BOOK XI._Physico-theology

_Practical INFERENCES from the foregoing SURVEY._

Having in the preceding Books carried my Survey as far as I care at

present to engage my self, all that remaineth, is to draw some Inferences

from the foregoing Scene of the great Creator’s Works, and so conclude

this Part of my intended Work.

[Illustration]

CHAP. I.

_That GOD’s Works are Great and Excellent._

The first Inference I shall make, shall be by way of Confirmation of the

Text, That the _Works of the Lord are great_[a]. And this is necessary

to be observed, not against the Atheist only, but all other careless,

incurious Observers of God’s Works. Many of our useful Labours, and

some of our best modern Books shall be condemned with only this Note

of Reproach, That they are about trivial Matters[b], when in Truth

they are ingenious and noble Discoveries of the Works of _GOD_. And how

often will many own the World in general to be a Manifestation of the

Infinite Creator, but look upon the several Parts thereof as only Toys

and Trifles, scarce deserving their Regard? But in the foregoing (I may

call it) transient View I have given of this lower, and most slighted

Part of the Creation, I have, I hope, abundantly made out, that all the

Works of the Lord, from the most regarded, admired, and praised, to the

meanest and most slighted, are great and glorious Works, incomparably

contrived, and as admirably made, fitted up, and placed in the World. So

far then are any of the Works of the _LORD_, (even those esteemed the

meanest) from deserving to be disregarded, or contemned by us[c], that on

the contrary they deserve (as shall be shewn in the next Chapter) to be

_sought out, enquired after_, and _curiously_ and _diligently pryed into_

by us; as I have shewed the Word in the Text implies.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Equidem ne laudare quidem satìs pro merito possum ejus Sapientiam ac

Potentiam, qui animalia fabricatus est. Nam ejusmodi opera non Laudibus

modò, verùm etiam Hymnis sunt majora, quæ priusquam inspexissemus, fieri

non posse persuasum habeamus, conspicati verò, falsos nos opinione fuisse

comperimus._ Galen. de Us. Part. L. 7. c. 15.

[b] _Non tamen pigere debet Lectores, ea intelligere, quemadmodum ne

Naturam quidem piguit ea reipsà efficere._ Galen. ibid. L. 11. fin.

[c] _An igitur etiamsi quemadmodum Natura hæc, & ejusmodi, summâ ratione

ac providentiâ agere potuit, ita & nos imitari aliquando possemus? Ego

verò existimo multis nostrum ne id quidem posse, neque enim artem Naturæ

exponunt: Eo enim modo omnino eam admirarentur, Sin minùs, eam saltem non

vitaperarent._ Galen. ib. L. 10. c. 3.

CHAP. II.

_That GOD’s Works ought to be enquir’d into, and that such Enquiries are

commendable._

The _Creator_ doubtless did not bestow so much Curiosity, and exquisite

Workmanship and Skill upon his Creatures, to be looked upon with a

careless, incurious Eye, especially to have them slighted or contemned;

but to be admired by the rational Part of the World, to magnify his

own Power, Wisdom and Goodness throughout all the World, and the Ages

thereof. And therefore we may look upon it as a great Error, not to

answer those Ends of the infinite _Creator_, but rather to oppose and

affront them. On the contrary, my Text commends _GOD_’s Works, not

only for being great, but also approves of those curious and ingenious

Enquirers, that _seek them out_, or _pry into them_. And the more we pry

into, and discover of them, the greater and more glorious we find them to

be, the more worthy of, and the more expressly to proclaim their great

_Creator_.

Commendable then are the Researches, which many amongst us have, of late

Years, made into the Works of Nature, more than hath been done in some

Ages before. And therefore when we are asked, _Cui Bono?_ To what Purpose

such Enquiries, such Pains, such Expense? The Answer is easy, It is to

answer the Ends for which _GOD_ bestowed so much Art, Wisdom and Power

about them, as well as given us Senses to view and survey them; and an

Understanding and Curiosity to search into them: It is to follow and

trace him, when and whither he leads us, that we may see and admire his

Handy-work our selves, and set it forth to others, that they may see,

admire and praise it also. I shall then conclude this Inference with what

_Elihu_ recommends, Job xxxvi. 24, 25. _Remember that thou magnify his

Work, which Men behold. Every Man may see it, Men may behold it afar off._

CHAP. III.

_That GOD’s Works are manifest to all: Whence the Unreasonableness of

Infidelity._

The concluding Words of the preceding Chapter suggests a third Inference,

that the Works of GOD are so visible to all the World, and withal such

manifest Indications of the Being, and Attributes of the infinite

Creator, that they plainly argue the Vileness and Perversness of the

Atheist, and leave him inexcusable. For it is a sign a Man is a wilful,

perverse Atheist, that will impute so glorious a Work, as the Creation

is, to any Thing, yea, a mere _Nothing_ (as Chance is) rather than to

_GOD_[a]. ’Tis a sign the Man is wilfully blind, that he is under the

Power of the Devil, under the Government of Prejudice, Lust, and Passion,

not right Reason, that will not discern what _every one can see, what

every Man may behold afar off_, even the Existence and Attributes of the

_CREATOR_ from his Works. For as _there is no Speech or Language where

their Voice is not heard, their Line is gone out through all the Earth,

and their Words to the End of the World_: So all, even the barbarous

Nations, that never heard of GOD, have from these his Works inferred the

Existence of a Deity, and paid their Homages to some Deity, although they

have been under great Mistakes in their Notions and Conclusions about

him. But however, this shews how naturally and universally all Mankind

agree, in deducing their Belief of a God from the Contemplation of his

Works, or as even _Epicurus_ himself, in _Tully_[b] saith, from _a Notion

that Nature it self hath imprinted upon the Minds of Men. For_, saith he,

_what Nation is there, or what kind of Men, that without any Teaching or

Instructions, have not a kind of Anticipation, or preconceived Notion of

a Deity?_

An Atheist therefore (if ever there was any such) may justly be esteemed

a Monster among rational Beings; a Thing hard to be met with in the

whole Tribe of Mankind; an Opposer of all the World[c]; a Rebel against

human Nature and Reason, as well as against his _GOD_.

But above all, monstrous is this, or would be, in such as have heard

of _GOD_, who have had the Benefit of the clear Gospel-Revelation. And

still more monstrous this would be, in one born and baptized in the

Christian Church, that hath studied Nature, and pried farther than others

into God’s Works. For such an one (if it be possible for such to be) to

deny the Existence, or any of the Attributes of _GOD_, would be a great

Argument of the infinite Inconvenience of those Sins of Intemperance,

Lust, and Riot, that have made the Man abandon his Reason, his Senses,

yea, I had almost said his very human Nature[d], to engage him thus to

deny the Being of _GOD_.

So also it is much the same monstrous Infidelity, at least betrays the

same atheistical Mind, to deny _GOD_’s Providence, Care and Government of

the World, or (which is a Spawn of the same _Epicurean Principles_) to

deny _Final Causes_[e] in God’s Works of Creation; or with the Profane in

_Psal._ lxxiii. 11. to say, _How doth God know? And is there Knowledge

in the most High?_ For as the witty and eloquent _Salvian_ saith[f],

_They that affirm nothing is seen by _GOD_, will, ~in all Probability~,

take away the Substance, as well as Sight of God.——But what so great

Madness_, saith he, _as that when a Man doth not deny _GOD_ to be the

Creator of all Things, he should deny him to be the Governour of them? Or

when he confesseth him to be the Maker, he should say, _GOD_ neglecteth

what he hath so made?_

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Galen_ having taken notice of the neat Distribution of the Nerves

to the _Muscles_, and other Parts of the Face, cries out, _Hæc enim

fortunæ sunt opera! Cæterùm tum omnibus ~[partibus]~ immitti, tantosque

esse singulos [nervos] magnitudine, quanta particulæ erat necesse; haud

scio an hominum sit sobriorum ad Fortunam opisicem id revocare. Alioqui

quid tandem erit, quod cum Providentiâ & Arte efficitur? Omnino enim hoc

ei contrarium esse debet, quod Casu ac Fortuitò fit_. And afterwards,

_Hæc quidem atque ejusmodi Artis scil. ac Sapientiæ opera esse dicemus,

si modò Fortunæ tribuenda sunt quæ sunt contraria; fietque jam quod

in proverbiis——Fluvii sursum fluent; si opera quæ nullum habent neque

ornamentum neque rationem, neque modum Artis esse; contraria verò Fortunæ

duxerimus, ~&c.~_ Galen. ubi supra. L. 11. c. 7.

[b] _Primùm esse Deos, quod in omnium animis, ~&c.~_ And a little after,

_Cùm enim non instituto aliquo, aut more, aut lege sit opinio constituta,

maneatque ad unum omnium firma consensio, intelligi necesse est, esse

Deos, quoniam insitas eorum vel potiùs innatas cognitiones habemus. De

quo autem omnium Natura consentit, id verum esse necesse est. Esse igitur

Deos confitendum est._ Cicer. de Nat. Deor. L. 1. c. 16. 17.

[c] The Atheist in denying a God, doth, as _Plutarch_ saith,

endeavour——_immobilia movere, & bellum inferre non tantùm longo tempori,

sed & multis hominibus, gentibus, & familiis, quas religiosus Deorum

cultus, quasi divino furore correptas, tenuit._ Plutar. de Iside.

[d] See before _Note (b)._

[e] _Galen_ having substantially refuted the _Epicurean_ Principles

of _Asclepiades_, by shewing his Ignorance in Anatomy and Philosophy,

and by Demonstrating all the _Causes_ to be evidently in the Works of

_Nature_, viz. _Final_, _Efficient_, _Instrumental_, _Material_ and

_Formal Causes_, concludes thus against his fortuitous Atoms, _ex quibus

intelligi potest: Conditorem nostrum in formandis particulis unum hunc

sequi scopum, nempe ut quod melius est eligat._ Galen. de Us. Part. L. 6.

c. 13.

[f] _De Gubern. Dei._ L. 4. p. 124. _meo Libro_; also L. 7. c. 14.

CHAP. IV.

_That GOD’s Works ought to excite us to Fear and Obedience to GOD._

Since the Works of the Creation are all of them so many Demonstrations

of the infinite Wisdom and Power of God, they may serve to us as so many

Arguments exciting us to the constant _Fear of God_, and to a steady,

hearty _Obedience_ to all his Laws. And thus we may make these Works as

serviceable to our spiritual Interest, as they all are to our Life, and

temporal Interest. For if whenever we see them, we would consider that

these are the Works of our infinite _Lord_ and _Master_, to whom we are

to be accountable for all our Thoughts, Words and Works, and that in

these we may see his infinite Power and Wisdom; this would check us in

Sinning, and excite us to serve and please him who is above all Controul,

and who hath our Life and whole Happiness in his Power. After this

manner _GOD_ himself argues with his own _foolish People, and without

Understanding, who had Eyes, and saw not, and had Ears, and heard not_,

Jer. v. 21, 22. _Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at

my Presence, which have placed the Sand for the Bound of the Sea, by a

perpetual Decree, that it cannot pass it; and though the Waves thereof

toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they

not pass over it?_

This was an Argument that the most ignorant, stupid Wretches could not

but apprehend; that a Being that had so vast and unruly an Element, as

the Sea, absolutely at his Command, ought to be feared and obeyed; and

that he ought to be considered as the Sovereign Lord of the World, on

whom the World’s Prosperity and Happiness did wholly depend; v. 24.

_Neither say they in their Heart, let us now fear the Lord our God, that

giveth Rain, both the former and the latter in his Season: He reserveth

unto us the appointed Weeks of the Harvest._

CHAP. V.

_That GOD’s Works ought to excite us to Thankfulness._

As the Demonstrations which _GOD_ hath given of his infinite _Power_ and

_Wisdom_ should excite us to Fear and Obedience; so I shall shew in this

Chapter, that the Demonstrations which he hath given of his infinite

_Goodness_ in his Works, may excite us to due Thankfulness and Praise.

It appears throughout the foregoing Survey, what Kindness _GOD_ hath

shewn to his Creatures in providing every Thing conducing to their Life,

Prosperity, and Happiness[a]; how they are all contrived and made in

the best Manner, placed in the fittest Places of the World for their

Habitation and Comfort; accoutered in the best Manner, and accommodated

with every, even all the minutest Things that may minister to their

Health, Happiness, Office, Occasions, and Business in the World.

Upon which Account, Thankfulness and Praise is so reasonable, so just a

Debt to the _Creator_, that the _Psalmist_ calleth upon all the Creatures

to praise God, in _Psalm_ cxlviii. _Praise him all his Angels, Praise him

all his Hosts; Sun, Moon, Stars of Light, Heavens of Heavens, and Waters

above the Heavens._ The Reason given for which is, ℣. 5, 6. _For he

commanded, and they were created; he hath also established them for ever

and ever; he hath made a Decree which they shall not pass._ And not these

Celestials alone, but the Creatures of the Earth and Waters too, even the

Meteors, _Fire and Hail, Snow and Vapours, stormy Winds fulfilling his

Word._ Yea, the very _Mountains and Hills, Trees, Beasts, and all Cattle,

creeping Things, and flying Fowl._ But in a particular manner, all the

Ranks and Orders, all the Ages and Sexes of Mankind are charged with

this Duty; _Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for his Name alone is

excellent; his Glory is above the Earth and Heavens_, ℣. 13.

And great Reason there is we should be excited to true and unfeigned

Thankfulness and Praise[b] to this our great Benefactor, if we reflect

upon what hath been shewn in the preceding Survey, that the _Creator_

hath done for Man alone, without any regard to the rest of the Creatures,

which some have held were made for the Sake of Man. Let us but reflect

upon the Excellence and Immortality of our Soul; the incomparable

Contrivance, and curious Structure of our Body; and the Care and Caution

taken for the Security and Happiness of our State, and we shall find,

that among the whole Race of Beings, Man hath especial Reason to magnify

the Creator’s Goodness, and with suitable ardent Affections to be

thankful unto him.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Si pauca quis tibi donâsset jugera, accepisse te diceres beneficium:

immensa terrarum latè patentium spatia negas esse beneficium? Si pecuniam

tibi aliquis donaverit,——beneficium vocabis: tot metalla defodit, tot

flumina emisit in æra, super quæ decurrunt sola aurum vehentia: argenti,

æris, ferri immane pondus omnibus locis obrutum, cujus investigandi tibi

facultatem dedit,—negas te accepisse beneficium? Si domus tibi donetur,

in quâ marmoris aliquid resplendeat, ~&c.~ Nam mediocre munus vocabis?

Ingens tibi domicilium, sine ullo incendii, aut ruinæ metu struxit,

in quo vides non tenues crustas——sed integras lapidis pretiosissimi

moles, ~&c.~ negas te ullum munus accepisse? Et cùm ista quæ habes magno

æstimes, quod est ingrati hominis, nulli debere te judicas? Unde tibi

istum quem trahis spiritum? Unde istam, per quam ductus vitæ tuæ disponis

atque ordinas, lucem? ~&c.~_ Senec. de Benef. L. 4. c. 6.

[b] _Tempestivum tibi jam fuerit, qui in hisce libris versaris

considerare, in utram Familiam recipi malis, ~Platonicamne~ ac

~Hippocraticam~, & aliorum virorum, qui Naturæ opera mirantur; an eorum

qui ea insectantur, quod non per Pedes natura constituit effluere

Excrementa._ Of which having told a Story of an Acquaintance of his

that blamed Nature on this Account, he then goes on, _At verò si de

hujusmodi pecudibus plura verba focero, melioris mentis homines meritò

mihi forte succenseant, dicantque me polluere sacrum sermonem, quem

ego _CONDITORIS_ nostri verum Hymnum compono, existimoque in eo veram

esse pietatem,——ut si noverim ipse primus, deinde & aliis exposuerim,

quænam sit ipsius Sapientia, quæ Virtus, quæ Bonitas. Quod enim cultu

conveniente exornaverit omnia, nullique bona inviderit, id perfectissimæ

Bonitatis specimen esse statuo; & hæc quidem ratione ejus Bonitas Hymnis

nobis est celebranda. Hoc autem omne invenisse quo pacto omnia potissimùm

adornarentur, summa Sapientia est: effecisse autem omnia, qua voluit,

Virtutis est invicta._ Galen. de Us. Part. L. 3. c. 10.

CHAP. VI.

_That we ought to pay GOD all due Homage and Worship, particularly that

of the Lord’s Day._

For a Conclusion of these Lectures, the last Thing I shall infer, from

the foregoing Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of _GOD_, shall

be, that we ought to pay _GOD_ all that _Homage_ and _Worship_ which his

Right of Creation and Dominion entitle him unto, and his great Mercies

call for from us. And forasmuch as the _Creator_ appointed, from the

very Creation, one Day in seven to his Service, it will not therefore be

improper to say something upon that Subject: And if I insist somewhat

particularly and largely thereon, the Congruity thereof to the Design of

these Lectures, and the foregoing Demonstration, together with the too

great Inadvertency about, and Neglect of this ancient, universal, and

most reasonable and necessary Duty, will, I hope, plead my Excuse. But

that I may say no more than is necessary on this Point, I shall confine

my self to two things, the _Time_ God hath taken, and the _Business_ then

to be performed.

I. The _Time_ is one Day in seven, and one of the ancientest Appointments

it is which _GOD_ gave to the World. For as soon as _GOD_ had finished

his six Days Works of Creation, it is said, _Gen._ ii. 2, 3. _he rested

on the seventh Day from all his Work which he had made. And _GOD_ blessed

the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from

all his Work._ This Sanctification[a], and blessing the Seventh Day, was

setting it apart, as a Day of Distinction from the rest of the Week-Days,

and appropriating it to holy Uses and Purposes, namely, the Commemoration

of that great Work of the Creation, and paying Homage and Worship to that

infinite Being, who was the Effector of it.

This Day, thus consecrated from the Beginning, for the Celebration of the

τοῦ κόσμου γενέσιον the _World’s Birth-Day_, as _Philo_ calls it, was

probably in some measure forgotten in the following wicked Ages, which

God complains of, _Gen._ vi. 5. and so after the Flood likewise. But

after the Return out of _Ægypt_, when _GOD_ settled the _Jewish_ Polity,

he was pleased to renew this Day, and to establish it for a perpetual

standing Law. And accordingly it was observed down to our blessed

_SAVIOUR_’s Time, countenanced, and strictly observed by our great _LORD_

and Master himself, and his Apostles and Disciples in, and after his

Time; and although for good Reasons the Day was changed by them, yet a

seventh Day hath been constantly observed in all Ages of Christianity,

down to our present Time.

Thus we have a Day appointed by _GOD_ himself, and observed throughout

all Ages, except some few perhaps, which deserve not to be brought into

Example.

And a wise Designation of Time this is, well becoming the divine Care

and Precaution; serving for the recruiting our Bodies, and dispatching

our Affairs, and at the same Time to keep up a Spiritual Temper of Mind.

For by allowing six Days to labour, the Poor hath Time to earn his

Bread, the Man of Business Time to dispatch his Affairs, and every Man

Time for the Work of his respective Calling. But had there been more,

or all our Time allotted to Labour and Business, and none to rest and

recruit, our Bodies and Spirits would have been too much fatigued and

wasted, and our Minds have been too long engaged about worldly Matters,

so as to have forgotten divine Things. But the infinitely wise Ruler of

the World, having taken the seventh Part of our Time to his own Service,

hath prevented these Inconveniencies; hath given a Relaxation to our

selves; and Ease and Refreshment to our wearied Beasts, to poor fatigued

Slaves, and such as are under the Bondage of avaritious, cruel Masters.

And this is one Reason _Moses_ gives of the Reservation and Rest on the

Seventh Day, _Deut._ v. 13, 14, 15. _Six Days shalt thou labour, and do

all thy Work; but the Seventh is the Sabbath of the _LORD_ thy _GOD_; in

it thou shalt not do any Work, thou, ~nor thy Children, Servants, Cattel,

or Stranger~, that thy Man Servant and Maid Servant may rest as well as

thou. And remember, that thou wast a Servant, ~&c.~ therefore the Lord

thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath Day._ That carnal, greedy

People, so bent upon Gain, without such a Precept, would have scarce

favoured their own Bodies, much less have had Mercy upon their poor

Bonds-men and Beasts, but by this wise Provision, this great Burden was

taken off. But on the other hand, as a longer Liberty would too much have

robbed the Master’s Time, and bred Idleness, so by this wise Provision,

of only one Day of Rest, to six of Labour, that inconvenience was also

prevented.

Thus the wise Governour of the World, hath taken Care for the Dispatch of

Business. But then as too long Engagement about worldly Matters, would

take off Mens Minds from God and divine Matters, so by this Reservation

of every Seventh Day, that great Inconvenience is prevented also; all

being then bound to worship their great Lord and Master, to pay their

Homages, and Acknowledgments to their infinitely kind Benefactor; and

in a word, to exercise themselves in divine, religious Business, and so

keep up that spiritual Temper of Mind, that a perpetual, or too long

Application to the World would destroy.

This, as it was a good Reason for the Order of a Sabbath to the _Jews_;

so is as good it Reason for our Saviour’s Continuance of the like Time in

the Christian Church.

And a Law this is, becoming the infinitely wise Creator and Conservator

of the World, a Law, not only of great Use to the perpetuating the

Remembrance of those greatest of God’s Mercies then commemorated, but

also exactly adapted to the Life, Occasions, and State of Man; of Man

living in this, and a-kin to another World: A Law well calculated to

the Dispatch of our Affairs, without hurting our Bodies or Minds. And

since the Law is so wise and good, we have great Reason then to practise

carefully the Duties incumbent upon us; which will fall under the

Consideration of the

II. Thing I proposed, the _Business_ of the Day, which God hath reserved

to himself. And there are two Things enjoyned in the Commandment, a

_Cessation_ from Labour and worldly Business, and that we _remember to

keep_ the Day holy.

1. There must be a Cessation from worldly Business, or a Rest from

Labour, as the Word _Sabbath_[b] signifies. _Six Days thou shalt do all

thy Work, but the Seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy _GOD_ ~(not thy

Day but his)~ in which neither thou, nor any belonging to thee, shall

do any Work._ In which Injunction it is observable, how express and

particular this Commandment is, more than others, in ordering all Sorts

of Persons to cease from Work.

2. We must _remember to keep the Day holy_. Which _Remembrance_ is

another Thing also in this, more than in the other Commandments, and

implies,

_1st_, That there is great Danger of our forgetting, neglecting, or being

hindred from keeping the Day holy, either by the Infirmity and Carnality

of our own Nature, or from the Avocations of the World.

_2ly_, That the keeping it holy, is a Duty of more than ordinary

Consequence and Necessity. And of greatest Consequence this is,

_First_, To perpetuate the Remembrance of those grand Works of _GOD_

commemorated on that Day; in the first Ages of the World, the Creation;

in the middle Ages, the Creation and Delivery from _Ægypt_; and under

Christianity, the Creation and Redemption by Christ. Which Mercies,

without such frequent Occasions, would be ready to be forgotten, or

disregarded, in so long a Tract of Time, as the World hath already stood,

and may, by God’s Mercy still stand.

_Secondly_, To keep up a spiritual Temper of Mind, by those frequent

weekly Exercises of Religion, as hath been already mention’d.

_Thirdly_, To procure _GOD_’s Blessing upon the Labours and Business of

our six Days, which we can never expect should be prosperous, if we are

negligent of _GOD_’s Time. For how can we expect _GOD_’s Blessing upon

a Week so ill begun, with a Neglect, or Abuse of _GOD_’s first Day? And

therefore if we become unprosperous in the World; if Losses, Troubles or

Dangers befall us, let us reflect how we have spent the _Lord’s_ Day;

whether we have not wholly neglected it, or abused it in Riot, or made it

a Day for taking Journeys, for more private Business, and less scandalous

Labour, as the Custom of too many is.

Thus having shewn what Reason there is to _remember_ to keep holy the

Day dedicated to _GOD_, I shall consider how we are to keep it holy,

and so conclude. Now the Way to keep it holy, is not by bare resting

from Work; for that, as a Father saith, is _Sabbatum Boum & Asinorum, a

Sabbath of Beasts_: But holy Acts are the proper Business for a holy Day,

celebrated by rational Beings. Among all which, the grand, principal,

and most universally practis’d, is the _Publick Worship of _GOD_, the

assembling at the _publick Place_ of his _Worship_, to pay (with our

Fellow-Creatures) our Homages, Thanks, and Praises to the infinite

_Creator_ and _Redeemer_ of the World. This as it is the most reasonable

Service, and proper Business for this Day, so is what hath been the

Practice of all Ages. It was as early as _Cain_ and _Abel_’s Days, _Gen._

iv. 3. what was practis’d by religious Persons in the following Ages,

till the giving of the Law; and at the giving of that, God was pleas’d

to order Places, and his particular Worship, as well as the seventh

Day. The Tabernacle and Temple were appointed by God’s express Command;

besides which, there were Synagogues all over the Nation; so that in our

Saviour’s Time, every great Town or Village had one, or more in it, and

_Jerusalem_ 460, or more[c].

The Worship of these Places, our blessed SAVIOUR was a constant and

diligent frequenter of. ’Tis said, _He went about all the Cities and

Villages, Teaching in their Synagogues, and Preaching, and Healing,

~&c.~_ _Mat._ ix. 35. And St. _Luke_ reporteth it as his constant Custom

or Practice, _Luke_ iv. 16. _And as his Custom was, he went into the

Synagogue on the Sabbath-Day._

Having thus mention’d the Practice of CHRIST, it is not necessary I

should say much of the Practice of his _Apostles_, and the following

purer Ages of Christianity, who, in short, as their Duty was, diligently

follow’d their great Master’s Example. _They did not think it enough

to read and pray, and praise God at Home, but made Conscience of

appearing in the publick Assemblies, from which nothing but Sickness and

absolute Necessity did detain them; and if Sick, or in Prison, or under

Banishment, nothing troubled them more, than that they could not come to

Church, and joyn their Devotions to the common Services. If Persecution

at any Time forc’d them to keep a little Close; yet no sooner was there

the least Mitigation, but they presently return’d to their open Duty, and

publickly met all together. No trivial Pretences, no light Excuses were

then admitted for any ones Absence from the Congregation, but according

to the Merit of the Cause, severe Censures were pass’d upon them, ~&c.~_

to express it in the Words of one of our best Antiquaries[d].

The _publick Worship_ of GOD then, is not a Matter of Indifference, which

Men have in their own Power to do, or omit as they please; neither is

it enough to read, pray, or praise God at Home, (unless some inevitable

Necessity hindereth;) because the appearing in GOD’s Home, on _his_

Day, is an Act of _Homage_ and _Fealty_, due to the CREATOR, a _Right

of Sovereignty_ we pay him. And the with-holding those Rights and Dues

from GOD, is a kind of rejecting GOD, a disowning his Sovereignty, and

a withdrawing our Obedience and Service. And this was the very Reason

why the Profanation of the Sabbath was punish’d with Death among the

_Jews_, the Sabbath being a Sign, or Badge of the _GOD_ they own’d and

worshipp’d.[e] Thus _Exod._ xxii. 13. _My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for

it is a SIGN between me and you, throughout your Generations; that ye

may know that I am the LORD, that doth sanctify you_; or as the Original

may be render’d, _a Sign to acknowledge, that I ~Jehovah~ am your

Sanctifier_, or _your God_: For as our learned _Mede_ observes, _to be

the Sanctifier of a People, and to be their God, is all one_. So likewise

very expressly in _Ezek._ xx. 20. _Hallow my Sabbaths, and they shall

be a Sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your

GOD_; or rather as before, _to acknowledge that I JEHOVAH am your GOD_.

The Sabbath being thus a Sign, a Mark, or Badge, to acknowledge God

to be their God, it follows, that a Neglect or Contempt of that Day,

redounded to GOD; to slight that, was slighting God; to profane that, was

to affront God; for the Punishment of which, What more equitable Penalty

than Death? And although under Christianity, the Punishment is not made

Capital, yet have we no less Reason for the strict Observance of this

holy Day, than the _Jews_, but rather greater Reasons. For the GOD we

worship, is the same: If after six Days Labour, he was, by the Seventh,

own’d to be _GOD_, the _Creator_; no less is he by our Christian Lord’s

Day: If by the Celebration of the Sabbath, the Remembrance of their

Deliverance from the _Ægyptian_ Bondage was kept up, and GOD acknowledged

to be the Effecter thereof; we Christians have a greater Deliverance, we

own our Deliverance from Sin and Satan, wrought by a greater Redeemer

than _Moses_, even the blessed JESUS, whose Resurrection, and the

Completion of our Redemption thereby, was perform’d on the Christian

Lord’s-Day.

And now to sum up, and conclude these Inferences, and so put an End to

this Part of my Survey: Since it appears, that the Works of the LORD

are so great, so wisely contriv’d, so accurately made, as to deserve

to be enquired into; since they are also so manifest Demonstrations

of the Creator’s Being and Attributes, that all the World is sensible

thereof, to the great Reproach of Atheism: What remaineth? But that we

fear and obey so great and tremendous a Being; that we be truly thankful

for, and magnify and praise his infinite Mercy, manifested to us in

his Works. And forasmuch as he hath appointed a Day on Purpose, from

the Beginning, for these Services, that we may weekly meet together,

commemorate and celebrate the great Work of Creation, that we may pay

our Acts of Devotion, Worship, Homage and Fealty to him; and since this

is a wise and excellent Distribution of our Time, What should we do, but

conscientiously and faithfully pay GOD these his Rights and Dues? And as

carefully and diligently manage GOD’s Time and Discharge his Business

then, as we do our own upon our six Days; particularly that with the

pious _Psalmist_, _We love the Habitation of God’s House, and the Place

where his Honour dwelleth_; and therefore take up his good Resolution in

_Psal._ v. 7. with which I shall conclude; _But as for me, I will come

into thine House in the Multitude of thy Mercy, and in thy Fear will I

worship towards thy holy Temple._

Now to the same infinite _GOD_, the omnipotent Creator and Preserver

of the World, the most gracious Redeemer, Sanctifier, and Inspirer of

Mankind, be all Honour, Praise and Thanks, now and ever. _Amen._

[Illustration]

FOOTNOTES:

[a] ‎‏קדש‏‎ _Usibus divinis accommodavit, à communi & profano usu

segregavit, in usum sacrum ad cultum Dei destinavit._ Kirch. Concord. p.

1336. _Destinari ad aliquid, Sacrari, ~&c.~_ Buxtorf. in Verbo.

[b] ‎‏שבת‏‎ _Cessatio_, _Requies_.

[c] Vid. _Lightfoot_’s Works, Vol. 2. p. 35. _and_ 646.

[d] Dr. _Cave_’s _Prim. Christ._ Par. 1. c. 7.

[e] At this Day it is customary for Servants to wear the Livery of their

Masters, and others to bear Badges of their Order, Profession, Servility,

_&c._ So in former Ages, and divers Countries, it was usual to bear

Badges, Marks and Signs on divers Occasions. In _Ezek._ ix. 4. _A Mark

was to be set on the Forehead of those that lamented the Abominations

of the City_. The like was to be done upon them in _Rev._ vii. 3. and

ix. 4. So the Worshippers of the Beast, _Rev._ xiii. 16. were to receive

a χάραγμα, _A Mark in their right Hind, on their Foreheads_. Those

χαράγματα, Σφραγίδες, _Badges_, &c. were very common. Soldiers and Slaves

bare them in their Arms or Foreheads; such as were matriculated in the

_Heteriæ_, or Companies, bare the Badge or Mark of their Company; and

whoever listed himself into the Society of any of the several _Gods_,

received a χάραγμα, or a Mark in his Body, (commonly made with red-hot

Needles, or some burning in the Flesh,) of the God he had listed himself

under. And after Christianity was planted, the Christians had also

their _Sign of the Cross_. And not only Marks in their Flesh, Badges

on their Cloaths, _&c._ were usual; but also the Dedication of Days to

their imaginary Deities. Not to speak of their Festivals, _&c._ the

Days of the Week were all dedicated to some of their Deities. Among

the _Romans_, Sunday and Monday, to the _Sun_ and _Moon_; Tuesday to

_Mars_, Wednesday to _Mercury_, &c. So our _Saxon_ Ancestors did the

same; Sunday and Monday, (as the _Romans_ did,) to the _Sun_ and _Moon_;

Tuesday to _Tuysco_; Wednesday to _Woden_; Thursday to _Thor_; Friday to

_Friga_; and Saturday to _Seater_: An Account of which Deities, with the

Figures under which they were worshipp’d, may be met with in our learned

_Verstegan_, Chap. 3. p. 68.

[Illustration: Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 4.

Fig. 3. Cornu Alexand. Mag. quo Exercit. ad 100 Stad. coegit Fig. 5. Fig.

6. Fig. 7.

Fig. 8. Fig. 9.

Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Fig. 13.

Fig. 14. Fig. 15.

Fig. 16. Fig. 17.

Fig. 18. Fig. 23. Fig. 19.

Fig. 20.

Fig. 21. Fig. 22.

Place this to fold out at the End fronting the left hand.]

TABLE

OF THE

Principal Matters contain’d in this

BOOK.

Abstinence unusual, 211

Age of Man in all Ages of the World, 172

Aged Persons, 173

Ages of Learning and Ignorance, 272

Air, 4

Innate, 121

Necessary to Vegetable-Life, 9

Vessels in Vegetables, 406

Bladder of Fishes, 402

Pump, Experiments in it, 5

Use in enlightning the World, 12

Heat under the Line, and in Lat. 81., 13

Alce and Machlis, 317

Aloe Americana, 420

Amphibious Creatures, 157

Anatomy comparative , 318

Anger, 307

Animals in general, 84

In Particular, 260

Places destroy’d by vile ones, 56

Animalcules of the Waters, 186, 187, 401

In Pepper-Water, 368

Ant, 212, 371

Antipathy, 135

Aqueous Humour of the Eye repair’d, 106

Arabians, 273

Archytas’s Dove, 256, 276

Art and Nature compar’d, 426

Armature of Animals, 238

Arteries, 301

Arts, by whom invented, 276

Ascent of Liquors, 52

Asclepiades, 160, 190, 430

Aspera Arteria in Birds, 341

Ass free from Lice, 377

Atmosphere, 4

Attraction, 32, 40, 52

Auditory Nerves, 128

Augustus Cæsar’s Height, 209

Augustus King of Poland, 291

Austrian-Wells, how made, 76

Ἀυτάρκεια, 422

Back-bone, 160

Badges, their Antiquity, 442

Balance of Animals, 168

Balls on Vegetables, 234, 387

Bat, 8, 316

Beaver, 316

Bees, 232, 240

Beetles, 363

Bejuco-Tree, 423

Bembsbury-Camp, 64

Birch-Tree, 223

Birds, 333

Bills, 192, 341, 344

Boyancy, 9, 346

Ears, 124, 342

Incubation, 352

A wonderful Instinct of one, 232

Migration, 347

Motion, 164

Necks and Legs, 165, 346

Rapacious, 256

Stomachs, 345

Births, Burials, &c., 174

Blood, its Contrivance, 201, 329

Blood-Hound, 204

Blushing, how caused, 307

Bohaques, 212

Bonasus, 242

Bones structure, &c., 159, 294, 300

Brachmans, 269

Brain, 319

Branches of Vegetables, 418

Bread, 185

Breasts, 255

Breath short on high Mountains, 6

Bredon-hill, 64

Breezes, Sea and Land, 18, 19

Briar-Balls, 390

Brutes out-do Man in some Things, 80, 85

Bulbous Plants, 411

Butterflies Colours, 365

White ones, 370, 376

Cabbage Excrescences, 249

Cadews, 234

Camel, 324

Canales Semicirculares, 127

Capillary Plants have Seed, 410

Cardamine, 414

Carotid Arteries, 321

Carps, 7

Cartes vindicated, 271

Cassada Plant, 58

Cases on Willow and other Vegetables, 387

Castor, 198, 316

Caterpillars, 241, 395

Caves bellowing, 130

Goutieres and others, 64, 67

Celandine, 420

Chamæleon, 91, 240

Chance, 189, 194, 313, 435

Cheop’s Height, 290

Chickens, 210

Children numerous, 178

China, 279

Chyle, 200

Circulation of the Blood restor’d, 146

Claspers, 419

Clocks Variation under the Æquinoctial, 39

Clock-work, its Invention, 235

Cloathing of Animals, 214

Clouds, 20, 49, 74

Cold, how provided against in the northern Regions, 217

Colours felt, 143

Colymbi, 355

Combs of Bees, &c., 232

Coneys, 229

Consent of Parts, whence, 305

Cormorants Eye, 104

Cortex Peruvianus, 421

Countenance, whence its variation arises, 308

Cranes, 208

Cricket, 365

Mole, 233, 365

Crocodile, 238, 243

Cross-Bill, 193

Crow, 307

Crystalline Humour, 104

Cuntur of Peru, 169

Cup of a Pepper Corn, 367

Dandelion, 412

Dangerous Things not easily discover’d, 266

Daniel, 270

Day and Night, 45

Days of the Week, 436

Dead Persons found in the same Posture as alive, 24

Deaf Persons cured by a Fever, 304

Understand by the Motion of the Lips, 113

Hear by the Help of a Noise, 126

Death-Watch, 59

Deer, Worms in their Heads, 379

Degree, its Measure, 43

Descent of heavy Bodies, 32

Destruction of Places by vile Animals, 55

Dialects, 309

Diamonds grow, 64

Diastole of the Heart, 147

Digestion, 189

Diseases sometimes useful, 304

Distribution of the Earth and Waters is well, 47

Dittany, 420

Divers, 132

Dog-Fish, 209

Dogs, 197, 204

Dolphin, 238

Douckers, 355

_Drebell’s_ submarine Ship, 5

Drink afforded by Plants, 422

Dromedary, 199, 324

Drowned Persons reviving, 155

Ducklings naturally run to the Water, 168, 188

Ducks Bills, 193, 205

Dugs, 255

Dung a guard to Animals, 242

Eagle, 206, 230, 347

Wooden one of _Regiomontanus_, 276, 356

Ear, outer in divers Animals, 115, 117

inward, 120

in the Womb, 120

Consent with other Parts, 128

Effects of its Loss, 118

Muscles, 119

Wax, 121

Earth-worm, 223, 393, 399

Earwig, 365

Eels, 203

Eggs, 351

Cicatricula and Treddles, 352

Of Insects well laid up, 382

due Number laid, 252

Egypt famed for Art, 269

Elephant, 256, 316, 323

Elephantiasis, 398

Queen _Elizabeth_’s Height, 290

Elk, 316

Elm Leaves, a Scarab bred therein, 250

Ephemeron, 182, 234, 247

Epicurus, 160, 190

Erect Vision, 111

Evaporations, 35

how caused, 48

Excellence of God’s Works, 425

Eye, 87

of Birds and Fishes, 103

Monocular, 93

Shining or Feline, 101

Wounds of it cured, 106

Eye-lids, Structure, &c., 107

Face, 308, 309

Farcy cured, 58

Fearful Animals couragious when they have Young, 208, 254

Feathers, 221, 334, 336

Feeding the Young, 255

Feeling, 142

Fern-seed, 410, 414

Feet, 163, 206, 233, 338

Figure of Man’s Body, 288

Fingers, 283

Fishes Agreement with Birds, 103, 341, 402

Boyancy whence, 10

Lowsy, 378

Motion, _&c._, 402

Teeth, 195

Flowers, 407

Flesh-fly, _&c._, 248

Fly of Iron, 276

Flying, 338

Of Man, 267, 337

Fœtus, Blood’s Circulation in it, 153

Folding of Leaves and Flowers, 407

Food of Animals, 179, 254

Fool, Observables in one opened, 329

Foot, 285, 316

Foramen Ovale, 154, 157, 326

Fossiles, 63

Fountains where found, 65

Origine, 23, 25, 51, 75

Fox, 204

Frœdlicius’s Observations on Mount _Carpathus_, 131

Frogs, 163, 325

Rain, 245

The great Frost, 218

Fruits, where Insects hatch, 375

communicate with the Root, 405

Fuci, Fungi, _&c._ and their Seed, 414

_Galen_’s Arguments against Chance, 26, 428, 430

his Hymns to God, 425, 434

Galli Sylvestres, 212, 229

Galls, 388

Gascoigne Knight, 134

Gems, and Stories of them, 311

of Vegetables, 407

Generation, 244, 245

Æquivocal, 244, 380

Of Insects, 374

Genius of Man, 264

Giants, 289

Gifts of Man are of God, 263, 268

to be improved, 281

Gills of Fishes, 402

Gizzard, 199, 345

Glama, 242

Glands, 196

Glasses broken with the Voice, 135

Glaucus, 209

Gnat, 191, 367

Generation, 375, 383

Goat tame and wild, 317

Grashoppers, 363

Gratitude from _Seneca_, 432

Gravity, 31

_Green, Anne_, revived after being hanged, 156

Green Scum on the Waters, 187

Grotta delli Serpi, 398

Grottos, 67

Podpetschio, 68

Growth of Grain speedy in the frigid Zone, 184

Gryllotalpa, 233, 365

Guira Tangelma, 232

Gullet, 196

Guns heard afar off, 133

Shot, its Velocity, 28

Guts, 200

Gymnosophists, 269

Habitations of Animals, 226

Hair, 220

Hand, 282, 298

Writing, 308

Hanged Persons reviving, 146

Hang-Nest, 232

Hare, 241

Hawks, 206

Head of Birds, 340

Headless People, 89

Hearing, 113

How perform’d, 124, 342

Heart, 298, 325

Of the Lamprey, 300

Situation in Quadrupeds, 326

Heat Subterraneous, 49

Of the torrid Zone, 17, 50

Of our Bodies, 17

And Cold not Effects, but Causes of the Variations of the Winds, 15

Heavy Bodies descent, 32

Hedge-hog, 239

Hemlock, 58

Heron, 256, 347

Hills run East and West, 74

Hollanders saw the Sun sooner than ordinary near the Pole, 13

Homer ascribes Men’s Endowments to God, 263

Honeywood, Mrs. Mary, 275

Hop-strings Use, 405

Visible Horizon, 283

Hornets, 191, 257

Horse-Fly, 248

Hurtful Creatures few, 170, 252

Hyæna, 205

Hydrocanthari, 363

Jaws, 194

Ichneumon-Fly, 375, 379, 385, 388

Wasp, 371, 384, 385

_Henry Jenkin_’s Age, 173

Ignorant Ages, 272

Imposthume unusually discharged, 302

Incubation, 253, 351

Inclinations of Men, 263

Incus Auris, 123

Infant’s Ear in the Womb, 120

Inferiour Creatures cared for, 58, 213, 258

Insects, 359

Antennæ, 361, 362

Care of their Young, 207, 229, 373

Conveyance from Place to Place singular, 364

Cornea and Eyes, 359

Male and Female how known, 363

Mouth, 189, 193, 233

Nidification, 383

Poises, 366

Sagacity, 369

Shape, 359

Instinct, 203, 214, 229, 231, 237

Intercostal Muscles, 152

Nerves, 328, 330

Invention, 265

of the Ancients, 276

_Job_, 269

Joints, 161

Iron in the Forest of Dean, 63

Islands, why warmer than the Continents, 49

Issue numerous, 178

July, 396

Ivy, 418

Kissing, whence it affects, 306

Knives, _&c._ swallowed and discharged, 302

Labyrinth of the Ear, 127

Lacteals, 200

Lakes, 217

Larynx, 148

Laughter, how caused, 306

Learned Men, 273

Ages, 272

Leaves of Vegetables, 250

Insects bred in them, 250, 376

Legs, 206, 298, 316, 338

Levity, 35

Lice, 377

Life in Vacuo, 8

in compressed Air, 5

its Length, 172

Cause of long Life, 173

Proportion to Death, 176

Light, 12, 26

its Velocity, 28, 29

Expansion and Extent, 30

Likeness of Men, 308

Lion’s Bones, 318

Listning, what it doth, 126

Long-tail’d Titmouse, 231

Lord’s-Day, 435

Why Capital among the Jews to prophane it, 443

Lungs, 145, 150

Full of Dust, 151

of Birds, 346

Luxury, 310

Maggots in Sheeps Noses, Cows Back, _&c._, 378

Magnet, 274

Magnus Orbis, 33

Males and Females Proportions, 175

Malleus auris, by whom discovered, 123

Man, 270

Whether all Things made for him, 55

_Mandeville_, Sir _John_, 89

Mansor, 278

Marsh-Trefoil, 421

Marriages, Births and Burials, 174

Mastication, 196

Medicine, 57, 420

Local, 421

Memory, 262

Metallick Trades, by whom invented, 266

Mice, 212, 220

Migration of Birds, 347

Milk, 255

Minerals and Metals grow, 63

Misseltoe, 415

Mole, 8, 92, 199, 205, 319

Ear, 116

Money, 311

Moths Colours, 365

Motion of Animals, 158

of the Terraqueous Globe, 43

Motory-Nerves of the Eye, 106

Mountains and Valleys, 70

Their Riches and Poverty, 75

Mouth, 189

Whence affected by the Sight, 307

Muscles, 158, 294, 298

Æquilibrations of those of the Eye, 96

Triangular, 153

Musick, by whom invented, 266

Effects, 134

Mustard Seed, 411

Neck of Beasts, 322

Nerves in Birds Bills, 205, 344

Different in Man and Beasts, 328, 330

Fifth Pair, 306

Water-Newt, 163

Nictitating Membrane, 109

Nidification, 232

Nidiots or Niditts, 191

Nocturnal Animals Eyes, 100

Northern Nations, speedy Growth of Vegetables there, 184

Provisions against their Cold, 217

Nostrils, 137

Noxious Creatures, 56, 82, 252

Remedies against them, 57

Nutmegs, 416

Oak-Apples and Galls, 388

Objects, how painted on the Retina, 111

Observatory at _Pekin_ in _China_, 279

Odours, 137

Old Persons, 172

Opium, 421

Opossum, 206, 208

Original of Nations and Arts, 276

Orkney Islands, 218

Os Orbiculare, by whom discovered, 124

Ostrich, 259, 353, 354

Ottele’s Age and Beard, 173

Otter, 316

Oyl-Bag, 334

Parrots, 192

Æthiopian, 208

Par Vagum, 328

Passions and Affections, 330

Pectinated Work in Birds Eyes, 103

Pectoral Muscles, 337

Pendulums Variation under the Line, 39

Pericardium in Man and Beasts, 285, 327

Perpetual Motion, 267

Perspiration insensible, 219

Phaeton in a Ring, 367

Phalænæ, Generation of some of them, 225, 376

Pharmacy, 57

Phryganeæ, 234

Pigeons Incubation, 253

Pimpernel Flowers, 412

Place of Animals, 166

Plague, its Cause, 16

Prevented or cured by the Winds, _ibid._

Sore discharged unusually, 302

Planets Motion round their Axes, 33

Figure, 39

Plants, no Transmutation of them, 409

Poysonous, 58

Plexus Cervicalis, 328

Plumb-Stones, the Danger of swallowing them, 302

Poising of the Body, 281

Polygamy unnatural, 175

Posture of Man, 281

Poyson, 397

Preening and Dressing of Birds, 334

Printing, its Invention, 275, 278

Pronunciation, 309

Propagation of Mankind, 174

Providence divine, Objections against it answer’d, 55

Pulices Aquatici, 186

Pumps, cause why Water riseth in them, 11

Pupil of the Eye, 99, 100

Pythagoras, 269

Quadrupeds, 315

Quail Migration and Strength, 350

Rain, how made, 20

Its Use, ibid.

Most about the Æquinoxes, 22