2

of his great

neffe.

Dent 4.36.

taines in Scales, and the Hills in a Ballance? that is, If you would looke upon any worke of the Crea tion,you may judge of the workman by it; if you fee a great Building, you conceive it to be made by a man of fome power; fo,when you looke upon the great Building of Heaven and Earth, you may thinke that hee did handle the materialls thereof, as an Architect doth handle the ftones, and lay them in the place, is great: now the Lord doth put the waters together,as if he held them in his hand; and he meafures out the Heavens, as a workeman measures out the roofe. Againe, every workman muft worke by the plummet,and by weight, now confider the great mountaines, faith he,he weighes them in Scales,and the Hills in a Ballance: as this building doth goe beyond mans, fo doth the greatneße of G O D exceed the greatneße of man: and by this you may take a glimpfe of the greatneffe of the Lord.

Secondly, by the enfignes of his greatneffe: By the eafigns The greatneffe of Princes is fet out by their enfignes, which are the declaration of it. Now, when the Lord would fhew his greatnesse, you fhall fee how he expreffeth it. Deut.4.36. when bee came out of the Mount, hee heard a great voice, and on the Earth there was a great fire: by that, you may know the greatneße of Go D. For why doth hee come foorth with thofe enfignes, clothed with them (as it were,) but that by this you might have a crevice opened, to fhew you the greatneffe of GOD? So when hee appeared to Elias, and in his apparitions to Mofes, to the

Prophets,

Prophet Ifaiah and Ezekiel. It is faidallo, that his voyce was as the found of many waters; and he was fo terrible, that it was an ufuall faying among the zemes, who can see God and live? Why for Becaufe when he appeared, when hee fhewed any fhadow of his greatnes,wcake flesh could not be hold him but was fwallowed up as it were with the greatneffe of his Majestie.

Thirdly, By the workes of his providence. Ezek. 36.23. And I will sanctifiemy great Name, who was prophaned among the heathen, which yee have prophaned in the midddeft of them; and the heathen fhall know that I am the Lord, faith the Lord GOD,mben 1 fball bee fanctified in you before their eyes. As if hee fhould fay; They make no account of me now, but when they fhall fee mee to bring downe great Babel, then they fhall know and beleeve, that I am a great GOD. Soelfewhere in Ezekiel hee compareth Albur, and Tyre, to a Lyon and Eagle, and a Cedar: and hee fayth, that hee will put a hooke into the Lyon, and deplume the Eagle, and overtop the Cedar: that is, hee will thew foorth his greatneße, at that time, when hee fhall bring downe thofe great nations.So the greatneffe of God is feene in his providence over every thing elfe; when hee fhall over throw a whole kingdome, and a great battell by a little accident, as great fhips are turned about by a little rudder, then his might appeares. So his ruling the windes,and feas, and weather, all which thewes the greatneße of his excellency. Therefore looke upon his judgements, and like

3

By the workes of his providence.

Exek 36.23.

4

By comparing

him with the

greatest things

wife upon his mercies, when you fee, how he raifeth men out of the duft, &c. All this fhewes the greatneffe of God,

Fourthly, It is fet out comparatively. To compare him with the greatest of men, Kings, what are they unto him, who is the King of Kings ? Nay, take Nations which are greater, nay take all Nations, you shall fee what they are to him. Ifay 40. 15. Behold, the Nations are as drop of a Bucket, and are counted as the fmall duft of the ballance: Behold, hee taketh up the Iles as a very little thing,and Lebanon is not sufficient to burne for a burnt offering. All Nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him leffe than nothing, and vanity. The very scope of this place is, to fhew the greatneffe of Ged by comparison. A Bucket of water is but a small thing, but the drops that fall from it, they are of no ufe: Againe, the duft of the earth is but a small thing, but the dust of the fcales, that will not fo much as turne them, that must needs be exceeding little; but all the world is not fo much to him, as that little duft. Another comparison you fhall finde in Ifa 55. My thoughts are above your thoughts, as the Heaven is above the earth.Beyond al things are the thoughts of man; for though Nations bee great, yet a mans thoughts goe beyond them: notwithftanding the LORD is as much beyond the fcantling, and modell that wee draw of him in our thoughts, as the Heavens are above the Earth. When you have thought upon mee as much as you can thinke; when you have thought

me

mee mercifull, (for that is the thing which he fpeakes of there) yet I am as much more mercifull, than you can think of me, as the Heavens are above the earth.

Fiftly, by the Immenfeneffe or extent of his be, ing, Ter. 23.24. Doe not I fill heaven and earth, faith the Lord? When we confider, that the Heaven of Heavens cannot containe him, that largeneffe of his Effence prefented to our mindes, will shew his greatneße to us.

Sixthly, by his holines is flowed his greatnes. Obferve, according as men keepe a greater diftance from others, (as Princes do) fo we efteeme them greater: Now his holineffe is nothing else, but his feparation and diftance from every creature. Every thing is holy because it is feparared from common ufes; and that is commor,which is not fequeftred: now the holineẞe of Gid goes beyond the holineffe of all other things, for God. is fo feparated as none may come neere him, the Cherubins cover their faces before him, and when hee was in the Mount, none may approach neere to him; if they did,they were to be thrust through: with a dart:He deels in light inacceffible, and therefore the great holineße of God fhewes the greatneffe of his Majefty.

M

Realons

The reafons of this Infiniteneße are thefe: Firft, from this very place, I Am hath fent Proved by 4 mee unto you. I AM fhewes that he hath a being from himfelfe, if fo,then he had no caufe. Now from hence, as in that hee had no efficient nor Baall caufe, bee is eternall, fo in that he hath nei

ther

He hath nei

ther matter norforme.

"

Reason 2.

ry.

ther matter nor forme, hee is infinite and incomprehenfible. And that is the reafon that he hath an unlimited effence,because all limitation proceeds either from the matter or from the forme: the forme is contracted by the matter:againe,the matter would bee indefinite, but it is contracted and bounded by the forme, and shut up into fuch a compaffe. Now God hath neither matter nor forme, nor nothing like it; therfore he is infinite. All the creatures,they have their feverall kindes, the Angels they have no matter, yet they have fomething in them answerable to matter & forme, wherin they agree, and difagree with other creatures: and therefore they are one kinde of creatures, and man another; which fhewes that they have formes to bound and limit them, in that the effence of the Angel goes fo far,and no farther; and fo the effence of man,&c. But in God,there is no fimilitude of any fuch thing, there is no Effe receptum, there are no limits in him, nothing to bound his effence: whereas creatures are Entia in a certaine kind, he is fimpliciter Ens, and therefore with out all limitation,and so must be immenfe.

Secondly, He is omnipotent and Almighty,he He is Almigh- can doe what foever he will:Whence I reafon, If hee have an infinite power, it cannot be but in an infinite effence; for as a thing is in working, so it is in being an infinite effect fuppofeth an infinite caufe: therefore when his power is infinite, that muft needes bee infinite, in which it is rooted,and from whence it proceeds.

Reafon 3.

Thirdly, That which is beyond all that wee

can