally received doctrine as to
THE ANGELS,
is said, originated with the eccentric
Ireamer Swedenborg. 1t has been used
0 give something like a scriptural sane
ion TO certain views of the "Spiritists,D
y believers in modern necromancy.
The belief to which / allude is that the
of whom the scriptures tell us
re in fact the souls of the dead, sent
Jack into this world upon missions to
hose whom they loved on earth. The
uggestion appeels to natural instincts,
md like all novelties impresses a GER
ain class of minds. / see no native
mpOssibility in it. God certainly
if he pleased, employ such agents
q fha cnralu &c Ahn Iual D. ~ -