Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-04-04
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVISE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: angels"

ice in praise OF GOD and III nOnOf OF guest
whom they supposed to be man. But as
the fame rose higher and higher their
stranger guest stepped into the flame and by
one red leap assembled into the skies Then
they knew that he was an Angel Of the Lord.
1.-The angel did wondrously."
Two hundred and fOrty-eight times does
the Bible refer to the angels, yet | never
heard or read a sermon on Angelology. The
whole subject is relegated to the realm
mythical weird, spectral and unknown
Such adjournment is unscrl plural and
wicked OF their life their character, their
habits their actions their velOcities, the
Bible gives US full length portraits and why
this prolonged and absolute silence concern
ing them: Angelology is my theme.
There are two nations of angels, and they
are hostile to each other; the nation or good
angels and the nation of bad angels. or the
former | chiefly speak to-day. Their capital,
their headquarters, their grand rendezvous
is heaven. but their empire is the universe
They are a distinct race Of creatures No
human being can ever join their contrater-
nity The little child who in the Sabbath
school sings, II want to be all angel, will
never have her wish gratlfied. They are SUI
perhuman: but they are Of different grades
and ranks. not all on the same level, or the
same height. They have their superlOrs and
interiors and equals. | propose no guessing
on this subject, but take the Bible for my
only authority. Plato the philosopher
guessed and divided angels into super-celes-
fial celestial and sub-celestial. Dionysius, the
AreOpagite, guessed, and divided them into
three classes-the supreme, the middle anC
the last-and each of these into three other
classes making nine in all.
PhlO said that the angels were related h
God, the rays to the sun. Fulgentlus said
that they were composed of body and spirit.
Clement said they were lncOrpOreal Au-
gustine said that they had been in danger of
falling, but now are beyond being tempted.
But the only authority on this subject that
7 respect says they divided into Cheru-
BIN, Seraphim, Thrones Nominations, Prin
cipalities, Powers. Their commanderin.
chief is Michael Daniel called him Michael
St John called him Michael These superna
beings are more thoroughly organized than
any army that ever marched. They are
swifter than any cyclone that ever swept the
sea- They are more radiant than any morn
ing that ever came down the sky. They have
more to dc with your destiny and mine than
any being in the universe except God. May
the Angel of the New Covenant who is the
Lord Jesus, open our eyes, and touch cur
tongue, and rouse our soul, while we speak OF
their deathiessness, their intelligence, their
4lumhers their strength their achievements.
Yes deathless. They had a cradle, but
will never have a grave. The Lord remem-
bers when they were born, but no one shall
ewes see their eye extinguished, or their mo-
mentum slow up, or their existence term
mate The oldest of them has not a wrinkle,
or a decrepitude or a hindrance: young
after six thousand years at the close OF
their first hour. Christ said of the good in
heaven, Neither can they die any more, for
they are equal unto the angels" Yes, death
less are these wonderful creatures of whom |
speak They will See world after world go
out, but there shall be no fading Of their own
EriIIiance. Yea, after the last world has
taken its last flight they will be ready for the
widest circuit through immensely, taking
quadrilion of miles in one sweep as easy as a
Sl!1o los H1snn
sick. They are never exhausted They need
no sleep, for they are never tired At Gods
command they smote with death, in one
night, one hundred and eighty-five thousand
of SIENNA cherib's host, but no fatality can
smite them Awake, agile, multpotent
deathless immortal!
A further characteristic of these radiant
folk is intelligence The woman of TekOah
was right when she spoke to King David of
the wisdom of an angel. We take in what
little we know through eye and ear and nos
trll and touch, but those beings have no
physical encasement and hence they are all
senses A wall five feet thick is not solid to
them. Through it they go without disturb
ing flake Of mortar or crystal of sand. Knowl-
edge! 1t flashes on them. They take it in at
all points. They absorb it. They gather it
up without any Underwent. No need of
literature for them The letters of their
books are stars. The dashes of their books
are meteors. The words OF their books are
are galaxies. The pictures of their books are
sunrises, and sunsets, ard midnight auroras,
and the COnquerOr on ule white horse with
the moon under His feet, and seas of glass
mingled with fire. Their library is an open
universe. No need of telescope to see some
thing millions of miles away for instantly
they are there to Inspect and explore it. All
ASTRONOMERS, all geOlOgies, all bOtanies, all
PHILOSOPHERS as their feet. What an oppor-
Aunity for intelligence is theirs! What facili-
sies for knowing everything and knowing it
right away.
There is only one thing that puts them to
their wits end, and the Bible says they have
10 study that. They have been studying it
all through the ages, and yet warrant they
have not fully grasped 1.-THE wonders of Re-
demptiOn. These wonders are so high, so
deep. SO grand, SO stupendous SO magnificent,
that even the Intelligence OF angelhOo1 is con-
founded before it. The anOstle says (Which
things the angels desire to look into.' That
rs subject that excites inquisitiveness on
their part That is n theme that strains their
faculties to their utmost That is higher than
they can climb, and deeper than they can
dive. They have desire for something too
big for their comprehension. (Which things
the angels desire to look into" But that does
not dlscreiit their intelligence. No one but
GOD himself can fully understand the Won
derS OF redemption. If all heaven should
study 1t for fifty eternitieS they would get no
further than the A B c of that inexhaustihle
SUBJECT But nearly all other realms of
knowledge they nave ransacked and explored
aud compassed. No one but God can tell
them anything they do not know They have
read to the last word of the last line of the
last page Of the last volume of investigation.
And what delights me most is that all their
intelligence is to De at our disposal and conf
ing into their presence, they will tell US in
five minutes more than we can learn by one
hundred years of earthly surmising.
A further characteristic of these i'm
mortals is their velocity. This the Bible