Hence the importance of duly considering these attributes and perfections. The attributes of God so far as we are capable of understanding may all be reduced to the three following heads. 1. Power. 2. Wisdom. 3. Goodness. Since under the term goodness may be included infinite holiness, justice, mercy, benevolence and the like. In this point of view then let us now briefly consider them.

If a man should set himself with any degree of seriousness "to consider the Heavens the work of God's fingers, the moon and the stars which He has ordained," he cannot fail to be convinced that the great Being who made all these things is infinite in power and in might; that He is able to do what He will in the armies of Heaven as well as among the inhabitants of the earth; and that of Him it has been truly said, "He spake the word and they were made, He commanded and they were created."

Indeed, nothing can be more clear to any thinking being than that He who made these vast bodies which compose the universe, and who first started them off in infinite space can be no less than Almighty, for what power short of that which is unbounded could execute so vast and complicated a work, and bring suns and worlds out of nothing by the breath of his mouth?

If, moreover, we contract our field of view, and confine our attention to the world on which we dwell, or rather to that small portion of it which comes under our more immediate notice and inspection, we shall arrive at the same conclusion; for nothing short of Almighty power could have called into existence a being in every respect so fearfully and so wonderfully made as man, or could have created the numberless forms of animal and vegetable life, every one of them possessing powers exactly fitted for the purposes for which they were intended, and every one of them apparently related to some higher and more noble order of being.

Hence it will be plain to every contemplative mind, that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear; that it must have required some Being of infinite power to have called into existence so vast, so minute, and so perfect a fabric as that of the material universe; and that the Eternal Power and Godhead of the Almighty Creator may be justly inferred from His works.

But the Great Ruler of all things is not only Almighty to create, He is also Almighty to preserve.

In the midst of an innumerable multitude of such vast and such minute formations, it is clear that things must soon go wrong and be out of tune, and destruction must spread in every direction, unless there was an Almighty power always and every where present to guide, to direct, and to control all things, to keep them in their proper position, to direct their motions by fixed and invariable laws, and to give them bounds which they shall not pass."

And this ever watchful and ever successful exertion of an Almighty preserving power, can, perhaps, be brought before the mind in no clearer way, than by contrasting the unfailing exertion of it with the most perfect of the works of man.

The most complete machinery which human ingenuity has ever devised or human industry executed, does not always answer the purpose of the framer of it; and after the utmost care and diligence have been expended,

is oftentimes found to go wrong and miscarry, and always to wear out and decay. Not so, however, with respect to the works of God. In them we find no oversight, no mistaken formation, no accidental failure; but every part of the inanimate creation at least, obeys with calm and unerring exactness the almighty will of the Deity: shews the Eternal Preserving Power as well as the perfect order of the Divine mind, and reminds all men that in no case can God be "the author of confusion, but of peace.'

The same conclusion, moreover, may be drawn by duly considering the wonderful preservation of the life of man amidst so many causes in continual operation which, unless prevented by an ever watchful and an Almighty Preserving Power, would spread destruction in every direction, and soon leave the world without an inhabitant.

But there is another and a more awful point of view in which to regard the attribute of Almighty Power.

Is God Almighty to create and to preserve as everything above us, around us, and in us proves Him to be? Why then He is also Almighty to destroy.

Examples of the terrible exertion of this attribute of God are afforded for our instruction and warning in the sacred scriptures; as when the wickedness of man had become great on the earth, and the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually, God caused "the fountains of the great deep to be broken up," and with the single exception of Noah and his family," the old world that then was, perished by water;" and as when the cities of the plain and their guilty inhabitants were consumed by fire and brimstone from the Lord out of Heaven, and thereby became a fearful example to all obdurate sinners of future generations, of those who will suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.'

Nor are examples wanting in more modern days of God's Almighty power to destroy, as exercised on those hardened sinners who in every age and country are found obstinately to resist His grace, to refuse to forsake their sins, and to work the works of God.

But another attribute of God is omnipresence.

The necessity of God's being everywhere present was made to appear from the fact that otherwise nothing could be preserved.

And like as the natural sun casts his bright beams of light and heat around him in every direction, and penetrates with his influence every part of the material universe; so, yea in an infinitely higher degree, is the Almighty Creator and Preserver of all things continually everywhere present. "Whither shall I go from thy spirit, whither shall I flee from thy presence; if I climb up into heaven thou art there, if I make my bed in hell thou art there also."

Hence there is a sense in which God is present even with the wicked, to uphold their natural life, to punish their sins in this world, that their souls may be saved in the day of the Lord; and, if after all they will not repent and turn to God, to punish them for ever in the world to come.

To the righteous, however, God is present in a peculiar manner to comfort, support, and relieve them; of this the scriptures assure us, where they tell us that God dwells with the man of an humble and contrite spirit, and that the bodies of the faithful are temples of the Holy Ghost. Nor does the fact that there is one place where God is more particularly said to dwell, and to manifest His glory, at all disturb the general truth,

that in one sense He dwells in the hearts of the faithful here in earth, and that in another sense He fills every place, so that nothing is hid from His sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

But another attribute of God which we should at all times do well to consider is that of Infinite wisdom.

That his wisdom is Infinite, even his wondrous works do declare; for what short of Infinite wisdom could have devised so vast, so minute, and so complicated a system as the material universe, could have so nicely fitted and adapted every thing to the required use, and have stamped perfection on every the least performance of His Almighty Power.

The Infinite wisdom of God, moreover, is most conspicuously to be seen in the various dispensations of His providence as well in His dealings with individuals as with nations; but Infinite wisdom is seen in its most transcendent and overwhelming lustre, as is displayed in devising the means for the Redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ."

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But the attribute in which of all others we are most nearly concerned, is the attribute of the Divine goodness, which as it may be justly considered to include the attributes of infinite holiness, justice, mercy, and the like; so it is to the exercise of this attribute, and to the plain declarations of it which are given in the works and Holy Word of God, that we are indebted for all the 'means of grace,' and for all our hopes of glory.

The Lord, says the Psalmist, is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works, and how fully does every thing which we see and feel bear testimony to the truth of these Divine words.

Even those who never find it in their hearts to return thanks unto God for His goodness, experience the blessings of it. Since he sendeth rain upon the just and upon the unjust, He openeth His hand and filleth all things living with plenteousness, and even to the unthankful and the evil He giveth rain and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with joy and gladness. Not only man, but even the brute creation are the objects of His care, as our Lord has beautifully expressed in the gospel, where he says, "Consider the fowls of the air, they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them."

But it is in the work of human Redemption that the wisdom, the goodness, and the Almighty Power of God are most clearly to be seen; and it is in the devising and executing that great work that His inestimable love towards mankind is above all made manifest and plain.

Let us not, however, entertain false ideas of the divine goodness; but let us always keep in mind that it is made up of exact judgment as well as of pardoning mercy, of strict justice as well as of infinite compassion, of perfect holiness as well as of patient long-suffering.

For if we should set ourselves to examine into the effects which would arise from falsely supposing that the goodness of God consists in nothing but the unlimited exercise of mercy, without any regard being had to justice; we should find that so far from being productive of good it would bring about no other result than the universal prevalence among men of unmixed and unmitigated misery and evil.

On the other hand, if God had been revealed unto us only in the character of a Being infinitely just, and no means had been devised to

enable us during our day of grace to be pardoned by a Saviour's blood, and to be saved through Christ for ever, the only result which could possibly have followed would have been utter despair, and all that unmixed evil which men despairing of mercy, and reckless of the future, have been invariably found to perpetrate.

But since through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, and the atonement offered by the Son of God on the cross for the taking away the sins of the world, "mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have embraced each other," the faithful are now enabled to contemplate the perfections of the Divine Nature with the view of becoming followers of God as dear children, of striving to be holy even as their Father which is in heaven is holy, and of shewing that love to God and charity to man, which a due sense' of God's love in Christ Jesus towards themselves is so eminently fitted to produce.

And because it is impossible by searching to find out the Almighty to perfection, let us not on that account neglect to consider such of His attributes as are exercised around us or towards us, or fail to contemplate the perfections of the Divine nature as we find them revealed in God's Holy Word, for if we do, we may be sure that we neglect one of the most powerful motives of piety towards God, and charity towards man, which have been mercifully put within our reach by the Almighty.

He that is duly impressed with a sense of God's Almighty Power whether to create, to preserve, or to destroy, cannot fail to be moved with the pious feelings of gratitude and of godly fear.

Of gratitude, testified not only with his lips, but in his life, for giving him being in the first instance, and then for preserving him through so many dangers, and for carrying him through so many temptations; as that if he should speak of them they would be more in number than the hairs of his head.

And of godly fear, testified by forsaking every known sin, and by walking diligently in the ways of God's commandments; and distinguished as well by the fear of that righteous punishment which must in the end overtake every impenitent sinner, as by that affectionate fear which dares to do nothing to offend so good and gracious a Benefactor.

He, moreover, that duly considers' the wisdom' of God cannot fail to be thereby moved to the exercise of Christian patience and resignation, under all the trials and sufferings of this life; and of assurance that the Judge of all the Earth must in all cases do right.

For it will occur to such an one that a God of infinite wisdom cannot be wrong in any trouble which He may see fit to bring upon him, and that. because He has never been found to be wrong, or to make the least mistake in the government of the visible world which is open to the inspection of the bodily senses.

Hence a true sense of the infinite wisdom of God, cannot but lead to a pious submission to His will in all things saying, "The will of the Lord be done."

He that duly considers the infinite goodness of God when under the term goodness is comprehended infinite holiness, justice, mercy and the like; cannot fail to be thereby urged to the performance of those several acts of piety which such contemplation is so eminently fitted to produce. He who is truly sensible of God's justice, and duly considers the

righteousness of God's anger against sin will hardly fail to endeavour to obtain forgiveness of his sins through a Saviour's atoning blood, by a timely repentance, by a lively faith, by forsaking his sins, and by a more diligent obedience for the time to come.

He, moreover, that is duly impressed with the goodness of God, as it is to be seen in the works of His hands, and as it is to be learnt from the pages of Revelation; can hardly fail to be urged to the practice of unfeigned humility, or to consider himself but dust and ashes" in comparison of the Lord.

He who duly considers the goodness of God as it appears in His mercy and His love must, one would think, be strongly moved to the practice of godliness as well in its form as in its power; and such a person will hardly fail to proceed a step further, and to exercise charity towards his neighbour, since the Divine command received by the apostle was, That if any man love God he should love his brother also.”

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There is one quality connected with the nature of God which runs through all His attributes, and the due consideration of which tends most powerfully to urge men to the practice of 'godliness,' and that quality is His unchangeableness.' He is not a man that He should lie, or the Son of man that He should repent,' and His own words by the mouth of the prophet are "I am the Lord, I change not."

I said a due consideration of the unchangeableness of God tends powerfully to urge men to the practice of godliness.'

Those who are already walking in God's holy ways it tends to urge to make still greater exertions for the attainment of a more perfect holiness and a more complete obedience, since every act of godliness will be thereby quickened.

The fact of there being no variableness nor shadow of a turning in God ought to urge every true Christian to put his whole trust and confidence in God's mercy, to rely with more unshaken stedfastness on the certainty of God's promises, and to be more convinced of the impossibility there is for any of the faithful to fail in the attainment of eternal happiness from any changes in the mind or purposes of the Almighty.

Those, moreover, who are walking in the broad road which leadeth to destruction, ought to be urged to the practice of godliness by the consideration of the unchangeableness of the Lord; for the fact that there is no variableness nor shadow of turning in Him makes it as clear as the noonday that He will be equally true to the threatenings of His justice against every impenitent sinner, as He will be to the promises of His mercy which he has made to the righteous; that the only means for the wicked to be saved is for him to turn away from his wickedness, and that those who refuse or neglect to do so during their day of grace, have nothing to hope for at the hands of the Righteous Judge, who now calls upon all men every where to repent; but who will then administer judgment without mercy to those who refused to serve and obey Him here on earth.

Another quality in the nature of God is His eternal duration, and the fact that He is from everlasting to everlasting' might be shewn, as in the case of His unchangeableness to tend powerfully to urge men to the practice of godliness if they duly consider it.

And now let the appeal be made to the fidelity with which the Church of England has urged men to the practice of godliness by constantly