190 OF SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS. thou canst do every thing, and no thought of thine can be hindered. Chap. xlii. 2. God hath spoken once, (saith the Psalmist,) twice have I heard this, that pow- er belongs unto God. Psa1. lxii. 11. It was that which God saw it necessary frequently to instruct him in. For we are ready to be affected with the ap- pearances of present power, in creatures, and to sup- pose that all things will go according to their wills, because of their power. But it is quite otherwise ; all creatures are poor, feeble ciphers, that can do nothing ; power belongs to God ; it is a flower of his crown im- perial, which he will suffer none to usurp ; if the proudest of themgo beyond the bounds and limits of his present perihission, he will send worms to eat them up, as he did to Herod. It is utterly impossible we should walk before God, to his glory, or with any real peace, comfort, or satis- faction in our own souls, unless our minds are contin- ually exercised with thoughts of his almighty power. Every thing that befalls us, every thing that we hear of, whichhath the least danger in it, will discompose our minds, and either make us tremble like the leaves of the forest, that are shaken with thewind, or betake ourselves to foolish or sinful relief, unless we are firm- ly established in the faith hereof. Consider the prom- ises of God to the church, which are upon record, and yet unaccomplished ; consider the present state of the church in the world, with all that belongs to it ; in all the fears and dangers they are exposed to, in all the evils they are exercised with, and we shall quickly find, that unless this sheet - anchor be well fixed, we shall be tossed up and down at all uncertainties, and exposed to most violent temptations, Rev. xix. 6. Un- to this end are we called hereunto by God himself, in
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