Gospel-revelation in three treatises, viz, 1 The nature of God. 2 The excellencies of…

Now methinks I hear many that give their minds to understand what God is, even saying within themselves, Oh that we did but acknowledge God to be thus, surely there is a farther excellency in God than we have imagined, and might we have but further sight into these things that have been thus briefly presented to us, Oh of what excellent use might all these be! I shall endeavour therefore to present but to you, and even as briefly as I have done the other, the several uses that may flow from all these things, I will only give you a hint of one or two now.

Now meethinks I hear many that give their minds to understand what God is, even saying within themselves, Oh that wee did but acknowledge God to bee thus, surely there is a farther excellency in God than wee have imagined, and might wee have but further sight into these things that have been thus briefly presented to us, Oh of what excellent use might all these be! I shall endeavour therefore to present but to you, and even as briefly as I have done the other, the several uses that may flow from all these things, I will onely give you a hint of one or two now.

Oh what infinite cause have we all to be ashamed of those low thoughts we have had of God! Use. If God be thus as he hath been (but a little) presented to us now, and by what ⟨p. 26⟩we see, we may gather, that there is infinitely more in God, and God is infinitely higher than ever we thought of (I say) then upon the very hearing of such things as these are, and especially we being conscious to our selves how little we are able to understand of them, we may see cause to be ashamed of the poor and low thoughts that we have had of this infinite Majesty; the unworthy thoughts that we have had of him, when we have come into the presence of God; you have come to prayer to God, have you come to prayer as unto such a God? have you had such kind of thoughts as these are, that he is that high Majesty? Certainly you cannot sanctify Gods Name but you must have high thoughts of God; and though I will not say, that those do not sanctify Gods Name, that have not every one of these thoughts of God, yet thus much I will say, that those that have not apprehended every one of these things of God, have not sanctified Gods Name as much as they should, for we are to apprehend what it is possible for us to apprehend here in this world, or otherwise we do not sanctify Gods Name so as we ought; when we come to God in prayer, or to worship him in any other duty of his worship, if we do not apprehend of God as much as we possibly can in this world, we do not sanctify Gods Name as much as we ought to do, and we are to be ashamed that we have not such apprehensions of God as we might possibly have; if God be such a God as this, what poor thoughts of God are these, that he is as an old man in Heaven? some have such poor apprehensions of God, and when they hear the Scripture speak of Gods eyes, and ears, and hands, they think that God hath a body, when as the Scripture doth but speak to our capacities, that is, what a man can do with his eyes, or hands, or ears, that God is able to do by his infinite power. I appeal to you, have you apprehensions of the majesty and glory of God, beyond all majesty and glory that any Creature is capable of in this world? we do not sanctify Gods Name, except, I say, we apprehend