January 2

Sent forth to minister.-HEB. i. 14.

Love covereth a multitude of sins.—1 PET. iv. 8.

THE HEY are ministering spirits'; and herein is set before all good Christians a great heartcheering truth, and a mirror of humility, that such pure and glorious creatures minister to us, impure, poor, insignificant human beings, in the home, in the state, in religion.

Our faithful servants are they, doing for us the work which one of us, poor beggars and human creatures, is ashamed to do for another.

Thus should it be taught simply, and in choice order, concerning the dear angels.

LUTHER.

PRAISE and thanks to Thee be sung,
Mighty God, in sweetest tone!

Lo! from every land and tongue
Nations gather round Thy throne,
Praising Thee, that Thou dost send,
Daily from Thy heaven above,
Angel-messengers of love,

Who Thy threaten'd Church defend,
Who can offer worthily,

Lord of angels, praise to Thee!

'Tis your office, spirits bright,

Still to guard us night and day,
And before your heavenly might
Powers of darkness flee away.
Ever doth your unseen host
Camp around us, and avert
All that seeks to do us hurt,
Curbing Satan's malice most.
Lord, who then can worthily
For such goodness honour Thee!

RIST, 1655.

January 3

Bless the Lord, ye angels of His: ye mighty in strength, that fulfil His word, hearkening unto the voice of His word.

Bless the Lord, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure.

Bless the Lord, all ye His works, in all places of His dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

BE

Ps. ciii. 20, 21, 22.

E my one work here to make the commonplaces and levels as full of His presence as the Holy of Holies, where His glory dwells; so to beautify earth's dull paths by heavenly patience and joyfulness, that the angels of God may frequent them.

REV. BALDWIN BROWN.

OR think-though men were none

N°

That heaven would want spectators, God want
praise !

Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth
Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep.
All these with ceaseless praise His works behold
Both day and night.

January 4

MILTON.

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's Host.-GEN. xxxii. 1, 2.

The Lord of Hosts is with us.-Ps. xlvi. II.

CER

ERTAINLY there is nothing clearer or more striking in the Bible than the calm, familiar way with which from end to end it assumes the present existence of a world of spiritual beings always close to and acting on this world of flesh and

blood. It does not belong to any one part of the
Bible. It runs through its whole vast range. From
creation to judgment the spiritual beings are for
ever present. They act as truly in the drama as
the men and women who, with their unmistakable
humanity, walk the sacred stage in the successive
scenes. There is nothing of hesitation about the
Bible's treatment of the spiritual world. There is
no reserve, no vagueness which would leave a chance
for the whole system to be explained away into
dreams and metaphors. The spiritual world with
all its multitudinous existence is just as real as the
crowded cities, and the fragrant fields and the loud
battle-grounds of the visible and palpable Judæa
in which the writers of the sacred books were
living.
BISHOP PHILLIPS BROOKS.

WE
WE see but half the causes of our deeds,

Seeking them only in the outer life,
And heedless of the encircling spirit-world,
Which, though unseen, is felt, and sows in us
All germs of pure and world-wide purposes
J. R. LOWELL.

January 5

Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.-S. MATT. xxviii. 20.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.-S. JOHN i. 51.

THE HE angels of God are ever with us. They haunt us at every turning. Do not be indifferent to their presence! Do not think them absent because you cannot catch the expression of their face, or trace the outlines of their form. The spiritual presences are the most real presences. Let not the ministries of life and death, of the visible and invisible world, be lost upon you. In God's good

Name, I plead with you to welcome the heavenly messengers.

Around your lifetime golden ladders rise;

And up

and down the skies

With winged sandals shod

The Angels come and go, the messengers of God.

DR. JOHN HUNTER.

Not only those

Who keep clear accents of the voice divine
Are honourable-they are happy, indeed,

Whate'er the world has held-but those who hear
Some fair, faint echoes, though the crowd be deaf,
And see the white gods' garments on the hills,
Which the crowd sees not, though they may not find
Fit music for their thought, they too are blest,
Not pitiable.

January 6

...

SIR LEWIS MORRIS.

Then flew one of the Seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand . . . and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?—ISA. vi. 6, 7, 8.

ANGELS are the unseen attendants of the people

of God; they bear us up in their hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone. Loyalty to their Lord leads them to take a deep interest in the children of His love; they rejoice over the return of the prodigal to his father's house below, and they welcome the advent of the believer to the King's palace above. In olden times the sons of God were favoured with their visible appearance; and at this day, although unseen by us, heaven is still opened, and the angels of God ascend and descend upon the Son of man, that they may visit the heirs of salvation. Seraphim still fly with live coals from off the altar to touch the lips of men 'greatly beloved.' If

our eyes could be opened we should see horses of fire and chariots about the servants of the Lord, for we have come to an innumerable company of angels, who are our watchers and protectors. Spenser's

line is no poetic fiction when he sings :—
'How oft do they with golden pinions cleave
The fleeting skies, like flying pursuivant
Against foul fiends to aid us militant!'

BR

REV. CHARLES SPURGEON.

RIGHT to the soul thy seraph-hands convey The morning dream of life's eternal day— Then, then the triumph and the trance begin, And all the phoenix-spirit burns within!

CAMPBELL.

HERE are we, Redeemer, send us!

But because Thy work is fire,
And our lips, unclean and earthly,
Breathe no breath of high desire,
Send Thy Seraph from the Altar
Veil'd, but in his bright attire.

Cause him, Lord, to fly full swiftly
With the mystic coal in hand,
Sin-consuming, soul-transforming
(Faith and love will understand) :
Touch our lips, Thou awful Mercy,
With thine own keen healing brand.

January 7

KEBLE.

[Jesus Christ] Who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.-1 PET. iii. 22.

Bless the Lord, ye angels of His: ye mighty in strength, that fulfil His word.-Ps. ciii. 20.

THERE have been ages of the world, in which men have thought too much of angels, and paid them excessive honour; honoured them so