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

First, No Creature is necessary unto God. We all depend on him, he is altogether necessary to us, but we are not necessary to him; we are and ought to be his Servants, but he doth not need our service; we need such a Master, such a Lord, we need to ⟨p. 45⟩have such a one over us, but he needs not such as we are under him. Earthly Masters and Servants have need of one another; Masters keep and maintain their Servants, and Servants are very helpful and profitable to their Masters. As a Servant needs a Master to give him meat and drink, apparel, and the conveniences of this life; so the Master needs the Servant, he needs his work, his labour, his hand, he cannot tell how to do his business without him; Masters cannot live comfortably without their Servants, much less honourably, they cannot keep their State and Degree amongst men without Servants; and Servants need their Masters, they cannot subsist, they cannot live, but by wages, or the reward of their labour. God hath made such a tie, knit such a knot among the Creatures, that one, though a Superior, should not despise the other, though much his Inferior, for both concur as parts, to the constitution of the whole, or general constitution of the world. But God is not a part, but the Principle, or Constituter of the Universe, not at all depending upon any part of it. If a Servant should have need of his Master, and not the Master of the Servant, the Master would despise his Servant; but God hath so ordered it, that as the Servant needs the Master, so the Master needs the Servant, while himself hath no need of either. God hath no need of our service, but we need his service, or him as our Lord and Master. It is an honour to God that he hath so many to serve him, but it is his greatest honour that he needs none to serve him. Before there were either men or Angels, God had the same honour and happiness that now he hath, he is self-sufficient; It were a shame and a dishonour to us, should we own him for God, who needed our good; he cannot be our God, who needs our good. All Creatures need the help and good of one another, and the help or good of all Creatures comes from God; but God himself is strong enough to help himself, and good enough to make himself everlastingly happy. There is nothing without him, but he can be happy without it;

First, No Creature is necessary unto God. We all depend on him, he is altogether necessary to us, but we are not necessary to him; we are and ought to be his Servants, but he doth not need our service; we need such a Master, such a Lord, we need to