Swinnock's profound meditation on the matchless perfections of God. A rich exploration demonstrating that no creature can compare to the infinite excellence of Jehovah.
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The Incomparableness of God is George Swinnock's magnificent treatise on the unrivaled excellence of the divine being. Taking Psalm 89:6 as his text—"Who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?"—Swinnock challenges both heaven and earth to produce any being worthy of comparison with Jehovah, and finds none.
The work begins with a pastoral dedication exploring the excellence of the human soul and its need for the knowledge of God. Swinnock argues that only by knowing God rightly can we be transformed into His image, hate sin properly, and live above the fleeting vanities of this world. The soul that knows God's beauty cannot help but love Him; the soul that knows His power cannot help but trust Him.
From this foundation, Swinnock systematically examines God's incomparable nature. He demonstrates that God surpasses not only the false gods of pagan worship and human invention, but even the highest angels and mightiest rulers whom Scripture calls "gods" by divine appointment. All created glory fades to nothing when set alongside the uncreated glory of the Most High.
Throughout the treatise, Swinnock displays the characteristic Puritan gift for making profound theology practically applicable. His aim is not merely to inform the mind but to inflame the heart with love for God and contempt for all that would compete with Him for our affections.
For readers seeking to deepen their understanding of God's nature and to cultivate a heart that treasures Him above all else, Swinnock's Incomparableness of God remains a rich and rewarding guide—a work that lifts the soul toward the One who alone deserves our worship.
Introduction
*To the Worshipful Henry Ashhurst, Junior, Esq;* *And to the Honorable Lady Diana Ashhurst* *His Religious Consort*
The human soul is so excellent that even the pagans recognized its value. These were people whose souls were almost completely buried in materialism and sensuality, whose souls (according to one of their most brilliant thinkers) served merely as salt to keep their bodies from rotting for a while. Yet even they acknowledged the soul as a divine plant, a drop from the ocean of all existence, a ray of deity itself. They saw the body as nothing more than the case or cabinet holding this jewel.
The dim rushlight of natural reason enabled some of them to perceive the spirituality of their souls (or what they called their "specifical forms"). They recognized the soul's quick, comprehensive, self-reflective movements and its immortality, and from these qualities they concluded its worth and nobility. But the clear sunlight of Scripture gives us a much fuller picture of the soul's excellence.
Scripture shows us the soul's origin: it comes from celestial stock, created directly by the Father of spirits, a beam from the Sun of Righteousness, a bubble from the Fountain of Life. Its descent is far higher than that of the body, that house of clay and earthly tent (Gen 2:7; Heb 12:9; Zech 12:1).
Scripture tells us about the soul's duration: it runs parallel with the line of eternity itself. It swallows up years, ages, generations, thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions, treating them as tiny drops and minutes, as nothing compared to the bottomless ocean and endlessness of its existence. When the body falls to the earth like a sacrifice and turns to ash, the soul rises like a flame and ascends to God (Eccl 12:7; Phil 1:23; Matt 10:28, 22:31-32).
Scripture reveals the soul's capacity: no being lies outside its consideration. Everything falls within its compass and horizon. The soul can view everything with its intellectual eye. It isn't bounded by physical objects, limited to material things, or confined to created beings. Rather, it can apprehend the first Cause, the Being of all beings, the Origin of everything. The soul can not only look back on its own movements and survey the various parts, ranks, orders, rarities, delicacies, and excellencies of the earth and this world below the moon, but it can also ascend to the highest heavens and behold the beautiful face of the blessed God. It can gaze until it has looked itself into His very likeness, thereby making itself fit and ready for His dearest love and eternal embrace.
The excellence of our souls shows itself most clearly in two ways: first, in our ability to receive God's image (great rulers don't stamp their likeness on cheap materials like brass or pewter, but on the finest metals like silver and gold), and second, in our capacity to enjoy God Himself directly (Eph 4:23–24; Col 3:10; Gen 1:26). To stand before kings both demonstrates and confers honor and worth on a person. God alone is the source of all honor and the measure of all excellence. Every created being is His coin, and He determines its value. The holiness and happiness of rational creatures consist in these two things: holiness comes from conformity to God, and happiness comes from communion with Him. These two depend on each other.
Only those who are like Him can enjoy Him. If we claim to have fellowship with Him while walking in darkness, we're lying and the truth isn't in us (1 John 1:5). Holiness, or the image of God, isn't merely an essential condition without which no one will enjoy God (Heb 12:14; John 3:3). It's also an absolutely necessary disposition without which no one can enjoy God (Col 1:12; 2 Cor 5). Just as conformity prepares us for communion, communion increases conformity. Vision causes transformation: in nature (Gen 31:38–39), in grace (2 Cor 3:18), and in glory (1 John 3:2).
Although the mind and will interact in a somewhat circular way, the mind leads the process and moves first. This means that knowing the blessed God comes before this image of Him in us and actually produces it. While knowledge of created things puffs us up, pollutes us, and ultimately debases and destroys the soul (sinking it deeper into hell, like a ship loaded with silver and gold that sinks faster because of its precious cargo when it goes down), the knowledge of God humbles us, lifts us up, purifies us, and saves us (1 Cor 8:1; Luke 12:47-48; Job 42; 2 Pet 3:18; John 17:3).
The incomparable excellence of the boundless, blessed God is the subject of this treatise that I'm presenting to you both. It serves as proof of the honor and service I owe you, and of my desire to help you spiritually and eternally. The subject is the highest imaginable. Though my way of handling it is plain and ordinary, and infinitely below what the Divine Majesty deserves (for who can express His noble acts or display all His praise? [Ps 108:2]), the substance of it deserves your acceptance and may win it.
If knowledge is what makes a person excellent and sets him apart from an animal, then surely divine knowledge (the knowledge of God in Christ) is what makes a Christian excellent and sets him apart from other people. Our reverence for, love of, and trust in the Divine Majesty all rest on knowing Him rightly. The more we know created things, the less we value them. But the more we know the blessed God, the more we prize, desire, and obey Him (Pss 73:25; 76:7; 90:11; 9:10). Our hatred of sin and contempt for the world flow from our acquaintance with God. Only the person who has seen the great and glorious, good and gracious God can truly hate sin and loathe himself because of it. This is because sin treats God with contempt by violating His law, dishonoring His name, defacing His image, and abusing His love (Job 42:6; Isa 6:5).
Only the person who can look beyond this present evil world to the infinite God can truly live above all the riches, honors, and pleasures it offers. Only someone who sees those unsearchable riches, weights of glory, and rivers of pleasure that exist in and with God can rise above earthly things. What once seemed rich, glorious, and pleasant to the soul now has no worth, no glory, no pleasure when compared to the wealth, glory, and pleasure that so infinitely exceed it. When the God of glory appeared to Abraham, he quickly and quietly left his country and relatives and followed God, not knowing where he was going (Gen 12:1-2; Acts 7:3). If the God of glory appears to your soul, you will soon turn away from these withering vanities, broken cisterns, and gilded nothings. You will count them all as dung and trash compared to the excellence of knowing Him in Christ.
You've started well. Keep going and persevere in doing good. I'll give you the same advice the apostle gave to those he was convinced possessed the things that accompany salvation (Heb 6:9). Be careful that you don't develop an evil heart of unbelief that would cause you to turn away from the living God (Heb 3:12). Watch carefully so that you don't fall short of God's grace (Heb 12:15).
When counterfeit money is widespread, we're more careful about what currency we accept. In the same way, when false grace is common among us, and so many people find satisfaction in their religious profession, their spiritual privileges, their sacred performances, their alignment with this or that party and form of worship, or the respect and reputation they enjoy with others, you need to be all the more suspicious of yourselves. You must guard against falling short of that grace of God which transforms the heart to reflect His nature and shapes the life to conform to His will and law.
SIR,
You come from a worthy, ancient, and devout family. Your grandfather (from what I've heard) was known for his holiness. Your father is recognized and honored as someone who fears God more than most. This heritage gives you extra encouragement, advantage, and responsibility to pursue godliness yourself. Tamerlane made it his habit to read often about the heroic deeds of his ancestors, not out of pride or boasting, but as inspiring examples to kindle in his soul a love for their virtues. People are creatures led more by what they see than by what they hear, more by examples than by rules. And no examples carry more weight than those of people whom both nature and grace compel us to respect and love. These examples, above all others, stand like flaming beacons on a hill, calling us to defend virtue vigorously when its enemies attack it.
Alexander, finding one of his soldiers who shared his name acting cowardly, ordered him either to change his name or to become brave. When one of the Scipios (descended from Scipio Africanus) became dissolute, the Roman Senate commanded him to remove the ring he wore as the symbol of his noble family, because his corrupt life brought shame to it. The truth is, a wicked son of a godly father (like Uriah) carries the letters of his own condemnation with him. The examples and teachings of his family become allies to his own disgrace and infamy, while the light and honor of his ancestors make his dark deeds all the more obvious and shameful. I don't mention these things because I doubt your integrity, but to stir you up and sharpen your care and watchfulness in how you conduct yourself and live.
MADAM,
You were born into an honorable family, but that kind of honor without holiness doesn't extend beyond this world. Grace alone is eternal glory. The honor woven into the finest tapestry of earthly privileges will lose its color and fade away, but knowing God is a possession that lasts forever. Nobility inherited from parents is just nobility on paper, and that's only skin deep at best. It will waste away with time. Godliness alone is the kind of nobility that no age can consume, and it will run parallel with the line of eternity.
The whole earth has no more pleasant sight than greatness joined with goodness. Greatness itself is worthy of respect, but goodness joined with it adds a new splendor and luster to it. Like a sparkling diamond set in a gold ring, it attracts the eye and demands greater reverence and respect from everyone. Evil greatness is a swelling disease, a sickness in the body politic, as intolerable a burden as the earth groans under. But grace and virtue become more excellent and attractive when they dwell in a great person. It will be your crown and credit to prefer God before the world, to esteem holiness as the only beauty, and to see a title to the covenant as the only riches of your immortal soul.
You both have close and dear relatives whose hearts will rejoice in your perseverance and progress in the ways of God's commandments. That you may be helps to each other in the best things, provoke one another to love and to good works, live long together on earth, and forever together in heaven, is the prayer
Of your servant in the Lord, George Swinnocke.
The Unrivaled God
*"For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?" (Ps 89:6)*
It's certain that our happiness in the next world will consist partly in our perfect knowledge of the blessed and infinite God. When we know Him as we are known by Him, we will be blessed as He is blessed. When we see Him as He is, we will be like Him in purity and happiness. We will be fully satisfied with His likeness and His love. The delight will be rich indeed when the largest and noblest faculty of humanity (our understanding) receives intimate acquaintance with and clear, full comprehension of the highest Truth. And it's equally certain that our holiness in this world depends considerably on our knowledge of Him, whose Name alone is excellent.
None wander from Him, prefer the flesh and world before Him, and in their whole lives walk contrary to Him, except from their ignorance of Him. They are estranged from the life of God (that is, a spiritual, heavenly way of living) through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. Dark corners of a house are filled with dust, dark cellars with vermin, and dark hearts with cursed lusts. None are enlarged in desires after God, or ravished with delight in God, or can cast their souls and all their concerns on God, except those who are acquainted with Him.
Those who know His beauty and bounty cannot help but love Him, and those who know His power and faithfulness cannot help but trust Him: "They who know thy Name, will put their trust in thee" (Ps 9:10). Why is it that believers can trample on the riches and treasures and wealth of this beggarly world? Why can they lay their white and yellow earth, their silver and gold at the apostles' feet? Why can they suffer the spoiling of their goods not only patiently, but joyfully? It's because they know Him who is true riches (Luke 16:11), substance (Prov 8:21), an enduring substance (Job 10:34), a bottomless mine of unsearchable riches (Eph 3:8).
Why can they refuse to be called the sons of kings' daughters? Why can they contemn honors and preferments, spurn crowns and scepters under their feet? It's because they know Him who is their crown of glory, their diadem of renown, and the praise of all His saints (Heb 11:24-25). What seems so glorious to the sensual worldling has no glory in the believer's eye, because of the Lord of Glory, who so infinitely excels. Why can they hate father, mother, wife, child, liberty, yes, life itself, and leave all at the call and command of their Maker? It's because they know Him who is (as Elkanah said to Hannah) better to them than ten sons, than all relations, than the whole creation. Those stars vanish and disappear when once this Sun of Righteousness arises.
How quickly, how quietly, without any hesitation or reluctance, will Abraham leave his country and kindred and father's house when once the God of Glory appears to him (Acts 9:2-4). In a word, why do they escape the pollutions of the world (in which others are mired, drowned and destroyed), if not through the knowledge of God (2 Pet 2:20)? Well may our Lord Jesus say, "It is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." To know God affectionately, as our chief good, so as to give Him our highest esteem and most intense love, is spiritual life here, both in the habit or principle and in the act and exercise of it. And it is the beginning seed, preparation, and way of our eternal life hereafter.
But who can know that being which infinitely surpasses all knowledge? He who would know God fully must be God Himself. And he who would tell you what God is in any measure answerable to His excellence would need to know Him as he is known by Him. And supposing I were able to speak of the perfection of God as one who, like the great apostle, had been caught up into the third heaven: I question whether, if I had a tongue to speak of Him in that manner, you would have ears to hear of Him, or hearts to understand what I should speak.
But though I am not able to speak, nor you to hear of God, according to His perfection, yet through the assistance of the Holy Spirit so much may be spoken and heard of Him as may tend to our present sanctification and future salvation. Though we cannot see Him as He is, yet we may see Him as He is not. Though the height of His being is above the reach of our understandings, we may get somewhat nearer to Him (and indeed we have no other way while we are here) by climbing on the shoulders of all created excellencies, and there proclaiming that none in the heavens is to be compared to the Lord, that none among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord.
The psalmist compares God with the highest and greatest beings in heaven and earth, and declares God superior to them all.
The passage contains two elements: a comparison and a declaration of superiority.
1. The comparison sets God against the most excellent beings in heaven and the mightiest powers on earth.
2. The declaration of superiority places God above everything excellent in heaven or earth. The question format here functions as a strong negative statement, which is common in Scripture. For example, "Who can say I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin" (Prov 20:9) actually means no one can say this. Similarly, "Who is like to thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders" (Exod 15:11) means that no one is like God among the gods, no one is so glorious in holiness, so fearful in praises, or such a wonder-working God as He is. The psalmist understands the text this way: "For who in the heavens is to be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?" In other words, no one in the heavens and no one among the mighty on earth is comparable to Jehovah.
Let me first explain what the words mean, and then I'll present the doctrine that will form the foundation of my discussion on this subject.
This connecting word explains why saints and angels should join together in praising God. "The heavens will praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints: For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?" Calvin interprets "the heavens" as referring to the holy angels, who rejoice in the church's welfare and bless God for preserving His people and keeping His promises to them. The apostle makes it clear that angels are present in the congregation of the saints (1 Cor 11:11). This text gives another reason for their admiration of the great God: His incomparable excellence. His supreme and matchless perfections demand supreme and matchless praise.
Others understand the text as confirming the psalmist's faith in the covenant God made with him (mentioned in verses 3 and 4). They point to God's superiority over both angels in heaven and people on earth. Since these beings are infinitely inferior to Him, they cannot prevent Him from accomplishing His word.
"Who in the heavens?" Ainsworth translates it as "Who in the sky?" Calvin renders it as "in the clouds" (*in Nubibus aequabitur*), meaning "to be equaled." He writes, *Quis enim in superiore nube par aestimetur Jehovah* (Who in the higher clouds is equal to Jehovah?). Tremell translates it the same way.
"Who in the heavens?" Some interpreters say this means the starry heavens, among the celestial bodies: sun, moon, or stars. These were worshiped as gods not only by the Persians but also by some idolatrous Jews, because of their brightness and beauty, their luster and glory. Which of all those famous lamps and heavenly luminaries can be compared to the Father of Lights and Sun of Righteousness? They may glitter like glowworms in the night of paganism, among those covered with the mantle of darkness. But when this Sun rises and day appears, they all vanish and disappear.
Who in the heavens? Some interpreters say this means the heaven of heavens, the highest realm, the third heaven, among the celestial spirits: cherubim and seraphim, angels and archangels, principalities and powers, thrones and dominions. Who among the countless company of angels? Who among those pure, those perfect spirits (the oldest and most honorable family in all creation) can be compared to the Father of spirits?
Angels are glorious creatures when considered simply and in themselves, in terms of their power, wisdom, purity, and beauty. Yet if we consider them in comparison with the blessed God, I can say of them what the apostle says of Jewish worship (which was glorious because of its divine origin) when compared with Christian worship: "Even that which was glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excels" (2 Cor 3:10).
Can anyone be compared to Jehovah? Can anyone be likened to Jehovah? Can anyone be equaled to Jehovah? Can anyone be placed in the scales and found worthy to be weighed against Jehovah, that Being of beings, that God of gods?
To Jehovah? This name Jehovah is the chief and most proper name of God. It derives from *Haiah fuit* and signifies that Being who was, is, and is to come; who is always the same and the cause of all other beings (Rev 1:4, 6; Ps 102:28; Acts 17:28); who gives reality to His word and promises. In heaven there is no such Being among even the glorious angels.
Who among the sons of the mighty? *Inter filios fortium*. Who among the sons of the strong, as Junius translates it. Among the sons of the gods, Calvin says, which is how the Septuagint reads it, and both Calvin and the Chaldee Paraphrase understand this to mean angels, who are called sons of God (Job 1:6; 38:7). But since we've already understood angels (the best and highest in heaven) through the first question, "Who in the heavens is to be compared to the Lord?", it makes most sense to understand "sons of the mighty" here as referring to the best and highest on earth: the greatest and most gracious princes and rulers, who stand head and shoulders above everyone else. These are called gods and sons of the Most High or Almighty (Ps 82:6). Through this, the prophet challenges both worlds, heaven and earth, to bring forward anyone who might equal or compare with Jehovah.
Can be likened to the Lord? Is such a being as He is, can speak or act as He does, is in any respect worthy to be named alongside Him.
The "I AM": God’s Unique Existence
The doctrine I will draw from these words is this: God is incomparable. Or to put it another way, there is no one among the highest, the holiest, in heaven or earth like Jehovah. Take the greatest, the most excellent of beings in this world or the next, yet they fall infinitely short of this Being of beings. "Among the gods, there is none like unto thee, O Lord" (Ps 86:8). Notice that the psalmist doesn't choose a weak adversary for God to contend with and conquer, but the strongest. He doesn't compare God with the lowest and meanest, but even with the highest, and still prefers God before them. Among the gods, there is none like you, O Lord.
1. Among those who claim to be gods through unjust usurpation, like evil angels (called "the princes of the powers of the air" in Eph 2:2 and "the gods of this world" in 2 Cor 4:4), or like the Antichrist who "exalts himself above all that is called God, or is worshipped, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess 2:4): among these, there is none like you, O Lord. These unclean beasts are unworthy to be mentioned alongside the high and holy God.
2. Among those who are gods only because of human error and false beliefs, like idols and the deities the pagans worship, there is none like you, O Lord. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot grasp, feet but cannot walk, and they cannot make a sound through their throats (Ps 115:4-7). Idols are the work of created beings, and their makers are infinitely below the Creator. Therefore the idols themselves are even more so. We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one (1 Cor 8:4). Though an idol may exist as a material object, it is nothing in terms of what it claims to be or the purpose for which people worship it.
3. Among those who are called gods by divine appointment (such as angels in Ps 8:5 and magistrates in Ps 82:6, who bear the image of deity in their authority and rule over others), none can be compared to Jehovah. These are gods by derivation, by delegation. Just as subordinate officials receive their commission from the supreme authority and have a ray of his power communicated to them while remaining weak creatures limited by his commands and subject to his judgment, so angels and kings bear some marks of deity on them. But their power derives from God and is limited by his will. More than that, their very existence comes from him, their continued being depends on him, and they rely on him at every moment. This is why he is called "the Most High" (Ps 92:1): "O Most High." Kings and princes are high, angels and archangels are higher, but Jehovah alone is the Most High. As Scripture says, "He who is higher than the highest watches over all" (Eccl 5:8).
George Swinnock (1627-1673) was an English Puritan minister and author, ejected from his living at Great Kimble, Buckinghamshire, for nonconformity in 1662. A graduate of Cambridge, he was known for his practical and devotional writings. His major work, The Christian Man's Calling, spans three volumes and addresses every aspect of the believer's life. Swinnock's prose is marked by vivid imagery, warm piety, and a concern to make theological truth touch the heart and shape the life. His works were collected and published in five volumes by James Nichol in 1868.
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