greater power. When we see a house, we know it had a builder, because, from its arrangements and appliances, we see the evidences of adjustment and design, which must have been the result of intellect; and when we see the animal creation, we discover a far higher constructive design, and a power beyond all human thought. This class of argument was used by the apostle, when he said, "For every house is builded by some man; but He that built all things is God," (Heb. iii. 4,) and also by the Psalmist, when he exclaimed, "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all." (Psalm civ. 24.)

6th. Nor are the evidences of an intelligent Creator less apparent in the operation of things that differ, and are independent of each other, by their adaptation to the mutual welfare of others. That light, which emanates from the sun, should be exactly suited to the millions of eyes, from the huge elephant to the microscopic insect, without design and intelligent arrangement, is incredible, if not impossible, when we consider the structure of the eye. That air should be suited to the lungs of all that breathe, is equally incredible, upon any other consideration than adaptation and design; and so we may say of the earth to produce our food, of the teeth to masticate it, and the stomach to digest it. And when we consider how dependent one link of this almost endless chain of being is upon another, we have an evidence as conclusive as we need, that the whole is one grand design, the product of one intelligent Being, who formed them all, and who keeps them all in proper order, so that general and continual harmony and happiness are secured.

7th. But the instincts of animals, and the reason of man, furnish us with the highest class of evidence of a wise, powerful, and benevolent Being, who first created them, and who continues them generation after generation upon the earth. No form or combination of matter could ever produce either instinct or reason; but as both exist, we are led to the conclusion that they were produced, and are preserved, by an intelligent Creator. Among the innumerable forms of animated being we find in every one that peculiar instinct which preserves its own life, and makes a provision for the continuance of its species with unerring precision through thousands of generations. Migrating birds and fishes know their appointed times of change, and the places where they can find sustenance; without visible pilot or guide they traverse trackless seas or oceans or lands, and never fail to arrive at their proper destination in due season. Insects deposit their eggs upon those substances alone that will furnish food for their future offspring; and every species of animal selects proper food, a suitable locality for its happiness, and everything requisite for its present welfare, its future existence, and its continuation upon the earth. And the reason with which man is endowed is the highest order of intellectual power upon earth; it perceives the qualities and operations of all things, material and spiritual; it makes its calculations from the past, and enters with the utmost accuracy into many events and results of the future: indeed, so wonderful is the mind of man, that in

all probability it will proceed in its march in science until every difficulty shall be subdued, every problem respecting the material universe be solved, and it will stand upon the lofty eminence of intellectual achievements, and look down upon a conquered world.

III. Thus "the things that are made" demonstrate the existence of their Maker; and by a due and proper consideration of them they assure our understandings of many of the properties or attributes of His Being; so that His works not merely prove His existence, but they also exhibit His character, even His eternal power and Godhead:" and, with the additional light which the holy Scriptures throw upon them, we possess clear and convincing evidence that God is, and that there are certain properties or qualities in His nature which are also with equal certainty demonstrated. Hence we learn,

1. That God is eternal. The present existence of things demonstrates that something has existed from eternity. The succession of plants and animals manifests that every one is derived from an antecedent one of the same kind. If we could trace every link in the order of beings back by regular succession, we must at length arrive at the first, for the existence of which we must look for the original Cause who created it. Nothing is gained by making the chain ever so long or short; the first must have been created by one whose wisdom and power were sufficient to produce it, and could not have formed itself, any more than the last. All compound and organized things must have a commencement, and they bear witness of themselves that they were formed by an antecedent agency. We are hereby led to the conclusion that, prior to any creation, there was but one Being in existence, that He is the Creator of all others, and that He is eternal, and, although we cannot comprehend all that is implied in His eternity, yet, on the other hand, we cannot imagine that He is, or can be, anything less than eternal, that is, that He never had a commencement of existence. Wherefore, as things now exist, it is manifest that something has existed from eternity; for nothing could not have produced anything; neither could anything have produced itself, to suppose which is to attribute an action to it before it was in being, which is a plain contradiction. The only rational conclusion to which we can arrive, from the consideration of the things that are, is, that there is one eternal Being, who always was and is, and who is the Creator of all others.

2. And it follows, that this Eternal Being, the Creator of all others, is self-existing and independent. To be self-existing does not imply that He is the cause of His own being, for that would be as impossible as that anything besides should be the cause of itself; but that He exists by necessity of nature, and, therefore, must be independent of all other. That which is eternal and self-existing cannot depend upon any other for its being, or any quality of its nature, but exists by necessity in itself, independently of all other.

3. And it is also evident that He must be infinite and unchangeable. That which possesses a necessity of being, cannot be limited : limitation is contradictory to such a necessity; that which necessarily

exists, must exist every where; it cannot have bounds; to be limited by any cause, either within itself, or from any external cause, would destroy its necessity of being; but as He is necessarily and selfexisting, so He must be infinite also, and this infinity includes not only an unlimited immensity, but also an equal possession of perfections and glory. And that He is unchangeable is equally apparent; for that which possesses a necessity of existence in itself, must always be so; for necessity cannot be bounded either by duration or expansion, by time or space.

4. And it is evident that this Being must be one, and the cause of all other things that are. By His being "One" is implied, not only that there cannot be two or more such; but also that His being is identical throughout eternity and infinity. To suppose that two such beings could exist is to suppose a contradiction; for the one must be limited by the other, and neither could be self-existent or independent and to suppose any variableness of nature would be equally contradictory; for variation must depend upon some cause either within or out of itself; but as this Being is independent of all cause, and is of necessity what He is, so must He be one and the same, at all times, and in all places; and as He is one and eternal, so must He have been the cause of all other things.

5. We also learn that the Creator of all things is omnipotent. Nothing could have been originally produced without an equivalent antecedent agent. The magnitudes of the heavenly bodies, their multitude, their distances, their motions, and influences exhibit a creating and sustaining energy beyond our comprehension; and when we consider the mental capacities of the intellectual universe, we are amazed and overwhelmed. And, as all things derived their existence from God, so there is no power possessed by any one, or the whole collectively, but is derived from Him who caused them to be; and who must in Himself possess all the resources of power, and therefore be almighty; and hence "the things that are made " manifest a glory in the Creator which is invisible of itself, but seen in His works, "even His eternal power" or omnipotence.

6. This eternal and omnipotent Being is the living God. That which is itself devoid of life could not have produced it in any other: it would have been as impossible for lifeless matter to have produced vitality, as for nothing to have produced any real being; but as we see thousands of things possessing life, we are thereby assured that their Creator is a living being, that He hath life in Himself, and that it is from Him that every living thing derived its vitality. And this moreover convinces us that He is not matter, but spirit, an infinite, eternal, self-existing mind, having life equal to His being, and essentially belonging to it: He is, therefore, capable of performing any action according to His own will.

7. It is also equally manifest from the things that are made, that the Maker of them is wise and intelligent. The wisdom which He possesses must be more profound than any or all created intelligence; for if any creature possesses wisdom, he must have derived it from

Him who is the fountain of wisdom, who must possess it incomparably beyond the conception of the highest created intellect. If all His attributes are equal,—and they must be so, because He is a Spirit, -then His wisdom and understanding must be unlimited, perfect, and unerring; He cannot do anything but upon the wisest and best plans; there cannot be any improvement upon His acts; all His works must be perfect according to their natures; and in no one thing, either great or small, can He fall into error, or do an imperfect action. How manifest is this wisdom, and how multiplied are the proofs of it! It is seen in every grade of creation, from the minute atom to the ponderous world; and from the world as an atom to the mighty universe of which it is a part. How wisely are all the heavenly bodies balanced, so that they hang upon nothing! What a profundity of knowledge must have been possessed by Him who so nicely adjusted the weight and distance of each, so that for thousands of years not one of them has failed in the slightest degree! And so also do we perceive it in every form of vegetable and animal life: from the smallest plant to the stately tree, how perfect is every one of them! from the lowest form of animal life to man, what wisdom and understanding are displayed in each and in all! The human mind is lost in the ocean of intelligence manifested in the things which were evidently made by some Being whose wisdom knows no bounds. The knowledge of such an one must be equal with everything; He must be perfectly acquainted with all things within and without, and all their possible variations and operations: He must know all the thoughts of all intelligent creatures; every thing must be perceived and understood by Him at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances; and He must have wisdom to direct and control all things for their proper designs, and for His own glory.

8. The things that are made also prove the goodness, benevolence, and love of their Maker. The unspeakably greater proportion of animal sensitiveness is enjoyment, which arises from the constant flow of the benevolent acts of the Creator. He gives rain, and causes the sun to shine, to bring forth the fruits of the earth in their season, so that every creature is amply provided for day by day. The exercise of the creature in almost every event of its existence is pleasure. Its voluntary and involuntary actions through the general course of its life administer happiness. Had not the Maker of all things been good, benevolent, and loving, He would not have made all the operations of nature contribute to the general happiness of His creatures; He would not have made them capable of receiving enjoyment from every external and internal object and motion; but everything might have been the reverse; every sight might have administered terror, every taste disgust, every sound a discord, every smell an offence, every operation of body or mind might have been attended with pain. What a universe of misery would this world have been, had not its Maker been benevolent and kind! How immaculately pure and free from evil must His own nature be! how happy, how blessed in Himself, to be the source of bliss to all created beings! No motive but

goodness impelled Him to make any creature whatever, and goodness prompts Him to continued acts of benevolence, generation after generation. He is necessarily happy in the unlimited possession of His own perfections and glory, and the fount from which streams of goodness flow to all the creatures which His hands have made.

9. In addition to this plain and unexceptionable method of demonstrating the existence and character of God, which is termed the argument à posteriori, or proofs of the being and perfections of the Deity drawn from His works; many learned men have adopted another mode of reasoning, which is designated the argument à priori, by which they have attempted to prove the existence of God from the necessity of His being, or that His non-existence is impossible. In this argument they do not profess to adduce any evidence from His works; but as all ideas that pass into the human mind, in this state of existence, do so only through the bodily senses; and as all the knowledge we acquire of things external to ourselves is attained through no other medium except by supernatural operations, it is very difficult for the human mind to find, or to appreciate, an argument for the existence of an infinite and eternal Spirit, who cannot be perceived by the bodily senses; but His works are discernible, and thereby appreciable and demonstrative to the understanding. And as those who require such arguments are generally perverse and prejudiced, so the difficulty of satisfying them is increased, and the propriety of adopting such a mode questionable. The argument for the existence of God from His works is more easily apprehended and demonstrative to every class of mind, and to persons of every attainment of knowledge; and we may be assured of its propriety, its sublimity, and its completeness, from the consideration that it is the argument uniformly used by the inspired writers.

10. Having thus noticed the sources from which we derive the knowledge of God, and the modes by which His existence and character are demonstrated, we shall conclude this chapter by two or three observations upon the subject.

As it is beyond all reasonable doubt from the things that are made, and from the revelations of the Scriptures, that there is One great and glorious Being, who possesses every possible perfection, and who is independent of all others, and their Creator and Preserver; it behoves every man to acquire such a knowledge of Him as his opportunities and capabilities will allow; and also to ascertain the claims which such a Being has upon his reverence, trust, obedience, and worship.

Nothing can be comparable to God. Were the entire universe of material and spiritual beings brought together, grand and glorious as they must be, yet the whole collectively would not bear any comparison with Him who is infinite. The smallest atom of matter would bear some comparison with them, but the whole of them united would not bear any comparison with God, because the whole of them would be finite; but He is infinite. He possesses a fulness of glory which cannot have either limits or bounds. He embraces every thing,