10849--10852] It is clear that that knowledge must be imperfect and defective. They may know that he is true, and just, and good; but they cannot tell to what extent his truth, his justice, his goodness may reach, because nothing has ever occurred which could afford an occasion of trying, of limiting, or restraining, the exercise of these qualities. But let some individual of the family offend him, and then, in his treatment of that individual, all the rest of the family, as well as the offender himself, will obtain a new view, and consequently a more extended knowledge of his character. While the prodigal son dwelt beneath his father's roof, he knew well the goodness of his father's heart; but he was far from knowing the whole extent of that goodness. And so with the commencement of moral evil, whatever was its origin, commenced a new and glorious development of the Divine perfections. God was seen in a new relation, and an additional view of His character was given. Something was known of Him that was not known before.-Marcus Dods. 3 The twofold nature of Christ. [10850] The Divine attributes must be contemplated as they are manifested and made incarnate in Christ. He is the sum of Divine attributes in human nature. We have no God save as revealed in Jesus, and we shall never know God save as revealed in the face of His incarnate Son. In Him we see the attributes which connect the Supreme with the creature, the omni-attributes under a most blessed and peculiar aspect. In Him, reflected from His face and through His work, we see the glory of the perfections which bring the Divine into relation with human redemption from sin (2 Cor. iii. 18).—W. B. Pope, D.D. [10851] I cannot learn God's holiness from the stars or the mountains. I cannot read His faithfulness in the ocean or the cataract. Even His wisdom, and power, and love are but faintly portrayed in the torn and disjointed fragments of this fallen creation. And seeing, therefore, that Deity, invisible as to His essence, can be come visible as to His attributes only through some direct manifestation not found in His material workmanship, God sent His well-beloved Son to assume our flesh; and this Son, exhibiting in and through His humanity as much of His Divine properties as creatureship could admit, became unto mankind "the image of the invisible God." He did not, in strict matter of fact, reveal to mankind that there is a God. But He made known to them, most powerfully, and most abundantly, the nature and attributes of God. The beams of divinity, passing through His humility as through a softening medium, shone upon the earth with a lustre sufficiently tempered to allow of their irradiating, without scorching and consuming. And they who gazed on this mysterious person, moving in His purity and His benevolence through the lines of a depraved and scornful population, saw not indeed God-"for no man hath seen God at [INTRODUCTORY. any time," and spirit must necessarily evade the searchings of sense-but they saw God imaged with the most thorough fidelity, and His every property embodied, so far as the immaterial can discover itself through the materialH. Melvill, B.D. VIII. A DISPOSITION FOR COMMUNION CONSIDERED AS A GENERAL ATTRIBUTE. The evidence from reason. [10852] By communion we mean the affectionate and reciprocal intercourse of one mind with another. That a disposition for such intercourse essentially exists in the mind of the Deity, may be argued from the fact that it is an excellence which he has implanted in the nature of all intelligent beings. That there does dwell in the mind of man a disposition for communion, all will admit. What, indeed, is society but the living evidence and development of this disposition? What is speech but the vehicle through which this disposition puts itself forth in audible words? What is writing but a more diffusive vehicle by which man pours his thoughts, desires, emotions, and affections into the souls of his fellow-men, with a copiousness, and to an extent, which give a kind of ubiquity to his presence? It is, in fact, the expression of the vehement desire of the mind for fellowship with mind-the disposition for communion breaking through the bounds of limited location, and seeking to gratify itself by intercourse with kindred spirits in every hemisphere and in every age. Were this disposition to become extinct, the whole framework of society would immediately become dissolved; and every man, fleeing from and repelled by his fellow-man, would seek seclusion, and live for no one, care for no one, but himself. It is the existence of this disposition which erects the social structure, which forms every family, and builds up every community. The evidence of man's disposition for communion is too palpable and diversified to require amplification. It connects itself with every instinct, unites itself with every ennobling affection, gives a complexion to every habit, and is an element in every cup of felicity. Seeing, then, that this disposition is essentially inherent in the human mind, the same disposition, being an excellence, must dwell in the mind of the Creator. There is no excellence dwells in man but it is the reflection of a corresponding excellence in God Himself. To suppose the contrary would be to suppose that the Creator has endowed the creature with perfections which He Himself does not possess, which is a palpable absurdity and contradiction. The Creator may be supposed to withhold from the nature of the creature various perfections which He himself possesses, but it cannot be supposed He could give to the creature any measure of an excellence of which Himself is destitute. Indeed, the absolute perfection of His nature excludes the possibility of the absence of any excellence. 10852-10856] It comprehends every perfection in kind, as well as in unlimited degree. The existence, therefore, of any excellence in the created spirit is an à posteriori proof that it dwells in infinite perfection in the Father of spirits.-Wm. Cooke, D.D. 2 The verdict of reason sustained by the Holy Scriptures. (1) The scriptural fact, that man is made in God's image, involves in the Creator a disposition for communion. [10853] There is much implied in the scriptural representation of our spiritual nature. It refers us to every excellency in our own spirit, as a manifestation or type of some corresponding perfection in "the Father of spirits." And, indeed, this appellation, "the Father of spirits," involves the same interesting truth. It is a phraseology never applied to express the relation between God and the inferior animals. God is their Creator, but he is "OUR FATHER." He gave the brute species, as well as us, an existence; but he has given to our souls His likeness and image, and is, therefore, emphatically "the Father of spirits." Such language denotes resemblance-such a resemblance, in some respects, as exists between beings having a similar nature. God is a Spirit, so is the human soul; and as that soul was made in the image and likeness of its Author, it must possess many properties and attributes which correspond with Deity. Hence a certain author asks, "Whence come the conceptions under which we include that august name (God)? Whence do we derive our knowledge of the attributes and perfections which constitute the Supreme Being?" answer, We derive them from our own souls. The Divine attributes are first developed in ourselves, and thence transferred to our Creator. The idea of God, sublime and awful as it is, is the idea of our own spiritual nature purified and enlarged to infinity. In ourselves are the elements of the Divinity. God, then, does not sustain a figurative resemblance to man. It is the resemblance of a parent to a child, the likeness of a kindred nature.-Ibid. I [10854] We call God a Mind. He has revealed Himself as a Spirit. But what do we know of mind but through the unfolding of this principle in our own breasts? That unbounded spiritual energy which we call God is conceived by us only through consciousness, through the knowledge of ourselves. We ascribe thought or intelligence to the Deity as one of His most glorious attributes. And what means this language? These terms we have framed to express operations or faculties of our own souls. The infinite light would be for ever hidden from us, did not kindred rays dawn and brighten within us.-Channing. [10855] There is no created object which affords so full and clear a manifestation of the perfections and character of God as the excellences which God has implanted in the human [INTRODUCTORY. soul. If, therefore, a disposition for communion dwells in the mind of the infinite Spirit, we should expect to find a corresponding disposition inherent in the human spirit. Indeed, the truths we are now considering involve correlative propositions. They reflect evidence upon each other. So that, assume which we may in the premises, it involves the other in conclusion. If, on the other hand, we assume, as the Scriptures teach, that there is, in the Father of spirits, a disposition for communion, it follows that the same disposition should be found in the human spirit, because it was formed in the Creator's image and likeness. Or if, on the other hand, we assume as a truth that there is in man a disposition for communion, it follows that a similar disposition must dwell in the Deity, for the reason already assigned. Were it otherwise, there would not be likeness, but great dissimilarity. If in God there were this disposition, springing from the fulness of His benevolent nature, but in man there was no such disposition; or, on the other hand, if in man there were this disposition, springing from an inherent affection, but in God there were the total absence of any such disposition, the two natures would be exceedingly unlike, and the assertion that man was created in God's likeness must be given up. We can hardly conceive of two minds more unlike each other than the diverse natures which the possession or non-possession of this disposition would involve. The one complacently delighting to communicate its thoughts and affections; the other averse to all such intercourse. The one relishing the society of a kindred spirit, and loving it with ardent affection; the other adverse either to receiving or reciprocating any such affectionate intercourse. It is quite evident that two such minds must be most unlike each other in natural qualities, and that the most opposite moral qualities must spring from these contrary dispositions. The one disposition conforms to the nature of the misanthropist, and the other to the philanthropist. The one is fitted for the greatest development of the malign tempers; the other must delight in the exercise and development of the most benevolent affections. Such a disparity of nature is totally incompatible with intimate resemblance; and, therefore, he who admits man to have been formed in God's image and likeness must admit that, if a disposition for communion dwells in the spirit of the creature, if must dwell in infinite plenitude and perfection in the Creator.-Wm. Cooke, D.D. 10856-10858] its influence the affections go out towards Him, the thoughts dwell upon Him, the soul delights in Him, and all the religious exercises of the soul are so many acts of communion with Him. What is prayer but the utterance of the soul's desires after God, its yearnings for more of His presence, His grace, and blessing. What is praise but the effusion of the soul's gratitude and affection? What is adoration but the soul's utterance of solemn reverence and devotedness? What is confession but the soul's contrite acknowledgment of sin and anxious return to Him? What is faith but the exercise of the soul's filial confidence in God's veracity and goodness? What is hope but the outgoings of its desires and expectations towards God? What is joy, but the soul's exultant delight in Him? In all these and every other religious exercise, there is the communion of man's spirit with the spirit of his Maker; it is the fellowship of the created mind with the eternal and uncreated Mind. This is religion, and it is the religion which God requires and commands. "My son, give me thine heart." In the absence of this fellowship there is no religion; and without it the profession of religion is but formality and hypocrisy, which God despises and condemns. No external rites, no wellordered ceremonials, no imposing pageantry, can be a substitute for this. Even morality and good works, apart from this fellowship with God, are of no avail; so essential is communion with God to the very existence of true religion, and so expressive is God's approval of that spiritual exercise in which the soul realizes fellowship with Himself.-Ibid. IX. REPLY TO ANTICIPATED OBJECTIONS On scriptural grounds. [10857] The objection anticipated is that a disposition for communion implies an imperfect and a dependent nature, and cannot, therefore, be reasonably ascribed to Jehovah, who is all-sufficient and independent. The objection cannot, of course, be urged by one who cordially assents to the testimony of Scripture, because the Scriptures, we have seen, directly represents the Deity as holding intercourse with mind at a period prior to the creation of man; and this intercourse He could not have held had He 1 not possessed an inherent disposition for it. The intercourse described is perfectly voluntary; it was uninfluenced and unconstrained by any thing ab extra. "And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness." Thus, the converse, or communion, sprang freely from the Divine volition, and, if from the Divine volition, it must have been from an inherent disposition; and such an inherent disposition was not a casual or adventitous impulse, but an essential property of the Divine nature. This must, we think, be irresistible to every mind which reveres the testi [INTRODUCTION. mony of the sacred volume. Moreover, that a Being, possessing such an inherent disposition, should give a similar disposition to all intelligent beings, is an act in perfect accordance with His own blessed nature. That He should Himself commune with the minds to which He has imparted this disposition, is a part of His providential and moral economy, equally in harmony with His nature; and, further, that He should make fellowship with His own mind a duty incumbent on all intelligent beings, and an essential element of all religion, is an arrangement which might be anticipated, à priori, from the nature of the Creator. Thus facts harmonize with principles, and the testimony of the Scripture we have referred to is corroborated by reason. Thus the objection in question not only derives no support from Scripture, but is contradicted by the sacred records.-Ibid. 2 On philosophic grounds. (1) If a disposition for communion be evidence of an imperfect nature, it follows that the absence of this disposition is a mark of excellence, and essential to the perfection of an intelligent being. more [10858] Would the absence of this disposition be a mark of human excellence? Would a man, averse to fellowship with his fellow-man, and averse to fellowship with God, be a amiable and excellent being on that account? With all his thoughts and affections concentrated only on himself, dwelling in solitude, hating society, and averse to his Creator, would he possess a superior nature and exhibit more excellence of character than he would with the contrary disposition urging him to delight in the society of mankind, and to exercise his thoughts, sympathies, and affections towards them and towards God? Would an angel devoid of this disposition evince a higher nature and manifest superior moral excellence? If so, the Creator must have greatly erred in forming their intellectual and moral constitution. In giving them a disposition for communion, He must, on this principle, have placed an effectual barrier to their superiority and excellence. We may further ask, Can we suppose the Deity Himself to be more excellent in His nature if this disposition were absent from Him? The absurdity of the notion is transparent. Had Jehovah been averse to this communion with intelligent beings, He would never have created them, or, if He had created them, He never would have given them a disposition to which His own nature is repugnant; and to suppose that He would have made their communion with Himself a religious duty, and have reciprocated that communion with them for ever, is to suppose that He acted not only without motive, but against motive. It is, indeed, to suppose a tissue of palpable absurdities and contradictions.-Ibid. 10859-10861] (2) So far from the absence of this disposition being a perfection, its absence is undoubtedly an evidence of imperfection and inferiority. [10859] The absence of the disposition for communion can only be supposed possible from three causes-namely, the absence of intelligence, the absence of love, or the absence of both. If it arise from the want of intelligence, it argues a mental imperfection, for intelligence is essential to any degree of mental excellence. If it arise from a want of love, it implies a moral imperfection, for a benevolent affection is essential to moral excellence. The Deity is benevolent, and it is not only in proportion as the creatures imitate Him in this property that they can exhibit a superior moral nature. If it arise from the absence of both intelligence and love, it argues both mental and moral imperfections. If we look at the human race, we find men excelling in intellect and moral dignity just in proportion as this disposition for communion is exercised; and in the Christian, who daily holds communion with the Father of spirits, we see the highest developments of moral excellence and dignity adorning human nature. If we contemplate the properties of intelligent beings above us in nature and capacity, we find those exhibiting the highest excellence holding the most intimate fellowship with Deity; and those exhibiting the most consummate depravity, the most virulent malignity, living in a state of alienation from God-averse to the Deity, and as much averse to each other as their nature will admit. It is a remarkable fact that, just in proportion as any nature is excellent, this disposition is predominant; in proportion as any nature is inferior, this disposition is wanting; in proportion as this disPosition is cherished, the nature becomes improved and exalted. This disposition is always the associate of excellence, and the more excellent the nature, the more intense and active is its operation. From these facts it follows that the disposition itself is an excellence; and, in ascribing it to the Divine nature, we are ascribing to Deity a glorious attribute and an essential perfection. Without it the Deity Himself would not be perfect.-Ibid. m X. ARGUMENTS IMPUGNING THE DIVINE [INTRODUCTION. but they form a nutritious aliment for inferior animals and insects; and if they were unfit for food to any creatures, it does not follow that they are useless. On the contrary, they perform important functions, both in purifying the atmosphere, and in increasing the amount of that vegetable mould which renders the earth so abundantly fertile. Weeds and non-edible plants are, for the most part, hardy in their nature, and capable of growing in scanty and rocky soils where esculent plants could not exist. Here they perform many important offices. They fill up a blank in nature, and cover an otherwise barren surface. As to poisonous plants, they are few compared with the immense number that are esculent and nutritious. The lower animals, guided by instinct, avoid them, and man soon learns by experience that they are not fit for food, so that very seldom does the least evil arise from their growth. Besides, the most noxious plants are ascertained to possess important medicinal virtues, which render their existence promotive to the health and welfare of mankind. Moreover, the growth of both weeds and poisonous plants is under the control of man. They may, indeed, flourish and luxuriate in the solitary desert, and their influence is beneficial; but if they flourish and abound to excess within the sphere of man's influence, it is generally a just rebuke to his indolence. He has the power almost to extirpate them utterly, and where that is impossible he may limit and subordinate their growth to his necessities and welfare.—Ibid. [10861] It is alleged that there are various reptiles and predaceous animals which are hurtful to mankind. We reply-First. These creatummense numbers that are useful to man, either are extremely few compared with the as beasts of burden, or as yielding him a supply of food and raiment. Now, what has rendered the useful abundant and the injurious few, but a benevolent purpose actuating the Creator? Secondly. Ferocious and dangerous creatures have an instinctive dread of man, and flee from his presence, making the forest, the wilderness, and untenanted parts of the earth their favourite haunts. Thirdly. They seldom attack man but when pressed with hunger or irritated by man. Fourthly. Man has power to destroy them when they invade the domain of civilized life, or when their numbers multiply to any dangerous extent. Fifthly. They perform important service by act As regards the facts on which such arguing as the scavengers of nature, and by pre ments are based. (1) The existence of noxious plants and animals. [10860] It is alleged that there are numerous plants which are hurtful to man; that thistles, and other useless weeds, encumber the ground; and henbane, hemlock, and many other poisonous plants, abound. We reply, As to weeds and plants, commonly supposed to be useless, the objection is founded, for the most part, in error; for we do not know of any plants entirely useless. Some, indeed, are not edible for man, venting the too rapid multiplication of other races on which they feed. Here, then, the evil of their existence is but incidental, and connected with much positive and actual good, and the economy, as a whole, is evidently one of benevolence-one in which the welfare of man is consulted and provided for. The myriads of microscopic animalcules were formerly regarded by many as either useless or detrimental; but modern science has discovered that these diminutive creatures, thirty thousand 10861-10864] of which may be contained in one drop of water, answer a most important and beneficent purpose in evolving a large portion of oxygen gas, and thus contributing to replenish the atmosphere with those vital properties so essential to our existence. In a very interesting paper by Messrs. August and Morren (Transactions of the Academy at Brussels, 1841), it is shown that water, abounding with animalcules, evolved a gas containing sixty-one per cent. of oxygen. The distinguished Liebig confirms this fact by an experiment of his own. -Ibid. (2) The calamities to which God's creatures, especially human beings, are exposed. We [10862] It is alleged that sentient existence is exposed to various calamities, such as arise from earthquakes, pestilence, famine, and war. reply that such calamities are few and far between, compared with our blessings and enjoyments. Millions upon millions-indeed, the vast majority of our world-seldom, if ever, experience these calamities; and the question may justly be proposed, What disposition is it that has caused so great a disproportion between our enjoyments and our calamities? Is it a malignant or a benign disposition that has ordained this remarkable difference? God had the power to reverse this proportion, had He delighted in the creature's misery; and the only reason why He did not, must be found in the pure and exalted benevolence of His nature. Besides, we know that many calamities may be averted, and all may be diminished by man himself. As to war. This can scarcely be classed among calamities. It is a misery of man's own creating, a misery growing out of man's ambition and cruelty, and can no more be chargeable on God than theft and murder can be laid to His charge. And although it is true that often the innocent suffer with the guilty in the ravages of war, yet their sufferings are chargeable on man's conduct, just as the death of a murdered victim lies on the soul of the assassin. Wars come from men's lusts. God commands all men to love one another, and love worketh no ill to our neighbour. If all men obeyed this command, the din of war would be hushed for ever. These As to destruction by earthquakes. catastrophes arise from those forces of Nature which, in earlier ages, performed an important part in preparing the world for man's habitation, and they are still working out a benevolent purpose. Earthquakes of a dangerous kind but seldom transpire, and when they do occur, they take place, for the most part, in those districts of country which are contiguous to volcanoes, where Nature herself warns man not to erect his habitation; and if man neglect Nature's admonitions, his presumption is the parent of his destruction. Pestilence is generally the result of neglect or filthiness, or some violating of physical law. . . . From filthiness spring putrid fevers [INTRODUCTION. and divers pestilences, and when these scourges do arise, their victims among the temperate, the chaste, the prudent, and the cleanly are comparatively few. It is admitted that pestilence has often been sent as a special judgment upon a people; but a judgment for what? For violating God's laws, His physical as well as His moral laws; and, indeed, God's moral laws are for the most part the comprehensive philoso phical exponents of His physical laws. Pestilence, rightly interpretated, is a rebuke upon man's licentiousness, filthiness, and neglect, as well as a denunciation of Heaven's displeasure against his unbelief and evil dispositions; and if all men lived in conformity with God's physical and moral laws, pestilence would cease. Famine is a calamity which seldom occurs. For one scanty harvest which fails to supply our need, how many have we that are abundant! Again, we ask, What is it that makes the proportion so great on the side of plenty? Is it not the benevolent disposition of our Maker which causes Him to delight to do His needy creatures good? How easily He might withhold His bounty! But instead of withholding, He is constantly bestowing, so that scarcity and want are seldom felt. Besides, when famine occurs, it is never universal, but generally confined to a few localities. If there be scarcity in one nation, there is plenty in another, so that God's bounties have only to be distributed in order to supply the need of all. Viewed in this aspect, an occa. sional dearth seems like a call to the nations to have intercourse one with another, to reciprocate their help, and cultivate commercial and friendly relations; and surely, if the great Parent of all confers His benefits and blessings on His creatures, the children of the same great family ought to minister to each other's aid in the hour of need. In proportion as commerce extends, and nations reciprocate friendly offices, the evils of famine become diminished. (3) Bodily pain. 10863] Evil no doubt exists, but it is never, that we can perceive, the object of the contrivance. Teeth are contrived to eat, not to ache; their aching now and then is incidental to the contrivance, perhaps inseparable from it, but it is not the object. This is a distinction which well deserves to be attended to. In describing implements of husbandry, one would hardly say of a sickle that it was made to cut the reaper's fingers; though, from the construction of this instrument and the manner of using it, this mischief often happens. But if he had occasion to describe instruments of torture or execution, "This," he would say, "is to extend the sinews; this to dislocate the joints; this to break the bones; this to scorch the soles of the feet." Here pain and misery are the very objects of the contrivance. Now, nothing of this sort is to be found in the works of Nature. We never discover a train of contrivances to bring about an evil purpose.-Paley. [10864] It is impossible for us to determine |