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bandman, in the field, in the house, and by the way; 

 and humihty ought to possess his heart. 



He may sow and plant, with care ; but not a seed will 

 grow, or a blade of grass vegetate ; without the sun- 

 shine, the showers, and the dews of Heaven. While 

 growing, his crops are also exposed to frost, and mildew ; 

 or, the canker-worm, the grass hopper, the locust, thJ 

 hail, or the tempest, may be commissioned to destroy 

 them. And, in maturity, when the fields invite the 

 sickle; and the meadows, the scythe ; with out the sun- 

 shine, and the withholding of the rain; the mower and 

 the reaper labor in vain. Dependence is written on ev- 

 ery plant, and every fallimg leaf. 



His goodness, though sometimes veiled with clouds, 

 inspires confidence in the promise; that "seed time and 

 harvest shall not fail." It fills the mind with reverence 

 for Him, who controls the seasons; directs the rising 

 and setting of the sun; who gives the rain, and wipes 

 away the clouds : who " holds the winds in his fists ;" 

 or, lets them lose, in the tempest. 



Is it strange, that the husbandman, rising at the call 

 of the morning star, as he beholds the lifting of " the 

 eyehds of the morning;" and listens to the sound of the 

 quail or the robbin, resting among his fruit-trees ; or 

 perched upon his dwelling ? 



Is it strange, that the daughter, in all the simplicity 

 of innocence, and in all the bloom of youth ; as she re- 

 turns, at early twilight, loaded from the milk-yard ? 



Is it strange, that the son, as he returns, at evening, 

 from the wheat field, " bearing his sheaves with him ?" 

 Is it strange, that these all should raise their thoughts 

 to Him, who spread beauty over the face of the morn- 

 ing ; and gave serenity to the brow of evening ? Is it 



