take this number, and make use of the same calculation as before, the sum total of deaths in the above-mentioned period of time will amount to eighty-seven thousand five hundred millions. And if now be added those that have lived before the deluge, and those who died during the next five hundred years, which may be reckoned at a fourth part of the preceding, we shall then have a total of one hundred and nine thousand three hundred and seventy-five millions. And lastly, let us add the number of people that will be alive at the day of judg ment, which, estimating it at our former calculation of one thousand millions, will give a total of one hundred and ten thousand three hundred and seventy-five millions.

How inconceivable, then, must that intelligence be, which can scrutinize the most secret thoughts of each individual of which such an infinite multitude is composed! an intelligence that scans every hidden sentiment, word, and deed; which exactly remembers the hour of their birth, the duration of their life, the manner and circumstances of their death; and which knows how to distinguish the scattered atoms of each, and collect them together, whether their bodies had been reduced to ashes, dissolved into millions of particles, or undergone innumerable transformations. How omnipotent is the work of collecting these scattered particles, of purifying and ennobling thein, and forming them into new, immortal, and incorruptible bodies!

We are informed by divine revelation that hosts of angels shall gather the chosen from the four winds; that the sound of the trumpet shall awaken the bodies of the saints that sleep. How delightful to the ten thousand times ten thousand thousand angels will be the office of collecting their beloved brethren, and presenting them to Christ! How transporting for the myriads of blessed spirits whom God had gathered in his bosom, again to receive the bodies which they had left, pale, emaciated, and disfigured by sufferings, torn and mutilated by violence, or consumed by fire; to receive them back, clothed with celestial beauty and splendour; light and radiant as the forms of the holy angels?

DECEMBER XXV.

THOUGHTS UPON THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST.

What sentiments of joy and gratitude should the Christian feel on this day, when he celebrates the birth of Jesus! How great is my wonder when I meditate upon the circumstances which attended that glorious event! I represent to myself the Son of God in the lowest state of humiliation, clothed with a corporeal being, visible and weak as I am. How wonderful! The Son of the King of kings, whom angels minister unto and adore, appears a feeble babe, naked, destitute, and shedding tears, lying in a manger! How prodigious the change from this humiliating and limited state of being to be elevated,

the Saviour of mankind, upon the throne of eternal glory! When I reflect upon my own unworthiness, and the infinite majesty of Him who offered himself up a sacrifice to human malice, and suffered every indignity that the ingenuity of men could devise, to be my Mediator and Redeemer, I feel my admiration and astonishment too great for utterance; and when I discover such a love as infinitely surpasses what the best of men can possibly merit, a love beyond all my powers of conception or hope, I am lost in astonishment, and can only silently admire and adore.

DECEMBER XXVI.

THE PLACE OF OUR SAVIOUR'S NATIVITY.

To many individuals, at first sight, it may appear to be of little consequence to know the place of Christ's nativity; for we should regard him as our Redeemer, whatever may have been the circumstances which attended his mortal life. But as it pleased God to declare the place in which the Saviour of man should be born, it became necessary that it should happen precisely in the appointed place, that it might be one of the characteristics by which Jesus Christ should be known to be the true Messiah.

It is also very immaterial to us where we may live, provided that we find true happiness. There is no place upon the earth, however poor and despicable, that may not have better and more happy inhabitants than are found in the largest and most celebrated cities. Do we know a single spot upon the globe where the works of God do not present themselves under a thousand different forms, and where a person may not experience the sweet consolation arising from a wellspent life? For an individual, that place is to be preferred where he can receive and communicate the most good. For a number of people, that place is the best which contains the greatest proportion of wise and good men. Every nation declines in proportion as religion and virtue lose their influence over the minds of the people. The place where in our youth we contemplated the opening of the morn, and the renewed beauty of nature, with all the raptures incident to that age, whilst we adored our God with all the veneration and love which we felt so warmly in our hearts; the place sacred to our first effusions of pure and inviolable attachment to the object that we loved, or where two friends have pledged their mutual affection; the place where we have received the first rudiments of knowledge, or acquired the great principles of religion, and become examples of goodness and purity; ought to be very dear to us, and closely wound round the tendrils of our hearts.

According to these principles, Bethlehem, notwithstanding its smallness, was a venerable place, since it was the abode of so many pious people, and that singular acts of piety and devotion had been

practised there. It was there the patriarch Jacob stayed some time to erect a monument to his much-loved Rachel. It was at Bethlehem that Naomi and her amiable daughter-in-law, Ruth, gave striking proofs of their faith and their virtue; and it was there that Boaz, the generous benefactor, had his abode and possessions. At Bethlehem sojourned the humble Jesse, the happy father of so many sons; the youngest of whom ascended from the pastoral hook to the sceptre of Israel. It was there that David formed the resolution of building a house to the Lord, and showed himself the true shepherd and father of his people, when, at the sight of the exterminating angel, whose sword carried with it death and dismay, he interceded for the afflicted sufferers. At Bethlehem was born the Prince Zerubabel, the descendant of David, who was the type of that Ruler and Shepherd, under whose banners Israel was one day to assemble, in order to enjoy uninterrupted felicity. Lastly, in this city appeared the Son of God, who, by his birth, laid the foundation of that salvation which, as Redeemer, he purchased for the whole world. Thus in a place of contemptible size, and mean appearance, we sometimes see men spring up, who become the fathers and benefactors of the human race. And often a village unknown to fame has given birth to a man who, by his wisdom, uprightness, or heroism, has been a blessing to whole kingdoms.

It is our duty, whether our lot be cast in towns, in hamlets, or in cities, so to live, that the end for which our Saviour was born may be accomplished in us. It is certain that true piety would make much more rapid progress upon the earth, if men every where endeavoured to give proofs of the innocence of their manners and the fervency of their faith, and become examples of patience, diligence, and uprightness. If our cities presented more patterns of virtue, their influence might extend to the inhabitants of the country; so that every village and hamlet might contain families who, like Joseph and Mary, distinguished themselves by their devotion, and obtained respect and esteem for their piety, though dwelling in poverty and obscurity. God would scatter his blessings over the country of these good people, and after some generations we might reasonably expect that a people would be formed full of the fear of the Lord, and walking carefully in his ways. He who has traversed the extent of the globe, has visited cities, and the splendid domains of royalty, and has witnessed all the diversified species of iniquity, and crimes of every hue that are there practised, has abundant cause to be thankful to God when at last he finds some town or village where, in a peaceful cottage, and surrounded by his family and friends, he may devote himself entirely to the service of God and the benefit of his fellow-creatures; and thus attain that sweet content and heavenly peace of mind, which alone can be the result of good actions and an innocent heart. He will not then regret those places that he has once seen; more splendid, indeed, but where sensual pleasure spreads all its snares; more vast and grand, but where vice is triumphant; more rich, but where the people live in the forgetfulness and in the neglect of the duties which they owe

to God and to man.

To all these he will prefer an obscure retreat, where, safe from the pangs of remorse, and the upbraidings of a conscience ill at rest, he may spend his days in peace and in joy.

DECEMBER XXVII.

CARE WHICH GOD TAKES OF MEN FROM THE TIME OF THEIR BIRTH.

The wants of our infancy are numerous. With pain and difficulty we come into the world; and should soon lose the life we had but just begun to feel, if the various things necessary for our food and clothing were not prepared beforehand, and if there were not persons to take care of us in our weak and helpless state, when we are destitute of all things; or, rather, if our heavenly Father himself did not watch over us for our preservation. He took care of us whilst we were in our mother's womb, at a time when no human wisdom or industry could assist us. It is he who fashioned our bodies, and arranged and connected together all their various parts. He has given to each of the veins its particular direction, and pours through them all the vital fluid. He has clothed us with skin and with flesh, and has given us bones and nerves; and by diffusing through all these an intelligent and rational spirit, has formed a being worthy of bearing his own divine semblance. The same Providence which watched over us at the time of our first being has graciously continued his paternal cares, and has never forgotten us. And he is not merely satisfied with providing for all our necessities, by giving us fond and affectionate parents, who, whilst we are unable to do any thing for ourselves, tenderly cherish and preserve us as their greatest blessing and delight; but he has done more, he has laid the foundation of our future happiness. At the time of our birth the causes which would influence our future welfare already existed, and began to operate according to the views of a wise Providence. How much the comforts or the misery of our lives depend upon our parents; their opinions, ranks, fortunes, and connexions! How much the happiness of our lives must be influenced by our early education, the examples that are before us, the connexions that we form, the opportunities that occur of exercising our powers, and developing our faculties! And is it not God, our Father, whose wisdom and goodness ordered all these things for our present and eternal happiness? How consoling, then, is the thought, that a Being infinitely good, wise, and powerful, has watched over us before we were born, guarded our tender infancy, and determined and regulated all that we shall require in the course of our lives.

DECEMBER XXVIII.

PERIOD OF HUMAN LIFE.

Every man dies precisely at the time that God, in his eternal wisdom, has appointed: as the time of our birth is fixed, so also is that of our death. But the term of life is not subjected to an inevitable fatality or necessity; such things do not exist. Every thing that occurs may happen sooner or later, or not at all; and the man who died to-day might have died sooner, or lived longer. God has not numbered the days of any particular individual by an absolute and arbitrary decree, or without having a regard to the circumstances in which the individual may be placed. God, being infinitely wise, can do nothing without motives that are worthy of his divine nature, He must, then, have just reasons for determining that such a man should leave the world at one time rather than at another. Yet, though the term of life be in itself neither affected by necessity nor fatality, it is certain, and can never be really changed.

Whenever a man dies, some causes must infallibly lead to his death: these, however, may at any time be suspended by the Supreme Being. One man dies of some mortal disease, another by a sudden and unforeseen accident. One perishes by fire, another by water. All these causes God has foreseen: neither has he been an idle or an indifferent spectator; he has examined them all with care, compared them with his views, and has seen whether he will approve of them or not. If he approves of them, they are determined; and, in that case, there exists a divine decree, by virtue of which a man will die at a certain time by some particular accident or contingency. This decree can neither be revoked nor prevented; for the same reasons which might influence God to take a man from the earth at this present time were known to him from all eternity, and his wisdom would enable him to form the same judgment then that he would in the present instance. What, then, should induce him to revoke his decrees?

It may, however, happen that God, foreseeing the causes of the death of a particular individual, did not approve of them. In this case he has at least determined to permit them, or otherwise they could not have taken place, nor the individual have died. And if the permission of these causes of death has been determined, God then wills that we should die in the time when these causes shall exist. It is true he might have been disposed to grant us a longer life, and not approve of the causes of our death; but it was inconsistent with his wisdom to counteract their operation. He saw the universe collectively, and found reasons which induced him to permit that a man should die at a particular time, though he neither approved of the causes, manner, nor circumstances, of that death. His wisdom finds means to direct that death to the most useful purposes; or he foresaw that a longer life, in the particular circumstances in which a man was placed, could neither be of advantage to him, nor to the