the valley of Meseck and in tents of Kedar And the Apostle Saint Paul could say O miserable man that I am who shall deliver mee from this body of death Finally the flesh is an enemy exceedingly politique for howsoever the power of the flesh be great yet the policie thereof is greater because it is not a publique enemy but a home-bred and domestique traitor therfore by the subtile sleight cunning undermining thereof many times we fall and are overthrowne From hence it is that the Prophet Ieremy forewarneth us of the policy thereof whilst hee saith The heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitfull above all things none can know it but the Lord that made it Wouldst thou know and try this O man go home to thy heart and see how it dealeth with thee The world is a great temptation and a great tempter Sathan also hath many temptations and is an arch tempter but what can the temptations of the world do to thee or what can all the temptations of the devill do against thee except thy owne heart and thy owne flesh deceive and betray thee for as Sathan said to Christ Cast thy selfe downe c. and as Iohn said to Iesabel Who is there on our side c. so doth Sathan say to man whilst by the flesh hee tempteth him except wee cast our selves downe except the flesh be on his side within us neither prosperity nor adversity famine nor nakednesse life nor death can ever prejudice us But if in these baits hee can hire our owne flesh against us wee are easily overcome and like another Aza hyring a Benhadad against us Israel getteth the foile and the best treasures of Gods house are but a prey to him Vse Thus having deciphered our inbred enemy it becommeth us carefully to watch over it for the spirit may well bee ready but the flesh is weake Let us therefore deale with this our domesticall adversary as the citizens of a besieged city do with their inbred traitors if any city were besieged with forraigne forces and they knew that they harboured a traitor within their bosome they would give no rest to their eye-lids nor slumber to their eyes till they should apprehend disarme condemne and put him to death So is it with us our citadell the soule is besieged by a fierce and for raigne enemy wee have a traitor lurking in our bosome our owne flesh Let us therefore with all speed rise up against it disarme it by fasting and prayer let us beate it downe and bring it in subjection and let us mortifie the lusts thereof by the spirit and wee shall be sure that God shall shortly tread it under foot and give us the victory for it is written The elder shall serve the younger The last enemy we have to fight against is the Devill a chiefe and arch enemy for he goeth about cōtinually seeking how hee may devour us No time can free us from his temptation the morning the noonetide of the day or the midnight of darknes No place not the throne of judgment nor the street of our trade nor the cabinet where wee rest No person also is free from him he spared not the first Adam nor did hee spare the second Adam How are the sonnes of the first Adam according to the flesh and the sonnes of the second Adam according to the spirit free from his assaults No surely wee may not nor cannot be free from them But wouldst thou know O man the manner of his fight Know that the temptations of Sathan have three gradations even the same which every voluntary action of man whether good or bad hath in it For in the soule of man there are 3 faculties one sensitive another appetitive the third locomotive And the actions of these three faculties are accordingly three sense appetite motion For first a man sees or heares an object presented to his eyes or eares the sense representeth the object to our appetite or delight the delight or will either imbraceth or refuseth the object and this wee call the motion Now as it is in every action so is it in the temptations of Sathan for first hee bewitcheth the sense secondly hee inflameth the appetite and thirdly hee procureth the action Would wee have this made more cleare I will Looke on David when hee fell in adultery how playd Sathan the souldier with him Hee first fascined or bewitched his sense for it is written Hee saw a woman washing her selfe and the woman was beautifull Secondly inflamed his delight for it is written Hee sent messengers and enquired after the woman and shee came in unto him Thirdly by both of these and from both of these hee procureth and propagateth the action for it is written And hee lay with her Againe if this one example sufficeth not behold another When the woman saw that the fruit was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to bee desired to make one wise shee tooke of the fruit and did eate Behold here also a third It is confessed by Achan when hee saw amongst the spoyles a goodly Babilonish garment and a wedge of gold of fifty shickles then I coveted them and tooke them These three then sense desire and motion as they are in every action so they are in every temptation For Sathan in his temptations first besiegeth our senses and seeing they are the gates of the soule these being opened hee windes himselfe into our delight and appetite and being there shall wee thinke that he who hath taken paines to gather so many stickes together will not take paines to blow a fire to warme himselfe No no hee is an angell of darknesse but there hee transformeth himselfe into an angell of light there he speaketh evill of Good and good of evill and there hee putteth bitter for sweete and sweet for sowre Last of all when by the abuse of our senses hee hath captivated our affections thinkest thou that hee will leave that fire which hee hath blown so much untill it burn No no I tell thee he will not leave it till it burst forth in a flame and till thou burne in the midst of it Will the husbandman when hee casteth his seede in the ground fall too and plow up the ground againe without hope of harvest No surely in patience hee will wait for it and first let it come to a blade then to a stalke then to an eare then to be ripened and last of all hee cutteth it downe and bringeth it into his barne I will assure thee it is so with Sathan for though hee bee not a husbandman yet hee is an envious man and whilst the husbandman sleepeth hee soweth tares amongst the wheat And though he seeme to mis-know it yet is not he carelesse of it but by all meanes hee watereth it with the stolne waters of pleasure untill hee bring it to harvest and maturity Hee can say to the young man Rejoyce O yong man in thy youth and let thy heart cheere thee
in thy young dayes Hee can say to the covetous man Pull downe thy barnes and make them more large and then cry a peace to thy soule Hee can say to the furious man Smite him at once that thou may not smite him the second time And What thou dost do quickly And in a word whatsoever seed of iniquity or bitter root of corruption hee soweth or planteth in our hearts this is his policy hee first bewitcheth the sense then enflameth the appetite or desire and last of all he bringeth sinne to accomplishment Vse In respect hereof it becommeth us carefully to watch over our senses as the gates and dores of our soules Secondly to keepe a guard about our affections that though our senses be infected yet our hearts be not affected Psal 139. And last of all wee should be earnest and carefull to mortifie both of these least their infection prevayling sin in thee come to a maturity and thou reape as thou hast sowne for hee that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reape corruption and hee that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reape life and glory and honor and life immortality Thus whilst wee seeke to bee free from temptations wee seek to be freed from the temptations of the devill the world and the flesh And if God at any time shall suffer us to fall into these temptations wee then begge of him that wee may not bee overcome of them Non enim petimus ut non tentemur sed ut a tentatione non vincamur Now followeth the third thing remarkable in the words and that is who are the souldiers that must fight the battell To this I answer all those that are subject to temptation the whole have no neede of the physitian but the sicke if any man therefore thinke himself free from the dint of temptation forbeare to say Lead us not into temptation but if none can exempt himselfe then what I say to one I say to all Watch and pray that yee enter not into temptation But that I may speake more clearely The souldiers of this Christian warfare are all those who are members of the mysticall body of Jesus To what end else hath hee clothed them with his livory put his badge on them given them their earnest and covered them under his banner hee hath clothed us with his livory whilst he hath imputed to us his righteousnesse hee hath put his badge on us whilst hee hath baptized us in his name hee hath given us earnest whilst hee hath given us the first fruits of the Spirit to dwell in us and hee hath convocated us under his banner whilst hee calleth to bee within the pale and precinct of his Church But this is not all thou wilt enquire yet who are those to whom hee hath concredited these endowments I answer the Saints militant and tryumphant By the Saints militant I understand men and women on earth By the Saints tryumphant I understand those who fought the fight finished their course and now are entred into their masters joy But here two questions may arise the first is this Have none beene tempted but the sonnes and daughters of men I answer none for howsoever it be true that Jesus Christ was the Sonne of God yet as the sonne of man hee was also tempted with us and that for these foure causes First Ad cautelam 2. In auxilium 3. Ad exemplum 4. In fiduciam The sonne of God was tempted in our flesh for our caution and for warning sake that looking on him no man might thinke himselfe set free from temptation for if hee hath not spared the Cedar of Lybanon how shall hee spare us poore Isop bushes Secondly hee was tempted for our assistance and aid for what shall it availe a man to know that his enemy approacheth against him unlesse hee be able to resist him therefore Christ came and in our flesh was tempted also that hee might deliver us in all our temptations both from the feare of death and from him who had the power of death the devill Thirdly hee was tempted for our example for as hee said of himselfe learne of me for I am mecke and lowly and as the Evangelist St Iohn saith of his washing of his disciples feet I have given you an example that you should do one to another as I have done to you So also hath hee suffered our temptations and was tempted like unto us that hee might leave us an example to follow his foot steps 1. Pet. 2.21 Fourthly hee was tempted for our comfort and assurance of victory for it is written Heb. 4.15 Wee have not such an High Priest as cannot be touched with our infirmities but hee was tempted in all things like unto us yet without sinne Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace and wee shall finde grace to helpe us in the time of need The second question is this Who are those amongst the sonnes and daughters of men who can truly say that they are tempted to this I answer If temptation be a fight those onely are truly said to be tempted who do bravely couragiously resist and fight against their adversary It is not the sluggard that lyeth down to sleepe nor the coward that rūneth away nor the feeble hearted that yeeldeth that can truly be called the souldies of God but they only who hold fast what they have received who stand fast within the liberty wherewith they are made free and who continue constant unto the end that as the good souldiers of Jesus Christ shall receive the crowne Seeing then amongst the sonnes of men there are some who are in the gall of bitternesse who are taken captive of Sathan at his will who are given over to their vile affections and to the power of error 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sure I am these are not worthy of the title of this fight nor to have their names billeted for the souldiers of Jesus onely they then in whom though sinne dwell yet doth not raigne are the true soldiers of Jesus who can with Abraham refuse to be enriched from Sodome and with Moses refuse to leave a howfe behind him are worthy and shall be clothed in white and receive a white stone and in it a new name which no man knoweth but hee that possesseth it Vse Now what shall I say concerning man the Christian souldier and the necessity of his resistance Alas there is so much in man enemy to man and so little left in him that is able to resist or fight for him much lesse to triumph and conquer or subdue his enemy to him I thinke I can onely intreat man to looke continually on his captaine And yet because hee must either fight or else never tryumph there are two things of which I would advertise him First let him not thrust himselfe into temptation unlesse as David said There be a cause And that with Jesus hee bee led with the spirit For our adversaries are
for ever to our children Let this disswade and perswade us Disswade us from the world for all things in it are changeable as time honour wealth pleasure and beauty perswade us to perfection as our father which is in heaven is perfect standing stedfast in the faith holding fast what wee have received and continuing constant to the end that wee may receive the crowne in heaven LECTIO 3. In Heaven HEre it may be enquired and not amisse how it is that the presence of God is tyed to the heaven Seeing hee is every where so filling all things that hee is comprehended of nothing and so without all things that hee is excluded of nothing For answer hereof it is requisite that wee know that the dispensation of the presence of God is manifold and diverse There is a generall there is a particular there is a personall and there is a locall presence of God By his generall presence hee is present with all his creatures For in him wee live wee move and have our beeing By his particular presence he is present with man and because the sonnes of men are of two sorts therefore the dispensation of this presence is twofold with the child of disobedience hee is present by his providence his power and his justice by his providence maintaining his life by his power ordering his wayes to their appointed ends and by his justice binding him up in the secret of his soule with chaines of darknesse to the judgement of the great day with the child of his free love he is present by his providence maintaining his life by his power keeping him that he dash not his foot against a stone and by his mercy keeping him through faith to eternall salvation By his personall presence hee is present with his Sonne the Lord Jesus by his locall presence he is said to bee in heaven not that the heaven of heavens is able to containe him who is infinite but that there chiefly he manifesteth his glorious presence and his glorious essence to the Angels who have kept their originall integrity to the Soules of the Saints departed and to all of us both in soule and body in the day of our last and finall refreshment In a word God is said to be in heaven as the soule is said to be in the head or heart of man The soule we know animates the whole body and by her presence in every member thereof communicateth life thereto yet by way of preheminencie and excellencie it is said to be in the head and in the heart of man Because in these two parts and from these two parts shee exerciseth her chiefest fnnctions communicateth and deriveth her chiefest influence So is it with God for howsoever by his infinite essence he be every where and filleth all his creatures yet by way of preheminencie and excellencie he is most specially said to be in heaven because there it is that the rayes and glorious beames of his Majestie are chiefly seene and from thence it is that he maketh the steps and impressions of his power knowne to the sonnes of men It is true indeed wee can no where cast our eyes on the creatures but wee do straight perceive the characters of his wisdome power and Majestie For will we looke on the naturall course of the world we see init foure several sorts of creatures The first bare naked and simple substances without either life sense or reason of this sort are the Heavens the Sun the Moone and the Starres The second sort have substance and life but not sense or reason such are the trees plants herbs of the field all which have a vegitative life but no sense nor reason The third sort have life and sense but no reason such as the fowles of the aire the beasts of the field and the fishes of the sea The fourth and last sort hath all of these substance life sense and reason and that is man Now every one of these severall sorts of creatures do exceed one another and serve one for anothers use for wee see the first which are but mere substances serve for the use of them who have life These who have life do serve for the use of them who have reason and man who hath reason hee doth serve hee should serve and shall serve for the use of that God who dwelleth in the Heavens above Now who can looke on the beauty of these creatures Who can consider the reference or who can contemplate aright their correspondence but must straight know and confesse both that there is a God and that hee both made himselfe visible and palpable in his creatures and yet that the full streine of his glory is in Heaven for here wee see but in part wee know but in part and all that we either can see or know of him is but imperfect our perfection is hidden up with him in the Heavens and when wee shall by his power be brought thither wee then shall fully see him as wee are seene and know him as wee are knowne and be changed into his image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. Now brethren having laid this for a foundatiō that is immoveable that howsoever the Lord is every where yet chiefly hee is in heaven the habitation of his holinesse and that howsoever hee be made visible in all his creatures yet the full and accomplished vision of his glory wee shall not have but in the heavens It resteth that from the consideration hereof wee learne to make use of the same for our spirituall advantage The use that wee make of this is threefold Vse First it teacheth us to whom we should pray Secondly how wee should pray And thirdly how wee should live when wee have prayed First to whom should wee pray but to God and to him who is in heaven There are but two motives which direct man in the time of need to have his recourse to another for helpe The first is affection the second is power who but a foole will in the time of need run for helpe to any man whō hee knoweth doth not love him for it is madnesse for a man to become a suiter where love pleadeth not as a mediator it is for this cause that Christ Jesus our Redeemer hath in the frontispice of this prayer given us the assurance of Gods love to wards us whilst he calls him Our Father that from the assurance of his fatherly love wee may draw neere to the Throne of Grace with boldnesse and there poure out our supplications before him with assurance to be heard in that which we feare The other motive why men in the time of need have their recourse to another is the assurance of his power For though hee were never so wel affected if he be not able our petitions are all in vaine The Lord liveth let the people tremble hee sits betwixt the Cherubins let the Earth be moved let the people imagine vaine things and
secondly for instruction It serves for rebuke to the Church of Rome who by the imposition of their extraordinary and unnecessary fastings hope to enter into the kingdome of God But to those I say yet not I but Jesus Christ for me Fooles and hypocrites you make cleane the outer side of the cup and the platter but within all is foule and full of ravening Foole dost thou thinke that the kingdome of God standeth in meate and drinke or in apparell No no it standeth in righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost What careth God I pray thee for a bit of meat that goeth into thy belly or for that rag of clothes that covereth thy nakednesse When he is hungry will he tell thee or when hee is thirsty will hee that thou shouldest give him drinke or if he were cold or naked would hee begge the use of thy garment No surely those things are not for him but for us and for our use Hee made our bodies of the earth earthly hee hath breathed the breath of life in our nostrils that by it wee may live in the body he hath given us also the use of his creatures for the preservation of that sparke till hee recall it What is it then should make man so bold to inhibit the use of that thing which God hath licenced or what art thou O man that darest pollute that which God hath sanctified to thee Well hath the Apostle Paul fore-prophesied of thee that in so doing thou hast a shew of godlinesse but in effect thou hast denyed the power thereof for these things may have a shew of wisdome in a will-worship and neglect of the body but in effect they are but the rudiments of the world and the ordinances and traditions of men for they hold not of our head which is Christ Jesus I graunt indeed it fareth not with the soule and the body as it fareth betwixt an evill matched man and his wife the thing that the one willeth the other willeth not and if any neighbour shall pacifie the strife with reason hee hath gained a soule It is even so with the matter of fasting if whilst the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit fighteth against the flesh wee can beate downe our bodies and bring them in subjection it is more then requisite But if wee shall think hypocritically by so doing to merit or procure to our selves the Kingdome of heaven wee deceive our soules and our labour is in vaine for the kingdome of God standeth neither in meat drinke or apparell but in righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Vse 2. And as it serves for rebuke of the Church of Rome so doth it also for instruction to our reformed Church and that in a twofold manner for it teacheth a lesson to the rich man and another also to the poore man It teacheth the rich man to eschew covetousnesse for if God give him bread hee giveth him all that hee oweth him wee cannot bee content till our table be richly decked and our cup overflow but alas these things ought not to be so for we came naked into the world and naked we shall returne againe If wee get therefore food and rayment it becomes us therewith to be contented Nature is not curious in herd yet nor chargeable in her fare shee can say with the Poët Vivitur parvo bene all that she craveth is but bread and water a clout to cover her nakednesse and a hole to hide her head in when God sendeth more she can use it with sobriety when God denyeth it shee can bee thankfull and say with Iob The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken c. And when she seeth the best chear in the world set before her she accounteth it all but bread The crummes of the rich mans table was bread although refused to Lazarus and the rich mans sumptuous fare was but bread Daniels pulse and water was bread and the Kings royall fare was but bread the huskes of the swine was bread to the prodigall child and his fathers feast was but bread Thus the true christian in all things is content hee canne bee abased and hee can abound he can bee hungry and he can bee full he can want and he can have Philip. 4. And in the midst of his fulnesse hee is carefull of nothing so much as that the Lord send not a leannesse upon his soule Secondly as it teacheth the richman to measure the things of this life not by the ell of his desires which have no end but by the ell of nature which is short soone contented so from this the poore man hath a lesson of content When hee looketh to his neighbour and seeth him better cloathed better fed better followed and better favored then himselfe truly nature would grudge and murmure in a naturall man But if thou bee a christian let mee exhort thee in the name of Jesus whose name is called upon by thee represse these fond imaginations Consider that God hath taken nothing from thee but what hee gave thee And that in wisdome hee holdeth thee short of those things that hee himselfe may be thy portiō Blessed art thou if he be so to thee It may be for a time thou hunger and thirst but thou shalt bee satisfied and it may be for a time that thou mourne and weepe but thou shalt be comforted The way to procure thy content it not to measure thy want with other mens wealth No no but looke to the woe that their wealth hath bred them and consider how ease and fulnesse of bread hath made their hearts fat and hath lulled them into the lethargie of a giddie minde whilst by means of thy want God hath preserved his life in thy soule Wouldst thou then change estates no doe not if thou be wise for they who possesse those things stand in slippery places they seldome or never leave their owners without a fall How many this day are in hell who would goe naked to bee partakers of the garment of righteousnesse who would be still hungry to get a poore crumme of the booke of life and dye a thousand deaths for thirst to get one drop of that water that could coole the heate of that flame which they sustaine but oh they cannot obtaine it they have lost their time and their judgement is sealed While therefore thou hast time in time redeeme the time for the daies are evill and if thou get food and raiment learne therewith to be content and if thou be greedy of any thing in the world be greedy of grace for if thou hast the grace of God thou art richer then Cresus because thou hast Christ who when hee was rich became poore that in his povertie thou mightest be made rich LECT 11. Give us this day our daily bread THe second thing considerable in these words is the person of whom wee aske this and it is of God for whilst in the preface wee say Our
of his person could onely and absolutely say unto him My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee and say to us for our comfort I goe to my Father and to your Father and to my God and to your God shewing us that by nature wee are without hope and without God in the world but that in him wee have a fellowship with God and are made partakers of the divine nature And now as in the preface hee would not suffer us to go to God unlesse wee were first incorporate and made members of his mysticall body so here hee will not suffer us to begge any thing at his hands whether temporall or spirituall but that wherein we must represent the necessities of our brethren as well as our owne and supplicate their reliefe as well as our owne In a word as in the preface hee taught us how wee should draw neere to God begge a blessing with Iacob under the garment of Esau So the use wee should make thereof should be a due remembrance of that Christian communion and fellowship wee have one with another in him rejoycing with them that rejoyce and mourning with them that mourne and remembring them that are in bonds as if wee our selves were afflicted in the body Secondly I say that we are taught so to say to make us submit our selves to the providence of God For there are many in the world upon whom God hath bestowed both riches and wealth in abundance and they have no sooner received thē but straight they forget both God as the giver and their brethren as fellow owners of their portion And of this sort of men it is that the Prophet Hosea speaketh whilst hee reproveth Israel and Judah for sacrificing to their owne nets To the end therefore that man may know that hee hath nothing but what God giveth him and that God giveth it to him to this end that hee should communicate to the necessities of them that want hee will not suffer him to say Give mee but Give us Would you see the truth of this cleared in a naturall and domesticke example Looke upon the Mariner when hee goeth to sea his ship is fraughted by some owners he is ladened and her wares are full The tide offereth occasion and shee is towed out to the road to wait upon the winde shee lyeth there a good space and findes no winde Would you know what maketh her want winde so long I can tell you because she prayeth for nothing but for her faire winde If her sailes were filled shee careth not whose be empty nor whose voyage be crossed But tell mee O man hath God in his ever-ruling providence nothing to doe but to serve thee and thy appetite alone No no hee hath more to serve then thee and therefore in his infinite wisdome he sometimes sendeth thee a faire and prosperous gale of winde sometimes againe hee maketh the winde to blow contrary that thou mayest learne in the sense of thy owne weaknesse to rest content on his providence and with a contempt and disdaine of thy owne selfe-love to rejoyce as much at the good of thy brother as if it were thy owne and to greeve as much at his losse as if the losse redounded to thee equally with him Last of all in this direction wee have a square rule limiting to us the use of the creature which is this as in the begging of it wee should bee faithfull so in the managing thereof wee should bee charitable It was the errour of Naball to possesse a well covered table to himselfe but to forget David and his distresse It was also the errour of the rich man in the Gospell to crye peace to himselfe and to the rich glutton to forget the necessities of Lazarus But were these things tolerable and approved of God No nothing lesse for wee are all members of one body and wee should communicate one to anothers necessities and that in love I say first we are all members of one body for where have you seene at any time the members of one body forgetfull or senselesse of the indigence of another if a thorn do but pricke us in the toe all the body hath a sympathy and fellow feeling with it the tongue can complaine the eye can search for it and the hand can pluck it out againe It is right so with us in our spirituall incorporation Wee are all parts of the mysticall body whereof Christ is the glorions head Is it seeming then that any one part shall suffer and the other shall have no sympathy or fellow-feeling No surely for it is an evident testimony that wee are not of the body unlesse we have that fellow sense that is here required Looke to the example of the politicall body and to the example of the waters running through the whole veines and chanels of the earth And learne with Augustine to say that God Per eum qui habet juvat egentem per eum qui non habet probat habentem But what is more thou must not onely give him for the reliefe of his necessities but also thou must give him a love and sincerity of affection for if thou should give all that thou hast to the poore unlesse thou have love it is all abomination in the presence of God for our wealth of it selfe it is not a blessing unlesse charity animate quicken and give it motion Vse Now out of al this which hath beene said there ariseth to our instruction two things remarkable the first rebukes the miser the second rebukes the proud I say first we have here a lesson of rebuke to the miser the worldly worme the earthly wretch and that for 3 causes first for that hee is a murtherer secondly for that he is a perverter of the ordinance of God and thirdly for that hee is a foole I say first he is condemned here as a murtherer for while God hath ordained meat for the belly and the belly for meat hee starves in his misery and for a miserable preservation of an handfull of dust hee kills his body which should have an habitation to the holy Ghost I say secondly that the miser and the wretch is a perverter of Gods ordinance for God hath said In the sweat of thy browes thou shalt eate thy bread now the miser can toile and turmoile himself in sweat and in blood sometimes to get a peece of bread but when hee hath gotten it hee cannot for the heart of him make use of it nor take of it to serve his owne necessities I say thirdly he is rebukeable as a foole and why because out of a diffident care of his body hee killeth his soule for whilst hee distrusteth the providence of God towards him manifested in the widdow of Sarepthas barrels hee hoardeth up treasures against the last day which in the fulnesse of time shall eate up his flesh as it were a fire Secondly it rebukes the proud for if God but once distinguish us one from another
our shippe teight Who can cure our wounds but hee who is the spirituall carpenter and Physitian of our Soules In all our distresses let us have our recourse to him For hee will not weary in doing us good if we can come to him without wearying For in due time wee shall receive our reward if wee faint not Secondly in this word wee are taught how to bridle our affections for the desires of men are infinite and have no end they are like the horse-leech that saith alwayes Give give and like the grave that is never satisfied Yet behold O man it were good for thee to set bounds to thy desires for God in his wisdome hath put in this Petition a word of content daily That as the globe of the earth is girded about with the Meridian line so these earthly hearts of ours may be girded about and kept in frame with the compasse of content It is with us in this last age as with Israel in the wildernesse for when they gathered their Manna God commanded that they should gather but an Omer and either under or above according to the number of their family It is even so with us God will not give us a liberty to seeke the things of this earth but with measure and mediocrity so much as may refresh and maintaine nature with a reasonable content But though this bee the ordinance of God O how exorbitant are the desires of men how wastfull is our excesse in meate drinke and apparell purchasing of lands I say wee are wastfull in excesse of our meate drinke and apparell for there is more on one of our tables at one time then would satisfie all the poore of the city if it were well parted We drinke at once more cups of health then Bacchus did in his Orgyes And one suit of apparell on our backe is bought at a dearer rate then all the revenue of many of our heires can amount to Looke againe upon our purchasing God commandeth us to seeke nothing but our daily bread but behold wee joyne house to house land to land and inheritance to inheritance and when wee have done all that wee can to make it large and ample if there bee but one foote bredth of ground under our window or within the smoake of our chimney that is not ours O how sicke are we of discontent with Achab till Naboths vineyard bee added to our inclosures And yet if wee would consider how soone wee may be taken from it how deboist an heire wee shall leave it to or how little ground will content and conteine us when wee dye I hope wee should not bee so earth hungry But all our errour is in this wee forget the word of Gods ordinance daily And wee dreame of a word of eternity Evermore So the folly of the one overshadowes the truth of the other in us and wee become forgetfull of the word of God If thou get food and raiment thou should bee therewith content Thirdly it should captivate our will to the entertainment of a daily familiarity with God for this is sure we have nothing but what God giveth us daily why should wee not then run to him daily hourly to seeke it Brethren I cannot looke without pitty upon the estate of the weake Christian in this point for in it hee is inferiour to the poorest begger that goeth in the streete the begger because he knows that he hath nothing but what good people gives him hee goeth into the open wayes where people have greatest resort and because his necessities are daily and quotidian therefore hee is not ashamed to bee a daily and quotidian begger but in this wee come short of him for we are all as indigent of grace as hee of meanes and yet hee can begge daily wee cannot hee can betake himselfe into the place of support but wee will not the place of our support is the Church the strength of our begging lyeth in prayer The begger wearyeth not to goe into the high wayes we weary to come to the Church he wearyeth not to supplicate with all the termes of necessity hee can invent wee weary ere wee can breath two or three words though but for fashion But heare O my hearers these things should not be so for as our necessities are so much the more urgent by how much they are spirituall so should our prayers be both the more frequent and fervent by how much the Kingdome of Heaven is not obteined but by violence and if at any time our petitions be returned to us without successe it is because they want heart I have many times told from this place that that which Martha said to Christ concerning Lazarus may be truly said to our soules concerning prayer and the continuance thereof shee said Lord if thou hadst beene here my brother Lazarus had not dyed so thou and I and all of us may say If prayer had beene here this ill turne had not falne in our hands for prayer is not the worke of flesh and blood but of the Holy Ghost where it is hee is and where hee is guide wee cannot so stumble but of necessity wee must rise againe So much I have spoken concerning the word daily which I called a word of content there rests now in all this Petition but a word This day This I called a word of limitation and by it I meane to limit and put an end to this Sermon By the word then of This day I understand this present moment of time in which we live called by David a yeare The yeares of men are but threescore and ten Iob calleth it a moneth I have had for my inheritance but the moneths of vanity and here it is called a day because as yesterday is gone and is no more so wee shall bee to morrow Wee have nothing in time or of time which wee can truly call ours but this day and in it but this moment God then in his wisdome hath not onely set bounds to the quality of our desires calling them but daily but also limiteth the time and continuance of them to this day but if any worldling shall grudge at his lease as being too short let him know that the words are not mine but Gods For whatsoever endowments of grace hee hath given to the sonne of man hee hath given it under the title and precinct of this day he said to the Sonne of man his own Sonne the Lord Christ Jesus in his instalment Thou art my beloved Son this day have ' I begotten thee Psal 2. Hee said to his people Israel his sons by adoption The Lord hath chosen thee this day to bee a peculiar people unto him Deut. 26. Hee said to his servant the Prophet Isay in the time of his calling This day have I set thee up over Kingdomes over nations Isay 1.10 Lastly hee said to the theefe on the Crosse This day thou shalt bee with mee in paradise Neither is this the onely and
sole title and precinct of his endowment but also the title and sole reciprocation hee craves of us and that both in the matter of his obedience and of our content and desires In the matter of our obedience hee will have it to day To day if you will heare his voice harden not your hearts And of our desires Give us this day our daily bread and reasō good it is that it should speake so for by so saying first hee pares the covetous mans nailes Secondly hee bindeth up the prodigalls hands and cutteth downe the Epicures vaine hope I say First by this word hee pares the covetous mans nailes for hee will pare them himselfe hee lets them grow that hee may scrape and scratch and gather together without satisfaction of desire without wearying in travell He riseth early in the morning and goeth late to bed at night and all the day long eates the bread of sorrow as if his belly was like his heart triangular and uncapable of satisfaction but foole that he is what is this he doth knoweth hee not that wee are but here to day and away to morrow for All flesh is grasse Care not therefore for the morrow but let the morrow care for it selfe for this day hath enough of its owne griefe Et magno apparatu breve iter vitae non instruitur sed oneratur Secondly God by this word bindes up the prodigals hands for it is the desire of many men in the world to have God giving them not one peece this day and another peece to morrow as we stand in need of it but wee will have al our portion together as the prodigall child said Father give mee my portion that befalls mee and when hee got it you know what became of it God therefore being wiser then wee will not cast all our patrimony in our lap together but like a wise father will give us our estate but peece peece and will see how we imploy the little hee lendeth us that hee may make us Lords over much and wee may every day honour him in the suit and request of his supply Lastly hee cutteth the vaine hope of the Epicure who like an atheist makes covenant with death and an agreement with hell and saith with the whore in the Revelation I am a Queene and shall see no mourning To this man God cries here as hee cryed to the rich man in the Gospell saying Foole this night they shall take thy soule from thee so here hee cryes to the Epicure This day thou shalt dye and shalt not see the morrow by one dayes disease I will beat that soule of thine out of her cittadell Watch therefore and pray for yee know not at what houre the theefe will come One day is too long to dwell in the tents of Kedar but in the presence of the Auncient of dayes there is fulnesse of joy and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore LECTIO 14. And forgive us our trespasses IN handling of this Petition wee have two things to consider the coherence or dependence of this Petition with the former and next the tenour and force of the Petition it selfe The coherence is evident in the conjunctive particle and. For whilst in the last petition Our Redeemer Christ Jesus teacheth us to begge of him things meete for the maintenance of this our naturall life hee packed up the Petition in some few words of necessitie so here knowing that man is too much addicted to set his heart and fixe his affections upon the earth and the things thereof in a snatch as it were hee recals us againe to the consideration of the soule and teacheth us to hunger and thirst for righteousnesse and the life and well being of the soule For what shall it availe a man if hee winne the whole world and lose his owne soule In a word by the conjoyning and tying of this petition to the former I can resemble our Saviour to nothing better then to a wise and skilfull Pylot who seeing his company sicke and weary with continuall stormes at sea when he knoweth hee is neere any land letteth his sick and faint hearted company go on shore to refresh themselves to get the aire of the land to take in new victuals and provision to serve the necessitie of their succeeding voyage but if hee finde them to begin to be enamored with love of the land and the pleasures thereof straight wayes hee sendeth a boat on shoare reclaimes them frō the surfet of their pleasures telling them that if any amongst them would bee at home at his owne Countrie hee must come aboard againe for it is not the dallying with the pleasures of a strange country that will bring him home to his owne soyle It is even so with our Saviour in these words for in the first three Petitions wee were set to sea and commanded to saile home to heaven for whilst man honours Gods name advanceth Gods kingdome and doth Gods will what is hee doing but sailing through a stormy sea to a good harbour and a quiet haven of rest now because while men have lanched out to the sea of the world and are sailing homeward many crosse windes and boisterous stormes hinder them by the way Christ like a discreete and mercifull pylot and master of our ship in the last Petition giveth us this day our daily bread sets us on shoare and lets us play a while in the free aire and refresheth us with the pleasures of nature giving us leave to satiate and satisfie our selves with such provision as the necessity of this our naturall life required at our hands but knowing very well the nature of man that when hee getteth leave to play with the world hee will take a large inch to the ell and that in stead of satisfying his necessitie hee will inebriate and surfet himselfe therefore in this Petition And forgive us our trespasses hee shootes a boat after them and calls them to come home and to come aboard againe for feare that by playing too long with the world and the pleasures of the shoore they lose the opportunity of their voiage homeward for as the wisdome of the world is foolishnesse with God so the love of the world is enmity with God and whosoever is a friend of the worlds is an enemie of God Iames 4. vers 4. And this I take to bee the reason of the coherence of this Petition to the former Vse Let us now looke upon this tye and particle of conjunction that wee may learne something from it The uses and observations which arise here-from are these First it teacheth how to use the things of this world Man since the fall of the first Adam hath brought nothing into the world with him but an uncircumcised heart and a body of sinne dwelling in his flesh and from thence as from a bitter roote of corruption floweth nothing in all his conversation but fearfull and rebellious transgressions amongst the which
this is one and the chiefe that his heart is become earthly and muddy in the beginning hee had a body earthly and from the earth but his soule was celestiall and from above not onely in respect of essence but also in respect of the faculties and the qualities of these faculties now by his fall his soule is made like his body though not in essence or faculties for they are still spirituall yet in respect of the qualities of these faculties for the understanding of the naturall man knoweth nothing but the things of the earth his affections delight in nothing but that which is earthly and his will practiseth nothing but that which is of the earth and in the earth but these things ought not to bee so wee are come from home and are returning thither againe Doth it become a pilgrim whilst he is in the way to be overtaken with the pleasures of the way no certainly for if hee bee in love with the pleasures of the way hee shall never attaine to his journeyes end Do you not remember what is written in prophane stories concerning Theseus and Atalanta a woman of exceeding swiftnesse who being overtaken with the love of the golden balls which Theseus let fall by the way lost the race and the reward of it But why do I cite a prophane story looke to the word of God and the truth therein contained there you shall finde Iudges 7. That the Lord chosing out an army for Gedion to overthrow Midian he first sent away the fearfull and faint hearted which were two and twenty thousand then hee sent away those who fell downe on their knees and dranke water which were nine thousand and seaven hundred so that there remained of all the host of Gedion but three hundred to overthrow their enemies and these were such as stooped not downe to inebriate themselves with the waters of the river but snatched at them onely with their hand refreshing onely the tip of their tongues and continuing their journey It should bee so with us in using the things of this life wee should use them as though wee used them not hee that rejoyceth should not bee over-joyed in his rejoycing and hee that is in griefe should not bee over-grieved in his sorrow He that hath should not be proud hee that wanteth should not dispare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and moderation should bee showne as men knowing that the fashion of this world perisheth Let us therefore bee like Iacob Gen. 28.20 And like Christs disciples Ioh. 6. Labour not for the meat that perisheth And like Israel Hos 2. Secondly wee have here a second lesson which serveth for our instruction and I pray you consider it Man if hee want he murmures he grudgeth and repines It was the errour of Israel in the want of water to murmure against Moses in the want of bread and of flesh So that his heart was grieved Rachel in the want of children could murmure and say to Iacob Give mee children else I die And Abraham himselfe in his barrennesse could say to God Eliazar my servant shall bee my heire So hard and indured are the hearts of men till God both make them see and feele the force of his care and providence towards them neither is the discontentment and grudge of men cleare in the example of these Fathers but also in our own daily and quotidian practice the poore man is no sooner fallen from his estate then through distrust of the providence of God hee must steale the sick man is no sooner in the bed of his disease but hee sends for a wisard to see if hee can recover The man that is wronged hath no sooner received his affront or word of reproach but straight his sword must bee his judge and decider of his quarrell and his owne hand must censure that which hee can neither digest nor cast up againe But tell mee O man from whence proceeds this thy folly wantest thou is there not a God in heaven of whom it is said The eyes of all things do looke up and trust in thee O Lord. Art thou sicke is there not a God in Israel in whose hands are the issues of life and death Art thou wronged knowest thou not that vengeance is the Lords and he will repay For it is a righteous thing with the Lord to render tribulation to them that trouble us and peace unto us in the day of rest Why do wee then in the day of our trouble wrong both our selves and our sufferings by our precipitations Knowest thou from whence this thy precipitation floweth because thou knowest not I will tell thee It floweth absolutely from the want of the sight of thy sinne If thou knewst wherefore thy goods were taken frō thee wouldst thou murmure No. If thou knewst wherefore thy health was taken from thee wouldst thou grudge No. if thou knew from whence thy wrong came wouldst thou repine No. All the distemper cōmeth from this thou knowst not the cause of it Thy sinnes that are not forgiven thee are the cause of all thy calamity If thou hadst but truly repented thee of thy sinnes and by faith gotten the assurance of thy pardon I will assure thee thy captivity should have bin redeemed thy righteousnesse should have shined as the Sun at the noontide of the day but as long as thou hast neither gotten thy sins pardoned thee nor hast pardoned others their sinnes against thee it is no wonder though thou say to God Give mee this day my daily bread and get it not for it is sure that the Lord heareth not nor accepts of sinners for as it is true that the seede of the righteous man was never seene to beg his bread for want so on the other part it is as true The candle of the wicked shall be put out and another man shall take his charge The evidence hereof is cleare in Israel in the dayes of the Judges Looke to Sheba and Iesabel Thirdly and lastly as it rebuketh us for the dirty and muddy quality of our hearts and instructeth us in the true cause and occasion of our wants so it teacheth us how to use the creatures aright or rather how wee should examine our selves aright after the use of the creatures when man sitteth downe to use the creatures of God Three things are required of him Premeditation sobriety examination Premeditation in acknowledging his unworthinesse of them for in themselves they are the good creatures of God as well as thou art yea in some respect they are better then thou for though thou wert created to a more glorious image yet by their innocency they have kept a more glorious station for thou hast sinned and not they and they subject to vanity not because of themselves but because of him who hath subdued thē under hope Sit never downe therefore O man to thy dinner without preponderatiō Whē thou seest the creatures of God set before thee know and remember they lived once as thou
teacheth them to be rich in grace their nakednesse to bee clothed with salvation and all their crosses and corrections whatsoever sealeth to them their adoption increaseth their patience and assureth them that their soules shall be safe in the day of the Lord Jesus Last of all the evill of evill is that damage and harme which the wicked sustaine by suffering the evill of this life for by the evill of sinne their hearts are hardened the custome of sinne taking away the conscience of sinne and by the evill of punishment their condemnation is sealed to them for whatsoever they suffer in this life is but an earnest penny of their after suffering and a sure fore-runner of that worme which dyeth not and of that fire which goeth not out againe So that whilst wee say Deliver ui from evill our meaning is deliver us O Lord from Sathan the author of sinne from sinne it selfe the first borne of Sathan and from condemnation the stipend and wages of sinne And as for the outward rods compose them so to us that they may not harden our hearts in sinne nor seale to us our condemnation And to this interpretation of evill antiquity giveth assent for St Chrysostome writing upon Matth. 13.19 where Christ calleth the devill The evil one saith Malum hic diabolum vocat docens nos cum eo praelium habere nullo unquam tempore dirimendum cum tamen non sit natura St Ambrose expoundeth it both of the devill and of sin Libera nos à malo dum hoc petimus petit unusquisque ut à malo hoc est à diabolo peccato liberetur Finally St August is of the same opinion whilst hee telleth us Christus non liberabit nos a barbaris sed à diabolo peccato peccati stipendio Now having spoken at length to you concerning our captivity to Sathan sinne and condemnation It is requisite that wee looke on the captives and these are wee for wee say deliver us For the better understanding whereof wee must know that captives are of two sorts either Captivi nati or else Captivi facti captives are either borne so or made so The native or borne captives were the children of such parents as being captives themselves were mancipated and sold for servants and slaves to others These by the Law of God were the possession and true inheritance of their master Levit. 25.45 The captives that were made so are of two sorts for they were either made so by others or by themselves By others whilst being taken in battell and preserved from death they were sold as servants bond-men to others Captives made by themselves were such as without any outward violence imposed on them did for reliefe of their poverty and necessity sell themselves as slaves and servants to others Now these are but bodily captives Answerable to these there are three sorts of spirituall captives and of the captivity of the soule The first are captives by birth and so borne from their mothers wombe such are all men by nature and naturall corruption for wee are all of us borne dead in our sins and trespasses c. And what David said of himselfe all of us may say of our selves In iniquity was I shapen and in sin hath my mother brought mee forth Now in the second place captivity begets captivity as one deepe calleth on another Our originall captivity under which we were born hath lead us violently captive unto actuall sin and rebellions For having brought nothing into the world with us but an uncircumcised heart from thence in all our life time springeth nothing but abominable corruptions Last of all there bee some men who to both their naturall and violent captivity have added a voluntary captivity making themselves captives to sinne and Sathan with a greedy appetite and up lifted hand and these are the children of disobedience from the first sort of captivity it hath pleased God to redeeme us in our baptisme by the lavacre of regeneration and washing of the new birth From the second captivity though wee cannot bee fully delivered so long as wee are in this life wee having received but the first fruits of the spirit yet notwithstanding Jesus Christ our Redeemer hath delivered us by his death the power of his resurrection and fellowship of his afflictions for it is written Wee have not received the Spirit of bondage to feare againe but the Spirit of adoption whereby wee cry Abba father And againe Therefore we are no more servants but sonnes From the last sort of captivity there is no redemption at all for if Sathan the devill hath right enough to a man by nature man shall adde to that captivity a greater by selling himselfe like Achab to commit iniquity There is no more sacrifice reserved for that mans sinne but a fearefull expectation of judgement and of that fire which shall devoure the wicked Now my brethren of this which hath beene said concerning our captivity I would gladly that in a word or two you should make some use Vse There are many captives in the world whom we cannot get delivered notwithstanding wee will labour to extend some of our supply to them For first wee can upon the first hearing compassionate their captivity and beare a part and have some sympathy with them in their distresse Secondly we can sometimes goe further then this for we can goe knock at the prison dore and call for them and goe in and visite them and comfort them with our best consolations We can goe somewhat further yet and besides our comfort wee can helpe them with some of our meanes wee can buy bread to their hunger and drinke to their thirst and clothes to their nakednesse And last of all we can engage our selves for their deliverance and by our engagements set them free Are not these good offices of charity and true straines of mercy Yes surely they are so Art not thou then much beholding to Christ whosoever thou art that art set free from the bondage of sin for he hath done al these to thee whilst thou wert in daaknesse and bondage under sinne and Sathan Hee did first pitty and compassionate thee when thou hadst no pitty on thy selfe and even then when thou wert a stranger and enemy to him hee spread his skirts over thee and covered thy nakednesse Secondly hee hath visited thee as he came downe to visit Israel in her affliction not in judgment as Sodome but in mercy and in a plentifull compassion and therefore Zachary blesseth him for that hee visited and then redeemed his people Thirdly hee became beneficiall to us not onely giving us wine to make the heart glad and oyle to make the face to shine but also in comforting our soules Hee hath given us his flesh for meate his blood for drinke his righteousnesse for our â—…ing his word for our instruction and his Spirit for our guide Fourthly and last of all hee hath taken our debt upon him and paying
in their obedience so God who is our Supreme and dread Soveraigne as hee requireth the obedience of his statutes to testifie our homage and loyalty to him so also as a mighty and just king hee will both enable us to do that which hee requireth of us and protect us in the doing thereof against all our enemies whatsoever Againe as it carryeth a direct reference and reciprocation with the second Petition so doth it also import a direct opposition to the last Petition for therein wee acknowledged that wee had many enemies the devill the world and our owne flesh as Kings and Tyrants not only dwelling in us but also tyrannizing over us and leading us captive unto sinne and what comfort could wee have in this our conflict or what hope of victory should there bee left to David against the sonnes of Zerviah unlesse our leader were a King more mighty then these A monarch more powerfull to save then they to destroy Surely none at all But knowing that there are more with us then against us and knowing that the lyon of the tribe of Iudah is stronger then the strong man which keepeth us in captivity what need wee to be afraid if an earthly king will not suffer a wrong done unto his subject to bee unrepaired do wee thinke that King of Kings our Lord and our God will suffer Sathan to keepe us alwayes in captivity No surely he may wel suffer us like David for a while to tarry at Jericho untill our beards and garments be renewed but at last hee will smite our enemies hippe and thigh and wound them with a wound in their loynes that they shall not bee able to rise againe This then is the cause why he stileth himselfe not onely a King but the King by way of excellency and eminencie above all Kings whatsoever You may remember whilst we spake of the kingdome of God in the second petition of this prayer wee told you that Sathan had a kingdome man had a kingdome and God had a kingdome Sathans kingdome was no true kingdome for it was and is no other thing then a meere usurpation and an inforced tyranny over the hearts of men which onely of due appertaine unto the Lord. Mans kingdome is onely a kingdome by toleration and dispensation from God but Gods kingdome onely is the true kingdome both in name and nature for all things are of him and through him and for him that in all things hee may have the preheminence Justly therefore may our Saviour teach us and we learne to say unto God Thine is the kingdome For Sathans kingdome Carcer est non regnum saith St Augustine Mans kingdome is but subordinate for it is written Per me reges regnant by mee kings raigne onely God is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords higher then the highest a mongst the sonnes of men and to him onely of due appertaineth the kingdome the power and the glory for ever Vse The consideration hereof should comfort us exceedingly in the middest of our greatest calamities and distresse For wee are not the subjects of that king who is carelesse of our captivity and tribulation No but wee have him for our head and soveraigne who knoweth our necessities from a farre and is touched with a sense of our sufferings and finally which is more materiall for our consolation hee is the King of Kings the supreme and dread soveraigne of all creatures not onely willing but also powerfull and able superabundantly to helpe us As it is written to the Ephes To him that is able to worke exceeding abundantly in us above all that wee can aske or thinke And Sr Iude testifieth the same To him that is able to keepe you that you fall not c. What need wee then bee afraid of the pestilence that flyeth by day or of the sword that roareth abroad in the night season If wee dwell in the tabernacle of the most high and abide under the shadow of his wings no evill shall come neare us for he hath a hooke for the nostrels and a bridle for the lips of thē that rise against us They may come out one way against us but they shall fly seaven waies before us for hee is a mighty King that leadeth us and who hath wrastled with him at any time and beene victorious Let us not feare then what man can do unto us Men are Kings but none can say that hee is the King except God alone It is true indeed Kings are called Gods and as S. Basill telleth us a King is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a visible God but God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an invisible King Yet that is true of all these Kings which David telleth us I have said ye are Gods and the sonnes of the most high yet ye shall die like men And ye Princes shall perish as well as others It is neither their state glory pompe nor authority that can redeeme their soules from the grave Nam Principes Imperatores Reges saith S. Gregory imo Imperia Principatus regna paulatim senescunt aegrotant concidunt What need we then be afraid of man or of the sonnes of men whose breath is but in their nostrells they can but kill the body But let us feare the Lord in our heart for when hee hath killed the body he can cast both soule and body into hel fire where their worme shall not die and their fire shall not goe out againe Now having spoken this concerning the kingdome of God wee must come now to these titles and attributes by which hee describeth this kingdome And from consideration whereof hee laboureth to give us arguments and assurance of audience at the hands of God The titles are three Power Glory and Eternity First then hee saith that Gods kingdome is a kingdome of power Wee must know that the power of God is taken many severall wayes in Scripture First for the essentiall propertie of God which being in himselfe is himselfe and of him and from him communicated to the creature giveth unto it an essence beeing power and force of action to do whatsoever hee doth and this essentiall propertie is common to the Father with the Sonne and the holy Ghost Secondly it is taken for Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity 1 Cor. 1.24 To them that are called as well of the Iewes as of the Gentiles wee preach Iesus Christ the power and wisdome of God Thirdly it signifieth the Ghospell of Jesus and the word of the Evangell Rom. 1.16 I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation to every beleeving soule But here by the word power is understood that all-sufficient omnipotencie which being in God is God and by him maketh all things to bee which are And as all power is in him Tanquam in capite so is all power from him tanquam à fonte This our Saviour acknowledged when hee told Pilate Thou couldest have no power over