Meditation on the works of Nature. praising the Eternal! O sun, exalt his power, and thou, O moon, proclaim thy almighty author! And you, ye stars, ye brilliant lamps of night, give glory to our God! Ye clouds, which he supporteth in the atmosphere, announce his greatness. He spoke, and ye received existence. Let every thing that exists rejoice in his goodness. Extol his name, all ye inhabitants of the earth. Let the whale from the abysses of the deep praise the Creator. Let the fire proclaim his strength, and the mountains his power; let the vapors as they exhale be an incense ascending to his praise. Let the tempest, which at his command threatens us with destruction, but yet ultimately contributes to our welfare, be an anthem in honor of his might. And you, peaceful flocks, that browze the herbage of the fields, and you, ye trees, laden with his blessings, celebrate the magnificence of our God! Let the strains of the feathered inhabitants of the air, let the industry of the insect that crawls in the dust, let every thing that exists extol his majesty! Great is God, Jehovah ! Let us praise, let us exalt his holy name! The heavens and the earth are full of his glory. AUGUST. MEDITATION ON THE WORKS OF NATURE. FATHER and Creator of the universe, who nourishest and preservest every thing that breathes, how great is thy majesty! What wonders thou unfuldest to the eye of man! It was thy hand that expanded the heavens, and bestudded them with stars! Meditation on the works of Nature. To-day I behold the resplendent sun, whose beams animate all Nature;but to-morrow, perhaps, no more for me shall the woods, the vallies, the meadows resound with the melodious strains of their feathered inhabitants. I feel that I am mortal; the life of man fades like the grass of the field; it withers like the leaf that is separated from the parent branch, Who knows how soon he may hear this awful summons of the Almighty: "Man, return to dust!" When the grave shall have closed upon me, when darkness and silence shall surround me, and worms shall prey upon this mortal frame, what then shall be left me of all the goods of this world? Will they not all be lost to me, even though my utmost desires had been gratified, and unmingled happiness had been my portion here below? O how foolish should I be, were I to place my affections on the perishable goods of the earth, were I to grasp at great riches, were I to aspire to vain honors, and suffering myself to be dazzled by the false splendor of their meretricious charms, were I to admit envy and pride into my heart! If urged forward by my passions, I have pursued those imaginary goods to which I ought not to have aspired, O my God, I humble myself before thee. With perfect resignation I bow to the decisions of thy wisdom. Man, blinded by his pride and presumption, prescribes laws to his Creator; he presumes to an raign the decrees of eternal wisdom. And yet, thou all-powerful friend of man, thou lovest him better than he loves himself, when thy bounty refuses the specious boon which is the object of his desires. Meditation on the works of Nature. When the wings of night have cooled the burning atmosphere of summer, and morning exhibits the smiling face of Nature, begemmed with dewdrops, Wisdom says to me: Why, O mortal, why wilt thou harbor in thy bosom this solicitude respecting futurity? Why wilt thou suffer anxious cares to oppress thy soul? Is not God thy Father, and art not thou his child? Will not he who formed thee keep a watchful eye over his work? The plan of thy existence is not confined to the earth; it extends to heaven. Life lasts but for a moment, and the longest earthly happiness is but a pleasing dream. O man, thou art destined for immortality !" Immortality! transporting thought! thou raisest our souls above the earth, above the universe, above the empire of time. Present thyself to my heart, when, seduced by false phantoms of happiness, it is ready to forsake the path of virtue. The roses which crown the brows of the wicked soon begin to fade; he is disgraced by his vicious pleasures, which are succeeded by remorse. I am but a pilgrim on the earth, and none but immortal joys are worth aspiring after. O thou who delightest to shower blessings on thy creatures, give me a heart that loves only what is good, a heart in which virtue and piety are enthroned. Let others attain worldly grandeur; but graut, O my God, that, content with my lot and faithful to my duty, I may approve myself worthy of the name of a man and a Christian. |