Page:Heaven Revealed.djvu/74

 This reveals the profound and beautiful humility of the angels; and in this consists their real exaltation. And there can be no spiritual exaltation of a finite being, without similar humility. As it is written: "For whosoever exalteth himself, shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted." (Luke xiv. 11.)

The angels are further described by Swedenborg as abounding in charity or neighborly love. Under the influence of this principle, they seek perpetually to excite what is good and true in the minds of men and of each other; and they are ever ready to overlook, or put the best possible construction on, whatever they perceive as evil and false. They have no inclination to spy out others' faults, or to condemn any one on account of them, but rather to find what is good and true in every one.

"They who are in charity, scarcely see another's evils, but observe all that is good and true in him, and put a favorable interpretation upon what is evil and false. Such are all the angels; and they have this disposition from the Lord who turns all evil into good."—A. C, n. 1079.

"They who are not in charity, think only evil of their neighbor, and speak nothing but evil of him; or if they say what is good, they do it on their own account, or with a view to insinuate themselves into the favor of him whom they flatter with commendation. Those, however, who are in charity, think and speak nothing but what is good of their neighbor; and this not for their own sake, or to gain the favor of others, but from the Lord operating in charity. The former resemble the evil spirits, and the latter the angels who are attendant on man; for evil spirits always excite man's evils