210 REV. H. C. M. WATSON 



action ceases to be miraculous. That in, so soon as we take 

 account o£ man, his interference with the course of nature 

 occasions no surprise, — raises no presumption against the 

 occurrence of the thing that he achieves. 



In the same way, so soon as we take account of God in 

 relation to His universe, miraculous action (His direct action 

 upon the course of nature) ceases to strike us with the force 

 that is expressed in the word "impossible.'" God is not, 

 however, included in our definition and conception of nature. 

 Nature is the sum of all the ordinary phenomena of the 

 universe, which are known to us by observation, experiment, 

 or deduction. It is, on the supposition of a Creator, — His 

 handiwork. He is outside of and above nature — supernatural. 

 Because He is not included in our definition of nature His 

 immediate personal action (answering to the action of man on 

 a lower plane) is miraculous, — a violation of the order of 

 nature. It is the introduction of an unseen antecedent, 

 between the natural antecedent and its natural consequent : 

 the result of which is, not the natural consequent, but another, 

 not in the order of nature. A is usually followed by a ; but 

 God intervenes between A and a and produces h ; 6 is not the 

 consequent of A, but of God, the unseen antecedent. Were 

 He visible, as man is visible. His miraculous action would 

 seem to be natural enough. Or, what is the same thing, did 

 we take cognisance of Him, supernatural action would fall 

 within our conception of things. 



Suppose that I throw an iron ball into the air : it will, in 

 obedience to the law of gravitation, fall to the earth. Sup- 

 pose, however, that a human being, invisible to me, should 

 catch the ball thus thrown into the air, and should suspend it 

 above the ground : the agent, on the supposition, being invi- 

 sible, the ball would seem to be suspended by nothing. The 

 case would be an example of a violation of a well-known law 

 of nature, — that of the attraction of gravitation. If the 

 suspension could not be explained by the operation of any 

 natural law (and it could not be so explained, as I have sup- 

 posed it due to the action of an invisible agent), then it would 

 be a miracle. But let the invisible agent be disclosed, and the 

 suspension ceases to be a miracle. The agent is seen to come 

 within our conception of nature. His action is, therefore, 

 natural, being a part of the order of nature. The event is 

 natural. 



Now, instead of the agent being a mere man, let us 

 suppose, if we may reverently suppose, the agent to be the 

 invisible God, whose existence and operations are not usually 

 included in our conception of nature : then the event wi'ought 



