James Challen The Angels' Mission (1845)

FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

THIRD SERIES.

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VOL. II. BETHANY, VA. SEPTEMBER, 1845. NO. IX.
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THE ANGELS' MISSION--By JAMES CHALLEN.

      The following theme was suggested to the writer by a forgotten piece found in one of the periodicals of the day.

A little band of angels bright once winged their gentle way
From the blest fields of azure light, the realms of endless day;
And wandered o'er the things of earth, so beautiful and sweet,
To find an offering for the skies, acceptable and meet.
As on they went things fair and gay their lovely shadows flung,
And flowers of Eden's bloom they found with dew-drops on them hung,
And diamonds bright of princely worth, and pearls from out the sea,
And helmets gay and glittering blades, the treasures of the free;
And stars, the dust of heaven's throne, were flashing in the sky,
And forms too beautiful for earth, were seen in passing by.
But on they went with rapid wing: "These, these, alas! will fade;
The things that worthy are of heaven, of earth must not be made."
Through forests hoar, and valleys deep, and foaming seas they went;
For one thing pure and good to find they on their errand bent.
At length they saw a light heart boy within the silent glen;
A sight so beautiful, so sweet, they never saw till then
Amazed, entranced, in silent awe they poised upon their wing--
"An offering meet we've found on earth, thence to the skies we'll bring."
When thus the leader courteous spoke: "But will our Father own
A gift so mortal and so frail to lay upon his throne?"
To this the next in haste replied, with reverend look and eye,
"Our God has power to grant the gift of IMMORTALITY."
The third then spoke: "'Tis love and virtue that alone can shine in worlds above,
And flourish in their native skies; for God alone is love."
Besides, from sore temptation's coils, and any evil dart,
Will turn the deadly point away that's aim'd against his heart.
Thus spake the angels who for aye behold their Father's face,
With eye so full of tenderness and heart so full of grace.
To this the leader then replied, with equal grace and truth,
"There is a beauty far more bright than innocence and youth,
Which childhood in its time of bud is here denied to share,
And only on the stern of life the ripened fruit may bear.
Shall we not rather wait for this, than offer up a boon,
Which, like the flow'rets of the grass, will fade at early noon?"
And thus they waited till the child had now become a man,
For to the immortal life on earth is but a narrow span;
Then pain at id sorrow came apace, and from his furrowed brow
The rose of health and beauty fled, and grief had settled now,
And anguish bowed his stalwart frame, and with'ring age sat there,
And on the fibres of his heart the gnawing tooth of care;
And darkness veiled his soul in deep and hopeless agony,
And peace all died--and in its stead despair and misery.
Then came the visitants of heaven, and words of bliss they spoke,
And on the chaos of his soul the light or glory broke.
His heart grew strong, his feet stood firm, and faith with eager eye
Drew virtue from the things not seen, eternal in the sky;
And thus within the crown of life a glorious gem was seen,
That, but for him of Nazareth, on earth had never been.
And when temptations gathered thick around the path of life,
And wind and storm, and lightning's flash all mingled in the strife,
His guardian angels hovered near to watch his struggles dire,
To kindle hope, that would have died, with heaven's eternal fire;
Until with other strength than his he battled to be free,
And thus the grace was perfected of sweet humility.
But still they poured temptation's darts, thick as the icy hail;
But not to blast, for firm he stood secure in coat of mail;
More godlike grew his countenance, as seraphs' pure and bright,
And on the windows of his soul they shed celestial light;
And when they breathed into his heart the joy with which they're filled.
"'Tis done," they said, "the work is done--our mission is fulfilled."
With awe they looked upon the work which God to them had given,
And then with rapture and surprise pronounced it fit for heaven.
But with those who looked upon his withered lifeless form,
They wept that he should fall beneath so pitiless a storm,
In anguish wept; but still the soul all pure and bright had grown,
And to the realms of light they flew and laid it on the throne.

      CINCINNATI, May 7, 1845.

[The Millennial Harbinger (September 1845): 432.]

ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC EDITION

      James Challen's "The Angels' Mission" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 2, No. 9, September 1845. The electronic version of the poem has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1845), p. 432.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. I have let stand variations and inconsistencies in the author's (or editor's) use of italics, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the poem. Emendations are as follows:

            Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 432:    IMMORTALITY. [ IMMORTALITY."
            "Tis love [ "'Tis
            pure aud bright [ pure and bright

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 22 June 1998.
Updated 2 July 2003.

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