This is an argument capable, of course, of great extension, and perhaps liable to a few objections; but it must not be forgotten, in regard to the inferences concerning the Ruler of man's destinies, that unanimity of operation, unity of spirit or intention, is much the same thing as unity of Person. It is clear, too, that we reason with sufficient closeness when we conclude, that the Creator of the parent is not less the Maker of the offspring, and so on through a period of four or five thousand years, at the lowest computation. Now, what shall we say of the duration, as well as of the ability, of that Great Spirit, or of the mighty co-operating Spirits, whose we are, by whom we live, and the weak images of whose power we presume ourselves to be?

Such, too, is evidently the reasoning of the Psalmist: "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.”* On another occasion, "O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days; thy years are throughout all generations." Here also, guided by the spirit of a Prophet, and surely not in opposition to reason, he soars into eternity. "Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old,

• Psalm xl. 1. David, or Moses; probably both.

+ Psalm cii. 24.

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."*

With respect to the Goodness of the Almighty, I should feel quite at a loss in what manner to set about the demonstration of it. If a man cannot understand and feel that all animated existence is a blessing, he is, I think, equally inaccessible on the side of reason and on that of Revelation. It ought not to be difficult to see, that, to every living thing, life is a continual pleasure, every meal a feast. Is not health a blessing? Are not exercise and activity delightful, and is not rest? What is pleasure, and what are the uses of the senses? What is the meaning of enjoyment? What are the exercises of instinct; and of mind,-of learning, reflection, conversation? Here, once more, an apostle of the Gospel speaks best of the Sustainer of all life, as continually "filling our hearts with food and gladness;" and with him the Psalmist David, "Thou (Lord) openest thine hand and fillest all things living with plenteousness.”‡

The ordinary evils of life form no permanent objection to all this. Bereavement (which implies past enjoyment,) or affliction is often the means of

*Psalm cii. 25-27.

† Acts, xiv. 17. "Nevertheless He left not himself without witness, in that HE DID GOOD, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

Psalm cxlv. 16; (Prayer-book translation.)

making men wiser,* better, and therefore happier on earth, as well as more secure in the path of eternity. Knowing this, we might almost desire that the chastenings of Providence were dealt out more largely. The exercise of virtue and the growth of wisdom are so dependent upon the existence of sorrow, difficulty, and trial, that without these latter, or a complete regeneration of the world, it is hard to imagine what kind of good could exist amongst us: without these or similar cares, our pursuit after good would be devoid of earthly interest; our knowledge would be deficient in the test of comparison; our relish might fail in the absence of this stimulus-the necessary stimulus, which is derived from the suspension of enjoyment, and, perhaps, even from the actual admixture of pain.

If the preceding account of the Divine Goodness be a reasonable part of Theology, it will not be easy to find a better expression of its force than in the words of the Patriarch, who, notwithstanding, had suffered much. "I am not worthy," said he, to the Almighty Parent of his race, "I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies," the worldly advantages wherewith thou hast blessed me; "and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant”—the mental light which I enjoy. Let us pause to consider. Did

⚫ Job, i. 21.

+ Genesis, xxxii. 10.

God make the human mind that invented this fable of Jacob? or, did God make the human mind of Jacob, that discovered these truths? Is it not incomparably more natural to conclude, that God inspired the mind of the patriarch with this sublime wisdom? Was it not a divine gift to expound such things, when nearly all the world besides was sunk in ignorance and sin?

In pursuance of my limited view of a necessary Rational Theology, assuming only just so much of the Divine Attributes as I have already ventured to consider proved, let us proceed to weigh the hope of a future existence for the soul.-It is not to be denied that here is a great impediment in the way of certain minds, whose characters we need not now be very careful to examine. Granting, however, as much as I have assumed, and no more, it is my firm conviction, that he who clearly knows what a truly good man is, cannot find it very difficult to understand, that the Maker of such a being may have made, and very probably has made, him immortal. It is not incredible that the Parent of hundreds of successive generations should recall or perpetuate the life of His most beloved servants.

When I reflect even upon the spirit of Socrates— so fair a morality, surrounded by so general a corruption, love in the midst of hate, strength in the midst of weakness-so much light in the midst of so much

darkness, I find it far more easy to suppose, that the God who illumined the mind of the Grecian sage should also have made him immortal, and have inspired him with the consciousness that he was so, than that the best men, and those most richly endowed by their Maker, should also be those most deeply deceived. This argument of probability applies with the greatest force to the apostles and fathers of Christianity, many of them great and good men, beyond all dispute, even beyond all scepticism. The argument is of course unavailing to the ignorant, but for him, who has been careful to inform himself of the real characters of these and like persons, the conclusion is, I think, almost inevitable. Who can think, that God has ever created a man and made him, so to speak, His "friend ;*” pure, enlightened, happy; a great and successful teacher of the purest morality and the soundest earthly wisdom; endowed him, moreover, with prescience; and yet left him to propagate an error to all generations, and, finally, to die in the hope of that which is not. It was said by Rousseau that it is far easier to think the history of the Holy Jesus a truth than an invention; to my reason, it is impossible to know it well and believe it an invention; still less, is it pos

• Exod. xxxiii. 11. John, xv. 14.

+I do not mean a hope founded on the merits of individuals, but resting upon the knowledge of the goodness of God,—trust in His love,-faith in His righteousness.