The Breastplate of Faith and Love

Secondly, he is strong, Jehovah, strong, merciful and gracious, &c. that is, Almighty. What is the meaning of that, that he is almighty? The meaning of it is this, that the Lord hath all the excellencies; those which we call graces and virtues, and qualities in men, all these abound in the Lord; for what serves any virtue for, or any quality that you have, but to enable you to do something: if a man have any science or art, that is but to enable him to do that which without it he cannot do: if a man hath the art of Arithmetic, he is able to number, or if he have the art of Logic, he is able to dispute: come to all moral virtues, What is temperance, but that which enableth us to do such and such things upon such and such occasions? What is patience, but that which enableth us to endure afflictions? So all that is excellent in man, all those amiable, those beautiful qualities wherewith the soul is adorned, are but so far good as they enable a man to do this or that. Now when the Lord is said to be almighty, the meaning is, he hath all excellency in him, and he hath it in the highest degree, for in this sense God is able to do more than any man, in regard of excellency; whatsoever a man is able to do, you know how infinitely the Lord hath it beyond him, he is able to do so much more as he is beyond any man: For that power, that attribute, that quality that is in man, it is not a quality in him, he hath it beyond any man. Again, when a man is able to do one thing, yet he is not able to do another, one creature is able to do this, another that: But ⟨p. 39⟩the Lord is Almighty, therefore he is able to do all things. And therefore this is a kind of excellency, that is the second description, he is Jehovah, and he is Almighty.

Secondly, he is strong, Iehovah, strong, mercifull and gracious, &c. that is, Almighty. What is the meaning of that, that he is almighty? The meaning of it is this, that the Lord hath all the excellencies; those which we call graces and vertues, and qualities in men, all these abound in the Lord; for what serues any vertue for, or any quality that you haue, but to enable you to doe something: if a man haue any science or art, that is but to enable him to doe that which without it he cannot doe: if a man hath the art of Arithmetique, he is able to number, or if he haue the art of Logicke, he is able to dispute: come to all morall vertues, What is temperance, but that which enableth us to doe such and such things uppon such and such occasions? What is patience, but that which enableth us to endure afflictions? So all that is excellent in man, all those amiable, those beautifull qualities wherewith the soule is adorned, are but so farre good as they enable a man to doe this or that. Now when the Lord is said to be almighty, the meaning is, hee hath all excellency in him, and hee hath it in the highest degree, for in this sense God is able to doe more than any man, in regard of excellency; whatsoever a man is able to doe, you know how infinitely the Lord hath it beyond him, he is able to doe so much more as he is beyond any man: For that power, that attribute, that quality that is in man, it is not a quality in him, he hath it beyond any man. Againe, when a man is able to doe one thing, yet he is not able to doe another, one creature is able to doe this, another that: But