God appears so great in counsel and mighty in work," what may we expect to see in the palaces of heaven, in the hierarchies of angels, and in that wonderful Redeemer, who is, beyond all other objects, beyond all other manifestations, the wisdom of God, and the power of God.'t

The forest rears myriads of massy bodies, which, though neither gay with blossoms, nor rich with fruit, supply us with timber of various kinds, and of every desirable quality. But who shall cultivate such huge. trees diffused over so vast a space? The toil were endless. See therefore the all-wise and ever-gracious ordination of Providence! They are so constituted, that they have no need of the spade and the pruning-knife; nay, the little cares of man would diminish rather than augment their dignity and their usefulness: the more they are neglected, the better they thrive, the more wildly grand and magnificent they grow.

When felled by the axe, they are sawed into beams, and sustain the roofs of our houses; they are fashioned into carriages, and serve for the conveyance of the heaviest loads: their substance so pliant, that they yield to the chizzel of the turner, and are smoothed by the plane of the joiner; are wrought into the nicest diminutions of shape, and compose some of the finest branches of household furniture: their texture so solid, that they form the most important parts of those mighty engines, which, adapting themselves to the play of mechanic powers, dispatch more work in a single hour than could otherwise be accomplished in many days: at the same time their pressure is so light, that they float upon the waters, and glide along the surface, almost with as much agility as the fiuny fry glance through the deep. Thus, while they impart magnifi

Jer. xxxii, 19.

+ 1 Cor. i. 24.

Tully has given us an abridgment of all the preceding particulars, which I think is one of the finest landscapes in miniature that the descriptive pen ever drew: Terra universa cernatur, vestita floribus, herbis, arboribus, frugibus; quorum omnium incredibilis multitudo insatiabili varietate distinguitur. Adde buc fontium gelidas perennitates, liquores perlucidos amnium, riparum vestitus viridissimos, speluncarum concavas altitudines, saxorum asperitates, impendentium montium, altitudines immensitatesque camporum.-De Nat. Deor. lib. ii,

cence to architecture, and bestow numberless conveniences on the family, they constitute the very basis of navigation, and give expedition, give being to com

merce.

Amidst the inaccessible depths of the forest, a habitation is assigned for those ravenous beasts whose ap pearance would be frightful, and their neighbourhood dangerous to mankind. Here the sternly majestic lion rouses himself from his den, stalks through the midnight shades, and awes the savage herds with his roar: here the fiery tiger springs upon his prey, and the gloomy bear trains up her whelps: here the swift leopard ranges, and the grim wolf prowls, and both in quest of murder and blood. Were these horrid animals to dwell in our fields, what havoc would they make! what consternation would they spread! But they voluntarily bury themselves in the deepest recesses of the desert; while the ox, the horse, and the serviceable quadrupeds, live under our inspection, and keep within our call, profiting us as much by their presence as the others oblige us by their absence.

If, at any time, those shaggy monsters make an excursion into the habitable world, it is when man retires to his chamber and sleeps in security; the sun, which invites other creatures abroad, gives them the signal to retreat. The sun ariseth, and they get them away, and lay them down in their dens." Strange, that the orient light, which is so pleasing to us, should strike such terror on them! should, more effectually than a legion of guards, put them all to flight, and clear the country of those formidable enemies!

If we turn our thoughts to the atmosphere, we find a most curious and exquisite apparatus of air; which, because no object of our sight, is seldom observed and little regarded, yet is a source of innumerable advantages; and all these advantages (which is almost incredible) are fetched from the very jaws of ruin my meaning may be obscure, therefore I explain myself.

We live plunged, if I may so speak, in an ocean of air, whose pressure, upon a person of moderate size, is equal to the weight of twenty thousand pounds. Tre* Psalm civ. 22.

mendous consideration! Should the ceiling of a room, or the roof of a house, fall upon us with half that force, what destructive effects must ensue. Such a force would infallibly drive the breath from our lungs, or break every bone in our bodies; yet so admirably has the divine wisdom contrived this aerial fluid, and so nicely counterpoised its dreadful power, that we receive not the slightest hurt, we suffer no manner of inconvenience, we even enjoy the load: instead of being as a mountain on our loins, it is like wings to our feet, or like sinews to our limbs. Is not this common ordination of Providence, thus considered, somewhat like the miracle of the burning bush, whose tender and combustible substance, though in the midst of flames, was neither consumed nor injured? Is it not almost as marvellous as the prodigy of the three Hebrew youths, who walked in the fiery furnace, without having a hair of their head singed, or so much as the smell of fire passing on their garments?+ Surely we have reason to say unto God, 'O, how terrible,' yet how beneficent, art thou in thy works !'

The air, though too weak to support our flight, is a thoroughfare for innumerable wings. Here the whole commonwealth of birds take up their abode; here they lodge and expatiate beyond the reach of their adversaries. Were they to run upon the earth, they would be exposed to ten thousand dangers, without proper strength to resist them, or sufficient speed to escape them; whereas, by mounting the skies, and lifting themselves up on high,' they are secure from peril, they scorn the horse and his rider.' Some of them perching upon the boughs, others soaring amidst the firmament, entertain us with their notes, which are musical and agreeable when heard at this convenient distance, but would be noisy and importunate if brought nearer to our ears. Here many of those feathered families reside, which yield us a delicious treat, yet give us no trouble, put us to no expense, and, till the moment we want them, are wholly out of our way.

The air, commissioned by its all-bountiful Author, ↑ Dan. iii. 27.

Exod. iii. 2.

Job xxxix. 18.

charges itself with the administration of several offices, which are perfectly obliging, and no less serviceable to mankind. Co-operating with our lungs, it ventilates the blood, and refines our fluids: it qualifies and attempers the vital warmth, promotes and exalts the ani mal secretions. Many days we might live, or even whole months, without the light of the sun, or the glimmering of a star: whereas, if we are deprived only for a few minutes of this aerial support, we sicken, we faint, we die. The same universal nurse has a considerable share in cherishing the several tribes of plants; it helps to transfuse vegetable vigour into the trunk of the oak, and a blooming gaiety into the spread of the

rose.

The air undertakes to convey to our nostrils the extremely subtle effluvia which transpire from odoriferous bodies. Those detached particles are so imperceptibly small, that they would elude the most careful hand, or escape the nicest eye. But this trusty depositary receives and escorts the invisible vagrants, without losing so much as a single atom; entertaining us by this means with the delightful sensations which arise from the fragrance of flowers, and admonishing us by the transmission of offensive smells, to withdraw from an unwholesome situation, or beware of any pernicious food.

The air, by its undulating motion, conducts to our ear all the diversities of sound, and thereby discharges the duty of a most seasonable and faithful monitor. As I walk across the streets of London, with my eye engaged on other objects, a dray perhaps, with all its load, is driving down directly upon me; or as I ride along the road, musing and unapprehensive, a chariot and six is whirling on with a rapid career at the heels of my horse: the air, like a vigilant friend, in pain for my welfare, immediately takes the alarm; and while the danger is at a considerable distance, dispatches a courier to advertise me of the approaching mischief: it even thunders in my ear, and with a clamorous but kind importunity, urges me to be upon my guard, and provide for my safety.

The air wafts to our sense all the modulations of mu

sic, and the more agreeable entertainments of refined conversation. When Myrtilla strikes the silver strings, and teaches the willing harpsichord to warble with her Creator's praise; when her sacred sonata warms the heart with devotion, and wings our desires to heaven; when Cleora tunes her song, or the nightingale imitates her enchanting voice; when she heightens every melodious note with her adored Redeemer's name, and so smooths her charming tones, so breathes her rapturous soul, that God's own ear listens delighted;' when wisdom takes its seat on Mitio's tongue, and flows, in perspicuous periods and instructive truths, amidst the chosen circle of his acquaintance; when benevolence, associated with persuasion, dwell on Nicander's lips, and plead the cause of injured innocence, or oppressed virtue; when goodness leagued with happiness, ac company Eusebius into the pulpit, and reclaim the libertine from the slavery of his vices, disengage the infidel from the fascination of his prejudices, and so affectionately, so pathetically invite the whole audience to partake the unequalled joys of pure religion: in all these cases, the air distributes every musical variation with the utmost exactness, and delivers the speaker's message with the most punctual fidelity. Whereas, without this internuncio, all would be sullen and unmeaning silence: we should lose both the pleasure and the profit; neither be charmed with the harmonious, nor improved by the articulate accents.

The breezes of the air, when vague and unconfined, are so very gentle, that they sport with the most inoffensive wantonness amidst Ophelia's locks, and scarce disadjust a single curl. But when collected and applied by the contrivance of man, they act with such prodigious force, as is sufficient to whirl round the hugest wheels, though clogged with the most incumbering loads. They make the ponderous millstones move as swiftly as the dancer's heel; and the massy beams play as nimbly as the musician's finger.

If we climb, in speculation, the higher regions, we find an endless succession of clouds, fed by evapora tions from the ocean. The clouds are themselves a kind of ocean, suspended in the air with amazing skill.