Jeremiah 23:23-24 Am I a God at hand, said the LORD, and not a God afar off?… 1. THE PROOFS OF IT. It is implied in the idea of an unoriginated Being, that there can be nothing to limit Him. Were His existence determined to one place, rather than to another, it must have been so determined by some prior cause; and, consequently, He could not have been the first cause. 2. That necessity by which the Deity exists, can have no relation to one place more than to another. It must be the same everywhere that it is anywhere. The infinity itself of space is nothing but the infinity of the Divine nature. II. THE MANNER OF IT. 1. God is to be conceived as present with us in all we think, as well as in all we do. The motives of our actions, our most secret views and purposes, and the inmost recesses of our hearts, lie naked before Him. 2. He is present with us by His influence. His hand is always working to preserve us, and to keep up the springs of life and motion within us. 3. He is present with us by His sense. We feel Him in every effort we make, in every breath we draw, and in every object that gives us either pain or pleasure. 4. It follows, from hence, that He is present with us in a manner in which no other being can be present with us. It is a presence more real, more close, more intimate, and more necessary. III. THE PRACTICAL IMPROVMENT OF THIS SUBJECT. 1. Since God is equally present everywhere, we ought not to imagine that our worship of Him can be more acceptable in one place than in another. 2. Since God is the only being that is present with us in the manner I have described, there can he no other being who is the proper object of our prayers. 3. The consideration of the constant and intimate presence of the Deity with us, ought to encourage us in our addresses to Him. He is our benevolent parent, and therefore no pious wish of our hearts, no virtuous breathings of our minds, no desire of bliss that can be directed to Him, can escape His notice, or fail of being properly attended to. 4. A reverential fear should continually possess us, since God is always with us. 5. The presence of God with us should deter us from sin. 6. The presence of God with us should support us in the performance of our duty, and quicken us in a virtuous course. 7. The consideration of God's presence with us should encourage and comfort us under every pain and trouble. A present Deity is a present friend, and a present helper in every time of need. (R. Price, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?WEB: Am I a God at hand, says Yahweh, and not a God afar off? |
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