TEXT: Romans 8:28

SUBJECT: Divine Cordial #4

Tonight, with the Lord’s help, we’ll move on in our Puritan study. The author is Thomas Watson. The title is A Divine Cordial. The goal is encouragement. God wants us to know that—no matter what happens to us—

Not everything is good, but everything works for good because God wills it and His power, wisdom, and love are great enough to make it so!

The book is divided into two parts. The first is The best things work for good; the second is The worst things work for good. At the moment, we’re still on Part One. Thus far, we’ve learned three wonderful things work for our good. They are,

• The attributes of God

• The promises of God

• The mercies of God

As wrong-headed as Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians are on some points, on one point they’re far more Biblical than we are: They think about angels and know they’re involved in our lives.

When was the last time you thought about angels? And when did it last occur to you that one may have helped you? I asked several people this week and they all pretty much said the same thing—"huh?" Angels hardly ever cross our minds. But they should because the Bible says they are sent by God to

This is not only taught, but it’s illustrated. An angel got a wife for Isaac. Angels protected Elisha from the Syrians. An angel explained a vision to Daniel. An angel broke Peter out of prison. An angel encouraged Paul. And, of course, angels came to help our Lord in both the wilderness and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Angels are real; they’re involved in our lives. And they "work together for our good". Watson says,

That’s great, isn’t it? When you remember the angels in the Bible—and their great power—it’s good to know they’re on our side! Believing in angels is not superstitious; it’s not New Age-y; it’s Christian! If the Bible says there are angels and that they help us, then we ought to believe in them and thank God for the help they provide.

So far, I’ve mentioned several people whom the angels have helped. They were all great men—Isaac, Daniel, Paul, Peter, Elisha, and Jesus Christ our Lord. I could also mention Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, and Mary, the Lord’s mother. What all these people have in common, of course, is that they were outstanding—none but our Lord was perfect—but they were all models of godliness.

Do angels help only such people? No they don’t. The verse I quoted at the beginning of the sermon was Hebrews 1:14. It says that angels come to serve

"the heirs of salvation".

Some of these heirs are remarkable—Apostles, prophets, martyrs, missionaries, and so on. But most of them are not. Most of them are mediocre, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, nothing-special. Yet the angels help us too. The Puritan says,

Now that we know whom the angels help, Watson goes on to tell us when they help us. He says,

He doesn’t say it, but he could have added: For all eternity.

Life, death, Judgment, Eternity. That pretty well covers things, doesn’t it? How mindful we ought to be of angels and how much we should thank the Lord for them!

He starts with life.

What do they do for us? He gives two examples. They comfort and they protect.

Luke 1:28-30,

This is Gabriel speaking to our Lord’s mother, of course. Should we expect him to speak to us as he did to Mary? I don’t think so. This was a Unique Event that required a Unique Explanation.

But leaving that aside, angels may be used by God to comfort us. How could they do that? It’s hard to say, but here are some ideas that are hinted at in the Bible, at least.

When we’re worried or don’t know what to do, an angel may bring a verse of the Bible to mind—just what we needed. Have you ever opened the Bible at random and found just what you were looking for? If so, maybe an angel caused it to fall open on just that page and your eye to fall on the verse you needed.

If Bad Angels can put evil thoughts into your mind, I don’t see why Good Angels can’t put encouraging thoughts there. If demons can lead us away from God, why can’t angels lead us back to Him?

This is somewhat speculative, of course, but we do know this for sure: angels helped the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. And what He most needed there was…encouragement.

Angels not only encourage us, but they also protect us. Here, we’re on safer ground. There can be no doubt that angels protected God’s people.

Here are some examples—II Kings 6:17, Isaiah 37:36, Daniel 6:22.

And we have not only examples, but promises,

• Psalm 34:7, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them".

• Psalm 91:11-12, "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways, they shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone".

Angels do us a lot of good in this life, therefore, they

Angels not only help us in life, but they help us in death. Watson says,

This speaks for itself. What would you think of a servant who served his master well when the master was healthy, but the moment he became sick, the servant quit him? You’d say he was an unfaithful servant. The sicker the master is, the more he needs the servant’s help. As we lay sick and dying, God does not withdraw His angels. He sends them to us with special favors the young and healthy can never know.

If angels help us in death, then surely they,

Angels don’t quit us at death. They go on to help us even at the resurrection and judgment seat of Christ.

What do they do? Watson says they

Watson is not suffering from an over-active imagination. He cites chapter and verse to make all three points, Matthew 24:31, Matthew 13:38-42,

If angels carry our souls to heaven, present us to Christ, and separate us from the wicked, they must

The last point is not from Watson, but from me. Angels help us in heaven. Now, we won’t need the same help then that we need now.

But they will add to our happiness. Nothing makes me happier than to hear someone compliment my wife or kids. The compliments don’t make her more beautiful or them more polite than they are, but it’s good to hear others agreeing with my assessment of them.

In the same way, nothing makes the believer happier than to hear someone praising the Lord. And that’s what angels will do…forever.

Thus, even then—and forever—angels will increase our joy in Christ. And so,