So much is said in the Scriptures of good and evil angels, and such important functions are ascribed to them both in the provi- dence of God over the world, and especially in the experience of his people and of his Church, that the doctrine of the Bible con- cerning them should not be overlooked. That there are intelligent creatures higher than man, has been a general belief. It is so con- sonant with the analogy of nature as to be in the highest degree probable, apart from any direct revelation on the subject. In all departments of nature there is a regular gradation from the lower to the higher forms of life ; from the almost invisible vegetable fungus in plants to the cedar of Lebanon ; fi*om the minutest ani- malcule to the gigantic mammoth. In man we meet with the first, and to all appearances the lowest of rational creatures. That he ' should be the only creature of his order is, a priori, as improbable as that insects should be the only class of irrational animals. There is every reason to presume that the scale of being among rational creatures is as extensive as that in the animal world. The modern philosoph}^ Avhich deifies man leaves no room for any order of beings above him. But if the distance between God and man be infinite, all analogy would prove that the orders of rational crea- tures between us and God must be inconceivably numerous. As this is in itself probable, it is clearly revealed in the Bible to be true. i /
§ 1. Their Nature. \
As to the nature of angels, they are described, (1.) As pure spirits, i. e., immaterial and incorporeal beings. The Scriptures do not attribute bodies of any kind to them. On the assumption that spirit unconnected with matter cannot act out itself, that it can neitlier communicate witli other spirits nor operate on the external world, it was maintained by many, and so decided in the council held at Nice, a. d. 78-1, tliat angels had bodies composed of ether or light ; an opinion which was thought to be favoured by such passages as Matt, xxviii. 3, Luke ii. 9, and other passages in
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638 PART I. — THEOLOGY. [Ch. XHl. — Angels,
which then- himinous appearance and the glory attending their presence are spoken of. The Council of Lateran, a. d. 1215, decided that they were incorporeal, and this has been the common opinion in the Church. They are declared to be " substantiae spirituales, omnis corporese molis expertes." As such, therefore, they are invisible, incorruptible, and immortal. Their relation to space is described as an illocalitas ; not ubiquity or omnipresence, as they are always somewhere and not everywhere at any given moment, but they are not confined to space circumscriptively as bodies are, and can move from one portion of space to another. As spirits they are possessed of intelligence, will, and power. With regard to their knowledge, whether as to its modes or objects, nothing special is revealed. All that is clear is that in their intel- lectual faculties and in the extent of their knowledge they are far y superior to man. Their power also is very great, and extends over mind and matter. They have the power to communicate one with another and with other minds, arid to produce effects in the natural world. The greatness of their power is manifest, (a.) From the names and titles given to them, as principalities, powers, do- minions, and world-rulers. (5.) From the direct assertions of Scrip- ture, as they are said to "excel in strength; " and (c.) From the effects attributed to their agency. However great their power may be, it is nevertheless subject to all the limitations which belong to creatures. Angels, therefore, cannot create, they cannot change substances, they cannot alter the laws of nature, they cannot per- form miracles, they cannot act without means, and they cannot search the heart ; for all these are, in Scripture, declared to be prerogatives peculiar to God. The power of angels is, therefore, (1.) Dependent and derived. (2.) It must be exercised in accord- ance with the laws of the material and spiritual world. (3.) Their intervention is not optional, but permitted or commanded by God, and at his pleasure, and, so far as the external world is concerned, it would seem to be only occasional and exceptional. These limi- tations are of the greatest practical importance. We are not to regard angels as intervening between us and God, or to attribute to them the effects which the Bible everywhere refers to the provi- dential agency of God.
Wrong Views on the Subject. This Scriptural doctrine, universally received in the Church, stands opposed, (1.) To the theory that they were transient emana- tions from the Deity. (2.) To the Gnostic view that they were