INTRODUCTION. 



in an opposite direction, 1 have made little 

 or no inquiry as to what is delivered in 

 Scripture on physical subjects, or with 

 respect to the causes of the various phe- 

 nomena exhibited in our system, or in the 

 physical universe : but surely it is a most 

 interesting, as well as novel field of study, 

 for the philosopher to ascertain what has 

 really been revealed in Scripture on these 

 great subjects. The opinions of the ancients 

 upon this head have been investigated and 

 canvassed, and an approximation traced be- 

 tween them, in some respects, to those of 

 modern philosophers: 2 if the same diligence 

 was exercised upon the Scriptures, we might 

 arrive at information with regard to the great 

 powers that, under God, rule the physical 

 universe, which it is hopeless to gain by the 

 usual means of investigation. 



But the great difficulty lies in the inter- 

 pretation of those passages of Scripture that 

 relate to physical Phenomena. Bacon often 

 repeats these words of Solomon, It is the 

 glory of God to conceal a thing. As Moses, 

 when he descended from the mount, was 



1 The Hutchinsonians. 



* See Prof. Daubeny's Introd. to the Atomic Theory, 13. 



