it by his perfections, his infinite power, and wisdom,

and love.

That he does actually exercise it, is proved by his attributes and relations to us, by the powerful impressions of nature, by the observation of the world, by the declarations of his holy word.

1. In viewing the attributes of God and his relations to us, there are two questions to be considered: Has God the gracious will, the benevolent inclination, to observe and direct the works of creation? and has he sufficient power to discern all his creatures, and to regulate every thing respecting them according to his will?

Has God the gracious will? O, my soul! canst thou for a moment, entertain a doubt of it? He who made thee in mercy, (for what but goodness could induce him to give thee life?) he who has displayed so many traces of his goodness in heaven and upon earth; he who has given life and feeling to the smallest insect, and so admirably provided for its nourishment and support; canst thou question whether this benevolent Parent wants the will to watch over his works? Shall he, after having so wondrously formed his work, throw it without care from his hand? Shall he, after having placed the first intelligent creature in the world and provided for the continuance of the race, no longer be attentive to him or his descendants? See the affectionate mother, how willingly she remains continually near her child! how solicitously she averts from it the dangers which threaten it! how carefully she relieves its distresses, supplies its wants, and promotes its happiness! And God, who implanted these feelings in the heart of the mother; God, whose tenderness as far exceeds that of mortals, as he is elevated above them by nature; God can be utterly careless and indifferent with re

gard to his children? Reject the thought with indignation! My soul, thou reproachest God, if for an instant, thou doubtest his gracious will!

But can God exercise this particular providence? Has he sufficient power to observe all his creatures, and to regulate the smallest, as well as the most important events throughout the universe? I need not pause to prove to you that he has this power; you cannot deny it without denying his existence: he who created all, can govern all; he who is omnipotent and omnipresent, can, without exertion, preside over every change of the universe!

But if he has thus the will and the power, he must exercise this providence.

2. What is thus taught us from the consideration of God, is confirmed by an attention to our own feelings. A persuasion of the superintending providence of God is so incorporated with our very nature, so interwoven with the very principles of our being, that no nation has ever existed that has been able to eradicate the impressions of it. Hence in every country, savage or civilized, altars have been reared, temples erected, prayers offered, to the God who was supposed to be present, able to assist, and ready to hear. Can so universal a sentiment be explained, on a supposition of its falsity? It is true, a few men have been found who have denied it, and have endeavoured to believe irreligious systems which rejected it; but when these same men have been visited by unexpected affliction, and alarmed by some great impending calamity, nature, or rather the voice of God has spoken within them; their systems have been forgotten, while they have almost involuntarily implored the protection of the Lord.

3. An attention to the history of the world shows us

that the providence of God is universal. In how many instances does he interpose, so as to compel the most careless to acknowledge his presence and agency? How often does he display his providence by the means which he employs to produce effects? Sometimes making use of the smallest things to produce the greatest consequences; sometimes of instruments naturally calculated to produce the contrary effects to what they actually accomplish; sometimes making the greatest consequences to hang upon events which are casual with regard to us, though determined by him. How often do we behold his providence causing the most marked distinction in the snecess of persons of the same powers of mind, the Same external advantages, the same industry? How often, to prove his superintendence, does he bestow upon men what they desired in a different way, and sometimes in an opposite method to what they had projected? How many thousand instances in which the passions of men have been restrained; or sudden changes made upon their spirits for the preservation of others; or the counsels of the wise infatuated, and made subservient to the very ends to which they were opposed? He must be little acquainted with the history of the world, and have been a most inobservant spectator of the events that have occurred during his life, who has not remarked ten thousand such circumstances, that can rationally be explained only by the acknowledgment of Divine Providence.

4. In the holy volume, there is scarcely a page in which we are not expressly taught the providence of God. Indeed it is the great intent of revelation to give the history of his providence, and show the manner and rules of his dealings with the children of men. The prophecies particularly show his super

intendence of the concerns of earth, and his direction of all events. The Old and the New Testament concur in teaching us that "The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed: the Lord killeth and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich; he bringeth low, and lifteth up.' (1 Sam. ii. 6, &c.) Riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all, and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all." (1 Chr. xxix. 11, 12.) "God doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: he giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields; he setteth upon high those that be low; he disappointeth the devices of the crafty; but he saveth the poor from the sword, from the mouth and from the hand of the mighty." (Job. v. 8, &c.) "Promotion cometh not from the east nor the west; but God is the Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another." (Psa. lxxxv. 6, 7.) " He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven." "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens when they cry." "A man's heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps." These are but a few of the numberless passages which teach us that God's providence extends to the most minute, as well as to the most important concerns; to the death of a sparrow, and the number of our hairs, as well as to the rise of empires, or the fall of states.

Do you ask, if it is consistent with the majesty and dignity of God to attend to such minute events? Yes! it is not unworthy of him to govern what it is not unworthy of him to create. The continued and universal exercise of wisdom and goodness cannot be inconsistent with majesty. The sun, the

brightest natural emblem of its Creator, loses none of its excellence, because it not only enlightens powerful emperors, but also permits insects to sport in its beams. Those who would represent the providence of God as extending only to the great whole, without regarding the minute parts, have not only never attended to the great chain of nature, in which the most minute and most important events are so inseparably linked together, that one cannot be neglected, without neglecting the other; they have bebesides, never formed a proper conception of the glory of God. How great does he appear, when at once encircling in the arms of his providence, the highest angel, and the lowest worm; viewing the whole chain which connects a past and a future eternity from the first to the last, and holding it steadily in his hand; observing and directing every circumstance with all its consequences, throughout his vast dominion! How great does he appear, when, without effort or exertion, he directs the planets in their orb, marks out to the comet its course, upholds the numberless worlds which are scattered through the immensity of space; and at the same moment condescending, regulates my lot with as much care as though I were the only happy creature in the universe under his dominion, regards the necessities of a suffering Lazarus, provides for the feeble insect, hears the song of the nightingale, and listens to the sigh of the prisoner!. At the contemplation of such a God I tremble: but it is with reverence, with love, with gratitude, and joy.

1. It is of unspeakable importance to keep the remembrance of God's providence fresh upon the mind; the forgetfulness of it is often mentioned in scripture as an occasion of sin. The wicked are represented