400 OF THE PLACE AND MOTION OP SPIRITS. not content themselves with the mere temptation of souls, but would be always making wretched mischief in this material world, end over-spreading it with calamities and desolations, with plagues and fire, with earthquakes, and misery, and death, if they had an innate and natural power to move bodies. One foot or two of solid matter divided by an evil angel into millions of particles, and shaped and moved as he pleased, perhaps would form pestilences enough to give disease and death to millions of men, would taint and corrupt the air through many regions, and kill a great part of the animal world. How small and subtle are the particles of matter which the sting of a wasp infuses into the body, the biting of the spider called tarantula, or the sharp tooth of a viper ?' And yet what dismal effects have been sometimes produced in the body of man thereby ? And surely evil angels, by their long acquaintance with our world, know these secrets in nature : And what horrible tortures, what lingering or sudden deaths might they inject into the human race, by forming such poisonous atouts and dispersing them among mankind ? But on the contrary, we find that a legion of devils could not enter into a herd of swine, nor drown them, till the Son of God gave commission ; Mat. viii. 31, 32. And I think it is a much more probable way of accounting for all themischief that is done by evil angels in the material world, to suppose that they have no natural or innate power of themselves to move matter, but as they have such and such a proportion of air or water, or other bodies, put antler their power by the will of God ; or as such particular men or other animalsare given up to their influence by a limited commission upon just reasons and for special purposes in providence. Satan the prince of the power of the air, could not raise a tempest to blow down the house where Job's children were feasting, till God gave him power and leave to do it; and you see with what limitation God lets him afflict the body of Job ; Touch not his lie ; Job ii. 6. nor could the rage of that malici- ous spirit exceed these bounds : and doubtless his dominion in the air and the region of meteors is limited also, though he be cal- led the princeof it. In the saine manner we may argue, how many of the pre- sent calamities and mischiefs in this lower world would the bene- volence and cotnpassion of good angels prevent, if they had power to movematter when and how theypleased ? But we find in scripture when they do any special services in this lower world, it is (mod that gives them a particular commission. Objection. Perhaps it will be said here, that God is a spirit, and be has power, even a natural and unlimited power, to move the whole universe of (natter, or any particular parts of it, as lie pleases; why then may not other spirits, which are halved after
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