your faith, and weans you from the love of a temporary being;—and while, during the long night, ye behold the splendours of the distant Heavens, let them point out to your prophetick eye, that region of final bliss, "those green pastures, and "those still waters," where, after the wilderness of life is past, there is "rest for the children of "God."

I would to God, my brethren, that all of us, whether young or old, whether sorrowful or happy, could raise our minds to these high meditations; and that, while we listened, in the hours of solitude, to the instructions of Revelation, we would listen also, in our common hours, to the kindred instructions of Nature. It is such habits of thought that best incorporate religion with our souls that make us see the Deity in every ;scene we visit, and every appearance we behold; -and convert the world, in which the ignorant and the thoughtless perceive only the reign of chance and time, into the temple of the living and the present God.

Of the innumerable eyes that open upon nature, none but those of man see its author and its end. There is something very solemn in this mighty privilege. It is the privilege of a being not made to perish with Time, and formed, in some greater hour, to know him who inhabiteth Eternity. It is the privilege, still more, of that being, whom, amid the clouds and darkness of this

lower world, the Son of God came in mercy to seek and to save.

Let then, my brethren, the storms of winter blow, and the rains of Heaven descend. While every inferiour nature shrinks from their approach, let us meet them as the signs of the same goodness, which brings forth the promises of spring, and fulfils the hopes of the harvest ;-let us see them, as the evidence of that wisdom, which makes momentary evil the source of final good, and which can make the tears which mortality sheds, in a greater state, to be reapt in joy. Whatever may be the natural or moral appearances which we behold, let us never forget that the same Almighty mind reigns amid them all ;— that to the wise and the virtuous "all things are "working together for good ;" and that, amid the winter of our moral nature, that mind is formed, and those dispositions are nursed, which are to re-awaken, under the influence of a greater spring; and to exist when the revolutions of nature are past, and when time itself shall be no more.

SERMON XXII.

ON THE GENERAL THANKSGIVING, JANUARY 13, 1814.

ST. MATTHEW xvii. 4.

“Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."

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THESE Words were spoken in a moment of deep astonishment and gratitude. Our Saviour, as we read, had carried up his three disciples, without any previous preparation for the mighty scene that was to follow, "into an high mountain, apart "by themselves, and was then transfigured be"fore them. And his face did shine as the "sun; and his raiment was as white as light: "And behold there appeared unto them Moses "and Elias talking with Him." It was then that Peter broke out into those words, that so faithfully express the tumult of his astonished but grateful mind: "Lord, it is good for us to be here; and, "if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, "one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for "Elias."

It is with some such mingled sentiments of astonishment and of thankfulness, that the people of this country must assemble in the service of this grateful day. After long years of doubt and of darkness, after hopes long deferred, and prayers long unanswered, the dawn of brighter years seems rising upon the world. The waves of the deluge are retiring;-the green hills appear;the dove of peace seems approaching us with the olive branch upon her wings;—and the radiant sign of mercy from above is glowing in the clouds of Heaven. In such moments of wonder and of joy, I feel that the duties of this place cannot be performed. I bow my head before the throne of God in deep, (and I could wish in silent) thankfulness. And I dare only present to you a few hasty and disturbed reflections, which your own meditation must improve.

What the blessings are, for which we are now assembled in thankfulness before God, the most careless eye must see, and the simplest tongue can tell. The departed year rose upon us in the midst of calamity and gloom. While the great contest was as yet doubtful, upon which the fate of the social world depended, the miseries of want and of war were settling every day more deeply over our own land. The usual channels of its industry were obstructed;-the sounds of labour and of joy began to cease in our streets;—the character even of our people began to change;

and, amid the gloom that gathered around the poor man's heart, new and unheard of crimes arose, and the peaceful habitations of men began to be filled with violence and with blood.

How different are the scenes with which this auspicious year begins!-The great conflict of the social world is over :-The mighty are fallen; and the weapons of war have perished. The cry of freedom bursts from the unfettered earth; and the banners of victory wave in all the winds of heaven. Again, in every corner of our own land, the voice of joy and of gladness is heard. The cheerful sounds of labour rise again from our streets, and the dark ocean begins again to bright. en with our sails. Over this busy scene of human joy, the genial influences of Heaven have descended. The unclouded sun of summer has ripened for us all the riches of the harvest. The God of nature hath crowned the year with his goodness, and all things living are filled with plenteousness. Who is there that has not felt the blessings of the year? Even the infant, while he partakes, unconsciously, of the general joy, lifts his innocent hands to that Heaven from which he sees come all the hopes of man; and the aged man, when he remembers the sufferings of former years, is apt to say with the good old Simeon in the gospel, "Lord, now let thy servant depart in 66 peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."