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honour_n abundant_a body_n member_n 1,662 5 10.0159 5 true
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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A53952 A discourse concerning the existence of God by Edward Pelling ... Pelling, Edward, d. 1718. 1696 (1696) Wing P1078; ESTC R21624 169,467 442

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Insects and Animals themselves for the use of Men and every Man shou'd be for the service of God Now by this admirable State of things that provident care seems to have been taken from the beginning which the Son of God took at the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes that nothing shou'd be lost John 6. 17. Nothing is quite lost upon the Earth but what one Creature leaves another takes what this kind refuseth another sort gathers so that at the end of the Year Men and Animals constantly make even with the World and spend the Liberality of Nature all waiting on the Providence of a Superiour Being to give them their Meat again in due Season Things indued with Life being thus various and that variety being thus useful as well as entertaining what can a Man's next Thought be but that there is a Glorious God who made his Creatures in Number Measure and Weight not only to display the Exuberance and Transcendency of his Power but also to exemplifie the insinity of his Skill Wisdom and Munisicence And yet I have taken no notice of the variety of things inanimate here below or of their various Dispositions Qualities and Modifications which yet are astonishing Arguments of a Divine Mind that so appositely form'd such a vast multiplicity of Beings according to such innumerable and such beauteous Idea's The diversity of Elements with their various Mixtures and Temperaments in this lower World The attracting penetrating refrigerating Motions of the Air and the various Appearances in it of Rain Hail Snow Thunder Lightnings Clouds Winds Rainbows Comets and other liquid Meteors the variety of Waters as Springs Rivers Lakes Seas Baths their various Colours Smells and Tastes together with their various Courses and Reciprocations the uninvestigable variety within the Earth Quarries Minerals Metals Loadstones Subterraneous Fire Caverns Treasures of Salts Nitres Bitumens Sulphurs precious Stones and Gemms of great variety In short whatever is for the Advantage or Comfort or Pleasure or Ornament of our Lives we fetch out of the Earth in great abundance All these multifarious Creatures speak the Forecast and Providence of a most wise and liberal Being that of his Goodness was pleas'd thus to sill the whole Universe with his Riches This Pulchritude of the World arising from the variety of its Furniture was to Cicero a convincing Argument of the Existence of a God the Perennity of so many Fountains the Delicacy of Streams the Garniture of Banks by the sides of Rivers the vastness of Caves the asperity of Rocks the height of many hanging Mountains the immensity of Champion Countries the hidden Veins of Silver and Gold the infinite store of Marbles the goodliness of Seas the multitude and varieties of Islands the Amenity of Shores and the innumerable diversity of Things by and on the Sea-shores And to say after all that this admirable and delightful Variety happen'd by the casual Motion of blind irrational and unguided Atoms is far more absurd than to say that Cicero's Orations were compos'd by the casual droppings of Ink without the help of any Hands or Brains though they contain such variety of Matter such copiousness of Style such elegancy of Phrase such abundance of Sense Argument and Wit that the whole Air of them shews them to have been contrived and penned by a Man of excellent Art and the acutest Understanding 3. If we cast our Eyes on further yet we may see the beauty of the Creation as by the variety so by the Symmetry and comliness of those things which every where fall under our Contemplation With what admirable Contrivance are the innumerable Tribes of Fishes made to live in a little World by themselves to feed and propagate to swim and play to poize and steer their Bodies in their fluid Element How exquisite is the formation of all the Sensitive Creatures upon the Earth from the Lion and Leopard from the Elephant and Camel to the Ox and Ass What affecting variety of Art is there in the formation of Man O Lord saith David I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works in me and that my soul knoweth right well My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth Thine eyes did see my substance being yet unperfect and in thy Book were all my members written which day by day were fashioned when as yet there were none of them Such knowledge is too wonderful for me it is high I cannot altain unto it Psalm 139. But though the Mystery of God's Workmanship within us be not discoverable by every Eye yet the external Beauty of this House of Clay affecteth all Men especially when Innocence and Goodness are the Inhabitants a goodly Structure of Nerves Veins Arteries Tendons Muscles Vitals Bones Ligaments all cover'd over with a beauteous Skin adorn'd with Features and Lineaments with Shapes and Colours to which the most sullen Stoicks nay the greatest and proudest Heroes have humbly offer'd up themselves not Votaries only but sometimes Sacrifices also What do I speak of the graceful Form of Humane Bodies View the most contemptible Creatures upon Earth and you will find the excellent Curiosity of their Contrivance for the Ends and uses they are design'd unto from the Velvet Mole even to those creeping Animals which strike us with Horrour at the sight of them the Snake the Adder the Evet the Lizzard and the very Toad who have such a Symmetry of Parts such speckled Contextures such beauteous Colours as shew that they stole not into the World without the Will of that provident Being who thought fit to adorn the Universe with great variety But of those ordinary Creatures we familiarly behold there are especially three sorts which for the exquisiteness of their Frame or for the delicacy of their Complexion or for both are no little Ornament to the Creation First Insects which though they are lookt upon as the Refuse parts of the World yet do bear the Signatures of a most accurate Hand and bring to my Mind St. Paul's Observation of the Fabrick and Garniture of our Bodies 1 Cor. 12. The eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you nor again the head to the foot I have no need of you Nay much more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable upon these we bestow the more abundant honour and our uncomly parts have more abundant comliness The meaning is that where Natural Beauty is wanting Artisicial Beauty by handsome Clothes doth make amends In like manner those ignoble Creatures I now speak of how low soever the Divine Hand hath placed them in Rank and Order their want of Honour in respect of their Station is supply'd and made up by the Beauties bestow'd upon them in respect of their Contexture Witness the Gildings of the Wasp the Hornet the Bee and many such-like