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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38823	The Gospel treasury opened, or, The holiest of all unvailing discovering yet more the riches of grace and glory to the vessels of mercy unto whom onely it is given to know the mysteries of that kingdom and the excellency of spirit, power, truth above letter, forms, shadows / in several sermons preached at Kensington & elswhere by John Everard ; whereunto is added the mystical divinity of Dionysius the Areopagite spoken of Acts 17:34 with collections out of other divine authors translated by Dr. Everard, never before printed in English.	Everard, John, 1575?-1650?; Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.; Barker, Matthew, 1619-1698.	1657 (1657)	Wing E3531; ESTC R29421	513,595	936

for present I conclude and commit you all to the Lord and to the word of his Grace Farewell Where Christ FEEDETH AND RESTETH CANT 1. 7. Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the stocks of thy companions In two Sermons preached for Mr. Hodges at the publick meeting place at Highgate in the Forenoon THIS Text may well be called the request of a fair Lady to her dearly beloved Lord it is clear it is so for though she complains of her self in the verse before my Text that she is black the Sun hath looked upon her yet in the verse following my Text he sayes That to him she is the fairest among women and she cannot be so forward in requesting any thing at his hands as he is ready to accommodate her if she desire to have her name written in the palms of his hands he will do more he will set her as a Signet upon his heart as you may perceive in reading over this Book this Lord here spoken of is such a Lord whose judgment when you know him you cannot disallow for it is Christ Jesus the Lord of life and death and this Lady is the Spouse of this Lord viz. the Congregation or the body of this Saints and Servants and wonder not that I call her a fair Lady for though we see it not yet He her Lord says she is all fair and there is no spot in her And I tell you if we would see the beauty of the Church we must not look upon any one particular member for then we can never say she is all fair ye shall see many spots many wrinkles in them but if you look upon the whole Church then she is all Fair that is the compleat body together As any one species the excellency thereof cannot be known by any one Individual as in a horse the best that is though he may excell in one and many things yet he may want something that is excellent in another if he have strength yet he may want comliness if one have comliness he may want swiftness c. but take all together and then you may judge of the species of a horse and so of a man or any other kind it is a vain thing to judge of the perfections of a man by any one m●n one is comely of body another is comely in mind if one be diligent another is wise so if you look upon the whole kind of man and the excellencies of all men put together I say look upon him outwardly inwardly then you must needs say he is a glorious Creature a rare workmanpiece So O Lord Christ wherewilt thou shew us where shall we find that beautiful one thou speakest of that is Altogether fair that is Tota pulchraces amica mea if we look upon any one Member but take the religion of one and the charity of another the zeal of another the faith of another the patience of another and go through the whole body and look upon these as a compleat body and then thou mayest say truly Tota pulchraes amica mea c. There is no spot in thee Thou art all fair my Love And if any one man or member shall claim this beauty to himself except it be as he stands in relation to the body he claims a lye for if ye will claim this Perfection ye must look upon The whole body both all below upon Earth and all that are in Heaven all that ever were and all that are and all that ever shall be and adde to them Christ the head of all then we shall confess that as she requests him not to look upon her as black in any one member so he answers her and acknowledgeth that she is all Fair. This Text then is a request of a fair Lady to her dear espoused Lord whom he hath was●t and purified with his own blood I hope be that is the weakest the meanest in religion will not imagine this Sons to be a Dialogue between two carnal Lovers or as Solomon and his wife complementing together if ye consider them so they are but the e●crements of flesh and blood and they shall perish with them But whereto then shall I liken these songs of the Canticles They are like those three Tabern●cle● that the Disciples would have made when Christ was transfigured one for Moses one for Elias and one for Christ. 1 One for Moses and for his Law that is for the legal and civil life 2 The second Tabernacle is like the Book of Ecclesias●es and the Proverbs leading a man above this life when it condemns this civil legal life reprehending whatsoever is in man as man as wisdom strength power and what ever power there is in him to act and to bring any thing to pass 3 But the third Tabernacle may well be called The Holy of Holies and such is this namely this Book of the Canticles Here Christ answers his Spouse familiarly face to face even in the silence of thunder as it is in Psal. 81. 7. there he calls it the silence of thunder and yet what is more ●ud then thunder the meaning is that to that soul to whom God speaks it is as loud to him as thunder but to them that stand by it is silence and secret wispering because they hear not the voyce of Christ. Beloved this Book is a Mystical Divine High-flown Book the things herein contained are not fit for every ear to hear lest the dead Flie as Solomon saith corrupt this precious oyntment Let the flesh abuse it and turn it to fleshly liberty and for this end the Jews would not suffer their children to read this Book lest the wantonness of flesh should make them abuse it but I hope well of you that you are better instructed so that you will not abuse this Scripture to your own destruction as the Apostle saith Charity bids me judge the best I go on propound them as to the immaculate Spouse of her dear Lord. Ye may observe in the words yet rather for memory then order sake four things 1 The first is her Request Tell me she is in a doubt and cannot be satisfied therefore she desires to be taught 2 The Adjuration or the Poise or weight she hangs upon her request it is not slight weak cold or perfunctory but she is violent in her request follows him with strong arguments Oh thou whom my soul loveth she offers violence to the Kingdom of God to say the truth she doth as it were commit a Rape upon the Kingdome of God 3 The Matter of her Request and that is double she would know where he feeds where he rests at noon 4 The Reason of all this why she would be taught where he rests and where he feeds for why should I be as those that

pious and precious proverb All things must be comprehended and keep Sabbath there must be no going up no running out nor no work done Seeing God desires not Our works but Our Sabbath and that himself in us Free and None Hindring him a MASTER and a GOD may Work Know Love Praise Pray Hear Crown and Reward HIMSELF in us Beloved without all doubt this is the ONE and Onely thing that pleaseth him And he commands All Flesh that in Divine matters it never Stir it self or desire any thing And therefore it is that I in this Book have Robbed man of all and Rejected him with all his Best Ware and most Precious Riches that he had in Divine businesses viz. Of all his Will Knowledge Wisdom Goodness All these must we Unlearn from all these must we Fast and keep Holy-day as from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil from whence Death is eaten And therefore there is in Heaven meer Peace Gladness Felicity as where there are Eternal Sabbaths and no Will but Gods Will Light Knowledge Art Wisdom in all his Saints whereby he doth Illustrate and Enlighten them And Christians do pray in the Lords Prayer that the same thing may be upon earth and that the will of God may be there done as it is in Heaven where no man Doth Wills Knows Speakes any thing but God who will have and in Christ hath Appointed this Sabbath also upon Earth This God grant unto us all Amen A most clear Glass and lovely Example of our Lord Iesus Christ which as he practised in himself so he propounded unto us to be followed and it may serve for an EPILOGUE or Perclose of this Book out of the 106 page of Iohn Taulerus his Works printed at Colen in Folio 1548. VVHosoever desireth to order his life according to the most Acceptable will of God and to be Partaker of his grace without any impediment ought warily to look into this Instruction following of the life of Christ which containeth all good things and to express it in his life and conversation Therefore every good and religious Christian ought in all things and above all things a●d at all times with all the strength of his soul in all his thoughts words and works purely to love and intend for God who is the eternal happiness and blessedness of all men as his own Portion which that he may the better do he shall most strictly observe himself within and in silence hear● what the Lord saith within him and avoiding all Imployments and Multiplicity he shall rest with God in unity He shall Shut up all his Senses in quietness Continually Praying and Calling upon God His eye being Fixt on him in all his actions He shall enjoy His Presence in every place time and thing He shall be A perpetual inhabitant of himself and shall Especially love Truth of heart and peace of conscience He shall be milde and Humble in heart as well as in word and be Divine and God-like in his life and conversation Taking Patiently All things at the hand of God He shall Praise Thank Honour and intend him in all his works He shall be always Endued with a certain humble Abnegation ordering of himself to what God wils shall submit himself not only to God but to All creatures avoiding those hateful vices Pride Envy Wrath and Arrogancy Moreover perpetually considering and marking the Goodness and Perfection of God He shall wonder and be astonished at the great love and faithfulness of God toward him and contrariwise at his own Unthankfulness and Infidelity judging himself from his heart The Least and Unworthiest of all men He shall more diligently take heed of his own Sense Estimation and of all the wickedness of his nature neither shall he think More of Himself then he hath from or of Himself which is indeed Nothing He shall alwayes take in hand a certain New life and exercise himself in New virtue and in New Truth He shall be Sober and Sparing in words but Plentiful in Holiness of life and shall desire to be Left and Despised of all men as men He shall much weigh Small sins and shall think The least defect not light He shall take so great care of Himself that he be never frustrated of the presence of God in his soul and that other men may be by him provoked to better things he shall do all his works in the most Perfect manner and shall Satisfie those things which he comprehends in his understanding He shall by his good will do nothing in this life to repent of hereafter He shall have In daily Adversity either within him or without him perpetual patience and in continual Multiplicity A Recollected mind he shall not 〈◊〉 either to Have or to Will any thing Proper in this world but be ready to distribute to others wants nor to have any Election o● Choise in things but receive thankfully The goodwill of His Father in every thing He shall admit nothing within himself but God continually He shall diligently Eschew and withdraw himself from all men as men and shall preserve himself Naked and Free from all Inwardly-received Images and his soul Untangled from all Accidents whatsoever that he may continually receive The Influence of His Heavenly Father into his soul. He shall often behold and Exercise himself in the Most worthy Life and Example of our Lord Jesus Christ As in a glass considering well How like or unlike He is unto Him and He shall in himself give an Ensample and Testimony to all men Of A Better life then This He shall be True in all his words Religious and Mature in His conversation He shall contemplate His beginning and Original From whence He and All things flowed forth and shall Strive with all diligence To return into the same again Finally tending diligently What He is whether He Ought what He Doth and for What cause he doth every thing and shall most constantly persevere in virtue and truth even unto Death And all this not by any power of his own but by Christ He alone Working all these things in him and not Himself nor Any His own Industry or Acquiring Another short Instruction taken from the same place in Iohn Taulerus his works pa. 107. VVE shall most certainly Attain The Various and Numerous exercises of this Book yea whatsoever can be written of a Perfect and Divine-like Life viz. by this means if we withdraw our selves from the love of all frail and mortal things if we study to attain an humble Resignation and inward Nakedness and embrace Onely God by faith and love in the bosom of our souls and hide our selves wholly with our Souls Spirit Body Heart and Senses in his Most Holy Humanity and labour by a certain lively imitation to become comformable thereunto and Finally by His life and merits Inhere and cleave continually and perpetually to his Divinity Who●oever is enabled by Jesus Christ to do These things doth doubtless Obtain all

such that it minds higher things then to tell Stories and relate Histories but he would thereby set out to us The picture of our selves and of his own workings in us And this is divine the other is but Humane it is but bare and empty base and carnal in comparison of the spiritual and living sense But herein lies the very wisdom and power and footsteps of God The very finger of God This we have spoken by way of prologue that so we might bring you to converse and to have your eyes within and upon your own hearts while we are opening unto you the Scriptures then will your hearts burn within you And I pray God that he would be pleased to shew you These things in your selves so that he may thereby so warm your hearts that they may make them burn within you even while He himself opens these Scriptures to you and in you The smiting of this Kiriathsepher is the smiting of the Letter we must st●ike this Letter this Scripture and take it and then we shall have Honos the gift or reward there is no getting of Achsah to wife without the Smiting this Kiriathsepher and Taking it you your selves must be the Othniels But it must be a Caleb a good heart that must make a proclamation in you encourage and put you on to this work You must know this Self can never smite this Letter If you smite it for your own ends for your own carnal advantages or for your own liberty there is enough would so smite the Letter as S. Paul saith to abuse their liberty by Jesus Christ to the satisfying of the flesh this is nothing but the Devils and Satans smiting and taking the Letter for flesh and the old man wisheth there were no Law to rule and bridle it this is not an Othniels nor a Calebs smiting and taking but this is our selves this is not to strike it in Christs Name but in our Own names and then we shall never marry Aschsah He that rightly strikes the City of the Letter Shall have Achsah to wife observe hence That we may have the Scriptures and yet not marry Achsah we may be very conversant with and dayly use the Scriptures and yet never marry Achsah never possess the Rending of the Vail Oh Brethren know this for certain we may be bred and born with the Scriptures live and dye with the Scriptures rise and go to bed with the Scriptures Eat and drink with the Scriptures they may be alwayes in our hands and alwayes in use insomuch that we may be able to give account of the whole Bible by heart and yet not marry Achsah and yet this rock yeeld no water to quench our thirst and all because we read them as a History as things done long ago without us and not at present doing in us Moses might have stood long enough looking at the Rock Till he had fainted for thirst if he had not smote the Rock So the reason why we get no milk from the breasts of consolation as the Prophet Esay saith it is because we force them not we milk it not forth but he that striketh the Letter of the Word shall have the interpretation thereof given to him Obj. But it may be you may say to me But hath not God given us this Letter of the Word for our rule the which he hath been pleased to keep and preserve in all Ages and hath brought them to our hands and so to our Posterities and have not many Authors spent their labours and written whole volumes upon This very Word on the Letter of it and will you say there is nothing in it or will you say the Letter kills What hath God given us poison in the Scriptures to destroy us then it were far better to neglect them and never use them Answ. No Beloved far be it from me to say so yet I would have you rightly understand me for your own sakes The Letter the Scriptures are all True as I said before but let me tell you withal they are true onely as God means them We must give him leave To interpret his own meaning He that w●ote the Scriptures certainly knows best His own mind in them but I say if you have Onely the Letter Nay though ye have the external signification of them that kills that destroyes But you will say Is the Letter is the Book written in black Letters is it then Evil If so then let us Throw away the Letter if God hath given us therein poison to kill us then what do we with it let us throw away our Bibles nay let us burn our Bibles No in no case let us labour to preserve the Lette● of the Word whole entire and untouched But The Letter is said to kill not that it doth so in its own nature but per accidens it is so to him who looks no farther then the Letter we make it so to our selves A killing Letter As if suppose I should give you a Cockle or an Oyster and I should tell you Take this for therein is precious meat to sustain and nourish you Now if you take this and keep it by you and never crack the shell that so you may come at the meat and the vertue whi●h is in it I may say now the s●ell kills you for if you onely look on the shells and lie Licking the outside onely will this nourish will this give life certainly no but if you crack it and open it and eat the meat this will nourish● yet I may justly and truly say This Cogal or These Oysters kill you because you depend upon That which will starve and undo you But The meat that gives life So in the same sense is it spoken concerning the Word The Letter kills but the Spirit gives life If you be alwayes handling the Letter of the Word alwayes licking the Letter alwayes chewing upon that what great things do you no marvel you are such starvelings no marvel you thrive not no marvel you are such Monsters alwayes children and never come to any grow●th no marvel you go not on To perfection what do you in this more then every carnal man may do what do you more then Hypocrities Do not Hypocrities the same nay do not the Devils the same For he knows the Letter exactly and he can discourse excellently thereof far beyond the learnedst Rabby in the World but I say then if you rest onely in the Letter That kills except this Letter be crakt except this City Kiriathsepher be smitten and taken ye cannot come at the kernel ye cannot have Achsah Calebs daughter Though the Letter contain in it Life and nourishment as the Oyster-shell doth the Oyster and as the shell of the Cocal doth the meat and ye cannot have the Oyster without the shell Yet you see you cannot have the meat neither without you crack and break the shell As for instance If you give me Beef or Mutton there

and hath dispensed withal but Never did nor Never will dispence with the Spiritual part He gave Abraham a Command to kill his son and had not he Really intended it h● had sinned And God commanded the Israelite to rob the Egyptians to borrow their Jewels of silver and gold and raiment and to spoil the Egyptians but never did he dispence with any man Nor never will To rob His God to rob God of his honour and his praise Will Any man Rob His God Mal. 3. 8. And therefore in all the Commandments Content not thy self with the letter of the Command Because for all that thou mayest go to hell But if God shall bring thee to ob●erve the marrow the inside of the Commandment This is done by the power of God himself in thee And he that can keep that I dare assure him He shall never perish neither in this world nor in the world to come For the Spirit is All in All And I may in brief touch at the spirituality of the ninth Commandment For the time is so far spent and my own ability to speak that I must leave the tenth to some other time And But that I made haste I would have spoken more largely to some of the former but according to that impulse of the spirit within at this present you have had my thoughts Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour The letter of it is against thy neighbour which I say still must not be neglected yet not rested in The spirit of it is That we should not bear false witness of God Thou professest thy self to be a Christian and a servant A child to God and that he is Thy Lord Thy master Thy father Thy God Thou being one of his houshold thou shouldst labour To Credit and Honour Him to whom thou belongest To report to the world in our lives and conversation the Holiness and Purity of our God and our father Because He is Holy and Pure And loveth righteousness and Hateth iniquity And so all his servants ought to do Thereby to bear True witness to the world of our God for else they will say as the proverb is Like servant like Master like Child like Father If you live otherwise you break this Ninth Command And bear false witness to the world of thy Holy and Pure God In all these I have taken the more pains that so you may see that when you have learned a Catechism or the Bible by Heart or that you are able to answer or speak to any point in Divinity acording to the Letter and the Grammatical Sense and have got The letter of it without Book Nay have gotten the external part in your practise and conversation yet you have not gotten The Substance The Life and the Marrow you have but attained onely The Shell and the Husk and not the Meat nor the Kernel So then by this time I hope you are come to see How this letter must be struck How this City Kiriathsepher must be smitten and taken if we mean to marry Achsah and then that is the way to make it unto us Debir that is The Word for it is never The word unto Us before As you may see in the Verse before my Text. This City before it was smitten it was called Kiriathsepher The City of the Letter but when it was smitten and taken then it was no longer Kiriathsepher The City of the Letter but i● was called Debir The Word for then it was the word and never before For this Book of the Bible As it consists of Words Syllables and Letters Is not the Word of God It is not nor cannot be the Word of God without the Mind and Meaning till it be smitten till the shell be crackt For the Word is A Spring shut up a Fountain sealed for as it is in my reading it that reading it makes it not the Word of God onely the reading makes them words and they are not words as they are written o● p●inted till one read them and make them words and syllables for in no Book whatsoever is there One word or syllable till they be read and that makes them words And if a Book be written or printed in English Hebrew or French c. It is the knowledge of him that reads makes them words For if an ignorant man look on them they are nothing So the Scriptures when they are read they are made words yet still the mind and the mysterie lies hid though the external sense be understood And The Acquired Natural parts will Reach This sense but the true and Hidden Sense the Natural man cannot come at As the Apostle saith The natural man perceiveth not the things of God for they are foolishness unto him neither indeed can he because they are spiritually discerned And besides if the natural man should perceive the things of God they are riddles they are foolishness to him they are wisdom onely to those that are perfect to those onely that are immediately taught of God so then it is clear this book of the Letter must not onely be read but Smitten by Othniel before you can find Gods Word For Gods Word as it is his Word is not for every eye to read but onely for those to whom it is Given as our Saviour sayes in another case To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God but to them it is not given because in seeing they see not and in hearing hear not neither do they understand They have not received power from on high to smite it as Moses the rock to get out the pure water of life clear as chrystal proceeding from the Throne of God and of the Lamb Rev. 22. 1. T is not that Water or that sense that proceeds from the Universities or any the acquired parts or powers of Man but it must be freely given out by God himself and seldome to the learned Scribes and Pharisees or to the great Princes of the World but to the despised to the Off-scourings to poor Fishermen and the like that the Creature might be convinced that the power is of God and not in the wisdom of Men as the Apostle expresseth 1 Cor. 2. For this book of the Bible is But the Letter to the eye and to the ear But Gods Word that lies hid There must be a word to the heart And the Heart of stone must be removed and a Heart of flesh given We must buy of him eye-salve that we may see before we can be acquainted with Gods Word Gods Word is not Inke and Paper written or printed but Gods Word is as the Apostle saith Heb. 4. 12. Quick and powerfull sharper then a two-edged sword It is not the dull and dead letter That giveth Life which we see by experience in most even those that think themselves Doctors and Teachers and think they know all things And so indeed to them instead of

loves God he knows him to be so full and satisfying that he never need make him more gods he knows that if the world were ten thousand times larger and pleasanter then it is he knows that God he is so full that he is sufficient for all neither can he make Images to worship them nor to put him in remembrance of him for he hath an apprehension of him beyond all manner of Images the whole Creation is a glasse to him he knows no Image can resemble him as God said to Moses Thou shalt make no image for ye saw no Image since the day I brought you out of Egypt And if he love him can he swear and blaspheme and prophane his name and can he if he love him grudge him one day in seven yea rather he wishes that God had taken seven to himself and given him but one Examine your selves by these things Is the seal of your external love a witness of your internal love it is true God is worshipped in spirit in truth and his love must be shed abroad in our hearts invisibly first but yet that love never rests there but it is like Aarons Rod a budding Rod or else thou art not fit to be a Priest to God if thy Rod be not a budding Rod be not deceived God is not mocked Except this tree put out some fruit some leaves it is dead and there is no sap or life in it for God hath not left himself without witness so that you see if there be not this love in the heart and expressed in the life conversation there can be no acceptance with God thou must come to him under this title O thou whom my soul loveth not as a Mercenary for gain or reward or for what advantage thou shalt get by him but for love to him not to his not as a Servant but as a Son No● for fear neither but for love to him Many Beloved can come to God under this title O thou whom my body loveth thou givest me health thou givest me wealth thou givest me wisdom thou givest me a good report this is but O thou whom my body loves But this O thou whom my soul loves this proceeds forth from him that is invisible generally most men fix their eyes upon the visible blessings of God and they are much in prayer to God for them but know he regards none of these prayers but when his Son in whom he is well pleased when he prays he hears him alwayes but if any other prayes he regards it not Ye pray and it may be daily Thy will be done but yet saith the Husbandman O let me have a good year of increase and the Merchant he prays Thy will be done too but saith he O let the wind blow right for me to send home my shipping and the Tradesman he prays Thy will be done but saith he I desire store of customers to day and good takings what prayers are these think you what submission is here to the will of God mind thy own duty leave the success to him From whence do you think come these prayers O give me my health again O give me my wealth again O give my children again come these from Christ thinkest thou are these his prayers in thee or come they not from the flesh O let my flesh be well housed let my flesh be well clad let my flesh be well provided for away away God is deaf he can hear none of these prayers these blessings he gives promiscuously to every man these do not at all declare Gods love for he as often or oftner gives them where he hates as where he loves These are goods that a man may do good with but the other are goods that make a man good if thou dost good with them coming from this ground from love to Christ within they are acceptable even the least of them but if thou dost never so much good with them without this doing them to be seen of men or for any other by-end then verily ye have your reward ye did them to be seen of men ye are seen of men ye did them that men might think well of you and they do think well of you verily I say unto you you have your reward As the Lord said to the rich Glutton Son thou hadst thy portion in thy life time now he is comforted and thou art tormented Examine thy self do thy prayers come from this root O thou whom my body loves O thou whom my flesh loves or O thou whom my Soul loves for my body for my flesh then it is all one search thy soul diligently● for the day of the Lord will come and burn up all our deeds all our actions all our dross it will try out the gold the gold will not consume but be more refined but all that is hay and stubble and dross and such like stuff wrought but by the power of the creature and by the power of man even all mens Religion and their religious actions and whatever is of man shall be burnt up for ever Where Christ FEEDETH And where his Flock RESTETH CANT 1. 7. Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions Preached in the Afternoon for Mr. Hodges in the publick meeting-place at High-gate I Told you in the morning that we must not imagine this Book of the Canticles to contain any idle reverence and foolish wanton complements between a man and his wife on whom they either doted but the expressions of entire vehement love between the Lord Christ his dear Spouse Beloved this is the Eternal Everlasting sense the other is but the Letter which is nothing nor may we look upon them as the Dialogue between Solomon and his wife for what are they to us they are dead gone Though the whole Book of the Canticles be in appearance but an Epithalamion or a Love-song between Solomon and Pharaoh● daughter his wife and consequently may seem to rellish nothing but of sensual love and the effects thereof carnal enjoyments yet know this is but the chaff that covers the corn And herein by these expressions the true Solomons face is vailed as was Moses his face by his vail because we are not able otherwise to behold him Therefore still when ever you hear or read the Scriptures seek to have the Book unclapsed and the seals opened for as it lies printed or written in the Letter it is both clapsed sealed walled about and though it be a fountain yet it is walled about by the Letter none see the meaning save onely they to whom it is given And where-ever you see the Letter speaks rest not in that but look for One greater for behold a greater then Solomon is here Mat. 12. 42. when the

Ghost In them for all Scripture was given by inspiration 2 Tim. 3. 16. after they were once set apart by God to write the holy Scriptures they all spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost as Dan. 12. 4. God commands Daniel Shut up the words and seal the Book even till the time of the end These holy men being once set apart for this use they prophesie Beyond themselves and out of course and latter and after-times shall make known that which they themselves which wrote them knew not for they spake as inspired by God but Christs words are alwayes absolute and perfect truth he knew and saw very well what he said there is nothing useless in his words there is no Tautologies as we call them no vain repetitions when Christ speaks they are words of weight words of power they carry vertue with them as for instance if ever the winds blow and the storms arise in thy soul Then thou shalt find experimentally and feelingly that One word from Christs mouth will do thee more good then all the words and all the power of men To Still those winds and storms those who have experience here of know it full well as we see when the ship was like to be Overcome by the winds and storms and Christ was asleep you may see there how One word from him Ceased them No more but Peace and be still and t is the same in the soul and Psal. 107. 29. He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still These words we have now read All power is given to me in heaven and earth They signifie that Christ is God equal with the Father but there seems to be a great difficulty in the words in that Christ never said before he was ready to leave the earth All power is given unto me in he●ven and earth The question is What power had Christ now committed to him that he had not before what new power received he that when he was to leave the earth and had given his Disciples a Commission and it was to be sealed at the day of Pentecost that he should say now and never before All power is given me in heaven and earth what addition of power had he now which he had not before if he be God equal with his Father and he saith many times The Father hath committed all judgement to the Son and again Before Abraham was I am and many such like words which shews he is God and of Equal power and Authority with his Father and yet he saith in the 14 of Iohn The Father is greater then I Can God receive any new Access of power No certainly but these words are so hard and difficult to reconcile that in the daies of Arius it filled the Church full of Errors and Heresies the Church fell much at Odds for many from hence denied the Divinity of Christ because they could not reconcile these Scriptures And by the way if he be Lord of all power then he leaves none for man to claim to himself But that I may answer this doubt and make it clear I will lay down two grounds First Although God receive no new power in himself yet he doth receive power by being made further known unto man And Secondly By mans being made further known unto him First By his being made further known unto man the revealing and discovering of God unto man making himself more known the manifestation of this is said To Adde power to him but not That any thing can be added to him who is infinite if there could he were not infinite and He were not God But know this whatever attribute God hath ascribed to him it is in regard of his creatures not in regard of himself for there are no such things in God Neither in regard of his incommunicable or communicable Attributes as Eternity Infiniteness Omnipotency Immensness c. Or in regard of his communicable as Wisdome Iustice and Mercy and Patience c. as if these were several things in God for God is One and cannot be more for when he is said to be any of these Iust or Good or Severe or the like these are all One and the same thing in him they are but Attributed to him that we may conceive of him it is but spoken of him according to the several workings of God on the creatures As for instance the Sun makes the Ro●e to smel sweet and pleasant and it makes the Nettle to sting it makes the fields to grow and cast a Pleasant savour but it makes the Carrion and the Dunghil to stink and all this variety is by one and the self-same Sun the same light and heat doth divers things causes divers effects in the subjects Says the Rose it makes me fragrant and sweet and says the Dung-hill but it makes me stink and be unsavoury says the Wax it makes me soft and pliable but says the clay it makes me hard and obdurate yet the Sun doth not do one thing to one and another thing to another Even so Beloved it is with our God One man He finds God A comfort and a rejoycing to his heart another he finds God A Terror and an Amazement to him One he finds God A sweet guide and direction to him and thereby and therefore he draws nearer to God loveth and embraceth him Another apprehends God an enemy to him and this makes him run away from God Is God therefore thus various no no He is the self-same God to the One and to the Other and the self-same action in him is to the One and to the other He that is a Hammer to the Hard heart he is also mollifying and softning Oyl to the Penitent soul He that is A comfort to the fatherless and widow he is as an Enemy A Revenger and a consuming fire to the obstinate and rebellious And yet for all this Our God is always the same he is not nor cannot be changed in him is no shadow of change And therefore we cannot imagine that he can grow greater or less in regard of himself but as To us he doth that is if he manifest himself more to us more within us in our souls then he is said to be greater and if he lessen the knowledge of himself As to us then he is said to grow less And in this sense also he is said to come nearer to us and go further from us As also he is said so to do when he expresses as to us more or less some act of justice or mercy or any other artribute then I say he is onely said to be so in regard of us To grow greater or less to come nearer or depart further but He in himself is for ever blessed and perfect Unchangeable Immoveable always the same we can no way Touch him or Alter him but it is onely We the Creature is Altered and he is altered to us as to