WISDOM OF THE DEITY. 



the material world, I shall conclude this depart 

 ment of my subject with a single reflection.* 



How foolish and ungrateful is it for rational 

 beings to overlook the wise and benevolent arrange- 

 ments of the Creator, in the material universe ! 

 How many thousands of human beings pass their 

 existence without once reflecting on the numerous 

 evidences of Divine Wisdom and Beneficence, 

 which appear around them, or feeling the least 

 spark of gratitude for their preservation and com 

 forts, to that Being &quot; in whose hand their breath 

 is, and whose are all their ways !&quot; Yea, how 

 many are there who consider themselves as stand- 

 jnghigh in the ranks of the Christian profession, 

 who affect to look down, with a certain degree 

 of contempt, on the study of the material works 

 of God, as if it were too gross a subject for their 

 spiritual attainments ! They profess to trace the 

 wisdom of God in the Scriptures, and to feel gra 

 titude for his pardoning mercy ; but they seldom 

 feel that gratitude which they ought to do for those 

 admirable arrangements in their own bodies, and 

 the elements around them, by which their lives 

 are preserved, and their happiness promoted ; 

 and even seem to insinuate, that they have little 

 or nothing to do with the contrivances of the God 

 of Nature. They leave it to the genius of infidel 

 philosophers to trace the articulations of the 

 bones, the branchings of the veins and arteries, 

 the properties of light, and the composition of 

 the atmosphere, while they profess to feast their 

 minds on more sublime and spiritual entertain 

 ments. But, surely, such astonishing displays 

 of the wisdom and benignity of the Most High, 

 as creation exhibits, were never intended to be 

 treated by his intelligent offspring with apathy 

 or indifference ; and to do so, must indicate a 

 certain degree of ingratitude towards Him whose 

 incessant energy sustains the whole assemblage 

 of sentient and intelligent beings, and who dis 

 plays himself, in their construction and preser 

 vation, tobe &quot; wonderful in counsel, and excellent 

 in working.&quot; Shall we imagine, that, because 

 God stands in the gracious relation of our Re 

 deemer, he has ceased to stand in the relation of 

 our Creator and Preserver ? Or shall we con 

 sider those subjects as unworthy of our attention, 

 which are the theme of the praises of the hea 

 venly host ? Rev. iv. 11. Can we suppose 

 that the Almighty displayed his infinite wisdom 

 in the curious organization of the human eye, 

 that man the only being in this world who is 

 endowed with faculties capable of appreciating 



* Those who wish to prosecute this subject, par 

 ticularly that part of it which relates to the con 

 trivances of Divine Wisdom, which appear in the 

 animal system, will find ample gratification in Nieu- 

 wentyt s &quot; Religious Phiiosorher,&quot; Vol. 1, and Dr. 

 Paley s &quot; Natural Theology.&quot; A variety of useful 

 remarks on this subject will also he found in Ray s 

 &quot; Wisdom of God in the Creation,&quot; Derham s &quot; Phy- 

 slco-Theology,&quot; and Bonnet s &quot; Contemplation of 

 Nature.&quot; 



36 



its structure, and for whose use and entertainment 

 it was intended should overlook such a wonder 

 ful piece of Divine workmanship, and feel not 

 gratitude for the bestowment of so admirable a 

 gift ? Shall we extol the ingenuity displayed in 

 a clock or a watch, in a chess-player, or a steam 

 engine, and shall we feel no sentiment of admira 

 tion at the view of millions of instances of Divine 

 mechanism which infinitely transcend the powers 

 of the human understanding ? To act in this 

 manner, as too many are disposed to do, is un 

 worthy of man, both as a Christian and as an 

 intelligent agent. Such was not the conduct of 

 the inspired writers ; their spirituality of views 

 did not lead them to neglect the contemplation 

 of any of the works of God. &quot; I will meditate 

 on all thy works,&quot; says the Psalmist, &quot; and talk 

 of all thy doings ; I will utter abundantly the me 

 mory of thy great goodness, and speak of thy 

 wondrous works.&quot; Accordingly we find, that 

 the wonders of the human frame, the economy 

 of the animal and the vegetable tribes, the scenery 

 of the &quot; dry land,&quot; and of the &quot; mighty deep,&quot; 

 and the glories of the heavens, were the frequent 

 subjects of their devout contemplation. They 

 consider them in relation to the unceasing agency 

 of God, by whom they were formed and arranged, 

 and as declaring his Wisdom, Goodness, and Om 

 nipotence : and, with this view, ought all the 

 scenes of the visible creation to be investigated 

 by his intelligent creatures. 



We have reason to believe, that it is owing, 

 in part, to want of attention to the Divine wisdom 

 and beneficence, as exhibited in the construction of 

 the visible world, that many professed Christians 

 entertain so vague and confused ideas respect 

 ing the wisdom and goodness (if Deity, as dis 

 played in the economy of Redemption. The 

 terms, Wisdom, Goodness, and Beneficence, 

 in their mouths, become words almost without 

 meaning, to which no precise or definite ideas 

 are attached ; because they have never considered 

 the instances and the evidence of these attribute,&quot; 

 displayed in the material creation. And, ifow 

 minds have not been impressed with a sense e/ 

 the wisdom and beneficence of God, in those ob 

 jects which are presented to the external sens*, 

 we cannot be supposed to have luminous and 

 distinct ideas of those spiritual objects and ar 

 rangements which are removed beyond the sphere 

 of our corporeal organs. For all our ideas, in reJa- 

 tion to Religion and its objects, are primarily 

 derived from the intimations we receive of exter 

 nal objects, through the medium of ou* senws ; 

 and, consequently, the more clearly we perccir* 

 the agency of God, in his visible operates, &* 

 more shall we be qualified to perceive the w aitff 

 and harmony ofhis dispensations, &s mxsnfei & 

 the volume of inspiration. 



We live in a world, all the arrangers***!* V 

 which are the effects of infinite Wisri^w, ?* 



