DISCOURSE II. 387 some walk on feet, or run : And every sort ofanimals cloathed with a proper covering ; some ofthem more gay and magnificent in their attire than Solomon in all his glory ; and each of them furnished with limbs, powers, and properties fitted for their own support, convenience and safety. How various are the kinds of birds andbeasts that pass daily before our eyes ! The fields and thewoods, theforests and the deserts, have their different inha- bitants. The savage and the domestic animals how numerous they are ! and the fowl both wild and tame! What riches of dress and drapery are provided to clothe them in all their proper habits of nature ? What a number of painted insects fill the air, and overspread the ground ? What bright spangles adorn their little bodies and their wings when they appear in their summer livery ? What interwoven streaks ofscarlet beauty, mingled with green and gold ? We behold a strangeprofusion ofdivine wis- dom yearly in our climate, in these little animated crumbsof clay, as well as in the animals of larger size. And yet there are mul- titudes of new strange creatures that we read of in the narratives offoreign counties : And what a vast profusion of entertainments for them all ? How are the mountains and meadows adorned with a surprising plenty of grass and herbs, fruits and flowers almost infinite, for the use of man and meaner animals ? In the world of waters a thousand unknown creatures swim and sport themselves, and leapwith excess of life even in the freezing seas : Millions of inhabitants range through that liquid, wilderness with swiftest motion, and the wonders of their frame and nature proclaim the skill of an Almighty Maker. Others of the watery kind are but half alive, and are tossed from place to place by the heaving ocean. Think of the leviathan, the eel, and the oyster, and tell me if God has not shewn a rich variety of contrivance in them : And as various as their nature is, so vari- ous is the means of their life ; proper beds of lodging are provid- ed for them, and a variety of food suited to uphold everynature. Mankind is a world of itself, made up of the mingled or united natures offlesh and spirit. What an infinite difference of faces and features among the sons and daughters of men ? And how much more various are the turns of their appetites, tempers, and inclinations, their humours and passions ? And what glori- ous employment hath divine wisdom ordained for itself, in fram- ing thesemillions of creatures with understandings andwills ofso inconceivable avariety, so vast a difference ofgenius and inclina- tion, to be the subjects of its providential government ? And what a surprising harmony is there in the immense and incomprehen- sive scheme of divine counsels, arising from the various stations and businesses of men so infinitely diversified and distinct from one another, and centring in one great end the divine glory ? An amazing contrivance, and a design worthy of God. nb2
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