The whole Analogy of Nature removes all imagined Presumption against the general Notion of a Mediator between God and Man. For we find all living Creatures are brought into the World, and their Life in Infancy is preserved, by the Instrumentality of Others; and every Satisfaction of it, some way or other, is bestowed by the like Means. So that the visible Government which God exercises over the World is by the Instrumentality and Mediation of Others.
Joseph Butler, Analogy of Religion, II.v.i
UPDATE: Fixed the text (some of it had dropped out by accident). By the way, you should read the poem, "Reflections Upon Butler's Analogy of Religion" at The Occident and American Jewish Advocate.
