perseded by that noblest work of God, an honest and upright heart; and as far as human frailty would permit, the example of our divine Redeemer would be the standard of every action! that Redeemer, whose whole life may be comprized in this short, but expressive sentence "He went about doing 66 good!"

May every anniversary of this sacred day render our prayers more acceptable at the throne of grace, from a conviction. of religious truths, from practical piety, from faith and hope in the promises of a redeeming God! that, individually, we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light!

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ON THE POWER, THE WISDOM, AND THE GOODNESS OF GOD..

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him *!*

IN whatever point of view we consider the wonderful works of God, whether as attributes of his power, or evidences of his wisdom, they should influence our faith in his perfections, and increase our hope and dependence on his mercy and goodness. The power of God, so universally displayed in the works of the creation, has given rise to many a vain conjecture, has staggered the presumption of the infidel, and brightened devotion's holy flame in the Christian's reflective mind. For who that ever indulged one

* Psalm viii. part of ver. 4.

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religious or philosophical thought, can look up to the wide expanse of heaven, to the moon and the stars which God has ordained, to the glorious sun "which publishes the work of an Almighty "hand," without feeling more purified in spirit, more devout in the affections. of the heart? and whilst "millions of "worlds hang on the spacious air,

Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him!" must be the humiliating exclamation of dependent humanity.

To indulge enlarged reflections on the wonders of the celestial creation, were to travel in the maze of uncertainty.. The most curious and enlightened can little comprehend the vast utility and extent of the heavenly bodies; yet neither reason nor Religion can allow that this conviction should damp the ingenious researches of a scientific mind; it should only check its presumption,

and lead to that first of Christian virtues, humility of spirit: "That man "is a thing of nought, that his time

passeth away like a shadow;" that he is a compound of every ennobling quality, and of every disgraceful propensity, is a subject which has often engrossed the pen of the moralist; and whilst the seductions of infidelity succeed, the human mind will still remain a prey to occasional error and impiety. There are few hardy enough to assert, that the world was made by chance, or presumptuous enough to deny, that by the power of God the whole creation is ruled, guided, and supported. Were we not accustomed to the splendor of the heavenly bodies, to their uniform revolutions, and in the terrestrial world did we not daily witness the return of light, the change of seasons, the fall of the leaf, and the renovation of spring, the bloom and verdure which then adorn.