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

¹He is excellent in power.

1. 1[Greek or Hebrew]〈non-Latin alphabet〉

T•at's the second. Mr. Broughton reads, He is huge of strength. The word rendered excellent, properly signifies, to increase. There is no increase of the strength of God; what he is, he ever was, and ever will be; there is neither increase nor diminution of his strength. But because things which are always increasing grow to a huge bigness and strength, therefore he is said to increase in strength, or (as our translation imports) to excel in power. He that excels in power is excellent in power. The word rendered power, implieth the power of doing (the Greeks call it [Greek or Hebrew]) or, of activity, a power put forth in working; he is excellent in power, that is, in ability to do whatsoever he pleaseth; and when 'tis said he is excellent in power, in this kind of power, i• notes, that the power of God in doing, doth wonderfully excel all tha• ever he hath done.¹ The effects or acts of the power of God are nothing, as I may say, to the faculty of his Power; he can do more than he hath done: He is so far from having over-acted himself, I mean from having done more than he can do again (which hath been the case of many mighty men, and may be the case of any man, how mighty a doer soever he is) that he can do infinitely more than he hath done, if he himself pleaseth; he is excellent in power, or of excelling power. I have (as was lately said) opened this point, of the power of God, in other places of this Book, whither I refer the Reader; yet taking the power of God (as the word is properly here intended) for his working power,