The Common Principles of the Christian Religion, Sermon 14
Eph. 1. Who worketh all things after the Counsell of his own will. Job▪ 23. He is in one mind, & who can turn him, &c.
HAving spoken something before of God, in his Nature, and Being, and Properties, we come in the next place to consider his glorious Majesty as …e sta…s in some nearer relation to his creatures, the works of his hands: For we must conceive the first rise of all things in the world, to be in this self-being, the first conception of them to be in the Womb of God's everlasting purpose and Decree, which in due time, according to his appointment, brings forth the childe of the creature to the light of actual existence and being: It is certain, that his Majesty might have endured for ever, & possessed himself without any of these things: If he had never resolved to create any thing without himself, he had been blessed then, as now, because of his full and absolute self-sufficient perfection. His purposing to make a world, & his doing of it, ads nothing to his inward blessednesse and contentment; this glorious and Holy One, incloses vvithin in his own being, all imaginable perfections, in an infinite and transcendent manner; that if you remove all created ones, you diminish nothing; if you add them all, you encrease nothing. Therefore it was the superabundance of his perfection, that he resolved to shew his Glory thus in the world. It is the creatures indigence & limited condition, which maketh it needfull …o go without its own compasse, for the happinesse of its own being: Man cannot be happy in loving himself, he is not satisfied with his own intrinsick perfections, but he must diffuse himself by his affections & desires, & endeavours, & as it vvere, walk abroad upon these legs, to fetch in some supply from the creatures or Creator: The creature is constrained out of thus to go out of it self, which speakes much indigence and want within it self: But it is not so with his Majesty, His own glorious being contents him, His happinesse is to know that, and delight in it, because it comprehends in it self all, that is at all possible, in the most excellent and perfect manner that is conceiveable; nay infinitely beyond what can be conceived by any but himself, so he needs not go without himself to seek love or delight, for it is all within him, and it cannot be without his own being; unlesse it flow from within him, therefore ye may find in Scripture what complacency God hath in himself, and the Father in the Son, and the Son in the Father: We find Prov. 8. How the wisdomof of God, our Lord Jesus; was the Fathers delight from all Eternity, and the Father again his delight, for he rejoiced alwayes before him, vers. 30. And this was an al-sufficient possession that one had of another. v. 22. the love between the Father and the Son is holden out as the first pattern of all loves and delight. Ioh. 17. 23, 24. This then flowes from the infinite excesse of perfection and exundance of self-being, that his Majesty is pleased to come without himself, to maintain his own Glory in the works of his hands, to decree and appoint other things beside himself, and to execute that decree.
We may consider in these words some particulars for our edification, 1. That the Lord hath from Eternity purposed within himself, and decreed to manifest his own glory in the making and ruling of the World, that there is a Counsell and purpose of his will which reaches all things, which have been, are now, or are to be after this. This is clear, For he works all things according to the counsel of his own will: 2. That his mind and purpose is one mind one counsel: I mean not only one for ever, that is perpetuall & unchangeable, as the words speak, but also one for all, that is, with one simple Act and Resolution of his Holy will he hath determined, all these several things, all their times their conditions, their circumstances. 3. That whatsoever he hath from all eternity purposed, he in time practiseth it, and comes to execution & working, so that there is an exact correspondence betwixt his will and his work, his mind and his hand. He works according to the Counsel of his will, and whatsoever his soul desires, that he doth. 4. That his purpo…e and performance is infallible; irresistable by any created power, himself will not change it, For he is in one mind, and none else can hinder it, for who can turn him? he desireth and he doth it, as in the Originall, there is nothing interveens between the desire & the doing, that can hinder the meeting of these two.
The first is the constant Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures, of which you should consider four things, 1. 'That his purpose and decree is most wise, therefore Paul cryes out upon such a subject; O the depth of the riches both of the Wisdom and knowledge of God, Rom. 11. 33. His will is alwayes one with wisdome, therefore you have the purpose of his will mentioned thus [the Counsell of his will] for his will (as it were) takes Counsel and advice of Wisdome, & discernes according to the depth & riches of his knowledge and understanding. We see among men these are separated often, & there is nothing in the world so disorderly, so unruly and uncomely, as when Will is divided from Wisdome, when men follow their own will and lusts as a Law, against their conscience, that is monstruous. The understanding and reason are the eyes of the Will, if these be put out, or if a man leave them behind him, he cannot but fall into a pit. But the purposes of Gods will are depths of wisdome, nay his very will is a sufficient▪ Rule and Law, so that it may be used of him, stat pro ratione voluntas, Rom. 9. 13, 14. If we consider the glorious Fab…ick of the World, the Order established in it, the sweet harmony it keepeth in all its motions & successions: O it must be a wise mind and counsell contrived i…. Man now having the Idea of this world in his mind, might fancy and imagine many other worlds, bearing some proportion and resemblance to this: but if he had never seen nor known this world, he could never have imagined the thousand part of this world, he could in no wise have formed an Image in his mind of all these different kindes of creatures, Creatures must have some example and coppy to look to, but what was his pattern? Who hath been his Counsellour▪ to teach him? Rom 11. 34. Who gave him the first Rudiments of Principles of that Art? Surely none, He had no pattern given him, not the least Idea of any of these things furnished him, but it is absolutely and solely his own wise contrivance. 2. This purpose of God is most free and absolute, there is no cause, no reason why he hath thus disposed all things, and not otherwise, as he might have done, but his own good will and pleasure, If it be so in a matter of deepest concernment, Rom. 9. 18 It must be so also in all other things; we may find indeed many inferiour causes, many peculiar reasons for such and such a way of administration, many ends & uses for which they serve, for there is nothing that his Majesty hath appointed, but it is for some use & reason, yet we must rise above all these and ascend into the Tower of his most high will and pleasure, which is founded on a depth of wisdome, and from thence we shall behold all the order, administration and use of the creatures to depend, and herein is a great difference between his Majesties purposes and ours, you know there is still something presented under the notion of good and convenient, that moves our will, and enclines us for its own goodnesse to seek after it, and so to fall upon the means to compasse it; therefore the end which we propose to our selves hath its influence upon our purposes, and pleasurs them, so that from it the motion seems to proceed first, and not so much from within; but there is no created thing can thus determine his Majesty, Himself, his own glory is the great end, which he loves for it self, and for which he loves other things: But among other things, though there be many of them ordained one for anothers use; yet his will and pleasure is the Original of that order, He doth not find it, but makes it, you see all the creatures below are appointed for man, as their immediate and next end, for his use and service, but was it man his goodness & perfection which did move and encline his Majesty to this appointment? No indeed, but of his own good will he makes such things serve man, that all of them together may be for his own glory. 3. The Lords Decree is the first rise of all things that are, or have been, or are to come; This is the first Original of them all, to which they must be reduced as their spring and fountain. All of you may understand that there are many things possible, which yet actually will never be; The Lords power and Omnipotency is of a further extent then his Decree and Purpose; His Power is Naturall and Essential to his Beeing. His Decree is of choise and Voluntarie: The Father could have sent a Legion of Angels to have delivered his Son, the Son could have asked them, but neither of them would do it. Mat. 26. 53. The Lord could have raised up Children to Abraham out of stones, but he would not, Matth. 3, His power then comprehends within its reach all possible things which do not in their own nature, & proper conception, imply a contradiction, so that infinite worlds of creatures more perfect than this, numbers of Angels and men above these, & creatures in glory surpassing them again, are within the compasse of the boundlesse power, & omnipotency of God: But yet for all this it might have fallen out, that nothing should actually and really have been, unlesse his Majesty had of his own freē will decreed what is, or hath been, or is to be. His will determines his power, and as it were; puts it in the nearest capacity to act, & exercise it self. Here then we must look for the beginning of all things that are, they are conceived in the womb of the Lords everlasting purpose; As he speaks, Zeph. 2. 2. The Decree is, as it were, with child of beings. Isa. 44. 7. Its God Royal Prerogative to appoint things to come, and none can share with him in it; From whence is it, I pray you, that, of so many worlds which his power could have framed, this one is brought to light; Is it not because this one was formed (as it were) in the belly of his eternall counsel and will? From whence is it that so many men are, and no more That the Lord Jesus was slain, when the power of God might have kept him alive? That those men, Iudas &c. were the doers of it, when others might have done it? from whence are all those actions good or evill under the Sun, which he might have prevented? But from his good will and pleasure, from his determinate counsell Acts 4. 28. Can you find the Originall of these in the Creature, why it is thus, and why not otherwise? Can you conceive why, of all the infinite numbers of possible beings, these are, and no other? And, what hath translated that number of creatures; which is from the state of pure possibility to futurition or actuall being, but the decisive vote of Gods everlasting purpose and counsell? Therefore we should alwayes conceive, that the creatures and all their actions, which have, or will have any being in the VVorld, have first had a beeing in the womb of Gods eternall Counsel, and that his will and pleasure hath past upon all things that are, and are not; His Counsel has concluded of things that have been, or will be, that thus they shall be; and his Counsell has determined of all other things which are also impossible; that they shall never come forth into the light of the world, but remain in the dark bowels of Omnipotency; that so we may give him the glory of all things that are not, and that are at all. Then 4. We should consider the extent of his decree, & Counsell, it's past upon all things, it's Universal, reaching every being or action of the Universe. This is the strain of the whole Scripture. He did not (as some dream) once create the creatures in a good state, & put them in capacity henceforth to preserve themselves, or exercise their own vertue and power, without dependence on him: as an Artificer makes an Horologe, and orders it in all things, that it may do its business without him; he is not only a generall originall of action & motion, as if we would command a River to flow by his appointed channels; as if he did only work & rule the world by Atturneys & Embassadors; that is the weaknesse & infirmity of earthly Kings, that they must substitute Deputies for themselves: But this King appoints all immediatly, and disposes upon all the particular actions of his Creatures good or evil, and so is the Universal absolute Lord of his Creature, of its being and doing, it were a long work to rehearse what the Scriptures speaks of this kind: But, O that ye would read them oftner, and ponder them better, How there is nothing in this World (which may seem to fall out by chance to you, that you know not how it is come to passe, & can see no cause nor reason of it) but it falls out by the holy will of our blessed Father: Be it of greater or lesse moment, or be it a hair of thy head fallen, or thy head cut off; the most casual & contingent thing, thought it surprised the whole world of men and Angels, that they should wonder from whence it did proceed, it is no surprisall to him, for he not only knew it, but appointed it; the most certain and necessary thing, according to the course of nature, it hath no certainty, but from his appointment who hath established such a course in the creatures, & which he can suspend when he pleaseth: Be it the sin of men and devils, which seems most opposite to his holinesse, yet even that cannot appear in the World of beings, if it were not in a holy, righteous, and permissive way, first conceived in the womb of his Eternall Counsell, and if it were not determined by him for holy and just end, Acts 4. 28.
The second thing propounded is, that his mind & counsell is one, one and the same, yesterday, and to day, and for ever; therefore the Apostles speakes of God, That there is no shaddow of change or turning in him, James 1. 17. He is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should repent; Will he say, and not do it? Numb. 23. 19. and shal he decree & not execute it? Shal he purpose and not perform it? I am God and changes not, that is his Name, Mal. 3. 6. The Counsell of the Lord shal stand, & the thoughts of his heart to all generations, Psal. 33. 11. Men changes their mind oftner then their garments, poor vain man, even in their best estate is changeablenesse, and vicissitude it self, altogether vanity: And this ariseth partly from the imperfection of his understanding, & his ignorance, because he doth not understand what may fall out; there are many things secret & hidden, which if he discovered, he would not be of that judgement; and many things fall out, which may give ground of another resolution; and partly from the weaknesse and perversnesse of his will, that cannot be constant in any good thing, & is not so closely united to it, as that no fear nor terrour can separate from it: But there is no such imperfection in him, neither ignorance, nor weaknesse, all things are naked before him; all their natures, their circumstances, all events, all emergents, known to him are they, & all his works from the beginning, as perfectly as in the end: And therefore he may come to a fixed resolution from all eternity, and being resolved, he can see no reason of change because there can nothing appear after, which he did not perfectly discover from the beginning, Therefore when ever ye read in the Scripture of the Lords repenting, as Gen. 6. 7. and Ier. 16. 8. ye should remember that the Lord speaks in our tearms, and like nurses with their children, uses our own dialect, to point out to us our great ignorance of his Majesty, that cannot conceive more honourably of him, nor more distinctly of our selves. VVhen he changeth all things about him, he is not changed, for all these changes were at once in his mind, but when he changeth his outward dispensation he is said to repent of what he is doing, because we use not to change our manner of dealing, without some conceived grief, or repentance and change of mind. VVhen a man goes to build a house, he hath no mind but that it should continue so, he has not the least thought of taking it down again, but afterward it becomes ruinous and his estate enlarges, & then he takes a new resolution, to cast it down to the ground, and build a better; This it is with man, according as he varies his work, he changes his mind. But it is not so with God: All these changes of his works, all the successions of times, the variation of dealings, the alteration of dispensations in all ages were at once in his mind, and all before him; so that he never goes to build a house, but hee hath in his own mind already determined all the changes it shall be subject to: VVhen he sets up a Throne in a Nation, it is in his mind within such a period to cast it down again; when he lifts up men in success & prosperity, he doth not again change his mind when he throws them down, for that was in his mind also; so that there it no surprisal of him by any unexpectant emergment: Poor man hath many cōsultations before he come to a conclusion; But it is not thus with his Counsell; of all these strange and new things which fall out in our dayes, he hath one thought of them all from Eternity; He is one mind, & none of all these things have put him off his eternall mind, or put him to a new advisement about his great projects: Not only doth he not change his mind, but his mind and thought is one, of all, & concerning all: Our poor, narrow and limited minds, must part their thoughts among many bnsinesles, one thought for this, another for that, and one after another: but with him there is neither succession of Counsels and purposes, nor yet plurality, but as with one opening of his eye, he beholds all things as they are: so with one inclination, or nod of his will he hath given a law, and appointed all things: If we can at one instant, and one look, see both light and colours, and both the glasse and the shadow in it, and with one motion of our wills move towards the end, and the means. O, how much more may he with one simple undivided act of his good-wil & pleasure pass a determination on all things, in their times, and orders, and in his own infinite and his glorious being perceive them all with one look? How much consolation might redound from this to believing souls? Hath the Lord appointed you to suffer persecution and tribulation here? Hath he carved out such a lot unto you in this life? Then withall consider, that his Majesty hath Eternal glory wrapt up in the same Counsel, from which thy afflictions proceed: Hath he made thy soul to melt before him? Hath he convinced thee, and made thee to flee unto the City for refuge, and expect salvation from no other but himself? Then know, that Life Eternal is in the bosome of that same purpose which gave thee to believe this; though the one be born before the other, yet the Decree shal certainly bring forth the other. And for such souls as upon this vain presumption of the infallibility of Gods purposes thinks it needlesse to give diligence in Religion, know, that it is one mind & purpose that hath linked the end and the means together as a chain, and therefore, if thou expectest to be saved, according to Election, thou must according to the same Counsel make thy Calling home from sin to God, sure.
Thirdly, what thing soever he hath purposed, he in due time applies to the performance of it, and then the counsell of his wil becomes the work of his hands, and there is an admirable harmony and exact agreement between these two: All things come out of the womb of his eternall Decree, by the work of his power, even just fashioned and framed, as their lineaments and draughts were proportioned in the decree, nothing failing, nothing wanting, nothing exceeding; there is nothing in the Idea of his mind but it is expressed in the works of his hands, there is no raw-halfwishes in God: Men have such imperfect desires, I would have, or do, such a thing if it were not, &c. He wavers not thus in suspence, but what he wills and desires, he wills and desires indeed: He intends it shal be, and what he intends, doubtlesse he will execute, and bring to passe: Therefore his will in due time applies Almighty Power to fulfill the desire of i… and Almighty Power being put to work by his Will, it cannot but work all things according to the Counsell of his Will; and whatsoever his soul desireth, that he cannot but do, even as he desires, seeing he cannot do it. If he will do it, and can do it, what hinders him to work and do? Know then, that his commands and precepts to you, signifying what is your duty, they do not so much signifie what he desires, or intends to work, or have done, as his approbation of such a thing in it self to be your duty; and therefore though he have revealed his Will concerning our duty, though no obedience follow, yet is not his intention frustrated or disappointed; for his commands to you say not what is his Intention about it, but what is that which he approves as good, and a duty obliging men: But whatsoever thing he purposes & intends should be, certainly, he wil do it, & make it to be done; If it be a work of his own power alone, himself vvill do it alone: If he require the concurrence of creatures to it, as in all the works of Providence, then he will effectually apply the creatures to his vvork, and not wait in suspence on their determination: If he have appointed such an end to be attained by such means; if he have a work to do by such instruments, then, without all doubt, he vvill apply the instruments when his time comes, & will not wait on their concurrence. You see now strange things done, you wonder at them, how we are brought down from our excellency; how our land is laid desolat by strangers; how many instrumēts of the Lords work are laid aside; how he lifts up a rod of indignation against us, and is like to overturn even the foundations of our land: All these were not in our mind before, but they were in his mind from eternity, and therefore he is now working it. Believe then that there is not a circumstance of all business, not one joynt or jot of it, but is even as it was framed and carved out of old, his present works are according to an ancient pattern, vvhichwhich he carries in his mind, all the measures and degrees of your affliction, all the ounces, and grainweights of your cup, vvere all weighed in the scales of his Eternall Counsell, the instruments, the time, the manner, all that is in it. If he change instruments, that was in his mind, if he change dispensations, that was in his mind also: And seeing you know by the Scriptures that a blessed end is appointed for the godly, that all things work for their good, that all is subservient to the Churches welfare, seeing, I say, you know his purpose is such as the Scriptures speaks, then believe his performance shal be exact accordingly, nothing dificient, no joynt, no sinew, in all his vvork of providence, no line in all his book, & volume of the creature, but it was written in that ancient book of his eternal counsel, & first fashioned in that, Ps. 39. 16.
Then lastly, his will is irresistible, his Counsell shal stand, who can turn him from his purpose, and who can hinder him from performance? therefore he attains his end, in the highest and most superlative degree of certainty and infallibility: Himself will not change his own purpose, for why should he do it, if he change to the better, then it reflects on his wisdom, if he change to the worse, it reflects both on his wisdom and godlinesse, certainly he can see no cause why he should change it: But as himself cannot change, so none can hinder his performance, for what power, think you, shal it be, that may attempt that? Is it the power of men, of strong men, of high men, of any men? No sure, for their breath is in their nostrils, they have no power, but as he breaths in them, if he keep in his breath (as it were) they perish, all nations are as nothing before him, and what power hath nothing? Is it Devils may do it? No, for they cannot, though they would, he chains them, he limits them: Is it good Angels? They are powerfull indeed, but they neither can, nor will resist his will. Let … be the whole University of the Creation, suppose all their scattered force and vertue conjoyned in one, yet it is all but finite, it amounts to no more, if you would eternally adde unto it: But all victory & resistance of this kind, must be by a superior power, or at least by an equal; therefore we may conclude that there i… no impediment or let, that can be put in his way, nothing can obstruct his purpose, if all the world shoul… conspire as one man to obstruct the performance o… any of his promises and purposes, they do but rage i… vain, like dogs barking at the Moon, they shal be s… far from attaining their purpose, that his Majesty sha… disabuse them (so to speak) to his own purpose, h… shal apply them quite contrary to their own mind, t… work out the counsel of his mind? Here is the absolute King, only worth the name of a King & Lord, whom all things in Heaven and Earth obeyes at the first nodd and beckning to them. Hills, Seas, Mountains, Rivers, Sun & Moon, & Clouds, Men & Beasts, Angels and Devils, all of them are acted, moved, and inclined according to his pleasure, all of them are about his work indeed, as the result of all in the end shal make it appear, & are servants at his command, going where he bids go, and comming where he bids come, led by an invisible hand, though in the mean time they knew it not, but thinks they are about their own businesse, applauds themselves for a time in it, ducunt volentem fata, notentem trahunt, Godly men who knows his Will and loves it, are led by it willingly, for they yeeld themselves up to his disposall: but wicked men who have contrary Wills of their own, they can gain no more by resisting, but to be drawn along with it.
Now to what purpose is all this spoken of Gods Decrees and purposes, which he hath called a secret belonging to himself? If his works & judgements be a great depth, and unsearchable, sure his decrees are far more unsearchable: For it is the secret and hidden purpose of God, which is the very depth of his way, & judgement. But to what purpose is it all, I say? Not to enquire curiously into the particulars of them, but to profit by them: The Scripture holds out to us the unchangeablenesse, freedom, extent, holinesse and wisdom of them, for our advantage, and if this advantage be not reaped we know them in vain. Not to burden your memory with many particulars, we should labour to draw forth both instruction and consolation out of them. Instruction, I say, in two things especially, to submit with reverence & respect to his Majesty in all his works and wayes, & to trust in him who knows all his workss, & will not change his mind
There is nothing, wherein I know Christians more deficent than in this point of submission, which I take to be one of the chiefest & sweetest, though hardest duties of a Christian. It is hardly to be found among men, a through complyance of the soul to what his soul desires, a real subjection of our spirits to his good will and pleasure; There is nothing so much blessed in Scripture, as waiting on him, as yeelding to him to be disposed upon. Blessed are all they that wait on him: Pride is the greatest opposite, and he opposes himself most to that, for it is in it self most derogatory to the highnesse and Majesty of God, which is his very glory: Therefore submission is most acceptable to him, when the soul yeelds it self and its will to him, he condescends far more to it, he cannot be an enemy to such a soul; submission to his Majesties pleasure, is the very bowing down of the soul willingly, to any thing he doth or commands; what ever yoke he puts on, of duty or suffering, to take it on willingly, without answering again, which is the great sin condemned in servants, to put the mouth in the dust, & to keep silence, because he doth it, I was dumb with silence, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it, their is submission indeed, silence of mind & mouth, a restraint put upon the spirit to think nothing grudgingly of him, for any thing he doth: It is, certainly, the greatest fault of Christians, & grounds of many more, that ye do not look to God, but to creatures in any thing befalls you, therefore there are so frequent risings of spirits against his yoke, frequent spurnings against it, as Ephraim unaccustomed with the yoke, so do ye, & this is it only makes it heavy and troublesome, if there were no more reason for it, but your own gain, it is the only way to peace & quietnesse, Durum sed levius fit patientiá, quicquid corrigere est nes as, your impatience cannot help you, but hurt you, it is the very yoke of your yoke; but quiet and silent stooping makes it easie in it self, and brings in more help beside, even Divine help: Learn this, I beseech you, to get your wills abandoned, and your spirits subdued to God, both in the point of duty and dispensation. If duties commanded crosse thy spirit (as certainly the reality and exercise of Godlinesse must be unpleasant to any nature) know what thou art called to, to quit thy own will to him, to give up thy self to his pleasure singly, without so much respect to thy own pleasure or gain, learn to obey him simply, because he cōmands, though no profit redound to thee, & by this means thou shalt in due time have more sweet peace and real gain, though thou intended it not. And in case any dispensation crosse thy mind, let not thy mind rise up against it, do not fall out with providence, but commit thy way wholly to him, and let him do what he pleaseth in that, be thou minding thy duty, be not anxious in that, but be diligent in this, and thou shalt be the only gainer by it, besides the honour redounds to him.
Then I would exhort you from this ground, to trust in him; seeing he alone is the absolute Soveraign Lord of all things, seeing he hath past a determination upon all things, and accordingly they must be, and seeing none can turn him from his way, O then Christians, learn to commit your selves to him in all things, both for this life and the life to come; why are ye so vain and foolish, as to depend & hang upon poor vain depending Creatures? Why do ye not forsake your selves? Why do ye not forsake all other things as empty shadows? Are not all created powers, habits, gifts, graces, strength, riches, &c. like the idols in comparison of him, who can neither do good, neither can they do ill? Cursed is he that trusts in man, Jer. 17. 15, 16. there needs no other curse than the very disappointment you shal meet withall. Consider … beseech you, that our God can do all things, what ever …e pleaseth in Heaven and Earth, and that none can obstruct his pleasure, blest is that soul for whom the counsel of his wil is ingaged, & it is ingaged for all that trust in him, he can accomplish his good pleasure in thy behalf, either without, or against means, all impediments & thorns set in his way, he can burn them up, you who are heirs of the promises, O know your priviledge, what his soul desireth, He doth even that; & what he hath seriously promised to you, he desires. If you ask who are heirs of the Promises, I would answer simply, these and these only who do own them, and challenge them, and claim to them for their life and salvation, these who seek the Inheritance only by the Promise, and whose soul desires them and imbraces them. O if you would observe how unlike ye are to God; ye change often, ye turn often out of the way, but that were not so ill if ye did not imagine him to be like your selves, and it is unbelief which makes him like to your selves when your frame and tender disposition changes, when presence and accesse to God is removed; that is wrong, it speaks out a mortall creature indeed; but if it be so, O, do no more wrong, do not by your suspicions and jealousies, and questionings of him imagine that he is like unto you, and changed also, that is a double wrong and dishonour to his Majesty. Hath he not said, I am God and changes not: He is in one mind, who can turn him? How comes it then that ye doubt of his love as oft as ye change? When ye are in a good temper, ye think he loves you, when it is not so, ye cannot believe but he is angry and hates you; is not this to speak quite contrary to the Word, that he is a God that changes, that he is not in one mind, but now in one, and then in another, as oft as the unconstant wind of a souls self-pleasing humour turns about. Here is your rest and confidence, if you will be established, not within your selves, not upon marks and signs within you, which ebbe and flow as the Sea, and change as the Moon, but upon his unchangeable Nature and faithfull promises. This we desire to hold out to you all, as one ground for all, you would every one have some particular ground in your own disposition and condition, & thinks it general doctrine only which layeth it no… home so; but believe it, I know no ground of realsoul-establishment but general truths, and pinciples common to you all; and our businesse is not to lay any other foundation, or moe foundations, according to your different conditions, but to lay this one foundation, Christ, and God unchangeable; & to exhort every one of you to make that general Foundation your own in particular, by leaning to it, & building upon it, & claiming to it, all other are sandy and ruinous.
Let us now in this sad time presse consolation from this, the Lords hand is in all this; it's immediate in every dispensation, and its only carnal-mindednesse that cannot see him stretching out his hand to every man, with his own portion of affliction: Know this one thing, that God is in one mind; for all these many wayes & judgements he is in one mind, to gather the Saints to build up the Church; the body of Christ, this is his end, all other businesses is in the by, & subservient to this, therefore he will change it as he pleases, but his great purpose of good to his people all the World cannot hinder. Let us then establish our souls in this consideration, all is clear above, albeit cloudy below; All is calm in Heaven albeit tempestuous here upon Earth: There is no confusion, no disorder in his mind; though we think the world out of course, and that all things reel about with confusion, hee hath one mind in it, & who can turn him? And that mind is good to them that trust in him; And therefor who can turn away our good? Let men consult and imagine what they please, let them passe votes & decrees what to do with his people, yet it is all to no purpose for there is a Counsel above, an older Counsel, which must stand and take place in all generations. If mens conclusions be not according to the Counsell of his Will; they are but imaginary dreams, like fancies of a distracted person, who imagining himself a King, sits down on the Throne, and gives out decrees and Ordinances. May not He who sits in Heaven laugh at the foolishnesse & madnesse of men, who act in all things as if they had no dependance on him, and go about their businesse, as if it were not contrived already; it is a ridiculous thing for men to order their businesse, and settle their own conclusions, without once minding one above them, who hath not only a negative, but an affirmative vote in all things: Its true, that God in his deep wisedom hath kept up his particular purposes secret, that men may walk according to an appointed Rule, and use all means for compassing their intended ends; and therefore it is well said, Prudens futuri temporis exitum Caliginosa nocte premit Deus. But yet withall we should mind that of Iames, If the Lord will, & go about all things, even the most probable, with submission to his will and pleasure. And therefore, when men go without their bounds, either in fear of dangers, or joy conceived in successes: Ridetque si mortalis ultra fas trepidet, &c. Excesse of fear, excesse of hope, excesse of joy in these outward things, is as it were, ridiculous to him, who hath all these things appointed with him. To him be praise and glory.