THE CHARACTER OF GOD; OR, PRAYER IN THE ASSEMBLY.
QUESTION IV. _What is God?_
ANSWER. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his
being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
——————
ISABELLE DERMOTT was a lovely child. She had just attained her seventh
year. From her birth she had occasioned her parents groat solicitude
on account of the peculiar delicacy of her constitution. Her mind was
precocious; and until within a few months, she had been withheld from
mental labor. Now, however, she had commenced attending school, and was
advancing rapidly in her studies.
When the question for the day had been asked and answered, Mrs. Dermott
began the lesson by the inquiry,—
"Anna, what is that within you which thinks and feels?"
"My soul."
"Yes, your soul, or spirit. Can we see it?"
"No, mamma," replied Helen, gravely.
"Do you remember that dreadful thunder shower last summer, when
Isabelle was so much alarmed?"
"I do!" "And I!" "And I!" called out one and another.
"You know, Helen, I told you to look for the next flash of lightning.
It came as I was speaking, and almost blinded you. The air was full of
electricity, which causes the lightning; but you could not see it until
it flashed. Just so it is with God, who is a Spirit. He is everywhere,
and makes himself known by what he does. He is in the air we breathe,
in the sunshine and in the storm, in the merry warbling of the birds,
in the pleasant gurgling of the brooks, in the sighing of the forest,
and in the blooming of the tiniest flower. It is God who swells the
buds in the spring, clothes the trees with foliage, forms and ripens
the pleasant fruit, causes the sun to shine, and the rain to fall.
"'He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the
service of man . . . The young lions roar after their prey, and seek
their meat from God.'
"Can you tell me, Walter, the meaning of the word infinite?"
"Yes, mamma; father explained it to me. God is infinite because he
extends through all space, and without limit."
Mrs. Dermott rose, and drawing up the window curtain, called her young
audience to view the beautiful stars which spangled the sky. Fixing
their attention upon one brighter than the rest, she said, "Isabelle,
does not that seem a great way off?"
"O, yes, mamma."
"Well, if you could approach it, and look out just as far beyond, you
would only be looking upon the beginning of the infinite space filled
by God.
"Eternal means the same with regard to time as infinite does with
regard to space. When we have lived hundreds of thousands of years in
the eternal world, we shall be not one minute nearer the end of our
existence. God never began to live, and he never will cease to live.
"Helen, the other day you were complaining that the rules or
regulations of your school were so often changed that you could
not remember them. You can never complain thus of God, for he is
unchangeable. The apostle James says,—
"'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning.'
"God says of himself,—
"'I am the Lord; I change not.'
"What a wonderful blessing is this attribute of God! With what
certainty we can rely upon his promises! We can be sure that his
designs of mercy toward the children of men will never, never fail.
"We learn by this answer that God is without bounds as to space, and as
to time, never varying in himself, nor in the counsels of his mind.
"Can you tell me, Walter, the meaning of the word wisdom?"
"I suppose it means very skilful, and able to do a great many things."
"Yes, Solomon says,—
"'The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth.'
"God is infinite not only in wisdom, but also in power. He can not only
devise wonderful things, but he can accomplish whatever he pleases.
Luke, in his Gospel, says of the Jews,—
"'And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God.'
"They had been witnessing the miracles he had wrought, and their hearts
were filled with wonder and awe.
"Anna, can you think of any thing which we call holy?"
Anna hesitated a moment, and then replied, "The Sabbath is holy,
because it is God's day."
"God is unchangeable in holiness.
"'Who is like thee, glorious in holiness?'
"He is also immutable in justice.
"'Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne.'
"He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, also, in goodness and truth.
"'The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.'
"'Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.'"
"In 1643, the Westminster Assembly, of one hundred and fifty-one
laymen and divines, met by order of Parliament. One committee of
that body framed a Catechism which expresses the common faith of the
reformed churches, and is adapted to general use. When they came to the
question, 'What is God?' an awful solemnity fell upon them. Who could
venture to express in words the momentous truth? All shrunk from the
too sacred idea.
"At length it was resolved, as an expression of the committee's deep
humility, that the youngest member should make the first attempt. He
consented, but begged that the brethren would first unite with him in
prayer for divine enlightenment. Then, in slow and solemn accents, he
thus began his prayer:
"'O God! Thou art a spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable in thy
being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth!'
"When he ceased, the first sentence of his prayer was immediately
written down and adopted, as the most perfect answer that could be
conceived; as, indeed, in a very sacred sense, God's own answer,
descriptive of himself."