Astronomy must be a study in Christian schools, in obedience to the call of the Lord, "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth." Isa. 40:26. This will be one of the texts: and the brilliant galaxy of the heavens, with its suns, systems, orbits, and laws, and the literature of the subject, will be the study book. And as the student contemplates the innumerable host, and remembers that God not only knows the collective number of them all, but brings out each one by its own number; that He calls each one by its particular name, and never forgets-not one ever slips His mind or escapes His attention-either its number or its name; and that by this infinite knowledge and this attention that touches the infinitesimal, each one is kept exactly in its orbit and in its time to a spider's web space in ages upon ages--as thus he learns in the study-book and there falls upon his ear the pleading inquiry of the next verse in the Text-book, "Why sayest thou, . . . My way is hid from the Lord, and My judgment is passed over from My God?" he knows that He who calls these all by their names, and thinks upon him, will never forget his name, nor shall he ever fail of the infinite attention.
Another text may be, "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades?" Job 38:31. With that as a text, all the astronomy of the Pleiades will be the study-book. And when the student has covered the field of the Pleiades, and knows what are the sweet attractive influences of the Pleiades, he will know that lie can know, in his own life, the sweet influences of the Spirit of Him who gave sweet influences to the Pleiades ; and that will make him in his place in the order of God what the Pleiades are in their place in the order of God.
He can read also the text, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names." Ps. 147:3, 4. And when he has studied the book of the Pleiades and their sweet influences, and Orion and his bands, and knows that He can "bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, and loose the bands of Orion," he will also know that He can bind up the broken heart and heal the wounded spirit, and loose the bands of sin and evil habits that hold his soul in bondage. He will then be better able to appreciate, and more ready to accept, the call to "Seek Him that maketh the seven stars [the Pleiades] and Orion." Amos 5 :8.
Physical Geography
Physical geography of the sea, as well as of the land, will be a study in all Christian schools: that is the science of the winds and the waves, the atmosphere, the rain, the dew, the ocean tides, the ocean itself. One of the texts may be: "The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits." Eccl. 1:6. With that as the text, the teacher will lead the students into the study-book of the course of the winds as they come out of the north, as they go toward the south, as they whirl about continually, and as they return again according to their circuits. He will lead the students into the books that give the science of the winds, and so will conduct the students along the course of the circuit of the winds. Then the students will know that the wind has a circuit as certainly as the sun a course, and that the gentlest breeze that fans the cheek on a summer's day is wafted by the hand of Him who "causeth His wind to blow," and "maketh the winds His messengers."
Another text may be: "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again." Eccl. 1 :7. That will be the text: the study-book will be whatsoever in the science, the philosophy, and the literature of the subject will give to the student the actual facts, the procedure, and the means by which God, in calling "for the waters of the sea, and" pouring "them out upon the face of the earth" (Amos 5:8), picks up the water from the sea, transports it over the earth, and pours it out again-two hundred and fifty-five cubic miles of water every twenty-four hours: how "He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth," till "by watering He wearieth the thick cloud," and then "maketh lightnings" to pierce the thick cloud "for the rain," causing "it to come, whether for correction, or for His land, or for mercy."
As thus there is studied how God "calleth for the waters of the sea" that He may pour "them out on the face of the earth," the sea itself will be found a wonderful study-book. Why is it that the waters that are called from the sea and poured out upon the face of the earth are perfectly fresh, while the waters of the sea are extremely salt? Why is the sea salt? What wonderful and vital consequences flow from the fact that in the beginning God made the, sea salt instead of fresh? How is it that the greatest rivers of the world, and of water as warm as 86 degrees Fahrenheit, are in the oceans, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific: the one making the soft and beautiful climate of the British Isles, and the other that of the North Pacific Coast of America, while both these regions are in the latitude of bleak and frozen Labrador. How is it that by this mighty river in. the Atlantic alone, there is transported and discharged perpetually a quantity of heat "sufficient to raise mountains of iron from zero to the melting point, and to keep in flow from them a molten stream of metal greater in volume than the waters daily discharged from the Mississippi River"? How is it that in God's calling for the waters of the sea, and pouring them out upon the face of the earth in the form of snow, in producing a quantity of those fragile crystals that a child might easily hold in his hands, there is exerted power sufficient to pick up one of the mightiest of Alpine stone avalanches and toss it to twice the height whence it started?
"In the pursuit of this subject, the mind is led from nature up to the Great Architect of nature; and what mind will the study of this subject not fill with profitable emotions? Harmonious in their action, the air and sea are obedient to law and subject to order in all their movements. When we consult them in the performance of their manifold and marvelous offices, they teach us lessons concerning the wonders of the deep, the mysteries of the sky, the greatness, and the wisdom, and the goodness of the Creator, which makes us wiser and better men. The investigations into the broad spreading circle of phenomena connected with the winds of heaven and the waves of the sea are second to none for the good which they do and the lessons which they teach. The astronomer is said to see the hand of God in the sky; but does not the right-minded mariner, who looks aloft as he ponders over these things, hear His voice in every wave that 'claps its hands,' and feel His presence in every wind that blows? Unchanged and unchanging alone, of all created things, the ocean is the great emblem of its everlasting Creator. 'He treadeth upon the waves of the sea,' and is seen in the wonders of the deep." "The seas lift up their voice," "the waves clap their hands," at the presence of the Lord; and "deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts;" for "The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet."
Botany
Botany must be studied in Christian schools everywhere: however, as already observed, not botany as the term is commonly understood, as a "science" in which the flowers are considered only under an unpronounceable name, in a foreign language, and are torn to pieces to be studied, and each part given another such name. "Not that, but the flowers themselves as they are as made by God, and as they grow, as an expression of the thought of God. One of the texts may be: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." Then, the lily itself, and how it grows-with all the history, the literature, and the science of the lily will be the study-book. That will be the field of study on that text. And for what purpose? Why does Jesus tell us to "consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;" that is, to study the lily?-For the reason stated in that other place where it is written: "Israel ... shall grow as the lily." Christians, even the students themselves, are to grow, under God, as the lily grows. Jesus tells every student to study the lily, to see and know how it grows, so that he may know how he himself is to grow. He is to find in the lily the life and the power of God by which it grows,-the means which God employs in the sunshine, the soil, the dew, and the rain, to cause it to grow,-and the science and philosophy of the growing itself, so that he may know how God will cause him himself to "grow as the lily." Then, every student studying botany that way, only so far as the lily is concerned, will, whenever he sees a lily, get from that lily a lesson direct from God, telling him what God is doing in his life, and what God will put into his life by his believing on Him.
Another text may be: He "shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine." That is the text; and the study-book will be the corn and the vine themselves, in all the science, the philosophy, the literature, and the Scripture that can be found relating to the nature of the corn and the vine. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." "I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman." "Ye are the branches." Thus the corn and the vine will be the study-book for the student who has in the Bible the text, Israel "shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine." Then whenever he sees either corn or vine anywhere, it will speak to him lessons of instruction and experience, in the language of God.
Another thing: It is impossible to "consider" the flowers, the corn, the vine, the trees, "how they grow," without considering them as they grow where they are growing. This takes the student into the garden, the fields, the woods, where by every faculty of his being he can be receiving instruction from the great Teacher. And thus, instead of as a sluggard sitting in a house and studying the dead and dried-up forms of ants, butterflies, and other creeping or flying things which some "scientist" has caught and cruelly impaled alive, teachers and students will be in harmony with the instruction of the divine Teacher: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard." Do not sit and wait lazily for some "scientist" or hired boy to catch the ant and bring it dead to you; do not even be so indolent as to be content with sitting in the house and reading what has been written by some live and sensible person who did "go to the ant." No: go yourself. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways"-not consider especially herself, but "consider her ways-"and be wise." And this which is thus learned from the flowers and trees, from the beasts, the birds, and creeping things, is a deeper knowledge than can be learned from printed books. Collect all the words and shades of meaning in our language on a subject, and yet all this will fall far short of expressing the fulness of thought that is conveyed to the mind and heart when, for instance, the delicate and demure little violet speaks in its own native and divine language to one who understands.
Natural Philosophy
From any part of creation there are open doors inviting the open-eyed student into every other part. An exceedingly pleasing one of these is from botany to natural philosophy. There are flowers which produce no seed, but grow only from the roots of their kind. There are flowers also which have their seeds in themselves after their kind. Of this latter kind is the innocent and chaste snowdrop. "Botanists tell us that the constitution of this plant is such as to require that, at a certain stage of its growth, the stalk should bow its head, that an operation may take place which is necessary in order that the herb should produce seed after its kind; and that, after this fecundation, its vegetable health requires that it should lift its head again and stand erect." And in this delicate balancing of that little flower there is wrapped up the philosophy of gravitation, which is simply the balancing of the universe. For "if the mass of the earth had been greater or less [than it is], the force of gravity would have been different; in that case the strength of fiber in the snowdrop, as it is, would have been too much or too little; the plant could not bow or raise its head at the right time; fecundation could not take place; and its family would have become extinct with the first individual that was planted, because its 'seed' would not have been 'in itself,' and therefore it could not have reproduced itself, and its creation would have been a failure."
Therefore, "philosophy teaches us that, when was created the little snowdrop which in our garden walks we see raising its beautiful head, at 'the singing of birds,' to remind us that 'the winter is over and gone,' the whole mass of the earth, from pole to pole, and from circumference to center, must have been taken into account and weighed, in order that the proper degree of strength might be given to its tiny fibers." And one of the Scripture texts that tell this philosophical truth is Isa. 40:12: "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" The hills are balanced with the mountains, the mountains with the earth, the earth with the waters, with the air, and also with the tiny flower that grows from its bosom, and all with the grand universe throughout.
"God made the earth, the air, and the water; and the whole arrangement of the animal and vegetable kingdoms; just as they are and in exact counterpoise. If it were not so, why was power given to the winds to lift up and transport moisture, and to feed the plants with nourishment? or why was the property given to the sea by which its waters may become vapor, and then fruitful showers or gentle dews? If the proportions and properties of land, sea, and air were not adjusted according to the reciprocal capacities of all to perform the functions required by each, why should we be told that He 'measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance'? Why did He mete 'out the heaven with the span,' but that He might mete out the atmosphere in exact proportion to all the rest, and impart to it those properties and powers which it was necessary for it to have, in order that it might perform all those offices and duties for which He designed it?"
"In contemplating the system of terrestrial adaptations, these researches teach one to regard the mountain ranges and the great deserts of the earth as the astronomer does the counterpoises to his telescope- though they be mere dead weights, they are, nevertheless, necessary to make the balance complete, the adjustments of his machine perfect. These counterpoises give ease to the motions, stability to the performance, and accuracy to the workings, of the instrument. They are 'compensations.'
"Whenever I turn to contemplate the works of nature, I am struck with the admirable system of compensation, with the beauty and nicety with which every department is poised by the others: things and principles are meted out in directions apparently the most opposite, but in proportions so exactly balanced and nicely adjusted that results the most, harmonious are produced. It is by the action of opposite and compensating forces that the earth is kept in its orbit, and the stars are held suspended in the azure vault of heaven. And these forces are so exquisitely adjusted that, at the end of a thousand years, the earth, the sun, the moon, and every star in the firmament, is found to come and stand in its proper place at the proper moment."
This law or system of compensations is called gravitation. The word "gravitation" is derived from the word gravus, signifying "weight." The law of gravitation is the law by which each particle of matter in the universe draws with its full weight upon, attracts, or is balanced with, every other particle. Another Scripture text that tells this truth of natural philosophy, and also defines what gravitation is, is Heb. 1:1-3: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power." This power of the creative and mighty Word of God is the true definition of gravitation. For gravitation is that by which all things are balanced and beld in place: that by which all things are held up. Yet in the field of accepted science alone, that is as far as a student is generally allowed to go. He may ask, What holds all things up? The answer is, Gravitation. He may then ask, What is gravitation? The answer usually is, That which holds all things up: or its equivalent. But that is not a valid answer: it is only asking him to move in a circle, and find no goal. Now, in a Christian school, when it is taught that the law, or system of balances, according to which all things are held up and in their relative places, is gravitation; and then the earnest student honestly asks, But what is gravitation itself? the answer is, The present, immanent power of the living Word of God. In Christian education no student is ever left in a maze, nor is he asked to move in a circle. He is taught to the limit and caused to stand face to face with God, in whom mind and heart find rest and satisfaction as the Fountain of knowledge.