with slight beginnings, he gradually perfects his design, till, in the blessed day of an eternal Sabbath, he calmly acquiesces, with entire approbation, in the consummated work. xc. After all his other works, he made man; after man, nothing. This teaches us, that the rest of the creatures were made for man, the highest heaven itself, with its angels, not excepted; but that man was made for God only, to worship and obey him; since nothing was made posterior to man, to which as his superior he might do homage. XCI. Nor must this observation be omitted, that God rested in none of his works, how magnificent soever, till he had made man; but when man was created, immediately" he rested, and was refreshed." Macarius elegantly says; "Man is a creature of high dignity. "Behold the heavens and the earth, the sun and the "moon, and consider how great they are. Yet it did "not seem good to the Lord to rest in these works, but "in man only. Man is, therefore, more exalted than "all the other creatures."* This instance of the Almighty's acquiescence in man, intimates that it gives greater delight to God that he has man to hallow and glorify his name, than that he made heaven and earth, and a vast number of creatures, which, though otherwise admirable, are incapable of knowing and enjoying him. XCII. Thus we are gradually led to the IMPROVEMENT of this article; which consists chiefly in these three exercises. First, That we attentively meditate on the works of God. Secondly, That by them, as by a ladder, we ascend to God. Thirdly, That we descend *Homilia xv. Exod. xxxi. 17. * to ourselves. The Psalmist has comprised all these in a few words: "When I consider thy heavens," (behold the soul attending to the works of God) "the "work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars which "thou hast ordained;" (behold the mind ascending to God) "What is man that thou art mindful of him," &c. Behold man descending to himself. XCIII. Faith certainly requires, in the first place, that we contemplate and meditate on the works of God.i It is the characteristic of beasts, or of drunkards, who are worse than beasts, that "they regard not the work "of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his "hand." Even heathen philosophers often professed that they could experience no sweeter pleasure in life, than the contemplation of the stupendous works of nature; on which you may consult Seneca's Preface to his Questions on the Works of Nature. Yet they were unable to discern in those works what faith causes us to perceive; to wit, the excellencies of God, not merely as an omnipotent Creator, but also as our most gracious Father. It is certain, too, that man was created for this very purpose, that he might be, as Gregory Nazianzen calls him, "the spectator of the visible, the "priest of the intelligent, creation." + XCIV. Now we ought to perform this duty, 1st, With care and attention. "Lift up your eyes on high, " and behold who hath created these things."k We should hold a kind of conference with the creatures, and examine each of them respecting their admirable VOL. I. *Prefatio Quæstionum Naturalium. + Επόπτης της ορατης κτίσεως, μύστης της νομενης. h Ps. viii. 3, 4. 2 M Nous, Heb. xi. 3. k Is. xl. 26. 10. properties. "thee, "thee." "Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach or speak to the earth, and it shall teach 2dly, With admiration. "Marvellous are thy works," says the Psalmist. "O Lord, how mani"fold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them "all: the earth is full of thy riches." 3dly, With joy and exultation. "Thou, Lord, hast made me glad "through thy work; I will triumph in the works of "thy hands." This has been the exercise of angels even from the beginning. "When the corner-stone of the "earth was laid, the morning stars sang together, and "all the sons of God shouted for joy."P xcv. Further, we should ascend by the creatures, as by an erect ladder, to God the Creator; who exhibits himself in them, not only to be seen, but also to be felt, -whose glory the heavens declare, and to whom the brute animals of the earth, and the dumb fishes of the sea, bear witness, that they proceeded from his hand.s r XCVI. Nor is a general acknowledgment of this sufficient. But those perfections of God which he has brightly displayed in the work of creation, ought to be particularly observed:-that infinite Power, at whose command all things rose into existence that unbounded Goodness, to which alone the creatures must own themselves entirely indebted for whatever portion of good is in them:"-that unsearchable Wisdom, which has arranged every thing in so beautiful an order, that it appears no less admirable in the least than in the 1 Job xii. 7, 8. m Ps. cxxxix. 14. n Ps. civ. 24. See also xcii. 5, 6. Job xxvi. 14. greatest works:-that amazing Philanthropy, in fine, which he has shown towards man, not only adorning his body by so exact a proportion of all its parts, which has beyond measure astonished Hippocrates and other anatomists; but also suspending in his soul, as in the golden vault of the temple, an image of himself and a representation of his own holiness; and at the same time, granting him dominion over the rest of the crea tures. 66 66 66 66 66 XCVII. "God," as Philo eloquently observes, "by endowing man with reason, having admitted him to communion with himself, which is the best of his gifts, by no means withheld other blessings; but prepared for him, as the most nearly related and the most Idearly beloved of his creatures, all that the world " contains. Having determined that he should be des❝titute of nothing conducive either to his living, or to "his living happily, the Creator made provision for "the one, by the rich abundance of comforts that were given him to enjoy; and for the other, by the contemplation of heavenly objects, with which when the "mind.is affected, it is inspired with an ardent desire "of the knowledge of them."* 66 66 XCVIII. We should endeavour also to rise in our meditations, by the way of eminence, as it is called, from the greatness, the beauty, and the excellence of the ereatures, to the consideration of the greatness and the beauty of God. I cannot better illustrate this than in the words of the truly Great Basil. "Let us glorify the "adorable Author of nature, who has formed all things "with consummate wisdom and skill. From the beau"ty of the things that are seen, let us learn his trans * De Opificio Mundi, p. 12. Ps. cxlvii. 5. "cendant beauty; and from the magnitude of these "sensible and limited bodies, let us infer the infinite " and immeasurable extent of his greatness and power, "which no created understanding is able to compre"hend."* Hence it follows, that it is our duty to esteem the Creator above the creatures; by no means to acquiesce in the creatures themselves, whose goodness is finite and circumscribed, and which are, consequently, incapable of imparting full satisfaction to the mind; and not even to rejoice in the creatures, except in so far as we observe the excellencies of their Maker manifested in them, that thus our delight may be placed, not so much in the creatures, as in and through them, in God the Creator.w XCIX. In fine, we ought continually to honour the glorious Artificer of the universe with our praises and thanksgivings. The sweet Psalmist of Israel, unable to satisfy himself with so ample and so choice a collection of hymns for this purpose, solicits the assistance of all creatures in the discharge of this duty. The exhortation of Epictetust to celebrate the praises of God as the Creator, is truly admirable; and I should have added it here, were it not that I recollect I have given it elsewhere.+ *Homil. i. in Hexaem. circa fin. Quoted from the original Greek, and from the Latin Version of John Argyropilus. + Vide Arriani Dissert. lib. i. сар. 16. The Author gives the passage from Epictetus to which he here alludes, in the 17th section of his 8th Dissertation on the Lord's Prayer. As the reader may wish to see a quotation so highly commended by Witsius, it is here subjoined in English. "If we were truly wise, what else would be our business both in "public and in private but to magnify, to praise, and render thanks "to the Deity? Should we not sing this Hymn to God, whilst we w. Ps. lxxiii. 25. * Ps. cxlviii. |