An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

Secondly, Then we magnify the work of God, when we beat out, as it were, and sift all the circumstances of his work (as we say) to the bran, that so we may find out every perfection, every glory of it: when we do not only behold and see the wo•k, but when (as direction is given, Ps. 48.) We walk about Zion, tell her towers, and consider her palaces, that is, when we do not look upon things only in the bulk, but make an exact scrutiny, or take a full view of every part. We cannot magnify the work of God by a bare beholding of it, but by prying into every circumstance of it, or by considering what excellencies and rarities are in it. As we magnify our sinful works (in one sense we should magnify our sins, that is, aggravate them, not magnify them to applaud them, or glory in them, but to make our selves ashamed of them, as (I say) we magnify our sinful works, or what we have done sinfully, when we consider all the circumstances of our sins, as committed against light and love, against mercy and goodness, against the patience and forbearance of God, against our own professions and promises, against our experiences and privileges, all which should oblige us to holiness, and engage us to a gracious circumspection in all our ways, and walkings, lest at any time we should sin against God and grieve his Spirit: So we magnify the works of God when we eye all the circumstances of them, and consider them as done for us when we could do nothing for our selves, as done for us when we must have perished and been undone, unless God had appeared for us; as done for us when we deserved not the least good to be done for us; as done for us when none would do any thing for us, none caring for our souls; as done for us when none could do any thing for us. These and such like ⟨p. 362⟩circumstantial considerations, exceedingly magnify the work of God. A bare behold, a transient look may discover no great matter, but if we seriously weigh every particular, we shall then see cause enough to magnify the: work of God. Elijah (1 Kings 18.43.) commanded his servant to go look towards the sea, and when he went first, he saw nothing, but being commanded to go seven times, he at the seventh saw a little cloud rising out of the sea, as big as a mans hand; but at the last, heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.