Though the rulers of this world know it not , yet often in their councils angels have been spokesmen . Human eyes have looked upon them ; human ears have listened to their appeals ; human lips have opposed their suggestions and ridiculed their counsels ; human hands have met them with insult and abuse . In the council hall and the court of justice these heavenly messengers have shown an intimate acquaintance with human history ; they have proved themselves better able to plead the cause of the oppressed than were their ablest and most eloquent defenders . They have defeated purposes and arrested evils that would have greatly retarded the work of God and would have caused great suffering to His people . In the hour of peril and distress " the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him , and delivereth them ." Psalm 34:7 .
With earnest longing , God ' s people await the tokens of their coming King . As the watchmen are accosted , " What of the night ?" the answer is given unfalteringly , "' The morning cometh , and also the night .' Isaiah 21:11 , 12 . Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops . Soon there will be a revealing of His glory . The Sun of Righteousness is about to shine forth . The morning and the night are both at hand--the opening of endless day to the righteous , the settling down of eternal night to the wicked ."
As the wrestling ones urge their petitions before God , the veil separating them from the unseen seems almost withdrawn . The heavens glow with the dawning of eternal day , and like the melody of angel songs the words fall upon the ear : " Stand fast to your allegiance . Help is coming ." Christ , the almighty Victor , holds out to His weary soldiers a crown of immortal glory ; and His voice comes from the gates ajar : " Lo , I am with you . Be not afraid . I am acquainted with all your sorrows ; I have borne your griefs . You are not warring against untried enemies . I have fought the battle in your behalf , and in My name you are more than conquerors ." The precious Saviour will send help just when we need it . The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints . Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His . Every cross that we are called to bear He has borne before us . The Lord permits conflicts , to prepare the soul for peace . The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God ' s people ; but it is the time for every true believer to look up , and by faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him .
" The redeemed of the Lord shall return , and come with singing unto Zion ; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head : they shall obtain gladness and joy ; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away . I , even I , am He that comforteth you : who art thou , that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die , and of the son of man which shall be made as grass ; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker ; . . . and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor , as if he were ready to destroy ? and where is the fury of the oppressor ? The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed , and that he should not die in the pit , nor that his bread should fail . But I am the Lord thy God , that divided the sea , whose waves roared : The Lord of hosts is His name . And I have put My words in thy mouth , and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand ." Isaiah 51:11-16 .
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