[Footnote A: It is only just to John Fiske to say that such is his conception of the matter; for, commenting upon the effect upon the thinker who has this conception of the reign of law in the world, he says: "The thinker in whose mind divine action is thus identified with orderly action and reign of law, and to whom a really irregular phenomenon would seem like a manifestation of sheer diabolism, foresees in every possible extension of knowledge a fresh confirmation of his faith in God. From his point of view there can be no antagonism between our duty as inquirers and our duty as worshipers. To him no part of the universe is godless. In the swaying to and fro of molecules and ceaseless pulsations of ether, in the secular shifting of planetary orbits, in the busy work of frost and raindrop, in the mysterious sprouting of the seed, in the everlasting tale of death and life renewed, in the dawning of babe's intelligence, in the varied deeds of men from age to age, he finds that which awakens the soul to reverential awe: and each act of scientific explanation but reveals an opening through which shines the glory of the Eternal Majesty" ("Studies in Religion," pp. 167-8).]
It is this quality of exorableness in law, excellent and essential as it is, that made the Atonement of the Christ necessary to the salvation of man.
LESSON XVI.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES—(A) ARBITRARY ACTION EXCLUDED IN MAN'S REDEMPTION.
| ANALYSIS. | REFERENCES. |
| I. Recapitulation of Principles. | |
| II. The Commandment Given—Violated—Effects | Doc. & Cov., Sec. 29; Gen. ii and iii. |
| III. The Commandment Given as to an Immortal Person—The Penalty Eternal. | Hebrews ix and x. |
| IV. The Problem Propounded— 1. What can man do? 2. What can God do? | Alma xxxiv and the works and passages cited in the body of this lesson. |
| V. Redemption by the Sovereign Act of God—Arbitrary Action Under Reign of Law, Inadmissable. |
SPECIAL TEXT: "And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice yea the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence." (Book of Alma xlii:14.)
DISCUSSION.
1. Recapitulation: Let us now begin the application of our principles to the Atonement. But first a brief recapitulation of them.
We have seen in preceding lessons—