the waters move though the ship stand still there is motion but God stands still and all things stand still to him likewise Doe not wonder therefore that the Churches lye so long in misery that the injuries of the Saints are so long unrevenged doe not accuse God doe not mistake him doe not thinke amisse of him doe not thinke that hee is forgetfull and doth not remember that hee is slacke and doth not regard that hee cannot or will not helpe Beloved it is not so you shall see the very same use made of it 2 Pet. 3. if you compare vers 4 and 8 9. together In the latter dayes there shall come scoffers c. saying where is the promise of his comming for since the Fathers fell asleepe all things continue as they were from the creation vers 8 9. But be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the LORD as a thousand yeares and a thousand yeares as one day The LORD is not slacke concerning his promise as some men count slacknesse but is long suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance It is not slacknesse in God For saith the Apostle a thousand yeares with him are as one day We thinke it a great matter that the Church should lye so long and cry How long LORD and yet no remedie saith the Apostle thinke not much at it For a thousand yeares with him are but as one day Vse 3 If God be eternall then consider with whom you have to doe even with him whose love and enmity are eternall with him whose soveraignty and power is eternall if a man be angry we regard it the lesse if we know it is but for a fit but consider what it is to have to do with him whose love and enmitie are eternall Therefore learne not to regard men as wee doe but to regard the Lord only and that in these three respects 1 Learne to trust the Lord and not man for God is an everlasting refuge Psal. 146.3 4. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no helpe c. that which they can doe for you is but for this life at most trust in him that is able to defend you for all eternitie for he that made heaven and earth hee continues for ever This use you have made of it in Psa. 90.1 LORD thou hast beene our habitation for ever and ever as if hee should say Lord thou wast an habitation that is a refuge as our house is to the Churches thou wast so in Abrahams time in Pharaohs time Consider that God is not onely an habitation to his Church from generation to generation but also from everlasting to everlasting 2 Learne from hence likewise to feare him feare him that can cast body and soule into hell for ever his eternity should make us to feare him Feare not man Isai. 5.13 14. Why because he is of short continuance and if he can do you any hurt it is but for a short time for he shall be made as the grasse but feare the Almighty GOD who laid the heavens and stretched the foundations of the earth Vse the Lords arguments they are the arguments that can work on the soule it is the holy Ghosts argument why we should feare him because he is eternall as the opposition in that place shewes 3 Labour to serve him 1 Ioh. 2.17 The world passeth away and the lusts thereof but hee that doth the will of the LORD abides for ever that is the world cannot make you to abide for ever it passeth away if you fulfill the lusts thereof if you fulfill your owne will you are not able to continue your selves but you will passe away what should wee doe then why fulfill the will of the Lord consider what he would have you doe and so you shall abide for ever Vse 4 If God be eternall then we should learne hence to comfort our selves when we looke upon the mutabilitie that we and all creatures are subject unto in this vale of misery it is a thing that may comfort us exceeding much if wee serve him who is constant without change who is eternall that can make up the changes that we are subject unto it is the use that is made of it in Psal. 102.11 12. My dayes are like a shadow that declineth and I am withered like grasse but thou O LORD shalt endure for ever and thy remembrance unto all generations Why doth he put these two together thus my shadow and Gods enduring for ever c. as if he should say this is my comfort that though I am of short continuance yet God with whom I shall live for ever hee is eternall and abides for ever It is as if the beame should reason thus though I am brickle and fading yet the Sun that maintaines me abides for ever or if the streame should reason thus though I may be dried up in Summer yet the fountaine that maintaines me continues for ever So though men be subject to change yet the Lord that maintains them is immutable and abides for ever You that have the life of Christ in you have the beginning of this eternity and though the old building be pulled downe yet you have a building not made with hands eternall in the heavens even as when one skin fals off another comes on and what though the outward man perish yet the inward man growes daily more and more till it come to perfection This is not only a comfort to us but also it is a great motive and we should use it as a great argument to God that because we are subject to change yet because hee is immutable therefore he should helpe us Psal. 102.26 27. The heavens shall wax old as doth a garment but thou endurest for ever and ever therefore cast me not off in the midst of my dayes as if he should say Lord thou hast Time enough to bestow thou art full of eternitie the heavens that seeme to be of long continuance yet are nothing to thee therefore I pray thee to fill up my wants and make me eternall with thee so because thou inhabitest eternity therefore comfort mee Isai. 57.15 Seeing God is eternall learne hence to know that he is the Lord of all Time Vse 5 Doe not thou looke upon Time as belonging to thee but to him he overflowes all it is the phrase used in Psal. 90.5 Thou carriest them away as with a floud they are as sheepe c. that is all times are subject to him he over-reaches them and makes them long or short as it pleaseth him he is not only in himselfe eternall but hee is the lord of all and hee disposeth all times and appoints the seasons to every thing if hee be thus then take heed of looking upon future times as thine owne thou breakest in now upon the Lords
Christ Ioh 4.34 Iesus saith unto them my meate is to doe the will of my Father and to finish his worke that is I will be content to neglect my body to doe that which is the worke of my spirit the worke of my Father And such is his owne advice seeke not the loaves saith he nourish not your bodies labour not for the meate that perisheth but looke that thy soule get the better in all things Object But how shall I know this whether my soule doth rule or no Answ. When the bodily appetite and inclination shall arise so high as to rule the sterne of the soule and the actions of it then the body gets rule over the soule but when these shall bee subdued and ruled and guided by the soule when they shall bee brought to that square which the spirit within shall set downe then the spirit rules over the body Object But my inclinations are strong and I cannot rule them what must I doe then Answ. Thou must doe in this case as Saint Paul did who kept under his body by violence as men use to tame horses we should keepe it downe wee must take heed of carnall lusts they will keepe the body too high as a Horse may be too lustie for his rider yet so as on the other side it must not be kept too low for the body is the instrument of the soule but onely the soule must have dominion over it it should alwayes bee subject to the principall agent as it is said of a servant that he should not be Supra negotium nor infra negotium but par negotio not above nor below but fit for his businesse so ought the body to be the soules servant Beloved consider this doe but thinke what your soules are that you should suffer them to be thus in subjection Thinke what a shame it is that these bodily affections should so overrule the spirit that is made like to God the soule that shall live for ever the soule for which Christ dyed that is better then all the world beside thinke I say with your selves what a sencelesse and unreasonable thing it is that this soule should be kept under by the body and that the body should rule over it Are not men in this kinde like to beasts subject to sensualitie that eate that they may play and play that they may eate and the soule is not considered all this while how it is a spirit that is like to God himselfe who is a spirit Alas what is the body to it It is in it as in a prison such is the body to the soule not to be regarded in comparison of it Therefore adde this to the other that the soule may still be advanced and that it suffer not bodily actions to bring it into subjection lest you be as bruite beasts subject to sensuality made to be taken and to be destroyed FINIS THE ELEVENTH SERMON EXODVS 3.13 14. And Moses said unto God Behold when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them the God of your fathers hath sent mee unto you and shall say unto me what is his name what shall I say unto them And God said unto Moses I AM THAT I AM c. Vse 2 A Second use from this point is this If God be a spirit then his dominion government and providence is chiefly exercised on the spirits of men It is true his providence is over all things that belong to us but as he is in himselfe a Spirit so he puts forth and exerciseth this power of his principally in guiding the spirits of men and in that you are chiefly to observe his providence toward you And that you shall see in Rom. 14.17 The kingdome of God that is his rule and power is not in meate and drinke for they are outward things and hee that is a spirit regards them not but it is in righteousnesse and peace and joy in the holy Ghost that is in the things that belong to the spirit therein is his kingdome and dominion chiefly exercised So also Psal. 33.14 15. From the place of his habitation hee looketh downe upon all the inhabitants of the earth he fashioneth their hearts alike hee considereth all their workes Marke it when God lookes downe from heaven and beholdes the children of men the chiefest thing that he doth wherein his government is exercised is in that hee fashions their hearts and spirits and therefore those eternall subjects of his that live with him for ever and spirits as the Angels and the soules of men Therefore if thou wouldest observe the will of the Lord toward thee and wouldest see wherein his providence is chiefly exercised looke upon thy spirit upon all occasions that is what bents what inclinations what hopes and desires hee hath put into thy soule If you looke upon men in the world you shall see them divers in their spirits one man lusts after riches honour and preferment another after gaming sporting and drinking now looke upon this temper of spirit as the greatest judgement of all others Againe looke upon the spirits of other men they are fashioned a contrary way to deny themselves to seeke grace and avoid sinne to be content to have God alone to doe his worke and to leave their wages to God to live a painfull life serving God and men with their sweetnesse this is a quite contrary spirit and this is the greatest blessing Therefore you shall see that when the Lord is angry with a man so that his anger is wound up to the highest pegge then he gives him over to this judgement as it is Psal. 81.12 So I gave them over to their owne hearts lust and they walked in their owne counsells that is my judgement shall be executed upon their spirits to leave them to an unjudicious minde Againe on the other side when the Lord would doe a man the greatest kindnesse then he fashions his spirit another way Deut. 30.6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord with all thine heart and with all thy soule that thou maist live as if he should say when I minde to doe you a kindnesse then I will thus fashion your hearts aright So Ezek 36.26 A new heart also will I give unto you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and will give you an heart of flesh The Scripture is plentifull in this Therefore if thou wouldest observe what the LORD is to thee looke how hee fashions thy spirit if thou findest that hee leaves thee to unruly affections and lusts and leaves thee to be glued to that from which thou shouldest be divorced or that he hath left thee in bondage to the feare of men as a snare to thee there is no greater judgement in the world than this as it is the greatest mercy on the
thorow performance For as it was in the old law a lame sacrifice was accepted as none so a lame prayer a lame hearing the word a lame performance of any exercise God reckons as none Therefore in these things God sends them away empty as they came What better are they doe their hearts get any thing Beloved God is a fountaine and if he meet with a fit pipe as is an ordinance rightly performed there he usually conveyes his grace but if he meet with a foule pipe and obstructed there hee doth not conferre any blessing Now if thou saist I have thus behaved my selfe and have not beene answered Doe not deceive thy selfe for if it be truly performed you shall be answered so that looke if it be truly done expect a blessing GOD will not suffer his ordinance at that time to be a pen without inke or a pipe without water I hope there be none of us here that neglect prayer to GOD morning and evening that live as if there no GOD in the world as if they were not his subjects if there be GOD will wound the hoary scalpe of such But these are not the men I speake to but they are those that doe it from day to day they pray from time to time and omit it not these are the men whom wee are to advertise in this case Take heede though you pray every day yet it may be thou hast not made a prayer all thy life yet and this is the case of many For if thou considerest what an ordinance is indeed thou shalt know that the Lord doth not reckon all petitioning as a prayer nor set it downe for the ordinance And it may bee the case of the Saints sometimes though we speake not now to them they may pray often and yet the Lord not register nor set it downe for a prayer and therefore it may never come into remembrance before him And this I take to be Davids case in the time of his adultery the ground of which you shall see Psal. 51.16 17. Open thou my lips O LORD and my mouth shall set forth thy praise David had as it were mistaken himselfe he thought that he had prayed and offered a sacrifice but saith he I was deceived all this while I was not able to open my mouth to any purpose therefore Lord open thou my mouth I brought sacrifice in but thou regardest it not till my heart was humbled Therefore a broken and a contrite heart O GOD thou wilt not despise Therefore you deceive your selves that goe on in a customary performance of holy duties and thinke that you pray for all this that thinke this worship to be in the spirit onely when your outward man carries it selfe negligently this is but a lame performance they must goe both together Therefore looke that it be an ordinance which then it is when not onely the spirit of a man is well set but the whole man is applied to the duty that is when all the strength of a man goes to it Object If you say May not a man pray sometimes when he is walking or lying or riding by the way or the like Answ. I answer There be two times of prayer one is ordinary and in private when you may have all opportunity to doe it in a holy and solemne manner and then you ought to doe it solemnly The other is when you pray occasionally and there the occasion and disposition doth not admit such outward solemnity as when a man gives thankes at meate or prayeth when hee rides Here the Lord accepts the will for the deed GOD requires not this upon all occasions yet when you may you ought to doe it in a reverent manner not onely of spirit but of the bodie also You may gather it from Christ he fell on his face and prayed Luke 22.42 and Daniel and Abraham it is said that they bowed themselves to the ground And it is said of Christ that hee lifted up his eyes to heaven when he blessed the loaves Why are these set downe If any man might be freed Iesus Christ might but it pleaseth the holy Ghost to set downe that circumstance of him that he fell on his face and that hee lift up his eyes to heaven Indeed in this case when it is hurtfull to the body there it may be omitted the Lord will have mercie rather than sacrifice even mercie upon your bodies So also when you finde that it hurts the inward man and hinders it when the heart doth it out of a conceit that it may performe it the better then there is a libertie left unto you to dispense with it As I say for prayer so for other duties when a man comes to heare the word hee saith my minde is intent enough though I make not such a shew yet notwithstanding know this that thou must behave thy self reverently when thou commest before God You shall see in Luke 4. when Christ preached it is said that the eyes of all the people were fastened upon him Why is such a corporall gesture noted in the text is it in vaine No because it is a comely gesture therefore it is to be regarded Quest. 2 How should we conceive of GOD in prayer seeing he is a Spirit and a Spirit we never saw what conceit and apprehension of GOD should we have then when we come to call upon his name Answ. Wee may not conceive him under any corporeall shape for he is a Spirit and therefore they that thinke they may worship the humanity of Christ disjoyned are deceived we are not to worship it as separated from his Deity for we are to worship the Trinity in the Vnity and the Vnity in Trinity which we cannot doe if we worship his humanitie as separated from his Deity Therefore when you come to pray before GOD you must remember that he is a Spirit filling heaven and earth strong gracious mercifull full of goodnesse and truth c. concerning which three things are to bee considered First That he is a Spirit Object But how shall I conceive of a Spirit Answ. How doest thou conceive of the soule of another man when thou speakest to him thou never didst see it yet thou knowest that there is such a spirit that fills the body and that doth understand what thou sayest and speakes to thee againe so remember this of the Lord that he is a Spirit Compare Ier. 23.24 with this Can any man hide himselfe in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord Doe not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord Secondly That the Lord fills heaven and earth as the soule fills the body so that thou must thinke that hee sees all things and heares all things Indeed the Lord is not in the world as the soule is in the body but in an incomprehensible manner which we cannot expresse to you yet this is an expression which wee may helpe our selves by and is used every where
desire Answ. There is no way in the world but this Labour to be humbled for thy sinnes to get a broken heart for them for then a man comes to prize grace exceeding much and worldly things as nothing For this is a sure rule When thou feelest thy sinnes to lie heavie upon thee then all the things in the world will appeare light therefore labour to know the bitternesse of sinne it is that which sets an edge upon all our spirituall desires without this a man doth but cheapen the kingdome of heaven he doth as the people did with Rehoboam they expostulated with him about their serving him so wee doe capitulate with the Lord as it were and stand upon termes with him untill we are humbled and then we are ready to take heaven upon any condition Till a man be thus humbled his desires are remisse and weake and flaggy desires they raise up great buildings upon no foundation the foundation is weake and crazie and so the building comes downe And hence is it that men put their hand to the plough and looke backe againe A scholler will serve the Lord if hee may have eminency in gifts and outward excellency or some honour in the flesh but all this while his desires are remisse but when he is once humbled then he will say with Saint Paul Lord what wilt thou have me to doe and I will doe it whatsoever it is and whatsoever thou wouldest have me to suffer I will suffer it He will take the kingdome of heaven by violence and then his resolutions continue constant that way For what can Satan do to him wil he take away his pleasure from him his wealth or his credit they are things that hee hath despised before he can take nothing from him but what he cares not for It is the bitternesse of sinne that makes him now to prize Gods love and favour above all thing Thirdly thou must renew thy resolution oft it is not enough to set the heart in a good frame of grace for a day or two or for a moneth but thou must have a constant course in doing of it ever and anon as the Dutch men use to doe with their bankes that keepe them with little cost because they looke narrowly to them if there be but the least breach they make it up presently otherwise the water makes a breach upon them So thou shouldest doe with thy heart observe it from day to day marke what objections come that thou canst not answer what lusts and desires doe overballance thee and learne still to renew thy reasons and resolutions against them and this will make thee constant and firme and peremptory in well-doing NOw I come to the next Attribute and that is The Greatnesse of God or his Infinitenesse We follow in this rather the rule of the Scripture than the tract of the Schoolemen and wee insist upon those that God doth especially take to him in Scripture Now that God takes this Attribute to himselfe you shall see in 2 Chron. 2.5 For great is our God above all Gods Psal. 135.5 For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all Gods But the place that I would chiefly commend to you is this Psal. 145.3 Great is the Lord and most worthy to be praised and his greatnesse is unsearchable Where you see that it is an infinite and incomprehensible greatnesse that the Lord takes to himselfe So Psal. 147.5 Great is our God and of great power and his understanding is infinite In handling of this I will shew you these two things First I will shew you how this greatnesse of God is gathered from the Scriptures Secondly I will shew you the reason of it as I have done in the rest The greatnesse of God is declared to us in the Scripture by these sixe things First By the workes of his creation The greatnesse of the workes doe shew the greatnesse the maker Isay 40.12 Who hath measured the heavens in the hollow of his hand and meted out the heavens with a spanne and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountaines in scales and the hills in a ballance that is If you would looke upon any worke you may judge of the workeman by it if you see a great building you conceive it to be made by a man of some power now when you looke upon the great building of heaven and earth you may thinke that he that handles the materialls as an Architect doth handle the stones and lay them in their place is great now the Lord doth put the waters together as if he held them in his hand and hee measures out the heavens as a workeman measures out the roofe Againe every workeman must worke by plummet and by weight now consider the great mountaines saith he he weighes them in scales and the hills in a ballance as this building doth goe beyond mans so doth the greatnesse of God exceed the greatnesse of man and by this you may take a glimpse of the greatnesse of the Lord. Secondly by the ensignes of his greatnesse The greatnesse of Princes is set out by those outward signes which are the declaration of it Now when the Lord would shew his greatnesse you shall see how he expresseth it Deut. 4.36 When he came out of the Mount they heard a great voice and on the earth there was a great fire by that you may know the greatnesse of God For why doth hee come out with those ensignes clothed with them as it were but that by this you might have a crevice opened to shew you the greatnesse of God So when he appeared to Elias and in his apparitions to Moses to the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel It is said also that his voice was as the sound of many waters and he was so terrible that is was a vsuall saying among the Iewes Who can see God and live why so Because when he appeared when he shewed any shadow of his greatnesse weake flesh could not behold him but was swallowed up as it were with the greatnesse of his Majesty Thirdly By the workes of his providence Ezek. 36.23 And I will sanctifie my great Name which was prophaned among the heathen which yee have prophaned in the middest of them and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD saith the Lord GOD when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes As if hee should say They make no account of me now but when they shall see me to bring downe great Babel then they shall know and beleeve that I am a great GOD. So else where in Ezechiel hee compareth Ashur and Tire to a Lyon and Eagle and a Cedar and hee saith that hee will put a hooke into the Lyon and deplume the Eagle and overtop the Cedar that is hee will shew forth his greatnesse at that time when he shall bring downe those great nations So the greatnesse of GOD is seene
in his providence over every thing when he shall overthrow a whole kingdome and a great battell by a litle accident as great ships are turned about by a litle rudder then his might appeares So in his ruling the winds and seaes and weather all this shewes the greatnesse of his excellency Therefore look vpon his judgements and likewise upon his mercyes when you see how he raiseth men out of the dust c. All this shewes the greatnesse of God Fourthly It is set out comparatively To compare him with the greatest of men Kings what are they unto him who is the King of Kings Nay take Nations which are greater nay take all Nations you shall see what they are to him Isa. 40.15 Behold the Nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the ballance Behold he taketh up the Iles as a very little thing Lebanon is not sufficient to burn for a burnt offering All Nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him lesse then nothing and vanity The very scope of this place is to shâ—w the greatnesse of God by comparison A bucket of water is but a small thing but the dropps that fall from it they are of no use Againe the dust of the earth is but a small thing but the dust of the scales that will not so much as turne them that must needes be exceeding little but all the world is not so much to him as a litle dust Another comparison you shall finde in Isa 55. My thoughts are above your thoughts as the heaven is above the earth Beyond al things are the thoughts of man for though Nations bee great yet a mans thoughts goe beyond them notwithstanding the Lord is as much beyond the scantling and modell that we draw of him in our thoughts as the heavens are above the earth When you have thought upon mee as much as you can thinke when you have thought me mercifull for that is the thing which hee speakes of yet I am as much more mercifull then you can thinke of me as the heavens are above the earth Fifthly The Immensenesse or extent of his being Ier. 23.24 Doe not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord When we consider that the heaven of heavens cannot containe him that largenesse presented to our mindes will shew his greatnesse to us Sixthly His holinesse shewes his greatnesse Looke as men keepe a greater distance from others as Princes doe so wee esteeme them greater Now his holinesse is nothing else but his separation and distance from every creature Every thing is holy because it is separated it is common because it is not sequestred from other uses now GOD is separated none may come neere him as the Cherubims cover their faces before him and when he was in the Mount none might approach neare to him if they did they were to be thrust through with a dart He dwells in light inaccessible and therefore the great holinesse of GOD shewes the greatnesse of Majesty The reasons of this Infinitenesse are these First from this very place I AM hath sent me unto you I AM shewes that he hath a being from himselfe if so then he had no cause Now from hence as in that he had no efficient nor finall cause he is eternall so in that he hath neither matter nor forme hee is infinite and incomprehensible And that is the reason that hee hath an unlimited essence because all limitation proceedes either from the matter or from the forme the forme is contracted by the matter againe the matter would be indefinite but it is contracted and bounded by the forme Now GOD hath neither matter nor forme nor nothing like it therefore hee is infinite All the creatures they have their severall kindes the Angels they have no matter yet they have something in them answerable to matter and forme wherein they agree and disagree with other creatures and therefore they are one kinde of creatures and man another which shewes that they have formes to bound and limit them and that the essence of the Angels goes so farre and no farther and so the essence of man c. But in GOD there is no similitude of any such thing there is no Esse receptum there is no limits in him nothing to binde his essence whereas they are Entia in a certaine kinde he is simpliciter Ens and therefore without all limitation and so must be immense Secondly He is omnipotent and almighty he can doe whatsoever he will Whence I reason If he have an infinite power it must needs proceede from an infinite cause for as a thing is in working so it is in being therefore when his power is infinite that must needes be infinite in which it is rooted and from whence it proceedes Thirdly That which is beyond all that wee can conceive is infinite but GOD is so for if any thing could be imagined more perfect than he is that should be GOD and not he and therefore in Scripture whatsoever we can conceive of him yet he is beyond it Rom. 11. His wayes are past finding out and it is said that hee dwells in light inaccessible Fourthly Consider it from his workes you see that hee hath made the world of nothing Whence I reason If you would heate the aire it is more easily heated than water because the passive power is neerer the active and if you would heate water you may more easily heate it than the earth Now according to the resistance according to the passive power such is the active if the passive power lie open the active power is lesse that workes upon it now when the passive power is infinitely low then the active power must be infinitely high and answerable to it Therefore when GOD comes to make something of nothing the active power must bee exceeding high because the passive power is so low and therefore requires an infinite active power to make something of nothing and consequently hee must be infinite in whom this power is seated Vse 1 If he be so great a GOD he that is our God the GOD who is our Father if he be thus great and incomprehensible learne you to know what you are then that you have an infinite God to maintaine defend and uphold you in all all that you have to doe or suffer for his will This will cause you to take great mindes to your selves to have a holy magnanimity in you And the consideration of this Attribute is of great vse to make Christians come to have great mindes For what is it that makes the minde great It is the greatnesse of the object whence it is that Kings have great mindes because of their great Kingdomes and great men have great thoughts because of the great objects that they have to looke vpon Now therefore if thou wouldest looke vpon the great God if thou wouldest consider that he is thy Father and
1.14 Cursed be the deceiver that hath in his flocke a male and voweth and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing for I am a great King saith the Lord of hosts and my name is dreadfull among all Nations that is the reason that the Lord there useth to stirre them up I am a great King So that the consideration of his greatnesse should cause us to feare before him When hee appeared to Iacob when hee fled from his fathers house to his uncle Laban Gen. 28.17 Iacob saith of the place wherein God appeared to him Surely this place is exceeding fearefull the reason was because God appeared there because hee was present there his presence strooke him with an awefull reverence that he said the place was exceeding fearefull So wee should thinke of his dreadfull presence when we come before him Eccles. 5.2 Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart be hasty to utter ony thing before God for God is in heaven and thou on earth therefore let thy words be few that is he is exceeding great and he is in heaven therefore learne to feare him when you draw nigh unto him That which may help us in this is to consider how glorious his apparitions were when hee appeared to Moses to the Prophets as Eliah and Ezekiel and you must remember that though you see not these apparitions yet consider that you have the same GOD to deale withall and though hee doth not shew it so now yet hee is as great now as then and so feare before him And this is to sanctifie GOD in our hearts that is when wee conceive of him as he is and doe accordingly feare when wee come before him And thus much in generall of this Attribute Now this greatnesse of God is seene in foure particulars First In the Infinitenesse of his presence Secondly In the Infinitenesse of his power which is his Omnipotence Thirdly In the Infinitenesse of his wisedome Fourthly In the Absolutenesse of his will that it is without all bounds and limits THE SEVENTH ATTRIBVTE OF GOD The Jnfinitenesse of his presence Or His Jmmensity FOr the first The Infinitenesse his presence that is another Attribute which hee takes to himselfe in Scripture As Ier. 23.24 Can any man hide himselfe in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord Doe not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord That is he is present every where in all the parts of heaven and earth even as water when it fills every place and as the light when it shines throughout the whole world So Doe not I fill heaven and earth saith the Lord So Eph. 4.6 One God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all GOD fills all in all Quest. Onely this question may be asked Whether he be without the world as well as he is in the world Because some have disputed it therefore we will briefly answer it Answ. The Scripture is cleare in it that he is without the world there is no limits of his essence that wee can set downe hee is not contained within the compasse of heaven and earth as you shall see in 2 Chron 2.6 But who is able to build him an house seeing the heaven of heavens cannot containe him But this is but a curious question therefore I will leave it and will come to shew the reason of his omnipresence why hee is immense why he is every where as I have done in the rest 1. This property or Attribute of immensity must needes be given to God because his essence is infinite which hath beene before proved Now as the argument holds good that according to the substance of every thing such must the quality be in things that have quantity if the body be great so must the quantity bee So if God be an infinite essence as he is there is as good reason that he should have an infinite presence accompanying it as that a great body hath a quantity answerable to it So that he is of an infinite being and therefore also of an infinite presence 2. You see see it by experience and cannot deny it that his power is every where he guides all things he puts forth his power every where Now in the Lord seeing there is no facultie as is in man but whatsoever is in him is himselfe it cannot be but that he himselfe must be in every place where he doth any thing The fire may heate afarre off and so may the Sunne give light to the whole world and yet abide in the firmament because it hath a quality of heat and light but Almighty God is most simple there is no composition in him no quality no executive power but hee is himselfe what he is and therefore what he doth is done by himselfe immediatly immediatione suppositi as the Schoolemen expresse it Lastly I adde that GOD must bee every where present not onely within the world but as Salomon expresseth it The heaven of heavens cannot containe him that is hee is without the world as well as within it because wee cannot deny but that hee is able to make other worlds as well as this and then if hee should not be without the world he should move himselfe and change his place and there should bee a world where hee is not present but he is not capable of any change of any motion or alteration of place Onely one caution must be taken in You see that the light is in many places throughout the world but the presence of GOD is not like to that presence nor the presence of any creature because he is totally present the creatures are not so but according to the parts of them one part here another there but GOD being without all parts whereso ever he is he must be totally there Therefore you must not conceive God is commensurable by the place as if he were partly here and partly in another place but he is every where all present The heavens you see have a large place but they have one part here another there but the Lord is totally present wheresoever he is present Vse 1 First If God be every where present so that he doth not doe any thing by a mediate vertue or power but he doth it by the presence of his essence hence we gather first that he governes the world immediately For though there bee meanes vsed yet hee is present with those meanes Other Kings must needes governe by Deputies and Viceroyes and inferiour Magistrates of justice because they cannot be every where whence it comes to passe that Kings may be good and yet the people may be oppressed by their wicked instruments But with the Lord it is not so but he guides immediatly and being every where present he needeth no Deputies for he is not capable of information as Kings are but sees all with his owne eyes and heares all with his owne eares And againe he useth
matter that is of iron but they have divers fashions because they have severall ends which the maker propounds to himselfe So that if there be no ends of things there is no forme nor fashion of them because the ground of all their fashions is their severall ends So then wee will put them all together if there be no efficient no maker of them then there is no end and if there be no end then there is no forme nor fashion and if there be no forme then there is no matter and so consequently they have no cause and that which is without any cause must needs bee God which I am sure none dares to affirme and therefore they have not their being of themselves But besides that negative argument by bringing it to an impossibilitie that the creatures should be Gods wee will make it plaine by an affirmative argument that all the creatures have an end For looke upon all the creatures and we shall see that they have an end the end of the Sunne Moone and Starres is to serve the Earth and the end of the Earth is to bring forth Plants and the end of Plants is to feed the beasts and so if you looke to all particular things else you shall see that they have an end and if they have an end it is certaine there is one did ayme at it and did give those creatures those several fashions which those severall ends did require As for example What is the reason why a horse hath one fashion a dog another sheepe another and oxen another The reason is plaine a horse was made to runne and to carry men the oxen to plow a dog to hunt and so of the rest Now this cannot be without an author without a maker from whom they have their beginning So likewise this is plaine by the effects for this is a sure rule Whatsoever it is that hath no other end but it selfe that seekes to provide for its owne happinesse in looking no further than it selfe and this is only in God blessed for ever he hath no end but himselfe no cause above himselfe therefore he lookes only to himselfe and therein doth his happinesse consist Take any thing that will not goe out of its owne sphere but dwels within its owne compasse stands upon its owne bottome to seeke its happinesse that thing destroyes it selfe looke to any of the creatures and let them not stirre out of their owne shell they perish there So take a man that hath no further end than himselfe let him seeke himselfe make himselfe his end in all things he doth looke only to his owne profit and commodity such a man destroyes himselfe for he is made to serve God and men and therein doth his happinesse consist because that hee is made for such an end take those that have beene serviceable to God and men that have spent themselves in serving God with a perfect heart we see that such men are happie men and doe we not finde it by experience that those that have gone a contrary way have destroyed themselves And this is the third particular 4 If things had no beginning if the world was from eternitie what is the reason there are no monuments of more ancient times than there are For if wee consider what eternity is and what the vastnesse of it is that when you have thought of millions of millions of yeares yet still there is more beyond if the world hath been of so long continuance what is the reason that things are but as it were newly ripened what is the reason that things are of no greater antiquity than they are Take all the Writers that ever wrote besides the Scripture and they all exceed not above foure thousand yeares for they almost all agree in this that the first man that had ever any history written of him was Ninus who lived about Abrahams time or a little before Trogus Pompeius and Diodorus Siculus agree in this Plutarch saith that Theseus was the first before him there was no history of truth nothing credible and this is his expression Take the Histories of times before Theseus and you shall finde them to be but like skirts in the maps wherein you shall finde nothing but vast Seas Varro one of the most learned of their Writers professeth that before the kingdome of the Sicyonians which begun after Ninus time that before that time nothing was certaine and the beginning of that was doubtfull and uncertain And their usuall division of all history into fabulous and certaine by Historians is well knowne to those that are conversant in them and yet the Historians that are of any truth began long after the Captivitie in Babylon for Herodotus that lived after Esthers time is counted the first that ever wrote in Prose and he was above eight hundred yeares after Moses time For conclusion of this we will only say that which one of the ancientest of the Roman Poets drawing this conclusion from the argument we have in hand saith If things were from eternitie and had not a beginning Cur supra bellum Thebanum funera Trojae Non alias alii quoque res cecinere Poetae If things were from eternitie what is the reason that before the Theban and Trojan warre all the ancient Poets and ancient Writers did not make mention of any thing Doe you thinke if things had beene from eternitie there would be no monuments of them if you consider the vastnesse of eternitie what it is So likewise for the beginning of Arts and Sciences what is the reason that the originall of them is knowne why were they no sooner found out why are they not sooner perfected Printing you know is a late invention and so is the invention of Letters take all Sciences the ancientest as Astrologie and Philosophy as well as the Mathematickes why are their authors yet known we see them in the blade and not in the fruit So for the Genealogies of men for that I touch because it is an argument insinuated by Paul when hee disputed with the Heathens Acts 17.26 That God hath made of one bloud all mankinde you see evidently how one man begets another and he another c. and so goe and take all the Genealogies in the Scripture and in all other historiographers we shall see that they all come to one well-head Now I aske if the world was from eternitie what is the reason that there is but one fountaine one bloud whereof we are all made Why should they not be made all together Why was not the earth peopled together and in every Land a multitude of inhabitants together if they had beene from eternitie and had no beginning The second principall Head by which wee will make this good to you that there is a God that made Heaven and Earth is the testimony of God himselfe There is a double testimony one is the written testimony which we have in the Scripture the other is
you should see why we are to beleeve the Scriptures but this wee must leave till the next time We will now come to some use of the point for wee are not to dismisse you without some application but we must insert some uses here and there Vse 1 When you heare these arguments and this conclusion proving that there is a God the use you should make of it is to labour daily to strengthen our faith in this principle and to have an eye at God in all our actions for this is the reason given in the Text why one man comes to God because he beleeves that he is and another doth not because he beleeves it but by halves if they did beleeve this fully they would serve God with a perfect heart What is the reason that Moses breaks thorow all impediments he had temptations on both sides Prosperitie and preferment on the one side and adversity and afflictions on the other yet he passeth thorow wealth and povertie honour and dishonour and goes straight on in the way to heaven and 〈◊〉 reason is added in the Text because hee saw him that was invisible even so if you did see him that was invisible the God wee now speake of as you see a man that stands before you your wayes would be more even and wee should walke with him more uprightly than we doe if we did but beleeve that it is he that fills the heaven and earth as he saith of himselfe Ier. 23.24 Some may here say Object How can we see him that is invisible here is oppositum in adjecto to see him that is invisible Answ. Come to the body of a man you can see nothing but the outside the outward bulke and hide of the creature yet there is an immateriall invisible substance within that fils the body so come to the body of the world there is a God that fills Heaven and Earth as the soule doth the body Now to draw this a little nearer that invisible immateriall substance the soule of man which stands at the doores of the body and lookes out at the windows of the eyes and of the eares both to see and heare which yet wee see not yet it is this soule that doth all these for if the soule be once gone out of the house of the body the eye sees no more the eare heares no more than an house or chamber can see when there is no body in it and as it is the spirituall substance within the body that sees and heares and understands all so apply this to God that dwells in Heaven and Earth that as though you see not the soule yet every part of the body is full of it so if we looke into the world we see that it is filled and yet God like as the soule is in every place and fills it with his presence he is present with every creature he is in the aire and in your selves and seeth al your actions and heareth al your words and if we could bring our selves to a setled perswasion of this it would cause us to walke more evenly with God than we do and to converse with him after another manner when a man is present yea are sollicitous thinking what that soule thinkes of you how that soule is affected to you so if you beleeved God were in the world it would make you have an eye to him in all your actions as he hath an eye to you and to have a speciall care to please him in all things rather than to please men And this is the ground of all the difference betweene men One man beleeves it fully that there is such a mighty God another beleeves it but by halves and therefore one man hath a care only to please God in all things and to have an eye to him alone the other beleeving it but by halves he seeketh and earnestly followeth other things and is not so sollicitous what the Lord thinkes of him The thing therfore which we exhort you unto is that you would endevor to strengthen that principle more and more We speake not to Atheists now but to them that beleeve there is a God and yet we do not think our labour lost For though there be an assent to this truth in us yet it is such an one as may receive degrees and may be strengthened for I know that there are few perfect Atheists yet there are some degrees of Atheisme left in the best of Gods children which wee take not notice of for there is a two-fold Atheisme 1 One is when a man thinkes that there is no God and knowes he doth so 2 Another kinde of Atheisme is when a man doubts of the Deity and observes it not There are some degrees of doubting in the hearts of all men as we shall see by these effects that this untaken-notice-of Atheisme doth produce As when men shall avoid crosses rather than sinne not considering that the wrath and displeasure of God goes with it which is the greatest evill that can befall us What is the reason of it That whereas the greatest crosse is exceeding light if the wrath of God be put in the other ballance what is the reason that yet this should over-weigh the other in our apprehension if wee be fully perswaded of this principle that God made Heaven and earth What is the reason that when crosses and sinne come into competition as two severall wayes that we must goe one way why will men rather turne aside from a crosse to sinne against God and violate the peace of their consciences rather than undergoe losses or crosses or imprisonment Againe what is the reason that we are so readie to please and loth to displease men as a potent friend or enemie rather than God If this principle were fully beleeved that there is a God that made Heaven and Earth you would not doe so The Prophet Isaiah doth expresse this most elegantly Isai. 51.12 13 14. Who art thou that art afraid of man that shall die and the sonne of man which shal be made as grasse and forgettest the LORD thy Maker which stretched forth the Heavens and laid the foundation of the Earth As if he should say what Atheisme is this in the hearts of men Whence else are also those deceits lyes and shiftings to make things faire with men when they know that God is offended with it who seeth all things What is the reason that men are so sensible of outward shame more than of secret sinnes and care so much what men thinke of them and speake of them and not what God sees or knows Doth not this declare that men think as those Atheists of whom Iob speakes Iob 22. and doe they not conceive in some degree as those doe as if GOD did not descend beneath the circle of the heavens to the earth and his eyes were barred by the curtaines of the night that he did not take notice of the wayes of men and
expected some rest after his weary journey yet then his daughter was ravished and his two sonnes were rebellious and committed murther after that Rachel died and Deborah who was Rebeccah's nurse who was a good woman and therfore a great losse to his family after all this a famine fell upon him yet for all this God said that he would doe him good and doubtlesse God was as good as his word and hee did him good for that medicine is good that doth us good though it be bitter and so was it with these afflictions So Paul he prayed that he might have an happie journey to Rome and no doubt the LORD heard his prayer as appeareth by the Lords appearing to him yet see what a kinde of prosperous journey he had what a deale of trouble did he meet with Being in great afflictions he went to Ierusalem thinking there to be comforted by the Saints and when he came thither hee went into the Temple thinking he had well provided for himselfe but then he was hardly entertained put into prison and sent bound to Caesarea and afterwards was in many perils upon the sea And this was the prosperous journey that Paul had and surely it was happie and did much good to his owne soule whereby he did good to others a journey that led him into many experiments of Gods providence and goodnesse towards him therefore wee must not judge according to the outside or that which the world accounts of and appeares to be evill for they may be causes of much good to us therefore Saint Iames wils us Iames 1.2 3. to rejoyce when wee fall into divers temptations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it is but a triall of your faith These varieties of afflictions are as fire to cleanse your faith and make it shine more and grow more therefore saith he rejoyce when you fall into variety of them for the variety of them will cure that variety of evils and diseases in us as poverty may do that which sicknesse cannot do and imprisonment may heale that which povertie or disgrace cannot doe c. So on the contrary those good things are not alwayes good which we account good as when a man goes on from one good blessing to another and is carried with a prosperous wind and findes no change in any thing this may also tend to his hurt and destruction as the other to his salvation these slay the foolish even as the other save the godly for these often-times doe make the soule fouler and fouler and make it to be more rustie This want of changes makes men to depart from God and fall into evill whereas the other makes us the more carefully to cleanse our wayes and to cleave more firmely to him Therefore let us take heed that we be not deceived about these evils Object 5 What is the reason then that as dies the beast so doth man die to our appearance there are none that rise from the dead indeed if one should come from heaven or hell and bring us word what is done there wee should beleeve it but when did any ever heare of such a thing Answ. You have more than if a man should come from the dead from either of these two places for you have Christ come into the world from the bosome of the Father and he hath brought us newes what is done there Besides we have God himselfe who is as it were come from heaven and hath revealed many things unto us and hath declared his will what he would have us to doe as to Moses upon Mount Sinai and hee would have done it to this day but that our weaknesse cannot endure the mightinesse and greatnesse of his Majestie but would say as the people did Let not the Lord speake to us any more lest we die but let MOSES let him send his messengers let him speake no more Againe the Spirit whereby the Prophets and Apostles spake to us was it not sent from heaven Againe suppose one should come from either of those two places would you beleeve him It might be a false relation would you beleeve him without further ground But it is a direct answer which our Saviour giveth to this question Luke 16. the two last verses it was the objection of Dives if there came one from the dead againe they would beleeve it Abraham answers They have Moses and the Prophets and if they will not beleeve them they will not beleeve though one should come from the dead as if he should say these carry greater evidence in them they have more power to confirme the truth that they delivered that it came from the great God of heaven and earth than if a man should arise from the dead if we consider the many miracles which they did and holy life which they led Object But if you will say that indeed for the declaring of things and for the confirmring of truths there is more evidence in these than if one did arise from the dead but if one should come from the dead this would be much to shew the eternitie of things and the immortality of the soule Answ. If this be so you see that men have risen from the dead as when Christ did arise then many arose from the dead THE THIRD SERMON HEBREWES 11.6 He that commeth to God must beleeve that God is c. NOw we proceed to that which remaines we will shew you how this point is made manifest to you by faith that GOD made the Heavens and the Earth It is done after this manner When you beleeve the Scriptures to be true and finde this set downe in the Scripture that God made Heaven and Earth then you beleeve that there is an eternall Deity that is the Author and Maker of all these things and thus faith gathers the conclusion Object If you aske me how faith differs from reason and how this second proofe differs from the former Answ. 1 I answer after this manner There is a double assent One is a doubtfull assent which we call Opinion that is when we assent to the one part so as we feare the contrary to be true The other is a firme assent and this is two-fold Either it is grounded upon reason which we call Knowledge or else is grounded upon the authoritie of him that reveales it and this wee call Faith And the difference of them stands in this The objects of the first which wee call Knowledge are naturall things such as God did not reveale himselfe but they lye before us and reason can finde them out but Faith beleeveth things that are revealed by God yet so as that there is no reason for them as well as for the other For if one come and tell you any thing and if you beleeve it you can give a reason of it and why you beleeve it aswell as of any other naturall conclusion as that he is a wise man and one that I know will tell the truth
me saith the Lord take all other gods and there is a wonderfull great difference betweene them and the God whom wee professe there is none like him So that the point to be delivered hence is this It is a great argument to prove the Deity that there is none besides the Lord. To open this to you I will shew you 1 What reasons the Scripture useth to prove that there is none besides him 2 We will shew you in some instances of it 3 We will make some uses of it For the first you shall finde in the Scripture these five arguments to shew that there is no other God but that the LORD is GOD alone and that there is none besides him From the greatnesse of Gods Majesty and the immensitie of his workes and that is the reason of the words here annexed there is none like him as in verse 5. of this Chapter you shall see it more plainly So Among the gods there is none like to thee O Lord neither are there any works like thy works Where you see that they are both put together there is none like to him for the greatnesse of his Majestie nor for the immensity of his workes More particularly first in regard of the greatnesse of his Majestie there is none like him Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the ballance behold he taketh up the Iles as a very little thing and Lebanon is not sufficient to burne nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering All nations before him are as nothing and they are counted to him lesse than no thing and vanitie that is let a man looke on the greatnesse of God and compare him with all the things that are in the world and you shall finde a great disproportion betweene them they are but as the drop of the bucket A bucket of it selfe holds but little water but yet that is for some use but the drops that fall from the bucket when it commeth out of the Well they are so small as wee make no account of them and yet all the world is not so much to the Lord as these small drops And if that similitude will not serve there is another They are as the dust of the ballance if it were but as the dust of the earth it were but small but as for the dust of the ballance it is so small that it cannot weigh the ballance this way or that way and yet the whole world is not so much to the Lord as the dust of the ballance Againe a third expression he useth and that is taken from the manner of his worship for some might here object If he be so great how short then doe we come of worshipping him and of giving him that honour which we owe unto him saith he it is true for all the beasts of Lebanon are not sufficient for a burnt offering nay all the wood of Lebanon is not enough to kindle the burnt offering And take all the gods of the Gentiles they were but men and their Temples and all the glory of them they are nothing to the Lord See another description of this in vers 25. And as thus in regard of the greatnesse of him there is none like him so likewise in regard of the greatnesse of his workes vers 12. Who hath measured out the waters in the hollow of his hand and meted out heaven with the spanne and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountaines in scales and the hils in a ballance That is looke upon the great building of Heaven and Earth and consider what went to these buildings what might and power hee must have to handle such things as these as the vast mountaines the huge earth the wind and the seas and consider what an hand and arme he must have that must doe such things And also consider the wisdome of God that went to this worke and he did it alone he had none to helpe him take a man let him set up a building and he cannot do it of himselfe but he needs some body to helpe him but the Lord did all this alone therefore he concludes vers 18. that there is none like to him as if it were his scope and intention in that place It appeares hence that they are not gods from their newnesse they had a beginning and they have an end but God is from everlasting I am the first and last Esay 41.4 and 44.6 and 43.10 The meaning is all the other gods had a beginning we know when they began and their owne Historians have related it but I was before them all saith the Lord and they have all vanished away even in your owne sight Their ignorance and want of knowledge and his Omniscience is another argument which you have used in Esay 41.22 23. and 44.7 8. Let them bring them forth and shew what will happen let them shew the former things what they be c. that we may know that you are gods The meaning is this that there are none other gods that doe declare former things that tell of the beginning of the world or of the creation nor can declare things to come I only can doe it I have not spoken in secret but my prophecies are plaine and open I have spoken it and I will bring it to passe Therefore I say his omniscience and shewing future things doth testifie that there are no other gods besides him seeing no other hath beene able so to doe The greatnesse of his power put forth in the continuall passages of his providence and their want of power which is another argument used in Isai. 41.23 Behold you are nothing and your workes are of nought that is you are not able to doe any thing either good or hurt to the sonnes of men and therefore you are no gods you are but vanitie and of no value which argument you have often repeated as also the great changes that God workes on the sonnes of men which Idols cannot doe Isai 40.23 24. He brings the Princes to nothing c. that is he is able to set up whom he will and pull them downe againe and hee gives instance in the greatest Princes that thought themselves best rooted saith he when I doe but blow upon them when I blast them they are as if they never had beene planted as if they had beene never sowen but they are as if they had tooke no root in all the earth So Psal. 107.33 34. He turneth a desart into a fruitfull land and a fruitfull land hee turneth into barrennesse for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein making changes of men and things which no Idols could doe They are such as are dead men and have no life in them This is an argument that the Apostle Paul useth Act. 14.15 that they should turne to the living
of theirs which you shall finde upon this ground magnified and set forth in Psal. 46.1 2. God is our hope and strength therefore will we not feare though the earth be removed and though the mountaines be carried into the midst of the sea c. As if hee should say Though there were a subversion of Kingdomes and an overthrow of all the Churches yea a confusion of heaven and earth as there shall be at the last day though the mountaines were rent from their foundations and cast into the middle of the sea yet Christians should be sure all the while because God who is the first absolute and simple being and so the lowest foundation is their hope and strength that is he is a foundation lower than all these that when all these things shall come to ruine yet GOD on whom wee trust shall be a sure helpe and comfort Beloved this is to be considered that you may know what your comfort is and upon what foundation you are built If GOD be most simple without all composition then this will follow that he cannot be hindred in any thing that he goes about to doe but is most independent as in being so in working by reason of his simplicity There is no creature but may be hindered for in the best of the creatures to wit in the Angels there is an essence and an executive power by which they worke Even as you see it in the fire there is the substance of fire and the qualitie of heate by which it workes now where there are two things an essence and a faculty by which it workes something may come betweene and hinder the working and operation As in the Babylonish furnace GOD separated betweene the fire and the heate that it could not burne the men that were cast into it Dan. 3. So he doth with the Angells he comes betweene the substance and the executive power and often hinders them from doing what they would But in GOD seeing hee is most simple and intire there is not an essence and executive power as the Schoolemen call it therefore there can nothing come betweene to be an impediment there is not any action that he intends but he workes it absolutely and of himselfe Therefore we are to consider that that GOD which we have to worship and serve that nothing can come betweene and hinder him in working but what he will doe he doth and therefore wee should learne to feare before him and to trust in him and to acknowledge the greatnesse of his power and to know the ground of it seeing he is so absolute and wonderfull in all his workes Hence likewise it followes that all the Attributes of GOD are equall among themselves not one higher than another or larger than another for if he be simple and there are not two things in him then his Attributes or his essence and himselfe are the same and if so one cannot exceed another his mercy is not beyond his justice nor his justice beyond his wisedome Therefore though he doth put forth one Attribute now another then yet wee must not thinke that his mercy is greater than all his Attributes therefore that place in the Psalmist His mercy is above all his workes is commonly misunderstood The meaning is not that his mercy exceedes all his other Attributes but that his mercy is over and upon all his workes As the warmth of the hen is over all the egges to warme and cherish and hatch them so Gods mercy is over all his workes to cherish and nourish and perfect them that is it is shewed forth upon them all For it is not a comparative speech as if his mercy did exceed all his other Attributes for if all his Attributes are himselfe they must be equall there is no difference in regard of height or largenesse betweene them And thus the place is to be understood for so the word signifies in the originall and not according to the common acception So much for the Consectaries now wee will come to uses of practise Vse 1 1. If simplicity be one of GODS excellencies then let us labour to come as neere to it as we can by bringing our hearts to be content with a simplicity of condition for this is a sure rule The more composition the more weaknesse the more impediment and withall the more exposednesse to dissolution and decay Therefore GOD is not subject to weaknesse and impediment in working because he is most simple not having essence and faculty so that any thing should come betweene and hinder him and therefore also is he not capable of dissolution therfore the nearer any come to this simplicity they are as I say lesse weake lesse subject to impediment and destruction and the safer and stronger and happier they be As for example the Angells so farre as they fall short of the simplicity of the eternall GOD who is blessed for ever so farre they are subject to all this they have faculties different from their essences and one from another as understanding will and their executive power hence they are subject to weaknesse For they may fall into sinne as you know the first Angels did and their faculties jarred one with another and fell out of tune and having an executive power they are also subject to impediment whence neither the good Angels nor the bad can doe what they would but they are and may be hindred In the next place consider man and as hee is much more compounded than the Angels so he is more weake more subject to impediment more liable to decay and ruine as sicknesse distemper crosses death for he hath not onely a rationall faculty as the Angels have but sensitive a sensitive memory a sensitive fancy and a sensitive appetite he hath also a body consisting of divers members needing many externall helpes as aire diet houses exercises and so he is subject to many weaknesses many hurts many impediments and losses of all sorts Object You will say this is a mans naturall condition indeed but how shall this be helped Answ. The naturall condition cannot be changed but it may be exceedingly helped as if wee bring our hearts to be content with a more or lesse simplicity of condition that is if the disposition and constitution of the minde be such that it be not dependent upon many things but upon few this is done when the thoughts and affections of the minde doe not lie scattered hanging or lying upon this or that thing so that you cannot live without it but when the mind is recollected and gathered up so that you can be content with a simplicity of condition with GOD alone for your portion so that you can live with exceeding little not requiring a multitude of things upon which the contentment and satisfaction of the minde doth depend As for example some men cannot live without sports and pleasure and a great living to maintaine them another must have great