promised in the gospel. By surrounding us with the beauties and bounties of his natural creation, it seems to be the design of the Creator to call us to himself, to remind us of his love in Christ Jesus, of the riches and wonders of his grace and glory in that invisible and eternal world, which God hath prepared for them that love him. How short a space is it since the earth, now so gaily apparelled in bloom and verdure, was dreary and lifeless; the trees, stript of their verdure, spread their naked arms to the inclement sky; the air, now so genial and fragrant, was filled with chilling damps or cutting winds. The sun with languid gleams dispensed a cold and cheerless light. Nature had no beauty for the eye, nor music for the ear she languished forlorn and disconsolate in her mourning weeds. Whilst winter then supplies us with a striking picture of our mortality, let spring suggest to us the delightful assurance of our restoration to another life. When we behold those trees which were so lately to appearance lifeless trunks, now circulating that vital sap which puts forth their leaves and blossoms; when we behold the whole face of the earth renewed in all its former beauty, and a new creation opening upon us, "why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise

the dead?" How can it be a more difficult work to the Almighty to re-collect the scattered particles of the human frame, than to give new life to an insect or a flower, which is only the constant and familiar but no less wonderful operation of the same divine power? The heavenly voice said to the prophet Isaiah, cry, and he said, what shall I cry? "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." The vegetable and the animal world have one common parent. For dust we are, both man and flowers, and unto dust we shall return. Let the young, and gay, and florid, receive this seasonable admonition; let them remember that if they resemble the lilies of the field in beauty, they resemble them also in duration. In the morning the lilies grow up and flourish; in the evening they wither; alas! a duration still more precarious awaits the fairest, and loveliest, and best of the human race; before their noon of day they are often scorched and die; and the delight of our eyes, the joy of our hearts, is "taken from us with a stroke." The winter we have just passed has left behind it many traces of its unusual severity, and has been marked in an extraordinary degree by instances of mortality. That we have been preserved through it, is a just cause for our

gratitude to God; but let it not be the ground of our presumption. Rather let the deaths of so many of our acquaintance and connexions be to each of us, what they are providentially designed, a remedy for our carnal security; let them deeply impress upon us our Lord's admonition, "Take ye heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is." Since no age, no condition, no circumstances, can ascertain our preservation a single moment, since " in the midst of life we are in death," since his shafts fly so promiscuously that none can guess who may be the next victim; let us not rashly promise ourselves safety in any expedient, but that of being always ready, in having our lamps constantly trimmed and our loins girded.

At this delightful season, my brethren, let the goodness of God, displayed before our eyes in the lively scenes of nature, dispose our hearts to pious gratitude, and lead us to magnify and adore him in all the wonders of his creation. Whilst the all-gracious God is seen and felt in the verdure of the plains and woods, in the luxuriance and fragrance of blossoms and flowers, and in the balmy softness of the atmosphere, let us join the sweet Psalmist of Israel in his hymn of thanksgiving: "O Lord, how manifold are thy

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works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches." But let this survey of the variety and magnificence of the works of God in his outward and visible creation, lead us to the consideration of the miracles of his grace and glory, to those invisible and eternal things which God hath prepared for them that love him, in another and a better world. in vain shall we admire the magnificence and beauty of the natural world, if the spectacle do not warm and elevate our hearts to the love of Him who is the maker of it; if we do not bless and adore him, as we behold in the minutest object around us the traces of his consummate wisdom and unspeakable goodness. The season of spring is distinguished by two of the most solemn festivals of our church; that of Easter, on which all the miracles of divine love and mercy are placed before our eyes; the sun of righteousness risen upon us, and all its cheering and reviving influence spread around us, the clouds of God's wrath blown over and gone, and all the dreary circumstances of indignation from heaven and tribulation upon earth, giving place to the full dispensation of grace and mercy. Our vows were then solemnly renewed before the consecrated symbols of our Saviour's body

and blood. May we be found faithful to him unto death; may our hearts be opened to the blessed influences of his religion, as the earth is to the genial dews of heaven. And on the approaching festival of the Christian Pentecost may we receive an abundant measure of that Holy Spirit, destitute of which we can do nothing; of that enlightening and sanctifying spirit which may open our eyes to behold and receive the things that belong to our present peace and future happiness; may incline our ears to listen to the terms on which salvation is offered to us in the gospel; and enable us with steadfast confidence to pursue the path which that gospel points out to our steps; in a word, may make us such as it is our duty to be in all holy conversation and godliness; and teach us that, denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live soberly, righteously, and godlily in this present world. Finally, my brethren, let us implore the same Almighty Being who has now renewed the face of the earth, by his especial grace to "renew” us “in the spirit of our minds," and to raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness. That cheerfulness which prevails through universal nature, leads us to a grateful consideration of his goodness, which without reserve extends