' L. W. Bacon. * W. L. WatkiuBou.
GENESIS I. I 13
is the answer to the soul's thirst. It is the universal prayer. It is the greatest idea in the world. It is the idea that over- whelms us, that humbles us, that exalts us, that saves us, that inspires us, and that makes us believe in our immortality. It is the keynote to religious progress. " As a man thinks about Grod, so is he."
i. What does Creation tell us about God ?
What discoveries about God does Creation allow us to make ? If He is creator, what does that enable us to assert concerning Him?
1. His Existence. — Conceive that a thoughtful man, in the full maturity of his powers, had suddenly been placed in the midst of this beautiful system of natural life. His eye rests upon the forms and colours around him with keen, fresh delight. Earth, sky, sun, stars, clouds, mountains, valleys, rivers, seas, trees, animals, flowers, and fruits, in groups and separately, pass before him. His thought is still eagerly curious ; it has not yet been vulgarized and impoverished down to the point at which existence is taken as a matter of course: the beauty, the mysteriousness, the awfulness of the Universe, still elevates and thrills him ; and his first desire is to account to himself for the spectacle on which he gazes. Whence comes it, this beautiful scene ? What upholds it ? Why is it here ? Does it exist of itself ? Is it its own upholder and ruler, or is there any Cause or Being in existence who gives it substance and shape ? From this question there is no escape; we cannot behold the vast flood of life sweep before our eyes without asking whence it takes its rise : we cannot read the pages of that marvellous book of Nature and be indifferent to the question whether they have an Author. And thus it is that in circles where Christ is not named, or is named only in accents of contemptuous scorn, the question is asked in our day more and more importunately: Whence comes this Universe? what upholds it in being? for what end does it exist? Now the Christian solution of this question is the only one which seriously respects the rights and even the existence of God.
^ Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London, used to warn his ordination candidates against too great confidence in attempting to prove the existence of God. Preaching in Suffolk on one occasion in
14 THE CREATION AND THE CREATOR
early life from the text, " The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God," he entered into a powerful argument in proof of the existence of God. The service over, the preacher went to dine with a neighbouring farmer, who complimented him on his sermon, but observed quite naively, " At the same time, sir, I believe there is a God."
^ That in the beginning of his noviciate, he spent the hours appointed for private prayer in thinking of God, so as to convince his mind of, and to impress deeply upon his heart, the Divine existence, rather by devout sentiments, than by studied reason- ings, and elaborate meditations. That by this short and sure method, he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of God, resolving to use his utmost endeavour to live in a continual sense of His Presence, and, if possible, never to forget Him more.^
^ The word " God " is very great. He who realizes and acknowledges this will be mild and fair in his judgment of those who frankly confess they have not the courage to say they believe in God.'
^ There was a very wise man who lived many, many hundreds of years ago. His name was Simonides. People came to him because he was one of the wisest men that ever lived ; and they said to him, " What is God, Simonides ? " He said, " Give me a day to think about it." They came to him the next day, and said, " What is God, Simonides ? " He said, " Give me a week to think about it." After a week had passed, they came to him again, and said, " What is God, Simonides ? " He said, " Give me a month to think about it." They came again to him at the end of a month, and they said, " What is God, Simonides ? " He said, " Give me a year to think about it." At the end of a year they came to him, and said, " What is God, Simonides ? " And he said, " I am no nearer than when I first began to think about it. I cannot tell what God is." »
^ Some one came once to an Arab in his tent in the desert, and said to him, " How do you know there is a God ? " He said, " How do I know whether it was a man or a camel that went by my tent last night?" How did he know which it was? "By the footprints." The marks in the sand showed whether it was a man's foot, or a camel's foot, that had passed his tent. So the Arab said, " That is the way I know God. I know Him by His footprints. These are His footprints that are all around me."