Nature presents to the imagination an inexhausted fund of rational
amusement. To contemplate the inimitable works of creation, is no less
instructive than pleasing. Animate as well as inanimate objects afford
an abundance of entertaining ideas, equally calculated to raise in the
souls of human beings the most unfeigned offerings of wonder, gratitude,
and praise. The gaiety of spring, the smiles of summer, the fecundity of
autumn, and the dreariness of winter, all combine to celebrate the
Author of universal existence. From the most curious and precious
earthly substance, down to the simplest blade of herbage, a granery is
opened to satisfy the desires of, and impart delight to, rational
mortals. But, notwithstanding the innumerable blessings conferred on man
from above, if we attentively mark the conduct of the majority of
individuals, painful as it may be to our own feelings, or those of every
contemplative, virtuous, and sensible person, how few are those to be
found, who are truly thankful for the mercies they enjoy? How few,
indeed, who acknowledge the goodness of an omnipotent and omniscient
Being! They live as if they were indebted to none for their life or
their enjoyments. Unthankful and ungenerous man! why art thou so impious
as to forget that incumbent gratitude, and that graceful duty, which
thou owest to thy heavenly Father? Why trample on every moral
obligation? why shun the precepts of pious Wisdom, and the dictates of
impartial Conscience? Rouze thyself from the torpor which now envelopes
thee, and learn to be thankful for those blessings which thou dost
assuredly receive from above; and, in the words of the late pious Mr.
Addison, testify thy acknowledgments--
“When all thy mercies, O my God!
My grateful soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love, and praise!”
Let not any one think it beneath him, or in the smallest degree
derogatory to his character or sphere in life, however learned, opulent,
and exalted, he may be, to retire occasionally from the bustle of the
world, and to meditate in some calm and undisturbed recess, the
perfections of his Maker, and the works of his hands. Believe me, the
most refined pleasures are to be derived from such innocent, delightful,
and laudable pursuits. The magnificent and wonderful objects of the
celestial, and the curiosity and variety of the vegetable world, as well
as the formation of all animals, reptiles, insects, and other
productions of Nature, have properties which, if accurately viewed,
yield inconceivable astonishment to the beholder. When spring, for
example, returns with all it’s native beauties, as succeeding the gloomy
aspect and forbidding horrors of winter; when it teems with a matchless
splendour and magnificence; when its green hues and universal verdure
come forth in all their pristine elegance, and enchanting attractions;
and the birds warble and attune in sprightly attitudes, their respective
notes, even then they are almost always either forgotten or disregarded;
even then men neglect to thank the Author of life and happiness, the
source of every distributive blessing. What culpable negligence is this,
in rational and accountable beings! O that man would attend with
docility to these important truths, and frequently reflect on the
revolving seasons of the year, and the School of Nature, which would
afford him an endless variety of useful and instructive lessons; and, in
an iminent degree, furnish a convincing and happy demonstration of the
wisdom, power, and goodness, of the Creator.
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