that people, whom he has separated from others, (yevos exλexrov, εdvos dyrov, a chosen generation, a peculiar people 1 Pet. 2:9), be distinguished from others by their lives and principles, Lev. 20: 22, 23; so that the people of God may be distinguished from others, not only by the enjoyment of the divine blessing (v. 24), but also by their conduct; or that they may be a peculiar people, wip v. 26.

Ps. 17: 14. comp. with v. 12, 13. Ps. 98: 1, i `his holy arm. 1 Pet. 3: 14, 15. "Be not afraid of your enemies, but honour God so much, as to believe him more powerful and terrible, than the most terrible enemies," ayaoate tov θεον εν ταις καρδίαις ύμων sanctify the Lord in your hearts. Luke 1: 49, εποιησε μοι μεγαλεια ὁ δυνατος, και άγιον το ονομa avrov he that is mighty hath done wonders for me, and venerable is his name.

ILLUSTRATION 9.

As God is subject to no other being, and as no being can be compared to him in any perfection (§ 28); it follows, that no one can resist his supreme and all-controlling power, Is. 43: 13. John 10: 29. Rom. 8: 31, 35 &c. 1 Cor. 15:27. And hence, nothing is impossible with God; Gen. 18:14. Luke 1:37. Jer. 32: 27. Mark 10: 27, and he doth whatsoever he will. Is.

saying, my purpose אֹמֵר עֲצָתִי תָקוּם וְכָל־חֶפְצִי אֶעֶשֶׂה .c& 46:10

shall stand, and I will accomplish all my pleasure. Ps. 135 : 6. 115: 3. Eph. 1: 11, παντα ενεργων κατα την βουλην του θεληMaros avrov working all things according to the counsel of his own will. And the power of God is the more unlimited, because in the formation and government of the world, he is not

a mere artificer, whose wishes could be controlled by the nature of the preexistent matter; but is a proper Creator, who by his fiat gave existence to both the matter and the form of the world. This boundlessness of the divine power, which makes all creation dependant solely on the divine will, and by virtue of which he actually created this world by his will; is described in the following passages: Ps. 33: 9, comp. v. 6. Rev. 4: 11. Jer.

23: 17.

ILLUSTRATION 10.

That God has a knowledge, not only of all those possible things which shall actually occur (§ 22. Illust. 11), but also of all those possible things which never did or will take place ;-or in other words, that God possesses scientiam mediam (scientiam simplicis intelligentiae), is taught by the following passages : Jer. 38: 17-20. 1 Sam. 23: 11-13. Matth. 11: 21-23.

ILLUSTRATION 11.

A being is said to be omnipresent, whose agency and knowledge extend to every place, or are confined to no particular place. To the universal agency of God, the following passages refer: Amos 9: 2 &c. Acts 17:27, 28, ov μanqav año έvos ἕκαστου ήμων ὑπαρχει εν αὐτῷ γαρ ζωμεν και κινούμεθα και εoμev he is not far from each one of us; for in him we live and move and have our being. And his omniscience is alluded to in Ps. 139: 6-12. Jer. 23: 23. That God is not circumscribed or limited by place or space, is taught in 1 Kings 8:27,

of heavens cannot contain thee. Is. 66:1. John 4:20—24. We however, are not able to comprehend the relation which the substance of God bears to the objects which he beholds, or on which he exerts his agency. Nor ought we to be surprised at this incomprehensibility; for we are unable to comprehend the mode of the presence even of a human soul; and can only

infer that presence, from its agency, and the appearances manifested at a particular place; without knowing any thing of the mode of that presence which belongs to the unknown substance of a spiritual being. Compare Michaelis' Dogmatik, § 39. p. 174. and Reinhard's Dogmatik, § 36. p. 115.

ILLUSTRATION 12.

All things dependent on God.

Rom. 11: 34-36, ɛis avtov ta navτα to him are all things. Acts 17 : 24, ου προσδεόμενος τινος, αυτος διδους πασι ζωην και πνοην και τα παντα he doth not need any thing, he giveth unto all, life and breath and all things.

As God alone possesses an absolutely necessary existence (§ 29. Illust. 1), it follows that the existence of all other things is a dependent existence; and as there is no necessary cause of the existence of things, at which reason is obliged to stop, excepting God; it appears that the existence of all things depends ultimately on God, John 1:1, 2. And he is the Creator, not only of living creatures, but also of inanimate objects; in a word, he is the Creator of all things (Illust. 9). Now, the more independent God is, and the more unlimited his power over all things, considered as being his property in the strictest sense;1 the greater 2 should be that reverence with which we should adore his free bounty and unmerited patience, longsuffering, and forbearance;3 1 John 4: 10, 19, avros пowros nyañnoev ǹuas he first loved us. Rom. 9 : 22, πολλη μακροθυμια-πλουτος της δόξης επι σκευη ελεους much long suffering the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy. On this passage, see the second Dissertation on the epistles to the Col. and Phil. Note 165.

1 See Michaelis, on the doctrine of sin and the atonement, § 5. 2 Job 40: 3-6. 42: 6. Rom. 9: 20 &c.

324. Illust. 8.

ILLUSTRATION 13.

1 Pet. 5 : 10, ὁ θεος πασης χαριτος the God of all grace: this properly stands for ὁ θεος ός εστι πασα χαρις the God who is all grace, Deus clementissimus. Vide Observv. ad analogiam et syntaxin Ebraicam, p. 234. In the passage 1 John 4: 16, the substantive ayann stands in place of the superlative, Deus longe omnium amantissimus. Vid. ibid. p. 22.

Every thing which exists, was both as to matter and form, produced by the will of God.

Agreeably to the idea of the divine Being which has been already established (§ 20), and which is now to be more particularly elucidated; God created the heavens and the earth (1), i. e. the world (2), or (3) the universe (4), all things visible (5) and invisible, animate1 and inanimate (6); in other words, he, by an act of his will (7), brought into existence (8) that which had no existence, and which began to exist only because he willed it, or only in consequence of the efficiency of the divine will (9). The chaotic mass, also, out of which our earth 2 was formed (10), did not exist from eternity (11), but was created by God, was produced by his will.

created the heavens and the earth. Ps. 121: 2. 102: 26. As the earth consists of land and water,3 the inspired writers, instead of heaven and earth, use the expression, the heavens and the water (or sea) and the land (or earth); see Ps. 146 : 6. Acts 14: 15, ός εποιησε τον ουρανον και την θαλασσαν, και παντα τα εν αυτοις who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them; compare Rev. 10: 6. 14:7. Neh. 9:6.

1 John 1: 4.30. Illust. 12.

2 Gen. 1: 2. v. 3.

3 Gen. 1: 9 &c.