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the earth be defeated of heavenly influence— -the fruits of the earth pine away , as children at the withered breasts of their mothers , no longer able to yield them relief—what would become of man himself—whom these things do now all serve V
Surely the very apprehension of such a catastrophe would call up all our kindred feelings , sink all ideal distinctions between man and man , prostrate the whole race before the awful power which rules above , and even lead us , with Job , to say to the worm , Thou art my mother and my
sister ! Reflections such as these are well calculated to render us deeply sensible of the infinite power of God ; and of the absurdity of supposing , for an instant , that man can thwart his designs . Whatsoever it pleaseth him , that he
doeth , both m the army of heaven and among the children of men . None can stay his hand , or say unto him , What doest thou ? As for man , liis days are but as a shadow ; he springeth up as a flower , and is cut down ; and the place that once knew him , knows him no
more . But cannot the actions of men disturb the tranquillity of the Deity ? No ; " look unto the heavens and see ; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou . If thou sinnest , what doest thou against him ? Or , if thy transgressions be multiplied , what doest thou unto him ? If thou be
righteous , what givest thou him ? Or what receiveth he of thine hand ? Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art ; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man . " " O my soul , thou hast said unto the Lord , Thou art my Lord , my goodness extendeth not to thec—but to the saints that are in
the earth , and to the excellent in whom is all my delight . " ' This is a faithful saying , and these things I will that thou aflirm constantly , that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works . These things are g * ood and profitable unlo men" But * ' can a man be profitable
unto i * od , as he that is wise may he profitable unto himself ? Is it any pkra&ure to the Almighty that thou art right < Httl 6 ? Or is it gain to-him that thoii iuaitist thy ways perfect ? Will lie reprove thee for fear of thce ? Will he enter with thce into judgment ?" I need not multiply quotations to
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prove that as man has iio power to counteract the designs of God ; he cannot possiWy , do wli&t he nsay , disturb the peace of the ever-blessed God ^ who dwelleth In light inaccessible ^ and , when he speaks without a figure , has declared that fury is not in him . The hearts of kings are in his rule and government , and he orderefh then * as seemeth fit to his godly wisdom . Since , then , the Deity is not
actuated by human passions , reason revolts at the idea of his acting towards any of his creatures in a vindictive spirit . The Sacred Scriptures every where represent him in the most amiable light ; they positively and plainly declare that he is goad—that he is-Jove .
" A being of perfect goodness can possess no attribute which is inconsistent with that perfection ; for whatever is inconsistent with goodness is evil ; and to affirm that a being may be perfectly good while he possesses a single attribute which is contrary to goodness , is to say that he may be perfectly good at the same time that he is evil .
" Since whatever is inconsistent with goodness is evil—since all evil has its origin in want or weakness—since it is universally acknowledged that God is almighty , and therefore can have no want nor weakness , it follows that he can possess no attribute which is inconsistent with benevolence .
* ' We have only to determine the nature of an attribute to decide whether or not it can belong to the Deity . If an attribute be evil , it certainly cannot belong to God . Now the attribute , whatever It be , which inflicts endless misery on any being , is evil . It is not affirmed merely that the attribute is evil which inflicts endless
misery on the great majority of men but that that attribute is so which inflicts it even upon one single individual ; and the proof is obvious . ' * Misery , considered in itself , is
evil . Misery is only another word which is used to express pain of some kind or other . Pain , considered simply in itself , is universally admitted to be evil . Whatever produces pain , without doing any thing else , is evil . " Is all pain then evil ? No . Why ? because some pain has an ultimate object , which is the production of good . Hunger , for example , is at-
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2 JT 8 A Friendly Correspondence detween anXJrtitofianand a Culvimst .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1824, page 278, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2524/page/22/
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