The Rising Sun, Chapter 4
CHAP. IV. Omniscience the second Incommunicable Attribute.
THE next Incommunicable Attribute of Christ is his Omniscience, whereof the Suns All-seeing Eye is a lively Resemblance. Sol solus Oculus, mundi Ocellus, Dei lumen, visibile numen. The Sun is all eye, hath thousands of beams in every place, looks upon every object with so direct a face, (as a well drawn Picture) as if it beheld none else; filling the largest windowes, peeping in at the least crevise or key hole: the heaven above, earth beneath, aire between, enlightned all at once with his splendor, vieweth all Regions. The worlds great overseer, glanceth into the Dungeon, and shineth with the same beauty on the poorest cottage as on Princes Palaces; the noisome dunghil, and the delightful Garden, both are alike viewed and observed; there is nothing Psal. 19, 6.hid from the heat thereof; in it hath God placed his …abernacle, it is his Chariot wherein he rides his daily circuit. What can be such an Emblem of Gods Omniscience, and of that Visibile Numen, Jesus Christ, who is all eye, whose eyes are as flames of fire, whose face shineth as the Sun in his might, hath his beams, his eyes running to and fro, andProv. 15. 3. his spies out, watching in every place, beholding the evil and the good? nothing hid from the Suns heat, nor this Suns sight. All things are naked and opened to the eyes ofHeb. 4. 13. him, with whom we have to do.
Whither canst thou go, O sinner, from his presence, and where wilt thou hide thee from his eye? darknesse and light are both alike to him, secret thoughts and open acts both alike; the thought afar off…e can discern, as clear as we can the word spoken inJob. 34. 22. our ears. There is no darknesse or shadow of death, where the workers of iniguity may hide themselves from him.
1. What a delightfull meditation is thisApplicat. 1. to him who is foreign, whose left hand (neighbour) knows not what his right hand doth; who shuts his doors & praies in secret; shuts up his Trumpet, and gives Alms inMatth. 6. secret; anoints his face, and fasts in secret; shuts up his lips, and mourns in secret? as being nunquam minus solus quam cum solus, and thinking nullibi tot Testes ubi sine Teste; Thou art never lesse alone, then when alone; nor hast so many observers, as when there is none to observe. Gods sincere ones are his secret ones. The Ark which was close made up on every side, had a window in the Top,Psal. 83. 3. Gen. 6. 16. open only to heaven. Matth. 10. 26. Fear not, nothing is covered that shall not be manifest; what thou speakest in the ears shall be proclaimed on the house top; and what in secret, shal be rewarded openly. Christ spyed out Nathaniel lying under the fig-tree, as well as Zacheus on the Top of his fig tree; heard Paul below in theJohn 1 4…. Luke 19 4. Luke 18. dungeon, as wel as Peter on the house top; and took more notice of the Publican standing a far off out of sight, then the Pharisee in the1 Cor. 4 5. midst of the Throng. The Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darknesse, and make manifest the counsels of the heart, then shal every mam have prais… of God. The Sun looks as well into thy closet casement, as into the large Church windows. And into that closet especially Christ delights to look and dwell, where as in Solomons temple, the windows1 King. 6. 4. are of narrow lights, or as some read it, of windows narrow without, broad withinApplicat. 2
2. Is Christ his eye, as the Suns, in every place? what conviction, warning, and terror may this speak to such Atheisticall wretches, as say, How shall God see? How Psal. 94 7 and … ▪ …. Job. …2. 13▪ 14.doth God know? Thick clouds are a covering to him, that hee seeth not, and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. Especially such miscreants as in the Chambers of their imaginary conclude, when they have shut out man, they can shut out God too; and having already shut God out of their hearts, conclude, they have shut him out of the world too, Ezek. 8. 12. and 9. 9. The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
Shut, oh Atheist, the Sun out of the world if thou canst; shut it out of thy house. It is impossible. Hath the Sun his eye in every place, and hath not God? Understand then ye unwise among the people, Shall not he that made the Sun all eye, be all eye himselfe? He that made the ear, doth not he hear? D…thPsal. 94. 8, 9. not the Watch-maker know all the wheels, and every Pin in the Watch he made? Doth not the Statuary know all the frame of his image? and is any thing hid from him that made the heart?
Turpe quid ausurus, Te sine Teste time.
There are three witnesses when thou art alone, who have alwaies their eye on thee; the Sun, thy Conscience, and the Lord Jesus; fear the Sun, but thy conscience more, which is a thousand Suns; fear thy conscience much, but Christ more, who is a thousand consciences. The Lord threatens to search out Zeph. 1. 12.such as are setled on their Lees with Candles; that say in their hearts, The Lord wil not doe good, neither wil he do evil.
There are two sorts of candles God useth, 1. Some shining, 2. Some burning.
There are four shining Candles wicked men take no notice of: 1. The candle of Gods mercies, bounty, patience. 2. The candle of the Sun. 3. Of his Word. 4. Of their own conscience. These are Gods first candles, pleasant and shining lights: if these be put out, or not regarded, God will set up four burning Candles, that shall not be so easily blown out; He will search thee out 1. With the burning candle of affliction, as he did Saul, wheh the Philistines were upon1 Sam. 28. 15. him; this is lighted at the fire of mercy abused. 2. With the burning candle of a terrifying conscience, lighted at the fire of an enlightned, awakened, galled conscience, which is sadder then the former; this is a searching candle indeed, with which Judas was searchched and lighted down to he…. 3. There is a worse candle then both these, the candle of death, kindled at the wrath of God, wherewith he searches those further, then ever he did yet either by affliction or conscience; the day of death is a day of wrath; then doth God set up a candle that burnes till the day of Judgment. The fourth candle is the saddestProv. 11. 4. of all, the candle of Judgment, lighted from hell, whereby he will search out all the sins of wicked men, and this candle shall never leave burning.
3. Then let thine eye be ever on him,Applicat. whose eye is ever on thee: be an heavenly Heliotropium▪ turn to the Sun of Righteousnesse; call thy place Beer-la-hai-ro…; I have seen him that ever seeth me: make thy house a Bethel, the house of God, and make thy heart a Beth-shemesh, an house for the Sun.
Let thy heart be as the Sun-Dyal, which receiveth the Sun in the morning, and goes along with it all day; only cast no shadow behind thee; in the face of the Sun the Dyals do not: in the face of Christ, how grosse is it? Be full of eyes within, without, before, behind, as those living Creatures, Revel. 4. 6. or those living wheels Ezek. 1. 18.
Canst thou the secret sympathy behold,Du Barte….
Betwixt the bright Sun and the Marigold,
And not consider that we must no less
Follow in life the Sun of Righteousness?
Let the morning Sun find thee praying with Jacob, Gen 32 24. The noon Sun see thee working; and the evening Sun see thee meditating with Isaak, Gen 24. 63. Let not the Sun when risen, see thee sleeping unrisen; Sun all day moving, behold thee all day standing still; and Sunne setting, leave thy Lust and Passion not set.