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319 thing which he reveals, fo that he cannot be deceived himself; and fo much goodness and truth, that he will not deceive us. Now unless our reafon affures us, that God is endowed with knowledge and understanding, the first condition is evidently wanting, viz. ability, and confequently the fecond, integrity; for there cannot be goodness and veracity without knowledge.

This being premised, I proceed to the proof of it, from fuch arguments as our natural reafon fuggefts to us. I have formerly told you, that the divine perfections are not to be proved by way of demonftration, but by way of conviction, by fhewing the abfurdities and inconveniencies of the contrary; for if we deny knowledge to God, we must deny it to be a perfection; we must deny it to be in any of the creatures; we must attribute many other imperfections to God; all which are abfurd to our natural reafon; for natural reafon dictates to us, that knowledge is a perfection, that it is to be found in the creatures, and that the denial of it to God will argue many other imperfections in the divine nature; now these are fo many arguments which natural reason offers to us to prove, that knowledge belongs to God.

1. It is a perfection, and therefore belongs to God. Natural reafon tells us, though the fcripture had not faid it, that knowledge excells ignorance, as much as light doth darkness; now whatever is perfect and excellent is to be attributed to the divine nafor this is the first notion we have of God, that he is a being abfolutely perfect.

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2. Knowledge is to be found in fome of the creatures, and therefore is much more in God the Creator, because it is derived from him. Our very understandings whereby we know God, or any thing elfe, are an argument that knowledge and understanding are in God. If he gives wisdom to the wife, and knowledge to them that know understanding, if he communicates this perfection to the creatures, he himself is much more poffeffed of it. The fcri

pture

pture indeed ufeth this argument, but I mention it as that which natural reafon doth fuggeft to the most brutish and ignorant of men. Pfal. xciv. 8,

9, 10. Understand, ye brutish among the people; and ye fools when will ye be wife? He that planted the ear, fhall be not hear? He that formed the eye, fhall be not fee?

3. The denial of this perfection to God, argues many other imperfections in the divine nature. Nothing would more eclipfe the divine nature, than to take away this perfection from it; this would bring an univerfal obfcurity upon God's other perfections; this would be to put out the light of heaven, and to turn the brightness of the morning into the shadow of death. If we remove this perfection from God, we deny his wifdom. He that does not know the nature and qualities of things, cannot know how to apply means to ends, to fit or fuit one thing to another: And we weaken his power. What an impotent and ineffectual thing would power be without knowledge? What irregular things would it produce? What untoward combinations of effects would there be, if infinite power were let loofe to act without the conduct of knowledge and understanding? And, confequently, we take away his providence; for without knowledge, there can be no counfel, no fore caft of events, no provifion for the future, no government of the world. And this is not all; for without knowledge there could be no fuch thing as goodness; for he is not good that does good out of ignorance, or from a blind neceffity. There could be no veracity, nor juftice, nor mercy in God; for all thefe fuppofe knowledge. He that fpeaks truth, muft know it; he that is just, muft underftand right from wrong; he that fhews mercy,. must know who are miserable, and how they may be relieved and, not to labour in a thing fo plain and eafy, take away the knowledge of God, and you render him incapable of any honour from his creatures; for if we know not what honour we do. him, it is loft labour to give him any. And that

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we may see these are the deductions of natural reafon, without the advantage of revelation, we fhall find the Heathen, who were deftitute of divine revelation, did attribute this perfection to God. Tully tells us, that Thales was wont to fay, Deos omnia cernere; and we know the Heathen were wont to fwear, Diis immortalibus teftibus interpofitis, which is an owning of his omnifcience: Quis enim non timeat Deum omnia pervidentem, & cogitantem, & animadvertentem, curiofum & negotii plenum Deum? De nat. deor. 1. 1.

2. From fcripture and divine revelation. I will not heap up all thofe teftimonies of fcripture, which might be gathered together upon this argument; I will only inftance in two or three: Job xxxvi. 4. He that is perfect in knowledge, is with thee.

xxxvii. 16. Doft thou know the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?

Hither we may refer thofe texts which reprefent God by way of condefcenfion to our infirmity, as having eyes and ears, which fignify his knowledge of what is done in the world; and those which fpeak of him, as communicating to us all the knowledge which we have; he giveth wisdom to the wife, and understanding to them that know understanding, Dan. ii. 21. And those which fpeak of God, as knowing the moft fecret things, the hidden things of darkness, the hearts and the thoughts of men; and thofe things which are at the greatest distance, as future things; and of the greatest uncertainty. as the contingent acts of free creatures; each of these I fhall particularly confider; for in proving that God knows all thefe, his knowledge of all other things will be proved with advantage for if any thing be out of the reach of the divine understanding, it must in all probability be either thofe things which are fecret and hidden, as mens fecret actions, or their thoughts; or else those things which are to come, and depend upon no certain caufe, as future contingencies and the proving of this may be of great ufe to us, as having a great influence upon practice; it tends very much to the advancement of religion,

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and the good government of our lives. I begin with the

First of thefe, viz. That God takes very exact and particular notice of all the actions of men, even thofe that are moft fecret. And in the handling of this, I fhall fpeak diftinctly to thefe three things:

1. That God takes knowledge of all our actions: his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he feeth all his goings, Job. xxxiv. 21.

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2. That he is a curious obferver of them ; be feeth all his goings, he marks all his steps, takes very exact and particular notice of all that we do.

3. He takes notice of thofe actions which are moft fecret and hidden; there is no darkness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves, Job xxxiv. 22.

And

1. That God takes notice of all our actions. that this notion was planted in the mind of man, and a beam of the light which comes with us into the world, will appear by the general agreement of heathens in it. I will but produce one or two teftimonies to this purpofe. Tully lays down this principle, as that which makes men regular and orderly, and fit for fociety; Sit igitur hoc perfuafum civibus, qualis quifque fit, quid agat, quid in fe admittat deos intueri. Socrates, as Xenophon tells us, was wont to fay, πάντα θεοὺς εἰδέναι τά τε λεγόμενα καὶ πρατζόμενα καὶ τὰ σιγῇ βουλευόμενα.

Ar

rian in his difcourfe upon Epictetus, tells us, it is neceffary that every one fhould be perfuaded of this, ὅτι ἕκασον τῶν πρα[τομένων ἐφορᾶται ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, that every thing that is done by men is feen of God.

The fcripture frequently mentions this, Pfal. cxxxix. 1, &c. Prov. v. 21. The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings. Jer. xxxii. 19. Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the fons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

2. He is a curious obferver, one that takes exact notice of all that we do. Job faith, he feeth all our steps; and Solomon, that he pondereth all our goings;

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323 the word is, he weighs them in a balance. So 1 Sam. ii. 3. The Lord is a God of knowledge, by him actions are weighed. Job xxxi. 4. Doth he not fee my ways, and count all my steps? Which doth not imply the difficulty, but the perfection and exactnefs of God's knowledge; he knows the quality of our actions, and all the circumstances of them, all the degrees of good and evil that are in them, whatever may commend an action or blemish it, whatever may aggranate a fin or excufe it. Ifa. 26. 7. Thou most upright doft weigh the path of the juft. There is not a good word that we fpeak, but God hears it, Mal.. iii. 16. And the Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him; and all that we do is noted in his book, Pfal. lvi. 8.

3. He takes notice of thofe actions which are most fecret and hidden, the good as well as bad; when we do our alms in fecret, when we enter into our clofets and shut the doors, our Father feeth in fecret, Mat. vi. Nor can we retire ourfelves to any place, where we can fin fo as God fhall not fee us, where we can hide our fins from his fight, or ourfelves from his wrath. Hear how fenfibly a heathen fpeaks of this; ὅταν κλείσητε τὰς θύρας, καὶ σκότΘ ἔνδον ποιήσητε, μέμνησθε μηδέποτε λέγειν ὅτι μόνοι ἐςέ, ὲ γὰρ ἔσει ἀλλ ̓ ὁ Θεὸς ἔνδον ἐςὶ, καὶ ὁ ὑμέτερος Λαίμον ἐςὶ, καὶ τὶς τέτοις χρεία φωτὸς, εἰς τὸ βλέπειν Ti @OTE; Arrian in Ep. 1. 1. c. 14.

The fcripture is full of teftimonies to this purpose, Pfal. xc. 8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, and our fecret fins in the light of thy countenance; thofe fins which we commit in the dark are in the light of the divine knowledge; darkness and light are all one to him; Pfal. cxxxix. 11, 12: Jer. xvi. 17. xxiii. 24. Can any hide himself in fecret places, that I fhall not see him.

II. God knows the hearts and thoughts of men ; which implies these two things:

First, His perfect knowledge of them.

Secondly, That this is his peculiar prerogative. First, God perfectly knows the hearts of men, Jer. xvii. 10. I the Lord fearch the heart, and try

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