unanimous confpiring to promote and carry on the Publick Good, are evident Demonftrations of His Sovereign Wisdom.
Laftly, They ferve to ftir up and increase in us the Affections and Habits of Admiration, Humility, and Gratitude. Pfal. viii. 3. When I confidered the Heavens the Work of Thy Fingers, the Moon and the Stars which Thou haft ordained: What is Man that Thou art mindful of him, or the Son of Man that Thou vifiteft him? And to thefe Purposes the Holy Pfalmift is very frequent in the Enumeration and Confideration of thefe Works, which may warrant me doing the like, and justify the denominating fuch a Difcourfe as this, rather Theological than Philofophical.
Note That by the Works of the Creation, in the Title, I mean the Works created by God at firft, and by Him conferved to this Day in the fame State and Condition in which they were at first made; for Confervation, according to the Judgment both of Philofophers and Divines, is a continued Creation.
A Guefs at the Number of Terrestrial Bodies, 1. Inanimate, as Stone, Earths, concrete and inconcrete Juices, Metals, and Mi nerals. 2. Animals, Birds, Beafts, Fijhes, and Infects. 3. Plants, Herbs, and Trees 21, 22, 23, 24 Working the fame Effect by divers Means and Inftruments, an Ar- gument of Wisdom. And that God doth this in the Works of the Creation, proved by feveral Examples
25, 26, 27, 28 That the material Works of God are wifely contrived and adapted to Ends both general and particular The Ariftotelean Hypothefis, That the World was Co-eternal with God, condemned The Epicurean Hypothefis, That the World was made by a cafual Concurrence, and Cobefion of Atoms, rejected 31, 32, 33. Their Declination of Atoms justly derided, and their whole Hypothefis ingeniously confuted by Cicero
The Cartefian Hypothefis, That fuppofing God had only created
Matter, divided it into a certain Number of Parts, and put it
into Motion, according to a few Laws, it would of itself have
produced the World without any more ado, confuted in Dr. Cud-
worth's Words
37, &c. to 46
Des Cartes his Affertion, That the Ends of God in any of his
Works are equally undifcovered by us, cenfured and reproved
38, 39, 40, 41
of the Heart
His Opinion concerning the Caufe of the Motion
The Honourable Mr. Boyle's Hypothesis confidered, and pleaded a- gainst The Author's Miftake concerning the Hypothefis of Mr. Boyle, ac- knowledged
SI A Plastick Nature under God, fuperintending and effecting natural Production's Their Opinion that hold the Souls of Brutes to be material, and the whole Animal Body and Soul to be a meer Machine, not a- greeable to the general Senfe of Mankind
54,55,56
Of the vifible Works of God, and their Divifion 57, 58. The Ato-
mick Hypothefis approved
Of terrestrial inanimate fimple Bodies, as Elements commonly fo
called. 1. Fire, its various Ufes 69, 70. Of Air, its Ufe and
Neceffity for Breathing, to all forts of Animals, Aquatick as
well as Terreftrial; nay, in a fort to Plants themselves 71, 72,
73. The Effects and Ufes of its Gravity and Elaftick Qua-
lity
That the Foetus in the Womb hath a kind of Refpiration, and
whence it receives the Air 73, 74, 75
That the Air infinuates itself into the Water for the Refpiration of
Fishes 76, and even into fubterraneous Waters, whence it clears
the Mines of Damps 76, 77. A Plaftick Nature necessary for
putting the Diaphragm and Mufcles for Respiration into Motion
at first
Of Water, its Ufes 78. Of the Sea, and its Tides 79. An Ob-
jection concerning the Needlefnefs of fo much Sea of no Ufe to
Mankind, anfwered. And the Wisdom of God in thus unequally
dividing Sea and Land, manifefted and afferted 80, 81. The
Ufe of Floods
Of inanimate mix'd Bodies. Stones, their Qualities and Ufes 91, 92, 93. Particularly of the Loadftone, its admirable Pha-
nomena, Effects, and Ufes 95. 2. Metals, their various Ufes,
of great Importance to Mankind, as Iron, without which we
could have had nothing of Cultures or Civility: Gold and Sil-
ver for the coining of Money, which bow many ways useful is
Shewn out of Dr. Cockburn's Effays
That the Minute compotent Particles of Bodies are naturally in-
divifible, proved 98,99
Of Vegetables, or Plants, their Stature and Magnitude, Figure,
Shape, and Site of Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits, and their
Parts all determined, as alfo their Age and Duration 100, 101.
The admirable Complication of the Seminal Plant 101, 102.
The Ufes of the feveral Parts of Plants, Roots, Fibres, Vessels,
Barks, and Leaves 103, 104. The Beauty and Elegancy of
the Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits of Plants 105. That there
is fuch a thing as Beauty and Comeliness of Proportion, proved
Birds that cannot number, yet omit not any one of their Young in
feeding of them 117. Though they cannot number, yet that they
can diftinguish many from few, proved 118. The Speedy Growth
of the young Birds in the Neft 119. The Process of building
their Nefts, and Incubation 120. Feeding, breeding, and de-
fending their Young, and the admirable Eropyn, ibid. The
due numerical Proportion between Males and Females, in all
kinds of Animals, kept up conftantly 121. The Convenienty of
the Time of the Year, when the feveral forts of Animals are
brought forth 122. Why Birds Swallow Pebble Stones 130.
The Provifion of Nature for keeping of Birds-Nefts clean 132,
133. Various strange Instincts of Animals 125, 126, 127, &c.
As, that Animals should know where their natural Weapons
are fituate, and how to make use of them. That the Weak
and Timorous fhould be made fwift of Foot or Wing, for Flight.
That they should naturally know their Enemies, and fuch as
prey upon them, though they had never seen them before. That
as foon as they are brought forth, they should know their proper
Food. That Ducklings, though led by a Hen, fo foon as they fee
Water, Should venture into it, the Hen in vain endeavouring
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