Balaam, when on his journey from Pethor to Moab; whither he was proceeding at the request of king Balak, to curse the children of Israel: "Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; now therefore if it displease thee, I will get me back again. And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak."

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To form any very accurate idea respecting the nature or the persons, if such for want of a better expression might be used, of these blessed inhabitants of heaven, would, as I have already suggested, be at variance with our present state of mortality and imperfection. All that we can possibly know concerning them, is to be obtained from a few hints which are scattered throughout the Inspired Volume. These inform us that, in the early ages of the world, the angels formed a species of communication between heaven and earth, which has since been rendered more effective and more universal, by means of the great mediator between God and man, the Son of the eternal Jehovah; the second person of the mysterious and immortal Trinity, who having left his abode in the heavens, descended upon the earth, where he took upon him our mortal nature; which having rendered immortal, he has since ascended to the right hand of God. The question, therefore, might naturally arise; of what description were these heavenly beings, who are occasionally Numbers, xxii. 34, 35.

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mentioned in the Scriptures, and how, or in what did they communicate with and make themselves visible to mortals? The question may, indeed, be asked, but to answer it fully and satisfactorily would be impossible. Hereafter, without doubt, it will be the privilege of those who shall have done good, to form an acquaintance with myriads of perfect and immortal beings of whom our limited comprehension can, at present, only impart to us the most faint and ineffectual conception. In reply to the above question, however, it may be observed, that angels presented themselves to mortals either in visions or in the actual and substantial form of mortals themselves. The history of Jacob supplies us with an instance of the former kind, as does that of his grandfather Abraham of the latter. "Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it." Of the latter description there is an instance in an occurrence which happened to Abraham, when "the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre," as " he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day." On this occasion the patriarch"lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three Genesis, xxviii. 10.

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men stood by him." These three men may doubtless be regarded as an emblem of the eternal Trinity, and they are so identified with the Lord God, as to authorize us in regarding them as his angels, as they are described in the summary of contents at the head of the chapter in which this event is recorded. And that they were actually clothed in the garb of mortals, at least as far as mortal eyes could discover, is evident from the account of the hospitality which Abraham extended towards them. This account is thus given in the eighteenth chapter of the book of Genesis: "Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on; for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat."

It may, likewise, be observed, that the prophets of the Old Testament, inasmuch as it was their business to proclaim the will of God to men, were likewise a species of angels. Though these were mortals like ourselves, and had their abode on the

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earth, their frequent intercourse with heaven compels us, to some extent, to identify them with those blessed spirits who actually resided there, and who only occasionally visited the earth. In corroboration of this remark, I shall recite the introduction of St. Paul's epistle to the Hebrews, in which the terms prophet and angel are so identified and so interwoven with each other by its inspired author, as to certify us of the close relationship, and the similarity of office which exists between the highest order of mortals and the sanctified spirits in heaven : God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son." Thus much it is evident that St. Paul spake concerning the prophets, whom he afterwards terms "angels," who are described as inferior to Christ the Son of the Eternal. In the sequel, however, as far as the last verse but one in the chapter, it will appear that the comparison had no

farther reference to the prophets, but to the angels, according to the ordinary acceptation of the term. St. Paul had already declared that our Lord was superior to the prophets, he continues to say that he was superior to a still higher order of beings: "And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him;" the explanation of which prophetic quotation is given by St. Luke, who says, that when an angel announced the birth of our Saviour to the Israelitish shepherds, "suddenly there was with" him "a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire: but unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ?"

Thus, brethren, do we perceive that the sanctified spirits in heaven, not only proclaim the will of God with authority, but that they likewise take a lively and affectionate interest in the affairs of men; and that, though at present a superior race, yet in the nature of their office are they closely identified with mortals; to wit, the prophets and other devout servants of the Most High. And such is clearly the notion entertained by our church, as is made clear