The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 46

"We at his feet shall fall, Join in the everlasting song, And orown him Lord of all." O.N. Vere. 4-14.-The greatness of the angels revealing the greatneu of the Inrd. Our ideas with regard to the angels are mostly vague, or poetic, or formal, never evoking holy thought or inspiring praise, or breathing!on our soul'.an hour's calm, or strengthening us to strike a blow at sin. We think there is nothing practical about the doctrine of angels, and so we pass it by. We have Christ, we say; we do not need the angels; they who have the king overlook the courtiers. Yet a considerable portion of Scripture is occupied with instruction concerning them. So we conclude there is great spiritual worth in the Bible doctrine of angels, if we understand it right. What this is we may gather from the purpose of the passage before us. To discover the reason for which the writer here dwells on it at length is to have the key to the question-What benefit can this doctrine afford to our spiritual life? The writer's aim is to show that the new revelation is better than the old, and to this end he sets forth the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The greatness of Christ is his theme, and in unfolding this he begins with the doctrine of angels ; and there we see the use of the doctrine. By an adequate knowledge of the angels we arrive at a more adequate knowledge of Christ; their greatness, who are his creatures and servants, affords a fuller conception of his own glorious majesty. The subject, therefore, is-The greatness of the angels revealin9 the greatness of the Lord. I. THE GREATNESS OF THE ANGELS. This is implied in the fourth verse-" having become by so much better than the angels." Unless they were most exalted, the writer could not venture to bring Christ into comparison with them. How great must they be of whom it can be written that Christ is greater I Let us think of them briefly. We might almost assume, npart from Scripture, that angelic beings exist. In other departments of nature there is a regular gradation from lower to higher forms of life ; it is therefore improbable that mnn is the only creature of bis order. Man's powers are so limited that there is evidently room for a race, or indeed for an ascending series of races, of intelligent beings superior to man. Moreover, whon we consider tho great- ness of God, and the worship and love and servico due to him, it is hardly conceivable that the dwellers on one small planet are the only creatures in the universo capable of rendering these, Nor can we imagine that, if man bad not been created, God would have been left without worshippers, or that when men fell there were none left to praise him. When we turn to Scripture this assumption is confirmed. There we read of "principality, and power, and might, nnd dominion, and every nnme that is named, not only in this world;" an "innumerable company of angels;" nngel and arcbnngel, cherubim and seraphim; "ten thousand times ten thousnnd, and thousands of thou- sands." 1. Think of the sublime position of these celestial beings. As in Isa. vi. 1-3 or Rev. v. 11. 'l'hey hove nearest access to Jehovah, surround his throne, attend his Person, behold his glory. That future blessedness which is the hh?he11t hope of tbe people of God is already inherited, to a great degree, by the angels. They are at lwms in heaven. 2. Think of their holy character. With no human imperfection, no stain of sin, for ever beholding the holiness of the Most Holy, how perfectly they must reflect his holy image 1 • Etemal Light I Etemal Light I How pure the soul m11Bt be '!hat stands within thy searching sight, And shrinks not, but with calm delight Ce.n live e.nd look on thee I " 3. Thin.lo of their glorious nature. "His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers became as dead men;" "I saw another mighty angel clothed with a cloud; e.nd o. rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire." The "living creatures" were "full of eyes before and behind." Some are called "seraphim," i.e. burning ones. The cherubim were described by a combined symbol of man, lion, eagle, ox, i.e. utmost intelligence, strength, flight, and service. 4. Think of their exalterl work. See  36 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEilREWS. [cH, 1. 1-H.