holy One? The everlafting God, even the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, who faintest not, neither art weary; there is no fearching out of thine understanding f.

(2.) That he is prefent in all places, and there is no place in which he is included, or out of which he is excluded.

Thou art a God at hand, and a God afar off; none can hide himself in fecret places that thou canst not fee him, for thou filleft heaven and earth 8.

Thou art not far from every one of us 1.

We cannot go any whither from thy prefence, or fly from thy fpirit: if we afcend into heaven, thou art there; if we make our bed in hell, in the depths of the earth, behold thou art there; if we take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermoft parts of the fea, even there fhall thy hand lead us, and thy righthand fhall hold us, that we cannot out-run thee i.

(3.) That he hath a perfect knowledge of all perfons and things, and fees them all, even that which is most fecret, at one clear, certain, and unerring view.

All things are naked and open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do, even the thoughts and intents of the heart K.

Thine eyes are in every place beholding the evil and the good: they run to and fro through the earth, that thou mayeft fhow thyfelf ftrong on the behalf of those whofe hearts are upright with thee ".

Thou fearcheft the heart, and trieft the reins, that thou mayeft give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings ".

O God, thou haft fearched us and known us, thou knoweft our down-fitting and our up-tifing, and underftandeft our thoughts afar off: thou compaffeft our path and our lying down, and art acquainted with all

e Heb. i. 12. f Ifa. xl. 28. g Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. b Acts xvii. 17. i Pfal. cxxxix. 7, 8, 9, 10. k Heb. iv. / Prov. xv. 3. m 2 Chron. xvi. 9. nJer. xvii. 10.

12, 13.

our ways: there is not a word in our tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knoweft it altogether. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is high, we cannot attain unto it °.

Darkness and light are both alike to thee.

(4.) That his wisdom is unfearchable, and the counsels and defigns of it cannot be fathomed.

Thine understanding, O Lord, is infinite; for thou telleft the number of the ftars, and calleft them all by their names P.

Thou art wonderful in counfel, and excellent in working. Wife in heart and mighty in ftrength.

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom haft thou made them all ; all according to the counfel of thine own will $.

O the depth of the wifdom and knowledge of God ! how unfearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.

(5.) That his fovereignty is incontestible, and he is the owner and abfolute Lord of all.

The heavens, even the heaven of heavens are thine, and all the hofts of them . The earth is thine, and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein w In thy hand are the deep places of the earth, and the ftrength of the hills is thine alfo: the fea is thine, for

ou madeft it, and thy hands formed the dry land": a the beafts of the foreft are thine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills: thou art therefore a great God, and a great King above all gods.

In thy hand is the foul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind v.

Thy dominion is an everlafting dominion, and thy kingdom is from generation to generation: thou doft according to thy will in the armies of heaven, and

。 Pfal. cxxxix. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 42. p Pfal. cxlvii. 4, 5. 9 Ifa. xxviii. 29. Job ix. 4. r Pfal. civ. 24. s Eph. i. 11. i Rom. xi. 33. v Pfal. cxv. 16. xxiv. 1. w xcv. 3, 4, 51 * 1. 10. y Job. xii. 10.

among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay thy hand, or fay unto thee, What doft thou? Or why doft thou foz?

(6.) That his power is irresistible, and the operations of it cannot be controuled.

We know, O God, that thou can't do every thing, and that no thought can be with-holden from thee a Power belongs unto thee; and with thee nothing is impoffible .

All power is thine, both in heaven and in earth d.

Thou killeft and thou makeft alive, thou woundest and thou healeft; neither is there any that can deliver out of thy hand.

What thou haft promifed, thou art able also to perform f.

(7.) That he is a God of unfpotted purity, and perfect reflitude.

Thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Ifrael Holy and reverend is thy name h; and we give thanks at the remembrance of thy holiness.

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity *, neither fhall evil dwell with thee 1.

Thou art the rock, thy work is perfect, all thy ways are truth and judgment; a God of truth, and in whom is no iniquity". Thou art our rock, and there is no unrighteoufnefs in thee ".

Thou art holy in all thy works, and holinefs becomes thy houfe, O Lord, for ever P.

(8.) That he is just in the administration of his government, and never did, nor ever will do wrong to any of his

creatures.

Righteous art thou, O God, when we plead with thee, and wilt be justified when thou fpeakeft, and clear when thou judgeft.

Far be it from God that he fhould do wickedness, and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity; for the work of a man fhall he render unto him 5.

Thy righteousness is as the great mountains, even then when thy judgments are a great deep! And though clouds and darkness are round about thee, yet judgment and justice are the habitation of thy throne ". (9) That his truth is invariable, and the treasures of his goodness inexhaustible.

Thou art good, and thy mercy endures for ever ". Thy loving-kindness is great towards us *, and thy truth endureth to all generations .

Thou haft proclaimed thy name: the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, flow to anger, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thoufands, forgiving iniquity, tranfgreffion and fin 2. And this name of thine is our ftrong tower a.

Thou art good, and doft good; good to all, and thy tender mercy is over all thy works b. But truly God is in a special manner good to Ifrael, even to them that are of a clean heart .

O that thou wouldst caufe thy goodness to pafs before us; that we may tafte and fee that the Lord is good; and his loving-kindness may be always before our eyes.

Lastly, That when we have faid all we can of the glori ous perfections of the Divine nature, we fall infinitely fhort of the merit of the subject

Lo, these are but parts of his ways, and how little a portion is heard of God: But the thunder of his power who can understand?

Touching the Almighty we cannot find him out; he is excellent in power and in judgment, and in plenty of

vxcvii. 2.

s Job xxiv. 10. II. t Pfal. xxxvi. 6. w cxxxvi. I. x c. 5. y cxvi. 2. ≈ Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7 a Prov. xviii. 10. b Pfal. cxix. 68. C CX.v. 9. 1xxiii. 1° d Exod. xxxiii. 19. e Pial xxxiv. 8.xxvi. 3. fjob xxvi. 14°

justice ; and he is exalted far above all bleffing and praife h

We must give to God the praise of that Splendour and glory wherein he is pleafed to manifest himself in the upper world.

Thou haft prepared thy throne in the heavens i, and it is a throne of glory, high and lifted up, and before thee the seraphims cover their faces *. And it is in compaffion to us, that thou holdeft back the face of that throne, and fpreadeft a cloud upon it 1.

Thou makeft thine angels fpirits, and thy ministers a flame of fire ". Thousand thousands of them minifter unto thee, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before thee to do thy pleafure ". They excel in ftrength, and hearken to the voice of thy word o. And we are come by faith and hope and holy love into a fpiritual communion with that innumerable company of angels, and the fpirits of juit men made perfect, even to the general affembly and church of the firft-born, in the heavenly Jerufalem??

4. We must give glory to him as the Creator of the world, and the great protector, benefactor, and ruler of the whole creation.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive bleffing, and honour, and glory and power, for thou haft created all things, and for thy pleasure, and for thy praife, they are and were created 9.

We worship him that made the heaven and the earth, the lea and the fountains of waters ; who fpake, and it was done; who commanded, and it stood fasts; who faid, Let there be light, and there was light; let there be a firmament, and he made the firmament; and he made all very good t; and they continue this day, according to his ordinance, for all his fervants

1 Job xxvi. 9.

¿ Pfal. ciii. 19. m Pfalm civ. 4•

n Deut. vi. 10. o Pla, cxxx. 20. 21. p Heb. x. 21, 23.

• XV. 7. s Pfalm xxxii. 9. + Gen. i. 3,

Pfalm cxix. 91.