The Wilmingtonian., 1823-11-20

s---------' -
"There is path which no fowl knoweth,Ig Ig
and which the vulture's eye hath not seen; .
the lions whelps have not trodden it, nor,
hath the fierce lion passed by it." JOB 28.
7, 8. These secret paths are the opera y
tions of Jehovah, sought out by those who t
love him, and discovered only by the di-
rection of his holy word. and the agency
of his divine spirit. Admit the being ofa
COP, and all is clear and luminous. Ev-l
cry difficulty vanishes: for what cannot
omnipotence perform.
"The fool hath said in his heart there
lis no Cod" Psal. ID. |. Can he deserve
a milder name who holds this irrational
|creedp All nature proclaims his existence,
and every feeling of the human heart is
RESPONSIVE to its voice. The instant we
begin to breathe, our connection with God
has commenced, and it is connecticut
which cannot be dissolved forever.
| All other unions are formed for sea-
son only: time will waste them-death
will destroy them: but this connection
looks death in the face, defes the injuries
|of time, and is commensurate with the
|trackless ages Of eternity. The moment
1--we are capable Of Distinguishing between
|eood and evil, our responsibility to Jeho-
vah is begun-it commences with the
dawn of reason, it looks forward to the
Judgment seat as its final issue.
| At every period, and under every cir
cumstance of human life, man still draws
Ibis existence from the Fountain Of tJe''
lhe may be cut off from society, but cannot
|be separated from God: he may renounce
Ibis fellow men, but never can burst the
bonds of obligation by which he is held t.
his Maker, till he shall have acquired tht
power to extingush that immortal princi
lpe within him, which can nprpr be sub
Iected to decay or to dissolution. Ih'
last sigh which rends the bursting heart
Terminates the correspondence betweel
man and man, but strengthens the unlo
be ween God and man. All the spring
4 Of enjoyment and of existence, are hiddel
lin the DEITY, and the fates of the huma
trace are suspended in the balances sus
ltained by his unshaken arm. 1t is Al
|object of the first and highest magnitude
Ito learn somethingof the being with whor
&c we stand thus intimately and inseparabl
connected; who is light and warmth i
1.-THE sun, softness in the breeze, power j
ed the tempest, and the principle which PEE
vades and animates, which regulates an
" Isustains universal nature; but to deny hi
existence is the meanness of desper tiol
Wand the temerity of presumption: of a
I'M insanity it is the worst; and of all ingr'
ltitude it is the backest. | view him r0l
ling the planets in their orbits, controulin
1.-THE furious and tempestuous elements, an
stretching an irresistible sceptre over a
creation. | see this huge globe of ear
Suspended and trembling in his goriol
presence; and the kingdoms thereof a
sorbed in his empire, rising to distlnctio
$, ar falling into irrecoverable desoat'o
according to "the counsel of his will
NV heart is not at ease. am instructe
but not tranquillized. The infnity OF Gc
overwh Inns me his majesty swallow
me Up his inhexible justice and purity Il
me with dismay: his "power makes Il
lafraid." Psal. 80. IL.
1t is the precious BIBLE which iir
brings me acquainted with him as 60
and afterwards as a FRIEND: which r
presents him, at once the CREATOR al
REDEENlER of the human family, al
while his attributes command my admir-
tion, his mercy forbids my TERROR.
T.
SABBATH MORNING.