, 1875-11-28


tious by citing the fact that In all ages and among ~
reops never more really Or abundantE than IN
ts age ,nd among Lse most @ .n 1ana
ing from the mighties sAvans down 70 the fnaest o.
simple folk have observed the pneeorenoa Of prayer
in its relations to the Divine Beng Taer hare per
feiye3 % facts which be doused GU j: wh,n the
testimony Of tho Is 6uece,s:ai: 1s"e-s2ej.
what me, ress pEsParea % y ene 'ro q
lie who IL the l3iver of lsw. Ind therefore s.
do+s exercise the prerogsuve Of Als Divine ~,
1:se +iuce the In bis sphere POSSESSES ike
freedom :. that God instead Of being ine1oray
others cali laws, DOES hear and answer prayer, upon
tbs conditions which He has appointed with hdeity
10 promise and An uniformity OF practical result
which suggest the relAs!on Of cause and effect
Is lauch any orderly sequence in Nature. These,
eay, factS OF observation and experience
Is capable Of verihc.ton Is the most palpablo
physical phenomena. They are braided into the very
texture Of human history. They are the most real Of
ufes EeaAtiea to millions. These millions resort to
erlsy with which they employ mechanical force to
tacure given effect and the results have been 80
far from proving fictitious and lluslve that the sue
cezlye generations Of mankind continue to make use
Of this method Of noE1ng the onnilosect Arm and
appealing the Auiosing Heart When the ustu1al-
isl therefore urges his facts and puts in the plea Of
experience, the superuatralst can adduce his facts
no less substantially attes:ea- And q distinction
which be lesidnlately made between tho two is
bis coaelnson that God not does not interfere
with natural succession, upon negative e1-
perieneo, while the later claims that God does
upon positive e1peCancs,-upon facts Of experience
"a real and certain the laws Of planetary motions
and chemical htan,tiea; facts which philosophy Il
bound 70 tate into account or to stand convicted
shallow and one-sided facts which deceive only
II whoie consciousness il Lar and tho bozsted
voice Of itself but the echo Of the universal Lee
encc Of hs scientific observer gives absolute o1y OF
sequence as between cause and effect while IN the
sphere ot prayer stn,l are so .r q
Divine rtsEon1ea TO petitions for noFat oesso~nienn
are concerned psasing men testify that the
ssoi has t.osed Il .hoaa b.; md suppose j:
would not be difficult for the objec,or to grant this
snet there Is no apparent *sidenss to tne contrary
blessings e1hlbtt uniformity Q: result Thus IN
the domain Of natural law the given meteorological
for rain mar not be succesded BY rain once N An hum
lred instaleaa Ths objection Is Pesto p11ncih
.tunes the very polnt .t issns ior 20" esn we H.
or p.oduces the meteorological conditions which CAUSE
rain she ordinary o. Nature Or In answer to
But We readily acknowledge that rs things seem to
ns looking At them from the lover side law anor
y produces results in the physical word and prayer
With respect prayer than with respect to natural
law, tho given conditions invariably produce eorte-
u, ndiug results.
Coutenplattu: the universe the handiwork Of this
Cnaused and Absolute One. the Personal Col, We
recognize it 6 created and upheld by His will. We
methods which call laws, Which n1ed and uni-
form in their operation It Is to US =
'Io ed ero,ses according to The Vii Il N.ture's
God ETerywhers ws hear that eoho which coler1dge
heard when hs sazed upon ALPINE G1osz from shs sla
tow when prayer Is offered 10 Almighty God for
physical blessing. 1t Is no ~ though mechsnica force
@ nEo1ga1 to bear npG9 .9 a m ..t %a
un Wiling that others shall invest law with power
tauscending that Of the We dare not propose
to make prayer s sovereign Of the Hesrer OF prayer
Law End prayer are tho eubordinates Of tile Infinite
WILL and operate With implicit opedene 70 the eondi-
H. sends rain when The natural conditions
present, Hs has ved to do: and He sends rain
when the condition. imminent tn His viii justify
agreeable to h1a will TIE condl1ons reside in Him
Ta1s il the simple teaching OF Holy Scripture, u We
IN ID ;s % pr 81 our
Eaxner II 1t b. possioe, let this cup paas from Ne
neve1the Is. not My will but Time Be done!" Thus
also IN the pszys1 Of St. chTysostom we ~: Fulhl
Eov. o Lord. the desires and petitions Of Thy serT-
anta as may I've most expedirnt for them" And this
accord. xc w.h oar instincts. to5 We 40 not hsisss
God aud may btbtow them II He will, nor do ws
rush into atheia because He does not 1T Uniform
confcs1naby to tho coz aittons xhicn Himself has ap
pointed, God heats and answers prayer ~ oeIsanlJ
and inevitably natural Law operates couforaoly to
Geverttng to argument, Offset experienoa with
-epez7ence- Rsoppose tbs sssumed hxity and 1ode'
pendence Of the lATs Of nature In their physical t.
pec with phenooena from the rnugr Of psychcal e1
perience which fatal 70 these false differences.
But Il should concede for moment that natural
Immediately hnd ourselves confronted with the argu.
rnent from human consciousness The value od soul
is = sss - shat Ct m .tts .ad va t Z, :.
more pEobable that God would tmpress spiritual truth
upon the spiritual nature Of man thsn that
ne would lea1e him to tho terrible fate Of discovering
his institutions he contradicted BY the fate Of soul
rocta and songle.s stars and speeches aufscula
But there IL no contradiction Our eortSo'ersy not
with nature but with her fnfe Interpreters, md
front them and their partial inferenea with the
verssl intuItions Of the and bid tlem reconcile
no. do It. Indeed their own feelings when they arc
thrown OF thef guard, contradict their theory. Dr.
Nccosh instances the Case Of Ronsseau and he might
have added that Of Hcine who his deahbed wrote:
II have returned to God Ike tho prodigl son, after
feeling swine With the Hegeians for many years. The
forth through woods and vales orsr thu dzest paths
Of dislecu8. On my way I found the God Of the
Pa..heista, but could make nothing Of him. This
into the world. Indeed he is alnos: imprisoned IN It,
and yswns 1t you without voice. without power. To
have viii one must have personality and to manifest
oueh self one must hare tloow-room."
It Is thss "d,y1ne Inconsistencies which Hetne felt
which coutrsdicts the fooeh notion that God cannot
have "a ''elbow-Foom ID His own creation. Il He bus
No ear to hear, except His far distant abode He
the monotonous plsth Of natural Law Leaf With
osfke Regularity The ,hoEss q s MT
lige1t creatures with an instinct Of dependence on
Him and native lr1pulee Of prayer to Him7 II this
IA God who implanss within us feeling that we
ere in His hands, not - soulless law
Or IN tnexorahla {ate, but = Personal
Father sbse and willing to stooP to cur cries and
who. when we utter e1y, retreats to inaccessible
heighta with cruel non possuuus, md conEigns US
to sou.less law inexorabo fate Miserable, indeed,
II tie lot Of humanity and dark it, future II its God
Be but dismal creator Of contradictions! But
God IL not such. read Him IN ths light Of oar
intuiton-. The uniformity Of nature, in tho Of
excludrE supernatural intervention u got !utut
tive perception En- original truth Of rez-
eon. whIlo the Of dependence knd tho in
stnct Of prayer and, therefore. interpret
ture and law by our tntuitions with presumption
amounting to denomination that toe lies In the
assumption that law estops the LawgiyeF from ntoE
ventiou.
Now returning to experience, We ind thst what ia
m intuition becomes sctuaEzed fact. Just
full Processes Of calculation indicated to the French
astronomer the celestial locality Of unohservcd
planet which revealed itself when the CLAM
directed thther our intuitive kense OF the ecacT
of prayer nnds its Immediate coEreatlve In divine
answers, When human fratity hees to Ounutpotence,
it, testimony il uniformly that Of tho PSainist;
Verify Gcd hath heard me; He hath attended to the
votca cf my prayer"
Bot dwelling no longer On these arguments from az.
retence and Intuition, let put tho assumption Of
the absolute sovereignty Of law, independent OF the
power Of WILL to the tea Is it rue thst In the realm
Of secondary causes, - distinct from God there u