Faith of Our Fathers

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 27, 12 July 1923, Page 41

Faith of Our Fathers

[A Weekly Insteuoiion fob Young and Old.] OF THE INEFFABLE GOODNESS-AND LOVE OF GOD TOWARDS MAN AND OUR DUTY IN GRATITUDE TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. The first is, that in bestowing this favor upon us, Almighty God, out of His pure goodness and predilection for us, gave us the preference to an infinite number of others, whom He could have produced to being instead of us, but who never were, and never will be, brought to light. The infinite' wisdom of the Creator saw from all eternity in • the. most distinct order, all that innumerable multitude of human creatures, which it was possible for His Almighty power to create, and being resolved according to the views of His incomprehensible providence, to give existence only to a determinate number, He was pleased to make choice of us to be of that happy number, leaving all the rest in an eternal nothing! How highly favored are we by this election! What singular privilege is here shown to us! The question was the bestowing of one of the greatest of favors; the number of those who were capable of receiving it was infinite; none of them had the smallest merit which could entitle them to a preference; all were upon a perfect equality; all were equally nothing. Why then exclude such infinite numbers, and favor us? why give us the preference to them, who were all equally deserving? No other answer can be given to this question, but because it was the goodwill and pleasure of God to do so; it was the sole effect of His love for us, to prefer us to so many thousands. But how greatly does this predilection on the part of God increase our obligation to Him? What an immense favor was done to Noah and his family when they were saved from the common destruction in which all the vest of mankind was involved? How great was the predilection shown to Lot. in delivering him alone from the dreadful perdition to which all his fellow-citizens in Sodom were condemned* How great then the love shown to us by Almighty God, in bringing us to or/,,,/, preferably to so many others, and extricating us from that eternal nothing in which millions of possible creatures must remain for ever? Especially when we reflect that Noah and Lot were good men, friends and servants of God, untainted by the crimes, which brought such a judgment on the others: but/we had no kind of merit, no claim, no title on our part, which could in the smallest degree move God to'give us the preference. The second consideration on this matter is this: that instead of having any merit on our part to move God to prefer us to others, and bring us into being, there were the strongest reasons against it: to wit, the numberless crimes and injuries which we have committed against Him since we had our being; the abuse of that free will with which He has adorned us, and which is the highest ornament of our nature; and our unparalleled ingratitude in making use of our very numbers, powers, and faculties and of the numberless benefits He has bestowed upon us', as so many arms by which to affront and offend Him. M\ this He foresaw distinctly before He created us, yea, He saw it- from all eternity, for The works of all flesh' are before Him, and there is nothing hid from His eyes- He seeth from eternity to eternity, an*l there is nothing 'wonderful before Him" (Ecclus. xxix. 24). Yet nothing of all this was able to hinder the effects of His predilection for - us. "I see," says He,'"the injuries such an one will do if I create him. I see the abuse he will make of all his faculties both of soul and body, to My dishonor; nevertheless'let My goodness triumph over his ingratitude. I will create him preferably to others, though I know that many of these others would be more faithful and grateful .to Me." Here we see a prodigy of love indeed beyond all example, and which, if we have any feeing in our heart at all, cannot fail to melt it down in affections of the most sensible gratitude towards so merciful and bounteous a Father. Add to all this, in the third place, that He not only gave us our being, for once when He first made us but He continues to renew the same gift every moment of our existence by His continual conservation, without which we should, if left to ourselves, in an instant return to our orginal nothing; and though our daily sins against Him . justly deserve that He should abandon us and reduce us again to non-existence, yet His infinite goodness still bears with our infidelity, and keeps us in being, to give us time and place for repentance. •' Lastly, He /hot only preserves us in being, but He continues also to preserve; all our senses, powers," and faculties,, and to co-operate with/us in every, even the Smallest ...->. ■ - ■■':. *'- e f. x ' ue smallest

use, we make of any of them; for as without His conservation we could not subsist one moment in being; so without His continual co-operation we could not move hand nor loot nor tongue, nor use any one of those faculties He has given üb; for "It is He who giveth to all, life and breath and all things,' and it is -in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts xvii. 25 28); and therefore the prophet Isaiah says to Him, -Lord, Thou hast wrought all our works for us ' (Is. xxvi. 12). What stupendous good ess is here again displayed! What a total dependence have we upon our God! What a faithful and assiduous assistance does He give us. But what return of g a'itude do we owe to Him for it! °' M^uae If now in the second place, we leave this little world of our o™ .Up and take a view of the great world around owa d" usdo 11 :" T° f thG infililte gOod " eSS of ** IZre ver we " **""** them Selves before us! Mierevei ne turn our eyes we find the footsteps of Hi* the ban o^aodi e T ly - one ° f for that purpose Thl , , ? " haVl " g created "^ r eS ' * to shine i„ the firnmln tie n,frli+. p„„ • , „ c<lveu ) TO "ivule the day and tenehts we rean fre V" T < """» erat <' «* nnmberless both in 11, services do we receive from the earth t ,e! , , , '''' ety ° f phttts - a " d herbs, and nit ' ™ :• «"st' S e p wr" n , itssi,rf " re '«**• What siiai/e a v ? o ,"",""'' ,S " r uh v niu bmreis? yield us food and raiment "" ! CrMt,,res "'"'"' " S ' which "«»* later ad t L ~'" '" S " °- ™' ict ' v and Sundance, vice and plea,,«» " A fTJf " P"»" both for onr serl created for he use 1,1 •' DgS "'" EOwl,ress " f God """>• work of His ha,* h! ? -T, W '"" n " He Srt His feet, „M sheen '„ "t; " >)eCt« "" things »«- the field he birds ZZV "Tf "'° bMStS " Is ° ° f I';-.* »» thro„ sh the pals"",' tb all nnglit contribute +n 1,,v. i™ • V ' that the "nbounde lte,t f hi'". Let us open our eyes 1 oTa g °° d l neSS """"^ if there be any one thino ! i ° k around us > and see provided for us wtt g IT Maßioll for '"" He "M God sliown ,;;,,,,' ' dl "'"'"' V + " lo ™ ! >as HOt „,„. good f'de and lore J„" h t '''" ' thi " gS? What grati--h ""■."'■■■it ,1 go h : ""' tllGn *° Wtllrn t 0 Him for