The fact that we do not in our day see angels should not make us sceptical as to their existence any more than the fact that we do not in our day see miracles should make us doubt the reality of the New Testament miracles. As evil spirits were permitted to work most actively when Christianity began its appeal to men, so good angels were then most frequently recognized as executing the divine purposes. Nevius, Demon-Possession, 278, thinks that evil spirits are still at work where Christianity comes in conflict with heathenism, and that they retire into the background as Christianity triumphs. This may be true also of good angels. Otherwise we might be in danger of overestimating their greatness and authority. Father Taylor was right when he said: “Folks are better than angels.” It is vain to sing: “I want to be an angel.” We never shall be angels. Victor Hugo is wrong when he says: “I am the tadpole of an archangel.” John Smith is not an angel, and he never will be. But he may be far greater than an angel, because Christ took, not the nature of angels, but the nature of man (_Heb. 2:16_). As intimated above, there is no reason to believe that even the invisible presence of angels is a constant one. Doddridge’s dream of accident prevented by angelic interposition seems to embody the essential truth. We append the passages referred to in the text. _Job 38:7_—“_When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy_”; _Deut. 33:2_—“_Jehovah came from Sinai ... he came from the ten thousands of holy ones: At his right hand was a fiery law for them_”; _Gal. 3:19_—“_it_ [the law] _was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator_”; _Heb. 2:2_—“_the word spoken through angels_”; _Acts 7:53_—“_who received the law as it was ordained by angels_”; _Luke 2:13_—“_suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host_”; _Mat. 4:11_—“_Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him_”; _Luke 22:43_—“_And there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him_”; _Mat. 28:2_—“_an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it_”; _Acts 1:10_—“_And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel_”; _Mat. 25:31_—“_when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory._”