NATURAL HISTORY. 



61 



With regard to the religious tendency of the 

 tudy of Natural History, it may be remarked 

 that, as all the objects which it embraces are the 

 workmanship of, God the delineations and de 

 scriptions of the Natural Historian must be con 

 sidered as &quot; The history of the operations of the 

 Creator ;&quot; or, in other words, so far as the science 

 extends, &quot; The histor of the Creator himself:&quot; 

 for the marks of his incessant agency, his power, 

 wisdom, and beneficence, are impressed on every 

 object, however minute, throughout the three 

 kingdoms of nature, and throughout every region 

 of earth, air, and sky. As the Deity is invisi 

 ble to mortal eyes, and cannot be directly con 

 templated by finite minds, without some material 

 medium of communication there are but two me 

 diums \vith which we are acquainted, by which 

 we can attain a knowledge of his nature and per 

 fections. These are, either the facts which have 

 occurred in the course of his providential dispen 

 sations towards our race, since the commence 

 ment of time, and the moral truths connected 

 with them or, the facts which are displayed in 

 the economy of nature. The first class of facts is 

 recorded in the Sacred Hisory, and in the Annals 

 of Nations ; the second class is exhibited in the 

 diversified objects and motions which appear 

 throughout the system of the visible universe. 

 The one may be termed the Moral History, and 

 the other, the Natural History, of the operations 

 of the Creator. It is obviously incumbent on 

 every rational being, to contemplate the Creator 

 through both these mediums ; for each of them 

 conveys its distinct and peculiar revelations ; and 

 consequently our perception of Deity through 

 the one medium does not supersede the neces 

 sity of our contemplating him through the other. 

 While, therefore, it is our duty to contemplate 

 the perfections, the providence, and the agency 

 of God, as displayed in the Scripture Revelation, 

 it is also incumbent upon us, to trace his attri 

 butes in the System of Nature, in order that we 

 may be enable to contemplate the eternal Jeho 

 vah, in every variety of aspect, in which he has 

 been pleased to exhibit himself, in the universe 

 he has formed. 



The visible creation may be considered as a 

 permanent and sensible manifestation of Deity, 

 intended every moment to present to our view 

 the unceasing energies of Him &quot; in whom we 

 live and move.&quot; And if the train of our thoughts 

 were directed in its proper channel, we would 

 perceive God in every object, and in every move 

 ment : we would behold him operating in the 

 whirlwind, and in the storm ; in the subterra 

 neous cavern, and in the depths of the ocean ; in 

 the gentle rain, and the refreshing breeze ; in the 

 rainbow, the fiery meteor, and the lightning s 

 flash ; in the splendours of the sun, and the majes 

 tic movements of the heavens ; in the frisking of 

 the lambs, the songs of birds, and the buzz of in- 

 f ecti , in the circulation of our blood, the move 



ments of our joints, the motion of our eyeballs, 

 and in the rays of light which are continually 

 darting from surrounding objects, for the purposes 

 of vision. For these, and ten thousand other 

 agencies in the system of nature, are nothing 

 else but the voice of Deity, proclaiming to the 

 sons of men, in silent but emphatic language, 

 &quot; Stand still, and consider the wonderful works 

 of God.&quot; 



If, then, it be admitted, that the study of 

 Nature is the study of the Creator to overlook 

 the grand and beautiful scenery with which we 

 are surrounded, or to undervalue any thing which 

 Infinite Wisdom has formed, is to overlook ind 

 contemn the Creator himself. Whatever God 

 has thought proper to create, and to present to 

 our view in the visible world, it becomes man 

 to study and contemplate, that, from thence, he 

 may derive motives to excite him to the exercise 

 of reverence and adoration, of gratitude and 

 praise. In so far as any individual is unac 

 quainted with the various facts of the history of 

 nature, in so far does he remain ignorant of the 

 manifestations of Deity; for every object, on the 

 theatre of the universe, exhibits his character 

 and designs in a different point of view. He 

 who sees God only as he displays himself in his 

 operations on the earth, but has never contem 

 plated the firmament with the eye of reason, must 

 be unacquainted with those amazing energies of 

 eternal Power, which are displayed in the stu 

 pendous fabric and movements of the orbs of 

 heaven. He who sees God only in the general 

 appearances of nature, but neglects to penetrate 

 into his minute operations, must remain igno 

 rant of those astonishing manifestations of divine 

 wisdom and skill which appear in the contri 

 vances, adaptations, and functions of the animal 

 and the vegetable kingdoms. For, the more we 

 know of the work, the more accurate and com 

 prehensive will be our views of the Intelligence 

 by whom it was designed ; and the farther we 

 carry our investigations of the works of God, the 

 more admirable and astonishing will his plans 

 and perfections appear. 



In short, a devout contemplation of the works 

 of nature tends to ennoble the human soul, and 

 to dignify and exalt the affections. It inspires 

 the mind with a relish of the beauty, the harmo 

 ny, and order which subsist in the universe around 

 us it elevates the soul to the love and admira 

 tion of that Being who is the author of our com 

 forts, and of all that is sublime and beneficent in 

 creation, and excites us to join with a!l holy 

 beings in the chorus of praise to the God and 

 Father of all. For they 



&quot;Whom Nature s works can charm, with God himself 

 Hold converse, grow familiar day by day 

 With his conceptions, act upon his plan, 

 And form to his the relish of their souis.&quot; 



The man who surveys the vast field of nature 

 with the eye of reason and devotion, will not only 



