ruptible Gon, into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things," Rom. i. 23. 2. He who cannot but exist, must also, of necessity, be without Beginning and without End, and duration, without beginning or end, is called Eternity. How beautifully the following text explains that subject!" They (the creatures) shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end," Psalm cii. 26, 27. 3. Every material thing had a beginning from the union of the constituent parts of which it is composed, and, on these parts being separated, the thing itself is destroyed. In living creatures also, this change is produced by death. But GOD, having neither beginning nor end, as shewn above, cannot consist of component parts; because he is Immaterial and Immortal. Hence it is written, "We ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device," Acts xvii. 29. And though in the Scripture, mention is made of GOD's eyes, his ears, and hands, and other members, such as we possess; yet these are not to be literally understood, but are only used to point out to us the inexplicable powers of DEITY Thus, by the eye, is meant God's omniscience; by the ear, his graciously hearing our prayers; by the hands, his omnipresent and active power; and in a similar manner we ought to explain the rest. 4. A Spirit is a being that is immaterial, endowed with intellect, and will. Such a being, in the most exalted sense, is God; and thus it is written, "GoD is a Spirit," John iv. 24. 5. Intellect is a faculty which clearly represents a thing to itself. Hence, in the Divine Intellect, all things, not only those that do exist, most evidently appear in their images, (phantasms.) For as his being is infinite, so his attributes must be unlimited. "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do," Heb. iv. 13. 6. GOD's Omniscience is that attribute by which he penetrates all that does, shall, or could exist. Hence, GOD is called the searcher of hearts, and the trier of the reins, and the Judge of the thoughts of the heart. The fore-knowledge of God is certain; however, it does not infringe the liberty of man's will: that is, we ought not to suppose that we are obliged by some fatal necessity to do good or evil; for God seeth the future as he beholdeth the present; consequently, from eternity itself, he seeth the actions of men just as they are to happen in time, according to the law of free will. But the free act of God's fore-knowledge does not infringe on man's liberty. 7. The Wisdom of GOD is that attribute by which he directs all things and actions to their proper ends. And thus the Psalmist sung, "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all." 8. Whatsoever GoD doth, he doth it out of his own Free Will; and he cannot be obliged to act by the influence of any person or thing. This is taught us in Scripture in these words: "Our GOD is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased," Psalm cxv. 3. 9. The Goodness of GOD is the active divine wish to communicate to his creatures as much perfection and happiness as they are capable of; capable of, I say: because GOD, being infinitely wise, ordereth all his works according to his infinite wisdom. Thus, for instance, he gave to the sun light, but not reason; and hath adorned man with reason, but not with light; because they are agreeable to their respective natures. And the Scriptures speak so highly of the goodness of GOD, that it cannot, in the least, be compared with the goodness either of angels or men. "None is good, save one, that is Gon," Luke xviii. 19. 10. The Justice of GOD is the display of his goodness; and this display is regulated according to his divine Wisdom. In order to illustrate this, it is necessary to observe, that God, according to his goodness, desires all men to be made partakers of eternal happiness; but the Justice of God restrains this; because the divine Wisdom can never look upon the righteous and the hardened sinner as both alike. Therefore, when such a sinner is cut off from eternal happiness, this is an act of the divine Justice. In this way we must judge of the other actions of Gon. The Word of GOD proclaims, in the most powerful manner, the Justice of the DEITY. "For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright," Psalm xi. 7. 11. GOD is Holy, and consequently hath no part in sin. His Will is alone directed towards good, and he hath an utter detestation of evil. Hence, man, defiled by sin, can have no communion with the most holy GoD, unless he be purified by repentance and faith. GoD's holiness is compared in Scripture to light. "GOD is light, and in him is no darkness at all,” 1 John i. 5. 12. There is nothing impossible for GOD. And the Divine Omnipotence becomes more conspicuous when we reflect that he can create, nay, he can create out of nothing, by the word of his power, without the smallest difficulty. However, God does not do all that he could, but he doth what he will; and he willeth that alone which is agreeable to his infinite wisdom. Thus, for example, GOD could by force keep men from sinning; but were he to do so, then the freedom of man's will would be infringed; and in so doing he would havé acted contrary to his infinite wisdom, which requireth man to be free in all his acts. More over, were man withheld from sin by the power of another, even then he would not be less blameable or unrighteous, than if he were permitted to sin as he would. But GoD, as most beneficent, hath given us sufficient warning against evil, without violating the freedom of our will. Of the Omnipotence of God, the Scripture reasons in this manner: "I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee," Job xlii. 2. 13. All the above-mentioned Attributes of GOD are his Eternal Excellencies, in which consist his majesty and glory. These Divine Excellencies are without bounds; and they do not belong to God only in time, but his being has been adorned with them from all eternity. Hence God never is, nor can be, in need of any thing. And as such a condition must indeed be blessed, therefore, strictly speaking, GoD alone is perfectly blessed. O how happy will those be, who shall be reckoned worthy to be made partakers of this blessedness! And thus David exclaims: For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we sce light!" Psalm xxxvi. 9. 14. None can with such propriety have Power over the Creatures as He who created them; who, being Almighty, can always preserve them in existence; and being infinite in wisdom, knows how to direct them according to his own purpose, to the accomplishment of the ends for which they were created. "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations," Psalm cxlv. 13. THE WORD OF GOD ILLUSTRATED. ON THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. [Extracted from Dr. Henderson's Iceland.] Few, perhaps, would suppose, that any traces of Lava are to be found in the Bible; yet, among the numerous interesting phenomena of nature described in the most ancient documents of that invaluable book, we not only meet with this substance, but, if I mistake not, volcanic mountains, and hot springs, such as exist in great abundance in Iceland. The prophet Nahum declares, in his sublime description of the majesty of God, that "the mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence: his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him," Chap. i. 5, 6. And Jeremiah evidently takes his image from a volcano, when he saith, "Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth, and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a VOL. XLIV. JULY, 1821. corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD," Chap. li. 25, 26. The passage which contains the most unequivocal reference to an eruption of lava, is that in which Eliphaz insidiously reminds Job of the catastrophe which unexpectedly seized the abandoned inhabitants of the cities of the plain: "Hast thou observed the ancient tract, That was trodden by wicked mortals? Though he had filled their houses with wealth, Surely their substance was carried away, Chap. xxii. 15-20. It is, indeed, commonly believed that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was effected by a shower of fire and brimstone miraculously produced in the regions of the air, and Gen. xix. 24. has been adduced in support of the opinion. But the words, "The LORD rained brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven," are susceptible of a very different interpretation. It is well known that, in Scripture, every operation of nature is directly ascribed to GoD. All her diversified instruments are his servants, and what is performed by them is said to be done by himself. "The winds are his messengers; Earthquakes, storms, inundations, drought, famine, pestilence, and war, are uniformly represented as coming from the Ruler of the universe. When, therefore, the combustible matter in question is declared to proceed from JEHOVAH, we are, in like manner, to understand the historian as referring the awful catastrophe immediately to GOD as the avenger of iniquity; though, in bringing it about, he might, as in other instances, have availed himself of natural causes. From the geologic notices contained in the Bible, relative to the neighbourhood of the devoted cities, it would appear, that it abounded with inflammable substances, and, as will presently be shewn, was most probably at some earlier period subjected to volcanic revolutions. Nothing farther, then, was necessary, than to set on fire the bitumen, sulphur, &c. that were in the bowels of the earth, which, ravaging with violent fury, an earthquake ensued, and vent being given to the subterraneous elements, a torrent of melted matter was poured forth, that, descending into the plain, carried destruction to its inhabitants, cities, villages, fields, and whatever came in its way. The quantities of sulphur, pumice, and ashes, poured by the volcano 3 to an immense height in the air, and falling from that elevation, might, with strict propriety, 'be said to have been "rained from heaven." In allusion to this catastrophe, GoD is said to rain on the wicked, hot ashes, fire, and brimstone, Psalm xi. 6. MR. HOLM, in his account of the eruption of the Skaptà volcano, says; "The whole atmosphere was filled with sand, dust, and brimstone, so thick as to occasion a continual darkness. The pumice which fell on the villages, being red hot, did considerable damage. Along with the pumice stones, there fell a great quantity of a dirty substance like pitch, rolled up sometimes in the form of small balls, and sometimes like rings or garlands. The falling of these hot substances was attended with great mischief, as they totally destroyed all manner of vegetation that they came near." That, besides the fiery sulphureous shower described by Moses, an inundation of lava overtook those cities, is stated in the most express terms, in the passage quoted from Job. Their inhabitants were arrested by its torrents. It surrounded their habitations, and cut off all way of escape, carried before it their substance, devoured their riches with its raging flames, and so completely laid waste the spot where they dwelt, that nothing now remained but a stream of melted matter. The same fact is obviously implied in the description of circumstances connected with Lot's escape. Why was he prohibited from lingering in any part of the low land, if not because he would there be exposed to the lava? And what reason can be assigned for his obtaining leave to stop in Zoar; but its lying at some distance from the spot where the lava began to act, as likewise on an elevation whence he could survey the approaching ruin, and retire before the stream reached that place? We accordingly find, that however keen he was on staying there at first, he quitted it before night, for a still more elevated and a safer retreat. "And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, for he feared to dwell in Zoar," verse 30. How natural is the incrustation of his wife on, the same hypothesis? Remaining in a lower part of the valley, and looking with a wishful eye towards Sodom, she was surrounded, ere she was aware, by the lava, which, rising and swelling, at length reached her where she stood; so that being, as it were, embalmed by the balso-bituminous mass, she became a conspicuous beacon and admonitory example to future generations. The power of this asphaltic substance in preserving from corruption, is evident, from its being employed by the Egyptians for embalming their mummies. Diod. Sic. Bib. Hist. lib. xix. c. 109. She is said to have been converted into a pillar of salt, on account of the quantity of that substance which appeared in the crust, and its abundance in those regions is notorious, both from sacred and profane history: so much so, that the lake which now fills the caverns made by the earthquake, has, among other names, that of the "Salt Sea." (To be continued.) *3 L 2* |