The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1899-11-01
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ness on their part. That is theme that
strains their faculties to the utmost.
Ihat is higher than they can climb, deep
er than they can dive. They have de-
sire for something too big for their COM
prehenslon. (which things the angels
desire to look into" But that does not
discredit their intelligence. No one but
God himself can fully understand the
wonders of redemption II all heaven
should study it for fifty centuries. they
would get no further than the A E G of
that inexhaustible subject. But nearly
all other realms of knowledge they have
ransacked and explored and comprised.
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 be at our disposal,
and. coming into their presence, they will
tell us III five minutes more than we can
learn by 400 years Of earthly surmising
Without Limitation.
A further characteristic of these inn
mortats is their velocity. This the Bible
puts sometimes under the figure of wings,
garment, sometimes under the figure of
naked feet. AS these superhumans are
without bodies, these expressions are of
course figurative and mean swiftness.
The Bible tells lis that Daniel was pray
ing and Gabriel flew from heaven and
touched him before he got up from his
knees. How far. then did the angel
Gabriel have to fly in those moments of
Daniei's prayer? Heaven is thought to
be the center of the universe. Our sun
and its planets only the rim of the wheel
of worlds. In a moment the angel Ga
brlel flew from that center to this peri
phery. Jesus told Peter he could instant
" have 10000 angels present ii he called
for them. What foot OF antelope or wing
of albatross could equal that velocity?
Law of grayitation, which grips all
things else, has no Influence upon angelic
momentum. Universities before them
open and shut like fan. That they are
here is no reason why they should not
be quintillion Of miles hence the next
minute. Our bodies hinder us, but our
minds can circle the earth in 4 minute
Angelic beings are bGdiless and have no
limitation. God may with his finger point
down to some world in trouble on the
outmost limits of creation, and instantly
an angelic cChort is there to help it. or
some celestial may be standing at the
farthermost outpost of immensely. and
God may say Come and instantly it
is in his bosom. Abraham, Elijah, Ha-
gar, Joshua, Gideon, Manoah. Paul, ST.
John, could tell of their unhindered To-
comotion. The red feet of summer light
ing are slow compared with their hegiras
This doubles up and congresses infini-
tudes into infnitesmals. This puts all
the astronomical heavens into space
like the balls of child's rattle This
mingles into one the here and the there,
the now and the then, the beyond and the
yonder.
Angels Every where.
Another remark | have to make con-
corning 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 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 thousand. Now, according to
my calculation, ten thousand times ten
thousand are 100000. But these are
only the angels in one place. David
counted 10000 of them rolling down the
sky in chariots. When God came away
from the riyen rocks of Mount Sinai, the
Bible says be had the companionship of
10000 angels. | think they are in ey-
cry 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 out
number ransomed spirits in glory. When
Abraham had his knife uplifted to slay
Isaac, it was an angel who arrested the
stroke, crying, Abraham, Abraham" 1t
was stairway of angels that Jacob saw
while pillowed in the wilderness. We are
told an angel led the hosts Of Israelites
out Of Egyptian serfdom. 1t was an an
gel that showed Hagar the fountain
where she filled the bottle for the lad. It
was an angel that took Lot out of doom
ed Sodom. 1t was an angel that shut up
the mouth of the hungry monsters when
Daniel was thrown into the caverns. 1t.
was an angel that fed Elijah under the
nounced to Mary the approaching nativ-
ity. 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. 1t
was an angel that stirred the pool Of 81
loan, where the sick were healed. 1t
was an angel that John saw flying
through the midst of heaven, and an an
gel with foot planted on the sea, and
an angel that opened the book, and an
angel that sounded the trumpet, and an
angel that poured out the walls, and an
angel standing in the sun. 1t 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 re-
vealed from heaven with mighty angels.
Oh, the numbers and the might and the
glory Of these supernals-feets Of them,
squadrons Of them, host beyond host,
rank above rank, millions on millions,
and all on our side if we will have them!
Comforters of Humanity