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 And saith the Prophet Hanani 2 Chr. 16.9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro thorowout the whole earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him His eyes are employed every where and no place escapes them and with this design too to see what is needful and wanting to all such as have a perfect heart towards him that he may succour and help them And saith Solomon Prov. 15.3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good All places tho' never so far distant and remote from one another ly plain and open before his all-seeing eyes and are never absent from them His eyes and knowledge penetrate thro' all dark and hidden places where secret works are often a hammering out which are concealed from the eyes of the World but are there as visible to him as if they were doing in the open light Psal 139.11 If I say surely the darkness shall cover me saith the Psalmist 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 Darkness it self will not secure any from his sight and knowledg He by his unconceivable Deity and Godhead fills all places and is every where present and there is no place where any one can hide himself from his knowledg as he himself affirms by the Prophet Jer. 23.24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord Do not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord There is no place that can be excluded from his eye and knowledg because there is no place whatsoever but he is there And as God's knowledg is extended to all places so is it also extended to all Creatures and to all their works and actions and especially to all the works of mankind There is not one of all his Creatures whereof there are numberless Hosts and Armies that is ever without the sight of his eyes nor is there one action that is done by any of them all that escapes his cognizance but he takes knowledg of it Is 40.25 To whom then will ye liken me or shall I be equal saith the holy One Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things that bringeth out their host by number he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might for that he is strong in power not one faileth This perfect knowledg hath he of all the Armies of his Creatures And he is privy to all the actions that are done by them all and to all the secret transactions and contrivances that are done or a doing any where through-out the whole earth and to all the secret counsels and retired thoughts and imaginations of mens hearts His eyes are upon the ways of man and he seeth all his goings as Elihu saith Job 34.21 And saith the Psalmist Psal 94.10 He that teacheth man knowledge shall not he know Hereby shewing that it is impossible that he should be ignorant And saith Solomon Prov. 5.21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and he pondereth all his goings And what the son of Sirach saith to this purpose is very remarkable Ecclus. 23.18 A man that breaketh wedlock saying thus in his heart who seeth me I am compassed about with darkness the walls cover me and no body seeth me what need I to fear The most High will not remember my sins Such a man only feareth the eyes of man and knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the Sun beholding all the ways of men and considering the most secret parts So quick-sighted is he to behold and observe whatsoever is done every where in the most secret and retired corners and all the hidden practices and machinations of men And all men's hearts and private thoughts are all plain and open to his All-seeing eyes It is his prerogative to be the searcher of all men's hearts and to know all that is therein Deut. 31.21 saith God concerning the Israelites For I know their imagination which they go about even now before I have brought them into the land which I swâ—re All things whether past present or to come are perfectly known to Almighty God He is an everliving and eternal God and with his eternity does his knowledg bear proportion He who was and is and is to come knows all things that may be comprehended in these terms There is no such thing as forgetfulness with him and the things that are past cannot be razed and expunged out of his memory but all things that have been done from the very Creation of the World are as fresh and present with him as they were in the very day and moment when they were done For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past and as a watch in the night saith the Psalmist Psal 90.4 And saith St. Peter 2 Pet. 3.8 But beloved be not ignorant of this one thing that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day And saith St. James Acts 15.18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world All that has been done from the very Creation of the World remains clear and undefaced before him And all that is to come is clearly seen and known by him Things future are unknown to us and we cannot tell what shall come to pass hereafter except it be some way revealed to us But it is not so with God for he hath all things that are future and to come plain before his eyes This is his peculiar prerogative to have a perfect knowledge of what is to come as the Prophet sheweth Is 41.23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are Gods It is God and God alone that knoweth all things future and all that shall be done hereafter even to the end of the World is perfectly seen and known by him And the things too that men would do but shall be prevented and stopt from the doing of them are all within the reach of his sight He knows what they would do if he did not restrain them by his grace and power or prevent them by death He knows all things that can be known and his knowledge is perfect and complete in every respect And this as it ought to make us the more careful what we do because it is done before the All-seeing eyes of God so also will it be a very great ground of our trust and confidence in him For in trusting in the Lord Jehovah we do not
understand this Almighty Power of God if we consider and call to mind the wonderful works that he hath done The stupendious Acts that he hath already done will let us understand that his Power is infinite and too great to be comprehended by our shallow capacities His works of Creation are most admirable and astonishing That he should create and form the Heaven and the Earth which is so often celebrated of him to his Honour and Glory by such as have had a true veneration for him and make all this visible World of things that did not appear and had no being That he should cause the Light to shine out of darkness and divide the day and night asunder That he should dispose the World into this beautiful order and hang the Earth upon nothing but airy Pillars That he should form and make such an innumerable number of glorious Lights above and such a vast multitude of creatures here upon Earth These are wonderful things which we may well admire and had hardly known had not God by his Spirit declared them to us The Earth though it be so vast a body and so many thousand miles about yet is managed and ordered by God's Almighty Power The Sun though a bigger body than the Earth and all other the celestial bodies though innumerable are all guided and ordered by his Omnipotent Power These are so wonderful that God might well demand as he doth of Job chap. 38.33 Knowest thou the ordinances of Heaven Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth He it is that hath commanded the morning of old and caused the day spring to know his place By his order and conduct the Sun ariseth and goeth down and hasteth to the place of his rising again He spreadeth out the heaven like a curtain and maketh the cloud a garment for the waters Out of whose womb but his came the ice and the hoary frost of heaven who but he hath gendered it ver 29. He causeth the Clouds to ride in the Air and at his command they water the face of the Earth The snow cometh out of his treasure and he hath made a way for the lightning and thunder The Earth is supported and upheld by his Almighty Power and he bringeth forth all trees and herbs for the service of Man and Beast And as God's Almighty Power is declared in the works of Creation and Nature which we the less admire because they are common to us so is it also shewed in his supernatural works and the miracles that he hath done He can suspend and stop the course of Nature and change and alter it as he pleaseth and often hath he done so When God hath some remarkable thing to do the Sun and Moon must wait the doing of it and stay till it be done And so we see that God stopt them in Joshua's days Josh 10.12 Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moon in the valley of Ajalon And the Sun stood still and the Moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies So the Sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hasted not to go down about a whole day And the Sun did not only stand still but return back too when God commanded it as we see that it did for a sign to King Hezekiah Is 38.8 So the sun returned ten degrees by which degrees it was gone down Nay farther when God the Son did suffer to shew the blackness of that Crime in putting of him to death the light thereof was wholly taken away Lu. 23.44 And it was about the sixth hour saith St. Luke and there was darkness over all the Earth until the ninth hour and the sun was darkened The wonders that God wrought in Egypt the turning of their waters into blood the hail mingled with fire and the darkness that might be felt are so many proofs of his great Power and Might When his People wanted a light he guided them by a pillar of fire And when they wanted a way he divided the Rea-sea and made the waters to stand on an heap and made them a way that they might pass through Ex. 13 and 14 chap. By his great Power he clave the hard Rock and caused waters to come forth to quench the thirst of his People and rained down Manna from Heaven for their food in the Wilderness He can restrain the rage and violence of fire and keep it from doing any harm and he preserved the three Children from being so much as scorched in the midst of a fiery furnace Dan. 3. He is a God which removeth the mountains and they know not which overturneth them in his anger which shaketh the earth out of her place and the pillars thereof tremble Job 9.5 6. He it is that killeth and maketh alive he bringeth down to the grave and raiseth up again and there is none that can deliver out of his hand as he saith Deut. 32 39. See now that I even I am he and there is no God with me I kill and I make alive I wound and I heal neither is there any that can deliver out of mine hand And saith he by the Prophet Isaiah 43.13 Yea before the day was I am he and there is none can deliver out of my hand And this Balaam the great Sooth-sayer was sensible of when he said to Balak King of Moab that sent for him to curse Israel Num 23.8 How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed Or how shall I defie whom the Lord hath not defied He shews that it was not in his power to curse or hurt till God had given way for him to do so Those whom he blesseth must be blessed and those whom he curseth must be cursed and all the power of Men and Devils cannot hinder what he will have done And Satan himself the grand Engineer of darkness could not touch Job nor his Substance till God gave him leave for the exercise and tryal of his patience Job 1 There is no protecting and saving of those whom he will destroy and there is no killing nor wounding and hurting of those that he is minded to protect and save There is no want of any power in him but he is armed with all the Power and Might that can be in all respects And seeing God hath this universal Power over all Creatures both Men and Angels and all other Creatures and is able to do such mighty works and whatsoever he pleaseth and there is no resisting of his Power And seeing this Omnipotent Power of his is Eternal and will never decay nor be diminished we may well then trust in him at all times In trusting in the Lord Jehovah we see that we do not vainly place our confidence in an impotent and helpless Deity that has no power at all to help and succour us But in trusting in him we trust in the Rock of Ages in a God that is armed with all Power and Might and to whom nothing is impossible
in his almighty Power and Divine Protection went against all the Kings of Canaan and did not fear to encounter and set upon them when they were many of them confederated together and had united their Forces as we may see Joshua 10 Job expresseth very great trust and confidence in almighty God Job 13.14 Wherefore saith he do I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in mine hand Tho' he slay me yet will I put my trust in him He was resolved still to trust in God and to wait for his salvation notwithstanding he was in such a miserable condition that he seemed almost to be deserted and forsaken of him David also sheweth what great faith and confidence he put in Almighty God When his own Companions were ready to stone him he strengthened himself herewith 1 Sam. 30.6 And David was greatly distressed for the People spake of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his Sons and for his Daughters but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God And often in the Psalms doth he declare his great confidence in Almighty God And saith the Psalmist Is 46.1 God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble Therefore will not we fear tho' the Earth be moved and tho' the Mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea Tho' the Waters thereof roar and be troubled tho' the Mountains shake with the swellings thereof And Ps 118.6 The Lord is on my side I will not fear What can man do unto me And saith the Prophet Isaiah expressing his own confidence in God as he was taught and teaching the People also to do the like Is 12.2 Behold God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my Song he also is become my salvation The Prophet Habakkuk also is very full to this purpose declaring how he would put his whole trust and confidence in the Lord and joy and rejoyce in him when all earthly comforts and supports were vanished and taken away Hab. 3.17 18. Altho' saith he The Figtree shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the Vines the labor of the Olive shall fail and the field shall yield no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation The totally taking away of all these should not make him to despair but he would still trust in the Living God and expect succour and comfort from him So great was the faith of the three Children that they bid defiance to Nebuchadnezzar the great Babylonian Monarch and all that he could do and slighted all his great Threats of a Fiery Furnace assuring themselves that the God of Heaven in whom they trusted could deliver them even out of the very jaws of Death and out of the Pit of destruction Dan. 3.16 O Nebuchadnezzar say they we are not carefull to answer thee in this matter If it be so that is that thou cast us into the fiery furnace Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand O King But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship thy golden Image which thou hast set up So little did they regard all his terrible and frightfull Threats And with trust and confidence in Almighty God did the Apostles encounter all the Powers and Oppositions and Dangers and Necessities that they met with By these and such examples we may see that this hath been the Resolution and Practice of all pious and religious men to put their trust in Almighty God at all times of great Danger and Need and to rely upon him for this blessed Help and Assistance And this shews that it is our duty to do so and is an encouragement to us to rely upon him for his never-failing Help and Succour when we have no means of helping our selves but are in a most helpless condition as now we are like to be in II. We have here the reason wherewith this exhortation and precept is backed and why we should trust in the Lord for ever and that is because of his sure and certain Help and Assistance at all times For in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength or the Rock of Ages This is an usual thing in the Word of God to call Almighty God a Rock because he is a most sure and firm Refuge to all such as fly to him for succour and help upon all accounts Moses doth often call him a Rock Deut. 32.15 But Jesurun waxed fat then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation And vers 31. For their Rock is not as our Rock even our enemies themselves being judges Hereby meaning that their God and Protector was not like the God that protected and defended the Jews even in the judgment of their Enemies And in several other places in the sacred Scriptures is Almighty God called a Rock And by God's being called the Rock of Ages here we are to know that he will be a most sure and never failing Protector Deliverer and Succourer to all such as have recourse to him at any time for his divine Help and Assistance and that there is no reason to doubt and despair of it if we truly serve him and wait upon him for it as we ought And this I shall endeavor farther to shew by several particulars in shewing that there is in him all that is requisite to make him an Universal Almighty and Eternal Protector and Helper to all such as trust and confide in him And First We have the greater reason to trust in the Lord Jehovah the living and true God because he is Omniscient and knows every thing He is not a God that is short sighted and in a great measure ignorant of the Concerns of this World or of our particular State and Condition here for this would render him unfit for being so certain and sure a Rock of our trust and confidence in all our exigencies and dangers But he cannot be in the least thought deficient herein because he knows all things whatsoever without all exception that are comprehended within the compass of the whole World God saith St. John 1 Jo. 3.2 is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things So universal is his knowledg that nothing is excluded from it His knowledg is general and is extended to all places in the whole World As all the parts of the whole Universe are the work of his hands so all ly naked and open to his view He that fills Heaven and Earth is every where and has all the World plain and clear before his piercing eyes And this is often affirmed in the sacred Scriptures Psal 139.8 saith the Psalmist If I ascend up into Heaven
trust in any blind Deity nor in any sensless Idol that hath eyes but seeth not nor in a Creature that is ignorant of our condition and of the concerns of this World But in trusting in the Lord Jehovah the living and true God we trust in a God that is Omniscient and knows every thing That perfectly understands all the affairs of this World and is thorowly acquainted with our State and Condition here That sees and knows all our needs and wants and the sorrows and miseries that we ly and labour under and all the hazards and dangers that we at any time are in And that hears our addresses and prayers which we at all times make unto him And therefore upon this account we have the greater reason to place our trust and confidence in him and to account him the Rock of our Salvation Secondly He is a God of infinite Wisdom and prudent in all his actions and enterprizes and therefore we have the greater reason to trust and confide in him All his actions and doings are weighed in the ballance and grounded upon the highest reason of all and are managed with wisdom and counsel He is not like the foolish Builder that laid his foundation upon the Sand and to have his work overturned with every blast of an adverse Fortune nor so unwise and imprudent as to be guilty of any such error and to have any of his intentions frustrated and blamed He attempts nothing but what he will bring perfectly to pass and his counsel shall stand and there is no over-reaching and out-witting of him but he at his pleasure can over-reach all others and therefore we have the greater cause to trust in him and rely upon him as the Rock of our confidence at all times Eph. 3.10 To the intent saith the Apostle that now unto the Principalities and Powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold Wisdom of God And this all the works of God declare viz that he is a God of infinite Wisdom and understanding so far as we are able to judg of them The stupendious Frame of this visible World with all the admirable works therein will abundantly manifest to us the wonderful Wisdom of him that Created and Formed it and let us understand a little how unconceivable it is If we behold the Heavens with all the Glorious Bodies thereof the Sun Moon and Stars with that exact oâ—â—er and the steady courses and motions that they keep with admiration and wonder may we say with the Psalmist Ps 19.1 The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his hand-work Day unto day uttereth Speech and night unto night sheweth knowledg And the Earth with all the numberless Hosts and Armies thereof doth shew the same The curious Frame and Order and Government of all the Armies and Hosts of Creatures that are upon the face of the Earth do manifestly shew to us that he that formed them and disciplines and orders them must be infinite as well in Wisdom as in Knowledg and Power And saith the Psalmist Ps 104.24 O Lord how manifold are thy works in Wisdom hast thou made them all And saith Solomon Pr. 3.19 The Lord by Wisdom hath founded the Earth by understanding hath he established the Heavens By his knowledg the Depths are broken up and the Clouds drop down the dew The accurate works of God do abundantly manifest to us his exceeding great and infinite Wisdom He is infinitely Wise of himself and needeth no Counsellor to instruct and direct him as the Prophet sheweth Is 40.13 Who saith he hath directed the Spirit of the Lord or being his Counsellor hath taught him With whom took he Counsel and who instructed him and taught him in the path of judgment and taught him knowledg and shewed to him the way of understanding He is all-sufficient in this respect and he alone is Wise and giveth to all others Wisdom and understanding as he sees good Job 35.10 saith Elihu there But none saith Where is God my maker who giveth Songs in the night Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the Earth and maketh us wiser than the Fowls of Heaven And saith the Preacher Ecc. 2.26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom and knowledg and joy He is the original and fountain of all Wisdom and there is no Wisdom nor Counsel can prevail against him There is no circumventing and over-reaching and out-witting of him There is no craft nor policy that will signify any thing against him The foolishness of God is wiser than men saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 1.25 And saith Job 9.4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength who hath hardened himself against him and hath prospered And saith Solomon Pr. 21.30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor Counsel against the Lord. All the wisdom and Counsel that is set against God is like to be blasted and to come to nought and they that travel with Plots and Designs against him will be sure to bring forth their own wo and misery in the end For he destroyeth the wisdom of the wise and overthroweth their Counsels at his pleasure He confounds all the Wit and Cunning of the crafty and turns it into stark folly and sottishness as he sees good He leadeth Counsellors away spoiled saith Job 12.17 and maketh judges fools And ver 20. He removeth away the Speech of the trusty and taketh away the understanding of the aged And ver 24 25. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the People of the Earth and causeth them to wander in a Wilderness where there is no way They grope in the dark without light and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man Thus doth he darken and confound their reason and understanding and makes them to become like fools and mad men at his own pleasure And saith God by the Prophet Is 44.25 That frustrateth the tokens of the lyars and maketh Diviners mad that turneth wise men backward and maketh their knowledg foolish And saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 1.19 For it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent And again saith he 1 Cor. 3.19 For the wisdom of this World is foolishness with God for it is written he taketh the wise in their own craftiness Thus are they taken with their own Wit and Cunning and their craft and policy is all retorted and turned back upon themselves and they do only plot and consult for their own downfall and ruin that set themselves against him And now seeing God is so unconceivably and infinitely Wise in all that he takes in hand and is guilty of no errors nor over-sights in what he doth but acteth always like himself like an All-wise God and is sure to bring his purposes and designs to perfection seeing he cannot be over-reached and out-witted by either men or Devils and that there is no counsel