:5erlii: LXXX. The Knowledge ofGod, 66 3. this Principle upon his Scholars, that the Gods knowall things, what rve fay, andwhat We do, andwhat we think in flence. To the fame purpofe Arrian in his Difierra= flans upon Epietetrus, laying down the Principles of a virtuous life, ftrlt of all, faith he, we mull learn this, that there ii a God whó takes care of the. World, and that there is nothing hid from him, not only what we do, but not fomuch as what we think, andde/ign. So likewife Tully in his Book of Laws, let every Man be firmly perfuadedof this, that the Gods fee what every Man is, andwith what Mind andDe- Teflon they ferve them : I will add but one Teftimony more, and that is ofSen- ca in his Epiffles; nihil Doclaufum eft, interefl animis noliris Ú cogitationibus mediis s£nterVenit, we can keepnothing close from God, for he is prefent to ourMinds, and in- timate to our Thoughts ; fo that you fee this Principleisdeeply,rooted in the Minds of Men, and that Men do naturally Reafon themfelves into it. (a.) The natural fears of Men are likewife ä fecret acknowledgment of this and I'take this to be a greatTruth, that a Man's natural AEtioôs, and filch as hap- pen upon Surprize and without Deliberation, are a better'argùnient of the inti- mate fenfe of our Minds, and do more truly difcover what lies at the bottom óf our Hearts, and what Notion's are natural to us; than our contrived and delibe- rate Difcourfe. If I fee a Min upon the sudden fight of a Serpent recoil and flirt bácit, tho' he tell me never fo often that he is not afraid, yet I am fuffici- endy copvinc'd of the contrary, becaufe I fee in his Coùñtenánce and Carriage' a natural acknowledgment öf Fear and Danger ; fó if Men Grid that upon the de- signingof a fecret Wickednefs; Whichnever went further than their owìiHearts, their Confciences do fling and lath them, that they have ä fénfé of Guilt, and feel inward Frights and Horrors,' whatever they may fay to the contrary,. this is a natural acknowledgment of an invisible Eye that fees them, and difällows their' wicked Designs. If that be true which the Heathen Poet lays, That Scelus intra fe taciturn qui cogitat ullum, Falli crimen habt. He that meditates any fecret Wickedaefs inbic Heart, is guilty to himfelf, as if he had committed it ; this is a plain Confeflien, that the Man ftands in Awe of fome- thing betides HimfeIf, and is jealous that there is brie that is Confcieus to what he thinks. a. That to have a perféf and thorough knowledge of Mens Hearts, is the pecùliar Prerogative of God. This is imply d in the Anfwet to that Queflion, Who can, know the heart of Man? Jet. t 7. to. I the Lord fearch.tjle heart, and try the reins ; this is the Prerogativeof God, and one of his chief Titles, that he is wpbeyvossc, a knower of the heart. z Kings 8. 39. Thou, even thou only knowef the hearts of all the children of Men. Men may make a probable conjeéture at the Thoughts and Defigns of others, from the}r Words and AQions ; but God only knows them. Men are confcious to their own Thoughts and Purposes ; the Spirit of a Man that is in him, knows the things of aMan ; but they cannot fee into the Secrets of another Man's Mind ; 'tis God alonethat knows the Hearts Of ill Men. The Heart of Man is a privileg'd place, and the fecret and inward work= ings of it are not 'fubjeét to the cognizance of any but God alone. The limits of Humane Knowledge are the outward appearances of Aaions, t Sam. s6. 7. The LordTeeth not as Man Teeth ; for Man lookethon theoutwardappearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart ; our Knowledge is but fuperficial, and glides upon the outside and furface of things, but the Divine Knowledge pierceth to the very Cen- ter of every thing. Now the darkest place, the moll inward retirement, the privateft Clofet in the whole World, is the Heart of Man, ánd'this God only is privy to ; Deus autor omnium ú fpeculator omnium, d quo nihil fecretüm ere potell, tenebris interefi interelt cogitationibus noflris quaf alteris tenebris, faith Min. Felix, God made all things, and fees all things, and therefore nothing can be fecret from him ; he is prefent in Darknefs, and he is present to the Thoughts of Men, which are as it were anotherand a thickerDarknefs. The Devil indeed pretends to this Knowledge ; he would take upon hith to know the integrity of 7ob's Heart better than God himfelf, and that notwithftand- H-hhhr, itrg
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