There to the cries of tormented ghosts, and to the sound of eternal tempests, I might join my wild complaints, and lament the loss of infinite bliss, and curse my own folly: but all the plagues below, if I might speak my present thoughts, should not extort a blasphemous reflection on the divine attributes; for I know I deserve eternal misery,. and even in hell I think I should confess thy justice. Thy long-experienced clemency, I am sure, ought to silence my reproaches for ever, and to all eternity leave thee unblemished with the imputa-. tion of cruelty.

But oh what agonies would the remembrance of thy former favour excite! What exquisite remorse would it give me to recal those happy moments, when thou didst bless my retired devotions with thy presence? After I have relished those divine entertainments, how bitter would the dregs of thy wrath be? Whither would thy frowns sink me, after I have enjoyed the light of thy countenance !

If I must lose thy favour, oh! let me forget what that word imports, and blot for ever from my remembrance the joys that a sense of thy love has excited: let no traces of those sacred transports be left on my soul.

But must I depart from thee into everlasting fire? Double and dreadful curse!. And yet unquencha

this life of such awful futurities,) would be less terrible than the sense of those lost joys. That loss would endure no reflection; the review would be for ever insufferable; the ages of eternity could not diminish the exquisite regret; still it would excite new and unutterable anguish, and rack me with infinite despair.

Blessed God, pity the soul whose extremest horror is the doom of an eternal departure from thee. Draw my spirit into the holiest and the nearest union with thyself that is possible, while it dwells in this flesh; and let me here commence that delightful residence and converse with God, which nor death, nor judgment shall ever destroy, nor shall a long eternity ever put a period to it.

XV. The glory of God in his works of creation, providence, and redemption.

My being immediately flows from thee, and should I not praise my omnipotent Maker? I received the last breath I drew from thee, thou dost sustain my life this very moment, and the next depends entirely on thy pleasure. It is the dignity of my nature to know, and my happiness to praise and adore my great Original. But, oh! thou supreme of all things, how art thou to be extolled by mortal man? I say to corruption, Thou art my' "father, and to the worms, ye are my brethren;

my days are as a hand's breadth, and my life is "nothing before thee; but thou art the same, "and thy years never fail. From everlasting to "everlasting thou art my God," the incomprehensible, the immutable Divinity. The language of paradise, and the strains of celestial eloquence fall short of thy perfections; the first-born sons of light lose themselves in blissfnl astonishment in search of thy excellencies; even they, with silent ecstasy, adore thee, while thou art veiled with ineffable splendour.

The bright, the bless'd Divinity is known

And comprehended by himself alone.

Who can conceive the extent of that power,

which

out of nothing brought materials for a rising world, and from a gloomy chaos bid the harmonious uni verse appear?

Confusion heard the voice, and wild uproar

Stood rul'd; stood vast infinity confin'd.

At thy word the pillars of the sky were framed, and its beauteous arches raised: thy breath kindled the stars, adorned the moon with silver rays, and gave the sun its flaming splendour. Thou didst prepare for the waters their capacious bed, and by thy power set bounds to the raging billows. By thee the valleys were clothed in their flowery pride, and the mountains crowned with groves. In all

fess thy power; thou utterest thy voice in thunder, and dost scatter thy lightning abroad: thou ridest on the wings of the wind, the mountains smoke,. and the forests tremble at thy approach: the summer and winter, the shady night, and the bright revolutions of the day, are thine.

These are thy glorious works, Parent of good,
Almighty thine this universal frame :

Thus wondrous they; thyself how wondrous then?

But oh! what must thy essential majesty and beauty be, if thou art thus illustrious in thy works? if the discoveries of thy power and wisdom are thus delightful, how transporting are the manifestations of thy goodness? From thee every thing that lives receives its breath; and by thee are all upheld in life. Thy providence reaches the least insect, for thou art good; and thy care extends to all thy works. Thou feedest the ravens, and dost provide the young lions their prey, thou scatterest thy blessings with a liberal hand on the whole creation; man, ungrateful nian, largely partakes thy bounty. Thou causest thy rain to descend, and makest thy sun to shine on the evil and unthankful; " for "thou art good, and thy mercy endureth for ever."

As the Creator and Preserver of men, thou art gloriously manifest; but oh! much more gloriously art thou revealed, as reconciling ungrateful enemies to thyself by the blood of thy eternal Son.

Here thy beneficence displays its brightest splendour: here thou dost fully discover thy most magnificent titles, "The Lord, the Lord God, merci"ful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant "in goodness: how unsearchable are thy ways, "and thy paths past finding out!" Infinite depths of love, never to be expressed by human language! and yet, should man be silent, the stones themselves would speak, and the mute creation find a voice to upbraid his ungrateful folly.

XVI. Longing for the coming of Christ.

COME, Lord Jesus, come quickly : oh! come, lest my expectation faint, lest I grow weary, and murmur at thy long delay. I am tired with these vanities, and the world grows every day more unentertaining and insipid; it has now lost its charms, and finds my heart insensible to all its allurements. With coldness and contempt I view these transitory glories, inspired with nobler prospects and vaster expectations by faith. I see the promised land, and every day brings me nearer the possession of my heavenly inheritance. Then shall I see God and live, and face to face behold my triumphant Redeemer,

And in his favour find immortal light.

Ye hours and days, cut short your tedious flight ;