He only displays the brightness of His perfections as it were by glimpses, and casts clouds and darkness over the rest of the scene.

It is true that evil exists; but the Christian knows that it is overruled for good. Our Creator does not, indeed, remove calamity, but He changes its nature, and gives us power cheerfully to endure it. As our religion shows us the hand of a God of love in every thing, it causes us to regard distress, from whatever earthly source it arises, as "the chastisement of a Father, who chastens us for our profit, that we may become partakers of his holiness." Hence the Christian is in a condition to feel a constant and delightful dependence on Providence. Thus instructed, he may grieve, but he cannot repine; he may be humbled and afflicted, but he cannot despair.

Shall a child, who knows that a Father corrects him in love, murmur under the rod? Shall he not rather bend with humble resignation, and look up with affectionate joy, to the hand which wounds that it may heal?

This would be the effect of faith in the promises of the Gospel, even although the operations of Providence were surrounded with such mysterious darkness, that our limited faculties could perceive in them no traces of Divine wisdom and goodness. But it is no trifling addition to the satisfaction with which we rest in these promises, that God frequently condescends to make bare His holy arm in our sight, that we may follow His hand, as it overrules earthly events, and controls human passions and affections, so as to render both moral and physical evil an instrument of good.

In reference to our condition as moral agents, and with a view to the powers and faculties, which, as sinful but. rational creatures, we possess, it is not difficult to perceive in what manner the afflictive vicissitudes of life operate in elevating and ameliorating our character. If life were free from evil, there would be little to employ the judgement, or call into action the latent faculties,— little to rouse, to affect, and to invigorate the human soul. The heroic virtues of fortitude and courage, for example, would be without an object, were there no

What

perils to encounter, and no enemies to subdue. self-abasement could there be where there was no infirmity? What meekness, what patience, what forbearance, if there were no injustice to sustain, no calamities to suffer, and no injuries to forgive? Where were the exercise of resignation in a paradise of bliss? Where the trial of faith in a land of righteousness?

The social virtues, too, as well as the personal, could, under such circumstances, only be called into partial action. How could there be any pity, where there was no distress?-any sympathetic joy, where there was no escape from danger?-any compassionate charity, where there were no sins to cover, and no wants to relieve?

Were there no evils, then, either in the circumstances of the external world, or in the moral and physical condition of the society in which we dwell, some of our noblest faculties would remain unexercised and unim

proved. But it is not so. Under the discipline of Providence, the Christian is tutored in the school of adversity; and is rendered prudent by disappointment, humble by error, and magnanimous by endurance. Baffled, afflicted, persecuted, but rising superior to calamity, he unfolds his patience, his meekness, his resignation. Experiencing the hatred and contempt of those whom his heart desires to benefit, he learns the divine duty of forgiveness, and is taught to persevere in offices of kindness to the ungrateful. While engaged in these severe but exalted exercises, he becomes sensible of his own inability, and is forced to exclaim, "Who is sufficient for these things?" Thus, he is led to apply to Him who has said, "My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness." Weeping for his sins at the foot of the cross, he feels the virtue of humility taking deep root and growing in his soul; and the graces of faith, of hope, and of joy in the Saviour of sinners, rising to maturity.

In a word, the disciple of the Man of Sorrows is exposed to temptation, that he may guard against it; to difficulties, that he may overcome them; to dangers, that he may rise above them. He is taught, by expe

rience, the unprofitableness of sin, and he hates it,-the emptiness of human honors, and he despises them,-the worthlessness of earthly pleasures, and he looks beyond them.

Contemplate the servant of Jesus, as, under the guidance of Heaven, he advances through this vale of tears, gradually throwing off the load of his sins,-mixing with the world, that he may learn to despise its follies,-gaining strength by moral discipline, and improving in virtues and graces at every step. In this character, you witness the highest glory of human nature in its state of sin and suffering on earth,-a being, worthy of the approbation of angels. You see, a soldier taught to fight the good fight of faith, and trained to victory amidst hardships, dangers, and death,-a pilgrim travelling through the wilderness, with steady eye fixed on the Holy Land,a pupil of God, instructed in the school of His providence,—an heir of immortality, rendered meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.

Clothed now in the armor of God, he goes forth "conquering and to conquer ;" surrounded with danger, but trusting in an unseen arm; struggling with sorrow, yet kissing the hand which inflicts the wound; "troubled on every side, but not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair: persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed:" eluding the snares of the world, and even successfully contending with "principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places."

What striking instances of the efficacy of Christian principles, exercised amidst vicissitudes and suffering, do we discover in the Apostles of our Lord, who rejoiced when they were counted worthy of stripes for the sake of their beloved Master, in whom "tribulation wrought patience, and patience experience, and experience hope;" and whom "hope made not ashamed, because, the love of God was shed abroad in their hearts." And, above all, what a dignified and lovely example of the same principle do we behold in Christ, himself, whose whole life was an illustration of the of Divine grace, in power

calling the noblest faculties into exercise, and thus rendering the character of man "perfect through suffering ;" and who could,-at the close of His earthly career, when He saw the time immediately at hand, so full of unutterable horrors, in which the whole world was to be combined against Him, in which His very disciples were to forsake their Master, and allow Him to tread the winepress alone, who could, I say, even in this most appalling hour of the power of darkness, preserve unshaken His confidence in an unseen God, and feeling that He was not alone, for the Father was with Him, could in pious resignation exclaim, "Father! not as I will, but as Thou wilt !""

But there is a far higher consideration, which gives a peculiar character to the troubles of life, and stamps on them an inestimable value. They prepare mortal man for immortality. Here is the true source of Christian consolation. What are a few fleeting years of imperfect enjoyment, or even of positive calamity, when, through that very condition, we shall be rendered meet to enter the kingdom of God, and dwell with Him for ever? Who would not go on a pilgrimage through this dark and howling wilderness, when he sees rising before him, in all their grandeur and beauty, the everlasting mansions of the promised land? Who would not cheerfully bear the light affliction of the present moment, when he knows that it is "working out for him a far more exceeding, even an eternal weight of glory?"

FOURTH WEEK-MONDAY.

1. THE STARRY HEAVENS.-GENERAL REMARKS.

NOTHING is better calculated to raise the contemplative mind to the great Author of all things, than a view of the starry heavens, when night has cast its deep shade

over the face of Nature, and the frost of winter has not only converted the earth into stone, and the waters into crystal, but has charmed the exhalations from the air, and endowed it with such a beautiful transparency, that each little star shoots its radiance on the eye, and the whole sublime hemisphere seems like an immense and gorgeous dome, studded with diamonds; a fit temple for the worship of the Creator. The untutored savage, though he regards the stars only as so many lamps suspended from the azure vault, to enlighten and cheer his abode, is struck with admiration of the gift; and, with a heart overflowing with gratitude, falls down to bless the Great Spirit who bestowed it. Ignorance and astonishment have gone still further; and, in almost all nations, traces are to be found of the worship of the heavenly bodies,-a rude, but not altogether unnatural form of religion to the uninstructed mind. The "Hosts of Heaven," are assuredly the most striking and appropriate visible emblems of the glory of the Almighty Unseen; and, where the mind has been unaccustomed to reflect on any objects but those which strike the senses, the mistake may, without difficulty, be accounted for. Certainly such a belief, is neither so strange nor so revolting, as the worship of cows and serpents, or even of men and devils, with examples of which the history of heathen mythology abounds.

Science, however, even in its earliest efforts, easily shook off this superstition; and, as it advanced, exhibited new wonders in the sky, which extended the views, while they intensely excited the curiosity, of man, and gave deep exercise to his intellectual faculties. Hence have resulted discoveries which have overwhelmed the mind with astonishment. It does appear little less than miraculous, that a worm of earth, like man, who is bound to a little spot of this remote planet; whose abode upon it is but threescore and ten years; whose bodily strength is inferior to that of many other animals; whose powers of vision are more limited; whose intellect, in ordinary circumstances, rises but little beyond a mere provision for daily subsistence; that this being, with faculties and means apparently so inadequate, should have been enabled,