652 
GOD. 
furd to its OrbU, iirtb-s bensSt which-it derives from 
the light and lieat of the fi'.n, and the alternate vicifTi- 
rudes of the feafoiis ; in the atmorphere tvliich ftirrounds 
it, and in the different fpecies.and varieties of vegetables 
and animals v/ith wliich it is .repl.eni(he-l. ' No one can 
I'nrvey the vegetable prodviflions of the eai'th, fo va¬ 
rious, beautiful, and ufeful, r.or the various gradations 
of animal life, in fucii a variety of fpecies, all preferved 
dirtin(rt, and propagated by a fettled lavr, each fitted to 
its own element, provided with proper food, and with 
infiinfts and organs fhited to its rank and (ituation, and 
efpecially with the powers of fenfation and felf-motion, 
and all more immediately or remotely fubfervient to tlie 
government and ufe of man, Vv ithout admiring' the (kill 
and defign of the original Former. But thefe are more 
iignally manifefted in the flruclure of the human frame, 
and in tiie noble po-^vers and capacities of the human 
mind; more efpecially iii the moral principles and fa¬ 
culties, which are a difilnguifl'iing part of our coiiftitu- 
tion, and lead to the perception and ackifo'»vledgment 
of the exifience and government of God. In thofe in- 
fiances that have now been recited, and a variety of fi- 
miLu infiances fuggefted by them, or naturally occurring 
to tlie notice of the curious and reflecting mind, contri¬ 
vance is manifeft, and immediately, without any nice or 
fubtle reafoning, ftiggefis a contriver. It ftrikes us like 
a fenfation ; and artful reafonings againft it may puzzle 
.iis, without lliaking our belief. No perfon, for exam¬ 
ple, that knows the principles of optics, and the ftruc- 
ture of the eye, can believe that it was formed without 
Ikill in that fcicnce ; or that the ear was formed with¬ 
out tlie knowledge of founds ; or that tlie male and fe¬ 
male, created and preferved in due proportion, were not 
formed for each other, and for continuing tiie fpecies. 
All our accounts of nature are full of infiances of this 
Jcind. The admirable and beautiful ftrudlure of things 
for final caufes, exalt our idea of the contriver ; and tiie 
unity of defign fiiews him to be one. The great motions 
in tlie fyfieiu, performed with the fame facility as the 
,leafi:, fuggefi his almiglity power, whicli gave motion to 
the earth and the celcftial bodies, with equal eafe as to 
the minutcli particles; the fubtilty of the motions and 
aPlions in the internal parts of bodies, flievvs that his 
influence penetrates the inmofi recell'es of things, and 
that lie is equally attive and prefent every where. The 
iimplicity of tlie laws that prevail in the world, the ex¬ 
cellent difpofition of things, in order to obtain the beft 
ends, and the beauty which adorns tlie works of nature, 
■far fuperior to any thing in art, fuggefi liis confummate 
Vi/ifdom. Tiie ufefulnefs of the whole fcheme, fo well 
cofitrived for the intelligent beings who enjoy it, witli 
the internal difpofition and moral firudture of thofe 
beings, ihevvs his unbounded goodnefs. Thefe are ar¬ 
guments v/hich are futticiently open to the views and 
capacities of tiie unlearned, while at tlie fame time they 
acquire ncw'firength and lufire from the difeoveri-es of 
the learned. The Deity’s adting and intcrpoling in the 
nniverfe, fiicw tliat he governs it, as well as tliat he 
formed it; and the depth of his couiifels, even in con- 
dudling the material univerfe, of which a great part fur- 
pafi'es oar knowledge, tends to preferve an inward vene¬ 
ration and a'.ve of this great Being, and difpofes us to 
receive whad may be oiherwife revealed to us concern¬ 
ing him. His efieiice, as. well as that of all other fub- 
llances, is beyond the reach of all our difeoveries ; but 
his attributes clearly appear in his admirable works, 
V/e know that the iiigheft conception we are able to 
/'oriii of them, are fiill beneatli his real perfedtions; but 
his dominion over us, and our duty towards him, are 
alniridantly manifeft. 
Another fubftantial argument to prove tlie exifience 
of God, as the creator and governor of the univerfe, 
may be deduced from what Grotius, in his book “ De 
Veritate Religionis Chrifiianae,” and biihop Wilkins, in 
his valuable Reflexions oii'“ The Principles and Duties 
of Natural Religion,” have obferved, liie univerfA con- 
fent of mankind, and the uniform tradition of this be¬ 
lief tlirough ev'ery nation and every age ; it is iiiipoilible 
to conceive tliat a fallacy, fo perpetual and iinivcrfal, 
fiiould be inipbfed on the united rea'bn of mankind. 
No credible and fatisfadtory account can be given of 
this univerfal confent, Vv'ithoiit aferibing it to tlie origi¬ 
nal conftitutioa of the liuiiian mind, in confcquence of 
which it cannot fail to difeern the exifience of a Deity, 
and to the undeniable traces of his being, wliicli. his" 
works aft'ord. Fear, ftate-policy, and the prejudices of 
education, to which the concurrence of mankind in this 
principle has been fometiiiies refolved, are founded on 
this univerfal principle, fuppofe its being and influence, 
and are adhiatcd by it. It is much more reafonable to 
imagine, that the belief of a God was antecedent to 
tiieir operation, tlian that it fiiould have been produced 
by tliein; and tliat it was didfated by reafon and con- 
fcience, independent of the jiafllon and policy of men. 
Tlie uniform and univerfal tradition of tiiis belief, and 
of the creation of the world by the divine power, a.fl'ords 
concurring evidence both of tlie principle and of the 
fadl. T! le exifience of God is alio farther evinced by 
thofe arguments vv'hicli. have been ufually alleged to 
prove, tliat the world had a beginning, and, therefore, 
that it mufi liave been created by the energy of divine 
power. Ill proof of this, the hifiory of Mofes, confi- 
dered merely as tlie mofi ancient hifiorian, deferves par¬ 
ticular regard. His teflimony is confirmed by the mo'fi 
ancient writers, among the heathens, both poets and 
hifionans. It may be alfo fairly alleged, tliat we have 
no hifiory or tradition more ancient than that which 
agrees with the received opinion of the world’s begin¬ 
ning, and that of the manner in which it was produced; 
and that the mofi ancient liifiories were written long af¬ 
ter that time. And that tliis confideration is urged by 
Lucretius, the famou-s Epicurean, as a ftrong prefump, 
tion tliat the world had a beginning: 
- Si nulla fuit*genitalis origo 
Terraruin & coeli, femperque aeterna fuere; 
Cur fupra beliiim Thebanum, & fuiiera Troj^, 
Non alias alii quoque res cecinere poeta; ? 
Befides, the origin and progrefs of learning, and the 
mofi IIleft! 1 arts, confirm the notion of the world’s be- 
ginning, and of the common era of its creation ; to 
wliicli alfo m.ay be added, that the world itfelf, being 
material and corruptible, mufi; have had a beginning ; 
and many phenomena occur to the obfervation of the 
afironomer and mathematician, whicli furnifh a llrong 
prefumptioii, tliat it could have had no long duration, 
and that it now gradually tends to difiblution. From 
thefe coiiliderations we may infer the abfolute being and 
providence of God; even on principles of reafon and 
dedtiftions from facts, to which hitherto we have chiefly 
attended. 
Conlldering however that we are blefled with the 
Light of Revelation, wc are bound to fet forth what 
the Scriptures declare on the I'ubjedt before us. TJie 
fubfiance of tliem is thus collected by Crude-'J: 
“ The Hebrews give to God generally the name of 
Jehov.-ih; he wlio exifis of hiinfelf and gives being 
and exifience to others. This is a name inelfable, and 
myfierious, wliich denotes the eternity, immutability, 
and independence, of God, and the infallible certainty 
of his word and promiles. The Hebrews had fuch a 
veneration for this holy name, that they never pro¬ 
nounced it ; but inftead of it made ufe of that of 
Adon. 41 , which fignifies properly NIy Lords, in the 
plural number; and of Eloi, Elohi, or Elohim. 
'Lhey likewile called him El, which fignifies Strong ; 
or Shadd.^i, whereby may be meant one who is lelf- 
I'uflicient. 
“ God is taken eiMier essentially for the whole 
Trinity, xl. 8. iv. 24. or, personally, for 
4 the 
