not confine him; but he fills all the space which we can imagine beyond this vifible world, and infinitely more than we can imagine.

46

Secondly, For the proof of it, I fhall attempt it,

1. From the natural notions and dictates of our minds. 2. From fcripture and divine revelation.

3. From the inconvenience of the contrary.

"That

I. From the natural notions and dictates of our minds. We find that the Heathen, by the light of nature, did attribute this perfection to God. Tully tells us, De Nat. Deor. that Pythagoras thought, Deum esse animam per naturam rerum omnem intentum & commeantem, "God is, as it were, a foul paffing through and infpiring all nature." And in 1. 2. de leg. that this was Thales his opinion which he commends, Homines exiftimare oportere deos omnia cernere, deorum omnia effe plena. "That men ought to believe, that the Gods fee all "things, that all things are full of them." So Sen. Epift. 95. Ubique & omnibus præfto eft. "He is every where "prefent, and at hand;" & de Benef. I. 4. Quocunque te flexeris ibi illum videbis occurrentem tibi, nihil ab illo vacat, opus fuum ipfe implet. "Which way foever thou "turneft thyfelf, thou shall find him meeting thee; nothing is without him, he fills his own work." Not much differing from the expreffion of the Pfalmift here.

II. From fcripture and divine revelation. I fhall inftance in fome remarkable places; 1 Kings viii. 27. Behold, the heaven, and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. Job xi. 7. 8. 9. Ganft thou by fearching find out God? Canft thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? Ifa. lxvi. 1. Thus faith the Lord, behold, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the houfe that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my reft? Jer. xxiii. 23. 24. Am I a God at hand, faith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in fecret places that I fhall not fee him, faith the Lord? Do not I fill heaven and earth, faith the Lord? Amos ix. 2. 3. Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: and though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will fearch and take them out thence: and though they be hid from my fight in the bottom of the fea,

thence

thence will I command the ferpent, and he shall bite them. Acts xvii. 27. 28. Though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain alfo of your own poets have said, for we are also bis offspring.

III. From the inconveniencies of the contrary. And this is the most proper way of proving any of God's perfections; for, as I have told you formerly, there being nothing before God, nor any cause of his being, his perfections cannot be proved by way of demonstration, but of conviction, by fhewing the abfurdity of the contrary. The first and most eafy notion that we have of God, is, that he is a being that hath all perfection, and is free from all imperfections. Now if I prove that the immenfity of God's effence is a perfection, or, which is the fame, that the contrary is an imperfection, I do fufficiently prove the thing intended.

Now, to fuppofe the divine effence to be limited, or confined, and his prefence to be any where excluded, doth contradict both this neceffary perfection of God, his univerfal providence; and the neceffary duty of creatures, to worship and truft in him; and the voluntary manifestation and appearance of God in the incarnation of Jefus Chrift.

1. It contradicts the univerfal providence of God. The univerfal providence of God fuppofeth many perfections, viz. infinite knowledge, and infinite power, his omniscience and omnipotence, neither of which can be imagined without omniprefence. We find that all finite beings have a finite knowledge, and a finite power; and it cannot be conceived how infinite understanding and power can be founded any where else, than in an infinite effence. To have an infinite knowledge of all things, even thofe things which are moft fecret and hidden, to be able to do all things, to fteer and govern the actions of all creatures, and to have a perfect care of them feems, to all the reafon of mankind, to require immediate prefence.

2. It contradicts the neceffary duty of the creature, which is to worship God, to depend upon him for every thing, and in every thing to acknowledge him. Now all worship of God is rendered vain, or at least un

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certain, if God be not prefent to us to hear our prayers, to take notice of our wants, and receive our acknowledg ments: it will much abate our confidence in God, and our fear to offend him, if we be uncertain whether he be prefent to us or not, whether he fees our actions or

not.

3. It contradicts a voluntary manifestation and appearance of God in the incarnation of Chrift. He that fuppofeth God not to be every where present by his effence, muft in all reafon confine his prefence to heaven, and fuppofe him to be prefent elsewhere only by his virtue and power: but if this were fo, how could the divinity be effentially united to the human nature of Christ, which was here upon the earth? how is God with us? How does he pitch his tabernacle amongst men, if his ef fential prefence be confined to heaven?

Thirdly, I come to answer objections against this do&trine.

There are two objections against this.

1. From reafon.

2. From fcripture.

I. Obj. Reafon will be ready to fuggeft, that this is a difparagement to the divine nature, to tie his prefence to this vile dunghil of the earth, and fordid fink of hell. This is a grofs apprehenfion of God, and a meafuring of him by ourfelves. Indeed if we look upon God as capable of injury, and fuffering, and offence from the contagion of any thing here below, as we are, then indeed there were fome itrength in this objection: but he is a blessed and pure being; Mens fegregata ab omni concretione mortali." A mind free from all mortal com

pofition or mixture. Tully. Mndevi Tabntã ovμTEThey μevov, "difentangled from every thing paffible," as Plut. Those things that are naufeous to our fenfes, do not affect him. Darkness is uncomfortable to us; but the darkness and the light are all one to him. Wickedness may burt a man, or the fon of man; but if we multiply our tranfgreffions, we do nothing to God, as Elihu fpeaks, Job xxxv. 6. Nothing can difquiet or difcompofe his happy and bleffed nature, but he converfeth here in this dark and troubled world with lefs danger or disturbance, or any impure contagion, than the fun-beams.

II. Obj.

II. Obj. Does not the fcripture tell us, that God fits in the heavens, and dwells on high; that heaven is his throne, and that it is the city of the great God? Doth not the Lord's prayer teach us to fay, Our Father which art in heaven? Is he not faid to look down from heaven, and to hear in heaven, his dwelling-place? Is it not said, that he doth not dwell in temples made with hands? And does not Solomon, Kings viii. 27. put it as a strange question, will God indeed dwell on the earth? is he not faid to come down and draw near to us, and to be afar off from us? Now how does this agree with immenfity and omniprefence?

For answer to this, I must distinguish the prefence of God. There is,

1. His glorious prefence, that is, fuch a prefence of God as is accompanied with an extraordinary manifestation of his glory, and that is efpecially and chiefly confined to heaven, in refpect of which it is called his feat, and throne, and the habitation of his glory. Some degree of this was in the temple, which is the reafon of Solomon's admiration, Will God indeed dwell on earth?

2. There is his gracious prefence, which difcovers itfelf by miraculous effects of his favour, and goodness, and affistance, and thereby he is faid to dwell in the hearts of good men, and with them that are of an humble and contrite fpirit, Ifa. Ivii. 15.; and, in refpect of this, he is faid to draw near to us, to look down upon us; and in refpect of the abfence of this, to be far from us.

3. There is his effential prefence, which is equally and alike in all places; and this is not excluded by thofe former expreffions, which the fcripture ufeth to denote to us the glorious and gracious prefence of God.

Fourthly, To make fome inferences. I will mention only fuch as the scripture here takes notice of, speaking of God's immenfity.

1. Inf. That God is a fpirit. This neceffarily flows from his immenfity; for if the effence of God be every where diffufed, the divine nature must be fpiritual, otherwife it could not be in the fame place where body and matter is, but must be fhut out of the world. this I fpoke more largely to, in my difcourfe of God's being a spirit. This the Pfalmift obferves here, Where?

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fhall I go from thy fpirit? If he were not a fpirit, we might go from him, and hide ourselves from his prefence.

2. Inf. That God is incomprehenfible. That which is infinite cannot be measured and comprehended by that which is finite; and this alfo the Pfalmift takes notice of, in the verfe before my text, Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain it.

3. Inf. That God is omnifcient. If God be every where, then he knows all things, yea, even the hidden things of darkness, the fecrets of our hearts; nothing can be hidden from an infinite eye; he is prefent to our thoughts, intimate to our hearts and reins: this the Pfalmift takes notice of, 1. 2. 3. 4. and 12th verses.

4. Inf. That God is omnipotent. He can do all things. Distance limits the power of creatures, and makes their hands fhort: but God is every where, nothing is out of his reach; and this alfo the Pfalmilt intimates in the text, ver. 10. Even there fhall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand hold me.

Fifthly, the ufe and improvement I fhall make of this, fhall be,

1. To awaken our fear of him.

2. To encourage our faith and confidence in him.

I. To awaken our fear of him. The confideration of God's prefence fhould awaken in us a fear of reverence. The prefence of an earthly majesty will awe our fpirits, and compofe us to reverence; yea, the presence of a wife and good man; how much more fhould the pres fence of the great, glorious, the wife, and the holy, and the juft God, ftrike an awe upon our fpirits? Where ever we are, God is with us; we always converse with him, and live continally in his prefence. Now, a Hea then could fay, Cum diis verecundè agendum, "We must "behave ourselves modeftly, because we are in the pre"fence of God."

And it fhould awaken in us a fear to offend God, and a fear of the divine displeasure for having offended him. Fear is the most wakeful paffion in the foul of man, and is the first principle that is wrought upon in us from the apprehenfions of a deity; it flows immediately from the principle of felf-prefervation which God hath planted in every man's nature; we have a natural dread and hor