It falls in the midst of a passage
where the Lord is condemning and rebuking many false prophets
of that day. They ran when God had not sent
them. They spoke when God had not spoken. They had a lie in their tongue,
and God rebukes that here. But in the midst of that, he
declares something wonderful and great, and that is his immensity. So in verse 23 and verse 24,
did they think that God would not know, see, or hear what they
were doing? Am I a God at hand, saith the
Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret
places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord, do not I fill
heaven and earth? saith the Lord. Now that's our
text or beginning text and our subject again is the immensity
of God, the attribute of the immensity of God. And I tell you now, ere we embark
upon this subject, we have cast our vessels out into an ocean
that has neither depth, neither bottom nor bank. It is an immense
ocean of truth, the great attribute. Let's say this about God's attribute
as an introduction. The attributes that God possesses
are innate in him because he is God, and that he possesses
each and every attribute that he possesses unto the absolute
fullness and perfection of it. He has every attribute to the
degree of infinity, that is, to the fullest. without any limitation,
and without any restriction whatsoever, God possesses his attribute to
the greatest degree that is possible in being. And so because he is
God, and in all things that God is and does, he can have no less
than absolute perfection and fullness. possessing each attribute
or being possessed to perfection with each and every attribute
that dwells in him and that is exercised by him in his way of
dealing with men. First of all, let's define our
term. or we have picked a term that's
not that familiar with a lot of church people today. So what
do we mean by the immensity of God when we speak of him in that
light? What is it to say that God is
immense, to say that God possesses immensity unto the absolute perfection? And then, how is it that the
immensity, the attribute of the immensity of God relates unto
creation and to the creatures that God has made and that he
directs their life and their way? Now, the immensity of God
is sometimes called by the more intelligent theologian by, I
learned a new word, ubiquity, and the word ubiquity seems to
be that it means all over the place, everywhere, without mixture,
a ubiquitous person. Of course, this no creature can
be or possess but God himself almighty. So God is truly immense,
He is indeed omnipresent, and the immensity of God has the
very closest connection and relationship unto the omnipresent of the Almighty
God. In fact, there are some who make
immensity and omnipresent to be one and the same thing. Ubiquity and omnipresent, John
Gill practically, rolled into one thing. Some have made the
distinction, however, between immensity and omnipresent. which is not separating them
completely, one from the other, but just distinguishing them
so that they both stand clear in our mind. In this manner,
that God's immensity is his absolute attribute and his omnipresent
is the effect or the result of that great attribute of immensity. And because he is immense, he
therefore is omnipresent. That is, he is in every place. Thus, God's immensity or ubiquity,
if you call it that, or omnipresence, if you prefer that term, is the
teaching of the Holy Scripture that God, in His immensity, is
present in every place. And not only that, but present
in every place at one and the same time. Not here for a while,
then moving over yonder, and then over yonder. that he is
present in every place and that at one and the same time. In the whole universe, God in
his immensity is everywhere present. Every place, in heaven, in the
earth, in the sea, in all deep places, as the scripture refers
to it, and the whole universe without any exception. And in
the fatherless realms of what we might call space and outer
space. In heaven, in the grave, in hell,
we read about that in the holy scripture. Now where got this
true? then two things would be a result. If God were not immense and in
every place, and in every place at one and the same time, then
God would not be God. For God cannot be confined He
cannot be restricted to any one place in the universe. Solomon
said it, and he said it well, as he had built the temple in
1 Kings 8 and verse 27. It amazed him that God would
build himself a temple, because Solomon reasoned this way. The heaven of heavens cannot
contain you, how much less this temple that I have built. And then secondly, nothing and
no place could exist if God were not present in it to sustain
it and to keep it and to uphold it. Did God withdraw his presence
from any place, that place would go back into absolute nothingness
from whence it came. It was nothing before God created
it or brought it into being and it would become non-existence
again if God removed himself from any particular place in
his essence. and in his power from out of
the universe. But now, to come to our subject
and attribute of the immensity of God. Let's consider along
with it, if we might, how certain of the leading attributes of
God are linked together inseparably in the scripture. I'll name some. some attributes as one, eternality,
two, his infinity, three, his immensity that we're speaking
about today. These are unique to God and to
God only. They are possessed by him and
by none other. Yea, they cannot be communicated
into any other. Only God is infinite, Only God
is eternal, and only God is immense. And these are what we call un-
or incommunicable attributes of God. No creature can possess
them, and no creature can experience them. They cannot be imparted
to any beside God, either by their creation or by the grace
of God, or either to angel or to man. None of them can possess. For the reason, if any come into
the possession of any or all three of these attributes, By
it, they would become God themselves, and that cannot be. Stephen Charnock,
a great writer, especially on the person and the attributes
of God, one of the best books that I've ever had to come into
my hand on that subject. But here is a quote from him
on that matter. All creatures are distinct. from their creator and cannot
inherit the properties essential unto his nature." They cannot. They cannot pass from God unto
his creature. No creature in himself can be
omnipresent, because they are not immense, and therefore cannot
be omnipresent. They're not immense because they
are not infinite, as is our God, and they are not infinite because
they are not eternal. So these things are particularly
unique under the God of heaven. But God being eternal, is not
bound by the constraints of time or of duration. He is exalted
above time, for he had no beginning and he can have no end. Being
infinite, being infinite God, as opposed to finite, he is exalted
above the limitation of finite creatures, so that his infinitude
is the perfection of his essence, since he again possesses every
attribute to absolute perfection, to limitless perfection, as God
he is infinite in all of his ways, his being, and his attribute. Now, being immense. He is present in every place,
and the Bible clearly tells us that. His essence is present
in some degree or way in every part of His creation. His immensity
is present even in what we talk about as being space. Immensity, therefore, means that
there are no spatial limits upon the presence of God or his omnipresent. There are no bounds of space. There are no places, if I may
call them places, where he cannot feel or be present in his essence. He is everywhere. he fills every
place with his essence. And that's what he declared in
that text that we read this morning. Thus, to correlate or to connect
in a systematic way, or that we might establish the mutual
relation of God's eternality, of his infinity, and of his immensity,
three great attributes. For the essence which transcends
time also reaches to all places. By his immensity and infinity,
he transcends time and he transcends places as well. That he is able
to be present and to fill all places at one and the very same
time, for his essence is as immense as his duration is endless. His immensity is as far-reaching
as his duration is endless. By his eternality, he can have
no end. So by his immensity, his present
cannot be restricted or excluded from any place in his creation. His eternity extends to all time. His immensity extends to all
places whatsoever, for who or what? is everlasting in their
existence, infinite in their essence, and immense in their
presence, so that, as Charnot wrote, that which proves him
to be always will prove him to be everywhere at one and the
same time. God is his own eternity. He did not inherit it or take
it from anyone else. And he is also his own immensity. Nobody donated it to him or gave
it unto him. And it is not something that
he grew into. It is his innately as the eternal
God. So with that behind it, let us
not forget some things. Number one, God is eternal by
nature, not by an act of another or by any progress or growth
upon his part. Number two, God's immensity is
also natural unto him. As he is eternal and infinite,
so he is immense. He has undergone no expansion. He's undergone no increase. He's taken on no enlargement
in any of his works or manifestation of himself. Not even when he
created the world and all things was it necessary for his being
or attributes to be extended. No addition was ever made to
his essence, nor will it ever be. Not when he created, not
when he created man, and not when man fell was there any increase
in God or his attributes. So let's be clear. Exactly what
do we understand by the immensity of God? That doctrine of immensity
of God can be summed up in this statement. I can't remember now
where I got it. Quote, in himself he is everywhere
with his entire being, unquote, so that there is no one place
either in heaven or earth or the sea, or the sky, or space. Not a single place, including
hell and the grave itself, where God is absent in his immensity
and presence. Not any place where his essence
is absent and is not there or is not known and exercised. So that he is everywhere. in his whole infinity. This is declared by the scripture
in Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 24. Can any hide himself in secret
places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth,
saith the Lord. At this point, let's make a distinction. that scripture sets forth dual
truths about the dwelling place of God, whether he is in heaven
confined or whether he is equally present in every place in the
whole creation. And both of them are clearly
stated in the scripture again and again. Scripture declares
God to dwell in heaven, as we might expect. Heaven is called
His throne by Isaiah. Matthew 5, 34, 23, 22. Heaven
is the throne of God. And when the heathen taunted David, asking him in derision, where now is your
God? The reply of David was this,
Psalm 115, verse 2 and 3. Our God is in the heaven. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. God is said to be on high in
Hebrews 1 and 3 and 8 and 1. We read in Acts 1, 9 through
11, that the Lord ascended or went up were taken up into heaven. Paul calls it the third heaven
in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 2, when he speaks of one
caught up into the third heaven. Now why is God said to be especially,
particularly in heaven? Not because he is confined there
and nowhere else, for he cannot be refined, he cannot be restricted,
and he cannot be remanded to one and only one place. But he is often said to be in
heaven. And this is where the more glorious
of his presence is manifested there than anywhere else. He is there in the heaven of
heaven only in his majestic glory. Isaiah chapter 6. and verse 1
through 3. It is the glory of God in heaven
that sets the angels to singing, holy, holy, holy, as we read
in that word in Isaiah. But God's immensity is not confined
to heaven. For Solomon said in 1 Kings 8,
27, Behold, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. He fills
it to overflowing and has presence for other places. At the same
time, scripture tells us that God fills heaven and earth, that
he is present in both of them, heaven and earth, simultaneously,
one and the same time. omnipresent, everywhere present
in his being. Joshua 2 verse 11, the Lord your
God, he is God in heaven above and in the earth beneath. Isaiah 66 and verse 1, thus saith
the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. And our text here, Jeremiah chapter
23, do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord, and yet
much more. By the way, in the text here
in Jeremiah 23, verse 23 and 24, God bears His omniscience,
knowing and seeing all. And he bears that and bases it
upon his immensity. I know all, I see all, because
I am in every place. What's the argument again in
verse 23? Am I a god at hand and not a
god afar off, asks Jehovah. Verse 24, can any hide himself
in secret places that I shall not see him? In other words,
am I confined to the heaven? Am I confined only unto the temple
so that I am not in places far or distant away from him? Am I nearsighted so that I cannot
see afar off, so that one goes far from the temple or hides
himself in what he considers to be a secret or a very remote
place. I will know him. I will see him. He shall not be hidden from my
sight or my knowledge." And notice, if you might, how it is that
our great and wonderful God does there refute the madness of those
who take an opposite view of our God. Do not, I feel, heaven
and earth. Fill heaven and earth with what,
we might ask? In what way does God fill heaven
and earth? Is it not with his essence, his
very being, that he is in every place? not a place on earth,
but what is filled with the essence of God, his full and complete
essence, filling heaven and earth, and that at the same time and
all the time. all the time, without cessation. So that one wise man said this,
quote, no place can be imagined that is deprived of the presence
of God. Let me illustrate, if I could,
by a very unworthy comparison, I admit. But a great general
or king might spread his very extensive army and his government
throughout the whole country over which he ruled. And yet
this is but filling it by extension or by spreading out. For God is in the fullness of
his essence in all places. at one and the same time, not
apart here and apart there, in his undivided essence, his immensity. Let's consider, I bet you've
thought of it already, Psalm 139, and compare it a little
bit to what we read here in Jeremiah 23, 23 and 24, which said, Can any hide himself in secret
places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth? And Psalm 139 is a eulogy. It is a praise of the omniscience
of God. Verse 1, O Lord, Thou hast searched
me and known me. Thou hast fully known me in verse
2 through verse 5. But then in verse 7 of Psalm
139, whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall
I flee from thy presence? That is, how or where can I escape
the present or the spirit of God. How and where indeed. And then he names some places
that some might imagine. Then verse 8 of Psalm 139, if
I ascend into heaven thou art there. Well as we might expect. In verse 8, the last part, if
I make my bed in hell, that is in Sheol, the grave or the place
of the dead thou art there. Do we think that that's not so? Job 26 and 26, hell is naked
before him and destruction hath no covering. Would that compare
Amos chapter 9? verse 2 through verse 6, but
then verse 9 and 10 of Psalm 139, if I dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea, even there would thou lead and hold me. Verse 11 and 12 of that great
psalm, if I hide in the blackest darkness of the darkest night
or place, it would not hide me from thee, because the darkness
and the light are exactly alike. in God's sight. God sees as well
on the darkest night as he does upon the brightest day. He sees
as well in the dark, as we say, as he does in the light. And
the conclusion of that 139th Psalm, in verse 13 through 16,
God has made known him and had hold on David since he was conceived
in the womb. God's eye was upon David from
the moment that he was conceived as a being in the womb. By the
way, this had been my text in time past for a sermon about
abortion, that they are granted or considered to have personhood
while they are yet in their womb. Thus, David extols God's attribute
of I'm niacin, of I'm not present, and omnipotence, all three in
that great 139th Psalm. But we must take the immensity
of God even further. Not only is he in all of his
essence present at all time and all places in both heaven and
in earth. Deuteronomy chapter 4 and 39. Every particle of matter, every
point of space, everything and every place can only have its
continuation in connection with God's presence and God's immensity
to sustain them. Were God not present in some
way or in some degree, all where he is not or would not be present
would fade again. into absolute nothingness. For God not only created by Christ
Jesus, he sustains it by Christ Jesus, as Paul tells us in the
book of Colossians. Scripture supports that, for
it's Colossians 1, And verse 17, by Him all things consist. Sometimes the word is translated
cohere. By Him all things exist or cohere. Have their being. Stay together. Stay in existence. Hebrews 1.3,
upholding all things. by the word of his power. God has granted that unto the
Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, there is no innate
power or force or movement in matter itself, and it needs the
immensity of God to sustain it and to keep it. and to keep it
in its order and to move along in its way. John Owen, a great
preacher in the Puritan era, said, God's presence to all things
and all places is a relative property of God. The ubiquity
of God is the habitation of the immensity to the creation," unquote. So the conclusion that we draw,
no place can be envisioned where the presence of God is not. His immensity allows his omnipresent
in every single place in creation. even where it does not seem so,
even where we might not think so or expect it. This was the case with Jacob. Remember Jacob where he spent
a night in a remote place. The night overtook the good man
on his way, and he made him a pillar of stone, and there he bedded
down for the night. Not exactly a holiday inn where
he spent the night, but he had one of the greatest experiences
in his whole life that night. And he arose the next morning
to say in Genesis chapter 28 and verse 16, surely the Lord
was in this place and I knew it not. Look at that. Surely the Lord was in this place. I knew it not. Remember the vision,
the dream of Jacob's ladder there as he saw the angels coming and
going. He said, my God was in this place,
and I did not recognize it. Now in considering the immensity
of God, I think we need to make a proper distinction that there
are different manifestations of the presence of God. One star,
says Paul, differs from another star in glory. So the example,
the presence of God in heaven naturally differs from his presence
upon the earth. Just as that in heaven differs
from his presence in hell or in any other place. Nevertheless, his immensity is
present in all three regions. A presence of glory in heaven,
a presence of providence among men, where he is not far from
everyone in that he gives life and breath and all things, as
Paul said in Acts chapter 17, Psalm 36 and verse 6. He preserveth
man and beast, a presence of wrath in hell, giving justice
to the lost. But by His immensity, He fills
all creation, every place that is a place, sustaining all things,
by his presence, by his power. Now, will someone then say, well,
now wait a minute, how is it written that some went out from
the presence of the Lord? We read about that. of Cain in
Genesis chapter 4 verse 16. We read of it in Jonah chapter
1 in verse 3. He went out from the presence
of the Lord. How does this omnipotence stand
in the light of scripture saying that God departed from some?
As Samson in Judges chapter 16 and verse 20 And King Saul in
1 Samuel 28 and verse 15, as well as such text in Numbers
chapter 14, 42 and 3, the Lord God is not among you, he will
not be with you. How then do we reconcile what
we have said? Do these texts then cancel out
the omnipresence of God? No, for though one might go from
the glorious manifested presence of God or the place of worship,
yet not from the ordinary providence of the presence of God. For God
is a God afar off and a God also close at hand. And though God
depart from some in their strength or in their helping them, or
guiding or blessing them upon their way, yet not from his providential
presence and his providential guidance and oversight as to
sustain them in their life. in their breath, and in all things."
Acts 17. And though he be far from some
as to his grace, as to the grace of God, he is far from some,
yet not far as regards their being preserved by the power
and the presence of God. So whither shall one flee from
thy spirit? are from the presence of God. Psalm 139 and verse 7. Whether shall one flee? Thus I close that the immensity
of God is a settled attribute as well as a perfection of the
great God. And it takes its place rightfully
among the other great attributes that God holds and exercises
to perfection. So eternality is the attribute
and perfection whereby God, who had no beginning, shall also
have no end. Immutability is that perfection
that forever locks God in to what He is, has always been,
and forever will be. Immensity is that attribute and
perfection whereby God feels heaven and earth space, the sea,
the deep, and all other places imaginable. He is everywhere
present, everywhere present but nowhere confined by limits or
space or place. So that to go from life on earth
to heaven or to hell is but to go from one manifesting presence
of God to another manifesting presence of the Almighty God. In either we shall be or they
shall be or all shall be in one or the other manifestive presences
of God Almighty. At last to the saved into the
glorious manifestive presence of God and Jesus Christ in the
heaven of heaven. Yes, I'm everywhere. Who shall
go? Do not I feel heaven and earth?
Where are you going to hide? Where can you go where God is
not there in some way, providentially and by his immensity?