ii PROOFS, ILLUSTRATIONS, AUTHORITIES, ETC. 



agent, this power, which are both distinct from itself, the law does 

 nothing, is nothing." Paley. 



" When we assert a perpetual divine agency, we readily acknow- 

 ledge that matters are so contrived as not to need a divine interposi- 

 tion in a different manner from that in which it had been constantly 

 exerted. And it is most evident that an unremitting energy dis- 

 played in such circumstance, greatly exalts our idea of God, instead 

 of depressing it ; and therefore, by the way, is so much the more 

 likely to be true." Doddridge. 



" The term law expresses the conditions of action of the properties 

 of matter. The Divine Creator of the universe ' has, by creating 

 his materials, endued with certain fixed qualities and powers, im- 

 pressed them in their origin with the spirit, not the letter of his law, 

 and made all their subsequent combinations and relations inevitable 

 consequences of this first impression.' \_Herschel 's Preliminary 

 Discourse^ In our study of the phenomena of nature, it is our 

 object to ascertain their laws by the inquiry into the conditions 

 under which the occurrences present themselves ; and a law deduced 

 from this source is nothing more than a general expression of the 

 conditions common to a certain class of phenomena, leading us to 

 the belief that, under the same conditions, the same phenomena will 

 constantly occur." W. IB. Carpenter. 



" Our belief in the uniformity of nature, which leads us to seek 

 for a common cause when a number of similar phenomena are pre- 

 sented to our observation, is based, not only on experience, but 

 upon the conviction which every believer in the existence of the 

 Deity feels of this immutability. If it were otherwise, we should 

 be led by analogy only to infer the existence of law and order where 

 none is evident ; but the mind which is once satisfied of the ex- 

 istence of a Creator, possesses a moral certainty that to him must 

 belong a consummate wisdom which shall contrive the attainment of 

 every end by the best adapted means, an omnipotence which shall 

 have fill the means at full command, and an omniscience which 

 shall foresee in every action, not only its immediate, but its remotest 

 consequences. To imagine, therefore, that the plan of the universe, 

 once established with a definite end, could require alteration during 

 the continuance of its existence, is at once to deny the perfection 

 of the Divine attributes ; whilst, on the other hand, to suppose, as 

 some have done, that the properties first impressed upon matter 

 could of themselves continue its actions, is to deny all that revelation 

 teaches us regarding our continued dependence on the Creator. Let 

 it be borne in mind, then, that when a law of physics or of vitality 

 is mentioned, nothing more is really implied than a single expres- 

 sion of the mode in which the Creator is constantly operating on 

 inorganic matter, or on organized structures." Ibid. 



