And as for this lower World, What Material is here to be found; what kind of Earth, or Stone, or Metal; what Animal, Tree, or Plant, yea, even the very Shrubs of the Field; in a Word, what of all the excellent Variety, the Creator has furnish’d the World with, for all its Uses and Occasions, in all Ages; what, I say, that Man’s Contrivance doth not extend unto, and make some Way or other advantagious to himself, and useful for Building, Cloathing, Food, Physick, or for Tools or Utensils, or for even only Pleasure and Diversion?
But now considering the great Power and Extent of human Invention.
2. There is another Thing, that doth farther demonstrate the Super-intendence of the great Creator, and Conservator of the World; and that is, That Things of great, and absolutely necessary Use, have soon, and easily occurr’d to the Invention of Man; but Things of little Use, or very dangerous Use, are rarely and slowly discover’d, or still utterly undiscover’d. We have as early as the Mosaick History, an Account of the Inventions of the more useful Crafts and Occupations: Thus Gen. iii. 23. Adam was sent forth from the Garden of Eden, by God himself, to till the Ground. And in the next Chapter, his two Sons Cain and Abel; the one was of the same Occupation, a Tiller of the Ground, the other a Keeper of Sheep[h]. And the Posterity of these, are in the latter End of Gen. iv. recorded, Jabal to have been the Father of such as dwell in Tents[]; i.e. He was the Inventor of Tents, and pitching those moveable Houses in the Fields, for looking after, and depasturing their Cattel in the Desarts, and uncultivated World. Tubal-Cain was an Instructer of every Artificer in Brass and Iron[k], or the First that found out the Art of melting, and malleating[l] Metals, and making them useful for Tools, and other necessary Implements. And his Sister Naamah, whose Name is only mentioned, is by some thought to have been the Inventor of Spinning and Cloathing. Yea, the very Art of Musick is thus early ascribed to Jubal[m]; so indulgent was the Creator, to find a Means to divert Melancholy, to cheer the Spirits, and to entertain and please Mankind. But for Things of no Use, or but little Use, or of pernicious Consequence; either they have been much later thought of, and with great Difficulty, and perhaps Danger too, brought to pass; or else they still are, and perhaps will always remain, Exercises of the Wit and Invention of Men.
Of this we might give divers Instances: In Mathematicks, about squaring the Circle[n]; in Mechanicks[o], about the Art of Flying; and in Navigation, about finding the Longitude. These Things, although some of them in Appearance innocent, yea, perhaps very useful, yet remain for the most Part secret; not because the Discovery of most of them is more impossible, or difficult than of many other Things, which have met with a Discovery; nor is it for want of Man’s Diligence therein, or his careful Pursuit and Enquiry after them, (for perhaps, nothing already discover’d hath been more eagerly sought after;) but with much better Reason, (I am sure with greater Humility and Modesty,) we may conclude it is, because the infinitely wise Creator, and Ruler of the World, hath been pleas’d to lock up these Things from Man’s Understanding and Invention, for some Reasons best known to himself, or because they might be of ill Consequence, and dangerous amongst Men.
As in all Probability the Art of Flying would particularly be: An Art which in some Cases might be of good Use, as to the Geographer and Philosopher; but in other Respects, might prove of dangerous and fatal Consequence: As for instance, By putting it in Man’s Power to discover the Secrets of Nations and Families, more than is consistent with the Peace of the World, for Man to know; by giving ill Men greater Opportunities to do Mischief, which it would not lie in the Power of others to prevent; and, as one[p] observes, by making Men less sociable: “For upon every true or false Ground of Fear, or Discontent, and other Occasions, he would have been fluttering away to some other Place; and Mankind, instead of cohabiting in Cities, would, like the Eagle, have built their Nests upon Rocks”.
That this is the true Reason of these Matters, is manifest enough from holy Scripture, and Reason[q] also gives its Suffrage thereto. The Scripture expressly tells us, That every good Gift, and every perfect Gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights, S. James i. 17. Solomon, Prov. ii. 6. saith, The Lord giveth Wisdom; out of his Mouth cometh Knowledge and Understanding. And Elihu is very express, Job xxxii. 8. But there is a Spirit in Man, and the Inspiration of the Almighty giveth them Understanding, Πνοὴ παντοκράτορός ἐστιν ἡ διδάσκουσα, as the LXX render it, The Inspiratus, the Afflatus of the Almighty, is their Instructor, Mistress or Teacher. And in Scripture, not only the more noble, superiour Acts of Wisdom or Science; but much inferiour also, bear the Name of Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding, and are ascrib’d unto GOD. ’Tis well known that Solomon’s Wisdom is wholly ascrib’d unto GOD; and the Wisdom and Understanding which GOD is said to have given him, 1 Kings iv. 29. is particularly set forth in the following Verses, by his great Skill in moral and natural Philosophy, in Poetry, and probably in Astronomy, Geometry, and such other of the politer Sciences, for which Ægypt, and the eastern Nations were celebrated of old[r]: And Solomon’s Wisdom excell’d the Wisdom of all the Children of the east Country, and all the Wisdom of Ægypt. For he was wiser than all Men, than Ethan, &c. And he spake 3000 Proverbs: And his Songs were 1005. And he spake of Trees, from the Cedar to the Hyssop of the Wall, (i.e. of all Sorts of Plants;) also of Beasts, Fowl, creeping Things, and Fishes. So likewise the Wisdom of Daniel, and his three Companions, is ascrib’d unto GOD, Dan. i. 17. As for these four Children, God gave them Knowledge, and Skill in all Learning and Wisdom; and Daniel had Understanding in all Visions and Dreams. And accordingly in the next Chapter, Daniel acknowledgeth and praiseth God. ℣. 20. 21. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the Name of God for ever and ever, for Wisdom and Might are his.——He giveth Wisdom unto the Wise, and Knowledge to them that know Understanding. But not only Skill in the superiour Arts and Sciences; but even in the more inferiour mechanick Art, is call’d by the same Names, and ascrib’d unto GOD: Thus for the Workmanship of the Tabernacle, Exod. xxxi. 2. to ℣. 6. See, I have call’d Bezaleel; and I have fill’d him with the Spirit of God, in Wisdom, and in Understanding, and in all Manner of Workmanship: To devise cunning Works, to work in Gold, Silver and Brass; and in cutting of Stones, to set them; and in carving of Timber, to work in all Manner of Workmanship. So the Spinsters, Weavers, and other Crafts-people, are call’d wise-hearted, Exod. xxxiv. 10. 25. and other Places. And in Exod. xxxvi. 1. &c. the LORD is said to have put this Wisdom in them, and Understanding to know how to work all these Manner of Works, for the Service of the Sanctuary. And lastly, to name no more Instances, Hiram the chief Architect of Solomon’s Temple, is in 1 Kings vii. 14. and 2 Chron. ii. 14. call’d a cunning Man, fill’d with Wisdom and Understanding, to work in Gold, Silver, Brass, Iron, Stone, Timber, Purple, Blue, fine Linen, and Crimson; also to grave, and find out every Device which should be put to him.
Thus doth the Word of God, ascribe the Contrivances and Crafts of Men, to the Agency, or Influence of the Spirit of God, upon that of Man. And there is the same Reason for the Variety of Genii, or Inclinations of Men also; which from the same Scriptures, may be concluded to be a Designation, and Transaction of the same almighty Governour of the World’s Affairs. And who indeed but HE, could make such a divine Substance, endow’d with those admirable Faculties, and Powers, as the rational Soul hath; a Being to bear the great Creator’s Vicegerency in this lower World; to employ the several Creatures; to make Use of the various Materials; to manage the grand Businesses; and to survey the Glories of all the visible Works of God? A Creature, without which this lower World would have been a dull, uncouth, and desolate kind of Globe. Who, I say, or what less than the infinite GOD, could make such a rational Creature, such a divine Substance as the Soul? For if we should allow the Atheist any of his nonsensical Schemes, the Epicurean his fortuitous Concourse of Atoms, or the Cartesian[] his created Matter put in Motion; yet with what tolerable Sense could he, in his Way, produce such a divine, thinking, speaking, contriving Substance as the Soul is; endow’d exactly with such Faculties, Power, and Dispositions as the various Necessities and Occasions of the World require from such a Creature? Why should not rather all the Acts, the Dispositions and Contrivances of such a Creature as Man, (if made in a mechanical Way, and not contriv’d by God,) have been the same? Particularly, Why should he not have hit upon all Contrivances of equal Use, early as well as many Ages since? Why not that Man have effected it, as well as this, some thousands of Years after? Why also should not all Nations, and all Ages[t], improve in every Thing, as well as this, or that Age, or Nation[] only? why should the Greeks, the Arabians, the Persians, or the Ægyptians of old, so far exceed those of the same Nations now? Why the Africans and Americans so generally ignorant and barbarous, and the Europeans, for the most part, polite and cultivated, addicted to Arts and Learning? How could it come to pass that the Use of the Magnet[w], Printing[x], Clocks[y], Telescopes[z], and all hundred Things besides, should escape the Discovery of Archimedes, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Posidonius, or other great Virtuoso’s of the early Ages, whose Contrivances of various Engines, Spheres, Clepsydræ and other curious Instruments are recorded[aa]? And why cannot the present or past Age, so eminent for polite Literature, for Discoveries and Improvements in all curious Arts and Businesses (perhaps beyond any known Age of the World; why cannot it, I say) discover those hidden Quæsita, which may probably be reserved for the Discovery of future and less learned Generations?
Of these Matters, no satisfactory Account can be given by any mechanical Hypothesis, or any other Way, without taking in the Superintendence of the great Creator and Ruler of the World; who oftentimes doth manifest himself in some of the most considerable of those Works of Men, by some remarkable Transactions of his Providence, or by some great Revolution or other happening in the World thereupon. Of this I might instance in the Invention of Printing[bb], succeeded first by a train of Learned Men, and the Revival of Learning, and soon after that by the Reformation, and the much greater Improvements of Learning at this Day. But the most considerable Instance I can give is, the Progress of Christianity, by means of the civilized Disposition, and large Extent of the Roman Empire. The latter of which, as it made way for human Power; so the former made way for our most excellent Religion into the Minds of Men. And so I hope, and earnestly pray, that the Omnipotent and All-wise Ruler of the World will transact the Affairs of our most Holy Religion, e’er it be long, in the Heathen World; that the great Improvements made in the last, and present Age, in Arts and Sciences, in Navigation and Commerce, may be a Means to transport our Religion, as well as Name, through all the Nations of the Earth. For we find that our Culture of the more polite and curious Sciences, and our great Improvements in even the Mechanick Arts, have already made a Way for us into some of the largest and farthest distant Nations of the Earth; particularly into the great Empire of China[cc].
And now, before I quit this Subject, I cannot but make one Remark, by way of practical Inference, from what has been last said; and that is, Since it appears that the Souls of Men are ordered, disposed and actuated by God, even in secular, as well as spiritual Christian Acts; a Duty ariseth thence on every Man, to pursue the Ends, and answer all the Designs of the divine Providence, in bestowing his Gifts and Graces upon him. Men are ready to imagine their Wit, Learning, Genius, Riches, Authority, and such like, to be Works of Nature, Things of Course, or owing to their own Diligence, Subtilty, or some Secondary Causes; that they are Masters of them, and at Liberty to use them as they please, to gratifie their Lust or Humour, and satsifie their depraved Appetites. But it is evident, that these Things are the Gifts of God, they are so many Talents entrusted with us by the infinite Lord of the World, a Stewardship, a Trust reposed in us; for which we must give an Account at the Day when our Lord shall call; according to the parabolical Representation of this Matter by our Blessed Saviour, Matt. xxv. 14.
Our Duty then is not to abuse these Gifts of God, not to neglect the Gift that is in us, not to hide our Talent in the Earth; but as St. Paul exhorteth Timothy, 2 Tim. i. 6. we must stir up the Gift of God which is in us, and not let it lie idle, concealed or dead; but we must ἀναζωπυρεῖν τὸ χάρισμα, blow it up, and enkindle it, as the Original imports; we must improve and employ our Gift to the Glory of the Giver; or in that Ministration, that Use and Service of the World, for which he gave it. Our Stewardship, our Craft, our Calling, be it that of Ambassadors of Heaven, committed to us, as ’twas to Timothy,[dd] by the laying on of Hands; or be it the more secular Business of the Gentleman, Tradesman, Mechanick, or only Servant; nay, our good Genius, our Propensity to any Good, as suppose to History, Mathematicks, Botany, Natural Philosophy, Mechanicks, &c. I say all these Occupations, in which the Providence of God hath engaged Men, all the Inclinations to which his Spirit hath disposed them, ought to be discharged with that Diligence, that Care and Fidelity, that our great Lord and Master may not say to us, as He said to the unfaithful Steward, Luke xvi. 2. Give an Account of thy Stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer Steward; but that he may say, as ’tis in the Parable before cited, Mat. xxv. 21. Well done thou good and faithful Servant, thou hast been faithful over a few Things, I will make thee Ruler over many Things, enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord. Since now the Case is thus, let us be persuaded to follow Solomon’s Advice, Eccles. ix. 10. Whatsoever thy Hand findeth to do, do it with thy Might[ee]: “Lay hold on every Occasion that presents it self, and improve it with the utmost Diligence; because now is the Time of Action, both in the Employments of the Body, and of the Mind; now is the Season of studying either Arts and Sciences, or Wisdom and Virtue, for which thou wilt have no Opportunities in the Place whither thou art going in the other World. For there is no Work, nor Device, nor Knowledge, nor Wisdom in the Grave whither thou goest.”