DISCOURSE I. THE DOCTRINE CONCERNING HUMAN NATURE A FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINE. AND GOD SAW EVERY THING THAT HE HAD MADE, AND, BEHOLD, IT WAS VERY GOOD. - Gen. i. 31. THERE is a noble simplicity in this concluding verse of the first chapter of Genesis. It is a foundation-stone of theology and religion, and it is exceeded in importance only by the first verse of the same chapter: “ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The first verse asserts that God is the Creator of all things; the last, that all his works are good, and he, of course, as manifested in his works, is clothed with every possible perfection. At the head of God's works stands man, to whom they are all subordinated, and to whom they are made subservient. Man, then, is the highest manifestation of God's perfections, and his structure must exhibit the highest proof of God's wisdom and goodness. Our affections towards God must depend upon our conceptions of his attributes. We feel ourselves bound to adore and venerate infinite perfection. The tie which binds all human hearts to God is Religion. The con |