fluence on the way of thinking, and in the reso lutions we form: Therefore, the more we knew of future events, or the more temptations we should have to surmount, the more we should have to fear for our virtue. How wretched also should we be, if we could see into futurity! Sup pose, in reality, that the future events were to be agreeable and happy: While we do not fore. see this greater happiness which awaits us, we enjoy with gratitude the present advantages we possess. But, draw the curtain, and discover an agreeable prospect of futurity, and we cease from that moment to enjoy the present. We should no longer be content, happy, or grateful. We should anxiously and impatiently expect the fortune designed us; and our days would pass one after an other without enjoying them. But suppose future events are to be sad and melancholy, we suffer before-hand all the afflictions as soon as we foresee them. Days which might have passed agreeably in peace and quiet if the future had been concealed from us, are, as soon as we know it, spent in anxiety, in sorrow, and in sad expecta. tion of a certain evil. In a word, the idea of the misfortunes reserved for us would prevent our enjoying present happiness, and would make us insensible to it. How great, therefore, is the wisdom and goodness of God, in having thrown a veil over futurity, and only letting us know our fate by degrees, as the destined events happen to us! Let us never wish to anticipate the happiness which awaits us, nor to feel the weight of evils before they happen. Let us, on the contrary, every time we think on futurity, bless God, for having, by this ignorance, spared us so many cares, fears, and sorrows. Why should we wish to see through the veil which covers futurity? If we are certain of our reconciliation with our God and Redeemer, we may also be certain, that all future events, be they agreeable or otherwise,

will infallibly contribute to our real welfare.And is it not a merciful and gracious God who directs all events, and who rules futurity? He sees at once the whole course of our lives, not only the past, but even what is to come, as far as eternity itself. When we lie down to sleep, let us recommend ourselves to the care of our heavenly Father, without troubling ourselves about what may happen in the night; and, when we awake, let us trust in him, without being anxious for the events which may mark the day. In the midst even of the dangers with which we are surrounded, and the misfortunes which threaten us, let us remember the goodness of God; let us put our trust in him, and never doubt that he will either remove them, or turn them to our advantage.But though we do not know what evils await us, we need have no anxiety on that account; because we know that God is not ignorant of them: and that, when they happen, he will not fail to sup. port and assist us. It is therefore to this wise and merciful Disposer of all events that we should, with entire confidence, trust our fates. Whatever God has decreed for us, must necessarily happen. It is the portion allotted to us, and proper for us. The cup that is presented, let us receive it willingly, and without murmuring, convinced that it is for our good. Let us resign ourselves to the Lord, and depend on him entirely for whatever he may please to decree as to our lives or deaths. Whether we live or die, our portion and our inheritance will be the joys of paradise. Be calm then, my soul. Our glory is to submit to the will of our Creator. Ile is our heavenly Father, and will guide us through all dangers to the happi ness allotted for us.

MARCHI XXVIII.

The insensible approaches of Night.

AS the night is, in itself, one of the Creator's favours, so it is a wise and beneficent dispensation that it only comes on by degrees. A sudden tran. sition from the light of day to the darkness of night would be both inconvenient and frightful. So sudden a change would occasion a general interruption to the labours of man, which, in cer tain affairs necessary to be finished, and which do not admit of delay, would be very prejudicial. All nature, men and animals, would be seized with fright; and in this sudden transition from light to darkness, it would be impossible that the organs of sight should not suffer very much.Darkness, therefore, does not come upon us of a sudden; it advances slowly; and the twilight, preceding night, leaves us time to finish our most pressing business, and to make the necessary arrangements. By this means, the coming of the night does not disturb or incommode us; and we are warned in time to prepare for it. But, from whence proceed these remains of light, which, at the end of each day, in some degree, temper and soften the melancholy appearance of night? We no longer see the sun; and yet a part of its mild lustre still reflects itself. Let us, in this, admire the wise and beneficent plans of nature. The atmosphere which surrounds us has been so formed as to do us this essential service. The rays of the san, which fall on the upper parts of the air, do not run in a direct line, but they bend; and this bend leads them where their first direction would not have carried them. The atmosphere, having thus bent, and turned back a great number of rays, which otherwise would not have reached us

reflects them afterwards to our sight, and, by this means, we enjoy light much longer, and the time for labour is considerably prolonged.

It is thus that a gracious Providence has planned, not only the great revolutions of seasons, but also the daily transition from light to darknes, in the manner most advantageous to us. Let us, therefore, acknowledge, with thanksgiving, the goodness of our Creator, and adore his wisdom in this arrangement so useful to us. The insensible approach of night, in the inanimate part of the creation, makes me think of the approach of the evening of my life. That also comes on by degrees; and I shall be almost imperceptibly surrounded by the shades of death. God grant that the great work I have to do may then be happily ended, and that I may have fulfilled the task allotted me. I must work while it is yet day. The night comes, in which no man can work.

MARCH XXIX.

Magnificence of God in his Works.

WHY is there such splendour in the works of God? Why is there such magnificence in all we see? Why do we discover, on all sides, so many different numberless objects, which appear each more beautiful than the other, and each of which has its peculiar charms? Why do we every where find new cause for wonder and admiration? It is, doubtless, that we may never cease to admire and adore the great Being, who is infinitely more beautiful, more sublime, and more magnificent, than all we admire most in nature. It is, that we may continually say to ourselves, If the works be so complete, what must the Creator be? If such is the beauty of creatures, what must be the inexpressible beauty, the infinite

greatness, of Him who beholds, with one glance, the whole creation? If the sun has a dazzling brightness, which our eyes cannot bear, ought we to be surprised, that he who lighted that globe, dwells in inaccessible light, where no eye has seen, or can see him? Should he be less wonderful than the beings he has formed? The more wonderful his works are, the more he himself must raise our wonder and admiration. If we could thoroughly comprehend his greatness, he would not be a God, or we should not be men. How then can we better enlarge our minds, and lay up a richer treasure of ideas, than in contemplating that God, whose greatness and magnificence is unlimited? Is it not in such contempla. tions that the faculties of our souls may best acquire that force and energy, which will make us capable of enjoying infinite happiness? The more extensive our knowledge here, and the more our minds are enlarged in the contemplation of the greatest of all beings, so much the more we shall be able to adore him in a future state. Let us, therefore, always divide our attention between God and nature; but only in order to consider in the latter, as in a glass, the image of that Being whom we cannot contemplate face to face. Let us collect the many beauties and perfections which are scattered over the vast empire of the creation; and, when their innumerable multitude strikes us with astonishment, we shall say to ourselves, that, compared to the perfections of their Creator, they are less than a drop in the ocean. Let us only consider what is amiable and beautiful in created beings, abstracting what is finite and limited, in order to form a more just and proper idea of the excellence of the Ruler of the universe: and, when the faults and imperfections of his creatures may have lessened our admiration of their beauty, let us cry out, If the creation is so beautiful, notwithstanding its defects, how great and worthy of