267 SERMON XIV. ROMANS XI. 33. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unfearchable are bis judgments, and his ways paft finding out. W HEN we confider the infinite distance between a felf-exiftent, all-powerful, and all-knowing Creator, and his finite, dependant and ignorant creatures; when we reflect on the narrow limits of human reason, and the confined powers of human understanding, we cannot but wonder at the pride and prefumption of man, in attempting to pry into the ways, and explore the judgments SERM. XIV. SERM. judgments of God. That great repofitory of truth, the Holy Scripture, is in nothing more full and explicit than in representing to us the tranfcendency of God's ways and actions, above all created intellectual beings. There is a cloud spread around the great and noble works of the Almighty, which furpaffeth our utmost reach, and quickly determineth our short horizon; and yet fuch is the pride and perverseness of man, that whilst he neglects the only bufinefs which is of real confequence and importance to him, and which it is always in his power to attain, he is at the fame time perpetually employed in the vain pursuit of that knowledge which is abfolutely unattainable by his narrow and limited capacity. When the celebrated heathen Philofopher was asked by the Tyrant, what God XIV. God was? he defired a day's time to con- SERM. fider the question; that day expired, he requested two; and then, instead of anfwering, required more time for the folution of it. The more he contemplated the nature of the divine Being, the more was he at a lofs to account for it. Who-, ever indeed has a proper sense of his own weakness, and the unlimited and unmeasurable perfections of his almighty Creator, cannot but fee the amazing difparity between the fupreme Author of all things and his own infignificance; between the wisdom of God and the folly of man; muft humbly bow the head, and acknowledge how vain the attempt for finite to fathom infinity. Those ufeful and neceffary truths which are to influence our practice, and direct our conduct, will afford us abundant matter for meditation; our bufinefs here is rather to act than to know; rather to perform 5 |