The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 53

of angels be forgotten-their connection with the destruction of Sodom and of Sen- nacherib's army. These are the visitations mentioned, but how many more there may have been unrecorded I The angelic visitations of the New '£estament must par- ticularly be recollected, because they were fresh to the knowledge of writer and readers of this Epistle, And if we are not to set down these manifestations to mere hallucina- tion, then it is plain that the beings manifested must have belonged to a glorious order. Such a being, breaking suddenly upon the vision of a man, could not but awe, and might even terrify. Of such a one it might even be said, "Surely this is a son of God." But that would be a fallacy, springing from mere magnificence of appearance. And yet it is a fallacy which, in other shapes, will ever deceive the judgment of men till they put that judgment under guidance of the Spirit of God. Men of great intellectual power, men of genius, are reckoned to have in them something that lifts them for ever above common men. Whereas the dazzling brightness and beauty flowing from them should put us on our guard. In the Divine order of existence the flpilitual man is ever higher than the natural man, although the natural man may look far more imposing. Mary saw an angel once, and probably the glory from him appealing to the senses was such as she did not see in her own Son all the time he was on earth. Angels are to be taken as the crowning illustration of all that is most magnificent and impressive in the way of outward splendour. II. THE ELEVATION OF JESUS ABOVE THE ANGELS. To emphasize this, the writer appeals to-certain passages from the Old Testament Scripture. The line of his appeal is plain. He assumed that these passages related to the Christ. He knew, and his readers knew, that Jesus was the Christ, and hence they all feel that God himself bas exalted Jesus in his way far above all principality and power. And it must have beeu a very practical thing in those days thus to insist on the supremacy of Christ over angels, For, as there were pseudo-Christa, so there was danger of pseudo-angels. The devil appearing as an angel of light may not have been the mere figure it seems to us. Paul hints at the possibility of an angel from heaven preaching some other gospel. There might be a splendid appearance seeming to have authority in it. Spirits had to be tried whether they were of God. We know from the First Epistle to the Corinthians how the wonderful attracted men rather than the useful. And so we need to be reminded that it is not an angel, purposely glorious to the outward eye and appearing occasionally to a Zacharias or a Mary, or even as that terrible form who rolled back the door of the sepulchre and made the keepers shake and become as dead men, who is nearest God in heaven. The meek and lowly Jesus, moving about among men, despised and rejected, so that they see no beauty that they should desire him, is far above the angels. And, indeed, he also in due time and for certain purposes can a.ppear in a visible glory which makes all angelic glory seem 11, common and feeble thing (Rev. i. 12-16).-Y. Ver. 14:.-The mission of the angels. I. THE HADITUAL POST OF THE ANGELS. They arc ministering spirits, literally, "liturgical spirits." The work of the priests and Levites in connection with tabernacle and temple was known as a liturgical work. Again and again in the Septuagint the work of Aaron and his subordinates is indicated by this verb, >,.u,,-oup-y•i11, As the angels are called liturgical spirits, so the priest and his subordinates might have been called liturgical men. They were the men who, on behalf of all the people, managed things pertainiug to the worship of Jehovah. So in several passages the officials connected with the court of a king are known as liturgi- liturgical men. And if we would see what is meant by calling the angels liturgical spirits, we cannot do better than consider, first of all, Isa. vi. 2, 3. There we read of the six-winged seraphim, who cried one to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." Saying this, they were engaged in liturgical service. Then turn to Rev. iv., where we read of tbe four living things, each, like the seraphim, six-winged, who rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." 'l'hese four living things were also engaged in liturgical services. What ptiest and Levite were on earth, angels were and are iu hea'fen. Nor angels alone. 'l'he spirits of the just made perfect Bre joined to seraphim, &nd all others of the heavenly host by whatever name they ruay be called, in liturgical service.  44 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [OH, II.1-18.