A09977:325
Life eternalLife eternall
Life eternal or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.Life eternall or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inne.
London: printed by Richard, 1631
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
But now to apply this:
Use 1 If God be thus full of being, as the sea is full of water, and a thousand times fuller; then all that you can do, reacheth not to him;1 Psal. 16.4.2 It extends not to him; the sins that you commit hurt him not; all the righteousness you perform, doth not pleasure or benefit him: and if it be so, then consider what little cause you have to murmur against him at any time, upon any occasion. For all discontentment among the creatures comes from the hence, that their expectation is not satisfied; and what is the reason, why it is not satisfied▪ but because they think that there is some reason why they should be respected. Therefore examine your own hearts, whether there be not a secret popery in your hearts, that you think, that you can do something that reacheth to God, that he should respect you for: but if God be thus full, thou canst do nothing, that can reach to him. But you shall see how prone men are to this; are we not ready to say; Why am I not in ⟨p. 124⟩so great a place as another? Why have not I more gifts? Why have I not greater employments? Why have I such imperfections? Why am I thus subject to diseases and crosses? Whence comes this? Because we expect something; because we think we are not well dealt with; and why do we think so? because men think, that there is something in them, why they should be looked after, they think that they have carried themselves so, that they think there is something in justice due to them. But if thou canst say with David, and Job, and Christ, when he saith to his disciples; When you have done all, that you can, say that you are unprofitable servants. What if God will not have David to build a Temple, but his son must do it? Or Moses to lead the children of Israel into the Land of Canaan, but Joshua must have the glory of it? They must be content; yet they did more for God, than ever thou canst do; therefore thou must labour to be content also. The creature doth but take of him whatsoever it hath, and therefore it can give nothing to him; and shall the River be beholding to him that drinks of it, because he comes and quencheth his thirst? Or shall the Sun be beholding to him that hath the use of his light? When thou hast done all that thou canst, say thou art an unprofitable servant, thou canst do nothing that reacheth to God;