portunity of fhewing fuch a perfon some mark of your regard? and if you had an opportunity, would you not endeavour to

do what you know would give him fatisfaction?-Imagine now this fame excellent perfon to be moft intimately connected with you, to be your protector, your father, your friend, ever confulting your welfare and happiness, and continually conferring upon you important favors; by means of which you found yourselves paffing on thro' life, not only in the midst of present comforts and delights, but with the hopes and profpect of their being perpetually increased; what feelings would then arife in your minds towards him? Would you not really and heartily love fuch a perfon? In the former cafe, upon the fuppofition of your having no intercourfe or connection with him, you would love him on account of his excellence-In the latter cafe, fenfible of his kindnefs to you, you would

love him, both on account of his excellence, and on account of the benefits you received. You have been before me I doubt not, in applying what has been faid of a human character to God, who is perfection itself, and the fource of all good, from whose mercy and bounty you are continually receiving more than either you can deserve or you can defire. At least if you will do this, you will at once not only fee the nature of the true love of God, but find irresistible inducements fuggefted to you, to love your heavenly Father with all your hearts, with all your minds, and with all your fouls.

Of the perfections of God, either natural or moral, we can form no conception, but by collecting whatever is great, powerful, wife, beautiful, good amongst men, and adding to it all poffible extent, and leaving out all poffible defect. It is an object too vaft for the comprehenfion of the human understanding

understanding-too far elevated above the understandings of Angels. But it is an object as real as any object which falls ever fo much within the comprehenfion of our minds, as the perfections of that human character of which we have taken a furvey. Nay, without the real exiftence of such incomprehenfible perfection as we afcribe to God, nothing great, powerful, wife, beautiful, or good, could have existed at all. But tho' we know not how, by fearching to find out the perfections of the Almighty, yet of the effects of thofe perfections we are able, if we will confider at all, to form fome notion; indeed not a fufficient notion; for the love of God paffeth knowledge, and we can never be duly fenfible of his mercy to his unworthy

creatures.

FROM nothing hath he called us into being and made us what we are; given us

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the various faculties and powers both of mind and body, with which we are furnished, capable of being employed to many excellent and valuable purposes; placed us in a world abounding with objects fitted to afford us enjoyment and delight, with none but what may in one way or other contribute to our real welfare; made even our greatest evils fubfervient in the end to our greatest happiness; his eye is perpetually watching over us, and his hand stretched out in our protection, notwithstanding our ungrateful neglect and forgetfulness of our benefactor; and notwithstanding our repeated provocations, he is ever pouring out his favours and benefits upon us.

FROM what are called the natural bleffings of God, let us turn our thoughts to the wonders of his grace: confider what it really is to have all our fins and defects forgiven; to have a clear and authoritative declaration

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declaration of our duty; to be affured of having all our concerns under the care and direction of infinite wifdom, goodness, and power; to receive continual fuggeftions and affiftance from the Holy Spirit; and to know that our mortal bodies fhall be raised from the grave, glorious and immortal, that we may have our perfect confummation and blifs both in body and foul in God's eternal and everlasting glory. To complete all, let us look unto Jefus the author of our faith; view there perfections in human nature, and kindness towards us, in every thing he fpake, did, or suffered. And now I trust that nothing further is requifite to illuftrate the nature of the love of God, and to fhew that that affection is founded on a perfuafion of his perfections and of his goodness to us. And as to its being the prevailing fentiment of our minds, it neceffarily follows from the fuperior excellence of the object to all others; and

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