"A thousand hues flush o'er the fragrant earth, This is the season when all things smile and are glad, and, from viewing the whole delightful scene, one would be ready to imagine, that the curse pronounced on the earth for Adam's disobedience, was removed, and there was rising up a new creation. Man, as well as the lowest parts of nature, amply partakes of this new life. His blood acquires a new vigour, the pulse beats high, the vital flame rekindles, and gladness runs through every vein; while visible objects assume an alluring aspect, and every sense is charmed and delighted. If a person, who had never seen the phenomena of nature, were to behold the sun daily declining, both in its course, and in light and heat, for six months, the trees to drop both their fruit and leaves, the meadows to lose their verdure and beauty; would he not think all nature declining, and going to decay? But, if he should afterward see the flowers appear on the earth, the trees again promise their fruit, and the birds welcome the summer's approach, would he not justly be filled with the greatest surprise and wonder? Thus we see the wonderful operations of the hand of Omnipotence in the mighty fabric of the universe. He hung the golden globe of light in the firmament to rule the day, and appointed the silver moon to gild the shadows of the evening The other planets of this system, and systems beyond calculation, are all his work. In this terraqueous ball, the sea, the mountains, the forests, and the valleys, all extol their Creator. The feathered and the finny tribes, the roaming cattle, and the furious beasts of the desert, rank as his creatures, and utter his praise. He collects the waters above, from his heavens he waters the dry valleys with fruitful rains, and spreads the rich covering under our feet, delightfully adorned with variegated flowers. He fans the sultry regions with cooling zephyrs, and refreshes the vast assemblages of his creatures. "O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." ON THE ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE OF MAN. "Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about. Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and fenced me with bones and sinews."-JOB. "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."-DAVID. I AM an inhabitant of this august temple of the universe! One link in the vastly extended chain of beings! The name of man, how awful! how sublime! My own presence arrests my close attention, and engages my active thoughts. The curious formation of the human structure, the large capacity and various powers of the intellectual principle, and the mysterious union existing between these two different and component parts are astonishing subjects for meditation. On viewing the human frame, and considering the simple materials of which it was formed, I cannot but highly admire the graceful symmetry, exquisite beauty, erect structure, and exact proportion! These are adapted to lead the rational soul to a profound veneration of God. How wonderful, that dust should be fashioned into the body of a man! Surely this system is the contrivance of infinite skill, and the effect of almighty power! I look up to the self-existent and eternal Jehovah, the author and giver of life, as the Father of mankind. All my members were written in his book when they had no actual existence; and the excellency of the workmanship clearly demonstrates that a Divine agent has made them. The anatomical structure of the human body is exactly adapted to every purpose of life. Anatomists say, there are two hundred and forty bones in the human body: these form a kind of scaffolding to describe its shape and sustain its weight, as well as to defend its viscera, and give adhesion to its muscles. Bones are hollow; for if solid, man would be much heavier; their hollow form renders them more light, in consequence of which he is more active, and has a greater degree of strength. Some of them are round, others square, flat, pointed, and almost every kind of shape that can be mentioned. The skull is framed with peculiar care, to defend so important a part as the brain from injury. It varies in its thickness, so as to prepare it for resisting danger most completely, at those points from which it may be most expected: anteriorly, and on each side, it is thinner, because we have our hands ready to defend it; but posteriorly, where this guard has not the same facility of operation, it is of considerable thickness. The spine was required to possess two almost inconsistent offices-firmness, to support the erect position of the body; and flexibility, to allow of the bending of the trunk in all degrees of curvature. In addition to this, it was to afford a safe conduit for the passage of the spinal marrow, any derangement in the functions of which, from the slightest compression, being as incompatible with life as pressure on the brain. The peculiar adaptation of the ribs, to enable them to enlarge and diminish the cavity of the thorax, and to protect those vital organs, the heart, lungs, and large blood vessels from injury; the nice mechanism of the shoulder, the elbow, the wrist, the hip, and the knee joints; are highly interesting parts of the human figure. In considering these several joints, there is nothing calls more loudly for sentiments of gratitude to the all-wise Author of my existence, than the reflection how well they wear, playing many hundred times in an hour for sixty years together, with but little diminution of their agility. This durability can only be attributed to the means used to lessen friction, by cartilages, sinovia, and to the astonishing power of the animal constitution, by which every waste is carefully restored and repaired." To put this osseous system into motion, enable it to change its situation, and alter its position, bundles of fibres, of various shapes and directions, denominated muscles, are employed. The bones may be considered as the dead and inert portion of the body, which supports and defends the whole, while its peculiar arrangement and wonderful structure are so nicely adapted to the purposes of motion, that, with the aid of muscles, all the actions of flexion and extension, bending, stooping, grasping, leaping, and walking, are easily and gracefully performed. Had this bony fabric been one solid. mass, no action of muscles could have produced these effects; and, instead of possessing activity, man must have been fixed to the spot, like trees and shrubs, and, like them, depended for his nourishment on the kindness of the soil on which he was planted. When I reflect, that four hundred and fortysix muscles enter into the composition of the human frame, and all so contiguous, crossing and besetting each other in every possible direction, even perforating some, and embedded in others, my admiration of the skill of the Author of such inimitable contrivance must surely be great. And when I consider how he has displayed his infinite perfections, in order to contribute to the happiness of his creatures, sentiments of awe and gratitude ought to be |