this misery by excluding God from their thoughts, and living as though he were not. But, in the moment of serious reflection, the consideration cannot but be alarming, that those actions which they are as anxious to hide from their own view as from the notice of others, are well-known to God; and that all their sins, with all their aggravations, are marked by the Omnipotent Being, whose arm they cannot resist, and whose judgment of their character will fix their state of unchanging existence. The sinner, indeed, is willing to forget, that while gratifying his desires, and pursuing the course of guilt and of crime which he has voluntarily chosen, there is a witness whom no art can elude-who is present with him in his most solitary hours-who sees his perversion of infinite goodnesswho hears all his imprecations-whose eye is on his heart when polluted with thoughts of pride or envy, or malice, or deceit, or injustice, or impurity; who observes his opposition to his truth-his dishonour to his name-his reviling of his Son-his despite to his Spirit, and his profanation of his ordinances, and before whose awful tribunal he must give an account of all the deeds done in the body. What an affecting spectacle to behold a being, who was once formed after the image of God, beginning the exercise of his powers by frustrating the design for which they were bestowed-advancing through time regardless of his nearness to eternity-perverting the gifts of his Creator, slighting his holy presence, and flattering himself that God will not regard his conduct, and will not bring him to judgment! K The wilful sinner scarcely ever thinks about God; or, should he at any time happen to give to the thought a moment's consideration, his reflections are overpowered by the returning tide of iniquity, and he again runs in the way of disobedience. Though for the present he may avoid the punishment of his guilt he cannot shun its recollection; and this, like the presence of that God whose law he contemns, accompanies him to his most secret retirement, imbitters all the sources of his enjoyment, reminds him that he cannot be sinful, and far less persist in being so, with impunity, and when no human eye is upon him, forces him, through the agony of his conscience, to say "Thou, God, seest me." In the loneliness of the night, in the most retired recesses, in circumstances where detection from men is impossible, how little does he think that he is not alone, that there is beside him an invisible witness of all his thoughts and actions, who knows him far more intimately than he knows himself, who sees with abhorrence all his iniquity, and who is the only Being whose decisions can permanently affect his happiness! How soon, in the character of an impartial judge, will God display his perfect knowledge of the thoughts of the hearts of all men; while he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and fix in equity the everlasting condition of the righteous and the wicked. This omnipresence, and this omniscience, as they are necessary to judge the world, so will they be shewn by presenting to our view every thing in its reality, by bringing to remembrance what was forgotten, by unveiling what had been concealed, and by forcing every heart to confess, in the several awards that are given, that God is just when he judgeth, and clear when he condemneth. It is not merely to the openly profane or to the infidel that the doctrine of the omnipresence and omniscience of God is fraught with the most awful and arousing admonitions: it is not less alarming to the man, whatever be his profession, or his external conduct, who remains a stranger to the grace and to the holiness of the Gospel. The greatest sin is the scornful rejection of the greatest blessing; and he who has never with penitence and faith, sincerely embraced the gift of everlasting love, nor applied its holy influence to the renovation of his heart, however much he may succeed in imposing on himself, by the exterior semblance of devotion, is ranked in the estimation of Him whose view he cannot elude, with hypocrites and with unbelievers. Are they impressed with the sense that God sees them; that he is intimately acquainted with the thoughts of their hearts, who presume to offer the worship of the lip merely to their Creator and Judge!-whose conduct is at variance with the spirit and the precepts of the holy religion which they profess, and who are, towards their fellowcreatures, guilty of fraud, and injustice, and oppression? Do they recognise the universality of the divine presence, who can allow themselves to participate in all the gifts of providence without any thankful acknowledgment to their Author; who pass through life without ever once, in reality, addressing their supplications to the God from whom all that is holy in man can proceed; and who, with the name of Christians, are living in ignorance of almost all that the Bible contains, and in the neglect of every saving benefit which the Son of God died to procure? Do they believe that God is ever around them, and ever sees them, who enter into his house with thoughtlessness of heart, and with irreverence of manner, and who, amid the solemnities of his worship, are careless and trifling, and whose affections all the while are busied in going after the creature, to the entire neglect of the Creator, who is blessed for evermore? "Be not deceived; for God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves." 133 CHAPTER IV. THE ETERNITY AND IMMUTABILITY OF GOD. THE eternity of God implies his immutability, while his immutability pre-supposes his eternity. They are not so much attributes of the divine nature, as modes in which the divine nature and all its attributes exist. The sacred writers generally state them together, as being necessarily involved, the one in the other, and as belonging essentially and exclusively to God. "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the works of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me: I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever." That something has existed from eternity, it seems impossible for even atheism to deny. That that which has existed from eternity is the all-perfect, independent, and glorious God, is not less certain, from the evidence both of reason and of revelation. His existence is an eternal duration-an eternal duration which had no beginning, and which can have no end. All that is now in being, has either received its being from some external cause, or has been produced from nothing, or possesses necessary and self-existence. |