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THE ALL-SEEING EYE OF GOD.

A

SERMON

ADDRESSED TO THE CHILDREN

OF

The Schools for Religious Instruction,

AT

ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL, BEDFORD ROW,

On Easter Tuesday, April 1, 1823.

SECOND EDITION.

A

SERMON,

&c.

PROVERBS, xv. 3.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

My dear Children, I am about to speak to you of Religion, and of what is to do you good and make you happy; and the subject I shall speak about, is God's all-seeing eye; His eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. There are two things which I shall set before you.

I. THAT GOD'S EYE IS IN ALL PLACES.

II. THAT GOD'S EYE MARKS WHAT IS EVIL

AND WHAT IS GOOD IN ALL PLACES.

I shall speak as simply and affectionately as I can, my dear Children. If you attend, 1 think I shall make myself understood to the youngest

child present. But you must each one pray for the Holy Spirit to teach you and make you feel what I am about to say. I can only speak. I cannot make you good; I cannot make you new creatures. But God can. Let every child pray

in his heart this prayer, O Lord, bless this Sermon to my soul's salvation!

I. God's eye is in all places; that is, God' sees in all places-God is present in all placesGod rules and governs in all places. Each of these thoughts I shall endeavour to explain to you.

First. God sees in all places. There is nothing that God does not see. He sees, not merely what is done in the day, but what is done in the darkness of the night. He looks into the heart, and sees every thought, and he looks into the life, and sees every action;-it is one of our sins that we forget this.

When Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, they forgot that God saw in all places, and they went to hide themselves amongst the trees of the garden; and when God came and said, Adam, where art thou? he replied, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I went and hid myself. But God saw Adam, though Adam did not think of God.

When Cain killed his brother Abel, as he talked with him in the field, he thought no one

saw him. But God said to him, Where is Abel thy brother? and when Cain answered, I know not; am I my brother's keeper? God said to Cain, Doth not thy brother's blood cry unto me from the earth? God saw what Cain did, though Cain forgot God.

When Hagar fled from Abraham's family and from Sarah, into the wilderness, and thought herself deserted and forsaken of all, God's eyes were upon her, and the Angel of the Lord appeared to her, and bid her return to her mistress, and made her a promise of many blessings; and upon this She called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me.' My dear children, God sees every one of you at this time, and looks into each of your hearts; and therefore it was I said, you must all pray for his blessing upon what you are hearing.

The Second thought is, that God is present in all places. In the 139th Psalm, David tells us how God is present in every place: O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting, and mine up-rising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. - Whither shall I go from thy Spirit; or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the

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