THE CHR AN PHILOSOPHER. 



gain a more comprehensive view of that illimit 

 able power which organized the universe, but 

 will find his sources of enjoyment continually 

 increased, and will feel an ardent desire after 

 that glorious world, where the veil which now 

 hides from our sight some of the grandest mani 

 festations of Deity will be withdrawn, and the 

 wonders of Omnipotence be displayed in all their 

 splendour and perfection. 



In conformity with these sentiments, we find 

 the inspired writers, in numerous instances, call 

 ing our attention to the wonders of creating 

 power and wisdom. In one of the first speeches 

 in which the Almighty is introduced as address 

 ing the sons of men, and the longest one in the 

 Bible,* our attention is exclusively directed to 

 the subjects of Natural History ; the whole 

 address having a reference to the economy of 

 Divine Wisdom in the arrangement of the world 

 at its first creation the wonders of the ocean, 

 and of light and darkness the phenomena of 

 thunder and lightning, rain, hail, snow, frost, and 

 other meteors in the atmosphere the intellectual 

 faculties of man, and the economy and instincts 

 of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and other tribes of 

 animated existence. Indeed, the greater part of 

 the sublime descriptions contained in the book of 

 Job has a direct reference to the agency of God 

 in the material creation, and to the course of his 

 providence in relation to the different characters 

 of men ; and the reasonings of the different 

 speakers in that sacred drama proceed on the sup 

 position that their auditors were intimately ac 

 quainted with the varied appearances of nature, 

 and their tendency to exhibit the character and 

 perfections of the Omnipotent Creator. We find 

 the Psalmist, in the 104th Psalm, employed in a 

 devout description of similar objects, from the 

 contemplation of which his mind is raised to 

 adoring views of their Almighty Author and, 

 from the whole of his survey, he deduces the fol 

 lowing conclusions: &quot;How manifold are thy 

 works, O Lord ! In wisdom thou hast made them 

 all ! The earth is full of thy riches ; so is this 

 great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping 

 innumerable, both small and great beasts. The 

 glory of the Lord shall endure for ever ; the 

 Lord shall rejoice in all his works. f I will sing 

 unto the Lord as long as I live ; I will sing 

 praises to my God, while I have my being.&quot; 



Job, chap, xxxviii. xxxix. xl. xli. 



t The glory of the Lord, in this passage, denotes the 

 display of his perfections in the material universe : 

 and the declaration of the inspired writer plainly 

 intimates, that this display will continue for ever, 

 and will remain as an object of unceasing contem 

 plation to all intelligences, and as an eternal monu 

 ment of his power and wisdom. For, although the 

 earth and the aerial heavens will be changed at the 

 close of that dispensation of Providence which re 

 spects our word, yet the general frame of the uni 

 verse, in its other parts, will remain substantially 

 the same ; and not only so, but will in all probability 

 be perpetually increasing in magnitude and gran 

 deur. And the change which will be effected in respect 



But in order to enter into the spirit of sucft 

 sublime reflections, we must not content ourselves 

 with a superficial and cursory view of the objects 

 and operations of nature, we must not think 

 it sufficient to acquiesce in such vague proposi 

 tions as these &quot; The glory of God is seen in 

 every blade of grass, and every drop of water; 

 all nature is full of wonders, from the dust of the 

 earth to the stars of the firmament.&quot; &quot;We must 

 study the works of creation with ardour, survey 

 them with minute attention, and endeavour to 

 acquire a specific and comprehensive knowledge 

 of the Creator s designs. We must endeavour 

 to acquire a knowledge of the particular modes, 

 circumstances, contexture, configurations, adap 

 tations, structure, functions, and relations of 

 those objects in which benevolence and design 

 conspicuously appear in the animal arid the 

 vegetable world, in the ocean, the atmosphere, 

 and the heavens ; that the mind may be enabled 

 to draw the conclusion with full conviction and 

 intelligence&quot; In wisdom thou hast made them 

 all&quot; The pointed interrogatories which Jeho 

 vah addressed to Job, evidently imply, that Job 

 hat! previously acquired an intimate acquaintance 

 with the works of nature. It seems to be laken 

 for granted, as a matter of course, that he made 

 himself acquainted with the general range of facts 

 in the visible creation ; and the intention of the 

 several questions presented to his consideration 

 evidently was to impress him with a sense of his 

 own impotency, and to lead him to the investiga 

 tion of the wonders of Creating Power which he 

 had formerly overlooked. The conclusion which 

 the Psalmist draws respecting the Wisdom dis 

 played throughout all the works of God, plainly 

 intimates, that he had made the different parts of 

 nature the subject of minute examination, and of 

 deep reflection ; otherwise he could not have ra 

 tionally deduced his conclusion, or felt those emo 

 tions which filled his mind with the pious rapture 

 so beautifully expressed in that hymn of praise 

 to the Creator of the world. 



We have, therefore, reason to believe, from 

 these and other instances, that pious men, &quot; in 

 the days of old,&quot; were much more accustomed 

 than modern Christians to contemplate and ad 

 mire the visible works of the Lord and it is 

 surely much to be regretted, that we who enjoy 

 so many superior means of information; and who 

 have access to the brilliant discoveries of later 

 and more enlightened times, should manifest so 

 much disregard to &quot; the works of Jehovah and 

 the operations of his hands.&quot; To enable the 

 common mass of Christians to enter into the 

 spirit of this delightful study and Christian duty, 

 should, therefore, be one object of those period 

 ical and other religious works which are put into 

 their hands ; so that they may be enabled, with 



to the terraqueous globe and its appendages wl/1 be 

 such that Jehovah will have reason to &quot; rejoice&quot; i 

 this as well as in all his other works. 



