A34165:1224
A Complete collection of farewell sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl…A Compleat collection of farewel sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl…
A Complete collection of farewell sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl ... [et al.] ; together with Mr. Ash his funeral sermon, Mr. Nalton's funeral sermon, Mr. Lye's rehearsal ... with their several prayers.A Compleat collection of farewel sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl ... [et al.] ; together with Mr. Ash his funeral sermon, Mr. Nalton's funeral sermon, Mr. Lye's rehearsal ... with their several prayers.
London : s.n., 1663
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Answ. I answer, No: 'Tis of God, and not of us; we are indeed subjects of the Ministry, the Recipients thereof; persons employed in the work, and therefore are said to be workers together with God, 2 Cor. 6.1. But the power and efficacy thereof is from God alone: Paul and Apollo were but Ministers, 'tis God that giveth the blessing. It is not of us in two respects. 1. It is not merited by us, it is not of our deserving, nor of our procuring. 1. It is not of our deserving; the best, and most accomplished, do not merit: I received a mercy (saith Paul) to be faithful: He accounted it a mercy to be employed, and to be faithful therein. 2. It is not of our own procuring, we do not obtain it by our own power; as Peter said in the recovery of the lame man, It is not by any power and holiness of ours, that this man •s restored, &c. And so it is not our gifts and industry only, that will make our Ministry powerful; and therefore in this work let us be looking up to God, and desire him to assist us, as Moses said, If thou goest not, O Lord, up with us, wherefore should we go hence? So say I, if the presence of God be not with us, what can we do?
And further, When we do partake of any measure of ability, see where we must determine it: Not unto us, Lord; not unto us, but unto thy Name be all the glory. We must not sacrifice to our own Net, nor give the honour to our own industry, but wholly give praise to God, because the excellency is of God.
2. But in the second place, if you look upon the words reflexively, ⟨image 153⟩or as having their connection to the words going before, and so agree and hold together, and thus you may read them: Therefore is this Treasure in Earthen Vessels, that the excellency of the power may be acknowledged to be of God, and not of us: If it were in Angels, or had we never so strong bodies, yet the excellency of the power of God would not be so clearly seen, as it is now, being laid up in poor frail Vessels: Here is the power of God, here is the lustre and glory of God most manifested; for so much the more apparently it will be seen to be from God, by how much the weaker the instrument is that is employed by God. Therefore if any thing doth act beyond its own power, it must have some foreign powers for the producing such and such acts: therefore when we see any great matter done by poor frail and contemptible persons of Earthen Vessels, this doth plainly show the excellency of the power to be of God, and not of Man; therefore look from Man to God, it is God that doth these things; We should over-look Earthen Vessels; we should (I say) over-look men that are these Earthen Vessels, and look to God that makes the Ministry powerful in such conveyances as these are.