ABEL. AND Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering.-Genesis, iv. 4. They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel.--II Samuel, xx. 18. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.-Hebrews, xí. 4. BLOOD has a voice to pierce the skies; But the dear stream when Christ was slain, Adjacent rose a myrtle-planted mound, Watts. Whose spiry top a granite fragment crowned. -'Am I my brother's keeper?'-hoarse and low, That mound of myrtles o'er her favourite child J. Montgomery. ABHORRENCE. AND now am I their song, yea, I am their by-word. They abhor me, they flee far from me.-Job, xxx. 9, 10. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job, xlii. 5, 6. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.-Romans, xii. 9. FATHER of lights! from whom proceeds Fain would I know, as known by thee, 'Tis a point I long to know, If I did not love the Lord? Wesley. Newton. Were half the power that fills the world with terror, Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts, Given to redeem the human mind from error, There were no need of arsenals nor forts. The warrior's name would be a name abhorred; And every nation that should lift again Its hand against a brother, on its forehead Would wear for evermore the curse of Cain. Longfellow. ABIDE-ABODE. FOR we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.-I. Chronicles, xxix. 15. The fear of the Lord tendeth to life, and he that hath it shall abide satisfied.-Proverbs, xix. 23. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.-Psalm cxxv. 1. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.-John, xv. 7. ETERNAL power! whose high abode To reach thine height with wondering eyes. "We've no abiding city here:" Watts. This may distress the wordly mind; I'd fly to thee and be at rest. Sun of my soul! Thou Saviour dear, Kelly. Keble. ABOUND-ABUNDANCE. THE Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.-Exodus, xxxiv. 6. A faithful man shall abound with blessings; but he that maketh haste to be rich, shall not be innocent.-Proverbs, xxviii. 20. Therefore as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.-II. Corinthians, viii. 7. We beseech you brethren and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ve have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.-I. Thessalonians, iv. 1. Unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.--Ephesians, iii. 20. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.-Matthew, xii. 34. GOD on thee Abundantly his gifts hath also poured, Inward and outward both. Good the more Milton. Communicated, more abundant grows; The author not impaired but honoured more. The God of Nature and of Grace In all his works appears; His goodness through the earth we trace, Behold this fair and fertile globe, By Him in wisdom planned; 'Twas He who girded, like a robe, His blessings fall in plenteous showers Upon the lap of earth, Milton. That teems with foliage, fruit, and flowers, If God hath made this world so fair, Where sin and death abound; How beautiful beyond compare J. Montgomery. ABOVE. THE Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.-Deuteronomy, xxviii. 13. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. --Psalm cxiii. 4. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.-John, iii. 31. BE this my one great business here, Then Saviour, then, my soul receive, Descend from heaven immortal Dove, The reach of these inferior things. Beyond, beyond this lower sky, Where solid pleasures never die, And fruits immortal feast the soul. Rise my soul and stretch thy wings, Rise from transitory things, Towards heaven, thy native place. Wesley. Watts. Sun, and moon, and stars decay; Rise, my soul, and haste away To seats prepared above. Cennick. |