The Almighty has not designed that man, even in this his probationary state, should pass through his pilgrimage without experiencing pure pleasures and delights. It is to these that the senses administer, each in its appointed way. The sublimity and the beauty of natural scenery--the grandeur of mountains, forests, and seas--the glory of the sun, moon, and starry expanse above--the works of art, towers, and temples--all these, and more, received into the mind through vision, produce the most delightful emotions. The flowers that strew our pathway, the insects glittering in the sun, the waving cornfields, the grazing cattle, the rustic cottage of the hardy labourer--all combine to fill the soul with pleasure and thankfulness. Can we listen to the roar of waters, to the deep murmur of the wind rushing through the forest, to the song of birds, or the notes of sweet melody, and feel no pleasure--no spirit of praise and gratitude? Is not food sweet to the healthy appetite? Do we not rejoice in our strength, in the use of our limbs, and in our manual address and precision? Are not the perfumes of flowers, the scent of the bean-field, of the bower of honey-suckle, of the new-mown hay, delicious? Is not the earth full of riches? Has not the Creator adapted it to our pleasures, as well as our necessities, and endowed us with every sense requisite for enjoyment? How delightful to the Christian--how doubly enjoyed by him is nature in all her phases, in all her manifestations, in all her variety! To him nothing is uninteresting, from the mightiest creature to the animalcule, from the cedar to the humble weed; and reflecting that knowledge stores his mind, and pleasure gladdens, refreshes, and animates him, through each respective medium; and delighting in life, and life's enjoyments, he praises God for every bodily and mental endowment, and for all the glorious works which his hands have created--works which lead him to muse upon that inscrutable wisdom, power, love, and consideration, which the Almighty has displayed in fitting the earth for him as his temporary abode--glorious in its mountains, its plains, its seas, and rivers--glorious in the light of day and the darkness of night--glorious in the air and the clouds, in the lightning and the rainbow; but yet an abode to be exchanged by the believer for one infinitely more glorious, in which sin and pain are unknown, and from which mortality is banished for ever. Transcriber's Notes: Page 65: Contrary to the other sections, section 8. of CHAPTER I. has no header in the original. Footnotes have been moved to directly under the text they refer to. Changes made to the text: Page 19 (table): "Heats" in the right column changed to "Heat" Page 67/68: Added a "." at the end of the footnote Page 153: The original read "CHAPTER V." as heading of the last chapter, this has been changed to "CHAPTER IV." as there are only four chapters.