They would then behold a new heaven and a new earth, and every surrounding object would wear a garb of novelty. "Thou wilt send forth thy Spirit," says the Psalmist," and they shall be created, and thou wilt renew the face of the earth." (PSALM 10.) Yes, my friends, with the perspective of faith applied to your minds, and the Spirit of God working at your hearts, you will discover a spectacle, of which, before, you had no conception. A new creation, as it were, will start up to your view. When you behold the sun rising majestically from behind those hills, and pouring abroad the day, you will see in it an emblem of the divine effulgence of that omnipotent Being who inhabiteth light inaccessible, and who, by the brightness of his illumination, transmitted through the medium of that eternal sun of justice," the splendour of his own glory, and the very image of his substance, enlighteneth those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and directeth their feet into the way of peace." When you watch the motions of the same magnificent source of light and heat, in its progress through the heavens, and observe the wonderful effects that accompany it, your views will be raised to that great mind which presides over the whole of this astonishing system, and directs, in secret, its inconceivable operations. When you notice that immense profusion of leaves, spreading themselves in every direction over the branches of the stateliest trees, up to

their very summits; when you behold the green herbage covering the fields, the flowers displaying their various tints, the fruit dangling from the boughs which sustain it, and the ears of corn bending beneath the weight of their abundance, you will admire the sagacity of that mighty intellect, which, by means invisible to the human eye, and incomprehensible to the human understanding, could contrive to produce such a prodigious variety of extensive, useful, and beautiful results. When you listen to the sprightly notes of the songsters of the grove; when you see the lambkins skipping about by the side of their dams, and indicating in every motion the most vivid sensations of pleasure, and the sheep and cattle grazing comfortably in the meadows, fearless of danger, and unconscious of their future destiny, you will discover in them so many lively instances of God's goodness, delighting to diffuse itself among the creatures of his hands, in imparting to them enjoyments suitable to their respective conditions. And, finally, when you cast your eyes on man, that most highly distinguished of sublunary beings, to whose use and benefit every other creature of the earth which he inhabits, animate as well as inanimate, appears to have been made subservient; when you behold him uniting with the inferior powers of animal gratification, the more exquisite faculties of sentimental delight, and the still more sublime capacity of intellectual enjoy

ment, you will recognize in him the chosen object of that special benignity of his Maker, in his regard, which is properly expressed by the term philanthropy. And the view of such a multiplicity of opening scenes, not less conspicuous for their grandeur than for their novelty, will induce you, in transports of the highest admiration, to exclaim, with the Psalmist, “O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!” (PSALM 8.)

66

And as in the works of nature, so also in the affairs and transactions of men, the charms of novelty will every where disclose themselves to your renovated minds. For whilst you gaze on all the various circumstances, lots, and conditions of men in society; whilst you see some elevated to the highest pinnacle of human greatness, and others reduced to the most abject state of slavery; whilst here you observe the votaries of sensuality rioting in all the excesses of extravagant luxury, and then the children of poverty and want earning with difficulty, and with the sweat of their brow, a scanty subsistence for themselves and families; whilst you perceive the profligate rearing their heads on high, like the cedars of Libanus, and the virtuous trampled upon by them, like the dust of the earth; whilst you contemplate, in short, those incessant conflicts of contending passions let loose upon the world, and transforming it, as it were, into one vast arena of gladiators ; whilst you behold ambition, jealousy, revenge,

and every other disorderly and corrupt principle of the heart of man, disturbing the peace and order of society by their destructive ravages ; whilst you discover, I say, all these things, and Nature, from within, may seem to whisper, this should not be so; you will raise up your eyes aloft, and there descrying, through the medium of faith, the omnipotent arm of the Great Universal Governor suspended over the whole, and directing it to the accomplishment of his eternal designs; you will rest satisfied with the unseemly spectacle; every disposition to complain or murmur will be instantaneously checked; and you will adore, in silent and humble submission, the boundless power, wisdom, and goodness of that incomprehensible Being, who compels even the elements of discord and destruction to promote the general order and harmony of the universe. Thus have I shown you, that, by the renovation of your minds, you will cause the current year to become to you a new year. that is not the whole of what I advanced; for I also asserted, that by the same means, you would render it, moreover, a happy new year. And of this it shall, in the next place, be my endeavour to convince you.

But

Did no other consequence result from the renovation of your minds prescribed by the Apostle, than the disclosure of new scenes, of such admirable grandeur and beauty, both in the works of nature and in the affairs and transactions of men,

yet that alone would contribute, it must be acknowledged, in no small degree, to your satisfaction and delight, and consequently to the promotion of the happiness of the new year. But great as that advantage must be allowed to be, it is by no means the only one, nor is it even the principal one of which it will be found to be productive. The chief and most valuable benefit derived from the renovation of the mind, is to be looked for in the condition of the mind itself, in its exemption on the one hand, from that inward disorder, vexation and trouble, excited by the tumult of ungoverned passions, and in its fruition, on the other hand, of that internal peace, serenity, and joy, which the influence of principles of an opposite description, of humility, meekness, resignation, charity, with all the rest of their associate virtues, will not fail to exercise over it. For having "crucified the old man with his passions and lusts, and being transformed into the new man who is according to God," such must necessarily be the corresponding effects which will be produced within you by so blessed a revolution. In your intercourse with the world, and in all the various circumstances and events of life, it will also be attended with the most happy consequences. It will secure to you, it is highly probable, the esteem and good-will of all who know you. For they whose passions are kept under control, who seek not to exalt themselves above their just measure, who treat not others with haughtiness and