Seim. XCIS. The Power of God: 741 I thall fpeak to that which David makes the fir Grbund of our Confidence, thé Power of God; Power belongs to God: For which he brings the Teftimony of God himfelf, once bathGod fpoken, yea twice havé I heard this. Some Interpreters trouble themfelves about the Meaning of this Expreffion, as if it did refer to fome particular Revelation of God; and then again, they are troubled how to.reconcile God's fpeaking this but Once, with David's hearing it twice : But I do not love to fpie Myfteries in thofe Exprefiions, which are capable of a plain Senfe ; for I un- derftand nomore by it but this, that God bath feveral times revealed this ; he frequently declared himfelf by this Attribute , once, yea twice, that is, he hath fpoken it often, and David had heard it often. This is anfwerable to that Phrafe of the Latins, Semel aequo iterum ; and it is ufual in all Writers, to ufe a certain Number for an uncertain,and particularly among Poets,Felices ter & amplius,Hor: And fo in the Poetical Writers of Scripture, lob S. 59. he hath delivered thee in fix troubles, yea, in fevers there (hall no evil touch thee ; that is, in feveral and vari- ous Troubles. Ecclef a a. z. Give a portion to fovea andalfo to eight, that is, di- ftribute thy Charity to many ; and which is neareft to this, lob 40. S. Once have Ifpoken, but Iwill not anfwer ; yea twice, but I will proceed no farther: that is, I havehad feveral Difcour(es with my Friends ; and 33. 14. GodJpeaketh once, yea twice, that is, God hath often declared this. And if I would be fo curious to refer to a particular declaration of God, I Ihould think, that it related either to the Preface to the Law, I am the Lord thy God, that is, the great and powerful God, that broughtthee outof the Land ofEgypt;or rather to the declaration whichGod made ofhimfelf to Abraham, Ifaac, and ÿacob, by the name of the Almighty God, Gen. 57. r. Concerning which revelation of God, it is faid exprefly, Ex. 6. 3. I ap- peared unto Abraham, and Ifaac, and7acob, by the Name of God Almighty, but by my Name Jehovah, was Inot known to them. But that which I defign to fpeak to is the Propofition it felt, that Power belongs to God ; that is, that the excellency of Power, Power in its higheft degree and perfection all Power belongs to God, that is, that Omnipotence is a Property or Per- fedion of the Divine Nature. In the handling of this, I Ihall thew, Firfl, What we areto underf'and by the Omnipotence ofGod. Secondly, that this Perfection belongs toGod. Firfl, Wkat we areto.underftandby the Omnipotence ofGod. And thisI ¡hall confider, I. As to the Principle. And, II. As to the Exercife of it. I. As to the Principle, it is an ability to do all things , the doing of which fpeaks Power and Perfeélion ; that is, whatever is not repugnant either to the nature of things, or of God ; whatever does not imply a contradiction in the Thing, or an imperfection in the Doer ; an ability to do all things which are confiftent with it felf and with the Divine Nature and Perfection ; by which we mull mean an executive Power, the Effect whereof is, without himfelf; for what he is faid todo within himfelf , the ads of his Underflanding and Will , as we conceive his Will to. be diltind from his Power, arenot to be referr'd to his Om- nipotence. To have a right Conception of Omnipotence we mutt imagine the molt perfect alive Principle that we can, and 'tis frill fomething more perfect than that, or any thing we can imagine. To help our Conception, a. Let us imagine a Principle from which all other Power is derived, and upon which it depends, and to which it is perfectlyfubjet and fubordinate. Aperfèt active Principle, which can do, not only what any finite Being or creature can do, but what all Beings joyned together can do; nay more and greater things than they all cando. 3. Aperfect active Principle, to which nothing can make any confiderable, much lefs effectual Refiftance, which can check and countermand at Pleafure, and carry down before it, and annihilate all other Powers that we can imagine betides this ; becaufe we cannot imagine any other Power , that is not derived from this, and does not depend upon it. 4. A
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