304- HOW TO STUDY NATURAL HISTORY. [xn. 



ignorance and weakness of mortal man ; abashed still 

 more at that rash conceit of his, which makes him 

 fancy himself the measure of all things ; and say with 

 me : " Oh Lord, thy works are manifold ; thy ways are 

 very deep. In wisdom hast thou made them all, the 

 earth is full of thy riches. Thou openest thy hand, 

 and fillest all things living with plenteousness ; they 

 continue this day according to thine ordinance, for all 

 things serve thee. Thou hast made them fast for ever 

 and ever ; thou hast given them a law which shall not 

 be broken. Let them praise the name of the Lord ; 

 for he spake the word and they were made, he com- 

 manded, and they were created." 



This I shall say, but little more than this, on the 

 religious effect of the study of natural history. I do 

 not wish to preach a sermon to you. I can trust 

 God's world to bear better witness than I can, of the 

 Loving Father who made it. I thank him from my own 

 experience for the testimony of His Creation, only next 

 to the testimony of His Bible. I have watched scien- 

 tific discoveries which were supposed in my boyhood 

 to be contrary to revelation, found out one by one to 

 confirm and explain revelation, as crude and hasty 

 theories were corrected by more abundant facts, and 

 men saw more clearly what both the Bible and Nature 

 really did say ; and I can trust that the same process 

 will go on for ever, and that God's earth and God's 

 word will never contradict each other. I have found 

 the average of scientific men, not less, but more, godly 

 and righteous men than the average of their neigh- 

 bours; and I can trust that this will be more and 

 more the case as science deepens and widens. And 

 therefore I can trust that every patient, truthful, and 



