Divine Character is; and may lead us to cry out literally, with the Zeal and Devotion of the Pfalmift, O Lord, our Governor, how excellent is thy Name in all the World!

To which I fhall only add, with Respect to the extenfive Meaning of this Name, that it not only thus properly declares what God is, but likewife in fome Measure fignifies what every Thing else is too; for it implies, that all other Beings are derived from, and dependent upon, his. If he alone is, then all Things elle are not; that is, if he only can properly be faid to be, then so imperfect are the Natures, fo precarious and dependent is the Exiftence of all other Beings, that in Comparison of him, and in strict Propriety of Speech, they do not deferve that Name. And this is indeed the Cafe of every Creature, and of few more, with Refpect to prefent Life, than of that fleeting Shadow, that proud afpiring Worm, Man. He breathes,

he eats, drinks, and toils, for a few Days, Months, and Years, and then disappears, and his Place knows him no more. And yet is all his Care and Concern employed about providing for this little Tafte, this Span of Life; and fo intent is he upon this, and fo negligent of every Thing elfe, that if one were to judge of him by his own Behaviour, one fhould imagine it to be the only End of his Creation, either to heap up useless and imaginary Treasures, or elfe to lord it over his

fellow

fellow Creatures. Whilft, alas! it often happens in the Midft of the Purfuit, and always foon after he is got to the End of it, that the Bubble becomes fwelled to its utmost Extent, and burfts; and then, Whofe is that ufelefs Power he has fo much laboured to obtain ? Then whofe are thofe Things which he has provided? And how much more therefore does it become him, as a rational Creature, to employ his Time and Application, in grateful Praifes and Obedience to him that made him? How much more is it his Intereft to provide well for that future and lasting State, wherein, even with Refpect to ourselves, one Day fhall be as a thousand Years, and a thousand Years as but one Day? And how much more is it his Wifdom and trueft Glory, to copy after the Divine Perfections, and to labour to form fome Refemblance in himself of those glorious Attributes, which it is our Duty to contemplate here, and which it will be our endless Blifs to admire hereafter, though we shall then be never able fully to comprehend them? Which leads me to the

II. Second Obfervation drawn from the Words of the Text; namely, that the Divine Nature and Attributes exceed our Capacity, and are not to be comprehended by us. What has been already obferved of God's Eternity, may with equal Juftice be applied to every other effential Attribute of the Di

vine Nature; the Mind of Man is too much limited in her Operations to be able to form any adequate Notions of them, and is therefore loft in the fruitless Search, as often as she labours to do fo. That God is, we know and are fure, becaufe we know and are fure that fome other Things are; for their Exiftence does plainly imply the Exiftence of fome firft Caufe, from whence they were derived; and that firft Caufe is God. And that he is wife, and powerful, and just, and good, is very evident, because we find fome Traces of Wisdom, Power, Juftice, and Goodness in thofe Creatures which he has made; and it is most certain, that nothing can give what it has not, and confequently he, who gave these Perfections to others, muft have them in a greater Degree in himself. And in this Manner does our Reafon lead us, in all other Cafes, from the Creature to the Creator; and teach us, how to find out all the other Attributes of God, of which we can discover any Footsteps in those Parts of his Creation, which we converfe with. But when it comes to confider, what thefe Perfections are as they agree in him, and adds that of Immensity to all and every one of the Reft, it must then content itself with bare negative Ideas of thofe Excellencies of which it cannot in a pofitive Manner conceive any Thing at all. For what other Notion does the Word Immenfity itself carry with it than that of fome

thing which neither is nor can be limited? What does any Man mean when he speaks of Omnipotence, but a Power for which nothing is or can be too hard? And what is it we understand by Omniscience, but a Knowledge from which nothing can be concealed? By Eternity, but a Duration which has no Bounds? By a Spirit, but fomething which is not Body? And by Omniprefence, but the Poffeffion of a Space which has no Limits? So that all these Terms are rather negative than pofitive Defcriptions of the Almighty, and must be found, upon an Enquiry into their true Meaning, rather to fignify what God is not, than to fhew us what he is. They imply indeed, that the Supreme Being is not confined to Space and Time as we are, nor restrained in his Operations to any certain Number of Objects; but then what it is to be thus immenfe, and how he is thus infinitely wife and perfect, neither thefe, nor any other Words, can fufficiently inform us. For Words, being only the Marks and Signs of our Thoughts, can never convey more to others than we ourfelves think; or raise those Ideas in the Mind of which the Mind of Man is not capable. And here therefore the Pride and vain Curiofity of Man must stoop and humble itself in the Prefence of its great Creator. After we are got thus far, and are come to a Knowledge that he is, and is infinitely perfect, we are got as far as our Nature will permit us to

go;

go; and should therefore, (if we would act as Men) instead of attempting what we can never obtain, fall proftrate and adore. For can we by Searching find out God? Can we find out the Almighty to Perfection? Such Knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for us, we cannot attain unto it. Thou, O God, art great, and we cannot find thee out; thy Way is in the vast Sea of Infinitude, and thy Paths in the great Waters of Immenfity, and thy Footsteps are not known. Thou dicelleft in the Light which no Man can approach unto; we know not thy Thoughts, neither understand thy Counfels; nor are we able to comprehend the Height and Length and Depth and Breadth, of those Attributes which pass all Knowledge. And pardon therefore, O thou Fountain of all Being, and God of all Mercy, pardon and fubdue the Pride, and increafe the Humility, of our Hearts; teach us to know thee as thou wouldst be known, by practical Reflections on those Attributes, which if rightly confidered, are as well fruitful in good Works, as incomprehenfible in themselves; and in this Senfe to labour to be perfect as thou art perfect.

Empty Speculations concerning the Divine Nature tend rather to nurture Pride, and fwell with Vanity, than to work out Righteousness. And these feem therefore to be the Reasons why God is thus concife in his Defcription of himself, that we could not

comprehend