3 in which the Supreme Being displays Himself in a wonderful manner; or as so many instruments which He makes use of to manifest outwardly His incomprehensible wisdom. 1 And again, that as the sun and moon, the heaven and earth, and sea, are common to all men, but have different names, according to the difference of languages; in like manner, though there is but one Deity, and one Providence which governs the universe, and which has several subaltern ministers under it ;-men give to this Deity, which is the same, different names, and pay it different honours, according to the laws and customs of every country.2 Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, leads us to a similar conclusion by language even more decided. He assures us that "It is a tradition, received from of old, among all men, that God is the Creator and Preserver of all things, and that nothing in nature is sufficient to its own existence without his superintending protection. Hence some of the ancients held that all things are full of gods, obvious to sight, to hearing, and to all the senses, an opinion consonant enough to the power, but not to the nature of the Deity." Further on he remarks:1 "God, being one, has thus received many names, according to the variety of effects of which He is the cause." This observation will serve to explain the following testimony of Plato, which points in the same direction, though less clearly.5 "One God," he tells us it was reported, "once governed the universe ;-but a great and extraordinary change taking place in the nature of men and things infinitely for the worse, (for originally there was perfect virtue and happiness upon earth) the command then devolved upon Jupiter with many inferior deities under him to preside over different departments." The Scandinavian mythology also is not without this remarkable and universal feature, the acknowledgment of one above all the earth gods they worshipped, one whom the Scald or prophet may not name, one whose existence and majesty few are able to comprehend. Thus in the words of the Hyndla Ljod. As in the religious poem, the Völuspá. "Then comes the mighty One He who guides all things. To flourish for ever." Not only these records, but many we might study did time permit, unite in bearing witness to the assertion with which the Divine Word opens, that Creation was the exclusive work of one Divine Omnipotent Being. Until, then, not only the Sacred Scriptures be withdrawn, but all human tradition and enlightenment be blotted out, the knowledge of God as the Author of Creation cannot be banished from the minds of men. But as we go through the world we discover that there are minds to which dogmatic or traditional teaching is of little avail in convincing them of the truth of any proposition, unless the rational faculty clearly perceives the difficulty or impossibility of reasonably doubting it. And as this is so in ordinary affairs, it must inevitably be much more so on such a subject as the one before us. A celebrated living infidel,1 whose great attainments, fine intellect, and acknowledged honesty of purpose, cause me to give him such a title with unfeigned regret, placed it on record some years ago as his opinion that "in the gigantic reflection of his own image on the walls of the universe arose man's idea of God." With such doubts as these a belief in God as the Creator is impossible; therefore, as you may meet some who entertain such doubts, as doubts less terrrible, but still perplexing may arise in some minds, I would suggest a few reasons, and some lines of argument which, if carried out, may enable them to convince others, as well as themselves, in the truth, that the world was created by 'one All Wise' and 'loving Being,' who in the Bible is called God! The question which may fairly be asked of any one to whom this statement appears incredible is: If God did not create the universe, who did? At such a question some would pause and think; but many would meet it with the flippant answer "Nature," "Necessity," as if they really understood what such names implied. You will probably wonder that an answer so unequal to the subject should be given by 1 G. I. Holyoake. any thoughtful man; but I need only quote the words of a gifted thinker like Emerson to show that he considers such terms are equal to the whole of Creation. "Let us," he cries,1 "let us build altars to the beautiful Necessity, which plants the rose of beauty on the brow of Chaos, and ordains that the central intention of Nature shall be harmony and joy!" This is beautiful language, but the rose of beauty on the brow of Atheism only renders more hideous the chaos of falsehood it was intended to adorn. What is this Nature, this impersonate, insensate Necessity, which is held to have been sufficient to create the world? It is called the vital force of things, motion, and law. But can it not be seen that vital force must have an origin, motion must have an intelligent power directing it to some definite end, and keeping it in existence; law must have an Omniscient lawgiver, who must know eternally in advance every occasion in which such law will come into operation, in order that it may work harmoniously, for all time? Vital force may seem to an ordinary observer to cause certain created effects, but where, let us ask, is the origin of this vitality? It cannot be in created things themselves, for all things which can be measured in relation to space, and which go under the general head of matter, are really inert and dead. This may surprise you for a moment, but let us examine it. We know that masses of earth are dead; no one will assert that a piece of granite has any living quality, therefore as it is an ascertained law that granite is dead, we may alter its form in any way, we may melt it, we might, if we could obtain a heat sufficiently intense, reduce it to a gaseous condition, but none of these changes would alter in the least its allegiance to that fixed law of its existence- still it is inert and dead. Even should some of the minutest atoms of this granite become part of the brain of some animal or of man, the law would still rule as sternly as ever; and the atom, although infilled with a vivifying cause, and forming a basis for its operations, is still inert and dead. We come therefore to the conclusion that neither vital force nor motion belong to created things themselves, but are derived from some higher source. Motion is given to matter, and vital force is manifested in it according to immutable laws, but here the question arises, by what aim are these laws directed? If the laws according to which the visible universe has been brought to its present condition, and by which it has been invariably governed, have worked harmoniously for ages, these laws must have been instituted, and creation conducted according to them by a Being of Divine 1 Conduct of Life. Love and Infinite Wisdom, who saw the end in the beginning. They would be prompted by a Divine aim or purpose which would only develop itself as creation progressed. Let us take an instance to explain this point-If a man desires anything with his whole heart, this desire becomes his end or aim in life; all the powers of his intellect bend their energies to devise laws for his conduct, and means by which he may gain it, and the effects of his life will in time manifest the quality of his ruling love. And this passion must have existed and impelled the mind, long before the train of causes could be set in motion, and the arranging forces of the intellect were marshalled in readiness to achieve their effect. And we may reverently ask, Was it so on an infinitely extended scale in the work of creation? A first superficial glance at the face of things may give us the idea that there is a random distribution of life throughout the world, a rough balance in creation, which is useful in general, but is merciless and regardless in particulars, like the workings of the immense wheels, cranks and rods, of a great machine perfectly fulfilling the large general requirements which it was constructed to answer, but, from its very size, unable to reach into or affect the various niceties which stretch downwards from the limits of its power into the minuteness of indivisible matter. No one however who looks with a calm discerning eye below the surface of things can long hold such views, for on looking into any particulars of Nature, it is seen at once that a random glance alone produces the idea of random distribution. We are now struck with the eternal and infinite variety which prevails through creation, with the fact that unlike the workings of an insensate necessity, no two things are, were, or will be, exactly alike. Looking closer we observe that every particle of matter exists in complete and perfect relation to all other substances in space; that it is fitted in its place with the closest and nicest adjustment. Every mineral atom has a strict relation by crystallization or juxtaposition to its surroundings, and an ascending affinity by effort or endeavour to the vegetable form, each vegetable has its proper situation and season exactly provided ; the minutest diatom, its affections and appetites; and is connected by tender bonds with everything that may order its being. The indefinitely great, the indefinitely small, display equal care, wisdom, perfection, equipoise; and the little building Melicerta is as wonderful a proof of the assertion as the peopled planet that describes its everlasting spiral in the trackless extense. We soon conclude that there is nothing in creation accidental, nothing by chance, nothing by mistake; but that all nature stands fast in its omnipotent order, rejoicing within the limits of its change, like a stream exulting, leaping, shimmering within the borders of its shingly bed, infinite in variety of aspect, but evermore ruled and subsisting by Wisdom, from beneath whose cognizance nothing can escape, and by Love through which none of its smallest or weakest members are untended or uncared for. The tree never grows without its leaves, nor is the ant born without its instinct, and Creation, pointing upwards through her myriad causes and her thousand ends to one first Cause and one highest end, proclaims the one Cause as perfect wisdom, and the one end as infinite tenderness and love—such an One can be no other than the God whom we all adore. TO SWEDENBORG. A CENTURY of toil has passed away, Since we beheld on the wide waste of night In THE MYSTIC SWORD. I prayed-and lo! methought an angel stood 1 Inborn evils. |