On this returning Sabbath, let us reflect upon the power of God as displayed in the works of his hands. In the words of Scripture, he is "the same Lord over all." He is the Creator, the Preserver, and the Governor of the universe. Ere he summoned this earth into existence, He reigned on high in sovereign majesty. There was, and ever shall be, no rival near his throne; for he " was, and is, and is to come," the "King, eternal, immortal, and invisible,-the only living and wise God, inhabiting eternity and its praises, whose name only is holy," and who is "without variableness or shadow of turning." He sent forth his creative word, and this solid earth arose. His Spirit had brooded "upon the face of the waters," and the restless ocean heaved back its tumultuous surges from off the dry land. Then vegetation, in all its varied beauty, was spread abroad over the surface of our globe, from the stately monarch of the woods, down to the humblest flower that decks the streamlet's side. And every thing in which is the breath of life, was ushered into existence; the beast that roams amid the forest,—the bird that cleaves the vault of heaven,-the tiny insect that glitters in the sunbeam,—and the finny tribes that seek their way amid the watery depths. And, lastly, man was formed, -his body from the dust of the ground, his soul in the image of his holy Maker. All these, varied and wondrous though they be, owe their origin to the will of one Almighty and Eternal Spirit," the same Lord over all." Unlike the works of man, the works of God are Rom. x. 12. stamped with a character which speaks of the power, and the wisdom, and the goodness of a presiding Deity. The noblest specimens of human art, imperfect, after the improvements of many generations, must yield to decay. The most ingenious mechanism which human skill can devise, formed as it is out of the materials afforded by nature, must fail, and perish beneath the hand of time. But it is not so with the works of God. Perfection is inscribed on every one of them. They endure until they have fulfilled the immediate purposes of their formation; and even when, to us, they may appear to be destroyed, they do, in reality, but alter their form and position, that they may take a part in other processes of nature, no less wonderful, and no less demonstrative of the power, and wisdom, and goodness, of the same unchangeable Creator. The beauty of the tree is gone, when the breath of autumn has stripped it of its foliage. Yet even then, it is only resting, as it were, that it may put forth its renewed energy in all the loveliness of opening spring. The blossom, in its turn, must wither and die; but it is that it may give place to the more precious and more valued fruit. The fruit also must be shed, and must decay; but it is that the seed may be brought to maturity, and finally be buried in the earth. And there, while hidden from our sight, and where, but that experience teaches us otherwise, we might deem that it was lost for ever, a living energy is at work, although we see it not, which will bid it come forth, to bud, and bloom, and flourish, in its appointed season. This is but one proof, amidst a countless multitude, that it is the "same Lord" who "ruleth over all." From the minute were we to turn to the vast, we should find the same truth inscribed on universal nature. Not only do the elements of earth harmonize with each other, so as to exhibit one uniform design pervading the whole, and one infinite Mind fitting them to each other by measured and balanced laws,-but, if we cast our eye be yond the bounds of this little sphere, we shall find the very same simple but efficient powers and material properties regulating the most distant worlds, as well as those which belong to our own system. Their light is the same, their attracting forces are the same, their laws of motion are the same; the same mighty plan wheels them in circles round some common centre. While there is something exceedingly satisfactory to the human mind to know the universality of the powers impressed on nature, and the sameness of its arrangements, it assuredly elevates our conceptions of human ingenuity to be made aware that, by employing the endowments bestowed on him by his Maker, he has been able to demonstrate it. We are, therefore, well warranted to conclude, that there is one Infinite Creator, and only one, who ruleth over all,-over all material agents and over all immaterial agents, whatever these may be. How vast, then, must be the extent of his empire. From the earth to the sun, from the sun to the most distant visible star; and farther still,-far, far beyond the ken of mortals,— throughout space without bounds, throughout duration without beginning and without end, he reigns. heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." While the celestial hosts move in beauty and brightness in the way he has prescribed, they proclaim "their great original." "The And this eternal God rules over the children of men. He has opened to us a view of the world of spirits, and has assured us that we are under training for the society and functions of the higher beings, of whose existence He has made us aware. "This mortal must put on immortality, and this corruptible incorruptible." He is Lord, also, of the spiritual world. Of old he created the Heaven of heavens, where He reigns in unclouded majesty, surrounded by cherubim and seraphim, angels and archangels, the holy and happy spirits whom He has formed, that they may serve Him day and night con 66 tinually." Here is His more immediate presence. This is the region of taintless purity and of unfading loveliness; into whose blessed realms of life and light, death and sin can never enter; and from whose remotest borders sorrow and sighing are for ever excluded. It is this happy country which is the inheritance of the Redeemed; and into its highest glories they shall be ushered, when the last trumpet shall marshal their dead bodies, that they may exchange the darkness and corruption of the tomb for everlasting brightness and unwearying bliss. He is Lord, also, of the powers of darkness. Hell is the place of banishment which he has formed for the transgressors of his law, and rebels against his authority. There also he reigns; but it is in awful, wrathful, frowning majesty. With the inhabitants of this dread abode the ungodly among the children of Adam are destined to associate. "Their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched." The smoke of their torment ascendeth for ever. But in no instance is misery the rule of God's government; it is only the exception. "How vast soever the kingdom of darkness may be, in itself considered,” says an eloquent divine, "it is certainly nothing more than the prison of the universe, and small, indeed, compared to the realms of light and joy. The misery of that unholy community, when the eye is fixed upon that only, fills the soul; but when from this dreadful exhibition of sin, and display of justice, we raise the adoring eye to God, reigning throughout his boundless dominions, and rejoicing in their joy, the world of misery shrinks to a point, and the wailings of the damned die away, and are lost in the song of praise."+ * J. R. D. Let it be observed, that this determines nothing as to the relative numbers of the redeemed and lost, as regards this world. The benevolent character of the Creator is vindicated, if, in the whole connected system of the universe, happiness predominates. + Sermon on the Government of God, by the Rev. Lyman Beecher, of East Hampton, Long Island. TWELFTH WEEK-MONDAY. MAN. HIS EXTERNAL STRUCTURE. CICERO, who not only joined the qualities of a profound philosopher to those of an accomplished orator, but who is entitled to the still higher praise of cherishing, so far as his opportunities admitted, enlightened and deep-felt views of religion in the midst of heathenism and profligacy, gives a striking description of the human body, which, although in the present day, when his statements have become familiar, it may appear less original and striking than it must have been felt to be when first published, proves that he was nobly alive to the wonders of Creative Intelligence. The passage is as follows: "To what has been said of the incessant and ingenious foresight with which Nature acts, many things may be added, to show how abundant and how valuable are the bounties which have been bestowed on man by the Deity; who, first of all, has formed them elevated above the earth, lofty and erect, that with an eye directed to heaven, they might aspire to the knowledge of the Divine character.* For men are placed upon earth, not as mere inhabitants and possessors of the soil, but as spectators of spiritual and heavenly things, a power which no other animal possesses. "With respect to the senses, by which exterior objects are conveyed to the knowledge of the soul; their structure corresponds wonderfully with their destina * Ovid expresses the same sentiment in a well-known passage of his Metamorphoses :— Pronaque dum spectant animalia cætera terram, Met. Lib. i. v. 84. |