Existence and Attributes of God, Discourse 7

Existence and Attributes of God · Discourse 7

p. 241GODS OMNIPRESENCE.

Jeremiah 23.24.

Can any hide himſelf in ſecret places, that I ſhall not ſee him, ſaith the Lord? Do not I fill Heaven and Earth, ſaith the Lord?

THE occaſion of this Diſcourſe begins verſ. 16. where God admoniſheth the people, not to hearken to the words of the falſe Prophets which ſpake a Viſion of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They made the people vain by their Inſinuations of Peace, when God had proclaimed War and Calamity; and uttered the Dreams of their Phanſies, and not the Viſions of the Lord; and ſo turned the people from the expectation of the evil day which God had threatned, ver. 17. They ſay ſtill unto them, that deſpiſe me, The Lord hath ſaid, Ye ſhall have peace: and they ſay unto every one that walks after the Imagination of his own heart, No evil ſhall come upon you. And they invalidate the Propheſies of thoſe, whom God had ſent, v. 18. Who hath ſtood in the Counſel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? Who hath marked his word, and heard it? Who hath ſtood in the Counſel of the Lord? Are they acquainted with the Secrets of God more than we? Who have the word of the Lord, if we have not? Or, it may be a continuation of Gods Admonition: Believe not thoſe Prophets; for who of them have been acquainted with rhe Secrets of God? or by what means ſhould they learn his Counſel? No, aſſure your ſelves, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind, it ſhall fall grievouſly upon the head of the wicked. v. 19. A whirlwind ſhall come from Babylon, 'tis juſt at the door, and ſhall not be blown over, it ſhall fall with a witneſs upon the wicked people, and the deceiving Prophets, and ſweep them together into Captivity. For v. 20. The anger of the Lord ſhall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart. My fury ſhall not be a childiſh fury that quickly languiſheth, but ſhall accompliſh whatſoever I threaten; and burn ſo hot, as not to be cool, till I have ſatisfied my vengeance; in the latter days ye ſhall conſider it perfectly, v. 20. when the ſtorm ſhall beat upon you, you ſhall then know, that the Calamities ſhall anſwer the words you have heard. When the Conquerour ſhall waſte your Grounds, demoliſh your Houſes, and manacle your hands, then ſhall you conſider it, and have the wiſhes of Fools, that you had had your eyes in your heads before; you ſhall then know the falſneſs of your Guides, and the truth of may Prophets, and diſcern who ſtood in the Counſel of the Lord, and ſubſcribe to the Meſſages, I have ſent you.

Some underſtand this not only of the Babyloniſh Captivity, but refer it to the time of Chriſt, and the falſe Doctrine of mens own Righteouſneſs in oppoſition to the Righteouſneſs of God; underſtanding this Verſe to be partly a threatning of Wrath, which ſhall end in an advantage to the Jews, who ſhall in the latter time conſider the falſneſs of their Notions about a legal Righteouſneſs, and ſo make it a promiſe; they ſhall then know the intent of the Scripture, and in the latter days, the latter end of the World, when time ſhall be near the rouling up, they ſhall reflect p. 242upon themſelves; they ſhall look upon him whom they have pierced; and till theſe latter days, they ſhall be hardned, and believe nothing of Evangelical truths.

Now God denieth that he ſent thoſe Prophets, v. 21. I have not ſent theſe Prophets, yet they ran; I have not ſpoken to them, yet they propheſyed. They have intruded themſelves without a Commiſſion from me, whatſoever their Brags are. The reaſon to prove it, is v. 22. If they had ſtood in my Counſel, if they had been inſtructed, and inſpired by me, they would have cauſed my people to hear my words; they would have regulated themſelves according to my word, and have turned them from their evil way; i. e. endeavoured to ſhake down their falſe confidences of peace, and make them ſenſible of their falſe Notions of me, and my ways. Now becauſe thoſe falſe Prophets could not be ſo impudent as to boaſt, that they prophecied in the Name of God, when they had not Commiſſion from him, unleſs they had ſome ſecret Sentiment, that they and their intentions were hid from the Knowledg and Eye of God; He adds, v. 23. Am I a God at hand, and not a God a far off? Can any hide himſelf in ſecret places, that I ſhall not ſee him? Have I not the power of ſeeing and knowing what they do, what they deſign, what they think? Why ſhould I not have ſuch a power, ſince I fill Heaven and Earth by my eſſence? Am I a God at hand, and not a God afar off? He excludes here the Doctrine of thoſe that excluded the Providence of God from extending its ſelf to the inferior things of the earth; which error was ancient, as ancient as the time of Job, as appears by their opinion, That Gods eyes were hood-winkt and mufled by the thickneſs of the Clouds, and could not pierce through their dark and denſe body:**Job. 22.14.Job 22:14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he ſeeth not.

**Munſter, Vatablus, Caſtalio Oecolamp.Some refer it to time. Do you imagine me a God new fram'd like your Idols, beginning a little time ago, and not exiſting before the foundation of the World; yea, from Eternity? a God afar off, further than your acuteſt underſtandings can reach? I am of a longer ſtanding, and you ought to know my Majeſty. But it rather refers to place, than time. Do you think I do not behold every thing in the earth, as well as in Heaven? Am I lockt up within the walls of my Palace, and cannot peep out to behold the things done in the World? or that am I ſo linkt to pleaſure in the place of my Glory, as earthly Kings are in their Courts, that I have no mind, or leaſure to take notice of the carriages of men upon earth? God doth not ſay, He was a far off, but only gives an account of the inward thoughts of their minds, or at leaſt, of the Language expreſt by their Actions.

The Interrogation carries in it a ſtrong Affirmation, and aſſures us more of Gods care, and the folly of men in not conſidering it. Am I a God at hand, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himſelf in ſecret places? Heb. in Hiddeneſſes, in the deepeſt Cells: What? are you beſotted by your baſe Luſts, that you think me a God careleſs, ignorant, blind, that I can ſee nothing, but as a purblind man, what is very near my eye? Are you ſo out of your wits, that you imagine you can deceive me? Do not all your behaviours ſpeak ſuch a Sentiment to lie ſecret in your heart, though not form'd into a full conception, yet teſtified by your Actions? No, you are much miſtaken, 'tis impoſſible but that I ſhould ſee and know all things, ſince I am preſent with all things, and am not at a greater diſtance from the things on earth, than from the the things in Heaven; for I fill all that vaſt Fabrick which is divided into thoſe two parts of Heaven and Earth; and he that hath ſuch an infinite eſſence, cannot be diſtant, cannot be ignorant, nothing can be far from his eyes, ſince every thing is ſo near to his Eſſence.

So that it is an elegant Expreſſion of the Omniſcience of God, and a ſtrong Argument for it. He aſſerts, firſt the Univerſality of his Knowledge; but leſt they ſhould miſtake, and confine his preſence only to Heaven; he adds, That he fills Heaven and Earth. I do not ſee things ſo, as if I were in one place, and the things ſeen in another, as it is with man; but whatſoever I ſee, I ſee not without my ſelf, becauſe every corner of Heaven and Earth is fill'd by me. He that fills all, muſt needs ſee and know all.

And indeed, men that queſtion the knowledg of God, would be more convinc'd by the Doctrine of his immediate preſence with them. And this ſeems to be the deſign and manner of Arguing in this place. Nothing is remote from my knowledg, becauſe nothing is diſtant from my preſence.

p. 243I fill Heaven and Earth: he doth not ſay, I am in Heaven and Earth, but I fill Heaven and Earth, i. e. ††Tum perſp… cia, tum eff…cacia, Gro….ſay ſome, with my Knowledg; others, with my Authority, or my Power. But,

1. The word filling cannot properly be referred to the act of underſtanding and will. A preſence by knowledg is to be granted, but to ſay ſuch a preſence fills a a place, is an improper Speech. Knowledge is not enough to conſtitute a preſence.

A man at London knows there is ſuch a City as Paris, and knows many things in it; can he be concluded therefore to be preſent in Paris, or fill any place there, or be preſent with the things he knows there? If I know any thing to be diſtant from me, how can it be preſent with me? For by knowing it to be diſtant, I know it not to be preſent. Beſides, filling Heaven and Earth, is diſtinguiſht here from Knowing or Seeing. His preſence is render'd as an Argument to prove his Knowledg. Now a Propoſition, and the proof of that Propoſition, are diſtinct, and not the ſame.

It cannot be imagin'd, that God ſhould prove idem per idem, as we ſay; for what would be the import of the Speech then? I know all things, I ſee all things, becauſe I know and ſee all things**Suarez.. The Holy Ghoſt here accommodates himſelf to the Capacity of men; becauſe we know that a man ſees and knows that which is done, where he is corporally preſent; ſo he proves, that God knows all things that are done in the moſt ſecret Caverns of the Heart, becauſe he is every where in Heaven and Earth, as light is every where in the air, and air every where in the World. Hence the Schools uſe the term repletivè for the preſence of God.

2. Nor by filling of Heaven and Earth, is meant his Authority and Power. It would be improperly ſaid of a King, that in regard of the Government of his Kingdom, is every where by his Authority, that he fills all the Cities and Countrys of his Dominions. [I, do not I fill **Amirald. de Trinitate. p. 57.?] That [I] notes the Eſſence of God, as diſtinguiſht according to our capacity, from the perfections pertaining to his Eſſence; and is in reaſon better referred to the ſubſtance of God, than to thoſe things we conceive as Attributes in him. Beſides, were it meant only of his Authority or Power, the Argument would not run well. I ſee all things, becauſe my Authority and Power fills Heaven and Earth. Power doth not always rightly infer knowledg, no, not in a rational agent. Many things in a Kingdom are done by the Authority of the King, that never arrive to the Knowledg of the King. Many things in us are done by the Power of our ſouls, which yet we have not a diſtinct Knowledg of in our underſtandings. There are many motions in ſleep, by the virtue of the ſoul informing the body, that we have not ſo much as a ſimple knowledg of in our minds. Knowledge is not rightly inferr'd from power, or power from knowledg.

By filling Heaven and Earth is meant therefore, a filling it with his Eſſence. No place can be imagin'd, that is deprived of the preſence of God; and therefore when the Scripture any where ſpeaks of the preſence of God, it joyns Heaven and Earth together: He ſo fills them, that there is no place without him. We do not ſay a veſſel is full, ſo long as there is any ſpace to contain more. Not a part of Heaven, nor a part of Earth, but the whole Heaven, the whole Earth at one and the ſame time. If he were only in one part of Heaven, or one part of Earth; nay, if there were any part of Heaven, or any part of Earth void of him, he could not be ſaid to fill them. I fill Heaven and Earth; not a part of me fills one place, and another part of me fills another; but I, God, fill Heaven and Earth; I am whole God filling the Heaven; and whole God, filling the Earth. I fill Heaven, and yet fill Earth; I fill Earth, and yet fill Heaven, and fill Heaven and Earth at one and the ſame time. God fills his own works, a Heathen Philoſopher ſaith**Seneca de Benefic. lib. 4. cap. 8. Ipſe opus ſuum implet..

Here is then a Deſcription of Gods Preſence.

1. By Power, Am I not a God afar off? a God in the extenſion of his Arm.

2. By Knowledg; Shall I not ſee them?

3. By Eſſence; as an undeniable ground for inferring the two former: I fill Heaven and Earth.

Doct. God is Eſſentially every where preſent in Heaven and Earth.

If God be, he muſt be ſomewhere; that which is no where, is nothing. Since God is, he is in the world; not in one part of it; for then he were circumſcrib'd by it: if in the world, and only there, though it be a great ſpace, he were alſo limited.**Chryſoſtom. Some therefore ſaid, God was every where, and no where. No where, i. e. not p. 244bounded by any place, nor receiving from any place any thing for his preſervation or ſuſtainment. He is every where, becauſe no creature either Body or Spirit, can exclude the preſence of his Eſſence; for he is not only near, but in every thing;**Acts. 17.28.Acts 17:28 In him we live, and move, and have our being. Not abſent from any thing, but ſo preſent with them, that they live and move in him, and move more in God, than in the air or earth wherein they are; nearer to us than our fleſh to our bones, than the air to our breath; he cannot be far from them that live, and have every motion in him. The Apoſtle doth not ſay, By him, but in him, to ſhew the inwardneſs of his Preſence.

As Eternity is the perfection whereby he hath neither beginning nor end; Immutability is the perfection whereby he hath neither increaſe, nor diminution: ſo Immenſity or Omnipreſence is that whereby he hath neither bounds, nor limitation. As he is in all time, yet ſo as to be above time; ſo is he in all places, yet ſo as to be above limitation by any place. It was a good Expreſſion of a Heathen to illuſtrate this, That God is a Sphere or Circle, whoſe Center is every where, and Circumference no where. His meaning was, that the Eſſence of God was indiviſible; i. e. could not be divided. It cannot be ſaid, here and there the lines of it terminate; 'tis like a line drawn out in infinite ſpaces, that no point can be conceived where its length and breadth ends. The Sea is a vaſt maſs of waters; yet to that it is ſaid, Hitherto ſhalt thou go, and no further. But it cannot be ſaid of Gods Eſſence, hitherto it reaches and no further; here it is, and there it is not. 'Tis plain, that God is thus immenſe, becauſe he is infinite; we have Reaſon and Scripture to aſſent to it, though we cannot conceive it. We know that God is eternal, though Eternity is too great to be meaſured by the ſhort line of a created underſtanding. We cannot conceive the Vaſtneſs and Glory of the Heavens, much leſs that which is ſo great, as to fill Heaven and Earth; yea,**1 King. 8.27.1 Kgs 8:27 not to be contained in the Heaven of Heavens.

Things are ſaid to be preſent, or in a place.

1. Circumſcriptivè, as circumſcribed. This belongs to things that have quantity, as bodies that are encompaſſ'd by that place wherein they are; and a body fills but one particular ſpace wherein it is, and the ſpace is commenſurate to every part of it, and every member hath a diſtinct place. The hand is not in the ſame particular ſpace, that the foot or head is.

2. Definitivè, which belongs to Angels and Spirits, which are ſaid to be in a point, yet ſo as that they cannot be ſaid to be in another at the ſame time.

3. Repletivè, filling all places; this belongs only to God: As he is not meaſured by time, to he is not limited by place. A Body or Spirit, becauſe finite, fills but one ſpace; God, becauſe infinite, fills all, yet ſo as not to be contained in them, as Wine and Water is in a Veſſel. He is from the height of the Heavens to the bottom of the Deeps, in every point of the World, and in the whole Circle of it, yet not limited by it, but beyond it.

Now this hath been acknowledged by the wiſeſt in the world.

Some indeed had other Notions of God. The more ignorant ſort of the Jews confin'd him to the Temple **Hierom. on Iſa. 66.1.Isa 66:1. And God intimates, that they had ſuch a thought when he aſſerts his preſence in Heaven and Earth, in oppoſition to the Temple they built as his Houſe, and the place of his Reſt **Hammond on Matth. 6.7.Matt 6:7. And the Idolaters among them, thought their Gods might be at a diſtance from them, which Elias intimates in the ſcoff he puts upon them**1 King. 18.17.1 Kgs 18:17, Cry aloud, for he is a God, meaning Baal; either he is talking, or he is purſuing, or he is in a journey; and they follow his advice, and cried louder, v. 28. whereby it is evident, they looked not on it as a mock, but as a truth. And the Syrians call'd the God of Iſrael the God of the hills, as though his preſence were fixed there, and not in the valleys**1 King. 20.23.1 Kgs 20:23; and their own Gods in the Valleys, and not in the Mountains; they phanſied every God to have a particular Dominion, and preſence in one place, and not in another; and bounded the Territories of their Gods, as they did thoſe of their Princes.**Med. Diatrib. vol. 1. p, 71, 72. And ſome thought him tied to, and ſhut up in their Temples and Groves wherein they worſhipped him**Dought Analec. excurſ. 61. 113.. Some of them thought God to be confined to Heaven, and therefore ſacrificed upon the higheſt Mountains, that the ſteam might aſcend nearer Heaven, and their Praiſes be heard better in thoſe places which were neareſt to the Habitation of God. But the wiſer p. 245Jews acknowledged it; and therefore call'd God place **foreign Grot. upon Mat. 5.16. Mareſ. contra Volk. lib. 1. cap. 27. p. 494Matt 5:16, whereby they denoted his immenſity; he was not contain'd in any place, every part of the World ſubſiſts by him: He was a place to himſelf, greater than any thing made by him. And the wiſer Heathens acknowledged it alſo.

††Vide Minut. Fel. p. 20.One calls God a mind paſſing through the univerſal nature of things; Another, That he was an infinite and immenſe Air**Plotia Enead 6. lib 5. cap 4.; Another, That it is as natural to think God is every where, as to think that God is: Hence they call'd God the Soul of the World; that as the Soul is in every part of the Body, to quicken it, ſo is God in every part of the World, to ſupport it.

And there are ſome reſemblances of this in the World, though no Creature can fully reſemble God in any one perfection; for then it would not be a Creature, but God. But Air and Light are ſome weak reſemblances of it: Air is in all the ſpaces of the World, in the Pores of all Bodies, in the Bowels of the Earth, and extends it ſelf from the loweſt Earth, to the higheſt Regions; and the Heavens themſelves are probably nothing elſe but a refin'd kind of Air; and Light diffuſeth it ſelf through the whole Air, and every part of it is truly Light, as every part of the Air is truly Air; and though they ſeem to be mingled together, yet they are diſtinct things, and not of the ſame Eſſence; ſo is the Eſſence of God in the whole World, not by diffuſion as Air or Light; not mixed with any Creature; but remaining diſtinct from the Eſſence of any Created Being. Now when this hath been own'd by men inſtructed only in the School of Nature, 'tis a greater ſhame to any acquainted with the Scripture to deny it. For the underſtanding of this, there ſhall be ſome Propoſitions premis'd in general.

1. This is Negatively to be underſtood. Our Knowledge of God is moſt by withdrawing from him, or denying to him in our conceptions any weakneſſes or imperfections in the Creature. As the infiniteneſs of God, is a denial of limitation of Being, ſo Immenſity or Omnipreſence is a denial of limitation of place: And when we ſay, God is totus in every place, we muſt underſtand it thus, That he is not every where by parts, as Bodies are, as Air and Light are; He is every where, i. e. his Nature hath no bounds, he is not tyed to any place, as the Creature is, who when he is preſent in one place, is abſent from another. As no place can be without God, ſo no place can compaſs and contain him.

2. There is an influential Omnipreſence of God.

1. Ʋniverſal with all Creatures. He is preſent with all things by his Authority, becauſe all things are ſubject to him: By his power, becauſe all things are ſuſtained by him: By his Knowledge, becauſe all things are naked before him. He is preſent in the World, as a King is in all parts of his Kingdom Regally preſent: Providentially preſent with all, ſince his Care extends to the meaneſt of his Creatures. His Power reacheth all, and his Knowledge pierceth all.

As every thing in the World was Created by God, ſo every thing in the World is preſerved by God; and ſince Preſervation is not wholly diſtinct from Creation, 'tis neceſſary God ſhould be preſent with every thing while he preſerves it, as well as preſent with it when he Created it.**Pſal. 36.6.Ps 36:6 Thou preſerveſt man and Beaſt. ††Heb. 1.3.Heb 1:3He upholds all things by the word of his Power. There is a vertue ſuſtaining every Creature, that it may not fall back into that nothing from whence it was elevated by the Power of God. All thoſe natural Vertues we call the Principles of Operation, are Fountains ſpringing from his Goodneſs and Power; all things are acted and managed by him, as well as preſerved by him; and in this ſenſe God is preſent with all Creatures; for whatſoever acts another, is preſent with that which it acts, by ſending forth ſome vertue and influence, whereby it acts: If free Agents do not only live, but move in him, and by him **Acts 17.28.Acts 17:28, much more are the motions of other natural Agents, by a vertue communicated to them, and upheld in them in the time of their acting: This vertual preſence of God, is evident to our ſenſe, a preſence we feel; his eſſential preſence is evident in our Reaſon: This influential preſence may be compar'd to that of the Sun, which though at ſo great a diſtance from the Earth, is preſent in the Air and Earth by its Light, and within the Earth by its influence in concocting thoſe Metals which are in the Bowels of it, without being ſubſtantially either of them. God is thus ſo intimate with every Creature, that there is not the leaſt particle of any Creature, but the marks of his Power and Goodneſs are ſeen in it, and his Goodneſs p. 246doth attend them, and is more ſwift in its effluxes, than the breakings out of Light from the Sun, which yet are more ſwift than can be declar'd; but to ſay he is in the World only by his Vertue, is to acknowledge only the effects of his Power and Wiſdom in the World, That his Eye ſees all, his Arm ſupports all, his Goodneſs nouriſheth all, but Himſelf and his Eſſence at a diſtance from them**Zanch.; and ſo the Soul of man according to its meaſure would have in ſome kind a more excellent manner of Preſence in the body, than God according to the Infiniteneſs of his Being with his Creatures; for that doth not only communicate Life to the Body, but is actually preſent with it, and ſpreads its whole Eſſence through the Body and every Member of it: All grant, That God is efficaciouſly in every Creek of the World; but ſome ſay he is only ſubſtantially in Heaven.

2. Limited to ſuch Subjects that are capacitated for this or that kind of Preſen…e. Yet it is an Omnipreſence, becauſe it is a Preſence in all the Subjects capacitated for it; thus there is a ſpecial Providential Preſence of God with ſome, in aſſiſting them when he ſets them on work as his Inſtruments for ſome ſpecial Service in the World: As with Cyrus **Iſa. 4….2.Isa 4:2, I will go before thee; and with Nebuchadnezzar, and Alexander, whom he Protected and Directed to execute his Counſels in the World; ſuch a preſence Judas and others††Mat. 7.22.Matt 7:22 that ſhall not enjoy his glorious Preſence, had in the working of Miracles in the world:In thy name we have done many wonderful works. Beſides**Cajetan in Aquin Par. 1. Qu 8 Artic. 3. as there is an effective Preſence, of God with all Creatures, becauſe he produced them, and preſerves them; ſo there is an objective Preſence of God with rational Creatures, becauſe he offers himſelf to them, to be known and loved by them: He is near to Wicked men in the offers of his Grace,**Iſa. 55.6.Isa 55:6 call ye upon him while he is near; Beſides, there is a gracious Preſence of God with his People in whom he dwells, and makes his abode, as in a Temple Conſecrated to him by the Graces of the Spirit.††John 14.23.John 14:23 We will come, i. e. the Father and the Son, and make our abode with him. He is preſent with all by the Preſence of his Divinity, but only in his Saints by a Preſence of a gracious Efficacy; he walks in the midſt of the Golden Candleſticks, and hath Dignifi'd the Congregation of his People with the Title of Jehovah Sbammah, **Ezek. 48.35.Ezek 48:35The Lord is there: In Salem is his Tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Sion††Pſal. 76.2.Ps 76:2. As he filled the Tabernacle, ſo he doth the Church with the Signs of his Preſence; this is not the Preſence wherewith he fills Heaven and Earth. His Spirit is not beſtowed upon all, to reſide in their hearts, enlighten their minds, and bedew them with refreſhing Comforts: When the Apoſtle ſpeaks of Gods being Above all, and through all; **Eph. 4.6.Eph 4:6Above all in his Majeſty, Through all in his Providence; he doth not appropriate that, as he doth what follows, and in you all; in you all by a ſpecial Grace; as God was ſpecially preſent with Chriſt by the Grace of Union, ſo he is ſpecially preſent with his People by the Grace of Regeneration. So there are ſeveral manifeſtations of his Preſence; he hath a Preſence of Glory in Heaven, whereby he Comforts the Saints; a Preſence of Wrath in Hell, whereby he Torments the Damned; in Heaven he is a God ſpreading his Beams of Light; in Hell, a God diſtributing his Strokes of Juſtice; by the one he fills Heaven, by the other he fills Hell; by his Providence and Eſſence he fills both Heaven and Earth.

3. There is an Eſſential Preſence of God in the World. He is not only every where, by his Power upholding the Creatures, by his Wiſdom underſtanding them, but by his Eſſence containing them. That any thing is eſſentially preſent any where, it hath from God; God is therefore much more preſent every where, for he cannot give that which he hath not.

1. He is Eſſentially preſent in all places **Ficin.. 'Tis as reaſonable to think the Eſſence of God to be every where, as to be always; Immenſity is as rational as Eternity; That indiviſible Eſſence which reaches through all times, may as well reach through all places: 'Tis more excellent to be always, than to be every where; for to be always in duration is Intrinſical; to be every where is Extrinſick; If the greater belongs to God, why not the leſs? As all times are a Moment to his Eternity, ſo all places are as a Point to his Eſſence; As he is larger than all time, ſo he is vaſter than all place: The Nations of the World are to him as the Duſt of the Ballance, or Drop of a Bucket **Iſa. 40.15.Isa 40:15. The Nations are accounted as the ſmall Duſt; the Eſſence of God may well be thought to be preſent every where with that which is no more than a grain of Duſt to him, and in all thoſe Iſles, which if put together, are a very little thing in his hand: Therefore ſaith a Learned Jew **Maimonid., If a man were ſet in the p. 247higheſt Heavens, he would not be nearer to the Eſſence of God than if he were in the Center of the Earth. Why may not the Preſence of God in the World be as noble as that of the Soul in the Body, which is generally granted to be eſſentially in every part of the body of man, which is but a little World, and animates every Member by its actual preſence, though it exerts not the ſame operation in every part**Ficin.? the World is leſs to the Creator, than the Body to the Soul; and needs more the Preſence of God, than the Body needs the preſence of the Soul. That glorious body of the Sun viſits every part of the Habitable Earth in 24 hours by its beams; which reaches the Troughs of the loweſt Valleys, as well as the Pinacles of the higheſt Mountains; muſt we not acknowledg in the Creator of this Sun an infinite greater proportion of Preſence? Is it not as eaſy with the Eſſence of God to over-ſpread the whole body of Heaven and Earth, as it is for the Sun to pierce and diffuſe its ſelf through the whole Air between it and the Earth, and ſend up its light alſo as far to the Regions above? Do we not ſee ſomething like it in Sounds and Voices? Is not the ſame Sound of a Trumpet, or any other Muſical Inſtrument, at the firſt breaking out of a Blaſt, in ſeveral places within ſuch a compaſs, at the ſame time? Doth not every Ear that hears it, receive alike the whole ſound of it? And fragrant Odors ſcented in ſeveral places at the ſame time, in the ſame manner; and the Organ proper for Smelling takes in the ſame in every perſon within the compaſs of it: How far is the noiſe of Thunder heard alike to every Ear, in places ſomething diſtant from one another? And do we daily find ſuch a manner of preſence in thoſe things of ſo low a concern, and not imagine a kind of Preſence of God greater than all thoſe? Is the ſound of Thunder, the Voice of God, as it is call'd, every where in ſuch a compaſs, and ſhall not the Eſſence of an Infinite God be much more every where? Thoſe that would confine the Eſſence of God only to Heaven, and exclude it from the Earth, run into great inconveniencies. It may be demanded, whether he be in one part of the Heavens, or in the whole vaſt body of them? If in one part of them, his Eſſence is bounded; if he moves from that part, he is mutable, for he changes a place wherein he was, for another wherein he was not. If he be always fixed in one part of the Heavens, ſuch a notion would render him little better than a living Statue**Hornheck Soun. Part 1. p. 303.: If he be in the whole Heaven, why cannot his Eſſence poſſeſs a greater ſpace than the whole Heavens which are ſo vaſt? How comes he to be confin'd within the compaſs of that, ſince the whole Heaven compaſſeth the Earth? If he be in the whole Heaven, he is in places farther diſtant one from another, than any part of the Earth can be from the Heavens; ſince the Earth is like a Center in the midſt of a Circle, it muſt be nearer to every part of the Circle, than ſome parts of the Circle can be to one another: If therefore his Eſſence poſſeſſes the whole Heavens, no reaſon can be render'd why he doth not alſo poſſeſs the Earth, ſince alſo the Earth is but a little point in compariſon of the vaſtneſs of the Heavens; If therefore he be in every part of the Heavens, why not in every part of the Earth?

The Scripture is plainPſal. 139.7.8, 9.Ps 139:7Ps 139:8Ps 139:9, Whither ſhall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither ſhall I flie from thy Preſence? If I aſcend up to Heaven, thou art there; If I make my Bed in Hell, behold thou art there; If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermoſt parts of the Sea, even there ſhall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand ſhall uphold me. If he be in Heaven, Earth, Hell, Sea, he fills all places with his Preſence; his Preſence is here aſſerted in places the moſt diſtant from one another; all the places then between Heaven and Earth are poſſeſſed by his Preſence: 'Tis not meant of his Knowledge, for that the Pſalmiſt had ſpoken of before, ver. 2.3. Thou underſtandeſt my thoughts afar off, thou art acquainted with all my ways. Beſides, Thou art there, not thy wiſdom or knowledge; but Thou, thy Eſſence, not only thy Vertue. For having before ſpoken of his Omniſcience, he proves that ſuch Knowledg could not be in God, unleſs he were preſent in his Eſſence in all places, ſo as to be excluded from none: He fills the depths of Hell, the extenſion of the Earth, and the heights of the Heavens. When the Scripture mentions the Power of God only, it expreſſeth it by Hand or Arm; but when it mentions the Spirit of God, and doth not intend the Third Perſon in the Trinity, it ſignifies the Nature and Eſſence of God: And ſo here, when he ſaith, Whither ſhall I go from thy Spirit? he adds exegetically, Whither ſhall I flie from thy Preſence, or Heb. Face? and the Face of p. 248God in Scripture ſignifies the Eſſence of God††Exod 33.20.23.Exod 33:20Exod 33:23; Thou canſt not ſee my face, and my face ſhall not be ſeen; the effects of his Power, Wiſdom, Providence, are ſeen, which are his Back-parts, but not his face: The effects of his Power and Wiſdom are ſeen in the World, but his Eſſence is inviſible; and this the Pſalmiſt elegantly expreſſeth. Had I Wings endued with as much quickneſs as the firſt Dawnings of the morning light, or the firſt darts of any Sun-beam that ſpreads its ſelf through the Hemiſphere, and paſſes many Miles in as ſhort a ſpace as I can think a Thought, I ſhould find thy preſence in all places before me, and could not flie out of the infinite compaſs of thy Eſſence.

2. He is Eſſentially preſent with all Creatures. If he be in all places, it follows that he is with all Creatures in thoſe places; as he is in Heaven, ſo he is with all Angels; as he is in Hell, ſo is he with all Devils; as he is in the Earth and Sea, he is with all Creatures inhabiting thoſe Elements: As his Eſſential Preſence was the ground of the firſt Being of things by Creation, ſo it is the ground of the continued Being of things by Conſervation. As his Eſſential Preſence was the Original, ſo it is the ſupport of the exiſtence of all the Creatures. What are all thoſe magnificent expreſſions of his Creative vertue, but Teſtimonies of his Eſſential Preſence at the laying the Foundation of the World††Iſa. 40.12,Isa 40:12? when he meaſured the Waters in the hollow of his hand, meted out Heaven with the Span, and comprehended the Duſt of the Earth in a Meaſure, and weighed the Mountains in Scales, and the Hills in a Ballance. He ſets forth the Power and Majeſty of God in the Creation and Preſervation of things, and every Expreſſion teſtifies his Preſence with them: The Waters that were upon the face of the Earth at firſt, were no more than a drop in the palm of a mans hand, which in every part is touched by his hand. And thus he is equally preſent with the blackeſt Devils, as well as the brighteſt Angels; with the loweſt Duſt, as well as with the moſt ſparkling Sun. He is equally preſent with the Damned and the Bleſſed, as he is an Infinite Being, but not in regard of his Goodneſs and Grace. He is equally preſent with the Good and the Bad, with the ſcoffing Athenians, as well as the believing Apoſtles, in regard of his Eſſence, but not in regard of the breathing of his Divine Vertues upon them to make them like himſelf††Act. 17.7.Acts 17:7: He is not far from every one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our Being: The Apoſtle includes all; he tells them they ſhould ſeek the Lord; the Lord that they were to ſeek, is God eſſentially conſidered: We are indeed to ſeek the Perfections of God, that glitter in his works, but to the end that they ſhould direct us to the ſeeking of God himſelf in his own Nature and Eſſence††Amyrald. de Trinit.: And therefore what follows, In him we live, is to be underſtood not of his Power and Goodneſs, perfections of his Nature, diſtinguiſht according to our manner of conception, from his Eſſence; but of the Eſſential Preſence of God with his Creatures. If he had meant it of his efficacy in preſerving us, it had not been any proof of his nearneſs to us. Who would go about to prove the body or ſubſtance of the Sun to be near us becauſe it doth warm and enlighten us, when our ſenſe evidenceth the diſtance of it? We live in the beams of the Sun, but we cannot be ſaid to live in the Sun, which is ſo far diſtant from us. The Expreſſion ſeems to be more emphatical than to intend any leſs than his Eſſential Preſence: But we live in him not only as the efficient cauſe of our Life, but as the foundation ſuſtaining our lives and motions, as if he were like Air, diffuſed round about us. And we move in him, as Auſtin ſaith, as a Spunge in the Sea, not containing him, but being contained by him: He compaſſeth all, is encompaſs'd by none; he fills all, is comprehended by none. The Creator contains the World, the World contains not the Creator: As the hollow of the hand contains the water, the water in the hollow of the hand contains not the hand; and therefore ſome have choſe to ſay rather, That the World is in God, it lives and moves in him, than that God is in the World: If all things thus live and move in him, then he is preſent with every hing that hath Life, and Motion; and as long as the Devils and Damned have life, and motion, and being, ſo long is he with them; for whatſoever lives and moves, lives and moves in him.

But now this Eſſential Preſence is

1. Without any mixture. I fill Heaven and Earth; not, I am mixed with Heaven aad Earth; his Eſſence is not mixed with the Creatures; it remains intire in its ſelf. The Spunge retains the nature of a Spunge, though encompaſs'd by the Sea, and moving p. 249in it; and the Sea ſtill retains its own nature. God is moſt ſimple; his Eſſence therefore is not mixed with any thing. The Light of the Sun is preſent with the air, but not mixed with it, it remains light, and the air remains air; the light of the Sun is diffuſed through all the Hemiſphere, it pierceth all tranſparent bodies, it ſeems to mix it ſelf with all things, yet remains unmixed and undivided; the light remains light, and the air remains air; the air is not light though it be enlightned. Or, take this ſimilitude; When many Candles are lighted up in a Room, the light is all together, yet not mixed with one another; every Candle hath a particular light belonging to it, which may be ſeparated in a moment, by removing one Candle from another; but if they were mixed, they could not be ſeparated, at leaſt ſo eaſily. God is not formally one with the World, or with any Creature in the World by his Preſence in it: Nor can any Creature in the World, no, not the Soul of man, or an Angel, come to be Eſſentially one with God, though God be Eſſentially preſent with it.

2. The Eſſential Preſence is without any diviſion of himſelf. I fill Heaven and Earth, not part in Heaven, and part in Earth; I fill one as well as the other: One part of his Eſſence is not in one place, and another part of his Eſſence in another place, he would then be changeable; for that part of his Eſſence which were now in this place, he might alter it to another, and place that part of his Eſſence which were in another place, to this; but he is undivided every where. As his Eternity is one indiviſible point, though in our conception we divide it into paſt, preſent and to come. So the whole World is as a point to him, in regard of place as before was ſaid; 'tis as a ſmall Duſt, and grain of Duſt: 'Tis impoſſible that one part of his Eſſence can be ſeparated from another, for he is not a Body, to have one part ſeparable from another. The light of the Sun cannot be cut into parts, it cannot be ſhut into any place and kept there, 'tis intire in every place; ſhall not God who gives the light that power, be much more preſent himſelf? whatſoever hath parts is finite, but God is infinite, therefore hath no parts of his Eſſence. Beſides, if there were ſuch a Diviſion of his Being, he would not be the moſt ſimple and uncompounded Being, but would be made up of various parts; he would not be a Spirit, for parts are evidences of compoſition; and it could not be ſaid that God is here or there, but only a part of God here, and a part of God there. But he fills Heaven and Earth, he is as much a God in the Earth beneath as in Heaven above **Deut. 4.39.Deut 4:39; intirely in all places, not by ſcraps and fragments of his Eſſence.

3. This Eſſential Preſence is not by Multiplication. For that which is infinite cannot multiply it ſelf, or make it ſelf more or greater than it was.

4. This Eſſential Preſence is not by extenſion or diffuſion. As a piece of Gold may be beaten out to cover a large compaſs of ground; no, if God ſhould Create Millions of Worlds he would be in them all, not by ſtretching out his Being, but by the Infiniteneſs of his Being; not by a new growth of his Being, but by the ſame Eſſence he had from Eternity: Upon the ſame reaſons mention'd before, his Simplicity and Indiviſibility.

5. But Totally. There is no ſpace, not the leaſt, wherein God is not wholly according to his Eſſence, and wherein his whole Subſtance doth not exiſt; not a part of Heaven can be deſign'd wherein the Creator is not wholly; as he is in one part of Heaven, he is in every part of Heaven. Some kind of reſemblance we may have from the water of the Sea, which fills the great ſpace of the World, and is diffuſed through all; yet the Eſſence of Water is in every drop of Water in the Sea, as much as the whole; and the ſame quality of Water, tho' it comes ſhort in quantity; and why ſhall we not allow God a nobler way of Preſence without diffuſion, as is in that? Or take this reſemblance, ſince God likens himſelf to Light in the Scripture**Pſal. 104.2. 1 John 1.5. God is Light, and in him is no darkneſs at all.Ps 104:21 John 1:5, he covereth himſelf with Light; A Chryſtal Globe hung up in the Air hath Light all about it, all within it, every part is pierced by it, whereever you ſee the Chryſtal you ſee the Light; the Light in one part of the Chryſtal cannot be diſtinguiſht from the Light in the other part; and the whole Eſſence of Light is in every part; and ſhall not God be as much preſent with his Creatures, as one Creature can be with another**Bernard.? God is totally every where by his own ſimple ſubſtance.

Propoſition 4. God is preſent beyond the World. He is within and above all places, p. 250though places ſhould be infinite in number; as he was before and beyond all Time, ſo he is above and beyond all place; being from Eternity before any real time, he muſt alſo be without as well a within any real ſpace; if God were only confin'd to the World, he would be no more infinite in his Eſſence than the World is in quantity; as a moment cannot be conceived from Eternity, wherein God was not in Being, ſo a ſpace cannot be conceived in the mind of man, wherein God is not preſent; he is not contained in the World nor in the Heavens.**1 Kings 8.27.1 Kgs 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the Earth? Behold the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Thee. Solomon wonders that God ſhould appoint a Temple to be erected to him upon the Earth, when he is not contained in the vaſt Circuit of the Heavens; his Eſſence is not ſtraitned in the limits of any Created work, he is not contained in the Heavens, i. e. in the manner that he is there; but he is there in his Eſſence, and therefore cannot be contain'd there in his Eſſence. If it ſhould be meant only of his Power and Providence, it would conclude alſo for his Eſſence; if his Power and Providence were infinite, his Eſſence muſt be ſo too; for the infiniteneſs of his Eſſence is the ground of the infiniteneſs of his Power: It can never enter into any thought, that a finite Eſſence can have an infinite Power, and that an infinite Power can be without an infinite Eſſence; it cannot be meant of his Providence, as if Solomon ſhould ſay, the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thy Providence; for naming the Heaven of Heavens, that which encircles and bounds the other parts of the World, he could not ſuppoſe a Providence to be exercis'd where there was no object to exerciſe it about; as no Creature is mention'd to be beyond the uttermoſt Heaven, which he calls here the Heaven of Heavens: Beſides, to underſtand it of his Providence, doth not conſiſt with Solomon's admiration: He wonders that God, that hath ſo immenſe an Eſſence, ſhould dwell in a Temple made with hands; he could not ſo much wonder at his Providence in thoſe things that immediately concern his Worſhip. Solomon plainly aſſerts this of God, That he was ſo far from being bounded within the rich Wall of the Temple, which with ſo much Coſt he had fram'd for the Glory of his Name, that the richer Palace of the Heaven of Heavens could not contain him; 'tis true, it could not contain his Power and Wiſdom, becauſe his Wiſdom could contrive other kind of Worlds, and his Power erect them: But doth the meaning of that wiſe King reach no farther than this? Will the Power and Wiſdom of God reſide on the Earth? He was too wiſe to ask ſuch a queſtion, ſince every object that his eyes met with in the World reſolv'd him, That the Wiſdom and Power of God dwelt upon the Earth, and glitter'd in every thing he had Created; and Reaſon would aſſure him, That the Power that had fram'd this World, was able to frame many more: But Solomon conſidering the immenſity of Gods Eſſence, wonders that God ſhould order a Houſe to be built for him, as if he wanted Roofs, and Coverings, and Habitation, as bodily Creatures do. Will God indeed dwell in a Temple, who hath an Eſſence ſo immenſe as not to be contain'd in the Heaven of Heavens? 'tis not the Heaven of Heavens that can contain Him, his Subſtance. Here he aſſerts the immenſity of his Eſſence, and his Preſence not only in the Heaven, but beyond the Heavens; he that is not contain'd in the Heavens, as a man is in a Chamber, is without, and above, and beyond the Heavens; 'tis not ſaid they do not contain him, but it is impoſſible they ſhould contain him; they cannot contain him. 'Tis impoſſible then but that he ſhould be above them; he that is without the compaſs of the World, is not bounded by the limits of the World; as his Power is not limited by the things he hath made, but can Create innumerable Worlds, ſo can his Eſſence be in innumerable ſpaces; for as he hath power enough to make more Worlds, ſo he hath Eſſence enough to fill them, and therefore cannot be confin'd to what he hath already Created; innumerable Worlds cannot be a ſufficient place to contain God, he can only be a ſufficient place to himſelf**Petar.; He that was before the World and place, and all things, was to himſelf a World, a Place and every thing**Maccor. loc. commun. cap. 19. p. 153.: He is really out of the World in himſelf, as he was in himſelf before the Creation of the World: As becauſe God was before the Foundation of the World, we conclude his Eternity; ſo becauſe he is without the bounds of the World, we conclude his Immenſity, and from thence his Omnipreſence. The World cannot be ſaid to contain him, ſince it was Created by him; it cannot contain him now, who was contained p. 251by nothing before the World was: as there was no place to contain him before the World was, there can be no place to contain him ſince the World was.

God might create more Worlds circular and round as this, and thoſe could not be ſo contiguous, but ſome ſpaces would be left between; as take three round Balls, lay them as cloſe as you can to one another, there will be ſome ſpaces between; none would ſay but God would be in theſe ſpaces, as well as in the World he had created, tho' there were nothing real and poſitive in thoſe ſpaces: Why ſhould we then exclude God from thoſe imaginary ſpaces without the World? God might alſo create many Worlds, and ſeparate them by diſtances, that they might not touch one another, but be at a great diſtance from one another; and would not God fill them as well as he doth this? if ſo, he muſt alſo fill the ſpaces between them: For if he were in all thoſe Worlds, and not in the ſpaces between thoſe Worlds, his Eſſence would be divided; there would be gaps in it, his Eſſence would be cut into parts, and the diſtance between every part of his Eſſence would be as great as the ſpace between each World: The Eſſence of God may be conceived then well enough to be in all thoſe infinite ſpaces where he can erect new Worlds.

I ſhall give one place more to prove both theſe Propoſitions, viz. That God is Eſſentially in every part of the World, and Eſſentially above ours without the World.

**Iſa. 66.1.Isa 66:1The Heaven is my Throne and the Earth is my Foot-ſtool. He is Eſſentially in every part of the World; he is in Heaven and Earth at the ſame time; as a man is upon his Throne and his Foot-ſtool. God deſcribes himſelf in a Human Shape, accommodated to our Capacity; as if he had his Head in Heaven and his Feet on Earth; doth not his Eſſence then fill all intermediate ſpaces between Heaven and Earth? as when the head of a man is in the upper part of a Room, and his Feet upon the floor, his body fills up the ſpace between the Head and his Feet; this is meant of the Eſſence of God, 'tis a Similitude drawn from Kings ſitting upon the Throne, and not their Power and Authority, but the Feet of their perſons are ſupported by the Foot-ſtool; ſo here it is not meant only of the Perfections of God, but the Eſſence of God: Beſides, God ſeems to tax them with an erroneous conceit they had, as tho' his Eſſence were in the Temple, and not in any part of the World; therefore God makes an Oppoſition between Heaven and Earth, and the Temple; Where is the Houſe that you built unto me? and where is the place of my Reſt? Had he underſtood it only of his Providence, it had not been any thing againſt their miſtake; for they granted his Providence to be not only in the Temple, but in all parts of the World? Where is the Houſe that you Build to me; to Me, not to my Power or Providence, but think to include Me within thoſe Walls.

Again, It ſhews God to be above the Heavens, if the Heavens be his Throne; he ſits upon them, and is above them as Kings are above the Thrones on which they ſit; ſo it cannot be meant of his Providence, becauſe no Creature being without the Sphere of the Heavens, there is nothing of the Power and the Providence of God viſible there; for there is nothing for him to employ his Providence about. For Providence ſuppoſeth a Creature in actual being; It muſt be therefore meant of his Eſſence, which is above the world, and in the world.

And the like proof you may ſee, Job 11.7, 8. 'Tis as high as heaven, what canſt thou do? deeper than Hell, what canſt thou know? the meaſure thereof is longer than the Earth, and broader than the Sea. Where he intends the unſearchableneſs of Gods wiſdom, but proves it by the infiniteneſs of his Eſſence, Hebr. He is the height of the Heavens, he is the top of all the Heavens; ſo that when you have begun at the loweſt part, and traced him through all the Creatures, you will find his Eſſence filling all the Creatures to be at the top of the World, and infinitely beyond it.

5. Fifth Propoſition. This is the property of God, incommunicable to any Creature. As no Creature can be eternal and immutable, ſo no Creature can be immenſe, becauſe it cannot be infinite; nothing can be of an infinite nature, and therefore nothing of an immenſe Preſence but God: It cannot be communicated to the Humane Nature of Chriſt, tho' in Union with the Divine**Rivet. 110. Pſal. p. 301. Col. 2.Col 2; ſome indeed argue, that Chriſt in regard of his humane nature is every where, becauſe he ſits at the right hand of God; and the right hand of God is every where: His fitting at the right hand of God ſignifies his Exaltation, and cannot with any reaſon be extended to ſuch a kind of arguing; The Hearts of Kings are in the hand of God; are the heart p. 252of Kings every where, becauſe Gods hand is every where? The Souls of the Righteous are in the hand of God, is the Soul therefore of every Righteous man every where in the World? The right hand of God is from Eternity, is the Humanity of Chriſt therefore from Eternity, becauſe it ſits at the right hand of God? The right hand of God made the World, did the Humanity of Chriſt therefore make Heaven and Earth? the Humanity of Chriſt muſt then be confounded with his Divinity; be the ſame with it, not united to it. All Creatures are diſtinct from their Creator, and cannot inherit the Properties Eſſential to his Nature; as Eternity, Immenſity, Immutability, Omnipreſence, Omniſcience, no Angel, no Soul, no Creature can be in all places at once; before they can be ſo, they muſt be Immenſe, and ſo muſt ceaſe to be Creatures, and commence God; this is impoſſible.

II Reaſons to prove Gods Eſſential Preſence.

1ſt Reaſon. Becauſe he is infinite. As he is infinite, he is every where; as he is Simple, his whole Eſſence is every where; for in regard of his Infiniteneſs, he hath no bounds; in regard of his Simplicity, he hath no parts: And therefore thoſe that deny Gods Omnipreſence, tho' they pretend to own him Infinite, muſt really conceive him Finite.

1. God is Infinite in his Perfections. None can ſet bounds to terminate the greatneſs and excellency of God**Pſal. 145.3.Ps 145:3. His greatneſs is unſearchable, Sept. foreign there is no end, no limitation; what hath no end is infinite; his Power is infinite††Job 5.9.Job 5:9, which doth great things and unſearchable, no end of thoſe things he is able to do; His Wiſdom infinite**Pſal. 147.5.Ps 147:5. He underſtands all things paſt, preſent, and to come; what is already made, what is poſſible to be made; his duration infinite *. The number of his Years cannot be ſearched out, ††Job 36.26.Job 36:26foreign. To make a finite thing of nothing, is an Argument of an infinite Vertue; Infinite power can only extract ſomething out of the Barren Womb of nothing, but all things were drawn forth by the Word of God, the Heavens and all the Hoſt of them; the Sun, Moon, Stars, the rich embelliſhments of the World appear'd in Being, at the Breath of his Mouth **Pſal. 33.6.Ps 33:6, the Author therefore muſt be infinite: And ſince nothing is the cauſe of God, or of any Perfection in him; ſince he derives not his Being, or the leaſt ſpark of his glorious nature from any thing without him, he cannot be limited in any part of his nature by any thing without him; and indeed the infiniteneſs of his Power and his other Perfections is aſſerted by the Prophet, when he tells us that the Nations are as a Drop of a Bucket, or the Duſt of the Ballance, and leſs than nothing and Vanity ††Iſa. 40.15.17.Isa 40:15Isa 40:17, they are all ſo in regard of his Power, Wiſdom, &c. Conceive what a little thing a grain of Duſt or Sand is to all the Duſt that may be made by the rubbiſh of a Houſe, what a little thing the heap of the rubbiſh of a Houſe is to the vaſt heap of the rubbiſh of a whole City, ſuch a one as London; how little that alſo would be to the Duſt of a whole Empire; how inconſiderable that alſo to the Duſt of one quarter of the World, Europe or Aſia; how much leſs that ſtill to the Duſt of the whole World; the whole World is compos'd of an unconceivable number of Atoms, and the Sea of an unconceivable number of Drops; Now what a little grain of Duſt is in compariſon of the Duſt of the whole World; a Drop of Water from the Sea, to all the Drops remaining in the Sea, That is the whole World to God. Conceive it ſtill leſs, a meer nothing, yet is it all leſs than this, in compariſon of God; there can be nothing more magnificently expreſſive of the infiniteneſs of God to a humane conception, than this expreſſion of God himſelf in the Prophet.

In the Perfection of a Creature, ſomething ſtill may be thought greater to be added to it; But God containing all Perfections in himſelf formally, if they be meer Perfections; and eminently, if they be but Perfections in the Creature, mixed with imperfection; nothing can be thought greater, and therefore every one of them is infinite.

2. If his Perfections be Infinite, his Eſſence muſt be ſo. How God can have infinite Perfections, and a finite Eſſence is unconceivable by a Humane or Angelical underſtanding; an infinite Power, an infinite Wiſdom, an infinite Duration, muſt needs ſpeak an infinite Eſſence; ſince the infiniteneſs of his Attributes is grounded upon the infiniteneſs of his Eſſence: To own infinite Perfections in a finite Subject, is contradictory. The manner of Acting by his Power, and Knowing by his Wiſdom, p. 253cannot exceed the manner of Being by his Eſſence. His Perfections flow from his Eſſence, and the Principle muſt be of the ſame rank with what flows from it; and if we conceive his Eſſence to be the cauſe of his Perfections; 'tis utterly impoſſible that an infinite effect ſhould ariſe from a finite Cauſe; but indeed his Perfections are his Eſſence, for tho' we conceive the Eſſence of God as the ſubject, and the Attributes of God as faculties and qualities in that Subject according to our weak model, who cannot conceive of an infinite God without ſome manner of likeneſs to our ſelves; who find Underſtanding, and Will, and Power in us diſtinct from our Subſtance; yet truly and really there is no diſtinction between his Eſſence and Attributes; one is inſeparable from the other; his Power and Wiſdom are his Eſſence; and therefore to maintain God Infinite in the one, and Finite in the other, is to make a Monſtrous God, and have an unreaſonable notion of the Deity; for there would be the greateſt diſproportion in his nature, ſince there is no greater diſproportion can poſſibly be between one thing and another, than there is between finite and infinite: God muſt not only then be compounded, but have parts of the greateſt diſtance from one another in nature; but God being the moſt Simple Being without the leaſt compoſition, both muſt be equally infinite: If then his Eſſence be not infinite, his Power and Wiſdom cannot be infinite, which is both againſt Scripture and Reaſon.

Again, how ſhould his Eſſence be finite, and his Perfections be infinite; ſince nothing out of himſelf gave them either the one or the other?

††Amyrald de Trinitat p. 89.Again, either the Eſſence can be infinite, or it cannot; if it cannot, there muſt be ſome cauſe of that impoſſibility; that can be nothing without him; becauſe nothing without him can be as powerful as himſelf, much leſs too powerful for him; nothing within him can be an Enemy to his higheſt Perfection; ſince he is neceſſarily what he is, he muſt be neceſſarily the moſt perfect Being, and therefore neceſſarily infinite; ſince to be ſomething infinitely, is a greater Perfection than to be ſomething finitely††Deus eſt actus parvus & nullam habet potentiam paſſivam.; if he can be infinite, he is infinite; otherwiſe he could be greater than he is, and ſo more Bleſſed and more Perfect than he is, which is impoſſible; for being the moſt perfect Being, to whom nothing can be added, he muſt needs be infinite.

3. If therefore God have an Infinite Eſſence, he hath an infinite Preſence. An infinite Eſſence cannot be contained in a finite place; as thoſe things which are finite have a bounded ſpace, wherein they are; ſo that which is infinite hath an unbounded ſpace; for as finiteneſs ſpeaks limitedneſs; ſo infiniteneſs ſpeaks unboundedneſs; and if we grant to God an infinite duration, there is no difficulty in acknowledging an infinite Preſence: Indeed the infiniteneſs of God is a property belonging to him in regard of time and place; he is bounded by no place, and limited to no time.

Again, Infinite Eſſence may as well be every where, as infinite power reach every thing; it may as well be preſent with every Being, as infinite power in its working may be preſent with nothing to bring it into Being. Where God works by his Power he is preſent in his Eſſence; becauſe his Power and his Eſſence cannot be ſeparated; and therefore his Power, Wiſdom, Goodneſs, cannot be any where, where his Eſſence is not: His Eſſence cannot be ſever'd from his Power, nor his Power from his Eſſence; for the Power of God is nothing but God acting, and the wiſdom of God nothing, but God knowing. As the power of God is always, ſo is his Eſſence; as the power of God is every where, ſo is his Eſſence; whatſoever God is, he is alway, and every where: To confine him to a place, is to meaſure his Eſſence; as to confine his actions, is to limit his power; his Eſſence being no leſs infinite than his Power and his Wiſdom, can be no more bounded than his Power and Wiſdom; but they are not ſeparable from his Eſſence, yea they are his Eſſence; if God did not fill the whole World, he would be determin'd to ſome place, and excluded from others; and ſo his ſubſtance would have bounds and limits, and then ſomething might be conceived greater than God; for we may conceive that a Creature may be made by God of ſo vaſt a greatneſs as to fill the whole World; for the power of God is able to make a body that ſhould take up the whole ſpace between Heaven and Earth, and reach to every corner of it; but nothing can be conceived by any Creature greater than God; he exceeds all things, and p. 254is exceeded by none; God therefore cannot be included in Heaven, nor included in the Earth; cannot be contained in either of them; for if we ſhould imagine them vaſter than they are, yet ſtill they would be finite; and if his Eſſence were contain'd in them, it could be no more infinite than the World which contains it; As water is not of a larger compaſs than the Veſſel which contains it. If the Eſſence of God were limited either in the Heavens or Earth, it muſt needs be finite, as the Heaven and Earth are; But there is no proportion between finite and infinite; God therefore cannot be contain'd in them: If there were an infinite body, that muſt be every where; certainly then an infinite Spirit muſt be every where: Unleſs we will account him finite, we can render no reaſon why he ſhould not be in one Creature as well as in another; if he be in Heaven, which is his Creature, why can he not be in the Earth, which is as well his Creature as the Heavens.

2. Reaſon. Becauſe of the continual operation of God in the World. This was one reaſon made the Heathen believe that there was an infinite Spirit in the vaſt body of the World, acting in every thing, and producing thoſe admirable motions which we ſee every where in Nature: That cauſe which acts in the moſt perfect manner, is alſo in the moſt perfect manner preſent with its effects.

God preſerves all, and therefore is in all; the Apoſtle thought it a good inductionActs 17.27.Acts 17:27; He is not far from us: for in him we live. For being as much as becauſe, ſhews that from his operation he concluded his real preſence with all: 'Tis not his vertue is not far from every one of us; but He, his Subſtance, himſelf; for none that acknowledge a God, will deny the abſence of the vertue of God from any part of the World. He works in every thing, every thing lives and works in him; therefore he is preſent with all**Pont.: or rather if things live, they are in God, who gives them life. If things live, God is in them, and gives them life: If things move, God is in them, and gives them motion: If things have any Being, God is in them, and gives them Being; if God withdraws himſelf, they preſently loſe their Being; and therefore ſome have compar'd the Creature to the impreſſion of a Seal upon the water, that cannot be preſerved but by the Preſence of the Seal. As his Preſence was actual with what he Created, ſo his Preſence is actual with what he preſerves, ſince Creation and Preſervation do ſo little differ; if God creates things by his Eſſential Preſence, by the ſame he ſupports them; If his ſubſtance cannot be disjoyn'd from his preſerving Power, his power and wiſdom cannot be ſeparated from his Eſſence; where there are the marks of the one, there is the preſence of the other; for it is by his Eſſence that he is powerful and wiſe; no man can diſtinguiſh the one from the other in a ſimple Being: God doth not preſerve and act things by a vertue diffus'd from him.N.B. It may be demanded whether that vertue be diſtinct from God? if it be not, 'tis then the Eſſence of God; if it be diſtinct, 'tis a Creature, and then it may be ask't how that vertue which preſerves other things, is preſerved it ſelf? it muſt be ultimately reſolv'd into the Eſſence of God, or elſe there muſt be a running in infinitum: or elſe,**Amyrald de Trinitat, p. 106. 107. is that vertue of God a ſubſtance or not? Is it endued with underſtanding or not? If it hath underſtanding, how doth it differ from God? If it wants underſtanding, can any imagine that the ſupport of the World, the guidance of all Creatures, the wonders of Nature can be wrought, preſerv'd, manag'd by a vertue that hath nothing of underſtanding in it? If it be not a ſubſtance, it can much leſs be able to produce ſuch excellent Operations, as the preſerving all the kinds of things in the World, and ordering them to perform ſuch excellent ends; this Vertue is therefore God himſelf, the infinite Power and Wiſdom of God; and therefore whereſoever the effects of theſe are ſeen in the World, God is eſſentially preſent; ſome Creatures indeed act at a diſtance by a vertue diffus'd; but ſuch a manner of acting comes from a limitedneſs of nature, that ſuch a nature cannot be every where preſent, and extend its ſubſtance to all parts; To act by a vertue, ſpeaks the Subject finite, and it is a part of indigence: Kings act in their Kingdoms by Miniſters and Meſſengers, becauſe they cannot act otherwiſe; but God being infinitely perfect, works all things in all immediately1 Cor. 12.6.1 Cor 12:6; Illumination, Sanctification, Grace, &c. are the immediate Works of God in the heart, and immediate Agents are preſent with what they do; 'tis an Argument of the greater Perfection of a Being, to know things immediately, which are done in ſeveral places, than to know them at the ſecond hand by Inſtruments: 'tis no leſs a p. 255Perfection to be every where, rather than to be tyed to one place of action; and to act in other places by Inſtruments, for want of a Power to act immediately it ſelf: God indeed acts by means and ſecond cauſes in his Providential Diſpenſations in the World, but this is not out of any Defect of Power to Work all immediately himſelf; but he thereby accommodates his way of acting to the nature of the Creature, and the Order of Things which he hath ſetled in the World; And when he Works by means, he acts with thoſe means, in thoſe means, ſuſtains their faculties and vertues in them, concurs with them by his Power; ſo that Gods acting by means, doth rather ſtrengthen his Eſſential Preſence than weaken it; ſince there is a neceſſary dependance of the Creatures upon the Creator in their Being and Acting; and what they are, they are by the Power of God; what they act, they act in the Power of God, concurring with them; they have their Motion in him as well as their Being; and where the Power of God is, his Eſſence is, becauſe they are inſeparable; and ſo this Omnipreſence ariſeth from the ſimplicity of the Nature of God; the more vaſt any thing is, the leſs confin'd. All that will acknowledg God ſo great, as to be able to work all things by his Will, without an Eſſential Preſence, cannot imagine him upon the ſame reaſon, ſo little as to be contain'd in, and bounded by any place.

3. Reaſon. Becauſe of his Supream Perfection.

No Perfection is wanting to God; but an unbounded Eſſence is a Perfection; a limited one is an Imperfection. Tho' it be a Perfection in a man to be Wiſe, yet it is an Imperfection that his Wiſdom cannot rule all the things that concern him; tho' it be a Perfection to be preſent in a place where his affairs lye, yet is it his Imperfection that he cannot be preſent every where, in the midſt of all his Concerns; if any man could be ſo, it would be univerſally own'd as a prime Perfection in him above others; Is that which would be a Perfection in man, to be deny'd to God**Amyrald de Trinitat p. 74. 75.? as that which hath life, is more perfect than that which hath not life; and that which hath ſenſe is more perfect than that which hath only life, as the Plants have; and what hath reaſon, is more perfect than that which hath only life and ſenſe, as the Beaſts have; ſo what is every where, is more perfect than that which is bounded in ſome narrow confines; if a Power of motion be more excellent than to be Bed-rid; and ſwiftneſs in a Creature, be a more excellent endowment than to be ſlow and Snail like; Then to be every where without motion, is unconceivably a greater excellency than to be every where ſucceſſively by motion. God ſets forth his readineſs to help his People and puniſh his Enemies; or his Omnipreſence, by ſwiftneſs, or flying upon the Wings of the Wind Pſal 18.10.Ps 18:10: the Wind is in every part of the Air, where it blows; it cannot be ſaid that it is in this or that Point of the Air where you feel it, ſo as to exclude it from another part of the Air where you are not; it ſeems to poſſeſs all at once.

If the Divine Eſſence had any bounds of place, it would be imperfect, as well as if it had bounds of time; where any thing hath limitation, it hath ſome defect in Being; and therefore if God were confined or concluded, he would be as good as nothing in regard of Infiniteneſs: Whence ſhould this reſtraint ariſe? there is no Power above him to reſtrain him to a certain ſpace; if ſo, then he would not be God, but that power which reſtrained him would be God: Not from his own nature, for the being every where, implies no contradiction to his nature; if his own Nature determin'd him to a certain place, then if he removed from that place, he would act againſt his Nature; to conceive any ſuch thing of God, is highly abſurd. It cannot be thought God ſhould voluntarily impoſe any ſuch reſtraint or confinement upon himſelf; this would be to deny himſelf a Perfection he might have; if God have not this Perfection, it is either becauſe it is inconſiſtent with his nature; or, becauſe he cannot have it; or, becauſe he will not. The former cannot be; for if he hath impreſt upon Air and Light a reſemblance of his Excellency, to diffuſe themſelves and fill ſo vaſt a ſpace; Is ſuch an Excellency inconſiſtent with the Creator more than the Creature? whatſoever Perfection the Creature hath, is eminently in God**Pſal 94.8, 9.Ps 94:8Ps 94:9. Ʋnderſtand, O ye brutiſh among the people; and ye fools when will you be wiſe? He that planted the ear, ſhall he not hear? he that formed the eye, ſhall he not ſee? he that teacheth man knowledge, ſhall not he know? p. 256By the ſame reaſon he that hath given ſuch a Power to thoſe Creatures, Air and Light, ſhall not he be much more filling all ſpaces of the World? 'Tis ſo clear a Rule, that the Pſalmiſt fixes a folly and brutiſhneſs upon thoſe that deny it; 'tis not therefore inconſiſtent with his Nature, it were not then a Perfection, but an Imperfection; but whatſoever is an Excellency in Creatures, cannot in a way of eminency be an Imperfection in God; if it be then a Perfection, and God want it, 'tis becauſe he cannot have it; Where then is his Power? How can he be then the Fountain of his own Being? If he will not, where is his love to his own Nature and Glory? ſince no Creature would deny that to it ſelf which it can have, and is an Excellency to it; God therefore hath not only a Power or fitneſs to be every where, but he is actually every where.

4. Reaſon. Becauſe of his Immutability.

If God did not fill all the ſpaces of Heaven and Earth, but only poſſeſs one, yet it muſt be acknowledg'd that God hath a Power to move himſelf to another: It were abſurd to fix God in a part of the Heavens, like a Star in an Orb, without a power of motion to another place. If he be therefore Eſſentially in Heaven, may he not be upon the Earth if he pleaſe, and transfer his Subſtance from one place to another? to ſay he cannot, is to deny him a Perfection which he hath beſtow'd upon his Creatures; the Angels his Meſſengers are ſometimes in Heaven, ſometimes on the Earth; the Eagles, meaner Creatures, are ſometimes in the Air out of Sight, ſometimes upon the Earth. If he doth move therefore and recede from one place, and ſettle in another, doth he not declare himſelf mutable by changing places? by being where he was not before, and in not being where he was before? He would not fill Heaven and Earth at once, but ſucceſſively; no man can be ſaid to fill a Room, that moves frome one part of a Room to another; if therefore any in their imaginations, ſtake God to the Heavens, they render him leſs than his Creatures; If they allow him a power of motion from one place to another, they conceive him changeable; and in either of them they own him no greater than a finite and limited Being; limited to Heaven, if they fix him there; limited to that ſpace to which they imagine him to move.

5. Reaſon. Becauſe of his Omnipotency.

The Almightineſs of God is a Notion ſetled in the minds of all, That God can do whatſoever he pleaſes, every thing that is not againſt the purity of his Nature, and doth not imply a contradiction in its ſelf; he can therefore create Millions of Worlds greater than this; and Millions of Heavens greater than this Heaven he hath already Created; if ſo, he is then in unconceivable ſpaces beyond this World, for his Eſſence is not leſs and narrower than his Power; and his Power is not to be thought of a further extent than his Eſſence; he cannot be excluded therefore from thoſe vaſt ſpaces where his Power may fix thoſe Worlds if he pleaſe; if ſo, 'tis no wonder that he ſhould fill this World; and there is no reaſon to exclude God from the narrow ſpace of this World, that is not contain'd in infinite ſpaces beyond the World. God is whereſoever he hath a Power to act, but he hath a power to act every where in the World, every where out of the World; he is therefore every where in the World, every where out of the World. Before this World was made, he had a Power to make it in the ſpace where now it ſtands; Was he not then unlimitedly where the World now is, before the World received a Being by his powerful Word? Why ſhould he not then be in every part of the World now? Can it be thought that God who was immenſe before, ſhould after he had Created the World, contract himſelf to the limits of one of his Creatures, and tie himſelf to a particular place of his own Creation, and be leſs after his Creation than he was before?

This might alſo be proſecuted by an Argument from his Eternity. What is eternal in duration, is immenſe in eſſence; the ſame reaſon which renders him eternal, renders him immenſe; That which proves him to be always, will prove him to be every where.

The third thing is, Propoſitions for the further clearing this Doctrine from any exceptions.

p. 2571. This truth is not weakned by the expreſſions in Scripture, where God is ſaid to dwell in Heaven, and in the Temple.

1. He is indeed ſaid to ſit in heaven **Pſal. 2.4.Ps 2:4, and to dwell on high **Pſal 113 5.Ps 113:5; but he is no where ſaid to dwell only in the heavens, as confin'd to them. 'Tis the Court of his Majeſtical preſence, but not the Priſon of his Eſſence. For when we are told, that the heaven is his throne, we are told with the ſame breath, that the earth is his footſtool Iſa. 66.….Isa 66. He dwells on high in regard of the excellency of his nature; but he is in all places in regard of the diffuſion of his preſence. The ſoul is eſſentially in all parts of the body, but it doth not exert the ſame operations in all; the more noble diſcoveries of it are in the Head and Heart: In the Head, where it exerciſeth the chiefeſt ſenſes for the enriching the underſtanding. In the Heart, where it vitally reſides, and communicates life and motion to the reſt of the body. It doth not underſtand with the foot or toe, tho' it be in all parts of the body it informs. And ſo God may be ſaid to dwell in Heaven, in regard of the more excellent and majeſtick repreſentations of himſelf both to the Creatures that inhabit the place, as Angels and bleſſed ſpirits; and alſo in thoſe marks of his greatneſs which he hath planted there, thoſe ſpiritual natures which have a nobler ſtamp of God upon them, and thoſe excellent bodies, as Sun and Stars, which as ſo many Tapers light us to behold his glory Pſal. 19.1.Ps 19:1, and aſtoniſh the minds of men when they gaze upon them. 'Tis his Court, where he hath the moſt ſolemn Worſhip from his Creatures, all his Courtiers attending there with a pure love, and glowing zeal. He reigns there in a ſpecial manner, without any oppoſition to his government; 'tis therefore call'd his holy dwelling-place 2 Chron 3.27.2 Chr 3:27: The Earth hath not that title, ſince ſin caſt a ſtain, and a ruining curſe upon it. The Earth is not his Throne, becauſe his government is oppos'd. But Heaven is none of Satan's precinct, and the Rule of God is uncontradicted by the Inhabitants of it. 'Tis from thence alſo he hath given the greateſt diſcoveries of himſelf: Thence he ſends the Angels his Meſſengers, his Son upon Redemption, his Spirit for Sanctification. From Heaven his gifts drop down upon our heads, and his grace upon our heartsJames 3.15.Jas 3:15. From thence the chiefeſt bleſſings of Earth deſcend. The motions of the heavens fatten the earth; and the heavenly bodies are but ſtewards to the earthly comforts for man by their influence. Heaven is the richeſt, vaſteſt, moſt ſtedfaſt and majeſtick part of the viſible Creation. 'Tis there where he will at laſt manifeſt himſelf to his people in a full conjunction of grace and glory, and be for ever open to his people in uninterrupted expreſſions of goodneſs, and diſcoveries of his preſence, as a reward of their labour and ſervice. And in theſe reſpects it may peculiarly be call'd his Throne. And this doth no more hinder his eſſential preſence in all parts of the earth, than it doth his gracious preſence in all the hearts of his people. God is in heaven in regard of the manifeſtation of his glory: in hell by the expreſſions of his juſtice: in the earth by the diſcoveries of his Wiſdom, Power, Patience and Compaſſion: in his people by the monuments of his grace; and in all in regard of his ſubſtance.

2. He is ſaid alſo to dwell in the Ark and Temple. 'Tis called Pſal. 26.8. The habitation of his houſe, and the place where his honour dwells; and to dwell in Jeruſalem as in his holy Mountain; The Mountain of the Lord of Hoſts Zec. 8.3., in regard of publiſhing his Oracles, anſwering their prayers, manifeſting more of his goodneſs to the Iſraelites, than to any other Nation in the world, erecting his true Worſhip among them, which was not ſetled in any part of the world beſides; and his worſhip is principally intended in that Pſalm. The Ark is the place where his honour dwells; the worſhip of God is called the glory of God, They changed the glory of God into an image made like to corruptible man Rom. 1.23.Rom 1:23, i. e. they changed the worſhip of God into dolatry; and to that alſo doth the place in Zechary refer.

Now becauſe he is ſaid to dwell in heaven, is he eſſentially only there? Is he not as eſſentially in the Temple and Ark, as he is in Heaven, ſince there are as high expreſſions of his habitation there, as of his dwelling in heaven? If he dwell only in heaven, how came he to dwell in the Temple? both are aſſerted in Scripture, one as much as the other. If his dwelling in heaven did not hinder his dwelling in the Ark, it could as little hinder the preſence of his eſſence on the earth. To dwell in heaven, and in one part of the earth at the ſame time, is all one as to dwell in all parts of heaven, and all parts of earth. If he were in Heaven, and in the Ark p. 258and Temple, it was the ſame eſſence in both, tho' not the ſame kind of manifeſtation of himſelf. If by his dwelling in heaven be meant his whole eſſence, why is it not alſo to be meant by his dwelling in the Ark? It was not ſure part of his eſſence that was in heaven, and part of his eſſence that was on earth, his eſſence would then be divided; and can it be imagined, that he ſhould be in Heaven and the Ark at the ſame time, and not in the ſpaces between? Could his eſſence be ſplit into fragments, and a gap made in it, that two diſtant ſpaces ſhould be fill'd by him, and all between be empty of him. So that Gods being ſaid to dwell in Heaven, and in the Temple, is ſo far from impairing the truth of this doctrine, that it more confirms and evidences it.

2. Nor do the Expreſſions of God's coming to us, or departing from us, impair this Doctrine of his Omnipreſence.

God is ſaid to hide his face from his People**Pſal. 10.1.Ps 10:1; to be far from the Wicked; and the Gentiles are ſaid to be afar off, viz. from God††Prov. 15.29.Prov 15:29 and upon the manifeſtation of Chriſt made near; ††Eph 2.17.Eph 2:17Theſe muſt not be underſtood of any diſtance or nearneſs of his Eſſence, for that is equally near to all perſons and things; but of ſome other ſpecial way and manifeſtation of his Preſence. Thus God is ſaid to be in Believers by Love, as they are in him**1 Joh. 4.15.1 John 4:15; He that abides in love, abides in God, and God in him: He that loves is in the thing beloved; and when two love one another, they are in one another; God is in a Righteous man by a ſpecial grace, and far from the Wicked in regard of ſuch ſpecial Works; and God is ſaid to be in a place by a ſpecial manifeſtation, as when he was in the Buſh**Exod. 3.Exod 3; or manifeſting his Glory upon Mount Sinai ††Exod. 24.16.Exod 24:16; The Glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai: God is ſaid to hide his face, when he withdraws his comforting Preſence, diſturbs the repoſe of our hearts, flaſheth Terror into our Conſciences, when he puts men under the ſmart of the Croſs, as tho' he had ordered his Mercy utterly to depart from them; or when he doth withdraw his ſpecial aſſiſting Providence from us in our affairs; ſo he departed from Saul, when he withdrew his direction and Protection from him in the concerns of his Government**1 Sam. 16.141 Sam 16:14; The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, i. e. the Spirit of Government. God may be far from us in one reſpect, and near to us in another; far from us in regard of Comfort, yet near to us in regard of Support, when his Eſſential Preſence continues the ſame; this is a neceſſary conſequent upon the infiniteneſs of God, the other is an act of the Will of God; ſo he was ſaid to forſake Chriſt, in regard of his obſcuring his Glory from his Humane Nature, and inflicting his Wrath; tho' he was near to him in regard of his Grace, and preſerved him from contracting any ſpot in his Sufferings. We do not ſay the Sun is departed out of the Heavens when it is be-miſted; it remains in the ſame part of the Heavens, paſſes on its courſe, tho' its Beams do not reach us by reaſon of the Bar between us and it: The Soul is in every part of the Body, in regard of its Subſtance, and conſtantly in it, tho' it doth not act ſo ſpritely and vigorouſly at one time as at another in one and the ſame Member, and diſcover it ſelf ſo ſenſibly in its Operations; ſo all the various effects of God towards the Sons of men, are but divers Operations of one and the ſame Eſſence: He is far from us, or near to us, as he is a Judg or a Benefactor; when he comes to Puniſh, it notes not the approach of his Eſſence, but the ſtroak of his Juſtice; when he comes to Benefit, 'tis not by a new acceſs of his Eſſence, but an efflux of his Grace; he departs from us when he leaves us to the Frowns of his Juſtice; he comes to us when he encircles us in the Arms of his Mercy; but he was equally preſent with us in both diſpenſations, in regard of his Eſſence: And likewiſe God is ſaid to come down **Gen. 11.5.Gen 11:5, And the Lord came down to ſee the City; when he doth ſome ſignal and wonderful Works which attract the minds of men to the acknowledgment of a Supream Power and Providence in the World, who judg'd God abſent and careleſs before.

3. Nor is the Eſſential Preſence of God with all Creatures any diſparagement to him. Since it was no diſparagement to Create the Heaven and the Earth, 'tis no diſparagement to him to him to fill them; if he were Eſſentially preſent with them when he created them, 'tis no diſhonour to him to be Eſſentiall preſent with them, to ſupport them; if it were his Glory to Create them by his Eſſence, when they were nothing; Can it be his diſgrace to be preſent by his Eſſence, ſince they are ſomething, and ſomething good, and very good in his Eye**Gen. 1.31.Gen 1:31? God ſaw every thing, p. 259and behold it was very good; or mighty good; all ordered to declare his Goodneſs, Wiſdom, Power, and to make him adorable to man, and therefore took complacency in tehm: There is a Harmony in all things, a Combination in them for thoſe glorious Ends for which God Created them; and is it a diſgrace for God to be preſent with his own Harmonious compoſition? Is it not a Muſicians Glory to touch with his fingers the Trebble, the leaſt and tendereſt ſtring, as well as the ſtrongeſt and greateſt Baſe? Hath not every thing ſome Stamp of Gods own Being upon it, ſince he eminently contains in himſelf the Perfections of all his Works? whatſoever hath Being, hath a Foot-ſtep of God upon it, who is all Being; every thing in the Earth is his Foot-Stool, having a mark of his Foot upon it; all declare the Being of God, becauſe they had their Being from God; and will God account it any diſparagement to him to be preſent with that which confirms his Being, and the glorious Perfections of his nature to his intelligent Creatures? the meaneſt things are not without their Vertues, which may boaſt Gods being the Creator of them; and rank them in the midſt of his Works of Wiſdom as well as Power. Doth God debaſe himſelf to be preſent by his Eſſence, with the things he hath made, more than he doth to know them by his Eſſence? Is not the leaſt thing known by him? How? not by a faculty or act diſtinct from his Eſſence; but by his Eſſence it ſelf: How is any thing diſgraceful to the Eſſential Preſence of God, that is not diſgraceful to his Knowledge by his Eſſence? Beſides, would God make any thing that ſhould be an invincible reaſon to him to part with his own infiniteneſs, by a contraction of his own Eſſence into a leſs compaſs than before? it was Immenſe before, it had no bounds; and would God make a World that he would be aſhamed to be preſent with, and continue it to the diminution and leſſening of himſelf, rather than annihilate it to avoid the diſparagement? This were to impeach the Wiſdom of God, and caſt a blemiſh upon his infinite Underſtanding, that he knows not the conſequences of his Work, or is well contented to be impaired in the immenſity of his own Eſſence by it. No man thinks it a diſhonour to Light, a moſt excellent Creature, to be preſent with a Toad or Serpent; and tho' there be an infinite diſproportion between Light, a Creature, and the Father of Lights the Creator: Yet**Gaſſend. God being a Spirit, knows how to be with Bodies as if they were not Bodies. And being jealous of his own Honor, would not, could not do any thing that might impair it.

4. Nor will it follow, That becauſe God is Eſſentially every where, that every thing is God. God is not every where by any conjunction, compoſition or mixture with any thing on Earth; when Light is in every part of a Chryſtal Globe, and encircles it cloſe on every ſide, do they become one? No, the Chryſtal remains what it is, and the Light retains its own nature: God is not in us as a part of us, but as an efficient and preſerving Cauſe; 'tis not by his Eſſential Preſence, but his efficacious Preſence that he brings any perſon into a likeneſs to his own Nature: God is ſo in his Eſſence with things, as to be diſtinct from them as a Cauſe from the Effect; as a Creator different from the Creature, preſerving their Nature, not communicating his own; his Eſſence touches all, is in conjunction with none; Finite and Infinite cannot be joyn'd; he is not far from us, therefore near to us; ſo near that we live and move in him**Acts 17.27.Acts 17:27; Nothing is God becauſe it moves in him, any more than a Fiſh in the Sea, is the Sea, or a part of the Sea, becauſe it moves in it; Doth a man that holds a thing in the hollow of his hand,Amyrald de Trinit. p. 99. 100. transform it by that action, and make it like his hand? The Soul and Body are more ſtraitly united, than the Eſſence of God is by his Preſence with any Creature: The Soul is in the Body as a form in matter, and from their Union doth ariſe a man; yet in this near conjunction, both Body and Soul remain diſtinct; the Soul is not the Body, nor the Body the Soul; they both have diſtinct natures and eſſences; the Body can never be changed into a Soul, nor the Soul into a Body; no more can God into the Creature, or the Creature into God. Fire is in heated Iron in every part of it, ſo that it ſeems to be nothing but Fire; yet is not Fire and Iron the ſame thing. But ſuch a kind of arguing againſt Gods Omnipreſence, that if God were Eſſentially preſent, every thing would be God; would exclude him from Heaven as well as from Earth. By the ſame reaſon, ſince they acknowledge God eſſentially in Heaven, the Heaven where he is, ſhould be chang'd into the nature of God; and p. 260by arguing againſt his Preſence in Earth, upon this ground they run ſuch an inconvenience, that they muſt own him to be no where, and that which is no where is nothing. Doth the Earth become God, becauſe God is Eſſentially there, any more than the Heavens, where God is acknowledged by all to be Eſſentially preſent?

Again, if where God is Eſſentially, that muſt be God, then if they place God in a Point of the Heavens, not only that Point muſt be God, but all the World; becauſe if that point be God, becauſe God is there, then the Point touched by that Point muſt be God, and ſo conſequently as far as there are any Points touched by one another. We live and move in God, ſo we live and move in the Air; we are no more God by that, than we are meer Air becauſe we breathe in it, and it enters into all the Pores of our Body: Nay, where there was a ſtraiter Union of the Divine Nature to the Humane in our Saviour, yet the Nature of both was diſtinct, and the Humanity was not chang'd into the Divinity, nor the Divinity into the Humanity.

5. Nor doth it follow, that becauſe God is every where, therefore a Creature may be worſhipt without Idolatry. Some of the Heathens who acknowledged Gods Omnipreſence, abus'd it to the countenancing Idolatry; becauſe God was reſident in every thing, they thought every thing might be Worſhipped; and ſome have usd it as an Argument againſt this Doctrine; the beſt Doctrines may by mens corruption be drawn out into unreaſonable and pernicious concluſions. Have you not met with any, That from the Doctrine of Gods Free Mercy, and our Saviours ſatisfactory Death, have drawn Poyſon to feed their Luſts, and conſume their Souls? a Poyſon compos'd by their own corruption, and not offer'd by thoſe Truths. The Apoſtle intimates to us, that ſome did, or at leaſt were ready to be more laviſh in ſinning, becauſe God was abundant in GraceRom. 6.1, 2.15 Shall we Sin, becauſe we are not under the Law but under Grace.Rom 6:1Rom 6:2Rom 6:15; Shall we continue in Sin, that Grace may abound? when he prevents an Objection that he thought might be made by ſome: But as to this Caſe; ſince tho' God be preſent in every thing, yet every thing retains its nature, diſtinct from the Nature of God; therefore it is not to have a Worſhip due to the Excellency of God: As long as any thing remains a Creature, 'tis only to have the reſpect from us, which is due to it in the rank of Creatures. When a Prince is preſent with his Guard, or if he ſhould go Arm in Arm with a Peaſant, is therefore the Veneration and Honor due to the Prince, to be paid to the Peaſant, or any of his Guard? would the Preſence of the Prince excuſe it, or would it not rather aggravate it? he acknowledged ſuch a perſon equal to me, by giving him my Rights, even in my Sight. Tho' God dwelt in the Temple, would not the Iſraelites have been accounted guilty of Idolatry, had they Worſhipped the Images of the Cherubims, or the Ark, or the Altar, as objects of Worſhip, which were erected only as means for his Service? Is there not as much reaſon to think God was as Eſſentially preſent in the Temple, as in Heaven; ſince the ſame Expreſſions are uſed of the one and the other? the Sanctuary is called the Glorious High Throne **Jer. 17.13.Jer 17:13; and he is ſaid to dwell between the Cherubims ††Pſal. 80.1.Ps 80:1, i. e. the two Cherubims that were at the two ends of the Mercy Seat, appointed by God as the two ſides of his Throne in the Sanctuary, Exod. 25.18. where he was to dwell, ver. 8. and meet and commune with his people, ver. 22. Could this excuſe Manaſſeh's Idolatry in bringing in a Carved Image into the Houſe of God1 Chron. 33.7.? had it been a good Anſwer to the Charge, God is preſent here, and therefore every thing may be Worſhipped as God? if he be only Eſſentially in Heaven, would it not be Idolatry to direct a Worſhip to the Heavens, or any part of it as a due object, becauſe of the Preſence of God there? Though we look up to the Heavens, where we Pray and Worſhip God, yet Heaven is not the object of Worſhip, the Soul abſtracts God from the Creature.

6. Nor is God defil'd by being preſent with thoſe Creatures which ſeem filthy to us. Nothing is filthy in the Eye of God as his Creature; he could never elſe have pronounced all good; whatſoever is filthy to us, yet as it is a Creature, it ows it ſelf to the Power of God: His Eſſence is no more defild by being preſent with it, than his Power by producing it: No Creature is foul in it ſelf, tho' it may ſeem ſo to us: Doth not an Infant lye in a Womb of filthineſs and rottenneſs? yet is not the Power of God preſent with it, in working it curiouſly in the lower parts of the Earth? are his eyes defil'd by ſeeing the Subſtance when it it is yet imperfect? or p. 261his hand defiled by writing every Member in his Book ††Pſal. 139.15, 16.Ps 139:15Ps 139:16? Have not the vileſt and moſt noiſom things, excellent Medicinal Vertues? How are they endued with them? How are thoſe qualities preſerved in them? by any thing without God, or no? every Artificer looks with Pleaſure upon the work he hath wrought with Art and Skill; can his Eſſence be defil'd by being preſent with them, any more than it was in giving them ſuch vertues, and preſerving them in them? God meaſures the Heaven and the Earth with his hand, is his hand defil'd by the evil influences of the Planets, or the Corporeal Impurities of the Earth? nothing can be filthy in the Eye of God but Sin, ſince every thing elſe owes its Being to him. What may appear deform'd and unworthy to us, is not ſo to the Creator; he ſees Beauty where we ſee Deformity; finds goodneſs where we behold what is nauſeous to us. All Creatures being the effects of his Power, may be the objects of his Preſence; Can any place be more foul than Hell, if you take it either for the Hell of the Damned, or for the Grave where there is rottenneſs? yet there he is††Pſal. 139.8.Ps 139:8. When Satan appear'd before God, and God ſpake with him††Job 1.7.Job 1:7, Could God contract any impurity by being preſent where that filthy Spirit was, more impure than any corporeal, noyſom, and defiling thing can be? No, God is purity to himſelf in the midſt of noyſomneſs; a Heaven to himſelf in the midſt of Hell: Who ever heard of a Sunbeam ſtain'd by ſhining upon a Quag mire, any more than ſweetned by breaking into a Perfum'd RoomShelford of the Attributes p. 170.? Tho' the Light ſhines upon pure and impure things, yet it mixes not its ſelf with either of them; ſo tho' God be preſent with Devils and Wicked men, yet without any mixture; he is preſent with their eſſence to ſuſtain it and ſupport it; not in their defection, wherein lies their defilement; and which is not a Phyſical, but a Moral evil; Bodily filth can never touch an incorporeal ſubſtance. Spirits are not preſent with us in the ſame manner that one body is preſent with another; bodies can by a touch only, defile bodies; Is the Glory of an Angel ſtained by being in a Coal-mine? or could the Angel that came into the Lions Den, to deliver Daniel, be any more diſturb'd by the ſtench of the place,**Dan. 6.22.Dan 6:22 than he could be ſcratcht by the Paws, or torn by the Teeth of the Beaſts? their Spiritual nature ſecures them againſt any infection when they are miniſtring Spirits to Perſecuted Believers in their naſty Priſons**Acts 12.7.Acts 12:7. The Soul is ſtraitly united with the Body, but it is not made white or black, by the whiteneſs or blackneſs of its habitation; is it infected by the corporeal impurities of the Body, while it continually dwells in a Sea of filthy Pollution? If the Body be caſt into a Common-ſhore, is the Soul defil'd by it? Can a Diſeaſed body derive a Contagion to the Spirit that animates it? Is it not often the purer by Grace, the more the body is infected by nature? Hezekiah's Spirit was ſcarce ever more fervent with God, than when the Sore, which ſome think to be a Plague Sore, was upon him**Iſa. 38.3.Isa 38:3; How can any Corporeal filth impair the purity of the Divine Eſſence? it may as well be ſaid, That God is not preſent in Battels and Fights for his People Joſhua 23.10.Josh 23:10, becauſe he would not be diſturbed by the noiſe of Canons and claſhing of Swords, as that he is not preſent in the World becauſe of the ill ſcents: Let us therefore conclude this with the Expreſſion of a Learned man of our ownDr. More.; To deny the Omnipreſence of God, becauſe of ill ſcented places, is to meaſure God rather by the nicety of Senſe, than by the ſagacity of Reaſon.

IV. ƲSE.

I. Of Information.

1. Chriſt hath a divine nature. As Eternity and Immutability, two incommunicable properties of the Divine nature, are aſcrib'd to Chriſt; ſo alſo is this of Omnipreſence or ImmenſityJohn 3.13.John 3:13. No man hath aſcended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. Not which was, but which is; He comes from heaven by incarnation, and remains in heaven by his Divinity. He was, while he ſpake to Nicodemus, locally on earth, in regard of his humanity; but in heaven according to his Deity, as well as upon earth in the union of his divine and human nature. He deſcended upon earth, but he left not heaven; He was in the World before he came in the fleſh.John 1.10.John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him. He was in the world, as the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world. In the world as God, before he was in the world as man. He p. 262was then in the world as man, while he diſcourſed with Nicodemus; yet ſo, that he was alſo in heaven as God. No creature but is bounded in place, either circumſcribed as body, or determin'd as Spirit to be in one ſpace, ſo as not to be in another at the ſame time; to leave a place where they were, and poſſeſs a place where they were not. But Chriſt is ſo on earth, that at the ſame time he is in heaven; he is therefore infinite. To be in heaven and earth at the ſame moment of time, is a property ſolely belonging to the Deity, wherein no creature can be a partner with him. He was in the world before he came to the world, and the world was made by him **John 1.10.John 1:10. His coming was not as the coming of Angels, that leave heaven, and begin to be on earth, where they were not before; but ſuch a preſence as can be aſcribed only to God, who fills heaven and earth. Again, If all things were made by him, then he was preſent with all things which were made: for where there is a preſence of power, there is alſo a preſence of eſſence; and therefore he is ſtill preſent: for the right and power of Conſervation, follows the power of Creation. And according to this divine nature, he promiſeth his preſence with his Church.**Mat. 18.20.Matt 18:20 There am I in the midſt of them. And††Mat. 28.20.Matt 28:20 I am with you alway, even to the end of the world, i. e. by his Divinity: for he had before told them,**Mat. 26.11.Matt 26:11 that they were not to have him alway with them, i. e. according to his Humanity; but in his Divine nature he is preſent with, and walks in the midſt of the golden Candleſticks. If we underſtand it of a preſence by his ſpirit in the midſt of the Church, doth it invalidate his eſſential preſence? No, he is no leſs than the Spirit whom he ſends; and therefore as little confin'd as the Spirit is, who dwells in every believer: and this may alſo be inferr'd from Joh. 10.30. My father and I are one; not one by conſent, tho' that be included; but one in power: for he ſpeaks not of their conſent, but of their joint power in keeping his people. Where there is a Unity of Eſſence, there is a Unity of Preſence.

2. Here is a confirmation of the ſpiritual nature of God. If he were an infinite body, he could not fill heaven and earth, but with the excluſion of all creatures. Two bodies cannot be in the ſame ſpace; they may be near one another, but not in any of the ſame points together. A body bounded he hath not, for that would deſtroy his Immenſity; he could not then fill heaven and earth, becauſe a body cannot be at one and the ſame time in two different ſpaces; but God doth not fill heaven at one time, and the earth at another, but both at the ſame time. Beſides, a limited body cannot be ſaid to fill the whole earth, but one particular ſpace in the earth at a time. A body may fill the earth with its vertue, as the Sun, but not with its ſubſtance. Nothing can be every where with a corporeal weight and maſs; but God being infinite, is not tied to any part of the World, but penetrates all, and equally acts by his infinite power in all.

3. Here is an argument for Providence. His preſence is mention'd in the Text, in order to his government of the affairs of the world. Is he every where, to be unconcern'd with every thing? Before the World had a being, God was preſent with himſelf; ſince the World hath a being, he is preſent with his creatures, to exerciſe his Wiſdom in the ordering, as he did his Power in the production of them. As the Knowledg of God is not a bare contemplation of a thing, ſo his Preſence is not a bare inſpection into a thing. Were it an idle careleſs Preſence, it were a Preſence to no purpoſe, which cannot be imagin'd of God. Infinite Power, Goodneſs, and Wiſdom being every where preſent with his Eſſence, are never without their exerciſe. He never manifeſts any of his perfections, but the manifeſtation is full of ſome indulgence and benefit to his Creatures. It cannot be ſuppoſed God ſhould neglect thoſe things, wherewith he is conſtantly preſent in a way of efficiency and operation. He is not every where, without acting every where.Cyri…. Wherever his Eſſence is, there is a power and virtue worthy of God every where diſpens'd. He governs by his preſence, what he made by his power; and is preſent as an Agent with all his works. His Power and Eſſence are together, to preſerve them while he pleaſes, as his Power and his Eſſence were together to create them when he ſaw good to do it. Every creature hath a ſtamp of God, and his preſence is neceſſary to keep the impreſſion ſtanding upon the creature. As all things are his works, they are the objects of his cares; and the wiſdom he employ'd in framing them, will not ſuffer him to be careleſs of them. His preſence with them, engageth him in p. 263honour not to be a negligent Governour. His Immenſity fits him for government; and where there is a fitneſs, there is an exerciſe of government, where there are objects for the exerciſe of it. He is worthy to have the Univerſal rule of the World, he can be preſent in all places of his Empire, there is nothing can be done by any of his ſubjects, but in his ſight. As his Eternity renders him King alway, ſo his Immenſity renders him King every where. If he were only preſent in heaven, it might occaſion a ſuſpicion that he minded only the things of heaven, and had no concern for things below that vaſt Body; but if he be preſent here, his Preſence hath a tendency to the government of thoſe things with which he is preſent. We are all in him as Fiſh in the Sea; and he bears all creatures in the womb of his Providence, and the arms of his Goodneſs. 'Tis moſt certain that his Preſence with his people is far from being an idle one; for when he promiſes to be with them, he adds ſome ſpecial Cordial, as, I will be with thee, and bleſs thee. **Gen. 26.3. Jer. 15.20.Gen 26:3Jer 15:20I am with thee, and I will ſtrengthen thee: I will help thee, I will uphold thee ††Iſa. 41.10.14.Isa 41:10Isa 41:14. Infinite goodneſs will never countenance a negligent Preſence.

4. The Omnipotence of God i… inferr'd from hence. If God be preſent every where, he muſt needs know what is done every where. 'Tis for this end he proclaims himſelf a God filling heaven and earth, in the Text. Can any hide himſelf in ſecret places, that I ſhall not ſee him, ſaith the Lord? I have heard what the Prophets ſay, that propheſie lyes in my Name: If I fill heaven and earth, the moſt ſecret thing cannot be hid from my ſight. An Intelligent Being cannot be every where preſent, and more intimate in every thing, than it can be in it ſelf; but he muſt know what is done without, what is thought within. Nothing can be obſcure to him, who is in every part of the world, in every part of his creatures. Not a thought can ſtart up but in his ſight, who is preſent in the ſouls and minds of every thing. How eaſie is it with him, to whoſe Eſſence the world is but a point, to know and obſerve every thing done in this world, as any of us can know what is done in one point of place where we are preſent? If Light vvere an underſtanding being, it vvould behold and knovv every thing done, vvhere it diffuſeth it ſelf. God is light (as light in a Chryſtal glaſs, all vvithin it, all vvithout it) and is not ignorant of vvhat is done vvithin and vvithout; no ignorance can be faſtned upon him vvho hath an Univerſal Preſence.

Hence by the way we may take notice of the wonderful Patience of God, who bears with ſo many provocations; not from a Principle of Ignorance, for he bears with Sins that are committed near him, in his ſight, Sins that he ſees, and cannot but ſee.

5. Hence may be infer'd the Incomprehenſibility of God. He that fills Heaven and Earth, cannot be contain'd in any thing; he fills the Underſtandings of Men, the Underſtandings of Angels, but is comprehended by neither; 'tis a raſhneſs to think to find out any bounds of God; there's no meaſuring of an infinite Being, if it were to be meaſur'd it were not infinite; but becauſe it is infinite, it is not to be meaſured. God ſits above the Cherubims **Ezek. 10.1.Ezek 10:1, above the fulneſs, above the brightneſs, not only of a humane, but a created underſtanding: Nothing is more preſent than God, yet nothing more hid; he is Light, and yet obſcurity**foreign Dyoniſius called God.; his Perfections are viſible, yet unſearchable; We know there is an infinite God, but it ſurpaſſeth the compaſs of our minds; we know there is no Number ſo great, but another may be added to it; but no man can put it in practice without loſing himſelf in a maze of Figures. What is the reaſon we comprehend not many, nay moſt things in the World? partly from the Excellency of the object, and partly from the Imperfection of our underſtandings. How can we then comprehend God who exceeds all, and is exceeded by none; contains all, and is contained by none; is above our underſtanding, as well as above our ſenſe? as conſidered in himſelf infinite; as conſider'd in compariſon with our underſtandings, incomprehenſible; who can with his eye meaſure the breadth, length and depth of the Sea, and at one caſt view every dimenſion of the Heavens: God is greater, and we cannot know him Job 36.26.Job 36:26; he fills the underſtanding as he fills Heaven and Earth; yet is above the underſtanding as he is above Heaven and Earth: He is known by Faith, enjoy'd by love, but comprehended by no mind. God is not contain'd in that one Syllable, God; by it we apprehend an excellent and unlimited nature; himſelf only underſtands himſelf, and can unveil himſelf.

p. 2646. How wonderful is God, and how nothing are Creatures! Aſcribe the Greatneſs to our God **Deut. 33.3.Deut 33:3; He is admirable in the conſideration of his Power, in the extent of his underſtanding, and no leſs wonderful in the immenſity of his Eſſence; That as Auſtin ſaith, he is in the World, yet not confin'd to it; he is out of the World, yet not debarr'd from it; he is above the World, yet not elevated by it; he is below the World, yet not depreſt by it; he is above all, equall'd by none; he is in all, not becauſe he needs them, but they ſtand in need of him; this as well as Eternity, makes a vaſt diſproportion between God and the Creature: The Creature is bounded by a little ſpace, and no ſpace is ſo great as to bound the Creator. By this we may take a proſpect of our own nothingneſs; as in the conſideration of Gods Holineſs we are minded of our own impurity; and in the thoughts of his Wiſdom have a view of our own folly; and in the meditation of his Power, have a ſenſe of our weakneſs; ſo his Immenſity ſhould make us according to our own nature, appear little in our own eyes. What little, little, little things are we to God? leſs than an Atome in the Beams of the Sun; poor drops to a God that fills Heaven and Earth, and yet dare we to ſtrut againſt him, and daſh our ſelves againſt a Rock? If the conſideration of our ſelves in compariſon with others, be apt to puff us up, the conſideration of our ſelves in compariſon with God, will be ſufficient to pull us down; if we conſider him in the greatneſs of his Eſſence, there is but little more proportion between him and us, than between being and not being, than between a Drop and the Ocean. How ſhould we never think of God without a Holy Admiration of his Greatneſs, and a deep ſenſe of our own littleneſs! and as the Angels cover their faces before him; with what awe ſhould creeping Worms come into his Sight! and ſince God fills Heaven and Earth with his Preſence, we ſhould fill Heaven and Earth with his Glory; for this end he Created Angels to Praiſe him in Heaven, and men to Worſhip him on Earth, that the Places he fills with his Preſence may be filled with his Praiſe: We ſhould be ſwallow'd up in admirations of the Immenſity of God, as men are at the firſt ſight of the Sea, when they behold a maſs of Waters, without beholding the bounds and immenſe depth of it.

7. How much is this Attribute of God forgotten or contemned! We pretend to believe him to be preſent every where, and yet many live as if he were preſent no where.

1. 'Tis commonly forgotten, or not believ'd. All the extravagancies of men may be traced to the forgetfulneſs of this Attribute, as their Spring. The firſt Speech Adam ſpake in Paradice after his fall, teſtified his unbelief of this**Gen. 3.10.Gen 3:10; I heard thy Voyce in the Garden, and I hid my ſelf; his ear underſtood the voice of God, but his mind did not conclude the Preſence of God; he thought the Trees could ſhelter him from him, whoſe eye was preſent in the minuteſt parts of the Earth; he that thought after his Sin, that he could hide himſelf from the Preſence of his Juſtice, thought before that he could hide himſelf from the Preſence of his Knowledge; and being deceived in the one, he would try what would be the fruit of the other: In both he forgets, if not denies this Attribute; either corrupt notions of God, or a ſlight belief of what in general men aſſent unto, gives Birth to every Sin. In all Tranſgreſſions there is ſomething of Atheiſm; either denying the Being of God, or a daſh upon ſome Perfection of God; a not believing his Holineſs to hate it, his Truth that threatens, his Juſtice to puniſh it, and his Preſence to obſerve it. Tho' God be not afar off in his Eſſence, he is afar off in the apprehenſion of the Sinner Drexel Nicet. lib. 2. cap. 10.. There is no wicked man, but if he be an Atheiſt, he is a Heretick; and to gratify his Luſt, will fancy himſelf to be out of the Preſence of his Judge: His reaſon tells him, God is preſent with him, his Luſt preſſeth him to embrace the ſeaſon of a ſenſual Pleaſure; he will forſake his Reaſon, and prove a Heretick, that he may be an undiſturbed Sinner; and Sins doubly both in the error of his mind, and the vileneſs of his practice; he will conceit God with thoſe in Job Job 22.14.Job 22:14, Vail'd with thick Clouds, and not able to pierce into the lower World; as if his Preſence and Cares were confin'd to Coeleſtial things, and the Earth were too low a Sphere for his Eſſence to reach, at leaſt with any Credit. 'Tis forgotten by good men, when they fear too much the deſigns of their Enemies; Fear not, for I am with thee Iſa. 43.5.Isa 43:5. If the Preſence p. 265of God be enough to ſtrengthen againſt fear, then the prevailing of fear iſſues from our forgetfulneſs of it.

2. This Attribute of Gods Omnipreſence is for the moſt part contemn'd. When men will commit that in the preſence of God which they would be afraid or aſhamed to do before the eye of man. Men do not practice that Modeſty before God, as before men. He that would reſtrain his tongue out of fear of mens eye, will not reſtrain either tongue or hands out of fear of Gods; What is the language of this, but that God is not preſent with us, or his preſence ought to be of leſs regard with us, and influence upon us, than that of a creature?Drexel. Nice…. lib. 2. cap. 10. Ask the Thief why he dares to ſteal? Will he not anſwer, No eye ſees him? Ask the Adulterer why he ſtrips himſelf of his Chaſtity, and invades the Rights of another? Will he not anſwer,Job 24.15.Job 24:15 No eye ſees me? He diſguiſeth himſelf to be unſeen by man, but ſlights the all-ſeeing eye of God. If only a man know them, they are in terror of the ſhadow of death, they are Planet-ſtruck; but ſtand unſhaken at the preſence of God.Job 24.17.Job 24:17 Is not this to account God as limited as man, as ignorant, as abſenting, as if God were ſomething leſs than thoſe things which reſtrains us? 'Tis a debaſing God below a creature. If we can forbear ſin from an awe of the preſence of man, to whom we are equal in regard of Nature; or from the preſence of a very mean man, to whom we are ſuperior in regard of condition; and not forbear it becauſe we are within the ken of God; We reſpect him not only as our inferior, but inferior to the meaneſt man or child of his Creation, in whoſe ſight we would not commit the like action. 'Tis to repreſent him as a ſleepy, negligent, or careleſs God; as tho any thing might be concealed from him, before whom the leaſt fibres of the heart are anatomiz'd and open, who ſees as plainly midnight as noon-day ſins.Heb 4.13.Heb 4:13 Now this is a high aggravation of ſin: To break a Kings Laws in his ſight, is more bold than to violate them behind his back; as it was Haman's offence when he lay upon Eſthers bed, to force the Queen before the Kings face. The leaſt iniquity receives a high tincture from this. And no ſin can be little that is an affront in the face of God, and caſting the filth of the creature before the eyes of his holineſs. As if a Wife ſhould commit Adultery before her Husbands face, or a Slave diſhonour his Maſter, and diſobey his commands in his preſence. And hath it not often been thus with us? Have we not been diſloyal to God in his ſight, before his eyes, thoſe pure eyes that cannot behold iniquity without anger and grief?Iſa 65.12.Isa 65:12 Ye did evil before my eyes. Nathan chargeth this home upon David. 2 Sam. 12.….2 Sam 12Thou hast deſpiſed the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his ſight. And David in his repentance, reflects upon himſelf for it,Pſal. 51.4.Ps 51:4 Againſt thee, thee only have I ſinned, and done this evil in thy ſight. I obſerved not thy preſence, I neglected thee while thy eye was upon me. And this conſideration ſhould ſting our hearts in all our confeſſions of our Crimes. Men will be afraid of the preſence of others, whatſoever they think in their heart. How unworthily do we deal with God, in not giving him ſo much as an eye-ſervice, which we do man?

8. How terrible ſhould the thoughts of this Attribute be to ſinners! How fooliſh is it, to imagine any hiding-place from the Incomprehenſible God,Quo fugis Encelade quas cun que acceſſeris oras, ſub Jove ſemper eris. who fills and contains all things, and is preſent in every point of the World! When men have ſhut the door, and made all darkneſs within, to meditate or commit a Crime, they cannot in the moſt intricate receſſes be ſheltred from the preſence of God. If they could ſeparate themſelves from their own ſhadows, they could not avoid his company, or be obſcured from his ſight.Pſal. 139.12. The darkneſs and light are both alike to him.Ps 139:12 Hypocrites cannot diſguiſe their ſentiments from him, he is in the moſt ſecret nook of their hearts. No thought is hid, no luſt is ſecret, but the eye of God beholds this, and that, and the other. He is preſent with our heart when we imagine, with our hands when we act. We may exclude the Sun from peeping into our ſolitudes, but not the eyes of God from beholding our actions. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and good Prov. 15.3.Prov 15:3. He lies in the depths of our ſouls, and ſees afar off our deſigns before we have conceived them. He is in the greateſt darkneſs, as well as the cleareſt light; in the cloſeſt thought of the mind, as well as the openeſt expreſſions. Nothing can be hid from him, no not in the darkeſt Cells, or thickeſt Walls. He compaſſeth our path wherever we are, Pſal 139.3.Ps 139:3and is acquainted with all our ways. He is as much preſent with wicked men to obſerve their ſins, as he is to deteſt them. Where he is preſent in his Eſſence, p. 266he is preſent in his Attributes: His Holineſs to hate, and his Juſtice to puniſh, if he pleaſe to ſpeak the word. 'Tis ſtrange men ſhould not be mindful of this, when their very ſins themſelves might put them in mind of his preſence. Whence ha… thou the power to act? who preſerves thy being, whereby thou art capable of committing that evil? Is it not his Eſſential preſence that ſuſtains us, and his Arm that ſupports us? And where can any man flye from his preſence? Not the vaſt Regions of Heaven could ſhelter a ſinning Angel from his eye: How was Adam ferreted out of his hiding-places in Paradice? Nor can we find the depths of the Sea a ſufficient covering to us. If we were with Jonah cloſeted up in the belly of a Whale; if we had the wings of the morning, as quick a motion as the light at the dawning of the day, that doth in an inſtant ſurpriſe and overpower the regions of darkneſs; and could paſs to the utmost parts of the earth or hell, there we ſhould find him, there his eye would be upon us, there would his hand lay hold of us, and lead us as a Conqueror triumphing over a captivePſal. 139.8, 9, 10.Ps 139:8Ps 139:9Ps 139:10. Nay, if we could leap out of the compaſs of heaven and earth, we ſhould find as little reſerves from him. He is without the World in thoſe infinite ſpaces which the mind of man can imagine. In regard of his Immenſity, nothing in being can be diſtant from him, whereſoever it is.

2d. Uſe is for Comfort. That God is preſent every where, is as much a Comfort to a good man, as it is a Terror to a wicked one. He is every where for his people, not only by a neceſſary perfection of his nature, but an immenſe diffuſion of his goodneſs. He is in all creatures as their preſerver, in the damned as their terror, in his people as their Protector. He fills hell with his ſeverity, heaven with his glory, his people with his grace. He is with his people as light in darkneſs, a fountain in a garden, as Manna in the Ark. God is in the World as a ſpring of preſervation, in the Church as his Cabinet, a ſpring of grace and conſolation. A man is preſent ſometimes in his field, but more delightfully in his garden. A Vineyard, as it hath more of coſt, ſo more of care, and a watchful preſence of the Owner. Iſa. 27.3. I the Lord do keep it, viz. his Vineyard; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. As there is a preſence of Eſſence, which is natural; ſo there is a preſence of Grace, which is foederal; A preſence by Covenant, I will not leave thee, I will be with thee; this later depends upon the former; for take away the Immenſity of God, and you leave no foundation for his univerſal gracious preſence with his people in all their emergencies, in all their hearts. And therefore where he is preſent in his eſſence, he cannot be abſent in his grace from them that fear him. 'Tis from his filling heaven and earth he proves his knowledg of the deſigns of the falſe prophets; and from the ſame Topick may as well be inferr'd the employment of his power and grace for his people.

1. The Omnipreſence of God is a comfort in all violent temptations. No fiery dart can be ſo preſent with us, as God is preſent both with that and the marks-man. The moſt raging Devils cannot be ſo near us, as God is to us and them. He is preſent with his people to relieve them, and preſent with the Devil to manage him to his own holy purpoſes: So he was with Job, defeating his enemies, and bringing him triumphantly out of thoſe preſſing trials. This preſence is ſuch a terror, that whatſoever the Devil can deſpoil us of, he muſt leave this untoucht. He might ſcratch the Apostle with a thorn,2 Cor. 12.7, 9.2 Cor 12:72 Cor 12:9 but he could not rifle him of the preſence of divine grace, which God promiſed him. He muſt prevail ſo far as to make God ceaſe to be God, before he can make him to be diſtant from us: and while this cannot be, the Devils and men can no more hinder the emanations of God to the Soul, than a Child can cut off the Rays of the Sun from imbelliſhing the Earth; 'tis no mean ſupport for a good man, at any time buffeted by a Meſſenger of Satan, to think God ſtands near him and beholds how ill he is us'd. It would be a ſatisfaction to a Kings favourite in the midſt of the Violence ſome Enemies might uſe to him upon a Surpriſe, to underſtand that the King who loves him, ſtands behind a Curtain, and through a hole ſees the injuries he ſuffers; and were the Devil as conſidering as he is malicious, he could not but be in great fear at Gods being in the Generation of the Righteous, as his Serpentine Seed isProv. 3.6.Prov 3:6: There were they in great fear, for God is in the generation of the Righteous.

p. 2672. The Omnipreſence of God is a comfort in ſharp Afflictions. Good men have a Comfort in this Preſence in their naſty Priſons, oppreſſing Tribunals; in the overflowing Waters or ſcorching Flames, he is ſtill with them Iſa. 43.2.Isa 43:2; and many times by his Preſence keeps the Buſh from Conſuming, when it ſeems to be all in a Flame: In afflictions God ſhews himſelf moſt preſent, when Friends are moſt abſent; When my Father and Mother forſake me, then the Lord ſhall take me up Pſal. 27.10.Ps 27:10, then God will ſtoop and gather me into his Protection; or, Hebr. ſhall gather me, alluding to thoſe Tribes that were to bring up the Rear in the Iſraelites March, to take care that none were left behind, and expos'd to Famine or wild Beaſts, by reaſon of ſome Diſeaſe that diſennabled them to keep pace with their Brethren; He that is the Sanctuary of his People in all Calamities, is more preſent with them to ſupport them, than their Adverſaries can be preſent with them to afflict themPſal. 46.2.Ps 46:2, A preſent help in the time of Trouble; He is preſent with all things for this end; tho' his Preſence be a neceſſary Preſence, in regard of the Immenſity of his Nature; yet the end of this Preſence, in regard that it is for the good of his People, is a voluntary Preſence. 'Tis for the good of man he is preſent in the lower World, and principally for the good of his People, for whoſe ſake he keeps up the World2 Chron. 16.9.2 Chr 16:9; His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to ſhew himſelf ſtrong in the behalf of them whoſe heart is perfect towards him. If he doth not deliver good men from Afflictions, he will be ſo preſent as to manage them in them, as that his Glory ſhall iſſue from them, and their Grace be brightned by themChryſoſtome..

What a man was Paul when he was lodg'd in a Priſon, or dragged to the Courts of Judicature, when he was torn with Rods, or laden with Chains! then did he ſhew the greateſt Miracles, made the Judg Tremble upon the Bench, and brake the Heart, tho' not the Priſon of the Jaylor; ſo powerful is the Preſence of God in the preſſures of his People. This Preſence outweighs all other Comforts, and is more valuable to a Chriſtian than Barns of Corn, or Cellars of Wine can be to a Covetous manPſal. 4.7.Ps 4:7: It was this Preſence was Davids Cordial in the mutinying of his Soldiers1 Sam 30.6.1 Sam 30:6. What a Comfort is this in Exile, or a forced deſertion of our Habitations! Good men may be Baniſh'd from their Country, but never from the Preſence of their Protector; Ye cannot ſay of any corner of the Earth, or of any Dungeon in a Priſon, God is not here; if you were caſt out of your Country 1000 Miles off, you are not out of Gods Precinct; his Arm is there to cheriſh the good as well as to drag out the wicked; 'tis the ſame God, the ſame Preſence in every Country, as well as the ſame Sun, Moon and Stars; and were not God every where, yet he could not be meaner than his Creature, the Sun in the Firmament, which viſits every part of the habitable World in 24 hours.

2. The Omnipreſence of God is a Comfort in all Duties of Worſhip. He is preſent to obſerve, and preſent to accept our Petitions, and anſwer our Suits. Good men have not only the Eſſential Preſence, which is common to all, but his gracious preſence; not only the preſence that flows from his nature, but that which flows from his Promiſe; his Eſſential Preſence makes no difference between this and that man in regard of Spirituals, without this in conjunction with it; his nature is the cauſe of the Preſence of his Eſſence; his Will engag'd by his Truth, is the cauſe of the Preſence of his Grace. He promis'd to meet the Iſraelites in the place where he ſhould ſet his name, and in all places where he doth Record itExod. 20.4.Exod 20:4. In all places where I Record my Name, I will come unto thee, and I will Bleſs thee; in every place where I ſhall manifeſt the ſpecial Preſence of my Divinity. In all places, hands may be lifted up, without doubting of his ability to hear; he dwells in the contrite Hearts, wherever it is moſt in the exerciſe of contrition; which is uſually in times of ſpecial WorſhipIſa. 57.15.Isa 57:15, and that to revive and refreſh them. Habitation notes a ſpecial Preſence; tho' he dwell in the higheſt Heavens in the ſparklings of his Glory, he dwells alſo in the loweſt Hearts in the beams of his Grace; as none can expel him from his Dwelling in Heaven; ſo none can reject him from his reſidence in the heart. The Tabernacle had his peculiar Preſence fixed to itLevit. 26.11.Lev 26:11; his Soul ſhould not abhor them as they are waſhed by Chriſt, tho' they are loathſom by Sin: In a greater diſpenſation there cannot be a leſs Preſence, ſince the Church under the New Teſtament, is called the Temple of the Lord, wherein he will both dwell and walk 2 Cor. 6.6.2 Cor 6:6; Or. I will indwell in them; as if he ſhould ſay, I will dwell p. 268in and in them; I will dwell in them by Grace, and walk in them by exciting their Graces; he will be more intimate with them than their own Souls, and converſe with them as the Living God, i. e. as a God that hath Life in himſelf, and Life to convey to them in their Converſe with him; and ſhew his Spiritual Glory among them in a greater meaſure than in the Temple; ſince that was but a heap of Stones, and the figure of the Chriſtian Church, the myſtical Body of his Son. His preſence is not leſs in the Subſtance than it was in the Shadow; this Preſence of God in his Ordinances, is the Glory of a Church; as the Preſence of a King is the Glory of a Court; the Defence of it too, as a Wall of Fire Zech. 2.5.Zech 2:5; alluding to the Fire Travellers in a Wilderneſs made to fright away wild Beaſts. 'Tis not the meaneſs of the place of Worſhip can exclude him; the ſecond Temple was not ſo magnificent as the firſt of Solomon's Erecting; and the Jews ſeem to deſpond of ſo glorious a Preſence of God in the ſecond, as they had in the firſt; becauſe they thought it not ſo good for the entertainment of him that inhabits Eternity; but God comforts them againſt this conceit again and againHag. 2.3.4.Hag 2:3Hag 2:4; Be ſtrong, Be ſtrong, Be ſtrong, I am with you; the meaneſs of the place ſhall not hinder the grandeur of my Preſence; no matter what the Room is, ſo it be the Preſence-Chamber of the King, wherein he will favour our Suits; he can every where ſlide into our Souls with a perpetual ſweetneſs, ſince he is every where, and ſo intimate with every one that fears him: If we ſhould ſee God on Earth in his amiableneſs, as Moſes did, ſhould we not be encouraged by his Preſence, to preſent our Requeſts to him, to Eccho out our Praiſes of him? and have we not as great a ground now to do it, ſince he is as really preſent with us, as if he were viſible to us? he is in the ſame room with us, as near to us as our Souls to our Bodies; not a word but he hears, not a motion but he ſees, not a breath but he perceives; he is through all; he is in all.

4. The Omnipreſence of God is a comfort in all ſpecial Services. God never puts any upon a hard task, but he makes Promiſes to encourage them and aſſiſt them; and the matter of the Promiſe is that of his Preſence; ſo he did aſſure the Prophets of Old when he ſet them difficult tasks; and ſtrengthned Moſes againſt the Face of Pharaoh, by aſſuring him he would be with his Mouth Exod. 4.12.Exod 4:12; and when Chriſt put his Apoſtles upon a Conteſt with the whole World, to Preach a Goſpel that would be Fooliſhneſs to the Greeks, and a ſtumbling Block to the Jews; he gives them a Cordial only compos'd of his PreſenceMath. 28.20.Matt 28:20, I will be with you; 'tis this preſence ſcatters by its Light the darkneſs of our Spirits; 'Tis this that is the cauſe of what is done for his Glory in the World; 'tis this that mingles its ſelf with all that is done for his Honour; 'tis this from whence ſprings all the aſſiſtance of his Creatures, markt out for ſpecial purpoſes.

5. This Preſence is not without the ſpecial Preſence of all his Attributes. Where his Eſſence is, his Perfections are; becauſe they are one with his Eſſence; yea, they are his Eſſence, tho' they have their ſeveral degrees of manifeſtation. As in the Covenant, he makes over himſelf as our God, not a part of himſelf, but his whole Deity; ſo in promiſing of his Preſence, he means not a part of it but the whole, the Preſence of all the Excellencies of his nature to be manifeſted for our good. 'Tis not a piece of God is here, and another parcel there; but God in his whole Eſſence and Perfections; in his Wiſdom to guide us, his Power to protect and ſupport us, his Mercy to pity us, his Fulneſs to refreſh us, and his Goodneſs to relieve us: He is ready to ſparkle out in this or that Perfection, as the neceſſities of his People require, and his own Wiſdom directs for his own Honour: So that being not far from us in any excellency of his nature, we can quickly have recourſe to him upon any emergency; ſo that if we are miſerable, we have the preſence of his Goodneſs; if we want direction, we have the preſence of his Wiſdom; if we are weak, we have the preſence of his Power; and ſhould we not rejoyce in it, as a man doth in the Preſence of a Powerful, Wealthy and Compaſſionate Friend?

3. USE of Exhortation.

1. Let us be much in the actual Thoughts of his Truth. How ſhould we enrich our underſtandings with the knowledge of the Excellency of God, whereof this is none of the leaſt; nor hath leſs of Honey in its Bowels, tho' it be more Terrible p. 269to the Wicked than the Preſence of a Lyon; 'tis this that makes all other excellencies of the Divine Nature ſweet: What would Grace, Wiſdom, Power ſignify at a diſtance from us? Let us frame in our minds a ſtrong Idea of it; 'tis this makes ſo great a difference between the actions of one man and another; one maintains actual thoughts of it, another doth not; tho' all believe it as a Perfection pertaining to the infiniteneſs of his Eſſence. David, or rather a greater than David, had God always before him; there was no time, no occaſion wherein he did not ſtir up ſome lively thoughts of himPſal, 16.8.. Let us have right notions of it; imagine not God as a great King, ſitting only in his Majeſty in Heaven; acting all by his Servants and Miniſters. This, ſaith one, **Muſculu….is a Childiſh and unworthy conceit of God, and may in time bring ſuch a conceiver by degrees to deny his Providence; the denyal of this Perfection is an Axe at the Root of Religion; if it be not deeply imprinted in the mind, perſonal Religion grows faint and feeble; who would fear that God that is not imagin'd to be a Witneſs of his actions? Who would worſhip a God at a diſtance both from the Worſhip and Worſhipper**Drexel.? Let us believe this Truth, but not with an idle Faith, as if we did not believe it; Let us know, that as whereſoever the Fiſh moves, it is in the Water; whereſoever the Bird moves, it is in the Air; ſo whereſoever we move, we are in God: as there is not a moment but we are under his Mercy; ſo there is not a moment that we are out of his Preſence: Let us therefore look upon nothing, without thinking who ſtands by, without reflecting upon him in whom it Lives, Moves, and hath its Being. When you view a man, you fix your eyes upon his Body, but your mind upon that inviſible part that acts every member by life and motion, and makes them fit for your converſe. Let us not bound our thoughts to the Creatures we ſee, but pierce through the Creature to that boundleſs God we do not ſee; we have continual remembrancers of his Preſence, the Light whereby we ſee, and the Air whereby we live, give us perpetual notices of it, and ſome weak reſemblance; why ſhould we forget it? yea, what a ſhame is our unmindfulneſs of it, when every caſt of our Eye, every motion of our Lungs, jogs us to remember it? Light is in every part of the Air, in every part of the World, yet not mixt with any, both remain entire in their own ſubſtance. Let us not be worſe than ſome of the Heathens, who preſſed this notion upon themſelves for the ſpiriting their actions with Vertue, That all places were full of God: This was the means Baſil uſed to preſcribe, upon a Queſtion was askt him,Omnia Di… plena. How ſhall we do to be ſerious? Mind Gods Preſence. How ſhall we avoid diſtractions in Service? Think of Gods Preſence. How ſhall we reſiſt Temptations? Oppoſe to them the Preſence of God.

1. This will be a Shield againſt all Temptations. God is preſent, is enough to blunt the Weapons of Hell; this will ſecure us from a ready complyance with any baſe and vile attractives, and curb that head-ſtrong Principle in our nature, that would joyn hands with them; the Thoughts of this would, like the powerful Preſence of God with the Iſraelites, take off the Wheels from the Chariots of our ſenſitive Appetites, and make them perhaps, more ſlower, at leaſt towards a Temptation. How did Peter fling off the Temptation which had worſted him, upon a look from Chriſt? the actuated faith of this would ſtifle the Darts of Satan; and fire us with an anger againſt his ſollicitations, as ſtrong as the Fire that inflames the Darts. Moſes his Sight of him that was Inviſible, ſtrengthned him againſt the coſtly Pleaſures and Luxuries of a Princes CourtHeb. 11 27.Heb 11:27: We are utterly ſenſeleſs of a Deity, if we are not moved with this Item from our Conſciences, God is Preſent. Had our firſt Parents actually conſider'd the nearneſs of God to them, when they were Tempted to Eat of the Forbidden Fruit, they had not probably ſo eaſily been overcome by the Temptation: What Soldier would be ſo baſe as to revolt under the Eye of a tender and obliging General? Or what man ſo negligent of himſelf, as to Rob a Houſe in the Sight of a Judg? Let us conſider, That God is as near to obſerve us, as the Devil to ſollicite us, yea nearer; the Devil ſtands by us, but God is in us; we may have a Thought the Devil knows not, but not a Thought but God is actually preſent with, as our Souls are with the Thoughts they think; nor can any Creature attract our heart, if our minds were fixed on that inviſible Preſence that contributes to that excellency, and ſuſtains it, and conſidered that no Creature could be ſo preſent with us as the Creator is.

p. 2702. It will be a Spur to Holy Actions. What man would do an unworthy action, or ſpeak an unhandſom Word in the Preſence of his Prince? the Eye of the General inflames the Spirit of a Soldier. Why did David keep Gods Teſtimonies Pſal. 119 168,Ps 119:168? becauſe he conſider'd that all his ways were before him; becauſe he was perſwaded his ways were preſent with God, Gods Precepts ſhould be preſent with him. The ſame was the cauſe of Jobs IntegrityJob 31.4.Job 31:4 Doth he not ſee my ways? to have God in our Eye is the way to be ſincereGen 17.….Gen 17; walk before me as in my Sight, and be thou perfect. Communion with God conſiſts chiefly in an ordering our Ways as in the Preſence of him that is Inviſible. This would make us ſpiritual, rais'd and watchful in all our Paſſions, if we conſider'd that God is preſent with us in our Shops, in our Chambers, in our Walks, and in our Meetings, as preſent with us as with the Angels in Heaven; who tho' they have a Preſence of Glory above us, yet have not a greater meaſure of his Eſſential Preſence than we have: What an awe had Jacob upon him when he conſider'd God was preſent in Bethel Gen. 28.16, 17Gen 28:16Gen 28:17! If God ſhould appear viſibly to us when we were alone, ſhould we not be reverent and ſerious before him? God is every where about us, he doth encompaſs us with his Preſence; ſhould not Gods ſeeing us, have the ſame influence upon us, as our ſeeing God? He is not more eſſentially preſent if he ſhould ſo manifeſt himſelf to us, than when he doth not; Who would appear beſmear'd in the preſence of a great perſon? or not be aſham'd to be found in his Chamber in a naſty poſture, by ſome viſitant? Would not a man bluſh to be catched about ſome mean action, tho' it were not an immoral Crime? If this Truth were impreſt upon our Spirits, we ſhould more bluſh to have our Souls daub'd with ſome loathſom Luſt, ſwarms of Sin, like Egyptian Lice and Frogs, creeping about our Heart in his Sight. If the moſt ſenſual man be aſham'd to do a diſhoneſt action in the ſight of a grave and holy man, one of great reputation for Wiſdom and Integrity; how much more ſhould we lift up our ſelves in the ways of God, who is Infinite and Immenſe, is every where, and infinitely ſuperior to man, and more to be regarded! We could not ſeriouſly think of his Preſence, but there would paſs ſome entercourſe between us; we ſhould be putting up ſome Petition upon the ſenſe of our Indigence; or ſending up our Praiſes to him upon the ſenſe of his Bounty. The actual thoughts of the Preſence of God is the Life and Spirit of all Religion; we could not have ſluggiſh Spirits, and a careleſs Watch, if we conſider'd that his Eye is upon us all the day.

3. It will quell Diſtractions in Worſhip. The actual thoughts of this would eſtabliſh our thoughts, and pull them back when they begin to rove; The mind could not boldly give God the ſlip, if it had lively thoughts of it; the conſideration of this would blow off all the Froth that lies on the top of our Spirits. An eye taken up with the preſence of one object, is not at leiſure to be fill'd with another: He that looks intently upon the Sun, ſhall have nothing for a while but the Sun in his Eye. Oppoſe to every intruding Thought the Idea of the Divine Omnipreſence, and put it to ſilence by the awe of his Majeſty. When the Maſter is preſent, Scholars mind their Books, keep their Places, and run not over the Forms to play with one another; The Maſters Eye keeps an idle Servant to his Work, that otherwiſe would be gazing at every Straw, and prating to every Paſſenger. How ſoon would the remembrance of this, daſh all extravagant fancies out of Countenance, juſt as the News of the approach of a Prince would make the Courtiers buſtle up themſelves, huddle up their vain ſports, and prepare themſelves for a Reverent Behaviour in his ſight. We ſhould not dare to give God a piece of our heart, when we apprehended him preſent with the whole; we ſhould not dare to mock one that we knew were more inwards with us than we are with our ſelves, and that beheld every motion of our mind, as well as action of our body.

2. Let us endeavour for the more ſpecial and influential Preſence of God. Let the Eſſential Preſence of God be the ground of our Awe, and his gracious influential Preſence the Object of our Deſire. The Heathen thought themſelves ſecure if they had their little petty Houſhold-Gods with them in their Journeys; ſuch ſeem to be the Images Rachel ſtole from her FatherGen. 31.19.Gen 31:19 to company her Travel with their Bleſſings; ſhe might not at that time have caſt off all reſpect to thoſe Idols, in the acknowledgment of which ſhe had been Educated from her Infancy; and they ſeem to be kept by her, till God called Jacob to Bethel, after the Rape of Dinah Gen. 35.4.Gen 35:4, when Jacob called for the ſtrange Gods, and hid them under the Oak. The … cious Preſence of God we ſhould look after in our actions; as Travellers that … a Charge of Money or Jewels, deſire to keep themſelves in Company that may protect them from High-way men that would rifle them. Since we have the concerns of the Eternal Happineſs of our Souls upon our hands, we ſhould endeavour to have Gods Merciful and Powerful Preſence with us in all our waysPſal. 14Ps 14; In all thy ways acknowledg him, and he ſhall direct thy Paths; acknowledg him before any action, by imploring; acknowledg him after, by rendring him the Glory; acknowledg his Preſence before Worſhip, in Worſhip, after Worſhip: 'Tis this Preſence makes a kind of Heaven upon Earth, cauſeth affliction to put off the nature of miſery. How much will the Preſence of the Sun out-ſhine the Stars of leſſer Comforts, and fully anſwer the want of them! The Ark of God going before us, can only make all things ſucceſsful: It was this led the Iſraelites over Jordan, and ſetled them in Canaan. Without this we ſignify nothing, tho' we live without this, we cannot be diſtinguiſht for ever from Devils; his Eſſential Preſence they have, and if we have no more we ſhall be no better. 'Tis the enlivening, fructifying preſence of the Sun, that revives the languiſhing Earth; and this only can repair our ruin'd Soul. Let it be therefore our deſire, That as he fills Heaven and Earth by his Eſſence, he may fill our Underſtandings and Wills by his Grace; that we may have another kind of Preſence with us, than Animals have in their brutiſh ſtate, or Devils in their Chains: His Eſſential Preſence maintains our Beings, but his gracious Preſence confers and continues a Happineſs.