concern without appointment and pattern than Moses a servant ver 5.6 It seems to be a vote of nature to referr the Original of the modes of all worship to God and therefore in all those varieties of Ceremonies among the Heathens there was scarce any but were imagin'd by them to be the Dictates and Orders of some of their pretended Deities and not the resolves of meer Humane Authority What intrusion upon God's right hath the Papacy made in regard of Officers Cardinals Patriarchs c. not known in any Divine Order In regard of Ceremonies in worship prest as necessary to obtain the favour of God Holy-water Crucifixes Altars Images Cringings reviving many of the Jewish and Pagan Ceremonies and adopting them into the Family of Christian Ordinances as if God had been too absolute and arbitrary in repealing the one and dashing in peices the other When God had by his Soveraign order fram'd a Religion for the heart men are ready to usurp an Authority to frame one for the sence to dress the Ordinances of God in new and gaudy habits to take the eye by a vain pomp thus affecting a Divine Royalty and acting a silly childishness and after this to impose the observation of those upon the Consciences of men is a bold ascent into the Throne of God To impose Laws upon the Conscience which Christ hath not imposed hath deservedly been thought the very Spirit of Antichrist It may be call'd also the Spirit of Anti-God God hath reserv'd to himself the sole Soveraignty over the Conscience and never indulg'd men any part of it he hath not given man a power over his own Conscience much less one man a power over another's Conscience Men have a power over outward things to do this or that where it is determined by the Law of God but not the least Authority to controul any dictate or determination of Conscience The sole Empire of that is appropriate to God as one of the great marks of his Royalty What an usurpation is it of God's right to make Conscience a slave to man which God hath solely as the father of Spirits subjected to himself An usurpation which though the Apostles those extraordinary Officers might better have claim'd yet they utterly disown'd any imperious dominion over the faith of others 2 Cor. 1.24 Though in this they do not seem to climb up above God yet they set themselves in the Throne of God envy him an absolute Monarchy would be sharers with him in his Legislative power and grasp one end of his Scepter in their own hands They do not pretend to take the Crown from Gods head but discover a bold ambition to shuffle their hairy Scalps under it and wear part of it upon their own that they may rule with him not under him And would be joint Lords of his Mannour with him who hath by the Apostle forbidden any to be Lords of his Heritage 1 Pet. 5.3 And therefore they cannot assume such an Authority to themselves till they can shew where God hath resign'd this part of his Authority to them If their Exposition of that place Matth. 16.18 Vpon this rock I will build my Church be granted to be true and that the person and Successors of Peter are meant by that Rock it could be no Apology for their Usurpations 't is not Peter and his Successors shall build but I will build others are instruments in building but they are to observe the directions of the grand Architect 3. The Soveraignty of God is contemned when men prefer Obedience to mens Laws before Obedience to God As God hath an undoubted right as the Law-giver and Ruler of the World to enact Laws without consulting the pleasure of men or requiring their consent to the verifying and establishing his Edicts so are men oblig'd by their Allegiance as subjects to observe the Laws of their Creator without consulting whither they be agreeable to the Laws of his revolted Creatures To consult with Flesh and Blood whither we should obey is to Authorize Flesh and Blood above the purest and most soveraign spirit When men will obey their superiors without taking in the condition the Apostle prescribes to Servants Col. 3.22 In singleness of heart fearing God and post-pone the fear of God to the fear of man 't is to render God of less power with them than the drop of a Bucket or dust of the Ballance When we out of fear of punishment will observe the Laws of Men against the Laws of God 't is like the Egyptians to Worship a ravenous Crocodile instead of a Deity when we submit to humane Laws and stagger at Divine 't is to set man upon the Throne of God and God at the footstool of man to set man above and God beneath to make him the tail and not the head as God speaks in another case of Israel Deut. 28.13 When we pay an outward observation to Divine Laws because they are backt by the Laws of Man and humane Authority is the motive of our observance we subject Gods soveraignty to Mans Authority what he hath from us is more owing to the pleasure of men than any value we have for the Empire of God When men shall commit Murders and imbrue their hands in blood by the order of a Grandee when the worst sins shall be committed by the order of Papal dispensations When the use of his Creatures which God hath granted and sanctifi'd shall be abstain'd from for so many days in the week and so many weeks in the year because of a Roman Edict the Authority of man is acknowledg'd not only equal but superior to that of God The dominion of dust and clay is preferr'd before the undoubted right of the soveraign of the World The Commands of God are made less than humane and the orders of men more authoritative than Divine and a grand Rebels usurpation of Gods right is countenanced When men are more devout in observance of uncertain Traditions or meer humane inventions than at the hearing of the unquestionable Oracles of God When men shall squeeze their countenances into a more serious figure and demean themselves in a more religious posture at the appearance of some mock Ceremony clothed in a Jewish or Pagan garb which hath unhappily made a rent in the Coat of Christ and pay a more exact reverence to that which hath no Divine but only a humane stamp upon it than to the clear and plain Word of God which is perhaps neglected with sleepy nodds or which is worse entertain'd with prophane scoffs this is to prefer the Authority of man employ'd in trifles before the Authority of the wise Law-giver of the World Besides the ridiculousness of it is as great as to adore a Glo-worm and laugh at the Sun or for a Courtier to be more exact in his cringes and starcht postures before a puppet than before his soveraign Prince In all this we make not the Will and Authority of God our rule but the
tendency to despoil God of his honour and our selves of the spiritual intentness in worship send it away Those that weed a Field of Corn examin not the nature and particular virtues of the Weeds but consider only how they choak the Corn to which the native juyce of the Soil is design'd Consider what you are about and if any thing interpose that may divert you or cool your affections in your present worship cast it out 7. As to private worship let us lay hold of the most melting oportunities and frames When we find our hearts in a more than ordinary spiritual frame let us look upon it as a Call from God to attend him Such impressions and motions are Gods Voice inviting us into communion with him in some particular act of worship and promising us some success in it When the Psalmist had a secret motion to seek Gods face and complied with it * Psal 27.8 the issue is the encouragement of his heart which breaks out into an exhortation to others to be of good courage and wait on the Lord v. 13 14. Wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart wait I say on the Lord. * Reynold's One blow will do more on the Iron when it is hot than a hundred when it is cold Melted Metals may be stampt with any impression but once hardned will with difficulty be brought into the figure we intend 8. Let us examin our selves at the end of every act of worship and chide our selves for any carnality we perceive in them Let us take a review of them and examin the reason why art thou so low and carnal oh my Soul As David did of his disquietedness Psalm 42.5 Why art thou cast down oh my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me If any unworthy frames have surprized us in worship let us seek them out after worship call them to the bar make an exact scrutiny into the causes of them that we may prevent their incursions another time let our pulses beat quick by way of anger and indignation against them This would be a repairing what hath been amiss otherwise they may grow and clogg an after worship more than they did a former Dayly examination is an Antidote against the temptations of the following day and constant examination of our selves after duty is a Preservative against vain encroachments in following duties and upon the finding them out let us apply the blood of Christ by Faith for our Cure and draw strength from the death of Christ for the conquest of them and let us also be humbled for them God lifts up the humble When we are humbled for our carnal frames in one duty we shall find our selves by the Grace of God more elevated in the next A DISCOURSE UPON THE ETERNITY OF GOD. Psalm 90.2 Before the Mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the Earth and the World even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God THE Title of this Psalm is a Prayer The Author Moses Some think not only this but the Ten following Psalms were composed by him The Title wherewith he is dignified is The Man of God as also in Deut. 33.1 One inspir'd by him to be his Interpreter and deliver his Oracles One particularly directed by him * Coccei in Loc. One who as a Servant did diligently employ himself in his Masters business and acted for the Glory of God * Austin in Loc. He was the Minister of the Old Testament and the Prophet of the New There are two parts of this Psalm * Pareus in loc 1. A complaint of the frailty of Mans Life in general verse 3 4 5 6. And then a particular complaint of the condition of the Church v. 8 9 10. 2. A Prayer v. 12. But before he speaks of the shortness of humane life he fortifies them by the consideration of the refuge they had and should find in God v. 1. Lord thou hast been our dwelling place in all Generations We have had no settled abode in the Earth since the time of Abraham's being called out from Vr of the Chaldees We have had Canaan in a promise we have it not yet in possession We have been exposed to the Cruelties of an oppressing Enemy and the incommodities of a desert Wilderness we have wanted the fruits of the Earth but not the dews of Heaven Thou hast been our dwelling place in all Generations Abraham was under thy Conduct Isaac and Jacob under thy Care Their Posterity were multiplied by thee and that under their oppressions Thou hast been our Shield against dangers our security in the times of trouble When we were pursued to the Red-sea it was not a Creature delivered us and when we feared the pinching of our Bowels in the Desert it was no Creature rain'd Manna upon us Thou hast been our dwelling place Thou hast kept open house for us sheltered us against storms and preserved us from mischief as a house doth an Inhabitant from wind and weather and that not in one or two but in all Generations Some think an allusion is here made to the Ark to which they were to have recourse in all emergencies Our refuge and defence hath not been from created things not from the Ark but from the God of the Ark. Observe 1. God is a perpetual refuge and security to his People His Providence is not confin'd to one Generation 't is not one Age only that tastes of his bounty and compassion His eye never yet slept nor hath he suffered the little Ship of his Church to be swallowed up though it hath been tost upon the waves He hath always been an Haven to preserve us a House to secure us He hath alway had compassions to pity us and power to protect us He hath had a Face to shine when the world hath had an angry Countenance to frown * Theodoret in loc He brought Enoch home by an extraordinary translation from a brutish world and when he was resolved to reckon with men for their brutish lives he lodged Noah the Phoenix of the world in an Ark and kept him alive as a spark in the midst of many waters whereby to rekindle a Church in the world In all Generations he is a dwelling place to secure his people here or entertain them above His Providence is not wearied nor his Care fainting He never wanted Will to relieve us For he hath been our refuge Nor ever can want Power to support us for he is a God from everlasting to everlasting The Church never wanted a Pilot to steer her and a Rock to shelter her and dash in pieces the waves which threaten her 2. How worthy is it to remember former benefits when we come to beg for new Never were the Records of Gods mercies so exactly revised as when his people have stood in need of new Editions of his Power How necessary are our wants to stir us up to pay the rent
was so as that he never began Is to come so as that he never shall end By whom all things are what they are who hath both eternal knowledge to remember our service and eternal goodness to reward It. A DISCOURSE UPON THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD. Psalm 102.26 27. They shall perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old as a Garment as a Vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed But thou art the same and thy years shall have no end THIS Psalm contains a Complaint of a People pressed with a great Calamity some think of the Jewish Church in Babylon others think the Psalmist doth here personate Mankind lying under a state of corruption because he wishes for the coming of the Messiah to accomplish that Redemption promised by God and needed by them Indeed the title of the Psalm is a Prayer of the Afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord Whether afflicted with the sense of corruption or with the sense of oppression And the Redemption by the Messiah which the ancient Church looked upon as the fountain of their Deliverance from a sinful or a servile Bondage is in this Psalm spoken of A set time appointed for the discovery of his mercy to Sion v. 13. An appearance in glory to build up Sion v. 16. The loosing of the Prisoner by Redemption and them that are appointed to Death v. 20. The calling of the Gentiles v. 22. And the latter part of the Psalm wherein are the verse I have read are applied to Christ Heb. 1. Whatsoever the design of the Psalm might be many things are intermingled that concern the Kingdom of the Messiah and Redemption by Christ Some make three parts of the Psalm 1. A Petition plainly delivered v. 1.2 Hear my Prayer oh Lord and let my cry come unto thee c. 2. The Petition strongly and argumentatively enforced and pleaded v. 3. from the misery of the Petitioner in himself and his reproach from his Enemies 3. An acting of Faith in the expectation of an Answer in the general Redemption promised v. 12 13. But thou oh Lord shalt endure for ever thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion The Heathen shall fear thy Name The first part is the Petition pleaded the second part is the Petition answered in an assurance that there should in time be a full deliverance * Pareus The design of the Pen-man is to confirm the Church in the truth of the Divine Promises that though the foundations of the World should be ript up and the Heavens clatter together and the whole Fabrick of them be unpinn'd and fall to pieces the firmest parts of it dissolved yet the Church should continue in its stability because it stands not upon the changeableness of Creatures but is built upon the immutable Rock of the truth God which is as little subject to change as his Essence They shall perish thou shalt change them As he had before ascribed to God the foundation of Heaven and Earth * verse 25. so he ascribes to God here the destruction of them Both the beginning and end of the World are here ascertained There is nothing indeed from the present appearance of things that can demonstrate the cessation of the world The Heaven and Earth stand firm the motions of the heavenly Bodies are the same their beautie is not decayed Individuals corrupt but the Species and Kinds remain The Successions of the Year observe their due order but the Sin of Man renders the change of the present appearance of the world necessary to accomplish the design of God for the glory of his Elect. The Heavens do not naturally perish as some fancied an old age of the world wherein it must necessarily decay as the Bodies of Animals do or that the parts of the Heavens are broken off by their rubbing one against another in their motion and falling to the Earth are the Seeds of those things that grow among us * Plin. Hist lib. 2. cap. 3. The Earth and Heavens He names here the most stable parts of the world and the most beautiful parts of the Creation those that are freest from corruptibility and change to illustrate thereby the Immutability of God that though the Heavens and Earth have a Prerogative of fixedness above other parts of the world and the Creatures that reside below the Heavens remain the same as they were created and the Center of the Earth retains its fixedness and are as beautiful and fresh in their age as they were in their youth many years ago notwithstanding the change of the Elements Fire and Water being often turned into Air so that there may remain but little of that Air which was first created by reason of the continual transmutation yet this firmness of the Earth and Heavens is not to be regarded in comparison of the unmoveableness and fixedness of the Being of God As their beauty comes short of the glory of his Being so doth their firmness come short of his stability Some by Heavens and Earth understand the Creatures which reside in the Earth and those which are in the Air which is called Heaven often in Scripture but the ruin and fall of these being seen every day had been no fit illustration of the unchangeableness of God They shall perish they shall be changed 1. They may perish say some they have it not from themselves that they do not perish but from thee who didst endue them with an incorruptible nature They shall perish if thou speakest the word Thou canst with as much ease destroy them as thou didst create them But the Psalmist speaks not of their possibility but the certainty of their perishing 2. They shall perish in their qualities and motion not in their substance say others They shall cease from that motion which is designed properly for the generation and corruption of things in the Earth but in regard of their substance and beauty they shall remain As when the strings or Wheels of a Clock or Watch are taken off the material parts remain though the motion of it and the use for discovering the time of the day ceaseth * Coccei in loc To perish doth not signify alway a falling into nothing an annihilation by which both the matter and the form are destroyed but a ceasing of the present apearance of them a ceasing to be what they now are as a man is said to perish when he dies whereas the better part of man doth not cease to be The figure of the Body moulders away and the matter of it returns to Dust but the Soul being immortal ceaseth not to act when the Body by reason of the absence of the Soul is uncapable of acting So the Heavens shall perish the appearance they now have shall vanish and a more glorious and incorruptible frame be erected by the power and goodness of God The dissolution of Heaven and Earth is meant by the
new appearance the grace of God hath appeared * Tit. 1.11 6. Proposition A change of Laws by God argues no change in God when God abrogates some Laws which he had setled in the Church and enacts others I spake of this something the last day I shall only add this God commanded one thing to the Jews when the Church was in an infant state and removed those Laws when the Church came to some growth The Elements of the world were suted to the state of Children * Gal. 4.3 A Mother feeds not the Infant with the same diet as she doth when it is grown up Our Saviour acquainted not his Disciples with some things at one time which he did at another because they were not able to bear them Where was the change in Christs Will or in their growth from a state of weakness to that of strength A Physitian prescribes not the same thing to a person in health as he doth to one conflicting with a distemper nor the same thing in the beginning as he doth in the state or declination of the disease The Physicians Will and Skill are the same but the capacity and necessity of the Patient for this or that Medicine or method of proceeding are not the same VVhen God changed the Ceremonial Law there was no change in the Divine Will but an execution of his Will For when God commanded the observance of the Law he intended not the perpetuity of it nay in the Prophets he declares the cessation of it he decreed to command it but he decreed to command it only for such a time so that the abrogation of it was no less an execution of his Decree than the establishment of it for a season was The commanding of it was pursuant to his Decree for the appointing of it and the nulling of it was pursuant to his Decree of continuing it only for such a season So that in all this there was no change in the Will of God The Counsel of God stands sure what changes soever there are in the World are not in God or his Will but in the events of things and the different relations of things to God 'T is in the Creature not in the Creator The Sun alway remains of the same hue and is not discoloured in it self because it shines green through a green Glass and blew through a blew Glass the different colours come from the Glass not from the Sun The change is alway in the disposition of the Creature not in the Nature of God or his Will 5. Vse 1. For Information 1. If God be unchangeable in his Nature and Immutability be a Property of God Then Christ hath a Divine Nature This in the Psalm is applyed to Christ in the Hebrews Heb. 1.11 where he joyns the citation out of this Psalm with that out of Psalm 45.6 7. Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever thou hast loved Righteousness and hated Iniquity therefore God even thy God hath anointed thee with the Oyl of Gladness above thy Fellows and thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the Foundation of the Earth c. As the first must necessarily be meant of Christ the Mediator and therein he his distinguish'd from God as one anointed by him so the other must be meant of Christ whereby he is made one with God in regard of the Creation and Dissolution of the World in regard of Eternity and Immutability Both the Testimonies are linkt together by the Copulative and and thou Lord declaring thereby that they are both to be understood of the same Person the Son of God The design of the Chapter is to prove Christ to be God and such things are spoken of him as could not belong to any Creature no not to the most excellent of the Angels The same Person that is said to be anointed above his Fellows and is said to lay the Foundation of the Earth and Heavens is said to be the same that is the same in himself The Prerogative of sameness belongs to that Person as well as Creation of Heaven and Earth The Socinians say it is spoken of God and that God shall destroy the Heavens by Christ If so Christ is not a meer Creature not created when he was incarnate for the same Person that shall change the World did create the World If God shall change the world by him God also created the world by him He was then before the world was for how could God create the world by one that was not That was not in Being till after the Creation of the world The Heavens shall be changed but the Person who is to change the Heavens is said to be the same or unchangeable in the Creation as well as the Dissolution of of the world This sameness referrs to the whole Sentence * Placeus de deitate Christi The Psalm wherein the Text is and whence this in the Hebrews is cited is properly meant of Christ and Redemption by him and the compleating of it at the last day and not of the Babylonish captivity That captivity was not so deplorable as the state the Psalmist describes Daniel and his Companions flourished in that Captivity It could not reasonably be said of them that their days were consumed like Smoke their heart withered like Grass that they forgot to eat their Bread * as it is V. 3.4 Besides he complains of shortness of Life * V. 11. But none had any more reason to complain of that in the time of the Captivity than before and after it than at any other time Their Deliverance would contribute nothing to the natural length of their lives Besides when Sion should be built the Heathen should fear the Name of the Lord that is worship God and all the Kings of the Earth his Glory * V. 15. The rearing the second Temple after the deliverance did not proselyte the Nations nor did the Kings of the Earth worship the Glory of God nor did God appear in such Glory at the erecting the second Temple The second Temple was less glorious than the first for it wanted some of the Ornaments which were the Glory of the first But it is said of this state * Ver. 16. that when the Lord should build up Sion he should appear in his Glory his proper Glory and extraordinary Glory Now that God who shall appear in Glory and build up Sion is the Son of God the Redeemer of the World He builds up the Church he causes the Nations to fear the Lord and the Kings of the Earth his Glory He broke down the partition Wall and opened a Door for the entrance of the Gentiles He struck the Chains from off the Prisoners and loosed those that were appointed to death by the Curse of the Law * Ver. 20. And to this Person is ascribed the Creation of the World and he is pronounced to remain the same in the midst of an infinite number of changes in
Instruments for the glory of his Justice Isa 10.5 6 7. Thus he served himself of the Ambition and Covetousness of the Assyrians Chaldeans and Romans for the Correction of his People and Punishment of his Rebels Just as the Roman Magistrates used the fury of Lions and other wild Beasts in their Theatres for the Punishment of Criminals The Lions acted their Natural temper in tearing those that were expos'd to them for a Prey but the intent of the Magistrates was to punish their Crimes The Magistrate inspir'd not the Lions with their Rage that they had from their Natures but served themselves of that Natural Rage to execute Justice 3. Gods Wisdom is seen in bringing good to the Creature out of Sin He hath ordered Sin to such an end as Man never dreamt of the Devil never imagin'd and Sin in its own Nature could never attain Sin in its own Nature tends to no good but that of Punishment whereby the Creature is brought into order It hath no relation to the Creatures good in it self but to the Creatures mischief But God by an act of Infinite Wisdom brings good out of it to the Creature as well as glory to his Name contrary to the Nature of the Crime the Intention of the Criminal and the Design of the Tempter God willed Sin that is he willed to permit it that he might communicate himself to the Creature in the most excellent manner He willed the Permission of Sin as an occasion to bring forth the Mystery of the Incarnation and Passion of our Saviour as he permitted the Sin of Josephs Brethren that he might use their Evil to a good end He never because of his Holiness wills Sin as an End but in regard of his Wisdom he wills to permit it as a Means and Occasion And thus to draw good out of those things which are in their own Nature most contrary to Good is the highest pitch of Wisdom 1. The Redemption of Man in so excellent away was drawn from the occasion of Sin The greatest Blessing that ever the World was blest with was usher'd in by Contrarieties by the Lust and irregular Affection of Man the first Promise of the Redeemer by the Fall of Adam Gen. 3.15 and the bruising the heel of that Promised Seed by the blackest Tragedy acted by wicked Rebels the Treachery of Judas and the Rage of the Jews the highest Good hath been brought forth by the greatest Wickedness As God out of the Chaos of rude and indigested Matter framed the first Creation so from the S ns of Men and Malice of Satan he hath erected the Everlasting Scheme of Honour in a New Creation of all things by Jesus Christ The Devil inspir'd Man to content his own fury in the Death of Christ and God order'd it to accomplish his own design of Redemption in the Passion of the Redeemer The Devil had his Diabolical Ends and God over-powers his Action to serve his own Divine ends The Person that betrayed him was admitted to be a Spectator of the most private Actions of our Saviour that his Innocence might be justified to shew that he was not afraid to have his Enemies Judges of his most retir'd Privacies While they all thought to do their own Wills Divine Wisdom orders them to do Gods Will. Acts 2.23 Him being delivered by the determinate Counsel and Fore-knowledge of God you have taken and by wicked hands have Crucified and slain And wherein the Crucifiers of Christ sinned in shedding the richest Blood upon their Repentance they found the expiation of their Crimes and the discovery of a superabundant Mercy Nothing but Blood was aimed at by them The best Blood was shed by them but Infinite Wisdom makes the Cross the Scene of his own Righteousness and the Womb of Mans Recovery By the occasion of Mans Lapsed state there was a way open to raise Man to a more excellent Condition than that whereinto he was put by Creation And the depriving Man of the happiness of an Earthly Paradise in a way of Justice was an occasion of advancing him to a Heavenly Felicity in a way of Grace The Violation of the Old Covenant occasionally introduc'd a better The loss of the first Integrity usher'd in a more stable Righteousness an Everlasting Righteousness Dan. 9.24 And the falling of the First Head was succeeded by one whose standing could not but be Eternal The Fall of the Devil was ordered by Infinite Wisdom for the good of that Body from which he fell 'T is supposed by some that the Devil was the Chief Angel in Heaven the Head of all the rest and that he Falling the Angels were left as a Body without a Head and after he had Politically beheaded the Angels he endeavoured to destroy Man and rout him out of Paradise But God takes the opportunity to set up his Son as the Head of Angels and Men. And thus whilst the Devil endeavoured to spoil the Corporation of Angels and make them a Body contrary to God God makes Angels and Men one Body under one Head for his Service The Angels in losing a defectible Head attained a more excellent and glorious Head in another Nature which they had not before though of a Lower Nature in his Humanity yet of a more glorious Nature in his Divinity From whence many suppose they derive their Confirming Grace and the stability of their standing All things in Heaven and Earth are gathered together in Christ Eph. 1.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All united in him and reduced under one Head That though our Saviour be not properly their Redeemer for Redemption supposeth Captivity yet in some sense he is their Head and Mediator so that now the Inhabitants of Heaven and Earth are but one Family Ephes 3.15 And the Innumerable Company of Angels are parts of that Heavenly and Triumphant Jerusalem and that General Assembly whereof Jesus Christ is Mediator Heb. 12.22 29. 2. The Good of a Nation often by the skill of Divine Wisdom is promoted by the Sins of some Men. The Patriarchs selling Joseph to the Midianites Gen. 37.28 was without question a Sin and a breach of Natural Affection yet by Gods Wise Ordination it proved the Safety of the whole Church of God in the World as well as the Egyptian Nation †Gen. 45.5 8. Gen. 50.20 The Jews Unbelief was a step whereby the Gentiles arose to the knowledge of the Gospel As the setting of the Sun in one place is the rising of it in another ‖ Mat. 22 9◠He uses the Corruptions of Men Instrumentally to propagate his Gospel He built up the True Church by the Preaching of some out of envy Phil. 1.15 as he blessed Israel out of the Mouth of a False Prophet Numb 23. How often have the Heresies of Men been the occasion of clearing up the Truth of God and fixing the more lively Impressions of it on the Hearts of Believers Neither Judah nor Tamar in their Lust dreamt of a
Will as a Natural Faculty concurs in the act or motion God doth not act in this in a way of Absolute Power without an Infinite Wisdom suting himself to the Nature of the things he acts upon He doth not change the Physical Nature though he doth the Moral As in the Government of the World he doth not make heavy things ascend nor light things descend ordinarily but guides their Motions according to their Natural qualities So God doth not strain the Faculties beyond their due pitch He lets the nature of the Faculty remain but changes the Principle in it The Understanding remains Understanding and the Will remains Will. But where there was before Folly in the Understanding he puts in a Spirit of Wisdom and where there was before a stoutness in the Will he forms it to a pliableness to his offers He hath a Key to fit every Ward in the Lock and opens the Will without injuring the Nature of the Will He doth not change the Soul by an alteration of the Faculties but by an alteration of something in them Not by an Inroad upon them or by meer power or a blind Instinct but by proposing to the Understanding something to be known and informing it of the Reasonableness of his Precepts and the Innate goodness and excellency of his Offers and by inclining the Will to love and embrace what is proposed And things are propos'd under those Notions which usually move our Wills and Affections We are moved by things as they are good pleasant profitable we entertain things as they make for us and detest things as they are contrary to us Nothing affects us but under such qualities and God sutes his Encouragements to these Natural Affections which are in us His Power and Wisdom go hand in hand together his Power to act what his Wisdom orders and his Wisdom to conduct what his Power executes He brings Men to him in ways suted to their Natural dispositions The stubborn he tears like a Lion the gentle he wins like a Turtle by sweetness he hath a Hammer to break the stout and a Cord of Love to draw the more pliable Tempers He works upon the more Rational in a way of Gospel Reason upon the more Ingenuous in a way of kindness and draws them by the Cords of Love The Wise-men were led to Christ by a Star and Means suted to the knowledge and study that those Eastern Nations used which was much in Astronomy He worketh upon others by Miracles accommodated to every ones sense and so proportions the Means according to the Nature of the Subjects he works upon 4. The Wisdom of God is apparent in his Discipline and Penal Evils The Wisdom of Human Governments is seen in the matter of their Laws and in the Penalties of their Laws and in the proportion of the Punishment to the Offence and in the good that redounds from the Punishment either to the Offender or to the Community The Wisdom of God is seen in the Penalty of Death upon the Transgression of his Law both in that it was the greatest Evil that Man might fear and so was a convenient means to keep him in his due bound and also in the proportion of it to the Transgression Nothing less could be in a Wise Justice inflicted upon an Offender for a Crime against the highest Being and the Supream Excellency But this hath been spoken of before in the Wisdom of his Laws I shall only mention some few it would be too tedious to run into all 1. His Wisdom appears in Judgments in the suting them to the qualities of Persons and nature of Sins He deviseth evil Jer. 18.11 his Judgments are fruits of Counsel He also is wise and will bring Evil Isai 31.2 Evil sutable to the Person offending and Evil sutable to the Offence committed As the Husbandman doth his Threshing Instruments to the Grain He hath a Rod for the Cummin a tenderer Seed and a Flayl for the harder so hath God greater Judgments for the obdurate Sinner and lighter for those that have something of tenderness in their Wickedness Isai 28.27 29. Because he is wonderful in Counsel and excellent in working so Some understand the place With the froward he will shew himself froward He proportions punishment to the Sin and writes the cause of the Judgment in the Forehead of the Judgment it self Sodom burned in Lust and was consumed by Fire from Heaven The Jews sold Christ for Thirty pence and at the Taking of Jerusalem Thirty of them were sold for a Penny So Adonibezek Cut off the Thumbs and great Toes of others and he is served in the same kind Judg. 1.7 The Babel Builders design'd an indissoluble union and God brings upon them an unintelligible Confusion And in Exod. 9.9 the Ashes of the Furnace where the Israelites burnt the Egyptian Bricks sprinkled towards Heaven brought Boyls upon the Egyptian Bodies that they might feel in their own what Pain they had caused in the Israelites flesh and find by the smart of the inflamed Scab what they had made the Israelites endure The Waters of the River Nilus are turned into Blood wherein they had stifled the breath of the Israelites Infants And at last the Prince and the flower of their Nobility are drowned in the Red Sea 'T is part of the Wisdom of Justice to proportion punishment to the Crime and the degrees of Wrath to the degrees of Malice in the Sin Afflictions also are wisely proportion'd God as a wise Physician considers the nature of the humor and strength of the Patient and sutes his Medicines both to the one and the other 1 Cor. 10.13 2. In the seasons of Punishments and Afflictions He stays till Sin be ripe that his Justice may appear more equitable and the Offender more inexcusable Dan. 9.14 he watches upon the evil to bring it upon Men. To bring it in the just Season and order for his righteous and gracious Purpose his Righteous purpose on the Enemies and his Gracious purpose on his People Jerusalems Calamity came upon them when the City was full of People at the Solemnity of the Passover that he might Mow down his Enemies at once and Time their Destruction to such a moment wherein they had Timed the Crucifixion of his Son He watched over the Clouds of his Judgments and kept them from pouring down till his People the Christians were provided for and had departed out of the City to the Chambers and Retiring places God had provided for them He made not Jerusalem the Shambles of his Enemies till he had made Pella and other places the Arks of his Friends As Pliny tells us The Providence of God holds the Sea in a calm for fifteen days that the Halcyons little Birds that frequent the Shoar may build their Nests and hatch up their Young The Judgment upon Sodom was suspended for some hours till Lot was secured | Daille sur 1 Cor. 10. p. 390. God suffer'd not the Church to be Invaded
are the foundation of a solemn Honour to be returned to him by his Creatures If a Man make a curious Engine we honour him for his Skill If another vanquish a vigorous Enemy we admire him for his Strength And shall not the efficacy of Gods Power in Creation Government Redemption enflame us with a sense of the Honour of his Name and Perfections We admire those Princes that have vast Empires numerous Armies that have a Power to conquer their Enemies and preserve their own People in peace How much more ground have we to pay a mighty Reverence to God who without Trouble and Weariness made and manages this vast Empire of the World by a Word and Beck What sensible thoughts have we of the noise of Thunder the power of the Sun the storms of the Sea These things that have no Understanding have struck Men with such a Reverence that many have ador'd them as gods What Reverence and Adoration doth this Mighty Power joyned with an Infinite Wisdom in God demand at our hands All Religion and Worship stands especially upon two Pillars Goodness and Power in God if either of these were defective all Religion would faint away We can expect no entertainment with him without Goodness nor any benefit from him without Power This God Prefaceth to the Command to Worship him the benefit his Goodness had conferr'd upon them and the Powerful manner of conveyance of it to them 2 Kings 17.36 The Lord brought you up from the Land of Egypt with great Power and an Out-stretched Arm him shall you fear and him shall you worship and to him shall you do sacrifice Because this Attribute is a main foundation of Prayer the Lords Prayer is concluded with a doxology of it For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory As he is Rich possessing all Blessings so he is Powerful to confer all Blessings on us and make them efficacious to us * Capel in 1 Tim. 1.17 The Jews repeat many times in their Prayers some say an hundred times 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The King of the World 't is both an Awe and an Encouragement We could not without consideration of it pray in Faith of success nay we could not pray at all if his Power were defective to help us and his Mercy too weak to relieve us Who would sollicite a Lifeless or lie a prostrate Suppliant to a feeble Arm Upon this Ability of God Our Saviour built his Petitions Heb. 5.7 He offered up strong Cries unto him that was able to save him from death Abraham's Faith hung upon the same string Rom. 4.21 and the Captiv'd Church supplicates God to act according to the greatness of his Power Psal 79.11 In all our Addresses this is to be ey'd and considered God is able to help to relieve to ease me let my Misery be never so great and my Strength never so weak Matt. 8.2 If thou wilt thou canst make me clean was the Consideration the Leper had when he came to worship Christ he was clear in his Power and therefore worshipped him though he was not equally clear in his Will All Worship is shot wrong that is not directed to and conducted by the thoughts of this Attribute whose assistance we need When we beg the Pardon of our Sins we should eye Mercy and Power when we beg his righting us in any case where we are unjustly opprest we do not eye Righteousness without Power when we plead the performance of his Promise we do not regard his Faithfulness only without the Prop of his Power As Power ushers in all the Attributes of God in their exercise and manifestation in the World so should it be the Butt our eyes should be fixed upon in all our acts of Worship As without his Power his other Attributes would be useless so without due Apprehensions of his Power our Prayers will be Faithless and Comfortless The Title in the Lords Prayer directs us to a prospect both of his Goodness and Power his Goodness in the word Father his Greatness Excellency and Power in the word Heaven The heedless Consideration of the Infiniteness of this Perfection roots up Piety in the midst of us and makes us so careless in Worship Did we more think of that Power that rais'd the World out of nothing that orders all Creatures by an an act of his Will that perform'd so great an Exploit as that of our Redemption when masterless sin had triumphed over the World we should give God the honour and adoration which so great an excellency challengeth and deserves at our hands though we our selves had not been the work of his hands or the monuments of his strength how could any Creature engross to it self that reverence from us which is due to the powerful Creator of whom it comes infinitely short in strength as well as wisdome 7. From this we have a ground for the belief of the Resurrection God aims at the glory of his Power as well as the glory of any other Attribute Moses else would not have cull'd out this as the main Argument in his pleading with God for the sheathing the Sword which he began to draw out against them in the Wilderness Numb 14.16 The Nations will say because the Lord was not able to bring these People into the Land which he sware to them c. As the finding out the particulars of the dust of our Bodies discovers the vastness of his Knowledge so to raise them will manifest the glory of his Power as much as Creation Bodies that have mouldred away into multitudes of Atoms been resolved into the Elements passed through varieties of changes been sometimes the matter to lodge the form of a Plant or been turned into the substance of a Fish or Foul or vapour'd up into a Cloud and been part of that matter which hath compacted a Thunder-bolt dispos'd of in places far distant scatter'd by the Winds swallowed and concocted by Beasts for these to be called out from their different places of abode to meet in one Body and be restored to their former Consistency in a marriage union in the twinkling of an eye 1 Cor. 15.22 't is a Consideration that may justly amaze us and our shallow Understandings are too feeble to comprehend it But is it not credible since all the Disputes against it may be silenced by reflections on Infinite Power which nothing can oppose for which nothing can be esteemed too difficult to effect which doth not imply a Contradiction in it self It was no less amazing to the blessed Virgin to hear a Message that she should Conceive a Son without knowing a Man but she is quickly answered by the Angel with a Nothing is impossible to God Luke 1.34 37. The distinct parts of our Bodies cannot be hid from his All-seeing Eye where-ever they are lodged and in all the Changes they pass through as was discoursed when the Omniscience of God was handled shall then the collection of them
acknowledge it with thankfulness in what we have to implore it with a holy submission in what wâ— wâ—nt To oâ—n Gâ—â— as a Soveraign in a way of dependance is the way to be own'd by him as Subjects in a way of favour 5. His Soveraignty is manifested in giving a great measure of knowledge to some than to others What Parts Gifts excellency of Nature any have above others are Gods donative He gives Wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding Dan. 2.21 Wisdom the habit and Knowledge the right use of it in discerning the right nature of objects and the fitness of means conducing to the end all is but a beam of Divine Light and the different degrees of Knowledge in one man above another are the effects of his Soveraign pleasure He enlightens not the minds of all men to know every part of his will one eats with a doubtful Conscience another in Faith without any staggering Romans 14.2 Peter had a desire to keep up Circumcision not fully understanding the mind of God in the abolition of the Jewish Ceremonies While Paul was clear in the Truth of that Doctrine A thought comes into our mind that like a Sun-beam makes a Scripture Truth visible in a moment which before we were poring upon without any success this is from his pleasure One in the primitive times had the gift of Knowledge another of Wisdom one the gift of Prophesie another of Tongues one the gift of Healing another that of discerning Spirits why this gift to one man and not to another Why such a distribution in several Subjects Because it is his Soveraign pleasure The Spirit divides to every man severally as he will 1 Cor. 12.11 Why doth he give Bezaleel and Aholiah the gift of Engraving and making curious works for the Tabernacle Exod. 31.3 and not others Why doth he bestow the Treasures of Evangelical Knowledge upon the meanest of Earthen Vessels the poor Galileans and neglect the Pharisees stor'd with the Knowledge both of Naturals and Morals Why did he give to some and not to others to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 13.11 The reason is implyed in the words Because it was the mystery of his Kingdom and therefore was the act of his Soveraignty How would it be a Kingdom and Monarchy if the Governour of it were bound to do what he did 'T is to be resolv'd only into the Soveraign right of propriety of his own goods that he furnisheth Babes with a stock of knowledge and leaves the Wise and Prudent empty of it Matth. 11.26 Even so Father for so it seem'd good in thy sight Why did he not reveal his mind to Eri a grown man and in the highest office in the Jewish Church but open it to Samuel a stripling Why did the Lord go from the one to the other Because his motion depends upon his own will Some are of so dull a constitution that they are uncapable of any impression like Rocks too hard for a stamp others like water you may stamp what you please but it vanisheth as soon as the Seal is remov'd 'T is God forms men as he pleaseth Some have parts to govern a Kingdom others scarce brains to conduct their own affairs One is fit to rule men and another scarce fit to keep Swine Some have capacious Souls in crazy and deform'd Bodies others contracted Spirits and heavier minds in a richer and more beautiful case Why are not all stones alike some have a more sparkling light as gems more orient than pebbles Some are Stars of first and others of a less magnitude others as mean as Glo-worms a slimy lustre 'T is because he is the Soveraign disposer of what belongs to him and gives here as well as at the Resurrection to one a Glory of the Sun to another that of the Moon and to a third a less resembling that of a Star 1 Cor. 15.40 And this God may do by the same right of Dominion as he exercised when he endow'd some kinds of Creaâ—â—â—es with a greater perfection than others in their Nature Why may he not as well garnish one man with a greater proportion of gifts as make a man differ in excellency from the Nature of a Beast Or frame Angels to a more purely spiritual Nature than a man Or make one Angel a Cherubim or Seraphim with a greater measure of light than another Though the foundation of this is his Dominion yet his wisdom is not uninterested in his Soveraign disposal he garnisheth those with a greater ability whom he intends for greater service than those that he intends for less or none at all As an Artificer bestows more labour and carves a more excellent figure upon those Stones that he designs for a more honourable place in the building But though the intending this or that man for service be the motive of laying in a greater provision in him than in others yet still it is to be referred to his Soveraignty Since that first act of culling him out for such an end was the fruit solely of his Soveraign pleasure As when he resolv'd to make a Creature actively to glorifie him in wisdom he must give him reason yet the making such a Creature was an act of his absolute Dominion 6. His Soveraignty is manifest in the calling some to a more special service in their Generation God settles some in immediate Offices of his service and perpetuates them in those Offices with a neglect of others who seem to have a greater pretence to them Moses was a great sufferer for Israel the sollicitor for them in Egypt and the conductor of them from Egypt to Canaan yet he was not chosen to the High Priesthood but that was an office setled upon Aaron and his posterity after him in a lineal descent Moses was only pitched upon for the present resscue of the Captiv'd Israelites and to be the instrument of Divine Miracles but notwithstanding all the success he had in his conduct his faithfulness in his employment and the transcendent familiarity he had with the great Ruler of the World his posterity were left in the common level of the Tribe of Levi without any special mark of dignity upon them above the rest for all the services of that great man Why Moses for a Temporary Magistracy Aaron for a perpetual Priesthood above all the rest of the Israelites hath little reason but the absolute pleasure of God who distributes his employments as he pleaseth and as a Master orders this Servant to do the noblest work and another to labour in baser offices according to his pleasure Why doth he call out David a Shepherd to sway the Jewish Scepter above the rest of the Brothers that had a fairer appearance and had been bred in arms and enur'd to the Toyls and Watchings of a Camp Why should Mary be the Mother of Christ and not some other of the same Family of David of a more splendid birth and a