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sare < vf thd AkMghtf ^ Beistg who g&ve existence * to tMe misr « feeT * --and to this Utter op ^ QHon i M&fc to confine the present inquiry . Suppose , then , by way of illustration , a
D ;^ ^ n — of on six passengers—two or tnem Kiiiea on the spot , two no aimed for life , and the remaining two totally unhurt . How will this case be explained > I know but of four solutions to which we can
resort to unravel the difficult problem . Either—that the downfal was the effect of universal rules established by Omnipotence as the permanent laws of nature j or that it was the act of some malevolent but subordinate
being- ; or that it was the special and immediate appointment of Providence for the particular occasion ; or that the accident itself was in the common course of natural cause and effect , but that the Almighty interposed his power to save the lives of the two who
escaped , and left the other four to their fate : thus accounting for a part of the case as involving a miracle in favour of some to the exclusion of others ; and this solution is , perhaps , the general sentiment of the world . Admit the first cause , and all is
intelligible to our slender comprehension : but in what absurd and incomprehensible difficulties will not either of the others involye us ? Can a single demonstration be adduced of a $ y such supernatural interposition ? How then can we resort to that as a proof where
there can be nothing more than empty supposition ? And why presume on this system of favouritism , when the very authority on which so large a portion of mankind rests its belief , lias declared that ¦ one event happens alike to all" ? It is true , we have it from the same source that " not a
sparrow falleth to the ground without our heavenly Father , and even the hairs of our head are all numbered . " —These are beautiful and impressive illustrations of the doctrine that W <* a If * nrkt iin + 1 » a « r . rv « . ft-A «»> nf « Klirtr ) we are not in the vorte of blind
x a and undietin gwsMD ^ : fatality — that what we understand by chance or accident has no reference to a state of things out of the government of a Supreme Intelli geuce- ^ -and that however we may be unable to trace the infinite
' tmnexion between causes and effects , y « t rhe whole universe is under such
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laws and regulations , rmits Almighty Creatbr has undoubtedly and wfeely appointed . ' ¦ - ¦'¦ Here is a system perfectly rational and intelligible ; which contradicts no
deductions of human reason , nor any real or supposed revelation from tteaven . Here we are all agreed ; then why not remain satisfied , and not be anxious to make it a subject of dispute and contention ? Take the terms as
metaphors , or as expressive of general principles , and wfe see and feel their truth and propriety ; but if they are to be- interpreted literally , —i& £ n every truant schoolboy who fciay rob a bird ' s nest of its young , must be an appointed agent , acted upon , by an irresistible impulse ; and theti &e
not merely admit that Ommacience is capable of numbering the Satis of our heads , ( which is perfectly within bur comprehehsion , } but we consider him as absolutely Occupied in $ ttch a detailed exercise of his unlimited powers ; and it then becomes a subject far too deep for our scrutiny . We riiay conceive , ( for who shall fix bounds to
Omnipotence ?) that in every snow storm Omniscience should know to the thousandth part of an inch where every flake should be deposited ; and still more that this penetrating scrutiny may have been exercised before the world was formed , or even from all
eternity ; but what can we possibly have to do with such an overwhelming subject ? And how puerile must be Qur highest conceptions of the employment of the Divine attributes ! I once saw an otdt woman di ^ g from the ruins of her house , under which
8 he had lam buried three or four hours , without the slightest apparent injury whatever . A high wall contiguous to her tenement had been washed down by a deluge of water r produced by a sudden storm J the house wa § levelled with the ground , and the poof creature was found tinder a beam which had
rested lengthwise on the board at the bed ' s head , and the other end on the bedstead at her feet . On her release she walked some distance to the place appointed for her reception . Here
was a signal proof of Divine interposition , beyond the puny cavils of incredulity ! Another inch lower , and the beam would have missed its support , and death have been the certain con-
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vol . xviit . 2 p
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RvjyiarMs wr (* f * ariticu 1 ctr Praviaened * ^ 289
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1823, page 289, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1784/page/33/
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