"to our receiving instruction, are persuaded that there "is a Deity; and that to him we should look, to him "we should hasten. Our minds are inclined towards "him in the same manner, I think, as our eyes to"wards light." VIII. This argument is illustrated by the operations of Conscience, which, in a variety of ways, convinces men of the existence of God. 1st, As it is the deputy of God, and the depositary of his laws in the human breast, it inculcates, in the name of God, what ought to be done, and what ought to be avoided. So great, too, is the authority with which it speaks, that though the lords of the earth, and dreaded tyrants, should establish a thousand decrees in opposition to its dictates, it would, nevertheless, incessantly urge by its secret whispers, that obedience must be rendered to itself, and to God, in whose name it speaks, rather than to any mortal whatever. It says concisely, and with a dignity worthy of a Lawgiver, Universal submission is due to me, and to God."* when he says, "My heart said unto thee," that is, for thee, in thy behalf, in thy place.24 2dly, While it is acquainted with the most hidden secrets of men, and while neither the least imagination, nor the slightest motion of the mind, can be concealed from its view, it testifies, at the same time, that there is another besides itself, who is thoroughly acquainted with all our actions, words and thoughts. It is for this reason it is called Conscience,† that is, a witness associated with another in perceiving the secrets of man; and who This is what David intends • Пarra ipos xai T. Arri. Epictet. lib. iv. cap. 8. m Psalm xxvii. 8. 24 See NOTE XXIV. can that other be but God? On this account, also, it may be denominated "Conscience towards God."n 3dly, When it judges the state and the actions of men, it performs this office under God, and with reference to God. Whilst it commends good works, even though performed in secret, and though disapproved by others, it gives us to know that the praise of the upright" is not of men, but of God." When it rewards the good man with a most delightful tranquillity, and, in particular, when it causes his peace to abound in dying moments, it shows that God is the Rewarder of those who serve him. When it reproves, accuses, condemns, punishes, and scourges a man without mercy for his wicked deeds, although it is within the man, and indeed a part of him, it stands, however, on God's side ; nor doth it regard the degree of torment which the man may suffer from its testimony. Nay, though it be a thousand times enjoined to keep silence, though it be treated with violence, though it be almost stiffled, and seared as with a hot iron, yet it rises again, and sharply presses its testimony, in defiance of the struggles of the guilty. 4thly, Amidst all these operations, it summons man to the tribunal of God, and intimates that there all things are to be re-examined, and a more exact judgment to be passed on every action; and, according to the sentence which it has pronounced here, it causes him either to come into the presence of God with confidence, or to tremble at the thought of appearing before him. Such, also, is the energy which it displays, that it will not suffer itself to be hindered in these operations by any created η Συνείδησις Θε8. 1 Pet. ii. 19. • Rom. ii. 29. power. "If our heart condemn us, God is greater “than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if "our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence "towards God." Paul gives us a concise summary of the greater part of these operations, when he says of the Gentiles, "These, having not the law, are a law unto "themselves; which show the work of the law written "in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, " and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else "excusing one another." Nor are these the terrors of weak minds, which the stronger can easily elude. Conscience often restrains and overawes the boldest; and the most daring profligate, though he may assume the semblance of hope in his countenance, only conceals the pain which deeply pierces his heart. The laughter of such audacious transgressors is merely constrained, while they feel the smart of the sting within. IX. This faculty of Conscience, because it so powerfully manifests God to man, doth all in his name, refers all to him, and, in short, acts the part of his vicegerent in the soul, was called God by the Heathen. Hence Menander says, "Our mind is God."* Euripides, in like manner, quoted by Gataker, says, " Our own mind. is to each of us God." By this, they intended nothing else, probably, than what that old writer expresses more clearly thus, "In all men, conscience stands in the place of God." But the following passage of Epictetus is particularly worthy of notice: "Knowest thou not that thou nourishest a God? That "thou givest exercise to a God? Dost thou not carry •‘O vês yag nuwv Dros. Apud Plutarch in Platon. Quæst. i. + Gat. in notis ad Marc. Anton. p. 432. * Βροτοῖς άπασιν ἡ συνείδησις Θεος. ↑ 1 John iii. 20, 21. Rom. ii. 14, 15. 66 "God about with thee, thou wretch, and art not aware "of this? You imagine, perhaps, that I refer to something external, formed of gold or silver. Let "me tell you that you carry him within your breast. But whilst God himself is present within, "and sees and hears all things, art thou not ashamed, "as if insensible to thine own nature, and hostile to God, to think and to do these things?"* For the same reason, Plato says, "He mystically called those "Atheists, who corrupt the God who dwelleth in "them, that is, Reason."† x. The mind, also, which attends to itself, cannot be ignorant that as it was made by God, so it was made for God. Since it is clear and evident to the mind, that it did not consent of its own accord and by deliberate counsel to inhabit this body which it carries about; nor form the body for itself; nor subject it to its authority; nor even knows how the bodily members in subjection to it, are moved according to its will; nor existed any where else before it lodged in the body; nor became what it is by the contrivance or power of parents; nor is able to furnish itself with what it perceives to be necessary to its welfare; nor can find in itself the cause of its existence ;-it is forced to acknowledge that it was created, and that, therefore, it is the property of him who created it. This can be no other than God; and, as it was made by him, it necessarily follows that it was also made for him. The eye is adapted for light, the ear for sounds, the tongue for speech, and speech for the interpretation of the mind. For what is the mind itself adapted? For an object, Epict. apud Arrianum, lib. ii. cap. 8. + In Philebo. certainly, which can fill it-an object, the knowledge of which can make it wise, the love of which can make it holy, the enjoyment of which can make it happy. For an object, better than itself, nobler than all created things, and most amply sufficient to satisfy its boundless capacities. For an object, in short, which is nothing less than God. The human mind, provided it only give attention to the subject, must clearly perceive, that if no such object as this existed, it could never have itself existed, or if it had, must have existed in vain, and for no proper purpose. That man offers violence to his own mind, who does not say, "Where is God my Maker, that giveth songs in the night ?"s XI. But, besides that innate knowledge of God, of which man has the principles in his own mind, there is another argument arising from the consideration of the various other creatures around him. Since these are unable to secure the continuance of their own existence, it is manifest that they were not made by themselves: and if we trace them particularly, through the second causes of their being, as far backwards as our mind is able to conduct us, we must arrive, at length, at the First Cause, to whom those that are supposed to be the first of creatures owe the beginning of their existence, and in whose eternity, (as he exists necessarily, of himself, and without beginning,) all our thoughts are swallowed up, as in an immeasurable abyss. The sacred writings instruct us in numberless passages, that the existence of the Supreme Being may be inferred, by incontrovertible arguments, from the contemplation of the creatures. 25 XII. A very emphatical passage to this effect occurs * Job xxxv. 10. 25 See NOTE XXV. |