eres, ee este ete Sites ee Aes pte Aa Sl GATES AWE IN THE INE aR eAgee™ WWE Oise I) : ; } te eet PUA Tel AW INS CHE NATURAL WORLD Peewee BY SICAL ANDUPSVCHICAL EXPOSITION QI IM ees TONS CHIN OVE TONE GOEDE, WOLY SPIRIT AND OTHER AGENCIES BY Pe VeIONIAS Gal CS LONDON Len Ge NEAINGS eG RIE HoN2 & On AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET 1894 All rights reserved Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/spirituallawinna0Othom EAN Joh lea 1ay Ir will be said, probably, that just as “ Ecce Deus” appeared as the result of the publication of ‘“ Ecce Homo,” so now this treatise follows ‘‘ Natural Law in the Spiritual World.” Such a conclusion is not correct, however, for I had no intention of employing the above title until after a large portion of the matter in the following pages was either written or arranged ; and I had then practically decided that “Science and the Holy Spirit” or “ Natural Law and Spiritual Law” should be used. A friend, seeing the direction I was pursuing, urged me to adopt “Spiritual Law in the Natural World,” and, after some consideration, I assented—hence the result. It was thought that the recent researches in physical science respecting the forces common to our globe, and the sifting of psychic truth which has been so general of late in every civilized land, might throw some light upon the opera- tions of the Holy Spirit as the Omnipresent Sustainer of the matter which constitutes our world. The belief, now becoming so general as the result of scientific reasoning, that Fixed Forces and Fixed Laws govern alike the inanimate and animate creation, is hypothetical ; and the chief forces in the inorganic as well as the organic world must have intelligence behind them; hence attempt is made in these pages to prove that the Holy Spirit superintends the operations which proceed in Nature generally, and that vi PREFACE. : His presence and power are as necessary in the atom of so- called inert matter as they are in the human soul. Many problems with regard to the Spirit’s operations in man are considered, but in no single instance does the explanation given touch the validity of any fundamental truth, or suggest the relinquishing of one of the old Evangelical doctrines which I dearly love and cherish. There is, undoubtedly, at this time a wave of “ spiritism ” flowing over our land, and over America also; and it is hoped that this treatise may, in some slight measure, prevent those interested in psychic truth going too far afield, and expressing psychic phenomena in terms of spirit action, and spirit entities, instead of in terms of Spiritual Force. J. W. THOMAS. GLOUCESTER, May, 1894. ABE OEM GONDLE Nees. (ls Weil Bode We NATURAL LAW AND SPIRITUAL LAW. Law and Government What is Natural Law ? Law of Continuity . No Natural Law The Forces giving rise to Natural ee ree ptt in Neuve Professor Drummond shows that all Law is Spiritual Are Natural Laws projections of the Spiritual ? CHAREER. LI) GOD. Tenuous Forces are the strongest . Old Testament views of God’s seeing and here Christ’s teaching about God The work of the Trinity . . The Father and Son are in Heavent ere is He serially rie The Persons of the Trinity and St. Patricice (2?) illustration What constitutes the Personality of the Holy Spirit? CrpeAarlEeR IL: SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). What is Spiritual Law? . No words to define nature and ney of EoiG What is implied by the Omnipresence of God . ry — Q res IW AU MNW 45 Io ¥2 13 16 18 18 2I 23. 25 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Why the Holy Spirit is regarded as an ‘influence’ or a ‘principle’. 28 Old Testament proofs that the Holy Spirit wasa Person . . . . 33 Me did the same works before Pentecost as He doesnow . . . . 37 CHATTER RLY: GOOD AND EVIL. Order and regularity in Creation generally. . . . . . . . . 39 The most discord is in living matter). 2... 5°) 3) 39 Godand the creation of evils. 5. 7 = 4. 41. Views'of, Dr. Samuel Cox si; jf. as) cee tee 42 Creation of the angels and free-will . |... 2) 7) on 43 Evil and ‘influence’. . obs 6 5 2 eS Is evil due to the exercise He man’s Meee fil Ree Hypnotism and ‘suggestion’ . . . . . . . J j98) er Evil is partly due to outside agencies. 7°... 1) 52 GHA Ea PRaave SPIRITUAL LAW (SATANIC). Personality of Satan. . colt. Sl Sn ‘Suggestion’ and the serpent i the F all Mee : 62 Christians and living things generally show that anil arene are At WOlkK. Cue ceo fe ae nde oy 6 2 re Parasitism, a proof by Analiay. ere es Satan’s operations, and evil correspondence . . . .. . . . 66 Flow evil spirits influence men’s Souls. 559) 8) in) 68 Hternal punishment™ <9 9 -u9e. 97 rl es 70 CHAPTER: VI. ANGELS AND SPIRITS. Angels'and ‘spirit-essences aie.) een 72 Are angels corporeal beings? . . . er The intelligence, mind, and spirit of the ences oe 8 ern Angel knowledge and angel work. . °. . . ww. » eas Angels:haye teclinoy 6 ts) ieee a ec a eel Sra Ae Angel visitse.a0.n. UF ye “a 38 at The spirits of the Henares and eaecrh p teal MS) 7 ne a. © + TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER VL. FORCES IN NATURE. PAGE Matter, unity of; Forcesin. . . Paes Deke oF Force of Gravity, and the Bodies of ne Solar Byte es 85 Nature of the Force of Gravity : Sage’s theory ; Sir William Thomp- son’s theory; Dr. Hooke’s theory . . . 88 Diffusive Force in gases: The Kinetic Mesa Intiee Bere in liquids—Molecular Motion injsolids;-". ..9 9. 4 8 ws | OE Cohesive Force—Force of Chemical Combination . . . . . . 97 MOM in et Ae torte 99 Vibration, molecular nena ti the peneion ane tile cee 99 Electric Force—Fxperiments of Professors Hertz and Tesla . . . 103 COAPRTE ResVilt, THE FORCES IN NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. Evolution and Fixed Forces in Nature. . . 107 The Bodies of the Solar System require Tateliveent fore: foveneaite Superintending . . SESE Niet ose. LOO The ethereal medium and he Holy Siirit es Ae ee ee 110 Diffusive Force requires Intelligent Supervision ; poneidertions respecting solid matter ; crystals ; ice ; changes occurring ; latent heat ; maximum density of water ; generation of forces showing absolute necessity of Intelligent Superintendence . . . . . I13 Tenuous Forces point to One Force with Intelligence behind it . . 118 Objections to Superintendence of the Holy Spirit 2 séz answered . 119 CHAPTER AIX. VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE. No dividing line between inorganic and organic matter, or between Wever vieranimanmalines shite wen Me, «a Aiaee eee e123 Life arr orce, with Intellicence-behind it ©...» %. & 42 124 Individuality and ie ae teary Cen te) Yi. Pay ae ees 126 Development due to ‘ suggestion’... ; se) a hie 128 Discord in life; if Fixed Laws regulate He: something e ciealty MUP OTRV ILE CePA Wate ere ioe Th Gi Sle RE ot 28 ey eamoncmilmealiiie peloretne. Pall’ y sl) Ve oP al 130 X TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Sensitive and animal-eating plants . .. . =... . 131 Examples of intelligence in snails, ants, bees, spiders, fishes, DITASetC ue ere: - 9 6 1. 5) es The Spirit of God in Perea and sitive life rere CHAPTER xX. HUMAN LIFE, Human life not controlled by Fixed Laws... 143 Many vital functions not under human control—Who sapecnten OER Wihatis ites 7h 75.0e) oe 8 4g VD Human spirit and Mr. Hee S avis Rear C6 Oe, re Man's spitit not a separate faculty ~. J° 1°.) 9) 9 nen 151 CHAPTER XI. HUMAN LIFE—continued. Brain and nerves . . ee a Nerve terminals and eer ee ee Memory written on the'spiritualmey | 90 ula ae Minda Force—The mind-ether “=. 2 | 4 ee Mind correspondence—Telepathy . .....,, . ., On Influence of great orators and preachers. . . . . . . . 57 oe The Holy Spirit and the mind-ether. . . . . . . . hot eaage ne Life in its essence—Individual life . . . 164 Influence of our parents’ lives upon ours—Our memories ait thoes of our parents . COM Diath Mure iatemery ee CHA RLERSXT: MAN, The Creation and Fall . . . 168 The Holy Spirit’s relation to dain Aten the Fall, ag %) ats vit OL man see *\\ + jake The Holy Spirit hacer no aero nd vee is all ony Man |. -. 9:3) Jaa The Holy Spirit in man’s mind siseeal feet de oe. Relation of ‘mind’ to ‘heart’ considered , . . oe Allmencando good. . . , Toor eee Children and ‘ belief of the ert ‘ee Ye Se Ga 8. TABLE OF CONTENTS. X1 CHAPTER XIII. CONSCIENCE. PAGE Meaning of Conscience—Drs. Paley and Cruden’s views . . . . 186 New Testament meanings of Conscience . . . . +... . 189 The double Witness . . . er MT aa, Wee ee oe adh LOS The Conscience of the Henthen’ See re OA se OP TO 3 ESC OUSCIGNCE A POW EF WIt Dil Sy ene i ee hs @ tea Netty 94 CHAPTER XIV. NO TOTAL DEPRAVITY. esis GOd not altogether lost! sen. | ca oie, “ee eel ane 1 LO? Viet ON ORCORCHISIONS ey. sk rt) AL ie ee ede poe eee ot LOT eS OLIvAltcl i eee Mem Lee i tee Ny ae A pce quinn LOO enc ialin MeItemwn. Mee heehee Cat fo ake wae pag eee! tsa A LOO Nu oLOnmrtotal CEPTavilyinme reese alec, Wek Ponte wate WF UAE hn eh wieny, SOO Pieredityic fs... sks aE ee SL Ak ae te 201 Illustrations of fanemitted Bacal ate > Ey oat ROT Po ay se 203 [SILen AT Semen re Ce eee lade,” Wee nen Oe ee Pepe | ae 2OF sare ar uCOUSICCLALIONS; + stmt hee hig SC ee oe) a 206 Wyitatena tral Distory- teaches auetia ss ns pou e oe te aie te OT MiraviciiitlecderiOULCOUSDeSSm. sy toe toy ot Patek We) foe Meee ee. 209 Rial patenis audatnelrcuidretivn.. 6.) seh eue es bY meen ee 201 CHAPTER XV. THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ALL MEN. The Holy Spirit of the New reuters is the Holy Bee of therOldys ise | eee tO Professors Smeaton anal Milligan’ s At De Gunna! s views— Gardinaieyiannino os terching) ae, A ou ee ete a ga 210 The Holy Spirit’s work not universal(?).. ae 2i0 Tne Holy Spirit did not sanctify men under the Ola eneneion ()e 221 The Holy Spirit’s work perfect under both Dispensations . . . . 222 How could the Holy Spirit be ‘ withdrawn’ at the Fall? . . . «225 The Spirit's work upon the:heathen 5. ». » «+ = » + «+. 229 XII TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. MAN AND THE SUPERNATURAL, Development in religious belief. Moses and his miracles . . . , The miracles of Elijah and Elisha . Miraculous power and human endowment What is superhuman power? Oe. Were all miracles wrought by the Spirit of God? . Prophets, good and evil, and their endowments CHAPTER XVII. PENTECOST. The Pentecostal ‘ gift of the Spirit’ was regarded as unique The early Fathers did not so regard it 3 Pentecost and Old Testament times—Various views . The Holy Spirit was zz the disciples . : Bestowal of Holy Spirit power before Pentecost Pentecost a link between the ascended Saviour and His disciples . CHAPTER XVII: PENTECOST—cozetenued, Professor Milligan’s views of the Spirit of Pentecost . The Spirit of the Eternal Son and Christ’s manhood . The human spirit of Christ interpenetrates the Divine The Holy Spirit ‘ modified ’ (?) . a Christ’s human spirit-essence of no usetous .. . . Deductions from Professor Milligan’s lecture Men crying for the ‘human to heal them’ CHARTERS XIX: MAN AND THE SUPERNORMAL. Miracles of the Bible . Occult gifts mentioned in the Bible Occult gifts of to-day—Are they similar ? “hel When miracles ceased, was any superhuman power left ? PAGE 222 237 238 238 240 242 245 248 249 250 253 254 257 262 266 268 270 271 273 274 275 277 278 279 - . TABLE OF CONTENTS. What are supernormal powers ? What is hypnotism ? Hypnotism and ‘ suggestion ’ Aig ke Hypnotism, minus quackery, looks Tee a Bbenipn power. Value of ‘suggestion’ to remove drunkenness, crime, indolence, etc. Religious value of ‘ suggestion ’ Curative value of hypnotism and ‘ preaestion® Gifts left after discarding quackery, and the saeslulte Ai trent transmission : ; ‘ Suggestion :’ its use, Anis ano vente CHAPTER XX, THE GOD-MAN. The Word became flesh . Renewal of waste material in the Ramee body. i es nner ne a germ of life . The taint from a mother’s life Illustration of purity from nature The Son of God was not *‘ conceived and Born ” Difference between Adam and Christ . Christ’s miracles and His Divinity Tlow Christ was God and Man, and Pieter Ge nice: from aan CHAPTER XX. THE HUMAN LIFE OF CHRIST. Human development of Christ . Manifestation of the Spirit at Christ’s sates : The Baptist’s knowledge of Christ . The Temptation of Christ Christ’s miracles and the ‘ limitation’ (?) ai His power Christ ‘ marvelled ’ Christ’s cry in edeerene etic Wen ai Bleed Where was the Holy Spirit ? CITAPTER XAXIT, THE MISSION OF THE COMFORTER. Difficulties veee vats The Comforter ‘ sent’ for ever . X1i1 PAGE 280 283 285 286 3, 288 288 289 290 295 297 298 300 301 306 307 309 212 313 314 317 320 321 323 327 329 330 XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS. Is the ‘ Procession’ of the Spirit important ? ‘ Origin ’ (?) of the Eternal Spirit ; The Father and Son not the ‘origin’ of the Share: The Infinite Spirit-God first in order . . Independent action of the Persons of the Trinity . The words ‘ proceedeth’ and ‘send’. The Holy Spirit not a servant . CHALLE Kees. Lis GIFT OF THE SPIRIT—PRAYING FOR THE SPIRIT—TAKING THE SPIRIT, ETC. Gift of the Spirit Praying for the Spirit . : Religious worship without yah Nor the Spirit : Our relation to the Holy Spirit. ; , Taking the Spirit ‘ Practical Christianity . CHAPTER XXIV. FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT—BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT. The ‘ filling’ belonged to Old Testament times Is the ‘filling’ done by the Person of the Spirit ?. It is ‘ Be ye filled 7 the Spirit’ ‘ The ‘filling’ more important than the ‘ leviidisra. af ys Saint Wrong teaching about the ‘ filling ’ 3aptism of the Spirit . Warning against seeking supernormall powers CHAP TE Rex xive FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. Meaning of ‘fruit :’ it suggests a tree. 3 Our love to the brethren, the Holy Spirit’s ic in ne : The Tree of life and the ‘fruit ? Love to the brethren is man’s love, and theren 1S Sanita one wee : ‘Your love in the Spirit’. God’s love 343 345 348 349 350 353 o Ti . a TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPIN R= XA. & INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST Did the Holy Spirit dwell in men under Old Testament times? . The consciousness of His Presence Where is the seat of the Holy Spirit’s feral The indwelling of Christ . ; Mr. Moule on Christ’s indwelling by : ‘faith ; : Wrong conclusions respecting the indwelling of the Spirit : a CHAPTER XXVII. VICARIOUSNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Why less homage is rendered to the Spirit than the Father . In what the Vicariousness of the Spirit consists The Spirit’s Vicarious work under Old Testament times. The Holy Spirit’s love Christianity and feeling . The Vicarious work of the Spirit ntl ni Chriceene “ganna : The Holy Spirit is not simply Christ’s Vicar _ The Holy Spirit’s relationship to the supernormal sah as men ] CELA ah NATURAL LAW AND SPIRITUAL LAW. WHEREVER there is a government, a kingdom, or an empire, we know there must be certain Laws laid down for the main- tenance of order, and for the general well-being and well-doing of the people. In like manner, wherever there is Law, a Law- giver or Government is implied, and, notwithstanding some testimony to the contrary, it must be maintained that when Natural Laws are mentioned, the Force or Forces which determine the carrying out of these Laws are often, if not generally, included. In spite of all explanations and defi- nitions, it seems evident to me that once Natural Law is recognized, it means the acknowledgment that certain opera- tions relating to this world of ours are the result of Natural Forces. In other words, the man who believes in Natural Law believes that whatever was the First Cause of matter and life on this earth, since then things have gone on by a process of evolution upon lines more or less well defined; and they so proceed that it is not necessary to recognize the hand of God as the constant Sustainer—the Individual Watchman and Determiner of the continuity of the process. I am confident that many who use the term ‘ Natural Law’ will object to so sweeping an assertion; but it is, nevertheless, a fact that the man who acknowledges Natural Law attributes to Nature what should be relegated only to Nature’s God. It must be con- ceded, however, that the word ‘ Law’ does not mean or include so much ; but that is not the question, for by use the force B 2 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. in action has been incorporated, and the term has come to be employed in the sense of Government, instead of simply meaning the order in which a Governing Force acts. ‘The fact is we cannot conceive Law without Government, and, where God as the Governor is not admitted, Natural Law must always include or imply the Missing Link of Intelligent Superintending Force. It is only fair to scientists to state that they have almost entirely abandoned the use of the word ‘Law,’ and have substituted ‘ Force’ in its place; so that we now read of the Force of Gravity, Diffusive Force in Gases, instead of the Law of Gravitation, or the Law of Gaseous Diffusion. Some of the expressions recorded in these pages regarding the Holy Spirit as the one Almighty Sustainer and Superin- tendent of the material as well as the organic world, will probably receive considerable opposition, because even deeply religious and thinking men (for want of thought in this domain of so-called Natural Law) have taken for granted that the carry- ing out of all things on our planet is done by Forces common to our globe—Natural Forces which act in accordance with Natural Law. It is very difficult, perhaps, to define how such ideas became so widespread, or how a truth so clearly taught in the Bible has been relinquished—I do not like to say abandoned—but it seems evident that the belief in Natural Law and Natural Force or development has arisen in conse- quence of the teaching of men of science respecting the gradual evolution of things terrestrial. Man has always been concerned, chiefly, with God’s dealings respecting man, and it is only reasonable, perhaps, to anticipate that he should study the Personal Action and Superintendence of God from a biological standpoint, leaving the inorganic world out of the question altogether, or else relegate the continuity of terrestrial phenomena to certain Natural Forces acting upon certain well- _ defined lines called Natural Laws. When we take a retrospec- tive glance along the pathway of science, we learn that as soon NATURAL LAW AND SPIRITUAL LAW. 3 as a few facts were observed which were found capable of being continually verified, men began to ascribe Natural Phenomena to Natural Force and Natural Law. Whether the mistaken and cruel treatment which men like Copernicus and Galileo received from the Church of Rome had anything to do with the first beginnings of the interpretation of Natural Phenomena. on the principle of Innate Forces or Fixed Laws, it is difficult to say, but it was not long after one or two of these Forces had been discovered that scientific men attempted to account for the continuity of things terrestrial without any supernatural interference. And by common consent, apparently, even religious men, who stand up valiantly for the whole Bible so far as it relates to the human soul, permit the God of Provi- dence—the God of Nature—to be set aside as a sleeping partner with the God of Grace, and believe in Natural Law as if there was a Natural Kingdom being evolved out of nothing by nobody. If the question were asked, ‘What is Natural Law?’ the general answer perhaps would be, ‘The natural sequence or continuity of things on our globe.’ Professor Drummond’s explanation is the “ working sequence or constant order among the Phenomena of Nature.” This definition is all that can be desired, but I have always limited its application to the physical part of nature, and my own expression of Natural Law is ‘the order in which things physical occur on our globe.’ It is of no importance to the question under con- sideration, perhaps, but I hold that just as Natural Science relates only to things physical, in contradistinction to things psychical, so Natural Law has nothing to do with life, but only with physical matter. That this is not the construction which Professor Drummond puts upon Natural Law may be seen from the following :—‘“ Law in the visible is the Invisible in the visible. And to speak of Laws as Natural is to define them in their application to a part of the Universe, the sense- part, whereas a wider survey would lead us to regard all Law 4 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. as essentially Spiritual.” } If ‘‘ Law in the visible is the Invisible in the visible,” then to speak of Law as Natural is to speak of the Invisible as Natural. Should it be argued that the sense-part of man is invisible, the objection must be raised that Natural Law does not refer to the sense-part of the Universe, which is spiritual, but only to matter® living or dead. We have noticed that Gravitation is now called a Force, and that the once-styled Natural Laws are now termed Forces. The reason for this change was not so much because the word Law was untenable, as because it was found that the principle of one Law was the principle of another; and that there was furthermore a probability that the force expressed by these Natural Laws was similar, if not one and the same. I will endeavour to make this more clear, and take the ‘Law of Gravitation’ as an instance. What made Gravity a Law? Was it the fact that an apple or a solid body fell or gravitated to the earth, instead of falling into space? No. It was the fact that the apple or the body a/ways gravi- tated to the earth. There is a Lawof the earth’s motion round the Sun. Did the fact that the earth completed its orbit in 365 days 6 hours constitute the Law of the earth’s motion? No. It was the fact that the earth a/ways revolved around the sun in that time. The truth regarding so-called Natural Laws—the one principle common to all—was, then, that thev always indicated a continuous procession along the old lines. So that the ‘Law of Gravitation’ resembled the Law of Diffusion of Gases in this that the facts observed respecting them were continuous and unchanging, and this continuity and unchangeability constituted the ‘ Law.’ It will be seen, therefore, that there is one Law for all the Laws, and that is } “ Natural Law in the Spiritual World,” p. 55. ? It may be stated that mind is matter. I do not object, but Natural Science is so called to distinguish it from Psychical Science, and I adhere to this line of demarcation, NATURAL LAW AND SPIRITUAL LAW. 5 the Law of Continuity. We consequently sum up Natural Law under this one head. But what is the Law of Continuity ? It is difficult to define, but we may say at once it is not chance ; it is the visible expression of the unchangeability and perfection of Power and Intelligence displayed by the Great Architect of the Universe. The Law of Continuity is called a great Law, a benign Law ; and so it is, because the hand of God is in it. And ye scientists who deny this, ye, like the Athenians in Paul’s day, have raised a Temple to the “* Unknown God,” and styled it the Law of Continuity. From the foregoing, it will be seen that what is called Natural Law is not of Nature—it is the “ Invisible in the visible,” and that the so-called Natural Laws are all merged in the Law of Continuity ; whilst Continuity is nothing more than the word unchangeable—all tending to prove that Natural Law has no existence. Professor Drummond says, ‘* What these Laws are in themselves is not agreed. That they have no absolute existence even is far from certain.” ? It is not my intention to compare the Natural with the Spiritual, and I at once deny the existence of Natural Law. To say that the majority of religious men see a Divine Sustainer at one end of the Natural Law is beside the question, because if God does maintain all things under His Personal Superintendence, then it is evident there can be no Natural Law. I know there are many who would not define Natural Law to mean so muchas I have put into it. Here is evidence : “The Natural Laws originate nothing, and sustain nothing ; they are merely responsible for uniformity in sustaining what has been originated, and what is being sustained.”* If the Natural Laws originate nothing, and sustain nothing, it requires very little argument to prove that they cannot be “responsible for uniformity.” It is impossible to say that anything is “responsible ” without implying power or force to act, as well as intelligence at the back of that force ; and notwithstanding 1 ¢*Natural Law in the Spiritual World,” p. 5. =r EDIGiy ps5 Pp Pe 5 6 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Professor Drummond’s disclaimer that his definition of Natural Law does not include the Force giving rise to that Law: here is evidence to show how difficult it is to speak of Natural Law without implying the Force of which that Law is but the expression. Furthermore, if Natural Laws originate nothing, and sustain nothing, they have no existence. ‘They are simply facts discovered by men of science, showing that Specific Force is exerted in certain directions, and in a definite manner ; so that Natural Law is only the visible expression of an Invisible Force. There are certain well-defined Laws relating to motion— Boyle and Dalton’s Laws relating to pressure, and others which may be styled ‘Natural ;’ but these are simply the outcome or resultants of the Forces which govern our globe, and were never thought of sufficient importance to be classed with Gravitation, etc. If it could be shown that the Forces giving rise to so-called Natural Laws were generated upon the earth’s surface, or were common to our globe, then it would not be out of place to style the order in which these Forces act as Natural Laws. For instance, ‘ wind is the result of the unequal heating of the earth’s surface by the sun, and wind is a Force.’ It may be called a Natural Force, because it is originated on our globe, but even wind-force is due primarily to solar heat. I shall point out in sequel, however, that Gravitation, Diffusion of Gases, and indeed all Laws common to our globe, are common to ail matter, and are not the outcome of Natural Forces; and as Natural Law can only apply to Natural Force, the Laws relating to the maintenance and order of our planet are not ‘ Natural.’ To say that the Laws relating to Alsace and Lorraine are French, by reason of the people being French, is absurd ; because the Government being German, the Laws must be German. It follows, therefore, that the Laws referring to the motion and well-being of our globe are not Natural because they are found in Nature, but Spiritual, because the Force NATURAL LAW AND SPIRITUAL LAW. 7 giving rise to them is Spiritual. In the passage already quoted from Professor Drummond, we learn that a survey of things physical as well as psychical “ would lead us to regard all Law as Spiritual.” It requires no argument to prove that if the whole is Spiritual, any part thereof must be Spiritual, so that Professor Drummond admits that he has simply styled the sense-part of the Universe, Natural, for the purpose of com- paring it with the Spiritual. To this no objection need be raised, but I cannot see how the Laws of the Invisible are projections of the Natural, ‘The Laws of the Invisible are the same Laws, projections of the natural, not supernatural.” * One might conclude from this that Professor Drummond re- garded the visible universe as existing before the Invisible and Spiritual, but that this is not the case is evident from pp. 53, 54- The Spiritual, “ the unseen existed before the seen.” Then if Laws have been ‘projected,’ they have been ‘ projected’ from the Spiritual to the Natural. I do not like the word ‘ projected ;’ it savours too much of a huge shot flying away to a great distance from a hundred-ton gun, And whatever may be implied, to speak of Laws projected, reminds one of the Spiritual as if it were far, far away, and the Natural here close at hand. Professor Drummond writes of Law as “at one end dealing with matter, and at the other with Spirit.” If “ Law in the visible is the Invisible in the visible,” there can be neither end nor beginning. If we are not forgetful that God is Omnipresent, that He is as much zz matter as He is 77 space, then we shall see that so-called Natural Law is but the visible expression of God working 7 situ ; and so the ‘ Natural Laws’ are not projections even from the Spiritual—they are the expressions of the Spiritual at work 27 sztw ; and are therefore Spiritual Laws. But is it a fact that the Spiritual Laws in Nature are modelled on the lines of the “ Higher Spiritual” ? Take Gravitation, for example. Of this Professor Drummond says, “If the Spiritual be not material, it still cannot be said that 1 «* Natural Law in the Spiritual World,” p. 11. 8 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Gravitation ceases at that point to be continuous. It is not Gravitation that ceases—it is matter.”! If Gravitation is common to matter only, and Spirit is immaterial, I fail to see how the Law of Gravity could be projected from the Spiritual when it did not exist there. The same argument holds good for all material things. If, therefore, the Spiritual Laws of earth are projected from the Higher Spiritual, it can only be those relating to man’s spirit nature—life, mind, soul, and spirit. The human body cannot be included. Itis in this light that Professor Drummond has treated his subject. As I shall confine my remarks upon Professor Drummond’s work to this chapter, it may not be out of place to note that it does not appear feasible that the Laws relating to man’s life in this world, are the projections from the Higher Spiritual; at any rate, such an argument is greatly weakened by the exceptions which exist. In the Higher Spiritual there is perfect conformity to God’s rule— the will of God is the will of His spiritual creatures. The fallen angels do not disprove that Law, because they were banished from heaven. This latter fact does not admit the possibility of spiritual parasitism in the Higher Spiritual ; at any rate, nothing is revealed to us that the fallen angels (or that Satan himself) have any power to tempt or control the good angels, and it seems very improbable that spiritual parasitism in the form of Satanic ‘suggestion’ is a Law projected from the Higher Spiritual. That the life of Adam in his pristine condition was under Law from the Higher Spiritual seems evident from Scripture, but spiritual parasitism came, primarily, as the result of Eve’s yielding to the tempter. I think it is beyond question that all the Laws relating to our planet are Spiritual, and not Natural, but, whether Spiritual or Natural, Law implies a Force, of which the Law is but the expression, and it remains for us to notice what this Force is. Spiritual Law must be expressed by Spiritual Force; and inthe following chapters I shall endeavour to show that the Holy * “Natural Law in the Spiritual World,” p. 43. NATURAL LAW AND SPIRITUAL LAW. 9 Spirit is the One Great Force in the ‘ Kingdom of Nature,’ as well as in the ‘Kingdom of Grace.’ Then, just as the ‘Natural Laws’ have all been merged into the one Law of Continuity, so should the two Kingdoms of Nature and Grace be one in the Great Eternal Spirit of God. GEHAE TE heat GOD. Havinc concluded in the last chapter that all Law was Spiritual, the next consideration is whether we can discern any Force in Nature which appears to be of Spirit quality. Even those who believe most implicitly in evolution acknowledge that there must be a Master Mind, and even those who do not call that Mind ‘ God,’ acknowledge intuitively a Power that has regu- larity and order associated with it, as expressed by the Law of Continuity. Whena man has once closely studied the forces and movements of the Universe in all their marvellous intrica- cies, and yet in all their wondrous order and regularity, and noted life in its thousandfold relations, its beauty of form, its exceeding minuteness and perfection in the microscopic world, and the complexity of life in its dual character of material and spiritual in the realm which appeals to the evidence of unaided sight, he cannot fail to acknowledge an Almighty and mar- vellously Intelligent First Cause. The wonders of electric science and the researches of physicists have revealed powers of mighty force which seem to border upon the spiritual so far as their tenuous character is concerned, and science has determined that even the immensity of space is pervaded by a stupendous force (of the electric type) which is so transparent and immaterial as to be absolutely imperceptible to the senses, This force or power is not confined to space only, but is present in our atmosphere ; indeed, it is present wherever light penetrates, and we know of no part of creation where it does GOD. II not. There is, without doubt, great power in the wind, in the flowing river, and in the pent-up steam of the engine boiler ; but we are realizing during the last twenty years that it is not from the most ponderous things, or the more material things like water, but that it is from the highly tenuous ethereal forces that the greatest power can be obtained.’ When we consider man’s intelligence, and the subtle and ethereal nature of mind and spirit, we are at once confronted with the almost immaterial ; and when we ponder over these, and remember that electricity with its mighty power 1s alike tenuous and ethereal, it is only reasonable to assume that in searching after the First Cause of all, and the Sustainer of all, one must leave even the primordial germ of materialism to lose one’s self, not in the ocean of imperceptible materiality, but in the infinite ether, by reason of His presence and Person being so attenuated and impalpable to the senses of man. Light ? is not God, nor is electricity ; but these forces are too ethereal to be understood by us, and we can only imagine God is His Essence to be more infinitely refined and tenuous than these. Such are the conclusions to which a man of science might come if he had determined that there was a God without having heard anything of Him from His revealed Word. What does the Bible say of God? Does it contradict the above conclusions, and prove these scientific ponderings to be incorrect? Not by any means. We shall find that Jesus, who came to reveal the Father, tells us most clearly what the nature of God is like, and He says “ God ts Spirit” °—not a Spirit, for this would imply some limit to His Being, but ‘absolutely free from all limitations of space.”* Some may think, perhaps, that Christ’s description of God’s Essence does 1 One hundred thousand horse-power equivalent of electricity can be transmitted through a small cable, but it would take a large pipe to convey steam enough at 150 lbs. pressure to generate such a power. * Light and Electricity have been shown recently to be different forms of energy most closely allied. 3 John iv. 24. 4 «Speaker’s Commentary.” I2 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. ~ not give us a clearer view of His nature than was revealed by the Old Testament writers, because we cannot tell what Sfzri¢ is. I shall have occasion to refer again to this consideration, and will not dwell upon it now ; but the special point which Christ has made clear to us in His exposition of God’s Essence, is, that we are enabled to realize His Omnipresence more clearly than the Old Testament writers taught it. In 1 Kings vill. 27, 29, it is recorded that Solomon said, “ Will God in very deed dwell on the earth ? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded... . That Thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day.” We note here that Solomon’s idea of God was that His Person filled all creation, but that he Zeard from heaven, He saw from heaven, and that heaven was the seat of God’s Intelligence, so to speak, because the intelligent part of His Person was there : “Hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place.” * In Isa, lxvi. 1, we have ‘‘ Zhe heaven ts My throne, and the earth is My footstool.” ‘There seems little room for doubt that whilst the Old Testament writers understood and taught the Omni- presence of God, they regarded His perception as due to the infinitely far-reaching vision of His eyes: “ From heaven did the Lord behold the earth ;”* “ Look down from heaven, and bchold.” * In other passages the eyes of the Lord run to and fro in the earth.* In others, the Lord is requested to open His eyes. In like manner He is said to hear our prayers by bowing or inclining His ear: “ Bow down Thine ear.?® “ Let Thine ear now be attentive ;”" “ Incline Thine ear.” 8 It is not forgotten, however, that a remarkably clear 1 1 Kings viii. 30. ale eireal 0, B'Ps.. Xxx, Idee saceaslsO PS.0x14 S "xxx. 18° xxkie 153 CKxXIxG 16 4 LOV xv, 357 Ele: Avo Chronexview geZech avert. ° 2 Kings xix. 16; Neh. i. 6. ° Ps, xxxi, 2. ** Bow down” occurs also in Ixxi, 2; Ps. Ixxxvi. I. 7 Neh. i, 6. See 2 Chron. yi. 40. * Ps, xvii. 6, Occurs frequently ; see Ps. lxxxviii. 2; cii. 2; Prov. v. I's ¥Xi. 117 ¢1Sa.AxkxvileI7 es pDAanwineio. GOD. 13 é exposition of God’s Omniscience, and of his Omnipresence Byellis Spint occurssin Ps. exxxix, sStill)) the fact ‘that the words “ afar off” are found in verse 2, show that the idea of God’s vision expressed in Ps, xxxiil. 13-15, 1s most probably that present in the mind of the writer of Ps. cxxxix. With regard to the hearing of our prayers by God, the Old Testament writers teach, generally, that God’s ears are in heaven, and that He hears by virtue of the marvellous sensitiveness, and far- reaching powers of His hearing. Something might be said, perhaps, to support this Old Testament idea by referring to the giving of thanks by our Lord at the grave of Lazarus. ‘“ And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, [ thank Thee that Thou heardest Me,” Our Lord never once remarked that God heard our prayers from heaven, nor is there any reference in the New Testa- ment to that effect; but it will become evident, on reflec- tion, that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, humanly speaking, for Jesus to convey to the minds of the disciples, and the Jews at the grave of Lazarus, that God discerned the request in the human mind by His Spirit, or by virtue of His possessing all knowledge, and, therefore, knowing beforehand that Jesus would raise Lazarus. But.as Jesus wished to connect the miracle directly with God, He referred to God’s response to His desire to raise Lazarus in words which they understood; hence Jesus said, “ Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest JZe.” Few, if any, will question the fact that our Lord’s statement that ‘‘ God zs Spirit” at once gets rid of the ancient idea that God had bodily form with eyes and ears. But if the question is asked, ‘ How, then, does God “ear our prayers, and see all that concerns us?’ it is not clear what the answer shall be in all cases. To those who relegate Natural Phenomena to Natural Laws, and dispense with the Personal Presence of God in Nature, a difficulty presents itself as to how the unconverted is John x41. I4¢ SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD: and the heathen are related to God. They cannot tell how it is with them. Some regard Conscience as a thing ‘divine’ implanted in all men, others state that the Grace of God may have to do with their lives. Others acknowledge a light in every man, .an influence from God, or from God’s Spirit. With converted men, however, it is generally conceded that the Holy Spirit is in the heart—given or bestowed upon the believer when he believed—and that in His Almighty Intelli- gence He discerns the thoughts of every heart, and thus acts, so to speak, as the eyes and ears of God. It will be the purpose of the writer to show that the Holy Spirit is as present in the heart of the unbeliever as He is in the heart of the saint, that He is likewise present in and pervades all things in all His power and in all His Almighty Intelligence, so that He discerns the thoughts and knows the wants of a men 7m situ, This is anticipating the subject, however, and thought will now be directed to a very interesting question which presents itself at this stage for our consideration: How is it that God is always said to be in heaven? Solomon remarked in the words already quoted, “‘ Hear Thou in heaven T, hy dwelling place.” Heaven is said to be God’s throne, and earth His footstool.? God is entreated to look down from heaven,? and in the Old Testament He is always regarded as having His Personal dwelling and presence in heaven.‘ As already noticed, the perception and hearing of God have their seat in heaven also, where the head of God’s Person is regarded as being situated. The earth is His footstool, and His hands are said to reach towards it in order to show mercy and help. This is a pictorial representation, and it is difficult to tell how far the prophets and psalmists grasped the spiritual reality as taught us by our Lord, and by the New Testament writers. The ' 1 Kings viil. 30. E@icamik Vier is * Deut. xxviotis * Compare these passages: 2 Chron. xx. 6; xxx. 27; xxxii.20; Neh. ix. 27, 28; Job xvi. 19; Ps. xi. 43 xiv. 23 xxxiii. 13; lili. 2; lvii. 3; > Ixxxso14 3 cil. 193; Eccles, v.25 Isa, xin. 355 Ixvi.07 sane bos Danes 20: GOD. 15 view expressed at the close of the 103rd Psalm shows that God’s Personal presence was regarded then as being in the midst of the heavenly host of angels and archangels “ ¢ha¢ do L£1is commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.” + Furthermore, when we turn to the New Testament, with its clearer testimony, God is still said to be in heaven; and, be it noted, Christ Himself frequently states it. To quote the opening phrase of the Lord’s prayer will be sufficient evidence of this: “‘ Our Father, which art in heaven,” although our Lord often couples with the Father the qualification “ iz heaven.” * It is not enough to say that the Old Testament writers did not mean much distance away when they referred to God being in heaven, simply because the air above the earth, even the stratum of air we breathe, was included in the term. For in the New Testament the meaning of the word ‘heaven’ is expanded, and applies more to the celestial regions, and regarded, generally, as far removed from the earth. There is no clear indication given in the Bible as to the position which heaven occupies, and the views held regarding it by various writers are strikingly discordant. This is only another proof of how men grope in the darkness and become lost without the guiding light of revelation to illumine their path- way. Our Lord taught that God was on the earth: ‘* Zhou, father, art in Me, and [in Thee.” * But it will be noted that Jesus always regarded the Person of God as in heaven. Nearly all writers on heaven are agreed in this, that there is no sin there, and therefore no evil spirits dwell in this abode. It is only in keeping with the nature of a pure and holy Being that nothing but purity and holiness should be manifested in the ‘Home’ where His Person was recognized and visible; hence eels. Clils. 20. ? See the following among our Lord’s references :—Matt. v. 16; v.45 ; Morante cavi. Oc Vils 1 lsuvile 21> X32, 33 3 Xily 503° XV1," Ea se xvill, Fore xxiil..9 5 Mark x1..25. esjohnm xvii, 20. 16 SPIRITUAL LAW IN.THE NATURAL WORLD. it seems evident that heaven is removed from earth, and to our finite ideas probably far, far away. The fact that the Person of God was always regarded by Christ as being in heaven is often overlooked, and God the Father is frequently mentioned as God in Providence, whereas it should be God the Holy Spirit. J may mention at this point that Christ the Saviour, the Son of God, is thought by some to still sustain and govern the forces of the Universe, as He is said to have brought all these into being and play.! But these references to Christ as the Creator are given with a view to prove His Divinity more than to show He has other offices than those relating to man’s salvation and His duties in heaven. Personally, I regard Christ as the King of the Angels, the Son of God before whom the heavenly host bow, and whose orders they obey —the Vicegerent of God in heaven, and the Saviour of men here on earth, in whose hearts He dwells in the Holy Spirit. At the same time it is evident that, since the. Three Persons are One God, what the First Person does the Second does, and the Third likewise. When, therefore, Christ is spoken of as the Creator of all things, God the Father and God the Holy Ghost must be regarded as having an equal share and responsibility in the work. Theologians, in studying this problem, have attempted to define how Omnipotent work is performed to-day. Professor Smeaton says, “ And as to the divine Works, the Father is the source FROM WHICH every operation emanates, the Son is the medium THROUGH WHICH it is performed, and the Holy Ghost is the EXECUTIVE BY WHICH it is carried into effect.”* Such a view gives us, in anthropomorphic language, our finite ideas of God the Holy Trinity. . But is it necessary to assume that the God, who works in such a mysterious way, should also ‘ work’ in a way * Such passages as Rom. xi. 36 ; John i. 1-4; Col. i. 16; and Heb. i. 2, favour this view. 9 * “Doctrine of the Holy Spirit,” p. 4. GOD. 17 AJ so complicated? I think it is always best, in pondering these things, to remember that God is One, and that He operates by His Holy Spirit. It is by no means necessary to conclude that the work is, so to speak, originated by the Father, com- municated to the Son, and put into execution by the Holy Spirit. Whether we regard God at any point (finitely speaking) to be the Person of the Father, or of the Son, or of the Holy Spitit, there will be all knowledge, all power, all wisdom at that point ; and, therefore, it only complicates matters to think of Three Persons directing the same operation. Mr. Myers, in writing of the supernormal calculating power possessed by Bidder and others, mentions that there is an unseen realm in which the multiplication table is, so to speak, in the air. It must not be forgotten that in heaven all knowledge is, so to speak, in the air, and whatever is done by the Spirit of God or by the heavenly host is known, and, to the Three Persons of the Trinity, all that w#7 be done either by them or by their creatures is perfectiy understood. It is best, I think, to con- clude, in the face of so unfathomable a problem, that each Person does His own work in the Great Mutual Economy of the Trinity. Whilst saying this, it is not forgotten that what One does can be said to be done equally by the Three Persons. Let us return, for a moment, to the teaching of Jesus; whenever He spoke of God the Father it was always as the “Father zz heaven.” He never referred to Him as the God in Nature. Furthermore, when He blessed the bread He brake, or gave thanks to God, He always looked up heaven- wards. ‘This is very important, showing that God is Omni- present on earth by His Holy Spirit the Third Person of the Trinity, and not as God the Father! And He who thus looked on earth has Himself ascended into “heaven, and ts; on the right hand of God.”* From the above considerations, * See ‘‘looking up to heaven,” Matt. xiv. 19; Mark vi. 41; vii. 34 Luke ix. 16; John xvii. 1, “1 Pet. iii. 22; see also Rom. viii. 34; Pph ee 20 Connie ts bieb. 1:3: C 18 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. it seems clear that the Person of God the Father, and the Person of God the Son is in heaven; and that the Father and the Son have a fixed abode in heaven. Where does the Holy Spirit abide? Do we meet with the phrase ‘who is in heaven’? No, not once. He is spoken of as being ‘sent’ from heaven, though not as one coming to earth on an ambassage, but as proceeding from the Father. Nowhere is the Holy Spirit said to abide in heaven. Where does He abide? -He is.God in Nature, in Providenceseeie is everywhere. His Person fills all the immensity of space and Creation. Jesus said He ‘came from heaven,’ He was ‘sent’ from heaven. “ For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure.” And Christ acknowledged that all He did was done by and through the Holy Spirit. God the Father is presented to us in the Bible as the King of kings—the Almighty Ruler of all things—the Head of all power and rule and dominion, whose throne is in the heavens.! God the Son is brought to our notice as sitting at the right hand of God in heaven with His Father in His throne.?, God the Holy Spirit is said to be everywhere.’ And yet the Three Persons are one God, and He is the Almighty Jah—zhe King and Law-gzver. St. Patrick’s illustration of the Holy Trinity, by the trefoil or shamrock, is quite good enough to demonstrate the pos- sibility of Three Persons being One, and yet being Three ; but it does not convey to my mind a correct idea of the Holy Trinity. The shamrock is shown below, as also another figure, which gives, I think, a clearer view of the little we know respecting the constitution, if I may use the term, of the Trinity. The trefoil affords a correct idea of Three Persons joined together at one point, and each Person otherwise separate and distinct; but, whilst the Father and the Son are distinct Per elite: + Revi ete ES Darvex Reig aly GOD. 19 from each other, and from the Holy Spirit, by reason of His Fatherhood and of His Sonship (though of one Essence), the Holy Spirit is not distinct from the Father and the Son, for He is the Spirit of both. The figure of the trefoil reminds us that God the Father is joined to God the Son by a union of Father to Son, apart from the Spirit; but this is not so in the Holy Trinity. The Father and Son are united in the Holy Spirit. The Son communed with the Father, even before His Incarnation, in the Holy Spirit. Iam not assuming, in the foregoing expressions, that any distance occurs between the Person of the Father and the Person of the Son, for the description given us in the Hebrews! and in the Revelation ? leads us to conclude that since the Ascension, at any rate, Jesus sits with the Father in His throne and at His right hand. The point to remember is that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son; for there is a striking bond of unity and closeness of union revealed to us respecting them. ‘ Zhe only begotten Son, which ts in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared.”* It is very probable also that there is a hidden meaning in the following passages which has never been fully revealed to us:—“ /esus saith to her, Touch me not; for Lam not yet ascended to the Father ;” 4 Metlebravills L$ Xi. 2, 7A REV elie Zi exes : 4 af * John 1. 18, John xx. 17. 20 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. “ Jesus was not yet glorified.” * He had not yet sat down with the Father in His throne. The figure given on the right hand will, I think, afford a clearer view of the Holy Trinity. The mystery is too great to dogmatize ; the figure is but a poor symbol. ‘The outer shade ‘s intended to illustrate unlimited creation, which is pervaded in every part by the Holy Spirit, who occupies @// and permeates a//, F stands for the Person of the Father, whose throne is in the heavens, and S represents the Person of the Son, also in heaven. But the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son; therefore the Holy Spirit is everywhere, omnipresent. It may be suggested that I present the Holy Spirit as God. So He is. True, but He appears of more importance than the Father, as He occupies more space as a Person. ‘This is much more apparent than real. ‘The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. God’s Personal Presence is manifested in heaven where His throne is, and it is here that God the Father abides, and it is in heaven that the Father reigns as the Head of all, even of the Trinity. Those who believe that God is the Father of all men, and that the unconverted are His sons as well as those who believe in Christ, may raise an objection here, on the ground that I have taken the Father away from His children, locating Him in heaven; and placed a spirit-influence, placed z¢ instead of the Father, in contact with the children. I have done nothing of the kind. I have tried to show, and shall endeavour further to point out in sequel, that God is present on earth only in the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit is between God the Father and us. ‘Those who deny the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity, or who regard the Holy Spirit as an influence, have no Father and know no Father God because they cannot communicate with him. We cannot get to Christ but by the Holy Spirit,? and we canhot get to the Father save through jesus Christ.* It must not be concluded from the foregoing ' John vil. 39. 2 phy iis 18, ¢ John xiv. 6. GOD. a1 that God the Father does not dwell upon earth ; He does, but only in the Holy Ghost. Just as Jesus dwells in the heart by faith, even so must we regard the Father as dwelling also in the heart by faith—that faith being the gift of God! in the Holy Spirit. This explanation has nothing in harmony with the unitarian view that God comes to us in the Holy Spirit, because it is God’s Spirit, and not a Person distinct from the Father. I shall deal further with this question in the next chapter, and the Personality of the Holy Spirit has only been mentioned here to show the lines upon which Spiritual Law will be defined. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity. What constitutes His Personality? The Father and the Son manifest their Person in heaven. What of the Holy Spirit ? He manifests His Personality everywhere by the exercise of His Almighty Intelligence and Power. He is of equal Intelligence and Power everywhere, unlimited in every respect. It is extremely difficult for us to grasp the idea of unlimited Intelligence, or of a Person who can hold intercourse with myriads of millions of beings at one and the same time ;—who, for example, can conduct all the affairs outside heaven without troubling, humanly speaking, either God the Father or God the-Son; although the Father and the Son know all that is proceeding, and may be said to have an equal share in the work. It is the unlimited Intelligence and Power to act which constitutes the Holy Spirit’s Personality, and the work assigned to Him in the Economy of the Trinity proves Him to be a Person—the Third Person of the Trinity. No one will question the fact that the Bible teaches that God is Omnipresent, and that He is shown to be Omnipresent in all His Intelligence. Jeremiah said, “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him ? ... Donotl fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”? Yes, God as Spirit is everywhere. ‘‘ Zwo sparrows ... and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father”* We must assume, therefore, either that God does not confine His aSephe ii. 3, ee era Xxilis 24. oy Mattaxe2o: 22 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Person to any portion of His dominion, but is present in all His Intelligence and Power everywhere as One Person, or else that Spirit filling all the immensity of Creation apart from God’s Personal Presence and dwelling is endowed with all the Omni- potent Power, and all the Omnipotent Intelligence of God Himself. God has determined a seat of Government in heaven as the place from whence all Authority shall spring, and the nations of the world, by common consent, acknowledge this to be the best arrangement. God must be One and indivisible, hence His Spirit must be One with Himself ; but having all Intelligence and power in every atom, so to speak, and special work to perform for God, and vicarious work for man, He is a Person—the Third Person of the Trinity. It is assumed, therefore, that the Holy Spirit is God’s Vicar or Vicegerent on earth, and that He superintends and carries on the work in Creation, in the realm of nature—in fact, everywhere: observing everything, noting men’s sins, and even the hairs of the head. All these are the operations of God the Holy Spirit ; and His Power being the Spiritual Force employed, it follows that the lines along which He operates and the order of His operation express Spiritual Law. Whether the inorganic or the organic world is considered ; whether life, mind, or spirit is included, it matters not, for all are under Spiritual Law, and the Force of which this Law is but the expression is the Holy Spirit, the Eternal Spirit of the Living God. CENT Guba Ut SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). O Holy Spirit, indwelling and permeating every atom of our existence—mind, soul, spirit,and body—illumine our intelligence, so that writer and reader may together rejoice in seeing more clearly with the spiritual eye, and realizing more fully with the understanding heart, the wonders and mysteries of Thy Being. Such is the earnest prayer uttered before attempting a line of this chapter. What is Spiritual Law? The rule and operations of the Holy Spirit. This is giving the meaning which most people attach to Law, whether Natural or Spiritual, because when Law is expressed the Law-Giver is implied and the Governing Force included. Correctly speaking, however, Spiritual Law is the visible expression of Spiritual Force. It is not sufficient to say that Spiritual Law is the visible expression or the order of operation of the Holy Spirit, for it includes more than this. There are certain operations of Satan, for instance, which are carried out in opposition to the Holy Spirit’s wishes, and the order of these may be termed spiritual law. It will be neces- sary, therefore, for the continuity of the subject, as well as to comprise all Spiritual Law, that reference shall be made in some detail to the spirits of evil, and especially to the “ prince of this world.” Furthermore, there is man’s spirit, and mind and life are of the spirit quality; and, at this stage, it seems evident that these will come in for some consideration at a later period. After due meditation, it will become apparent that 24 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. whilst the spirits of evil have laws of their own making, and though there is such a thing as evil-spirit law, it was the Holy Spirit, when they were generated, brought these evil spirits into being, and it is the Holy Spirit even now holds their power and intelligence and individuality. Man owes his being to the Holy Spirit, and it is from Him we derive our power and capacity for intelligence, as well as our life, for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and it is “zz Him we live and move and have our being.” It seems certain, too, as far as we can determine from Holy Writ—and we have nothing else to guide us in this particular—that the angels live and move and have their being in Him likewise; and that in Him all things exist, whether they be material or immaterial. The angels were referred to by Christ as watching over, and ministering to earthly beings, and they cannot be left out of consideration. Some mention will, therefore, be made of them in sequel. It will be well, perhaps, to notice a circumstance here which not improbably will occur to the minds of most readers of these pages. Little attempt is made to define the opera- tions of the innumerable spirits, good and evil, who, not unlikely, are actively engaged in the unseen world immediately around us. In the chapter on evil spirits (Spiritual Law, Satanic), and in that on angels, some reference is made to their operations without any attempt to define them upon a given plan, and an objection might be raised under this head. But I will state at once that I never intended to define the operations of the servants, only of the Master; and, further, it does not seem to me that the specific works and employ- ments of the spirits in the unseen are given to us in sufficient detail to admit of arrangement. My chief aim, indeed my one aim, is to show that there must be an Omnipresent Spirit possessed of all Power and all Intelligence, and it is absolutely necessary to admit this as a starting-point, else it is not possible to comprehend how the spirits, good or evil, can do anything, or know anything. For example, a fish cannot swim unless it SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). 25 has water to swim in, nor can an angel help man unless the Holy Spirit is present zz stu to afford the necessary power. Be the spirit good or bad, it has no power in itself, any more than man has any power in himself. The foregoing explanation defines why secondary forces have been almost ignored, the one aim being to show that Spirit in all Power and all Intelligence must be everywhere. If we inquire—and I would inquire with all reverence— into the nature and quality of the Holy Spirit, we at once encounter this difficulty, that all spirit is entirely beyond the grasp of our intelligence; and, in our attempts to define the highly attenuated, ethereal character thereof, I feel the great deficiency of the English language to assist me.1 The same word (ruach) is used in the Hebrew to denote wind, and breath, and spirit, and I do not feel convinced that ‘airy’ and ‘breathlike’ are not as good terms to indicate Piestarity Ol; mattervas “ethereal” and “tenuous. ~ “As. “all spirit is of that quality so ethereal as to be beyond our ken, or the knowledge of the most refined sense, it will require no proof to demonstrate that man could not know anything certain of spirit existence unless it were revealed to him by God. I shall have occasion to notice how science has thrown ‘It is to be regretted that the same word for fallen angels, sfirzts, should be used to denote alcoholic liquors ; and when one wishes to describe something spirit-like which defies the acuteness of our senses to perceive, one must use the word ‘ethereal’ or ‘subtle.’ The former is the best term we have, but even this is the common name for the volatile liquid distilled from alcohol and sulphuric acid. To speak of spirits being subtle is right, perhaps, as far as evil spirits are concerned ; but this term cannot be applied to the Holy Spirit. In order, therefore, to describe spirit-like quality one is confined to the word ethereal (or tenuous—a word I do not much like, and one not generally understood), and the word ‘ ether’ has been used by physicists to denote space and also in connection with light— luminiferous ether. I have a strong dislike to coining words, although I feel much tempted in this respect, but I shall use ‘ spirit-like’ or ‘electric- like’ to describe any force or power beyond the grasp or knowledge of the senses. Whenever I use these terms I have electricity travelling ¢hrough a wire as the basis of my thought. 20 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. light upon spirit existence in the following chapters. We should know very little of the Holy Spirit’s operations in the inorganic world were it not for the revealed Word of God, and, although the reference to these operations are general, and deal more with His work in the aggregate than point out the con- tinuity in every little particular of His Personal Superintendence, still, I think, much light is shed by the Scriptures upon His present Government even in the inorganic world. When we consider man, the Bible assists us greatly to understand the operations of the Holy Spirit in reference to life and its maintenance, as well as the ‘indwelling’ of the heart, and the infinitely close Personal relationship which exists between the believer and the Spirit of God. It can be proved, too, from the Scriptures, that He influences all men for good, and that all the good they do is the result of His work in the heart. There is no necessity to promulgate any theory with regard to the Holy Spirit’s operations in man—the Word of God is so clear and explicit on the question. And although some may think that what is indicated in these pages to be the Holy Spirit’s operations in matter, organic and inorganic, may savour much of theory, I am by no means disposed to accept such a conclusion. Nor do these pages teach ‘ Pantheism.’ Nature is not God—Nature is not the Holy Spirit. A man may erect a building and reside in it, but no one will say that the building so erected is the man. The Holy Spirit occupied all space before the world was formed, and He was in the world when He formed it, and He is in the world to-day superintending all things; but the world is not the Holy Spirit. Those who believe that God is in heaven, dwelling there, must admit that He has some means of visiting everything under His dominion, and the only way to account for the perfect order and continuity which prevails in this, as doubt- less in all worlds, is to acknowledge His Omnipresence. If the question is asked, ‘ How is He Omnipresent ?’ the general SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). 277 answer given by Christians will be, ‘By His Spirit.’ Whether anything more is meant by the Omnipresence of the Holy Spirit than the Force or influence which determines the carrying out of Natural Law, is a question which it is hard to determine perhaps in the majority of instances, and where it is affirmed with conviction that the Holy Spirit is present everywhere in Person—how He is so present, and how He operates in nature—are problems which do not find an easy solution. ‘To most persons who have little knowledge of physical science, it is difficult to understand how spirit can permeate the hardest metal, or even liquid matter; but to those who can realize something of the movements of the subtle forces already known to man, the Omnipresence of the Holy Spirit will be rendered much more clear. My reply to those who do away with the Personal Superintendence of God over matter and life on our globe, by asserting that He once created and determined what things should be, and now wills that they shall continue by the exercise of certain fixed Forces and Laws which give rise to the continuity of all operations, is this. A boy can set a top spinning—like our globe spins in its orbit round the sun—but if he did not whip it, it would be useless to will that it should go round. The top will require the personal superintendence of the boy to keep it revolving at all, and so does our globe require the Personal Superintendence of its Maker—the Holy Spirit—so that only the necessary attractive force shall be displayed by the sun, and that the moon and all other bodies which influence our earth shall not destroy the equilibrium. The aim of the scientific matter in sequel is to prove that Natural Law will not account for the continuance of things and life in their present order and regularity, hence it is necessary to have the presence of the Holy Spirit everywhere, in Person, to carry on the marvel- lously intricate, delicate, and refined works in nature. And the visible expressions of these operations 1s what I call ‘Spiritual Law in the Natural World.’ 28 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. It will require no proof to demonstrate that such a Person must be Spirit, and that He must be One and indivisible. He is One Spirit permeating every atom of creation. In the face of the clear testimony of our Lord, with regard to the Holy Spirit, one would naturally conclude that it is almost unnecessary to refer to the fact of His Personality. But, unfortunately, there is good reason for dwelling upon the point in some detail. Whatever led primarily to the wide- spread belief which now prevails that the Holy Spirit is an ‘influence’ or a ‘principle’ sent forth by God—an attribute of God, and that this influence or principle is the “Zght which lighteth every man coming into the world,” + I know not, but the fact remains that the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers is regarded by a large section of the Christian com- munity in this light, and not as a separate Personality. How far our hymnology and theological teaching are accountable for this it is difficult to say, but I fear they are by no means blameless. When Evangelical Christians pray for more of the Holy Spirit, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for His coming into our midst—as if He were not there already,—it is only reasonable to expect that those Christians and others who delight to find flaws in the religion of our fathers will make capital out of such expressions, and demonstrate the absurdity of a Person being poured out and subdivided into innumerable portions. It is said, and rightly too, that if these petitions are expressed correctly, the Holy Spirit so sent down is only a Divine principle or attribute emanating from the Father. There are many Christians of the ‘broad school’ who disregard the Holy Spirit altogether in considering man’s relationship to God, affirming that He has implanted a spiritual nature in man capable of warring against evil under the impulse of the human will, And there are others who think the Holy Spirit is only another name for the Father, Without unduly enlarging here upon these various differ- 1 John i. 9. SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). 29 ~ ences of thought respecting the Holy Spirit, it must be evident to all who have given attention to the subject that instead of regarding Him as God in Providence—One and indivisible— and giving Him the honour due to His Divinity, He is often looked upon as a kind of spiritual sweetmeat, dispensed by Christ and the Father to those believers who are sufficiently importunate in their asking, The great mistake which under- lies the teaching about the Holy Spirit to-day, and the worship we render to Him, is, that we confound the Gifts and Graces of which He is the Author, and which He Himself bestows, with the Person of the Holy Spirit, with the Holy Spirit in His Personal Essence, with the Personality of the Holy Spirit. To render my meaning clearer, the following lines from “ Hymns of the Gospel New and Old,” No. 316, will form a suitable illustration— **O Saviour, loving Redeemer, Saviour, precious to me, Grant me, I pray Thee, more of Thy Spirit, So that Thy love flows freely through me.” Love is wanted, and “‘¢he fruit of the Spirit is love.”* It is therefore not more of the Spirit is wanted; it is more of the Jruit of the Spirit—love. Instead of recollecting always that the Holy Spirit is everywhere, and regarding the dove-like manifestation at the baptism of Christ as an outward and visible indication that our Lord was endowed with all the power necessary for His ministerial and prophetic offices by the Holy Spirit already z7¢iin Him, we sing— **Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, With all Thy quickening powers,” as if He were continually making dove-like excursions from heaven into the hearts of believers. I shall give only one more instance, No. 5, from the same collection.” KCAL REGED 2 “Hymns of the Gospel.”’ 30 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. ‘©Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Guide, Lead to all truth the Lamb’s fair Bride, And in our midst henceforth abide, Thou Comforter Divine.” The teaching of these lines renders it very uncertain whether the Holy Spirit remains even in the midst of the Church of God on earth. It is no wonder He leaves Natural Phenomena and inorganic matter to Natural Law, if the view of His Omnipresence given in these lines is correct. Hundreds of hymns, not very dissimilar in their teaching, are to be found in Christian hymn-books, and these, together with the teaching from pulpit and Sunday School, and the prayers which are offered as the result of such teaching, have done much to shake the faith of thinking men in the Personality of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, I believe, most thoroughly, that a careful study of the facts which science has revealed to us tends more and more to prove that one Power—one Universal Force—rules over and dominates all creation ; and the oftener one contemplates the subject, the firmer becomes the convic- tion, that it is useless to admit such a fact, and acknowledge one Universal Force, without at the same time concluding that that Universal Force is endowed with marvellous Intelligence everywhere, and is nothing short of God’s Holy Spirit in His Omnipresence, possessing the same power and intelligence throughout all the immensity of creation. ‘There +s no fact connected with revealed religion which is more clearly or more pronouncedly fixed in my mind than that of the - Personality of the Holy Spirit, and He appears to me in this light with equal lucidity under Old Testament times as since the advent of Christ. What He did in the former times, He did in the latter; and what He was at Pentecost, He was ever before the foundation of the world. This aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work in the hearts of the Jews of old and of the children of Israel, is not one generally acknowledged, even. by those who believe in Hts Personality under the New SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). an Dispensation ; and if there are many who regard the Holy Spirit to-day as an influence or principle, there are thousands more who think that the Holy Spirit of Old Testament times was simply an attribute of God. The remarks in John vii. 39, that the “ Holy Spirit was not yet given,” and our Lord’s reference to the Comforter who should be ‘sent,’ may perhaps account for the belief still prevalent that the Holy Ghost of the Old Testament is not the Comforter of the New ; and for the belief, too, which is held in some quarters that there is little, if any, evidence in the Old Testament indicating that the Holy Spirit is a Person. Some time ago I was speaking to a friend—well versed in the Scripture, as the phrase goes—in reference to the Holy Spirit being present in all matter, superintending all things now as He did throughout all previous time, when I was asked, most seriously, whether I thought that the Holy Spirit present among the Jews was the same as the Comforter sent by Christ into the hearts of believers ; and when I answered, ‘ Yes, certainly,’ I believe my reply was regarded as little short of rank heresy. If one reads the Old Testament superficially, one need not wonder if the Personality of the Holy Spirit is not fully manifested; but a careful consideration of the various references to the Spirit will render it evident that it is not much more difficult to prove Him to be a Person from the Old than from the New Testament. It is not my intention to weary the reader by quoting a large number of passages, but I shall confine myself to those which appear sufficient to demonstrate the fact. It is to be regretted that it is necessary to undertake the task of proving the Personality of the Holy Spirit, and it does certainly appear unprofitable to quote proof from the New Testament in favour of what is so self-evident, and I cannot do this to any great extent; but there is no question that the Personality of the Holy Spirit is rendered clear and certain by Christ and the New Testament writers, and it has always been to these that theological authors have appealed in support of the truth, Now, it is absolutely essential, to establish the 32 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. correctness of the conclusions I shall come to presently, that the Personality of the Holy Spirit is capable of proof from the Old Testament alone, and it is from this I shall quote to demonstrate the point. If an ‘ zzfluence, a ‘ divine attribute, a ‘principle, an ‘emanation’ can undertake and perform all the operations in man, and can preside over man’s salvation, then I feel sure that any attempt on my part to prove that Natural Law is the visible expression of the rule and operation of God’s Holy Spirit z sé/, will have been only labour in vain. In answer to the objection sometimes urged that so little is said of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, it appears that under the monotheism of the Israelites they were expected to concentrate their thoughts upon Jehovah, and their prophets and religious teachers were most careful to shield them from believing in a plurality of gods. Principal Moule says, ‘‘ The Holy Spirit is the true Author of the Written Word, and His authorship there is occupied with the main and absorbing theme, not of Himself, but of another Person, the Son of God.” 4 Just as this is true of the New Testament in reference to the Saviour, so is it true also of the Holy Spirit’s authorship in the Old Testament, that the all-absorbing theme is the one God, Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit has kept Himself in the back- ground, Again, it may be that so little was said in the Old Testament about the Holy Spirit because men could form no conception of what Spirit was, and even under the fuller teaching of Christ, it was necessary for Him to speak of sending another Comforter to dwell zz them so as to impart some idea of the spirit-like and ethereal nature of that Person. It appears to me that the difficulty experienced by the Old Testament writers to define ‘Spirit’ has not a little to do with it, and nothing can be more evident than that the Hebrew language was incapable of expressing anything more tenuous or ethereal than the wind. Perhaps the English language is not much better, ' «Veni Creatot,” p. 11. SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). | 33 I shall now give some Old Testament passages to prove that the Holy Spirit isa Person. “ Zhe Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” What for? To exercise His Power and Intelligence in the shaping and arranging of the earth; a Person acting—for I take it that where there is Intelligence and Power in operation, there must be, of necessity, a Person at work. The Holy Spirit carried out the work with the consent and agreement of God the Father and God the Son. “ By the word of the Lord were the heavens made s and all the host of them by the breath [Spirit] of Azs mouth.” 2 From this passage we learn that the Holy Spirit made all the suns and planets and the host of heaven, in addition to the formation of the earth, as in the previous passage. The following extract from the “Speaker’s Commentary” on this verse is to the point :—“ The Word of the Lord is the command which called the Universe into existence. The Breath is the quickening Spirit which brooded on the abyss, and gave life and form to all things. The reference to Genesis is unmistakable, but it is remarkable how the Psalmist detaches the two great truths involved, or intimated, in that first word of revelation, and expresses them in terms which find their full explanation in the doctrine of the Trinity.” “ Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created.” * We are ascending from material or inorganic matter to life, and the creation of the lower forms, and, primarily, all living things in the sea are included. Here it is evident, again, that an influence or principle sent forth could not per- form the work—only a Being possessed of all Intelligence and Power could undertake it. “ Thine eyes did see mine unperfect substance, and in Thy book were all my members wretten, which day by day were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” * Here we have, though in language which may not harmonize strictly with modern physiology, the fact brought out that God through the eyes, so to speak, of the Holy Spirit observes and 1 Gens in.2 2° Ps; xxi, 6: RS eCii 230) fis men ear.) 16. D . 34 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Personally superintends the formation of a human body from the germ-ovum upward to complete development. Who will deny that the operations of the Holy Spirit indicated in the passage are the works of a Person, and not of a principle or fixed Law? “Zhe Spirit of God hath made me.”* The same thought is implied as in the previous quotation, but here the Spirit is mentioned. The gift of life is of course included, as well as the making of the body. The foregoing passages show that the Holy Spirit created all things, organic and in- organic, but it may. be suggested that the ‘sending forth’ implies coming from heaven and probably His returning again. Is there any evidence in the Old Testament of the omnipre- sence of the Holy Spirit? Yes, clear testimony. ‘‘ Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” ® Tf it is argued that this passage refers to the Spirit as God, or that His Spirit is only another way of ex- pressing God, it must not be forgotten that the Spirit in this and the following verses is credited with observing all things ; with leading, and guiding, and holding; with Omniscient and Omnipresent attributes. We learn that God the Father 1s Omnipresent by His Spirit, and as His Spirit is Omniscient, and possessed of creative power, He must have Personality. What of the dealings of the Holy Spirit with men—inwardly, in the heart—under the Old Dispensation ? ‘‘ Zhen the Spirit entered into me,. . . and He spake with me.”*? Here is a plain indication that it was the Person of the Holy Spirit, and not any influence or principle. No greater proof could be afforded us of the Personality of the Holy Spirit than that of His dealings with the prophets, and numerous instances could be brought forward in support of this statement, but it is not necessary. ‘The prophets not only did good, and exercised superhuman power, but they uttered sayings referring to things yet to come—matters entirely beyond their knowledge—and \ [OD XxX XIlLeA: ? Ps. cxxxix. 73 and see following verses “Hrekili..24, a@ SPIRITUAL LAW (HOLY SPIRIT). 35 the Holy Spirit in them must be a Person of Omniscient Intelligence. One more passage to this end will suffice: “ But L truly am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judg- ment and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.” + The prophet claims no merit for his own discernment; it is the power and intelligence of the Holy Spirit which do the work. | All the foregoing quotations have reference to the opera- tions of the Holy Spirit in creation, or to some superhuman powers bestowed upon man, or put into execution through man. Was it a Person or a principle that induced men under the Old Dispensation to do the good they performed? Be the good little or much it matters not so far as the question under consideration is concerned. I shall assume, here, that all Christians are agreed that were it not for the presence in man of a spiritual principle, or, as I affirm, the Person of God’s Holy Spirit in his soul, the tendency of the evil heart, and the corrupt will, and the influence of Satan would soon determine that every atom of good should vanish, and only evil remain. We learn that God’s Spirit induced men to do good. ‘“ My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is Jiesh.”* A principle could not be said to sézve with man, to dwell in man, or “contend with the evil in man.” These words imply Intelligence and Power operating in man’s spirit, and are like those used by New Testament writers, and dis- tinctly refer to a Person. ‘‘ Zhou gavest also Thy Good Spirit zo instruct them.” ° ‘*When ye came out of Egypt, and My Spirit abode among you.”* ‘The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee.”® ‘The first passage does not refer to a select few of the children of Israel, but to the whole body which came out of Egypt, and to all these the Holy Spirit was given, not zz ferson, but as a teacher. An intelligent person is doubtless referred to here, and who will say that He who undertook to EeMicahiiit, 8. ar Gene vin 3. °. Neh: ix. 20. Tag. i. 5. Pe LED ialilel 7 36 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. teach the children of Israel, in addition to the other multt- tudinous operations assigned to, and carried out by Him, did ‘ not also impart the power necessary to perform what was so taught?! With regard to the second passage, a ‘covenant ’ is mentioned, relating to the time when God promised the children of Israel to be their God and to dwell with them if they worshipped Him. Long subsequently, after the Captivity, God calls upon “all the people of the land,” without distinction, to work, implying that His Spirit was with them then just as He was with the children of Israel in the wilderness. Do not these passages point out the universality of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the hearts of the children of Israel under the Old Dispensa- tion without respect of persons? and is it not absurd to think that God made a covenant with His people without providing them with power to keep that covenant? and is it not evident that the Holy Spirit indwelt the hearts of men then as He does now? In reference to the last passage,” the Septuagint, or Greek Version of the Old Testament, gives the following rendering, ‘‘ The Lord Thy God is in thee ;” and it will not be out of place to mention here that the Greek Version leaves us in no doubt that God was zz the children of Israel, and dwelt zz them.? Paul, in quoting Lev. xxvi. 11, 12, gives the words, “ / zill dwell in them,” * thus showing that he regarded the Holy Spirit as dwelling zz the hearts of the children of Israel. “But they rebelled, and grieved His Holy Spirit.” ® What further testimony to the truth that the Holy Spirit was present in the hearts of men of Old Vestament times, and what additional proof of the Personality of the Holy Spirit ! Fancy grieving a principle or an emanation ! That the Holy Spirit dwelt in and influenced certain men is evident. “A man in whom the Spirit of God is.”° “Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a manin whom ts the Spirit." “And ae Seev Ps Cxitther Os 2 Leph. im 17, 5 See note on 2 Cor, vi. 16, Cambridge Bible. 4 2 Con vu Io, © Isa, xiii. 10, “Gen oxlio3s, 7 Num. xxvii. 18. SPIRITUAL, LAW (HOLY SPIRIT), 7 the Spirit of the Lord came [ Heb. was] upon him” (Caleb).! These three men, Joseph, Joshua, and Caleb, and others in the Old Testament, lived nigh to God, and they had the conscious presence of the Holy Ghost in their hearts—in other words, He dwelt in them. It is a very unjust view of God’s dealings with men to say that He gave the invaluable blessing of the Holy Spirit’s presence to a few, whilst He left the majority of mankind to the evil influences of Satan and of their own nature. In Joseph’s case, an Omniscient Person must have indwelt his mind and heart. Weighing the evidence deducible from the portions of Scripture given above, it seems certain that not only has the Personality of the Holy Spirit been proved conclusively, but it can be shown that He did for men under the Old Dispensation all that He now does under the New. I leave out of con- sideration, of course, His revelation to men of Jesus, the God-man, and Christ’s indwelling the hearts of believers. He convicted of sin.* He induced men to do good. He kept men from sinning.*| He convinced men under the Old Dispensation that their sins should be expiated by a sacri- fice; He does so now, pointing to the Lamb of God. He dwelt in men of olden time and purified their lives ; He does so now, and, as Jesus is the one Sacrifice for sin, He brings Christ to dwell within us, so that believers can claim the efficacy of His blood continually. The joy and peace in the Holy Ghost through His indwelling and revealing Jesus to us in the closeness of the relationship which exists under the New Covenant, has, undoubtedly, no counterpart under the Old ALLL there is no question that He gave great peace, and joy, and blessing to those of the children of Israel who walked “ nof after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” ® I cannot attempt to prove from the New Testament that the Holy Spirit is a Person; the fact is so self-evident, and Sl udeadii, 10: ea Gene Vis. 22Ps. cx hielo, Stxcnaxe. 0, ° Rom. viii. 4. 38 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. it has already been undertaken most satisfactorily by abler hands.! Suffice it is to say that Our Lord taught that he was a Person, and that to Him was relegated the duty of carrying on Christ’s work on earth. This part of Spiritual Law in the Natural World—the order of the Holy Spirit’s operations in the sense-part of the Universe—will be acknowledged by Christians generally ; the task which I undertake is to make the kingdom of Nature and the kingdom of Grace one kingdom, presided over, controlled, sustained, and revivified by the one Eternal Spirit of God. 1 See Dr. Winslow on the Holy Spirit, chap. i.; Professor Smeaton, ‘‘ Doctrine of the Holy Spirit,” lecture 1. Cer AS Teel Hs eee; GOOD AND EVIL. As one contemplates the Universe, and studies the order and regularity which prevails among the innumerable bodies in space, one is ready to admit that the God presiding over all creation, and who is responsible for its maintenance, is a God exercising benign government, and that there is order, regularity, and continuity under His rule. Looking at creation as a whole, in all its immeasurable vastness and wondrous variety, in the light of the foregoing conclusion, one is ready to exclaim that God is good; and yet, if one inquires into the minutiz of life, and considers many of the physical changes around us, and the progression of things along the line of evolution, so much is seen to be out of harmony that one is bound to acknowledge that the evil which exists in our hearts, and in mankind generally, is not confined to the human race, but is to be found in all living things on the earth’s surface ; and we are by no means certain that inorganic matter is not, in some way, amenable to evil and influenced by it. It may be that things are different in other habitable worlds—of that we have no precise knowledge, and must confine our remarks to the earth upon which we live ; but it is when we survey creation as a whole that God appears to us in His most benign character. When the philosopher takes a bird’s-eye view of creation, noting all the movements and changes within the range of his knowledge, there is one conclusion he must draw from a study of the scientific facts, apart entirely from any 40 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD, appeal to the revealed Word of God, and it is this, that only in the smaller movements and changes—the details, so to speak, of earthly things—error and confusion mar the order and good and perfection around us ; and strangely, too, this disorder is more noticeable in the domain of human life than anywhere else. We conclude, therefore, that order and regularity is the rule, and disorder the exception, so it is evident that if evil is wrought, or was originated by a god or being other than the Great Creator, all the mass of scientific knowledge gathered up to the present time, as well as the Scriptures, point to this conclusion, that the God of Good has dominion and power infinitely greater than the god of evil. And yet it appears to me that the god of evil has much more power than is generally assigned to him. ‘This statement may become so patent that it is not unlikely some may think that the doctrine of Mill is resuscitated ; or that the Persian (Iranian) or Zoroastrian theory is revived in these chapters. But such is not the case. Whilst man is undoubtedly the grandest and noblest of God’s creatures on the earth, we have only to compare his infinite littleness to the immeasurable wealth of God's creation to see that man is relatively out of the race. Although it may be an unquestionable truth that evil has the dominant influence in man, and because of his high endowment with intelligence it may appear that the Almighty Good of the Creator is masked or beclouded by reason of this dominance of evil, we have only to assume the position of the Psalmist as he said, “ When J constder Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man?” to know, that if man was all evil, he is but a microscopic speck compared with the Creation of God. It would humble us, and do us good probably, if we more frequently contemplated creation, and compared our nothingness with it. It appears certain from the Scriptures that among the angelic creation there are good and evil spirits, so that two PNP sy vili'3, $4, GOOD AND EVIL. AI kingdoms exist in the unseen. Confining our remarks, how- ever, to this world of ours, we conclude that there are two kingdoms—one good and one evil; but it is very evident that the kingdom of good, of law, and order, is immeasurably superior in power, in might, and majesty, and dominion, to the kingdom of evil, In other words, the kingdom of evil is a subjective kingdom, and the Spiritual Law of the Holy Spirit is the Law of the King of kings. The prevalence of order and regularity in creation proves at once that the kingdom of evil is not in the ascendant generally, whatever conclusion we may adopt regarding this world of ours. Still, however, the question of John Stuart Mill demands an answer : Granted that God is infinitely superior in power to the prince of evil, why does He not crush the evil spirit and annihilate him? Before dealing with this very trite and serious question, it is well to note that Mill, and nearly every writer of his school, is prepared to admit that God is, or ought to be, good ; and the difficulty which presents itself to thinking minds is, not so much to prove that God is good, but that being good, He could either originate evil or permit evil to exist after it was originated. No one can conceive good and evil existing side by side in the Being of God. We can realize the fact that He can be love, that He can be pure, and holy, and righteous, and just—in a word, perfection of Good—but He cannot be love and not love; He cannot be good and evil. He cannot here make the beautiful, and there produce the abortion. We cannot picture such a Being; and when we turn to the Scriptures to find the nature of God, we learn that He is the perfection of holiness and justice. ‘4 God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right ts Fe.” ‘““ There 1s no unrighteousness in Him.” * “Ts there unrighteous- ness with God? God forbid.”*® The Bible leaves us in no doubt whatever, so far as its teaching is concerned, that God is the perfection of good, and that there is no evil in Him, meLreutras S10 Ay BS exCiueL Ss, *) Roniaxs 14) 42 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. notwithstanding He is responsible for the evil; and it shows, furthermore, that God does not tempt or influence man to do evil. This latter inference is clearly indicated in Jas. 1. 13. On the contrary, God desires all men to do good, and from first to last of Old Testament history we find all the promises of peace, and contentment, and prosperity linked to well-doing. God is a God of love, of justice, of mercy, and of all good, and there is no evil in Him Personally. In like manner we must conclude that the Holy Spirit is good, and that in Him Personally no evil exists. When we con- template the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit, in the light of the existence of evil spirits, as well as of evil where He is so present, we are sorely puzzled ; but when we have recon- ciled, in our minds, the fact that evil is permitted by God, some of the difficulty vanishes, especially when we see the possibility of the Holy Spirit being in evil without being of it. Having concluded that the Scriptures are right, and that God the Father, and God the Spirit, as also God the Son, for they are one God, are all Good, and that there is no evil in Them, I will anticipate an objection to this conclusion by quoting the following passage, “ J am the Lord, and there is none else. L form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil; Lam the Lord, that doeth all these things.”' These words were addressed by Jehovah through Isaiah to Cyrus, king of Persia, who is styled the ‘ Anointed’ and the ‘Shepherd.’ Dr. Cox * has remarked that these titles, applied to a heathen king, seem almost as mysterious as the announcement that God creates evil. Cyrus was of noble character, and, in a sense, the ‘ Redeemer’ of the Jews; but he did not believe in Jehovah as the one God. He believed in two gods— Ahuramazda, the good god, and the author of all good, and Ahriman, the evil god, and the author of all evil. Both had SL Sa axl Ve5O,07 3 * Dr. Samuel Cox has very clearly defined the genesis of evil, and his line of thought is followed in these pages. GOOD AND EVIL. 43 an equal share in creation, and they had independent and separate governments. God was desirous to teach Cyrus that He had no twin-creator, no co-equal rival, and thus it was He inspired Isaiah to say, ‘‘ Zam the Lord, and there ts none else.” There is no Afhriman equal in power to Myself; no one assisted Me in creating; I am responsible for it all—the evil as well as the good. Mysterious as the passage is, it gives us comfort and assurance, teaching us, as it does, that He Who has promised to protect and succour and save those who believe in Him must be able to do it, if the powers of evil are His creatures. The passage is comforting because God does not shirk His responsibility, and whatever our notions may be regarding the genesis of evil, God is respon- sible fer the beginning as well as the prevalence of it. In the dim distance of the past ‘‘there must have been a time when the Great Creative Spirit dwelt alone,” a time when the Holy Spirit had no Personality apart from God, and when the only begotten Son was not begotten. Professor Drummond tells us that the Laws relating to created beings on earth are only the higher Laws projected downwards. It does appear that the one desire inherent in all living beings, viz. that of companionship and association, is a Law projected from the Higher Spiritual ; and that fellowship is projected, so to speak, to us direct from the Father. Dare we see this exemplified in the only begotten Son? God desired the companionship, the fellowship, and assistance of other beings, and He created the angels. Very numerous references, both in the Old and in the New Testaments, affirm the existence of angels, who are said to be innumerable! and immortal.? How were these angels created by God? Were they like the fingers on our hands, simply units without individuality, capable of being moved singly, but having no power of volition in themselves? Were they created like cogs in a huge machine, all actuated and impelled by one driving Ll etek, 22) 7 uke xe 30: 44. SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Wheel, but incapable of any movement or action unless so driven? It does not appear at all likely that the angels were so constituted. It does seem certain, however, that the law relating to /ree-wil/ in man is ‘a projection’ right down from the Creator to man, and that all His creatures, whether they be archangels or angels of the lowest office and power, were endowed with free-will when they were created. Would it not appear absurd for God to be worshipped by beings who worshipped simply because they could not help doing so, and who were ‘‘mere automata, mere puppets, with no will of their own, capable indeed of reflecting His own glory back on Him, but incapable of a voluntary affection, a spontaneous and unforced obedience”? Does it not seem certain that the angels who were created first were endowed with responsi- bility, with individuality, with power to act in concert or independently of each other, with power to do God’s bidding or to withstand it? The worship thus given, and the obedi- ence so rendered, would alike be acceptable to God, and worthy to be received by the Great Creator. The angels at their creation were instructed, doubtless, that love to God was pure and holy and good, but that selflove was evil ; that humility and obedience to God were right, and that pride was evil. With a free-will, an angel must be able to do good or evil at pleasure ; but it is most probable that God implanted in the nature of the angel—as He did subsequently in man—that perfect happiness should only be found in the exercise of perfect good. It is manifest, on reflection, that beings, whether angels or men, endowed with free-will, would be sure to use it sooner or later in the direction of evil as well as of good; and this certainty “‘must have been foreseen and provided for in the eternal counsels of the Almighty, that in the lapse of ages, with a vast hierarchy of creatures possessed of free-will, some among them would assert and prove their freedom by dis- obedience. How else could man, for instance, assure him- GOOD AND EVIL. A5 self that he was free, that his will was in very deed his own?” Whether it be regarded as Milton-like or not, it does appear reasonable to assume that there were principalities in heaven, and that some of the angels occupied positions of great respon- sibility, and those in authority having free-will could exercise it with equal readiness in the direction of self-emulation and pride. Speaking from a human point of view, we should not be surprised if those in authority were proud of the position they occupied, and if pride were thought of, and harboured, it would be likely—reasoning from our own nature—to become fixed habit in course of time; and a period would arrive when, if doing good meant dwelling in the presence of God, and doing evil meant banishment from His presence, those of the angels who had used the will in the direction of evil would eventually be turned out from heaven. Now, the Bible tells us that such events occurred, and it tells further that pride had to do with it;! but this will be considered in the next chapter. This view of the origin of evil is one which I think is rational and probable, and it does not indicate that God is the Author of evil; nor does it show that there is any evil in God: it only demonstrates that God is responsible for evil, inasmuch as He gave the angels free-will to choose for them- selves. It has been asserted that the angels were created with free-will, and that some, by doing evil, lost their first estate. What was the relationship of the Holy Spirit to these angels at their creation, and what alteration occurred in that relation- ship after the fall? These are questions of considerable interest, and they can be answered with every probability of accuracy. Though they were spirit, their nature was not of the Lssence of the Holy Spirit, else they would be part of His Being. ‘They were holy, and so of the guwadity of the Holy Spirit. If endowed with free-will to act, they must have been given permission to take power to a certain extent, that extent Tel ime iis O- 46 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. being deterrnined by the work they had to perform, and the responsibility of the office they occupied. This power was furnished. them directly by the Holy Spirit. Free-will meant individuality, and each angel had personality. The Holy Spirit created each, and therefore held the life and personality of each. God was visible, so to speak, to their intelligence, and they lived in His presence as long as they did good; but when they became evil He was no longer discerned by them. The Holy Spirit is God in Providence, and is Omnipresent, but though the spirits of evil move ever in His presence, and He permeates their being, they have no knowledge of His presence; and this change in their experience is the result of evil-doing. The individuality of the spirits of evil is still held by the Holy Spirit, and the will to draw power from His fountain! of all power has never been revoked ; and, to the extent of their endowment in their first estate, they can will that certain power shall be exerted either in the exercise of the most diabolical work, or even in the direction of good. This is the natural result of free-will. With regard to man, the Bible states that he fell by reason of his yielding to the ‘ suggestion,’ of an evil being from without. Let those laugh at the ‘serpent’ who will, the fact remains clear that temptation came to our first parents from without, and it is not at all improbable that much influence as well as suggestion was employed in order to bring about their fall. There is no question that the narrative in Genesis does not harmonize with the view that Eve thought the matter out herself and acted upon her own responsibility alone; but since the ‘genesis of evil is regarded bya section of the community from ‘this standpoint, and there are other opinions held respecting it, ‘it behoves us to see how matters appear in these relations. ‘Some think that our first parents had the opportunity to choose " Power is but an attribute of the Holy Spirit. It is not necessary at all to assume that the spirits of evil touch the Person of the Holy Spirit— ‘the Essence of the Holy Spirit—when they draw from Him. GOOD AND EVIL. 47 either good or evil as they thought fit, and so exercised them- selves in both directions, absolutely uninfluenced either in one or the other. Those who adopt this theory do away with the Personality of the Holy Spirit, and His work on men’s hearts, as well as get rid of Satan. Man is thus regarded as a free agent capable of doing either good or evil, and therefore answer- able for all the depravity found in his nature other than that due to inherited taint. Evil, we are told, is simply a principle. Others, again, whilst ceasing to acknowledge Satan, or evil spirits in their personality, seem to look upon evil as an achive principle influencing men generally. This view makes room for the Holy Spirit’s operation in man; and perhaps it is held more widely than any other, because it is not fashionable to-day to recognize the person of his Satanic majesty. Only a few months ago I saw a subject for the Sunday evening discourse advertised thus : ‘‘ What has become of the devil?” It is con- tended by some that many passages in the Bible refer to evil, either personified, or are some poetic representation in which the adversary, the accuser, the calumniator, or the wicked one figures. How far would an active principle or the ‘influence’ of evil account for the other references to Satan? Not un- frequently Jas. i. 14 is quoted to prove that the sin in man is either inherent, or an acquired principle, but the reference is to lust; and no one will say that he is not enticed by that in which he finds pleasure or delight. It has been already observed that the Personality of the Holy Spirit is often disregarded, and at the present time the tendency is to generalize the action of the forces which operate upon men’s minds, whether they be for good or for evil. We do not read now so much of the Personal dealings of the Holy Spirit with men’s souls as of His ‘influence’ upon them. And of Satan’s operations upon men’s hearts we hear very little ; it is evil ‘influence,’ a vague expression implying that evil is an active principle. As the word ‘influence’ is so much used in the manner indicated, I purpose devoting some little 48 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. attention to it, because it is evident that if ‘influence’ can exclude Satan from being associated with evil practices, it can, in like manner, dispense with the necessity of the Personal operation of the Holy Spirit in the direction of good. What is an ‘influence’? ‘The dictionary tells us ‘a power which affects men.’ When one thinks of a power affecting men’s minds internally, so to speak, it seems evident that that power must be usually exerted by a person, but outward ‘influence’ may be different. If I live close to a church, and I see persons frequently coming therefrom, and I esteem some of these persons greatly, the church may be regarded as an ‘influence,’ because I am reminded, when I see it, that those good people who attend it worship God. In like manner, if I live near a music-hall I am influenced to visit it by seeing the crowd coming from the building, and feeling that they must find pleasure and amusement or they would not attend ; and should I once yield, even from curiosity, to visit the music-hall, untold evil might result. Mother tells me sweets are injurious to my health, but I know sugar is very nice, and every time I pass a sweet-shop I covet the sweets. Apply the illustration to Jas. i. 14, and it will be seen that similar influences are there implied of pleasure indulged and gratified, and how we are tempted to repeat what experience has taught us is pleasurable. ‘The examples above given relate to ‘influence’ from without. ** Cambridge Bible for Schools.” 62 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. may sift you as wheat—brings us again face to face with the imagery of Job. It appears as if Satan presented himself before God, and demanded Peter and the rest of the apostles —the word you being plural. The imagery of Rev. xii. is also very vivid, and the of” serpent in v. 9, taken together with r John iu. 8, will show how fully John believed in the history of the Creation as it is presented to us in Genesis, No reference has hitherto been made to the part which Satan played in the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve under the guise of the serpent ; but having noticed the character of Satan and his work, as the arch-fiend and dire enemy of souls, some brief allusion will be made at this point. The language of Genesis is ambiguous, doubtless, and some of the remarks refer primarily to the animal. There never was a time, probably, in the history of our country when the power which some men possess over animals was used or manifested to so great advan- tage as to-day. Performing lions, bears, kangaroos, wolves, leopards, hyzenas, and elephants do what they are bidden by their trainers with such striking obedience, and such astonishing astuteness, that it is only speech on their part that is wanting to make them human. Now, it is well-known that the hypnotist can suggest to the hypnotized that he shall hear one speaking to him, and he hears the sound of speech without human voice articulating. No thinking man will say that Satan does not possess as much power as the hypnotist,! and it will be seen readily that Satan could easily ‘suggest’ to Eve that she should hear speech which Satan caused to appear as coming from the serpent. If Eve heard a voice, and saw nothing from which the voice proceeded, she would be far less likely to notice it than she would if it proceeded from the Serpentine seems likely enough, then, that the tempter used the animal to work out his hellish designs. The fall is not mentioned with a view to prove the personality of Satan, but in order that it may be shown that Adam’s loss was Satan’s gain. Adam possessed * Not a few persons think the hypnotist gets his power from the devil. SPIRITUAL LAW (SATANIC). 63 power over all created things on the earth before his fall,! and it seems reasonable to give him at this time, in his pristine purity and perfection, the title of ‘prince of this world,’ Satan was the mouthpiece, so to speak, of the serpent ‘ suggesting,’ not thought, simply, but even thought conveyed by sound in imitation of speech; then, when Adam fell and sin came into his life, and death came as the result of sin, Satan vanquished Adam and wrested the princedom of the Universe from him. Hence the name our Lord applied to Satan, ‘prince of this world,’ was indeed appropriate ; and when Jesus said that the “prince of this world is judged,’ he meant not only that the prince of evil is judged, but that He gained the victory over death, which fell upon men by reason of Satan’s dominion being established. It is claimed that conclusive testimony has been brought forward to show that the Bible demonstrates Satan to be a person, and that evil is due to him primarily, and that he works evil in men’s hearts; furthermore, that life is one continual warfare, because the influence of Satan and _ his angels is not exerted fitfully or spasmodically, but powerfully and continuously. We are not without direct testimony from living witnesses that temptations come apart from their own nature, bias, or habit. This conclusion has been drawn by saints of all ages, from the first century to the present time. I do not press the evidence given during the period when superstition was so rife, nor attach much importance to Luther’s experience in this particular, as some of his con- clusions were probably erroneous.? He said, “Early this morning when I awoke the fiend came and began disputing with me. ‘Thou art a great sinner, said he. I replied, ‘Canst thou not tell me something new, Satan?’” But the most SMVEN 1.1205, * In the light which the study of what is true in hypnotism has revealed to us, one might almost conclude that hypnotic suggestion was at work in his case. 64 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD, saintly men and women of to-day affirm, and even judges and statesmen have affirmed, that they have been greatly influenced to err against their inward conviction of truth in directions where there was no natural bias whatever. Men and women who revelled in the worship of God and in His praise have met with opposition in their hearts which they were certain was not of their own making, as these influences moved in that part of their nature possessed by the Holy Spirit, and in which the heart’s desire was for good. The Scripture tells us of good angels watching over us. Can we sweep away the evil angels, and still believe there are good guardians around us, whilst sin is so rampant and the world so full of misery, of suffering, and of sorrow? No; one is almost impelled to remark that the good angels are not doing their duty ; but whilst this cannot be said, there seems scarce room to question that the spirits of evil neither slumber nor sleep. Then there is strong evidence of evil in nature generally, and evil exerted, too, by beings possessed of much power. “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together.” } Yes, undoubtedly. Regard for a moment the Holy Spirit in creation as the Upholder and Sustainer of life, and notice ‘ sport ’ among plants, and the irregularities in the vegetable world. Look at the parasites which suck the blood, so to speak, of trees, and live upon them—such, for instance, as the mistletoe upon the apple, the poplar, and other trees. Note the astound- ing ravages of the ichneumon among insect life, the wholesale destruction of larvae by larvz and beetles in our ponds at spring-time, and in a thousand other ways. Look, again, at the abortions in the animal region, and even among human beings, and can one help concluding that some malign and evil powers have marred much of the beauty and perfection of the Holy Spirit’s operations? And these evil beings have power and control over nature? which men to-day are loth to ' Rom, viii. 22. 4 Seed oba. SPIRITUAL LAW (SATANIC). 65 relegate to them, and, by reason of their endowment with free- will and abandonment to malign propensities, strive with all their power to blast and stultify God’s beneficent and otherwise superb and perfect handiwork. At no period of the world’s history, perhaps, was this intense activity, this determination to frustrate God’s purpose more potent than just after Pente- cost, when special powers were received by the apostles and others for the formation of the Christian Church. So subtle were the forces surrounding the early Christians, that it was absolutely necessary some means should be provided to dis- cover whether Satan did not have a share in the prophecy, in the works, and in the beliefs of the converts; and experience ‘soon taught the apostles and others that he had. Fortunately for Christianity, Christ did not leave His disciples orphans. The Holy Spirit was in men; and He counteracted the designs of the evil one by giving special powers of discernment to certain in the Christian body. In 1 Cor. xii. 10 special reference is made to this endowment, and it is here called “ discerning of spirtis.” Chrysostom wrote, “For there was at that time a great diversity of false prophets, the devil ambitiously striving to plant in rivalry by the side of God’s Truth his own Lie.” ! There seems no reason to doubt that this period was charac- terized by intense activity on Satan’s part, and it is not difficult to see that he gained a large measure of success, Our evidence in favour of the existence of the prince of evil is not yet exhausted. On the lower creation, and indeed upon man even, there are parasites which infest and tenant the human body, living upon the vitals of men and of animals. Is it too much to say that human minds and souls, reasoning by analogy, have spiritual parasites infesting even these? I think not. Much as the question is shelved, it has been proved conclusively that some men have the will-power to hypnotize their fellows, bringing their minds, and spirits, and wills into subjection, and thus form a kind of dual existence See ‘‘ Speaker’s Commentary ” on 1 Cor. xii. 10. 66 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. with them. It is admitted on all hands that persons who have been repeatedly hypnotized become mere automata in the hands of their hypnotists. Can we conclude that Satan has less power than the hypnotist? Must we not rather admit that this evidence from hypnogeny is strong testi- mony in favour of the existence of evil spirits, and of the fact that there is mind-parasitism exercised by Satan and his angels ? Concluding, therefore, that no ‘influence,’ without intelli- gence to apply it, will account for the evil in man, and that man’s own heart cannot be responsible for the terrible depravity which exists, the question arises that if Satan tempts men ‘how can he manage to reach every one, seeing that he is not omni- present ?’ It is admitted unreservedly that Satan is not omni- present, and the Bible does not lead us to infer that he is; and it is conceded that his being—his person—may not be of considerable dimensions. But there are probably innumerable evil spirits. One writer has suggested they are so numerous that three thousand could be spared to possess the man whose name was ‘legion.’ ‘There is no necessity to conclude that they are so numerous. If it is conjectured that the fifteen hundred millions of population on the earth’s surface is so great that there are not enough evil spirits to carry on the crusade, and that some of the evil spirits would be so far away from their chief, Satan, as to be beyond his reach of com- munication, such objections are easily answered. During hypnotizing exhibitions it has been frequently demonstrated that one hypnotist can keep a score of persons under ‘in- fluence ;’ and professional men, like Dr. Tuckey,! use hypnotic power upon their patients without regard to their number. It need not be questioned, therefore, if mex can ‘suggest’ to others that certain things shall be done—and they must be done—and that numerous individuals can be ‘influenced’ by one person, Satan can keep a far larger number under his 1 Contemporary Review, November, 1891. SPIRITUAL LAW (SATANIC). 67 control; and there is no telling the extent of his dominion over, and correspondence with, men’s souls. With regard to the difficulty of communication between Satan and his angels, it can be shown that no such difficulty exists. It was stated, and endorsed by Mr. Stead, in the Christmas number of the Review of Reviews, 1891, that telepathy, or mind-transference, has been exercised between Britain and the Antipodes.! Are we to expect that the spirits of evil have anything short of such correspondence? Is Satan the ‘prince of this world’ and the ‘prince of the power of the air’ without having dominion over electricity, and using it, not along wires as we do, but by projection, so that whatever he wishes to communicate to one or all of his angels is transmitted in the fraction of a second? Here, then, is instantaneous correspondence, doubtless perfect, accurate, and absolute. We are looking forward (Prof. Crookes says) to a not distant period when we shall draw ali the electric energy we need for light, heat, and power direct from the ‘ether.’ Has Satan not used these forces all down the ages? What need be said further? Satan is not omnipresent, but his system of correspondence with his subordinates is doubt- less perfect and instantaneous; and we may be certain that each evil spirit can exercise such a parasitic influence upon the mind of a single individual, or perhaps even upon a hundred at once, that the agency of evil is as perfect and complete in the farthest point of Satan’s dominion as where he himself reigns as the prince of the demons. When one thinks of the great power of Satan, does it not seem certain that the evil influence of the devil and his angels must of necessity be counteracted by beings who desire that good shall reign, and prevail in men’s hearts? and do not such ‘considerations as these enable us to see how the sudden ‘changes in men’s character, and the evil influences in nature 1 The writer does not believe in telepathy as generally explained, ‘Mind does not act upon mind. See p. 161, and chap. xix. 68 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. generally, may be due to the concentration of the powers of evil upon some determined point in order to deliver an on- slaught? Does not the belief in angels at all tend to prove, since man has fallen or since evil is in the world, that there are evil angels as well as good? With regard to how evil spirits note our actions and reach our inmost souls, two considerations suggest inquiry. It used to be thought, and most persons who believe in Satan conclude now, that there was a sort of dual-link between the spirit of evil and the one that is tempted. Hypnotic posses- sion is generally regarded as a dual existence where two minds are linked together along the mind-ether, the operator being the dominant. In like manner the spirits of evil are regarded as dominants, as far as this, at any rate, that they read men’s thoughts and influence men’s actions, and, in one light, there is a similar dual-link. I have endeavoured to show in chap. xix. that hypnotists learn respecting those they can hypnotize, and influence men’s minds by ‘suggestion,’ be- cause they have been endowed with the power to will that the region in the unseen where all knowledge is, so to speak, in the air, shall be, toa slight extent, open to them. Further- more, they can will that certain things shall occur to men, and they occur. There is neither contact of mind nor of body necessary between the hypnotist and the hypnotized, because a power in the unseen carries out the will of the hypnotist. What or who that power is I cannot say. From analogy we conclude that the spirits of evil possess this power to will that certain things shall occur to men’s minds and souls without contact with those minds or souls, and we should conclude that their ‘suggestion’ was like the hypnotist’s, bound to result, unless it was counterbalanced or ‘ ordered down’ by other beings who were endowed with similar will-power. From our Lord’s own reference to good angels it is only reason- able to assume that these ‘order down’ the suggestions of the spirits of evil, but they do not ‘ order down’ all. SPIRITUAL LAW (SATANIC). 69 It is not at all improbable, notwithstanding the different explanation I have given to so-called thought-transference, that there is a medium of correspondence between all minds open to beings so subtle and tenuous as the spirits of evil. It is possible, too, that evil spirits are endowed with powers and qualities even more remarkable than have been hitherto assigned to them, and that they can not only link themselves to man’s spiritual nature (mind and spirit), but they can also pass through mind and spirit, and pervade it in the same way as they can pass through solid matter. Electricity, we know, can permeate solid material, and it is not unlikely that evil spirit essence isso much more subtle, refined, and tenuous compared with the swdstance, so to speak, of men’s minds, that spirits pass through them, and in them, without giving any indication of their presence to the individual. Angels are a higher creation than man, and the spirit essence of their being is of so refined and tenuous a character compared with man’s spirit, that evil spirit can be right through and inside of man’s spirit, so to speak, without man’s knowledge. I will attempt to illustrate the point. A copper wire is perfectly solid, it is compact and without any interstices, but electricity passes through it, and pervades it with ease. Yes, but elec- tricity is practically immaterial. Just so. Now imagine man’s spirit to be the copper wire, and evil spirit essence to be electricity, and there is an example of what is meant. In this case the evil spirit could not only link itself to a man’s mind so as to have correspondence, but also occupy, by a sort of interminded tenancy, all portions of man’s nature. Satan’s aim, since the creation of man and his fall, appears to have been directed towards the extension of his kingdom by the reception of men who had acted upon his ‘suggestion ’ during their lives on earth. It is a remarkable fact that when our Lord, thirty years after His Incarnation, went about His ministry, He found evil incarnated awaiting His exorcism, and many remarkable instances are on record which tend to 70. SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. show that demoniacal possession was something more than ordinary disease, and that it is not extinct to-day. This chapter, long as it is, cannot well be closed without a word of reference to eternal punishment. ‘The Bible says that those who do evil in this life, and die unpardoned without faith in Christ, will have to pass eternity in the same region as the devil and his angels. What of the ‘larger hope’? Is there eternal punishment? These questions are much perplexing men’s minds to-day, but it is not my intention to deal with Spiritual Law after death. Every one must admire the words of the poet Tennyson, and men are supposed to have more charity if they embody them in their creed :— ‘‘ That not one life shall be destroyed, Or cast as rubbish to the void, When God hath made the pile complete.” Some of us have these words deeply embedded in our minds ; but whilst there are glimpses of universal salvation in texts of the Bible, the weight of testimony is decidedly against such hope, and no truth is taught more definitely than eternal punishment. No doubt the want of proper teaching in reference to the grades of punishment, and the ‘many mansions,’ alike in the world below as in the world above, has led thinkers to regard with horror the teaching that moral men, philanthropists, and good citizens, will be tormented in associ- tion, and huddled together, with murderers and demons. ‘The Bible does not teach this, for there are to be few stripes for those who deserve few, and many stripes for those who deserve many. From Rev. xx. 2 we conclude that evil spirit law is not to be continuous on earth, and that there will be a time when it shall cease temporarily. If that is to be so, let us pray earnestly that the time is not far distant, GHAR Rae I; ANGELS AND SPIRITS. WHEN the Bible student thinks of good and evil, or of the powers or forces connected with them, he generally sets the Holy Spirit on the one hand, and Satan on the other. It is very rarely that the good angels are brought forward, because they are of so secondary a nature compared with the Holy Spirit, and are simply those “‘ that fulfil His word, hearkening unto the voice of His word.” Hence itis that our considerations of the good angels come after those referring to Satan, not so much because they are less important than the spirits of evil, as because their Operations are merged in the Holy Spirit, much in the same manner as we regard the works of the kingdom of darkness as the actions of Satan. If we are strong believers in the doctrine of free-will, it must become evident, on reflection, that the operations of the holy angels are most essential to our well- being for the following reasons :—(1) God allows the use of power to evil beings as well as to good. There could be no free-will if it were not so, and it is difficult for us to discover how far God Himself, Personally, can interfere on our behalf without at the same time abrogating the Law of free-will, When God’s desire to help the suppliant is expressed, it is easier for us to see that free-will would be upheld if the angels carried out God’s wishes instead of His doing them Personally by His Holy Spirit. (2) We have noticed how far fixed habit was in accordance with the Law of Continuity. We may regard this continuity for good as due to the combined action 1 Ps, citi. 20, 72 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. of the holy angels. The ‘7¢ug of war’ is a very familiar athletic sport to-day, and if we style the ‘tug of war,’ jixed habit, and place the good angels at one end of the rope, and the evil angels at the other end, then we may form some idea of the balance of forces operating in men’s minds for good and evil. From the foregoing points of view the doctrine of free- will is rendered more tenable; but, as before noticed, all the operations of the good angels are generally merged in the Holy Spirit, from whom they derive their power to act for good. The meaning of the word angel is ‘ messenger,’ and angels are thus defined: “ By the word angels we ordinarily under- stand a race of spiritual beings, of a nature exalted far above that of man, although infinitely removed from that of God, whose office is, ‘to do Him service in heaven, and by His appointment to succour and defend men on earth.’”1 With regard to the nature, the spirit-essence of the angels, the Bible tells us very little. This is only what was to be expected, inasmuch as the Holy Spirit is so little defined. In the paragraph above quoted, the angels are said to be of a nature far removed from man. I cannot say from whence the conviction comes, but I have always regarded the angels as composed, so to speak, of spirit much more highly refined than man’s ; and in the last chapter it has been surmised that the spirits of evil may possess the property of passing through man’s spirit by reason of their more tenuous nature. ‘This thought of a more ethereal spirit character came, primarily, from a consideration of God’s Omnipresence by His Spirit, The nature of Holy Spirit must be so refined as to permeate and be present in all other spirit, as well as matter, without His presence being of necessity manifest. Evil beings are said to roam the earth, while man lives on it, and matter, or mind, is probably no hindrance to them. It is not assumed that the evi] angels had the tenuity or the rarity of their spirit changed when they fell; on the contrary, in these pages the good and evil ? Smith’s ** Dictionary of the Bible.’ ANGELS AND SPIRITS. he angels are regarded as being composed, so to speak, of spirit of like tenuity. We have already mentioned the fact that the angels when they were brought into being must have been composed of spirit-essence different from that of the Holy Spirit, and, therefore, of substance, so to speak, permeated by the Holy Spirit. In other words and human language, the spirit essence of the angels had slight materiality. Man’s mind and spirit have been regarded as composed of spirit yet more maz¢-ria/ in character than that of the angels, either good or evil, and it is suggested that the good angels can pass through man’s spirit, because they are so much more refined in essence. Some may think that there is no evidence to justify such an assumption ; indeed, Luke xx. 36 appears at first sight to negative the view. But the “deing equal to the angels” has reference to immortality and not to spirit-essence. There are a few thoughts, however, clustering around this subject which one may be justified in bringing forward even in reference to beings so far removed from us in intelligence, and about whom so little is revealed in Scripture. And these expressions may tend, in some slight measure, to show that the spirit-essence of the angels is more refined than that of our mind and spirit. Are angels corporeal beings? If they are, their bodies are sufficiently immaterial to pass through matter. The glorified body of our Lord is of this description. “A spirit hath not flesh and bones,” Christ said. I do not think, however, there is much evidence of the angels being corporeal. The fact that Paul states * our bodies shall eventually be like Christ’s resurrection body, does not appear to throw any definite light on the subject, as there is no reason to believe that man, being a separate and distinct creation, will not ever remain separate and distinct from the angels. In what lies the necessity for angelic corporeality, and of what value would a body be to them? They have spirit form, doubtless ; their very individuality is a surety of this, for just as the stars differ in ’ Luke xxiv. 39. ?oPhilsii2t, 74 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. glory, so do the angels differ in position and influence. Yes, the fact that they have individuality necessitates that they have form, and the fact of their finite character indicates a limit to the size of that form. It is not easy for ws to see how they can exist without bodies, but we should put ourselves in their place to be able to understand their position, and this, I fear, we cannot do. If our bodies are taken away altogether, our individuality remains. To the angels who never walked, and who therefore need neither legs nor arms, one cannot see the necessity for such apparently useless and hindersome appendages. ! I will not surmise further upon this question, but conclude that there is a spirit form. In heaven, however, the word ‘form’ is not found in the dictionary, if I may use the simile, because there is no bodily eye, no eye of flesh, there; and things which appear to us now, by reason of our materiality, will no longer have appearance there. This conclusion brings us to a point of considerable interest. What of the intelligence, the mind and soul and spirit of the angels? Let us contem- plate the case of a soul redeemed who has crossed the river and gone to be “ For ever with the Lord.’ That soul is at present zz heaven, according to the popular view, in the presence of the holy angels. Wherein does the spirit of the departed differ from the angel spirits? Difficult questions, these, yet I think there is some light shed upon them. Here, on earth, man must have mind to store knowledge, memory to recall that knowledge, and soul, in a sense, for living the higher life. But the angels do not want these, and we cannot conclude, I think, that they have them. Mention has been made of those remarkable talents with which men have been 1 Some of the animalculz have ciliated ‘heads,’ and also tails which can grip hold of matter to afford ‘anchorage.’ When these decide upon a roving expedition, they withdraw their head and tail, and, by reason of their mobile nature, roll themselves into a ball and away they go. It is not difficult to surmise that when the angels assumed human form their ‘spirit’ could adapt itself to any shape. ANGELS AND SPIRITS. Jas endowed, like the wonderful calculating faculty possessed by Bidder and others. It has also been mentioned that some men have the striking endowment of being able, to a certain extent, to dip beneath the surface of earthly knowledge, and get a glimpse into the ‘unseen,’ where all knowledge of things general is an open book. And we may be certain that if mortal men have had this fountain of all knowledge, in the slightest measure, within their reach, the angels have always drunk of it to their full. They do not know all things—they probably know nothing of themselves any more than we do— but it is an element of angel nature that they have the will- power to open the gates, so to speak, and drink of the fountain of all knowledge at will. It is not assumed that they have omniscience, and know all things relating to the inner con- sciousness of the Trinity, for we are expressly told that this is not the case. Christ said, “ But of that day and hour Rknowelth no one, not even the angels of heaven.” ‘This passage clearly limits the knowledge of the angels, but it is given in a form which leads us to conclude that they possess knowledge infinitely greater than we do. With regard to the salvation of men, it is said, “ which things angels desire to look into.”* It seems probable, therefore, that excepting the knowledge relating to the inner counsels of the Holy Trinity the angels have all knowledge open to them; and it follows, in consequence, that what we call mnd is no part of angel-spirit-essence. If the angels have no mind, memory will not be necessary to them either. ‘They simply desire to know anything, either past or present, and they discern at once. No pondering, thinking, or contemplation is necessary in reference to know- ledge ; it is an open book to their intelligence. They have not to store up the knowledge they have gathered, because to them there is no gathering; the fountain is always open to them, and the things of earth are known in heaven without 1 Matt, xxiv. 36, Cale beteianl 25 76 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. any beings visiting us, and touching, so to speak, our intelli- gence, by simply opening the records where all knowledge, alike of earth and heaven, is stored. Christ said of little children, ‘‘2z heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.” We must infer from this passage that the angels of the children are in heaven. How can they guard the children on earth if they are in heaven? Simply because, as already noticed, all knowledge of earth is open to them in heaven; and if these angel guardians of the children do anything on their behalf—and we conclude they do—then they have the power of acting from the far away also. When we try to dip beneath the thin crust of our earthly storehouse, and dwell upon the Omnipresence of the Holy Spirit, how much more clear these thoughts of angel knowledge and angel action become! The Holy Spirit being everywhere, He knows all about the children. The Holy Spirit being in heaven permits the angels to dip into His fountain of a// knowledge, and so learn about the children. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Power and Might—all power is in Him everywhere-—and the angels are endowed with the faculty to will that protection shall surround the children, and the Holy Spirit, knowing the desire expressed in heaven by the angels, carries out that desire on earth. This is one aspect of angel intelligence and angel work. But it must not be assumed from the foregoing that angels are fixtures, so to speak, and do not travel on errands of mercy or Carry out God’s work in the various spheres of His creation : for we have, as we shall see presently, indications in the Scrip- tures of their being here in the midst of sin and suffering, waiting to bear the spirits of the suffering to the better land. The hymn, “Carried by the angels,” embodies the thought of the angel visitants awaiting the dissolution of earthly life, Whilst it has been concluded that the mind of the angels differs from that of man, there is one point of agreement and 1 Matt. xviii. Io. ANGELS AND SPIRITS. 7). similarity between us, viz. fveling. We are very ready to associate body with feeling, and to think it is the body which feels, but it is really the mind which is the seat of feeling and not the flesh. Feeling is a concomitant of the mind, and the body is only the sense expression. The angels have feeling. God has feeling. Love, wherever it is found, feels. All good intelligences must be concerned for sinful and suffering humanity. ‘It is agreed that angels and all glorified minds are in the principle and life of love; and love in angels works according to its own nature, as truly as it does in God or in Christ; for it is a power universally that takes hold of its objects and of all their woes, wants, wrongs, and even enmities, to bear them as a weight on its afflicted sympathies.” Like as “ God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Sou,” proves wondrous feeling in God, so in their sympathy with God the angels have feeling too. What an interest they must have taken in Christ’s Mission! What an ardent desire they must ever have that good shall prevail, and that sin and sorrow and suffering shall cease! If all this is true—and it must be—then we are bound to assume that the good angels take some part in the affairs of men, and do something on their behalf as well as fe/ for them. What does the Bible say in reference to angel work? Much more can be inferred, probably, from the casual notices of angel ministrations than is fully stated of them, but there are numerous instances recorded of angels having appeared to men. On all these occasions they were seen in the form of men. In the Old Testament, instances are mentioned of angels appearing who were regarded by the persons who saw them as God Himself, and even in these the human form was assumed ; and in all cases in which Christ is inferred to be the One who appeared as the Angel of the Covenant, etc., the human form was recognized. This is no proof that angels have bodies like men, even if it is admitted that they lack the same materiality. Man was the highest being that man knew, 78 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. and if the angels appeared in any other form man would not be prepared to associate them with God. ‘The angels of the Bible differed from men generally because their faces shone with a heavenly light, and because their raiment was, in nearly every instance, of the whitest and most glittering appearance. The angel who visited Manoah! was, it would seem from the marrative, very human in his outward form and semblance, as Manoah did not recognize at first that he was other than a man. Not only were the angels of the Bible in the form of men, but we are almost compelled to conclude that their bodies were material. At any rate, the angels who visited Lot at Sodom had feet, which Lot was anxious should be washed, according to the custom of Eastern hospitality ; and it is said of the unleavened bread which was made for them that “ ¢hey did eat.” * This incident is not one bit more wonderful than what is recorded of Christ after His resurrection; and modern science is seemingly furnishing us with a very simple explana- tion. We are told that the angels are mighty,® and it is fairly certain they have the power to alter the rate of vibra- tion of the molecules of matter; hence they could assume a body of flesh and blood at one moment, and dissipate it into air in the next. The Bible tells us some of the objects for which the angels appeared. In the Old Testament, angel visitations were con- nected chiefly with the social and spiritual welfare of men. When the prophets lived angels rarely appeared; but we read of them during the period of the Captivity. Angels. announced the coming of Christ and His Mission, and their recorded visits to Jesus in the hour of temptation and in His agony are of paramount interest to us; but the ministries of angels to Jesus are further referred to in chap. xxi., and will not. be considered here. Others have pointed out how the angel. ' Judges xiii. 2*Gens xixeese tePewclilgrzOsvedt et, il. 11s ANGELS AND SPIRITS. 79 world hovered during His earthly life and ministered to Him. We are not surprised at these attendant ministries, and I do not think it is any argument against the operations of angels: on our behalf from a distance—from heaven—to say that these: ministrations of angels to Christ were performed in person: on earth. In the history of the early Christian Church we read of angel visits;+ and to the Hebrews angel appearances were not regarded as being so very remarkable. In Acts xii. 16 we learn that the friends of Peter concluded it must be his angel that was seen standing without by Rhoda, and history tells us the Jews believed that each man had a guardian angel assigned to him by God. ‘The writer of the Hebrews has made it clear to Christians that angels are ‘ministering spirits, sent Sorth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salva- tion.” * ‘The fact recorded by Christ that children have guardian angels has been noticed already. The innocence and guile- lessness of childhood must make such ministry much more welcome to good beings than that of watching over those who indulge in sin. Vicarious feeling always appears to me as most profound only where good is the victim of evil and wrong. Whilst the angels feel grieved that men sin, they cannot feel very sorry for those who indulge in zwzfud sin. We can understand how they would rejoice, and we are told ® they do rejoice over the sinner who repents; and from the parable of Dives and Lazarus* we may conclude that they sympathize with the sorrows and sufferings of humanity. When, however, we contemplate the subject of angel ministrations here, either singly or collectively, we must con- clude that they do not appear to us either comprehensive or complete. When the case of the holiest saint is taken into consideration, even then one fails to see that his guardianship is perfect. ‘The more holy a man is, the more open is he to MPA CtSa lOc; Ville. 205° X.095) Xil. 7? XXVil. 23. Webi. 14. 3 Luke xv. 10. * Luke xvi. 22, 80 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. attack, Perhaps, if we understood free-will better, and knew more of the power for evil wielded by men, we should not be _ surprised at this apparent want of angel aid; and faith must step in, whilst we face this mystery, to help us believe “ ¢ha¢ to them that love God all things work together for good.” I have already hinted why I have not attempted to define the plan of angel ministration. The part they play in the human economy here is so indefinite, and I feel it is best to consider that all good comes to us from the Holy Spirit, and to regard Him as the Author and Giver of it. Could we prove that the angels do a definite work, and specify its nature, even then the Holy Spirit must be regarded as the Author and Giver of that good. It is held by many that the spirits of the departed who have been received into heaven are ‘like the angels ;’ hence it is concluded that whatever ministries the angels undertake, the disembodied spirits of the redeemed undertake also. No sympathy is felt by the writer with those who teach that punishment for sin is all experienced in this life, and that the spirit of the most depraved and vicious tramp enters into the same blessed condition as the spirit of the just. Such con- clusions have no Scripture warrant, and they are, moreover, absurd as well as unjust and misleading, if it were only on the ground that rich and titled men, however base their lives, are not requited for their sin here, inasmuch as they escape the just punishment for their misdeeds, If the vile and vicious tramp wakes up in eternity as a spirit, purified and sinless, then a marvellous transformation scene occurs unparalleled in wonder, so far as we know, in God’s creation. But we may rightly conclude with Professor Drummond and others, that if God does not bring about what we call the ‘Evolution’ of man and animals by leaps and bounds, and does not revel in great transformations here on earth, He does not bring about sudden and great changes in the soul that enters the spirit 1 Rom.. viii. 28. ANGELS AND SPIRITS. SI world. The tree that is to stand the storms, and live for ages, is a plant of slow growth—it does not grow up in a night like Jonah’s gourd, nor come to perfection rapidly as a butter- fly, which no sooner disports its beauty than it dies. So it seems to me that what happens to man at death is simply the snapping asunder of the ‘silver cord’ which binds the life and soul and spirit to the body. The body dies, the soul and mind and spirit pass into the spirit world. The soul and mind and spirit await the day of reckoning, when “‘ we must all be made mantfest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether tt be good or bad.” + How far the spirits of the departed can draw aside the veil which covers the fount of all knowledge is a question it is difficult to answer. Since some men are permitted by natural gift or endowment to dip slightly into this fountain, it is very likely the spirits of the departed have this faculty as spirit prerogative. But the mind and memory of earth will cleave to them until the day of reckoning, and, after that, there is no telling how much of the spirit nature of man as it existed in association with the body will be changed in essence and in character “‘/rom glory to glory.” A question often asked is this, ‘If the spirits of the redeemed enter heaven immediately after death, how shall they appear again at the judgment-seat of Christ?’ Much has been said of heaven, but it is difficult to grasp any true conception, either of its infinitude or of its position. It has neither area nor position probably. Just as Christian experi- ence, and, to a certain extent, the Word of God, lead us to conclude that any place is heaven where Jesus is, and that any place is heaven to those who see God, and whose souls are iz the Holy Spirit as well as He is zz them, so is the fact true. But this is only heaven on earth, notwithstanding, There is to be a heaven where sin and sorrow and suffering 2 Gor, vii 10. G 82 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. are unknown. Just as the rook and the starling are gregarious, so is there a gregarious nature in man, and I think we may conclude, with reasonable certainty, that this same faculty is found among spirits also. ‘The spirits, whether of men or of angels, are not bound to a body as we are in this life, for we are, so to speak, chained to this prison-house. They are free to roam creation probably; hence we can realize how the good would congregate and the eve assemble together. There must be repulsion instead of sympathy between spirit beings good and evil, and this repulsion determines that “there ts a great gulf fixed ;”* and the spirits of evil have neither desire nor ability to cross that ‘gulf.’ Where the good angels live and congregate, so to speak, there God is always seem, not with the eye of flesh, but with the spiritual discernment, and it is here that all the spirits of the redeemed congregate also. It is in harmony with our views of free-will here, to con- clude that the spirits of the departed will not be subject to any form of compulsion in the spirit land beyond. If in this life they yielded their wills to God, and desired to serve Him, then such spirits would, by mutual sympathy and attraction, seek association with the angels. We can form some con- ception, therefore, how the angels may have watched the suffering Lazarus to guide (bear) his spirit to the holy congregation in the home-land. The spirits of those who served mammon would find companionship and sympathy only on that side of the gulf where Satan reigned, but even these would seek to shun Satanic association just in measure as they did it here below. Hell must be of infinite area, and on that side next the gulf dividing those who see God from those who do not see Him, Satan will not have much dominion, nor will there be that punishment which will be experienced by the more wicked and depraved. | Those who knew Christ best on earth will draw nearest to 1. Luke xvi. 26. ANGELS AND SPIRITS. 83 Him in heaven ; and those who desired His companionship most on earth will develop their spiritual faculties with the greatest rapidity in the spiritual world. Paul will be among those who form the body guard of Christ, metaphorically speaking, whilst those who take little interest in the Master’s Kingdom will see Him from a distance, and the measure of that distance, I take it, will be the mansion of the ‘many mansions.’ And, just as the Law of Evolution is applicable to beings here below, so will the spirits of the redeemed go on increasing and developing in spiritual discernment ; and, in the language of earth, they will see the ‘ face of the Father’ more clearly as eternity rolls on. COAT Romy ils FORCES IN NATURE. AFTER taking a cursory view of some of the chief Forces in Nature, we shall be in a position to see how far science aids us in coming to the conclusion that these Forces are so ethereal and refined as to be of spirit-like quality ; and whether it is possible to conclude, from scientific reasoning, that all these Forces are sufficiently similar to justify one in assuming that there must be ove Universal Force so ethereal and tenuous as to be spirit-like. Such an inquiry is not undertaken with a view to show that such Universal Force is the Holy Spirit, but that the exercise of such Force is among His diverse operations. Nor will our arguments in any wise be weakened if, while admitting the existence of tenuous spirit-like (electric- like) Forces, science fails to prove that they are so similar as to be acknowledged one and the same. Instead of saying there are certain Natural Laws, we will say there are certain Forces found in nature, and they may be regarded as acting upon the matter of the Universe. Perhaps it would be well if one could define what matter is, but the question is so difficult that it will hardly repay investigation. The most simple definition is ‘that which affects sense.’ It seems to me, however, that recent scientific inquiry and experimental deductions tend to show conclusively that matter, so far as its ultimate composition is concerned, is simple in the extreme. According to the atomic theory, matter is made up of countless atoms, and the combinations of atoms in various FORCES IN NATURE. 85 proportions are termed molecules, Chemistry has shown that there are some seventy elements, and that all the numerous forms of matter are made up of these combined together in various ways. From this point of view matter is very com- plicated. But when one considers the relationship of heat, light, electricity, and chemical energy, and learns from the experiments of Hertz and others that they are all forms of energy, so closely related to each other as to differ only in length and frequency of wave vibration,! one is led to conclude that, after all, matter is not socomplicated. It has often been suggested that the elements of the chemist may be but com- pounds, and it has often been surmised, too, that there may be but ove element from which all matter has been evolved. These recent experiments do certainly favour the view that one form of matter differs from another only in the arrange- ment of its atoms and the rate of their vibration. Heat, light- electricity, and chemical energy, are all matter, although they are so attenuated as to defy our senses to distinguish them; hence any deductions from these are fairly applicable to all matter. Of the Forces common to matter, the Force of Gravity, or Attractive Force, will be considered first. Gravity is a Force common not only to the matter of our globe, but to all matter in the solar system, and it is only reasonable to assume that it is common to all the bodies in space; and whilst these in the aggregate form the one system presided over by the Great Architect of Creation—the Holy Spirit—it will be sufficient for my purpose to confine any remarks and argu- ments to that part of the heavens with which we are most familiar, viz. the solar system. The sun attracts our earth, 7 “* When the waves of ether have lengths of from qp22s55 to apgS5 parts of an inch, we have chemical energy ; when they follow each other at distances of from 71855 to wes parts of an inch, our eyes see them as light ; when they grow to 754355 parts of the inch we see them no more, but we feel them as radiant heat; and when they attain lengths which are measured by yards and miles, they give the electric phenomena.” *“ Recent Science,” Méneteenth Century, May, 1892. 86 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. and by reason of the force exerted the globe revolves around it. There is, at the same time, a Force exerted by the earth which tends to bring the sun towards it—a mutual attraction ; nor is this mutual attraction common only to the earth and sun, as it is characteristic of all the bodies of the solar system. Not one of the bodies exerts a repulsive force, so that the main tendency of every body is to get towards the sun, which is the centre of the system by reason of its vastly superior Attractive Force. Our earth attracts the moon, and the moon attracts the earth, and there is no body in the solar system which does not attract the earth in a greater or lesser degree, and it is the Attractive Force exerted upon the earth in a direction opposed to the sun’s action, that is to say, away from the sun, which, in some measure, prevents the globe from gravi- tating nearer to the sun. It will be seen, on reflection, what an infinitely complicated problem this attraction of the heavenly bodies is. Mathematicians tell us that if our globe was projected forwards with a certain velocity in a lateral direction in relation to the sun, that the Attractive Force of the sun would cause it to revolve in the manner which it does now, excepting, of course, the deviation in its orbit due to the attractive influence of the other bodies of the solar system. Notwithstanding the seeming correctness of these conclusions, it does not appear possible that a body like the earth, spinning in space with little or no friction to overcome, should con- tinue to revolve around the sun with practically unaltered orbit unless there were some governing Force to prevent its getting nearer and nearer to, and eventually colliding with, the sun. It is not difficult to understand that a body like the earth will keep on moving in space under the Attractive Force of a superior body; but we must assume, notwithstanding the absence of much friction, that the power necessary to over- _ come the Attractive Force of the other bodies must be consider- able. If the bodies of the solar system were always maintained FORCES IN NATURE. 87 equi-distant from the earth and the sun, one could understand that the continuity of things might proceed with the present regularity and order without an independent governing or balancing Force at work ; but when it is taken into considera- tion that the motion of the heavenly bodies vary appreciably, and that some are at one season much nearer the sun. or other bodies than at another season, and that by reason of their positions being altered the Attractive Force towards or from the sun is in like manner altered, it is not easy to see how the theoretic limit of deviation remains unchanged year after year, when the tendency of all bodies is to get towards the sun. Hence it is that the Law of Continuity must always be brought in to account for or, at any rate, to cover the missing links in the chain of Forces encircling the celestial and likewise the terrestrial creation. Notwithstanding the exactness of mathematics, and the conclusions arrived at by its aid, when we ponder the question and consider the fact that the earth is a free body spinning in space, and that the other bodies vary their positions with regard to it, does it not appear certain that the earth cannot maintain its prescribed orbit unless a governing Force be exerted to maintain it thus? There is no evidence to show that when the moon is between the earth and the sun other bodies exert more attractive force on the earth, and so keep up the equilibrium, and thus there must be a governing Force which determines the bounds of the orbits, and movements of the heavenly bodies. Let us consider a moment the effect of these prodigious excrescences on the sun—sun spots—which result apparently from the attractive action of the planets Mercury and Venus. There is undoubtedly a very definite and considerable influence exerted upon our atmosphere, and indeed upon the earth itself, when these sun spots are most noticeable ; and this is only to be expected when the immense mass they form is considered. No corresponding change occurs in the orbit of the earth at these observed periods of 88 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. greatest activity, nor are the other bodies of the solar system seen to be much influenced; hence it is evident that there must be a governing, balancing, and adjusting Force. The solar system is but a speck in the field of creation, and there are other suns which influence their own systems. How is it, it may be asked, that there is no irregularity and collision between the bodies forming the outside of one system and the bodies forming the periphery, so to speak, of another? Nothing but an adjusting Force will account for the perfect order among the bodies of all systems. This is the more evident because some of the bodies in space are in process of formation, whilst others are gradually losing their energy and becoming spent out; thus implying variations of Attractive Force, affecting, not one portion of the heavens only, but the whole of the bodies in space. My aim is to simplify these references to physical science as much as possible, and it is to be feared that further remarks on the position of the heavenly bodies will not tend in this direction. What I want to deduce from the foregoing is this, that there must be some governing Force at work superintending the motion of the heavenly bodies so that they maintain their relative positions, and I assume the existence of this Force entirely apart and distinct from the A¢tractive Force common to all matter. Let us now consider what is the nature of the Force of Gravity, or Attractive Force. How matter acts upon the earth’s surface under the influence of gravity may be found in any text-book on physics, and a consideration thereof would be out of place here. Our inquiries have only reference to the nature of the Force which determines gravity. It will be sufficient for our purpose to remember that all matter free to move or to be moved by the exhibition of energy, whether it be gaseous as our atmosphere, liquid like the seas, or solid like rock or metallic substances, are attracted by our globe, and drawn towards it with considerable force. FORCES IN NATURE. 89 When one regards the gaseous envelope of the earth, and considers that space lies beyond, it will become evident to the thinker that the Attractive Force exerted by the earth to pre- vent the atmosphere being infinitely rarefied in space must be something stupendous.' In like manner the force necessary to keep the seas in position so that they shall not be dashed through the air into space is nearly as great. From whence comes this force or power? The earliest conclusions of those who gave attention to the subject was that the earth possessed some innate Force which it exerted upon all matter near or around its surface. This was not Sir Isaac Newton’s idea of the subject. He guardedly refrained from bringing forward any theory which he could not demonstrate, but in one of his letters to Mr. Bentley he discredits the wisdom and thinking power of those who believed in the possibility of innate Force existing in this globe of ours, or indeed in any other planet. It is scarcely necessary to remark that no physicist to-day believes in such a theory. Sir I. Newton could only conjecture the nature of the Force giving rise to ‘gravity,’ although he propounded the Laws which the Force expressed, and he con- cluded that the ethereal medium was most probably the cause, and that therein lay the Force. By ethereal medium is meant a highly tenuous fluid, or a most refined and elastic solid, filling all space, and so subtle as to be beyond the reach of the finest sense. This fluid, or elastic solid, of attenuated or electric-like character, must possess a /orce if Gravity or Attractive Force is exerted by it. Since the days of Newton the origin or the Force of Gravity has received considerable attention, but it is not my desire to follow the speculations on this head in much detail. Gravi- ‘ The conclusions drawn by the authors of the ‘‘ Unseen Universe,” that gravity is a weak force, is true only from the point of view that it can be easily set aside or overcome by heat or electricity. It is acknow- ledged universally to be a very great force when enormous masses like the earth are considered. 90 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. tation has been accounted for on three hypotheses. (1) Ultra- mundane corpuscles of infinitesimal size are flying about in space with enormous velocity. This is Sage’s theory, or the corpuscle hypothesis. It is contended, in this theory, that whereas one body would be equally acted upon on all sides by these lively corpuscles, a second body would be somewhat shielded from their impact on the side facing the other body, and there would be a tendency engendered for one body to approach the other. The arguments brought forward to support this theory are admittedly imperfect, and there are missing links of vast importance. ‘Take this one, for instance, ‘From whence comes the power necessary to move these ~ intensely active corpuscles?’ Here is another, ‘ How is it that these minute corpuscles always fly about with the same force, and give rise to the same attraction, notwithstanding the varying position of the heavenly bodies and the vast difference of temperature?’ ‘The attractive force possessed by each body, and exerted, as in the case of the earth, upon its own atmosphere and seas, cannot be accounted for by Sage’s theory. (2) Sir William Thompson has shown that incompressible fluid generated by bodies, and emitted or absorbed from without, could give rise to Attractive Force ; but this theory will not be further mentioned, as it implies the creation and destruction of matter. There is no telling, however, how far electric energy, generated by the sun’s action, and stored up by the earth, may play a part in supplying Attractive F orce, and Sir William Thompson’s theory may yet prove to be more accurate than it looks at first sight. (3) Dr. Hooke’s theory of waves in a medium, or the varia- tions of the pressure of the ethereal matter in space, necessitates the acknowledgment of a central Force generating the waves. Sage’s theory is the best, perhaps, on the ground of its being the most tenable; but as it will be further considered in the next chapter, I will only say at this point that all of these FORCES IN NATURE. QI theories imply the existence of Force so ethereal and refined as to be of electric-like, and probably of spirit-like quality. Attention will now be directed to Molecular Force, and reference will be made first to gases, It has long been con- jectured that gas, or a mixture of gases like air, is composed of very minute particles or molecules in extremely rapid move- ment, and that the rapidity of impact of these molecules against each other determines the pressure of the gas. All this is feasible enough, although there are slight exceptions which cannot be explained by any Fixed Law, however subtle that Law may be. It will be noted that the molecules in air repulse each other, whereas the bodies in space attract each other; and under the I’orce of cohesion—which will be considered anon— the Attractive Force comes into play again. If we are desirous to know what it is which gives rise to the rapid movement of the molecules of air, the answer is /ea¢, and physicists are so satisfied with the 2ivefic theory, as it is termed, and this rapid molecular motion in gases which is the result of heat, that Diffusive Force in gases is given no prominence, and in some works on physics forgotten altogether. It is not intended to throw discredit upon the fact that heat is a mode of motion, or to find fault with the molecular i impact theory, but the great importance of the Diffusive Force in gases should not be overlooked by physicists ;! and it is only right to point out that Zea¢ cannot account for this Diffusive Force. It is not sufficient to say that the rapid molecular movements going on in the atmosphere determines the perfect admixture of the gases in it. Rapid molecular movement would tend to do this, but it must be remembered that gases vary much in density—that of hydrogen being one; of air, 14°4; and of car- bonic acid, 22. The molecules of carbonic acid, by virtue of their greater density (all molecules are supposed to be of the same size, differing only in weight), ought to gravitate to the earth, ’ Graham’s researches are not even mentioned in some text-books on physics. Q2 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. and marsh gas, the fire-damp of mines, being 8'o, ought to rise up in the atmosphere. As a matter of fact, all the carbonic acid is not found in the lower stratum of the air, and analyses show that at 1000 feet above the earth there is as much as there is near the earth’s surface. Then, it may be asked, ‘ What has become of the Force of Gravity? Can eat destroy its power?’ No; heat cannot destroy gravity, else the Force which gives rise to it could not exist, inasmuch-as heat travels to us along the ethereal medium, and the Force of Gravity is thought to come from thence. Perhaps gravity does not apply to gaseous matter? Yes, it does, else the atmosphere would rush into space, and we can find from experiment that Diffusive Force has to overcome the Force of Gravity. Hydrogen gas in bulk is carried upward with great rapidity. This we find exemplified in the case of the balloon filled with that gas, and a jar of carbonic acid gas poured into the air at first descends towards the earth, but after a little while diffuses in all directions ; and if the lightest gas, hydrogen, be mixed with carbonic acid, which is twenty- two times as heavy, and placed in a close vessel, analysis will show that after they have been standing for a time, a thoroughly intimate mixture will result. When Dalton was experimenting with gaseous diffusion, he concluded that all gases evolved into the atmosphere comported themselves as if no other gas were present, and spread their molecules so as to be equi-distant from each other. Dalton’s view is very striking. It seems evident that eat will not account for the Diffusive Force in gases, nor for their intimate mixture, when we remember how great a variation there is in their density. That Force which in the case of gases overcomes gravity is termed D¢ffusive Force. From whence comes it? Heat cannot account for it. Furthermore, heat moves the molecules wider apart, and the hotter a gas is, the freer will be the path of the molecules, and the less severe will be their ' Tn towns there is more carbonic acid near the earth than there is at an altitude of 1000 feet, but the above remark applies to the open country, FORCES IN NATURE. 93 bombardment. We know from experiment that hydrogen gas diffuses four times as fast as oxygen; hence it is assumed that the molecule of hydrogen in a mixture of these gases travels four times the speed of a molecule of oxygen. Think for a moment of a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen in a closed jar. The molecules of both gases are of the same size, but the hydro- gen molecules travel four times as fast. Imagine a molecule of hydrogen flying along, and being repulsed by a molecule of oxygen, and then getting in between two other molecules of oxygen just at the instant of impact. Another hydrogen molecule strikes the oxygen molecule on the other side and overcomes its rebound. ‘Think of our atmosphere, consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid; the molecules of these gases move at velocities varying with the density of each gas. What an infinite jumble there must be, the impact of one molecule being impaired by another. What an infinite irregu- larity of action there must be due to the varying rate of motion ! Such a disorderly scrimmage must exist among the molecules, that gravity must step in and cause the heavier molecules to tumble earthward. But this is not so, Will any physicist say that Zeat or energy will account for the marvellous order and regularity which prevails among the molecules? I think not. It is assumed that the molecules move at a certain rate, and that the velocity will always be maintained if there is the same amount of heat, ze. if the temperature remains constant, and that the pressure of the gas will be uniform under the circumstances. But these conclusions necessitate, first, that the molecules shall lose none of their velocity, notwithstanding their repeated collidings against each other; and, secondly, that, irrespective of the densities of the various gases, and the varying rapidity of movement of the molecules, despite the tendency to jumble and scrimmage and the congregation of more than a fair share of the molecules where the fight is thickest, the pressure must be the same in every part. It is all very well for theory to assume that such and such results 94 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. follow; but who can contemplate the marvellous regularity both of motion and of pressure as the simple outcome of solar or other Aeat? And all this proceeding when the Force of Gravity would have the heaviest gas brought down next the earth. One might ask why is it that when a breeze is blowing the lighter molecules are not separated from the heavier ones, and the carbonic acid left behind in the race? I fear that the Law of Continuity must be brought in again to cover the missing link in the chain of Forces, because science cannot tell what Diffusive Force is. If it is surmised that I have dealt unnecessarily long and fully with the diffusion of gases, the reason is obvious. Physicists have adopted the Ainetic theory, which embraces in addition to power the most refined and intricate movement, and to assume that any Fixed Force or Law will account for the infinite variation of movement is absurd in the extreme. Sufficient has been said here, however, with regard to the Diffusion of Gases, but it will illustrate the point I have in hand if the subject is pursued further, ascending in the scale from gaseous to liquid matter, and then to solid. Diffusive Force is not so manifest in liquids as in gases, but diffusion does proceed in liquids, although the rate is much slower than is the case with gases. Air will mix thoroughly and quickly, but many days, and even weeks may elapse before the molecules in a liquid will be intimately diffused. The Force of Gravity is overcome by Diffusive Force in liquids, as well as in gases, but there are many exceptions to the rule. Alcohol mixes readily with water, and sulphuric ether dissolves, though somewhat sparingly, and when these fluids are intimately mixed they do not separate again into layers according to their densi- ties, but remain thoroughly diffused. Gravity is therefore over- come. In the case of oil and water it is different ; but oil is not soluble in water, and the reason of its non-diffusion is attributable to difference in physical character. A light oil, however, will mix thoroughly with a heavy oil, and remain so FORCES IN NATURE. 95 mixed, gravity being overcome. If salt or sugar, or any solid matter soluble in water, be dissolved in it, the solid matter will remain in solution intimately divided, mixed, or diffused, and the Force of Gravity overcome. This is exemplified on an enormous scale in the case of the oceans. Chemical salts, in large quantity and of many kinds, become dissolved by rain, and find their way eventually into rivers, and finally into the ocean. Water in evaporating does not carry off these salts, hence the reason that the ocean is such a concentrated he tion of these mineral compounds. Diffusive force acts among the molecules of any two liquids if the one is miscible with the other. It will be seen that diffusive force in liquids is very intricate and complicated. In some instances physical peculiarities entirely overcome it, whilst in others, solids dis- solve readily in liquids and diffuse through them independently of gravity. We are told that diffusion in liquids is due to molecular motion, and there seems to be little doubt that this is so; but that the molecular motion in liquids of various densities is simply the result of Zea¢ is another matter alto- gether. Why is it that oil does not mix intimately with water and diffuse through it? Why is it that a lump of salt does not fall to the bottom of water and lodge there like a stone, in accordance with the Law of Gravity? It is hardly possible that a thinking scientist will credit 4ea¢ with the power of discernment necessary to the discrimination of those liquids in which there is a sort of affinity to diffuse and mix, from those which have no such property, and the question arises with regard to affinity, ‘What is it, and whence comes it?’ Glycerine dissolves in water, and the molecules of both liquids rejoice in social intercourse, so to speak, whilst, in the case oil and water, the molecules of each simply mix among them- selves, there being a sort of repulsive attitude exhibited by the oil and water molecules towards each other. ‘The conclusion of the matter is that there must be a Force always acting in liquids independent altogether of /eaz, and in addition to heat 96 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Coming to solid matter, there is still molecular motion, but here it is infinitely less in certain rocks and minerals than it is in gases or even liquids. It has been proved beyond doubt that all solid matter is influenced by heat, and although many substances—like glass, for instance —do not expand much when heated even considerably, nevertheless they do expand, and this expansion means the moving asunder of the molecules which compose the material—in short, gives rise to molecular motion. It is not wise to pass over molecular motion ia solids lightly, because’ very important considerations rest upon it. I will only mention at this point, however, that if the solid matter of the earth remains entirely inactive, and quiescent, then it is out of place, and useless to show or to prove that the Holy Spirit pervades it, for no reason would exist that He should be present in it as its Superintendent. Whilst such a deduction is seemingly true—and there is certainly much force in it—still the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in solid matter—though that solid matter were inert—would be neces- sary in order to affirm that He is everywhere. But inorganic matter, whether it be rock or mineral, is not inert ; at any rate, it is not motionless, for molecular motion proceeds in solid matter of every description. It is well known that a bar of iron—a railway ‘ metal,’ for instance—expands when heated, and the platelayer leaves an appreciable distance between the ends of the rails to allow for this expansion. Iron rails and girders made of good metal have gradually changed their structure, and the molecules thereof have slowly, very slowly, moved until the striated structure of the metal has given place to the crystalline. Here is an instance of the changes going on in the structure of hard, solid material, and we know that the molecules of mineral matter are also slowly changing their position—amorphous matter is becoming crystalline, and solid matter is thrown down out of solution in water both in the amorphous and crystalline forms. The action of feat on solid matter will not account for these FORCES IN NATURE, 97 changes, some of which are physical, and some are chemical ; but further consideration of these will be deferred, and noticed in the next chapter. Every observer has seen that some rocks are extremely hard, and the particles of which they are composed must be held together by great force. This is termed cohesion, OY ¢co- hestve force. The molecules and crystals of crystalline rocks, and other crystalline material, are held together by the same Force, and this Force is exerted entirely independent either of heat or gravity. Dust and clay and fine chalk occur, showing that cohesion is to a certain extent overcome by the changes which take place on the earth’s surface ; but, in spite of these changes, Cohesive Force exerts its power upon the particles just as it did upon the mass. Cohesive Force varies con- siderably, even in material of like chemical composition. This is partly owing to the fact that heat and pressure have a very important bearing on the arrangement of the molecules of matter, but there are other physical reasons which it is difficult to explain. Heat, in the majority of instances, destroys Cohesive Force, if it be applied in sufficient intensity; but one thing is certain—heat will not account for that Force. What is the Force of Cohesion, then? Science cannot answer the question. Another Force, even more peculiar and remarkable in its action than cohesion, is the force of chemical combination. Common salt—a compound of chlorine and sodium—where- ever it is found—and there is no part of the globe where it does not exist—contains exactly the same quantity of chlorine in union with an identical quantity of sodium. The same is true with reference to the elements of other chemical sub- stances ; and the rule is, that once we know the proportion in which one element combines with another, we shall find that they will always combine in the same proportion, or in some definite multiple of it. The seeming exceptions are explained thus, that two or more elements can combine to form different compounds, and H 98 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. in varying proportions, but the identical compounds so formed will always have the same composition ; and this rule is un- alterable. How comes it that these chemical elements are endowed with such discriminating power, and are able to define the proportion in which they shall combine much more exactly than a chemist can weigh upon the most accurate balance? Physicists have concluded that chemical combina- tion is a form of energy, and that it is allied closely to heat, which is also a form of energy; and there is no question that these play a very important part in determining that elements shall combine, as indeed their dissociation also ; but what have these to do with the refined and exact proportions in which the elements do combine? Chemical combination is not to be summed up in the word exergy ; it is a Force independent either of heat or of gravity, and it is more than a Force, for it determines not only that the elements shall enter into com- bination to form a compound, but that they shall always com- bine in an exact manner and tn the same proportion to produce the same substance. Jt 1s very important to notice that chemical interchange and chemical combination are not limited to the laboratory where skilled scientists control or superintend the operations, but they are going on in a thousand ways every day in the laboratory of nature. The action of the sun, and the wind, and the rain, and of carbonic acid, etc., upon in- organic matter is continually bringing about chemical inter- change, necessitating the apportionment of the elements, so combining, with that marvellous exactness and precision. Does chance account for these exact proportions ? Will Fixed Force, or Natural Law, account for them ? Further remarks might be made with regard to the minor Forces in nature, but it is thought that enough has been said to show that the /orces mentioned are highly refined and tenuous, or electric-like, and that something more than force, however ethereal, is necessary to account for the intricate phenomena occurring in the inorganic world alone. FORCES IN NATURE. 99 Light will be next considered, and the force which determines its diffusion.! What is light? Until recently it was regarded as a sort of nonentity—a visible expression of energy—and probably immaterial. It was sometimes defined as that part of molecular energy which is carried along the ethereal medium. As already noticed, the ethereal medium is supposed to consist of some subtle substance or fluid ina very high condition of tenuity, so refined in character as to be electric-like. It is said to have density and to be material, although marvellously refined and tenuous. Mention has been made before that this ‘ether,’ or ethereal medium, carries in it the Force which determines gravity; and it was held until recently that in this ethereal medium was the Force which transmits light. It is questionable, however, to-day, whether there are many who still maintain this view. Electricity has been proved to be a form of energy, and no one is likely to dispute that it is a Force. Now that light has been shown to be a twin-sister, having, so to speak, the closest ‘blood re- lationship,’ it is very probable that light will also take its place among the forces, since it has been proved to bea ‘form of energy.’ The fact that electricity could be generated—created, so to speak—where it did not exist previously, long gave rise to the notion that it was immaterial, on the assumption, perhaps, that it was beyond the power of man to create anything new. To a certain extent these conclusions were correct, but it is probable we shall have to modify our views with regard to matter and material Forces very considerably. Mention has been made previously of the fact that light, heat, and electricity differ from each other only in the amplitude of their vibrations and molecular movements. It seems more * I regard Light to be c¢sedf a Force, and its diffusion the result of its own inherent property and force. Just as a cubic inch of hydrogen gas will diffuse intimately in air under the direction of Diffusive Force, so will Light diffuse, only infinitely quicker under the direction of that Diffusive Force which controls the ethereal, electric-like ‘forms of energy.’ 100 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. and more evident, I think, that this rule applies to all matter, and once the exact vibration and molecular movements are generated, the fluid or substance which corresponds to that vibration and molecular movement is at once formed. The chemist can produce carbonic acid in two ways. He can burn carbon in oxygen, or he can heat limestone until it is hot enough and collect the carbonic acid which is set free. By the dissociation of matter much less ponderable than limestone, electricity and light are formed. From these remarks it will be seen that wherever matter exists it is possible to generate any more subtle form from one more ponderous, more material.’ For instance, when a dynamo is run by machinery, the molecules of air, or some more highly attenuated material existing in the atmosphere at present unknown to us are dissociated until the rate of vibration and molecular movement is that corresponding to electricity, then electricity results. Electricity is not generated, but a new com- pound is formed by the dissociation of another. If it is asked, By the dissociation of what? Of oxygen, or nitrogen perhaps. But oxygen is an element. Yes, as far as it is known; but if oxygen is an element, the electricity is formed by the dynamo from some more subtle kind of matter in our atmosphere; so subtle, indeed, as to defy all attempts hitherto made to isolate it. It may be suggested that chemical combination does not give rise to any reduction in the weight of the materials which combine, whilst, at the same time, much light, or heat, or electricity is given off as the result of chemical combination. The reply is an old one. An enormous quantity of electricity may be almost imponder- able. In other words, a minute trace of oxygen, when rarefied to the extent that it would occupy if it were light or electricity, would cover untold area, whilst, at the same time, that minute 1 This idea is not new. The same thought is embraced in the writings of Sir Isaac Newton on ‘‘ Optics,’’ where he asks the question, ‘* Are not gases, bodies, and light convertible into one another?” FORCES IN NATURE. IOI trace of oxygen was unweighable on the finest and most delicate balance known to the chemist. The tendency of all matter is to assume more ponderous conditions, and if those forms of energy—like heat, for instance—or Forces, as I prefer styling them, which now maintain matter as we meet with it, were removed, the gaseous would become liquid, and the liquid matter solid. This would result to-day if solar heat ceased to reach us, for the seas would soon be converted into ice. On the other hand, remove gravity, and our atmosphere would rush into space, and the gases oxygen and nitrogen would be so rarefied that the ordinary molecule would cover a great area. There is, however, a probable limit beyond which air will cease to expand or rarefy; but I think we must assume that it is not stationary at this point of maximum tension, but that it is then convertible into some less ponderable form; in other words, the amplitude of vibration and molecular movement is alterable by a sort of subdivision of the molecules like the propagation of the lower forms of ‘infusional life’ only that a rarer species is the result. If sufficient dissociative force is brought to bear upon the air molecules at their utmost limit of tension and rarefaction, forms of matter much more tenuous are possibly formed, such as electricity, for instance. Then we have only to shorten the wave length of the vibration, and light results. Light and electricity are matter possessing wonderful diffusive properties, and controlled by great Diffusive Force, incomparably greater than exists among the molecules of gases. In like manner the chemical combination of elec- tricity + and — gives rise to stupendous energy or force ; hence it will be seen that when the most tenuous forms of matter combine, chemically, Forces of enormous power result. And because of the tendency which matter has to become more ponderous, and to assume the solid form with its vast store of locked-up energy, highly tenuous matter like light, heat, and electricity is capable of being turned into Force of almost infinite power. 102 SPIRITUAL LAW N° THE-NATURAL WORDLE: Light is one of the most tenuous forms of matter with which we are acquainted, and it is possible that a small mass of iron would weigh as much as all the light which illumines the atmosphere of our globe under a midday sun. It is now generally believed that light not only permeates substances like glass and crystals which appear transparent to the eye, but that it penetrates matter which is not transparent, for the densest substances in thin slices allow more or less light to pass through them. Light travels 186,000 miles a second through the ethereal medium, but the pace is seemingly retarded when it traverses solid matter like glass. It is important to notice that whilst this is apparently an undoubted fact, it can be accounted for on the assumption that some of the light by the alteration of wave and molecular vibration has been converted into another form of matter.’ If we regard lght in the manner I have described it, it must be a sort of highly tenuous gaseous matter, almost infinitely more refined than the gases of the atmosphere ; but if this tenuous matter, light, fills all space, then it should retard the motion of the earth because it offers resistance. No, it is not right to assume this, I think. The tendency of light is to form a compound slightly more ponderable—heat, or electricity perhaps—and it is absorbed by the earth, stored up and used as the power exerted by the Forces which are common to our planet. It is very probable that our earth spins on through space not retarded by light, but rather impelled by it. There is a theory that all the bodies in space during their rapid revolutions displace the ethereal medium and form a vortex behind—not sufficient to be likened to the waves or surf in the wake of a ship, but enough to affect the passage of light and other Force at the rear of our globe. If our earth 1 And does that other form of tenuous matter possess that Force of Attraction which gives rise to gravity? In other words, it is possible that the solid matter of the globe is an enormous storage battery receiving and retaining tenuous matter which constitutes and gives rise to Attractive Force. FORCES IN NATURE, 103 displaces the ethereal medium as it revolves in space, the resisting medium as it falls back upon itself at the earth’s surface must have an effect which is not experienced at any point of the globe. Although the Forces which we know to be capable of traversing solid matter appear to be retarded by it, still, for all that, the fact that Forces like electricity can permeate solid material like copper with such rapid velocity shows conclusively that more refined Forces could easily occupy solid matter without appreciably interfering with its motion, Under the circumstances, it is feasible to conclude that we are warranted, in the face of the marvellous provisions made in the domains of physical matter, in assuming that the main force of ‘the ethereal medium is stationary, the earth and other bodies revolving in it as if it had no existence, That is to say, the bodies in space are permeated always by the ethereal medium, and as they revolve they neither affect the medium, nor is the medium affected by them. It will be noted that in the ethereal medium there is a force or forces, perhaps, more refined and tenuous than even light. It is not my intention to dwell upon the action of light or its dispersion, but simply to point out that it has action upon chemical substances, and that “ght 7s a Loree. It breaks up some compounds, and determines the combination — of some of the so-called elements, and there is certainly a force exerted which is not simply the effect of heat. Physicists tell us that light is heat energy set free from the sun, and dis- seminated through space by the ethereal medium or lumini- ferous ether. Light is not yet called a Force, but the fact that it permeates solid matter and passes through it, shows plainly that no inconsiderable force must be exerted in its diffusion.. What is that Force? Science cannot answer the question. The last consideration has relation to a /orce which we call electricity. Recent years have witnessed a striking revolu. tion of thought with regard to electricity as a Force. It is said 104 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. to be ‘life,’ and is considered very generally as the Force which plays the most important part in the government of the globe. But if electricity was regarded last year as the favourite Force of some scientists—and it is apparent that it was—light is to-day foremost in the race, and next year perhaps chemical energy will be to the front, and, step by step, we shall not only include these as matter, but have discovered other forms even more tenuous perhaps than they. Of all the light which the study of science has thrown upon theology—and biology and geology have done their share in this direction—electricity has eclipsed them all. Although the effect of rubbing amber was known to the ancients, it was not until the eighteenth century that electricity began to throw light upon theology in relation to the possibility of spirit existence. For a long time electricity was regarded as a marvel by the non-scientific community, and even to-day it is somewhat disregarded as a science, because electricity cannot be isolated so as to tell what it is. One thing, however, is known with certainty, viz. this, that electricity is a Force, that it can be produced by energy. It is a Force so subtle and tenuous that it can travel through the closest metallic substances with ease and rapidity—marvellous rapidity—and that there is in this last particular a very close resemblance to light. For the benefit of those unacquainted with elementary science, let me add that when electricity is passing from one town to another in working the telegraph it does not pass simply along the outside of the wire. It passes through the solid metallic substance of the wire. Such electricity will not pass through gutta-percha,” but, if the wire is covered with this substance, the electricity will pass through it all the same. It will be seen on reflection what a great acquisition to our 1 Hertz has shown that electricity travels at about the same rate as light. * Professor Tesla demonstrated recently that electricity, characterized by a higher amplitude of vibration, will pass through glass and the so-called non-conductors, with the greatest ease and readiness. FORCES IN NATURE. 105 knowledge of the probability of spirit existence is the fact that electricity can permeate solid matter, so solid and close of texture as iron and copper. Although it is a fact that savage tribes held ideas implying that even the rocks were the abodes of spirits, as time went on and civilization progressed it was only to be expected that these crude ideas should die out, as they did. When people became more enlightened, however, it was generally believed it was impossible spirits could live in and occupy solid matter, or pass through it, and it did not seem feasible to believe that God’s Spirit pervaded and dwelt in solid matter, but that He confined His presence to the atmosphere, from thence entering and leaving men’s souls in accordance with their spiritual condition. Electricity has shown us that there is a Force which can pervade the closest metallic substance ; hence the importance of such knowledge and testimony, indicating as it does the feasibility of the Holy Spirit permeating the rocks, and dwelling in them as He dwells in human hearts. If one dare, with all reverence, to say with Professor Drummond that the Laws of the Higher Spiritual are pro- jected down to us, then Diffusive Force as it occurs in light, and that kind of electricity used by Professor Tesla in his recent experiments, must lead us to infer that the Holy Spirit is everywhere—in the rock, and sea, and air, everywhere. Ordinary electricity will not penetrate glass or indiarubber ; but through those substances which are termed conductors it not only passes, but diffuses at an enormous rate. If an inch tube be filled with water, then joined by a quarter-inch tube to another inch tube, water, under normal pressure, will only run through the tube equivalent to the bore of the quarter tube. If, however, electricity in considerable quantity is flowing through a quarter-inch wire, and a small wire, say, one-twentieth inch, is introduced between the two quarter- inch wires, the current of electricity will struggle so hard to get through the one-twentieth inch wire that the wave vibra- 106 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. tions will be altered, and the small wire will melt by the heat which is formed. It seems pretty evident, from the recent discoveries, that we shall soon have electricity which will travel through air or any other matter, so intense will be the Diffusive Force thereof. This is no dream of the enthusiast, as electricity has already been reflected by pitch ienses, and thrown through air for a considerable distance, in the same manner as light is reflected when polished mirrors are employed. Let any one duly ponder the foregoing facts, and say that we are not already becoming acquainted, somewhat intimately, with Forces of the most tenuous kind. It is only necessary to show, then, that the Holy Spirit’s presenee is required to superintend these tenuous Forces, and to carry on the operations proceeding | in the inorganic world, because electricity has already proved that He can permeate all matter. It may be argued that a due consideration of light, and how it passed through solid material, like glass, would afford us the same knowledge as electricity does in passing through metallic substances. This is true, but light was generally regarded as a sort of nothing—a reflecticn conveyed from the sun to our earth, and brought through our atmosphere by the dust floating in it. Now that the dust theory is overthrown, and light is known to be a ‘form of energy,’ it will demonstrate equally as well, if not better, how the Holy Spirit can fill all space and all creation, CHAPTER VIII. THE FORCES IN NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. Ir was noticed in the last chapter that the great Forces at work in our planet are for the most part unknown. ‘This fact arises chiefly because they are so ethereal and spirit-like in quality that scientists have failed to isolate them, being beyond the grasp either of our methods or of our senses. The aim of the writer has been accomplished, however, as it has been shown that these Forces appear to resemble each other in being all of the most spirit-like quality; and, so far as can be determined to-day, they do point, unmistakably, to ove spirit- like Force holding the ‘balance of power’ in hand. The majority of Christians believe that God created the world, and placed life upon it; but it is an open secret, if it be a secret at all, that the theory of evolution is gaining a firmer hold upon all sections of the community. Not because the truth of the theory is self-evident, for it is not, but because the spirit of the age is characterized by a free, unsparing, and somewhat unrestrained use of the anatomical knife. If we follow men of science into the mazes of the primordial atom, either of inorganic matter, so called, or of life, we almost invariably find that God is left out of consideration ; and, without fear of being called a pessimist, it may be avowed unquestionably that there never was a day in the annals of Christianity when men, regardless of creed or sect, were so content to assume that, since creation, all the phenomena relating thereto proceed along fixed lines which are continuous, 108 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. because they are determined by Fixed Forces. It is believed that the inorganic world especially can progress without any supervision, all things being so arranged that they must continue without the necessity of superintendence. After pondering upon this problem, it will become evident that it is surrounded with insuperable difficulties, especially with regard to how the various changes can occur under the government of Fixed Forces. If all things proceeded according to one plan, unchanging and unvarying, one could under- stand how Forces would go on producing the same order and the same results. But all things do not proceed upon an unvarying plan, for even the inorganic world is changing day by day; and, when we consider life of the lowest type, the changes are still greater. There are so many diversities of movement, and varieties of action in reference to the deport- ment of even the atom of matter, that it appears most inadequate to conclude that fixed forces will account even for the continuity of natural phenomena ; and when the numerous changes which are always taking place are considered, it is evident that Fixed Forces cannot apply. Furthermore, we must use the anatomical knife with equal freedom in reference to the Fixed Forces themselves. Granted that Attractive Force, Diffusive Force, Cohesive Force, Chemical Combination, etc., may be called Fixed Forces, what are these Forces? Who has fixed them? ‘These are questions which require solution quite as much as that relating to the origin of life. With regard to the changes always occurring, let us in- stance the action of the wind upon the earth’s surface. The difference in temperature and density between the air at the poles and at the equator give rise to the movement in the air which we call wind. That the wind should not always blow in a northerly or southerly direction is natural, because of the rotation of the earth, and the fact that wind is found travelling ‘in cycles may be to some extent similarly explained. But why is it that these cycles are so small oftentimes, so local, and THE FORCES IN NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. 10g why are they so very variable if these phenomena are controlled by Fixed Force? It is difficult to understand what Fixed Laws apply here. Ordinary winds may be due, as they generally are, doubtless, to differences of pressure and temperature, because it is so much colder at the poles than at the equator ; but will these circumstances account, or will Fixed Forces account for the hurricane and the tornado? Variation of temperature and pressure seem scarce enough to give rise to the enormous Force displayed. How far electricity assists, or some other Force, is a question which is difficult to answer. It is a curious, but none the less remarkable, fact that when these hurricanes prevail largely, active movements are seen taking place in the matter of the sun’s corona, and the area of the sun spots is so prodigious that it seems unfeasible to believe that the effect thereof upon our globe would not be more con- siderable and baneful were there not some force counteracting its influence. If it can be shown that the bodies of the solar system require the supervision of a Force, or Forces—and I contend that this has been indicated in the last chapter—the question arises, ‘does that Force require intelligence in its action?’ What conclusions can be drawn from a consideration of the heavenly bodies? Attention will again be confined to the bodies of the solar system. With regard to their movements, some of them revolve on their own axis at a very great velocity, like the earth and the moon, for instance. From whence came this motion? Let us admit that God gave it at the beginning, How is it sustained? Will Sage’s corpuscle theory, which is the best we have perhaps to account for Attractive Force put forth by bodies in space, explain axial motion? No. But the incessant rain and bombardment of the corpuscles might account for the slowing down of the earth’s spinning ; but’ it does not slow down. Le Sage’s theory, if it explains Attractive Force among masses of matter, throws no lhght upon the orbit of moving bodies, nor does it give any reason for these IIO SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. | movements. There is no doubt that Sage’s theory is insufficient as a complete solution of the movements of the bodies in space, and the marvel is that any such hypothesis should be entertained for a moment, as it is so untenable. Imagine the bodies in space at the mercy of varying pressure of impact by reason of the presence or absence of other bodies in the neighbourhood. Just think of the un- certainty which would exist whether all the bodies would not gravitate closer to each other, and whether our earth would come in contact with the sun with such violence as to cause it to become white hot, and destroy all life on its surface. Astronomical physicists think that this will occur eventually, thus bringing about the end foretold by Peter, “ ¢#at the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” It is difficult, beyond comprehension, to see how this should not take place at any time if we had nothing more to found our hope upon than such a theory as Sage’s. There is no doubt whatever, there- fore, that in order to keep the bodies in space, either in their fixed positions or in their prescribed orbits, some definite Force is required. ‘There is no doubt, too, that some definite Force is necessary to maintain the atmosphere, the seas, and all material around and on the earth’s surface; but science can only conjecture that this Force must be of the most tenuous and refined kind, approaching, we may imagine, the immaterial. Sir Isaac Newton concluded that such a Force must exist in the ethereal medium. If that is so the ethereal medium should compass all the immense expanse of the heavens. And so scientists believe that it does. It has been observed already that the bodies which move in this ether—like our earth, for instance—must either displace the medium or they must pass on insensible, so to speak, of its presence ; in other words, the nature of the Force in the ethereal medium must be so subtle that, like electricity, it can occupy and pervade solid matter, and the earth so roll on without displacing it. THE FORCES IN NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. itt It will be noted that if only one Force is assumed to be present in the ethereal medium, that Force must perform numerous offices. It must keep the various bodies in space in their required positions, and it has to maintain some more or less at rest, whilst others are moving rapidly onwards. It has to determine that the sun shall be the centre of the system, and that other bodies shall revolve around it, whilst the movements of the bodies shall not conform to a given plan, but shall be such as to afford variety, and not sameness of action. It must maintain gaseous, liquid, and solid material on and around the earth’s surface, and give rise to the Attractive Force individually possessed and common to all bodies, It is not difficult to understand how a Force could be ‘sent’ by God, using the ether as the medium, and that such a Force could determine that the earth shall spin round at a given rate. A clockmaker places a spring in a clock and winds it up. From the strength of the spring it can be calculated how long the clock will go without rewinding, and the exact work which the spring will do is known; but once the clock, if it has a pendulum, is tilted, or a cog in a wheel is broken, the clock stops, and it will not go at all unless the exact conditions of its movement are fulfilled. Now, the movements of the bodies in space vary considerably, and the Attractive Force varies because they are nearer one day to the sun than they are on the next; and their orbits vary most appreciably. Other bodies which have been away fot long periods come into close proximity, and.the movements of the bodies in space are complicated and intensely intricate. In the face of these facts it will not require much reasoning to demonstrate that a clock-like force will not be sufficient to account for these multitudinous movements and changes. Then, again, the bodies themselves are always changing, especially the sun, and if there were not a governing Force at work the orbits of the earth and other bodies would surely vary. 8 112 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. It is thought that suii.cient has been said to warrant the conclusion that no Fixed Force, or even innumerable Forces, will account for the infinite variety of movement and the new and sudden changes which are always taking place in reference to the bodies of the solar system; for the Force, or Forces, in the ethereal medium has to perform operations so marvellously intricate and multitudinous, that unless it is conceded that Infinite Intelligence as well as Infinite Power is at work, it is impossible to account for the order and regularity which prevails. Now, it will be admitted by Christians unreservedly that God has a Medium in space, not the ethereal medium of the scientist, but the Holy Spirit, who transmits our prayers, and is our way of communication with God. It is very probable, as well as possible, that other bodies in space are tenanted by living beings, not necessarily sinful like we are, and there must be a way of communication between these and God. Such admissions necessitate the presence of the Holy Spirit in space, not now and again, but always. Does it not seem: reasonable, apart from any necessity which science indicates, that He should fill all the immensity of space with Himself, and so conduct at once all the operations which have been enumerated, and many others necessary to the government of the heavenly bodies? It is needless to add that all the difficulties of solar physics vanish when we admit that the Holy Spirit fills all the immensity of space, and that He is the Almighty Intelligent Force present in the so-called ethereal medium, holding all other Forces in His hands and causing them to perform His will. If the question were asked whether the Holy Spirit occupied the immensity of space, a vast number, perhaps the majority, of Christians would reply, ‘Certainly He does,’ because it is at once manifest to the understanding that there is ample room for His presence. It is when we ask whether He is present in the solid material of our globe, or in matter 4> . id THE FORCES IN NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. I13 at all, that we shall meet with the largest number of dis- sentients. In the last chapter the Forces at work in inorganic matter were mentioned. What are the conclusions to be drawn from these? Molecular motion in the gases of the atmosphere was referred to in some detail, and it was shown that heat could not account for Diffusive Force in gases, for gravity being overcome, or for the incomparable order and regularity occurring among the movements of the molecules. here is no question, I think, that a careful study of Diffusive Force in gases will of itself prove beyond doubt that there roust be Almighty Intelligence always at work, always superintending; and this was pointed out in the last chapter. It will be conceded by most Christians that the Holy Spirit is present in our atmosphere, and that He (through it to space, and from space to heaven) keeps up communication with God. Perhaps, in a vague way, He is regarded as per- vading the whole atmosphere, even the upper portions thereof far removed from man’s domain, But if it were asked whether the Holy Spirit was present as the Intelligent Operator in the air, and whether it was He that determined the marvellous regularity of the action of the molecules, much diversity of opinion might be encountered. No one will doubt that in the diffusion of gases the heat (kinetic) theory leaves too much unexplained, and there must be some electric action or other Force at work to maintain the continuity of molecular movement, and to overcome gravity. When the presence of the Holy Spirit as the Great Superintendent and Operator among the molecules of air is admitted, all the difficulties are at once overcome—difficulties which, without Almighty Intel- ligence, as well as Power, would be insuperable. The less easy task—that of proving the presence of Intel- ligent Force in liquid and solid matter—still remains to be undertaken. Molecular motion in liquids was dealt with somewhat fully in the last chapter, and it will be seen that when the various physical and other considerations bearing I 114 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. upon the subject are weighed, heat forms but one of the many forces. The molecules of the various liquids must be endowed with discriminating power, and have the property of acting in different ways according to circumstances. It is generally believed, however, that liquid matter has no life, and that its molecules are all inert. If we admit that this is so, then there must be Intelligent Force residing in the molecules, and that Intelligent Force is the Holy Spirit. The deductions to be drawn from molecular motion in solids, as given in the last chapter, lead to a similar conclusion. Molecular motion in solid matter is not irregular, like the results of chance, but is characterized by perfect action ; and no matter how often heat acts upon rock, for instance, or how irregular the temperature is, molecular motion is always perfect. It is evident, therefore, that these molecules of solid matter must be pervaded by Intelligent Force, and thus I affirm that the presence of the Holy Spirit is as essential in the rock, as in space, or in air. But a far stronger proof of the presence of Superintending Intelligent Force in solid matter is afforded by the results of the changes, physical and chemical, which are always taking place on the earth’s surface. The part which feat plays in these changes 1s certainly not the primary consideration, nor will it account for these changes. Let us contemplate a crystal, and note its remarkable beauty of form, and the purity in which the constituent elements often combine. Observe how these pure crystals are found in the midst of similar, but very impure material. Mark how they have always the same composition, and that they crystallize in the same beautiful form. All is marvellous in its order and regularity. Take the case of sea-water. Near the poles there are immense ice-fields. What is the composition of the ice? Is it the same as the water? No; there are many chemical salts dissolved in the water—chlorides of sodium, magnesium, JHE KORCES UNG NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. Bus calcium, etc.—and these are rejected by the water which becomes ice—left behind in the unfrozen water, Strange fact that water in freezing rejects the impurity which was dissolved in it. The changes referred to above are physical, but they are such that no Fixed Law can apply to them. Take crystallography by itself. When a compound crystal- lizes it always assumes a recognizable form, but different compounds crystallize differently. Consider the hoar frost upon a window-pane in winter. Are those lovely fern-like and indescribably beautiful forms the result of fixed Laws? The marvellous variety and beauty of the forms which frozen water—ice—alone assumes, show that the molecules must be endowed with the power of existing in endless combinations, according to the variety of the form the crystals present. Innumerable instances might be given of the changes continually taking place, and Fixed Forces, however ethereal, will not account for them. Some particles of chalk deep down in the earth are dissolved in water by the aid of carbonic acid present in it, and the water containing the chalk in solution traverses the strata until it gets to the top of a cave in the limestone. One portion of the water drops from the roof of the cavern, and in doing so gives up the dissolved lime, and forms beautifully transparent stalactite. Another portion of the water runs through a bed of soft marl, and there the chalk is precipitated from the water, and forms crystals of rare beauty and transparency. Another portion of the water runs out of the cave in a stream, and some ot the chalk is seen deposited as soft whitish mud (chalk again) along the banks and on the stones of the brook. We have just noticed how the same chemical compound passed through three conditions. Can Fixed Forces account for these changes? No, decidedly no! Nothing but Infinite Intel- ligence in the material itself can account for these physical phenomena. Dead matter cannot be endowed with definite 116 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. and specific action unless there is Intelligent Force residing therein. The crystals of carbonate of lime are always of the same form, the transparent stalactite’ is always of the same composition, and carbonate of lime is constituted of forty parts calcium and sixty parts oxygen and carbonic acid (anhy- dride) all the world over. To raise a glass of water from the ordinary temperature up to the boiling point does not require much heat, but to convert that boiling water into steam, both at the same temperature, requires a great amount of heat. What becomes of the heat? It is rendered /afen/, stored up in the steam ; for, when the steam is condensed, the heat so taken up is given off again, and the process can be repeated as often as we like—the amount of heat taken up by the steam, and given off on condensation, will be always the same provided the quantity of water converted into steam is the same. A similar storage of heat takes place when ice is melted to water, but the quantity of heat so stored is not as great. This remarkable storage of heat at a given temperature (32° F. or 212° F.) shows that the water molecules know the temperature at which they shall take in or give off heat, and when they shall become steam or water or ice. What but Intelligent Force in the molecule can account for this wonderful behaviour of inorganic matter ? A more remarkable property possessed by the molecules of water than even the storage of heat has reference to the maximum density of water at 39° F. Water expands by heat, and contracts on cooling. Water at 4o° F. occupies less bulk, and is heavier than water at 50°, but water at 36° F. is not so heavy as water at 39° F.; in fact, the density of water is greater at 39° F. than it is at 33° F. This is a strange and astonishing fact. How are the molecules of water to know when the temperature reaches 39° F. so as to change their 1 This is of the crystalline variety, but it does not exhibit the facets of the crystals. THE FORCES IN NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. BY 7, action and positign at 38°? Why is this change? Does it always occur? Yes, always; it is invariable. When ice melts to water, the latter (water) continues to contract in bulk until it reaches 39° F., above which temperature it expands, and becomes lighter until it is converted into steam at 212°. Were it not for the remarkable property mentioned, water would freeze in England toa depth unknown out of the arctic regions, and fish life would disappear from our rivers and ponds. The case just noticed cannot be explained away by saying that it is a Fixed Law that water should so behave. There must be an Intelligent Manipulator at work, and He must neither slumber nor sleep. I turn the handle of a small dynamo, and by the force of my arm I form a certain quantity of electricity. I can send this electricity through a wire, and it will turn a wheel at the other end of the wire. I can convert the electricity into heat ; I can cause it to give light; or I can make it decompose chemical compounds. ‘The electricity will do all or any of these operations, according to the circumstances under which it is employed ; nor will it work fitfully, sometimes doing one and sometimes another operation, but continuously and repeatedly what it is set to perform. No fixed Law applies to this ; there is variety of action, necessitating Intelligence and Superintendence. One could go on referring to specific physical and chemical changes occurring continually, all of which require that the Force which gives rise to them shall have Intelligence, and the only way to account for this Intelligent Force is to say that the Holy Spirit pervades all matter. There is undeniable evidence in the phenomena occurring in solid matter, showing the necessity for the presence of the Holy Spirit therein, acting tz situ, in all His Intelligence, as well as in all His Power : evidence equally as strong, I think, as there exists for the change occurring in men’s souls by His indwelling. Under the head of light in the last chapter, it was noticed 118 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. how the ethereal medium was also the luminiferous ether along which light was said to be transmitted to our globe. Along this ethereal medium all the Forces come which reach the earth, whether it be Attractive Force, exercised by other bodies, or whether it be evolved Forces acting upon the earth like those disturbances due to energy in the sun’s exterior, and probably electric in character. It has been observed that all the Forces which act upon our globe are of the electric type—that is to say, they are so tenuous and ethereal as to be beyond the reach of sense. Astronomical-physicists are every year becoming more convinced that electricity is the Force which plays between us and the sun. Dr. Schuster is of opinion that there is an electric connection between the sun and the planets; and, not- withstanding the difficulties surrounding the subject, it is very probable that the Force in the ethereal medium is very closely allied to electricity, and it is not at all unlikely that in various modifications, perhaps, electricity is a Force which plays a conspicuous part in the government of the material Universe. Once we admit light into the electric family—and it has been admitted—it is only right to assume that the tenuous Forces carried along or diffusing through the ethereal medium will be expressed in terms of //gh¢ rather than of electricity. Be that as it may, say that light is the one great Force or that electricity is the one great Force dominating matter, there must be Intelligence behind it; and, without the Spirit of God, light or electricity would be as incapable of performing the wondrous works assigned to it as a monarch would be to govern an empire without mind or reason. And there is no question that science is ever proving, with singular weight, not only that the Forces which govern nature are of the ethereal or electric type, but that they possess strangely similar properties pointing to one universal Force, which would fail in a thousand ways to do its work, notwithstanding its refined ethereal character, unless it possessed Infinite Intelligence everywhere. Many say that the progression of phenomena on the earth’s THE FORCES IN NATURE ARE INTELLIGENT. I19 surface does not illustrate Intelligent supervision, or that natural phenomena do not show that a benign Intelligent Being is superintending everywhere. It is said that Gravity is not a benign Force, because, in determining the attraction of all matter to the earth’s surface, no notice is taken of the presence either of man or of other life. An avalanche falls and buries a village, and so causes much loss of life. Rain descends in a deluge, and gives rise to devastating floods. Hurricanes blow, and do immense damage both to life and property. Lightning kills men and animals. Earthquakes demolish houses, and men are crushed and buried beneath the ruins. How can the Holy Spirit be present in these phenomena, and cause them to occur? This is a fair question to ask, and the answer I believe is not far to seek. It is that the power possessed and exercised by the ‘prince of the power of the air,’ the ‘prince of this world,’ should be known in order to realize these facts correctly. From Job 1. and ii. we can learn that Satan has power to influence the Forces in Nature, and it is probable that we have little idea of the extent to which his sway or the sway of the kingdom of evil extends. We have to stand face to face with the fact that evz7 has come into the world, and that God permits it to remain, and this is a problem the solution of which is infinitely more difficult than all other phenomena combined. We can regard the catastrophes mentioned, from a Christian point of view, as warning voices pointing out the uncertainty of life, and the necessity of being reconciled to God without delay. ‘They do more, however, for they train us to be watchful. These considerations cannot be enlarged upon here, as they are out of place, perhaps, in this chapter. We may surmise in passing—and the thought is well worth consideration—that had men ceased to delight in sin, and practised holiness in the ages of the past, it seems certain that long before this our knowledge and power over earthly phenomena would have been so greatly augmented as to enable us to know when these 120. SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. devastating phenomena were about to come, and either prevent their occurrence, or flee from the impending danger. In other words, men by the practise of holiness, would have so grown in the ‘ Spiritual’ that their descendants would possess know- ledge like the Holy Spirit gave to the apostles—a twofold knowledge embracing earthly as well as heavenly things. It is only to be expected that the catastrophes and phenomena which destroy life, and to which I have already alluded, may be quoted by those who dissent to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the inorganic world, as a proof of the improbability that He is so present ; but it must not be forgotten that a similar difficulty arises with regard to men’s souls, Satan is inthem ; evil of a type most grievous to the Holy Spirit must always be there side by side with the good. Why does the Holy Spirit permit evil to remain in His presence? I know two wrongs do not make a right, nor will two inexplicable problems make one capable of being explained ; but, if it is admitted, as it is, that the Holy Spirit is present in the heart of believers, and we know sin is there too, then there is no diffi- culty in accepting the fact that the Holy Spirit is present in all matter, notwithstanding natural phenomena do not always appear to us as controlled by a benign Power. If evil spirit has the power to change and destroy man’s spirit so that it shall become of the fiendish type, it is not difficult to see how it is possible for evil spirit to interfere with the Forces in nature, and blast and stultify the otherwise benign and perfect works of God. If, however, any one is desirous to inquire into natural phenomena, he will find that not only do they show us that Intelligence must be at work, but that there is a loving, gracious care displayed for the welfare of God’s creatures. Consider the diffusion of gases for a moment. The lightest gas mixes with the heaviest, and vice versa, and the ponderous and somewhat noxious gas, carbonic acid, generated by the breathing of men and animals is thus mixed and diluted so as THE FORCES IN .NATURE ARE. INTELLIGENT... I2I to be without deleterious action upon the human economy. Men can live in comfort even in the rooms of a house, and the smaller animals and insects creeping on the earth are not affected by carbonic acid much more than we are. Who will say that this is not a benign arrangement? or that it does not require constant Intelligent supervision ? ; Again, take the case of water. Why does it not expand and contract regularly? Because God in His goodness .has ordained that it shall not, otherwise fish life would disappear and we should have masses of ice so thick that all the heat of summer would not thaw them. So many of these benign operations occur that the objections already mentioned are, I think, greatly overwhelmed by them, and although many points _might be mentioned which seem to show that the Holy Spirit cannot be present always in the inorganic world, these are dwarfed into insignificance by the considerations which show that He must be present in all matter in all His Intelligence and Power. The intricate movements and changes occurring in nature, some of which have been enumerated in this and the pre-’ ceding chapter, have long been an enigma to thinking minds, and there is a theory abroad to-day, and one which is gaining ground too, that a matter ts endowed with life—not, perhaps, life possessing much intelligence, nor having very numerous functions to perform. To the Christian this conclusion will show how curiously some men feel after God without acknowledging His presence. If this theory is true, it isa strong argument in favour of the presence of the Holy Spirit in all matter, because where there is life there must be the Giver and Sustainer of life. If I did not regard the Holy Spirit as the Almighty Intelligence Superintending all creation, I should certainly believe that the particles or corpuscles of air were endowed with life, as indeed the corpuscles of all matter, gaseous, liquid, or solid. It is very probable that this theory will continue to gain a hold upon agnostic, scientific minds, I22 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. because the presence of God as the Almighty President of creation will not appear as necessary if we regard all matter as animate, It is a curious fact in favour of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the inorganic world, that the movements and action of the molecules in gaseous, liquid, and solid matter are perfect, and that the proportions of chemical combination are invari- able. In the biological domain, there are numerous irregulari- ties, but the molecules of inorganic matter act in a perfect manner, and it is maintained that this perfection shows that the Holy Spirit is present in each molecule in all His Intelli- gence and Power. If any one, on the other hand, maintains that the perfect action of the molecules of inorganic matter shows that they are endowed with life, there is no question, I think, that they have quite as much, if not infinitely more, right to the term, than the bacteria and other microscopic types. The molecules of mineral matter are endowed with movement, and movement of great precision, and they are so endowed by the Holy Spirit, and the Great Resident Force in the Unseen which governs all is Intelligent, because that Force is none other than the Holy Spirit. CHAPTER IX. VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE. Ir is believed, generally, that there is a strong dividing line existing between the inorganic world and the biological ; between so-called inert matter and organic or living matter. There is not, however, the same distinction drawn to-day between inorganic and organic matter which was assumed to exist in days gone by. Then, it was thought that all com- pounds which were grown or produced by living matter could only be generated by vital agency, and could not be made artificially by man. We know, now, that a host of the so- called organic compounds have been made artificially (syn- thetically), and there is therefore a less clear and definite line existing between inorganic and living matter. It appears evident to-day that the sharp line of demarcation hitherto acknowledged between mineral and organic matter will also have to be modified, and it will be found that the one passes into the other by imperceptible stages, and that there is no definite middle wall of partition between them. We have seen already that the marvellously delicate and discriminating, so to speak, movements of the molecules of air are wonderful; and there is no question that these rival in refinement and perfection the most delicate and subtle actions of any of the multitudinous forms of lower life. We have noted, too, that there is a growing belief to-day that all matter is endowed with life. There is no question, I think, that if delicacy of movement and perfection of continuity I24 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. are the credentials of life, or the concomitants thereof, the molecules of matter have a greater claim to the term than some of the germs or animalcule. Taking vegetable life for our first consideration, we are confronted with the question, ‘ What is life?’ If the answer to this question is at present beyond our comprehension, we may, in pondering, narrow the field of observation by noting what ‘it is oz’ Scientists tell us that protoplasm is the physical basis of life; but life is not protoplasm. It is not reflex action, instinct, or even intelligence. It is not evolution, natural selection, or the survival of the fittest. All these have to do with life, and are more or less dependent upon it; but neither one nor all constitute Zi/e. Life is a thing apart, entirely apart, from all these considerations, and it seems to me that there is the closest analogy between the life-history, so to speak, of the molecules of so-called inert or inorganic matter, and the life-history of the lowest form of vegetable or even of animal species ; but I will forbear tracing the analogy between the mineral and organic kingdoms further, as it will only tend to make our considerations more complicated. Life is a Force. This is the conclusion one comes to when viewing the lowest forms of life. It is a Force performing, even there, a number of very delicate operations. I do not’ say that protoplasm or the vegetable cell performs a number of delicate operations, for they do not ; it is the life, the Force which determines that certain chemical or organic compounds shall grow. After a shorter or longer period these compounds change—in current language they decay—and die. And yet in a day, or a month, or a year, we come across the same species growing luxuriantly, it may be for a time, and then decaying and dying as before. And so to the outward eye it seems that new life must be created every day. No, no, says the evolutionist ; let me take you to the laboratory of nature, and you shall soon see that things are very different. Notice that cell under the microscope ; that is alive. Exactly; VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE. 125 but what do you mean by being alive? Well, it grows. The physical basis of life.is protoplasm. It is of the same com- position as albumen, or the white of egg. Yes, that may be so, but what is the zifal basis? that is the point. Science cannot answer the question. Don’t know, is the answer. Life or the vital basis is a Force ; and there is no question that it must have Intelligence behind it. So I start by affirming that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, generates that Force, and superintends it, and it is He who determines that it shall not lapse or fail. It is stated in 1 Kings xix. 18 that God said to Elijah, “ Yet will 7 leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal,” etc., showing that had it not been for God’s direct interference, idolatry would have reigned supreme ; and when we view creation generally, especially the lower forms of life, we are bound to conclude that were it not for the direct intervention and superintendence of the Holy Spirit, many of the species of animalcula and insect life would soon become extinct. Life, therefore, isa Force possessing Almighty Intelligence behind it to direct and control. It is not the Holy Spirit in Person, it is not of His Essence ; it is something brought into being by Him, but entirely distinct from His Personal Essence. It is not something peculiar to man; it is a Force common to the vegetable and animal world. * As the word zfa/ in reference to life and life action will frequently occur in sequel, it will be well to define here what is meant by the term. Whatis called the ‘ mechanical’ theory of life meets with the greatest accept- ance to-day, and all the movements of the body and the changes which occur in its structure are explained in terms of physical and chemical energy. I can follow these conclusions, and admit their correctness in many particulars ; but I want to know what it is constitutes the Zor ego which determines that these chemical and physical Forces shall be brought into play? The ‘wtalistic’ theory is now held in derision by many Biolo- gists ; but, whilst accepting, as I do, the ‘mechanical’ theory as far as it goes, there must be another Force at the back of the chemical and the physical, and it is that Force, governed by Intelligence, which I call the vital bzsts, or the essence of /ife. 126 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. The evolutionist goes back to the primordial germ or cell and ends there, unless he acknowledges God at that point. Let us suppose that God is recognized, will not evolution along fixed lines and natural selection account for all that has developed from the primordial germ of life? No, it will not. All along the line of development it was necessary, undoubtedly necessary, that some highly intelligent dominant Power should superintend and ‘evolve,’ and my intention in writing this chapter is to show that Intelligence, Universal Intelligence, must be at work. ‘Jz Aim (God) we live and move and have our being,” and this is true of all life. It is in Him, in God the Holy Spirit. Now, it is not to be expected that each germ is joined to the Personal Essence of the Holy Spirit vitally and separate. We can best regard life as a Universal Force or medium. ‘Then we can account for the freedom of movement of animals, and the apparent free and complete individuality. I conclude, there‘ore, that life is a Universal Force, infinite in extent, infinite in adaptability. But what of individuality? That is an entirely different matter. In a definite sense the yeast spore has as much in- dividuality as man; and life is as certainly existent in the green chlorophyll cell as it is in the animal body. The dif- ference is rather as to endowment or development, than as to vital basis. In other words, the vital basis of life may be much the same, may be one and the same both in the chlorophyll cell and in the human body, the only difference being that life has to perform more intricate, delicate, and refined processes or activities in the one case than in the other. And it is here that inzividuality steps in and tells us what the difference in the processes and activities of life are. The life of a species depends upon individuality ; but individuality is not, in a sense, dependent upon life. Individuality cannot be without life, but it is dependent upon the subdivided life having ‘certain endowment or fixed habit. The division of some of the ‘rotifera’ into two, and the propagation of the species VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE. 127 by such division, teaches us what, in a variety of forms and ways, is true of all species. Bastian’s spontaneous generation theory is dead. Life comes only from pre-existent life. The primordial germ must have been subdivided to produce a second individual. Who subdivided it? Evolution cannot lay claim to that subdivision, and it cannot therefore account for the method of propagation among the most primitive forms of vegetable life. The Holy Spirit has determined, that no matter what kind of life it is, whether it be the lowest form of vegetable or that of man, it shall be propagated and increased, individually, only by subdividing its own life; and thus, in each case, the resultant cell, or the offspring is a part of the parent life, with all its fixed habits, reflex actions, instincts, or intelligence. And if the life so subdivided grew chlorophyll, it will grow chlorophyll again, and it will subdivide and propagate its species in like manner. Now, nothing can be more evident than that there must be some Intelligent Superintendent to govern these operations in vegetable life, else how can these wonderful vital changes occur, since there is neither instinct nor mind, let alone intelligence in the species?! Let us suppose that the primordial cell of life became divided by accident, what is it that determines the unbroken record in the propagation of species? Scientists answer, ‘The Law of Continuity.’ Yes; but who determined the Law of Continuity ? Let us be honest, and not hide God behind the Law of Continuity, for this is only another name for the supervision and operation of the Holy Spirit. There is no continuity in chance. Some affirm that many things connected with microscopic ‘ At the British Association meeting in Nottingham (September, 1893), the ‘ wtalistic’ theory was much discussed, and it was asserted that some of the lowest forms of life have ‘mind.’ If that is so—and there are certainly striking facts in support of the point—it will in no wise weaken the argument, because even man, the most intelligent of all earthly beings, has no control over the vital functions of his body, 128 SPIRITUAL LAW IN THE NATURAL WORLD. and other life point to the probability that no direct super- vision of Almighty Intelligence occurs. A sort of fixed habit is found among the lower orders, and also, to a very appreci- able extent, in man. It is necessary that this should be the case in order to form a distinctive species, and, at the same time, allow for the evolution and development of the species. This fixed habit is generally termed ‘instinct’ in animals, and is the result of ‘suggestion’ from without—very largely if not entirely from without. By ‘without’ I mean that higher intelligences ‘suggested,’ and still ‘suggest,’ that the lower forms of life shall perform new actions—in other words, develop or retrograde along new lines. By evolution, it is generally implied that the plants or animals have themselves acquired new habits or instincts, excepting the case of flowers, and vegetables, and domestic animals more or less trained by man. But I regard the development of both vegetable and animal life as due entirely to ‘ suggestion’ by Spirit or higher intelligences, until the animal has reached the point when it can choose for itself, and so may be said to have mind or intelligence. It then can form fixed habit by