White Wings In Snowy Flight.

By what tokens have angels made themselves known? Such discovery has usually been after they had delivered their message, and always for the purpose of a sign, in confirmation of the faith of the party whom they had addressed. It is evident, that the angel which appeared to Manoah was taken for a prophet till after he had delivered his message he took leave "wonderfully," to convince them of his extraordinary nature. But sometimes angels did not reveal themselves fully; they gave, as it were, obscure and very indistinct, though powerful, intimations of their presence. When angels were commissioned to appear to certain persons only, others who were in company with those persons felt the effects of it. These instances evince that angels discovered themselves to be angels, with different degrees of clearness, as best suited their errand. Sometimes they were conjectured to be angels, but they did not advance those conjectures into certainty; and sometimes they left no doubt who and what they were, and together with their errand they declared their nature.--Edward Robinson, D. D.

Billow To Billow.

But there is one solemn office which angels themselves will have to exercise; they are to gather together the elect of the Lord, when the time shall come for judgement; to gather together, indeed, the whole of the human race; for though the elect only are mentioned, yet our Lord intimates that all are to be gathered together by them, as well those who have served God as those who have served Satan. The great fact is clear, that there shall come a day when the human family shall be gathered by the angels, and not one left behind, either of the righteous or of the wicked. When those mighty intelligences shall go from grave to grave, and from billow to billow, to call us from the depths, and caves, and tombs, will it be with joy or terror that we shall hear the summons? Will our eyes open upon the bright and glorious form of some angel of light, or shall we behold some demon of the pit, waiting to dray us to the judgment-seat? Let us reflect on these things.

"Love of the Angels."

'Twas when the world was in its prime,

When the fresh stars had just begun

Their race of glory, and young Time

Told his first birthday by the sun;

When in the light of Nature's dawn

Rejoicing men and angels met

On the high hill and sunny lawn,--

Ere sorrow came or sin had drawn

'Twixt man and heaven her curtain yet!

When earth lay nearer to the skies

Than in these days of crime and woe,

And mortals saw without surprise

In the mid-air angelic eyes

Gazing upon this world below

Alas! that Passion should profane

Even then the morning of the earth!

That, sadder still, the fatal stain

Should fall on hearts of heavenly birth--

And that from woman's love should fall

So dark a stain, most sad of all!

--by Thomas Moore

Guardians Bright Display Sensible Qualities.

In every instance in which angles have been sent on embassies to mankind they have displayed sensible qualities. They exhibited a definite form, somewhat analogous to that of man, and color and splendor, which were perceptible to the organ of seeing--they emitted sounds which struck the organ of hearing--they produced the harmonies of music, and sung sublime sentiments, which were uttered in articulate words, that were distinctly heard and recognized by the persons to whom they were sent; and they exerted their power over the sense of feeling. In these instances angels manifested themselves to men through the medium of three principal senses, by which we recognize the properties of material objects; and why, then, should we consider them so purely immaterial in the universe? We have no knowledge of angels but from Revelation; and all the descriptions it gives of these glorious beings lead us to conclude that they are connected with the world of matter, as well as with the world of mind, and are furnished with organical vehicles, composed of some refined material substance suitable to their nature and employments. --Rev. Dr. Dick.

Embassies of Joy.

I believe that what Jacob sees at Bethel is still taking place in a mystical way. The ladder of Christ's mediation rests upon the earth; the top of it is reaching to the heavens; and without intermission, the angels of God are ascending and descending upon it in the missions of watchfulness and love in our behalf. The Bible gives us a description of God's dealings with the world during thousands of years; and we are, by many incidental expressions, reminded of the intense solicitude which angels feel in what is going on, not in heaven merely, but on the earth also. These missions of angels are not to be looked upon by us as banishments from heaven, enforced upon them by Him who is Lord both of angels and of men. They are, on the contrary, willing embassies of joy.