The Immutability of God's Works
By C. M. Willis
The Immutability of God's Works.
"And God saw everything that he had made; and behold it was very good." Gen. i, 31. God's works, like his words, have a harmonious connection throughout. One grand chain of ideas are interwoven as it were throughout his whole creation, and one atom disarranged would create confusion throughout the whole. Every school-boy can tell that our sun is the center of the solar system, which performs its respective revolutions in an allotted space of time. But when we consider the immensity of space occupied by this system,—that our earth, third only in distance from the sun, is ninety-six millions of miles from it, and while we are making one hundred and sixty-four revolutions, the most distant planet yet discovered is making but one,—and realize further the possibility of still larger and more remote planets yet remaining undiscovered, the distance is beyond the comprehension of the utmost capacity of the human mind. No wonder David when meditating on the magnitude of God's handiwork, as compared with man's, and his puny efforts, was led to exclaim, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?"203 But to pursue the thought still further: Recent discoveries, with the aid of powerful instruments show, that what have hitherto been considered as fixed stars, are in fact suns like our own, each with their respective planetary system revolving around in harmonious order, drawing therefrom light and heat, and governed by laws like our own; and these suns, heretofore supposed to be stationary, are each with their attendant planets performing one grand revolution around one common center or sun, (and is it preposterous to suppose this to be the one great central point of all our hopes, the throne of Jehovah?) which it takes millions of years to accomplish, and which exercises an attractive power over the whole. How fallacious the doctrine, then, to suppose that one of these worlds could be blotted out of existence and not be missed. As well might you think to sever a man's limb, and he receive no inconvenience thereby. It is apparent to every thinking mind, that discord in God's creation would arise at once. Each world influences the other worlds, each system, its sister systems; each exercises power and co-operates in the great sustaining attractions of the whole, and without the existence of any one, the operations of the rest would not be perfect. God made these respective systems, and organized natural laws by which they are governed, and part of these laws consist in the attractions or influences which suns and worlds exercise toward each other. How then can any of these objects be destroyed, and a disorganization of the laws which govern them not take place? Most assuredly it would. When rebellion raised its hydra head in Heaven, and the great dragon was cast out, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the world, he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him, and as with prophetic eye the future pages of earth's history were scanned, and the confusion, wretchedness, bloodshed, desolation and blight, which his presence would create, foreshown, no wonder the wail went up, "Wo to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea; for the Devil is come down unto you." Now the question arises, if it were a small matter to create and destroy a world, why, when man listened to the tempter, and fell from his lofty position, thereby defacing the beauty of God's creation, bringing misery and death on himself, and entailing it on his posterity, did not God blot him and the earth he had disgraced, out of existence at once, thus saving his own great name from blasphemy, and his Son from an ignominious death; and at the same time prevented the misery and wickedness which have ever marked its existence since the fall of man? We answer, He could not consistently, and carry out his great design. It filled its appointed station in his great universe, and to have destroyed the earth would have introduced a scene of confusion, and new laws would necessarily have remained to be organized before order could be restored. Moreover who do not love the works of their own creation? God could not destroy the earth and be consistent with his laws; neither could he and be consistent with his love? Therefore in mercy he provided a better way; and although it cost him the life of a dear Son, he did not consider the sacrifice too great, to preserve his creation entire and restore it to its original purity. Those demonstrations of science, as to the everlasting existence of earth, are mightily sustained by numerous assertions of God's word which it is unnecessary to quote here. Hence we see how inconsistent is the supposition that God designed the earth for destruction, and that in his own time he will cause its existence to cease. As well might we say that his great plan to promote the glory of his name is a failure, and the sooner his efforts are destroyed, the better. But thanks to his name, his efforts are not failures, and he is fast hastening the glorious period when Satan shall be dethroned, and his mighty Conqueror shall reign most gloriously over the kingdom which he has redeemed to himself; and we again take our place with our sister planets, as undefiled as they, even though the purifying process be accomplished by fire. But as we survey these mysteries, the question naturally arises—why all these creations? We know God never works without a design, nor ever bestows his labor in vain, and it would be fallacy to suppose him to speak all these worlds into existence, bestow upon them light and heat, and suffer them to roll on through endless ages, for no other purpose than to fill immensity! Our earth is only third in size, and it would take 1,200 earths to make one Jupiter; while Neptune is still larger! And is it a reasonable supposition, that of all these noble creations our own narrow home is the only one that contains intelligent beings capable of realizing the magnitude of this work? Such a conclusion is not a reasonable one. These untold wonders were each and all created to promote the honor and glory of the great Architect, and to answer this end each must contain beings capable, not only of appreciating the great creative power of God, but also their own existence. But it has been argued that the nearness of some planets to the sun would cause the degree of heat to prove intolerable to its inhabitants, while the remoteness of others would exclude them from sufficient light and heat to render them comfortable. The same power which created a world and peopled it, could adapt each to the other. It is an established fact that our atmosphere attracts the heat and reflects the light;—that if a person were raised above the influence of the atmosphere, with his back to the sun, all around would be blackness itself;—the rays of the sun would not reflect at all; while the effect of atmosphere as regards heat is ascertained by ascending high mountains, for the density of the atmosphere decreases as we ascend. Thus we see light and heat can be regulated by the lightness or density of the air. Saturn has her rings and moons to give the requisite amount of light, and heat also, doubtless, and others may be provided in some manner not yet discovered. And thus all fill their appointed positions in the great universal whole, like the various members of the human body, no one independent of the rest, or perfect without the support and co-operation of the whole. And as God and angels looked forth upon these stupendous creations, what wonder that they shouted, "Glory to God in the highest," or that the morning stars caught the refrain, and sang together for joy. Reader, do you realize that this God is yours, your friend or destroyer, just as you choose to make him? Look forth upon these mighty creations, the work, as it were, of a moment; think of the mighty power which spake them into existence; compare it with your own puny strength, and as you value your eternal interests dare not that power till it shall fall in vengeance on you, but seek to make him your friend and all will be well. "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades; or loose the bands of Orion?" No more than canst thou comprehend the magnitude or the durability of God's great creative power; or the hight or depth of his love. "Great is our Lord and of great power, his understanding is infinite."