The excellency of holy courage in evil times by Jeremiah Burroughs

9. Faith must refuse no means, if there be any means that God doth lay in your way, take them thankfully, use them faithfully, diligently, carefully as if there were nothing but means: and when you have used them depend upon God above means, as if there were no other means: Idleness and presumption are quite contrary to faith: and therefore be faithful in the use of means. As it is observed, God says he brought the people into Canaan, by his mighty power and outstretched Arm: yet there was a great many valiant Soldiers and a mighty power of the people; so that notwithstanding all means, Faith knows how to give God the glory of his outstretched arm, knowing that all second causes work by the power of the First.

9. Faith must refuse no means, if there be any means that God doth lay in your way, take them thankefully, use them faithfully, diligently, carefully as if there were nothing but means: and when you have used them depend upon God above means, as if there were no other means: Idleness and presumption are quite contrary to faith: and therefore be faithful in the use of means. As it is observed, God saies he brought the people into Canaan, by his mighty power and outstretched Arme: yet there was a great many valiant Souldiers and a mighty power of the people; so that notwithstanding all means, Faith knows how to give God the glory of his outstretched arme, knowing that all second causes work by the power of the First.

10. Let us take heed that what we undertake to do, we do it not with a slavish spirit, merely haled unto it but look upon every duty as a work of the Gospel; that that people do merely in a compulsive way, out of a slavish spirit, they will never go through it, but by Faith we are to look upon all duties as works of the Gospel, not as works of the Covenant of works, but as works of the Covenant of grace, therefore that is observable concerning Zerubbabel In Zach, 4. Where God says mountains ⟨p. 172⟩shall be made plain before Zerubbabel, difficulties shall be taken away, how? at vers. 7. At the laying of the corner stones they shall cry Grace, Grace, magnifying the Grace of God, looking higher at the Grace of God, then at all the strength that Zerubbabel had, and so being carried on in a spiritual way, crying Grace, Grace, that was a means to carry them through difficulties, and to make them as plains, for when you go about any great work, when you lay the first stone in that work cry Grace, Grace, this is a work that I must expect the free Grace of God in for assistance, for acceptance, and for blessing and for the carrying me through all: the more you magnify the grace of God in any work, the more you will be enabled to go through that work.