happiness. Where the intention is good, the action that proceeds from it may be unaccompanied with the prudence that deprives the tongue of malice and slander of its appropriate employment. How consoling is it, when thus falsely accused, to possess not merely the testimony of an approving conscience, but to be able to appeal to the God who has been with us all our lives long, to refer to the omniscience of the Governor and Judge of the Universe. The true Christian may retire from the noise of the people, from the tongue of strife and detraction, and enjoy amidst the solitude of his own reflections, more than the happiness of which the world would deprive him. If he cannot have the sympathies of his fellow-creatures, which is in itself so great a source of satisfaction, he is animated by the delightful persuasion, that the God of boundless mercy and compassion looks on his heart, is acquainted with all his weaknesses and wants, will guide him through the difficulties of life to a more peaceful land, and own him on that great day when the approbation of God alone will decide his everlasting condition. Hence the confident language in which the righteous of other ages appealed from the presumptuous decision of man to the tribunal of God and of their own conscience: "Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.”

What is the situation in which we may not increase our happiness by recognising the universal presence of God? Do we not enjoy prosperity itself with a higher and more refined pleasure under the immediate view

of Him from whom all our happiness flows? Do we not share with more exquisite delight the bounty of the Creator, when we know that he himself presides over the feast, and when, amid the pleasures of this liberal entertainment, we can say, thou, God, seest us. Thus the divine presence is associated with all the expressions of divine goodness; the gifts of Providence are received as coming from the hand of our Heavenly Father; and all the loveliness of nature assumes a more interesting aspect by its presenting to us the glories of that Almighty Friend, from whose omniscient view we cannot be separated. When we appeal unto God, either in the extreme of sorrow or in the height of prosperity, we call upon a Being who is acquainted with every thought that has ever arisen in our mind; who has accompanied us with more than the compassion of a parent through every step of the journey of life; and whose boundless goodness gives us confidence to hope, that he will never abandon us to the feebleness of our own efforts, nor leave us till we are surrounded with the light of his glorious presence.

Are we called in providence to any peculiar service, requiring in its performance an extraordinary exercise of all Christian graces, how great is our encouragement in knowing that the all-seeing and omnipresent God is with us! It was thus that Moses was encouraged to go unto Pharaoh, when God said unto him," Go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." It was thus that he was afterwards emboldened to conduct the children of Israel through the wilderness, when God said unto

him,

My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." Jacob also, in the solitude of the wilderness, when travelling towards Pa danáram, was comforted from the same divine source. "The Lord appeared unto him, and said, Behold I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." And when Christ sent forth his Apostles on that mission, in the discharge of which they hazarded the loss of all things, they were supported by the promise, "Lo, I am with Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." It was this divine presence, in the peace and joy which it afforded, and in the immovable ground of confidence which it formed, that made them fearless and safe in the midst of danger, rich in the midst of poverty, joyful under multiplied afflictions, successful in the face of the power and policy that were leagued against them, and more than triumphant in death. The same gracious presence is continued with us-the presence of God in his whole essence and perfections; in his wisdom to guide us-his power to protect and support us-his mercy to pity us-his fulness to refresh us, and his goodness to relieve us. We have good ground, from the promises of the Gospel, to expect its manifestation in observing the instituted ordinances of his worship. "In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. I will dwell in them, and walk in

them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

iii. The omnipresence and omniscience of God form a strong incentive to holiness of heart and of life. He who has a deep impression of the continual presence of God, has the most powerful motive to deter him from sin, to guard against temptation, and to aim, both in thought and in action, at conformity to the divine will. It was because Moses endured seeing him who is invisible, that he preferred suffering "affliction with the people of God than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." It was because Job felt that all that he did was done in the immediate view of God, that he was enabled to preserve his integrity; "Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?" David was not moved, because he set the Lord always before him, and believed that he was at his right hand. Are we not sensible that our character is affected, either for the better or the worse, by the views we entertain of the character of those who habitually surround us? And is it possible for the man who has been trained up with the conviction that he is continually in the presence of a holy and righteous God, to whom he is accountable for all his actions, not to feel its influence in leading him to live soberly, righteously, and godly? If it be difficult to live long in immediate contact with piety without imbibing a portion of its spirit, can we pass the journey of life in the immediate view of the God of holiness, surrounded every moment by his nature and perfections, and not grow into his likeness? We stand in a peculiar relation to the Great and Holy Lord God, who is the witness of our conduct: we

know him not only as infinite in wisdom, and knowledge and power, but as our supreme Ruler and Judge, requiring perfect love and obedience. He has prescribed the race we are to run; and as he is now the witness of the manner in which our course is accomplished, he is hereafter to judge us in righteousness. Remember, besides, that He in whose presence you live and move, and have your being, is your father and your friend; who, in his love and in his pity, sent his Son to die the death of the cross for your salvation; and who has given so many great and precious promises to animate you in the way of holy obedience. With this impression engraven on your hearts, while you feel happy in contemplating the universality of the divine presence, and your enjoyment of life greatly increased by the pleasing contemplation, you cannot consider yourselves as if you were solitary in the world, and had no other check than the knowledge of your fellow-creatures to deter you from sin. Though you should be slow in reaching the heights to which you aspire, and are often intimidated by the feebleness of your efforts in rising to the glorious elevation of Christian holiness, still persevere, animated by the presence of the omnipotent God; and in your greatest weakness, when no eye sees your sorrow but his who will never leave you, lighten the burden of your affliction by appealing to his boundless compassion, and say, under the deepest impressions of unworthiness, "thou, God, seest me.”

iv. The omnipresence and omniscience of God may awaken terror in the hearts of the impenitent and unbelieving. They are relieved in a great measure from