Of God's Omniprefence. with the greatcll: Veneration. Now, to imprlnt this the more deeply, I Jball full'~ geft two or three Particulars. t> (I.) Becaufe God i& in all things, thertf6re he fees and knfJWS all things. The Om 'f. cicnce of God is grounded upon his Omniprefence, ']cr. 13. 24. Can 11ny hide h~ 1 ~ folf in fecret places, that I fl1~fl n.ot fie him, (ai!h the Lord; do r.ot I fill He4vcn ~~j Earth, faith the Lord? Nothing Ill Heaven or m Earth ea g. be hid or concealed fro God's Eye, Heb: 4· I 3 .All tbings ;~re naked and 8pmed before ·the Lord. There ~ no Corner ~o re~1rcd? fo fhady, fo_ dark, no Gulph fo deep , that can l1ide any thin from the p1erc10g d1fcovery of h1s Eye: He knows our Thoughts, thofc Nimbi~ and thofe Spiritual Things, that are fo quick in their flight that they cannot be feized upon by any Creature in the VVorld; God knows them, the Devil cannot know them, nor can a.n Angel know them; yet God difcerns our Thoughts more clearly than we can dtfc.ern the Faces of one ano~her; _he fees our Thoughts afar off, as the Pfalmift tells us; he fees our Thoughts tn thetr tirO: Conception when they firft begin to heave in our Breatl:s; he knows the lcaft Windings and T~rnings of our Souls. ~ow woul.d ~ot this compofe us to an habitual and holy Awe of God, to be conunua\ly thmkmg that whatfoever we do1 God's Eye is now upon us? Let every one fay within himfelf,• Where-ever I am, or whatever I do 1 am in the Prefence of t~e Holy God, ':"'ha tak-es notice. of all my Carriages; there is not a Glance of mme Eye, but hts Eye obferves tt; there is not an irreverent or unfeemly Geftme, but takes notice of it; there is not a Thought of mine can cfcape, but he knows that Thought; and he knows my Dorrm-!Jing and Vp-rifiug &c. Let thi~ confidcration feafon your Lives ~nd C?m•erfa~ions; be frill ponderi~g in JOUr Mmds, That whatfoever you are dotng, hts Eye ts 11pon you, and he is pre· fent with you. · (2.) Secondly, Conf:dtr, 'That Gcd not on~ fees imo all you do, but ht [teJ it ro that very end th~t he tnl'.) examine and fearch into ir. He doth not only behold you .with a common and indifferent Look~ but with a fearching, watchful and inqnifitive Eye· he pries into the Reafons, the Motives, the Ends of all your A Cl: ions. Pj4t. I I. ~ it is fa id, The L()rd's Throne is in Heaven; his Eyes behold, his Eye·lids try the ChildreN of Men. Rev. t. 14. where Chrift is ~ef~ribed, it is faid, His Eps are M a Flame of F1re. You know the Property of Fife IS to fcarch and make tnal of thofe things that are expofed unto it, and to fepanite the Drofs from the pure Melal: So God's Eye is like Fire, to try and Examine the Atl:ions of Men; he knows and difcerns how much your very puretl: Duties have in them of mixture and bafe ends of Formality, Hypocrifie~ Diftradednef!l and Deadnefs; he fees through all your Specious Pretences, that w hkh you caft as a Mift before the Eyes of Men, when yet thou art but a juggler in Religion; all your Tricks and Sleights of Outward Profeiliont all thofe things that yoo ufe to cozen and delude Men withal, they cannot poffi· bly impofe upon him; he is a God that can look through all thofe Fig-leaves of Outward Profeffion, and difcern the Nakednefs of your Duties through them. Jn the latl: place, (3.) Thirdly, God trresall your Cafes and AEtio1fs, i~t order to an Eternal 'Judgmmt arrd Sentence to be pa/Jed upon them. This Confideration might damp the ftoutdt Sinner's Heart in the whole World. Believe it, Sirs, God doth not only fee your ways, but he fees them fo as to remember them againft you another Day; though you have forgot whJt you have thought and what you have fpoken, and what you have done, yet God for ever remembers them, and at that Day he will fadly recall all thefe things again to your R~membrance. Oh ! that therefore this might pre· vail with you fa to do every thing, as being nqw already under the Eye of God, and lhortly muft be under his Doom and Sentence. Now if God fhould fend an Angel to ftand at our Backs, and tell us. whatever we are doing, this ACtion of ours we muft be judged for; it lhould make us fearful of finning, as that Angel himfelf. True, we have no fuch Monitor, but our Confcience perfor~s to us t~e fame Offi~e: Therefore charge it upon your Confciences, that they frill pot you tn mind of God; that he fees you; that he will judge you; and that he always looks upon you, and writes down in thofe Eternal Leaves of his Memorial-Book, whatfoever proceeds from you,· either in Duties of Religion, or the Aai~ns of your Ordmary Courfe and Converfation : Therefore, becaufe he is Ommprefent and fees all things, ftand in awe of his Omnifciency, whereby he_fees whatfoever we do, and whereby he will try aud judge us at the lall:Day. SERMON
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