“The beams of infinite brightness” by John Owen

“We know so little of God, because it is God who is thus to be known,— that is, He who hath described Himself to us very much by this, that we cannot know Him.

What else doth God intend where He calls himself invisible, incomprehensible, and the like?— that is, He whom we do not, cannot, know as He is.

And our farther progress consists more in knowing what he is not, than what he is.

Thus is He described to be immortal, infinite,— that is, he is not, as we are, mortal, finite, and limited.

Hence is that glorious description of Him, 1 Timothy 6:16:

“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see.”

His light is such as no creature can approach unto.

He is not seen, not because He cannot be seen, but because we cannot bear the sight of Him.

The light of God, in whom is no darkness, forbids all access to Him by any creature whatever.

We who cannot behold the sun in its glory are too weak to bear the beams of infinite brightness.”

–John Owen, “The Mortification of Sin,” The Works of John Owen, Volume 6: On Temptation and Sin (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1684/2000), 6: 66.