Of the High Veneration Man's Intellect Owes to God

1. Upon this Occasion I shall take leave to declare, that ‘tis not without some Indignation, as well as Wonder, that I see many men, and some of them Divines too, who little considering what God is, and what themselves are, presume to talk of Him and his Attributes as freely and as unpremeditately, as if they were talking of a Geometrical Figure, or a Mechanical Engine. So that even the less Presumptuous discourse, as if the Nature and Perfections of that unparalleled Being, were Objects that their Intellects can grasp; and scruple not to dogmatize about those Abstruse Subjects, as freely as about other things, that are confessedly within the reach of humane Reason, or perhaps are to be found among the more familiar Objects of Sense.

2. The presumption and inconsiderateness of these men might be manifested by divers Considerations, if I had Leasure to insist on them; but at present I shall employ but these two; 1. That ‘tis probable God may have divers Attributes, and consequently Perfections, that are as yet unknown to us; and 2ly, That of those Attributes that we have already some Knowledge of, there are Effects and Properties whose Sublimity or Abstruseness surpassing our Comprehension, makes the Divine Cause or Atuhour of them deserve our Highest Wonder and Veneration.

3. To begin with the first of these; whereas there are two chief ways to arrive at the Knowledge of God’s Attributes; The Contemplation of his Works, and the study of his Word; I think it may be doubted whether either or both of these, will suffice to acquaint us with all his Perfections.

4. For, first, though Philosophers have rationally deduc’d, the Power, Wisdom and Goodness of God from those Impresses of them that he hath stampt upon divers of his Visible Works; yet since the Divine Attributes which the Creatures point at, are those whereof themselves have some, though but imperfect, participation, or resemblance: And since the Foecundity (if I may so speak) of the Divine Nature is such, that its Excellencies may be participated or represented in I know not how many ways; how can we be sure that so perfect and exuberant a Being may not have Excellencies, that it hath not expressed or adumbrated in the Visible World, or any parts of it that are known to us?

5. This will be the more easily granted if we consider, that there are some of those Divine Attributes we do know; which being Relative to the Creatures, could scarce, if at all, be discovered by such imperfect Intellects as ours, save by the consideration of some things actually done by God. As, supposing that just before the Foundations of the visible World were laid, the Angels were not more knowing than men now are, they could scarce think that there was in God a Power of Creating Matter (which few, if any at all of the Peripateticks, Epicureans, to omit others of the Ancient Philosophers, seem ever to have dreamt of) and of producing in it Local Motion, especially considering the puzzleing difficulties that attend the Conception of the very Nature and Being of the one, and of the other. And much less (as far as we can conjecture) could the Angels spoken of, have known how the rational Soul and Humane Body act upon one another. Whence it seems probable, that if God have made other Worlds, or rather Vortices, than that which we live in, and are surrounded by, (as who can assure us that he hath not?) he may have displayed in some of the Creatures that compose them, divers Attributes that we have not discover’d by the help of those Works of his that we are acquainted with. But of this more hereafter.

6. I readily grant, (that I may proceed now to the second Help to acquire the Knowledge of the Divine Attributes) that the Revelations God hath vouchsafed us in the Holy Scripture (which we owe to that Spirit which searcheth all things even τὰ Βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ,¹ the Depths of God) have clearly taught us divers things concerning their adorable Authour, which the mere Light of Nature either would not have shewn us at all, or would have but very dimly discovered to us. But the Scripture tells us indeed, that the Promulgators of the Gospel declared to men the² whole Counsel of God (as far as was necessary for their Salvation) but never says, that they disclosed to them, the whole Nature of God; who³ is said to inhabite an unapproachable Light, which humane Speculations cannot penetrate. Upon which score perhaps it was, that the Jews would have the proper Name of God to be Ineffable, to signify, that his Nature is Incomprehensible. And, though I will not adopt their Opinion, yet I cannot but take notice, that ‘tis at least no mere Talmudical Tradition, since we find not, that either our Saviour himself, or his Apostles (who are introduced so frequently making mention of God in the New Testament) expressed in speaking either to him, or of him, the Nomen Tetragrammaton (or four-letter’d name!) But not to insist on Conjectures; the Scripture it self that brings so much Light to things Divine, that the Gospel is called Light in the Abstract, the Scripture, I say, informs us, that in this Life we know but in part, and see things but darkly⁴ as in a Glass; and that we are so far from being able to find out God to⁵ perfection, as to his Nature and Attributes, that even the ways of his⁶ Providence are to us untraceable.

7. These are some of the Considerations that inclined me to think that God may have Attributes that are not known to us. And this Opinion perhaps will appear the more allowable, because of what I am going to add in answer to a weighty Objection. For I know it may be alledged, that besides the two ways I have mentioned of attaining to the knowledge of God’s Attributes, there may be a third way preferable to both the others, and that is, by considering the Idea of a Being supremely or Infintiely perfect; in which Idea it may be alledg’d, that all possible Perfections are contained; so that no new one can be added to it. But though I readily grant, that this Idea is the most genuine that I am able to frame of the Deity; yet there may be divers Attributes which though they are indeed in a general way contained in this Idea, are not in particular discovered to us by it. ‘Tis true that when, by any means whatsoever, any Divine Perfection comes to our Knowledge, we may well conclude, that ‘tis in a sense comprized in the comprehensive Notion we have of a Being absolutely perfect; but ‘tis possible that That Perfection would never have come to our knowledge, by the bare contemplation of that general Idea, but was suggested by Particularities; so that such Discoveries are not so much deriv’d from, as refer’d to, the Notion we are speaking of.

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