bered the days of any particular individual by an absolute and arbitrary decree, or without having a regard to the circumstances in which the individual may be placed. God, being infinitely wise, can do nothing without motives that are worthy of his divine nature. He must, then, have just reasons for determining that such a man should leave the world at one time rather than at another. Yet, though the term of life be in itself neither affected by necessity nor fatality, it is certain, and can never be really changed.

Whenever a man dies, some causes must infallibly lead to his death: these, however, may at any time be suspended by the Supreme Being. One man dies of some mortal disease, another by a sudden and unforeseen accident. One perishes by fire, another by water. All these causes God has foreseen: neither has he been an idle or an indifferent spectator; he has examined them all with care, compared them with his views, and has seen whether he will approve of them or not. If he approves of them, they are determined; and, in that case, there exists a Divine decree, by virtue of which a man will die at a certain time by some particular accident or contingency. This decree can neither be revoked nor prevented; for the same reasons which might influence God to take a man from the earth at this present time were known to him from all eternity, and his wisdom would enable him to form the same judgment then that he would in the present instance. What, then, should induce him to revoke his decrees?

It may, however, happen that God, foreseeing the causes of the death of a particular individual, did not approve of them. In this case he has as least determined to permit them, or otherwise they could not have taken place, nor the individual have died. And if the permission of these causes of death has been determined, God then wills that we should die in the time when these causes shall exist. It is true he might have been disposed to grant us a longer life, and not ap. prove of the causes of our death; but it was inconsistent with his wisdom to counteract their operation. He saw the universe collectively, and found reasons which induced him to permit that a man should die at a particular time, though he neither approved of the causes, manner, nor circumstances, of that death. His wisdom finds means to direct that death to the most useful purposes; or he foresaw that a longer

life, in the particular circumstances in which a man was placed, could neither be of advantage to him, nor to the world in general: or he saw, that to prevent that death, a new and perfectly different combination of things was requisite; a combination that could not accord with the general plan of the universe, and which would prevent still greater good from taking place. Thus, although God may sometimes disapprove the causes of a man's death, he has, nevertheless, sufficiently wise and just reasons to permit them to take place; and consequently, to determine that a man shall die at a particular time, and by certain means. These considerations are well calculated to make us regard death with christian resignation and fortitude. What principally renders it so formidable is the uncertainty of its approach, and the manner in which it seizes us. If we knew beforehand how and when we should die, we might prepare to meet the awful hour with resolution. But as that is very seldom the case, nothing is more effectual to strengthen our minds and tranquillize our thoughts upon that event, than the belief in a Providence which watches over our lives; and which, from before the foundation of the world, has determined, with infinite wisdom and goodness, the time, the manner, and all the circumstances, of our death. The term of our lives is then appointed; and nobody can die sooner or later than God, in his infinite mercy, has deter mined for the good even of the individual himself. Persuaded of this consoling truth, let us calmly await the hour of death: and since its arrival is uncertain, let us be wise enough to prepare for it at all times, and be found in a state of readiness whenever it may happen; knowing that the period will be that which God has judged will be the best for us. It is true, we are ignorant what will be the manner of our death, and the particular circumstances attending it; but it is sufficient to know and to believe that we can onl die in that way, and at that time, which our heavenly Fa ther shall deem to be the best for ourselves, and for all those connected with us. Strengthened by this belief, we shall continue to pursue our terrestrial pilgrimage without inquietude; submitting patiently to all the dispensations of Providence, fearless of the dangers to which the performance of our duty may expose us.

DECEMBER XXIX.

The Instability of earthly Things.

NOTHING exists in nature whose state and manner of being is not liable to change. Every thing is the sport of frailty and inconstancy; nothing is so durable as always to retain its present appearance. The most solid and compact bodies have not such a degree of impenetrability, and so close a union of the parts which compose them, as to be exempted ⚫ from dissolution and destruction. Every particle of matter insensibly changes its figure. How many changes have our bodies undergone since their first formation in our mother's womb! every year we lose some of our constituent parts, and again acquire new ones. Every thing upon the earth grows and decays by turns, only in some bodies these changes are not so frequent and great as in others. The heavenly bodies appear to be the same as they were at their first creation; and perhaps they are the least changeable of all bodies. Yet attentive observers have noted the disappearance of certain stars from the heavens; and the changes which take place in the spots that appear on the sun prove that he is not always in the same state. Besides, his motion subjects him to different variations, and we have reason to believe he undergoes at times various internal revolutions. All that we can know of them is conjectural, because of the immense distance that we are from him; and, no doubt, if we were able to observe them near enough, we should discover as much instability in all the heavenly bodies as we do upon our earth.

The year which in two days more will terminate, furnishes abundant proof of the uncertainty and frailty of all earthly things. Confining ourselves to the small circle in which we move, how frequent are the changes that we witness! Many of those people whom we have known for years are no more: many whom we have seen smiled upon by fortune are now grovelling in poverty, or reduced from a state of rank and influence to mediocrity and dependence. If we examine into ourselves, we shall also find we have undergone various changes. Our health and activity may have decayed; we may have been subjected to misfortunes, sickness, and the infidelity of those whom we trusted.

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Such reflections are gloomy and sorrowful, and might even reduce us to despair, if we were not supported and consoled by religion, which leads to an almighty, unchangeable, and eternal Being; in the full assurance of whose unalterable goodness and love, let us submit with resignation to all the vicissitudes of this transitory world.

DECEMBER XXX.

Retrospect of our Lives.

THE termination of another year of our lives should induce us to make some reflections, which, though of the utmost importance, do not in general occupy so much of our attention as they ought. That we may feel more sensibly how short is the period of our lives, let us examine how we have passed the days that we have already lived, however humiliating a task it may be.

Let us first consider those days, the employment of which it was not in our power to regulate. How much of this year has been passed in eating, drinking, and sleeping; in taking care of our bodies, and providing for our necessities! How much time has been spent in useless occupations, without any advantage gained for our immortal souls! How many hours have been passed in uncertainty and inaction; in perplexity, and in expectation! So that when we make the days of the year pass in review before us, we shall discover how numerous those have been that were unproductive of any intellectual good; and how very few have been employed in acts of real utility, either to ourselves or to others; and of those few, how many hours have been sacrificed to vice, and devoted to sin! How humiliating and afflicting is the recollection that so many of the hours allotted to us by almighty Goodness have been lost in idleness, or lavished in folly: hours that never can be recalled; in which we have wandered far from the best and tenderest of Fathers! Perhaps they have been profaned by impiety, envy, jealousy, and slander; or sacrificed to the world, to vanity, to indolence, and to false pleasures; all tending to divest our hearts of the love of God, and charity for one another. Instead of employing them in the promotion of righteousness, perhaps we have devoted them to oppose the

cause of truth, and combat the designs of Providence ; giving trouble to society, and molestation to the church. And, lastly, how rapidly does the short space that we have to remain upon the earth fly away! Year after year passes by almost imperceptibly, before we even notice it; and then it is impossible to be brought back.

Father of mercy! forgive us the faults we have had the misfortune to commit; and grant that in the awful hour of death the manner in which we have passed our last year may not cause anguish to prey upon our hearts.

DECEMBER XXXI.

Hymn of Thanksgiving for the Close of the Year.

LORD, thou art the God of time: thou art also the God of eternity! I will sing a joyous song to thy praise; I will celebrate thy holy name. A year is about to finish its course to what do I owe the continuation of my existence ? It is to thy grace alone, and to thy paternal love!

Being of beings, receive my adoration! Thou art immutable: thou hast been, thou art, and thou shalt be through all eternity! Thy love endures from generation to generation; and each morning brings a renewal of thy goodness!

Thou hast led me by thy paternal care through the year that is now ending: when my heart was preyed upon by care and sorrow, thou visitedst it by thy consolation and assistance, I will praise thee and exalt thee from the depths of my soul, and again commit myself to thy wise and unerring guidance.

Pardou, O my God, those innumerable errors which I have committed against thee in the days that are past; and let me again experience, for Jesus Christ's sake, thy paternal support. Teach me to do thy will and thy pleasure all the days of my life!

The world passes away, and its pleasures disperse it is not in these, therefore, that I am to seek my happiness. Even here below I may aspire to nobler joys. I am allied to angels, and heaven is my patrimony :-Grant, O God, that I may incessantly aspire after it!