358 



thus we arrive at the interesting and important principle of 

 Unity of plan and purpose emerging from apparent contra- 

 diction and confusion. 



On observing the framework of Creation, we are astonished 

 at the endless diversity of forms and existences of which it is 

 composed. No two things appear to be exactly alike — no two 

 leaves ; no two drops of water ; no two flowers ; no two faces 

 of either man or beast, are in all respects coincident. 



10. The productions of Nature are so dissimilar that we 

 might almost fancy that they were created by difiPerent orders 

 of beings. But when we view them attentively; when we be- 

 come better acquainted with their structure, their functions, 

 and their movements, it appears perfectly plain that they were 

 all formed upon the same plan, subjected to the same laws, and 

 have emanated from the same Almighty mind. For example : 

 nothing can at first sight appear more dissimilar than those 

 shining little points called " planets which wander through 

 the starry sky, and the huge, dark, solid, and apparently im- 

 movable mass of matter on which we reside. They are so dis- 

 similar that for thousands of years no person suspected any 

 resemblance between them ; but it is now ascertained beyond 

 dispute that they are constructed in the same manner, subjected 

 to the same laws — similar in their nature, their functions, and 

 their movements ; thus proving that they have proceeded from 

 the same Almighty hand. 



11. The earth and the planets are both globular bodies. 

 They are both illuminated by the same great light. They both 

 turn round upon themselves, producing day and night. They 

 are both carried round the sun ; thus making years, which dififer 

 only in length. Their axes are inclined to the plane of the 

 orbit in which they move, and consequently they have their 

 springs, their summers, their autumns, and their winters. Some 

 of them, we know, enjoy the same advantages from their atmo- 

 sphere that we do, and, were we nearer to these bodies, we 

 should undoubtedly perceive many other points of similarity. 

 This tends to supply an illustration of Unity of plan and pur- 

 pose, emerging, from what at first sight, appears to be irrecon- 

 cilable diversity and confusion. In our own globe the case is 

 still clearer. New countries are continually being discovered, 

 but the old laws of Nature are always found in them. We 

 meet new plants and animals, but always possessing the same 

 general properties and formed upon the same general mode. 

 We never get amongst such original or totally different modes 

 of existence, as to indicate that we are come into the province 

 of a different Creator, or under the direction of a different 

 will. In fact the same order of thiugs attends us wherever we 



