to theE P HE S I AN S. able to ask or th:nk in that fenfe: Above all our knowledge, as I /hewed the word~ is ufed in this Epil\le to the Epbejia11s, It IS a power •bove all refi~ance which ~ermo" any Creature can oppofe, and It IS fo great a power, fo excelling, as m compan- XXIII. fon of it the Creature hath no power. This Ifhcwed to be the force of the words ~ from parallel places of the New Te!lamenr. . ft Then Secondly, here he fetteth forth the efficacy of this power, he calleth it the t.Jfeefnat workiJJg of the mrght of hu power; ,..g.-rrl. nif fvip)'t•:tsT' x.pdmH 71is- i~rf®d"''' I !hewed you that the phrafe is put for efficacy of working, fuch as bath always fuccefs, t'akcs effect, and brmgsthe thmgs to pafs. And therefore now to (]1ew that God when he thus worket,h, he worketh effectually, he cloth put two words together, the ejfefiuat worki?~,g (faith he,) of the '?"ght of hi& Jlrn~~th, the might of IllS power; fo you may fee the words vaned m your Margins. The word that is tranllated Power l<x.J&-, it fignifieth natural f!rength ; the word xp.:T;, ,;, l,x.J.,._; the might of that ltrength it is the utmo!l extenfion of it; as when a Man is faid to do a thing with the might of his !lrength, the meaning is, he putted! as it were the utmo!t f!ren~th but that he will effect it. The word xrh&. is fo taken in the V~rgm Manes Song, L11ke I. )I. that wluch IS here rranllated mighr, it is uken there for the extenfion, the f!retehing forth of the f!retchingof God, ;.,,;,,..,,h@-, ''~P•x.l,, He hllthjhewedflrmgth (faith/he,) it is the fame word,) with hu Arm. Now, the Arm you know ts the flronge!l part of a Man, He wrought j/rength wilh his /lrm, he put it forth to the tull ; <lnd ll1e fpeaketh it ofthe greatefi work that ever God did, which was the Incar– nation of the Son of God. Or the word omp~i>J-ov, is the Authority, the command of his f!rength, the prerogative of his Urength.. He doth not work in this with an ordinary power, but as Kinas work Wtth theirordmary power, and they wdl !lretch their preroga– tive, fo do'th God in this, it is the working of the prerogative of his might and of his power. ""I So now you fee Fir!l, the excellehcy of this power in thofe wofl:!s, The exceed– inggreatnefs of hi< power. . You fee the efficacy of it in thofe words, Accor– dmg to the workmg of hu mrghtj power. Now then in the Third place, Obferve concerning the power of God in gene– ral, that God hath proportions of work, putteth forth his power more or lefs. When he (peaks here ofthe power toward believers, faith he, it holdeth propor– tion, it is according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Chrifi when he railed him from the dead, Always God proportioneth the put– ting forth of his power to his work, fheweth more power in one work than in a. notl1er, Therefore you find in Scripture, fometimes mention of the finger of God, as in thofe Miracles in Egypt, Exod. 8, '9·the Magicians acknowledge that it wos the Finger of God. And our Saviour Cbrif! when he wrought Miracles here below, Mojes being his Type, and thofe Magicians that oppofed Mofes be– ing Types of the PIHrifas, he therefore ufeth the fame phrafe, If I, faith he, 6y the Finger of Godcajl om 'Devils. Here is the Finger of God you fee, Well fometims God putteth forth his Hand, which is more than his Finger; as it is fa id he brought the People out of theLand of Eg;pt with a Urong hand, But then in other works he putteth forth h1s Arm, which is more than his Hand, nnd then he cometh to his might, He/heweth '"';~ht with hi& Arm, faith lhe, Lttke I. ) I. AndP[a/.89. '7· Thouhaf/amightyArm, faith he, fpeakingof God. Sothat you fee there arc proportions of power God puttetl1 forth and in this work what ever it be, there. is the tnight of his Arm, the might of his powet, there is the prerogative of IllS power; there is the <;,;ceedihg greatnefs ofhis power exereifed toward believers, as I i11ewed the la!lday. And fo much now for the conGdcra– tion of the power of God as here in general it is fpoken of God. The Second Head that I obferved in thefe word, is, the Subject of this power, whom it works upon, theperfons. What uthe Excadi11ggreat1tefs of hu pow. er I? us-ward. To us whom he had fpoken of in the former verfes, Elected in ChnQ before all .worlds, and the Obfervation I raifed from thence was this. That of all the works of God, ( feeing he bath the fame proportion of p~we<, more 10
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