NEVER be tempted to disbelieve the existence of God, when every thing around you proclaims it in a manner tod plain not to be understood. Never cast your eyes on crea.. tion without having your souls expanded with this sentiment, "There is a God," When you survey this globe of earth, with all its appendages; when you behold it inhabited by numberless ranks of creatures, all moving in their proper spheres, all verging to their proper ends, all animated by the same great source of life, all supported at the same bounteous table; when you behold not only the earth, but the ocean and the air, swarming with living creatures, all happy in their situation; when you behold yonder sun, darting an effulgent blaze of glory over the heavens, garnishing mighty worlds, and waking ten thousand songs of praise; when you behold unnumbered sys. tems diffused through vast immensity, clothed in splendour, and rolling in majesty; when you behold these things, your affections will rise above all the vanities of time your full souls will struggle with ecstacy, and your reason, passions, and feelings, all united, will rush up to the skies with a devout acknowledgement of the existence, power, wisdom, and goodness of God. MAXCY.

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BESSON XCVIII.

ASTRONOMY

FROM what we know of our own system, it may be reasonably concluded, that all the rest are with equal wisdom contrived, situated, and provided with accommodations for rationali. habitants. For, although there is almost an infinite variety in the parts of the creation which we have opportunities of examining, yet there is a general analogy running through and connecting all the parts into one scheme, one design, one whole !

Since the fixed stars are prodigious spheres of fire, like our sun, and at inconceivable distances from one another, as well as from us, it is reasonable to conclude they are G

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made for the same purposes that the sun is; each to bestow light, heat, and vegetation, on a certain number of inhabited planets, kept by gravitation within the sphere of its activity.

II. What an august, what an amazing conception, if human imagination can conceive it, does this give of the works of the Creator! Thousands of thousands of suns, multiplied without end, and ranged all around us, at immense distances from each other, attended by ten thousand times ten thousand worlds, all in rapid motion, yet calm, regular, and harmonious, invariably keeping the paths prescribed them; and these worlds peopled with myriads of intelligent beings, formed for endless progression in per. fection and felicity.

If so much power, wisdom, goodness and magnificence are displayed in the material creation, how great, how wise, how good must He be, who made and governs the whole ! FERGUSON.

IF human understanding apprehends any thing accord. ing to truth and right, the benevolent character is the proper object of the love of every rational mind, as the contrary is the natural object of aversion. If every human, or other finite mind, is more or less amiable, according as it has more or less of this excellent disposition; it is evident, that Infinite Goodness is infinitely amiable. Who is he that pretends to think and reason, and has no pleasure in contemplating the Divine Goodness? Who can reflect upon such goodness, and not admire it? Who can admire it, and not endeavour to imitate it? Who can imitate it, and not be a universal blessing? Who can be a universal blessing, and not be happy? Who can be happy, and not bear some resemblance to the Author of blessedness? Who can bear any resemblance to the Author of blessedness, and not be animated to press forward to perfection?

BURGH.

LESSON C.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

THE true sense, then, of the divine authority of the books of the Old Testament (and which perhaps is enough to denominate them in general divinely inspired) seems to be this; that as in those times God has all along (beside the inspection, or superintendency of his general providence) interfered, upon particular occasions, by giving express commissions to some persons (thence called prophets) to declare his will in various manners, and degrees of evidence, as best suited the occasion, time and nature of the subject, and in all other cases, left them wholly to themselves: In like manner, he has interposed his more immediate assistance, (and notified it to them, as they did to the world) in the recording of these revelations, so far as that was necessary, amidst the common (but hence termed sacred) history of those times; and mixed with various other occurrences, in which the histo rian's own natural qualifications were sufficient to enable him to relate things, with all the accuracy they required. Bishop LAW.

THE WORKS OF NATURE INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

THER is indeed none of the works of nature, down to the most common and contemptible (if any thing could be so called, which Infinite Wisdom has deigned to make) that is not found, when attentively examined, to be, for curiosity of structure, above the apprehension of any hu. man mind. What is meaner or more common than a pile of grass? Yet whoever with a microscope examines its various parts, will in it find a work of such curiosity, as to deserve his highest admiration. In the blade, he will find a double coat throughout, between which, the vessels, that convey the juices to nourish it, are disposed. The minuteness of those tubes decreases to imperceptiblity.

II. Nor do the same vessels carry and return the juices. There are in every plant (and consequently in every pile of grass) two kinds of vessels, analogous to the veins and arteries in an animal body, by means of which a circulation

of the juices is performed. The blade is also furnished with excretory vessels, to carry off by perspiration whatever juices may be taken into the plant, which may be superfluous, or unfit for its nourishment; and with absorbent vessels, at whose orifices nourishment is taken in from the ambient air, as well as from the earth by the root. The blade is always furnished with a strong, fibrous substance, running up its middle, and tapering to a point, for supporting and strengthening it. BURGH.

IT happened at Athens, during a publick representation of some play exhibited in honour of the commonwealth, that an old gentleman came too late for a place suitable to. his age and quality.

Many of the young gentlemen who observed the difficulty and confusion he was in, made signs to him, that they would accommodate him if he came where they sat: the good old man bustled through the crowd accordingly; but when he came to the seats to which he was invited, the jest was to sit close and expose him, as he stood, out of countenance to the whole audience.

II. The frolick went all round the Athenian benches, But on those occasions, there were also particular places assigned for foreigners; when the good man skulked towards the boxes appointed for the Lacedemonians, that honest people, more virtuous than polite, rose up, to a man, and, with the greatest respect, received him among them. The Athenians, being suddenly touched with a sense of the Spartan virtue, and their own degeneracy, gave a thunder of applause; and the old man exclaimed, "The Athenians understand what is good, but the Lacede monians practise it.” SPECTATOR.

LESSON CHI.

INTEMPERANCE.

DRUNKENNESS makes a man unfit for gooddrowns and infatuates the senses-depraves the reasonbesots the understanding-causes errors in judgment

defiles the conscience-hardens and steals away the heart -brings a spiritual lethargy-It is a work of darknessan annoyance to modesty a gate to every kind of wickedness-a discloser of secrets- -a betrayer of trust-a depriver sof honesty a forerunner of misery-It cracks men's credit -empties their purses-consumes their estates-violates the rules of temperance-perverts the order of nature-causes profane and cursed speeches, vaunting, swearing and blasphemy-quarelling, fighting, and murder.

II. It is the mother of mischief, vice and pride-the purse of riot and fury-the school of lying and slandera discoverer of folly-an oppressor of nature-an impairer of health-It deforms the visage-corrupts the health— stupifies the spirits-intoxicates the brain-decays the mem. ory-inflames the blood-begets unnatural thirst-causeth stammering of speech-reeling and staggering-dropsies, surfeits, &c.-It is an involuntary madness-a deceiver of fools-a bewitching poison-an invited enemy-a flattering devil-It causes forgetfulness of God-is a provoker of his judgment-hastens, and often brings, untimely death -and at last destroys the soul.

III. A drunkard, in that state, indisposed to virtue-is a licentious person-makes his appetite his God-is worse than a brute-a companion of riot and revelling-a game and sport of profane people-a ridiculous object-his own sorrow, woe and shame his wife's grief-his children's disgrace his neighbor's contempt-his family's ruina thief to himself-a scandal to Christianity-a dishonour to God, an abuser of his mercies--a loser of his timea destroyer of his reputation, parts and credit-is subject to many dangers-a slave to the devil and his own lusts. -a traveller to destruction--a transgressor of the laws of God and man-(against whom dreadful woes are pro. nounced) he is his own soul's enemy--a human monster and at last may be excluded God's kingdom.

IV. The vices it produces are, idleness-peevishnessquarrelling-fighting-lying--swearing- fraud- anarchy-

hatred of just government-insurrections-murder-suicide. The diseases are, gout-sickness-tremours of the hands in the morning-bloatedness-inflamed eyes-red nose and

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