Existence and Attributes of God, Discourse 8 (1 of 4)

Existence and Attributes of God · Discourse 8 (1 of 4)

p. 272A DISCOURSE UPON Gods Knowledg.

Pſal. 147.5.

Great is our Lord, and of great Power: his Ʋnderſtanding is Infinite.

'TIS uncertain who was the Author of this Pſalm, and when it was Penn'd; ſome think after the return from the Babyloniſh Captivity: 'Tis a Pſalm of Praiſe, and is made up of matter of Praiſe from the beginning to the end; Gods benefits to the Church, his Providence over his Creatures; the Eſſential excellency of his Nature.

The Pſalmiſt doubles his Exhortation to Praiſe God, v. 1. Praiſe ye the Lord, ſing Praiſe to our God; to praiſe him from his Dominion as Lord, from his Grace and Mercy as our God; from the Excellency of the Duty it ſelf, 'tis good, 'tis comely: ſome read it comely, ſome lovely or deſirable, from the various derivation of the Word.

Nothing doth ſo much delight a gracious Soul, as an opportunity of Celebrating the Perfections and Goodneſs of the Creator.

The higheſt Duties a Creature can render to the Creator are pleaſant and delight-lightful in themſelves, 'tis comely. Praiſe is a Duty that affects the whole Soul.

The Praiſe of God is a decent thing; the Excellency of Gods nature deſerves it, and the Benefits of Gods grace requires it.

'Tis comely when done as it ought to be, with the Heart as well as with the Voice: a Sinner Sings ill tho' his Voice be good; the Soul in it is to be elevated above Earthly things.

The firſt matter of Praiſe, is Gods erecting and preſerving his Church, v. 2. The Lord doth build up Jeruſalem, he gathers together the out-caſts of Iſrael: The Walls of demoliſh'd Jeruſalem are now re-edified; God hath brought back the Captivity of Jacob, and reduced his People from their Babyloniſh Exile, and thoſe that were diſperſt into ſtrange Regions, he hath reſtor'd to their Habitations. Or it may be Prophetick of the calling of the Gentiles, and the gathering the out-caſts of the Spiritual Iſrael, that were before as without God in the World, and ſtrangers to the Covenant of Promiſe. Let God be praiſed, but eſpecially for Building up his Church, and gathering the Gentiles, before counted as out-caſts **Iſa… 11.12.Isa 11:12; he gathers them in this World to the Faith, and hereafter to Glory.

Obſ. 1. From the two firſt Verſes obſerve.

1. All People are under Gods Care: but he has a particular regard to his Church. This is the Signet on his hand, as a Bracelet upon his arm; this is his Garden which he delights to dreſs; if he prunes it, it is to purge it; if he Digs about his Vine, and wounds the Branches, 'tis to make it more Beautiful with new Cluſters, and reſtore it to a fruitful Vigour.

2. All great deliverances are to be aſcrib'd to God, as the principal Author, whoſoever p. 273are the Inſtruments. The Lord doth build up Jeruſalem, he gathers together the out…s of Iſrael. This great deliverance from Babylon, is not to be aſcrib'd to Cyrus or Darius, or the reſt of our favourers; 'tis the Lord that doth it; we had his Promiſe for it, we have now his Performance. Let us not aſcribe that which is the effect of his Truth, only to the good Will of men; 'tis Gods act, not by Might, nor by Power, nor by Weapons of War, or ſtrength of Horſes, but by the Spirit of the Lord. He ſent Prophets to comfort us while we were exiles; and now he hath ſtretched out his own Arm to work our deliverance, according to his Word; blind man looks ſo much upon Inſtruments, that he hardly takes notice of God, either in Afflictions or Mercies, and this is the cauſe that robs God of ſo much Prayer and Praiſe in the World.

Verſe 3. He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their Wounds. He hath now reſtored thoſe who had no hope but in his Word; he hath dealt with them as a tender and skilful Chirurgeon; he hath applyed his curing Plaiſters, and dropped in his Soveraign Balſams; he hath now furniſht our fainting hearts with refreſhing Cordials, and comforted our Wounds with ſtrengthning Ligatures.

How gracious is God, that reſtores Liberty to the Captives, and Righteouſneſs to the Penitent? mans miſery is the fitteſt opportunity for God to make his Mercy illuſtrious in it ſelf, and moſt welcome to the Patient.

He proceeds verſe 4. Wonder not that God calls together the out-caſts, and ſingles them out from every corner, for a return; why can he not do this, as well as tell the number of the Stars, and call them all by their Names Ver. 4.?

There are none of his People ſo deſpicable in the eye of man, but they are known and regarded by God; tho' they are clouded in the World, yet they are the Stars of the World; and ſhall God number the inanimate Stars in the Heavens, and make no account of his living Stars on the Earth? no, wherever they are diſperſed, he will not forget them; however they are afflicted, he will not deſpiſe them; the Stars are ſo numerous, that they are innumerable by man; ſome are viſible and known by men, others lie more hid and undiſcovered in a confuſed Light, as thoſe in the Milkyway, man cannot ſee one of them diſtinctly.

God knows all his People. As he can do what is above the power of man to perform, ſo he underſtands what is above the skill of man to diſcover; ſhall man meaſure God by his ſcantineſs? Proud man muſt not equal himſelf to God, nor cut God as ſhort as his own Line.

He tells the number of the Stars, and calls them all by their Names. He hath them all in his Liſt; as Generals the Names of their Soldiers in their Muſter-Roll, for they are his Hoſt, which he Marſhals in the Heavens, as Iſa. 40.26. where you have the like Expreſſion; he knows them more diſtinctly than man can know any thing, and ſo diſtinctly as to call them all by their Names: He knows their Names, that is, their natural offices, influences, the different degrees of heat and light, their order and motion; and all of them, the leaſt glimmering Star as well as the moſt glaring Planet; this man cannot do; Tell the Stars if thou be able to number them, Gen. 15.5. ſaith God to Abraham (whom Joſephus repreſents as a great Aſtronomer) yea they cannot be numbred, Jer. 33.22. and the uncertainty of the Opinions of men, evidenceth their ignorance of their number; ſome reckoning 1022, others 1025, others 1098, others 7000, beſides thoſe that by reaſon of their mixture of Light with one another, cannot be diſtinctly diſcern'd, and others perhaps ſo high, as not to be reach'd by the eye of man. To impoſe Names on things, and Names according to their Natures, is both an Argument of Power and Dominion, and of Wiſdom and Underſtanding: from the impoſition of Names upon the Creatures by Adam, the Knowledg of Adam is generally concluded; and it was alſo a fruit of that Dominion God allowed him over the Creatures. Now he that Numbers and Names the Stars that ſeem to lie confus'd among one another, as well as thoſe that appear to us in an unclouded Night, may well be ſuppos'd accurately to know his People, tho' lurking in ſecret Caverns, and know thoſe that are fit to be Inſtruments of their deliverance; the one is as eaſy to him as the other; and the Number of the one as diſtinctly known by him, as the Multitude of the other.

For great is our Lord, and of great Power, his Ʋnderſtanding is Infinite Ver. 5.. He wants not Knowledg to know the objects, nor Power to effect his Will concerning p. 274them. Of great Power foreign. Much Power, plenteous in Power; ſo the word foreign is rendred Pſal. 5.15foreign. a multitude of Power, as well as a multitude of Mercy; a Power that exceeds all Created Power and Underſtanding.

His Ʋnderſtanding is Infinite. You may not imagine how he can call all the Stars by Name; the multitude of the viſible being ſo great, and the multitude of the inviſible being greater; but you muſt know, that as God is Almighty, ſo he is Omniſcient; and as there is no end of his Power, ſo no account can exactly be given of his Underſtanding; His Ʋnderſtanding is Infinite foreign. No number or account of it; and ſo the ſame Words are rendred Joel 1.6. a Nation ſtrong, and without number: No end of his Underſtanding; Syriack, no meaſure, no bounds †. His Eſſence is Infinite, and ſo is his Power and Underſtanding; and ſo vaſt is his Knowledg, that we can no more comprehend it, than we can meaſure ſpaces that are without limits, or tell the minutes or hours of Eternity. Who then can fathom that whereof there is no number, but which exceeds all, ſo that there is no ſearching of it out foreign? he knows Univerſals, he knows Particulars: We muſt not take underſtanding here, as noting a faculty, but the uſe of the underſtanding in the knowledg of things, and the Judgment in the conſideration of them, and ſo it is often uſed.

In the Verſe there is a deſcription of God.

1. In his Eſſence, great is our Lord.

2. In his Power, of great Power.

3. In his Knowledg, his Ʋnderſtanding is Infinite; his Underſtanding is his Eye, and his Power is his Arm. Of his Infinite Ʋnderſtanding, I am to Diſcourſe.

Doctrine. God hath an Infinite Knowledg and Ʋnderſtanding. All Knowledg. Omnipreſence which before we ſpake of, reſpects his Eſſence; Omniſcience, reſpects his Underſtanding, according to our manner of Conception.

This is clear in Scripture; hence God is called a God of Knowledg, 1 Sam. 2.3. The Lord is a God of Knowledg, Heb. Knowledges in the Plural Number, of all kind of Knowledg; 'tis ſpoken there to quell mans Pride in his own reaſon and parts; what is the Knowledg of man but a ſpark to the whole Element of Fire, a grain of Duſt, and worſe than nothing, in compariſon of the Knowledg of God, as his Eſſence is in compariſon of the Eſſence of God? All kind of Knowledg. He knows what Angels know, what Man knows, and infinitely more; he knows himſelf, his own operations, all his Creatures, the notions and thoughts of them; he is underſtanding above underſtanding, mind above mind, the mind of minds, the light of lights; this the Greek word foreign ſignifies in the Etimology of it, of foreign to ſee, to contemplate; and foreign of foreign ſcio. The Names of God ſignify a nature viewing and piercing all things; and the attribution of our ſenſes to God in Scripture, as Hearing and Seeing, which are the Senſes whereby Knowledg enters into us, ſignifies Gods Knowledg.

1. The Notion of Gods Knowledg of all things lies above the ruines of Nature; it was not obliterated by the Fall of Man. It was neceſſary offending man was to know that he had a Creator whom he had injured, that he had a Judg to Try and Puniſh him; ſince God thought fit to keep up the World, it had been kept up to no purpoſe, had not this notion been continued alive in the minds of men; there would not have been any practice of his Laws, no bar to the worſt of Crimes. If men had thought they had to deal with an Ignorant Deity, there could be no practice of Religion: Who would lift up his eyes, or ſpread his hands towards Heaven, if he imagin'd his Devotion were directed to a God as blind as the Heathens imagin'd Fortune? To what boot would it be for them to make Heaven and Earth reſound with their Cries, if they had not thought God had an Eye to ſee them, and an Ear to hear them? And indeed the very notion of a God at the firſt bluſh, ſpeaks him a Being endued with Underſtanding; no man can imagine a Creator void of one of the nobleſt Perfections belonging to thoſe Creatures that are the Flower and Cream of his Works.

2. Therefore all Nations acknowledg this, as well as the Exiſtence and Being of God. * No Nation but had their Temples, particular Ceremonies of Worſhip, and preſented their Sacrifices, which they could not have been ſo vain as to do, without an acknowledgment of this Attribute. This notion of Gods Knowledg owed not p. 275its riſe to Tradition, but to natural implantation; it was born and grew up with every rational Creature. Though the ſeveral Nations and men of the World agreed not in one kind of Deity, or in their Sentiments of his Nature or other Perfections, ſome judging him Clothed with a fine and pure Body; others judging him an uncompounded Spirit; ſome fixing him to a ſeat in the Heavens; others owning his Univerſal Preſence in all parts of the World; yet they all agreed in the Univerſality of his Knowledge; and their own Conſciences reflecting their Crimes, unknown to any but themſelves, would keep this notion in ſome vigor whether they would or no. Now this being implanted in the minds of all men by nature, cannot be falſe; for nature imprints not in the minds of all men an aſſent to a falſity. Nature would not pervert the reaſon and minds of men: Univerſal notions of God are from Original, not lapſed Nature,Agamemnon, Homer Il. 3. v 8. making a Covenant with Priam, invocates the Su… foreign. and preſerved in mankind in order to a reſtoration from a lapſed ſtate. The Heathens did acknowledg this: in all the ſolemn Covenants, ſolemniz'd with Oaths and the invocation of the Name of God, this Attribute was ſuppos'd. They confeſt Knowledg to be peculiar to the Deity; Scientia Deorum vita, ſaith Cicero. Some called him foreign, mens, mind, pure underſtanding, without any note foreign, the inſpector of all. As they called him Life, becauſe he was the Author of Life; ſo they called him intellectus, becauſe he was the Author of all Knowledg and Underſtanding in his Creatures; And one being askt, Whether any man could be hid from God? no ſaith he, not ſo much as thinking: Some call him the Eye of the World**Gamach in 1 Pa. Aqui. Q. 14. cap. 1. p. 119. Clem. Alexand. ſtrom lib. 6.; and the Egyptians repreſented God by an Eye on the top of a Scepter, becauſe God is all Eye, and can be ignorant of nothing.

And the ſame Nation made Eyes and Ears of the moſt excellent Metals, Conſecrating them to God, and hanging them up in the midſt of their Temples, in ſignification of Gods ſeeing and hearing all things; hence they called God Light, as well as the Scripture, becauſe all things are viſible to him.

For the better underſtanding of this, we will enquire,

1. What kind of Knowledg or Ʋnderſtanding there is in God.

2. What God knows.

3. How God knows things.

4. The proof, that God knows all things.

5. The Ʋſe of all to our ſelves.

I. What kind of Ʋnderſtanding or Knowledg there is in God?

The Knowledg of God in Scripture hath various Names, according to the various relations or objects of it: In reſpect of preſent things, 'tis called Knowledg or Sight; in reſpect of things paſt, Remembrance; in reſpect of things future, or to come, 'tis called Fore-Knowledg or Preſcience, 1 Pet. 1.2. in regard of the Ʋniverſality of the Objects, it is called Omniſcience; in regard of the ſimple Ʋnderſtanding of things 'tis called Knowledg; in regard of acting and modelling the ways of acting, 'tis called Wiſdom and Prudence, Eph. 1.8. He muſt have Knowledg, otherwiſe he could not be Wiſe; Wiſdom is the Flower of Knowledg, and Knowledg is the Root of Wiſdom.

As to what this Knowledg is; if we know what Knowledg is in man, we may apprehend what it is in God, removing all Imperfection from it, and aſcribing to him the moſt eminent way of underſtanding; becauſe we cannot comprehend God, but as he is pleaſed to condeſcend to us in his own ways of Diſcovery; that is, under ſome way of ſimilitude to his perfecteſt Creatures; therefore we have a notion of God by his Underſtanding and Will; Underſtanding, whereby he conceives and apprehends things; Will, whereby he extends himſelf in acting according to his Wiſdom, and whereby he doth approve or diſapprove: Yet we muſt not meaſure his Underſtanding by our own, or think it to be of ſo groſs a Temper as a Created mind; that he hath Eyes of Fleſh, or ſees or knows as man ſees Job 10.4.Job 10:4. We can no more meaſure his Knowledg by ours, than we can meaſure his Eſſence by our Eſſence: As he hath an incomprehenſible Eſſence, to which ours is but as a Drop of a Bucket; ſo he hath an incomprehenſible Knowledg, to which ours is but as a grain of Duſt, or meer Darkneſs: his thoughts are above our thoughts, as the Heavens are above the Earth.

p. 276The Knowledg of God is variouſly divided by the Schools, and acknowledg'd by all Divines.

1. A Knowledg viſionis & ſimplicis intelligentiae; the one we may call a Sight, the other an Ʋnderſtanding; the one refers to ſenſe, the other to the mind.

1. A Knowledg of Viſion or Sight; Thus God knows himſelf and all things that really were, are, or ſhall be in time; all thoſe things which he hath Decreed to be, tho' they are not yet actually ſprung up in the World, but lye couchant in their Cauſes.

2. A Knowledg of Intelligence, or ſimple Ʋnderſtanding; the object of this is not things that are in Being, or that ſhall by any Decree of God ever be exiſtent in the World; but ſuch things as are poſſible to be wrought by the Power of God, tho' they ſhall never in the leaſt peep up into Being, but lye for ever wrapt up in Darkneſs and nothingSuarez de Deo lib. 3. cap. 4. p. 130.. This alſo is a neceſſary Knowledg to be allowed to God, becauſe the object of this Knowledg is neceſſary. The poſſibility of more Creatures than ever were or ſhall be, is a concluſion that hath a neceſſary Truth in it; as it is neceſſary that the power of God can produce more Creatures, tho' it be not neceſſary that it ſhould produce more Creatures; ſo it is neceſſary that whatſoever the Power of God can work, is poſſible to be. And as God knows this poſſibility, ſo he knows all the objects that are thus poſſible; and herein doth much conſiſt the Infiniteneſs of his Knowledg, as ſhall be ſhewn preſently.

Theſe two kinds of Knowledg differ; That of Viſion, is of things which God hath Decreed to be, tho' they are not yet. That of Intelligence, is of things which never ſhall be; yet they may be, or are poſſible to be, if God pleaſe to Will and Order their Being; one reſpects things that ſhall be; the other, things that may be, and are not repugnant to the Nature of God to be: The Knowledg of Viſion follows the Act of Gods Will, and ſuppoſeth an Act of Gods Will before, Decreeing things to be. (If we could ſuppoſe any firſt or ſecond in Gods Decree, we might ſay God knew them as poſſible before he Decreed them; he knew them as future becauſe he Decreed them.) For without the Will of God Decreeing a thing to come to paſs, God cannot know that it will infallibly come to paſs. But the Knowledg of Intelligence ſtands without any Act of his Will, in order to the Being of thoſe things he knows; he knows poſſible things only in his Power; he knows other things both in his Power, as able to effect them; and in his Will, as determining the Being of them; ſuch Knowledg we muſt grant to be in God, for there is ſuch a kind of knowledg in man; for man doth not only know and ſee what is before his eyes in this World, but he may have a conception of many more Worlds, and many more Creatures, which he knows are poſſible to the Power of God.

2. Secondly, There is a ſpeculative and practical knowledg in God.

1. A ſpeculative knowledg is, when the truth of a thing is known without a reſpect to any working or practical operation. The knowledg of things poſſible is in God only ſpeculative,Suarez de Deo lib. 3. cap. 4. p. 138. and ſome ſay Gods knowledg of himſelf is only ſpeculative, becauſe there is nothing for God to work in himſelf: and tho' he knows himſelf, yet this knowledg of himſelf doth not terminate there, but flowers into a love of himſelf, and delight in himſelf; yet this love of himſelf, and delight in himſelf, is not enough to make it a practical knowledg, becauſe it is natural, and naturally and neceſſarily flows from the knowledg of himſelf and his own Goodneſs: he cannot but love himſelf, and delight in himſelf, upon the knowledg of himſelf. But that which is properly practiſe, is where there is a dominion over the action, and it is wrought not naturally and neceſſarily, but in a way of freedom and counſel. As when we ſee a beautiful Flower or other thing, there ariſeth a delight in the mind; this no man will call Practiſe, becauſe it is a natural affection of the Will, ariſing from the virtue of the object, without any conſideration of the Underſtanding in a practical manner by counſelling, commanding, &c.

2. A Practical knowledg, which tends to operation and practiſe, and is the principle of working about things that are known; as the knowledg an Artificer hath in an Art or Myſtery. This knowledg is in God: the knowledg he hath of the things he hath decreed, is ſuch a kind of knowledg; for it terminates in the act of Creation, which is not a natural and neceſſary act, as the loving himſelf, and delighting in himſelf is, but wholly free: for it was at his liberty whether he would p. 277create them or no; this is called diſcretion, Jer. 10.12. He hath ſtretched out the heavens by his diſcretion. Such alſo is his knowledg of the things he hath created, and which are in being, for it terminates in the government of them for his own glorious ends. 'Tis by this knowledg the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down their dew Prov 3 20.Prov 3:20. This is a knowledg whereby he knows the eſſence, qualities, and properties of what he creates and governs in order to his own glory, and the common good of the World over which he reſides; ſo that ſpeculative knowledg is Gods knowledg of himſelf and things poſſible, practical knowledg is his knowledg of his creatures and things governable; yet in ſome ſort this practical knowledg is not only of things that are made, but of things which are poſſible, which God might make, tho' he will not: for as he knows that they can be created, ſo he knows how they are to be created, and how to be governed, tho' he never will create them. This is a practical knowledg: for it is not requiſite to conſtitute a knowledg practical, actually to act, but that the knowledg in it ſelf be referrible to actionSuarez de Deo l. 3. c. 4. p. 140..

3. There is a knowledg of approbation, as well as apprehenſion. This the Scripture often mentions: words of underſtanding are uſed to ſignifie the acts of affection. This knowledg adds to the ſimple act of the underſtanding, the complacency and pleaſure of the will; and is improperly knowledg, becauſe it belongs to the Will, and not to the Underſtanding; only it is radically in the underſtanding, becauſe affection implies knowledg; men cannot approve of that which they are ignorant of. Thus knowledg is taken, Amos 3.2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth. And 2 Tim. 2.19. The Lord knows who are his, that is, he loves them; he doth not only know them, but acknowledg them for his own: it notes not only an exact underſtanding, but a ſpecial care of them; and ſo is that to be underſtood, Gen. 1. God ſaw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good: that is, he ſaw it with an eye of approbation, as well as apprehenſion. This is grounded upon Gods knowledg of Viſion, his ſight of his creatures; for God doth not love or delight in any thing but what is actually in being, or what he hath decreed to bring into being. On the contrary alſo, when God doth not approve, he is ſaid not to know, Mat. 25.12. I know you not: and Mat. 7.23. I never knew you: he doth not approve of their Works: 'tis not an ignorance of Underſtanding, but an ignorance of Will; for whiles he ſaith he never knew them, he teſtifies that he did know them, in rendring the reaſon of his diſapproving them, becauſe he knows all their Works: ſo he knows them, and doth not know them, in a different manner: he knows them ſo as to underſtand them; but he doth not know them ſo as to love them.

We muſt then aſcribe an univerſal knowledg to God. If we deny him a ſpeculative knowledg, or knowledg of intelligence, we deſtroy his Deity, we make him ignorant of his own Power: if we deny him Practical knowledg, we deny our ſelves to be his creatures: for as his creatures, we are the fruits of this his diſcretion diſcovered in Creation: if we deny his knowledg of Viſion, we deny his governing Dominion. How can he exerciſe a Sovereign and uncontroulable Dominion, that is ignorant of the nature and qualities of the things he is to govern? If he had not Knowledg, he could make no Revelation; he that knows not, cannot dictate; we could then have no Scripture. To deny God Knowledg, is to daſh out the Scripture, and demoliſh the Deity.

God is deſcrib'd in Zech. 3.9. with ſeven eyes, to ſhevv his perfect Knovvledg of all things, all Occurrences in the World; and the Cherubims, or vvhatſoever is meant by the Wings, are deſcribed to be full of Eyes, both before and behind Ezek 1.18Ezek 1:18, round about them; much more is God all Eye, all Ear, all Underſtanding. The Sun is a natural Image of God, if the Sun had an Eye, it vvould ſee; if it had an Underſtanding, it vvould knovv all viſible things; it vvould ſee vvhat it ſhines upon, and underſtand vvhat it influenceth in the moſt obſcure Bovvels of the Earth. Doth God excell his Creature the Sun in Excellency and Beauty, and not in Light and Underſtanding? certainly more than the Sun excels an Atome or grain of Duſt.

We may yet make ſome repreſentation of this Knowledg of God by a lower thing, a Picture, which ſeems to look upon every one, tho' there be never ſo great a multitude in the Room where it hangs; no man can caſt his Eye upon it, but it p. 278ſeems to behold him in particular, and ſo exactly as if there were none but him upon whom the eye of it were fixt; and every man finds the ſame caſt of it; ſhall Art frame a thing of that Nature, and ſhall not the God of Art and all Knowledg, be much more in reality than that is in imagination? Shall not God have a far greater capacity to behold everything in the World, which is infinitely leſs to him than a wide Room to a Picture?

II. The ſecond thing, what God knows? how far his Underſtanding reaches?

1. God knows himſelf, and only knows himſelf. This is the firſt and original knowledg, wherein he excells all Creatures: No man doth exactly know himſelf; much leſs doth he underſtand the full nature of a Spirit; much leſs ſtill the Nature and Perfections of God; for what proportion can there be between a finite faculty and an infinite object? Herein conſiſts the Infiniteneſs of Gods Knowledg, That he knows his own Eſſence, that he knows that which is unknowable to any elſe. It doth not ſo much conſiſt in knowing the Creatures which he hath made, as in knowing himſelf who was never made. 'Tis not ſo much infinite, becauſe he knows all things which are in the World, or that ſhall be; or things that he can make, becauſe the number of them is finite; but becauſe he hath a perfect and comprehenſive knowledg of his own infinite Perfections**Moulin.. Tho' it be ſaid that Angels ſee his Face, Math. 18.10. that ſight notes rather their immediate Attendance, than their exact Knowledg; they ſee ſome ſigns of his Preſence and Majeſty, more illuſtrious and expreſs than ever appear'd to man in this Life; but the Eſſence of God is inviſible to them, hid from them in the ſecret place of Eternity; none knows God but himſelf, 1 Cor. 2.11. what man knows the things of a man ſave the ſpirit of a man? ſo the things of God knows no man but the ſpirit of God; the ſpirit of God ſearches the deep things of God; ſearcheth, that is, exactly knows, throughly underſtands, as thoſe who have their eyes in every Chink and Crevis, to ſee what lies hid there; the word ſearch, notes not an Enquiry, but an exact Knowledg, ſuch as men have of things upon a diligent ſcrutiny; as when God is ſaid to ſearch the Heart and the Reins, it doth not ſignify a precedent ignorance, but an exact Knowledg of the moſt intimate corners of the hearts of men. As the Conceptions of men are unknown to any but themſelves; ſo the depths of the Divine Eſſence, Perfections and Decrees, are unknown to any but to God himſelf; he only knows what he is, and what he knows, what he can do, and what he hath Decreed to do.

1. For firſt, If God did not know himſelf, he would not be perfect. 'Tis the Perfection of a Creature to know it ſelf, much more a Perfection belonging to God. If God did not comprehend himſelf, he would want an Infinite Perfection, and ſo would ceaſe to be God, in being defective in that which intellectual Creatures in ſome meaſure poſſeſs. As God is the moſt perfect Being, ſo he muſt have the moſt perfect Underſtanding: If he did not underſtand himſelf, he would be under the greateſt Ignorance, becauſe he would be ignorant of the moſt excellent object. Ignorance is the Imperfection of the Underſtanding; and ignorance of ones ſelf is a greater Imperfection than ignorance of things without. If God ſhould know all things without himſelf, and not know himſelf, he would not have the moſt perfect Knowledg, becauſe he would not have the knowledg of the beſt of objects.

2. Without the Knowledg of himſelf, he could not be bleſſed. Nothing can have any complacency in it ſelf, without the Knowledg of it ſelf. Nothing can in a rational manner enjoy it ſelf, without underſtanding it ſelf. The Bleſſedneſs of God conſiſts not in the knowledg of any thing without him, but in the knowledg of himſelf and his own excellency, as the principle of all things; If therefore he did not perfectly know himſelf and his own happineſs, he could not enjoy a happineſs; for to be, and not to know to be, is as if a thing were not. He is God bleſſed for ever, Rom. 9.5. and therefore for ever had a Knowledg of himſelf.

3. Without the Knowledg of himſelf he could Create nothing. For he would be ignorant of his own Power, and his own Ability; and he that doth not know how far his Power extends, could not act: If he did not know himſelf, he could know nothing; and he that knows nothing, can do nothing; he could not know an Effect to be poſſible to him, unleſs he knew his own Power as a Cauſe.

4. Without the Knowledg of himſelf, he could govern nothing. He could not p. 279without the knowledg of his own Holineſs and Righteouſneſs, preſcribe Laws to men, nor without a knowledg of his own nature, order himſelf a manner of Worſhip ſutable to it.

All Worſhip muſt be congruous to the dignity and nature of the object worſhipped; he muſt therefore know his own Authority whereby Worſhip was to be enacted, his own Excellency to which Worſhip was to be ſuited, his own Glory to which Worſhip was to be directed. If he did not know himſelf, he did not know what to puniſh, becauſe he would not know what was contrary to himſelf: not knowing himſelf, he would not know what was a contempt of him, and what an adoration of him; what was worthy of God, and what was unworthy of him. In fine, he could not know other things, unleſs he knew himſelf: unleſs he knew his own Power, he could not know how he created things: unleſs he knew his own Wiſdom, he could not know the beauty of his Works: unleſs he knew his own Glory, he could not know the end of his Works: unleſs he knew his own Holineſs, he could not know what was evil: and unleſs he knew his own Juſtice, he could not know how to puniſh the Crimes of his offending creatures. And therefore,

1. God knows himſelf, becauſe his Knowledg with his Will is the cauſe of all other things that can fall under his cognizance: he knows himſelf firſt, before he can knovv any other thing; that is, firſt according to our conceptions; for indeed God knovvs himſelf and all other things at once; He is the firſt Truth, and therefore is the firſt object of his ovvn underſtanding. There is nothing more excellent than himſelf, and therefore nothing more known to him than himſelf. As he is all Knovvledg, ſo he hath in himſelf the moſt excellent object of Knovvledg. To underſtand is properly to knovv ones ſelf. No object is ſo intelligible to God as God is to himſelf; nor ſo intimately and immediately joined vvith his Underſtanding as himſelf: for his Underſtanding is his Eſſence, himſelf.

2. He knows himſelf by his own Eſſence. He knovvs not himſelf and his ovvn Povver, by the effect, becauſe he knovvs himſelf from Eternity, before there vvas a World, or any effect of his Povver extant. 'Tis not a knovvledg by the Cauſe, for God hath no cauſe; nor a knovvledg of himſelf by any ſpecies or any thing from vvithout: If it vvere any thing from vvithout himſelf, that muſt be created or uncreated; if uncreated, it vvould be God; and ſo vve muſt either ovvn many Gods, or ovvn it to be his Eſſence, and ſo not diſtinct from himſelf: If created, then his knovvledg of himſelf vvould depend upon a creature; he could not then knovv himſelf from eternity, but in time, becauſe nothing can be created from eternity, but in time. God knovvs not himſelf by any faculty, for there is no compoſition in God, he is not made up of parts, but is a ſimple being; ſome therefore have called God, not intellectus, underſtanding, becauſe that ſavours of a faculty; but intellectio, intellection. God is all act in the knovvledg of himſelf, and his knovvledg of other things.

3. God therefore knows himſelf perfectly, comprehenſively. Nothing in his ovvn nature is concealed from him, he reflects upon every thing that he isMagalaneus.. There is a poſitive comprehenſion, ſo God doth not comprehend himſelf; for vvhat is comprehended, hath bounds; and vvhat is comprehended by it ſelf, is finite to it ſelf: and there is a negative comprehenſion, God ſo comprehends himſelf; nothing in his ovvn nature is obſcure to him, unknovvn by him. For there is as great a perfection in the underſtanding of God to knovv, as there is in the Divine nature to be knovvn. The Underſtanding of God, and the Nature of God, are both infinite, and ſo equal to one another; his Underſtanding is equal to himſelf; he knovvs himſelf ſo vvell, that nothing can be knovvn by him more perfectly, than himſelf is knovvn to himſelf. He knovvs himſelf in the higheſt manner, becauſe nothing is ſo proportion'd to the Underſtanding of God as himſelf: He knovvs his ovvn Eſſence, Goodneſs, Povver, all his Perfections, Decrees, Intentions, Acts, the infinite capacity of his ovvn Underſtanding, ſo that nothing of himſelf is in the dark to himſelf. And in this reſpect ſome uſe this expreſſion, That the Infiniteneſs of God is in a manner finite to himſelf, becauſe it is comprehended by himſelf.

p. 280Thus God tranſcends all Creatures; thus his Underſtanding is truly Infinite, becauſe nothing but himſelf is an infinite Object for it: What Angels may underſtand of themſelves perfectly, I know not; but no Creature in the World underſtands himſelf: Man underſtands not fully the excellency and parts of his own nature; upon Gods knowledg of himſelf depends the Comfort of his People, and the Terror of the Wicked; this is alſo a clear Argument for his Knowledg of all other things, without himſelf; he that knows himſelf, muſt needs know all other things leſs than himſelf, and which were made by himſelf: When the knowledg of his own Immenſity and Infiniteneſs is not an object too difficult for him; the knowledg of a finite and limited Creature in all his actions, thoughts, circumſtances, cannot be too hard for him. Since he knows himſelf who is Infinite, he cannot but know whatſoever is Finite; this is the Foundation of all his other Knowledg; the knowledg of every thing preſent, paſt, and to come, is far leſs than the knowledg of himſelf. He is more incomprehenſible in his own nature, than all things Created, or that can be Created, put together can be: If he then have a perfect comprehenſive knowledg of his own nature, any knowledg of all other things is leſs than the knowledg of himſelf; this ought to be well conſidered by us, as the Fountain whence all his other knowledg flows.

2. Therefore God knows all other things, whether they be poſſible, paſt, preſent, or future.

Whether they be things that he can do, but will never do; or Whether they be things that he hath done, but are not now; things that are now in Being, or things that are not now exiſting, that lie in the Womb of their proper and immediate CauſesPerav. Theol. Dogm. lib. p. 257.; If his underſtanding be Infinite, he then knows all things whatſoever that can be known, elſe his Underſtanding would have bounds, and what hath limits is not infinite, but finite; if he be ignorant of any one thing that is knowable, that is a bound to him, it comes with an exceptions, a but, God knows all things but this, a bar is then ſet to his Knowledg. If there were any thing, any particular circumſtance in the whole Creation, or Non-Creation, and poſſible to be knovvn by him, and yet vvere unknovvn to him, he could not be ſaid to be Omniſcient. As he vvould not be Almighty, if any one thing that implyed not a repugnancy to his Nature, did tranſcend his Povver.

1. Firſt, all things poſſible. No Queſtion but God knovvs vvhat he could create, as vvell as vvhat he hath created: vvhat he vvould not Create, as vvell as vvhat he reſolved to Create; he knevv vvhat he vvould not do, before he vvilled to do it; this is the next thing vvhichwhich declares the Infiniteneſs of his Underſtanding: For as his Povver is infinite, and can Create innumerable Worlds and Creatures; ſo is his Knovvledg infinite, in knovving innumerable things poſſible to his Povver. Poſſibles are infinite; that is, there is no end of vvhat God can do, and therefore no end of vvhat God doth knovv; othervviſe his Povver vvould be more Infinite than his Knovvledg: If he knevv only vvhat is Created, there vvould be an end of his Underſtanding, becauſe all Creatures may be numbred, but poſſible things cannot be reckoned up by any Creature: There is the ſame reaſon of this in Eternity; vvhen never ſo many numbers of Years are run out, there is ſtill more to come, there ſtill vvants an end; and vvhen Millions of Worlds are Created, there is no more an end of Gods Povver, than of Eternity: Thus there is no end of his Underſtanding; that is, his Knovvledg is not terminated by any thing.

This the Scripture gives us ſome accompt of; God knows things that are not, for he calls things that are not, as if they were, Rom. 4.17. he calls things that are not, as if they were in Being; what he calls is not unknown to him: If he knows things that are not, he knows things that may never be; as he knows things that ſhall be, becauſe he Wills them; ſo he knows things that might be, becauſe he is able to effect them: He knew that the Inhabitants of Kelah would betray David to Saul, if he remained in that place, 1 Sam. 23.11. he knew what they would do upon that occaſion, tho' it was never done; as he knew what was in their Power and in their Wills, ſo he muſt needs know vvhat is vvithin the compaſs of his ovvn Povver: As he can permit more than he doth permit; ſo he knovvs vvhat he can permit, and vvhat upon that permiſſion vvould be done by his Creatures; ſo God knevv the poſſibility of the Tyrians Repentance, if they had had the ſame means, heard the p. 281ſame Truths, and beheld the ſame Miracles vvhichwhich vvere offer'd to the Ears, and preſented to the Eyes of the Jews, Matth. 11.21.

This muſt needs be ſo, becauſe

1. Man knows things that are poſſible to him, tho' he will never effect them. A Carpenter knows a Houſe in the model he hath of it in his head, tho' he never build a Houſe according to that model: A Watch-maker hath the frame of a Watch in his mind, which he will never work with his Inſtruments: Man knows what he could do, tho' he never intends to do itFici… de immort. lib. 2. cap. 10.. As the Underſtanding of man hath a vertue, that where it ſees one man, it may imagine Thouſands of men of the ſame ſhape, ſtature, form, parts; yea taller, more vigorous, ſpritely, intelligent than the man he ſees; becauſe it is poſſible ſuch a number may be. Shall not the underſtanding of God much more know what he is able to effect, ſince the underſtanding of man can know what he is never able to produce, yet may be produced by God, viz. that he who produced this man which I ſee, can produce a Thouſand exactly like him? If the Divine Underſtanding did not know infinite things, but were confin'd to a certain number; it may be demanded whether God can underſtand any thing farther than that number, or whether he cannot? If he can, then he doth actually underſtand all thoſe things which he hath a power to underſtand; otherwiſe there would be an increaſe of Gods knowledg, if it were actually now, and not before, and ſo he would be more perfect than he was before; if he cannot underſtand them, then he cannot underſtand what a human mind can underſtand; for our underſtandings can multiply Numbers in infinitum; and there is no number ſo great, but a man can ſtill add to it; We muſt ſuppoſe the Divine Underſtanding more excellent in Knowledg. God knows all that a man can imagine, tho' it never were, nor never ſhall be; he muſt needs know whatſoever is in the Power of man to imagine or think, becauſe God concurs to the ſupport of the faculty in that Imagination; and tho' it may be replied, an Atheist may imagine that there is no God; a man may imagine that God can Lie, or that he can be deſtroy'd; doth God know therefore that he is not? or that he can Lie, or ceaſe to be? No, he knows he cannot; his Knowledg extends to things poſſible, not to things impoſſible to himſelf; he knows it as imaginable by man, not as poſſible in it ſelf; becauſe 'tis utterly impoſſible, and repugnant to the nature of God, ſince he eminently contains in himſelf all things poſſible, paſt, preſent and to come; he cannot know himſelf without knowing them.

2. God knowing his own power, knows whatſoever is in his power to effect. If he knows not all things poſſible, he could not know the extent of his own power, and ſo would not know himſelf, as a cauſe ſufficient for more things than he hath Created: How can he comprehend himſelf, who comprehends not all effluxes of things poſſible that may come from him and be wrought by him? How can he know himſelf as a cauſe, if he know not the Objects and Works which he is able to produceGamach.? Since the power of God extends to numberleſs things, his Knowledg alſo extends to numberleſs objects; as if a Unite could ſee the numbers it could produce, it would ſee Infinite numbers; for a Unite is, as it were, all Number. God knowing the fruitfulneſs of his own Vertue, knows a numberleſs multitude of things which he can do, more than have been done, or ſhall be done by him; he therefore knows innumerable Worlds, innumerable Angels, with higher Perfections than any of them which he hath Created, have: So that if the World ſhould laſt many Millions of Years, God knows that he can every day Create another World more capacious than this; and having Created an unconceivable number, he knows he could ſtill Create more: So that he beholds infinite Worlds, infinite numbers of Men and other Creatures in himſelf, infinite kinds of things, infinite ſpecies and individuals under thoſe kinds, even as many as he can Create, if his Will did order and determine itFicin de immort. lib. 2. cap. 10.; for not being ignorant of his own Power, he cannot be ignorant of the effects wherein it may diſplay and diſcover it ſelf. A comprehenſive knowledg of his own Power doth neceſſarily include the objects of that power; ſo he knows whatſoever he could effect, and whatſoever he could permit, if he pleaſed to do it.

If God could not underſtand more than he hath created, he could not create more than he hath created: for it cannot be conceived how he can create any p. 282thing that he is ignorant of; what he doth not know, he cannot do: he muſt know alſo the extent of his own goodneſs, and how far any thing is capable to partake of it: ſo much therefore as any detract from the Knowledg of God, they detract from his Power.

3. 'Tis further evident that God knows all poſſible things, becauſe he knew thoſe things which he has created, before they were created, when they were yet in a poſſibility. If God knew things before they were created, he knew them when they were in a poſſibility, and not in actual reality. 'Tis abſurd to imagine that his Underſtanding did lacquy after the creatures, and draw knowledg from them after they were created. 'Tis abſurd to think that God did create, before he knew what he could or would create. If he knew thoſe things he did create when they were poſſible, he muſt know all things which he can create, and therefore all things that are poſſible.

To conclude this, We muſt conſider that this Knowledg is of another kind than his knowledg of things that are or ſhall be. He ſees poſſible things as poſſible, not as things that ever are or ſhall be. If he ſaw them as exiſting or future, and they ſhall never be, this knowledg would be falſe, there would be a deceit in it, which cannot be. He knows thoſe things not in themſelves, becauſe they are not, nor in their cauſes becauſe they ſhall never be: he knows them in his own Power, not in his Will: He underſtands them as able to produce them, not as willing to effect them. Things poſſible he knows only in his Power, things future he knows both in his Power and his Will, as he is both able and determin'd in his own good pleaſure to give being to them. Thoſe that ſhall never come to paſs, he knows only in himſelf, as a ſufficient cauſe; thoſe things that ſhall come into being, he knows in himſelf as the efficient cauſe, and alſo in their immediate ſecond cauſes.

This ſhould teach us to ſpend our thoughts in the admirations of the excellency of God, and the divine Knowledg; his Underſtanding is infinite.

2. God knows all things paſt. This is an argument uſed by God himſelf to elevate his Excellency above all the commonly adored Idols, Iſa. 41.22. Let them ſhew the former things, what they be, that we may conſider them, and know the latter end of them. He knows them as if they were now preſent, and not paſt: for indeed in his Eternity there is nothing paſt or future to his knowledg. This is called remembrance in Scripture, as when God remembred Rachels prayer for a child, Gen. 30.22. and he is ſaid to put tears into his bottle, and write them in his Book of Accompts, which ſignifies the exact and unerring knowledg in God of the minute circumſtances paſt in the World; and this knowledg is called a book of remembrance, Mal. 3.16. ſignifying the perpetual preſence of things paſt, before him. There are two elegant expreſſions, ſignifying the certainty and perpetuity of Gods knowledg of ſins paſt, Job 14.17. My tranſgreſſion is ſealed up in a bag, and thou ſoweſt up my iniquity. A Metaphor taken from men that put up in a bag the money they would charily keep, tye the bag, ſow up the holes, and bind it hard that nothing may fall out; or a veſſel wherein they reſerve liquors, and daub it with pitch and glutinous ſtuff, that nothing may leak out, but be ſafely kept till the time of uſe. Or elſe, as ſome think, from the bags Attorneys carry with them, full of Writings, when they are to manage a Cauſe againſt a perſon. Thus we find God often in Scripture calling to mens minds their paſt actions, upbraiding them with their ingratitude, wherein he teſtifies his remembrance of his own paſt benefits, and their Crimes. His knowledg in this regard hath ſomething of infinity in it, ſince tho' the ſins of all men that have been in the World are finite in regard of number, yet when the ſins of one man in thoughts, words, and deeds, are numberleſs in his own account, and perhaps in the count of any creature, the ſins of all the vaſt numbers of men that have been, or ſhall be, are much more numberleſs, it cannot be leſs than infinite knowledg that can make a collection of them, and take a ſurvey of them all at once.

If paſt things had not been known by God, how could Moſes have been acquainted with the Original of things? How could he have declared the former tranſactions, wherein all Hiſtories are ſilent but the Scripture? How could he know the cauſe of mans preſent miſery ſo many ages after, wherewith all. Philoſophy was unacquainted? How could he have writ the order of the Creation, the p. 283particulars of the ſin of Adam, the circumſtances of Cains murder, the private ſpeech of Lamech to his Wives, if God had not revealed them? And how could a Revelation be made, if things paſt were forgotten by him? Do we not remember many things done among men, as well as by our ſelves, and reſerve the forms of divers things in our minds, which riſe as occaſions are preſented to draw them forth? And ſhall not God much more, who hath no cloud of darkneſs upon his underſtanding? A man that makes a curious Picture, hath the form of it in his mind before he made it; and if the fire burn it, the form of it in his mind is not deſtroyed by the fire, but retained in it. Gods memory is no leſs perfect than his underſtanding: If he did not know things paſt, he could not be a righteous Governour, or exerciſe any judicial act in a righteous manner; he could not diſpenſe Rewards and Puniſhments according to his promiſes and threatnings, if things that were paſt could be forgotten by him; he could not require that which is paſt Eccleſ. 3 15.Eccl 3:15, if he did not remember that which is paſt.

And tho' God be ſaid to forget in Scripture, and not to know his People, and his People pray to him to remember them, as if he had forgotten them Pſal. 119 49.Ps 119:49: This is improperly aſcrib'd to God**Bradward.. As God is ſaid to repent, when he changes things according to his Counſel beyond the expectation of men; ſo he is ſaid to forget, when he defers the making good his Promiſe to the Godly, or his Threatnings to the Wicked; this is not a defect of Memory belonging to his mind, but an act of his Will: When he is ſaid to remember his Covenant, 'tis to Will Grace according to his Covenant; when he is ſaid to forget his Covenant, 'tis to intercept the influences of it, whereby to puniſh the Sin of his People; and when he is ſaid not to know his People, 'tis not an abſolute forgetfulneſs of them, but withdrawing from them the Teſtimonies of his Kindneſs, and clouding the Signs of his favour; ſo God in Pardon is ſaid to forget Sin, not that he ceaſeth to know it, but ceaſeth to puniſh it: 'Tis not to be meant of a ſimple forgetfulneſs, or a lapſe of his Memory, but of a Judicial Forgetfulneſs; ſo when his People in Scripture Pray, Lord Remember thy Word unto thy Servant; no more is to be underſtood, but Lord fulfil thy Word and Promiſe to thy Servant.

3. He knows things Preſent. Heb. 4.13. All things are naked and opened unto the Eyes of him with whom we have to do; This is grounded upon the Knowledg of himſelf; 'tis not ſo difficult to know all Creatures exactly, as to know himſelf, becauſe they are finite, but himſelf is infinite; he knows his own Power, and therefore every thing through which his Omnipotence is diffus'd, all the acts and objects of it; not the leaſt thing that is the Birth of his Power, can be conceal'd from him; he knows his own Goodneſs, and therefore every object upon which the warm beams of his Goodneſs ſtrike; he therefore knows diſtinctly the properties of every Creature, becauſe every Property in them is a Ray of his Goodneſs; he is not only the efficient, but the exemplary cauſe; therefore as he knows all that his Power hath wrought, as he is the efficient, ſo he knows them in himſelf as the pattern: As a Carpenter can give an account of every part and paſſage in a Houſe he hath built, by conſulting the Model in his own mind, whereby he built it. He looked upon all things after he had made them, and pronounc'd them good, Gen. 1.3. full of a natural goodneſs he had endowed them with; he did not ignorantly pronounce them ſo, and call them good, whether he knew them or not; and therefore he knows them in particular, as he knew them all in their firſt Preſence. Is there any reaſon he ſhould be ignorant of every thing now preſent in the World, or that any thing that derives an exiſtence from him as a free cauſe, ſhould be concealed from him? If he did not know things preſent in their particularities, many things would be known by man, yea by Beaſts, which the infinite God were ignorant of; and if he did not know all things preſent, but only ſome; 'tis poſſible for the moſt Bleſſed God to be deceived and be miſerable: Ignorance is a Calamity to the Underſtanding: He could not preſcribe Laws to his Creatures, unleſs he knew their Natures, to which thoſe Laws were to be ſuited; no, not natural Ordinances to the Sun, Moon, and Heavenly Bodies, and inanimate Creatures, unleſs he knew the vigour and vertue in them, to execute thoſe Ordinances; for to preſcribe Laws above the nature of things, is inconſiſtent with the Wiſdom of Government; he muſt know how far they were able to obey; whether the Laws were ſuted to p. 284their ability: And for his rational Creatures, Whether the Puniſhments annext to the Law, were proper, and ſuited to the Tranſgreſſion of the Creature.

1. Firſt, He knows all Creatures from the higheſt to the loweſt, the leaſt as well as the greateſt. He knows the Ravens and their young ones Job …. 41.; the Drops of Rain and Dew which he hath begotten Job 38.….Job 38, every Bird in the Air, as well as any man doth what he hath in a Cage at home, Pſal. 50.11. I know all the Fowls in the Mountains, and the wild Beaſts in the Field; which ſome read creeping things. The Clouds are numbred in his Wiſdom, Job 38.37. every Worm in the Earth, every drop of Rain that falls upon the ground, the flakes of Snow, and the knots of Hail, the Sands upon the Sea-ſhore, the Hairs upon the Head; 'tis no more abſurd to imagine that God knows them, than that God made them; they are all the effects of his Power, as well as the Stars, which he calls by their Names, as well as the moſt glorious Angel and bleſſed Spirit; he knows them as well, as if there were none but them in particular for him to know; the leaſt things were framed by his Art as well as the greateſt; the leaſt things partake of his goodneſs as well as the greateſt; he knows his own Arts, and his own Goodneſs, and therefore all the Stamps and Impreſſions of them upon all his Creatures; he knows the immediate cauſes of the leaſt, and therefore the effects of thoſe cauſes. Since his knowledg is infinite, it muſt extend to thoſe things which are at the greateſt diſtance from him, to thoſe which approach neareſt to not Being; ſince he did not want Power to Create, he cannot want Underſtanding to know every thing he hath Created, the diſpoſitions, qualities, and vertues of the minuteſt Creature.

Nor is the Ʋnderſtanding of God embas'd, and ſuffers a diminution by the Knowledg of the vileſt and moſt inconſiderable things: Is it not an imperfection to be ignorant of the nature of any thing? and can God have ſuch a defect in his moſt perfect Underſtanding? Is the Underſtanding of man of an impurer Alloy by knowing the nature of the rankeſt Poyſons? by underſtanding a Fly? or a ſmall Inſect? or by conſidering the deformity of a Toad? Is it not generally counted a note of a Dignified mind, to be able to Diſcourſe of the Nature of them? Was Solomon, who knew all from the Cedar to the Hyſop, debas'd by ſo Rich a Preſent of Wiſdom from his Creator? Is any Glaſs defil'd by preſenting a Deformed Image? Is there any thing more vile than the imaginations, which are only evil, and continually? doth not the mind of man deſcend to the mud of the Earth, play the Adulterer or Idolater with mean objects, ſuck in the moſt unclean things? yet God knows theſe in all their circumſtances, in every appearance, inſide and outſide. Is there any thing viler than ſome thoughts of men? than ſome actions of men? their unclean Beds and Gluttonous Vomiting, and Luciferian Pride? yet do not theſe fall under the Eye of God, in all their Nakedneſs? The Second Perſon's taking Human Nature, tho' it obſcur'd, yet it did not diſparage the Deity; or bring any diſgrace to it: Is Gold the worſe for being formed into the Image of a Fly? doth it not ſtill retain the nobleneſs of the Metal? When men are deſpis'd for deſcending to the knowledg of mean and vile things, 'tis becauſe they neglect the knowledg of the greater; and Sin in their enquiries after leſſer things, with a neglect of that which concerns more the Honour of God and the Happineſs of themſelves; to be ambitious of ſuch a Knowledg, and careleſs of that of more concern, is criminal and contemptible. But God knows the greateſt as well as the leaſt; mean things are not known by him to exclude the knowledg of the greater; nor are vile things govern'd by him to exclude the order of the better. The Deformity of Objects known by God doth not deform him, nor defile him; he doth not view them without himſelf, but within himſelf, wherein all things in their Ideas are Beautiful and Comely: Our knowledg of a Deformed thing, is not a Deforming of our Underſtanding, but is beautiful in the Knowledg, tho' it be not in the object; nor is there any fear that the Underſtanding of God ſhould become material by knowing material things, any more than our Underſtandings loſe their Spirituality by knowing the nature of Bodies; 'tis to be obſerved therefore that only thoſe ſenſes of men, as ſeeing, hearing, ſmelling, which have thoſe qualities for their objects that come neareſt the nature of ſpiritual things, as Light, Sounds, fragrant Odours, are aſcrib'd to God in Scripture; not Touching or Taſting, which are ſenſes that are not exercis'd p. 285without a more immediate commerce with groſs matter; and the reaſon may be, becauſe we ſhould have no groſs thoughts of God, as if he were a body, and made of matter, like the things he knows.

2. As he knows all Creatures, ſo God knows all the actions of Creatures. He counts in particular all the ways of men. Doth he not ſee all my ways, and count all my ſteps? Job 31.4. He tells their wandrings, as if one by one, Pſal. 56.8. His eyes are upon all the ways of man, and he ſees all his goings, Job. 34.21. a Metaphor taken from men, when they look wiſtly, with fixed Eyes upon a thing, to view it in every circumſtance, whence it comes, whether it goes, to obſerve every little motion of it. Gods Eye is not a wandring, but a fixed Eye; and the ways of man are not only before his eyes, but he doth exactly ponder them Prov. 5.21.Prov 5:21; as one that will not be ignorant of the leaſt Mite in them, but weigh and examine them by the Standard of his Law; he may as well know the motions of our Members, as the Hairs of our Heads; the ſmalleſt actions before they be, whether Civil, Natural or Religious, fall under his Cognizance; what meaner than a man carrying a Pitcher, yet our Saviour foretels it, Luke 22.10. God knows not only what men do, but what they would have done, had he not reſtrained them; what Abimelech would have done to Sarah, had not God put a Bar in his way, Gen. 20.6. What a man that is taken away in his Youth, would have done, had he lived to a riper Age; yea he knows the moſt ſecret words as well as actions; the words ſpoken by the King of Iſrael in his Bed-Chamber, were revealed to Eliſha, 2 Kings 6.12. and indeed how can any action of man be conceal'd from God? Can we view the various actions of a heap of Ants or a Hive of Bees in a glaſs, without turning our Eyes; and ſhall not God behold the actions of all men in the World, which are leſs than Bees or Ants in his Sight, and more viſible to him than an Ant-Hill or Bee-Hive can be to the acuteſt eye of man?

3. As God knows all the actions of Creatures, ſo he knows all the Thoughts of Creatures. The thoughts are the moſt cloſetted acts of man, hid from men and Angels, unleſs diſclos'd by ſome outward Expreſſions; but God deſcends into the depths and abyſſes of the Soul, diſcerns the moſt inward contrivances; nothing is impenetrable to him; the Sun doth not ſo much enlighten the Earth, as God underſtands the Heart; all thoughts are as viſible to him, as Flies and Motes enclos'd in a body of tranſparent Chryſtal; this man naturally allows to God. Men often ſpeak to God by the motions of their minds and ſecret Ejaculations; which they would not do, if it were not naturally implanted in them, that God knows all their inward motions; the Scripture is plain and poſitive in this, He tries the Heart and the Reins, Pſal. 7.9. as men by the uſe of Fire diſcern the droſſy and purer parts of Metals: The ſecret intentions and aims, the moſt lurking affections ſeated in the Reins; he knows that which no man, no Angel is able to know, which a man himſelf knows not, nor makes any particular reflection upon; yea he weighs the Spirit, Prov. 16.2. he exactly numbers all the devices and inclinations of men, as men do every piece of Coyn they tell out of a heap. He diſcerns the Thoughts and intents of the heart, Heb. 4.12. all that is in the mind, all that is in the affections, every ſtirring and purpoſe; ſo that not one thought can be withheld from him, Job. 42.2. yea Hell and Deſtruction are before him, much more then the Hearts of the Children of men? Prov. 15.11. he works all things in the Bowels of the Earth, and brings forth all things out of that Treaſure, ſay ſome: but more naturally, God knows the whole ſtate of the dead, all the receptacles and Graves of their bodies, all the bodies of men conſumed by the Earth, or devoured by living Creatures; things that ſeem to be out of all Being; he knows the Thoughts of the Devils and Damned Creatures, whom he hath caſt out of his care for ever, into the arms of his Juſtice, never more to caſt a delightful glance towards them; not a ſecret in any Soul in Hell, (which he hath no need to know, becauſe he ſhall not judg them by any of the Thoughts they now have, ſince they were condemned to puniſhment) is hid from him; much more is he acquainted with the Thoughts of living men, the counſels of whoſe hearts are yet to be manifeſted, in order to their Tryal and Cenſure; yea, he knows them before they ſpring up into actual being, Pſal. 139.2. thou underſtandeſt my Thoughts afar off; my Thoughts, that is, every Thought; tho' innumerable Thoughts paſs through me in a day, and that in the Sourſe and Fountain, p. 286when it is yet in the Womb, before it is our Thought; if he knows them before their Exiſtence, before they can be properly called ours; much more doth he know them when they actually ſpring up in us; he knows the tendency of them, where the Bird will light when it is in flight; he knows them exactly, he is therefore called a diſcerner or criticizer of the Heart, Heb. 4.12. As a Critick diſcerns every Letter, Point, and Stop; he is more intimate with us than our Souls with our Bodies, and hath more the Poſſeſſion of us than we have of our ſelves; he knows them by an inſpection into the heart, not by the Mediation of ſecond cauſes, by the looks or geſtures of men, as men may diſcern the Thoughts of one another.

1. God diſcerns all good motions of the Mind and Will. Theſe he puts into men, and needs muſt God know his own act; he knew the Son of Jeroboam to have ſome good thing in him towards the Lord God of Iſrael, 1 Kings 14.13. and the integrity of David and Hezekiah; the freeſt motions of the Will and Affections to him. Lord, thou knowest that I love thee ſaith Peter, John 21.17. Love can be no more reſtrain'd, than the Will it ſelf can. A man may make another to grieve and deſire, but none can force another to Love.

2. God diſcerns all the evil motions of the Mind and Will. Every imagination of the Heart, Gen. 6.5. the vanity of mens thoughts, Pſal. 94.11. their inward darkneſs and deceitful diſguiſes: No wonder that God who faſhion'd the heart, ſhould underſtand the motions of it, Pſal. 33.13, 15. He looks from Heaven and beholds all the Children of men: he faſhioneth their hearts alike, and conſiders all their Works. Doth any man make a Watch, and yet be ignorant of its motion? Did God fling away the Key to this ſecret Cabinet, when he framed it, and put off the power of unlocking it when he pleaſed? He did not ſurely frame it in ſuch a poſture as that any thing in it ſhould be hid from his Eye; he did not faſhion it to be Priviledged from his Government; which would follow, if he were ignorant of what was Minted and Coined in it.

He could not be a Judg to puniſh men, if the inward frames and Principles of mens actions were concealed from him; an outward action may glitter to an outward eye, yet the ſecret ſpring be a deſire of applauſe, and not the Fear and Love of God. If the inward frames of the heart did lye covered from him in the ſecret receſſes of the heart; thoſe plauſible acts, which in regard of their Principles, would merit a Puniſhment, would meet with a Reward; and God ſhould beſtow Happineſs where he had denounced Miſery. As without the knowledg of what is juſt, he could not be a Wiſe Law-giver; ſo without the knowledg of what is inwardly committed, he could not be a Righteous Judg; acts that are rotten in the ſpring, might be judged good by the fair colour and appearance.

This is the glory of God at the laſt day, to manifeſt the ſecrets of all hearts, 1 Cor. 4.5. and the Prophet Jeremiah links the power of Judging, and the Prerogative of trying the Hearts together, Jer. 11.20. but thou, O Lord of Hoſts, that Judgeſt Righteouſly, that tryeſt the Reins and the Heart: and Jer. 17.10. I the Lord ſearch the Heart, I try the Reins; to what end? even to give every man according to his way, and according to the fruit of his doings. And indeed his binding up the whole Law with that command of not coveting, evidenceth that he will Judg men by the inward affections and frames of their hearts. Again, God ſuſtains the mind of man in every act of thinking; In him we have not only the Principle of Life, but every motion, the motion of our minds as vvell as of our members: In him we live and move, &c. Acts 17.28. Since he ſupports the vigor of the faculty in every act, can he be ignorant of thoſe acts vvhichwhich ſpring from the faculty, to vvhichwhich he doth at that inſtant communicate povver and ability?

Novv this knovvledg of the Thoughts of men is,

1. An incommunicable Property, belonging only to the Divine Ʋnderſtanding. Creatures indeed may knovv the thoughts of others by Divine Revelation, but not by themſelves; no Creature hath a Key immediately to open the minds of men, and ſee all that lodgeth there; no Creature can Fathom the heart by the Line of Created KnowledgeDaille ſerm. Part 1. p. 230.. Devils may have a conjectural Knowledg, and may gueſs at them, by the acquaintance they have with the Diſpoſition and Conſtitution of men, and the Images they behold in their Fancies; and by ſome marks which an p. 287inward imagination may ſtamp upon the Brain, Blood, Animal Spirits, Face, &c. But the knowing the Thougnts meerly as Thought, without any Impreſſion by it, is a Royalty God appropriates to himſelf, as the main ſecret of his Government, and a Perfection declarative of his Deity, as much as any elſe, Jer. 17.9, 10. the heart of man is deſperately wicked, who can know it? yes, there is one, and but one, I the Lord ſearch the Heart, I try the Reins. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks upon the Heart, 1 Sam. 16.7. where God is diſtinguiſht by this Perfection from all men whatſoever; others may know by Revelation, as Eliſha did, what was in Gehazi's heart, 2 Kings 5.26. But God knows a man more than any man knows himſelf; What perſon upon earth underſtands the windings and turnings of his own heart, what reſerves it will have, what contrivances, what inclinations? all which God knows exactly.

2. God acquires no new Knowledg of the thoughts and heart, by the Diſcovery of them in the actions. He would then be but equal in this part of Knowledg to his Creature; no man or Angel but may thus arrive to the Knowledg of them; God were then excluded from an abſolute Dominion over the prime work of his lower Creation; he would have made a Creature ſuperior in this reſpect to himſelf, upon whoſe Will to diſcover, his knowledg of their inward intentions ſhould depend; and therefore when God is ſaid to ſearch the heart, we muſt not underſtand it as if God were ignorant before, and was fain to make an exact ſcrutiny and enquiry, before he attained what he deſired to know; but God condeſcends to our capacity in the expreſſion of his own Knowledg, ſignifying that his Knowledg is as compleat as any mans Knowledg can be, of the deſigns of others, after he hath ſifted them by a ſtrict and through examination, and wrung out a diſcovery of their intentions; that he knows them as perfectly as if he had put them upon the rack, and forced them to make a diſcovery of their ſecret Plottings. Nor muſt we underſtand that in Gen. 22.12. where God ſaith, after Abraham had ſtretched out his hand to Sacrifice his Son, Now I know that thou feareſt God, as though God was ignorant of Abrahams gracious diſpoſition to him; did Abrahams drawing his Knife, furniſh God with a new Knowledg? no, God knew Abrahams pious inclinations before, Gen. 18.19. I know him that he will command his Children after him, &c. Knowledg is ſometimes taken for approbation; then the ſenſe will be, now I approve this Fact as a Teſtimony of thy fear of me; ſince thy affection to thy Iſaac is extinguiſh'd by the more powerful flame of affection to my Will and Command; I now accept thee, and count thee a meet ſubject of my choiceſt Benefits; or now I know, that is, I have made known and manifeſted the Faith of Abraham to himſelf and to the World. Thus Paul uſes the word know, 1 Cor. 2.2. I have determined to know nothing; that is to declare and teach nothing, to make known nothing but Chriſt Crucified; or elſe, now I know, that is, I have an evidence and experiment in this noble fact, that thou feareſt me. God often condeſcends to our capacity in ſpeaking of himſelf after the manner of men, as if he had (as men do) known the inward affections of others by their outward actions.

4. God knows all the Evils and Sins of Creatures.

1. God knows all Sin. This follows upon the other. If he knows all the actions and thoughts of Creatures, he knows alſo all the Sinfulneſs in thoſe acts and thoughts: This Zophar infers from Gods puniſhing men, Job 11.11. for he knows vain man, he ſees his wickedneſs alſo; he knows every man, and ſees the wickedneſs of every man: He looks down from Heaven, and beholds not only the filthy perſons, but what is filthy in themPſal. 14.2, 3.Ps 14:2Ps 14:3, all Nations in the World, and every man of every Nation, none of their iniquity is hid from his eyes; He ſearches Jeruſalem with Candles, Jer. 16.17. God follows Sinners ſtep by ſtep, with his eye; and will not leave ſearching out till he hath taken them; a Metaphor taken from one that ſearches all Chinks with a Candle, that nothing can be hid from him. He knows it diſtinctly in all the parts of it, how an Adulterer riſes out of his Bed to commit Uncleanneſs, what contrivances he had, what ſteps he took, every circumſtance in the whole progreſs; not only evil in the bulk, but every one of the blacker ſpots upon it, which may moſt aggravate it. If he did not know Evil, how could he permit it, order it, puniſh it or pardon it? Doth he permit he knows not what? Order to his own holy ends what he is ignorant of? Puniſh or pardon that which p. 288he is uncertain whether it be a Crime or no? Cleanſe me, ſaith David, from my ſecret faults, Pſ. 19.12. ſecret in regard of others, ſecret in regard of himſelf; how could God cleanſe him from that whereof he was ignorant? He knows Sins before they are committed, much more when they are in act; he foreknew the Idolatry and Apoſtacy of the Jews; what Gods they would ſerve, in what meaſure they would provoke him, and violate his CovenantDeut. 31.20, 21.Deut 31:20Deut 31:21; he knew Judas his Sin long before Judas his actual exiſtence, foretelling it in the Pſalms; and Chriſt predicts it before he acted it. He ſees Sins future in his own permitting Will; he ſees Sins preſent in his own ſupporting act. As he knows things poſſible to himſelf, becauſe he knows his own power; ſo he knows things practicable by the Creature, becauſe he knows the Power and Principles of the CreatureFotherby Atheoma p. 132.. This Sentiment of God is naturally writ in the fears of Sinners, upon Lightning, Thunder, or ſome Prodigious operation of God in the World; what is the Language of them, but that he ſees their Deeds, hears their words, knows the inward ſinfulneſs of their hearts; that he doth not only behold them as a meer Spectator, but conſiders them as a juſt Judg. And the Poets ſay, that the Sins of men leapt into Heaven and were writ in Parchments of Jupiter foreign Croſs. Anthol. dec. 1. cap. 395 p. 101., ſcelus in terram geritur, in coelo ſcribitur: ſin is acted on Earth, and recorded in Heaven. God indeed doth not behold Evil with the approving eye; he knows it not with a practical knowledg to be the Author of it, but with a ſpeculative Knovvledg, ſo as to underſtand the ſinfulneſs of it; or a knovvledg ſimplicis intelligentiae, of ſimple intelligence, as he permits them, not poſitively vvills them; he knovvs them not vvith a knovvledg of aſſent to them, but diſſent from them. Evil pertains to a diſſenting act of the mind, and an averſive act of the Will; and vvhat tho' evil formally taken, hath no diſtinct Conception, becauſe it is a privation; a Defect hath no Being, and all knovvledg is by the apprehenſion of ſome Being; vvould not this lye as ſtrongly againſt our ovvn knovvledg of Sin? Sin is a privation of the rectitude due to an act; and vvho doubts mans knovvledg of Sin? by his knovving the act, he knovvs the deficiency of the act; the ſubject of evil hath a Being, and ſo hath a conception in the mind; that vvhichwhich hath no Being cannot be knovvn by it ſelf, or in it ſelf; but vvill it follovv that it cannot be knovvn by its contrary? as vve knovv darkneſs to be a privation of light, and folly to be a privation of vviſdom. God knovvs all good by himſelf, becauſe he is the Soveraign good; Is it ſtrange then, that he ſhould knovv all evil, ſince all evil is in ſome natural good?

2. The manner of Gods knowing Evil, is not ſo eaſily known. And indeed, as vve cannot comprehend the Eſſence of God, tho' it is eaſily intelligible that there is ſuch a Being; ſo vve can as little comprehend the manner of Gods Knovvledg, tho' vve cannot but conclude him to be an intelligent Being, a pure Underſtanding, knovving all things: As God hath a higher manner of Being than his Creatures, ſo he hath another and higher manner of knovving; and vve can as little comprehend the manner of his knovving, as vve can the manner of his Being. But as to the manner,

Doth not God knovv his ovvn Lavv, and ſhall he not knovv hovv much any action comes ſhort of his Rule? he cannot knovv his ovvn Rule vvithout knovving all the deviations from it. He knovvs his ovvn Holineſs, and ſhall he not ſee hovv any action is contrary to the Holineſs of his ovvn nature? Doth not God knovv every thing that is true? and is it not true that this or that is evil? and ſhall God be ignorant of any Truth? Hovv doth God knovv that he cannot lye, but by knovving his ovvn Veracity? Hovv doth God knovv that he cannot Dye, but by knovving his ovvn Immutability? and by knovving thoſe, he knovvs vvhat a Lye is, he knovvs vvhat Death is; ſo if Sin never had been, if no Creature had ever been, God vvould have knovvn vvhat Sin vvas, becauſe he knovvs his ovvn Holineſs; becauſe he knevv vvhat Lavv vvas fit to be appointed to his Creatures if he ſhould Create them, and that that Lavv might be tranſgreſt by them. God knovvs all good, all goodneſs in himſelf; he therefore hath a foundation in himſelf to knovv all that comes ſhort of that goodneſs, that is oppoſite to that Holineſs: As if Light vvere capable of Underſtanding, it vvould knovv Darkneſs only by knovving it ſelf; by knovving it ſelf, it vvould knovv vvhat is contrary to it ſelf. God knovvs all Created goodneſs vvhichwhich he hath planted in the Creature; he knovvs p. 289then all defects from this goodneſs, what Perfection an act is deprived of; what is oppoſite to that goodneſs, and that is evil. As we know Sickneſs by Health, Diſcord by Harmony, Blindneſs by Sight, becauſe it is a privation of Sight; whoſoever knows one contrary knows the other; God knows unrighteouſneſs by the Idea which he hath of Righteouſneſs, and ſees an act deprived of that rectitude and goodneſs which ought to be in it; he knows evil becauſe he knows the cauſes whence evil proceedsCuſan p 245.. A Painter knows a Picture of his own framing, and if any one daſhes any baſe colour upon it, ſhall not he alſo know that? God by his hand Painted all Creatures, impreſt upon man the fair ſtamp and colour of his own Image; the Devil defiles it, man daubs it; Doth not God that knows his own Work, know how this Piece is become different from his Work? Doth not God that knows his Creatures goodneſs, which himſelf was the Fountain of, know the change of this goodneſs? Yea, he knew before, that the Devil would ſow Tares where he had ſown Wheat; and therefore that Controverſy of ſome in the Schools, Whether God knew evil by its oppoſition to Created or Uncreated goodneſs, is needleſs. We may ſay God knows Sin as it is oppoſite to Created goodneſs, yet he knows it radically by his own goodneſs, becauſe he knows the goodneſs he hath communicated to the Creature by his own Eſſential goodneſs in himſelf. To conclude this head: