the most fervent delight on the gorgeous scene which the azure canopy displays; and it swells with rapturous thoughts of that incomprehensible Being, who called forth by number all the hosts of heaven.

Ye glittering orbs! that roll so far
Beyond the

grasp of finite man,

To thee, my orisons I raise

In purest adoration.

On the vast vault of immensity,

In rich profusion ye shine,
Twinkling with delight most fervent
And joyous, that near eternity
Your glorious thrones are raised,
And with magnificence clothed.

The sceptic would tell us, that all the splendid worlds above, are the result of chance, and that at some period, chaos longing to set itself free, burst forth in all the diversified glory which

appears in heaven, earth, and sea. Degrading, insulting thought! Who, but the Lord Jehovah, could have produced all the glorious objects which we behold? Nothing is the effect of chance, for all nature sprung from nature's God," who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." That he formed all things, and lives in all things, all nature combines to show: the heavens declare it; man, unbesotted with pride, and not sunk in ignorance, avows it; and the poorest reptiles which crawl the earth, prove it.

"The Lord of all, himself through all diffused, Sustains, and is the life of all that lives; Nature is but a name for an effect,

Whose cause is God."

What a rich and diversified picture does the gilded heaven present to us on a clear night! Cold must be the

heart, that can view it without the most intense gratification. Most other parts of creation delight us with their isolated beauties; but the heavens attract us by a constellation of glories, and overwhelm us with a sense of their magnitude, variety, and magnificence.

The science of the heavenly bodies, ought to engage every soul; for it is one capable of leading the mind beyond the grovelling and vexatious concerns of this state. What study can be more grand and useful, and what more suited to raise in our minds rational and dignified thoughts of the wonderful God with whom we have to do? Frequent contemplation of the starry sphere, ennobles the soul, and humbles our pride: it leads us into a train of thoughts which correct our wanderings, and lead to the practice of

virtue while it shows us what poor insignificant creatures we are, in comparison with the Almighty. This is the view David takes: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, and the stars which thou hast ordained; Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him?”*

There is a solemn period rapidly advancing, when all the beauties we now behold will be no more. As soon as the gracious plans of mercy are completed, the eternal Lord God will again cause primeval darkness to cover all created things. Oh, my God! "of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a ves* Ps. viii. 3, 4.

ture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed."* "Immediately

after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."+

Oh! how concerned ought every one to be, to outlive the glory of the skies. Though they perish, the soul never will; but neglected, will be shut up in a more dreadful gloom than that which will overspread the gorgeous canopy of light. A few years more, and then sun, moon, and stars, will roll together, and in one Matth. xxiv. 29, 30.

*Ps. cii. 25, 26.