Second point. That none can discover this name of God but Christ, none authoritatively, none perfectly.
1. None authoritatively can fix his name by which he shall be known among the creatures. The imposition of names implieth supe- riority ; the less is named of the greater. Adam had this favom* to name the beasts, as having authority over them : Gen. ii. 19, 20, ' And out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and whatsoever Adam called every liviog creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field.' Now God is over all, there is no higher to name him, therefore he nameth himself. Jesus Christ, who is the very image of God, he cometh and declareth his name : 'My name is in him,' Exod. xxiii. 21. He is God, and therefore authoritatively fixeth the name of God, establisheth the gospel as the rule and direction of the church.
2. None can so perfectly discover him. Our hearts are too narrow to conceive of God, and our tongues too weak to express him : Prov. XXX. 4, ' What is his name ? and what is his Son's name ? if thou canst tell.' Who knoweth his pedigree exactly? Who knoweth his being? Who hath been in his bosom to discover him, so as Christ hath done ? We must have a borrowed light to see him.
Use 1. Sit down with this revelation which Christ hath left in the church ; there is enough to instruct faith, though not to satisfy curi- osity. In things not revealed, a simple nescience is better than a bold inquiry; there is enough for service and adoration. Let not reason prescribe to faith. He were not God if he were not incomprehensible.
134 Sermons upon john xvii. [Ser. XLIV.
Should worms make their own apprehension the measure of divine truth ? It is not so, because I cannot understand it ; by a candle in the night, I cannot see it, therefore it is not. Some things are to be received from divine testimony, though we cannot fully conceive of them. Let us bless God for the word, and take heed unto it as to a light shining in a dark place. It is God's mercy that Christ came from heaven with a commission to discover so much to us. It is a ray of the face of God in Christ. Here, is God's heart discovered to us, and our hearts to ourselves.
Use 2. When you consult with the gospel, make use of Christ. He is to discover his Father's name ; he taught the gospel, not only on earth, but in heaven : ' I have declared thy name, and will declare it.' Non loquendum de Deo sine lumine. There is no saving knowledge of God from ourselves. Christ is called ./I070?, the interpreter of his Father's mind. It is dangerous to set upon the knowledge of the mystery of the gospel in the strength of our own gifts and parts, to rest merely on the study of books and human helps. The gospel is God's riddle, which none but himself can expound. Beg the Spirit of revelation ; you cannot have a knowledge of it without a revelation from Christ. We do not improve Christ's prophetical office so mucli as we should : we think he must pacify our consciences, subdue our affections ; but we do not look after knowledge, but think to get it by our own industry.
Third point, Christ doth not convey all knowledge, or the full notice of God's name at once. The knowledge that is originally in Christ is not communicated to us but by degrees, that it may increase more, like the good householder, that brought out the best at last : John i. 50, 'Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.' Partly to keep up our dependence and respect, lest a satiety grow upon us. When there is no more use of a thing, then we contemn it. Man is a creature that is led by hope rather than by memory. Still God keepeth the best till last ; there is a perpetual use of Christ's prophetical office, that he may declare more. Partly to conform us to himself and to the church : ' Christ increased in wisdom and stature,' &c., Luke ii. 40,52. His human capacity was enlarged by degrees. The church grew by de- grees. There was a nonage; then it was ' the seed of the woman;' afterwards, ' in thy seed,' &c. ; to ' Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Then it was told what tribe, ' The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,' Gen. xlix. 10 ; afterwards of what family, to David ; that ' a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,' Isa. vii. 14. At last, * Behold the Lamb of God,' John i. 29. Partly that he might suit his dispensations to our capacity. God will not violate the course of nature. Our life is hidden in Christ. You do not teach university learning to a boy ; Christ dealeth with us as we are capable, according to our receptivity : ' We are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,' Col. i. 12.