of thofe more fublime Satisfactions, which are to be found in the Prefence of the LORD here, and in his more glorious and substantial Kingdom hereafter.

And fhou'd any of my Readers, from a Perufal of this Publication, be excited to vifit HAWKSTONE PARK; and at the fame time be in a Difpofition to meditate on and to profit by the wonderful Works of GOD contained therein, and obfervable therefrom, I am inclind to think, They will happily experience, that such delightful Scenes, as They will there behold, were intended, of the Divine Providence, to make glad the Heart of Man, and also to attract Him to offer his Tribute of Praife, and Gratitude to their beneficent Author; more especially, if They view them with a religious and Philofophic Eye, They will then prove to be doubly instructive, as well as doubly blessed, fatisfactory and delightful.

It is partly on this Account, that I have been inclined to publish the following Poems, and alfo that I have enlarged so much, in this Preface, on the peculiar Beauties of HAWKSTONE PARK, and it's furrounding Scenes. But after all, every Thing that I have faid, or can say, on the Subject, must fall infinitely fhort of fuch a Defcription of them as they are intitled to; therefore I must leave a more perfect Display of Them to some abler Hand, and beg leave to fum up the whole, (referring their Beauty to their great Original) in the following ftriking Words of the infpired Penman and the fublime Peet, taking the Liberty to alter the latter. a little. Great and marvellous are thy Works, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY: juft and true are thy Ways, thou King of Saints. Who fhall not fear Thee, O LORD, and glorify thy Name? Rev. XV. 3. 4.

"These are thy glorious Works, Parent of Good, " ALMIGHTY! Thine this delightful Park, "Thus wond'rous fair! Thyfelf how wond'rous then!"

MILTON.
And

And Who now, that is not devoid of all true Thought and Senfibility, can forbear catching the Flame of Devotion, whilst He furveys the wonderful Works of Creation; more especially when He walks through this most charming, romantic, and delightful Park, and attentively views it's furrounding Scenes, which altogether form fuch an Earthly Paradife. Who can con❤ tinue infenfible amidst fuch a Profufion of Beauties, which, from every Quarter, make their Court to our very Senses? Who, I fay, that is not devoid of all hu man Feeling, can remain unaffected with all these most amiable furrounding Objects, where the Footsteps of Almighty Goodness, Wisdom, and Power are so signally coufpicuous, that they seem calculated to rouse the Feelings and to administer Delight to every Beholder? How aftonishing is it, that tho' the Wisdom and Love of GOD manifeft Themselves, as in a Mirror, in all his Works; yet Few feem either impreffed with their Greate nefs or affected with their Glory, or led to admire the Creator's boundless Beneficence therein!

How infenfible must that Mind be to the Influence of Heaven and to the Nearness of the Creator, who has no lively Relish to contemplate his Glory in the exquisite Beauties of Creation, which shine forth fo confpicuously around Us, that the flightest Glance, one might think, was fufficient to perceive the Divinity, or rather the Stamp of GOD Himfelf! Moft amazing Stupidity! Tho the Hand of GOD is confpicuous in every Thing, and his moft glorious Works worthy the Obfervation and Attention of every rational Creature, containing Wonders without Number, yet the Generality of Mankind, (most affecting Thought!) inftead of being animated with Devotion or transported with Delight, behold Them with the greateft Indifference; they treat Them, as it is re corded the Jews of Old treated GOD Himself, when

manifested in the Flesh amongft Them." He was in the World, " and the World was made by Him, and the World knew Him "not. He came unto his own, and his own received Him not." John X. 11. Thus, tho' all the outward and vifible Works of Creation are a Series of Wonders, and a Fund of Delights, for Ever applying Themfelves to our very outward Senfes, as an Evidence of their Divine Workmanship, and thus manifefting the eternal Power and Godhead of their great Creator, yet Man, unthinking Man, ftill remains, as it were, fenfelefs in the Midft of them All'; and tho' GOD exerts, and will for Ever exert, that fecret and unremitted Influence, which is the only Life of the whole Creation, and the first-moving Caufe of all it's ftupendous Operations; tho' the whole Earth, nay the whole Universe is full of his Divine Prefence, yet the following Words, Alas! are but too applicable to our Stupidity in regard thereto. "Lo, He goeth by Me, " and I fee Him not: he paffeth on alfo, but I perceive Him "not." Job. IX. 11.

Notwithstanding the inexpreffible Art and Glory of the GREAT CREATOR is visible throughout all Nature, and the Stamp of Divinity appears upon every created Thing; and though fuch beauteous paradifiacal Scenes, as I have been attempting faintly and in part to defcribe, may more visibly bear the Divine Imprefs than many O thers, Yet I wou'd not be understood to mean, that these, or any other, external Paradifiacal Scenes can, merely of Themfelves, excite or minifter true Joy and real Happiness

No-what deserves the Name of true Joy and real Happiness are furely fupernatural Delights, and can only flow from the LORD Himself, and become bleffed, fatisfactory, and delightful, as they are received by humble, fincere, prepared Minds, according to their various Attain ments in the regenerate Life - These confift not in extermal Delights, unless they are at the fame time attended

with internal Delights-because all external Paradifiacal Delights and Pleafures reach only the Senfes of the Body, but internal Paradifiacal Delights reach the Affec tions of the Soul, and if the former be without the latter, they are void of all Heavenly Life, inafmuch as They have no Soul or Spirit in Them; and every Delight or Pleasure without their correfponding Soul or Spirit doth continually grow more and more languid and faint, fatiguing the Mind more than Labour. Therefore, it must be Self-evident, and worthy to be noted, that just fo far as thefe outward Paradifiacal Scenes lead the Mind to GOD, and are attended with an interior Delight of the Soul, fo far their Joys and Delights are real and true, but no further.

And Here, let me paufe a few Moments, and che rish and breathe a fecret Wish, that all my Readers, as well as myteif, may henceforth improve by and make a heavenly Ufe of all the glorious Works of Providence. O that whatever is pleafing or delightful to our outward Senfes, may fo inwardly affe&t Us, that it may raise our beft Defires to thofe fublimer Delights, which are fpiritual and eternal; and which will mot affuredly yield, not partial, but perfect Happiness and Joy; not tranfient, but never-ending Harmony and Peace!

And feeing We, who dwell in this moft charming and delightful Ifland, are fo greatly beloved by our CREATOR, and fo peculiarly distinguished by his Goodnefs; as He feems, through the whole Kingdom, to have caufed Delight and Profit to go hand in hand, making all Things fo perfectly pleafing, as if Beauty was their only end; yet all Things fo eminently ferviceable, as if Usefulness had been their fole Defign-as his ever-bountiful Hand has fcattered fuch a Profufion of Bleffings round about our Tents, and made us capable of enjoying the fameand, above All, as We are placed by his kind Providence

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in a Chriftian Land, and bleft with fo many happy Priviledges and Means of Inftruction; O let us daily strive to improve fuch gracious Talents, and to diftinguifh Ourselves by the pureft Love and Gratitude to Him our Heavenly Parent, and alfo by embracing all Opportunities of promoting the real Good of our Fellow-Creatures! Whilft the inanimate Creation, in filent Eloquence, declares the Glory of their Creator, O let us with Heart and Voice, and with all our united Powers praise and adore that Divine Ben-factor, who hath made All Things for the Use, the Happiness, and the Enjoyment of his highly-favour'd Creature Man; not only in this fublunary State, but in that fpiritual and eternal World, into which He is fo foon to enter, and to be for Ever happy, if He doth not fruftrate the kind and gracious Intention of his Creator by neglecting, during his probationary State on Earth, to qualify and prepare his Mind for fuch exalted Delights!

If We were but wife to accuftom Ourselves, in the Fear of the LORD, to behold and to meditate on the outward Works of Creation, with which We are every where furrounded, They wou'd certainly lead Us to fome Knowledge of, and Veneration for their Divine Author, whofe eternal Power and Godhead is fo confpicuous therein. And thus confidered, the Knowledge of GOD from his wonderful Works of Creation, wou'd be the Firft grand Means, or, as it were, the First Step of that myfterious Ladder, by which We might afcend higher, and be introduced to further and more excellent Knowledge of our great and good Creator; which brings Me to confider

2dly. What the SACRED SCRIPTURES fay, in Regard to the further and more perfect Knowledge of GOD. From that DIVINE Book We are taught, that the Knowledge of GOD, like all other Knowledges,