Divine Wisdom.
AS the divine Esse of Jehovah God is in itself infinitely above the comprehension of any finite mind, and cannot become the proper subject of either human or angelic contemplation, he has therefore in mercy been pleased so to accommodate himself to the capacity of his intelligent creatures, as to exhibit before them the most evident and striking marks of his divine love and divine wisdom, which constitute his essence. Some faint idea, therefore, may be formed of the divine essence, while we consider it as the complex of all the divine goods, and all the divine truths, which flow from the great fountain of life, and encircle him as a sun of righteousness. Thus God is not only an incomprehensible esse, but at the same time also an essence in some sort comprehensible, as divine love and divine wisdom, divine good and divine truth, in each of which respects he is truly and properly life in himself, that is, life independent of every other source.
Love and wisdom in God are essentially one, though capable of being distinguished in idea the one from the other. And it being a property of the divine love, in union with the divine wisdom, to love others out of or distinct from itself, to desire conjunction with others, and to make others happy from itself, it seems highly reasonable to believe, that this threefold tendency of the divine love and the divine wisdom was the cause of the creation of the world, and also still is the cause of it's preservation.
Creation,
IV. Creation.
AS Jehovah God, by virtue of his divine love, had in view the happiness of others out of himself, yet contiguous to himself; so by virtue of his divine wisdom, operating according to the laws of his own order, he produced from himself, and not out of nothing, as many have supposed, substances and forms, both spiritual and natural, in indefinite variety, and at length human forms capable of receiving and perceiving in themselves his divine love and wisdom. These human forms were therefore created to be images and likenesses of him, from whom they were produced, and by whose power they were brought into existence. On which account it is written, "In the beginning was the Word, (the Divine Wisdom,) and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made," John. i. 1,3. And again, "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him," Gen. i. 26, 27.
From this general view of the nature and design of creation, may be inferred the following particulars, relative to the order of it's progression from first principles to ultimate effects, viz. 1. That from Jehovah God there emanated, and still emanates, a sphere of divine glory, which encircles him on every side, and constitutes the sun of the spiritual world. 2. That through the instrumentality of this sun, which in it's essence is pure love, and gives forth spiritual heat and spiritual light, in other words, love and wisdom, to minds capable of receiving them, three spiritual atmospheres, of different purity and activity, were produced, giving birth to all things in that world; and that the sun of the natural world, which is pure fire, was in like manner produced, together with three natural atmospheres, and all earths which exist by their means. 3. That thus all things were produced, not out of nothing, but from the divine love by means of the divine wisdom, which are indeed the substance of all substances. 4. That every created subject is, by the very condition of it's existence, finite and limited, and consequently distinct from the Infinite, from which or from whom it proceeded. 5. That nevertheless the Infinite is in created subjects, as in it's receptacles, according to their various degrees and states of being. 6. That all things, which thus came forth from the Divine Being, do in a certain way return to him through the medium of man, in whose body are collected all the uses of the natural world, and in whose mind all the uses of the spiritual world: and that such return is made by an acknowledgment in heart, understanding, and life, that all things are derived from, and continually supported by, the divine love and the divine wisdom of the great Author of all being.
These and similar considerations, arising from a view of the grand work of creation, demonstrate to the truly rational mind, when enlightened by revelation, that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent that by virtue of his divine perfections he is essential order; that this order was originally introduced into the universe, and all it's parts; and that man especially was created to be a living form of such order, and consequently an image and likeness of his bountiful Creator.
The State of Man before the Fall,
V. The State of Man before the Fall.
THEY who understand the Word only in it's literal sense, are led to believe, that the creation, which is described in the first and second chapters of Genesis, denotes the creation of the universe, and that God was employed six days in making the heaven, the earth, the sea, with all things which are in them, and at length man in his own image and likeness. But who cannot see, if he ponders deeply on the subject, that the creation of the visible universe is not there meant? For such things and circumstances are there described, as any person of sound judgment, or even of common understanding, may know were not brought into existence in the manner related. For example, it is said, that there were light and darkness, day and night, morning and evening, also grass, herbs, and trees, yielding seed and fruit, before the creation of the sun, moon, or stars; and yet it is not possible to conceive how these effects could be produced, without the existence and influence of the sun.
Again, it is written in the first chapter, that God made man male and female; but in the second chapter, even after the conclusion of the six days of creation, that there was not a man to till the ground; whereupon one was formed of the dust of the ground, and the breath of life breathed into his nostrils. Being then placed in the garden of Eden, wherein were trees of every kind, pleasant to the sight, and good for food, particularly one in the midst of the garden, called the tree of life, and another called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he is severely prohibited from eating of this latter tree, yet allowed freely to eat of all the rest: which circumstance, if taken literally, is liable to be considered by some readers as a snare laid for him, under the most tempting appearances, either to entangle him in a direct act of disobedience, or to excite in him an appetite to forbidden fruit. But there being as yet no help meet for the man, the history proceeds to inform us, that Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him; and while he was in this state, it is added, that he took one of his ribs from him, (although it does not appear, that he had been previously furnished with more than were necessary for his own use,) and formed it into a woman. Then in the third chapter we are further informed, that a serpent, more subtle than any other beast, and withal miraculously endued with the faculty of speech, discoursed with the woman in her own language, and with artful reasonings persuaded her to eat of the tree of knowledge, and finally involved Adam in the same transgression; although it is reasonable to suppose, that, coming out of the hands of his Creator, he was the most perfect and the wisest of mankind. But the calamity, into which the first pair thus plunged themselves, according to the generally-received doctrine, was not confined to their own persons, but extended itself to the whole of their posterity, who are therefore supposed to have been sentenced to eternal damnation, not for their own fault, but for that of their first parents committed long before they had any offspring.
Such are the difficulties and paradoxes attending the mere literal interpretation of this part of the Word, which, it is to be feared, have had the effect, with too many, of inducing upon their minds first of all a doubt concerning it's sanctity, and at length a disposition flatly to deny it's divine inspiration,
