Angels: God's Messengers--Our Attendants (6)

It should teach us not to despise the meanest Christians, seeing angels do not despise to attend them. Oh, the pride of man's nature! When the more glorious angels disdain not to be our servants, and not only to great and noble men, but to little ones, even to Lazarus. What a devilish quality is envy and pride, that stirs us up to disdain to be useful one to another, especially to those who are inferiors! God himself disdains not to look on things below (Psa. 113:6). Because God became a man, will we wonder that angels should attend upon the nature that God has so honoured? The angels rejoice at the salvation of a sinner (Luke 15:10). Will we despise the work of regeneration and the image of God in another? Will the welfare and thriving of others spiritually or outwardly be the joy of the angels and not our joy?
The angels are described with wings to fly to show their delight in their attendance; and wings to cover their faces and their feet, to show their adoration and reverence of God (Isa. 6:2). The nearer they come to God, the more reverence. Is there no Christian, who like the angels, the nearer he comes to God, the more he abases himself and adores God? Let us imitate the angels in this. The angels have a double office: a superior office and an inferior. The superior office they have is to attend upon God, to serve God and Christ, to minister to our Head. The inferior office is to attend his church, and to do battle with evil angels that are about us continually.
It is good for us to know our privilege and our strength; not to make us proud, but to stir us up to thankfulness, and to a holy life. It is a point not much thought on by the best of us. It is necessary ofttimes to think what a great position God has raised us to in Jesus Christ and that we have this glorious attendance about us wherever we are. Oh, it would move us to comfort and a reverent life!

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
The Fountain Opened, Works, vol. 5, pp. 503-04
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