All mankind acknowledge, that some kind of worship is due to God, and to perform it is by all means worthy of man: and upon the minds of all is strongly impressed that sentiment which Lactantius expressed, with great perspicuity and brevity, in these words, "to know God is wisdom, and to worship him justice*." In this worship some things are natural, and therefore of more general use among all nations, such as vows and prayers, hymns and praises; as also some bodily gestures, especially such as seem most proper to express reverence and respect. All the rest, for the most part actually consist of ceremonies, either of divine institution or human invention. Of this sort are sacrifices, the use whereof, in old times, very much prevailed in all nations, and still continues in the greater part of the world. A majesty so exalted, no doubt, deserves the highest honour, and the sublimest praises on his own account; but still if men were not persuaded that the testimonies of homage and respect, they offer to God, were known to him, and accepted of him, even on this account all human piety would cool, and presently disappear; and, indeed, prayers and vows, whereby we implore the divine assistance, and solicit blessings from above, offered to a God, who neither hears, nor, in the least, regards them, would be an instance of the greatest folly; nor is it to be imagined, that all nations would ever * Deum nosse, sapientia; colere, justitia. have agreed in the extravagant custom of addressing themselves to gods that did not hear. Supposing, therefore, any religion, or divine worship, it immediately follows therefrom, that there is also a Providence. This was acknowledged of old, and is still acknowledged by the generality of all nations, throughout the world, and the most famous philosophers. There were, indeed, particular men, and some whole sects, that denied it: others, who acknowledged a kind of Providence, confined it to the heavens, among whom was Aristotle, as appears from his book de Mundo; which notion is justly slighted by Nazianzen, who calls it a mere limited Providence*. Others allowed it some place in things of this world, but only extended it to generals, in opposition to individuals; but others, with the greatest justice, acknowledged that all things, even the most minute and inconsiderable, were the objects of it. "He fills his own work, nor is he only over it, but also in itt." Moreover, if we ascribe to God the origin of this fabric, and all things in it, it will be most absurd and inconsistent to deny him the preservation and government of it; for if he does not preserve and govern his creatures, . it must be either because he cannot, or because he will not; but his infinite power and wisdom make it impossible to doubt of the former, and his infinite goodness of the latter. The words of Epictetus * Μικρόλογον πρόνοιαν. + Opus suum ipse implet, nec solum præest, sed inest. are admirable: "There were five great men, said he, of which number were Ulysses and Socrates, who said that they could not so much as move without the knowledge of God";" and in another place, "If I was a nightingale, I would act the part of a nightingale; if a swan, that of a swan; now that I am a reasonable creature, it is my duty to praise Godt." It would be needless to shew, that so great a fabric could not stand without some being properly qualified to watch over it; that the unerring course of the stars is not the effect of blind fortune; that what chance sets on foot is often put out of order, and soon falls to pieces; that, therefore, this unerring and regular velocity is owing to the influence of a fixed eternal law. It is, to be sure, a very great miracle, merely to know so great a multitude, and such a vast variety of things, not only particular towns, but also provinces and kingdoms, even the whole earth, all the myriads of creatures that crawl upon the earth, and all their thoughts; in a word, at the same instant to hear and see all that happens + on both hemispheres of this globe; how much more wonderful must it be, to rule and govern all these at once, and, as it were, with one glance of the eye. When we consider this, may we not * Πεμπτοι δε ών αν και οδυσσεύς, και Σωκράτες, οι λέγοντες ὅτι ἐδε σελήθω κινεμένος. Arrian. lib. 1. cap. 12. Περι οςεωον, &ς. † Εί μέν ἀηδών ημεν, ἐποίων τα τῆς αηνδονος, εἰ κύκνος τα τε κύκνε νῦν δε λογικος εἶμι ὁμνειν με δει τον Θεόν. Ibid. cap. 16. † Παντ' ἐφορᾶν, και παρ' ἐπακάειν, cry out with the poet, "O thou great Creator of heaven and earth, who governest the world with constant and unerring sway, who biddest time to flow throughout ages, and continuing unmoved thyself, givest motion to every thing else, &c.*"' It is also a great comfort to have the faith of this Providence constantly impressed upon the mind, so as to have recourse to it in the midst of all confusions, whether public or private, and all calamities from without or from within; to be able to say, the great King, who is also my father, is the supreme ruler of all these things, and with him all my interests are secure; to stand firm, with Moses, when no relief appears, and to look for the salvation of God t from on high, and, finally, in every distress, when all hope of human assistance is swallowed up in despair, to have the remarkable saying of the Father of the faithful stamped upon the mind, and to silence all fears with these comfortable words, "God will provide." In a word, there is nothing that can so effectually conform the heart of man, and his inmost thoughts, and consequently the whole tenor of his life, to the most perfect rule of religion and piety, than a firm belief, and frequent meditation on this divine Providence, that superintends and governs the world. He, *O! qui perpetua mundum ratione gubernas Terrarum cœliq; sator, qui tempus ab ævo, Ire jubes; stabilisq; manens das cuncta moveri, &c. + Vere θεον από μεχανῆς. who is firmly persuaded, that an exalted God of infinite wisdom and purity is constantly present with him, and sees all that he thinks or acts, will, to be sure, have no occasion to over-awe his mind with the imaginary presence of a Lælius or a Cato. Josephus assigns this as the source or root of Abel's purity: "In all his actions, says he, he considered that God was present with him, and therefore made virtue his constant study*." Moreover, the heathen nations acknowledge this superintendence of divine Providence over humanaffairs in this very respect, and that it is exercised in observing the morals of mankind, and distributing rewards and punishments. But this supposes some law or rule, either revealed from heaven, or stamped upon the hearts of men, to be the measure and test of moral good and evil, that is, virtue and vice. Man, therefore, is not a lawless creature †, but capable of a law, and actually born under one, which he himself is also ready to own. "We are born in a kingdom, says the Rabbinical philosopher, and to obey God is liberty t." But this doctrine, however perspicuous and clear in itself, seems to be a little obscured by one cloud, that is, the extraordinary success which bad men often meet with, and the misfortunes and calamities to which virtue is frequently exposed. * Πασιν τοῖς ὑπό ἀυλε πραττομένοις παρείναι τον θεον νομίζων, αρετῆς TgOVOETTO. Antiq. lib. i. cap. 3. + Ζωον ανομον. $ In regno nati sumus, Deo parere, libertas. |
