The Contemplation of Nature a Source of

Consolation.

Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?-JESUS CHRIST

THE most effectual and permanent source of consolation, under any afflictive event, is doubtless the conviction that all events are wisely ordered by a controlling Providence. How then is such a conviction to be acquired? Arguments, strong and good ones, calculated to impress it on the mind with an indelible stamp, are to be found in a wide range of true christian divinity; for the ways of God to man have been justified by, the wisest and greatest among the sons of men. Let those whose feelings, habits or engagements will permit them to put their faculties upon a course of sustained exercise, study these arguments, and I entertain no fear of the result. I believe that as the investigation is pursued, conviction will grow up and strengthen, and bear the fruits of comfort, submission and peace.

Yet there is one short and perfectly simple train of thought, which is as satisfactory on this subject as the most labored process of reasoning. For my own part, at least, I need but a single reflection to silence every doubt and dissipate every fear. I look abroad on the works of the Almighty. There is not a single object on which I turn my eye, which does not display a wisdom and skill which fill me with admiration and wonder. From the dew-drop which trembles and glitters on the leaf, to the world which rolls and shines in space, all is admirable, and all is wonderful. In senseless matter and in living things; in secret powers and visible agencies; in motion, attraction and rest; in growth and decay; in life and in death, there is an arrangement and a certainty which inspire me with confidence, and a depth of knowledge which is past my finding out. And what am I, that I should question the originating and guiding intelligence of a system like this? Can the skill which modelled so many forms of beauty and magnificence ever be mistaken, or exhausted? Can the wisdom and the power which suspended vast and countless worlds in infinitude, which preserve their admirable arrangement, and in all their paths

and motions keep them from the slightest interference with each other, fail to adjust, in the best manner, the affairs of one small spot, in which I and a few fellow-mortals dwell together? I ask myself this simple question,

- Can the wisdom of nature's God ever judge unwisely? It is entirely and absolutely impossible.

And therefore, if there were no other inducements to the love, contemplation and study of nature, than the religious convictions which they tend to form, and the satisfactory evidences, which they furnish, of a benign and careful Providence, surely these would be amply sufficient. There is a constancy and calmness, a lasting beauty and majesty in the forms and operations which are all around us, which tell of a hand that never tires and an eye that never sleeps. A consolation is expressed in their settled serenity, steadiness and obedience, which argument and eloquence may attempt in vain to afford, and to which we may securely resort for comfort when other sources have failed us. This fountain is ever fresh, ever flowing, and ever full. The tide of our fortunes and the hearts of men may change; but nature remains the same. Calamities may overtake

us, disappointments may blight our most cherished hopes; we may be grieved, wronged, depressed, wearied with the world, and wearied with ourselves; and yet the day will glow with the same brightness; the night will return with her unaltered train of splendor; and the continued order and tranquillity of creation will convey to our hearts the assuring intelligence that all is well.

Yes, all is well in the course of the universe; in the dispensations of Providence; in the ways of our heavenly Father. If we will acquiesce and be instructed, all will be well too with us. Nothing but our own pride, or waywardness, or dullness, stands between these salutary operations and ourselves. Let us submit, and obey, and love; let us coöperate with the great Disposer; let us go along with him in his paths, confidingly and humbly; and all will be well, both without and within us; completely and forever well.

F. W. P. G.

April 15th, 1830.

Gratitude amidst Sorrows.

Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine; though the labor of the olive should fail, and the fields should yield no meat; yet I will rejoice in the Lord ; I will joy in the God of my salvation.

IT is essential to true devotion that we cherish such views of the divine character as shall inspire, not submission only, but religious joy, under every circumstance of life. Joy is "a delight of the mind," arising from the possession or the near prospect of good. Gratitude is a thankful sense of benefits received, disposing to proportionate returns. But both our religious joy and gratitude are too limited in their objects and extent. There is apt to be something selfish and mercenary in their nature. We confine them to the day of our prosperity; when our blessings are many; our hopes are cheering; and, as it is expressed by the patriarch, when the candle of the Lord is shining around us. But have we not reason to fear that these emotions are little better than the gayety of