February 11

O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: who laysest the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind.—Psalms 104:1-3.

THIS sublime passage teaches us the immensity of God. The world and all the creatures in it, are not to God so much as a sand or atom is to all the world. The point of a needle is more to all the world, than the world to God. For between that which is finite, and that which is infinite, there is no comparison. "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One."

1. From this greatness and immensity of God thy soul must reverently stay all its busy, bold inquiries, and know that God is to us, and to every creature, incomprehensible. If thou couldst fathom or measure him, and know his greatness by a comprehensive knowledge, he were not God. A creature can comprehend nothing but a creature. You may know God, but not comprehend him; as your foot treadeth on the earth, but doth not cover all the earth. The sea is not the sea, if you can hold it in a spoon. Thou canst not comprehend the sun which thou seest, and by which thou seest all things else, nor the sea, nor the earth, no nor a worm, or pile of grass; thy understanding knoweth not all that God hath put into any the least of these; thou art a stranger to thyself, and to somewhat in every part of thyself, both body and soul. And thinkest thou to comprehend God, that perfectly comprehendest nothing! Stop then thy over-bold inquiries, and remember that thou art a shallow, finite worm, and God is infinite. First reach to comprehend the heaven and earth and whole creation, before you think of comprehending him, to whom the world is nothing or vanity; or so small a dust, or drop, or point. Saith Elihu, "At this my heart trembleth, and is moved out of its place: hear attentively the noise of his voice.—God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doth he which we cannot comprehend." How then should we comprehend himself?

Indeed there is mentioned Ephesians 3:11, the saints comprehending the dimensions of the love of Christ; but as the next verse saith, it passeth knowledge: so comprehending these, signifieth no more but a knowledge according to our measure; an attainment of what we are capable to attain; nay, nor all that neither, but such a prevalent knowledge of the love of Christ as is common to all the saints. As there is nothing more visible than the sun, and yet no visible being less comprehended by the sight; so is there nothing more intelligible than God, (for he is all in all things,) and yet nothing so incomprehensible to the mind that knoweth him. It satisfieth me not to be ignorant of God, nor to know so little as I know, nor to be short of the measure that I am capable of; but it satisfieth me to be incapable of comprehending him; or else I must be unsatisfied because I am not God. Oh the presumptuous arrogancy of those men, if I may call them men, that dare prate about the infinite God such things as never were revealed to them in his works or his word! and dare pretend to measure him by their shallow understandings, and question, if not deny and censure, that of God which they can not reach! and sooner suspect the word that doth reveal him than their muddy brains, that should better conceive of him! Saith Elihu, "Behold, God is great and we know him not; neither can the number of his years be searched out." Though the knowledge of him be our life eternal, yet we know him not by any full and adequate conception. We know an infinite God, and therefore with an excellent knowledge objectively considered; but with a poor degree and kind of knowledge next to none, as to the act; and it is a thousand thousand-fold more that we know not of him, than that we know; for indeed there is no comparison to be here made.

2. The immensity of God, as it proveth him incomprehensible, so it containeth his omnipresence, and therefore should continually affect us, as men that believe that God stands by them. As we would compose our thoughts, and minds, and passions, if we saw, were it possible, the Lord stand over us, so should we now labor to compose them. As we would restrain and use our tongues, and order our behavior, if we saw his Majesty, so should we do now, when we know that he is with us. An eye-servant will work hard in his master's presence, whatever he doth behind his back. Bestir thee then, Christian, for God stands by, "In him we live, and move, and have our being." Loiter not till thou canst truly say that God is gone, or absent from thee; sin not by wilfulness or negligence, till thou canst say, thou art behind his back. Alas, that we should have no more awakened, serious souls, and no more fervent, lively prayers, and no more serious, holy speech, and no more careful, heavenly lives, when we stand before the living God, and do all in his sight, and speak all in his hearing! O why should sense so much affect us, and faith and knowledge work no more? We can be awed with the presence of a man, and would not do before a prince what most men do before the Lord. Yea, other things affect us when we see them not; and shall not God?

3. The immensity of God assureth us much of his all-sufficiency. He that is everywhere, is easily able to hear all our prayers, to help us in all straits, to supply all wants, to punish all sins. A blasphemous conceit of God as finite, and as absent from us, is one of the causes of our distrust. He that doth distrust an absent friend, as thinking he may forget him, or neglect him, will trust him when he is with him: can not he hear thee, and pity thee, and help thee, that is still with thee? Oh what an awe is this to the careless! what a support to faith! what a quickener to duty! what a comfort to the afflicted, troubled soul!

God is in thy poor cottage, Christian, and well acquainted with thy wants; God is at thy bedside when thou art sick, and nearer thee than the nearest of thy friends. What wouldst thou do in want or pain if God stood by? Wouldst thou not pray and trust him if thou sawest him? So do though thou see him not, for he is surely there.

"Great God, indulge my humble claim; Be thou my hope, my joy, my rest; The glories that compose thy name Stand all engaged to make me bless.

"Thou great and good, thou just and wise, Thou art my Father and my God; And I am thine by sacred ties,— Thy son, thy servant bought with blood."