The Third in order of the Choirs of Angels are the Thrones. They are the representatives of the majesty of Almighty God, as the throne of an earthly monarch is supposed to have communicated to it something of the dignity of him who sits thereon. Men bow to the throne as worthy of honor and respect. They pay it a relative honor as the seat of their King. So to the Thrones in Heaven is communicated something of the majesty that belongs to the invisible God.

The Thrones are the intimate friends of God. They talk to Him and He to them, as a man talks to his friend. Like to them were many of the Saints of the Old Testament; Abraham, the friend of God; Henoch, who walked with God; David, the man after God's own heart; the Apostles of Our Lord and many holy women, like the Blessed Margaret Mary. God gives this glorious privilege to those, who are obedient to the faintest whisper of His Divine Voice speaking to their souls.

How can we attain to this intimate friendship with God? By a continual and exact obedience. The Thrones are a created reflection of the perfect will of God. His will is theirs and theirs is His. Nothing wins God's heart like obedience. This made Abraham the friend of God. God reposes in the obedient with perfect confidence. No wonder, for implicit, unquestioning obedience leads without fail to every other virtue.