Sermon 13 (Question 4 cont.)

SERMON XIII.

II. THAT God as he is in himself, is not to be comprehended by the Creature. After we have been assured, That there is a God, our next inquiry would have been, Who he is. But behold, the very entrance into such a Contemplation, the very first glan•• upon the Deity, amazeth the Understanding and it must either reflect or break. Though nothing be more knowable than that there is a God, yet nothing harder to know than what •e is. The Heathen Simonides acknowledged, that the longer he studied on the question, the harder he found the resolution. Here then we are taken up, and called to the Contemplation of one of his glorious Attributes, viz. his Incomprehensibility: which tho' it be as a veil ⟨p. 41⟩drawn between his face & our eyes, yet it discovers to us, that he is therefore most excellent, because we cannot comprehend him. And the consideration of this comes in properly here, to check our Curiosity, and confine our Contemplations to sobriety, in our searching after God. That this is an Attribute of God, or one of his relative Perfections the Scripture assures us. See, Exod. 33.20. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. Job 26.14. Lo, these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? But for a more full and clear discovery of this point. I shall first lay down a few general Rules introductory, and then proceed to the Confirmation of the Proposition. In general take these Rules.

II. THAT God as he is in himself, is not to be comprehended by the Creature. After we have been assured, That there is a God, our next inquiry would have been, Who he is. But behold, the very entrance into such a Contemplation, the very first glan•• upon the Deity, amazeth the Understanding and it must either reflect or break. Though nothing be more knowable than that there is a God, yet nothing harder to know than what e is. The Heathen Simonides acknowledged, that the longer he studied on the question, the harder he found the resolution. Here then we are taken up, and called to the Contemplation of one of his glorious Attributes, viz. his Incomprehensibility: which tho' it be as a veil