of which," the morning stars sang together, "and all the sons of God shouted for joy."

The account, indeed, of these "marvel"lous works," as I have before hinted, is short; and the manner, as it is above human reason to conceive, so it was not the intention of the Spirit of God to explain; but sufficient is described by the inspired writer to gratify every reasonable wish, and excite every holy feeling, to assure us (what "the wisdom of this world" could never have discovered) that universal being has an author, infinitely wise, and infinitely good; that "it was HE that hath made us, "and not we ourselves;" and that if we humbly but earnestly endeavour to fulfil the ends of our creation, we shall be eventually, as we were originally, "His people, "and the sheep of His pasture."

Let us then consider, in the remainder of this discourse, "what manner of persons "we ought to be, in all holy conversation "and godliness," in return for "the great things which God hath" thus" done for

us.

That any reasonable soul should contemplate these transcendent operations of the Almighty, without a deep feeling of awe and reverence, seems to be absolutely impossible; since all that we can conceive of power

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falls infinitely short of HIS might, who could "speak the word," and "the heavens and earth were made;" who could' "command," and they were created:"and all our ideas of goodness are as nothing, when compared with that manifestation of it, which God beheld, as he himself looked at what he had produced, and pronounced it to be VERY GOOD.

If, for instance, we regard "this our "God" and Creator, under the image of omnipotence, or infinite power; is there any conceivable object to be likened unto HIM" with whom all things are possible ?" who with a word has made, and with a word can annihilate, unnumbered worlds, with all their countless forms of created existences? Or, is there any imaginable being, to whom we can look with a dread and reverence, comparable with that fear which we ought to feel before HIM, who, as He made both soul and body, is able also "to destroy both soul and body in hell?" And, if we contemplate Him under his character of goodness, is it possible for the mind to stretch its conceptions beyond the infinite beneficence, love, compassion, and mercy, of the Creator and Preserver, the Redeemer and Saviour, of the universe?

TO HIM alone we owe the unutterable

privilege of having been snatched from dreary NOTHING, and becoming "living souls," reasonable beings, and creatures, capable of high and varied gratification here, and of endless happiness hereafter. TO HIM alone we are indebted for all the glories, and beauties, and advantages, of external nature; subjects, alike, of delightful thought and substantial enjoyment. From HIM alone are derived all the powers of our bodies, and all the faculties of our souls; the reason which distinguishes us from the brute: the sympathies which unite us with our kind; and the affections, social and domestic, conjugal, parental, and filial, which form the sweetest drops in the mingled cup of human life. And finally, to HIM alone we are beholden for those great, concluding, and "inestimable benefits,"resurrection to a second existence, when the present one shall be closed by death; and "the blessed "hope of a happy immortality," conferred on the righteous and the penitent, through the atonement of that everlasting Saviour, by whose agency God the Father originally created, and by whose mediation He has redeemed a fallen, but recovered world.

Assuredly, it is quite out of nature to reflect on such an accumulation of blessings bestowed, and debts incurred, without the

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most profound emotions of gratitude and adoration; and difficult to avoid expressing those emotions, in the pious language of the prophet Nehemiah, and the inspired David Blessed be thy glorious name, O Lord! which is exalted above all blessing and praise! for Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone! Thou hast made "the heaven; the heaven of heavens, with "all their host; the earth, and all things "that are therein; and Thou preservest "them all:" therefore "my mouth shall "speak the praise of the Lord, and let all "flesh give thanks unto his holy name, for 66 ever and ever."

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But though feelings of this nature ought spontaneously to arise in every reasonable mind, on considering the power and goodness of God, manifested in the wonders of creation, and the blessings of redemption; and though such feelings, and the expression of them in words, be praiseworthy, as well as suitable and natural; yet it must be carefully remembered, and seriously considered, that if they be not embodied in action; if they have not an influence upon the heart, and a good practical effect on the life; if they do not incite us to obey the commandments of "HIM who made us," and to fulfil the duties of the various sta

tions in which He has placed us in the present world-they are nothing worth; but vain and unsubstantial, as "the sound"ing of brass, and the tinkling of a cymbal."

"All scripture," says St. Paul, (that is, every part, and every relation in it,) "is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for "correction, for instruction in righteous"ness; that the man of God may be per

fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good "works." It is clear, therefore, that a holy and pure, an useful and benevolent, conduct, combined with "faith unfeigned,' constitutes that true, vital, and evangelical religion, which the scripture teaches; and which God, in his infinite mercy, will accept, for the sake of his beloved Son, as a return for "all the benefits that he hath done " unto us."

Yes, my christian brethren, our Almighty Maker requires the offering of the heart, as well as the emotions of piety, and the sacrifice of the lips. "My son, give "me thine heart," saith He;-an affectionate service, as well as professions of duty. He has established us, for a time, in a social world, and divided us into various ranks and degrees,-high and low, rich and poor; He has placed us in diversified relations towards each other,-go