there will be great heat, and many insects in summer. When there have been storms in spring, there is nothing more to fear from ice and night frosts.

But, supposing it was utterly impossible to foretel the weather, we may be perfectly easy in that respect. The variations of weather (when considered in the whole), are, according to constant rules, laid down by Providence with much wisdom; and we may rest secure, that the weather, however bad it may appear, will nevertheless be advantageous to the earth, and promote its fertility. In every alteration of the climate, let us trust to that God, whose purposes are always wise and beneficent, without whose will there, could be neither heat, cold, rain, drought, tempest, nor calm, and who turns to the good of the earth and of his creatures, even those phenomena which seem to be hurtful. All the ways of Providence bear marks of his goodness. All his paths Wisdom and beneficence are mani

are mercy.

fest in all his dispensations.

APRIL XV.

THE SITUATION OF THE SUN.

GOD has appointed a situation for the sun, which perfectly suits the nature of that body, and the uses for which it is designed. He has given it a certain size, and placed it in a space proportioned to the course it is to perform. He has put it at a proper distance from the planets upon which it was to act; and this position, appointed for it so many thousands of years ago, it still

preserves, without ever deviating from it, be cause, in reality, the least deviation would occasion the greatest disorders in nature. Most certainly, nothing but unlimited power could perform such a wonder. God alone could produce this immense globe, place it in its proper sphere, mark its limits, determine its course, subject it to proper rules, and maintain it invariably in the position and order prescribed.-What wisdom and goodness shines in this plan, both in respect to the whole universe, and to our earth in particular, with all its creatures! The burning rays, which proceed from a globe of fire a million of times larger than our earth, must have an inconceivable force, if, in falling, they were to remain close to one another; but, as they separate more and more, in proportion as they remove to a distance from their common centre, their power diminishes in proportion as they diverge.Our earth, placed in a spot where those rays would have been too numerous, or too near, could not have borne the intense heat. Placed towards the extremes of the solar world, it would only have received a faint light, and too little warmth to ripen its fruit and productions. The sun is then in the exact spot it ought to be. It can now communicate to our world sufficient light and heat to penetrate into and to vivify the earth with its beneficent rays, to clear the atmosphere, and to produce all those effects, without which there would be neither dew nor rain, snow, hail, fogs, clear or serene days. Placed as it is, it causes the regular changes of day and night, as well as the different seasons of the year, and varies in each of them its influence or effects.

It is not only to the sun, but also to the other planets, to the fixed stars, and all the bodies which belong

belong to our system, that God has allotted a place conformable to their nature, and suitable to the end he proposed in creating them. To me, who am nothing in comparison of the sun, the Lord has vouchsafed to allot the place and situation which, in all respects, suits me best. May I but fulfil the duties of my station with as much exactness and fidelity as the sun acquits himself of his important offices, according to the invariable laws which were prescribed to it from the first instant of its creation! May I, in the place, I fill, and in proportion to my powers, be as useful to the world, share with my fellow-creatures the advantages I enjoy, communicate to the ignorant what knowledge I have, support or strengthen the weak, and spread with a liberal hand, among the poor, the riches I possess.

APRIL XVI.

PERMANENCY OF CORPOREAL BEINGS.

NOTHING in nature perishes; and, from the beginning of the world to the present moment, there has not been a grain of sand, noť an atom annihilated. The first forests, which the powerful word of God produced, were adorned with an innumerable multitude of leaves. Those fell, withered, corrupted, and ceased to be leaves; but the parts which composed them still remain. They have been converted into dust, mud, or earth; but they are not annihilated. The matter of which the first leaves and herbs were formed subsists still at this day, and has lost nothing of its essential parts. The plants which now

L. 6.

flourish.

flourish will exist, as to their parts, as long as the world shall last. The wood we burn ceases indeed to be wood, but its parts do not cease to exist. They are dispersed into ashes, soot, and smoke, but they are not annihilated. The kingdom of nature is liable to continual change; all dissolves, and all regenerates, but nothing finally perishes. Let us not judge by appearances. When there happens any revolution, any disorder in nature, we are apt to believe that many things are totally destroyed: It is an error.-They are only differently modified, and become materials for the composition of other beings. The water which rises in vapours does not perish: it decreases in one place, to increase in another.— What uninformed persons consider as total destruction, is, in reality, but a mere change of parts; and the world, considered in the whole, is just now what it was the first day of the creation, although a multiplicity of parts which compose it have gradually undergone very considerable alterations.

This leads me to reflect on my own body, and the change it will experience in the grave. It is true, it will entirely corrupt, but it will not be annihilated, and the essential parts which compose it will always subsist. The persuasion of this truth is sufficient to guard me against the fear of the grave and corruption, and, at the same time, to confirm the hope of a resurrection in my soul. Why then should my heart be troubled, why shudder at the thought of the grave? That which will be shut up there, it is not me; it is my earthly habitation. I myself cannot be destroyed. All my members are numbered, and will be preserved. What I have been, I shall be hereafter and I shall live for ever and ever.

The

The continual duration of corporeal beings may lead me to conclude, with much probability, that my soul also will be immortal. Since none of the earthly parts will be annihilated, is it to be presumed that my soul should be the only created thing that is to be destroyed? No. The whole corporeal world would sooner perish than one soul redeemed by Jesus Christ.

APRIL XVII.

THE USE OF RAIN.

IN the truest sense of the word rain ought to be called a present from heaven. The blessings our heavenly Father pours upon us by this means, are equally abundant and necessary for us. As the consequences of a continued drought would be fatal to us, so the advantages are equally precious which the refreshing showers afford. Who can describe or know all the advantages which accrue from them. But if we cannot give an exact account of them, we may at least reflect en some of the most considerable. The heat of the sun acts without interruption on the different bodies on the earth, and continually exhales thin particles from it, which fill the atmosphere in the form of vapours. We should breathe these dangerous exhalations with the air, if now and then they were not carried off by the rain, which beats them down to the ground, and thus clears and purifies the air. It is no less useful in moderating the burning heat of the atmosphere; and the reason is very evident: For the nearer the air is to the earth, the more it is warmed by

the