one vast circling horizon, the fit emblem of eternity, and of the God of eternity, whose origin and end are no where to be found, whose "goings forth were from everlasting to everlasting." In such a situation a thousand reflections press upon the mind, at first vague and indefinite, till they all converge to one central point, and may all be expressed in the compre, hensive phrase," Almighty! thine this universal frame!" Since the hour of its creation, the world has undergone considerable alteration. Here man has enriched it with his arts, there he has marred it with his victories. Here peace has peopled the towns with habitants, and agriculture has clothed the fields with plenty. There ambition has depopulated the one, and luxury has ravaged the other. The rapid rise and fall of empires through each succeeding age convince us that there is on earth "no continuing city." The bust of the hero, the monument of the saint, the statue of the false God, the altar of the True; in fine, every gorgeous palace and solemn temple, raised by regal pride, or priestly piety, must crumble to the dust from which they sprung. Yet these, proud man, are thy monumental trophies, these the Babel-towers in which thou trustest for posthumous renown! But while the earth thus varies its riches and its aspect, the ocean exhibits less of change. Whether disturbed by

tempest, or serene in calm, whether glittering in the joyous glare of day, or wooed by the tremulous beams of moonlight, it is still the same free and unsubjugated element, whose tide no faction can alter, whose storms no armies can restrain, whose surface is the same now as when our Saviour trod it, or when in the hour of its primæval darkness the creative Spirit passed along its waters.

It would be an endless task to adduce all the themes of admiration, of moral and religious reflection, which the ocean affords. They will force themselves frequently on the minds of them who "go down to the sea in ships," and who, in occupying their business in the great waters, have an opportunity of seeing the wonders of the Lord on the deep.

We are assured that the great source of eter+ nal beatitude, which awaits the righteous in another world, will consist in a more intimate communication with Him who is the fountain of goodness and joy; at present all we can see or know of the Almighty are his works and his word; from the one we gather the facts of his existence, his wondrous power, and perfect provision for the temporal good of his creatures. From the other, we learn for a certainty that which by natural means we should only have hoped, the immortality of the soul, its divine characteristic from the brutes that perish.

Knowledge, however, is of little use unless it become an actuating principle; accordingly, to demonstrate the utility of this important knowledge, we see the world, under its influence, arising from a moral death; we see men, under its guidance, acting no longer as the tenants of a day, but as the aspiring candidates for a heavenly kingdom; we see the minds of the votaries of Christ turned from the grossnesses of sense to those high and holy meditations which bespeak the soul. It is true, that men destitute of immediate revelation often indulged themselves in speculations concerning eternity, but there was always something wild and visionary and vacillating about their theories; "other Lords besides God had dominion over them," and the real philosopher, while, with an ardent longing after immortality, he cast his anxious eyes upon the page of nature, saw indeed the volume which he rationally suspected to contain the welcome message of immortality, but, alas! it was written in characters which he could not decypher, and told him à language which he could not understand. But surely, My Brethren, I shall not be going too far, when I assert that we, like St. Luke, " have had perfect knowledge of these things from the very first."

From the hour of our arrival in this world, we have been prepared to look beyond it, and that blessed Gospel, for which the Apostle la

boured, the martyr witnessed, and the Saviour bled, is at once the law and consolation of our hearts. Oh! may its blessed influence never slumber, or never cease to animate our conduct and our hopes. May all our observations on the state of nature and of man, conduce to strengthen and confirm its vital efficacy; and whether we repose in comfort and in safety on the flowers of the shore, or occupy our business amid the wonders of the deep, whether we recline in the calm shade of content and competence, or struggle through the dark waters of a more turbulent existence, may we never, never forget to praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men."

SERMON XXIX,

CHARACTER OF BALAAM.

NUMBERS XXII. 18.

And Balaam answered and said unto the servant of Balak; If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

THERE is not a more common spectacle in this world of deceit and wickedness, than to see men professing principles diametrically opposite to those by which they are uniformly governed; and to hear them inveigh the most bitterly against the very views to which they are most addicted. Whether it be, that they imagine that no person will suspect them of those sins and follies which they so frequently abjure, or whether they really deceive themselves into a belief of their innocency; the result is the same, namely, that a very material discrepancy prevails between the professions and actions of men, who nevertheless enjoy a tolerable credit in the world for honesty and religion. We do