SERM. himself with it; and had they not in this mistaken CXXXIV. the nature of GOD, they might eafily have apprehended, that it is no trouble nor wearinefs to an infinite understanding, that is always in act, to know the leaft things how many foever they be. 2. From fcripture, which gives us teftimonies and arguments of it. (1.) Teftimonies, Ifa. xlviii. 3, &c. Acts xv. 18. "Known unto GoD are all his works, from the beginning of the world, an' aivos from everlafting" which by the way I cannot but compare with the forecited place of Seneca. operis fui feries, &c. Nota enim illis (2.) By arguments from feripture. I will mention but one; the clear and particular predictions of future events long before they happened: Gen. xv. 13. GOD foretells the children of Ifrael's deliverance after 430 years, which he punctually accomplished, Exod. xii. 40, 41. The prophet that prophefied against the altar at Bethel named the man that fhould do it, Jofias, 350 years before-hand, 1 Kings xiii. 2. The deliverance of the children of Ifrael from the Babylonish captivity was foretold 100 years before to be done particularly by Cyrus; which is so strange, that the prophet brings it in with a preface of God's wisdom and power, Ifa. xliv. 24, &c. Which was afterward precisely fulfilled, when the 70 years were expired. How are the life and death of the Meffias, with many particular circumftances foretold! And did not he foretell the deftruction of Jerufalem 40 years before? But because there may be no contingency in good things, Gon himself may be refolved to effect them, or excite men to do them, when he hath foretold them; you shall find that the worst things have been fore CXXXIV. foretold; the apoftacy of the children of Ifrael, Deut. SERM. xxxi. 16. and their infidelity in times of the gospel, Ifa. liii. 1, 5, 9, 26. Our SAVIOUR foretold the treachery of Judas and Peter's denial of him: now thefe are fo evil, that it were blafphemy to fuppoft the holy God to have any hand in them; and therefore are foretold by him merely by virtue of his fore-knowledge, and the infiniteness of his understanding, which reacheth things at the greateft diftance, that are mot contingent. SERMON CXXXV. Of the knowledge of GOD. 1 SAM. ii. 3. The LORD is a God of knowledge. I it, CXXXV. Have confidered this perfection of GOD, in fome SERM of the greatest and most difficult inftances of his knowledge of the most secret things, the hearts of men, and future events; against the laft of which there are some objections, which I come now briefly to confider, and pafs on to what remains. Objection the firft; the impoffibility of the thing. The certainty of all knowledge depends upon the certainty of the object; therefore there cannot be a certain and determinate knowledge of any thing, but what is certainly and determinately true: but future events, which may, or may not be, have no certain and determinate truth, that is, it is not certain either that they will, or will not be, because they have no certain F 2 SER M. certain caufe; therefore there can be no infallible CXXXV. knowledge concerning them. . Answer. This I confefs is the grand difficulty; I fhall not be fo folicitous to take it away, as to give fatisfaction to it. 1. I might fay, with a very fair probability, that the certainty of knowledge doth not depend upon the uncertainty of the cause, but of the object, which may be certain, though the cause be contingent. Which I prove thus: whatever event hath actually happened, as because now it is paft, it is certainly true, that it was; fo because it once was, it was certainly true before it was, that it would be; as in Peter's denying of CHRIST. If it be now true, that he hath denied him, it was true before, that he would deny him; and it being determinately true, GoD faw it as it was; fo that here is an object of a certain knowledge. 2. Though we could not explain the poffibility of GOD's knowing future contingencies, much less the manner how; yet we are fufficiently affured that GOD doth know them. I will give but one instance for the proof of this. Nothing more evident than the fin of Adam; yet GOD foreknew this, how elfe was CHRIST "decreed before the foundation of the "world?" CHRIST was a remedy upon the occafion of fin; now the remedy could not be defigned before the fin was foreseen and this being certain, cum conftat de re, fruftra inquiritur de modo, "when we are certain of the thing, 'tis not neceffary to "know the manner." We are fatisfied of many things, the manner whereof we do not know; we believe the union of the foul and body, though no man can explain how a spirit can be united to matter; we believe the continuity of matter, that is, that the CXXXV. the parts of it hang together, of which whofoever S ER M. faith he can give an account, doth but betray his own ignorance. And fo in many other things; that man doth not know himself, nor the measure of his own understanding, nor the nature and obfcurity of things, that will not confefs himself pofed in many things, that doth not acknowledge that there are many apávlasa, many things, the manner whereof is unimaginable, and of which our beft reafon and understanding can give no account. 3. 'Tis very unreasonable to expect we should know all the ways which infinite knowledge hath of knowing things. We have but finite faculties and measures, which bear no proportion to infinite powers and objects. Could we explain the manner how infinite knowledge knows things, we should be like GCD in knowledge, our understanding would be infinite like his; and in this case especially it becomes us to put on the modesty of creatures, and to remember that we are finite and limited. Some arrogant spirits take it for an affront to their understandings, that any one should expect they should believe any thing, though they have the highest assurance of it, if they cannot explain the particular manner of it; they make nothing to deny GoD's knowledge of future events, unless they may be satisfied of the particular way how he knows them. I know there are those who undertake to explain the particular manner. Some fay, that GOD fees future events in fpeculo voluntatis; others fay, that the eternity of God is actually commenfurate to all duration, as his immenfity to all space, and fo GOD doth not fo properly foresee and foreknow, as fee and know future things by the prefentiality and coexistence of all things in all eternity; for they fay, F 3 that CXXXV. SER M. that future things are actually prefent and existing to God, though not in menfura propria, yet in men furâ aliena: the school-men have much more of this jargon and canting language; and I envy no man the understanding thefe phrafes; but to me they feem to fignify nothing, but to have been words invented by idle and conceited men, which a great many ever fince, left they fhould feem to be ignorant, would feem to understand; but I wonder moft, that men, when they have amused and puzzled themselves and others with hard words, fhould call this explaining things. The fum of the answer is this; that when we have done all we can, Gon's fore-knowledge of future. events may fem contradictious and impoffible to us,. much lefs do I expect ever to be able to give a particular account of the manner of it: but we have fufficient affurance of the thing, and unless we had infinite underflandings, it were vanity to pretend to explain all the ways of infinite knowledge. Secondly, It is objected, that if we can admitt fuch a knowledge in GoD as feems contradictious and impoffible to our reason, why may we not allow and frame fuch notions of his goodness and justice? To this I answer, there is a great difference between those perfections of GOD which are imitable, and thofe which are not. Knowledge of future events is a perfection wherein we are not bound to be like GOD; and if we are affured of the thing, that he doth know them, it is not neceffary that we fhould know the manner of it, and difentangle it from contradiction and impoffibility: but it is otherwife in GOD's goodness and juftice, which are imitable: he that imitates, endeavours to be like fomething that he knows, and we must have a clear idea and 8 notion |