Chapter 9—God in Nature
While the Bible should hold the first place in the education of
children and youth, the book of nature is next in importance. God’s
created works testify to his love and power. He has called the world
into being, with all that it contains. God is a lover of the beautiful;
and in the world which he has fitted up for us, he has not only given
us everything necessary for our comfort, but he has filled the heavens
and the earth with beauty. We see his love and care in the rich fields
of autumn, and his smile in the glad sunshine. His hand has made the
castle-like rocks and the towering mountains. The lofty trees grow at
his command; he has spread earth’s green velvet carpet, and dotted
it with shrubs and flowers. Why has he clothed the earth and trees
with living green, instead of a dark, somber brown? Is it not that they
may be more pleasing to the eye? And shall not our hearts be filled
with gratitude, as we read the evidences of his wisdom and love in the
wonders of his creation?
The same creative energy that brought the world into existence is
still exerted in upholding the universe and continuing the operations
of nature. The hand of God guides the planets in their orderly march
through the heavens. It is not because of inherent power that year
by year the earth continues her motion round the sun, and produces
her bounties. The word of God controls the elements. He covers the
heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth. He makes the
valley fruitful, and “grass to grow upon the mountains.” It is through
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his power that vegetation flourishes; that the leaves appear, and the
flowers bloom.
The whole natural world is designed to be an interpreter of the
things of God. To Adam and Eve in their Eden home, nature was
full of the knowledge of God, teeming with divine instruction. It was
vocal with the voice of wisdom to their attentive ears. Wisdom spoke
to the eye, and was received into the heart; for they communed with
God in his created works. As soon as the holy pair transgressed the
law of the Most High, the brightness from the face of God departed
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