Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-02-07
(Orlglnal.]
MIRACLES.

From the time that God sent Moses and
his brother, Aaron, to Pharoah, King Of
Egypt, up to the coming of Christ, and for,
perhaps, more than century after the COM
ing of Christ, was the age of miracles. The
attentive reader of the Bible is fully aware
that this is the case. He also has clear and
distinct idea of what is meant by the word
miracle. 1t may not be waste of time, to
inquire why did God perform miracles du-
ring the period referred to, and then cease to
give supernatural exhibition of his power
1t would not be improper to inquire why God
performed miracles at all. God never wastes
his power in making vain displays Of it.
The object which God had in working mir
acles was two fold. First, by these supernat-
ural exhibitions of his power, God designed
to convince men of his existence and of his
absolute sovereignty over all things. There
has, ever since the fall of Adam, been dis
position on the part of mankind to conclude
that what we call the world, is kind of self.
existent machinery; without beginning, mid
die or end that things have always been
as they are now, and that they will so con-
tinue forever In other words, an atheistic
sentiment pervades the human mind. This
is manifest from the fact that all men, in all
ages, left to themselves, change the truth of
God into lie and worship and serve the
creature and not the Creator.
The first object which God had in view by
working miracles, was to prove to the human
family that the laws by which the world is
governed are the creatures of God, and may
be suspended, repealed and amended whenev-
er God, their maker, sees fit.
The other object which God had ia view
in working miracles, was to reveal himself as
a God of mercy. In the Garden of Eden,
God revealed himself to the sin disgraced
Adam, as God Of mercy. A promise of re-
demption was made man, in the curse which
was pronounced upon the Deceiver. This
promise was repeated frequently, and was
made to take material form in the ark pro-
vided for saving Noah and his household
from the flood. This promise of redemption
took more visible shape in the organizing of
the Old Testament Church. Aaron was made
the priest for a nation, and through the Sec
ondary agents, Moses and Aaron. God per-
formed, in behalf of the oppressed Israelites,
a series of wonderful miracles. These, we
believe, are the first miracles which were per-
formed by God, in which he used man as an
agent. From this time to the ascension of
Jesus Christ, God was pleased to bestow upon
chosen members of the human family, the
power to work miracles. When our Saviour
began his public ministry, he sent out, first
his twelve apostles and afterward seventy
other individuals, to work miracles.
The main object which God had in view,
by all the miracles which we're performed,
from the days of Aaron to the coming of Jesus
Christ, was to prove, that in the fullness of
time, the Redeemer which was promised Adam
in the Garden of Paradise, would come.
The miracles performed in Egypt were de-
signed to prove that Israel was Gods chosen
people. Such, too, was the design of all those
miracles which were performed during the
wanderings of the children of Israel in the
wilderness. The same is true with regard to
those miracles which were performed after the
children of Israel took possession of the land
of Caanan. The language of all these mira
clas Was that God would. in the fullness of
time, send the Messiah to save sinners.
When our Saviour sent out certain of his
disciples to work miracles, the object in view
was to prove that "the kingdom of God was
at hand" The conclusion to which the Sa-
viour designed those to come, in whose pres
euce his disciples performed miracles, was
that he who was able to endow men with the
power to make the blind see, the lame walk,
the dumb speak, and to raise the dead, was
the promised Messiah.
After the ascension of the Saviour, the
power of working miracles was still conferred
upon members of the human family. This
was done to prove that Jesus, whom the Jews
cruci6ed, was the Christ, the son of the liv-
ing God.
How long this power of working miracles
continued to be granted, no one knows. 1t
ceased to be given so soon as the canon of
Scripture was full. In other words, 80 soon
as the New Testament Scriptures were all
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