SERMON VI.

OMNIPRESENCE AND OMNISCIENCE OF GOD.

PSALM CXXXIX. 1-12.....O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me.

Thou knowest my down-silting, and my up-rising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down; and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

IN my last discourse, I considered the Eternity and Immutability of God. As motivity, or active power, the power by which all motion and action are originated, cannot be conceived to reside in any other than an intelligent being; the Knowledge of God becomes naturally the next subject of investigation. As his Presence is most intimately connected with his Knowledge; it will be advantageously united with it in a discourse of this nature. Accordingly these attributes are frequently joined together by the divine

writers.

In the text, the Knowledge and Presence of God, usually termed, from their extent, his Omniscience and Omnipresence, are in the fullest manner declared. The Psalm, of which the text is a part, is one of the most remarkable Poetical compositions, ever seen in this World; and, did the time permit, would richly repay the labour of an extensive, critical investigation. In comparison with it, the most admired odes of heathen antiquity are the mere effusions of children.

My audience cannot but have observed, that the manner, in which these perfections are attributed to God, is not that of plain, logical discussion. The subject is assumed as a thing granted and acknowledged; as a thing equally removed beyond debate and doubt. The writer, animated with the most enthusiastic ardour, of which a sublime imagination is capable, seizes these great themes of his attention; and, amid his enraptured contemplation of them, pours out a succession of the boldest and loftiest conceptions, that were ever uttered concerning these subjects. Himself, his thoughts, his words, his actions, he declares, with a mixture of awe and exnltation, to be all perfectly known to God. From this knowledge, he at the same time informs us, there is no possible escape. Should he ascend into Heaven, or make his bed in Hell; should he, borne

on the sun-beams, hurry, with their celerity, into the distant regions of the West; still God would be present in all these and all other places alike. Were he still further to place his hope of a secure retreat in the darkness of night; he perceives the night to shine in the presence of God as the day, and the darkness and the light to be both alike unto him.

With these views of the Psalmist, those of every other divine writer on this subject exactly conspire; and all, with a single voice, attribute these perfections to Jehovah. Thus Jeremiah, xxiii. 23, 24: Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?

Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?

The heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. Great is the Lord, his understanding is infinite.

In accordance with this doctrine only, is all our obedience, particularly our worship, prescribed in the Scriptures. We worship and obey God every where; and are commanded thus to do; because God is every where present, to see, and know, and accept our services, to protect our persons, and to supply our wants. It ought to be here observed, that these attributes are directly ascribed to all the persons of the Trinity. Thus CHRIST says of himself, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. Again, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Peter says to him, John xxi. 17, Lord, thou knowest all things. Christ says of himself, And all the churches shall know, that I am he, who searcheth the reins and the hearts, Rev. ii. 23. And again, Mat. xi. 27, No one knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any one the Father, save the Son, and he, to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

The Omnipresence of the Spirit of Grace is emphatically asserted in the question, contained in the seventh verse of the text; Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? especially, as connected with the answers following. The Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you, that is, Christians universally, saith St. Peter, 1 Epist. iv. 14. Your body, saith St. Paul to Christians, is the temple of the Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. vi. 19; and, The Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God, 1 Cor. ii. 10.

These attributes of God are also demonstrated, and holden out continually to our inspection, by Reason and Experience.

In every part of the Universe, to which we turn our eyes, we discern in the inanimate, animated, and intelligent, worlds, most evident proofs of an agency, which it is impossible rationally to attribute to any other being but God. In the motions and powers of the Elements; in the growth, structure, and qualities, of Vegetables and Animals; and in the thoughts, volitions, and actions, of Minds, we perceive a casual influence, and efficiency, totally distinguished from every other; as distant from that of man, as the

agency of man from the movements of an Atom. This character is never mistaken by Savages; nor even by children, when once informed of the character of God.

This agency is conspicuous in all places, at all times, and in all things; and is seen in the Earth, the Ocean, the Air, and the Heavens, alike. Equally evident is it in the splendour and lifegiving influences of the Sun; in the motions, order, and harmony, of the Planetary system; and in the light and beauty of the Stars; as in the preservation, direction, and control, of terrestrial things. No agent can act where he is not. As, therefore, God acts every where; he is every where present. In this agency, contrivance and skill, to which no limits can be set, are every where manifested: it is of course, equally, and unanswerably, a proof of the Omniscience of God.

This attribute of God is also inferred, with absolute certainty, from his Omnipresence. As God exists every where, so he is in all places the same God; all eye; all ear; all intellect. Hence it is impossible, that he should not know every thing, in every place, and at every time.

Again all things are derived from God; and received their nature, attributes, and operations, from his contrivance, as well as from his power. All things were, therefore, known to him, antecedently to their existence. Nor are possible things less perfectly known to him, than those which are actual. Nothing is possible, but what he can bring to pass; and whatever he can bring to pass he cannot but know.

REMARKS

1st. How majestic, awful, and glorious, a manifestation of God is furnished to us by this passage of Scripture, thus considered!

We are here taught, that God is essentially present to all places, and to all beings. We are taught, that he is equally at hand, and afar off; that he is equally present in this world, and in the heavens; that he dwells alike throughout the universe of being, and the uninhabited regions of Immensity. In all places, also, he is JEHOVAH; the same GOD; possessing the same attributes; and operating with the same wonderful agency. From the same passage we also learn, irresistibly, that he comprehends, at the same moment of time, and with the same intuitive survey, every thing possible and actual; that Eternity past and future is perfectly present to his eye; and that no distance of place, or duration, can be any thing to him; that no retreat can conceal, and no darkness cover, any being, or event, from his sight. The mind of man is here exhibited as equally open to his view with the body; the thoughts and affections, as the words and actions; Hell, as equally naked and present to him, as Heaven; and the destroyer, and the Seraph, as alike without a covering. It is indubitably certain, therefore, that he is able to attend, and actually attends, to all

things at the same moment; to the motions of a seed, or a leaf, or an atom; to the creepings of a worm, the flutterings of an insect, and the journeys of a mite; to the excursions of the human mind, and the efforts of an Archangel; to the progress of a world, and the revolutions of a System.

2dly. How necessary are these attributes to the government of all things.

This interesting article may be advantageously illustrated in the following particulars. In the

First place, God is eminently qualified by these attributes for the preservation of all things.

The Universe is a work of stupendous greatness; composed of worlds innumerable by us; and inhabited by beings, still more emphatically surpassing number. The characters, and kinds, of these beings, are incomprehensibly various; and their circumstances, beyond measure, more various. As these are hourly existing, and advancing in an endless progress, they demand a providence minute, comprehensive, and enduring without a limit.

Every one of these is, also, a part of one immense whole. Each nas its station allotted to it; the part which is to act, the duties which it is to perform, and the purposes to which it is intended to be subservient; together with powers, and circumstances, suited to the accomplishment of them. Should one being fail of fulfilling its appointed end; a chasm, a defect, would of course be found in the System, which could not be remedied. No finite measure can correctly determine the importance and danger of such a defect, however minute it may seem to a created understanding. Even the improper fall of a leaf, nay, the improper position of an atom, may, for ought that appears, be followed by consequences injurious, in the course of Eternity, both to the character of the Creator and the good of his creatures. The motions of a fly are capable of terminating the most important human life, or of changing all the future designs of a man, and altering the character, circumstances, and destiny, of his descendants, throughout time and Eternity. Such defects may, unless prevented by him, continually take place in every part of his vast kingdom. It is, therefore, indispensably necessary, that he should be present to every being, at every moment, to perceive, and regulate, every event; to further every part of his infinite designs; and to prevent every obstruction and failure. An exact, unremitted attention, on his part, is necessary to the greatest and to the least alike; a knowledge intimate, entire, and perfect, of all their relations, changes, and circum

stances.

Of this attention, this consummate knowledge, the presence of God is the real foundation. In consequence of his presence in all places, he sees, that every thing is contained in its own proper sphere of being, and action; and discerns every approach towards exposure, and towards defect. Hence his great work is always

guarded, advanced, and prospered. In this world, his presence, attention and knowledge, are indispensable, to renew, refine, and strengthen in virtue, the souls of his children; to guide them in the path of duty; to relieve their distresses; to supply their wants; and to brighten their hopes of a blessed immortality.

Equally indispensable is it, to advance the general cause of truth and righteousness; to befriend his Church in all its interests; to prevent the gates of hell from prevailing against it; to confine rebellion within the destined bounds; and to inflict the proper judgments on the works of iniquity. In a word, his presence is indispensable here, to bring light out of darkness, order out of confusion, and good out of evil.

In the world of punishment his presence is equally necessary, to confine the prisoners of his wrath; to render to every impenitent sinner the reward due to his crimes; to teach the abominable nature, and the deplorable consequences, of sin; and to show his unchangeable hatred of iniquity.

In the various worlds, where virtue and happiness reside, he is necessarily present, to inspire, invigorate, and quicken, the obedience of their inhabitants; to distribute the innumerable and diversified rewards, which he has annexed to obedience; and cause to arise and shine the endless varieties of beauty and loveliness, of which that happy spirit is capable.

In Heaven, the brightest and best of those worlds, he is indispensably present, to perfect that glorious system of virtue and happiness, which he has ordained through the mediation of his Son, and promised to all the Redeemed. There he has instituted a perfect scheme of dispensations, which is the consummation, and the crown, of all his works. There every inhabitant receives, and loves, and keeps, his own place, duties, and enjoyments; and consecrates with all his heart, without weariness, and without end, his exalted faculties, and immortal life, to the sublime purposes of glorifying his Maker, and advancing the universal good. To this end, God there lives in every being, in a manner wholly peculiar; and diffuses a peculiarly quickening influence through every object. Hence the River, which proceeds from his throne, is styled the Water of Life; and the trees, which grow on its banks, bearing twelve manner of fruits, are named Trees of Life. The body he animates with vigour, youth, and beauty, which cannot decay: the mind he informs with a divine and supernal quickening, which empowers it to advance without intermission, and with incomprehensible celerity, in knowledge, virtue, and enjoyment. In that world, God unfolds himself in infinite diversities of beauty, glory, and majesty; enables them to see eye to eye, and to behold his face in righteousness. In that world he exhibits, with clear and unalterable conviction, that the great work, which he has made, the system of dispensations, which he has chosen, is a perfect work; a system of perfect wisdom and goodness; in which no real good is wanting,