Besides, the force of this argument will depend on the degree of knowledge possessed by those whom it is designed to convince. Those appearances of nature from which the philosopher justly infers a harmony of design, are not understood by the great multitude of mankind, and cannot therefore suggest any such notion. There is not wanting proof sufficient to carry convic tion to the hearts of the rude and illiterate of the being and providence of supreme and overruling powers; but the evidence of the unity of God arising from nature is very far from being so decisive. It is not complete in any case; and in the view of the vast majority, especially when unenlightened by christianity, it does not seem to exist. With minds indisposed to retain God in their knowledge, at least the God of all holiness and perfection, and in the midst of pagan darkness, the mixture of good and evil in the present life, and many appearances in nature for which they could not account, would lead them to believe in the existence of a plurality of Gods. Hence, the origin of the sect called Manicheans, who held the existence of two Deities, the one benevolent, the other malevolent. Hence, also, the origin of the polytheism and idolatry which have prevailed over so great a portion of the world. A few ages after the flood, and after the dispersion of mankind, when the traditionary knowledge of the character and attributes of the living and true God, originally obtained from: revelation, began to disappear, idolatry commenced.

A slight survey of the progress and history of idolatrous worship may satisfy us that reason, as exercised by fallen and guilty man, is unable, from

the light of nature, to discover the unity of the Godhead. It was in proportion as reason was cultivated that this doctrine was lost, and that polytheism prevailed. When, in consequence of the dispersion of mankind, after the confusion of tongues, they were removed from the depositories of revelation, and were left to discover religious truth by the exercise of their understanding, they soon became as ignorant of the character of the true God as they were of the unity of his being. They worshipped the host of heaven, regarding them either as the visible representatives of the Deity, or as inhabited by beings of a superior order, who had mediatorial influence with the supreme Governor of all things. From offering adoration to the Deity through these representations of his power and goodness, the transition was easy of offering worship to themselves. And in a few ages more the picture drawn by the Apostle was fully realized: "professing themselves to be wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things; who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever." The number of deities multiplied in proportion as the light of reason and of science advanced; and, as if to shew more clearly the blindness of reason in the things of God, the errors of polytheism were far more gross and absurd in those states in which philosophy flourished, than among rude and savage nations. The crude notions of barbarous tribes concerning God and Deity were far less

involved and remote from the truth than were the doctrines of Greece, Rome, Egypt, Persia, and Hindostan. According to the general estimation in those countries, there were deities that presided over every distinct nation, over every town and city, over every grove, every fountain, and every river. Athens and Rome were full of statues dedicated to different deities. If, so early as the days of Hesiod, the number was thirty thousand, it was probably afterwards much greater among the Greeks, and it was certainly much greater among the Romans before the end of the Republic. If, in addition to these facts, we keep in remembrance that which an ancient historian* has recorded, that the religious rites of the Romans were far purer in the earlier than in the later ages of the commonwealth; that while they built temples, during the first hundred and seventy years they did not place in them any image or figure of any kind, persuaded that it was impious to represent things divine by what is perishable; we must be convinced that the mere light of reason, unaided by that of revelation, has never led men to the knowledge of the unity of God.

But wherever the light of revelation has been enjoyed, this doctrine has been maintained. When the Holy Scriptures announce the existence of one only living and true God, and describe his character as infinitely perfect, the doctrine seems so accordant with the lesson which is taught us by the uniformity of design visible in the universe, we naturally suppose that it might be learned from this source alone; but the prevalence of polytheism and idolatry during so many

*Plutarch, in his Life of Numa.

ages, and in those countries where reason was cultivated most, is a sufficient proof that we owe our knowledge of the unity of God to that revelation which he has given of himself. This doctrine is there not only announced as one of its fundamental truths, but it is assumed throughout. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. There is none other God but one. There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." The truth of these declarations is proved by the perfect uniformity of design throughout revelation-by the full accordance between the promises of God and their performance; between his predictions and their fulfilment; between his precepts and the most absolute rectitude; between his doctrines and truth. In these and in other ways the existence of one self-existing, unchangeable, and infinitely-perfect Jehovah, the creator, the preserver, and the governor of all, is proved. This unity of nature and of perfection he claims as his own, and made it known to patriarchs and prophets, and by all his inspired servants till the canon of revelation was complete. All that has being is represented as nothing in comparison with him, as being held in existence by his word, as being under the control of his power, and as formed to shew forth his glory. "I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God besides me. They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a God that cannot save. There is no God else besides me; à just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity. To

whom then will

ye

liken me, or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? Lift up your eyes on high, and be hold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power, not one faileth,"

Behold the one great and adorable object of your hope, and trust, and fear,-the living and the true God. He is one in his perfections, one in his nature, and one in his design; and it is only by loving him with all our heart and soul, and pursuing in our sphere the end which his government proposes, that we can rest in peace. It is by reflecting on the unity of God that we shall clearly see the important meaning of that part of Christ's intercessory prayer, which says, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me; and the glory thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one."

In connexion with the spirituality and unity of the divine nature, I must take notice of its fulness and immensity. He fills without any vacuity or mutation the illimitable extent of space, and the endless duration of eternity. He is not only present everywhere, but he is present in the whole perfection and unity of his nature. He not only possesses every possible perfection to an infinite extent, but he fills in the unity of this inconceivable perfection every point of space, and every moment of duration. It is a fulness of being, of perfection, and of blessedness; including all power, and knowledge, and wisdom, and goodness,