John Trapp on Proverbs 30:4

Verſ. 4. Who hath aſcended up into heaven, or deſcended?] Who, but the Son of man which is in heaven, 1 Joh. 3.13? who, but the holy Angels upon that Son of man, the Ladder of life, Joh. 1.51? Who, but thoſe that have (in ſome meaſure) the knowledge of thoſe holy ones, verſ. 3. the knowledge of God in Chriſt, which is life eternal, Joh. 17.3. Heaven aforehand? Holy Agur holds it out to us here, that to know heavenly things, is to aſcend into heaven. Even Ariſtotle ſaith, that a little knowledge, (though but conjectural) about heavenly things, is to be preferred above much knowledge, though certain, about inferiour things:De [illegible: 2 letters]lo t[illegible: 1 letter]m. 99 and yet he knew no heaven beyond the moveable heavens, neither acknowledged any body, or time, or place, or vacuum there. The truth is, no natural knowledge can be had of the third heaven, nor any help by Human Arts: for it is neither aſpectable nor moveable. As no man hath ſeen God at any time, ſo, nor Heaven, the Throne of God: only the only begotten Son of God which is in the boſome of the Father, hee hath declared both him and Heaven, Joh. 1.18. as that, there are many Manſions, Crowns, Scepters, Kingdoms, Glories, Beauties, Angelical entertainments, beatifical Viſions, ſweeteſt varieties, felicities, eternities. And yet all this, or whatſoever more can be ſaid of Heavens happineſs, is not the one half (as ſhee ſaid of Salomons Magnificence) of what we ſhall finde in that City of Pearl. To expreſſe it, is as impoſſible, as to compaſs the Heavens with a ſpan, or contain the Ocean in a Nut-ſhel. Let there be continual aſcenſions thither in our hearts: let us lift up hearts and hands to God in the Heavens, and hee will ſhortly ſend his Chariots for us, as Joſeph did for his Father: fetch us riding upon the Clouds, convoy us by his Angels thorow the ayr, as thorow the enemies Country, and puts us into that Panegyris, that General Aſſembly, and ſolemn celebrity of holy and happy ſouls, Heb. 12.23. As in the mean ſpace, how ſhould we every day take a turn or two with Chriſt upon Mount Tabor? get up to the top of Piſgah with Moſes, and take a proſpect of Heaven? turn every ſolemnity into a School of Divinity? Say, as Fulgentius, when hee ſaw the Nobility of Rome ſit mounted in their bravery, Si talis eſt Roma terreſtris, qualis eſt Roma caeleſtis? If Rome bee ſuch a glorious place, what is Heaven? What Muſick may we think there is in Heaven, ſaid another good ſoul, when he ſate and heard a good Conſort of Muſick. This, this is the principal end, and moſt profitable uſe of all Creatures! Cum ſcalae nobis & alae fiant, when they become Ladders and Wings to us, to mount up to Heaven.

Who hath gathered the Wind in his fiſts, &c.] None but God the great Wonder-worker, the right Aeolus, that bringeth the winds out of his treaſures, Pſal. 135. and bids them at his pleaſure Peace and be ſtill. We read of a Whirlwind raiſed by the Devil, Job 1.19. and of a Tempeſt laid by the Magicians. Herodotus in Poly[illegible: 1 letter]nia. But it cannot bee ſaid, as 1 King. 19.11. that God was not in that Wind: for hee hath the royalty of all the Creatures, though hee ſuffer the Devil to play Rex ſometimes, for ends beſt known to himſelf.

Who hath bound the waters in a garment] Thoſe above the Firmament, in Clouds (thorow which they diſtill and drop down, as water would doe if bound up in a garment) thoſe below in Chanels and Bottles, as the Pſalmiſt hath it. Water is naturally above the earth, as the garment above the body: and would (but for the providence of God) prove as the ſhirt made for the murthering of Agamemnon, where the head had no iſſue out, &c. See my notes on Gen. 1.

What is his name] God is above all name (to ſpeak properly.) When Manoah enquires after his name, the anſwer is, 'Tis Wonderful: that is, I am called as I am called; but ſuch is thy weakneſs that it paſſeth thy conception: this Ocean will not be meaſured by thy Muſcle-ſhel. Multa nomina & lumina ſibi finxerunt Infideles. The Heathens had many names for their Dunghil-deities: but the Africans called an unknown God whom they worſhipped,Lib. de Iſid. & Oſirid. Amon, that is, Heus tu quis est? Heark, who art thou? as Plutarch relateth.

And what is his Sons name?] Chriſt hath many names in holy Scripture, as Iſa. 9.6, 7. So Jehovah our righteouſneſſe, Meſſiah the Prince, Dan. 9. whereunto anſwereth in the New-Teſtament, the Lord Chriſt: but who can declare his generation? Iſa. 53.8. whether that eternal generation, or that in the fulneſs of time, the myſtery whereof was beyond words? Our ſafeſt eloquence here will be our ſilence, our greateſt knowledge a learned ignorance. Only wee have here a clear teſtimony of the diſtinction of the Perſons; and that the Son is co-equal and con-ſubſtantial with the Father, ſith Hee is alſo (as the Father) above all name and notion.

If thou canſt tell] But ſo can none: No man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither doth any man know the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him, Matth. 11.27. The Son is ſo like the Father here, that if you know the one, yee cannot but know the other, Joh. 14.7, 8, 9. Milk is not ſo like milk. Non tam ovum ovo ſimile. He is the brightneſs of his Fathers glory, and the expreſs Image of his Perſon, Heb. 1.3. See the Note there. And if wee deſire a glaſs wherein to behold the face of God the Father, and of his Son, here is one held forth in the next verſe.