THE MOTHER AN ANGEL. BY REV. L. L. HAMLINE. "How sweet to gaze upon thy placid brow, The bright redundance of thy silken hair, My beautiful first-born. Life seems more fair My own pet lamb. And then to train thee up MRS. SIGOURNEY. ANGEL is said to be the name of office. It is therefore applied to mortals. The Scriptures, as in the Apocalypse, denominate the ministers of Jesus, angels. The word aggelos signifies messenger, and may justly be applied to one employed by Providence in some holy service for the good and happiness of others. For these appointees of Jehovah are ministering messengers. The celestial angels are "spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation." In heaven the angels are supposed to constitute various hierarchies. The Jews held that the orders were four-those of Michael, of Gabriel, of Uriel, and of Raphael. Of terrestrial angels there are certainly several orders. The first, or highest order, is composed of Christ's faithful ministers. The second order is made up of the sanctified, or mature saints, who are ever moving on the errands of love, and ministering not only to each other's necessities, but also to the bodily or spiritual wants of any of God's creatures within their reach. The third order consists of the justified, or immature saints, who are employed in the same services as the former, but in a more humble sphere; such as is suited to the weakness of their infant states. These are evangelical hierarchies, which, for their office and ministry, are indebted to grace. But there are orders of nature as well as of grace. They grow out of our private and public relations. The monarch and the subordinate magistrate are "ministers of God" to the people, and may in their office be called angels. Leaders of armies and subalterns-the commanders of vessels, and all other unusurping authorities, who have a perpetual or temporary official superiority and care over a given number of persons, may, as to * See Revelations, chapter ii. |