2. The appearance of spring is, therefore, in the second place, an emblem of the Gospel of our Lord, as it reminds us of that light which his coming hath shed on all the concerns of men. It is in this magnificent and beautiful view, that the Gospel is always predicted by the prophets, and represented by the followers of Jesus. It is the "Day-spring from on high," which has come to visit us. It is "the morning spread upon the "mountains." It is the Sun of Truth, which shone upon those "that sat in darkness, and in "the shadow of" more than mortal "death ;" and when we look, accordingly, on the state of the world since the coming of our Lord, nothing can more accurately resemble the influence and the beneficence of spring. Wherever His religion has spread, a new verdure (as it were) has been given to the soul of man. Whatever blesses, or whatever adorns humanity, has followed the progress of his doctrines; laws have been improved, governments enlightened, manners refined, and the mild and gentle virtues of humanity and peace, have sprung into new life and fragrance. "Even "the desert," (in the beautiful words of the prophet,)" and the solitary place have been glad," and in many a "wilderness" of life-in many a "solitary place" of wo, where the eye of man comes not, the light of Heaven has been revealed, and many a flower of Faith and Hope have blown, unknown to all but the "Sun of Righteousness" which cherished them.

How well, my brethren, would it be for us all, if, under those great and prescribed images, we represented to ourselves the Gospel of our Lord ! -if, leaving for a while the narrow and selfish views of the closet, we went forth into the scenes which remind us of the present God, and saw in every instance of his beneficence, an emblem of the "glad tidings" of his Son. Nature herself would then become the friend of piety. The truths of natural, and the truths of revealed religion, would be blended together in our hearts; and every returning spring would bring us with it new motives of love to the God who made, and to the Saviour who redeemed us.

In what I have now said, my brethren, I have presented to you only the religious reflections which the season is fitted to excite. There are some other impressions of a moral kind, which it is also calculated to give us, and which it would be wise in us to associate with the present appearances of nature.

The first of these is the love of innocence. It is the youth of the year we are witnessing. The trees are putting forth their tender green; and the fields are covered with their young inhabitants. How well is this spectacle fitted to awaken every thoughtful mind to meditation! It reminds us of our own infancy, when the mind was pure, and the heart was happy. It reminds us of that original innocence in which man was created, and for

the loss of which no attainments of mortality can make any compensation. It reminds us of that greater spring "which awaits the righteous: when "the pure in heart shall see God; when the Lord "shall feed them like a shepherd, and lead them "to fountains of living water, and when God shall "wipe all tears from their eyes."

The second impression which the season of spring is fitted to make upon us, is the love of nature and of humanity. The ordinary scenes of life have a tendency to limit our benevolence, and to confine our interest in nature to the few that surround us. The spring yearly returns, as it were, to dissolve this insensibility, and to expand our affections to a greater circle. We are then the witnesses of the benevolence of God,-the Father of Nature seems to come from the dark clouds that surround his throne, to bestow life and happiness over the universe of nature. "Hope riseth "in the heart of man;" and every animated being pours forth its song of joy. Is it possible we can contemplate this scene, without feeling our own benevolence exalted? without being reminded anew of the ties which relate us to all the family of God; and without blending with the love of Him "who alone is good," the love also of every thing that He hath made?

The last impression which this season is fitted to make upon us, is that of the love of industry. It is the time when the great labour of nature is

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carrying on; when the breath of the Almighty is operating upon the earth and upon the deep, " and "making all things work together for good." How simple, but how solemn is the call which this scene makes upon man! We also, my brethren, are parts of the system of God: to us all, some share is delegated in the administration of the universe, some power of contributing to the happiness of the world which he hath made. How happy for us would it be, if we suffered Nature to teach us those unreproaching lessons; if every spring, as it returned, awakened us to new zeal in the service of God, and kindled the noblest ardour of religion, that of being fellow-workers with him in the good of humanity!

I have thus presented to you, my brethren, some of the reflections which seem most naturally to arise at this season, and pointed out some of the uses to which they may be applied. If they are not the direct exhortations of religion, they are not perhaps less important. To contemplate nature with the eye of piety,-to associate the image of God with every thing that is great or beautiful in his works, to see every different scene around us, as only varying testimonies of his love,-and to feel those analogies which unite the system of Nature with that of Revelation,-are acquisitions which every wise man would wish to make, and which no man can make, without becoming happier and better.

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May this, my brethren, be the case with us all! May the mighty scene which we are now permitted to see, exalt our minds to legitimate conceptions of "that God who inhabiteth eternity, and "yet humbleth himself to behold the things that "are upon earth.” And, while Heaven is pouring forth its bounty, and Nature rejoicing around us, may we lift our hands in humble adoration to the Parent of Existence, and feel, with the grateful transport of Job! "I have heard of Thee by the "hearing of the ear, but now MINE EYE SEETH "THEE."