"No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked
and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account." (Hebrews
4:13)
How do we admire a man who is a little wiser than
ourselves! Yet the wisdom of all the human tribes, of all the angelic
multitudes—is but folly before God!—in whose infinite knowledge all our
thoughts are laid open—and all our conceptions are swallowed up! How
divinely glorious is his universal knowledge—which extends to all! Man
cannot know or retain every thought that has flowed from his own heart,
every word that has dropped from his own mouth—much less those of his
neighbors. But it is not so with God. There is not a man on either side the
globe—which God does not have his eye on. Every single thought is brought
forth in his presence. Every single whisper pours into his ear. Every single
work is wrought before him. And all these things are forever with him!
How must the mortal judge examine again and again the
criminal, and the witnesses, and yet sometimes be doubtful what sentence to
pass! But all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we
must give an account! He presides over every purpose, guides every step,
terminates every action, and governs every individual. What amazing
knowledge is this—that not only kingdoms and provinces, in their several
revolutions and changes—but people in their particular occurrence and
circumstances, are minutely overruled by him!
Now, how many must the actions, the words, and the
thoughts be—of so many millions of people, who are at one and the same time
acting, speaking, thinking! Yet all are known to God—as clearly and
distinctly as if there were only one person in the whole world! Nor is the
far greater part or number of people who have departed into the eternal
world—some in pleasure, some in pain—less in his knowledge. Neither does his
knowledge and concern about the human race diminish his care of the
irrational beings—for he feeds the young ravens which cry from the top of
the rock; and the lion's cubs which roar from their dens; and kindly makes
grass to grow for the gentler inhabitants of the globe. Every insect, which
vain man in a manner despises—is both produced and preserved by him, and
crawls within his omniscient cognizance! God sees and sends the life-juice
through every fibre of the vegetative family—and gives the flowers their
rich variety of colors, and plants their various virtues.
He creates the infants which are daily born into the
world—to supply the daily loss of those whom he sends them to their eternal
home. By him the falling hairs of our heads are numbered. Not a sparrow hops
to the ground without his permission. The trees of every forest and every
land, are green at his command. Every blade of grass and fragrant flower,
every bud and blossom, every seed and root, every fruit and leaf—grows and
fades, flourishes and withers—at his command. Heaven and earth are open to
him, death and destruction have no covering. The raindrops from the clouds,
the dew on the grass, and the billows of the vast ocean—are numbered by his
hand!
Now, how perfect must his knowledge be, when all things
present are so perfectly known to him, and are still as clearly in his
knowledge when past and gone—as when present; as they also were in the same
perspicuity known to him from eternity—before ever they existed. Nothing is
past or to come in his knowledge; in an unfathomable degree of
perfection—all is forever present in his sight.
From the above shallow thoughts of his infinite
knowledge, how should I learn to admire God, to walk as always under his
eye, and to inscribe on all my ways, "You, O God, see me"; and to rejoice,
because he who sees me—disposes of me according to his wisdom!
Moreover, though the heavens and their inhabitants; the
world of mankind, dead, alive, or to be born—in all their thoughts, words,
and actions; the animal, reptile, and insect creation, in all their motions
and changes; trees, plants, flowers, and whatever else exists—were to
populate other worlds—and this population continued until infinite space was
replenished, and conception overpowered by the tremendous augmentation—yet,
even when thoughts, words, actions, were multiplied almost to infinity—still
everything would be as clearly, plainly, and distinctly known to him—as if
only one angel, one man, one insect, or one atom existed!
Hence, we may understand how infinite his power must be,
which is of the same extent with his knowledge—as are all his divine
attributes—his holiness, justice, goodness, and truth! And, O believer! what
may the joy of your heart be—seeing his love to you is of the same
extent and duration!