MEMOIR OF RAY. 
53 
mote the spiritual good of others led him, therefore, 
to attempt through the press what he could not ac- 
complish otherwise. The subject which he first 
selected for this purpose was admirably fitted to 
call forth the qualities in which he most excelled, 
and his instructive and enlightened manner of treat- 
ing it has been acknowledged by all. “ The Wisdom 
of God, manifested in the Works of the Creation,” 
the volume to which we allude, has been universally 
admired as an able exposition of the power, the 
goodness, and other attributes of the Deity, as they 
are reflected from the mirror of creation, and as far 
as they can be “ understood by the things that are 
made.” The tendency of his studies, and the cha- 
racteristic qualities of his mind, enabled him to il- 
lustrate the subject with a profusion of facts and 
observations of the most interesting kind ; and 
the w r ork is pervaded by a spirit of sound philoso- 
phy and ardent piety, which confer on it a high 
value. Such was its popularity, that it soon passed 
through many editions, and was translated into se- 
veral languages. It has suggested the plan, and 
furnished many of the most valuable materials, of 
most of the works that have since been written on 
the same topic, and has made the name of Ray fa- 
miliar to the generality of readers even in the pre- 
sent day. 
The success of this work led him to prepare an- 
other of a somewhat similar nature, entitled “ Phy- 
sico-Theological Discourses concerning the primitive 
