The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-04-20
God Uses Instruments.

Our heareniy Father ncrer does directly
,rhat lie can do through Others. He has
begotten children in many respects like
Himself; like Him In capability OF know.
ing, feeling and acting; like Him iu the
perfect freedom Of their wills. Hegiyes
them fields; He gives them time they
must do all the rest. He will never do
for any man, in any respect, what that
man can do for himself. He will never
do for the race what the race can do for
itself. He gives wood and iron and coal
But he never builds a vessel, hammers
out boiler, adjust machinery or iaises
steam. lie never constructs locomo.
tive, nor grades and lays q railway. He
might have furnished Noah with COM
| plcte ocean steamer; but He did not.
| He let the patriarch hammer away at the
ark through century, but He lid furnish
him with the length, the breadth and the
height, because there WAS no skill! in him
TO discover these, and they could not be
known by the light Of nature.
The eternal Father could, in the very
beginning, have stocked the world With
all the implements Of agriculture and
trade, with all the facilities for the most
rapid and comfortable travelling, and the
instruments for scientific research, and
have started His human family in house.
keeping with everything complete q.
once; but He did not lie put man
down among the great acts of God, the
grca: facts Of the universe, the great laws
Of His government, with all necessary
physical, intellectual and moral powers,
and with due scope for their exercise, and
man was to produce the result God
made the garden because man could not
and .hen set man 70 dress the garden be.
cause God would not do nuns work.
That has been His way ever, and will be
His way forever. II IL mere fanaticism
to do or desire anything different from
this or contrary thereunto.
1t is reasonable to suppose that the
eternal Father desires to have this earth
brought to perfect cultivation so that
every spot shall be caused to bloom like
the garden of the Lord, or be made like
part of His holy temple, so that human
life shall be enjoyed in its perfection,
and the physical universe be the minis.
ter Of the divine soul of man. In mo-
mcnt, in twinkling Of the eye, He
could make it such. But He does not
Il may be centuries. 1t may be cycles
He leaves man TO advance steadily, learn
ing from falls and failures and mistakes,
each generation improving on its pred
ecessor, until the earth shall be sutdued
to the obedience Of Christ There was
no Golden Age behind us, except in the
minds of the poets. There ia O Golden
Age before us, and TO that we must con.
tinually stretch forward.
inls same rule Obtains in religious and
4piritual man. We are taught the lesson
that mans agency precedcs Gods work
ing, that in the spiritual regeneration Of
men there is first the agency Of their
fellow-men, doing all they can do, and
then the power of the mighty God
doing what man cannot do. The dead
Lazarus is type of all our beloved ones
who are still dead in hcspoj; 20 and in
sins" The voice of Jesus, in MS revivi-
hcation, represents the voice and power
Of God in regeneration, but Jesus did not
roll the stone away, because that could
be done by the other friends of Lazarus.
Bnt in the salvation Of men God declines
to do what it is possible for men TO ac.
complish. Hence we have human agen.
cies, mere mortal instrumentalities, oper-
nting FOR the conversion Of men from the
error of their ways, beginning in them
that resurrection unto life which can be
contaminated only by the Spirit Of God.
Hence wc have churches, sacramcnts,
preaching, printed books. Hence we
have the operation Of the law of human
Influence, of husbands and wives, parents,
children, teachers and scholars.
The heavenly Father will not do for
our children what our earthly parents
can do. Ho will not exert His omnipo-
tence one particle toward building up
our church in what VIC can do ourselves
He will not clean and warm and ventl-
ate the building, and sing the hymns and
preach the sermons and pay the pastoral
visits and instruct tho Sunday.schoo :;
because we can do these things we must.
Rev. DR.. Deems.