summit of the ragged mountain? Has gravitation the freedom of choice to incline this piece of iron to the centre, and another towards the pole? It is a mere word, well enough in scientific inquiries, but it too often turns the attention from that Being, who sustains with His own hands the universe which He has created.

God in His wisdom operates with regularity. A fixed law is seen to govern every movement of the parts of His creation. Each division of His kingdom has its own law, yet all together form a combination of harmony, beauty, and sublimity. Were it otherwise, the earth would he a chaos to man; he could neither foresee nor foreknow any future occurrence; there would be no exercise of his will, no truth for his guide; his limited faculties would be overwhelmed by the apparent confusion, borne down by the uncertainty of all events. The laws of God, the everlasting bounds and metes, the landmarks and partitions, the regulated succession, give him all of his moral and intellectual power. Let us not forget that what appears to us thus fixed, as if ordained from the beginning, is but the present ministering of God to man's wants, to his character. Let us not deify the laws of God, that we may forget the daily exercise of His power for our good. Of what value is the written parchment which is human law, if there be no strength for its execution; what are the laws of God but His rule of action, the prescribed form in which He is manifested to man.

and

Again, we know not but that matter is the very manifestation of God to us His creatures in the infancy of our being, the living characters He has traced out as exhibiting His truth, His direct operation on our minds. But if matter be not God, if it be an entity or existence in itself, it hath none of the power attributes of Him who created it. It is inert and passive; it has no power to change and modify itself. If then we observe rising from the earth a tender plant, unfolding its leaves, growing gradually towards the sky, increasing in bulk until the sturdy oak in its majesty and beauty stands before us— is it matter or God, who before our eyes thus again reacts the process of creation which Moses describes, "and God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree bringing forth fruit after its kind."

But it may be said, such is the disposition to escape from a belief in the presence of God, that the seed sown produced the tree, and not His direct power as at the creation of the world.

There is no manifestation of His goodness more striking, none more beautiful, than the creation of the seed, which is to produce of its kind as long as the wants of man shall require this provision. The seed is not a tree, it is not the towering elm or the majestic oak, nor does it resemble it; nor does it contain the plant in embryo, for after circumstances of soil and climate shall vary its product. What is it then? The nucleus round which God has promised the plant shall be called forth— an arbitrary sign conveying the promise of future blessing-the key of creative power entrusted to man -the seal of the compact with the worm of the dust, connecting him with the Deity in the work of beautifying the earth, of making the desert to smile, and the waste places to rejoice.

The seed placed in the earth, moistened by the rains, swells its tiny bosom, shoots down into the soil to form the root, and upward for the branches. The plant draws to it its nutriment. It spreads open its green leaves to the sunshine; year after year it steadily progresses, until it showers down its fruits for the support of man.

Is this seed endowed with knowledge and foresight? Can it reason and decide? Has it power in itself? The plant, can it command other particles of matter to unite with it? can it draw up the waters through its pores? does it invariably know what is to be the form of its leaves, the color of its blossoms, and the flavor of its fruit? It has knowledge and power then; it does thus know; it does thus decide! The herbage of the valley possesses the attributes of a God. The Creator of all things has shorn himself of His power, has conveyed away His attributes Then let us worship and adore, for not a seed swells in the earth, not a plant springs from its bosom, not a tree waves its branches over its surface, where God is not.

We have thus endeavored to present some illustrations of the presence of God, of His communion with our minds, and of the continued exercise of his creative power. We have selected such views as would bring up the subject in somewhat a new light, that it may impress us strongly and deeply. It is not the truth that we lack, but, to repeat the idea previously given, we need to have our attention waked up to these old truths. Listlessness of mind, an inveterate habit of inattention to the existence of the Eternal Spirit, needs to be broken in upon. We need to help each other to escape a fatuity of mind on this

subject, that we may feel that God's ark still rides over the world's waves, and that the burning bush has not gone out.

Oh how lacking is man in faith towards God, even while our minds are so constituted as to feel the truth of His existence, would we but consider. And yet how credulous in matters relating to ourselves. The hardly perceptible echo of a footstep proclaims a friend, the ink-trace upon paper appeals directly to our hearts; but the foot-prints of God upon earth, His attributes, inscribed throughout the immense creation, call not up a passing thought. We believe that the sun will tomorrow rise, nay, will continue in future years to ripen the fruits of the earth, for this is His promise; yet we forget Him who gave this promise. We see man in the works of his hands, yet in God's works we see nothing but the results. Such is education, such is habit! As it were, leaning over the cataract of Niagara we hear not the roar of its waters, for we are intently watching the straw carried onwards by its foam; yet those at a distance hear its thunder, if they listen!

S. E. C.

ART. III.1. The Sabbath School Teacher; designed to aid in elevating and perfecting the Sabbath School System. By Rev. JOHN TODD. Northampton: J. H. Butler. 1837. 12mo. pp. 432.

2. The Sunday School Guide, and Parent's Manual. By A. B. MUZZEY. Boston: J. Munroe & Co., and B. H. Greene. 1838. 18mo. pp. 216.

THE subject of these books is one of leading concern at the present time. The Sunday School has become one of the established institutions of religion in connexion with the church, and the character and progress of religion is henceforth to depend, in no small degree, on the wisdom with which it shall be administered. All denominations have adopted it, and thus expressed their faith in its value and power. In all denominations some have been disposed to regard it as, on the whole, the most important of the general means yet devised for the advancement of the religious character of the community, and have urged its claims in a tone of confidence which has

bordered on extravagance. On the other hand, many have been inclined to look upon it doubtfully, and have taken but a feeble interest in what they believed to be a questionable experiment. Even of those who are willing to hope most from judicious plans of religious education, there have been many who saw too much imperfection in the present apparatus of the Sunday School, to warrant any confident expectation that it would accomplish what its friends propose.

In this state of divided opinion between the sanguine and the doubting, efforts have been continually made to elevate the character of the institution, and to secure greater efficiency to its operation. To this end, books and manuals have been multiplied, with increasing experience a wiser and more thorough method has been advocated, and the whole idea of the institution and its purposes has taken a more liberal form. Nothing has occurred more encouraging to its friends, than the palpable and regular improvement which has consequently taken place in the methods of instruction, and the higher aims of those engaged in imparting it. The school is not now what it was twelve years ago; a management, which then was esteemed wise, would now be thought essentially defective. The day, when rewards were distributed, and lessons recited "for places," is gone by, as well as making instruction a mere exercise of memory. This past growth of the institution is the best guarantee for its future progress, and the best encouragement to those who anticipate from it the most extensive benefits.

Two of the most recent works of this character are now before us; both demanding respectful notice on account of their own intrinsic, though very different merits, and because the authors of both have previously made themselves known by valuable books addressed to the young. In taking up the present subject, they seem to be in the way of their vocation, and they give proof of such an acquaintance with its merits, and such a hearty interest in its character and welfare, as to give them a claim to be respectfully heard.

The work of Mr. Todd is formed on the model of Mr. Jacob Abbot's books, and may be regarded as a successful imitation of the illustrative method of that ingenious and popular writer. It will doubtless be thought by many that the matter of illustrations is overdone, and that the neglect of the wholesome rule, ne quid nimis, has somewhat diminished the value and point of the work. This is the besetting danger of this

mode of composition. The anecdotes cited in illustration of a single thought are often too numerous, and sometimes stretched out with an injurious minuteness. The quotations, admirable though many of them be, are too frequent; and the author has contrived to adduce them in such a manner as to puzzle us not a little. He introduces long passages, without saying whence they are taken, and with no intimation of their origin, other than the printer's marks, and of these he sometimes employs the single and sometimes the double. Doubtless he means something by this distinction; but what, we have in vain attempted to guess; perhaps he will wonder at our ignorance; but we are not aware of any usage among authors which interprets his intention. For ourselves, too, we think that much of the pleasure of a fine quotation is lost, by not being able to associate it with the image of its author; we want to know who it is that is delighting and instructing us; and we feel that when his name is concealed, we are deprived of the privilege of bestowing gratitude on a benefactor.

The work is characterized by clearness and strength, without any grace, both of thought and diction, and leaves a strong impression of the earnestness of the writer, and his thorough acquaintance with the subjects he is discussing. Many of them are treated with uncommon power, and no one can read the work without a fresh persuasion of the value of the Sunday school system, and the solemn obligations of those to whom it is entrusted. It would be easy to point out some views which in our judgment are erroneous, and some advice of doubtful propriety; but the instances are not very numerous, and they do not essentially affect the value of the work, which we esteem worthy of the careful perusal of all interested in the subject. It is divided into fourteen chapters. After an introductory chapter, which contains some striking statements respecting the object in view and the necessity of laboring for it, it proceeds to point out those first principles of a Christian education, which should form the groundwork and guide of all religious instruction. The character and duties of the superintendent and the qualifications of the teachers are the next topics, and are treated with great practical good sense. Under a conviction that the success of the whole system depends on the competency and fidelity of those who are its active managers, the author insists on a high standard of intellectual and religious fitness. He would have the superintendent elected annually by the teachers,