The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-03-10

the wonderful, "the mighty God, +" etc.
In short the doctrine of our Lords divin-
| ity co-equal with the Father-ir cttri-
! butes, projections, and works, is so in
wrought into the whole texture of the
Bible, especially of the New Testament,
that unless accepted as true, the book be-
comes full of inexplicable riddles, and it
requires the acceptance of more insoluble
mysteries, to reject, than to accept, the
proposition that He was truly God as
well as truly man.
In Acts v: "a, Lying to the Holy
Ghost is said to be lying unto God.
Matt i Is, Luke i: 35, the generation of
Christ's body and soul is stated to be the
work of the Holy Ghost, and of the
Highest" term denoting God He
teaches and reveals, regenerates and sane
titles, is revealed to US, as omnipresent
and possessed OF other attributes of God
so that He is equally divine with Father
and Son.
3. The subject OF Gods government is
presented as to its fundamental principle
in what the Confession of Faith terms
Gods Eternal Decree and the Cate
chism the DEGREES of God" But the
same truth is taught by both these
phrases. The Decree of God" denotes
His plan of governing all men and all
their actions, and ordering whatsoever
comes to pass. There is certainly moth
ing repugnant to the common sense of
men, in this teaching, for men of wisdom
and forecast, thus act in their affairs
But as God is infinite in all HIS perfec-
lions and His methods of ruling the world
are far beyond our comprehension, this
doctrine involves great mystery and is
unpopular with men generally and very
unacceptable to many who are evidently
plous people 1t is thought greatly to
dishonor God, to ascribe to Him the Or
derlng of mems eternal misery and to
have ordained them to this condemna-
ton of old, Jude 4 while He has or
dained others to eternal life" Acts xiii ::
48. But these scriptural passages sustain
this ordained or "fore-ordained. as
the Greek words properly mean. This
doctrine is a great mystery it is true 1t
seems to destroy mans free agency. But
there are abundant instances in the Bible
showing that God governs free agents,
consistent y with their free agency. Thus
Joseph's brethren, Gen. |: 1923, i'm
plored him, in their fathers name. to
forgive their former ill-treatment of him.
He replied, eye thought evil but God
meant it unto good The words thcught
and meant are translations of the same
Hebrew word, which expresses, what we
denote by contrive or devise, &c. The
prophet Isaiah, chap. x, VS.. ST represents
God as sending the Assyrian monarch
against Judah to chasten His people, and
at the same time tells us, that monarch
thought not so-but designed only to
crafty his desire for conquest. Peter
charged the Jews, Acts ii : %, with hay
ing taken the Lord Jesus, and by aOicked
hands, having cruciied him, and yet says,
He had been delivered by the deterni-
nate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
And in Acts xxi: 2l-25 and 81, we learn
that though God had assured Paul of the
safety of himself and all in the vessel.
yet Paul recognized and insisted on the
use of the means for their preservation.
Many such instances occur showing that
God does govern men and yet their free
agency is not impaired
True, there is still a mystery we can
not explain. But are we to believe moth
ing we cannot understand? If so, we
would neither believe our ability to walk
or talk or hear: for all these acts involve
the operation of our minds on our bodily
organs, which involves the mysterious
connexion of mind and matter. So hogs,
horses, cows, and sheep, may feed on the
same field of clover, and the same food is
converted into different portions-hesh.
blood, muscle, and bone, of each animal
and yet they all retain their specific pc
cu!iarities. And further, if we must re-
ject what we cannot understand respect
ing God, we must reject Him and become
Atheists for who by searching can find
out God or understand His wonderful
infinite nature?
But some ask what is the practical use
of this doctrine? Just the same as the
practical use of the doctrines concerning
God, His attributes and PROJECTIONS to
humble us in His sight, to cause us to fear
Him and dread His wrath, and at the
same time to encourage us to trust His
mercy in Christ
No man was ever conscious that he was
forced by Gods decree or predestinated
to do wrong, and yet every pious heart is
ready to say, IF He had not chosen me
never would have chosen Him" Let us
be profoundly convinced Of our utterly
helpless condition and our obligation to