they are, because they are not material; but they are so in it, as not to be in any other place. This is plain with respect to our own spirits. They are so connected with our bodies, that they are where these are, and no where else. In consequence of their presence in a particular place, they can perceive objects within a limited sphere; but beyond it their perception does not extend. They are insulated, and can neither act nor be acted upon by objects at a certain distance, unless they are brought near, or some mode of communication with them is established. There is no doubt, that all other created spirits exist in the same manner in a place. This we are explicitly taught concerning angels, who are represented as moving from place to place, and as at one time in heaven, and at another time on earth. But you cannot ask, Where is God? if you mean that he may be in one place and not in another. His presence is not local; it is universal. "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord."*

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A distinction is made between the immensity, and the omnipresence or ubiquity of God. When we call his essence immense, we mean that it has no limits; when we say that it is omnipresent, we signify that it is wherever creatures are. These propositions are not the same, unless creation be infinite; but although we cannot trace its boundaries, and its extent surpasses all calculation, yet there is this objection against supposing it to be absolutely unlimited, that it would be to suppose every part to be finite, but the whole infinite. By the same reasoning which proves that there could not be an eternal succession of beings, each of which began to exist, it is proved that the whole mass of co-existing created beings cannot be infinite. The attributes of God are distinguished into absolute and relative. His absolute attributes are those which may be considered without the supposition of any other thing; his relative attributes are those, the exercise of which supposes the existence of other beings, to whom they have a respect. Immensity is an absolute perfection; it belongs to his essence, which, as it necessarily exists, is necessarily infinite. Omnipresence is a relative perfection; for, to say that he is present with all things, supposes that other things exist besides himself. At the same time, this statement is so far inaccurate, as it may seem to imply that immensity and omnipresence are different; for they are, in truth, the same perfection under different aspects. Omnipresence is merely the relation of immensity to the universe; and all that we assert is, that God is present wherever his creatures are, but his essence is not bounded by creation; for he is present where no creatures are, and consequently, if new worlds were created, would be present also with them.

Some have attempted to prove the immensity of God from his necessary existence. He exists by an absolute necessity of nature, and by the same necessity he is infinite. This necessity being absolute in itself, it has been said, and not depending upon any external cause, it is evident that it must be every where, as well as always unalterably the same; or to express the idea more plainly, this necessity is the reason of his existence in every place, as well as throughout all duration. A necessity which is not every where the same, is plainly a consequential necessity only, depending upon some external cause and not an absolute one in its own nature; for, a necessity absolutely such in itself, has no relation to time and place, or any thing else. Whatever therefore exists by an absolute necessity in its own nature, must needs be infinite as well as eternal. To suppose a finite being to be self-existent, is to say that it is a contradiction for that being not to exist, while its absence or non-existence may be conceived without any contradiction; which is the greatest absurdity in the world. For, if a being can without a contradiction be absent from one place, it may without a contradiction be absent likewise from another .* Jer. xxiii. 23, 24.

place, and from all places; and whatever necessity it may have of existing, must arise from some external cause, and not absolutely from itself; and, consequently, the being cannot be self-existent. We can conceive no reason why a necessary being should be in one place, and not in another. To suppose it to be finite, supposes some cause which determined that it should possess such a quantity of being, and no more. That cause must either be a voluntary cause, or else such a necessary cause, the quantity of whose power is determined and limited by some other cause. But in an original absolute necessity, antecedent in the order of nature to the existence of any thing, nothing of all this can take place, but the necessity is necessarily every where alike.

I have stated this argument nearly in the words of Dr. Clarke.* Its abstruseness renders it difficult of apprehension, and altogether useless to the great majority of mankind. It has even not given complete satisfaction to some who were as profound as himself. It is plain, I think, that no reason can be conceived why a necessary being should be limited; and that limitation presupposes a prior cause, by which the measure of any thing is determined. I confess, however, that I do not understand the meaning of making necessity in the order of nature antecedent to the existence of God. Such necessity is an abstraction of which I can form no idea, and seems to me as unintelligible as the Fate of the heathens, to which gods and men were alike subject. Both, I suspect, are words, and nothing more.

I proceed to lay before you arguments which are more level to common capacities.

We

In the first place, it has been already observed, that when we speak of God, we mean a Being possessed of every possible perfection; because if only one were wanting, we could conceive another being still more perfect than he to whom we had first directed our attention; and that other would be God. unite in one assemblage all the excellencies which we observe in creatures, free from mixture and limitation; we join to these every other excellence which we can conceive, although in creatures no trace of it should appear; and we refer all, whether communicable or incommunicable, to the Divine nature, as their proper and original subject. Now, the limited nature of creatures is evidently an imperfection; and it is because such is our judgment, that we consider those creatures which can, if I may speak so, enlarge their being by the power of locomotion, as having an advantage above those which are fixed to a particular place. If vegetables were sentient beings, we should deem animals superior to them, for this single reason, that they were not like them attached to the soil. And among the qualities which exalt angels above men, this is one, that although they cannot be in more places than one at the same time, yet they can pass from heaven to earth, and successively visit the various parts of creation. The limited nature of man is manifestly the cause of his imperfection. His sensations, enjoyments, and operations, are confined to a narrow sphere, beyond which events are taking place over which he has no control, and sources of happiness exist, from which he can draw no supply. Hence fancy in its dreams has sometimes, with a view to remedy this defect, invested him with a power to transport himself from place to place at his pleasure. The result is, that in our opinion it is better for a being to be in many places than in few, to be in all places than in many. To suppose, therefore, God to exist only in one part of the universe, to be in heaven but not upon earth, to circumscribe his essence within any boundaries however widely extended, would be to conceive of him as similar to his creatures. It would be easy to imagine a being still more perfect, for certainly he would be more perfect who was present at the same time in heaven and on earth. Thus it appears that it is agreeable to reason to ascribe immensity to God.

* Discourse concerning the Being and Attributes of God, p. 44.

In the second place, immensity is necessarily implied in the other perfections of the divine nature; or those perfections are such, that unless the divine nature were immense, they would not belong to it. What the perfections of God are, and that he is actually possessed of them, will be afterwards shewn; and in the mean time, we may be permitted to assume their existence. Every sound theist ascribes infinite perfections to God, infinite power, infinite wisdom, infinite goodness, and consequently must believe his essence to be infinite; for it would be a manifest absurdity to suppose a Being to have infinite perfections and a finite nature, to be limited and unlimited at the same time. It is one of our clearest conceptions, that the degree of any quality must be relative to the nature in which it is inherent, as the effect is proportioned to the cause. We are sometimes surprised to find a degree of power in certain creatures, much exceeding what their appearance had led us to expect; but we are never led to think that it may be indefinitely increased so as to be equal to every possible effect. It will be readily granted, that the divine understanding is infinite, or that God knows all things throughout the whole extent of the creation. The question of the Psalmist contains its own answer: "He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know ?"* The source of intelligence must be an intelligent Being; the Maker of all things must be acquainted with his own works. But how should he know every thing in the universe, ample as its boundaries are, and innumerable as are the substances of which it is composed, if he had a local habitation in a particular portion of space? Some things would be too distant to be seen, or too minute to be observed, or transacted in such secrecy as to be unknown to all who were not present on the spot. The universal and particular knowledge of God, his knowledge of all creatures without the exception of the least or the most obscure, and of all the circumstances relating to them, endlessly diversified and often too subtile and slender to be the objects of human observation, presupposes his immediate presence on the scene of their existence. There is no intelligible way of accounting for his infinite knowledge, but that of the Psalmist: "Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me."t I might farther illustrate this point, by shewing that the almighty power of God presupposes the infinity of his essence, but the observations which might be made will occur under the next argument.

In the third place, the immensity of the Divine Being may be proved from his works. The creation of all things out of nothing, required almighty power. The power of God is not something distinct from his essence, but is his essence itself in energy, or God himself working. But we cannot conceive any being to act where it is not; the action of every being with which we are acquainted, supposes its presence. The actions of men are confined to the spot on which they reside; and if they are said to act at a distance, it is in a figurative sense, because their orders are executed by persons employed in their service. But God made use of no ministers, or subordinate agents, in the work of creation, and must therefore have been present in every portion of space where any being exists besides himself.

If we turn our attention to the providential government of the universe, we shall be led to the same conclusion respecting the omnipresence of God. Reason and revelation concur in bearing testimony to this truth, that the system of nature is sustained by the same power which raised it out of nothing. To imagine, that after it was arranged and subjected to certain laws, it was left to itself, and that it moves, like a well constructed machine, without requi *Psalm xciv. 9, 10. + Psalm cxxxix. 3-5.

ring the interference of the artist, is an opinion which no man would adopt after due reflection, and which in reality renders the universe independent of its Maker. The laws of nature, to which its order and preservation are ascribed, are nothing but the established and uniform methods according to which his power is exerted. But where the effect is, there also must be the cause; where we see displays of power, there we should seek for him to whom the power belongs. We observe a variety of changes taking place, and we can often discover the immediate causes or antecedents; but we do not perceive the link which connects them. We know that power is exerted; but the more we reflect, the more we are convinced that the conclusion of sound philosophy is just that it is not the power of creatures but of the Creator. All the movements which we observe in the universe, are so many proofs of a present Deity. Although he is not visible to mortal eyes, yet all nature proclaims him to be near.

and

Where, I ask, is the region in which God may not be found? Go to the most dismal spot upon the globe; to a spot, if such exists, where no plant vegetates, and no animal breathes; in this dreary solitude you shall trace him in the eternal snow which covers it, in the rocks which rear their dark pinnacles to the sky, and in the waves which beat upon its melancholy shores! Retire to a wilderness impressed with no mark of human footsteps, and you shall perceive him in every thing which lives, in the waving grass and the flowers which "waste their sweetness in the desert air;" for all live, and move, have their being in him! Lift your eyes to the heavens, and contemplate the splendid bodies which are scattered there in magnificent profusion. Remark their number, their magnitude, their revolutions, and their order; and then tell me, what could sustain them, what could guide them in their course, what could prevent them from running to confusion, but the arın of Omnipotence which holds them in its grasp? Look into the abysses of space at a distance from us which overpower the imagination: who kindled the living fires with which they glow? who nourishes the flame which has burned with undiminished brightness for thousands of years? Is it not the same Being who breathed into our nostrils the breath of life? "Every thing which you see, is God," said an ancient poet. We may object to his language, as confounding the Worker with his works; but with a slight alteration we may say, that every object which meets our eye on the surface of the earth, and in the expanse above us, announces the presence of God. By him the sun shines, the winds blow, the earth is clothed with vegetation, and the tides of the ocean rise and fall. Every where he exists in the fulness of perfection. The universe is a magnificent temple, erected by his own hands, in which He whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, manifests himself to his intelligent creatures. The Divine inhabitant fills it, and every part shines with his glory. It may occur to you, that these arguments prove only the omnipresence of God, or his presence throughout the whole creation, to know, to uphold, and to govern it. It is acknowledged that this is the amount of the evidence; but no person, I presume, who has gone so far, will choose to stop and say, This is the limit of creation, and the limit also of the Divine essence. No reason could be assigned for circumscribing it; but as we have found it in every step of our progress through the universe, we naturally conclude, that if we could pursue the search, we should find it where it exists alone. He who believes that the power of God is almighty, will not doubt that he could create new worlds, and therefore must admit, that as he could not act where he is not, he is present where no sun shines and no planet rolls. For all practical purposes, it is encugh to know that he fills heaven and earth; but truth requires us to acknowledge the absolute immensity of his nature, because if he were bounded by creation, we could conceive a Being still greater, and that Being would be God.

In reflecting upon this subject, great caution is necessary to avoid ideas derogatory to the honour of God, and inconsistent with the spirituality of his nature. Immensity we are apt to confound with extension, because we are accustomed to think only of the presence of bodies which fill space by their dimensions, and can be made to occupy a larger portion of it only by being extended. Thus, light fills the solar system by means of rays propagated in all directions from the sun. In like manner, the atmosphere is diffused over the whole globe, and while it rests in the vallies, surrounds by extension the tops of the highest mountains, being a substance composed of parts placed one beyond another. This idea, so familiar to our minds, we carry along with us in our speculations concerning the Supreme Being, forgetting that as he is a Spirit, it is totally inapplicable. We believe that created spirits have a place, so that it may be said that they are here, but not there; but we cannot conceive them literally to fill a portion of space, without contradicting ourselves, and assigning to them one of the properties of body at the very moment when we speak of them as incorporeal. No man would say that the soul fills a particular part of the body, or that the place of an angel has dimensions; for it would follow that spirits, like bodies, would be greater or less, that they might be divided, expanded, or compressed; that is, that they are spirits and not spirits; or that there are no such beings as spirits, and those which are called such, are animated matter in an invisible form. To suppose, then, the immensity of the Divine essence to consist in boundless extension, is to materialize the Deity, for that which is extended has parts, and what has parts is not a spirit. Extension consists in the addition of parts, each occupying a certain portion of space. Infinite extension is impossible; the addition of parts might go on for ever, and the aggregate be always increasing, but it could never be actually infinite. When men talk of an infinite series, they cannot mean, if they reflect, a series which at this moment is actually infinite, but a series which is running on in infinitum, or never comes to an end. In the nature of things, it cannot be that the Divine essence is infinitely extended. When each part is finite, the whole cannot be infinite.

We must therefore form a different idea of the Divine immensity; or rather, while we deny that the Divine essence is extended, we must acknowledge that we cannot comprehend its immensity. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is high, we cannot attain unto it."* God, it has been said, is wholly in the whole world, yet so as to be wholly in each of its parts; he co-exists with the world, which is divided into parts, but without parts in himself, and in an indivisible manner. Wherever he is, he is wholly in all things, yet beyond all; included in no place, and excluded from none; and not so much in a place, because finite cannot comprehend infinite, as in himself; and hence the Rab bies call him place, to intimate that he is not contained in place, but contains all things in himself. The Schoolmen have said that God is every where present instar puncti, like a point. Dr. Owen remarks, that their design was to express how God is not in a place, rather than how he is. † He is not present like bodies which have dimensions, Dr. Clarke pronounces the expression to be altogether unintelligible, but adds, "that which we can most safely affirm, and which no atheist can say is absurd, and which nevertheless is sufficient to all wise and good purposes, is this: that whereas all finite and created beings can be present but in one definite place at once, and corporeal beings even in that one place very imperfectly and unequally, to any purpose of power and activity, only by the successive motion of different members and organs; the Supreme Cause, on the contrary, being an infinite and most simple essence, and comprehending all things perfectly in himself, is at all times equally present, both in his simple essence, and by the immediate and perfect exercise * Psalm cxxxix. 6. + Vindicia Evangelicæ, p. 54,