HARMONY OF SCIENCE AND REVELATION. 



131 



isfce iMiman frame, and consider the vast number 

 of hones, muscles, veins, arteries, lacteals, lym 

 phatics, and other parts, all curiously combined, 

 and calculated to facilitate every motion of our 

 bodies, and to produce sensitive enjoyment, 

 along with the organs of sense, the process of 

 respiration, and the circulation of the blood 

 through the whole frame every four minutes, 

 can wo refrain from adopting the expressive 

 language of the Psalmist ? li I will praise thee, 

 for I am fearfully and wonderfully made ! mar 

 vellous are thy works. My substance was not 

 hid from thee when I was made in secret, and 

 curiously wrought,&quot; or variegated like needle 

 work, &quot; in my mother s womb.* Thine eyes 

 did see my substance when it was yet imperfect ; 

 and in thy book all my members were written, 

 which in continuance were fashioned when as 

 yet there was none of them. How precious are 

 thy thoughts (or, thy wonderful contrivances) 

 concerning me, O God ! How great is the sum 

 of them ! If I should count them, they are more 

 in number than the sand.&quot; To which may be 

 added the words of Job, &quot; Thine hands have 

 made and fashioned me ; thou hast clothed me 

 with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with 

 bones and sinews, and thy visitation preserveth 

 my spirit.&quot; When we contemplate the minute 

 wonders of creation, ar.H are struck with aston 

 ishment at the inconceivable smallness of certain 

 animated beings, how can we more appropri 

 ately express our feelings than in the language 

 of Scripture, &quot;He is wonderful in counsel, and 

 excellent in working ; his wisdom is unsearch 

 able, his understanding is infinite ; marvellous 

 things doth he which we cannot comprehend. 

 There is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither 

 are there any works like unto thy works. Thou 



* In our translation, the beauty and emphasis of 

 this passage are partly lost. The expression,&quot; curi 

 ously wrought,&quot; literally translated, signifies &quot;flow 

 ered with a needle.&quot; The process of the formation 

 of the human body in the womb is compared to that 

 in a piece of delicate work wrought with a fine 

 needie, or fashioned with peculiar art in the loom ; 

 which, with all its beautiful proportion of figure 

 and variety of colouring, rises by decrees to perfec 

 tion under the hand of the artist, from a rude mass 

 of silk or other materials, and according to a pattern 

 lying before him. In accordance with this idea, the 

 Divine Being is here represented as working a 



skilfully interwoven and connected with each other, 

 till It becomes a structure with all the parts, linea 

 ments, and functions of a man. no one of which is 

 to be seen at first, any more than the figures in a 

 ba.lof silk, before it is fashioned with the needle 

 The wonders of this workmanship are farther en 

 hanced from .he consideration, that, while human 

 artificers require the clearest light for accomplish- 

 in? their work, the Divine Artist performs it &quot;in 

 tecret,&quot; within the dark and narrow recess of the 

 womb. The expression, &quot;How precious are thy 

 houghti to me,&quot; should he rendered, &quot; How precious 

 are Uiy contrivance* respecting- me,&quot; namely, in 

 reference to the exquisite structure and organala- 

 tion of the corporeal frame, on which the Psalmist 

 4 fixed his meditations. 



art great, and dost wondrous things ; thcu art 

 God alone.&quot; 



When we contemplate the amazing structure 

 of the heavens the magnitude of the bodies 

 which compose the planetary system, and the 

 numerous orbs which adorn the nocturnal sky- 

 when we penetrate with the telescope into the 

 more distant regions of space, and behold ten 

 thousand times ten thousand more of these bright 

 luminaries rising to view from every region of the 

 firmament when we consider that each of these 

 twinkling luminaries is a sun, equal or superior 

 to our own in size and in splendour, and surround 

 ed with a system of revolving worlds when we 

 reflect, that all this vast assemblage of suns and 

 worlds, forms, in all probability, but a very small 

 portionof Jehovah s empire, and when our minds 

 are bewildered and astonished at the incompre 

 hensible grandeur of the scene where shall we 

 find language to express our emotions more ener 

 getic and appropriate than in such passages as 

 these ? &quot; Canst thou by searching find out God ? 

 Canst thou. find out the Almighty to perfection ? 

 He is glorious in power, his understanding is in 

 finite, his greatness is unsearchable. The hea 

 vens declare the glory of Jehovah, and the firma- 

 nent showeth his handy-work. All nations before 

 him are as nothing, and they are counted to him 

 as less than nothing and vanity. He meteth 

 out the heavens with a span, and compre- 

 hendeth the dust of the earth in a measure. Be 

 hold! the heaven and the heaven of heavens 

 cannot contain him. By the word of the Lord 

 were the heavens made, and all the host of them 

 by the spirit of his mouth. He spake, and it 

 was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. 

 He doth great things past finding out, and won 

 ders without number. Great and marvellous 

 are thy works, Lord God Almighty! Touching 

 the Alhiighty we cannot find him out ; he is 

 excellent in power, and his glory is above the 

 earth and the heavens. Who can utter the 

 mighty operations of Jehovah ? Who can show 

 forth all his praise ?&quot; 



Are we led, from the discoveries of modern 

 astronomy, to infer, that numerous worlds besides 

 our own exist throughout the universe ? This 

 idea will be found embodied in numerous passa 

 ges of Scripture, such as the following ; 

 &quot; Through faith we understand that the worlds 

 were framed by the word of God.&quot; &quot; In these 

 last days he hath spoken to us by his Son, whom 

 he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom 

 also he made the worlds.&quot; &quot; Thou hast made 

 heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all iheu next, 

 and thou preserves! them all, and the host of hea 

 ven worshippeth thee.&quot; &quot; He sitteth upon the 

 circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof 

 are as grasshoppers. AH the mnabitants of the 

 earth are reputed as nothing in his sight. The 

 nations are as the drop of a bucket; and he 

 doth according to his will in the armies of keaven. 



