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

And therefore we must not despair when things seem to Humane view helpless and hopeless, but look up to the Spirit of God, who can beyond all our thoughts make those that dwell in the dust, to awake and sing; Whereas if we build our hopes on humane might or power, we shall find them vain, every man a liar, sometimes weak and cannot help us, sometimes false and will not help us, always mutable, and may not help us. The more we attribute to Persons, the more we derogate from God. Let us not therefore be troubled at mountains of opposition, or any difficulties which we conflict with in the work of God. It is his promise to bring all Christs Enemies under his feet. Let us believe it, and he will do it, though we see not how.

And therefore we must not despair when things seeme to Humane view helplesse and hopeless, but look up to the Spirit of God, who can beyond all our thoughts make those that dwell in the dust, to awake and sing; Whereas if we build our hopes on humane might or power, we shall find them vain, every man a liar, sometimes weak and cannot help us, sometimes false and will not help us, alwayes mutable, and may not help us. The more we attribute to Persons, the more we derogate from God. Let us not therefore be troubled at mountains of opposition, or any difficulties which we conflict with in the work of God. It is his promise to bring all Christs Enemies under his feet. Let us believe it, and he will do it, though we see not how.

And now to conclude & bring all home to the mercies of this day. There is no Nation hath had more experience of the truth of these words, then we in this Land have had. When the Lord had commanded the sword of a civil war back into the scabbard, and things seemed to draw towards a comfortable close by the Kings gracious concessions in the last Treaty, divine providence was ⟨p. 38⟩pleased to carry us back into doleful confusions, into the surges of the Sea again, by the subtle counsels of a divided party, who having possession of the sword, and intending to use it to the altering of the fundamental constitution of government, in order thereunto, debarred the Peers of their right, plucked out all such worthy persons from the other House, who would […] their work, laid the foundation of their Utopia in the Blood of their natural Prince, and in the Exile of his children and family, and concluded by Might and Power to carry all before them. And now comes in the Spirit of the Lord to stop this career of domination. And first he stirred up an Abimelech against these men of Shechem, who liked not that threescore and ten Persons should reign, but rather to reign himself. By this hand a stop was put to their domination, till by the strange conduct of the same providence his family was pulled down by the hands of his own Allies. And so the threescore and ten get into the Throne again; These confusions in State seconded with desperate confusion in Religion; Ministry and Universities, and all supports of truth and learning endangered, and by a miscellany of all Religions, way made unto none at all. The Spirit of the Lord then works again,