668 SERMON I. glpry upon this 'account. Jo~ i) 8j 8, 9, ro, I 1 vcrfcs, Wl•o ]hut tip the Sea roith doors tub_en ~~ bralu f~rt/J as if it had ilfi!Jd out of the womh ~ ll)hen 1-mflde tbe cloud the garmen; rbemf, and tluck dar~nefiafivadlmg, band[pr it; and brake np}or it my decreed place, alld ~~::/~~;/.:'fi~;;•dflud, H11~~rto jhalt I:Jo~ come, and no fartber, and f'ere {halltby ') 3eiides, its ~x~~t is no lefs w0nh~ of admirati~n; it wa·fl1cS_ the four p:;uts of the \~orld, and fo 1t IS the ,bond of rhe umverle, by wh1ch the mofl doflant Nations arc uniteP, the rnc9_ium of Comn:~rce a,.,~t Trade, wh_ich brings·great delight and ad\rant:Jge t<?.. mc;n., ,by It the corhmodJties whtch. arc pc<mhar ~o feveral ~ountryes are made commqn to aJJ; thu~ .ma:y we trace fire CVHient Prints of ~ Deity 111 the very w~t~rs; if \\'e cj1ange the f.cqne., and view tha !laruh, we may perceive clear -ligns of a DiVIne providcqc~ •. I f we :-on9~er its pofltlb~,· , ir h~~gs m the tl!idfi o~ the air, that it may be a convcment habttatJon for us; or ItS fiabdtty; the air Its (eJf IS not able to bear up a feather, ,.yet the cartli remains in it fixt and .unfhaken, notwitlJfianding the !l:orms and tempefls \yhich CCI)tinually beat upon it; from hence we mufl conclude an invifible · but powerlul hand fi•pports it; 'tis reckoned amongfl the llfagnalia Dei, Job ]8.4,6. rYime r~;afl tbou w1Jt11llaid th~ fountluions of the eartb i' where.up011 are the [oundt1~ion$ ti·ereof • (aflned? or who bath Ja:d the Corner~frone tbeu~f? Moreover the vanous d1fpofition of h~ic~hfn1 i;s Its parts,. the. Mouma.Ins, the Vall ey~, .the Rivers wh~ch are as the veins l\\hich conproduCt:ion.s; vey nounfhment to thts great body, rul Intimate the~e IS a God. · mplants, ,.. thei r roots whereby th~y d~w thtir nourin.lment, the firmn1-fs 9f their ftalk by whlch t_her are. defended againfi the violence of E:J.0l~~i:~~F~:~~~·;;~~~:r;~1J,~i~h;~,~~f·~::1\ih.~:1},:~}.~:;.~~~;;.,;~:t·)i~;·:1:~i~;~~~:~t:::~~i%~:i.\~;;,·: ;, • Thus if 1re behold the excellent order of the parts of the ~rorld, their mmual ·con·eQ fpondencc for their feveral ends, the heavens give light, the air breath, rhe earth habitation, the fca commerce; we muil: break forth There is a God, and tfiis is l1is \Vork; but bow few aq: there who read the Name of God which is indelebly prin'ted on the frame of nature.) who fee the excellency of the caufe in the effect? who aomernpbte all things in Go.d, and God in all things? from our firfl (nfancy we are accuflomeJ to the(c objects, and the edge of o~r apprehenf10ns is rebated ; the commonnds or things takes away our dl:eefn; we rath.er admire things new th~n g~eat; the eifeds of .A.rr, than the marvails of nature; as the continual view of a ghttenng objeCt dazles the eye, that it cannot fee; fo by the daily prefence of thefe wonders, our minds are blunted, we lofe the quicknels and freflmefs of pur fpirits. l fliall finilh this Argument by reflecting upon man, who is a fl1ert abridgment of the world ; the compofurc of his body, the pow~rs of his foul, convince us of a ~vife pr~ vidence; who but a God could unite fuch d1fl'Crent fubfiances, an immatenaJ fpint with au earthly body 1 who could diflinguilh lo many parts, allign to tbe!n their form, fcituation, temperature, wirhan abfoJute fitnefs for thofeufes to which tbeyfcrve? we mufl joyn with the Apoille, Afl. 17. 27, 28. He is not far from every one of us;. we may find him in the activity of our hands,_ in the beauty at our eyes, in the vivacity of all our fenfes; in him we li'Ve, mtYVe, and ba'Ve our being. A~d to look inward, ~vho h~tlz endowed the foul with fuch diflinct and admirable lacultten The underfiandmg 1rh:ch exercifes an Empire on all things, which compounds the rnofi di[,greeing, and divid_es the mofl intimate, .which by the lowefl effects afcends to the highefl caufe; the Wtll which with fuch vigor purfues that whi~h we efleen: amiable and good, and recods with averfation from that we judge pernicious and evt1; the Memory which preferves frell1 and lively the pictures of thofe things which arc committed to its charge. Cer· raiuly after this ~onlideration, we mufi naturally alfent there is a God who m:tdc us, and not we our felves. 3· We may argue there is a God from the operations of natural Ag;ents for rhofe ends which are not perceived by them. Although m men there IS a ranonal pnnc1ple which difcovers the goodnefs of the end, and felccts fuch means asare proper for ;he accomplilhing !Or it~ and {0 their. ac:ti?ns are the product of the1r Judg~ent; yet t!S impofiJble to conceiVe that the 1nfenour rank of crca.ture~, whofc motions Ho\~ from ~~~n~11~~n~'re~~dg~~d~l~1J:1;~~;~: · ~~c~0~·i~~~~f~l~;fv~~i~I~~n:0a~fi~wtfl1;trl~~~e~~~ exceeds the invention of man. It is admirable to confider how brute creatures act t~ their prcfervation ; they ~re no fOoner in the worl~, bu_t th~y prefently flie J.rom their encml es, and make ufe e1the~ of th?t fo~ce ?r craft w_h1ch they J~ave to de,end the(; (elves; they know that nounOunent wluch 1s coqvcmcnt to preferve them, ar~~~~~es
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