Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-02-06
geaaimq fpr THE Sabbath.
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
lOrlginal ]
THE UNITY OF GOD.

Original ]
THE UNITY OF GOD.
No subject is so important as that Of God.
Of many subjects we may be profoundly ig-
norant, and still not peril our interests, either
of soul or body, either for time or eternity.
Only few individuals know anything about
astronomy, chemistry, geology or mineralogy
Of all these subjects, the mass of mankind
are profoundly ignorant Still, they cannot
be said to experience any loss or even incon-
venience because of their ignorance. Such
is not the case with those W no are ignorant
respecting the true God, the maker of the
heavens and the earth. Ignorance of Godis
ruin. 1t debases man even below the dumb
brute. "My people" says God in his word,
"perish for lack of knowledge" The lack
of knowledge on all subjects, does not cause
men to perish. If this were the case, then
all would inevitably perish, for even the wsest
men know only, little of some things, while
they know nothing of many things. 1t is
ignorance of God that causes men to perish.
We may be Indifferent whether we know
anything about some subjects or not, and still
not be culpable; but we must have clear
and correct knowledge of God, or we must
perish. Here Indifference ends in remediless
disaster Our temporal, spiritual and eternal
welfare depends upon our having correct
knowledge of God. Our social position and
our intellectual developments are both di.
rectly dependent upon our knowledge of God.
Such being the case, we may inquire, "Are
there more Gods than one, or is there on y
one God ?" =: -asf:s
For a number of reasons, it seems manife,t
that there is but one God. That there is only
one God, appears to be proven by the works Of
creation. If we admit, as the multitude Of
men do, that matter in all its shapes and forms
Of existence was, at some time-it matters not
when-created; then we are forced to come
to the conclusion that it was created by one
being and not by several. This is manifest
from the fact that all the: parts of creation
are adapted to each other, and each of the
parts to the whole. In other words, every
portion of creation evinces the fact that one
designer contrived the whole. The delicate
adjustment of all the parts of creation to
each other, is too exact to have been con
trived by more than one being. The mineral,
the vegetable and the animal kingdom, how
ever grand may be their dimensions, are still
adapted to each other, with nicely which is
truly wonderful. Clearly, each Of these
kingdoms were brought into existence for the
same purpose. They are linked together by
a delicate but indissoluble tie. This tie, ND
power, save that which produced it, can sever.
The existence of each one of these Kingdoms
is necessary to the existence of the other two.
The animal kingdom cannot exist without the
vegetable, and the vegetable cannot exist with-
out the mineral. With great propriety, the
ground, upon which we tread is called our
mother. Out of it springs the food of every
thing that lives Fowls Of the air, fish of the
sea, beast of the field and creeping things;
men of high and low degree, beggars and po-
tentates, are all fed by the earth. One God
made provision for all.
The works of creation indicate that all
things were brought into existence by one
God. The same may be said Of the govern
ment of all things. The providential laws
are the same everywhere, and under all Cir
cumstances. The earth is everywhere envel-
oped in air; vegetables everywhere find their
food in the ground, and animals are in every
country the subjects of the same law of ami
NAL life There is not one providential law
in Europe, another in Asia, and another in
America. There is one law giver, and but
one law everywhere. One grand principle
operates in all parts of the universe. In 9th.
er words, there is one and only one God Of
providence. T. - " o. 3,
1t is farther evidence of but one God, that
two, or more than. one Supreme Being, in
wolves an absurdity and even if such 4!
thing were possible, one is sufficient The
idea of Supreme Being is that he is above
all. Where there is equality, there can be
no supremacy. There can not be two Su:
preme Beings, for then there would be two
beings above all but if each is, supreme,
they are equal and neither is above ALL An
other idea which is inseparably connected
with Supreme Being, is that he is not only
above all, but governs and controls all, and
is not governed or controlled by any thing
whatever. If then, there are two Supreme
Beings, one of them is either governed by
the other; or if this is not the case, then
neither of them governs all. To suppose
Supreme Being either being governed, or not
governing all, is an absurdity as great as
to suppose that thing can be and not be at
the same time.
What is inferentially taught by creation
and providence concerning the unity of God,
is plainly declared in the Scriptures. Those
who accept the Bible as the word of God, will
have no difficulty respecting the unity Of
God. The following passages may be cited
as bearing directly on the subject: "The
Lord he is God there is none else beside
him." "The Lord our God is one Lord"
"See now that l, even I, am he, and there is
no God with me-" "There is none like thee;
neither is there any God besides thee"
"Thou art the God, even thou alone" "Thou.
even thou art Lord alone" These are few
passages from the Old Testament which de-
clare the divine unity. The following are
from the New Testament: "To us there is
but one God" "This is eternal life, that
they might know thee, the only true God and