The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-04-10
TALMAGE ON ANGELS,
A SERMON RELATING TO SUPERNAL
EXISTENCE

Writ.
DIR. Talmage on Sunday announced
as his text Judges xiii, 10: "And
the angel did wondrously." Follow
ing is report OF his sermon:
Firet built on rock. Manoah
end his wife had there kiudled the
flames for sacrifice in the praise of
God, ana in honor of guest whom
they 4zaDosod to be a man. But as
the ANDa0 rose up higher and higher
their 1tWanger guest stopped into tho
flame and by one red leap assembled
into the skies. Then they knew that
he WAS on Angel Of the Lord. "The
angel did wondrously.'
Two hundred and forty-cight times
does the Bible refer to the angels,
yet L never heard or read IL sermon
on angelology. The whole subject
Is relegated to the realm mythical,
weird, spectral and unknown. Such
adjournment is mscriptrral and
wicked. OF their life, their charac-
ter, then habits, their actions, their
velocities, the Bible gives us full
length portraits, and why this pro
longed and absolute silence concern
ing them? Angelology is my theme
There are are two nations Ofangcls,
And they are hostile to each other;
the nation of good angels and the ma
tion of bad angels. OF the former I
chiefly speak today. Their capital,
and their headquarters, their grand
rendezvous, is heaven, but their en-,
pire is the universe. They arc u dis
tinct race of creatures. No human
being can ever join their confratcrni-
ty. The little child who in the Sab
bath school sings, Il want to be an
angel, will never have her wish graf
1tied. They are superhunan; but
they are Of different grades and
ranks, not at all on the same level, or
the same height. They have their
supcriorS and interiors and equals
propose no guessing on this subject,
but take the Bible for my only au-
thority. Plato, the philosopher,
guessed. and divided the angels into
super celestial, celestial and sub-cc-
lcStial. DyonySius the Arcopagitc,
guessed, and divided them into three
claSScs-thc suprcmc,thc middle and
the last--and each of these into three
other classes, making nine in all
Philo said that the angels were re
lated to God, as the rays to the sun.
Fulgentius said that they were com
posed of body and spirit. Clement
said they were incorporcal Angus
tine said that they had been in dan
ger of falling, but now they aro be
yond being tempted. But tho only
authority on this subject that | re
spect says they arc divided into cher
ublm, seraphlm, thrones, domina
tons, prlncipalities, powers. Their
cOmmandcr-in- chdcf is Michael Dan
icl called him Michael, st. John call
cd him Michcul These supcrnal be-
mgs 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 thnn any morning that
ever came down the sky. They have
more to DO with your destiny and
mine than any being in the universe
except God. May the Angel of the
New Covenant, who is the Lord Jc-
tongue, and rouse our soul, while we
speak Of their dcathlcsSncss, their III
telligcncc, their numbers. their
strength, their achievements.
Yes, dcathlcsS. They had II cradle,
but will never have grave. The
Lord remembers when they were
born, but no one shall ever see their
eye cXtinguishcd, or thcirmomcntum
slow up, or this existence terminate.
Ihe oldest OF them have not wrin-
kle, or dccreptitudc, or Il hinthuncc;
as young after sis thousand years rs
ut the close of the first hour. Christ
sad OF the good in heaven, "Ncithcr
can they die any moro. for they are
equal unto the angels" Yes, DEATH
less are these wonderful creatures of
whom L speak. They will see world
after world go out, but there shall be
no fading of their own brilliancc.
Yea, after the last world has taken
itslast flight they will be ready for
the widest circuit through immcnSity,
taking quadrillion of miles ut one
sweep rs easy as n pigeon circles a
dovccot. They are ncvcrsick. They
are never exhausted. They need no
sleep, for they are never tired. At
Gods command they smotc with
death, in one night, one hundred and
eighty-tivo thousand of Scnnachcrib's
host, but no fatality can smitc them.
Awake, agile, multipotcnt, dcnthloss.
immortal! A further characteristic
of these radiant folk is intelligence.
The woman of Tckoah was right
when she spoke to King David of the
wisdom of an angel.
There is only one thing that puts
them to their wits end, and the Bible
says they have to study that. They
have been studying it all through the |
ages, and yet | warrant they have not
fully graspcd at the wonders of re-
demption These wonders are SO |
high, so q rp, SO grand, 50 stupcn-
dous, somagniiicent that even the in
telllgencc Of angclhood is scOnfoundcd
before it. The apostle says, (which
things the angels desire tolook into"
That is a subject that cxcitcs inouisi-
tIYcness on their part. That is a
theme that strains their faculties to
bhe utmost. That is higher than
They can climb, and deopcrthan they
can dive. They have desire for
too BIG for tboir cOn,,ro