every moment on a superior Agent, and that it is "in God we live, and move, and have our being? Were a single pin of the machinery within us, and over which we have no control, either broken or deranged, a thousand movements might instantly be interrupted, and our bodies left to crumble into the dust.

It was considerations of this kind that led the celebrated physician Galen, who was a skeptic in his youth, publicly to acknowledge that a Supreme Intelligence must have operated in ordaining the laws by which living beings are constructed. And he wrote his excellent treatise "On the uses of the parts of the human frame," as a solemn hymn to the Creator of the world. "I first endeavour from His works," he says, "to know him myself, and afterwards, by the same means, to show him to others; to inform them, how great is his wisdom, his goodness, his power." The late Dr. Hunter has observed, that astronomy and anatomy are the studies which present us with the most striking view of the two most wonderful attributes of the Supreme Being. The first of these fills the mind with the idea of his immensity, in the largeness, distances, and number of the heavenly bodies; the last astonishes us with his intelligence and art, in the variety and delicacy of animal mechanism. 2. The study of the animal economy has a powerful tendency to excite emotions of gratitude. Man is naturally a thoughtless and ungrateful creature. These dispositions are partly owing to ignorance of the wonders of the human frame, and of the admirable economy of the visible world; and this ignorance is owing to the want of those specific instructions which ought to be communicated by parents and teachers, in connexion with religion. For, there is no rational being who is acquainted with the structure of his animal system, and reflects upon it with the least degree of attention, but must feel a sentiment of admiration and gratitude. The science which unfolds to us the economy of our bodies, shows us on what an infinity of springs and motions, and adaptations, our life and comfort depend. And when we consider, that all these movements are performed without the least care or laborious effort on our part, if we be not altogether brutish, and insensible of our dependence on a superior Power, we must be filled with emotions of gratitude towards Him "whose hands have made and fashioned us, and who giveth us life, and breath, and all things." Some of the motions to which I have adverted depend upon our will; and with what celerity do they obey its commands? Before we can rise from our chair, and walk across our apartment, a hundred muscles must be set in motion; every one of these must be relaxed or constricted, just to a certain degree, and no more; and all must act harmoniously at the same instant of time; and, at the command of the soul, all these movements

are instantaneously performed. When I wish to lift my hand to my head, every part of the body requisite to produce the effect is put in mo tion: the nerves are braced, the muscles are stretched or relaxed, the bones play in their sockets, and the whole animal machine concurs in the action, as if every nerve and muscle had heard a sovereign and resistless call. When I wish the next moment to extend my hand to my foot, all these muscles are thrown into a different state, and a new set are brought along with them into action and thus we may vary, every moment, the movements of the muscular system, and the mechanical actions it produces, by a simple change in our volition. Were we not daily accustomed to such varied and voluntary movements, or could we contemplate them in any other machine, we should be lost in wonder and astonishment.

Besides these voluntary motions, there are a thousand important functions which have no dependance upon our will. Whether we think of it or not, whether we are sleeping or waking, sitting or walking-the heart is incessantly exert ing its muscular power at the centre of the system, and sending off streams of blood through hundreds of pipes; the lungs are continually expanding and contracting their thousand vesicles, and imbibing the vital principle of the air; the stomach is grinding the food; the lacteals and lymphatics are extracting nourishment for the blood; the liver and kidneys drawing off their secretions; and the perspiration issuing from millions of pores. These, and many other important functions with which we are unacquainted, and over which we have no control, ought to be regarded as the immediate agency of the Deity within us, and should excite our incessant admiration and praise.

There is one peculiarity in the constitution of our animal system, which we are apt to overlook, and for which we are never sufficiently grateful, and that is, the power it possesses of self-restoration. A wound heals up of itself; a broken bone is made firm again by a callus; and a dead part is separated and thrown off. If all the wounds we have ever received were still open and bleeding afresh, to what a miserable condition should we be reduced? But by a system of internal powers, beyond all human comprehension as to the mode of their operation, such dismal effects are effectually prevented. In short, when we consider that health depends upon such a nume rous assemblage of moving organs, and that a single spring out of action might derange the whole machine, and put a stop to all its compli cated movements, can we refrain from joining with the psalmist, in his pious exclamation, and grateful resolution, "How precious are thy wonderful contrivances concerning me, O God! how great is the sum of them! I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Mar.

rellous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well."

Omitting the consideration of several other departments of science, I shall in the mean time notice only another subject connected with religion, and that is History.

HISTORY.

History embraces a record and description of past facts and events, in reference to all the na tions and ager of the world, in so far as they are known, and have been transmitted to our times. As natural history contains a record of the operations of the Creator in the material world, so sacred and civil history embraces a record of his transactions in the moral and intellectual world, or, in other words, a detail of the plans and operations of his providence, in relation to the inhabitants of our globe. Through the medium of Sacred History, we learn the period and the manner of man's creation-the reason of his fall from the primitive state of integrity in which he was created, and the dismal consequences which ensued; the various movements of Providence in order to his recovery, and the means by which human redemption was achieved; the manner in which the gospel was at first promulgated, the countries into which it was carried, and the important effects it produced. Through the medium of Civil History we learn the deep and universal depravity of mankind, as exhibited in the wars, dissensions, and ravages, which have desolated our fallen race, in every period, and in every land; we learn the desperate wickedness of the human heart, in the more private acts of ferocity, cruelty, and injustice, which, in all ages, men have perpetrated upon each other; we behold the righteousness of the Supreme Ruler of the world, and the equity of his administration, in the judgments which have been inflicted on wicked nations-and the improbability, nay, the impossibility, of men being ever restored to moral order and happiness, without a more extensive diffusion of the blessings of the gospel of peace, and a more cordial acquiescence in the requirements of the divine laws.

Such being some of the benefits to be derived from history, it requires no additional arguments to show, that this branch of knowledge should occasionally form a subject of study to every intelligent Christian. But in order to render the study of history subservient to the interests of religion, it is not enough merely to gratify our curiosity and imagination, by following out a succession of memorable events, by tracing the progress of armies and of battles, and listening to the groans of the vanquished, and the shouts of conquerors. This would be to study history merely as skeptics, as atheists, or as writers of novels. When we contemplate the facts which he historian presents to our view, we ought to 15

raise our eyes to Him who is the Governor among the nations, "who doth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the in habitants of the earth," and who overrules the jarring interests of mortals, for promoting the prosperity of that kingdom which shall never be moved. We should view the immoral propensities and dispositions of mankind as portrayed in the page of history, as evidences of the depravity of our species, and as excitements to propagate, with unremitting energy, the knowledge of that religion, whose sublime doctrines and pure precepts alone can counteract the stream of human corruption, and unite all nations in one harmonious society. We should view the contests of nations, and the results with which they are accompanied, as guided by that invisible Hand, which "mustereth the armies to the battle;" and should contemplate them either as the accomplishment of divine predictions, as the inflictions of retributive justice, as paving the way for the introduction of rational liberty and social happiness among men, or as ushering in that glorious period, when "the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth," and the nations shall learn war

no more.

Thus I have taken a very cursory survey of some of those sciences which stand in a near relation to the objects of religion; and which may, indeed, be considered as forming so many of its subordinate branches. There are many other departments of knowledge, which, at first view, do not seem to have any relation to theological science; and yet, on a closer inspection, will be found to be essentially connected with the several subjects of which I have been treating For example-some may be apt to imagine that arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, and other branches of mathematics, can have no relation to the leading objects of religion. But if these sciences had never been cultivated, the most important discoveries of astronomy, geography, natural philosophy, and chymistry, would never have been made; ships could not have been navigated across the ocean; distant continents, and the numerous" isles of the sea," would have remained unexplored, and their inhabitants left to grope in the darkness of heathenism; and most of those instruments and engines by which the condition of the human race will be gradually meliorated, and the influence of Christianity extended, would never have been invented. Such is the dependence of every branch of useful knowledge upon another, that were any one portion of science, which has a practical tendency, to be discarded, it would prevent, to a certain degree, the improvement of every other. And, consequently, if any one science can be shown to have a connexion with religion, all the rest must likewise stand in a certain relation to it. It must, therefore, have a pernicious effect on the

minds of the mass of the Christian world, when preachers, in their sermons, endeavour to undervalue scientific knowledge, by attempting to contrast it with the doctrines of revelation. It would be just as reasonable to attempt to contrast the several doctrines, duties, and facts recorded in the New Testament with each other, in order to deermine their relative importance, and to show which of them might be altogether overlooked and discarded. The series of facts and of divine revelations comprised in the bible; the moral and political events which diversify the history of nations; and the physical operations that are going on among the rolling worlds on high, and in the chymical changes of the invisible atoms of matter, are all parts of one comprehensive system, under the direction of the Eternal Mind; every portion of which must have a certain relation to the whole.

And, therefore, instead of attempting to degrade one part of the divine fabric in order to enhance another, our duty is to take an expansive view of the whole, and to consider the symmetry and proportion of its parts, and their mutual bearings and relations-in so far as our opportunities, and the limited faculties of our minds, will permit.

If the remarks which have been thrown out in this chapter, respecting the connexion of the sciences with religion, have any foundation; it will follow-that sermons, lectures, systems of divinity, and religious periodical works, should embrace occasional illustrations of such subjects, for the purpose of expanding the conceptions of professed Christians, and of enabling them to take large and comprehensive views of the per

fections of the providence of the Almighty. It is much to be regretted, that so many members of the Christian church are absolute strangers to such studies and contemplations; while the time and attention that might have been devoted to such exercises, have, in many cases, been usurped by the most grovelling affections, by foolish pursuits, by gossiping chit-chat, and slanderous conversation. Shall the most trifling and absurd opinions of ancient and modern hetics be judged worthy of attention, and occupy a place in religious journals, and even in discussions from the pulpit, and shall "the mighty acts of the Lord," and the visible wonders of his power and wisdom, be thrown completely into the shade? To survey, with an eye of intelligence, the wide-extended theatre of the divine operations-to mark the agency of the Eternal Mind in every object we behold, and in every movement within us and around us, are some of the noblest attainments of the rational soul; and, in conjunction with every other Christian study and acquirement, are calculated to make "the man of God perfect, and thoroughly furnished unto every good work." By such studies, we are, in some measure, assimilated to the angelic tribes, whose powers of intellect are for ever employed in such investigations and are gradually prepared for bearing a part in their im mortal hymn-"Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Thou art worthy to receive glory, and honour, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

In this chapter, I shall briefly notice a few philosophical and mechanical inventions which nave an obvious bearing on religion, and on the general propagation of Christianity among the nations.

The first, and perhaps the most important, of the inventions to which I allude, is the Art of Printing. This art appears to have been in vented (at least in Europe) about the year 1430, by one Laurentius, or Lawrence Koster, a native of Haerlem, a town in Holland, As he was walking in a wood near the city, he began to cut some letters upon the rind of a beach tree, which, for the sake of gratifying his fancy, being impressed on paper, he printed one or two lines as specimen for his grandchildren to follow. This

having succeeded, he meditated greater things; and, first of all, invented a more glutinous writing ink; because he found the common ink sunk and spread; and thus formed whole pages of wood, with letters cut upon them.* By the gradual

has been claimed by other cities besides Haerlem, I am aware, that the honour of this invention particularly by Strasburg, and Mentz, a city of Germany; and by other individuals besides Laurentius, chiefly by one Fust, commonly called Dr. Faustus; by Schoeffer, and by Gutenberg. It appears that the art, with many of its implements, was stolen from Laurentius by one of his servants, whom he had bound, by an oath, to secrecy, who fled to Mentz, and first commenced the process of printing in that city. Here the art was improved by Fust and Schoef

fer, by their invention of metallic, instead of wooden types, which were first used. When Fust was in

Paris, disposing of some bibles he had printed, at

conducting a ship through the sea, from one port to another. This art was partly known and practised in the early ages of antiquity, by the Phenicians, the Carthaginians, the Egyptians, the Romans, and other nations of Europe and Asia. But they had no guide to direct them in their voyages, except the sun in the day-time, and the stars by night. When the sky was overcast with clouds, they were thrown into alarms, and durst not venture to any great distance from the coast, lest they should be carried forward in a course opposite to that which they intended, or be driven against hidden rocks, or unknown shores. The danger and difficulty of the navigation of the ancients, on this account, may be learned from the deliberations, the great preparations, and the alarms of Homer's heroes, when they were about to cross the Egean sea, an extent of not more than 150 miles; and the expedition of the Argonauts under Jason, across the sea of Marmora and the Euxine, to the island of Colchis, a distance of only four or five hundred miles, was viewed as a most wonderful exploit, at which even the gods themselves were said to be amazed. The same thing appears from the narration we have in the Acts of the Apostles, of Paul's voyage from Cesarea to Rome."When," says Luke, "neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempests lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away." Being deprived of these guides, they were tossed about in the Mediterranean, not knowing whether they were carried to the north, south, east, or west. So that the voyages of antiquity consisted chiefly in creeping along the coast, and seldom venturing beyond sight of land: they could not, therefore, extend their excursions by sea to distant continents and nations; and hence, the greater portion of the terraqueous globe and its inhabitaats were to them altogether unknown. It was not before the invention of the mariner's compass, that distant voyages could be undertaken, that extensive oceans could be traversed, and an intercourse carried on between remote continents and the islands of the ocean. It is somewhat uncertain at what precise period this noble discovery was made; but it appears pretty evident, that the mariner's compass was not commonly used in navigation before the year 1420, or only a few years before the invention of printing. The loadstone, in all ages, was known to have the property of attracting iron; but its tendency to point towards the north and south seems to have been unnoticed till the beginning of the twelfth century. About that

The invention of the compass is usually ascribed to Falvio Gioia, of Amalfi, in Campania, about the year 1302; and the Italians are strenuous in supportIng this claim. Others affirm, that Marcus Paulus, a Venetian, having made a journey to China, brought oack the invention with him in 1260. The French also lay claim to the honour of this invention, from the circumstance, that all nations distinguish the

time some curious persons seem to have amused themselves by making to swim, in a basin of water, a loadstone suspended on a piece of cork and to have remarked, that, when left at liberty, one of its extremities pointed to the north. They had also remarked, that, when a piece of iron is rubbed against the loadstone, it acquires also the property of turning towards the north, and of attracting needles and filings of iron. From one experiment to another, they proceeded to lay a needle, touched with the magnet, on two small bits of straw floating on the water and to observe that the needle invariably turned its point towards the north. The first use they seem to have made of these experiments, was, to impose upon simple people by the appearance of magic. For example, a hollow swan, or the figure of a mermaid, was made to swim in a basin of water, and to follow a knife with a bit of bread upon its point, which had been previously rubbed on the loadstone. The experimenter convinced them of his power, by commanding, in this way, a needle laid on the surface of the water to turn its point from the north to the east, or in any other direction. But some geniuses, of more sublime and reflective powers of mind, seizing upon these hints, at last applied these experiments to the wants of navigation, and constructed an instrument, by the help of which the mariner can now direct his course to distant lands, through the vast and pathless ocean.

In consequence of the discovery of this instrument, the coasts of almost every land on the surface of the globe have been explored, and a regular intercourse opened up between the remotest regions of the earth. Without the help of this noble invention, America, in all probability, would never have been discovered by the eastern nations-the vast continent of New-Hollandthe numerous and interesting islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans-the isles of Japan, and other immense territories inhabited by human beings, would have remained as much unknown and unexplored as if they had never existed And as the nations of Europe and the westerr parts of Asia were the sole depositories of the records of revelation, they could never have conveyed the blessings of salvation to remote countries and to unknown tribes of mankind, of whose existence they were entirely ignorant. Even although the whole terraqueous globe had been sketched out before them, in all its aspecta and bearings, and ramifications of islands, continents, seas, and oceans, and the moral and political state of every tribe of its inhabitants

north point of the card by a fleur-de-lis, and, with equal reason, the English have laid claim to the same honour, from the name compass, by which most nations have agreed to distinguish it. But whoever were the inventors, or at whatever period this in strument was first constructed, it does not appeal that it was brought into general use before the pe riod mentioned in the text.