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shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" When we reflect upon the movements which are going on among the celestial bodies, how stupendous is the power by which they are conducted! The moon is driving through the heavens at the rate of more than two thousand miles in an hour; the earth, although apparently quiescent, is flying at the rate of fifty or sixty thousand; and the velocity of the comets is so great as to terrify and over- * whelm the imagination; yet no confusion takes place, no mischief happens. None of these bodies is shivered into pieces by the velocity of its flight; none of them is dashed upon another; none of them makes the slightest deviation from the path marked out to it in the immensity of space. We can calculate with the utmost confidence upon their return at a fixed period to a particular spot. They are sustained and guided by the hand of Omnipotence. We say that matter is inert, that if at rest it will continue at rest, and if in motion it will continue in motion, unless its state be changed by an external cause. But do we imagine that we have thus explained the phenomena of the universe? Alas! we have merely stated a fact, but we have not accounted for it, by calling it a law of nature. Why does a body continue in motion? It is not owing to its own activity, but to the energy of the Creator's will. This gave the first impulse, and this holds on its course for ages. His power at once binds the planets as with a chain to the centre, and propels them in their perpetual career around it. "O Lord God of Hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand." ↑

Let us, in the next place, consider his moral government of the world. Under this division of the subject, the evidence may not appear so striking, because it is not addressed to the senses, but relates to the invisible influence exerted

upon the thoughts and volitions of intelligent creatures. Yet to a reflecting mind it will be equally convincing. Wonderful are the displays of Divine power in the creation and preservation of the material system; but we know that there it meets with no opposition, whereas here, resistance is to be subdued, determinate purposes and wayward passions are to be controlled, and rendered subservient to the counsels of the Almighty. We learn from revelation, that there are spiritual beings in the universe, of strength superior to ours, of great activity, cunning, and malignity, who being in a state of hostility to their Maker, are also enemies to man, and take delight in disorder, misery, and ruin. What havock they would make, if full scope were given to their inclinations, we may conjecture from what they have actually done, under Divine permission, by introducing sin into our world, with the dismal train of natural and moral evils which have closely followed it. Would they not blast the fair scenes of nature, and convert the earth into another hell, the abode of fear, and pain, and despair? The human heart is the seat of many violent and malevolent passions, which finding a favourable opportunity, break out into murder, treachery, injustice, oppression, and all the crimes by which public and private peace is disturbed. The occasional eruptions which take place under the most vigilant government, admonish us that we are walking above smothered fire; and we shudder at the thought of the scenes of horror which would be exhibited, if all restraints were removed. What would be our condition, if wicked men and malignant spirits were let loose upon us? The earth would no longer be a safe habitation. Could the human race long subsist, amidst the furious workings of pride, revenge, avarice, and cruelty, and the additional calamities which the malice of their invisible foes would inflict? We are preserved then by the power of God, who holds men and devils in chains; and the excesses which he sometimes permits, should remind us how much we are indebted to his providence, to which alone it is owing that we are not consumed. Of the influence by which unholy beings are withheld from their purposes, or are prevented *Job xxxviii. 8, 10, 11. + Psalm lxxxix. 8, 13.

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from adopting measures congenial to their depraved dispositions, they are often insensible; and at other times they are hindered by obstacles which second causes have placed in their way; but every circumstance is ordered by a higher hand. "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." We perceive also proofs of the power of God in the overthrow of states and nations, which shews that he rules in the kingdoms of men; in the extraordinary success and elevation of individuals, in the face of untoward circumstances, and of opposition which was more than sufficient to have crushed them; in the feeble means by which great designs are sometimes accomplished, and the inadequate causes by which schemes well concerted and vigorously supported are defeated; in the unaccountable courage with which men are inspired at one time, and the equally unaccountable fear which seizes upon them at another; in the sudden failure of their wisdom, as if they had been infatuated by some mysterious influence; in the sudden change of their counsels, for which they are not themselves able to assign a satisfactory reason; and in many other instances which proclaim that there is an invisible power which disposes of human affairs according to its pleasure, and turns the hearts of men as the rivers of water. They establish the fact of a supreme dominion in nature, from which no creature is exempt, and to the designs of which living and inanimate beings are subservient. There is no counsel or might against the Lord. He who boasts of his independence, cannot move his tongue without permission; he who dares to say, "Who is the Almighty, that I should serve him?" is compelled to execute his orders; he who sets himself to oppose the designs of Heaven, is sometimes the person whom Heaven has chosen to fulfil them. "His kingdom ruleth over all."

The power of God has been displayed in the work of redemption. It is frequently described as a new creation, to signify that in the recovery of mankind from guilt there is a glorious display of omnipotence, as well as in the original production of the heavens and the earth.

The power of God was manifested in the conception of our Saviour, whose mother was a virgin, in the mighty works which he performed, and in his resurrection from the dead. These are all represented as manifestations of this attribute. It may be remarked, however, from a regard to accuracy of ideas, that strictly there was no greater power exerted in his conception, than in that of any other man according to the established law of generation; and in his miracles, than in the ordinary operations of nature. The power was not greater, but the display of it was more sensible and impressive. It is a false idea of miracles, that they are more difficult than other works. It is equally easy to God to act in opposition to the laws of nature or according to them; just as it is as easy to a man to walk in a by-path as on the highway, the same muscular strength being sufficient in both cases. There is no difference between a miracle and another event, but that the one is unusual and the other is common; in the one, second causes are excluded, in the other, they are admitted. But in a miracle, the power of God is more distinctly seen, and excites greater attention. When a child was born without a father, when a body which had been deposited in a sepulchre was restored to life, when. at the command of a man, the blind received sight, the lame walked, and lepers were cleansed, nothing but the obstinacy of prejudice could have hindered any person from recognizing the finger of God.

The power of God was manifested in sustaining our Saviour in his dreadful sufferings; I mean not those of his body only, but also his mental agony, which would have overwhelmed the firmest mind, having only its own fortitude to support it. To this cause he ascribes the patience with which he endured them: The Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded; Ps. lxxvi. 10.

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therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." * He said to his disciples, "Behold the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me."†

The power of God is displayed in the conversion of sinners. When we consider the change effected at the return of a sinner to God after a long apostasy, and the opposition which is made to it by the most active principles of his nature; the influence upon his mind, by which it admits views totally new, and the revolution which takes place in his feelings and affections; the sacrifices which he makes, the connexions which he abandons, the conditions to which he submits, and the new course of life upon which he enters; in a word, the entire alteration in the moral habit of his soul, we must be convinced that a higher cause was requisite than reasoning and eloquence, and that nothing less than Omnipotence could have made "old things pass away, and all things become new." Hence the conversion of a sinner is called in Scripture a creation, and a resurrection from the dead; and God is said to fulfil in them "all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." ‡

What I would chiefly request you to consider, is the power of God manifested in the propagation of the Gospel, which will appear truly worthy of admiration, if we reflect upon the nature of the religion published to the world, the obstacles which stood in the way of its progress, and the persons by whose ministry the opposition was subdued. The religion was the least likely to succeed by its intrinsic merits of all that have been proposed to mankind; not because it wanted high excellence, but because it was not of a kind to be generally perceived and relished. It is pronounced by one of the apostles to have been a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks. § It offered to both salvation by a man who had been crucified; salvation, not from poverty, oppression, and disease, but from sin, which men loved too well to have any desire to be delivered from it; it demanded the renunciation of their present habits and pursuits, the sacrifice of worldly honours and pleasures, and conditionally of life itself; it prescribed humility, the mortification of appetite, and a course of circumspect and patient obedience; and the promised recompense lay in another world, of which they could have no knowledge but by implicitly depending upon the word of its Author. To whom was this religion addressed? To the Jews, who had conceived a very different idea of the character of the Messiah, and expected him not to die but to reign, and to call them, not to repentance but to victory and glory; to the Gentiles, whose minds were preoccupied by the speculations of philosophical wisdom, and were prejudiced against the lowly doctrine of the cross by the pride of virtue; to men sunk in ignorance and vice, who were devoted to the worship of false gods, and felt no interest in any concerns but those of this transitory life. When Christianity demanded their attention, and claimed to be received as the only true religion, nothing could exceed their surprise and indignation. The philosophers despised it as an absurd and arrogant superstition; the priests denounced it as impious and offensive to the gods; statesmen regarded it with a jealous eye, as dangerous to the public peace; and the rabble rose against its preachers, loaded them with abuse, and subjected them to every kind of injurious treatment. To whose care was the propagation of the Gospel committed? Who were appointed to publish it amidst hardships, sufferings, and death, and to defend it against acute and learned antagonists? They were taken from the lowest ranks, and from the meanest occupations; they had not received the advantages of education, and knew nothing of worldly wisdom; they had no power, or wealth, or influence; their appearance, their language, * Isaiah i. 7. ↑ John xvi. 32. 2 Thess. i. 11. 1 Cor. i. 23.

their manner of address, were all unfavourable to their cause. Notwithstanding the utter improbability that such a religion should succeed in such circumstances, its progress was great and rapid. During the life of its first preachers, it found its way into the provinces and cities of the Roman empire, and made converts of the rich and the poor, the learned and the illiterate. It afterwards went on extending its conquests till it gained the ascendant, and was triumphantly established in almost every region of the civilized world. Now, as the human means employed in the propagation of the Gospel were manifestly inadequate, we must attribute its success to supernatural agency. It is a species of miracle which does not strike the eye, but the mind. Something has been effected, not indeed without means, but above them; and is as truly wonderful as was the flowing of water from a rock, when Moses smote it with his rod. A power was exerted upon the minds of men, as plainly omnipotent as the power exerted in the creation, or in the various modifications of matter. "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.' The same writer says in another place, "We have this treasure," namely, the Gospel," in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us;" that is, the dispensation of it is committed to us, who are manifestly incapable of giving it efficacy, that the world may be compelled to acknowledge its success to be the work of God.

An almighty Being demands the profound reverence of his creatures. Shall they not fear him "who removeth the mountains, and they know not; who overturneth them in his anger; who shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble; who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, and sealeth up the stars; who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea; who doth great things past finding out, yea, and wonders without number?" His friendship should be diligently cultivated, for if God be for us, who can be against us? Upon him we should confidently rely, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think. 66 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is, who keepeth truth for ever."S The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night."

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LECTURE XXIV.

ON GOD.

Goodness of God-Idea of this Perfection: display of Goodness in the Creation of the Universe: and in his dispensations to Mankind-Existence of Physical Evil consistent with the Divine Goodness-Origin of Moral Evil-Display of Divine Goodness in Redemption.

By the goodness of God, we do not understand the general excellence of his nature, but that particular property or principle, which disposes him to communicate happiness to his creatures. It is in this sense that we pronounce it to be one of his essential attributes. It is necessary in conjunction with othe + Job ix. 5-10. Ps. cxlvi. 5, 6. || Ps. cxxi. 5, 6.

1 Cor. i. 27-29. + 2 Cor. iv. 7.

attributes, to complete the idea of an all-perfect Being, and is the foundation of the trust, and love, and hope, with which he is regarded by men. We could think of him only with distant reverence, if we conceived that he took no interest in the well-being of his creatures; and the supposition that he was actuated by a principle of malevolence, would create dread of one infinitely superior to us, from whose pursuit it was impossible to escape. We should tremble at his power, which could torment and destroy us; at his wisdom, the contrivances of which for our injury we possessed no means of evading; at his immensity, which forced upon us the alarming thought, that to whatever place we might flee for refuge, we should be always in the presence of an enemy. Goodness throws a mild and tranquillizing lustre over the majestic attributes of his nature. It presents them to us under a friendly aspect; associated with it, they appear as so many powers, by which its benignant designs will be carried into full effect. We look up to him not only as a Sovereign, but as a Father; we feel emotions of gratitude rising in harmony with sentiments of veneration; we are emboldened to supplicate his favour, and to resign ourselves to his disposal. Goodness has been considered as one of his attributes by men of every nation, conducted no doubt to this conclusion by the proofs of his beneficence in the natural course of events. The ancient heathens called him the Best, as well as the Greatest of Beings. If some believed in the existence of a malevolent Being, because they observed much evil in the world, and knew not how otherwise to account for it, they also acknowledged another Being of an opposite character, the author of order and beauty, by whose bounty the wants of living creatures were supplied.

Goodness being a disposition to communicate happiness, regulated, however, in an intelligent Agent by wisdom, and in a moral Agent by a regard to purity and justice, we learn that it belongs to God from a survey of his works. and dispensations.

The goodness of God is clearly deducible from the act of creation. We can conceive no other reason, in subordination to his glory, for the exertion of his power in giving life to so many orders of creatures, and fitting up the earth to be a convenient habitation for them. This argument consists of two parts: the formation of sensitive beings capable of happiness, and the adaptation of the circumstances in which they are placed to promote it. The production of the earth, with its division into sea and dry land, its vegetable covering, and its springs and rivers, would have afforded a proof of power, but not of goodness, if it had not been replenished with inhabitants who could be benefited by this arrangement; so that in reasoning concerning the goodness of God, we constantly refer to the provision made for the well-being of animals, rational and irrational, according to their respective natures and capacities. He did not create by a necessity of nature, as the sun gives light, or a fountain pours out its waters; but, being a free Agent, he exerted his power in consequence of counsel and design, and exerted it to such an extent, and in such a variety of ways, as were agreeable to himself. He did not create with the same view which leads a man to collect a retinue of friends and dependants, that he may be cheered by their company, and aided by their services; for he was sufficient to himself, infinitely and immutably blessed in the enjoyment of his own excellence. As we are confessedly not competent judges of the Divine counsels, it might be presumptuous to affirm that benevolence was the only motive of the creation, and it has been thought more proper to say, that the end was the glory of the Creator. But this is a general reason for all his works, and consequently throws no light upon a particular one. When we say that God does any thing for his glory, if we affix any distinct sense to our words, we must mean that he does it for the manifestation of his perfections. There is no inconsistency, therefore, in maintaining that VOL. I.-31

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