Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." The contemplation of such objects as my text presents, may serve, moreover, to cherish in the heart a delightful sense, if I may so speak, of the amiability of the divine character. "When I consider," says the Psalmist," thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Such is the impression of reverential awe, naturally suggested by the magnificence of God's power. But when we look downward, and survey the pictured carpet on which we tread; and see with what incomparable skill the Almighty Creator has arranged its minutest ornaments; we yield to the attraction of his softer attributes, his condescension and diffusive kindness. The adaptation of these soothing objects, to gratify the innocent taste for pleasure, to regale our senses, and to revive our spirits, bespeaks them as the contrivance of a Being, who delights in the happiness of his creatures. There is something in the lesser instances of God's goodness, which, in an especial manner, brings him home to our hearts and bosoms. Even in human transactions, gifts and benefits upon a large, extended scale, do not, necessarily, suppose the nearness of the parties. A man might place me in possession of a principality or an empire, and yet confer this splendid favour, from some distant quarter of the world. But if he would speak a word of comfort to my sorrows; if he would prop my aching head, or soothe me on the bed of languishing; if he would give me a cup of cold water only, in the extremity of my thirst;-all these kind acts, though little in themselves, imply, for that very reason, that the agent and the object must meet in close and personal contact. And, yet, these trifles, light as air, but oft repeated, are the cords which bind our familiar friends around our hearts, in bonds which neither life nor death can sever. Such is man, in relation to his fellow and such, also, is man, in reference to his God. The great outlines of redeeming love, demand our gratitude; and call forth, from every true believer, the heartfelt acknowledgment, that it is very meet, right, and his bounden duty, to live no longer unto himself, but unto him who died for him, and rose again. But what feeds the gentle flame of love, is the view of the blessed Jesus, as the Scriptures paint him, in the intimate details, and familiar scenes, of his spotless and afflicted life; to contemplate him, when he took the little children in his arms-when he suffered his beloved disciple to lean upon his heart-when he beheld the city, and lamented over it—or when he wept at the grave of Lazarus. It is thus, also, in the bounties of God's natural providence. His lesser works are those which speak most impressively to our hearts. The heavens declare his glory; and the firmament shews forth the omnipotence of his arm. But it is in the home scenes of nature-in the field, in the garden, and in the flower-that the Giver and the receiver, are brought into closest contact. In these, we see proofs before our eyes, how infinitely God can condescend, and with what confidence we may address him; with what delightful assurance we may feel that we have a Father and a Friend in heaven. Such are the reflections which "the lilies of the field" can produce in pious souls. It is the very circumstance of their holding a rank so humble in God's creation, which makes them speak thus cheeringly and comfortably, to his nobler creatures. And often, amidst these minute and, to others, unheeded objects, will the man of true devotion feel, in its happiest exercise, that spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Not that this spirit can grow upon the stock of nature; or that the whole compass of creation could quicken it into birth, within one human soul. No it is the gift of God. Nevertheless, where : this blessed principle resides; where God's Spirit witnesses with our spirit, that we are his children and his heirs; we have a secret of enjoyment in the works of God, which no other souls can feel. We have a light within, which diffuses itself on all around; and makes God's goodness legible, and his presence visible, in every department of nature. The horizon clears, the landscape brightens, and the whole creation rejoices, in the contemplation of him who, with filial confidence inspired, Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye, I shall conclude with but one more brief observation; to shew the wisdom of “considering the lilies of the field;" and of cultivating, in all other respects, a taste for what is pure in nature. We may rest assured, that between our present and future states of existence, there is an actual correspondence, a fine accordance, and close affinity. Many considerations concur, in intimating that, in this earth, the things of the eternal world are shadowed out and reflected as in a mirror. The mind, then, which harmonizes with God's creation here, will carry with it into its after life, tastes already fitted for those new abodes. When it passes through the grave and gate of death, it will find itself, not in a strange and unknown region, but in a system which exhibits, in a manner suited to exalted natures-in brighter colouring, and with a glory which our eyes of flesh could not behold — objects which the enlightened soul will recognise, as the counterparts of things below; the substances and the originals of what, in this infancy of our being, we saw through a glass darkly, and knew only by draughts and shadows. If this be so, there is an evil in sin, of which few are thoroughly aware. The man who pollutes himself with vice, not only provokes God to anger, but vitiates the constitution of his mind, and disqualifies his own soul for even the possibility of being a sharer in future happiness. While, on the other hand, the pure in heart are, in every respect, training and maturing for the enjoyment of that state of blessedness, which God has prepared for those that love him; and for the relish of those delightful scenes, which the Apostle John beheld in vision, and thus describes : "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the |