safe in the bosom of your family, and recal the dangers you have passed. But why should not the emotion of gratitude, which is so appropriate now, have been felt before? Why should you be so strongly impressed, with the sense of what you call, the special interposition of God, when you have given no attention to his constant protecting power? Was not the care of God. over your vessel, as she floated peacefully upon the smooth waters? Is not his providence, ten thousand times more visible, when you come to consider it, in the arrangements, by which a ship. is borne in safety over the wide weltering sea, than in the single act, by which it is rescued from impending ruin? Can you see the divine care, in that wild and wrathful moment, when the yawning deep threatens to receive you, and not see it, in the pleasant and quiet hours, when your ship glides over the waters, as if it enjoyed their mild and peaceful beauty? Is it not the Providence of God, which gives to the gnarled oak, its strength and endurance? Does not he rear the lofty pine in the depths of the distant wood? Are not all the trees of the forest his? Are they not rocked by his winds, watered with his showers, fed by the atmosphere and the earth which he has made? Is it not he, who has concealed the strong ore in the dark places of the mine? Has not he given to the load-stone its power, and made the dumb magnet speak, to tell the benighted voyager, his wandering way? Is it not the Providence of God, that inspires the cunning artificer with skill, that nerves his arm with power, and enables him to form the unshapen wood, and the obstinate · iron, into that greatest wonder of human invention, by

which the art of man triumphs over space and time,

waves of the everlasting

Here it is, my

Here it is, my friends,

and unceasing agency

and makes the winds and ocean, subservient to his will? that we may behold the visible of God. We need not wait, till we fancy a direct interposition in our favor; for whether we notice it or not, the care of our Maker surrounds us as closely as the air, we breathe, and like that, is present not merely in the tempest and whirlwind, but in the peaceful atmosphere and the whispering breeze.

Again, your gratitude to God may have been called forth, upon your recovery from a dangerous sickness. You were severely smitten by the hand of disease, your flesh and heart faltered, and you were apparently approaching an inevitable grave. But it pleased God to rebuke your malady and restore you to the friends who were daily watching for your departure. As you felt the joy of returning strength, as you walked forth in the free air and under the pleasant light of the open Heavens, your heart was filled with emotions of gratitude too deep for utterance, and you could not but ascribe your recovery to the providential interposition of the Almighty. You almost thought that a direct and signal manifestation of his power, had been vouchsafed in your behalf. But, while you were thus grateful for your restoration to health, should you not have acknowledged the Providence of God, in the means by which it was produced, rather than in any departure from the general laws of his government on your account? Was not the hand of your heavenly Father visible in all those beneficial arrangements, of which, perhaps, you took little notice, in your desire to magnify the direct

exertions of his power? Is it not God who gave to each medicinal plant its sanative qualities? Is not the healing mineral placed in the earth's dark caverns by his will? Can you not perceive his goodness in enduing with sagacity the physician's mind, in revealing the fearful mysteries of disease to instructed reason, in filling the human heart with a sympathy, that is never cold, and a tenderness, which never wearies, when there is a sick couch to watch over, and a sick friend to be ministered to? Are there no marks of a Divine Providence, in the power of endurance, with which the delicate frame of man is gifted; in the tenacity, with which it retains its hold on life, when human skill is unavailing, in the elastic vigor, with which it rises up from the shock of disease, rejoicing again to run its race? It is here, my friends, that you may behold the immediate operations of Omnipotence. You may look forth, with a devout and grateful eye, upon the appointments of your Maker, and while you enjoy the blessings, which proceed from them yourselves, may rejoice, that others can also participate in their bounty.

I have thus suggested some hints respecting the general laws of Providence, for which we should bless God at all times, instead of waiting for the special interpositions of his will. Let me now ask you, to look for a moment, at the evils of forgetting the universal Providence of God, in hope of enjoying a peculiar manifestation of it for ourselves.

If we are accustomed to consider the Divine hand, only in special interpositions, our connexion with the Deity appears too fortuitous and unreal. It places him at a distance from us in the common events of life, and

reveals his presence only on those extraordinary occasions, which may rarely occur. It introduces great uncertainty and confusion into our ideas of the relation we sustain to God. Since it is impossible for us to tell, that a special interposition has at any time, taken place; whereas, the general course of Providence is constant and regular; we can always rely upon it, and can always be sure, that it is ordered by the will of God.

Again, the habit of seeking special interpositions in our behalf, leads us to attach too great importance to ourselves. If permitted to be cherished, with earnest conviction, it soon becomes an exclusive and selfish passion. In strong minds, it rises to a stern fanaticism, and in weak minds degenerates into a puerile superstition. In both cases the subjects of it are led to regard themselves as the peculiar favorites of the Almighty, on whose account the laws of nature may be suspended, and for whose benefit the arm of the Lord is made bare. But who are we, presumptuous mortals, that the agencies of the Universe, must be modified to suit our convenience? Shall our conviction or caprice, our pleasure or our pride, be consulted in the operation of those immutable laws, to which all things in heaven and in earth should do homage?' Are we of such consequence, as individuals, that whenever we involve ourselves in difficulty by our own ignorance, heedlessness, or folly, the great order of the Universe must be stopped for our deliverance? As well might the bewildered traveller in the midnight wood, expect a thousand liveried angels,' from their shining seats to guide him on his way.

6

Once more the habit of looking for special interpositions of Providence has a tendency to diminish our respect for the general laws, which govern the Universe. If we suppose that the chief blessings which our heavenly Father bestows, come to us in the form of direct manifestations, we shall acquire the habit of disregarding those salutary and beautiful arrangements, which it is our highest wisdom to learn, and our principal duty to observe. We are bound, by our very nature, and our relations to the Universe and to God, to submit to the laws, which he has established for our government. We best show our gratitude, by thankfulness for these laws. We best show our piety, by obedience to them. But these sentiments are weakened by indulging the idea, that a special interposition may take place on our behalf, to shield us from the evils, that result from their violation. Thus, men often place themselves in situations in which their health and life are exposed, thinking that because, they are in the discharge of their duty, they shall be shielded from danger, by a direct act of Providence. But, is it not better, if we are placed in such scenes, to acknowledge the danger, and to meet it like men, than to suppose, that God will turn aside his laws, on our account? it not better to admire those immutable provisions, which give strength in the hour of trial, confidence in peril, and an immortal hope in death, than to imagine a temporary provision to be made, according as we may fancy that we need?. Yes, brethren, let us be grateful to God, that we are placed in a Universe of established laws, that the Almighty has regulated all things by weight and measure, and made everything

Is