In saying this, I do not undervalue the benefits conferred by human governments, but only assign them their true place. The office performed by them is indispensable. They are the enclosure of the field, without which certainly nothing could come to maturity; but they are not the soil and the rain, and the sunshine, which cause vegetation to spring up. These are furnished by the government of God, which is not only a system of restraint and protection, but also, and chiefly, of inducements to excellence. Into the ear of the humblest of its subjects it whispers, as it points upward, "Glory," "Honor," "Immortality," "Eternal Life." It is parental in its character, makes us members of a family, gives us objects of affection, and by its perfect standard of moral excellence, and the character of God which it sets before us, it purifies and elevates the mind. Without a God to whom he is related and accountable, man has neither dignity nor hope. Without God, the universe has no cause, its contrivances indicate no intelligence, its providence no goodness, its related parts and processes no unity, its events no convergence to one grand result, and the glorious spectacle presented in the earth and the heavens, instead of calling forth admiration and songs, is an enigma perplexing to the intellect, and torturing to the heart. Seen in its connexion with God, the universe of matter is as the evening cloud that lies in the sunlight, radiant, and skirted with glory; without him it is the same cloud cold and dark when that sunlight is gone. Without God, man is an orphan; he has no protector here, and no Father's house in which he may hope for a mansion hereafter. His life is at his own disposal, and has no value except in relation to his personal and present enjoyment.