The Incomparableness of God, Treatise · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII. God incomparable in his Working: He doth the greateſt things with eaſe, and without any Help.
3. HE worketh at all times without wearineſs, and doth the greateſt things with eaſe: As there is nothing too hard for God, ſo there is nothing hard to God: He doth the hardeſt things that are with the greateſt eaſe. Indeed, the great God doth the greateſt and hardeſt things with the ſame eaſe that he doth the leaſt things: It's all one to him, whether his Work be ſmall or great, eaſie or hard to others; all is eaſie alike to him.
In the Creation, though the building be large and vaſt, yet with what eaſe did he ſet it up? He did not blow or ſweat, no nor ſo much as ſtir at his Work. The whole World conſiſteth of the caeleſtial and terreſtial Globe, and both were the product of his Word: For the Heavens, Pſal. 33.6. By the word of the Lord the Heavens were made, and all the Host thereof by the breath of his Mouth. It was but a word, a breath, that produced that vaſt circumference of the Heavens, and all thoſe great Luminaries there: So for the Earth, He ſpake, and it was done; he commanded, and it ſtood fast, verſe 9. He onelyonly ſpake the word, and even non-entities obey'd, and became Beings. Therefore in the ſtory of the Creation, Gen. 1. we find in every Days-work, God only commanding, and and immediately all things concurring, verſe 3, 9, 12.
In his Works of Providence, he doth all things with unconceiveable eaſe.
If he deſtroy and pull down, it is done with eaſe; They are cruſhed as a Moth, Job 4.19. How eaſily doth a Man cruſh a Moth between his Fingers? with more eaſe doth God cruſh his ſtouteſt Enemies. He deſtroyeth the higheſt, the greateſt, the ſtrongeſt, the Lions, young Lions, with a breath, with a blaſt: By the blast of God they periſh, by the breath of his Nostrils they are conſumed, Job 4.9, 10. By a blaſt, a breath; it's eaſie to breath, to ſend forth a blaſt for a Man; but much eaſier for God, who breathed into Man the breath of Life: This can put him to no pain, no toil, no trouble at all. Zenacherib comes againſt Jeruſalem with a great Army of Warriers, and had, as he ſaith, Counſel and Strength for War: God undertakes to deal with him on the behalf of his own People, and to deſtroy him; but ſee with what eaſe God doth it, 2 Kings 19.17. I will ſend a blaſt upon him: I will never trouble my ſelf to uſe my Artillery, or draw out my great Ordnance of Heaven, my Thunders and Lightnings againſt ſo many thouſand Souldiers; I will onelyonly blow upon them, that ſhall be all.
He deſtroyeth with a word; If he do but ſpeak, it's done: His ſaying, is doing: At what time I ſpeak concerning a Nation, to pull down, and to destroy, Jer. 18.7, 8. When the Prophet would ſpeak the certain ruine of the Philistins, he doth it in this manner, Woe to the Inhabitants of the Sea-coaſts, the Word of the Lord is againſt you, Zeph. 2.5. i. e. The caſe is woeful, your condition is deſperate, the whole World cannot ſave you; for the Word of the Lord is against you. Men may talk, and boaſt, and threaten what they will do, when all the while their Words are but Wind, and their threatned Folk live long; but the Word of God, like Lightning or Mildew, blaſteth where-ever it goes, and burns up to the very root. Julius Caeſar told Metellus, (when he would have prevented his robbing the Roman Treaſury,) Young Man be quiet, or I'le lay thee dead at my Feet: And then to magnifie his own Power; addeth, It is harder for me to ſpeak it, then to do it. But this is certain, it's as eaſie for God to do any thing, as to ſpeak of it; yea, he doth what he will with a Word. Now how eaſie is it to ſpeak? He deſtroyeth with a Look, with a glance of his Eye; and ſurely that is eaſie to him that is all Eye, that made the Eye: In the Morning-Watch the Lord looked through the Pillar of Fire on the Hoſt of the Egyptians, and troubled them, Exod. 14.24. He darts out beams of Death from his Eyes: One look from God will take away the life of the greateſt of his Adverſaries. He deſtroyeth with an hiſs, O how little! how eaſie a thing is hiſſing! Iſa. 7.18. I will hiſs for the Flies of Egypt, and the Bees of Aſſyria, and they ſhall come, &c.
He deſtroyeth with a turn of his Hand, Pſal. 81.13, 14. I would ſoon have ſubdued their Enemies, and turned my Hand against them that hated them. A turn of his Hand would have ſubdued the proudeſt Enemies of Iſrael, and have ſtab'd them to the Heart.
He delivereth his People with the greateſt eaſe: Whatſoever their Straights be, though various and difficult, yet he helpeth them out with eaſe. When they were in Captivity, ſcatter'd up and down as Exiles out of their own Country, he bringeth them Home; but how? truly, He ſaith to the North, Give up; and to the South, Keep not back, &c. Iſa. 43.6. And both hearken to his Word, That his Sons come from far, and his Daughters from the ends of the Earth. When the Prophet would beg of him to help his afflicted People, he only deſires him to Command Deliverance for Jacob, Pſal. 44.4. If he will it, and command it, the Work is done.
He ſucceedeth his Ordinances, and maketh them effectual, for enlightning the Blind, and enlivening the Dead (great Works) with eaſe: He ſaith, Live, and the dead Sinner liveth, John 5.24. He commandeth ſucceſs, and Ordinances are effectual: There the Lord commandeth his Bleſſing, even life for evermore, Pſal. 133.3.
Yea, the Ocean, that is ſuch a frightful Monſter, which makes ſuch an horrible Noiſe, and openeth its Mouth, roaring and raging, as if it would certainly devour us, is quell'd and quieted with eaſe by him, Job 38.8, 9, 10, 11. When the Sea was tempeſtuous, and frighted the Diſciples, that they awake the Lord Jeſus; with what eaſe doth he cauſe a Calm, Peace, be ſtill, Matth. 8.27. (As a Mother would ſtill a crying-Child, Huſh, be quiet, peace, no more, be ſtill,) and immediately there was a Calm.
4. He worketh wholly by his own Power, without the leaſt help from any other: Creatures are all Inſtruments, and act in the vertue of the principal Efficient. Angels and Men act not in their own, but in the ſtrength of God; they have not ſome help from God, but all the Power by which they work, from God: But God acteth wholly in his own ſtrength, he never had, nor deſired an helping-hand from any of his Creatures.
In the Work of Creation, he erected this curious large Fabrick without any Tool or Inſtrument, Iſa. 44.24. I am the Lord that made all things, that ſtretcheth forth the Heavens alone, that ſpreadeth abroad the Earth by my ſelf. Mark, he made the Heavens alone, had none with him to aſſiſt him; and he made the Earth by himſelf, call'd none from Heaven to his Aid. As he ſaid to Job, Where wast thou when I laid the Foundations of the Earth? declare, if thou haſt understanding, Job 38.4. Thou waſt far enough off from giving any help; ſo he may ſay to Angels, Where were ye when I ſtretched out the Heavens? declare, if ye have understanding. Some give that reaſon why they are not mentioned in the Creation of the World, in the firſt of Geneſis, to aſſure us, that God did not uſe their help in his Work. The Heavens are compared to a Curtain, Pſal. 104. and …o a Tent, Iſa. 40.22. Now we know that when Curtains or Tents that are very large, are to be ſtretcht out, as the phraſe is in that, Iſa. 44.24. there needs many Hands to it, one hand will not do it, many pair of hands muſt be put to it; but God ſpreadeth out thoſe wide large Curtains of Heaven alone, Job 9.8. He borrowed not one hand to it: Hast thou with him ſpread out the Skie, which is ſtrong as a molten Looking-Glaſs, Job 37.18. Was God beholden to thee for affording him thine Arms in the unfolding and ſpreading that broad vaſt piece.
In works of Providence, He doth ſome great things alone by himſelf; Job 26.7. He hangeth the Earth on nothing, without an Atlas to bear it up, and he preſerves Moſes forty days without Food, Exod. …2. And he doth all things without the help of his Creatures, even there, and then when he makes the moſt uſe of his Creatures. He uſeth Angels and Men in the Government of the World; he uſeth many means, as Food and Rayment, and Phyſick and Sleep, for the preſervation of our Health and Lives; but he doth all, as much and as ſurely as if he made not uſe of any means at all. He is the Soul of the World, that actuates every thing in it: Hence we read, That Inſtruments are called his Sword, Pſal. 17.14. His Rod, Iſa. 10.5. What can the Sword or the Rod do, without an Hand to cut or ſcourge with them; therefore when his Rod boaſteth as if it could ſcourge of it ſelf, Iſa. 10.12, 13. and as if it were the Hand too; By the ſtrength of my hand have I done it; I have removed the Bounds of the People, and robbed their Treaſure. God quickly contradicts ſuch vain babling, and confutes ſuch vain glorious boaſting, verſe 15. Shall the Axe boaſt it ſelf againſt him that heweth therewith, or the Saw magnifie it ſelf against him that ſhaketh it? Thou poor proud vain-glorious Wretch, Thou art a meer Axe, a Saw, and canſt no more move or cut of thy ſelf, then a Saw or an Axe that lyeth on the ground, which no man medleth with: Thou talketh arrogantly and ſaucily, as if thou didſt all, when thou didſt nothing: I did all, thou waſt all the while but the Axe and Saw in my Hand, which I made uſe of.
1. Whether God have little or great means, means or no means, it's all one to him; there is not a pinn to chooſe, as we ſay, for he doth as much when he hath means, as when he hath none, 2 Chron. 14.7. It's all one with thee to help with many, or with them that have no Power. It's not the leaſt difference to him, 'tis not ſo much as the ſmalleſt duſt in the Ballance to turn the Scale of Victory, whether God have many or few, any or none of his ſide.
God never made uſe of any Creatures, becauſe he had the leaſt need of them, or the leaſt help by them, but partly becauſe it is his pleaſure; he uſeth them becauſe he will uſe them: It's his pleaſure by the fooliſhneſs of Preaching, to ſave them that believe, 1 Cor. 1, 21. Not that he hath the leaſt aid from Preachers; ſo it's his pleaſure by Food and Sleep to preſerve mans life; not that he hath any help from them: Thy Viſitation preſerveth my Spirit, Job 10.12. Partly from his own Honour. Hereby he magnifieth his Sovereignty, and ſheweth his Dominion over all his Creatures, that they are all at his beck, and he can with a ſtamp of his Foot, or a glance of his Eye, or an hiſs of his Mouth, call them from the uttermoſt parts of the World, to execute his Command. My Hand hath laid the Foundations of the Earth, my right Hand hath ſpan'd the Heavens; when I call, they ſtand up together, Iſa. 48.13. The Flies, Caterpillars, Locuſts, Stars in their courſes, &c. all come at his call. Hereby he magnifieth his Power, that can do ſuch great things by weak means: He got himſelf glory on Pharaoh, when he made pitiful contemptible Creatures, as Lice and Flies, ſuch Plagues to him.
And by opening the Eyes of the blind, and quickening the Dead, by ſuch weak poor Inſtruments as Men are, his ſtrength is exceedingly exalted; We have this Treaſure in earthen Veſſels, that the excellency of the Power might be of God, 2 Cor. 4.7. Hereby he magnifieth his Wiſdom viz. in diſcovering the fitneſs and aptitude of his Creature to thoſe ends and purpoſes for which they were created. The uſe of a Tool diſcovers its worth, by diſcovering its ſerviceableneſs to that for which it was made. Partly to endear Creatures one to another; their mutual ſerviceableneſs each to other, cauſeth the greater amity and unity between them, 1 Cor. 12.21, 22, 23.
In ſpiritual things alſo God worketh alone, even when he hath many Ordinances and Miniſters to ſerve him: Thou workeſt all our Works in us, and for us, Iſa. 26.12. Not any Viſions, or Prophets, or induſtry of our own; but thou workeſt all. What is Paul? what is Apollos? Paul planteth, Apollo watereth; but God giveth the increaſe. So then (Obſerve) He that planteth is (a great Apoſtle? No,) nothing, and he that watereth is (an eloquent excellent perſon? No,) nothing; but God that giveth the increaſe, 1 Cor. 3.5, 6, 7. God doth not uſe Preachers, becauſe they help him in the converſion of Souls, but (as I ſaid before) becauſe it is his pleaſure, 1 Cor. 1.21. And he turneth it to his honour, 2 Cor. 4.7. Therefore it is often ſeen, that Miniſters of the largeſt Gifts, of the greateſt Grace, are not often the moſt ſucceſsful in their Labours; becauſe God would have us know, that it's not the Parts or Piety of the Preacher, but his Grace and Spirit that doth the Work: They are nothing, he is all in all. He made light the firſt day of the Creation, and not the Sun or Stars till the Fourth, to tell the World, that he can enlighten it without the Sun. It is a great Honour to God that he hath ſo many millions of Creatures at his will and pleaſure, that he hath ſo many Eyes to ſee for him, and ſo many Ears to hear for him, and ſo many Hands to work for him; but it is a greater Honour to him that he needeth none of them, He can do all without them; that though they are ſerviceable to him, yet they are not neceſſary to him. For God and all his Creatures do no more, can do no more then God without any of his Creatures.