He knows all that is known by the wisest man upon earth, of the Divine Nature. The existence, attributes and providence of God, are his daily. study; and his works are displayed before his eyes. The scenes of nature are, indeed, displayed before the visual organs of all men; but they are exhibited to his mental eye. He knows, that they had a beginning, and is equally assured, that they will come to an end; and he is also certain, that they are the works of One, who has neither beginning of days, nor end of years. He is taught the benevolent uses, for which they are designed; and how they demonstrate the wisdom, power and goodness of their Creator: and what more does the wisest philosopher know than this? Make out an account of all his surplus knowledge, and what does it amount to? The rustic is as well informed, on the creation and final dissolution of the world, as the most learned speculatist, after all our systems of cosmogony. He is conversant with all the authentic information, that any man possesses, of the conduct of Providence in the government of nations; and his Bible, from the beginning to the end, impresses him with an indelible conviction, that every event of life is subject to the control of the Divine Being. He has seen the whole chain of the dispensations, which God has vouchsafed to man. As he has learned his own origin, so he can look forward to his end and destination, with as much substantial know

ledge, and more confirmed assurance, than the man of letters; and, with respect to a future state, he has all the intelligence, that the ablest divine can pretend to. He has continually in his hands a complete system of morals, adapted to every situation, and enforced on his mind by divine authority. He has, in his heart and on his lips, the sweetest consolation, and the firmest support in temptation, danger and calamity; and he can look upon death with a degree of satisfaction, to which the bravest hero or the sturdiest stoic is a stranger.

This whole view of creation, providence and grace, this comprehensive system of morality and practical religion, piety to God, social duty to his brethren of mankind, and prudential maxims for the government of his passions, and the wise and liberal conduct of his personal concerns, are laid before him in the simplest, most elegant, and most impressive form; dispersed through the historical books of the Old Testament, accumulated in the poetical, didactic and prophetical Scriptures, and delivered in the most alluring and captivating style in the Gospels. In fine, he has all the virtues reduced to practice and held up as objects of love and admiration, and every frailty, vice and crime exposed to reprobation, in the minute and interesting histories of the most distinguished men of different ages; and the most edifying instruction brought home to

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his family, his business and his bosom, in the parables of Christ; and, finally, exhibited to view in the life of the blessed Jesus himself.

This intermixture of precept and example, theory and practice, doctrine and history, is not only peculiarly adapted to the taste and talents of an uneducated man; but is, to every one, the most affecting and effectual mode, in which instruction can be conveyed. Whether we consider the memory, the affections or the understanding, it is of all others best calculated for a mind not addicted to abstract reflection; and most delightful even to the elegant and refined.

To descend from those grand and essential principles of morals and piety; from the refinement and edification of his spiritual nature to subjects merely intellectual, what a mass of information is laid before him, on all the most important facts of universal history! If the details of Greek and Roman story do not come within the scope of the Sacred Writers, as indeed they are of no value with respect to morals or religion, he has a grand and magnificent series of personal history, general narrative, and divine dispensations exhibited before him, of which those celebrated nations were profoundly ignorant. But, in truth, even this hardly deserves to be mentioned in detailing the variety of the riches, with which the Bible is fraught, and of which every religious peasant may put himself in possession.

There is another branch of intellectual improvement, to which he has access, namely, Taste. I speak not of a frivolous liking for an idle song, an elaborate system of fiction, or a fictitious dialogue between imaginary and worthless characters; but of that principle, which refines and ennobles the mind; that perception of the elegant, simple and sublime in language and conduct, to be learned from the partriarchal history; a relish for the pathetic and devout strains of David the awful and holy magnificence of Job and the Prophets, and that peculiar quality of the evangelical story, for which I find no name.

Were these exercises of intellect and imagination only matters of amusement and refinement; were they foreign from his duties, and inconsistent with his services to society; did they tend to distract his thoughts, or enervate his activity, they might well be deemed unsuitable to the condition of the poor; but, in all these points, they differ from that cultivation of taste, which is produced by the study of human compositions. They are all connected with purity, integrity and elevation of character; and with those principles, from which the due discharge of all our duties ought to spring. No man ever grew insolent or licentious, idle or extravagant, by reading his Bible, with a nice and delicate discernment of the peculiar beauties of its composition. In the same proportion, that it exalts our nature,

it represses our pride. It prepares us for immortal glory, without unfitting us for the humblest duties of mortality.

But beside this exaltation of the human character, and this preparation of spirit for an immortal existence, the habitual study of Scripture is followed by many practical consequences, beneficial to the individual and to society.

1. A love for the Scriptures induces the poor to bestow that time on the perusal of them, which would otherwise be wasted or mispent. If they have no taste for their Bibles, they will read immoral publications, or spend their time in a torpid state, or go abroad in quest of vicious amuse

ment.

2. Whatever benefit they may derive from this employment themselves, they will be able to communicate to their children; and thus the whole family may unite in the most elegant and improving occupation, of which any of their superiors are capable.

3. When the mind is stored with religious knowledge and devotional sentiments, it is qualified to understand and relish the public offices of religion. Without these, the worship of God is attended to little purpose; for such ignorant hearers can hardly improve by a continued discourse, or join in exercises of devotion, and "the wicked one will soon catch away what was sown in their hearts." The exertion of mind and the