"made me, and not I myself; fo neither can I act "or fubfift without thy perpetual concurrence and "affiftance. O make me duly fenfible of my whole "dependence upon thee; and that all which ever "I have is from thee: that ftill I am in thy hands, "and still thou holdest my foul in life, and givest " unto me life, and breath, and all things. O give

me grace alfo, I beseech thee, to live to thee; as "I do live by thee, my great and only preferver; "whose name be ever bleffed. Amen."

MEDITATION IV.
Of God, as omniscient.

F the eye of the mafter make the fervant bufy,

IF

O my foul, how should I beftir me in the way of my duty, under the infpection of my great Mafter in heaven, who from thence looks upon all the inhabitants of the earth, and whofe "eyes behold, " and his eye-lids try, the children of men!" Yea, he is as narrowly intent upon every particular creature, as if he had never a one elfe but that in the world to look after. Though eye-fervice is reproveable in the servants of men; and they are counted none of the beft, that will do their offices well, no longer than the mafter's eye is upon them; yet if I am an eye-fervant of God, I fhall be a good and faithful fervant; becaufe his eye is never off me: But he is continually aware of me, and thoroughly searches and knows me, and every thing that belongs to me fo that to fay, "the Lord is not far "from every one of us," (as Acts xvii. 27.) would be but a dilute and flat expreffion, if it did not immediately follow, " for in him we live, and move, "and have our being." He not only furrounds me, and hems me in on every fide; but he is ever VOL. I.

D

with

with me, and within me, as the very life of my life, and the foul of my foul. Nor is he only every where in the world, filling all heaven and earth : but the whole world is in God, wrapt up in his mighty effence, who invifibly pervades it, and reaches infinitely beyond it.

That then, which to me, would be distracting and impoffible, to fee and mind every thing at once, is to him fo ready and natural, that he does it with the greatest ease: yea, he cannot but do it. And fure he may, with as much facility, regard them, as preferve then every one. I am fure, he does the latter; and I may be no lefs certain, that he muft needs do the former; or elfe his understanding would not be infinite, nor he know all things. But he is the all-wife, and the only-wife God, that has the fountain of wisdom, as well as of life, in himfelf. And derives from thence, to every intelligent being, all the wisdom that they have. Every one of their buckets, greater or leffer, are filled out of his immenfe ocean; "and he that planted the ear, "fhall not he hear? he that formed the eye, fhall "not he fee?" He hears and fees, without any ears or eyes, properly fo called. And he that teacheth man all his knowledge, knows a nearer and furer way, without the faculties and organs, that we are fain to do it by. He looks immediately into the heart, and fearches not only that, but the reins, those occult veffels, that lie moft out of fight, covered with the fat of the loins: thofe reins, that are the feat and fource of defires, he has poffeffed them, Pfal. cxxxix. 13. And has them more in his keeping, than I have them in my own; ftill to fee which way I incline, and how I ftand affected. His eye never fleeps or winks; and whether I remember him or not, he cannot be forgetful of me, nor removed from me, whitherfoever I betake me. If I take the wings of the morning, which in a moment carry

day

day to the moft diftant parts of the horizon; and though I could outftrip the fun, and keep pace with the light; which, in a trice, is darted from one fide of heaven to the other, he would be there before me, and ere I am aware, his eye would be upon me, and his hand take hold of me. No man can hide or pass unseen to him, though no man hath feen him at any time.

O my foul, remember what a prefence I am ftill in; not only of a king, but a God, most high above all kings. With what awe and regard then fhould I carry it towards him? with what humility and circumfpection fhould I walk before him? when fo clearly he eyes me, and perfectly understands me; and quite to the bottom, knows all, even the very worst of me. O bleffed be my God, that will hide his face from thofe fins, which yet he cannot choofe but fee: that will not fee them, to charge me with them, though he cannot avoid the fight to be aware of them.

But, O the fottishness of blinded finners, that think the all-feeing LORD fuch a one as themselves; yea, think themselves to know fomewhat, that he does not; and are ready to afk, (as Job xxii. 13.) "How does God know? can he judge through the "dark cloud?" Is there fuch knowledge in the Moft High? Is not he otherwife taken up, than to look after us, and mind every thing that we do? Thus they reckon to escape the eyes of God, because they have left off to fet God before their own eyes: and then presume to do that before Him, which, if but a child were by, they would forbear. O how little do they know or confider, with what a glorious Majefty they make fo bold; and how great and tremendous is the judge, whom they fo fet at naught!

O my foul, use the difcerning, which God has given thee, to better purpofe; and fo affect thyfelf

with his continual nearness to thee, and infpection of thee, that thou mayeft order thy conversation with the greateft circumfpection; and keep thy very heart with all diligence, because none of thy fecret's are any fecret to him, before whofe eyes all things are naked and open. To what purpose is it, to carry off all fair to the world abroad, when God knows all to be rotten and naught within! Is it from the world or from the Lord, that I look for my reward? Is it to man, or to God, that I am moft concerned to approve myself? And can I engage in any myftery of iniquity, that fhall be in the dark to him; or do the wicked thing, that he fhall not find out? Does not he fee my ways, and count all my fteps? O think of this, and when the tempter is urgent with thee, to fin against God, tell him, thou wilt yield to him, when he can convey thee any where, where the Lord fhall not fee thee. Bid unclean thoughts be gone, for the holy God is there. Affright away all ugly lufts and paffions, with this one thought, he that muft give me my doom, now has me in his eye. O what antidote fo ftrong against the contagion of fin? And what fuch fure phylactery to keep me within the bounds of my duty? When I carry myself, (like as Tertullian fays the Chriftians of his time did; Ut apud certos de Dei confpectu ;) as one that is certain God fees all I do, and how it is done: dealing in public with men, as knowing that the Lord obferves me: and in private with the Lord, as if all the men in the world fpied and overheard me.

And though the remembrance of God be so grievous to ill men, that can never be merry or cafy, till they have fancied him far enough away from them; nor endure the prefence, that curbs their extravagance, confounds their filthinefs, and cramps their jollities: here fhew thy eagle eye, my foul, to look upon the fun; and let it be none of thy gric

vance, but thy joy, to have the Lord thy God fo nigh to thee, and ever prefent with thee: to find thyfelf encircled with the beams of the eternal Deity, and to bless thy eyes, in perpetually waiting upon his, as it were, in the very prefence-chamber of the King of heaven: in time of trouble, to have the Lord of hofts with thee, the God of Jacob for thy refuge under flanders, to have the witnefs of thy integrity, to receive thy appeals: and in profperous days, to have all gilded and adorned with the light of God's countenance and at all times, to know where presently to find him, and addrefs to him, and speak with him and to be sure, that every word is obferved by him, and not fo much as thy groaning hid from him. O my foul, is not here the heaven upon earth? And to enter into it, and keep thy poffeffion of it, carry it with fuch filial care, and dutiful respect, to thy Father in heaven, who fees in fecret, that thou mayeft not only be encompaffed with the common influence of his univerfal prefence; but bleft and revived with the heavenly beams of that gracious prefence and favour, in which is all thy life and joy, both here and for

ever.

THE PRAYER.

LORD, the omnifcient God! before whom all

things are naked and open; and from whom no thought can be withholden: but even the secret"eft motions of my mind are better known to thee, "than to myself. For O,how many things pafs within CC me, which escape my notice and regard? Whereદ as nothing is out of thy eye and obfervation; who "canft not choose but fee through me, and all that "is within me, and the whole that concerns me. "O keep me ever mindful of thy all-fecing eye be"ing intent upon me: and fo affect me with thy " continual