1 Samuel 2:3-4 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogance come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge… Knowledge considers things absolutely, and in themselves: wisdom considers the respects and relations of things one to another, and under the notion of means and ends. The knowledge of God, is a perfect comprehension of the nature of all things, with all their powers and qualities, and circumstances: the wisdom of God, is a perfect comprehension of the respects and relations of things one to another; of their harmony and opposition; of their fitness and unfitness to such and such ends. I. FOR THE PROOF OF IT, I shall attempt it two ways. 1. From the dictates of natural light and reason. Unless natural reason assures us, that God is endowed with knowledge and understanding, it is in vain to inquire after Divine revelation. For to make any revelation credible, two things are requisite on the part of the revealer, ability and integrity. The Divine perfections are not to be proved by way of demonstration, but by way of conviction, by showing the absurdities of the contrary. (1) It is a perfection, and therefore belongs to God. (2) Knowledge is to be found in some of the creatures, and therefore is much more in God the Creator, because it is derived from Him. "Understand, ye brutish among the people; and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He the formed the eye, shall He not see?"(3) The denial of this perfection to God, argues many other imperfections in the Divine nature. Nothing would more eclipse the Divine nature, than to take away this perfection from it; this would bring an universal obscurity upon God's other perfections; this would be to put out the light of heaven, and to turn the brightness of the morning into the shadow of death. If we remove this perfection from God, we deny His wisdom. And we weaken His power. What an impotent and ineffectual thing would power be without knowledge! What irregular things would it produce! And, consequently, we take away His providence; for without knowledge, there can be no counsel, no provision for the future, no government of the world. And that is not all; for without knowledge there could be no such thing as goodness, for He is not good that does good out of ignorance, or from a blind necessity. There could be no veracity, nor justice, nor mercy in God; for all these suppose knowledge. 2. From Scripture, and Divine revelation. I will only instance in two or three: (Job 36:4) "He that is perfect in knowledge, is with thee." (1 Samuel 37:16) "Dost thou know the wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?"(1) That God takes notice of all our actions. The Scripture frequently mentions this: (Psalm 129:1, etc. Proverbs 5:21) "The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings." (Jeremiah 32:19) "Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."(2) He is a curious observer, one that takes exact notice of all that we do. (3) He taketh notice of those actions which are most secret and hidden, the good as well as bad. 3. God knows the hearts and thoughts of men; which implies these two things: God perfectly knows the hearts of men (Jeremiah 17:10). (1 Kings. 8:89) "For Thou, even Thou, knowest the hearts of all the children of men." (1 Chronicles 27:9). "He knoweth the secrets of the hearts" (Proverbs 15:11). (1) The reason of every man's mind tells him, that the supreme Being whom we call God, is endowed with all perfection, and among His other perfections, that He excels in knowledge. (2) The natural fears of men are likewise a secret acknowledgment of this. 2. That to have a perfect and thorough knowledge of men's hearts, is the peculiar prerogative of God. 3. God's knowledge of future events. This God proposes as the way to discern the true God from idols (Isaiah 41:21, etc.) (1) That God knows future events. (2) That He only knows them.Objection the first: The impossibility of the thing. The certainty of all knowledge depends upon the certainty of the object; therefore there cannot be a certain and determinate knowledge of any thing, but what is certainly and determinately true; but future events, which may or may not be, have no certain and determinate truth; that is, it is not certain either that they will or will not be, because they have no certain cause; therefore there can be no infallible knowledge concerning them. 1. I might say, with a very fair probability, that the certainty of knowledge doth not depend upon the uncertainty of the cause, but of the object, which may be certain, though the cause be contingent. 2. Though we could not explain the possibility of God's knowing future contingencies, much less the manner how; yet we are sufficiently assured that God doth know them. 3. It is very unreasonable to expect we should know all the ways which infinite knowledge hath of knowing things. We have but finite faculties and measures, which bear no proportion to infinite powers and objects.Secondly, It is objected, that if we can admit such a knowledge in God as seems contradictions and impossible to our reason, why may we not allow and frame such notions of His goodness and justice. To this I answer, There is a great difference between those perfections of God which are imitable, and those which are mot. Knowledge of future events is a perfection wherein we are not bound to be like God; and if we are assured of the thing, that He doth know them, it is not necessary that we should know the manner of it, and disentangle it from contradiction and impossibility: but it is otherwise in God's goodness and justice, which are imitable; he that imitates, endeavours to be like something that he knows, and we must have a clear idea and notion of that which we would bring ourselves to the likeness of; these perfections of God we are capable of knowing, and therefore the knowledge of these perfections is chiefly recommended to us in Scripture (Jeremiah 9:24). The third objection is made up of several inconveniences that would follow from God's knowledge of future events. 1. It would prejudice the liberty of the creature. Answer. — God's foreknowledge lays no necessity upon the event; in every event, we may consider the effect in itself, or with relation to the cause, and the manner how it comes to pass; considered in itself, it is future — with relation to its causes, it is contingent. God sees it as both. 2. If God infallibly foreknows what men will do, how can He be serious in His exhortations to repentance, in His expectation of it, and His grieving for the impenitency of men? Answer. — All these are founded in the liberty of our actions. God exhorts to repentance, and expects it, because by His grace we may do it: He is said to grieve for our impenitency, because we may do otherwise, and will not. Exhortations are not in vain themselves, but very proper to their end. Having answered the objections against God's foreknowing future events, I proceed to show that God only knows future events (Isaiah 44:6, 7). I have now done with the first general head I proposed to be spoken to from these words; viz., To prove that this attribute of knowledge belongs to God. I proceed to the II. TO CONSIDER THE PERFECTION AND PREROGATIVE OF THE DIVINE KNOWLEDGE; which I shall speak to in these following particulars: 1. God's knowledge is present and actual, His eye is always open, and every thing is in the view of it. The knowledge of the creature is more power than act. 2. God's knowledge is an intimate and thorough knowledge, whereby He knows the very nature and essence of things. The knowledge which we have of things is but in part, but outward and superficial. 3. God's knowledge is clear and distinct. Our understandings in the knowledge of things are liable to great confusion; we are often deceived with the near likeness and resemblance of things, and mistake one thing for another. 4. God's knowledge is certain and infallible. We are object to doubt and error in our understanding of things. 5. The knowledge of God is easy, and without difficulty. We must dig deep for knowledge, take a great deal of pains to know a little. 6. The knowledge of God is universal, and extends to all objects. We know but a few things; our ignorance is greater than our knowledge. III. I come now TO DRAW SOME INFERENCES FROM THE SEVERAL PARTS OF THIS DISCOURSE. 1. From the perfection of God's knowledge. (1) The perfection of the Divine knowledge calls for our veneration. (2) We may hence learn humility, and that on this double account — as we have all our knowledge from Him: "What have we that we have not received?"(3) This is a matter of comfort and encouragement; He knows our wants and our weaknesses. 2. From God's knowing our secret actions, I infer, (1) If God sees our most secret actions, this discovers and confutes the secret atheism of many. He that commits the most secret sin, denies the omniscience of God. (2) Live as those that believe this: be continually under the power of this apprehension, that God takes a particular and exact notice of all thy actions. 3. God's knowledge of the heart teaches us, (1) The folly of hypocrisy: how vain is it to make a show of that outwardly, which inwardly, and in our hearts, we are not; to put on a mask of religion, and paint ourselves beautifully without. (2) If God know your hearts, then endeavour to approve your hearts to Him; charge yourselves with inward purity and holiness. (3) This is matter of encouragement to us in many cases: in our secret troubles (Psalm 142:3). (4) This renders all the deep and profound policies of wicked men a vain thing: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vanity" (Psalm 94:11): because He knows them, and can defeat them. (5) If God only knows the hearts of men, then "what art thou, O man, that judgest another's heart?" 4. From God's knowledge of future events, we may learn, (1) The vanity of astrology, and all other arts that pretend to foretell future events, things that depend on the will of free agents. (2) Refer future things to God, who only knows them; trust Him with all events; "cast your care upon Him." (J. Tillotson, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. |
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