made. Our eyes and ears, our hands and feet, our mouths and stomach, and heart and blood-vessels, all attest the wisdom of God. We see it also in the inferior animals. Their bodies are formed with as much wisdom as our own. Every creature has a form and nature, and appetites, and instincts suited to its condition in the world. The birds with their feathers and wings, the fishes with their fins, and the beasts with their feet of various kinds, are proofs of the wisdom of God. The trees, the flowers, and the grass do also show forth the wisdom of Him who gave them being. If we admire the wisdom of man in a watch, or a telescope, or a steam engine, much more should we be filled with adoring wonder, when we contemplate the infinitely superior wisdom of God, displayed in all his works. Wherever we turn our eyes, we are met with the marks of wise design. The sun, which gives us light by day, and diffuses life through all nature, is a wonderful object. The moon and stars are beautiful and glorious works of the great Creator. Day and night, winter and summer, seed time and harvest, speak the wisdom of God. Indeed, the evidences of divine wisdom in every thing within us and around us, are so innumerable, that it is impossible to recount them. We may then, every hour, exclaim, with the royal Psalmist, "How manifold are thy works, in wisdom hast thou made them all:" "The earth is full of thy riches:" or with the wise man, "The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth, by understanding he hath established the heavens:" or with the prophet, "He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding."

God is good. His goodness is manifest in every work of his wisdom, for he hath so continued and

arranged all things in the best manner, to promote the happiness of his creatures, according to their nature and capacity. Especially, his goodness appears in the capacity of pleasure given to man, all the exercises and operations of whose nature give him pleasure, when indulged in their proper measure. Man is formed

with such a nature, that he cannot open his eyes on the beautiful world which he inhabits, without pleasure. The glory of the firmament, the beauty of the landscape, and the sublimity of the lofty mountains and vast ocean, fill the rational mind with pure delight. The various works of nature or of art, perceived by the eye or ear, furnish a feast to the mind. The food which nourishes us is pleasant to the taste, and the water which gushes from the earth, affords a sweet refreshment. The light is pleasant to the eyes, and the air is felt to be invigorating to the lungs. Action is pleasant, and so is repose. Sleep, though it is the image of death, is sweet and refreshing to the labouring man. There are to man, thousands of sources of pleasure. If he were only innocent, even the world as it is, though labouring under a curse for sin, would still furnish many of the delights of paradise. Truly God is good. To Moses he said, "I will make all my goodness to pass before thee." And when he proclaimed to his servant his name, a part of it was, "abundant in goodness and truth." "The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee! "The goodness of God endureth continually."

God is holy. Every excellence is his, and without holiness he would not be an object of veneration. The dictates of our own conscience teach us that the Father of our spirits is holy. And in the Bible no attribute of Jehovah is more clearly and frequently

brought to view. Holiness is the true ground of that adoration which enters so essentially into the worship of God. "Worship ye at his footstool for he is holy." "But thou art holy, thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." "The Lord is holy in all his works." Holiness is the sum of all moral excellence. When the heavenly hosts worship Jehovah, they ascribe holiness to him in the most emphatic manner. 66 HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, is the LORD of HOSTS." And the four symbolical living creatures whom John saw before the throne of the Most High, "rest not day and night, saying, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, which is and was and is to come." Every thing which has any relation to God, or his worship is holy; his word, his house, his angels, his prophets, his people, his sabbaths, and all the places where he records his name, and all the institutions by which he is worshipped. "There is none holy as the Lord." God is also just and righteous, giving to every one his due. Justice is the rectitude of God's nature. Justice is essential to him as governor of the world. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" "Justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne." "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." "He will by no means spare the guilty." The Lord is the righteous Judge. "And I heard the angel say, Thou art righteous, O Lord"-" O Lord, true and righteous are thy judgments."

God is great. "The Lord your God is a great God." "Thou art great, O Lord God, none is like unto thee." When Solomon was engaged in erecting the temple, he said, "The house I build is great, for great is our God." Thus also Nehemiah, in his prayer, (ix. 32,) calls God, "The great, the mighty, and the terrible God." And Isaiah, "Great is the

Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." (xix. 20.) And Jeremiah, "Thou art great, and thy name is great in might." (x. 6.) Mention is often made in Scripture of God's "great name." "What wilt thou do unto thy great name?" (Josh. vii. 9.) "Behold, I have sworn by my great name." (Jer. xliv. 9.) "Thou art great, and thy name great." (x. 6.) "My name shall be great among the Gentiles." By the "name" of God we should understand his attributes. God is great in all his perfections; and "his greatness is unsearchable."

God is eternal. He has had no beginning, and he will have no end. This perpetuity of existence is frequently expressed in the Bible, by saying, He is, and was, and is to come. Of his years there is no end: "Before the mountains were brought forth," said Moses, "or ever thou hadst formed the earth or the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." Eternity is often ascribed to God in Scripture."Unto the King eternal." "The eternal God is thy refuge." "His eternal power and Godhead." Indeed, the idea of eternity, though incomprehensible, forces itself upon us when we think of the First Cause. He who is the Creator of all things can have no beginning. To suppose the contrary, would involve us in the grossest absurdity. And as God is eternal, so he is unchangeable. He says of himself, "I change not." He is the Father of lights, with whom "there is no variableness nor shadow of turning." His purposes and plans are as unchangeable as his nature. "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Any change in the essence or will of Jehovah would argue weakness, or want of perfect knowledge of all contingencies. God knows all things. "Thou God seest me.'

"The Lord searcheth the hearts and trieth the reins of the children of men. There is nothing hidden from his sight. All things are naked and open before him with whom we have to do. He seeth the end from the beginning." All the free actions of his creatures are known to him, for he hath most exactly foretold many such actions, as is evident from his predictions respecting the treachery of Judas, the denial of Peter, and the malice and envy of his crucifiers. If the Lord was not omniscient he could not possibly govern the world with wisdom. But no truth is more clearly revealed, and no attribute is more essential to the perfection of Jehovah. thou, even thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men."

"For

God is every where. "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?" "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." "For his eyes are on the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings." "Behold, I fill heaven and earth." And yet the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. And he is not only present, but active. He sustains all things by the word of his power. He is the living God. "In him we live and move and have our being."

God is incomprehensible. "Who by searching can find him out; who can find out the Almighty to perfection?" "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain to it.” His greatness is unsearchable. "There is no searching of his understanding." "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how un