xxxviii–xli); from his formation and controul of the planets, the ocean, the lightning, the hugest and most terrible of beasts, and so forth; as from his entire and absolute command of the elements (Psalm cxlvii. 15–18) in accomplishing his irresistible decrees. The wisdom of God, including his wondrous contrivance in planning, and skill in executing his works, is seen in the multitudinous varieties of form in the creatures, in the correspondence of part with part, in the perfect adaptation of organs to their uses, in the wonderful and unerring instincts of animals, in their relations to the places which they inhabit, and in the general bearing of the details of creation on the order, stability, and well-being of the whole (See Job xxxviii &c.; Psalm civ. 17–24; cxlvii. 4). The eternity of God may be inferred from the circumstance of creation having been prior to all creature experience (Job xxxviii. 21; Psalm civ. 31); and his immutability from the stable order of the universe; from the unerring regularity of the celestial orbs (Psalm lxxxix. 37 civ. 19; Jeremiah xxxi. 35, 36); and from the constant renewal of the face of nature (Psalm cxlviii. 6). The omnipresence and ever watchful providence of God are in like manner taught us by the constant and universal harmony of the vast machinery of creation (Psalm cxxxix. 7—12). But perhaps the most obvious lesson which we learn from the creatures, at least the animate creatures, as it is the one most frequently insisted on in the Word, is the kindness of God, the benevolence of his character, manifested in his tender care for their comfort, and his rich supply of all their need. It is hardly necessary to cite particular pas-
