The part that such forces as light, heat, electricity, magnetism, gravitation, and the like play in nature is appointed to them by the Will of the Creator. When we say this or that has been produced by light, heat, &c., we are correct in so far as the direct cause is concerned, but it is God who directs these forces. Or when we notice things, individuals, or species produced and developed according to the law of evolution, this law is dependent on the Divine Will. This principle is expressed in the first creed by the words, "And He alone was, is, and will be the Maker of everything." This is the meaning of the words: "He who renews constantly every day the work of the Creation" (Daily Prayers, Morning Service).

The Attributes of God.

The following are the attributes of God expressed in the first group of Principles: Unity, Incorporeality, Eternity, and Omnipotence.

The Second Principle-The Unity of God.

"I firmly believe that the Creator is One; that there is no Unity like unto His in any way; and that He alone was, is, and will be our God."

The Unity of God is frequently taught in the Bible. We repeat thrice daily: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deut. vi. 4). It is for this belief that Jews have willingly sacrificed their life; for this belief they have suffered, and are still suffering, martyrdom of all kinds; this belief distinguishes our faith from that of other nations, but we see it gradually spreading, and hope to see it accepted by all mankind.

The words "There is no Unity like unto His" have this meaning: We say of many a thing that it is one;

we speak of one man, one house, &c., well knowing that there are other men, other houses, &c. But when we speak of One God, we rigidly exclude the existence of another God. Besides, one man, one house, &c., though being one, form a compound of several elements. This is not the case with God.

The words, " And He alone was, is, and will be our God," express our belief that there has never been, and there never will be, any other being with the divine attributes before mentioned, such as, e.g., has been assumed by Christians.

Third Principle—Incorporeality.

"I firmly believe that God is Incorporeal, that He has not any corporeal qualities, and that nothing can be compared unto Him."

God's Incorporeality is inseparable from His Unity, because a corporeal thing cannot be truly one and simple. Every corporeal thing consists of various elements, has different dimensions, &c. But God is Incorporeal. We cannot ascribe to Him length, breadth, or height; He has no shape, and is not limited, like a body, by lines or surfaces; His existence does not depend, like that of bodies, on certain conditions and circumstances, and is, therefore, unlimited in time and space.

NOTE.-If, nevertheless, in the Bible and in our prayers expressions occur like "hand," "foot," " finger," "voice," &c., of God, or "He went," "He descended," &c., expressions which imply a corporeal form, we have to understand them in a figurative sense. Such terms are called anthropomorphisms; that is, terms borrowed from the qualities and the actions of man, and applied figuratively, in a spiritual sense, to God. We are more accustomed to corporeal

things, and we understand abstract ideas more easily by comparing them to corporeal things and figuratively expressing them in terms proper to the latter. In reality, however, God cannot be compared to His creatures. "To whom then will ye liken God? and what likeness will you compare unto Him?" (Isa. xl. 18). The Incorporeality of God necessarily implies Omnipresence. God is everywhere, sees and knows everything. "Can any

hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord" (Jer. xxiii. 24). "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, even there shall thý hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, and the light about me shall be night even the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" (Ps. cxxxix. 7-14).

Fourth Principle—Eternity.

"I firmly believe that God was the first, and will be the last."

"Thy years are throughout all generations; of old hast Thou laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment: as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end" (Ps. cii. 25-28).

Fifth Principle-Omnipotence.

'I firmly believe that it is God alone to whom we ought to pray, and that no other being ought to be addressed in prayer."

God is Omnipotent or Almighty: He can do everything, whilst any other being can only do as much as he is empowered by the Almighty to do. Nothing can do us good or harm if the Lord has not ordained it. He alone can fulfil our wishes, can save us from danger, can frustrate the schemes of our enemies and give our friends the means of assisting us. He alone, therefore, should be addressed in prayer; to pray to any other being is useless and senseless. "Are there any among the vanities of the heathen that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou he (that causeth rain, that giveth showers), O Lord our God?" (Jer. xiv. 22). To God alone we pray, in Him alone we trust; for He hath both the power and the will to do us good.

NOTE. In addition to the above attributes there are others which frequently occur in the Bible and in the Prayer-book. The most important of them are: Kindness and Goodness, Justice, Holiness, and Perfection.

Kindness and Goodness.

God is all-kind, all-good. "God is good to all, and His mercy is over all His works" (Ps. cxlv. 9). The ways of God's goodness are manifold, and in our prayers we speak of God's thirteen attributes of goodness, in my viz., "The Lord, the Lord is

mighty, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness and truth; keeping loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation " (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7).

Justice.

"The Rock, perfect is his work, for all his ways are just; a God of faithfulness is he, and of no iniquity, just and right is

he

(Deut. xxxii. 4). "God is just in all his ways, and kind in all his works" (Ps. cxlv. 17). If in some instances the divine gifts seem to our judgment to be distributed unjustly, we must bear in mind that our knowledge is imperfect; we frequently mistake reward for punishment, and punishment for reward, and judge our neighbour more according to appearance than according to his true merits. (See Eleventh Principle.)

Holiness and Perfection.

We ascribe to God everything good and noble in the highest and most perfect degree. He is holy and His name is holy; His name excludes everything unholy, common, and base.

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"For Thou art not a God that delighteth in injustice; evil doth not dwell with Thee" (Ps. v. 5). Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: His glory filleth the whole earth" (Isa. vi. 3).

THE SECOND GROUP OF PRINCIPLES.

Revelation and Prophecy.

A prophet, is a person who has received a divine communication and the charge to communicate it to his fellow-men. He has no other knowledge of the future but that revealed to him by God. In other things his knowledge is human and natural, such as is accessible to all. The process by which the prophets learn the Will of God is called Inspiration, and the prophet is an inspired man; that is, a man endowed with the Spirit of the Lord. The prophets were also holy men; their mind was filled with pure thoughts, their deeds were noble, and their conduct blameless. They were men of God, or servants of the Lord, because their life was wholly devoted to the service of the Lord. They were trustworthy men, and all their words are true.