came the object of feveral modes of worship. Against this principle of idolatry the strongest declarations are made in the fcriptures, which afcribe both good and evil to the fame fupreme mind, who effects his excellent purposes by means of them both alike.

Thus, the divine being, addreffed himself to Cyrus (though long before that prince was born) in whofe country the opinion above-mentioned was moft firmly established, fays If. xlv. 4. &c. "For "Jacob my fervant's fake, and Ifrael mine elect, I "have even called thee by thy name: I have fur"named thee, though thou haft not known me. "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is "no God befides me: I girded thee, though thou "haft not known me: That they may know from "the rifing of the fun, and from the Weft, that "there is none befides me, I am the Lord, and "there is none else. I form the light, and create "darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the "Lord do all these things." To the fame purpose Jeremiah, in Lament. iii. 37, "Who is he "that fays, and it cometh to pafs, when the Lord

&c.

commanded it not. Out of the mouth of the "most high, proceedeth not evil and good; And Amos iii. 6. "Shall there be evil in a city, and "the Lord hath not done it? Job alfo is made to express the same sentiment, when he fays, Job. I.

21.

"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken

away; bleffed be the name of the Lord:" and again, Job. ii. 10. "Shall we receive good at "the hand of God, and fhall we not receive " evil ?"

Laftly, in the course of the scripture history, not only all profperous events, but alfo all calamitous ones are conftantly afcribed to God, as the fole governor of the world, and the fovereign difpofer of all events, refpecting both nations and individuals of mankind. Thus the deftruction of the old world by a flood, as well as the interpofition in favour of Noah and his family; the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the faving of Lot: the plagues of Egypt, as well as the deliverance of the Ifraelites; and alfo all the good and evil that befel either. the Ifraelites themselves, or the neighbouring nations with whom they had intercourse, are equally referred to the fame fuperintending providence, adminiftering both good and evil, according to the characters and conduct of men.

The most striking ideas are given us in the scriptures of the eternity, the omniprefence, and unchangeable nature of the true God. I fhall only quote a few, out of numberless paffages to this purpose. Moses, in that prayer of his, which makes the xcth Pfalm, addreffes the divine being in the following manner: "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling "place in all generations. Before the mountains 66 were brought forth, or ever thou hadft formed

"the

"the earth and the world: even from everlasting "to everlasting thou art God." Solomon, at the dedication of his temple, addreffing the divine being, in the presence of all the people, says, 1 Kings "But will God, indeed, dwell on the

viii. 27. "earth

behold, the heaven, and heaven of hea66 vens cannot contain thee, how much less this houfe that I have builded?" By the prophet Jeremiah, the divine being fays, Jer. xxiii. 23. &c. "Am I a God at hand, faith the Lord, and not a "God afar off? Can any hide himself in fecret "places that I fhall not fee him? faith the Lord: ❝ do not I fill heaven and earth? faith the Lord." In Pf. xxxiii. 13. we read, "The Lord looketh " from heaven: he beholdeth all the fons of men. "From the place of his habitation he looketh upon "all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth "their hearts alike: he confidereth all their "works."

In the cxxxix Pfalm, we have a most admirable defcription of the univerfal prefence of God, and also of the intimate knowledge that he has of every thing belonging to man. Pf. cxxxix. I. &c. "O Lord, thou haft fearched me, and known me. "Thou knoweft my down-fitting, [and mine up"rifing, thou understandeft my thought afar off. "Thou compaffeth my path, and my lying down, "and art acquainted with all my ways. For there H 4

" is

❝is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou "knoweft it altogether. Thou haft befet me be"hind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is "high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I

"C go from thy fpirit? or whither fhall I flee from "thy prefence? If I afcend up into heaven thou "art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold thou "art there. If I take the wings of the morning,

and dwell in the uttermoft parts of the sea: " even there fhall thy hand lead me, and thy right "hand fhall hold me. If I fay, Surely the dark"ness shall cover me: even the night shall be

light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not <from thee, but the night shineth as the day;

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the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." The knowledge which the divine being has of the hearts of men, whatever pains they may take to conceal them, is ftrongly expreffed in Jer. xvii. 9. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and de"sperately wicked, who can know it? I the Lord "search the heart, I try the reins, even to give 86 every man according to his ways, and according "to the fruit of his doings."

The unchangeable nature of God is ftrongly afferted by himself in Mal. iii. 6. "I am the "Lord, I change not:" and it is likewise expreffed, in a peculiarly beautiful and emphatical manner, Pf. cii. 25. &c. "Of old haft thou laid

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"the foundation of the earth: and the heavens 66 are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, "but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall cc wax old like algarment; as a vesture shalt thou "change them, and they fhall be changed. But "thou art the same, and thy years shall have no "end." The apostle James alfo fays, ch. i. 17: "With God there is no variableness, neither "fhadow of turning."

Laftly, the incomprehenfible nature of God is finely expreffed in feveral parts of scripture, especially in the following paffages of the book of Job xi. 7. "Canft thou by fearching find out God? canft "thou find out the almighty unto perfection? It "is as high as heaven, what canft thou do? deeper " than hell, what canft thou know? The mea"fure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader "than the fea." xxxvi. 26. "Behold, God is 66 great, and we know him not: xxxvii. 23. "Touching the almighty, we cannot find him "out." David also says, Pf. cxlv. "Great "is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his "C greatness is unfearchable."

3.

The pretences of the heathen gods are refuted in feveral parts of scripture in a most effectual, and fometimes in a very humorous manner. It is with respect to the knowledge of future events that the true God more especially challenges the gods of the heathens, as in If. xli. 21. &c. ❝ Produce your

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