monarch to observe the motions of ants, or worms, to interest himself in their actions, to punish, or to reward them, seems to demonstrate, that God would degrade himself were he to observe, to direct, to punish, to reward mankind, who are infinitely inferior to him. But, one fact is sufficient to answer this specious objection: That is, that God hath created mankind. Doth God degrade himself more by governing than by creating mankind? Who can persuade himself, that a wise Being hath given to intelligent creatures faculties capable of obtaining knowledge and virtue, without willing that they should endeavor to acquire knowledge and virtue? Or who can imagine, that a wise Being, who willeth that his intelligent creatures should acquire knowledge and virtue, will not punish them, if they neglect those acquisitions: and will not shew by the distribution of his benefits that he approves their endeavors to obtain them?

Unenlightened philosophers have treated of the attributes of God with as much abstruseness as they have written of his works. The moral attributes of God, as they are called in the schools, were mysteries which they could not unfold. These may be reduced to two classes: attributes of goodness, and attributes of justice. Philosophers, who have admitted these, have usually taken that for granted which they ought to have proved. They collected together in their minds all perfections, they reduced them all to one object, which they denominated a perfect being and supposing, without proving, that a perfect Being existed, they attributed to him, without proof, every thing that they considered as a perfection. The psalmist shews by a surer way that there is a God supremely just, and supremely good. It is necessary, in order to convince a rational being of the justice and goodness of God, to

follow such a method as that which we follow to prove his existence. When we would prove the existence of God, we say, there are creatures; therefore, there is a Creator. In like manner, when we would prove, that the Creator is a just, and a good Being, we say, there are qualities of goodness and justice in creatures; therefore, he from whom these creatures derive their existence, is a Being just and good. Now this is the reasoning of the psalmist, in this psalm: The Lord loveth righteousness and judgment, the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, ver. 5. that is to say, it is impossible to consider the works of the Creator, without receiving evidence of his goodness. And the works of nature, which demonstrate the goodness of God, prove his justice also: for God hath created us with such dispositions, that we cannot enjoy the gifts of his goodness without obeying the laws of his righteousness. The happiness of an individual, who procures a pleasure by disobeying the laws of equity, is a violent happiness, which cannot be of long duration: and the prosperity of public bodies,when it is founded in iniquity, is an edifice, which with its bases will be presently sunk and gone.

But what we would particularly remark is, that the excellent principles of the psalmist, concerning. God, are not mere speculations: but truths from which he derives practical inferences: and he aims to extend their influence beyond private persons, even to legislators and conquerors. One would think, considering the conduct of mankind, that the consequences which are drawn from the doctrines of which we have been speaking, belong to none but to the dregs of the people; that law-givers and conquerors have a plan of morality peculiar to themselves, and are above the rules to which other

men must submit. Our prophet had other notions. What are his maxims of policy? They are all included in these words: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance, ver. 12. What are his military maxims? They are all included in these words: There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength: An horse is a vain thing for safety; neither shall he deliver any by his great strength, ver. 16, 17. Who proposeth these maximis? A hermit, who never appeared on the theatre of the world? or a man destitute of the talents necessary to shine there? No: one of the wisest of kings; one of the most bold and able generals; a man whom God himself elected to govern his chosen people, and to command those armies, which fought the most obstinate battles, and gained the most complete victories. Were I to proceed in explaining the system of the psalmist, I might prove, that as he had a right to infer the doctrine of providence from the works-of nature, and that of the moral attributes of God from the works of creation; so, from the doctrines of the moral attributes of God, of providence, and of the works of creation, he had a right to conclude, that no conquerors or law-givers could be truly happy but those, who acted agreeably to the laws of the just and good Supreme. But I shall not enlarge on this article.

Permit me only to place in one point of view the different phrases, by which the psalmist describes the Deity in this psalm. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made: and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together, as an heap: he

layeth up the depth in store-houses. The Lord looketh from heaven: he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looked upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works, ver. 5-7, 13-15. From these speculative ideas of God, he derives the following rules of practice. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us according as we hope in thee, ver. 8, 20-22. How delightful it is, my brethren, to speak of God, when one hath talents to speak of him in such a noble manner, and when one intends to promote the fear and the love of him, with an universal obedience to him, from all that is said! How well it becomes such a man to praise God! The praise of the Lord is comely in the mouths of upright men.

II. Let us now apply the subject more immediately to the service of this day. To praise God is a phrase, which is sometimes taken, in a particular sense, for the exercise of a person, who, having received singular favors of God, delights in expressing his gratitude to him. This praise is comely in the mouth of an upright man for four

reasons.

First. Because he arrangeth them in their true order, highly estimating what deserves a high esteem, and most highly estimating what deserves the highest esteem.

Secondly. Because he employs all his benefits in the service of his benefactor.

Thirdly. Because, while he recounts his blessings, he divests himself of all merit, and ascribes

them only to the goodness of God from whom they proceed.

Fourthly. Because he imitates that goodness and love, which inclined God to bless him in such a

I will affix to each of these reflections a single word. Praise, or if you will, gratitude, is comely for the upright, because it is wise, real, humble, and magnanimous: In these four respects, praise is comely for the upright. These are the sentiments, with which the holy sacrament, of which we have taken this morning, should inspire us. These are the most important reflections, with which we can close this discourse.

1. The gratitude of upright men is wise. The praise of the Lord becomes them well, because, while they bless God for all their mercies, they arrange them in their proper order; they prize each according to its real worth, and that most of all which is of the greatest value. It is a very mortifying reflection, my brethren, that the more we study ourselves, the more clearly we perceive, that the love of the world, and of sensible things, is the chief springs of all our actions and sentiments. This disagreeable truth is proved, not only by the nature of our vices, but even by the genius of our virtues; not only by the offences we commit against God, but by the very duties we perform in his

service.

A person so ungrateful, as not to discover any gratitude to God, when he bestows temporal blessings on him, can scarcely be found. We praise God, when he delivers us from any public calamity, or from any domestic adversity; when he recovers us from dangerous illness; when he raiseth us up an unexpected friend, or a protector, who assists us; when he sends us some prosperity, which renders