te his orders, and four cherubim singing his
praises, and adoring his sovereign holiness; the whole making a sort
of allusion to what they saw in the court of the ancient Persian
kings,[21] where there were seven principal officers who saw his face,
approached his person, and were called the eyes and ears of the king.

Footnotes:

[3] Gen. iii. 24.

[4] Gen. xviii. 1-3.

[5] Gen. xix.

[6] Gen. xxi. 17.

[7] Gen. xxviii. 12.

[8] Gen. xxxi. 10, 11.

[9] Gen. xxxii.

[10] Exod. iii. 6, 7.

[11] Exod. iii. iv.

[12] Numb. xxii. xxiii.

[13] Jude 9.

[14] Josh. v. 13.

[15] Judges xiii.

[16] Judges vi. vii.

[17] Dan. viii. 16; ix. 21.

[18] Tobit v.

[19] Zech. v. 9, 10, 11, &c.

[20] Psalm xvii. 10; lxxix. 2, &c.

[21] Tobit xii. Zech. iv. 10. Rev. i. 4.

CHAPTER II.

THE APPEARANCE OF GOOD ANGELS PROVED BY THE BOOKS OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT.

The books of the New Testament are in the same manner full of facts
which prove the apparition of good angels. The angel Gabriel appeared
to Zachariah the father of John the Baptist, and predicted to him the
future birth of the Forerunner.[22] The Jews, who saw Zachariah come
out of the temple, after having remained within it a longer time than
usual, having remarked that he was struck dumb, had no doubt but that
he had seen some apparition of an angel. The same Gabriel announced to
Mary the future birth of the Messiah.[23] When Jesus was born in
Bethlehem, the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the
night,[24] and declared to them that the Saviour of the world was born
at Bethlehem. There is every reason to believe that the star which
appeared to the Magi in the East, and which led them straight to
Jerusalem, and thence to Bethlehem, was directed by a good angel.[25]
St. Joseph was warned by a celestial spirit to retire into Egypt, with
the mother and the infant Christ, for fear that Jesus should fall into
the hands of Herod, and be involved in the massacre of the Innocents.
The same angel informed Joseph of the death of King Herod, and told
him to return to the land of Israel.

After the temptation of Jesus Christ in the wilderness, angels came
and brought him food.[26] The demon tempter said to Jesus Christ that
God had commanded his angels to lead him, and to prevent him from
stumbling against a stone; which is taken from the 92d Psalm, and
proves the belief of the Jews on the article of guardian angels. The
Saviour confir