fubftratum of infinite fpace, duration, power, wif dom, goodness, juftice, and every other poffible perfection; without beginning, without end, without parts, bounds, limits, or defects; the caufe of all things, himself uncaufed; the preferver of all things, himself depending on no one; the upholder of all things, himself upheld by no one; from all moments of eternity to all moments of eternity, enjoying the perfection of happiness, without the poffibility of addition or diminution; before all, above all, and in all; poffeffing eternity and immenfity, fo as to be at once and for ever fully mafter of every point of the one and moment of the other; pervading all matter, but unaffected by all matter; beftowing happiness on all, without receiving from any; pouring forth without measure his good gifts, but never diminishing his riches; let us in a word think of him. as the All, the Whole, the Perfection of perfection.

While we view his adorable excellencies according to our limited and partial manner, let us take care not to conceive of him as made up of parts, who is the most perfect unity. While we confider, in fucceffion, his feveral attributes of power, wisdom, goodness, and the reft, let us take care not to form a complex or compounded idea of him, whofe effence is abfolutely pure and fimple. We are not to think of various attributes, and then fuperadd the idea of God to them. The perfection or abftract of wisdom, power, goodness, and every other attribute, in one fim

D 3

ple

ple idea, in the one univerfal mind, which fills infinitude, is the most perfect idea we can form of incomprehenfible Deity.

Here is a Deity truly worthy to be adored. What are the Jupiters and Junos of the Heathens to fuch a God? What is the common notion of the object of worship; a venerable perfonage fitting in heaven, and looking down upon the world below with a very acute and penetrating eye (which I doubt is the general notion among the unthinking part of Chriftians) what is fuch a God to the immenfe and unlimited nature we have been confidering!

SE CT. II.

An Idea of the Divine Scheme in Creation. The happiness of conscious Beings, the only End for which they were brought into Existence. Happiness, its foundation. Univerfal Concurrence of all Beings with the Divine Scheme abfolutely neceffary to univerfal Happiness.

So far we have gone upon a rational founda

tion in establishing the existence of God, and his being poffeffed of all poffible perfections. From the abfolute and unchangeable perfection and happiness of God, it appears, as obferved above, that his defign, in creating, must have been, in confiftency with wifdom and rectitude, to produce and communicate happiness, This must be kept in view throughout the whole of the

fcheme.

fcheme. When we think of the Creator as laying the plan of his univerfe, we must endeavour to enlarge our ideas fo, as to conceive properly of what would be worthy of an infinitely capacious and perfect mind, to project. No partial, unconnected, or inconfiftent defign would have fuited infinite wifdom. The work of a God must be great, uniform, and perfect. It muft, in one word, be an Univerfe.

In fuch a plan, where all was to be full, and no void, or chasm, it is evident, that there must be an extensive variety, and innumerable different degrees of excellence and perfection in things animate and inanimate, fuitable to the respective places to be filled by each, higher or lower, rifing one above another by a just and easy gradation. This we can accordingly trace in the small part of the scale of being, which our obfervation takes in. From crude, unprepared duft, or earth, we proceed to various ftrata impregnated with fome higher qualities. From thence to pebbles, and other foffil fubftances, which seem to be endowed with a fort of vegetativė principle. Next we proceed from the loweft and fimpleft of vegetables, up to the highest and most curious; among which the fenfitive plant feems to partake of fomething like animal life. As the polype, and fome other reptiles, feem to defcend a little, as if to meet the vegetable creation. Then we come to animals endowed with the fenfe of feeling and tafting only, as various fhell

fish. After them follow fuch as have more fenfes,. till we come to those that poffefs fomewhat analogous to human faculties, as the faithfulness of dogs, the generous courage of the horse, the fagacity of the elephant, and the mischievous low cunning of the fox and ape. Suppose a human. creature, of the meaneft natural abilities, from its birth deprived of the faculty of speech, how much would it be fuperior to a monkey? How much is a Hottentot fuperior? From fuch a human mind we may proceed to those which are capable of the common arts of life; and from them onward to fuch as have fome degree of capacity for fome one branch of art or science. Then we may go on to thofe, who are endowed with minds fufceptible of various parts of knowledge. From which there are a great many degrees of natural capacities, rifing one above another, before we reach fuch a divine spirit as that of a Newton. Perhaps fome of the lower orders of angelic natures might not be raised above him at a much greater diftance, than he was above fome of his fpecies.

Even among the inhabitants of different elements there is an analogy kept up. Various fpecies of fishes approach very nearly to beafts, who live on dry land, in form and conftitution. Several species unite the aquatic and terrestrial characters in one. The bat and owl join the bird and beast kinds; fo that the different natures run

almoft

almost into one another; but never meet so closely, as to confound the diftinction.

Thus, fo far as we can trace the divine plan of creation, all is full, and all connected. And we may reasonably conclude, that the fame uniformity amidst variety takes place through the universal scale of being, above our species, as well as below it, in other worlds as well as ours. This was to be expected in an universal system planned by one immenfe and all-comprehending mind.

Confidering the unbounded and unlimited perfections of the firft caufe, who has exifted from eternity, has had an infinite space to act in, an infinity of wisdom to fuggeft fchemes, and infinite power to put those schemes in execution for effecting whatever infinite goodness might excite him to propofe: confidering these things, what ideas may we form of the actual exertion of fuch perfections? What may they not have produced; what may they not be every moment producing; what may they not produce throughout an endless eternity! There is no determinate time we can fix for infinite wisdom, power, and goodness to have begun to exert themselves in creating, but what will imply an eternity paft, without any exertion of creating power. And it is not eafy to fuppofe infinite goodness to have let an eternity pass without exerting itself in bringing any one creature into existence. Whither then does this lead us? There is no point in eternity paft, in which we can conceive, that it would have been improper