Grant, O Lord, that I may increase in piety, that I may become more humble, more faithful, more chaste, more heavenly-minded, and that all my steps towards eternity may be distinguished by a Christian dispositions, and good and virtuous deeds. O let my future life be blessed by my growth in true wisdom and virtue, and in active and genuine Christianity.

I know not, what will be my future fate. The future lies envelopped in a veil before me. With a wise and provident hand, hast thou, with that covering concealed it from my eyes, in order that the future sufferings which might befall me should not alarm me, and render me dispirited before the time of their happening, and on the other hand, that future joys, which thy goodness has provided for me should not lead me to pride and arrogance. Now, my God and Father, I am in thy hands; I stand under thine all-wise and paternal government; thou canst not as my good and heavenly parent intend anything, but what is good for thy weak and erring child. Of that I am thoroughly convinced, for thou hast so often promised it to me in thy holy word. Thou wilt be with me, and therefore I will not disquiet myself about Heaven and earth, nor will I show any alarm for either the present or the future. If it accord with thy holy will, to impose any sufferings upon me, I implore thee, O God, to grant me patience and firmness to support them. Purify me by the fire of affliction, and withdraw my heart more and more, from the terrestrial to Heaven and to Eternity. Perhaps, this may be the last day of my life, I have no certainty that I shall live to see the morrow, for I know not what may happen to me through this night. But no fear shall distress me; under every change, I will be tranquil and composed, for thou, O God art with me. And should death even overtake me this night, I know, that in the merits of my Redeemer, I shall find from thy infinite grace favour in thy eyes, and by a blessed death, thou wilt lead me to thy heavenly kingdom. But as long as my days are prolonged upon the earth, let me be

active and zealous in thy honour, in the welfare of my fellow-men, and in my own personal advantage. And with this do I commend for the future, my soul and body into thy hands.

Yes, O Lord, my soul places its hopes on thee. Thou canst not, thou willst not forget thy creatures. Thou art my shepherd, I am one of thy flock, and I know thou wilt provide for all my wants. Thou art my invisible, my Almighty friend and protector, and in thy Heaven will my bliss be perfect.

JULY IX.

THE GLORY OF THE CREATIONS OF GOD.

WHO ever stepped forth, amidst the grand and splendid temple of nature, in which the earth, irradiated by the morning and evening beams, becomes an altar, from which the incense rises to Heaven-who ever stepped forth, without willingly shaking from him, the dust of his sublunary cares, to recreate himself with the view of the universal glory, and feel an ardent longing for the worship of the Creator? The waving blades of grass, the golden corn, the blushing fruits, which early and late proclaim, "God is love," the silent transition of day and night, of the sun and the moon; the change of the seasons, the eternal equal law in the various infinity, announce the depth of the riches, and all of them, the wisdom and knowledge of God. The odour which rises from the calyx of the flower; the refreshing breeze, as well as the destructive whirlwind; the humming of the busy bee, as well as the thunder which makes the mountains tremble; the gaudy hues of the fluttering butterfly; as well as the splendid colours of the rainbow. All! proclaim, we are witnesses of the living God. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.

Lord! Lord! Almighty God of Heaven and earth! The

same God art thou in the plains of my terrestrial residence as in the silent deserts of the eternal winter. On the mountains and in the flood, art thou the Father of benevolence and compassion towards all the creatures, which thou hast called into existence. What an infinity and variety of creations in this Universe, and what wisdom and Providence exist in the whole. How wisely is every country adapted for the creatures which inhabit it, and how skilfully and beautifully is every creature formed for the country, which it is doomed to inhabit. Could I descend into the depths of the sea, or into the lowest cavities of the earth, where thy invisible hand has created the springs of the mountains, the veins of metals, the fertility of the fields, and the terrors of the earthquake, or could I soar aloft into the highest regions of the air, where the lightnings of Heaven, the meteors, the hail and the tempests are formed,-everywhere, O thou Almighty Being, I should behold thee inexpressibly great, and inexplicably wonderful.

O thou Inexpressible and Infinite Being, thou, who art adored by innumerable worlds, what ought to be my feelings, when I consider, that through Jesus Christ I am privileged to call thee my Father. Words are inadequate to express my own bliss, and thy majesty and love, Holy art thou, great, gracious and compassionate. Holy ! Holy! Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.

With profound astonishment and awe, do I cast my look over the endless combinations, which exist through the illimitable chain of causes and effects. O Almighty God! how wonderfully does the terrestrial touch upon the celestial; how hast thou interwoven everything so wisely in the great web of nature. Earth and Heaven mingle to perform thy will, O thou, to whom nothing is impossible. The wings of my bold imagination droop, I become dumb at the idea of thy Omnipotence, O thou Almighty God. Thou guidest the suns and the moons and the stars in the boundless eternity of thy creation, with a power and a