ple committed to his care, be received into thy protection. Let us take sanctuary under that tree of life, erected in thy ignominious cross; let us fly for safety to that city of refuge, opened in thy bleeding wounds. These shall be a sacred hiding-place, not to be pierced by the flames of divine wrath, or the fiery darts of temptation. Thy dying merits and perfect obedience, shall be to our souls as rivers of water in a dry place, or as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.* But most of all, in that last tremendous day, when the heavens are rent asunder, and wrapt up like a scroll; when thy almighty arm shall arrest the sun in his career, and dash to pieces the structure of the universe; when the dead, both small and great, shall be gathered before the throne of thy glory; and the fates of all mankind hang on the very point of a final irreversible decision-then, blessed Jesus, let us be owned by thee, and we shall not be ashamed; defended by thee, and we shall not be afraid. O may we, at that awful and unutterably important juncture, be covered with the wings of thy redeeming love; and we shall behold all the horrible convulsions of expiring nature, with composure, with comfort! We shall even welcome the dissolution of all things, as the times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.† There are, I perceive, who still attend the flowers; and in defiance of the sun, ply their work on every expanding blossom. The bees, I mean; that nation of chymists! to whom nature has communicated the rare and valuable secret, of enriching themselves, without impoverishing others; who extract the most delicious syrup, from every fragrant herb, without wounding its substance, or diminishing its odours. -I take the more notice of these ingenious operators, because I would willingly make them my pattern. While the gay butterfly flutters her painted wings, and sips a little fantastic delight only for the present moment; while the gloomy spider, worse than idly busied, is preparing his insidious nets for destruction, or sucking venom even from the most wholesome plants; this frugal community are wisely employed in providing for futurity; and collecting a copious Isa. xxxii. 2. -Ego apis matine † Acts iii. 19. Grata carpentis thyma. -HOR. stock of the most balmy treasures. -And, O! might these meditations sink into my soul! would the GOD who suggested each heavenly thought, vouchsafe to convert it into an established principle, to determine all my inclinations, and regulate my whole conduct! I should, then, gather advantages from the same blooming objects, more precious than your golden stores, ye industrious artists. I also should go home laden with the richest sweets and the noblest spoils, though I crop not a leaf, nor call a single flower my own. Here I behold, assembled in one view, almost all the various beauties, which have been severally entertaining my imagination. The vistas, struck through an ancient wood, or formed by rows of venerable elms, conducting the spectator's observation to some remarkable object; or leading the traveller's footsteps to this delightful seat: The walls, enriched with fruit-trees, and faced with a covering of their leafy extensions, I should rather have said, hung with different pieces of nature's noblest tapestry:The walks, neatly shorn, and lined with verdure; or finely smoothed, and coated with gravel:The alleys, arched with shades to embower our noon-tide repose; or throw open for the free accession of air, to invite us to our evening recreation The decent edgings of box, which enclose like a plain selvage, each beautiful compartment, and its splendid figures ;The shapely evergreens, and flowery shrubs, which strike the and appear eye, with peculiar dignity, in this distant situation:The hason, with its crystal fount, floating in the centre, and diffusing an agreeable freshness through the whole :- The waters falling from a remote cascade, and gently murmuring as they flow along the pebbies:These, added to the rest, and all so disposed that each recommends and endears each, render the whole a most sweet ravishing scene, of order and variety, of elegance and magnificence. From so many lovely prospects clustering upon the sight, it is impossible not to be reminded of heaven, that world of bliss, those regions of light, where the Lamb that was slain, manifests his beatific presence, and his saints live for evermore. But, O! what pencil can sketch out a draught of that goodly land! What colors, or what stile, can express the splendors of IMMANUEL's kingdom? Would some celestial hand draw aside the veil, but for a moment; and permit us to throw a single glance on those divine abodes; how would all sublunary possessions become tarnished in our eyes, and grow flat upon our taste! A glimpse, a transient glimpse of those unutterable beatitudes, would captivate our souls, and engross all their faculties. Eden itself, after such a vision, would appear a cheerless desert; and all earthly charms, intolerable deformity. Very excellent things are spoken of thee, thou city of God. Volumes have been written, and those by inspired men, to display the wonders of thy perfections. All that is rich and splendid in the visible creation, has been called in to aid our conceptions, and elevate our ideas. But, indeed no tongue can utter, no pen can describe, no fancy can imagine, what GOD, of his unbounded munificence, has prepared for them that love him. Seeing then, that all terrestial things must come to a speedy end; and there remaineth a rest, such a blissful and everlasting rest, for the people of GOD; let me never be too fondly attached to my present satisfactions. Weaned from whatever is temporal, may I maintain a superior indifference for such transitory enjoyments, but long, long earnestly, for the mansions that are above; the paradise which the Lord hath planted, and not man." Thither may I transmit the chief of my conversation; and from thence expect the whole of my happiness. Be that the sacred powerful magnet, which ever influences my heart, ever attracts my affections. There are such transcendent. glories, as eye has not seen; there are such transporting pleasures, as ear has not heard; there is such a fulness of joys, as the thought of man cannot conceive. 66 Into that consummate felicity, those eternal fruitions, permit me, Madam, to wish you, in due time, an abundant entrance and to assure you that this wish is breathed with the same sincerity and ardor, for my honored correspondent, as it is, MADAM, for IF the reader pleases to look back on page 151, he will find me engaged, by a promissory note, to subjoin a Descant upon Creation. a To know the love of CHRIST; to have such a deep apprehensions of his unspeakable kindness, as may produce in our hearts an adoring gratitude, and an unfeigned faith: this, according to St. Paul's estimate, is the highest and happiest attainment in the sacred science of Christianity* What follows, is an attempt to assist the attentive mind, in learning line or two of that best and greatest lesson. It introduces the most conspicuous parts of the visible system, as so many prompters to our dull affections; each suggesting a hint adapted to the important occasion, and suited to its respective character. Can there be a more powerful incentive to devout gratitude, than to consider the magnificent and delicate scenes of the universe, with a particular reference to CHRIST as the Creator? Every object, viewed in this light, will surely administer incessant recruits to the languishing lamp of divine love. Every production in nature, will strike a spark into the soul, and the whole creation concur to raise the smoking flax into a flame. Can any thing impart a stronger joy to the believer, or more effectually confirm our faith in the crucified Jesus, than to behold the heavens declaring his glory, and the firmament Eph. iii. 19. |