ways, how great are his designs, and how mighty are his wonders!--And O how great and glorious must He be, who made and governs the whole !-How infinitely great is that being whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain! How vast his power who created these glorious luminaries, and all their attendant worlds with his word! How boundless his essence, whose right hand meted out the heavens! And how great that power which governs them with a nod! How immaculate is his purity, in whose sight, even the clear shining heavens are not clean! And who can doubt his infinite goodness, who animates and cherishes, as well as supports such worlds of intelligent beings! Who can consider the heavens in this instructive point of view, as the work of his fingers, (as the pious psalmist expresses it) the moon and stars which he has ordained-and contemplate the vast extent, and harmony which pervades the whole, and not adopt the language of the text, and devoutly acknowledge," that the heavens declare the glory of God?-Who can contemplate himself, and all things around him, and yet pronounce them self-existent and eternal? Who can contemplate the order and harmony of the natural system, and pronounce it the effect of blind chance, or undesigning accident? Who can look on creation with the contemplative eye of reason, and not see the signatures of intelligence impressed on every part? What mind can survey this vastly complicated system, and bound his thoughts by any thing short of an infinitely wise original? And further, who can believe the existence of an independent God, and who of con

sequence cannot be tempted to do wrong, either from within or from without himself, and yet hesitate with respect to his infinite holiness? And is this the God who reigns in heaven, and doth his will among the inhabitants of this earth? This is He to whom the whole creation leads the reflecting mind. Why then do men who behold his work, object against an unreserved, unconditional submission to his will?

IMPROVEMENT.

1. How abundant is the evidence of divine existence. Every object which we see on the earth; each of those shining wonders, which the night reveals to our eyes, is a witness for God. Though silent, yet they are eloquent preachers, whose instructions extend to every nation, tribe, family and individual on the earth. And the reason why all mankind are not enlightened, and recalled from idolatry is not for the want of evidence laid before them. The formation of the human body-the construction, and location of the several parts, is sufficient to convince every mind, which ever inhabited such a curiously organized body, that it is a piece of divine workmanship. Many anatomists have held, that an examination of the eye was a complete cure for atheism. The inspired author of the xciv psalm addresses this argument to infidels in his day, who said, "the Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it." "Understand ye

brutish among

the people, and ye fools, when will ye be wise?" "He who planted the ear, shall he not hear?" "He that formed the eye, shall he not see?"

"He that teacheth man knowledge, shall he not know?” Shall he not hear all your profanations of his name,

who
gave you the faculty of hearing? Shall he not see
all your wickedness, who gave you the sense of see-
ing? Is it supposable, he should communicate to you,
what he does not himself possess? Has he given you
a mind capable of knowledge, and is he void of it?
Or can you suppose, that these faculties of body, and
capacities of mind are enjoyed by you without a
cause? Every sense you possess every nerve and
fibre, which gives motion and sensibility to your
frame-every pulsation of your heart, by which the
crimson current is circulated through your veins, is
an evidence of the divine existence; and not only so,
but of his presence and agency with you. "In him
we live, and move, and have our being." The divine
existence and wisdom are displayed as much in the
smaller, as in the greater works of his hands. On what
part-on what object in creation, can you cast your
eyes, where the name of God is not written? And
written so legibly, and in such capitals, that you can
read it in the distant star, as well as on your own frame.
How unreasonable then is speculative atheism? How
wicked is practical atheism? Dare you sin when such
a God is present with you?

O may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where'er I rove, where'er I rest;
Nor let my weaker passions dare,

Consent to sin, for God is there.

2. This subject gives us a general view of the blindness and wickedness of the human heart. Amidst

all this light-under these heavens which declare the glory of God, there are some of the human racesome, not in the deserts of Africa-not in the trackless forests of America, but in the civilized, highly cultivated, and even christian portions of the earth, who deny the being of God!-Could you suppose this possible, where the sun shines, and the heavens move round? Yes, they tell us, they see no evidence of a God. And what is still more wonderful, some have told us this, while they were measuring the heavens, or calculating an eclipse.-They have told us that there is nothing in the universe which leads them to conclude there is a God of infinite perfection and glory. Think not this impossible, nor let it confound you. Do you not know that a wicked, proud heart can shut the mental eye on all this light?-Did you not know, that it is a very undesirable thing to a wicked heart, that there should be an holy, sovereign God on the throne of the universe?-When such a character is denied, and in the sinner's mind displaced, will he not feel more at ease in sin? And if he love sin, will he not wish to pursue it, without being distressed with the awful apprehension of future punishment?Did you not know, that men readily believe what they wish might be true? Indeed, when the fool-the wicked man once begins fondly to whisper in his heart, "there is no God," that wish will soon grow into a persuasion, and this persuasion into evidence, and then his lips will publish as a truth, the lie of his heart. Did you not know, that the man "who loves darkness rather than light," is the blindest of all creatures?

Suppose both the eyes of a man to be extinguished, yet with an humble pious mind, he would find in his own sensations more evidence of a God, than the proud philosopher would find, looking, with both his eyes, and all his glasses, into the remote regions of the universe, and bringing home intelligence from the most distant star. Of so much importance is an humble, teachable heart to learn of God. There is still a greater number who, blind to the moral perfections of God, live without fearing or hoping any thing from him as a moral governor. Such have no impressive conviction of his infinite Holiness, Justice, Goodness and Truth. How common is it to find men who profess to believe these perfections of God, who yet live quietly in their evil ways?-The practice of such is not improved by their speculative belief. If men regard not God as their moral governor and judge, it is the same, as to all religious purposes, as if there were no God. And as to any final advantage, men may as well deny God in words as in works. Indeed, practical atheism is as absurd, and will be as destructive as when combined with speculative. Vain will be men's opinions about God, if they live as if there were none. what advantage is the profane man's belief in the being of a God, when that belief does not prevent him from trampling the name and law of God under his feet? Of what advantage is the unjust man's professed be. lief in the Justice of God? Of what use is it for a man to profess his belief in the Omniscience of God, when he lives in secret sins? Instead of exculpating, will not

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