The Moral Government of God was the great thought of Dr. Taylor's intellect, and the favorite theme of his instructions in theology. It occupied his mind more than any and every other subject. He was ever ready to enter upon the investigation of any truth that was nearly or remotely connected with this. He was never weary of grappling with such inquiries, whether they were suggested for the first time by his own ingenuity, or had been discussed with greater or less success for centuries by speculative and earnest men. To vindicate the ways of God to man, was the object to which all his energies were consecrated, and upon which were expended the ardor of his glowing soul and the force of his strong and steadfast will. These secondary objects which the majority of men, even students and theologians, esteem important, were freely sacrificed to the accomplishment of this commanding purpose. To this the whole living man was consecrated with an activity and intensity which have not often been equaled.

This object directed all his studies. All his investigations had their starting point from this central theme, and however far he may seem to some to have wandered in the maze of scholastic distinctions or subtle refinements, he never lost the clue by which he returned to the subject of his great argument. Hence his interest in psychology. He studied man as an intellectual and moral being, that he might understand God's government over him. It was in the light of man's relations to God, that he sought to know what are his capacities, what his obligations, what his present condition, and what his future destiny. With the same intent he investigated with a passionate interest the nature of civil government, the authority of human law in all its varieties, and the principles by which the various forms of human society are organized and held together. He reasoned, that man being the subject of all these societies, duty being the obligation common to all, and law the expression of the authority by which they are sustained--they must furnish analogies to that moral government of God which comprehends the universe within its dominion. That he might understand this "civitas Dei," this "kingdom of God," he studied law, authority, and justice in their essential nature and constituent elements. Indeed, concerning theology itself, he would have adopted with few qualifications the definition given by Leibnitz, "Quæ est quasi jurisprudentia quædam specialis, sed eadem fundamentalis ratione ceterarum. Est enim velut doctrina quædam de jure publico quod obtinet in republica Dei in homines." Above all, he diligently and earnestly sought to find in the Scriptures a true and consistent system of principles in respect to the government of God; and to develop such a system from the Scriptures as should be also consistent with the teachings of reason and conscience, he considered the great duty of the student and the teacher of theology. His views of theology as the science which has this for its object, were elevated and even sublime. The enthusiastic language in which he was accustomed to express himself on this inspiring theme, will not soon be forgotten by those who have heard him speak.

He tried every system of theology by this test: what are the principles concerning the moral government of God on which it rests, or what are the views of God's authority over man which it inculcates? If its principles were judged to be defective, vague, obscure or false--if the system did not `commend itself to the conscience' by asserting those truths to which the conscience responds, it was rejected wholly or in part, whatever was the authority of the theologian or of the church whose name it bore.

It was not, however, solely nor chiefly, from the relations of this subject to scientific theology, that he regarded it as of such commanding importance. His interest in this as in all other subjects, even in theology itself, was founded in a strong conviction of its practical usefulness. While he was a pastor, he wrote two sermons on the Moral Government of God, in order to vindicate the authority of His law, the justice of His retributions, and the necessity of an atonement. His interest in this subject was increased by the illustration of the practical importance of just and well settled principles in regard to it, which was developed in the Unitarian controversy. He constantly and earnestly insisted, that by the Christian preacher no subject needed to be so well understood, to enable him successfully to defend and enforce the great truths of the gospel. In his intercourse with his fellow-men and in the conduct of his own life, he manifested a loyalty to the King of Heaven, even in connection with the most trivial events, which lent a charm to all the manifestations of his character. In times of agonizing sorrow, he would utter great truths concerning God's administration, its glory and goodness, which showed that his principles on these subjects were his daily sustenance and comfort. One of the most impressive scenes of his last days was the utterance at parting with a friend, in tones of almost seraphic ardor, of the ascription of the apostle, "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever."

The writers to whom Dr. Taylor was most indebted, and whose principles he sought to apply, to complete, and in some cases to correct, were Bishop Butler and Jonathan Edwards. Bishop Butler suggested the principles and the course of argument concerning the benevolence and equity of God's government, which were matured by him into a more exact system, and carried only to their legitimate conclusions. President Edwards was often in his hands, and the careful reader of these volumes will see the relation of many of the discussions to the teachings of that prince of New England divines, and to the whole current of what is called New England theology. The works of all the New England divines were the familiar hand-books of his reading. He was also entirely at home with the writers on natural theology, for which the English church in other times was so distinguished. From all of these authors, and the bold and energetic workings of his own mind, he reasoned out the system of principles and conclusions which is found in these volumes.

These lectures were not delivered in precisely the same order and continuous succession in which they are now presented to the reader. They were given in different portions, as parts of a course of theological instruction, each in its assigned position, and were separated from each other by the discussion of other topics. It was thought expedient, however, to arrange them in a continuous series, so as to present a complete and connected view of all that he wrote on this fundamental topic in theology. To the lectures on moral government, have been appended other essays and lectures on subjects that are naturally connected with this.

The first section embraces the discussion of the essential nature of moral government, preliminary to any inquiries as to what is the actual government of the universe, as we discover it by the light of nature. Section second treats of that government as it is made known by the light of nature, and discusses some of those questions of fact concerning the actual administration of the universe, which are appropriate to natural theology. The last four lectures of this section present a brief view of the necessity and evidences of revelation, so far as the light of nature and the lessons of human experience furnish the materials for an argument. Section third contains an extended discussion of the government of God as exhibited in revelation. Such a discussion should, in one view of the subject, according to the opinions expressed in the first section by the author, comprehend a complete system of revealed theology. It in fact gives us only his views of the nature of the Jewish Theocracy, as being a representation or visible manifestation of the unseen kingdom of God, and a careful examination of the law of God as it is revealed in this theocracy, and by the direct teachings of the Scriptures. The opinions of the author in respect to some of the most important doctrines of the Scriptures, are however given with great distinctness, in connection with the treatment of his principal theme. Indeed, the most superficial reader of these lectures cannot fail to see in them all, from the beginning to the end--even the most abstract and metaphysical--a distinct and direct reference to the doctrines of atonement and justification. In the Appendix, will be found an essay on "Justice," which has a double interest, as a vigorous handling of the theme in its relations to civil society and the rights of man, and also in its bearings upon certain theological theories of the atonement. The essay on "the Providential Government and Purposes of God" is intimately related to the just and exact understanding of his moral government. The discussion of the question, "In what sense God can purpose opposite events," naturally arises in every attempt to vindicate the Holy One from responsibility for moral evil. The essay on "the Penalties of the Civil Law" is explained by its relation to the lecture, out of which it arises. The discussion of Miracles seems to be required by the lectures in the first volume that treat of the philosophical possibility and truth of the Christian revelation. The Lectures and Appendix present the views of the author upon some of the most important questions involved in the nature and the evidences of natural and revealed theology. These views it seemed desirable to collect and arrange in a single work.

The opinions expressed are given to the reader as the author believed and taught, and in the language in which he uttered them. His style was formed in the school of Butler and Edwards, and owes some of its peculiarities to the constant repetition of those definitions and distinctions, which he wished to impress upon the ear and to fix in the minds of the pupils who heard him. His style was adapted to the ear, and not to the eye; it was formed in and for the lecture-room, not for the printed page. Practiced critics and editors will easily understand how difficult it is to condense or correct such a style.

It may be interesting to some of Dr. Taylor's friends and pupils to know, that the first lecture in the second volume was written only a few months before his death. It is almost the last word concerning the importance of a correct and vigorous theology which he was permitted to write, and may be viewed as his dying testimony on this most important theme.

N. P. [Noah Porter]

YALE COLLEGE, Jan. 19, 1959.

 

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