Around the throne of God a band
Of bright and glorious angels stand;
Sweet harps within their hands they hold,
And on their heads are crowns of gold.
Some wait around Him ready still
To sing His praise and do His will,
And some, when He commands them, go
To guard His servants here below.
Lord, give Thine angels every day
Command to guard us on our way,
And bid them every evening keep
Their watch around us while we sleep.
So shall no wicked thing draw near
To do us harm or cause us fear;
And we shall dwell, when life is past,
With angels round Thy throne at last.
-------words by John M. Neale, 1842, Hymns for Children
Where did you get those awesome pictures of Michael, Raphael and Gabriel?!?! And is that really the child Jesus with Raphael? There's a tradition that St. Raphael was Jesus's guardian angel, but so few people know it that I'm surprised to see it.
Jane, here's a link to the page I got the images from. They are actually stained glass from St. John's Church in Warminster, U.K. Aren't they lovely? And I think it is the Christ child whose hand Raphael is holding....
http://www.ignitingtheflamewithin.co.uk/angel%20pictures.htm
Thank you! I'll be there to check it out. I have the world's biggest crush on the Archangel Gabriel. (And I'm probably going to get my head taken off with a sword for admitting to that on a public forum...)