Things fecret and hidden, which if he dif Ground, and build a better; Thus it is covered, he would not be of that Judg with Man, according as he varies his Work, ment; and many Things may fall out he changes his Mind. But it is not fo which may give Ground of another Re- with God: All thefe Changes of His folution; and partly from the Weaknefs and Works, all the Succeffions of Times, the Perverfenefs of his. Will, that cannot be con- Variation of Dealings, the Alteration of ftant in any good Thing, and is not fo Difpenfations in all Ages, were at once in clofely united to it, as that no Fear or His Mind, and all before Him; fo that Terror can feparate from it; but there is He never goes to build a House, but He no fuch Imperfection in him, neither Ig- hath in His own Mind already determined norance, nor Weakness, all Things are all the Changes it fhall be fubject to: naked before Him; all their Natures, When He fets up a Throne in a Nation, their Circumftances, all Events, all Emer-it is in His Mind within fuch a Period to gents, known to Him are they, and all His Works from the Beginning, as perfectly as in the End; and therfore he may come to a fixed Refolution from all Eternity, and being refolved, He can fee no Reason of Change, because there can nothing appear after, which he did not perfectly discover from the Beginning, there fore, when ever ye read in the Scripture of the Lord's repenting, as Gen. vi. 7. 2nd Jer. xvi. 8. ye should remember that the Lord fpeaks in our Terms, and like Nurfes with their Children, ufes our own Dialect, to point out to us our great Ignorance of His Majefty, that cannot conceive more honourably of Him, nor more diftinctly of our felves. When he changeth all Things about Him, He is not changed, for all thefe Changes were at once in His Mind; but when He changeth His outward Difpenfation, He is faid to repent of what He is doing, because we ule not to change our Manner of Dealing, without fome conceived Grief, or Repentance, and Change of Mind. When a Man goes to build a House, he hath no mind but that it should continue fo, he hath not the leaft Thought of taking it down again, but afterward it becomes runinous, and his Eftate enlarges, and then he takes a new Refolution, to caft it down to the caft it down again; when He lifts up Men in Succefs and Profperity, He doth not again change His Mind when He throws them down, for that was in His Mind alfo; fo, that there is no Surprifal of Him by any unexpected Emergent. Poor Man hath many Confolations ere he come to a Conclufion; But it is not thus with His Counfel; of all these strange and new Things which fall out in our Days, He hath one Thought of them all from Eternity; He is one Mind, and none of all thefe Things have put Him off His Eternal 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, and concerning all: Our poor, narrow and limited Minds, muft part their Thoughts among many Bufineffes, one Thought for this, another for that, and one after another : But with Him there is neither Succeffion of Counfels and Purposes nor yet Plurality; but, as with one opening of His Eye, He beholdsall Things as they are; fo with one Inclination, or Nod of His Will He hath given a Law, and appointed all Things. If we can at one Inftant,and oneLook,fee both Light and Colours, and both the Glafs and the Shadow in it, and with one Motion of our Wills move towards the End, and the Means i Means? O, how much more may He with one fimple undivided Act of His good Will and Pleasure pass a Determination on all Things, in their Times, and Orders, and in His own Infinite and glorious Being perceive them all with one Look? How much Confolation might redound from this to believing Souls? Hath the Lord appointed you to fuffer Perfecution and Tribulation here? Hath he carved out fuch a Lot unto you in this Life? Then withall confider, that His Majefty hath Eternal Glory wrapt up in the fame Counfel, 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 Himfelf? Then know, that Life Eternal is in the Bofom of that fame Purpose which gave thee to believe this; though the one be born before the other, yet the Decree shall certainly bring forth the other. And for fuch Souls as upon this vain Prefumption of the Infallibility of God's Purposes, thinks it needless to give diligence in Religion, know, that it is one Mind and Purpose that hath linked the End and the Means together as a Chain, and therefore, if thou expecteft to be faved, according to Election, thou must according to the fame Counsel make thy Calling home from Sin to God, fure. Thirdly, What Thing foever He hath purposed, he in due Time applies to the Performance of it, and then the Counfel of His Will becomes the Work of His Hands, and there is an admirable Harmony and exact Agreement between thefe two: All Things come out of the Womb of his Eternal Decree, by the Work of his Power, even just fafhioned 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 expreffed in the Work of His Hands; there is no raw-half Wishes in God; Men have fuch imperfect Defires, I would have, or do, fuch a Thing if it were not, &c. He wavers not thus in Sufpenfe, but what he wills and defires, He wills and defires indeed; He intends, doubtless, it fhall be, and what he intends he will execute, and bring to pass; therefore His Will in due Time applies Almighty Power to fulfill the Defire of it; and Almighty Power being put to work by His Will, it cannot but work all Things acccording to the Counsel of His Will; and whatsoever His Soul defireth, that He cannot but do, even as He defires, seeing He can 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, fignifying what is your Duty, they do not fo much fignifie what he defires, or intends to work, or have done, as his Approbation of fuch a Thing in itself to be your Duty; and therefore, though He have revealed his Will concerning our Duty, though no Obedience follow, yet is not his Intention fruftrated or difappointed; for his Commands to you fay 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 and intends fhould be, certainly, he will do it, and make it to be done: If it be a Work of his own Power alone, himself will 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 Work, and not wait in fufpenfe on their Determination; If he have appointed fugh an End to be attained by fuch Means; If he have a Work to do by fuch Inftruments, then, without all Doubt, he will apply the In Inftruments when his Time comes, and will not wait on their Concurrence. You fee now ftrange Things done, you wonder at them, how we are brought down from our Excellency? How our Land is laid defolate by Strangers? How many Inftruments of the Lord's Work are laid a alide? How he lifts up a Rod of Indig nation 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. Be lieve then that there is not a Circumftance of all this Bufinefs, not one Point or Jot of it, but is even as it wasframed and carved out of old; his prefent Works are accord ng to an ancient Pattern, which he carries in his Mind; all the Measures and Degrees of your Affliction, all the Ounces and Grain Weights of your Cup, were all weighed in the Scales of his eternal Counfel, the Inftruments, the Time, the Manner, all that is in it. If he change Inftruments, that was in his Mind, if he change Difpenfations, that was in his Mind also; and feeing ye know by the Scriptures that a blef fed End is apppointed for the Godly, that all Things work for their Good, that all is fubfervient to the Church's Welfare; feeing I fay, you know his Purpofe is fuch as the Scripture fpeaks, then believe his Performance fhall be exact accordingly, nothing deficient, no Joint, no Sinew, in all his Work of Providence, no Line in all his Book and Volume of the Creature, but it was written in that ancient Book of his Eternal Counsel, and firft fashioned in that, Pfal. cxxix. 16. Then Lastly, His Will is irresistible, his Counfel mall stand, who can turn him from his Purpose, and who can hinder him from Performance? Therefore be attains his End, in the higheft and most fuperlative Degree of Certainty and Infal bibility; Himself will not change his own Purpofe, for why fhould he do it; if he change to the better, then it reflects on his Wifdom, if he change to the worle, it reflects both on his Wisdom and Goodness; certainly he can fee no Caufe why he fhould change it: But as Himfelf cannot change, fo none can hinder his Performance, for what Power think you, fhall it be, that may attempt that? Is it the Power of Men, of ftrong Men, of high Men, of any Men? No fure, for their Breath is in their Nof trils, they have no Power, but as He breathes 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 powerful indeed; but they neither can, nor will refift his Will. Let it be the whole University of the Creation, fuppofe all their scattered Force and Virtue conjoyned in one, yet it is all but finite, it amounts to no more, if you would eternally add unto it; but all Victory and Refiftance of this Kind, must be by a fuperior Power, or at leaft by an equal. Therefore we may conclude that there is no Impediment or Let,that can be put in his Way, nothing can obftruct his Purpose, if all the World should confpire as one Man to obftruct the Performance of any of his Promises and Purposes, they do but rage in vain, like Dogs barking at the Moon, they fhall be fo far from attaining their Purpose, that his Majefty fhall difabuse them (fo to speak) to his own Purpose, he fhall ap ply them quite contrary to their own Mind, to work out the Counsel of his Mind? Here is the abfolute King, only worth the Name of a King and Lord, whom all Things in Heaven and Earth obeys at the first Nod, and Beckning to them. Hills, Seas, Mountains, Rivers, Sun and Moon, and Clouds, Men and Beafts, Angels and Devils, all of them are acted, moved, and inclined according to his Pleas fure, all of them are about his Work in deed, as the, Refult of all in the End hall make it appear, and are Servants at his Command, going where he bids go, and coming where he bids come, led by an invifible Hand, though in the mean tune they know it not, but think they are about their own Business, applaud themselves for a Time in it, ducunt volentem fata, nolen tem trabunt. Godly Men who know his Will and love it are led by it willingly, for they yield themselves up to his Difpofal But wicked Men, who have contrary Wills of their own, they can gain no more by refifting, but to be drawn along with it. There is nothing, wherein I know! Chriftians more deficient than in this Point of Submission, which I take to be one off the chiefeft and sweeteft, though hardeft Duties of a Chriftian. It is hardly to be found among Men, a through Complyance> of the Soul to what his Soul, defires, at real Subjection of our Spirits to his good. Will and Pleafure: There is nothing fo much. bleffed in Scripture, as waiting on him, as yielding to him to be difpofed upon; Bleffed are all they that wait on Hime: Pride is the greatest Oppofite, and he op poses himself not to that, for it is in its ownNature moft derogatory to the High nefs and Majefty of God, which is His very Glory; therefore Submiffion is moft acceptable to him, when the Soul yields its felf and its Will to him: He conde fcends far more to it, he cannot be an Enemy to fuch a Soul; Submiffion to his Majefty's Pleafure, is the very bowing, down of the Soul willingly, to any Thing He does or commands: Whatever Yoke.. he puts on, of Duty or fuffering, to take it on willingly, without anfwering again.. which is the great Sin condemned in Ser vants; to put the Mouth in the Duft, and to keep filence, becaufe He doth it. I was dumb with filence, I opened not my Mouth, because thou didst it; there is Submiffion indeed, Silence of Mind and Now to what Purpose is all this fpoken of God's Decrees and Purpofes, which he hath called a fecret belonging to Himself? If his Works and Judgments be a great Depth, and unfearchable, fure his Decrees are far more unfearchable: For it is the fecret and hidden Purpose of God, which is the very Depth of his Way and Judg ment. But to what Purpofe is it all, I fay, not to enquire curiously into the Particulars of them, but to profit by them: The Scripture holds out to us the Unchangeable nefs, Freedom, Extent, Holinefs and Wif-Mouth, a Reftraint put upon the Spirit to dom of them, for our Advantage, and if think nothing grudgingly of Him, for any this Advantage be not reaped we know Thing he doth: It is certainly, the great them in vain. Not to burden your Me- eft Fault of Chriftians, and Ground of mory with many Particulars, we fhould many more, that ye do not look to God, labour to draw forth both Inftruction and but to creatures in any Thing befals you, Confolation out of them. Inftruction, therefore there are fo frequent Rifings of I fay, in two Things especially, to fubmit Spirits against his Yoke, frequent fpurnwith Reverence and Refpect to his Majeftyings against it, as Ephraim unaccustomed in all his Works and Ways, and to truft with the Yoke, fo do ye, and this is it in him who knows all his Works, and only makes it heavy and troublesome; if will not change his Mind, thhere there were no more Reafon for it, but your own Gain, it is the only Way to Peace and Quietnefs, Durum fed levius fit patientia, quicquid corrigere eft nefas, your Impatience cannot Help you, but hurt you, it is the very Yoke of your Yoke; but quiet and filent ftooping makes it eafie in it felf, and brings in more Help belide, even Divine Help: Learn this I befeech you, to get your own Wills abandoned, and your Spirits fubdued to God, both in the Point of Duty and Difpenfation. If Duties commanded cross thy Spirit (as certainly the Reality and Exercife of Godliness must be unpleasant to any Namore) know what thou art called to, to quite thy own Will to Him, to give up thy felf to his Pleasure fingly, without fo much refpect to thy own Pleasure or Gain; learn to obey Him fimply because he commands, though no Profit redound to thee, and by this Means thou shalt in due Time have more fweet Peace and real Gain, though thou intended it not. And in cafe any Difpen ation crofs thy Mind, let not thy Mind rife up against it, do not, fall out with Providence, but commit thy Way wholly to him, and let him do what he pleafes 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, befides the Honour redounds o him. Then I would exhort you from this Ground, to trust in him; feeing, he alone poor vain depending Creatures? Why do ye not forfake your felves? Why do ye not forfake all other Things as empty Sha dows? Are not all created Powers, Habits, Gifts, Grace, Strength, Riches, &c. like the Idols in Comparison him, who can neither do Good, neither can they do Ill? Curfed is be that trufts in Man Jer. xvii. 15, 16. There needs na other Curfe than the very Difappointment you shall meet withal. Confider I be feech you that our God can do all Things, what ever he pleafes in Heaven and Earth, and that none can obftruct his Pleasure; bleft is that Soul for whom the Counfel of his Will is engaged, and it is engaged for all that truft in him; he can accomplish his good Pleasure in thy Behalf, either with out, or against Means, all Impediments and Thorns fet in his Way, he can burn them up: You who are Heirs of the Promiles, O know your Privilege, what his Soul defireth, he doth even that and what he hath feriously promifed to you, he defies. If you ask, who are Heirs of the Promifes? I would anfwer fimply, thefe and thefe only who do own them, and challenge them, and claim to them for their Life and Salvation; these who feek the Inheritance only by the Promife, and whofe Soul defires them and imbraces them. O if you would obferve how unlike ye are to God, ye change of ten, ye turn often out of the Way, but that were not fo ill if ye did not imagine him is the abfolute Sovereign Lord of all to be like ill if y Things, feeing he has paft a Determination upon all Things, and accordingly they must be, and feeing none can turn him from his Way, your Telves, and it is Unbelief which makes him like to your felves when your Frame and tender Difpofition changes, when Prefence and Accefs to God is reO then Chriftians moved; that is wrong, it fpeaks out, a mortal Creature indeed; but if it be fo O do no more wrong, do not by your Sufpicions and Jealoufies, and Questioninge of him imagine that he is like unto you, learn to commit your felves to him in all Things, both for this Life and the Life to come; Why are ye fo vain and Foolish, as to depend and hang upon 'N and |