Caryl - Houston-Packer Collection BS1415 .C37 v6

Chap. 21. An Expofition upon the Book of J o B. Verf. 15, 695 That they being in fo flonrifhing and full a condition them- felves, neither needed nor hoped for any thing from his full- nes : They could fubfift well enough without him, or any fup. plyfrom him ; why fhould they ferveor waite upon him in hope ofmore; when they had enough in their own hand and pofeffon already : nor had they faith to believe that it would be better with them,or that they should receive any good from him, howmuch, how long, or howwell faever they fhould ferve him, What is the Almighty, or what hath he in (tore for us, that we fhould ferve him ? If we knit and conjoyn both thefe confiderations of the word together, we may paralel or exemplifie the wholecompaffe oftheir queftion,with that lewd and Atheiftical fpeech recorded from the mouthes of forne bons of Belial in his time by the prophet Zepheniah ( Chap. 1. i a.) It /hallcome to paf fe at that time,that Iwillsearch 7trufalem with candles,and Iwill punil themen that arefetledon their leef,that fa' in their heart,the Lord willnot doe good,neither will he doe evil. Whereas the Lord by hisholy Prophet IJaiah ( Chap. 41. 23.) challengeth the falfe Gods or Idols, to give tefimony and proofe of their divine power, orthat they are Gods by thew- ing things to come, and by doing good or evill, thefe conclude that God cannot give proofe of his divine power, by doing either good or evill, Which is as much as to fay, that he can doe nothing at all : for feeing all things that are done, are ei- ther good or evill, he that can doe neither, cannot doeany thing. Thus they wickedly imagined the Lord to be what Idols indeed are, who have eyes and fee nor, Bares and heare not, feet but walke not, and hands but cannot a& or execute. And that's the femme of this blafphemie, which 706 afcribed here to the wicked, what isthe tv(lmighty, that we!build ferve him ? We neither regard the benefit nor the dammage that he can doe us : we are neither troubled at his omnipotency, as if he coulddeflroy us in his wrath when he is difpleafed at us, nor are wehungry after his Allfufficiercy, as ifhe could fuftaine us in his love, were he every way pleafed by us, what is the Al- mighty ? That we/he oldferve him ? Why fhould wetake upon us his livery and become his fera v;nts ?

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