The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-07-14

made To- go w by sn Mncxpoctod conHnyrn-
ton or otlor calamity. Wilton jrstrNyg nlo sur.
plus stock. A town. aga'u, is htlly drained and
badIy supplied with water. ddcaying vegetable
and animal matter IA surOfol to faint tho air
and the houars are lilrd with tenants of insnln.
hrods habits. AZ pr"scnt undor such oondl.
lions. typhoid fnvor would bo suro to break OUT
and compel reform but Il by provid0utial In.
terposltion health could still be maintained.
how could cleanliness 10 enfOrced2 There ID
no end to tho airsurtlitics and ineongrui,,cs
which would result II, rs many pious pcolt
maintain, God we're independent of law. and
admin stored the world upon principles which
we cannot comprehend.
cAPRIcIous GOD IMPOSSIBLE.
Undoubtedly Providence which mover in'or
poses to disturb tho ordinary current Of ovcnu
will seem to many to bo no Providence at all.
As SDinoza well remarks: 80 long az nature
proceeds in It's even and accustomed order ths
vulgar think that God IL doing nothing" but,
"a he also says in another place. the universal
laws of nature are tho very dccroes Of God,
which result necessarily from the perfection II
the divine nature. IT, therefore anything
happened In nature at large repugnant
to its universal laws. this would Ia
equally and necessarily rcpugnant IL
the DEGREES and intelligence Of God'
ia other words. adopting the popu.
lar idea Of the universe ns Of grcat machine
we might ask which Is the moro truly n dvns
contrivancs ono which works on uninterrupt.
edy and needs no REPAIRS renewals. nor nltrra.
tions. or one which requires tho constant M.
sistance Of its maker. n now wheel here and
new crank there. now push 10 make II &c
faster. and now the application OF the brake Il
rctard its too rapid motion. an which in gen.
cral can never be depended on 20 work two
consecutive days in the same manner ThS
very conception u God implies infinite wisdom
as well rs infinite power, and absolutely forbidf
his varying his action to suit varying ext
gencies.
We're not. indeed. God immutabc, he would
not be God Tho Supreme Ruler OF tho uni.
verse must act according to Interchangeable
principles or abdicate his Golship. Our high
est ideal OF an earthly sovereign II that Of a
man who. insensibe to brides and nattory I'M
Influenced 10y passion or pity or personal afIcc-
ton. conducts his government impartially and
unswervingly. Tho best type OF the Judge IL
he who regards not the rank Of the suitos
or the criminals before him, nor the suffer-
ing which his Judgments will cause thcm.
but who fearlessly declares. as the oath %
office requires that he should. what Justice die
tates. Yet that which would bc a reproach 10
King or Judge some people insist ON attrib-
uting TO thcir God. lie is implored and ex-
pected to do things for which they would do
throne King and impcach q Judge. How
long would any monarch he permitted TO rua
who distributed offices to his personal favoritcs
irrespective Of their fitness for the duties i'm
posed on them. or who should arbitrarily taka
away the property OF certain Of his subjects
who had not been sufficiently his llattcrers
and give It to others more ohseduousl
What Judge would be allowed 10 sit on thu
bench who listened not to the arguments u
counsel but to tho imporlunitios OF one or the
other party in the several causes that came be-
fore him But men pray to God to grant them
honors and distinctions as II their wishes alone
we're to be considercd they pray that markets
may rise or fall So that they may get rich at tho
expens" of their neighbors: and they ask Iudg-
ment IN their favor when they nave broken the
laws OF the physical universe As IL II were oi no
Importance whether those laws be maintained
or not.
Nothing illustrates better this popular mis-
conception Of the workings Of Divine Provi-
dcnce than the anecdotes Of which So many
are in circulation. Of what are called special
providonceS. the very word implying TINT in adj
dtion 10 the general supervision over the uni
verse attributed to God. he exerts himself on
part ocular occasions for the peculiar benefit of
his favoritcs. Thus n man IS called out OF =
falls or. instead Of ing passage in aship that
is wrecked. il delayed and ombarks on another
that makes the voyage safely; or. he with
fails In ali those cases. IL he be Of pious
turn. he thanks God for thus specially proserv-
ing his life or his property II is right for him
to bethnnkful hut why should he not be equally
| thankful that the ceilings under which he sits
day after day do not fall. that the ships he has
travelled in hundred times have al como safe
| to port and that the bank he regularly deals
| with continues to bc soventf In reality his
| pioty IL lmpiety. He does not hahitually bellows
| in Providence. and only acknowledges it whom
he IL forced g. do So by some startling EVENT.
which shows him q few u the dangers from
| which he is preserved 10y the constant mainte-
nance OF the laws " the universe.
So. again. people sec in unexpected events
| favorable TO their wishes the operations II u
| Providence which they tacity deny 10 exist in
respet Of more usual occurrences. The mon
ster steamer. the Great Eastern. failed 20 hc re-
| munerative to her owners when employed in
| the way they intended but being found ayaa-
cables she proved both useful aud profitable.
| and many good people went into ecstacies over
ne rare Pr0yldence TINT nag caused her c?n,
| Faraday was built for the express purpose II
laying cables and fulfilled the duty much het-
ter and more cheaply than the Great Eastern
| possibly could no one discovered any special
Providence in the matter. Yet, If we believe in
superintendent the construction II the ono shin
| ~ well as that OF the other The only din r
| ming IN the one case and not IN the other 81
| that what il recognized as man s work shows
| more wisdom than that which 10 imagined IL
have been Gods.
PROVIDENCE MANS HELPER.
II results from all this that So far FROM "a,
ing Qverridden or controlled in our operations
by Divine Providence we are ,mernll sus,,
saws truly that God has mulc man a. have.
dominion oyer the works ~ H. hands. and
are Indeed under our feet. Lnni and sea.
earth. air, IRE. winter. and Ill" sultlcr forces
that permeate tho hounilees int"rrnn"iar}
only knowledge Of their qualities % WIN
u mastery OYER them n 1nnl"tr Hs that
which i. by - many attr.hut' 8 fo Gui W. are
IKE engineers IN NllulEr Nl q 81 ann engine. We