This doctrine of creation is not, indeed, the discovery was perfectly fitted to serve. Every thing that he of man's reasoning or inquiry, but is God's own revela-made, in every view that can be taken of it, was "very tion of his own work. The wisest of the heathen could good." Whatever now appears among the works of form only the irrational and self-contradictory notion creation that is the opposite of good, evil in itself, or of some original matter existing from eternity, out of the cause of evil, is the work of another hand, and bewhich all things were moulded or made; but the Scrip- longs not to the first world, which its blessed Creator tures plainly teach, that God alone is from everlasting, pronounced to be good, but to the present world, on that he " only bath immortality," that "of him, and which he pronounced a curse. Yet in the midst of through him, and to him, are all things." "Through judgment hath he remembered mercy, and made the faith we understand that the worlds were framed by good prevail over the evil; nay, hath made the evil the word of God; so the things which are seen were itself to praise him, and promote the eternal purposes not made of things which do appear." All that exists of his infinite, eternal, and unchangeable love. Still, is, in the words of our Lord, the creation which God then, may we look upon his work of creation as reflectcreated;" and of every thing and every being he can ing the glory of his perfections, and for ever find cause say, at all times, and in all respects, "I have created to say, as his Word teaches us to do, All thy works him for my glory; I have formed him, yea, I have shall praise thee, O Lord. The earth is full of the made him." glory of the Lord." "O Lord, how manifold are thy But farther, as to the manner of this work of creation, and as here stated, "God made all things by the word of his power." The work of creation was the simple act of God's will. By a powerful word, as intimating that will, the original matter of all things was brought forth out of nothing, and the agents of progressive creation put in operation. "The heavens were framed by the word of God." By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.' He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." He required only to say, "Let there be," and "it was so." But, while thus he might have produced all things in one instant of time, and by one act of power, he was pleased to put forth a succession of these acts; and hence it is here stated, as what the Scriptures teach, that 66 God made all things "in the space of six days."—" In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." This order of creation, and the work of each day, is distinctly declared in the beginning of his own revealed word of truth; and we may easily understand that many wise and good purposes were answered, both by these successive processes, and by these particular portions of time being employed. But only one special use or reason is made known to us, for the work of creation being completed in six days, rather than any other number; and that is, that thus we may have an example of our own period of labour during six successive days, and resting on the seventh, in obedience to his positive commandment. All that we are really concerned to know and believe respecting the work of creation is, that both in the matter and in the manner of that creation, God made all things " very good."-This God himself, upon a survey of the whole, pronounced them to be; and we cannot possibly question that they were So. "And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good." Every thing in its place was perfectly adapted to serve the purpose for which it was designed; and particularly, to answer the great purpose of the whole work, namely, to manifest the glory of the great Creator. Nothing else than a desire to impart good could be supposed to induce the selfexistent God, possessing in himself essential glory and eternal felicity, to call this vast universe into being, and to fill it with creatures innumerable, capable of enjoying life and happiness; and this gracious purpose every created object, as it came pure from his hand, works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." 1. Let us keep in mind the design of God in the work of creation. It was the execution of his eternal decree, to manifest his own glory; and how wonderful a work in itself, how far above our comprehension, the act of creation-making all things out of nothing! This was the first miracle, the greatest of all miracles; and still is a continued miracle, daily before our eyes, declaring God's glory. This, indeed, vain man is continually disposed to forget; just the more so, that he thinks he understands the works of creation around him. Much have we been able to search out of the beauty, and the uses, and the relations, of these works, and even to trace the secondary agents by which God works, and the secret operations which he is carrying on, by the settled laws which he hath imposed upon the material world; and much, in this way, are we enabled to discern of the power, and wisdom, and goodness, of the great Creator; but soon do the most profound inquirers, if they inquire wisely, come to deep things, even in the most common works of creation, which they cannot fathom, and become sensible, if they reason rightly, that the existence even of this visible world is a continued miracle, and full of mysteries. "The meanest work of God is inexhaustible, and contains secrets which the wisdom of man will never be able to penetrate. They are only some of the superficial appearances and sensible properties with which we are familiar. Substances and essences we cannot reach. The secret laws, which regulate the operations of nature, we cannot unveil. Indeed, we have reason to believe, that the most enlarged understanding must, in a very short time, resolve its inquiries into the will of God, as the ultimate reason." There the loftiest and the humblest intellect, the long-searching sage and the simplest man that goeth forth to his labour, are brought together to the same point, to see and say at once it is God's creation; it is his mighty voice, still saying, "Let it be;" his everlasting arm still holding it in existence-" upholding all things by the word of his power." 2. Let us, then, duly consider, in the works of creation, the operation of his hands, and the tokens of his presence.-Therein he manifests his perfections in ways innumerable-by proofs most palpable, in language most intelligible. On every side he hangs out his own hand-writing, in letters, if we may so speak, large and Robert Hall. legible, to tell us of his presence with us-of his care over us of his claims upon us. "The heavens de. clare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." Nowhere, and at no time, "hath he left himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." "The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead; so that they are without excuse." There is no excuse for man forgetting God-living without God in the midst of God's own world; looking daily upon the traces of God's presence the productions of his power--the proofs of his wisdom—the tokens of his goodness; yet seeing nothing of God, and " saying even in his heart, There is no God." "The open secret," as the universe has been quaintly called, the sign of God's glory openly hung out to the sight of his rational creatures, yet still a secret to so many of them. "A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this." They are altogether foolish and brutish." There is often, indeed, a sufficient searching into God's works of creation, in order to know and understand his wonders; but this altogether in a manner that is atheistical-looking only at the tools that are in the band of the Divine Artificer, and the manner in which he disposes them, but leaving, or rather keeping, the great Creator himself out of sight, and so, as saith the prophet, are "brutish in their knowledge." "Their heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed;" and thus, seeing not God in these wondrous works which they themselves describe, are infinitely more irrational than the ignorant idolater of old, who worshipped every wonderful thing in creation as a god. In times of ignorance, the world was full of gods; and, in man's fancied wisdom, is now a godless world. Let us watch against both these extremes of foolishness; and see God in every object of creation, but make nothing created our God. In the least, as well as in the greatest of his works-in the leaf of the forest, as well as the sun in the firmament-you may see God made visible, and in every creature, as has been said, a window through which you may look into the Infinite;" but let not your souls rest on any thing beneath the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Jehovah. Hearken, then, unto this, as the unceasing voice of creation. "Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." Muse on the works of his hands. "These works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein;" and they are high, and wide, and deep enough to exercise the most exalted faculties of man or angel. The wisdom of Solomon, that excelled, found pleasure therein, when he " spake of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; and also of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes." But there needs not great wisdom, or deep searching, or long leisure, to find this pleasure-nothing higher than every one may attain, who can read for himself what God hath said in his Word concerning the creatures that he hath made. You have only to consider the heavens which are the work of his fingers, the sun for which hath he set a tabernacle, the moon which he hath appointed for seasons, and the stars of the sky in their multitude. You have only to lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, and bringeth out their hosts by number. You have only to behold the great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both sinall and great beasts. You have only to learn who thundereth marvellously with his voice, and sendeth out lightnings that they may go and say, Here we are. You have only to keep in mind who giveth snow like wool, and scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes, and casteth forth his ice like morsels-who hath begotten the drops of dew, and stayeth the bottles of heaven, and stilleth the waves of the sea. You have only to consider who provideth the raven with his food, and maketh the stork know her appointed times; and the turtle, the crane, and the swallow to observe the time of their coming—who causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man. You have only to contemplate the lion, which turneth not away for any; the horse, who paweth in the valley; and the ox, who knoweth his owner; the ants, who prepare their meat in the summer; the locusts, who go forth in bands; and the spider, who taketh hold with her hands. You have only to consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, and by whom they are clothed with a beauty with which Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed. All these you may easily see to be very good, as God created them; and should learn to contemplate daily, as manifesting his glory, his power, his wisdom, his goodness, his presence. All these you are to regard, however, as in themselves nothing, as at first brought out of nothing, and as continually upheld by His will from sinking back into their original nothing. these, you are to remember, according to His Word, shall at last wax old and pass away, and perish and be seen no more, and no place for them be found among things that are; while the blessed and faithful Creator shall alone remain, to be the portion of your souls-to be glorified and enjoyed for ever more. "Thou, O Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thine years shall not fail.” CHRISTIAN TREASURY. Ail The Saints in Heaven.-The saints in heaven shall God is every where present in respect of his essence; have the glorious presence of God, and of the Lamb. the saints militant have his special gracious presence. There they are brought near to the throne of the great King, and stand before him, where he shows his inconceivable glory! There they have the tabernacle of God on which the cloud of glory rests, the all-glorious human nature of Christ wherein the fulness of Godhead dwells, not veiled, as in the days of his bumiliation, but shining through that blessed flesh (that all the saints may behold his glory), and making that body more glorious than a thousand suns! so that the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon; but the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (properly the candle thereof), the Lamb is the luminary or luminous body which give light to the city; as the sun and moon now give light to the world, or as a candle lightens a dark room; and the light proceeding from that glorious luminary, for the city is the glory of God. Some time that candle burnt very dim, it was hid under a bushel in the time of his humiliation, but that now and then it darted out some rays of this light, which dazzled the eyes of the spectators; but now it is set on high in the city of God, where it shines, and shall shine for ever in perfection and glory. It was sometimes laid aside, as a stone disallowed of the builder; but now it is, and for ever will be, the light or luminary of that city; and that like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone clear as crystal.-REV. T. BOSTON. Self-Examination.-In order to unmask our hearts, let us not be contented to examine our vices, let us examine our virtues also, "those smaller faults." Let us scrutinize to the bottom those qualities and actions which have more particularly obtained public estimation. Let us inquire if they were genuine in the principle, simple in the intention, honest in the prosecution. Let us ask ourselves whether in some admired instances our generosity had no tincture of vanity, our charity no taint of ostentation? whether, when we did such a right action which brought us into credit, we should have persisted in doing it had we foreseen that it would incur censure? Do we never deceive ourselves by mistaking a constitutional indifference of temper, for Christian moderation? Do we never construe our love of ease into deadness to the world? our animal activity into Christian zeal? Do we never mistake our obstinacy for firmness,-our pride for fortitude,-our selfishness for feeling,-our love of controversy for the love of God,-our indolence of temper for superiority to human applause? When we have stripped our good qualities naked; when we have made all due deduction for natural temper, easiness of disposition, self-interest, desire of admiration, when we have pared away every extrinsic appendage, every illegitimate motive, let us fairly cast up the account, and we shall be mortified to see how little will remain. Pride may impose itself upon us even in the shape of repentance. The humble Christian is ag. grieved at his faults, the proud man is angry at them. He is indignant when he discovers he has done wrong, not so much because sin offends God, as because it has let him see that he is not quite so good as he had tried to make himself believe.-MRS H. MORE. Thoughts on the close of the Year.-My soul, how hath the year been hastening from thee, and thou hastening in it from the world! Where are the days fled? They are gone to be numbered with the years beyond the flood; and thou art now standing as on the isthmus of time. "The end of all things is at hand." Friends are dying around thee-thou art dying thyself—yea, the world is dying, and "the end of all things is at hand." In this state, my Lord, well may I look up to thee; circumstances so very solemn may well induce soberness and watchfulness unto prayer. Yes! blessed Jesus, I would pray thee so to direct each thought of my heart, that every faculty may be on the watch-tower waiting my Lord's coming. Thou hast said, "Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Oh! then, for grace to live by faith on thee; and so to live, that when I change worlds I may not change my company; for if in time I live with Christ, and enjoy Christ, I shall not live less with Christ, nor enjoy Christ less, when I exchange time for eternity. Lord Jesus, make me watch unto prayer, and thou wilt be, both now and then, in life and death, my portion for ever. Rev. DR HAWKEN. Christ the Light and Comfort of the Church.-When the sun takes its course towards us in the season of the year, it drives away the sharp frost, and the heavy fogs of winter, it clears the heavens, decks the earth with variety of plants and flowers, and awakes the birds to the pleasant strains of their natural music. When Christ, after a kind of winter absence, returns to visit a declining church, admirable is the change that be produces; all begins to flourish by his sweet influence,-his house, his worship, his people, are all clothed with a new beauty; but it is spiritual, and, therefore, none but spiritual eyes can discern it. When he will thus return, all the power and policy of man can no more hinder him, than it could stay the course of the sun in its circle. In like manner, a deserted, forsaken soul, that can do nothing but languish and droop, while Christ withdraws himself, what inexpressible vigour and alacrity finds it at his returning. Then those graces which, while they lurked, seemed to have been lost and quite extinguished, bud forth anew with pleasant colour and fragrant smell. It is the light of his countenance that banisheth their false fears, that strengthens their faith, and cures their spiritual infirmi The Sun is indeed the sovereign physician."Unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing under his wings." Mal. iv. 2.-ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON. ties. SONNETS ON PRAYER. I. LORD, what a change within us one short hour We rise, and all, the distant and the near, That we should ever weak or heartless be, Anxious or troubled,-when with us is prayer, And joy, and strength, and courage are with THEE II. When hearts are full of yearning tenderness For the loved absent, whom we cannot reach, By deed or token, gesture or kind speech, The spirit's true affection to express; When hearts are full of innermost distress, And we are doomed to stand inactive by, Watching the soul's or body's agony, Which human effort helps not to make less; Then like a cup capacious to contain The overflowings of the heart, is prayer: The longing of the soul is satisfiedThe keenest darts of anguish blunted are; And though we cannot cease to yearn or grieve, Yet have we learnt in patience to abide. instance before us, is designed and fitted to fur- | private and domestic economy, the statute and nish to our minds. 1. We have here an edifying example of well principled and well regulated devotion.. Daniel, though a great man, was not ashamed to acknowledge a higher and greater than himself; to cherish toward him the sentiments and the feelings of ardent piety; and to bow the knee in his presence, in the attitude of prayer. Prayer he recognised as a duty, and cherished as a source of consolation. Often had it cheered him in his moments of solitude and of sorrow,-often had it proved a most salutary refuge when all other refuges seemed to fail. It lightened the pressure of captivity, and even in the land of strangers, and amid the desolations of Judah, he poured forth his soul before his God, and found that he was a present help, "and that he never saith to any of the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain." Nor does he satisfy himself with silent and solitary musings-the ejaculations of a devout soul to "Him who seeth in secret," he "enters into his house," and he prays in his ordinary habitation, sometimes alone, and at other times with the members of his family around him, having adopted the truly patriarchal, and truly scriptural principle, that every house not only may be, but ought to be, a "place where prayer is wont to be made," and that wherever we pitch our tent, there God must have an altar. Along with his petitions, he " gave thanks" for the mercies of the past, and the hopes of the future,-remembering, that in the midst of his present dangers and difficulties, he had still abundant cause of thankfulness to his God. He recognised God as standing to him in covenant relation, for we are told "he prayed and gave thanks unto God." When he prayed and gave thanks," he kneeled," as expressive of humility, and reverence, and submission; he did this "three times a day," after the example of David and other servants of God, in former and later times-in the morning, when the dawn of another day reminded them of the mercies of the past night, and the snares and temptations which every day brings along with it; in the evening, when the shades of night and the dark mantle of nature associated themselves with the holy musings of their souls on Him "who maketh the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to rejoice," and at mid-day, when the extreme heat of the sultry clime of Palestine, rendered retirement, and repose, and refreshment absolutely necessary, and when the thought of Him who causeth his sun to shine, and who giveth the things which are requisite for the body, led them to offer before his throne the tribute of humble gratitude, and to ask of him his salutary protection, that the "sun may not smite them by day, nor the moon by night." This, we read, was done by him as aforetime. There was nothing new in it, -no ostentatious additions, by reason of his peculiar circumstances, and no deviations from, or omissions of, the established rule. It was his ordinary practice, it was part of his established common and confest ordinary law of his chamber, and of his household. What an edifying example of devotion in this pious and consistent nobleman! "Not many great-not many noble are called," still there are some. How dignified and sublime is piety in every situation, and more especially when associated with the splendours and immunities of rank! Do these make any additions to its native lustre ? "when unadorned it is most adorned;" but they derive new splendour and new dignity from it and in the crown of the monarch, and the coronet of the noble, it constitutes the finest and the fairest jewel. No; It is no uncommon thing to find men excusing Christians in the neglect of private and family prayer, by pleading the number and extent of their secular engagements, the man of merchandise with his counting-house, and its endless routine, the mechanic and the operative artisan, with the load of business pressing on them from their customers,-the farmer with his fields and crops, and his servants, and his cattle, and his markets;-the man of rank, moving in a style superior to theirs, with his ceaseless retinue of visitors, and sports, and avocations nameless, domestic and public. Had Daniel been inclined to find an excuse for the neglect of private and household devotion, he might have easily found a most plausible one indeed, in the multiplicity of his secular concerns, and the magnitude of his publie engagements. He pleads no such apology; for we find that, amid all the hurry of state affairs, he kept himself at leisure, probably by an admirable adjustment of his time and occupations-for thrice each day waiting upon his God. No false shame prevented him from officiating as the priest at his own altar; and, like David, he felt a peculiar delight in returning from official duty, and retiring from the hurry and bustle of the world, that he might call upon the name of his God, and bless his household. 2. We have here a noble example of stedfastness in the faith.-He knew that the decree was signed, that it was now passed into an established law of the empire, and that the very design and purpose of it were to entrap him and bring him into trouble. The reflection on it must have occasioned him no small measure of anxiety, and the trial of principle is severe. Many suggestions may have presented themselves to his mind, as suitable to such an exigency, and many very fair schemes might have been devised to save him from the cruel alternative. Even a man of sincerity in the main might have thought himself warranted, in a case so trying, to have used a little management so as to secure his life, and yet not violate his principles. He might have refrained from praying visibly, and in audible words, while yet he poured out his heart secretly before the Lord. He might have suspended the worship of the family while he contrived to retain that of the closet and the heart. He might omit for the thirty days, his ordinary times and occasions of devotion, with the under stood resolution, that he would pray so much the oftener, when the days were expired, and the danger was over. But Daniel knew that all these plans and schemes, plausible as they might appear, would not do for him. They all proceeded on the principle of concealment, or omission of duty, or a change in the usual manner of doing it, and all from the fear of man, which bringeth a snare. Daniel was a public man, and the representation of the more religious part of his countrymen in Daniel, and the most prominent witness to the honours of the true God, in the midst of surrounding idols. The eyes of many were therefore on him; and had he failed, or appeared to fail now, when his principles were brought so decidedly to the test, "it would have been as when a standard-bearer fainteth." Had he acted on compromising principles, it would have been thought both by his friends and by his enemies, that he had thrown up his accustomed duty, for this time, through cowardice and base fear, which would have tended much to the dishonour of God, and the discouragement of his brethren. Individuals of less decided character, and, moving in a lower and more obscure sphere, might act with caution and reserve, but Daniel, who was a veteran in the army of the saints, and who had so many eyes upon him, must act with more courage, and for this very reason too, that he knew the law to be made expressly for him. He resolves not even to seem to come short of his ordinary and accustomed duty. He follows his usual mode of worshipping his God, and thus by stedfast adherence to the path of rectitude, leaves to his foes not the shadow of a plea, that he had either relinquished his religion or even waived the outward and ordinary expressions of it, for the sake of self-interest. we wish to serve, that we can dispense with our customary religious observances, for the sake of the company who chance to be with us, and who may not be of our way of thinking on these mattersthat we tolerate blasphemous and profane and impure communications, for fear of offending by reproof, or by some other decided marks of disapprobation, or that we yield in our practice to the fashion of the world, just because it is the fashion, and we have no power to change it. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that even now the disciples of the Redeemer may be called to suffer persecution. The sneer of ridicule may be pointed at their superior sanctity. The world's dread laugh may disturb and vex the most placid and amiable, and yet decided minds. The forfeiture of interest and worldly favour and advancement, may be the price which we may be called to pay for purity and integrity of principle; and the trial of cruel mockings "may constitute no small ingredient in that cup of bitterness which is mingled for the drink of Him who trod the wine-press alone." In the ordinary commerce of life, then there will be trials of faith, and Christians may be called to hold fast their integrity, at some considerable expense. It is just in such cases as these, that the example of Daniel holds forth at once a pattern to guide and an encouragement to cheer. Do not the mean compliances of Christian professors harden many transgressors in their evil course? Do you not teach them to despise your principles, by your timorous desertion of them? Do you not thus show that you prefer your ease, your reputation, or your emolument, to the advancement of the kingdom of Christ? And, do you not give occasion to the men of the world to say, that religion is all a trick, or piece of political finesse, and that its most zealous friends can just be as worldly and as complaisant as others, when it chances to serve their turn by being so? Bad as the world is, it loves consistency, and Daniel, through a long life of tried integrity, commanded the respect of his most determined enemies. The language of his history then is clear and explicit. "How long halt ye between two opinions." Let our grand rule of conduct ever be that of the apostle and his followers,-"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." The pattern here unfolded to us, is a noble one indeed, and the language of it is clear and decided. "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and afterwards have nothing more that they can do," "who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die; and hast feared continually every day, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?" Isa. li. 12, 13. Our blessed Redeemer lays great stress on the duty of an open and undisguised profession of his name and cause before men, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his 3. Lastly, We have in Daniel a practical illusown glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy tration of the grand principles whence all true angels." We have little cause to fear the "fury of devotion and all genuine piety must flow. We are the oppressor," or the arm of persecution to be told that, notwithstanding the infamous decree of raised up against us. In these happier days, and Darius, Daniel went into his chamber, the ordinary in our beloved land, Christianity is recognised and scene of his devotional exercises, and "his winestablished by law, and we are permitted to sit dows being open toward Jerusalem, he prayed each under his "vine and fig-tree, none daring unto his God." This was his ordinary practice; to make us afraid." Our temptations then, to hide and we may rest assured that the opening of his our religion from others, are trifling in the ex- window, far from being a symptom of ostentatious treme, when compared with Daniel and the good display, was the usual accompaniment of the demen of other days. So that our guilt is exceed-votional exercises; that the sight of the visible ingly magnified if it be so that we conceal our religious views for fear of displeasing those whom heavens might affect his heart with a sense of awe and reverence to that God who dwelleth far above |