Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-03-24

far, then, did the angel Gabriel have
to fly in those moments of Daniels
praver2 Heaven IS thought to be the
center of the universe. Our sun and
its planets only the rim of the wheel
of worlds. In moment the angel Ga
briel flew from that center to this pc
riphery Jesus told Peter he could in
stantly have sixty thousand angels
present if he called for them What
foot of antelope or wing of albatross
could equal that velocity? Law of
gravitation, which grips all things
else, has no influence upon angelic
momentum. Immensities before them
open and shut like fan. That they
are here is no reason why they
should not be a quintillion of miles
hence the next minute. Our bodies
hinder us but our minds can circle
the earth in a minute Angelic beings
are bodiless and have no limitation.
God may with his finger point down
to some world in trouble on the out
most limits of creation, and instantly
an angelic cOhOrt are there to help it.
Or some celestial may be standing at
the furtheImost outpost of immensely,
and God may say Gomez and in
stantly it is in his bosom. Abraham,
Elijah, Hagar, Joshua, Gideon, Ma
noah, Paul, st. John, could tell of
their unhindered locomotion. The red
feet of summer lightning are slow
compared with their hegiras. This
doubles up and congresses infnitudes
into infnitesimals This puts all the
astronomical heavens into a space like
the balls of child's rattle. This min
giles into one the Here and the There,
the Now and the Then, the Beyond and
the YOnder.
THEY ARE MULTITUDINOUS.
Another remark have to make con-
cerning these illustriOus immOrtals is
that they are multitudinOus. Their
census has never been taken and no
one but God knows how many they
are, but all the Bible accounts suggest
their immense numbers. Companies
of them, regiments of them, armies of
them, mountain tops haloed by them,
skies populous with them. John speaks
of angels and other beings round the
throne as ten thousand times ten thou
sand. Now, according to my calcula-
ton, ten thousand times ten thousand
are one hundred million. But these
are only the angels in one place. Da-
vid counted twenty thousand OF them
rolling down the sky in chariots.
When God came away from the riven
rocks of Mount Sinai, the Bible says
he had the companionship of ten thou
sand angels [ think they are in
every battle, in every eXigency, at
every birth, at every pillow, at
every hour, at every moment. The
earth full of them. The heavens full of
them. They Outnumber the human
race in this world They outnumber
ransomed spirits in glory. When
Abraham had his knife uplifted to
slay Isaac, it was an angel who arrest
ed the stroke, crying: Abraham
Abraham!' 1t was stairway of an
gels that Jacob saw while pillowed in
the wilderness. We are told an angel
led the hosts of Israelites out of Egyp-
tan serfdOm. It was an angel that
showed Hagar the fountain where she
filled the bottle for the lad. It was an
angel that took Lot out of doomed
Sodom Itwas an angel that shut up
the mouth of the hungry monsters
when Daniel was thrown into the cav
erns. 1t was an angel that fed Elijah
under thejuniper tree. 1t was an an
gel that announced to Mary the APP
preaching nativity. They were angels
that chanted when Christ was born.
1t was an angel that strengthened our
Saviour in his agony. 1t was an
angel that encouraged Paul in
the Mediterranean shipwreck 1t
was an angel that burst open
the prison, gate after gate, until
Peter was liberated It was an angel
that stirred the Pool of Sloan, where
the sick were healed. It was an angel
that John saw flying through the midst
of heaven, and an angel with foot
planted on the sea, and an angel that
opened the book, and an angel that
sounded the trumpet, and an angel
that thrust in the sickle, and an angel
that poured out the walls, and an angel
standing in the sun. It will be an
angel with uplifted hand, swearing
that Time shall be no longer. In the
great final harvest of the world the
reapers are the angels. Yea, the Lord
shall be revealed from heaven with
the might and the glory of these SUI
pernals! Fleets of them! Squadrons
of theml Host beyond hostI Rank
above rank! Millions on millions!
And all on our side if we will have
them.
OFFICES OF THESE SUPERNALS.
This leads me to speak of the offices
of these supernals. To defend, to
cheer, to rescue, to escort, to give vic
tory to the right, and overthrow the
wrong; that is their business. Just as
alert today and efficient as when in
Bible times they spread wing, or I'M
sheathed sword, or rocked down pen1-
tentiaries, or filled the mountains with
horses Of fire hitched to chariots of fire
and driven by reinsmen of fire. They
have turned your steps a hundred
times, and you knew it not. You were
on the way to do some wrong thing,
and they changed your course. They
brought some thought of Christian
parentage, or of loyalty to your own
home, and that arrested you. They
arranged that some one should meet
you at that crisis, and propose some
thing honorable and elevating, or they
took from your pocket some ticket to
evil amusement, a ticket that you
never found 1t was an angel of God,
and perhaps the very one that guided
you to this service, and that now
waits to report some holy impression
to be this morning made upon your
soul, tarrying with one foot upon
the doorstep of your immortal spirit,
and the other foot lifted for ascent into
the skies By some prayer detain him
until he can tell of a repentant and
ransomed soul! Or you were some
time borne down with trouble, be-
reavement, persecution, bankruptcy,
sickness and all manner of troubles
beating their discords in your heart
and life. You gave up; you said: II
cannot stand it any longer. I believe
[ will take my life. Where is the rail
train, or the deep wave, or the precl-
pice that will end this torment of
earthly existence?' But suddenly your
mind frightened. Courage came surg
ing into your heart like oceanic tides.
You said: ''God is on my side, and all
these universities he can make turn out
for my good" Suddenly you felt
peace, a deep peace, the peace Of God
that passeth all understanding. What
made the change? A sweet and mighty
and comforting angel of the Lord met
you. That was all.
WHAT AN INCENTIVE TO PURITY!
What an incentive to purity and
righteousness is this doctrine that we
are continually under angelic obser
vationl Eyes ever on you, so that the