"Over whom is it extended?"
"To all his creatures and all their actions."
"Yes, there is not a thought in our hearts, nor a word upon our lips, nor all action of our lives, but he notices it. David has most beautifully and comprehensively expressed his sense of the government and providence of God in these words:
"'O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting, and mine up-rising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.'
"God's providence extends, also, to the angels, to the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, the beasts of the field, and oven the little insects; over the clouds, winds, and storms; over the waves of the sea; and over the sun, moon, and stars. To each he extends his powerful protection, and has only to speak to have them perform his holy will.
"Our dear Helen acknowledged, to-night, her indebtedness to her parents for their watchful care of her. How thankful, then, ought she, and all of us, to be to that Merciful Being whose tender love watches us with more than any earthly father's solicitude, who numbers even the hairs of our heads, and whose power is able to protect us from all harm!"
"More than a dozen years ago, a gentleman by the name of Norcross was visiting Now York city upon important business. He had nearly completed it, when he received a letter from his daughter, living near Boston, saying that her little sister was ill, and her mother hoped he would return at once. He looked at his card stating the hour when the steamboat left the wharf, and found that by using despatch, he should have just time to conclude his business, and return by the first boat.
"He hurried to the store where he had made large purchases, and by great exertion, both on his own part and that of the clerks, had his goods packed, marked, and delivered to the truckman, promising to meet him at the wharf. He delayed only long enough to pass a check to the merchant in payment for the goods, and, congratulating himself that his business was so satisfactorily performed, hastened on foot to the boat.
"In consequence of his watch being too slow, he reached the wharf just fire minutes after she had started. Disappointed more than he could express, he congratulated himself that his goods were safely on board; when, hearing a sound behind him, he recognized the truckman who had them in charge. With an impatient expression, he rebuked the man for his delay. But it had been a necessary one. In passing through one of the narrow streets, it became so crowded with trucks, that for some minutes he was obliged to stand entirely still.
"Now mark the overruling providence of God. He had determined that this child of his should be spared to his family, and all these circumstances, as the not keeping his watch up to the time, and the crowd of carriages in the street, were the means by which God saved both the life and property of Mr. Norcross. That boat was the ill-fated Lexington, which was burned on her passage from New York to Providence. Had he arrived in season, no doubt he would have perished."