The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-07-03
THE BIBLES GOD.

THE BIBLES GOD.
Plain Descriptions Of His Personality and
Attributes-Hls Relationship With the
Affairs Of Man.
The Bible, from Genesis to Revela-
ton, is replete with descriptions of
God. 1t would not be improper or in
accurate to say that it gives the history
or biography Of God considered in re-
lation to this world. 1t describes the
world as Gods world and describes the
great Jehovah as the God of this world,
not simply Of the Jews, but OF the
world as whole, IN all its parts and
in all ages. 1t is sage remark Of
Bishop Butler that the Bible view OF
this world is that OF being Gods world
the world which He made and gov.
ems according to the counsel Of His
own will.
This God is described in the Bible as
being self-conscious person, as having
infinite knowledge and power. as pos
sessing a moral nature and perfect
moral character, as making moral dis
tinctions according to the quality Of
actions, as exercising the moral emo
tions of approval and disapproval, and
also as morally pleased with the right
eous and displeased with the wicked.
One must be stone-blind who can not
see these facts in the Biblical record.
They lie on the very face of the Ian
guage and are scattered all over the
Bible. We do not. in order to find
them, need to resort to any elaborate
eXegesis. They stare us in the face
every where. The language used in
describing God is, in kind. the same as
that used in describing like facts when
existing in human beings. The Bible
does not employ one set of terms for
God and another and wholly different
set for men. 1t speaks of His love,
His forbcarance His forgiveness. His
compositions, His tender mercies and
good pleasure, and also OF His anger.
His wrath and displeasure just as it
speaks OF similar conditions in His
moral creatures.
We must, of course, in Interpreting
such descriptions of God, eliminate
therefrOm every thing that is sinful
and every thing that grows out Of the
limitations and imperfections Of human
nature. But we must not carry this
process Of elimination to the point that
makes the descriptions meaningless
and virtually implies that God is abso.
solutely impassive, without sensibility
Of any kind, and without the possibility
Of being affected by what he sees among
men. Such God is certainly not the
one set before us in the Bible. Whel
the God OF that Book is spoken of a.
!, being pleased with the righteous ant
displeased with the wicked, the good
pleasure in the one case and the dis
pleasure in the other are realities in tn,
divine mind, just as truly as they would
: DO such II existing in human minds
The Bible God is a being who can b.
pleased and who can be displeased, just
, as really rs men are such beings. Hi
is not without emotions any more than
| men are without emotions, and by M
. means Indifferent to moral evil an,
q moral rectitude. The two are not the
same to Him any more than they are t.
+ men. The sense of right and wrong il
!. as real in Him as It is in them. Tn,
. difference between God and men is
, that no imperfection can attach to Hi
l pleasure or displeasure, and not tina
q He is capable of neither, while the,
are capable of both. 1t is great mis-
3 take to think of God as so ''uncondi
. toned" and absolute as virtually to pu
| Him out OF all relations of thought an
0 feeling to His own universe The Bib
gives us no such vision Of the God i
4 whom I'VE live and move, and have on
$ being" That God is the God OF thi
4 world and concerns Himself with it an,
- with its affairs.
The question whether one is so Twin
as to invite toward him the approva
8 and good pleasure Of the God who mad
!, him, or is so living as to make himse
' the object Of His disapprovd and dis
y pleasure, designated in the strong lar
e guage OF the Bible as 1.-The anger OF tn
# Lord" and sometimes as 1.-THE wrath {
r God" is, in respect to himself, tn
Q gravest question that he can possibl
h ask. To offend and displease man ma
d be a serious matter to the offender. 7
g oHend and displease God must be muc
IS more serious. We are absolutely
!. His power. and He can exercise tn,
Is power in our punishment in spite OF a
n resistance and beyond the possibilit
n of escape from its grasp. God g powe
d taken in connection with the attribute
a of His moral nature and His perfe,
" ! character. aud also his government
:. relations to this world as disclosed /
the Bible, may well make a profour