24 



THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



We may now be, ir. some measure, prepared 

 to decide, whether illustrations of the omnipo 

 tence of the Dei y, derived from the system of 

 the material world, or those vague and metaphy 

 sical disquisitions which are generally given in 

 theological systems, be most calculated to im 

 press the mind, and to inspire it with reverence 

 and adoration. The following is a description, 

 given of this attribute of God, by a well-known 

 systematic writer, who has generally been consi 

 dered as a judicious and orthodox divine : 



&quot; God is almighty, Rev. i. 18, chap. iv. 8. 

 This will evidently appear, in that, if he be infi 

 nite in all his other perfections, he must be so in 

 power: thus, if he be omniscient, he knows what 

 is possible or expedient to be done ; and if he be 

 an infinite sovereign, he wills whatever shall come 

 to pass. Now this knowledge would be insigni 

 ficant, and his power inefficacious, were he not 

 infinite in power, or almighty. Again, this might 

 be argued from his justice, either in rewarding or 

 punishing : for if he were not infinite in power, 

 he could do neither of these, at least so far as to 

 render him the object of that desire or fear, 

 which is agreeable to the nature of these perfec 

 tions ; neither could infinite faithfulness accom 

 plish all the promises which he hath made, so as 

 to excite that trust and dependence which is a 

 part of religious worship ; nor could he say with 

 out limitation, as he does, / have spoken it, I 

 will also bring it to pass ; I have purposed it, I 

 will also do it ; Isa. xlvi. 11. But since power 

 is visible in, and demonstrated by its effect, and 

 infinite power by those effects which cannot be 

 produced by a creature, we may observe the 

 almighty power of God in all his works, both of 

 nature and grace : thus his eternal power is un 

 derstood, as the apostle says, By the things that 

 are made, Rom. i.20, not that there was an eter 

 nal production of things, bu the exerting this 

 power in time proves it to 1 e infinite and truly 

 divine ; for no creature can pi oduce the smallest 

 particle of matter out of noth ng, much less fur 

 nish the various species of creatures with those 

 endowments in which they excel one another, 

 and set forth their Creator s glory. And the 

 glory of his power is no less visible in the works 

 of providence, whereby he upholds all things, 

 disposes of them according to his pleasure, and 

 brings about events which only he who has an 

 almighty arm can effect.&quot; Ridgley s Body of 

 Divinity, p. 39. 



This is the whole that Dr. Ridgley judges it 

 necessary to state, in illustration of the attribute 

 of Omnipotence, except what he says in relation 

 to its operation &quot; in the work of grace,&quot; in &quot; the 

 propagation and success of the Gospel,&quot; &c. 

 subjects, to which the idea of power, or physical 

 energy, does not properly apply. Such, however, 

 are the meager and abstract disquisitions gene 

 rally given by most systematic writers. There 

 is a continual play on the term &quot; infinite,&quot; which 



to most minds conveys no idea at all, unless i* 

 be associated with ample conceptions of motion, 

 magnitude, and extension ; and it is constantly 

 applied to subjects to which it was never intended 

 to apply, such as il infinite faithfulness, infinite 

 justice, infinite truth,&quot; &.c. an application of the 

 term which is never sanctioned by Scripture, and 

 which has a tendency to introduce confusion into 

 our conceptions of the perfections of God. Grant 

 ing that the statements and reasonings in such an 

 extract as the above were unquestionable, yet 

 what impression can they make upon the mind ? 

 Would an ignorant person feel his conceptions of 

 the Divinity much enlarged, or nis moral powers 

 aroused, by such vague and general statements ? 

 And, if not, it appears somewhat unaccountable, 

 that those sources of illustration, which would 

 convey the most ample and definite views of ihe 

 &quot; eternal power&quot; and glory of God, should be 

 studiously concealed from the view. Vague de 

 scriptions and general views of any object will 

 never be effectual in awakening the attention, 

 and arresting the faculties of the mind. The 

 heart will always remain unimpressed, and the 

 understanding will never be thoroughly excited 

 in its exercise, unless the intellect have presented 

 before it a well-defined and interesting object, 

 and be enabled to survey it in its various aspects 

 and this object must always have a relation to 

 the material world, whether it be viewed in con 

 nexion with religion, or with any other subject. 



Thus I have endeavoured, in the preceding 

 sketches, to present a few detached illustrations 

 of the omnipotence and grandeur of the Deity, 

 as displayed in the vast magnitude of the material 

 universe the stupendous velocities of the celes 

 tial bodies and in the immeasurable regions of 

 space which surround them, and in which their 

 motions are performed. Such a magnificent spec 

 tacle as the fabric of the universe presents so 

 majestic, God-like, and overwhelming, to beings 

 who dwell &quot; in tabernacles of clay&quot; was surely 

 never intended to be overlooked, or to be gazed 

 at with indifference, by creatures endowed with 

 reason and intelligence, and destined to an im 

 mortal existence. In forming a universe com 

 posed of so many immense systems and worlds, 

 and replenished with such a variety of sensitive 

 and intelligent existences, the Creator doubtless 

 intended that it should make a sublime and re 

 verential impression on the minds of all the intel 

 lectual beings to whom it might be displayed, and 

 that it should convey some palpable idea of the 

 infinite glories of his nature, in so far as material 

 objects can be supposed to adumbrate the perfec 

 tions of a spiritual and uncreated Essence. Dwell 

 ing in &quot; light inaccessible&quot; to mortals, and f* 

 ever veiled from the highest created being, b &amp;gt; 

 the pure spirituality and immensity of his natui 



