merely to unveil to our view, and has not been impressively reminded of Him who dwells in inaccessible and uncreated light, who made and preserves the world by his power and goodness," whose glory no eye can behold, whose majesty no thought can comprehend, whose power no strength can resist, from whose presence no swiftness can flee, from whose knowledge no secret can be concealed, and of whose beneficence every creature partakes?" Who can observe the varied appearances of nature, and the admirable adaptation of all things to the circumstances in which they are placed, as well as their designed subserviency to the happiness of the human race, without marking the universality of His vital presence who fills all space and gives being to all worlds? Who can witness the sublime scene in the bosom of which the Creator has placed us, and mark the consequences that follow from the diurnal revolution of the earth in relation to the sun,-notice the renovation of a world as often as the seasons go round,-observe in the air, on the earth, and in the sea, the adaptation of the instincts and wants of the inhabitants to their respective elements,-the millions that in close succession rise into life, and receive more than the enjoyment that can render this gift worth the possessing,-and perceive the skilful accommodation in every part to the harmony and the happiness of the whole,-who can observe this, who is not forced to acknowledge, that "in God he lives, and moves, and has his being?"

In proof of this great and fundamental truth, the instincts of animals alone furnish evidence the most pleasing and powerful. They have this peculiar ad

vantage also, that they are the subject of our familiar observation. When we observe the inferior animals, though destitute of reason, acting, in some cases, with as much regularity as reason would prescribe, proceeding in the same uniform order to the attainment of certain ends, and frequently exercising self-denial, that they may minister to the preservation and comfort of their offspring, can we refuse to own the clear indication of a supreme and intelligent Creator and Governor presiding over the affairs of the universe? When we see the common fowl gathering its brood under its wings, zealously hazarding its own safety in their defence, shewing unequivocal symptoms of the tenderest affection, and giving them the food required for its own sustenance,-we witness the employment of means to the accomplishment of certain ends, the peculiar characteristic of reason and understanding. But as the reason and understanding are not in the animal, on what principle can we account for its conduct being invariably regulated in this respect by the dictates of wisdom, unless we admit that it arises from the intelligence of the Creator? Admitting that those actions of animals which we refer to instinct are not gone about with any view to their consequences, but are attended in the animal with a present gratification, and are pursued for the sake of that gratification alone; what does all this prove, but that the prospection which must be somewhere, is not in the animal, but in the Creator?

In this way the being, wisdom, and goodness of God are visibly placed before us. It is the Deity himself, through the medium of instruments, making

provision for the helplessness and the wants of the beings to whom he has given existence. By the gratification of that affection which is implanted in all animals to their young, are they led to discharge with alacrity and fidelity, the parental ministry which Heaven has assigned to them. In nursing them, and in providing for their security, no pains are too great, and no dangers too appalling. How carefully do they lead them into safety, and carry them into places of retreat! How do they caress them with their affectionate notes, and lull them to repose with their tender voice; put food into their mouths; suckle, cherish, and warm them. In a word, they perform the part of those deputed by the sovereign Lord and Preserver of the world, to help such young and shiftless creatures till they are come to that maturity as to be able to shift for themselves. The power of this natural affection is not less remarkable in our own species. It produces a transformation of the mind and habits, rendering her who had been little accustomed to exertion, willing to spend nights in ministering to the comfort of her infant; and only anxious for strength that she may waste it in attending to the wants of her child. The importance of this change in the feelings of the mother, a change which, while it continues, suppresses every selfish affection, and creates, while its influence is required, the most generous tenderness,its importance to the very existence of such helpless creatures as the offspring of man, is most manifest. Nor can we hesitate in ascribing it to the goodness of God, whose tender mercy is thus seen to pervade and surround all his works.

If we turn our observation to the mind of man, and to some of the leading principles implanted in it, we shall be furnished with numerous additional proofs of the being, wisdom, and goodness of God. It is no doubt easier for the majority of mankind to examine and perceive the inductions of design in the formation of a machine; or, to behold in the external world the power and intelligence of the Creator,-but the demonstrations of his being and perfections are not less numerous and complete in the operations of the human mind. Out of a variety of cases, we may select, as an example, the parental, filial, and relative affections, which are the source and the tie of all our endearing connexions, and which are productive to man individually, and to society in general, of the most valuable blessings. These are the principles which give rise to all the lovely scenes of domestic life, and to all the duties of that sacred seclusion from the busy occupations of the world. In no case have we more touchingly displayed the goodness of God, and the happiness and high destination of man, than in the influence of that affection by which the members of the family are united, the pleasure which is felt in meeting, and the pain in separating, the fondness and tender solicitude of the parents, and the love and gratitude of the children. If this class of affections be so necessary to our happiness, and even to our existence,-so necessary that without them the human race must soon have perished,-is it not the obvious conclusion, that as they have been conferred for wise and salutary purposes, their divine Author must himself be wise and good?

In a word, and to bring the illustration of this argu

'ment to a close, the agency and presence of God are seen in every thing, and every where; in the least as well as in the greatest, in the blade of grass, the formation and descent of the drop of rain,-in every thing in the universe of minds, and in every atom of the universe of matter. He

Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,

Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees.

He hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance. He makes the winds his messengers; and darkness his secret place: his pavilion round about him are dark waters and thick clouds of the sky. He thundereth marvellously with his voice; He holdeth the winds in his hands; He sendeth lightnings with rains; looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; causeth the outgoings of the mornings and evenings to rejoice; and maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good. We ourselves, and every thing that surrounds us, live, and move, and have our being in God. If we are not admitted to the place where his glories are more fully and clearly unfolded; if the curtain which conceals the Divine Being, who directs and controls the various changes of the scene before us, be not yet withdrawn, we are allowed to witness the awful and sublime phenomena which, though unseen, he every moment produces. is the universe of God, so clearly seen are the invisible things of Him, being understood from the things which are made, that the atheist himself, while enlarging

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