is one of the most extravagant follies of man that he constantly avows opinions of the attributes of his Maker fashioned by his own miserable, puny faculties. As if it were possible that we should know aught of the Supreme Being beyond what He is pleased to reveal to His creatures; and as if it were not a most plain and rational duty to believe all that is revealed with our whole powers of mind and soul! Even sincere Christians, with the weakness and inconsistency of human nature, are too often partially guilty of the same folly; we are all too often disposed in practice, if not in theory, to measure the power, and wisdom, and justice, and mercy, and love of our God, by our own pitiful standard; and yet, meanwhile, the blessed light of the Gospel is shining in all its fullness upon us, revealing great truths connected with this most sacred subject, in the plainest words. Happy would it be for man were he always content to know his gracious God, only as he has made himself known to us, to reject every idea of His attributes which is not derived from Scripture, and to cling with every energy of soul and body to the holy truths of this nature vouchsafed to us in His word. This simple assurance of the fullness and directness of God's providence would, in that case, prove a most blessed source of comfort to every Christian heart, amid the trials and sorrows of life; but it is with this as with so many other instances, the boon is offered by God, but it is rejected or neglected by man. “The very hairs of your head are all numbered”—a stronger expression of tender watchfulness could not be framed in human language; it conveys an idea quite beyond the reach of all human power. And such were the words of the Deity to sinful man; it was the holy voice of the Redeemer which gave them utterance. It is true, this lan-
