England Faithfully Watched, Lecture 13
Coloſs. 1.15. Who is the image of the [inviſible God.
GOd is inviſible in action and in perſon; in the one partly, and in the other wholly; in the one for a time, and in the other till time ſhall be no more. God is inviſible in creation, this world is a glorious fabrick, but built without hands, and without tools, onelyonly with the word of his mouth: and can you ſee the words a man ſpeaks? God was rather audible then viſible in the making of all things: Conſider all things as made, and the glory of theſe is inviſible. Can you ſee thrones, and dominions, principalities and powers? ſpirits which ſerve you, or ſpirits which maligne you, of which the aire you breath in is full as the ſunne of beams? The heavens and all the hoſts of them do you ſee? You have many mighty friends which you ſee not, and many mighty enemies, and all theſe in ſuch a large room, the breadth of which above nor below you ſee not: look above you, and look under you, have you ſeen how your countrey-houſe is roofed and floored? Can you ſee the breadth of that canopy that is over you, or of that green foot-cloth, that is under you? Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth, declare if thou knoweſt it all, ſaith God to Job, chap. 38.18. ſo I may ſay to the greateſt aſtronomer, Haſt thou perceived the breadth of the heavens, declare if thou knoweſt it all? If we ſee not the roof nor the floore, ſurely we ſee not the foundation of this world at all: whereupon are the foundations of the world framed, or who laid the corner-ſtone thereof? The profundity and inviſibility of God in creation, doth he himſelf go on, thus ſpeaking of to Job. Solomon in a like ſtyle ſpeaks to this purpoſe: He hath ſet the world in its perfection, ſo that no man can find out the work which God makes from the beginning to the end, Eccleſ. 3.
God in providence is inviſible: Can you ſee thoſe pillars upon which the world ſtands, upon which England now ſtands? Can you behold thoſe wheels that turn round the world, and behold how in their motion ſtill they fulfill eternall counſells? Can you apprehend as you are apprehended? Can you comprehend as you are comprehended? Can you maſter divine actions with your eye, as it maſters you with its hand? Can you ſee him that ſpeaks to the little world, and to the great world, and to the proud ſeas and waves which rage in both, Come thus far and no farther? He that ſpeaks to the clouds, Water this citie, and not that? and to the ſword, Go and deſtroy in this kingdome, and not in that? Can you ſee that hand which leads you, that hand which feeds you, that hand which protects you, thoſe everlaſting arms which are underneath you? That boſome in which lambs are carried, and thoſe leggs on which the weak run and are not weary? Can you tell me how many ſervants wait upon you? and can you ſee of what ſtature they are, and what livery they wear? Is their cognizance your cognizance? When I propoſe ſuch queries as theſe to my ſad ſhallow ſoul, I am fain to break out and break off with Job, He doth great things paſt finding out, and wonders without number: Lo he goeth by me and I ſee him not, and he paſſeth on alſo, but I perceive him not, Job 9.10. A man, a Chriſtian cannot ſee God many times, and yet God faſt by. A man thinks God is going backward with ſuch a buſineſſe, when he is going on with it: He paſſeth on, and yet I cannot perceive him: Job ſpake this as if this had been his caſe alone; but alas, 'tis not, 'tis every mans caſe: God goes out of ſight to him; the wiſeſt man, the moſt ſeeing man is in the dark frequently, in this point of providence, Eccles. 8.17.
You ſee now that God is inviſible in action, in that wherein he is moſt ſeeable, and therefore I thinke you will eaſily believe he is ſo in perſon; the materiality of his being, the immenſity of his being, and the glory of being, which reſults from both the former, neceſſarily render him inviſible to us. God is not onelyonly inviſible in regard of his eſſence or god-head, but alſo in regard of the fulneſſe and glory thereof, which is called light indeed in the Scripture, but yet ſuch as to which no mortall eye can approch. The beams of the ſunne above, though light, yet ſo glorious as too big for any organ we have to take in. Things have denſity to terminate, colour to congregate, being, and glory of being finite; yea both not onelyonly finite, but both brought down to a ſuitable proportion to ſuch a tender organ, or elſe our eye languiſhes, and cloſes it ſelf, as able to make no viſion. God is not ſimply inviſible, but inviſible in reference to us; Angels ſee him, and Saints above ſee him, they behold his face, which is the moſt inviſible. God is inviſible to a mortall eye, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks: a mortall eye muſt have its adaequatae objecta, or elſe 'tis diſcouraged, and cloſes, and gives off its office. God hath not one adequate to render him viſible to a mortall eye, neither matter nor form, neither longitude nor latitude, neither white nor ruddy, without any dimenſion, and without any circumſcription of time or place, or any accident or ſhadow of them. The ſumme of all is what I ſaid in the beginning, That God is wholly inviſible, inviſible in perſon and action.
Ʋſe. Each of theſe are diſtinctly uſefull: that God is inviſible in action tremble before him. Sinners look not after their ſouls, I tremble to ſee it, becauſe there lies the action of God principally, a man is killed inviſibly. Sinne is beſt pleaſing, the man will have his way, now God with-draws, and this action is not ſeen, but yet is the eternall death of a ſoul: thouſands are thus ſlain, and no wounds ſeen, felt nor complained of. There be a great many bodies viſibly ſlain, and this makes you ſhake; but there be a great many ſouls inviſibly ſlain, the ſword of the ſpirit cuts off the ſpirits of men utterly from God apace, therefore is hypocriſie at ſuch a helliſh height, and ſo many great men become as devils, and making damnation a court-complement. There be a great many ſlain and fallen, but weep not for theſe; there be a great many more ſlain that are not yet fallen, inviſibly ſlain utterly cut off from God; O weep for theſe, for when theſe fall they will fall very low. Fear not, Chriſtian, they have their deaths wound that warre againſt you, a deadly wound at heart from heaven which you ſee not; ſtand ſtill and you will ſee them fall fearfully, hell pangs are upon them; do you not hear them grone to be there, by their horride imprecations? Our warre hath ſlain more then we ſee, how do men give up the holy Ghoſt daily! and ſouls breathe out their laſt good breath! What making of graves, tolling and ringing out is there in the other world below, if a man could ſee it! Sinners, tremble at theſe things, for I tremble to think of ſome of you: I ſee that in ſome of you, which I fear is yet inviſible to your ſouls, inviſible judiciary action upon your ſouls, beg that your eyes may be opened that you may ſee Gods actions within you in ſome meaſure, or you are loſt men.
Gods action is inviſible, truſt in him: when Gods action carries not that in it viſibly, which we look for, we think it hath nothing in it at all, nor means nothing for our good, and ſo let fall faith, and fall a quarrelling with God and one another; 'tis our great diſadvantage at this day and nothing more, with which God is diſpleaſed, which will be more and more diſadvantage to us onelyonly. Why ſayeſt thou, O Jacob, and ſpeakest O Iſrael, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgement is paſſed over from my God? When we cannot ſee God going along with us in every thing, we think he hath caſt us off; the godly deſpair, and the wicked preſume when things are thus carried, both which are much alike good; one looſeth his comfort, the other looſeth his ſoul. When we are in the dark and know not where we are, God knows where he is, variation of action doth not prove variation of intention; one end may be intended in travell, though every day the way turn. In countreys full of mountains, wayes are neceſſitated to turn and take compaſſe much: there are great mountains in the Churches way, theſe make many turnings, and put us oft to a ſtand, to ſee our way, and him that goes before us. Chriſtians, be not diſcouraged, it is the manner of God to hide himſelf oft, when he intends to ſhew his face gloriouſly. I cannot let down my faith reſpecting Gods intentions of love, to this bleeding land: that that God now hides himſelf let it make matter of prayer, as it did to David in like caſe, and not matter of unbelief and impatience: Hide not thy face from thy ſervant, for I am in trouble: heare me ſpeedily, & deliver me out of the mire, and let me not ſink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters: let not the water-flouds overflow me, neither let the deep ſwallow me in, let not the pit ſhut her mouth upon me, &c.
Finally, for as much as God according to perſon is inviſible to a mortall eye; long to be out of the body, that mortality may put on immortality, a mortall eye, become an immortall eye, that you may ſee him that dwells in that light, to which no mortall eye can reach. The body makes miſery, and not felicity to the ſoul here; our mortall eye beholds nothing but mortality, and ſo all our viſion in the body, makes miſery, and not felicity to the ſoul. What is this world but a great body filled with the curſe of God! and what are all the creatures of this world but each others deadly executioners, and the duſt of one, a grave to turn another into the ſame! and this is our dolefull viſion throughout our dying life here; our eye affects, and afflicts our hearts, and yet do not we long to go home, to have better viſion, the viſion of Saints, and the viſion of Angels and the viſion of God, in which is heaven. Know your errour now, you carnall wretches: all is going away, whither are your ſouls going, to ſee God, or the devil? Know your errour Chriſtians, the glory of this world hath taken your eye, and the ſhame of it will take your perſons, unleſſe the Lord pitty. What bloudy objects do I ſee in the countrey, and what bloudy objects may I ſee in the citie! But were I in that holy city above, I know whom, and what I ſhould ſee and feel to all eternity.