CHAPTER I. 



OF THE NATURAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE DEITY, WITH PARTICULAR ILLUSTRATIONS OF 

 HIS OMNIPOTENCE AND WISDOM. 



SECTION I. 



On tho Relation of the Natural Attributes of 

 DEITY to RELIGION. 



A FIRM conviction of tha existence of God, 

 and a competent knowledge of his natural perfec- 

 tions,lie at the foundation of all religion, both na 

 tural and revealed. In proportion as our views 

 of the perfections of Deity are limited and ob 

 scure, in a similar proportion will be our con 

 ceptions of all the relations in which he stands to 

 his creatures, of every part of his providential 

 procedure, and of all the doctrines and require 

 ments of revealed religion. 



By the natural or essential attributes of God, 

 we understand such perfections as the follow 

 ing : His Eternity, Omnipresence, Infinite 

 Knowledge, Infinite Wisdom, Omnipotence, and 

 Boundless Beneficence. These are the charac 

 ters arid attributes of Deity, which, we must 

 suppose, form the chief subjects of contemplation 

 to angels, and to all other pure intelligences and 

 in investigating the displays of which, the sons 

 of Adam would h?ve been chiefly employed, had 

 they continued in primeval innocence. These 

 attributes form the ground-work of all those gra 

 cious relations in which the God of salvation 

 stands to his redeemed people in the economy 

 of redemption they lie at the foundation of the 

 whole Christian superstructure and were they 

 not recognized as the corner-stones of that sa 

 cred edifice, the whole system of ,he Scripture 

 Revelation would remain a baseless fabric. The 

 full display of these perfections will be exhibit 

 ed in the future world the contemplation of 

 this display will form one of the sublime employ 

 ments &quot; of the saints in light&quot; and to prepare 

 us for engaging in such noble exercises, is one 

 of the chief designs of the salvation proclaimed 

 in the Gospel. 



The ChristianRevelation ought not to be con 

 sidered as superseding the Religion of Nature, 

 but as carrying it forward to perfection. It in 

 troduces the Deity to us under new relations, 

 corresponding to the degraded state into which 

 we have fallen. It is superadded to our natural 

 relations to God, and takes it for granted, that 



these natural relations must for ever subsist- 

 It is true, indeed, that the essential attributes of 

 God, and the principles of Natural Religion, 

 cannot be fully discovered without the light o! 

 Revelation, as appears from the past experience 

 of mankind in every generation ; but it is equally 

 true, that, when discovered by the aid of this 

 celestial light, they are of the utmost importance 

 in the Christian system, and are as essentially 

 connected with it, as the foundation of a build 

 ing is with the superstructure. Many professed 

 Christians, however, seem to think, and to act, 

 as if the Christian Revelation had annulled the 

 natural relations which subsist between man and 

 the Deity 5 and hence the zealous outcry against 

 every discussion from the pulpit, that has not a 

 direct relation to what are termed the doctrines 

 of grace. But nothing, surely, can be more ab 

 surd than to carry out such a principle to all its 

 legitimate consequences. Can God ever cease to 

 be Omnipotent, or can man ever cease to be 

 dependent for existence on his infinite power ? 

 Can the Divine Being ever cease to be Omnipre 

 sent and Omniscient, or can man ever cease to 

 be the object of his knowledge and superintend 

 ence ? Can Infinite Wisdom ever be detach 

 ed from the Almighty, or can man ever be in a 

 situation where he will not experience the effects 

 of his wise arrangements? Can Goodness 

 ever fail of being an attribute of Jehovah, or can 

 any sentient or intelligent beings exist that do 

 not experience the effects of his bounty ? In 

 short, can the relation of Creature and of Crea 

 tor ever cease between the human race, in what 

 ever moral or physical situation they may be 

 placed, and that almighty Being, &quot; who giveth 

 to all, life and breath, and all things ?&quot; If none 

 oi these things can possibly happen, then the 

 relations to which we refer must be eternal and 

 unchangeable, and must form the basis of all the 

 other relations in which we can possibly stand 

 to the Divine Being, either as apostate or as 

 redeemed creatures ; and, therefore, they ought 

 to be exhibited as subjects for our frequent and 

 serious contemplation, as religious and moral 

 agents. But, unless we make such topics a dis 

 tinct subject of attention, and endeavour to ac 

 quire a clear and comprehensive conception of 

 our natural relations to God, we can neper form a 



