Rational Creation, Rev. James Brodie

There is implanted in man, and we have reason to believe in every other intelligent creature, a principle which leads him to admire and respect that which is great and good. When a work of art, distinguished for its beauty, is presented to our view, we are naturally led to entertain a feeling of deference to the talent of the artist. When we read, in the page of history, the daring exploits of those who were mighty in arms, and wise in counsel, we pay the tribute of admiration to the talent and energy which they displayed. When faculties of the highest order are employed in promoting beneficial ends, when wisdom, power, and perseverance are shewn in advancing the general good; when the patriot, for example, manifests prudence in counsel, valour in the field, and patient endurance of suffering, in order to secure the freedom of his country, and the happiness of his fellow-men, the sentiment which arises within us is one of unmingled esteem; and, should circumstances permit, we are not only constrained to offer the tribute of affection, but we feel a gratification and pleasure in being permitted openly to express our regard.

The awakening of this emotion, which we usually term reverence or devotion, is one of the most powerful means of inducing a ready and cheerful compliance with the commands of a superior. When a ruler is weak and fickle, when he shews himself destitute of wisdom and influence, obedience is looked on as a degradation, the law is despised, and its authority is contemned. When he is not only weak and foolish, but is also unjust—when he allows himself to be guided by private interest and by respect of persons—this feeling of contempt is mingled with aversion, and leads to utter hatred and disgust. But when, on the other hand, the decisions of the ruler are directed by the counsels of wisdom, and have for their object the peace and prosperity of those who are under his rule, the law is respected, and a compliance with its demands is readily and cheerfully given.

The more deeply we are imbued with respect for the wisdom and power of the ruler, and the more fully we are persuaded that he is free from the influence of prejudice and interested feeling, the more confidently will we rely on his protection, the more will we dread his displeasure, and the greater satisfaction will we find in his service.

In order that we may render to the great Governor of all the service which he requires, we must, therefore, be fully impressed, not only with the highest reverence for his infinite perfections, but with that thorough belief in his perfect disinterestedness which a deep sense of his absolute sovereignty alone can inspire. If we entertain the idea that any creature can be "profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself," or that anything which he can do can recommend him to the Divine favour; the feeling of dependence, which should distinguish the creature's approach to his Maker, is destroyed, and disaffection and rebellion will naturally ensue. For this reason we find it most clearly and emphatically stated in the sacred record, that "God is no respecter of persons;" that he stands in no need of our services, and is not profited by our gifts; that "all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" A large portion of the volume of inspiration seems to have been given for the express purpose of impressing men with a becoming sense of the infinite majesty and exaltation of the eternal God. We may refer, for instance, to the Book of Job, to the larger number of the Psalms, and to the writings of the prophets, more particularly to those of Isaiah. Many of the Lord's dealings, both with his people and with their enemies, had this for their direct and immediate object.

We are further informed, that the manifestation of this absolute supremacy of the Lord is one of those objects which the work of Redemption is especially intended to advance: "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence." (1 Cor. i. 27-29.) In the song of Mary we are told: "He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree." (Luke i. 49, 51, 52.) Our Saviour also says, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." (Matt. xi. 25, 26.)

The absolute sovereignty of God is exhibited in the choice of man as the object of his peculiar favour.— "God hath chosen the mean things of the world to confound the mighty, and things that are despised, that no flesh may glory in his presence." Such is the object and the counsel which the Lord has in view in devising the work of our Redemption. In the earlier periods of the Church, the humbling doctrines which the Saviour taught gave offence alike to the self-righteous Israelite and to the vain-glorious inhabitant of Greece. The gospel was "to the Jews a stumblingblock, and to the Greeks foolishness." In the present day, men are led, from "the comparative insignificance of ourselves and of our world, when placed in comparison to the mighty whole of which it is an atom, to imagine that our pretensions to immortality may be overrated." To human judgment it seems so utterly improbable that this amazing work should have been wrought for the puny inhabitants of an insignificant fragment of the mighty creation, and that creatures so weak should have been made the objects of such especial favour, that not a few have been led to deny, and many have been tempted to doubt, the truth of Revelation.

That very circumstance, however, which causes man to take offence, forms in reality the glory of the gospel plan; that which seems so incongruous and absurd in the eyes of the short-sighted inhabitants of earth, and which leads them to reject the message of mercy, appears in the sight of heaven the very perfection of wisdom, and fills the hosts above with wonder and with praise. The Lord has chosen man from among the various tribes of rational creation, for a reason similar to that which induced him to choose Israel from among the nations of earth: "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people; but because the Lord loved you." (Deut. vii. 7, 8.)

When the almighty Jehovah determined to make known, by a work of surpassing power, the infinitude of his perfections, he did not choose, as the scene of his action, the heaven of heavens, arrayed in the glory of spiritual brightness; nor even a sun or star, brilliant with material radiance; but he came and sojourned in our miserable world, which in itself is but an atom compared to the mighty universe around, while its original glory is lost, and its beauty marred, by the sins of those who dwell therein. He did not manifest the riches of his grace in favour of the bright and holy inhabitants of the upper sphere, distinguished for the far-reaching powers of their mind, and the deep devotion of their souls; he took on him the seed of Abraham, and chose as the objects of his special love the fallen children of Adam's race, whose strength is weakness, and whose wisdom is folly; whose hearts are vile, and whose conduct is polluted with sin. And those whom he has chosen from among men are not the great and the mighty, the learned and the pure; for we are told, that "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise;" and the Saviour informs us, that he "came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

When we contemplate the glory of Jehovah's works, when we look abroad through the wide creation, and think of the magnificence which they display, and then recall to mind the insignificance of man, we are filled with wonder at the thought of the blessings that have been showered down upon him. The language of the psalmist appears peculiarly appropriate, (Psalm viii. 3,) "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" When we further remember, that man is not only in his best estate a feeble creature, one of the lowest in the scale of intelligent beings, but that he is a sinner, that he has rebelled against his God, and incurred the Divine displeasure; that he has hardened himself in his transgression, and "drinketh in iniquity as water," the manifestation of Jehovah's love towards him appears still more amazing. To those who are less than the least of the unfallen creation, to hell-deserving sinners, who have rebelled against the God of love, even to them is the exceeding riches of his grace made known, and God commendeth his love towards them, in that, while they were yet sinners, Christ died for them. Those sufferings which we formerly endeavoured to describe, that unparalleled anguish and wo which were witnessed on Calvary, were all endured for men. And that work so perfect in every respect, that work so excellent that Jehovah himself delighteth in it and bestows on the Redeemer universal dominion in token of his approbation—that work was wrought for sinful men. And those blessings, so precious and so wonderful, which we attempted to delineate, but which are too great and too transcendent for our present powers to comprehend—those blessings are bestowed on sinners. They who by nature are vile, who are heirs of wrath, and bondsmen to the Evil One are through grace called to the inheritance of sons. They stand nearest to the throne of all who worship in heaven; they take precedence even of angels, in singing the Redeemer's praise; they sit with Christ on his throne, and share in his never-fading glory. They alone, of all creation, are permitted to claim kindred with the King of kings, and rejoice in the thought that a brother fills the throne, and is ruler over all.

What then is the lesson which this exaltation of the human nature, and this amazing favour shewn towards men, are fitted to teach? What is the great and universal truth which they are designed to convey? "God hath chosen the mean things," and "things that are despised, that no flesh may glory in his presence." He has singled out the children of men to be the recipients of his favour, that the thrones, and dominions, and principalities, and powers, in heavenly places, may see the sovereignty of Jehovah's counsels, and confess his might. He places the redeemed in the high and holy place, and elevates them to the pinnacle of glory, in order to make manifest to all creation, that the Most High doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth, to shew that the Creator is free to act as seemeth to him good, and bestoweth his gifts on whomsoever he sees meet.

The perfections of God are manifested in raising the fallen and transforming the vile.—Of all the varied evidences of the Creator's power and wisdom, which we discover in the material universe, none is better fitted for awakening our admiration than the transformations which we observe in the animal and vegetable world. When we see the flower of gorgeous beauty and exquisite perfume, drawing its nourishment from the putrefying heap; when we trace the caterpillar's growth, and see it casting off its reptile attire, and assuming the painted wings of the fly; when the insect, that drew its loathsome length along, as a crawling worm, sports in the sunbeam, in its gay and glittering plumage; when we see the stone-like egg, transformed into the bird of heaven, and the feeble babe grown up into the athletic man,—we are led to confess the mighty power of Him who presides over every change, and directs every revolution, whether great or small. But of all conceivable transformations, that which is wrought on the redeemed of the Lord, when their change has been completed, is the most amazing. Their bodies, raised from the corruption of the grave, shall be fashioned like unto the "glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself;" and that mortal form, which lay as a putrefying mass in the tomb, shall shine forth in the perfection of material glory. Their condition in reference to the law and government of the universal King, manifests a still more wonderful change. By nature they are heirs of wrath, they are under the curse, ten thousand sins cry for judgment, and every sin deserves the wrath and curse of God, both in this life and in that which is to come;—but by grace they are justified from all sin, they are adopted into the family of the Most High, and are admitted to all the privileges of the sons of God. A similar change takes place in the character and disposition of those who are thus exalted. In their natural state they were carnal and sold under sin, hateful and hating one another, alienated from God through manifold transgressions, and saying unto the Lord, "Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways;" but, transformed through the operation of the Spirit of the Lord, they exhibit in their character, as well as in their bodily form, the image of their glorious Head. Justified through the blood of Jesus, they fear no punishment; for the law could take no hold of them, even though they were to sin. Accepted for the sake of the Saviour's all-perfect obedience, they have no need to labour, in order to procure a title to favour; for, without any service on their part, all things are theirs. But though these motives, which alone have power over the unrenewed man, can thus exert no influence upon them; yet the pervading sense of Jehovah's love, and the grateful remembrance of his mercies, make them continue through eternity the humble and devoted servants of the Lord, and they cease not, day or night, to perform his behests, and to celebrate his grace. They were Satan's bondmen and Satan's sons, and shewed the badge of their servitude, and the evidence of their parentage, in enmity to God and all that is good; but through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, they are sanctified and renewed, enmity gives place to love, and rebellion is changed into willing obedience; they that bore the image of the Evil One are renewed in the whole man, after the image of Him that created them, and become "partakers of the divine nature."

In this transformation, which is far too great for us at present to appreciate, the great Jehovah shews forth at once his sovereignty and his power. He makes every intelligent observer confess that He, who thus raises the fallen, can do what seemeth to him good; that no difficulty is too great for his wisdom to unravel, and no work too arduous for his power to effect. When the angel, for example, looks to hell, and sees the misery, and sin, and degradation, of the unconverted man, in whom evil propensities have been left to pursue their natural course, and in whom the fruits of transgression have perfected their growth; and when he turns again his eye to heaven, and sees the shining throng of the redeemed, unceasingly employed in singing the praises of their Saviour's love, and continually delighting in the enjoyment of God, he is made to confess the transforming power of the Most High, he is made to feel, that created strength is at best but weakness, and that it is God alone, who worketh all in all. The spirit of devotion is awakened within him, the madness of self-confidence is clearly perceived, and humbling himself before his Maker, he is prepared with redoubled diligence to do the will of his Lord, and with unceasing joy to contemplate the infinite perfections of the all-glorious Jehovah.

The fall of angels and of men but too plainly shews the liability that there is in the created mind to forget the absolute power and sovereignty of God, and the fearful consequences to which that forgetfulness leads. And it is to check this dangerous liability, to impress his creatures with a due sense of the devotion which they owe to him, and to keep them mindful of their own dependent condition, that Jehovah has chosen his people, "the foolish things of the world," "the weak," "the despised," that in them he might shew the extent of his power, and the freedom of his counsel. He is seen, as it were, searching throughout creation, in order to discover the most feeble, wretched, and worthless of all the beings that people his wide domain; that by exalting the fallen, and transforming the vile, he might make known his almighty power and his sovereign grace; and having found man prostrated in utter helplessness, and sunk to the lowest depth of moral degradation, he not only raises him from the abyss of misery, and arrays him in righteousness and honour, but takes him into union with himself, places him on the throne, and makes him to be a "partaker of the divine nature." And having thus exalted man to the pinnacle of glory, he presents him to the view of intelligent creation, that all may know the power of the Lord, and confess that He alone maketh one to differ from another, and that "none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"

The power of the Almighty is made known in abasing the proud, and in giving victory to the feeble.—We are not only informed that God has chosen the weak things of the world; but we are told that he has done so "to confound the things that are mighty." The object which he has in view is not only the manifestation of the riches and sovereignty of his grace to the objects of his regard; but the exhibition of the utter impotence of any attempt on the part of the creature to contend with his Maker. There are not only a multitude of holy beings, who retain their original glory and blessedness, there are also some who have fallen into transgression, who have scorned the law, and defied the power of the Lord; and "God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction." As the prowess of the valiant man can only be known when it has been manifested in daring deeds and martial enterprise, so it is only by the putting forth of its strength in visible efforts, that the might of the Omnipotent arm can be revealed to created intelligence. Satan is therefore permitted for a time to carry on war with his Maker, the powers of darkness are allowed for a time to array themselves against the Majesty of heaven, that their utter discomfiture in the end may make known the might of the Lord, and the madness of those who would contend with Him. Earth is the battlefield on which the opposing hosts are marshalled, and the salvation of the believer is the prize and token of victory. On the one hand, appear Satan and the dark legions of hell, arrayed in all their horrible might, and animated by deadliest hate; on the other, the Saviour stands as the Captain of our salvation, and the Champion of the Lord. The field is narrow compared to the universe of which it is but an atom, and the prize is small compared to the multitudes of shining ones who witness the contest; but the issues of the combat are of unspeakable importance. Were it possible that Satan should prove victorious, the peace of creation would be at an end, the authority of the Lawgiver would be shaken, and the reign of confusion and desolation must begin. But if the champion whom the Lord has chosen shall prevail, as prevail he must and will, the terrible might of Jehovah is revealed, the fearfulness of his anger is displayed, and rebellion is for ever subdued. We need not wonder, therefore, at the efforts which have been made to secure the victory, or at the interest which the contest has awakened among the higher intelligences of creation. When nations contend in war, we often find that some barren rock in the midst of the ocean is made the object of fierce assault on the one side, and of determined defence on the other, not because its intrinsic importance is great, but because the honour of nations is at stake. When armies meet in bloody strife, we frequently find that the deadliest scene is that which ensues, when the standard, under which the one party or the other has been marshalled to the fight, is made the object of assault. The prize in such a contest is not esteemed, because the original value of the material, or of the workmanship, is great; but because its possession is the mark of valour, and the token of victory. In like manner, man, though he be feeble and worthless in himself, derives importance from the controversy which he has occasioned. Our Saviour, we are told, became partaker of flesh and blood, "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage." And the reason which the assigns for the triumph which gladdened his soul, in that one solitary instance in which it is said that he rejoiced in spirit, was his having "beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." In the overthrow of Satan's malignant power, and in the deliverance of the captives that were under his thrall, the Redeemer "saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied." We are also informed, that "over every sinner that repenteth there is joy among the angels of God;" over every victim that is rescued from the grasp of the foe, the hallelujahs of heaven ascend, for the might of the Eternal has been shewn, and the enemy of God and of righteousness has been baffled and overcome.

We must also remark, that main is not only to be regarded as the prize for which the powers of good and evil contend, he is, at the same time, the soldier and champion of the Lord. When Jehovah entered into contest with Satan, he did not go forth in his own nature, as the invulnerable and Almighty God, but took on him the form of man, and encountered his opponent, surrounded with all the frailties of our fallen race. He did not come into the battlefield, arrayed in the surpassing glory of the King of kings; but appeared as the son of Mary, the man of sorrows. And it forms the peculiar glory of his work, that in this character he proved a conqueror, and destroyed the power of the foe. Satan, by his rebellion, had defied his Maker, and had dared the Omnipotent to arms; and God, to shew the utter inability of any creature to contend with the Creator, gave to one who was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, who was subject to pain, and weariness, and death, who was compassed about with infirmities, such a might and power by the indwelling of the Eternal Son, and the upholding of the Holy Spirit, that when the prince of the power of the air came against him, he found all his endeavours vain. Though Satan seized the opportunity, and assaulted him when he was bending beneath his Father's displeasure, and according to the original prophecy, bruised the heel of the woman's seed, yet his triumphing was short. Though all the might of the fierce destroyer was put forth against him—though the hosts of hell, and the rulers of earth combined to assail him—though death and the grave wrapped their fetters around him, the strength of Immanuel defied their power, and got him the victory. The conqueror speedily arose, and bursting asunder the bars of the dark abyss, he crushed the head of the serpent, and carried captivity captive.

In order still further to manifest his power, and more effectually to humble his foes, the Lord sends forth his people to wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickednesses in high places;" and equipping them in an armour of proof, he makes them more than conquerors over all the power of the enemy. Satan is not only made to fall before the Redeemer, who, though man, and partaker of all the sinless infirmities of our nature, knew not these weaknesses and infirmities which arise from evil habits and actual transgression; but he is also made to fall before the repentant and converted sinner. Believers are naturally weak, and they have been utterly prostrated, as to spiritual strength, by reason of their transgressions, yet even to them is the victory given. The mighty prince of darkness, before whom the unfallen Adam fell, and who dared the Thunderer himself to battle, cannot prevail against the "little flock" of the Lord, and shall shortly be bruised under their feet.

The superiority of the Redeemer over the Evil One, is more especially exhibited in the means employed for establishing the kingdom of Christ in the conversion of sinners. The adversary has spread his network of deceit over the world, and goes about continually deluding the nations of men. He is the "spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience," and, as "the god of this world, hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Around him are gathered the multitudes of evil ones, who joined with him in his rebellion, and now unite with him in warring against the Lord. And in opposition to all this powerful array of hellish might, against this terrible phalanx of "principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickednesses in high places," God sends forth "the weak things of the world," and "the despised," "by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." He does not send forth angels, arrayed in brightness, and speaking the language of heaven; though the highest and the noblest of all that surround the throne would joyfully undertake the office, and fill the preacher's place; but he sends forth men, bending under manifold infirmities, that the power of him who crowns their feeble efforts with success may be the more clearly seen, and opposition be the more effectually subdued.

The utter inadequacy of the means employed, and the glorious results that are produced, are intended to shew the wisdom, power, and all-sufficiency of God. When the giant of Gath came and defied the armies of the Living One the Lord did not send against him a mighty man of valour, trained from his youth to war, and clad in a coat of mail, he sent forth the stripling David, clad in the shepherd's simple attire, and armed with a sling and a stone; and it was the weakness of his champion, and the inadequacy of his arms, that shewed, at once to Israel and to the Philistines, that the Lord "giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." In like manner, when Satan, in his pride, rebels against his Maker, and defies the power of the Almighty, the Lord pours contempt on the daring of his foe, by giving his commission to man; and employing as his champion a creature that is compassed with infirmities, and bowed down under the influence of spiritual disease, he makes him more than conqueror over all the might of hell. Though the consequences that depend on the issue of the combat be unspeakably important,—though the supremacy of good, or the triumph of evil, must by it be finally determined, the feeble, sinful children of men have been appointed to do battle for God, that the Lord may manifest the greatness of his strength, by giving to man's insignificance superiority over Satan's power, and cover the rebels with derision, by making them fall before the fallen.

We have thus seen how the work of redemption makes known the infinite perfections and absolute sovereignty of God. In choosing the sinful children of Adam's race as the objects of his peculiar regard, Jehovah makes known to all classes of rational creatures the sovereignty of his counsel; He shews the folly of supposing that the Most High can ever be a respecter of persons; and effectually prevents them from imagining that any creature can be profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable to himself. In changing the sinner's heart, and renewing him after the image of God; in imparting to those who, by nature, are enemies and aliens, the Spirit of adoption; and in making them partakers of the Divine likeness,—the Lord makes known the infinitude of his transforming power, and teaches the highest and mightiest of his creatures, that it is God alone who "maketh them to differ." In rescuing the believer from Satan's grasp, and, more especially, in giving him the victory, he makes known the utter impotence and folly of those that contend with the Creator. The might and sovereignty of Jehovah on the one hand, and the weakness and dependence of the creature on the other, being thus exhibited, the most effectual means are employed for awakening that spirit of reverence and devotion which must characterize all acceptable obedience.

We must also remember, that it is only when the soul is filled with these emotions that obedience becomes a source of pleasure. The fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, is the entrance that leads to her ways of pleasantness, and to her paths of peace. Perfect liberty and perfect blessedness can only be experienced when we are enabled to say to our heavenly Father, "We have no will but thine." The Creator's glory and the creature's bliss are indissolubly connected. The more clearly Jehovah is revealed, the more deeply he is reverenced, the more fully will he be obeyed, and the greater delight will his service afford.