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 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, 
 By R. Clay, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate; 
 
 AND SOLD BY BURTON & SMITH, 156, LEADENHALL STREET; 
 WILLIAMS AND CO. STATIONERS’ COURT: CONDER, ST. PAUL'S 
 CHURCH-YARD ; AND BAYNES, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON : 
 FLETCHER, SOUTHAMPTON ; AND ROWDEN, 
 
 NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
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 PREFACE. 
 
 ‘Tue human mind is constituted on active prin- 
 ciples ; a state of quiescence is not natural to it. 
 Prompted by curiosity, or animated by a thirst for 
 knowledge, it is ever anxious to extend its researches 
 beyond the boundaries which it has attained, and to 
 acquire new ideas. Such being the constitution of the 
 human mind, the exertion of its powers to the utmost 
 of their ability, in obtaining knowledge, is highly 
 commendable. But as the happiness of man depends | 
 on the nature of his acquirements, and as the correct- 
 ness of his morals will be in proportion to the ac- 
 curacy of his principles, nothing can be more obvious 
 than that it is of the utmost moment his attention 
 should be directed to proper objects of contemplation ; 
 and that the operations of his mind should be 
 under the control of an accurate judgment. An 
 error here may lead to results beyond description 
 calamitous, 
 
1s, PREFACE. 
 
 All the objects which invite our attention are 
 either of human or of divine origin; and they bear 
 upon them characteristics which determine their 
 author. I would not be supposed to depreciate 
 human science, or disparage those surprising efforts of 
 the mind, which various pieces of mechanism demon- 
 strate: but, granting to the efforts of created intellect 
 all the admiration which they can justly claim, will 
 they, for one moment, bear a comparison with the 
 productions of Deity? The highest efforts of human 
 ingenuity sink into insignificance when viewed in 
 comparison with the least of the works of God. 
 Created intellect is narrow in its resources. Our 
 Inventive career is soon exhausted, or speedily im- 
 peded by insurmountable obstacles ; and imperfection 
 is discoverable in every thing which the mind of man 
 originates, and which his hands execute. The most 
 complete work which is the offspring of his skill has its 
 blemishes. But these imperfections are not discover- 
 able in the works of a divine agency; the lowest efforts 
 of his creative power contain a perfection of structure, 
 and a complication of parts, which astonish the greatest 
 human intellect, while existing facts clearly demon- 
 strate that his resources are infinite. In his works 
 there is an undefinable variety to amuse, almighty 
 power to surprise, exhaustless goodness to engage, and 
 unbounded wisdom to delight, every attentive beholder. 
 
 If the works of God so infinitely surpass those 
 of man, it follows, that a knowledge of the former 
 
PREFACE. iil 
 
 must, in the same proportion, exceed in importance 
 that of the latter. Every new attainment here tends 
 to enrich the mind for eternity, while it yields an 
 ample compensation in the present state for the 
 labour of acquiring it. And never are the powers of 
 the soul so rationally, and so nobly employed, as when 
 their utmost energy is engaged in pursuits so truly sub- 
 lime. That man is in a state at once most criminal 
 and most pitiable, who can pass along the journey 
 of life which leads him through a universe of wonders, 
 all of which discover that gracious Being to whom 
 they are intended to conduct him, and yet neither 
 admire his works, nor love their author. Objects 
 which will engage the attention, and excite the 
 admiration of angels, and of the spirits of just men 
 made perfect to an unceasing e¢ernity, surely cannot 
 be unworthy of the investigation of intellectual beings 
 during the period of their probation in ¢zme. 
 
 The volume of inspiration constantly appeals to 
 the facts of nature*in order to illustrate the perfections 
 of deity, and to explain spiritual and moral truths to 
 the human mind; while the objects of nature lend 
 their willing aid, and surprisingly well perform the 
 important services required. It has therefore been 
 a matter of great astonishment, that natural philo- 
 sophy and scripture theology should ever have been 
 
 considered as opponents, and as supporting contrary 
 interests. What do the Sacred Scriptures design 
 but to instruct us in those things which relate to 
 
iv | PREFACE, 
 
 God? And does not nature teach the same? Does 
 not he who was pre-eminently a teacher sent from 
 God, sanctify philosophy by employing its various 
 objects in order to convey divine truth in the most 
 comprehensible form to the human mind? This mode 
 of instruction was so general with him, that it is 
 remarked,—“ Without a parable spake he not unto 
 them.” And his parables, in general, were founded 
 on the facts of nature, and spoken with all the accu- 
 racy which a perfect acquaintance with the philosophy 
 of those facts could furnish. 
 
 Philosophy is so blended with the religion of the 
 Sacred Scriptures by the spirit of inspiration, that an 
 attempt to separate them would do violence to arrange- 
 ments which have been made by infinite intelligence. 
 This union indeed is so intimate, that many portions 
 of divine revelation cannot be understood without 
 a knowledge of nature; and the excellency and sub- 
 limity of other passages, cannot be discovered without 
 some acquaintance with nature as‘well in its causes 
 as in its effects. That theologian is therefore 
 qualified to be an able expositor of the volume of 
 inspiration, in whom are united a renovated heart, 
 and a sound philosophy. Possessed of an under- 
 standing illuminated by the spirit of God, he will 
 so employ the objects of creative power, as to 
 display the truths of revelation to advantage, and 
 conduct the mind 
 
 “ from Nature up to Nature’s God.” 
 
PREFACE. : Vv 
 
 There is a philosophy, indeed, but “it is falsely 
 so called,” which is inimical to revelation, and de- 
 structive of its grand peculiarities. Of this we cannot 
 be too cautious. It is the ally and the slave of 
 infidelity ; and is composed of elements gathered from 
 the regions of an universal skepticism. It is pom- 
 pously arrayed in words of human vanity, and under 
 fair pretences deludes the unwary, while it fascinates 
 and delights the depraved heart. It designs to serve 
 a cause which is hostile to truth and human happi- 
 ness, and robs true science of a title to which it 
 has no legitimate claim, by which to aid its operations. 
 But shall Christians abandon the thing, because infi- 
 delity has abused its name ? 
 
 While philosophy aids our conceptions of the 
 truths of revelation, and is in perfect unison with 
 them so far as nature can accompany revelation ;— 
 for even the present advanced state of science has 
 not demonstrated the smallest discrepance between 
 them :—yet, as the latter is intended to teach us what 
 is not to be known from the former, we must expect 
 revelation to contain what cannot be comprehended 
 by philosophy or reason.. This is the fact. And 
 under this view of things, what can be more absurd 
 than to reject the truths of revelation because they 
 cannot be explained by the rules of philosophy? or 
 to discard the aids of philosophy because it cannot 
 unravel the mysteries of revelation? Nature and 
 revelation are two volumes written by the same hand ; 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 and each develops truths agreeable to the design of 
 the great Author, and accordant with the necessities 
 of the human race. 
 
 Many, whose sentiments are hostile to the grand 
 peculiarities of Christianity, ave arrogated to them- 
 selves the dignified title of philosophers ; and in 
 the most presumptuous and insolent manner, have 
 insulted and assailed those sacred truths of which 
 they were totally ignorant ; and endeavoured, with all 
 the arts of an infernal agency, to hold up religion, 
 and those who have professed it, to contempt and 
 insult, while they propagated sentiments which tend 
 to dissolve all the bonds of social order. In senti- 
 ment they are infidels; and in practice, atheists. Not 
 distinguishing between real philosophy and the wicked 
 designs which some propose to accomplish by as- 
 suming the title of philosophers, many pious persons 
 have imagined that philosophy tends to skepticism, 
 infidelity, and atheism. This supposition 1s_per- 
 fectly groundless and illegitimate. ‘True philosophy 
 is the friend of Christianity, and solicits to be her 
 associate and companion. They serve no jarring 
 interests ; they proceed in parallel courses, and aim 
 to advance the same ulterior object, which is—the 
 clorifying of God. 
 
 The Author of this volume has long thought 
 a work of this nature a desideratum in the religious 
 world, not only to correct the evil just named, but 
 to meet that thirst for information on these topics 
 
PREFACE. vil 
 
 which has been excited, especially among young 
 persons of respectability. The books which have 
 ‘been published on similar subjects are encumbered 
 with so much superfluous matter, exploded phi- 
 losophy, and abstruse and uninteresting metaphysics, 
 as to render them unsuitable to the present day. The 
 writer has endeavoured to introduce into his work 
 such facts and principles as he thought would, at the 
 same time, interest the understandings, and_ benefit 
 the hearts of his readers. As he treats of positive 
 FACTS, and not uncertain spECULATIONS, he did 
 not deem a splendid or pompous style necessary or 
 suitable; but has aimed at a plain and lucid diction, 
 as that which he conceived the most becoming the 
 nature of his subject. Where he could, he has 
 avoided technical phraseology ; and excepting proper 
 names, which to some may have the appearance of 
 it, the Reader will find but few words which are not 
 commonly understood. 
 
 Whatever we discover in the works of God 
 WHICH IS ADAPTED TO CERTAIN ENDS, we ascribe 
 to that glorious attribute of his nature which we call 
 Wispom. In this sense the term wisdom is em- 
 ployed through this volume, which proposes to con- 
 centrate information illustrative of Divine Wisdom, 
 gathered from the vast and interesting regions of 
 Creation, Providence, and Redemption. The Author 
 supposes that those, in general, into whose hands this 
 effort of his pen is likely to fall, are better acquainted 
 
vill | PREFACE. 
 
 with the subjects discussed in the two last Essays, 
 than with that treated of in the first:—this will ac- 
 count for the disproportjon which will be seen in their 
 length. 
 
 The Author can assure the Reader that it is with 
 great diffidence he appears before the Public in this 
 volume: however, he feels encouragement from a con- 
 sciousness of the best intentions. ‘The great variety 
 of subjects discussed, and his distance from the 
 press, he hopes, will apologise for any errors, either 
 of subject or of typography, which may have 
 escaped his notice. Public or private criticism he 
 will receive with thankfulness, from the hope, that a 
 second edition of the work, should it be destined to 
 this honour, will obtain from it essential advan- 
 tages. 
 
 Newport, Isle of Wight, 
 April, 1818. 
 
Contents. 
 
 Page 
 Essay .1.—On Creation ...........2. 5 
 Essay II.—On Providence........... 327 
 
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 DESCRIBING 
 
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Part First. 
 
 —@—— 
 
 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 Iw the Creation of this Earth, the Deity had 
 prospective intentions. But a small part of his design 
 was accomplished when he had given being to the 
 materials of which it is composed. The power which 
 he exerted was under the direction of that Wisdom 
 which meets every purpose with adequate means for 
 its completion. ‘The quantity of matter created, the 
 diversity of its essential properties, their order and 
 proportions, and the general modification of the 
 whole, were perfectly adjusted to those future ar- 
 rangements which he had determined to give them. 
 
 The general form given to this vast mass of ma- 
 terials, is the first thing to be noticed. It was to be 
 such as to allow of changing seasons, a diurnal re-" 
 volution, and the ebbing and flowing of tides. Every 
 possible shape was within the power of Omnipotence, 
 and one as easy of accomplishment as another ;—- 
 but which of these forms is the most suitable to the 
 
6 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 FORM OF THE EARTH. 
 
 purposes just mentioned? We can conceive of no 
 one in all respects so fit as the globular. Every other 
 would have been attended with obvious inconvenience. 
 Had it been cubical, or an extended plane, or cylin- 
 drical, or conical, or prismatic, or any other within 
 the reach of our imagination, these essential results 
 could not have taken place with equal order and 
 facility. 
 
 Now that such is really the form of the earth, is 
 incontrovertible. For if a ship be sailing from a 
 person placed on the shore, he first loses sight of her 
 hull, then of her masts gradually from the lower 
 parts, till she quite disappears. If, again, a ship set 
 off in an easterly direction, she will circumnavigate 
 the earth, and return by the west. . A lunar eclipse 
 is occasioned by the shadow of the earth falling upon 
 the disk of the moon; and that shadow always forms 
 a dark circle, more or less perfect, in proportion to 
 the extent of the eclipse. But these phenomena could 
 not take place unless the earth were spherical. It is 
 not indeed a regular globe, but an oblate spheroid; 
 and its diameter at the poles is something less than 
 at the equator. ‘The shape of the earth very much 
 resembles that of an orange, its flatted sides corre- 
 Sponding with the polar regions. 
 
 An objection may be made to what has. been 
 mentioned, and some difficulty may arise in the mind 
 respecting the spherical shape of the earth, on account 
 of thosé¢ vast mountains and deep vallies which 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 7 
 | THE EFFECTS OF THE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. 
 
 a EN I eas 
 abound in most countries. But when it is considered 
 how small a proportion these bear to the whole 
 superficies of a globe whose circumference is twenty- 
 four thousand miles, it will be obvious that the highest 
 mountains no more prevent its being spherical, than 
 a few particles of sand sprinkled upon an artificial 
 globe of twelve inches in diameter, would destroy its 
 rotundity. 
 
 The Matter, of which this globe is formed, was 
 perhaps originally in a soft or pulpy state. Its ro- 
 tatory motion on its own axis from west to east, which 
 is extremely rapid, has generally been supposed to 
 have occasioned this shape, as that motion would 
 make the soft matter to rush towards the equator 
 with a disposition to fly off by the centrifugal force. 
 However, a modern writer on this subject has at- 
 tempted to show that this earth was made ror such 
 a motion, and not so shaped By it, in order that the 
 water might be kept from accumulating at the polar 
 regions, and be thrown towards the equator, as its 
 presence there is essentially necessary. There is con- 
 siderable force in this observation; and if true, it 
 affords an additional discovery of divine wisdom and 
 goodness, in the structure of the earth. However, I 
 feel disposed to think that it received its present 
 formation both By this motion, and in order to it. 
 Admitting the accuracy of the Mosaic account of the 
 Creation, we shall not dispute that the surface, at 
 least, of this earth was in a soft state. And as it seems 
 
8 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 ; COMPONENT PARTS OF THE EARTH. | 
 
 that its diurnal rotation on its own axis was then 
 communicated to it, and as it will not be disputed by 
 any who are acquainted with the natural effects of 
 that motion, that an accumulation of matter would 
 take place towards the equator, so it will follow that 
 such a shape as I have mentioned would be the 
 consequence. In the mean time that the more pon- 
 derous materials of this globe were accumulating 
 towards the equator, the water was retiring into its 
 appointed channels. The earth acquiring a state of 
 solidity, the process would gradually cease ; otherwise, 
 such must have been its protuberance at the equator, 
 that it would have assumed the shape of a circular 
 superficies, whose polar diameter would have borne 
 but a small proportion to its equatorial, and the 
 consequence would have been an entire unfitness 
 for the purposes of its creation; and hence a defect 
 of wisdom in the great first cause would have been 
 evident. 
 
 Having mentioned the Shape of the earth, let us 
 now consider the various Materials of which it is 
 composed, . which affords a striking discovery of 
 foresight and design. ‘These materials present a 
 surprising diversity of substances, which, when com- 
 bined with each other, and with all the varieties of 
 their own species, constitute an almost infinite variety 
 of substances ;—a variety so great, that chemistry, 
 even in its present improved state, embraces probably 
 but a small part of it. 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 9 
 
 NUMBER OF ELEMENTARY BODIES. 
 
 The Elementary Bodies, or those which are inca- 
 pable of decomposition, at present known, are forty- 
 seven. Of these, thirty-eight are metals; six are 
 inflammable bodies; and three, substances which 
 unite with metals and inflammable bodies, and form 
 with them acids, alkalies, earths, or other analagous 
 compounds. ‘The Chemical Elements acted upon 
 by attractive powers, combine in different aggregates. 
 In their simpler combinations, they produce various 
 crystalline substances, distinguished by the regularity 
 of their forms. In more complicated arrangements 
 they constitute the varieties of. vegetable and animal 
 substances, bear the higher character of organization, 
 and are rendered subservient to the purposes of life. 
 And by the influence of heat, light, and electrical 
 - powers, there is a constant series of changes ;—matter 
 assumes new forms; the destruction of one order of 
 beings tends to the conservation of another; solution 
 and consolidation, decay and renovation, are con- 
 nected ; and whilst the parts of the system continue 
 in a state of fluctuation and change, the order and’. 
 harmony of the whole remain unalterable. * 
 
 I shall consider the Inorganic Bodies belonging 
 to the globe, as either Soxips or Fiuips. 
 
 er een. 
 - 
 
 * Sir Humphry Davy’s Agricultural Chemistry. 
 
10 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 METALS.—MALLEABILITY OF GOLD. 
 
 THE SOLID MATERIALS OF THIS GLOBE. 
 
 Somenties. “otaemeeed 
 
 Metats are simple bodies, characterized by 
 their absolute opacity, great degree of gravity, pecu- 
 liar brilliancy, and insolubility in water. Some of 
 them possess a considerable degree of ductility, but 
 this property is not common to them all. Almost 
 all the metals seem to be capable of impressing the 
 organs with a peculiar taste and smell’. Professor 
 Davy mentions thirty-eight different sorts already 
 known. All of these have different degrees of im- 
 portance and usefulness in the grand economy. The 
 uses of the more common metals are well known. 
 They contribute to domestic convenience, agricultural 
 improvement, and a variety of important purposes 
 in the different arts of civilized society. Metals enter 
 into the constitution of almost all other bodies; they 
 are found in plants, stones, and even floating along 
 the arteries and veins* of many animals. 
 
 Of all the metals, gold is the most susceptible of 
 malleability and ductility; and on these accounts, 
 together with its not being liable to corrosion from 
 ee a ee 
 
 ° Parkinson. | 
 * A small proportion of iron is found in the blood of some 
 animals, and is supposed to be the cause of its red colour. 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 11 
 
 SOILS AFFORD FOOD TO PLANTS. 
 
 the action of the atmosphere, it is applicable to a 
 variety of most important purposes. It has been 
 calculated that it would take fourteen millions of 
 films of gold, such as cover some fine gilt wire, to 
 make up the thickness of one inch; whereas fourteen 
 million leaves of common printing paper make up 
 almost three quarters of a mile; and that one ounce 
 of it is sufficient to gild a silver wire more than 
 thirteen hundred miles in length. 
 
 The Eartus which are known, are nine in 
 number; of different qualities, characteristics, and 
 uses. ‘Their essential properties, like the essential 
 properties of all other substances of our globe, are 
 but little known. It is from them principally that 
 vegetables derive their stamina, and their grand sup- 
 port. By being mixed together in different propor- 
 tions, under different circumstances, a great variety 
 of earths is produced, forming soils suited to the 
 almost unbounded variety of vegetables which cover 
 the surface of this globe, and which derive their 
 respective nutriment from them. Lach class of vege- 
 tables requires a composition of these earths, in some 
 respects different from all others, that it may grow 
 with vigour, and subserve the purposes of its original 
 formation. Some vegetables require a soil of a more 
 loose, others of a more compact consistence; and 
 this variety of compositions is found upon the face 
 of the globe, most exactly adapted to the necessities 
 of vegetation. 
 
12 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 = 
 
 THE LOADSTONE. 
 ee ee 
 
 Those masses of matter which we call STONES, 
 are composed principally of the nine earths mixed 
 together in different proportions and numbers. Some 
 stones are nearly simple, formed by a concretion of 
 one earth to the exclusion of almost all the rest 5 
 others are compounded of two, three, or all the 
 earths, embracing also metals, salts, shells, and a 
 number of other substances, constituting stones of 
 different textures, solidity, and variety, almost innu-. 
 merable. ‘Their uses in society are too well known 
 to need description. 
 
 There is one of. these substances, which, on 
 account of its singular properties, and peculiar im- 
 portance to mankind,. deserves to be mentioned ;—it 
 is the Loapsrone. Though its application to the 
 purposes of navigation is comparatively of recent 
 date, Providence seems to have conferred on it ex- 
 clusive properties, with an original regard to its 
 ulterior appropriation. The fluid, or peculiar pro- 
 perty of this stone, be it what it may, (for it has 
 hitherto completely baffled the skill of the most acute 
 philosopher to say what it is,) is capable of being 
 communicated to a metallic needle, which, when 
 balanced upon a pivot, directs one of its ends to 
 the north pole. Aided by the magnetic needle, ships 
 are navigated from one country to another the most 
 remote, with an exactness and certainty which was 
 thought impossible before this great discovery was 
 made. The destruction of this fluid, or its sus- 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 43 
 
 THE MATERIALS AND SOLIDITY OF THE EARTH DISCOVER WISDOM. 
 
 pension, would occasion an almost entire interrup- 
 tion of that intercourse which is carried on by the 
 nations of the earth, so necessary to their mutual 
 advantage. 
 
 A variety of other substances might be mentioned 
 under the class of solids, such as salts, sulphurs, and 
 alkalies; but the design of this work forbids enlarge- 
 ment on this part of our subject. And though, when 
 we look upon these objects, they appear rude, shape- 
 less, and uncouth; yet, when we analyse their parts, 
 and develop their physical properties, we see that 
 they possess the finest and most important qualities, 
 —food for the most fragrant flowers, and the most 
 delicious fruits. What foresight is here manifest on 
 the part of the Deity, in regarding the necessities of 
 plants and animals! and what wisdom appears in the 
 formation of these objects, so suitable to their respec- 
 tive ends !—Animals require vegetables, possessed of 
 certain properties, for their nutriment ;—these vege- 
 tables demand also their support from the soils in 
 which they grow,—and these soils are endowed with 
 all the requisite qualities. How evident the wisdom 
 of that Being, who is wonderful in counsel, and 
 mighty in executing ! 
 
 These various materials, blended and brought into 
 contiguity, form the dry land, which is destined to 
 support animals and vegetables. The surface of the 
 earth is so tempered with a due proportion of water, 
 as to be neither so soft as to yield under the incum- 
 
14 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 MEANS OF THE EARTH’S DUE TEMPERATURE. 
 
 bent pressure, nor so hard as to forbid the roots of 
 plants from penetrating into its pores; and by this 
 means at the same time acquiring firmness, and 
 obtaining their food. 
 
 The same unerring skill is apparent in the preserva- 
 tion of the earth in a temperature suited to vegetation. 
 Were the earth subject to as great a degree of 
 cold as the atmosphere by which it is invested, the | 
 vegetable creation would be destroyed by its inten- 
 sity. But a most wise and merciful provision is 
 made by the Creator against this, and to continue 
 the earth in nearly the same temperature in even the 
 coldest regions. When the atmosphere is reduced 
 to thirty-two degrees, the water which is contained 
 in it is congealed, descends in snow, and covers the 
 earth. Snow being a bad conductor of heat, it 
 refuses to carry off that which the earth contains ; 
 so that the parts covered by the snow are but rarely 
 reduced below the above temperature of thirty-two 
 degrees, which most vegetables can bear without 
 being destroyed. 
 
 ene ene 
 
 THE FLUIDS WHICH BELONG TO THIS GLOBE. 
 
 Warer is the first of those fluid bodies I shall 
 mention. It occupies nearly two-thirds of the sur- 
 face of the globe, in oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 15 
 
 THE COMPONENT PARTS OF WATER. 
 
 And besides the surface which it covers, it is diffused 
 over the earth by means of perforations and channels, 
 which, like the arteries and veins of animals, carry 
 this important element in all directions; and these 
 lie so contiguous to each other, that a well of three 
 or four feet in diameter can scarcely any where be 
 sunk, but a vein is cut, and water springs up. 
 
 Excepting a few degrees round the poles of the 
 earth, which are not inhabited, it is found generally 
 in a fluid state, and so remains until it is deprived of 
 its caloric or fire, when it immediately becomes ice, 
 and is then unfit for most of its invaluable pur- 
 poses. In its fluid and useful state, it therefore con- 
 tains a considerable quantity of heat, which it derives 
 from the incumbent atmosphere, and which at once 
 preserves it liquid, and contributes largely to the 
 support and increase of organic bodies. 
 
 Water was generally supposed formerly to be a 
 simple uncompounded body ;_ but it is now determined 
 by analysis to be a compound. I need here only give 
 the opinion of an eminent chemist. “ Water,” says he, 
 “is an uninflammable fluid, and when pure, is trans- 
 parent, colourless, and void of taste and smell. It 
 is formed by the union of hydrogen and oxygen (gas), 
 and may be considered as an owvide of hydrogen; 
 oxygen and hydrogen appearing to unite only in that 
 certain proportion, of which water is the result*.” One 
 
 « Parkinson. 
 
16 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF OXYGEN, &c. ON VEGETATION. 
 
 hundred parts of water are found to consist of eighty- 
 five parts of oxygen, and fifteen of hydrogen gas‘°. 
 
 An experiment has been made for the purpose of 
 forming water by these gases. Nearly two hogsheads 
 of hydrogen gas, weighing one thousand and thirty- 
 nine grains; and about one hogshead of oxygen gas, 
 weighing six thousand two hundred and ten grains; 
 amounting together to seven thousand two hundred 
 and forty-five grains, were used in this experiment, 
 and the whole produced about three-fourths of a 
 wine pint of pure water. Water, when decomposed, 
 or reduced to its primary elements, yields these two 
 gases.—Which of these substances was originally 
 formed? Was the whole of the water on the face of 
 this globe formed by the combination of these gases ; 
 or were these gases formed by the decomposition of 
 water? The one or the other of these suppositions 
 is probably the fact. Either supposition gives us a 
 most grand and overwhelming idea of the wisdom 
 and power of the Creator. j 
 
 A modern author raised a variety of vegetables, 
 under circumstances where they could derive no 
 nutriment from soil, and which were supplied with 
 distilled water only. Afterwards he submitted them 
 to a careful analysis, and each kind yielded products 
 exactly the same as if they had been grown in soil; 
 
 * Gregory’s Economy of Nature. 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 17 
 
 WATER A PART OF NEARLY ALL SUBSTANCES. 
 
 he concludes his account by remarking, that “Oxygen 
 and hydrogen, with the assistance of solar light, 
 appear to be the only elementary substances em- 
 ployed in the constitution of the whole universe ; 
 and nature, in her simple progress, works the most 
 infinitely diversified effects by the slightest modifica- 
 tion in the means she employs.”! 
 
 The particles of matter of which water is com- 
 posed, are extremely small, so that it enters into 
 the pores of almost all other bodies with facility, 
 affords support to animals and vegetables, and forms 
 an important part of nearly all the substances of 
 this globe. In the sea it is mixed with a considerable 
 proportion of salt, to preserve it from a state of putre- 
 faction. Diffused over the face of the earth, either 
 by springs under its surface, or by rain from the atmo- 
 sphere, it is found fresh, or freed from its saline 
 particles. For as those particles are heavier and 
 more gross than the water with which they are mixed, 
 they are separated either by evaporation, by means 
 of which the clouds are formed to supply the earth 
 with rain, or by a filtration through the earth, when 
 it enters into the subterranean aqueducts which 
 supply us with springs. It is essentially necessary 
 that it should be reduced to this state, in order to 
 serve the purposes of animal nutriment, and sup- 
 plying our domestic necessities, 
 
 * Parkes. 
 ¢ 
 
18 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 a aS 
 
 THE USES OF WATER. 2 
 
 In addition to the above remarks on the pro- 
 perties and. utility of this important fluid in the 
 economy of nature, it may be remarked, that it forms 
 an element which supports creatures innumerable, 
 both small and great, from the monstrous whale to 
 the animalcule, thousands of which float and play 
 in a single drop; it links together the most distant 
 nations, and affords the means of the freest inter- 
 course amongst them; it softens the earth, and pre- 
 serves it ina proper state for the wise purposes of 
 its formation; and is subservient to innumerable 
 other ends, which could not have been answered 
 by it had it been formed on different principles, or 
 under any other modification. 
 
 Water brings the different soils into a proper 
 state to perform their office. Dry earth of itself has 
 little effect; but when moistened, it bas the property 
 of decomposing atmospheric air, and of conveying 
 its oxygen to the roots of those plants which vegetate 
 within it.® | 
 
 Had water been as solid as earth on the one 
 hand, or as subtile as air on the other, it would have 
 been utterly unfit for any of the important uses to 
 which it is now appropriated, and for which it 1s 
 most exactly adapted." 
 
 ® See Parkes. 
 
 " The following curious and interesting experiments were 
 performed recently, during a voyage to Malta, which show the 
 influence of the pressure of water on bodies at great depths. 
 
 An 
 
| INORGANIC MATTER. 19 
 —llllllllllll———— ee 
 
 A CURIOUS EXPERIMENT IN DEEP WATER. 
 
 Surrounding this terraqueous globe,. is an ATMo- 
 SPHERE Of a most curious structure; and much more 
 so than is generally known. Its constituent parts 
 
 An empty bottle, closely corked, was let down about fifty 
 fathoms. When it was drawn up, it was filled with water, the 
 cork turned, the bottom end being uppermost, and forced nearly 
 half way out of the bottle. 
 
 A bottle was then filled with fresh water, corked closely, 
 and let down. When it was drawn up, the cork was turned 
 upside down, and the water was brackish. 
 
 Next, a piece of twine was put under the cork, and tied 
 round the neck of the empty bottle, so that if the cork were 
 driven in, the twine must break. When it came up, the cork 
 had been much forced, but had not given way, and the bottle 
 was half full of water. 
 
 A piece of twine was again put under the cork, the bottle 
 having been emptied, and a thin coat of sealing-wax over the 
 cork, This was sunk ninety-eight fathoms. When it was 
 raised, the twine and sealing wax were both broken, the cork 
 turned upside down, and the bottle full of water. 
 
 Tn another experiment, a piece of twine was put under the 
 cork as before, and a strong stocking needle was forced through 
 the top of it, which rested on each side of the neck of the 
 bottle; then it was dipped several times in boiling pitch. It 
 was then let down to the depth of the last. When it was 
 drawn up, the cork was again turned, the twine broken, the 
 needle bent and pushed in with we cork, and the bottle full 
 of water. 
 
 In the last experiment, a cord was put cross-wise under the 
 cork, so that the water had two folds to break. The cork and 
 the bottle neck were dipped in boiling pitch; and afterwards, 
 a piece of strong canvas was tied close over the warm pitch; 
 then the canvas, cork, and. bottle neck, were dipped in pitch 
 again. This was sunk ninety-eight fathoms, and it was found 
 
 C2 to 
 
20 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 ‘ NATURE OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR. 
 
 ——_— 
 
 are so adjusted and so blended, as to form an 
 economy altogether worthy of the wisdom by which it 
 was devised, and the power by which it was effected.’ 
 
 Atmospheric Arr is the next fluid I shall con- 
 sider, and the next in density to that of water *. 
 It is matter under an invisible form; its general 
 properties are gravity, elasticity, and transparency. 
 It may be compressed into a space much less, or 
 rarefied to occupy a space much larger, than it 
 naturally fills. It invests this globe to a considerable 
 height, and accompanies it every where along its 
 orbit round the sun. It is not a simple but a eom- 
 pound body; and it is composed of three different 
 
 See Baas 
 
 to be water proof. The water had, made a powerful effort to 
 force in the cork, twine, and canvas altogether, and had moved 
 them about half an inch; but there they remained, and, the 
 bottle was empty. | 
 ‘ If there were no atmosphere surrounding the earth, only 
 that part of the sky would appear light m which the sun was 
 placed; and if a person should tarn his back to the sun, he 
 would directly perceive it dark as night; for in that case there 
 would be no substance to reflect the bright rays of the sun to his 
 eyes. Itis owing to refraction that the sun enlightens the earth 
 some time before it rises, and some time after it sets. See Parkes. 
 * There are indeed, many other intermediate fluids, some 
 natural, others artificial, between water and air; such as blood, 
 milk, oils, wines, spirits, &c.; but water is a principal consti- 
 tuent part of them all: some of them will be noticed in another 
 part of this Essay. An examination of their properties would 
 lead too far into chemical analysis, to be found generally in~ 
 teresting. 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 21 
 
 NICE ADJUSTMENT OF THE ATMOSPHERE, 
 
 gases or airs', combined together in various pro- 
 portions, according to their different degrees of im- 
 portance in the operations of nature. ‘Twenty-two 
 parts of oxygen, with seventy-eight parts of nitrogen, 
 form atmospheric air, (with a very small portion of 
 carbonic acid gas,) the great supporter of animal and 
 vegetable life. But seventy-five parts of oxygen, with 
 twenty-five of nitrogen, form nitric acid, or aqua- 
 fortis, one of the most corrosive and destructive of 
 all substances. None but a Being of infinite intelli- - 
 gence could have had a conception how such different 
 substances could be produced from the same prin- 
 ciples.™ 
 
 If the atmosphere contained one of them only— 
 oxygen gas, or vital air, for instance, though every 
 thing for one moment would wear a most flourishing 
 aspect, yet the next moment, all animals and vege- 
 tables would be in a state of putrefaction. If it were 
 formed of the other only, (nitrogen and carbonic 
 
 ' These three gases are nitrogen, oxygen, and carbonic acid 
 gas, in the following proportions :---Suppose a portion of atmo- 
 spheric air divided into a hundred parts ;_ seventy-eight of those 
 parts would be nitrogen or azotic gas; twenty-one would be 
 oxygen gas, or vital air, and one would be carbonic acid gas. 
 Sixteen cubic inches of atmospheric air weigh nearly five grains. 
 A column of air the whole height of the atmosphere, one inch 
 square, is equal to fifteen pounds weight.---N. B. It has been 
 lately proved, that the carbonic acid gas of the atmosphere is 
 only one part in a thousand, 
 
 ™ Parkes. 
 
22 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 HOW THE PURITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE IS PRESERVED. 
 
 acid gas) though putrefaction would not take place, 
 yet nothing possessed of animal life could exist in its 
 vital state. Plunged into such an atmosphere, animals 
 would instantly expire; the vegetable creation would 
 sicken and die. Ona proper mixture of these different 
 airs, depends, ina great measure, the healthfulness of 
 our atmosphere. Were any one of these component 
 parts to prevail beyond the proportion in which it is 
 generally found, in that exact proportion would the 
 atmosphere be injured. What goodness is seen in 
 this constitution of things! What wisdom appears 
 in the nice adjustment of their proportions, and the 
 combination of the whole! 
 
 The oxygen gas, which is secreted by vegetables, 
 is detained in the lower regions of the air, that it may 
 combine with the nitrogen gas produced by animal 
 respiration, to preserve the purity of the atmosphere. 
 The carbonic acid gas, which is still heavier, and 
 which is formed also by animal respiration and com- 
 bustion, is confined within the reach of vegetables, 
 which absorb it with avidity, and separate it into its 
 original elements. * 
 
 The quantity of carbonic acid gas which is formed 
 by the respiration of animals and combustion, and 
 the hydrogen and carbonated hydrogen gases which 
 arise from marshes and stagnant pools, are so preju- 
 dicial to the animal creation, that if some means were 
 
 ee ee ee 
 
 ® Parkes. 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 23 
 
 NOXIOUS VAPOURS DESTROYED. 
 
 ‘not appointed by the all-wise Creator, no animals 
 could exist. This evil is prevented by the structure 
 of vegetables which feed principally on these gases, 
 and whose organs seize upon them while they emit 
 oxygen gas to renovate the atmosphere by its union 
 with nitrogen, which is rejected by animal respiration. 
 The wisdom, the simplicity, and the beneficence of 
 this arrangement, are so striking, and address us with 
 so much effect, that the mind of the Reader may 
 be left to its own reflections on the goodness of 
 God.° | 
 
 The usefulness of this arrangement will be further 
 apparent, when the known fact is considered, that 
 the carbonic acid gas has the property of combining 
 with putrid exhalations, and rendering them: in- 
 noxious. It is therefore probable that a portion 
 of this gas is diffused through the atmosphere for 
 the purpose of uniting with malignant vapours as 
 soon as they-are formed by putrefaction, and of pre- 
 venting their dangerous effects. How great would 
 be our exposure to perpetual infection, and constant 
 diseases, without this benevolent contrivance ! 
 
 The uses to which atmospheric air is destined, 
 are most important. Plunged into any other element, 
 as soon as we come into this world, the end of our 
 creation would be lost in the immediate extinction 
 of the vital flame. Air affords to all animals an 
 
 aL ls fees eee ee ee 
 
 ° Parkes. 
 
24 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 USES OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR. 
 a a] 
 
 essential nutriment. Animals that live in water, 
 require atmospheric air as well as others. Excluded 
 from it, fishes soon die. Insects called hydrocanthari, 
 have a curious apparatus for obtaining it. This is in 
 their tails, which they raise above the water, and take 
 ina small portion of air which they carry with them 
 to the bottom, and keep it till it has lost its power of 
 supporting life, when it is discharged, and the animal 
 ascends for more. Sy being inhaled into the lungs 
 of animals, the oxygen, or vital air, is immediately 
 separated, and imparted to the circulating fluids, and 
 is essential to animal life. With the food which they 
 take into their stomachs, they receive a portion of air 
 which aids the decomposition or the separation of its 
 parts, and assists digestion. Air is also essential to 
 the progress of vegetation; for when vegetables are 
 excluded from air, they die. It enters their pores, 
 and flows along with their juices through all their 
 mysterious labyrinths. Rarefied by the external heat, 
 it enlarges their vessels; again, condensed by cold, 
 it occupies a smaller space: thus a sort of palpitation 
 is produced by the alternate expansion and con- 
 traction of their organs, which may aid the progress 
 of vegetation. It is by means of air that the im- 
 portant process of evaporation, and the consequent 
 formation of clouds, is effected; for were air excluded, 
 this process would not go on. 
 
 The quantity of water evaporated from the surface 
 of the sea and the land, by means of the atmosphere, 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 25 
 
 WATER RAISED—CLOUDS FORMED. 
 
 is vast beyond what most people suppose. Every 
 ten square inches of surface of water, yields in vapour, 
 every twenty-four hours, a cubic inch of water; and 
 each square foot, half a wine pint; every space of 
 four feet square, a gallon; a mile square, six thousand 
 nine hundred and fourteen tuns; and a square degree 
 of sixty-nine English miles will evaporate thirty-three 
 millions of tuns a day; and the whole Mediterranean, 
 computed to contain one hundred and sixty square 
 degrees, at least five thousand two hundred and 
 eighty millions of tuns each day.” 
 
 Clouds are fortned probably of vast numbers of 
 spherules, or small globes of water filled with air, 
 which, being heated by the sun, become specifically 
 lighter than the lower stratum of the atmosphere; and 
 consequently, like so many balloons, ascend till they 
 arrive atthe same temperature of air with their own 
 in rarity. Being collected together, these spherules 
 form clouds, which float along the denser stratum 
 of air, till being pressed together, they form drops 
 of water, which become again specifically heavier 
 than the air which supports them, and consequently 
 descend in gentle showers upon the earth. So that 
 air contributes to the formation of clouds, the support 
 and conveyance of them to different parts of the 
 earth where the God of Providence sees them wanted, 
 and forms a medium to prevent the water from 
 
 * Philosophical Transactions. 
 
26 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE. 
 
 rushing down in torrents, and to make it distil 
 gently upon the tender herb. 
 
 Besides these, air is subservient to various other 
 important purposes :—by refracting the rays of light, 
 it diffuses them more widely over the earth; it sup- 
 ports combustion; when agitated into winds, it aids 
 the interests of commerce, and a variety of necessary 
 arts of civilized society. Its separate properties act 
 independently of the rest in various cases. Its pres- 
 sure raises water in the pump. It is owing to this 
 pressure, that water is retained in its liquid and use- 
 ful state; not frozen; neither vapour :—were it not 
 for this pressure, as soon as ice has imbibed heat 
 enough to melt it, evaporation would immediately 
 raise it into the atmosphere, where it would be re- 
 tained, and dissipated in the higher regions.—Were 
 it not for this pressure of the atmosphere constringing 
 the vessels in animals and vegetables, the elastic fluids 
 contained in the finer vessels would inevitably burst 
 them, and life would become extinct.‘ 
 
 By being rarefied in the lungs of animals, and 
 expelled unfit for respiration, air ascends through the 
 denser medium of the wholesome atmosphere, and.no 
 longer annoys the animal. Were it not possessed of 
 this property, it would form itself about their mouths 
 
 4 It has been calculated that the weight of air, which presses 
 upon the whole surface of the earth, is equal to that of a globe 
 ‘of lead sixty miles in diameter. ; 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. Q27 
 
 NATURE OF LIGHT AND HEAT. 
 
 ~ 
 
 a poisonous atmosphere, and must immediately prove 
 destructive. Air constitutes the medium of sounds, 
 which, without it, could not be heard; and conse- 
 quently, two of the noblest organs of the human 
 economy, the organ of speech and that of hearing, 
 would at once be rendered useless, and society lose 
 some of its principal endearments. —What a vast 
 variety of purposes were to be accomplished by this 
 one element! and the more we examine its nature, 
 the more we are convinced of its suitableness to these. 
 ends.—This is wisdom ! 
 
 It has been ascertained by experiment, that no 
 other gaseous body, with which we are acquainted, 
 can be substituted for atmospheric air. All the other 
 gases have been tried, but they all prove fatal to the 
 animal which is made to breathe them." 
 
 Licur and Hear are those important fluids 
 employed by the God of Nature to aid in car- 
 rying on the curious operations ‘of vegetable and 
 animal life. On the real nature and causes of these 
 fluids, it becomes me to be silent, since the greatest 
 philosophers that ever existed have differed very 
 widely in opinion, and remain ‘yet at variance: how- 
 ever, all agree that they are matter in a fluid state, 
 and the most subtile of all those fluids with which we 
 are acquainted. Whether light be the same thing as 
 heat, is not yet determined :—however, this seems to 
 ba Nis) re are ee ee ee ee ee 
 
 t Dr. Thomson. 
 
28 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF LIGHT AND HEAT. 
 
 be agreed upon, that light is always accompanied by 
 heat’. If they be different modifications of the same 
 body, they act separately under those different modi- 
 fications ; for the one is often found carrying on its 
 operations, where the other is not perceived’. Heat 
 naturally tends to separate the particles of most sub- 
 stances, and is, no doubt, one of the grand agents 
 in promoting the digestion of food in the stomachs 
 of animals. When it is withdrawn from fluids, in 
 general they congeal. It is essential to vegetation ; 
 for, without it, seeds will not germinate, plants cannot 
 erow, neither can animals. It blends itself with all 
 substances in this system. However close their tex- 
 ture may be, and impervious to other bodies, heat 
 enters into their pores with facility, and knows no 
 obstruction. | 
 
 Lieut, as such, is also of indispensable impor- 
 tance in this world. Without light, what a horrid 
 chaos would it be! The eye, so curiously fashioned 
 by the Hand of unerring skill, would be of no use. 
 
 * The intensity of light and heat is versely as the squares 
 of the distances from the body from which they proceed, For 
 instance,---at one foot, the intensity is one degree; at two, the 
 intensity is four times less ; at three, the intensity is nine times 
 less; at four, sixteen, &c. 
 
 * It is worthy of remark, as it tends to discover the goodness 
 of God, that the use of fire is entrusted exclusively to man. 
 Most other creatures have a natural dread of it, and flee from it. 
 Were it at the control of the brute creation, what dreadful 
 havock would they make! 
 
 ' 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 29 
 ” VEROCHVIOF-AIGHT--NATURE/OPTHE SUN. 
 a 
 This organ is made for the purpose of vision; and 
 light is created to perfect the design: the one is ex- 
 actly adapted to the other. Solar light.is of essential 
 importance to the perfection of vegetation. Without 
 it, vegetables may grow, but they are destitute of 
 their beautiful colours, and their fragrant odours. It 
 is light which paints the lively green on the leaf; the 
 red, the blue, the purple, and the unnumbered beau- 
 ties on the flower. 
 
 The velocity with which light passes from a lumi- 
 nous body is almost inconceivable". It completes a 
 distance of one hundred and sixty thousand miles 
 in one second of time. The rays of light flowing 
 from the sun, fall upon our atmosphere, (as before 
 mentioned) when they are refracted and reflected in 
 all directions, and cover at once one half of this globe 
 ‘with their splendour, diffusing wherever they come, 
 life and gladness. 
 
 The air does not appear to be heated by the rays 
 of the sun passing through it; but when they meet 
 with an opaque body like the earth, heat is produced, 
 and diffused through the surrounding atmosphere. 
 This accounts for the fact, that the further we are 
 eta et hl a al 
 
 « Dr. Herschel imagines that the sun is an opaque body, 
 probably an habitable world; and that the light and heat, which 
 we receive from it, are owing to an atmosphere which it has of 
 elastic fluids, of a phosphorescent nature, by the decomposition 
 
 of which light and heat are evolved. He also thinks that light 
 and heat are distinct fluids. 
 
 g; 
 
30 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 HOW ATMOSPHERIC HEAT IS PRODUCED. 
 
 removed from the surface of the earth, the colder we 
 find it. 
 
 This fact seems to countenance a recent and 
 ingenious conjecture, that caloric, or the matter of 
 heat, is not transmitted from the sun; but that it is 
 a subtile fluid originally belonging to our earth. The 
 author of this hypothesis supposes that the sun is 
 the great agent in the production of heat, without 
 imagining it a vast globe of fire. He represents the 
 sun as a great store-house of light,—a power indeed 
 the most active in nature, but no ways destructive. 
 He thinks that light produces heat merely by ex- 
 citing an insensible action between caloric and 
 the particles of matter contained in bodies; and this 
 system is more analagous to the general principles 
 on which our globe is constructed, than that which 
 is generally embraced, and enables us to solve the 
 
 ereat difficulty concerning the distribution of heat 
 
 among the different planetary bodies; for, according 
 to this view, those nearest the sun may have no more 
 than those at the most remote distance. We have 
 only to suppose, says he, the quantity of caloric to 
 be proportioned to the distance; and if a smadl quan- 
 tity exists in the planet Mercury, no more heat may be 
 excited than is done by a darger quantity in Saturn.” 
 
 To intimate the glory of his own infinite essence, 
 Jehovah represents himself to us under the metaphor 
 
 ’ Physical and Metaphysical Inquiries. 
 
 et et i - 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. bl 
 —$—$—$—$—$——— SSS 
 
 NATURE OF THE ELECTRIC FLUID. 
 
 of Light. ‘God is light, and in him is no darkness 
 at all.” The adorable Redeemer speaks of himself 
 as being “the light of the world:” and affirms, that 
 “those who follow him shall not walk in darkness, 
 but shall have the light of life.” By the glory of his 
 person, the brightness of his example, and the divinity 
 of his instructions, he diffuses moral and_ spiritual 
 light over a dark world. He is that to his church, 
 which the sun is to our system—the source of all spi- 
 ritual light, joy, and prosperity. He is a “light to 
 lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people 
 Israel.” 
 
 There is another fluid in combination with this 
 atmosphere, which we must not forget to mention It 
 is Ex.ectriciry. Indeed, whether this be another 
 fluid, essentially distinct from that of solar light and 
 fire, is not yet determined. In many particulars 
 _ they agree, and in some they differ*. Whether it be 
 the same fluid or not, this is certain, that it is every 
 where diffused through our atmosphere, and is em- 
 ployed by the Hand of infinite power and intelligence, 
 to effect many of the wonders of nature. It is a 
 most powerful stimulant, and acts as such on both 
 animal and vegetable organization. Linneus, with 
 Sir Isaac Newton, and some other eminent philo- 
 
 “See this subject discussed in the Encyclopedia Britannica—. 
 Electricity ; and the reasons on both sides stated in Gregory’s 
 Economy of Nature, 3d edit. Vol. I. p. 312—315. 
 
32 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 USES OF THE ELECTRIC FLUID. 
 
 sophers, consider it the medium, in the hand of 
 
 Providence, of communicating life and energy to the 
 whole animal frame, by means of the nervous system, 
 on which it acts with remarkable facility. The ner- 
 vous system is certainly much affected by electricity ; 
 and consequently, the muscular. As by it a con- 
 siderable number of diseases are cured, so it is by 
 no means unphilosophical to infer, that by it many 
 diseases are prevented. It is found to be particularly 
 serviceable in promoting the growth of plants: for 
 plants which are placed adjacent to an electrical 
 apparatus which is often used, grow much more 
 rapidly than they do otherwise. And perhaps rain 
 proves more fertilizing than other water, because, 
 descending through the atmosphere, which is always 
 possessed of a considerable portion of this fluid, it 
 may be electrified, and every drop carry some of 
 it to the earth. 
 
 In the common operations of nature, the equi- 
 librium is preserved, and the presence of the electrical 
 fluid is not perceived; but when by any cause that 
 equilibrium is destroyed, its awful powers appear in 
 vivid lightnings, the roar of thunder, the rending of 
 trees, the destruction of houses and their astonished 
 inhabitants. ‘The Aurora Borealis, as well as thunder 
 and lightning, and various other meteorological phx- 
 nomena, show the presence and importance of this 
 fluid in some of the grandest operations of nature, 
 which may be explained by a knowledge of its 
 
INORGANIC MATTER. 33 
 Slee 
 principles. It is present in the air we inspire, and the 
 food which we eat ; it is conducting its operations all 
 around us for our benefit: and though its laws. ot 
 action are but little known to us, and not. within 
 human control, yet, in its most terrible appearances, 
 it is under the government of Omnipotence, and the 
 command—*“‘hitherto shalt. thou come, but no. fur- 
 ther.” In the midst of the storm of forked lightning, 
 and the loudest peals of thunder, the servant of God 
 may contemplate these wondrous phenomena, with 
 perfect composure, persuaded they can eventually do 
 him. no harm.—The Gatvanic fluid I consider 
 identical with the electric, in both its nature and laws 
 of action, notwithstanding some apparent difference ; 
 so that it would be superfluous to enlarge upon it.¥ 
 
 This description of inorganic matter, however 
 short, is calculated to raise in our minds, at the same 
 time, surprise and expectation.—Surprise ; for how 
 vast the quantity of matter, and how diversified its 
 component parts! They appear under every con- 
 
 OBR oe ne AER RnR, SUAS UR ad OMe Rd aCe EC aS 
 
 * It is much to. be regretted, that Electricity is not more 
 studied by Medical Gentlemen, in reference to their profession, 
 as the Author is most fully convinced, by a gratuitous practice of 
 many years, wherein he has had extensive success in its appli- 
 ' cation to a great variety of afflictive cases, of its peculiar im- 
 portance in a medical point of view.---But, he would remark, 
 that almost the whole of his success has been owing to a very 
 different application of the electric fluid to the patient, from what 
 is generally recommended by those who have written on the 
 subject ot Medical Electricity. 
 
 D 
 
34 INORGANIC MATTER. 
 
 USES OF INDEGANIC MATTER. 
 
 ceivable modification ; solid and fluid, ponderous and 
 light, visible and invisible: and so arranged, com- 
 bined, and blended, as to baffle and confound the 
 most acute investigation. Expectation; for the whole 
 of this complex system relates to a superior economy ; 
 and orders of beings, infinitely more mysterious in 
 their component parts, and their various qualities, 
 were to be formed out of these materials, or to be 
 supported and nourished by them. Magnificence, 
 variety, and usefulness characterize all the works of 
 Deity.—Let us now proceed to show to what 
 purposes Infinite Wisdom has appropriated what 
 Almighty Power brought into existence. 
 
Wart Secowud. 
 
 —_—»—- 
 
 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
. 
 
 wv. 
 
 i 
 
 “ 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 By Orcanizatton, is meant such an arrange- 
 ment of the particles of matter as discovers design, 
 where the constituent parts of a whole are so disposed 
 as to be subservient to each other: and I apply the 
 term to all those objects in creation, whether vegetable 
 or animal, which are possessed of vessels for the cir- 
 culation of fluids, and parts arranged with order and 
 obvious intention. The objects of our globe, to which 
 this definition is applicable, are exceedingly nume- 
 rous. ‘To dwell on the peculiarities of each, would 
 ‘be a task for the completion of which the longest 
 ‘life would be totally insufficient. General remarks 
 on organized bodies are, therefore, all that is in- 
 tended, and all that can be expected in a work like 
 the present. 
 
 At what specific point this class of objects com- 
 mences, is, perhaps, difficult to determine. The link 
 which connects together the different orders of 
 
38 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 SHELLS CONNECT ORGANIC AND INORGANIC BEINGS. x 
 
 created beings, is frequently far beyond the reach of 
 human observation; yet, from a knowledge of some 
 cases, we have reason to suppose that such a link 
 exists in all. The point at which inorganic matter 
 stops, and from which organized nature commences, 
 is, it may be, the shells of snails and other animals, 
 which increase with the living creatures that inhabit 
 them: for these shells seem to partake of the nature 
 of both organic and inorganic matter. They are of 
 a remarkably firm texture; and some of them are 
 exceedingly strong and impenetrable. They form a 
 
 sort of coat of mail to the animals which wear them, 
 
 admirably adapted to resist the dangers to which they 
 are commonly exposed. 
 
 Though it is difficult to determine to which class 
 of objects shells belong, yet the investigation of the 
 most patient and skilful naturalists has determined 
 them to belong to the class of organized bodies. 
 M. Herissant, in the Memoirs of the Academy of 
 Sciences for 1766, has discovered the. structure of 
 shells to be organical. In the numerous experiments 
 that he made on an immense number, and a very 
 great variety of animal shells, he constantly found 
 that they were composed of two distinct substances ; 
 one of which is a cretaceous or earthy matter; and 
 the other appeared, from many experiments made 
 upon it by burning, distillation, and otherwise, to be 
 evidently of an animal or membraneous nature, which 
 (after he had separated the earthy matter from it) 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 39 
 
 = 
 
 STRUCTURE OF SHELLS—THEIR COLOURS. 
 
 exhibited satisfactory proofs of a vascular and or- 
 ganical structure. He shows that this membraneous 
 substance is an appendage to the body of the animal, 
 or a continuation of the tendinous fibres that com- 
 pose the ligaments by which it is fixed to its shell; 
 and that this last owes its hardness to the earthy 
 particles conveyed through the vessels of the animal, 
 which fix themselves into, and incrust, as it were, 
 the meshes formed by the reticular or net-like fila- 
 ments of which this membraneous substance is com- 
 posed.—On the occasion of the colours of different 
 shells he remarks, that Nature, always magnificent 
 in her designs, but singularly frugal in the execution 
 of them, produces these brilliant decorations at a 
 very small expense. The membraneous substance 
 above-mentioned is plaited and rumpled in such 
 a manner, that its exterior lamine, incrusted with 
 their earthy and semi-transparent matter, form 
 an infinite number of little prisms, placed in all 
 directions, which refract the rays of light, and pro- 
 duce all the changes of colour obseryable in shells." 
 These, I conceive, constitute the lowest order of 
 organized bodies, and the first above mere rude 
 matter. 
 
 * See Encyclop. Brit.—the word SHELL. 
 
4i) ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 STRUCTURE OF VEGETABLES. 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF VEGETABLES. 
 —i—— 
 
 - VEGETABLE substances, in which organization 
 appears more evident and perfect, are the next I shall 
 mention. Here organization is unquestionable, and 
 bears a sort of analogy to that of animals. It is not, 
 however, my intention to describe the nature and 
 construction of different plants and vegetable pro- 
 ductions at large—this is the province of the Bo- 
 tanist; but those functions only which are common to 
 all, or néarly all, and which appear essential to 
 vegetation. ‘To excite an interest in the mind on 
 this subject, let-it be recollected, that this order of 
 productions is of the greatest moment to ANIMALS of 
 all descriptions, rational as well as irrational; as it 
 constitutes either their immediate food in its vegetable 
 form, or indirectly, by affording food to the animals 
 on which they feed. Were, therefore, the vegetable 
 creation to be annihilated, or, which would amount 
 to the same thing, were the organization. of vegetables 
 to be destroyed, their species would cease to be pro- 
 pagated, and the whole animal creation must ulti- 
 mately perish. In order to unfold the wisdom of 
 God in this part of creation, we must consider— 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 41 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF VEGETABLES. 
 
 The constituent Principles of Vegetables; their ge- 
 neral Structure, and its Suitableness to the pro- 
 cess of Vegetation; and the Functions with which 
 they are endowed for the a a of their 
 ge : 
 
 PLPT OL OL OL 
 
 THE CONSTITUENT PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLES, 
 
 First. ‘We must consider THE CONSTITUENT 
 PRINCIPLEs of vegetables, or the materials of which 
 they are composed. As they are principally designed 
 for the food and support of animals, it is rational to 
 expect that, being formed under the immediate eye 
 of infinite Intelligence, they will be found, on inves- 
 tigation, to contain those essential ingredients which 
 are adapted to these purposes. For though it be the 
 design of the beneficent Creator to adorn the surface 
 of the earth, and afford a pleasing gratification to 
 the senses of man, yet these objects are manifestly 
 subservient to, immediate utility: and a close atten- 
 tion to a chemical analysis of vegetable substances 
 shows that they are perfectly adapted to their design, 
 and that they contain whatever is necessary to the 
 support of animal life. 
 
 The substances at present known to chemists, 
 which they have not hitherto been able to decompose, 
 amount to forty-eight: many of these exist in plants ; 
 
42 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF VEGETABLES. 
 
 the rest belong, exclusively, to the mineral kingdom ; 
 for it is a fact, that no substance (we mean simple 
 substance) has been yet found in the animal kingdom 
 which does not exist also in vegetables.” 
 
 Sir Humphry Davy enumerates the following 
 
 compound substances found in vegetables :—gum, or 
 mucilage, and its different modifications; starch, 
 sugar, albumen, gluten, gum elastic, extract, tannin, 
 indigo, narcotic principle, bitter principle, wax, 
 rosins, camphor, fixed oils, volatile oils, woody 
 fibre, acids, alkalies, earths, mefallic oxides, and 
 saline compounds. 
 
 By analyzing each of these products, we come 
 at last to those bodies which we are at present 
 obliged to consider as simple, because they have not 
 yet been decomposed, and of which, accordingly, we 
 must suppose that vegetables are really formed. 
 
 Nearly the whole of vegetable substances are 
 composed of four ingredients; namely, carbon, hydro- 
 gen, oxygen, and azot. Of these, azot forms but 
 a small proportion even of those vegetable substances 
 of which it is a constituent part, while into many it 
 does not enter at all: so that, upon the whole, by far 
 the greater part of vegetable substances is composed 
 of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. We do not men- 
 tion caloric and light, concerning the nature of which 
 
 > See Encyclop. Brit. Suppl. 
 
 —_————— 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 43 
 
 ANIMAL PROPERTIES DERIVED FROM VEGETABLES. 
 
 too little is known to enable us to determine with 
 certainty into what substances they enter.° 
 
 We are not to suppose that all these substances 
 are to be found in the same plant: they have 
 been discovered in those vegetables which haye been 
 analyzed by chemists, and in various proportions in 
 different plants.—How little do we think, when we 
 are eating what, without a chemical knowledge of 
 its component parts, we may suppose to be a simple 
 uncompounded substance, that it contains properties 
 which, when digested. in the stomach, contribute to 
 form our blood, and the vessels in which it circulates, 
 our bones, our muscles and tendons, our skin, nails, 
 and hair. And how great must that wisdom be 
 which directs the un-numbered particles of these 
 substances to their proper situations, and so connects 
 them with each other as to produce with certainty 
 the intended result! 
 
 The number of vegetables already known amounts 
 to forty-four thousand : and new discoveries are con- 
 stantly making. How astonishing, that so great. a 
 variety, all differing essentially from each other, and 
 all flourishing under the rays of the same sun, and 
 growing in the same atmosphere, should be produced 
 from a few simple substances ! | 
 
 The essential principles of vegetables bear an 
 evident relation to the structure and necessities of 
 
 © Encyclop. Brit, Suppl. 
 
44 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ANIMALS ABLE TO MAKE A PROPER CHOICE. OF FOOD. 
 
 animals. And God has wisely communicated to the 
 vegetable economy whatever is necessary for the 
 animal. In their most perfect state, indeed, vege- 
 table substances, such as fruits, seeds, leaves, and 
 whatever is fit for food, can contribute nothing to 
 the support of animal life, until they undergo an 
 entire decomposition, and a complete destruction of 
 their organization in the stomach of the animal. 
 But when that mysterious process has taken place, 
 vegetables afford all the essential properties necessary 
 for the support of animals. So that this relation 
 between the animal and vegetable kingdom is such, 
 that an essential alteration in the one would render - 
 an equal change in the other indispensably necessary. 
 What goodness, what intelligence, what wisdom does 
 this discover in the Creator! He foresaw all the 
 necessities of the animal system in its different stages 
 of youth and maturity, and made suitable provision 
 for every exigency. Some vegetables are suited to 
 one class of animals, and others to another class; 
 but they are all endowed with properties of appear- 
 ance, or smell, or taste, whereby the animal, fur- 
 nished also with organs adapted to these purposes, 
 makes an infallible choice of that which‘is destined 
 for its use by the Creator, and carefully rejects what 
 is unsuitable, and would prove destructive. The 
 most superficial observer of nature must be struck 
 with the design which is every where obvious. We 
 must stop, however, till we arrive at a superior state 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 45 
 
 THE WORKS OF GOD INCOMPREHENSIBLE. 
 
 of existence before we can understand the whole 
 scope of divine wisdom in this lower creation. Nay, 
 it is questionable whether any created mind, at any 
 period of its being, even the most remote, will be 
 able to comprehend, perfectly, the minutest of the 
 works of God. Probably no intelligence but that 
 which is infinite can fully grasp the whole extent of 
 wisdom as displayed in any one part of this mys- 
 terious creation. | 
 
 I might have considered here the nature of the 
 ligneous part of vegetables, their bark, and their sap ; 
 but their essential properties, when analyzed, are 
 reducible to the substances which I have before men- 
 tioned, and therefore it would be superfluous to 
 treat of them distinctly. We find in them a singular 
 combination of many of the known elements, blended 
 in various proportions, in inumerable modifications, 
 and under the influence of different circumstances, 
 producing a variety of shapes, qualities, and colours, 
 which must excite wonder and delight in the mind of 
 every attentive observer. 
 
 Having noticed the constituent principles of Vege- 
 tables, I shall now consider— 
 
 THE 
 
46 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE ROOTS OF VEGETABLES. 
 
 THE GENERAL STRUCTURE OF PLANTS, AND ITS SUIT- 
 ABLENESS TO THE PROCESS OF VEGETATION. 
 
 In this part of our subject, we shall be led to 
 contemplate the innumerable particles of the sub- 
 stances already mentioned, so arranged and disposed 
 
 as to constitute organs and systems of the most. 
 
 curious nature, and which afford an astonishing 
 display of divine wisdom.—I begin with the S¢ruc- 
 ture of Vegetables. 
 
 All plants have Roos, which penetrate the soil 
 in. which they grow, and reach to a considerable 
 extent. These roots appear to subserve two im- 
 portant purposes; the one is, to give a firmness 
 and stability to that part which appears above the 
 ground, to which they are well suited, extending in 
 all directions horizontally in the earth to which they 
 adhere ; so that if the plant is in danger of falling 
 in one direction, they support it, not only as- props 
 on that side, but also by holding it fast on the 
 opposite:—the other purpose is, to supply the plant 
 with its necessary nutriment, which it derives prin- 
 cipally from the vegetable stratum in which it grows ; 
 they are also well adapted to this purpose, for they 
 are supplied with an inconceivable number of pores, 
 which are so very small, that no gross and improper 
 matter can enter; these pores are as so many mouths 
 to the plant. They are connected with those small 
 
 | 
 : 
 | 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 47 
 
 nn 
 THE ROOTS OF VEGETABLES. 
 
 —$—$—$<— 
 
 vessels, which, like arteries and veins in the human 
 body, extend through the whole vegetable system, 
 passing through the wood, bark, and leaves; and 
 becoming increasingly delicate the nearer they ap- 
 proach to the extremities, which they are destined 
 to enlarge, by conveying to them the fluids tended 
 for that purpose. : 
 
 The sap, in passing upwards, becomes denser, and 
 more fitted to deposit solid matter: it is modified 
 by exposure to heat, light, and air, in the leaves ; 
 descends through the bark; in‘ its progress produces 
 new organized matter; and is thus, in its vernal and 
 autumnal flow, the cause of the formation of new 
 parts, and of the more perfect evolution of parts 
 already formed. At the above-named seasons of 
 the year the sap rises most vigorously, at the time 
 the temperature is variable; and if it be supposed, 
 that in expanding and contracting, the elastic fibres 
 of the silver grain exercise a pressure upon the 
 cells and tubes containing the fluid absorbed by the 
 capillary attraction of the roots, this fluid must 
 constantly move upwards towards the points where 
 a supply is needed.* 
 
 From the root springs the Sram, which rises per- 
 pendicularly out of the ground, and divides. itself 
 into branches which gradually decrease in proportion 
 
 eee ene etree testosterone anrunagulosepneasbsoverscseonirqresnscsavsins asp moceaigeremeagouosipi oesrendied Asermmntedechy Poasne maeerlescsmiiminnae®s 
 
 " See Davy’s Agricultural Chemistry. 
 
48, ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 STEM AND LEAVES OF PLANTS. 
 
 to their distance from the stem. ‘The texture of the 
 stem is firm and strong, according to the size of the 
 plant, and the consequent dangers from winds, to 
 which it is exposed. Itis composed of small fibres 
 which run parallel to each other in the perpendicular 
 direction, and adhere so firmly as not to be easily 
 separated. In the eentre of the stem is the pith, 
 which is soft and very porous. It is inclosed in a 
 fine thin membrane, and is generally supposed to 
 give birth to an essential organ of fructification, 
 which will afterwards: be mentioned. The whole 
 stem is covered with a curious bark, which is com- 
 posed of three layers, one over another. The 
 outermost serves for protection; the other two in- 
 crease. the diameter of the Stem. 
 
 The Leaves are attached to the branches of 
 plants: by means of foot-stalks, which grow off in 
 different directions, forming two layers of a curious 
 net-work, besides a covering over a sort of skeleton 
 of fibres, of a firmer texture, to which these two 
 layers are attached, the one above, and the other 
 beneath. Through the slender foot-stalk, nu- 
 merous fine vessels run from the branches, and 
 are extended in all directions over the leaf. It 
 appears, that the beautiful green foliage formed 
 by the leaves; is not for mere ornament, but 
 for use; for if a tree be stripped of its leaves in 
 the spring, it soon dies. The sap of the plant 
 being exposed in the leaves to the action of the 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 49 
 a 
 
 LEAVES—VEGETABLES DECOMPOSE WATER. 
 ee AA 
 atmosphere, a very large proportion of it escapes in 
 perspiration, and the rest is supposed’ to undergo a 
 change essential to the existence of the plant. If 
 this be true, as many eminent physiologists suppose, 
 then the leaves of plants compose an important 
 chemical laboratory, for preparing their juices for 
 future use, as necessary to the plant as the stomach 
 is to the animal. | 
 
 Of all the parts of plants, (says Sir H. Davy) 
 leaves are the most refined, the most. beautiful in 
 their structure, and appear as. the master-work of 
 nature in the vegetable kingdom. The elegance of 
 their tints, the variety of their forms, the delicacy 
 of their organization, and the adaptation of their 
 parts, are all calculated to awaken our curiosity, 
 and excite our admiration.° | 
 
 All kinds of vegetables, when assisted by the 
 rays of the sun, have the power of decomposing 
 water; during which decomposition, the hydrogen 
 is absorbed, and goes to the formation of oil and 
 rosin in the vegetable; while the orygen combines 
 with part of the caloric received from the sun, and 
 Is given out in the form of oxygen gas ; so that this 
 one operation of nature gives nourishment, and pro- 
 vides materials of growth to the vegetable world, 
 and, at the same time, renovates that vital principle 
 in the atmosphere which is necessary for the ‘sup- 
 oro le a ee 
 
 * Agricultural Chemistry. 
 
50 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 PROCESS OF VEGETATION. 
 
 port of the animal creation. Surely nothing short 
 of consummate wisdom could have conceived any 
 thing so beautiful in design, or so extensively and 
 superlatively useful in effect. 
 
 That man must be strangely blind who does not see, 
 in this general structure of vegetables, a remarkable 
 suitableness to the mysterious process of vegetation, 
 which the infinitely wise Creator designed to be 
 conducted by it. Here is a singular adaptation of 
 means to an end, and the end is accomplished by 
 these means. Here is nothing wanting, nothing 
 superfluous. If any essential derangement of or- 
 ganization take place, the plant dies, and the end 
 is defeated. 
 
 The process of vegetation carried on in this 
 surprising economy, has hitherto baffled the most 
 acute philosophers. But little is yet known concerning 
 it. The multiplicity of operations continually going 
 on in vegetables at the same time, and the variety 
 of different, and even opposite, substances formed 
 out of the same ingredients, and almost in the same 
 place, astonish and confound us. The order, too, 
 and the skill with which every thing is conducted, 
 are no less astonishing. No two operations clash; 
 there is no discord, no irregularity, no disturbance 5 
 every object is gained, and every thing is ready for 
 its intended purpose. This is too wonderful to 
 
 * ‘Parkes. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. OL 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE VEGETATIVE PRINCIPLE. 
 
 —————__ 
 
 escape our observation, and of too much importance 
 not to claim our attention. No person has been 
 able to detect the Acunt, always so busy, and 
 performing such wonders, or to discover him at his 
 work; nor have philosophers been much more for- 
 tunate in their attempts to ascertain the instruments 
 which he employs in his operations.* 
 
 This agent has been called the vegetative prin- 
 ciple. The nature of the vegetative principle can 
 only be deduced from the phenomena of vegetation. 
 It evidently follows a fixed plan, and its actions are 
 directed to promote the good of the plant. It has 
 a power over matter, and is capable of directing its 
 attractions and repulsions, in such a manner as to 
 render them the instruments of the formation, im- 
 provement, and preservation of the plant. It is 
 capable also of generating substances endowed with 
 ‘powers similar to itself. The plan, according to 
 which it acts, displays the most consummate wisdom 
 and foresight, and a knowledge of the properties 
 of matter infinitely beyond what man can boast." 
 
 Though the vegetable system is constantly under 
 the observant eye of the philosopher, and subject 
 to his experiments and analysis, yet he has not 
 been able to ascertain how a blade of grass grows. 
 He can discover its general structure; he finds it 
 a vascular, organized body; he will tell us that the 
 
 * Encyclop. Brit. ” Thid. 
 E 
 
52 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 VEGETATION MYSTERIOUS. 
 
 presence of air, water, and heat, are essential to its 
 vegetation; but still he is obliged to: confess) that 
 the real operations of the. vegetative principle are 
 too mysterious for the utmost stretch of his mind 
 to grasp. But: does he therefore deny that there 1s 
 such a process as vegetation? By no means. He 
 fully believes it. But if, perhaps, we converse with 
 this same philosopher on the mysteries of a divine 
 revelation, he will tell us: that he utterly rejects 
 them. If we inquire into the reason of this daring 
 impiety, he will. reply, that he will believe nothing 
 but what he can comprehend. But where is the 
 consistency of this pretended philosopher? ‘here 
 are two objects which claim a divine origin: there 
 is nothing either in the one or in the other incon- 
 sistent with the character of God. Like all other 
 divine operations, they both contain unfathomable 
 mystery: and yet, notwithstanding his avowed prin- 
 ciple, the one he firmly believes, though he con- 
 fesses it to be a mystery; and the other he rejects 
 because it is a mystery! The Christian maintains 
 that consistency of character to which the Infidel is 
 a stranger.. Confessing his utter incapacity to com- 
 prehend the modus of the divine existence, and 
 that it must necessarily be mysterious to. finite 
 minds, he justly expects to find in all the works 
 of God something which he cannot comprehend. 
 And so far from rejecting the doctrines of the Sacred 
 Scriptures, on the ground of their being mysterious, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 53 
 a 
 
 VEGETABLES PROPAGATE THEIR KIND. 
 a 
 it is one reason why he embraces them. For if they 
 did not possess this characteristic, they would be 
 different from all the known works of God, and 
 might. be rejected as the work of man, and a cun- 
 ningly devised fable, | 
 
 THE ORGANS WITH WHICH VEGETABLES ARE ENDOWED 
 FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THEIR SPECIES, 
 
 Secondly. That vegetables ought to possess organs 
 for the continuance of their kind, is obvious; for 
 those vegetables which continue the longest, are 
 comparatively but short-lived. Therefore, whatever 
 wisdom might appear in their first formation, there 
 would be a manifest defect, seeing that their organs 
 can act but a little time, and their species must fail, if 
 they did not possess the means of perpetuating 
 their kind ; unless, indeed, the Creator had resolved 
 to continue them by successive new creations as soon 
 as they perished. 
 
 By their original formation, all the different 
 orders of organized bodies were endowed with laws 
 and powers for raising up a new ‘succession when 
 the parent stock returned to dust. Now, though 
 the vegetable creation subseryes a great number of 
 useful purposes in its unripe condition, if uninter- 
 rupted, it goes on toa perfect state, when it makes 
 uniform provision for continuing its own kind, which 
 
54 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 Ni wp Ab od AD et Bl 0 Ap a ic a cl MO 
 
 HOW PLANTS PROPAGATE THEIR SPECIES. 
 
 all plants will do in their native clime and soil, 
 without the culture of man. 
 
 Different orders of the vegetable kingdom pro- 
 pagate their species in different methods; some by 
 ~ shoots, others by bulb-roots, others by seeds : yet 
 they all possess the functions necessary to this end. 
 As supreme intelligence is the most evident in those 
 which perpetuate their species by seeds, I shall con- 
 fine my attention to them, and to those organs in 
 them which are destined to the perfection of fruc- 
 tification. Here I shall consider the apparatus 
 which is necessary for forming and maturing the 
 seed, and the suitable structure of the seed for 
 raising up a new race of its own species. In both 
 we shall be led to contemplate the surprising wisdom 
 of God, in adapting the means to the object in 
 view, and in securing the end by the appointed 
 means. 
 
 ‘The apparatus which is constructed for forming 
 and maturing the seed, is the Frower of plants, 
 which is a most astonishing contrivance. I shall 
 here mention its various parts, with a short descrip- 
 tion of each, and its uses in promoting the grand 
 design. This description, indeed, does not abso- 
 lutely apply to all flowers, ‘but to flowers in general. 
 
 The outer bark of the slender foot-stalk, which is 
 intended to support the flower, diverges from the 
 centre all round, either with its fibres connected, or 
 separated into green or other coloured leaves. This 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 55 
 
 ———— 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF FLOWERS. 
 
 (CALIX) cup is appointed to inclose, support, and 
 protect, the (coroiLa) beautiful flower within. The 
 flower is formed by the unfolding of the inner bark 
 of the plant, which is either connected all round, 
 as in the fox-glove, or divided into (PETALS) leaves, 
 as in the pink. ‘This delicate part, being exposed to 
 the action of the light and heat of the atmosphere, 
 is frequently adorned with the most brilliant colours. 
 It is also intended to defend the interior parts, 
 especially the (sramina) threads, or chives, which 
 proceed from the wood of the plant, and appear 
 mostly in a perpendicular position, in some instances 
 pendulous. Each stamen is divided into two parts ; 
 the (FILAMENT) thread-shaped part of the stamen 
 which serves as a foot-stalk to support the (ANTHERA) 
 part which is properly called the flower, from. its 
 great utility in fructification ; it is the summit of the 
 filament, and produces the POLLEN, or FARINA, which 
 appears like small dust or meal lying on the top. 
 The farina is the fructifying principle of the plant; 
 and no seed can be produced without it. At the 
 centre of this surprising economy appears the 
 (PisTrLLUM) pistil, which proceeds from the pith of 
 the plant. This is generally found erect in the 
 centre of the flower, in’ the midst of the stamens. 
 Its base is the (GERMEN) bud, which is intended to 
 contain the seed. From this foundation rises a 
 small pillar (sryLus), which supports the (str¢m) 
 mark, or head; in some flowers it is a single knob, 
 
Fd 
 
 56 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 SCENTS OF FLOWERS—PROCESS OF FRUCTIFICATION. 
 
 in others there are more than one, but in all it is 
 moist. | 
 Almost all flowers emit a peculiar fragrance, which 
 depends upon the volatile oils they contain; and 
 these oils, by their constant evaporation, surround 
 
 the flower. with a kind of odorous atmosphere ; ° 
 
 which, at the same time that it entices larger insects, 
 may probably preserve the parts of fructification 
 from the ravages of smaller ones. Volatile oils, or 
 odorous substances, seem particularly destructive to 
 these minute insects and animalcules, which feed on 
 the substance of vegetables; thousands of aphides 
 may be usually seen on the stalks and leaves of the 
 rose; but not one of them is ever observed on the 
 flower.’ ? | 
 
 According to Linnus, the following is the pro- 
 cess of fructification carried on by this curious 
 mechanism. He affirms, that “the farina is con- 
 veyed by means of the wind, or insects; to the moist 
 stigma, where it remains until it discharges a sub- 
 tile fluid, which, being absorbed by the vessels of 
 
 the stigma, 1s carried to the seeds, or ova, and im- 
 
 pregnates them.” He proves this by shewing that 
 if either the pistil.or stamina be destroyed as soon 
 as the flower blows, either no seed will be produced, 
 or, if there be any, it is barren. He observes fur- 
 ther: ‘‘ When the flowers are in full blow, and the 
 
 ‘ See Davy’s Agricultural Chemistry. 
 
 _wwo a — eS Uhh 
 
 | 
 | 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, | 57 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE FARINA ON THE SEED. 
 
 pollen flying about, every one may then see the 
 pollen adhering to the stigma. The stamina and 
 pistilla, in most plants, are of equal heights ;. that 
 the pollen, by the intervention of the wind, may, 
 with the greater facility, fall.upon the stigma. The 
 stamina of most plants surround the pistillum, to 
 give the pollen an opportunity of falling upon. the 
 stigma at every breeze of wind. The flowers. of 
 many plants expand by the heat of the sun, and shut 
 themselves up in the evening, or in rainy weather, 
 The final cause of this must be to keep the moisture 
 from the pollen, lest it should be thereby coagulated, 
 and of course prevented from being blown upon the 
 stigma. As the pollen is specifically heavier than 
 air, such flowers as have their pistillum longer than 
 the stamina, hang down, or incline to one side. An 
 easy admission of the pollen to the stigma is the 
 final cause of this appearance.” 
 
 The vegetable creation affords us many instances 
 of the most curious mechanism, illustrative of these 
 statements, to shew the necessary influence of the 
 farina on the formation of the seed. 
 
 There is a remarkable fact observable in the 
 Coxttinsonra. The two stamens stand wide by 
 diverging from each other, and the pistil bends itself 
 into contact first with one of them, and after some 
 time, leaves this, and applies itself to the. other. 
 The reason may be that one of the anthers may 
 ripen before the other ; but the fact is curious. 
 
58 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 SINGULAR INSTANCES OF FECUNDATION,. 
 
 In the Sparrium Scoparivm, or common 
 broom, the stamens are in two sets, one rising a quar- 
 ter of an inch above the other; the upper set does not 
 arrive at its maturity so soon as the lower, and the 
 stigma is produced amongst the upper, or immature 
 set; but as soon as the pistil grows tall enough to 
 burst open the keel-leaf, or hood of the flower, it 
 bends itself round in an instant, like a French-horn, 
 and inserts its head, or stigma, amongst the lower 
 or mature set of anthers. The pistil continues to 
 grow in length; and, in a few days, the stigma 
 arrives again among the upper set by the time they 
 become mature. This wonderful contrivance is 
 readily seen by opening the keel-leaf of the flowers 
 of the broom before they burst spontaneously. 
 
 A similar contrivance appears in the Boxtora. 
 The two lower stamens become mature before the 
 two higher. After they have shed their dust, they 
 turn themselves away outwards, and the pistil, con- 
 tinuing to grow a little taller, is applied to the upper 
 stamens. | | 
 
 I mention again, the DoprcarHreon, or Ame- 
 rican cowslip. ‘The pistil is much longer than the 
 stamens; hence the flower-stalks have an elegant 
 bend, that the stigma may hang downwards to 
 receive the fecundating dust of the anthers, And 
 the petals are beautifully turned back to prevent the 
 rain, or dew-drops, from sliding down and wash- 
 ing off this dust prematurely; at the same time 
 
 ee ee ee eee Se, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 59 
 ‘ a , . 
 SINGULAR INSTANCES OF FECUNDATION, 
 
 exposing it to the light and air. As soon as the 
 seeds are formed, it erects all the flower-stalks, to 
 prevent them from falling out. | 
 
 The petals of the beautiful flower called Gro- 
 RIOSA,: with three of the stamens which are first 
 mature, stand up in apparent disorder, and the pistil 
 bends at nearly a right angle to insert its stigma 
 among them. In a few days, as these decline, the 
 other three stamens bend over and approach the pistil. 
 
 In the Frirrnyarta Persica, the-six stamens 
 are of equal length, and the anthers lie at a distance 
 from the pistil; three alternate ones approach first, 
 and when these decline, the other three approach. 
 
 In the Lirurum Srricarra, which has twelve 
 stamens and one pistil, a beautiful red flower grow- 
 ing on the banks of rivers, six of the stamens arrive 
 at maturity and surround the pistil some time before 
 the other six; when these decline, the other six rise 
 up and supply their places. — 
 
 In the Katuria, the ten stamens lie round the 
 pistil like the radii of a wheel; and each anther is 
 concealed in a niche of the corolla to protect it from 
 cold and moisture: these anthers rise separately 
 from their niches, and approach the pistil for a time, 
 and then recede to their former stations. * 
 
 It deserves also to be remarked, that saccharine 
 matter is found in the nectarium of flowers, or the 
 
 * See Darwin's Works. 
 
60 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 HOW SEEDS ARE PROTECTED. 
 
 receptacles within the corolla; and by tempting the 
 larger insects into the flowers, it renders the work of 
 impregnation more secure; for the pollen by their 
 means is applied to the stigma: and this is particu- 
 larly the case when the stamens and pistils are in 
 different flowers, or different plants.’ : 
 
 Not only are means appointed for the production 
 of the seed, but also for its preservation. The bud 
 being matured, it becomes a seed vessel (PERICAR- 
 PIuM,) surrounding the enclosed fruit to defend it 
 from danger; such as pods, nut-shells, and the stones 
 of wall fruits, which either burst to diffuse the seed 
 around, or fall off from the parent plant to the 
 ground, where it is still preserved till the season of 
 germination returns. Besides these, seeds have a 
 firm and suitable covering (aRtLLus) of their own, 
 for the preservation of the essential parts of fructi- 
 fication. | 
 
 Having considered the curious provision which 
 is made for forming, maturing, and preserving the 
 seed, I shall notice the suitable. structure of THE 
 SEED itself for raising’ up a new race of its own 
 species. | 
 
 We may form an idea of all other seeds by the 
 structure of a pea, a bean, or the kernel of a melon: 
 the formation is nearly the same in all. Take away 
 the covering which infolds a bean, or any other seed, 
 en EN eee meee |. Ca ee 
 
 See Davy. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, | 61 
 
 STRUCTURE OF SEEDS, 
 
 and we generally discover two pieces’ which are 
 separated with ease; these are called the Loses of 
 the seed: they are nothing else but the composition 
 of a kind of meal for the nourishment of the young 
 plant. At the top of the lobes is the bud, sunk in 
 Jike a small stud. It is composed of a SrocxK and 
 a Prpicie, which last will afterward be the roat. 
 The stem or body of the minute plant is sunk a 
 little into the inward substance of the seed; and the 
 pedicle, or small root, is that point which first appears 
 when the seed begins to germinate. The pedicle 
 is connected with the lobes by two branching. tubes, 
 whose ramifications are dispersed through the lobes, 
 from which they derive the support necessary for the 
 young plant. The stock or body of the plant is 
 enclosed by two leaves, which are destined for its 
 preservation till it appears above the ground. These 
 two leaves are the first parts of the plant which 
 disengage themselves from the seed, and are the har- 
 bingers of the TrRunxK, the exceeding delicacy of whose 
 texture they protect till more matured, and then 
 fall off. After the tender root has been nourished 
 for some time by the lobes, it shoots in various 
 directions into the earth, and derives from it that 
 support. which it ceases to collect from the lobes. 
 
 All seeds, whether small or large, contain the 
 above-mentioned parts, under some modification or 
 other, wrapped up carefully in one or more coverings 
 appointed for the protection of the whole enclosed 
 
62 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE POWER OF GROWING VEGETABLES. 
 
 curious apparatus. The seed being of the highest 
 importance to the resources of nature, it is defended 
 above all other parts of the plants; by soft pulpy 
 substances, as in the esculent fruits; by thick mem- 
 branes, as in the liguminous vegetables; and by hard 
 shells, or a thick epidermis, as in the palms and 
 grasses.” | 
 
 Though the tender bad, which seems unable to 
 overcome the least resistance, is enclosed in tough 
 skins, and hard and strong shells and stones, which 
 we can scarcely break, yet it makes its way through 
 all these obstructions with the utmost certainty. 
 When the proper season of germination arrives, the 
 lobes swell, burst their various coverings, and afford 
 an opportunity for the bud to escape. The PowER 
 of growing vegetables overcomes great obstructions, 
 The following fact is well authenticated :—In the 
 town of Basingstoke, in Hampshire, one of the flag- 
 stones of the foot-path was raised considerably above 
 the rest. When the mason, who was employed to 
 put it into its place again, took it up, a large mush- 
 
 room, six or seven inches in diameter, was found | 
 
 growing under it. However, it could not be con- 
 ceived that the mushroom had raised the:stone. Soon 
 after, the adjacent stone was also raised; on its being 
 taken up, two mushrooms of smaller size were found 
 growing under it. Several credible witnesses of the 
 
 " Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. 
 
 : 
 : 
 ! 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 63 
 
 - \ 
 SEEDS RETAIN THEIR ORIGINAL FORMS. 
 
 fact were fully convinced that the stones were raised 
 by the growing of the mushrooms. The stones were 
 twenty-four inches by twenty-one, and two inches 
 thick, and weighed eighty-three pounds each.” 
 
 In whatever position the seed falls into the 
 ground, the sprout and the root take their proper 
 directions with absolute infallibility ; the root never 
 seeking its nourishment in the air, nor the sprout in 
 the ground: each seeks its nourishment in its own 
 element, and contributes what it collects to the 
 general design. And it deserves to be noticed, that 
 divine Providence has provided the elements of ger- 
 mination on every part of the surface of the ground ; 
 water and pure air and heat are universally active; 
 and the means for the preservation and multiplication 
 of life are at once simple and grand ! 
 
 Were any of these parts wanting in the formation 
 of a seed, the whole would be useless. But through 
 all the generations of many thousand years, not one 
 property has been lost, no new organ gained. Every 
 _ seed has communicated its perfect conformation to 
 the plant to which it gave birth; and that plant has 
 produced another crop of seeds of the same shape, 
 size, qualities, and organs, as that which gave it 
 existence. Were there no other demonstration of a 
 ‘supreme Being, and the infinite wisdom of that Being, 
 than this order of organized matter affords, the man 
 
 — 
 
 * See Monthly Magazine for October, 1817. 
 
64 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 ! ae 
 —— 
 who denied these important truths would give sad 
 evidence either that he was destitute of reason, or 
 that he knew not how to use it. 
 Plants. not only possess a proper organization 
 for the production: of seed, but also MEANS YOR 
 ITS DISPERSION abroad, at a distance from the 
 parent plant. This subject is worthy. of notice. 
 Some seeds are provided with a small tuft of light 
 soft down; (caronalia) as that of the thistle and 
 many others, which, when blown by the wind, carries 
 the seed to a considerable distance. One hundred 
 and thirty-eight genera are found to have those 
 wings, which have been known to carry their seeds 
 fifty miles from the plant that gave them birth. 
 There. are fifty genera whose seeds are enclosed in 
 seed-vessels, which open with violence, and scatter 
 them around. Linneeus mentions fifty genera more, 
 whose seeds are provided. with hooks, which may 
 adhere to the coats of animals, and by this means 
 be dispersed. One hundred and_ ninety-three are 
 mentioned, whose seeds are deposited in berries, 
 which are eaten by birds and other animals, Those 
 plants which we find growing on the tops of walls, 
 houses, and rocks, have had their seeds brought to 
 these places by this means. The seeds of some of 
 the mosses are so minute, that they float in the air 
 like atoms, and are every where dispersed. Many 
 seeds are supplied with a kind of bristles, which, 
 being expanded by moist, and contracted by dry 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 65 
 
 SINGULAR MECHANISM IN PLANTS. 
 
 weather, are found to creep along the ground a con- 
 siderable way. Other seeds are dispersed by rivers 
 and seas, many miles from their birth-place. Many 
 of the seed-vessels, open only at. the apex, and 
 standing upright on the summit of a strong stalk, 
 considerably raised. from. the ground, the seeds 
 which they contain can. only be shaken out by 
 violent winds. 
 
 _And now, I would ask, could infinite wisdom 
 have devised methods better adapted than these to 
 the distribution and dispersion of seeds? I. shall 
 here mention an instance or two in which there is 
 a remarkable mechanism in the structure of plants 
 for the propagation of their species, and the security 
 of the seed. 
 
 When the seeds of the Cycramen are ripe, the 
 stalk of the flower gradually twists. itself spirally 
 downwards, till it touches the ground, and forcibly 
 penetrating the earth, lodges its seeds, which, being 
 found not to grow in any other situation, are thought 
 to receive nourishment from the parent root. is 
 
 The Trrrotium Susrerraneum, (subterrane- 
 ous trefoil) is another plant which buries. its seeds, 
 the globular head of the seed penetrating the earth. 
 This, however, may be-only intended to conceal the 
 seed of this plant from the ravages of birds; for 
 there is another trefoil, the Trrrotium GLoposum, 
 or globular woolly-headed trefoil, which has a 
 curious manner of concealing its seeds; the lower 
 
 F 
 
66 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 VEGETABLES ANSWER VARIOUS ENDS. 
 
 florets only have corols, and are fertile; the upper 
 ones wither into a kind of wool, and forming a 
 head, completely hide the fertile calyxes.° 
 
 The more ends that are accomplished by the 
 same apparatus, or system of organs, the more we 
 admire the ingenuity which contrived it. Let us 
 apply this observation to the constitution of vege- 
 table organization, and we must be struck with the 
 variety of purposes to which it is adapted. In the 
 vegetable kingdom, animals find food for their sub- 
 sistence ; and notwithstanding the great variety of 
 their tastes and constitutions, here is as great a 
 variety of provisions. Though no vegetable, per- 
 haps, is exclusively designed for medicine, yet, what 
 is the food of one class of animals, is medicine for 
 another; and every animal finds a remedy for the 
 maladies to which it is subject. 
 
 Many of the seeds are lodged in beds of pulpy 
 matter of various degrees of consistence, as those 
 of apples, plums, and peaches, which is at once 
 subservient to the maturing of the seed; and, when 
 that end is accomplished, affording a delicious repast 
 to man and the brute creation. 
 
 While the various tribes of herbs produce fodder 
 for cattle, trees answer a variety of purposes in 
 civilized life. And when they decay, and become 
 unfit for use in their organized state, they enrich the 
 
 Le — 
 
 ° Darwin. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. ~ 67 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF MARINE PLANTS. 
 
 ground again with all the fertility they have taken 
 from it. Nothing is useless in this surprising 
 economy. In every condition, each object answers 
 some valuable purpose which is indispensably 
 necessary. ‘The roots, the stems, the leaves, the 
 bark, the flowers, the seeds of plants, all contribute 
 their respective aid to continue their species, and 
 subserve purposes of utility. Could blind chance 
 produce so much regularity of operation, so perfect 
 an adaptation of means to ends? No: it were 
 beyond the wisdom of any created intelligence. 
 It is alone within the compass of the Infinite 
 Mind. 
 
 The same wisdom is apparent in THE PECU- 
 LIAR STRUCTURE of some particular vegetables. A 
 few remarks on these shall close this part of the 
 subject. 
 
 MARINE PLANTS, which grow upon the rocks 
 washed by the sea, are in great danger of being torn 
 to pieces by the constant motion of the waves. But 
 the structure of many of them is truly admirable, 
 to secure them from injury. They are sup- 
 plied with natural buoys which keep the plant 
 floating in the water, and preserve it from being 
 destroyed by the sharp protuberances of the rock on 
 which it grows. ‘These buoys are hollow vessels, 
 filled with air, placed up the stem, and in the 
 leaves of the plant, and render it specifically lighter 
 than water. They are also supposed to contain 
 
 F 2 
 
ae ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 UTILITY OF THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 
 
 the organs necessary for the propagation of their 
 species.? 
 
 Plants which have holiow stalks, such as wheat 
 and oats, and various grasses, have an epidermis 
 which contains a considerable quantity of silecious, 
 or flinty matter; this, at the same time, affords 
 strength to these delicate stems, and protects them 
 from the attacks of insects. It seems to perform 
 a part in the economy of these feeble vegetable 
 tribes, similar to that. performed in the animal king- 
 dom by the shell of the crustaceous insects.’ 
 
 The structure of the Cocoa-nuT tree is well 
 deserving of our attention; it supplies the natives of 
 those countries, where it grows, with almost every 
 thing necessary for their use ;—bread, water, wine, 
 vinegar, brandy, milk, oil, sugar, honey, needles, thread, 
 linen, clothes, cups, spoons, ‘besoms, baskets, paper, 
 
 masts for ships, sails, hammocks, cordage, nails, : 
 
 coverings for their houses, fuel, mats, and sacks, 
 The Maldive cocoa-nut is esteemed by the in- 
 habitants of those islands, a powerful antidote against 
 the bite of serpents, and other poisons. 
 
 In Mexico, the MaGner, a. species of aloe, 
 yields, it is said, almost every thing necessary for 
 
 * On the nature and propagation of marine plants, see a 
 curious Dissertation m the Transactions of the Linnean Society, 
 Vol. V. p. 145—158. 
 
 4 See Davy’s Agricultural Chemistry. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 69 
 
 TREES YIELDING USEFUL ARTICLES. 
 
 the accommodation of the poor. Besides making 
 excellent hedges for their fields, its trunk serves for 
 beams in the roofs of their houses, and its leaves 
 for tiles. From these leaves they obtain paper, 
 thread, needles, clothing, shoes and stockings, and 
 cordage; and from its copious juice, they make 
 wine, honey, sugar, and vinegar. Of the trunk; 
 and the thickest part of the leaves, when well baked, 
 they make a tolerable dish of food. It is also a 
 powerful medicine in several disorders. : 
 
 The leaves of a certam plant, which grows in 
 the island of Jamaica, called there the Wiip Pine, 
 are so constructed with bags underneath them, as to 
 receive the rain which falls on their upper surface ; 
 and when these bags are full, the orifice closes, so 
 as to prevent any evaporation of the water. In the 
 mountainous and other parts, when there is a great 
 scarcity of water, this reservoir is not only sufficient 
 for the nourishment of the plant, but it often sup- 
 plies men, birds and insects. The Drovprine- 
 TREES, in the islands of Ferro, St. Thomas, and 
 in Guinea, serve the inhabitants instead of rain and 
 fresh springs. 
 
 The Cinnamon-rree of Ceylon, is another 
 instance of peculiar usefulness. From the root is 
 extracted camphire and its oil; from the bark of the 
 trunk is obtained the real oil of cinnamon; from the 
 leaves, an oil like that of cloves; out of the fruit, 
 a juniper oil, with a mixture of those of cinnamon 
 
70 ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 
 and cloves. By boiling the berries, a kind of wax 
 is obtained with which are made candles, ointments, 
 and _ plasters." 
 
 I shall now mention an instance or two of plants 
 which contain a singular mechanism in their struc- 
 ture, remarkably adapted to the necessity of their 
 circumstances, or peculiar purposes, 
 
 The VALLISNERIA is of this description. It is 
 found in the river Rhone. ‘These plants have their 
 roots at the bottom of the river. The flowers of 
 the female plant float on the surface of the water, 
 and are furnished with an elastic spiral stalk, which 
 extends as the water rises, or contracts as it falls; 
 this rise or fall, from the torrents which flow into 
 the river, often varying many feet in a few hours, 
 The flowers of the male plant are produced under 
 water; and, as soon as the fecundating farina is 
 mature, they separate from the plant, rise to the 
 surface, and are wafted by the air, or borne by the 
 currents, to the female flower.* Our attention, says 
 Dr. Pauey, in this narrative, will be directed to 
 two particulars: first, to the mechanism, the elastic 
 spiral stalk, which lengthens or contracts itself ac- 
 cording as the water rises or falls; secondly, to the 
 provision which is made for bringing the male 
 flower, which is produced under water, to the fe- 
 male flower which floats upon the surface. 
 
 * See Ray, * Darwin’s Botanic Garden. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, _ 71 
 
 eae eee 
 
 THB CUSCUTA EUROP4A—VENUS’S FLY-TRAP. 
 
 I make the follawing quotation from the same 
 elegant author, who relates the fact on the authority 
 of Wirnerine. “ The Cuscura Europa is a 
 parasitical plant. The seed opens, and puts forth a 
 little spiral body, which does Not seek the earth, to 
 take root, but climbs in a spiral direction, from right 
 to left, up other plants, from which, by means of 
 vessels, it draws its nourishment. The little spiral 
 body, proceeding from the seed, is to be compared 
 with the fibres which seeds send out in ordinary 
 cases; and the comparison ought to regard both the 
 form of the threads and the direction they take. 
 They are straight ; this is spiral. ‘They shoot down- 
 wards ; this points upwards. In the rule, and in the 
 exception, we equally perceive design.” 
 
 Sensitive plants possess a peculiar mechanism, 
 and a degree of irritability, and power of motion, 
 which bear a strong analogy to animal bodies. The 
 Dionza Muscipcta, or Venus’s fly-trap, is a sin- 
 gular instance. It grows in America. Its leaves 
 are joined, and furnished with two rows of strong 
 prickles ; their surfaces covered with a number of 
 minute glands, which secrete a sweet liquor that 
 allures the approach of flies. When these: parts are 
 touched by the legs of flies, the two lobes of the 
 leaf instantly spring up, the rows of prickles lock 
 themselves fast together, and squeeze the unwary 
 animal to death.t Nor do the lobes ever open again 
 
 ‘ Smellie’s Philosophy of Nature. 
 
472 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 See 
 CURIOUS PLANTS. * 
 
 , 
 
 while the dead animal continues there; but if it can | 
 be removed without straining the lobes, they expand | 
 again. If, however, force be used to open them, . 
 so strong has nature formed the string of their fibres, 
 that one of the lobes will generally snap off rather 
 than yield." | | 
 
 Buds, flowers, and fruits, which are susceptible 
 of injury from the cold and dampness of the night, 
 are provided with means of protection. The leaves 
 of the chick-weed, and various others, are disposed 
 in opposite pairs. During the night they become 
 erect, and are so closely united, that they conceal 
 and protect the flower. The leaves of the tamarind- 
 tree contract round the tender fruit, and protect it 
 from the nocturnal cold. The leaves of the white 
 LUPINE, during the night, hang down, and cover and 
 protect the young bud. 
 
 The inference, furnished by these striking facts, 
 is too obvious to require that it should be specified. 
 Final causes were in contemplation worthy of Deity. 
 The intermediate arrangements in order to them, 
 discover the most perfect foresight of all the inter- 
 posing difficulties, and a wisdom im rendering them 
 subservient to the ends proposed, which must strike 
 every: mind, and fill us with equal wonder and 
 delight.* | 
 Pe 1 onaieens Dun gee) ax visemodt.. 
 
 “ Encyclop. Brit. 
 
 "The number of plants yet known amounts, according to 
 the calculation of Baron Von Humboldt, to forty-four thousand ; 
 
 of 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 73 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF ANIMAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 I wow proceed to consider the wisdom of God 
 as displayed in the organization of AnImMAtLs, in 
 which it is seen still more evidently than in. the 
 vegetable kingdom. 
 
 As we are at a loss to determine at what precise 
 point matter assumes an organic arrangement, so 
 we feel it difficult to say where animal organization 
 commences. ‘‘ Here we may pause, to contemplate 
 the versatile power by which nature is enabled to 
 
 of which six thousand are agamous, that is, of no sex; such 
 
 as champignons, lichens, &c. Of the remainder there are 
 found :— 
 
 AT ee ete ee nn eke Re es 7,000 
 In the temperate regions of Asia... .... 1,500 
 In Equinoctial Asia, and the adjacent Islands, 4,500 
 Inj Africa. ajay «tsif4 «i. + certircitidei De. eanpegiB,ONG 
 In the temperate regions of North and South 
 PRRHORICIEY Once ee eect lt; Boer Pes OOO 
 In Equinoctial America). 2. 2 13,000 
 In New Holland, and the Islands of the 
 mepeiic Ocean. ss). 6 Be Saini iti onsale atin ca union GOD 
 
74 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 CONNEXION BETWEEN VEGETABLES AND ANIMALS. 
 
 yary, without disuniting the general principles of her 
 established laws. She disdains, as Mr. Lightfoot 
 has remarked, to be limited by the systematic rules 
 of human invention. She never makes any sudden 
 starts from one class or genus to another, but is 
 regularly progressive in all her works, uniting the 
 various links in the chain of beings by insensible 
 connexions.” ¥ 
 
 There are some bodies which appear partly vege- 
 table and partly animal; which have a mouth for 
 the reception of food, a stomach for the purpose of 
 digesting it, and other indications of proper animal 
 formation ; and yet, unlike animals in general, they 
 have not the power of locomotion, being stationary, 
 growing upon a rock: such is the oyster and some 
 others, which are still more stationary, as the po- 
 lypus. When we compare animals and vegetables 
 together, each in their most perfect state, nothing 
 can be easier than to distinguish them. ‘The plant 
 is confined to a particular spot, and exhibits no 
 marks of consciousness or intelligence; the animal, 
 on the contrary, can remove at pleasure from one 
 place to another; is possessed of consciousness and 
 a high degree of intelligence. But on approaching 
 the contiguous extremities of the animal and vege- 
 
 ie tae 2S a ae 
 
 disappear, the objects acquire a greater degree of 
 
 ’ Transactions of the Linnzean Society. 
 
 oe 
 
 | 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 75 
 
 ASSIMILATING POWER OF VEGETABLES AND ANIMALS, 
 
 resemblance, and at last approach each other so 
 nearly, that it is scarcely possible to decide whether 
 some of those, situated. on the very boundary, belong 
 to the animal or vegetable kingdom. , 
 
 The bodies of plants and animals are machines 
 exceedingly elaborate, and more or less compli- 
 cated. These machines, by means of different 
 organs, have the power of converting other animals 
 and vegetables into their own substance. By this 
 assimilation, all their dimensions are increased, and 
 their various parts uniformly preserve the same pro- 
 portions with regard to each other, and continue to 
 perform their respective functions.* But while these 
 things may be said of the vegetable and animal 
 creation in common, we feel it difficult to draw the 
 line where the one terminates and the other begins. 
 
 It is not necessary to dwell longer on this sub- 
 ject. My intention is to describe those bodies which 
 are indisputably of the animal kingdom, in order 
 to deyelop the wisdom of the adorable Creator in 
 their formation, and in bestowing upon them an 
 organization most wonderfully adapted to the pur- 
 poses of such formation. This part of our subject 
 I shall consider under a two-fold division. Jn the 
 jirst, I shail describe the Organs of Animated Na- 
 ture, so far as they are essential to the fulfilment 
 of the ends of their creation :—and in the second, 
 
 * See Smellie’s Philosophy of Natural History. 
 
76 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ANIMALS FORMED FOR THEIR ELEMENT. 
 
 I shall attempt to unfold the amazing economy 
 which is requisite to the preservation of those or- 
 gans in a vital and useful state. 
 
 GL PL IPOS LG 
 
 THE ORGANS OF ANIMATED NATURE, SO FAR AS THEY 
 ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE FULFILMENT OF THE PURPOSES 
 OF THEIR CREATION. 
 
 As different animals are frequently destined to 
 exist in different elements, and sometimes in’ those 
 which are of a nature very contrary to each other, 
 it is obvious that no one description of organization 
 would be suitable to them all. ‘That which is 
 suitable for living in water, is unsuitable for an 
 existence on land. Each situation demands a for- 
 mation peculiar to itself; and infinite and unerring 
 skill has bestowed a system of organs most exactly 
 adapted to the station which the animal is to occupy. 
 This is observable through the whole range of the 
 known creation. 
 
 SPOOL PPOL M 
 
 WINGED ANIMALS. 
 
 There are many animals which live principally 
 in the air, or convey themselves through it from 
 place to place in quest-of food, such as winged 
 insects and birds. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 77 
 
 STRUCTURE OF EGGS~—BIRDS. 
 
 I shall first consider Birps, and then proceed to 
 INseEcts. r 
 
 All Birds are produced from Eaes, the structure 
 of whose shells, and their use in the formation of the 
 young bird, are not generally known, and cannot be 
 sufficiently admired, Egeg-shells are composed prin- 
 cipally of carbonate of lime (chalk) and phosphate of 
 lime. The body of the egg contains neither of these 
 substances ; but, as both are wanted, it was neces- 
 sary that they should be provided in some other way; 
 which we find in the structure of the shells: and, the 
 fact is, that during the whole time of incubation, the 
 shells become thinner and thinner, till the embryo 
 animal has appropriated a sufficient quantity of lime 
 for the formation of its bones, (for lime forms the 
 basis of animal bones). A part of the albumen, or 
 white of the egg, combines with the shell, and another 
 portion forms feathers. If birds cannot obtain any 
 calcareous earth, they lay their eggs without shells ; 
 but such eggs are not prolific. 
 
 The general structure of Brrps, is that of light- 
 ness. ‘Their bodies are small in proportion to their 
 wings. Their bones are slender, very porous, and 
 light, and have received the best conceivable shape 
 for strength in which they could be formed, consider- 
 ing the quantity of matter they contain; and the 
 most strength is given to those parts in which it 
 is the most required. The muscles of their wings 
 are remarkably strong, and especially in those birds 
 
78 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 WINGS OF BIRDS—THEIR INTERNAL STRUCTURE. 
 
 which continue long in the air; as, for instance, 
 those which migrate, and such as collect their food 
 in the air, as swallows. Their wings are the best 
 formation for flying that is possible: they are long 
 and light. ‘Towards the fore-part there is a strong 
 bone, and a kind of cartilaginous substance into 
 which the feathers are inserted. The feathers are 
 the strongest at this part, and grow gradually 
 weaker towards their extremities. It is by this 
 means that the bird is enabled to make its progress 
 through the air; for striking the air by the motion 
 of its wings, and meeting with resistance from it, 
 the weaker end of the feathers yields, and conse- 
 quently gives the bird a sliding direction forward. 
 But if the wings were as strong at the hinder extre- 
 mity as they are at the front, the bird would not be 
 able to proceed. Such is the formation of the wings 
 of insects, as well as birds; though in them a thin 
 membrane supplies the place of feathers. 
 
 Birds have received a remarkable interior struc- 
 ture to fit them for flying, and to render them buoyant 
 in the atmosphere. Their lungs are large, and well 
 adapted to the reception of the greatest quantity of air 
 possible for their size. This is not all. There are 
 various air-bags disposed in different parts of their 
 bodies, connected with the lungs by tubes. Besides 
 these, the bones themselves contain pores and tubes 
 almost through the whole system, for the reception of 
 air from the lungs. The air received into the lungs, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 79 
 
 STRUCTURE OF FEATHERS. 
 
 the air-bags, and the pores and cavities of the bones, 
 must be considerable. This being rarefied by the 
 natural heat of the bedy, no doubt greatly assists 
 them in ascending and flying in the atmosphere. 
 
 The Coverine of birds is at once most perfectly 
 adapted to the preservation of heat, and the exclusion 
 of extreme cold and wet from the skin, while it 
 adds the least possible incumbrance to the body. 
 Professor Sir H. Davy observes, that animal and 
 vegetable substances in general are very bad con- 
 ductors of heat: thus the hair and wool of animals, 
 and the feathers of birds, are admirably fitted to 
 protect them from the cold, and they enclose and 
 retain air, which, being a still worse conductor, en- 
 hances the effect. | 
 
 The formation of the Fraruers is singular. 
 They afford an additional. argument in favour of the 
 being and boundless intelligence of God, which must 
 bear down the weak objections of sceptics and 
 atheists. Let us consider their general structure. 
 
 The Quit is composed of layers of fibres one 
 over another. The fibres of the external covering 
 run in a circular direction, and bind together, like so 
 many hoops, the inner fibres, which run parallel 
 to each other lengthways. Strength and lightness 
 are remarkably apparent. ‘The pith, by which they 
 are supported, is astonishingly light. The Vanz of 
 
 ~~ 
 
 * Chemical Philosophy. 
 
80 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE VANES OF FEATHERS. 
 
 the feather is composed of various thin flat filaments, 
 placed on each side of the shaft with their longest 
 basis at right angles to its length: this gives the vane 
 the greatest strength of which it is capable for meet- 
 ing the resistance of the air. These filaments are 
 placed close together ; they are supplied with teeth 
 or hooks, which grow on each side, and consequently 
 connect themselves with each other, and afford mu- 
 tual support and strength. No contrivance could 
 be more mechanical, or better adapted to the end 
 of its formation”; and yet it requires so small a 
 quantity of matter, that a feather is but very little 
 specifically heavier than the air through which it 
 assists the bird in flying.— Who but an infinitely wise 
 Being could collect materials so essentially different 
 from all the other constituent principles of the fowl, 
 so. different from its flesh and blood and bones, .and 
 produce such an arrangement? ‘rifling as a feather 
 is, it discovers more intelligence and foresight than all 
 the most ingenious devices of mortals put together ! 
 and what vast variety of colours; how splendid and 
 beautiful! On the same bird—on the same. feather, 
 we often contemplate an assemblage of colours 
 infinitely beyond the production of human art:— 
 “Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one 
 of these !” 
 
 eo pene, 
 
 ’ Spec. de la Nat——Durham’s Physico. Theol. —Paley’s 
 Nat. Theol. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 81 
 EEE ££££-222,,,£:,-— eee 
 
 BIRDS OIL THEIR FEATHERS. 
 
 — 
 
 The disposition of these curious productions over 
 the body of the fowl, is deserving of notice. They 
 lie in a direction contrary to that in which the bird 
 flies, and are placed one over another, like tiles on 
 the roof of a house; so that at every point we mect 
 with a stratum several feathers deep. Suppose they 
 were placed in a contrary direction, and it would 
 be impossible for the bird to fly; for the resistance 
 of the air would raise them into an erect position, 
 and counteract the progress which the bird would 
 otherwise make by the stroke of its wings. And even 
 all the filaments, which form the vane of the feather, 
 incline towards the tail. 
 
 But the feathered tribe are perpetually exposed 
 to wet and cold. And though the formation and 
 disposition of their feathers are admirably adapted to 
 resist them, yet in a dry state they cannot do this. 
 Divine Wisdom has therefore made provision to 
 meet their necessity, and bestowed upon this race 
 of beings an instinct which directs to the use of it. 
 On the posterior extremity of the body is placed a 
 protuberance of oily matter, supplied with a sort 
 of nipples, which, when pressed by the beak, yield 
 their contents; with this the bird oils and dresses 
 its feathers all over. And as birds are unable to 
 reach the top of their heads, and the upper ex- 
 tremities of their necks, when they have dressed _ the 
 other parts of the body, they rub their heads upon 
 them, and thus effect what could not otherwise be 
 
 G 
 
$2 | ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 a we 
 
 THE USE OF THE TAILS OF BIRDS. 
 
 accomplished. As water-fowls are more exposed to 
 the wet than others, in them this provision is more. 
 abundant, and their bills are generally wider, and 
 better adapted to the use of it. How often do we 
 see them standing on the brink of the water, per- 
 forming this necessary operation, and then launching 
 in as secure against the insinuating element, as if 
 they were clothed with materials of the firmest texture. 
 The wings of fowls serving them for oars to 
 move them forward, their tails answer -the same 
 purpose as a rudder does the ship. ‘The tails of 
 those birds are the longest which fly with the greatest 
 rapidity, in order that they may have the most ready 
 command of themselves in turning to the right or 
 left, mounting up or descending. ‘Though this re- 
 mark does not apply in all cases, it generally holds 
 good. When a bird flies in a straight line hort- 
 zontally, its tail lies in the plane of its path; but 
 when it wants to alter its course up or down, or 
 obliquely, it points its tail the same way, which, 
 meeting with resistance from the air, brings its head 
 into the same direction. Can a more ingenious con- 
 trivance be conceived? Human. sagacity has not 
 been able to furnish a better; and therefore art has 
 taken the intimation of nature, and applied the same 
 expedient, under a different modification, to the 
 government of the ship. | 
 As I purpose offering a more minute description of 
 the general structure of the eyes of animals in another 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 
 THE EYES OF BIRDS. 
 ee ROI MECN WET RETA 
 place, my remarks here, on those of birds, will only 
 extend to the particulars in which they differ from 
 others. Some peculiarities of the Eyes or Fowrs 
 are thus described:—‘ As most of these creatures are 
 continually employed in hedges and thickets, there- 
 fore, that their eyes might be secured from injury, 
 as well as from too much light when flying in the 
 rays of the sun, there is a very elegant mechanism 
 in their eyes. A membrane rises from the internal 
 canthus, which, at pleasure, like a curtain, can be 
 made to cover the whole eye; and this by means of 
 a proper muscle that rises from the sclerotic ‘coat, 
 and, passing round the optic nerves, runs through 
 the musculus oculi attollens (by which, however, the 
 optic nerves are not compressed) and palpebra, to 
 be inserted into the edge of this membrane. When- 
 ever this muscle ceases to act, the membrane, ‘by its 
 own elasticity, again discovers the eye. ‘This cover- 
 ing is neither pellucid nor opaque, both which would 
 have been equally inconvenient ; but being somewhat- 
 transparent, allows as many rays to enter as to make 
 any object just visible, and is sufficient to direct 
 them in their progression. By means of this mem- 
 brane it is that the eagle is said to look at the sun.”* 
 
 “The eyes of animals,” says Dr. Paley, “ which 
 follow their prey by night, as cats and owls, possess 
 a faculty, not given to those of other species ; namely, 
 yeh AS ese ah Ik 
 
 * Encyclop. Brit. Comparat. Anat. 
 G 2 
 
84 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 a 
 
 —— 
 
 EYES OF BIRDS ADJUST THEMSELVES TO DIFFERENT DISTANCES. 
 
 of closing the pupil entirely; the final cause of 
 which seems to be this: It was necessary for such 
 animals to descry objects with very small degrees of 
 light. This capacity depends upon the superior 
 sensibility of the retina; that is, upon its being 
 affected by the most feeble impulses. But that ten- 
 derness of structure which rendered the membrane 
 thus exquisitely sensible, rendered it also liable to 
 be offended by the access of strong degrees of light. 
 The contractile range, therefore, of the pupil is 
 increased in these animals, so as to enable them to 
 close the aperture entirely, which includes the power 
 of diminishing it in every degree; whereby, at all 
 times, such portions, and only such portions of light 
 are admitted, as may be received without injury to 
 the sense.”4 | 
 
 As the beaks of birds are short, it is necessary 
 that they should be able to see objects very near ; and 
 as they soar high in the air, while their food is upon 
 the ground, it is also requisite that they should be 
 able to see afar off. Divine Wisdom has met these 
 two extreme cases by the peculiar formation of the 
 eyes of birds. The fact, accordingly, is, that two 
 ‘peculiarities are found in the eyes of birds, both 
 tending to facilitate the change upon which the 
 adjustment of the eye to different distances depends. 
 The one is a bony, yet, in most species, a flexible 
 
 * Natural Theology. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 85 
 
 THE EYES OF BIRDS SUITED TO THEIR HABITS. 
 
 rim or hoop, surrounding the broadest part of the 
 eye; which, confining the action of the muscles to 
 that part, increases the effect of their lateral pressure 
 upon the orb, by which pressure its axis is elongated 
 for the purpose of looking at very near objects. 
 The other is an additional muscle, called the mar- 
 supium, to draw, on occasion, the crystalline lens 
 back, and so fit the same eye for the viewing of very 
 distant objects. By these means the eyes of birds 
 can pass from one extreme to another of their scale 
 of adjustment, with more ease and readiness than 
 the eyes of other animals.° 
 
 Du Hamel tells us (says Derham) of a singular 
 conformity in the cormorant’s eye; and that is, that 
 the crystalline is globous, as in fishes, to enable it 
 to see and pursue its prey under water, which it 
 does with wonderful swiftness for a long time. 
 
 Birds obtain rueir Foop from various sources, 
 and at various times; some by day-light, others in 
 the dusk of the evening, or in the dark; some in the 
 air, some on the earth, and some under the water, 
 In all, the eye is essentially necessary. But no one 
 uniform and regular structure of that organ would 
 meet all these cases. The eye of the eagle would 
 not answer the necessities of the owl; the eye of 
 the owl would not suit the cormorant ; and though 
 the same great and essential principles are found in 
 rt ee Cae tater et 
 
 * Nat. Theol, Physico-Theol, 
 
86 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 LEGS, NECKS, AND BILLS OF BIRDS. 
 
 = 
 
 all, yet a peculiarity is communicated to each, 
 different from all the rest, and exactly suited to its 
 necessities. The infinite wisdom of God is alone 
 equal to such an adaptation of mechanism to this 
 diversity of circumstances. 
 
 There are some. other peculiarities in the for- 
 mation of birds which discover the same wisdom 
 in their general structure; these I shall mention with 
 brevity.—Many of the feathered tribe collect their 
 food from brooks and ponds. These are generally 
 supplied with long legs suitable for wading: but long 
 legs render long necks necessary, without which it 
 would be very difficult for them to obtain their food; 
 and hence we find that those which have long legs 
 have also long'necks ; though not the contrary, because 
 there was not the same necessity. Others secure 
 their food by swimming and diving. These are 
 provided with membranes, extending from toe to 
 toe, forming what we call the web foot, which is 
 peculiarly serviceable in both the above-named 
 operations. 
 
 The formation of the Bruxs of birds is also deserv- 
 ing attention. Those which feed upon grains of corn, 
 and other minute particles, have their bills small and 
 pointed. In those which feed on flesh, they are 
 strong and hooked. In water-fowls they are broad, 
 and often long, adapted to the taking in of a con- 
 siderable quantity of water, and separating from it 
 that which is nutritious. And in all these cases they 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 87 
 
 eran a > 
 
 SR 
 
 GIZZARDS OF BIRDS—CURIOUS EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 are supplied with delicate nerves, to enable them to 
 select their food with the utmost certainty. 
 
 As there is a peculiar mechanism in those birds 
 which feed on seeds, for decomposing and digesting 
 their food, it is necessary that I should: mention 
 it here. The food is swallowed into the crop, where 
 it is moistened by a certain juice fit for the purpose : 
 it isthen communicated to the gizzard, a kind of 
 stomach composed of strong muscles, by the working 
 of which, assisted by sand and pebbles, which are 
 swallowed for the purpose, the food is ground small 
 as between two mill-stones; from this apparatus it is 
 discharged into the entrails, where it is further at- 
 tenuated, and rendered fit for the formation of new 
 blood. ‘This contrivance is rendered necessary on the 
 one hand, by the nature of the food on which this 
 description of birds feed; and on the other, by their 
 want of teeth, and the means of mastication in their 
 mouths, with which most other animals are provided. 
 
 ~Reaumur and Spatanzanti tried a number of 
 singular and curious experiments on some birds of 
 this description, in order to ascertain the power of 
 their digestive organs. ‘Tin tubes, containing grains 
 of corn, were put into the stomachs of turkeys, and 
 allowed to continue there a considerable time, when 
 they were found to be broken, crushed, or distorted, 
 in a most singular manner. ‘The stomach of a cock 
 broke off the angles of a piece of rough jagged glass, 
 in the course of twenty-four hours. A ball of lead was 
 
88 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 SURPRISING POWER OF THE DIGESTIVE -ORGANS. 
 
 covered with twelve sharp-pointed tin needles, pro- 
 jecting about a quarter of an inch from the surface 
 of the ball; the whole, covered with paper, was 
 forced down the throat of a turkey. After remain- 
 ing a day and a half in the stomach of the animal, 
 all the needles were seen broken off, and two only 
 could be found. Twelve small lancets, such as were 
 used in the dissecting of small animals, sharp at. the 
 points and edges, were inserted also in a ball of lead, 
 and given toa turkey cock. After eight hours, the 
 stomach was opened, and it was found that all the 
 lancets were broken off, Three of these lancets were 
 discovered in the intestines, pointless, and mixed with 
 the excrements; the other nine were missing. What 
 appears very astonishing is, that in none of these ex- 
 periments was the stomach or the gizzard of the animal 
 ‘in the least lacerated or injured, or its health impaired. 
 
 It may be observed here, that rapacious and fierce 
 birds increase their species but very slowly, seldom 
 producing more than two or three young ones in the 
 course of the breeding season; while those of a more 
 innocent and inoffensive kind increase rapidly. Were 
 it the reverse, the latter would soon be destroyed by 
 the former, and would become terrible even to the 
 human race. It may also be remarked, that birds of 
 prey never go in flocks, but only in pairs, er alone. 
 Were they to herd together as rooks, armed as they 
 are with strong beaks and sharp claws, and were their 
 fierce dispositions aggravated by hunger, they might 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 89 
 
 THE INSTINCTS OF BIRDS.~NESTS. 
 eeeeeeEoEeEeEeooeeee—eEeEeEEoEeeeeoeeeeeeeoeeeEEE 
 
 commit great depredations upon the rest of the animal 
 creation. 
 
 The Instincts of this class of animals are truly 
 astonishing. These instincts direct them in all things 
 necessary for their welfare. Instinct directs in their 
 preservation. ‘Those birds which live upon plunder, 
 as the rook, seem to be aware of their consequent 
 danger. Hence they generally go in flocks, and 
 while they are gathering the grain which has been 
 sown, one of them is placed as a watch-bird upon 
 some neighbouring tree, to give the signal on the 
 approach of danger, which is instantly obeyed, and 
 they make their escape. 
 
 Instinct directs them in finding food. It is most 
 observable in those birds which emigrate from place 
 to place, and often from one country to another very 
 remote. For when the season is advancing which 
 will prevent them from obtaining their food in one 
 place, they direct their flight with absolute certainty 
 to another, in which they are sure to find it. 
 
 Instinct directs in the building of their Nests. 
 Though they have received no instructions where to 
 build them, nor what materials to employ, nor how 
 to arrange them, nor when to commence these curious 
 operations, yet one generation follows another. with- 
 out making the smallest alteration. In general, the 
 nests of birds are built with an art so exquisite, that 
 an exact imitation of them exceeds all the powers of 
 human skill and industry. Their style of architec- 
 
90 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 ee 
 ture, the materials they employ, and the situations 
 they select, are as various as the different species. 
 Individuals of the same species, whatever regions of 
 the globe they inhabit, collect the same materials, 
 arrange and connect them in the same form, and 
 make choice of similar situations for erecting their 
 temporary habitations; for the nests of birds, those of 
 the eagle kind excepted, after the young have come 
 to maturity, are for ever abandoned by the parents. 
 
 Many instances, illustrative of that surprising 
 instinct which birds discover in building their nests, 
 might be mentioned; but I shall specify the following 
 only. 
 
 An eagle's nest was found in the Peak of Derby- 
 shire, which is thus described:—‘ It was made of 
 great sticks, resting one end on the edge of a rock, 
 the other on a birch tree. Upon these was a layer 
 of rushes, and over them a layer of heath, and on the 
 heath, rushes again; upon which lay a young one, and 
 an addle egg; and by them, a lamb, a hare, and three 
 
 heath-pouts. The nest was about two yards square, 
 and had no hollow in it.” 
 
 The nests of the common magpies are curious 
 specimens of this sort of architecture. These nests 
 are not open at the top. .They are covered with a 
 singular dome composed of sharp thorns and briars, 
 which reach all round to keep off the enemy, and to 
 protect the eggs and-the young. Two openings are 
 Jeft at the opposite sides of the nest, both for the 
 
. 
 
 ORGANIZED NATURE. | Of 
 
 a S 
 SS SSS SSIS USS SS SSS SSS SSS ee 
 
 THE TAYLOR BIRD'S NEST. 
 
 purpose of admitting the owners, and in case of being 
 attacked at the one side, that they might be able to 
 make their escape at the other. These openings are too 
 small to admit the entrance of birds larger than them- 
 selves; and those which are of the same size, or smaller, 
 in general they can successfully oppose, should they 
 risk an unjust attack. 
 
 In countries infested by monkeys, many birds 
 suspend their nests upon slender twigs; and by this 
 ingenious device, elude the rapacity of their enemies. 
 This is the more remarkable, as these birds build 
 their nests in the clefts of trees, in places where they 
 are not in danger. In hot climates, says Mr. Pennant, 
 the brute creation are more at enmity with one 
 another than they are in other climates; and the birds 
 are obliged to exert an unusual artifice in placing 
 their little broods out of the reach of an invader. 
 Each aims at the same end, though each by different 
 means ; some form their hanging nests in shape of 
 a purse, deep, and open at the top; others, with a hole 
 in the side; and others, still more cautious, with an 
 entrance at the very bottom, forming their lodge near 
 the summit. Mr. Pennant then gives the following 
 description of the manner in which the Taytor Brrp 
 makes its nest:—“‘ It will not trust its nest,” says he, 
 ‘even to the extremity of a slender twig, but makes 
 one more advance to safety by fixing it to the leaf 
 itself. It picks up a dead leaf, and, surprising to 
 relate, sews it to the side of a living one, its slender 
 
92 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 CARE OF BIRDS OVER THEIR EGGS AND YOUNG, 
 a 
 bill being its needle, and its thread some fine fibres, 
 the lining, feathers, gossomer, and down. — Its eggs 
 are white, and the colour of the bird light yellow; 
 its length three inches; its weight only three-six- 
 teenths of an ounce; so that the materials of the nest, 
 and its own size, are not likely to draw down a 
 habitation that depends on so slight a tenure.”€ 
 
 Instinct directs in all necessary attention to their 
 Eces. When they have deposited them in the nest 
 which they have carefully adjusted for that purpose, 
 they patiently sit over them during the necessary 
 period, till they are hatched. When this is done they 
 brood over their young by night to keep them from 
 the chilling cold and dews; and in the morning, at 
 break of day, the parent bird sets off in haste to collect 
 the food suitable to their weak digestion, and almost 
 starve themselves to feed their young. At the proper 
 time the young are taught to fly and make provision 
 for themselves, when they are forsaken by their 
 parents, and no more regarded than absolute strangers. 
 
 But by what means could these different objects 
 be attained were this mysterious something, which we 
 call Instincr, obliterated? Here are purposes to 
 be accomplished requiring incomparable skill; and a 
 principle is communicated by which they are infallibly 
 obtained; and when this is done, the principle no 
 longer operates, but appears to lie dormant till the 
 
 BP rien tree pe prea ee mL 1! ae ee 
 
 * See Pennant’s Indian Zoology. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 93 
 
 ANATOMY OF THE WOOD-PECKER. 
 
 season, the month, and often the very day recurs, 
 when it is wanted. If chance has done this, infinite 
 wisdom could not have done it better. 
 
 A variety of instances might be adduced to show 
 with what admirable skill individuals of this tribe are 
 formed for peculiar modes of life; but I shall mention 
 only one, by way of confirming and illustrating the 
 former remarks. The structure of the Woop-PECKER 
 is deserving of our notice. Its food is generally in 
 or under the bark of trees. It has therefore feet and 
 claws which enable it to fix itself upon the stems of 
 trees of all dimensions, and in all positions, perpen- 
 dicular, horizontal, or oblique, and to move along 
 them without danger of falling. In order to this, 
 two of its toes are disposed forward, and two back- 
 ward. Its tail assists also in the pursuit of its food. 
 Placing itself on the perpendicular stems of trees, it 
 would be in danger of falling backwards; but the 
 feathers of its tail are remarkably strong, which it 
 places against the tree, and is by that means enabled to 
 remain in the same position for a considerable time. 
 “Their tongue,” says Ray, speaking of these birds, 
 “they can shoot forth to a very great length, ending in 
 a sharp stiff bony rib, dented on each side; and at 
 pleasure thrust it deep into the holes, clefts, and cran- 
 nies of trees, to stab and draw out insects lurking there ; 
 as also into ant-hills, to strike and fetch out the ants 
 and their eggs.”" Derham informs us, “ that their 
 
 * Ray, on Creation. 
 
94 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF INSECTS. ., 
 
 —_— 
 
 tongue encompasses part of the neck and head, the 
 better to exert itself in length, and again to retract 
 it into its cell.”' This member, by a curious apparatus 
 of bones and muscles, the bird exerts with consider- 
 able force. As it makes its nest in holes in the stems 
 of trees which it excavates for itself, it is necessary 
 that its bill should be formed for such hard labour. 
 It is so in fact. It is hard, strong, and made like a 
 wedge; and a ridge runs along the top of it, which 
 greatly adds to its strength. Various ends are to be 
 accomplished ;—and what a curious apparatus of 
 means is provided, all the parts of which are most 
 wisely adapted. | 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 Amongst, those animals which are formed for 
 living in or flying through the air, we may rank the 
 various tribes of winged insects,! the general structure 
 of which I shall now consider.—Their form is suited 
 to passing through the air. They are covered with a 
 sort of horny or shelly substance, in the shape of 
 FOE Te ne ae Ag Oe 
 
 ‘ Derham’s Physico-Theol. 
 
 } RAY supposed the various species of insects to be ten 
 thousand. There are more than one thousand different species of 
 
 beetles in Great Britain. St. Pierre says there are six thousand 
 species of flies; and nearly eight hundred different butterflies. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. a 95 
 
 SSS ee te 
 WINGS OF INSECTS. 
 
 yp 
 
 rings surrounding their bodies, which are in the stead 
 of bones, to strengthen’ and preserve them in their 
 proper shape. ‘To these rings the muscles and other 
 instruments of motion are attached. In these species 
 which have no bones, but whose bodies consist of such 
 a succession of rings curiously incased into each other, 
 there is a power of contracting and dilating them; thus 
 all the movements of this kind are performed. The 
 head, in some species, changes its form every moment. 
 It contracts or dilates, appears or disappears, at the . 
 pleasure of the animal. These motions are permitted 
 by the flexibility of the members, or coverings of the 
 head. In other species, the form of the head is per- 
 manent, owing to the hardness of the coverings, which 
 are scaly or crustaceous, and approaches nearer to 
 that of the more perfect animals." — 
 
 As perspiration is essential to the preservation of 
 animal life, and so hard a substance will not admit of 
 this process, insects are provided with holes on their 
 sides, which serve at once for perspiration and breath- 
 ing. ‘Their bodies are covered all over with hairs, 
 and many of them are decked with the most beautiful 
 appearances, which, when viewed through the micro- 
 scope, surpass in splendour the finest works of art, set 
 with the most costly jewels. 
 
 Their Wines are supplied with slender bones, 
 by which they are distended and strengthened ; these 
 
 ¥ Sce Smellie. 
 
96 ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 
 THE EYES OF INSECTS, 
 
 are covered with a fine membrane, in some like a 
 net-work, as the dragon-fly; in others, adorned with 
 beautiful feathers, as the butterfly. The wings of 
 some are constantly extended; such insects are 
 almost perpetually flying about.—Those of others 
 are supplied with joints for folding them up close 
 to their bodies. Insects of this description live 
 principally upon the ground, where their wings are 
 more exposed to danger, from which they are 
 defended by another kind of wings (elytra) which — 
 serve not for flying, but merely for covering and 
 defence. These elytra resemble leather, of a hard 
 and solid nature, and are often of a beautiful colour, 
 as in the lady-bird. Their outer surface is convex, 
 to keep off wet; the inner surface is concave, fitted 
 to the shape of their body, and the protuberance occa- 
 sioned by the folding up of the wings. At first sight, 
 indeed, these insects do not appear to have wings. 
 The Oreans or Sient, with which insects are 
 endowed, are peculiar to themselves, but admirably 
 adapted to their necessities. The external covering 
 of their eyes is hard and transparent, like glass. 
 They consist, for the most part, of one lens only ; 
 but in those of the butterfly, and many of the beetles, 
 they are numerous. Pugett discovered upwards of 
 seventeen thousand lenses in the cornea of a but- 
 
 terfly; and Leuwenhoek, eight hundred in a fly.' 
 cilia 
 ! See Entomology, in Encyclop. Brit. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 97 
 
 cok , r s ” 
 Go = arene ee nr at en nn a 
 
 EYES OF INSECTS LENTICULAR—ANTENN.®. 
 
 “This lenticular power of the cornea (says Der- 
 ham) supplies the place of the crystalline, if not 
 of the vitreous humour too; there being neither of 
 those humours that I could ever find: but instead 
 of humours and tunics, I imagine that every lens 
 of the cornea has a distinct branch of the optic 
 * nerve ministering to it, and rendering it as so many 
 distinct eyes.”™ 
 
 Smellie remarks that no other animals but the 
 insect tribes have more than two eyes. Some of them 
 have four, as the phalangium ; others, as the ‘spder 
 and scorpion, have eight eyes. In a few insects, 
 the eyes are smooth; in all the others, they are 
 hemispherical, and consist of many thousand dis- 
 tinct lenses. The eyes are absolutely immoveable : 
 but this defect is supplied by the vast number of 
 lenses, which, *from the diversity of their positions, 
 are capable of viewing objects in every direction. 
 By the smallness and convexity of these lenses, 
 which produce the same effect as the object glass 
 of a microscope, insects are enabled to see bodies 
 that are too minute to be perceived by the’ hu- 
 man eye. | | 
 
 ‘Insects are supplied with Antenna, which 
 grow on the fore-part of the head: each insect is 
 provided with two; in some they are more numerous. 
 They are a kind of horns, and are supplied with 
 a acenanet me od! oF host “pti aivalion | 
 
 ™ Physico-Theol. 
 H 
 
98 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE PROBOSCIS OF INSECTS. 
 
 joints from the root to the extremity, in consequence 
 of which the insect can turn them with facility in 
 all directions. Their use has not yet been deter- 
 mined by naturalists; some suppose them to be the 
 organs of hearing; others those of smelling; and 
 others, again, imagine that they are designed to wipe 
 their protuberant eyes, and also to discover ap- 
 proaching dangers. ‘The same uncertainty remains. 
 amongst naturalists respecting the (Palpi) FEELERs 
 of insects, which are generally four, and sometimes 
 six in number. ‘These are placed contiguous to the 
 mouth, and are of a variety of shapes.—As specu- 
 lation is foreign to the design of this Work, which 
 is intended to comprehend a statement of facts 
 illustrative of the Wisdom of God, I shall not 
 enlarge on a subject of this nature, wherein the use 
 of the organs is unknown to us, though, trom what is 
 known of the works of creation, we may justly 
 conclude that they have an important use; and that 
 they have received a conformation which exactly 
 meets the necessity of the case. 
 
 The Movurus of many insects are drawn. out 
 to a rigid point, at the extremity of a most curious 
 (ROsTRUM) proboscis, which is something like that 
 of the elephant. It is jointed through the whole of 
 its length, and can be turned in all directions at 
 the will of the animal. It is with this that the 
 insect collects its food from the deep recesses of 
 flowers. And when it is not in use, it is carefully 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 99 
 THE MOUTH OF THR GNAT, i 
 PEE eo en en nn NNO et Cntr AD NGE eit 2-0 roe 
 coiled up, or laid under the thorax, or between the 
 joints of the legs, where it remains secure. 
 
 ““ In some insects (says Paley) the proboscis, or 
 tongue, or trunk, is shut up in a sharp-pointed 
 sheath ; which sheath, being of a much firmer tex- 
 ture than the proboscis itself, as well as sharpened 
 at the point, pierces the substance which contains 
 the food, and then opens within the wound, to allow 
 the inclosed tube, through which the juice is ex- 
 tracted, to perform its office. Can any mechanism 
 be plainer than this is; or surpass this ?”* 
 
 The mouths of many insects are of another 
 description; strong, bony, and sharp, adapted to 
 secure their prey, and tear it in pieces. The mouths 
 of all insects are exactly adapted to the food on 
 which they subsist, and the difficulties of obtaining 
 it; and when procured, to the preparing of it for 
 digestion. 
 
 The structure of the mouth of the Gwar is 
 deserving of attention here. It is one of the greatest 
 curiosities in nature, and affords an astonishing dis- 
 play of mechanism, though so exceedingly minute, that 
 the most powerful microscope can scarcely render 
 its extremity visible. It is a trunk or case composed 
 of long scales, which the insect carries under its 
 throat. At about two-thirds of its extent, there is 
 an orifice through which it launches four darts, and 
 nen I NS I Lo io Benicio toyed, 
 
 " Natural Theology. 
 H 2 
 
100 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE PROBOSCIS OF THE BUTTERFLY. 
 
 then draws. them into their quiver. One of these 
 darts, however minute, is a case to the other three, 
 which are there sheathed in a long groove, and have 
 their sides sharpened like fine swords. ‘They are 
 likewise barbed, or thick-set with cutting teeth 
 towards the point, which is a little hooked, and 
 remarkably fine. When these weapons are darted 
 into the flesh of animals, the capillary vessels are 
 wounded, and afford to the insect its desired food. 
 But. if it meets with its food in a liquid state, it 
 draws it up through the proboscis without ejecting 
 its curious lancets. If, however, any thing resist, 
 it throws out the Jancets, and then draws them into 
 the scabbard, which it then applies to the orifice of 
 the wound.° | | 
 
 In Burrerrures, the proboscis is situated pre- 
 cisely between the two eyes. Though some of them 
 exceed three inches in length, they occupy but a 
 small space. When a butterfly is not in quest of 
 food, this proboscis is rolled up in a spiral form, 
 similar to that of a watch-spring, each successive 
 ring covering the one which precedes. The sub- 
 stance of the proboscis has some resemblance to 
 that of horn. It tapers from the base to the 
 extremity. It is composed of two similar and equal 
 parts, each of which is concave, and, when joined, 
 form three distinct tubes. It is probable that these 
 
 ° See Spec. de la Nat. from Leuwenhoek. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 101 
 
 THE LEGS AND FEET OF INSECTS. 
 
 tubes enable the animals to extract the juices of 
 plants, to conduct air into their bodies, and. to 
 convey the sensation of smelling. Hence the pro- 
 boscis of insects is an instrument which serves them 
 for a mouth, a nose, anda wind-pipe.? 
 
 The Lees and Freer of insects are adapted to 
 their roving mode of life. In the pursuit of their 
 food, they are called into all positions ;—sometimes 
 they run up and down smooth perpendicular bodies; 
 at other times horizontally with their backs down- 
 wards ; as, for instance, on the ceilings of rooms. 
 Most insects have six or more legs, terminated by 
 different kinds of feet, to meet these various ex- 
 igencies. Some have sharp claws, by which they 
 lay hold of soft substances; and other feet, in the 
 same insect, are supplied with a sort of palms, to 
 fasten upon smooth surfaces where hooks or claws 
 would be of no service. All the families of hydro- 
 canthari, notonecti, &c. have their hindmost legs 
 _made very nicely, with flat commodious joints, and 
 bristles on each side towards the end, serving for 
 oars to swim; and those near the body are two 
 stiff spikes, to enable them to walk when occasion 
 requires.’ A certain fly, with six feet, has the 
 two extreme pairs terminated by a kind of brushes, 
 with which it dresses the anterior, or posterior 
 part of its body." Grasshoppers and crickets have 
 
 ’ See Smellie. 4See Derham, " St. Pierre, 
 
102 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE STINGS OF INSECTS. 
 
 strong thighs and slender legs, by the muscular 
 power of which they will leap a considerable dis- 
 tance. | 
 
 Many insects are supplied with Stines, which 
 are weapons both offensive and defensive. Though 
 Derham, Ray, and all attentive naturalists have 
 described them, Paley’s account of them, with 
 their uses and relations, is the most complete and 
 satisfactory: I shall therefore insert it here in his 
 own words. Respecting the stings of insects, he 
 observes :—“ The sharpness to which the point in 
 all of them is wrought; the temper and firmness of 
 the substance of which it is composed ; the strength 
 of the muscles by which it is darted out, compared 
 with the smallness and weakness of the insect, and 
 with the soft and friable texture of the rest of the 
 body, are properties of the sting to be noticed, and 
 not a little to be admired. ‘The sting of a bee will 
 pierce through a goat-skin glove. It penetrates the 
 human flesh more, readily than the finest point of 
 a needle. The action of the sting affords an 
 example of the union of chemistry and mechanism, 
 such as, if it be not a proof of contrivance, nothing 
 is. First, as to the chemistry: how highly con- 
 centrated must be the venom, which in so small a 
 quantity can produce such powerful effects! And 
 in the bee we may observe, that this venom is made 
 from honey, the only food of the insect, but the 
 last material from which I should have expected 
 
? 
 
 ORGANIZED NATURE. 103 
 
 THE STINGS OF INSECTS. 
 
 that an exalted poison could, by any process of 
 digestion whatsoever, have been prepared. In the 
 next place, with respect to the mechanism, the sting 
 is not a simple, but a compound instrument. The 
 visible sting, though drawn to a point exquisitely 
 sharp, is in strictness only a sheath; for near to 
 the extremity may be perceived, by the microscope, 
 two minute orifices, from which orifices, in the act 
 of stinging, and, as it should seem, after the point 
 of the main sting has buried itself in the flesh, are _ 
 launched out two subtile rays, which may be called 
 the true or proper stings, as being those through 
 which the poison is infused into the puncture already 
 made by the exterior sting. I have said that che- 
 mistry and mechanism are here united; by which 
 observation I mean, that all this machinery would 
 have been useless, if a supply of poison, intense 
 in quality, in proportion to the smallness of the 
 drop, had not been furnished to it by the che- 
 mical elaboration which was carried on in the 
 insect’s body: and that, on the other hand, the 
 poison, the result of this process, could not have 
 attained its effect, or reached its enemy, if, when 
 it was collected at the extremity of the abdomen, 
 it had not found: there a machinery fitted to con- 
 duct it to the external situations in which it was to 
 operate; viz. an awl to bore a hole, and a syringe 
 to inject the fluid. Yet these attributes, though 
 combined in their action, are independent in their 
 
104 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 origin: the yenom does not breed the sting; nor 
 does the sting concoct the venom.” * | 
 
 From the same able Writer, I shall quote a 
 description of an instrument with which many insects 
 are provided, for the purpose of depositing _ their 
 eggs in suitable situations; an instrument of sur- 
 prising curiosity. _It is “The Awx, or borer, fixed 
 at the tails of various species of flies; and with | 
 which they pierce, in some cases, plants; in others, 
 wood ; in others, the skin and flesh of animals ; in 
 others, the coat of the chrysalis of insects of a 
 different species from their own; and in others, 
 even lime, mortar, and stone. I need not add, that 
 having pierced the substance, they deposit their eggs 
 in the hole. The descriptions which naturalists give 
 of this organ are such as the following: It is a 
 sharp-pointed instrument, which, in its inactive state, 
 lies concealed in the extremity of the abdomen, and _ 
 which the animal draws out at pleasure, for the 
 purpose of making a puncture in the leaves, stem, 
 or bark of the particular plant, which is suited to 
 the nourishment of its young. Ina sheath, which 
 divides and opens whenever the organ is used, there 
 is inclosed a compact, solid, and dentated stem, 
 along which runs a gutter, or groove; by which 
 groove, after the punctration is effected, the egg, 
 assisted in some cases by a peristaltic motion, 
 gee ditie geod) te yt ie ee 
 
 * Nat, Theol. See also Derham; and Spec. de la Nat, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 105 
 
 THE METAMORPHOSIS. 
 
 passes to its destined lodgement. In:the Cestrum, or 
 Gap-r_y, the wimble draws out like the pieces of 
 a spy-glass; the last piece is armed with three 
 hooks, and is able to bore through the hide of 
 an ox.” 
 
 ‘The description which I have offered. applies 
 only to the more perfect insects; there are others 
 that appear to want many of these parts, and seem to 
 be destitute of those organs which we are in the 
 habit of thinking essential to life. Some want eyes, 
 ears, brain, and nostrils. Others have an acute 
 sense of smelling, though we know not the form or 
 situation of the organ. This inferior description. 
 of insects have no internal lungs, but. receive air 
 by lateral pores, and sometimes by long tubes which 
 protrude from different parts of the body. Many 
 insects have no heart, or general reservoir for the 
 reception and propulsion of the blood... But we 
 discover, by the microscope, that their blood. cir- 
 culates by the pulsation of arteries, and that their 
 different fluids are secreted by glands." 
 
 Having described the general structure of insects 
 so far as the nature of my plan would permit, I 
 shall now notice another peculiarity relative to them, 
 which is calculated to excite our astonishment. It 
 is their Mzramorpuosis. Infinite Wisdom does 
 not at all times complete its designs in the first 
 
 * See also Spec. de la Nat, * Smellie, 
 
106 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF. INSECTS, 
 
 formation of objects. It often conducts them through 
 a curious series of changes, each of which appears, 
 at first sight, to be the ultimate design ; but which, 
 in fact, is only to make preparation for a superior 
 mode of existence. This is remarkable in the me- 
 tamorphosis of insects. But there is no real trans- 
 mutation. Most of those members, which at last 
 become visible to the eye, exist at the beginning, 
 artificially complicated together, and covered with 
 membranes and tunics, which are afterwards stripped 
 off and laid aside.” It is the oviparous insects 
 which are subject to these changes. In their perfect 
 state they lay their eggs. And so powerful is the 
 instinct with which they are endowed for raising 
 their offspring, that they always deposit their eggs 
 in the most favourable situation for security, m con- 
 nexion with a provision of food for the young insect 
 as soon as it is hatched. The eggs of insects are 
 remarkable for their different figure and colour, 
 and for the peculiar regularity and exactness with 
 which they are frequently placed. We sometimes find 
 a sort of eggs cemented round the twig of a sloe- 
 tree, or damson-tree, as if fastened there by art, and 
 arranged merely for the sake of beauty. ‘There is 
 an inconceivable variety in the eggs of insects, and 
 they are deposited on all sorts of bodies, as well 
 as in water, on leaves, in the bark and wood of 
 
 “ Bentley, on Atheism. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 107 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF INSECTS. 
 
 trees, in the cavities of stones, and in the skins of 
 animals.* 
 
 Let us now consider the changes or metamorphoses 
 of insects, from the egg to their perfect state. Insects 
 change first from the (ovum) egg into the (Larva) 
 caterpillar or maggot. In this state the insect is 
 ‘masked, having its true appearance concealed. Under 
 this mask, the entire insect, such as it afterwards 
 appears when perfect, lies hidden, enveloped only in 
 its tender wings, and putting on a soft and pulpy 
 appearance, insomuch that SwAMMERDAM was able 
 to demonstrate the existence of the butterfly with its 
 wings in a caterpillar, though it bore but a faint 
 resemblance to its future perfection. The insect 
 therefore, in this state, undergoes no other alteration 
 but the change of its skin. 9 
 
 When it has continued a certain time in this con- 
 dition, it is changed into the (pupa) chrysalis; in this 
 state the insect is covered over with a sort of thin 
 shell or skin, and it has an appearance essentially dif- 
 ferent from its former one. The chrysalis is connected 
 by fine threads, which it spun while in its former 
 State, to some substance or other, where it remains 
 secure while thus helpless and motionless. It now 
 requires no food. After remaining some time in this 
 state, insects arrive at the (imago) fly, or perfect state. 
 
 * Baker, on the Microscope. 
 ” Encyclop, Brit.—Entomology. 
 
108 - ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF THE GNAT. 
 
 Now their wings are unfolded, covered with their 
 beautiful plumage; the antenne, the proboscis, the 
 legs, and all the curious apparatus essential to the 
 perfect insect, is developed, and it is able to propagate 
 its species. ) 
 
 I shall here illustrate this curious process in the 
 instance of the Gnart. It lays its eggs upon some 
 substance in the water, as the branch of a tree. 
 When by the heat of the sun the eggs are hatched, 
 the maggots descend to the bottom, and by means of 
 the glutinous matter of the spawn, which they take 
 along with them, they fasten themselves to stones, or 
 other bodies, and there make themselves little cells, 
 which they use at pleasure, until they arrive at a more 
 mature state, when they become red worms, with 
 something analogous to fins, and are able to swim 
 about in pursuit of food. The insect has now a 
 mouth and stomach accommodated to food; though 
 in its chrysalis state it has no such organs, as it lives 
 without food. In the state at which it has now arrived, 
 its body is entirely changed; it has a club-head (in 
 which the head, thorax, and wings of the gnat are all 
 enclosed) a slender alvus, and a neat finny tail standing 
 at right angles with the body, quite different to what 
 it was before. It no longer swims by curvations, or 
 twisting its body first one way and then another, as 
 formerly in its worm state, but by rapid and brisk 
 jerks, just the contrary way. In a short time, how- 
 ever, it arrives at its gnat-state, when it has no finny 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 7 109 
 SS 
 
 THE CARE OF INSECTS OVER THEIR YOUNG. 
 
 tail, no club-head; it has now a most curious pro- 
 boscis, or well-made spear, to wound and suck the 
 blood of animals; wings, and all the necessary appa- 
 ratus for living in the air, as before it had for residing 
 in the water.’ In all these different states, it assumes 
 appearances as different from each other as a worm 
 is from a fish, or a fish from a flying animal. There 
 are no insects, except those of the aptera class, but 
 what are continually undergoing some such surprising 
 transformation. 
 
 In the Propacarion of their species, insects are 
 singularly careful. In some,* the male and female 
 discover equal attention to their eggs. When the 
 female has laid her eggs in a little ball of dung, the 
 male, with his feet, which are axiform, assists the 
 female to roll it to some suitable place. In others,” it 
 is observable that the female has no sooner brought 
 forth her young, than she is devoured by it. Another® 
 kills the caterpillar of the moth, then buries it in 
 the earth, and there deposits her eggs in it. Nor 
 can we behold without admiration the same species 
 (of aphis) which. was viviparous in the summer, 
 become oviparous in the autumn." 
 
 Pa a th hs ara selec tats ge) salar bel chien gy 
 
 “I state the above facts on the authority of Derham. Sce 
 Physico-Theol. 
 
 ‘ As the Scarabeus Pilularis and Carnifex. 
 
 * The Coccus and Oniscus. 
 
 * The Splyx. 
 
 “See Encyclop. Brit. 
 
110 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE TREE BEE—THE SOLITARY WASP, 
 
 ee 
 I once collected a number of Curysaxips of 
 the garden caterpillar, for the purpose of observing 
 the development of the insect. Among the rest, 
 there was one which appeared to be dead. But on 
 breaking it open, a swarm of small black flies issued 
 from it, to the number of nearly a hundred, which 
 immediately began to crawl and fly. No doubt, 
 some insect had deposited its eggs in this chrysalis. 
 Ray mentions a remarkable instinct in what he 
 calls the Trex Bez, whose industry in making pro- 
 vision for her young is singular. She first excavates 
 round vaults in a decayed tree, of a considerable 
 length. In these excavations she builds her cylin- 
 drical nests, of pieces of rose or other leaves, which 
 she shears off with her mouth, and joins together by 
 some glutinous substance. ‘These cases she fills with 
 an unpleasant pulpy substance, of a red colour. She 
 makes her cells, and stores them with this provision 
 before she has any young one hatched, or even an: 
 egg laid. And on the top of this substance she lays 
 one egg, and then closes up the vessel with a cover of 
 leaves. ‘The enclosed: ege soon becomes a maggot, 
 which feeds on this provision till it arrives at its full 
 growth, when it changes into a chrysalis, and then 
 becomes a bee.° 
 The Sorirary Wasp digs holes in the sand, in 
 each of which she deposits an egg. She then collects 
 (ete eles lat Rie el ol AT) ae le 
 * Ray on Creation. Encyclop. Brit.—Jnstinct.: 
 
. ORGANIZED NATURE. 111 
 Se = : eenranuneeemmaanimene . . 
 
 4 THE SPIDER—POLITICAL ECONOMY OF BEES. 
 Se 
 a few small green worms, which she rolls up in a 
 circular form, and fixes in the hole in such a manner 
 that they cannot move. ‘Thus, when the wasp-worm 
 is hatched, it is amply provided with the food which 
 nature has destined for its support. The green worms 
 are devoured in succession ; and the number deposited 
 is exactly proportioned to the time necessary for the 
 growth and transformation of the wasp-worm into a 
 fly; when it issues from the hole, and is capable of 
 procuring its own nourishment. This instinct of the 
 parent wasp is the more remarkable, because she feeds 
 not upon flesh herself. 
 
 The common SprpER weaves a bag of surprising 
 strength, in which she deposits her eggs, closes it up 
 with the utmost care, and hangs it in a place the most 
 secure from birds, or carries it along with her, either 
 upon her back or under her belly, till they are hatched. 
 
 The domestic and potiricaL economy (if I 
 
 «may so term it) of certain insects is truly surprising. 
 That of bees has been often described, of which I 
 shall offer only a short account. They usually form 
 a colony of eighteen or twenty thousand in the same 
 hive; and though so great a number is together in so 
 small a compass, they are under admirable discipline. 
 A hive of bees may be considered as a monarchy, 
 under the government of one bee, called the queen, 
 to whom the rest manifest the sincerest attachment 
 and affection. There is never more than one queen. 
 in the same hive; and if she be destroyed, the utmost 
 
112 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE CELLS OF HONEY COMBS. ait 
 confusion instantly follows; the bees leave off working, 
 feed on the honey which has been collected, forsake 
 the hive, and pine away unless another queen is found 
 to supply her place. 
 
 In building their cells, bees discover surprising 
 instinctive accuracy ; in this employment the neuters 
 are alone engaged. When they begin to work, 
 they divide themselves into four companies; one of 
 which roves in the fields in search of materials; an- 
 other employs itself in laying out the bottom and 
 partitions of their cells; a third makes the inside 
 smooth from the corners and the angles; and the 
 fourth company brings food for the rest, or relieves 
 those who return with their respective burdens. But 
 the companies often change their employments with 
 each other. 7 | 
 
 The best possible shape is fixed on for their cells, 
 at once to make the most of their room, and to give 
 to each other the greatest strength and support. ‘This- 
 shape is HEXAGONAL; by which no room jis lost, 
 and the circumference of one cell makes part of the 
 circumferences of those contiguous to it. They make 
 the partitions of their cells remarkably thin, yet they 
 are so constructed that the solidity may compensate 
 for the scantiness of the materials. The parts most 
 exposed to injury are the entrances of the cells. These 
 the bees take care to strengthen by adding quite round 
 the circumference of the apertures a fillet of wax, 
 by which means the entrance is three or four times 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 113 
 | STRUCTURE OF HONEY-COMBS. ae 
 Ss 
 thicker than the sides: and they are strengthened at 
 the bottom by the angle formed by the bottom of 
 three cells falling in the middle of an opposite cell. 
 The bottom of the cells is not flat, as might at first 
 sight appear. In each cell it is composed of three 
 planes which meet in a centre; but this centre is not 
 in a flat surface, but concave. 
 
 The combs lie parallel to each other; and there 
 is left between every one of them a space which serves 
 as a street, broad enough for two bees to pass by each © 
 other. ‘There are holes also which go quite through 
 the combs, and serve as lanes for the bees to pass 
 from one comb to another, without being obliged to 
 go a considerable distance round. | 
 
 When the cells are built, some bees go about 
 beating them with their wings and the posterior parts 
 of their bodies, probably to give the materials all 
 possible solidity; others are employed in polishing 
 and perfecting them. This operation is performed 
 by their talons, taking off every thing that is rough 
 and uneven. The cells are for the reception of the 
 honey, in which it is sealed up with wax when they 
 are filled, or for the reception of the eggs of the queen 
 bee, from which to raise up a young progeny. Here 
 they often discover the most astonishing instinct. 
 The female Bee, when the cells are not sufficiently 
 numerous to receive her eggs, lays two or three in 
 each cell. But a few days after when the cells are 
 increased, the working bees remove all the super- 
 
 I 
 
1144 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 HONEY—BEES UNITE TO REPEL THEIR ENEMIES. 
 
 numerary eggs, and deposit them in the newly-con- 
 structed cells.‘ | 
 
 The Honey is collected from the bottoms of flowers 
 by the proboscis of the bee, through which it passes 
 into a sort of stomach, where it undergoes a certain 
 chemical change, and then is deposited in these 
 receptacles. ‘The wax is made from the farina of 
 flowers, which must also undergo a chemical process 
 in another internal organ of the bee, before it becomes 
 fit for use. 
 
 In their economy, while they act with order and 
 perfect harmony with each other, they are always 
 united in repelling the attacks of their enemies, in 
 which they do not fail to make use of their powerful 
 weapons. If a snail or mouse intrude into the hive, 
 the whole colony commences the attack, and stings 
 the enemy to death, which, if too large to be removed, 
 they immediately cover over with wax, to prevent the 
 pestilential vapours of putrefaction from annoying 
 them. 
 
 In all these, and various other particulars which 
 night be mentioned relative to these surprising insects, 
 we must be struck with the wonderful adaptation of 
 means to a proposed end. The end is, mutual sup- 
 port. In order to this, there must be provision suit- 
 able to the constitution of the animal, and also a 
 winter store. ‘The bee is therefore provided with every 
 
 _-— _ 
 os 5 ie a + 
 
 ‘ SMELLIE’S Philosophy of Nature. 
 
 ; 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 1 
 
 DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF ANTS. 
 
 requisite organ for collecting and preparing it for use;— 
 with instinct to know where to find it, and at what 
 season ;—with ability to form suitable apartments for 
 its reception, and the best means of preserving it till 
 demanded ;—with sagacity to act with propriety, as 
 unforeseen but dangerous occurrences may require ;— 
 and with inclinations to live in union and peace among 
 themselves, where, amidst so great a number, a want 
 of union and mutual forbearance must prove de- 
 structive to the whole society. The whole affords a 
 surprising demonstration of the Creator’s wisdom.’ 
 The domestic economy of Aw'rs is little inferior 
 to that of bees; but on this I shall not enlarge, 
 mentioning only a few particulars. They form a sort 
 of republic, governed by their own laws and politics. 
 _ They make for themselves a kind of oblong city, with 
 various streets and lanes, which terminate at different 
 magazines of provisions. Some of the ants consolidate 
 the earth, and prevent it from falling in, by a surface 
 of glew, with which they incrust it. The common 
 ants amass several splinters of wood, which they draw 
 over the tops of their streets, and raise as rafters to 
 _ Sustain the roofs; and across these they lay another 
 rank of splinters’ and cover them with a heap of ‘dry 
 rushes, grass, and straw, which they elevate with a 
 double slope to turn the current of the water from 
 $$$ 
 
 * For a more particular account on this curious subject, see 
 
 the word Bee, Encyclop. Brit.—Also, Spec. de la Nat. 
 12 
 
116 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 USEFULNESS OF INSECTS—SPIDERS. 
 
 — 
 
 their magazines, some of which are appropriated to 
 receive their provisions, and in the others they 
 deposit their eggs, and the worms which proceed from 
 them." | 
 
 Many insects are obviously exceedingly useful 
 in the general system of nature, especially by de- 
 stroying other insects which would prove very in- 
 jurious if suffered to live. SprpErs are exceedingly 
 voracious animals, and devour vast numbers of flies 
 by entangling them in those curious nets which they 
 weave for the purpose, and suspend with great skill 
 in situations where they are the most likely to 
 succeed. A small spider often conquers a large fly 
 which has more strength than itself. When the fly is. 
 entangled in the spider’s web, the spider approaches 
 with great caution after it has ceased fluttering; and 
 standing at a convenient distance, extends one of its 
 legs, and injuring the fly with its sharp claw, makes it 
 again to flutter, and instantly retires with great speed 
 to its cell, where it watches the process. It does the 
 same again and again, till the strength of the fly is 
 exhausted. It then makes a bold attack; and after 
 — injuring it with its teeth, it places the dying fly at a 
 short distance from its hinder parts, where, from 
 the nipple from which it spins its web, it ejects many 
 threads of this glutinous matter, and giving a rotatory 
 motion to the fly by its hind legs, binds down its 
 
 " Spec. de la Nat. 
 
ORGANTZED NATURE. Mb i 
 eee 
 
 THE DRAGON-FLY.—REFLECTIONS. 
 oe 
 wings and legs, and then carries it to its den, and 
 devours it at leisure. 
 
 Spiders would soon increase in numbers so as to 
 prove very injurious, were it not that they are greedily 
 sought and devoured by birds, and especially by flies 
 called IcunEUMons. The number of these is incon- 
 ceivable. ‘They destroy not only spiders, but also 
 vast multitudes of caterpillars and other insects. 
 The Lipetia, or dragon-fly, devours almost every 
 species of winged insects. It frequents marshy 
 grounds, pools of water, and the margins of rivers, 
 where insects abound most. Its appetite is so vora- 
 cious, that it not only devours small flies, but even the 
 large flesh-fly, moths, and butterflies of every descrip- 
 tion. Some insects, as caterpillars, feed even upon 
 their own species. 
 
 in taking a retrospect of this part of animal and 
 organic nature, we cannot but be filled with admi- 
 ration and delight. In beholding these organized 
 atoms, these floating machines, these diminutive forms, 
 some of them only just visible to the eye as they pass, 
 and yet supplied with the most curious and perfect 
 means of subsistence, who does not wonder and adore? 
 But how small a portion of these can we know! The 
 greatest cause of wonder is beyond the reach of the 
 most powerful magnifying glasses. Both the begin- 
 nings and the ends of things, the least and the greatest, 
 all conspire to baffle us; and which ever way we 
 prosecute our inquiries, we still fall in with fresh sub- 
 
118 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 REFLECTIONS, 
 Be a 
 
 jects of amazement, and fresh reasons to believe that 
 there are indefinitely still more and more behind, which 
 will for ever escape our most eager pursuits and 
 deepest penetration.' 
 
 If the external organization be so wonderful, what 
 must that internal economy be, which gives energy to 
 the organs, and propagates motion in all directions, as 
 from a common centre? How wisely are all the organs 
 of insects adapted to their continuance in being! The 
 shape of their bodies is suitable to the element through 
 which they are so often to pass: their wings for con- 
 veying them from place to place in quest of food or 
 other objects: their legs and feet for their uneven 
 and varying path, to meet every necessity of the case: 
 their eyes for seeing objects in all directions with the 
 greatest facility: their probosces and other shaped 
 mouths for collecting food according to the circum- 
 stances in which .it is generally found: their instru- 
 ments for depositing their eggs in the most favourable 
 situations: their stings for defending them against the 
 foes to which they are commonly exposed: their 
 solicitude and care in raising up a new race, which, 
 by their own speedy death, will be rendered so neces- 
 sary: their surprising instincts and political economy, 
 with all that interior organization of muscles, blood- 
 vessels, heart, lungs, stomach, and nerves, which is 
 essentially necessary, and the whole comprehended . 
 
 en 
 
 a oe ee 
 
 ‘See Wollaston’s Religion of Nature. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 119 
 
 STRUCTURE OF FISHES. 
 
 ——$— 
 
 in a space much less than that occupied by a barley- 
 corn, and made out of matter not larger than a 
 grain of sand; yet every thing regular, perfect, 
 beautiful :—what impressions must all this give us 
 of the wisdom of God! What intelligence but his 
 could have devised such an economy! What power 
 but his could have produced such an arrangement 
 of the finest conceivable materials ! 
 
 PEOLEL OS 
 
 FISHES. 
 
 Having noticed winged animals, according to my 
 proposed plan, I shall proceed to consider those 
 whose residence is in the water. On examination 
 we shall find that aquatic animals are formed on 
 principles exactly adapted to the element in which 
 they live, and to all their necessities. All nature 
 teams with life: every element is crowded with 
 inhabitants. We look on the smooth surface of a 
 still lake, and we see nothing that appears to have 
 life. But if we take up only one drop of it, and 
 examine its contents by the help of the microscope, 
 we shall find that this single drop contains millions 
 of inhabitants. This assertion may, at first sight, 
 appear hyperbolical and incredible; but, on exami- 
 nation, we shall see that it is founded in matter of 
 
120 | ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 WATER CROWDED WITH ANIMALCULA. 
 
 fact, and is indubitably certain. Leuwenuorx de- 
 clares that he has seen not fewer than eight millions 
 two hundred and eighty thousand animalcula in one 
 drop of water ; and affirms, that if a large grain of 
 sand were broken into eight million equal parts, 
 one of these would not exceed the size of one of 
 those creatures. Yet, minute as they are, their 
 organs are perfect; possessing all the essential parts 
 of larger animals, both external and internal, though 
 (as the above eminent naturalist remarks) they are 
 in proportion to a mite, as a bee is toa horse. “ If 
 these creatures. be so exceeding small (says Ray), 
 what must we think of their muscles and other 
 parts! Certain it is that the mechanism, by which 
 nature performs the muscular motion, is exceeding 
 small and curious ; and to the performance of every 
 muscular motion, in larger animals at least, there 
 are not fewer distinct parts concerned than many 
 millions of millions, and these visible through a 
 microscope.” Who by searching can find out God: 
 who can find out the Almighty to perfection? 
 
 But it is not in these diminutive animals that 
 we can trace the Wisdom of the Creator in adapting 
 organization to a proposed result. Arguing from 
 analogy, we conclude, that this organization exists 
 
 * Ray, on Creation. — Derham.— For a more particular 
 description of animalcula, See Baker, on the Microscope, p. 
 68, &c. 3 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 121 
 
 STRUCTURE OF SHELL-FISHES. 
 
 as much in them as it does in others; but we must 
 confine our attention to those animals whose organs 
 are more apparent in their structure, and of which 
 the use is more certain. Aquatic animals are sur- 
 prisingly numerous, and astonishingly diversified in 
 their structure; and yet the general principles of 
 their economy are comparatively few, especially in 
 their exterior form. I shall divide them into two 
 classes :—the first class will comprehend those which 
 are covered with shells; the second, those which 
 are covered with scales, 
 
 srprerce 
 SHELL-FISH. 
 
 Aquatic animals, which are covered with shells,' 
 are very numerous, and surprisingly varied in 
 their forms ; comprehending crabs, lobsters, oysters, 
 muscles, and various others. Some of them are 
 comparatively simple, and others more complex in 
 their structure; but all have received a confor- 
 mation suited to the element in which they exist, 
 the dangers to which they are exposed, and _ their 
 modes of living. Oysters and muscles do. not 
 
 ' The terms Testaceous and Crustaceous are used by 
 naturalists in describing animals covered with shells. The 
 term testaceous is applied to those which have continuous 
 shells without joints, as oysters; crustaceous, to those which 
 haye joints, as the lobster. 
 
joel 
 i) 
 ) 
 
 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ge ae rr 
 , 
 
 THE MUSCLE. 
 
 appear, at first sight, to possess any powers of 
 shifting their situation at pleasure, or of detaining 
 themselves where they are. However, they are not 
 so helpless. The Muscie, in particular, is pro- 
 vided for meeting both these necessities, though in 
 but a slight degree. It moves itself by means of 
 its congue, a firm and strong substance, which it is 
 able to extend an inch anda half beyond its shell. 
 
 When it wants to move itself, it inserts the tip of 
 
 this tongue in the sand; or in the cavities of the 
 substance where it may happen to be, and then 
 draws itself forward by its muscular contraction. 
 When it comes to a suitable situation where it finds 
 its food, by means of the same organ, it forms 
 threads of glutinous matter with which it is pro- 
 vided, one end of which it fastens to the ground, 
 and keeps hold of the other. As one of these 
 threads would be insufficient to enable it to with- 
 stand the current of water, it forms many, and thus 
 remains secure, as a ship at anchor. When the 
 muscle wants to remove, it emits another juice which 
 acts as a dissolvent upon the threads, and thus 
 sets itself at liberty. What surprising mechanism! 
 Though the Creator appears to have been sparing 
 in the bestowment of members for action, yet one 
 is granted whose structure meets every necessity. 
 It is not only a tongue for its common purposes as 
 such, but also a leg to assist the animal in its 
 progress, and a mould to form and shape the threads 
 
 i” lll 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 123 
 
 SoS aS SR SR a SY CARP aSNSEarene ee 
 , LOBSTERS=—-CAST THEIR SHELLS. 
 
 requisite for her fastening. How much curious 
 mechanism in so small a compass !™ 
 
 The structure of the various species of crabs, 
 lobsters, and shrimps, is more complicated and sur- 
 prising. ‘They are covered with a strong and hard 
 shell for defence. I have often viewed the lobster as 
 one of the wonders of nature. Besides its legs for 
 motion at the bottom of the sea, by means of its 
 strong tail, it can throw itself backwards through the 
 water with astonishing velocity, and to a considerable 
 distance by one single stroke. It has two formidable 
 claws, the one for holding itself fast by the rocks, or 
 sea weeds, and the other is sharp for cutting its food. 
 Its mouth is a most singular piece of mechanism, and 
 worthy of close examination. Its teeth are in its 
 stomach ; its eyes are lenticular and protuberant, 
 placed at the termination of projected footstalks, for 
 the purpose of seeing objects in all directions; but 
 they are well protected by strong bony spikes,- which 
 have a formidable appearance. Like other insects 
 (for the lobster belongs to the order of insects called 
 by naturalists apéera) it is supplied with long antenne, 
 and palpi, and no doubt for the same purposes. 
 
 When the shells of these creatures are formed 
 they can grow no larger. But their increase in size is 
 provided for by the faculty they possess of annually 
 changing their shells. At the proper season, they 
 SE a ee oo a 
 ® Spec. de la Nat. 
 
124 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE HERMIT CRAB. 
 
 become soft and loose from the flesh of the animal, 
 when it swells itself and opens the seams of its shell ; 
 the claws burst at their joints, and the old shell is cast 
 off. In this tender and defenceless state, the animal 
 hides itself in the holes of the rocks, as well to 
 secure itself from the unnatural ferocity of its own 
 species not in the same condition, as to avoid other 
 enemies. In afew days it has a new covering suited 
 to its enlarged body. During the time that the old 
 shell is worn, a sort of stony concretion is formed in 
 the body of the animal, from which it would seem 
 that the new covering is produced, as it gradually 
 decreases during that process, and when completed, it 
 entirely disappears. Four of these stones have been 
 remarked in the violet crab of the Bahama Islands ; 
 they are found under its stomach, and gradually 
 decrease, as in the former case, as the shell hardens, 
 and when it comes to perfection, are found no 
 longer, 
 
 There is a small parasitic crab which, on account 
 of some peculiarities,’ deserves distinct notice. It is 
 called the Sorpirr, or Hermir Crab. It is only the 
 fore part of this animal which is defended by a shell 
 covering; its tail is naked, soft and tender, yet pro- 
 vided with a sort of hook, by which it secures itself 
 in its lodging. But though it is thus exposed, and 
 has no provision of its own for security, so great is its 
 sagacity, that it makes provision for itself, by taking 
 refuge in the deserted shells of other animals, such as 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 125 
 onde 
 
 THE NAUTILUS. 
 
 the whelk. The shell is chosen according to the size 
 of the animal, and is carried along with it as the snail 
 carries its covering, into which, when danger ap- 
 proaches, it retires with the utmost readiness. When 
 its habitation becomes inconveniently small, it looks 
 out for another more suitable. | It goes to the line of 
 pebbles and shells formed by the highest wave on 
 the beach, still however dragging its old incommodious 
 habitation at its tail; unwilling to part with one shell, 
 though a troublesome appendage, till it can find 
 another more convenient. It stops at one shell, — 
 and turning it, passes it by: it goes to another, and 
 contemplates that for a while, and then slips its tail 
 from its old habitation to try the new one; if it finds 
 this to be inconvenient, it immediately returns to its 
 old one again. In this manner it frequently changes, 
 till at last it finds one light, roomy, and commodious; 
 to this it adheres, though the shell be sometimes so 
 large as to hide both its body and claws." Though 
 the Creator has denied this little animal the natural 
 means of security, he has bestowed upon it an instinc- 
 tive faculty to make use of one, which, though artificial, 
 is a good substitute. | 
 There is a kind of Nauvritvus, called by Linnzus 
 Argonauta, whose shell has but one cell; of. this 
 animal Pliny affirms, that having lightened its shell 
 
 "See CanceR—Encyclop. Brit. This animal is found on 
 many parts of the coasts of England, 
 
126 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 VIOLET LAND-CRAB—ITS MIGRATIONS. 
 
 by throwing out the water, it swims upon the surface 
 of the water, extending a web of wonderful tenuity, 
 and bending back two of its arms and rowing with the 
 rest, makes a sail; and at length receiving the water, 
 sinks again.° Like the above-mentioned crab, it in- 
 habits a shell not its own. ‘These facts are well attested 
 by many who have seen it in the act of swimming. 
 
 In the warmer countries of Europe, and particu- 
 larly in the tropical regions of Africa and America, is 
 found the Viotet Lanp-Crap, which is remarkable 
 for its annually migrating from the mountainous 
 countries which it inhabits, to the sea. In the months 
 of April and May, crabs of this description leave their 
 holes and subterraneous retreats, and collect, and 
 march in millions to the sea-shore. ‘The design in 
 performing this journey is to deposit their spawn on 
 the shores of the sea. They form themselves into 
 three companies; the first company consists of the 
 largest and strongest males, who march first like 
 pioneers, to clear the way. The second company is 
 composed of the females; these form the main body, 
 and descend from the mountains in regular columns, 
 fifty paces broad, and sometimes three miles in length, 
 and so close together, that they cover the ground. 
 In the next company, which may be considered as 
 the rear guard, are all the straggling males and females, 
 a mere undisciplined troop. ‘Thus formed, they pro- 
 
 ° Darwin's Works. 
 
__... ORGANIZED NATURE. 127 
 ceed in a straight line. If a house stand in their way, 
 they attempt to scale its walls. However, when they 
 come to a river, they are obliged to wind along the 
 course of its stream. They travel chiefly during the 
 night, unless it should rain in the day-time, when they 
 proceed in a slow and regular manner. Should the 
 sun shine, they halt till evening, and then resume 
 their march. If alarmed, they retreat backward in 
 great disorder, and erect their nippers in a threatening 
 posture, and make such a noise as to intimidate their 
 enemies. ‘These journeys sometimes cost them three - 
 months of great exertion. Having deposited their 
 spawn on the sea-shore, they march back again to the 
 mountains. 
 
 PP PL IL OL 
 
 FISHES, 
 
 On the structure of Fishes I shall offer a few 
 remarks, illustrative of the wisdom of God in adapting 
 their organization to the element in which they live. 
 
 In passing through a fluid element, it is obvious 
 that the resistance must be in the ratio of its density, 
 which, in the case of water, is much greater than 
 itis in air. If fishes have received a suitable organi- 
 zation, we may expect to find in them the best shape 
 for avoiding the resistance of this obstacle, and a 
 muscular strength sufficient to overcome that which 
 
128 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ue) 
 
 SHAPE OF FISHES SUITED TO THEIR ELEMENT. 
 
 cannot be avoided. If we carry this supposition 
 along with us in examining the structure of fishes, 
 we shall find it at once confirmed and illustrated, 
 especially in those which move with great velocity. 
 They are long and slender; their heads terminating 
 in an acute angle, to cleave the water and make 
 way for the body, which is tapering from the thorax 
 towards the tail. It is admitted by naturalists, that 
 this shape is preferable to all others. But besides 
 their suitable shape, for moving with facility through 
 so dense a medium as water, it is necessary that 
 the skin of fishes should be smooth and free from 
 all protuberances. ‘This is also remarkably the fact : 
 besides the scales, which lie folded one over another 
 from the head to the tail, and which are uncommonly 
 smooth, fishes are covered over with a slimy mucus, 
 which is admirably adapted to destroy friction and 
 the consequent resistance. ‘These scales and _ this 
 mucus are probably subservient to another purpose ; 
 that is, to keep the pressure of the water at a distance 
 from the capillary vessels of the skin, whose action is 
 essential to the important process of perspiration. 
 It is generally agreed among naturalists, that 
 the motion of the fish is produced principally by 
 the action of the tail; the pectoral and other fins 
 serving only to keep it in its proper position on 
 its belly, and to assist in rising and sinking. It is 
 necessary, therefore, that the muscular strength of 
 the tail should be great, in order to produce any: 
 
; ORGANIZED NATURE. $29 
 Sree 
 
 THE AiR BLADDER OF FISHES, 
 
 = SAAD. ORR TALIA TS IES SE 2s TFT TS 
 considerable velocity in so dense a medium. And 
 the fact corresponds with the difficulty to be over- 
 come. Tor the muscular power in the tail of eyen 
 a small fish, as, for instance, the trout or the 
 herring, is truly astonishing; a strong man being 
 scarcely able to hold it. <A stroke of the tail each 
 way produces a straight forward motion; and but 
 one way, that which is oblique. 
 
 As fishes cannot live without air the principal 
 part of which they must derive from the atmo- 
 sphere, and as their food is generally collected 
 at different depths in the water, it is obvious that 
 ‘they must possess a power of raising and lowering 
 themselves to any medium by altering their specific 
 gravity. Provision is made to meet this necessity 
 by a singular piece of mechanism. It is by means 
 of the air bladder, which is a thin oblong mem- 
 braneous bag full of rarefied air, placed in the most 
 suitable situation, that is, immediately under the 
 back-bone. It has a strong muscular coat by means 
 of which the fish is able to vary the dimensions of 
 it as the case may require. By contracting the 
 bladder and condensing the enclosed air, the fish 
 makes its body specifically heavier than water, and 
 can then immediately descend; but when the mus- 
 cular fibres relax, the air is dilated, and the fish 
 becoming specifically lighter, consequently rises. 
 According to the different degrees of contraction 
 or dilation of this bladder, it continues higher or 
 lower in the water at pleasure. 
 
 K 
 
130 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE EYES OF FISHES. 
 
 —————— SSS 
 
 At the first glance, it might be thought that so 
 small an air bladder would be imadequate to the 
 purpose; but when it is considered that the bodies 
 of fishes are very nearly of the same specific gravity 
 with the element in which they live, this contri- 
 vance will appear quite sufficient. How singular 
 that such a philosophical apparatus should be found 
 in the inside of a fish, and one so admirably adapted 
 to assist the animal in effecting its change of place. 
 This simple device affords a surprising display 
 of skill, and the hand of a Workman to whom all 
 matter is subservient. Consider the bladder itself, 
 a remarkably light, but strong membrane; the con- 
 tents of the bladder—rarefied air, the lightest of all 
 substances, and, in its volume, capable of increase 
 or diminution ; the muscular structure of the blad- 
 der; and finally, the connexion it has with the 
 nervous system, and its consequent dependence on 
 the will of the animal. . 
 
 All that I shall notice here in the Eves of 
 fishes, is merely ‘what is peculiar to themselves. 
 The crystalline lens is a complete sphere, and more 
 dense than in terrestrial animals, that the rays of 
 light passing through water might be sufficiently 
 refracted. The optic nerves of fishes are not con- 
 founded with each other in their middle progress 
 betwixt their origin in the brain and the eye; but 
 the one passes over the other without any com- 
 munication; the nerve which comes from the left 
 side of the brain goes distinctly to the right eye, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 131 
 and vice versd. Their eyes being placed on the 
 sides of their heads, they cannot look at the same 
 object with both ; consequently it was not necessary 
 that the optic nerves should have the same connexion 
 as those of man. As the convex surface of: the 
 eye is perpetually exposed, suitable provision is 
 made in its structure to meet danger. It is defended 
 by a firm pellucid membrane, which seems to’ be 
 a continuation of the cuticle stretched over it. The 
 epidermis is most proper for this purpose, being 
 insensible and destitute of vessels, and consequently 
 not liable to those obstructions which might render 
 it opaque. The element in which they live being 
 sufficient to keep the eye moist, eyelids were un- 
 necessary ; hence they have none.” The iris in the 
 eyes of fish, does not admit of contraction like that 
 of other animals. This is a great difference the 
 probable reason of which is, that the diminished 
 light in water is never too strong for the retina. . In 
 the eel, which has to work its head through sand 
 and gravel, the roughest and harshest substances, 
 there is placed before the eye, and at some distance 
 from it, a transparent, horny, convex case or cover- 
 ing, which, without obstructing the sight, defends 
 the organ. To such an animal, could any thing 
 be more indispensable, or more useful?’ How 
 
 ee arene ee ——_—__—_—_—. ert ee 
 
 ; Comparative Anatomy i~Enoyelop. Brit. 
 4 Paley. 
 
 Kg 
 
182 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 THE FECUNDITY OF FISHES. 
 ———————OOOOOOOOE eee 
 
 many necessities are met in this curious device, 
 and met too in a small compass, and on the best 
 and most suitable principles. » 
 
 The Fecunpiry of most fishes is truly asto- 
 nishing. In a single cod-fish more than nine millions 
 of eggs have been counted"; and under the tail of one 
 lobster, upwards of twelve thousand, besides those 
 which were in the body of the animal undischarged. 
 The flounder in one season lays above one million 
 of eggs; and the mackarel, more than five hundred 
 thousand. This amazing fecundity not only makes 
 certain provision for continuing the species, but 
 affords great quantities of food for others. As vast 
 numbers of these eggs are diligently sought, and 
 greedily devoured by other fishes, wherever they are 
 deposited, and others also are destroyed by the uncer- 
 tain and fluctuating element to the injuries of which 
 they are exposed, this fruitfulness appears necessary, 
 that the few eggs which escape may be sufficient 
 to continue the race. However, there is no want 
 of instinct and care in these animals respecting 
 their offspring; for they deposit their eggs in the 
 most favourable situations to which they can pos- 
 sibly have access, at once to provide for their safety, 
 and to bring them to maturity. Some dig holes 
 for them and hide them in the sand; others take a 
 journey of four or five hundred miles up a river, 
 
 " Spec. de la Nat. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 133 
 
 THE GYMNOTUS ELECTRICUS—THE CUTTLE FISH, 
 
 in. which they encounter the greatest difficulties 
 and dangers, for the sake of laying them in some 
 favourable creek or shoal. 
 
 Some fishes are endowed with peculiar means 
 for TAKING THEIR PREY, and of self-defence.— 
 The Gymnorus ELecrricus is a remarkable in- 
 stance of this. Itis a native of the river Surinam, 
 in South America, in which it is said to be some- 
 times found upwards of twenty feet in length, and 
 to possess a power of communicating an electric 
 shock sufficient to killa man. This surprising pro- 
 perty is given it for defence against its enemies, and 
 also for taking its prey, which it does by benumbing 
 the animals it attacks: and having effected this, it 
 devours them before they have time to recover: the. 
 energy of this power appears to depend upon the 
 will of the animal. The Torprpo possesses a 
 similar faculty, though in an inferior degree. 
 
 The Currie fish, when pursued by its foe, 
 has the power of ejecting a black fluid with which 
 it destroys the transparency of the water ; and thus 
 makes its escape. Were it not for this singular 
 capacity of self-defence, the whole race must speedily 
 have been devoured. The Ecuinvs, or sea hedge- 
 hog, is a very helpless animal, and would soon 
 be exterminated, were it not for the sharp spines 
 with which it is furnished. And it is worthy of 
 remark, that these spines serve a two-fold purpose ; 
 for they are the organs of locomotion, as well as 
 armour for protection. 
 
134 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ‘THE PINNA AND CANCER PINNOTHERIS. 4 
 
 The means of protection afforded to the Pinna, 
 or sea-wing, is the most singular and astonishing. 
 It is contained in a two-valve shell, weighing some- 
 times fifteen ‘pounds. By means of long fibres, it 
 attaches itself to rocks at a considerable depth in 
 the sea. Here it is so assailed by the eight-footed 
 Potypus, that it would soon be destroyed, were 
 it not for the assistance which it derives from the 
 Cancer Prnnotueris, which takes up its abode 
 _ with it. This is a small crab, naked, like the 
 hermit crab, and possessed of remarkably keen sight. 
 When they are in want of food, the pinna opens 
 its shell, and sends its faithful ally to forage; 
 but if the crab sees the polypus, it returns imme- 
 diately to the pinna, which instantly closes its shell, 
 and thus avoids the fury of its enemy; otherwise, when 
 it has procured a booty, it brings it to the opening 
 of the shell where it is admitted, and they divide 
 the prey. This is observed by Haslequist, in his 
 Voyage to Palestine’; and it affords a discovery of 
 instinct in the reciprocal accommodation of two 
 animals of different species, for the sake of mutual 
 safety, whose parallel is hardly to be found in 
 nature. } 
 
 I mention the Currie Frsu again, on account 
 of its remarkable structure to enable it to secure 
 its food. It has’ eight tentacula, or arms, besides 
 two feelers. Both the feelers and arms are furnished 
 
 * See Darwin’s Works. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 135 
 REFLECTIONS. 
 
 with strong cups or suckers, shaped like the cup of — 
 an acorn, by means of which the animal. seizes its 
 prey, and firmly attaches itself to rocks, or to 
 the bottom of the sea. What is still more singular, 
 it is furnished. with a hard, strong, horny beak, 
 precisely similar, both in texture and substance, to 
 the bill of a parrot. With this bill, the cuttle fish 
 is enabled to break the shells of limpits, and other 
 
 shell-animals, upon which it chiefly feeds." 
 When we survey the great and wide sea, and 
 _ examine its inhabitants, what wonder overwhelms the 
 mind at the discovery of things innumerable, both 
 small and great! Ascending from animalcula, eight 
 or ten millions of which would: scarcely equal a 
 grain of sand in magnitude, through unnumbered 
 orders and yarieties of the intermediate existences, 
 to the monstrous whale of seventy or eighty feet 
 long, and beholding them all perfect in their kind 
 notwithstanding the diversity of their organization, 
 what must be our conceptions of Him who made 
 them all? A superficial glance might leave us 
 in doubt respecting the propriety of their formation: 
 but, on a more philosophical and deliberate survey, 
 we must exclaim with rapture,—O the depth of the 
 riches of the’ wisdom of God!—The imperfections 
 and want of foresight which are evident in the 
 works of men, are never to be found in the works 
 of God... Every thing is. worthy of Him whose 
 
 © Smellie. 
 
136 ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 ee 
 AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS, | 
 
 superscription it bears. There is nothing deficient, 
 nothing superfluous. Viewing the individuals of the 
 
 infinite variety, we cannot say concerning any organ 
 
 of the complex mechanism, were it placed in this part 
 
 of the general arrangement it would answer its pur- 
 
 pose better than in that; or another conformation 
 would be preferable to the which it has. received. 
 For whenever an interruption of the regular course 
 of nature produces another form, an order of 
 parts different from that which generally obtains, the 
 animal is monstrous; it lives in wretchedness, and 
 dies immature. A mind duly imbued with the 
 philosophy of the Bible, a judgment corrected in its 
 inquiries by that wisdom which comes. from above, 
 an understanding enlightened by the spirit of truth, 
 cannot but contemplate the works of God with wonder 
 and with praise. “O Lord, how manifold are thy 
 works. In wisdom hast thou made them all,” 
 
 PREPS IP BS 
 
 AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS, 
 
 As there is some one class of beings which, by 
 possessing properties common to the inhabitants of 
 both air and water, forms a connecting link between 
 them; so there are some animals whose organs fit 
 them alike for the water and the land. These we call 
 
 AMPHIBIOUS, that is, such as are able to live both. 
 
 on land and in the water. They are either such ds 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 137 
 
 AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS, 
 
 live in the water as their natural element, and go 
 occasionally on shore, or such as have their natural 
 residence on land, and go occasionally into the water. 
 The obtaining of food and rearing their offspring are 
 the principal reasons why they occasionally change 
 their natural places of abode. Whether it be for the 
 one reason or the other, or for both, the change is of 
 essential importance to them, and not from mere 
 choice; and therefore the dams of such animals are 
 wisely supplied with instinctive faculties, by which 
 they are taught to take their young at the earliest 
 possible period, and accustom them to the unnatural 
 situation; as, for instance, sea bears and seals, whose 
 natural residence is on the land, but their food is in 
 the water. 
 
 As this capacity of living a considerable time in 
 the water without respiration, renders’ it necessary 
 that the circulation of the blood should be carried on 
 in the same manner as before the birth of the animal, 
 and as those orifices through which it then circulates 
 close soon after the birth, it is requisite that the young 
 of this tribe of animals should be accustomed to 
 remain under the water from their earliest moments. 
 This short period of their infancy being neglected, it 
 cannot afterwards be recalled. Hence the parents 
 take their young and hold them under water to prevent 
 them from respiring for a considerable time, and thus 
 prepare them for the element in which they are to 
 live a great part of their lives, and where they are to 
 find their food. Their general structure is suitable 
 
138 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF SERPENTS. 
 
 for such a mode of life;—for diving with great velocity, 
 and for seizing upon their prey. 
 
 PLAL OL OL 
 
 SERPENTS. 
 
 As Serpents are amphibious animals, I shall 
 here notice some particulars in their general structure, 
 
 The mouths of serpents are very remarkable. 
 They are composed of such dilatable materials, that 
 they can swallow a substance three times the size of 
 their own heads. This is very extraordinary; yet it 
 may be accounted for when it is considered that their 
 jaws do not open as ours, in the manner of a pair of 
 hinges, where bones are applied to bones, and play 
 upon each other. On the contrary, the serpents’ 
 jaws are held together at the roots by a stretching 
 muscular skin; by which means they open as wide as 
 the animal chooses to stretch them. The throat is 
 composed of corresponding materials, and like stretch- 
 ing leather, dilates to admit its food, which is swallowed 
 without mastication. 
 
 The teeth of some serpents are crooked and 
 hollow ; and by a peculiar contrivance, are capable of 
 being raised or depressed at pleasure. It is stated in 
 the seventy-ninth volume of the Philosophical Trans- 
 actions, by Dr. Gray, that “all venomous serpents 
 have only two rows of teeth in the upper jaw, and 
 all others have four.” | 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 139 
 
 THE pation TEETH OF SERPENTS, 
 ee eee 
 
 The poisonous tribes of these terrible animais 
 are provided with an instrument for defence and 
 destroying their prey, which renders them very 
 formidable. This is the Fane, which is a curious 
 example of mechanical contrivance. It is a perforated 
 tooth, loose at the root; in its quiet state, lying down 
 flat upon the jaw, but furnished with a muscle, which 
 with a jerk, and by the pluck, as it were, of a string, 
 suddenly erects it. Under the tooth, close to its 
 root, and communicating with the perforation, lies a 
 small bag, containing the venom. When the fang is 
 raised, the closing of the jaw presses its root against 
 the bag underneath; and the force of this compression 
 sends out the fluid with a considerable impetus 
 through the hole in the middle of the tooth. What 
 more unequivocal or effectual apparatus could be 
 devised for the double purpose of at once inflicting 
 the wound, and injecting the poison? Yet, though 
 lodged in the mouth, it is so constituted, as in its 
 inoffensive and quiescent state, not to interfere with 
 the animal’s ordinary office of receiving its food. It 
 has been observed also, that none of the harmless 
 serpents, the black snake, the blind worm, &c. have 
 these fangs, but teeth of an equal size; not moveable 
 as this is, but fixed in the jaw." 
 
 The construction of the Serve or back-bone of 
 the serpent tribes, constitutes another peculiarity in 
 the anatomy of these animals. The manner of the 
 saa I a 
 
 " See Dr. Paley. 
 
140 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE BACK-BONES OF SERPENTS. 
 ——SSESEEEIEeeEeEeEeEeEeyeyeEeEeEeEeE——E———— 
 serpent’s progress requires peculiar flexibility in the 
 back-bones; and the vertebree are so numerous, and so 
 singularly formed and united, as to allow of the 
 greatest necessary pliancy. In general, quadrupeds 
 have only from thirty to forty joints, but serpents have 
 one hundred and seventy. In man and quadrupeds, 
 the flat surfaces of the bones are laid one against the 
 other, and bound tight by sinews; but in serpents, 
 the bones play one within the other like ball and 
 socket, so that they have full motion upon each other 
 in every direction. In men and quadrupeds, firmness 
 is more consulted; in serpents, pliancy. Yet even 
 pliancy is not obtained at the expence of safety. The 
 back-bone of a serpent, for coherence and flexibility, 
 is one of the most curious pieces of animal mechanism 
 with which we are acquainted.* 
 
 Though the number of joints in the back-bone is 
 great, yet that of the ribs is still greater; in all two 
 hundred and ninety. These ribs are furnished with 
 muscles, four in number, which being inserted into 
 the head, run along to the end of the tail, and give 
 the animal great strength and agility in all its motions. 
 
 These animals are covered with scales, which are 
 disposed with great geometrical exactness for assisting 
 their sinuous motion. As the edges of the foremost 
 scales lie over the ends of their following scales, so 
 those edges, when the scales are erected which can 
 be done in a small degree, catch in the ground, and 
 
 * See Derham and Paley. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. " “Fag 
 
 as 
 
 ' FASCINATING POWER OF SERPENTS. 
 a, 
 
 so facilitate the animal’s motion. \ The erecting these 
 scales is by means of a multitude of distinct muscles 
 with which each is supplied, and one end of which is 
 tacked, each to the middle of the foregoing, Serpents 
 cast their skins twice a-year; and appear, after this 
 operation is performed, much more vivid than before.’ 
 
 The FASCINATING power of serpents, however 
 singular it may be, and unaccountable on any of the 
 laws of nature with which we are acquainted, appears 
 to be so well authenticated, that it would be more 
 than rash to deny it. The following instances are 
 supported by credible witnesses. 
 
 A person was travelling by the side of a creek in 
 America, where he saw a ground squirrel running to 
 and fro between the creek and a great tree, a few 
 yards distant; the squirrel’s hair was looking very 
 rough, shewing that it was greatly alarmed. Its 
 returns were shorter and shorter. The person who 
 witnessed it, soon saw the head of a rattle-snake point- 
 ing at the squirrel through a hole of the great tree, 
 which was hollow. The squirrel at length gave over 
 running, and laid himself down with his head close to 
 the snake’s mouth; the snake then opened his mouth 
 wide, and took in the squirrel’s head. The person 
 who saw it, struck ie serpent, when the. squir i was 
 released. 
 
 A blackbird was seen in great distress, flying, 
 and making a noise which indicated apprehension of 
 
 te we ye ete Pe ee tae gn ae 
 
 * See Enecyclop. Buit, 
 
142 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 SN SS BES SA N68 SE SP EE DO OI STEED ERE Bt AY ORSLTRTES Fo OH 
 INSTANCES OF FASCINATION, 
 
 danger. This was occasioned by a large black snake, 
 that had coiled itself up, and fixed its eyes upon the 
 bird, which endeavoured in vain to take off its eyes 
 from the snake, till 1t was struck, when the charm 
 was broken, and the bird escaped. 
 
 A person was leaning upon a fence, and looking 
 over it, he saw a large rattle-snake in coil, looking 
 stedfastly at him. He found himself surprised, and 
 listless immediately, and had no power for nearly a 
 minute, as he thought, but to look at the snake; 
 and then he had the resolution to push himself from 
 the fence, and turn away, feeling such horror and, 
 confusion as he would not undergo again on any 
 consideration. | 
 
 All the laws of nature are not yet known, nor all 
 the wonderful powers of which she is possessed. It 
 is not more incredible @ priori, that the eye of a 
 serpent should attract an animal, than that a magnet 
 should attract a piece of iron, or a piece of iron attract 
 electrical matter. ‘The evidence of these facts rests 
 entirely on personal: observation, or authentic tes- 
 timony; and the same kind of evidence forbids that 
 we should discredit the fascinating power of serpents, 
 though the witnesses of the fact have been fewer, 
 than of facts of the former description.’ 
 
 Taking leave of the amphibious tribes, which 
 form the link of connexion between water and land 
 animals, let us now confine our attention to the 
 
 ~ 
 
 ? See Encyclop. Brit. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. . 143 
 
 ~ ca = LT 
 LAND ANIMAIS. 
 
 organization of those which are decidedly terrestrial. 
 And what an astonishing variety of forms, and sizes, 
 and colours, here presents itself for examination. 
 The natural historian must furnish the reader with 
 an account of each in particular. My observations 
 will be confined to general principles, as illustrative 
 of that wisdom which is displayed by. the Creator 
 in their appointment. 
 
 PHIGLOLOLS 
 
 LAND ANIMALS. 
 
 I shall now consider the organization of those 
 animals which live upon land. Whilst we confine 
 our observation to any single rank of creation, we are 
 ready to conclude that Infinite Wisdom itself has here 
 exhausted all its stores of invention, and that no 
 further variety is to be expected. But how great is 
 our astonishment, when, pursuing our inquiries into 
 another region of the vast fabric of nature, some new 
 and unexpected general principle starts into view, out 
 of which arise forms as varied and diversified as those 
 we have already contemplated. A small quantity of 
 matter in the hand of Infinite Wisdom is decom- 
 posed, its particles receive a new arrangement, and 
 an economy arises into view which at once astonishes 
 the beholder, and displays the only wise God. 
 
 In taking a general survey of the organization of 
 land animals, we observe that they naturally divide 
 
144 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 See eee eee ee  OoO-"9@&A6-WAT”TO0T—-07’7--..-.Xnnaaacz+nqqcoeo en 
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 
 Ay 
 
 themselves into two classes. In the rirsr, but 
 inferior class, I place all brute organization: in the 
 NEXT, and superior, that which belongs to fee 
 human race. 
 
 There are many jaeiduiets in which there is a 
 striking similarity of structure between quadrupeds 
 and man. Their bones are alike connected by articu- 
 lations and membranes; and the different movements 
 of these bones are performed by the operation of 
 similar muscles. ‘The number, form, and disposition 
 of the muscles, with a few exceptions arising from 
 the figure and destination of the parts peculiar to par- 
 ticular animals, are nearly the same in men and quad- 
 rupeds. ‘The circulation of their blood, the secretion 
 of their fluids, and the ‘process of digestion, are 
 carried on by organs perfectly similar." 
 
 I shall consider here only'some PEcuLIARITIES 
 in which brutes ditfer from man, reserving the general 
 principles of their internal economy, till I come to 
 describe those which belong to the human frame, 
 which is the noblest of all material organic forms. 
 
 QUADRUPEDS. 
 
 In the general structure of brute animals, we 
 contemplate a surprising suitableness of means 
 to a proposed end; or, in other words, a structure 
 
 * See Smellie. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 145 
 
 THE POSITION OF THE BODIES OF BRUTES. 
 
 the most appropriate to their modes of living, their 
 necessities and dangers; and the more appropriate 
 the means are to the end designed, the more glorious 
 is the discovery of wisdom which they afford. What 
 I have to advance, on this part of our subject, I 
 shall arrange under the following particulars :— 
 
 First. The natural position of animals has a 
 relation to their modes of living—There is an 
 obvious difference between that mode of living for 
 which man is formed, and that to which the brute 
 creation is destined. And the respective position of 
 their bodies, which is alike natural to each, and not, 
 as some have supposed, the effect of custom, has 
 an evident relation to those different habits. I can 
 no more persuade myself to believe that man was 
 made for. walking in a prone posture on his hands. 
 and feet, than that quadrupeds were intended for 
 walking in an erect position. ‘The erect form of 
 man shews that he is designed for society ; it gives 
 him an air of vast superiority over the rest of the 
 creatures of this globe, and it demonstrates a degree 
 of importance as far above that of other forms as 
 we can possibly conceive. 
 
 But the same Wisdom which has conferred on 
 man an organization and position suited to his 
 mode of living, and the end of his creation, is also 
 apparent in those of brute animals. They gather 
 their: food, already prepared for use, immediately 
 from the earth: a great part of their time is spent 
 in eating; many of them are designed for the im- 
 
 L 
 
346... ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 — 
 
 HOW ANIMATS DISCOVER THEIR FOOD, 
 
 ened 
 
 mediate use of man, to bear his burdens, and to till his 
 fields, for which purposes no other position of body 
 would be equally convenient. The shape of their 
 heads, placed at the extremity of a neck the length 
 of which is generally in proportion to the length of the 
 legs ; and where this is not the case, there is some 
 compensation or other, as in the elephant, whose 
 trunk compensates for the shortness of his neck ; 
 the shape and strength of their legs; the structure 
 of their feet; their rough tongues, whose sharp 
 ' protuberances incline in the direction of the esoph- 
 agus, or throat, for the purpose of raising the food 
 into it; and the position of the whole internal 
 economy, discover a wise and evident relation to their 
 inode of life. 
 
 SECONDLY. The difficulty of obtaining food, in 
 the brute creation, 1s met by instinctive faculties 
 for discovering, and appropriate organization for 
 securing it.—I confine this observation to the class 
 of creatures, which, for distinction’s sake, I call 
 terrestrial, principally comprehending quadrupeds. 
 Their food is produced in different situations; that — 
 of some is under the ground, such as roots, and 
 worms: that of others is produced by trees, such 
 as nuts and acorns; that of others, again, is found 
 on the surface of the earth, though mixed with 
 various other substances which would prove _in- 
 jurious: some, moreover, prey upon other animals. 
 But whether they are herbaceous, or carnivorous, 
 all animals possess a surprising instinct for dis- 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 147 
 a et 
 covering that kind of food which is suitable to their 
 own constitutions. And such is the delicacy and 
 acuteness of this exquisite faculty, that it penetrates 
 the earth, and other difficulties which lie in the way, 
 affording certain information to the animal of the 
 situation of its food, and enabling it to make an 
 infallible choice. Instinct has been defined to be, 
 “a certain power or disposition of mind, by which, 
 independent of all instruction or experience, without 
 deliberation, and without having any end in view, 
 animals are unerringly directed to do, spontaneously, 
 whatever is necessary for the preservation of the 
 individual, or the continuation of the kind.” This 
 power in animals is of essential importance; for, with- 
 out it, inevitable destruction to the species must follow. 
 This faculty also leads them to make use of those 
 means by which their food may be obtained. The Fox 
 1s said to imitate the barking of a dog, in order to 
 catch his prey near houses; to feign himself dead, 
 that he may take such animals as come to feed 
 upon him; to lay his tail upon a wasps’ nest, and 
 then to rub it hard against a tree in order to kill 
 and eat the insects; to place his tail in situations 
 frequented by crabs, on which they are induced to 
 fasten, when he draws them ashore and devours 
 them.© The Anv-BeAr extends’ its tongue over 
 pbl Sa ak Ala Valo na sate Babee Poe SAG AMOS AR Te I ee 
 
 " See Instinct, Encyclop. Brit. where this curious subject 
 is discussed with great ability. 
 © Derham. 
 
148 ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 
 THE SQUIRREL—OPOSSUM.,, 
 
 the ants’ nest; and when it is covered by the hungry 
 swarms which crowd upon it for food, it immediately 
 draws in, and eats them. A vast variety of similar 
 instances might be produced. 
 
 Animals are provided with an appropriate or- 
 ganization for securing their food when discovered. 
 Motes live on worms and insects; these are in the 
 ground, and difficult to obtain. But the mole is 
 supplied with feet suited for forming the necessary 
 excavations, which it does with surprising facility. 
 The SquirrEL finds its food in trees; and it is 
 provided with an organization peculiarly adapted to 
 climbing. It feeds principally on the kernels of 
 nuts; and its fore teeth are exactly suited to gnaw 
 the shells in order to obtain them, being strong and 
 remarkably sharp. ‘The Opossum lives upon birds, 
 eggs, &c. and seeks their nests in trees with great 
 eagerness. Its tail is curious, and admirably adapted 
 to enable the creature to hang by it on the boughs 
 of trees. It is thus described by Derham:—“ ‘The 
 spines, or hooks, in the middle of the underside of 
 the vertebree of the tail, are a wonderful piece of 
 nature’s mechanism. The first three vertebra have 
 none of these spines, but in all the rest they are to 
 be observed. They are placed just at the articu- 
 lation of each joint, and in the middle from the 
 sides. For hanging by the tail, nothing, | think, 
 could be more advantageously contrived. or when 
 the tail is wound about the bough, this hook of the 
 spine easily sustains the weight, and there is but 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 149 
 
 MOUTHS OF ANIMALS. 
 
 little labour of the muscles required, only enough 
 for hooking the tail.” Instances illustrative of this 
 subject are innumerable, 
 
 TuirpLy. The mouths of animals are suited 
 to the food on which they subsist.—In all the 
 animals, of which I am now speaking, a certain 
 degree of mastication is necessary to prepare their 
 food for the process of digestion in the stomach. 
 Hence, the herbaceous tribes are provided not only 
 with teeth at the front of their mouths for cutting the 
 grass on which they feed, and the carnivorous for 
 killing their prey, but they have also behind these 
 such as are broad and flat, for the requisite bruising 
 and separating of the particles of their food. If 
 we examine, for instance, the mouth and teeth of 
 an 0x, which lives on grass, and of a lion, which is 
 a beast of prey, we shall remark an evident dif- 
 ference ; and such a difference as their different kinds 
 of food render indispensably necessary. ‘‘ In some 
 creatures, the mouth is wide and large, in others, 
 little and narrow; in some it is found with a deep 
 incisure into the head, for the better catching and 
 holding of prey, and more easy comminution of hard, 
 large, and troublesome food; and in others with a 
 short incisure, for the gathering and holding of 
 herbaceous food.” 
 
 Fourruty. In the brute creation Hoists pro- 
 vision is made against the dangers to.which they are 
 a a a ee oe eS ee eS Ta Te 
 
 “ Derham. 
 
150 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 FRE aaa en cence aN Aan 
 HOW ANIMALS ESCAPE DANGERS. 
 
 exposed.—These dangers are either CERTAIN, oF 
 PRECARIOUS. ‘The first sort of dangers are provided 
 against with certainty, the second by organs or instincts 
 fit for use when the occasion demands them. 
 
 Some dangers are CERTAIN, and are met by 
 certain provision. Lambs are tender animals; they 
 _ are generally brought forth at a season of the year in 
 which they are exposed to excessive cold; and should 
 the case be otherwise, they are exposed in the open 
 fields to the chills and damps of night. But they 
 bring a clothing along with them which is proportioned 
 to these dangers. 5 
 
 _ The habitation where Mores deposit their young, 
 merits a particular description, because it is con- 
 structed with peculiar intelligence, and because 
 the mole is an animal with which we are well 
 acquainted. They begin by raising the earth, and 
 forming a pretty high arch, They leave partitions 
 or a kind of pillars at certain distances; beat and 
 press the earth; interweave it with the roots of plants ; 
 and render it so hard and solid, that the water cannot 
 penetrate the vault, on account of its convexity and 
 firmness. They then elevate a little hillock under 
 the principal arch; upon the latter they lay herbs and 
 leaves for a bed to their young. In this situation 
 they are above the level of the ground, and, of course, 
 beyond the reach of ordinary inundations. ‘They are 
 at the same time defended from the rains by the 
 large vault that covers the internal one, upon the 
 convexity of which last they rest along with their 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 151 
 
 +» 
 
 BRUTES TAKE CARE OF THEIR, YOUNG, 
 
 young. This internal hillock is pierced on all sides. 
 with sloping holes, which descend still lower, and 
 serve as subterraneous passages for the mother to go 
 in quest of food for herself and her offspring. ‘These 
 by-paths are beaten and firm, extend about twelve 
 or fifteen paces, and issue from the principal mansion 
 like rays from a centre. Under the superior vault 
 we likewise find remains of the roots of the meadow 
 saffron, which seem to be the first food of the young.“ 
 
 _ Rabbits are born remarkably delicate; but the 
 dam is taught by instinct to burrow holes in the 
 ground, in which.she makes a warm nest, and even 
 tears the down from her own body to render. it the 
 more commodious: here she lodges her young, secure 
 from danger. 
 
 In the Orossum we find Se provision 
 made for its young, by a singular organization. 
 When the young of this animal are brought forth, 
 they are small, blind, and naked; and the parent has 
 no power of digging a hole in the ground, like a 
 rabbit: they would consequently be exposed to the 
 utmost danger, were it not for a pouch, or sort of 
 false belly, with which the dam is provided, supplied 
 with bones and muscles, like another distinct organ: 
 in the inside of this singular contrivance are the teats. 
 As soon as the young are brought forth, they are 
 received into this asylum, in which they have access 
 ta the teats, and are carried along with the dam 
 
 * See Smellie’s Philosophy of Natural History. 
 * 
 
152 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE CLOTHING OF ANIMALS SUITED TO THE CLIMATE. 
 oT SS 
 
 wherever she goes; and even when they are strong 
 enough to run about, they hasten to this shelter at 
 the approach of danger, till able to protect them- 
 selves. | 
 
 Besides those dangers to which animals are ex- 
 posed at their birth, there are others which are certain 
 as long as they live. The common cold of the night 
 air is sufficiently kept off by their natural coverings. 
 But what is to be done in the additional and severe 
 cold of the winter? It is found that the coverings of 
 animals increase surprisingly at the approach of the 
 cold season, by a close, warm down, especially in severe 
 climates; as for instance, the coverings of hares and 
 rabbits in North-America, as well as in England, and 
 other countries subject to considerable severity of 
 weather. Sheep are natives of a temperate climate; 
 but the bear and the ermin of the coldest. ‘The 
 provident care of the Creator is evidently conspicuous 
 in this appointment, and discovers the same unde- 
 viating attention to the comfort of all his creatures: 
 hence the clothing of animals in the torrid zone is 
 hair, in the temperate zones, wool; in the frigid, thick 
 fur. I apprehend that certain dangers are provided 
 against by certain laws through the whole animal 
 creation. Arguing on the principles of analogy, from 
 what is known to what is unknown, such a conclusion 
 is highly probable. 
 
 Besides those dangers which are as certain as the 
 existence of the animal, there are others which are 
 precarious ; I mean, they may take place, and most 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 153 
 
 HOW BRUTES ESCAPE CASUAL DANGERS. 
 
 ee 
 
 probably will, or they may not. Provision is made 
 against these by a suitableness of organization, or 
 by remarkable instinct whenever the occasion demands 
 it. All animals are liable to diseases; in the brute 
 creation, instinct supplies the place of reason, and 
 acts with more certainty in directing the morbid animal 
 to a suitable remedy. Dogs and cats often eat grass 
 to produce sickness. All animals have their enemies, 
 which are perpetually seeking their lives ; and though 
 they often prevail, yet it is more generally by stratagem 
 - than otherwise. The hedge-hog is a slow, weak, and 
 helpless creature; but it is eminently protected by 
 its sharp prickles, and is able to roll itself up, and 
 thus defend itself against almost every foe. The mole 
 is able to protect itself in its subterraneous excava. 
 tions, which it forms with astonishing rapidity. No 
 animal has so many enemies as the hare; and few 
 possess equal organic suitableness and muscular 
 strength for velocity of motion. Many cattle are 
 provided with strong horns. Sheep, which are so 
 very defenceless, form themselves into a common 
 phalanx, and then courageously face their enemy. 
 Some possess strong and sharp talons for scratching; 
 others sharp teeth for biting; some form themselves 
 into horrid shapes ; and others, again, hiss, and make 
 alarming noises to frighten their enemies. Some are 
 supplied with quickness of sight; others with a remark- 
 able delicacy of hearing; others, again, of smelling, 
 so as to discover their foes at a considerable distance, 
 and gain time to escape. | 
 
154 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE INSTINCTIVE SAGACITY OF ANIMALS TO ESCAPE DANGER. 
 
 eS eee PerERSo nS sei es i rns anche 
 
 Many animals are so weak and defenceless, that if 
 they escape, it must be by an effort of instinct. The 
 wood-louse, when alarmed, rolls itself up into a glo- 
 bular shape, and so encloses all its legs, that no one 
 would imagine it to be a living animal. It remains in 
 this state till the apprehension of danger is over. 
 Mr. SMELLIE relates the following instances:—-The 
 spider, the dermestes, and many insects of the beetle 
 kind, exhibit an instinct of a very uncommon nature. 
 When put in terror by the touch of the finger, the spi- 
 der runs off with great swiftness; but if he finds, that, - 
 whatever direction he takes, he is opposed by another 
 finger, he then seems to despair of being able to 
 escape, contracts his limbs and body, lies perfectly 
 motionless, and counterfeits every symptom of death. 
 In this situation (says Mr. Smellie) I have pierced 
 spiders with pins, and torn them to pieces, without 
 their discovermg the smallest mark of pain. This 
 simulation of death has been ascribed to strong con- 
 vulsion, or stupor occasioned by terror. But this 
 solution of the phanomenon is erroneous. I have 
 repeatedly tried the experiment, and uniformly found, 
 that, if the object of terror be removed, in a few 
 seconds the animal runs off with great rapidity. 
 Some beetles, when counterfeiting death, suffer them- 
 selves to be gradually roasted, without moving a 
 single joint. | 
 
 The Beaver is possessed of very extraordinary 
 instinctive powers, and displays an ingenuity in the 
 erection of its habitations, and forming lakes of water 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 155 
 
 eee eee SSS 
 CURIOUS ECONOMY. OF THE BEAVER, 
 
 in which to place them, that perhaps exceeds any thing 
 of a similar kind in the brute creation. 
 
 Animals of this description generally go in com- 
 panies of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred, 
 for the purposes of mutual society, and reciprocal 
 advantage. If they cannot find a lake of water of 
 ‘sufficient depth in which to build their village, their 
 first object is to discover a stream or river in which to 
 form one. In doing this, they often build a dam of 
 two or three hundred feet in length across the stream, 
 and ten or twelve feet wide at the base. This is a 
 stupendous work for animals so small and weak. 
 In the first place they gnaw down those trees that grow 
 on the margin, in such a manner as to occasion them 
 to fall exactly in the direction which is wanted. They 
 then take off the branches in order to make them lay 
 close to the ground. ‘They next obtain stakes of 
 considerable length which they insert into the ground 
 in two rows, at equal distances, and exactly opposite 
 to each other. On the lower side of the embankment, 
 these stakes are placed perpendicular; on the upper 
 side they are made to incline the way of the stream. 
 This done, they fill up the space between these two 
 rows of piles, with branches of trees and earth which 
 they bring in their mouths, and beat firmly down with 
 their broad tails. The whole embankment is con- 
 structed on the best possible mechanical principles for 
 withstanding the pressure of the water. A hollow 
 part is made at the top of this dam in one place, by 
 which the water may escape, 
 
156 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ANIMAL COMPENSATION—-THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 This great work being accomplished, and the lake 
 formed, they next begin to erect their houses, which 
 they place upon piles at the margins of the lake. 
 These piles being made firm in the ground, they place 
 over them cross beams, so as to form a solid foun- 
 dation for the intended superstructure, which is made 
 of earth, beat firmly together. The walls are about 
 two feet in thickness, terminating ina dome. These 
 habitations are from five to ten or twelve fect in 
 diameter, and two or three stories high, with two 
 openings, or door-ways, the one on the land side, the 
 other next the water, but a little above its level. 
 Some of the rooms are appropriated for store-rooms 
 to hold their provisions, others are dormitories for 
 themselves and their offspring. 
 
 Beayers live in the most perfect peace with each 
 other. And though each family, some of which con- 
 tain four or five, others twenty or thirty individuals, 
 ‘build and take care of their own dwelling, and obtain 
 their own provision, yet the whole colony are united 
 to accomplish what relates to the welfare of the whole. 
 If a breach is made in the embankment, all set to 
 work to repair it. 
 
 Firtuty. Inconveniences in one part of an 
 animal are provided against by ample compensations 
 in anather.—Many instances illustrative of this pro- 
 position might be. adduced. The structure of the 
 Progoscts of the ELeruanr is to the point. The 
 necessity of the elephant’s proboscis arises from the 
 Shortness of his neck; and the shortness of the neck 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 157 
 
 PROBOSCIS OF THE ELEPHANT—EYE OF THE CHAMELEON, 
 
 is rendered necessary by the weight of the head. 
 Were we to enter into an examination of the structure 
 and anatomy of the proboscis itself, we should see in 
 it one of the most curious examples of animal me- 
 chanism. ‘The disposition of the ringlets and fibres, 
 for the purpose, first of forming a long cartilaginous 
 pipe; secondly, of contracting and lengthening that 
 pipe; thirdly, of turning it in every direction at the 
 will of the animal; with the superaddition at the 
 end, of a fleshy production, of about the length and 
 thickness of a finger, and performing the office of a 
 finger, so as to pick up a straw from the grounds, 
 these properties of the same organ, taken together, 
 exhibit a specimen, not only of design, (which is 
 attested by the advantage,) but of consummate art, 
 and, as I may say, of elaborate preparation in accom- 
 plishing that design.‘ 
 
 The structure of the eye of the CHAMELEON is 
 another striking instance. Instead of two eyelids, it 
 is covered with an eyelid with a hole in it. This 
 singular contrivance appears to be compensatory, and 
 to answer to some other singularities in the formation 
 of the animal. The neck of the chameleon is in- 
 flexible. To make up for this, the eye is so prominent, 
 that more than half of the ball stands out of the 
 head; by means of which extraordinary projection, 
 
 f Paley’s Nat. Theol. where the subject of Compensation 
 in general is treated.—For a more particular account of this 
 singular device, See Buffon’s Nat. Hist. Barr's Edition, vol. VII. 
 p- 285, &c. 
 
158 ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 
 THE CURIOUS EYE OF THE CHAMELEON. 
 
 the pupil of the eye can be carried by the muscles in 
 every direction, and is capable of being pointed 
 towards any object. But then so unusual an ex- 
 posure of the globe of the eye requires, for its 
 lubricity and defence, a more than ordinary supply 
 of moisture; yet the motion of’the eye-lid, formed 
 according to the common construction, would be 
 impeded, as it should seem, by the convexity of the 
 organ. ‘The aperture in the lid meets this difficulty. 
 ‘It enables the animal to keep this principal part 
 of the surface of the eye under cover, and to pre- 
 serve it ina due state of humidity without shutting 
 out the light, or without performing every moment a 
 nictation, which, it is probable, would be more 
 laborious to this animal than to others.® 
 
 To these I might add a variety of other instances 
 in the structure of quadrupeds. The particular 
 organization of the animals which I have mentioned 
 renders some additional contrivances necessary ; and 
 what additions could be supposed, more wise in their 
 construction, more mechanical, or better adapted to 
 the ends designed? To imagine that chance produced 
 the ringlets, the muscles, the singular conformation 
 of the proboscis of the elephant to subserve such a 
 variety of useful purposes, or the peculiar eyelid of 
 the chameleon, with a hole exactly in the proper 
 situation to render it of any service to the animal,— 
 is to ascribe to chance a foresight of future neces- 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 159 
 
 USEFUL ANIMALES DOCILE., 
 
 sities, a wisdom in the contrivance of means to meet 
 those necessities, and a power in directing the ar- 
 rangement of the particles of matter composing those 
 means, which make this chance to be what we mean 
 by the word—Gon. 
 
 Sixtuty. In the brute creation, we observe 
 domestic utility in union with docility of tempera- 
 ment.—God has assigned to man a large portion 
 of the animal creation for his immediate service, 
 either to supply him with food, or to labour in his 
 fields. Between these and others which are of no 
 use to man in either of these respects, there is an 
 obvious difference in temperament of disposition. 
 The latter discover a fierceness and untractableness 
 of disposition which, in many of them, cannot be 
 subdued and domesticated, but consign them toa wild 
 and wandering mode of life; whilst the former are 
 tame and destitute of those dispositions which would 
 render them unfit for domestic purposes. “‘ A little 
 child may lead them.” The very form of the horse 
 and the ox, fits them for labour and usefulness; and 
 their submissiveness to man accommodates them to 
 his necessities. In this suitableness, both of general 
 organization and docility of temperament, we dis- 
 cover, at once, a wisdom and goodness in the 
 adorable Creator, calculated to excite our love and 
 admiration, ‘“ What is man that thou hast been 
 thus mindful of him !” 
 
160 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 cad sisi ae ria at 
 MAN THE MOST CURIOUS OF ALL ORGANIC FORMS. 
 
 aoe : 4 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN FRAME. 
 
 PLOGL LOL 
 
 I have hitherto principally confined my remarks 
 to what is peculiar in the organization of brute. 
 animals, as distinguished from the structure of the 
 human frame; and I have been the more brief in 
 discussing these peculiarities, that I might have room 
 to be more explicit in describing the human economy. 
 If the consideration of the structure of vegetables, 
 birds, insects, fishes, and four-footed beasts, with 
 only a few of their curious component parts, so 
 justly fills us with astonishment at the wisdom of 
 God in his surprising adaptation of means to in- 
 tended results, what must be our feelings when we 
 come to contemplate our own frames? We are 
 fearfully and wonderfully made. In all the arrange~ 
 ments of matter which Eternal Wisdom has directed, 
 those which form, the various organs of the body 
 of man, are the most singular and astonishing. Man 
 has been called a Mrcrocosm—a little world; and 
 we are prompted by a laudable curiosity to search 
 into its contents. As it is destined to accommodate 
 another existence which approaches the nearest of all 
 to the image of God—an Immortal Soul, (and this 
 too, unspeakably more above the body, in impor- 
 tance, than the body of man is above the meanest 
 insect),—we may here expect to meet with far greater 
 
_ ORGANIZED NATURE. i61 
 THE DIVISION OF THE SUBJECT. , 
 
 I ——————E eee 
 depths of the riches of the wisdom of ‘God, than in 
 any other species of organization whatever. He has 
 deposited this jewel in no mean. casket.—I . shall 
 here, First, OFFER A DESCRIPTION OF THOSE 
 ORGANS OF THE HUMAN FRAME WHICH: ARE 
 PRINCIPALLY EXTERNAL; — Secondly, DEVELOP 
 THAT INTERIOR ECONOMY BY MEANS OF WHICH 
 MOTION IS PROPAGATED THROUGH THE GENERAL 
 sysTEM;—and, Thirdly, consiDER THE VITAL 
 ORGANS, AND THE MEANS BY WHICH THE WHOLE 
 18 sUPPORTED.——In discussing, these three par- 
 ticulars, I shall be led to notice a variety of organs 
 which brutes. possess. in common with man, but 
 which I have hitherto purposely omitted, such as the 
 eve, the ear, the muscles, and nerves, which, in 
 most animals, are EssENTIALLY the same, though 
 differing in many accidental circumstances. 
 
 First, I shall offer a description of those organs 
 of the human frame which I denominate. external. 
 There is no creature from whom. so great a yariety 
 of different actions is demanded, as from man, . His 
 manner of subsistence, his social habits, his relative 
 duties, all require modes of operation peculiar to 
 himself. These actions. are extremely various; and 
 though the organs by which they are performed 
 are but few, yet so. great is the wisdom. with 
 which they are constr ucted, that they meet every 
 necessity, How admirable, that so small a number 
 of parts should be subservient to so vast a variety 
 of ends, all obeying the volitions of a still nobler 
 
 M 
 
162 . ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 seine pica A 
 
 THE HUMAN BODY ALLOWS THE NECESSARY FLEXIBILITY. 
 
 existence. Astonishing as other .organized forms 
 may be, they shrink into comparative insignificance 
 when we éxamine them by this standard of organic 
 perfection. But let us take a more particular view 
 of this amazing piece of mechanism. 
 
 However curiously a piece’ of matter might be 
 constructed, yet, were its parts inflexible, or its dif- 
 ferent members capable of moving in one direction 
 only, no great variety of actions could be performed 
 by it. In performing the actions requisite for ful- 
 filling the various obligations of his high station, the 
 body of man is called into many different positions : 
 to meet the necessary inflections, the materials which 
 are destined to afford strength and firmness to the 
 whole economy are divided into short pieces, which, 
 under the denomination of bones, are so formed as 
 to afford the greatest possible strength, considering 
 the quantity of matter employed; of such propor- 
 tionate lengths in different parts of the body as to 
 suit the necessary curvations of those parts; so 
 shaped at the articulations" as to allow of the requisite 
 inovemeénts ; so joined as to correspond with these 
 movements, and to give the greatest firmness and 
 union to the whole consistent with flexibility. 
 
 In the general mass of matter employed in the 
 human frame, we discover the same wisdom of 
 design. Had the size of man’s body been greater than 
 
 * Anatomists use the word articulation to denote a joining 
 together, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 163 
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE FEET. 
 
 it is, it would have been unwieldy, and unfit for that 
 activity for which he is intended; and where any 
 thing required is beyond the ability of the individual, 
 reason directs him to a union of numbers, or to that 
 employment of mechanical powers which amply 
 compensates for the want of more individual strength. 
 On the other hand, had it been smaller, equal incon- 
 veniencies would have resulted from his feebleness 
 and insignificance. By avoiding each extreme, an 
 organic structure is produced, both for size and 
 arrangement of parts, every way equal to the 
 exigencies of his station in the grand economy of 
 nature, 
 
 PLOLP OL 
 
 THE FEET. 
 
 It is evident that man is intended for an erect 
 position. This singular piece of mechanism is sup- 
 ported by two pedestals of curious workmanship, 
 placed at right angles with the body. Though. 
 comparatively short and narrow, yet the Frrr are 
 sufficiently long and broad to subserve the purposes 
 of locomotion, and to give man a ready command 
 of himself. Had these organs been composed of 
 one solid bone, the greatest inconveniencies must 
 have resulted; but being composed of several bones, 
 firmly united by strong ligaments, well defended on 
 the underside by a thick tendinous substance, and 
 terminating at the front in several small divisions, a 
 
 | M 2 
 
164 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ; THE FEET>—-HANDS. : 
 
 strength and flexibility are possessed exactly equal to 
 the necessity of the case. The feet are joined to 
 the legs at the best conceivable point of union: not 
 in the centre, nor at either extremity, but at a short 
 distance from the hinder end. The greatest length 
 of the feet being by this means in the direction of 
 the face, man acquires a proper balance in his 
 forward motion, and a more ready command of his 
 steps as circumstances may demand. And the legs 
 being placed towards the back part of the foot, a 
 greater influence is obtained in front, by affording the 
 back muscles and tendons the advantage of a lever. 
 The extension of the heel beyond the leg is ne-+ 
 cessary to keep the body from falling backward, 
 and is well stayed by means of the muscles and 
 tendons on the front of the foot. Here is a suitable 
 contrivance for activity. A child’s learning to walk 
 is its learning to balance itself upon its feet, and to 
 keep its body in the centre of gravity, which is the 
 position natural to it whilst it is motionless. When 
 we want to walk’ or run, we throw our bodies 
 beyond the centre of gravity, which obliges us to 
 put our feet forward to preserve ourselves from 
 falling. In all this there is far more cause for 
 admiration than is generally supposed. 
 THE HANDS. 
 
 Our hands are a most singular contrivance, and 
 afford an astonishing display of wise adaptation. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. __. 165 
 
 re a ey 
 
 THE MECHANISM OF THE HANDS. 
 
 They are joined to the arm by a curious mechanism, 
 which gives them a motion half round, as if they 
 moved upon a centre. Each hand is composed of 
 twenty-seven bones, all differently shaped in some 
 respects, and of various lengths. They are so 
 articulated as, at the same time, to possess  sur- 
 prising strength, and great flexibility. It is won- 
 derful, as Ray observes, that the tendons which 
 bend the middle joints of the fingers should be 
 perforated, to give passage to the tendons of .the 
 muscles which draw the uppermost joints; and all 
 are bound down close to the bone with strong fillets, 
 lest they should start up and hinder the hand in its 
 work, standing like so many bow strings. Had the 
 hand been composed of one solid bone, it could have 
 been subservient to'a few purposes only. But being 
 separated into different -bones placed parallel to each 
 other, every chain of bones divided into several 
 joints, and every joint being supplied .with its proper 
 tendons to bend it forward and backward, it is able to 
 accommodate itself to bodies of all shapes, square, 
 triangular, cylindrical, &c.. as may be necessary. 
 The different lengths, as well as the various sizes of 
 the fingers, are also of importance to the general 
 purposes for which the hand is formed. And so 
 great is the command which we have over these 
 important members, that we can call one or all of 
 our fingers into action at pleasure. . Neither do they 
 all move in the same direction. One of these 
 divisions, which we call the thumb, acts in a con- 
 
166 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ARSE ARIEL SI A FT ERS res 
 
 THE DIVERSIFIED OFFICES OF THE HANDS. | 
 
 trary way, so as to enable us to take fast hold of an 
 object. | 
 
 So great is the variety of offices to which the 
 hand is subservient, that to attempt to number them 
 were an endless task. Our feet and legs afford us 
 the means of motion; our eyes direct us in the way 
 by which that motion is to be performed; but it is 
 the hand which executes almost all the important 
 duties of life. Were we to observe their movements 
 with attention, and write a history of what they 
 perform in one day only, we should be astonished 
 at the variety, the different inflections of their parts, 
 and the multiplicity of circumstances to which they 
 had accommodated themselves. If our bodies be 
 deprived of only one of these useful parts, they seem 
 to lose half their importance; nay, if but a finger 
 is gone, or but one single joint of a finger, we feel 
 that we have sustained an irreparable loss. We 
 never can sufficiently admire the wisdom and good- 
 ness of God in bestowing upon us members so 
 valuable, and of s0 vast importance both to our- 
 selves and to one another: but because they are 
 common and always seen, we seldom think of that 
 intelligence which their formation discovers. 
 
 The hands being placed at the extremity of the 
 arms, and supplied with joints and muscles suited 
 for moving them in all possible directions, is an- 
 other proof of contrivance. Had the hands, formed 
 as they are, been fixed on any other part of the 
 bedy contiguous to each other, their usefulness must 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, ‘167 
 
 Po nce eae 8 9 Ra ET SE LT TTS A NEA a EE RN ERT TT 
 THE EYE. 
 
 have been greatly circumscribed. | But situated at 
 the extremity of the arms, they can be brought. toge- 
 ther, or moved at the distance of five or six feet; 
 they can seize objects of considerable magnitude, or 
 such as are of the smallest size. 
 
 SLII LS 
 
 THE EYE. 
 
 . The Eye is the next object which I shall consider 
 in this amazing organic system. Its economy, its 
 uses, its characteristic appearances in different 
 persons, have always excited attention, and employed 
 the curious inquirer. It is particularly in the eyes, 
 says Buffon, that the -PAssions are painted, and 
 most readily discovered. ‘The eye appears to belong 
 to the soul more than any other organ; it seems 
 to participate of all its emotions; the softest and 
 most tender, as well as the most violent and 
 tumultuous. There it not only receives, but it 
 transmits, by sympathy, into the soul of the observer, 
 all that secret. fire with which the mind. is avitated ; 
 and thus does passion often become general... In 
 short, the.eye is the lively index of the. mind, and 
 forcibly speaks the language of intelligence.’ It is 
 the structure of the eye which I intend to describe 
 with all the brevity that is consistent with perspicuity. 
 
 en ene 
 
 ew Serpe --- 
 
 ' Natural History, vol. LV. 
 
168 = ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 Se eS 
 THE TUNICS OF THE EYE—CORNEA, , 
 
 pp 
 
 To give us a knowledge: of surrounding objects, 
 is obviously the design of God in the formation of 
 this curious organ. And it is found that every eye 
 is a true optical instrument, on the ground of which 
 light delineates, or rather paints in miniature the 
 portrait of every object situated in the view of the 
 spectator: and of all the subjects of observation 
 which nature every where presents to us, it may 
 justly be said of this organ, that there is none which 
 more forcibly exhibits in its structure and adaptation 
 the marks of Infinite Intelligence." It is provided 
 with every mechanical prerequisite—for performng 
 the offices of vision ; for adjusting itself to different 
 circumstances ; and for preserving it from injury. 
 
 The eye is so formed as to effect the othces of 
 vision, or to convey to the brain an idea of surround- 
 ing objects. I shall here describe the ball of the eye. 
 It is composed of three tunics or coats, and three 
 humours; itis nearly spherical, except on the anterior 
 part, which is rather protuberant; as if a segment of 
 a smaller globe were placed on the surface of a 
 larger. Both parts are covered with a tunic which 
 appears white and opaque as far as the edge of the 
 protuberance, and is called the scLEroTica; that 
 part of this tunic which covers the protuberance 
 is denominated the cornea, and is perfectly trans- 
 yigioe ls of bugis | lode gio out ee eit ase tly 
 
 k Rér these and some other remarks on this subject I am 
 indebted to Haiiy’s Natural Philosophy, translated by Olinthus 
 
 Gregory, A.M; Adams's Lectures on Natural Philosophy; 
 Encyclopedia, the words Anatomy and Opties. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 169 
 
 THE IRIS: 
 
 parent. Immediately under this tunic is found a 
 transparent fluid, like water, which is therefore called 
 the aqueous humour, and is of the same limpidness, 
 specific gravity, and refractive power as water. It 
 fills the interstice between the cornea and the pupil, 
 and also the small space extending from the wvea} to 
 the crystalline lens. It is included in a membrane so 
 delicate that it cannot be made visible. 
 
 - / In passing through the aqueous humour, before 
 we reach the extent of it, we meet with the Iris, 
 which is joined to, and seems to be “produced by, 
 the choroides, another tunic immediately under the 
 sclerotica; this continuing its course ‘nearly in the 
 line of the circumference of the larger globe of the 
 ‘eye, terminates in the iris, which is of course at some 
 depth in the aqueous humour. ‘The regs: is ‘an 
 opaque membrane of different colours im different 
 persons; in some blue, in others grey, and in others 
 hazel. The iris is an assemblage of muscular fibres ; 
 some are orbicular, and ranged round the circum- 
 ference of the pupil; others. direct, like so many 
 radial lines. The use of the former is to contract 
 the pupil in order to moderate the impression of too 
 ‘strong a light; and of the latter to dilate it, that a 
 greater number of rays of a faint light may be ad- 
 “mitted.—By the pupil of the eye is meant that circular 
 aperture which is surrounded by the iris. ) 
 
 — 
 
 ‘The uvEA is the posterior surface of the iris, and is of a. 
 black colour. | 
 
170 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 pe ne ny eg A a A 
 
 THE CRYSTALLINE AND YEEREOUS HUMOURS. 
 
 Beyond the pupil, and at the bottom. of the 
 aqueous humour, is the crysTALLINE humour, 
 which is shaped like a double convex glass, being a 
 - ittlesmore convex on the back than on the fore-part, 
 and is received into a corresponding concavity in the 
 yitreous humour. In consistency it 1s somewhat like 
 a hard jelly, becoming softer from the centre out- 
 wards, and is as transparent as the purest crystal, 
 from which circumstance it derives its name. It is 
 formed of concentric plates or scales succeeding 
 each other; and these scales are composed of fibres 
 elegantly figured, and wound up in a stupendous 
 manner, Leuteenhoek has computed that there are 
 near two thousand laminz, or scales, in one crystalline; 
 and that each of these is made up of a single fibre, or 
 fine thread, running this way and that, in seyeral 
 courses, and meeting im as many centres, yet never 
 interfering with or crossing each other. ‘Ihe whole 
 is included in a sort of capsule, or case, the fore-part 
 of which is very thick and elastic; the hinder-part is 
 thinner and softer. ,The use of the crystalline humour 
 is to converge the rays, which pass through it from 
 every visible object, to its focus at the bottom of the 
 eye. 
 
 At the back of the crystalline lies the yrrrEous, 
 which is the third humour of the eye. It receives its 
 name from its appearance which is like melted glass. 
 It is neither so hard as the crystalline, nor so liquid 
 as the aqueous humour, though the largest of all in 
 quantity, fillmmg the whole orb of the eye, and giving it 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 171 
 
 —. 
 
 THE RETINA. 
 
 ~a globular shape.. It is much of the consistence of 
 the white of an egg, and very little exceeds the specific 
 
 eravity and refractive power of water. ‘The vitreous 
 
 humour is contained in a very thin pellucid membrane‘ 
 (tunica vitrea), which is concave at its fore-part to 
 
 receive the crystalline lens: at this place its membrane 
 
 divides into two, the one covering the cavity in which 
 
 the lens lies, the other passing above, covering the fore- 
 
 part of the crystalline humour, and thus forming a 
 
 sort of sheath for it, called the capsula crystaflina. 
 
 The fabric of the vitreous humour is cellular, the 
 
 substance of it being divided by a very fine transparent 
 
 membrane into cavities, or litthe membraneous com- 
 
 partments containing a very transparent liquor. 
 
 The third and last membrane of the eye is called 
 the Retina, because it is spread like a net over the 
 bottom of the eye. It is the thinnest and least solid 
 of the three coats; being a fine expansion of the 
 medullary part of the optic nerve. The convex side 
 of it lines the choroides, the concave side covers. the 
 surface of the vitreous humour, terminating where 
 the choroides folds inwards. It is an essential: or- 
 gan of vision; for on it the images of objects are 
 represented, and their picture formed. ‘The whole 
 of the choroides is opaque, by which means no light 
 is allowed to enter into the eye, but what passes 
 through the pupil. To render this opacity more 
 perfect, and the chamber of the eye still darker, the 
 posterior surface of this membrane is covered all over 
 with a black mucus (pigmentum nigrum) which is 
 
i 5 ee ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE EYE CONNECTED WITH THE BRAIN BY THE OPTIC NERVE. 
 
 thinnest upon the concave side of the choroides, 
 near the retina, and on the fore side of the iris; and 
 thickest on the exterior side of the choroides, and the 
 inner side of the uvea. | 
 
 But all this amazing apparatus would be useless 
 to us unless it had an immediate connexion with the 
 sensorium. This connexion is formed by means of the 
 OPTIC NERVES, which are considerable trunks, sepa- 
 rated as they proceed from the brain, and afterwards’ 
 united in a common point; when separating again, 
 they pass out of the scull through a hole in the bottom 
 of its orbit, a little inflected, of a figure somewhat 
 round, but compressed, and are inserted into the 
 globes of the eyes, not in the middle, but a little 
 higher and nearer to the nose ; for if the nerve had 
 been situated in the axis of the eye itself, then the 
 middle of every object would have been invisible; and 
 where all things else contribute to make us see best, 
 we should not have seen at all. . The reason of this 
 is, because our eyes are insensible at the part where 
 the optic nerves enter. Hence they are wisely placed 
 by the Divine Artist for this and other advantageous 
 ‘purposes, not in the middle, but a little higher and 
 nearer the nose.—-An artery runs through the optic 
 nerve, goes straight through the vitreous humour, 
 and spreads itself on the membrane that covers the 
 posterior side of the crystalline. 
 
 The design of this contrivance is, that we may 
 form accurate ideas of surrounding objects. And it 
 is found that by means of these different humours 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 173 
 
 HOW VISION IS EFFECTED, 
 
 thus formed and arranged, aided by light, a picture’ 
 ef surrounding objects is actually painted upon the 
 retina, in the following manner.—As_ these three 
 humours possess different refracting powers, the rays 
 of light must suffer three refractions in passing through 
 them. ‘The cornea is spherical; and for the purpose 
 of taking in a greater quantity of light is somewhat 
 prominent. Now parallel rays of light falling on the 
 convex surface of the cornea will be made to converge. 
 But the aqueous humour, being of about the same 
 density with water, the rays by this first refraction 
 would be made to converge to a point at twice the 
 diameter of the convex surface: but this point is: 
 considerably beyond the retina ; it is therefore neces- 
 sary to vision that some other convex surface of 
 greater density should be interposed to increase the 
 converging of the rays. This is effected by the 
 crystalline humour. Still, however, the rays would 
 converge beyond the retina, were it not for the vitreous 
 humour. ‘This being of a less refractive power than 
 the former, and presenting a concave surface where 
 the rays pass into it from the crystalline, they are 
 still further refracted, and unite at the retina, on 
 which a perfect image of the objects we look at is 
 most distinctly represented.” | 
 
 In considering ‘vision as being achieved by the 
 means of an image formed at the bottom of the eye, 
 says Paley, we can never reflect without wonder 
 
 ™ See Gregory’s Economy of Nature. 
 
174 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 OBJECTS PAINTED ON THE RETINA INVERTED. 
 
 —- ee pits inate arecm a 
 
 upon the smallness, yet correctness of the picture, 
 the subtilty of the touch, the fineness of the lines. 
 A landscape of five or six square leagues is brought 
 into a space of half an inch in diameter, yet the 
 multitude of objects which it contains, are all pre- 
 served, are all discriminated in their magnitudes, 
 positions, figures, colours. The prospect from 
 Hampstead-hill is compressed into the compass of 
 a sixpence, yet circumstantially represented. A 
 stage-coach, travelling at its ordinary speed for half 
 an hour, passes, in the eye, only over one twelfth of 
 an inch, yet is this change of place in the image 
 distinctly perceived throughout its whole progress; 
 for it is only by means of that perception that the 
 motion of the coach itself is made sensible to the eye. 
 If any thing can abate our admiration of the small- 
 ness of the visual tablet compared with the extent of 
 vision, it is a reflection, which the view of nature 
 leads us every hour to make, viz. that in the hands of 
 the Creator, great and little are nothing.” 
 
 Objects are painted upon the retina in an inverted 
 position; and hence many have supposed that we 
 actually see things in this position, and through habit 
 learn to view them as they are. Others again, as 
 intelligent as the former, conceive that, notwith- 
 standing this fact, we see objects in their real position. 
 After examining the subject on both sides, I fully 
 acquiesce in this latter opinion. As we look at the 
 
 * Natural Theology, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 175 
 
 HOW IMAGES REACH THE MIND MYSTERIOUS, 
 
 same. object with both eyes, some again have thought 
 that we must see double, and that the power of habit _ 
 and experience correets this error also. But this is 
 much more philosophically accounted for by con- 
 sidering, that the optic nerves of both eyes are united 
 at a certain point, though they separate again. before 
 they reach the brain. 
 
 But though we find in the structure of this won- 
 derful orb an organic disposition of parts that conveys 
 the image of surrounding objects to the retina on 
 principles which the science of optics very imperfectly 
 imitates, yet how this image passes along the solid 
 and opaque nerves to the brain, must be confessed a 
 mystery which has never yet been, and probably 
 never will be explained in the present state of man. 
 What reason for astonishment is here! That materials 
 such as those which compose the eye, and so essen 
 tially different from any that we find in the rest of 
 the system, should be so proportioned, so arranged, 
 so connected, as with absolute infallibility to accom- 
 plish an end, the most essential and important to 
 animals, Can a being who possesses the scantiest 
 share of intellect for one moment suppose that this 
 is a mere fortuitous combination of atotig? Or, 
 with a knowledge of the structure of the eye, cai 
 he for one moment doubt either the existence of a 
 God, or his wisdom? I know but of one dee 
 scription of created existences which more excites 
 
 my astonishment than the structure of ate eyed 
 mean Atheists, . 
 
176 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 <= - ae 
 HOW THE EYE ADJUSTS ITSELF TO OBJECTS AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES. 
 
 — 
 
 Having shown that .the eye possesses every 
 mechanical prerequisite for performing the office of 
 vision, 1 proceed to describe that apparatus by which 
 it is able to adjust itself to different circumstances. 
 
 Those objects which come within the sphere of 
 vision are in different situations, and at every point of 
 obliquity—some horizontal, some more elevated, and 
 others lower than the eye; some again on the right 
 hand, and others to the left. If the eyes had been 
 immoyeably fixed in their sockets, though the motion 
 of the head might have directed the visual organ to 
 the object, yet it would not have been with that cele- 
 rity which circumstances frequently require. There- 
 fore, besides the advantages which the eye derives from 
 the movements and muscles of the head, it possesses 
 additional conveniences from heing moveable in its 
 own orbit. It is supplied with six muscles, so placed 
 and connected with the ball of the eye as to direct 
 the pupil to every point within the field of obser- 
 yation.—To describe these muscles would be tedious. 
 
 Besides;. objects, are. at different distances, and 
 are consequently viewed under different angles. And 
 though the same visual apparatus will enable us to 
 see those which are afar off, as well as those which 
 are near, yet a change must take place in the form of 
 the humours of the eye, suited to the distance of the 
 object, .to shorten or elongate the: focal distance. 
 This, as it appears from some late experiments, is 
 effected by the influence.which the muscles of the eye 
 have upon the cornea, rendering it. more or less 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 177 
 
 HOW THE EYE ADJUSTS ITSELF TO DIFFERENT LIGHTS 
 
 convex as circumstances require.. It appears that 
 the cornea is composed of lainine which are elastic, 
 capable of being elongated one-eleventh of its dia- 
 meter, and contracted again to their former length 
 by its own exertions. The four straight muscles of 
 the eye are continued to the edge of the cornea, and 
 inserted in its external lamina. From these experi- 
 ments it appears that, in changing the focus of the eye 
 from seeing with parallel rays to a near distance, there 
 is a visible alteration produced in the ficure of the 
 cornea which renders it more convex; and the alte- 
 ration by which the cornea is brought back to its 
 former state is equally visible.° In adjusting a tele- 
 scope to objects at different distances much time is 
 lost, but this adjustment of the eye is effected in a 
 moment, without trouble, and in a manner perfectly 
 insensible to us. 
 
 Again; objects are seen in different degrees of 
 light ;—from the faintness of twilight, to the effulgence 
 of the meridian sun: and the eye is supplied with 
 an instrument which enables it to meet every degree 
 of difference. This instrument is the Iris, which; 
 as it was before remarked, possesses a power of 
 narrowing and enlarging the diameter of the pupil to 
 admit more or fewer rays of light as the case may 
 require. This affords essential service to vision: 
 When the light is strong, or the visual object too 
 luminous, we contract the pupil in order to intercept 
 erect ae Lauer eee 110 CREE Oe) UO UE SE oe 
 
 ° Philosophical Transactions for 1795, Part 1. 
 N 
 
178 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 2 area set RATT =z 
 
 HOW THE EYE IS SECURED. 
 
 ——aa7~ ne 
 
 a part of the light, which would otherwise dazzle our 
 eyes; but when the light is weak, we enlarge the pupil 
 that a greater quantity may enter the eye, and thus 
 make a stronger impression upon it. This aperture 
 dilates also for viewing distant objects, and becomes 
 narrower for such as are near. Yet under these 
 different changes of the diameter of the pupil, it most 
 exactly preserves its circular figure. 
 
 From all this it appears that, under different cir- 
 cumstances of vision, important changes must take 
 place in the eye to render it useful to the end of its 
 formation, and that it is supplied with all the powers 
 which are necessary to these purposes ;—muscles, 
 which at once direct the pupil to the object to be 
 viewed; which produce a convexity in the cornea 
 according to the: distance of the object, so that its 
 image may fall exactly on the retina at its proper 
 focal point; and which alter the diameter of the 
 pupil according to the quantity of light which at the 
 time exists;—and yet no confusion is observed, no 
 difficulty felt.—W ho can sufficiently admire the bound- 
 less wisdom which all this mechanism displays! 
 
 But this astonishing machinery is exposed to ¢on- 
 siderable danger, and frequent injury. Let us now 
 notice that wisdom which appears in the means of 
 its preservation. External dangers are provided 
 against by the strong bony socket in: which it 1s 
 placed, and which is particularly prominent where 
 danger is the most probable, that is, on the upper 
 part. -On the skin that covers these bones grows 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 179 
 
 USES OF THE EYELIDS. 
 
 a. wary 
 
 hair, which preserves the eye from dust and other 
 inconveniences. As the cornea is constantly exposed 
 to the action of the air, it is liable to become dry and 
 parched, which would greatly injure its transparency, 
 and consequently render the eye useless; it must 
 therefore be kept in a state of humidity. Provision is 
 made for this necessity by the Eyenrps, which are 
 singularly contrived for answering this end, as well 
 as affording a covering for defence, and a screen for 
 excluding entirely the rays of light. The underside 
 of this covering is supplied with vessels which dis- 
 charge copiously a liquid exactly suited to the eye. 
 This it disperses over all that part of its orb which 
 is exposed; and whenever it becomes superabundant, 
 it is discharged through an orifice which commences 
 at the internal angle of the eye, and opens into the 
 nose.—Further; the ball-of the eye is almost in per- 
 petual motion ; but the destructive consequences of 
 friction are prevented by the soft substance on which 
 it moves. This is so remarkably smooth that, though 
 the eye performs thousands of movements every day 
 for seventy or eighty years, yet not the least injury is 
 observable on its coats. If by any means the eye Is 
 so far injured by accident as that the aqueous humour 
 escapes from under the cornea, in a few days:it is 
 replenished, though the vessels which perform this 
 office have not yet been discovered. Thus we see 
 that abundant provision is made for the preser- 
 vation of this important faculty, from all .common 
 dangers, — provision which displays a provident 
 N 2 
 
LSU ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 tiated. aca nstek el ete el ncaa at mst PAAR HN OLE RACES ESTOS TS rem core 
 STRUCTURE OF THE EAR. 
 
 wisdom, and which long perpetuates to us a blessing 
 of inestimable worth.’ binidie 
 While we contemplate with just astonishment the 
 wonderful organ of sight which is bestowed upon the 
 creature, let us not forget the eye of Him whose 
 sphere of vision is not confined to our contracted 
 horizon, but at once includes a universe with all its 
 objects ;- all the rational creation, with their every 
 thought, and action, and intention ;—nay, all that has 
 transpired, whatever is now projecting or executing, 
 and the unnumbered events of futurity, are all under 
 his immense survey. Darkness and light are both 
 alike to him. Solemn thought! Thou God seest 
 me! Thine eyes see, and thine eyelids try the chil- 
 dren of men. , | 
 
 CLEC PL OF 
 
 THE EAR. 
 
 As man is endowed with the gift of speech, and 
 the powers of articulation, it is necessary that he 
 should be able to hear the words which are uttered 
 both by himself and others. . Without this faculty, 
 speech: were useless, and society would lose almost 
 all its chartis. God has therefore bestowed on man 
 an organ which is fitted to receive sounds, and placed 
 him in an element adapted to convey them to it 
 This element is air; which, while it answers a variety 
 of other‘important purposes, is essential to the trans- 
 yaission of sounds from one person to another. ‘This 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 181 
 a 
 
 THE EXTERNAL EAR—DRUM OF THE EAR, 
 element has already been described: it is the Ear 
 itself whose structure I shall now attempt to explain. 
 
 The ears of all animals appear to be constructed 
 on the same general principles, though they differ in 
 some unessential particulars, with a view to meet the 
 exigences of their different habits and circumstances. 
 It is the human ear which I shall now consider, but 
 with all possible brevity: anatomical minuteness 
 would lead me far beyond my design.? 
 
 At the first glance we are struck with the suitable- 
 ness of the form which the external part of the ear has 
 received for the admission of sounds, which are pro- 
 pagated in direct lines through the air, from the object 
 that occasions them, The outward ear (concha) pre- 
 sents a cavity somewhat like a funnel, of a carti- 
 laginous substance, with various protuberances and 
 cavities admirably adapted to the reception of sonorous 
 undulations, and to condense and convey them inward 
 along the cifcular tube which we discover at the bot+ 
 tom, This tube (meatus auditorius) takes an indirect 
 course towards the brain, gradually lessening its dia- 
 meter till it comes to a fine thin membrane, (mem- 
 brana, tympani) the drum of the ear, which is stretched 
 across it, but out of sight. This membrane is carried 
 over a heop of bone, which is nearly circular, and 
 to which it is fastened. Its surface is not flat, but 
 rather concave, its convex surface being inward. 
 Beyond this membrane is the cavity of the tympanum ; 
 
 ® For a full description of the borate Bar, -see Haller’s 
 
 Physiology, vol. T. 
 
182 -  QORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE INTERNAL EAR. 
 
 from this cavity there are four openings, one of which 
 (the eustachian tube) communicates with the mouth, 
 enlarging its diameter gradually till it forms an oval 
 opening in the palate. It is supposed that the 
 intention of this tube is to admit sounds from the 
 mouth to the tympanum. | | 
 Attached nearly to the centre of the convex sur- 
 face of the membrana tympani, is a small bone, made 
 something like a hammer, hence called MALLEUs, 
 being larger at one end than at the other. It is the 
 small end which is fastened to the tympanum. The 
 larger extremity is attached to a second bone which 
 bears some resemblance to an anvil, for this reason 
 called the 1ncus, one of whose legs descends parallel 
 to the malleus, and receives another little bone (os 
 orbiculare) convex on one side, and flat on the other, 
 and resting upon the srapEs. This bone (stapes) is 
 so denominated from its bemg shaped like a stirrup: 
 it has a hollow head which receives the iIncus where 
 their junction is formed. ‘The oval basis of the stapes 
 rests on the aperture of a corresponding figure, called 
 the FENESTRA OVALIS, that conducts to the labyrinth, 
 or innermost chamber of the ear, which is filled with 
 real water. In the fenestra ovalis lie the auditory 
 nerves, the ramifications of which float in the water 
 in the labyrinth, and there receive the sound which is 
 conyeyed to it. This aperture is closed by the stapes 
 _ which has a part of auditory nerves spread over its 
 basis.t The whole of this surprising mechanism, with 
 
 .4 Derham. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE: 183 
 
 HOW SOUNDS ARE CONVEYED TO THE BRAIN. 
 
 its various tendons and muscles, is deposited in the 
 cavity of the tympanum. ; 
 
 Let us now see how this singular contrivance is 
 adapted to the conveying of external sounds to the 
 brain. The outward ear has an obvious relation to 
 the inner; and all the mechanism of the inner ear 
 to the auditory nerve; and the auditory nerve is con- 
 nected with the brain. Sounds, as before intimated, 
 are propagated by undulations from the sonorous 
 body. These undulations striking the surface of the 
 outer ear, are interrupted and softened by its various 
 protuberances and cavities, till they enter the auditory 
 passage. Here again, striking the surface of the | 
 tympanum, commonly called the drum of the ear, they 
 cause it to vibrate: this vibration moves the malleus; 
 the malleus, the incus; the incus, the stapes; and the 
 stapes affects the auditory nerve; and the auditory 
 nerve conveys the tremulous motion to the sensorium. 
 Here is as evident a contrivance for conveying sounds 
 to the brain, as there is in the eye for conveying the 
 images of surrounding objects by their being thrown 
 upon the retina; and both are equally adapted to 
 their auxiliary medium ; the eye to receive its image 
 by-means of light, and the ear to propagate sounds 
 along its concatenation of bones by means of air. 
 But there are mysteries attending the operations of 
 both, which probably will never be explained. We 
 can no more demonstrate how this mechanism which 
 we discover in the ear conveys an almost infinite 
 variety of sounds, with perfect distinctness, to the 
 
184 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE EAR ADJUSTS ITSELF TO DIFFERENT SOUNDS. 
 
 sensory, than we can show how the retina of the eye 
 becomes SENSIBLE of the image of objects thrown 
 upon it, and how that image is conveyed to the brain 
 along the opaque optic nerves. Notwithstanding 
 these difficulties, the facts are unquestionable; and in 
 the structure of the ear as well as the eye we find an 
 astonishing display of power, under the direction of 
 Infinite Wisdom, in adapting the contrivance to 
 desired results, ad 
 
 As in the eye we find suitable apparatus by which 
 it can accommodate itself to the various degrees of 
 light in which objects are seen, and the different dis- 
 tances at which they are placed, so in the ear we 
 meet with suitable machinery to anticipate varieties 
 which would certainly occur from strong and weak 
 sounds. ‘This is done by means of certain muscles 
 which operate on the drum of the ear, so as to 
 produce different degrees of tension in its fibres. I 
 shall mention two only; by the one the membrane is 
 tightened, and by the other it is relaxed. The first 
 is the Tensor Tympani, so called, because it stretches 
 tight the membranum tympani: it arises from the 
 cartilaginous extremity of the eustachian tube, and is 
 lodged in a particular groove within the tube; and, 
 running over a sort of pulley, is inserted, by its tendon, 
 into the handle of the malleus, which it serves to pull 
 inwards, and consequently, by doing so, stretches the 
 membrane to enable it the better to receive weak sounds. 
 The other muscle arises from the auditory passage, 
 passes through a notch in the ring of the tympanum, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, | 185 
 
 eee SSE ee SR 
 THE EAR WONDERFULLY SECURED, 
 —aaeeeeEeEeEEE "= 
 
 and is inserted by the shorter process into the malleus. 
 This is supposed to moderate violent sounds, by 
 drawing the malleus from the incus, and thus inter- 
 rupting the propagation of the sonorous tremors. 
 By these means the finest sounds are heard with 
 perfect distinctness, and the loudest without incon- 
 venience; while these muscles adjust the tympanum 
 with instantaneous celerity and perfect accuracy, to all 
 the intermediate varieties. 
 
 Ample provision is made for the preservation of 
 this wonderful and important organ against all 
 probable dangers. It has been proved that when 
 the outer ear has been cut off, the sense of hearing 
 has been greatly injured. Now had this been formed 
 of bone it would have been in great danger of being 
 broken; but being made of a gristly and cartilaginous 
 substance, all the necessary uses of it are secured, 
 and dangers avoided.—Insects are fond of hiding 
 themselves in holes and crannies; but the fine 
 membrane of the tympanum would be greatly endan- 
 gered by their incursions, and ourselves seriously 
 inconvenienced ; for were the drum of the ear touched 
 by only one of their feelers, it would produce a 
 sound more tremendous than the loudest peal of 
 thunder. Hence their entrance into. the auditory 
 passage 1s opposed by hairs growing outwards round 
 the whole of its circumference, and the whole length 
 of the tube. Besides this, a most bitter and un- 
 pleasant mucus, of a yellowish colour, is secreted 
 in the ear on which no known insect will feed. . For 
 
1s6 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 USES OF THE WAX OF THE EAR. 
 
 the production of this substance, round cells of a 
 yellowish colour are placed under the skin, which 
 discharge their contents by short ducts into the 
 auditory passage. At first it is of an oily con- 
 sistence, and serves as a liniment to defend the 
 sensible skin of the membrane from the injurious 
 action of the air and cold; and subsequently, by 
 a change produced upon it, probably, by its eXx- 
 posure to the atmosphere, it becomes the mucus 
 mentioned, and answers a second important pur- 
 pose. Who would have expected a chemical labo- 
 ratory in such a situation, stored with a substance 
 essentially different from all others hitherto discovered 
 in the animal system, and gradually discharging it 
 as necessity requires ° Whether, therefore, we con- 
 sider the mechanism of this organ, its suitableness 
 to the element of air to which it has a relation, or 
 the means. of its preservation, we must be struck 
 with the most evident design, and the most astonish- 
 ing adaptation to a purpose of essential importance 
 to the welfare of ‘man as the creature of God, 
 and a member of civilized society. 
 
 Supposing that man had been formed without the 
 organ of hearing; and, labouring under innumerable 
 ‘nconveniencies from this defect, he had felt the 
 want of a faculty which should meet his necessities ; 
 would he ever have thought of suc an organ? 
 Suppose that he had started the general principle 
 so far as it was necessary to receive sounds ; would 
 he ever have conceived that the same mechanism 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 187 
 ——Eee——————————— EE 
 
 MAN COULD NOT HAVE CONTRIVED AN EAR. 
 
 could be employed to transmit with accuracy every 
 variety of sound? It appears to me that it would 
 have been infinitely beyond the reach of the strongest 
 ~ and most inventive intellect that any creature ever 
 possessed. But supposing that by some uncommon 
 concatenation of circumstances, man had been led 
 to this combination of principles in the same organ, 
 and supposing that matter had been at his com- 
 mand to model it as he pleased, and that he could 
 have added to, or taken from his original system 
 as he thought proper; what length of time would. 
 it have taken him to form the drum, the bones, the 
 muscles, the tendons, the nerves, the arteries, the 
 veins, the glands and their ducts? How many 
 thousands of experiments must he have tried before 
 he brought them all to their due proportion? But, 
 supposing all this, how could he give this won- 
 derful organ a connexion with, and a relation to 
 the general system, as it necessarily must have? 
 He must first form the bones, and connect them 
 with other bones of the head, and these very bones 
 he must new model, in order that a suitable junc- 
 tion may be accomplished. When he had done 
 this, he must form a system of muscles of a dif- 
 ferent shape from all others in the human system, 
 and apply them to a different purpose from all 
 others. ‘This were not all. After having made the 
 arteries and the veins, he must seek out others lying 
 in another part of the body with which to con- 
 nect them: and having formed the nerves, he must 
 
188 — ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 HUMAN MOUTH. 
 
 per i lee 
 ‘nsert them into his own brain. Without following 
 this argument further; he must have new-modelled 
 his own system in order to adapt to it this one 
 additional piece of mechanism; and, in fact, be his 
 own creator. As man is of necessity the work- 
 manship of another Being, so, it is evident, that 
 other Being possesses an omnipotent control over 
 ~ matter; and that Infinite Wisdom has regulated all 
 the operations of his power, in so combining the 
 particles of the matter employed in the animal 
 system in general, and this part of the human 
 system in particular, as to answer purposes of 
 essential importance, with the utmost certainty and 
 mechanical ease, 
 
 GHPP LOLS 
 
 THE MOUTH. 
 
 An examination of the mouths of animals of 
 every description will afford the naturalist and 
 the philosopher a’ great fund of amusement, a 
 surprising exhibitiqn of mechanical contrivance, and 
 a satisfactory demonstration of a wise adaptation. 
 My observations shall now be confined principally 
 to the human mouth.—The more purposes a piece 
 of mechanism will answer, without any addition or 
 subtraction of parts, or adjustment of its compo- 
 nent levers, wheels, &c., the ‘greater is the skill 
 and ingenuity which it displays. Could an engine 
 be constructed which by the same mechanism 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 189 
 
 THE MOUTH FORMS ARTICULATE SOUNDS,.- 
 
 —— 
 
 would grind corn, and articulate words in unison 
 with the most musical sounds, .and separate food 
 of one particular flavour from a variety of other 
 kinds of nourishment, it would very far exceed 
 any thing which human skill has hitherto devised, 
 and afford unquestionable evidence of great intel- 
 ligence, foresight, and wisdom. But the human 
 mouth does all this, and more. J is the means 
 of speech, the instrument whereby food is masti- 
 cated, and the organ of taste. | 
 
 Tur Mouru is THE MEANS OF ARTICULATE 
 sPEECH. With the use of the rRAcHra, or wind- 
 pipe, a simple aperture would be sufficient for the 
 production of sound ;. but, constructed as the trachia 
 is, that sound would be inarticulate, however varied. 
 In order that sound may be modulated and formed 
 into any thing like words, a superaddition of me- 
 chanism must take place, which will produce from 
 the same original sound, as it flows from the orifice 
 of the trachia, all the different notes, from the deep 
 bass to the shrill treble. This mechanism is 
 comprehended in the mouth, all the parts of which 
 are subservient to the formation of words. In this 
 the tongue is one principal instrument. It is so 
 singularly constructed, and so remarkably supplied 
 with muscles, that it can form itself into almost 
 any shape with instantaneous promptitude, and 
 direct itself to every part of the cavity of the 
 mouth with equal ease. And so important is this 
 member to the production of articulate sounds, thag, 
 
190 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 Wie ti nap te eer ese a ee rerenrered 
 THE MOUTH PREPARES FOOD FOR DIGESTION. 
 
 Seen rr ee a 
 
 none can be formed without it, as the loss of it 
 demonstrates. The teeth, though not essential to 
 articulation, are greatly subservient to it. ‘The lips 
 also lend their aid, and without them various words 
 ‘eannot be pronounced. They are supplied with 
 muscles of remarkable activity and command, which, 
 while they answer many other purposes, greatly aid 
 the sweetness and variety of language ;—a gift which 
 exclusively belongs to the human race. ‘Thus, by 
 the aid of these Frew parts, formed, indeed, com- 
 plexly and astonishingly, a small quantity of air, 
 expelled from the lungs through the trachia into 
 the mouth, is adequate to the production of every 
 variety of sounds and words. Man is a thinking 
 and rational creature: he naturally desires to 
 convey his ideas to others of his species for their 
 information or amusement; and the organs of speech 
 subserve his wishes. ‘These organs not only have 
 a relation to the air which is the medium of sounds, 
 and to the ear which is adapted to convey them 
 to the brain, but also to the understandings, the 
 judgments, the wills, and the passions of those with 
 whom we converse. And can we possibly conceive 
 an apparatus better adapted to answer these inva- 
 luable purposes? No. If Infinite Wisdom had 
 not devised the means, man would have been for 
 ever destitute of the invaluable blessing of speech. 
 It is obvious that the human system is liable to 
 decay, and stands in need of perpetual supplies of 
 nutriment: but before this nutriment is fit for diges- 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 191 
 
 ee - - — 
 
 THE TEETH. 
 
 tion in the stomach, it must undergo a previous sepa- 
 ration of its parts, and pass through a preparatory 
 process : this is done in the mouth, which is remark- 
 ably adapted to the MASTICATION OF FooD. All 
 the parts which have’ been mentioned as co-operating 
 in the formation of language, we shall now see lend- 
 ing their respective aid to prepare food for recruiting 
 the system,—an employment as different from the 
 former as we can well conceive for the same instru- 
 ments. For what similarity is there between the 
 modulating of sounds into words, and the chewing of 
 food? And yet it is impossible to say that the mouth 
 performs the one of these offices better than the other, 
 
 or that it is more exactly sdspied to the one than to 
 the other. 
 
 While the lips answer important purposes in the 
 mastication of food, the reETH are the principal in- 
 struments by which it is performed. In different per- 
 sons they vary in number from twenty-eight to thirty- 
 two. The body of each tooth is a bony substance of a 
 much firmer texture than any other bone in the human 
 frame. ‘They take their origin in the strong bones of 
 the jaws; and, rising through the fleshy substance of 
 the gums, appear above them covered with an enamel 
 of a singularly solid nature, and of a composition pe- 
 culiar to itself. As the horizontal surface of the teeth 
 is the most worn and exposed to danger, it is worthy 
 of remark, that the enamel is much the thickest on 
 that part. And as it is perpetually wearing, a matter 
 is constantly oozing through this solid body which 
 
192 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 i anetipaarmmnicnsia sles spp a a a ce lO ae at 
 EPO OOOO SS 
 
 THE TEETH—JAWS. 
 4 
 
 petrifies as soon as exposed to the air, and this pre- 
 serves the teeth in constant use for many years to- 
 gether. Each tooth is supplied with an artery, a 
 vein, and a nerve, which enter it through a small 
 orifice in its fangs. : 
 
 The teeth are divided into three descriptions. 
 In the forepart of each jaw are four cutting teeth 
 (incisores ) shaped like a chisel, broader at their en- 
 trance into the gums, but gradually growing thinner 
 till they are reduced to a sharp edge, exactly fitted 
 for cutting and dividing our food. No other shape 
 is so suitable at once for strength and usefulness. 
 Beyond these are found two others in each jaw of a 
 conical shape, resembling the tusks of carnivorous 
 animals (hence called canini), standing rather above 
 the other, and fitted for laying hold on the substance 
 which is put into the mouth. Beyond these again are 
 the grinders (molares), eight or ten in each jaw. They 
 stand on a larger basis in their sockets, and are well 
 calculated to resist the greater pressure which their 
 broad summits are adapted to receive. ‘T heir large, 
 irregular, horizontal surfaces are wonderfully suited 
 to the grinding and the separating of solid food. 
 
 As the two jaws have a relation to each other in 
 their shape, and the disposition of the teeth, so the 
 shape and disposition of the teeth in the lower and 
 moveable jaw have a relation to the centre on which 
 it moves. ‘This jaw may be considered as a kind of 
 lever, with its fixed points at its articulations with the 
 temporal bones. It derives its power from its muscles 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 198 | 
 THE TONGUE ASSISTS IN. THE MASTICATION OF FOOD, 
 enna ee 
 which are most advantageously situated, being inserted 
 into this lever nearly at the anterior extremity, . that 
 is, nearly at the farthest possible point from the ful- 
 crum, by which means they secure the greatest power 
 over the food that is the object of resistance.—The 
 power of contraction which these muscles possess is 
 astonishing, being sufficient to raise a weight of 
 several hundred pounds. I said that the shape and 
 disposition of the teeth have a relation to the centre 
 on which the lever in which they are placed turns. 
 The front teeth have the disadvantage of being the 
 farthest from the center of the lever; but this disad- 
 vantage is compensated by their hiner sharpness. 
 The molares, on the other hand, have not the sharp- 
 ness of the incisores ; but this disadvantage is com- 
 pensated by their being placed nearer the fulcrum. 
 Thus we see that principles strictly mechanical are 
 wisely combined with usefulness ; every difficulty is 
 anticipated and overcome.—Let it be also remarked, 
 that the lower and moveable jaw has not only a per- 
 pendicular motion for cutting and pressing the food, 
 _ but also a considerable rotatory horizontal motion, for 
 grinding and separating its particles, acting on the 
 same principles with the two stones of a corn-mill, | 
 the lower of which is fixed, while the upper moves 
 round horizontally. 
 
 The tongue on the inside of the teeth, and the 
 cheeks on the outside, also render essential service in 
 the mastication of food. By the variety and strength 
 of its muscles, the tongue is enabled to accommodate 
 
 ) 
 
194 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 —— 
 THE USE OF SALIVA. 
 
 itself to the food in the mouth, to turn it over, to alter 
 its position, and to insert it between the teeth till it 
 is reduced to a proper state for the reception of the 
 stomach. While the tongue is thus employed in the 
 inside of the teeth, the muscular substances of the 
 cheeks perform an important office on the outside. 
 For every time the mouth opens in the chewing of 
 food, the cheek is stretched over the cavity made be- 
 tween the upper and lower jaw, and consequently 
 forces back again the food which had been pressed 
 over on that side. The lungs also assist their action on 
 pneumatic principles. . When it is necessary that the 
 food should be forced inward further than the exter- 
 nal line of the teeth, the lips are closed, the lungs 
 draw the air from the cavity of the mouth, a vacuum 
 is instantly formed, and the external air, pressing 
 on the outward surface of the cheeks, forces them 
 through between the teeth of the two jaws; and, if 
 necessary, beyond them. ‘The great elasticity of the 
 cheeks is exactly suited to these purposes. 
 
 But something more than a reduction of the food 
 to a sufficient fineness is necessary in order to prepare 
 it for the stomach. It must not only be reduced 
 small that the stomach may act upon it with greater 
 effect, but it must be brought into a pulpy state by a 
 proper mixture with some fluid, when the food is too 
 dry. This is done by the sativa, which is an insipid 
 liquor flowing plentifully from the hps, cheeks, tongue 
 and palate, from various reservoirs situated in the 
 neighbourhood, and pressed into the mouth by the 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. . 195 
 
 . THE MOUTH IS THE ORGAN OF TASTE. ; 
 different muscles which are called into action by 
 chewing the food.—The principal of these reservoirs is 
 the PAROTID GLAND, which fills up a large interval 
 between the auditory passage and the lower jaw. It 
 sends its large duct, which is about the dimensions of 
 a straw, into the cheek, where it pours its contents into 
 the mouth through innumerable apertures. During 
 trituration this fluid is mixed with the food, together 
 with a considerable quantity of atmospheric air, 
 which is also necessary in the process of digestion. 
 Thus, when the food is properly prepared, it is placed 
 upon the tongue and transmitted through the esopha- 
 gus, or gullet, into the stomach. | 
 
 While eating the food which our bountiful and 
 compassionate Benefactor provides, how little do we 
 think of its component parts,—of the surprising me- 
 chanism which he has formed in order to prepare it 
 for nourishment,—or of the amazing variety of organs 
 which are called into action, and that astonishing 
 process which is going on every morsel we chew! 
 An attentive consideration of these subjects is highly 
 calculated to produce conscious dependance on Him 
 in whom we live, and move, and have our being, and 
 to excite the highest strains of gratitude to the only 
 wise God. | 
 
 The mouth performs another important office. 
 It is the orcan oF TAstTE. The instinct of man in 
 the choice of his food appears to be far below that of 
 many brute animals. In general, they are able to 
 make an infallible choice before they receive it into 
 
 0 2 
 
196 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 SeERRS PREEMPT AI DEF ASR RT DI SAS DLN Fa OSE STEN TENT RES A ERS 
 | ORGAN OF SMELLING. 
 
 their mouths. But his reason compensates for the 
 inferiority of his instincts, and his taste in general 
 will decide in cases where his eye or his smell may 
 be wanting in accuracy. 
 
 Before I proceed to consider the organ of taste, 
 1 shall just notice that of smELLING. ‘This is con- 
 fined to the nose, which is supplied with nerves that are 
 almost naked and of singular sensibility, so that even 
 the delicate effluvia which is: perpetually arising from 
 almost all substances, affects them. The formation 
 of the human head into that of an oval figure, has 
 given to the organ of smelling but a small extent of 
 surface ; but to enlarge this the more, the Creator has 
 made the internal parts of the nose variously hollow 
 and complicated. in a surprising manner’. By the 
 smell we can often determine the qualities of bodies, 
 and their fitness or unfitness for food. For nearly 
 all those substances which God has appointed for 
 nourishment are endowed with grateful smells. The 
 situation of this organ is also deserving of notice. The 
 nose is placed with its open cavities immediately over 
 the mouth, it should seem for this reason, that the 
 nature of substances may be detected by their effluvia, 
 before they are taken into the.mouth*’. However the 
 smell of some substances is pleasing, but their natures 
 
 * Haller. 
 
 * “As salt joined with an oil, is the object of taste; so a 
 volatile oil, aided with salts, serves to excite smells: whence 
 the affinity of the two senses, which conjointly assist and move 
 each other, may be easily understood.” —Jd. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 197 
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE PAPILLA. 
 
 destructive. Therefore had we this sense only, we 
 should commit mistakes destructive of life. God has 
 therefore wisely granted the organ of Taste in the 
 very place where food is prepared for the stomach, 
 which corrects the mistakes that may be made by the 
 smell, and judges of the suitableness of what is re- 
 ceived by its essential qualities. 
 
 Though the mouth, in general, is able to taste 
 the qualities of bodies, yet the tongue is the prin- 
 cipal organ of taste. The paprLu#, or nipples, by 
 means of which it performs this important office, 
 are placed on the upper surface of the tongue. 
 These are divided into three descriptions. The 
 largest are situated near the basis of the tongue, 
 and are shaped like an inverted cone; the next are 
 slenderer than the former, of a cylindrical form, 
 and lie more forward; the third sort are of a 
 conical figure, and are placed amongst the other. 
 The construction of these papillae is remarkable; 
 each having its pulpy fabric composed of slender 
 nerves, arteries, and veins, united or wound up 
 with a firm cellular substance into a protuberance, 
 of which many are required to make up one large 
 papilla.’ These are as so many TAsTERs; which, 
 during the process of mastication, examine the 
 qualities of the food, and approve or disapprove 
 according to. its nutricious or its noxious qualities, 
 almost with infallible certainty. It is owing to 
 MAREE O56 5 sh) Ad EUR AA Bo ARLE 
 
 ‘Th. 
 
198 ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 
 THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 
 
 these, that food is so gratifying to the palate; and 
 this pleasure is an ample recompence for the ne- 
 cessary labour of mastication. ‘Thus we see that 
 scarcely a grain of any substance can be allowed 
 to enter into the stomach without having its 
 qualities examined with the strictest impartiality. 
 Whether we consider the structure of this organ, 
 or its situation, or its uses and importance, we 
 must be struck with the most evident design, the 
 most amazing goodness, and the most inscrutable 
 wisdom in the Author of our being. 
 
 The mouths of all animals are adapted to their 
 necessities. To meet their various exigencies, their 
 general structure is amazingly varied, as we have 
 seen in numerous instances. The same skill is 
 evident, and displayed on a nobler scale in that 
 of man. The short sketch which I have given of 
 its general structure is enough to excite our curiosity 
 and our wonder. 
 
 POL AL OS 
 
 THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 
 
 Toucan is another of the senses we enjoy, and 
 another of the means by which we obtain ideas. 
 I shall only just glance at it, and dismiss this part 
 of our subject. By the roucu we obtain a know- 
 ledge of the external properties of bodies, as to 
 their roughness or smoothness, their temperature, 
 their moisture or dryness. The nerves being dis- 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 199 
 
 A REVIEW OF THE SENSES. 
 
 tributed over the whole surface of the body, every 
 part of it possesses this sense in a less or greater 
 degree. But the ends of the jingers are particularly 
 formed for this office; being furnished with papille 
 similar to those of the tongue, in considerable quan- 
 tity. The importance of this sense is obvious ;—by 
 it we perceive heat, when it exceeds in bodies the 
 heat of our fingers, and weight likewise when it 
 presses more than usual. Humidity, we judge of 
 by the presence of water; softness, by a yielding 
 of the object; hardness, from a yielding of the 
 finger; figure, from the limits, or rough circum- 
 scribed surface; distance, from a rude calculation 
 
 made by experience, to which the length of the 
 "arm serves as a measure. So the touch serves 
 to correct the mistakes of the other senses; but 
 yet it sometimes errs itself, and then the other 
 senses show themselves to be true guides to the 
 animal without that of touch." 
 
 Notice has been taken of the five senses. Where 
 an organization has been evident, its structure has 
 been described. They are so many different means 
 of ‘obtaining ideas of external objects. As it is 
 by the nervous system alone that ideas are con- 
 veyed to the mind, all the difference that exists 
 between one of the senses and another, is in the 
 external apparatus by which the idea is FIRST re- 
 
 " Tb. 
 
200 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 w=. oO oes 
 SSSR ee 
 ceived, and communicated to the extremity of the 
 nerve. Some objects are tangible and near; the 
 senses of touch, taste, and smell, are adapted to them 
 therefore as such; and we have but to bring them 
 into contact with the ends of the nerves as exposed 
 on the surface of the skin, to convey to the brain 
 the ideas of taste, smell, and touch, with all their 
 infinite varieties. This deserves particular notice, 
 
 as being highly calculated to excite our surprise ; 
 - that, though the almost: infinite variety of objects 
 with which our globe abounds, have’ all their. pe- 
 culiar and differing qualities in some respect. or 
 other, yet all these differences, with their minute 
 shades of variety, are conveyed to the mind by 
 the nerve, without. its undergoing any change by 
 adjustment, or alteration in its condition. Other 
 objects are remote; we cannot form any ideas of 
 them by these senses, and yet it is of vast moment 
 to us that we should be acquainted with them. 
 The senses of serine and HEARING are intended 
 to convey ideas of them to the mind. The idea 
 of some of these objects is conveyed through the 
 medium of light, that of others, through the air: 
 we find, therefore, two pieces of mechanism of a 
 most singular structure connected with the ends of 
 the nerves, the one exactly adapted to the recep- 
 tion of the images of objects by the aid of light, 
 and the other as well adapted to the reception of 
 sounds created by other objects and propagated 
 through the air, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 201 
 
 INTERIOR STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN FRAME. 
 
 Though all these senses may be destroyed, and 
 yet the life of man perpetuated—notwithstanding, 
 if but one of them is lost, he loses with it a great 
 part of his animal enjoyment, or his relative im- 
 portance. By these means we obtain all our ideas 
 of external objects, and act accordingly. Viewed 
 separately, each is a proof of a wise adaptation of 
 means to given purposes; but viewed as united, 
 and united in the same system of animal mechanism, 
 subserving different purposes essential to the well- 
 being of the whole, we must be struck with 
 amazement, and confess that it is the workmanship 
 of Infinite Skill. | 
 
 OLLI PL OL 
 THE INTERIOR STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN FRAME. 
 
 Having considered the wisdom of God in adapt- 
 ing the members of the human body to the functions 
 which they are to discharge, and viewed the same 
 attribute as displayed in the means of obtaining 
 ideas by which man is to regulate his actions; let 
 us now enter into the interior of this singular fabric, 
 and examine the mechanism by which the whole 
 is put in motion. To give the system support and 
 firmness, it is. supplied with bones ;—I shall consider 
 their structure and articulation :—To afford the bones 
 motion and apparent symmetry, they are clothed 
 with muscles and tendons ;—I shall notice their form 
 and use :—And to communicate to the muscles their 
 
202 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 oe re areata a Sere En EN I 
 HUMAN BONES. 
 
 power of action, they are furnished with nerves ;— 
 I shall describe their nature and importance. These 
 subjects will explain the physiology of the animal 
 economy in general, and that of the human frame 
 in particular. A short description of each will be 
 all that can be expected in this work, which proposes 
 to consider these subjects so far only as they afford 
 a manifest demonstration of Divine Wisdom. 
 
 THE BONES. 
 
 To give the animal system support and firmness, it 
 is supplied with bones ;—TI shall consider their struc- 
 ture and articulation.—The bones form the pillars, 
 the beams, and the rafters of the earthly house of our 
 curious tabernacle, and merit our attention. In their 
 general structure and connexion with each other, the 
 same divine skill, foresight, and power, appear, as 
 are demonstrated in all other parts of the animal 
 economy. . 
 
 In considering the stracture of bones, we must 
 notice the materials of which they are composed. 
 For what at the first sight appears but a simple, - 
 uncompounded body, as was remarked before, is 
 found, by chemical analysis, to be composed of a 
 variety of strange and heterogeneous substances. 
 “Bones consist chiefly of jelly, fat, and an earthy 
 neutral salt. By distillation they yield hydrogen and 
 carbonic acid gas, a volatile alkaline liquid, an 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 203 
 
 OSSEOUS MATTER IN MILK. 
 
 empyreumatic oil, and dry carbonate of ammonia*.” 
 These materials are so arranged and combined as to 
 form a substance remarkably hard and difficult of 
 separation, and singularly strong and light.—The 
 human skeleton of an adult weighs about nineteen or 
 twenty pounds only. 
 
 When animal bones are divested of their oil and 
 jelly, the earth which remains is chiefly lime, united 
 with phosphoric acid. It is worthy of notice, that 
 phosphate of lime is found in abundance also in 
 milk. This seems to indicate, as Mourcroy beautifully 
 remarks, “ that Nature thought fit to place in the 
 first nourishment of animals a quantity of osseous 
 matter, with a view to the necessary celerity of the 
 formation and growth of the bones in the earliest 
 stage of their lives.” This fact is probably unknown 
 to some who study natural history, and is one of the 
 numerous instances of the beneficence of the Creator, 
 exemplihed by the science of chemistry. ‘The more 
 we know of the minutiz of matter, and of the laws by 
 which it is governed, the greater occasion shall we have 
 to admire the excellence of contrivance and the bene- 
 volence of the intention of the omnipotent Artificer. 
 Let the advocates for chance consider the aforesaid 
 fact; and say, if they can, that phosphate of lime is 
 found in animal milk, in consequence of fatality, 
 and that it occurs by accident where it performs so 
 important an office in the animal economy.——It is 
 
 * Parkinson’s Memoranda Chemica.—See also Fourcroy'’s 
 Chemical Philosophy, 3d Edit. p. 275. 
 
204 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ie Ss Soci huce Py SQN 
 also a remarkable fact, that the nearer the female 
 approaches to the period of parturition, the more is 
 the milk charged with this calcareous phosphate; and 
 that it is not till the digestive organs of the infant 
 are sufficiently strengthened to answer the purposes 
 and the work of animalization, that this earthy salt 
 disappears from the milk of the mother.’ 
 
 In all the works of God, the smallest possible 
 quantity of matter is employed consistent with the 
 strength which is required: and in all these works we 
 find that the materials are disposed and arranged with 
 relation to each other, so as to afford the greatest 
 strength of which they are capable. Every particle 
 is in its proper place. These remarks particularly 
 apply to the bones of animals. Some of them we 
 find more solid, others more porous. This is often 
 observable in different parts of the same bone. The 
 extremities are large, but then they are spongy; the 
 centre is small, but then it is solid and compact ; so 
 that what it wants in size, it gains in solidity. 
 
 In this shape of the bones there is evident design. 
 Being smaller towards the centre, more room is left 
 for the muscles: and being enlarged considerably 
 towards their extremities, a greater surface is obtained 
 for their bearings upon each other. In examining 
 the animal skeleton, we find that this almost univer- 
 sally obtains; it is evident in the shortest bone in the 
 human finger. 
 
 A a ER IRE SCAR 
 ~ ¥ See Parkes. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 205 
 
 CAVITIES OF BONES—THEIR PROCESSES, 
 
 The pores and cavities which we discover in the 
 bones are constructed on mechanical principles; so 
 that by their shape they compensate for the deficiency 
 of solidity: that is, they are not angular, but oval 
 or circular, by which shape they gain all the advan- 
 tages of the arch. Where any bone is perforated to 
 admit an artery, or nerve, or tendon, this is the shape 
 of the cavity. By this means, much matter is saved, 
 and yet the strength is secured. We find this to be 
 the fact, with regard not only to the long bones, but 
 also those which are flat and thin. In these, two 
 plates lie parallel with each other at a short distance; 
 they are separated and connected by a celular sub- 
 stance, where only a very small quantity of matter is 
 employed; but being thrown into circles and arches, 
 and united to the plates, they give them at once 
 great strength and astonishing lightness. By this 
 means also room is allowed for the marrow which is 
 every where essentially necessary in order to keep 
 the bones from dryness and consequent brittleness. 
 
 In viewing the external shapes of bones, we see — 
 constant irregularity. Few, if any, are perfectly 
 straight. But they are bent in that direction which 
 gives them a strength superior to what they would 
 have were they straight. Their numerous processes, 
 or protuberances, act as so many buttresses, adding 
 considerable strength to the parts to which they are 
 attached. Probably, were all the bones in the human 
 system examined under this idea, not a single pro- 
 jection would be found upon them but what is abso- 
 
206 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 HOW BONES ARE PREVENTED FROM WEARING. 
 
 lutely necessary on mechanical principles, adding 
 strength to that particular part of the bone to eehieh 
 it is attached, without being continued further, ae 
 would only prove a useless incumbrance: nay, 1 
 would in many cases necessarily deduct so much aa 
 the muscle which occupies the part that its discon- 
 tinuance leaves vacant. 
 
 It is obvious that, as the bones act one upon 
 another, and that their pressure against each other is 
 very considerable, they are liable to wear by the conse- 
 quent friction. This evil is anticipated, and suitable 
 provision is made against it. The ends of the bones 
 are covered with a cartilaginous substance of a 
 singularly close and firm texture, extending over the 
 head of the bone just so far only as it is necessary, 
 that is, as far as the bone plays upon that with which 
 it is articulated. And besides this, the joints are 
 supplied with an oily mucus, which is constantly 
 spread all over those parts which are exposed to 
 friction, by which means they act upon one another 
 for many years without feeling the least incon- 
 venience, or discovering the sinallest wear. From 
 the extremity of this smooth cartilaginous substance, 
 a fine membrane (the periosteum) commences, spread- 
 ing itself over all the rest of the bone. 
 
 ‘The exigency of the case evidently required that 
 all the bones in the skeleton should be joined toge- 
 ther in such a manner as to allow of considerable 
 motion upon each other, and yet to maintain great 
 firmness and union. ‘The manner in which the bones 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 207 
 
 Po a eo Ra Fe ET 
 JOINTS OF THE SHOULDER AND ARM. 
 
 a  eeeenereee 
 
 are terminated, exactly accommodates them to each 
 other; and in every instance through the whole system, 
 they are so formed as to allow of the necessary motion, 
 and in the direction which is required. While in 
 some articulations all that is wanted is that they 
 allow of a motion in one plane only, horizontal or 
 otherwise, it is equally evident that in others they 
 should be such as to admit of a motion in all direc- 
 tions—as, for instance, in the arm. Hence arises 
 the necessity of different kinds of articulations :—these 
 really obtain. A consideration of the structure of 
 the arm will sufficiently illustrate this part of our 
 subject. Its different bones are so united as to admit 
 of all movements necessary in one of the most useful 
 members of the human system. ‘The articulation at 
 the shoulder is by means of a round socket in the 
 blade bone, which receives the hemispherical end of 
 the bone of the arm which it exactly fits. By this 
 kind of union it is evident that the arm may be 
 directed to any given point of a circle. This is the 
 only articulation in the arm where this motion could 
 be secured with equal advantage. The joint at the 
 elbow is very different. It is something like a hinge, 
 the prominences of the one bone nicely fitting into 
 the cavities of the other, both of which lie ina direc-_ 
 tion across the diameter. of the bone, consequently 
 the fore-arm is only allowed to move in one plane as 
 it regards the bone with which it is united. But by 
 means of the articulation at the shoulder, this plane 
 
208 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 SSS SSS 
 
 ULNA AND RADIUS. , 
 ey a a 
 may be at every point of obliquity, from the horizontal 
 to that which is perpendicular. 
 
 In order to accommodate itself to the various 
 positions which are necessary, it is evident that the 
 hand should have vast liberty of action. Singular 
 provision is made in the bones of the fore-arm with 
 which it is joined, that these purposes may be 
 accomplished. The fore-arm (I mean. that part of 
 the arm which extends from the elbow to the wrist) 
 is composed of two bones, called the unna and - 
 xADIUS, which lie parallel to each other, The 
 ulna is considerably larger at its upper extremity 
 than it is at the lower, in order that it may be 
 united with the large bone which extends to the 
 shoulder (os humeri). The radius, on the contrary, is 
 larger at the lower extremity than it is at the 
 upper, in order to its junction with the bones of 
 the hand. Its upper end is cylindrical, and received 
 into a corresponding cavity in the ulna, in which 
 it rolls when the palm of the hand is turned up 
 or down. As the hand is connected with the ex- 
 tremities of these bones by a hinge-like articulation, 
 it is obvious that this essential rotatory motion 
 could .not have been obtained in. any other way 
 which we can conceive, with so many advantages 
 and so few inconveniences. A principal somewhat — 
 similar is. observable in the articulations of the 
 lower extremities, though the bones are very dif- 
 ferent in shape and size. ; 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 209 
 
 HOW THE HEAD IS JOINED TO THE SPINE. ; 
 
 ae eee 
 
 I shall mention one instance more in which 
 there is a remarkable adaptation ;—it is in the 
 manner in which the head is united with the spine, in 
 order to allow of those motions which are neces- 
 sary. Two kinds of motion are wanted; the one 
 is rotatory, from side to side; the other is back- 
 wards and forwards. Both these are obtained in 
 the following curious manner. The back part of 
 the head is articulated. with the first vertebra of 
 the neck by the hinge-like joint, by which it is 
 enabled to move backwards and forwards. At the 
 upper part of the second vertebra there is a tooth- 
 like projection which serves as an axis, or pivot: 
 on this pivot is placed the lower surface of the 
 first vertebra, which has received a suitable shape 
 for moving upon it. What could not be secured 
 by one articulation is accomplished by two; and 
 yet in such a manner as to allow of the passage 
 of the spinal marrow from the brain through them 
 to the inferior vertebrae. When the rotatory motion 
 of the head is performed, it turns upon this pivot: 
 when it moves backward and forward, the hinge-like 
 articulation is called into action. One grand object 
 of these different motions is, that we may have a 
 more complete and ready command of surrounding 
 objects : and the cornea of the eye being at a short 
 distance from the centre of the rotatory motion, 
 it describes a small circle. By this means we are 
 enabled to see almost all around -us by the motion 
 of the head. only, without altering the position of 
 
 P 
 
210 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE MECHANISM OF THE BACK-BONE. 
 
 the body. Not to perceive in all this the most 
 astonishing marks of infinite skill, would argue a 
 ‘degree of blindness, which we should think im- 
 possible to exist in a rational creature. 
 
 These two singular bones are the first of a 
 series of bones extending from the lead to the lower 
 extremity of the back. They form the spine, or 
 back-bone, which is a chain of joints of very won- 
 derful construction. Various, difficult, and almost 
 inconsistent offices were to be executed by the same 
 instrument. It was to be firm, yet flexible; (now, 
 I know no chain made by art, which is both these; 
 for by firmness I mean, not only strength, but 
 stability ;) firm, to support the erect position of 
 the body; flexible, to allow of the bending of the 
 trunk in all degrees of curvature. It was further 
 also (which is another, and quite a distinct purpose 
 from the rest) to become a pipe or conduit for the 
 safe conveyance from the brain of the most im- 
 portant fluid of the animal frame—that, namely, 
 upon which all voluntary motion depends—the spinal 
 marrow ; a substance not only of the first necessity 
 to. action, if not to life, but of a nature so delicate 
 and tender, so susceptible, and so impatient of 
 injury, as that any unusual pressure upon it, or 
 any considerable obstruction of its course, is fol- 
 lowed by paralysis or death. Now, the spine was 
 not only to furnish the main trunk for the passage 
 of the medullary substance from the brain, but 
 to give out, in the course of its progress, small 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. S11 
 lll EEE 
 
 HOW THE BONES ARE HELD TOGETHER. 
 
 pipes therefrom, which, being afterwards indefinitely 
 subdivided, might, under the name of nerves, dis- 
 tribute this exquisite supply to every part of the 
 body. ‘The same spine was also to serve another 
 use, not less wanted than the preceding; viz. to 
 afford a fulcrum, stay, or basis, (or, more properly 
 speaking, a series of these,) for the insertion of the 
 muscles which are spread over the trunk of the 
 body; in which trunk there are not, as in the limbs, 
 cylindrical bones to which they can be fastened: 
 and likewise, which is a similar use, to furnish a 
 support for the ends of the ribs to rest upon.’ 
 
 An examination of the back-bone of a hare or 
 any other quadruped, which strongly resembles that 
 of man, will prove that it is singplarly adapted 
 to these various purposes, and that a better con- 
 trivance for its intended uses cannot be imagined. 
 
 The bones are held together by L1GAMENTS,— 
 white, shining, and inelastic ; of a compact substance, 
 remarkably strong. They have different forms ac- 
 cording to their different situations:—some round, 
 others flat and broad; and firmly attached to the 
 bones which they bind together. In the hinge- 
 like joints they are attached to the sides in order 
 to allow of motion in only one direction: in those 
 articulations which admit of motion every way, as 
 for instance, the arm at the shoulder, they are 
 capsular, surrounding the whole joint like a purse. 
 
 a 
 
 * See Dr. Paley’s Natural Theology. 
 R2 
 
212 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 RECAPITULATION,. 
 
 It belongs to the anatomist to be more particular 
 on this subject. It 1s but for me to observe, that 
 the whole animal system is provided with bones 
 most suitably formed and firmly articulated, fit for 
 action. Through the whole animal skeleton we see 
 the most evident design, and the most inscrutable _ 
 wisdom. Here are bones of various shapes, lengths, 3 
 and sizes :—articulations the most suitable :—all is 
 constructed on principles perfectly mechanical ;-— 
 nothing is redundant, nothing deficient :—strength 
 is no where given where it is not required; it is 
 no where withheld where it is wanted ;—though the 
 whole appears deformed, yet the whole is perfect 
 order. ‘The skull is adapted for the reception of 
 the brain :—the vertebre to support the head, and 
 allow of the necessary inflections of the body :— 
 the ribs are so bent and arched as to form a cavity 
 for the security of the vital functions :—the arms 
 and hands suited to an almost infinite variety of 
 positions and important offices:—the legs and feet 
 are evidently formed to support, and give locomotion 
 to the system. The whole is most evidently the 
 workmanship of an Almighty agency, and an infinite 
 intelligence. This mechanism is most obviously 
 intended for use, for action, for motion; yet, how- 
 ever curious the machinery, it has no power of 
 moving itsel{—something more is wanted :—To afford 
 the system motion and apparent symmetry, it 1s sup- 
 plied with MuscLEs and tTENDONS:—ZI shall now 
 consider their form and use. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 213 
 
 STRUCTURE OF MUSCLES, 
 
 MUSCLES AND TENDONS. 
 
 As all animal motion is effected by the muscles, 
 and as their action is essential to the well-being 
 of the animal economy, every inquisitive mind will 
 be desirous to understand their general structure 
 and application.— A brief examination of them 
 will afford a still further discovery of Divine 
 Wisdom. 
 
 The muscles are those fleshy substances which 
 we find in almost every part of the body, filling up 
 the inequalities of the bones, and adding symmetry 
 and beauty to the whole. They are of various forms 
 and sizes, according to their respective uses in the 
 animal system,—but all possessing one grand 
 essential principle; that is, a power of contraction 
 and relaxation. Each is composed of an infinite 
 number of fibres, lying, in some, in the same direc- 
 tion parallel with each other; and in others running 
 in all directions, but all contributing to the general 
 strength of the whole. Could we ascertain the 
 construction of one of these fibres, we should have 
 but to suppose a vast multitude of them joined 
 together, and covered with a membrane, to form 
 an accurate idea of what is called a muscle. But 
 though, by chemical analysis, their various pro- 
 perties may be ascertained, yet how these properties 
 are arranged and united in the formation of the 
 
214 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 MUSCLES——-TENDONS. 
 
 muscular, fibre, has hitherto eluded the strictest 
 research. However mysterious the structure of the 
 muscle may be, the fact is beyond a question, that 
 it possesses a power of contracting considerably in 
 length, by the application of stimulus,—and_ that 
 when this stimulus ceases to act, it relaxes again 
 to its former state. It is also certain that all mus- 
 cular contraction takes place from the extremities. 
 towards its centre. 
 
 The muscles we discover in the animal system are 
 of two kinds: the one znvoluntary, comprehending 
 such as act independently of the will of the animal; 
 on the action of which the life of the animal de- 
 pends, and which continue to act whether it is 
 asleep or awake:—the other are voluntary, em- 
 bracing those which are called into action when 
 wanted. ‘The heart, on the action of which circu- 
 lation depends, is of the former, and those by 
 which the animal moves from place to place, are of 
 the latter kind. ) 
 
 But, in a muscle, we not only find the fleshy 
 fibre on which its irritability and consequent con- 
 traction depends, but also ¢endinous fibres. These 
 are of a firmer texture, of a white glistening colour, 
 insensible, without irritability, or the power, of con- 
 tracting. They are interwoven into the body of 
 the muscle, but are collected together at its extre- 
 mities, forming TENDONS of various shapes, sizes, 
 and lengths, according to the purposes to which 
 they are destined. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 215 
 
 . MUSCLES CONVENIENTLY SITUATED. 
 
 In the structure of the muscle, provision is made 
 for contracting its length; and in that of the tendon, 
 a contrivance by which it may operate upon any 
 distant joint to which the tendon may be attached. 
 The body of a muscle may be compared to a wind- 
 lass, the tendon to a rope attached to it, which 
 may be carried over a pulley, or in a straight line, 
 and fastened to any distant object. When the 
 windlass is turned round, it acts on the rope and 
 draws the object nearer. Similar to this is the 
 action of the muscle on the tendon, and conse- 
 quently on the bone to which it may be attached.— 
 Let us now consider them in their application in 
 the animal economy. In their application, as well 
 as In their structure, we see the same unerring skill. 
 
 The muscles are firmly attached to the bones 
 in those situations where they may be placed with 
 the least inconvenience, and where they may act 
 with the greatest freedom and effect, though the part 
 on which they act is frequently at a considerable 
 distance. As, for instance, the muscles which move 
 the fingers are placed on the bones of the fore-arm. 
 But though the cause of action is at so great a 
 distance, yet by means of the tendons, which some-' 
 times pass through each other to act on the different 
 joints, motion is produced at the very ends of the 
 fingers. Another instance of a similar kind is found 
 in the tendons of the foot: the muscles which make 
 them. act upon the foot and toes are placed upon 
 the leg. Some of these tendons, as well as those 
 
216 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 a i 
 
 THE JOINTS ALLOW THE MUSCLES GREAT ADVANTAGES. 
 
 of the arm, are nearly twelve inches in length. It 
 is obvious that tendons running to such a distance 
 must be exposed to injury from friction or pres- 
 sure in the grooves formed in the bones for them. 
 Now, singular provision is made to prevent these 
 evils. Hence they are surrounded by a tendinous. 
 sheath, in which a mueus is frequently found, that 
 keeps them oiled; by this means they move with 
 ease, and injuries are prevented.* 
 
 The formation and articulation of the bones have 
 an evident relation to muscular motion, so that in 
 many instances the muscles have a peculiar advantage 
 in acting upon them. ‘The manner in which the. 
 bones of the foot are joined with those of the leg, will 
 afford an illustration of this idea. This union is not 
 at the extremity of the heel, but at a considerable dis- 
 tance from it. The centre on which the foot turns 
 being therefore at a distance from the heel, the muscle 
 of the leg, the tendon of which is inserted at the ex- 
 tremity of it, acts upon the foot with peculiar advan- 
 tage. Indeed this is essentially necessary. For 
 every step which we take in walking, the whole 
 weight of the body is thrown upon the forepart of 
 each foot alternately: therefore, though the muscle of 
 the leg and its tendon be the most powertul in the 
 human frame, yet without this mechanical advantage, 
 they would have been insufficient to afford the neces- 
 sary support. ‘This mechanical advantage allowed to 
 
 * Encyclop. Brit. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 217 
 
 KNEE-PAN, 
 
 the muscles over the bones, is particularly seen in 
 the middle jomt of the hind legs of dogs, and all 
 quadrupeds, where the end of the bone extends con- 
 siderably beyond the joint, that the muscle may act 
 with the more force. It is by the power afforded to 
 this joimt principally, that these animals throw them- 
 selves forward in the act of running. Their fore-iegs 
 do little more than support the body in their rapid 
 movements. | 
 
 The knee-pan (patella) appears to be another’ 
 mechanical contrivance something like a pulley, to 
 give advantage to the action of the muscles. This is 
 a moveable bone placed over the joint of the knee. 
 The muscle which brings the leg forward is placed 
 on the thigh bone; its tendon is attached to this 
 bone :—another tendon is attached to its opposite 
 side which is inserted into the bone of the leg a little 
 below. By this means the action of the muscle is 
 thrown at a distance from the centre of motion in the 
 knee articulation, and consequently it acts with an 
 advantage proportionate to this distance. 
 
 On the under side of this same joint we meet 
 with another mechanical: illustration of a nature 
 somewhat. different. The muscles situated at the 
 under part of the thigh send off two strong tendons 
 which are inserted into the bones of the leg below the 
 joint. Now were these tendons bound down close 
 to the bone by the surrounding ligaments, it is evident 
 that they either could not act at all, or with but very 
 feeble effort in rajsing the leg backwards in walking, 
 
218 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 ANTAGONIST MUSCLES, 
 
 because they would act close to the centre of motion. 
 But the ligaments being lax, and allowing the tendons 
 to start off a considerable distance from the centre 
 of motion, the muscles act under all the advantages 
 of a lever. The same is observable in bringing the 
 fore-arm forward, and raising it up. Were there xo 
 preventives, however, the tendons passing over similar 
 joints would start up to an inconvenient distance 
 from the bones: and therefore they are all bound 
 down by strong circular ligaments, whose fibres run 
 at right angles with those of the tendons which they 
 confine, and yet allow some space to give-the above- 
 mentioned advantage to the muscles. These liga- 
 ments are seen at all the joints of the fingers inwardly. 
 What singular contrivances to accomplish designs and 
 avoid disadvantages ! 
 
 All the jomts are supplied with two sets of 
 muscles and tendons which act on the opposite sides, 
 the one to bring them forward, and the other to carry 
 them back again, and hence they are called dntago- 
 nists: when the one contracts, the other relaxes, as” 
 for instance, in bending and straightening the finger. 
 Were they both to act at the same time, no motion 
 would result. Besides those muscles which pro- 
 duce motion in the same place, there are others 
 which lie across at different angles; to produce action 
 in other directions in those parts of the system whose 
 articulations allow of it :—for instance ;—besides the 
 muscles which move the leg and thigh forward and 
 backward, there is another called the tailor’s muscle, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 219 
 
 Ce eeeeeeeeeeeaoaoaoaoaoaoaoeoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuwwuwyss 
 A REMARKABLE MUSCLE IN THE EYE. 
 
 which passes obliquely from the inward part of the 
 thigh a little above the knee, to the groin outwardly, 
 by means of which we are enabled to turn the knee 
 and foot outward. A similar contrivance is seen in 
 order to give the fore-arm a kind of rotatory motion, 
 A muscle passes from the inside of the arm above 
 the joint, and goes obliquely over it, and is inserted 
 into the radius; this turns the fore-arm inwardly: 
 another is placed on the opposite side, whose action 
 turns it outwardly. By the action of these two 
 alternately, this important member is put in po- 
 sitions essentially necessary in a thousand actions 
 of life. 
 
 In some of the muscles and tendons we observe 
 remarkable contrivance to bring them to act where 
 their action is wanted. One of the muscles of the 
 eye (the obliguus superior) is a striking instance. 
 The design of it is to draw the globe of the eye for- 
 ward, and to turn the pupil downward, As the 
 muscle is placed: behind the eye, how is.this to be 
 done?—why, from its origin it passes in a direct line 
 towards a small cartilaginous ring which is placed 
 over the eye forwards; the tendon passing through 
 this ring, turns back again, and is then inserted into 
 the upper part of the globe of the eye, Hence it is 
 clear that when the muscle contracts in length, the 
 tendon operating on the globe of the eye, must pro- 
 duce the position intended. Can we conceive how 
 these effects could be otherwise produced,—or pro- 
 duced by a more mechanical contrivance? 
 
Bs CO” ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 MUSCLE OF THE EAR—OF THE JAW. 
 
 There is a-small muscle in the ear (the stapedeus) 
 to which, though mentioned before, I shall again 
 advert in this place, as discovering equal contrivance 
 with the above. It is the smallest in the human 
 system: it arises in a little hole in the hinder part of 
 the cavity of the tympanum: its tendon passes through 
 a hoop in the same cavity, and then is fastened to 
 the head of the stapes. When the muscle contracts, 
 it draws the stapes obliquely upwards, and assists in 
 stretching the membrane of the tympanum to adjust 
 it to different sounds. 
 
 Another instance of singular mechanism of a 
 similar kind with the above, is the muscle by which 
 we open the lower jaw. ‘This muscle (the digastric) 
 rises on the side of the face, considerably above the 
 insertion of the lower jaw, and comes down, being 
 converted in its progress into a round tendon. Now 
 it is manifest that this tendon, whilst it pursues a 
 direction descending towards the jaw, must, by its 
 contraction, pull the jaw up instead of down. What 
 then was to be done?—This, we find, is done. ‘The 
 descending tendon, when it has got low enough, is 
 passed through a loop, or ring, or pulley, in the os 
 hyoides, and then made to ascend; and having thus 
 changed its line of direction, it is inserted into the 
 inner part of the chin: by which device,—viz. the turn 
 at the loop, the action of the muscle (which in 
 all muscles is contraction) that before would have 
 pulled the jaw up, now as necessarily draws it down. 
 ‘The mouth,” says Heister, “is opened by means 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, |. 221 
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 ———— 
 
 of this trochlea in a most wonderful and elegant 
 manner.” 
 
 How easily are difficulties met and overcome 
 when Infinite Intelligence contrives, and Almighty 
 Power executes! Bones have an evident relation to 
 action ;—action can be produced anly by muscles, ~ 
 muscles are granted. ; 
 
 But further inquiry remains to be resolved—What 
 is it that puts the muscles in action? ‘his will lead 
 me to the consideration of another system of organs, 
 not less singular than those which have been already 
 mentioned. I mean the Nerves, and I shall now 
 describe their nature and importance. 
 
 PLPP LIOR 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 This part of the animal economy, though of 
 essential importance to all animal motion, affords 
 less APPARENT adaptation of means than any other 
 organs which the system contains. We know the 
 fact, that the nerves propagate motion through the 
 muscular system—but how, and in what manner, 
 are enquiries which we cannot solve. To answer 
 these questions, physiologists have used their utmost 
 industry and acumen; but it still remains one of the 
 mysteries of nature, and affords proof of the imbe- 
 cility of man. The nerves take their origin in the 
 
 » See Paley. 
 
a A A TD 
 tg - 
 
 THE HUMAN BRAIN. 
 
 — 
 
 brain,—we must therefore notice the fountain wetare 
 we attempt to follow the streams. 
 
 The brain is contained in the cranium, which is 
 admirably formed at once to contain it, and afford it 
 protection from injury. The bones of the scull are 
 remarkably strong, and especially in those parts 
 where danger is the most probable. In order that 
 it may afford more security to the brain, the scull is 
 lined by a membrane (the duramater) of a texture 
 singularly strong, which sends off innumerable fibres — 
 into the pores of the surrounding bones to which it 
 firmly adheres. The brain fills the whole of this 
 cavity, but is every where invested by another covering 
 (the piamater) which is also of considerable strength. 
 The brain itself is of a soft pulpy nature’. ‘To 
 attempt to describe it would afford but little in- 
 terest, and occupy more room than would be com- 
 patible with the plan of this work. I must beg to 
 refer the reader for further information to anatomical 
 authors. Let it be enough to remark, that it sends 
 off a long trunk through a circular opening at the 
 under side of the cranium, down the vertebra of the 
 back :—for, in fact, the spinal marrow is only a pro- 
 longation of the brain: and in the one or the other, 
 all the nerves take their origin. 
 
 ¢ Till recently, its organization was almost unknown, and by 
 some denied. Drs. Gall and Spurzheim have lately, however, 
 professed to have demonstrated its organization to a consider- 
 able extent,—with what success, remains to be determined. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 223 
 
 NATURE OF THE NERVES. 
 
 By a nerve is meant, a white, glistening, and 
 inelastic cord, whose essential properties are. the 
 same as the brain or the spinal marrow im which 
 it originates; it is the means of stimulating the 
 muscles to action, and of conveying sensation to 
 the sensorium from the different parts of the body, 
 though not at all irritable themselves.—Of nerves, 
 there are thirty-nine or forty pairs in the human 
 body ; nine of which are sent off immediately from 
 the brain to the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth, 
 and various parts of the head; the remainder take 
 their origin in the spinal marrow, and are sent off 
 in all directions through the lower parts. of the 
 system. At their origin they form large trunks ; 
 but as they pass along, in general they divide, and 
 subdivide, till they fill every part of the system with 
 the most minute fibres so completely, that it 1s 
 impossible for a gnat to insert the point of its 
 sting without wounding some of them, and pro- 
 ducing pain. 
 
 The nervous system appears to be particularly 
 subservient to the mind; being that by which we 
 derive our ideas of what is external, and that by 
 which the mind acts upon every part of the body 
 which is subject to its volitions. 
 
 It is by the nerves that we obtain our ideas 
 of what is external. Deprive the animal of its 
 nerves, or let them lose their power of acting, and 
 it is instantly bereft of all its vital energy, and no 
 longer retains a capacity of obtaining knowledge. 
 
224 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF THE NERVES. 
 
 The eye may preserve its former structure, and a 
 suitableness of parts for the reception of the images 
 of surrounding objects upon its retina; but destroy 
 the nerve, and no such image will be conveyed to the 
 sensorium,—this astonishing apparatus is instantly 
 rendered useless. The structure of the ear may con- 
 tinue as before; but it is in vain that the external 
 ear receives the sounds as propagated through the 
 air, and conveys them to the tympanum; and the 
 tympanum communicates its vibrations to the chain 
 of bones which is connected with it, if the auditory 
 nerve be incapable of action. No sound will be 
 heard.—No violence may be done to the organs of 
 the mouth, the nose, nor the fingers;—but the 
 senses of taste, smell, and touch, are no longer 
 enjoyed, unless the nerves of the parts retain their 
 power of communication. 
 
 It is by means of the nerves that the mind acts 
 upon all the parts of the body which are subject 
 to its volitions. ‘There are some parts of the animal 
 which the will cannot control. This is the case 
 with all the vital functions, such as the heart, and 
 the consequent circulation of the blood ;—the lungs 
 and the action of the diaphragm, and various other 
 parts. This important fact shows that our lives are 
 not at our own disposal. ‘The muscles of these 
 parts are called involuntary muscles.—There are 
 other parts of the system which act in obedience 
 to the will, such as the eyes, the hands, and_ the 
 feet; and the muscles of those parts are called 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. — ’ 225 
 
 HOW THE NERVES ACT ON THE MUSCLES MYSTERIOUS. 
 
 voluntary muscles. Obtaining a knowledge of what 
 is external by means of the senses, we immediately 
 form a judgment of what line of conduct we must 
 adopt to avoid danger, or to obtain that which 
 appears beneficial;—this being determined, the will 
 exerts an influence on the powers to be put in action; 
 and proportioning that influence to the circumstances 
 of the case—motion Is instantly propagated from the 
 sensorium to the point of destination by means of the 
 nerves, unless there be a defect either in the nerves, 
 or muscles, or bones of these parts which renders 
 action impossible. 
 
 How the nerves act in either of these cases, is not 
 certain. The most eminent physiologists are by no 
 means agreed. The opinion which most obtains“ is, 
 that there is a remarkably fine fluid, called the animal 
 spirits, contained in the nervous system, which receives 
 the immediate impulse of the mind in the brain, and 
 communicates that impulse, by a sort of undulation, 
 to the organ where action is intended to be produced: 
 and in a similar manner form external objects by 
 means of the senses to the brain. How the mind 
 acts on the body, and the body on the mind, has 
 never yet been ascertained, and it is probable, never 
 will, in the present state. The fact is unquestionable, 
 that there is a reciprocal influence by means of the 
 nervous system, but the philosophy of the fact is an 
 
 * See Cullen’s. Materia Medica; Bell’s Anatomy; Haller’s 
 Physiology. 
 Q 
 
226 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 —————————————————————— OOO eee 
 
 THE BRAIN AND NERVES OF THE SAME NATURE. 
 
 absolute mystery. What greatly increases the myste- 
 rious nature of the nervous system 1s, that the whole 
 appears to be precisely of the same nature through 
 every part of the animal frame, and yet various 
 nerves convey sensations to the mind as different 
 from each other as we ean conceive. Why should 
 one set of nerves convey the sensation of hearing, 
 another that of smelling, another that of seeing, 
 another that of feeling ° 
 
 Though during their progress from the brain or 
 the spinal marrow, the nerves have but little resem- 
 blance to either, the former being soft and pulpy, the 
 latter solid and inelastic; yet, when they arrive at the 
 part at which they are to act as the organs of sen- 
 sation, they immediately assume the appearance of. 
 the brain. This shows that there is no essential 
 difference in fact, but only in appearance. It is also 
 worthy of remark here, that the nerves no where act 
 as the organs of sensation, but at their extremities, 
 where they are destined to act as such. By pressure 
 or injury on other parts of their course, they feel 
 pain, but it has no resemblance to any of the senses. 
 For instance, we cannot obtain an idea of the scent 
 of arose, unless its effluvia reach the nerve which is 
 spread over the internal structure of the nose, and 
 which is appointed to convey the sense of smell to 
 the brain. Were the same effluvia to come in con- 
 tact with the same nerve in any other part, it would 
 produce no such sensation. So also with the eye. 
 Were the image of an object thrown upon the optic 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 227 
 
 THE NERVES WISELY SECURED, 
 
 nerve with the greatest possible intenseness, we 
 should not see that image—it must be thrown on the 
 retina in order to be perceived. It is also remark- 
 able, that though a nerve pass through a variety of 
 muscles and organs in its course from its origin to 
 its destination, yet the volition of the mind is never 
 regarded by any of these muscles through which it 
 passes, except the muscle which it is intended to 
 stimulate into action. 
 
 As the nervous system is of so essential import- 
 ance to both the body and mind, it is reasonable to 
 expect that the same intelligence which devised it 
 will take all necessary care for its security. This is 
 remarkably the fact. All the nerves derive a covering 
 from the pea mater. ‘This covering is exceedingly 
 thick and strong where the nerve is exposed to 
 injury from the action of the muscles; but where it 
 runs through a hole in a bone, or is free from pres- 
 sure, the covering is very thin and delicate. 
 
 Reasoning from matter of fact, we conclude that 
 the nervous system is wisely adapted to its ends, 
 though we are not allowed to enter into its secret 
 recesses, and contemplate the modus of its action. 
 When a person looks on a time-piece, and observes 
 that it points out with accuracy the hours and 
 minutes of the day, he never questions the suitable- 
 ness of the internal mechanism to produce these 
 effects, though he has never seen it. And when we 
 feel the members of the body acting in subserviency 
 to the volitions of the mind, and the mind receiving 
 
 Q2 
 
> ~\Y x 
 223 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 ————————————————————————— ora 
 THE HUMAN FRAME PROVES THE BEING OF A GOD. 
 
 impressions and ideas from external objects by means 
 of the various senses, who can dispute whether there 
 be a wise and proper economy within, though con- 
 cealed from our sight? When reason and inquiry 
 are non-plussed and confounded, let us stand still 
 and silently adore. 
 
 From this description of the external form and the 
 internal economy of the human frame, who can avoid 
 exclaiming, in the language of inspiration, “ It is 
 fearfully and wonderfully made!” This is the pro- 
 duct of a combination of intelligence, power, and 
 goodness, no less than infinite ; and the effect is 
 worthy of the cause. If the study of the human 
 eye were recommended as a cure for Atheism, how 
 overpowering must the investigation of the whole 
 system be, every part of which, even the most minute, 
 is more than enough to demonstrate the being of a 
 God. In the whole we see design, contrivance, 
 adaptation. A final cause is every where contem- 
 plated and kept in view through the whole system of 
 means which is interposed. When the offices to be 
 performed by the various members of the human 
 frame are ascertained, let it be inquired whether 
 the instruments with which man is furnished are not 
 suitable and adequate, and whether better can be 
 imagined, as to their visible structure. Let it also 
 be asked whether a more suitable internal arrange- 
 ment for motion, and the application of the instrument 
 to the office, be possible. I say, let these inquiries 
 be made by the most skeptical of human beings, and 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 229 
 
 THE VITAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 made with candour, and I feel no doubt that the 
 result will be the most complete conviction of the 
 being of a God, and that he is possessed of intelli- 
 gence and wisdom worthy of an infinite nature. 
 
 PLLL OL DL 
 
 THE VITAL FUNCTIONS OF THE ANIMAL SYSTEM IN 
 GENERAL—AND OF MAN IN PARTICULAR. 
 
 It is obvious, from a consideration of the materials 
 of which the animal system is composed, and the 
 action of its parts, that it must be liable to decay 
 by wear and»exhaustion; it is equally clear that 
 without perpetual supplies of nutriment, destruction 
 would speedily take place. It is therefore reasonable 
 to expectethat the same infinitely intelligent Being 
 who formed thé animal body at first, must have 
 anticipated this consequence, and communicated an 
 organization by means of which the requisite support 
 shall be afforded. This is the fact*; and I now 
 proceed to describe the animal functions, or those 
 organs by means of which life is preserved and _ per- 
 petuated.. The same marks of divine and unerring 
 skill are observable here, which obtain in the other 
 parts of the animal frame.—In giving a general view 
 of this subject, I propose uniting anatomy and 
 physiology; and describing the vital organs them- 
 
 © Physiologists calculate that the animal frame of man is 
 renewed in seven years. 
 
230 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE STOMACH. 
 
 Neen eee eee 
 selves in connexion with the purposes which they are 
 to answer. It will be the most lucid method to 
 follow the course of the food, and consider the 
 apparatus which is provided for digesting it, and 
 the means by which it is changed into blood. As 
 blood is that which supports life, I shall describe its 
 properties, and the machinery which is contrived to 
 give it circulation. Various other liquids are required 
 in the system, and are made from the blood ;—I shall 
 therefore notice the vessels which contain them, and 
 their respective qualities :—And as in the course of 
 time the different materials which afford su sport 
 become useless, and even pernici ste 
 shall show that pdt ae isn de in order 
 to remove them. Extensive regic here open to our 
 view, and invite accurate inquiry ati elo e inve ti- 
 gation: but the design of this "Wok ofk wi IPeallow a 
 transient glance only, where instructi e volumes 
 might be written. My design _is_ ic 
 interesting subjects so far only"as ‘they afford illus- 
 tration to the attribute of Divine Wisdom, in adapting 
 means to a proposed end. 
 
 PEPPLIOLOLS 
 THE STOMACH, AND THE PROCESS OF DIGESTION, 
 
 I propose first to consider the apparatus which is 
 provided for the digesting of food, and the process 
 of digestion :—this is the Sromacu, and its action in 
 converting food into blood. Here it will be neces- 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 231 
 
 MOUTH—LARYNX—EPIGLOTTIS, 
 
 sary to notice the Liver also, which supplies a fluid 
 of essential importance in carrying on the chemical 
 process of digestion. 
 
 The Mourn, which contains the mechanism for 
 the mastication of food, and reducing it to a state fit 
 for the stomach, has already been described. When 
 the food is sufficiently ground and separated, and 
 softened by the saliva, by the assistance of the tongue 
 it is passed into the @sopHacus, or gullet, through 
 which it enters the stomach. In its passage down, it 
 slides over the mouth of the LaRyNx, or wind-pipe, 
 which leads into the Jungs. But if a single crumb 
 were e a wrong direction, and enter the larynx, 
 
 casio eedy.death. We have no reason, 
 alax or the compassionate - 
 avide against all danger, by placing 
 ao a cartilaginous flap, or valve, which 
 food passes over it, and fits so close 
 mallest particle from entering; and 
 immediately the food has passed, it rises up by means 
 of its muscles, that no interruption may take place 
 in the process of respiration, without which we cannot 
 exist.—How rarely it occurs that an accident happens 
 to endanger the life through any defect of this organ! 
 It is worthy of remark also, that this valve (the 
 EPIGLOTTIS) is composed of materials which of all 
 others in the animal system are the least liable to 
 disease or injury. If it were a bone it might be 
 broken; if it were a fleshy substance it would be 
 liable to inflammation and various other morbid affec- 
 
232 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 CSOPHAGUS-——PERISTALTIC MOTION. 
 
 tions that would render it unfit for action: but it 
 is of a cartilaginous substance—a substance which of 
 all others is the most suitable to prevent its being 
 endangered by disease, and to afford protection to a 
 most delicate and essential part. 
 
 The @soPHaAGts is a long muscular canal, ex- 
 tending from the mouth, down by the vertebra, into 
 the stomach; it is supplied with a mucus on its inside, | 
 to afford an easier passage to the food. There is a 
 mechanism which deserves notice in the structure of 
 the cesophagus of man and other animals, as it facili- 
 tates the descent of the food in 
 prevents it from lodging in its pas 
 which compose the differe 
 formed, lie in contrary dire 
 fibres runs downwards in the 
 phagus, and the other concentric, lik 
 these descriptions of fibres allow 
 relaxation to admit the food; but/as 
 admitted, the annular fibres begin to contract from 
 the top. downwards, and by this peristaltic motion 
 the food is forced down into the stomach. This struc- 
 ture and peristaltic motion are observable also in the 
 
 intestines of animals. 
 
 That part of the diaphragm (or midriff) through 
 which the oesophagus passes into the stomach, is 
 provided with a remarkable kind of fibres, forming 
 a sphincter, by which this part of the cesophagus is 
 drawn close, like the mouth of a purse, so as to pre- 
 vent the food from returning. 
 
ORGA NIZED NATURE. 233 
 
 » STRUCTURE OF THE STOMACH. 
 SN 
 
 The Sromacnu is described by anatomists as 
 resembling in shape a bag-pipe, lyimg across the 
 upper part of the abdomen, and immediately under 
 the diaphragm or midriff. It 1s composed of four 
 coats of a strong membrancous and muscular texture, 
 which closely adhere to one another, and allow of 
 considerable enlargement for the admission of food ; 
 and when empty, contract to very small dimensions. 
 Both the entrance into the stomach, and the passage 
 out of it, lie higher than the bottom, in order that the 
 food may remain a , Reeth oh time sufficient for its. 
 
 of the stomachs of meen differs 
 ver y Ww del idely in each cies according. to the nature 
 of the food on which they subsist. Those animals 
 
 ‘cause a small inet of the latter sort a food 
 affords as much nutriment as a large quantity of the 
 former. The stomach is supplied with numerous 
 vessels which open into it, and secrete the GAsTRIC 
 yuicr, which lines the whole of its internal coat. 
 This juice resembles the saliva which is supplied by 
 the mouth and cesophagus, and is of essential impor- 
 tance in promoting digestion. 
 
 It has been observed that the stomachs of animals 
 differ according to the food on which they subsist. 
 . But the Camex is provided with a remarkable organ, 
 
234 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 SINGULAR STOMACH OF THE CAMEL. 
 
 oaaaoaooaaaaoaoaoaaeGeGqGqqQqanaaqaqqeeeeeee—eee—e—e——e—e oes 
 which is destined to hold a large quantity of water, 
 to supply the animal in performing long journeys 
 across trackless deserts, where water cannot be ob- 
 tained for several days together: and this water can 
 be retained for a considerable time, without suffering 
 any change of its properties. “ Let us see,” says 
 Paley, ‘‘ what is the internal organization upon which 
 a faculty so rare and so beneficial depends. A number 
 of distinct sacks or bags (in a dromedary thirty of 
 these have been counted) are observed to lie between 
 the membranes of the second stomach, and to open 
 into the stomach near the top by small square aper- 
 tures. Through these orifices, after the stomach is 
 full, the annexed bags are filled from it; and the 
 water so deposited is, in the first place, not liable to 
 pass into the intestines; in the second place, is kept 
 separate from the solid aliment; and in the third 
 place, is out of the reach of the digestive action of 
 the stomach, or of mixture with the gastric juice. It 
 appears probable, or rather certain, that the animal, 
 by the conformation of its muscles, possesses the 
 power of squeezing back this water from the adjacent 
 bags into the stomach, whenever thirst excites it to 
 put this power in action.‘ 
 
 As a considerable part of the digestion of food 
 takes place in the stomach of animals, it is neces- 
 sary, before I proceed, to consider this curious 
 operation. 
 
 t Natural Theology, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 235 
 
 MEANS OF DIGESTION. 
 
 Sr nai 
 
 DIGESTION, 
 
 PL II aL 
 
 It is obvious that the materials which compose 
 the food of animals must undergo some change in 
 order that the nutritious particles may be separated 
 from those which are not so, and be reduced to a 
 state sufficiently minute to pass into circulation in a 
 fluid form. That which produces this change is 
 called Digestion. ‘This process is partly effected 
 in the mouth, by the food’s being cut and ground by 
 the teeth; it is there mixed with a large quantity of 
 saliva, and brought into a pulpy state before it is 
 dismissed into the stomach, where a great part of this 
 important change is accomplished. 
 
 There has been a great diversity of opinions 
 respecting the means by which the decomposition of 
 food is effected, Some have thought it is by the 
 sole action of the stomach upon its contents; others 
 have thought that it is cffected by fermentation ;— 
 and others, again, by putrefaction, It is most pro- 
 bable that it is not one of these alone, but their 
 combination, which produces the effect. ‘There is no 
 doubt that a considerable quantity of atmospheric 
 air is combined with the food: by the heat of the 
 stomach this air is rarefied, and consequently, 
 bursts open the cells which contain it; the gastric 
 juice at the same time penetrating between the 
 
THE POWER OF DIGESTION SURPRISING. 
 
 particles, and dissolving them.? A kind of putrefaction 
 also takes place very soon upon some kinds of food. 
 The action of the stomach likewise promotes diges- 
 tion; for besides its own peristaltic motion, it is 
 agitated by the constant motion of the diaphragm 
 every time we breathe.—But by whatever power or 
 powers this process is carried on, its operation is 
 truly wonderful. Few substances resist altogether 
 its energy: this is remarkable in man, and much 
 more remarkable in some other animals. And it is 
 worthy of observation that though the stomach and 
 its digesting powers decompose almost all other 
 bodies, the coats and fibres of the stomach itself 
 remain unaffected as long as they retain the vital 
 principle. 
 
 Of all the chemical laboratories that were ever 
 constructed, that which is placed in the animal 
 system is the most surprising, as well for simplicity 
 of structure as for power of effect. The process 
 goes on insensibly to the animal, in general, whether 
 it is asleep or awake. The pleasure attending the 
 mastication of food compensates for the labour of it; 
 ‘and Divine Wisdom has so arranged things, that 
 the whole systein is nourished and fed by its own 
 mysterious co-operation without the creature’s further 
 voluntary agency. 
 
 The stomach, properly so called, has no lacteal 
 vessels, or absorbents, for diffusing its contents into 
 
 n 
 
 * Haller, p. 86, vol. I. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 237 
 
 THE STRUCTURE OF THE LIVER. 
 
 the system. The cHyME, to which the food is 
 reduced here, must undergo a still further change 
 before it is fit for circulation. When it is sufficiently 
 reduced and decomposed, it is removed through an 
 orifice (pylorus) at the end of the stomach, which 
 is opposite to that at which it entered it by the 
 cesophagus, into the duodenum, which is a part of 
 the intestinal canal® near to the stomach, where it is 
 further reduced to cHYLE, by being mixed with the 
 gall, which is of essential importance to it. 
 
 The gall is generated by the Liver, which does 
 not subserve any other purpose.—The liver is a 
 large substance of a dark red colour, situated imme- 
 diately below the diaphragm, extended in part over 
 the stomach. In the liver is a small bladder des- 
 tined to contain the gall, which it receives through 
 vessels appointed for that purpose from the lobes 
 of the liver where it is elaborated,—but by a pro- 
 cess which no human skill has hitherto discovered. 
 The gall-bladder is provided with other ducts or 
 vessels for conveying its contents to the place where 
 they are intended to act—this place is the duo- 
 
 * The length of the intestines has a relation to the nature 
 of the food on which the animal feeds. Carnivorous animals 
 have small stomachs and short intestines, because flesh cen- 
 tains more nourishment than other kinds of food, and is sooner 
 digested, and sooner turns to a state of putrefaction, and there- 
 fore requires to be sooner discharged from the system. ‘The 
 contrary is the fact with regard to those tribes of animals 
 which exist on vegetables. 
 
238 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 a ci hem 
 
 THE BILE A SINGULAR COMPOUND. 
 
 denum.' It there meets with the digested aliments, 
 and readily mixes with them, effecting a still fur- 
 ther change in their state, and, at the same time, 
 communicates an important mucus to the intestines, 
 and assists their peristaltic motion. Its soapy and 
 acrid nature is well adapted to all these purposes. 
 Soda is one of the substances found in the bile 
 of animals. Whenever this alkali: occurs native, it 
 is always in a mild state; and as it cannot’ combine 
 with oils to form soap unless it be caustic, this 
 causticity is given it for these manufactories by 
 artificial means. It is worthy of remark, that na- 
 ture has furnished the bile with soda in the state 
 of causticity, which gives it the property of com- 
 bining with, and soponifying the fat or oily sub- 
 stances taken into the stomach, and rendering them 
 soluble in the other animal fluids. What account 
 can be given of this deviation from the usual course 
 
 * The manner in which this GALL-pucT enters the duo- 
 denum is remarkable-——The duodenum is composed of dif- 
 ferent membranes. The gall-duct enters the outmost; it then 
 passes along the middle of this coat a short distance, and then 
 passes through.—The reason of this is obvious. The inner 
 and outer membranes act as valves to the two openings, in 
 order to prevent the contents of the duodenum from entering 
 into the gall-duct, where they are not wanted, but where they 
 would prove injurious.—The same contrivance takes place in 
 the bladder where the urine enters it; the object is the same— 
 to prevent it from returning. The mode of action is as ob- 
 vious as in any piece of mechanism, and as clearly discovers 
 
 design. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 239 
 
 THE POWER OF DIGESTION DIFFERS IN DIFFERENT ANIMALS, 
 —— OOOO 
 
 of nature, but the important purpose which it serves 
 in the animal economy ?* 
 
 The food is now prepared to be converted into 
 blood. —A reflecting mind cannot but be struck 
 with the ease, the ingenuity, and the certainty, with 
 which every thing is done when God is the agent. 
 Every organ is in its proper place—it acts just 
 where its influence is wanted, and neither sooner 
 nor later. Had the gall-bladder emptied its con- 
 tents into the stomach, it would have been highly 
 injurious—but it affords them just where they are 
 required. This observation is illustrated by innu- 
 merable other facts supplied by the animal system. 
 
 The digesting powers of animals differ widely 
 from each other, both as to vigour, and the ma- 
 terials on which they act. ‘The stomachs of gra- 
 nivorous animals will not digest flesh meat—and 
 the stomachs of carhivorous animals will not digest 
 vegetables, at least, with so much facility. The 
 digesting powers of man form an exception to this 
 general rule,—being capable of digesting, with almost 
 equal facility, both animal and vegetable substances. 
 The stomachs of ostriches, and some other birds, 
 possess surprising powers ;—almost all bodies, whose 
 particles are capable of separation, yicld to their 
 action, except the stomach itself, which remains 
 unaffected.' 
 
 * See Parkes. : 
 ‘See some remarkable experiments to prove the power 
 of the digestion of some birds, p. 87. 
 
 - 
 
240 ORGANIZED NATURE, 
 
 USES OF BLOOD, AND ITS CIRCULATION, 
 
 THE BLOOD, AND THE MEANS OF ITS CIRCULATION. 
 
 PLOT ELIE 
 
 The blood of animals is the principal means of 
 supporting life;—I shall describe its properties, and 
 the machinery which is contrived to give it circu- 
 lation. : : 
 
 While air, heat, and other bodies, whose action 
 is external, co-operate in supporting life, it is the 
 blood within. to which the food of the animal is con- 
 verted, and which circulates every where through the 
 system, that affords life its principal support. It is 
 this which gives strength and increase to the bones, 
 which feeds the muscles, and administers support to 
 all the other parts of the animal. Withhold food, 
 which is designed to form fresh supplies of blood, 
 and we all know that the animal soon expires. 
 
 The blood contained in the human body is about 
 thirty pounds. Suppose the number of pulsations to 
 be seventy-five in a minute, and the quantity expelled 
 from the left ventricle, at each pulsation, to be two 
 ounces and a half; the whole quantity will pass 
 through the heart. about twenty-two times in an 
 hour; and it will, therefore, perform the circulation 
 once in less than three minutes. | 
 
 In the duodenum, and through the whole length 
 of the alimentary canal, there are innumerable fine 
 small vessels called LACTEALS, or absorbents, which 
 are intended to receive, from the digested aliments, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE, 241 
 
 CONSTITUENT PRINCIPLES OF BLOOD. 
 
 those particles that are nutritious. All these small 
 vessels meet together, and form one large canal, 
 (the thoracic duct,) into which they discharge their 
 contents. This new-formed blood is yet in an im- 
 perfect state, and must enter the heart, and from the 
 heart must be propelled to the lungs, in which it 
 derives certain qualities from the air we inhale, and 
 be returned again into the heart, before it is per- 
 fected and fit for circulation. . 
 
 In examining the properties of blood, we are 
 astonished at the great variety of materials of which 
 it is composed. When taken from the animal it soon 
 divides into two’ parts, the one consisting of red 
 globules called the crassamentum, the other trans- 
 parent, like water, and called the serum. Chemistry 
 has discovered that these two parts are not so simple 
 as at first sight they appear to be. They are found 
 to contain, earth, water, fire, air, sea-salt, iron, 
 oil, and an acid. And if we consider that each of 
 these is not a simple, but a compound substance, 
 containing a variety of different materials, we shall 
 be surprised and confounded. However, this great 
 variety of materials is necessary, in order that the 
 blood may yield to the system its essential support, 
 and afford materials also for the formation of a great 
 variety of other fluids of indispensable importance, 
 and which I shall afterwards mention. 
 
242 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 ES 
 
 STRUCTURE OF TRACHEA. 
 eee 
 
 THE LUNGS. 
 
 As the lungs of the animal, and the process of 
 respiration, are concerned in the formation and per- 
 fecting of the blood, it is here necessary that I 
 should’ glance at both, in order to show that they 
 are adapted to this purpose. The formation of the 
 lungs has an evident relation to breathing; and the act 
 of breathing as evidently has a relation to the lungs. 
 
 As the atmospheric air passes through the mouth, 
 down the TRACHEA, or wind-pipe, it is necessary that 
 I should give a brief description of it, before I speak 
 of the lungs. The trachea is a surprising piece of 
 mechanism. As breathing is essential to animal life, 
 it is necessary that the organ through which it is 
 performed should be of such a nature as to admit of 
 its being carried on without any liability to obstruc- 
 tion from common causes. It is therefore not like the 
 cesophagus, or gullet, through which the food passes 
 into the stomach, and whichis a mere fleshy substance. 
 The trachea is cartilaginous; yet it is not made of one 
 continued cartilage, but of several annular ones, hike 
 so many hoops, joined together by strong membranes, 
 which membranes are muscular, composed of straight 
 and circular fibres. Here we see provision made to 
 accommodate it to the bendings of the neck, and the 
 various motions of the head. These cartilaginous 
 hoops are not perfect circles ; jor on the back part, 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. — 243 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE LUNGS. 
 
 to a small extent, the circle is filled up by a soft 
 membrane. ‘This is singular; yet the reason is 
 evident. Tor this part of the trachea comes close to 
 the cesophagus, and is intended to allow of that 
 dilation which is occasioned by the passing of the 
 food down it into the stomach. And what affords 
 proof that this was the design of so singular an alte- 
 ration, is, that as soon as the trachea enters the 
 lungs, its cartilages are no longer deficient, but 
 complete circles. As soon as the necessity for the 
 alteration ceases, the rings assume their complete 
 form. ‘The whole of its inside is provided with a 
 glutinous matter issuing from glands provided for 
 the purpose, in order to defend it from the sharpness 
 of the air which is inhaled. The whole is most 
 perfectly mechanical, adapted to a given object, and 
 yet accommodated to contiguous circumstances. 
 Both the cesophagus and the trachea are essential to 
 the system; that system required that they should 
 descend close and parallel, and each accommodates 
 the other, without any injury to itself. Foresight 
 and contrivance are too evident to be passed over 
 without being perceived. 
 
 By the Lunes are meant that large, soft, and 
 spongy substance which fills the greater part of the 
 cavity of the breast, composed of the infinite ramifi- 
 cations of the trachea. ‘They are divided into several 
 lobes, three of which are usually found in the right 
 side, and two in the left. Here are two different 
 systems of vessels, the one to admit the air from the 
 
 R & 
 
244 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 THE OFFICE OF THE LUNGS. 
 
 trachea, or wind-pipe, through every part, and the 
 other to allow of the circulation of the blood from 
 the heart; in these vessels the blood 1s exposed to 
 the action of the atmosphere, from which it separates 
 its oxygen. The substance of the lungs being 
 spongy, it is remarkably suitable to allow of a vast 
 proportion of vessels for both these purposes, so that 
 a large quantity of atmospheric air may be taken 
 into the lungs, while a considerable proportion of 
 blood may be passing in circulation. . The intention 
 of thus exposing the blood to the action of the air, 
 is not merely to impart to the new-formed blood 
 qualities which it never possessed before, but also to 
 restore the same properties to that which has been in 
 circulation, but which it has lost. It is in the lungs 
 that the blood acquires its red appearance. This is 
 effected by the ferruginous qualities of the bleod 
 absorbing the oxygen gas of the atmospheric air, for 
 which they have a strong aflinity:—this is evident 
 from the unquestionable fact, that the atmospheric 
 air, in passing through the lungs, is deprived of almost 
 the whole of its oxygen, and the blood is found to 
 contain it. This is the principal means of preserving 
 the heat of the body. 
 
 The structure of the lungs | is sur pxisingly adapted 
 to the reception of an amazing quantity of air. Tor 
 Dr. Darwin supposes that their internal surface, 
 or air-vessels, in man, is equal to the external surface 
 of the whole body, or fifteen square feet: it is on this 
 extended surface that the blood is exposed, through 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. . Q45 
 
 THE DIAPHRAGM—BREATHING. 
 
 the medium of a thin pellicle, to the influence of the 
 respired air. | 
 
 The lungs, however, considered in themselves, 
 have no power to effect the process of respiration, 
 though we find a suitable structure in them to 
 allow of it. The means of performing this must 
 be looked for in some other organ. This is that 
 membrane which is extended across the thorax, 
 immediately below the lungs and the heart, and 
 spreads over the liver and the stomach, which is 
 ‘called the DrApHRAGM, or midriff. It does not 
 extend across in a plane surface, but forms a kind of 
 vault, the convex side of which is towards the thorax. 
 It is a muscular substance; and by the contraction 
 of its fibres, is drawn nearly into a flat surface in 
 the act of breathing; in consequence of which, an 
 enlargement of the cavity, called the thorax, takes 
 ‘place; the equilibrium between the lungs and the 
 ‘atmosphere is destroyed, and the air forces its way 
 down the larynx, and by filling the lungs, restores 
 the equilibrium: the muscular fibres of the diaphragm 
 relaxing, it returns again to its original state, and at 
 the same time expels the air from the lungs; again 
 they contract and relax, and thus carry on the 
 process of respiration, so essentially necessary to 
 animal existence. In a healthy state of the system, 
 ‘this action of the diaphragm takes place fifteen or 
 twenty times in a minute; and at each inspiration 
 about forty-two cubic inches of air enter the lungs, 
 or almost eight hundred in a tninute, or forty-five 
 
246 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE HEART. 
 
 thousand three hundred and sixty in an hour; the 
 air imparts its oxygen to the circulating blood, to the 
 amount of thirty-two ounces (troy) in twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 From these remarks it is apparent that a most 
 astonishing provision is made for the formation, the 
 perfecting, and the renovation of the blood of animals. 
 But as its presence is wanted in every part of the 
 body, it is obvious that there must be a system of 
 vessels to allow of its circulation, and a machine to 
 put it in motion. These vessels we call arteries or 
 veins, and this machine is the heart. I shall offer 
 a short description of each, and point out the process 
 of circulation. | 
 
 PLPOL OLDS 
 THE HEART, ARTERIES AND VEINS. 
 
 The external form of the heart is well known. It 
 is composed of muscular fibres of vast power. These 
 fibres are described as running in all directions, in 
 order to form this essential organ. It has two 
 cavities, which, on account of their external resem- 
 blance to an ear, are called auricles, being in fact, 
 reservoirs to the two ventricles, into which they open, 
 and which are cavities considerably more capacious 
 than the auricles." These auricles and ventricles are 
 called right and left. From the left ventricle pro- 
 ceeds a large circular tube called the aorTa, which 
 
 m™ The left ventricle of the human heart will contain about 
 two ounces of blood, and the right nearly three. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 247 
 
 ARTERIES—VEINS. 
 
 SS 
 
 is the main trunk of the arterial system of vesscls, 
 all of which branch from it into every part of the 
 body, and are designed to carry the blood from the 
 heart to the remotest extremities.” In these only, 
 pulsation is discovered. In the arteries are placed 
 valves which open in the direction of the motion of 
 _ the blood; that is, from the heart; their design is to 
 prevent the blood from returning back the same way 
 it came. 
 
 The arteries are joined to the Veins, which form 
 another system of tubes, just the reverse of the 
 former, designed to convey the blood back again to 
 the heart ; these are also provided with valves which 
 prevent the return of the blood from the heart. As 
 the arterial system commenced at one large trunk 
 proceeding from the left ventricle of the heart, 
 dividing and subdividing into innumerable branches, 
 so the system of veins commences at the termination 
 of the arterial, one vessel opening into another, 
 decreasing in number, but increasing in magnitude, 
 till they all terminate in two, which enter the heart at 
 the right auricle: these are called the vere cava. 
 
 " The tubes which conduct the blood to the brain have an 
 angular and tortuous course before they branch out on the 
 PIA MATER; which circumstance augments the retarding 
 effect. Every thing, on the contrary, facilitates the blood’s 
 return, and prevents the distension of the veins in the head. 
 The final cause is obvious; for too free an access of blood 
 into the head would be attended with the most dangerous 
 consequences, | 
 
248 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 PULMONARY ARTERY AND VEIN. 
 
 Besides these, there is another artery called the 
 PULMONARY, which arises from the right ventricle 
 of the heart, and passes towards the lungs, sending 
 off innumerable branches through the right and left 
 lobes of the lungs: from these branches the veins 
 commence, which, as in the former case, gradually 
 unite, till they terminate in one large opening into 
 the left auricle;—this is called the puLMoNARY 
 VEIN. It would be tedious to enter into a minute 
 description of the structure of these vessels: let it be 
 enough to remark that the arteries are much stronger 
 than the veins; the reason obviously is, that they. 
 may be able to resist the impetus with which the 
 blood circulates through them, and impel it towards 
 the veins. 
 
 woorerasr 
 THE CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD. 
 
 Having with all possible brevity attempted te 
 convey an idea of the apparatus which is. intended 
 for the circulation of the blood, let us now view it 
 in action. But who will say how it is put in motion? 
 Here philosophy is confounded; and though it is 
 resolved into the vital principle, yet this does not 
 explain the difficulty :—for what is the vital principle? 
 and how does it act on this apparatus? These are 
 inquiries which are not to be solved in the present 
 state. However, my business is with matter of fact; 
 this is sufficiently ‘illustrative of the wisdom of the 
 great Creator. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 249 
 
 CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD. 
 
 The circulation of the blood was unknown till it 
 was explained by Harvey. It is now well under- 
 stood; and I shall attempt to give the reader an 
 accurate idea of it, in as few words as I possibly can. 
 Let it then be observed that the ventricles of the 
 heart admit of enlargement, and consequently of 
 contraction, as well as the auricles. By this struc- 
 ture, it appears in fact that there are two hearts 
 joined, each consisting of an auricle and a ventricle; 
 the one is intended to circulate the blood through 
 the lungs, which is the right; and the other to cir- 
 culate it through the body, which is the left. It is 
 obvious that the force required to promote the lesser 
 circulation,—that is, through the lungs, is much smaller 
 than that which is necessary for the larger, which is 
 to send. the blood through the whole system. And 
 it is a fact which deserves notice, that the muscular 
 substance of the heart, on the side of the larger 
 circulation, is proportionately stronger, containing 
 nearly three times the substance of the other, where 
 but one-third of the power is wanted. | 
 
 In conveying an idea of the circulation of the 
 blood in the human body, let it be observed, that 
 both the auricles and both the ventricles of the heart 
 contract and expand at the same moment; that is 
 to say, while the auricles are fillmg and dilating 
 with blood from the veins which open into them, 
 the ventricles, which have been filled by the previous 
 contraction of the auricles, contract both together, 
 and discharge their contents into their respective 
 
250 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD. 
 
 arteries. But in order to be distinct, let us imagine 
 that we see the blood flowing through the veins 
 denominated the cavas, into the reservoir called the 
 right auricle, which is filled in about a second of 
 time. When filled, its muscular power is stimulated 
 by its contents, which occasions it to contract and 
 force the blood through an aperture into the right 
 wentricle—this opening has a valve which immediately 
 closes to prevent the return of the blood. Again, 
 the muscular power of the heart being excited, it 
 contracts, and forces the blood into the pulmonary 
 artery, which conducts it through the lungs, when 
 it returns again by the pulmonary vein into the 
 left auricle, which is the reservoir to the left ven- 
 tricle. ‘The coats of the left auricle immediately 
 contract, and force the blood, which is now fit for 
 general circulation, into the left ventricle. |The 
 opening which leads from the one cavity to the other 
 has a valve, as in the former case, which prevents 
 the blood from returning. This ventricle being filled, 
 the powerful muscles which surround it are. sti- 
 mulated so as to occasion them to contract, and 
 to force the blood into the artery called the aorta, 
 through which it is distributed through the whole 
 system, and returned back to the heart by the veins, 
 when it repeats the same circulation. 
 
 “The wisdom of sthe Creator,” says Hamburger, 
 “is in nothing seen more gloriously than in the 
 heart."—-And how well does it -execute its office! 
 An anatomist, who understood the structure of the 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 251 
 
 BLOOD INTENDED TO SUPPLY THE CONSTANT WASTE. 
 
 heart, might say before-hand that it would play; 
 but he would expect, I think, from the complexity 
 of its mechanism, and the delicacy of many of its 
 parts, that it should always be liable to derange- 
 ment, or that it would soon work itself out. Yet, 
 shall this wonderful machine go, night and day, for 
 eighty years together, at the rate of a hundred thou- 
 sand strokes every twenty-four hours, having at 
 every stroke a great resistance to overcome; and 
 shall continue this action for this length of time, 
 without disorder and without weariness !° 
 
 These singular facts, at the same time that they 
 demonstrate the existence of a Supreme Agent, dis- 
 play his admirable skill. What foresight! what 
 facility of contrivance to overcome difficulties! what 
 singular mechanism is employed by him to promote 
 his grand objects! All the constituent parts of 
 animals are undergoing continual changes—soon 
 being rendered unfit for use, the obnoxious particles 
 are separated from the rest, and removed out of 
 the system to which they would otherwise prove 
 destructive. This renders a constant supply of new 
 materials necessary to repair the loss. I have at- 
 tempted to show how this is effected, by tracing the 
 food to blood through the process of digestion.:—by 
 following the blood into circulation, where it imparts 
 qualities to all the different branches of the animal 
 frame according to their respective natures and 
 demands. 
 
 © See Paley’s Natural Theology. 
 
252 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 ere er] 
 
 VARIOUS PROPERTIES OF THE ANIMAL DERIVED FROM BLOOD. 
 
 = 
 
 As it was before remarked, every animal is 
 composed of an astonishing diversity of parts, as 
 different in their essential properties as they are in 
 their forms, uses, and appearances. These all de- 
 rive their nutriment from the blood. How asto- 
 nishing must be the chemical changes which it 
 undergoes in the different stages of its progress! 
 How many laboratories, if we may call them so, 
 must there be in different parts of this mysterious 
 system, to separate, to combine, to decoct and 
 filter the fluids before they are fitted to enter those 
 surprisingly minute vessels which are appointed to 
 convey them to their respective places.—QOne part 
 is separated from the rest to support the bones ; 
 another for the muscles; a third for the nerves; a 
 fourth for the humours of the eye; a fifth for the 
 lubricating of the joints; a sixth for the skin; a 
 seventh for the hair; an eighth for the nails; a 
 ninth for the vessels in which the fluids circulate ; 
 a tenth for the gall; -the eleventh for the gastic 
 juice; a twelfth for the tendons. Various others 
 might be named. All these different parts which I 
 have mentioned are so dissimilar, that we should 
 think it impossible they should all derive their 
 existence and support from a fluid of such apparent 
 simplicity as the blood, had we not unquestionable 
 evidence of the fact. 
 
 By what means the blood possesses these various 
 qualities, or undergoes these various changes, yét 
 remains a secret, and probably ever will. The most 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. _ 253 
 
 i Soe me tore mare te > 
 
 NATURE OF THE GLANDS, 
 
 -_— 
 
 extensive anatomical knowledge has frequently been 
 united to vast chemical attainments, and employed 
 in researches of this nature; yet comparatively little 
 has been done towards a complete development ; 
 at any rate, much remains undone. We live, it is 
 true, in an age of astonishing research and dis- 
 coyery, especially in the science of chemistry ; yet 
 we can hardly hope to unfold these mysteries of 
 nature, or indulge the supposition that future ages 
 will disclose them, It is probable that they will 
 remain secrets in the Divine mind, which if he ever 
 explain, it will be in a higher state of our existence 
 than the present. 
 
 CS FL EL AF 
 
 THE GLANDS. 
 
 Besides the actual nourishment which the whole 
 system, and all its parts, derive from the blood, 
 it. subserves other essential purposes. It enters the 
 GLanps, in which it undergoes remarkable changes. 
 The glands are a kind of chemical laboratory, placed 
 in different parts of the body as the necessity ot 
 the case requires. ‘‘ They are small, roundish, or 
 oval bodies, formed by the convolution of a great 
 number of vessels, and intended to separate par- 
 ticular humours from the mass of blood.” It is 
 said that they are connected with the ends of ar- 
 teries from which they are supplied with blood: 
 this however, they soon change into other fluids 
 
254 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 > | 
 NATURE AND OFFICE OF THE GLANDS. 
 
 which bear no resemblance to it. The Zver is one 
 of these glands, whose office it is to prepare the 
 gall, which is essential to the formation of blood, 
 and to promote the peristaltic motion of the intes- 
 tines ; for it is discharged from the gali-bladder, and 
 mixes with the chyle, in the duodenum. The gall 
 is composed of a large proportion of water, and a 
 vast quantity of inflammable oil.—Another descrip- 
 tion of glands are the breasts, which are to secrete 
 the milk. Milk, when examined by chemical ana- 
 lysis, is found to be composed of oil, mucilage and 
 water, and a considerable quantity of sugar.—There 
 are also the salival glands ; these are situated in 
 various places contiguous to the mouth, where the 
 saliva is wanted in the mastication of food. It is 
 composed of water, a small quantity of salt, and 
 some oil and earth.—Beside these, there are the 
 synovial glands, which are situated adjacent to the 
 joints, being intended to lubricate them with the 
 oil which they secrete, and diffuse all over them.— 
 Various other glands might be mentioned; but a 
 reference to these which I have particularised will 
 illustrate the principle sufficiently, that the infinitely 
 intelligent Creator foresaw all the necessities of the 
 animal, and made a provision to meet them.” 
 
 Had no contrivances of the above description 
 been devised, the system would have been incom- 
 
 * For a full account of the glands and secretions, see Haller, 
 vol. I. p. 109. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 255 
 
 USES OF PERSPIRATION. 
 
 plete, because deficient in those particulars which are 
 essential to its duration. Without the salival glands, 
 the food could not have been prepared for digestion : 
 without the liver, the gall would not have been 
 generated, which is indispensable to the above-named 
 purposes: without the synovial glands, the joints 
 would have become stiff and inflexible: without the 
 glands which are appointed for the secretion of the 
 milk, a nourishment of vast, if not essential, import- 
 ance to the infant race would have been wanting. 
 
 After all these solids and fluids have been in use 
 in the system for a short time, they become unfit to 
 remain.in it; nay, they would be destructive, if not 
 separated immediately from the more healthy par- 
 ticles, and removed from the mass. By means 
 unknown to us, therefore, this separation is effected, 
 and the obnoxious matter is discharged through the 
 various channels which are destined for this pornos 
 such, for instance, as perspiration. 
 
 But under the direction of unerring Wisdom, this 
 very excrescence is not to be discharged from the 
 animal system without being subservient to its wel- 
 fare :—for in the very manner in which it is thrown 
 off, it answers an end essential to our being. Per- 
 spiration, or the evaporation of moisture from the 
 surface of the body, is the means by which the blood 
 is preserved in a proper, and nearly an equal tempe- 
 rature: so that the blood of a person who lives in 
 the torrid zone, is only of the same heat with bis 
 who dwells in the cold and dreary regions of Lap- 
 
256 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 IDENTITY OF PERSON PRESERVED. 
 
 land:—for this is a fact which is well established. 
 We see here a contrivance for carrying off the super- 
 abundant heat. But this would prove destructive of 
 animal life, were not means provided for supplying 
 heat to the blood, as well as for taking it away. 
 The newly-formed: blood in passing through the 
 lungs acquires a greater capacity for caloric, or the 
 cause of heat: And by the decomposition of atmo- 
 spheric air, which takes place in the lungs, caloric is 
 evolved, and being taken up by the arterial blood, 
 is given out to every part of the body in the course 
 of its circulation. Nothing can afford a more 
 striking proof of creative wisdom than this provision 
 for the preservation of an equable animal tempe- 
 rature. 
 
 While the identity of person is preserved from 
 the earliest to the latest period of life, a perpetual 
 change is taking place in the materials which 
 constitute the animal organization; so that what 
 constitutes the corporeal frame at one period of our 
 lives forms no part of it at another. Yet while this 
 astonishing revolution is accomplished, we are in a 
 great measure strangers to what is going on; the 
 whole is effected as much without our aid, as it is 
 without our consciousness. Millions of particles are 
 daily added, and as many are abandoned, yet we feel 
 no change—no inconvenience. 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. | 957 
 ll ee 
 
 REFLECTIONS, ta 
 ———— ne 
 
 In taking this general, but, I hope, not uninte- 
 resting view of the human frame, may we not adopt 
 the words of the Psalmist, and exclain—“ WE ARE 
 FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE!” . What 
 an amazing diversity of materials are employed in this 
 astonishing compound! How many thousand opera- 
 tions are taking place every moment of our existence ; 
 yet there is nothing confused—nothing which clashes : 
 —however numerous the muscles may be which are 
 called into action by one effort, as many more can 
 be excited without any, even the least, obstruction 
 to the former. The bones may be in action; muscles 
 may be contracting and relaxing in obedience to 
 the volitions of the mind, excited through the ner- 
 vous system; the blood flowing in the arteries and 
 veins ; the different fluids forming, and the humours 
 secreting ; the process of digestion proceeding to 
 repair the loss occasioned by the ware of the 
 system’, while we are employed about the various 
 avocations of life which engage our thoughts and 
 attention, or involved in subjects which have na 
 relation whatever to these surprising operations. 
 
 While I refer these remarks particularly to the 
 human frame, which, though it differs in many re- 
 spects from all other animal organizations, yet this 
 difference obtains rather in the external conformation 
 TE pee er SA LOR IRS "oT: OF. CRPEINY FOT TEES 
 
 1 The quantity of matter thrown out of the system by 
 
 insensible perspiration only, is from two to four pounds daily, 
 in temperate climates. 
 
 S 
 
258: ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 SIMILARITY OF ANIMALS, 
 
 of parts, than in the internal principles of action 
 ‘and renovation. With respect to external form, 
 there is an obvious difference in favour of man, 
 which instantly strikes the eye; but when we enter 
 into the internal structure,—consider the mechanism 
 which is employed, and examine the physiology of 
 animal life, we observe a great similarity in the 
 essential and vital principles. All animals have, for 
 instance, a stomach for the digesting of food, and 
 the means of turning it into blood; a system of 
 _ veins through which the blood circulates, and a heart, 
 or that which answers the same purpose, to put it’ 
 in motion. They have muscles to actuate their 
 limbs, and a nervous system to connect, in a certain 
 sense, their volitions and their powers of action. 
 Thus we recognise the same infinite skill, and 
 boundless goodness in all the diversified tribes of 
 animal existence, and admire the only wise God. 
 Comparing the structure of animals in general, 
 and the human animal in particular, with their 
 modes of obtainihg food, and the actions which 
 they are to perform for the benefit of the general 
 economy, we are astonished at the suitableness 
 of their organs, and the amazing variety in the 
 shape and size of their limbs. In forming this 
 comparison, were we to ask the question, Can any 
 improvement be made,—can any alteration be sug- 
 gested for the better? we are instantly satisfied that 
 the Creator has done all things worthy of himself, 
 and has demonstrated that there is a Bemg whose 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. 959 
 
 ORGANIZED NATURE INFERS A GOD. 
 
 wisdom, goodness, and power, acknowledge no rival, 
 and who, in all respects, is infinitely superior to 
 the most intelligent of the creatures. 
 
 With such an accumulation of evidence before 
 us of the existence of a God, is it possible that 
 there can be an Atheist in the world? If there ever 
 were such a being who ranked with intelligences of 
 the human race, we are ready to imagine that he 
 must either have been destitute of that capacity of 
 reasoning which is common to the rest of his species, 
 or incapable of applying it; or else have been under 
 the tyranny of an agency whose design it is to 
 degrade and ruin those who are the objects of its 
 operations, or to insult as much as possible the 
 Infinite Spirit. 
 
 In contemplating design and contrivance, the 
 reasoning mind is naturally led to a DrestGner and a 
 Contriver. To suppose it possible that chance, 
 or a fortuitous combination of atoms, could produce 
 such a thing as a leaf or an animal, would require 
 an astonishing sacrifice of our reasoning powers, and 
 involve us in difficulties far greater than that of 
 admitting the being of a God. But what kind of 
 dereliction of rationality must that be, which would 
 dispose a’ man to believe that the same fortunate 
 combination has taken place in millions of instances; 
 and at length the combination was so happy as to 
 produce such an organization of parts in both vege- 
 table and animal existences, as to enable them to 
 propagate their species in endless succession, and 
 
 s 2 
 
260 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 FEW SENTIMENTAL, MANY PRACTICAL ATHEISTS. 
 
 ool 
 thus render. any such fortuitous combination unne- 
 
 cessary in future agesr—An Atheist must be either 
 a mad-man or a fool. 
 
 If there is a God, as all that has been advanced 
 most clearly demonstrates, it follows, that he must 
 not only be infinite in wisdom, but also in power, 
 holiness, and goodness, and therefore worthy of. the 
 supreme affections of his rational creatures. To 
 confess his existence, and to deny him the supreme 
 affections of the heart, and our entire. obedience, 
 appears so preposterous and shocking, that we are 
 at a loss which to deem the worse character,—the 
 man who denies his being, or the man who admits 
 that there is a God, but does not love him. 
 
 I nich question whether there ever were an 
 Atheist in the world,—one who in sentiment and 
 conscience believed there is no God. I should 
 regard such a being as a most singular phenomenon, 
 and the greatest curiosity in nature. If I were re- 
 quested to discover one, I should not know what 
 direction to take with any probability of being suc- 
 cessful. But if I were requested to point. out those 
 who are practical Atheists, “ professing that they 
 know God, but in works denying him,” I should 
 be at no loss—thousands would immediately present 
 themselves in every gradation of society, from the 
 most poor and illiterate, to the richest and the most 
 intelligent. The palace and the cottage equally fur- 
 nish them. Their deportment is such as to render it 
 desirable that there were no God to take cognizance 
 
 — ee re 
 
ORGANIZED NATURE. » 261 
 
 GOD DISCOVERS OUR SUPREME AFFECTIONS, 
 
 of their actions, or call them to an account 
 for “the deeds done in the body,” 
 vainly attempt to impose upon themselves the belief 
 that there is no God. Rather than abandon their 
 crimes, they will sacrifice their reason; and forget. 
 the man, in order to indulge the passions of the brute 
 or the fiend. 
 
 With so many proofs around us of the being 
 and attributes of a God, how astonishing it is that he 
 should ever be absent from our thoughts! How 
 many motives present themselves to excite our al- 
 fections; and how many means are at hand to 
 conduct them to Him, “ in whom we live, and move, 
 and have our being!” “Thou shalt love the Lord 
 thy God with all thine heart,” is as well the lan- 
 guage of nature as it is of revelation; and no man 
 has examined the sacred pages of either to much 
 purpose, whose soul is supremely engaged in earthly 
 pursuits.—But of all the attractive discoveries which 
 the Most High has ever made of himself to man- 
 kind, that which he has given them in the person 
 of his Son, is the most powerful and engaging. 
 Here is the most stupendous display of wisdom, and 
 all the natural perfections of Deity, in connexion 
 with his mercy, and those which we term moral. 
 “Mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and 
 peace embrace each other.” Here he appears with 
 overpowering charms; and we scarcely know which 
 to admire the most,—the justice which required the 
 satisfaction—the wisdom which contrived the means of 
 
 and then they 
 
262 ORGANIZED NATURE. 
 
 GOD IS TO BE LOVED. 
 
 rendering it by the incarnation of the Son of God,— 
 or the mercy and love which abound to fallen sinners 
 as the benefits of his mediation. The Author of 
 our Being is the Author of our Redemption: and 
 whether we regard him in the one character or in 
 the other, or in both, we must be struck with the 
 most invincible arguments to destroy the native in- 
 fidelity of the human heart, to elicit the warmest 
 affections of rational creatures, and to induce a 
 cheerful and prompt obedience to his name. 
 
 It was intimated before, that the curious taber- 
 nacie which I have been attempting to describe, is 
 destined to be the residence of a still nobler being, 
 a being of a far superior order—I mean the Sout, 
 whose peculiar nature and characters I shall now 
 consider, with a view to develop the same wisdom 
 which appears so conspicuous in all the forms of 
 organized matter. 
 
Part Third. 
 
 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
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INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 We can conceive of but two descriptions of 
 existences in the universe, to which all the infinite 
 varieties are reducible; the one we denominate ma- 
 terial, the other immaterial, or spiritual. The former 
 order of existences I have already considered under 
 a two-fold representation; that is, as being either 
 organic or inorganic. I shall now direct the attention 
 of the reader to those beings which are spiritual, and 
 formed for an immortal existence. 
 
 The highest description of spiritual beings is God 
 himself, who is the Creator of all other existences, 
 whether they are purely intellectual or endowed with 
 corporiety. Next to him are angelic natures. All 
 ‘the universe proclaims a God; but it is to divine 
 revelation entirely that we are indebted for our know- 
 ledge that there are beings which we call angels. 
 Though revelation speaks of them as spirits possessed 
 of great power and wisdom, yet it says but little 
 respecting their essential natures, and dwells prin- 
 
266 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 BRUTE ANIMALS HAVE MIND. 
 
 cipally on their employment in the government of 
 God. We have reason to suppose that there are 
 two kinds of immaterial existences which are united 
 to material bodies in this world; I mean those which 
 belong to brute animals, and those which are peculiar 
 to the human race. 
 
 To deny that brute animals have souls, is virtually 
 to allow that matter can think; and to put an argu- 
 ment into the mouths of materialists which it will 
 not be easy to rescue from them. To ascribe all 
 the actions of brutes to the principle which we call 
 instinct, is to attempt a distinction between that 
 principle and. reason, where no essential difference 
 can be pointed out; for the resemblance is so strong 
 that it is impossible to say at what point instinct 
 stops and reason begins. ‘To deny that brutes think, 
 that they possess powers of recollection, and that 
 they have a variety of passions, would be to deny 
 unquestionable facts. If matter can do all this, why 
 not, under a more refined modification of it, do all 
 that we discover in the human race? But when I 
 allow that brute animals possess mind or spirit, I by 
 no means grant that they are immortal:—no; for after 
 all that has been said to demonstrate that spirit mus¢ 
 in its own nature be immortal, I am convinced that 
 the reasoning is inconclusive. . While I conceive that 
 there is a suitable adaptation to an immortal existence 
 in the structure of mind, it appears to me that it is 
 immortal because it is the will of God that it should 
 be so. Iam therefore of opinion that the souls of 
 
{INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 2067 
 
 MAN POSSESSES AN IMMATERIAL PRINCIPLE, 
 
 brute animals perish at death, whilst those of the 
 human race exist for ever,—not because their nature 
 is essentially different, but because God has decreed 
 the destruction of the one, and the immortality of 
 the other. This I imagine to be the legitimate basis 
 on which immortality rests. 
 
 My object at present is, to describe the structure 
 of the human soul. It is not intended to enter into 
 a minute and metaphysical analysis of its nature; but 
 only to consider it so far as it is illustrative of Divine 
 Wisdom. ‘The intelligence which is discoverable in 
 the structure of the human mind, is indeed not so 
 obvious as it is in the formation of organized matter; 
 we. cannot see the mechanism of its parts, nor their 
 adaptation to a given end, so clearly; for it is difficult 
 for us to turn our attention so forcibly upon our own 
 minds as to give them such a kind of imaginary visibility 
 to our perceptions, as to obtain accurate ideas of 
 them. Yet it is probable that mind contains as great 
 a discovery of wisdom as any other object of creative 
 power whatever, of which we should be thoroughly 
 convinced, if it could be examined in the same 
 manner; but this is impossible from the nature of 
 the thing. 
 
 That Man possesses a something besides, and 
 really different from matter, can never be questioned, 
 except by those whose minds are under the influence 
 of a skepticism which leads them to doubt of the 
 most certain truths. Whether the Creator could or 
 could not give matter such a modification as to make 
 
268 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 MATTER NOT CAPABLE OF THINKING. 
 
 it think, is not the question :—but have we any reason 
 to suppose that he has done it?-—I know but of two 
 methods of answering this inquiry; the one is by 
 appealing to our knowledge of matter, and the other 
 is by referring to the testimony of divine revelation. 
 From our knowledge of the nature of matter, 
 have we any reason to suppose that any part of it 
 has been so modified or organized as to produce 
 thought, a capacity of reasoning, recollection, and 
 other effects, which we usually call mental? I am 
 of opinion, that our present knowledge of matter will 
 not justify us in saying that it does think. Hence, 
 to maintain that matter thinks, without pointing out 
 and demonstrating such qualities in matter, and such 
 an arrangement of its particles as justify the con- 
 clusion that thought will be the effect, is begging 
 the question, and is false reasoning in philosophy ; 
 for it furnishes a conclusion which there are no data 
 to warrant. Such a mode of reasoning would not 
 be allowed on any other philosophical or metaphy- 
 sical subject. To assert it as true, merely from the 
 POSSIBILITY of the thing, is a kind of presumption 
 which cannot be admitted. The persons who have 
 maintained this theory, from a conviction that the 
 seat of reflection is the cranium, have asserted that 
 the brain is that species of matter which thinks ; but 
 as the nervous system is of the same nature as the 
 brain, taking its rise from it either in the cranium, 
 or in the spinal marrow which is only an elongation 
 of the brain down the vertebra, extending over the 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 269 
 
 SSS SSS SSS ES 
 THE SOUL OF MAN IMMATERIAL. 
 
 —eSSSSSSsSSSSS8S8808080800808S080S SS 
 whole animal frame,—why not think as well at our 
 finger’s-ends, or at our toes, as in the head? Besides, 
 have any of the materialists ever attempted to de- 
 monstrate an organization in the brain,. which we 
 should at all suppose capable of producing thought 
 as the effect of its operation? By no means. And 
 yet, being determined to believe that there is nothing 
 but matter in the human being—and as they can 
 discover nothing but matter in the cranium, the seat 
 of thought,—therefore they infer that matter thinks, — 
 a kind of reasoning which, were it referred to any 
 other subject, would be treated by these philosophers 
 themselves as sophistical and illegitimate. 
 
 As our present attainments in philosophy, and 
 our knowledge of matter, by no means enable us to 
 prove that matter thinks, let us appeal to divine 
 revelation as the only authority capable of affording 
 a decision. If we place that confidence in the testi- 
 mony of the Scriptures which is worthy of a divine 
 revelation, our conviction will be complete. In 
 multitudes of instances, this revelation speaks of soul, 
 spirit, and mind, as existing in man. To quote these 
 passages would be to crowd my pages with a string 
 of Scriptures which must be in every one’s memory 
 who has read the oracles of God. But there are 
 many other passages. which are of a more decisive 
 character, and speak of spirit, soul, and mind, as 
 being of a nature different from body, and existing 
 separate from it; as, for instance, Acts vii. 59. 
 “Lord Jesus, receive my _ spirit.”—Eccles. iii, 21. 
 
270 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 SPIRIT ESSENTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM MATTER. 
 Pca RTT a PT I SSS SS TS ESD EP 
 
 ‘Who knoweth the spirit of man ?”—xu. 7. ‘“ The 
 spirit shall return unto God who gave it."— Gen. ii. 7. 
 ‘‘ Jehovah breathed into man the breath of life, and 
 man became a living ‘soul.” ‘The apostle speaks of 
 “ spirit, soul, and body ;”—of being “ absent from the 
 body, and present with the Lord.”—What was it of 
 Lazarus which angels carried to Abraham’s bosom? 
 not surely his body,—that died and was buried. It 
 must have been his soul, or nothing. What was it 
 in the thief which Christ promised should be with 
 him that day in Paradise? not surely his body, for 
 that died on the cross. ‘‘ Fear not them which kill 
 the body; but rather fear Him, who after he has killed 
 the body, can cast both body and soul into hell.” I 
 might add many other testimonies equally clear and 
 decisive. If these prove any thing at all, they prove 
 that man is a compound being, constituted partly of 
 body which is material, and partly of mind which is 
 immaterial. 
 
 When I have demonstrated the immateriality of 
 the human soul, I by no means conceive that I have 
 proved its immortality. It no more follows that the 
 soul of man is immortal, because it is immaterial, 
 than that the souls of brutes are so, allowing them to 
 _ be spiritual. To establish this, we must refer to 
 other data; and the only data on which we can rely 
 are such as are afforded by divine revelation. The 
 ancient philosophers remained in a state of entire 
 uncertainty on the subject; their various speculations 
 and reasonings could carry them no higher than 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 271 
 
 THE SOUL OF MAN IMMORTAL. 
 
 vague hypotheses, and suppositions of a very doubtful 
 nature.. A divine revelation was of the utmost 
 importance to put. this subject beyond a doubt, that 
 mankind might have the full force of this motive 
 daily before them; for what motive so powerful to 
 excite to holiness of life as the full evidence of 
 eternal misery on the one hand, as the reward of sin; 
 and everlasting happiness on the other, as the result 
 of holiness? What the reasonings and surmises of 
 heathen® philosophers could never discover, divine 
 revelation has rendered morally certain; ‘ for life and 
 IMMORTALITY are brought to light by the gospel.” 
 It teaches us that as soon as the soul is separated 
 from the body, it enters on a state of happiness or 
 woe. ‘The resurrection shall re-unite the bodies and 
 spirits of the departed, when the righteous and the 
 wicked shall have their condition fixed for ever ac- 
 cording to their respective moral character. With 
 regard to the wicked, it is declared that they shall go 
 into ‘ everlasting punishment”—‘ where the smoke 
 of their torment shall ascend up for ever and ever” — 
 “where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
 quenched ;”"—“ these shall be punished with ever- 
 lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.” 
 These passages prove the immortality of the wicked. 
 But the righteous “shall go away into everlasting 
 life,” —‘so shall they ever be with the Lord :”—their 
 happiness is called an “eternal weight of glory’— 
 “a crown of glory which fadeth not away.”—“ Eternal 
 life” is promised to those ‘who seek it by patient 
 
272 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE SOUL OF MAN IMMORTAL. 
 ——————— SSS 
 
 continuance in well doing :"—it is called “ glory and 
 immortality.” These quotations prove the immor- 
 tality of the souls of the righteous. 
 
 It is one of the most interesting views that we 
 can take of the human being, to consider him as 
 compounded of body and spirit, and destined to live 
 for ever in a state of perfect felicity or complete 
 misery. However much we may admire his: cor- 
 poreal structure, yet if we suppose him possessed of 
 nothing more than mere corporiety, and “that he 
 - terminates his career at the grave, we shall feel a 
 sort of indifference in contemplating his actions, and 
 in following him to his last home. But when we 
 consider him possessed of a spiritual nature, formed 
 with vast capacities for suffering and enjoyment, and 
 destined to an everlasting existence in happiness or 
 woe, according to his moral character, and his conduct 
 in his probationary state in this world, it excites the 
 liveliest concern in our minds,—all is grand—and im- 
 portant. This view of man is at once calculated to 
 strike dismay into the hearts of the profligate, and to 
 restrain them from crime through fear of a punish- 
 ment to come; whilst it gives a peculiar energy to 
 piety, by inferring its connexion with future glory. 
 Man ranks in importance with angels themselves. 
 
 Of all the creatures of God in this world, it is 
 evident that man ‘is far the noblest. All the rest of 
 the creatures are subservient to him; and either 
 directly or indirectly render him their homage and 
 their aid. He only was made in the image of God, 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 273 
 and allowed to approach the throne of his Creator, 
 who set him over the works of his own hands, and 
 gave him “dominion over the fish of the sea, and 
 over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing 
 that moveth upon the earth.” The great designs of 
 God in bestowing on man intellectual endowments, or 
 a rational soul, were, that he might glorify and enjoy 
 his Creator, by serving him, by contemplating his 
 wonderful works, and by discharging the duties 
 which he owes to those of his own species, as well 
 as to the inferior animals. To do these things, it is 
 obvious: that intellect is essentially necessary; for it 
 demands thought, reasoning, and all other mental 
 operations: and if we describe the human soul in 
 its various attributes and capacities, it will be found 
 to have received a structure (if I may say so) which 
 discovers the same unerring skill that appears in the 
 other works of God. . 
 
 To render this subject at once lucid and interest- 
 ing, I propose, First, Zo describe the Powers of the 
 Mind;—Srconvuiy, To state the Nature of the 
 Passions ;—Tuirpiy, Yo consider the relation of 
 both to the Corporeal Senses ;—and, Fourruty, To 
 show their adaptation to Religious Exercises, and a 
 Future State. 
 
 Ty 
 
274 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE MIND NOT CAPABLE OF THINKING OF TWO-THINGS AT ONCE. 
 
 THE POWERS OF THE HUMAN MIND. 
 
 GFL PEPLLL 
 
 I shall rirstr attempt a brief description of the 
 powers of the human mind.—When we speak of 
 the powers or faculties of the soul, we do not mean to 
 represent it as divided into different members as our 
 bodies are.—No. ‘That spiritual substance which we 
 call soul, or mind, is one and indivisible, and not 
 capable of receiving any such modification as the 
 body. Therefore, when we speak of its powers, such 
 as Will, Memory, &c., it is only to represent the soul 
 as willing, and remembering, or performing those dit- 
 erent acts which we denominate thus for distinction’s 
 sake. A close attention to the operations of our own 
 minds, I think, will prove that, however rapid their 
 transition from one subject to another, they are 
 incapable of being'employed on two subjects at one 
 and the same moment of time:—as, for instance, 
 while the soul is engaged in an act of remembering, 
 or recalling a past idea or event, it cannot at the very 
 same instant be employed in an act of willing. And 
 yet the rapidity with which it passes from one exercise 
 to another is almost imperceptible, and is hardly ever 
 observed by the mind itself. The celerity of its 
 movements is a compensation for the want of ability 
 to perform two or more different operations at the 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 275 
 ae eee 
 
 THE UNDERSTANDING. ‘ 
 a 
 same time. Having made these remarks, I shall 
 proceed to glance at each faculty of the soul, in order 
 to show what wisdom God has manifested in this 
 extraordinary existence. 
 
 Let us begin with the Unprerstanpin&G. No- 
 thing is more certain than that mind possesses’ a 
 power of perception, or acquiring a knowledge of 
 those objects which present themselves to its atten- 
 tion. The understanding is the eye of the mind. It 
 is the visual faculty of the soul. It is the repository 
 in which are stored all the ideas and notions of the 
 objects, the events, and the subjects, which offer 
 themselves to our consideration. God’s understand- 
 ing is infinite: He has the most perfect perception of 
 every thing which exists within the compass of the 
 universe. Hence, the apostle elegantly remarks, “all 
 things lie open and naked before the eyes (that is, 
 the mind) of him with whom we havé to do.” This 
 power as possessed by angels, those mighty beings 
 which excel in strength, must be vast indeed, dwelling 
 in his presence, employed by the Deity in conducting 
 the moral government of the world, and basking in 
 the beams of uncreated light. Man, in his primeval 
 state, before sin beclouded his intellectual hemisphere, 
 had powers of perception, perhaps but little, if at all, 
 inferior to theirs. Weakened and injured as they even 
 now are, in consequence of the existence and operation 
 of sin, they are yet capable of surprising efforts. 
 Angelic minds seem to have sometimes dwelt in 
 
 T 2 
 
276 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 WISDOM JIS APPARENT IN DIVERSITY OF TALENTS. 
 
 Se 
 
 human frames; as in the person of a Newton, a 
 Locke, anda Bacon. At our birth, the mind has 
 been compared to a sheet of white paper, because 
 destitute of all ideas and notions; but though ori- 
 cinally thus destitute, it has a capacity to receive 
 ideas, as white paper has of receiving the characters 
 which may be written upon it. 
 
 Divine Wisdom appears as well in the astonishing 
 diversity of capacities which is found in different 
 minds, as in this power of receiving ideas themselves. 
 Though much may be owing to the circumstances 
 under which we are educated, yet it appears. that 
 there is a radical and essential difference of capacity 
 and disposition with respect to the same subject. 
 For instance; one person has a surprising aptitude 
 for learning the languages, which another cannot learn 
 but with the greatest difficulty. As the machinery 
 of civilized society is composed of various parts, all 
 of which differ from each other, though all have a 
 mutual relation, and are necessary to the whole; so 
 it is with respect’ to their mental capacities and 
 propensities. Some have a love to the sciences; 
 having capacities to perceive and understand the 
 truths which relate to astronomy, chemistry, botany, 
 optics, physics and metaphysics, and philosophy in 
 general. Other minds are adapted to commerce, and 
 the business of life. Others, again, have an affinity (af 
 I may so call it) for the fine arts, such as painting, 
 sculpture, and music. Thus a pleasing variety is 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 277 
 
 THE MEMORY. 
 
 produced, while the whole co-operate in promoting 
 the general interests of social order. 
 “ The hand of Nature on peculiar minds imprints a different bias, 
 And to each decrees her province in the common toil : 
 To some she taught the fabric of the spheres ; the changeful'moon ; 
 The circuit of the stars :—the golden zone of Heaven to some she gave, 
 To weigh the moment of eternal things ; of time, and space, 
 
 And fate’s unbroken chain,—and will’s quick impulse.” 
 AKENSIDE. 
 
 In consequence of this diversity in the perceptive 
 principle, and an aptitude to receive knowledge of 
 various kinds, the works of God are more completely 
 explored, and therefore he is more glorified than 
 otherwise he could have been; greater harmony 1s 
 preserved in society; the pleasures of social life are 
 increased ; and that dulness is: prevented, which must 
 have existed in a world where all its inhabitants 
 possessed the same mental propensities, and were 
 pursuing the same track of knowledge. 
 
 Memory is the next faculty of the mind [ shall 
 mention. Had the soul been created without a 
 power of retaining its ideas, a capacity of receiving 
 them had been useless as to any of the purposes of 
 life. The mind would have been like a sieve, and 
 would instantly have lost what it had gained. How 
 the ideas and notions of things, which we receive 
 through the senses, make such an impression on the 
 brain or the substance of the mind, that they may be 
 recalled, and reviewed for» many years after, is a 
 mystery in nature which remains yet unfolded. But 
 the fact is unquestionable. A sound, made by the 
 
278 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 MEMORY A SINGULAR FACULTY. 
 
 vibration of the string of a musical instrument, falling 
 on the tympanum of the ear, makes such an impres- 
 sion on the mind as to be distinctly recollected for a 
 long time afterwards. A fact related, will be remem- 
 bered in all its various circumstances, as to the person 
 who told it, the place, the company present, the 
 voice and cadence of the speaker, his looks, the 
 impression which it made on the mind, the kind of 
 feeling it produced, and a thousand other little cir- 
 cumstances, for half a century. An object that 1s 
 seen is instantly portrayed on the mind in its appa- 
 rent magnitude, its shape, its position, its colour, its 
 component parts, &c. so as hardly ever to be forgotten. 
 And it greatly increases our astonishment when we 
 consider, that thousands of objects and subjects may 
 crowd upon the mind in the most rapid succession, 
 for many years, and yet, a person possessed of a 
 retentive memory will take a minute retrospect of his 
 life, and recall almost every thing of which he had 
 obtained an accurate idea at the time, and which had 
 taken place in the ‘compass of a life of seventy or 
 eighty years. Some persons, after reading a book, 
 or hearing a long and argumentative oration, or 
 listening to a great number of speakers, will reca- 
 pitulate not only almost every thought, but nearly 
 every word. 
 
 We cannot conceive how mind could have been 
 formed by the Creator without this power, so as to 
 answer either the purposes of the Creator himself, or 
 the ends of human existence. What would be a 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 279 
 
 THE JUDGMENT. 
 
 compensation for its absence? Imagine the most 
 learned man that exists to be deprived instantaneously 
 of his memory, and the same moment you would see 
 him reduced to absolute infancy as to the state of his 
 mind. Such instances have actually occurred, in 
 which the mind has been bereft by disease of its 
 power of recollection, and the same mental vacuity 
 has been observed as exists in the new-born babe. 
 While an attention to this truth should excite in our 
 hearts the most lively gratitude to God for the 
 bestowment of a faculty of so vast importance to 
 mental cultivation, and the pleasure of mental employ- 
 ments, it should inspire us with a deep conviction of 
 our dependence on Him for its continuance and pre- 
 servation. He who has bestowed it, can as easily 
 take it away. 
 
 Mind possesses a third power, which we denomi- 
 nate the JupGmMENT. It is by this that we associate 
 two or more of the ideas or notions which we have 
 obtained, and by comparing them with each other, 
 deduce a certain conclusion. ‘To illustrate this state- 
 ment.—If we would determine whether it is proper 
 that we should take a certain journey, we bring under 
 our view the circumstances in which we are placed, 
 the object we propose to accomplish by it, the nature 
 of the journey itself, the expenses of travelling, the 
 dangers attending it, the means of safety, &c.; and by 
 comparing them with each other, and considering 
 them in thejr mautual connexion, we come to a con- 
 clusion as to the propriety or impropriety of taking it. 
 
286 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 In this case we are said to exercise our judgment. 
 This is, in fact, a process of reasoning. 
 
 _ The judgment depends on the knowledge de- 
 posited in the understanding, and the accuracy and 
 facility of recollection, for the propriety of its ‘de- 
 cisions. If the understanding be furnished with 
 false or erroneous ideas and conceptions, such will 
 be the materials that the memory will supply from 
 which to form a decision; it will follow of course, 
 that our judgment will mislead us. © If the premises 
 be false, however correct: our reasonings and deduc- 
 tions from. these premises, the conclusions ‘will be 
 false too. If, for example, I am informed that a 
 certain poison is wholesome food, I eat it under this 
 supposition, and judge that it will afford me support 
 as other wholesome diet does; and my.error is my 
 destruction. On the other hand, had my under- 
 standing been accurately informed, and I had known 
 that this substance was poison, I should have rejected 
 it with horror. As it is necessary that we should 
 have ¢rue ideas in our minds in order that we may 
 form an accurate judgment, so the correctness of our 
 judgment will depend on the extent and accuracy of 
 our information. If it be known that our minds ‘are 
 ill-informed on the subject on which we ofter our 
 judgment or opinion, it will be treated with indifte- 
 rence, though it should happen to be right, because it 
 is more likely to be wrong... On the other hand, if we 
 have made any given subject that of our attention,— 
 if our minds are well acquainted with it in its nature; 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 281 
 
 ——ooIIIIeeeeooooooleleEeee—=E—eee—eeEeeeeeeEeEe——eEeEe 
 a aa NR aT RM aa oer re a 
 IMPORTANCE OF THE JUDGMENT. 
 
 its bearings, and its connexions, — our opinion will 
 be treated with deference, if it be not considered an 
 authority. 
 
 In conducting a process of reasoning which issues 
 in a judgment or decision, it requires the exercise of 
 the memory to bring forward the stores of the mind: 
 for as no man can reason on any subject unless he 
 possesses some ideas respecting it, so these ideas can 
 be of no service unless they are present to the mind at 
 the proper moment when they are wanted. If, there- 
 fore, the memory be prompt and faithful in bringing 
 forward the appropriate ideas as they are required, the 
 mind reasons well, and is accurate in its decisions. 
 Hence it follows, that, as a sound judgment is of the 
 utmost importance in all the concerns of life, and 
 as extensive knowledge and a correct and vigorous 
 memory are of essential necessity in order to it, it is 
 the. bounden: duty, as well as the interest; of every 
 individual: to cultivate both these attainments, as far 
 as time and opportunity will allow. 
 
 This faculty is of the utmost importance in all 
 the concerns of rational and intelligent creatures. 
 ‘No man is placed in such a situation as to render 
 the exercise of his judgment unnecessary. Without 
 it, man is a iere idiot. In every concern of life, 
 in every rank of society, from the lowest labourer 
 and. mechanic, to the statesman and warrior, this 
 power is of indispensable moment. As man is a 
 social being, and, on account of his connexion with 
 other beings, owes them various duties; we ought 
 
282 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 ' THE WILL. 
 
 greatly to admire the wisdom of God in endowing 
 his mind with a faculty so admirably adapted to 
 all his necessities and obligations. Man is but an 
 impotent being. He can do little, comparatively, 
 by the direct exertion of his corporeal energies ; yet, 
 by the aids of his. judgment and inventive powers, 
 he can accomplish wonders. Apparent accident has 
 started a vast variety of important principles; but 
 it is by the aids of the human judgment that these 
 principles have been combined and improved—that 
 the mechanical powers have been formed and applied 
 to the useful purposes of life, by which feeble man 
 possesses a strength and an importance a thousand 
 times beyond what he would otherwise have attained. 
 
 I shall, in the next place, consider the Human 
 Wityt. Locke and Epwarps, the. most eminent 
 authors who have written on metaphysical subjects, 
 define the will to be, that faculty ofthe soul by 
 which it is capable of cHoostnG :—an act of the 
 WILL is the same as an act of choosing or choice. 
 Man, without this,: would be only a motionless and 
 useless machine: however well made for a variety 
 ‘of purposes, he would never attempt any thing but 
 as he is impelled by some external agent.—Deprive 
 him of this self-governing principle, and man can 
 be no longer regarded as an accountable being, or 
 a being of importance in the moral government of 
 God. 
 
 The operations of the will are determined by 
 the understanding. What the understanding views 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 283 
 ee 
 THE WILL CONNECTED WITH MUSCULAR POWER. 
 
 —————eee ESE 
 
 as good and suitable, the will chooses —what it 
 regards as evil, and prejudicial to our interests, the 
 will rejects. This truth furnishes a conclusion of the 
 utmost moment; it is this:—That a well-informed 
 understanding, enriched with knowledge, clear and 
 accurate in its perceptions, and free from error in 
 the general concerns of time and of eternity, is what 
 all mankind should most ardently seek; for an 
 error in the understanding will be followed by an 
 error in our choice, which may issue in results 
 unutterably tremendous. 
 
 This faculty seems to have an immediate con- 
 nexion with the cause of muscular motion in the 
 animal creation, so far as that motion is voluntary, 
 or at the control of the animal. Whatever actions 
 the understanding judges beneficial to be performed, 
 the will immediately carries its convictions into effect 
 by stimulating the nervous system, and thus pro- 
 ducing muscular motion, and the actions desired. 
 The virst motions are not subject to the govern- 
 ment of the will,—such as the circulation of 
 the blood,’ and respiration ;—these actions con- 
 _ tinue, whether we will or not. He who gave 
 them has alone a right to suspend them. But 
 all the muscular motions of the limbs, and those 
 organs of the body which have a relation to the 
 duties of life, a discharge of which is involved in 
 our responsibility to God, are under the government 
 of the wit1. This is a fact which well deserves 
 our consideration, © 
 
984 | INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE WILL. 
 
 Were we to reflect attentively on the activity 
 of this power of the mind, we should be filled 
 with constant surprise. We should regard as its 
 effects every motion of the head, and the lips, 
 and the eye-lids; every action of the hands and 
 the fingers:—it communicates motion to the fingers 
 that hold the pen with which I am writing, and 
 directs that motion too, under all its variety ’ of 
 inflections observable in the shape of the’ letters 
 which I make:—it actuates the various muscles 
 which are called into exercise in looking, speaking, 
 and walking—it influences my every action. To 
 the Will is intrusted the executive government of 
 this microcosm—for such is man; a world in minia- 
 ture. With what amazing velocity and energy does 
 it act! With what astonishing promptitude does 
 it obey the dictates of the understanding, and with 
 what celerity does it transmit its decisions to every, 
 even the remotest corner of its dominions! Its 
 energies are always in unison with what is deemed 
 necessary in regard to the strength to be exerted. 
 Whether the hands have to raise’ a pound ‘or ‘a 
 hundred weight, the impulse which the will gives to 
 the muscles to be employed is in that proportion. 
 Is some danger perceived ‘at hand?—with what 
 activity do we attempt to escape it. ‘Is a blessing to 
 be secured :—with what readiness do -we grasp. it. 
 So far as it has to do with mental operations, it 
 discovers equal vivacity. If in the course of the 
 investigations of its own stores, th® mind detects a 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. ‘‘ 285 - 
 
 MAN A FREE AGENT. 
 
 sentiment of an obnoxious tendency, the will spurns 
 it; and, on the other hand, what is perceived to be 
 adapted to our good, it as tenaciously maintains. 
 Every man is a free agent; that is, he is at 
 ‘perfect liberty to do, or not to do, that. which 
 APPEARS TO HIM the best. ‘This is essentially ne- 
 cessary to his responsibility for his actions. Nothing 
 could be more absurd than to make a being account- 
 able for actions which he is compelled to perform, or 
 reward him for actions which he performs from a 
 necessity of nature. Hence, no man is punishable, 
 either by the laws of God or of man, for those 
 crimes which he is compelled to.commit, or _re- 
 wardable for those good deeds which he is neces- 
 sitated to do, contrary to his will. This freedom 
 extends as well to the concerns of religion, as to 
 actions of a civil nature—in both we are free to 
 ~ choose, or to reject, that which appears to us good or 
 evil.—All the operations of the will are determined 
 by the dictates of ‘the understanding: if any man be 
 asked, Why. did you will to do so, or so?—he 
 replies, Because I preferred it.— While I maintain 
 these. principles, I by no means intend. to insinuate 
 that any fallen sinner will choose that which is 
 spiritually and morally good in the sight of God,. 
 independently of a divine agency. Lett to, himself, 
 ‘depraved man will reject that which is spiritually 
 good, and choose that which is in unison with his 
 sinful nature; but he does both freely—he feels no 
 compulsion. Such is the blindness of his heart, that. 
 
286 * INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE CONSCIENCE. 
 
 he sees nothmg im divine things which determines 
 his choice in their favour; but, on the other hand, 
 imagines he discovers, in the sinful objects of his 
 preference, that which will conduce to his happiness. 
 
 It is true, that man in his sinful state is destitute 
 of a perceptive power in his understanding which 
 biases him in favour of those objects which are holy, 
 and which belong to his salvation; but this defect is 
 his crime. Man originally possessed a spiritual illu- 
 mination whereby he was as much prepossessed in his 
 understanding, and consequently disposed in his will, 
 towards that which is good, as he is now in favour of 
 that which is evil. But this he lost by his voluntary 
 apostacy; hence his spiritual blindness is his crime 
 and not his excuse. ‘That economy of salvation which 
 God has devised, and made known in the gospel, is 
 adapted to the nature of the human mind, as well as 
 to the moral state of man as a sinner. It is an eco- 
 nomy of light. God has granted a revelation which is 
 calculated to illuminate the mind; and he has pro- 
 mised a divine agency to render it efficient. When 
 by the worc and spirit of God, the dark soul is irra- 
 diated to perceive the divine excellency of spiritual 
 things, the will as freely makes choice of a Saviour, as 
 it before set him at nought. Still, man is free. The 
 religion of the gospel is in perfect unison with: all the 
 principles of free agency. 
 
 I shall now notice the Conscience. In com- 
 mor language we speak of the conscience in distinction 
 from the judgment, though, metaphysically speaking, 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. : 287 
 
 NECESSITY OF A DIVINE REVELATION. 
 
 they are the same thing. However, by judgment, 
 we mean that power of the mind by which.we form 
 our estimate of things in general; and by conscience, 
 we mean the estimate which we form of ourselves in 
 particular. LocKxe defines conscience to be “our 
 own opinion or judgment of the moral rectitude or 
 purity of our own actions.” The accuracy of its 
 operations depends, like the judgment, on the extent 
 and accuracy of our knowledge. Though there 
 may be an innate principle left in man, which, in 
 the general, will discriminate between right and 
 wrong; yet nothing is more obvious than that it is 
 liable to be greatly misled by education and habit: 
 for what in one country is obnoxious to the dictates 
 of conscience, in another appears even right. This 
 infers the necessity of a divine revelation which 
 shall contain an exhibition of the principles of 
 moral rectitude, derived immediately from the mind 
 of God. His will must necessarily be right in all 
 things; and as divine revelation must be in unison 
 with this will in all its prohibitions and injunctions, 
 it forms a criterion to which every nation may 
 appeal, and every action may be brought. So far 
 as our actions accord with it, they »ust be right; 
 so far as they deviate, they must be wrong. Such 
 a revelation must continue unalterably the same in 
 all ages; for what God declares to be morally right 
 or wrong at one period, will be so at every period: 
 what it reveals as being just or unjust in one charac- 
 ter, must be so in every character. It cannot be, like 
 
288 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 REVELATION RECTIFIES THE ERRORS OF CONSCIENCE, 
 
 the conscience of a fallen sinner, mutable and liable 
 to be corrupted. A merciful God HAs granted this 
 revelation. On examining it, we find that it con- 
 tains the principles of eternal truth. No advance- 
 ment in man towards a superior state of being, can 
 endanger its principles: they are recognized in 
 heaven among the angels of God, and the spirits 
 of the just made perfect. ‘This book is adapted to 
 universal circulation; it is applicable to the bar- 
 barian and the civilized. Wherever it is received, it 
 produces a unifermity of sentiment and conviction 
 with respect to all the grand principles of equity; 
 and these principles, it is obvious, are those of 
 reason, of justice, of truth, and of benevolence. 
 However depraved the conscience may be, there is 
 something still remaining which justifies all the moral 
 claims and prohibitions of the word of God. What 
 ~ is enjoined there which any man can say he cannot 
 conscientiously perform ? 
 
 As it is one important object of this revelation 
 to rectify the errors of conscience, by enlightening 
 the human understanding, and furnishing infallible | 
 data to aid our reasonings, how important is it that 
 it should be universally diffused, and. that the educa- 
 tion of every human being should be conducted on 
 its principles.-—So far as its maxims are written on 
 the heart, men learn to do to others whatsoever they 
 would that others should do unto them — justice 
 triumphs over dishonesty—and happiness takes the 
 place of misery. 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS: 989° 
 ; THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE, | 
 ee eR A Peele 
 ~The power of conscience is astonishing. Many 
 instances might be adduced to illustrate its invincible 
 energies. I need mention but a few; some are 
 selected from the Scriptures, others are furnished 
 by profane history.—It was conscience which told 
 Adam that -he was naked and guilty, and which 
 induced him to attempt to hide himself from. the 
 presence of God:—which filled Cain with horror 
 and despair while he heard his brother's blood 
 crying against him:—which made David agonize 
 when Nathan said, “Thou art the man:’—which 
 drove those from the Redeemer’s presence who had 
 criminated the woman taken in adultery :—which 
 filled Judas Iscariot with such horror and anguish, 
 that, no longer able to endure his own existence, 
 he went and hanged himself :—which obliged Herod, 
 that fox, to justify the preaching of John, though 
 it condemned his own impious conduct:—and_ it 
 was this which made Felix to tremble while he was 
 hearing Paul reason of righteousness, temperance, 
 and judgment to come. It is the office of con- 
 science to commend the truth, as well as to reproach 
 for crime. | | 
 Profane history supplies various instances illus- 
 trative of the power of conscience.—The inhabitants 
 of a certain town offered Marshal de Turenne one 
 hundred thousand. crowns upon condition that he 
 would take another road, and not march his troops 
 their way. He answered them, “As your town is 
 not in the road I intend to march, I cannot accept 
 U 
 
290 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 EEE 
 INSTANCES OF THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE, 
 
 the money you offer me.’—The Earl of Derby, in 
 the reign of Edward the Third, making a descent in 
 Guienne, carried by storm the town of Bergerac, and 
 gave it up to be plundered. A Welch knight found 
 in the receiver's office so great a quantity of money, 
 that he thought himself obliged to acquaint his 
 general with it, imagining that so much money 
 naturally belonged to him. But he was agreeably 
 surprised, when the earl told him with a cheerful 
 countenance, that he wished him joy of his good 
 fortune, and that he did not make the keeping of his 
 word to depend upon the great or the little value of the 
 thing which he promised.—In the siege of Falisci, by 
 Camillus, a Roman general, the schoolmaster of the 
 town, who had the children of the senators under his 
 care, led them abroad under the pretext of recreation, 
 and carried them to the Roman camp, saying to 
 Camillus, that by this artifice he had delivered Falisci 
 into his hands. Camillus, abhorring this treachery, 
 observed, ‘‘ That there were laws as well for war 
 as for peace; and that the Romans were taught to 
 make war with integrity no less than with courage.” 
 He ordered the schoolmaster to be stripped, his hands 
 to be bound behind his back, and to be delivered to 
 the boys to be lashed back into the town. ‘The 
 Falerians, formerly obstinate in resistance, struck 
 with an act of justice so illustrious, delivered them- 
 selves up to the Romans, convinced that it would 
 be far better to have the Romans for their allies than 
 their enemies.—A jeweller, of good character and 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 291 
 
 CONSCIENCE RETAINS MUCH POWER. _ 
 a 
 great wealth, was murdered by his servant, while on 
 his journey, who escaped with a vast property which 
 he thus obtained, and fled into a distant part where 
 he was not known. He began to trade in a low way 
 at first, but gradually enlarged, and succeeded so 
 well as to acquire importance in the town where he 
 lived ; and rising from one office to another, he was 
 at length chosen to be the chief magistrate. Here 
 he continued to fill his office with much credit, till 
 one day he had to try a criminal who was accused 
 of murdering his master. The prisoner was found 
 guilty. The judge appeared much agitated, and to 
 the great astonishment of the assembly, he came from 
 the bench and placed himself by the wretch at the 
 bar, and confessing his own guilt, said, “ Nor can I 
 feel any relief from the agonies of an awakened 
 conscience, but by requiring that Justice be forthwith 
 done against me in the most public, and the most 
 solemn manner.” Sentence was passed upon him by 
 his fellow judges, and he was accordingly executed.* . 
 
 As man is formed for society, but awfully prone to 
 various evils, the wisdom of his Creator is remarkably 
 apparent in implanting in his bosom this inextinguish- 
 able principle; and notwithstanding the dreadful 
 consequences resulting from the apostacy of our 
 first_parents, it retains much of its original vigour. 
 How much it has lost by sin, we cannot say,—nor 
 how much it retains, though the instances which I 
 pe nih Sea 
 
 “See Encyclop. Brit—the word Conscience. 
 
 u 2 
 
992 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 Mee Akeley ee 
 
 “THE RESTRAINTS OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 z= 
 
 have mentioned, show that it possesses great power. 
 Of all the faculties of the mind (if it may be called 
 a faculty), this is one of the most important.— 
 Wretched as this world is, how much more so would 
 it be, were it not for the operations of conscience. 
 Hurried on by the mad impetuosity of sin, men per- 
 petrate innumerable horrid crimes; but how many 
 more would disgrace human nature, and injure 
 society, were they not prevented by this silent 
 monitor! Imagine that for one day the Creator 
 were to forbid its exercise, and leave mankind free 
 from its restraints. This world would become an 
 Aceldama—a field of blood. It is this which, un- 
 observed, works in the human mind, urging to the 
 discharge of known duty, and preventing known 
 evil :—which teaches future circumspection, by chas- 
 tising for past offences :—which points out the line 
 of equity, and withholds from acts of injustice :— 
 which forbids the sinner to find repose but in the en- 
 joyment of the supreme good :—and which either admi- 
 nisters satisfaction’ on a recurrence to what has been 
 done pleasing in the sight of God, or inflicts punish - 
 ment for known delinquency. Its operations are 
 at once of unutterable moment to its possessor— 
 to those with whom we are more immediately con- 
 nected in the affairs of life—and to society at 
 large. iy 
 
 In this brief description of the faculties or powers 
 of the human mind, I have not so much followed 
 the order dictated by metaphysical propriety, as that 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 293 
 eee or 
 
 THE PASSIONS. 
 
 ~~~ 
 
 view of the subject which obtains in common life, 
 Dr. Reid observes, that “the powers of the human 
 mind are so many, so various, and so connected and 
 complicated in most of its operations, that there never 
 has been any division of them proposed which is 
 not liable to considerable objections.” He then 
 proposes to consider them under a two-fold division ; 
 that is, the powers of the UNDERSTANDING, and 
 those of the winx. ‘Under the witt,” says he, 
 ““we comprehend our active powers, and all that 
 Jead to action, or influence the mind to act; such 
 as appetites, passions, affections. The unprEr- 
 STANDING comprehends our contemplative powers, 
 by which we perceive objects ; by which we conceive 
 or remember them; by which we analyse or com- 
 pound them; and by which we judge and reason 
 concerning them.” 3 
 
 THE PASSIONS. 
 
 I shall now proceed ¢o state the nature of the 
 PASSIONS.—By the Passions we mean _ those 
 effects which follow from the mind’s being agitated 
 by any cause, either external or internal. If, for 
 instance, an. object present itself, which appears to 
 us suitable to promote our happiness, the mind is 
 affected by it, and feels a DxEsiReE to obtain it: or 
 if an object is exhibited, which is of an opposite 
 nature, deformed and unsuitable, the mind is equally 
 affected, and it feels AVERSION: now this desire and 
 aversion. are passions or affections of the mind. As 
 
294 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF THE PASSIONS. 
 
 the soul is exceedingly sensible and susceptible of im- 
 pression from every thing which affects the organs of 
 the body, and as these objects are very different in 
 their natures and appearances, the passions which 
 are excited by them are many and diversified; but 
 they are of vast moment to man, and may be con- 
 ducive to his happiness and safety, or instrumental 
 in his punishment and misery. The wisdom of God 
 is strikingly manifested in endowing the soul with 
 such properties as the passions. Without them, 
 man would have been but a dull, insipid, and almost 
 inactive being: though he might have possessed a 
 capacity for thought and action, yet he would have 
 had no energy to employ that capacity. Some minds 
 are much more susceptible than others, either from 
 an original difference in their constitution, or in con- 
 sequence of their union with bodies of a less or 
 greater delicacy or vigour of organization. One 
 person will contemplate an object with apathy and 
 indifference, while that same object will throw all 
 the passions of another into the most violent agita- 
 tion, and arouse him to the greatest energy. ‘Lhis 
 constitutional difference is wisely adapted by the 
 Creator to the general good of society. 
 
 The passions of the human mind are so many and 
 diversified, that metaphysicians have been at a loss 
 to enumerate them, and give them a philosophical 
 classification. As all the faculties of the mind may 
 be reduced to two—speculation, such as the under- 
 standing; and action, as the will—so the passions 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. | 295 
 
 LOVE—HATRED. 
 
 may be arranged under two denominations—LovEe 
 and HATRED. Under the influence of them, we 
 seek to obtain that which seems beneficial, aud to 
 escape from that which appears injurious. 
 
 Love is that passion or affection of the mind 
 which is excited by such objects as seem to us 
 suitable to our circumstances, or adapted to our 
 happiness: it is as impossible not to love such 
 objects, as it is to love those which appear obnoxious. 
 Under this passion we may place pEsrre, which the. 
 soul feels to obtain what appears good: HOPE, 
 which is felt under the view of realizing the object of 
 love : Joy, which ts elicited by the possession of what 
 is good: sorrow, which is produced by the absence 
 of the object of love: presparr, which follows acon- 
 viction that the object of love cannot be obtained.— 
 All the socrat affections, those which fit man for the 
 pleasures of social life, may be considered as modi- 
 fications of love, or springing from this root. To 
 these belongs that natural affection which parents 
 and children feel towards each other; gratitude for 
 those favours which we receive from each other; 
 pity and compassion towards the distressed ; esteem 
 for the good and the wise; friendship ; public spirit. 
 
 Besides those passions which arrange themselves 
 under the denomination of /ove, there are others 
 which come under that of HATRED. As under the 
 influence of the former we endeavour to obtain 
 what appears to us adapted to our happiness, so, 
 under the operations of this, we attempt to shun 
 
296 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE PASSIONS CREATED WITH MAN. 
 
 whatever seems pernicious and injurious. Taken 
 in this general meaning, the term hatred is not used 
 in a’ bad sense, as denoting any malignant. passion, 
 the influence of which would prompt us. to. commit 
 any act injurious to another. ‘This class of passions 
 is as natural to man, and as necessary to his existence, 
 as the former. It is the opposite of that which I 
 have already described. When we feel this passion, 
 it implies a perception of the mind that the object to 
 which it refers would be injurious. As belonging to 
 this, we. may mention disgust, or that modification 
 of hatred which we feel towards any thing that seems 
 to us highly displeasing: antipathy, which we feel 
 towards an object whose nature appears contrary to 
 our prevailing dispositions : fear, which is felt when 
 any thing threatens us with injury. To these might 
 be added several others. They were con-created with 
 the human being, and are essential to that law of self- 
 preservation which was interwoven into his nature. 
 They are excited by such objects only as either are 
 prejudicial to us, or appear to be so; and under their 
 operations we as naturally endeavour to avoid things 
 hurtful to us, as we perceive them .to be of this nature. 
 
 _ Besides those passions which are essential to man, 
 and whose existence discovers the intelligence of the 
 Creator, there are others so malignant in their nature 
 and operation, that they cannot be resolved into any 
 cause but that which has occasioned our ruin, degra- 
 dation, and disgrace ;—I mean moral evil. It. is the . 
 depravity of our nature, consequent on transgression, 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. | 2907 
 
 THE WISDOM OF GOD IN BESTOWING THE PASSIONS. 
 
 that gives birth to pride, malice, envy, revenge, 
 Jealousy, &c. in whose aspect we perceive the detest- 
 able source whence they spring, and whose operation 
 on the individual and on society is as injurious as 
 their nature is abominable. 
 
 In order to see the wisdom of God in bestowing 
 these passions upon the human being, imagine first 
 their ABSENCE, and then. contemplate the effects 
 resulting from their PRESENCE and influence. 
 
 Let us suppose, for a moment, that any human 
 being were destitute of these affections, either by a 
 radical defect in his original constitution, or was bereft 
 of them by some singular calamity ;—and he would 
 instantly lose almost every thing which rendered him 
 interesting and important. He would be a mere 
 cipher, and as much a stranger to happiness, as he 
 would be unfit for energy in action. He might be 
 capable of contemplating a lovely object, but it 
 would be with cold apathy and total indifference ;—he 
 would feel no warm and glowing emotions towards it, 
 and consequently he would use no vigorous exertions 
 to make it his own.  Destitute of Jove, he would be a 
 stranger to the finest feelings with which a rational 
 being is acquainted: destitute of hope, he would 
 know nothing of that pleasure which arises from 
 the anticipation of a future good, to which we are 
 so highly indebted in a world of sorrow and of woe: 
 destitute of friendship and of public spirit, he would 
 - be an isolated and useless individual, who would 
 be as indifferent respecting others, as they would be 
 
298 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF THE PASSIONS. 
 
 regardless of him: destitute of desire, he would be 
 incapable of that enterprize which is essential to a 
 great action, in évery capacity or situation. I say, 
 suppose man destitute of these and the other passions 
 which I have mentioned, and you behold a mere 
 reasoning, thinking statue, as much a stranger to 
 happiness in himself, as he would be incapable of 
 the duties of social life. But this supposition is 
 chimerical. The affections are always associated 
 with reason. ‘This alliance is a law of our nature 
 which knows of no exception. They are not indeed 
 always equally energetic and refined, but in a less or 
 vreater degree they are enjoyed by all. 
 
 The effects resulting from the influence of the 
 passions on the character and actions of man, are 
 most striking and important. Sometimes, indeed, 
 they have led captive his reason, and precipitated 
 him into crimes shocking to humanity and disgrace- 
 ful to man. But when strong affections have been 
 under the direction of an enlightened understanding 
 and a correct judgment, men have achieved won- 
 ders; and we hardly know which to admire most, the 
 wisdom and bevevolence of their schemes, or the 
 energy and perseverance with which they have 
 executed them. All have heard, or read, of the sur- 
 prising energies which some persons have discovered, 
 and the hardships they have endured, in order to 
 obtain the object of their affection. Hope of future 
 good is the main-spring which puts all in motion in 
 this lower world. ‘That passion which we call 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 299 
 
 CO RS A RT ER UTNE ETT 
 RELATION WHICH THE PASSIONS BEAR TO THE CORPOREAL SENSES, 
 
 patriotism, or the love of our country, has enabled 
 men to forsake their homes, their friends, and their 
 dearest comforts, to risk the greatest sufferings,—nay, 
 their lives also, for the sake of promoting its good. 
 History furnishes innumerable facts illustrative of 
 the influence of the passions over human actions, and 
 their importance to man, considered as a social being, 
 Happy world, had it never defiled these essential 
 principles of the nature of man, nor given them a 
 direction contrary to his reason, to the felicity of his 
 species, and the will of his Creator ! 
 
 THE RELATION OF THE POWERS AND PASSIONS OF THE. 
 MIND TO THE CORPOREAL SENSES. 
 
 The organic structure of the five senses with 
 which we are endowed, has been already described. 
 Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling, have 
 an obvious relation to some further design. Their 
 respective nerves meet in a common point in the 
 brain, or sensorium, where, being united to the mind 
 in some manner, to us inexplicable, they convey to it 
 the ideas or images of external objects. It is not 
 my province to enter into the controversy, whether 
 the soul obtain all its ideas through the medium of 
 the five senses, or whether it might have obtained 
 any ideas without them. This is sufficiently evident, 
 that we are not conscious of possessing any other 
 ideas, or any knowledge, except what we obtain by 
 
300 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED THROUGH THE SENSES, 
 
 oe 
 
 them. There can be no doubt that all the senses 
 are equally well adapted to convey to the mind ideas 
 of the objects to which they relate; but in the 
 organization of the eye, we perceive the most evident 
 mechanical structure to convey the pictures of 
 external bodies to the brain. It admits of demon- 
 stration, that the form and colour and position of 
 the objects which we look at are distinctly delineated 
 on the retina; and it is equally certain that what is 
 called the retina, is composed of minute branches 
 of the optic. nerve spread over the back chamber of 
 the eye, and that the nerve from which they branch, 
 goes immediately to the sensorium. Now what can 
 be the final cause of this singular arrangement, if it 
 is not to aid the perceptions of the mind? 
 
 As mind is that which alone possesses intelligence, 
 which can think, and reason, and judge what is 
 proper to be done, it is necessary that the body 
 should be under its influence and direction ;—and as 
 the nature of its actions must be determined by 
 external circumstances, it is of essential importance 
 that the soul should be made acquainted with them, — 
 in order to shun that which is obnoxious, and to 
 pursue what is beneficial. The senses are granted to 
 meet this necessity, and they form the medium of 
 connexion between the external object and_ the inter- 
 nal perceptions of the mind.—~It is through them 
 that the understanding obtains all its stores of 
 knowledge, and all its materials for reflection and 
 judgment ; by which the volitions of the will are 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. Sok 
 
 HOW THE PASSIONS ARE AFFECTED BY THE SENSES. 
 
 determined, and the passions of love or hatred, or 
 their respective modifications, are excited. Not 
 only is the nature of our actions determined by this 
 means, but also the degree of energy which we throw 
 into them. Objects or circumstances possess diffe- 
 rent degrees of importance, in proportion to which, 
 in general, they impress the senses, and consequently 
 produce a correspondent sensation on the mind, and 
 all its powers and affections. The strength of the 
 impression which a given object produces on various | 
 characters, though viewed in the same point of light, 
 is very different. For instance—the same landscape 
 contemplated by two persons, will produce no_sin- 
 sular emotions in the one, while it fills the soul of 
 the other with inexpressible delight. This may be 
 owing, as well to a difference in the degree of deli- 
 cacy in the organization of the eye, as to a different 
 conformation of the mind—probably it is chiefly 
 owing to the latter. 
 
 This relationship will appear still, more evident, 
 if we consider, that it is by means of the corporeal 
 senses that we either endure sufferings, or enjoy 
 pleasure: for the same organic medium may be sub- 
 servient to both. By the eye, the indescribable 
 beauties of nature afford to the mind a correspondent 
 delight—or disgusting objects produce horror and 
 dread. By the ear, harmonious sounds are propa- 
 pagated to the soul, and produce that pleasurable 
 elevation to which few, if any, are strangers, who 
 have ever listened to vocal or instrumental music ; 
 
302 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE LOSS OF THE ORGANS OF SENSATION. 
 
 and by the same organ, sounds so discordant may be 
 communicated, as to fill us with unutterable pain and 
 anguish. The organs of taste and smELt are so 
 delicate, that the one affords remarkable pleasure by 
 being sensible to the fine efuvia which are constantly 
 emitted from odoriferous and balsamic substances, 
 while the other enjoys the essential properties which are 
 exposed to the nerves of the tongue and palate during 
 the mastication of food. The Author of N ature has 
 so abundantly enriched all the substances destined for 
 nourishment with pleasurable qualities, that those in 
 which we discover no such qualities we reject as per- 
 nicious. Every one knows that the same senses may 
 be the medium of as much pain. And what are these 
 pleasures and pains, but internal perceptions and 
 feelings communicated by the senses? I do not deny 
 that the body derives a degree of pleasure or pain 
 by these means; but the most powerful perceptions 
 are those which are mental. 
 
 If only one of these avenues to the mind is closed, 
 what an extensive range of ideas is precluded! Were 
 they all to be rendered useless, the human being 
 would lose at once all his enjoyments and_ his 
 importance. <A soul shut up in such a body would 
 be debarred from all the felicities of this life, and 
 could be happy in immediate communion with the 
 Deity only, who must resort to other methods of 
 making him so than those which he has established 
 for promoting the felicity of his rational creatures by 
 external objects and the natural senses, 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 303 
 
 ee ne ne SS 3 5 SR SN SE NSE ANCE EN DE AA ET PET FETE 
 THE HEBREW LANGUAGE FIGURATIVE. 
 
 Besides this visible and material order of things, 
 there is a spiritual and invisible world, a knowledge 
 of which can be obtained only by means of sensible 
 objects. By mere abstract reasoning conducted in 
 unfigurative language, the human mind can obtain 
 no ideas of spiritual and moral truths. Every object 
 in nature is most probably intended by the infinitely 
 wise Creator, to be a representation of something in 
 the spiritual world. The Author of our being so 
 constructed the language which he first gave to man, 
 that every word referred to some sensible object; 
 hence the whole of that language is entirely figurative. 
 I allude to the Hebrew, which was the first language 
 that was spoken; and which, unlike the arbitrary 
 dialects of modern times, is wholly a language of 
 ideas. Divine revelation is full of figures, and allusions 
 to nature. As the holy Penmen wrote under the im- 
 mediate direction of God, they make abundant use of 
 his works to convey to man moral and spiritual ideas 
 of infinite importance to his well-being. The Most 
 High knows the best uses of his own works; and 
 while they are subservient to a variety of inferior ends, 
 it is obvious that he means them to proclaim his own 
 eternal power and godhead, and his adorable perfec- 
 tions of knowledge, wisdom, and goodness. The 
 glories of heaven, and the punishments. which await 
 the ungodly, are exhibited in figures and parables. 
 
 Taking so extensive a view of nature as _ this, 
 what a display of the wisdom of the Creator does it 
 afford! But what were all this vast fabric, had not 
 
304 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 THE POWERS OF THE SOUL ADAPTED TO RELIGION. 
 
 — OO 
 
 man been endowed with powers which enable him to 
 receive the instructions which it conveys? And of 
 what use were our senses, if they had no connexion 
 with the mind? Itis from this connexion and mutual 
 relation, that all the powers and passions of the soul 
 derive their most important advantages. It it thus 
 that each sense becomes the medium of innumerable 
 ideas. 
 
 PLIGG ILOD 
 
 THE POWERS AND AFFECTIONS OF THE SOUL ARE ADAPTED 
 TO RELIGIOUS EXERCISES, AND A FUTURE STATE OF 
 BEING. 
 
 Man has been defined a religious animal. This 
 definition does not apply to him because he has any 
 natural propensities to that pure religion which God 
 has revealed in his word:—for as an apostate creature, 
 and wholly sinful, he is entirely averse to it; but 
 because his conscience dictates the necessity of a 
 religion of some kind, and his natural powers and 
 affections are highly suited to such rational employ- 
 ments as religion enjoins. 
 
 By religion is meant a discharge of those moral and 
 spiritual duties which the Supreme Intelligence pre- 
 scribes. And though it must ever be highly beneficial 
 to society in its operations and effects, it is a concern 
 which lies principally between the accountable crea- 
 ture and his Supreme Judge. The religion which 
 God prescribes must be in unison with his own per- 
 fections, and therefore consistent with every principle 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS, | 305 
 
 : CHRISTIANITY REVEALS IMPORTANT TRUTHS. 
 EN 
 of justice, of reason, of goodness, and of truth. It 
 may contain what.is mysterious to us, that is, beyond 
 the capacity of finite minds to comprehend, and yet 
 be not at all contradictory to reason. For mysteries 
 in religion no more infer the conclusion, that. the 
 religion which contains them is not from God, than 
 . the mysteries in the works of nature prove that he 
 is not their author. He is equally the author of both ; 
 and both contain undeniable evidences of his inscru- 
 table intelligence.—It may be further remarked, that 
 if God prescribe a religion to his creatures, it will be 
 such as is adapted to their capacities and happiness ; 
 to suppose the contrar y, would be virtually to throw 
 a stigma on the divine character of the most serious 
 nature; it would be, in fact, to charge him with 
 injustice and cruelty. I take it for granted, that the 
 Scriptures of the Old and New Testament contain a 
 discovery of this religion: let us inquire whether the 
 powers and passions of the human mind are adapted 
 to its requirements. 
 
 Christianity, for this is the religion of the Sacred 
 Scriptures, makes a discovery of the most important 
 truths. We can hardly tell which to admire most, 
 their sublimity or their suitableness ; their novelty: or 
 their variety; their-purity or their pereheal tendency ; 
 their simplicity or their energy. What can we con- 
 ceive more suited to the human UNDERSTANDING ? 
 Or how can we ‘imagine that faculty to: be better 
 employed than in enriching itself by a possession of 
 these treasures? The natural and moral perfections 
 
 x 
 
306 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 a ees 
 USE OF THE UNDERSTANDING, MEMORY, JUDGMENT. 
 
 Senescence nUREDSINIDNETNENn ent 
 of God, the surprising method of salvation accom- 
 plished by the mediation of his Son, and innumerable 
 other topics, furnish the most interesting materials for 
 meditation and reflection.—As these truths are not 
 only to be perceived but retained in the mind, the 
 Memory is adapted to this important purpose. 
 However excellent and suitable to the rational crea- 
 ture those truths may be to which I have alluded, 
 they can afford no real benefit either to the heart or to 
 the life, unless they are present to the mind ; and the 
 memory has a power to retain what is once under- 
 stood, and to recall it after a considerable lapse of 
 time. Thus, by having important truths and motives 
 presented before the eye of the mind, we are induced 
 to avoid the evils of which we are in danger, and to 
 seek the good which appears conducive to our hap- 
 piness. In the common concerns of life, as well as 
 those which relate to a future state, we are far more 
 indebted to the faculty of retention than we generally 
 imagine. Without it, the sublime and important 
 doctrines of divine revelation would fail to produce 
 their legitimate effects in holiness. of life ; its instruc- 
 tive and entertaining histories and prophecies would 
 cease to give delight :—its encouraging promises, and 
 its salutary precepts, would no longer afford their 
 respective benefits. 
 
 Many of the important principles of natural and 
 revealed religion lie hid beneath the surface which _ 
 covers them. They are only to be discovered by the 
 deductions of reason ; and the suDGMENT 1s adapted 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 307 
 
 REASON IS TO BE USED IN RELIGION. 
 ————————————e 
 to this important employment. There are some 
 whose views of the relation which subsists between 
 the rational creature and the Creator are so inadequate, 
 that they imagine he has precluded all reasoning from 
 religion; and that to attempt to discover a second 
 class of truths by arguing from the data furnished by 
 the first, is to offer an insult to their Maker, and to 
 step beyond the limits which are prescribed to us. I 
 at the same time pity and censure their ignorance. 
 It ought ever to be remembered, that God treats his 
 creatures according to the principles on which he has 
 formed them. And having created man a rational 
 and intelligent agent, he treats him as such under 
 every dispensation; and though in some. instances 
 God demands implicit belief and obedience without 
 allowing him to ask the reason why, yet in other 
 respects, and these far more numerous, he allows 
 him to exercise the faculties which he has granted 
 him, nay, requires that he should do so. But— 
 
 <“ Where reason fails with all her powers, 
 There faith prevails, and love adores.” 
 
 The exertion of our reasoning powers by no 
 means infers the supposition, that a divine agency is 
 unnecessary, or superseded by it. For though such an 
 agency is requisite to direct the operations of the judg- 
 ment in all our researches after divine truth, in order 
 that we may obtain an accurate acquaintance with it, 
 yet this agency is principally exerted in illuminating 
 the understanding; and if our conceptions of divine 
 truth be accurate, our reasonings on them will seldom 
 
 x 2 | 
 
308 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 MANY SCRIPTURE TRUTHS KNOWN BY REASONING. 
 
 ———— ee ————— 
 be false. ‘The utmost possible exertion of our mental 
 powers, with an humble reliance on divine aid, is the 
 doctrine of divine influence which the Scriptures 
 teach; and that sentiment which would separate 
 them, is Antichristian. 
 The circumstances of life are infinitely diversified :— 
 had a divine revelation been given which contained 
 an express direction for each, it must have been so 
 voluminous as to prevent its ever being read. Hence 
 the Scriptures give general directions, and lay down 
 general principles ; sand it is the office of reason to 
 ene from them particular instructions adapted 
 to all possible varieties of circumstances. Besides 
 those doctrines which are clearly taught, there are 
 others which are suggested by incidental references 
 and historical. relations:—it is the business of 
 reason to collect these obscure, and, viewed as de- 
 tached, insufficient evidences, into one focus, and 
 draw from the whole a legitimate inference. The 
 divine mind. may often be gathered from historical 
 records—from a narration of simple facts, where there 
 is no precept or prohibition ;—but without an exer- 
 tion of reason, such information cannot be obtained. 
 Reason is equally necessary in order to secure the 
 consolations and encouragements which are furnished 
 by the divine promises. As these are all made to 
 particular characters, and not to any. one by name, 
 reason must be exercised to. discover the character, 
 and to appropriate the promise.—'These remar ks 
 may be sufficient to illustrate the nature, the 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 309 
 
 REASON HAS ITS LIMITS.—THE WiLL. 
 
 ‘importance, and the office of reason in matters of 
 religion. | 
 
 While these remarks encourage’ the exertion of 
 reason in religion, let it not presume to extend its 
 inquiries beyond its own prerogatives, and its own 
 sphere. ‘There are mysteries in divine revelation 
 which baffle and confound it. These tend to humble 
 the pride’ of man, and lay his glory in the dust. 
 They are infinitely beyond the reach of human com- 
 prehension, though by no means contrary to sound 
 reason, ‘These must be received on divine authority ; 
 and in no respect does reason appear in higher dig- 
 nity than when it bows with the profoundest submis- 
 sion to the will of God, nor asks—what dost thou? 
 Here faith takes the precedence of reason, and 
 receives that as certainly true, which reason fails to 
 demonstrate. 
 
 Religion abounds with the grandest exhibitions of 
 the divine munificence, while it requires prompt and 
 cheerful obedience from the intelligent, creature. 
 Happy is he whose volitions are in unison with the 
 will of God;—and who at the same time that he 
 embraces the riches of divine mercy, is enabled to 
 render obedience to his commands, and to abstain from 
 the things he prohibits. It is the wri1 choosing what 
 appears good, which animates us to vigorous exertion 
 in order to obtain it:—or refusing what appears 
 evil, that rouses us to avoid it as such. Without 
 this faculty in the human being, all the displays of 
 mercy and wrath,—all the exhibitions of promises and 
 
310 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 CONSCIENCE, 
 
 threatenings,—all the revelations of prescribed duties, 
 and sins forbidden, had been in vain; for without a 
 WILL to act, man would have remained in a state of 
 lifeless indifference. 
 
 Man is often placed in such circumstances, that 
 he may commit crimes the most flagrant in the sight 
 of God, without a possibility of detection from his 
 fellow-man. But religion requires consistency; it 
 enjoins “ truth in the inward parts,” and an uniform 
 regard to all the principles of justice, purity, and bene- 
 volence, both in private and public. Conscience 
 is placed in the human heart to enforce the divine 
 claims. Its singular energies have been already 
 considered. While it yields the greatest advantages 
 to society at large by its influence on individuals, 
 both by restraining them from crimes, and enforcing 
 a discharge of their Christian duties, it 1s of vast 
 concern in the sphere of religion, by supporting 
 and justifying the demands of God. When the 
 soul would so far degrade itself as to indulge 
 in sin—its chief enemy and its greatest disgrace,— 
 conscience raises a powerful remonstrance, and in- 
 flicts the severest chastisements. Where duty is 
 neglected, conscience pleads the equity and pro- 
 priety of the divine injunctions, the suitableness 
 of the thing required, whether it relate to our 
 selves, or to others, and forbids the enjoyment of 
 peace, till submission is rendered. It is this which 
 prevents, in innumerable instances, a compliance with 
 temptation which would prevail, did not conscience 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. oll 
 
 USE OF THE PASSIONS IN RELIGION. 
 
 sound the alarm of danger.—However this power 
 may be affected by sin, its operations in general are 
 in unison with the will of God. There is nothing 
 that he commands or forbids to which any man 
 objects because he cannot conscientiously pertorm it. 
 This fact infers the propriety and importance of con- 
 sulting its dictates in every circumstance of life, and 
 in every duty of religion. 
 
 The affections or PASSIONS are also adapted to the 
 objects and the duties of religion. A religion which 
 does not engage the passions is mere formality—a 
 religion which consists only in the passions is mere 
 enthusiasm. The religion of Jesus Christ is equally 
 remote from both; and by combining knowledge and. 
 feeling, it forms a system of religion, which at the 
 same time that it directs the life, possesses a power 
 of rousing to action. President Edwards was as pro- 
 found a divine as he was an accurate metaphysician ; 
 he well understood the relation which the Creator hath 
 established between the powers and passions of man, 
 and that religion which he has enjoined on his atten- 
 tion. Two quotations from the writings of’ this great 
 man may sufficiently illustrate this subject—they are 
 taken from his admirable Treatise on the Affections.— 
 ‘‘ As there is no true religion,” says he, “‘ where there 
 is nothing else but affection, so there is no true reli- 
 gion where there is no religious affection, As, on the 
 one hand, there must be light in the understanding, as 
 well as an affected fervent heart; where there is heat 
 without light, there can be nothing divine or heavenly 
 
512 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 USE OF THE PASSIONS IN RELIGION. 
 
 in the heat: so, on the other hand, where there is 
 a -kind of light without heat, .a head stored with 
 notions and speculations, with a cold and unaffected 
 heart, there can be nothing divine in that light, that 
 knowledge is no true spiritual knowledge of divine 
 things. If the great things of religion are rightly 
 understood, they will affect.the heart. The reason 
 why men are not affected by such infinitely great, 
 important, glorious, and wonderful things, as they 
 often hear and. read of in the word otf God; is un- 
 doubtedly because they are blind; if they were not 
 so, it would be impossible, and_ utterly inconsistent 
 with human nature, that their hearts should be other- 
 wise than strongly Ss ve and greatly moved by 
 such things.” 
 
 ~ Again.—“ God has given to pudnkand actactigie 
 for the same purpose which he has given all the 
 faculties and principles of the human soul for, viz. 
 that they might be subservient to man’s chief end; 
 and the great business for which God has created 
 him, that is, the business of religion. And yet how 
 common is it among mankind, that their affections 
 are much more exercised and engaged in other 
 matters, than in religion! In things which concern 
 men’s worldly interest, their outward delights, their 
 honour and reputation, and their natural relations, 
 they have their desires eager, their appetites vehe- 
 ment, their love warm and aflectionate, their zeal 
 ardent; in these things their hearts are tender and 
 sensible, easily moved, deeply impressed, much con- 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. B18 
 
 USE OF THE PASSIONS IN RELIGION. 
 
 cerned, very sensibly affected, and greatly engaged 3 
 much depressed with grief at worldly losses, and 
 highly raised with joy at worldly successes and_pros- 
 perity. But how insensible and unmoved are most 
 men about the great things of another world! how 
 dull are their affections! how heavy and hard their 
 hearts in these matters! here their love is could, their 
 desires languid, their zeal low, and their gratitude 
 small. How they can sit and hear of the infinite 
 height, and depth, and length, and breadth. of the 
 love of God in Christ Jesus, of his giving his in- 
 finitely dear Son, to be offered up a sacrifice for the 
 sins of men, and of the unparalleled love of the inno- 
 cent, holy, and tender Lamb of God, manifested in 
 his dying agonies, his bloody sweat, his loud and 
 bitter cries; and bleeding heart, and all this for ene- 
 mies, to redeem them from deserved, eternal burnings, 
 and to bring to unspeakable and everlasting joy and 
 glory; and yet be cold, and heavy, insensible, and 
 regardless! Where are the exercises of our affections 
 proper, if not here? what is it that does more require 
 them? and what can be a fit occasion of their lively 
 and vigorous exercise, if not such an one as this? 
 Can any thing be set in our view greater and more 
 important? any thing more wonderful and surprising? 
 or more nearly concerning our interest? Can we. 
 suppose the wise Creator implanted such principles 
 in the human. nature as the affections, to be of use to 
 us, and to be exercised on certain proper occasions, 
 but to lie still on such an occasion as this? Can any 
 
314 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 aT COMES 
 
 USE OF THE PASSIONS IN RELIGION. 
 
 Christian, who believes the truth of these things, 
 entertain such thoughts ? 
 
 “If we ought ever to exercise our affections at 
 all, and if the Creator has not unwisely constituted the 
 human nature in making these principles a part of it, 
 when they are vain and useless; then they ought to 
 be exercised about those objects which are most 
 worthy of them. 
 
 “But is there any thing which Christians can find 
 in heaven or earth, so worthy to be the objects of 
 their admiration and love, their earnest and longing 
 desires, their hope, and their rejoicing, and their 
 fervent zeal, as those things that are held forth to us 
 in the gospel of Jesus Christ? in which, not only are 
 things declared most worthy to affect us, but they are 
 exhibited in the most affecting manner.—The glory 
 and beauty of the blessed Jehovah, which is most 
 worthy in itself to be the object of our admiration 
 and love, is there exhibited in the most affecting 
 manner that can be conceived of, as it appears, 
 shining in all its lustre, in the face of an incar- 
 nate, infinitely loving, meek, compassionate, dying 
 Redeemer. All the virtues of the Lamb of God, his 
 humility, patience, meekness, submission, obedience, 
 love, and compassion, are exhibited to our view, in 
 a manner the most tending to move our affections, of 
 any that can be imagined; as they all had their 
 greatest trial, and their highest exercise, and so their 
 brightest manifestation, when he was in the most 
 affecting circumstances; even when he was under 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. | 315 
 
 THE PASSIONS SUITED TO A FUTURE STATE. 
 a a A Ra 
 
 his last sufferings, those unutterable and unparalleled 
 sufferings, he endured from his tender love and pity 
 to us. There also the hateful nature of our sins is 
 manifested in the most affecting manner possible ; 
 as we see the dreadful effects of them, in what our 
 Redeemer, who undertook to answer for us, suffered 
 for them. And there we have the most affecting 
 manifestations of God’s hatred to sin, and his wrath 
 and justice in punishing it; as we see his justice in 
 the strictness and inflexibleness of it, and his wrath 
 in its terribleness, in so dreadfully punishing our sins, 
 in one who was infinitely dear to him, and loving to 
 us. So has God disposed things in the affair of our 
 redemption, and in his glorious dispensations, re- 
 vealed to us in the gospel, as though every thing 
 were purposely contrived in such a manner, as to 
 have the greatest possible tendency to reach our 
 hearts in the most tender part, and move our affec- 
 tions most sensibly and strongly. How great cause 
 have we therefore to be humbled to the dust, that 
 we are no more affected!” 
 
 While the powers and affections of the human 
 mind are wisely adapted to the sacred employments 
 of religion m our present state of being, they are 
 equally suited to our immortal existence in a future 
 state. God has decreed the immortality of the 
 human soul with all its powers and passions. Their 
 operations will not be impeded by such a connexion 
 with corporiety as that to which they are subjected in 
 the present world. We can form no conceptions 
 
316 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS: 
 
 MIND SUFFERS FROM {TS UNION WITH THE BODY. 
 
 now of the vigour and activity of a disembodied 
 spirit. Its capacities for knowledge and enjoyment 
 will far exceed, it is probable, all our speculations 
 and conjectures. But however vast these may be, 
 eternity will furnish adequate resources of employment 
 to the greatest possible created intellects. The per- 
 fections of deity, his works of Nature, Providence, 
 and Grace, will afford subjects of research and 
 inquiry never to be fully explored. Here is every 
 thing to employ the faculties and to excite the affec- 
 tions. | While these objects are suited to the powers 
 and passions of the mind, the powers and_ passions 
 are suited to these objects. Here the understanding 
 will find an infinite variety of objects and themes 
 on which to employ its investigations; and its pene- 
 trating and clear perceptions will ever be unfolding 
 new glories :—here the memory and the other powers 
 will find employments suited to their respectivé 
 natures, of which they will never be weary. Here is 
 every thing to excite the passions—and passions to be 
 excited by these objects. The passion of love is 
 suited’to the demands of the best of beings—the.chief 
 good. Joy is suited to a state of perfect felicity ; 
 all the other affections are equally adapted to a 
 state of immortality. | 
 
 _.. In this world we contemplate the character and 
 capacities of man in the bud. The spirit being 
 connected with a dull and sinful body, its energies 
 are cramped, and its native beauties are obscured: 
 ~~here, the greatest minds advance no farther than 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. © 817 
 
 a A 
 
 A FUTURE STATE OF HAPPINESS AND MISERY. 
 
 infancy ; those of our Newtons, our Locxgs, 
 and our Bacons, could boast of nothmg beyond it. 
 But in the future state, the bud is full blown. It 
 is no longer hid beneath the covering which mor- 
 tality throws over it. With respect to the blessed, 
 the infirmities which are consequent-on sin, are felt 
 no more;—mind recovers all its surprising capacities ; 
 it enjoys perfection and maturity. The body to 
 which it will be united at the resurrection, will be 
 suited to its dignified nature, and so far from hinder- 
 ing its exercises, it will aid them, while. both will-be 
 eternally happy in the enjoyment of God. | I speak 
 ef the righteous, whose souls are redeemed by the 
 atonement of a Saviour, and raised by its infinite 
 virtues from the degradation of sin, to the vast and 
 glorious elevation of the Eleavenly state——With the 
 wicked it is not so. In a future state they will, it 
 is true, possess powers and. capacities far beyond 
 what they now do; but they will be overwhelmed by 
 the irresistible torrents of divine wrath. Their 
 superior capacity will be only a capacity to suffer, 
 not to enjoy. “‘O, who can dwell with everlasting 
 burnings”! The thought shocks me; I turn from 
 this tremendous subject, and would employ. my 
 noblest powers in “ striving to enter in at the strait 
 gate” that leads to the realms of eternal pleasure, 
 bie I pray, “‘ Let me die the death of the a 
 and let my last end be like his!” 
 
31s INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 NATURE PROVES A DEITY. 
 
 CONCLUSION- 
 
 PLaAL ELLE 
 
 Every object in nature demonstrates the existence 
 of a God. Even imorganic matter supports this 
 position. ‘To grant the existence of matter, and to 
 deny the existence of a Creator, is as great an 
 absurdity as to allow the effect and to deny a cause. If 
 matter in its shapeless and inorganized state proves that 
 a Deity exists, how much more evidently must it do 
 this under that amazing diversity of forms in which 
 we have viewed it, since the commencement of this 
 Essay,—which indeed describes only a very small 
 proportion of the objects which the infinite intelligence 
 has created. Where theré is design, there must have 
 been a designer. When we view a house, or a piece 
 of mechanism—for instance, a steam engine—do we 
 ever suppose, or could we ever imagine, that this 
 house, or this steam engine came into existence by 
 chance? We say this is impossible, because here is 
 obvious design, contrivance, foresight, intelligence; 
 therefore there must have existed a being before this 
 house, and this steam-engine existed, who gave them 
 their present forms. Granting the premises, the 
 conclusion is unavoidable; because a design necessa- 
 rily supposes a designer. 
 
 Let us apply this mode of reasoning to prove 
 the existence of a God. From the short sketch 
 which has been given of organized matter, and the 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 319 
 
 a ce aang ES AAP SE TS ETE LTTE TE Te TT OE EEE i TT AS STE, Se SETS ERT ta 
 THE WORKS OF GOD NOT TO BE IMPROVED. 
 
 structure of mind, nothing can be more self-evident 
 than that here is an end proposed, and an adap- 
 tation of means in order to it; that is, design and 
 contrivance to accomplish this object; or, at least, 
 that which has every conceivable evidence of design 
 and contrivance. We often admire the mechanical 
 combinations of men;—but, from the perpetual 
 improvements which are made even in the best 
 constructed instruments, we can never say they have 
 arrived at absolute perfection. It is far otherwise 
 with the works of God. Though the various con- 
 trivances in nature, which are purely mechanical, 
 have been for many thousands of years subject to 
 the examination of the most intelligent men, and 
 the most ingenious mechanics, yet no one has 
 ventured so much as to suggest a single improve- 
 ment. This is a remarkable fact; especially when 
 we reflect on the almost infinite diversity of objects 
 with which this globe is crowded. In both the 
 vegetable and animal kingdoms we discover the 
 greatest conceivable variety of mechanical contri- 
 vances to accomplish given purposes, all of which 
 are exactly suitable, and no one can be altered 
 for the better. 
 
 While we admit these indisputable facts, it is 
 rational for us to ask—How were such arrangements 
 effected? There are but two answers which can be 
 returned to this inquiry—they must be either the 
 effect of chance, or the workmanship of an in- 
 telligent Agent. 
 
520 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 
 CHANCE COULD NOT FORM ORGANIZED BEINGS, 
 
 Did all that amazing variety of forms which 
 we observe in this world spring from a mere for- 
 tuitous or accidental combination of atoms? I do 
 not hesitate to reply—it is zmpossible.. Whether we 
 examine the structure of vegetables or animals, the 
 result will be contradictory to this supposition. 
 What an astonishing multitude of fortunate accidents 
 must take place in order to form a single plant. 
 How many millions to form its root—as many as 
 the particles of matter which it contains. — How many 
 millions more to ‘rear the stem, containing the pith, the 
 wood, the different barks, and all so arranged as to 
 allow tubes for the circulation of constant supplies of 
 nourishment to the plant!—How many millions 
 more of fortunate chances must take place to bring 
 particles of matter together of a nature essentially 
 different from all the rest, in order to form the 
 leaves ;—the flowers, with their, calix, their corolla, 
 their pistils, their stamens—their seed-bud, and the 
 seeds it contains.—Or, refer the supposition to the for- 
 mation of an animal. What a stretch of imagination 
 does it require, and what a sacrifice of reason, to 
 suppose that chance formed, and so curiously articu- 
 lated, all the bones on the best possible mathematical 
 and mechanical principles ;—that chance formed the 
 muscles of millions of fibres, all properly disposed 
 with respect to one another, with a power of con- 
 traction and relaxation ;—that chance so formed the 
 nervous system, and interwove it with the muscular, 
 as to stimulate it to action when the animal chose ;— 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 321 
 
 THE FOLLY OF ATHEISM. 
 
 that chance formed the eyes on principles perfectly 
 adapted to the purposes of vision, and the ears 
 for the reception of sounds ;—that chance formed 
 the mouth with tecth, suitable for the masticating 
 of food—the glands to supply it with saliva to 
 prepare the food for the stomach;—that chance 
 formed the stomach for digesting food—the lacteals 
 to receive what is proper for blood—the arteries 
 and veins to allow of the circulation of this fluid, 
 and the heart to put it in motion! It would require 
 a volume to state all the fortunate accidental com- 
 binations of atoms which must take place in order 
 to produce one single animal. Absurd as it may 
 seem to suppose that all this has been done by 
 chance, yet there have been those who have adopted 
 this hypothesis—and to this hypothesis that man_is 
 driven who denies that there is a God. 
 
 When we select any given organized body, and 
 examine it on the principles of Atheists, we are 
 immediately plunged into the extreme of folly. In 
 all its parts we discover design which has a relation 
 to a final cause :—and however difficult it may be 
 to maintain that a Deity exists, and that he formed 
 those objects which every where meet our eye, yet 
 we are driven to infinitely greater difficulties by main- 
 taining that they were all formed by chance. Nay, 
 every organized body contains such an arrangement 
 and connexion of parts, that it requires an absolute 
 sacrifice of reason to suppose it possible that it may 
 have been made by chance. 
 
 de 
 
322 INTELLECTUAL BEINGS. 
 a eS ees 
 
 DESIGN INFERS THE BEING OF A GOD. 
 
 ws catenin gm et 
 
 Compelled to abandon the ridiculous and impious 
 speculations of atheism, we are obliged to admit that 
 there is a God, and that he designed and executed, 
 by his own wisdom and power, the whole of this 
 astonishing system,—organic and inorganic—material 
 and immaterial. Whatever manifests design, ne- 
 cessarily infers the pre-existence of a designer : 
 since, then, design appears in the whole of that 
 material system which adorns unbounded space, we 
 infer that a Supreme Intelligence existed before 
 it—and that he not only gave being to whatever 
 is, but that he endowed it with all its properties, 
 planned its specific form, and superintended the- 
 arrangement of its innumerable particles in creating 
 the first of each species of organized bodies, and 
 bestowing on them properties and capacities for per- 
 petuating their kind. 
 
 Granting the eternal existence of the Being whom 
 we call God, and resolving all other existences into 
 his sovereign will, every difficulty vanishes, and all 
 appears easy to be accounted for. We see around 
 us the greatest conceivable variety of forms—some 
 of vast buik, others indescribably diminutive, but 
 all perfect, according to their respective designs 
 and uses in the: general economy. And when we 
 grant the existence of a God, we allow at the same 
 time, of an intelligence and a power equal to all these 
 surprising phenomena. ‘The first idea which we 
 form of God is, that he is infinite in all his per- 
 fections ;—and admitting that he is infinitely wise, 
 
INTELLECTUAL BEINGS, _ 323 
 
 —SSSsSSsSsSSS9aa393S9S a 
 DR. PALEY’S /NATURAL THEOLOGY RECOMMENDED, 
 
 cr rn nO Se 
 
 we can no longer doubt whether he possess resources 
 
 equal to the creation of every existence, however vast 
 
 and complicated, contained in the whole universe.” 
 RUN Bat 12 oe INA ve sala at ns A RN A Se LL 
 
 *’ As Dr. Patey wrote his admirable Treatise, entitled 
 Natural Theology, to prove the existence of God from the 
 works of Nature, it is unnecessary to give scope to any 
 further reflections on these subjects. The Author would 
 earnestly recommend the above work as one of the best 
 written and most ingenious books in the English language. 
 So great strength of argument, with elegant plainness ;—such 
 apt illustration and irresistible reasoning, have been rarely 
 concentrated in one volume. It will always remain a standard 
 work of its kind. So far as it is read, Atheism must retire 
 in confusion, not daring to attempt a combat. 
 
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ESSAY SECOND. 
 
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 On Providence 5 
 
 ILLUSTRATING 
 THE WISDOM OF GOD IN HIS UNIVERSAL 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
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ESSAY SECOND. 
 
 However delighted we may be while we contem- 
 plate the perfections of deity as displayed in the world 
 of nature, it would instantly bring a dreadful gloom 
 over our minds, were we once to admit that, though 
 these footsteps of intelligence demonstrate that God 
 was once present, yet he is no longer here: he was 
 satisfied with the consciousness of having ‘‘ done all 
 things well;” and he has retired from his works, to 
 felicitate himself in the mysteries of his infinite essence 
 in some remote part of his vast dominions, and no 
 longer takes an interest in the concerns of this lower 
 world.—The prevailing belief of all nations and of 
 all ages; the positive declarations of the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures; the events which are daily transpiring; the 
 regard which God has to the welfare of his creatures, 
 and the glory of his own name—all forbid this suppo- 
 sition, and confirm the cheering doctrine, that “‘ His 
 kingdom ruleth over all.” 
 
328 _ ON. PROVIDENCE. 
 
 THE TERM DEFINED—DIVISION OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 The term “ PRovIDENCE,” means simply the 
 divine government, or the agency which God exerts 
 to accomplish his purposes. It includes, also, what 
 he permits to take place by the agency of other beings, 
 as well as what he brings to pass by the immediate 
 interposition of his own. I apply this definition in 
 its most general sense; and regard the physical and 
 moral universe as being under the providential govern- 
 ment of God, and subject to the control of his sove- 
 reign will. ‘To. investigate so vast an empire, subject 
 to the perpetual superintendence of a Being so glorious, 
 cannot fail to afford the highest entertainment and 
 instruction to every thinking mind. To attempt a 
 development of every indication of wisdom which it 
 contains, would be vain: a few general outlines is all 
 that I shall promise. Its full scope will be the 
 theme of Eternity, and the delightful employment of 
 intellect in its highest state of existence. 
 
 I shall view the whole subject under three general 
 arrangements; and, first, consider the Natural, 
 secondly, the Morat, and thirdly, the ProvipEn- 
 TIAL, Government of God. The first will lead us to 
 investigate the laws under which physical bodies act ; 
 the second will render it necessary to inquire into the 
 manner in which God governs intelligent agents ; and, 
 under the third, I shall explain his government of 
 events. 
 
Bart First. 
 
 THE 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
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THE 
 WISDOM OF GOD DISCOVERED IN HIS GOVERN- 
 MENT OF NATURE. 
 
 oe ES 
 
 _ WE have already considered the wisdom of God 
 in the general structure of nature. That inquiry 
 extended no further, in general, than the constituent 
 parts of the bodies which came under examination. 
 Besides their structure, we observe that many of them 
 act under certain Laws, which they invariably regard, 
 unless they are prevented by some counteracting cause: 
 these laws were established by the Creator. We shall 
 examine them, in order to show that the same wisdom 
 is apparent in these laws, as is evident in the general 
 structure of the beings which observe them. 
 
 By the Laws or Narurg, I mean simply, those 
 rules which the Creator has prescribed to animate and 
 inanimate matter when it is not controlled by reason, 
 to which it invariably conforms when uninterrupted in 
 its motions. Thus we see that there is a propensity 
 in stones to fall to a given centre; in air, when rarefied 
 above the temperature of the circumambient atmo- 
 sphere, to rise; in seeds, when placed in certain cir- 
 cumstances, to vegetate, and to produce a new race 
 of their own species ; in brute animals, to adopt the 
 same habits as their predecessors, though they had 
 
332 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 THE LAWS OF NATURE. 
 
 never seen an individual of their own race. These 
 we call laws of nature, which are fixed and invariable 
 from age to age. J do not mean to say that such 
 laws are so communicated to matter that it would 
 always act according to them, were the agency of the 
 Creator withdrawn ; but I mean, that he at first laid 
 down those laws for the government of the creatures, 
 according to which he determined that they should 
 always act; except in such cases, as for especial pur- 
 poses, he might see it proper to obstruct or reverse 
 them, as he has done in miraculous interventions. 
 
 All the laws of nature were fixed from the begin- 
 ning. As they were prescribed by Infinite Wisdom, 
 it is not possible that any amendment could be 
 conceived by even the Eternal mind; and, conse- 
 quently, impossible that any alteration should take 
 place in them. Hence we find, from the creation, 
 that all nature has invariably observed its own par- 
 ticular Jaws, unless their natural tendencies have 
 been interrupted by some contrary cause. Do we 
 recognise in this fact the faithfulness of matter’to the 
 laws prescribed to it, or the faithfulness of the Creator 
 in so superintending the operations of matter, that he 
 has always so directed its motions as to conform to 
 these laws >—Surely, the latter. 
 
 This preserving care, which Divine Providence 
 extends to all-nature, cannot be sufficiently admired. 
 It reaches as well to the original faculties with which 
 God endowed different beings, as to the laws by which 
 they are governed. Every department of nature was 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 333 
 
 SSS 
 CARE OF GOD OVER HIS CREATURES. 
 en rn a eT NED ES A A RS 
 
 at the first endowed with qualities or powers peculiar 
 to itself, and suited to its office in the general economy. 
 These being necessary in the original arrangement of 
 things, and suitable to the relation which they bore to 
 each other, and that arrangement being intended to 
 be perpetuated to the end of the world, they are as 
 necessary at every future period as at the first; and 
 hence their preservation and continuance appear of 
 indispensable moment. Any essential change in the 
 principles of nature would render an equal change 
 requisite in its relative connexions ; a change in these 
 would render other changes necessary ; so that any 
 important departure from first principles would 
 render it necessary to form an entire new order of 
 things. A preserving care has therefore been extended 
 by the Almighty Creator over universal nature, every 
 instant of time since its first formation. Hence no ori- 
 ginal quality, however small, has been lost; no power 
 of action has become extinct. All nature now bears 
 the most perfect resemblance to what it was when first 
 formed. Every quality of inorganic matter, every 
 property contained in vegetables, every faculty pos- 
 sessed by animals, remains the same, and operates in 
 a similar manner when placed in like circumstances." 
 
 * The earth, indeed, was cursed for the crimes of our first 
 parents ; and, consequently, in many places it is barren ; in 
 others which are fertile, it may have lost much of its luxuriance ; 
 and the natural powers of animals have probably been much 
 impaired ; yet these powers remain, and essential principles 
 are perpetuated, if” 
 
304 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 THE FACULTIES OF ANIMALS PRESERVED. 
 
 These remarks apply as well to the animal creation 
 as to vegetables, and mere inorganic matter. All their 
 original powers of action and of locomotion are per- 
 petuated with the different orders of beings which 
 possess them. God endowed their several muscles 
 with what we call a muscular power, or a capacity of 
 contraction and relaxation, which is essential to action 
 and locomotion. In brute animals this power is 
 under the direction of instinct; in man, who is a free 
 agent, itis subject to reason ; in both cases, this faculty 
 is so preserved in being by the Creator, as to be 
 subject to instinct in the one, and in the other.to reason, 
 without any interference with man’s free agency. For, 
 with regard to rational and accountable beings, an 
 ability to act is so preserved to the creature by the 
 Creator, as to allow the creature to use it either in the 
 cause of virtue or of vice, AS IT WILL, without the 
 Creator’s being at all responsible for the crimes which 
 it may choose to commit. This fact duly regarded, 
 and pursued in moral disquisitions, will enable us to 
 solve many difficulties ; and without an attention to it, 
 we shall be greatly embarrassed in a thousand instances. 
 
 Hitherto we have considered Nature as merely 
 passive,—as ‘‘ clay in the hand of the potter.” But 
 we see all nature in motion; nothing is absolutely at 
 rest. Activity pervades the whole system, animate 
 and inanimate, organic and inorganic. Shall we 
 consider its motions as the uncertain vagaries of 
 chance’ or, shall we regard them as in exact unison 
 with some established laws? Certainly’ not the 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 335 
 
 THE DEVISION OF THE SUBJECT. 
 
 former. For we discover as much uniformity and 
 regularity in all the motions of matter, as well in the 
 heavenly bodies as among those which more imme- 
 diately surround us, as we do in the forms of organized 
 beings. If we suppose that the one is the effect of 
 chance, we may with equal propriety suppose that the 
 other is: but, as we see the most perfect regularity 
 and uniformity obtaining in both, in millions of in- 
 stances every hour, we must first abandon our reason 
 before we can admit that either the one or the other 
 takes place by chance. ‘The same mode of reasoning 
 which obliges us to reject this supposition as untenable 
 and absurd, forces us: to embrace the other as a 
 rational fact, which is illustrated by innumerable 
 instances in every department of nature. Let us, 
 then, proceed. to contemplate the laws of nature, with 
 a design to develop that inscrutable wisdom which 
 gave them being. 
 
 Here let it be observed, that there are certain 
 laws which are common to all material existences, 
 which I shall first notice ; and, secondly, consider such 
 as are peculiar to some bodies in distinction from others. 
 
 First. There are certain laws which are com- 
 mon to all material existences, which I shall briefly 
 describe.” 
 
 * The Author has endeavoured to take a popular view of 
 the laws of nature, being aware that these laws, as laid down 
 by the great NEwTon, would be too abstruse for common 
 readers. He has also been obliged to refer to some facts 
 already considered, in order to illustrate this part of his subject. 
 
336 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LAW OF ATTRACTION. 
 
 THE ATTRACTION OF COHESION. | 
 GPLIL IL OR 
 
 By the attraction of cohesion I mean, that law of 
 nature by which the insensible particles of bodies are — 
 united into sensible masses. Sir Isaac Newron 
 was the first who discovered this law. Whether it 
 extend to the particles which constitute the fluids 
 which we call air, electricity, and light, it is impos- 
 sible to say; probably it does. For however minute 
 their particles may be, it is likely that they are 
 compounded of still smaller ones. Whatever be the 
 fact with respect to insensible particles, it is certain 
 that this law extends to those of which we are con- 
 scious; and were there no such law in nature, no 
 masses of matter, either large or small, could exist. 
 For, as the original particles of matter, in this case, 
 would have no disposition to unite, they would have 
 remained for ever apart, and the vast globes which 
 constitute this universe, could have had no existence 
 as such. When God created the first principles of 
 matter he gave being to this law. Those atoms 
 attracting each other, and adhering by virtue of that 
 attraction, first smaller, and then larger bodies were 
 formed, ’till worlds, and suns, and stars, appeared in 
 those orbits in which God had destined them to move. 
 and shine to his glory. | 
 
 This law binds together in the same mass not 
 only bodies of the same, but also of different essential 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. | 337 
 SS 
 
 THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUSPENDING THIS LAW. 
 
 principles. If we examine the bodies which come 
 under our observation on the surface of this globe, it 
 will be difficult to discover any, all of whose ingre- 
 dients are of the same essential properties. Stones, 
 metals, and woods, for instance, how variously com- 
 pound are they! Yet this law acts on these dissimilar 
 principles, and forms results of essential importance 
 to this order of things. What an astonishing variety 
 of materials are brought together in order to form 
 a plant or an animal! But, however wisely their 
 constituted particles might have been arranged in 
 their diversified organizations, if there had been no 
 uniting principle to connect their various parts, 
 instant dissolution must have taken place, and these 
 beautiful forms could have no longer existed. 
 
 To see the importance of this law of nature, and 
 the wisdom of God in contriving it, we have but to 
 suppose its suspension, or its annihilation, and in- 
 quire for the consequences which would immediately 
 follow.—The beautiful frame of nature would be 
 disorganized ; every fair form would crumble into air, 
 and blend its materials with those of rocks and 
 mountains. Sun, moon, and. stars would cease to 
 shine and adorn the heavens. The whole creation 
 would become a universal blank. 
 
338 © GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 CERTAINTY OF THE, LAW OF GRAVITATION. 
 
 oo 
 
 THE LAW OF GRAVITATION. 
 
 PLIL LO GL 
 
 There is no material body in the universe but 
 what possesses weight, and hence tends, when unin- 
 terrupted, to some certain point:—this is called by 
 philosophers Gravitation. To dwell on the laws 
 which certain bodies observe in gravitating towards 
 that given point, would be foreign from my object. 
 The fact is the object of reflection. 
 
 There is no one common point in the universe, 
 with which we are acquainted, to which all. bodies 
 tend. With respect to the solar system, of which 
 our earth is a part, each planet has its own fixed 
 point, to which all the bodies gravitate which belong 
 to it; this point, if we may form an opinion of others 
 from a knowledge of our own, is its centre; and all 
 the planets regard the sun as the centre, to which 
 they gravitate. We may therefore contemplate this 
 law either on a'large scale, as it is illustrated in 
 the solar system; or on a smaller, as explained by 
 the various phenomena of our own planet. 
 
 Nothing is more obvious to us than that all 
 substances on this globe tend to a certain point.— | 
 When we suspend a stone in the air, and let it go, — 
 though we impress no force whatever upon it, we 
 see that it instantly falls to the ground; it does the 
 same all over the surface of the earth. <A stone let go 
 by our Antipodes in the same way, immediately falls 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 339 
 
 » IMPORTANCE OF THE LAW OF GRAVITATION. 
 
 to the ground, though its line of descent is just the 
 contrary. Hence it follows, that the centre of the 
 earth is the point towards which all bodies gravitate. 
 This is a fact common to all material substances, 
 however different their essential properties, their 
 forms, and their densities, from the most ponderous 
 metals, to the transparent air: this is a Jaw on which 
 we all act, from the youngest to the most ad- 
 vanced in years.—But how rarely do we consider that 
 there is any remarkable wisdom discovered by the 
 Creator in communicating this law to matter! Were 
 he to suspend it for one minute, instant confusion 
 would follow through the whole universe, or as ex- 
 tensively as it was suspended. We could not walk 
 erect; our houses would be hurled from their 
 foundations, our seats would fail to support us. 
 Water in the well would refuse to obey the mechanism 
 of the pump ; all the employments of life would cease; 
 and, in fact, the present constitution of things could 
 not survive the suspension of this law but for one 
 minute. 
 
 On the other hand, it is this law, or the tendency of 
 matter to a certain point, which preserves the atmo- 
 sphere around our globe, and which gives certainty to 
 our calculations and projects. It is the operation of 
 this law which keeps the seas in their channels, and 
 rivers in their courses. Were it not for this, water, 
 as well as all other bodies, would be projected from 
 the surface of the globe by the diurnal rotation of the 
 earth on its own axis. Nay, it is this law that keeps 
 
 Z 2 
 
5340 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 ‘i PHENOMENA ASCRIBED TO THIS LAW. 
 ee ———ee———ee—oeooeeeeaeaeaes«q@ananagqgeqe"eOoOeeeeeeeeaaaaoooumwms 
 the whole globe from complete dissolution, which 
 would instantly take place were it suspended. 
 
 It is wisely ordained that all bodies should not 
 possess the same specific gravity ; ; some are heavier 
 than others, and though all tend to the centre of the 
 earth when uninterrupted, yet, as they are variously 
 combined with others, the lighter give place to the more 
 ponderous; and hence, by virtue of this law, bodies are 
 made to ascend in certain fluids. For instance, it is 
 the law of gravitation which makes wood or cork to 
 rise in water; which forms clouds in the atmosphere 
 from seas and rivers, and the humid surface of the 
 ground; and which raises the balloon inair. Butwhen 
 these bodies become specifically heavier than the 
 fluids on which they swim, they again sink till they 
 come to that medium which is of the same gravity 
 with themselves. Thus the same law which raised 
 water, in the form of globes filled with air, into the 
 higher regions, and composes clouds; brings the water 
 down to the earth again as rain, when the particles 
 become too large for the air to support. 
 
 Let us now contemplate the law of gravitation as 
 it acts on a larger scale, and as it appears in the 
 solar system.—This system, however grand and ex- 
 tensive, occupies but a small proportion of infinite 
 space, though the Georgium Sidus, which is probably 
 not the most distant planet in this system, moves in 
 an orbit whose diameter is 3,631,824,520 miles. 
 All the primary planets are ranged round the sun at 
 different distances. ‘Those which are already dis- 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. SAL 
 
 HOW GRAVITATION AFFECTS THE HEAVENLY BODIES, 
 
 covered are nine in number, and have their orbits 
 round the sun in the following order: Mercury, 
 Venus, the Earth, Mars, Ceres, Pallas, Jupiter, 
 Saturn, and the Georgium Sidus. Several of these 
 have secondary planets, or moons, revolving round 
 them, as they pursue their own orbits. Besides these 
 planets, there are many other bodies which belong to 
 our system ;—I mean comets, nearly five hundred of 
 which have been discovered. All these, whether 
 planets or comets, revolve round the sun as their 
 common centre, in orbits not perfectly circular, but 
 less or more elliptical. They move in their orbits 
 with incredible velocity ; for instance, A/ercury flies 
 at the rate of 109,699 miles an hour. But these 
 velocities diminish in the ratio of their distances from 
 the sun; for the hourly motion, of the Georgium 
 Sidus in his orbit is only fifteen thousand miles. 
 These motions were 
 when he— 
 
 given them by the Creator, 
 
 « Toss’d this mass of wonders from his hand, 
 A specimen,—an earnest of his power.” 
 
 As all bodies, when put in motion in an unre- 
 sisting medium, move in right lines, why, it may be 
 inquired, do not the planets and comets forsake their 
 orbits, and launch into infinite space? ‘This would cer- 
 tainly happen by virtue of their centrifugal force, were 
 it not for the law which counteracts that tendency, 
 which is denominated the centripetal force, or the law 
 of gravitation, by virtue of which the planet has a 
 
342 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE, 
 
 SS 
 THE ELLIPTICAL ORBITS OF PLANETS ACCOUNTED FOR. 
 
 tendency equally strong towards the sun. ‘hus, 
 these vast bodies are suspended in infinite space by 
 a contrivance worthy of God. 
 
 The sun attracts the planets with a force propor- 
 tionate to their distance from him; and in the ratio 
 in which their distances increase, is that power of 
 attraction decreased. Hence, the force of the sun’s 
 attraction at Mercury is vastly greater than it is at 
 the Georgium Sidus; and hence the difference of their 
 velocities. Had the velocity of the latter been given 
 to the former, it must have departed instantly from its 
 orbit to its centre of gravity, because that velocity 
 would not have been sufficiently powerful to resist 
 the superior attracting force felt at Mercury, and 
 continue it in its orbit. On the other hand, had the 
 velocity of Mercury been given to the Georgium 
 Sidus, it would immediately have forsaken its orbit, 
 and gone off in a right line, for the want of a propor- 
 tionate attracting force to draw it towards the sun. 
 Thus we see a gravitating power operating on the 
 planet exactly proportioned to its velocity, and a 
 velocity communicated to it proportioned to the 
 gravitating power acting upon it; the one balances 
 the other, and they mutually co-operate to preserve 
 this vast system in the most perfect order. 
 
 The most eminent philosophers have not been able 
 to determine what it is which causes bodies to gravi- 
 tate towards a certain point. ‘The fact is obvious ; 
 the philosophy of the fact is yet a mystery, and 
 probably will remain so, However, a discovery of 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE, 343) 
 LAWS OBSERVED BY PLANTS. 
 ne ee 
 this is by no means necessary, in order to behold that 
 profound wisdom which the Creator has displayed in 
 establishing this universal law. 
 
 Having noticed these two laws which are common 
 to universal nature, the one collecting and forming 
 into solid masses of amazing magnitude, the original 
 principles of matter; the other giving these bodies 
 such a tendency towards certain centres, as to pre- 
 serve them in a proper condition; I shall now, in 
 the second place, consider those laws of nature which 
 are peculiar to some bodies in distinction from others. 
 Some of these are peculiar to ANIMATE, others of 
 them belong to INANIMATE nature. 
 
 PPLE LL OF 
 
 | 4 
 THE LAWS WHICH ARE PECULIAR TO ANIMATED NATURE. 
 
 VEGETABLES have certain laws, according to 
 which they uniformly grow. Those of the same 
 species invariably produce seeds of the like shapes, 
 arrangements of parts, and essential qualities. These 
 seeds always produce plants of the same kind as, 
 those which produced them ; perfectly similar in their 
 roots, stems, barks, leaves, flowers, and physical pro- 
 perties. The colours of their leaves and. flowers, 
 the odours which they emit, and every other essential 
 property, bears the strictest resemblance... They 
 extend their roots to those places where their nourish- 
 ment is to be obtained ; into crevices of rocks; and 
 
344 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 LAWS OBSERVED BY PLANTS: 
 
 sometimes in a very remarkable manner. A. tree, 
 growing upon a high wall, has been known to produce 
 a root several yards in length, which it has extended 
 down the side of the wall into the ground at the 
 bottom, from’ which it derived nourishment to the 
 whole plant that must otherwise have perished. 
 Another, growing on one side of a wall, has been 
 known to shoot its roots across it to find a more 
 favourable soil on the opposite side. Ivy, growing 
 against a wall ora tree, sends off roots which adhere 
 to the adjacent substance, in order to give support to 
 the weak and slender branches which must otherwise 
 fall down, being unable to support themselves. _ Peas, 
 and vines, and various other plants which are slender, 
 throw off tendrils that twist round any object which 
 can afford them svpport. Others, as hops and run- 
 ning beans, growing against a tree or perpendicular 
 stick, curl round it spirally, to a great height ; and 
 are thus supported, when otherwise they must fall 
 to the ground, Certain flowers open in the morning 
 to receive the solar rays, and fold up as the evening 
 approaches ; some do the same at the distant ap- 
 proach of rain. A variety of curious phenomena 
 might be mentioned, of a similar nature with the 
 above. Every different species of vegetables has 
 indeed its own peculiar laws, which it invariably 
 regards in every new race, without the smallest devi- 
 ation, from age to age: no original law is dropped ; 
 no new one is acquired. The husbandman and the 
 gardener calculate with certainty, what sort of plants 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 345 
 
 LAWS OBSERVED BY DIFFERENT ANIMALS. 
 
 to expect from the different seeds which they sow; 
 and they are never mistaken. Surely chance could 
 not be so uniform in its operations ! 
 AntmMALs.—Every different genus of animals, 
 rational and irrational, has laws of action peculiar to 
 itself. There is one law, however, that is common to 
 all, and which we call zs¢inct : the human animal pos- 
 sesses it, though probably in a lower degree than any 
 other; but then its imperfection in him is more than 
 compensated by the gift of reason : having more of rea- 
 son, man requires less of instinct than other animals. 
 Though instinct is common to all animals, yet the 
 effects resulting from its operation are as diversified 
 as the shapes and dispositions and habits of the ani- 
 mals are which possess it; at the same time, in all 
 this diversity, the same essential pxinciple is discover- 
 able. In all, it stimulates them to the preservation 
 of their own lives, by prompting them to escape from 
 danger, and to obtain food; to perpetuate their own 
 species, and to make all necessary provision for the 
 new generation ; to provide for their young, and pro- 
 tect them from harm, while they are incapable of 
 performing these offices for themselves. But how 
 different are the actions ofanimals, though the prin- 
 ciple is one and the same. The mole seeks its food 
 and its safety in the ground where there are roots and 
 worms, while the squirrel seeks its food in trees, where 
 there are nuts and acorns; the bird builds a nest in 
 which to deposit its eggs, in a tree, while the fish casts 
 its spawn in some convenient and safe retreat under the 
 
346 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 THE HABITS OF ANIMALS. 
 
 water; the ostrich buries its eggs in the hot sand, — 
 while a certain insect bores a hole in the hide of an 
 ox in which to lay its eggs; the hedge-hog secures 
 itself by folding itself up, and presenting to its enemy 
 a strong barrier of sharp prickles, while the hare 
 depends on its swiftness for safety. The following 
 instance of the effort of instinct is remarkable. The 
 nymphs of water-moths, commonly called cod-bait, — 
 cover themselves, by means of gluten, with pieces of 
 wood, straw, small shells, or gravel. It is necessary 
 that they should always be nearly in equilibrium with 
 water in which they live. To accomplish this pur- 
 pose, when their habitations are too heavy, they add 
 a piece of wood ; when too light, a bit of gravel. 
 Another law of nature, and that which is common 
 to every species of animals, is that of AFFECTION to 
 their own kind. However ferocious they may be to 
 others, love for their own species is a common 
 principle. They often discover, indeed, towards each 
 other, dispositions of a very contrary nature, under the 
 influence of which they will injure and destroy each 
 other: this, however, 1s not natural, but only casual ; 
 —not a law of nature, but the effect of provocation. 
 By virtue of this law, animals feel a mutual confidence ; 
 they delight in each other’s society, and co-operate in 
 what is necessary for the good of the whole, either i 
 obtainmg food, or protecting themselves from the 
 ‘attacks of their enemies. This affection is common to 
 every species of animals; some, indeed, have it in 
 but a low degree, and it reaches only to an individual 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE, 347 
 
 LAWS OBSERVED BY OUR PLANET. 
 
 or two; but, in others, to a vast extent of social in- 
 tercourse, union, and co-operation; as, for example, 
 in ants and bees, of the insect tribes, that. live 
 together in colonies of many thousands, in which the 
 most perfect order and harmony prevail. It is also 
 apparent among beavers, deer, and sheep, of quadru- 
 peds; among rooks, and different kinds of birds ; 
 among herrings, pilchards, and various species of 
 fishes. 
 
 A suspension of the law of nature we call instinct, 
 or of that mutual affection in the individuals of the 
 same species, would occasion an immediate exter- 
 mination of the whole race. 
 
 DIGL IL OF 
 
 THE LAWS WHICH BELONG TO PARTICULAR KINDS OF 
 INANIMATE OBJECTS. - 
 
 We contemplate the laws of nature with an espe- 
 cial reference to their utility in the grand system. 
 Every different kind of inanimate matter acts under 
 the direction of laws peculiar, in some respects, to 
 itself. .To consider the laws which are observable in 
 every. different description of inanimate matter would 
 be tedious. We shall confine our attention to a few 
 of the most remarkable. 
 
 LAWS WHICH ARE OBSERVED BY THIS GLOBE. 
 ~~The planet on which we live, revolves. upon its 
 own axis, from west to east, once in twenty-four hours. 
 This law was no doubt given to it by the Creator 
 when it was originally formed; but why it should 
 
348 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 THE ELEVATION OF THE AXIS OF THE EARTH. 
 
 continue to maintain the same velocity to the present 
 time, without the smallest diminution, and whether it 
 is occasioned directly by the power of God, or in- 
 directly by the influence of some other cause which 
 operates in the system to which it belongs, is perhaps 
 impossible to prove. However, the end to be accom- 
 plished by it is as obvious as it is important. We 
 are indebted to this law for the alternate and regular 
 succession of day and night, to which vegetable nature, 
 and therefore the animal creation also, are essentially 
 indebted. Without this motion, one half of the globe 
 would have been in perpetual night, while the other 
 would have been exposed to the incessant heat of the 
 sun—either of which must have been followed by 
 consequences disastrous to the whole globe. To 
 this law, also, together with lunar influence, we are 
 indebted for the regular flowing and ebbing of the 
 tides, without which the vast ocean would probably 
 have been stationary, and become putrid, which would 
 have destroyed the whole of the animal creation. 
 Besides its diurnal motion, the earth has an 
 annual one round the sun, which is essential to the . 
 production of the seasons, which the Creator engaged 
 to perpetuate, together with day and night, so long as 
 the earth should remain. But it was not a mere 
 revolution round the sun once in a year which would 
 have produced this regular and important succession 
 of seasons, unless the axis of the earth had been fixed 
 nearly as we find it. Had this axis laid either in the 
 plane of the earth’s orbit round the sun, or perpendicular 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 349 
 
 THE LAWS OF FLUIDS, 
 
 to that plane, these ends could not have been accom- 
 plished, and the most calamitous consequences would 
 have ensued. But these disasters are avoided, and 
 the beneficial objects attained, by the position in which 
 this axis is actually placed ; and that 1s, lying between 
 the two, raised a little above the plane of its orbit, 
 but considerably short of being perpendicular to that 
 plane. ‘This elevation of its axis, the earth regularly 
 maintains, through the whole of its annual orbit, 
 without the slightest deviation; neither does this 
 axis alter from those two points on the surface of the 
 globe where they now are. If it were to change, the 
 diurnal rotation would throw the waters of the ocean 
 out of their channels, and another deluge must take 
 -place.° 
 
 Laws COMMON TO WATER, AND SIMILAR 
 Gross Frurps.—Fluids are but little affected by 
 the attraction of cohesion. The power with which. 
 their essential particles attract each other is very 
 small. ‘These particles are sufficiently remote to 
 admit air and other fluids more subtile than themselves. 
 Yet they invariably regard the law of gravitation, 
 whether we consider them in the smallest drops, 
 or in vast oceans. ‘The law to which I now refer 
 is that which disposes them to maintain their own 
 
 © It has been conjectured that the Deluge was occasioned 
 hy a change in the position of the axis of the earth, effected by 
 the proximity of some comet. This is possible; and would 
 account for the fact, that fossil remains of animals are found in 
 climates which such animals do not inhabit now. 
 
350 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 a 
 Jevel. This law is so universal,- that it required 
 the performance of a Miracle to interrupt it, and 
 _ to make the Red Sea stand as a wall on the 
 right hand and on the left of the Israelites, to 
 allow them a passage: and when God resolved to 
 drown the Egyptians, he had but to withdraw his 
 miraculous power, when the sea instantly recovered 
 its level, and the people sank like lead in the mighty 
 waters. ‘I'he constituent parts of fluids not adhering, 
 move past each other with great ease ; and no sooner 
 is their equilibrium interrupted than they endeavour 
 to restore it, and maintain their level. This law 
 accounts for many of the phenomena of nature, and 
 effects various important purposes. It is this which 
 occasions water to spring and rise in the well; which 
 keeps ships and other bodies that are specifically 
 lighter, buoyant on its surface ; which makes streams 
 
 and rivers to flow along their channel towards the sea. 
 On this principle, a variety of hydraulical devices are 
 constructed. 
 
 While on the one hand it is highly advantageous 
 to the general system that water should rise to its own 
 level; on the other, it is highly important that it 
 should not rise above it. Otherwise, the sea would 
 overflow its own boundaries, and deluge the whole 
 habitable parts of the earth. As Divine Wisdom has 
 fixed the laws according to which this important fluid 
 acts invariably, when uninterrupted, we calculate with 
 certainty respecting what it will do, and what it will 
 not do, under given circumstances, and we are rarely 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 351 
 
 A REMARKABLE LAW OBSERVED BY ICE. 
 
 mistaken in our expectations when these laws are 
 understood. 
 
 In its natural state, water is in a liquid form, kept 
 so by the presence of the matter of heat. The atmo- 
 sphere is generally in such a state.as to preserve it in 
 this condition, excepting in a small portion of the 
 globe, or during a short part of the year, when that 
 degree of heat which is natural to it, is absorbed by the 
 colder atmosphere, and congelation takes place. Frost 
 is no doubt of considerable utility to the soil of 
 those climates to which it extends ; though it does not 
 appear that water, in a congealed form, answers any 
 important end in the general system of nature. It is 
 in its liquid state that it affords all its advantages. 
 
 In general, all bodies, whether solid or fluid, 
 contract their dimensions, and become of more specific 
 gravity in cooling. But waver affords a remarkable 
 and striking exception; for its volume or sizeis in- 
 creased by being frozen. The wisdom and goodness 
 of the great Artificer of the world are strikingly mani- 
 fest in. this arrangement, as it will appear, if we 
 consider what would have been the consequences, 
 had. water been subject to the general law, and, like 
 other fluids, become specifically heavier, or of a 
 smaller bulk, by the loss’ of its caloric or latent fire. 
 In winter, when the atmosphere became reduced to 
 thirty-two degrees, the water on the surface of our 
 rivers would have sunk as it froze; another sheet of 
 water would have froze immediately, and sunk also; 
 the ultimate consequence of which would have been, 
 
352 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 THE LAWS OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR. 
 
 that the beds of our rivers would have become repo- 
 sitories of immense masses of ice, which no subsequent 
 summer could unbind ; and the world would shortly 
 have been converted into a frozen chaos. How ad- 
 mirable the wisdom, how skilful the contrivance, that 
 by subjecting this element to a law contrary to what is 
 observed by other bodies, the water, as it freezes, 
 becomes specifically lighter, and swimming upon the 
 surface, performs an important service, by preserving 
 a vast body of caloric in the subjacent fluid from the 
 effects of surrounding cold, ready to receive its ac- 
 customed quantity upon the first change of atmo- 
 sphere. 
 
 THE LAWS OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR. 
 
 We have already considered the nature of the. 
 atmosphere which invests this globe. It is not its 
 nature, but the peculiar laws according to which it 
 acts, of which we now speak. Like water and other 
 fluids of a grosser,kind, it naturally tends to maintain 
 its level, and to restore the equilibrium whenever it 
 is interrupted by any of the operations of nature. In 
 effecting this equilibrium, it occasions winds, storms, 
 and tempests ; which, however terrible and destructive 
 sometimes, are highly beneficial in the general eco- 
 nomy. ‘his necessary interruption to the tranquillity 
 of the atmosphere arises from another law common to 
 air. Heat expands its volume to occupy a larger 
 space, and cold condenses it into a narrower, than it 
 
oo 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 35 
 
 MEANS OF PRESERVING ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE. 
 
 fills at a common temperature. By a sudden and 
 powerful rarefaction, its particles are propelled from 
 the centre to a circumference—this is one cause of 
 winds :—any sudden cold operating on this rarefied 
 atmosphere occasions its immediate contraction, and 
 an imperfect vacuum, into which the surrounding body 
 of air flows, as from the circumference to the centre, 
 to restore the equilibrium—this is another cause of 
 winds. 
 
 Singular provision is made by the Author of nature 
 to preserve the atmosphere in a proper temperature. 
 When aqueous vapour is condensed into fluid in the 
 atmosphere, heat is produced; and the formation of 
 rain, hail, and snow, tends to mitigate the severity of 
 the winter. In the summer, evaporation is constantly 
 tending to cool the surface. The melting of the polar - 
 ice moderates the heat that would arise in the northern 
 regions from the constant presence of the sun during 
 the polar summer ; and the evolution of heat during 
 the congelation of water, prevents too great a degree 
 of cold, and renders the transitions of temperature 
 more slow and gradual.* 
 
 Air enters into all the substances on the face of 
 this globe. Vegetables and animals have a large 
 proportion of it in their respective compositions, in 
 their solids and fluids, in both which it subserves a 
 thousand valuable purposes of indispensable import- 
 ance. Inanimals, it is acted on by their natural heat, 
 
 “ Davy’s Elements of Chemical Philosophy. 
 AA . 
 
354 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 CAUSES OF WINDS. 
 
 which rarefies it so as to support the pressure of the 
 denser atmosphere externally, preventing any sensible 
 inconvenience to their corporeal organs. In plants, 
 it is acted on by the solar rays, by virtue of which it 
 is expanded in their different vessels, which produces 
 an expansion of those vessels too, and thus, probably, 
 greatly assists their vegetation, if it be not the principal 
 agent employed by the God of nature in this mys- 
 terious process. Air, when raretied by heat, ascends 
 through the denser atmosphere, till it arrive at a 
 stratum of air of its own rarity. This is one of the 
 most important laws in nature: were it not for this, 
 our atmosphere would soon be unfit for animals to 
 respire. As was before mentioned, air taken into the 
 lungs of animals imparts its vital principle, and is 
 expelled a rank poison, utterly unfit to be again ad- 
 mitted into the lungs till it has undergone a purifica- 
 tion in the great laboratory of nature. Hence, did it 
 not possess the property just mentioned, it would form 
 an atmosphere around the mouths of animals, and 
 occasion their instant suffocation. No sooner should 
 we begin to breathe than we should begin to die. 
 _' In the atmosphere, heated air is constantly rising, 
 and colder air rushes in to supply its place; and this 
 event is the principal cause of winds. ‘The air that 
 flows from the poles towards the equator, in conse- 
 quence of the rotation of the earth, has less motion 
 than the atmosphere into which it passes, and occasions 
 an easterly current; the air passing from the equator 
 towards the poles, having more motion, occasions a 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 355 
 
 EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC GRAVITATION, 
 
 westerly current; and by these changes, the different 
 parts of the atmosphere are mixed together: cold is 
 subdued by heat; moist air from the sea is mixed 
 with dry air from the land; and the great mass of 
 elastic fluid surrounding the globe, preserved in a 
 state fitted for the purposes of vegetable and animal 
 life.° 
 
 The law just named is occasioned by another which 
 has been already mentioned as common to all material 
 substances,—I mean, the Law of Gravitation. Vor 
 atmospheric air gravitates towards the centre of the 
 earth in common with other substances. A column 
 of it on the surface of the earth, only one inch square, 
 is equal to fourteen pounds weight. This pressure 
 decreases in the ratio of the distance from the surface 
 of the earth. Hence, a portion of rarefied air is 
 forced upwards by the pressure of the denser sur- 
 rounding air, as a cork ascends in water. No sooner 
 is the rarefied and poisoned air driven from our lungs 
 by the process of respiration, than it ascends instantly, 
 without giving us the least inconvenience, and a body 
 of respirable air takes its place. Besides this im- . 
 portant purpose, atmospheric pressure or gravitation 
 is subservient to many others. It raises water in the 
 pump. It is this also which renders essential service 
 to the infant animal in sucking ; for all that the animal 
 does in this curious process is, to make a kind of 
 vacuum in its mouth; it is the pressure of the atmo- 
 
 * Davy’s Elements of Chemical Philosophy. 
 RO AL ; 
 
856 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC GRAVITATION, 
 
 sphere which then forces out the milk. This also aids 
 in the process of vegetation; for while the heat of the 
 sun expands the air contained in the stem, the bark, 
 and the leaves of the plant, the atmospheric pressure 
 operates in forcing through the pores of the root the 
 necessary juices, and impelling them through the 
 vessels destined to receive them. In the process of 
 respiration, this also contributes its aid. By muscular 
 contraction the diaphragm is drawn from its concave 
 position towards a plane surface in order to enlarge 
 the dimensions of the thorax, when the air rushes in, 
 and spreads itself through the vessels of the lungs ; 
 no sooner is the equilibrium thus restored, than it is 
 again destroyed. by the action of heat on the air thus 
 received into the lungs, when the pressure of air on 
 the abdominal regions restores the diaphragm to its 
 former state, and expels the air again from the lungs. 
 Combustion is also assisted by it. The oxygen of 
 the atmosphere is an essential food to fire. This gas 
 constitutes nearly one-fourth of the volume of atmo- 
 spheric air, but it is immediately absorbed by the 
 ignited body; and hence the quantity of air in the 
 fire is one-fourth part less than that which surrounds 
 it, and, therefore, the external air will be perpetually 
 pressing in to restore the equilibrium ; thus a constant 
 current of fresh air is forced in, which supplies the 
 fire in the same proportion as it consumes its oxygen. 
 The same pressure contributes much to our domestic 
 comfort by forcing the smoke up our chimneys. 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 357 
 
 LAWS OF FIRE. 
 
 “ 
 
 THE LAWS OF ELEMENTARY FIRE, LIGHT, AND ELECTRICITY. 
 
 POLO LOLOLE 
 
 What fire is, considered in its elementary prin- 
 ciples, philosophers have not yet informed us. How- 
 ever, it exists in nature, and is one of the most impor- 
 tant agents employed in its operations. We know but 
 little of the laws by which it acts. It enters into all 
 kinds of substances: we know of none that is imper- 
 vious to its subtile particles; nor of any in whose 
 composition it is not an ingredient; though in many 
 it is latent and unperceived. It may be elicited by 
 different means, as by the violent stroke of two hard 
 bodies, and by the friction of other substances. It 
 enlarges all the bodies into which it enters, by rarefying 
 the air which they contain, and thus tends to effect a 
 separation of their constituent particles. Its. presence 
 keeps water in a fluid state; for when it is by 
 any means removed, congelation immediately takes 
 place. It is essential to vegetation; for, without it, 
 nothing grows. It is this which is the great principle 
 of animal life; without it, the fluids cease to circulate, 
 muscular energy fails, and nervous sensibility becomes 
 torpid. It is one of the great. agents in the process 
 of digestion. By expanding the volume of air which 
 all our aliments contain, it effects a decomposition, or 
 separation of their parts, and exposes their most secret 
 principles to the action of the stomach, by which 
 all that is nutritious is extracted. This simple state- 
 ment of facts will sufficiently explain the laws ac- 
 
358 GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 LAWS OF LIGHT-—ELECTRICITY. 
 
 cording to which fire acts; for it is not in a few 
 insulated instances, but universally, that it produces 
 these effects; not on a narrow scale, but on a scale 
 at least as extensive as this globe, that its laws are 
 thus exemplified. | 
 
 Lieut, from whatever body it flows, is constituted 
 of the same primary colours; and the laws which 
 relate to its velocity, its refraction, reflection, and 
 inflection, are the same. It would be foreign from 
 my object to enter into a particular explanation of 
 these laws. Various phenomena in nature depend 
 on them ; such, for instance, as the rainbow, that most 
 beautiful object, which God has placed in the heavens 
 as a token of the covenant which he entered into with 
 his creatures, that he would drown the world no more. 
 
 ELECTRICITY, also, acts according to certain laws 
 in all its operations; on which depend thunder and 
 lightning, aurora borealis, and many other grand 
 appearances in nature. 
 
 I have been brief on these topics, because I would 
 not be tedious. ‘To attempt to enter into a particular 
 detail of the laws of these various fluids (if they be 
 various) would be too abstruse for general readers, 
 and would require more room than can be allotted to 
 this part of the subject. 
 
 ———__y——_———- 
 
 The view which has been taken of nature in the 
 arrangement of the particles which constitute organic 
 bodies, and the laws under which all sorts of 
 
GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. - 859 
 
 REFLECTIONS. 
 
 beings act—organic and inorganic—gives us the most 
 stupendous representation of the Deity. How vast 
 and inconceivable his perfections! How amazing and 
 attractive his goodness! How condescending and 
 inexhaustible his benevolence! At the same moment 
 that he is superintending and directing all the motions 
 of millions of millions of worlds which roll in infinite 
 space, so as to preserve them in the most perfect order 
 for thousands of successive years, he is extending his 
 notice to the most trivial concerns of each. Not an 
 atom of matter is added to another atom in the vege- 
 tation of a plant, or the growth of an animal, but it 
 is he who puts it in motion, and conducts it through 
 the mysterious labyrinths it has to pass (in which it 
 forms new associations with other bodies), and places 
 it inthe exact point where it is wanted, to perfect the 
 incomprehensible whole. When matured, it is he 
 who preserves it in existence, and who perpetuates 
 its being till it has accomplished the object of its 
 formation, and glorified its adorable Creator. 
 
 All the laws of nature, or the causes which are in 
 constant operation in the universe, hang suspended 
 upon his will; and the effects, in both their nature 
 and quantity, are under the control of his power. 
 By one volition of the Infinite Mind, they may be all 
 reversed, or suspended, or annihilated. 
 
 Chance has no existence in the vast universe in 
 which we live. God actuates the whole machine, 
 directs all its motions, and effects all its results. 
 Whatever apparent confusion there may be, all is 
 
JOU GOVERNMENT OF NATURE. 
 
 RELLECTIONS., 
 
 order the most perfect, and harmony the most com- 
 plete. When we call these principles in question, it 
 is because we either lose sight of the Deity in his 
 works, or take but a very limited and narrow view of 
 his plans of operation. ‘There is order and design in 
 storms and tempests, in earthquakes, lightning and 
 thunder, as well as in the circulation of our blood, in 
 the ebbing and flowing of the tides, and in the motions 
 of the heavenly bodies. If so, what ground for sub- 
 mission, adoration, and praise, even under the various 
 and most terrific convulsions of nature which we may 
 be called to contemplate. 
 
 A mind filled with these principles enjoys a per- 
 petual repast ; for it perceives God in every thing. 
 “ Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night 
 showeth it knowledge.” In great and small, God is 
 alike present. The same hand that fashioned suns 
 and planets, shapes the insect, paints the lily, and 
 gives fragrance to the rose. He makes himself known 
 through the medium of his works; and it is at the 
 same time our duty that it is our felicity to behold 
 him in them all. Every various form gives us a 
 different view of deity: yet, how little we know of 
 him, though we have so many instructors! Through 
 the Lae of all our senses, he solicits our attention 
 and our love. How superior, then, must be the en- 
 joyments of the man who believes in the existence of 
 a God, and who recognizes him in all his works, to 
 the enjoyments of him who neither acknowledges his 
 presence, nor believes that he is ! 
 
Wart Secon. 
 
 THE 
 
 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
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THE 
 
 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 Tr there is a God, as all that has been advanced 
 tends most satisfactorily to demonstrate, it follows, 
 that he has a right to exercise over his creature man, 
 an absolute authority; and that so far as he is 
 pleased to make known his will, it is the unques- 
 tionable duty of the rational and intelligent being 
 to submit and to obey. And ‘‘the moral govern- 
 ment of a society of intellectual beings, implies 
 and consists in an application to their understandings 
 in directing the intelligent will, and in enforcing 
 the direction by the declaration made*.” A moral 
 government supposes a moral governor, and must 
 have a relation to moral agents, or such as are 
 possessed of understanding and will; and the wisdom 
 of it consists in the governor’s so adapting his laws 
 to the capacities of the moral agent, as to effect 
 
 * President Edwards. 
 
364 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 MAN’S SUPERIORITY AS AN INTELLIGENT BEING. 
 
 the purposes of his will, consistently with free agency, 
 and the general principles on which the moral agent 
 is constituted. In order to be more distinct in 
 treating this subject, let us consider man as a moral 
 agent :—show that his Creator has granted him a 
 law which is sufficient to direct him in all his actions 
 for which he is responsible ;—and develop the motives 
 which it contains, and which are the best con- 
 ceivable to excite to obedience, and to deter from 
 crime. 
 
 MAN A MORAL AGENT. 
 
 All animals are endowed with powers of action. 
 Of all others, those with which man is blessed, are 
 the most noble and perfect. His form and appear- 
 ance indicate his vast superiority above all the other 
 animals of this lower world, and his intellectual 
 endowments infer a destiny peculiar to himself. 
 But while his animal constitution obviously fits him 
 for action, it is his being endowed with rational 
 powers which makes him accountable for what he 
 does, and which renders him capable of performing 
 actions morally good or morally bad—virtuous or 
 vitious. When we speak of the morality of an 
 action indeed, we suppose a law existing which 
 is the criterion of right and wrong, to which if our 
 actions agree, tied are said to be virtuous, or 
 morally good; and if they are short of its demands, 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 365 
 
 MAN POSSESSES THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A MORAL AGENT, 
 
 or contrary to its injunctions, they are vitious, or 
 morally bad. This supposes also, that the moral 
 agent 1s possessed of an understanding which enables 
 him to comprehend the rule of duty—with a capacity 
 of judging of the propriety and impropriety of his 
 actions—and with a freedom of will and a power to 
 do that which he chooses.” Man is endowed with 
 these powers; and were he deprived of any of 
 them, he could not with propriety be denominated 
 a moral agent, neither could he be responsible for 
 his actions. 
 
 Man, as a moral agent, is possessed of an UNDER- 
 STANDING, which enables him to comprehend the 
 rule of duty. When we speak of the actions of 
 men with respect to the laws which are enacted 
 by mere political governments, we call them lawful 
 or unlawful ; but when we speak of human actions 
 with reference to the laws of God, we call them 
 moral or immoral ;—virtuous or vitious ;—which 
 implies that the law is understood. For were man 
 destitute of the powers of perception or understanding, 
 his actions could no more be regarded as virtuous 
 or vitious—morally good or bad, than those of an 
 idiot or a brute. Man, however, possesses this 
 essential pre-requisite of moral agency to an extent 
 sufficient to enable him to comprehend the laws of 
 
 > The powers of the human mind which are here mentioned, 
 have been already described; they are now regarded with an 
 especial relation to the subject in hand, 
 
366 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 ee —*—*—=q&q&z—E—~—~—~—~—~0E@~@&@q~—~C—*X<*~—EaaSSSSSS=== 
 a ee SSS 
 MAN FORMS AN ESTIMATE OF HIS ACTIONS. 
 
 his moral Governor so far as they relate to the duties 
 which he owes to God, to himself, or to his neigh- 
 bour, and consequently, to an extent sufficient to 
 render him accountable for his actions. It is true that 
 the power of perception in the human mind is much 
 impaired by sin, and that the understanding of man 
 was very different before the apostasy of our first 
 parents, from what it is now. Yet this difference 
 of power of perception is remedied by the grant 
 of a revealed law to man as a fallen creature, which 
 he did not enjoy in his Paradisic state. While he 
 retained the image of God, and continued in a state 
 of perfection, he had nothing more to guide him 
 than the law which was written on his heart, and 
 which he perfectly understood; this law, which was 
 obscured by the fall, nay, nearly lost, is restored 
 by the revelation of a law which for substance 
 is the same, which God has put into our hands, 
 and which we have a capacity to comprehend so 
 far as it relates to moral actions. This is so evident, 
 that no man pleads an excuse for his crimes 
 on the ground of not being able to comprehend 
 the laws which forbid them. In this sense, ‘ God 
 enlightens every man that cometh into the world.” 
 Man has a capacity of supe1NnG of the propriety 
 and impropriety of his actions; this is another 
 quality of moral agency. It would have been of 
 little service to man to have been endowed with a 
 capacity to perceive the import of a law considered 
 in its ideas and words, if he had not possessed an 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 367 
 
 MAN POSSESSES FREE-WILL. 
 
 ability to reason on the data with which the law 
 furnished him, and to judge of the consequences 
 of obedience and disobedience. He must not only 
 be able to understand the import of the criterion of 
 moral rectitude—but be able to judge whether his 
 actions correspond with it or not. Every rational 
 being possesses this faculty; he can “ weigh him- 
 self in the balance” of the sanctuary, and with 
 facility and accuracy discover when “he is wanting.” 
 No man injures himself or his neighbour, or seeks 
 to promote the welfare of both, “ but his conscience 
 is the meanwhile either accusing or else excusing ;” 
 declaring his guilt, or felicitating him with conscious 
 rectitude. 
 
 FREEDOM OF WILL, anda power to do that which 
 he chooses, is the third qualification of a moral 
 agent.—A_ restraint laid’ on the will, or necessity 
 put on man to do or not to do, to choose or to 
 refuse that which is contrary to his wishes, is to 
 destroy man’s accountability; for how can he be 
 accountable for that which he is obliged to do or 
 not do contrary to his volitions?—It destroys also 
 all ideas of moral agency ;—for what virtue or vice 
 can there be in an action in which we are not 
 voluntary? Hence man was created a free agent, 
 with an ability to stand, but free to fall; and his 
 apostasy was voluntary. Whatever is depraved in 
 the human soul, is owing to his own voluntary 
 disobedience. But though sin has bereft man of 
 his purity, and brought dreadful darkness over his 
 
368 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 ———SSee———eeEEEESSS———— ee - 
 
 MAN HAS A POWER TO DO AS HE WILL. 
 
 understanding, we are still to consider him a free 
 agent; that is, at liberty to act according to his 
 volitions. Were it not so, then it would follow 
 that he could not be either punishable for his crimes, 
 or rewardable for his virtues; for neither the one 
 nor the other would be his own, but imputable 
 to the agent under the influence of whom he acted. 
 It is equally certain that man has power to do what 
 hé wills to do, as it respects moral good and evil. 
 This is generally granted; and to deny it, would 
 be to destroy all ideas of free agency; and to punish 
 man for what he did, or did not, when he had not 
 power to do otherwise, though he willed it, would be 
 absurd and unjust. And the manner also in which the 
 divine influence determines the actions of rational 
 beings, and assists in performing them, is in perfeet 
 consistency with free agency. ‘“ It makes them 
 willing in the day of its power,” and yet does no 
 violence to free agency. It does this by illuminating 
 the understanding to perceive the excellency of what 
 is morally good, and the enormity of what is morally 
 bad, when a desire to obtain the one, and to shun 
 the other necessarily follows, which determines the 
 volition, and the volition determines the action. Thus 
 “God works in his servants both to will and to 
 do of his good pleasure ;” yet man is a free agent.’ 
 
 * See this subject treat more largely in the Third Essay, 
 Section Third. 
 
 ” —— 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 369 
 
 THE LAW GIVEN IN PARADISE, AND AT MOUNT SINAT, 
 
 LL 
 
 THE LAW UNDER WHICH MAN IS PLACED. 
 
 LEL EP LPLF 
 
 Haying proved that man is a moral agent, by 
 showing that he possesses all the qualifications which 
 are necessary to constitute him such—let us show 
 further, that his MORAL GOVERNOR HAS GRANTED 
 HIM A Law which is sufficient to direct him in all 
 those actions which are required of him in his pro- 
 bationary state, and for which he is responsible. As 
 the duties of accountable beings depend on the pleasure 
 of the supreme authority, it is of essential importance 
 that his will should be made known in such a manner 
 as that those whom it is intended to direct might 
 be able to comprehend it. This was granted to man 
 in Paradise by immediate communications from the 
 Deity ; and he understood accurately the moral system 
 under which he was placed. By the disobedience 
 of our first parents, this knowledge was either lost, 
 or their intellectual powers were so beclouded, as to 
 render a fresh revelation of the same moral code 
 essentially necessary ;— this was most graciously 
 afiorded by the instrumentality of Moses on Mount 
 Sinai. A great part of that revelation indeed related 
 to sacrifices, and. to ceremonial w orship, which were 
 typical of a future dispensation; and, consequently, 
 were but temporary in their obligation. Yet, a MORAL 
 SYSTEM was at the same time communicated, which, 
 
 BB 
 
370 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 MAN’S DUTIES AS A MORAL AGENT. 
 
 for substance, was no doubt the same as had been 
 given to man in Paradise, and which is still binding on 
 all men in every country, under all possible circum- 
 
 stances, and at every age of the world. This code 
 
 is contained in the decalogue, and is explained by 
 
 prophets, evangelists, apostles, and Christ himself, 
 
 ‘‘ who came not to destroy, but to fulfil the law.” 
 Man, as a moral agent, owes certain duties to his 
 
 Creator, to his neighbour, and to himself. The 
 
 moral code which is contained in the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures, affords direction in all these cases ; and though 
 a great variety of duties is due in these different 
 relations, yet the Scriptures are singularly replete 
 with direction ;—and not a case can occur, but a 
 law is enacted by the supreme authority which 
 specifies what is the duty of the rational being; or 
 if a law is not to be found which prescribes the 
 duty in express words, we can be at no loss to 
 discover a general principle from which it may be 
 clearly inferred. It is worthy of remark also, that 
 every law, and every general principle which infers 
 a law, are in the most perfect unison with the 
 generally acknowledged principles of equity and 
 sound reason; so that in rendering obedience to 
 
 the laws of God, we do in fact but obey the dictates. 
 
 of reason, and conform to the principles of justice. 
 The object of God in establishing the moral 
 government of which I speak is, to advance his own 
 honour, by securing the obedience, and effecting the 
 happiness of mankind. And the more minutely we 
 
 Eee ee 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD, = 371 
 
 THE LAW OF MORAL AGENTS CONTAINED IN THE SCRIPTURES. 
 nee 
 examine the law which God has prescribed to them 
 for the accomplishing of this end and its subordinate 
 ends, the more of its suitableness, and the wisdom 
 of its adaptation we shall discover.—It may not be 
 improper to be somewhat more particular. 
 
 Appealing to the sacred volume which contains 
 a development of this economy, we are. struck 
 with the copiousness of its laws, while we must 
 admire the brevity and perspicuity with which they 
 are delivered. Had they been compressed into a 
 narrower compass than they are, they must have 
 been obscure ; had they been more enlarged, the 
 book which contained them would have been too 
 voluminous for the greater part of mankind to read 
 and to remember. ‘The Scriptures of the Old and 
 New Testament contain a revelation of all necessary 
 doctrines, a great diversity of predictions, and many 
 descriptions of that ceremonial worship which was 
 but temporary and typical; so that if we were to 
 make a selection of what relates to the crimes we 
 are to shun, and to the duties we have to perform, 
 it would be found that the selection would form but 
 a very small volume; yet in this small book would 
 be discovered all the laws which are wanted for the 
 government of a world, however ignorant, unjust, 
 and degenerate its inhabitants may be. 
 
 God has the first claim on our services; and the 
 Scriptures are replete with laws and statutes for the 
 direction of ovr conduct with reference to himself. 
 They forbid idolatry, swearing by his name, blas- 
 
 BBQ 
 
372 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 “scenic miata nei 
 DUTIES WE OWE TO GOD—OURSELVES. 
 
 phemy, and whatever is offensive to him :—while 
 they prescribe, in the most peremptory language, 
 the worship which he requires—prayer and _ praise, 
 whether it respects the inward state of the mind, or 
 the manner of performing the external duty ; both in 
 private and in public. How plain and comprehensive 
 are such laws as these: — “ Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart:”— “God 1s a 
 Spirit, and they who worship him, must worship 
 him in spirit and in truth :’—“ Pray without ceasing =i 
 — “ Sing with melody in your hearts to the Lord :"— 
 “ Thou shalt worship no other God :”—“ Keep your- 
 selves from idols :’—‘‘ Thou shalt not take the name 
 of the Lord thy God in vain :—“ Remember the Sab- 
 bath day to keep it holy.” | 
 
 Next to God, our own personal concerns demand 
 our attention. While religion, prohibits, and indeed 
 most forcibly condemns mere selfishness, yet it by no 
 means forbids that we should attend to that which 
 is adapted to promote our own happiness; nay, 
 it requires that we should with the most persevering 
 application. It enjoins “‘ that we should seek first 
 the kingdom of God and his righteousness’ —“ Work 
 out our own salvation with fear and trembling” —“ Keep 
 our hearts with all diligence’—“ Yield ourselves to 
 God’—“ Deny ourselves”—“ Crucify the flesh with 
 the affections and lusts’”—‘* Examine ourselves whe- 
 ther we be in the faith”—“ Watch and pray that we 
 enter not into temptation”’—‘“ Repent and believe the 
 Gospel” —*‘ Search the Scriptures” —“ Lay aside every 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 373 
 
 DUTIES WE OWE TO OUR NEIGHBOURS, 
 
 weight, and the sin which doth most easily beset us, 
 and run with patience the race set before us’—‘“‘ And 
 that we should come to the throne of grace to obtain 
 mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” 
 
 Our neighbours also are to share our attention. 
 ‘“ Good will to men” is among the first principles 
 of this sacred code. It teaches us to regard all 
 men as brethren, and requires that we should not 
 only do them no injury, but endeavour to promote 
 their welfare. It is calculated to unite in one affec- 
 tionate family the whole human race; and were it 
 in full operation among mankind, no evil passion 
 would ever be indulged or allowed to appear; 
 injustice, cruelty, and war, would for ever cease ; 
 and peace and love would establish a universal 
 empire in the world. ‘These assertions may be fully 
 justified by a few quotations from the many which 
 the oracles of God contain on these subjects :— 
 “‘ Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto 
 you, do ye even so to them’—‘“‘ Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbour as thyself’—‘“ Do good unto all 
 men”—‘‘ As much as in you lies, live peaceably 
 with all men”—‘ Bear ye one another's burdens’— 
 “ Avenge not yourselves’—“ Put off all these, 
 wrath, malice, anger, &c.”-—“ ‘Thou shalt not kill”— 
 ‘« If thine enemy hunger, feed him, &c.” _ 
 
 This code of morals is not satisfied with giving 
 general laws; it descends to all the different rela- 
 tions of life. Man is a social being; much of his 
 happiness is derived from his relation to others of his 
 own species; and the Scriptures are explicit in 
 
374 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 RECIPROCAL DUTIES. 
 < ‘ x v = 
 
 enjoining the various duties which each owes the other 
 in this vast society. To husbands and wives it says— 
 ‘“‘ Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against 
 them.”—‘“* Wives, obey your husbands in all things :” 
 —to parents and children it says—“ Parents, train 
 up your children in the nurture and admonition of 
 the Lord.” —“ Children, obey your ‘sehiaite for this is 
 the first commandment with promise :”’—to kings and 
 subjects it says—‘ It is an abomination to kings to 
 commit wickedness.” — ‘‘ Honour the king.” —To 
 masters and servants it says—‘‘ Masters, give your 
 servants that which is right.”"—‘* Servants, obey in all 
 things them that are your masters according to the 
 flesh.”—It says to the rich—‘“ Be bountiful,’—and to 
 the poor—‘ Be content with such things as ye have.” 
 To all it says— Let your light so shine before men, 
 that others seeing your good works, may glorify your 
 Father who is in heaven.” 
 
 To see the wisdom of that system of ethics which 
 is contained in the oracles of God, we have but to 
 imagine that all men were toembrace it, and to conform 
 in every thing to its principles, when, it is sufficiently 
 obvious, all men would be happy, and the glory of 
 
 the supreme Governor of the world must be secured | 
 
 —which are the important objects it proposes ;—its 
 adaptation to these ends is, in fact, its wisdom. 
 
 We shall now proceed to the third object proposed, 
 which is, TO DEVELOP THE MOTIVES WHICH THIS 
 LAW CONTAINS, AND WHICH ARE THE BEST CON- 
 CEIVABLE TO EXCITE TO OBEDIENCE, AND DETER 
 FROM CRIME. 
 
 ee 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 375 
 
 LAWS ENFORCED BY CERTAIN SANCTIONS. 
 
 PUNISHMENTS CONSIDERED AS MOTIVES TO OBEDIENCE. 
 
 OL LIPIL ES 
 
 A law without any motive to stimulate to obedi- 
 ence would be nugatory ; to enact such a law among 
 beings who are radically indisposed to obey it, would 
 argue the greatest folly in the legislator ; for he could 
 not expect any thing rationally, but that his subjects, 
 if subjects they’ might be called, would insult his 
 authority, and trample on his laws with supreme 
 contempt. Hence all legislators have decreed the 
 sanction at the same time they have enacted the law ; 
 for it is not the authority of the legislator, nor 
 the rationality of the law, nor its suitableness to their 
 condition, that will, in all cases, secure obedience, 
 where there are counteracting interests of a private 
 nature. The sanction is the great motive to obedi- 
 ence; and the more important the reward or the 
 punishment, the greater is the probability of securing 
 this object. The moral code which God has esta- 
 blished for the observance of mankind, infinitely 
 exceeds, in this, and in all other respects, the laws 
 enacted by mere human authorities. The latter 
 only threaten a punishment in case of disobedience, 
 and proceed on the principle that obedience is its own 
 reward; but the former promises a positive reward to 
 obedience, as well as threatens a certain punishment 
 in case of disobedience ;—and both are so admirably 
 
376: MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 NATURE OF SIN—ALL SINS NOT EQUALLY HEINOUS. 
 
 adapted to the condition of moral agents, that if they 
 fail to secure obedience and to deter from crime, it is 
 difficult to conceive of any that can. 
 
 Let us first consider the punishments which God, 
 
 the supreme authority, has threatened, to prevent crime. — 
 
 Offences against God are of two descriptions; they 
 are either those of OMIssioN, as when a duty is neg- 
 lected, though it is absolutely enjoined; as, for in- 
 stance, the law says--“‘ Remember the sabbath day, 
 to keep it holy”—but if it is not kept holy, the law is 
 broken by the omission :—or they aré crimes of com- 
 MISSION ; when the law forbids certain actions, as, 
 for example, when it enacts—‘‘ Thou shalt do no 
 murder’—** Thou shalt not steal”—it is obvious, that 
 if we commit murder, or take away another’s property, 
 we break the law. ‘This latter description of offences 
 are called in the Scriptures, transgressions, and the 
 former disobedience; against each of which God 
 has threatened a just punishment ; for in crimes of both 
 descriptions there is an equal disregard to the divine 
 authority, and both are punishable for the same reason. 
 
 It will not be maintained that all crimes are 
 equally heinous, or that the same degree of moral evil 
 is comprehended in every sin: and hence, we are 
 not to imagine that the Judge of all the earth, who 
 must do right, either threatens or inflicts an’ equal 
 degree of punishment in all cases of offence. Every 
 sin shall receive a susT recompence of reward: Let 
 us now consider the punishment which God threatens 
 to inflict on the sinner, as a MOTIVE to obedience. 
 
 a ee ee eee 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD, 377 
 
 MANY SINS PUNISHED IN THIS LIFE. 
 
 The punishments which the moral governor threa- 
 tens to inflict on sinners relate either to the present, or 
 to the future state of their existence, or to both.—Some 
 of these punishments are threatened to be inflicted 
 in this world. ‘There are many crimes with which 
 God has so connected their punishment, that when 
 the one is done, the other takes place with absolute 
 certainty if discovered ;—as reproach, loss of character, 
 the abhorrence of mankind when the crimes of dis- 
 honesty, adultery, and various others are committed. 
 With others, bodily disease is connected. Indolence, 
 God often punishes with poverty and want. Tem- 
 poral punishments are not always so self-evident as in 
 the instances 1 have mentioned—they are often mental. 
 Man has a soul as well asa body, which is equally 
 susceptible of punishment, and which the chastise- 
 ments of a spiritual agency can reach with as absolute 
 a certainty. ‘A wounded spirit who can bear?” 
 How wretched is that man’s state whom God. gives 
 up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart! When 
 the arrows of the Almighty penetrate the conscience, 
 and guilt, and remorse,:and fear, begin to torment the 
 soul, the condition of the sinner is truly dreadful. 
 His body, his soul, and. his circumstances, are all 
 within the reach of a sin-avenging God who. is 
 never at. a loss for means by which to effect the pur- 
 poses of his just displeasure. How often does God 
 punish parents, who neglect their duties to. their chil- 
 dren, by their perverse dispositions, their unbecoming 
 behaviour, and their enormous wickedness. The case of 
 
378 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 SIN PUNISHED IN THE FUTURE STATE. 
 
 Eli is a remarkable illustration of this truth. | Profli- 
 gate husbands are generally punished with bad wives ; 
 unjust masters, with abandoned servants; and tyran- 
 nical kings, with infamous subjects. Sins have fre- 
 quently a punishment inflicted which bears some 
 obvious relation to the crime which has deserved it. 
 Derangement is sometimes the punishment inflicted for 
 pride of intellect; prodigality is punished by poverty. 
 
 But to see the full force of this motive, we must 
 extend our views beyond the grave. It is principally 
 ina future state that sin receives its just recompence 
 of reward. A life of sin, and its deserved punishment, 
 are not, in fact, so disproportionate in the present life 
 even as we imagine. Were all men to make a candid 
 confession of the misery which they endure, in conse- 
 quence of rebelling against God, it would tend to 
 substantiate this remark far beyond what is obvious 
 and clear to mankind. We may lay it down as a 
 general principle, that the most guilty are the most 
 unhappy. For as happiness is, generally speaking, 
 in proportion to out holiness, so misery is according to 
 the extent of sin. However, as the present is not the 
 state of retribution, but of probation, it would be un- 
 suitable for the moral governor of the world to display 
 his justice in punishing sin in proportion to its de- 
 merits here; this is reserved for the state on which 
 disembodied spirits enter when their probationary 
 career is closed, when “ every man shall receive for 
 the things done in the body accorpiNe to that he 
 hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 
 
 ee es 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 379 
 
 A FUTURE STATE—NATURE OF ITS PUNISHMENTS, 
 
 That such a state exists, is most clearly revealed in 
 the Sacred Scriptures; ‘‘ for life and immortality are 
 brought to light by the gospel.” ‘This was long a 
 matter of doubtful disputation among the heathen 
 philosophers. Though they were exceedingly solici- 
 tous to arrive at certainty on a subject so peculiarly 
 momentous and interesting, yet they continued to 
 vacillate between hope and fear, till God himself 
 determined the question by revealing the fact to the 
 world. To attempt to prove that such a state exists 
 from the pages of the sacred oracles, would be as 
 preposterous as to attempt a demonstration that the 
 sun shines atnoon. ‘Taking it theretore for granted, I 
 shall proceed to describe the punishments which God 
 inflicts on ali who die in a state of impenitence. To 
 ascertain the nature of these, we must appeal to the 
 same authority as that which establishes the fact of 
 human existence in a future state. The sacred vo- 
 lume describes the nature of those punishments, and 
 asserts their duration. 
 
 Their nature is tremendous. The Scriptures use 
 figures, and employ language the most striking and 
 impressive conceivable, in order to. describe them. 
 They threaten “ Indignation and wrath, tribulation’ 
 and anguish, to every soul that sinneth;” they assure 
 us that the impenitent soul shall be ‘cast into a lake 
 which burneth with fire and brimstone, where there 
 is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.” 
 The offended judge will say to all such :—‘ Depart 
 from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for 
 
380 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENTS—ETERNAL. 
 
 the devil and his angels.” It is called the “ wrath to 
 come.” Such is the language which the Holy Spirit 
 employs in order to discover the awful nature of 
 those punishments, and the unmixed misery which 
 the lost endure! But however strong the language, 
 and awful the figures employed, they fail to give 
 us a complete idea of the condition of the enemies 
 of God in the future state. For what language can 
 express, and what mind conceive the misery, the pain, 
 the anguish that a rational creature endures under 
 the unmixed wrath and displeasure of God? For 
 such a being to be utterly bereft of all enjoyment, 
 and all possibility of enjoyment, and consigned. to 
 agonize under the deepest consciousness of his sins 
 in hopeless despair, in a state of impenetrable gloom 
 and darkness, where nothing but unutterable suf- 
 fering is felt, and the shrieks of millions in the same 
 forlorn condition are heard, is so tremendous as to 
 baffle imagination itself. 
 
 The same infallible authority which describes 
 the nature of these punishments, asserts their endless 
 
 duration. The “ fire’ into which the enemies of. 
 
 Christ “depart,” is called “ everlasting fire’—“‘ these 
 go into everlasting punishment,” where ‘ the smoke 
 of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.”— 
 “There their worm dieth not, and the fire is noé 
 quenched”—their darkness is an ‘‘ everlasting dark- 
 ness.” If such expressions do not convey the idea 
 of an ETERNAL duration of suffering, it is difficult 
 to conceive of any that can. ‘The smallest degree 
 
 Ne eEeeEeyEeeEeeeEeeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEEEOEeyeEeEeEeEEeEeEeE—ee ee ee 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. = 381 
 
 FUTURE PUNISHMENTS INFLICTED ON THE ENTIRE PERSON, 
 
 eae 
 
 of pain continued through an eternal duration, would 
 constitute a punishment of dreadful magnitude: 
 what then must be the sum of those sufferings which 
 have been just described, perpetuated to everlasting 
 ages? Nature agonises at the thought; let the 
 sinner repent, and flee from the wrath to come. 
 
 These punishments will be inflicted on the whole 
 nature of impenitent sinners, which will be so capaci- 
 tated as to be able to endure them. ‘The soul will 
 enter upon them immediately it leaves the body. In 
 the day of the general resurrection their re-union will 
 take place; both will be constituted on immortal 
 principles; and, as they were companions in sin, 
 they shall be identified in the suffering—“ for they shall 
 come forth to the resurrection of damnation.” This 
 punishment will not be that of the endurance of 
 actual pain only; it will be exceedingly aggravated 
 by the recollection of what is lost. The loss of all 
 the bliss of heaven, and all the felicities which arise 
 from the joys of the divine presence, is the greatest 
 that can be sustained or conceived; and_ the 
 knowledge which the damned will have of what 
 they have for ever forfeited, will inexpressibly 
 ageravate their misery. 
 
 If fear of punishments so clearly denounced 
 against impenitent transgressors tends -to deter them 
 from sin, as it unquestionably does, can we conceive 
 of any punishments more adapted to excite fear, 
 and consequently to prevent sin, than those threatened 
 by the Sovereign of the universe in his holy word? 
 
382 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 DIFFERENT MINDS INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT MOTIVES. 
 
 REWARDS CONSIDERED AS MOTIVES TO OBEDIENCE. 
 
 COLPE LEO 
 
 As we have viewed the punishments which the 
 moral governor has threatened in his word to inflict 
 on those who disregard his laws, as a motive to ° 
 obedience ; we shall now contemplate the REwaRDs 
 which he has promised to, or connected with obe- 
 dience in the same light. Among his rational and 
 intelligent creatures in this world, there is a con- 
 siderable diversity of constitution. Some callous 
 minds are insensible, in a great degree, to rewards 
 as motives to action, and nothing will arouse to 
 obedience or deter them from crime, but the exhibition 
 of a severe punishment which will be certainly 
 inflicted in case of sin. However, the persons who 
 are thus constituted are few in comparison with 
 those who possess a more generous conformation 
 of mind, and are influenced more by the hope of 
 reward. ‘To render all without excuse, he to whom 
 we are responsible, has set before us both :—it is 
 rewards considered as motives to obedience which 
 now require to be noticed. 
 
 It has been often said, that ‘‘ virtue is its own 
 reward ;” and the remark is accurate, if by VIRTUE 
 is meant obedience to the will of God; for a higher 
 authority still-has declared that, “ in the keeping 
 of his commands, there is great reward.” ‘When 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 383 
 
 THE RIGHTEOUS OFTEN REWARDED IN THIS LIFE, 
 
 the operations of the various powers and passions 
 of the human mind are in unison with the will of 
 the supreme intelligence, and our actions harmonize 
 with his laws, a happiness is enjoyed, which must 
 be possessed in order to be understood. As God 
 in his providence has united punishment with sin 
 even in the present state, so there is also a present 
 reward connected with obedience. This reward is 
 not always visible; for it not unfrequently happens 
 that the most holy and obedient of the servants 
 of God, to human view, are the most afflicted. 
 Poverty and disease may be the companions of a 
 Job, of whom the highest character is recorded, 
 “that he was perfect and upright, and one that 
 feared God, and eschewed evil.” But amidst all 
 these sufferings, there may be Job’s supports and 
 consolations which were evinced by his cheerful 
 resignation, and his devout submission. Enoch was 
 a man eminently devoted to the service of God; 
 it was his supreme delight to obtain his approbation, 
 and to promote his glory; and he ranked amongst 
 the happiest of his species; for to confer on him 
 a signal reward for signal piety, he was exempted 
 from the common debt of nature, and was translated 
 to heaven that he should not see death: and even 
 before his translation, he had this testimony, that 
 he pleased God. A felicity unknown to the wicked, 
 singular in its nature, and extensive in its degree, 
 must have been the companion of so remarkable 
 
384 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 THE PLEASURES OF A LIFE OF RELIGION. 
 
 a consciousness. | Holiness and happiness are but 
 cause and effect. 
 
 _ The present pleasures of a life of religion more 
 than compensate for all the sufferings to which it 
 may expose its possessor, and infinitely exceed all the 
 felicities of mere corporeal gratification. Is there any 
 thing in sensual pleasures that can be compared with 
 communion with God? the enjoyment of the divine 
 favour? a consciousness of pardoned sin? an hum- 
 ble confidence of an interest in the divine favour, 
 or a lively hope of a glorious hereafter? These 
 enjoyments are not peculiar to any particular age 
 or condition in life, or to health or sickness; or to 
 any state of progress in the career of mental culti- 
 vation. No: they are the attendants of those whose 
 hearts are right with God, and whose principles 
 are developed in a strict regard to his law. 
 
 True religion is associated with pleasures and 
 advantages even in the present life, which nothing 
 else can yield. Riches, fame, or intellectual supe- 
 riority may indeed afford to their possessor a satis- 
 faction correspondent with their own individual 
 nature ; but this is a satisfaction at once low and 
 transient: but the religion of Jesus, while it main- 
 tains all the dignity and grandeur of its divine 
 founder, affords joys which are unspeakable, and 
 hopes full of immortality. ‘“ It has the promise of 
 the life which now is.” “ His ways are ways of 
 pleasantness, and all his paths are peace.”. An 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 385 
 
 FUTURE REWARDS, 
 
 experimental acquaintance with its doctrines, and 
 a practical regard to its sacred laws, cannot but form 
 a character of real dignity, produce that peace and 
 harmony in the powers and passions of the soul, 
 and yield those consolations, which constitute true 
 happiness. Afflictions, and disappointments, and 
 temptations, will befall the best of men; and the 
 last enemy will take down the earthly house of their 
 tabernacles; but religion, while it supports by its 
 promises, and guides by its counsels, sooths by its 
 operations, and cheers by its smiles. 
 
 Yet it is in a future state of being where the 
 rewards of obedience are to be principally enjoyed. 
 When I speak of the rewards of obedience, I would 
 not be understood to mean, that human obedience in 
 the present, merits any rewards in a future state. 
 Divine revelation declares salvation to be all of 
 grace, or the free and undeserved favour of God 
 bestowed on mankind, by virtue of the Redeemer’s 
 mediation alone. ‘ There is salvation in none 
 other.” Yet the Scriptures represent it as a reward, 
 because it is to be obtained by the use of the 
 instituted means, and it is promised to all who repent, 
 and believe the gospel. | 
 
 The nature of future blessedness is often the 
 theme of inspiration. While the fact of future ‘life 
 and immortality is stated with unequivocal certainty, 
 their excellency is unveiled with the cloudless per- 
 spicuity of meridian day, and brought within the 
 sphere of the most limited comprehension ;—or at 
 
 . uC 
 
386 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 ——————eeeeeoeeee ee e————————————eeEeESSs—_—.—————— 
 NATURE OF THE HEAVENLY STATE, 
 
 least, enough of them, to eclipse every rival claim, 
 and to justify the greatest worldly sacrifices which 
 may be required in order to make them our own. 
 
 Heaven is the immediate residence of God. 
 There are fountains of living waters, and oceans 
 of joy. There is the beatific vision, clear and eternal 
 as the father of lights, with whom is no variableness 
 nor the shadow of a change. ‘There the redeemed 
 “ shall come to Mount Zion, and unto the city of 
 the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an 
 innumerable company of angels, to the general 
 assembly and church of the first-born which are 
 written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and 
 to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus 
 the Mediator of the new covenant.” Sin and 
 suffering will be for ever excluded ; a perfection of 
 nature and a completion of bliss shall be enjoyed by 
 all its glorified inhabitants; and they shall walk 
 the golden streets with crowns of glory, and palms 
 in their hands. A perfection of happiness shall be 
 connécted with a sinless condition, with an eternity 
 of joy, and with immortality of being. 
 
 The inspired writers employ the grandest meta- 
 phors and the most simple representations in order 
 at the same time to instruct the understanding, and 
 to fill the mind with the noblest conceptions of the 
 heavenly state. They describe it as our “ Father's 
 house”—a “‘ rest which remains for the people of 
 God”—“ the marriage supper of the Lamb,” and 
 as a place where there is “no night.” How simple 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 387 
 
 THE HEAVENLY STATE. 
 
 and easy of comprehension! Again, they describe 
 it as “‘a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory”—as ‘“‘ that which eye hath not seen, nor ear 
 heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man to 
 conceive’—“‘ an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, 
 and which fadeth not away’—a “ throne”—a “ king- 
 dom.” How vast, and how far beyond the grasp 
 of the most vigorous imagination ! 
 
 The employments of the heavenly state are all 
 suited to the powers and dispositions of glorified 
 spirits, and cannot fail to yield an increasing happiness 
 equal to their augmenting capacities. The redeemed 
 are described as having ‘ golden harps in their 
 hands,” and as “ singing the new song of Moses 
 and the Lamb ;” as “ falling down and worshipping 
 him that sits upon the throne;” as “ ascribing to 
 him might and dominion and glory for ever.” The 
 mysteries of redemption, the works of nature, and 
 the operations of Providence, will afford them ever- 
 lasting employment and delight; and though they 
 will throw all their vast energies with unceasing 
 ardour into these researches, no sameness will ever 
 cloy, no exertion will ever fatigue. The divine efful- 
 gence will beam upon their astonished sight for ever ; 
 and every divine perfection will appear with increasing 
 lustre every instant of the eternity of the bliss; yet 
 the creature will never be overpowered, nor complain 
 of being satiated. This is heaven: yet heaven is 
 infinitely more than this. . | 
 
 cca 
 
388 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 THESE SANCTIONS THE EEST POSSIBLE. 
 
 Could the moral governor of the world have 
 connected with his laws, sanctions more solemn? 
 motives more powerful? If the punishments which 
 he has connected with sin, fail to deter from the 
 commission of it—if the rewards which he has pro- 
 mised to obedience, do not allure to holiness in 
 principle and practice—I am at a loss to conceive 
 of any that could. With such motives before us, 
 sin must appear madness, and holiness a reason- 
 able service. 
 
 The more we scrutinize that system of moral 
 government under which man is placed, the more 
 of the wisdom of its arrangements must be apparent. 
 The sovereign maintains all the dignity of his throne, 
 while he legislates for man; his laws are not the 
 imperious dictates of a capricious tyrant, but the 
 wise counsels of an infinitely intelligent monarch, 
 as replete with goodness as they are vast in dignity. 
 While he consults the imbecility of his subjects, 
 he adapts his laws to their capacities, and controls 
 moral agents by ,moral considerations. Thus he 
 accomplishes the purposes of his heart, without 
 violating tne principles of free agency. 
 
 Two reflections shall close this part oft our 
 subject. 
 
 First : How great is the guilt of those who forfeit 
 the rewards promised, and expose themselves to the 
 punishments denounced by the moral government 
 of God, by a disregard to its laws! These laws are 
 
 ——-r 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD, 389 
 
 REFLECTIONS, 
 
 a 
 
 plain, and are promulgated. without any ambiguity 
 arising from the use of a technical and abstruse phra- 
 seology ; man is endowed by his Creator with capa- 
 cities to comprehend them. And though we observe 
 in different human beings an astonishing variety of 
 intellect, rising from unit to an indefinite height on 
 the scale of moral calculation, yet every accountable 
 being has a capacity equal to a comprehension of 
 the law by which he is to be judged; “The way- 
 faring man, though fool, shall not err therein.”— 
 The motives to obedience arising, on the one hand, 
 from the punishment threatened, and on the other 
 from the reward promised, are so great and so pow- 
 erful, that no man can plead the want of argument 
 sufficient to induce him to desist from transgression, 
 and obey the precept.—Besides, however injurious 
 the fall of man may have been to that faculty of his 
 mind which we call conscience, yet its serious dictates 
 are generally in unison with the essential principles of 
 right, and those laws and institutions which originate 
 in the sovereign will of the supreme governor ; such, 
 for instance, as the sabbath and public worship. 
 The guilt of those especially, to whom God has 
 published his moral code, is aggravated by every 
 imaginable consideration. And being entirely volun- 
 tary in disobedience, none can charge God with an 
 act of injustice when after death he withholds the 
 reward, and inflicts the punishment. A disregard of 
 laws founded in reason, in equity, and in benevolence, 
 supported by sanctions which relate to both the 
 
390 MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 REFLECTIONS. 
 
 present and the future life, is an aggravation of 
 human guilt, which exceeds the powers of descrip- 
 tion. 
 
 Secondly : How valuable are the Sacred Scriptures 
 to mankind! If man jis responsible for his actions 
 to his supreme Governor, it is of infinite importance 
 to him that he should be acquainted with the laws 
 which prescribe his duties, and which prohibit crimes. 
 These laws were originally made known to man, and 
 written upon his heart. But when he apostatised, if 
 this law were not entirely obliterated from his mind, 
 and every dictate of right and wrong destroyed, yet 
 it is evident that it was so much so, as to render it 
 necessary that a fresh moral code should be granted 
 
 ‘to our fallen world,—which was done by a compas- 
 sionate God on Mount Sinai, written by his own 
 finger on the two tables, and afterwards copied by 
 Moses, and transmitted to posterity for its benefit as 
 long as the world should remain. When the Redeemer 
 came and established a new dispensation of divine 
 worship, he admitted all this sacred code, gave it 
 the most ample exposition, and shewed at once his 
 approbation ‘and ‘his delight in it, by fulfilling most 
 perfectly all its precepts ;—“ and he left us an ex- 
 ample that we should follow his steps.” In the spirit 
 and obedience of the incarnate Saviour, the whole law 
 of God was embodied. In his assumption of our 
 nature the law itself became incarnate, and was 
 unfolded in living characters.—How invaluable the 
 book which contains a legible transcript of the will 
 
MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 391 
 
 REFLECTIONS, 
 
 of God, recommended by an example so illustrious! 
 —And who, that is conscious of his responsibility 
 at the bar of the Judge of quick and dead, but must 
 be anxiously desirous of knowing the contents of such 
 a volume !— With the means of knowledge in his hands, 
 who can imagine that his ignorance will excuse his 
 guilt, or plead for the remission of his offences ?- Who 
 in this country is acquitted from a crime which has 
 been proved against him, because he sets up the plea 
 of ignorance of the statutes which have been enacted ? 
 In civil affairs, ignorance is no excuse. And why 
 should we suppose that a government which is perfect, 
 will dispense with a principle that is considered to 
 be indispensable by governments which are imperfect ? 
 To imagine that God is merciful, and that he will 
 therefore pardon, will avail nothing; because it may 
 be maintained on the other hand that he is just, 
 and therefore will punish. Rather let all seek to 
 possess so interesting a volume; and possessing it, 
 diligently study its contents, and abound in every 
 good word and work. This volume is the great 
 luminary of the moral word; and criminal indeed is 
 that man’s conduct, and just his condemnation, who 
 closes his eyes against the light, either by denying its 
 authority, or by neglecting its sacred contents. 
 
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 GOVERNMENT: OF EVENTS. 
 
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THE 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF GOD PRESIDING OVER 
 EVENTS. 
 
 No truth is more generally admitted by all who 
 acknowledge the being of a God, than that he foresaw 
 from eternity whatever takes place within the vast 
 range of his universe; and that this prescience extended 
 not to the more prominent events only, but to the 
 most minute also,—and for the same reason—because 
 his understanding is infinite. The vast design must 
 therefore have been laid and fixed; all the details 
 and subordinate parts must have been arranged down 
 to circumstances the most trivial, even to the “ num- 
 bering of our hairs,” and “ the falling of a sparrow.” 
 And let it not be imagined that an arrangement so 
 complete and universal was either unnecessary, or 
 unworthy of God ; for they are events of a subordinate 
 order which generally originate those that are of the 
 greatest importance, and fill the world with asto- 
 nishment. | 
 
 I am aware that while my principle is generally 
 granted, my inference from it will be disputed. All 
 
396 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 _ALL EVENTS CERTAIN. 
 
 who will admit that a Being of Infinite Intelligence 
 must necessarily foresee every future occurrence, how- 
 ever remote the period at which it may happen, will 
 not allow that the plan was laid, and the event made 
 certain. But, does not a foreknowledge of events 
 necessarily infer their certainty? If they were not 
 certain, but depended on fortuitous circumstances, or 
 chance, how could they have been foreseen? If 
 chance be admitted, then the result is uncertain ; it 
 may issue in this, or it may terminate in that; and 
 which of the two, cannot be known ’till the result 
 determine. Neither is it enough to say that God 
 made this arrangement so far as leading occurrences 
 are concerned, but that those of an inferior order 
 were not taken into the fixed plan. For who shall 
 draw the line of distinction between important and 
 unimportant events? or where is that line to be 
 drawn? Besides, to deny the universality of the 
 arrangement, not only contradicts the principle which 
 I have said is generally admitted, but by a pretence 
 of delicacy to the’ Deity in not troubling him with 
 such little things, they, in fact, cast a reproach upon 
 his perfections. Can it be any more difficult to an 
 Infinite Being to arrange a million events than two? 
 Cannot he with the same facility control the affairs of 
 a world, and those of a family? and those of a uni- 
 verse, as those of a world? In reasoning on such 
 topics, men betray the most melancholy ignorance and 
 folly; and show. that, with all the high sounding 
 compliments which they offer to the Author of their 
 
 Eee oe 
 
 - 
 ee ee a 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 397 
 
 ALL EVENTS UNDER GOD. 
 
 being, “‘ they think him altogether such an one as 
 themselves.” 
 
 God, having laid the plan of all his future pro- 
 cedure, superintends its accomplishment. This is 
 Providence. And as the laying of the plan ensures 
 its development in a regular succession of events, so 
 will this development of events at once coincide 
 with the plan, and unfold it to the intellectual universe. 
 How animating to him whose mind is imbued with 
 real piety, to see God every where, and to recognise 
 his superintending hand as well in the events of his 
 own history, as in the rise and fall of kingdoms and 
 empires. This renders the soul tranquil and peaceful 
 amidst the storms, and thunders, and tempests, of the 
 natural and moral world; and enables us to calculate 
 on a benevolent and wise result, under a co-operation 
 of circumstances the most disastrous, and, to human 
 calculations, the most perplexing. 
 
 In contemplating the events which are. passing 
 before our eyes, or which history presents to our 
 minds, there is a surprising diversity ; but this di- 
 versity is reducible to two orders ; some are MORALLY 
 EVIL; they cannot be the effect of a divine agency, 
 yet they are PERMITTED: others are’ MORALLY 
 Goop; they are worthy of a divine interference: 
 hence we ASCRIBE THEM IMMEDIATELY TO Gop. 
 My object is now to ascertain that Divine Wisdom 
 which is apparent as well in what God permits to 
 transpire, as in what he actually accomplishes, ~ 
 
398 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 eee 
 MORAL EVIL NOT TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR, 
 —————eeeeeeeeeEeeeeeEeE—E—E—E—EoE—E—E—E—Eeeeeeeee 
 
 THE PERMISSION OF EVENTS, 
 
 SIIP LOL 
 
 There are many events that take place, which are 
 obviously EvIL when viewed with reference to the 
 criterion of moral excellence; and we cannot connect 
 them with the agency of the Deity without dis- 
 honouring his perfections, and charging him with folly. 
 If God cannot. be the author of them, how shall we 
 account for their existence?, There is a principle of 
 moral evil in the world; that principle is operative ; 
 it exerts a controlling influence over mind; mind 
 exerts an agency productive of events; these events 
 partake of the evil cause by which they were pro- 
 duced : they might be prevented did a superintending 
 Providence choose to interpose a preventing agency. 
 Yet, events morally evil are permiTTED. Were I 
 asked why the Deity allows such events,—events 
 so evil in themselves, and so. obviously contrary 
 to his holy nature and government? reasoning from 
 the fact only, I should reply, I can give no satisfactory 
 answer. But were the inquiry proposed, has he in 
 any way taken an opportunity of making the existence 
 of moral. evil in this world subservient to his own 
 glory? I should not feel it difficult to return some 
 answer which, to myself at least, is satisfactory. 
 Infinite Wisdom has discovered methods by which to 
 glorify the divine perfections from the fact of the 
 existence of sin in the world to such an extent, as 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 399 
 
 MORAL EVIL OVERRULED TO THE GLORIFYING OF GOD. 
 Sarre ee ee a ee eee aetna eee ea taasnopn ee een 
 
 could not have been done had sin been prevented ; yet 
 sin remains in all its malignity, and its existence not 
 in any way chargeable upon the Deity. I shall 
 attempt to explain this subject by illustrating a few 
 short propositions. 
 
 F'irst.—Moral evil has appeared in our world ; 
 but Divine Wisdom is manifest in glorifying those 
 attributes of God, which could never have been dis- 
 played in the world, but for the permission of it. How 
 the pure minds of angelic and human beings, which 
 were created spotless and perfectly innocent, became 
 at first guilty and depraved, is a question at once in- 
 explicable, and irrelevant to my present subject : I 
 have to do with the fact, and not with the origination 
 of the fact. By what mean angels fell, we are not 
 informed ; but divine revelation resolves the existence 
 of sin among the human race into the agency of one 
 of these evil spirits on the minds of the first parents 
 of the human race. They were created in the image 
 of God, which consists in righteousness and true 
 holiness, with strength to stand, but free to fall. As 
 they were placed in a probationary state in Paradise, 
 furnished both with a law of moral obedience, and 
 having sufficient motives of rewards and punishments 
 presented to induce them to maintain their integrity, 
 it was essentially necessary that they should be free 
 agents, and that their free agency should be left to its 
 own operations. Had their Creator exerted any 
 force, excepting to preserve to them the full power 
 of their natural faculties, their free agency would 
 
460 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 eee eee SSS ae oem" 
 
 THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION REVEALED. 
 
 have been destroyed, and they could no longer have 
 been rewardable for their integrity, or punishable for 
 their disobedience. But how did they act under these 
 circumstances? They voluntarily listened to the 
 voice of the Tempter, transgressed the law of God by 
 eating the forbidden fruit, forfeited their bliss both in 
 possession and in contemplation, became liable to the 
 punishment threatened, and, by their inexcusable and 
 most aggravated crime, incurred the wrath of God, 
 and entailed their guilt and its attendant miseries 
 upon all future generations. Thus at once was his 
 noblest of works marred, and this fair creation filled 
 with confusion and death. Satan, aided by the first of 
 the human race, established an empire opposed to the 
 holy government of God, which should enslave all 
 their descendants. 
 
 But shall the chief enemy of God triumph over 
 the best of beings, and succeed in his infernal designs, 
 and reign for ever over aruined world? No. An 
 expedient shall be found; a plan shall be unfolded 
 which shall convert this most melancholy of all events 
 into a blessing. ‘The wisdom of God discovers a 
 remedy. A plan, already matured in the counsels 
 of Eternity, under the foreknowledge of the fall of 
 man was ready to be revealed, which should at 
 the same time confound the projects of devils, and 
 restore rebel man from all the evils of the fall 
 to the enjoyment of a bliss infinitely beyond that 
 of an earthly Paradise. This is the plan of Re- 
 demption. | 
 
% 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. | 401 
 a nT ERE TT eee ek oe eee ee ert 
 
 REDEMPTION DISPLAYS JUSTICE, MERCY, WISDOM. 
 
 $$ 
 
 When man transgressed, sustrice descended to 
 vindicate the honours of the broken law; but mercy 
 accompanied at his right hand: myriads of angelic 
 beings followed in their train. All the powers of 
 darkness stood at a distance to witness the result of 
 so awful a process; in their looks a glimmering of 
 hope sometimes was seen; but the most agonizing fear 
 and dismay prevailed. Justice and mercy hastened 
 to Paradise. At length the criminals appeared at the 
 august tribunal; guilt, shame, remorse, horror, and 
 despair, clothed those features, recently so lovely. 
 To ascertain the fact of their guilt, but one witness 
 was necessary to be called ;—it was conscience. But 
 the criminals were allowed ta plead in mitigation of 
 punishment. Adam said, “ The woman whom thou 
 gavest unto me, she gave me, and I did eat.” The 
 woman said, ‘“ The serpent beguiled me, and I did 
 eat.” But the plea which they set up increased their 
 danger by aggravating their offence. Justice drew 
 his sword to satisfy the law by inflicting the threatened 
 punishment, but mercy arrested the falling blow, and 
 pleaded an opportunity of asserting her claims as 
 well as justice. She pleaded an equal glory, and an 
 equal right to manifest her beneficence in a fallen 
 world. Their claims were opposite. Justice re- 
 quired punishment as that which alone could satisfy 
 the law, and the honours of God’s moral government ; 
 mercy demanded an opportunity of pardoning the 
 offence. How shall their opposite claims be recon- 
 eiled? Divine Wispom arrived, and proclaimed, 
 
 DD 
 
402 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 WISDOM FINDS MEANS FOR MAN’S RECOVERY. 
 
 ‘ Deliver the criminals from going down into the pit : 
 I have found a ransom.’ The Son of God, “ in the 
 ullness of time, will assume the nature in which the 
 crime has been committed; on his sinless body he. 
 will bear their iniquity, and give mercy an opportunity 
 of pardoning, by offering to justice a satisfaction of 
 obedience and of suffering fully equal to the utmost 
 of his demands.”—The criminals heard it; and hope 
 banished despair from their hearts and their looks, 
 while the pleasures of pardon and _ reconciliation 
 thrilled and vibrated through every vein: devils heard 
 it; and fled like a flash of lightning through the horrid 
 gloom which surrounded them, and with dreadful 
 precipitance hastened back to their infernal abode, 
 loaded with chains of everlasting darkness: angels 
 heard it; and tuned their golden harps, and sang with 
 melody as they never sang before—‘ Glory to God 
 in the highest, peace on earth, and good-will to men.” 
 “ Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, 
 and to the Lamb for ever:” the vast expanse of 
 Heaven heard it; ‘and re-echoed the reviving tidings 
 from pole to pole, and from the river to the ends of 
 the earth—‘ Glory to God in the highest, and good- 
 will to men.” 
 
 In the plan of salvation by the incarnate Son of 
 God, “ mercy and truth meet together, righteousness 
 and peace embrace each other;” and God appears 
 in the character of ‘‘a just God and a Saviour.” 
 But could justice, mercy, and love have appeared 
 under such illustrious displays in our world, if sin 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 403 
 —aSSeeee———e——eeee————e—e—ee—eeee——qaD—>E>[[[[?[=[Se 
 
 CALAMITIES MADE BLESSINGS. 
 
 had not been permitted? Yet this fact does by no 
 means justify the transgression, nor lessen the evil of 
 crime: it only affords an astonishing manifestation of 
 Divine Wisdom in making the worst of all evils, the 
 most tremendous of all events, the means of promoting 
 the glory of God. 
 
 Srconpiy.—lIndividuals of the bike race are 
 groaning under the effects of moral evil :—divine 
 Wisdom is apparent in rendering them subservient to 
 the good of those who are exercised by them. 
 
 I shall first consider this subject as illustrated by 
 the facts of the histories of wicked men.—It has not 
 unfrequently been observed, that events unspeakably 
 calamitous have befallen the most profligate of sinners, 
 which have been overruled for their ultimate benefit. 
 Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, is a striking instance. 
 Being raised to the throne when he was but a boy, 
 he had every opportunity of indulging his wicked 
 passions. He soon appeared one of the worst of 
 human beings, indulged in all the excesses of sen- 
 suality ; and devoting himself to idolatrous practices, 
 he worshipped the sun, the moon, and the stars. He 
 delighted in every kind of cruelty, and made Je- 
 rusalem to flow with innocent blood. In the twenty- 
 second year of his reign, the King of Assyria and 
 Babylon invaded his kingdom, routed his troops, and 
 caught him entangled among thorns, and carried him 
 a prisoner to Babylon. How calamitous these events ! 
 But he then cried unto the Lord, who gave him re- 
 pentance, and pardoned him, and remitted the eternal 
 
 DD2 
 
404 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 EVILS OVERRULED FOR GOOD. 
 
 punishment due to his sins, though his kingdom suf- 
 fered in a temporal respect for the crimes of its king 
 and his subjects. 
 
 Another instance is the thief who was crucified. 
 with the Redeemer. He had ranked with the vilest 
 of his species, being chargeable with robbery and 
 sedition. At length the secular arm arrested him, 
 and he was condemned by the civil authority to suffer 
 the death of crucifixion. What a melancholy event 
 of his abandoned life was this! But see how divine 
 wisdom overrules it for his immortal and eternal 
 welfare. He was doomed to suffer death with the 
 Lord of life and glory ; and when nailed to the cross, 
 he began to relent, and earnestly supplicated the 
 mercy of a dying Saviour, saying, ‘‘ Lord, remember 
 me when thou comest into thy kingdom ;” and Jesus 
 said unto him, ‘‘ This day thou shalt be with me in 
 Paradise.” | 
 
 We have also instances of good men, in whose 
 history great moral evil has been overruled for their 
 essential benefit.’ The case of Jacob and his son 
 Joseph is prominent. A singular concatenation of evils 
 pursued Joseph :—the envy and hatred of his bre- 
 thren ; their selling him as a slave to the Midianitish 
 
 merchants ; their sellng him again in Egypt; the | 
 
 infamous falsehoods which his mistress devised 
 against him; the consequent anger of his master, who 
 instantly put him into prison; and the ingratitude of 
 Pharaoh’s butler, who promised to interest himself in 
 his deliverance’ from imprisonment, but forgat him. 
 
 ae ee ee, 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. » 405 
 
 JACOB—JOSEPH-~DANIEL. 
 
 Yet all these evils, which were permitted of Provi- 
 dence, and designed by those who were agents. in 
 inflicting them, to injure Joseph, were making way for 
 his aggrandizement.. His enemies meant them for 
 evil, but God intended them for good,—even Joseph’s 
 personal exaltation over Egypt. When the famine in 
 Canaan obliged his father Jacob to send his sons into 
 Egypt to buy corn, they came to Joseph. He imme- 
 diately recognized the features of his brethren, though 
 he concealed the fact, and detained his brother Simeon 
 as an hostage, ‘till the rest went for Benjamin. 
 When they came and told the circumstance to Jacob, 
 he was overwhelmed with sorrow, and ina paroxysm 
 of grief exclaimed, ‘‘ Joseph‘ is not, and Simeon is 
 not, and will ye take Benjamin also? All these 
 things are against me!” But the event proved that 
 he was mistaken. An unerring Providence rendered 
 all these afflictive dispensations of incalculable ad- 
 vantage to both these eminent men. 
 
 The history of Daniel affords similar illustration. 
 This great man was renowned for his piety and wis- 
 dom when he was but a youth. By his interpreting 
 the King of Babylon’s singular dream, he was raised 
 to high dignity in his kingdom. The other officers of 
 the throne, hating his religion, and jealous of his 
 favour with the king, resolved on his destruction. 
 Aware that they could not bring any charge against 
 him, and knowing his inflexible integrity, and his 
 attachment to his God and his religion, they craftily 
 persuaded Darius to enact an unalterable law, that 
 
406 ~ GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 AFFLICTIONS THE MEANS OF PROSPERITY TO THE CHURCH. 
 
 whosoever should, for the space of thirty days, ask 
 any favour from either God or man, except of the 
 king alone, should be cast into the den of lions, and 
 be torn asunder. But Daniel was not to be deterred 
 from the worship of his God by these wicked pro- 
 ceedings ; he was therefore more public than ever in 
 the avowal of his religion. His enemies were lying in 
 wait to find an opportunity of criminating him to the 
 king. They succeeded: he was condemned to death ; 
 and was actually thrown into the den of lions. But 
 bis God saved him from injury; the lions were not 
 suffered to hurt him in the least: the king ordered him 
 to be rescued, and his enemies to be thrown in, who 
 were instantly devoured; and Daniel was raised to 
 greater honours than before. “ All things work toge- 
 ther for good to them that love God, to them who are 
 called according to his purpose.” 
 
 Biography furnishes innumerable instances which 
 show how surprisingly an all-wise Providence has 
 rendered the most awful afflictions subservient to the 
 awakening and conversion of wicked men, and to the 
 spiritual prosperity of the servants of God. How 
 many have been enabled to adopt the language of 
 David, and say, “ It was good for us that we were 
 afflicted ;’—‘‘ before we were afflicted we went astray ; 
 but now have we kept thy word.” 
 
 TurrpDLty.—Many calamitous events have been 
 permitted to befall the church of God; but Divine 
 wisdom is apparent in rendering them the mean 
 of her prosperity. This truth is so evident from 
 
 Ee a te a 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. | A407 
 
 ee 
 
 THE CHURCH IN EGYPT. 
 
 the history of the church, that it is scarcely needful 
 to dwell upon it. However, I shall mention a few 
 instances. 
 
 The surprising preservation of the church in 
 Egypt, during upwards of four hundred years of 
 hard bondage, and the most cruel treatment, is a 
 standing miracle.—Hence that singular figure of her 
 ‘state and preservation,—‘“‘ a bush on fire, and yet 
 uunconsumed.” However, her state there was some: 
 thing more than that of mere being; it was that 
 of prosperity ; and prosperity that appeared to-grow 
 out of hardships, slavery, cruelty, and oppression ; 
 for it is testified of the people, “ that the more they 
 were afflicted, the more they multiplied and grew.” 
 In the course of that period the family of Jacob, 
 which consisted of ‘“‘ three-score and ten” persons, 
 increased so astonishingly, that when Moses con-— 
 ducted the people through the Red Sea, they were 
 no fewer than ‘ about six hundred thousand on foot 
 that were men, besides children.” 
 
 After the day of Pentecost, when so astonishing 
 a revival of religion took place, the disciples re- 
 mained at Jerusalem. Soon an alarming persecution 
 commenced concerning Stephen, which issued in the 
 martyrdom of that holy man, and the scattering of 
 the disciples over all the adjacent regions whither they 
 had fled for safety. What an affecting event! But 
 God makes it subservient to the promoting of his 
 cause. For, wherever the disciples went, they 
 ** preached the Lord Jesus, and the hand. of the 
 
408 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 PERSECUTIONS IN THE DAYS OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 Lord was with them; and great numbers believed 
 and turned to the Lord.” Each disciple became 
 a preacher, and soon ‘all Judea was filled with 
 their doctrine.” 
 
 The persecutions aad the diversified evils which 
 were permitted to operate against the Redeemer and 
 his apostles and evangelists, and which were in- 
 tended to destroy their cause by extirpating them, 
 were made the means of exciting a more extensive 
 desire to hear the sentiments which they delivered, 
 and to witness the miracles which they performed; 
 and, consequently, of promoting the knowledge of 
 their purity, their fame, and their influence. Nay, 
 the death of the incarnate Son of God,- which, 
 when Satan and his agents had accomplished, they 
 imagined would have put a period to his cause, was 
 only the means of “ destroying the works of the 
 devil,” and of giving full demonstration of the truth 
 of his Messiahship.—This truth has indeed been so 
 often exemplified in the world, as to give origin to 
 the maxim,“ The blood of the martyrs is the seed 
 of the church.”—-Modern instances innumerable 
 might be added to those which relate to the days 
 of the primitive church, to illustrate this topic :— 
 but enlargement is unnecessary. This statement is 
 ‘Substantiated by thousands of facts. ‘‘ Surely the 
 wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of 
 wrath shalt thou restrain.” 
 
 But let not any one suppose that these obser- 
 vations, which are designed to illustrate the wisdom 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. | 409 
 
 en a a 
 
 MORAL GOOD ASCRIBED TO GOD. 
 
 of God in rendering the permission of moral evil, 
 and its various effects, subservient to results of 
 immense advantage to the glorifying of his divine 
 perfections, the good of individuals, and the pros- 
 perity and enlargement of the church, tend, directly 
 or indirectly, to lessen the malignity of sin. It - 
 remains always the same. but in proportion to the 
 evil of its nature, its ruimous operations on the 
 moral faculties of man, and its contrariety to the 
 divine government, is that wisdom apparent which 
 so limits and controls its mischievous effects, as to 
 make them the means of good. 
 
 However, there are othenkinds of events trans- 
 piring in the world, which we may justly designate 
 aS MORALLY GOOD; they are worthy of a divine 
 interference ; and hence we ascribe their existence 
 immediately to God, Let us proceed to investigate 
 that wisdom which is apparent in events of this 
 description. As it requires less contrivance to render 
 that subservient to a beneficial result which is either 
 good or indifferent in itself, a few brief observations 
 will be enough under this branch of our subject. 
 
 First.—Wisdom and contrivance are apparent 
 in making events which appear to be unimportant 
 in themselves, the means of originating such as 
 are vast and interesting.—Often large bodies turn 
 upon a small pivot. An inconsiderable ‘spring 
 bubbling up from the earth in some obscure forest, 
 soon receives contributary streams, and expands inta 
 
ALO GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 TRIFLING OCCURRENCES ORIGINATE GREAT EVENTS. ie’ 
 EE NS 
 a Nile, a Danube, or a Missisippi. The steam- 
 engine, the most important mechanical invention 
 of any age, originated in its being observed that the 
 steam of water, boiling in a tea-kettle, occasioned the 
 lifting up of its lid. The falling of an apple from 
 the tree where it grew, suggested to Sir Isaac 
 Newton the doctrine of gravitation, which enabled 
 him to explain the laws under which all the bodies in 
 the universe move, and according to which all 
 planetary motion is conducted. <A spider's weaving 
 a web across.the mouth of an oven immediately 
 after a persecuted Christian had hid himself in it to 
 escape from the fury of his raging persecutors, was 
 the means of saving his life, by inducing them to 
 conclude that he could not be there. A man was 
 induced to go to a place of divine worship in order to 
 hear the music; but was resolved not to hear the ser- 
 mon, and therefore closed both his ears. A fly alighted 
 on his face, and while using his hand to remove it, the 
 preacher the same moment pronounced these words,— 
 ‘* He that hath ears to hear, let him hear”—which were 
 the means of effecting an essential change in his moral 
 character. A dispute between King Henry the Eighth 
 and the Pope issued in the happy liberation of this 
 country from the vassalage of popery, and the reign 
 of ignorance and superstition. Saul’s going to seek 
 his father’s asses conducted him toa throne. A pebble 
 thrown from David’s sling, destroyed Goliath of Gath. 
 —A thought, elicited in the mind by some most trivial 
 occurrence, gives being to a design of vast magnitude, 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. —s_- 411 
 re Se 
 which involves the destinies of a world. <A 
 careful and minute retrospect of our own historigs, 
 will show us that the most important events of our 
 lives, and even the formation of our characters, have 
 been occasioned by events which at the time were 
 apparently unimportant, or perhaps even unnoticed. 
 An attention to the history of the world will prove 
 that the most prominent and interesting of its facts 
 were occasioned by trifling occurrences. 
 
 While these observations illustrate the wisdom 
 and contrivance by which the events of providence 
 are governed, they should teach us not to treat any 
 occurrence with indifference or neglect. What may 
 be now hardly perceptible, may, in a short space of 
 time, involve all that is dear to us, or even fill the 
 world with astonishment. Great and small are alike 
 in the hands of God. Omnipotence, directed by 
 infallible intelligence, supplies the apparent want of 
 proportion in the cause to the effect, and the means 
 to the end; under such an agency, the acorn bears 
 a proportion to the wide-spreading oak, and the 
 smallest of seeds to the tree “in the branches of 
 which the fowls of the air come and lodge.” 
 
 SrconpLy.—The wisdom of the divine govern- 
 ment is seen in extirpating great evils by means 
 which seem to be utterly inadequate. In consequence 
 of the entrance of sin into our world, it is full of 
 natural and moral evils which occasion all the 
 infelicities that extend over its surface. But God 
 has it in design ultimately, either wholly to remove 
 
412 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 CHRISTIANITY ESTABLISHED BY INADEQUATE MEANS. 
 a 
 them, or so to restrain their operation, and to 
 modify that operation, as to lessen, or ‘utterly to 
 destroy its malignity. And he will effect this in such 
 a manner as to enhance, in the eyes of all his intel- 
 ligent creatures, his amazing wisdom and goodness. 
 Luruer discovered in a corner of the monastery 
 where he resided, an old bible, ragged, covered with 
 dust, and surrounded by lumber.—This bible was the 
 means of that great man’s conversion ; and with this 
 bible he attacked and overthrew the formidable popish 
 hierarchy. He commenced the assault alone ; “ of 
 the people there were none with him;” and yet he 
 triumphed.— When the gospel commenced its career, 
 darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness all 
 the people; yet it proposed the dissipation of that 
 darkness, and the illumination of the world. But 
 how inadequate, to human appearance, was the 
 means! ‘The Saviour compared it to a little leaven 
 which a woman took and hid in three measures of 
 meal, till the whole was leavened; and to a mus- 
 tard-seed which ranks with the smallest, but it soon 
 germinated, and produced a large tree. What could 
 be more inefficient, to human view, than so small a 
 seed, and so small a proportion of the fermenting prin- 
 ciple? yet, how efficacious. Just so the gospel: in the 
 ae of the world it is foolishness, and weak; but 
 
 “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong 
 holds.” When we contemplate the strength, seth 
 the vast systems of idolatry that exist in the 
 ‘heathen world have obtained from their long standing, 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS, | 413 
 
 paewee 4 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS, 
 
 ~ 
 
 their alliance with an infernal agency, and their con- 
 nexion with all the depravities of human nature, how 
 inadequate to its overthrow and destruction does a 
 missionary seem, who goes to attack it with no other 
 weapon than a bible. Yet, in many instances, he has 
 succeeded ; and success in all is ensured. Nay, the 
 simple preaching of the gospel, unaided by human 
 authority and power, shall destroy the works of dark- 
 ness, overturn an empire which has claimed for its 
 subjects all the human race from the creation of the 
 world, destroy the man of sin himself, and renovate 
 a world lying in wickedness. Does it not require the 
 superintendance of wisdom no less than infinite, so to 
 employ and to apply means,‘ which in themselves 
 appear to be utterly madequate, as to produce effects 
 so astonishing, by destroying evils so gigantic ? 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I shall close this Essay with a few remarks.—And, 
 
 First.~We infer from the view which has 
 been taken of the divine government, that THE INFLU- 
 ENCE OF PROVIDENCE IS STRICTLY UNIVERSAL.— 
 The remark of the inspired Psalmist is founded in 
 fact, and holds good in the most GENERAL applica- 
 tion; “His kingdom ruleth over all.” That unerring 
 providence, whose dictates and laws all the heavenly 
 hosts obey, and from which they never in the least 
 
414 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 PROVIDENCE GENERAL AND PARTICULAR. 
 
 swerve, presides over the affairs of this globe and all 
 its nations and kingdoms, raising up one, and putting 
 down another, just when and by what means he 
 pleases. He who preserves and superintends this vast 
 universe, ‘‘ neither slumbers nor sleeps.” His pre- 
 siding care is: always at work; his attention is never 
 diverted from its object; his power effects whatever 
 his wisdom dictates to be necessary; and “ he does 
 whatsoever he pleaseth in the armies of heaven, and 
 among the inhabitants of the earth;’ for who hath 
 resisted his will? 
 
 But while we regard his providence as general, 
 we must go still further, and consider it also as PAR- 
 TICULAR,—that is, as extending its influences and 
 operations to the smallest particle of matter, and to the 
 most trivial events of life. This is also clearly sup- 
 ported by the testimony of the inspired volume, which 
 declares that the very “ Hairs of our heads are all 
 numbered,” and that “a sparrow falls not to the ground 
 without the notice of our heavenly Father.” However 
 unworthy of God this may appear to the infidel who 
 would be glad to exclude the Creator from a share in 
 the government of his own creatures, it is highly con- 
 sistent in the views of a pious mind, whose delight is 
 to perceive God, and to enjoy God every where, and 
 in every thing. He recognises the supreme and all- 
 wise intelligence in whatever occurs ; permitting evils 
 for the punishment of sin and sinners, and so restrain- 
 ing and controlling them as to make confusion itself 
 to contribute to the universal harmony, and the most 
 
 eel ne ee 
 
 en ee ee Se er © 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS.  —«-_ 415 
 
 PROVIDENCE A GROUND OF SUBMISSION. 
 
 virulent poison, medicinal; superintending events, 
 worthy of his own immediate agency, so as to pro- 
 mote the benevolent purposes of his heart. 
 
 SeconpLy.—This subject should influence man- 
 kind to resist every evil passion, and to cultivate the 
 most holy dispositions of mind. Is God every where? 
 is there a providence in every thing? is his hand 
 always directing? does he never err? How sinful 
 then, either to deny or forget him. How incompatible 
 with every moral and spiritual obligation is hostility 
 to his dispensations, and impatience under his chastise- 
 ments. How absurd, under the acknowledgment of 
 such a providence, is self-will and want of submission. 
 How criminal to question the Wisdom, or justice, or 
 goodness of an event, or a concatenation of events, 
 which form but a small part of a plan, the whole of 
 which we have neither seen laid open, nor heard 
 explained.—QOn the other hand, it becomes us to be 
 resigned under trials, knowing that ‘“‘ whom he loveth 
 he chasteneth ;” to be patient in periods when Provi- 
 dence is mysterious and incomprehensible; assured 
 that ‘‘ what we know not now we shall know here- 
 after ;” to be cheerful when our blessings are removed 
 from us, saying with Job, “‘ The Lord gave, and the 
 Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the 
 Lord.” 
 
 Tuirpty.—All the operations of Providence 
 should be viewed as having a relation to the kingdom 
 of Messiah, and as being combined to advance his 
 cause in the world. It is from the Redeemer’s king- 
 
416 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 
 PROVIDENCES ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 
 
 dom that God proposes to derive the most glory ; for 
 this, the world is continued in being; and to advance 
 this cause, God wisely combines and influences all the 
 events of his Providence. Here the wisdom of God 
 signally appears. We are not surprised at seeing 
 three or four wheels connected on mechanical prin- 
 ciples, in a simple machine, produce a certain result. 
 But how would it surprise us to see ten thousand 
 wheels, and levers, and pulleys, and screws, and 
 wedges, and inclined planes of different dimensions, 
 combined in one piece of machinery, and all acting 
 with uniformity and harmony; and producing an 
 effect which could be produced in no other way; by 
 no other mechanical arrangement. Would not such 
 
 a piece of mechanism discover much thought, and. 
 
 ingenuity, and contrivance? But how much more 
 ought it to excite our astonishment, when we look 
 into the government of God, and the economy of his 
 Providence, and take into the account all the millions of 
 _ transactions and occurrences which are coming to pass 
 every minute in the world, and to connect with these, 
 those of the former minute; and with these again, 
 such as happened during the former day; and with 
 the events of a day, all those of the past century; and 
 to these unite the events of six thousand years ;—I 
 Say, how ought it to excite our astonishment to see 
 all these combined in the government of God, and 
 all furthering the cause of Messiah in the world. 
 Examine the mysterious operations of nature ; connect 
 with them the thoughts and plans of rational beings, 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 417 
 a 
 holy and unholy ; to these unite the political affairs of 
 nations, their wars, their revolutions, their rise, dura- 
 tion, and fall; with these associate the persecutions 
 which the church has endured in different ages, the 
 burning of martyrs, and the banishment of saints; and 
 to these join the exertions of Christians, their prayers, 
 and their schemes of usefulness ;—when we imagine this 
 combination of events and circumstances so contrary to 
 each other, so opposite,—what must that wisdom be 
 which can guide and direct the whole, and make them 
 all to “‘ work together” for the advancement of a 
 cause, with which many of them have no apparent 
 connexion, which many of them seem immediately 
 to oppose, and which few of them have any ma- 
 nifest tendency to promote? How astonishing is 
 that intelligence which forms this strange combina- 
 tion; and how mighty that power which secures 
 against all opposing interests the proposed result, 
 How important and glorious that cause to which all 
 events, great and small, are tributary; and how 
 pleasing and encouraging to the Christian to perceive 
 that the prosperity of Messiah, which lies so near to 
 his heart, is an object with God in all the operations 
 of his hand. This is the most consoling and en- 
 chanting view which we can take of the economy of 
 Providence. 
 
 FourtHty: The study and contemplation of 
 the government of God is at the same time an import- 
 ant duty, that yields peculiar pleasure. “ ‘The works 
 of the Lord are great; sought out by all them that 
 
 EE 
 
418 GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 
 CONTEMPLATION OF PROVIDENCE PLEASING. 
 eS 
 have pleasure therein.” This is a volume whose 
 countless pages are inscribed with innumerable facts 
 and truths, at once instructive, engaging, and at- 
 tractive. Every day another leaf is added to the 
 interesting volume, inscribed with new beauties, af- 
 fording additional illustration of the divine perfections. 
 The future is hidden from our view in impenetrable 
 obscurity; but we may read the past, and find ex- 
 haustless delight and instruction. In reading history, 
 either sacred or profane, ancient or modern, all the 
 facts which are related, all the events which are there 
 recorded, are the facts and the occurrences of the 
 divine government. What study can afford such 
 vast variety? What investigations can give us such 
 ‘grand conceptions of the divine perfections? What 
 inquiries can yield such clear demonstration of the 
 advantages of religion, and the woe of crime? What 
 contemplations can tend so directly to humble and 
 abase the pride of human nature, and to excite an 
 entire dependence on Divine Providence? Pro- 
 vidence should be studied as general ; and we should 
 examine with care its length and its breadth. All 
 nature should be regarded as obeying its laws ; and its 
 vast plans viewed as embracing a universe of matter, 
 and of mind, and of events. But that which in- 
 terests the most is, the study of Providence, as 
 particular and as personal. To perceive that WE 
 have been the objects of an especial and constant 
 providential superintendence; to retrace minutely 
 the circumstances of our own history, from our 
 
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 —— 
 
GOVERNMENT OF EVENTS. 419 
 
 8SSMS9M9MaSaS ee 
 
 REVIEW OF THE EVENTS OF PROVIDENCE, 
 
 a mmmeeeseee 
 earliest infancy to the present moment; to observe 
 by what combinations of circumstancés our cha- 
 racters were formed; by what means the most pro- 
 minent facts in our own histories were induced ; 
 
 to recount the deliverances from dangers which we 
 have witnessed, how our most interesting connexions 
 and friendships were formed, the sufferings we have 
 endured, and the blessings we have obtained,—such 
 an investigation cannot fail to benefit ourselves, and 
 to render glory to God. 
 
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ESSAY THIRD. 
 Ow Redemption ; 
 
 THE WISDOM OF GOD IN THE METHOD OF 
 
 SALVATION. 
 
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REDEMPTION. 
 
 ‘Tne salvation of sinners by the mediation of 
 the incarnate Son of God, is the only solace of an 
 awakened mind; it is the grand peculiarity in the 
 history of this globe, and the wonder of the whole 
 universe of intelligent beings. ‘It affords more mag- 
 nificent displays of the divine character than all the 
 other works of God, and places him before us under 
 representations more engaging, more encouraging, 
 and more comprehensible. However charmed we 
 may have been while contemplating the material and 
 immaterial creation, and in exploring the principles 
 of the universal government of God, the branch of 
 our subject on which we are now entering, by 
 exceeding them in glory and in importance, ought — 
 more entirely to absorb our minds, and to concentrate 
 our energies. It is a theme which angels investigate 
 with all their vast powers: let.us not, therefore, for 
 one moment, imagine that our best exertions . are 
 misapplied when directed to it. While this subject 
 deserves our investigation, it promises ample remunera- 
 tion to those who devote their minds to it with ardour. 
 
424 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 REDEMPTION THE GRANDEST OF ALL SUBJECTS. 
 
 And if a lively consciousness of our spiritual and 
 - moral state be present, and if we be deeply impressed 
 with the conviction of our high destiny, and our 
 future responsibility, we shall feel the greatest anxiety 
 to obtain an accurate knowledge of the will of God 
 as unfolded in redemption, and a personal interest in 
 all its benefits.—The oracles of God are our only 
 cuide; and we must implicitly confide in their 
 decisions. | 
 The greater the obstacles are which oppose the 
 accomplishment of a given design, the more wisdom 
 and contrivance are necessary in order to effect it. 
 Never did God conceive in his infinite mind a greater 
 object than that of saving apostate sinners ; never 
 were greater and more numerous difficulties to be 
 surmounted ; never was a more astonishing economy 
 of means originated, and made so perfectly to apply 
 to the subject ; and never was a plan so triumphantly 
 successful as this. The grandeur and magnificence 
 of the idea of creating a universe without any 
 pre-existing materials on which to operate, is ren- 
 dered apparent to our senses whenever we contem- 
 plate the starry heavens, which, probably, display 
 but a very small proportion of the whole. The 
 difficulties which opposed were such as an Omni- 
 potent Being alone could overcome; but these 
 difficulties were rather negative than positive; while 
 there was nothing to aid, there was nothing to resist 
 his will. There were no jarring interests to reconcile ; 
 no opposing claims, made by the infinite perfections 
 
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 ON REDEMPTION. | 425 
 —=[ eee 
 MAN ORIGINATED THE DIFFICULTIES OF HIS OWN SALVATION. 
 
 of his holy nature, to adjust. The Almighty fiat 
 had but to present an adequate quantity of materials 
 to infinite wisdom, and the universe instantly beamed 
 in all the majesty of immensity and_ perfection. 
 Far greater was the idea of saving sinners; and 
 greater still were the difficulties which he had to 
 conquer. In proceeding with our subject, we must 
 first consider these difficulties. 
 
 It has been already shown that man possesses all 
 the capacities of a moral agent, and an accountable 
 being; and that when he was placed in Paradise, he 
 was put under the moral government of God, and 
 in a state of probation. The Supreme Authority 
 gave him a law for the government of his conduct, 
 and he was created with physical and moral ability 
 which qualified him to obey it in perfection ; he was 
 also furnished with motives sufficient to ensure 
 obedience :—these motives were comprehended in a 
 promise of perpetuated life, in connexion with all the 
 bliss of Paradise; and a threatening of death in 
 union with all that is tremendous both in time and 
 in eternity. Notwithstanding this, he abused his 
 free agency, and voluntarily plunged himself into all 
 the miseries of transgression, and all the dangers 
 of a traitor and a rebel against God. All the 
 difficulties of human salvation were created by man’s 
 apostasy; there are none besides: hence, man has 
 only himself to criminate for his own danger - and 
 infelicity, for the miseries of his present condition, 
 and the agonies of future forebodings. ‘To recom- 
 
496 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE HEINOUSNESS OF MAN’S OFFENCE. 
 
 mend, and to render estimable the means which 
 sovereign grace has revealed for the accomplishment 
 of salvation, let us briefly enumerate the obstacles 
 which they had to remove. In proportion to our 
 consciousness of the magnitude of the difficulties, 
 will the means of conquering them be prized. 
 
 I shall first mention the heinousness of man’s 
 offence, and the consequent extent of God’s dis- 
 pleasure.—In the conduct of the first of human kind, 
 and all their degenerate posterity, we see a daring 
 rejection of divine authority. Man’s Creator must 
 be his Sovereign; his will should be the creature’s 
 law, and his glory should be the creature’s su- 
 preme concern. Reason and revelation harmonize 
 in supporting this position. But when man trans- 
 gresses, he acts in opposition to both reason and 
 revelation ; for, by his actions, he avows* that God 
 shall not reign over him.—lIn sinning, we also violate 
 the best possible laws; for such, in fact, are the 
 laws of God. If he legislates for his creatures, the 
 code which he enacts must be essentially the per- 
 fection of equity, wisdom, benevolence, and mercy; 
 and hence his laws are characterized as “holy, just, 
 and good.” But the sinner, while he renounces the 
 Supreme Authority, violates and rejects his laws.— 
 We see likewise, in the crimes of men, a series of 
 actions maintained which are contrary to all the 
 propensities of human nature as originally created. 
 “ God made man upright ; but he hath sought out 
 many inventions.” His heart was full of the best 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 427 
 
 THE DIVINE DISPLEASURE. 
 
 affections and desires, and all the powers of his 
 nature were obedient to his holy volitions; but in 
 sinning, he violated his whole nature as it was 
 originally formed, and debased its powers by yielding 
 them up to the dominion of the worst of tyrants, 
 when he became “the slave of divers lusts and 
 pleasures,” and was “‘ led captive by the devil at his 
 will.” When man transgressed, it was against light 
 and knowledge the most cloudless; against the 
 dictates of his conscience the most rational and im- 
 perious ; and against propensities the most holy and 
 dignified. 
 
 Again: In sin there is an entire disregard of those 
 obligations under which we “are laid. These are 
 unspeakably great, arising from a promulgation of 
 the will of God, the possession of an exalted nature, 
 and the enjoyment of innumerable blessings :—how 
 great were these in Paradise! And though we have 
 by our own folly lost our original dignity, yet no 
 man can say that he sins, because he is not laid 
 under sufficient obligations to obey. If such are the 
 ageravated circumstances of the crimes of mankind, 
 what must be the extent of Divine displeasure! He 
 beheld the apostasy of his creatures; he is perfectly 
 acquainted with the crimes of a fallen world in their 
 number, their aggravations, and their motives; and 
 “swears in his wrath they shall not enter into my 
 rest.” Oh! how shall “ his anger be appeased °” 
 how shall he be approached who is a consuming 
 fire | 
 
428 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE CLAIMS OF THE MORAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 Again: The difficulty of meeting the claims of 
 the moral government of God, forms another ob- 
 stacle to the salvation of man.—As this government 
 must be in all respects perfect, its claims must be 
 honoured with respect to man, before his salvation 
 can be possible. ‘Though, by the fall, man has lost 
 his ability to meet the claims of this moral govern- 
 ment, yet he is still a subject of it, and is under the 
 same obligations as ever to act agreeably to its laws; 
 for a loss of power to obey.by no means infers an 
 exemption from obligation. Man is still within the 
 sphere of this government, and God still demands a 
 perfection of obedience, and threatens him with an 
 eternity of punishment in case of non-compliance. 
 Can God, consistently with the perfections of his 
 nature, reverse his threatening, or withhold the pu- 
 nishment, or suspend his claims, or alter the whole 
 structure of his moral government, or render it 
 nugatory, in order to display his mercy, to pardon, 
 and save the sinner? Impossible. This would imply 
 imperfection in the’ scheme of his government, and 
 changeableness in his own mind. _ If this government 
 is perfect in all its laws and sanctions, Justice must 
 guard its honours, and punish in case of disobedience. 
 Mercy must proceed in harmony with its claims, if it 
 act at all—and can never act either in opposition 
 to its demands, or with indifference to its authority. 
 Justice can no more be satisfied with an imperfect. 
 obedience, than it can pass unnoticed the most 
 daring violation of the law. Ir must punisu, 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 429 
 
 _———————————————————————————E——— 
 OBSTACLES ARISING FROM MAN’S IMPURITY... 
 eee ———ZZ_=_ ==> ee 
 
 unless a way can be found at once to honour the law, 
 and meet its demands, and thus exhibit the riches of 
 mercy in co-operation with the holy exercises of equity. 
 In what way then can the Most High be at once a 
 just God and a Saviour? As the whole race of man- 
 kind are guilty before God, and utterly incapable of 
 either satisfying the demands of justice for past 
 offences, or of rendering a perfect obedience to his 
 law for the future, how shall God be just, and yet 
 forgive? This inquiry discovers difficulties in the way 
 of human salvation, which all the wisdom of created 
 intelligence could never surmount. It is the glory of 
 the gospel that it anticipates them in all their force, 
 while it ‘“ brings life and immortality to light.” 
 
 A view, thirdly, of the spiritual condition, and the 
 circumstances of mankind, discloses other difficulties 
 in the way of their salvation. Heaven, where the 
 blessings of salvation are enjoyed, is a state of the © 
 most perfect purity. Nothing unclean can enter it; 
 “without holiness no man can see the Lord.” It is 
 the immediate residence of God, and of the holy angels 
 who kept their first estate, and of the spirits of the 
 just made perfect. The eye of God cannot allow 
 a single stain of impurity within the compass of those 
 sacred regions; and his irrevocable decree has ren- 
 dered it impossible that there should be one. The 
 employments of Heaven require the same perfect 
 purity as the place, and a state of moral dignity and 
 energy of powers, such as the fallen nature of man 
 cannot equal, But human nature is all depraved ; 
 
430 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF SINNERS OPPOSE THEIR SALVATION. 
 
 impurity extends over all its faculties and affections. 
 Its motives, and thoughts, and actions participate 
 the melancholy consequences of the fall. In human 
 nature there is not only a want of suitableness for the 
 celestial state, but an entire opposition to its engage- 
 ments. “ The carnal mind is enmity against God; 
 it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can 
 be.”——“ In us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good 
 thing.” An accurate view of Heaven, and an 
 acquaintance with the real spiritual and moral state 
 of mankind, will clearly demonstrate the impossibility 
 of man’s enjoying it, unless some great change be 
 accomplished in his nature. But in what way can 
 this be effected? How can such depravity be 
 removed? How shall a nature so vile and polluted 
 be made meet for glory? 
 
 Besides, the circumstances in which man is placed 
 include vast difficulties in the way of his salvation. 
 The spirit and maxims of the world are invincible to 
 fallen nature ; and a malignant and spiritual agency, 
 which is ever at work upon the mind of man, aids 
 the fascinating power of the world, and increases 
 the difficulty of the salvation of man. His sinful 
 habits, attachments, prejudices, and _partialities, all 
 tend to show that the salvation of a sinner is ‘ im- 
 possible with man.” | 
 
 Such are the difficulties which lie in the way of 
 our salvation. And who can consider them without 
 feelng great alarm? Such views would plunge 
 every reflecting mind into all the agonies of the most 
 
 - ee ee 
 
 Oe ee ee a ee ee - 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 431 
 
 MEANS OF RECOVERY. . 
 
 gloomy despondency and painful forebodings, were 
 it not that a method of salvation is clearly revealed 
 in the Bible. In this volume we see that what is 
 infinitely beyond the reach of human capability, is 
 undertaken by the God of all grace, and accomplished 
 with facility and certainty. But all these interposing 
 obstacles to man’s salvation must be removed; 
 Divine Wisdom had to devise a plan by which it 
 could be done, and at the same time display the great 
 Supreme, as “ just and holy.” An investigation of this 
 plan, as revealed in the oracles of God, will unfold 
 the wisdom of its structure. The following Sections 
 are intended to explain and to justify various propo- 
 sitions which are calculated to illustrate the im- 
 portant subject under consideration. 
 
 SECTION FIRST... 
 
 THE PERSON AND SATISFACTION OF CHRIST, 
 
 Man has broken the law of God, and exposed 
 himself to the stroke of Divine Justice :—the wisdom 
 of God appears in the appointment of a Mediator 
 who was able to satisfy the demands of justice, and 
 willing to undertake the cause of sinners. 
 
 The fact that all mankind have transgressed the 
 laws of God, needs no further proof; the malignant 
 
432 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE IDEA OF MEDIATION ORIGINATED WITH GOD. 
 
 nature of sin has been illustrated; we have also 
 noticed the consequent danger of the sinner as being 
 liable to ail the punishment which the broken law of 
 God denounces. Let us now contemplate the method 
 of his recovery. ‘“‘ Oh! the depth of the riches both 
 of the wisdom and knowledge of God: how un- 
 searchable are his judgments, and his ways are past 
 finding out.”—‘‘ Manifold wisdom” shines here in its 
 brightest beams. It is seen in THE GENERAL PRIN- 
 CIPLES OF MEDIATION; IN THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 THE PERSON OF THE MeptaTor; and in THE 
 MODE ADOPTED OF SATISFYING THE CLAIMS OF 
 BOTH THE BROKEN LAW AND OFFENDED JUSTICE} 
 and by this means, making “ mercy and truth to meet 
 together, righteousness and peace to embrace each 
 other,” 
 
 The general principles of MEDIATION are so vast 
 and sublime, that they could have been conceived by 
 Infinite Wisdom only. ‘The difference of natures is 
 so great, and the moral distance between the Infinite 
 Spirit and the sinful creature man, so awful, that 
 mere created intelligence could never have originated 
 the idea of the possibility of reconciliation by the 
 interposition of a third party, or a mediator. Left to 
 himself, man would have wandered for ever in the 
 dreadful moral darkness which he had brought around 
 himself by his own disobedience; he never would 
 have imagined it possible that reconciliation could 
 be accomplished by the interposition of another ; or, 
 if the thought had been ever elicited, where would he 
 
 —— ee ee 
 
 | 
 | 
 . 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 4133 
 
 THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST ORIGINATED WITH GOD. 
 
 have looked for a being who could undertake the 
 task? Would he have been so vain as to suppose 
 that one of his own rebellious race could interpose an 
 influence equal to the desired end? or, could he have 
 looked elsewhere with any hope of success ? Angels 
 themselves, however. extensive their knowledge, and 
 however great their commiseration for guilty man, 
 were in the same dilemma. Man had fallen so far 
 from his pristine dignity and glory; so far from the 
 favour and love of his Creator, and his righteous 
 Governor, that angels would no more have thought 
 of man’s restoration, than of the recovery of the mul- 
 titudes of their own companions who kept not their 
 first estate, by means of a mediator. The idea was 
 beyond the range of created intellect ; it originated 
 alone with God; and it is worthy of him. 
 
 In saving guilty man, it was necessary that God 
 should maintain ail his dignity; no perfection was to 
 be degraded; and man must be restored to his favour 
 by means which would glorify, and not dishonour, 
 every attribute of his nature. The plan of ap- 
 pointing a mediator, who could stand between the 
 offended and the guilty, and plead the cause of both, 
 proposed to meet this difficulty in its full force, and 
 to remove it. ‘This was:a wise expedient. It allowed 
 infinite dignity to condescend without degradation, 
 and the sinner to hope without being guilty of pre- 
 sumption. By this means God can sit upon his 
 throne and treat with man; and man can plead for 
 restoration to favour without being chargeable with 
 
 F F 
 
ABA ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE SALVATION OF CHRIST ae eons 
 unwarrantable intrusion into his presence. The 
 salvation of sinners, as unfolded in the volume of divine 
 inspiration, rests upon this basis. The work of Christ, 
 to which it is solely attributed, Is MEDIATORIAL. 
 This was the object of his mission; this was his 
 official condition while in the world; and _ his inter- 
 cession with God now is of the same nature. An 
 inspired apostle, when giving a summary view of the 
 work of Christ, describes him as “ the mediator 
 between God and man.” ‘This was no new idea; it 
 was included in the first promise which was given to 
 an apostate world; it was intimated by Moses when 
 he stood before God to plead the cause of “ a stiff- 
 necked people ;” it was typically represented by 
 Aaron when “he stood between the dead and the 
 living, and stayed the plague ;” it was predicted by 
 Isaiah when he described the Messiah as “ bearing 
 our iniquities,” and “making intercession for the 
 transgressors.” Hence we contemplate the me- 
 diatorial office of Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of 
 Old Testament prophecies and. prefigurations, and 
 the development of a scheme of divine mercy, as wise 
 as it is sovereign. : 
 
 As this economy originated in the bosom of deity, 
 in anticipation of man’s apostasy before this melan- 
 choly catastrophe occurred, it affords to all intelligent 
 beings the most sublime display of the character of 
 God that is conceivable. It reveals a prescience the 
 most accurate and extensive; a love the most intense 
 and bountiful; a condescension the most astonishing 
 
| ON REDEMPTION, | 485 
 Sa 
 and unparalleled ; a justice the most dignified and 
 immaculate; and a wisdom, in meeting its claims, the 
 most fertile in its resources, and efficient in its plans. 
 “O Lord, who is a God like unto thee, glorious in 
 holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders !” 
 
 This adorable perfection is still further illustrated 
 by a consideration of the person of the mediator. 
 This is “the great mystery of godliness,” and the 
 noblest display of “ the manifold wisdom of God.” 
 —*O the depths!” who can fathom them? “ The 
 riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God” are 
 “past finding out.” The person of the mediator is 
 amply described in the Sacred Volume. As the whole 
 success of the plan depended on the suitableness of 
 his person, we may rest assured that God would 
 appoint one who was equal to the undertaking ; and 
 as the confidence which mankind place in him depends 
 on their convictions of his ability to save, we may 
 _ justly expect to find the most ample descriptions of 
 his person in the sacred oracles. A candid appeal 
 to their assertions will lead to the most perfect satis- 
 faction. “The great mystery of godliness is, Gop 
 MANIFESTIN THE FLESH;” and the wisdom of God 
 is recognised in this mystery. : 
 
 Lhe constitution of the mediator’s person was 
 prospective; it hada reference to the great design of 
 fulfilling the law which man had broken, and of 
 satisfying divine justice whose displeasure he had 
 incurred. The law could not be honoured but by 
 perfect obedience, nor could justice be appeased with- 
 
 FF 
 
436 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 ee rag ra ra eR A 
 
 THE HUMAN NATURE OF CHRIST. 
 
 sd ca till) a ae 
 out an adéquate satisfaction; the sinner could do 
 neither; the mediator must be able to do both in 
 order to save the guilty. On what principles can his 
 person be constituted so as to render a perfect obe- 
 dience, and an infinite satisfaction? Had he been 
 MAN only, he could not have obeyed for others ; 
 because all the obedience which he could render to 
 God was due on his own account, by virtue of that 
 relation which subsists between the Creator and the 
 creature ; for the more perfect and exalted the nature 
 was which he might have possessed, the more was 
 required of him. Had he been Gop only, the idea of 
 obedience would have been nugatory, and he would not 
 have possessed a nature that could have been offered 
 as a sacrifice, which at present I take for granted was 
 essential to human salvation. In the former case he 
 might have suffered, but his sufferings could not have 
 been meritorious ; in the latter, he could interpose an 
 infinite merit, but he could neither suffer nor offer an 
 atonement. This question is met, and all these 
 difficulties conquered by a.union of both natures in 
 the one person of the Mediator :—he is Gop-MAN. 
 As the whole success of his engagement rests on the 
 truth of this position, it requires a satisfactory vindi- 
 cation. Our evidence can alone be derived from 
 divine revelation. It is a doctrine which depends 
 entirely on its decisions: to expect proof of it from 
 other sources would therefore be absurd. 
 
 ‘That Christ, the Mediator, possesses a proper 
 HUMAN NATURE, consisting of a true body, and a 
 
 ee 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 437 
 
 DIVINE NATURE OF CHRIST. 
 
 reasonable and immortal soul, is so evident from the 
 Sacred Scriptures, that but little time need be spent 
 in proving it. Let a few passages, however, be 
 named. “ Mary brought forth a son, and wrapped 
 him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger ;” 
 —‘ He grew in stature ;’—“ The word was made 
 flesh ;°—“ He took not on him the nature of angels, 
 but the seed of Abraham ;”’—‘ He was found in 
 fashion as aman ;” and “ was a man of sorrows, and 
 acquainted with grief ;”—‘‘ Handle me and see, a 
 spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.” 
 Some ancient heretics maintained that Christ was 
 only a phantom, assuming a human form and appear- 
 ance; but this error is now universally exploded ; 
 and as none deny his proper humanity, to adduce 
 more proof in support of this truth is unnecessary. I 
 proceed therefore to a vindication of his divinity, 
 which is incessantly assailed by some, who, under the 
 garb of Christianity, and the profession of receiving 
 the Scriptures as a divine revelation, maintain senti- 
 ments which are subversive of the essential principles 
 of both. 
 
 Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant, is Gop, 
 as well as man. Whatever the real views of the 
 Sacred Scriptures may be which the opponents of 
 this doctrine entertain, they profess to rest the issue of 
 the question upon their testimony. By this inspired 
 authority let it be tried. The following arguments 
 will anticipate every objection; and, to impartial minds, 
 it is hoped, afford the most complete conviction. 
 
438 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 CHRIST HAS DIVINE TITLES GIVEN HIM.—GOD. 
 
 He to whom TITLEs are given by inspiration, 
 which are applicable to Deity only, must be God, 
 or the being which we mean by that name. These 
 titles are principally two,—God and Lord, or 
 Jehovah. The word God is Saxon, substituted 
 for the word Elohim of the Hebrew, 7heos of the 
 Greek, and Deus of the Latin languages; and we 
 employ it in a corresponding sense. Generally it is 
 used in the Sacred Scriptures, in its common accepta- 
 tion, to denote the Being that we mean by that name, 
 though it is sometimes used in reference to men, to 
 magistrates, and to angels both good and bad. | But 
 whenever the Sacred Scriptures use it in application to 
 any of these, the sense in which it is employed is clear ; 
 and there can be no mistake. But shall we say, 
 that there is therefore no such being as God? or 
 that that being is not really God, because this title is 
 occasionally used in this limited sense? Where this 
 word is used by inspired language without any such 
 defining circumstances, it must be understood in its 
 proper and common acceptation. The word Lorp, 
 printed in our common version of the Bible in 
 capitals, is always put for the Hebrew word Jehovah, 
 which denotes the self-existent Being, or “‘ he who was, 
 and is, and is to come,” and is never used in Scrip- 
 ture but in its legitimate sense. Let us now inquire 
 whether these titles are ever applied to Jesus Christ 
 in their proper and general acceptation. 
 
 Jesus Christ is called Gop. ‘They shall call 
 his name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, is, 
 
 a ee See eee ee 
 
 7 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 439 
 
 CHRIST IS CALLED GOD--AND JEHOVAH. 
 
 God with us*.”—“‘ The word was God”.”—“ Feed the 
 church of God which he has purchased with his own 
 blood *.”—“ Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ 
 came, who is over all, God blessed for ever*.”— 
 “God was manifest in the flesh*.”—‘ Adorn the 
 doctrine of God our Saviour.”—“ Thy throne, O 
 God, is for ever and ever’.”—“ Hereby perceive we 
 the love of God, because he laid down his life for 
 us®.”——“ This is the true God, and eternal life>.”—~ 
 “His name shall be called the mighty God’.” To 
 suppose that such language as this can be used 
 by the dictates of inspiration, and yet to maintain 
 that it means nothing more than a mere creature, © 
 is to destroy all confidence in the declarations 
 of the Scriptures ; and, by rendering their language 
 unmeaning, to render them contemptible-— However, 
 those who deny this doctrine profess to believe the 
 divinity of the Scriptures. Let them prove that in all 
 the above passages the term God is used to mean only 
 creature, by showing that there are circumstances 
 related in connexion with these passages, which define 
 the meaning of the term. Till this is done, and it 
 never has yet been done, these quotations must be 
 considered as plain declarations of the divinity of 
 the Saviour. | 
 
 Jesus Christ is called JEnovan. “ Prepare 
 ye the way of the Lord;” in the original, JEHO- 
 
 * Matth. i. 23. > John i. 1.— © Acts xx. 28. 
 “ Rom. ix. 5. * 4 Tim. i. 16. f Heb. i. 8. 
 ®> 41 John iii. 16. ® Tb. v. 20. 1 Tsa. ix. 6. 
 
440 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 CHRIST IS JEHOVAH. 
 
 vaH*. This passage is positively applied to Christ in 
 Matth. ii. 3.“ For this is he that was spoken of by 
 the prophet Esaias, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in 
 the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lorp, make 
 his paths straight.”—“‘ Behold, the days come, saith the 
 Lord, that I will raise up unto Dayid a righteous 
 Branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and 
 shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In 
 his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall 
 dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he 
 shall be called, Tue Lorn, (that is) JEHOVAH, OUR 
 RicHTEousNEss'.” ‘This isso plain a prophecy of 
 Christ, that it cannot be mistaken. He shall be 
 called Jenovan. “He is made of God unto us, 
 righteousness ™.”—‘‘W hosoever shall cal] upon thename 
 of the Lorp (Jehovah) shall be delivered®.”—This 
 passage is cited and applied to Christ in Rom. x. 13.— 
 ‘ Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall pre- 
 pare the way before me; and the Lorp (Jehovah) 
 whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple’.” 
 This is another incontrovertible prediction of Christ, 
 in which he is expressly called Jehovah. How often 
 the term Lord is applied to Christ in the New Testa- 
 ment, it is unnecessary to say; and in many of 
 them the same idea is contained as is implied in 
 the term Jehovah. | 
 
 I place this argument in this invincible form—He 
 to whom the titles of Deity are applied in their proper 
 
 * Isa. xl. 3. ' Jer. xxiii, 5, 6, 7. ™ 1 Cor. i. 30, 
 ® Joel ii, 32, ° Mal, iii. 1. 
 
 Se ee ee ee re a 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | AAT 
 
 CHRIST POSSESSES DIVINE PERFECTIONS. 
 
 meaning by the Sacred Scriptures, must be God; 
 but these titles are applied to Jesus Christ :—Jesus 
 Christ is therefore God. | 
 
 We shall now proceed to a second argument 
 in support of this great doctrine. He to whom those 
 PERFECTIONS are ascribed which are peculiar to the 
 Deity, must be God. This argument is still more 
 conclusive, if possible, than the former. If we can 
 prove that those perfections are ascribed to Christ, 
 which cannot belong to any creature, we prove at 
 the same time his divinity. Admit, for the sake of 
 argument, that we may be mistaken as to the appli- 
 cation of titles, we cannot be mistaken when divine 
 perfections are attributed to him. Let us enumerate 
 some of them.—He possesses the perfection of 1nrI- 
 NITE KNOWLEDGE. “ Jesus knew their thoughts ?”— 
 “He knew what was in man‘.”—“ He knew who 
 should betray him’.”—“ Lord, thou knowest‘all things*.” 
 —“ Tam he which searcheth the reins and heart*.” 
 He possesses ALMIGHTY POWER. “I have 
 power to lay down my life, and I have power to take 
 it again".”—“ Upholding all things by the word of his 
 power ”.”—“ With power he commanded the unclean 
 spirits, and they came out*.”—“ He gave the disciples 
 power over unclean spirits to cast them out’.”— 
 “Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand’.”— 
 
 ? Matth. ix. 4. 4 John ii. 25. * John xiii. 11. 
 s John xxi.17, t Rev. ii. 23. * John x. 18. © 
 ” Heb. i. 3. * Luke iv. 36. Y Matth. x. 1, 
 
 2 John x. 28, 
 
AAQ ON REDEMPTION. 
 DIVINE WORKS ASCRIBED TO CHRIST, 
 
 “‘ He is able to succour them that are tempted*.”——— 
 Christ is oMNIPRESENT. ‘‘ Wherever two or three 
 are gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
 midst of them>.”—“ Lo, I am with you always*.”— 
 “ Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if any man 
 hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in unto 
 him, and sup with him, and he with me*.”—-—Christ 
 is ETERNAL.  ‘* Before Abraham was, I am*.”— 
 ~ ™ Glorify me with the glory which I had with thee be- 
 fore the world was‘.”—“ He is before all things *.”— 
 ‘Thou art the same, and thy years fail not".”— 
 * Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and 
 for ever'.”—“‘ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
 and the ending™.”—“ The first and the last’.” 
 
 These are the peculiar and distinguishing perfec- 
 tions of God. To ascribe them to any creature 
 would be the height of folly, and a crime of almost un- 
 pardonable magnitude. But these perfections belong 
 to Christ; the above language amounts to positive 
 proof; the conclusion is inevitable ;—Jesus Christ is 
 therefore God. 
 
 The third argument in support of this doctrine I 
 derive from the works attributed to Christ. If such 
 are ascribed to him as can only be performed by deity, 
 the inference is clear and satisfactory in favour of the 
 
 doctrine which I vindicate. The creation of the 
 
 93. 
 
 * Heb. ii. 18. > Matth. xviii.20. ‘* Matth. xxviii. 20. 
 
 * Rev. iii. 20. * John viii. 58. * John xvii. 5. 
 
 = Coloss.i.17. ” Heb. i, 12. ' Heb. xiii. 8. 
 *~Rev. i. 8. I Tb. i. 17. 
 
 Ss — . 
 
 ee ee 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 443 
 
 DIVINE WORKS ATTRIBUTED TO CHRIST. 
 
 universe is ascribed to him.—‘“ All things were made 
 by him, and without him was not any thing made™.”— 
 “The world was made by him*.”—“ By him were 
 all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in 
 earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, 
 or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things 
 were created by him and for him, and he is before all 
 things, and by him all things consist*.”—“ Thou, 
 Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the 
 earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands”.”— 
 He is the universal governor of the natural and moral 
 worlds. “ His kingdom ruleth over all.”—“ All 
 power is given unto me both in heaven and in 
 earth’.”—He pardons sins. “Thy sins which are 
 many are all forgiven thee’.”—“‘ The Son of man hath 
 power on earth to forgive sins’.”—-When he promised 
 the dying thief that he should be with him in Paradise 
 that day, it implied the forgiveness of sin. “ But 
 who can forgive sins but God only?”—He will raise 
 the dead at the period of the general resurrection. 
 “The hour is coming, and now is, in the which all that 
 are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of 
 God, and they that hear shall live’.’—‘ All that are 
 in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
 forth”.”—“ This is the will of him that sent me, that 
 
 erin a 
 
 m Johni.3. | © Jb.i. 10. © Coloss. i. 16, 
 P Heb. i. 10. 41 Ps. ciii. 19. * Matth, xxviii, 18. 
 - °s Matth. ix. 2 * Matth. ix. 6. « John vy, 28, 
 W Ib. x. 28, 29. 
 
A4d4 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE WORKS OF CHRIST INFER HIS DIVINITY. 
 
 every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, 
 may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at 
 the last day*.”—Christ will “ change our vile body, 
 that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, 
 according to the working of his mighty power whereby 
 he is able even to subdue all things to himself.”— 
 “ He is the resurrection and the life.’—He shall judge 
 the world. ‘ We must all stand before the judgment 
 seat of Christ’”.”—“ The Lord Jesus shall judge the 
 quick and the dead at his appearing, and his king- 
 dom*.”—He will dispense rewards and punishments : 
 rewards to the righteous. ‘To them on his right hand 
 he will say, ‘‘ Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
 the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world”.”—“ I appoint unto you a kingdom*.”— 
 ‘* I will give thee a crown of life*.”—He will inflict 
 punishments on the wicked. “Then shall he say unto 
 them on his left hand, Depart, ye cursed, into ever- 
 lasting fire*.”—“ He will gather the wheat into his 
 garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire un- 
 quenchable‘’.” | 
 
 Such are the works which are attributed to Jesus 
 Christ. Were he not God, nothing could be more 
 absurd than to ascribe these wonderful works’ to 
 him. They can be performed by the infinite Deity 
 only; but as they are ascribed to Jesus, without 
 sn NCR Ope emer s Noe 8, Se 
 
 * John vi. 40. ~ * Philip. iii. 21, * 2 Cor. v. 10. 
 
 @ 2 Tim. iv. 1. > Matth. xxv. 34. © Luke xxii. 29, 
 * Rev. ii. 10. © Matth. xxv. 41, * Luke tii. 17. 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | hs 
 
 CHRIST HAD DIVINE HONOURS PAID HIM. 
 
 any qualifying terms to alter the plain and obvious 
 language by which they are ascribed to him, Jesus is 
 God, or there is no confidence to be placed in the 
 testimony of the Scriptures. 
 
 A fourth argument in, support of the proper 
 deity of Christ is drawn from the consideration of the 
 EXALTED HONOURS which are ascribed to him, I 
 now refer particularly to divine worship ; this is due 
 exclusively to Jehovah; and if it can be proved that 
 this honour is given to Jesus by the approbation of the 
 Father, this will furnish an irrefragable argument in 
 support of his proper godhead, ‘That the apostles 
 and primitive Christians did really and _ properly 
 worship the Redeemer, is a fact of unquestionable 
 certainty. I shall only quote a few of the many 
 passages which prove this. ‘‘ The disciples wor- 
 shipped him®.”—‘“ They stoned Stephen, callmg upon 
 God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit®.”— 
 “Saul hath authority to bind all that call on thy 
 name.”—‘ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 
 with you®.”—“ With all that in every place call on 
 the name of Jesus Christ our Lord'.”—‘ Our Lord 
 Jesus Christ direct our way unto you™.’—“ I thank 
 Jesus Christ our Lord*.”—“ The Lord Jesus Christ 
 be with thy spirit®.”—“ Our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, to whom be glory both now and for ever?.”— 
 
 ® Luke xxiv. 52, » Acts vil. 59. 1 Acts ix. 14. 
 * Rom. xvi. 20. ‘1 Cora: SA hese: 1. 41, 
 ® 1 Tim. i. 12, ° > Thess.iv. 22. ° 2 Pet. ii. 18. 
 
446 ON REDEMPTION. 
 SA SD BARAT DIY A RS BIDE AR a APO EEC Re LR OETA OT 
 
 CHRIST WORSHIPPED. 
 
 ** Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 
 power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and 
 honour, and glory, and blessing*.”—The acts which 
 are mentioned in these various passages are those of 
 prayer and praise, the noblest of all acts of creature 
 homage. God prohibits them from being offered 
 to any creature under the risk of the most dreadful 
 penalties which can be inflicted. 
 
 But let it be inquired whether there is any reason 
 to suppose that the Father is displeased with the 
 disciples of Jesus, on account of their ascribing these 
 supreme honours to him? When Christ entered on 
 his public work as a teacher sent from God, a voice 
 from heaven was heard, saying, ‘“‘ This is my beloved 
 Son, in whom I am well pleased ;” and on the mount 
 of transfiguration the same authority added, “ Hear 
 ye him.” But Jesus Christ himself taught his disci- 
 ples “ that all men should honour the Son, even as 
 they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the 
 Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him'.” 
 And to support the Saviour’s pretensions, and to 
 intimate the nature and extent of that honour which 
 was to be given to Christ, when he bringeth in the 
 first-begotten into the world, he (the Father) saith, 
 ‘“ Let all the angels of God worship him‘.”—Would 
 the lather enjoin such worship even upon the angels 
 if he were a mere creature, or unworthy of it? And 
 if it is a duty in the angelic beings to worship him, is 
 
 te nent 
 
 2 Rey. xv. 12. " John y. 25. * Heb. i. 6. 
 
‘ON REDEMPTION. | 447 
 
 CHRIST EQUAL WITH THE FATHER. 
 
 less honour due from mankind?—From the whole it 
 is clear that God alone is the object of religious 
 worship ;—that such worship was given to Jesus by. 
 the apostles and primitive Christians, and that by the 
 Father’s command :—Jesus Christ is therefore God. 
 
 The fifth and last argument which I shall mention 
 in favour of the proper deity of Christ, is deduced 
 from a view of the manner in which he is associated 
 with the Father. To unite a mere creature with God, 
 in acts which belong exclusively to Jehovah, would 
 be the height of folly, and the foulest blasphemy. But 
 if we again appeal to the Scriptures, we shall perceive 
 from various passages this folly and this blasphemy, 
 if Jesus is not possessed of an equal nature. ‘“ My 
 Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”—“ As the Fa- 
 ther raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even 
 so the Son quickeneth whom he will'.”—<“ Jesus 
 answered and said unto him, If a man love me he 
 will keep my word ; and my Father will love him, and 
 we will come unto him and make our abode with 
 him".”—“ Ye believe in God, believe also in me*.” 
 —‘“He that hateth me, hateth my Father also’.”— 
 “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the 
 only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast 
 sent.”—“ All mine are thine, and thine are mine.”— 
 “That they may be one as we are*.” How often 
 does he declare himself the Son of God, which the 
 
 * John v. 17, 21. " John xiv. 23. *- 1b. xiv- 1. 
 ¥ John xv. 23, 2 John xvii. 3, 10, 11. 
 
445 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 CHRIST EQUAL WITH THE FATHER. 
 
 Jews clearly understood to be an assumption of 
 equality, and which Jesus never contradicted nor 
 discountenanced ; thus “ making himself equal with 
 God*.”—In instituting the ordinance of baptism, and 
 directing the manner of its administration, he says to 
 his disciples, ‘‘ Go ye, therefore, and teach all 
 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Does 
 Jesus act worthy of “a teacher sent from God,” in 
 thus associating himself with the Father and the Holy 
 Spirit in a solemn act of worship, if he does not 
 possess an equality of nature and dignity? In the 
 benediction with which the apostles so. often close 
 their inspired epistles, they use this language, ‘“ The 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, 
 and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. 
 Amen?.”—This is a solemn prayer addressed to the 
 Holy Trinity, in which the Son and Holy Spirit are 
 as much honoured and worshipped as the Father. 
 But can we possibly suppose this of the apostles, 
 had they not believed their perfect equality of essence 
 and dignity of nature? In consistency with this is 
 the employment of all the heavenly hosts, who are 
 described as saying, ‘‘ Blessing, and honour, and 
 glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the, 
 throne, and unto the Lamb for ever’°.” 
 
 A sameness and equality of essence with the 
 Father is asserted to belong to Christ. “ Let this 
 
 ee 
 
 —— 
 
 * John v. 18. b 2 Cor. xii. 14. © Rey. v.13. 
 
 —— 
 
 i nts 
 
e ON REDEMPTION. | 449 
 
 THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST CLEARLY ASSERTED, 
 a 
 mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who 
 being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to 
 be equal with God, but made himself of no reputa- 
 tion*®.”"—“ Christ is the image of God*.”—“ The 
 image of the invisible God*.”—“ Being the brightness 
 of the Father’s glory, and the express image of his 
 person®.”—Such are the declarations of Christ con- 
 cerning himself, and such is the language in which 
 the apostles describe him, -all of which furnish the 
 same inference—that Christ is truly God. 
 
 Suppose, for the sake of argument, that the in- 
 spired writers really believed in the doctrine of the 
 proper divinity of Christ, and had intended to assert 
 this truth; could they have used stronger language ? 
 Was it possible to be more explicit? But, on the 
 other hand, supposing that they did not believe it, 
 can we imagine that men of common honesty and 
 common sense would have used such unwarrantable 
 language,—language so calculated to mislead even 
 the most attentive reader? And if the supposition 
 be inadmissible on these grounds, how much more so 
 supposing them to have been inspired? In the pas- 
 sages which have been quoted, the language is plain 
 and simple; the doctrine is stated in the most lumi- 
 nous manner. The aid of figure and extravagant 
 expression was not needed, and it is not sought. 
 The idea was prominent in the minds of the inspired 
 
 orth Seam A See SETA TT RY Oe vA E SETS OS AES) S07 
 “ Philip. ii. 5, 6, 7. © 2 Cor. iv. 4. * Coloss. i. 15. 
 © Heb. i. 3. 
 GG 
 
450 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 CHRIST’S OBEDIENCE AND SATISFACTION, 
 
 writers, and they conveyed the idea to posterity in 
 simple and unadorned language. ‘Those who deny it 
 must be guilty of deism, or of wresting the Scriptures 
 to their own destruction. 
 
 Such is the person. of the Mediator of the new 
 covenant—of him who came to seek and to save that, 
 which was lost. Is he not able to save to the utter- 
 most? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? Can 
 any difficulty lie in the way of human salvation 
 which he cannot remove? Canany foe be so power- 
 ful that the Son of God cannot conquer? Before a 
 power so vast, an intelligence so boundless, and a 
 love so unmeasurable, all difficulties must vanish, and 
 perishing man be restored to the favour of God, and 
 to the felicities of his presence. 
 
 The method adopted in order to satisry the claims 
 both of the aw and the susrice or Gop still further 
 unfolds the wisdom of this divine economy.—l lay it 
 down as an unalterable position, for reasons already 
 assigned, that until the justice of God is satisfied in 
 the repairing and honouring of that holy law which 
 man has broken, the sinner cannot be saved. ‘The 
 constitution of the person of the Saviour, and. the 
 office of Mediator, have this satisfaction for their 
 object, subserviently to the glorifying of God in the 
 salvation of men. ‘The mode of accomplishing it is 
 as wise as the object is grand. 
 
 In order to this great work, the incarnate Sonof God 
 appeared in the world, notas a private, but as a public 
 character ; as the covenant head, and the representative 
 
 J 
 
_ ON REDEMPTION. >: 
 
 CHRIST AND ADAM PUBLIC CHARACTERS, 
 Sn 
 of all those whom God intended to be benefitted by 
 this vast scheme. The first of human kind is called 
 by the apostle Paul the first Adam, on account of his 
 being the head and representative of the whole human 
 race. He was treated with as such by his great 
 Creator; and he well understood the nature of his 
 high station, and his awful responsibility. The whole 
 of his posterity were virtually included, and treated 
 with, in him, and were liable to the consequences of 
 his conduct; if he acted worthy of his dignity, and 
 maintained his integrity, all were to be blessed with 
 eternal life; but in case he transgressed, all were 
 liable to the evils denounced—temporal, spiritual, 
 and eternal death. Have mankind any reason to 
 find fault with the person of their representative? He 
 was perfect, and able to discharge all the duties 
 required at his hands. To obey, was agreeable to 
 the constitution of his nature; to sin, was a violation 
 of all his propensities and all his principles. 
 
 In the passages to which I have alluded}, the 
 apostle clearly regards Adam and Christ as public 
 persons, andvas the heads, in covenant, of vast bodies 
 of the human race; the former of all mankind ; the 
 latter of the redeemed; and different parallels are 
 drawn between them’. “ The first man Adam was 
 made a living soul, the last Adam was made a 
 quickening spirit. Howbeit, that was not first which 
 is spiritual, but that which is natural ; and afterward 
 
 * 1 Cor. xy, 45—49, and 20—93, ' Ib. 45—49, 
 
 GGQ 
 
452 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 oe a el een mmm adem ees rey See 
 
 CHRIST THE REPRESENTATIVE OF HIS PEOPLE. 
 
 an 
 that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, 
 earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 
 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy : 
 
 and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are 
 heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the 
 earthy, we shall also bear the 1 image of the heavenly.” 
 
 Again" :—“ But now is Christ risen from the dead, 
 and become the first-fruits of them that slept. For 
 
 since by man came death, by man came also the 
 
 resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, 
 even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every 
 man in his own order: Christ the first- Loren after- 
 ward they that are Christ's at his coming.” From 
 hence it is evident that Christ was as much a public 
 person, and the head and representative of his people, 
 in his office, his actions, his life, death, and resurrec- 
 tion, and that they actually partake in the benefits 
 arising from them; as that the first Adam stcod at 
 the head of all the human race, and that they fell in 
 him. Agreeably .to this statement, all mankind are 
 said to have sinned in the first Adam, to have been 
 made liable to death and the forfeiture of all good ; 
 and the redeemed are declared to be chosen in Christ, 
 to be treated with in him, to die when he died, and to 
 rise when he arose. 
 Viewing Christ in this public capacity, as the head 
 of his ckurch, let us inquire into the obligations which 
 devolved upon him, and the manner in which he 
 ei ls eras ee 
 
 k 1 Cor. xv. 20—25. 
 
 ee ee ee 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 453 
 88. eee 
 
 CHRIST’S OBEDIENCE. 
 
 discharged them. ‘The whole scheme of salvation, as 
 it is revealed in the gospel, proceeds on the supposi- 
 tion that a substitute may act for the principal, and 
 that God can accept of what is done by the incarnate 
 Mediator in the stead of mankind, as if it were done 
 by mankind themselves. That the moral law might 
 be honoured in acquitting the criminal, all its demands 
 must be perfectly obeyed by his representative; and 
 that divine justice might be glorified in the salvation 
 of the guilty, all its requirements must be met by his 
 surety. It therefore devolved onthe Mediator as the 
 representative of man, to yield a PERFECT OBEDI- 
 ENCE; and, as a surety for the guilty, to offer a sacrifice 
 of INFINITE VALUE.—Christ has done both. 
 
 As the REPRESENTATIVE of his chosen people in 
 this world, Jesus was placed under a moral dispensa- 
 tion. “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, 
 made under the law, to redeem them that were under 
 the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons'.” 
 Here itis evident that the second Adam, the Lord from 
 Heaven, was as much placed under a moral economy, 
 as the first; and, consequently, that the law under 
 which he was placed, was as binding upon the one as 
 the other. As God, he was above all law; as man 
 he was made under it, and bound to regard all its 
 dictates. Agreeably to this statement of the apostle, 
 when Jesus came and required to be baptized with the 
 baptism of John, his precursor objected, saying, “I 
 
 ' Gal. iv. 4, 
 
we 
 454 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 CHRIST FULFILLED THE LAW. 
 
 have need to be baptized of thee.” But the Saviour 
 replied, ‘‘ Suffer it to be so now, for it becometh us 
 to fulfil all righteousness.” Here he recognises a 
 law of righteousness, to which he was desirous of 
 conforming, and to whose claims he cheerfully 
 submits, He therefore afterwards declared, that 
 “he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil 
 it.’ This could not be the ceremonial law, for he 
 came to abolish it, by completing in himself its grand 
 design; he took it out of the way, nailing it to his 
 cross: but the moral law can never be abolished ; 
 and Jesus came not to destroy, but to fulfil it. And 
 again, he declared that it was “ his meat and drink to 
 do the will of him that sent him.” The will of God 
 is the moral law, whose authority he acknowledged, 
 and in whose precepts he delighted. 
 
 The Saviour’s conduct was in perfect consistency 
 with these representations ; for in every tittle the law 
 and his actions most exactly harmonized. He ab- 
 stained from all that was prohibited; he obeyed all 
 that was commanded. And though he was charged 
 with the worst of crimes by his enemies, yet he could 
 challenge the most inveterate, and say,—‘‘ Which of 
 you conyinceth me of sin?” The ten commandments 
 were all embodied in the person of the incarnate 
 God, and were seen unfolded and illustrated in him, 
 “who went about doing good.” He never violated 
 one precept; he never omitted one duty. In thought, 
 in language, and in action, he fulfilled all the law. 
 He obeyed it from the heart, and he obeyed it in 
 
 he 
 
ON REDEMPTION. : A455 
 
 CHRIST SATISFIED DIVINE JUSTICE. 
 
 perfection; and “ left us an example that we should 
 follow his steps.” No dark spot is to be found on 
 the sun of righteousness ; heis light, and in him is no 
 darkness at all. 
 
 _In the whole of his obedience the Mediator put 
 himself in the law-place of his people; he personated 
 each individual of. his chosen, and transfused through 
 every moral act a majesty, a glory, and a merit which 
 secured the divine approbation, by honouring the 
 moral government of God, far beyond what was 
 possible from any mere creature. Thus did he 
 ‘magnify the law and make it honourable.” And, 
 pointing to his great representative, each Christian 
 may exclaim, ‘In him, I have rendered a perfect and 
 perpetual obedience, as well in principle as in 
 practice, to all the moral institutions of the supreme 
 authority:” and pointing to the same infinite person- 
 age, that authority proclaims to the universe, “ My 
 laws have received ample honour; the injury done 
 by the transgressor is repaired ; I suspend the threat- 
 ened punishment ; criminal, there is hope!” 
 
 One difficulty yet opposes the full acquittal of the 
 sinner; and forbids that an act of mercy should be 
 passed in his favour; the law has been honoured by 
 the obedience of the representative of an elect world ; 
 but the susticr of God must also be satisfied by the 
 ATONEMENT Of their surety. The law has been broken; 
 and if punishment were not inflicted agreeably to 
 the threatening, what should we think of the faithfulness 
 of God? and what should we think of that justice 
 
456 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 which was placed to guard the honours of the law ? 
 Punishment is deserved; and punishment ‘must be 
 inflicted :—if on the offender, his eternal destruction is 
 inevitable; ifon his surety, he may escape, if that 
 surety can bear the punishment due to the criminal, 
 and offer a satisfaction to divine justice so valuable 
 as to be equal to the injury done. In the person of 
 Christ we see a nature capable of suffering, and which 
 may be offered up a sacrifice ; and a nature which can 
 enable him to sustain these sufferings, and communi- 
 cate to them a-value and a merit infinitely great. 
 The wisdom of this constitution of his person is 
 further unfolded by a view of his actual sufferings, 
 and the vicarious sacrifice which he really offered to 
 divine justice. 
 
 That Jesus was a sufferer is an unquestionable 
 fact; and that his sufferings were great beyond 
 parallel is so evident that it is not necessary to 
 describe them here. But why did he suffer? This 
 question can only be solved on the principle of his 
 substitution in the place of others. A denial of this 
 would involve difficulties and consequences of the 
 most serious nature. The Scriptures assert his perfect 
 innocence ;—‘‘ that he knew no sin ;”——“ that he was 
 holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners ;” 
 no original sin attached to his nature; no depravity 
 was found in him; he was never guilty of any breach 
 of the divine law, either by transgressing the precept, 
 or falling short of its requirements. It would there- 
 fore have been an act of the highest injustice on the 
 
 - 
 
 RS Pree 0 eine PE 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 3 457 
 
 Ro ES SSE OR 0 LE EL AE ES 
 SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST VICARIOUS. 
 
 part of the moral governor of the world, to have 
 inflicted any suffering on him who was innocent. 
 But as suffering necessarily supposes guilt, it follows 
 that the guilt for which he suffered was that of others, 
 made his by being transferred from man as a sinner, 
 to Christ as his substitute. 
 
 This conclusion, which is furnished by the racr 
 of Christ’s sufferings, is most amply supported by the 
 reiterated declarations of the Sacred Scriptures, and 
 typical institutions under the Mosaic dispensation, 
 which had a direct reference to Messiah. The type 
 of the scape-goat will sufficiently illustrate this subject. 
 There was a goat chosen annually by divine appoint- 
 ment, and brought before the congregation of the 
 children of Israel. The priest, putting his hand upon 
 the head of the goat, made confession of the sins of 
 the people; when this transfer of sin from the people 
 to the goat was made, the animal was let go into the 
 wilderness, and was regarded as having taken away 
 the sins so transferred. The prophet Isaiah, when 
 speaking of the Messiah, says, in allusion to this 
 typical ceremony, “The Lord hath laid on him (or 
 caused to meet on him) the iniquity of us all.” And 
 then resolves all the sufferings which he was to endure 
 into this imputation, or transfer of sin:—‘‘ He was 
 wounded for our transgressions ; he was bruised for 
 our iniquities.”—-“ For the transgression of my people 
 was he smitten.” The language of the New Testa- 
 ment fully explains and corroborates that of the Old; 
 and no truth is more frequently and clearly declared 
 
458 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE SUBSTITUTION OF CHRIST. 
 
 than this of the vicarious sufferings of Christ. A 
 few quotations will be enough to justify this remark. 
 “ T lay down my life ror the sheep™.”—“ He gave 
 
 yh 2? 
 
 himself a ransom For many”.”—‘‘ Christ our pass- 
 over is sacrificed for us®.”—“ Christ hath loved us, 
 and given himself ror us, an offering and sacrifice to 
 God of a sweet-smelling savour?.”—“ But this man, 
 after he had offered one sacrifice ror sins, for ever sat 
 down on the right hand of God‘.”—“ Christ gave 
 himself ror our sins'.”"—“ Who loved me and gave 
 himself For me*.”—“ Christ hath loved us and given 
 himself ror us, an offering and a sacrifice to God*.” 
 —“ He loved the church, and gave himself ror it, 
 that he might sanctify and cleanse it*.”—-“‘ Who gave 
 himself a ransom For all”.”—‘“ He bare our sins on 
 his own body on the tree*.”—“ Christ hath once suf- 
 fered for sins that he might bring us unto God’.”— 
 *‘ Christ died for the ungodly*.”——“ He suffered, the 
 just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God*.” 
 The doctrine of vicarious substitution, which the 
 fact of Christ’s sufferings necessarily infers, is therefore 
 supported by the most plain and express declarations 
 of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. If 
 the authorities which have been quoted do not prove 
 this, it is difficult to conceive any language which 
 
 » John x. 15, ® Matth. xx. 28. ° 2 Cor. ve 7. 
 
 p Eph. v. 2 1 Heb. x. 12. r Gal, i. 4. 
 
 > Gal, ii, 20. * Eph. v. 2. « Th. ¥..25. 
 
 ~ 1 Tim. ii. 6. x Tim. ii. 6. y 1 Pet. iii, 18. 
 
 2 Rom. v. 6. * 1 Pet. ii, 18. 
 
ON REDEMPTION. : 459 
 
 THE UNDERTAKING OF CHRIST SUCCESSFUL. 
 
 could convey the sentiment. And though the 
 Janguage of the English translation is sufiiciently 
 plain and conclusive, yet if an appeal be made to the 
 original Scriptures, we shall find that the doctrine has 
 rather lost than gained by the translation. The word 
 translated For, in the above and other similar passages, 
 might have been rendered, with more propriety, 
 INSTEAD OF ;—as, for instance, ‘ he suffered, the 
 just, instead of the unjust.” 
 
 As itis hence clear that the incarnate Son of God 
 both obeyed and suffered as the representative and 
 substitute of his people, and not on his own account; 
 and as it is also evident for what purposes he obeyed 
 and suffered ; it will now be interesting to inquire 
 whether the ends proposed have been really accom- 
 plished by them; and if so, the wisdom of the ap- 
 pointed means will be sufficiently evident. Here also 
 the sacred oracles are so clear and decisive in their 
 declarations, that he who runs mayread. Had we 
 been left to mere reasoning only on the dignity of 
 the Mediator’s person, and on the effects which 
 MUST result froma personage of INFINITE DIGNITY 
 engaging in any cause with a specific object in 
 contemplation, especially viewing that engagement as 
 a divine appointment; we should certainly conclude 
 from such premises, that the undertaking has been 
 completely successful; and for this plain reason, 
 that it could not be otherwise. However, we are not 
 left to inferential reasoning on this subject. The 
 same divine revelation which unfolds the plan and its 
 
460 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 RECONCILIATION—JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 object, assures us that God is reconciled, and that 
 sinners are actually saved by virtue of the mediation 
 of the Son of God. A few of the many infallible 
 witnesses which are at hand, will be enough to sup- 
 port this position. 
 
 The work of Christ, including his obedience, his 
 sufferings, and his death, has obtained rREconcILIA- 
 ‘TION, or peace with God. “ We are reconciled to 
 God by the death of his Son’.”—“ And (having made 
 peace through the blood of the cross) by him, to 
 reconcile all things unto himself, by him, I say, whe- 
 ther they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 
 And you that were sometime alienated, and enemies in 
 your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he recon- 
 ciled, in the body of his flesh through death, to present 
 you holy and unblameable, and unreprovable in 
 his sight®."—“ Ye are made nigh by the blood of 
 Christ*.”—“ We joy in God, through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, by whom we have received the atonement,” 
 that is, the reconciliation®.—JusTiricatTion, which 
 includes both the pardon of sin, and acceptance into 
 the divine favour, is resolved into the same meritorious 
 cause. ‘ Christ is made of God unto us righteous- 
 ness‘.”—‘* My blood is shed for the remission of 
 sins®.”—“ Being justified by his blood>.”—‘ God, 
 for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you'.”—“ He purged 
 our sins by his own blood*.”—“ The blood of Christ 
 
 * Rom. v. 10. © Coloss. i. 20—22, “* Eph. ii. 13. 
 * Rom. vy. 12. * 1 Cor. i. 30. ® Matth. xxvi, 28. 
 * Rom. v. 9. ' Eph. iv. 32. * Heb. i. 3. 
 
ON REDEMPTION. . | A461. 
 
 HOLINESS—GLORIFICATION, 
 
 cleanseth from all sin'.”—‘‘ Your sins are forgiven 
 you for his name’s sake™.”—‘* Unto him that loved 
 us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood”.” 
 
 e 
 
 —‘‘ By him all that believe are justified from all 
 things’.”"—-Our HOLINEss 1s effected by the same 
 meritorious cause. ‘‘'To them that are sanctified in 
 Christ Jesus”.”—-Christ is our sanctification *.’—“ Ye 
 are sanctified in the name of Jesus’.”—‘* We are 
 sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus 
 Christ®.”—“ By one offering he hath perfected for 
 ever them that are sanctified’.’”—The eternal eLort- 
 FICATION of sinners is also owing to this. “‘ Weare 
 made kings and priests unto God and the Father by 
 him".”—“ They have washed their robes, and made 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb, and therefore are 
 they before the throne of God, and serve him day and 
 night in his temple*.”—‘“‘ Salvation unto him that 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for 
 every.” 
 
 All the parts of this mysterious system of the 
 mediation of Christ are so many links in the golden 
 chain of salvation: dissolve but one, and the effect 
 of the whole is destroyed. A denial of his divinity 
 renders an adequate atonement impossible, and takes 
 away the whole efficacy of his mediation. A rejection 
 of his substitution makes the constitution of his person, 
 
 "4 John i. 7. ™ 1 John ii. 12. 2’ Rev. 1,5. 
 
 ° Acts xiii. 39, Pode Cor, i625 q Tb. i. 30. 
 * ? Cor! viet: * Heb. x. 10. t Ib. 14. 
 
 * Rev. i. 5. * Ib. vii. 14, 15, » Jb. vil. 10% 
 
462 . ON REDEMPTION. 
 : SALVATION IS OF eee ; 
 
 God-man, nugatory, as there would be no end to be 
 answered by it. To discard the atonement would 
 render both his incarnation and his mediation unin- 
 telligible. By combining them all, the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures exhibit to a lost: world a meritorious ground of 
 salvation which is at once worthy of infinite wisdom, 
 a ground of hope to ruined men, and a cause of 
 unspeakable and eternal joy to the whole universe of 
 God. “ Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, 
 good-will to men.” | 
 
 SECTION SECOND. 
 
 THE SALVATION OF MAN IS OF GRACE. 
 
 Man, as a sinner, is unable to merit any favour 
 at the hands of God; and divine wisdom appears in 
 constituting the salvation of the gospel on gratuitous 
 principles. 
 
 Grace, or the free favour of God to guilty man, 
 is another of the distinguishing characteristics of that 
 system of salvation which is published to the human 
 race by Jesus Christ. Many other religions have 
 been invented, and proposed for the acceptance of 
 mankind; and some of them have gained many 
 admirers. But the reason is obvious. They flattered 
 the pride of human nature, and treated with clemency 
 those sinful passions which it is the object and 
 business of true religion to assail and to destroy. 
 
ON REDEMPTION. ee 
 
 rr Sa ce 
 FALSE RELIGIONS FLATTER HUMAN NATURR, 
 
 It is clear, that these religions were the ofispring of 
 the wicked passions which they fail to deprecate; 
 and their authors had. no hope of rendering them 
 popular, but by adapting them to the depravity of 
 human nature. It is true, that the most part of 
 them, if not all, enjoin on their disciples great auste- 
 rities, penances, and self-punishments of various 
 kinds; and at the first sight it may appear that this 
 concession destroys the position which has been just 
 advanced ; but on further examination it will be found 
 to corroborate its truth. or nothing is more flattering 
 to the pride of human nature than the hope of 
 meriting the favour of the Deity, by either the duties 
 which are performed, or the sufferings which are 
 endured. But assuming, for the present, as true, 
 that the salvation of a guilty being can only be 
 obtained on the principle of the free favour of God ; 
 the principle which all false religions have rendered 
 the most prominent, that of meriting the favour of 
 the Most High, affords one great proof of their false- 
 hood and unsuitableness; and proves that whatever 
 their originators might know of man, they knew 
 nothing of God. 
 
 While the religion of Christ comprehends a variety 
 of moral precepts and principles which are common 
 to false religions, but which they borrowed from the 
 pure fountain of divine revelation, yet its distin- 
 guishing features evidence its divinity by being infi- 
 nitely beyond the possibility of human invention, and 
 most exactly adapted to remedy all the evils. of our 
 
464 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 NO DUTY MERITORIOUS. 
 
 fallen natures. The fact of its conferring eternal 
 salvation on man as an absolute gift on the part of 
 God, is that singular trait in it, on which I shall now 
 insist. 
 
 Our species may be contemplated either as crea- 
 tures, or as sinful creatures; but in neither capacity 
 can they merit the favour of their Creator. Considered 
 as creatures, and as possessing even all the moral 
 and natural excellencies* with which the first of 
 their race were endowed, yet the possibility of 
 meriting the favour of their Creator, must be 
 denied. For every act of obedience of which their 
 natures were capable, was due to him by virtue of 
 the very possession of a power to obey; and to 
 exert those powers which he had given to the per- 
 formance of his will, and to the advancement of his 
 glory, was a mere act of duty, and not a ground 
 of merit. The non-exercise of such powers would 
 have been their crime. God did indeed promise to 
 our first parents certain blessings on the performance 
 of prescribed duties; but this only indicates the 
 method by which the blessings were to be conveyed, 
 and the connexion which he had established between 
 the ends and means; and by no means supposes any 
 thing meritorious in the act of obedience. ‘The pre- 
 scribed duty was the will of their sovereign, and 
 obedience was due .on the principle of obligations 
 already conferred. But an act of duty can never be 
 an act of merit. This reasoning proves that it was 
 not only beyond the ability of man to merit any 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 465 — 
 
 GRACE A PROMINENT CHARACTER IN THE GOSPEL, 
 
 blessing from God, but even of angelic beings, who 
 owe their standing and their bliss to an act of absolute 
 grace, 
 
 In considering the human race as sinful, no 
 reasoning to prove their inability to merit the favour 
 of deity seems to be necessary, after what has been 
 advanced. If even perfect creatures can claim 
 nothing at his hands on the ground of debt and 
 merit, how much less those whose natures are all 
 defiled, and whose actions are all guilty? If the 
 sinless actions of perfect beings cannot form a ground 
 of claim on God, what can be more absurd than to 
 suppose that the sinful actions of imperfect beings 
 can? 
 
 Whether this reasoning be true or false, nothing 
 is more evident than that the salvation of the gospel 
 proceeds on the supposition of its accuracy; and 
 grace is a prominent character in all the doctrines 
 which the gospel reveals. ‘The economy of salvation 
 existed in the divine mind antecedent to man’s exis- 
 tence ; its necessity was foreseen asa consequence of sin. 
 The voluntary apostasy of man, his loss of original 
 righteousness, his enormous guilt, and his utter help- 
 lessness, were all foreknown, and his consequent expo- 
 sure to the punishments denounced by the divine law. 
 Nothing can be more clear than that, if these evils, 
 foreseen by the Deity, bad any effect at all, it 
 could not be in the meriting of his favour, but of 
 provoking his wrath. By his apostasy, man at once 
 forfeited every blessing at the hands of God, and 
 
 HH 
 
466 ON REDEMPTION. 
 ne 
 
 THE MEANS OF SALVATION FIXED. 
 
 became exposed to his eternal displeasure. Nothing, 
 - therefore, could be foreseen in the creature by his 
 Creator to influence him to devise any method for his 
 recovery to happiness, excepting his utter misery and 
 helplessness ; but these could alone operate on the 
 infinite mind to excite pity and compassion, which he 
 was perfectly at liberty to discover towards the sinner, 
 or not to discover, as seemed good to himself.—The 
 plan of human salvation must therefore have ori- 
 ginated in a principle of absolute and undeserved 
 grace. 
 
 The sovereign purpose which determined the 
 galvation of myriads of human beings, fixed also 
 that system of means by which the design is to 
 be carried into effect. There “grace reigned through 
 righteousness unto eternal life.” This method was 
 determined on before man had a being, and utterly 
 irrespective of any good thing foreseen in him. 
 But then God so loved the world, though an 
 apostate world, that he determined to give his 
 only-begotten Son for the redemption of sinners ;— 
 then the Son of God resolved to give himself a 
 ransom for many to be testified in due time; then 
 the Holy Spirit engaged to render the whole scheme 
 efficacious to those who were to be vessels of mercy, 
 by bringing them to a personal participation of its 
 benefits ; then was the pattern of the gospel church, 
 with its orditiances, and its ministrations, fixed, which 
 was afterwards shown to Moses on the mount in a 
 type, and which was in due time reduced to substance 
 
| ON REDEMPTION, | 467 
 
 GRACE APPEARS IN THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 a 
 by the head of the gospel church, when he interposed 
 his authority, and instituted all its rites. The first 
 discovery of the existence of this design in the divine 
 mind, was under circumstances in which man had 
 nothing to apprehend but an immediate infliction of 
 the punishment denounced; and all the future deve- 
 opments of that plan through the whole period of 
 the Old Testament, until it was perfectly unveiled 
 in the person of the Messiah, were wholly of unme- 
 rited mercy and love. 
 
 The same principle is interwoven into all the 
 doctrines of revealed truth. It constitutes their 
 glory and their adaptation. It forms the only ground 
 of hope of interest in them. The blessings which 
 they exhibit to man, they tender as a free donation 
 from God, “ without money, and without price.” 
 Were we to take either a general view of the salvation 
 of the gospel, or to enter into a detail of its principles, 
 the same surprising grace would appear. On a 
 general view of the subject, how often are we informed 
 that it is “* by grace we are saved, through faith, and 
 that not of ourselves; for it is the gift of God ;”—“ it 
 is not by works of righteousness which we have done, 
 but according to his mercy that he saveth us.” Hence 
 God is described as “the God of all grace,” and as 
 declaring, that “he will have mercy on whom he 
 will have mercy.” be 
 
 An appeal to each particular doctrine of divine 
 revelation most satisfactorily demonstrates the same 
 truth. A few instances will suffice. The mission 
 
 HH 
 
468. ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 ae IN: 
 
 GRACE APPEARS IN THE DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 ees 
 
 of Christ into the world is the most remarkable event 
 which is recorded in the history of the universe, and 
 the most replete with mercy; but it is resolved into: 
 the absolute love of God to man when he was in 
 perishing circumstances: ‘‘ God then spared not his 
 own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all ;— 
 “he gave him to be a propitiation for our sins.” ‘This 
 grace, or free favour towards mankind, was equally 
 manifest on the part of Christ, who, it is said, ‘‘ gave 
 himself for us.” In the whole of his work, “the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is exceeding abun- 
 dant.” ‘The gift and the operations of the Holy 
 Spirit are resolvable into the same free favour. He 
 is therefore called ‘“‘ the Spirit of grace.” All the 
 promises of the Spirit are made irrespective of human. 
 merit. I, said God, “ will pour out my spirit upon all 
 flesh.” —“‘ He giveth his Holy Spirit to them that ask 
 him.” Inhis influences upon the human mind, there 
 is every thing to repulse, and nothing to attract him. 
 He finds human nature all depraved; the heart which 
 he proposes to renovate is “a heart of stone ;” the 
 affections which he designs to raise to things above, 
 he finds “ earthly, and sensual, and devilish ota fiae 
 us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing,” ex- 
 cepting what the hand of sovereign grace implants. 
 A view of the character which those in general sus- 
 tained who have been the subjects of the operations 
 of the Spirit, such as the thief, the publican, and Saul 
 of Tarsus, cannot but convince us that their conver- 
 sion was entirely of grace. 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 469 
 PA 0D TP MT ROE... 
 ec 
 It is grace, or the free favour of God to man, 
 which has provided the means of reconciliation, and 
 which breaks down every partition wall which stands 
 between God and man; it is grace which provides 
 a righteousness for the justification of the sinner, and 
 which actually invests him with it, in virtue of which 
 he is justified from all things from which he could 
 not be justified by the law of Moses. It is owing to 
 this same principle that the work of sanctification is 
 promoted, that the Christian is enabled to persevere 
 in the divine life, to rise superior to the difficulties 
 and the temptations of the world, and to finish his 
 course with joy. The “top stone” of this spiritual 
 edifice “is brought forth with shoutings, crying, 
 Grace, grace unto it.” 
 
 . The testimony of the most serious and eminent 
 Christians in all ages on this subject, must certainly 
 be admitted as a collateral evidence in its favour. It 
 is true, there have been, and still are those whose 
 language seems to be hostility to the principle which 
 these remarks propose to support ; but their improper 
 modes of expression are more the crime of their heads 
 than of their hearts; and the difference is more 
 imaginary than real. When the ideas of both parties 
 are separated from their words, and compared with 
 each other, it is evident that there is less difference in 
 reality among true and sincere Christians, than would 
 at first sight appear; and all are ready to admit that 
 it is “by grace that we are saved, and not of 
 works,” 
 
470 ON REDEMPTION. 
 ——aoooooooooaoaaaaaeeaeaaaaoooouqouqqquuummmmmmmeeeeseeeee mms 
 
 However well adapted to the condition of man- 
 kind the plan of salvation might have been, yet, if 
 it required at the hand of the sinner any meritorious 
 action, which he is unable to render, as the condition 
 of his participating its blessings, it would have been 
 essentially defective. Man labours under this in- 
 ability ; but divine wisdom has anticipated it, as well 
 as every other circumstance in his condition, and 
 constructed a salvation as GRACIOUS in its principles, 
 as it is replete in its mercies. ; 
 
 fees) SESE 
 
 SECTION THIRD: 
 
 THE MEANS OF COMMUNICATING THE BLESSINGS OF 
 SALVATION. 
 
 Without a personal interest in the blessings of 
 the gospel, man cannot be saved ; and the wisdom of 
 God is apparent in the means of their communication. 
 
 There is a lamentable propensity in human 
 nature to neglect personal piety ; and, if the con- 
 cerns of religion engage the attention at all, to 
 contemplate them as theoretical speculations, or as 
 abstract principles, without considering them as con- 
 cerns of individual and indispensable importance, 
 The doctrines of the gospel may be chosen by an 
 inquiring mind as objects of curiosity and inves- 
 tigation, as well as any other class of subjects of a 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 471 
 
 RELIGION MUST BE EXPERIENCED. 
 
 moral or philosophical nature. As such they may 
 be well understood; they may afford amusement and 
 gratification; they may be adopted as a class of 
 principles in preference to all others ; those who thus 
 embrace them, may hold them with a tenacious mind, 
 and be zealous in defending them against those who 
 may assail and endeavour to bring them into con- 
 tempt,—and yet have no spiritual perception of their 
 divine excellence, no personal interest in their saving 
 influence, no experience of their sanctifying tendency. 
 These persons are characterised, by the language of 
 inspiration, as “ holding the form of godliness, but 
 denying the power thereof.” Their condition is 
 pitiable, and their final state will be unutterably tre- 
 mendous. 
 
 However glorious in its design, and pre-eminent 
 in its own nature, that plan of redemption may be 
 which we now contemplate, yet human beings derive 
 no direct and individual advantages from it, until it 
 is cordially received, and experimentally known. It 
 is not enough to our salvation that the Son of God 
 should have assumed our nature, and by his active 
 and passive obedience, have honoured the broken 
 law, and have satisfied the demands of insulted 
 justice :—by doing so, he has, indeed, rendered the 
 salvation of sinners PossrBLE ; and all the blessings 
 of divine mercy may be granted by the Deity to 
 fallen man, consistently with the perfections of justice, 
 holiness, and truth, But there are obstacles which 
 oppose the salvation of the sinner, arising from his 
 
472 ON REDEMPTION. 
 ———$ $< eee o—or 
 MAN’S CONVERSION. 
 
 SO eee a—a>w—w—w>a—=sm™m—"” SSS eee Te 
 own condition, besides those which are opposed 
 to it by the perfections of God, and his moral 
 government. 
 
 What the condition of man is as an apostate sin- 
 
 ner, has been already described ;—it comprehends the + 
 
 most awful guilt, an entire alienation of heart from 
 God, a decided hostility to his laws and his govern- 
 ment, the most stubborn aversion to his service, and 
 the most complete want of fitness, as well for the 
 state as for the employments of the heavenly world. 
 Nothing, therefore, can be more obvious than that 
 such a change must be effected as will place him ma 
 state of reconciliation and acceptance with God. 
 A personal participation of the blessings of the 
 gospel accomplishes this great object, when he enjoys 
 a “ peace which passeth all understanding.” 
 
 It is at the period of his conversion from sin to 
 God, that man becomes actually interested in all the 
 blessings and privileges of the gospel. He then 
 accepts of those overtures of mercy and reconcilia- 
 tion which are proposed to him in the gospel of 
 Christ ; and acquiescing by faith in the glorious plan 
 of salvation, mercy cancels all his crimes, justice 
 acquits him from the sentence of condemnation, dove 
 plants him in the family of the faithful, an “ heir of 
 God, and a joint heir with Christ.”—In this great 
 change, no violence is done to his free agency; his 
 volitions follow the dictates of his understanding, and 
 he pursues his salvation not from compulsion, but 
 from choice.—His conversion, therefore, is the 
 
 . 
 { 
 : 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 473 
 : THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 eee 
 period of the sinner’s introduction to a personal en- 
 joyment of the blessings of the gospel; and the 
 wisdom of God has made provision for the accom- 
 plishment of this end in—THE INSTITUTIONS oF 
 THE GOSPEL, and by THE APPOINTMENT OF THE 
 SPIRITS OFFICE, which are associated in this sur- 
 prising scheme, in order to promote the purposes of 
 divine beneficence in our fallen world. 
 
 The institutions of the gospel have a relation to 
 the recovery and the eternal happiness of sinners, 
 and form a part of that glorious plan by which God 
 has resolved to bring many sons to glory; and these 
 divine appointments are the means by which the 
 unsearchable riches of Christ are conveyed to ruined 
 and hopeless man. An examination of the nature of 
 these sacred rites will prove that they are all well 
 adapted to those ends whieh they are instituted to 
 accomplish. 
 
 Repentance, or conversion, is the commencement 
 of a life of religion : it is the point at which the reign 
 of sin stops, and the empire of grace begins. The 
 soul is then made deeply sensible of its guilty and 
 ruined condition, and with holy agony secks mercy 
 at the hands of God, and grace to help in time of 
 need. ‘The ministry of the word is well adapted 
 to awaken the fears of the careless sinner, and to 
 arouse his mind to serious thought and inquiry, by a 
 solemn declaration of human guilt, a clear exhibition 
 of divine wrath and divine mercy, a manifestation of 
 the requirements of Deity, and an overwhelming 
 
ATA ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE INSTITUTION OF THE SABBATH. 
 
 revelation of the grand and awful realities of a future 
 state. The Sacred Scriptures are the rich repositories 
 from which the ambassador of Christ brings “ things 
 new and old;” the subjects, the arguments, and the 
 motives by which to inform the understandings and 
 to conquer the hearts of his hearers. ‘The memorable 
 facts, the mysterious doctrines, the equitable. laws, 
 the appalling threatnings, and the animating promises 
 of the oracles of God, all associated with the wonders 
 of redemption, and shining resplendent in the glories 
 of divine love, are the subjects on which that minister 
 dwells, whose grand object it 1s “ to turn many to 
 righteousness.” And when his exertions are crowned 
 with success, they never fail “ to open the eyes of 
 the blind, to turn them from darkness to light, and 
 from the power of Satan unto God, that they may 
 receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among 
 them that are sanctified by faith that is in 
 Christ’.” 
 
 The other holy institutions which have been 
 named, have also the most direct tendency to pro- 
 duce similar powerful effects on the human heart, 
 and to impress the spirit of man with the importance 
 of religion, and the necessity of an immediate at- 
 tention to its solemn and rational claims. While the 
 institution of the Sappatu recalls the busy mind 
 of man from the engagements of time to the duties 
 of religion, and urges compliance with the equitable 
 
 2 Acts xxvi. 18, 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 45 
 
 ; BAPTISM—THE LORD’S SUPPER, 
 
 and benevolent claims of God to a seventh portion 
 of our time;—the rite of Barrism exhibits the 
 doctrine of the new birth as being essentially ne- 
 cessary to a place in the spiritual kingdom of God 
 in this world, and a title of admission into that which 
 is to come ;—and the institute of the Lorp’s Supper 
 displays a bleeding Saviour as the only sacrifice for 
 sin, and the only Saviour of man.—Through these 
 different mediums there is made such an affecting 
 discovery of the condition of human nature, and so 
 unparalleled a display of the divine perfections, as 
 is calculated, at the same time, to awaken the fears 
 of the most obdurate, and to embolden the ae of 
 the most timid. 
 
 Shall we wonder then if we perceive that, where 
 these holy rites are introduced, the careless sinner is 
 pierced to the heart with deep remorse—the wayward 
 prodigal returns to his insulted father with weeping 
 and supplication—the cruel and hard-hearted inquires, 
 What shall we do to be saved?—and the impious 
 idolater turns from idols to serve the living God? 
 Such were the effects which followed in the days of 
 the first preachers of the gospel, at the time of the 
 Reformation, and at every subsequent period when 
 the truth has been faithfully announced. 
 
 Yet, however well adapted these holy rites may 
 be to reclaim the fallen sinner, facts of daily occur- 
 rence demonstrate that if left to their own operation, 
 or if they are even aided by the energies of the most 
 powerful eloquence, they fail to produce the desired 
 
476 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 CONVERSION THE EFFECT OF A DIVINE INFLUENCE. 
 
 effect on the human character. To render the 
 preaching of the word effectual is the work of 
 a Divine Acency. “ Paul planted, Apollos wa- 
 tered, but God gave the increase.”—Where the 
 disciples went, when they were dispersed on account 
 of the persecution of Stephen, they preached the 
 word, and “ great numbers believed, and turned to 
 the Lord;”—the reason assigned is, ‘‘ The hand of 
 the Lord was with them.” ‘The surprising effects 
 which resulted from Peter’s preaching on the day of 
 Pentecost, when three thousand were converted, are 
 resolved into the influence of the Holy Spirit, who is 
 said to have been “* poured out” on that memorable 
 occasion, agreeably to the intimations of prophecy. 
 This, in fact, is a doctrine so prominent in the pages of 
 the Holy Scripture, that it needs no further proofs. 
 
 The wisdom of deity is therefore peculiarly 
 manifest in his having constituted the work of the 
 Spirit of God an essential part of this glorious scheme 
 of man’s recovery. A consideration of the person 
 of the Holy Spirit, will show his sufficiency for the 
 work assigned him; an appeal to Scripture and 
 experience will explain the order of his operations on 
 the human character ; and a reference to facts recorded 
 in the annals of the church, will illustrate the be- 
 neficial nature of his influences. 
 
 That spiritual and moral change which it is essen- 
 tially necessary should be effected in man in order to 
 his salvation, is so great, that were He to whose 
 hands it is entrusted less than God, he would be 
 
ON REDEMPTION: | A477 
 
 THE DEITY OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 unequal to effect it. And it is our happiness to be 
 assured, from the infallible testimony of the Scriptures 
 of truth, that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the 
 adorable Trinity, is really possessed of those attri- 
 butes and perfections which prove at once his distinct 
 personality, his absolute deity, and his perfect equality 
 with the Father and the Son. The arguments which 
 I shall adduce to prove his divinity, will prove at the 
 same time his personality and his equality. 
 
 The same train of argument may be pursued to 
 prove the divinity of the Holy Spirit as was adopted 
 to substantiate the deity of Christ; and each argument 
 will furnish like invincible conclusions in support of 
 this great doctrine. 
 
 _ Divine Tirxxs are given to the Holy Spirit in 
 the Sacred Scriptures’. 
 
 Prrrecrtions which belong to God only, are said 
 to be possessed by the Holy Spirit.—He is eternal, 
 and is called the ‘eternal Spirit’.’—He is ommni- 
 present. “ Whither shall I go from thy Spirit®?”— 
 Omniscient. ‘‘ The Spirit searcheth all things*.”— 
 “ The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit 
 
 * He is called JEHOVAH: compare Acts xxviil, 25—27, 
 with Isa. vi. 8, 9, 10; Exod. xvii. 7, with Heb. ii. 7—11; 
 Levit. xvi. 2, with Heb. ix. 7, 8; Jer. xxxi. 31—34, with Heb. 
 x. 15, 16.—He is called Gop: compare Isa. Ixi. 1, and Ezek. 
 xi. 5, with Heb. i. 1; also, see Acts v. 34; 1 Cor,.iii. 16; 
 2 Tim. iii. 16; 2 Pet. i. xxii—He is called THE MOST HIGH 
 Gop: compare Ps. Ixxviii. 56, with Heb. iii. 7—9. 
 
 * Heb. ix.14. * Psal. cxxxix.7.  * 1 Cor. ii. 10, 
 
A78 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 DEITY OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 of God*.”—Infinite wisdom. “ He is the Spirit of 
 wisdom and revelation’.”—Ommipotence. ‘‘ Abound- 
 ing in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost®.” 
 ~-“ Through mighty signs and wonders by the power 
 of the Spirit of God.” 
 
 Works are attributed to the Holy Spirit which 
 can be effected only by deity.—Creation. .“ The 
 Spirit of God hath made me*.”—-“* Thou sendest forth 
 thy Spirit, they are created!.”—Sending apostles and 
 teachers. “The Holy Ghost said, Separate me 
 Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have 
 called them*.”—“ They, being sent forth by the Holy 
 Ghost, departed'.”—Paul said, “Take heed unto 
 yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy 
 Ghost hath made you overseers™.”—He renovates 
 the human character. “ Being sanctified by the 
 Holy Ghost™.”—He teaches the ignorant. ‘“ When 
 he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into 
 a truth®.”—He raiseth the dead. Jesus Christ was 
 
 “* quickened by the Spirit.” 
 
 The Holy Spirit is joined with the Father and 
 Son in the most solemn acts of worship. ‘“ Go ye, 
 and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost%.” 
 —“ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love 
 
 mo ha Sa, Ta est Bed ois 1s dph Uy e Rom. xv. 13. 
 * Rom. xv. 19. * Job xxxiii. 4. j Psal. civ. 30, 
 * Acts xiii. 2. 1 Tb. 4. ™ Acts xx. 28. 
 
 * Rom. xv. 16. ° John xvi. 13. P 1 Pet. iii, 18. 
 
 9 Matth. xxviii, 19, 
 
ON REDEMPTION. A79 
 
 A DIVINE INFLUENCE CONSISTENT WITH FREE AGENCY. 
 
 of God, ae the communion of the Holy Ghost, be 
 with you all*.” 
 
 Those who are in the habit of reading the Sacred 
 Scriptures, are fully aware that such testimonies in 
 favour of the Holy Spirit’s divinity are very abundant. 
 The conclusion is evident,—that he, of whom these 
 things can be aflirmed, must be truly God: and as 
 God, he is the object of worship, of love, and of 
 adoration. 
 
 This is the sacred agent to whom is entrusted 
 the actual application of the great work of redemption 
 to the hearts of those who are to participate its high 
 advantages. Such an application is indispensably 
 necessary in order to salvation. But it is beyond the 
 power of any created influence to conquer the heart 
 of man, and to induce him to accept of the only 
 Saviour. Yet, seeing that it is entrusted to Him 
 whose power is almighty, no obstacle shall impede 
 his designs, nor prevent the completion of a work so 
 dear to God. 
 
 While we assert in the most decisive language 
 the doctrine of a divine influence, it is of great im- 
 portance that our views of it should be formed under 
 the guidance of divine inspiration.—Admitting the 
 fact, that the Holy Spirit does really exert an influ- 
 ence on the human soul, we may safely take it for 
 granted, that he operates in a manner which is ac- 
 cordant at once with the nature of the moral govern- 
 
 s 2 Cor. xin. 4 
 
480 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 DIVINE INFLUENCE CONSISTENT WITH FREE AGENCY. 
 
 ment of God, and the free agency of man. An 
 attempt to reconcile it with the former is unnecessary : 
 but I shall offer a few remarks to show its consistency 
 with ‘the latter, and to prove that, while it renders 
 certain the purposes of mercy in the conversion and 
 salvation of sinners, it does no violence to the freedom 
 of the human will, nor in any way does violence to 
 the established principles of free agency. An appeal 
 to the statements which the Sacred Scriptures offer 
 on the subject, and a reference to the experience of 
 those who have been graciously favoured to enjoy it, 
 will tend to remove difficulties from the doubting 
 mind, and to reconcile this doctrine with the decisions 
 of sound reason. 
 
 The volitions of the mind, as was before observed, 
 follow the dictates of the understanding. | No violence 
 therefore can be considered as done to the will, when 
 it chooses or refuses that which the mind perceives 
 to be good or evil; and so far as man acts from his 
 convictions, he maintains his free agency, and is re- 
 sponsible for his actions.—Now nothing can be more 
 certain, than that. those who are the subjects of a 
 divine influence do most wiILLiNGLy forsake every 
 sinful pursuit, and accede to the terms of salvation 
 as proposed by the gospel, however mortifying they 
 may be to the pride of human nature. Those who 
 are the subjects of this divine agency will assert, that 
 it is voluntarily that they ‘‘ deny themselves, take up 
 their cross, and follow Christ.” In pursuing, indeed, 
 so noble a course, they not only act in a manner for 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 481 
 
 SSS sit btn 
 THE HUMAN MIND BY NATURE DARK, 
 
 which the ungodly cannot account, but superior to 
 every principle possessed by our lapsed nature. 
 
 The peculiarities which are: discoverable in the 
 life of decided Christians, are resolved, by those who 
 are strangers to their principles, into motives of en- 
 thusiasm, or a blind attachment to certain opinions 
 which they have adopted, or some undefinable fana- 
 ticism of which they are supposed to be the unhappy 
 subjects. But it is far otherwise. Their conduct is 
 the result of a deep conviction of its propriety. They 
 perceive in sin a malignity of nature, an extent of 
 demerit, and a danger of tendency, which induces 
 them at the same time to abhor and to forsake it; 
 while they behold in religion a glory, and a suitable- 
 ness, and a felicity, which secures their acceptance of 
 its principles, and their obedience to its claims. | 
 
 Such a perception of divine truth as that which 
 I have attributed to real Christians, is certainly not 
 possessed by the human mind before it is acquainted 
 with a divine agency. Were we only to form our 
 opinion of the truth of this remark, from the general 
 habits and pursuits of mankind, we could. have very 
 few doubts respecting its accuracy. For what, let 
 it be asked, do men in general treat with more 
 indifference, not to say contempt and insult, than 
 “* pure and undefiled religion?” Are not the concerns 
 of a future state. obscured and frittered away by their 
 anxieties respecting a present one? “ But we have 
 a more sure word of prophecy unto which we do well 
 that we take heed,” and which peremptorily affirms 
 
 LI 
 
482 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 rer 
 
 THE AGENCY OF THE SPIRIT ENLIGHTENS THE UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 an 
 that “ the natural man receiveth not the things of the 
 Spirit of God, for they are foolishness, unto him; 
 neither can he know them, because they are spiritually 
 discerned’;” that “the God of this world hath 
 blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the 
 light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the 
 image of God, should shine unto them*;”—that 
 they “have their understandings darkened, being 
 alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance 
 that is in them, because of the blindness of their 
 heart" ;’—“ that they are under the power of dark- 
 ness* ;”—“ that they may profess to know God,” but 
 “the light which is in them is darkness,” because in 
 their “works they deny him.” This is the melan- 
 choly and foreboding state of all unregenerate men. 
 An appeal to the statements which the Sacred 
 Scriptures make of the process of a divine agency on 
 the heart, will show that the UNDERSTANDING is 
 the faculty on which it first and principally operates, 
 and that spiritual knowledge is thus communicated to 
 the soul. “‘ There isa spirit in man; and the inspi- 
 ration of the Almighty giveth understanding’.”— 
 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
 of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom, and 
 revelation in the knowledge of him; the eyes of your 
 understanding being enlightened, and that ye may 
 know what is the hope of his calling’.”"—‘t The Lord 
 
 “a, he SN oe Se ee rere 
 
 8 1 Cor. ii. 14. t 2 Cor. iv. 4. « Eph. iv. 18. 
 * Col. 1. 13. ¥ Job xxxil. 8. * Eph. i. 17, 18. 
 
ON REDEMPTION. , 483 
 Se 
 give thee understanding in all things*.”—“ Then 
 opened he their understandings that they might 
 understand the Scriptures”.’”—“ God, who com- 
 manded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined 
 in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of 
 the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ®.” 
 ‘* When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide 
 you into all truth".”—“ Now we have received, not 
 the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, 
 that we might know the things which are freely given 
 to us of God*.” 
 
 The Understanding is that faculty in man, by which 
 he acquires ideas and knowledge. While the passages 
 which I have just quoted from the sacred oracles 
 speak decisively and unequivocally of the fact of a 
 divine influence on the human soul, they represent 
 that agency as communicating knowledge. or spiritual 
 light to the understanding, which was previously in 
 a state of ignorance respecting those things which 
 relate to salvation. As ignorance of their real nature 
 and their pre-eminent importance is the immediate 
 reason why the unregenerate: mind rejects the great 
 truths of the gospel, so spiritual illumination cannot 
 but induce a reception of them. Let us now suppose 
 the understanding to be thus enlightened, and what 
 will be the effect on the other powers of the soul? 
 A perception of the evil of sin, will produce true 
 abhorrence of its nature, sincere sorrow under the 
 
 a 2 Tim. ii. ‘7. > Luke xxiv. 45. ¢ 2-Cor. iv. 6. 
 
 “ John xvi. 13. Fes hy Cony fii? 12: 
 112 
 
ASA. - ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 ne 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF A DIVINE AGENCY.. 
 
 8 SS 0GS—w—>——™—” 
 consciousness of having been guilty of it, and an entire 
 aversion from it:—a knowledge of the glories of a 
 Redeemer, the excellency of the religion of the Bible, 
 
 and the grand principles of revealed truth, cannot: 
 but insure a cordial recognition of their divine 
 excellence, and a sincere reception of them as the 
 
 foundation of human hope. 
 
 It is thus, I conceive, that we are made “a willing: 
 
 people in the day of the divine power.” Then the 
 human mind cheerfully bows to the yoke of Christ, 
 and is taught to-seek its bliss at the fountain of living 
 waters. Under these convictions, it renounces the 
 
 vanities of a present world, and ardently aspires after 
 
 glory, and immortality, and eternal life; while the 
 affections are placed upon things which are above, 
 and not on things on the earth. With such sacred 
 light in the mind, we firmly bedieve in the doctrines of 
 revealed truth, however mysterious ; obey the pre- 
 cepts of the gospel, however difficult ; and consecrate 
 ourselves to Him “ whose service is perfect freedom.” 
 
 I do not deny, but indeed maintain, that the 
 influence of this sacred agency extends to all the 
 powers and passions of mind, as well as to the under- 
 standing; and that they all participate its sanctifying 
 energy, constantly guiding their operations, and aiding 
 them in the holy exercises of religion; yet, from the 
 statements which have been made, it is evident that 
 the primary and principal object of this divine influ- 
 ence is to illumine the understanding in the work of 
 conversion. ‘The view which has been taken of the 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 485 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF A DIVINE AGENCY. 
 
 ee 
 subject, I conceive, is that which at once harmonises 
 with Scripture and reason, and shows how man’s free 
 agency is maintained, and at the same time the pur- 
 poses of mercy accomplished with absolute. cer- 
 tainty. | 
 
 An admission that the agent is divine who 
 renders the institutions of the gospel effectual to the 
 conversion of sinful man, will justify the expectation 
 that holy effects will result. Yet we are not left to 
 inference and supposition; the annals of the church 
 of God furnish innumerable instances, which at the 
 same time confirm and illustrate the fact, that when- 
 ever such an influence is felt, its legitimate effects 
 are seen in a holy life. But need I appeal to a Afa- 
 nasseh, who, under this influence, forsook his cruel 
 deeds, and turned to God?—to a Zaccheus, who was 
 enabled by it to abandon his covetous and oppressive 
 practices, and to follow Jesus, while he repaired the 
 injuries which he had done?—to a Saul, who was 
 taught by it to stay his persecuting hand, and to 
 establish the faith which he had endeavoured to 
 destroy?—The ancient records of the church are 
 replete with instances of a similar description. 
 Wherever divine truth came, accompanied. by_ this 
 mighty influence, men turned from dumb idols to 
 serve the living God; sorcerers confessed their works 
 of darkness, and openly burned their books, and 
 destroyed the instruments of their impositions; while 
 demoniacs became the rational and holy followers of 
 the meek and lowly Jesus. 
 
486 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, 
 
 ————— 
 . The history of the church of God, from the days 
 of the apostles to the present time, is replete with 
 facts of a similar nature, and which demonstrate 
 the surprising energy of the gospel. Wherever it has 
 been introduced, it has “taught men that, denying all 
 ungodliness and wordly lusts, they should walk 
 soberly, and righteously, and godly in this present 
 evil world.” While it has dethroned the powers of 
 darkness, and destroyed the tyranny of sin in the 
 human heart, it has rescued man from his ignorance, 
 his immoral practices, and his perishing condition, 
 and sanctified his principles, renovated his nature, 
 advanced him to a state of spiritual pre-eminence 
 otherwise unknown, and placed him near to God. 
 The doctrine of a divine influence identifies itself 
 with the institutions of religion; while the effects 
 - resulting from their united energy unfold the wisdom 
 which originated the-entire economy. 
 
 ——— 
 
 SECTION FOURTH, 
 
 THE CHARACTER AND EXPERIENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN. 
 
 The preparation of the soul for the heavenly 
 state 1s a gradual work; and the wisdom of God 
 is apparent in the whole of its progress. 
 
 This great work commences with the formation 
 of the Christian CHARACTER, of which it is of great 
 importance that we should have correct and scriptural 
 
 PR 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 487 
 
 GENERAL VIEWS OF RELIGION DEFECTIVE. 
 
 ideas. Defective or mistaken views on this subject 
 may issue in consequences most disastrous to our 
 eternal well-being. 
 
 There are many in this country, where Christianity 
 is the popular religion, who never imagine that any 
 thing more is necessary to constitute the Christian 
 character, than an outward conformity to certain 
 religious rites and ceremonies, in connexion with an 
 implied assent to received creeds and formularies, 
 This superficial attention to religious forms, associated 
 with an admired but defective morality, constitutes 
 the whole of their religion ;—a religion which is as 
 destitute of principle, as it is wanting in true 
 holiness. ; 
 
 But however general such views of religion may 
 be, and however well they may satisfy those who 
 entertain them, they are, alas! not those which the 
 sacred oracles of God approve. The Christian of 
 the Bible is one who has something more than “ a 
 form of godliness,” and ‘fa name to live.” While 
 he is not regardless of the externals of Christianity, 
 he is solicitous of possessing that which constitutes 
 the essence and glory of religion ;—I mean, acon- 
 formity of heart and life to the revealed will of God. 
 He is the subject of that divine influence which has 
 been considered, under whose mighty energies his 
 religious sentiments and his spiritual character are 
 formed. 
 
 Nothing can be more evident from the Scriptures 
 than that all real religion commences in a renovation 
 
488 - ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE NECESSITY OF A CHANGE OF HEART. 
 
 of the moral faculties of man. This is indispensably 
 necessary; for such is their state by’ nature, that 
 they are not only unfit for the heavenly state, but also 
 for the exercises and enjoyments of religion in the 
 present life. Hence the great Redeemer taught in 
 the most peremptory language the necessity of “the 
 new birth;” and said, “ Except aman be born again, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God.”—‘“ Neither cir- 
 cumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircunicision, 
 but a new creature; for God has decreed, that 
 “ without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” The 
 necessity of such a change may be accounted for 
 when that description of the human heart is considered 
 which the Sacred Scriptures give. They affirm that 
 it is “ deceitful above all things, and desperately 
 wicked ;’—that it is “‘an evil heart of unbelief, in 
 departing from the living God;’—that “ the carnal 
 mind is’ enmity against God, and is not subject to 
 the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Aware that 
 Christ “ knoweth what is in man,” and is fully 
 acquainted with the necessity of a radical change in 
 his spiritual condition, we shall cease to wonder that 
 he announced with so much emphasis, “‘ Ye must be 
 born again.” The change which this language affirms 
 to be so indispensably necessary, is surely something 
 beyond a mere exterior reformation, or the adoption 
 of one class of principles in preference to another 
 class of principles, or an outward attention to religious 
 ceremonies: the passages which I have quoted 
 necessarily imply a spiritual and a radical change, 
 
 Se eee eee eee 2 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 489 
 i 1 ke he eT 
 
 CHRISTIANS ARE NEW CREATURES, 
 theaters gl 
 without which our religion, however splendid before 
 men, is a vain and unavailing profession before 
 God. 
 
 But an appeal to a scriptural representation of 
 facts, will confirm and illustrate the statements which 
 have been offered; and show that every real and sin- 
 cere Christian has been made the subject. of that 
 change which I have affirmed to be so important. 
 Of all such characters it is declared, ‘ that they 
 are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
 nor of the will of man, but of God;” that “ they 
 are God’s workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus 
 unto good works ;’—“ that if any man be in Christ 
 Jesus, he is a new creature; old things are passed 
 away, and behold, all things are become new ;” 
 that ‘“‘ they have passed from death unto life.” Va- 
 rious other passages of a similar import might be 
 selected to substantiate what has been advanced. 
 And let it be asked, Do not they who have experienced 
 this change act like new creatures? Those who 
 before were mere sensualists, votaries of pleasure, 
 worldly and selfish, become anxious to maintain a life 
 of religion; they dedicate themselves to the service 
 of God; to secure an interest in the divine favour, is 
 their chief concern, while they feel an unspeakable 
 pleasure in consecrating, at least, a portion of their 
 substance to the advancement of the cause of religion 
 amongst mankind. | These persons are the subjects 
 of a divine operation, in whom are beheld the fruits 
 of the Spirit, which are “ love, joy, peace, long- 
 
490 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 —_—_—_—_—_—X—X~X~—"_—"'axX—OOOOOEEEE—E—NKKT&=—T=TEZ*—=—NE—T—TEEE——~—~—>=ECClI)l)lll———~—E—-—x&Z&&*—™> EE 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER INCLUDES REPENTANCE AND FAITH. 
 
 suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem- 
 perance;” which place them in a striking contrast 
 with their former condition, in which the works of the 
 flesh were manifest,—‘‘ which are these; adultery, 
 fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, 
 witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, 
 seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, 
 revellings, and such like.”—“ And such were some of 
 you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye 
 are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by 
 the Spirit of our God.” 
 
 In the Christian character, “ repentance towards _ 
 God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ,” form 
 essential traits. This repentance is “a godly sorrow,” 
 which extends to every known sin, and which becomes 
 apparent in a change of life, and a holy watchfulness 
 against whatever God prohibits; while true faith 
 reposes in “ the record which God has given of his 
 Son” as infallibly true, ‘“ purifying the heart and 
 working by love.” These two essential principles of 
 the religious character belong to that “ divine nature,” 
 of which he is made a partaker, and which secures ta 
 him an interest in the person and work of the incarnate 
 Son of God. And while he shines in “ the beauty of 
 holiness,” and in a glorious resemblance of his illus- 
 trious pattern and leader,—he is adorned with the robe 
 of his Saviour’s righteousness, which has been im- 
 puted to him for his justification before God: 
 for this righteousness is unto all, and upon all 
 them that believe, “‘ justifying them from all things 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 491 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER INCLUDES REPENTANCE AND FAITH. 
 
 from which they could not be justified by the law of 
 Moses.” 
 
 The soul of the Christian thus renewed by divine 
 grace, becomes ‘a temple of the Holy Ghost.” All 
 its powers and passions are under his gracious influ- 
 ence, while the blessings of reconciliation are enjoyed, 
 communion with God is experienced, and a hope 
 full of immortality cheers and animates: its future 
 prospects. | 
 
 But after the character is formed according to 
 the pattern shown on Mount Zion, and when all 
 the essential graces of the Christian are communicated 
 to the soul, yet religion is but in its embryo state; 
 the outlines of the character are accurately delineated, 
 but much remains to be done to complete the design. 
 The babes of the family of God must be led on to 
 childhood ; the children must grow to the vigour of 
 youth ; the youth must be matured to manhood; and 
 the man must aspire at the honour of a father in 
 Israel. While the apostle Peter recognized in his 
 brethren the essentials of the Christian character, he 
 was anxious for their growth in grace and in the know- 
 ledge of Christ. Hence said he, “ Besides this, giving 
 all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, 
 knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to 
 temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness ; 
 and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly 
 kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and 
 abound, they make you that ye shall neither be 
 barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord 
 
492 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 SANCTIFICATION, 
 
 Jesus Christ.” Whatever be the Christian’s attain- 
 ments, yet there is more to be acquired. He. knows 
 but in part, and sees but as through a glass darkly. 
 He is therefore not to suppose himself to have attained 
 to the utmost of what is possible, nor to account 
 himself already perfect ; but to follow after, if that 
 he may apprehend that for which he is apprehended 
 of Christ Jesus. Ys 
 
 In perfecting that character which has .been de- 
 scribed, and in making the soul of the Christian meet 
 for the heavenly state, Divine Wisdom employs a 
 variety of means, all of which, under the sanctifying 
 influences of the Holy Spirit, are rendered efficacious 
 to the increasing of their knowledge, the purifying of 
 their nature, and their stability in the divine life. 
 While they “increase with all the increase of God,” 
 and “‘srow to the fulness of the stature of a man in 
 Christ,” their progress is not in any one grace in par- 
 ticular, but in every grace; as well in holiness as in 
 knowledge; as well in humility as in faith; as well in 
 spirituality of mind asin hope. The temple which 1s 
 raised by a divine hand is the perfection of beauty ; 
 all its parts observe the most exact symmetry; “ they 
 are fitly joined together,” and worthy of that Divine 
 Architect under whose eye it is executed, and whose 
 presence is at once its glory and its safety. 
 
 In promoting this great work, God indeed often 
 employs means which, to human view, are as inappro- 
 priate as they are insufficient ; as wanting in adaptation 
 as they are in energy; yea, instruments are frequently 
 
 —————— 
 
ON REDEMPTION) | 493 
 
 THE AFFLICTIONS OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 employed to: build up, which seem only fit to be used 
 for demolition; and events are permitted to transpire, 
 which threaten to extirpate the plant which they are 
 intended to strengthen and to nourish. But what is 
 impossible with men is easy. with God; and. these 
 inauspicious occurrences “all work together for good 
 to those who love God.” Spiritual health, true holi- 
 ness, and lasting peace and joy, are yielded to the 
 faithful, by an economy which in its aspect and ten- 
 dency is hostile, when ministered by that wisdom 
 which never errs. : 
 
 The most eminent Christians are often the sub- 
 jects of great, and diversified, and complicated 
 affiictions. While their bodies are tormented with 
 loathsome. disease, their worldly condition bears in- 
 dications of adversity and of woe. ‘But under the 
 guidance of unerring skill, and applied by the sancti- 
 fying agency of the Holy Spirit, trials are the means of 
 discovering to those who are exercised thereby, the 
 vanity of all earthly good, the evil of sin, and the in- 
 stability of all created enjoyment. Thus the world is 
 crucified to them, and they unto the world. They 
 are taught to set their affections on things which are 
 above, and not on things on the earth. Disciplined 
 in the school of affliction, they become humble, teach- 
 able,, and submissive; they know how. to appreciate 
 that religion which’ sustains them under the heaviest 
 cross, while they are made more deeply sensible of 
 the importance of an interest in that inheritance which 
 is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 
 
494 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN WARFARE. 
 
 The disciples of Christ have many adversaries ; 
 and if they are privileged to be exempted from out- 
 ward persecution, they are often deeply engaged in 
 a spiritual warfare which requires incessant watchful- 
 ness, great courage, and a firmness of soul, which a 
 divine aid alone can afford: for they wrestle not with 
 flesh and blood only, but against principalities and 
 powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. The 
 allurements of sinful passions, and the evil propensities 
 of a deceitful heart, require that the enemy should be 
 assailed in his strong holds; and this warfare must aim 
 at the destruction of every sinful principle and desire 
 .in the soul. While one sin remains unvanquished, 
 the Christian must not put off any part of the whole 
 armour of God, nor imagine that he has achieved 
 every conquest which is to complete his glorious 
 triumph. The old man is to be put off, and the new 
 man put on; every evil propensity must be curbed, 
 and every sinful desire resisted. The conquests of 
 an Alexander are not to be compared with his who 
 conquers himself. 
 
 The pleasures, the riches, the honours, and en- 
 gagements of a present evil world are dangerous foes 
 to our spiritual prosperity. If they triumph, we are 
 undone; if we conquer, it is after many a severe and 
 arduous conflict. Many have been led captive by 
 the delusive smiles of the world, who had courageously 
 withstood its frowns; they abjured its maxims, but 
 they were ruined by its spirit. The real Christian 
 attacks it with resolution, and he vanquishes it by 
 
 a 
 
ON REDEMPTION. __ 495 
 
 SATAN’S TEMPTATIONS. 
 
 strength not his own. ‘ For who is he that over- 
 cometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is 
 the Christ?” 
 
 The powers of darkness are all in hostility against 
 the faith and hope of the Christian; they are going 
 about, seeking whom they may destroy. They are 
 the irreconcileable foes to immortal souls, multitudes 
 of whom, alas! they lead captive at their will. The 
 servants of the most high God have escaped from the 
 bondage which they had imposed upon them; but 
 these spiritual wickednesses are unwearied in their 
 endeavours to regain their lost possessions, and to 
 recover those who have been “ made free” by Jesus 
 Christ. If allurements fail of the desired effect, 
 “fiery darts” are tried. But Christians are called 
 upon to ‘“‘resist the Devil;” to withstand all his 
 temptations, to listen to none of his insinuations; to 
 tread Satan under their feet. No sooner does the 
 sinner begin to discover a desire to know what he 
 shall do ta be saved, than these invisible and impla- 
 cable enemies of human souls commence their war- 
 fare, and they never cease from the conflict till the 
 soul is brought to the heavenly Jerusalem. 
 
 Such are the foes of Christians, and these are the 
 triumphs which they achieve. But it is not in their 
 own strength that believers conduct so arduous, so dan- 
 gerous, and so long a conflict. It is the same grace 
 that taught them to wage this warfare, that makes 
 them more than conquerors; and, ever deeply con- 
 scious of their utter insufficiency, they look with cor- 
 
496 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF TRIALS, 
 
 fidence to the ability of Christ, and receive from his 
 exhaustless fulness ‘‘ grace for grace.” When any 
 difficulty is surmounted, when any triumph is obtained, 
 when any, affliction is borne with becoming resigna- 
 tion, or any acquisition is made to their spiritual 
 attainments, they humbly attribute it, not to them- 
 selves, but to sovereign grace alone. 
 
 While it is necessary that Christians should be 
 exercised with many and various trials, they are the 
 means of teaching them how to live by faith, and not 
 by sight. In times of afflictions, all created good 
 seems but vanity, and the soul feels the importance 
 of having treasures in Heaven, where moth doth not 
 corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. — Faith, 
 with the Bible in her hand, inspires a confidence in 
 the divine perfections which nothing else can produce, 
 and gives the soul an elevation, and a pre-eminence 
 over the fluctuations of earthly things, which no other 
 principle can effect; looking within the veil which 
 hides eternity from time, and there beholding the “ far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” While 
 she meditates with unutterable joy on the bright in- 
 heritance and its celestial inhabitants, she fixes her 
 eye on Him who is exalted at the right hand of the 
 Father, as the altogether lovely, and the purchaser 
 and the donor of all divine blessings. Under her 
 gentle and benignant reign, the soul exclaims, I know 
 that when the earthly house of this my tabernacle is 
 dissolved, I shall have a building of God, an house 
 not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. : 
 
 —— SF ee eee eee 
 
- ON REDEMPTION. | 497 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF DIVINE INSTITUTIONS. 
 ee 
 
 While divine institutions are subservient to pur- 
 poses already named, they are intended for the 
 edifying of the body of Christ, and the perfecting of 
 the saints. They are food to the hungry, and water 
 to the thirsty. While the ministry of the Word dis- 
 plays “ things new and old,” which are calculated to 
 extend the mind’s horizon by yielding it further ac- 
 cessions of knowledge; and awakens to vigorous 
 exertion every grace, by a powerful exhibition of 
 motives—the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, by 
 bringing before the soul “ Jesus Christ as evidently 
 crucified,” elicits faith, and love, and holy joy; and 
 assimilates its powers and passions to the image of 
 Him who knew no sin. Here the best affections are 
 excited, the noblest feelings are awakened, and the 
 most vigorous resolutions are formed. So much of 
 that bliss, for the full fruition of which these ordi- 
 nances are intended to prepare the soul, is some- 
 times enjoyed in them, that “ whether in the body, 
 or out of the body,” Christians have found it difficult 
 to tell. God is most especially in his own ordinances : 
 and when they are rendered efficacious by his gra- 
 clous operations, they never fail to produce a resem- 
 blance to his holy image. 
 
 As the Christian advances in the divine life, he 
 becomes more circumspect in his general walk and 
 , conversation. He is cautious that he may give no 
 offence to Jew or Greek, and is desirous of putting 
 to silence the ignorance of foolish men, by adorning 
 the doctrines of God his Saviour in all things. He 
 
 KK 
 
498 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN MADE PERFECT. 
 
 is careful to maintain good works, and to do good 
 unto all men as far as his ability and opportunity will 
 permit him. His benevolent principles teach him to 
 mourn over the miseries of a fallen world, and to 
 apply the means which God has appointed for their 
 melioration. He contemplates the economy of the 
 gospel with this reference; and while he views it as 
 designed of God for this purpose, and wisely adapted 
 to it, he cheerfully consecrates his talents, and a 
 portion of his property and his influence, for the 
 advancement of so glorious a cause. Neither is he 
 regardless of his personal and relative: obligations. 
 He delights in every sacred duty which he owes to 
 himself or to his immediate connexions in society: 
 he maintains a holy converse with Deity by constant 
 prayer and meditation on his word, while he watches 
 over the temporal and immortal interests of those 
 
 whom Providence may have entrusted to his care, . 
 
 exercising himself daily to maintain a conscience void 
 of offence towards God and towards man. 
 
 Thus God promotes the great work in the souls of 
 his faithful servants. “The means in human view may 
 be inadequate, but they are mighty through God to 
 the accomplishing of the great design. ‘The Christian's 
 path is that of the just, which shines more and more to 
 the perfect day. An invisible hand supports and pro- 
 
 tects him amidst the dangers of life, supplying all . 
 
 his needs, removing every obstacle which lies in 
 his journey, and smoothing the rugged path of life, 
 till the great work. of sanctification is’ completed, 
 
 ee eee ee ee 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 499 
 
 a RO 
 
 GOD INTENDED MAN TO BE HAPPY. 
 
 a EEEEERERininmamammaammmmmmmssses se 
 
 and he is made meet to be a partaker of the inhe- 
 ritance of the saints in light. The earthly house of 
 his tabernacle is then taken down, and committed 
 to the silent tomb, ‘till the day shall come when it 
 shall be raised again, and fashioned like unto the 
 glorious body of Christ ; while the disembodied spirit 
 is given in charge to an angelic convoy, who hasten 
 to bear it home, and place it in Abraham’s bosom, 
 near to the throne of God, 
 
 i 
 
 SECTION. FIFTH. 
 
 THE HEAVENLY STATE, 
 
 The renovated powers of the human soul are 
 capacitated for vast enjoyments in a future state ; 
 and the wisdom of God is discovered in providing 
 felicities fully commensurate with their extent. 
 
 Man originally possessed capacities which ren- 
 dered him susceptible of felicities of the most exalted 
 nature. And that his Creator intended him to be 
 perfectly happy, is clearly evinced,—by his placing 
 him in Paradise, which was replete with all earthly. 
 good ; investing him with entire authority over all the 
 inferior creatures, which owned him their earthly 
 sovereign; putting him under his own immediate 
 superintendance, which was the highest relation into 
 
 KK 2 
 
500 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 i 
 
 RELIGION THE FRIEND OF FALLEN MAN. 
 
 a nN 
 which it was possible he could be taken; and granting 
 him his immediate presence and approbation, which 
 constitute the highest bliss of which any intellectual 
 being is capable.—-Had man maintained his integrity, 
 
 immortality would have rewarded his fidelity, and the 
 promised felicity would have been as durable as his 
 being. But when he transgressed, he not only for- 
 feited his happiness, but became incapable of enjoving 
 those objects which his Creator approved; and which, 
 in fact, were capable of affording him real pleasure, 
 His nature being now entirely impure, he loathed 
 holy objects; his heart being in a state of enmity 
 against God, and alienated from him, he could no 
 longer enjoy communion with him; and his intellects 
 being shrouded in dreadful gloom, neither the present 
 nor the future could yield him any cheering antici- 
 pations. | 
 
 But religion proposes to befriend fallen man, 
 Under its salutary operations, as we have seen, his 
 fallen nature is enabled to climb an eminence which 
 Adam never reached, and to soar to a glory which 
 Paradise could never boast. Under the influence of 
 religion, whose power is rendered invincible by being 
 allied with an omnipotent agency, the benighted un- 
 derstanding is spiritually illumined; the stubborn 
 will bows to the pleasure of God; the erring judg- 
 ment ascertains all truth; the once treacherous 
 memory now tenaciously holds fast the pure word : 
 the slumbering conscience awakens to a discharge of 
 its duties; while the perverted and sensual affections 
 
 ee 
 
ON REDEMPTION. : 501° 
 
 ALL NOT EQUALLY HAPPY IN HEAVEN. ~ 
 
 are no longer placed on things below, but upon 
 things which are above. ‘The whole soul is made 
 perfect in holiness before it is admitted to the glory 
 of the celestial state, where, according to its ca- 
 pacities, it enjoys a perfection of bliss. 
 
 To imagine that all are equally happy in the 
 heavenly state, we must suppose that the capacities 
 of all who enter upon it are alike extensive; and 
 that duration adds no increase of power to the 
 - faculties of the glorified soul. This is so contrary to 
 all those analogies which the present state of things 
 furnishes, that it is very difficult to admit the sup- 
 position. For nothing can be more evident than that 
 the capacities of the soul in this state undergo great 
 changes, and differ as much as the body to which 
 it is united, at the different periods of infancy, child- 
 hood, youth, and manhood. Shall we admit a erowth 
 of capacity in this state, notwithstanding the powers 
 of the soul are fettered and cramped by being as- 
 sociated with sinful bodies, and deny a similar and 
 an increasing growth of capacity in that state where 
 there is nothing to impede? nothing to retard its pro- 
 gress'—Pesides ; can we suppose that the soul of the 
 infant, which enters’ on a state of bliss the moment 
 it comes into being, enters heaven with powers equal 
 to those of the saint who dies in in the zenith of his 
 intellectual career, and his sun shining in his strength ? 
 Or that the soul of the infant which enters on a state 
 of glory this instant, can have powers equal to those 
 of Abraham, or David, or Paul, who have contem- 
 
502 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 RELIGION PREPARES THE SOUL FOR VAST ENJOYMENTS. 
 
 plated the divine glory, and enjoyed the immediate 
 presence of God for thousands of yearsr—This sup- 
 position is so repugnant to that economy which God 
 has established in the present world, that it cannot 
 be admitted without the express testimony of divine 
 revelation. But revelation is silent on the subject. 
 However this may be, the souls of believers, re- 
 newed by the sanctifying influences of the Holy 
 Spirit, are qualified for vast enjoyments in the heavenly 
 world. Were we only to suppose that in a state of 
 glorification the powers and passions of the soul are 
 entirely freed from sin, it would follow, that they 
 must possess a surprising vigour of activity and ca- 
 pacity of enjoyment ; for it is beyond the reach of the 
 imagination even, to realize to our present conceptions 
 the full idea of the glory of a spirit free from the guilt 
 and defilement of sin, in its disembodied state. But 
 as the faculties of the soul are greatly impaired and 
 weakened by sin, so they are strengthened and invi- 
 gorated by religion, beyond what it is possible they can 
 attain by their own unaided exertions. Hence, ina 
 glorified state, no more infirmity and weariness will 
 be felt, and the soul will be able to serve God day 
 and night in his temple;—we shall no longer see 
 through a glass darkly, and know but in part; but we 
 ~ shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known, 
 and behold with open face the glory of the Lord;— 
 sin and temptation will no more distract and divide 
 our attention, nor divert it from the objects of its 
 supreme happiness; the whole soul will be absorbed 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 503 
 
 SOURCES OF HAPPINESS. IN HEAVEN, 
 
 in the ocean of divine love, and the unutterable 
 glories of the immediate presence of God. 
 
 ‘Many sources of spiritual enjoyment are opened, 
 in this present state of things, to the renewed and 
 sanctified soul, All these will remain open in the 
 future state; and probably others will be disclosed in 
 heaven of which we can now form no conception. To 
 all these the spirits of the just made perfect will have 
 free access, and will participate the bliss which flows 
 eternally from them, according to their different 
 capacities. Let us contemplate those sacred plea- 
 sures which the new creature is capacitated to enjoy, 
 and which God has laid up for all them that love 
 him. 
 
 A principal cause of happiness to the soul will be 
 its perfect conformity to the divine image.—Though 
 the operation of religion in the present state restores 
 the moral image of God to those who are acquainted 
 with its sanctifying power; yet that image is not 
 complete. here; its progress is towards perfection; 
 but it does not attain to it, until it arrive at its glo- 
 rified state. The sacred outline which is drawn by the 
 finger of God in this world, is filled up, and completed 
 when it enters heaven. And though the soul is but a 
 creature still, and infinitely below the blessed God, 
 and must remain so for ever; yet its dignity will be 
 inconceivably great, its holiness shall be perfect, not 
 a stain of sin will continue to obscure its glory. 
 “ Holiness to the Lord” will be inscribed on ‘all its 
 faculties, among which the most perfect harmony will 
 
504 ON REDEMPTION. 
 ———————————oooooeoeoeoeeeee OO OOEEETETETEEEeEeEE 
 
 THE IMMEDIATE PRESENCE OF GOD. 
 
 eternally reign. No guilty fear will ever annoy, or 
 painful foreboding distract; no evil propensity will 
 be felt drawing the soul from God; sinful and vain 
 thoughts shall never pollute its nature, or offend the 
 eye of deity. To be like God, according to its 
 capacity, is the glory and the happiness of the creature.. 
 It is that which distinguishes angels from devils, and 
 constitutes their chief dignity. The redeemed shall 
 enjoy this honour. . It will extend to their entire 
 nature; their bodies as well as their souls shall enjoy 
 it. The body is sown in corruption—it is raised in 
 incorruption ; it is sown in dishonour—it is raised in 
 glory; it is sown in weakness—it is raised in power ; 
 it is sown a natural body—it is raised a spiritual 
 body. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we 
 shall also bear the image of the heavenly ; for Christ 
 will change these vile bodies, and fashion them like 
 unto his own-glorious body. ‘The body thus raised 
 is made a suitable residence for the spirit of the just 
 made perfect; and the entire nature of those who 
 served and loved the Saviour in this state, shall then 
 shine in all the splendors of consummate holiness, 
 the monuments of sovereign mercy and love. “ I 
 shall be satisfied when I awake up, with thy likeness.” 
 OQ! who can conceive the happiness and the glory of 
 complete freedom from sin, and an entire conformity 
 to the divine image! 
 Another source of the happiness of heaven is the 
 ‘immediate presence of God, and uninterrupted com- 
 ‘Munion with him. Such is the nature of the human 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 505- 
 ess 
 
 COMMUNION WITH GOD. : 
 eS 
 soul, that no created enjoyment can yield it complete 
 satisfaction. Were riches, honours, and all conceiy- 
 able terrestrial glories to be put into the possession 
 of man, yet his happiness would be imperfect. Has 
 not this remark been substantiated by the history of 
 those who have attained to the highest eminence of 
 earthly glory? ‘The glory of constituting an immortal 
 being perfectly happy, the Most High has reserved to 
 himself, and has never given it to another. As the 
 sanctifying influences of religion prepare the soul to 
 derive its happiness from the presence of God, so 
 the soul that has submitted to its sacred dominion 
 cannot be happy without him, This is at the same 
 time an evidence of the fact of a religious influence, 
 and an exemplification of its unparalleled excellency. 
 “As the hart panteth after the Water-brooks, so 
 panteth my soul for God, for the living God ;—When 
 shall I come and appear before God 2” 
 
 The saints of God enjoy sometimes the divine 
 presence in this state; and it is their privilege and 
 their glory: but it is often interrupted, and their sins 
 separate between them and their God, and their 
 iniquities hide his face from them. This is their grief, 
 and a frequent source of sorrow. Yet they know 
 that to be absent from the body is to be present with 
 the Lord; and the thought often makes them im- 
 ‘patient to depart and to be with Christ, which is the 
 best of all; for in his presence there is fulness of joy, 
 and at his right hand there are pleasures for ever- 
 more. Heaven realizes all] their hopes; for there 
 
506 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 A KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORKS OF GOD IN HEAVEN. 
 
 they shall be ever with the Lord. This presence is 
 of the most intimate nature; it 1s the presence of 
 spirit with spirit. The souls of just men made perfect 
 are filled with God; he satisfies every desire; he 
 meets every affection; he pervades every power ; he 
 is in intimate union with every feeling; nor does so 
 much as the shadow of sin ever damp the ardent 
 loves of the glorified, or separate between them and 
 the supreme object of their delights. And such 
 nearness of the soul to God infers a communion with 
 him, the most animating and glorious. Every desire 
 which it feels is instantly gratified by him. O! who 
 ean conceive in this state, what that happiness is 
 which flows from such intimacy of the divine presence, 
 and such uninterrupted fellowship ° 
 
 A clear and extensive acquaintance with the 
 works of God will also contribute to the happiness of 
 glorified spirits. A knowledge of the works of God 
 in the present state affords to the human mind the 
 most exalted gratification, notwithstanding the dith- 
 culties which every where present themselves to 
 obstruct its progress, and the very limited and 
 imperfect views- which it can acquire. But in its 
 disembodied and glorified state, its powers of com- 
 prehension will be en ste ed ; its intuitive perceptions 
 will penetrate the profoundest mysteries ; and its 
 researches will be at once most extensive and most 
 accurate. The most acute philosopher in this world, 
 after spending a long life in studying the objects of 
 nature, never acquired knowledge of these things 
 
 re 
 
ON REDEMPTION. | 507 
 A apenaeenh pr OF PROVIDENCE AND REDEMPTION. 
 
 SS rere nen, 
 equal to what is possessed by the least in the kingdom 
 of God.—There also the mysterious operations of Prd- 
 vidence are all unfolded. The veil which had so long 
 hid from our view the meaning of numberless singular 
 occurrences, and enveloped them in complete mystery, 
 is removed in heaven. For what we know not now, 
 we shall know hereafter, and shall say, He hath done 
 all things well. The whole plan of this wonderful 
 economy will be then unfolded, and spread out before 
 glorified spirits. And what unspeakable delight will 
 it afford them to contemplate, not only the dealings 
 of God with mankind in general, but to retrace the 
 concatenated events of their own short history ; and 
 to see that by those very occurrences which they had 
 so often considered as most calamitous, their gracious 
 and unerring Guide was accomplishing their greatest 
 advantage. They will then perceive how all things 
 were co-operating for their good; and by what 
 strange methods these light afflictions, which were but 
 for a moment, were working out for them a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory. The whole 
 universe of intelligent beings will then see that “God 
 
 is wise in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” 
 And surely the work of redemption, to which the 
 spirits of just men made perfect owe all their dignity, 
 and all their bliss, will share a peculiar interest in 
 their contemplations. It was the chief theme of their 
 inquiries in this lower world, and they viewed it as 
 originating all their hopes, and all their joys; but how 
 much more of its ineffable wisdom, goodness, justice, 
 
508 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE SOCIETY OF HEAVEN. 
 
 Cp ee a ek Ty tS a eet 
 
 holiness, and love, do those behold who no longer see 
 
 it through a glass darkly, but with open face. This ap-: 
 
 pears the chief of all the ways of God; it shines with 
 the most refulgent glories, and displays more of the 
 natural and moral perfections of deity to the hosts of 
 heaven, than they will behold through any other 
 medium, and all other objects. This mighty scheme 
 indeed embraces subjects, such as the doctrine of the 
 Trinity, the incarnation of the Son of God, with vari- 
 ous others, which will never be explained, nor com- 
 prehended by finite intelligences; yet they will be 
 matters of deep and eternal research, and every new 
 discovery will yield them additional joy and felicity. 
 
 In that blessed state, the Sacred Volume, which 
 was their counsellor amidst the difficulties of life, and 
 a light unto their path, will be more extensively ex- 
 plained, and better understood, than it ever was in 
 this world. The Lamb will break open the seven 
 seals thereof, and unfold the holy pages, and with- 
 draw the veil of covering under which many of its 
 holy mysteries were hid in this state. New wonders 
 will be eternally developed before glorified spirits from 
 these sacred oracles, the half of which were not told 
 them while here. 
 
 The society of the heavenly world is another 
 source of happirtess to all its blessed inhabitants. O 
 ye happy beings, “ye are come unto Mount Zion, 
 and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
 to the general assembly and church of the first-born 
 
ON REDEMPTION. 7 509 
 
 DSL ce Sen RE Pe Ee LE OT PAISLEY ET ERA OREO RT PTR RET ASETTTE Pn 
 THE EMPLOYMENTS OF HEAVEN, 
 
 which are written in heaven, and to God, the Judge 
 of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
 and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new. covenant.” 
 In such society ye shall spend a glorious immortality, 
 and enjoy all the bliss arising from the most intimate 
 union and uninterrupted fellowship. No envy shall 
 corrode your joys; no false friend shall betray your 
 confidence; no suspicion of wrong: shall ever enter 
 your society. Perfect harmony will ever reign, and 
 endless peace shall crown your union. 
 
 The employments of the blessed will likewise 
 contribute to their happiness. For these holy engage- 
 ments their renovated powers are peculiarly adapted; 
 and they will serve God day and night in his temple. 
 They shall see his face, and gaze with unutterable 
 delight on the majesty and splendor of the incarnate 
 Redeemer. He has given us reason to anticipate the 
 beatific vision.“ Father, I will that they also whom 
 thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they 
 -may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.” 
 ‘What this vision is, O who can tell! for eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the 
 heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for 
 them that love him. To behold that glory will be one 
 of the delightful employments of that happy world ; 
 and the visual powers of the saints will be adapted to 
 its brightness, which would overpower us in our pre- 
 ‘ sent imperfect state. How ought the hope of such a 
 view of the supreme object of their affections to. cheer 
 and delight the followers of the. Lamb! Beloved, 
 
310 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 SUFFERING REMOVED FROM HEAVEN, 
 
 now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet 
 appear what we shall be; but we know that when he 
 shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see 
 him as he is. 
 
 Glorified spirits are described as being arrayed in 
 white robes, and as having palms in their hands, em- 
 blems of their purity and their triumphs. They are 
 made kings and priests unto God; they have sat down 
 with him on his throne, and wear a crown of glory 
 which fadeth not away. But all their honours they 
 cheerfully lay at the feet of Jesus. The four-and- 
 twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the 
 throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, 
 and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou 
 art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and 
 power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy 
 pleasure they are, and were created. 
 
 In their glorified state, the redeemed are com- 
 pletely delivered from all the evils which flow from 
 sin, and happily exempted from every suffering. The 
 inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick; the people 
 that dwell there shall be forgiven their iniquity ; sorrow 
 and sighing shall flee away. O Christian, thy sun 
 shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon with- 
 draw itself; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting 
 light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 
 ‘There is no night there. Raise your thoughts to that 
 glorious state, and anticipate the period when you 
 shall mingle your adorations with those who are before 
 the throne of God. Ye now have sorrow; but your 
 
ON REDEMPTION, — 5i1 
 
 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN ETERNAL. 
 
 sorrow shall be turned into joy. All the evils of 
 which you now complain shall terminate with your 
 present state of existence. Those who have finished 
 their course, have put off their sinful tabernacles, and 
 no longer groan being burdened with the body of this 
 death. They are before the throne of God, and serve 
 him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth 
 on the throne shall lead them; and they shall hunger 
 no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun 
 light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb, which is 
 in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God 
 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 All this blessedness shall be perpetuated through 
 an endless duration. Were an idea that it would be 
 continued a definite period only, however vast it might 
 be, to enter into the minds of glorified spirits, it would 
 cast an awful gloom over all their joys; and the 
 apprehension of so dreadful a future deprivation 
 would interrupt their present happiness. But such 
 an apprehension shall never enter the heavenly world. 
 They know that they shall be confirmed in the cease- 
 less enjoyment of that inheritance which is incor- 
 ruptible, and undefiled, and which fadeth not away. 
 At death, an entrance shall be ministered to the saints 
 abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of their Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘Then the righteous shall 
 go into life eternal. After millions af ages have rolled 
 away, their bliss will be no nearer a close. ‘This is 
 the consummation of their happiness. | 
 
312 ON REDEMPTION. 
 
 THE WISDOM OF THE WHOLE ECONOMY. 
 
 “Herein is wisdom.” The renovated powers of 
 ‘man are capacitated for vast enjoyments; and the 
 felicities which I have described as laid up for them in 
 heaven, are adapted, as well to the pure nature of 
 glorified spirits, as they are to their capacities of enjoy- 
 ment. And on taking a retrospect of the whole of 
 that surprising economy which has been placed under 
 the eye of the reader, may we not exclaim with an 
 Apostle, ‘O the depth of the riches both of the 
 wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are 
 his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” 
 
 FINIS, 
 
 LONDON :—Printed by R. CLAY, 
 Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate. 
 
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