the angel, but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of its own accord, and they went out, and passed on through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him.”

But says an objector, all this may have been done by some friend to Peter, who had by cunning, given the sentry at the door, and the two soldies who slept by his side, some sleeping potion, and having procured a key, not only to the prison doors, but to the outer gate of the city, and the chain which manacled him, went in and released him as they slept, and all this done in answer to prayer; and the person so doing was an angel or messenger of God to Peter, but was no spirit of another world!

But that this angel was a man could not have been the fact, as it is stated in the account, that the outer gate of the city opened of itself, that is, without a key, or any visible means; and certainly St. Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, could not be guilty of telling an untruth in this matter, or have been deceived, as he was an inspired writer, in the matters of the New Testament, at any rate. St. Peter's opinion of the matter was, that the Lord had sent his angel; for he said, "now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod"-which thing St. Peter could never have said, if he knew that some friend had so delivered him and afterwards informed him of it, as such a friend most certainly would have done.

The case of St. Paul is another proof of angelic existence, of a supernatural character, of which he speaks as experienced by himself on board the ship, in the Adriatic sea: who says, "For there stood by me this night, the angel of the Lord, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, fear not Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore sirs be of Good cheer, for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.' By which he informs us that his information was from heaven, and therefore the messenger, which was an angel, was also from heaven, who had stood by St. Paul that night, and told him such things.

The New Testament is almost a continued history of supernatural occurrences, and of supernatural angels, both good and bad, as we shall show before we close the volume: yet there are those who deny everything of the kind, and at the same time profess to believe the Scriptures, and to build their Christian belief from its pages; but how far are such persons from real Christianity in their faith.

See Matthew xxviii. 2, 3, 4, where there is a most convincing instance of supernatural operation related, as connected with the resurrection of our Lord's crucified body, done by an angel, of a

supernatural character and origin. "Behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door (of the cave) and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers (the Roman guard) did shake and become as dead men." This could not have been a man, as men do not have countenances like lightning, nor do they descend from heaven, nor cause earthquakes, nor have power ro frighten, (one alone) a whole band of fierce and armed soldiers, so as to cause them to become as dead men, by their mere looks, as was the fact in this case.

See Judges, chap. xiii. where there is an account of an angel of God who foretold the birth of Samson, his manner of life, &c. and then, in the sight of Manoah and his wife, ascended from the the face of the rock, in the flame of the sacrifice, which they offered there to the Lord, of which angel it is there said, that he did wondrously, by which no doubt is meant his going up in the flame, to a considerable height, (See the Plate) and the vanishing out sight. Which occurrence greatly frightened Manoah, the same man who was afterwards the father of Samson, the strongest, as well as the most foolish fellow that ever judged a people.

Of this angel, as seen by Manoah, it is said in the account given in Judges, that his countenance was not as that of a man, though having the lineaments; yet was of a superior cast. Mark the words of inspiration: "His countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible," or glorious to look upon, which could not have been said of a mere man and that he went up in the flame of the sacrifice, toward the heavens, proves beyond all contradiction that this angel was not a mortal man; as the thing could not possibly have been performed by the natural ability of any one of the race.

We have now a most interesting account to give, as much so perhaps as any in the whole Scriptures, by which not only the existence of supernatural angels is corroborated, but the doctrine of a variety of orders among the angelic hosts proven, as before attempted to be done, as well also as the existence of evil angels, and their respective influence on the minds of men.

See Daniel, chap. x. in the course of which we read, that the prophet stood by the river Hidekel, or as it is now termed the Arazares. He saw a glorious being who appeared to be clothed "in linen, and his loins girded with fine gold of Uphaz, (or of Ophir) his body also was like the beryl, (a pellucid gem of a blueish-green color) and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude." With this angel Daniel conversed respecting many things which were to come to pass in after ages; wonder

fully describing the rise and fall of various great empires, and of the care himself and Michael the archangel had over the destinies of the Jews. He told him also that from the day Daniel set his heart to understand and to chasten himself, (not by flagellations with a whip, &c. as some fanatics or deceivers have done,) before God, that he had desired to come to him, and to instruct him in a knowledge of future events; but that the prince of the kingdom of Persia, withstood him from doing so, one and twenty days; but lo Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help

him.

We wish to notice in particular in this place one expression, as pertinent to the idea of different orders of angels, and this is it"lo Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me." By which we understand that as Michael was one of those chief princes among the angelic orders, that there are also other princes, or it could not have been said with propriety that he was one of them. From which account it appears that we here ascertain certainly three different orders of being; first, the glorious angel, who is particularly described above, and who conversed with Daniel: and second, Michael the archangel, who came to help him against the prince of Persia, an evil angel, who opposed the interests of the Jews in the mind of Cyrus: and another angel who is denominated the prince of Grecia, who was to come as soon as this glorious angel, who had communed with Daniel, had gone forth from him.

But why did this evil angel, called the prince of Persia, oppose himself to those other angels, who were favorable to the interests of the Jews? (For this was the case; as appears by the statement of the angel who had conversed with Daniel, who said to him, at last, when he had caused him to know, and to understand fully, why he had visited him, that he would then return to fight with this prince of Persia,) because it is likely he knew that if the Jewish nations could by any means be prevented rebuilding their ruined city walls and temple, and restoring their religion, with all its typical observances and moral influence, which had ceased during their captivity at Babylon; that this people with their religion, would be entirely lost among the pagan nations. By this means, he hoped to prevent the coming of the Messiah into the world; and therefore fought against all impressions made on the mind of Cyrus, the monarch of the Persians, by Michael, Gabriel and other spiritual beings, who favored the Jews in the holy enterprise. And this is what is meant, when it is said that the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood the glorious angel one and twenty days, which was exactly the number of days which Daniel prayed and chastened himself-and what was also meant by his saying, "and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia." It will not do to say, in order to get rid of the being of those spirits, that this prince of Persia