Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

any number of squares, into the same duce. All things leading to the comnumber of other squares as many ways mission of criminal acts are temptaas we please. For if the number of tions; such as the desire of revenge, squares be even, they may be divided the inordinate love of the world, and into other squares by pairs, as in the the employment of unlawful means in above solution; and if the number of the acquirement of its fleeting gratifisquares be odd, they may be divided cations." To these he adds" envy, into pairs by leaving out the last num-hatred, malice, and uncharitableness; ber, which must be added to one of the new found squares, and those two squares divided as before: hence, the method of extending the question to any number of squares, ad libitum, is sufficiently obvious.

the rejoicing at another's downfall, and our triumphs over the misfortunes of our fellow-creatures." These he considers to originate in the temptations of Satan, which operate on our evil propensities just as the soul influences the body; but he contends, that they cannot be found detached from the effects they produce.

NEW QUESTION.-By Mathematicus. ADMIT the respective distances be"The visible effects of the temptatween Liverpool, Warrington, and tions of Satan, and the vicious propenWigan, to be the same, viz. 18 miles: sities of the heart, are one and the a messenger sets out from Wigan to same evil, under different appellations, Liverpool, and travels at the rate of when applied to different subjects. 5 miles per hour; and at the same in- If viewed in relation to the body, they stant of time, another messenger sets may with propriety be termed its naout from Warrington to Wigan, and tural propensity, the first fruits of the travels uniformly at the rate of 4 miles Devil's exertions, being engendered per hour: it is required to determine and rendered perceptible in the flesh how long they have been on their jour-only. And if viewed in their appliney when they are 12 miles asunder? and also to determine how long they have been on their journey when they are the nearest possible together, and the distance between them at that time?

[blocks in formation]

IN the fourth number of the Imperial
Magazine, col. 377, the following
query was inserted.
"How am I to
distinguish the evil propensities of my
heart from the temptations of Satan?"
On this query some observations
were made in the following number,
col. 487. Since that time several arti-

cles respecting this question have been
transmitted by our correspondents, of
which few only seem calculated to
impart the desired information. In
one paper, signed P. S. C. of Liver-
pool, the author turns his attention to
the subject; but his observations are
preceded with so many preliminary
remarks, that we can only select the
essence of his ideas.

He observes, that "what we denominate the temptations of Satan, and the evil propensities of the heart, are inseparably connected with each other; one being the cause, and the other the effect which the soul permits it to pro

cation to the soul, they may as reasonably be considered the temptations of Satan, being in reality his allurements, in the act of being offered through the agency of the flesh, which becomes then sensibly affected by the internal operation of his power, by intoxicating the soul with novelty, till, inducing it on the one hand to soothe and appease the turbulence produced by its consciousness of guilt, by placing false constructions on the merits of its proceedings; while on the other, it is active in the performance of works which are loathsome, and opposite to its better dictates."

FROM another correspondent in Ireland, we have received the following article on the same important subject.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE IMPERIAL
MAGAZINE.

SIR,
HAVING read in your fourth number,
col. 377, two queries proposed by a
"Constant Reader," I waited patiently
for the appearance of the fifth, expect-
ing a satisfactory answer to each ques-
tion from some of your more expe-
rienced correspondents. I was not
entirely disappointed. One of them
made a few observations; and I should

have been glad if he had said more. The substance of what I now send you was in contemplation before his answer appeared. If you judge these remarks worthy of a place, in addition to what has been already said, they are at your disposal.

On the second question, I have not said any thing at present: I judge it prudent not to advance my ideas on it, until I have examined it more maturely. Men have frequently different perceptions and ideas concerning the same questions, particularly in religion and morality. If any other of your numerous readers has any thing to advance, that might tend to cast additional light upon these two very critical points, no person would be more highly gratified than

Yours, &c.
AN IRISHMAN.
White Abbey, Sept. 6, 1819.

In answer to the first query, viz. "How shall I distinguish the evil propensities of my heart from the temptations of Satan?" we may observe, that man is a creature endowed with various senses, passions, and powers. He can see, hear, taste, feel, and smell. He is the subject of love and hatred, joy and sorrow, hope and fear, desire and aversion, with many other passions. He is also endued with understanding, memory, conscience, imagination, and will. As such, he stands connected both with matter and spirit, with this world and that which is invisible: and as such, he is a moral agent, in a state of probation here, and capable of reward or punishment hereafter. To him the forbidden fruit is now presented, whenever he may happen to be by himself. And if we give simple credit to the Word of Truth, he is surrounded by an invisible host of wily fiends, who oppose him in his religious efforts, and strive to make and keep him a sinner. The word Devil is a noun of multitude. Hence, when that spirit who possessed the man among the tombs was asked, "What is thy name?" he answered, " My name is Legion, for we are many." The Apostle tells us, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places: at the same time St. Peter assures us,

that our adversary the Devil goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. These scriptures sufficiently prove, that there exists such a being, and that man is subject to his temptations; while, in many instances, there are actions specified, in which he was the immediate agent. He tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit; caused the Sabeans and Chaldeans to kill the servants of Job, and rob him of his substance; possessed and tormented many, in the days of our Lord; tempted him in the wilderness; put it into the heart of Ananias and Sapphira to lie unto the Holy Ghost; he has deceived the nations of the world from the beginning; and when loosed again from his prison, shall go forth to deceive Gog and Magog, and to gather them together again unto battle, Rev. xx. These things being premised, let us bear more immediately upon the point.

The senses are not only the medium through which man receives his first ideas of extrinsic objects, but they really often prove inlets to temptation. He who is earnestly resisting every allurement, would require to guard them strictly, lest they lead him astray. It is natural, we know, for the eye to look; and, in particular, it is attracted by all objects which are new, grand, and beautiful; but in many cases we are equally convinced that the sight of such objects may be unlawful, though the desire to see them be natural. Hence, like David, we should turn our eyes from beholding vanity; and, like holy Job, we should make a covenant with our eyes, lest they lead us into transgression. We should act thus with every sense, which might more immediately lead us to violate our moral obligations. While we are thus exercised day after day, we discover, by experience, that we are naturally excited to gratify our senses, by bringing them in contact with those objects that are pleasing to them in all their variety. When we therefore feel desires tending towards objects of sense, and are at the same time convinced that the indulgence of them would be wrong, I see no reason why we should attribute these to the operations of Satan, seeing they may be fairly accounted for on natural principles.

The man who is destitute of religion, not having the victory over his pas sions,is commonly found to gratify them

as far as possible in sensible objects. | objects, there is reason both from Not so with him who believes in Scripture and experience to conclude, Christ with the heart unto righteous- that he generally proceeds in the above ness. By faith he has obtained the manner. best of victories-a victory over himself. And though the same objects may now meet his senses, in which he formerly found gratification at the expense of his conscience, yet he yields not to any of their bewitching allurements. The simple desire to indulge the senses, he knows is agreeable to the original constitution of man: but he is equally sure, that there is a boundary fixed to this gratification, according to the eternal reason and nature of things. Feeling no inward necessity to step beyond the "allowed line," he triumphs over the enjoyments and pleasures of the world, and often comes off more than conqueror, through the blood of the Lamb. Let him, as is often the case, triumph over sensual objects this hour, and the next be harassed by the same ideas, when the senses and the objects have ceased to be in contact; let the impure thoughts be injected instantly, forcibly, and repeatedly, into the mind; let every power and grace be called forth to stem the torrent in the soul, until at last, after much prayer and holy exercise, he is enabled again to triumph: to what can we attribute this, but to some invisible evil agent, who strives to deceive and torment him? This must be acknowledged: for the person under consideration possesses dominion over his every passion, and has therefore no wish to remember or indulge the forbidden thing. Yet it preys upon him without intermission for a considerable time, and at last probably flees from him in an instant. The Apostle, in writing to the Ephesians, uses an expression which tends to cast considerable light on what has been said. Above all, (saith he,) take unto you the shield of faith, whereby you will be enabled to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one," who is the Devil. From the figure here advanced we may infer, that as the poisoned arrow is projected instantly and rapidly from the bow, so, in the above case, the temptations of the Devil in general are abrupt, forcible, and, if yielded to, accompanied with the most infectious impurity and exaggerated guilt. When Satan therefore acts upon the passions, by awakening a secondary perception of sensible

66

The Devil, according to the statement now made, has only been considered as operating on the passions of the believer: but there is another mode in which he proceeds, and perhaps with more success. He is well convinced that man, in his present state, knows only in part; that the wisest and best of men are in many respects but children in understanding; and that if he can find them any how relaxed in their application to the Fountain of wisdom, he may easily overcome them by his devices. Hence he is styled, the subtle serpent, the deceiver of the nations, and a liar and murderer from the beginning. We are not left ignorant of his insinuations in this respect, nor of his mode of procedure. We have complete instances in the case of the first woman, Eve, and the second man, Jesus Christ: both were the subjects of his temptations. By his reasoning and lies he deceived the one, and by the same methods he artfully strove to delude the other. The Lord God (says the sacred penman) made the earth to bring forth every tree that is pleasant to the eye and good for food. That the tree of knowledge of good and evil was also pleasant to the eye, the woman knew merely by looking at it; that it was good for food, she might be led to conclude, from seeing the serpent eating of it: but the desire she had for the wisdom to be gained by a participation thereof, arose from the false representations of that lying spirit; this was the most artful manner in which he could possibly have proceeded. He did not tempt her with great possessions, seeing she was mistress of the world already, by the appointment of God. No, he wrought smoothly on that passion, the gratification of which is perhaps still more congenial to the human mind than any other; namely, a thirst for universal knowledge and unbounded fame. God doth know (said he) that in the day thou eatest thereof your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. This was certainly an awful truth, in an experimental sense. But the woman was deceived: which may lead us justly to infer, that the serpe gave her to understand, by this kno

ledge, a something different from what she really afterwards knew, to her greatest sorrow. It is not making an unimplied inference, to conclude, that by eating of the fruit she judged she should become like the gods, not only in wisdom, but in greatness.

A DISSERTATION ON GEOLOGY.

[Continued from col. 857.]

Objection II.-It is plainly intimated in the Bible, that all animals were made for the use of man; and that the various animals which were created on the fifth and sixth day were alive when Adam was created. But according to your system, many generations of fishes lived and died before the production of land animals, and many generations of land animals before the formation of man. Nay, this is not all. If we are to believe modern Geologists, entire species, and even entire genera, became extinct, and were succeeded by new ones. first fishes were of the most imperfect kind, and their genera were wholly different from any which now inhabit the seas. At length fishes began to appear, of which the genera were the same as those which exist at present, but the species were quite different. Lastly, fishes were created of the same kind as those which dwell at present in our seas. The same thing took place with respect to the land animals. Such is your doctrine. Now, how do you reconcile this with the Scripture?

From the preceding observations, together with those which naturally arise from reading the history of our Lord's temptations, we may easily perceive, that Satan considers well the weak side of man,-the constitutional inclination, the besetting sin, or what may probably be so; and thus makes his attacks on these grounds. Is there any criterion, then, whereby we may properly distinguish his temptations in this case, as well as in the preceding? I know of no standard whatever, unless that which may be raised from the following materials: In the man who is only awakened to a sense of his sin and danger, the reason and conscience not only approve of God's law, but rejoice in it, see Rom. vii. The will is also on the same side, though the corrupt passions violently oppose. For the good that such a person would do, (or wills to do,) he finds no power to perform. The passions, whether we consider them as simply good, or in a state of moral disorder, are mere impulses, blind forces, tending, like instinct in the lower animals, towards their respective objects, incapable of giving a reason why. As they are therefore incapable of reasoning in any manner whatever, and as the understanding, conscience, and will of the person in question, are really on God's side, it is contrary to every perception we have of ourselves, to suppose the reasoning power would now rise up against God. When such persons therefore perceive reasonings within, that would drown the voice of conscience, blind the understanding, lessen the obligation to duty, put a false gloss, and give an innocent appearance to those things which God has prohibited, they may (in my judg-gels was foreign to the subject. ment) certainly conclude, that such suggestions are inspired by some agent distinct from themselves, who can be no other than the Devil. I conclude, by remarking,—that if the person subject to the law of sin and death, may discriminate in this case; much more may he be able to judge, who is made free through righteousness by the Spirit of God.

The

Answer. If you find it difficult to reconcile this theory, or rather this fact, with the scriptural account, it is owing to your having fallen into two mistakes.-1. You confound together, the Bible being silent on a thing, and the Bible contradicting it. Moses has certainly not given us the least hint that any genera or any species of fishes died before the creation of beasts; or any genera or species of beasts, before the creation of man. He has not said, or even hinted, that a single individual perished. But he has not said the contrary. Moses has not told us that God created the angels. Nevertheless, we are not only authorized, but even bound to believe, that he did create them.-You will perhaps reply, that the formation of an

I

grant it; but I will mention something which is intimately connected with his subject, yea, that forms a part of his subject; and yet he has omitted it altogether. I mean, the creation of insects. He particularizes the other kinds of animals; fishes, birds, beasts, and reptiles; and yet he says not a single syllable of insects. Towards the end of the chapter he thrice enu

merates the different kinds of animals, yet not one word do we read of insects. It were idle to say that insects are included in the expression, every creeping thing wherein is life." Moses might have comprised all the other kinds in two words, namely, all animals; and yet he has preferred to speak of them severally, though he had occasion to mention them three times. We perceive, then, that we are not only permitted, but also required, to supply something at which Moses has not even hinted. The sum and substance of the whole matter is this: the nature of fishes and the nature of beasts were created for the use of man. It signifies not how many millions of individuals perished; it matters not how many species were swept from existence, or how many genera were annihilated: the nature was preserved, and the Almighty's purpose was accomplished. 2. You commit an error of judgment, when you expect a minute and circumstantial detail in a general account. If it had been the will of God the Spirit, that his inspired servant should write a large volume on the subject, like that of Jameson, we should undoubtedly have been informed of all that Jameson has told us; aye, and of infinitely more. But this was not the counsel of the Holy One. Further, when we consider, or rather when we endeavour to conceive what God is, and then remember what we are, instead of expecting that he should tell us every thing, we ought to feel astonished that he should have revealed so much.

ter, that God at first created a perfect world? or even that he afterwards brought the various parts to perfection at the same time? We are told just the contrary. After God had made the earth, it was a rude, shapeless, chaotic mass: from this imperfect state, it was subsequently brought into a state of greater perfection, and adorned with trees and plants. But even then it was in a progressive state. The sea and the dry land were successively stocked with their proper inhabitants, but not with all their proper inhabitants. At a still later period, the finishing hand was put to this fair and resplendent fabric. Man was formed, and the work was perfected. All this is evident, from the most superficial reading of the chapter; but there are one or two remarkable passages in it which do not strike the mind at first, but which, during my meditations, have presented themselves. It is stated that God made man by his own immediate act; but that he formed the fishes, birds, and beasts, not by his own immediate acting, but by the agency of secondary causes. He commanded the sea and the dry land to bring forth the various kinds of animals. Surely it is remarkable, that all the animals which we maintain were improved and perfected by degrees, were brought forth by the operation of nature; but man, of whom only one species was created, and who therefore was made perfect at once, was produced by the immediate actings of the Deity. There is another peculiarity to which I would You, doubtless, will not fail to ob- direct your attention: after the earth serve, that even granting that I have was covered with verdure, it is said, removed the chief part of the objection, "and God saw that it was good." there is one difficulty which lurks be- After the sea had brought forth the hind. You will say, it derogates both fishes and birds, the same thing is from the wisdom and the power of declared. After the dry land had God, to maintain that at first he cre- brought forth the beasts and reptiles, ated animals in an imperfect state; the same thing is again declared. that he next created animals of a more Now, when we are told that God saw perfect kind; and that after two or that it was good, it implies (in accomthree successive formations, he atmodation to our feeble faculties) that length brought his works to perfection. God looked upon what was made, to -I reply, that instead of reasoning ascertain whether it was good; and abstractedly on the method in which this again implies, that it might not the Deity ought to act, it would be have been perfectly good. But after wiser humbly to inquire how he has God had created man, it is not said, acted. I think I can shew from the "and God saw that it was good." first chapter of Genesis, that this mode He made man by his own immediate of operation which you deem imper-acting: and what he made, must of fect is the very mode which the Lord necessity have been good. How coradopted. Do we learn from this chap-rect, how accurate, is this account

No. 10.-VOL. I.

3 N

« ForrigeFortsæt »