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Nature Is Guided and Upheld by the Creator, August 15
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God, who
covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes
grass to grow on the mountains.
Psalm 147:7, 8
, NKJV.
Many teach that matter possesses vital power. They hold that certain properties
are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own inherent power; and
that the operations of nature are carried on in harmony with fixed laws that God
Himself cannot interfere with. This is false science, and is sustained by nothing in
the Word of God.
Nature is not self-acting; it is the servant of its Creator. God does not annul His
laws nor work contrary to them; but He is continually using them as His instruments.
Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active agency, that works in, and
through, and above its laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father
and the Son. Said Christ, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
God has finished His creative work, but His energy is still exerted in upholding
the objects of His creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set
in motion continues its work by its own inherent energy that the pulse beats and
breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of the heart, is an evidence
of the all-pervading care of Him in whom we live and have our being.
It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces its
bounties and continues its motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the
planets, and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. It is
through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers
bloom. His word controls the elements, and by Him the valleys are made fruitful.
He covers the heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth; He “maketh
grass to grow upon the mountains.” “He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the
hoarfrost like ashes.” “When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in
the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he
maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.” ...
His care is over all the works of His hands. Nothing is too great to be directed
by Him; nothing is too small to escape His notice.—
The Signs of the Times, March
20, 1884
.
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