wisdom, and my thanks for thy tender love. I hope to worship and to serve Thee from henceforth with body and soul. May the remembrance of Thy kindness be always alive within me, and induce me to become a good and obedient child. I will endeavour that my conduct from this day shall be such as to shew that I love Thee with all my heart, and my dear Parents after Thee. Genesis, ii. 7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and he became a living soul. Job, x. 8, 11. Thine hands have made me, and fashioned me together round about. Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Psalm cxxxix, 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. CONVERSATION V. Mother. You have lived but a few years in this world, my dear child. Pray, why did C you not make your appearance sooner among mankind? Child. Indeed I cannot tell. Mother. Did it then not depend on you, when and where you should be born? Child. No. Mother. And how long are you to live? Mother. You are right, my dear child; for many die in the flower of youth, and many grown-up persons would fain prolong their lives to a more distant period, yet they must die. If this then be really the case, I suppose men are not capable of preserving themselves? Child. No, otherwise they would prolong their lives according to their own pleasure. Mother. Are the beasts of the field and other kinds of animals able to preserve themselves by their own power? Child. I cannot believe it. Mother. You are quite correct. But is the earth endowed with understanding? Child. No. Mother. The earth then has not the power of preserving itself either? Child. No, no more than it was able to create itself. Mother. Thus, my dear child, it is with all men and things that have been created: they do not preserve themselves, any more than they have created themselves. It depends entirely on God, when they are to come forth, how long they are to exist, and in what manner they are to live and die. If within the space of some years it did not rain, would not all plants, herbs, &c. dry up and wither? Child. Surely they would. Mother. If the sun did not warm the earth, would not every thing be benumbed with cold? Child. Certainly it would. Mother. Not only benumbed; but what is worse, the earth would be quite infertile, producing neither plants nor herbs; for the sun causes by its heat, the seeds to germinate and tó spring up, the trees to bring forth leaves and blossoms, and the corn and all other fruits to ripen. But is it within the power of man to make the sun rise, or to cause rain, or to bring about the beneficial change of the seasons? Child. No; no man is capable of such things. Mother. Thus it is with most things in the world; they come forth, they happen whether men interfere or not; whether they employ their powers in aid of, or in opposition to them. God it is who arranges and disposes every thing as he pleases; who directs the course of the stars, who gives sunshine and rain, who causes some men to die and others to be born. To you also, my child, God has imparted life; it is he who preserves your body, who brings forth out of the earth meat and drink for you, who keeps you from sickness and preserves you alive. Oh then, my dear child, try by all means to please this kind and good God, particularly by being obedient and diligent. Regard every good thing you enjoy as a gift from his hands. Give thanks to him with a cheerful mind; love him, and strive to keep yourself from all evil; and by so doing, his providence will watch over you, and he will be your Father, when it pleases him to deprive you of your earthly Pa rents. Acts, xvii. 24-28. God that made the world, and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he wanted any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being. Matthew, vi. 26—30. Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all arrayed like one of these. his glory was not Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? |