Chapter VI
A more punctual explication what it is to give glory to God in himself or
works, set out by a comparative with all the other ways of glorifying God, which it far exceeds.
Our next inquiry shall be, What this grace and duty I so commend unto
you are ? I put them together, for the one may be known and discerned
by the other ; and that where in Scripture we find the duty spoken of, we may thereby understand what the grace, that is, the root thereof in the
heart, is and ought to be ; as also what is the duty when the grace is
spoken of, or the increase of it specified. To find out the true elevation of
both, I shall proceed by comparative steps, whereby it will appear how far
this exceeds other ways of giving glory to God.
In general, we may consider that to give glory to God is a matter of a
large extent, comprehending many ways of doing it. As, 1. We are to glorify God in every thing and action, 1 Pet. iv. 11, that
in every thing God may be glorified. And this is done by the holy ends we have in communications, either put forth immediately, or though mediately, yet ultimately aiming at God s glory in them, 1 Cor. x. 31, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do it all to tho
glory of God. And the apostle Peter adds, over and above such a way of glorifying God,
* to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
2. We give glory to God in such good works as directly in themselves do tend to the glory of God. Mat. v. 16, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven ; which Peter seconds, 1 Pet. ii. 12, Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evil
doers, they may, by your good works which they shall behold, glorify God
in the day of visitation : which is as if he had said, Though at present wicked men will not acknowledge any goodness in you saints, but, on the
contrary, speak evil of you, yet little do you think how every holy action
lays up matter against the day of judgment, in the consciences of the wickedest men, by which God will be glorified at that day in their acknow
ledgments, when Christ shall have set his gloss upon these actions, and in
384 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHEK, [BoOK I.
the mean time, afore that day, these holy works do give an occasion unto
* redound
holy men to glorify God in your behalf, which these works do by a
ing to the glory of God (as the phrase is, 2 Cor. iv. 15). Yet so to praise God, as I exhort you to do, is higher. The angels, although their charac
ter is, that they do God s commandments, and that they be the highest instance of it, as in the Lord s prayer, Thy will be done, as in heaven, &c. ; yet they are called upon, by David, farther to bless God, as a mat
ter beyond their doing his will otherwise, Ps. ciii. 20, Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Nulla angelis prastantior est exercitatio in qua se occupent ; Calvin on the words. There is no higher way of glorifying God than this, for them to be exercised in. It is beyond their doing all
other commandments. Likewise in Ps. 1. 23. Although ordering our con
versation aright is so acceptable to God, as he will shew his salvation to them that do it, yet the height and top of glorifying God is set upon the head of praising God as the crown ;
* Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me : and to him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I shew the salvation of God.
3. In performing duties of worship, public or private, and being conver
sant in ordinances ; this is a further degree of glorifying God, than in holy actions, in ordering our conversations, &c. Ps. Ixxxvi. 9, All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, Lord, and
shall glorify thy name. Yet this way of giving glory to God excels being conversant in ordinances, although having communion with God therein.
1 Peter iv. 10, 11, As every man hath received the gift, even so minister
the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God : if any man minister,
let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ ; to whom be praise and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen. Which is spoken of the ministration of ordinances. As to speak in the church, or to contribute to the saints, is a way of
glorifying God in the way of ordinances and worship, yet still this duty of
giving glory to God exceeds it, and therefore is over and beyond (superadded and exhorted to, after the other), as distinct from them ; to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
4. It is more than to praise God for benefits vouchsafed and received to
ourselves ; which yet is an high way of glorifying God. We generally say, that thanksgiving is a nobler and more divinely generous duty than prayer, for self-love puts us upon that, praying for benefits ; but thanks is a more
free, defecate, and pure act, and yet is out of a sense of God s goodness unto one s self;
* Bless the Lord, my soul ; and forget not all (that is, not any) of his benefits. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, and healeth
all thy diseases, Ps. ciii. 2, 3. And Ps. Ixxxvi. 12, 13, I will praise thee, Lord my God, with all my heart ; and I will glorify thy name for ever more. For great is thy mercy towards me ; and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. Yet we see there is a deep touch of self-love in
this both praise and glorifying of God ; for great is thy mercy to me.
Well, but this way of glorifying God is yet more high and generous, being for what is abstractly considered from all benefits ; that is, simply con
sidering what glory and excellencies are in God himself, or in his glory unto
others of his creatures. It is to give glory to God, for what he is or doth
any way to his church, or to all others in the world, and not only for what he is to us, &c. Look back upon the places cited, and you will find the
CHAP. VI.] AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. 385
most of them speak this abstractedness. In the Revelation you find both
the church and men to give glory and honour, distinct from thanks ; Rev.
iv. 9, And when those beasts gave glory, and honour, and thanks to him
that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever ; upon this account, ver. 11, that thou art worthy, Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and
power ; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Likewise the angels run upon the same strain, Rev. vii. 12,
Saying, Amen : blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
honour, and power, and might, be unto our Lord for ever and ever. Amen.
5. It is more than to glorify God for his love to us, for the assurance and hope he will glorify us ; Rom. v. 1,
* By faith we have peace with God, and a standing in grace, and the favour of God ; so ver. 2, And not only
so, but we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations ; so strong, real, lively, powerful, are those hopes of glory in us, as to rise to this ; thus ver. 3. But then, ver. 11, he riseth
: Not only so, but we also joy in God, and make himself the
yet higher
top of our rejoicing, far beyond our being glorified by him, and our hopes thereof. Why ? For in our being glorified by him, we are passives ; loved, rather than love ; glorified, rather than give glory. But in the exercise of
this grace and duty the soul is active, and casts glory upon God s acts, and
upon him, reverberates all the glory that shines upon them back again upon him, and that for what is in himself, as a God in himself so glorious,
dwelling in light inaccessible, immortal, only wise, &c. Yet this must be
added, that withal the soul considers, that this God, that is thus great and
excellent, is also his God. He rejoices to put that in all/though still the
top of his praise, and his solace therein doth rise and reach far higher. Therefore you find praising God, and my God, so often in the psalm joined, and in the prophet Isaiah, chap. xxv. 1, 2, although his praise is for his
glorious counsels and judgments in the world, which wholly concerned the
glory of God, and not himself, yet he puts in, I will exalt thee, my God ; that is, he reflected upon this withal, that God, who was so great a God, was his God, in that high and near relation.
Use. Let us next view the high privileges and divine dispositions of such
a soul, when raised up unto this blessed frame. I so state the terms of what is now to follow, in calling them his privileges, as well as the divine
out-goings or dispositions of such an heart. But I shall not handle these two apart, or accurately sever them, but, as one and the same, speak pro miscuously of them.
It is the high privilege of such a soul to have all it doth, or can compre hend, to be in God himself, to give glory to him for ; and in doing so, therewithal themselves to glory and rejoice also therein, as that he is such and so great a God, so blessed, so glorious in himself; and although they cannot see his glory, and live in this life, yet all those descriptions of him, whereby he hath made himself so wonderfully known, they have these afore
them, as far as in this life they may or do comprehend them : Eph. iii. 18,
* able to comprehend, and to be filled with all the
19, there is a being made
fulness of God, prayed for by the apostle. And it is evidently spoken of what the saints may attain in this life ; for it is whilst
* Christ dwells in
their hearts by faith. And that place shews, that beyond the apprehension of the love of God in Christ, and of Christ s love, there is a being filled with the fulness of God himself, in such a proportion and sense as this
life is capable of; yet so as such a thing there is to be attained, as shall
justly bear the title of this. And because they he writes to (as generally VOL. iv. B b
386 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER, [BOOK I.
Christians do) find this to be too high (as indeed it is, if they reflect upon their ordinary walking and common experiments it is) ; therefore he con cludes his prayer with this,
* Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, &c. For indeed the experience of such a frame of spirit, is an height above what we are able to ask or think, and yet is attainable
by the power that now worketh in us, as it follows. And because the
genuine product, end, and tendency of such an elevation of heart is to wish and to give all glory to God, therefore it is he so solemnly adds, ver. 21, Unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world with end. Amen. For any one s being filled with all the fulness
of God, doth constrain the spirit in whom it is, to give and wish this glory to him. As likewise he that is raised up to that frame of spirit, thus to
give glory for what is in God himself, that soul hath all the fulness in God
afore him, to give glory to him for.
Now to incite us all to the seeking this high disposition of spirit, I shall, for your encouragement, spread before you many instances of saints, who have had hearts to glorify God for all the fulness which is inhimself.
* see the glory of God, Exod. xxxiii. 18, and,
Moses, you know, desired to
says God, ver. 19, I will make all my goodness pass before thee ; and I
will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. And God caused his
glory to pass before him, ver. 22. And accordingly, chap, xxxiv. 5, 6, 7, God proclaims his name and divine nature, in those attributes of merciful,
strong, true, and just. Upon which Moses, being filled with this glory, adored God ; ver. 8, Moses made haste, and bowed his head towards the
earth. He made a return of worship unto all this glory he had seen and heard ; though likewise he put up a prayer with all, ver. 9. But he adores him purely, for that glory which God had manifested to him, to be in him
self, and in his nature.
We find many psalms made to glorify God alone by his works. But in some other psalms besides, over and above, and before they come to cele
brate God for his works, the psalmist began first to celebrate him for what
is in his nature, what is in himself. Ps. civ. 1, Bless the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, thou art very great ; thou art clothed with honour and majesty
: who coverest thyself with light as with a garment. And then he sets him out by his works in the rest of the psalm, in so glorious a
manner, as in no Scripture more. Likewise Ps. cxlv. 1, 2, 3, I will extol
thee ; I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised ; and his greatness is un
* I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty. And ver. 8, he sets out the graciousness of his nature, The Lord is
searchable. Ver. 5,
gracious, and full of compassion ; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The rest of the psalm is taken up with the praising him for his works, and a setting forth the glory of his kingdom. Calvin did observe this also
upon Psalm cxxxvi. 1-3, give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good
for his mercy endureth for ever. give thanks to the God of gods
give thanks to the Lord of lords : for his mercy endures for ever. He
sets out first (saith he) the height of his deity arid sovereign kingdom ; and then the following part of that song sets out his works, To him who
alone doth great wonders, ver. 4.* Likewise, Psalm cxlvii., a psalm of
praise, so it begins, ver. 1, Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing
* Priusquam ad celebrationem operum Dei veniat, summam ejus Deitatem summumque imperium commendat. Calvin, in loc.
CHAP. VI.] AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. 387
praises to our God. At the 5th verse he sets out what God is in himself, by three things, as the principles of all his works. First, By his greatness and immensity, Great is our Lord. Secondly, His power, and of great power. Thirdly, His wisdom, his understanding is infinite. Elsewhere
it is said, In wisdom hast thou made them all, namely, his works, Ps.
civ. 24. But here his wisdom is that which is in himself, for which he
celebrates him, though he had never made any work.
This soul, thus wound up, can sit down in God, and with God, and bless
him, and rejoice in all the blessedness that is in him, and for that it is his, that he is so blessed, and that in such an infinite God there is such infinite
blessedness, and can say Amen to it, when he hath gone over it in all his
thoughts of it. As Paul, Rom. i. 25, upon occasion of a dishonour done
to God, by worshipping his unworthy creatures more than the Creator, he
* who is blessed for ever, and puts amen
in indignation of spirit adds,
to it. He speaks of what he is in his divine nature, in himself, which in
ver. 20 he calls his eternal power and Godhead ; in ver. 23, the glory of the incorruptible God ; and in ver. 25, the truth of God, that is, the
true being of God. Now, God considered as such, it is that for which he
* amen to
* who is blessed for ever ; and I say
pronounces him blessed,
it (says he), that is, I congratulate it to him ; for what is amen but so be
it, or, Oh, let it be so ? And if one amen be not enough, you shall have
it doubly set to our blessing of him, Blessed be the Lord God, and blessed be his glorious name for ever ; and let the whole earth be filled with his
glory. Amen and amen, Ps. Ixxii. 18, 19. And whom do you think he speaks of ? Of Christ, and God in Christ. Men shall be blessed in him ; all nations shall call him blessed, ver. 17. Wherein Christ in the whole psalm, under the type of Solomon, is set out. But you find the same amen set to the blessedness that is in Christ in the New Testament, where Paul, speaking of Christ, who is over all, God
blessed for ever. Amen, Rom. ix. 5. He says amen to the fulness of
the blessedness of the Godhead that is in him ; yea, unto the man Jesus, taken up into the participation of that blessedness, through his personal union with the Son of God ; from which it is, that all that glory which he wears in heaven is his by inheritance or natural right, as Heb. i. tells us. Now, in Psalm xlv. he sets him out in the excellency of his person as such ; Thou art fairer than the children of men ; grace is poured into thy
: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. And because" God had
lips
thus blessed him, the psalmist goes on to bless him too, and to wish well
to him with all this his honour. So far is he from envying of it, though
it might have been the lot of any other man, or of a man s self, to have been taken up into that union, and kept from the fall. But he wishes it
all to him over and over again, and is glad that God hath such a Son, and himself such a head ; and as Christ passes along by him in his glory, he
cries out, Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, most mighty, with thy glory, and thy majesty ; and in thy majesty ride prosperously. These are words
of one applauding, and blessing, and wishing all happiness and prosperity to him, with all his honour : ride prosperously, or, as the Hebrew hath
* Gook luck have thou with thy honour ; yea, and as subjects use to say to the king (though often in flattery), as he passes by, Vivat rex, Vive le roi, Let the king lire
* prosper thou, ride thou. The old translation had it,
it,
for ever, as in Daniel. And as they of Augustus, when themselves were
dying, they would sacrifice for his life, and say, Let Augustus live, though I die ; so (would you think it) that the very like phrase should be in the
388 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER, [BOOK I.
* The Lord lives/ as we translate it,
psalms, and the meaning of those words, Ps. xviii. 46,
* and blessed be my Rock, should be an optative,
* Let the Lord live ; as we use to say to our kings, Vivat rex, so, Let God live, and be blessed, and live for ever.
Take we likewise the matter of those two doxologies of Paul, 1 Tim. vi.
15, Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light no man can
approach to ; whom no man hath seen, nor can see : to him be honour and power everlasting. Amen. The other, 1 Tim. i. 17,
* Now, unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and
glory for ever and ever. Amen. This latter he did break out into upon occasion of the story of his own conversion. But though that so great a
mercy to himself was the occasion, yet his spirit soars far higher, beyond all of what God had done for him, to consider, purely and abstractly, what a glorious God he was in himself. Let us but open the particulars of it.
First, He gives glory to him for that blessedness which was in him, Who is the blessed, says he,
< and only Potentate. What is blessedness but a confluence and fulness of all good to an infinite, complete within
himself, so as God need not go forth of himself for anything ? as Acts
xvii. 25, He needs not anything, seeing he gives life to all, and all things. Like as if a great man should have in his house, and in the compass of his
grounds round about it, all kind of things of all sorts, within his own de
mesnes, that he need not go forth for anything.
Secondly, He is the only Potentate, sovereign over all. He hath not
only all happiness within himself, and fulness, but he hath sovereign and absolute power over all things. Now, when these two things shall meet,
all inward fulness, and such an absolute power besides, he is blessed indeed that hath it. You shall find up and down in the psalms, the
psalmist to bless him above all for a kingdom of his, Psalm cxlv. and other
psalms, where you find it celebrated.
Now, that kingdom is, (1.) seated in himself, and then exercised towards
his creatures ; you will find the psalmist praise him for both. First, Seated
in himself, in Ps. xciii., which begins, in the first verse, with a celebration
: The Lord reigns ; he is clothed with majesty, &c. He ascends higher there, to the exercise of it, in governing the world. At
of his kingdom
ver. 2, Thy throne is established of old ; thou art King from everlasting; and for this they praise him. His kingdom began from everlasting ; he
reigned within himself, and in his own purposes, and contrivements, and
orderings of all things. He disposes of all from then, as the word of old
translated is in the Hebrew. And then it was that he did clothe himself with majesty, and did gird himself with strength, as a man uses to do
before he begins to do any great matter; thus, ver. 1, for this his saints do praise him.
Then (2.) as it is exercised. First, As it is seated in heaven, Ps. Ixxxix.
5-7, The heavens shall praise thy wonders, Lord ; thy faithfulness
also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be
compared unto the Lord ? Who among the sons of the mighty can be
likened unto the Lord ? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of
the saints ; and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. He speaks this of the glory which he hath, and shews forth in heaven afore
all angels and saints whom he hath round about him. He had said, in the
4th verse, of Christ, the spiritual David, Thy seed will I establish for ever,
CHAP. YL] AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. 389
and build up thy throne to all generations. And of that kingdom he treats from ver. 21 of that psalm to ver. 38.
Now, for this kingdom of his, the heavens are said to praise his wonders, which is spoken of the angels, who are often called the heavens, from their
place ; as in Job it is said, The heavens are not clean in his sight. And
these knowing the wonders of that covenant of grace, they, even they, are
* The heavens shall praise thy wonders, Lord. In the Hebrew it is,
said to praise ;
* thy wonder, or thy miracle, in the singular number, which, in Eph. iii. 10, the angels are said to adore ; and in Luke i. to
sing glory to the Highest ; for his grace to man is that miracle. Now, the material heavens do not praise the mercy of God, or the grace of God, or the covenant of grace, or the throne of grace that is established in the heavens. They understand nothing of Christ ; no, they do not so much as
materially give occasion to man to praise God for these ; and therefore this
is meant of the angels ; and most interpreters understand the next words of them : Thy faithfulness in the congregation of the saints, angels, and the holy ones made perfect, for there the great congregation is. For even
in the heavens, who can be compared to the Lord, where all his angels thus do praise him ?
* Who among the sons of the mighty, of all the powers of the earth, can be likened to the Lord ? for he is the
* King of kings, and he is the Lord of lords ; a God above all gods, even angels themselves, as elsewhere the psalmist hath it. And he says not only,
* There is none
like thee ; but, Who is like unto thee ? his excellency so exceeds. And in the 7th verse, he is there presented with all his saints and angels round about him, as one that is greatly to be feared, or that is terrible in
himself, by reason of his greatness, in this his council and assembly of his
saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are about him. For saints and angels, they are of his council in heaven (as might be shewn), and en
compass the manifestation of his glory there round about.
This kingdom of his is set out and magnified by those psalms. First, By his throne ; justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne, ver. 14. Then mercy and truth, they shall go before thy face. He com
pares them to harbingers that he sends out before him ; Ps. Ivii. 3, He
shall send from heaven, and save me ; God shall send forth his mercy and
truth, that come down with commissions from him, as from the great King, when his saints stand in need thereof ; and these make strange work in the world. He need not send down angels, he need send but mercy and truth
down, which elsewhere it is said he prepares in the heavens, Ps. Ixi. 7. He prepares commissions for them, and sends them down with them for execution. It is likewise said, that majesty is before him ; Ps. xcvi. 6, Honour and majesty are before him ; sing unto the Lord therefore (ver. 24), bless his name ; declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, greatly to be praised
: he is to be feared above all gods, angels, and kings on earth ;
* honour and majesty are before him. And then his faithfulness is said to be round about him, encompassing his throne, Ps. Ixxxix. 8. For whatever he doth, he is mind
ful of his faithfulness and covenant, before and behind, and on each side ; he can look no way, but that is in his eye. And though he employ angels, and send them down into the world, and they stand round about him ; yet he hath better harbingers than these, mercy, and truth, and faithfulness, that wait round about him. And for this kingdom of his, as thus set out, do the saints bless him , Ps. cxlv. 10, All thy works praise thee, Lord ; thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak the glory of thy
390 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER, j [BOOK I.
kingdom, and talk of thy power ; to make known to the sons of men his
mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all
generations.
Thirdly, The apostle celebrates him, and gives glory to him, that he is
invisible; you have it in both places, 1 Tim. i. 17, and 1 Tim. vi. 16, and that purely puts it from God s being praised for what he is in benefits
to a man s self, or from what he is to any creature ; for we praise him for what we do not see, for what we do not nor cannot see, and so cannot enjoy
(for so .far as we cannot see, we cannot come to enjoy) ; and therefore
purely for this, for what he is in himself and to himself, in the knowledge and enjoyment of himself. He blesseth him that he is so great a God, that the fulness of his glory can never be known by his creatures ; so ex
cellent, that still there is an infiniteness we cannot know in him. Had it been out of self-love (this giving glory to him), it would have blessed him
for what is seen and enjoyed. We see in this life but his back-parts ; yet by what we see of them, we glorify him for what we see not ; and how
little do we know of him ! as you have it in Job xxvi. 14.
Fourthly, That he is only wise, his understanding infinite (as we heard
out of the Psalms) and infinitely shewn in all his works. In wisdom hast thou made the heavens, Ps. cxxxvi. 5. Yea,
* In wisdom hast thou made them all, Ps. civ. 24. But above all for his wisdom, that hidden wisdom manifested in the gospel in the salvation of men ; To God only wise, who hath revealed the mystery which was kept secret since the world be
gan, To God only wise be glory, through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen, Rom. xvi. 27. Of blessing him for his decrees, I shall speak afterwards. In his ordinary works, his thoughts are very deep ; Ps. xcii. 5,
* Lord, how great are thy works ! and thy thoughts are very deep. But, the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! cries the
apostle out, when he speaks of his contrivements of mercy in the gospel, Rom. xi. 33.
Fifthly, He gives glory to him for that he is eternal ; that he had all this
blessedness, wisdom, &c., from everlasting. Such a soul can bless him
then for that he hath been so blessed a God from everlasting, and enjoyed this happiness ; and then, to be sure, we enjoyed nothing from him, for he was alone. You have the same in Ps. xli. 13,
* Blessed be the Lord God
of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting ; and there is an amen for either
of them, amen and amen ; an amen for what he hath been from everlast
ing, and amen for what he shall be to everlasting. And it is here in the
apostle s words likewise, that he is eternal, in the 1st chapter, as for time
past. And only having immortality, in the 6th chapter. You have the
same, Rev. iv. 8, The four beasts rest not day nor night, saying, Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come, They
praise him for his holiness and for his power ; they praise him for all he hath been, from what he was and hath been for time past, is for the pre
sent, and is to come. One would think, what hath a poor creature to do
to bless him for what he was from everlasting, all which is past? Yet
they herein would shew their good will ; I will cast in my shot and congra
tulation, saith the soul.
Sixthly, For that he only is, and hath alone all those blessednesses and
perfections. This is three times in those two doxologies of the apostle, whilst he calls him the blessed and only Potentate, and that hath only
immortality, and that is only wise ; to him be honour. Ps. Ixxxvi. 9, 10,
CHAP. VI.] AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. 391
All nations shall come and glorify thy name ; for thou art great, and dost wondrous things
* Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only does wondrous things. Oh, says that soul,
: thou art God alone. Ps. Ixxii. 18,
let him have it, and he alone, and none share with him. This large and ample field hath this soul afore him to expatiate in. I
might extend the amplitude of this soul. That he hath all in God s works ;
all in his decrees ; all in his word, to give glory to God for. First, all his
works, past, present, and to come. We have this oft in the psalms ; Ps.
Ixvi. 2, Sing forth the honour of his name : make his praise glorious. Praise was too low a word ; Make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible, or how reverend, art thou in thy works ! All the earth
shall worship thee, and sing in thy name. Come and see the works of God ! &c. Ps. xcii. 1, 4, It is a good thing to sing praise to thy name, most High
: for thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy works ; I
will triumph in the works of thy hands. It rejoiced his heart to see what
a^glory shined forth in all he had done ; Lord, how great are thy works ! and thy thoughts are very deep. And this he doth with delight ; Ps. Ixxvii. 12,
* I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. He hath also all God s decrees and counsels afore him to rejoice in and
to praise him for ; his counsels that contrived all about his works, both of
judgments and mercies : Isa. xxv. 1, Lord, thou art my God; I will
exalt thee, I will praise thy name : for thou hast done wonderful things ; and thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. As likewise that in
* Lord, how great are thy works ! thy thoughts, that is, thy
Ps. xcii. 5,
counsels, they are very deep. For his decrees of election especially, yea, and reprobation also. When
the apostle had discoursed both these doctrines out, and justified God
therein, Rom. ix. and xi. chapters, shewing how God had once chosen the
Jews, but then cast them off; then, taken the Gentiles, whom before he had suffered to walk in their own ways, who in time past have not believed ; and then at last, how he will have mercy, both upon the one and the other, and the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, as well as of the Jews ; but God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon
all. For this counsel of his he cries out, Oh the depth of the riches both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! namely, in these his ways of
* How unsearchable are his
choosing the one and refusing the other.
judgments, and his ways past finding out ; for of him, and through him, and to him are all things ; to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Repro bation itself, and the issues of it, upon the consideration of the hardness and obstinacy that is in man s heart, and the wickedness of men against God, causeth such a soul to take part with God, and to rejoice in the glory that accrues to him hereby ; his spirit will be stirred at the thoughts of all
the obstinate sinners in the world, that they should remain such against so
great a God. In the 104th Psalm, where he sets out God in himself, and
in his works, as much as in any other psalm, after all his praises of him
throughout, and uttering his own frame of heart thereupon, at ver. 33, 34,
* I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live : I will sing praise to my God
while I have a being. My meditation of him shall be sweet ; I will be glad in the Lord. With indignation he adds (his spirit being raised up unto
the exalting of God, and singing of his glory), Let the sinners be consumed
out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more, who should thus dare to
lift up their heads, and ^orns, and souls against this God, so great, so good, so gracious : however, I have reason to bless the Lord (says he) whom
392 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER, [BOOK I.
thou hast chosen, Bless thou the Lord, my soul, and all ye saints,
praise ye the Lord. In Ps. cxlv., that psalm of praise, where he shews him to be good to all his works, and his mercy to be over all his works,
&c., and what a gracious God and full of compassion he is ; what is the conclusion of his spirit from all this ?
t The Lord will preserve all them that love him : but all the wicked will he destroy. This he was glad of; this soul can sit down at the day of judgment, and think of the glory that
shall then come in to God from the condemnation of wicked men. As that
poor woman, who having a most wicked son, whom she dearly loved, once upon occasion of a high wickedness of his said, Well, I shall one day rejoice that thou shalt be damned, and take part with the glory of God therein. And the conviction of so high a strain of grace to be in her soul, of love to
God (while he knew how well she loved him), was the means of breaking that man s heart, and converting him to God.
He hath also all in God s word afore him, to glorify God for every word and passage of it : Ps. Ivi. 4, In God will I praise his word, says he. And again he hath it, ver. 10, In God will I praise his word ; for all his
promises, for all his threatenings, and execution of threatemngs, though upon
himself, according to his word. Good is the word of the Lord, when it was against him and his family, and the whole nation, said good Hezekiah,
2 Kings xx. 19. Above all, he loves God s salvation that is therein. Let
all such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified, Ps. xl. 16. One would think that this should be self-love alone makes us
love salvation. Ay, but they love it, because it is his, that love thy salvation ; as in Psalm xxi. 1, The king shall joy in thy strength, Lord ; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice. It is the character of a
holy saint to love salvation itself ; not as his own only, but as God s, as God s that saves him.
Again, this soul can rejoice in all that is in God himself, and heartily
rejoice ; and Oh what an infinite privilege, and how blessed a frame of heart is it, for the poor creature to be wound up so high, as not only to
rejoice in hope of glory, but we rejoice in God, Rom. v. 11, to re
joice therein, more than in its own happiness. And therefore you have it so often, when praising God is mentioned, that there is rejoicing also ; it does accompany it, Ps. civ. 33, 34,
* I will sing unto the Lord as long as
I live ; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. My medita
tion of him shall be sweet ; I will be glad in the Lord. In Ps. xliii. 4, I will go unto God, my exceeding joy ; yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, God my God. In the Hebrew it is, the top of my joy, the joy of my joy. You find them also, when they are in this praising frame, to make their boast in God. Ps. xxxiv. 1, 2, I will bless the Lord at all times : his praise shall be continually in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast of the Lord. Likewise in Ps. Ixviii. 3, there they are also
: let them rejoice before God ; yea, let him exceedingly rejoice. Then follows, Sing unto God, sing praise to
joined, Let the righteous be glad
his name : extol him that rides upon the heavens by his name JAH, and
* To him who rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which were of old.
rejoice before him. And, ver. 33,
This soul, as those will rejoice in God, so exult in giving those praises to God. Ps. xcii. 1,
* It is a good thing to sing praises unto thy name, Most High ; and he founds it upon this, For thou, Lord, hast made me
glad through thy works. It is a good thing, that is, it is a sweet and
pleasant thing, even praise itself is. Ps. cxxxv. 3, Praise ye the Lord ;
CHAP. VI.] AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. 393
: sing praise to his name ; for it is pleasant, Ps.
for the Lord is good
cxlvii. 1, Praise ye the Lord : for it is good to sing praise to God ; for it
is pleasant ; and praise is comely. David speaks it as the joy of his soul, that he should yet live to praise him ; and he yet shall praise him more and more, Ps. xliii. 4, 5. He ex-
presseth it as his greatest ambition and delight of soul, that he should live
yet to praise him.
He does this with his whole heart. Ps. ix. 1, 2, I will praise thee, Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I
will be glad and rejoice in thee : I will sing praise to thy name, thou most
* Amen and
High. And therefore in praising of him, you find, they say,
amen, as in Ps. xli. 13, and Ps. Ixxii. 19, which shews all heartiness. That soul can go over all ages past, and be affected with the praises that have been given to God by the saints and angels in all ages. To read the
psalms, wherein David and the psalmists praise him. To read in the Re
velation how the angels, the four and twenty elders, and the four beasts, and all creatures praise him. He can begin and sit down with the angels, those bright morning stars, that began so early to praise God for the
creation of the world. Job xxxviii. 7, Then the morning stars sang to
gether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. And he can shout with them that they then did so. He can^then sit down in the ark with Noah, and glorify God with him, for that
* the Lord sat at the flood, Ps. xxix. 10. So most interpreters render it, and interpret it, that he sat as a judge,
taking vengeance on the old world, and ungodly, after so much longsuffer-
: and sat on the throne of mercy, preserving Noah, that righteous one, and thus the Chaldee paraphrase on it. And that which follows confirms
ing
* Yea, the Lord sat king for ever. He did that great act once, and
it ;
ever since he hath held being king, and will do so to everlasting. This man can join with Miriam and Moses at the Red Sea, Ex. xv., and sing the
song of Moses and of the Lamb, as they do, Rev. xv. He can bear a part with Hannah, and all those psalmodists in their elogiums and high exalta
tions of God; even as the psalmist, we find, did join with Moses in cele
brating his praise for his wonders then done in Egypt, and in the Red Sea. His heart falls in with those angels song, when they proclaimed the birth
of our Redeemer; Glory to God on high, peace on earth, good will towards men. Yea, as one well says, Awes habet ad audiendam ccelorum pradicationem.* He hath ears to hear the heavens declaring the glory of God, and
his soul can make music on it ; for thus we read, Rev. v., when
* every creature, ver. 13, that is in the heavens, and in the earth, &c., said,
Blessing, honour, power, and glory be unto him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever, that the four beasts szid^Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that lives for
ever and ever ; they fell in with them. And as a further ground for this
latter branch, we find the angels hearing the saints of mankind giving praise to God, and saying, Salvation to our God which sits upon the throne, and
to the Lamb. We find that all the angels that stood round about the
throne, that they fell down before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen. They join with the song that the saints of men sung unto God, though they were not concerned in it ; not in salvation, for they
* Amen ; and then they add of their own,
* Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and
fell not, yet they say,
might be unto our God ur ever and ever. Amen. And where there is * Musculus on Ps. Ixxxix. 5.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THE FATHER, [BOOK I.
such a frame of spirit raised in the heart of a man filled with the glory of God, as the angels fall in with our song, we can fall in with theirs, and with that of all the creatures.