many fleeting shadows of his own unspeakable perfections. He is the inexhaustible Fountain whence they spring, and the unfathomable Ocean to which they finally return by a thousand secret channels. He is a divine Light, shining equally upon all things, and stamping upon them all his own bright image. image. He is a Cloud of sweets silently descending, like the soft and gentle rain, upon every plant and flower, upon every house and family, upon every country and kingdom; filling all the world with inviting appearances of his own ineffable grace and goodness. Hear, then, what nature, from without, proclaims aloud of God —that He is made up of wisdom and power, truth and grace, in all their vast extent, and in all their rich varieties. To know this glorious God is termed, in the language of Scripture, eternal life. And well may it so be termed, since it not only fits a man for the future blessedness of heaven, but opens his eyes even here upon earth to an endless scene of sacred wonders; so that, on every side, he beholds fields of glory and rivers of pleasure, in the midst of which he makes his happy dwelling. This invaluable know

ledge must of necessity improve and elevate the soul: I will set him up on high, saith God, because he hath known my name. As a man grows in this knowledge, he feels himself borne aloft into a diviner air, where he breathes nothing but purity, peace, and pleasure; where he becomes deaf to the discordant sounds of contentious spirits, and listens only to the voice of God.

What then is God? He is the high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity; in whom thou shalt discover every kind of excellency, and every form of joy, at their utmost height. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. God is love, and that not only in its appearances and effects, but in its essence and origin. The psalmist gives us this counsel, Delight thyself in the Lord: a counsel on which we shall not fail to act, when we behold the King of kings in his beauty, without the intervention of any obscuring vail; for then we shall perceive that he is made up of pure, unmixed, and absolute love. Under the influence of these views, we shall approach him not only without dismay, but wholly transported to observe in Him those things which formerly dis

tressed and terrified us, now wondrously transformed, and putting on the most delightful shapes that everlasting love can give them. In this acquaintance with God the truest knowledge consists. This is that wisdom, which is sweeter than honey, richer than rubies, and whose merchandize is better than the merchandize of fine gold. Do any of you, my brethren, lack this wisdom? Let such then ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given them. Set it down, therefore, in your memory, that his own infinite and incommunicable perfections form the first solid ground of our love to God.

A second ground of love to God is laid in the remembrance of what he hath done for us. But who shall undertake to count up the number of his favours, since all we have and all we are is owing to his sovereign pleasure? He gave us our present existence. There was a time when we had neither a name nor a place among the creatures of his hand; when we lay mingled with the dust of the earth, and undistinguished from the clods of the valley. He called us into being by his omnipotent word. His bounty fur

nished us with all the powers and faculties we possess, duly qualifying us for the honourable rank we hold in his immense family. He has watched over us, with more than parental care, from one period of our life to another; listening to our complaints, condescending to our weakness, guarding our inexperience, and secretly infusing through our whole frame and constitution an indescribable feeling of sweetness and satisfaction. He has guided our steps, directed our affairs, determined the bounds of our habitation, and surrounded us with mercies precisely adapted to our varying condition.

We cannot, indeed, sit down and recall his gracious dealings with us at every successive stage of our course. Ten thousand tokens of his love, important and gratifying as they appeared when first conferred upon us, are now irrevocably passed away from our recollection. We may still, however, remember enough to fill our hearts with gratitude, and our mouths with praise. Who is it, O man, that has led and sustained thee all thy days? When thou wast brought into a doubtful, difficult, and dangerous

state of things; who was it that opened thee a clear and shining path to security and peace? When thou hast had perplexity in thy affairs, distress in thy family, sickness in thy person, and confusion in thy soul: who was it that sent forth a beam of counsel and comfort, shedding upon thee, and calling forth all around thee, appearances of unexpected good? It was the candle of the Lord that shone upon thy head. It was God himself, who sweetly looked forth upon thy troubled spirit, composing thy disordered thoughts, and driving all thy fears

away.

But beyond all these temporal deliverances, our heavenly Father has done for us still greater things, whereof it becomes us more abundantly to rejoice. He has called us by his grace out of a state of darkness and error, into his marvellous light. We have been favoured with the invitations of the gospel. The wonders of redeeming love have been exhibited to our view, and the mysteries of the invisible world have been unfolded to our eyes. We have the volume of truth in our hands, which reports to us