asserted in general terms, that his dominion extends ove|L.theif whole _ inward life, and especially over their gpod^ acts. Prov. xvi. 1, " The preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord." Prov. xxi. 1, " The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water : He tvirneth it whithersoever He will." Ezra vii. 27, " Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord." Ex. iii. 21, " I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians." Ps. cxix. 36, " Incline my heart unto thy testimonies." Ps. cxiv. 4, " Incline not my heart to any evil thing." A large part of the predictions, promises, and threatenings of the word of God are founded on the asjumption of this absolute control over the free acts of his creatures. Without this there can be no government of the world and no certainty as to its issue. The Bible is filled with prayers founded on this same assumption. All Christians be- lieye_thatthe hearts of men are in the hand of God ; that He works in them both to_will_jind to do according to his good
The Relation of God^s Providence to Sin. With regard to the sinful acts of men, the Scriptures teach, (1.) That they are so under the control of God that they can occur only by his permission and in execution of his purposes^ 'Heso guides them in the exercise of their wickedness that the particular forms of its manifestation are determined^ bj:,Jiis_ \yilL Inl Chron. x. 4-l4 it is said that Saul slew himself, but it is elsewhere said that the Lord slew him ahd turned the kingdom unto David. So also it is said, that he hardened the heart of Pha- raoh ; that He hardened the spirit of Sihon the king of Hesh- bon ; that He turned the hearts of the heathen to hate his people ; that He blinds the eyes of men, and sends them strong delusion that they may believe a lie ; that He stirs up the nations to war. " God," it is said, in Rev. xvii. 17, " hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (2.) The^ Scriptures teach _that_the wickedness of men is restrained within prescribed Dounds. Ps. Ixxvi. 10, " Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee : the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." 2 Kings xix. 28, " Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou
690 PART I. — THEOi^OGY. [Ch. XI. — Providence
earnest." (3.) ^^ickgd_ actions are overniled foi' good. The wicked conduct of Joseph's brethren, the obstinacy and disobedi- ence of Pharaoh, the lust of conquest and thirst for plunder by which the heathen rulers were controlled in their invasions of the Holy Land ; above all, the crucifixion of Christ, the persecu- tions of the Church, the revolutions and wars among the nations, have been all so overruled by Him who sitteth as ruler in the heav- ens, as to fulfil his wise and merciful designs. (4.) TJie^ Scriptures teach that God's proy^de^nce_ in rektion to the sins of men, is such that tlie sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature and not froni God; who neither is nor can be the author or ap- prover of sin. 1 John ii. 16, " All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father (not from Him as its source or author), but is of the world." James i. 13, " Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God : for God cannot be tempted with evil, nei- ther tempteth he any man." Jer. vii. 9, " Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not ; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations ? "
Thus the fact that God does govern all his creatures and all their actions, is clearly revealed in the Scriptures. And that fact is the foundation of all^ religion. It is the ground of the consola- tion of his people in all ages ; and it may be said to be the in- tuitive conviction of all men, however inconsistent it may be with their philosophical theories, or with their professions. The fact of this universal pi'oviderice of God is all the Bible teaches. It nowhere attempts to inform us how it is that God governs all things, or how his effectual control is to be reconciled with the efficiency of second causes. All the attempts of philosophers and theolo- gians to explain that point, may be pronounced failures, and worse than failures, for they not only raise more difficulties than they solve, but in almost all instances they include pi'inciples or lead to conclusions inconsistent with the plain teachings of the word of God. These theories are all founded on some a priori principle which is assumed on no higher authority than human reason.
f 8, A.] GOVERNMENT. 591
§ 3. Different TJieories of the Divine Grovernment.
A. The Deistical Theory of Crod's Relation to the World. The first of the general views of God's relation to the world is that which has ever been widely adopted by Rationalists, Deists, and men of the world. It is founded on the assumption that the Supreme Being is too exalted to concern Himself with the trifling concerns of his creatures liere on earth. He made the world and impressed upon it certain laws ; endowing matter with its proper- ties, and rational beings with the powers of free agency, and hav- ing done this, he leaves the world to the guidance of these general laws. According to this view, the relation which God bears to the universe is that of a mechanist to a machine. When an artist has made a watch it goes of itself, without his intervention. He is never called to interfere with its operation, except to remedy some defect. But as no such defect can be assumed in the works of God, there is no call for his intervention, and He does not interfere. All things come toj)ass_ in virtue of the operation of causes which lie .created and set in motion at the beginning.. According to this view God in no wise determines the effects of natural causes, nor controls the acts of free agents. The reason that one season is propitious and the earth produces her fruits in abundance, and that another is the reverse ; that one year pestilence sweeps over the land, and another year is exempted from such desolation ; that of two ships sailing from the same port, the one is wrecked and the other has a prosperous voyage ; that the Spanish Armada was dis- persed by a storm and Protestant England saved from papal dom- ination ; that Cromwell and his companions were arrested and prevented from sailing for America, which decided the fate of ; religious liberty in Great Britain, — that all such events are as they are, must, according to this theory, be referred to chance, or the blind operation of natural causes. God has nothing to do with them. He has abandoned the world to the government of physical laws and the affairs of men to their own control. Tlijsjview o£_ God's relation to the world is so thoroughly anti-Scriptural and irreligious that it never has been, and never can be adopted by any Christian church. So long as even the simple words of our Lord are remembered and believed, so long must this doctrine be rejected with indignation. '' Consider the ravens ; for they neither sow nor reap ; which neither have storehouse nor barn ; and God feedeth them : how much more are ye better than the fowls ? " " Youc
592 PART I. —THEOLOGY. [Ch. XI. — Providence.
Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God ; and all these things shall be added unto you." Our Lord, therefore, teaches us to confide in the universal providence of God which supplies the wants and controls the destiny of all his creatures, so that a hair does not fall from our heads without his notice.