MORAL GOVERNMENT.

23

him harm, they weaken or extinguish the emotions of sympathy, so that his neighbors do not rejoice in his prosperity, and hardly weep over his misfortunes.

Thus does God employ the general sense of mankind to encourage and reward the righteous; to correct and punish the wicked. Thus has He constituted men, in some sort, the keepers of their brethren, the guardians of one another's virtue. The natural, unperverted sentiments of the human mind, with regard to character and conduct, are upon the side of virtue and against vice; and the course of the world, turning in a great measure upon these sentiments, indicates a moral government.

(2.) A second trace, in the state of the world, of the moral government of God, is the civil government by which society subsists.

Those who are employed in administering civil government, are not supposed to act immediately from sentiment. It is expected that without regard to their own private emotions, they shall in every case proceed according to certain known and established laws. But these laws, so far as they go, are in general consonant to the sentiments of the human mind, and, like them, are favorable to the cause of virtue.

The happiness, the existence of human government depends upon the protection and encouragement which it affords to virtue, and the punishment which it inflicts upon vice. The government of men therefore, in its best and happiest form, is a moral government; and being a part, an instrument of the government of God, it serves to intimate to us the rule according to which his providence operates through the general system.

(3.) Setting aside all consideration of the opinions of the instrumentality of man, there appear in the world evident traces of the moral government of God.

Many of the consequences of men's behavior happen without the intervention of any agent. Of this kind, are the effects which their way of life has upon their health, and much of its influence upon their fortune and situation. Effects of the same nature extend to communities of

men.

Communities derive strength and stability from the truthfulness, moderation, temperance, and public spirit of the members; whereas idleness, luxury, and turbulence,

24

MORAL GOVERNMENT.

while they ruin the private fortunes of many individuals, are hurtful to the community; and the general depravity of the members is the disease and weakness of the state.

44. These effects upon communities of different courses of private conduct are not a part of the political regulations which are made with different degrees of wisdom in different states; but they may be observed in all countries. They are a part of what we commonly call the course of nature; that is, they are rewards and punishments ordained by the Lord of nature, not affected by the caprice of his subjects, and flowing immediately from the conduct of men.

45. That obstructions do arise to the full operation of these rewards and punishments, must be admitted; yet the degree in which they actually take place is sufficient to ascertain the character of the government of God.

In those cases where we are able to trace the causes which prevent the exact distribution of good and evil, we perceive that the very hindrances are wisely adapted to the present state. Even when we do not discern the reasons of their existence, we clearly perceive that these hindrances are accidental; that virtue, benign and salutary in its influences, tends to produce happiness, pure and unmixed; that vice, in its nature mischievous, tends to confusion and misery.

Now we cannot avoid considering these tendencies as the voice of Him who hath established the order of nature, declaring to those who observe and understand them, the future condition of the righteous and the wicked.

And thus, in the world, we behold upon every hand of us openings of a kingdom of righteousness corresponding to what we previously traced in the constitution of human nature. By that constitution, while reward is provided for virtue and punishment for vice, there arise in our breast the forebodings of a higher reward and a higher punishment. So, in the world, while there are manifold instances of a righteous distribution of good and evil, there is a tendency toward a completion of a scheme which is here but begun.

46. It may be objected, that the distribution of rewards and punishments is not regular, and that upon the whole, the treatment which men experience from providence is little connected with their character and conduct. The

MORAL GOVERNMENT.

25

prosperity of the wicked and the afflictions of the righteous, have in all ages been a topic of declamation. But even the occasional instances of retribution which we witness, are hints and notices that justice is concerned in the actions of men, and are calculated to excite an expectation, that at some period it will be more openly revealed. As we cannot doubt from what we see, that justice is one of the attributes of the supreme Governor, the conclusion to which we are naturally led is, that there are reasons why he does not now more fully display it, and that when these reasons have ceased, or in another state where a new order of things will exist, an exact distribution will take place, and every man will be recompensed according to his works. [Dick's Lectures, vol. i. p. 261.]

47. The sacred scriptures are the best expositors of the divine government. All our disquisitions concerning the nature of that government only prepare us for receiving those gracious discoveries, which, confirming every conclusion of right reason, resolving every doubt, and enlarging the imperfect views which belong to this the beginning of our existence, bring us perfect assurance that, in the course of the divine government, unlimited in extent, in duration, and in power, every hindrance shall be removed, the natural consequences of action shall be allowed to operate, virtue shall be happy, and vice shall be miserable.

[Lectures of Dr. George Hill; Butler's Analogy; D. Stewart's Works, Vol. v. 360-5.]

40. Evidences of moral government independently of divine revelation? 41. Evidences from the constitution of human nature?

42. Nature of the argument derived from these three particulars? 43. What may unassisted reason discover of the character of the government of God from the state of the world?

44. Do not these effects upon communities of different courses of private conduct arise from civil regulations?

45. But from the present situation of human affairs, do there not arise many obstructions to the full operation of these rewards and punishments? 46. What objection may here be noticed?

47. From what source do we derive a more perfect view of the moral government of God?

B

26

PROVIDENCE.

CHAPTER IV.

ON PROVIDENCE.

48. PROVIDENCE is the action or conduct of God in upholding by his power the universe which he has created, and of regulating all beings and events in it by his wisdom. It is the care which God takes of all things, to uphold them in being, and to direct them to the ends which he has determined to accomplish by them, so that nothing takes place in which he is not concerned in a manner worthy of his perfections, and which is not in unison with the counsel of his own will.

49. (1.) The first argument in proof of such a providence is drawn from the acknowledged perfections of God. As these prove that he is qualified to undertake the management of his creatures and all their affairs, so they furnish sure ground for the conclusion, that he has not dismissed them from his care.

For instance: omniscience brings before him the minutest object as well as the greatest, and the most secret as well as open actions; his power is as unlimited as his knowledge, and can act equally well and with equal ease, upon any and every part of the universe; his wisdom and goodness are also unlimited, and fully qualify and dispose him to exert the providence that has been asserted; his justice also requires him to exercise a moral government over his intelligent creatures, and of course to observe and control their actions.

(2.) A second argument is founded on the dependent nature of creatures. Unlike God, they have no ground of existence in themselves; they cannot of course by their own will or power prolong it a moment; it depends on the will and power of God every successive moment, and this is the doctrine of Scripture.

(3.) A third argument is founded on the order which is maintained in the universe. When we contemplate this immense system, so wonderful in its contrivances, so constant in its movements, so admirably balanced, and proceeding from age to age without the slightest confusion,

can any rational man suppose that there is no presiding mind by which it is governed? The evidence is particu larly strong to those who are more intimately acquainted with nature, and know that, in the motions of some of the heavenly bodies, there are occasionally apparent irregularities, but that means are provided for correcting them, so that they return to their proper place.

50. To this reasoning it is objected, that the order which prevails throughout the universe, may be accounted for by the laws of nature, without an immediate interposition of the Deity, and proves only the wisdom of its original constitution.

But what is the true meaning of a law of nature as applied to inanimate things? It signifies merely the stated, regular order in which they are found to subsist. Matter can neither put itself in motion, nor stop itself when in motion; and every modification which it undergoes is the effect of some external power. What then are laws of nature? They are the particular modes in which the Deity exerts his power, which, being uniform, are accounted natural, while any deviation from them is pronounced to be miraculous. If this be a just description of them, and none can dispute it, it follows that they are so far from accounting for the order which is maintained in the universe, that they necessarily imply the actual and constant interposition of the Creator, and as irresistibly suggest the idea of a lawgiver, as do the laws of any human society. The truth is, that the laws of nature, if understood to be different from the operations of the Deity, are a name, and nothing more, with which simpletons may be amused; but certainly no man of common sense, who is inquiring into the cause of the stability of the universe, will deem it satisfactory to be answered with a sound.

For some other arguments, refer to what is advanced in the last chapter in proof of the moral government of God, which implies the doctrine and the fact of providence.

51. These arguments prove not merely a general superintendence of the affairs of the universe, but a particular care exercised toward every constituent part of it.

Some maintain only a general providence, which consists in upholding certain general laws, and exclaim against the idea of a particular providence which takes a