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The Angel of His Presence
A young man fresh from his travels abroad returns home with his thoughts centered on a woman of high society. The gift of a painting begins his journey to something more wonderful than all the wonders of the world.
90 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 28, 1920
67 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Grace Livingston Hill
599 books572 followersalso wrote under the pseudonym Marcia MacDonald
also published under the name Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
A popular author of her day, she wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories of religious and Christian fiction. Her characters were most often young female ingénues, frequently strong Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story.
niece to Isabella MacDonald Alden
also published under the name Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
A popular author of her day, she wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories of religious and Christian fiction. Her characters were most often young female ingénues, frequently strong Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story.
niece to Isabella MacDonald Alden
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 19, 2022
Okay this has got to be one of the oddest Grace Livingston Hill books I've ever read. I've read a couple of her books where I thought she took the impact art and music could have a little far, but this was just weird.
Basically, this guy makes all these changes because of a painting of the last supper. It was a shorter work and just felt odd the whole time.
Basically, this guy makes all these changes because of a painting of the last supper. It was a shorter work and just felt odd the whole time.
January 14, 2024
Rating: 4 / 5
As a very short read, the plot delivers on all that it promises, and if ever I need a quick, faith-based read that is very simple but very refreshing, then this is definitely the one to go to! I would have been fine for this to be a longer book though as well, especially in the romance part, which is glossed over very very quickly, but still has a pleasant enough ending in terms for being happy and romantic.
A nice little story for a nice little read, all in all.
As a very short read, the plot delivers on all that it promises, and if ever I need a quick, faith-based read that is very simple but very refreshing, then this is definitely the one to go to! I would have been fine for this to be a longer book though as well, especially in the romance part, which is glossed over very very quickly, but still has a pleasant enough ending in terms for being happy and romantic.
A nice little story for a nice little read, all in all.
December 30, 2019
Just what I needed to end the Christmas season. This short novel/ long short story centers on a painting of Christ and His apostles at the Last Supper. The painting is given to a young man returning home from some years abroad. During his time away he has become more worldly, less focused on the Master. The painting, placed above the mantel in his den, causes him to reflect on the choices he has made, the man he has become, and the man he wants to be. A lovely little story that encourages me to keep focused on what is truly of great worth, as I pack away the Christmas decorations and look forward to a new year.
May 12, 2022
This book gave off the worst vibes! I basically did the best speed reading I could in order to finish this short story in an hour or so, just so I could finally close the book, return it to the library, and get it out of my house!
Long story short, a man who has strayed from his faith is gifted a portrait of the last supper, and is inspired to change his ways. And while the author would like the reader to believe that Jesus was the inspiration for this change, in my reading opinion, it was more likely the influence of the strictly religious woman he was in love with.
Honestly, what really turned me sour to this book, was in fact, the woman he was in love with. She was just the most frustratingly legalistic woman - and I got this all from a short 80 something page book. She felt like a cult leader instead of a Sunday school teacher, and I couldn't help but think how lucky I was that I didn't have any Sunday school teachers like her! She purchased the painting that her "class" had chosen, when it was really her choice; she wrote the letter that her "class" told her to write, but she had suggested all the words; everyone changed their habits to accommodate her personal likes and dislikes... and the list goes on and on! I just cannot say how manipulative she felt as a character and I hated her! (And while her influence, objectively helped her students to live more upright lives, it still felt very manipulative.)
Another thing that really bothered me about this book was the veneration, almost adoration of a painting of Jesus. This painting literally transfixed everyone who saw it, and the legalistic woman just wanted to stare at it all the time...this probably also made her feel more cult-ish to me, but whatever. Now, I'm not someone who believes that all religious painting are evil, or a graven image or anything like that, HOWEVER the absolute love that all the characters seemed to have for this painting seemed to be FAR and AWAY more than is healthy for any physical representation of Christ instead of Christ himself. Every character who came in contact with it, felt a presence that almost made the painting seem possessed (and don't say it was possessed by Christ's spirit - I don't believe that the Holy Spirit in-dwells paintings...just Christ followers). This just seemed extra creepy and obnoxious.
Overall, I can't recommend, and frankly I will never read this again. Glad it's checked off my list and now I can (hopefully) forget I ever read it!
Long story short, a man who has strayed from his faith is gifted a portrait of the last supper, and is inspired to change his ways. And while the author would like the reader to believe that Jesus was the inspiration for this change, in my reading opinion, it was more likely the influence of the strictly religious woman he was in love with.
Honestly, what really turned me sour to this book, was in fact, the woman he was in love with. She was just the most frustratingly legalistic woman - and I got this all from a short 80 something page book. She felt like a cult leader instead of a Sunday school teacher, and I couldn't help but think how lucky I was that I didn't have any Sunday school teachers like her! She purchased the painting that her "class" had chosen, when it was really her choice; she wrote the letter that her "class" told her to write, but she had suggested all the words; everyone changed their habits to accommodate her personal likes and dislikes... and the list goes on and on! I just cannot say how manipulative she felt as a character and I hated her! (And while her influence, objectively helped her students to live more upright lives, it still felt very manipulative.)
Another thing that really bothered me about this book was the veneration, almost adoration of a painting of Jesus. This painting literally transfixed everyone who saw it, and the legalistic woman just wanted to stare at it all the time...this probably also made her feel more cult-ish to me, but whatever. Now, I'm not someone who believes that all religious painting are evil, or a graven image or anything like that, HOWEVER the absolute love that all the characters seemed to have for this painting seemed to be FAR and AWAY more than is healthy for any physical representation of Christ instead of Christ himself. Every character who came in contact with it, felt a presence that almost made the painting seem possessed (and don't say it was possessed by Christ's spirit - I don't believe that the Holy Spirit in-dwells paintings...just Christ followers). This just seemed extra creepy and obnoxious.
Overall, I can't recommend, and frankly I will never read this again. Glad it's checked off my list and now I can (hopefully) forget I ever read it!
September 15, 2011
This one was a little odd and portrayed a picture of Jesus as if it were almost a real presence, if I remember. I don't believe we should make any likenesses of Jesus, so I didn't care for this book.
February 20, 2021
I loved this story, and in trying to determine whether to rate it as a 4 or a 5, I realized I'd read it again. That's an automatic 5. My only real complaint was that it seemed too short, and that the timeline was also too short, although several months did seem to lapse between some chapters.
Like Grace Livingston Hill's "The Story of a Whim," this story revolved around a painting. And yet, it was a picture of a different scene. It wasn't a repeat of a story at all. I had been thinking of a different rendition of Jesus that my grandmother had in her home, because it had so engrossed me, as a child, looking at His tenderness. I can envision such a picture making a difference in someone's life.
"He felt with a sort of superstitious fear that if he looked at that picture, his happiness would depart." That line reminded me of the verse: "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?" - 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, NIV. It made me think of that verse because of the sharp contrast in how different people view the picture. To some, it reminded them of the fragrance of life and joy, and to others, it reminded them of the stench of death, or perhaps the fear of being deprived of something, or the fear of judgment if they held onto that "something" too tightly.
And why wouldn't people have such diverse reactions to a painting? After all, there were very diverse reactions to Jesus, too.
"As it is written:
'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"
- Romans 9:33, NIV
The reason that I loved this book was because of the love and the reverence that people had for Jesus, and for those that loved Him. Today, many Christians have the joy that Christ brings, but I'm not sure that very many people have the reverence of Him, the sense of His holiness, the sense of awe, and yes, the sense of being accountable to Him. I love to read stories where people know Jesus so well - it reminds me of what I know. It reminds me of how dear Jesus is to me, in so many ways, and sometimes that is just what my heart needs.
Another reason that I loved the book was because it showed how God can use something to draw back a wandering soul. Or a soul considering wandering.
I know someone who would complain that the painting probably had unrealistic portrayals of Jesus and His disciples as Caucasians, and that such paintings were used, not in this fiction, but in the real world, to justify racism. But Grace Livingston Hill never truly described the figures' races. I think it was immaterial to her; what mattered were their expressions. I hope, honestly, that such pictures would have more Jewish-looking figures, but if they weren't, that doesn't matter to me as much as it mattered to my friend. I think people of all cultures have tended to depict Jesus using what is familiar to them. Those artists may have been unthinking, or uneducated, or unaware, but not all of them were racists. I won't bother to deny that some artists were - but that is not the message of the Bible, or of Jesus Himself.
The final lines of the book explained the title: "The angel of His presence saved them: In His love and in His pity He redeemed them." - Isaiah 63:9. I had wondered, before that, if the author just meant one of the book characters, the way that some people call someone kindhearted "an angel." I was glad to see that the author had more in mind.
Favorite quote:
"He'd studied the chapters [of the Bible] carefully and thought he'd searched out from the best commentators all the brilliant new thoughts that man's imagination and wisdom had set down in books. But he found that his companion had studied on her knees, and, while she wasn't lacking either in book knowledge or appreciation of what he had to say, she opened up some deeper spiritual insights for him."
Like Grace Livingston Hill's "The Story of a Whim," this story revolved around a painting. And yet, it was a picture of a different scene. It wasn't a repeat of a story at all. I had been thinking of a different rendition of Jesus that my grandmother had in her home, because it had so engrossed me, as a child, looking at His tenderness. I can envision such a picture making a difference in someone's life.
"He felt with a sort of superstitious fear that if he looked at that picture, his happiness would depart." That line reminded me of the verse: "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?" - 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, NIV. It made me think of that verse because of the sharp contrast in how different people view the picture. To some, it reminded them of the fragrance of life and joy, and to others, it reminded them of the stench of death, or perhaps the fear of being deprived of something, or the fear of judgment if they held onto that "something" too tightly.
And why wouldn't people have such diverse reactions to a painting? After all, there were very diverse reactions to Jesus, too.
"As it is written:
'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"
- Romans 9:33, NIV
The reason that I loved this book was because of the love and the reverence that people had for Jesus, and for those that loved Him. Today, many Christians have the joy that Christ brings, but I'm not sure that very many people have the reverence of Him, the sense of His holiness, the sense of awe, and yes, the sense of being accountable to Him. I love to read stories where people know Jesus so well - it reminds me of what I know. It reminds me of how dear Jesus is to me, in so many ways, and sometimes that is just what my heart needs.
Another reason that I loved the book was because it showed how God can use something to draw back a wandering soul. Or a soul considering wandering.
I know someone who would complain that the painting probably had unrealistic portrayals of Jesus and His disciples as Caucasians, and that such paintings were used, not in this fiction, but in the real world, to justify racism. But Grace Livingston Hill never truly described the figures' races. I think it was immaterial to her; what mattered were their expressions. I hope, honestly, that such pictures would have more Jewish-looking figures, but if they weren't, that doesn't matter to me as much as it mattered to my friend. I think people of all cultures have tended to depict Jesus using what is familiar to them. Those artists may have been unthinking, or uneducated, or unaware, but not all of them were racists. I won't bother to deny that some artists were - but that is not the message of the Bible, or of Jesus Himself.
The final lines of the book explained the title: "The angel of His presence saved them: In His love and in His pity He redeemed them." - Isaiah 63:9. I had wondered, before that, if the author just meant one of the book characters, the way that some people call someone kindhearted "an angel." I was glad to see that the author had more in mind.
Favorite quote:
"He'd studied the chapters [of the Bible] carefully and thought he'd searched out from the best commentators all the brilliant new thoughts that man's imagination and wisdom had set down in books. But he found that his companion had studied on her knees, and, while she wasn't lacking either in book knowledge or appreciation of what he had to say, she opened up some deeper spiritual insights for him."
December 22, 2019
Returning from several years abroad, having studied and traveled across Europe, wealthy, cultured John Wentworth Stanley is a very self-satisfied young man. He is looking forward to stepping into his profession, and the possibility of courting a "ladye of high degree" who is coming across the ocean soon to visit him in his home country. He has left behind all the religious life and work he had been deeply involved before he went overseas, and has taken up instead the habits of the man of the world, such as drinking and smoking, and indulging his new tastes in art. Many of his thoughts and ideas have the "ladye" in mind: What she would think of this or that, what expression would be on her face as she looked at his home and his life.
Back at home, however, some of his Christian coworkers in the city mission want to honor his leadership and contribution to their work. They get together and pick out a wonderful painting of the Last Supper to place in their hero's den. The painting has a way of drawing those who look at it into the picture. The Christ figure seems to look into their faces and interact with them. When the painting is hung in Stanley's den over his fireplace, he begins to find his life changing under the gaze of Christ. He also meets and falls in love with a wonderful young lady who is a big part of the mission work.
This is apparently one of GLH's shorter stories. It was a quick read. I often think that keeping in mind that Christ's presence is all around us is a great motivator to living a holy life.
Back at home, however, some of his Christian coworkers in the city mission want to honor his leadership and contribution to their work. They get together and pick out a wonderful painting of the Last Supper to place in their hero's den. The painting has a way of drawing those who look at it into the picture. The Christ figure seems to look into their faces and interact with them. When the painting is hung in Stanley's den over his fireplace, he begins to find his life changing under the gaze of Christ. He also meets and falls in love with a wonderful young lady who is a big part of the mission work.
This is apparently one of GLH's shorter stories. It was a quick read. I often think that keeping in mind that Christ's presence is all around us is a great motivator to living a holy life.
December 27, 2019
Kind of bizarre. A painting of Christ at the last supper becomes so real to a man that he turns around his life & repents of his apostasy.
Also he stops smoking and playing cards and drinking because according to GLH, those things are sins. Odd that she doesn't ever consider the indisputable fact of the goodness of wine in the Bible.
There's not much else to the story (it's quite short), so I don't really feel that this one is worth reading.
Also he stops smoking and playing cards and drinking because according to GLH, those things are sins. Odd that she doesn't ever consider the indisputable fact of the goodness of wine in the Bible.
There's not much else to the story (it's quite short), so I don't really feel that this one is worth reading.
December 29, 2019
Early Grace Livingston Hill book
A very short book, one of Grace’s books. It is interesting to read and notice how much she grew as an author. She didn’t take much time in this story to develop the characters, or a plot. Not a bad book, in my opinion. It’s not one of my favorites, but I am glad that I could read it.
A very short book, one of Grace’s books. It is interesting to read and notice how much she grew as an author. She didn’t take much time in this story to develop the characters, or a plot. Not a bad book, in my opinion. It’s not one of my favorites, but I am glad that I could read it.
September 1, 2025
A sweet, short little tale of a young man changed by the desire to win the affection of a young woman devoted to Christ. Similar to Louisa May Alcott's "An Old Fashioned Girl", it may come across preachy, but possess a simple charm that makes this an endearing little read.
September 24, 2020
This short Christian book is light on plot and, as one of Hill's earliest, is not a fully developed novel. It was still a pleasant quick read, though, and hints at Hill's style to come.
January 1, 2021
I love Grace Livingston Hill! I would love to have a copy of this painting hanging in my house.
October 11, 2021
Very short story.
January 20, 2022
What was the second story all about?
This second 'story ' should not have been allowed in a Grave Livingstone Hill book. It was dreadful. Omit it!
This second 'story ' should not have been allowed in a Grave Livingstone Hill book. It was dreadful. Omit it!
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March 25, 2022It was kind of hard to read considering it was written in the 1950's. Also, even though this is a romance, it didn't feel like one. They met each other and then BOOM! they're married.
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January 22, 2008Hill, Grace Livingston
November 27, 2012
Too short, too sweet!
May 13, 2010
Boorring.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews