invested, would excite our admiration and reverence, almost approaching to religious adoration.

If, then, the contemplation of physical and mental energies, with which even created beings may possibly be invested, would excite our admiration and reverence, what powerful emotions of this description must the energies of the Uncreated Mind be calculated to produce, when they are contemplated by the eye of enlightened reason, and in the light of Divine Revelation! When this huge globe on which we dwell existed in the state of a shapeless and unformed mass; when land, and water, and air, were blended in wild confusion, and Chaos and Darkness extended their dominion over all its gloomy regions, at His command "light sprung out of darkness, and order out of confusion;" the mountains reared their projecting summits, the valleys were depressed, the caverns of the ocean were hollowed out, and the waters retired to the places which He had appointed for them. The fields were clothed with luxuriant verdure; Eden appeared in all its beauty; the inferior tribes of animated existence took possession of the air, the waters, and the earth, and man was formed in the image of his Maker, to complete this wondrous scene. At this period, too, the earth received such a powerful impulse from the hand of its Creator, as has carried it along through the voids of space, with all its furniture and inhabitants, in the most rapid career, for six thousand years; having already moved through a space of 3,480,000,000,000 miles, and will still continue its unremitting course for thousands of years to come, till the " mystery of Providence be finished."

Would we be struck with admiration and astonishment, at beholding a superior created intelligence tossing a mountain into the sea? What strong emotions of reverence and awe, then, ought to pervade our minds, when we behold the Almighty every moment producing effects infinitely more powerful and astonishing! What would be our astonishment, were we to behold, from a distance, a globe as large as the earth tossed from the hand of Omnipotence, and flying at the rate of a thousand miles every minute! Yet this is nothing more than what is every day produced by the unceasing energies of that Power which first called us into existence. That impulse

which was first given to the earth at its creation is still continued, by which it is carried round every day from west to east, along with its vast population, and at the same time impelled forward through the regions of space at the rate of sixty-eight thousand miles in an hour. Nor is this among the most wonderful effects of divine power: it is only one comparatively small specimen of that omnipotent energy which resides in the Eternal Mind. When we lift our eyes towards the sky, we behold bodies a thousand times larger than this world of ours, impelled with similar velocities through the mighty expanse of the universe. We behold the planetary globes wheeling their rapid courses around the sun, with unremitting velocitythe comets returning from their long excursions in the distaut regions of space, and flying towards the centre of our system with a velocity of hundreds of thousands of miles an hour-the sun himself impelled towards some distant region of space, and carrying along with him all his attendant planets-and, in a word, we have the strongest reason to conclude, that all the vast systems of the universe, which are more numerous than language can express, are in rapid and incessant motion around the throne of the Eternal, carrying forward the grand designs of infinite wisdom which they were destined to accomplish.*

It must, however, be admitted, that the manifestation of power, or great physical energy, abstractly considered, is not of itself calculated to produce that emotion of reverence which flows from love, unless the being in whom it resides exerts it for the purposes of benevolence. A superior being, endowed with great physical and intellectual energies, which were exerted solely for the purpose of destruction, could inspire no feelings but those of dread and alarm; and were it possible to conceive an Omnipotent being divested of the attribute of benevolence, or possessed of a capricious character, he would form the most terrible object which the human mind could contemplate. But the attribute of infinite power, when conjoined with infinite wisdom and goodness, conveys an idea

See a more comprehensive illustration of this subject in "The Christian Philosopher," 3d edition, pp. 43-85.

the most glorious and transporting. Every display of divine power to which I have now alluded, has the communication of happiness for its object. The motion of the earth around its axis every twenty-four hours, is intended to distribute light and darkness, in regular proportions, to all the inhabitants of the earth, and to correspond to the labour and rest appointed for man. It produces a variety which is highly gratifying to the rational mind; for, while our fellow-men on the opposite side of the globe are enjoying the splendours of the noonday sun, the shades of night, which at that time envelope our hemisphere, are the means of disclosing to our view the magnificent glories of the starry frame. Were this motion to cease, this world and all its inhabitants would be thrown into a state of confusion and misery. While the inhabitants of one hemisphere enjoyed the splendours of perpetual day, the glories of the nocturnal heavens would be forever veiled from their view, and the inhabitants of the other hemisphere would be enveloped in the shades of eternal night. While the one class was suffering under the scorching effects of excessive heat, the other would be frozen to death amidst the rigours of insufferable cold -vegetable nature, in both cases, would languish, and the animal tribes would be gradually extinguished.

The same benevolent intention may be perceived in that exertion of power by which the earth is carried forward in its annual course around the sun. From this motion we derive all the pleasures we enjoy from the vicissitude of the seasons; without which the variety of nature that appears in the beauties of spring, the luxuriance of summer, the fruits of autumn, and the repose of winter, would be completely destroyed. And, it is worthy of notice, that all this variety is enjoyed every moment by some one tribe or other of the human family; for while it is summer in one region, it is winter in another; and while one class of our fellow-men is contemplating the opening beauties of spring, another is gathering in the fruits of harvest. The same benevolent designs, we have every reason to believe, are displayed in those more magnificent exertions of divine power which appear among all the rolling worlds on high; for, in so far as our observations extend, all the arrangements of the planetary globes

appear calculated to promote the happiness of sentient and intellectual beings.

While, therefore, we contemplate the operations of divine power, either in the earth or in the heavens, we perceive every thing which is calculated to inspire us with love, admiration, and reverence. When we lie down on our pillows in the evening, how pleasing is it to reflect, that the power of our Almighty Father will be exerted in carrying us round in safety several thousands of miles, during our repose in sleep, in order that our eyes may be again cheered with the morning light? When, amidst the gloom and storms of winter, we look forward to the reviving scenes of spring, we know that we must be carried forward more than a hundred millions of miles, before we can enjoy the pleasures of that delightful season; and when spring arrives, we must be carried through the voids of space a hundred millions of miles farther, before we can reap the fruits of summer and harvest. How delightful, then, is the thought, that the omnipotent energy of our heavenly Father is incessantly exerted in producing such a wonderful effect, accompanied by such a variety of beneficent changes, alf contributing to our enjoyment!*

What is the reason, then, why we feel so little admiration and reverence at the beneficent operations of divine power? If we should be struck with veneration and wonder at beholding a superior created intelligence tossing a range of mountains into the sea, why do we behold, with so much apathy, effects ten thousand times more energet ic and astonishing? One general reason, among others, undoubtedly is, that the moral constitution of man has suffered a melancholy derangement; in consequence of which, the train of his thoughts and affections has been

*In this, and other places of this work, the truth of the annual and diurnal motions of the earth is taken for granted, because I conceive it is susceptible of the clearest demonstration-(See "Christ. Philoso pher," 3d edit. pp. 67, 68, 280, 281, 514.) But, should the truth of this position be called in question or denied, it will not materially affect the propriety of such moral reflections as are here stated; for, in this case, a similar, or even a much greater display of omnipotence must be admitted in reference to the motions of the heavenly bodies, in bringing about the succession of day and night, and the changes of the sea

sons.

turned out of its original channel. The Scriptures are clear and explicit on this point; they declare, in the most positive terms, that "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and that, in consequence of this depraved principle, the wicked "walk in the vanity of their minds, being alienated from the life of God. They say to the Almighty, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. God is not in all their thoughts, and through the pride of their countenances they will not call upon God."-Another reason is, that the Almighty agent who produces so stupendous effects remains invisible to mortal eyes. Were a celestial intelligence to appear in a splendid and definite form, and to produce such effects as I have supposed, the connexion between the agent and the effects produced, would forcibly strike the senses and the imagination. But, he who sits upon the throne of the universe, and conducts all its movements, is a Being "who dwells in light unapproachable, whom no man hath seen, or can see. "" He can be contemplated only through the sensible manifestations he gives of his perfections; and, were the train of our thoughts properly directed, we would perceive him operating in every object and in every movement. We would hear his voice in the wind and the thunder, in the earthquake, the storm, and the tempest; we would see him in the beauties and sublimities of sublunary nature, in the splendours of the sun, and the glories of the nocturnal sky; and, in whatever situation we might be placed, we would feel ourselves surrounded with the omnipotent energies of an ever-present Deity.

The contemplation of God as an omnipotent being, is calculated to inspire the mind with love and confidence in the prospect of futurity. The promises addressed to us by a wise and benevolent being can excite in us trust and dependance, only in so far as we are convinced of his ability to secure their fulfilment. If almighty power were not an attribute of the Eternal Mind, or were we unable to trace its operations in visible existing facts, then all the promises and delineations of revelation, in reference to unseen and eternal objects, might prove to be nothing more than imaginary scenes, that could never be realized. But the good man, who perceives omnipotent energy in incessant operation throughout all the scenes of the uni