Observations Divine and Moral, Chapter 1
CAP. I. Of Mans knowledg of God.
THe Lord giveth wisdom; and out of his mouth Prov. 2.cometh knowledg, and understanding, saith Salomon: and therein warneth us, to lay our ear close to the mouth of God, and when he speaketh once, we may hear twice, andPs. 62. having our closed hearts opened, by his Spirit, may attend to the words of grace, and wisdom, which proceed from him; and are able to make us wise to salvation.
As all our wisdom to happinesse consists summarily in the knowledg of God, and of our selues; so is it not easie toCaluin. determine, whether of the two goes before the other. But, as neither can be without other, in any competent, or profitable measure, or manner; and as in vain the ey of Bernard.the mind is lifted up to see God, which is not fit to see it self; so seem the reasons of most weight, which prefer the knowledg of God to the first place. For, first, God in his Word, and Works is the rule and measure of mans goodnesse; and man, at his best, but formed, and reformed after Gods Image. As in Nature, the rule is before that which is to be ruled by it; so must it be in our knowledg. Secondly, such is our in-bred pride, and hipocrisie, as that, whilst we looke only upon our selus, and upon other Creatures here below, we think we are some-body for goodnesse▪ and vertue: but are then brought to that confusion in our selus, which is requisite for our humiliation, when we come to take some knowledg of the super-excellencie of God: even as our bodily ey forth-with dazeleth being cast upon the bright Sun; how quick, and strong-sighted soever it seem, whilst it is set onelyonly upon earthly objects. Thirdly, so absolutely necessarie is the knowledg of God, as that we can ascribe nothing, as is meet, unto him, of whom, and for whom we, and all things are, till we first know him in his Word, and Works: but even in our best devotions, with the superstitious Athenians shall build our Altars to the unknown God; and with the blindeActs 17. Iohn 4. Samaritans, worship we know not what. To conclude; He that pretends the service of God, & yet knows him not in his Word, and Works of Creation, & Redemption also, wherein his face is seen; is like him that counterfeits himself to be the houshold Servant of some great Lord, whose face he never saw, nor once came within his Court▪ gates.
Some ambitious, and curious wits, but not able (& no marvail) to raise up, & advance their notions to God his infinitenesse, for the comprehending of it; have laboured to depresse, & pull him down to their dwarfish conceptions of him: and have indeed rather made him some great, and giant▪ like man, or Angel; then (as he is in truth) an infinite God: allowing him an essence, power, and wisdom hugely great; but not properly infinite, and immence: as though God could not be that, which they cannot conceive of him.
The essence of God is known onelyonly to himself; but is undiscernable to all men, and Angels: partly by reason of its infinitenes, which therefore no finite understanding can comprehend; and partly, for that, no voice, signe, or form can sufficiently expresse it either to sence or reason. And if God have placed such light, & glorie in some created bodies, as that we cannot intentively fix our bodily ey upon them, without dazeling; what marvail is it, though the ey of the understanding of all men, and Angels dazle, in the too curious, & intentive contemplation of his infinite, & infinitely glorious Majestie it self? So as, if the most wise, & learned Christians should with the heathen PhylosopherThales. undertake to descry Gods being; they would be compelled, as he was, after one daies respite, to crave two; and after two, four; & so still to double the time, with acknowledgment, that the more they searched into it, the more unsearchable it appeared.
Albeit the understanding of man though glorified cannot possibly comprehend Gods infinite being yet shall we, (coming to enjoy the blessed uision of God, where of the Angels, and Spirits of iust men perfited are made partakers) know in a far both greater measure, & more excellent, and immediate manner, then now we do. We now walk by faith; 2 Cor. 5. 1 Cor. 1…& not by sight, as we then shall do: We now see through a glasse darkly; but then face to face: knowing him even as we are known of him. And for the present, we are by the means of revelation vouchsafed us his Word, & Works, partly within, and partly without us) to be led in our praiers, praises, & meditations of God, to such a being for the object thereof, as in which, first, there is nothing which hath the least affinity with Dionisius.the imperfection found in any creature; for the expressing whereof those attributes serve, which we call negative; as immortall, invisible, a spirit, that is, no body, & the like; shewing what God is not, though not what he is: 2, Which is that eminently, infinitely, & essentially, which we, in the creature, call power, wisdom, goodnesse, & whatsoever els imports any perfection: and thirdly, which is that first fountain, & originall of all goodnes in all creatures. And by these three stayers doth our understanding raise up it self frō created things to the knowledg of God. This knowledg we must seek with all earnest diligence, and store it up carefully in the treasurie of our hearts▪ that knowing God we may love him, and trust to him, and fear him, and honour him; that as the Daughters of Ierusalem Cant. 5.though before marvailing what ailed the Spouse of Christ to be so affectioned towards her beloved, and so earnestly to seek after him, as she did; when they once came to take knowledg of his perfit beautie, would then seek him with her: So we knowing God, specially in the face of Christ Iesus, may so be ravished with love of his Majestie, as to have our whole heart set to seek, and find him, in whose presence is satietie of joyes evermore.