The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-02-09

renee or tne progress OF fever or to send
rain, he is asking God to violate the uni
formity of nature, and to interrupt the
inseparable chain of causation which
binds together the physical world and all
physical phenomena. We all well re-
member how Professor Tyndall ridiculed
this Christian superstition, and proposed
by way of testing it what he called his
Prayer Gauge.
Now it appears to us, if the disputants
about this matter are agreed as to the
existence of God, agreed in the admis-
sion that there is a God, that then we
should be rather led to expect that God
would send answers to prayers for tenn
poral blessings and would make his ply
steal creation subservient in its order and
operations to the convenience and the
wants of man. 1t is very plain that the
physical world by itself is nothing. God
would not deem it worth while to create
the rocks of the earth and the streams of
water and the atmosphere-ifi it stopped
there. These things Gust like the coal
and iron in the bowels of the earth) must
be with reference to something higher
they must look to the introduction of
life, and even of intellectual life. In
other words, the earth is prepared for
man, and with reference to man. 1t is
nothing without him. 1t is to be the
theatre of intellectual life and, yet more,
the arena of moral probation. In other
words, the earth is a mere theatre on
which man is to be a moral actor. and
the behavior of man is the main feature
in the whole scene: Therefore, the phy
steal laws of the earth have relation to
man; they are what they are because of
their bearing on man. In themselves
(and man eliminated) they are nothing.
Thus man and nature are bound up to-
gether, and nature is made for man.
But man is a variable actor; he may
do right, or he may do wrong; and,
therefore nature, if tits adapted to man,
cannot be constant. If man obeys the
impulse of duty, God will be pleased with
him, and nature shall smile; if man de-
fleets from the path of uprightness, God
will be angry, and nature must frown.
If the inhabitants of the earth serve God,
they will naturally have propitious sea-
sons and not suffer from pestilence; if
they forget God and dishonor him, he
will punish them with drought and fam
ines and fevers This is not theology
IT is SCIENCE it is common sense. 1t
must be this way-if there is God and
a moral government
In other words the conduct of men
must ecert some influence on the aspects
Of nature. The two things cannot be
separated, if nature exists for man, and
receives its direction from the behavior
of man.,
If people please God, he will send
them abundant crops and favorable sea-
sons. Thus man agitates the course of
nature as the magnetic current does the
needle. Man turns nature this way and
that according to his behavior.
If then mans moral conduct affects the
course of nature, why not prayer? Pray
er is part of his moral action, and God
may take note of that just as he takes
note Of an act of kindliness and an act
of moral heroism.
Why, man is changing the course of
nature all the time. IF the French sa-
wants shall re-establish the inland sea
which existed at no distant peroid (geo-
logically speaking) in the region of the
Sahara, the French savants will change
the climate of Europe-winds, rainfall,
temperature and ALL If Prof. De Les
seps mingles the waters Of the Pacific and
the Atlantic at the isthmus of Panama,
he will change the character of the ami
NAL life in the two oceans.
A different channel cut for the Nile
would have blotted out the history Of
Egypt-the Sphinx, the Pyramids, the
Pbaraohs, Ptolemies, the schools of Alex
andria, and all the activities that have
been evolved since Menes turned the
river from the Libyan hills.
All the coal that is consumed this win
ter by the four million inhabitants of