And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
Ver. 4. Thy prayers and thine alms] Dr Powel relateth this saying of Leotinus, Prince of Wales, that when he was moved by some to make war upon our Henry III, Ego, inquit, formido eius eleemosynas magis certe multo quam eius copias. And the queen-mother of Scotland was heard to say, that she more feared the fastings and prayers of John Knox and his disciples than an army of twenty thousand men.
For a memorial before God] How did the angel know this? Angels have a threefold knowledge: 1. Natural; 2. Revealed, as Daniel 9:20,23, and here; 3. Experimental,Ephesians 3:10 .