a never-failing source of hope and of joy to those who are in a state of friendship and of reconciliation with him. They are individually as much the objects of his compassion and his care, and all his attributes of wisdom, love, and power, are as much exercised in regard to them, as if there were no other being. It is the same God who is present with distant and unnumbered worlds to direct all their movements, who is as much present with me as if there were no other being to enjoy his goodness. His workmanship is as perfect, the superintendence of his providence as complete and unembarrassed, in forming and in preserving the minutest, as in forming and preserving the greatest, productions of his power. "He feeds the fowls of the air, he clothes the grass of the field, and the hairs of our head are all numbered."

If, in the deepest affliction, the sympathy of a friend alleviates our sorrows, and enables us to bear our trial with greater patience and cheerfulness, how much more consolation may we enjoy from the presence of the God of all power and compassion, who himself declares concerning his church, "I the Lord do keep it: I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it I will keep it night and day." Our earthly friend may be unable to afford us the aid and the sympathy which we require: but the Divine Friend who is always around us, and He who neither slumbers nor sleeps, is intimately acquainted with the peculiarities of our condition; with all the ingredients of the portion of our cup; with the extent of our helplessness, and has the compassion and the power to relieve us. It is not till the hours of health and prosperity are suc

ceeded by the night of adversity that we begin to feel ourselves alone; that the feebleness of all human efforts to minister to our relief is forcibly impressed on our hearts; and that, amid the loneliness to which we are necessarily left, we receive unwonted consolation from the belief that thou, God, seest us. How many are there possessing the same sensibilities, the same hopes and fears with ourselves, who are removed from the sympathies of their fellows, and called to endure, without the soothing presence of a friend, the languor of sickness and the bitterness of death! If, in such circumstances, they know the truth, how delightful is the conviction, that they are not alone; that an Almighty Friend is present to witness their tears, and to hear their complaints; and that all the tender interest felt by a mother, when watching the dying breathings of her only child, cannot be equalled to the compassion of Him who is not only always present, but always present to bless them and to do them good. When passing through the valley which is solitary to all, through the darkness of which no friend can accompany us, they advance from time into eternity in the presence of that God who is to be their everlasting light and glory.

A belief in the omnipresence and omniscience of our Heavenly Father is calculated to give us a superiority to the trials of life. In a world where we are surrounded by those who partake of the sinfulness of our common nature, and where our acquaintance with each other's motives and character can in no case proceed from a knowledge of the heart, circumstances will frequently occur, in all situations, to impair our

happiness. Where the intention is good, the action that proceeds from it may be unaccompanied with the prudence that deprives the tongue of malice and slander of its appropriate employment. How consoling is it, when thus falsely accused, to possess not merely the testimony of an approving conscience, but to be able to appeal to the God who has been with us all our lives long, to refer to the omniscience of the Governor and Judge of the Universe. The true Christian may retire from the noise of the people, from the tongue of strife and detraction, and enjoy amidst the solitude of his own reflections, more than the happiness of which the world would deprive him. If he cannot have the sympathies of his fellow-creatures, which is in itself so great a source of satisfaction, he is animated by the delightful persuasion, that the God of boundless mercy and compassion looks on his heart, is acquainted with all his weaknesses and wants, will guide him through the difficulties of life to a more peaceful land, and own him on that great day when the approbation of God alone will decide his everlasting condition. Hence the confident language in which the righteous of other ages appealed from the presumptuous decision of man to the tribunal of God and of their own conscience: "Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live."

What is the situation in which we may not increase our happiness by recognising the universal presence of God? Do we not enjoy prosperity itself with a higher and more refined pleasure under the immediate view

of Him from whom all our happiness flows? Do we not share with more exquisite delight the bounty of the Creator, when we know that he himself presides over the feast, and when, amid the pleasures of this liberal entertainment, we can say, thou, God, seest us. Thus the divine presence is associated with all the expressions of divine goodness; the gifts of Providence are received as coming from the hand of our Heavenly Father; and all the loveliness of nature assumes a more interesting aspect by its presenting to us the glories of that Almighty Friend, from whose omniscient view we cannot be separated. When we appeal unto God, either in the extreme of sorrow or in the height of prosperity, we call upon a Being who is acquainted with every thought that has ever arisen in our mind; who has accompanied us with more than the compassion of a parent through every step of the > journey of life; and whose boundless goodness gives us confidence to hope, that he will never abandon us to the feebleness of our own efforts, nor leave us till we are surrounded with the light of his glorious presence.

Are we called in providence to any peculiar service, requiring in its performance an extraordinary exercise of all Christian graces, how great is our encouragement in knowing that the all-seeing and omnipresent God is with us! It was thus that Moses was encouraged to go unto Pharaoh, when God said unto him, Go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." It was thus that he was afterwards emboldened to conduct the children of Israel through the wilderness, when God said unto

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him, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." Jacob also, in the solitude of the wilderness, when travelling towards Pa danáram, was comforted from the same divine source. "The Lord appeared unto him, and said, Behold I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." And when Christ sent forth his Apostles on that mission, in the discharge of which they hazarded the loss of all things, they were supported by the promise, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." It was this divine presence, in the peace and joy which it afforded, and in the immovable ground of confidence which it formed, that made them fearless and safe in the midst of danger, rich in the midst of poverty, joyful under multiplied afflictions, successful in the face of the power and policy that were leagued against them, and more than triumphant in death. The same gracious presence is continued with us-the presence of God in his whole essence and perfections; in his wisdom to guide us-his power to protect and support us-his mercy to pity us-his fulness to refresh us, and his goodness to relieve us. We have good ground, from the promises of the Gospel, to expect its manifestation in observing the instituted ordinances of his worship. "In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. I will dwell in them, and walk in