4 Incomprehensibility Of God
INCOMPREHENSIBILITY OF GOD
This is a relative term, and indicates a relation between an object and a faculty; between God and a created understanding; so that the meaning of it is this, that no created understanding can comprehend God; that is, have a perfect and exact knowledge of him, such a knowledge as is adequate to the perfection of the object, Job 11:7. Is 60.
God is incomprehensible,—1. As to the nature of his essence.—2. the excellency of his attributes.—3. The depth of his counsels.— 4. The works of his providence.—5. the dispensation of his grace, Eph 3:8. Job 37:25. Rom 11.
The incomprehensibility of God follows,—1. From his being a spirit endured with perfections greatly superior to our own.—2. There may be (for any thing we certainly know) attributes and perfections in God of which we have not the least idea.—3. In those perfections of the divine nature of which we have some idea, there are many things to us inexplicable, and with which, the more deeply and attentively we think of them, the more we find our thoughts swallowed up: such as his self-existence, eternity, omnipresence, &c.
This should teach us therefore,—1. To admire and reverence the Divine Being, Zech 9:17. Neh 9:5.—2. To be humble and modest, Ps 8:1,4. Ecc 5:2,3. Job 37:19.—3. To be serious in our addresses, and sincere in our behaviour towards him.
Charles Buck (1771-1815) was an English Independent minister, best known for the publication of his “Theological Dictionary”. According to the “Dictionary of National Biography”, a Particular Baptist minister named John C. Ryland (1723-1792) assisted Buck by writing many of the articles for the aforementioned publication. One may conclude, based not only Buck’s admiration for his friend Ryland, but also on the entries in his Theological Dictionary, that he stood head and shoulders with the High-Calvinists of his day.
Charles Buck on the Biblical Covenants (Complete)
Charles Buck's Theological Dictionary
