

148 



THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



Burnet, * all that unaffected neylect of pomp in 

 clothes, lodging, furniture, and equipage, which 

 agreed with his grave and serious course of life,&quot; 

 and was courteous and condescending to the 

 meanest of his fellow men. &quot; He had, &quot;says the 

 same author, &quot;the profoundest veneration for the 

 great God of heaven and earth, that I ever ob 

 served in any person. The very name of God 

 was never mentioned by him without a pause, 

 and a visible stop in his discourse ,&quot; and the 

 tenor of his philosophical and theological writings 

 is in complete unison with these traits of cha 

 racter. Sir Isaac Newton, too, whose genius 

 seemed to know no limits but those of the visible 

 universe, was distinguished by his modesty, hu 

 mility, and meekness of temper. He had such 

 an mimble opinion of himself, that he had no re 

 lish of the applause which was so deservedly paid 

 him. He would have let others run away with 

 the glory of his inventions, if his friends and 

 countrymen had not been more jealous of his ho 

 nour than he was himself. He said, a little be 

 fore his death, &quot; I do not know what I may ap 

 pear to the world, but to myself I seem to have 

 been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, 

 and diverting myself in now and then finding a 

 pebble or a pre ttier shell than ordinary, whilst 

 the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered be 

 fore me.&quot; 



The same sentiment might have been illus 

 trated from the lives of Bacon, Locke, Dr. 

 Boerhaave, Hervey, Nieuwentyt, Ray, Derham, 

 the Abbe Pluche, Bonnet, and other eminent 

 characters, who devoted their stores of know 

 ledge to the illustration of the Christian system. 

 For an extensive knowledge of the operations of 

 God has a natural tendency to produce humility 

 and veneration ; and wherever it is combined with 

 pride and arrogance, either among philosophers 

 or divines, it indicates a lamentable deficiency, 

 if not a complete destitution of Christian prin 

 ciple, and of all those tempers which form the 

 bond of union among holy intelligences. After 

 the attention of Job had been directed to the 

 works of God, and when he had contemplated 

 the inexplicable phenomena of the divine agency 

 in the material world, he was ashamed and con 

 founded at his former presumption ; and, in deep 

 humility, exclaimed, u I have heard of thee by 

 the hearing of the ear ; but now mine eye seeth 

 thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in 

 dust and ashes.&quot; In accordance with what has 

 been now stated, we find that the most exalted 

 intelligences, who, of course, possess the most 

 views of the works and providential 



arrangements of God. are representeo us also 

 the most mini Die in .heir ulsportment aad as 

 displaying the most u-ofound &quot;everence in their 

 incessant adorations. Tbev &quot;^ sui aou;n before 

 Him who sits upon .he throne : and coat thev 

 crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art wor 

 thy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and 

 power; for thou hast created all things, and for 

 thy pleasure they are and were created.&quot; Their 

 moral conduct evinces the same lowly temper of 

 mind. They wait around the throne, in the at 

 titude of motion, with wings outspread ready to 

 fly, on the first signal of their Sovereign s will ; 

 they &quot; do his commandments, hearkening to the 

 voice of his word,&quot; and do not disdain to perform 

 important services, in our wretched world, to 

 the meanest, human being who is numbered 

 among &quot; the heirs of salvation.&quot; In like man 

 ner, were we endued with the grasp of intellect, 

 the capacious minds, the extensive knowledge, 

 and the moral powers which they possess, we 

 would also display the same humble and reve 

 rential spirit, and feel ashamed of those emotion? 

 of vanity and pride, which dispose so many of 

 the human family to look down with contempt 

 on their fellow mortals. 



If the leading train of sentiment which per 

 vades this volume be admitted, the following ge 

 neral conclusions may be adduced : That, in 

 conducting the religious instruction of the young, 

 the works of God in the material world, and the 

 most striking discoveries which have been made 

 as to their magnitude, variety, and mechanism, 

 should be frequently exhibited to their view in 

 minute detail ; as illustrations of the attributes 

 of the Deity, and of those descriptions of his 

 nature and operations contained in the volume 

 of inspiration ; that the books put into their 

 hands should contain, among other subjects, po 

 pular and striking descriptions of the facts and 

 appearances of nature ; that seminaries should 

 be established for the occasional instruction of 

 young persons, from the age of 15 to the age of 

 20 or 30, or upwards, in all those popular branches 

 of natural and moral science which have a ten 

 dency to enlarge the capacity of their minds, and 

 to expand their conceptions of the incessant agen 

 cy of God ; and that the ru-rdsters cf religion, in 

 their public instructions, snouia rreouently blend 

 their discussions of divine TOPICS vrith illustra 

 tions derived from the scenes 01 creation and pro 

 vidence. 



