the following chapter earthly sovereigns are introduced in such a way as to show that they, and not angels good or bad, are the con- tending powers indicated by the prophet. ^ It is certainly unad- visable to adopt on the authority of a doubtful passage in a single book of Scripture a doctrine unsupported by other parts of the Word of God. While this must be admitted, yet it is neverthe- less true that the ordinary interpretation of the language of the prophet is altogether the most natural one ; and that there is nothing in the doctrine thus taught out of analogy with the clear teaching of the Scriptures. It is plain from what is elsewhere taught that spiritual beings higher than man, both good and evil, do exist ; that they are exceedingly numerous ; that they are very powerful ; that they have access to our world, and are occupied in its affairs ; that they are of different ranks or orders; and that their names and titles indicate that they exercise dominion and act as rulers. This is true of evil, as well as of good angels ; and, be- ing true, there is nothing in the opinion that one particular angel should have special control over one nation, and another over another nation, that is in conflict with the analogy of Scripture. So far, however, as the good angels are concerned, it is clear, — 1. That they can and do produce effects in the natural or ex- ternal world. The Scriptures everywhere assume that matter and mind are two distinct substances, and that the one can act upon the other. We know that our minds act upon our bodies, and that our minds are acted upon by material causes. There is nothing, therefore, beyond even the teaching of experience, in the doctrine that spirits may act on the material world. The extent of their agency is limited by the principles above stated ; and yet from their exalted nature the effects which they are able to produce may far exceed our comprehension. An angel slew all the first-borr of the Egyptians in a single night ; the thunder and lightning at- tending the giving of the law on Mount Sinai were produced by angelic agency. The ancient theologians, in many cases, drew from the admitted fact that angels do thus operate in the external world, the conclusion that all natural eflPects were produced by their agency, and that the stars were moved in their courses by the power of angels. But this is in violation of two obvious and important principles : First, that no cause for an effect should be assumed without evidence ; and Second, that no more causes should be assumed than are necessary to account for the effect. We are not authorized, therefore, to attribute any event bo angelic
1 See Havernick on Daniel x. 13. V^OL. I. 41
642 PART I— THEOLOGY. [Ch. Xm. - Angkls.
interference except on the authority of Scripture, nor when other causes are adequate to account for it.
2. The angels not only execute the will of God in the natural world, but they also act on the minds of men. They have access to our minds and can influence them for good m accordance with the laws of our nature and in the use of appropriate means. They do not act by that direct operation, which is the peculiar preroga- tive of God and his Spirit, but by the suggestion of truth and guidance of thought and feeling, much as one man may act upon another. If the angels may communicate one with another, there is no reason why they may not, in like manner, communicate with our spirits. In the Scriptures, thei'efore, the angels are represented as not only affording general guidance and protection, but also as giving inward strength and consolation. If an angel strengthened our Lord himself after his agony in the garden, his people also may experience the support of angels ; and if evil angels tempt to sin, good angels may allure to holiness. Certain it is that a wide influence and operation are attributed to them in Scripture in fur- thering the welfare of the children of God, and in protecting them from evil and defending them from their enemies. The use which our Lord makes of the promise, " He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone " (Ps. xci. 11, 12), shows that it is not to be taken as a mere poetic form of promising divine protection. They watch over infants (Matt, xviii. 10) ; they aid those of mature age (Ps. xxxiv. 7), and are present with the dying (Luke xvi. 22).
3. A special agency is also attributed to them as the servants of Christ in the advancement of his Church. As the law was given through their ministry, as they had charge of the theo- cratic people under the old economy, so they are spoken of as being still present in the assembly of the saints (1 Cor. xi. 10), and as constantly warring against the dragon and his angels. - — :..^_^
This Scriptural doctrine of the ministry of angels is full of con- solation for the people of God. They may rejoice in the assurance that these holy beings encamp round about them ; defending them day and night from unseen enemies and unapprehended -dangefSr- At the same time they must not come between us and God. We are not to look to them nor to invoke their aid. They are in the hands of God and exercise his will ; He uses them as He does the winds and the lightning (Heb. i. 7), and we are not to look to the instruments in the one case more than in the other.