3. Nature and Attributes. — "More at large do we learn what God is from the declarations of the inspired writings. As to his substance, that 'God is a Spirit.' As to his duration, that ' from everlasting to everlast- ing he is God;' 'the King, eternal, immortal, invisi-
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ble.' That, after all the manifestations he has made of himself, he is, from the infinite perfection and glory of his nature, incomprehensible : ' Lo, tliese are but parts of his vv'ays, and how little a portion is heard of him !' 'Touchmg the Almighty, we cannot find him out.' That he is unchangeable : 'The Father of Lights, with ■whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turn- ing.' That 'he is the fountain of life,' and the only independent Being in the universe : ' Who only hath immortality.' That every other being, however ex- alted, has its existence from him : ' For by him were all things created which are in heaven and in earth, whether thej' ai-e visible or invisilile.' That the ex- istence of every thing is upheld by him, no creature being for a moment independent of his support: 'By him all things consist;' ' upholding all things by the word of his power.' That he is omnipresent: ' Do not I fill heaven and earth with my presence ? saith the Lord.' That he is omniscient : 'All things are naked and open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.' That he is the absolute Lord and Owner of all things: 'The heavens, even the heaven of heavens, are thine, and all the parts of them;' 'The earth is thine, and the 'fulness thereof, the world and them that dwell therein ;' 'He doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.' That his providence extends to the minutest objects: 'The hairs of your head are all numbered;' 'Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.' That he is a Being of unspotted 7;«r% and perfect rec- titude : ' Holy, hol}^ holy Lord God of hosts !' ' A God of truth, and in whom there is no iniquitj^ ;' ' Of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.' That he is just in the administration of his government : ' Shall not the Judge of the whole earth do right?' 'Clouds and darkness are round about him ; judgment and justice are the habitation of his throne.' That his rvisdom is un- searchable : ' 0 the depth of the wisdom and knowl- edge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !' And, finally, that he is good and merciful: ' Thou art good, and thy mercy endureth forever;' 'His tender mere}' is over all his works ;' ' God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love M'herewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ;' 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;' ' God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.' See Attributes ; also VI below.
"Under these deeply awful but consolatory views do the Scriptures present to us the supreme object of our worship and trust ; and they dwell upon each of the above particulars with inimitable sublimity and beauty of language, and with an inexhaustible variety of illustration. Nor can we compare these views of the divine nature with the conceptions of the most en- lightened of pagans without feeling how much reason we have for everlasting gratitude that a revelation so explicit and so comprehensive should have been made to us on a subject which only a revelation from God himself could have made known. It is thus that Chris- tian philosophers, even when thej' do not use the lan- guage of the Scriptures, are able to speak on this great and mysterious doctrine in language so clear and with conceptions so noble ; in a manner, too, so equable, so ditierent from the sages of antiquit}', who, if at any time they approach the truth when speaking of the di- vine nature, never fail to mingle with it some essen- tially erroneous or groveling conception. ' By the word God,' says Dr. Barrow, 'we mean a Being of in- finite wisdom, goodness, and power, the Creator and the Governor of all things, to whom the great attri- butes of eternity and independenc}', omniscience and immensit}', perfect holiness and purit}^ perfect justice and veracit}', complete happiness, glorious majesty, and supreme right of dominion belong, and to whom