nature, illimitable. That such is the fact, will be evident to every one, who will reflect for a moment upon the results emanating from the lives of St. Paul, Luther, Howard, Clarkson, or Wilberforce, and of Alexander, Julius Caesar, Voltaire, Lord Byron, or Napoleon. Now, it is only necessary to recollect, that the being, possessed of this power, is by nature utterly ignorant of the future, wholly incapable, even during life, and much more after death, of controlling and directing the consequences of his actions, and still more that he is fallible, that is, liable not only to err from ignorance, but also from a wrong moral bias; and we must be convinced that the exercise of this power could never be safe for his fellows, unless it were under the supreme direction of a being who knew the end from the beginning, and who was by his very nature incapable of wrong.

From what has been said, it will follow, that our duty to God forbids

1. Idolatry, that is, rendering divine homage to any other being than the Deity.

2. Rendering obedience to any creature, in opposition to the will of the Creator.

3. Yielding obedience to our own will, or gratifying our own desires, in opposition to His will.

4. Loving any thing which He has forbidden.

5. Loving any thing which He has allowed, in a manner and to a degree, that He has forbidden.

6. Loving any thing created, in preference to Him.

Each of these topics is susceptible of extended illustration. As, however, they are discussed in full, in works on The

ology, to which science they more particularly belong, we shall leave them with this simple enumeration. In treating of the remainder of this subject, we shall, therefore, consider only the means by which the love of God, or piety, may be cultivated. These are three. 1st. A spirit of devotion. 2d. Prayer. 3d. The observance of the Sabbath.

CHAPTER II.

THE CULTIVATION OF A DEVOTIONAL SPIRIT.

FROM what has been already said, it will be seen, that the relation which we sustain to God, imposes upon us the obligation of maintaining an habitual temper towards Him, which shall continually incite us to do whatever will please Him. It is natural to suppose, that our Creator would have placed us under such circumstances as would, from their nature, cultivate in us such a temper. Such we find to be the fact. We are surrounded by objects of knowledge, which, not merely by their existence, but also by their ceaseless changes, remind us of the attributes of God, and of the obligations under which we are placed to Him. A devotional spirit consists in making the moral use which is intended, of all the objects of intellection, that come within our experience and observation.

1. Our existence is dependent on a succession of changes, which are taking place at every moment in ourselves, over which we have no power whatever, but of which each one involves the necessity of the existence and the superintending power of the Deity. The existence of the whole material universe is of the same nature. Now, each of these changes is, with infinite skill, adapted to the relative conditions of all the beings whom they effect; and they are subjected to laws, which are most evident expressions of almighty power, of unsearchable wisdom, and exhaustless goodness. Now, were we merely intellectual beings, it would not be possible for us to consider any thing more than

these laws themselves; but inasmuch as we are intellectual and also moral beings, we are capable not only of considering the laws, but also the attributes of the Creator from whom such laws are the emanations. As every thing which we can know teaches a lesson concerning God; if we connect that lesson with every thing we learn, every thing will be resplendent with the attributes of Deity. By using, in this manner, the knowledge which is every where spread before us, we shall habitually cultivate a devout temper of mind. Thus, "the Heavens will declare unto us the glory of God, and the firmament will show his handywork; thus day unto day will utter speech, and night unto night show forth knowledge of Him.

2. Nor is this true of physical nature alone. The whole history of the human race, teaches us the same lesson. The rewards of virtue, and the punishments of vice, as they are beheld in the events which befal both individuals and nations, all exhibit the attributes of Deity. It is He that "stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people." "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." His forbearance and long-suffering, and, at the same time, His inflexible justice, His love of right, and His hatred of wrong, are legibly written in every page of individual and national history. And hence it is, that every part that we witness in the government of moral beings, has a twofold chain of connections and relations. To the mere political economist, or the statesman, it teaches the law by which cause and effect are connected. To the pious man, it also teaches the attributes of that being, who has so connected cause and effect; and who, amidst all the intricate mazes of human motive and social organization, carries forward his laws with unchanging certainty, and unerring righteousness. Now, it is by observing not merely the law, but the moral

lesson derived from the law; it is by observing not merely the connections of events with each other, but, also, their connection with the Great First Cause, that a devotional spirit is to be cultivated.

And hence, we see that knowledge of every sort, if suitably improved, has, in its very nature, a tendency to devotion. If we do not thus use it, we sever it from its most important connections. We act simply as intellectual, and not as moral beings. We act contrary to the highest and most noble principles of our constitution. And hence, we see how progress in knowledge really places us under progressive obligations to improvement in piety. This should be borne in mind by every man, and specially by every educated man. For this improvement of our knowledge, God holds us accountable. "Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor consider the operations of his hand, therefore will He destroy them."

3. But, if such are the obligations resting upon us from our relation to the works of Nature and Providence, how much are these obligations increased by our knowledge of God, as it is presented to us by revelation. I suppose that a person acquainted with the laws of optics, who had always stood with his back to the sun, might acquire much im portant knowledge of the nature of light, and of the path of the sun through the heavens, by reasoning from the reflection of that light, observed in the surrounding creation. But how uncertain would be this knowledge, compared with that which he would acquire, by looking directly upon the sun, and tracing his path by his own immediate observation. So of revelation. Here, we are taught by language, that truth, which we, otherwise, could learn only by long and careful induction. God has here made known to us His attributes and character; here He has recorded His law; here He has written a portion of the history of our race, as a specimen of His providential dealings with men; and here