Romans 1:20, commentary and pictures

From the creation of the world the unseen realities of God, even his unending power and divine nature, have been plainly perceived and understood through the things he has made. What is made shows his eternal power, greatness and majesty, his love, goodness and care to make his children happy, and his wisdom, skill and beneficent law in all his working. Since sin entered the earth has been marred and blighted, so its present beauty gives only a faint and imperfect reflection of Eden's glory and cannot be rightly read by unaided human reason, but only with the aid of the divine Teacher and Holy Spirit. Nature points beyond itself to a living, personal God distinct from his handiwork, and is not itself to be worshiped, while his personal character is made known still more fully in Christ veiled in humanity. Because God is thus made known, those who hold the truth in unrighteousness are left without excuse, and the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.

Creation's Clear Testimony

The invisible qualities of God, even his eternal power and Godhead, have been clearly seen and understood through the things he made since the creation of the world. The created world makes those unseen realities perceptible, displaying the handiwork of its Creator and giving evidence of his power, goodness, mercy, love and care, with its beauty and life pointing to him. Nature bears this testimony as tokens given to turn attention from nature to nature's God, so that his everlasting power and divine nature may be understood, and nature with the experiences of life makes divine wisdom and grace plain. This witness can be understood aright only through divine revelation and the aid of the Holy Spirit who alone makes the things of God known, and not by unaided reasoning. Though marred by sin and now only a faint reflection of Eden's glory, creation still makes God known, so that those who know him yet refuse to honor or thank him are without excuse and their rejection leads to futile thinking, darkened hearts and false worship.

What may be known of God is manifest in people because God has shown it to them. His invisible eternal power and Godhead are clearly perceived from creation, leaving people without excuse, and his wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of those who hold the truth in unrighteousness. When they knew God they glorified him not as God nor gave thanks but became vain in imaginations with darkened foolish hearts, professing themselves wise while becoming fools and changing the glory of the incorruptible God into images like corruptible man and birds and fourfooted beasts and creeping things. This accountability falls on unfaithful stewards who bury entrusted treasure, spend freely on self-pleasing and give almost nothing to God instead of using it to his glory. It also exposes the authors of infidel books brought into schools, such as Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau and Byron, as under the training of Satan, leader of principalities and powers and rulers of darkness, and those who admit their works as study books accept their authority in educating youth while regarding the Word of God as unessential, though nature and the Word are the books furnished for educational work; and it warns that continuing to accept the sophistry taught in Living Temple leads on and on in delusion as happened to many after the passing of the time in 1844. God has also plainly declared his will in his word, so those who disobey fail both to recognize him in creation and to hear his voice in Scripture, choosing sin, neglecting salvation and withholding due thanksgiving and praise though offered the light of truth.

The verse must be studied carefully together with the whole first chapter of Romans until its particular meaning is grasped. It is to be given in its full force to ministers, churches and every family to bring sanctification through belief of the truth and conversion, because the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men and women who hold the truth in unrighteousness. As a true experience and solemn warning it is addressed to fathers and mothers and families who claim to be sons and daughters of God and have their names on the church record. Knowledge of God and of the truth leaves such professed believers without excuse and will not cleanse them from iniquity when they fail to labor together with God, fail to obey the truth in righteousness, and strangely neglect the sanctifying grace of God in the home life. By denying in works the practical truth they profess and failing to meet their accountability as faithful exemplary believers, they are charged to seek the Lord, awaken to neglected household responsibilities and become cleansed from every species of iniquity, since this home work cannot be neglected and they remain guiltless.

The Sabbath memorializes creation and therefore serves as a sign in the mind of the Creator's power and Godhead. Unlike circumcision, which was a sign in the flesh, the Sabbath is a sign in the mind. As a memorial of the Creator's work it is a reminder that God is the Creator and keeps his creative power and love in remembrance. It is also a token of Christ's love and power as Creator.

The fourth commandment identifies the living God as Maker of heaven and earth. God has given enough evidence in the created world to support faith, so that people are without excuse when they reject him, for creation reveals his power and that he is its Maker. Yet human science cannot explain the miraculous work of creation or how God came into existence, nor discover his unrevealed secrets. People turn from the plain teaching of the commandment and try to explain creation by natural causes and human speculation, but those unrevealed matters of how he created cannot be established that way. The evidence in the earth, including remains preserved by the Flood, was intended to support faith in the inspired history of creation and the Flood, but people misuse it to reject that history.

What Nature Reveals

The created world makes the invisible qualities of God perceptible, above all his everlasting power and divinity, testifying to his power and greatness, his majesty and might and infinite power. What cannot be seen in him is clearly seen and understood by the things that are made, so that his wisdom and power, his knowledge and skill, are made known through creation. The same works reveal his character as well as his power, giving evidence of his love and goodness, his mercy and benevolence, his care and tenderness, and his desire to make his children happy. Nature in its many forms and sounds and colors, in its beauty and life and provision, displays his handiwork and his glory, his love of beauty, and the traces of original loveliness that remain though sin has marred the earth. Through what he has made are understood divine wisdom and grace, eternal truth and infinite grace, and the wise and beneficent laws by which he works, with the visible world illustrating divine realities and the unseen illustrated by the seen.

This witness is borne by the heavens with sun and stars, by moon and seasons and clouds and sky, declaring glory and revealing the beauty of his handiwork. On earth it is borne by grasses and flowers, trees and fields, valleys and plains, hills and mountains, rocks and castle-like rocks, rivers and lakes, seas and lands, and by every living thing. He is a lover of the beautiful who has filled heaven and earth with beauty, giving what is needed for comfort and also for delight, with rich autumn fields, glad sunshine, earth's green carpet dotted with shrubs and flowers, and living green rather than dark somber brown to please the eye. The varied beauty of landscapes avoids dull uniformity, and from plants to mountains to the ordered heavens the Creator's power and love fill the heart with reverence and gratitude. From the loftiest tree of the forest to the lichen on the rock, from the boundless ocean to the tiniest shell on the shore, from shifting skies to unfolding seasonal mysteries, everything bears his image and superscription.

He is also seen in the wise arrangement of the human organism and in the marvelous human system with the laws by which health is governed, revealing his wisdom and the beneficence of his laws and the blessings that come from obedience. He speaks through providence and daily blessings, through the beauty and abundance of nature and the provisions of daily life that declare him as their Giver. Every blessing, with ten thousand unnoticed mercies silently falling in the pathway of ungrateful and rebellious men, speaks of the Giver and declares his love and great long-suffering and forbearance toward the wicked. The voices of his works as teachers have gone out through the whole earth proclaiming his attributes, and the ever-varying scenes of the recurring seasons constantly present fresh tokens of his glory and power and love. Living things and the laws that govern them are his creation, and his laws for people are meant for their happiness and joy.

Nature speaks to the senses without ceasing, seeking to make him known and to bring people into communion with him, inviting acquaintance with him who made all things. Green fields and lofty trees, buds and flowers, passing cloud and falling rain, babbling brook and glories of the heavens speak to the heart, and the love and glory revealed through his handiwork impress the open heart while the listening ear hears and understands. The pure heart is quick to recognize his presence pervading created things, grasping a deeper meaning in what is seen and heard when not too spiritually dull to perceive him. By its own obedience nature teaches obedience, and its enduring subjects for thought expand the mind and mold character, giving instruction and delight and silent reminder of the spiritual and eternal.

Eden Fall and After

Before sin entered, the created world made the unseen God fully known, for his existence, eternal power and divinity were clearly understood through the things he had made. Nature was the lesson-book given after instruction about the natural world, an open book in which his existence was demonstrated and his character and attributes revealed, with every tree and every object on which the eye rested speaking of his invisible character, power and Godhead. No cloud rested on the mind to obscure clear perception of the divine character, for the first pair were perfectly conformed to the divine will and surrounded by a beautiful, clear, perfect covering light, the light of God, that illuminated everything they approached. In that state the beauties of nature repeated his lessons and expressed his love for intelligent beings, as he visited the holy pair and taught them through the works of his hands.

Since transgression the earth has been marred, blighted, defiled by sin and cursed, so its present beauty gives only a faint idea of Eden's glory and bears only traces of original loveliness. Created things still bear the divine handwriting and display the handiwork, power, goodness, mercy, love, care and love of beauty of the Creator, so object-lessons can still be traced in nature, but this revelation is now partial, dim and imperfect and cannot reveal his character in its perfection. After disobedience a blight intervened between humanity and God and between nature and nature's God, and the light of heavenly innocence departed and was lost. Fallen descendants with weakened powers and restricted vision are therefore incapable of interpreting nature rightly by themselves and can no longer clearly trace and discern God's character in the works of his hand, and through disobedience a change wrought even in nature itself has left only imperfect testimony, bringing ignorance of God.

Yet the unseen is still illustrated by the seen, with presence, power and divinity pervading all created things from the loftiest forest tree to the lichen on the rock, from the boundless ocean to the tiniest shell on the shore, and in the shifting canvas of the heavens, the wonders of earth and sea, and the unfolding mysteries of the changing seasons, where image and superscription are beheld and the Creator is learned in all his works. Nature therefore remains an unfailing lesson-book and source of instruction, delight, and silent reminder of the spiritual and eternal, open even to the little child not yet able to learn from the printed page, whose heart is quick to recognize the Presence and whose ear is attentive to the Voice speaking through nature's utterances. So the dwellers in Eden learned from nature, as Moses discerned God on the Arabian plains and mountains, and as the Child Jesus learned on the hillsides of Nazareth, so children today may learn of him. In eternity the redeemed will study creation with clear vision, finding the Creator's name written on all things from the least to the greatest and growing in knowledge of God through the riches of power and wonders thus revealed.

Interpreting Nature Aright

Nature's witness can be read rightly only with divine help, not by unaided human reason, for the invisible attributes perceived through made things are understood through revelation and the aid of the Holy Spirit who alone knows the things of God. Only under the direction of the Omniscient One, the divine Teacher guiding into all truth, together with the Spirit who brooded on the waters, the Word by whom all things were made, and the true Light lighting every person, can its deepest truths be discerned and His thoughts thought after Him. When works are studied with Scripture as a lesson-book to lead the lost back to God, the Spirit impresses spiritual truths on the heart and sends conviction that does not come from logical reasoning alone. That living evidence is seen by the eye the Spirit has enlightened, through conviction written in the heart and illuminated by the word and through living power in created works, and unless the mind is too dark to know God and eye too dim and ear too dull, a deeper meaning is grasped.

In human wisdom the world does not know God, gathering from created works only imperfect knowledge that does not give exalted conceptions, elevate mind and soul, or bring the whole being into conformity with His will. Without knowledge of the Creator even the greatest philosopher ranging through the harmonies and formation of worlds remains a fool as far as godliness is concerned, wise in worldly knowledge yet not finding God or comprehending His hand without Christ. Since transgression marred the earth, the revelation is partial and dim, and fallen beings with weakened powers and restricted vision cannot interpret it rightly by themselves and need the fuller revelation of the written word, whereas in original perfection all things expressed God's thought and were known through His works and direct communion. God's attributes seen in created works are rightly valued only through knowledge of the Creator, so science viewed religiously leads to worship and is never a substitute for knowing Him, and rejecting His word distorts nature's lessons until they turn minds away.

Nature and Scripture are two books from one source that bear witness to the same truths and shed light on each other, with those who take the written word as counselor finding science an aid to understand God whose unseen power and greatness are understood by made things. God placed in the natural world the key to unlock the treasure-house of His word, the unseen illustrated by the seen, so divine wisdom, eternal truth and infinite grace are understood through made things and children and youth should learn nature and its laws with garden and field work as relief from confining abstract lessons. Studying nature rightly reveals fresh evidence of wisdom and power and teaches the wise beneficent laws through which He works, and together nature and Scripture acquaint people with God. Lessons drawn directly from nature carry simplicity and purity of highest value for heathen, children, youth and students of all classes, turning the soul from sin toward purity, peace and God.

Nature reveals God's works — His power, wisdom, love, skill, majesty and hand in heavens, earth, ocean, flowers, trees and cataract — yet stars, ocean and cataract cannot teach His personality as Christ does. Though sin marred form and beauty and traces of the prince of the power of the air appear, nature still speaks of God and some Eden beauty, but a clearer revelation than nature was needed to portray personality, character, nature and attributes. Therefore God sent His Son veiled in humanity, the Light of the world with dazzling splendor veiled, to make the invisible God's nature known as fully as fallen sight could endure without being consumed or destroyed, since no one has seen God except as revealed through Christ and His love.

What is made calls attention from nature to nature's God that eternal power and Godhead may be understood, for creation is handiwork and gift showing love, goodness, power and glory, not God Himself. God is a living, personal, positive being distinct from His work as designer is distinct from work, not a perfume or intangible diffusion, not personally present in flower, leaf or tree, and the designer not the work is to be exalted. Pantheistic theories of an impersonal God diffused through nature, including the view taught in Living Temple, are therefore not sustained by the verse and lead away from Him. The uneducated heathen learns of God through nature and necessity and reaches for light as first great cause, nature substantiates Christ's teaching in harmony with Old and New Testament Scriptures and God's own created science, while supposed conflict with human science does not exist.

The beauty and life expressing love should draw worship to the Creator, not to nature, human images, or art overlooking Him, for faithful study contemplates infinite love and power. Fields, valleys, rocks, mountains, trees, grass, buds, flowers, forests and every living thing point to the great living God testifying of power, wisdom, love, majesty and care, an open book and house keeping Him in remembrance to awaken gratitude, reverence, awe, faith and dependence, expand mind and lift hearts from sensual things. To pervert implanted love of the beautiful by worshiping benefits and beauties while forgetting the Giver is stupid ingratitude, and exalting nature and its laws above nature's God in blindness makes men idolaters. Pagan philosophers who once had pure knowledge fell into degeneracy worshiping handiwork — sun, moon, stars — instead of Creator, and Satan's work draws minds from grand evidences to inferior things like images of Christ and apostles, bones of saints and shrines of dead men, keeping thousands ignorant though cheap dumb idols are unnecessary and souls bowing to images may be uplifted to the only true God.

The verse exposes the wrath from heaven against all who hold truth in unrighteousness though what may be known is manifest in them, who when they knew God glorified Him not nor gave thanks but became vain with darkened foolish hearts, professing wisdom while becoming fools and changing incorruptible glory into images like corruptible man, birds, beasts and creeping things, doing the work of false science by which Satan turns minds from loyalty. This describes authors of infidel books brought into schools — Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau and Byron — under Satan's training as leader of principalities and darkness, whose works admitted as study books are given authority in youth's education while the Word is deemed unessential, though nature and the Word are the books furnished for education. Evolution and kindred errors taught in schools of every grade, mingling science with human speculation, oppose imparting knowledge of God and tend to infidelity. Knowing God comes by the Spirit's witness to testimonies borne, and those sent light yet not receiving it darken, so the view taught in Living Temple falls under this warning that continuing its sophistry leads on and on in delusion as happened to many after the passing of the time in 1844.

Without Excuse in Judgment

Because what may be known of God has been made plain within people, since God himself has shown it to them, the unseen realities of His everlasting power and divine nature have been clearly perceived through created things from the creation of the world, leaving people without excuse. His wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of those who hold the truth in unrighteousness. A class will arise who do this very work, doing the work of false science by which Satan turns minds from loyalty.

Those who knew God yet did not glorify Him as God nor give thanks became vain in their imaginations with darkened foolish hearts. Professing themselves to be wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Knowing God comes by the witness of His Holy Spirit to testimonies borne to them, and they become vain because the Lord sent them light and they did not receive it. Their rejection leads to futile thinking, darkened hearts, and false worship.

This accountability meets unfaithful stewards in the judgment when they give almost nothing to God while spending freely on self-pleasing, burying their Lord's entrusted treasure instead of using it to His glory. Knowing God yet refusing to honor or thank Him is like the servant who hid his master's treasure. Beholding His work in creation gives evidence of His power in redemption and of His goodness and great love, and thinking upon this on the Sabbath fills the heart with thankfulness, which before the toil of a new week begins is expressed by returning to Him His own tithe first, with an offering of gratitude, declaring that God is possessor of all property and men are stewards to use it to His glory.

The whole first chapter of Romans is to be read in its full force as a true experience and solemn warning to fathers and mothers and families who claim to be sons and daughters of God and have their names on the church record. Knowledge of God and of the truth leaves them without excuse and will not cleanse them from iniquity when they fail to labor together with God, fail to obey the truth in righteousness, and strangely neglect the sanctifying grace of God in the home life. Those who deny in works the practical truth they profess, who do not meet their accountability as faithful exemplary believers, are charged to seek the Lord, awaken to neglected household responsibilities, and become cleansed from every species of iniquity, because this home work cannot be neglected and they remain guilty, with the light given to them becoming the measure by which they are judged.

Applied to the laws governing the body, the verse means that ignorance of these laws is sin when people have opportunity to learn and follow them, and needless violations are violations of God's law. The marvelous human system and the laws by which it is governed reveal His wisdom and the beneficence of His laws and the blessings that result from obedience, so that those who perceive this evidence come to regard their duties differently and observance of the laws of health is seen not as hard duty, sacrifice, or self-denial, but as an inestimable blessing. Tobacco benumbs the sensibilities of the soul, so those enveloped in its fumes cannot discern, appreciate, or feel God and heavenly things in nature nor feel the influence of the truths of God's word, and even in beautiful parks with opening buds and flowers in full bloom revealing His smiles and expressing His love they must keep tobacco as a worshiped idol or forgo the pleasure creation would otherwise give them.

Faithful Israelites rehearsed the evidence of creation to the Egyptians, giving them opportunity to learn about the true and living God and the Hebrews' faith. Paul at Lystra applied the same truth by leading heathen minds away from Jupiter worship to the true object of adoration through the firmament of the heavens, the sun, moon, and stars, the beautiful order of the recurring seasons, the mighty snow-capped mountains, the lofty trees, and the varied wonders of nature, which show a skill and exactitude almost beyond finite comprehension and lead to contemplation of the great Mind of the universe. Belshazzar had opportunities to learn about the living God and His power through Nebuchadnezzar's experience, but he ignored that evidence and its lesson, showing that people are condemned not for honestly believing error but for neglecting the opportunities and means available to learn the truth and do right. The compassionate Creator bore with the Amorites until the fourth generation that they might see His power manifested before their iniquity was full, and His judgments would fall if they did not change. Every blessing, with ten thousand unnoticed mercies silently falling in the pathway of ungrateful, rebellious men, speaks of the Giver and declares His love and great long-suffering and forbearance toward the wicked, both idolaters like the Philistines and backsliding Israel, and men are without excuse when indifferent to that voice and stubbornly persisting in impenitence, refusing to listen to God in created works and in the warnings, counsels, and reproofs of His word, so that He removes His protecting hand and is forced to speak to them through judgments.

God purposes to leave the world without excuse by the proper witness of His representatives, and He is ready to do a great work for every church to this end, working through those who do His work with humility of heart and contrite spirit. Those who have named the name of Christ must be as clay in the hands of the potter, submitting to be molded and fashioned into vessels unto honor, so they are qualified to stand in their lot and place, and by unselfish lives they give the world an illustration of practical Christianity, with the clear light of truth shining forth from the churches, every church as a city set upon a hill whose light cannot be hid. God did the best He could do by sending from heaven a sinless Being to manifest to this world of sin what those who are saved must be in character — pure, holy, and undefiled, having Christ formed within — sending His ideal in His Son and bidding men build character in harmony with that ideal, with Christ's object in all His ministry, self-denial and self-sacrifice being to reveal God to the world not merely as a theory of divine mercy but as a perfect character wrought out before the world in the likeness of man. When the truth is faithfully represented by example and when God's messenger bears God's words in clear, decided lines, with God putting His words in the messenger's lips, all who hear are left without excuse when their cases are decided. Angels are moving on hearts, clearing the way and forcing back gross darkness so there is place for truth, and as ministers move forward in humble faith the solemn warning message goes to all nations, tongues, and people, where it will either convict and convert the hearers or condemn them, so truth is to be made known to all that none remain ignorant of its principles and each is tested to decide for or against it.

Just before Christ comes in majesty and glory to take vengeance on the rebellious, God will cause a proclamation of His law to go forth so that every disloyal subject may return to allegiance to His government and laws and all are left without excuse, and those who continue in rebellion will find no more place in heaven than Satan found after he rebelled. God's testimonies do not add new truth but make the truths already revealed in Scripture clearer and press them upon the mind so people may obey them. When His power is clearly seen in testimony reaching hearts of parents and children and in souls converted and brought to the foot of the cross, and when in addition a vision is given in the midst of the people, the invisible things of God are made plainly understood by what is done before them, so that rejection or unbelief afterward has no justification.

Teaching Others Through Creation

The book of nature stands next to the Bible in the education of children and youth, because the invisible love and power of God are clearly seen and understood by the things He has made. His created works testify to His love, power, wisdom and care, for He called the world into being with all that it contains, loves the beautiful and has filled heaven and earth with beauty, giving everything necessary for comfort and also for delight. His love and care are seen in the rich fields of autumn and His smile in the glad sunshine, His hand made the castle-like rocks and towering mountains, the lofty trees grow at His command, and He has spread earth's green carpet dotted with shrubs and flowers, clothing earth and trees with living green instead of dark, somber brown to be more pleasing to the eye. Birds, flowers, trees and other created things can teach children about God, and life's experiences also serve as lessons from Him, for nature interprets the unseen and makes His unseen love and wisdom perceptible, and the laws governing nature and life are given for human good so that obedience to them is the way to true happiness and success. Such knowledge gained through created works is more valuable to children than book learning, and their beauty, colors, variety, life and varied forms reveal His goodness, mercy, benevolence and love and provide constant evidence of it. Beholding buds, flowers, trees and scenery, children can learn to look through nature to God as its Creator, reverence Him and love Him, knowing Him as a tender, loving Father rather than as stern and severe, while observing creation awakens love, reverence, awe and interest in Him and displays His character, power, skill and glory.

Teaching those who know not God through nature is most effective, far more readily than any other method, because lessons drawn directly from nature carry simplicity and purity that give them the highest value not only for the heathen but for children, youth and students of all classes. God's existence, reality, power and divine nature are made known through creation, and teaching the natural world helps people realize the difference between idols made by their own hands and the true God who made heaven and earth. The beauty of nature itself turns the soul away from sin and worldly attraction toward purity, peace and God. The faithful Israelites rehearsed this evidence to the Egyptians, giving them opportunity to learn about the true and living God and the Hebrews' faith. The order of the heavens and seasons, the mountains, trees and other wonders direct minds to the great Mind who made them, showing a skill and exactitude almost beyond finite comprehension. At Lystra this was applied by leading heathen minds away from Jupiter worship to the true object of adoration through the firmament of the heavens, the sun, moon and stars, the beautiful order of the recurring seasons, the mighty snow-capped mountains, the lofty trees and the varied wonders of nature, by which the invisible God, His eternal power and mind, are clearly seen and understood through visible works.

God is learned through His handiwork, and the works of nature in woods and mountains reveal Him, so retirement from city life gives freedom to study nature in this way. Association with nature brings people in contact with the God of nature and acquaints them with Him, for His wondrous works speak to the senses and in nature's voice His voice is heard, so that by looking upon creation people behold the Creator. Even though the world is under the curse of sin and in decay, it is still very beautiful and still reveals Him. Students should therefore be placed apart from the cities where the eye rests not continually upon the dwellings of men but upon the works of God, with what is found in nature to delight the senses and give variety to the scenery and places of interest to visit, that through nature they may hear God and see Him. Living as much as possible out-of-doors in natural surroundings, away from congested cities, on extensive tracts of land with opportunity for outdoor exercise and breathing pure air that carries health and life and invigorates the whole system, is medicinal and brings restoration in body, mind and soul, healing spiritual and physical maladies for those who believe in Christ. Those who live outside the cities and labor in the open air, beholding the works of the great Master Artist, have new scenes continually unfolding before them, and as they make the book of nature their study a softening, subduing influence comes over them, for they realize His care is over all, from the glorious sun in the heavens to the little brown sparrow and the tiniest insect that has life. God made sunshine, trees, flowers and the songs of birds to be appreciated, and their influence greatly aids recovery of the sick, for bringing people to live among these beauties and delight in His handiwork takes their minds away from themselves and prepares them to look from nature to nature's God and to realize His loving care for fallen man, while cultivated soil, gardens and outdoor breadth give health, breadth of mind and freedom to learn how to present Him to others.

The Christian physician should use the manifestation of God's wisdom, goodness and ever-fresh love and care in His created works to heal maladies of the body and also diseases of the mind and the saving of the soul. The mind can be led through nature up to nature's God, and this is done by pointing patients to Christ, calling the repining to God's love and care seen in creation, and centering the mind on the heaven He has prepared for those that love Him. Theoretical points of truth are not to be presented unless asked. Nature can thus lead the mind to God and turn it toward that heaven.

The created world makes God's power and character visible, and nature's beauty as the Creator's handiwork is more perfect than any artistic copy. The beauty of a sunset is a work of the great Master Artist displaying a perfection human art cannot attain, yet people may admire paintings and artistic skill while forgetting the Maker whose works inspired them, even giving art the reverence due to God and passing by the sunset without tracing His power and love in creation. When studied faithfully, nature's beauty is meant to draw the mind to God and gives a fruitful way to contemplate His infinite love and power, benefiting the mind and helping people perceive what He has made known through creation. God has surrounded people with His glories in the varied works of nature to charm the natural eye and elevate the heart and life, and the splendor of the heavens, the adornments of nature in spring and summer, the lofty trees and the lovely flowers of every tint and hue reveal His power and glory and are abundantly provided for enjoyment. They should call people out of their houses to contemplate Him, including in Sabbath walks among trees and fields, for rushing on unmindful of these glories and seeking happiness instead in fashionable life and unnatural excitement opposes the laws of God established in human being and places earthly and sensual things above eternal things, preventing the high attainments in godliness He designed His people to reach. Observing creation in this recreation benefiting mind and body awakens love, reverence, awe and interest in God and teaches delight in Him and obedience to His law.

God has given enough evidence in the created world to support faith, so that people are without excuse when they reject Him, for creation reveals His power and that He is its Maker. The fourth commandment identifies the living God as Maker of heaven and earth, but people turn from its plain teaching and try to explain creation by natural causes. He has given abundant testimony that appeals to reason for His own existence, His character and the truthfulness of His word, giving those who desire truth ample ground for faith. Faith must rest on evidence, not demonstration, so the possibility of doubt remains for those who wish to doubt. The natural world constantly surrounds people with wonders beyond comprehension, proving both that evidence is present and that human minds are too weak and narrow to fathom all His providence, so inability to understand mysteries in nature or in the spiritual world gives no reason to doubt His word. Human science cannot explain the miraculous work of creation or how God came into existence, nor discover His unrevealed secrets, and those unrevealed matters of how He created cannot be established by human speculation. The evidence in the earth, including remains preserved by the Flood, was intended to support faith in the inspired history of creation and the Flood, but people can misuse it to reject that history.

Seeing the beauty of creation should lift the mind from the created things to God, the Creator of the universe, and lead to adoration of Him rather than worship of nature. Studying nature — from plants and mountains to the heavens and the ordered seasons — displays the Creator's power and love, fills the heart with reverence and gratitude, and gives the mind enduring subjects for thought. The unseen God is illustrated by the seen, so His presence, power and divinity pervading all created things can be clearly recognized in nature. Even a little child not yet able to learn from the printed page can find in nature an unfailing source of instruction and delight, recognizing the Presence in created things and hearing the Voice that speaks through nature, while those of older years also continually need its silent reminders of the spiritual and eternal. As the dwellers in Eden learned from nature, as Moses discerned God on the Arabian plains and mountains, and as the Child Jesus learned on the hillsides of Nazareth, so children today may learn of Him, and on everything on the earth, from the loftiest tree of the forest to the lichen that clings to the rock, from the boundless ocean to the tiniest shell on the shore, is beheld the image and superscription of God. In the glorious scenes of the heavens, the wonders of earth and sea, and the unfolding mysteries of the changing seasons, the Creator is learned in all His works, and students can behold God through the natural world and hear His voice in it. To him who learns to interpret its teachings all nature becomes illuminated, for the world is a lesson-book and life a school, and the things that are made reveal the unity of man with nature and with God, the universal dominion of law, and the results of transgression, impressing the mind and molding the character. Adam could understand his heavenly Father through the sublimity and glory of Eden's creation, for nature reveals His love and infinite power. Such beholding expands thought, creates hunger to know more, awakens entire dependence and faith and love, and prepares hearts for the future home He is preparing.