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23. Thus the scripture fpeak roundly and fully to the point in hand. But, because the atheism of the world is fo great, and it is a hard thing to convince men of this great truth, fo as to overawe them from any fecret fin by it; I will, by rational arguments, demonftrate the truth to every man's confcience, and give you plain and full evidence, that how fecretly foever men carry their finful defigns, yet the Lord must needs be privy to them; and it is impoffible they fhould efcape his cognizance.

1. For, First, He that formed all cannot but know all the workman cannot be supposed to be ignorant of any part of his own work. Now God is the former of all things; every place and every perfon he hath made: where then shall the workers of iniquity hide themfelves? You have the folly of finners, in thinking to conceal themfelves from the eye of God, convinced and reproved by this very ar gument, Ifa. xxxix. 15, 16. « Woe unto them that feek deep to hide "their counfels from the Lord, and their works are in the dark : and "they fay, who feeth us? And who knoweth us? Surely, your "turning of things upfide down fhall be efteemed as the potter's "clay: for, fhall the work fay to him that made it, he made me not? "Or, fhall the thing framed fay of him that framed it, he hath no "understanding?" q. d. Think ye by deep-laid designs, by the advantage of darknefs, by the moulding and new-moulding your crafty defigns in your heads, as the clay is moulded now unto this, then into the fhape by the potter's hand, to hide it from me? O brutish creatures, and without understanding! am not I the God that formed you? And can it be fuppofed I fhould not know the moft fecret thoughts, plots, and defigns of mine own creatures, who cannot contrive a defign, nor conceive a thought with me? How abfurd is this? Find out a place which God made not, or a creature which he formed not; and then your pretences to that creature's concealment from God in fuch a place, may have fome colour: and this ar gument is again urged to convince the brutish atheift, Pfal. xciv. 8, 9, 10. " Understand, ye brutish among the people, and ye fools, when will you be wife? He that planted the ear, fhall he not hear? "He that formed the eye, fhall he not fee? He that chafteneth "the heathen, shall not he correct? He that teacheth man know"ledge, fhall not he know? The Lord knoweth the thoughts of "man, that they are vanity;" fo that it is the vaineft of all vanity in the world, to think of hiding your fins from the Lord.

2. He that fuftains all cannot but know and difcern all. You that feek to hide counsel from the Lord, know ye not, "That in him "you live, move, and have your being?" Acts xvii. 28. Do not you derive that very power from him, which you abuse by finning against him? And do you depend neceffarily and continually upon God for all? Muft he give you the power to move, and by that power can you move beyond him, and get out of his reach? You cannot think a thought without him, and yet can exclude him from those very

thoughts which you had no power to conceive, but from him? Exercife but common reafon in the cafe, and it will hifs at your abfurd defigns.

3. He that governs all can be ignorant of nothing. There is a perpetual influence of providence, fwaying and governing all the creatures, and all their actions; elfe the very ligaments of nature would crack, and the world break up and difband. This providence extends itfelf to the leaft and lowest of creatures and their actions, Luke xii. 6. a fparrow falls not to the ground without it. "The great God hath fomething to do about the moft «minute and inconfiderable things;" yea, the most contingent and uncertain things, as is the difpofal of a lot, Prov. xvi. 33. And indeed this omnifcience of God is that which is neceffary to this univerfal government. How fhall he rule that perfon, or in that place which he knows not? Indeed earthly governors may do fo; it is not neceffary they have a perfonal immediate cognizance of each place and perfon in their dominions: it is enough that they be virtually and mediately governed by them; but it is not fo with God: it is neceffary his eye fhould immediately fee all the parts of his dominion. He could not rule the world, if he were not an omnifcient God. Pfal. lxvi. 7. “He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold "the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves."

4. He that hath fet a fpy to obferve and note what every man doth, cannot but know his actions, how fecret foever they be. Now, fo it is here; God fends a fpy with you, to obferve and record your moft fecret actions and thoughts, in every place, I mean your own confciences, from whofe obfervation none of your ways can poffibly be exempt. The fenfe of this made the heathen fay, Turpe quid anfurus te fine tefte time. When thou art attempting a finful act, fear thyfelf without any other witnefs; confcience is privy to your most fecret defigns and thoughts; 1 Kings ii. 44. "Thou knoweft all the "wickedness which thine heart (i. e. thy confcience) is privy to:" and if conscience know all, God muft needs fee and know it. So the apoftle reasons, from the leffer to the greater, 1 John iii. 20. " If "our heart condemn us, (which is there put for confcience) God is "greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things." If the fpirit of a man knows the things of a man, much more he that formed that fpirit, and endowed man with it.

5. He that knows things more fecret and unfearchable than our moft fecret actions can be, muft needs know them how fecret foever they be. Now there are many things more close and fecret than any action of ours can poffibly be, and yet God knows them. The thoughts of the heart are more fecret than any external action; so secret, that no creature can search them; the devil himself hath but a conjectural guefs at them: "But the Lord telleth unto man what is his thought;" as in Amos iv. 13. So Jer. xvii. 10. "I the Lord fearch the heart, I

Deus maximus in minimus.

"try the reins;" i. e. The moft obfcure, inward and deep fecrets lodged in the heart; nay, which is more, he not only knows our thoughts when they are formed and conceived in the heart, but long before their conception; Pfalm cxxxix. 2. "Thou knoweft my "thoughts afar off." Divines generally interpret it from eternity; even fo long before they were actually thought, he foreknew every thought we should think; and what can be imagined more secret, and undiscernible, than a future thought!

Now if this be known to him, how much more are our thoughts. formed into projects and defigns, and thefe executed by external actions? O deceive not yourselves with hopes of fecrecy! Nothing can be a fecret to him that knows the counfels of all hearts.

6. He that providentially brings to light the most secret contrivances of men, and publishes them before all Ifrael, and before the fun, muft needs fee them, and know them. How clofely had Achan covered his wickednefs: He never fufpected a difcovery, yet God brought it to light. With how much contrivance was the fin of David covered! yet God difcovered it: "Thou didst this thing "fecretly, but I will do this thing before all Ifrael, and before the fun," 2 Sam. xii. 12. Hiftories abound with examples of God's bringing to light murders, fo fecretly committed, that it was impoffible they fhould ever be revealed in this world, without a miracle of providence; and yet fo they have been brought to light. Beffus, having committed fuch a murder, fancied the fwallows that were chattering in the chimney, had faid, Beffus killed a man, and thereupon confeffed the fact. How fecure were the contrivers of the popish powder-plot, that Catholic villany, in a double sense having fworn all their accomplices to fecrecy, and managed the whole defign fo closely, that Guy Faux, upon the discovery of it, faid, The devil muft needs be the difcoverer of it. it to expatiate upon this theme? But I will not inftances: all ages are the witneffes of this truth. deny or question that great or confeffed truth, Dan. ii. 28. "There " is a God in heaven that reveals fecrets :" and if he reveals them, he muft needs know them..

How easy were be tirefome in Who can then

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7. He that will judge all fecrets, cannot but know them. "God will judge the fecrets of men in that great day," Rom. ii. 16. "God will bring every work into judgment, with every fecret thing, "whether it be good, or whether it be evil," Eccl. xii. ult. The Judge of the whole earth will not judge at random; his judgment will be infallible, because his omnifcience is fo. "His eyes are upon "the ways of man, and he feeth all his goings; for he will not lay "upon man more than right, that he should enter into judgment "with God," Job xxxiv. 21, 23.

So that the truth of this point is beyond all controverfy and contradiction, that the whole world affords no place of fecrecy or fecurity for a finner to escape the observing eye, and righteous hand of God.

The ufes follow in thefe inferences.

1. Inference, If this be fo, then time, place, and opportunity, how much foever they seem to promise fecrecy and concealment, should never further a temptation to fin.

Suppofe all circumftances concurring, fo that in the eye of reafon you seem secured from the fhameful confequences of fin; yet, methinks, the confideration of this truth fhould fufficiently deter you from a wicked purpofe; Prov. v. 20. And why wilt thou, my fon, be "ravifhed with a strange woman, and embrace the botom of a "ftranger? For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, "and he pondereth all his goings." There be four things which ftrengthen temptations to fin, and particularly the fin of uncleanness upon feamen. Firft, The abfence of lawful remedies. Secondly, The prefence of alluring objects. Thirdly, The inftigation of wicked examples. Fourthly, And the hopes of concealment, being remote from their acquaintance: fo that their fins, in probability, shall never difgrace them. This laft circumftance is not the leaft: O how many hath it prevailed upon! but I hope you will never yield to this temptation, whofe heart and strength are broken by this confideration of the

eye of God upon you. A chafte woman being once folicited to folly,

told him that folicited her, fhe could never yield to the motion, until he could find a place where God should not fee.

Nay, my friends, it should do more than restrain you from the grofs acts of fin; it fhould powerfully curb the very thoughts and firft motions of fin in your hearts. That was the ufe holy Job made of this truth, Job xxxi. 1. “I have made a covenant with mine eyes; why then fhould I think upon a maid? Doth he not fee my ways, ❝ and count all my steps?"

Suppose you should carry your wickedness so close, that none on earth fhould know it; yet the Lord fees it, and will bring it into judgment, and your own confcience is privy to it. I pray, firs, tell me, is it not a great comfort to a malefactor, that he acted his crime fo closely, that none but the judge and one authentic witness more, (whofe teftimony is as good as a thoufand) beheld it? Why, this is the cafe of all fecret finners. But, to prefs home this great and neceffary truth more particularly, I beseech you to confider,

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1. God doth not only behold you, but beholds you with deteftation and abhorrence in your ways of iniquity : It is a fight that grieves him to the heart, Gen. vi. 5, 6. " And the Lord faw the wickednefs of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of "the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Here was wickedness, great wickedness, breaking out externally, and evil, only evil, and that continually, working internally; fo that both heart and life were evil extenfively, intenfively, and protenfively. This the Lord faw; and how it affected him, the fixth verse tells you: "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth; and it grieved him at the heart:" Ah! it cuts him to the heart

to fee your finful hearts and courses. Nothing can be fo contrary to the pure and holy nature of God as this is: this made the prophet admire how his patience could endure fuch a fight, Heb. i. 13. "Thou "art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can't not look upon ini"quity; wherefore lookeft thou upon them that deal treacherously?" &c. As if he should fay, Lord, how canft thou behold thyfelf affronted by vile creatures, and hold thy hands from avenging it? O the stupendous patience of God!

2. It doth not only grieve him to the heart, but it puts his patience to the greatest trial and exercise in beholding it: therefore he is faid "to endure with much long-fuffering," Rom. ix. 22. It doth, as it were, create a conflict betwixt his patience and juftice: he is fo provoked by your fin, that he expreffes it as a difficulty to bear it, Amos ii. 13. "I am preffed under you, as a cart is preffed that is "full of fheaves :" burdened till the axle-tree of infinite patience.be ready to crack under the weight.

Nay, Thirdly, He doth not only fee your evils, but he registers and records them, in order to a day of reckoning with you for all together, except ye repent; Deut. xxxii. 34. "Is not this laid up in "ftore with me, and fealed up among my treafures?" A metaphor taken from the clerk of the affize, who feals up the bag of indictments against the time of trial. You think if you can blind the eyes of men, all is well, you shall hear no more of it: ah! but it is fealed up among God's treasures; i. e. the things he records and referves for the day of account.

4. God doth not only fee you, but he will also one day make you fee yourselves and your ways, and that with horror and confterna tion. You think you fhall tafte nothing but the fweet and pleasure of fin; but how are you deceived? The days are coming when fin, that is now pleasant, shall be turned into wormwood and gall. You will not fee the evil of it; and because you see it not, you think God doth not. "These things (faith God) haft thou done, and I kept fi "lence, and thou thoughteft that I was altogether fuch an one as "thyfelf; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine "eyes," Pfal. 1. 21. God fees them now, and he will make you fee them too, by opening your eyes in this world graciously, or in that to come judicially.

5. God doth not only fee your ways, but he will make all the world fee them too: For," there is nothing hid that shall not be "revealed, nor covered, that fhall not be made known," Matth. x. 26. "There is a day when God will make manifest the hidden "counfels of the heart," 2 Cor. iv. 5. " When that which hath " been spoken in darkness fhall be heard in light; and that which "ye have spoken in the ears in clofets, fhall be proclaimed upon the "houfe tops," Luke xii. 3. Well then, whenever the occafions and opportunities of fin are presented to you, under this encourageVOL. V.

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