thorough into the Calum Empyreum, the Holy of Holies, and difcourfeth of the Nature of God, of Angels, of the fpirits of juft Men made perfect, of the everlasting Estate of Immortal Souls when again to be united to their refpective Bodys. O Rich and Noble Endowment ! O never fufficiently admired Faculty of our Soul! But though a thousand times more than all this were faid of our intellective Faculty, yet what is our understanding if compared with God's? our fhallow and limimited capacity, with his infinite and boundless knowledge? there is in truth no more comparison between them, then between the faint and weak glimmerings of light which the Gloe-worm fends forth in the Night, and the most strong, penetrating and glorious Beams of the Sun when shining in its strength at Noon-day. This will better appear if we shall confider either the Matter and Objects of our Knowledge; or the Manner and Way of our Knowledge; or the Measure, Degree and Quality of our Knowledge, if I may fo fpeak. 1. As to the Matter or Object of our Knowledge; there are but a very Kk 4 few few things that come within the compafs of our Knowledge. But God's vaft Knowledge reacheth unto all things, grafps and comprehends whatever hath a Being, whatever had at any time a Being or fhall have things prefent, things paft, and things to come, they are within the limits of his Prospect, they are all in the view of his allfeeing Eye. 1. For things prefent, how very little do we know of them. A few things that are near us and about us, and a few other things that are brought to us by Report, we know; and thefe are the narrow bounds of our Knowledge. But there is nothing in all the World, great or fmall but is known to God. Not only all the Persons and Actions of all the Men in the World, from the Prince that fits upon the Throne, to the Beggar that is upon the Dunghil; but all the other Creatures, together with all their Motions and Operations, and all the Circumstances of them. 'Tis an amazing and even a confounding thing to confider, that there is not a Leaf upon a Tree, nor a Flower in the Field,nor one fingle Blade of Grafs upon the ground all the World over, nor one Sand in the whole Ball of the vaft Body of the Earth but is known to God, and full in his Eye, fo as we may fay of them all as the Pfalmift fays of the Stars, that God tells the number of them, and calls them all by their names. 2. For things paft, we know much lefs of them. There are indeed in the World fo many Volumes written of the Histories of former times, as a Man could never Read them over, though he should live to the Years of Neftor twice told but could we fuppofe that one Man had Read them all över, and fo digested them and firmly imprinted them in his Memory, that he could readily give an exact account of every the mallest and most inconfiderable paffage in thofe Volumes; yet what were all this to the knowledge of all past things! Hiftoriographers for the most part pitch upon fome of the most eminent Perfons, and the most remarkable Tranfactions of the Times and Places concerning which they Write and if they do fometimes defcend to speak something of Perfons of lower Rank, and of Paffages of less Remark, yet take all together which they they transmit to posterity, and it bears no more proportion to what they pass over in filence, then an handful of duft to a Mountain. Take all that ever hath been written and left upon Record concerning this Town or any other from the very foundation of it, and concerning any Perfon that hath been at any time an Inhabitant thereof, and how little is it in comparison of what is Buried in Oblivion. There is not one particular Person how mean foever, not a Beggar that goes from Door to Door, whose life if it should be written, and all his words and actions recorded, would not fill up many Volumes, efpecially if he live to any confiderable Age. Now all the Perfons, Words and Actions of all that ever lived upon the face of the Earth, from the Creation of the World to this Day, and all the other Creatures that ever have been, and their Operations, Changes, Alterations, are as known to God, and lye as open and full in the view of his Omniscience, as the things which are at present in Being. 3. As concerning things to come, we know leaft of all. A few things we can foresee in their natural caufes, and and a few other things which God hath Revealed fhall come to pafs, though not depending upon any certain caufes in nature; and this is the whole Extent of our knowledge of future things; within these narrow boundaries 'tis confined. As for the greater part of future things, they are fhut up in obfcure darkness, and hid from our Eyes, fo that we know nothing at all even of the things to come in which we feem to be most neerly concerned. Who can be abfolutely certain what will become of his Estate after his death? A man heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them, Pfal. 39. 6. A Man hath a Son to inherit what he by much fore Travel and unwearied Industry hath purchased: But he knows not whether that Son fhall out-live him to enjoy it, or whether though he live, fomething or other may not intervene to put him befide his right. He hath Built fair Houses, but he cannot tell who may Inhabit them : He hath Ilanted Orchards, made Gardens and ftately Walks; but he cannot certainly foresee who may Eat the fruit of the one or enjoy the pleasures of the other; whether one of his own Family and |