Divine efficacy without humane power. Opened in a sermon preached at St. Margarets Church…

From this point we learn, 1. That even when we are about Gods work, we must look for difficulties, some arising from within our selves, our own ignorance, weakness, frowardness, impatience, which usually ⟨p. 12⟩make easy things hard (such is Christs yoke in it self, though to our corruption it may seem irksome.) However, though we bring never so much love and resolution to the work, yet Satan will resist us, the world will hate us, God himself will try us, and put us hard to deny our selves, to empty our selves, and to captivate our Reason unto his Will. There will be mountains in our way, when we are to build Gods house; mountains of pride and prejudice, and high imaginations, [Greek or Hebrew],¹ within our selves: [Greek or Hebrew], as Greg. Nazianzen speaks, we are strong and learned against our selves and our own good; and mountains of opposition and contradiction from others, who will ever malign, and, as they are able, obstruct the prosperity of so good a work.² And therefore we may not lean on carnal wisdom or self-confidence for performance of any duty, as being wholly in our selves without strength. Novi ego istos in pace leones, in praelio Cervos, said Tertullian, a man may be more then a man before the battle,³ and less then a woman in it, as Peter was; None sooner fall then they that fight in their own strength, Numb. 14. 44.

From this point we learn, 1. That even when we are about Gods work, we must look for difficulties, some arising from within our selves, our own ignorance, weaknesse, frowardnesse, impatience, which usually ⟨p. 12⟩make easie things hard (such is Christs yoke in it self, though to our corruption it may seem irksome.) However, though we bring never so much love and resolution to the work, yet Satan will resist us, the world will hate us, God himself will try us, and put us hard to deny our selves, to empty our selves, and to captivate our Reason unto his Will. There will be mountains in our way, when we are to build Gods house; mountains of pride and prejudice, and high imaginations, ,