nite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be Three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. No. 8.] CREATION. [MONDAY. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The Great Creator himself never had a beginning. God is from everlasting to everlasting. But there was a time, when this world and all things in it began to be. He made them at his own pleasure; at that time, and in that manner, which he saw best and fittest for the wonderful work. He created the sun, moon, and stars; he made the air, the earth, and the and filled them with various living creatures, birds, beasts, and fishes. He then formed man of the dust of the ground, and called him Adam, (because that word, in Hebrew, signifies earth, or ground,) and infused into him the breath of life; so that he is related both to spirit and matter, and hath both united in himself. sea, No. 9.] CREATION (continued). [TUESDAY. WHAT an idea of the power of God does the creation give us! He only said, Let there be light, and there was light. He spake, and the earth was made; the heavens, and all the host of them, had their being by the breath of his mouth. He is as wise too as he is powerful; the more we consider the beauty, the variety, and the usefulness of the things which are made, the more clearly do we see, that they are the works of the highest wisdom and contrivance. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all. How great also is the goodness of God! It is owing to his free goodness that any creatures were formed; and his tender mercies are over all his works. In Him we live, and move, and have our being. He giveth us all things richly to enjoy, and hath bestowed such love upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. No. 10.] MODESTY. [WEDNESDAY. THERE is no charm in the female sex that can supply the place of virtue. Without innocence beauty is unlovely, and quality contemptible; good breeding degenerates into wantonness, and wit into impudence. The best preservative of female honour is female delicacy; modesty is the hand-maid of virtue, appointed to tend, to dress, and serve her; it is, as it were, a kind of armour, which the sex should always wear, to adorn and defend them; and, when that is laid aside, they are neither beautiful nor safe. No. 11.] FRUGALITY. [THURSDAY. "Nor trivial loss, nor trivial gain despise, Mole-hills, if often heap'd, to mountains rise; Weigh ev'ry small expense, and nothing waste. Farthings, if sav'd, amount to pounds in haste." "Beware of little expences, a small leak will sink a great ship." It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it. "Vessels large may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore." Pride, that dines on vanity, sups on contempt." The borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor. Gain may be temporary and uncertain; but expence is constant and certain. "Be industrious and free; be frugal and free." Get what you can, and what you get hold, 'Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold." No. 12.] CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. [FRIDAY. EVEN the meanest insects receive an existence from the author of Being, and why should we abridge their span? They have their little sphere of bliss allotted them; they have purposes which they are destined to fulfil; and when those are accomplished, they die. Every thing that has life is doomed to suffer and to feel; though its ex pression of pain may not be capable of being conveyed to our ears. To torture is unmanly; to tyrannize, where there can be no resistance, is the extreme of baseness. He who delights in misery, or sports with life, must have a disposition and a heart, neither qualified to make himself happy, nor ever to make others so. No. 13.] TRUTH. [SATURDAY. THE Egyptians of old were used to wear a golden chain, beset with precious stones, which they styled truth, intimating that to be the most illustrious ornament. The sacred writings tell us, that "God is truth," and therefore, to pervert the use of our speech, which so remarkably distinguishes us from the beasts that perish, must be a high offence to him. Lying is the vice of a villain, a coward, and a slave. If a liar be discovered, he becomes for ever suspected. that thou canst get by lying or dissembling is, that thou wilt not be believed when thou speakest truth." "All No. 14.] OF THE WORD OR SON OF GOD. [SUNDAY. THE Son, which is the word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God, and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for the actual sins of men. No. 15.] WEALTH. [MONDAY. Hu RICHES are the instruments of good and evil, according to the disposition of the possessor. A good fortune is an edged tool, which an hundred may get for one that knows how to use it. manity, good-nature, magnanimity, and a sense of honour, should be the qualifications of the rich; humility and patience, industry and temperance, those of the poor. Wealth is apt to betray a man into arrogance, pride, and luxury; let us therefore ever remember, it is a talent given us of God; and as we have nothing but what we receive from him, we should imitate his love to us, by being always ready and willing to communicate his gifts to others. No. 16.] GAMING. [TUESDAY. LOVE of gaming corrupts the best principles i the world: like a quicksand, it swallows up a man |