Were the causes upon which these phenomena are conditioned changed; were the earth a solid sphere; or, were the heat differently distributed in the atmosphere, increasing, for instance, instead of diminishing with the height, all verdure, bloom, and beauty would at once disappear; no rain would fall upon the thirsty earth; the sun would pour down its unclouded splendors in one continuous blaze; vegetation would wither and die; animal life would become extinct, and our globe would roll through space a silent sepulchre, without a thing of beauty or a movement of life to relieve the dreary desolation. In all cases the operation of natural laws is conditioned upon antecedent causes, and the circumstances under which those causes act. And we hold it demonstrably true that all phenomena, and all events, throughout the realm of nature, however near or remote, in space or time, have a causal connection with each other. And thus we reach the conclusion that that necessity which we observed in a simple exercise of power, between the operation of a cause and the production of an effect, is but an instance of a necessity that binds together all things and all events in "one stupendous whole," and is co-extensive with nature itself. The necessarian doctrine is therefore true; and, by strictest logical induction, may be traced throughout the realm of universal nature.

Thus far, and no farther. For, beyond and out of the realm of simple powers, not one step of this necessarian induction will hold.

Just here it is that an ancient volume, much neglected by certain scientists of our day, displays a wisdom much in advance of their theories. A whole philosophy is contained in the single statement, "Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord." Here the realm of powers is distinctly recognized; but over against these, these words, in common with all Scripture, place the spiritual sphere; and, by asserting the general principle that what is not by power and might, is by the Spirit of God, they also assert, inferentially, that spiritual activities are not those of power, but are totally distinct from them; are not therefore conditioned upon any coercive forces, are not bound up in any causal arrangement of natural law, or foredoomed by any iron-bound necessity.

Our own nature and experience furnish a fresh illustration of this distinction with every exertion we make. Let us suppose that a portion of human power is exerted by which a blow is struck that drives a nail. We shall see, in such a blow, a simple exercise of power, or the operation of a cause; and, in the penetration of the nail, the effect produced. But, on further reflection, we can trace a very complicated train of causes and effects that have gone to the production of the

blow; the movement of the hand by which the hammer was made to descend with sufficient rapidity, the muscular contraction by which the hand was made to move, the nervous force by which the muscles were made to contract, and this complicated nervous influence is traceable along the nerves of action, till we find, finally, that it originated in the brain. Thus far all is natural action. Does the individual himself, who strikes the blow, know anything more of it? Absolutely nothing. Not even so much, until science has taught him.

But there is not a fact in the whole process of which he has greater certainty, than that this whole chain of causation acted in obedience to his own decision: that, in short, his own intelligence and will, the functions of a nature that exists out of and beyond all this train of causes concerned in the process, gave the originating, directing, and dominating impulse. Of this his consciousness testifies, with a testimony that no logic can set aside, and no other testimony can ever impeach. This decision is so distinct from any and every movement of the natural action which resulted from it, that he can trace no connection whatever between them except the simple fact that he wills, and it is done. From the first link in the chain of causation to the decision of which he is conscious, there seems an interval all but infinite.

His spiritual nature is obviously entirely distinct, and not only distinct, but sovereign in its freedom over all the natural forces that are immediately joined with it. Such is the testimony of consciousness, and this is all the direct evidence we can have in the case.

Manifestly, all the functions of the material organism are comprehended within the sphere of natural forces, and are operated in the line of direct causation; and just as manifest is it that the spiritual nature that manifests itself to outward observation by free intelligent choices, is not comprehended within that sphere at all, but is sovereign over it, originating the impulses that run down the lines of causation, by means of which the purpose is accomplished.

Now, just as the natural in man is nothing, indeed does not act, or at least acts to no purpose, without the supernatural, so would analogy lead us to expect it would be in the system of nature. We cannot know how it is that our spiritual natures, in their sovereignty and freedom, originate the action that we call voluntary; nor can we know how it is that the supernatural, in absolute freedom and universal sovereignty, originates the various lines of natural causation which make up the system of nature. We can only know, and this we do know with certainty, that in either case the supernatural does so originate them.

If we now consider particularly any single link in what we call a chain of causes and effects, we shall observe that it consists of a cause, which is itself the effect of an antecedent cause, and also the cause of a subsequent effect. These are the necessary conditions of its being a link in the chain at all Its existence is conditioned upon what preceeds, and what follows. It has no separate existence. It cannot stand alone.

We thus discover a law of dependence which holds throughout nature. A dependence, not only of the various activities of nature among themselves, but also of the whole upon something not included in nature, but out of and beyond it. For each effect is the product of a cause, and this cause is itself the effect of an antecedent cause or causes, and these again of others, and so on; till we reach the first or initial link in the chain. Each cause acts as it is acted upon. And this is just as true of the first as of the others.

Whence, then, originated the action of this first cause? Evidently not from itself; for, being included in nature, it must be subject to natural conditions; that is, it can act only as it is acted upon. Not from any other cause in nature; for, by the terms of the argument, we are considering a first cause in nature, a cause that in a given line of operations is nature's initial limit. Obviously, the impulse that set this first cause in action, and impelled all the results, near and remote, that have proceeded from it, originated beyond nature; in other words, was supernatural.

What is true of one such case is true of all. The conclusion is obvious. Nature has no power to originate. It is wholly dependent. All its varied activities receive their impulse from beyond; that is from the supernatural. Laws of nature, so called, are therefore nothing more than instances of the observed regularity with which certain effects follow the causes upon which they depend. We observe the regularity, both as to order and as to time, and call it a law of nature. But, in truth, this is not a self-existent law. It does not inhere in nature. Tracing it back as we would trace any succession of causes and effects, we come at last to the initial limit, the first act or event under the operation of this law, from which the whole train of operations receive their impulse and take their direction. And this first act, being in nature, is just as entirely dependent on an antecedent cause as any other. Whence, then, came that antecedent energy? Obviously not from nature, but from the supernatural. Nature can have no laws, save those impressed upon her by spiritual energy. Every law of nature is, therefore, a supernatural law imposed on nature; is, in short, the exponent of a

dominating will. Nature lies plastic under the brooding spirit, whose impulsion energizes and fashions the formless, sending light down into the darkness, and compelling order where otherwise all would be meaningless confusion.

Again we have in every cause an exercise of power; that is, an application of force to overcome resistance. Just as much force as is required to counterbalance the force to which it stands opposed, is brought into equilibrium, and, therefore, rendered inert in every exercise of power. An efficient cause is therefore rendered less efficient by producing its effect. It can never send over its full power to the next link in the chain of causation; but only that portion of it which has not been counterbalanced. The causative force must diminish, with every effect produced. And this efficient energy, in any chain of causes and effects, must be distributed along the line in a constantly diminishing series, till it is wholly played out, and the forces brought to rest.

If this is so in the nature of the case, then must it be so throughout the realm of nature. There must be a tendency in the whole system to run down into equilibrium and quiescence. And so not only is the supernatural required at nature's initial limit, to originate; but, throughout all the subsequent processes, to infuse renewing energy into what has been originated.

There are two laws recognized as fundamental in our natural philosophy, the proper consideration of which will serve to corroborate the views already advanced. The one is the tendency of natural forces to a state of equilibrium; by virtue of which all the activities of nature must necessarily run down and cease. The other is the law of inertia; by reason of which, having once come into equilibrium, it is rendered certain that these forces would never, of themselves, break out of their everlasting rest. Nature must,

therefore, by the necessities of the case, if left to herself, run down, and become a vast magazine of spent forces. If her laws are sustained, and her activities kept agoing, it is because the same supernatural energy that originated them at the first, sustains these laws and impels these activities, with ever renewing impulsions.

We find nature, then, dependent on the supernatural not only at the initial limit, but throughout all her multifarious activities. Every action is indicative of purpose, the exponent of spiritual energy. The supernatural is found not only at nature's initial limit, but immanent in all her activities; and, without the supernatural, nature herself were naught.

The sphere of natural forces and the sphere of spiritual activities

are, in truth, two distinct realms of being; only capable of being. investigated by methods quite dissimilar. Two universes, in fact, not "hung up side by side," but mutually pervasive, acting and reacting upon each other with co-ordinate ubiquities.

The distinction which has now been briefly unfolded, it will be seen, is the proper distinction between the outward world or nature, and a not less real but invisible world the world of spirits. And no distinction could be more deep and broad, or more clearly defined. In nature, everything is operated by cause and effect, and held under the control of inflexible necessity. In the spiritual sphere, every movement is the spirit's uncaused act; and therefore all is flexible and free. In nature, there resides no power of self-direction or selfcontrol; but all things act as they are acted upon. In the spiritual world, directly the reverse takes place. The spirit may hasten or retard, may turn aside, or stop altogether, or even originate an altogether new course of action. And thus, while nature has no power to break its own laws and leap out of its pre-ordained harmony, a spiritual nature is held to spiritual order only by voluntary obedience, and may disobey at will. And therefore, while nature is irresponsible, the high prerogative of responsibility belongs to spiritual agency. The natural and the spiritual (supernatural) are thus seen to be not only distinct, but contradistinguished from each other.

A spiritual nature originates its own action. It is of the very nature of spiritual action to be unforced, spontaneous, free. And this is true of spirit as such; not less of the human spirit than of the divine. The limited and the unlimited are alike in this, that they are both spirit; and a spirit does not act without originating, that is, creating, its own act. And hence, self-direction and self-determination are the essential characteristics of spiritual agency.

In this I am not saying that a spiritual nature has no laws, but only that it can be subject to no such law as that of natural necessity. There are laws of thought, of feeling, and of purpose; but that which is fundamental to them all is this great outstanding fact of a spirit's free self-activity. Freedom is, to spiritual activities, what necessity is to the forces of nature. Without it no such action could

take place. The only laws that apply here, therefore, are those by which free agency may be guided and regulated so as to subserve the purposes of a spiritual harmony.

The great law of all-that to which all other spiritual laws must be subordinate, and with which they must harmonize—is the law of self control and self-regulation; in other words, the law of right, or the moral law. This law, growing directly out of the spirit's freedom,

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