THE WORLD IS FULL OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE. 17

But your mind feels glad, when you hear a pleasant story, or sweet music, and when you see a new sight. The mind is glad. But how came that curious mind within you? Did it come there by chance? No; no more than this house came here by chance. The body is the house. The soul lives in it; and God has made the ear to let sounds into the soul; and the eye, so that light may go in as through a window; and the tongue, so that the soul may speak out and tell its feelings; and the feet to carry it about anywhere; and the hands to be servants, and do anything the soul wants to be done. And then the body needs food, and God has made it, the fire to cook it, and the teeth to chew it. It needs drink, and so he has made water, and the cow to give milk. It gets sick, and so he has made medicines to cure it. It needs clothes, and so he has made the cotton grow out of the ground, the leather on the ox, the wool on the back of the sheep, and the worm to spin the silk. It needs tools, and so he has made the iron and lead, the silver and the gold and the wood. It needs to warm, and so he has made and hung up the sun like a great fire to pour down his light and heat. The world is full of what God has done. Can you not see his doings everywhere?

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You see this little book in my hand. It is full of leaves, and maps, and printing. It is a Testament. Here are the chapters and verses all marked out plainly and correctly. Every word and every letter is right. Now, you never saw the man who pressed the paper on the types so exactly, nor the man who

C

And

bound it all up in this bright, red leather. yet you know that such men were alive a short time since; for the book was printed this year. You never will see these men, and yet you know they are alive somewhere.

Just so you know that God lives. For he made the lint and cotton fibres, which are here converted into paper; he made the oil and the wood, which are burned to make this ink; he made the skin of sheep, which is dressed, and coloured, and is here in the shape of the leather binding.

God knew you would love to see the light, and so he made the sun and the moon. He knew you would love to see beautiful things, and so he painted the rainbow in the dark clouds, and spread the green grass over the ground, and pencilled the flowers, and planted the trees, and hung apples on one tree, and plums on another, and grapes on the vine. He knew you would love to hear sweet sounds, and so he gave your parents a pleasant voice, and filled the air with little birds, whose great business is to sing. He knew you would want houses and fires, and so he made the wood and the clay for the brick. He knew you would have reason, and yet not enough to lead you to heaven, and so he made the Bible. He knew you would have wicked hearts, and so he has given you the Sabbath, and the Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, to help you to be good. He knew you would want to live for ever, and so he has made heaven, where you may live for ever, and never die if you

are good and holy.

Who does not see that the world is full of the

THE UNSEEN POWER.

19

things that God has done? I am sure I can no more doubt it than I can doubt that little boy to have eyes, when I see them both open and looking at me. I am sure I have no doubt that these children have souls, though I never saw their souls; for I can see their eyes, and hands, and limbs, moved by their souls.

And now, dear children, you see it proved to you that there is a great and glorious Being around you, always doing you good, whose name is God. Yes,

"There is an unseen Power around,

Existing in the silent air;

Where treadeth man, where space is found,
Unheard, unknown, that Power is there.

When sinks the pious Christian's soul,
And scenes of horror daunt his eye,
He hears it whispered through the air,
A Power of mercy still is nigh.

The Power that watches, guides, defends,

Till man becomes a lifeless sod,

Till earth is nought,-nought earthly friends,-
That omnipresent Power-is God."

It is the duty of children, then, to think of God. Think of him when you go to bed at night, for he it is who has kept you safe, and done you good all the day long, and then thank him for his goodness. Think of him in the morning, for it is he who has kept you, given you sleep, and awaked you, and lifted up the great sun to shine upon you. Oh, pray that he will keep you from sinning all the day. You ought to think of him when you hear the pleasant and kind voice of your parents, for it is God who gave you these

parents; think of him when you are happy, for it

is he who makes you happy. Think of him when you have sinned, or about to sin, for he sees you. Think of him when you are sick, for he only can make you well, and keep you from being sick. Think of him on the Sabbath, for he gave it to you to fit you for heaven. Yes, he gave you every good thing you ever had, or ever can have, and even gave his dear Son to die for us.

And now let me stop, after looking at each child before me, and repeating to each one this sincere wish of my heart: :

"Oh, be thy wealth an upright heart;

Thy strength, the sufferer's stay;
Thy earthly choice, the better part
Which cannot fade away;

Thy zeal for Christ, a quenchless fire;

Thy friends, the men of peace;

Thy heritage, an angel's lyre,

When earthly changes cease."

AMEN.

II. REPENTANCE FOR SIN.

"They went out and preached that men should repent. MARK vi. 12.

A hard word used-The word explained-Nothing good without payWho need repentance-Christ's testimony-Great question-Two kinds of money-Two Trees-The sick father-Little boy's falsehood-The tender look-The dying father-The burial-Repentance at the grave-A few plain remarks-God not loved-The discontented boy-the storm-the Bible-his repentance-Who have sinned-Indians and sin-The Indian and his rum-Both hands full.

CHILDREN, I am going to use a hard word, and I must tell you what it means. The word is conditions. I would not use it if I did not think I could make it easy. Suppose a little child goes to school, and wants a new book. Her mother says, "Well, Mary, if you will be perfect in your lessons and behaviour for two whole weeks, I will buy the book for you." This is a condition. A little boy asks his father to let him ride. He tells him he may ride with him to-morrow, on the condition that he governs his temper and is a good boy all day to-day.

So every good thing in this world has some such condition, and for every thing we have something to do. I will only name four things which have such conditions.

1. God has so ordered things, that any child shall grow up greatly beloved and respected, on condition that he is kind and obedient to his parents and teachers, and kind and affectionate to every body.

2. God has so ordered things, that a man may be learned, on condition that he studies and reads and wastes no time.