and, if science have enlarged its boundaries since the days of the royal poet, its discoveries tend only to confirm the argument, to enlarge the field of contemplation, and to magnify the character of God. We all allow that prophecy, that portion of it especially which terminated in the coming and death of Christ, is more fully understood by us upon whom the ends of the world have come, than it was by the holy men themselves "who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." We do not object to details drawn from prophecy, which go far beyond what these holy men themselves imagined their predictions to contain. And we cannot be blamed, if, availing ourselves of whatever science has established, we go into details upon this subject, and attempt, with all humility, to magnify our God, by dwelling on the discoveries of later ages, which establish and illustrate the sentiments of the psalmist. In the following essay I attempt to describe, in familiar and popular language, the anatomy and physiology of the organs of vision and hearing, and then to draw out those views of the character of God which the subject suggests. Though Paley has already pursued the same line of remark, with a richness of phrase and a perspicuity of style almost unequalled, still the writer thinks that something may be added to his descriptions, which that great man, either from want of practical knowledge in anatomy, or from regarding more copious illustration as unimportant to his argument, did not adduce. My argument is one of a somewhat different structure and bearing. The argument of Paley, as every one knows, is to prove the existence of God, and to infer the charac ter of the Divine Being from the appearance of design observable in all his works; but without reference to revelation as sustaining his proofs. The remarks I am to offer have no such lofty aim; but, assuming the unquestionable certainty of revealed truth, assuming, especially, the existence, the supremacy, and other perfections of the Godhead, I am to take the structure of the organs of sight and hearing as two admirable illustrations of what the great Creator is, in so far as his character may be inferred from his works, mutilated and reft of original excellence, as by the fall they acknowledgedly are. THE ANATOMY OF THE EYE. The most interesting facts are, the position, the means of protection and conservation, the instruments of motion, and the formation of this exquisite organ; an organ which we would almost venture, though with feelings of reverence and humility, to call the chief of all the material works of God. its uses, The position of the eye. To render it subservient to it must be defended with care, and yet be in a conspicuous situation; it must be prominent, and yet be protected; to have the sensibility required, it must be of a delicate construction; and to command the range of visible objects, it must be elevated as much as may be above the ground; and, if thus delicate and thus exposed, much provision must be made for its defence. Accordingly we find this to be the case. It is placed immediately below the forehead, (the roof of the skull stretching to the upper margin of its window,) and as nearly as possible to the brain; possibly, that not a moment may be lost in the communication between the organ and the intellect, the agent and the principal, the part which receives the impression of visible objects and the soul, which, in some mysterious way, is informed by such impressions of what is going on without. The rapidity with which the communication is made baffles all calculation. In reading, for instance, perhaps every letter of every word is separately conveyed in the form of its image to the eye; at all events every word is thus distinctly communicated; for it is manifest, our whole attention is consecutively turned to every word. In reading privately, what a multitude of words are received by the mind in the course of a single minute! Such despatch in bringing and carrying is far beyond what could have been anticipated, if we had first been promised an organ of sight with a general understanding of what such an organ could do for us, and then had received the boon. Fancy never could imagine, with satisfaction to itself, another position for the eye; and it is blasphemy to suppose it could find a better. Even in this matter, we perceive the divine wisdom; and it is exhibited in characters so large and so legible that he who runneth may read. Look next at the provisions made for the defence of the eye. It is lodged in a funnel-shaped cavern of bone, called the orbit. The funnel is composed of portions of seven different bones; three of them belong to the skull, and four belong to the face. The bones of the skull are those of the forehead, constituting the upper margin of the orbit; another bone which is found within the skull, and stretches across, like a shelf, from one temple to the other,--and whose shape has been compared, with some propriety, to a bat with expanded wings, this bone in its course constitutes a segment of NATURAL THEOLOGY. STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN EYE AND EAR. "He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?" Psa. xciv, 9. "THE fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Atheism is at the root of all immorality of life; inasmuch as no man would venture to live in open rebellion against a being of almighty power and infinite wisdom, if he believed himself accountable to such a being, and obnoxious to his wrath. In the sin of every hour there is such a forgetfulness of God as at least amounts to practical infidelity, to a denial, by implication, of his providence, and of his declared purpose to punish the transgressors of his law. The psalmist in the ode before us complains, as his manner is, of the cruelty and triumph of the wicked; and having expatiated on their sin and fearfulness of consequences, on their pride and the apparent impunity of their sin, he turns round to admonish them; there is an eye that sees their sin, and an ear that hears their blasphemy, from which nothing can be hid; for it was God who endued man with a capacity to see and to hear. It will be profitable for us to follow out this appeal to the power, the wisdom, and the providence of God; and, if science have enlarged its boundaries since the days of the royal poet, its discoveries tend only to confirm the argument, to enlarge the field of contemplation, and to magnify the character of God. We all allow that prophecy, that portion of it especially which terminated in the coming and death of Christ, is more fully understood by us upon whom the ends of the world have come, than it was by the holy men themselves "who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." We do not object to details drawn from prophecy, which go far beyond what these holy men themselves imagined their predictions to contain. And we cannot be blamed, if, availing ourselves of whatever science has established, we go into details upon this subject, and attempt, with all humility, to magnify our God, by dwelling on the discoveries of later ages, which establish and illustrate the sentiments of the psalmist. In the following essay I attempt to describe, in familiar and popular language, the anatomy and physiology of the organs of vision and hearing, and then to draw out those views of the character of God which the subject suggests. Though Paley has already pursued the same line of remark, with a richness of phrase and a perspicuity of style almost unequalled, still the writer thinks that something may be added to his descriptions, which that great man, either from want of practical knowledge in anatomy, or from regarding more copious illustration-as unimportant to his argument, did not adduce. My argument is one of a somewhat different structure and bearing. The argument of Paley, as every one knows, is to prove the existence of God, and to infer the charac |