order again. We next went into the great garden, in the centre of which stands the celebrated pear-tree, planted by the late venerable Missionary, George Schmidt, in 1738. Having in fifty-four years, during the suspension of the Mission, grown to a vast size, it served the Brethren, in 1792, both for church and school, the people and their children. sitting under the shade of its wide-spreading branches. The burial-ground lies west of the garden, a double row of oaks sheltering it towards the north. It is divided into four equal compartments, at present comprehending about three hundred graves of Hottentots, in regular rows, each distinguished by a piece of wood, marked with a number, referring to the church-books.

In the evening, about four hundred Hottentots attended the service of the church, and, after a suitable address by Brother Bonatz, joined in a hymn of praise to God for having brought us safe to this place. When we delivered the salutations sent by the congregations of the Brethren in Germany and England, to the converts from among the Hottentots, with best wishes for an increase of every' blessing upon them and their nation, loud thanksgivings followed. To us, new-comers, it was a truly gratifying and affecting sight, to see so large a number of Christian Hottentots assembled together, and to hear them, with heart and voice, joining in the worship of HIM, with whom there is no respect of persons, but whose grace and mercy are free to all of every tribe and nation who humbly seek his face.

(To be concluded in our next.)

PRINCIPLES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. OF GOD.

(Continued from p. 9.)

Q. 14. WHAT Scriptures teach the omnipresence of God?

A. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?

Q. 15. How does reason show the omnipresence of the Deity?

A. No being can act where he is not present. God acts everywhere; therefore he is present everywhere.

Wherever life is communicated or preserved, God is there; for he is the author and preserver of life. In Him all creatures live, and move, and have their being. Wherever life is terminated, and death ensues, God is there; for it is He that takes away from creatures their breath, so that they die and return to their dust.

Wherever the sun shines, the rain descends, the wind blows, the sea roars, the earth yields its produce, there God is present; for these, and all other natural operations, are ascribed to Him.

Wherever any creature lives, moves, thinks, or acts, there God is present; for it is from Him that every creature receives existence, together with all its capacities and powers.

Q. 16. If God be omnipresent, what is meant when it is said that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord; that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord; that Jonah rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord; and the like expressions, which seem to attribute locality to the Deity?

A. These expressions may be understood as referring to places consecrated to religious purposes, and in which God had been pleased on special occasions to make known his will, or to give particular displays of his glory and goodness.

And the "presence of God," or "the presence of the Lord," is an expression frequently used in Scripture, to denote remarkable exhibitions of the majesty, power, goodness, and other perfections of the Deity, either on earth or in heaven.

Q. 17. How do you prove the omniscience of God?

A. Thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men. Lord, thou knowest all things.

All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Q. 18. How does reason show the divine omniscience?

A. The omniscience of God is a natural result of his omnipresence. Being present everywhere, he is acquainted with all the words and actions, thoughts and intentions of men, and with every occurrence that transpires throughout the whole creation.

The eternity of God also confirms the idea of his omniscience. Many things are unknown to us, because they occurred in times past, with which we have no means at all, or only very inadequate means, of becoming acquainted: many other things are unknown to us, because they are to occur in future and far distant periods of duration. But the distinctions of past, present, and future, cannot affect a Being whose existence is eternal. His knowledge of the past and the future is as extensive and as accurate as His knowledge of the present.

Q. 19. Does God foreknow all future events?

A. Yes. All the prophecies and predictions contained in the Scriptures are proofs of his foreknowledge.

Q. 20. But does God foreknow future contingencies ? A. Unquestionably he does. Take a few instances. Rebecca came out to draw water, just when Abraham's servant was passing by; and thus his prayer in behalf of Isaac was answered.

Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile, just as the ark containing Moses was floating by: thus Moses was preserved.

Joseph, and Mary the mother of Jesus, going to Bethlehem, in consequence of a decree of Augustus Cæsar, shortly before Christ was born; whereby was accomplished an ancient prophecy relative to the place of the Messiah's nativity.

Peter catching a fish with a piece of money in its mouth; as foretold by our Lord.

The disciples of Christ meeting a man with a pitcher of water, and being conducted into a large upper room; as Jesus had foretold.

Christ being sold for thirty pieces of silver; his enemies casting lots for his garments; his being derided and buffeted; his dying a painful and ignominious death; his being buried by a rich man: all foretold many ages before.

All these events were evidently contingent; yet at the same time they were foreknown to God.

Q. 21. If God foreknew these events, does it not follow that they were necessary, and that men are not free agents?

A. By no means. God's foreknowledge of future events will prove that their occurrence was certain beforehand; but his foreknowledge has not the least necessitating influence on them, any more than his omniscience has on past or present events.

Q. 22. How do you prove the sovereignty and independence of God?

A. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity.

He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

He giveth not account of any of his matters. Who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.

Q. 23. How does reason confirm this scriptural view of the Deity?

A. The infinite wisdom and power, and universal authority of God, necessarily imply perfect independence. If God were not independent of every creature, his pers fections would be limited; and his designs and operations might be obstructed.

God was perfectly independent before any creature was called into existence; and as he is unchangeable, his independence can never be destroyed.

The relations in which God stands to us as our Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, Governor, and Judge, all necessarily imply sovereignty and independence. A being not sovereign and independent would not be qualified for sustaining any such relations to man.

Q. 24. How have the sovereignty and independence of God been displayed?

A. In fixing the period for the creation of angels andmen, of the heavens and the earth.

In giving to angels their peculiar capacities, employments, and habitations.

In fixing the number, magnitude, the peculiar qualities, and the situation, of the heavenly bodies; including the sun and moon, the stars and planets.

In determining the particular constitution of our earth, and appointing its grand characteristic features, as oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, mountains, valleys, continents, islands, &c., with all the peculiarities belonging to each part of the great whole.

In fixing the time, place, and circumstances, of every man's birth.

In giving to every human being such qualities of body and mind, and such a condition in life, as he sees fit.

In overruling the actions of men, and rendering them conducive to such purposes as he is pleased to accomplish. In appointing a plan of salvation for guilty man, and fixing the terms on which that salvation is imparted.

Q. 25. Is the sovereignty of God concerned in fixing the eternal destinies of men?

A. Not directly. In this momentous business, Jehovah acts not as an arbitrary sovereign, but as a just and impartial Judge. Things which affect the temporal interests of men are often determined, without any reference to their character or conduct, by the absolute sovereignty of Jehovah: but not so their eternal destinies. No individual has his eternal doom fixed absolutely and unconditionally, Every man's final state is determined according to his own character and conduct..

Q. 26. But if the sovereignty of God control every thing in time, why are not the eternal states of men under the same control?

A. Because whatever inequalities exist in the distribution of temporal benefits, all will be rectified in the eternal world, and it will be made apparent to the universe, that the Judge of all the earth has done right. But if similar inequalities be supposed to exist in the eternal world, there will be no subsequent state in which they can be rectified; and no possibility of compensation to those whose lot is affliction and misery.

The fact everywhere taught in Scripture, and confirmed by universal belief, that the present life is a state of trial, and that the life to come will be a state of rewards and