Chap. 36. .InExpofïtion upon theBook of JO a. Verf.26. po;ver of God is the powerful God, and therefore his power mull needs be great ; the wifdotaa of God is the wife God,and therefore his wifdocn mua needs be very 'great; the mercy of God is the merciful God, and therefore his mercynaufl needs be very great And thus we may proceed in . our meditationsquite throughall the divine Attributes. And as God is great inhis being, fo he is great inhis working, he dothgreat things. The Pfalmiti faith, he isgaol, anddohgood; he is altogreat,anddothgreat thirsgr ; he is the fiítl, the chief, and the bea being, and his doings are filch as he is, he doch like him- felf. God is great, and he bathan excellent, an excellingreatnefs, Praifebim ( faith David, Plat, 15o. z,) according tohis excel- lent greatnefs,_ or as thewords may well bear, according to his mucbnsfs of greatnefs ; for when the Scripture faith, Goal isgreat, this pofitive is robe taken as a fuperlatìve, Clod is great, that is, he is greater}, he isgreater thanall, togroat that all perlons and all things ara little, yea, nothing before. him (Ifa. q.®. r 5,)Be- bold thenations are (tohim but) as the deop of the bucket, andare countedbut as thefinal daft ofthe ballance : behold, he taketb up the !Iles as avery little thing , they are as nothing, and they are counted to himat left than nothing andvanity. How great is God in comiaarifonof whom the greatea things are little things, yea, the greateti things are nothing: Behald,god u great. From this excellent Attribute, thegreat- Heft ofGod, I have wide feveral Inferences already,at the r 2t h. verfe of the 3 3d chapter ; yet I tlaall infer fome thing -s further here, both for our dire&ionand confolation. Firf#, If God be great and greatea, then fear him greatly. great is the Lord (raid 'David, in his thankfgiving-fond, a ehron, 16. 2i.)' be alfo is to be fearedabove allgods; that is, above all the great powers an earth, and above all the imaginary powersof heaven. Idols, who are the fancied powers of heaven, are rune- times calledgods inScripture ; fo likewife are Princes or Magi- Etraces, who are real powers on earth.Now,faith David (who was Ale of chofe gods, and a great one) fear him above all gods Why ? Becanfe he is above all gods, he is higher than the highedl and be is greater than the greateba ; therefore fear him above all gods, yea, thereforefear, or worflolphim allyegods (Pjal:g7.7.) Many fay with their mouches, God is grear,yea,infinitely greater B bb than 369
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