692, C'hsp, 2.5.. 4,2 Expefition upen the Book of jQ Vert, 3. my, hee brought himforth andfayd, looke nol towardsheaven, and tell the Starres, if thou be able to number them. e.4'd hefayd um hint, to fba7 thy feed be ( Gen. 15 5 ) that is, thy 'feed thail be numberleffe, as the Starres are.numberleffe. Thirdly , By the( Armyes wee may underfiand, not only the Angelis,and the Sunne,Moone,and Starres,that heavenly hoft,but any creature, yea all the creatures,from the Elephant even ro the worm: that creepeth upon the ground, or to the fly that buzzeth in the gyre, or to the lice that breede out of corruption. All thefe are the Armyes ofGod ;and by thefe he can doehis workeas well as by the Angelis inheaven. What' were thearmyes ofGod, with which he made warre upon Pharaoh ? were theynot flyes and lice and furl like contemptible ereatures,muftred together at his com- mand ? therefore the Text may well fay, Is there any number: fhu armies:God can leavy an army upon the earth, not onely ofmen, but of beafts, and not onely ofLyons and Elephants, the ffoureft and greateft bails, but of the weakeft and meaneft,and not onely of the weakeft and meaneft among living creatures, but of the ve- ry Inanimate creatures, the ftones in the feìlds, the winds in the ayre, the watersofthe Sea, yea the fand of the Sea, and the very duff of the earth are the arrnyes ofGod,if flee give them commit- lion and fend them forth. God and the weakeft creature are an overmatch for theftrougeft creatures ,'Ticno matter how meane the meanes is, or how inconóiderable the inftrument,fo it be in the hand of God , fo it be of Gods providing, and goe forth at his bidding. God can leavy an army where he will, and out ofwhat he will, and it (hail doe the deed. Now if all things or any thing maybe his army, no marvayle if it be fayd, Is there any numbeu of his Armlet? Hence obferve. elk creatures are the heft the Arnsyes rfgod. They may be called his Armyes in a threefold confïderation. FirC, B caufe of their multitude, a few cannot make an ar- my. There are many creatures of every kinde, how many then are all of every kinde put together ? Secondly , .They are his Armyes, becaufeof their Order ; The greateft many out oforder doe not make an Army, but a throng or heape. Armyes are cnartiall'd and difciplin'd, trayned and taught,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=