----- -----------------------------------· Of God's Omnipreftnce. feftati'lll, So that thcfe Expreffions ufed in the Scripture, concerning God, though fpokcn after the manner of Men, yet they mufl: be underftood after the manner of God, that is, with a fuitablenefs and conformity to his infinite Elfcnce. The Scripture tells us, that hereafter in Heaven we jiMfl fee God M' he if : But is Obj. 2 . not that imvollible? 1f God be an Omniprefent God, we Ihall not be able to comprehend him, becaufe we Jbail not our felves be infinite in Heaven; and if Man be ftiIed finite, how then can he comprehend what is infinite, fincc infinite is compre· bend of nothing true that which is infinite? ~ .. I Anfwer, Such Scriptures are not to be underftood, as if the Capacities of .Angels, Anfw. much lefs of Men, are or ever fuall be wide an~ capacious enough to contain the infinite grcatnefs of God; no~ his Omniprefence is not comprehended by Angels themfelves, nor fhall be by Man for ever; but it muft be underftood comparatively. Our Vilion and Sight of God here, is but through a Glafs darkly; but in Heaven it fhall be with fo much more brightncfs and clearnef<;, that in comparifon of the obfcure and glimmering way whereby we know God here, it may be called a feei~1g of him Face to Face, and knowing him as we are known by him; though, to fpcak in abfolute Propriety of Speech, thefe things are not pofflble to any Creature. It may fum no [mall difparagement to God to be every-whtrt prefcnt; What! for thtGlo- Obj~ 3~ • riom M.-tjefly ofGod to be preftnt in fuch vile and filthy Places tU art here upot~ Earth? (r.) To this I anfwer, God doth not think it any difparagement to him, nor thi nk Anfw. it unworthy of him to know and make all thefe which we call vile and fi lthy places; why then Ihould we t_hink it unworthy of him to be prefent there? (2.) God is a Spirit, and is not capable of any pOllution or defilement from any vile or filthy thin~s. The Sun-beams are no more tainted by lhining ea a Dunghil, than they are by lhining on a Bed of Spices; no more can God be fu)lied by being prefent in filthy Sinks ,· (to fpeak with Reverence) than to be in the glorious Heavens, becaufe he is a Spirit, and his Eifence is not fubjeCt to any taints from the Creature. (3.) The vileft things that are, have ftill a being that is goOd in their own kind, and as well-pleafing to God as thofe things which we put a greater value and. cftcem upon. (4.) Laftly, It refleCts no more difhonour npon God to be prcfent with the vileft Creatures, than to be prefent with the noble!t and higheft; bec::mfc the .Angels are at an infinite diftance from God. There is a greater difproportion between God and the .Angels, than there is between the vilelt \.Vorm and an .Angel; all are a.t a.n infinite diftance to his Glory and Majefty. T~us much for the Obje£tions. APPLICATION. Firll:, Is God thm infinitely prtfenr etJtry-where, 1md thus in and with all his Cr-ea,- Ufe 1. tures, thtn what an Encouragement is htrt unto Prayer? Thou canil: DOE fay, Alas! I now pray, but how fuall God hear? He is in Heaveq above, and I am on Earth below, many Thoufands of Miles diftant from his pr-cfence : HoW then fball my weak Whifperings, that can fcarce reach t he \\falls of mine oWn Clofet, ever be able to reach his Ear? No, God's Eifential Prefence is with thee wherefoever thou art, as he is in Heaven it felf; and God is all Ear, he can underftand the filent Motions of thy Lips every-where, yea, he can undedtand the fecrct Motions of thy Heart. When H~nnah prayed for her Son SamueL~ Eli, the PrieU: of God, thought her Gefture did proceed from a diil:empered Head, and not from an holy Heart; But God was prefent with her Lips, and that Prayer which was thought by the Prieft of God to be but a dumb fhew, yet to God himfclf it was po'wcrful Rhetorick and as loud as Thunder in his Ears. The Scripture generally intimates that all our Prayers fuall be diret\:ed to God in Heaven . So Solomon prayed, 1 Kints 8. 32. Thm he.ar thou in Heaven, &c. And it is again exprelfed in the 3oth Verfe. So that moft excellent Compofurc which Chrift taught his Difciplcs in the beginning of it, Ou'l' F.ather, which art in Heaven, it gives our Thoughts a Lift to Heaven. Now this 9oth not imply, that God doth no where hear our Prayers, but only in Heaven. But how then l Why is this Phrafc ufed? For thefe two Reafons: s ff f f FirJt;
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