AMBITION-End of Worldly.

The shadow, wheresoever it passes, leaves no track behind it; and of the greatest personages of the world, when they are once dead, then there remains no more than if they had never lived. How many preceding emperors of the Assyrian monarchy were lords of the world as well as Alexander! and now we remain not only ignorant of their monuments, but know not so much as their names. And of the same great Alexander, what have we at this day, except the vain noise of his fame? Bp. Taylor.

AMBITION-Examples of.

Adam and Eve (Gen. iii, 5, 6); Builders of Babel (Gen. xi, 4); Miriam and Aaron (Num. xii, 2); Korah, &c. (Num. xvi, 3); Absalom (2 Sam. xv, 4; xviii, 18); Adonijah (1 Kings i, 5); Sennacherib (2 Kings xix, 23); Shebna (Isa. xxii, 16); Sons of Zebedee (Matt. xx, 21); Antichrist (2 Thes. ii, 4); Diotrephes (3 John 5).

AMBITION-True.

Anon.

The true ambition there alone resides Where justice vindicates, and wisdom guides;

Where inward dignity joins outward state, Our purpose good, as our achievements great;

Where public blessings, public praise attend,

Where glory is our motive, not our end; Wouldst thou be famed? have those high

acts in view

Brave men would act, though scandal would ensue. Young. AMBITION-Unreasonableness of.

There is no greater unreasonableness in the world than in the designs of ambition; for it makes the present certainly miserable, unsatisfied, troublesome, and discontented, for the uncertain acquisition of an honour, which nothing can secure; and besides a thousand possibilities of miscarrying, it relies upon no greater certainty than our life; and when we are dead, all the world sees who was the fool. Bp. Taylor.

AMBITIOUS MAN-Emblem of the

The serpent, though creeping in the dust, hath a lofty spirit, reaching not only to men, but even at the birds of the air. And here is the ambitious man's emblem. He was bred out of the dust, yet he catcheth at lordships and honours; ransacks the city, forages the country, scours it through the Church; but his errand is to the court. He is the maggot of pride, begot out of corruption; and looks in an office as the ape did when he had got on the robes of a T. Adams.

senator.

AMBITIOUS MAN-Inconstancy of the.

His life is composed of leaps, bounds, and skips. He is the very reed, the very shuttle-cock of inconstancy. He is a mere wind-blown balloon, which is tossed this way and that way, sometime with the foot, sometime with the hand. He is enforced upon all occasions to hear the fool's babble; and having drunk so long and deep draughts of the water of forgetfulness, he cannot awake himself from his drunkenness until death come to close up his eyes.

N. Caussin. AMBITIOUS MAN-Madness of the.

While he beholds the stars, with Thales,

he forgets the ditch; and yawning so wide into his mouth. I have read of Menecrates, for preferment, contempt is easily thrown a physician, that would needs be counted a god, and took no other fee of his patients but their vow to worship him. Dionysius Syracusanus, hearing of this, invited him to a banquet; and to honour him according to his desire, set before him nothing but a censer of frankincense; with the smoke whereof he was feasted till he starved, while others fed on good meat. This showed the great naturalist a natural fool, a madman. Sapor, a Persian king, wrote himself, King of kings, Brother to the Sun and Moon, and Partner with the Stars. Yet, alas! he was a man; therefore a madman in the arrogation of his style.

T. Adams.

Eusebius reports of Simon Magus, that he would be honoured as a god, and had an altar with this inscription, "To Simon, the holy god:" which it seemed his harlot Helena did instigate. But when, by the power of the devil, he presumed to fly up to heaven, at the command of St. Peter, the unclean spirit broke his neck. He climbed high, but he came down with a vengeance. His miserable end showed him an ambitious man, a madman. T. Adams.

AMBITIOUS MAN-Restlessness of the.

Where is it that the ambitious man can find place of stability and centre of repose? If he be in quest of honour (and when is he not?), behold him in a whirlpool, in fire; behold him in the feverish excesses of heat and cold, which afford him no intermission. Admit he obtain what he pretendeth unto, no sooner is he engaged in one way, but his feet itch to transfer him to another. If he be but upon terms of repulse, behold him drenched in desperate and furious envy, which maketh him die as many deaths as there are others more happy than himself. Verily the wheel of Ixion is a silly fable in comparison of the tortures of the ambitious. N. Caussin.

When it is prefixed before, it is assertory; as in the Evangelists, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee," that is, Amen, amen, I say unto thee; which is a vehement assertion of the truth and necessity of what he speaks.

When it is subjoined and used at the end of a speech or prayer, it is precatory, and signifies our earnest desire to have our prayers heard and our petitions granted; as," Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; Amen and Amen," &c.

In the former sense it signifies so it is; in the latter, so be it. Bp. Hopkins. AMEN-Teachings of.

It teaches us to put up all our prayers with understanding. For when we use vain and insignificant babbling, how can we seal and close them up with a hearty Amen? When we pray without understanding, and say Amen, it is like setting a seal to an instrument when we know not what it contains, and is expressly condemned by the apostles (1 Cor. xiv, 16).

It teacheth us to present all our requests to the throne of grace, with fervent zeal and affection. Amen is a wing to our prayers; it is the bow that shoots them up to heaven.

Whether we pray ourselves, or join in prayers with others and make their petitions ours, we ought to attest our understanding of, our assent unto, and our earnest desires after, the mercies that are begged by sealing up the prayers with an Bp. Hopkins.

Amen.

AMEN-Ancient Use of.

St. Jerome tells us, it was the custom in his days to close up every prayer with such an unanimons consent, that their Amens rung and echoed in the church, and sounded like the fall of waters or the noise of thunder. Bp. Hopkins.

AMEN-Importance of the Public Use of.

It would be a very beseeming thing if Amens were audible and sounding; unless we are ashamed to be thought to pray when others pray, and to make use of others' expressions to present our petitions. When we come to the public worship, we are not to look upon the minister only as praying for the people; but he is the people's mouth unte God; and it is, or ought to be, the prayer of the whole congregation which he presents. They pray with him and by him; and every petition that he makes to God ought to be ratified with an Amen sent from our very hearts which, if we sincerely and affectionately perform, we have abundant assurance that what is confirmed by so many suffrages on earth, shall likewise be confirmed by our Father which is in heaven. And how beautiful, how becoming, would this be, when the whole congregation shall thus conspire together in their request.

AMIABILITY—in Religion.

Bp. Hopkins.

;

We have sometimes seen a form of distinguished personal beauty disfigured by a want of cleanliness and slovenly attire. The exquisite symmetry could not be altogether concealed; but how much more attractive would it have appeared with other and more suitable accompaniments! So it is with character; there may be real beauty of holiness, but in sad and slovenly attire of temper. Changing the illustration, I may observe the brilliancy of the most valuable diamond may be hidden by earthly incrustations, the lustre of gold may be dimmed for want of polish, and the most majestic portrait be half covered with dust or mildew. So religion, which is more precious than rubies, more valuable than gold, and the very image of God in the soul of man, may have its worth and its excellence depreciated by infirmities of temper, and a want of amiable deportment. Religious young men, be amiable as well as pious; not only your happiness, but your usefulness, requires it. You know that vice has not unfrequently its attractions in the amiabilities with which it is associated, and that some are reconciled to it on this ground. It is equally true that religion may have its repulsions, and that some may be driven from it by these partial deformities. Be it, then, your desire, your endeavour, your prayer, to unite the holy and the amiable; let the diamond with its flashing hues be thus seen in its most tasteful setting-the gold in its brightest polish, and the picture exhibiting the freshest colours, and surrounded by the richest frame. J. A. James.

AMUSEMENTS.

They are to religion like breezes of air to the flame-gentle ones will fan it, but strong ones will put it out. Dr. Thomas.

"He that is not satisfied," says Bishop Wilson, 'that plays are an unlawful diversion, let him, if he dare, offer up this prayer to God before he goes Lord, lead me not into temptation, and bless me in what I am now to be employed in.'" There are many other occupations and amusements in which the same advice is worth attending to. J. Whitecross. AMUSEMENTS-Innocent.

Innocent amusements are such as excite moderately, and such as produce a cheerful frame of mind, not boisterous mirth; such as refresh, instead of exhausting, the system; such as recur frequently, rather than continue long; such as send us back to our daily duties invigorated in body and spirit; such as we can partake of in the presence and society of respectable friends; such as consist with and are favorable to a grateful piety; such as are chastened by selfrespect, and are accompanied with the consciousness that life has a higher end than to be amused. Dr. Channing.

ANGEL-Meaning of Term.

Both the Hebrew and the Greek words signify messenger. But in the Scriptures a prophetic dream is called an angel (although occasionally we find that real manifest angels, that is, spirits in a partly human form, appeared). The pillar of fire that went before the Israelites is called God's angel. The winds and flames of fire are angels to us when used by God to teach us, or as rods to punish us. The angel of a nation denotes its king or ruler. The angels of the churches were no other than the ecclesiastical ministers set over them-whether bishops, priests, or elders. It is to be understood that the admonitions addressed to the angels of the seven churches applied to the members of those churches, rather than, if at all, to the ministers. Anon.

ANGELS-Creation of.

It is generally supposed that the angels were created at the same time with the visible universe, and that they are considered as comprehended under the general name heavens. That the angels were created at some particular period, we learn from the testimony of Num. xvi, 22, and xxvii, 16, "God of the spirits." (Heb. i, 7; Col. i, 16): By Him were all things created... visible and invisible, whether they be thrones," &c. But that they were created on the first, or on any one of the

six days, seem to be asserted (like most received opinions) with more confidence than reason, chiefly on the authority of the repetition in Gen. ii, 1:-"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them "-unless we are to suppose that more was meant to be implied in the concluding summary than in the previous narration itself, and that the angels are to be considered as the host who inhabit the visible heav'ns. For when it is said (Job xxxviii, 7) that they shouted for joy before God at the creation, it proves rather that they were then already in existence, than that they were then first created. Many, at least, of the Greek, and some of the Latin fathers, are of opinion that angels, as being spirits, must have existed long before the material world; and it seems even probable that the apostacy, which caused even the expulsion of so many thousands from heaven, took place before the foundations of this world were laid.

ANGELS-in Death.

Milton.

It has been too often said to have been always said without truth, that angel forms were standing round the bed, waiting to attend the spirit in its last flight. Of course we can never feel sure, when something of this kind is affirmed by a dying Christian-we can never feel sure that there is anything more than a sort of delirious vision, or that the words may be taken as aught else than an indication of wandering of mind as spirit struggles free from flesh. But neither would we ever venture to be sure that the matter of fact is not precisely as dying men state, and that radiant forms, not the figments of delirium, but the real embodyings of ministering angels, are actually crowding the chamber, though there may be only one privileged eye to which they are visible. This we can feel, that if indeed, it be true that there is thus a manifestation to the senses at the very moment when a man has the greatest need of comfort and succour, God mightily consults for the wants of our nature, and suits His dealings to our constitution. The angels, acting merely as spirit upon spirit, may possibly so strengthen man passing through the valley of the shadow of death as though they clothed themselves in glorious forms to advance visibly before the sufferer as a guardian and a guide. H. Melvill. ANGELS-Description of.

Six wings he wore, to shade His lineaments divine; the pair that clad Each shoulder broad came mantling o'er his breast

With regal ornament; the middle pair Girt, like a starry zone, his waist, and round

Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold

And colours dipp'd in heaven; the third his feet

Shadow'd from either heel with feather'd mail,

Sky-tinctured grain.
ANGELS-Guardianship of.

We may suppose a troop of heavenly beings entrusted with the guardianship of one of God's people, and when this individual is in circumstances of danger, or perplexity, or sorrow, we may believe that these attendant spirits do much towards removing obstacles from his path, directing him as to the best course to take, or suggesting material of comfort and of hope. We are not able to measure, and far less, as we suppose, to overrate the amount of benefit which results to Christians from these spiritual ministrations. But who will not allow that if, as it was with the prophet's servant, the eyes were opened to discern the chariot of fire, and the horses of fire marshalled to our protection-who will not allow that we should have a greater sense of security than is ordinarily conveyed through an infusion of fresh vigour into the principle of faith?

H. Melvill.

ANGELS (Joy of)—at Christ's Birth.

We think that no sooner had the High Priest in the Christian Church entered on His earthly sojourning, than the mystery which had for ages been hid in the Eternal Mind, of which only dim and shadowy notices had been vouchsafed to any finite intelligence this mystery, we say, broke suddenly forth; a wave of delightful an

them went out from thousand times ten thousand squadrons; with one accord the countless multitude of spirits swept their harp-strings, and so loud was the minstrelsy and so wide the waving of the chorus, that the shepherds on Bethlehem's plains caught the echo of the one, and the magi in the distant East caught the reverberation of the other. H. Melvill.

ANGELS-Knowledge of.

Nothing but omniscience can outdo the knowledge of angels; a knowledge that dives into all the recesses of nature, and spies out all the secret workings of second causes by a certain and immediate view; which the quickest human intellect pursues by tedious meditation, dubious conjectures, short experiments, and perhaps after all is forced to sit down in ignorance and dissatisfaction. Dr. South.

ANGELS-limited in Knowledge.

The good angels do not look into all the secret things of God, as the papists pretend; some things indeed they know by

In the ecclesiastical history of Socrates, there is mention made of one Theodorus, a martyr put to extreme torments by Julian the Apostate, and dismissed again by him when he saw him unconquerable. Ruffinus, in his history, saith, that he met with this martyr a long time after his trial, and asked him whether the pains he felt were not insufferable? He answered, that at first it was somewhat grievous, but after a while there seemed to stand by him a young man in white, who, with a soft and comfortable handkerchief, wiped off the sweat from his body (which, through extreme anguish, was little less than blood) and bade him be of good cheer, insomuch as then it was rather a punishment than a pleasure to him to be taken off the rack, sith when the tormentors had done the angel was gone. Thus it is that the blessed angels of God have ministered from time to time to His people, in the days of their distress; it may be bringing food to their bodies, as once to Elijah; but certainly comfort unspeakable to their souls, as to Jacob, Hagar, Daniel, Zacharias, Joseph, Cornelius, Paul, &c., and to our modern martyrs, in their prisons, at the stake, and in the fire. They pity our human frailties, and secretly suggest comfort, when we perceive it not; they are as ready to help us as the bad angels are to tempt us; always they stand looking on the face of God to receive orders, for the

We believe, upon the authority of Scripture, that angels are beings who minister to the righteous; but the ministration is altogether secret. There are no outward tokens by which we can determine when or how it is carried on. We can only suppose that many of those suggestions which seem whispered to our minds, we know not by whose voice-many of the warnings, exhortations, and consolations, which we are conscious of receiving, we cannot tell when -are to be ascribed to kind and watchful spirits, who cover us by God's command, observing our dangers, and studious to avert them. H. Melvill.

ANGELS-Objects of their Ministry.

Their ministry relates especially to believers; (Heb. i, 14) "are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation ?" (Ps. xxxiv, 7) "the angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear Him." (Ps. xci, 11) "He shall give His angels charge over thee." (Isa. lxiii, 9) "the angel of His presence saved them." (Matt. xviii, 10) “their angels do always behold the face of My Father." (Matt. xiii, 41) "the Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend." (xxiv) "they shall gather together His elect from the four winds." (Acts xii, 15) "it is his angel." (1 Cor. xi, 13) "for this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels," namely, as some think (and numerous examples, in confirmation of their opinion, are not wanting), those angels whose office it was to be present at the religious assemblies of believers. Milton.

ANGELS-Ministers of Vengeance.

They are sometimes sent from heaven as messengers of the Divine vengeance, to punish the sins of men. They destroy cities and nations (Gen. xix, 13; 2 Sam. xxiv, 16). (1 Chron. xxi, 16) "David saw the angel of Jehovah.... having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." They lay waste whole armies with unexpected destruction (2 Kings xix, 35). Compare also other passages to the same

effect. Hence they are frequently represented as making their appearance in the shape of an armed host. (Gen. xxxii, 1, 2) "this is God's host." (Josh. v, 15) "the captain of the host of Jehovah." (2 Kings vi, 17) "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire." (Ps. lxviii, 17) "the chariots of God are twenty thousand." (Luke ii, 13) "a multitude of the heavenly host." Milton.

ANGELS-Nature of.

The very names assigned to angels by their Creator convey to us ideas pre-eminently pleasing, fitted to captivate the heart, and exalt the imagination; ideas which dispel gloom, banish despondency, enliven hope, and awaken sincere and unmingled joy. They are living ones; beings in whoin life is inherent and instinctive; who sprang up under the quickening influence of the Sun of Righteousness, beneath the morning of everlasting day; who rose, expanded, and blossomed in the uncreated beam, on the banks of the river of life, and were nourished by the waters of immortality. They are spirits, winged with activity, and formed with power, which no labour wearies, and no duration impairs; their faculties always fresh and young, their exertions unceasing and wonderful, and their destination noble and delightful, without example and without end. They are burning ones, glowing with a pure and serene, with an intense and an immortal flame of Divine love; returning without ceasing the light and warmth which they have received from the great central sun of the universe, reflecting, with supreme beauty, the image of that divine luminary; and universally glorious, although differing from each other in glory. Dr. Dwight.

Angels are spirits (Matt. viii, 16). They are of etherial nature (1 Kings xxii, 21; Ps. civ, 4, compared with Matt. viii, 31; Heb. i, 7); "as lightning" (Luke x, 18), whence also they are called seraphim. Immortal (Luke xx, 36), "neither can they die any more." Excellent in wisdom (2 Sam. xiv, 20); most powerful in strength (Ps. ciii, 20; 2 Pet. ii, 11; 2 Kings xix, 35; 2 Thess. i, 7). Endued with the greatest swiftness, which is figuratively described by the attribute of wings (Ezek. i, 6). In number almost infinite (Deut. xxxiii, 2; Job xxv, 3; Dan. vii, 10; Matt. xxvi, 53; Heb. xii, 22; Rev. v, 11, 12).' Created in perfect righteousness and holiness (Luke ix, 26; John viii, 44; 2 Cor. xi, 14, 15), “angels of light. ters of righteousness." ANGELS-Prince of.

minisMillon.

There appears to be one who presides