rounding and universal testimony to thy presence, and have too much lived as if there were no God in the world.

But what thanks do I owe thee for giving to me thy blessed word, and for that wonderful love which led thee to give thine only-begotten Son, and to promise thy Holy Spirit, that I might attain that knowledge of thyself which is infinitely necessary to me! O that I may gratefully receive and believingly use these inestimable advantages, and so become wise unto salvation! O that I may see thee in every thing, and daily be increasing in the knowledge of thee, my God!

3. WHAT GOD IS NOT.

GOD IS WHOLLY UNCREATED by any other. His description is, I am the Lord that maketh all things, Isaiah xliv. 24. He is not made nor created, but the original Creator of all. God is INVISIBLE. He is a Spiritual Being, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see. To whom be honour and power everlasting, world without end. God never CHANGES. Man is feeble and uncertain, but God is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. God is not a man that he should lie, nor the Son of Man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Num. xxiii. 19. O blessed truth! the happiness of all creation depends upon it. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, James i. 17. God is also UNSEARCHABLE. The highest archangel must

have an imperfect knowledge of the great God. Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? Job xi. 7. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out, Job xxxvii. 27. He dwells in the thick darkness, too deep to be penetrated, as well as in the light, too bright to be endured.

God is NOT BOUNDED, or to be comprehended; he is infinite and incomprehensible. Great is the Lord, his greatness is unsearchable, Psalm cxlv. 3. As it is impossible for any creature to escape his presence, so the world cannot contain him, nor the understanding of the creature fully conceive him. Behold the heavens and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, 1 King viii. 17. He filleth all in all, Eph. i. 23. It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? The measure therefore is longer than the earth and broader than the sea, Job xi. 9. He has no EQUAL. Who in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto our God? Psalm 1xxxix. 6. To whom will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? Isaiah xl. 18.

He doth according

HE NEVER CAN BE RESISTED. to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Dan. iv. 35. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, and in the seas and all deep places, Psalm cxxxv. 6.

Meditation.

How glorious a God is our God! If we take away every defect that belongs to the creature, and add every conceivable perfection, we still fall infinitely short of comprehending God. O the depth of the

riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counsellor? or who hath first given to him and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory for ever. May self-abasement, reverence, admiration, delight, and holy love, ever fill my soul in contemplating the great God! Amen.

4. WHAT GOD IS.

The Bible, and that alone, tells us; and let us notice some plain declarations. The Lord our God is ONE LORD. God is a SPIRIT, and we are to worship him in spirit and in truth. God is LIGHT, and in him is no darkness at all, and we are to walk in the light as he is in the light. God is LOVE, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. The Lord is GOOD, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him, Neh. i. 7. God is TRUE, a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he, Deut. xxxii. 4. The truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord, Psalm cxvii. He is altogether HOLY. The Lord our God is holy, Psalm xcix. 9. Be ye holy, for I am holy, 1 Pet. i. 16. The Lord is RIGHTEOUS in ALL his ways, Psalm cxlv. 17. The Lord thy God is a MERCIFUL God, Deut. iv. 31. He is the BLESSED, or happy one, Mark xiv. 61.

There are perfections peculiar and incommunicable to the creature. God is ETERNAL. From everlasting to everlasting thou art God, Ps. xc. 2. Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is from everlasting, Isa. Ixiii. 16. I am Alpha and Omega (which

are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet,) the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, Rev. i. 8. The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity. God is EVERYWHERE PRESENT; Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord, Jer. xxiii. 24. God has ALL POWER; With God nothing shall be impossible, Luke i. 37. Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there any thing too hard for me? Jer. xxxii. 27. He is the GREATEST of all; Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore, Ps. xcii. 8. He KNOWS ALL THINGS; Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering, Job xxvi. 6. The darkness and the light to him are both alike, Ps. cxxxix. 12. His understanding is infinite, Ps. cxlvii. 5. He FORESEES ALL THINGS; I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure, Is. xlvi. 9, 10. He DISCERNS EVERY THOUGHT, WORD, and WORK; The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, Ps. xciv. 11. I the Lord search the heart and try the reins, to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings, Jer. xvii. 10. If you cannot bear all this glory, look at God in Jesus, and his reflected beams shall fill you with delight.

Prayer of St. Paul.

O Thou, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give unto me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, that the eyes of my understanding being enlightened, I may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory

of his inheritance in the saints—and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe. Amen and Amen.

5. THE NAMES OF GOD.

Various names are given in the scriptures to the great God. Some of the Hebrew words describing his name are thought to mean as follows:—Jehovah, the eternal, self-existing God, he which is, and which was, and which is to come. Shaddai, the supplier of all sufficiency. Elohim, the author of eternal life, as set forth in the everlasting covenant. Sabaoth, the mighty Champion, the Redeemer of his people, and the conqueror of all his foes. Adonai, one having lordship or dominion over all creatures. A full revelation of the name of God was given when, in answer to the request of Moses, Shew me thy glory, God said, I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee. And we read afterwards, The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Other names were given to Moses. When he asked what the name of God was, God said unto Moses, I AM that I AM; and he said unto me, Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, 1 AM hath sent me unto you. This sets before us an eternal, incomprehensible, unchangeable being; the self-existent God. I am Jehovah, I change not, Mal. iii. 6.

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