16 On the Nature of God. larn,i.i7. There is no lhadow of change. Indeed there' is a change in the creature, but nothing at all in God ; as if you bring a peece of wax to the Sun it melts it, and clay,it hardens it, here is a different effe &; of the Sun , but the Sun is the fame ;; fo bring the creature in one difpofition to God, and the love of God , and delight of God is in it ; bring the creature in another difpofition to God , and the wreath of God is upon it, yet God is the fame, only the variety is in the creature. And therefore his Name alone is excellent, and the creature, whatfoever excellence it hath, it changes up and down : As there is no fhadow of change with God, fo no fhadow of confiancy in the creature. io Further in the next place, All thefe things aEeeffen- Aurequid eft tially in God; whatfoever is in God, it is his being, its God u veo eft Dens himfelf : This one thing would much help you to under - ftand the Nature of God, that whatfoever can bee truly faid of God, it is God himfelf ; as thus , Gods wifdome is God himfelf ; Gods mercy is God himfelf ; Gods power is God himfelf : it is not fo in the creature , a mans wifdome is not a mans being , they are feparable , one may bee fe- parated from the other ; but Gods wifdome is Gods be,n ; a mans power and flrength is not his beeing , but Gods is, fo a mans mercy and goodnefs is not his beeing , but Gods is, and therefore (as before) thefe things that are varioufly conceived by us , they are not onely one in God , but his verybeeing , and this doth mightily adde to the glory of God, that whatfoever is in God, it is the very effence and beeing of God himfelf : There things that wee fpeak of God (as I told you) becaufe God is fo infinitly above us, it is very hard to make them plain to every underflanding; and no marvel , becaufe wee are fallen fo far from him ; and as I have gone along, I fear that a great many are ready to think, Lord what are thefe things,wee cannot ap- prehend them ; why then go thy wayes home and bee humbled for that great fall of mankmde , Oh how far is man fallen by his fin ? wee fee now why God dwells in the thick, clod and darkxefs : Oh how far am I fallen cfo r
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