thers, the GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Ifaac, and the GOD of Lacob bath fent me unto you: this is my Name for ever, and this is my memoriall unto all genera tions.

F GOD be the LORD of being, full of being in himfelfe,and giving being to every thing; learne then to give him his praife. Pfal. 60.4. Te Jhall praife the Lord, and ye shall extoll him by his Name IAH; for he onely brings enterprifes to paffe: as he gives being to every thing so he gives being to all the workes that are wrought by the creatures. If our being be from him,much more all our works are wrought by him, because they are but dependants on our being. Now this GOD takes to himfelfe, as moft proper to himfelfe,and that from his Name, IHOVAH: there be many places for this; I will doe it, for I am InMOVAH, &C.

Now if the creature fhall fay; I have fuch a purpose,fuch a project in my heart,and I will doe it,I will bring it to paffe: what is it, but to arrogate that to himfelfe, which is proper to InнoVAH? Which is a greater finne than we are aware of; for it is no leffe than Idolatry, and the LORD fo takes it, Efay 42. 8. I am the LORD, that is my Name; and my glory will not I give to another, neither my praife to graven Images: that is, I will take a fpeciall care, that you fhall not fay, that

you

your Images doe bring things to paffe, for then they should be called IRHOVAN; it being proper alone to me,to bring any thing to paffe.

So a man may apply it to any thing elfe: If a man shall say, that his owne wit, or worth, or induftrie, &c. doth bring things to paffe, he takes that praife which peculiarly belongs to God, and gives it to the creature, whereas the Lord fayes, INNOVAH is my Name,and there is not the leaft thing,but I bring it to paffe. Take heed therefore of that fecret Idolatry, God hates it: it is a place which you know, Hab.1.16. Therefore they facrifice Hab.1. x6. unto their Net, and burne incenfe unto their Drag, becaufe by them their portion is fat,and their meat plenteous. Sacrifice is due onely to God: Now to gocabout any thing,and to fay,that thy wealth brings it to paffe, is to facrifice to their owne Net; that is, to attribute that to thy felfe,which is proper only to him.

Againe,as it is Idolatry, so it is a vaine thing to doe it; for we are not able to doe any thing, Pfal. 37. He will bring it to paffe; there the Lord takes it as peculiar to him only: therefore in Efay 26.12. (you may compare them both together) it is faid there; Lord,thou wilt ordaine peace for us, for thou also hast wrought all our workes in us. The scope of this place is this: Other men (faith he) they forget God,they carry themselves aloft ; but it is he that will ordaine us peace, though none elfe fhall put his hand to it: it is he that doth all our workes for us; not our fpeciall workes onely,but all: it is not any man,or any creature, that doth them; it

It is a vanitic.

Pfal.37.5.

Efay 26. 11.

is be that workes all our workes for us. And if we did beleeve this,we fhould looke upon him with another eye, and ferve him after another manner, we should be more dependent on him,we should be more fervent in prayer; and not when we would do any thing,turne every stone,and knock at every creatures doore, to fee what helpe they could give us; but our eye would be towards him: for it is in vaine to runne to them; no creature can doc it: there is no enterprife, but hath many wheeles; and the ftopping of one wheele,hinders the whole enterprife; and it is he,that turnes all thofe wheeles, commands all, must bring it to paffe, or elfe the least thing will hinder our greateft enterprises: therefore you fee that the fairest bloffomes of our endevours doc often wither,and the most unlikely things many times doe come to paffe.

See it in David (to give you an example of it) when bee did truft God, hee had a promise of the kingdome,but not that he him felfe fhould get it, his owne power fhould not doc it; and yet the wheeles of Gods providence did bring it to paffe. So when he staid his hand from killing Nabal,did not the Lord bring it to paffe in a better manner than he could have done? likewise, after he had the Kingdome, Abner was his great enemic, but yet David did nothing, but what was right; and you fee how God did bring it to paffe, he tooke away his life,without any hand of David. So Ifbbofbeth was his enemie; yet when David fate ftill, and did nothing, his head was brought to him

(though

(though they that did it, did it wickedly) yet it was an act of Goos providence to him. Thus things are done for the beft, when wee commit them to him, but if we doe them our felves, we are as they that fifbed all the night long, and caught nothing; yet when Chrift came, and bade them to caft in the net, then they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: So it is with us, when we goe about any enterprife of our felves, it is in vaine, we are not able to doe it. There is a double going about any enterprife; when we goe about an enterprife without God, and when wee goe about it with him. Wheh we goe about it without God, I confeffe,fome things may be brought to paffe; and that will ferve to answer an objection which you have fully expreffed in Pfal.37.7. Rest in the Pfal. 37.7. Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not thy felfe becaufe of him who profpereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to paße. There is the objection.

For when we teach this doctrine of trufting in God, as David had before, verse 5. the objection then is; there are many that doe not trust in God, and yet they bring their things to paffe.

To this we anfwer; 1. that either they doc it not, it withers under their hand

2 Or elfe, if they doe it, it is to no purpofe, they receive no comfort from it. Therefore hee addes; the evill doer fhall be cut off, that is, though they doe goe farre in an enterprise, yet they never come to the end, they reape not the fruit of it, hee cuts them off; fo that if you looke

Object.

Aufw

Of those that truft not in

God, and yet doe profper.

Vse 4. Learne the vanity of all creatures, and the remedy against it.

Alts 17. 28.

to the iffue, it is as good as nothing.

3

It tends to their owne hurt, to their owne ruine; if they get wealth, favour with great men, credit, &c. the fword turnes into their owne bowels,their eafe flayes them, and it turnes to their owne destruction. Therefore take heed of it; if thou doest goc about it with God, hee will give thee the comfort of it. One thing brought to paffe by him, is better than a thousand by our felves withouthim.

Learne from hence the onely remedy against the vanity that all creatures are fubject to, that we have to doe withall; for what is the reason of that mutabilitie we finde in all things? Is it not from hence, that they have no being of their owne? If you looke to the Rocke, to the foundations from whence they were hewen, and to the hole of the pit from whence they were digged, they were made of nothing, and are readie to returne to nothing. Take a glasse, or an earthen veffell, they are brittle, if you aske the reafon, they are made of brittle materials; plate is not fo; the felfe-fame is the reason of all the creatures vanity under the Sunne, they are made of nothing. Therefore there is no way to remedie this, but to looke up to Go D, A. 17. 28. For in himwe live, move, and have our being. This is the meaning of it; They have not onely had their being from him at the first, but their being is inhim: We have our being in him, as the Beames in the Sunne, and an Accident in the Subje&.

Therefore