Serm.CXCVI. fearingCodmore thanMan. 639 More particularly in thefe words you have imply'd all thofe advantages which the powerof God hath above thepower of Man. Not to infrft upon that, which yet the Text takes notice of, that God can do all thatMan can do ; be can kill the body, which is imply'd in thefe words, after he bath killed. He can blaff our Re- putation, and ruine our Elate, and aftlid our Bodies with the iharpeft pains, and finite us withdeath. And God doth all that with eafe, whichMen many times do with great labour and endeavour; they are glad to ufè theutmoft of their wit and power and contrivance to do us mifchief ; but God can do all things bya word : if he do but fpeak, judgments come : we are but a little duff, and the leaft breath of God can diffipate us : he bath all creatures at his command, ready to execute his will. So that whatever Man, or any creature can do, that God can : and infinite- ly more ; and this is that which I }hall briefly open to you, wherein the power of God doth exceed the power of Man, in thefe following particulars. t. God's power is abfolute, and independent upon any other ; not fubjeSc to be at any time check'd and controul'd by a fuperior power, becaufe there isnone great- er above it. There is a higher than thehi-shell upon earth, and one that may ihy to the greateft and proudeft of the Sons of Men, What deft thou ? God can forbid any man to execute his purpofe, when he is moll firmly refolved and deter- mined but when he bath a mind to manifeft his power, he needetil not afk any Man's leave. Fear him that loath power , lltscfav ëxovatc, that halb 3uthority ; he bath an independent power, and a fovereign right over the lives of Men, becaufe they are all his creatures, and when he will put forth his power, there is none can refill or challenge him. God did once force this acknowledgmentfrom one ofthe greateft and proudeft Kings of theEarth, Nebuchadnezzar, Dan.4.35. He dotb ac- cording to bis will in the armies ofHeaven, andamong the Inhabitants of theearth, and none can fay into him, What doll thou ? 2. His power reacheth to the Soul as well as the Body. He can annihilate Soul and Body. : He that brought all things into being by his word, can with as much cafe make them vanifh into nothing; as he fpake the word, and they were made; fo hecan command, and they_hall not be. By the leaft breath of his mouth he can turn us into nothing; nay, upon the very withdrawing of thofe influences of his power andgoodnefs, whereby we are maintained and fuported inbeing, our Bodies wouldvanilla and flue away like a jhadow, and ourfpirits alto wouldfail before him, and thefouls which he bath made. And as he can annihilate the Souls of Men, if hepleafe, fohe can torment them. He that made our Souls, and can make them happy, can likewife make them mife- rable ; for he is a Spirit, and bath power over ours; he can(hoot his arrows into them, andmake them flickfait there ; he canwound our Souls with invifible darts, and fill our fpirits with fecret anguilh and amazement. When he fends a fword without to deftroy our Bodies, he can fend terrors within to torment our Minds ; hecan diftraflus with terrors, as David fpeaks, Pfal.88. s 5 nay, he can make us a terror to our felves, and by letting look our thoughts upon us, can make us more miferable, than all theTyrants in the world cando, by the molt exquifite torments; and that in this life, as we fee in the inftance of Francis Spiro. When the Father of fpirits will take us under correflion, he can chaftife us to purpofe, and make our own guilty confciences to fling and lath us, and our minds to torture themfelves by furious reflethons upon themfelves. All this God can do in this life. 3. In the other world he can raife our Bodies again, and re-unite them to our Souls, and cal them into Hell, and torment them there. This is that which St.Matthew calls defiroying body and foul in bell. And what the mifery of that fiate !hall be, the Scripture in the general gives usan account, defcribing it to us by the greateft anguish, and the moil (harp and fenfible bodily torments, by the Worm that dies not, that is, that guilt which thall eternally gnaw the confciences of (inners ; and by the fire which is not quenched, that is, the everlafling pains of the Body. In the other world God will raife theBodies of wicked men, and re-unite them to their Souls, and calf them together into Hell, to be tormented there; and this is that which is call'd the fecond death : and as tortur'd perfons, when they are taken
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