Heb 1:7, 14 Do
Angels Have Wings? 4/18/2004 <->
#1. Ministering
Spirits (Heb 1:13-14. 1Pet 1:3-5, Jude 6, Dan 6:22, Lu 16:22,
Psalm 91:11-12)
#2. His
Ministers a Flame of Fire (Heb 1:7. Psalm 104:4, 58:3, Eph 2:3. Matt
13:41-42)
#3.
The Angel of His Presence (Isa 63:7-9, Gal 6:16)
Please open your Bibles to the
Epistle to the Hebrews 1:1 {2X). The title of this sermon is,
"Do Angels Have Wings?" (2X). Why did I pick this
topic? This is a sermon about angels, because today there is a great deal of
superstition about angels. That is why I have you turn to Heb 1. because
in this chapter we learn a great deal about angels. Where do all the misconceptions
about angels come from? They come from churches, because the concept of angels
is not an idea that was spawned in the human mind. The existence of angelic
beings can only be discovered from the Bible. But churches have made
fanciful pictures of beings, which they then called angels, and one error leads
to another. Today most people in these United States have not the
foggiest notion what angels are, because they do not read the Bible. Nobody
knows any more what to believe.
From the Bible! Only from the Bible! If
you want to learn about angels, quit watching TV programs about angels and
start to read the Bible. If it is not in the Bible, leave it alone, and do not
believe fanciful stories that are not supported by the Bible. In this sermon we
are not going to talk about, "The Angel of the Lord" or about
"Cherubim", or about "Seraphim", since these are not
angels. I will speak about these in a future sermon. Historically this epistle
was addressed to the Hebrews. Hebrews are Jews. But we should not
imagine that this epistle is only for Jewish Christians. Just like the Epistle
to the Romans is not just for the Romans, but for us, and the Epistle to
the Ephesians is not just for the church at Ephesus, but for us, so this
Epistle to the Hebrews is not only addressed to the Hebrew Christians, but it
is just as well addressed to us. God used the occasion to set some
errors straight among the Jewish Christians. God taught here some principles
that are of lasting value also to us.
Heb 1:1-2 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:
Heb 1:3-4 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 and 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.
Heb 1:5-6 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? And again,
when he ringeth in the first
begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Heb 1:7 And of the angels
he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he
saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness
is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Heb 1:9-10 Thou hast
loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the
beginning
hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the
works of thine hands:
Heb 1:11 They shall
perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Heb 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,
and they shall be changed: but thou art the
same, and thy years shall
not fail.
Heb 1:13-14 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?
There are many subject matters touched on
in this 1st chapter. Today we will have time only for one: "Angels".
You can see that this 1st chapter of Hebrews emphasizes that the
Lord Jesus Christ is superior to the angels. We already knew that. This
church believes what the Bible says, and the Bible says that the Lord Jesus
Christ is God. Therefore He must be infinitely superior to the angels, no
question about it. But there seems to be an apparent contradiction in verse 4. Verse
4 says that Christ was made. Was He made? Yes! The body of the Son
of Mary, the carpenter of Nazareth, He was made. He had a beginning, about 2000
years ago. But the Soul that came to live in that body was the Spirit of
God the Son, the 2nd person of the Triune God. He is the eternal
Lord God, with no beginning nor ending. Verse 4 says that Christ was "made
so much better than the angels", but in chapter 2:7 God says that
Christ was "made a little lower than the angels". How can we
understand this? In chapter 1:4 the context speaks of Christ after His
resurrection and ascension into Heaven. There He sits at the right hand of the
Father, and there He is in body and soul "so much better than the
angels". But in chapter 2:7 Christ is spoken of as the Son of Man who came
to visit us about 2000 years ago. At that time Christ came to earth as the
"Suffering Servant". He came as a man, and so He was "made a
little lower than the angels". Now let us move on to verse 13.
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any
time, "Sit on my right hand, until
I make thine
enemies thy
footstool?"
This is a literal quotation from Psalm 110:1,
a Psalm of David, which the Lord Jesus quoted when He disputed with the
Pharisees. This verse has an ominous ring to it. It speaks about the enemies of
Christ being subdued under Christ's feet, particularly on the Last Day when
they shall be cast into the Lake of Fire. And to which of the angels did God
say this? To none of them. God said this only to the Lord Jesus Christ.
But of the angels God says in verse 14. "Are they not all ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
#1. Ministering
Spirits (Heb 1:13-14. 1Pet 1:3-5, Jude 6, Dan 6:22, Lu 16:22, Psalm 91:11-12)
Is that not amazing? The angels who are very superior to
mankind, the sinless ones, have been appointed
to minister to sinful worms of the earth. This should give us a great
sense of wonder, and a great sense of security.
The mighty angels, who excel in strength, are serving us who are far beneath them.
And no wonder, fallen angels, who are powerful in deception, are attacking us;
but to our aid, and God assigned to us more powerful
beings who are able to defend us against these invisible enemies. There are
3 things to consider in this activity of the angels who minister to us: #1,
To whom do the angels minister? #2, Why do they minister to us? #3, What form
does their ministry take? First, To whom do the angels
minister? They minister to "those who shall be heirs of salvation".
The word "heirs" speaks of an inheritance. And indeed, there
is an Estate, called "eternal life", unto which God has
predestined His people, His elect. God speaks about this inheritance,
for example, in:
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead,
1Pe 1:4-5 To an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for you, (Who are those?) Who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the
last time.
God gave the angels the honor of serving Him
by caring for those who are God's elect. God could have done it without the
help of angels. There is nothing too hard for God. But God delighted to give
the angels this charge, and they took on this honorable assignment with joy. Let
me give an example from history. In the days that this earth was ruled by
kings and queens, when a prince or princess was born, many trusted servants and
nobles surrounded that little infant with their protection and care and they
considered it a privilege that they could do this. These ladies and lords of
the court were much stronger and far more intelligent than this little infant.
But they "ministered" to this infant because this infant could be
heir to the throne. This infant is of royal stock. In the same manner,
the heirs of salvation are now in the stage of their infancy. The angels far
exceed us in wisdom and in strength, and yet they are our servants because we
are born high above them in birth and in rank. We are sons of God, and we are
joint heirs with Christ, and we are kings and priests unto God. What an
honorable provision God has made for us!
Secondly, Why do they
minister to us? Why did God give them this task? God assigned them this task
as a test of their faithfulness to God. We can clearly see
this in the fallen angels. "They kept not their first estate (lit. their beginning), but left their own
habitation" (Jude 6), which means that they left their
first assignment, because they despised the goodness of God. and they deserted
their first vocation. Like military deserters, they left the
station in which they had been placed. They were assigned to serve God by
ministering to mankind. Instead, they rebelled and did their best to destroy mankind.
The elect angels did not fall into this sin, but remained faithful to
God and to His assignment to minister to man. They
remained faithful not because the angels are filled with sympathy for man, but
because the elect angels want to do those things that are pleasing in
God's sight. The angels are not just distant
spectators of the outworking of God's wondrous plan of salvation, but they have
been given an active part in it. And so, the
angels are learning in a practical way how much God cares for us.
Why do they minister to us? Because God gave them, this task and they love to
obey God.
Thirdly, What form does their
ministry take? How do the angels minister to us? They are protecting us and
delivering us from temporary dangers in this world. If it is not our time to
go, then the angels will carry out God's plan to keep us alive and well. Let me
give you three examples:
When Daniel was put into the lion's den,
Daniel was protected from the lions by an angel. King Darius could not
sleep all night. Early in the morning, he called to Daniel, and Daniel said in Dan
6:22, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths,
that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me:
and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." In other words:
"King Darius, I have done no evil to you or to your kingdom. The lions
were hungry, but my God sent His angel to protect me from the lion's
mouths". Then the king commanded that Daniel's accusers be cast into the
lion's den, and before they hit the ground, the lions had already torn them to
pieces. For the second example, we turn to a parable that the Lord Jesus
gave about the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. The beggar was a saved man, but
the rich man remained unsaved. We read in Luke 16:22, "And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried". Here we see
that the angels are around the deathbed of a saved person, waiting for God's
command to carry the soul of this saint up from the earth, through Satan's
territory, into the Father's house. There they are, ready to perform their last
service. Since we know this, because we have read the Bible, why should we have
any fear of death? For the third example, we want to look at the plural
number of angels in Psalm 91:11-12. There we read, "For he shall
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in ail thy ways. They shall bear
thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone".
This is what angels do, every day, because the verse says, "to keep
thee in ALL thy ways". Here as well as in Luke 16:22 we see there is a
plural number of angels caring for a single person who is a child of God
Therefore the idea that there is a single guardian angel assigned to each
Christian is an invention out of somebody's mind, and it is against the Word of
God. Now let us look at Heb 1:14 again. "Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation?" Who are these?
Let me try to explain what it means to be heirs
of salvation. Look at the drawing that I have made on
the board. You see there 7 steps. The lowest step is indicating the
status of plants. Plants are almost the lowest form of
life. They are living beings, but they cannot move around and they cannot make
sounds. The next step up are bugs, such as insects and caterpillars and
spiders. They can move around but they do
not make sounds with their mouths. Bugs are a little higher form of life than plants.
The next step up are warm-blooded animals, such as dogs and dolphins and
donkeys and dromedaries. They can move around, and they can
make sounds with their mouth, but they cannot talk. And so, the next
step up is mankind. Man is a higher form of life than warm-blooded
animals. Man can talk, and man can meditate about love,
and joy, and peace, and longsuffering, and gentleness, and goodness, and faith,
and meekness, and self-control. Animals cannot do that. But God created a form
of life that is even a step higher than man, and that form of life are the angels.
Yes, angels do exist. The Bible says that at Jesus' birth the shepherds saw a
multitude of angels praising God. Angels not only talk and meditate about
things said In the Bible, but the good angels do not sin at all. Now, that is
something that cannot be said of any man. Then the next step up is immeasurably
higher and is reserved for those who will be "sons of God".
Angels are never called "sons of God" in the Bible. But those of
mankind who have been chosen by God to be His elect people, the Bride
of Christ, we will be up there, almost where God is. That is how great a
blessing salvation is. Of course, we will be up there, almost where God is,
because we will be "joint-heirs with Christ". We can read that
in Rom 8:17. Let me read that to you, "And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him,
that we may be also glorified together". We cannot imagine how
wonderful it will be. But we can see from this meager sketch that it will be
super glorious. But did you hear what I just read? Rom 8:17 says, "if
so be that we suffer with him". What was that? Is our
salvation conditional? Is our suffering the work that we have to do in order to
earn so great salvation? You can immediately sense that this is not right,
because we are entirely saved by grace; it is a free gift; "not
of works, lest any man should boast". But it is God's plan that every
one of His children should suffer for Christ's sake. For example, we read
in Acts 14:22, "We must through much tribulation enter into the
kingdom of God". Why is it that we must suffer? It is because "the
servant is not greater than his Lord". Christ suffered because He
brought the true Gospel. We will suffer, because when we bring the true Gospel
we shall be persecuted; and that is a certainty. And when we have been truly
saved we will share this beautiful Gospel with ail who need it. That is why Rom
8:17 says, "if so be that we suffer with him". Please
turn now about 45 pages to your left (->) to the Epistle to the Ephesians
3:8 (2X). Did you know, the Bible says that God uses the church as a
dramatic instrument to teach the angels His unlimited wisdom, by means
of His dealings with men? We read of it in 1 Peter chapter 1 that the angels
eagerly desire to look into the amazing program of God with regard to
the 1st and 2nd coming of Christ. You see, angels are
also in a learning process. They continue to grow in wisdom as time goes on. We
read about that here in Eph 3:8-11,
Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am
less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Eph 3:9 And to make all men
see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning
of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10 To the intent
that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known
by (through) the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11 According to the
eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
To say in other words: within the unsearchable riches of Christ is
found the treasure of the manifold wisdom of God through His dealings
with the church, so that this wisdom of God might be known now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places, which refers to all the
angels in heaven. This wisdom is "the mystery, which from
the beginning of the world hath been hid in God". If we can all see this
treasure of the manifold wisdom of God, we shall experience the fellowship
of the mystery. This fellowship of the mystery, was the intent of
the eternal purpose of God, which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, but
this purpose will not be known until we have reached the glory of Last Day. The
angels of God must have watched with amazement the wondrous program of
God the Father, as it was executed by God the Son during His ministry here on
earth. The angels came with Christ to earth to do Him service while here. They
predicted His 1st coming, they ministered to Him after His fasting
for 40 days after His temptation, they ministered to Him in His agony in the
Garden of Gethsemane. and they declared His resurrection and His ascension.
They are now ministering spirits to the people of God and they will be the
ministers of judgment on the Last Day. There is when they will be called:
#2.
His Ministers a Flame of Fire (Heb 1:7, Psalm 104:4,
58:3, Eph 2:3, Matt 13:41-42)
Please turn again to Heb 1:7 (2X). We are going
to focus on two verses in this chapter. First, we looked at verse 14. Now let
us take a look at verse 7. Heb 1:7 And of the angels he saith, "Who maketh
his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire". This is a literal quotation from Psalm
104:4. What does it mean that God "maketh His angels spirits"?
They already are spirits. They do not be transformed again into spirits. We
have to realize that the word "spirits" is the same as "winds".
God is describing the qualities and activities of His angels. The angels are here
compared to winds. They are invisible, they move with great speed, and they
move with great power. We can only see the effect of the wind, but we
cannot see the wind itself. Likewise, we can only see the effect of the
working of angels, but we cannot see the angels. because they are spirits, just
like we cannot see the wind. But on the Last Day God shall make His angels the
ministers of a flame of fire. Fire has to do with Hell. God's wrath
rests upon every sin committed by man. God's righteousness demands that every
sin be accounted for and every sin must be paid, ii you hit a policeman, you go
to jail. If you hit the president of the United States, you may go to jail for
5 years. But If you hit God in the face you go to jail for an eternity. Each sin
is a transgression of the Law of God, and therefore each sin is a slap in the
face of God, and therefore each sin bears the penalty of an eternity in Hell.
God must punish every sin. Now look at the human race. We all are sinners from
birth. The Bible says in Psalm 58:3, "The wicked are estranged
from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies".
Who are these wicked babies? They are each one of the human race. We all came
into the world as those wicked babies, because God says in Eph 2:3 that we
all were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Therefore, the
entire human race is in trouble with God. Every one of the human race is on a
slippery slide into Hell, and we are not able to help ourselves, because
everything we do is tainted with sin. But God provided a way of escape.
God sent the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth to pay for the guilt of the sins
of a select group of people whom God chose from before the foundation of the
world. Obviously Christ did not pay for the sins of everyone in the
world, because not everyone in the world is saved. Take for instance the
people who died in the flood of Noah's days, and take for instance the people
who died when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboim. God
declared all of them unrighteous and that is why they all were destroyed. But
God sent the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth, and God imputed on Him the sins
of all His elect, and Christ paid for the sins of all His elect the equivalent
of an eternity in Hell. God allowed this substitution. This was a surprise to
Satan, and as a result Satan was dealt a solid defeat there at the cross of
Golgotha. Christ was successful in paying for the sins of all His
people, but all other sins still have to be paid on the Last Day. On the Last
Day shall Christ appear for the second time: He shall rapture
every one of His saints to be with Him forever, and He shall command that all
the unsaved must be cast into Hell. And who shall be the executioners of
His sentence? Right! The angels shall be the ministers of God's wrath,
casting into the fires of Hell "all them that know not God and that
obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ". The Lord Jesus told us
another parable about the Wheat and the Tares. And when He came to the
explanation of this parable He said in Matt 13:41 "The Son of
man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all
things that offend, and them which do iniquity: And shall cast them into a
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Here
again, the angels are the executioners of the wrath of God on the Last Day. Now
we can answer the question from the title of this sermon. Do angels have
wings?
Please turn in your Bibles to the
Prophecy of Second Kings 6:15 (2X). You find 2KingsA. What
are wings for? Birds can fly through the air because birds have wings. The air
upholds them in their flight. But birds cannot fly through outer space since
there is no air in outer space. So, why do angels need wings, since most
of their flight is probably through outer space? They do not need wings. Wings
on the angels are an invention of man. You might say, "the Cherubim on
top of the Ark of the Covenant had wings; they were designed by God, and their
design was given in an instruction to Moses". But the Cherubim are not
angels. We can see that clearly when we read Ezekiel chapter 1 carefully.
Nowhere in Scripture do we see angels with wings. For example, after the Lord
Jesus was tempted three times by the Devil we read in Matt 4:11, "Then
the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him".
Do we read of any wings here? NO! Angels are spirits, and spirits do not need
wings to transport them from here to there. Here in 2Kings 6:15 the king
of Syria wanted to capture the prophet Elisha, and so he sent a battalion of
soldiers to the prophet's hometown, Dothan.
2Ki 6:15 And when the
servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed
the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him (Elisha),
Alas, my master! How shall we do?
2Ki 6:16 And he answered,
Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with
them.
2Ki 6:17 And Elisha
prayed, and said, LORD. I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the
LORD opened the eyes of the young man: and he
saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire
round about Elisha.
Here was an entire army of angels
protecting the prophet Elisha. How did these angels make themselves visible?
They did not! All the servant of Elisha could see were thousands of horses of
fire and chariots of fire. The angels remained invisible. God made it known to
us so that we will face the world boldly. When we witness of what God has done
for us, or when we hand out a tract, remember that an army of God's servants is
surrounding us, ready to pounce on anyone who wants to do us harm. We should
have no fear in matters like these. But remember also, "They have no
wings. Wings would slow them down tremendously, and we definitely do not
want angels protecting us who are as slow as birds. As an example of how
confused people are about angels, let us consider what strange things we get in
the mail. Some of you might have received this. It is a bookmark, where
"the guardian angel sent from God" is called, "My guardian dear,
to whom His love commits me here; ever this day be at my side, to light and
guard, to rule and guide. Amen." Can you see how people are going to
inhale this? It is a prayer to an angel. By now people are totally
accustomed to pray to an angel. Things that the Bible only attributes to God
are now also attributed to angels. This is utter abomination to God and this
sin will be punished with Hellfire. The irony is that the angels will execute
this judgment on the people who prayed to them.
What about
"angel visitations"? Do angels appear to man these days? Absolutely
NOT! In the past angels were messengers from God, bringing messages that
were related in some way to proclaiming the Gospel. But when God dictated the
last page of Revelation to the Apostle John, God closed the Book, the Bible,
with the statement in Rev 22:18, "For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add
unto these things, God shall add unto him the plaques that are
written in this book". Therefore no man should claim that he has
received another message from God, and God will abide by His rules. Anyone who
claims to have an additional message from God, and anyone who believes that God
has given additional messages after Rev 22:18. is subject to the plagues that
are written in this Book. What are those plagues? "The smoke of their
torment ascendeth up forever and ever" (Rev 14:11). It is Hell
forever more. God gave us this warning. We do well to heed this warning and not
go deliberately against it. Be careful when you hear someone say that he has
had an angel visitation. God has ceased from bringing audible messages. Please
turn at this present time to the Prophecy of Isaiah 63:7 (2X). We
read here about:
#3. The
Angel of His Presence (Isa 63:7-9. Gal 6:16)
You find Isaiah after Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. In Isa 63 God shows Himself
as a God of love, but only for the Remnant. In the 1st part
of this chapter Christ speaks about His crucifixion, and how He had to redeem His people all
alone; there was none to help Him in this work of redemption, because there
was not one who could qualify as a Lamb of God. Then we read in Isa 63:7
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the
LORD, according to all that the LORD hath
bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of "Israel" which
he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the
multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
What are these lovingkindnesses of the
LORD, and the praises of the LORD, and the great goodness
the Lord has bestowed on them, and what are these mercies of the Lord?
Certainly, these could not refer to any material blessings God has bestowed on
national Israel. Material goods are no blessings; instead they can be a curse.
Certainly these mercies of the Lord must refer to salvation These
are the only blessings that can truly be called blessings, because these are the
only blessing; that are permanent. But now we run into a problem. Never
in the history of the nation of Israel do we read that the majority of
them were saved individuals. After they came out of Egypt only a tiny, tiny
fraction became saved, and so it was also throughout the years under the
Judges, and the yean under the Kings, and the years after their return from
Babylon. There was always only a tiny, tiny fraction that was truly
saved. What then has "Israel" to do with these wonderful words
of Isa 63:7? You see, God used the historical nation of Israel only as a
type or a figure of the Israel that was to come. God mentioned in Gal 6:16
the "Israel of God", and God identified the Israel of God with
"New Creatures", referring to those who became "Born Again".
And so we see that the saints of both Jew; and Gentiles are called "Israel",
because they are "the Israel of God". Now we read in verses
8-9,
Isa 63:8 For he said,
Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was
their Saviour.
Isa 63:9 in all their
affliction he was afflicted, and "the Angel of His Presence" saved
them, in his
love and in his pity he
redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Who is "the Angel of His Presence"?
It is the Messenger of His Presence, because the wore "angel" and the
word "messenger" is the same word. Can an angel save? NO! Only Christ
saves Therefore "the Angel of His Presence" can only be the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was speaking in verse 8. In all the afflictions of
His people He was afflicted, meaning that He took upon Him the suffering that
was coming to us, for our sins. In His love and in His pity Christ redeemed us,
and He bare us, and carried us through all the days of old that we thought were
so tough. His grace and His mercy sustained us, because we are His people, the
sheep of His pasture. This is what we want to remember of "the Angel of
His Presence".
AMEN. Let us
turn to the Lord in prayer.