“Admiration of the beauty and order of the universe, is the first in which we become engaged. We see, you know, my dears, the same blessed sun, the fountain of heat, light, and life, return to us every day:—clouds may sometimes obscure it, but it soon appears again, to convince us that its presence is ordered by the Creator, to cherish the animal world, and every plant and flower that grows. If it is night, and we view the stars, what can we conjecture but that they must be placed in the firmament by an Almighty hand? and it is this reflection that occasioned one of our poets, Dr. Young, to say,
“An undevout astronomer is mad;” because he could not believe that any person who had his senses would not pause with Admiration, and adore the Being who created these wonders of the heavens. “Go to the window, my dear William,” said Mr. Willock, “and look at them for a moment; they have just begun to appear.”
William went to the window, and all the rest of the young people followed him. Mr. Willock named to them some of the principal stars; they were quite delighted; and when he described to them the course of the planets, and that for many thousand years the same order had been preserved, their faces showed the disposition of features which belong to Admiration.
After they had perused the stars for a little time, Mr. Willock called their attention again to the picture. “Let us now, my dear children,” said he,“consider what must be the power and goodness of the Almighty, who created all these things; what can we conceive of the hand that could fix a ball of fire in the heavens, of the magnitude of the sun? but our Admiration increases when we reflect, that it is that fire which occasions the plant and the herb to grow. You know, that in the winter the ground is bare; but when spring appears, and when the sun approaches to us, it revives nature; and the seed which has been sown may then be seen sprouting its green heads above the earth: and the same source it is which gives food to man. How good is all this! and do you not think that it calls upon us to be devout, that is, to love God, and to desire to follow his commandments, that the Almighty, who has given us so many blessings, may continue to bless us with his Providence, in all we do?
“The next object of our Admiration,” said Mr. Willock,“is ourselves; for as David says in the Psalms, ‘We are fearfully and wonderfully made;’ and is it not true? Observe, William, the formation of the eye, the curious make of the fingers, the strength of the muscles; how the blood circulates through your veins; and then the powers of your mind; how you can think, how you can reason upon what you hear and see. Is not all this matter of Admiration?
“If,” continued Mr. Willock,“we go a step lower, and survey the animal creation, our Admiration will yet be great: whether we examine the mighty mammoth, the skeleton of which you saw at the exhibition the other day, or the little hummingbird, which was shewn you at the museum, still you must admire. It is true, that we admire also the works of man; but if we do, they will only bring us back, after all, to think of that great power which gave to human beings such capacities.
“The goodness of Providence ought to be the next great object of our Admiration, which has fixed on such an order and regularity in the universe, that it sheds a constant and continual blessing and benefit on mankind, by the rotation of the seasons, by rains which water the earth, and by an autumn sun to ripen the corn, and give us a plentiful harvest.
“And, in addition to this general providence, which is for the benefit of all mankind, the good, by whom I mean those who love God, may rely on a providence that will guard, protect, and bless them through the day. Therefore, when you rise in the morning, pray sincerely for that protection, and you may depend upon having it. Judge Hale, who was a very good man, used to say, ’that he could always calculate upon the successes of the next week, by the attention he had paid to the duties of the Sunday; for,‘ said he, ‘whenever I have passed that day in admiration of the goodness of God, and have prayed sincerely for his assistance, I have always found success to follow in my temporal affairs.’ And this subject, he said, he had not considered lightly, but had been convinced of it from experience.
“But you must not, my dear children, if you have this reliance upon the goodness of God, ever doubt it, or give way to mistrust, although you may meet in your future life with crosses and vexations; because, though you may meet with them, if you have had such a dependence, you may be sure they are for the best, and because you cannot tell what is the best for your own happiness. God Almighty is your heavenly father, as I may be your father on earth; and he loves you with the same care, only with more knowledge and power to bless and protect you. Now it may have happened, that when you have wished to take a walk in a warm summer’s day, that I may have forbid it, and that you may have been, of course, greatly grieved and disappointed; but when in the cool of the evening I have invited you to taste the refreshing air, you have been much better pleased; you have discovered my reasons for having forbid it before; that then it was ill timed, that you might have over-heated yourselves, and have caught cold; that it would be more pleasant in the evening, and that I could then spare time to accompany you. Think then, my dear children, how much more should you yield to the disappointments God Almighty may place in your way; and when they happen, make yourselves happy with the best of all comforts, that it is from his goodness. Besides, when you come to read more of history, and to grow up, and notice the changes that take place in the lives of your acquaintance, you will find, that what appears as the severest misfortune, may be the means of bringing great good. You remember the history of Joseph, in the Bible; and pray recollect that beautiful story through life. Joseph’s brethren, you know, who envied him, conspired against his life; but his brother Reuben said, ‘do not let us kill him:’ however, they cast him into a pit in the wilderness, and left him. Now their belief was, that he would perish; for they never thought that their cruelty would be the very cause that would bring him to great honour and preferment.—And it is thus that the evil designs of the wicked are made to produce good, instead of harm, to the very objects of their hatred. You recollect that a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead, with the camels, bearing spicery, and palm, and myrrh, which they were going to carry down to Egypt, bought him of his brethren, drew him out of the pit, carried him away with them, and sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, and a captain of the guard. God Almighty inclined Potiphar to show kindness to Joseph, and he advanced him: but a second, and greater misfortune was to happen to Joseph, to produce him still greater good. He is falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into prison, where was also the butler and baker of Pharaoh. God supplies him with wisdom to interpret their dreams; he is sent for by Pharaoh, and gives him counsel; the king promotes him, and makes him ruler over his house. But a yet more extraordinary work of Providence was to be performed; Joseph was to be the means of saving the lives of his brothers, who had conspired against him. There was a great famine in the land of Canaan, where his father and brothers dwelt; and Jacob sent his ten sons to Egypt for corn; but as he had loved Joseph, and was afraid some mischief would happen to Benjamin, he did not send him with them; he was, however, asked for by Joseph, who pretended not to know his brothers, and whom they could not recollect in his greatness. They were sent back for Benjamin.
“I am sure that you recollect in what manner Joseph entertained his brothers on their return; that he forgave them in his heart; that he relieved them from the horrors of famine; that the only rebuke he used, when he parted with them, was of the most gentle kind—‘See that you fall not out by the way.’