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THE P - RACTI'CA" L C · HRISTIAN.- •


~


Devoted to Truth arid Rigllteou sne ss.


VQL. I. MENDON; l\ I ~ SS., AUGUST 1, 1840. No. r.


J acob by the name of. God Almighty j hill by


my nom e Jehovah was I not known to th em."


Ih. 6: 3. J ehovah signifies in Hebrew th e


self- exi.~ ting God. The Hebrew people held ,


this name in such a we, 1 that they ' forbore to


pronounce it, ' e ven in reading th eir sacred,


books. Instead , of pronouncing it ' in their


reading of the law and th e prophets, th ey us ed


the word Adonai, Lord, Our' tran slators hav e


partly imitated them ' b y insertiog for th e ori g­in


al word Jehovah, th e word L ORD; in most


instun ces whe re th e former occ urs. It'stands


pr int ed in our c ommon Bibl es in small capi­tals


, ' But let me proceed with my qu otat ions.


" Lord thou hast been our dw elling place; in all


ge ne ra tions . Befor e th e ' mountain s . were


brou gh t forth , or e verjthou hadst formed th e


ea rth or the world, even froih everl asting · to


e verlas ting thou ' tr t God." ? saL 90: ] , 2. " Of


old hast thou, laid th e foundation ( If th e earth,


and th e hea vens are the work ul } hy hands. ­They


sha ll peri sh, but thou sha lt end ure ; yea


a ll of'them shall w! lx old like a garment, as a


vestu re sha lt th ou cha nge them , a nd th ey shal l


be changed : But thou art tl ;~ sa me , and thy


yea rs sha ll have no end." Ib, 102: 25- - 27.


" Hast th ou not kn own, hust thou not heard


that the e ver lasting God, the- Lord, the Crea ­tor


of ti, e ends of the ea rth, fainteth not, neith ­,


e,' is wea ry?" Isa iah 40: 28. " Now un to th e


king eternal, immort al, in visihl e, th e only wise ,


God, he honor and glory for evc r and ever.'


J. Tim.]: 17. " T he blessedand only poten­tate,


th ~ K ing of kings and Lord of Lo rds ;


wh o only hRlh imlllortality , d welling in tl lll


light nnto \~ hich no man can a pproac h j wh o, m


no ma n hath see n 0 1' cun sce: to wh om he


honor a~ d powe,' ever lasting." I. ' l'illl.' G: ] 5,


16.'


5. Th~ incompr~ cnsibilily of God. By


this I mea n th ut the nllture , pe rfectio n!', RlII I


infinill/ lle of God are suc h UR no finite i' \ lcllj ·


' gen;;- e eiin full Y't: ou cei ve of, ~ r en~ o m J;~ Rs'" 7


' Ve cun und erstand and co ncei ve of only so


mu ch in God as he is I_ leased to revea l. \ Vi, h


thi s we must remain conte nt, till he pr e par es


us for routh'er more glor ious views of his


diviu e excellency. T he imcolt1pr ehen sihil ­iiy


, of God helongs of ~ ~ cessity to hiR ve­"


y nature, as th e su preme self- ex isten t sp il'it.


If we wei'e ca pilble 01 compre he ndi ng him,


. we mu st of eo urse he hi s superio rs, 01' ut lellst


equals ; which woul ll confo un tl a ll rut ioual


ideas of his'g od hend. Bntnow th e testimony


of se l'ipture is trn e ; viz . " For wh o hath


kn own th e mi nd of tl'e Lurd? 01' who hutla


bee n his ~ o n! lse llo l'? Or wlto ' huth first gi \' en


to him, and it shull be reco mpc nsed IInto him


agn in. For of him, und tl lrongh hilll , an d to


him are a ll th ings." Rom. II: 34-- 36.-


, " F OI: ill h illl we live, and move, and hav e our


being." ActMIi: 28 . Hence Z oph ar pertin .


ently IISklld,-" Can st th ou by sea rc hing find


un t God?' Cuns t thou find o ut the A lmighty


. to per fect ion ? It is as th e he igh ts of h ell ~ en j


wh at ea nst tholl do ? Deep el' than hell ; wIllie


canst thou know ?' The measn re thereof is


IrJnger th ~ 1I the ea r th, and broa de r th un the


s~ a." J ob 11: 7-- 10. Again , E lilllI,-" God


is g rea te r th an ma n. ' Vhy dost , thou s trive


again st him ? for he give th, not acconnt of a ny


of his rmiiters .:' Ib'. 33: ] 2, ] 3. " Behold God '


is great and we know him not j neit her can


the I1l1mber of his years be sea rched out." II i.


36: 26. " The Almighty, we cann ot find him


ou t: he is excellent in power , all d in j udg­ment,


lind in plenty of ju st ice'.;' lb. ( 17: 23. ­"


WheT': wast thou," ~ ait h God, " when I luid


th e found ations of the eurth? declare if thou


has t und er standing:" , " Wh ~ laid , the co rner


slOlie ther eof, when th e morni ng stars sang' to­ge


the r, RllIl'all th e so ns of God shouted fol'


jo y." Ih . 38: 4-- 7. " Great is tb e Lord nnel


greatly to he praised, an d his greatness is un­sellrcha


lJle." PsaJ. ] 45:' 3. " Fo,' us the heav­e


ns are high er th an the ea rth, so ar e my ways


high er th lln YOUI' ways, a n~ ~ y t~? II ~. f~, i~' tl~~\' t


your thoughts." Iso. 55: 9:' "}' Ali1~' Ila' GJfl '~ u '


I. I ' I' · " , ' 111<)(" fi ll! Q.' JH. llllli , III ' 1;; 111 f'l ' , I


1BIlI , sa il I t~ J e Lo r~, anll no a , au aw l' 0 . '


J' 16W8t llJJtllllf/ iJ! J~ dl~ lia~ I¥ t! UJ '~~ i11 lll~ l t1frd:,('


JtWl i!::/! ~ t; l\ lr O! 1lr IlIO "! J II" d ~ lll { fl " rj , M '" " " ' "


'(~~ I ISFI= ffie ' itYfc~ i¥ h~~ rlit'f8Ptj~ 1i:" sJv~ '


e- M~~ , iAY& 1H) 914\ i'! c~ 3~ b1p1-~ v~ ni" e" ' di~>:


known, we understand enough of the pecul iar


pr operties and qualities ofspir it, ie, of God, to


satisry all our present necessities. But esp e­cially


do we learn . th ut God, tho ugh he per ­vadesthe


universe of per ceptible matter , is of


a nature infin itely above" it, and ind ep endent


of all its mutations ; so that IJe is absolut ely


uncont roll nble hy a ny of tho se laws and nc­cessities,


that go ver n th e mqterial nature with


wit h whi ch we are acquainted . This important


doctrin e is tau ght in snc h passages of'scri pture


, as the following. " God is It spirit" lind they


th at worshi p , him must worship him in s piri t


and in truth." J ohn 4: 24: " Take ye therefore


good heed unto yourselves , ( for ye saw no


munn er of' similitud e onthe day that th e Lord


s pake unto yo u in Horeb out of th e midst of


the fire, ) lest ye cor rupt yo urselves, lind mak e


yo u a gra ven ima ge, th e similitude of a ny fig­ure,


the liken ess o f male or fema le; the like­ness


of a ny beast th at is on th e eu rtli, th e like­ness


ofuny winged fowl thut flieth in th e nil';


th e liken ess of'n ny th in g th ut cree pet h on th e


' ground, th e · ' ikeness of a ny fish that is in th e


waters beneath th e ea rth: lind lest th ou - lift


lip th ine eye s to heaven , lind wh en thou seest


th e Mim, an d the moon, lind th e sta rs, even a ll


th e I!' lst of hea ven , shouldst be d riven. to wor -


I


ship rhem. u nd se rve them, which th e Lord


thy Dnd hath di vid ed unto 1111 nat ions under


th e whole heav en." Deut, 4: ] 5-- Hl. Her e


we I; er ceive that it was because Go; 1 is n pu re


spirit, thnt he forlmde all attempts to rep resent


him loy meuu s of iruages and figures. " Ont


of heav en he mad e th ee to hear his voice,


t1 lltl'; e might inslru et' th ee: and upon clir th


, he showetl th ee hi s g rea t fire j alHl thou heltrd­es


t his word s out of the mid st l? f the fire."


Dc ut, 4: 36. Thus when he manifested him­self


tu . E lija h, it is recor ded of th e revelation


thu s.- " And heh old , the Lord passed by, and


Ii gl'J[ 1t lind stro ng wi'lI l ren t th e mounr llius,


' lI n d , briI K e in~ p leces t he- rock s : liefa re th e Lo rd ;


hut , the Lo rdw u~ lIot in th e win ll: a nd une r


th e wind all earthqua ke; but the Lord was


nQt in th e ea rthq ullke : and aner th e eur th­qnn


lte a fire j but the LOI" d was uot in th e fire:


liud ane r th e fire a sti ll sma ll voice ." & c. l.


Kings ] 9: 11,1 2. No ne of lh ese things were


God. God ' ca used th e eff~ cts, bnt was hilll­se


lf distinc t £ I'onl them a li- lin invisihl e, mylJ­teriolfS


.~ p irit. David thu s speaks ot; th is inli-,


nite sp iri t. "' Vhither shull. I go £ I'olll thy


sp irit ? Or whither shllil l flee fi: olll th y pres­ence?


Jf ~ IIscel/ ll up into heave n, th oll a rt


th er e : If I makemyhcrl in hell he ho l, l, ' tho u


art there: Iff ta'i, e the wiu g~ of the mo rning


und dwell iu th e utlermost purts of th e sea j­eve


n there sha ll th y hllUl1 lend Ille , 111111 th y


rig ht hand sha ll hold lIIe. I f I say , sure ly


th e darkness shllll " o'er lIIe, eve n th e night


shall be light IIhout me. Yeu th e t1urkues hi ­deth


1I0t frolll th ee. but the night- shinell l as


th e day; th e llarkness an d tlle lig ht are both


ulik e to th ee." Psal. ] 39: 7---' 12.


4. Goel is st./ j- existeJit. The idca of se l f-


' ex i st e n ~ e is, ex istence abso lu'te ly indep end ent


of 1111 other ca uses, beings , and thi ngd- Iife


whi ch perp etuates itself, a nd cOlllinu es hy Uti


inherent immortali tY, f rom a nd to a ll etern ity.


Self- existence necessarily implies etern ity and


immortalit y. lf God is se l f- ex i~ ten t, he ca n­not


have had a beginning j neith er clln he ev­er


have a n end. To suppose th at he ha d a


bel( inni ng wonld be to pr esu pp ose, ei ther a


preexis ting greate r God ' who c reated him; or


some inexplicable necessity which ga ve rise to


hi s nature. I f eithe r uf these positions be


tru e, God is not se lf- exis tent ; For if crea ted


hy a pr eex istent God , th at God may des troy


him. And if cllused by some inexplicab le


neceasity , that sa me necess ity lIIay cause his


dissolation. ' S ueh admisSions ' conioullli all


j'u~ t ideas of- a su pre~ e bein g, lind ure in tbem­se


lves abs urd . The se lf- existence of God, to­,


gether with his ~ ie rn i ty and immortaJity, is


ta ng ht in snc h passages as th ese.-" And God


sllid unto lUoses, I A~ r THAT I , ur : ' I: h, us shal t


th ou say unto th e child re n of I srael, I AM hath


sent tne unto vou." E x. 3: ] 4. Her e he ~ i ves


him self th e ; itl e of! AMj ie. I a"" ltyNljjfl, ? ll"


am the sel f.. ex isti ngt " crn1d~ Jl Ik.~~\ 4-:""~ I, ! ryfJl


pea red ~ § b~' 1I1ift: lltbthllt8& ka? Cbl\ l"' tl~ tlf


Now, I have professed in my first article, ., 10


• believe that th e Bible contains a complete rev ­elation


of the Iii vine perfections , and th at it is


an infallible directory of , reli gion s faith and


} lrac tice. I th erefore ' turn to , that stuudard,


and sha ll co nte nt myself with proving my po­sitions


hy its testimony. This will be my


co urse in the exposition of th e present and


succee ding art icles,


I. I comme nce with th e unity of GOII. By


th e unit y o( G od is meant, th at he'i s onesin­gle


Heing, of on e ' s ingle nature; arul having


one sin gle det ermining Will- perfCl: lly dis­tin


ct from and uu corifouudcd with any other


hc ing, nature 01' will in th e universe; so that


whut is essentially divine may b~ distin gui sh ed


' from inferior natures by its own pfctdiar prop­el~


ties, qualities and charaeieristics. The tinity


of God is taught with g reat c learn ess and Jlos­itlvgness


through out th e Bi ble. I will quote


onl y a few passages as a sampln of th e whole,


" The LOI'II he is, God iii heaven above and


up on th e ea rth ben euth : th er e is non e else ."


Deut, 4: 39. " Helll', O Is rael, " the' Lord ~ ll l~


God is one Lord. " Ill. 6: 4. When Christ was


qu estioned by th e sc ribe-"' wh ich is th e~ fil: st


commandme nt of a ll?" he ii n ~ w e re d-" Th e


first of all th e commandmeuts is- IIeUl', ' 0'


Israel, th e Lord our ' Lord is one Lord: and


th au sha lt love th e L ord thy' God with nil thy '


heart," & c. Whereupon th e sc ribe reju iued,


" Well, 1\ lastel', thou hast sa id th e truth: for:


j here is one God j and th er e is non c othe r hill


he:" & c. Murk ] 2: 29-- 32. " T hus saitb


th e Lord, th e ki ng of Israel, nnrl his Rmlee m­e,:,


th e Lord 6f hosts ; I / lI1I th e firs t, a nd I ' alii


th e last ; unl1besid es me th er e is no God;'.: ­Isuiah


44: 6. " I am the LOI'II and the re , is '


non e ' el se: th er e ' is no God hes ides me:" Ih.


45: 5. " Thus sa hh tIlC high , ill~ d loliy Ohc


th at inhab iteth E t e rn i ty.'~ Ih. 5i : ] 5. " W hy


cll, uest thou me good? th erf is non,: good bill


:' E, that' is : OuJ; " 311m. HJ: ~ Ii'. ~. We kn ow '


d ; at an idol · is nothing in the world j and that


th ere is non e oth er God bill On e. For th ough


th ere he that ure ca lled god s, whe the r in he ll\' ­en


or in earth ( us the re he gods muny and


lord s many.) but to us th er e is hut on e God


th e Fath er, of whom a re all th ings j" I. Co r.


8: 4- 6,


, 2. N ext th e supr emacy. oftlie one God. ­By


th e supre mac)' ofGod we a ll un derstand


his ahsolu te super iori ty , . a nd authority over all


otller bein gs. This follows necessarily £ I'om


his uni ty as proven in the foregoiilg texts.-'


NeV! lrtheless I will aril! uce three ' 0 1' fOllr of.


th e mauy whi ch mOI'e ex plicitly decla re it. ­"


T he Lo rtl is gre ater thnn a ll gOlls:" Ex. 18:


11. " F or th e Lord yoUI' ~, ol l is God of gods,


a lHl Lonl of IOrtls, a grelll, and mighty, and ,


ter rilJle Gocl." Deu t. .10: ] 7. " The house


whi ch I bu illl is grl'Al t: for great is OUl' God


IIho\' e all gOlls. But who is abl e to build him


a n house, seei ng the heaven, tmd heaven of


hellvcns cllniJO t co ntuin hi~, . II. Chl'on. 2: 5,


6. " T he Lord is high above all nntions, and


' his gIOl'y, ab ove th e hea vens. \ Vh o is like un ­to


th e L ord our God wh o dwelleth on high ;


who hu mbl eth himself to beh old th e thin gs


th at are in heaven an d in earth ." Psal. 113: 4


-- 6. ' " F or I kn ow th at th e Lord is grea t,


a nd th at our. Lord is a bove all gods. What­soe


vcr th e Lord plcased, that hat h he done in


h ca Vf; n and in earth, in the se as, an d all d eep .


places." Psnl. 135: 5,6. " Neith er is he wor­sh


ipped with men's hands, as though lie need­ed


any thing; seei ng he give th to all life, lind


bre ath, and all things." 1\- cts 17: 25.


3. This ' G od is a Spirit. What is th e


, gra nd lelllling' idea ex presse d in this word,


Spirit " J W hat is a spirit? As un tler stootl


withreler ence.. to God and int elli gen t beings, a


spirit ' is . a n immat eri al , . incorpor cal ,'" rAtion al


entity , con sisting of some exc eedi ng ly subtle


ess~ nce , utt erly impercep tible by means of


ou r eXlernal se nses . Thus when we attempt


to co ncei ve of God U$ aspirit, we abstl'Rct our


thoughts fi'o ~, a ll notions of malter, of hody,


of form, 01' sex, und of physical properti es, and


retain only th ose ideas whi ch are proper to'


mind, to th e powers of int ellec t, affection, mor­al


sentiment; and will• • Here, though s wal- '


I~ wed op in a myst er ious aby'B8 of the ' un-


EXPOSITION' OF FAITH.


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Regular Contributors to the Work.- ADIN


BALLOU. ( Edito r and Publishing Agent;) DAVID


R. LAMSON, GEORG E \ V. ST ACY, DANIEL S.


\ VHITN EY, \ VII. LIAM H. FISH, SAAIUEL J.


IIIAY.


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CHA PT E R II.


CONCER NING GOD.


I lJelieve- that th ere is' one S npreme God,


wh o is a se lf- exis tent, incompreh en sihl e, un,


ch an gi ng S piri t; th at he is infinite in pow er ,


wisdom and goodness ; th at he is th e Creat or,


upholder and contro lle r of the Universe j ' that


he is the F ountain of all life, int elli genc e, ItO · '


Iiness and happiness ; that he is the Fi rst


, Cause of all that takes place, except sin ; that


his gove ~' nm ent and providen ce are particular.


as we ll as universal; and that he is th e imp ar­tial


Benefacto r ofall c reated bein gs.


SgCTION I.


, There is one S upreme Gorl, wh o is a sel i~ ex-


\ ,


...• :,~," e n t , incomprehensible- uncha nging Spirit.


~;-: j~ hovah is the true God, he i.~ the living God,


and a/, I everlasting king ." J er. 10: 10' . '


, The radical idea of , a God see ms to he al ­most


instincti ve in humnn ' unture , Ther e is


a lIIysterions cra\' ing of th e sonl for somet hing


divine-' something sllpern aturllI: The notion


, f


ofa God fonns itse lf s pontuneo us ly III th e


lIIind. i t lIIay h~ extre rn~ ly vllgu e anel con ­t;,


~ ed, but it is the re . The most inv et crRte


skeptil" ll can not wh olly ohlit er at e t h ~ idea;


it is co nt in ua lly ri sing np a nd I'enewing itself


in ' t1lcit. hOSOllll/ .,.. This, Ol ligiu~~, iustilict ~ fl:;


so nrc e of 1111 the worshill of heathen ~ atio~ s.


There hus ever been ait invincible feeling of


~! e vo l i o n, w h ic h mnst have. its gOII. Henc e long


aftcr , the knowlellge of th e tru e God was lost


In the eOI'l'nptions of sin, the families and t rihes


of earth cominuell, in various form, S, to wor­ship


a god. In th eir utmost degene t'lIcy a nd


harhar ism they did not utterly lose this , origin­81


conv iction of on r common nature. Alas,


t, hat th ey . should have so obscured a nd debas ·


- e, 1 it! But th e Mak er of OUt · race was g,~ a-


- cions to th e f allen, and prov ided a It} ethod


wh ereby th e knowled ge of his lierfections 1111,1


will was pr ese rved. He len not man to i he


(; o nceils of II darke ne r! imagin ation , nor ye t to


th e so le guidance of di!' urdered I'euson, IJm


Teveal ed himselfthrough a long line o f e lec t


plItrillrchs and prophets, till a t length his Son


( rom heaven waRmanifested, an d hecame til e


light of th e world.


r deem it unn ecessary to ente r int o an y Ilis­-


cuss iou eo uce rlling th e ' pronfs pr esentell in


whllt is cnlled nat llral theologlJ to llemons tra te


th e e x is te l H~ e of'God. NOI' will I bring for­ward


th ose pr% unil and subtle arguments


wh er eby mctapll ysici an s hav e refuted and ex ·


pl oded th e vagaries of atlle ism. The exist­ei


lce of n Gotl hilS been ' lIc knowledgerl hy


11eurl y all lllllnk iud, from tile crea tio n ' of , A, I­3


m to th e present moment . It IIlwllys will


be. Ath eism is affectation, a.; d ca n never he


:: lllY thing else. It is not th e result of rut ion al


inquir y, a nd tllerellJre ~ o'heti'lIles hlinl lly de:


4ics 1111 a rgument. That whi ch men assert


without a l'I~ aso n, th ey / IIay mai ntilin in sp ite


of th e stro ngest reasons to th e controry. Let


th e heart he rec tified, anrl ath eism vunish es at


oncc. The grell test diffi culty with whi ch we


hllv e to co nten d is practical alheism. 1\ lilliolls


who re lldily con less the evident ex istence of


G od, still live as if th er e were non e. They


' b elieve so stupidly, conceive of him so erro­Ite


onsly, ' and di sregard him so co nt inually,


t hat his name is onl y blasphem ed by th eir


fa lse acknowlellgem ent of his ex iste nce. Be­s


ides ; multitudes, W: 10 say th ey beli eve in


God, are neverth eless unbelievers with resp ect


to divine revel ation . There is a God they .


admit; but \\ lho or what he is, man cannot


know; for be bas never revealecl himself.-

Page 25 from Volume 1 of The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840