A quick search for occurrences of the name Michael in Scripture finds mentions of several earthly, mortal persons, not the archangel, in Numbers, 1 and 2 Chronicles and Ezra. An angelic figure (possibly Gabriel; cf. Daniel 8-9 and Luke 1) speaks to Daniel about Michael in Daniel 10 and 12, describing him as "one of the chief princes" (10:13) and "your prince" (10:21), "the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people." What the angel Gabriel calls a great or chief prince apparently translates, in Jude 9, as "the archangel" who contended against the devil over the body of Moses. Jude seems to know a lot of things that aren't public knowledge. In Revelation 12, John depicts a war in heaven in which Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and his angels.
Putting together what Gabriel, Jude and John tell us about Michael, his story seems to be that of a high-ranking warrior among the armies of (usually) invisible warriors who defend the faithful against the spiritual forces of evil, and of unseen battles fought behind the scenes of history that are more significant, from heaven's point of view, than any events and conflicts we know about. It brings to mind Psalm 34: "The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them." There are a number of accounts of angels acting in a martial manner, such as the one that threatened Balaam and his ass in Numbers 22, one that routed the Assyrians in 2 Kings 19, 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 37, one that sprang Peter from prison and killed Herod in Acts 12. Especially, I find myself thinking about 2 Kings 6, when the Syrians besieged Elisha, and his servant be like, "What'll we do?" and Elisha prayed the Lord to open his eyes: "and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."
So you see, the story of Michael and all angels is about the unseen forces, as important if not more important than what we do see, carrying out God's will and protetcing His people throughout history with a "charge over you" (Psalm 91), both on a mass scale (as with archangels like Michael) and on a personal level (cf. Matthew 18). ART: Public domain.
Know, beloved, You are cherished
By the Lord who lives on high.
Scarce a meadow's bloom has perished
Hidden from His watchful eye.
Tracing too the sparrow's fall,
Christ perceives your faintest call.
Know indeed that unseen spirits
Guard the chosen of His grace,
Loyal to the blood and merit
Of the Savior of our race;
Armed, they guard us fore and back,
Parrying the foe's attack.
Michael's captains stand their stations
Round those Jesus suffered for,
Though the geniuses of nations
Gird themselves for siege and war.
They hold in that hidden realm
Ground the foe would overwhelm.
Sense and reason may dissemble;
What is naught may pose as much.
Nonetheless, fret not nor tremble:
Christ is here, as close as touch,
And the guard you cannot see
Greater than your fears can be.
Lord, amid our world's upheaval,
Grant us eyes of faith to see
All You've done for our retrieval;
Fill us with such constancy
Till we, loosed from every harm,
Walk with angels arm in arm.
POSTSCRIPT: For what it's worth, this is my 550th original hymn—recalling, once again, that the numbering on this blog goes all the way down to zero. I hope someday to make it to at least 600, but I don't know how long that will take. I mean, I've already done four laps around the Church Year (one-year and three-year lectionaries), and this Heroes of the Faith section is drawing to a close in maybe three more hymns. So the momentum I've built up lately may not last. Suggestions? I'm open to them!
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